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Subject: Governance

Important aspects of Society

  • A reality check on Nutrition programs

    Nutrition

    Context

    • The Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2022 has brought more unwelcome news for India, as far as its global ranking on a vital indicator of human development is concerned. India ranked 107 out of 121 countries. Malnutrition still haunts India

    Global hunger Index (GHI)

    • The GHI is an important indicator of nutrition, particularly among children, as it looks at stunting, wasting and mortality among children, and at calorific deficiency across the population.

    Findings according to the National family health survey findings (NFHS-5)

    • India’s National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) from 2019-21 reported that in children below the age of five years, 35.5% were stunted, 19.3% showed wasting, and 32.1% were underweight.

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    Nutrition

    Status of budgetary allocation for Government Schemes

    • Gaps in the funding: Experts have suggested several approaches to address the problem of chronic malnutrition, many of which feature in the centrally-sponsored schemes that already exist. However, gaps remain in how they are funded and implemented, in what one might call the plumbing of these schemes.
    • Saksham Anganwadi:
    • The Government of India implements the Saksham Anganwadi and Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition (POSHAN) 2.0 scheme (which now includes the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme),
    • It seeks to work with adolescent girls, pregnant women, nursing mothers and children below three.
    • However, the budget for this scheme for FY2022-23 was ₹20,263 crore, which is less than 1% more than the actual spent in FY2020-21 an increase of less than 1% over two years.
    • PM POSHAN:
    • PM POSHAN, or Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman, known previously as the Mid-Day Meal scheme (National Programme of Mid-Day Meal in Schools).
    • The budget for FY2022-23 at ₹10,233.75 crore was 21% lower than the expenditure in FY2020-21.
    • It is clear that the budgets being allocated are nowhere near the scale of the funds that are required to improve nutrition in the country.

    Nutrition

    What are the hurdles for effective Implementation of such large-scale schemes.

    • Underfunded Nutrition Programme: An Accountability Initiative budget brief reports that per capita costs of the Supplementary Nutrition Programme (one of the largest components of this scheme) has not increased since 2017 and remains grossly underfunded, catering to only 41% of the funds required.
    • Vacant posts of Projects officers and insufficient manpower: The budget brief also mentions that over 50% Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) posts were vacant in Jharkhand, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, pointing to severe manpower constraints in successfully implementing the scheme of such importance.
    • Regular controversies over the food served under MDM: While PM POSHAN (or MDM) is widely recognized as a revolutionary scheme that improved access to education for children nationwide, it is often embroiled in controversies around what should be included in the mid-day meals that are provided at schools.
    • Irregular social audits: Social audits that are meant to allow community oversight of the quality of services provided in schools are not carried out routinely.
    • Volatile food prices effects: The effect of cash transfers is also limited in a context where food prices are volatile and inflation depletes the value of cash.
    • Social factors: Equally, there are social factors such as ‘son preference’, which sadly continues to be prevalent in India and can influence household-level decisions when responding to the nutrition needs of sons and daughters.

    Nutrition

    Suggestions for the effective delivery of the government schemes

    • Tracing the reasons behind existing malnutrition: It is clear that malnutrition persists due to depressed economic conditions in large parts of the country, the poor state of agriculture in India, persistent levels of unsafe sanitation practices, etc. Political battles over malnutrition are not going to help; nor is continuing to think in silos.
    • Cash transfers where purchasing poverty is less: Cash transfers have a role to play here, especially in regions experiencing acute distress, where household purchasing power is very depressed. Cash transfers can also be used to incentivize behavioural change in terms of seeking greater institutional support.
    • Targeted supplementation: Food rations through PDS and special supplements for the target group of pregnant and lactating mothers, and infants and young children, are essential.
    • Community participation: Getting these schemes right requires greater involvement of local government and local community groups in the design and delivery of tailored nutrition interventions.
    • Comprehensive social education programs for girls: A comprehensive programme targeting adolescent girls is required if the inter-generational nature of malnutrition is to be tackled. There is a need of comprehensive social education programme.

    Conclusion

    • Malnutrition has been India’s scourge for several years now. A month-long POSHAN Utsav may be good optics, but is no substitute for painstaking everyday work. The need of the hour is to make addressing child malnutrition the top priority of the government machinery, and all year around.

    Mains Question

    Q. Despite large government nutrition programs, malnutrition still haunts India. Discuss the problems and suggest solutions.

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  • Draft Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022

    personal

    Context

    • Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology released the Digital Personal data Protection Bill, 2022, on November 18.

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    Background: Demand for the data surveillance reforms

    • The journey towards a data protection legislation began in 2011 when the department of Personnel and Training initiated discussions on the Right to Privacy Bill, 2011.
    • As per an Office Memorandum dated September 29, 2011, the then attorney General, Goolam Vahanvati, opined that conditions under which the government can carry out “interception of communication” should be spelt out in the Bill.
    • The report of the group emphasized the need to examine the impact of the increased collection of citizen information by the government on the right to privacy. Since then, civil society organizations, lawyers and politicians have consistently demanded surveillance reform, highlighting how personal data can only be protected when the government’s power to conduct surveillance of citizens is meaningfully regulated.

    Personal

    Revoked version of Digital Personal data Protection Bill, 2022

    • Eases cross-border data flows but wide-ranging powers to state agencies: The reworked version of the data protection Bill, released three months after the Govt withdrew an earlier draft, eases cross-border data flows and increases penalties for breaches. But it gives the Centre wide-ranging powers and prescribes very few safeguards.
    • Delicate balance on privacy and restrictions: Officials at the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) have said the new draft strikes a delicate balance and factors in learning from global approaches, while staying aligned to the Supreme Court’s ruling on privacy as a fundamental right, but within reasonable restrictions.
    • Seven principles of the Bill: The explanatory note accompanying the Bill elaborates on the seven principles it seeks to promote, including transparency, purpose limitation, data minimization, and preventing the unauthorized collection of personal data.

    personal

    The surveillance architecture In India

    • Main components: The surveillance architecture in India comprises mainly of Section 5(2) of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885; Section 69 of the Information Technology Act, 2000; and the procedural rules promulgated under them.
    • No clearly defined ground: No But this architecture does not meaningfully define the grounds under which, or the manner in which, surveillance may be conducted.
    • No safeguards: It also does not contain safeguards such as ex-ante or ex-post facto independent review of interception directions.
    • Lack of accountability: The concentration of power with the executive thus creates a lack of accountability and enables abuse. Evidence for this emerges not only from instances of political surveillance, but also from the slivers of transparency that accidentally emerge from telecom companies.
    • Excessive surveillance: For instance, submissions by Airtel to the Telecommunications Department, as part of the public consultation process for the Indian Telecommunication Bill, reveal that excessive data collection requests are already a reality. Airtel has asked the government to share the costs it incurs to comply with the increasing demands from law enforcement agencies to carry out surveillance.
    • Concerns over citizen data processing: Apart from outright surveillance, unfettered collection and processing of citizen data for other purposes, such as digital governance, raise concerns.

    What are the concerns over the revoked version of the bill?

    • No proposals for surveillance reform: All iterations of the data protection legislation since the draft Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, the draft Data Protection Bill, 2021 and the 2022 Bill have no proposals for surveillance reform.
    • Data processing without consent: Personal data can be processed even without the person’s consent. Blanket exemptions Like previous iterations, Clause 18(2) of the 2022 Bill allows the Union government to provide blanket exemptions for selected government agencies.
    • Permits exemption to private entities: However, this Bill is more egregious than previous iterations as it permits exemption to private sector entities that may include individual companies or a class of them, by assessing the volume and nature of personal data under Clause 18(3).
    • Exemptions without the purview of data protection: Under the new Bill in India, exempted state agencies and private entities will not be within the purview of the Data Protection Board, the body responsible for imposing penalties in case fiduciaries infringe privacy.

    Personal

    Data processing in other countries

    • Exemptions on case by case and the rationale behind it: While the existing or proposed legislations in the European Union and in the U.S. permit security agencies to claim exemptions on a case-by-case basis, depending on why they are collecting personal data, they do not contain blanket exemption powers to an entire government entity.
    • Meaningful state surveillance: Other jurisdictions exercise meaningful oversight over state surveillance. For instance, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal in the U.K. is authorized to hear complaints against misuse of surveillance powers and can impose monetary penalties in case of a breach.

    Conclusion

    • The preamble to the 2022 Bill states that the purpose is to protect the personal data of individuals and to ensure that personal data is processed only for lawful purposes. However, blanket exemptions for state agencies alongside private entities raise untold concerns, which need to be addressed on a war footing.

    Mains question

    Q. What do you understand by data surveillance? It is said the Data surveillance architecture in India lacks accountability and transparency. Analyze.

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  • Union Health Ministry rolls out India’s 1st Suicide Prevention Policy

    The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced a National Suicide Prevention Strategy, the first of its kind in the country.

    What is Suicide?

    • Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one’s own death.
    • Mental and physical disorders, substance abuse, anxiety and depression are risk factors.
    • Some suicides are impulsive acts due to stress (such as from financial or academic difficulties), relationship problems (such as breakups or divorces), or harassment and bullying.
    • Despite being entirely preventable, India has been increasingly losing individuals to suicide.

    Why need such strategy?

    Ans. Suicides in India

    • The burden of deaths by suicide has increased in India — by 7.2 per cent from 2020 — with a total of 1,64,033 people dying by suicide in 2021.
    • In India, more than one lakh lives are lost every year to suicide, and it is the top killer in the 15-29 years category.
    • In the past three years, the suicide rate has increased from 10.2 to 11.3 per 1,00,000 population, the document records.
    • The most common reasons for suicide include family problems and illnesses, which account for 34% and 18% of all suicide-related deaths.
    • The report follows a 2021 Lancet study that noted “India reports the highest number of suicide deaths in the world”.

    About the National Suicide Prevention Strategy

    The NSPS puts a time-bound action plan and multi-sectoral collaborations to achieve reduction in suicide mortality by 10% by 2030.  The strategy broadly seeks to establish-

    1. Effective surveillance mechanisms for suicide within the next three years,
    2. Establish psychiatric outpatient departments that will provide suicide prevention services through the District Mental Health Programme in all districts within the next five years, and
    3. Integrate a mental well-being curriculum in all educational institutions within the next eight years.

    The strategy also envisages:

    1. Developing guidelines for responsible media reporting of suicides and
    2. Restricting access to means of suicide

    Significance of the strategy

    • The most important thing is that the government has acknowledged that suicide is a problem.
    • We now have a well-conceived plan involving multi-sectoral collaborations, because the only way a strategy would work would be to involve various sectors.
    • The strategy should now be passed on to the States for them to develop locally relevant action plans; and then cascade to the district, primary health and community levels.

    Why suicide is such a big issue?

    • More youth committing: For the youth of the country (15-29 years), among whom 1/3rd of all suicides take place.
    • Performance pressure: Data suggests that one student dies by suicide every 55 minutes, and 1,129 suicides among children below 18 years of age in 2020 were due to failure in examinations.
    • Farm distress: This is followed by farmer’s suicide and the gendered variance observed these days.
    • Gendered variances: More women are committing suicides these days.

    Way forward

    suicide

    • Holistic approach: Promoting national and sectoral research into the reasons for suicide mortality and its rise, and making culturally and economically appropriate suggestions to help mitigate the problem is critical.
    • Counselling by mass-media: During times of distress, media must promote health-seeking behaviour, correct information and counter the possible myths related to suicide.
    • Evidence-based interventions: Keep in mind the needs of the most vulnerable and marginalized populations, like women and young individuals, providing the required support systems can reduce the number of lives lost and build a healthier response system.

     

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  • Quasi-Judicial Bodies

    Quasi-Judicial

    Context

    • There is a class of quasi-judicial agencies that are not discussed in conversations on the pendency of cases. Their failure to administer speedy justice leads to harassment of citizens, besides abetting criminal activity by unscrupulous elements.

    What are the quasi-judicial bodies

    • Role of adjudicating the law: A quasi-judicial body is “an organ of Government other than a Court or Legislature, which affects the rights of private parties either through adjudication or rulemaking”.
    • Not a court of law: It is not mandatory that a Quasi-Judicial Body has to necessarily be an organization resembling a Court of Law. For example, the Election Commission of India is also a Quasi-Judicial Body but does not have its core functions as a Court of Law.
    • Some examples of Quasi-Judicial Bodies: Election Commission of India, National Green Tribunal, Central Information Commission (CIC), Lok Adalat etc.

    Functioning of quasi-judicial bodies

    • Supervise the administrative disputes: They primarily oversee the administrative zones. The courts have the power to supervise over all types of disputes but the quasi-judicial bodies are the ones with the powers of imposing laws on administrative agencies.
    • Lessen the burden on courts: These bodies support to lessen the burden of the courts. Quasi-judicial activity is restricted to the issues that concern the particular administrative agency. Quasi-judicial action may be appealed to a court of law.
    • Limited role of adjudication: Their powers are usually limited to a particular area of expertise, such as financial markets, employment laws, public standards, immigration, or regulation.
    • Rules of justice are pre-determined: Awards and judgements of quasi-judicial bodies often depend on a pre-determined set of rules or punishment depending on the nature and gravity of the offence committed.
    • Its award can be challenged in court: Such punishment may be legally enforceable under the law of a country it can be challenged in a court of law which is the final vital authority.

    Problems faced by quasi-judicial authorities

    • Understaffing of bodies: The maladies that these agencies suffer from are far graver than judicial set-ups, as they are staffed by revenue authorities who have several other functions. Usually, many of these offices are understaffed.
    • More administrative and less judicial work: Their engagement with duties such as law and order, protocol, coordination and other administrative functions leaves them with much less time for court work.
    • Limited access to records: Their access to court clerks and record keepers is limited. Computers and video recorders are not available in many of these courts. Only a few states such as Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have electronic platforms for supporting activities such as the filing of cases, publication of cause lists and sending summons.
    • Lack of knowledge about procedures: Several of the presiding officers lack proper knowledge of law and procedures which has landed many a civil servant in deep trouble in sensitive matters such as those related to arms licences.
    • Data is unavailable: Data on the level of pendency or the speed of disposal is not compiled in many states. This is why there is scarcely any attempt to increase staff strength. There is hardly any public scrutiny say by the press or legislature.

    How to improve the functioning of Quasi-judicial bodies?

    • Priority of the government: The government should make the efficient functioning of these agencies a priority and clearly articulate its position on the issue.
    • Collection of data is must: Detailed data on the functioning of these agencies must be collected and published from time to time at least annually.
    • Digitization of judicial data: An electronic platform should be established to handle all ancillary work related to the administration of justice, such as filing of complaints, issue of summons, movement of case records between courts, issuing copies of the judgments and so on.
    • Mandatory annual inspection: annual inspections of the subordinate courts should be made mandatory. This should be an important indicator for assessment by the superior authority.
    • Study on functioning of this bodies: Interdisciplinary research on the functioning of these courts should be encouraged. This would identify the areas of improvement such as legal reforms or issue of clear guidelines.
    • Time to time training of authorities: Regular training and orientation of the adjudicating authorities should be taken up from time to time.
    • State performance index should be published: The state index of performance of these quasi-judicial courts be made and published.
    • Online publication of awards by authorities: Important decisions, guidelines and directions could be compiled and published on the portal of the apex adjudicating forum such as the Board of Revenue.
    • Rigorous induction training: More rigorous induction training of officials handling judicial work would help. The importance of judicial work should be instilled among the trainees and the skill and confidence in handling them should be developed.
    • Procedural reforms: Procedural reforms such as minimizing adjournments, mandatory filing of written arguments and other such reforms proposed by bodies like the Law Commission for reform of the Civil Procedure Code should be adopted by these adjudicating bodies.

    Conclusion

    • Quasi-judicial bodies form the substantial institutions of judicial system. It is regularly side-lined when we talk about the judicial reforms. If we could make our quasi-judicial bodies function properly and efficiently, it will reduce the burden on High courts and Supreme court.

    Mains Question

    Q. Why the quasi-judicial bodies are underperforming in India? Which steps are needed to improve the functioning of quasi-judicial bodies?

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  • 10 years of POCSO: An analysis of India’s landmark child abuse law

    pocso

    Ten years after the enactment of The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, which deals specifically with child sexual abuse, an analysis of POCSO cases across India has found gaps in its implementation.

    Why was POCSO enacted?

    • The Constitution of India has incorporated several provisions to protect the rights of children and India has also been a signatory to landmark international instruments.
    • However, India lacked any dedicated provision against child sexual abuse.
    • Cases would be tried under different provisions of the Indian Penal Code, which was found to be ill-equipped.

    Evolution of POCSO

    • In the 1990s, a child sexual abuse racket was busted in Goa, following which the state government enacted a law to promote child rights in 2003.
    • Also, the Special Expert Committee under Justice VR Krishna Iyer presented a draft code for child rights in India – the Children’s Code Bill, 2000.
    • These two initiatives established the basis for dedicated legislation against child sexual abuse.
    • In 2005, the Department of Women and Child Development prepared a draft bill to address different offences targeted against children.
    • Contrary to the general perception then, the overall percentage of boys reporting experiencing sexual abuse was much higher than that of girls.
    • In September 2010, the Ministry of WCD prepared a draft Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Bill, 2010.
    • This after several rounds of revisions came into force as the POCSO Act on Children’s Day – 14 November, 2012.

    Features of the Act   

    • Gender neutrality: The Act is gender neutral and regards the best interests and welfare of the child. The Act calls for mandatory reporting of sexual offences. A false complaint with intent to defame a person is punishable under the Act.
    • Definition of Child: The Act defines a child as any person below eighteen years of age.
    • Definitions of sexual abuses: It defines different forms of sexual abuse, including penetrative and non-penetrative assault, as well as sexual harassment and pornography.
    • Prevents child trafficking: People who traffic children for sexual purposes are also punishable under the provisions relating to abetment in the Act.
    • Preventing re-victimization of child: Adequate provisions are made to avoid re-victimization of the Child at the hands of the judicial system.
    • Sensitization of Police: The Act assigns a policeman in the role of child protector during the investigation process.
    • Child friendly investigation: The Act stipulates that such steps must be taken which makes the investigation process as child-friendly as possible.
    • Speedy disposal: The Act provides for the establishment of Special Courts for the trial of such offences and stipulates that the case is disposed of within one year from the date of reporting of the offence.

    What is the rationale behind the legislation?

    • Multiple facets of crime: New forms of child abuse like online bullying, harassment and Child Pornography have emerged to a greater extent.
    • Exception handling: As per the last available data from the National Crime Records Bureau of child rape cases came up before the courts under the POCSO Act read with Indian Penal Code Section 376.
    • Larger conviction: Less than three per cent cases ended in convictions, pointing to the need for better access to justice for all, and not just more stringent conviction in a small percentage of cases.
    • Deterrence against crime: There is the belief that harsher punishments will deter people from committing child rape.
    • Zero-tolerance: Lastly, the disgust for the crime makes the perpetrator ‘deserving’ of death penalty.

    Issues with the Law

    • Recurrence of such crime: In the context of child rape, many preventive measures and policies do have a definitive impact on preventing child rape.
    • Lower conviction: The conviction rates are low under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.
    • Investigation bottlenecks: There is lack of specialised investigators, prosecutors, judges, mental health professionals, doctors, forensic experts and social workers.
    • Protection bottlenecks: Inadequate child protection and rehabilitation services, lack of compliance with child-friendly legal procedures are some other concerns.
    • Under-reporting: A large proportion of perpetrators are family members or those close to or known to the family. This results in massive underreporting of such crimes.
    • Protection of convicts: This concern will only intensify with death penalty, as the child’s family often settles a case of known person preventing him to the gallows.
    • Vulnerability: The arbitrariness of the death penalty in India also arises from the discriminatory impact of the choice of what constitutes ‘rarest of rare’.
    • Delay of trials: The Kathua Rape case took 16 months for the main accused to be convicted whereas the POCSO Act clearly mentions that the entire trial and conviction process has to be done in one year.
    • Communal Politicization:  Considering rapes on communal angles is another challenge. The Unnao rape case and Kathua rape case are some of the examples.

    Study of POCSO implementation

    • The analysis, titled ‘A Decade of POCSO’, was carried out by the Justice, Access and Lowering Delays in India (JALDI) Initiative.
    • It was held in collaboration with the Data Evidence for Justice Reform (DE JURE) program at the World Bank.
    • It analysed a total of 230,730 cases from 486 districts spanning 28 states and Union Territories, from 2012 to February 2021.
    • Case laws, policy interventions and case metadata was collected from the eCourts, the digital platform which gives information on pending cases, court orders, etc.

    Key findings on crimes against children

    • Low conviction rate: The analysis has found that 43.44% of trials under POCSO end in acquittals while only 14.03% end in convictions. For every one conviction in a POCSO case, there are three acquittals.
    • Accused were close kin: Out of 138 judgements looked at in detail by the study, only in 6% of the cases were the accused people strangers to the victim.

    Quality of justice under POCSO

    • Huge delay: The study has found on average, it takes 509.78 days for a POCSO case to be disposed of – whereas it has been stipulated under the Act that such cases need to be disposed of within a year.
    • High pendency: Though the pendency of POCSO cases was increasing gradually over the years, there was a sharp increase in the number of pending cases between 2019 and 2020, that could be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.
    • Frequent transfer of cases: A total of 22.76% of cases were disposed of by virtue of transfers from one court to another, and one-fifth of the cases in this dataset ended in transfers. Since POCSO cases are supposed to be tried by the Special Court.

    Gaps in implementation

    • Support persons are not being appointed in most cases: The Supreme Court had also noted that in 96% of cases, a support person was not provided to the victim.
    • POCSO courts have not been designated in all districts: As of 2022, 408 POCSO courts have been set up in 28 States as part of the Government’s Fast Track Special Court’s Scheme.
    • There is a lack of Special Public Prosecutors: They should be appointed specifically to handle POCSO cases, and even when they are appointed they are often employed for non-POCSO cases.

    Way forward

    • The social menace of child rape requires sustained planning, engagement, and investment of resources by the government.
    • The need of the hour is to prioritise prevention activities against abuse, creating safe (physical and online) environments for children.
    • Developing a comprehensive outreach system to engage parents, schools, communities, NGOs partners and local governments as well as police and lawyers is needed.
    • This will ensure better implementation of the legal framework, policies, national strategies and standards.

     

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  • SC refuses to direct Centre to create independent Indian Environment Service

    The Supreme Court has refused to intervene and direct the government to create an independent Indian Environment Service within the All India Service cadre. A specialized environment service was recommended in the T.S.R. Subramanian Committee report in 2014.

    TSR Subramanian Committee Report on Environment

    • The Subramanian committee was set up in August 2014 to review the country’s green laws and the procedures followed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
    • It suggested several amendments to align with the Government’s economic development agenda.
    • The report had suggested amendments to almost all green laws, including those relating to the environment, forest, wildlife and coastal zone clearances.
    • The committee suggested that another committee, with more expertise and time, be constituted to review the environmental laws.

    Key recommendations

    (a) Establishment of Environment Management Authorities

    • The report proposed an ‘Environmental Laws (Management) Act’ (ELMA), that envisioned full-time expert bodies to be constituted at the Central and State levels respectively:
    1. National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA)
    2. State Environmental Management Authority (SEMA)

    (b) Project clearances

    • These authorities evaluate project clearance (using technology and expertise), in a time bound manner, providing for single-window clearance.
    • It suggested a “fast track” procedure for “linear” projects (roads, railways and transmission lines), power and mining projects and for “projects of national importance.”
    • It also suggested an appellate mechanism against the decisions of NEMA/SEMA or MoEF&CC, in respect of project clearance, prescribing a three-month deadline to dispose appeals.

    (c) Expanding Environment Protection Act

    • The Air Act and the Water Act is to be subsumed within the EP Act.
    • The existing Central Pollution Control Board and the State PCBs, which monitor and regulate the conditions imposed on the industries to safeguard environment be integrated into NEMA and SEMA.

    (d) Evaluating Environmental Reconstruction Cost (ERC)

    • The report also recommends that an “ERC” should be assessed for each project on the basis of the damage caused by it to the environment and this should be added into the cost of the project.
    • This cost has to be recovered as a cess or duty from the project proponent during the life of the project.

    (e) Research and Development

    • It proposed the establishment of a National Environment Research institute “on the lines of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education”.
    • It would bring in the application of high-end technology in environment governance.

    (f) Establishment of Indian Environment Service (IES)

    • Finally, an Indian Environment Service should be established to recruit qualified and skilled human resource in the environment sector.

    Status of these recommendations

    • The Centre never formally accepted this report and neither constituted a new committee as recommended by the Parliamentary Standing Committee.
    • However, many of these recommendations are implicitly making their way into the process of environmental regulation.

    Why was IES proposed?

    • Environmental governance in India involves several clearances.
    • Currently, officers from all India civil services, conducted by UPSC, deals with environment clearances and policies.

    Do we really need IES?

    • The IAS were founded on the colonial government’s Council of India’s law member T.B. Macaulay’s notion of generalised work done by one official.
    • However, the modern era, based on a socio-economic model of high specialization, cannot survive on this.
    • The IAS is filled with people without the requisite specialized skills and qualifications to successfully accomplish their tasks.
    • This was lamented by the PM when he posed the question “Can babusdo everything?” (babu is a euphemism for bureaucrats).
    • There was a proposed functional field for specialization that was recommended in 1970 by India’s first Administrative Reforms Commission, but like the Subramaniam Committee suggestions, it was never implemented in its full.

    Way forward

    • There is need of an active bureaucracy for the implementation of environment policy.
    • These administrators need to be aware of their responsibility, which can be made effective if a service dedicated to the environment is created.
    • The challenge of climate change would then be able to be effectively approached through the bureaucracy.

    Conclusion

    • Policymakers must build on the exercise of reforming environmental governance.
    • The process must involve reforming our laws, strengthening our institutions and streamlining the processes.

     

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  • Is India a Diabetes capital of the world?

    Diabetes

    Context

    • India is often referred to as the ‘Diabetes Capital of the World as it accounts for 17%percent of the total number of diabetes patients in the world. There are currently close to 80 million people with diabetes in India and this number is expected to increase to 135 million by 2045. World Diabetes day is observed on 14 November.

    What is Diabetes?

    • Diabetes is a chronic (long-lasting) health condition that affects how our body turns food into energy.
    • Diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which the body has high sugar levels for prolonged periods of time.
    • The lack of insulin causes a form of diabetes.
    • Type-I Diabetes: It is a medical condition that is caused due to insufficient production and secretion of insulin from the pancreas. Type 1 diabetes is thought to be caused by an autoimmune reaction (the body attacks itself by mistake). This reaction stops your body from making insulin. Approximately 5-10% of the people who have diabetes have type 1
    • Type-2 diabetes: With type 2 diabetes, your body doesn’t use insulin well and can’t keep blood sugar at normal levels. About 90-95% of people with diabetes have type 2.

    Diabetes

    Type-2 diabetes in brief 

    • Long term Condition: It is long-term (chronic) condition which results in too much sugar circulating in the bloodstreams and poor response of insulin. Eventually, high blood sugar levels can lead to disorders of the circulatory, nervous and immune systems. Type 2 diabetes is an impairment in the way the body regulates and uses sugar (glucose) as a fuel. It is a defective response of Insulin
    • More common in adults: Type 2 is more common in older adults, but the increase in the number of children with obesity has led to more cases of type 2 diabetes in younger people.
    • Slow signs and symptoms: Signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes often develop slowly. Symptoms include, Increased thirst, Frequent urination, Increased hunger, Unintended weight loss, Fatigue, Blurred vision, Slow-healing sores, Frequent infections etc. It develops over many years and is usually diagnosed in adults (but more and more in children, teens, and young adults).
    • Cure for Type-2: There’s no cure for type 2 diabetes, but losing weight, eating well and exercising can help you manage the disease. If diet and exercise aren’t enough to manage your blood sugar, you may also need diabetes medications or insulin therapy.

    What is insulin?

    • Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas.
    • Insulin regulates the movement of sugar into your cells.
    • Blood glucose levels tightly controlled by insulin.
    • When the blood glucose elevates (for example, after eating food), insulin is released from the pancreas to normalize the glucose level

    Diabetes

    The prevalence of diabetes in India

    • People living with Diabetes in India: There are an estimated 77 million people with diabetes in India. Which means one in every 10 adults in India has diabetes. Half of those who have high blood sugar levels are unaware. Even among those who have been diagnosed with diabetes, only half of them have their blood sugar level under control.
    • Rapid increase in younger population: According ICMR report, the prevalence of diabetes in India has increased by 64 percent over the quarter-century. prevalence among the younger population has also increased above 10%.
    • Children impacting more: Worryingly, in India, a large number of children are also impacted by diabetes. Children are developing obesity and metabolic syndrome early because of the change in diets to more processed and fast foods.
    • Projected Estimation: About 98 million Indians could have diabetes by 2030, these projections come from the International Diabetes Federation and the Global Burden of Disease project.
    • Children impacting more: Worryingly, in India, a large number of children are also impacted by diabetes. Children are developing obesity and metabolic syndrome early because of the change in diets to more processed and fast foods.

    Why Indians are more prone to diabetes?

    • Lifestyle changes: The current exponential rise of diabetes in India is mainly attributed to lifestyle changes. The rapid change in dietary patterns, physical inactivity, and increased body weight, especially the accumulation of abdominal fat, are some of the primary reasons for increased prevalence.
    • Ethnically more prone: Ethnically, Indians seem to be more prone to diabetes as compared to the Caucasians, although the precise mechanisms are not well known. we Indians have a greater degree of insulin resistance which means our cells do not respond to the hormone insulin. And when compared to Europeans, our blood insulin levels also tend to rise higher and more persistently when we eat carbohydrates.
    • Greater genetic predisposition: The epidemic increase in diabetes in India along with various studies on migrant and native Indians clearly indicate that Indians have an increased predilection to diabetes which could well be due to a greater genetic predisposition to diabetes in Indians.
    • Decrease in traditional diets: At the same time, the increased ‘westernization’, especially in the metros and the larger cities, has led to a drastic change in our dietary pattens. Indian diets have always been carbohydrate-heavy and now the reliance on refined sugars, processed food in the form of quick bites and fuss-free cooking and trans fatty acids are creating havoc.
    • Mechanization of day-to-day work: With the increasing availability of machines to do our work, there’s also a substantial drop in day-to-day activities.
    • Consumption of high calorie food and lack of physical activities: Obesity, especially central obesity and increased visceral fat due to physical inactivity, and consumption of a high-calorie/high-fat and high sugar diets, thus become major contributing factors.
    • Rapid urbanization: Currently, India is undergoing a rapid epidemiological transition with increased urbanization. The current urbanization rate is 35% compared to 15% in the 1950’s and this could have major implications on the present and future disease patterns in India with particular reference to diabetes and coronary artery disease.
    • Rural-urban migration: The rural migration to urban areas and associated stress plays a significant role in lifestyle change.

    Diabetes

    Ways to manage Increasing Diabetes in India

    • Aggressive Screening procedures: Indians need an upstream approach or prioritizing protection of the population as a whole, beginning with women and children. This can be done with aggressive screening procedures. “Anybody above 18, with a clear-cut risk like family history, weight issues and young women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) should be tested. All Indians above 30 should be screened.
    • Timely diagnosis and right management: Medical experts feel that timely detection and right management can go a long way in helping patients lead a normal life.
    • Diet discipline for children: For children, Doctors recommends a serious diet discipline. “Only healthy meals are the option that remains. Tutor the tastebuds of the young and stop their access to fast foods. There can be supportive policy measures making healthy fruits and vegetables accessible in a cost-effective manner to all instead of plain carbs. The mid-day meal or tiffin needs to be looked at thoughtfully and to make it healthy.
    • Promoting physical activities: “The overall decline in physical activity has had devastating impacts on our metabolism,” while agreeing with the 30-minute a day exercise and activity schedule, sounds a note of caution. The recent scientific evidence suggests even five minutes of walk after any meal provides some protection.
    • Adopting healthy Lifestyle: Though a chronic medical condition, Diabetes can be curbed at the initial level by introducing lifestyle changes. Experts suggests, reduce stress; sleep on time and for minimum of seven hours, maintaining ideal body weight, regular physical activity stop smoking, stopping/ minimum alcohol intake and get early treatment for any pre-existing or co-morbid health condition such as hypertension.
    • Regular check-ups: Regular visits to the doctor are important to assess sugar control and assessment/ prevention of complications related to the disease.

    Conclusion

    • With the country having the highest number of diabetic patients in the world, the sugar disease is posing an enormous health problem to our country today. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) fact sheet on diabetes, an estimated 3.4 million deaths are caused due to high blood sugar in the world.

    Mains Question

    Q. Diabetes is increasing alarmingly across all age groups in India. Discuss the reasons and suggest measures to manage epidemic of diabetes if it is not curable?

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  • What is a Narco Test?

    narco test

    A court in Saket, New Delhi, has allowed Delhi Police to conduct a narco test on a psychopath accused of raping and killing his live-in partner.

    What is a Narco Test?

    • In a ‘narco’ or narcoanalysis test, a drug called sodium pentothal is injected into the body of the accused.
    • This transports the accused to a hypnotic or sedated state, in which their imagination is neutralised.
    • In this hypnotic state, the accused is understood as being incapable of lying, and is expected to divulge information that is true.
    • Sodium pentothal or sodium thiopental is a fast-acting, short duration anaesthetic, which is used in larger doses to sedate patients during surgery.
    • It belongs to the barbiturate class of drugs that act on the central nervous system as depressants.

    History of its use

    • Because the drug is believed to weaken the subject’s resolve to lie, it is sometimes referred to as a “truth serum”.
    • It is said to have been used by intelligence operatives during World War II.

    Reasons to use such tests

    • In recent decades, investigating agencies have sought to employ these tests in investigation, which are sometimes seen as being a “softer alternative” to torture or “third degree” to extract the truth from suspects.
    • However, neither method has been proven scientifically to have a 100% success rate, and remain contentious in the medical field as well.

    Restrictions on these tests

    • No self-incrimination: The Bench took into consideration international norms on human rights, the right to a fair trial, and the right against self-incrimination under Article 20(3) of the Constitution.
    • Consent of the accused: In ‘Selvi & Ors vs. State of Karnataka & Anr’ (2010), a Supreme Court Bench comprising then CJI ruled that no lie detector tests should be administered “except on the basis of consent of the accused”. The subject’s consent should be recorded before a judicial magistrate, the court said.
    • Legal assistance to such convicts: Those who volunteer must have access to a lawyer, and have the physical, emotional, and legal implications of the test explained to them by police and the lawyer.
    • Guidelines at place: It said that the ‘Guidelines for the Administration of Polygraph Test on an Accused’ published by the National Human Rights Commission in 2000, must be strictly followed.

    Can the results of these tests be considered as “confessions”?

    • Not a confession: Because those in a drugged-induced state cannot exercise a choice in answering questions that are put to them.
    • Assumed as evidence: However, any information or material subsequently discovered with the help of such a voluntarily-taken test can be admitted as evidence.
    • Supports investigation: It reveals the location of, say, a physical piece of evidence (which is often something like a murder weapon) in the course of the test.

     

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  • Role of Private Sector in Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

    Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

    Context

    • On 27 September, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the rollout of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission with the aim of integrating the different and disparate digital health systems that exist into a National Digital Health Ecosystem.

    What is Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)?

    • The ABDM currently has five main components:
    • Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) number: A unique health identification number,
    • Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR): A repository of healthcare professionals across both modern and traditional systems of medicine,
    • Health Facility Registry (HFR): A repository of both public and private health facilities, including hospitals, clinics, diagnostic laboratories, and pharmacies,
    • Unified Health Interface (UHI): An open protocol for digital health services linking patients with healthcare providers,
    • ABHA Mobile App: An app allowing an individual to carry electronic health records.

    Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

    Analyzing the future of India’s health care system

    • Digitization push of Government: To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and targets of universal health coverage, the Indian government has expended significant efforts to promote the digitization of the healthcare sector to make health accessible, affordable, and equitably distributed.
    • Citizens and doctors can access the health registry: The two registries would ostensibly create a database of India’s healthcare institutions and professionals that citizens would be able to access.
    • Digital health card: The ABHA number and the application allow citizens to securely identify themselves and carry their health records to any healthcare facility.
    • Targeted health care services: And lastly, the UHI would facilitate greater access to and delivery of healthcare services.
    • Huge data for research: All of this activity has and will generate a tremendous quantity of data, which will be crucial for research, innovation, and policymaking.

    Importance of private sector in health sector

    • Mixed health care system: India has a mixed healthcare system, which means that it has both public and private healthcare providers. Without significant participation from the private healthcare providers, the ABDM’s ability to achieve its objectives will be limited.
    • 81% doctors are private: This is because private healthcare infrastructure accounts for nearly 62 per cent of all of India’s health infrastructure and the private sector also provides 81 per cent of the doctors in India.
    • Preference to private healthcare: Both rural and urban population in India seem to prefer seeking treatment from the private sector. Only 33 per cent of the rural and 26 per cent of the urban population depend on the public sector for healthcare.

    Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

    Why Private health care are opting out of ABDM?

    • Voluntary participation in ABDM: The voluntary nature of participation in the ABDM has led to a significant portion of private healthcare providers opting to not participate in the universal programme nor integrate into the UHI.
    • High cost for digital records: Small healthcare providers like charitable hospitals, clinics, diagnostic labs, pharmacies, or nursing homes are less inclined to participate because of the significant costs involved.
    • Requirement of manpower for digitization: The cost to these healthcare providers, who are most likely in various stages of digitisation, is the number of man hours required to digitise their health records and other data.
    • Financial cost of digitization: The actual financial cost of upgrading or altering their digital health systems to meet basic required standards to participate in the ABDM and the UHI.

    Impact of non-participation by private players

    • A lack of participation from the private sector will negatively impact the objectives of the ABDM in major way:
    • Limited success for UHI: Considering the concentration of private healthcare providers in urban areas, a lack of their participation and integration would limit the UHI’s ability to bring previously inaccessible services to the rural population who would otherwise have to travel to access them.
    • Incomplete data and ineffective policy: The data generated by the ABDM and use of the UHI would be incomplete, which in turn would significantly limit the effectiveness of policy planning and programme delivery.

    Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission

    Conclusion

    • It is unclear whether the government intends to achieve private sector participation through incentives or mandates. Without either approach, it seems that the ABDM will see little participation from smaller private healthcare providers, though how this will play out remains to be seen.

    Mains Question

    Q. What is the significance of Private Players in health care system of India? Explain the crucial role of Private health care in Ayushman Bharat digital Mission.

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  • Vice-Chancellor Appointment, New Chapter in Centre-State Relations

    Vice-Chancellor Appointment

    Context

    • Recent judgments of the Supreme Court of India on the appointment of vice chancellors (VC) in State universities in violation of the regulations of the University Grants Commission (UGC) are significant in the context of higher education in a federal country such as India.

    Vice-Chancellor Appointment

    What are the recent judgements of Supreme Court?

    • Gambhirdan K. Gadhvi vs The State of Gujarat (March 3, 2022): In the case, Gambhirdan K. Gadhvi vs The State of Gujarat (March 3, 2022), from Sardar Patel University, Gujarat, the Court (Justices M.R. Shah and B.V. Nagarathna) quashed the appointment of the incumbent Vice Chancellor on the ground that the search committee did not form a panel for the appointment of VC, and, therefore, was not in accordance with the UGC Regulations of 2018.
    • UGC regulations will prevail over state law: It was held that since the State law was repugnant to the UGC regulations, the latter would prevail and the appointment under the State law had become void ab initio.
    • Professor (Dr) Sreejith P.S vs Dr. Rajasree M.S. (October 21, 2022): In the second case, from Kerala, i.e., Professor (Dr) Sreejith P.S vs Dr. Rajasree M.S. (October 21, 2022), with the Bench of Justices M.R. Shah and M.M. Sundresh, the appointment of the Vice Chancellor of the A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technological University, Thiruvananthapuram, was challenged on the ground that the search committee recommended only one name, which is against the UGC Regulations.
    • Supreme court quashed the appointment of VCs: The Court quashed the appointment of the VC on the ground that the provision relating to the search committee in the University Act is repugnant to the UGC Regulations, and was therefore void.

    Vice-Chancellor Appointment

    Implications of the recent judgement

    • Many VCs asked to resigned by Governor: Decision of the Supreme Court triggered unprecedented developments in Kerala with the State Governor, who is the Chancellor of all the universities in Kerala, asking as many as 11 VCs of other universities of the State to resign immediately on the ground that their appointments too had become void after the Supreme Court’s judgment.
    • Tussle between governor and state: No VC has resigned as per the direction of the Governor. This development has intensified an already raging battle between the state government and the Governor, which is likely to become fiercer with the Kerala High Court quashing the appointment of the VC of the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies on November 14 on the ground that this appointment was in violation of the UGC Regulations.

    What are the legal and constitutional issues with judgement?

    • UGC regulations vs state university Act: In both these cases, the issue framed by the Supreme Court is about whether the appointment of VCs should be made as per the UGC Regulations or the provisions of the State University Act.
    • Education in concurrent list, Centre and state can make a legislation: As education is a subject on the Concurrent list, this question needs to be addressed seriously. A VC is appointed by the Chancellor under the relevant University Act, but the Supreme Court has brought in Article 254 of the Constitution to rule that if provisions of the State law are repugnant to the provisions of the Union law, the State law will become void.
    • State law declared void over UGC violations: In the cases mentioned above, the top court found that the search committee recommended only one name for the appointment of VC which violates the UGC Regulations which require three to five names, and, therefore, the provision of the State law is void.
    • Subordinate regulations prevailed over state law: Thus, the Court’s conclusion is that if any provision in the State university law is repugnant to the UGC Regulations, the latter will prevail and the former will become void. So, on the one side we have an Act passed by a legislature and on the other we have regulations made by a subordinate body such as the UGC.

    Opinion of experts

    • State laws are subordinate to the act of parliament: A careful reading of Article 254 would show that the repugnancy under this Article relates to a state law and a substantive law made by Parliament. It impliedly excludes rules, regulations, etc. Rules and regulations are made by subordinate authorities in this case the UGC whereas the substantive law is made by the superior authority, namely Parliament.
    • State laws are not subordinate to UGC regulations: The repugnancy can arise only between the provisions of the University Acts and the UGC Act, and not the regulations of the UGC.
    • UGC regulations are inferior to state assembly: The rules and regulations made by the subordinate authority, though laid in Parliament, do not go through the same process as a law. Normally these do not require the approval of Parliament. The rules and regulations have an inferior status as compared to an Act. The Constitution cannot be assumed to equate the Act with the rules.
    • Article 254 does not include regulations: The Constitution does not, in general terms, define the term law. The inclusive definition of law given in Article 13(2) is applicable only to that Article. It has no application to other Articles, which means the term law does not include the rules, regulations, etc. for the purpose of Article 254.
    • Violation of federal principle: The regulations made by a subordinate authority of the Union overriding a law made by a state legislature will amount to a violation of federal principles and a negation of the concurrent legislative power granted to the State by the Constitution.
    • UGC regulations are Not part of UGC act: The UGC Regulations on the appointment of VCs are outside the scope of the main provisions of the UGC Act as none of its provisions refers to the appointment of VCs.

    Conclusion

    • Issue of appointment of vice-chancellor has opened the new conflicting chapter between Centre-state relations. Supreme court’s decision has further added the confusion rather than clarity to the issue. Supreme court need to review the judgements for harmonious relations between Centre and states.

    Mains Question

    Q. Explain the article 254 about Centre-state legislative relations? How the issue of vice-chancellor appointment is problematic for Centre-state relationship?  

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