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Subject: Governance

Important aspects of Society

  • Monkeypox outbreak: It’s time to act, not panic

    Context

    Monkeypox was previously limited to the local spread in central and west Africa, close to tropical rainforests, but has recently been seen in various urban areas and now in more than 50 countries.

    About monkeypox

    • A virus belonging to the poxviruses family causes a rare contagious rash illness known as monkeypox.
    • This zoonotic viral disease (a disease transmitted from animals to humans) has hosts that include rodents and primates.
    • It is a self-limiting disease with symptoms lasting two to four weeks and a case fatality rate of 3-6 per cent.
    • Symptoms: A skin rash on any part of the body could be the only presenting symptom.
    • Swollen lymph nodes are another distinguishing feature. Aside from these, other symptoms of a viral illness include fever, chills, headache, muscle or back aches, and weakness.
    • Mode of transmission: Touching skin lesions, bodily fluids, or clothing or linens that have been in contact with an infected person can result in transmission.
    • It’s also worth noting that monkeypox does not spread from person to person through everyday activities like walking next to or having a casual conversation with an infected person.
    • Treatment: Monkeypox is mostly treated by managing symptoms and preventing complications if it is diagnosed.
    •  In the minor proportion who are immunocompromised, complications can occur; pulmonary failure was the most common complication with a high mortality rate.

    Containment Measures

    • Because symptoms usually appear 5-21 days after exposure, people with rashes, sores in the mouth, rash, eye irritation or redness, or swollen lymph nodes should be monitored.
    • When symptoms appear, it is critical to isolate the infected from other people and pets, cover their lesions, and contact the nearest healthcare provider.
    • It is also critical to avoid close physical contact with others until instructed to do so by our healthcare provider.
    • It is preferable to use home isolation whenever possible.
    •  Priority should be given to educating grassroots workers about symptoms, specimen collection, disease detection, acquiring sample collection equipment, and maintaining cold storage of specimens.
    •  Increased surveillance and detection of monkeypox cases are critical for controlling the disease’s spread and understanding the changing epidemiology of this resurging disease.
    • Preventive health measures, such as avoiding infected animal or human contact and practising good hand hygiene, are the best option.

    Vaccines and drugs

    • In the US, pre exposure vaccination with JYNNEOSÂź is available to healthcare workers and lab workers exposed to this group of poxviruses.
    • The smallpox vaccine is 85 percent effective against the disease.
    • Another vaccine, ACAM2000, is a live vaccinia virus vaccine that is otherwise recommended for smallpox immunisation and can also be used for high-risk individuals during monkeypox outbreaks.
    • In addition, Tecovirimat, an antiviral drug used to treat smallpox, is recommended for monkeypox.
    • Challenges: Smallpox vaccination programmes have been discontinued for the past 50 years, resulting in a scarcity of effective vaccines.
    • There are approved drugs and vaccines, but they are not widely available to scale up controlling monkeypox.

    Why WHO declared it as international concern?

    •  The increase in monkeypox cases in a short span of time in many countries necessitated the declaration of public health emergency of international concern  (PHEIC) and additional research studies.
    • It is unclear whether the recent sudden outbreaks in multiple countries result from genotypic mutations that alter virus transmissibility. SARS-CoV-2 and monkeypox virus co-infection can alter infectivity patterns, severity, management, and response to vaccination against either or both diseases.
    • As a result, there is a need to improve diagnostic test efficiency.

    Way forward

    • Plan for pandemic preparedness: This is not the last such difficulty we will face, as the world is still witnessing more such public health crises.
    • Zoonotic diseases are caused by various factors, including unchecked deforestation, climate coupled with a failure to prioritise public health, poverty, and climate change.
    • Instead, a robust plan for pandemic preparedness should be accelerated, guided by a single health agenda.
    •  The world is yet to recognise emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases as a genuine threat.
    • The immediate priority is to strengthen the surveillance infrastructure, including hiring public health professionals and field workers who can participate in outbreak detection and response during many future PHEICs.

    Conclusion

    Without prioritising public health strengthening, the threat of new and re-emerging infectious diseases, as well as the enormous social and economic challenges that accompany them, is real and grave.

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  • Only 4 States adopt Model Tenancy Law

    More than a year since the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry circulated the Model Tenancy Act (MTA), only four States had revised their tenancy laws to be in line with the MTA.

    What is the Model Tenancy Act?

    • MTA is aimed at opening up of the vacant housing stock for rental housing purposes and helping bridge the trust deficit that exists between tenants and landlords by clearly delineating their obligations.
    • The housing and urban affairs ministry had floated the draft model tenancy law in July 2019.

    Major provisions of MTA

    (1) Rent Court and Rent Tribunal:

    • To ensure speedy redressal of disputes, the Act calls for establishing a separate Rent Court and Rent Tribunal in every state/UTs to hear appeals for matters connected to rental housing.
    • Only the rent court and no civil court will have the jurisdiction to hear and decide the applications relating to disputes between landowner and tenant and matters connected with it.
    • It calls for the disposal of complaints and appeals by the Rent Court and Rent Tribunals within 60 days.

    (2) Tenancy Agreements:

    • It also seeks to establish an independent authority in every state and Union Territory for the registration of tenancy agreements.
    • Under the Act, unless otherwise agreed in the tenancy agreement, the landlord will be responsible for activities like structural repairs except those necessitated by damage caused by the tenant etc.
    • On his part, a tenant will be responsible for drain cleaning, switches and socket repairs, kitchen fixtures repairs, replacement of glass panels in windows, doors and maintenance of gardens and open spaces, among others.

    For residential and commercial properties

    • The Act will apply to premises let out for residential, commercial or educational use, but not for industrial use. It also won’t cover hotels, lodging houses, inns, etc.
    • This model law will be applied prospectively and will not affect existing tenancies.
    • It seeks to cover both urban as well as rural areas.
    • The Act says that a security deposit equal to a maximum of two month’s rent in the case of residential premises and a maximum of six month’s rent in the case of non-residential premises would have to be paid by the tenants.

    How will states implement it?

    • As per the MoU signed under PMAY-U, the states and union territories would legislate or amend the existing rental laws on the lines of the MTA.

    Why was a need felt to bring this on?

    (1) For a rental economy

    • Without a well-rounded rental policy and the proper implementation of the rental contracts, there was no sound mechanism to resolve tenant-landlord conflicts.
    • Property owners find it challenging to evict tenants if they misuse the property.
    • To steer clear of such complications, such property owners often chose to keep these homes vacant instead of renting them out.

    (2) Unattractive rental yield

    • In India, the rental yield for residential property is quite low, even in bigger cities. It is in the range of 1.5% to 3% of the capital values.
    • This has disincentivized people from investing in second or third homes which could be rented out.
    • Often, they also prefer to leave their properties vacant in case they return to India.
    • NRIs avoid leasing their residential properties for fear of squatters and dealing with the legalities of eviction.

    How will MTA help?

    (1) Unlocking homes

    • It will unlock vacant houses for rental purposes
    • It will enable the creation of adequate rental housing stock for all the income groups thereby addressing the issue of homelessness.

    (2) Helping migrants

    • Rental housing is a preferred option for students and migrants.
    • It will balance the rights of both landlords and tenants.

    (3) Effective negotiations

    • There is no monetary ceiling under MTA, which enables parties to negotiate and execute the agreement on mutually agreed terms.
    • It will give confidence to landlords to let out their vacant premises, the housing ministry said.
    • The Act also tries to address how a renter can legitimately increase the rent.

    (4) Control over encroachments

    • It has proposed limiting the advance security deposits to two months’ rent and has also suggested heavy penalties for tenants who decide to overstay.
    • Those who do may have to shell out double the rent for two months and even four months.

    (5) Rights of tenants

    • The landowner cannot cut power and water supplies in case of a dispute and would have to provide a 24-hour notice to tenants to carry out repair work.
    • Should the landlords wish to increase the rent, they will need to provide a three-months notice to the tenants.
    • These measures would go a long way in protecting the rights of a tenant as it regulates the rent hikes that tenants have had to face.

    Challenges ahead

    While the proposals of the Act have been widely welcomed, their implementation may not be very simple.

    (1) Not binding nature

    • The Act is not binding on the states as land and urban development remain state subjects.
    • Like in the case of RERA, the fear is that states may choose not to follow guidelines, diluting the essence of the Model Act.

    (2) Issues over paltry rents

    • Also, the Model Act is prospectively applicable and will not affect the existing tenancies.
    • The repeal of rent control Acts can be governed by political exigencies.
    • This may be a complicated process in cities like Mumbai, where tenants have occupied residential properties in prime areas for absurdly low rents.

     

     

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  • IIT-Bombay to help treat Mumbai’s Sewage with new tech

    To prevent sludge and sewage from stormwater drains from flowing into the sea, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has planned in-situ treatment of sewage from the drains with the help of N-Treat Technology developed by IIT-B.

    What is N-Treat technology?

    • N-Treat is a seven-stage process for waste treatment that uses screens, gates, silt traps, curtains of coconut fibres for filtration, and disinfection using sodium hypochlorite.
    • According to the detailed project report for N-Treat, it is a natural and environment-friendly way of sewage treatment.
    • It’s setup takes place within the nullahs channels that is through the in-situ or on-site method of treatment, and does not require additional space.

    What does the process involve?

    (1) Screening

    • The first stage involves screening to prevent the entry of floating objects such as plastic cups, paper dishes, polythene bags, sanitary napkins, or wood.
    • IIT-B has proposed to install three coarse screens, the first with 60 mm spacing for removal of large floating matter, the second with 40 mm spacing, and the third with 20 mm spacing.

    (2) Slit trap

    • The second stage has proposed construction of a silt trap, which creates an inclination and ‘parking spot’ on the bed of the nullah for sedimentation.

    (3) Bio zones

    • The next three stages are installation of ‘bio zones’ in the form of coconut fibre curtains that will act as filters and promote growth of biofilm to help in decomposition of organic matter.
    • A floating wetland with aquatic vegetation planted on floating mats has been proposed.

    (4) Florafts

    • Aside from a floating bed on the surface, IIT-B has proposed suspending floating rafts vertically, called florafts.
    • Their hanging roots would provide a large surface area for passive filtration as well as development of microbial consortium.
    • In the floating wetlands, plants acquire nutrition directly from the water column for their growth and development, thus reducing the organic as well as inorganic pollutants.
    • The final stage for sewage treatment will include disinfection using sodium hypochlorite, to kill the bacteria in the water.

    How will it be used by BMC?

    • A senior civic official said: “BMC approached IIT-B to submit a Detailed Project Report for the project.
    • The N-Treat method suggested to the civic body is cost-effective, as it does not require manual pumping, and saves electricity, and does not require extensive manpower for maintenance.”
    • The floating matter will be removed daily, silt deposits from the silt traps will be removed once in four months, and plants will be trimmed as required.
    • The floating matter collected every day will be disposed of at the nearest municipal waste collection point daily.

     

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  • Need for a debate on freebies

    Context

    Many in India have been lamenting for quite some time the culture of political populism and “freebies”

    Fiscal stress due to subsidies

    • Technically, a subsidy is the unrecovered cost of any service (or good) provided by the government.
    • Freebies such as distribution of televisions, free cycles or laptops are the most highly visible and discussed freebies, but they are fiscally insignificant compared to the much larger subsidies on food, fertiliser and petroleum.
    • Though curbed in recent years, these “visible” subsidies in government budgets remain a major source of fiscal stress.
    • Then there is a range of “invisible” subsidies, especially in state government budgets, not always recognised as such, but which are also very large.
    • The deficit between the receipts and expenditure of a government department in providing a service is the unrecovered cost of providing that service, that is, a subsidy, even if not recognised as such in the budget.
    • Examples include the unrecovered cost of providing public education, healthcare, irrigation, power, water supply and sanitation.

    Some facts about the subsidies

    • Relation with per capita income: The volume of subsidies as a proportion of GDP comes down with rising per capita incomes, but very gradually.
    • The total volume of subsidies came down from 13 per cent of GDP way back in 1987-88 to a little over 10 per cent by 2015-16, almost 30 years later.
    • Contribution of central government: The central government accounts for less than 30 per cent of total subsidies, provided mainly for economic services including food.
    • Merit subsidies: From the total volume there is a very small number of “merit subsidies” which might be warranted in public interest.
    • All governments have provided a food subsidy for poor households by bi-partisan consensus for decades.
    • Then there is basic education and health services which have large benefits for society beyond the benefit accruing to the immediate recipient of the service, what economists call “externalities”.
    • Also in case of expenditure on water supply and sanitation, where again the benefit to society is much larger than that accruing to the immediate recipient of the service — for example, prevention of infectious diseases.
    • These four “merit” subsidies account for only a third of total subsidies.
    • Unwarranted freebies: Thus, two-thirds of total subsidies, about 6 per cent of GDP, are unwarranted freebies which should be eliminated.

    Way forward

    • Phasing out the unwarranted freebies: If central and state governments could step beyond their business as usual budgets and take bold measures to phase out these unwarranted freebies, along with much of the tax exemptions and concessions, which amount to about 5 per cent of GDP, that would free up huge fiscal space.
    • Universal basic income: There is a growing demand in many advanced countries, which already have large social security schemes, to provide a minimum “Universal Basic Income” for all.
    •  Providing a small safety net for the poor in countries like India, which have no social security system, is the least that any caring government can do.
    • MGNREGA is the largest and longest-standing income support programme in India for the unemployed in rural areas.
    • But it is often not regarded as such as it entails payment against performance of work.
    • The usual complaint against such schemes is that they artificially raise rural wages, reduce the incentive to search for work, and that the poor blow up these freebees on liquor etc.
    • Since MGNREGA and similar schemes in the states pay much less than the minimum wage, they obviously cannot raise rural wages beyond what is the legal minimum wage anyway.

    Conclusion

    Phasing out the unwarranted subsidies will enable a massive reduction in the combined fiscal deficit of the Centre and the states, while at the same time stepping up required expenditure on education, health and infrastructure.

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  • [pib] NAMASTE scheme

    The Government has formulated a National Action Plan for Mechanized Sanitation Ecosystem- NAMASTE scheme for cleaning of sewers and septic tank.

    NAMASTE Scheme

    • The scheme is a joint venture of Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
    • It aims to achieve outcomes like:
    1. Zero fatalities in sanitation work in India
    2. No sanitation workers come in direct contact with human faecal matter
    3. All Sewer and Septic tank sanitation workers have access to alternative livelihoods
    • The Ministry has shortlisted type of machineries and core equipments required for maintenance works, safety gear for Safai Mitras.

    Why such move?

    Ans. Prevalence of manual scavenging in India

    What is Manual Scavenging?

    • Manual scavenging is the practice of removing human excreta by hand from sewers or septic tanks.
    • India banned the practice under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (PEMSR).
    • The Act bans the use of any individual for manually cleaning, carrying, disposing of or otherwise handling in any manner, human excreta till its disposal.
    • In 2013, the definition of manual scavengers was also broadened to include people employed to clean septic tanks, ditches, or railway tracks.
    • The Act recognizes manual scavenging as a “dehumanizing practice,” and cites a need to “correct the historical injustice and indignity suffered by the manual scavengers.”

    Why is it still prevalent in India?

    • Low awareness: Manual scavenging is mostly done by the marginalized section of the society and they are generally not aware about their rights.
    • Enforcement issues: The lack of enforcement of the Act and exploitation of unskilled labourers are the reasons why the practice is still prevalent in India.
    • High cost of automated: The Mumbai civic body charges anywhere between Rs 20,000 and Rs 30,000 to clean septic tanks.
    • Cheaper availability: The unskilled labourers, meanwhile, are much cheaper to hire and contractors illegally employ them at a daily wage of Rs 300-500.
    • Caste dynamics: Caste hierarchy still exists and it reinforces the caste’s relation with occupation. Almost all the manual scavengers belong to lower castes.

    Various policy initiatives

    • Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation (Amendment) Bill, 2020: It proposes to completely mechanise sewer cleaning, introduce ways for ‘on-site’ protection and provide compensation to manual scavengers in case of sewer deaths.
    • Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013: Superseding the 1993 Act, the 2013 Act goes beyond prohibitions on dry latrines, and outlaws all manual excrement cleaning of insanitary latrines, open drains, or pits.
    • Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan: It started national wide march “Maila Mukti Yatra” for total eradication of manual scavenging from 30th November 2012 from Bhopal.
    • Prevention of Atrocities Act: In 1989, the Prevention of Atrocities Act became an integrated guard for sanitation workers since majority of the manual scavengers belonged to the Scheduled Caste.
    • Compensation: As per the Prohibition of Employment of Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation (PEMSR) Act, 2013 and the Supreme Court’s decision in the Safai Karamchari Andolan vs Union of India case, a compensation of Rs 10 lakh is awarded to the victims family.

    Way forward

    • Regular surveys and social audits must be conducted against the involvement of manual scavengers by public and local authorities.
    • There must be proper identification and capacity building of manual scavengers for alternate sources of livelihood.
    • Creating awareness about the legal protection of manual scavengers is necessary.

     

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  • Municipal finances

    Context

    Recently, the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) analysed data from 80 urban local bodies (ULBs) across 24 States between 2012-13 and 2016-17 to understand ULB finance and spending, and found some key trends.

    Health of municipal finances

    • The 74th Constitution Amendment Act was passed in 1992 mandating the setting up and devolution of powers to urban local bodies (ULBs) as the lowest unit of governance in cities and towns.
    • Constitutional provisions were made for ULBs’ fiscal empowerment.
    • Challenges in fiscal empowerment: Three decades since, growing fiscal deficits, constraints in tax base expansion, and weakening of institutional mechanisms that enable resource mobilisation remain challenges.
    • Revenue losses after implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the pandemic have exacerbated the situation.

    Analysing the trends in municipal finances

    Recently, the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) analysed data from 80 ULBs across 24 States between 2012-13 and 2016-17 to understand ULB finance and spending, and found some key trends.

    1] Own sources of revenue less than half of total revenue

    •  Key sources of revenue: The ULBs’ key revenue sources are taxes, fees, fines and charges, and transfers from Central and State governments, which are known as inter-governmental transfers (IGTs).
    • Important indicator of financial health: The share of own revenue (including revenue from taxes on property and advertisements, and non-tax revenue from user charges and fees from building permissions and trade licencing) to total revenue is an important indicator of ULBs’ fiscal health and autonomy.
    • The study found that the ULBs’s own revenue was 47% of their total revenue.
    • Of this, tax revenue was the largest component: around 29% of the total.
    • Property tax, the single largest contributor to ULBs’ own revenue, accounted for only about 0.15% of the GDP.
    • Figures for developing countries: The corresponding figures for developing and developed countries were significantly higher (about 0.6% and 1%, respectively) indicating that this is not being harnessed to potential in India.

    2] High dependence on IGTs

    • Most ULBs were highly dependent on external grants — between 2012-13 and 2016-17, IGTs accounted for about 40% of the ULBs’ total revenue.
    •  Transfers from the Central government are as stipulated by the Central Finance Commissions and through grants towards specific reforms, while State government transfers are as grants-in-aid and devolution of State’s collection of local taxes.

    3] Tax revenue is largest revenue for larger cities, while smaller cities are more dependent on grants

    • here are considerable differences in the composition of revenue sources across cities of different sizes.
    • Class I-A cities (population of over 50 lakh) primarily depend on their own tax revenue, while Class I-B cities and Class I-C cities (population of 10 lakh-50 lakh and 1 lakh-10 lakh, respectively) rely more on IGTs.
    • Own revenue mobilisation in Class I-A cities increased substantially.
    • It was primarily driven by increases in non-tax revenue

    4] Increasing operations and maintenance (O&M) expenses

    • Operations and maintenance (O&M) expenses are on the increase but still inadequate.
    • While the expenses were on the rise, studies (such as ICRIER, 2019 and Bandyopadhyay, 2014) indicate that they remained inadequate.
    • For instance, O&M expenses incurred in 2016-17 covered only around a fifth of the requirement forecast by the High-Powered Expert Committee for estimating the investment requirements for urban infrastructure services.
    • O&M expenses should ideally be covered through user charges, but total non-tax revenues, of which user charges are a part, are insufficient to meet current O&M expenses.
    • The non-tax revenues were short of the O&M expenditure by around 20%, and this shortfall contributed to the increasing revenue deficit in ULBs.

    Way forward

    • Improving own revenue: It is essential that ULBs leverage their own revenue-raising powers to be fiscally sustainable and empowered and have better amenities and quality of service delivery.
    • Stability in IGT: Stable and predictable IGTs are particularly important since ULBs’ own revenue collection is inadequate.
    • O&M expenses: Increasing cost recovery levels through improved user charge regimes would not only improve services but also contribute to the financial vitality of ULBs.
    • Measures need to be made to also cover O&M expenses of a ULB for better infrastructure and service.
    • Tapping into property taxes, other land-based resources and user charges are all ways to improve the revenue of a ULB.

    Conclusion

    The health of municipal finances is a critical element of municipal governance which will determine whether India realises her economic and developmental promise.

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  • Rise in Unvaccinated Children in India

    The number of children in India who were unvaccinated or missed their first dose of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) combined vaccine doubled due to the pandemic, rising from 1.4 million in 2019 to 2.7 million in 2021, according to official data published by the WHO and UNICEF.

    Why in news?

    • This data signifies that the world recorded the largest sustained decline in childhood vaccinations in approximately 30 years.
    • There was an increase in zero dose.
    • This is the first time ever there has been a decline in evaluated coverage in immunisation for India as a whole.

    Vaccination measures in India

    • Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 4.0: India started IMI 4.0 from February 2022, which is expected to further reduce the number of unvaccinated children.
    • India’s Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP): It provide free vaccines to all children across the country to protect them against Tuberculosis, Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio, Hepatitis B, Pneumonia and Meningitis due to Haemophilus Influenzae type b (Hib), Measles, Rubella, Japanese Encephalitis (JE) and Rotavirus diarrhoea. (Rubella, JE and Rotavirus vaccine in select states and districts).

    About Intensified Mission Indhradhanush (IMI) 4.0

    • IMI 4.0 aims to fill gaps in the routine immunisation coverage of infants and pregnant women hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and also aims to make lasting gains towards Universal Immunization.
    • It will have three rounds and will be conducted in 416 districts across 33 states.
    • Unlike the past, each round under IMI 4.0 will be conducted for seven days, including Routine Immunization (RI) days, Sundays, and public holidays.

    Mission Indradhanush (MI)

    • Mission Indradhanush (MI) was launched in 2014 with the goal to ensure full immunization with all available vaccines under Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) for children up to two years of age and pregnant women.
    • It targets achieving 90% full immunization coverage in all districts.
    • Under MI, all vaccines under the Universal Immunization Program (UIP) are provided as per National Immunization Schedule.
    • UIP provides free vaccines against 12 life-threatening diseases, mentioned above.

    Back2Basics: Universal Immunisation Programme

    • The Expanded Programme on Immunization was launched in 1978.
    • It was renamed as UIP in 1985 when its reach was expanded beyond urban areas.
    • UIP is one of the largest public health programmes targeting close to 2.67 crore newborns and 2.9 crore pregnant women annually.
    • Under UIP, Immunization is provided free of cost against 12 vaccine-preventable diseases.
    • The two major milestones of UIP have been the elimination of polio in 2014 and maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination in 2015.
    • To speed up the coverage, Mission Indradhanush was planned and implemented to rapidly increase the full coverage to 90%.

     

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  • Draft disability policy

    Context

    The Department of Empowerment of Person with Disabilities (DoEPwD) recently released the draft of the national policy for persons with disabilities.

    Why new policy?

    • Signing of UN convention: The necessity for a new policy which replaces the 2006 policy was felt because of multiple factors such as India’s signing of the United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
    • Increased number of disabilities: Enactment of Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016, which increased the number of disabilities from seven conditions to 21 necessitated the change.
    • Incheon Strategy: Being a party to the Incheon Strategy for Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, 2013-2022 (“Incheon commitment”).
    • Changed discourse from medical model to human right: These commitments have changed the discourse around disability by shifting the focus from the individual to society, i.e., from a medical model of disability to a social or human rights model of disability.
    • The principle of the draft policy is to showcase the Government’s commitment to the inclusion and empowerment of persons with disabilities by providing a mechanism that ensures their full participation in society.

    Absence of commitment to political uplift

    • Article 29 of the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities mandates that state parties should “ensure that persons with disabilities can effectively and fully participate in political and public life on an equal basis with others, directly or through freely chosen representatives….”
    • The Incheon goals also promote participation in political processes and in decision making.
    • The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 embodies these principles within its fold.
    • India does not have any policy commitment that is aimed at enhancing the political participation of disabled people.
    • The exclusion of disabled people from the political space happens at all levels of the political process in the country, and in different ways.
    • Section 11 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act prescribes that “The Election Commission of India and the State Election Commissions shall ensure that all polling stations are accessible to persons with disabilities and all materials related to the electoral process are easily understandable by and accessible to them”.
    • Although this mandate has been in existence for a few years, the disabled people still report accessibility issues before and on election day. 
    • There is often a lack of accessible polling booths in many locations.
    • Lack of aggregate data: The lack of live aggregate data on the exact number of the disabled people in every constituency only furthers their marginalisation.

    Lack of representation

    • Representation plays an imperative role in furthering the interests of the marginalised community.
    • Disabled people are not represented enough at all three levels of governance.
    • However, few States have begun the initiative at local levels to increase participation.
    • For instance, Chhattisgarh started the initiative of nominating at least one disabled person in each panchayat.
    • If a disabled person is not elected then they are nominated as a panchayat member as per changes in the law concerned.
    • This is a step that has increased the participation of the disabled in the political space at local level.
    • The goal of the policy document — of inclusiveness and empowerment — cannot be achieved without political inclusion.

    Suggestions: Follow four pronged approach

    • The policy can follow a four-pronged approach:
    • 1] Capacity building: Building the capacity of disabled people’s organisations and ‘empowering their members through training in the electoral system, government structure, and basic organisational and advocacy skills’;
    • 2] Legal and regulatory framework: The creation, amendment or removal of legal and regulatory frameworks by lawmakers and election bodies to encourage the political participation of the disabled;
    • 3] Participation of civil society: Inclusion of civil societies to ‘conduct domestic election observation or voter education campaigns’;
    • 4] Framework for outreach by political parties: A framework for political parties to ‘conduct a meaningful outreach to persons with disabilities when creating election campaign strategies and developing policy positions’.

    Conclusion

    The document lays emphasis on the point that central and State governments must work together with other stakeholders to “make the right real”. This right can be made real only when it includes political rights/political participation within it.

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  • Kerala reports India’s first Monkeypox Case

    The first known lab-confirmed case of monkeypox in India has been reported in a 35-year-old man in Kerala.

    What is Monkeypox?

    • The monkeypox virus is an orthopoxvirus, which is a genus of viruses that also includes the variola virus, which causes smallpox, and vaccinia virus, which was used in the smallpox vaccine.
    • It causes symptoms similar to smallpox, although they are less severe.
    • While vaccination eradicated smallpox worldwide in 1980, monkeypox continues to occur in a swathe of countries in Central and West Africa, and has on occasion showed up elsewhere.
    • According to the WHO, two distinct clade are identified: the West African clade and the Congo Basin clade, also known as the Central African clade.

    Its origin

    • Monkeypox is a zoonosis, that is, a disease that is transmitted from infected animals to humans.
    • Monkeypox virus infection has been detected in squirrels, Gambian poached rats, dormice, and some species of monkeys.
    • According to the WHO, cases occur close to tropical rainforests inhabited by animals that carry the virus.

    Symptoms and treatment

    • Monkeypox begins with a fever, headache, muscle aches, back ache, and exhaustion.
    • It also causes the lymph nodes to swell (lymphadenopathy), which smallpox does not.
    • The WHO underlines that it is important to not confuse monkeypox with chickenpox, measles, bacterial skin infections, scabies, syphilis and medication-associated allergies.
    • The incubation period (time from infection to symptoms) for monkeypox is usually 7-14 days but can range from 5-21 days.
    • There is no safe, proven treatment for monkeypox yet.

     

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  • Assessing Juvenility a ‘Delicate Task’: SC

    The Supreme Court has given some guidelines for the delicate task of deciding whether juveniles aged between 16 and 18, accused of heinous offences such as murder can be tried like adults as per the JJ Act, 2005.

    Juvenile Justice Act, 2015

    • The JJ Act, 2015 replaced the Indian juvenile delinquency law, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000.
    • It allows for juveniles in conflict with Law in the age group of 16–18, involved in Heinous Offences, to be tried as adults.
    • The Act also sought to create a universally accessible adoption law for India.
    • The Act came into force from 15 January 2016.

    Key features

    • Change in nomenclature from ‘juvenile’ to ‘child’ or ‘child in conflict with law’, across the Act to remove the negative connotation associated with the word “juvenile”
    • Inclusion of several new definitions such as orphaned, abandoned and surrendered children; and petty, serious and heinous offences committed by children;
    • Setting up Juvenile Justice Boards and Child Welfare Committees in every district. Both must have at least one woman member each.
    • Special provisions for heinous offences committed by children above the age of 16 years: This was in response to the juvenile convict in Nirbhaya Case.
    • Inclusion of new offences committed against children:  Sale and procurement of children for any purpose including illegal adoption, corporal punishment in child care institutions, use of child by militant groups, offences against disabled children and, kidnapping and abduction of children.
    • Penalties for cruelty against a child: Offering a narcotic substance to a child, and abduction or selling a child has been prescribed.

    What is the recent Supreme Court assessment?

    • The “delicate task” of deciding whether juveniles aged between 16 and 18, accused of heinous offences such as murder, can be tried like adults should be based on meticulous psychological investigation.
    • They should not left to the discretion and perfunctory “wisdom” of juvenile justice boards and children’s courts across the country, the Court held.

    What delicate tasks does the apex court is referring to?

    (1) Preliminary Assessment

    • Section 15 of the JJ Act requires a “preliminary assessment” to be done of the mental and physical capacity of juveniles, aged between 16 and 18, who are involved in serious crimes.
    • The assessment is meant to gauge a child’s ability to understand the consequences of the offence and the circumstances in which he or she allegedly committed the offence.
    • If the Juvenile Justice Board is of the opinion that the juvenile should not be treated as an adult, it would not pass on the case to the children’s court and hear the case itself.
    • If the Board decides to refer the case to the children’s court for trial as an adult, the juvenile, if guilty, would even face life imprisonment.

    (2) Mental capacity

    • The evaluation of ‘mental capacity and ability to understand the consequences’ of the child in conflict with law can should not be relegated as a routine task.
    • The process of taking a decision on which the fate of the child in conflict with law precariously rests, should not be taken without conducting a meticulous psychological evaluation.
    • The court said the Board which conducts the assessment of the child should have at least one child psychologist.

    Way forward

    • The court discovered that there were neither guidelines nor a specific framework in place for conduct of the preliminary assessment.
    • The court left it open for the Centre and the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights to consider issuing guidelines or directions in this regard.
    • It should further take the assistance of experienced psychologists or psychosocial workers.

     

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