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Subject: Governance

Important aspects of Society

  • What is different now in communal violence in India

    Context

    India has a long history of communal violence. Just how similar or different are the recent episodes? And what kind of dangers do they pose to the polity and society?

    What is different this time?

    • Religious processions: It should first be noted that such processions have historically been some of the largest triggers for communal riots.
    • Such processions can be, and have been, intensely political, often morphing from the religious to the communal.
    • Communalism Vs. Religiosity: Communalism in South Asia has always been distinguished from religiosity.
    • Religiosity may be about deeper meanings of life, but communalism is about a coercive assertion of power or a bloody search for retribution, often historically construed and presented.
    • Thus, it is not the coexistence of religious processions and riots that is surprising today.
    • What is different this time? Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti are not the principal religious processions touching off riots.
    • Eroding neutrality of state: The second difference that in the past, processions might have caused riots, but the state rarely gave up the principle of neutrality in dealing with them.
    • When a state either explicitly favours a community or looks away when a particular community is hounded, intimidated and attacked, it is no longer a riot, but a pogrom.
    • The rapidly eroding religious neutrality of the government in several states is one of the most alarming political developments.
    • In recent months, there have been spectacles of calls to murder in Dharam Sansads (religious assemblies).
    • Such speech is criminally liable. India’s Constitution prohibits speech that endangers “public order”.
    • In the past, it was invariably hard to find clear evidence of who led the riots.
    • The riot leaders now openly proclaim call for violence.
    • Such leaders are either not punished, or are merely given a slap on the wrist and some of them are even celebrated as heroes and rewarded with high office.
    • New research on vigilantism makes it clear that vigilantism, especially lynchings, cannot flourish unless the state provides impunity to vigilante groups.

    Conclusion

    Even though India has a long history of communal violence the recent episodes of violence are different and pose grave dangers to the polity and society.

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  • NITI Aayog gets a new Vice-Chairman

    The government has appointed Suman K. Bery as the vice-chairman of the NITI Aayog following the resignation of Rajiv Kumar.

    What is NITI Aayog?

    • The NITI Aayog serves as the apex public policy think tank of the GoI.
    • It was established in 2015, by the NDA government, to replace the Planning Commission which followed a top-down model.
    • It advises both the centre and states on social and economic issues.
    • It is neither a constitutional body nor a statutory body but the outcome of an executive resolution. It was not created by the act of parliament.

    Composition of NITI Aayog

    • The Prime Minister of India is the chairperson/chairman of the NITI Aayog.
    • The PM appoints one Vice-Chairperson, who holds the rank of a cabinet minister.
    • It includes the Chief Ministers of all the states and Union territories.
    • It has Regional Councils for looking after contingencies in regional areas. It is convened and chaired by the Prime Minister of India and includes concerned chief ministers and Lt. Governors.
    • The Prime Minister nominates Personalities with skilled knowledge, who are experts in particular domains as special invitees.
    • There are full-time members who hold the rank of ministers.
    • There is a maximum of two Part-time members who are invited from leading organisations, universities, and research centres.
    • The Prime Minister also appoints one Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who holds the rank of a Secretary.

    Aims, Agenda, and Objectives of NITI Aayog

    The purpose with which NITI Aayog was formed in place of the Planning Commission was a far-sighted vision. It was important to boost the development of India in the emerging global scenario. The objectives are:

    • To generate a platform for national development, sectors and strategies with the collaboration of states and centre.
    • To boost the factor of cooperative federalism between the centre and the states. For national development, it is necessary for both wings to work in synergy.
    • To develop such mechanisms which work at the ground root level for progressive growth. A nation develops when its regions and states develop.
    • To work on long term policies and strategies for long-term development. To set up a system for monitoring progress so that it can be used for analysing and improving methods.
    • To provide a platform for resolving inter-departmental issues amicably.
    • To make it a platform where the programmes, strategies, and schemes can be monitored on a day to day basis, and it could be understood which sector needs more resources to develop.
    • To upgrade technological advancements in such a manner that focus can be made on iNITIatives and programmes.
    • To ensure India’s level and ranking at the worldwide level and to make India an actively participating nation.
    • To progress from food security towards nutrition and standardised meals and focus on agricultural production.
    • To make use of more technology to avoid misadventures and corruption in governance.
    • To make the working system more transparent and accountable.

    NITI Aayog – Seven Pillars of Effective Governance

    • NITI Aayog works on principles like Antyodaya (upliftment of poor), inclusion (to include all sections under one head), people participation, and so on.
    • NITI Aayog is a body that follows seven pillars of governance. They are:
    1. To look after pro-people agenda so that the aspirations and desires of no one are compromised.
    2. To respond and work on the needs of citizens.
    3. Make citizens of the nation involve and participate in various streams.
    4. To empower women in all fields, be it social, technical, economic, or other.
    5. To include all sects and classes under one head. To give special attention to marginalised and minority groups.
    6. To provide equal opportunity for the young generation.
    7. To make the working of government more accountable and transparent. It will ensure less chance of corruption and malpractices.

     

    Also read:

    [Burning Issue] Niti Ayog – A critical Analysis

     

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  • Freebies model of Governance

    Context

    Against the backdrop of promises of freebies in Punjab, this article deals with the harm caused by such freebies to the economy, life quality and social cohesion in the long run.

    Macroeconomic stability of the Union and the States

    • India is a Union of states. It is not a confederation of states.
    • The Union is indestructible.
    • The Union, therefore, is integral to both the Centre and the states.
    • The strength of the Centre lies in the strength of the states.
    • Therefore, the macroeconomic stability of the Union is contingent on the macroeconomic stability of both the Centre and states.

    The complex issue of freebies

    • There is great ambiguity in what “freebies” mean.
    • Merit goods Vs. Public goods: We need to distinguish between the concept of merit goods and public goods on which expenditure outlays have overall benefits.
    • Examples of this are the strengthening and deepening of the public distribution system, employment guarantee schemes, support to education and enhanced outlays for health, particularly during the pandemic.
    • All over the world, these are considered to be desirable expenditures.
    • Freebies could be expensive? It’s not about how cheap the freebies are but how expensive they are for the economy, life quality and social cohesion in the long run.

    Issues with the culture of competitive freebie politics

    1] It affects macroeconomic stability

    • Freebies undercut the basic framework of macroeconomic stability.
    • The politics of freebies distorts expenditure priorities.
    • Outlays are being concentrated on subsidies of one kind or the other.
    • Illustratively, in the case of Punjab, while estimates vary, some have speculated that the promise of freebies might cost around Rs 17,000 crore.
    • As we know, the debt-to-GDP ratio of Punjab is already at 53.3 per cent for 2021-22, which would worsen on account of these new measures.

    2] Distortion of expenditure priorities

    • Take, for instance, the change to the new contributory pension scheme from the old scheme, which had a fixed return.
    • Rajasthan announced that it would revert to the old pension scheme.
    • This decision is regressive as the move away from the old scheme was based on the fact that it was inherently inequitable.
    • The pension and salary revenues of Rajasthan amount to 56 per cent of its tax and non-tax revenues.
    • Thus, 6 per cent of the population, which is made up of civil servants, stands to benefit from 56 per cent of the state’s revenues.
    • Intergenerational inequality: This is fraught with dangers not only of intergenerational inequality, but also affects the broader principles of equity and morality.

    3] Increases social inequality

    • The issue of intergenerational equity leads to greater social inequalities because of expenditure priorities being distorted away from growth-enhancing items.

    4]  It affects the environment

    • When we talk of freebies, it is in the context of providing, for example, free power, or a certain quantum of free power, water and other kinds of consumption goods.
    • This distracts outlays from environmental and sustainable growth, renewable energy and more efficient public transport systems.

    5]  The distortion of agricultural priorities

    • The depleting supply of groundwater is an important issue to consider when speaking of freebies pertaining to free consumption goods and resources.

    6] Effect on the future of manufacturing

    • Lower the quality of competitiveness: Freebies lower the quality and competitiveness of the manufacturing sector by detracting from efficient and competitive infrastructure enabling high-factor efficiencies in the manufacturing sector.

    7] Subnational bankruptcy

    • Freebies bring into question market differentiation between profligate and non-profligate states and whether we can have a recourse mechanism for subnational bankruptcy.

    Way forward

    • The race to the bottom implies government deregulation of markets and business.
    • We must strive instead for a race to efficiency through laboratories of democracy and sanguine federalism where states use their authority to harness innovative ideas and solutions to common problems which other states can emulate.

    Consider the question “What are the challenges in dealing with the competitive freebies politics? What are its drawbacks?”

    Conclusion

    The economics of freebies is invariably wrong. It is a race to the bottom. Indeed, it is not the road to efficiency or prosperity, but a quick passport to fiscal disaster.

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  • [pib] UDAN Scheme awarded PM Award for Excellence in Public Administration

    The Ministry of Civil Aviation’s flagship Regional Connectivity Scheme UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) has been awarded Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration this year.

    What is UDAN Scheme?

    • The Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme is a low-cost flying scheme launched with the aim of taking flying to the masses.
    • The first flight under UDAN was launched by the PM in April 2017.
    • It is also known as the regional connectivity scheme (RCS) as it seeks to improve air connectivity to tier-2 and tier-3 cities through revival of unused and underused airports.

    Working of the Scheme

    • Airlines are awarded routes under the programme through a bidding process and are required to offer airfares at the rate of â‚č2,500 per hour of flight.
    • At least 50% of the total seats on an aircraft have to be offered at cheaper rates.
    • In order to enable airlines to offer affordable fares they are given a subsidy from the govt. for a period of three years.

    Success of the scheme

    • In a short span of 5 years, today 419 UDAN routes connect 67 underserved/unserved airports, including heliports and water aerodromes, and over 92 lakh people have benefited from it.
    • More than 1 lakh 79 thousand flights have flown under this scheme.
    • UDAN scheme has immensely benefitted several sectors pan-India including Hilly States, North-Eastern region, and Islands.
    • The scheme also led to development of new Greenfield Airports such as Pakyong near Gangtok in Sikkim, Tezu in Arunachal Pradesh, and Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh.
    • Krishi UDAN Scheme launched in August 2020, on international and national routes has assisted farmers in transporting agricultural products.

    Issues with the working

    • Discontinuance: In reality, some of the routes launched have been discontinued as most of the routes awarded under UDAN are not active.
    • On-paper Ambitions: UDAN was expanded to provide improved connectivity to hilly regions and islands through helicopters and seaplanes. However, they mostly remain on paper.
    • The reasons include:
    1. Failure to set up airports or heliports due to lack of availability of land
    2. Airlines unable to start flights on routes awarded to them or finding the routes difficult to sustain
    3. Adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

    Various challenges

    • Lack of funds: Many small airlines await infusion of funds, to be able to undertake maintenance of aircraft, pay rentals to lessors, give salaries to its staff, etc.
    • Maintenance issue: Many players don’t have more than one or two planes and they are often poorly maintained. New planes are too expensive for these smaller players.
    • Availability of pilots: Often, they also have problems with the availability of pilots and are forced to hire foreign pilots which costs them a lot of money and makes the business unviable.
    • Competition: Only those routes that have been bagged by bigger domestic players such as IndiGo and SpiceJet have seen a better success rate.

    Way forward

    • The govt offers subsidies for a route for a period of three years and expects the airline to develop the route during this time so that it becomes self-sufficient.
    • Airlines need an extension of the subsidy period for their operational continuity.
    • Due to the rise in COVID cases, travel restrictions and passenger safety too needs to be taken into consideration in the loss-making of such airlines.

     

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  • Explained: Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs)

    The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister has announced that 80 Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs), an integral component of the Smart Cities Mission, have already been set up.

    What is the Smart Cities Mission?

    • The Smart Cities Mission aims at developing 100 cities, which were shortlisted, into self-sustainable urban settlements.
    • The mission was launched on June 25, 2015 and was projected as one aimed at transforming the process of urban development in the country.
    • Among its strategic components is ‘area-based development’, which includes city improvement (retrofitting), city renewal (redevelopment) and city extension (greenfield development), plus a pan-city initiative in which ‘smart solutions’ are applied covering larger parts of the city.

    Focus areas

    • Key focus areas of the scheme include the construction of walkways, pedestrian crossings, cycling tracks, efficient waste-management systems, integrated traffic management and assessment.
    • The scheme also assesses various indices to track urban development such as the Ease of Living Index, Municipal Performance Index, City GDP framework, Climate-Smart Cities assessment framework, etc.

    What is an Integrated Command and Control Centre?

    • The Smart Cities Mission includes setting up ICCCs for each such city as a vital step.
    • These ICCCs are designed to enable authorities to monitor the status of various amenities in real time.
    • Initially aimed at controlling and monitoring water and power supply, sanitation, traffic movement, integrated building management, city connectivity and Internet infrastructure, these centres have since evolved to monitor various other parameters.
    • The ICCCs are now also linked to the CCTNS (Crime and Criminal Tracking Networks and Systems) network under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
    • The ICCC acts of a smart city acts as a “nerve centre” for operations management. It processes a complex and large pool of data sets at an aggregated level.
    • It is the nodal point of availability of all online data and information relating to smart services included in a smart city, such as like LED street lighting, CCTV surveillance cameras, air quality sensors, etc.

    How did the ICCCs help in management of Covid-19?

    • During the pandemic, they also served as war-rooms for Covid-19 management.
    • During the peak of the first wave, when countries were struggling to figure out ways of combating the virus, the government used the ICCCs as war-rooms for managing the outbreak, with real-time surveillance and monitoring of districts across the country.
    • Converted into war-rooms, the smart cities’ ICCCs used the central data dashboard and provided information about the status of Covid-positive cases in various administrative zones of these cities, officials aware of the exercise said.
    • The war-rooms were also used for tracking people under quarantine and suspected Covid-19 cases.

    What is the current status of the Smarts Cities Mission?

    • The ambitious project, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015, had an initial deadline of 2021 for the first lot of 20 smart cities out of the 100 selected.
    • Although the project was announced in 2015, the cities were selected over a period of two years between 2016 and 2018, each with a deadline of completion within five years from the time of their selection.
    • On the recommendation of NITI Aayog, the timeline was extended last year until 2023 due to delays caused by the pandemic.
    • According to current Ministry data, the SCM has so far covered over 140 public-private partnerships), 340 ‘smart roads’, 78 ‘vibrant public places’, 118 ‘smart water’ projects and over 63 solar projects.

    What next?

    • The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has begun work to finalise its recommendation for providing ICCCs as a service to states and smaller cities.
    • The Ministry aims to finalise an ICCC model and implement a pilot project across six major states — Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

     

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  • Demolition drives violate international law

    Context

    Communal clashes broke out during Ram Navami processions in several parts of the country including at Khargone in Madhya Pradesh. Subsequently, the Madhya Pradesh government bulldozed the houses of those who were allegedly involved in rioting.

    Right to housing

    • Fundamental right under Article 21: The right to housing is not only a fundamental right recognised under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, it is also a well-documented right under the international human rights law framework, which is binding on India.
    • Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that “everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care.
    • Likewise, Article 11.1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) recognises “the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living condition.
    • The rights recognised under ICESCR, according to Article 4, can be restricted by States only if the limitations are determined by law in a manner compatible with the nature of these rights and solely to promote society’s general welfare.
    • Besides, international law also prohibits arbitrary interference in an individual’s right to property.
    • For instance, Article 12 of the UDHR states that “no one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation”.
    • Article 12 also stipulates that “everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks”.
    • This same right is also provided under Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

    Protection against Forced eviction

    • According to the UN Human Rights Office, an integral element of the right to adequate housing is ‘protection against forced evictions’.
    • The UN Human Rights Office defines ‘forced evictions’ as ‘permanent or temporary removal against the will of individuals, families and/or communities from the homes and/or land which they occupy, without the provision of, and access to, appropriate forms of legal or other protection’.

    Way forward

    • The apex court in cases like Bachan Singh vs State of Punjab, Vishaka vs State of Rajasthan, and recently in the famous Puttaswamy vs Union of India has laid down the principle that the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution must be read and interpreted in a manner which would enhance their conformity with international human rights law.
    • It is high time that the judiciary acted and imposed necessary checks on the unbridled exercise of power by the executive.

    Conclusion

    The bulldozing of the houses of the alleged rioters amounts to forced eviction and arbitrary interference with an individual’s home.

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  • Towards a peaceful, stable Northeast

    Context

    Progress in settling border disputes, removal of AFSPA herald positive changes in the region.

    Significant development for restoring normalcy in the region

    • Efforts to address the issues of the Northeast have been moving according to a strategic plan which is premised on three objectives —
    • 1] Ending all disputes.
    • 2] Ushering in economic progress and taking the region’s contribution to GDP back to its pre-Independence levels,
    • 3] making efforts to maintain and preserve the region’s languages, dialects, dance, music, food, and culture and make it attractive for the whole country.
    • In this regard, two recent developments are significant:
    • On March 29, the Assam and Meghalaya chief ministers signed an agreement to resolve the five-decade-old border dispute.
    • The Union home ministry (MHA) decided to reduce the disturbed areas under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in Assam, Nagaland and Manipur after decades.

    Progress on the border disputes

    • As part of the strategy, existing issues of both interstate border disputes and insurgency have been closely studied and negotiated and a few agreements have been signed.
    • Assam, with the maximum border disputes in the region, got into a proactive border dialogue.
    • The dialogues on the state’s border disputes with Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram are continuing at a steady pace.
    • After the violent flare-ups witnessed last year at the Assam-Mizoram border, today there are regular engagements to maintain peace and work out a permanent solution.
    • The model of Assam’s engagement with Meghalaya, is a good one to emulate — the two chief ministers, after two rounds of talks in August last year, constituted three committees each under cabinet ministers in their states to go into the complex boundary issues.

    Significance of notification on AFSPA

    • Peace has been witnessed in most places across Assam, and even in Nagaland and Manipur talks with various groups for a permanent solution had resulted in a cessation of violence.
    • The NLFT Tripura Agreement (August 2019), the Bru Agreement (January 2020), the Bodo Peace Accord (January 2020) and the Karbi Anglong Agreement (September 2021) have actually resulted in about 7,000 militants surrendering their arms.
    • Removal of DAN: So the demand for the removal of the disturbed areas notification (DAN) was very much justified.
    • DAN has been in force in the whole of Assam since 1990, in all of Manipur (except the Imphal Municipality area) since 2004 and in the whole of Nagaland since 1995.
    • With the removal of the DAN tag, AFSPA has been removed with effect from April 1 this year completely from 23 districts and partially from one district of Assam, from 15 police station areas of six districts of Manipur and from 15 police station areas in seven districts in Nagaland.
    •  DAN is currently applicable in only three districts and in two police station areas in one other district of Arunachal Pradesh.
    • AFSPA was completely removed from Tripura in 2015 and Meghalaya in 2018, respectively.

    Conclusion

    The efforts by the Union government to make the northeastern region the main pillar of the Act East policy have been useful in bringing a sense of political stability that is very crucial for optimal economic development and capacity enhancement in the region.

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  • Upholding the right to repair

    Context

    Apple recently announced that consumers will have the right to purchase spare components of their products, following an order of the Federal Trade Commission of the United States, which directs manufacturers to remedy unfair anti-competitive practice and asks them to make sure that consumers can make repairs, either themselves or by a third-party agency. The momentum is, however, not so strong in India.

    Challenges in repairing of electronic goods

    • Repairing is becoming unreasonably expensive or pretty much impossible because of technology becoming obsolete.
    • Incompatibility: Companies avoid the publication of manuals that can help users make repairs easily.
    • No repair manual: The absence of repair manuals means that manufacturers hold near-monopoly over repair workshops that charge consumers exorbitant prices.
    • Incompatibility: Manufacturers have proprietary control over spare parts and most firms refuse to make their products compatible with those of other firms.
    • Planned obsolescence results in products breaking down too soon and buying a replacement is often cheaper and easier than repairing them.
    • Big companies often deploy mechanisms that practically forbid other enterprises to repair their products.
    • Digital warranty cards, for instance, ensure that by getting a product from a “non-recognised” outfit, a customer loses the right to claim a warranty.

    Right to repair

    • The rationale behind the “right to repair” is that the individual who purchases a product must own it completely.
    • This implies that apart from being able to use the product, consumers must be able to repair and modify the product the way they want to.
    • Monopoly on repair processes infringes the customer’s’ “right to choose” recognised by the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. 
    •  In Shamsher Kataria v Honda Siel Cars India Ltd (2017), for instance, the Competition Commission of India ruled that restricting the access of independent automobile repair units to spare parts by way of an end-user license agreement was anti-competitive.

    International practices

    • Many countries have taken initiatives, adopted policies and even tried to enact legislation that recognise the “right to repair” to reduce electronic waste.
    • Some jurisdictions offer limited scope for exercising the right to repair.
    • For instance, under the Australian Consumer Law consumers have a right to request that certain goods be repaired if they break too easily or do not work properly.
    • The Massachusetts Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Repair Act, 2012 requires automobile manufacturers to provide spare parts and diagnostics to buyers and even independent third-party mechanics.
    • The UK also introduced the path-breaking “right to repair” in 2021 that makes it legally binding on manufacturers to provide spare parts.

    Way forward

    • Well-drafted legislation will not only uphold the right to repair but may aid in striking a much-needed balance between intellectual property and competitive laws in the country.

    Conclusion

    If people want to fix things in a timely, safe and cost-effective way, whether by doing it themselves or taking it
    to a service centre of their choice, providing access to spare parts and information is imperative.

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  • The Functioning of the Enforcement Directorate (ED)

    The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is in the news now and often.

    About Enforcement Directorate (ED)

    • It goes back to May 1, 1956, when an ‘Enforcement Unit’ was formed in the Department of Economic Affairs.
    • It then aimed for handling Exchange Control Laws violations under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA).
    • The ED today is a multi-dimensional organisation investigating economic offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, Foreign Exchange Management Act and FERA.

    From where does the ED get its powers?

    • When proceeds of crime (property/money) are generated, the best way to save that money is by parking it somewhere, so one is not answerable to anyone in the country.
    • Therefore, there was a need to control and prevent the laundering of money.
    • The PMLA was brought in for this exact reason in 2002, but was enacted only in 2005.
    • The objective was to prevent parking of the money outside India and to trace out the layering and the trail of money.
    • So as per the Act, the ED got its power to investigate under Sections 48 (authorities under act) and 49 (appointment and powers of authorities and other officers).

    At what stage does the ED step in when a crime is committed?

    • Whenever any offence is registered by a local police station, which has generated proceeds of crime over and above â‚č1 crore, the investigating police officer forwards the details to the ED.
    • Alternately, if the offence comes under the knowledge of the Central agency, they can then call for the First Information Report (FIR) or the chargesheet if it has been filed directly by police officials.
    • This will be done to find out if any laundering has taken place.

    What differentiates the probe between the local police and officers of the ED?

    Case study:

    • If a theft has been committed in a nationalised bank, the local police station will first investigate the crime.
    • If it is learnt that the founder of the bank took all the money and kept it in his house, without being spent or used, then the crime is only theft and the ED won’t interfere because the amount has already been seized.
    • But if the amount which has been stolen is used after four years to purchase some properties, then the ill-gotten money is brought back in the market.
    • Or if the money is given to someone else to buy properties in different parts of the country, then there is ‘laundering’ of money.
    • Hence the ED will need to step in and look into the layering and attachment of properties to recover the money.
    • If jewellery costing â‚č1 crore is stolen, police officers will investigate the theft. The ED, however, will attach assets of the accused to recover the amount of â‚č1 crore.

    What are the other roles and functions of the ED?

    • The ED carries out search (property) and seizure (money/documents) after it has decided that the money has been laundered, under Section 16 (power of survey) and Section 17 (search and seizure) of the PMLA.
    • On the basis of that, the authorities will decide if arrest is needed as per Section 19 (power of arrest).
    • Under Section 50, the ED can also directly carry out search and seizure without calling the person for questioning.
    • It is not necessary to summon the person first and then start with the search and seizure.
    • If the person is arrested, the ED gets 60 days to file the prosecution complaint (chargesheet) as the punishment under PMLA doesn’t go beyond seven years.
    • If no one is arrested and only the property is attached, then the prosecution complaint along with attachment order is to be submitted before the adjudicating authority within 60 days.

    Can the ED investigate cases of money laundering retrospectively?

    • If an ill-gotten property is acquired before the year 2005 (when the law was brought in) and disposed off, then there is no case under PMLA.
    • But if proceeds of the crime were possessed before 2005, kept in storage, and used after 2005 by buying properties, the colour of the money is still black and the person is liable to be prosecuted under PMLA.
    • Under Section 3 of PMLA, a person shall be guilty of money-laundering, if such person is found to have directly or indirectly attempted to indulge or knowingly assist a party involved in one or more of the following activities:
    • Concealment; possession; acquisition; use; or projecting as untainted property; or claiming as untainted property in any manner etc.

     

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  • Nutrition status and TB risk

    Context

    Historical importance of good nutrition was ignored by the modern therapist who tried to control TB initially with streptomycin injection, isoniazid and para-aminosalisylic acid. In the ecstasy of finding antibiotics killing the germs, the social determinants of disease were ignored.

    Lack of patient-centric TB treatment

    • With more drug arsenals such as rifampicin, ethambutol, pyrazinamide, the fight against TB bacteria continued, which became multidrug resistant.
    • The regimes and the mode of delivery of drugs were changed to plug the loopholes of non-compliance of patients.
    • Blister packs of a multi-drug regime were provided at the doorstep, and the directly observed treatment/therapy (DOT) mechanism set up.
    • Many of the poor discontinued blister-packaged free drugs thinking that these were “hot and strong” drugs not suited for the hunger pains they experienced every night.

    Role of nutrition in dealing with TB

    • India has around 2.8 million active cases. It is a disease of the poor.
    • And the poor are three times less likely to go for treatment and four times less likely to complete their treatment for TB, according to WHO, in 2002.
    • The fact is that 90% of Indians exposed to TB remain dormant if their nutritional status and thereby the immune system, is good. 
    • When the infected person is immunocompromised, TB as a disease manifests itself in 10% of the infected.
    • The 2019 Global TB report identified malnutrition as the single-most associated risk factor for the development of TB, accounting for more cases than four other risks, i.e., smoking, the harmful use of alcohol, diabetes and HIV.
    • The work and the findings of a team at the Jan Swasthya Sahayog hospital at Ganiyari, Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh established the association of poor nutritional status with a higher risk of TB.

    Way forward

    • Chhattisgarh initiated the supply of groundnut, moong dhal and soya oil, and from April 2018, under the Nikshay Poshan Yojana of the National Health Mission.
    • All States began extending cash support of â‚č500 per month to TB patients to buy food. This amount needs to be raised.
    • Nutrition education and counselling support: Without simultaneous nutrition education and counselling support, this cash transfer will not have the desired outcome.

    Conclusion

    Food is a guaranteed right for life under the Constitution for all citizens, more so for TB patients. Thus, the goals of reducing the incidence of TB in India and of reducing TB mortality cannot be reached without addressing undernutrition.

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