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  • With India’s demographic transition, come challenges

    op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Federalism

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: TFR and replacement rate

    Mains level: Paper 2- Regional demographic variation and its implications for federalism in India

    Context

    Recent results from National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) suggest that we are entering an era where we will have to tackle these challenges.

    A milestone in India’s demographic history: TFR at 2.0

    • NFHS-5 places the total fertility rate (TFR) at 2.0.
    • With two parents having two children, we have reached a replacement level of fertility.
    • Due to many young people, the population will continue to grow, but the replacement level fertility is a significant milestone in India’s demographic history.
    • This decline is spread evenly across the country, with 29 states and UTs having a TFR of 1.9 or less, with seven below 1.6.
    • All southern states have a TFR of 1.7-1.8, similar to that of Sweden.
    • Even states that have not reached replacement fertility — Bihar and Uttar Pradesh — seem to be headed in that direction.
    • Part of the original coterie of lagging states, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan both have achieved TFRs of 2.0.

    Challenge: Supporting the ageing population

    • Supporting ageing population: As fertility declines, the proportion of the older population grows, and societies face the challenge of supporting an ageing population with a shrinking workforce.
    • This challenge is greater for leaders at the beginning of the demographic transition — Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
    •  Interestingly, these are also among the more prosperous states in India, whose economic activities increasingly rely on migrant labour from other states.
    • Many industries such as auto parts manufacturing and construction in southern states rely on semi-skilled migrants, often transported under contractual arrangements, from northern and eastern states, particularly Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha.

    Rethinking the critical dimension of Indian federalism

    • Dependence on migrat workforce: Many industries such as auto parts manufacturing and construction in southern states rely on semi-skilled migrants, often transported under contractual arrangements, from northern and eastern states, particularly Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha.
    • Allocation of political power: While the Indian constitution mandates allocation of Lok Sabha seats across states in proportion to their population via the Delimitation Commission, the Emergency-era 42nd amendment froze seat allocation to the population share of states in the 1971 Census.
    • Equity consideration in central allocation to states: The division of central allocation to states is another area where population concerns have dominated equity considerations.
    • Much of the Centre-state revenue sharing occurs through recommendations of various Finance Commissions.
    • The sixth to fourteenth Finance Commissions allocated resources between states using the 1971 population shares of various states.
    • The Fifteenth Finance commission used Census data from 2011, but it also added the criteria of demographic performance, rewarding states with lower TFR.

    Type of demographic policy India needs to pursue

    • Pursue policy followed by China? Does India want to pursue China’s route of sharply lower fertility, with a large number of families stopping at one child, or are we content with moderately below replacement fertility of about 1.7-1.8?
    • If the latter, we are well-positioned to head in this direction.
    • Issues faced by China: while very low fertility provides a temporary demographic dividend with a reduced number of dependents to workers, the increased burden of caring for the elderly may become overwhelming over the long term.
    • Advantage of Regional demographic variation in India: India is fortunate that its demographic dividend may be smaller, but is likely to last for a more extended period due to regional variation in the onset of the fertility decline.
    • As southern states struggle with the growing burden of supporting the elderly, northern states will supply the workforce needed for economic growth.
    • Economic expansion: The increasing pace of migration may help shore up economic expansion in the south with its shrinking workforce augmented by workers from other states.

    Consider the question “Examine the influence of regional demographic variation on the fedaralism in India? How such variation can help India?”

    Conclusion

    The Sixteenth Finance Commission and the next Delimitation Commission must be freed from the burden of managing the demographic transition, focused on carrying out their tasks in the best interests of Indian federalism.

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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-China

    Beijing’s aggressive regional policies and its implications

    op-ed snap | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and agreements involving India

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: AUKUS

    Mains level: Paper 2- Implications of China's aggressive policies for geopolitics

    Context

    One of the many consequences of China’s assertive posture in Asia has been the emergence of geopolitical coalitions to limit the prospects for Beijing’s regional dominance.

    Two new coalitions forcing China rethink

    • Quad and AUKUS: Two new coalitions that have got a lot of political attention are the Quadrilateral framework involving Australia, India, Japan and the US, and the AUKUS, which brings together Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
    • Until recently, China was quite contemptuous of the new political formations.
    • It had compared the Quad to “seafoam” that is here now but gone in a second.
    • China’s dismissive attitude has now yielded place to denunciation.

    US’s policy forcing China to rethink

    • Two big factors are behind China’s rethinking.
    • Consensus in the US on Challenging China: One was the surprising emergence of American domestic political consensus on challenging China.
    • Beijing believed that Donald Trump was an exception to the longstanding US policy of deeper economic integration with China and sustained political engagement. But Biden has simply reinforced Trump’s strategy.
    • US making alliances critical element of China policy: Trump thought that alliances are a burden on US taxpayers.
    •  Biden, in contrast, has made alliances a critical element of his China strategy.
    • The idea was to create “situations of strength” vis-a-vis China by rebuilding US alliances and developing new coalitions.
    • In Asia, the Biden administration moved quickly to strengthen the traditional security ties with its allies in northeast Asia — Japan and South Korea.
    • Elevating the Quad to leaders-level: It also elevated the Quad to the leaders-level within weeks after Biden took charge and had a physical summit in Washington six months later.
    • AUKUS: It also announced the AUKUS.
    • Biden travelled to Europe in June this year to revitalise the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
    • Summit with Russia: Biden also decided on an early summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin that took place in Geneva at the end of his European tour.
    • Rebalancing relations: Biden’s team believed that the greatest strength of the US was its wide network of allies and partners.
    • And that mobilising them was the key to rebalancing relations with China.

    How China is making alliances and partnerships?

    • While China’s economic reach is now global and deep, political and military alliances have not been part of Beijing’s tradition.
    • Relations with Russia at peak: Beijing’s ties with Moscow have never been as close as they are.
    • Relations with N. Korea and Pakistan: China also has strong alliance-like relations with North Korea and Pakistan.
    • But there can be little comparison though between the kind of strengths that American allies bring to the table with those of China’s partners.

    Is Asian geopolitical structure turning in China’s favour?

    • Beijing was betting on the proposition that the Asian geopolitical structure was turning, irretrievably, in China’s favour.
    • This is based on a number of propositions.
    • Location of the US: America, located far from Asia, will have trouble overcoming the tyranny of geography in a conflict with China.
    • The economic and military power of China: China’s hard power — both economic and military — relative to the US is growing rapidly and shifting the local balance of power in its favour.
    • Location of China: The proximity of China and Asian regional integration have made Beijing the most important economic partner for the whole region.
    • Beijing believed that few Asian nations would want to spoil their commercial relations with China and align with Washington.
    • Power imbalance: The vast imbalance in military power between Beijing and its neighbours it presumed would dissuade most Asian states from considering armed confrontations with China
    • Breaking up coalition: China counted on the fact that it is easier to break up coalitions than build them.

    Implications of China’s aggressive policies

    • Making the US unfriendly prematurely: Chinese policies have driven the US towards an unanticipated internal consensus on containing Beijing.
    • Making a friendly America into an enemy prematurely could go down as one of Xi Jinping’s egregious strategic errors.
    • Driving regional countries towards the US: China’s aggressive regional policies are driving many countries like Australia, India, Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam, towards the US.
    • Neighbouring countries pursuing stronger national military capacities: While the military balance of power in Asia has certainly turned in China’s favour, it has not cowed down its neighbours.
    • Many are pursuing stronger national military capabilities to limit some of the threats from China.
    • Stoked nationalism: China, which never stops to emphasise its own nationalism, appears to have underestimated the depth of similar sentiment in other Asian states.
    • Today, it is driving many of China’s neighbours into the US camp.
    • It is America and not China that today talks about the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Asian nations.

    Consider the question “One of the many consequences of China’s assertive posture in Asia has been the emergence of geopolitical coalitions to limit Beijing’s regional dominance. Critically analyse.”

    Conclusion

    It has been quite fashionable in the West as well as in the East, to proclaim that China’s hegemony is inevitable, American decline is terminal, and Asian coalitions are unsustainable. Those conclusions are premature at best. For Xi Jinping has squandered many of China’s natural geopolitical advantages.

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  • Blockchain Technology: Prospects and Challenges

    Risks involved in investment in cryptocurrencies

    op-ed snap | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Not much

    Mains level: Paper 3- Changing patterns in saving and investment

    Context

    We are witnessing the change where the cult of savers has changed into investors. They are looking for a good return and willing to take the risk.

    Changing the behaviour of the savers

    • There is a new wave of savings and investments in the country that is evolving quite fast.
    • Crypto exchanges assure you that they are safe.
    • But it is the exchange that is safe, not the value of the coin, which will be driven by the market.
    • The equity boom is on, and all the unicorns have delivered excellent results.
    • That’s why bank deposits are no longer on our plates.
    • Banks discouraging deposits: Interestingly, banks today are discouraging deposits with low rates as this is the only way they can manage their balance sheets.
    • Low-interest rate: There are few deployment avenues and paying 5 per cent interest to savers and investing the deposits at 3.35 per cent in the reverse repo auction is a sub-optimal game.

    How safe is investment in cryptocurrencies?

    • From equities, there has been a swift shift to cryptos, which is still a grey area.
    • The regulators/government are wondering what to do. The issue will be discussed in the winter session of Parliament.
    • But investments have been made and there is no stopping this global wave.
    • Currency with no underlying asset: Making money on a currency that has no underlying asset like a metal or other currency and is traded on faith is unique; especially Bitcoin, whose originator is not known by face but by just a name.

    Gaming as a skill

    • There is another door to a new kind of gaming where you make money by making teams and following the matches.
    • The law was first silent, and then confused.
    • But it finally accepted gaming as a skill.
    • Logically, soon we should be able to bet on matches too, if all this is in order.

    Conclusion

    We are witnessing a change in the pattern of holding onto money, where savings get transformed to investment and risk appetite changes from conservative to aggressive. Will this change? Probably not, in the near future, as long as conventional deposits continue to give inferior returns.

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  • Parliament – Sessions, Procedures, Motions, Committees etc

    Making the legislature work

    op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Parliament & State Legislatures

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Farm laws

    Mains level: Paper 2- Repeal of the laws and its implications

    Context

    Parliament’s “performance” is assessed at the end of a session, typically in terms of bills discussed and passed. It is equally necessary to take stock of the issues facing the country and set expectations about what Parliament should be doing when the session is to commence.

    Analysing the repeal of laws from the standpoint of the parliamentary system and the functioning of Parliament

    • In the current session, three farm Acts will probably be presented for repeal.
    • Not referred to select committee: Three Acts were passed earlier amidst demands to refer them to a select committee.
    • This Lok Sabha — increasingly the Rajya Sabha as well — poses a riddle for the theory of representative democracy.
    • The ruling majority has a handsome majority — a 300 plus representation in the Lok Sabha — and by the standards of the FPTP system, a reasonable vote share of over 37 per cent.
    • Yet, laws passed by Parliament are increasingly being seen as unacceptable.
    • This non-acceptance is, perhaps, restricted to a small section. But the arguments put forward by them remain persuasive.
    • The “majority” government seems less representative than many minority governments of the past.
    • The government may have the majority in numbers, but does not have the capacity to take the majority along.
    • At this juncture, an important responsibility lies with the Opposition.

    Suggestions

    1] Role of the opposition

    • Coordinate: In Parliament, the Opposition will need to ensure coordination on common issues, strategise on parliamentary procedures and above all, endeavour to represent voices that have been suppressed by the current regime.
    • Avoid disruption: Acrimony might be unavoidable given that the current regime doesn’t give adequate respect to differences of opinion.
    • But it is incumbent on the Opposition to avoid creating pandemonium merely as a tactic.
    • Noise and sloganeering cannot replace the responsibility to represent.
    • Pandemonium is only a cover up for bad coordination and lack of homework.

    2] Role of the ruling party MPs

    • Probe the executive: The role of ruling party MPs is not merely to ram through the House whatever the government wishes but to also probe the executive delicately.
    • Assert the role as a representative: In allowing the government to sidestep all opposition, the MPs from the ruling party create an atmosphere wherein they lose any semblance of authenticity in their role as representatives.
    • Independence of ruling party members is connected both to intra-party democracy and to intra-party factionalism.
    • Need for intellectual position: It is also important that they have an intellectual position of their own.
    • The litmus test to their independence will be in how they express themselves in Parliament.
    • In any case, for Parliament to regain its representative character, ruling party members need to be more sincere about the parliamentary system, and unafraid of executive power.

    3] Role of civil society

    • Protests have played, and will continue to play, a critical role in forcing us to confront the issue of representation.
    • It must be reiterated that no democracy can exist without a robust civil society.
    • Its tension-ridden relationship with party politics must be recognised.
    • In that sense, the rising antinomy between Parliament and protests is more because of the unrepresentativeness of Parliament than due to the rebellious ways of civil society.

    Consider the question “What is the significance of the opposition to the laws enacted by the legislature? Suggest the steps need to be taken by the various participants in democracy.”

    Conclusion

    All the participants in the democracy need to recognise their role and ensure the the smooth functioning of democracy.

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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-Pakistan

    Bilateral trade between India and Pakistan should be first step to normalising links

    op-ed snap | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and agreements involving India

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: MFN status

    Mains level: Paper 2- India-Pakistan relations

    Context

    The recent partial opening of land borders between India and Pakistan signals a thaw in the troubled relations between the two South Asian neighbours.

    How normalising relations with Pakistan help India?

    • Reduce India’s vulnerability to China: From the Indian standpoint, as a Centre for Policy Research report argues, a continuing freeze in relations with Pakistan will “enhance India’s external vulnerability to other actors, in particular, China”.
    • Impact on bilateral trade: After the Pulwama terror attack, bilateral trade between the two countries plummeted from around $2 billion in 2017-18 to a paltry $280 million in 2020-21 (April to February).

    Steps to normalise relations

    1] Pakistan needs to revoke suspension of trade with India

    • Pakistan needs to revoke the unilateral suspension of trade with India undertaken in August 2019 due to India’s decision to dilute Article 370.
    • Suspension against GATT and SAFTA: The trade suspension by Pakistan is inconsistent with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement — the two international law instruments that regulate trade between India and Pakistan.
    • GATT, as part of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), allows countries to adopt trade-restraining measures on certain grounds such as public health and conservation of exhaustible natural resources (Article XX) and for national security purposes (Article XXI).
    • Neither the WTO nor SAFTA permits a country to suspend trade with another member country on grounds that it disapproves a domestic law enacted by the latter.

    2] Pakistan needs to confer MFN status on India

    • Pakistan needs to reverse its practice of not according the most favoured nation (MFN) status to India.
    • MFN is a principle of non-discrimination in trade given in Article I of GATT.
    • Breach of GATT: Pakistan is in breach of Article I of GATT towards India since the formation of the WTO in 1995.

    3] India should restore Pakistan’s MFN status

    • India should restore Pakistan’s MFN status that it revoked after the Pulwama terror attack by hiking the tariff rates on all Pakistani imports to an unfeasible rate of 200 per cent.
    • Such a move by India will put the ball in Pakistan’s court.
    • If Pakistan fails to reciprocate, India should exert pressure on Islamabad by mounting a legal challenge.

    4] Explore the special trading arrangement under GATT

    • Article XXIV.11 allows India and Pakistan to enter into any special trading arrangement without fully complying with GATT conditions that typically apply to countries signing free trade agreements.
    • This merciful rule that only India and Pakistan enjoy, out of 160 odd WTO members, was incorporated in GATT to enable the two sides to overcome the economic hardships caused by Partition.

    Consider the question “How normalising trade relations will India and Pakistan? Suggest the steps both the countries need to take in this regard.” 

    Conclusion

    India should appreciate that the rise of China, not Pakistan, poses the graver threat. Strengthening bilateral trade can be an important lever towards establishing a working relationship with Pakistan.

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  • Our Constitution, A Beacon of Freedom

    op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Indian Constitution – historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Making of Indian Constitution

    Mains level: Paper 2- Indian Constitution

    Context

    On November 26, 1949,72 years ago, India adopted new Constitution. Provisions of the Constitution like those pertaining to citizenship, a provisional parliament and other transitional measures came into force immediately, on November 26, 1949.

    Challenges faced by the Constituent Assembly

    • Boycott of the members: The body was meant to comprise 296 members but was boycotted by some members who would eventually move to Pakistan.
    • Hence, the assembly would be a 210-member body at the initial sessions.
    • Deft statesmanship, not rage was displayed in response to the boycott.
    • Juristicconcerns: There were other juristic concerns.
    • The colonial constitutionalist Ivor Jennings, who long sought to be involved in India’s drafting project but was refused later, asked, why the Constitution of India “plays down communalism?”
    • This was a stinging question, for Partition was the result of communalism, how could any of us forget that?

    Important feature of Indian Constitution: Addressing historical discrimination

    • India’s Constitution is unique in its approach for making reparations for historical discrimination on grounds of caste that defines the present and future of so many Indians.
    • By contrast, America’s Constitution makes no apology nor enables reparations for slavery.
    • Despite being a body that was not significantly diverse, the founders, having appreciated the concerns of their people, were able to stand outside of their own privilege and conceive of a founding document that would speak for those who have been silenced for thousands of years.

    What makes the Indian Constitution enduring?

    • After having studied every constitution from 1789 to 2005, Tom Ginsburg of the University of Chicago School of Law and his colleagues concluded that on average a constitution survives for around 17 years. 
    •  France with 14 constitutions, Mexico at five constitutions and neighbouring Pakistan with three constitutions typify the global experience.
    • Expansion of freedoms of citizens: India’s Constitution has endured because its founders, its interpreters — the constitutional courts — and litigants in the form of social movements have all ensured that it is used to consistently expand the freedoms of citizens, even if social morality thinks otherwise.
    • Constitutional morality: The Constitution’s morality has stood firmly with disadvantaged castes, women, and religious minorities.
    • Accommodating marginalised groups: In contemporary times, other marginalised groups like LGBT Indians have been heard by constitutional courts that have unanimously found for their freedoms and for a full equality.

    Consider the question “Elaborate on the features that explain the endurance of the Indian Constitution.”

    Conclusion

    Today, we marvel at the 72nd year of the adoption of our Constitution, and 72 years of our birth as “We the People”. But, as we revel in our good fortune, we must also be aware that its endurance is deeply rooted in the ability of all of us to commit to the project of expanding freedom, not contracting it

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  • Blockchain Technology: Prospects and Challenges

    Is crypto mania more a symptom than a cause?

    op-ed snap | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Blockchain technology

    Mains level: Paper 3- Approach towards cryptocurrencies

    Context

    The draft legislation on crypto currency being introduced in Parliament and the stance of the RBI suggest that consideration is being given to banning crypto currencies in India.

    What fascination with crypto reveals about our society?

    • It is about faith in that value is largely a matter of belief.
    • It is about politics because money is always about the allocation of power.
    • The money itself may not be material, but it is still embedded in a materiality.
    • The fact that money is subject to politics is actually the advantage of money.
    • It allows a modicum of collective control over our future, and allows distributive questions to be posed.
    • It is mania because the alchemy of creating something out of nothing is always deeply alluring.
    • Cheap money: The global economy is awash with cheap money.
    • Seeking return: In an Indian context small savers are desperate for return.
    • In this context it is easy for the powerful to misallocate money and the small saver to express desperation by speculation.

    Background

    • Faced with the inflation of the 1970s, thinkers like Friedrich Hayek theorised about reasserting the dominance of private currencies, protected from the state.
    • Crypto currencies are a fascinating technological innovation.
    • Part of their initial attraction was that they promised a new governance order. 
    • It is at the confluence of faith, politics, and psychological mania.
    • Solving the problem of trust: This project crucially depended on solving the problem of “trust” on which every currency depends.
    • Crypto seemed to solve that problem, with its decentralised architecture and community and self-verification protocols.

    How cryptocurrency poses challenges to the state?

    • No state was going to let go of its power to assert control over the monetary system.
    • Significance of fiat money: The sustenance of state-sponsored fiat money is one of the great achievements of modern state formation and the foundation of its power and legitimacy.
    • Cryptocurrency requires material infrastructure: There was a delusion, as if crypto is conjured out of thin air: It actually requires substantial material infrastructure, which a state could always control.
    • States can shut down mining as China has done.

    Way forward

    • We allow people to invest in all kinds of things. Why ban this, especially now that so many investors are in it?
    • Analyse the risk to the financial system: The answer to this question depends on how much risk the existence of crypto assets pose to the stability of the rest of the financial system.
    • Insulate financial system: One answer is if you can insulate the financial system from the gyrations of crypto markets there are few systemic risks.
    • This is why it was a good idea of the RBI to prohibit the entanglement of financial institutions with this market.
    • Instead of just focussing on issues of fraud, money laundering, and private risks, the RBI’s case would be strengthened if it spelled out the systemic risks that crypto might pose to the stability of the real economy.
    • Avoid ban with exception scenario: For political economy reasons, the RBI should avoid a scenario where it bans but then carves out exceptions.
    • Ensuring that trade does not go offshore: The second thing is that if it somehow allows Indians to invest then it has to ensure that trade does not go offshore. 
    • Not fully banning and allowing it offshore will be the worst of both worlds.

    Challenges in insulating the crypto market

    • In practice the insulation of crypto markets will be difficult to achieve.
    • Political economy: The first reason is political economy. Once you have a large number of investors, and some influential ones, they will be a vested interest in their own right, potentially demanding the socialisation or mitigation of losses.
    • Impact of volume: The second reason is that it is difficult to pretend that a major new class of assets, especially if volumes grow, does not have systemic effects on the rest of the economy.

    Consider the question “What are the risks and advantages provided by the cryptocurrencies? Suggest the approach India should adopt in dealing with cryptocurrencies.”

    Conclusion

    As the RBI makes the case for banning crypto, we also need to ask, why it is alluring in the first place. What does this mania reveal about our politics and economics?

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  • Parliament – Sessions, Procedures, Motions, Committees etc

    ‘Go back to committees’ is the farm laws lesson

    op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary,Parliament & State Legislatures

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Not much

    Mains level: Paper 3- Role of the parliamentary committees

    Context

    The Prime Minister has informed the nation that the Government is going to repeal the farm laws. This victory indeed takes India’s politics to a new phase — a phase of robust non-political movements with a certain staying power.

    Trajectory of the enactment of the farm laws and its shortcomings

    • Farmers not taken into confidence: These laws have a far-reaching impact on the farmers and it was very improper and quite unwise to push them through without taking the farmers into confidence.
    • Question on urgency: Under Article 123 of the Constitution the President can legislate on a matter when there is great urgency in the nature of an emergency and the sitting of Parliament is quite some time away.
    • Farm laws which make radical changes in the farm sector and affect the life of farmers in very significant ways do not have the kind of urgency which necessitates immediate legislation through the ordinances.
    • Bills not referred to committee: It is a wrong impression that Bills which are brought to replace the ordinances are not or cannot be referred to the standing committees of Parliament.
    • The Speaker/Chairman has the authority to refer any Bill except a money Bill to the standing committees.

    Significance of parliamentary committees

    • Consultation with Parliament and its time honoured system is a sobering and civilising necessity for governments howsoever powerful they may feel.
    • The accumulated wisdom of the Houses is an invaluable treasure.
    • The experience of centuries shows that scrutiny of Bills by the committees make better laws.
    • The case of the farm laws holds an important lesson for this Government or any government.
    • A proper parliamentary scrutiny of pieces of legislation is the best guarantee that sectoral interest will not jeopardise basic national interest.
    •  So, in any future legislation on farmers it is absolutely necessary to involve the systems of Parliament fully so that a balanced approach emerges.

    Way forward

    •  Available data shows that Bills are very rarely referred to the committees these days.
    • Discretion in the presiding officer: House rules have vested the discretion in the presiding officers in the matter of referring the Bills to committees.
    • No reasoned decisions of the presiding officers for not referring them are available.
    • Since detailed examination of Bills by committees result in better laws, the presiding officers may, in public interest, refer all Bills to the committees with few exceptions.
    • In the light of the horrendous experience of the Government over the farm laws, the present practice of not referring the Bills to committees should be reviewed. 

    Consider the question ” The experience of centuries shows that scrutiny of Bills by the committees make better laws. In context of this, examine the significance of the parliamentary committees and why fewer bills have been referred to the committees in the recent past?”

    Conclusion

    Speaker Om Birla has spoken about strengthening the committee system in the recent presiding officers’ conference. One way of strengthening it is by getting all the important Bills examined by them.

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  • Climate Change Negotiations – UNFCCC, COP, Other Conventions and Protocols

    India, while moving to renewable energy needs to focus on sustainable well-being

    op-ed snap | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Not much

    Mains level: Paper 3- Net-zero through sustainable well being

    Context

    With current per capita emissions that are less than half the global average, India’s pledge to reach ‘net zero’ emissions by 2070 has cemented India’s credentials as a global leader.

    Implication of net-zero by 2070

    • The political implication of the date 2070 is that the world should get to ‘net-zero’ by 2050.
    • For that, the rich countries will need to do more and step up closer to their share of the carbon budget.
    • India’s stand also signals that it will not act under external pressure, as requiring equal treatment is the hallmark of a global power, and will have an impact on other issues.

    How focus on coal harms developing countries

    • The subject of oil was not touched at COP26, even as automobile emissions are the fastest growing emissions, because it is a defining feature of western civilisation.
    • Most abundant source of energy: Coal is the most abundant energy source, essential for base load in electrification, and the production of steel and cement.
    • Its use declines after the saturation level of infrastructure is reached.
    • Declining role of G-7 in rule setting: That India and China working together forced the G7 to make a retraction has signalled the coming of a world order in which the G7 no longer sets the rules.
    • Specific language on finance and adaptation: After 40 years there is more specific language on both finance and adaptation finally recognising that costs and near-term effects of climate change will hit the poorest countries hardest.

    Feasibility of the goal of ‘net-zero’ by 2070

    • Seeing the challenge in terms of the scale and the speed of the transformation of the energy system assumes that India will follow the pathway of western civilisation.
    • Transition to electrification: India is urbanising as it is industrialising, moving directly to electrification, renewable energy and electric vehicles, and a digital economy instead of a focus on the internal combustion engine.
    • Most of the infrastructure required has still to be built and automobiles are yet to be bought.
    • Investment vs. incurring cost: India will not be replacing current systems and will be making investments, not incurring costs.

    Challenge for the West

    • The consumption of affluent households both determines and accelerates an increase of emissions of carbon dioxide.
    • This is followed by socio-economic factors such as mobility and dwelling size.
    • In the West, these drivers have overridden the beneficial effects of changes in technology reflected in the material footprint and related greenhouse-gas emissions.
    • The West has yet to come out with a clear strategy of how it will remain within the broad contours of its carbon budget.
    • And increasing inequality and a rise of protectionism and trade barriers imposing new standards need to be anticipated.
    • This knowledge is essential for national policy as well as the next round of climate negotiations.

    Way forward for India

    • Climate change has to be addressed by the West by reducing consumption, not just greening it.
    • Shifting the consumption pattern: Consumption patterns need to be ‘shifted away from resource and carbon-intensive goods and services, e.g. mobility from cars and aircraft to buses and trains.
    • Reducing the carbon intensity: Along with’ reducing demand, resource and carbon intensity of consumption has to decrease, e.g. expanding renewable energy, electrifying cars and public transport and increasing energy and material efficiency’.
    • Equal distribution of wealth and affordable energy use: Equally important, will be achieving a’ more equal distribution of wealth with a minimum level of prosperity and affordable energy use for all’, e.g., housing and doing away with biomass for cooking.
    • Focused research group: The Government now needs to set up focused research groups for the conceptual frame of sustainable well-being.
    • It should analyse the drivers of affluent overconsumption and circulate synthesis of the literature identifying reforms of the economic systems as well as studies that show how much energy we really need for a decent level of well-being.

    Role for legislature

    • Fundamental duty: After the Stockholm Declaration on the Global Environment, the Constitution was amended in 1976 to include Protection and Improvement of Environment as a fundamental duty.
    • Use of provision under Article 253: Parliament used Article 253 to enact the Environment Protection Act to implement the decisions reached at the Stockholm Conference.
    • Enabling new set of legislation: The decisions at COP26 enable a new set of legislation around ecological limits, energy and land use, including the efficient distribution and use of electricity, urban design and a statistical system providing inputs for sustainable well-being.

    Consider the question “Examine the feasibility of India’s ‘net-zero’ target by 2070, also suggest the way forward for India to achieve the target by focusing on sustainable well being”

    Conclusion

    For India, in parallel with the infrastructure and clean technology thrust, the focus on a decent living standard leads to behavioural change in the end-use service, such as mobility, shelter and nutrition — for change modifying wasteful trends.

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  • Women empowerment issues – Jobs,Reservation and education

    A multi-pronged approach to end child marriage

    op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Laws, Institutions & Bodies Constituted For The Vulnerable Sections

    Note4Students

    From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:

    Prelims level: Not much

    Mains level: Paper 2- Issue of child marriage

    Context

    Reports suggest that more child marriages have been noticed during the Covid pandemic.

    Covid-19 and Girls

    Socio-economic impacts of Covid-19 are gendered, evident in the form of educational inequality, sexual violence, and increased household burden.

    • Increased domestic violence: In India, the National Commission for Women reported 2.5 times to increase in domestic violence during the initial months of nationwide lockdown.
    • Abuse & Trafficking: Closure of schools and pandemic induced poverty has increased the vulnerability of children especially the girl child to abuse and trafficking
    • School dropout: UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report (2021) throws light on increased educational inequalities for adolescent girls during the Covid-19 crisis. UNESCO estimates that around 11 million girls may not return to school.
    • School Closures pushed Children into Labour: In 2021, says UNESCO, 24 million children may not find their way back to schools after the pandemic. Any child who is not in school is a potential child laborer.
    • Child Marriages: India witnessed an increase in the number of child marriages since 2020. Girls are further at risk – married off early, these child brides are also often child laborers.
    • Reduced Education Budget: Despite knowing the impact of the Pandemic on the education system & thus on Children’s future, the Union budget has Rs 5,000 crore less to spend on education for children this year.
    • Digital gender gap: The digital gender gap deters girls’ remote education and access to information.

    Child Marriage

    • It is defined as a marriage of a girl or boy before the age of 18 and refers to both formal marriages and informal unions in which children under the age of 18 live with a partner as if married.
    • UNICEF estimates suggest that each year, at least 1.5 million girls under 18 get married in India, which makes it home to the largest number of child brides in the world – accounting for a third of the global total.
    • A recent study by the Lancet shows that up to 2.5 million more girls (below the age of 18) around the world are at risk of marriage in the next 5 years because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Prevalence of child marriage in India

    • Data from the fourth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS4) in 2015-16 shows that even before Covid, one in four girls in India was being married before 18.
    • Around 8 percent of women aged 15-19 years were mothers or pregnant at the time of the survey.
    • The first phase findings of NFHS5 (2019-20) show that the needle has not moved substantially on ending child marriage.

    Why did Child Marriages have increased during Lockdowns?

    • Lack of Alert Mechanism: Earlier, when child marriages happened at wedding halls, temples, etc, there were people who would alert the relevant authorities or activists who would be able to reach on time to stop it.
      • But now, with marriages happening at homes, we may get fewer alerts and our going there could be treated as trespass.
    • Pandemic Induced Pressures: Economic pressures due to the pandemic have pushed poor parents to marry off girls early.
      • With no schools, the safety of children, particularly girls, was a major reason for the increase in violence against children and child marriages.

    Causes for Child Marriages

    • Age Factor: Some parents consider the age period of 15-18 as unproductive, especially for girls, so they start finding a match for their child during this age period.
      • Further, the Right To Education Act makes education free and compulsory up to the age of 14 only.
    • Insecurity: Law and Order are still not able to provide a secure environment for the girls in adolescent age, so some parents get their girl child married at a young age.
    • Other Reasons:
      • Poverty,
      • Political and financial reasons,
      • Lack of education,
      • Patriarchy and gender inequalities, etc.

    Consequences of child marriage

    • Violation of human rights: Child marriage violates girls’ human rights. It makes them almost invisible to policy.
    • Impact on education and health: It cuts short their education, harms their health, and limits their ability to fulfill themselves as productive individuals participating fully in society.
    • The low domestic status of teenage wives typically condemns them to long hours of domestic labor; poor nutrition and anemia; social isolation; domestic violence; early childbearing; and few decision-making powers within the home.
    • Malnutrition: Poor education, malnutrition, and early pregnancy lead to low birth weight of babies, perpetuating the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition.
    • The costs of child marriage include teenage pregnancy, population growth, child stunting, poor learning outcomes for children, and the loss of women’s participation in the workforce.

    What should be the policy interventions to end child marriage?

    • CCTs: Conditional cash transfers (CCTs) have been the main policy instrument introduced by most states in the last two decades to end child marriage.
    • CCTs alone cannot change social norms. We need a comprehensive approach.
    • Legislative measures: Legislation is one part of the approach.
    • Karnataka amended the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act in 2017, declaring every child marriage, making it a cognizable offense.
    • Expansion of education: These include expansion of secondary education, access to safe and affordable public transport, and support for young women to apply their education to earn a livelihood.
    • Expansion of education goes beyond access. Girls must be able to attend school regularly, remain there, and achieve.
    • States can leverage their network of residential schools, girls’ hostels, and public transport, especially in underserved areas, to ensure that teenage girls do not get pushed out of education.
    • Teachers should hold regular gender equality conversations with high school girls and boys to shape progressive attitudes that will sustain them into adulthood.
    • Empowerment measures: Empowerment measures, too, are required to end child marriage, such as community engagement through programs like Mahila Samakhya.
    • Children’s village assemblies in the 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across India can provide a platform for children to voice their concerns.
    • Government actions driving social change: Field bureaucrats across multiple departments, including teachers, Anganwadi supervisors, panchayat, and revenue staff, all of whom interact with rural communities, should be notified as child marriage prohibition officers.
    •  Decentralizing birth and marriage registration: Most important of all, decentralizing birth and marriage registration to gram panchayats will protect women and girls with essential age and marriage documents, thus better enabling them to claim their rights.

    Consider the question “What are the consequence of child marriage? Suggest the measures to deal with the issue.”

    Conclusion

    We need to adopt a comprehensive approach to deal with the problem of child marriage. The approach should include a focus on education and legal measures.

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