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: Constitutional provisions
Mains level: Issues with the office of the Governor
Context
In recent years, there has been an erosion of constitutional provisions, constitutional morality, and constitutional ethos being witnessed among various constitutional bodies. The conduct of the Governors of some States has made a mockery of the Constitution and its limitations.
Exercise of Power according to constitution: In 1949, Prof. K.T. Shah debating Article 130 (now Article 154) said: “the Constitution should make it imperative upon the Governor to use its power in accordance with the Constitution and the Law, that is to say, on the advice of his Ministers as provided for in the subsequent clauses and in other parts of the Constitution.”
Appointment of governor by president: It was hotly debated whether the Governor should be appointed by the President of India or should be elected. Fearing that this would create a parallel State leadership, the Assembly instead adopted appointment by the President.
Good governor and Bad Governor: G. Kher said: “a Governor can do a great deal of good if he is a good Governor and he can do a great deal of mischief, if he is a bad Governor, in spite of the very little power given to him under the Constitution”
Friendly intervention of the Governor: K. Sen said, “The question is whether by interfering, the Governor would be upholding the democratic idea or subverting it. It would really be a surrender of democracy. We have decided that the Governor should be a constitutional head. He would be the person really to lubricate the machinery and to see to it that all the wheels are going well by reason not of his interference, but his friendly intervention.”
Aid and advice of cabinet: R. Ambedkar said, according to the principles of the New Constitution, Governor is required to follow the advice of his ministry in all matters. Therefore, the real issue before the House is not nomination or election, but what powers you propose to give to your Governor.
Nomination of governor and not election: If the Governor is a purely constitutional Governor with no more powers than what we contemplate expressly to give him in the Act. I personally do not see any very fundamental objection to the principle of nomination.”
Constitutional Provision Regarding Governor
Article 153: Provides a Governor for each State, and by virtue of Article 154, the executive power of the State shall be vested in the Governor “Shall be exercised by him directly or through officers subordinate to him in accordance with this Constitution”.
Article 154(2)(a): Prohibits the Governor from exercising any function “conferred by existing law on any other Authority”.
Article 163: Categorically provides that “there shall be a council of ministers with the Chief Minister at the head to aid and advise the Governor… except in so far as he is by or under this Constitution required to exercise his function or any of them in his discretion”.
How governor ideally supposed to conduct his duty?
Shamsher Singh vs State of Punjab: The Supreme Court, in Shamsher Singh vs State of Punjab, decided on this issue in 1974: The Governor exercises “all his powers and functions” by making rules for the convenient transactions of the business of the government of the State in accordance with Article 166 of the Constitution. These are called Rules of Business.
Satisfaction of governor is satisfaction of cabinet: The Court however amplified that “wherever the constitution requires satisfaction of the President or the Governor for the exercise of any power or function by the President or the Governor, as the case may be, as for example in Articles 123, 213, 311(2) proviso (c), 317, 352(1), 356 and 360. The satisfaction required by the Constitution …. is the satisfaction of the President or of the Governor in the Constitutional sense under the Cabinet system of the Government”.
Use of discretion in harmony with council of ministers: The Court went on to hold that “the discretion conferred on the Governor means that as the Constitutional or the formal head of the State, the power is vested in him” and that it is only in the exercise of the power under Article 356 that the Governor will be justified in exercising his discretion even against the aid and advice of his council of ministers as per his discretionary power but, in all other matters where the Governor acts in his discretion, he will act in harmony with his Council of Ministers.
No parallel administration by governor: The Constitution does not aim at providing a parallel administration. The basic philosophy is that in a democracy, the elected Ministers must accept responsibility for every executive act and that the Council of Ministers alone represents a responsible form of government in the States.
Conclusion
Governor’s role is to assist the Chief minister of state and not creating the trouble for Chief Minister. Governor should not act in a manner that undermines the dignity of constitutional post of Governor. Governor must follow the constitutional morality while discharging his duty.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Women centric Social reforms
Mains level: Political representation of women In India
Context
A truly representative democracy seeks adequate representation of women in politics. India is the largest and one of the most resilient parliamentary democracies in the world. Women’s representation in India’s Parliament has improved since independence. It is an important metric to evaluate progress in bridging gender inequalities in the country.
Background: Gender Inequality in Politics
Women historically been Politically marginalized: Women, who constitute almost one-half of the world’s population (49.58 percent), have historically been politically marginalized in both developed and developing nations.
Beginning of social reforms: From the mid-19thcentury onwards, however, social movements have succeeded in effecting widespread reforms.
UN charter: The charter of the United Nations Organization (UNO, started in 1945) supported women’s rights.
International Bill of Rights for women: With the rise of feminist movements of the 1960s and ‘70s, the UN General Assembly in 1979 adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), often considered as an International Bill of Rights for women. In the Convention, Article 7 upholds women’s right to hold political and public office.
Millennium development goals (MDGs),included gender equality: In 2000, UN member states adopted the Millennium Declaration and outlined eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), to be achieved by 2015, which included promoting gender equality.
Empowering women under Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): In January 2016 the initiative was extended to pursue 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of which Goal 5 seeks to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”, ensuring “women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.”
The present status of Women representation in politics worldwide.
Representative governments increased but women count remains low: According to UN Women, as of September 2022, there were 30 women serving as elected heads of state and/or of government in 28 countries (out of a total of 193 UN member states).
Dichotomy in active participation: There is the dichotomy between the rapid increase of women’s participation as voters in elections and other political activities, and the slow rise of female representation in Parliament.
Global average women representation: As of May 2022, the global average of female representation in national parliaments was 26.2 percent.
Above average representation: The Americas, Europe, and Sub-Saharan Africa have women’s representation above the global average;
Below average representation: Asia, the Pacific region, and the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region, are below average.
Varied representation within Asian countries:
The South Asian countries faring worse than the others.
IPU data of May 2022 showed that women’s representation in Nepal, for example, was 34 percent, in Bangladesh 21 percent, in Pakistan 20 percent, in Bhutan 17 percent and in Sri Lanka 5 percent.
For India, women’s representation in the Lok Sabha (the Lower House) has remained slightly below 15 percent.
The study does not include Afghanistan, but World Bank data of 2021 stated that female representation in the country’s last parliament was 27 percent.
Before Independence: India has a history of marginalization and exploitation of women framed by patriarchal social structures and mindsets.
Beginning of social reforms and participation in Freedom struggle: The Indian freedom movement, starting with the swadeshi in Bengal (1905-08) also witnessed the impressive participation of women, who organized political demonstrations and mobilized resources, as well as occupied leadership positions in those movements.
Post-Independence: After India attained independence, its Constitution guaranteed equal status for men and women in all political, social and economic spheres.
Equality guaranteed by The Constitution:
Part III of the Constitution guarantees the fundamental rights of men and women.
The Directive Principles of State Policy ensure economic empowerment by providing for equal pay for equal work by both men and women, humane conditions of work, and maternity relief.
Any Indian citizen who is registered as a voter and is over 25, can contest elections to the lower house of Parliament (Lok Sabha) or the state legislative assemblies; for the upper house (Rajya Sabha) the minimum age is 30.
Articles 325 and 326 of the Constitution guarantee political equality and the right to vote.
Reservation for women in local bodies: In 1992, the 73rdand 74th amendments to the Constitution provided for reservation of one-third of the total number of seats for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and municipal bodies.
Three main parameters to assess women’s participation in politics in India
Women as Voters: In the last Lok Sabha election of 2019, almost as many women voted as men a watershed in India’s progress towards gender equality in politics which has been called a “silent revolution of self-empowerment The increased participation, especially since the 1990s, is attributed to a number of factors.
Women as Candidates: Overall, however, while women candidates in parliamentary elections have increased over time their proportion compared to male candidates remains low. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, of the total of 8,049 candidates in the fray, less than 9 percent were women.
Women’s Representation in Parliament: Although women’s participation as voters in elections has increased significantly, the data on women’s representation in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha suggests that the proportion of women representatives has remained low in comparison to their male counterparts.
Just to know:
The highest proportion of women representatives elected to the Lok Sabha so far was in the 2019 elections, and it was less than 15 percent of total
The number of women candidates and MPs varies greatly across states and parties.
In the present Lok Sabha (17th), Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal have the highest numbers of women MPs. In terms of percentage, Goa and Manipur had fielded the highest proportion of women candidates.
Why female representation in Parliament and state legislatures remained low?
Inaccessibility of Institutions: Election records show that most political parties, though pledging in their constitutions to provide adequate representation to women, in practice give far too few party tickets to women candidates. A study found that a large section of women who do get party tickets have family political connections, or are ‘dynastic’ politicians. With normal routes of accessibility limited, such connections are often an entry point for women
Notion of women less likely to win: It is still widely held in political circles that women candidates are less likely to win elections than men, which leads to political parties giving them fewer tickets.
Challenging Structural Conditions: Election campaigns in India are extremely demanding and time-consuming. Women politicians, with family commitments and the responsibilities of child care, often find it difficult to fully participate
Highly vulnerable: Women politicians have been constantly subjected to humiliation, inappropriate comments, abuse and threats of abuse, making participation and contesting elections extremely challenging.
Expensive electoral system: Financing is also an obstacle as many women are financially dependent on their families. Fighting parliamentary elections can be extremely expensive, and massive financial resources are required to be able to put up a formidable contest. Absent adequate support from their parties, women candidates are compelled to arrange for their own campaign financing this is a huge challenge that deters their participation
Internalized patriarchy: A phenomenon known as ‘internalized patriarchy’ where many women consider it their duty to priorities family and household over political ambitions.
Why women participation in law making process is so important?
Political empowerment: Legislative representation is fundamental to political empowerment, enabling participation in the law-making process. Legislatures play a vital role in raising debates and discussions on various aspects of governance and in exacting accountability from the government.
Shows the status of gender parity: Women’s representation in the national parliament is a key indicator of the extent of gender equality in parliamentary politics.
Women bring different skills to politics: According to Political scientist, Anne “women bring different skills to politics and provide role models for future generations; they appeal to justice between sexes.
Facilitates specific interests of women in policy: Their inclusion in politics facilitates representation of the specific interests of women in state policy and creates conditions for a revitalized democracy that bridges the gap between representation and participation.
Highly effective and less likely to be criminal and corrupt: Study found that, women legislators perform better in their constituencies on economic indicators than their male counterparts also women legislators are less likely to be criminal and corrupt, more efficacious, and less vulnerable to political opportunism.
Way ahead
It should be made legally obligatory for every registered political party to give one-third of the total number of party tickets it distributes at every election to women. The Representation of People Act, 1950, will have to be amended to enable this strategy.
Second, if the party-level reform proves difficult, the Women’s Reservation Bill 2008 which mandated reservation of one-third of parliamentary and state assembly seats for women will have to be revived.
Notes in short: Can be used in answers, essays and debates accordingly.
Despite strong patriarchal norms, the country is seeing an increase in women’s political participation, parallel to higher levels of education and growing financial independence.
The number of women contesting parliamentary and state legislative elections remains limited.
Where constitutionally mandated reservation of seats for women has been provided at the local self-government level, women’s representation has increased.
However, political parties, the primary vehicle of electoral politics, remain largely inaccessible for women to contest parliamentary and legislative elections even after 75 years of Indian independence.
Conclusion
The organic shift to opening up spaces for women in Indian parliamentary politics has been slow. More women are needed in these platforms to transform the discourse on governance and policy-making, and bring India closer to becoming a truly inclusive and representative democracy.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Women in Army
Context
The Supreme Court recently directed the Centre and the Indian Air Force to consider granting Permanent Commission to 32 retired women Short Service Commission (SSC) officers based on their suitability with the purpose of giving them pensionary benefits. The SC has, however, clarified that the retired women officers will only be considered for pension benefits and not salary arrears.
Background
The military opened its doors to women in 1992 when the Air Force inducted its first batch.
The landmark judgment came in which Justice Kishan Kaul (then with the High Court of Delhi) had hoped that “with expanding horizon of women’s participation in different walks of life, the armed forces would be encouraged to have larger participation of women in more areas of operation.”
The case of women inducted into short service
The 32 retired women officers were inducted into short service commission between 1993 and 1998.
Though they were not granted permanent commission, their service was extended by six years and then then again for another four years.
Another Important verdict
In a landmark verdict on February 17, 2020, the top court had directed that women officers in the Army be granted permanent commission, rejecting the Centre’s stand on their “physiological limitations” as being based on “sex stereotypes” and “gender discrimination against women”
Permanent Commission (PC) Vs. Short Service Commission (SSC)
SSC means an officer’s career will be of a limited period in the Indian Armed Forces whereas a PC means they shall continue to serve in the Indian Armed Forces, till they retire.
The officers inducted through the SSC usually serve for a period of 14 years. At the end of 10 years, the officers have three options.
A PC entitles an officer to serve in the Navy till he/she retires unlike SSC, which is currently for 10 years and can be extended by four more years, or a total of 14 years.
They can either select for a PC or opt-out or have the option of a 4-years extension.
They can resign at any time during this period of 4 years extension.
Why males have ever dominated the armed forces?
Militaries across the world help entrench hegemonic masculine notions of aggressiveness, strength and heterosexual prowess in and outside their barracks.
The military training focuses on creating new bonds of brotherhood and camaraderie between them based on militarized masculinity.
This temperament is considered in order to enable conscripts to survive the tough conditions of military life and to be able to kill without guilt.
To create these new bonds, militaries construct a racial, sexual, gendered “other”, attributes of whom the soldier must routinely and emphatically reject.
Gender parity in forces still needs a relook: Though women have been in the forces since 1992 all roles and career options are not offered to them. Women have been allowed in combat in the Air Force, but we are yet to see women in combat roles in the army and navy.
Battle of acceptance: Acceptance of women in the military has not been smooth in any country. Every army has to mould the attitude of its society at large and male soldiers in particular to enhance acceptability of women in the military.
Adjusting with the masculine set up: To then simply add women to this existing patriarchal setup, without challenging the notions of masculinity, can hardly be seen as “gender advancement”.
Capabilities of women are questioned: Although women are equally capable, if not more capable than men, there might be situations that could affect the capabilities of women such as absence during pregnancy and catering to the responsibilities of motherhood, etc.
Physical and Physiological Issues: The natural physical differences in stature, strength, and body composition between the sexes make women more vulnerable to certain types of injuries and medical problems. The natural processes of menstruation and pregnancy make women particularly vulnerable in combat situations.
Conclusion
Women have been allowed in combat in the Air Force, but we are yet to see women in combat roles in the army and navy. Even though women have been in the forces since 1992 all roles and career options are not offered to them. Women in combat have still to fight for the equal opportunities and equal treatment.
Mains Question
Q. The Indian Army has sought to induct women into combat roles but equality remains a challenge on many fronts. Critically analyze.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: PMGKY
Mains level: PMGKY, food security and Issues with PDS
Context
The government of India extended Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), a scheme to distribute free food grains to the poor, for another three months. However, issues of food grain leakages remains unaddressed.
Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY)
PM-GKAY: Launched during COVID-19 crisis to provided food security to the poor, needy and the vulnerable households/beneficiaries so that they do not suffer on account of non-availability of adequate foodgrains. Under PMGKAY, effectively it has doubled the quantity of monthly foodgrains entitlements being normally delivered to beneficiaries.
Benefits: Under PMGKAY welfare scheme, 5 kg of food grain per person per month is provided free of cost for all the beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) including those covered under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
Financial Expenditure: Financial implication for the Government of India has been about 3.45 Lakh Crore for Phase-VI of PMGKAY. With the additional expenditure of about Rs. 44,762 Crore for Phase-VII of this scheme, the overall expenditure of PMGKAY will be about Rs. 3.91 lakh crore for all the phases.
Grain Allotment: The total outgo in terms of food grains for PMGKAY Phase VII is likely to be about 122 LMT. Food grain for phases I- VII is about 1121 LMT.
Implementation: PM Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY) has been implemented in the following phases –
Phase I and II (8 months): April’20 to Nov.’20
Phase-III to V (11 months): May’21 to March’22
Phase-VI (6 months): April’22 to Sept.’22
Impact of the PMGKY scheme
Ensuring food security and public health: Policymakers and experts concede that the scheme made a difference to food security and public health during the pandemic.
IMF commended the scheme: Be it the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Food and Public Distribution or the authors of an IMF-published working paper, “Pandemic, Poverty, and Inequality: Evidence from India” (April 2022), the scheme has received commendation.
Absorbing the shock in the pandemic: The working paper concluded that “the social safety net provided by the expansion of India’s food subsidy program absorbed a major part of the pandemic shock.”
Rationalizing the budget: To keep the budgetary allocation under control, rules on quota for rice or wheat can be changed suitably.
Checking the diversion of Funds: While it is all right to provide foodgrains free during the pandemic, the central and State authorities need to ponder over the scheme’s continuance, given the chronic problem of diversion from the Public Distribution System (PDS).
Combing the Centre and state subsidy: In many States, including West Bengal, Kerala and Karnataka, the 50 kg is free. In Tamil Nadu, for over 10 years, rice-drawing card holders have been getting rice free.
How the transparent study of PMGKY will help in leakage detection?
Updating the database of beneficiary: Study should be the basis for updating the database of foodgrain-drawing card holders, scrutinising the data critically and zeroing in on the needy.
Automation of PDS: The task should not be onerous, given the widespread application of technological tools in the PDS such as Aadhaar, automation of fair price shops and capturing of the biometric data of beneficiaries.
Estimation of PHH: Using this database, the Centre and States can decide whether the size of the Priority Households (PHH) nearly 71 crores, can be pruned or not.
Reasonable price to avoid freebies culture: In addition, if they feel the need to go beyond the mandate of the NFSA, as is being done under the PMGKAY, they can supply the foodgrains at a reasonable price. The culture of providing essential commodities free of cost at the drop of a hat has to go.
Conclusion
PMGKY has helped the needy in people in the dark period of pandemic. However, with good intention of government food grain leakages of PDS couldn’t be stopped. Transparent study of will certainly help in leakage detection and more targeted delivery.
Mains Question
Q. Schemes of food security are always with good intentions; However, lack of transparency and leakages disturbs targeted delivery. Discuss the measures to ensure the last mile delivery of food grains.
India is often referred to as the ‘Diabetes Capital of the World as it accounts for 17%percent of the total number of diabetes patients in the world. There are currently close to 80 million people with diabetes in India and this number is expected to increase to 135 million by 2045. World Diabetes day is observed on 14 November.
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a chronic (long-lasting) health condition that affects how our body turns food into energy.
Diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which the body has high sugar levels for prolonged periods of time.
The lack of insulin causes a form of diabetes.
Type-I Diabetes: It is a medical condition that is caused due to insufficient production and secretion of insulin from the pancreas. Type 1 diabetes is thought to be caused by an autoimmune reaction (the body attacks itself by mistake). This reaction stops your body from making insulin. Approximately 5-10% of the people who have diabetes have type 1
Type-2 diabetes: With type 2 diabetes, your body doesn’t use insulin well and can’t keep blood sugar at normal levels. About 90-95% of people with diabetes have type 2.
Type-2 diabetes in brief
Long term Condition: It is long-term (chronic) condition which results in too much sugar circulating in the bloodstreams and poor response of insulin. Eventually, high blood sugar levels can lead to disorders of the circulatory, nervous and immune systems. Type 2 diabetes is an impairment in the way the body regulates and uses sugar (glucose) as a fuel. It is a defective response of Insulin
More common in adults: Type 2 is more common in older adults, but the increase in the number of children with obesity has led to more cases of type 2 diabetes in younger people.
Slow signs and symptoms: Signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes often develop slowly. Symptoms include, Increased thirst, Frequent urination, Increased hunger, Unintended weight loss, Fatigue, Blurred vision, Slow-healing sores, Frequent infections etc. It develops over many years and is usually diagnosed in adults (but more and more in children, teens, and young adults).
Cure for Type-2: There’s no cure for type 2 diabetes, but losing weight, eating well and exercising can help you manage the disease. If diet and exercise aren’t enough to manage your blood sugar, you may also need diabetes medications or insulin therapy.
What is insulin?
Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas.
Insulin regulates the movement of sugar into your cells.
Blood glucose levels tightly controlled by insulin.
When the blood glucose elevates (for example, after eating food), insulin is released from the pancreas to normalize the glucose level
The prevalence of diabetes in India
People living with Diabetes in India: There are an estimated 77 million people with diabetes in India. Which means one in every 10 adults in India has diabetes. Half of those who have high blood sugar levels are unaware. Even among those who have been diagnosed with diabetes, only half of them have their blood sugar level under control.
Rapid increase in younger population: According ICMR report, the prevalence of diabetes in India has increased by 64 percent over the quarter-century. prevalence among the younger population has also increased above 10%.
Children impacting more: Worryingly, in India, a large number of children are also impacted by diabetes. Children are developing obesity and metabolic syndrome early because of the change in diets to more processed and fast foods.
Projected Estimation: About 98 million Indians could have diabetes by 2030, these projections come from the International Diabetes Federation and the Global Burden of Disease project.
Children impacting more: Worryingly, in India, a large number of children are also impacted by diabetes. Children are developing obesity and metabolic syndrome early because of the change in diets to more processed and fast foods.
Why Indians are more prone to diabetes?
Lifestyle changes: The current exponential rise of diabetes in India is mainly attributed to lifestyle changes. The rapid change in dietary patterns, physical inactivity, and increased body weight, especially the accumulation of abdominal fat, are some of the primary reasons for increased prevalence.
Ethnically more prone: Ethnically, Indians seem to be more prone to diabetes as compared to the Caucasians, although the precise mechanisms are not well known. we Indians have a greater degree of insulin resistance which means our cells do not respond to the hormone insulin. And when compared to Europeans, our blood insulin levels also tend to rise higher and more persistently when we eat carbohydrates.
Greater genetic predisposition: The epidemic increase in diabetes in India along with various studies on migrant and native Indians clearly indicate that Indians have an increased predilection to diabetes which could well be due to a greater genetic predisposition to diabetes in Indians.
Decrease in traditional diets: At the same time, the increased ‘westernization’, especially in the metros and the larger cities, has led to a drastic change in our dietary pattens. Indian diets have always been carbohydrate-heavy and now the reliance on refined sugars, processed food in the form of quick bites and fuss-free cooking and trans fatty acids are creating havoc.
Mechanization of day-to-day work: With the increasing availability of machines to do our work, there’s also a substantial drop in day-to-day activities.
Consumption of high calorie food and lack of physical activities: Obesity, especially central obesity and increased visceral fat due to physical inactivity, and consumption of a high-calorie/high-fat and high sugar diets, thus become major contributing factors.
Rapid urbanization: Currently, India is undergoing a rapid epidemiological transition with increased urbanization. The current urbanization rate is 35% compared to 15% in the 1950’s and this could have major implications on the present and future disease patterns in India with particular reference to diabetes and coronary artery disease.
Rural-urban migration: The rural migration to urban areas and associated stress plays a significant role in lifestyle change.
Aggressive Screening procedures: Indians need an upstream approach or prioritizing protection of the population as a whole, beginning with women and children. This can be done with aggressive screening procedures. “Anybody above 18, with a clear-cut risk like family history, weight issues and young women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) should be tested. All Indians above 30 should be screened.
Timely diagnosis and right management: Medical experts feel that timely detection and right management can go a long way in helping patients lead a normal life.
Diet discipline for children: For children, Doctors recommends a serious diet discipline. “Only healthy meals are the option that remains. Tutor the tastebuds of the young and stop their access to fast foods. There can be supportive policy measures making healthy fruits and vegetables accessible in a cost-effective manner to all instead of plain carbs. The mid-day meal or tiffin needs to be looked at thoughtfully and to make it healthy.
Promoting physical activities: “The overall decline in physical activity has had devastating impacts on our metabolism,” while agreeing with the 30-minute a day exercise and activity schedule, sounds a note of caution. The recent scientific evidence suggests even five minutes of walk after any meal provides some protection.
Adopting healthy Lifestyle: Though a chronic medical condition, Diabetes can be curbed at the initial level by introducing lifestyle changes. Experts suggests, reduce stress; sleep on time and for minimum of seven hours, maintaining ideal body weight, regular physical activity stop smoking, stopping/ minimum alcohol intake and get early treatment for any pre-existing or co-morbid health condition such as hypertension.
Regular check-ups: Regular visits to the doctor are important to assess sugar control and assessment/ prevention of complications related to the disease.
Conclusion
With the country having the highest number of diabetic patients in the world, the sugar disease is posing an enormous health problem to our country today. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) fact sheet on diabetes, an estimated 3.4 million deaths are caused due to high blood sugar in the world.
Mains Question
Q. Diabetes is increasing alarmingly across all age groups in India. Discuss the reasons and suggest measures to manage epidemic of diabetes if it is not curable?
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission
Mains level: Issues with interoperability of Private Sector under Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission
Context
On 27 September, 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the rollout of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission with the aim of integrating the different and disparate digital health systems that exist into a National Digital Health Ecosystem.
What is Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM)?
The ABDM currently has five main components:
Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) number: A unique health identification number,
Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR): A repository of healthcare professionals across both modern and traditional systems of medicine,
Health Facility Registry (HFR): A repository of both public and private health facilities, including hospitals, clinics, diagnostic laboratories, and pharmacies,
Unified Health Interface (UHI): An open protocol for digital health services linking patients with healthcare providers,
ABHA Mobile App: An app allowing an individual to carry electronic health records.
Digitization push of Government: To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and targets of universal health coverage, the Indian government has expended significant efforts to promote the digitization of the healthcare sector to make health accessible, affordable, and equitably distributed.
Citizens and doctors can access the health registry: The two registries would ostensibly create a database of India’s healthcare institutions and professionals that citizens would be able to access.
Digital health card: The ABHA number and the application allow citizens to securely identify themselves and carry their health records to any healthcare facility.
Targeted health care services: And lastly, the UHI would facilitate greater access to and delivery of healthcare services.
Huge data for research: All of this activity has and will generate a tremendous quantity of data, which will be crucial for research, innovation, and policymaking.
Importance of private sector in health sector
Mixed health care system: India has a mixed healthcare system, which means that it has both public and private healthcare providers. Without significant participation from the private healthcare providers, the ABDM’s ability to achieve its objectives will be limited.
81% doctors are private: This is because private healthcare infrastructure accounts for nearly 62 per cent of all of India’s health infrastructure and the private sector also provides 81 per cent of the doctors in India.
Preference to private healthcare: Both rural and urban population in India seem to prefer seeking treatment from the private sector. Only 33 per cent of the rural and 26 per cent of the urban population depend on the public sector for healthcare.
Why Private health care are opting out of ABDM?
Voluntary participation in ABDM: The voluntary nature of participation in the ABDM has led to a significant portion of private healthcare providers opting to not participate in the universal programme nor integrate into the UHI.
High cost for digital records: Small healthcare providers like charitable hospitals, clinics, diagnostic labs, pharmacies, or nursing homes are less inclined to participate because of the significant costs involved.
Requirement of manpower for digitization: The cost to these healthcare providers, who are most likely in various stages of digitisation, is the number of man hours required to digitise their health records and other data.
Financial cost of digitization: The actual financial cost of upgrading or altering their digital health systems to meet basic required standards to participate in the ABDM and the UHI.
Impact of non-participation by private players
A lack of participation from the private sector will negatively impact the objectives of the ABDM in major way:
Limited success for UHI: Considering the concentration of private healthcare providers in urban areas, a lack of their participation and integration would limit the UHI’s ability to bring previously inaccessible services to the rural population who would otherwise have to travel to access them.
Incomplete data and ineffective policy: The data generated by the ABDM and use of the UHI would be incomplete, which in turn would significantly limit the effectiveness of policy planning and programme delivery.
Conclusion
It is unclear whether the government intends to achieve private sector participation through incentives or mandates. Without either approach, it seems that the ABDM will see little participation from smaller private healthcare providers, though how this will play out remains to be seen.
Mains Question
Q. What is the significance of Private Players in health care system of India? Explain the crucial role of Private health care in Ayushman Bharat digital Mission.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Free Trade Agreements
Mains level: Indias FTA's and frameworks and its significance
Context
To achieve the export target of $2 trillion by 2030, India is going the whole hog on free trade agreements (FTAs). India is negotiating FTAs with countries such as the European Union, Canada, the U.K., and Israel.
Importance of FTA
FTA include multiple trade aspects: FTAs cover a wide array of topics such as tariff reduction impacting the entire manufacturing and the agricultural sector; rules on services trade; digital issues such as data localization; intellectual property rights that may have an impact on the accessibility of drugs; and investment promotion, facilitation, and protection.
Great impact on economy and society: Consequently, an FTA has a far-reaching impact on the economy and society. Given this, one legitimately expects transparency and greater scrutiny of the FTA process both during and after the negotiations.
What are the problems with Indian FTA negotiations?
Lack of transparency in negotiations: India negotiates most FTAs behind closed doors with very little information about the objectives and processes followed and negligible scrutiny.
No robust framework for FTA negotiations: This is not the case in other countries with whom India is negotiating such an FTA. In the U.K., for example, there are several robust mechanisms that foster a certain degree of transparency in the FTA negotiations. Furthermore, there are institutional apparatuses that enable the scrutiny of the actions of the executive, during and after the signing of the FTA.
Detailed information on FTA’s: Department of International Trade (DFIT), U.K., publishes a policy paper laying down the strategic objectives behind negotiating an FTA and why it is important for the U.K. to have an FTA with a particular country. This policy paper is fairly detailed listing the specific advantages of signing an FTA such as the economic gains expected, distributional impacts, the environmental impact, and the labour and human rights dimensions of the FTA.
Inputs from stakeholders: The policy paper that the DFIT publishes also contains the inputs and responses received by various stakeholders such as businesses, non-governmental organizations, and others. Furthermore, the policy paper also explains the government view on specific suggestions
FTA scrutiny by parliament: In the U.K., the strategic objectives identified by the government for signing an FTA are scrutinized by the U.K. Parliament. This job is performed by the International Agreements Committee (IAC) of the British Parliament. The IAC hears expert witnesses on the FTA, critically examines the government’s strategic objectives for each FTA under negotiation, and offers key recommendations wherever it finds gaps in the government’s approach. The U.K. government then responds to these recommendations.
Parliament has to ratify the FTA: In the U.K, under the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act, 2010, the executive has to lay down a treaty before the British Parliament for 21 sitting days with an explanatory memorandum before ratifying it. This allows Parliament to be apprised of the treaty the executive is going to ratify.
The contrast case of India’s FTA
No publicly produced document in India: In India, no such document is produced publicly that makes a case for signing an FTA and assessing its impact on the environment and society at large. The Commerce Ministry the nodal body dealing with FTAs on its website provides the bare minimum information about FTA negotiations.
No record of discussion with the stakeholders: Seemingly, the Commerce Ministry also undertakes stakeholder consultations and inter-ministerial meetings but there is no public record of these discussions and the government’s response to the concerns of stakeholders.
No parliamentary scrutiny: In India, there is no mechanism for such parliamentary scrutiny of the executive’s actions during the FTA negotiations. India’s parliamentary system allows for department-related parliamentary committees that discuss various topics of importance and offer recommendations. However, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce (PSCC) rarely scrutinises the Indian government’s objectives behind negotiating and signing an FTA.
No role for parliament to ratify the FTA: In India, there is no mechanism for any role of Parliament in the ratification of treaties including FTAs. Entering into treaties and matters incidental to it such as negotiations, signing and ratification are within the constitutional competence of Parliament. But, Parliament in the last seven-plus decades has not exercised its power on this issue, thus giving the executive unfettered freedom in negotiating, signing, and ratifying treaties including FTAs.
Recommendations for Improving the India’s FTA framework
Publicise the objectives of FTA: India should take a leaf out of the U.K. book and develop a law on entering treaties including FTAs. This law should have the following parts. The executive should make a clear economic case outlining its strategic objectives publicly for entering into negotiations for a treaty such as an FTA.
Mandatory consultation with all stakeholders: The executive should be under an obligation to consult all stakeholders, respond to their concerns and make this information publicly available.
Dedicated parliamentary committee to scrutinize the FTA: The Indian Parliament should constitute a committee on the lines of the U.K.’s IAC that will scrutinise the strategic objectives behind entering into an FTA.
Mechanism to ratify the FTA by parliament: The executive should place the FTA on the floor of Parliament for a certain duration, allowing Parliament to debate it, before ratifying it.
Conclusion
While the executive’s constitutional prerogative of entering into an FTA or international treaties, in general, is indisputable, this power should be exercised in a manner that makes the executive answerable. After all, an integral facet of democracy is to hold the executive to account for its actions. It should be no different for negotiating international treaties including FTAs.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Vice-Chancellor Appointment and Centre state relation
Context
Recent judgments of the Supreme Court of India on the appointment of vice chancellors (VC) in State universities in violation of the regulations of the University Grants Commission (UGC) are significant in the context of higher education in a federal country such as India.
Gambhirdan K. Gadhvi vs The State of Gujarat (March 3, 2022): In the case, Gambhirdan K. Gadhvi vs The State of Gujarat (March 3, 2022), from Sardar Patel University, Gujarat, the Court (Justices M.R. Shah and B.V. Nagarathna) quashed the appointment of the incumbent Vice Chancellor on the ground that the search committee did not form a panel for the appointment of VC, and, therefore, was not in accordance with the UGC Regulations of 2018.
UGC regulations will prevail over state law: It was held that since the State law was repugnant to the UGC regulations, the latter would prevail and the appointment under the State law had become void ab initio.
Professor (Dr) Sreejith P.S vs Dr. Rajasree M.S. (October 21, 2022): In the second case, from Kerala, i.e., Professor (Dr) Sreejith P.S vs Dr. Rajasree M.S. (October 21, 2022), with the Bench of Justices M.R. Shah and M.M. Sundresh, the appointment of the Vice Chancellor of the A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technological University, Thiruvananthapuram, was challenged on the ground that the search committee recommended only one name, which is against the UGC Regulations.
Supreme court quashed the appointment of VCs: The Court quashed the appointment of the VC on the ground that the provision relating to the search committee in the University Act is repugnant to the UGC Regulations, and was therefore void.
Implications of the recent judgement
Many VCs asked to resigned by Governor: Decision of the Supreme Court triggered unprecedented developments in Kerala with the State Governor, who is the Chancellor of all the universities in Kerala, asking as many as 11 VCs of other universities of the State to resign immediately on the ground that their appointments too had become void after the Supreme Court’s judgment.
Tussle between governor and state: No VC has resigned as per the direction of the Governor. This development has intensified an already raging battle between the state government and the Governor, which is likely to become fiercer with the Kerala High Court quashing the appointment of the VC of the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies on November 14 on the ground that this appointment was in violation of the UGC Regulations.
What are the legal and constitutional issues with judgement?
UGC regulations vs state university Act: In both these cases, the issue framed by the Supreme Court is about whether the appointment of VCs should be made as per the UGC Regulations or the provisions of the State University Act.
Education in concurrent list, Centre and state can make a legislation: As education is a subject on the Concurrent list, this question needs to be addressed seriously. A VC is appointed by the Chancellor under the relevant University Act, but the Supreme Court has brought in Article 254 of the Constitution to rule that if provisions of the State law are repugnant to the provisions of the Union law, the State law will become void.
State law declared void over UGC violations: In the cases mentioned above, the top court found that the search committee recommended only one name for the appointment of VC which violates the UGC Regulations which require three to five names, and, therefore, the provision of the State law is void.
Subordinate regulations prevailed over state law: Thus, the Court’s conclusion is that if any provision in the State university law is repugnant to the UGC Regulations, the latter will prevail and the former will become void. So, on the one side we have an Act passed by a legislature and on the other we have regulations made by a subordinate body such as the UGC.
Opinion of experts
State laws are subordinate to the act of parliament: A careful reading of Article 254 would show that the repugnancy under this Article relates to a state law and a substantive law made by Parliament. It impliedly excludes rules, regulations, etc. Rules and regulations are made by subordinate authorities in this case the UGC whereas the substantive law is made by the superior authority, namely Parliament.
State laws are not subordinate to UGC regulations: The repugnancy can arise only between the provisions of the University Acts and the UGC Act, and not the regulations of the UGC.
UGC regulations are inferior to state assembly: The rules and regulations made by the subordinate authority, though laid in Parliament, do not go through the same process as a law. Normally these do not require the approval of Parliament. The rules and regulations have an inferior status as compared to an Act. The Constitution cannot be assumed to equate the Act with the rules.
Article 254 does not include regulations: The Constitution does not, in general terms, define the term law. The inclusive definition of law given in Article 13(2) is applicable only to that Article. It has no application to other Articles, which means the term law does not include the rules, regulations, etc. for the purpose of Article 254.
Violation of federal principle: The regulations made by a subordinate authority of the Union overriding a law made by a state legislature will amount to a violation of federal principles and a negation of the concurrent legislative power granted to the State by the Constitution.
UGC regulations are Not part of UGC act: The UGC Regulations on the appointment of VCs are outside the scope of the main provisions of the UGC Act as none of its provisions refers to the appointment of VCs.
Conclusion
Issue of appointment of vice-chancellor has opened the new conflicting chapter between Centre-state relations. Supreme court’s decision has further added the confusion rather than clarity to the issue. Supreme court need to review the judgements for harmonious relations between Centre and states.
Mains Question
Q. Explain the article 254 about Centre-state legislative relations? How the issue of vice-chancellor appointment is problematic for Centre-state relationship?
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: UNSC, FATF
Mains level: Terror financing and Measures to tackle
Context
The spectre of terrorist violence looms large over the world. With the technological advancement terrorists, criminals, weapons and funds are also able to move across national boundaries easily. India is increasingly playing a leading role in curbing the terror financing.
What is Terror Financing?
Terrorist financing encompasses the means and methods used by terrorist organizations to finance their activities.
This money can come from legitimate sources, for example from profits from businesses and charitable organizations.
However, terrorist groups can also get their funds from illegal activities such as trafficking in weapons, drugs or people, or kidnapping for ransom.
Nations like Pakistan has stated policy of supporting cross-border terrorism in India through global funding.
What are the channels of free flow of funds?
The global flow of funds has three traditional channels:
Direct smuggling of cash: First, direct smuggling of cash through international borders.
Use of Hawala: Second, the use of hawala networks.
Banking Networks: Third, banking networks including SWIFT and other international channels.
Use of new technologies: But now swift technological developments in areas of blockchain or cryptocurrencies which transcend national boundaries and international currency systems have emerged as a new channel for financing terrorist and other illegal activities.
What are the identified sources of funds used by Terrorist organizations?
Legal financial activities: Terrorist organizations raise money through several sources like travel agencies, money changers, real estate, retail outlets, NGOs, charitable trusts and even from state sponsors.
Sourced form Criminal activities: Terrorists also derive funding from a variety of criminal activities ranging in scale and sophistication from low-level crime to organized fraud or narcotics smuggling or illegal activities in failed states and other safe havens.
For instance: Declassified files seized during the raid on Osama bin Laden’s Abbottabad hideout also revealed terror financing related documents.
What steps could be taken to uproot terror financing methods?
Identifying the funding requirements: The first step in identifying and forestalling the flow of funds to terrorists is to understand the funding requirements of modern terrorist groups.
Understanding the ideology: The costs associated not only with conducting terrorist attacks, but also with developing and maintaining a terrorist organisation and its ideology are significant. Funds are required to promote a militant ideology, pay operatives and their families, arrange for their travel, train new members, forge documents, pay bribes, acquire weapons and stage attacks.
Tracing the methods of fund flow: Terrorists use a wide variety of methods to move money within and between organisations, including the financial sector, physical movement of cash by couriers, and movement of goods through the trade system. Charities and alternative remittance systems have also been used to disguise terrorist movement of funds.
Monitoring the ambiguous financial intelligence: Only accurate and well linked financial intelligence can reveal the structure of terrorist groups and also the activities of individual terrorists. Of late, such financial intelligence from the private sector has also given significant clues to foil terrorist acts.
How India is leading the battle against terror financing?
India’s continues efforts: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has in all his international speeches spoken at length on this. India’s efforts in taking this momentum forward need to be appreciated.
India actively providing platform for various assemblies: Recently, the 90th Interpol General Assembly held in New Delhi, followed by a special session of UN Security Council’s Counter Terrorism in late October. In the third week of November, India will host another global conference focussed only on Countering Financing of Terrorism (CFT).
CTC adopted Delhi Declaration: The Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) unanimously adopted the Delhi Declaration on countering the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes. The declaration aims to cover the main concerns surrounding the abuse of drones, social media platforms, and crowdfunding, and create guidelines that will help to tackle the growing issue.
India will host ‘No Money for Terror’ Conference: The Ministry of Home Affairs will organise the Third Ministerial ‘No Money for Terror’ Conference. where participants from 75 countries expected to attend the conference. The conference that was first held In Paris in 2018, followed by Melbourne in 2019.
Foundation of FATF: Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was formed in 1989 as a means of bringing order and implementing standards to the monetary system in the world with regard to terror finance and money laundering.
Adopting the resolutions with time: It was the 2001 terrorist attacks that changed the way security agencies looked at terror financing. The UNSCR resolution 1267 in 1999 and UNSCR resolution 1373 in 2001 formed the bedrock of the financial sanctions’ regime for terrorist organisations and individuals.
FATF’s Grey listing: One of the key reasons for Pakistan being placed on the FATF Grey List from 2018 to 2022 was its open defiance of those designations. Only after the FATF’s grey listing open terrorist activities stop and the terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan declined to some extent.
UNSC sanctions and designations: It is pertinent to understand that the FATF has developed its entire paradigm around the word risk. It used the United Nations Security Council sanctions against terrorists and terrorist organizations to begin to evolve a complex body of documentation in order to assess technical compliance and effectiveness of countries in implementing those UN designations. Eight of the nine UN designated terrorists were arrested and convicted in a major testimony to the success of the UN sanctions regime.
Conclusion
The UN Security Council has sought to increase efforts against terror financing. It is only through inclusive efforts that this complex issue can be addressed. India’s hosting of the “No money for terror” conference later this month should go a long way in focusing on the issue of state sponsored terror financing.
Mains Question
Q. With the technological advancement terrorists, criminals, weapons and funds are also able to move across national boundaries easily. Discuss what steps can be taken at national and international level to curb the menace of terror financing?
op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Governance, Transparency & Accountability, Citizens Charters,Representation Of People's Act
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ECI and its mandate,
Mains level: Issues with the electoral bonds and political parties funding mechanism
Context
Elections are to democracy what financial markets are to the economy. The absence of an omnibus law to regulate elections and political parties in India is a legislative gap waiting to be filled.
Significance of political parties in democracy
A political party is an organized group of citizens who hold common views on governance and act as a political unit that seeks to obtain control of government with a view to further the agenda and policy they profess.
Political parties maintaina continuous connection between the people and those who represent them either in government or in the opposition.
Political parties in India are extra-constitutional, but they are the breathing air of the political system.
Current procedure of recognizing and regulating the political parties In India
Registration of political parties: The Representation of the People Act 1951 was amended in 1988 to add a new section IVA on “Registration of political parties” by which the Election Commission of India (ECI) exercises its mandate for superintendence, direction, and control of elections under Article 324 of the Constitution of India.
Recognition as national or state political party: Association of citizens can apply to the ECI to be registered by submitting its Memorandum of Association and swearing allegiance to the Constitution. It requires fulfilment of performance criteria, including a minimum share of the electoral votes cast in the last election and the number of seats won to become a recognized national or a state party.
A regulatory gap in Municipal political parties: Municipalities became the third level of government, three decades ago in 1992, through the 74thconstitutional amendment. But a parallel recognition for political parties operating only at the municipal level is yet to be conceptualized.
Mechanism of Election funding
Encouraging private corporates and individual investment: Indian government does not directly fund election campaigns of parties or independents. However, it has made political parties exempt from income tax, to encourage private corporate and individual investment in building political parties.
Limit on election campaign expenditure: The ECI set upper-end limits (January 2022) for election campaign expenditure in parliamentary seats at INR9.5 million and INR4 million in state legislature seats.
Electoral bonds to end large cash payments in election finance.
Scheme of electoral bonds:
A publicly owned commercial bank, with the largest network of branches is the only designated vendor.
Bonds remain valid for 15 days within which they can be encased through the bank account of the selected political party.
The purchaser-donor enjoys tax credits on the purchased bonds as in any other donation to charities.
Association of democratic records: The idea was to facilitate large donors, preferring anonymity whilst donating funds for elections, with an alternative to cash payments.
What is the cause of concerns over the electoral bonds?
Anonymity of the electoral bonds: The anonymity afforded by the bonds is primarily versus citizens.
Bond vendor is a government owned bank: SBI is a government-owned bank, which can be persuaded by the government into sharing data informally regarding the bond purchases and encashments by political parties
What can be done to ensure the security of the donor?
Bond Digitization: Bonds should be digitized and the privacy of the transfer should be protected through encryption.
Authorized access: Redemption is through banking the audit trail of the donor and the recipient would exist for authorized access.
Enhancing transparency with ECI: Transparency should be enhanced whilst protecting anonymity by authorizing ECI to collect and publish de-personalized information.
Personal data should be accessed with the specific orders only: Access for security and criminal investigation agencies to the personal data should come via a specific order of the ECI allowing such privileged access.
Strict Supervision of political parties: Poor Intra-party governance is concentrated in the Registered Unrecognize Political Parties (RUPP). Most are in breach of their undertaking to fight an election within five years and remain active thereafter.
Strengthen the Regulatory compliance: The benefit of income tax exemption should only be available after registered parties demonstrate a five-year record of compliance with the regulations.
Enforce inner-party democracy and avoiding conflict of interest: Making party members occupying party positions, ineligible for holding executive positions in government. This is necessary to create a complete segregation of functions within the ruling party and the government
Empower ECI to regulate political parties: The misuse of the fiscal privileges afforded to political parties can be minimized through targeted regulatory tweaks, within the existing construct of private financing and the inner functioning of parties improved through targeted regulation.
Conclusion
“Secrecy is a darkness where corruption gets nurtured”. Funding to the political parties need to be transparent. Transparent funding will pave the way for level playing field for all the political parties.
Mains Question
Q. What are the pitfalls of anonymous political funding through electoral bonds. Suggest solutions to ensure the transparent political funding.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Cyber crimes and online safety of Women
Context
India has one of the youngest youth demographics in the world and among the most active online. As online interactions increase, more content is created and shared among people, helping them form new and wonderful connections. Sometimes, however, these interactions also make them vulnerable to harm.
Sharing embarrassing and cruel content about a person to impersonation
Stalking and electronic surveillance
Non-consensual use of photography
Violent threats and hate speech
Defamation
Flaming- use of vitriolic and hostile messages including threats, insults
Trolling
The online harassment of women, sometimes called Cyber-sexism or cyber-misogyny, is specifically gendered abuse targeted at women and girls online.
It incorporates sexism, racism and religious prejudice.
How women disproportionately get affected?
Often women are blamed: Often, crimes that disproportionately impact women devolve into mass panic and lead to an all too predictable top-down discourse around the need to protect our sisters and daughters.
Curbing the freedom of Women: The reaction, however well intentioned, will end up denying women their freedom and agency by their so-called protectors, many of whom are simply telling women to go offline, to be ashamed of expressing themselves, to stay in their lane.
What is role of intermediaries in preventing such abuses?
Making intermediary liable: As of now, the intermediaries are not liable for any third-party data or communication link hosted or stored by them.
Mandatory Data retention by intermediaries: They are required to retain the requisite data for duration as prescribed by the Government and supply the same to the authorities concerned, as and when sought.
Punishment for Non-compliance is: Highlighting any contravention attracts punishment as prescribed under the IT Act.
What are the Steps taken by the Government?
IT rules 2021: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
Defined Categories of abuse: They include contents that are defamatory, obscene, pornographic, paedophilic, invasive of another’s privacy, insulting or harassing on the basis of gender, libellous, racially or ethnically objectionable, etc.
Prohibition on derogatory publications: The intermediaries, on the direction of the court or appropriate government agency, are prohibited from hosting, storing or publishing any information declared unlawful.
Removal of content within 24 hours: Within 24 hours from the receipt of a complaint from, or on behalf of, an individual about any offensive content, they are required to take all reasonable and practicable measures to remove or disable access to it.
Meetings of parliamentary committees: Various parliament committees in India have held meetings to discuss the issue of online safety of women over the years, and part of the government’s motivation in notifying the new IT rules had been rooted in the growing concern regarding the safety and security of users, particularly women and children. These are very good tangible steps.
Amendment in IT act should include the concerns of women: With the IT Act coming up for a rehaul, there is an opportunity to discuss in detail the nature of technology-facilitated abuse, capturing what this means, understanding how cases impact individuals as well as communities, the language needed to capture such offences and the punishment penalties, jail or even rehabilitation programmes for perpetrators. This could be the start of an era of evidence-based discussion.
Conclusion
Despite these efforts, it is clear that women in India won’t feel safe online anytime soon unless society lets them. What could be helpful here is to elevate the public discourse around technology-facilitated abuse.
Mains Question
Q. How women are vulnerable against online abuse? What is the role of Intermediaries in online abuse case? What are governments efforts to make women friendly cyberspace?
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MARS alert system, global Methane pledge, Methane
Mains level: MARS alert system, Methane emission
Context
A new satellite-based system will now help governments detect methane emissions and tackle them. The Methane Alert and Response System (MARS) was launched at the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
What is Methane Alert and Response System (MARS)?
MARS is a part of global efforts to slow climate change by tracking the global warming gas.
The system will be the first publicly available global system to connect methane detection to notification processes transparently.
The data-to-action platform was set up as part of the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) strategy to get policy-relevant data into the right hands for emissions mitigation.
How the “MARS” will work?
The Methane Alert and Response System, or MARS, will integrate data from a large number of existing and future satellites to identify significant methane emission events anywhere in the world.
It will send out notifications to the relevant stakeholders and support and track mitigation progress.
According to the UN statement MARS will track the large point emission sources, mainly in the fossil fuel industry, but with time, would be able to detect emissions from coal, waste, livestock and rice fields as well.
UNEP will continue to monitor the event location and make the data and analysis available to the public between 45 and 75 days after detection.
Methane a dangerous greenhouse gas
A major greenhouse gas: Methane is the second-most common of the six major greenhouse gases, but is far more dangerous than carbon dioxide in its potential to cause global warming.
One of major contributor of GHG emissions: Contribution Accounting for about 17 per cent of the current global greenhouse gas emissions.
One of the key reasons behind Temperature rise: Methane is blamed for having caused at least 25 to 30 per cent of temperature rise since the pre-industrial times.
Methane largely a Sectoral gas: Unlike carbon dioxide, methane is largely a sectoral gas, and there are only a few sources of emission.
Few sources large emissions of methane: The global warming potential of methane is about 80 times that of carbon dioxide. It accounts for a small portion of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions compared to carbon dioxide.
To achieve the target set by Global methane pledge: At the Glasgow climate conference last year, nearly 100 countries had come together in a voluntary pledge the Global Methane Pledge to cut methane emissions by at least 30 per cent by 2030 from the 2020 levels. More countries have joined in this initiative since then, bringing the total to nearly 130.
To keep the temperature, rise below 5-degree Celsius: A 30 per cent reduction in methane emissions by 2030 is expected to result in avoiding 0.2 degree rise in temperature by the year 2050, and is considered absolutely essential in the global efforts to keep the temperature increase below the 1.5-degree Celsius target. This is a global, not a national reduction target.
Reducing methane emissions from the atmosphere provides multiple benefits: Methane being a sectoral gas with few sources of emission, it is possible to cut down on methane emissions without having widespread impact on the economy, a reduction in methane emissions brings big benefits in a short time.
MARS Provides technical and advisory to the partners: If requested, MARS partners will also provide technical or advisory services, such as help in assessing mitigation opportunities.
All you need to know about Conference of Parties (COP).
Unless the parties decide otherwise, every year The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) convenes what is called a Conference of Parties (COP), a meeting that brings together leaders and delegates from around the world to strengthen their commitments and actions against specific climate change goals.
The parties are the 198 countries that ratified the UNFCCC.
The UNFCCC is an international treaty focused on preventing dangerous human interference with the climate system, primarily by stabilizing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Conclusion
Cutting methane is the fastest opportunity to reduce warming and keep 1.5°C within reach, and this MARS a new alert and response system is going to be a critical tool for helping all of us deliver on the Global Methane Pledge.
Mains Question
Q. Methane is thought to be 80 times more efficient than carbon dioxide at trapping atmospheric heat in the 20 years following its release. Discuss how MARS a new alert system would be helpful to keep the temperature rise below 1.5 degree Celsius?
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Independent judiciary , issues of accountability and credibility of Higher courts
Context
The reach of India’s highest court is all-pervasive. The Supreme Court sits in final judgment over decisions not only of the high courts in the states, but also over a hundred tribunals, central and state, functioning throughout India. Hence the accountability of apex court crucial for judicial system in India.
Brief in other words: Significance of judiciary
Decisions of Courts are binding on all: The law declared by the Supreme Court, its pronouncements on the constitutional validity of enacted law, including constitutional amendments, is binding on all other courts and authorities in the country (Article 141).
Executive and legislature are under the scrutiny of Courts: There is virtually no area of legislative or executive activity which is beyond the court’s scrutiny.
High courts are not ready to reform themselves: In the Salem Advocate Bar Association case, the justices had requested the high courts to implement the detailed blueprint on case management most of them have not.
Limitations of supreme court to govern the High courts: Supreme court could not direct the high courts to do so because under our constitutional scheme the latter are autonomous constitutional bodies not subject to administrative directions of the Supreme Court.
Self-accountability in administrations of courts: It is in the high courts that there are now left the largest number of roadblocks and delays; in their administrative functioning the high courts are answerable to no one but themselves. This often enables the Supreme Court to plead helplessness, hardly a good augury for integrated court-management.
How judiciary can maintain its credibility and accountability?
Judiciary need to Preserve the independence: the judiciary as an institution needs to preserve its independence, and to do this it must strive to maintain the confidence of the public in the established courts.
Judges should safeguard the judges: The independence of judges is best safeguarded by the judges themselves through institutions and organisations that the law empowers them to set up, to preserve the image of an incorruptible higher judiciary that would command the respect of all right-thinking people.
Reform on case management: A bench of three justices of the Supreme Court, in a judgment delivered in August 2005, had drawn up a fine blueprint on case-management, on how to make recent amendments in our procedural laws work on the ground, and how to get more cases moving along: For instance, on three different tracks, fast track, normal track and slow track.
Supreme court should directly administer High courts: It is time that the Supreme Court be entrusted with direct responsibility for the functioning of the high courts: Only then can the highest court be an effective apex court, only then can the Supreme Court be made answerable, as it should be, for judicial governance for the entire country.
Public disclosure of income by judges: Judges must make annual financial disclosure statements, not privately to their respective chief justices, but publicly. It is done by justices of the Supreme Court.
How judiciary in USA maintain its credibility and accountability?
Judicial council act: In the United States, under the Judicial Councils Act, 1980, task of judicial independence has been gladly undertaken by the judges. But regrettably, so far, there is no law in India to guide our judges only “guidelines”. There is a felt need for a law.
Judges investigate the judges: The 1980 US Act confers powers on bodies comprised of judges to take such action against a federal judge “as is appropriate, short of removal.”
A case study of America: Under this law, some time ago, a committee of fellow judges had investigated complaints against a federal district judge, John McBryde; the Judicial Council reprimanded him and suspended him from hearing new cases for a year.
Corruption Investigation Not violating the judicial independence: McBryde challenged the decision. He argued that the 1980 law violated the judicial independence which the US Constitution had guaranteed to life-tenured federal judges; But a US Court of Appeals rejected all these pleas.
Oversight of judges is not interference: It accepted the argument of the US Solicitor-General that judicial independence, protected by Article III of the US Constitution, was meant to insulate judges from interference from other branches of government and not from oversight by other judges.
Conclusion
In India, in the past and in recent times, some things have gone wrong. And citizens need the reassurance of a system of judicial accountability a remedial mechanism which will protect the higher judiciary from some of its own members who have gone astray. Such reassurance can only be provided by enacting a law on the lines of the American model.
Mains Question
Q. What are the reasons for very less accountability in higher judiciary in India? How corruption in higher judiciary is addressed in USA?
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Articles 21
Mains level: issues over the Right to Privacy, Social media and privacy
Context
The recent outrage over the unauthorized video of cricketing superstar Virat Kohli’s hotel room in Perth including glimpses of his private spaces and objects is best viewed through an understanding of the changed landscape of the “private” and the “public” in our times. It is a topography shaped through our engagements with social media of different kinds.
What does the Constitution say?
Fundamental right under Article.21: Article 21 is also known as the heart of the constitution; this right is granted to citizens of India as well as the non-citizens. This fundamental right not only talks about life and liberty but it also covers wide variety of rights.
Interpretation of Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India and Anr (1978): The interpretation of the term Personal Liberty has been discussed in many cases and finally had a wider interpretation in the case of Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India and Anr (1978) here the Delhi Regional officer ordered the petitioner Maneka Gandhi to surrender her passport within 7 days without giving her proper reason for the same.
Supreme court on Personal liberty: The Supreme Court held that ‘Personal Liberty’ covered variety of rights and that such right could only be taken away according to the procedure established by law which had to be just, fair and reasonable and not arbitrary in nature. Personal liberty means various rights that provide for personal liberty of a person.
Right to privacy: In Article 21 the term Right to Life includes right to participate in activities, right to tradition, heritage, culture, livelihood and so on. One of the most important right to live also includes Right to Privacy. Each and every human being would want some privacy in their life. No one would want others to intrude in their private space and disturb the happiness and peace.
Not in the original constitution: This right of privacy was not granted to the citizens for a long time and there had been a lot of debate going on about the same, there is no explicit provision in the constitution which emphasizes about the right to privacy.
Data is fundamental to the privacy: Even the data we save in our mobile phones and laptops are also our private data which needs to be protected, if the data is stolen our right to privacy is lost and fundamental right is infringed. Unprotected data causes a disturbance in the right to privacy.
Some of the Important cases related to right to privacy
Kharak Singh V. The State of U.P.(1962): The discussion about the right to privacy first came up in the case of Kharak Singh V. The State of U.P.(1962) Kharak Singh’s house was visited by the police at strange hours, frequently waking him up from his sleep, it was held by the court that this infringed his ‘right to life’ but however court dismissed the petitioner’s allegation that the shadowing of chronic criminals infringed on his right to privacy as at that time the right to privacy was not recognised as the Fundamental Right.
Rajagopal v. State of Tamil Nadu (1994): With the case of R. Rajagopal v. State of Tamil Nadu (1994) where this case prepared the way for subsequent decisions on the Right to Privacy, paving the way for it to be included in the Fundamental Rights given under Part III of the Constitution.
X v. Hospital Z case (1998): There are reasonable restrictions for this right about which it was held by the Supreme Court in the case of Mr. X v. Hospital Z (1998) here the appellant Mr. X was tested positive for HIV about which the doctors informed someone else without his consent because of which marriage of Mr. X was called off, the appellant approached the court stating that his right to privacy was violated. The court here held that this fact has to been known to the person whom he marries as this fact would affect her life as well as it being a communicable disease and that there is no violation to the ‘Right of Privacy’ of Mr. X.
The landmark case of K.S. Puttaswamy v/s Union Of India 2017.
Right to privacy is fundamental right: In the landmark case K.S. Puttaswamy V. Union of India which was passed in the year 2017, Right to Privacy was recognised as Fundamental Right and was then enshrined in Article 21 as a Right to life and personal liberty.
Social media endangered the privacy: Judges held that because there is enormous technical advancement both state and non-state factors may be at risk of loss of privacy, also it was held that an Individual is very concerned with his / her personal Data, they control their data and what to be posted on social media what to be displayed to the public and what to hide from outsiders, so unauthorized use of such information by anyone else except to whom that information belongs to may lead to violation of individuals privacy.
Privacy is integral to fundamental rights: On 24th August 2017 the nine-judge bench of India passed a unanimous historic Judgement with concurring opinions. Part III of the Indian constitution lays down different articles for the protection of one’s Fundamental Rights. The judgement stated privacy to be an integral component of Part III.
Overturning the previous judgements: The bench recognized that the right to privacy should also be a key element of Fundamental Rights and should be included in Article 21 of right to life and personal liberty. In this judgement the decisions given in the case of Kharak Singh V. The State of U.P. (1962) and MP Sharma V. Satish Chandra (1954) were overruled.
Conclusion
The great deal of hand wringing over the invasion of Virat Kohli’s privacy has been accompanied by seemingly endless circulation of the video clip. The line between outrage and enjoyment is as unclear as that between the alternating desire for publicity that ethereal frisson of celebrity-ness and revulsion over too much of it.
Mains Question
Q. How right to privacy is integral part of right to life? How social media affected the privacy of individual and enlist the solutions associated with it.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: COP-27
Mains level: Energy inequality, Climate actions and related issues
Context
27th Conference of Parties (COP27, beginning November 6, in Egypt) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Realization of climate action: Birth of UNFCCC
The idea led to the formation of the United Nations Framework for Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC, also known as ‘The Convention’) in 1992, at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
The convention divided the countries on the basis of their differing commitments: Annex I and II consisted of industrialized and developed countries and Non-Annex I comprised developing countries.
Summary of COP26
Inadequate reduction commitment: In the runup to COP26, last year in Glasgow, several developed countries had declared their intention to reach net zero emissions by 2050. These declarations did not square with the requirements of “keeping 1.5 deg. C alive”.
Global carbon budget: Four fifths of the global carbon budget to limit warming to 1.5°C (with 50% probability) has already been exhausted. Developed countries are responsible for more than half of these historical CO2 emissions. Nevertheless, there was much celebration of these targets.
Politics over phasing out coal: There was also high drama at COP26, with moral grandstanding by many developed country negotiators who invoked the future of their children, because India and other countries understandably balked at the singling out of any one fossil fuel for immediate action.
Developed countries didn’t meet the commitment: It is important to recall some of these shenanigans at COP26, as in the last year, it has become clear that developed countries may be unlikely to meet even the inadequate targets they have set, keeping to the trend of the last three decades.
What is the present energy situation in developing countries?
Energy poverty concentrated in the developing countries: Global energy poverty is concentrated in the developing countries. In 2021, 733 million people had no access to electricity and almost 2.6 billion people lacked access to clean fuels and technologies.
The average per capita energy: Energy use of the richest 20 countries is 85 times higher than that of the 20 poorest countries. Addressing this stark energy poverty in developing countries is important because there is a strong correlation between energy supply and human development.
The average annual per capita electricity: Electricity consumption of sub-Saharan Africa is 487 kilowatt hours (kWh), alongside an infant mortality rate of 73 per 1,000 live births; maternal mortality ratio of 534 per 1,00,000 live births, and per capita GDP of $1,645. On the other hand, the OECD group of countries have a per capita electricity consumption of 7,750 kWh, corresponding to an infant mortality rate of seven, maternal mortality ratio of 18, and per capita GDP of $42,098.
Slowdown due to lack of energy: The reality of global inequality was acutely evident during the COVID19 pandemic. Several countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America are facing severe agricultural and industrial slowdowns in the post pandemic period.
The lack of reliable energy infrastructure: Infrastructure unavailability has compounded the difficulties and has multidimensional impacts across developmental indicators. In 2022, these inequalities have been aggravated by soaring energy and food prices.
Rising cost of living: Several countries face a severe rise in the cost of living and nearly 70 million additional people are estimated to fall below the poverty line of $3.20 per person per day. Poor and vulnerable communities in the energy importing countries of the global South suffer the most. Almost 90 million people in Asia and Africa, who gained access to electricity recently, cannot afford to pay their energy bills.
No acknowledgement of problem by developed countries: In this background, COP27 affords a critical moment to acknowledge and address the concerns surrounding energy access and security in developing countries. Unfortunately, these longstanding problems of the global South have been ignored by developed country governments, academia, and civil society. At a time when the language of energy poverty and security is re-entering the northern vocabulary, it is time to call out the hypocrisy of the advice on fossil fuel use given by the north to some of the world’s poorest regions since the Paris Agreement was signed.
Fossil fuel as primary energy source: In the United States, 81% of primary energy is from fossil fuels. In Europe, fossil fuels constitute 76% of the energy consumption (coal, oil, and natural gas contribute 11%, 31%, and 34% respectively).
Negligible efforts for decarbonization: Thirty years after acknowledging the problem of anthropogenic global warming and committing in the UNFCCC, to take the lead in climate change mitigation, the level of decarbonization in the global North has been minuscule.
Increasing coal consumption: In July 2022, the European Union (EU) voted to classify the use of natural gas for some uses as “green and sustainable”. Natural gas was responsible for 7.5 billion tonnes of CO2 (i.e., 23% of the total CO2 by the major fossil fuels), in 2020. Additionally, in 2022, even coal consumption in the U.S. and the EU is estimated to increase by 3% and 7%, respectively.
Double standard for fossil fuel: These same developed countries argue that green energy constitutes a great business opportunity for developing countries as it has become cheaper. They have used this dubious argument to dismiss differentiation between developed and developing countries and are lobbying for banning the financing of any fossil fuel projects in some of the poorest countries.
What should be the agenda of developing countries at COP 27?
Bring the energy poverty issue: At COP27, the global South must put the question of its energy poverty and the severe global inequalities in energy access squarely at the Centre of all discussions.
Achieving SDGs with climate actions: We need to achieve zero hunger, zero malnutrition, zero poverty, and universal wellbeing even as we collectively contribute to ensuring effective climate action.
No empty commitments: As the strapline for COP27 (“Together for Implementation”) suggests, we must work together to ensure that these developmental goals are not side-lined, as they were at COP26, in the pursuit of hollow declarations of net zero targets three decades into the future.
Conclusion
A developing country leadership at COP27 can ensure effective discussions, based on equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, on the relative responsibilities and sharing of mitigation and adaptation burdens while coping with loss and damage.
Mains Question
Q. Describe the energy inequality situation among developed and developing countries. How India can lead the developing countries for negotiations at COP27?
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Electric vehicles
Mains level: Electric vehicle Supply chain market and india's position
Context
The start of COP27 in Egypt has renewed the world’s focus on climate change. Electric vehicles (EVs) are key in the global quest to decarbonizing. In India, which also faces serious air pollution issues, the transition to EVs is critical. However, there is a China-size risk in the supply chain for electric vehicles. The recent saber-rattling across the Taiwan Straits ought to be a warning for the world. Given India’s troubled relationship with China, the risk may be even more acute.
What are Electrical vehicles (EV’s)?
Electric vehicles (EV) are a part of the new normal as the global transportation sector undergoes a paradigm shift, with a clear preference towards cleaner and greener vehicles.
The electric vehicle is a vehicle that runs on electricity alone. Such a vehicle does not contain an internal combustion engine like the other conventional vehicles. Instead, it employs an electric motor to run the wheels.
The global status of EVs production and supply chain.
50% of global EV’s production comes from China: EVs themselves, China has a share of around 50 per cent in global production.
25% from Europe: Europe is a distant and stands at second position with 25 per cent.
10% from US: Surprisingly, the US is a small player in the EV supply chain, producing only 10 per cent of vehicles and containing just 7 per cent of battery production capacity.
India’s position is still not noteworthy: India does not feature as a player of note.
What makes China a dominant player in EVs supply chain?
Every part of EV concentrated in China: According to a recent report by the International Energy Association, every part of the EV supply chain is highly concentrated, mostly in China.
High global mining output of Key minerals, specifically graphite: The first stage of the supply chain is the key minerals required for batteries, namely lithium, nickel, cobalt and graphite, In graphite, China has an 80 per cent share of global mining output.
Chinese control over Politically unstable DRC’ Mines of cobalt: In Cobalt, the politically highly unstable Democratic Republic of Congo mines two-thirds of the global supply and Chinese companies control a big share of that country’s mining.
China dominates the processing of ore/minerals: Globally, over 60 per cent of lithium processing, over 70 per cent of cobalt processing, 80 per cent of graphite processing and about 40 per cent of nickel processing takes place in China.
China’s heavy production of cell components: Other than Japan and south korea, China produces two-thirds of global anodes and three-fourths of cathodes.
Same case with the battery cells: China has a 70 per cent share in the production of battery cells.
The status of Governmental spending’s of energy transition
China the biggest spender on energy transition: According to a report by Bloomberg’s New Energy Fund (NEF), in 2021, out of a total global spend of $750 billion in climate-related investments (90 per cent of which went into renewable energy and electric transport), China alone spent $266 billion.
US stands at second: The US was a distant second with $114 billion. The major countries of Europe combined would equal the US. In Europe, about 75-80 per cent of the spending is on EVs, which is why it leads the US in this sector.
India holds 7th rank but needs a focused approach: India was in 7th place not a bad rank to occupy with $14 billion invested. However, almost 40 per cent of Chinese and US spending was on EVs, while more than 95 per cent of India’s spending is on renewable energy. In India, despite intent, EVs have not received sufficient investment.
Accelerating the mechanism of acquiring overseas mines of critical minerals: A recently formed government venture, KABIL, which is a JV between three minerals and metals PSUs, is tasked with the job of identifying and acquiring overseas mines
Liberalizing the domestic exploration policies: An alternate option is to liberalize exploration policies domestically, benchmark them with global best practices and invite global investors to find and mine in India.
Stitching up the supply alliances: It is important to stitch up supply alliances with countries ex-China, as has been done with Australia. At higher ends of the value chain, from battery cells onwards, there is a need to invest much more in R&D.
Making vibrant start up ecosystem and public private partnership: A public-private partnership is vital. The vibrant startup ecosystem must be leveraged because it is more likely to be innovative than legacy firms.
Do you know The Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL)?
A joint venture company namely Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. (KABIL) set up with the participation of three Central Public Sector Enterprises namely, National aluminium Company Ltd.(NALCO), Hindustan Copper Ltd.(HCL) and Mineral Exploration Company Ltd. (MECL).
The objective of constituting KABIL is to ensure a consistent supply of critical and strategic minerals to Indian domestic market. While KABIL would ensure mineral security of the Nation, it would also help in realizing the overall objective of import substitution
Conclusion
The dragon has showed its evil side during the pandemic. China is weaponizing the trade to counter its adversaries. Excessive reliance on China for critical mineral resources is like falling into China’s trap. India and world need to restrain China to have monopoly over Electric Vehicle market.
op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 1: Laws, Institutions & Bodies Constituted For The Vulnerable Sections,Social Empowerment
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Controversy over the EWS reservation verdict
Context
Shortly after the Supreme Court on Monday, 7 November, upheld the validity of the 103rd Constitutional Amendment Act, which introduced 10 percent reservations for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in government jobs and educational institutions, Tamil Nadu’s DMK termed the split verdict a ‘setback’ to a century-old fight for social justice.
What is the idea of reservation?
Based on historical injustice: Reservation is intrinsically linked to the historical injustice meted out to Shudras and Dalits.
Reservation for egalitarian society: It was during the anti-caste movement that the idea of reservation came up as a way for an egalitarian social order, to ensure fair representation in the socio-political order, and to mitigate and compensate for the inhuman exclusion of humans based on ascriptive status.
Equal participation in nation building: Reservation is implemented in politics, education and public employment so that all those in the hierarchy can participate in nation-building on equal terms.
Reservation is not a poverty alleviation: R. Ambedkar and E.V. Ramasamy ‘Periyar’ spoke about reservation as a means of providing representation; not as a poverty alleviation programme.
Historical benefits to upper caste: Merit is often the mantra used against the idea and implementation of reservation. Historically, Brahmins had the monopoly in offering sacrifice, receiving gifts, becoming priests, spiritual mentorship, and teaching.
Monopoly over resources: Vaishyas had the monopoly in wealth-generating professions. These monopolies were rooted in, and buttressed by, the authority of scriptures like the Manusmriti and treatises like the Arthasashtra.
Monopoly over the education: The top three Varnas had access to learning. In the colonial era, under the progressive pressures of modernization and democratization, the traditional monopolies based on caste order were diffused into the secular domains of bureaucracy, legal practice, professorship, etc.
Upper caste reservation in certain professions: Leaders professing equality, such as Jyotirao Phule, Periyar and Ambedkar, wanted to annihilate the arbitrary reservation for certain professions, being implemented based on fanciful mythical stories.
Democratization of employment and education: Essentially, the mission was to ‘de-reserve’ education and employment opportunities from a handful of castes to make them available to the remaining castes which were aspiring to be a part of the newly independent nation.
Idea of Merit to oppose the reservation: The merit mantra was very effective at stopping, or at least stalling, the ‘de-reservation’ process. But when the bill for EWS reservation was passed hastily in Parliament in 2019, there was no concern for merit.
How categorization of poor under EWS is unfair?
The bar of 8 Lakh is absurd: Individuals from upper caste communities who earn up to ₹8 lakh a year and may own a 1,000-square feet home are being called economically weak.
Poverty estimation: In India, more than 30 crore citizens have been classified as being below the poverty line (spending less than ₹32 a day in urban areas and under ₹27 a day in rural areas).
Lower caste forms the majority of Poor: Data from India (overall) as well as individual States show that Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) have a higher share of poor people than upper castes in both urban and rural India.
Different income criteria for different community: We now live in a country where a household earning more than ₹75 per day is considered above the poverty line, while an upper caste household earning ₹2,222 a day is considered economically weak. According to the Department of Revenue data, households earning more than ₹10 lakh constitute less than 1% of India’s population.
Credibility of Data for EWS reservation was never questioned
Mandal commission data was critically analyzed: In the 1990s, renowned scholars from privileged communities viciously attacked the Mandal Commission claiming that it lacked credible data. In fact, the Mandal Commission report was based on official data curated from the Censuses of 1891 and 1931.
No credible data for EWS reservation: Further, B.P. Mandal formulated his concept of ‘backwardness’ by factoring in the social, educational and economic dimensions of different caste communities. But now, neither justification nor credible data has been presented while arguing that 10% reservation must be provided for the upper caste poor.
EWS reservation is equating the unequal’s: The Mandal Commission report said, “To equate unequal’s is to perpetuate inequality”. By giving the go-ahead for the EWS quota, Supreme Court has equated unequal’s in the category of affirmative action.
More privilege to already privileged community: The EWS quota is unfair because it twists the idea of social justice by bequeathing further privilege to communities who are historically situated to benefit from the oppressive caste system.
Other criticism of EWS reservation?
SC/ST and OBC are outside the EWS reservation: A Dalit or an OBC who does not get a job within this quota still belongs to the EWS, but he is excluded. That is the Constitutional issue, which you have to answer. How have you excluded them, how have you excluded the poor, how have you excluded those who earn only 20,000 a month who do not get jobs amongst the Dalits?
Disturbing the basic structure: The government of tinkering with the “basic structure” of the Constitution.
Ultimate goal is removal of reservation: Government basically testing the waters and this will pave the way for the removal of caste-based reservation.
Opening the lid for further reservation: There is demand that government should raise the existing reservation cap for SC, OBC and minorities in line with their proportion in the population now since a decision has been taken to break the 50 per cent ceiling set by the top court.
Conclusion
It is true that historically reservation is based social inequalities. Despite having the good credentials and marks upper caste or open categories were denied jobs. Justice to upper castes is not the injustice to lower castes. This is against the principal of natural justice. However exclusion of SC/ST and OBC from EWS category is certainly a matter of debate.
Mains Question
Q.What is the Ambedkar’s idea of reservation? Critically analyze the EWS reservation upheld by supreme court.
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Issues related to Police governance
Context
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) convened a conference in late October in the capital, which saw the participation of the union home minister, a few States Home Ministers and police chiefs. The Delhi conference was a very important occasion aimed at improving the quality of policing in the country through an exchange of ideas.
Sardar Patel’s vision of Police
Training and Professionalism: He placed great value on professional policing, one reason why he insisted on an elitist and well-trained corps such as the Indian Police Service (IPS) which worked alongside the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).
Didn’t abandon the civil services: He was under immense pressure from various quarters, to disband both the Indian Civil Service and IPS, but as a distinguished and astute visionary, he was steadfast in his belief.
Nationally accepted standards: Subsequent events proved him right. Despite all their faults, the two all-India services have been a cementing force and have greatly contributed to establishing nationally accepted standards of governance, especially in the area of law and order.
What is the Present status of Policing in India?
A case study of Tamil Nadu: The way the Tamil Nadu police have handled the case of a blast in Coimbatore that happened recently, and a possible terror-related plot, also fits in this scene and is relevant to the state of law and order in the State and elsewhere.
Delay in serious cases: There is a section of influential public opinion which has accused the Tamil Nadu government of having been slothful and delayed handing over investigation of the incident to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). This has been rebutted by the State Director General of Police (DGP) who said that his force could not abruptly abandon the investigation and had to do the preliminary investigation to facilitate an NIA take-over.
Shifting the responsibility: The exchange of barbs by the two sides has been an unfortunate and avoidable development and the truth lies in between. Rather than getting into a slanging match, what is more important is an examination of the standard operating procedures in place, the identification of lacunae and the initiation of corrective measures.
West Bengal case: Conflict between the Ministry of Home affairs and State over utilizing talent in the IPS and the sharing of resources available in the States.
Collaborative approach: It is a no-brainer that, New Delhi is the senior partner in what is definitely a collaborative relationship. But there have been actions over the decades that have inflicted many deep wounds on public order.
Forge a strong camaraderie: These have been situations that have demanded large numbers of well-trained policemen. The Centre has always chipped in with support from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). There have also been other outfits such as the Border Security Force (BSF), the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) which have also worked in tandem with the State Police. Therefore, it makes sense that the MHA and State Police stop squabbling but explore how best to forge a strong camaraderie.
State must cooperate with Centre: We are also witness to frequent spats between States and the Centre over the use or alleged misuse of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Here again both parties have to share the blame. But the basic point that has been ignored is that crime and bureaucratic corruption have inter-State ramifications and only a national agency can bring in a much-needed and wide perspective.
CBI is inevitable for corruption at state level: Insensitive action by a few States to withdraw consent to the CBI to function in a state smack of politics and vindictiveness, which diminishes the fight against public servant graft.
How union government can improve the Policing?
Training and technology: ‘Police’ are a state subject under the distribution of powers laid down in the Constitution of India. But that does not mean the Union government has no say in the matter. Training and technology are two areas where the Centre does greatly contribute to sharpening police ability to combat terrorism and other major public disturbances.
The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy: in Hyderabad is a world-class institution that has resources and the professional excellence which are generously available to State police forces.
Strong political leadership: Petty squabbling reduces the exchange of ideas and goes to attenuating the police response to difficult situations that require police assistance. This is why we need a political leadership that does not get bogged down in petty differences but promotes a free exchange of talent and resources between New Delhi and the States.
Conclusion
With exponential rise if technology nature of crimes has significantly changed. We must impart a modern training with professionalism to our Police. Police subject need to delink from Centre-state politics.
Mains Question
Q. Analyze the state of Police governance in India? What reforms are needed for modern policing in India? How Centre-state can collaborate for better police governance?
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GMO, GM crops, Advantages and Disadvantages.
Mains level: GM mustard debate
Context
As soon as the government took the decision to release India’s first genetically-modified (GM) food crop Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11 (DMH-11) for “environment release”, some activists approached the Supreme Court to ban it for various reasons. The Supreme Court has ordered the status quo to be maintained till the next hearing on the matter on November 17.
What are Genetically modified organisms (GMO)?
Changes in genetic material: GMOs can be defined as organisms (i.e., plants, animals or microorganisms) in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination
Transfers of genes: It allows selected individual genes to be transferred from one organism into another, also between nonrelated species.
GM foods: Foods produced from or using GM organisms are often referred to as GM foods
What is the ironic case of opposition to the GM crops?
Opposition to GM is not new: The opposition to GM food crops is not new. There has been a global campaign in this regard by many activists. GM crops have spread around the world since 1996.
of countries accepted the use of GM crops: More than 70 countries have accepted the use of GM crops. For instance, by 2019, roughly 190 million hectares were under GM crops, led by corn and soyabean in the US, Brazil, Argentina, and canola (rapeseed/mustard) in Canada, even Bangladesh has marched ahead with Bt brinjal.
No concrete evidence of harmful impact: There is ample evidence in support of that with no harmful impact on human or animal health or the environment per se.
India’s journey towards GM crops, specifically “Bt cotton”
First GM crop released under Vajpayee government with the slogan of Jai Vigyan:
Atal Bihar Vajpayee envisioned that science could transform agriculture
India had its first GM crop, Bt cotton, released in 2002 by the Vajpayee government. He extended the original slogan of “jai jawan, jai kisan” (salutation to the soldier and the farmer), given by Lal Bahadur Shastri, to include “jai vigyan” (salutation to science).
The case of Historic success of Bt cotton:
Cotton production Increased: With the Bt cotton, Cotton production increased remarkably from a mere 13.6 million bales (1 bale = 170 kg) in 2002-03 to 39.8 million bales in 2013-14. Registered an increase of 192 per cent in just 12 years, ushering the famous “gene revolution”.
Area under Cotton cultivation expanded: The area under cotton cultivation expanded by 56 per cent, of which about 95 per cent is under Bt cotton.
Cotton productivity per hectare increased significantly: Cotton productivity increased from 302 kg per hectare in 2002-03 to 566 kg per hectare in 2013-14, an increase of 76 per cent,
More productivity more income to farmers lead to increase in agri- GDP: The gains to cotton farmers whose incomes increased significantly. For instance, Bt cotton led Gujarat’s “agrarian miracle” of very high (above 8 per cent) annual growth rate in agri-GDP during 2002-03 to 2013-14.
Revived the glory to The Indian cotton in the world market: It made India the second-largest producer after China, and the second-largest exporter after the US, of cotton in the world today.
What are the concerns associated with the cultivation of GM crops?
Emergence of Increased pest resistance: Enhanced sucking pest damage in Bt cotton; increase in secondary pests such as mired bugs and Spodoptera; and the emergence of pest resistance.
Impact on environment of human health: Environmental and health implications in terms of toxicity and allergenicity that can cause hematotoxin reactions in the human body.
Fear of increased mono cropping: Farmers’ exposure to a greater risk of monopoly in the seed business.
What is the controversy and debate associated with GM Mustard?
Debate on advantages and impacts: There is a raging debate going on advantages and disadvantages of GMOs. For a long time, further study was requested by farmers, environmentalist on GMO crops.
Denial goes against the principle of basic rights of farmers: By not allowing GM mustard or for that matter even Bt brinjal for so long, one is denying the basic rights of farmers who want to increase their incomes.
Allow with the sustainable practice with the use of science and technology: The best way to do so is by raising productivity in a sustainable manner. The field trials of GM mustard at different locations showed 25-28 per cent higher yield and better disease resistance compared to indigenous varieties. This can go a long way in augmenting domestic mustard oil supplies and farmers’ incomes.
Unnecessary debate after the approval by the scientific body: Dissent is a good sign in any democratic society and forms an essential part of checks and balances. But once the safety tests are done and the scientific body (GEAC) has given the green signal, what is needed is political leadership to keep the decision-making science-based.
India’s heavy dependence on Imported edible oils: India heavily depends on imported edible oils (55-60 per cent of India’s domestic requirement is imported). A large portion of this about three-four million tonnes every year comes from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, the US, etc, which is all from GM technology (in soybean and canola).
Import and GM crops are already in our food chain: We eat plenty of our own cotton seed (binola) oil, and about 95 per cent of our cotton is now GM. Cotton seed is also fed to cattle which gives the milk its fat content. Even poultry feed, such as soya and corn, is being imported. So, one thing is clear GM food is already in our food chain, and has been there for quite some time.
A chance to emerge as a major export hub: It was expected that India would be at the forefront of the gene revolution and emerge as a major export hub to other Asian and African countries. What the IT revolution has done in computer science, the Bt revolution could have done in agriculture.
Conclusion
The agriculture of tomorrow is going to be science-based, and the winners will be those who adopt it and develop it further today. Innovation is the name of the game, and “Jai Anusandhan” is a good slogan given by PM Modi. But it will have meaning only when the government goes ahead with not just GM mustard but also fast-tracks Ht Bt cotton, Bt brinjal, and even GM soya and corn.
Mains Question
Q. What are GM crops? With policy paralysis in the case of GM mustard, India may not be able to keep pace with the success of Bt cotton. Critically analyse.
According to the QS World ranking: The 2023 edition of the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) world university ranking reckons that three of India’s higher educational institutions amongst the top 200 of the World. Another three are counted among the top 300 whereas two more in the top 400.
As per the Times Higher education Ranking: The Times Higher Education (THE) ranking places only one Indian institution among the top 400 of the worlds.
Academic rankings: Rankings are the same with the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). Barring one of the most eminent public-funded deemed universities of the country, all the rest are Institutions of National Importance (INIs) the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), to be specific.
Why other universities reflect poor performance than IITs and INIs?
IITs have more autonomy: IITs are not only better funded but also generally self-governed, enjoying a greater degree of autonomy as they fall outside the regulatory purview of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
Strict UGC regulations: Funded through the University Grants Commission (UGC), universities are all subject to a very strict regulatory regime.
Micro-management of universities functioning: Abiding by UGC regulations and AICTE guidelines, encompasses almost all aspects of their functioning be it faculty recruitment, student admission and the award of degrees. In many cases, they are micro-managed by the regulatory authorities.
Very less autonomy to UGC affiliated Universities: Most of the universities have become so comfortable with the practice that they rarely assert their autonomy.
Ranking on basis of compliance: Central universities in the country are also ranked on the basis of their ‘obedience’ to regulatory compliances. Even in the academic domain, many of them are comfortable in publicly stating that they have adopted the model curricula, pedagogy and syllabi prescribed by the regulatory bodies, even though the same may have been only indicative.
What are the good practices of best universities around the world?
Importance to autonomy: The best universities in the world are continuously sensitized about the importance of their autonomy and are trained and enabled to make their own decisions.
University autonomy tool for comparison: The European University Association (EUA), for example, prescribes a ‘university autonomy tool’ that lets each member university compare its level of autonomy vis-à-vis the other European higher education systems across all member countries.
Four specific autonomies for ranking: By focusing on four autonomy areas (organizational, financial, staffing, and academic) the EUA computes composite scores and ranks all the countries in Europe.
What are the efforts taken to improve the universities performance?
National education policy 2020: A large number of commissions and committees, including the national policies on education (including the National Education Policy 2020), have highlighted the need for higher education autonomy. The new education policy seeks to completely overhaul the higher education system, and to attain this objective, repeatedly emphasizes the need for institutional autonomy.
Academic and administrative autonomy: The NEP regards academic and administrative autonomy essential for making higher education multi-disciplinary, and that teacher and institutional autonomy are a sine qua non in promoting creativity and innovation.
Independent board of management: The policy considers a lack of autonomy as one of the major problems of higher education and promises to ensure faculty and institutional autonomy through a highly independent and empowered board of management which would be vested with academic and administrative autonomy.
Light but tight regulation: It argues for a ‘light but tight’ regulatory framework and insists that the new regulatory regime would foster a culture of empowerment. Further, it goes on to say that by relying on a robust system of accreditation, all higher education institutions would gradually gain full academic and administrative autonomy.
Conclusion
Universities in India have been losing their autonomy. In the two years since the approval, announcement, and gradual implementation of the NEP, universities in India today are far less autonomous than earlier. If India wants to be leader in knowledge and patent economy then its universities must be freed from clutches of unreasonable regulations.
Mains Question
Q. Why Indian universities does poor on world ranking of universities? Autonomy of university is keystone to improve the performance of universities. Examine.
