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Water Management – Institutional Reforms, Conservation Efforts, etc.

The great Indian thirst: The story of India’s water stress

op-ed snap | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: various water reports

Mains level: water conservation

water stressContext

  • United Nations World Water Development Report of 2022 has expressed global concern over the sharp rise in freshwater withdrawal from streams, lakes, aquifers and human made reservoirs, significant water stress and also water scarcity being experienced in different parts of the world.

Who publishes the UNs world water development report?

  • The United Nations World Water Development Report (WWDR) is published by UNESCO, on behalf of UN-Water and its production is coordinated by the UNESCO World Water Assessment Program (WWAP).

What is the level of water stress in India?

  • The Global Drought Risk and Water Stress map (2019): It shows that major parts of India, particularly west, central and parts of peninsular India are highly water stressed and experience water scarcity.
  • Composite Water Management Index (2018): Released by Niti Aayog indicates that more than 600 million people are facing acute water stress.
  • India is the world’s largest extractor of groundwater: Accounting for 25 per cent of the total. 70 percent of our water sources are contaminated and our major rivers are dying because of pollution.

water stressWhy is Rural to Urban transfer of water becoming an issue in India?

  • Rising urban population: According to Census 2011, the urban population in India accounted for 34% of total population. It is estimated that the urban population component in India will cross the 40% mark by 2030 and the 50% mark by 2050 according to World Urbanization Prospects, 2018.
  • Water use in the urban areas: Water use in the urban sector has increased as more and more people shift to urban areas. Per capita use of water in these centers rises, which will continue to grow with improved standards of living.
  • Shifting of water source in Urban areas: As the city grows and water management infrastructures develop, dependence shifts to surface water from groundwater. For example: In Ahmedabad, more than 80% of water supply used to be met from groundwater sources till the mid-1980s. Due to such overexploitation of groundwater the depth to groundwater level reached 67 meters in confined aquifers. The city now depends on the Narmada canal for the bulk of its water supply.
  • Dependence of urban areas on rural areas for water source and rural-urban disputes over water: Cities largely depend on rural areas for raw water supply, which has the potential to ignite the rural-urban dispute. For example: Nagpur and Chennai face the problem of rural-urban water disputes.

 

water stressReasons for disputes

  • Diversion of resource: Water is transported to urban areas at the expense of rural areas. Due to the high population in urban areas the water requirement for daily use is very high.
  • High demand of water for industrial purposes: In urban areas the water is heavily used in industries creating water stress.
  • High Agriculture dependence: In the rural areas water is used mainly for irrigation purposes and due to heavy dependence on agriculture the water is very essential in rural areas.
  • Water pollution: In cities, most of this water is in the form of grey water with little recovery or reuse, eventually contributing to water pollution.
  • Bad governance: Politicization of water for vote bank and skewed distribution of water particular regions For example: Andhra and Telangana.

water stress Climate change exacerbate the rural-urban disputes 

  • Affecting rainfall pattern: Climate change affects the amount of rainfall in the region which is the prime source of both surface water and groundwater.
  • Increase rate of evaporation over surface water: because of high temperature the surface waters of lakes, rivers, canals etc. face high evaporation water loss.
  • Melting of glaciers: glaciers are the sources for perennial rivers of India. Due to global warming, glaciers are melting and hence affecting the perennial nature of rivers.
  • Frequent droughts: It affects the groundwater recharge process and drying of surface waters which creates shortage of water. It exacerbate the rural-urban conflict.

.

  

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Foreign Policy Watch- India-Central Asia

What is India’s current policy of multi alignment? Advantages and challenges

op-ed snap | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and agreements involving India
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: non alignment movement

Mains level: foreign policy

Multi alignmentContext

  • Forthcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan is leading India to multi alignment.

Background

  • India’s journey of foreign policy from being the founder of non-alignment to the multi-alignment. In his book The India Way, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar offers a critique of India’s traditional policy of “non-alignment”, where he distinguishes between the “optimistic  non- alignment ” of the past, which he feels has failed, that must give way to more realistic “multiple engagements of the future”.

Shanghai Co-operation Organization (SCO)

  • SCO is a Eurasian political, economic and security organization.
  • It is the world’s largest regional organization,
  • 40% of the world population
  • More than 30% of global GDP.
  • Members: 8-China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.

Multi alignmentSCO SUMIIT, 2022

  • Host- Uzbekistan,
  • Uzbekistan will host a full house: 15 leaders including eight member states from four Central Asian States, China, India, Pakistan and Russia,
  • The observer states: Belarus, Mongolia and Iran (which will become member this year) —
  • Afghanistan is not invited
  • Leaders of guest countries -Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Turkmenistan

What is non- alignment?

  • It’s a policy, a brainchild of Nehru. Non-alignment movement emerged after second world war.
  • Non-alignment means not having an alliance with any of superpower, either USSR or USA.  Decolonized nations of Asia and Africa was largely a part of this group.

Multi alignmentIndia’s policy of non-alignment

  • At bandung conference in 1955 non-alignment movement started with India as one of the founding member.
  • With policy of non-alignment India refused to gravitate towards USA or USSR.
  • India was the leader of non-alignment.

What is India’s current policy of multi- alignment? Advantages and challenges.

  • Since the start of his tenure from 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi have not attended any conference of non-alignment.
  • External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar in his book, The Indian way have criticized the non-alignment.
  • In the words of Former Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale India is no longer the non-align nation.

How it is a Multi alignment policy?

  • India to truly multi aligned or all aligned by being a part of every major grouping.
  • India is a part of BRICS and Prime Minister Modi is attending the SCO SUMMIT in Samarkand.
  • On parallel to rival groups India is also the part of Quad and Indo pacific economic framework.
  • India is buying the discounted Russian oil and reusing to buckle under pressure from west and USA.
  • S-400 purchase is happening and India have dodged the bullet of sanctions from USA.
  • India is choosing the bilateral Free trade agreement like with Australia and UAE and withdrew from groupings like RCEP and Most recently IPEF. This policy are is said to be in the economic interest of India.

Advantages of Multi alignment

  • India no longer wants to repeat the mistake of missing out of P5 Security council (“Permanent membership in the Security Council was granted to five states based on their importance in the aftermath of World War II).
  • If any group work against your interest it is better to be part of group rather than remain outside and do nothing
  • With retreating USA and its collapsing hegemony world is moving towards multiple polar world order.

Disadvantages

  • Major disadvantage of non-alignment is you no longer have influence over adverse policy of friendly country.
  • For example. Russia sells S-400 to India but it also sold the same weapon to china.
  • USA and India are strategically getting closer day by day but USA recently approved the sale of $450 million F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan.

Conclusion

  • Multi alignment will serve India its best national interest.
  • So far India has managed the rival parties at world stage to secure its foreign policy objectives but with Russian aggression and Chinese assertion and divided world will pose a significant challenge to India’s multi alignment policy.

 

Mains question

Q. What do you understand by non-alignment and multi-alignment? Analyze the shift In India’s foreign policy from non-alignment to multi-alignment.

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Primary and Secondary Education – RTE, Education Policy, SEQI, RMSA, Committee Reports, etc.

Teachers with a passion for the profession are foundational to the positive educational change

op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Health & Education
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: TET

Mains level: quality education

teacherContext

  • Success of new education policy depends on how we recruit and assesss teachers.

What is the issue?

  • Recruitment of well-qualified teachers into the schooling system is the first prerequisite to ensure that students receive quality education.
  • However, teacher recruitment processes in the country are not adequately streamlined. There are diverse recruitment processes across regions, school stages, and school types central, state, and private schools.
  • This, in turn, leads to multiple criteria and processes for hiring teachers, thereby bringing a wide disparity in teacher quality across institutions and regions.
  • Many of the processes are also sub-optimal in measuring the competency of a candidate.

Teacher hiring mechanism in place

  • One of the most common and widely-taken tests to ensure eligibility for recruitment is the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), conducted at both the state (STET) and central levels (CTET).
  • TET is the equivalent of the licensure tests that are undertaken by teacher candidates in various countries.
  • However, in India, the test is required only for government school teacher recruitment at the elementary stage (Class 1-8).

teacherIssues in hiring mechanism

  • TET has been critiqued time and again for various reasons. These include low pass percentages, poor test quality, lengthy test papers and a serious lack of alignment with teacher preparation programmes.
  • The test was in the news recently because of the teachers’ recruitment scam in West Bengal.

teacherWhat we need?

  • A coherent strategy: to tie together the various tests and processes such as TET, teacher recruitment tests, classroom demonstrations and teacher interviews. This will enable a holistic assessment of teacher competence.
  • Understanding what is competence: Framing a common understanding of what qualifies as teacher competence. Simply speaking, teacher competence can be understood as the core knowledge, skills, and dispositions expected of a teacher to effectively contribute to the teaching-learning process.
  • Multiple methods of assessment: To evaluate several other skills and dispositions, one requires multiple methods of assessment including classroom demonstrations and teacher interviews. These assessments could help gauge skills like effective dissemination of a concept and selection of appropriate resources and learning materials.
  • Teacher’s aptitude: Most importantly, such processes should help evaluate a teacher’s empathy towards students. Respecting learner diversity and skills in building a participative/democratic classroom culture are crucial requisites of a teacher. The recruitment process should assess the teacher’s aptitude in this respect.
  • A comprehensive competency framework: That details the skills a teacher should have. This could be derived from a teacher education curriculum rooted in policy perspectives of the day. For instance, in the case of the NEP, the curriculum could be geared towards imparting training in classroom practices that make learning joyful.

Long-term benefits to adopting such a holistic model of teacher recruitment

  • Better parity: It will ensure better parity in the quality of teachers recruited across the country.
  • Equitable education: Will contribute to equitable education for students from diverse sections of society.
  • Credibility is ensured: The recruitment process will also become credible if it is rooted in a framework that outlines the core competencies of becoming a teacher.
  • Reduction in coaching centres: At the systemic level, this may also lead to a reduction in coaching centres as the assessment processes will be non-standardised and cannot be easily gleaned from coaching materials and guidebooks.

Conclusion

  • Teachers with a passion for the profession are foundational to the positive educational change envisaged by the NEP. Setting up clear benchmarks of quality and well-designed recruitment processes hold the key to ensuring better teaching-learning outcomes.

Mains question

Q. What do you think on teacher’s quality today? Explain how dynamic teacher recruitment process will enhance teacher’s quality.

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Earth Overshoot

Supreme Court’s basic structure doctrine in a new context

op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary,Indian Constitution - historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Various judgements on basic structure

Mains level: Features of constitution

basic structureContext

  • The basic structure doctrine constitutes a high watermark in the assertion of the Supreme Court’s judicial power in the teeth of a determined majoritarian regime.

What is basic structure of Constitution?

  • The basic structure doctrine is one of the fundamental judicial principles connected with the Indian Constitution. The doctrine of the basic structure holds that there is a basic structure to the Indian Constitution, and the Parliament of India cannot amend the basic features.

What is the significance of the basic structure in the Constitution of India?

  • The doctrine of basic structure is nothing but a judicial innovation to ensure that the power of amendment is not misused by Parliament. The idea is that the basic features of the Constitution of India should not be altered to an extent that the identity of the Constitution is lost in the process.08-Dec-2021

Background

  • Courts are empowered under our Constitution to invalidate not only executive orders, but also legislative enactments that violate any part of the Fundamental Rights guaranteed in Part III of the Constitution (Bill of Rights).
  • But as to whether they are also empowered to adjudicate on the validity of constitutional amendments passed with the requisite special majority and following the procedure prescribed in Article 368 the Constitution is silent.

basic structureHistorical developments on evolution of basic structure doctrine

  • Constitution provided a mechanism for parliament to amend the constitution in the form of article 368 but the nature and scope of this amending power was questioned in Supreme Court on multiple occasions. Supreme Court gave a series of judgement which ultimately culminated in probably the most landmark judgement Basic structure doctrine judgement.
  • Shankari Prasad Case
  • Sajjan Singh Case
  • Golakh Nath Case
  • Kesvananda Bharati Case
  • Minerva Mills case
  • I.R. Koelhi

Constitutional Provisions

  1. 1st amendment and 9th schedule
  2. 24th amendment
  3. 42nd amendment

 

His holiness, Kesavananda bharati, challenged before the supreme court, the validity of 29th CAA which inserted some laws in 9th schedule and affected property of his Hindu Mutt.

What else was at stake?

  1. Supreme Court (R. C. Cooper case) had struck down bank nationalization act of 1969 which had nationalized 14 major banks for illusory compensation though it conceded parliament’s right to nationalise banks in national interest.
  2. Supreme Court had struck down abolition of privy purses which was a betrayal of solemn promise to erstwhile kings by Sardar Patel.

Supreme Court could do all this as it had held in 1967 in Golaknath case that fundamental rights could not be abridged.

Before returning back to Kesavananda, Let’s take a look at the relevant provisions of the constitution and Supreme Court interpretation of the same.

  • Art 13(2) – Any LAW abridging fundamental rights mentioned in part 3 shall be null and void to the extent of contravention
  • Art 368 -Procedure to amend the constitution.
  • Art 19(f) – freedom to acquire hold on and dispose off property.
  • Art 31 – right to property

Both the rights were subject to reasonable restriction in public interest and restriction were subject to judicial review.

Soon after the coming into force of the constitution, states enacted land reform acts #Zamindars challenged them. #Patna high court declared Bihar act as unconstitutional for violating right to property #interim parliament passed 1st CAA.

  1. ART 31B created 9th schedule. Laws inserted under it by constitutional amendment were immune to judicial review.

Other provisions not imp for this article but imp for exams –

  1. Reasonable restrictions against freedom of expression under art 19.
  2. To nullify judgment in State of Madras v. Champakam Dorairajan and giving effect to art 46 (promoting educational and economic interests of weaker sections) amplified article 15 (3)

Zamindars didn’t like it, not one bit. And here comes the 1st salvo

Shankari Prasad v Union of India

Challenged 1st CAA. What was the court’s judgment?

  1. Difference b/w constituent power and ordinary legislative power i.e. amendment not law for the purpose of article 13
  2. art 13 and 368 in conflict # apply DOCTRINE OF HARMONIOUS CONSTRUCTION # ART 13 not applicable to art 368

Govt 1-0 Zamindars

Govt passed 17th amendment and inserted more laws under 9th schedule ‘

Zamindars fired another salvo-

Sajjan Singh vs state of rajasthan

Supreme Court sang Shankari prasad song again

Govt 2-0 jamindars

But Justice Mudholkar was of the view that the every Constitution has certain features which are basic in nature and those features cannot be changed.

2 minority judgements…. utter confusion. And you can see seeds of basic structure were sown here.

Zamindars fired 3rd salvo

Golaknath v. State of Punjab

11 judge bench overturned earlier 2 verdicts by a slender majority of 6-5

Really? What was the logic given here?

  1. Nothing to suggest constituent power to be separate from legislative power and even if distinct, amending power not same as constituent power which is given only to constituent assembly i.e. amendment is law and subject to article 13
  2. Fundamental rights so sacrosanct and transcendental that they cannot be abridged even if whole parliament unanimously decided to abridge them.

But it validated all previous land reform acts as nullifying them would create utter confusion

Govt angry – Zamindars angry

New landlords happy.

Loss – loss to defendants as well as petitioner.

Madam Indira was in power and she did not like this. Not one bit.

Along came 24th amendment to neutralize GOLAKNATH JUDGEMENT

  1. Art 13 inapplicable to art 368
  2. Art 368 provided powers as well as procedure to amend the constitution
  3. Parliament by way of addition, variation or repeal can amend any provision of constitution
  4. President shall give assent to CA bills ( VERY VERY IMP FOR PRELIMS )

But madam Indira wouldn’t just stop here as Cooper judgment (Bank nationalization ) also had to be neutralized.

Smarting from this setback, Madam Indira (the parliament, herself) passed 24th CAA to neutralise GOLAKNATH judgement. But there was also a small matter of reversing Copper judgment in bank nationalisation case so parliament passed 25th CAA.

  1. Art 19f delinked from 31, in effect parliament deciding compensation amount payable instead of courts.
  2. Art 31c  -inserted under which – art 39b and c, most socialist of DPSPs (equitable distribution and prevention of concentration of wealth respectively) precede over 7 freedoms (art 19 ), equality (14), property (31)
  3. Parliament’s power to determine if policy is to give effect to 39b and c not subject to judicial review.

29th CAA had put Kerala land reform act under 9th schedule and his holiness challenged the provisions and all hell broke loose.

 

Now the 4th salvo

basic structureKesvanada Bharati Case

A 13 judge bench is constituted and what does it do!

  1. Overturned Golaknath i.e. amendment not law, fundamental rights amendable, no implied limit under art 368 i.e. CAA 24 constitutional
  2. Art 25 invalid to the extent it takes away judicial review i.e. 39 b and c above 14, 19 and 31 but subject to judicial review

Most imp decision of all by slimmest of all 7-6 majority stated Parliament can amend any provision of the Constitution but the basic structure should not be destroyed, damaged or abrogated.

What’s the logic?

  1. Expression amendment did not encompass defacing the constitution such that it lost its identity.
  2. In the garb of amendment parliament can not rewrite the constitution.

Court gave relief to govt but reserved for itself power to review all amendment not just those that violate fundamental rights.

Aftermath

Indira Gandhi didn’t like the judgement one  bit. She (via the president) superseded 3 judges to appoint justice A.N. Ray as CJI.

Knives had been drawn and the battle was gonna be very bloody –

  • Navnirman movement of JP (Jayprakash) had gathered steam, Indira was on the back foot and along came the judgement of Allahabad High Court convicting Indira of corrupt electoral practices. Election was declared null and void and  6 years ban to contest election was imposed on her.
  • Supreme Court stayed it and allowed her to remain PM but not to draw salary or speak or vote in parliament.
  • Darkest chapter in democracy’ 21 month emergency was declared on 25th June 1975 without even consulting cabinet (44th amendment made it mandatory for the president to have written advice of cabinet to declare emergency)

Indira Gandhi wasn’t to sit quiet.

CAA 39th – election of president, VP, PM and speaker beyond judicial review

Clownish Rajnarayan challenged the CAA 39.

Indira Gandhi v/s Raj Narain Case

For the 1st time Supreme Court applied basic structure doctrine and considered free and fair election and rule of law to be part of basic structure. #amending act invalidated.

Note here that 4 of the 5 judges on the bench had given dissenting judgment in Bharati case but still applied the same doctrine for Supreme Court judgment becomes law until overruled by bigger bench (art 141).

Then how did Indira continue to be prime minister and contest election again and not get banned for 6 years?

Supreme court accepted retrospective amendment to electoral law i.e. electoral malpractice of Indira was no longer a corrupt practice.

Find out for fun the charges against Mrs. Gandhi for which she was convicted and what a popular British magazine had to say about the judgement.

Along came the mini constitution i.e 42nd amendment act TO ELIMINATE IMPEDIMENTS TO THE GROWTH OF THE CONSTITUTION –

  1. PART 4a fundamental duties
  2. Socialist,secular and integrity word to preamble
  3. New DPSPs were added

And for the purpose of this article amendment to article 368 nullifying basic structure doctrine by adding amendments can’t be challenged in courts and parliament possessing unlimited power of amendment

  1. All DPSPs to take precedence over all fundamental rights not just 39b and 39c.

And Minerva Textile mills of Karnataka fired the 5th and the last salvo

Minerva Mills v Union of India

SC unanimously struck down amendment to article 368 holding limited amending power and judicial review to be part of basic structure.

Court held that constitution is founded on the bedrock of balance b/w FRs and DPSPs. Goals set out by DPSPs have to be achieved without abrogation of means provided by FRs.

What’s the logic?

If a donee was vested with limited power, it could not be exercised to control that very power power and convert into unlimited one.

Or

If a genie grants u 3 wishes, it is understood u can not, as one of the wish, ask for unlimited number of wishes!

Janta govt comes to power and 44th CAA deletes art 31 (b) right to property and 19 (f) freedom to acquire, hold and dispose of property as they were not considered part of basic structure

Right to property now a constitutional right under art 300A.

9th schedule and judicial review

I.R.Coelho vs state of TN

Supreme Court held that acts placed under 9th schedule after basic structure subject would be subject to judicial review to the extent of those acts violating basic structure of constitution.

Impact of basic structure doctrine.

It certainly saved Indian democracy from degenerating into authoritarian regime during those testing times but it has also given immense untold unbridled power to Supreme Court and made it the most powerful court in the world.

As we would later see in the NJAC Verdict (let’s call it 4th judges case), Supreme Court applied this doctrine, many would say for wrong reasons to strike down the act and kept for itself the power to appoint brother judges. In the original constitution only fetters on the power of parliament was art 13.

Relevance –  It was delivered at the time of single party rule both at the centre and most of the states. In the era of coalition politics no govt is going to wield so much power to destroy the constitution and then there is ever present danger of tyranny of unelected.

But only legitimate way to overturn the verdict would be a 15 judge bench so don’t hold your breath for that.

Now is the time for some thought questions

#1. Consider these 2 statements –

  1. Any LAW that is ordinary law violating provisions of constitution would be declared null and void to the extent of contravention.
  2. Any LAW violating art 13 would be declared null and void

Both statements are true…..If amendments were not law, what was the purpose of art 13 (2) other laws would anyway be declared unconstitutional!

#2. Is basic structure doctrine relevant in the present political scenario where no single party is unlikely to enjoy majority in both the houses?

#3. What should be the limits to amending power of parliament? Do u think for very substantial amendments instead of courts, people by way of referendum should determine whether amendment should go through or not?

#4. Whatever happens to original intent theory that constitutional courts have to interpret constitution in accordance with the implied intentions of founding fathers and there is enough evidence to suggest founding fathers thoughtfully kept FRs sacrosanct to prevent their abrogation or as we would see in a later article how supreme court by creative interpretation virtually changed procedure established by law in art 21 to due process of law while founding fathers deliberately kept expression as procedure established by law.

 

Conclusion

  • By restraining the amending powers of legislative organ of State, it provided basic Rights to Citizens which no organ of State can overrule. Being dynamic in nature, it is more progressive and open to changes in time unlike the rigid nature of earlier judgements.

Mains question

Q. What do you understand by basic structure of constitution? Trace evolution of basic structure in India.

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Digital India Initiatives

5G revolution and challenges

op-ed snap | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: particulars of 5G

Mains level: scientific achievements and issues with it

5G revolution Context

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently announced that 5G revolution deployment in India will commence sooner than expected.

What is 5G technology?

  • 5G or fifth generation revolution  is the latest upgrade in the long-term evolution (LTE) mobile broadband networks.
  • 5G enables a new kind of network that is designed to connect virtually everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices.
  • It’s a unified platform which is much more capable than previous mobile services with more capacity, lower latency, faster data delivery rate and better utilisation of spectrum.

How it evolved from 1G to 5G?

  • 1G: Launched in the 1980s. Analog radio signals and supported only voice calls.
  • 2G: Launched in the 1990s. Uses digital radio signals and supported both voice and data transmission with a Bandwidth (BW) of 64 Kbps.
  • 3G: Launched in the 2000s. With a speed of 1 Mbps to 2 Mbps it has the ability to transmit telephone signal including digitized voice, video calls and conferencing.
  • 4G: With a peak speed of 100 Mbps-1 Gbps it also enables 3D virtual reality.
  • 5G: with a speed of more than 1Gbps, it is capable of connecting entire world without limits.

5G revolutionSalient features

  • Capability: 5G will provide much faster mobile broadband service as compared to the previous versions and will provide support to previous services like mission critical communication and the massive Internet Of Things (IoT).
  • Upgraded LTE: 5G is the latest upgrade in the long-term evolution (LTE) mobile broadband networks.
  • Speed: With peak delivering rate of up to 20 Gbps and an average of 100Mbps, it will be much faster as compared to its predecessors. The speed increment is partly achieved partly by using higher-frequency radio waves than previous networks.
  • Capacity: There will be up to 100 x increase in traffic capacity and network efficiency.
  • Spectrum usage: Will provide better usage for every bit of spectrum, from low bands below 1 GHz to high bands.
  • Latency: It’s expected to have lower latency with better instantaneous, real-time access of the data. The 5G, like 4G LTE, also uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) but the new 5G NR (New Radio) air interface will enhance OFDM and provide better flexibility in data delivery.


5G revolutionApplications of 5G technology

  • High-Speed mobile network: 5G will revolutionize the mobile experience with supercharged wireless network. Compared to conventional mobile transmission technologies, voice and high-speed data can be simultaneously transferred efficiently in 5G.
  • Entertainment and multimedia: 5G can provide 120 frames per second, high resolution and higher dynamic range video streaming without interruption. Audiovisual experience will be rewritten after the implementation of the latest technologies powered by 5G wireless. Augmented Reality and virtual Reality services will be better experienced over 5G.
  • Internet of Things: IoT applications collects huge amount of data from millions of devices and sensors and thus requires an efficient network for data collection, processing, transmission, control and real-time analytics which 5G network is a better candidate.

Interesting facts about 5G

According to researchers, about 1.5 billion people will have access to 5G by 2024.

It may not seem like it at present, however, 5G will cover about 40% of the world.

The security risks introduced BY 5G

  • Increased attack surface: With millions and even billions more connected devices, 5G makes it possible for larger and more dangerous attacks. Current and future vulnerabilities of the existing internet infrastructure are only exacerbated. The risk of more sophisticated botnets, privacy violations, and faster data extraction can escalate with 5G.
  • More IoT, more problems: IoT devices are inherently insecure; security is often not built-in by design. Each insecure IoT device on an organization’s networks represents another potential hole that an attacker can expose.
  • Decreased network visibility: With 5G, our networks will only expand and become more usable by mobile users and devices. This means much more network traffic to manage. But without a robust wide area network (WAN) security solution like Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) in place, companies may not be able to gain the network traffic visibility required to identify abnormalities or attacks.
  • Increased supply chain and software vulnerabilities: Currently and for the foreseeable future, 5G supply chains are limited. Vulnerabilities exist — particularly as devices are rushed to market — increasing the potential for faulty and insecure components. Compared to traditional mobile networks, 5G is also more reliant on software, which elevates the risk of exploitation of the network infrastructure.

Challenges in rolling out 5G

  • Enabling critical infrastructures: 5G will require a fundamental change to the core architecture of the communication system. The major flaw of data transfer using 5G is that it can’t carry data over longer distances. Hence, even 5G technology needs to be augmented to enable infrastructure.
  • Financial liability on consumers: For transition from 4G to 5G technology, one has to upgrade to the latest cellular technology, thereby creating financial liability on consumers.
  • Capital Inadequacy: Lack of flow of cash and adequate capital with the suitable telecom companies (like Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea) is delaying the 5G spectrum allocation.

Way forward

  • India should not miss the opportunity and should proactively work to deploy 5G technology. We should focus on strengthening our cyber infrastructure.
  • 5G start-ups that enable this design and manufacturing capabilities should be promoted. This will spur leaps in the coverage, capacity and density of wireless networks.

Conclusion

  • The recent recommendation of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to the government to develop a national road map for India to implement 5G in the best possible manner should include cyber security concerns.

Mains question

Q. 5G is already transforming and enhancing connectivity. In this context Discuss India’s preparedness and cybersecurity challenges that needs to be taken care of for earlier roll out of 5G.

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International Space Agencies – Missions and Discoveries

James Webb telescope : The most powerful space telescope

op-ed snap | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: JSWT

Mains level: JSWT, Big bang

James Webb telescopeContext

  • Much of the universe remains unknown. The James Webb telescope will hopefully provide a powerful window to help resolve some of the cosmos’s many mysteries.

What is James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)?

  • It is a space telescope being jointly developed by NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
  • It has taken 30 years and $10bn to develop, and is being described as one of the grand scientific endeavors of the 21st Century.

Where it is placed?

  • The James Webb Space Telescope will not be in orbit around the Earth, like the Hubble Space Telescope is – it will actually orbit the Sun, 1.5 million kilometres (1 million miles) away from the Earth at what is called the second Lagrange point or L2.

Mission

  • It will be “a giant leap forward in quest to understand the Universe and our origins”, as it will examine every phase of cosmic history: from the Big Bang to the formation of galaxies, stars, and planets to the evolution of our own Solar System.

james webb telescope Special features of JWST

  • Time machine in space: Powerful space telescopes, like JWST or the Hubble Telescope, are often called time machines because of their ability to view very faraway objects. The light coming from those objects, stars or galaxies, which is captured by these telescopes, began its journey millions of years earlier. Essentially, what these telescopes see are images of these stars or galaxies as they were millions of years ago. The more distant the planet or star, the farther back in time are the telescopes able to see.
  • Farthest from Earth: James Webb telescope will also be positioned much deeper into space, about a million miles from Earth, at a spot known as L2. It is one of the five points, known as Lagrange’s points, in any revolving two-body system like Earth and Sun, where the gravitational forces of the two large bodies cancel each other out.
  • Engineering marvel: JWST has one large mirror, with a diameter of 21 feet (the height of a typical two-storey building), that will capture the infra-red light coming in from the deep universe while facing away from the Sun.

What is the goal of this telescope?

  • The telescope will be able to see just about anything in the sky.
  • However, it has one overriding objective – to see the light coming from the very first stars to shine in the Universe.
  • These pioneer stars are thought to have switched on about 100-200 million years after the Big Bang, or a little over 13.5 billion years ago.
  • James Webb telescope will be picking out groupings of these stars.

james webb telescope Its significance

  • It is widely expected to unveil many secrets of the universe, particularly those related to the Formation of stars and galaxies in the early period the first few hundred million years after the Big Bang.
  • Some have called James Webb telescope  the “telescope that ate astronomy”.
  • It is said to look back in time to the Dark Ages of the universe.

Conclusion

  • The universe is vast and most of it is unknown. We hope that the James Webb telescope, over its lifetime would provide us with a powerful window to help resolve some of the many mysteries of the cosmos and make it a little bit more comprehensible.

Mains question

Q. What is James Webb telescope experiment? Do you think it shades light on dark matter? Explain.  

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Nuclear Diplomacy and Disarmament

Strong nuclear diplomacy brings opportunities for India

op-ed snap | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Important International Institutions,International Institutions
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: credible minimum deterrence’

Mains level: Nuclear diplomacy and foreign policy

nuclear diplomacyContext

  • The return of nuclear weapons on the global platform. After 1998, India premised its strategy on building ‘credible minimum deterrence’. The time has come to reflect on what is ‘credible’ and redefine what ‘minimum’ might be to strengthen nuclear diplomacy.

Definition of nuclear diplomacy

  • Nuclear diplomacy deals with prevention of nuclear war and peacetime proliferation. It also deals with the use of threat of nuclear warfare to achieve diplomatic goals.

nuclear diplomacyTheme of article

  • India, one of the world’s nuclear weapon powers, ought to be paying a lot more attention to the international nuclear discourse that is acquiring new dimensions and taking a fresh look at its own civilian and military nuclear programmes.
  • Nuclear cooperation has brought a new dimension to India’s nuclear diplomacy in the 21st India’s status as a responsible nuclear power is predicated upon the civil relationships in the nuclear domain that it has established with major powers.

What is credible minimum deterrence?

  • Credible minimum deterrence is the principle on which India’s nuclear diplomacy is based. It underlines no first use (NFU) with an assured second strike capability and falls under minimal deterrence, as opposed to mutually assured destruction.

nuclear diplomacyWhy do countries proliferate nuclear weapons?

  • Proliferation models centred on security concerns or dilemmas dominate nuclear literature.
  • Nuclear weapons provide an overwhelmingly destructive force that increases a state’s relative power in comparison to its neighbours.
  • It provides a powerful tool in an anarchic system where superpowers dominate other nation-states sovereignty.
  • Hence weaponizing helps establish a deterrence to prevent war.

Why relook is needed?

  • Possessing nuclear weapons can confer India increased leverage to conduct foreign policy in both regional and international contexts.
  • There are two ways in which the possession of nuclear weapons can affect a state’s conduct of foreign policy and diplomacy.
  • The first involves military and strategic signalling. This includes military-oriented functions of deterrence, coercion, and brinkmanship.
  • The second, deals with non-military affairs.

Way forward

  • It should be noted that India’s quest to be a “responsible nuclear state” has given it considerable diplomatic capital in the West.
  • It would be unfortunate for India to squander such gain owing to the lack of carefully considered foreign policy that leverages its nuclear status for its national interest.

Conclusion

  • India’s civil nuclear engagements with the global community have strengthened its position in the global civil nuclear order, there is a need for the country to push for greater engagements with more key suppliers and stakeholders to fulfill its military nuclear potential and assert its status as a responsible nuclear state.

Mains question

Q. India has been a nuclear weapons state for 22 years. Has this affected India’s foreign policy in a direct manner? Express your views in context of the return of nuclear weapons on the global platform.

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Health Sector – UHC, National Health Policy, Family Planning, Health Insurance, etc.

Rising number of Rabies case

op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Health & Education
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: particulars of virus

Mains level: Human health

rabiesContext

  • The death of a 12-year-old girl in Pathanamthitta has sharpened the focus on the rising number of rabies cases and the growing population of stray dogs in Kerala

What is rabies?

  • The rabies virus attacks the central nervous system of the host, and in humans, it can cause a range of debilitating symptoms including states of anxiety and confusion, partial paralysis, agitation, hallucinations, and, in its final phases, a symptom called “hydrophobia,” or a fear of water.

What are rabies caused by?

  • Rabies is a preventable viral disease most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal. The rabies virus infects the central nervous system of mammals, ultimately causing disease in the brain and death.

Can rabies person survive?

  • Once clinical signs of rabies appear, the disease is nearly always fatal, and treatment is typically supportive. Less than 20 cases of human survival from clinical rabies have been documented.

How long can a human live with rabies?

  • Death usually occurs 2 to 10 days after first symptoms. Survival is almost unknown once symptoms have presented, even with intensive care.

rabiesFacts on rabies

  • What animal has the most rabies?
  • Bats
  • Wild animals accounted for 92.7% of reported cases of rabies in 2018. Bats were the most frequently reported rabid wildlife species (33% of all animal cases during 2018), followed by raccoons (30.3%), skunks (20.3%), and foxes (7.2%).

rabiesWhat is the issue?                                  

  • There is a blame game over the rising rabies cases: With the rabies deaths causing panic and reports of residents killing stray dogs through poisoning and strangulation, there is a blame game over the rising canine population and rabies cases. Some legal experts blame it on conflicts in the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 and the Animal Birth Control (Dogs) Rules, 2001; others point to the flawed implementation of birth control measures.
  • Legal battle over the issue in the Supreme Court: Canine culling campaigners and advocates of animal rights are also engaged in a protracted legal battle over the issue in the Supreme Court. V.K. Biju, a lawyer of the Supreme Court, who brought the issue of the “stray dog menace” before the apex court, contends that the root cause is the enactment of the Rules, which according to him, were passed in contravention of the parent Act, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
  • Existence of stray dogs has adversely affected the fundamental rights of citizens: Biju says that while the Act stands for the “destruction” of stray dogs, the rules are against the “destruction” of stray dogs, including the rabies affected ones, besides providing specific protection of stray dogs. In his submission before the Supreme Court, he argues that the existence of stray dogs has adversely affected the fundamental rights of citizens, i.e. the right to life and free movement.
  • The quashing of the Rules to make India free of stray dogs: In his writ petition filed before the apex court, Biju has sought orders for the strict implementation of the Act and the quashing of the Rules to make India free of stray dogs.
  • Animal rights campaigners are apprehensive: In the light of this, animal rights campaigners are apprehensive over the campaign to cull dogs to check rabies.

rabiesHow can we prevent rabies in animals?

  1. First, visit your veterinarian with your pet on a regular basis and keep rabies vaccinations up-to-date for all cats, ferrets, and dogs.
  2. Second, maintain control of your pets by keeping cats and ferrets indoors and keeping dogs under direct supervision.
  3. Third, spay or neuter your pets to help reduce the number of unwanted pets that may not be properly cared for or vaccinated regularly.
  4. Finally, call animal control to remove all stray animals from your neighbourhood since these animals may be unvaccinated or ill.

How can we prevent rabies in humans?

  • Leave all wildlife alone.
  • Know the risk: contact with infected bats is the leading cause of rabies deaths in people followed by exposure to rabid dogs while traveling internationally.
  • Wash animal bites or scratches immediately with soap and water.
  • If you are bitten, scratched, or unsure, talk to a healthcare provider about whether you need postexposure prophylaxis. Rabies in people is 100% preventable through prompt appropriate medical care.
  • Vaccinate your pets to protect them and your family.

Initiatives by Government to curb Neglected Tropical Diseases

National Rabies Control Programme: This programme is being restructured as Integrated National Rabies Control Programme under ‘One Health Approach’, with a aim to provide vaccination to stray dogs and free vaccines through Government hospitals.

Way forward

  • Think globally, act locally. Study and adopt global ‘best-practices’ after customising them to local needs.
  • Apply integrated approach. Follow a holistic strategy.
  • Ensure efficient and effective collaboration across various government departments.
  • Partner with Civil Society Organisations (especially with WASH – Water, Sanitation and Hygiene – sector) for ground-level implementation and monitoring.

Mains question

Q. What is rabies? What ethical challenges are involved in culling of stray dogs? Explain the control measures for the same.

 

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Industrial Sector Updates – Industrial Policy, Ease of Doing Business, etc.

Adani’s global footprint and India’s infrastructure diplomacy  

op-ed snap | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways Etc.
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: NA

Mains level: Infrastructure diplomacy

infrastructure diplomacyContext

  • From mines to ports and logistics, the Adani conglomerate has been expanding across sectors, regions. This has gone hand in hand with India’s diplomatic and strategic outreach towards infrastructure diplomacy.

What is infrastructure?

  • Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function.

What are the features of infrastructure?

  • Power and the source of its production such as coal and oil;
  • Roads and road transport;
  • Railways;
  • Communication, especially telecommunication;
  • Ports and airports; and.
  • For agriculture, irrigation constitutes the important infrastructure.

infrastructure diplomacyWhat is infrastructure diplomacy?

  • Infrastructure diplomacy is to promote infrastructure cooperation and economic ties overseas through political means and to enhance political trust between countries via collaboration in infrastructure development.

Why in news?

  • “Several foreign governments are now approaching us to work in their geographies and help build their infrastructure. Therefore, in 2022, we also laid the foundation to seek a broader expansion beyond India’s boundaries,” chairman and founder of the Adani group Gautam Adani,now the world’s third-richest person.

infrastructure diplomacyBackground

  • Foreign presence much earlier: In fact, the Adani group had been scouting abroad much earlier. Since 2010, the Adani group has been in Australia, developing the Carmichael coal mine in Queensland.
  • A greenfield multi-purpose port: In 2017, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zones (Ltd) signed an MoU for a greenfield multi-purpose port for handling containers at Carey Island in Selangor state, about 50 km southwest of Kuala Lumpur.

What is situation now?

  • Company pursue international infrastructure projects aggressively: The last two years, however, have seen the company pursue international infrastructure projects aggressively. In May 2022, APSEZ made a winning bid of $1.18 billion for Israeli state-owned Haifa Port, jointly with Israeli chemicals and logistics firm Gadot.
  • Strategic joint investments: In August this year, APSEZ and Abu Dhabi’s AD Ports Group signed MoU for “strategic joint investments” in Tanzania. The new ASEZ-AD MoU will look at a bouquet of infrastructure projects besides Bagamoyo in the East African Indian Ocean nation — rail, maritime services, digital services and industrial zones.
  • India’s strategic objectives than has been possible so far: Is it just a coincidence that Adani’s global expansion closely shadows the Chinese footprint along its Belt and Road Initiative? Or is it that as Delhicompetes with China for influence in the neighbourhood and beyond, the Adani group’s size, resources and capacity are seen as a key element in achieving India’s strategic objectives than has been possible so far.
  • India’s infrastructure diplomacy: Is now becoming identified the world over with one company.
  • Public and private investment to bridge gaps: For the Adani group, described as India’s biggest ports and logistics company, there couldn’t be a better time. As the Quad grouping of Australia, India, Japan, and the US, competes with China in the Indo-Pacific, it has committed “to catalyse infrastructure delivery” by putting more than $50 billion on the table for “assistance and investment” in the Indo-Pacific over the next five years and “drive public and private investment to bridge gaps”.

infrastructure diplomacyImplications of infrastructure diplomacy

  • Win-Win deal: Adani’s new “no-hands” model of doing business with neighbours a power plant in Jharkhand, exporting all its output to Bangladesh has been seen as a “win-win” deal.
  • Economic interests lie at the heart of geopolitics: The link between diplomacy and commercial interests has generated its share of debate, especially in the US, where its diplomats, intelligence agencies and military interventions abroad have actively pushed the interests of big business first the hunt for cheaper raw materials, then for markets abroad, then to shift industry where manpower was cheaper. As seen in the new age trading blocs the US-led IPEF, and the Chinese dominated RCEP economic interests lie at the heart of geopolitics.

Conclusion

  • At a time when global rivalries are growing sharper in the shadow of the war in Europe, and as India looks out for its own interests, pushing powerful corporates to the centre-stage of its diplomacy, whether it is to build ports, buy or sell weapons or make chips, is inevitable.

Mains question 

Q. Economic interests lie at the heart of geopolitics. Analyse this statement in context of India’s active push for infrastructure diplomacy by including private conglomerates like Adani in it.

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Electoral Reforms In India

Intra party elections

op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Governance, Transparency & Accountability, Citizens Charters,Statutory, Regulatory & Various Quasi-Judicial Bodies
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: election commission of india

Mains level: electoral reforms

Intra party electionContext

  • Congress party has issued a notification for the party’s presidential election hinting towards intra party election.
  • As per the official notification, party leaders can file nominations from 24 September to 30 September. The voting will be held on 17 October and the results will be declared on 19 October.

What are the elections?

  • An election is a way people can choose their representatives of their preferences in a representative democracy. Elections enable people to judge the performance of the government.

Why they are important?

  • Elections give people a chance to evaluate their leaders, chance to change the government.
  • Elections help the people in the selection of their representatives and it provides law making power directly to the people.
  • Elections make a fundamental contribution to democratic governance.

Intra party electionWhat is mean by Intra party elections?

  • It is a mechanism to choose the candidates for various posts of the political through a democratic process, it’s a mandate given by the members of the party itself.
  • The intra-party election is a fundamental indicator to explore the authenticity of democratization and decentralization of political parties.

Why elections are necessary within the political parties?

  • Internal debates: During intra party elections there would be contests between leaders. There will be debate, discussions some criticism, and differences of opinion. There should be a dialogue between the leaders, members and volunteers
  • Democratic culture: Political parties don’t have to be homogeneous in terms of both ideas and leadership. Political parties are aggregations of interests yet Party workers should not feel they are being ignored, that their efforts are not appreciated or not going in vain under the shadow of a leader came from the family lines.
  • Political career: Having these internal elections, meetings and contests of ideas is important.  Internal election is a key for upward mobility. It gives better understanding of the party’s idea, culture and the work process.
  • High command culture: High command culture is what we are witnessing today in India and South Asia is problematic for democracy, where all political parties are centralized. The few members at the helm are controlling even the smallest decisions about what party should do. Members are not able to express freely their personal views.
  • Feudalism: They are family-controlled parties, and dynastic politics has become a norm. Won’t be able to name more than three or four political parties which have survived 30 years in Indian politics and are today not controlled by apolitical family.
  • Favoritism: where you can only rise up the ranks in the system depending on the relationship you share with the first family of that party. Irrespective of difference of opinions with the top leaders of the party, the upward mobility majorly depends on the relationship.

Intra party electionWhat is a Legal framework for election?

There is no law for intra-party elections as of now.

  • Seshan effect: When T.N. Seshan was at the helm of the Election Commission of India (ECI); by an executive order political parties were ordered to conduct intra party elections. And because Seshan was a much respected and feared person, political parties complied with it. Since then, elections are held periodically in every recognized party.
  • What Constitution says: Article 324 says free and fair elections to parliament, state assemblies, president and vice-president. It doesn’t say anything about political party or election within.
  • What Courts argue: The courts have made an observation that nothing in Article 324 of the Constitution, or Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 tells us that the ECI can actually regulate internal structures, organizations or elections of the party. Which is why parties, on the left or right, have not been conducting internal elections as we want them to conduct them

Worldwide practice

  • USA: In the U.S. election, the selection of the candidate to be the presidential nominee is done via debate, in which the contenders condemn and criticize each other.
  • UK: In the U.K. Democracy should be at every level, and political parties are an essential pillar of democracy. Intra party election happens to choose the leader of party.

What is state funding of election?

  • It is an idea where state or Government of India provides funding to political parties according to their electoral performance.
  • As of today, state does provide land at concessional rate, free air time on national television but today political parties do not come under RTI. Hence some suggest state funding of elections to regulate the behavior of political parties.

What is the Role of Election Commission in organizational election of political parties?

  • The ECI does insist on organizational elections, but only gently. They do go through the process.
  • Election can happen only if there are two or more candidates in the fray. Getting elected unopposed is also a valid election. It is not just within the political parties, we have

Seen it in panchayat elections and sometimes even in Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections that candidates have got elected unopposed.

Intra party electionHow to fix the accountability of the political parties?

  • ECI re-interpreting the existing laws, as happened in the 1990s. ECI has to imagine its role as a regulator of these political parties and in some ways. They have to try out milder options.
  • Political parties are required to hold organizational elections regularly. The parties are required to inform the ECI about changes in their office-bearers.
  • They are required to submit a document of expenditure incurred during elections and in the non-election periods. But there is no cost attached to non-compliance.
  • Expert suggests state funding of election would ensure the accountability of parties as it will bring parties under ambit of RTI and voters can seek the expenditure report from parties. Election commission can also penalize party for non-compliance.

Conclusion

  • Election for a gram panchayat or presidential it is always a booster for democracy. Intraparty elections are beneficial for party, contesting individual and country at large, it culminates into emergence of quality leadership which in turn a boon for good governance.

Mains Question

Q. Intra party elections are essential feature of healthy democracy. Discuss the role of election commission, the courts and the political parties for the healthy functioning of intra party democracy.

Do follow

Internal democracy in political parties

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Issues related to CBI

op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Civil Service,Governance, Transparency & Accountability, Citizens Charters
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: CBI and ED

Mains level: governance and transparency

CBIContext  

  • Despite several observations made by the Supreme Court of India (SC) against the inefficient functioning of the CBI nothing has happened to improve the situation.
  • The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is in the news now and often.

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)

  • The Bureau of Investigation traces its origins to the Delhi Special Police Establishment, a Central Government Police force, which was set up in 1941 by the Government of India.
  • It then aimed to investigate bribery and corruption in transactions with the War and Supply Department of India.
  • It then had its headquarters in Lahore.
  • After the end of the war, there was a continued need for a central governmental agency to investigate bribery and corruption by central-government employees.
  • The DSPE acquired its popular current name, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), through a Home Ministry resolution dated in 1963.

Mandate of the CBI

  • The CBI is the main investigating agency of the GoI.
  • It is not a statutory body; it derives its powers from the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.
  • Its important role is to prevent corruption and maintain integrity in administration.
  • It works under the supervision of the CVC (Central Vigilance Commission) in matters pertaining to the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
  • The CBI is also India’s official representative with the INTERPOL.

CBICases to investigate

  • Cases connected to infringement of economic and fiscal laws
  • Crimes of a serious nature that have national and international ramifications
  • Coordination with the activities of the various state police forces and anti-corruption agencies.
  • It can also take up any case of public importance and investigate it
  • Maintaining crime statistics and disseminating criminal information.

Notable cases cracked by CBI

  • Bhanwri Devi missing case: Jat leader and former Rajasthan minister Mahipal Maderna, Congress MLA Malkhan Singh and Bhanwari’s husband Amarchand were all part of the conspiracy to abduct and eliminate Bhanwari. Bhanwari had threatened to expose Malkhan’s relationship with her at the Bishnoi mahapanchayat.  Maderna, Malkhan, the three kidnappers and Sahiram along with Amarchand were arrested by the CBI.
  • Noida double murder case: In May 2008, the nation was shocked with the sensational double murders in Noida. The victims were Arushi Talwar and Hemraj Banjade. Initially, there was no clarity about the motive or the perpetrator of this ghastly crime. After a lengthy investigation which spanned close to 6 years, the CBI based on circumstantial evidence established that the parents of Aarushi Talwar, Rajesh Talwar and Nupur Talwar were the perpetrators of this crime.
  • The Satyam Case:  B Ramalinga Raju, the disgraced chairman of Satyam Computers Services Ltd, along with 13 individuals and entities including Chintalapati Srinivasa Raju of iLabs, made Rs 2,000 crore in illegal wealth in the Satyam scam. The CBI constituted a Multi-Disciplinary Investigation Team (MDIT) to investigate the case. The team worked hard, burnt midnight oil and achieved success in a record time of 45 days when it filed its first chargesheet against the accused for offences of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery and falsification of accounts.

Issues with CBI

  • Caged parrot: The Supreme Court has criticized the CBI by calling it a “caged parrot speaking in its master’s voice”.
  • Political interference: It has often been used by the government of the day to cover up wrongdoing, keep coalition allies in line and political opponents at bay.
  • Investigation delay: It has been accused of enormous delays in concluding investigations due to political inertia.
  • Loss of Credibility: CBI has been criticised for its mismanagement of several cases involving prominent politicians and mishandling of several sensitive cases like Bofors scandal, Bhopal gas tragedy.
  • Lack of Accountability: CBI is exempted from the provisions of the Right to Information Act, thus, lacking public accountability.
  • Acute shortage of personnel: A major cause of the shortfall is the government’s sheer mismanagement of CBI’s workforce.
  • Limited Powers: The powers and jurisdiction of members of the CBI for investigation are subject to the consent of the State Govt., thus limiting the extent of investigation by CBI.
  • Restricted Access: Prior approval of Central Government to conduct inquiry or investigation on the employees of the Central Government is a big obstacle in combating corruption at higher levels of bureaucracy.

Why was it called caged carrot by the Supreme Court?

  • Politicisation of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been a work in progress for years.
  • Corruption and Politically biased nature, This was highlighted in Supreme Court criticism for being a caged parrot speaking in its master’s voice.
  • CBI has been accused of becoming ‘handmaiden’ to the party in power; as a result high profile cases are not treated seriously.
  • Since CBI is run by central police officials on deputation hence chances of getting influenced by government was visible in the hope of better future postings.

Suggestions for the improvement of the functioning of the CBI under the supervision of the CVC

  1. One, the CVC Act should be amended, providing for a five/seven member Central Vigilance Commission, which could broadly assume the role visualised for the Lokpal. The selection process of the CVC members should be more broad based to prevent favouritism or from controversial persons being appointed.
  2. Two, the CVC should constitute an advisory committee of at least 11 members drawn from criminologists and forensic science experts. This will augment the professional input in its functioning. Further, to reduce the burden on the CVC, it should be given the power to go to any expert or professional to assist it in screening complaints.
  3. Three, the jurisdiction of CVC, which presently covers all employees of the central government and the CPSUs, should remain unchanged. There is already an administrative arrangement to delegate the vigilance administration over class II and lower formations to the ministries/departments concerned. However, if the lower formations are involved with the class I officers in a composite case, the CVC exercises a natural jurisdiction over all of them. To make this arrangement more effective, it would be important that the CVC exercises complete control over the selection, appointment and functioning of the CVOs.
  4. Four, the CVC should have an adequately experienced team to technically examine and assess the gravity of a complaint, which can then be assigned to the CBI for investigation or can be investigated by this team. After assessing a complaint by this broad-based CVC, there should be no need to seek prior permission from the government.
  5. Five, in the cases assigned to it by the CVC, the CBI should be made functionally and financially independent of the controls of any government ministry/department. The professional supervision over the investigations of the CBI should rest only with the CVC.
  6. Six, the manner of the appointment of the CBI Director should be broad based as in the case of the CVC members, whereas the other inductions/appointments in the CBI should be brought under the overarching supervision of the CVC.
  7. Seven, to achieve better synergy between anti-corruption laws and grievance handling, the laws relating to the whistle blowers and grievance redressal should be placed within the jurisdiction of the CVC.
  8. Eight, effective administration of anti-corruption laws at the grass roots is the key to responsible governance. The state and their anti-corruption agencies would, therefore, need to be equally insulated from the state government’s interference on similar lines.

Reforming CBI

  • Need for autonomy:   As long as the government of the day has the power to transfer and post officials of its choice in the CBI, the investigating agency will not enjoy autonomy and will be unable to investigate cases freely.
  • Selection of director/ Officers: To ensure that the CBI is a robust, independent and credible investigation agency, there is an urgent need to work out a much more transparent mechanism for selection and induction of officers on deputation.
  • Lokpal scrutiny: The Lokpal Act already calls for a three-member committee made up of the PM, the leader of the opposition and the CJI to select the director.
  • Bifurcation of Cadre: CBI should be bifurcated into an Anti-Corruption Body and a National Crime Bureau.
  • Develop own cadre: One of the demands that have been before Supreme Court, and in line with international best practices, is for the CBI to develop its own dedicated cadre of officers.
  • Annual social audit should be carried out by ten reputed, knowledgeable persons with background of law, justice, public affairs and administration and the audit report should be placed before the parliament.

About Enforcement Directorate (ED)

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

CBIFrom where does the ED get its powers?

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

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

  • Whenever any offence is registered by a local police station, which has generated proceeds of crime over and above ₹1 crore, the investigating police officer forwards the details to the ED.
  • Alternately, if the offence comes under the knowledge of the Central agency, they can then call for the First Information Report (FIR) or the chargesheet if it has been filed directly by police officials.
  • This will be done to find out if any laundering has taken place.

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

Case study:

  • If a theft has been committed in a nationalised bank, the local police station will first investigate the crime.
  • If it is learnt that the founder of the bank took all the money and kept it in his house, without being spent or used, then the crime is only theft and the ED won’t interfere because the amount has already been seized.
  • But if the amount which has been stolen is used after four years to purchase some properties, then the ill-gotten money is brought back in the market.
  • Or if the money is given to someone else to buy properties in different parts of the country, then there is ‘laundering’ of money.
  • Hence the ED will need to step in and look into the layering and attachment of properties to recover the money.
  • If jewellery costing ₹1 crore is stolen, police officers will investigate the theft. The ED, however, will attach assets of the accused to recover the amount of ₹1 crore.

CBIWhat are the other roles and functions of the ED?

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

Can the ED investigate cases of money laundering retrospectively?

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

Allegations against ED

  • Huge discretions: The ED is the only Central agency in the country that does not require permission from the government to summon or prosecute politicians or government functionaries for committing economic offences like money laundering.
  • Used for petty crimes: PMLA is pulled into the investigation of even “ordinary” crimes and assets of genuine victims have been attached.
  • Actual purpose denigrated: PMLA was a comprehensive penal statute to counter the threat of money laundering, specifically stemming from the trade in narcotics.
  • Violations of Rights: PMLA was enacted in response to India’s global commitment to combat the menace of money laundering. Instead, rights have been “cribbed, cabined and confined”.
  • Functional opacity: There is also a lack of clarity about ED’s selection of cases to investigate. We often see ED raiding houses of opposition parties suddenly.
  • Poor rate of conviction: We have hardly read the conclusion of cases by ED. Meantime media-trial tears off the accused person’s credibility which is the most desired intent.
  • Under-trials and slower prosecution: ED has been focusing on keeping the accused in custody rather than actually proving the charges against them.

Challenges to ED

  • ED being dragged to court: The petitions against the ED had the effect of slowing down the investigations, as officers have to defend themselves in court.
  • Foul crying politicians: There are attempts to cover up unexplained, high-value transactions that fall within the PMLA’s ambit
  • Investigation of foreign transactions: Getting information on accounts and money stashed abroad to establish a trail is the biggest challenge they face.

Way forward

  • The fight against corruption is intimately linked with the reform of the investigations.
  • Therefore the adjudicating authorities must work in cooperation and ensure the highest standards of transparency and fairness.
  • ED has been walking a tightrope to safeguard its integrity by speeding up investigations and court procedures.
  • The need of the hour could be systemic fixes—and not shrill calls to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
  • It is unlikely that corruption can be substantially reduced without modifying the way government agencies operate.

Conclusion

  • It is for the nation to demand that the country’s premier investigating agencies like the CBI, income tax authorities and the ED are not used as instruments of blackmail and intimidation by the government of the day. Rather they should work with complete objectivity and in the interest of the nation.

Mains question

Q. CBI and ED was called caged carrot by the Supreme Court. Do you agree with this? What issues are being faced by these premier agencies? Suggest some dynamic solutions to overcome these issues.

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[Burning Issue] Enforcement Directorate (ED): Dreaded nightmare of Indian Politicians & Businessmen

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Minority Issues – SC, ST, Dalits, OBC, Reservations, etc.

Census in India

op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 1: Population & Associated Issues
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: particulars of census data

Mains level: Population issues

censusContext

  • As there is no official reassurance that India will not skip its decadal Census, we can declare that we have a case of the missing census.
  • The census is a very important source of statistics on various indicators.
  • The ability to hold a census peacefully, and not coercively, has been the hallmark of a civilized state and state of affairs.

What is a census?

  • Census is nothing but a process of collecting, compiling, analyzing, evaluating, publishing and disseminating statistical data regarding the population.
  • It covers demographic, social and economic data and is provided as of a particular date.

What is the purpose of the census?

  • To collect the information for planning and formulation policies for Central and the State Governments.
  • The census tells us who we are and where we are going as a nation.
  • It helps the government decide how to distribute funds and assistance to states and localities.
  • The census data is widely used by National and International Agencies, scholars, business people, industrialists, and many more.

censusWhy is the census important?

  • Provides most credible source of information: information on Demography (Population characteristics), Economic Activity, Literacy and Education, Housing & Household Amenities, Urbanisation, Fertility and Mortality, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Language, Religion, Migration, Disability and many other socio-cultural and demographic data.
  • The delimitation/reservation of Constituencies: Parliamentary/Assembly/Panchayats and other Local Bodies are also done on the basis of the demographic data thrown up by the Census.
  • Administration: Census is the basis for reviewing the country’s progress in the past decade, monitoring the ongoing Schemes of the Government.
  • Planning the future: It provides pathways for planning and resolving problems, and fixing deficiencies. Government goes through analysis over the census data and formulates policies for the future accordingly.
  • Detailed accounts: The best of sample surveys find it impossible to beat a census as It carries the promise of counting each and every Indian. A census is when the state connects to every individual and it will find it hard to hide or duck from the data.
  • Welfare schemes: Identifying the actual beneficiaries, Census is the key to creating identity and affirming it over time .Census data enable neat, inter-temporal comparability.

Censuses in India so far

  • Census operations started in India long back during the period of the Maurya dynasty.
  • It was systematized during the years 1865 to 1872, though it has been conducted uninterruptedly from the year 1881 being a trustworthy resource of information.
  • India has held its decadal censuses regularly from 1881 to 2011, despite diseases, world wars, Partition and other instances of turmoil only COVID-19 as an exception.
  • Census 2011 is the 15th National Census of the Country.
  • The Census established that the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is coming down at a very rapid pace and is well on its way to stabilization.
  • The 2011 Census also dispelled the notion of divorce rate differentials between city and rural India. The urban divorce rate (0.89%) is almost equal to the rural rate (0.82%).

censusWhy census 2021 has been postponed indefinitely?

  • The Ministry of Home Affairs told the Lok Sabha in August, 2021 that the massive, decennial exercise came to a grinding halt due to the advent of Coid-19 pandemic.

What was the original timeline of the Census and how is it being delayed?

  • Gazette notification: The Centre’s intent to conduct Census 2021 was notified in the Gazette of India on March 28, 2019. The exercise was to have been conducted in two phases, with the housing Census from April to September 2020 and population enumeration from February 9, 2021.but it did not take place due to the spread of COVID-19.
  • Alternative timeline post-covid-19: In March 2021, the Home Ministry gave a Parliamentary panel a tentative alternative timeline. The fieldwork for the first phase, which would provide data on housing conditions, household amenities and assets possessed by households, is expected during 2021-22, while the fieldwork to count the population and provide data on demography, religion, Scheduled Castes and Tribes (SC/ST), language, literacy and education, economic activity, migration and fertility would be done in 2023-24, it said.
  • Said Provisional data: The Ministry added that provisional data would be released in 2023-24 before the next general elections. Usually, more detailed tables providing village-level data on specific indicators will continue to be released for several years after the key information.

censusImpact of delay in census 2021

  • Public distribution system:
  • The National Food Security Act, 2013, says that 75% of the rural population and 50% of the rural population are entitled to receive subsidised food grains from the government under the targeted public distribution system (PDS).
  • Under the 2011 Census, India’s population was about 121 crore, hence PDS covered approximately 80 crore people.
  • If we apply projected population of 137crore ,current delay in Census data would continue to deprive more than 10 crore people of subsidised food entitlements, with the biggest gaps in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, with 2.8 crore and 1.8 crore projected exclusions respectively.
  • welfare schemes:
  • Although the Government’s intent to use SECC data but failed at budgetary allocation for the projected expansion.
  • Census data may not be used to calculate the beneficiaries of most schemes, but it is critical to policy planning, budgeting and administration.
  • A number of schemes need to use the disaggregated age and fertility indicators to assess effectiveness as demographics change over time.
  • Huge lag in Migration data:
  • From the COVID19 lockdowns it is realized that the Numbers, causes and patterns of migration, which could not be answered using outdated 2011 Census data.
  • The D-tables on migration from the 2011 Census were only released in 2019, so it’s outdated by the time it came out.
  • Apart from the One Nation, One Ration card scheme which now allows for portability of food subsidy entitlements, the migration data is actually not used too much in broader economic policy and planning.

Why there is a demand for caste census in India?

  • India’s population has since increased three-fold to 1.21 billion in 2011.
  • Experts believe the economic status of the dominant OBC castes have improved in the past 80 years and certain castes have not benefited as much.
  • So, the new caste census is required to measure the economic and social well-being of all castes.

Other related information Key findings of 2011 census

  • Population:
  • India’s population grew by 17.7 per cent during 2001-11, against 21.5 per cent in the previous decade.
  • India’s total population stands at 1.21 billion, which is 17.7 per cent more than the last decade, and growth of females was higher than that of males.
  • The growth rate of females was 18.3 per cent which is higher than males — 17.1 per cent.
  • Among the major states, highest decadal growth in population has been recorded in Bihar (25.4 per cent) while 14 states and Union Territories have recorded population growth above 20 per cent.
  • Rural and urban population:
  • Urban proportion has gone up from 17.3 per cent in 1951 to 31.2 per cent in 2011.
  • Highest proportion of urban population is in NCT Delhi (97.5 per cent).
  • Top five states in share of urban population are Goa (62.2 per cent), Mizoram (52.1 per cent), Tamil Nadu (48.4 per cent), Kerala (47.7 per cent) and Maharashtra (45.2 per cent).
  • Literacy:
  • Literacy rate in India in 2011 has increased by 8 per cent to 73 per cent in comparison to 64.8 per cent in 2001.
  • Male literacy rate stands at 80.9 per cent, which is 5.6 per cent more than the previous census whereas the female literacy rate stands at 64.6 per cent, increase of 10.9 per cent than 2001.
  • The highest increase took place in Dadra and Nagar Haveli by 18.6 points (from 57.6 per cent to 76.2 per cent), while in Bihar by 14.8 points (from 47.0 per cent to 61.8 per cent), Tripura by 14.0 points (from 73.2 per cent to 87.2 per cent)
  • Density:
  • The density of population in the country has also increased from 325 in 2001 to 382 in 2011 in per sq km.
  • Among the major states, Bihar occupies the first position with a density of 1106, surpassing West Bengal which occupied the first position during 2001.
  • Delhi (11,320) turns out to be the most densely inhabited followed by Chandigarh (9,258), among all states and UT’s, both in 2001 and 2011 Census.
  • The minimum population density works out in Arunachal Pradesh (17) for both 2001 and 2011 Census.
  • Sex ratio:
  • The sex ratio of population in the country in 2011 stands at 940 female against 1000 males, which is 10 per cent more than the last census when the number female per thousand male stood at 933.
  • The number of females per 1000 males in Haryana in 2011 stands at 879 followed by Jammu and Kashmir (889 female) and Punjab (895 females).
  • The other two worst-performing states in terms of skewed sex ration are Uttar Pradesh (912 females) and Bihar (918 females).
  • Five top performing states in terms of sex ratio were Kerala (1,084 females), Tamil Nadu (996), Andhra Pradesh (993), Chhattisgarh (991),Odisha (979).
  • Child population:
  • Child population in the age of 0 to 6 years has seen an increase of 0.4 per cent.
  • There has been a decline of 8 per cent in the sex ratio of 0-6 age group. In 2011, the child sex ratio (0-6) stands at 919 female against 1000 male in comparison to 927 females in 2001.
  • Male child (0-6) population has increased whereas female child population has decreased during 2001-11.
  • The worst performing states in regard to sex ration in the age group of 0 to 6 years are Haryana (834 females), Punjab (846), Jammu and Kashmir (862), Rajasthan (888) and Gujarat (890).
  • The best performing states are Chhattisgarh (969), Kerala (964), Assam (962), West Bengal (956) Jharkhand (948) and Karnataka (948).
  • SC/ST data:
  • According to the Census, Scheduled Castes are notified in 31 states and UTs and Scheduled Tribes in 30 states. There are altogether 1,241 individual ethnic groups notified as SC’s .The number of individual ethnic groups, notified as ST’s is 705.
  • There have been some changes in the list of SC’s/ST’s in states and UT’s during the last decade.
  • The SC population in India now stands at 201.4 million, which is 20 per cent more than the last census. The ST population stands at 104.3 million in 2011 – 23.7 per cent more than 2001.
  • Religious demographics:
  • The religious data on India Census 2011 was released by the Government of India on 25 August 2015.
  • Hindus are 79.8% (966.3 million), while Muslims are 14.23% (172.2 million) in India.
  • For the first time, a “No religion” category was added in the 2011 census. 2.87 million Were classified as people belonging to “No Religion” in India in the 2011 census. – 0.24% of India’s population of 1.21 billion.
  • Median marriage age:
  • The median age increased for men – from 22.6 (2001) to 23.5 (2011) and for women – from 18.2 (2001) to 19.2 (2011).

Conclusion

  • The census is vital and precious as it is a repository of complete data about the country which is gathered openly, voluntarily, and with the use of public money, making it a social good.
  • The new Census is likely to capture the extent of the observed movement in migration trends towards smaller two-tier towns apart from the large metropolitan centre.
  • It could help answer questions of what kind of healthcare and social services are most needed and where.
  • The Census is about many things. But, fundamentally, it is a way in which the state, by knocking at all doors, displays its desire to connect with the people who ultimately comprise the nation.

 

Mains Question

Q. Apart from being used to demarcate constituencies, updated decadal census data is vital to administration. How will the indefinite postponement of census impact the policy formation for the future? Critically Analyse.

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Census 2011 | The basics and summary of important findings

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Coal and Mining Sector

Fly ash generation and Disposal

op-ed snap | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: composition of fly ash

Mains level: environmental pollution

fly ashContext

  • India depends heavily on coal for power generation. This creates the problem of fly-ash generation and its proper disposal, usage.
  • The National Green Tribunal (NGT) noted September 19, 2022 that there was an urgent need to augment the utilisation and disposal of fly ash in Chhattisgarh.

What is fly ash?

  • Fly ash is a by-product of coal combustion. It contains Aluminium Silicate, SiO2, CaO, oxides of iron, magnesium and toxic metals like lead, arsenic, cobalt, and copper.
  • It can travel to far places. India is growing to double its power generation in the next decade and with coal being the biggest source of fuel for power generation, the problem of fly ash is going to increase too.

fly ash Environmental Problems with fly ash

  • A large quantity of fly ash dumped into poorly designed and maintained ash ponds. About a billion tonnes of this toxic ash lie dumped in these ponds, polluting land, air, and water.
  • All the heavy metals found in fly ash—nickel, cadmium, arsenic, chromium, lead, etc—are toxic in nature. They leech into the surrounding soil and can enter food-chains.
  • Fly ash gets easily ingested through respiration, which causes many diseases such as asthma, neurological disorders.
  • Suspended fly ash in the air acts as a global warming agent and heats the earth’s surface.
  • Fly ash settles on leaves and crops and reduces crop productivity.
  • It pollutes the groundwater.
  • There is a reduction in recharging of groundwater due to fly ash filled mine voids.
  • Reduces visibility by creating dense fog in the winter season.

fly ashIssues with fly ash management

  • The government mandates that all coal power plants (CPPs) reach 100% utilization of fly ash.
  • Along with it, CPPs should give a certain amount of fly ash free of cost for MSMEs to manufacture bricks, tiles and rest of the fly ash should be sold to other industries.
  • CPPs will have to maintain fly ash ponds to reduce its suspension in air.
  • But all these steps for utilization areas are problematic as they do little to mitigate these risks.
  • The pricing of fly ash is increasingly becoming a contentious issue that is hampering its gainful utilization.
  • The current approaches to evaluating risks with fly ash disposal are very limited, and they may underestimate the true risks
  • In spite of initiatives taken by the government, several nongovernmental and research and development organizations for fly ash utilization, the level of fly ash utilization in the country is quite low at only 38% which is less than the global standards.
  • Hence, rather than being utilized, fly ash is being stored despite warnings from regulators.
  • Deposition in storage places has negative influences on water and soil because of their mineral composition as well as morphology and filtration properties.
  • Ash-handling units are the biggest consumers of water in CPPs. The government advocates the designed ash-to-water ratios as approximately 1:5 for fly ash, but the observed ratios have been around 1:20.
  • Certain states have discouraged the use of blended cement and fly ash bricks in public works.

fly ashThe above issues can be addressed by

  • Greater regulatory oversight and price control,
  • Revision of cement blending standards,
  • Research in improving fly ash quality,
  • Reducing the cost of transportation,
  • Provisions for overcoming information asymmetries,
  • Incentivising use in brick kilns for producing fly ash bricks,
  • Overall sensitization of key decision-makers on the matter.
  • Instead of dumping it on ash ponds, can be used for construction due to its reuse as pozzolan, and replacement of portland cement by hydraulic cement
  • Due to its grain size distribution, enhanced strength permeability, it can be used to construct embankments at road construction, concrete dams like GHATGHAR DAM
  • Strong penalties for those production units who do not use proper filtration devices
  • Moving to renewable energy production away from coal-based thermal production.

Conclusion

  • Utilization of Fly Ash is not only possible but also essential. In this context “Fly Ash Mission of Government of India” is a slow but steady start, the pace of which needs to be ramped up. An honest effort is required by the concerned stakeholders to improve the perceptions of fly ash-based cement or concrete; increase its use, particularly for government works; and impart scientific knowledge about fly ash, its uses, and possible impacts.

Mains question

Q. What is fly ash? Discuss the environmental challenges it poses. Suggest how to address the situation.

 

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Women empowerment issues – Jobs,Reservation and education

Domestic violence needs to stop for true women empowerment

op-ed snap | Indian Society | Mains Paper 1: Role Of Women & Women Organization
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: NA

Mains level: women empowerment

domestic violenceContext

  • Due to prevalence of patriarchy women have been discriminated not only in India but in most parts of the world. According to The United Nations, one out of every three women experience domestic violence. The same UN report suggests that the most dangerous place for women is their home. Gender equality and women’s empowerment are essential for the development and well-being of families, communities and nations.

How UN women defines Violence against women and girls

  • Any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women and girls, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.

Why Women are the victim?

  • Domestic violence is one of the most common forms of violence experienced by women globally.
  • Women are usually the victim of domestic violence that derives from unequal power relationships between men and women.

domestic violenceWhy there is recent spike in violence against women?

  • According to UN, Violence against women and girls is one of the world’s most prevalent human rights violations, taking place every day, many times over, in every corner of the world.
  • Conditions created by the pandemic – including lockdowns, reduced mobility, heightened isolation, stress and economic uncertainty have led to an alarming spike in domestic violence and have further exposed women and girls to other forms of violence, from child marriage to sexual harassment online.

What is Domestic violence?

  • Domestic violence is any pattern of behavior that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner. It encompasses all physical, sexual, emotional, economic and psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person.
  • Domestic violence can include the following.
    • Psychological violence: Psychological violence involves causing fear, threatening physical harm or forcing isolation from friends, family, school or work.
    • Economic violence: Making or attempting to make a person financially dependent by maintaining total control over financial resources.
  • Emotional violence: Undermining a person’s sense of self-worth through constant criticism; belittling one’s abilities; verbal abuse.
  • Physical violence: Use of Physical force or hurting or trying to hurt a partner .it also includes denying medical care.
  • Sexual violence: Forcing a partner to take part in a sex act when the partner does not consent

What is the current Status in India?

  • Nearly one-third of women in India have experienced physical or sexual violence
  • The most common type of spousal violence is physical violence (28%), followed by emotional violence and sexual violence
  • While domestic violence against women has declined from 31.2% to 29.3% in the country, 30% women between the age of 18 and 49 have experienced physical violence since the age of 15 years, while 6% have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime,.
  • Only 14% of women who have experienced physical or sexual violence by anyone have brought the issue up.
  • 32% of married women (18-49 years) have experienced physical, sexual, or emotional spousal violence.

Recent findings from National Family health Survey Report-5

  • Status: Domestic violence against women is highest in Karnataka at 48%, followed by Bihar, Telangana, Manipur and Tamil Nadu. Lakshawdeep has the least domestic violence at 2.1%.
  • Rural–urban difference: Physical violence is more common among women in rural areas (32%) as compared to their urban areas (24%).
  • Impact of schooling and education: 40% women with no schooling are subject to physical violence compared to 18% who completed their schooling.
  • Impact of employment and wealth: The experience of physical violence ranges between 39% among women in the lowest wealth quintile and 17% in the highest wealth quintile.

 Why women left behind as compared to men in India?

  • Patriarchal structure: Patriarchal structures and ideologies and the mindset lead to women subordination and gender inequalities
  • Low sex ratio: Sex ratios for women in India Is not good comparatively. It was even bad at the time of independence.
  • Life expectancy: Women’s life expectancy, health, nutritional levels are significantly lower than that of men.
  • Education: low investment on girl education, Girl children are kept out of schools, or made drop out of school at early age, girl is considered as burden on family in many societies.
  • Employment: even if they are educated they are not allowed to work by their families Discrimination at the workplaces, lower wages for the work of equal value.
  • Decision making: The have little say in the families, socio economic, legal and political rules and policy formulations. Very limited or no decision making power.
  • Political participation: The participation of women in political and social decision making power is abysmally low. Their number in parliament has never exceeded more than 10%.

What can be done for empowering women?

  • Recognition: Recognition of women as productive, vital agents of family and environment should be a precondition for addressing their social needs. We need to change the way they are perceived.
  • Treatment: They must not be only treated only as objects of welfare but needed to be treated as those who are contributing to the economy.
  • Health: To provide quality and affordable healthcare and must be easily accessible.
  • Education: Education of women is the most important component for women’s empowerment.
  • Safe and secure environment: providing safety and security is the precondition for empowerment and social justice.
  • Economic Independence: Helping women to stand on their legs, become independent and also to earn for their family is necessary to empowering women and to raise their hand in decision making process of family, society and nation

domestic violenceWoman as the foundation stone of every family, society and nation

  • India has an ancient woman worship tradition.
  • In India we see woman as a mother goddess. There are no of evidences to support this idea
  • For instance the Sanskrit text “Yatra naryastu pujyante ramante tatra Devata”which means where women are honored, there gods resides.
  • Which means there is a overall development if the women of the family is happy.

domestic violenceConclusion

  • Domestic violence against women is major obstacle on progress on achieving development targets. Without addressing it, anybody have little chance of meeting millennium development. Recognition of women as productive, vital agents of family and environment should be a precondition for addressing their social needs. Gender equality and women’s empowerment are essential for the development and well-being of families, communities and nations.

Mains Question

Q. Empowering women on every front is the pre-condition for the overall development of the nation. Discuss.

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Foreign Policy Watch: India-China

Why the India China Border situation is still risky?

op-ed snap | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: India & Its Neighborhood - Relations
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: NA

Mains level: border security

india china borderContext

  • According to the consensus reached in the 16th round of India China Corps Commander Level Meeting, the Indian and Chinese troops in the area of Gogra-Hotsprings (PP-15) have begun to disengage in a coordinated and planned way. With disengagement at PP 15 India China border, forces of the two countries have disengaged at all friction points in the region which included the North and South banks of the Pangong Tso, PP 14, PP 15 and PP 17A.

India china borderWhy the India-China Border situation is still risky?

The tentative conciliatory steps between two nuclear-armed rivals are important; but they also carry risks, especially for India. The risks are as follows:

  • Uneasy peace: Despite the latest round of disengagement, the LAC remains deeply unsettled. Observers have pointed out that the buffer zones produced by the crisis inhibit India’s ability to patrol its own territory.
  • Un-resolve areas: India and China have tacitly agreed to postpone settlement at two other confrontation sites, particularly tactically valuable area known as Depsangand Charding Nala regions.
  • Persisting threat: The reinforcements that each side deployed since 2020 have not returned to garrison. Even if future rounds of talks continue “disengagement and de-escalation,” and reduce those forces, returning to the status quo ante is now impossible.
  • Border infrastructure: Both sides on India China border are racing towards building permanent military infrastructure near the border, to help them surge forces to the border. Unsurprisingly, China seems to have outpaced India in building these roads, helipads, and communications nodes.
  • Possibility of conflict: The increasing capabilities and mobility on both sides of the border means that a crisis can more quickly escalate to a large military stand-off anywhere on the LAC, and possibly even trigger a conflict

india china borderWhat are the Strategic implications?

  • Changing priorities: India has reassigned one of three originally Pakistan-facing Strike Corps to the China front. It has deployed its newest artillery, jets, and drones to the China border.
  • Unattended Indian Ocean: India has not yet improved its capabilities or posture in the Indian Ocean region significantly.
  • Diversion from real threat: With the border crisis, China seems to have successfully xed India’s gaze to the land border, at the expense of that more consequential competition over the Indian Ocean.
  • Loss of grazing: Ladakh’s elected representatives said the disengagement has caused loss of huge grazing land as it would now be converted into no man’s land.

india china borderSteps taken by India

  • Increasing capability: from cruise missile-equipped ghter jets and U.S.-origin naval helicopters to a brand-new indigenously-built aircraft carrier.
  • Atmanirbhar Bharat: India undertook several structural economic reforms for strengthening domestic capability and reducing the economic parity between two nations. Defence ministry has decided to increase CAB (capital acquisition budget), around 64% of modernization fund around 70000 cr. has been allocated for purchasing from domestic market. Atma Nirbhar Bharat and Make in India mission will also include Defence sector, we can see the local or private companies can also participate in procurement of defence equipment
  • Defence India Start-up Challenge (DISC): Started by the defence ministry and over 1200 MSMEs participated in the fourth edition of the DISC in 2020. The government has prepared a negative list, it include light combat helicopters, artillery guns; these items will not be imported by anyone thus encouraging self-reliant India.
  • The SRIJAN portal: Launched to facilitate the two initiatives, Atmanirbhar Bharat and make in India
  • Sagarmala project: The sagarmala project has been started to revamp port Infrastructure which is a welcome step in modernization.

Conclusion

  • For china Deception is diplomacy. Time and again China tries a deception strategy from its Confucius doctrine to defeat its enemy. From 1962 to 2022 India has made a lot of progress in military and economic sphere but China is way ahead than us. Strategic competition between two Asian giants will continue foreseeable future. So as long as India doesn’t gain domestic capabilities it would be prudent step to undertake strategic balancing.

Mains Question

Q. India has decided to maintain a strategic balance with china rather than being subsidiary to china. Discuss.

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Minority Issues – SC, ST, Dalits, OBC, Reservations, etc.

On reservations for disempowered Dalit Christians and Muslims, a question of government’s intent

op-ed snap | Indian Society | Mains Paper 1: Salient features of Indian Society
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: NA

Mains level: social justice

dalitContext

  • Union government intends to appoint a national commission to study the status of Dalits (ex “untouchable” castes) belonging to the Muslim and Christian communities. Aim of study to check the socio-economic condition of Muslims and Christian Dalits on par with Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist Dalits.

Current reservation policy

  • At present, scheduled caste reservation is applicable only to schedule caste (Dalit) belongs to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist. Currently it is unavailable for schedule caste belongs to Muslims and Christians.

Why Muslim and Christian Dalit needs reservation?

  • In 2008 review-study commissioned by the National Commission of Minorities (NCM) and housed in the Sociology Department of Delhi The remit of the study was to conduct a comprehensive review of already existing social-scientific evidence that might offer answers to three questions.
  1. What is the contemporary status of Dalit Muslims (DMs) and Dalit Christians (DCs) in terms of their material well-being and social status?
  2. How does their situation compare with that of: a) non-Dalits of their own communities, and b) Dalits of other communities?
  3. Do the caste disabilities suffered by these groups justify state intervention?

dalitWhat were the findings of study?

  • The study reviewed two main kinds of available evidence, ethnographic-descriptive and macro-statistical, in addition to semi-academic NGO reports and publications.
  • The survey of ethnographic materials began with the finding that the existence of caste divisions – including the presence of ex-untouchable castes recognised as such – among both Muslims and Christians – was beyond dispute.
  • DMs and DCs were identified and segregated much like their counterparts in the Hindu or Sikh communities.
  • Evidence was tabulated on five forms of caste-based social discrimination – the practice untouchability; enforced ban on inter-marriage; occupational segregation; social and cultural segregation and finally, economic discrimination.
  • The most common instances were separate mosques or churches (or hierarchically segregated seating); separate burial grounds; strict prohibition on inter-marriage with very severe punishments (sometimes extending to murder) for breaking this taboo; and general avoidance of social interaction and cooperation.
  • The main findings were that DMs are clearly the worst off among all Dalits, while DCs are somewhat better off than other Dalits except Sikh Dalits (who are by far the best off, especially in the rural sector).

Why DMs and DCs doesn’t have reservation?

  • The courts accept that “caste survives conversion” but complain about the lack of reliable data. No recognition, no data; no data, no recognition.
  • Informal guesstimates (based on the 2001 Census and the 2004-05 NSSO survey) place the proportion of DMs at 1 per cent or less of the Muslim population, and DCs as anything between 40-50 per cent of the Christian population of India.
  • As per the 2011 Census, Muslims are 14.2 per cent and Christians 2.3 per cent of our population. Taken together, DMs and DCs are likely to form less than 2 per cent of the total Dalit population of India, more than 90 per cent of which is Hindu.
  • According to experts Adding DMs and DCs will not rock the boat of reservation, since the increment will be roughly one-fifth of the 10 per cent reservation readily granted to the upper castes as the Economically Weaker Sections.

What efforts have been made to include Muslims and Christians of Dalit origin among SCs?

  • After 1990, a number of Private Member’s Bills were brought in Parliament for this purpose.
  • In 1996, a government Bill called The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill was drafted, but in view of a divergence of opinions, the Bill was not introduced in Parliament.
  • Then government headed by PM Manmohan Singh set up two important panels:
  1. Ranganath Misra Commission: The National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities, popularly known as the Ranganath Misra Commission, in October 2004 and
  2. Sachar Committee: A seven-member high-level committee headed by former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Rajinder Sachar to study the social, economic, and educational condition of Muslims in March 2005.

What did they recommend?

  • The Sachar Committee Report observed that the social and economic situation of Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians did not improve after conversion.
  • The Ranganath Misra Commission, which submitted its report in May 2007, recommended that SC status should be completely de-linked from religion and Scheduled Castes should be made fully religion-neutral like Scheduled Tribes.

dalitReception to these recommendations

  • The report was tabled in Parliament in 2009, but its recommendation was not accepted in view of inadequate field data and corroboration with the actual situation on the ground.
  • Few studies, commissioned by the National Commission for Minorities, was also not considered reliable due to insufficient data.

Conclusion

  • Schedule caste community from all religion India suffers from same fate of untouchability. Change of religion unfortunately, have change their social status. If 70+ year of reservation of Dalit in Hindu haven’t substantially change their social destiny, we have to think beyond reservation for social dignity and economic empowerment of schedule castes in India.

Mains question

Q. Reservation policy in India is religion based and not based on overall social discrimination. Comment in the context of demand for Dalit reservation extension to Christians and Muslims Dalits.

 

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Urban Floods

The heavy rainfall and the crazy Banglore flood: A case to study

op-ed snap | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Urbanization, Their Problems & Remedies
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: NA

Mains level: urban floods mitigation

floodContext

  • The recent events of heavy downpours in short period of time and the recent example of Banglore flood, highlights how cities in India and elsewhere need to adapt to climate change as it brings more extreme rainfall in the future.

What is heavy downpour?

  • A downpour or cloudburst is a sudden and unexpected heavy fall of rain.
  • It is usually local in nature and of brief duration. Most so-called cloudbursts occur in connection with thunderstorms.
  • Heavy downpour in short period causes flood, damage to buildings and infrastructure can disrupt transport, communications and connectivity, loss of crops and livestock.

The heavy rainfall and the Banglore flood causes

  • Rise in built up area: Lakes and natural depressions may not always fill up during many monsoons so the people who are unaware of hydrology tempts to build and buy in the catchment areas of water-bodies, which will be disastrous when it rains heavily as there is rise in the quantity.
  • Water-logging: rainwater and sewage water are forced to build up, which results in water-logging. The highway acts as a dam for the water ,Garbage frequently clogs drains, which limits the flow of sewage, and they are too small to support the weight of the expanding population.
  • Physical shrinkage of water-bodies: Destruction of lakes is a major issue .lakes can store the excess water and regulate the flow of water however the pollution of natural water bodies and converting them for development purposes has increased the risks of floods. Unplanned growth, Rise in population, rise in the built up areas along streams, canals, around the lakes, leaving no storage capacity.
  • Compromised runoff potential and health hazards: Choked and encroached drains and lakes, ill designed infrastructure and missing pipes compromising run off potential. Not only the physical quantity of the runoff that poses a hazard. When polluted drains and lakes overflow, the flood can pose a health hazard especially to vulnerable and exposed marginal communities living in informal settlements.
  • Zero or limited ability to allow infiltration of water: Encroachments in and around wetlands and green lands harming the natural way of water infiltration and ground water recharge.
  • Lack of vision in rain water harvesting: Ignorance towards the tradition rain water harvesting techniques and no or limited vision for creating new systems of rain water harvesting. Exceptionally heavy monsoon rains have been exacerbated by poor urban planning in the Indian tech hub, showing the need for improved water systems.

floodWhat are the reasons behind the frequent floods in urban areas?

  • Meteorological factors: change in the weather patterns, increase in the temperature leading to heavy rainfall, sudden downpour, cloudburst, thunderstorms, hailstorms etc.
  • Hydrological factors: Natural surface infiltration rate, soil moisture level, presence or absence of Overbank flows, Presence of impervious cover, the occurrence of high tides impeding the drainage in coastal cities.
  • Man-Made factors:
    • Unplanned urbanization: Unplanned settlement is one of the main cause of urban flooding. Blocking of natural drainage pathways through construction activity and encroachment on catchment areas, streams, rivers, lakebeds. Reduced infiltration and ground water recharge of water, destruction of lakes, Land-use changes (e.g. surface sealing due to urbanization, deforestation) increase runoff and sedimentation. Inefficiency or non-maintenance of infrastructure etc.
    • Outdated Drainage systems: The old and ill-maintained drainage system is one of the main factor making cities in India vulnerable to flooding
    • Encroachments on and around water-bodies: Illegal Habitations started growing into towns and cities alongside rivers and watercourses. As a result of this, the capacity of the natural drains has decreased, resulting in flooding.
    • Climate Change: Climate change due to various anthropogenic events has led to extreme weather events, increasing temperature which resulting in heavy rainfall in one part while drought and dry spells in other.
    • Poor Solid Waste Management System: Indiscriminate disposal of solid waste, poor waste management system, clogging drains because of accumulation of non-biodegradable wastes are major concerns. Domestic, commercial and industrial waste and dumping of it into the drains also contribute significantly to reducing their capacities.
    • Reduced Seepage: use of hard and non-porous construction material making the soil impervious, reducing the seepage capability in no of cities in India.
    • Weak Implementation and lack of awareness:Even with provisions of rainwater harvesting, sustainable urban drainage systems, etc, in regulatory mechanisms like the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), adoption at user end as well as enforcement agencies remains weak.
    • No Community Participation:Flood control measures planned without participation of the affected community are unsustainable as they do not meet the needs of relevant stakeholders.

What can be done to prevent the urban floods and prevent losses?

  • Developing climate Resilient Infrastructure: using permeable material for roads and pavement, green roofs and harvesting systems in buildings. To reduce the burden of road infrastructure in cities Outer Ring Road should be explored. Innovative approaches like Sponge Cities wetland restoration, flushing systems using collected rooftop water, public spaces as flexible water retention facilities can be applied to Indian urban areas.
  • Use of technology in Early Warning Systems and Communication: Early-warning systems using sensors across waterbodies and drains, and a network of communication for hotspots of emerging flood risk in the wet-season should be put in place. Providing real-time data where traditional systems fail. Tools such as predictive precipitation modelingcan help do that and are also able to link it with the adaptive capacity of urban land use.
  • Proper management and regular upgrade of Urban Drainage System: drains need to be cleaned on a regular basis to permit the free flow of water .Proper management of the drainage system is necessary to ensure that the water does not get stored in one place. Watershed management and emergency drainage plan should be clearly enunciated in policy.
  • Rainwater Harvesting: It will serve the twin purposes of lowering the peak runoff and raising the groundwater table. Many municipal corporations in India have already made rainwater harvesting compulsory. 
  • Conservation of Water Bodies: Urban water bodies like lakes, tanks, and ponds also play a very important role in the management of urban flooding by reducing the flood water run-off by capturing it.
  • Holistic approach: Improved monitoring, forecasting, and decision-support systems. Find out the different method for improving the preparedness for urban flooding.
  • Responsibility on every stakeholder: Locally, citizens, local ward officials and staff will need to work together to minimize dumping of solid waste and garbage in storm-water drains. As this is a socio –political problem, public participation awareness and responsibility of citizen is the need of the hour. To develop a long-lasting solution, all parties must acknowledge the issues and adopt a thorough strategy.

What we as citizens can do on a personal level to prevent the urban environment?

  • Raising voice at all available forums and platforms
  • Making politicians and bureaucrats accountable
  • Refuse to buy a house in the encroached lands.
  • Applying methods of rain water harvesting on individual level.

Way ahead

  • Exceptionally heavy monsoon rains have been exacerbated by poor urban planning in the Indian tech hub, showing the need for improved water systems.
  • Urbanization is a global and inevitable process, and with cities as engines of the economy, built-up areas will continue to grow. But we need to draw upon these experiences and the growing perils of climate change and extreme rain events and change course.
  • According to UN projections, by 2050 more than 68% of the world’s population could be concentrated in urban areas.
  • In this context, resilience-based strategies should be adopted to improve the capacity to handle the crisis arising out of climate change.
  • Wetlands are the kidneys of the earth, let’s keep it healthy.

 

Mains Question

Q. What are the factors causing flood in the urban cities? What are the measures to prevent the urban flooding keeping in mind the sustainable development? Discuss.

 

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Judicial Reforms

The hijab case and the doctrine of essentiality

op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary,Indian Constitution - historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: particulars of doctrine of essentiality

Mains level: judicial reforms

doctrine of essentialityContext

  • A two-judge Bench of the Supreme Court of India is presently hearing arguments on the correctness of a Karnataka High Court judgment that upheld the ban on the use of the hijab by students in Karnataka which raises question on doctrine of essentiality.

 What is ‘doctrine of essentiality’?

  • A seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court invented the doctrine of “essentiality” in the Shirur Mutt case in 1954. The court held that the term “religion” will cover all rituals and practices “integral” to a religion.

Importance doctrine of essentiality

  • In the legal framework, the doctrine of essentiality is a doctrine that has evolved to protect the religious practices that are essential or integral and does not violate any fundamental right. India being a secular country has discrete religious beliefs and to deny any is to violate the freedom of religion.

Why hijab is not an essential practice?

  • Wearing of hijab (head scarf) by Muslim women does not form a part of essential religious practices in Islamic faith and it is not protected under the right to freedom of religion guaranteed under Article 25 of the Constitution of India, the High Court of Karnataka declared on March 15 2022.

doctrine of essentialityIs hijab essential part of Islam?

  • The Qur’an instructs Muslim women and men to dress modestly, and for some, the hijab is worn by Muslim girls and women to maintain modesty and privacy from unrelated males. According to the Encyclopedia of Islam and Muslim World, modesty concerns both men’s and women’s “gaze, gait, garments, and genitalia”.

How do you identify essential religion practice?

  • The Court observed that in order to determine whether or not a particular practice is an essential part of religion, the test must be whether the absence of the practice itself

Meaning of Article 26

  • Freedom to manage religious affairs Subject to public order, morality and health, every religious denomination or any section thereof shall have the right.

doctrine of essentialityExamples of the essential religious practices test

  • While these issues are largely understood to be community-based, there are instances in which the court has applied the test to individual freedoms as well.
  • In a 2004 ruling, the Supreme Court held that the Ananda Marga sect had no fundamental right to perform the Tandava dance in public streets since it did not constitute an essential religious practice of the sect.
  • For example, in 2016, the Supreme Court upheld the discharge of an airman from the Indian Air Force for keeping a beard.
  • It distinguished the case of a Muslim airman from that of Sikhs who are allowed to keep a beard.
  • In 2015, the Supreme Court restored the Jain religious practice of Santhara/Sallekhana (a ritualistic fast unto death) by staying an order of the Rajasthan HC.

doctrine of essentialityWhat is the Supreme Court’s judgement on Doctrine of Essentiality?

  • The doctrine of “essentiality” was invented by a seven-judge Bench of the Supreme Court in the ‘Shirur Mutt’ case in 1954.
  • It is a contentious doctrine evolved by the court to protect only such religious practices which were essential and integral to the religion.
  • The court held that the term “religion” will cover all rituals and practices “integral” to a religion, and took upon itself the responsibility of determining the essential and non-essential practices of a religion.
  • Referring to the Ayodhya case, the Constitution Bench had ruled in 1994 that A mosque is not an essential part of the practice of the religion of Islam and namaz (prayer) by Muslims can be offered anywhere, even in open.

How has the doctrine been used in subsequent years?

  • The ‘essentiality doctrine’ of the Supreme Court has been criticised by several constitutional experts.
  • Scholars of constitutional law have argued that the essentiality/integrality doctrine has tended to lead the court into an area that is beyond its competence, and given judges the power to decide purely religious questions.
  • As a result, over the years, courts have been inconsistent on this question — in some cases they have relied on religious texts to determine essentiality.
  • In others it relied on the empirical behaviour of followers, and in yet others, based on whether the practice existed at the time the religion originated.

Issues over the doctrine

  • In the beginning, the court engaged with the question of whether untouchability, manifested in restrictions on entry into temples, was an “essential part of the Hindu religion”.
  • After examining selected Hindu texts, it came to the conclusion that untouchability was not an essential Hindu practice.
  • The idea of providing constitutional protection only to those elements of religion which the court considers “essential” is problematic as it assumes that one element or practice of religion is independent of other elements or practices.
  • So, while the essentiality test privileges certain practices over others, it is, in fact, all practices taken together that constitute a religion.

How does essentiality square up against religious freedom?

  • Freedom of religion was meant to guarantee freedom to practice one’s beliefs based on the concept of “inward association” of man with God.
  • The apex court in ‘Ratilal Panachand Gandhi vs The State of Bombay and Ors’ (March 18, 1954) acknowledged that “every person has a fundamental right to entertain such religious beliefs as may be approved by his judgment or conscience”.
  • The framers of the Constitution wanted to give this autonomy to each individual. Scholars have argued that the essentiality test impinges on this autonomy.
  • The apex court has itself emphasised autonomy and choice in its Privacy (2017), 377 (2018), and Adultery (2018) judgments.

Its effect on society

  • Narrowing of safeguards to religious customs: It has allowed the Court to narrow the extent of safeguards available to religious customs by directly impinging on the autonomy of groups to decide for themselves what they deem valuable, violating, in the process, their right to ethical independence.
  • Negated legislation that might otherwise enhance the cause of social justice: It has also negated legislation that might otherwise enhance the cause of social justice by holding that such laws cannot under any circumstances encroach on matters integral to the practice of a religion. For example, in 1962, the Court struck down a Bombay law that prohibited excommunications made by the Dai of the Dawoodi Bohra community when it held that the power to excommunicate is an essential facet of faith and that any measure aimed at social welfare cannot reform a religion out of its existence.
  • A principle of anti-exclusion: Its application would require the Court to presume that a practice asserted by a religious group is, in fact, essential to the proponents of its faith. But regardless of such grounding, the Constitution will not offer protection to the practice if it excludes people on grounds of caste, gender, or other discriminatory criteria.

Conclusion

  • For now, any Court hearing a matter touching upon a matter of faith has the unenviable task of acting not merely as an expert on law but also as an expert on religion.

Mains question

Q. Every person has a fundamental right to entertain such religious beliefs as may be approved by his judgment or conscience. Critically examine in context of doctrine of essentiality.

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Global digital governance

op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 2: E-Governance

digital governanceContext

  • In an interview earlier this month, Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw spoke about a comprehensive policy roadmap for India’s digital economy and digital governance.

What is digital governance ?

  • Electronic governance or e-governance can be defined as the usage of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by the government to provide and facilitate government services, exchange of information, communication transactions and integration of various standalone systems and services.

What is “global digital governance”?

  • Global digital governance encompasses the norms, institutions, and standards that shape the regulation around the development and use of these technologies. Digital governance has long-term commercial and political implications.

Why is it important?

  • The main objective of e-governance is to provide a friendly, affordable, and efficient interface between a government and its people. It is about ensuring greater transparency, accountability and objectivity, resulting in cost-effective and high-quality public service.

What are the three domains of e-governance?

  • E-administration: improving government processes
  • E-services: connecting individual citizens with their government
  • E-society: building interactions with and within civil society.

digital governanceIs there a historical parallel to governing key economic sectors globally?

  • Digital economy is not unprecedented: Sectors critical to the global economy are subject to international cooperation frameworks and pacts. Therefore, the idea of setting up a single multilateral organization with a mandate to govern the digital economy is not unprecedented.
  • The International Commission for Air Navigation (ICAN): Global aviation has been regulated since 1903 when the International Commission for Air Navigation (ICAN) first met, subsequently replaced by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in 1947.
  • Bank for International Settlements (BIS): Similarly, the modern international banking system is governed by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), an institution initially set up in the interwar period in 1930 to oversee Germany’s reparations to the Allies under the Treaty of Versailles. The BIS acquired a more global mandate beginning in the 1950s and is now partially responsible for global financial stability.

Who are the key players in the global contest for digital governance?

  • China seeks to champion the concept of cyber sovereignty: An authoritarian vision drives the first model. Most notably, China is emerging as the standard-bearer for this model with its desire to “reinvent the internet.” China seeks to champion the concept of “cyber sovereignty,” allowing countries to control access to the internet, censor content, and institute data localization requirements, as a pretext to protecting individual national interests.
  • European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): Which provides a more democratic concept for digital governance. This model primarily seeks to protect the privacy and rights of internet users and online content consumers. Adopted with the overwhelming support of the European Parliament in 2014, the GDPR came into effect in May 2018, giving firms that rely on digital technologies the opportunity to modify their data usage and privacy policies. The adoption of the GDPR has been a turning point for global internet governance as consumers gained unprecedented control over their data in a manner that preserved freedom and openness online.

digital governanceWhy global digital governance is important?

  • Minimum rights and protections for platform workers: Under the G20, the International Labour Organisation has already placed a proposal in the employment working group for digital labour platforms to develop an international governance system determining minimum rights and protections for platform workers.
  • Implementation of central bank digital currency projects: Similarly, on digital money, a reincarnated Bretton Woods is being advocated to address the distrust in private currencies and to coordinate the implementation of central bank digital currency projects.
  • Digital taxation: Finally, in the deeply contested area of digital taxation, the OECD facilitated Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) negotiations and helped arrive at a global solution.
  • Digital sovereignty: The internet is splintering and digital sovereignty is now commonplace; yet, there is no better time for countries to come together and build a framework for global digital governance.

digital governanceWhat are the big 5 tech companies called?

  • The Big Five tech giants—Apple, Amazon, Google (Alphabet), Meta, and Microsoft.

Conclusion

  • The rapid digitalisation of the world along with a new focus on trust in the global supply chains for digital products and services presents tremendous opportunities for India and its youth.  It is now up to all of us to engage in a collective “sabka prayas” to realise New India’s economic potential.

Mains question

Q. The rapid digitalisation of the world along with a new focus on trust in the global supply chains for digital products and services presents tremendous opportunities for India. Comment.

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Monetary Policy Committee Notifications

High Inflation in India

op-ed snap | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy
Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: types of inflation

Mains level: inflation overview

inflation Context

  • It seems that inflation may hover around 7 per cent despite RBI’s tightening of monetary policy in the months to come.

What is a simple definition for inflation?

  • Inflation is an increase in the level of prices of the goods and services that households buy. It is measured as the rate of change of those prices. Typically, prices rise over time, but prices can also fall (a situation called deflation).

Inflation Rate

  • Inflation Rate is the percentage change in the price level from the previous period. If a normal basket of goods was priced at Rupee 100 last year and the same basket of goods now cost Rupee 120, then the rate of inflation this year is 20%.
  • Inflation Rate= {(Price in year 2 – Price in year 1)/ Price in year 1} *100

inflationTypes of Inflation

Creeping Inflation

  • Creeping or mild inflation is when prices rise 3% a year or less. This kind of mild inflation makes consumers expect that prices will keep going up. That boosts demand. Consumers buy now to beat higher future prices. That’s how mild inflation drives economic expansion.

Walking Inflation

  • This type of strong, or pernicious, inflation is between 3-10% a year. It is harmful to the economy because it heats up economic growth too fast. People start to buy more than they need, just to avoid tomorrow’s much higher prices. This drives demand even further so that suppliers can’t keep up. More important, neither can wages. As a result, common goods and services are priced out of the reach of most people.

Galloping Inflation

  • When inflation rises to 10% or more, it wreaks absolute havoc on the economy. Money loses value so fast that business and employee income can’t keep up with costs and prices. Foreign investors avoid the country, depriving it of needed capital. The economy becomes unstable, and government leaders lose credibility. Galloping inflation must be prevented at all costs.

Hyperinflation

  • Hyperinflation is when prices skyrocket more than 50% a month. It is very rare. In fact, most examples of hyperinflation have occurred only when governments printed money to pay for wars. Examples of hyperinflation include Germanyin the 1920s, Zimbabwe in the 2000s, and Venezuela in the 2010s. The last time America experienced hyperinflation was during its civil war.

Core Inflation

  • The core inflation rate measures rising prices in everything except food and energy. That’s because gas prices tend to escalate now and then. Higher gas costs increase the price of food and anything else that has large transportation costs.

 

Consumer Price Index

  • CPI is used to monitor changes in the cost of living over time. When the CPI rises, the average Indian family has to spend more on goods and services to maintain the same standard of living. The economic term used to define such a rising prices of goods and services is Inflation.

Whole sale Price Index

  • WPI is used to monitor the cost of goods and services bought by producer and firms rather than final consumers. The WPI inflation captures price changes at the factory/wholesale level.

GDP Deflator

  • Another important measure of calculating standard of living of people is GDP Deflator. GDP Deflator is the ratio of nominal GDP to real GDP. The nominal GDP is measured at the current prices whereas the real GDP is measured at the base year prices. Therefore, GDP Deflator reflects the current level of prices relative to prices in a base year. Example, In India the base year of calculating deflator is 2011-12.

inflationFactors fuelling inflation in India

  • Falling rupee: Inflation is here to stay because it has much to do with the decline in value of the rupee that has fallen to its lowest, which makes imports of oil and gas more expensive.
  • Ukraine crisis: The war in Ukraine has the same effect and pushes the price of some food items upward.
  • Poor inflation management: With inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, in August going back to 7 per cent, and the wholesale price index coming in at 12.4 per cent, one thing is clear India is not out of the woods on inflation management.

Rising inflation have these implications

  • Impact on the poor: This upsurge of inflation is affecting the poor more because some of the commodities whose prices are increasing the most represent a larger fraction of the budget of the most vulnerable sections of society.
  • Rising inequality: As a result, inequalities which were already on the rise are increasing further. Recently, the State of Inequality in India report showed that an Indian making Rs 3 lakh a year belonged to the top 10 per cent of the country’s wage earners. 
  • Inequality in healthcare: India’s spending on healthcare is among the lowest in the world. Decent level of healthcare is available only to the ones who can afford it because of increasing out-of-pocket expenditure the payment made directly by individuals for the health service, not covered under any financial protection scheme. Overall, these out-of-pocket expenses on healthcare are 60 per cent of the total expenditure on public health in India, which is one of the highest in the world.

 

inflationNeed for bold steps on three fronts to tackle inflation

  • Unless bold and innovative steps are taken at least on three fronts, GDP growth and inflation both are likely to be in the range of 6.5 to 7.5 per cent in 2022-23.

1] Tightening of loose monetary policy: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is mandated to keep inflation at 4 per cent, plus-minus 2 per cent.

  • The RBI has already started the process of tightening monetary policy by raising the repo rate, albeit a bit late.
  • It is expected that by the end of 2022-3, the repo rate will be at least 5.5 per cent, if not more.
  • It will still stay below the likely inflation rate and therefore depositors will still lose the real value of their money in banks with negative real interest rates.
  • That only reflects an inbuilt bias in the system — in favour of entrepreneurs in the name of growth and against depositors, which ultimately results in increasing inequality in the system.

2] Prudent fiscal policy: Fiscal policy has been running loose in the wake of Covid-19 that saw the fiscal deficit of the Union government soar to more than 9 per cent in 2020-21 and 6.7 per cent in 2021-22, but now needs to be tightened.

  • Government needs to reduce its fiscal deficit to less than 5 per cent, never mind the FRMB Act’s advice to bring it to 3 per cent of GDP.
  • However, it is difficult to achieve when enhanced food and fertiliser subsidies, and cuts in duties of petrol and diesel will cost the government at least Rs 3 trillion more than what was provisioned in the budget.

3] Rational trade policy: Export restrictions/bans go beyond agri-commodities, even to iron ore and steel, etc. in the name of taming inflation.

  • But abrupt export bans are poor trade policy and reflect only the panic-stricken face of the government.
  • A more mature approach to filter exports would be through a gradual process of minimum export prices and transparent export duties for short periods of time, rather than abrupt bans, if at all these are desperately needed to favour consumers.

Conclusion

  • Though the government is opting for market-based economics, currently, India needs a mixed solution that comprises price stability via government channels and subsidies.

Mains question

Q.What are the fuelling factors for inflation? Discuss what steps should be taken to tackle inflation.

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