THE CONTEXT:  After the killing of 13 civilians in Nagaland, many activists and states government of the North-East is demanding the repealing of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from the state. There have been different views and opinions over it. This article discusses various issues around Armed Forces Special Protection Act (AFSPA).

WHAT HAPPENED IN NAGALAND?

• In Nagaland, the Indian Army’s 21 Para regiment responded to an insurgent group’s intel. The plan was to ambush the group, but Army shoot 6 civilians by mistake. When they were returning home in a vehicle from a coal mine, the incident took place.
• After killing these people, the local resident had gathered at the scene, and a clash erupted. Seven more civilians and one soldier were killed in the scuffle. In total, 15 people (14 civilians and 1 soldier) lost their lives (so far).
• The regiment is not often based in Nagaland and reports say they were brought in from Assam for the special op. The 21 paras are also an elite special forces unit, signifying that the operation was cleared at a high level.

WHY ARE PEOPLE DEMANDING FOR THE REPEALING AFSPA LAW?

• Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) is often referred to as a draconian colonial-era law.
• In the North-East, it is in place in ‘disturbed’ parts of Assam, Nagaland, Manipur (except Imphal), Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya. It gives the Army sweeping powers to arrest, shoot or kill anyone based on suspicion. They don’t require a warrant to do so. And Army personnel involved are seldom charged with any crime in such cases.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT AFSPA

THE ORIGIN:

• The British promulgated the Armed Forces Special Powers Ordinance of 1942 on 15 August 1942 to suppress the Quit India Movement. Modeled on these lines, four ordinances were invoked by the central government to deal with the internal security situation in the country in 1947 which emerged due to the Partition of India.
• Article 355 of the Constitution of India confers power to the Central Government to protect every state from internal disturbance.
• In 1954, the Naga began an uprising for independence. At this point, Nehru’s government passed the “Armed Forces Special Powers Act” (1958) in the parliament.

FEATURES OF AFSPA:

• Passed in 1958 for North East and in 1990 for Jammu and Kashmir, the law gives armed forces necessary powers to control disturbed areas that are designated by the government.
• As of now, this act is in force in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Nagaland, and parts of Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.

DISTURBED AREA:

• A disturbed area is declared by notification under Section 3 of the AFSPA. An area can be disturbed due to differences or disputes between members of different religious, racial, language, or regional groups or castes or communities.
• The Central Government or the Governor of the State or administrator of the Union Territory can declare the whole or part of the State or Union Territory as a disturbed area. A suitable notification would have to be made in the Official Gazette.

WHAT ARE THE SPECIAL POWERS GIVEN TO ARMY OFFICIALS?:

• Under Section 4 of the AFSPA, an authorized officer in a disturbed area enjoys certain powers. The authorized officer has the power to open fire at any individual even if it results in death if the individual violates laws that prohibit (a) the assembly of five or more persons; or (b) the carrying of weapons. However, the officer has to give a warning before opening the fire.
• The authorized officer has also been given the power to (a) arrest without a warrant; and (b) seize and search without any warrant any premise to make an arrest or recovery of hostages, arms, and ammunition.
• Individuals who have been taken into custody have to be handed over to the nearest police station as soon as possible.
• The prosecution of an authorized officer requires prior permission of the Central government.

AFSPA IN DIFFERENT STATES

SUCCESS STORIES

In 2015 Tripura repealed AFSPA. Under chief minister Manik Sarkar, the Tripura administration did a remarkable job of getting on top of insurgency. It was a combination predominantly of political will and the use of security forces to bring peace. Mizoram is another example. There, the greatest success lay in the central leadership under Rajiv Gandhi offering to make Laldenga the chief minister. The involvement of insurgent leaders in electoral politics can be an effective way to deal with the insurgency.

• At present, it is in force in the States of Assam, Nagaland, Manipur {excluding Imphal Municipal Council Area}, Changlang, Longding, and Tirap districts of Arunachal Pradesh, and areas falling within the jurisdiction of the eight police stations of districts in Arunachal Pradesh bordering the State of Assam.
• Assam was the first state where AFSPA was enforced. The whole State except the Guwahati Municipal Area is under AFSPA.
• In 2018, The AFSPA has been removed completely from Meghalaya and partly in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Nagaland is under the purview of AFSPA even before its formation in 1961.
• The AFSPA is applicable in the whole state of Manipur except the Imphal Municipal Area.
• Punjab state was declared disturbed and subject to the Armed Forces (Punjab and Chandigarh) Special Powers Act from 1983 to 1997.
• The AFSPA is applicable in the whole state of Jammu and Kashmir. It was applied under the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990.
• Mizoram was declared a disturbed area in January 1967. Following the signing of a peace accord in June 1986, the AFSPA is no longer applied in Mizoram.
• In 2015, the Tripura government had lifted AFSPA from the state after 18 years. The reason behind the removal of AFSPA in Tripura was that there has been a significant decline in militancy.

JUDICIAL PRONOUNCEMENTS ON AFSPA

NPMHR VS UOI:

• The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of AFSPA in a 1998 judgement-Naga People’s Movement of Human Rights v. Union of India.
• In this judgment, the SC arrived at certain conclusions including

1. A suo-motto declaration can be made by the Central government, however, the state government should be consulted by the central government before making the declaration.
2. AFSPA does not confer arbitrary powers to declare an area as a ‘disturbed area’.
3. The declaration has to be for a limited duration and there should be a periodic review of the declaration 6 months have expired.
4. While exercising the powers conferred upon him by AFSPA, the authorized officer should use the minimal force necessary for effective action.

The authorized officer should strictly follow the army’s ‘Dos and Don’ts’ issues. Few ‘Dos and Don’ts’ are as follows :

DO’S

• Act only in the area declared ‘Disturbed Area’ under Section 3 of the Act.
• Arrest only those who have committed the cognizable offense.
• Hand over the arrested persons to the nearest police station with the least possible delay.
• Ensure medical relief to any person injured during the encounter.
• Answer questions of the court politely and with dignity.
• Maintain a detailed record of the entire operation correctly and explicitly.

DONT’S

• Do not keep a person under custody for any period longer than the bare necessity for handing over to the nearest police station.
• Do not use any force after having arrested a person except when he is trying to escape.
• Do not use third-degree methods to extract information or to extract a confession or other involvement in unlawful activities.
• After the arrest of a person by the member of the armed forces, he shall not be interrogated by the member of the armed force.
• Do not release the person directly after apprehending on your own. If any person is to be released, he must be released through civil authorities.
• Do not tamper with official records.

EEVFAM VS UOI:

In 2016, in a landmark ruling– Extra Judicial Execution Victim Families Association (EEVFAM) vs Union Of India, the Supreme Court of India ended the immunity of the armed forces from prosecution under AFSPA.

STAND TAKEN BY GOVERNMENT AND MILITARY

GOVERNMENT: In 2018, the government informed parliament that the government has taken no decision to repeal the controversial AFSPA as recommended by the Jeevan Reddy Committee Report.

MILITARY: The serving military establishment has fiercely stalled AFSPA’s repeal, as viciously as it would fight a war against an enemy. Senior officers even launched a Facebook campaign to “save AFSPA.” Without the AFSPA, the Army will not be able to stage counter-insurgency operations. AFSPA free enclaves will be magnets for insurgents.

REPEAL OR NOT?

REPEAL:

• It has been dubbed as a license to kill. Human Rights Activists object to sections 4 and 6 of the act.
• Critics say the act has failed to contain terrorism and restore normalcy in disturbed areas, as the number of armed groups has gone up after the act was established. Many even hold it responsible for the spiraling violence in areas it is in force.
• The decision of the government to declare a particular area ‘disturbed’ cannot be challenged in a court of law. Hence, several cases of human rights violations go unnoticed.
• AFSPA is inconsistent with the structure and spirit of our democracy and brings down India’s image at the global high table at a time when it is looking to be a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council.
• The primary focus of a counter-insurgency operation should be WHAM (winning hearts and minds), and not liquidation or elimination. AFSPA lets troops get away with murder. Its frequent use encourages a culture of impunity that is counterproductive to WHAM; it increases the disconnection between the forces and the local population.
• AFSPA leads to a sharp drop in professionalism and dehumanizes and corrupts the Army and paramilitary forces.
• According to a few retired senior police officers involved in the thick of counter-insurgency operations, AFSPA is like having a shield for security apparatus when it is no longer required. After a certain amount of time, there is no correlation to controlling violence with AFSPA.

NOT TO REPEAL: 

• Most of the arguments against AFSPA are idealistic i.e. the arguments do not include the concerns of the army. It selectively excludes the sensitivity of the issue.
• Removal of the act will lead to demoralizing the armed forces and see militants motivating locals to file lawsuits against the army.
• The absence of such a legal statute would adversely affect organizational flexibility and the utilization of the security capacity of the state. This would render the security forces incapable of fulfilling their assigned role.
• Extraordinary situations require special handling. As the army does not have any police powers under the Constitution, it is in the national interest to give it special powers for operational purposes when it is called upon to undertake counter-insurgency operations in disturbed areas.
• The first principle of security is to accept reality as it is and not what one wants it to be. Thus, Army has taken a pragmatic stand and advocated that AFSPA as the sine qua non for counter-insurgency operation in disturbed areas.
• Jammu & Kashmir and the North-East region converge both India’s internal and external security. Thus given the strategic importance of these regions and the huge international porous border, AFSPA becomes the necessary tool in the hands of the Army. It is an evil but necessary one.

PROTECTIVE MEASURES PROVIDED:

• Section 5 of the Act already mandates that arrested civilians must be handed over to the nearest police station, along with a report of ‘circumstances occasioning the arrest.’
• Army HQ has also laid down that all suspects who are arrested will be handed over to civilian authorities within 24 hours.
• Regarding firing on civilians, the army’s instructions are that fire may be opened in towns and villages only in self-defense and that too when the source of terrorist or militant fire can be identified.

RECOMMENDATIONS MADE BY EXPERTS

JEEVAN REDDY COMMITTEE: The committee found that the powers conferred under the Act are not absolute; it nevertheless concluded that the Act should be repealed. it recommended that essential provisions of the Act be inserted into the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967.

The key recommendations of the Reddy Committee were:

• If the situation warrants, the state government may request the Union government to deploy the army for not more than six months.
• The Union government may also deploy the armed forces without a request from the state. However, the situation should be reviewed after six months and Parliament’s approval should be sought for extending the deployment.
• Non-commissioned officers may continue to have the power to fire.
• The Union government should set up an independent grievances cell in each district where the Act is in force.

JUSTICE VERMA REPORT: Sexual violence against women by members of the armed forces or uniformed personnel must be brought under the purview of ordinary criminal law. There is an imminent need to review the continuance of AFSPA and AFSPA-like legal protocols in internal conflict areas as soon as possible.

THE SECOND ARC: It recommended that AFSPA should be repealed and its essential provisions should be incorporated in the UAPA.

SANTOSH HEGDE COMMISSION ON MANIPUR ENCOUNTER DEATHS: It suggested fixing a time frame of three months for the central government to decide whether to prosecute security personnel engaged in extrajudicial killings or unruly behavior in insurgency-hit regions. The commission noted that AFSPA was an impediment to achieving peace in regions such as Jammu and Kashmir and the North East. The commission also said the law needs to be reviewed every six months to see whether its implementation is necessary for states where it is being enforced. Section 6 of the act said that it is not that no action can be taken at all. Action can be taken but with prior sanction of the Central Government.

SARKARIA COMMISSION: It suggested the states develop their system of maintaining and dealing with public order.

THE NATIONAL POLICE COMMISSION: It recommends deploying the Central Reserve Police force for day-to-day policing instead of engaging the army and paramilitary forces.

UNITED NATIONS VIEW: In 2012, the UN asked India to revoke AFSPA saying it had no place in Indian democracy. Some UN treaty bodies have pronounced it to be in violation of International Law.

NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS’ ANALYSIS: Many human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and the Human Rights Watch (HRW) have condemned human rights abuses under AFPSA. According to Amnesty International India, AFPSA legitimizes impunity for sexual violence among women and opens up the floodgates to extrajudicial killings in the declared disturbed areas.

THE WAY FORWARD: HOW CAN COUNTER-INSURGENCY OPERATIONS BE IMPROVED IN INDIA?

BETTER WORKING OF THE AFSPA:

Some viable suggestions for better working of the AFSPA could be:

• Section 4(a) should be repealed or amended as it is against be the right to live. It also violates the principles upheld by criminal justice: the assumption of innocence until one is proven to be the offender. It is also inconsistent with Article 246 and the 7th Schedule that places ‘Law and order’ under the State’s list. Therefore, it is Ultra vires.
• Section 5 of the Act should be consistent with Article 22 of the constitution under which it is compulsory to present an arrested person in front of the Magistrate within 24 hours.
• The scope of Section 6 should be increased. The sanction of the Central Government shouldn’t be waited for; maybe a special committee could be formed to begin inquiries straight away without any delays or prejudices against anyone.

SMARTER APPROACH: Repeal of AFSPA should be seen as the first step to create a smarter and more effective counter-insurgency capability that draws more on information technology, psychological operations, political persuasion, and conflict resolution.

COUNTER-INSURGENCY DOCTRINE: The government will have to evolve a counter-insurgency doctrine which will not only seek to keep the Army out of the “internal security” matrix to the extent possible and deploy other specifically trained and highly skilled forces that observe the principle of “minimum force” and demonstrate a respect for human rights and accountability in keeping with the letter and spirit of the Constitution.

TRANSPARENCY: Innovative measures must overcome the practical problems encountered in ensuring transparency in counter-insurgency operations. The army must be completely transparent in investigating violations of human rights violations and bringing the violators to speedy justice. Exemplary punishment must be meted out where the charges are proved.

GENDER-SENSITIVE TRAINING: The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has been reporting not only high rates of crimes against women but disturbingly low rates of conviction. A study by the Centre for Social Research, New Delhi, has asked for greater emphasis on gender awareness and sensitivity in police training. The National Police Academy was advised to formulate a gender policy for police training. But unfortunately, the document titled ‘Integrated Police Training’ (2012) prepared by NPA is silent on the vital issue of sensitizing IPS officers to domestic violence against women, violence against women in public places, and so on.

THE CONCLUSION: India’s Act East policy will gain traction only if there is a committed road map for withdrawing AFSPA. The task of the army is to combat external aggression, not policing and internal security within the country. It is high time that both the Centre and state governments actively worked towards the withdrawal of AFSPA without narrow political gains in mind.

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. CHINA CONSTRUCTING BRIDGE ON PANGONG LAKE IN LADAKH

THE CONTEXT: China is constructing a bridge in eastern Ladakh connecting the north and south banks of Pangong Tso (lake), which will significantly bring down the time for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to move troops and equipment between the two sectors.

THE EXPLANATION:

• “On the north bank, there is a PLA garrison at Karnak fort and on the south bank at Moldo, and the distance between the two is around 200 km. The new bridge between the closest points on two banks, which is around 500 m, will bring down the movement time between the two sectors from around 12 hours to three or four hours,” one of the sources said. The bridge is located around 25 km ahead of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the source stated.

• The construction had been going on for some time and it would reduce the overall distance by 140-150 km, the other source said.
• Earlier, the PLA had to take a roundabout crossing Rudok county. But now the bridge would provide a direct axis, the first source said, adding that the biggest advantage with the new bridge was the inter-sector movement as the time would come down significantly. “They need to build piers for the bridge, which has been underway,” the source stated.
• The bridge is in China’s territory and the Indian Army would have to now factor this in its operational plans, the source noted. India holds one-third of the 135-km-long boomerang-shaped lake located at an altitude of over 14,000 feet. The lake, a glacial melt, has mountain spurs of the Chang Chenmo range jutting down, referred to as fingers.
• The north bank, which has much higher differences in perception of the LAC than the south bank, was the initial site of the clashes in early May 2020, while tensions on the south bank flared up later in August. The Indian Army got a tactical advantage over the PLA on the south bank in August-end by occupying several peaks lying vacant since 1962, gaining a dominating view of the Moldo area. On the north bank too, the Indian troops set up posts facing PLA positions on the ridge-lines of Finger 4.

About Pangong Lake

• Pangong Tso is popular for its changing colour ability. Its colour changes from shades of blue to green to red.
• It is one of the highest altitude lakes in the world that is filled with saline water. It is located at an altitude of 4350 m above sea level.
• It is located in disputed territory. Approximately 60 percent of the lake, in terms of length, lies in China, and the eastern end of Pangong Tso lies in Tibet.

THE INDIAN ECONOMY

2. RBI APPROVES SMALL OFFLINE E-PAYMENTS

THE CONTEXT: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has come out with the framework for facilitating small-value digital payments in offline mode, a move that would promote digital payments in semi-urban and rural areas.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The framework incorporates feedback received from the pilot experiments on offline transactions conducted in different parts of the country between September 2020 and June 2021.
• Offline digital payment does not require Internet or telecom connectivity.
• “Under this new framework, such payments can be carried out face-to-face (proximity mode) using any channel or instrument like cards, wallets and mobile devices,” the RBI said.
• “Such transactions would not require an Additional Factor of Authentication. Since the transactions are offline, alerts (by way of SMS and/or e-mail) will be received by the customer after a time lag,” it added.
• There is a limit of ₹200 per transaction and an overall limit of ₹2,000 until the balance in the account is replenished. The RBI said the framework took effect ‘immediately’.

3. INDIA’S INCOME INEQUALITY FELL POST-2020 LOCKDOWN AS RICH GOT POORER, US ECONOMIC STUDY SHOWS

THE CONTEXT: Millions of Indians were pushed into poverty during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the period post the initial strict lockdown also saw a decline in income inequality in the country.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The paper, titled ‘Inequality in India declined during Covid’, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) said the pandemic in India was associated with a decline in inequality in two senses.
• Indians from higher income groups had larger relative reductions in income than the poor.
• Consumption inequality also declined, albeit only marginally so.
• The researchers’ main source of data was the Consumer Pyramids Household Survey (CPHS), conducted by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, which comprises a sample of 1.97 lakh households, with monthly information on their finances available from January 2015 to July 2021.
• The study’s most remarkable finding that income inequalities have declined in the months since the lockdown was lifted seems to stand in contrast with what other recent studies have said about income inequalities in India.
• According to the World Inequality Report 2022, the top 10 percent of Indians had about 96 times more income on average than the bottom 50 percent. Similarly, Oxfam International claimed that in 2021 India’s top 1 percent owned about 77 percent of the country’s wealth.
• The NBER paper, however, qualifies its findings by noting that Gini coefficients — a statistical measure of the amount of inequality that exists in a population.
• The decline in inequality actually began in 2018, a trend that was “interrupted” by the lockdown, but which then resumed.

HOW DID THE GAP SHORTEN?

• Income inequality is basically the average gap between the incomes of the rich and the poor. This ‘inequality’ falls if the incomes of the rich fall, or if the incomes of the poor rise.
• The study shows that the reduction in income inequality in India could be attributed to incomes of upper-income households falling during the pandemic.
• According to the study, income poverty in urban areas jumped from 40 percent before the pandemic to nearly 70 percent during the lockdowns. Poverty was defined, in this case, by the World Bank’s $1.9 a day (or less) benchmark. After the lockdown, poverty fell and income and consumption increased, “but it did not recover to pre-pandemic levels”, the researchers said.
• However, despite the increase in poverty, income inequality fell in both urban and rural areas, largely because the earnings of richer households went down.

WHY DID THE INCOMES OF RICHER PEOPLE FALL?

• The sources of income of India’s rich derive “disproportionately” from services and capital income (basically wealth derived from wealth, like dividends and interest), both of which were “disproportionately impacted during the pandemic”. Unlike for the rich, capital incomes do not form a major share in the incomes of poorer households.
• A larger fraction of top-quartile income is from the service sector… and that sector experienced the largest drop in consumer expenditure during the pandemic.
• Demand for the type of labour supplied by the rich also dropped more than for the poor.
• The employment rate fell more for the poorer sections of society during the lockdown, but they also recovered more quickly.
• The performance of the lower percentiles was “particularly remarkable” since India, unlike the US, had “little fiscal stimulus in the form of income transfers”.

4. ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GST COMPENSATION

THE CONTEXT: States are seeking an extension of GST compensation for five more years.

WHAT IS GST COMPENSATION?

• The introduction of the Goods & Services Tax (GST) required States and Union Territories (with Legislature) to subsume their sovereignty in a GST Council, raising the issue of loss on account of migration from Value Added Tax/Sales Tax to GST. Any mechanism to remedy this should be backed by the legislature.
• Keeping this in mind, Section 18 of the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016 prescribes: “Parliament shall, by law, on the recommendation of the Goods and Services Tax Council, provide for compensation to the States for loss of revenue arising on account of implementation of the goods and services tax for a period of five years.”
• Accordingly, the Parliament enacted a law — GST (Compensation to States) Act, 2017. The law prescribes that the financial year 2015-16 shall be taken as the base year for the purpose of calculating compensation and States were assured of a 14 percent growth in revenues every year.

HOW IS IT FUNDED?

• In order to mobilize resources for compensation, a cess is being levied on such goods, as recommended by the Goods and Services Tax Council, over and above the GST on that item. It is called compensation cess.
• As of date, compensation cess is levied on products such as pan masala, tobacco, aerated waters and motor cars apart from coal.

WHO PAYS COMPENSATION TO WHOM? WHEN?

• The consumer is required to pay for compensation. It is collected by the Centre which releases it to States.
• The proceeds of the compensation cess will be credited to a non-lapsable fund known as the Goods and Services Tax Compensation Fund in the public account.

FOR HOW LONG WILL IT BE PAID?

• According to the law, it will be paid for five years from the date GST came into effect; i.e. till June 2022. However, a cess will continue to be levied for repayment of loans taken to compensate States during FY21 and FY22.

WHY ARE STATES DEMANDING AN EXTENSION OF THE COMPENSATION?

• States say their revenue situation is yet to improve on two counts due to the introduction of the GST and because the pandemic has affected revenue collection.
• At the same time, their expenses have gone up and they expect a higher deficit as revenue growth is low.
• Considering all these, States are seeking an extension of compensation for five more years. Any decision, in this regard, has to be taken by GST Council.

THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

5. ISRO GEARING UP FOR MULTIPLE SPACE MISSIONS IN 2022

THE CONTEXT: After a rather muted 2021 in terms of satellite launches, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is gearing up for a number of missions in 2022 including the launch of the first unmanned mission of Gaganyaan, its Chairman, K. Sivan said.

• In his New Year’s message for 2022, Mr. Sivan said ISRO had a number of missions to execute this year. These include
  • the launch of the Earth Observation Satellites,
  • EOS-4 and EOS-6 onboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), and
  • the EOS-02 on board the maiden flight of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV).
  • “[ISRO has] many test flights for Crew Escape System of Gaganyaan and launch of the first unmanned mission of Gaganyaan. In addition, we also have Chandrayaan-03, Aditya Ll, XpoSat, IRNSS and technology demonstration missions with indigenously developed advanced technologies,” he said. Design changes on Chandrayaan-3 and testing have seen huge progress, he said.
  • Sivan said the hardware in loop test of Aditya L1 spacecraft and accommodation studies for XpoSat in the SSLV have been completed and ISRO has delivered the S-band SAR payload to NASA for NISAR [NASA-ISRO SAR] mission.
  • Three new space science missions are also in the pipeline, Mr. Sivan said. These include a Venus mission, DISHA –a twin aeronomy satellite mission and TRISHNA, an ISRO-CNES [Centre national d’étudesspatiales] mission in 2024.

THE DISASTER MANAGEMENT

6. INDIA’S OLD DAMS: GANDHI SAGAR IN MP NEEDS IMMEDIATE REPAIR, SAYS CAG REPORT

THE CONTEXT: Gandhi Sagar Dam on Chambal River in Madhya Pradesh is in need of immediate repair, warned a new CAG report. It is one of the five water reservoirs of national importance.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The absence of regular checks, non-functional instruments and choked drains are the major problems plaguing the dam for years, the report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) released December 23, 2021.
• Gandhi Sagar was put in Category II of the dam inspection report.
• Dams with major deficiencies, which may lead to complete failure / partial failure and need attention at once, fall under Category I. Those with minor to medium deficiencies, which are rectifiable but need immediate attention fall under Category II.
• The CAG report mentioned there is one dam in Category I but didn’t name it. As many as 27 other smaller dams of MP were in Category II.

ABOUT GANDHI SAGAR DAM

• Gandhi Sagar Dam was constructed in 1960 to provide drinking water to several districts of Rajasthan and generate 115 megawatts of electricity. It has been breached several times in recent years, causing flooding in downstream areas.
• Three districts in the state, Sheopur, Morena and Bhind, with an approximate collective population of 4.35 million (as per the 2011 Census), lie downstream the dam.
• Gandhi Sagar Dam was among the few of national importance to be instrumented but many of the instruments have been non-functional for years, the CAG report observed.
• The state dam safety organization (SDSO), the department responsible for its maintenance, did not comply with recommendations by the Central Water Commission (CWC) and Dam Safety Inspection Pane (DSIP) on remedial measures, according to the CAG.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTION

Q1. With reference to Madanapalle of Andhra Pradesh, which one of the following statements is correct?

a) PingaliVenkayya designed the tricolor Indian National Flag here.

b) PattabhiSitaramaiah led the Quit India Movement of the Andhra region from here.

c) Rabindranath Tagore translated the National Anthem from Bengali to English here.

d) Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott set up headquarters of Theosophical Society first here.

ANSWER FOR 31^STDECEMBER 2021

Answer: D

Explanation:

Please refer to the following map of the Indus River System.

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1. Newton’s laws resonate with Indic philosophy READ MORE
2. No relation is irreconcilable READ MORE
3. Humanity is moving towards machine life READ MORE

1. India will come apart if secular contract is torn READ MORE
2. Social media and the structural diminution of women READ MORE

1. A sobering reminder to the powers that be READ MORE
2. Aiding in governance: The synergy of NGOs, Government and corporates is the holy grail of development READ MORE
3. The 21st century challenge for democracy READ MORE
4. Understanding the mediation bill READ MORE
5. Fund of confusion: FCRA policy should benefit from transparency READ MORE
6. Centre vs states: Exploring the historical roots of India’s distinctive form of federalism READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. China constructing bridge on Pangong Tso READ MORE
2. RBI approves small, offline e-payments READ MORE
3. ‘ISRO gearing up for multiple space missions in 2022’ READ MORE
4. India’s income inequality fell post 2020 lockdown as rich got poorer, US economic study shows READ MORE
5. India’s old dams: Gandhi Sagar in MP needs immediate repair, says CAG report READ MORE
6. All you need know about GST Compensation READ MORE

Main Exam    

GS Paper- 1

1. India will come apart if secular contract is torn READ MORE
2. Social media and the structural diminution of women READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. A sobering reminder to the powers that be READ MORE
2. Aiding in governance: The synergy of NGOs, Government and corporates is the holy grail of development READ MORE
3. The 21st century challenge for democracy READ MORE
4. Understanding the mediation bill READ MORE
5. Fund of confusion: FCRA policy should benefit from transparency READ MORE
6. Centre vs states: Exploring the historical roots of India’s distinctive form of federalism READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. What lessons does Ukraine offer South Asia? READ MORE
2. Role of India, China and Russia in Central Asia READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Is GDP data a reliable way to measure the health of the economy? READ MORE
2. The tale behind putting off key power reforms READ MORE
3. Key takeaways from RBI’s Financial Stability Report READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Save the valuable Western Ghats READ MORE  
2. Himalayan Glaciers Losing Ice 10x Faster Today Than They Did Until 1975 READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Newton’s laws resonate with Indic philosophy READ MORE
2. No relation is irreconcilable READ MORE
3. Humanity is moving towards machine life READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. ‘Centre-state entanglements in the welfare field reflect the deliberate choices of the architects of the Constitution’. Examine the statement.
2. As India needs Both the USA and Russia to save its interests, it should focus on balance rather than leaning to one side. Comment and suggest the way forward for India’s foreign policy.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• A key pillar of democratic governance is citizens’ power to question the state. NGOs and voluntary groups/organisations have played a significant role in building capacities of citizens to hold governments accountable.
• The tension between the tenets of liberty and equality is balanced by fraternity provided by the empathetic NGOs and CSOs in the journey towards a development state.
• NGOs and CSOs in India, irrespective of the open hostility of the current dispensation, will play a major role in mobilising citizen action to right various wrongs.
• Russia’s face-off with the West shows that spheres of influence are here to stay as instruments to regulate competition between great powers. But they endure only when the dominant power is wise and its neighbours are prudent.
• There are serious problems with India’s GDP data. Any analysis of recovery or growth forecast based on this data must be taken with a handful of salt.
• The states must recognise the dangers of destroying the ecosystem, especially when India has been facing the brunt of the climate crisis.
• The Constitution of India, considered a progressive document if there ever was one, guarantees equal rights to all its citizens, and that presumably includes women.
• The virtual world has twisted the terms of engagement giving an unknown quantum of humanity invested with a criminal mindset the licence to operate in public—with little consequence to themselves.
• Centre-state entanglements in the welfare field reflect the deliberate choices of the architects of the Constitution.
• Joint counter-terrorism exercises involving India, Russia and Central Asian nations have also been planned in the coming year. With other global players missing, it has been left to Russia and China to actively dominate Central Asia.
• Democracy can remain alive at the intersection of politics and political criticism.

50-WORD TALK

• Legislators enacted AFSPA in 1958, fearing Northeast insurgencies would burn down India. Those insurgencies are mostly dead, but AFSPA Raj lives on in Assam, Nagaland, Manipur. Experience — Punjab in 1997; Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram since 2014 — shows ending AFSPA can help heal post-insurgency societies. Lifting AFSPA will secure Northeast’s hard-won peace.
• India’s long overdue vaccinations of adolescents is a welcome beginning. It is important for young people to understand its importance not just for resuming their normal life but also protecting older family members. They should not get carried away by a belief in their own invincibility, natural at that age.
• Months after deplorable ‘Sulli Deals’, the emergence of a new app ‘Bulli Bai’ targeting Muslim women points to culture of impunity in a compromised system. Had arrests been made earlier, it wouldn’t have reappeared. Catching culprits cannot be difficult for an all-powerful government that knows how to deploy its agencies.

Things to Remember:

• For prelims-related news try to understand the context of the news and relate with its concepts so that it will be easier for you to answer (or eliminate) from given options.
• Whenever any international place will be in news, you should do map work (marking those areas in maps and also exploring other geographical locations nearby including mountains, rivers, etc. same applies to the national places.)
• For economy-related news (banking, agriculture, etc.) you should focus on terms and how these are related to various economic aspects, for example, if inflation has been mentioned, try to relate with prevailing price rises, shortage of essential supplies, banking rates, etc.
• For main exam-related topics, you should focus on the various dimensions of the given topic, the most important topics which occur frequently and are important from the mains point of view will be covered in ED.
• Try to use the given content in your answer. Regular use of this content will bring more enrichment to your writing.

[WpProQuiz 128]

THE CONTEXT: After killing civilians by the arm forces in Naga is a major setback for a peace talk between Naga and Government. Earlier, in October 2021, the interlocutor for the Naga peace talks, Tamil Nadu former Governor R N Ravi, resigned from its post. This article analyses the issues in the talk and suggests a way forward for them.

HOW WILL THE PRESENT DEVELOPMENT IMPACT THE PEACE TALK?

• The government is engaged in discussions with the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) and seven Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) to find a solution to the Naga political issue.
• But the Isak-Muivah faction, the key player in the Naga peace talks, described the recent incident killing as a “black day” for Nagas.
• After that, they will strongly demand the formation of Greater Nagaland’.
• The NSCN-IM, one of the largest Naga groups, has been demanding ‘Greater Nagaland’ or Nagalim, an extension of Nagaland’s borders by including Naga-dominated areas in neighboring Assam Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh and uniting 1.2 million Nagas.
• The Centre has said there would be no disintegration of the States of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Manipur to merge Naga-inhabited areas with the existing State of Nagaland.
• More than a hundred rounds of talks spanning over 24 years have taken place so far. The NSCN(I-M) first signed a ceasefire agreement in 1997. The group was formed in 1980 to oppose the Shillong Accord signed by the then Naga National Council (NNC) with the Central Government to bring peace in Nagaland.

TIMELINE OF NAGA CONFLICT AND PEACE TALKS

• 1826: The British had annexed Assam.
• 1881: The Naga Hills district was created.
• 1918: Various Naga Tribes united to form Naga Club.
• 1929: The Naga Club famously told the Simon Commission “to leave us alone to determine for ourselves as in ancient times”.
• 1946: The Club formed its political unit – the Naga National Council (NNC), thus beginning the fight for freedom from foreign rule.
• 1947: On August 14, 1947, the NNC, under the leadership of Angami ZapuPhizo (called the Father of the Nagas), declared Nagaland an independent state.
• 1951: NCC claimed to have conducted a referendum in which an overwhelming majority supported an independent Naga state. They even formed the Naga Federal Government (NFG) and the Naga Federal Army (NFA), which sparked the scuffle with the government.
• 1958: The Government of India sent in the Army to crush the insurgency and enacted the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.
• 1960: The A16-point agreement was arrived at whereby the Government of India recognized the formation of Nagaland as a full-fledged state within the Union of India.
• 1963: Nagaland was formed out of the Naga Hills district of Assam and the then North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) province (now Arunachal Pradesh).
• 1975: A section of NNC leaders signed the Shillong Accord, under which this section of NNC and NFG agreed to give up arms. A group of about 140 members led by ThuingalengMuivah, who was at that time in China, refused to accept the Shillong Accord and formed the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN )in 1980.
• 1988: The NSCN split into NSCN (Isak-Muivah)/(IM) and NSCN (Khaplang)/(K). The former faction was led by Isak ChishiSwu, ThuingalengMuivah, demanding to establish a Greater Nagalim based on Chinese communist revolutionary Mao Zedong’s model. The Khaplang offshoot wished to establish Greater Nagalim based on ethnicity and merging of Naga-dominated areas.
• 1991: Phizo died, and the NSCN (IM) came to be seen as the “mother of all insurgencies” in the region.
• 1995: Peace talks started with NSCN(IM), as then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao met Muivah, Swu, and others in Paris.
• 1997: The NSCN (I-M) had signed a ceasefire agreement with the Centre. The group had assured that there would be no insurgent offensive against the Army, while the Centre agreed not to launch counter-insurgency operations against rebels.

2015 NAGA PEACE ACCORD

In 2014, the NDA government sought to fast-track the Naga political issue that had slackened since the NSCN-IM-declared truce in 1997.

ABOUT NAGAS

• The Nagas are not a single tribe but an ethnic community that lives across the Naga Hills spanning the present-day Indian state of Nagaland, certain areas of Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam, along with the Naga hill areas of Myanmar.
• Nagas belong to Indo-Mongoloid Family.
• There are nineteen major Naga tribes, namely, Aos, Angamis, Changs, Chakesang, Kabuis, Kacharis, Khain-Mangas, Konyaks, Kukis, Lothas (Lothas), Maos, Mikirs, Phoms, Rengmas, Sangtams, Semas, Tankhuls, Yamchumgar, and Zeeland.
• In August 2015, the Centre signed a framework agreement with the NSCN (I-M). The agreement paved the way for the ongoing peace talks by derecognizing the outfit as a militant organization. There was a broad understanding of a settlement within the Indian constitutional framework regarding the uniqueness of Naga history and tradition. However, both sides maintained secrecy about the contents of the accord.
• On agenda for discussion issue on AFSPA, demographic changes due to cross-border migrations, a separate Naga flag, and constitution, etc.
• In 2017, the Centre clubbed various divisions among the Nagas on tribal and geopolitical lines into the Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs) to smoothen the talks.
• The Khaplang faction died down in its political significance with the death of its leader SS Khaplang in 2017. Isak ChishiSwu from the NSCN (I-M) also passed away in 2016, making Muivah the most senior Naga rebel leader.
• The key demand of Naga groups has been a Greater Nagalim(sovereign statehood) i.e redrawing of boundaries to bring all Naga-inhabited areas in the Northeast under one administrative umbrella. It includes various parts of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Assam, and Myanmar.
• The demand also includes the separate Naga Yezabo(Constitution) and Naga national flag.

WHY HAVE THE NAGA PEACE TALKS STUMBLED?

NATURE OF DEMAND: The movement itself had two major strands: Recognition of Naga sovereignty and the integration of all Naga-speaking areas (particularly of Manipur) into a Greater Nagaland. These were demands that no government in Delhi could meet. The first — sovereignty — would undercut India’s claim over the region and the second — integration — would create a backlash in Manipur.

CONCERNS OF OTHER STATES: Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur are sceptical about the demand for the creation of Greater Nagalim because it could lead to the redrawing of their boundaries. The final outcome may affect the states in terms of trade and commerce and cultural and ethnic unity. In Manipur, Meiteis(form a majority in the Imphal Valley) and the Nagas and Kukis, dominate the tribal districts of the hills. Protests organized by Meitei groups echoed a long-running fear: that a solution to the Naga problem would come at the cost of Manipur’s integrity. The governments and civil society organizations in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam and Manipur, have made it clear that they would not compromise on their territorial integrity.

EXISTENCE OF ARTICLE 371A: Article 371A states that no act of Parliament shall apply to the State of Nagaland in respect of the religious or social practices of the Nagas, its customary law and procedure, administration of civil and criminal justice involving decisions according to Naga customary law and ownership and transfer of land and its resources. An amendment to this Article is critical to the ongoing Naga peace process in order to resolve another substantive issue of settling the question of whether Nagas have the right over land and resources, both above and beneath it.

DIVISIONS AMONG NAGAS: The optimism among a section of the Nagas over the 2015 peace accord eroded a bit when the Central government brought other Naga armed groups on board. On November 17, 2017, an agreement on the political parameters of the settlement was worked out with the working committee of these groups, clubbed the Naga National Political Groups (NNPGs). This agreement ostensibly made the peace process inclusive, but it bred suspicion about Delhi exploiting divisions within the Nagas on tribal and geopolitical lines. While the NNPGs want a solution for Nagas within Nagaland, the NSCN-IM seeks integration of Naga-inhabited areas beyond the geographical boundary of Nagaland.

SIMILAR DEMAND FROM OTHER GROUPS: Political instability has undermined the role of democracy in the state and has fuelled apprehensions leading to separate agendas and demands by various factions and organizations. In talks with the government, Kuki groups fear the Naga solution would carve up their imagined homeland.

THE WAY FORWARD

• Providing autonomous Naga territorial councils for Arunachal and Manipur.
• Common cultural body for Nagas across states.
• Specific institutions for state’s development, integration, and rehabilitation of non-state Naga militia.
• Removal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act.
• Special status on the lines of Article 371-A will be explored for Naga areas outside Nagaland.
• A constitutional body to investigate issues related to Nagas in their whole territorial spread.

THE CONCLUSION: With a clever mix of engagement, coercion, co-option, and inducements, the Central government has managed to neutralize the Naga extremists. A peace agreement will be most welcome. Nagas are culturally heterogeneous groups of different communities/tribes with different problems from mainstream populations. To achieve the long-lasting solution, their cultural, historical and territorial extent must be taken into consideration. Therefore, any arrangement to be worked out should lead to social and political harmony, economic prosperity and protection of the life and property of all tribes and citizens of the states.

1. Fair and safe: The ECI must ensure a fair election process that also limits public health risks READ MORE
2. Why EC can’t delay upcoming polls READ MORE
3. Government data negates the need for laws to control India’s population growth READ MORE
4. Is India ready for delimitation of constituencies? Time has come for reorganisation of states READ MORE
5. Attacks on RTI Activists Are Rising. We Need Accountability Laws. READ MORE

1. Secure women from the impact of health emergencies READ MORE  
2. Picture of health: Health index needs a rejig READ MORE
3. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: How to Reunite India READ MORE

1. The cost of extreme weather events READ MORE
2. Half of global cropland expansion replaced natural vegetation and tree cover: Study READ MORE

1. Greed vs life READ MORE
2. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: How to Reunite India READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. PM releases 10th instalment of PM-KISAN READ MORE
2. Two new plant species discovered in Ghats READ MORE
3. Pilgrims pray at renovated century-old temple in Pakistan READ MORE
4. Dharmendra Pradhan launches 100-day reading campaign ‘Padhe Bharat’ READ MORE
5. Drilling under Antarctic ice shelf, scientists find treasure trove of life with 77 species READ MORE
6. India and Pakistan exchange lists of nuclear installations and prisoners READ MORE

Main Exam   

GS Paper- 1

1. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: How to Reunite India READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Fair and safe: The ECI must ensure a fair election process that also limits public health risks READ MORE
2. Why EC can’t delay upcoming polls READ MORE
3. Government data negates the need for laws to control India’s population growth READ MORE
4. Is India ready for delimitation of constituencies? Time has come for reorganisation of states READ MORE
5. Attacks on RTI Activists Are Rising. We Need Accountability Laws. READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. Secure women from the impact of health emergencies READ MORE  
2. Picture of health: Health index needs a rejig READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. Explained: China’s border law and India READ MORE
2. Why India and China must work together READ MORE
3. RCEP: Asia Readies World’s Largest Trade Deal READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Patchwork policy: The temporary rollback of tax hikes on textiles is a harbinger of challenges before GST regime READ MORE
2. The time to privatise PSU banks is now READ MORE
3. Are Subsidies Trade-distortionary? To benefit the farmers green box subsidies may be given. READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. The cost of extreme weather events READ MORE
2. Half of global cropland expansion replaced natural vegetation and tree cover: Study READ MORE

DISASTER MANAGEMENT

1. Pilgrim’s distress: Fixing accountability is key to ensuring that the Vaishno Devi tragedy does not recur READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Greed vs life READ MORE
2. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: How to Reunite India READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. Critically examine the importance of the Delhi Declaration on Afghanistan. Do you think it can help bring out a coordinated response against the Taliban regime?
2. Do you think that Democracy resulting in better economic growth and educational attainment is a universal standard? Substantiate.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• The Cold War is over but Cold War thinking survives.
• The Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021, recently introduced in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, is blatantly unconstitutional, as it is in abrogation of Articles 14 and 25 of the Constitution of India.
• Once the role of an authority like the state, vested with the specific task of ensuring compliance with the rule of law, is weakened, people take the law into their own hands and all hell breaks loose.
• Any ranking of human development indicators also offers a static picture and can be exploited for partisan ends unless they are measured against a standard.
• The most important breakthrough that’ll be required will be that of food production outside the Earth’s atmosphere.
• More education and the use of technology can help mitigate their unequally harsh effects on women.
• The ECI must take political parties into confidence and ensure an environment conducive to a fair election process that also limits public health risks.

50-WORD TALK

• China’s move to rename 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh is laughable. However, it also shows China is not looking at any kind of reproachment as far as border tensions with India are concerned. China is digging its heels in and has no plans of going back to pre-May 2020 status-quo.
• The Omicron surge, Delhi and Mumbai’s R values crossing 2 for the first time in the Covid pandemic is worrying. It calls for caution and discipline but not knee-jerk paranoia. Each variant is different, and we know little about Omicron yet. Hospitalisation and fatality figures need to be watched closely.

Things to Remember:

• For prelims-related news try to understand the context of the news and relate with its concepts so that it will be easier for you to answer (or eliminate) from given options.
• Whenever any international place will be in news, you should do map work (marking those areas in maps and also exploring other geographical locations nearby including mountains, rivers, etc. same applies to the national places.)
• For economy-related news (banking, agriculture, etc.) you should focus on terms and how these are related to various economic aspects, for example, if inflation has been mentioned, try to relate with prevailing price rises, shortage of essential supplies, banking rates, etc.
• For main exam-related topics, you should focus on the various dimensions of the given topic, the most important topics which occur frequently and are important from the mains point of view will be covered in ED.
• Try to use the given content in your answer. Regular use of this content will bring more enrichment to your writing.

THE CONTEXT: After the repealing of three farm laws in November 2021, farmers are now demanding the legalized Minimum Support Price for their crops.  Although, India is already providing MSP for some crops Farmers are demanding legal status for MSP for all crops. In this article, we will analyze the issue in detail.

HOW MANY CROPS DOES THE MINIMUM SUPPORT PRICE COVER?

• The Central Government sets a minimum support price (MSP) for 23 crops every year, based on a formula of one-and-a-half times production costs. This considers both paid-out costs (A2) such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, fuel, irrigation, hired workers, and leased-in land, as well as the imputed value of unpaid family labour (FL).
• Farm unions are demanding that a comprehensive cost calculation (C2) must also include capital assets and the rentals and interest forgone on owned land as recommended by the National Commission for Farmers.
• There is currently no statutory backing for these prices, nor any law mandating their enforcement.
• The government only procures about a third of wheat and rice crops at MSP rates (of which half is bought in Punjab and Haryana alone), and 10%-20% of select pulses and oilseeds.
• According to the Shanta Kumar Committee’s 2015 report, only 6% of the farm households sell wheat and rice to the government at MSP rates. However, such procurement has been growing in the last few years, which can also help boost the floor price for private transactions.

WHY DO FARMERS WANT A LAW ON MSP?

• Farmers are saying that MSP based on a C2+50% formula should be made a legal entitlement for all agricultural produce so that every farmer of the country can be guaranteed at least the MSP announced by the government for their entire crop.
• According to them, most of the cost should be borne by private traders, noting that both middlemen and corporate giants are buying commodities at low rates from farmers and slapping on a huge mark-up before selling to end consumers.
• Farmers want a law that simply stipulates that neither the government nor private players will be allowed to buy produce from the farmer at a rate lower than MSP.
• All farmers groups seeking legal backing for MSP also want it extended to fruit and vegetable farmers who have been excluded from benefits so far.

WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT’S POSITION?

• The Prime Minister announced the formation of a committee to make MSP more transparent, as well as to change crop patterns, often determined by MSP and procurement, and to promote zero budget agriculture which would reduce the cost of production but may also hit yields.
• The panel will have representatives from farm groups as well as from the State and Central Governments, along with agricultural scientists and economists.
• The government has assured that the MSP regime is here to stay, even while dismissing any need for statutory backing.

SHOULD MSP BE LEGALIZED?

YES, MSP SHOULD BE LEGALISED?

TO DECIDE THE MINIMUM PRICE OF A CROP: The demand for a guaranteed remunerative Minimum Support Price is not about the government procuring products from every farmer in the country at the MSP. It is indeed preposterous to think so. It is about reinstating the MSP as the bottom price for all agriculture produce through an Act so that farmers are able to realise at least this minimum price, whoever buys the product.

FREEDOM TO SELL: A legalized MSP means even as the government agencies continue to remunerate the farmers at the MSP; the private sector would also have to do the same. Farmers will have a right to the MSP, even as they continue to enjoy the freedom to sell anywhere.

HIGHER-INCOME TO FARMERS: The corporate world has welcomed the three farm laws and reiterated that it would benefit the farmer by higher incomes. The government also claims the same. But it is not willing to legalize and institutionalize the only instrument that can guarantee this higher income, the MSP.

PRESENT MSP REGIME SHOWS BETTER RESULT: Farmers in States with MSP procurements and APMC controlled mandis realize better prices than in States like Bihar, which did away with the APMC. A free open market is a traders’ delight but can never be a farmers’ choice if it cannot guarantee remunerative prices.

A STANDARD MECHANISM: It will also have to set up standby mechanisms to intervene in the market when traders show reluctance to buy. Kerala, for instance, has announced base prices for 16 vegetables, fruits, and tuber crops, though it does not procure them. Still, it has allocated ₹35 crores as a market intervention fund, in case they have to procure or compensate to intervene in a price crash situation. Similarly, post the Indo-Asean agreement, the price of rubber fell drastically, and Kerala has now a budget head with an allocation to compensate the farmers for price loss.

MARKET ITSELF CAN’T GIVE AN APPROPRIATE PRICE TO FARMERS: According to the Shantha Kumar Committee on restructuring FCI, only 6 per cent of the farmers benefit from procurement. This figure is outdated after decentralized procurement that now covers 23 States for paddy and 10 States for wheat, out of which 10 States for paddy and five for wheat contribute significantly. Still, the number of farmers realizing MSP rates is between 15-25 per cent. This means most of India’s farmers have to sell their produce at much lesser prices, dictated by the markets.

TO MAKE INDIA A $5 TRILLION ECONOMY: India can’t be a five-trillion economy without improving its farm sector and for that, a good price policy for farmers cropping is a must. Seventy years’ experience shows that the government needs to intervene in cropping patterns in India to ensure a better price for farmers’ crops.

MSP should not be legalized because of the following reasons

THE ISSUE OF INFLATION: A law barring purchases of the other 21 crops below MSPs by any private trader will immediately fuel high inflation. Every one percentage point increase in MSPs leads to a 15-basis point increase in inflation. Higher MSPs could also upend the Reserve Bank of India’s inflation targets, hurting economic growth.

IMPACT ON PRIVATE TRADERS: If it is not profitable for traders to buy at MSPs, then the private sector will exit the markets. A mandatory MSP means that it will be illegal for anyone to buy any notified commodity below MSP anywhere in India. Traders might find it safer to stay away from the market and wait for the government to offload stocks in the market.

GOVERNMENT WILL BE THE SOLE TRADER: If private buyers will not purchase, the government then becomes the sole trader. It would be a disastrous situation as the government will purchase all the commodities.

FISCAL BURDEN ON THE GOVERNMENT: The value of the 23 crops presently covered under MSP works out to about Rs 7 lakh crore. But after a legalized MSP for all crops, it will cost the government only an additional Rs 47,764 crore (2017-18 data).

NOT IN FAVOUR OF COMPETITION: Mandatory MSPs will render India’s agri- exports non-competitive because the government’s assured prices are way higher than both domestic and international market prices.

WTO RULING: Surplus cereals can’t be exported without a subsidy, which invites the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s objections. WTO rules cap government procurement for subsidised food programmes by developing countries at 10% of the total value of agricultural production based on 1986-88 prices in dollar terms.

Bias in favour of surplus states: The MSPs benefited farmers in only a few states. Nearly all states in India grow rice, and approximately 20 states grow wheat. However, FCI procures approximately 95 per cent of wheat from three states: Punjab, Haryana and (Western) Uttar Pradesh. Approximately 85 to 90 per cent of rice is procured from 5 states: Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Adverse impact on Investment: Hike in procurement prices leads to an additional expenditure by the government. Given the overall resources constraint, the additional expenditure comes at the cost of a decline in fixed investments. While this additional expenditure on stocks favours only rice and wheat (as it is the procurement price of these two crops that has been raised considerably year after year), the decline in fixed investments adversely affects the demand for many non-agricultural sectors.

Distortions in cropping pattern: As pointed out in the Report on Currency and Finance, 2001-02, the agricultural price policy of the government has led to distortions in the cropping pattern. This is because the MSP of rice and wheat (particularly of wheat) has generally been higher than the cost of production. This has made the cultivation of rice and wheat more attractive than pulses and coarse cereals leading to a diversion of the area towards them.

Bias in favour of large farmers: Increases in MSP and procurement prices over the years have acted as an incentive to producers to increase their output. However, most of the benefits have been cornered by the large farmers who could implement the new agricultural strategy and easily obtain credit and other inputs.

Economically Unsustainable: The economic cost of procured rice comes to about Rs 37/kg and that of wheat is around Rs 27/kg. However, rice and wheat market prices are much lower than the economic cost incurred by the Food Corporation of India (FCI). Due to this, the FCI’s economic burden is touching Rs 3 lakh crore. This amount eventually will have to be borne by the Union government and may subsequently lead to divergence of funds from being invested in agriculture infrastructure.

HOW CAN INDIA ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF CROPS PROCUREMENT?

DEFICIENCY PAYMENT: Making MSP a legal entitlement makes it a justifiable right, and there are two ways of ensuring this. The first is through physical procurement by the government. The second is to allow farmers to sell in the private market and if they get a lower price than MSP, then to reimburse the difference between the two. Such a payment is called ‘deficiency payment (DP)’. Procurement is the best option for ensuring MSP. However, there are two major constraints to this physical storage capacity and administrative capability (governance), limiting the quantum of procurement. Thus, farmers also need to be supported through DPS.

DIRECT PAYMENTS: It is important to explore other options that may be fiscally prudent and administratively convenient. One such is direct payments to farmers. However, a different approach is needed for non-staple food commodities. For many non-staple commodities, MSPs are announced with little or no procurement. This is really ineffective. Thus, a gradual movement to an income-based support system is needed. PM-KISAN is currently attempting this, but the support under the programme is grossly inadequate.

GOVERNMENT SHOULD NOT COME OUT FROM THIS MECHANISM: However, it needs to be noted that during the Covid-19 crisis as well as earlier food crises in 1975 and 2008, India’s buffer stock system served the country exceedingly well. There is also a large PDS of 80 crore beneficiaries to cater to. Thus, the MSP procurement system needs to be continued for staple food grains and, if possible, be extended to pulses.

Apart from the above measures, the agriculture sector needs some more measures for a permanent solution

• Devise ways to address price- and production-related risks. In addition to insurance and immediate relief for crop loss, the government can make a “deficiency price payment” when prices crash. Under such a system, farmers get the difference between the market price and a pre-agreed price that will act as a form of price insurance. Restructure the marketing framework to allow free movement of farm products.
• Connect the lab to the field: agriculture cannot grow without modern scientific research.
• Pay attention to resource-use efficiency in water and fertilizers. Increase irrigation-related investments in rain-fed areas as the monsoon uncertainties are here to stay.
• Undertake long-term research on how the crop cycle can be aligned with the changing monsoon. Improve availability of early maturing, drought resistant and short duration crops that can handle weather uncertainties.
• Provide alternative jobs to farmers as it is difficult to earn a living from small pieces of land (average landholding is a little over one hectare in India). Liberalize land lease markets as small farms are not viable. Inject funds into rural India to kick-start demand. Announce a package that can revive wage employment by creating rural infrastructure.
• Bring extension services back on the agenda. Farmers need to know about better seeds, proper use of fertilizers, and access to better technologies. Information and communications technology-based services like Kisan call centres aren’t enough.
• Make crop insurance more effective. Increase penetration and subsidize premiums so that farmers can avail insurance; carry out damage assessment at the field level to settle claims.

THE CONCLUSION: Public procurement needs to continue for staple cereals, but farmers of non-staple food crops need to be provided with direct income transfers, these are fiscally prudent, obviate the need for physical procurement and storage by the government, do not distort current production, and provide a basic income to farmers. These will also address the main concern over the recent farm laws related to the vulnerability of small and marginal farmers and may help these farmers to avoid distress sales.

JUST ADD TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE

ALL ABOUT MSP

MSP: It is a form of market intervention by the Government of India to insure agricultural producers against any sharp fall in farm prices. A guaranteed price for farmers produces from the government.

Objectives of MSP?: To protect the producer – farmers – against excessive fall in price during bumper production years. To support the farmers from distress sales and to procure food grains for public distribution. If the market price for the commodity falls below the announced minimum price due to bumper production and glut in the market, government agencies purchase the entire quantity offered by the farmers at the announced minimum price.

History of MSP: First time announced by the Government of India in 1966-67  for the wheat in the wake of the Green Revolution and extended harvest, to save the farmers from depleting profits.

How MSP is decided?: The government decides the support prices for various agricultural commodities after taking into account the following:

• Recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices
• Views of State Governments
• Views of Ministries
• Other relevant factors
• Fixing the MSP Policy

Current status: 26 commodities are currently covered. They are as follows:

• Cereals (7) – Paddy, Wheat, Barley, Jowar, Bajra, Maize And Ragi
• Pulses (5) – Gram, Arhar/Tur, Moong, Urad And Lentil
• Oilseeds (8) – Groundnut, Rapeseed/Mustard, Toria, Soyabean, Sunflower Seed, Sesamum, Safflower Seed AndNigerseed
• Copra
• De-Husked Coconut
• Raw Cotton
• Raw Jute
• Sugarcane (Fair And Remunerative Price)
• Virginia Flu Cured (VFC) Tobacco

Point to be noted

• Sugarcane is a Kharif crop.
• 60% of India’s foodgrain and oilseeds are grown in the Kharif Season.

WHAT IS THE PROCUREMENT PRICE

• At this price, FCI will purchase foodgrain for the PDS distribution system.
• Procurement prices are always higher than MSP.

OPEN-ENDED PROCUREMENT (CONDUCTED BY FCI)

For Wheat and Rice (Conducted): Government will buy AT MSP, from any farmer who comes forward to sell. (even if market prices are running higher than MSP).

Other crops (not conducted): Government will buy ONLY when their prices fall below MSP in an open market.