THE INDIAN POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1.KERALA ASSEMBLY HOLDS 61 SITTINGS IN 2021, THE HIGHEST IN THE COUNTRY

THE CONTEXT:Kerala, which slipped to the eighth slot in holding the sittings of the State Assembly during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, got back to the first place in 2021, with its House sitting for 61 days, the highest for any State.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The southern State’s showing in 2021 was impressive as the year saw the more virulent second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, between 2016 and 2019, it had the distinction of remaining at the top with an average of 53 days.
• Despite enjoying the record of having the highest number of sittings during 2021 for any State legislature, Kerala had promulgated 144 ordinances, also the highest in the country in 2021.
• Ordinances are promulgated by governments, which are required to take immediate action on any matter, during the intervening period of two sessions of the legislature.
• Odisha followed Kerala with 43 sitting days; Karnataka – 40 and Tamil Nadu – 34 days.
• Of the 28 State Assemblies and one Union Territory’s legislature, 17 met for less than 20 days. Of them, five — Andhra Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Delhi — met for less than 10 days.
• The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (2000-02) had prescribed that the Houses of State (/Union Territory) legislatures with less than 70 members — for example, Puducherry — should meet for at least 50 days a year and other Houses (Tamil Nadu), at least 90 days. (Ten fall under the first category and 20 under the second).

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

2.JAISHANKAR PUSHES FOR CHABAHAR PORT AT SCO MEET

THE CONTEXT: India welcomed the expansion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to include Iran in 2023 year, as External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar shared a table with Foreign Ministers of China Wang Yi, Pakistan Bilawal Bhutto, Russia Sergey Lavrov and central Asian countries at the ministerial meeting in Tashkent on 29 July 2022.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Jaishankar held bilateral talks with his counterparts from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, but no meetings with Mr. Bhutto, Mr. Wang or Mr. Muttaqi, who was also in Tashkent for a special SCO reach out, were announced.
• Although the MEA release made no mention of it, the Russian embassy in Delhi tweeted that Mr. Jaishankar also held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Mr. Lavrov while in Tashkent, where it said they discussed bilateral ties and regional and international problems.
• Jaishankar highlighted India’s assistance to Afghanistan at the meeting.

ABOUT SCO

• Prior to creation of SCO in 2001, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan were members of the Shanghai Five.
• Shanghai Five (1996) emerged from a series of border demarcation and demilitarization talks which the four former Soviet republics held with China to ensure stability along the borders.
• Following the accession of Uzbekistan to the organisation in 2001, the Shanghai Five was renamed the SCO.
• Eurasian political, economic and military organisation aims to maintain peace, security and stability in region.
• India and Pakistan became members in 2017.
• 8 members: Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, Pakistan
• Secretariat: Beijing
• Official languages: Russian and Chinese.
• The Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) is a permanent organ of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) which serves to promote cooperation of member states against the three evils of terrorism, separatism and extremism. Its headquarters are located in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

THE ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

3.ASSAM’S MANAS RESERVE HAS MORE TIGRESSES THAN TIGERS

THE CONTEXT: The Manas Tiger Reserve in Assam has 2.4 tigresses for every tiger, the annual wildlife monitoring results of the trans-boundary wildlife preserve has revealed.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to the latest camera trapping assessment stipulated by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), the 2,837.31 sq. km reserve with a critical tiger habitat area of 536.22 sq. km has 52 adult tigers along with eight cubs.
• This is an increase of eight adults and four cubs over 2021, as per the results released on Global Tiger Day.
• The assessment said 29 tigers were “repeated” from 2021 while 23 new tigers were reported. The gender of 27 tigers could be properly ascertained – eight of them males and 19 females, giving a sex ratio of 1:2.4, which is “positively skewed towards females from the ecological point of view”, a statement from NTCA said.
• This analysis, which will form a baseline for all future assessments, showed Manas has an estimated 3,220 hog deer, 2,613 elephants, 1,656 wild buffaloes, 1,174 gaurs or Indian bison and 804 sambhars.

Manas National Park

• Manas National Park or Manas Wildlife Sanctuary located in Assam is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a Project Tiger Reserve, An Elephant Reserve as well as Biosphere Reserve.
• Unique in all respects, this legendry park is an abode of numerous species of fauna like An Asiatic Elephant, Tiger, Indian One Horned Rhinoceros, Leopards, Barking Deers, Hoolock Gibbons and many more to list.
• Manas National Park have an unique identity that makes it very different from the other wildlife sanctuaries of the world that it is a home to some of highly rare and endangered wildlife species such as Red Panda, Pygmy Hog, Golden Langur, the Hispid Hare and the Assam Roofed Top Turtle.
• Indian tigers and Asiatic Water Buffalo are also found here.

4.WET REGIONS MAY BEHAVE LIKE DRYLANDS

THE CONTEXT: Heatwaves and droughts can change the rules of wet regions, causing them to adopt the processes prevalent in the dry areas of the world, a new study has suggested.These findings suggest that desert-like changes could emerge in Europe and the United States, regions currently swept by heatwaves.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Dryland mechanisms are processes that predominately occur in drylands, including arid and semi-arid ecosystems.
• The researchers combed through previous studies to find clues on dryland mechanisms in wetter and temperate regions.
• They also analysed published data from remote sensing and climate models to understand how these mechanisms operate in regions with no water limitations.
• Dryland mechanisms are expected to strike when soil water content drops below roughly 25-35 per cent and soil temperature above approximately 25-50°C, the study observed.
• Their analysis outlined 12 dryland mechanisms operating in wetter regions after a drought or a heatwave.
• One mechanism is the passive movement of soil water from moist to dry soil layers via the plant roots, traversing wet and dry areas.
• Another mechanism restricted mostly to drylands are degradation of plant litter.
• In wet systems, microbes decompose dead matter, whereas, in arid regions, intense solar irradiance does the job.

 THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

5.PM MODI INAUGURATES INDIA’S FIRST BULLION EXCHANGE AT GIFT CITY, GANDHINAGAR

THE CONTEXT: On 29^th July, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX) at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) as well as laid the foundation stone of the unified regulator International Financial Services Centres Authority’s headquarters building.

 THE EXPLANATION:

• GIFT City is India’s maiden International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).
• As per the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), the India International Bullion Exchange will facilitate efficient price discovery with the assurance of responsible sourcing and quality, apart from giving impetus to the financialisation of gold in India.
• India is the world’s second biggest consumer of gold and the move to set up the IIBX is seen as India’s effort to bring transparency to the market for the precious metal.
• Moreover, setting up of IIBX could lead to standard gold pricing in the country and make it easier for small bullion dealers and jewellers to trade in the precious metal.

What is an international bullion exchange?

• Bullion refers to physical gold and silver of high purity often kept in the form of bars, ingots, or coins. It can be considered legal tender and is often held as reserves by central banks or held by institutional investors.
• Though there are several bullion markets around the world, the London Bullion Market, which allows trading 24 hours a day and facilitates futures and options trading, is the primary global market trading platform for gold and silver.
• These bullion markets are typically over-the-counter (OTC) markets, that is to say, they deal in physical gold and silver.

India, a leading importer of bullion

• India is a leading importer of the metal and imported 1,069 tonnes of gold in 2021, up from 430 tonnes a year ago. The yellow metal is tightly regulated in the country and currently only nominated banks and agencies approved by the Reserve Bank Of India can import gold and sell to dealers and jewellers across the country.
• While launching the new exchange and laying foundation stone for new projects in GIFT city, his pet project, the PM said that India is among the biggest economies in the world and is now joining the league of global financial centres like the United States, the United Kingdom and Singapore.

What about the IIBX?

• The National Stock Exchange, Multi Commodity Exchange, India INX International Exchange, National Securities Depository and Central Depository Services Ltd have joined hands to establish the holding company India International Bullion Holding IFSC, which will operate the International Bullion Exchange.
• The IIBX, announced in the 2020 Union Budget, has enrolled jewellers to trade on the exchange and set up the infrastructure to store physical gold and silver.
• 56 qualified jewellers have been approved by the IFSC regulator IFSCA to import bullion and transact on the exchange.
• To become a qualified jeweller, one must has a minimum net worth of Rs 25 crore and 90 per cent of the average annual turnover in the last three financial years through deals in goods categorised as precious metals, as per Indian Express.
• The exchange will have three vaults – one operated by Sequel Global (ready and approved), the second one to be operated by Brinks India is ready and awaiting final approval and the third under construction.

How will it work?

• Once gold is imported, it will be stored at the IFSC Authority-approved vault.
• Being a spot exchange, all the open positions will be marked for delivery at the end of the day.
• The initial pilot trading at the exchange with small transactions in last few months has been successful.

 6.CORE SECTOR OUTPUT EXPANDS BY 12.7% IN JUNE

THE CONTEXT: India’s eight core sectors’ output growth moderated to 12.7% in June from 18.1% in May, with all sectors except crude oil registering an uptick in production.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Coal, Cement, Electricity and refinery products rose 15% or more, compared to June 2021 output levels, while natural gas (1.2%), steel (3.3%) and fertilisers (8.2%) grew at a milder pace. Crude oil output dropped 1.7% from a year ago, returning to contractionary territory after recording the first uptick in several months this May.
• The Commerce and Industry Ministry also revised the index of eight core industries for the months of March and May. March core sectors’ growth was pared to 4.8% from 4.9% estimated earlier, while May’s output growth from these sectors was revised higher at 19.3% from the previous estimate of 18.1%.
• While June marks the second successive month of double-digit growth in core sectors, which constitute about 40% of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), overall core output shrank 4.08% compared to the previous month.
• Cement and fertilisers were the only sectors to record a sequential month-on-month growth in output in June of 6.9% and 0.32%, respectively.
• Compared to pre-COVID levels, the core sectors reported an 8% growth in June with a healthy performance of all the sectors except steel and crude oil, said Aditi Nayar, chief economist at ICRA.
• The disaggregated trends are exceedingly mixed, she said, ranging from a contraction in crude oil to a robust expansion of 31% in coal. The broad-based moderation in the growth rate to 12.7% from 19.3% in May, she attributed to the ‘normalising base’ effects from 2021 amid the second COVID-19 wave.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY

Q1. Regional Anti-Terror Structure (RATS), sometimes seen in news, is relate to which of the following organization?

a) NATO

b) CENTO

c) SCO

d) EU

Q2. Which of the following is not a member of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)?

a) Kazakhstan

b) Afghanistan

c) Tajikistan

d) Uzbekistan

ANSWER FOR THE PRACTICE QUESTION

Answer: D

Explanation:

• Kuchipudi is one of the classical styles of Indian dance.
• In 17th century Kuchipudi style of Yakshagaana was conceived by Siddhendra Yogi a talented Vaishnava poet and visionary who had the capacity to give concrete shape to some of his visions.
• It is said that Siddhendra Yogi had a dream in which Lord Krishna asked him to compose a dance-drama based on the myth of the bringing of paarijaata flower for Sathyabhaama, the most beloved queen of Krishna. In compliance with this command Siddhendra Yogi composed the Bhaamaakalaapam which is till now considered the piece-deresistance of the Kuchipudi repertoire. Siddhendra Yogi initiated young Brahmin boys of Kuchipudi village (Andhra Pradesh) to practice and perform his compositions particularly Bhaamaakalaapam.
• It was Lakshminarayan Shastry (1886-1956) who introduced many new elements including solo dancing and training of female dancers in this dance style.
• To show the dexterity of the dancers in footwork and their control and balance over their bodies, techniques like dancing on the rim of a brass plate and with a pitcher full of water on the head was introduced.
• The music that accompanies the dance is according to the classical school of Carnatic music. The accompanying musicians, besides the vocalist are: a mridangam player to provide percussion music, a violin or veena player or both for providing instrumental melodic music, and a cymbal player who usually conducts the orchestra.

THE CONTEXT: In June 2022, NITI Aayog released a report on the Gig economy in India. The report “India’s Booming Gig and Platform Economy: Perspectives and Recommendations on the Future of Work”, underlines the opportunities and challenges of this sector. Among other things, the report estimates the gig workforce to be 68 lakhs by 2019-20 and 77 lakhs by 2020-21. As per the estimates in the report, close to 60% of such Workforce are in Retail & the Transportation sector. The article identifies the opportunities and challenges of this sector.

IMPORTANCE OF THE REPORT

• The report is a first-of-its-kind study that presents comprehensive perspectives and recommendations on the gig–platform economy in India.
• The report provides a scientific methodological approach to estimate the current size and job-generation potential of the sector.
• It highlights the opportunities and challenges of this emerging sector and presents global best practices on initiatives for social security, and delineates strategies for skill development and job creation for different categories of workers in the sector.

HIGHLIGHTS NITI AAYOG REPORT

• As of 2021, the gross volume of the gig economy is estimated to be around USD 348 billion USD. India is also an emerging player, the importance of which is identified by the Government of India.
• The report estimates that in 2020–21, 77 lakh (7.7 million) workers were engaged in the gig economy. They constituted 2.6% of the non-agricultural Workforce or 1.5% of the total Workforce in India.
• The gig workforce is expected to expand to 2.35 crore (23.5 million) workers by 2029–30.
• Gig workers are expected to form 6.7% of the non-agricultural Workforce or 4.1% of the total livelihood in India by 2029–30.
• At present, about 47% of the gig work is in medium-skilled jobs, about 22% in high skilled, and about 31% in low-skilled jobs.
• The trend shows the concentration of workers in medium skills is gradually declining and that of the low skilled and high skilled is increasing.

DEVELOPING CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING

WHAT IS THE GIG ECONOMY?

• The gig economy is a job market which consists of short-term or part-time work done by people who are self-employed or on temporary contracts.
• Section 2(35) of the Code on Social Security 2020 defines a gig worker as a person who participates in a work arrangement and earns from such activities outside of a traditional employer-employee relationship.
• As per the World Economic Forum, gig economy is defined by its focus on workforce participation and income generation via “gigs”, single projects or tasks for which a worker is hired.
• The term “gig” is a slang word for a job that lasts a specified period of time; it is typically used by musicians.
• Examples of gig employees in the Workforce could include work arrangements such as freelancers, independent contractors, project-based workers and temporary or part-time hires.
• As there is no employer-employee relationship, the gig workers are not tied to any particular employer and therefore have greater flexibility in terms of the work they can choose and the hours they dedicate.
• Businesses have flexibility when they are not dependent on a set of employees for executing tasks and additionally benefit from avoiding the cost of social security and fixed remuneration provided to employees.
• The service sector fuelled by the digital economy has been the most resilient segment of the gig economy. The size of the gig economy is projected to grow at Compounded Annual Growth Rate of 17% and is likely to hit a gross volume of $455 billion by 2023, as per ASSOCHAM.

WHAT IS PLATFORM WORK?

• Platform work means a work arrangement in which an organization or an individual uses online platform to provide goods and services to consumers. For example, Uber, Ola, Zomato etc.
• The Code on Social Security 2021 defines platform work as a work arrangement outside the traditional employer-employee relationship in which organizations or individuals use an online platform to access other organizations or individuals to solve specific problems or to provide specific services in exchange for payment.
• Section 2(61) of the Code on Social Security defines a platform worker as someone engaged in or undertaking platform work.
• In general, platform workers are the most visible and vulnerable faces of the gig economy. The gig work includes platform work also, and often; these terms are used interchangeably. For the purpose of our discussion, we also take a similar approach.

WHAT IS MEANT BY INFORMALISATION OF LABOUR?

• When the share of the informal workers in the total labour force increases, the situation is called the informalisation of labour.
• It is a process of consistent decline in the percentage of formal-sector labour force and consistent increase in the percentage of the informal sector labour force in the economy.
• The Economic Survey of 2018-19, released in July 2019, said “almost 93%” of the total Workforce is “informal”.
• These workers are engaged in economic activities with lower productivity resulting in lower incomes. They are also engaged in activities with less stable employment contracts (including the self-employed) and fewer or nil social security benefits.

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF FORMAL AND INFORMAL SECTORS?

• It must be made very clear that there is no universally accepted definition of formal and informal or organized and unorganized sector in India (http://iamrindia.gov.in/writereaddata/UploadFile/org_unorg.pdf read for further information)
• In general, the informal sector of the economy is characterized by irregular and low income, precarious working conditions, no access to social safety nets, lack of legal safeguards etc.
• While the formal sector has fixed working conditions, social security benefits and labour law being applied to them.

DEFINITION OF LABOUR FORCE

• Persons who are either ‘working’ (employed) or ‘seeking or available for work’ (unemployed) or both during a major part of the reference period constitute the labour force. In simple words, persons who are employed and unemployed are included in the labour force (15-60 in general).

DEFINITION OF WORKFORCE

• The Workforce, on the other hand, includes only the employed and excludes the unemployed. People who are actually working are included in the Workforce. The difference between the labour force and the Workforce is the total number of unemployed persons.

  JOB & INCOME SECURITY, OCCUPATIONS SAFETY ARE AMONG THE MAJOR CHALLENGES WITH GIG-BASED WORK

• While patronization i.e., using digital platforms to identify work, has helped to formalize gig works, there are multiple issues identified internationally. The main issue is with the algorithmic control of the platform labour by digital platforms. Rating-based reputation systems, power of consumers/customers over workers, etc., facilitated by these platforms are said to cause significant risks and unfair working conditions to the workers.
• The study report identifies that the gig-work in India also faces these challenges with the platforms. The report further takes cognizance of various other challenges faced by gig workers in India.
• One of the major challenges is with the job & income security. They are typically classified as independent workers or contractors and hence are not extended benefits from labour regulations relating to wages, hours of work, working conditions etc.
• Accessibility is another issue with the availability of jobs depending on location (urban vs rural), gender, access to the internet etc. Varying degrees of skill-mismatch are observed on online web-based platforms, with workers with better qualifications not necessarily finding jobs.
• Unfavourable terms of contract and non-collectivism of the gig workers are among the other challenges faced by gig workers.

• While these challenges exist for gig-based jobs in the country, the study report notes that gig & platform-based jobs have contributed to inclusivity, especially for women and people with disabilities.

HOW DOES THE GIG ECONOMY LEAD TO INFORMALISATION?AN ANALYSIS

OUTSIDE THE PURVIEW OF THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

• The gig economy is outside the ambit of almost all the regulations applicable to the other sectors of the economy. The formal sector employment has been tightly regulated one and even the informal sector faces some regulation. There is near absence of regulation in the area of gig economy, especially in the context of labour rights.

UNCLEAR EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP

• In the gig economy, the traditional employer and employee relationship is replaced by vague ideas of “partners, independent contractors and the like “. These companies call themselves “aggregators and not employers” which provides an escape route from the application of labour laws to them

EXPLOITATIVE SERVICE CONDITIONS

• The remuneration and working conditions are arbitrarily set by the companies and workers often complain about unwarranted deductions from their salaries. For instance, a Swiggy delivery boy earlier received 50 rupees for an order which has been progressively reduced to 20(10 in some cases) rupees on weekdays. There exists no grievance mechanism to raise the concerns of the workers.

SUBJUGATION TO ALGORITHMS

• The software application controls the platform workers’ work-life. It decides everything from when and where to onboard (log in), how much time is allowed for delivery, calculation of incentives and even imposition of penalty! The gig worker has no voice in deciding any of these aspects and the application exerts total control over the workers.

NON EXISTENT SOCIAL SAFETY NET

• None of the social security benefits available to traditional workers are available to gig workers. Even the ad-hoc group insurance is available only on “on duty days’. The companies don’t even have any data on how many of its partners have succumbed to Covid 19 or were infected by the virus. The workers are vulnerable to risks of accidents and many have lost lives during the course of their duties.

DEMAND AND SUPPLY MISMATCH

• when the labour supply is high and more disposable, the gig workers have no power to influence payment offerings, and the freedom to choose becomes an illusion. In the interplay of demand and supply mechanisms, the gig workers always lose out. Thus, as platforms become more popular among gig workers, more of them join the pool, which leads to companies dictating the terms and conditions of work. The All India, Gig Workers union, has been protesting against the wage reduction by Swiggy but to no avail.

NO SCOPE FOR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

• The problem of lack of a formal relationship within the gig economy landscape is accentuated by the lack of effective unionization of the workers. The temporary nature of work, disaggregated location of workers etc do not make it feasible for a collective airing of grievances. Even the recently formed Indian federation of App-based Transport workers’ protests did not change the status quo.

EXERCISING CONTROL WITHOUT ACCOUNTABILITY

• The companies claim that their workers are self-employed, and they can choose when and how long they wish to work. This is not true as, for instance, Swiggy does not allow “home log in” and the worker has to reach a “hot zone” for login. When a worker logs out or is irregular, then the frequency of the orders he receives is reduced. In other words, the companies exercise almost all the control of a traditional employer without commensurate responsibility to workers.

 POSITIVE SIDE OF GIG ECONOMY

FREEDOM OF CHOICE

• The employees have the freedom to choose from a host of firms operating in the sector. For instance, a delivery executive can choose Swiggy, Zomato or any other food delivery app. This choice is also available in the case of e-commerce companies or cab aggregators and others. This freedom to choose can help the workers to look for greener pastures.

FLEXIBLE WORKING HOURS

• There are no mandatory working hours in these sectors and the worker is free to join in or out at any time. This flexibility provides scope for control over one’s work which can be harnessed by those looking for a part-time job like students, employed etc,

NO FORMAL TRAINING REQUIRED

• The gig economy generally does not demand any formal education, skills or formal training for carrying out these jobs. For instance, a smartphone and a bike are enough to get work in food delivery apps (of course, subject to company policies). Thus it provides great livelihood opportunities for the unskilled and semi-skilled.

INCENTIVISATION OF HARD WORK

• The gig economy works on the principle of ‘the more you work, the more you earn’. This approach encourages those having a zeal for hard work by providing incentives on a par with the output of work. The scope for extra earning works as a great motivator.

GENDER EMPOWERMENT

• The rise of the gig economy in the wake of COVID-19 has the potential to boost women’s employment in the formal sector. The adoption of new technologies could create better opportunities for women.
• In a UNDP survey, around 57% of the respondent firms agree that the gig economy will itself expand and boost women’s employment because it is based on flexible, temporary, or freelance jobs, often involving connecting with clients or customers through an online platform.
• The technology-based platforms enable women to be a part of Workforce by virtue of their openness.
• Like Uber, there are various other on-demand platforms that have come into existence to facilitate consumer access to a range of care and domestic work services, such as cooking, cleaning, and child and elderly care. These include MyDidi.

 HOW TO BRING ELEMENTS OF FORMALIZATION IN GIG ECONOMY?

DATA ON THE SIZE OF THE GIG WORKFORCE

• Any step towards addressing the issue of informalisation in the gig economy require proper data on the size of the Workforce. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour has criticized the labour ministry for its lackadaisical attitude relating to data collection. Data-driven policy-making and governance need to be the core of reforming the sector.

LEGAL INTERVENTIONS

• Regulation by the State of this sector without undermining its animal spirit is the need of hour. The Code on Social Security, although it defines the gig and platform workers, is silent on the aspect of regulation. A separate regulatory regime for gig sector can be brought which must balance the interest of both the companies and workers.

PROVIDING CONCRETE SOCIAL SAFETY MEASURES.

• The companies need to be persuaded to set up a social security system for the workers. Alternatively, they can be legally mandated to contribute to the fund established by the Centre or state governments.
• For instance, the Code on Social Security, 2020, mandate companies employing gig or on-demand workers to allocate 1-2% of their annual turnover or 5% of the wages paid to gig workers.

CLARIFYING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE COMPANY AND THE WORKERS

• It is necessary to define clearly the nature of the relation between these platform companies and the workers. Taking shelter under terms (partner etc) which have no legal basis will only lead to conflicts between workers and the companies and eventually impact the business prospects of the companies.

LEARNING FROM INTERNATIONAL JUDICIAL INTERVENTIONS

• In 2021, the UK Supreme Court ruled that Uber’s drivers were entitled to employee benefits; in 2018, the California Supreme Court specified a test for determining an employer-employee relationship, which effectively designated gig workers are employees. Indian courts must take a leaf out of these progressive judicial interventions.

UNIONIZATION OF THE WORKERS

• There is strength in numbers and the workers need to organize themselves to press for legitimate demands from the government and the companies. A federation of all gig workers must be established to work as a pressure group and a forum for constructive suggestions for improving the work culture and business practices.

BEST PRACTICES OF THE STATE GOVERNMENTS.

• Karnataka govt is in the process of drafting a law to provide minimum wages and social security benefits to gig workers. It also formed a company, inter alia, to promote gig economy companies. The Karnataka Digital Economy Mission, a company with 51% stake in the industries aim to promote the gig economy through various facilitative measures. These types of positive interventions can be replicated in other states also.

HOW CAN THE ABOVE ISSUES BE ADDRESSED?

NITI Aayog’s study report takes cognizance of the different challenges faced by gig workers in the country. The report has also identified the need to upskill the gig workers to take advantage of the existing and future opportunities. A few of the recommendations of the study report are the following.

• Undertake a separate enumeration exercise to estimate the size of the gig economy and identify the characteristic features of gig workers.
• Platform India initiative to catalyze Platformization.
• Accelerating financial inclusion.
• Skilling of the Workforce through Outcome-based skilling, platform-led transformational skilling, platform skilling with government schemes etc.
• Integration and linking of employment and skill development portals.
• Enhancing social inclusion through gender sensitization & awareness programmes, inclusive systems & communication, self-development support etc.
• Paid sick leave, health access & insurance, occupational disease & work-accidental insurance, retirement & pension plans etc.
• Support to workers in situations of irregularity of work, contingency cover etc.
• RAISE framework for operationalizing the Code on Social Security to be adopted for gig & platform workers.

THE CONCLUSION:The Economic Survey 2021 has appreciated the role of the gig economy in service delivery and employment provision to the labour force during the pandemic period. This sector holds out huge promise, especially in the context of governments’ push toward a digital economy through Digital India. It is true that the freelance nature of the work and other attributes may not strictly fit into the traditional employer-employee matrix. But that does not mean the labour should be left for exploitation and suffer from poor working conditions. It is in the interest of all stakeholders, the promoters, management, workers, the shareholders, the consumers and others that adequate concrete measures be adopted for a win situation for all.

Questions

1. Critically analyze the NITI Aayog’s recent report on the platform-based economy.
2. Defining the concept of the gig economy, explain how it contributes to the informalisation of the Workforce in India.
3. While the gig economy provides huge scope for choice and freedom of work, it also leads to the informalisation of labour. Comment.

THE INDIAN POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1.UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY DECLARES ACCESS TO CLEAN AND HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT A UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHT

THE CONTEXT: The United Nations General Assembly declared that everyone on the planet has a right to a healthy environment, a move backers say is an important step in countering the alarming decline of the natural world.

THE EXPLANATION:

• In a resolution passed at UN headquarters in New York City, the General Assembly said climate change and environmental degradation were some of the most pressing threats to humanity’s future. It called on states to step up efforts to ensure their people have access to a “clean, healthy and sustainable environment.”
• The resolution is not legally binding on the 193 UN Member States. But advocates are hopeful it will have a trickle-down effect, prompting countries to enshrine the right to a healthy environment in national constitutions and regional treaties, and encouraging states to implement those laws. Supporters say that would give environmental campaigners more ammunition to challenge ecologically destructive policies and projects.

In 2019, following a lawsuit by an environmental group, the Netherland’s top court ordered the Dutch Government to do more to cut carbon emissions, saying climate change was a direct threat to human rights.

More recently, Brazil’s supreme court declared the Paris climate change agreement a human rights treaty, saying the pact should supersede national law. Backers are hopeful the latest General Assembly resolution will eventually lead to more decisions like those.

Environment as a basic right: Background

• The concept of human rights in general emerged after the Second World War, but the right to a healthy environment, as one of those human rights, was never a priority. Today, this right is an emerging concept that is being hotly debated in the human rights arena.
• A healthy environment is an essential aspect of the right to life, not only for human beings but also for other animals on the planet. Violation, therefore, of the right to healthy environment is potentially a violation of the basic right to life.
• Environmental deterioration could eventually endanger life of present and future generations. Therefore, the right to life has been used in a diversified manner in India. It includes, inter alia, the right to survive as a species, quality of life, the right to live with dignity and the right to livelihood. In India, this has been expressly recognised as a constitutional right.
• Article 21 of the Indian Constitution states: ‘No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedures established by law.’ The Supreme Court expanded this negative right in two ways. Firstly, any law affecting personal liberty should be reasonable, fair and just. Secondly, the Court recognised several unarticulated liberties that were implied by article 21. It is by this second method that the Supreme Court interpreted the right to life and personal liberty to include the right to a clean environment.

2.SUSPENSION OF MPS: THE RULES, AND THE POWERS OF PRESIDING OFFICERS

THE CONTEXT: Recently, the two Houses of Parliament have suspended 27 MPs from various political and independent MP from Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The two Houses suspended these MPs because they disrupted proceedings, demanding a debate on rising prices and increasing GST rates on essential commodities. The suspended MPs have started a fifty-hour dharna on the Parliament complex, and Opposition parties are demanding the revocation of the suspensions.

Why do MPs disrupt Parliament?

• Over the years, the presiding officers of legislatures and political leaders have discussed and identified four broad reasons leading to disorder in legislatures. One reason is the lack of time available to MPs for raising important matters; a second is the “unresponsive attitude of the government and retaliatory posture by Treasury benches”.
• The other two reasons are deliberate disruption by parties for political or publicity purposes, and the absence of prompt action against MPs disrupting parliamentary proceedings.

What has Parliament done to address these issues?

The government and not Parliament decides the parliamentary calendar. Therefore, the decision about the time available with Parliament for discussions rests with the government. Parliamentary procedure also prioritises government business over other debates that take place in the legislature.

Who can suspend MPs, and for how long?

• Rules for ensuring the smooth functioning of Parliament have been unchanged since 1952. First, the presiding officers can direct an MP to withdraw from the House for any disorderly conduct. If the MP continues disrupting the House, the presiding officer can “name” the legislator.
• After that, the House can move a motion to suspend the MP until the end of the session. These powers are common to the presiding officers of both Houses.
• In 2001, during Speaker G M C Balayogi’s term, Lok Sabha changed its rules to give the Speaker more powers to deal with grave and disorderly conduct.
• As per this new rule, the Speaker can “name” an MP, who shall then automatically stand suspended for five days or the remaining part of the session. This rule removes the need for the House to pass a motion for suspension. Rajya Sabha has not incorporated this provision in its procedures.

Can courts intervene in a matter of suspension of MPs?

• Article 122 of the Constitution says parliamentary proceedings cannot be questioned before a court: “No officer or Member of Parliament in whom powers are vested by or under this Constitution for regulating procedure or the conduct of business, or for maintaining order, in Parliament shall be subject to the jurisdiction of any court in respect of the exercise by him of those powers”.
• In some cases, however, courts have intervened in the procedural functioning of legislatures. For example, the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly passed a resolution in its 2021 Monsoon Session suspending 12 NDA MLAs for a year. The matter came before the Supreme Court, which held that the resolution was ineffective in law beyond the remainder of the Monsoon Session.

3.LOK SABHA PASSES BILL TO CREATE STATUTORY FRAMEWORK FOR DOPING WATCHDOG

THE CONTEXT: The Lok Sabha passed the National anti-doping bill, to provide a statutory framework in the form of legislation for prohibition of doping in sports in the country.

THE EXPLANATION:

The National Anti-Doping Bill, 2021, was first introduced in Lok Sabha in December. It was then scrutinised by a standing committee comprising members of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

What is Doping?

• Doping is the practice of using banned performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) by athletes.
• The aim of doping, as the name implies, is to increase one’s ability to perform at an event. In broad terms, this is achieved through enhancing muscle mass, getting an artificial boost in energy ahead of a sporting event, reducing recovery time, and concealing the effects of other drugs.
• The first official case of doping was reported during the 1904 Olympics, and has, since then, plagued the world of sports.

What is the Anti-Doping Bill All About?

• The bill aims to grant greater powers to the National Anti-Doping Agency to conduct investigations, searches, and seizures, and ensure the proper functioning of the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL).
• In official terms, the NADA will have the power of “levying sanctions for anti-doping rule violations, the disciplinary procedures to be adopted and the powers of inspection, sample collection and sharing and free flow of information.”
• Currently, the NADA does not have the power to conduct raids if it suspects or has proof of doping activities ongoing in any premises, including national camps.
• These provisions gain prominence amid a rising concern with regard to doping in India over the years.
• The country was placed at the third position among nations with the most doping violations, as per a 2019 report by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Russia and Italy are the only two countries that surpassed India in this regard.

THE ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

4.SOME 85% DISTRICTS IN INDIA NOW FACE ARID CONDITIONS

THE CONTEXT: According to the Aridity Anomaly Outlook Index for July 2022, issued by India Meteorological Department (IMD), which states that at least 85 per cent of districts face arid conditions across India.

THE EXPLANATION:

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE INDEX:

• Only 63 of 756 districts were non-arid, while 660 were facing different degrees of aridity — mild, moderate and severe. This, even as the kharif crop season is underway and the southwest monsoon is towards the end of its second month.
• The index monitors agricultural drought, a situation when rainfall and soil moisture are inadequate to support healthy crop growth till maturity, causing crop stress.
• An anomaly from the normal value would thus signify a water shortage in these districts that could directly impact agricultural activity.
• Some 196 districts are in the grip of a ‘severe’ degree of dryness and 65 of these are in Uttar Pradesh. The state had reported the highest rainfall deficit of 54 per cent from the beginning of the monsoon till July 25.
• Bihar had the second highest number of districts (33) experiencing arid conditions. The state also has a high rainfall deficit of 45 per cent.
• Other districts facing ‘severe arid’ conditions are Jharkhand, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Telangana, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

According to the Drought Early Warning System (DEWS), a real-time drought monitoring platform managed by the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar (IIT-G), the area under drought had increased marginally compared to a week before.

• As of July 26, almost 13.59 per cent of India was facing drought-like conditions, compared to 13.32 per cent as of July 19. The data has not been updated since July 26.
• Out of the 13.59 per cent area, 4.65 per cent was recorded as being ‘severe’ to ‘exceptionally’ dry. These areas belong to Uttar Pradesh, parts of West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir and Jharkhand.

VALUE ADDITION:

Global Efforts to Prevent Desertification

• DAY To bring 150 million hectares of the world’s deforested and degraded land into restoration by 2020, and 350 million hectares by 2030.
• Goal 15 of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), 2030: It declares that “we are determined to protect the planet from degradation, including through sustainable consumption and production.”
• United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD): It was established in 1994, the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.
• The World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is observed every year on 17th June.
• Great Green Wall: Initiative by Global Environment Facility (GEF), where eleven countries in Sahel-Saharan Africa have focused efforts to fight against land degradation and revive native plant life to the landscape.

5.WORLD TIGER DAY: THE TIGER WAS NOT ENDEMIC TO INDIA; IT CAME HERE FROM CHINA

THE CONTEXT: On July 29, the International Tiger Day is celebrated across the world. It is also known as World Tiger Day. Year 2022 is marking the 12th International Tiger Day. The day is aimed at promoting a global system to protect natural habitats of tigers, raising public awareness on risks and challenges faced by tigers worldwide.

THE EXPLANATION:

History of the day:

• The World Tiger Day was founded in 2010, during Saint Petersburg Tiger Summit 2010.
• During the summit, representatives from 13 countries declared that; tiger-populated countries will start initiatives to double the population of tiger by 2022.

Risks faced by Tigers:

• As per World Wildlife Fund (WWF), number of wild tigers have decreased by over 95% and only 3900 wild tigers are left in the world.
• The number of tigers is decreasing due to cutting down trees and destruction of natural habitat.
• Climate change, poaching, Illicit commerce, and killing are other factors leading to decrease in population.
• Tigers are now counted among those animals, which are on the verge of extinction.
• Thus, the International Tiger Day is celebrated every year, to raise awareness on importance of tiger conservation.

Tigers in India:

Tiger is the national animal of India. The country is home to more than half of world’s wild tigers, with an estimated 2,226 number of Tigers. However, since 2012, India has lost 1,059 tigers. Madhya Pradesh recorded highest number of deaths. Madhya Pradesh is known as ‘tiger state’ of India. As per National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), 75 tigers have lost life so far in 2022.

 THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

6.SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS POWERS OF ARREST, RAIDS, SEIZURE UNDER PMLA

THE CONTEXT: Recently, the Supreme Court upheld the core amendments made to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which gives the government and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) virtually unbridled powers of summons, arrest, and raids, and makes bail nearly impossible while shifting the burden of proof of innocence on to the accused rather than the prosecution.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The apex court called the PMLA a law against the “scourge of money laundering” and not a hatchet wielded against rival politicians and dissenters.
• Also, the court highlighted that “this is a sui generis (unique) legislation… The Parliament enacted the Act as a result of international commitment to sternly deal with the menace of money laundering of proceeds of crime having transnational consequences and on the financial systems of the countries.
• The verdict came on an extensive challenge raised against the amendments introduced to the 2002 Act by way of Finance Acts. The three-judge Bench said the method of introduction of the amendments through Money Bills would be separately examined by a larger Bench of the apex court.

WHAT IS MONEY LAUNDERING?

• Money laundering has been addressed in the UN Vienna 1988 Convention Article 3.1 describing Money Laundering as:
• “the conversion or transfer of property, knowing that such property is derived from any offense(s), for the purpose of concealing or disguising the illicit origin of the property or of assisting any person who is involved in such offense(s) to evade the legal consequences of his actions”.
• Money laundering is a process which typically follows three stages to finally release laundered funds into the legal financial system.

3 Stages of Money Laundering

1.       Placement (i.e. moving the funds from direct association with the crime)

2.       Layering (i.e. disguising the trail to foil pursuit)

3.       Integration (i.e. making the money available to the criminal from what seem to be legitimate sources)

What is the Issue?

• The petitioners had argued that the ED could arrest a person even without informing him of the charges. This power was violative of the right to ‘due process’ enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution. Besides, Article 22 mandated that no person can be arrested without informing him or her of the grounds of the arrest, they had contended.
• The court rejected the notion that the ED has been given blanket powers of arrest, search of person and property and seizure. The court said there were “in-built safeguards” within the Act, including the recording of reasons in writing while effecting arrest.
• Besides, the Bench noted that the Special Court could verify using its own discretion if the accused need to be further detained or not.
• The court said not showing the Enforcement Case Investigation Report (ECIR) or not supplying the accused with a copy of the document was a violation of constitutional rights.
• “Money laundering is an offence against the sovereignty and integrity of the country,” the court noted. It gave an expansive meaning to the offence of “money laundering” to include “every process and activity”, direct or indirect, dealing with the proceeds of the crime.

VALUE ADDITION:

What is Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA)?

• It was enacted to fight against the criminal offence of legalizing the income/profits from an illegal source.
• It enables the Government or the public authority to confiscate the property earned from the illegally gained proceeds.

Objectives:

• Prevent money-laundering.
• Combat/prevent channelising of money into illegal activities and economic crimes.
• Provide for the confiscation of property derived from, or involved/used in, money-laundering.
• Provide for matters connected and incidental to the acts of money laundering

PMLA Amendment 2019:

The amendment further widened the definition an explanation was inserted to this section which states that,

• the term proceeds of crime include not only the property derived from scheduled offence
• but would also include any other property derived or obtained indulging into any criminal activity relate-able or similar to the scheduled offence.
• Addition to section 44:
• sub-section (1) clause (b): makes it obligatory on the part of the authorized authority to file the closure report before the special court that had taken the cognizance of the offence in a situation when no offence is made out after conducting the investigation;
• sub-section (1) clause (d): the court that deals with the offence under this by way trial, investigation or enquiry shall not depend itself upon the orders that the same court shall pass with regard to the scheduled offence.

 THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Q.‘Bhaamaakalaapam’ is related to which of the following classical dance form of India?

a) Kathakali

b) Bharatnatyam

c) Odissi

d) Kuchipudi

ANSWER FOR THE PRACTICE QUESTION

Answer: D

Explanation:

• Kuchipudi is one of the classical styles of Indian dance.
• In 17th century Kuchipudi style of Yakshagaana was conceived by Siddhendra Yogi a talented Vaishnava poet and visionary who had the capacity to give concrete shape to some of his visions.
• It is said that Siddhendra Yogi had a dream in which Lord Krishna asked him to compose a dance-drama based on the myth of the bringing of paarijaata flower for Sathyabhaama, the most beloved queen of Krishna. In compliance with this command Siddhendra Yogi composed the Bhaamaakalaapam which is till now considered the piece-deresistance of the Kuchipudi repertoire. Siddhendra Yogi initiated young Brahmin boys of Kuchipudi village (Andhra Pradesh) to practice and perform his compositions particularly Bhaamaakalaapam.
• It was LakshminarayanShastry (1886-1956) who introduced many new elements including solo dancing and training of female dancers in this dance style.
• To show the dexterity of the dancers in footwork and their control and balance over their bodies, techniques like dancing on the rim of a brass plate and with a pitcher full of water on the head was introduced.
• The music that accompanies the dance is according to the classical school of Carnatic music. The accompanying musicians, besides the vocalist are: a mridangam player to provide percussion music, a violin or veena player or both for providing instrumental melodic music, and a cymbal player who usually conducts the orchestra.

1. Education is alive when it teaches life itself READ MORE
2. Ethical digital twins can help make India’s disease poor READ MORE
3. Aspire to Enjoy READ MORE

1. What numbers do not reveal about tiger conservation: India must not lose sight of the fact that there are other factors critical to ensuring the survival of this big cat READ MORE
2. Erratic pre-monsoon, monsoon rainfall impacts North East agriculture READ MORE

1. India’s abortion law seems liberal but is driven by a population control logic – not women’s rights READ MORE
2. Indian Politics Has a Clear Gender Imbalance. That’s Why We Need the Women’s Reservation Bill. READ MORE

1. Narrow view: SC verdict on PMLA fails to protect personal liberty from draconian provisions READ MORE
2. By upholding PMLA, SC puts its stamp on Kafka’s law READ MORE
3. Rules with rights: GoI’s right that social media must be accountable. But what’s objectionable must be defined very narrowly READ MORE
4. Need babus for knowledge-based India READ MORE
5. When MPs get suspended from Parliament READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Bhupendra Yadav promises better policies for migrants at ILO to meet READ MORE
2. Explained: Fed Reserve rate hike, US recession and impact on India READ MORE
3. Suspension of MPs: the rules and the powers of presiding officers READ MORE
4. Henrietta Leavitt and the Astronomical Cow Puzzle READ MORE
5. World Tiger Day: The tiger was not endemic to India; it came here from China READ MORE
6. Some 85% of districts in India now face arid conditions READ MORE
7. UN General Assembly declares access to a clean and healthy environment a universal human right READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. India’s abortion law seems liberal but is driven by a population control logic – not women’s rights READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Narrow view: SC verdict on PMLA fails to protect personal liberty from draconian provisions READ MORE
2. By upholding PMLA, SC puts its stamp on Kafka’s law READ MORE
3. Rules with rights: GoI’s right that social media must be accountable. But what’s objectionable must be defined very narrowly READ MORE
4. Need babus for knowledge-based India READ MORE
5. When MPs get suspended from Parliament READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Indian Politics Has a Clear Gender Imbalance. That’s Why We Need the Women’s Reservation Bill. READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. Prospect of CAATSA waiver reveals US designs READ MORE
2. Russia-Iran ties a pact of the isolated READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. GIFT City: India’s upcoming economic and financial hub READ MORE
2. Time to liberalise: The government must expedite economic reforms to boost growth and create employment READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. What numbers do not reveal about tiger conservation: India must not lose sight of the fact that there are other factors critical to ensuring the survival of this big cat READ MORE
2. Erratic pre-monsoon, monsoon rainfall impacts North East agriculture READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Education is alive when it teaches life itself READ MORE
2. Ethical digital twins can help make India’s disease poor READ MORE
3. Aspire to Enjoy READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. ‘India’s abortion law seems liberal but is driven by a population control logic, not women’s rights’. Critically examine.
2. ‘The money laundering Act is opaque and draconian, gives arbitrary state powers over citizens’. Do you agree with this view? Justify your case.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Propaganda does not deceive people; it merely helps them deceive themselves.
• The Indian education system, with all its drawbacks, has led to Indian students being able to compete at the highest levels globally.
• India must not lose sight of the fact that there are other factors critical to ensuring the survival of this big cat.
• At a time when the ED is selectively targeting regime opponents, the verdict is bound to be remembered for its failure to protect personal liberty from executive excess.
• The money laundering Act is opaque and draconian, giving states arbitrary powers over citizens. Now, it has the SC’s approval.
• In the years to come, GIFT City in Gandhinagar will be a force to reckon with in the field of financial technology, data security and finance, which will make the entire country proud.
• The goal of education must be life itself, not merely providing instruction in how to earn a livelihood.
• When education moves towards real knowledge and real peace, a new man and a new humanity will be born.
• The only way out is the broadening and deepening of economic reforms, especially in areas, like agriculture and labour laws. Thankfully, the Narendra Modi government has shown intent to do that.
• At a time when India aspires to be a $5-trillion economy, the existing bureaucracy needs a radical transformation
• India is essentially a welfare state, and the time has come for the private sector to share the burden of the government to care for the poor of the country.
• The MTP Act disregards women’s health and rights to regulate reproduction at all costs.

ESSAY TOPIC

• When education moves towards real knowledge and real peace, a new man and a new humanity will be born.

50 WORD TALK

• There has been rise in food and fuel prices, as well as supply chain issues, as the mountains of grain stocks remained stuck in silos. It shows the enormous cost of allowing the conflict to rage on, supplying arms to Ukraine, and using the sanctions to isolate Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council. As rival egos took centre stage and crippling sanctions and geopolitics took priority in place of peace, the world has paid a heavy price.

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 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: Russian hostilities in Ukraine are preventing grain from leaving the “breadbasket of the world” and making food more expensive across the globe, threatening to worsen shortages, hunger and political instability in developing countries. This article analyses various reasons for the global food crises and presents a clear picture of the present situation.

THE ISSUE: While post-pandemic global demand, extreme weather, tightening food stocks, high energy prices, supply chain bottlenecks and export restrictions and taxe shave been straining the food market for two years, the recent convergence of all these factors following Russia’s invasion is unprecedented and has sent food inflation rates spiking around the world. The halt in Ukrainian exports has pushed the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) Food Price Index, which tracks the international process of the most globally traded commodities, to its highest point in March 2022, since the record began in 1990.

DATA TO UNDERSTAND THE EXTENT OF GLOBAL FOOD CRISES

WHY RUSSIA AND UKRAINE ARE IMPORTANT FOR GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY

• Russia and Ukraine together account for more than a quarter of the world’s wheat supplies.
• Russia’s share in the global exports of wheat, the world’s most widely grown crop, is some 20%, while Ukraine accounts for 8%, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).
• Wheat is a staple food for at least 35% of the world’s population, as per the estimates of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
• About 50 countries depend on Russia and Ukraine for more than 30% of their wheat imports, according to the FAO.
• If Azerbaijan and Georgia source more than 80% of their imported wheat from Russia and Ukraine, Turkey, Egypt, Bangladesh and Lebanon meet over 60% of their imports from these two countries.
• Besides wheat, Ukraine is the world’s eighth-largest producer and fourth-largest exporter of corn, accounting for 16% of global exports.
• Furthermore, Ukraine, which produces up to 46% of sunflower seed and safflower oil is the world’s largest exporter of sunflower oil.

IMPACTS OF WAR ON FOOD PRICES

• As of June 1, 2022, the Agricultural Price Index was 40% higher compared to January 2021, according to the World Bank.
• Maize and wheat prices rose 42% and 60%, respectively, from the levels of January 2021.
• Global food, fuel and fertilizer prices are projected to be sharply higher this year and will remain elevated into 2024, the World Bank estimates.
• Almost all economies in the world have been hit by higher food prices. Across the western world, there’s a cost-of-living crisis with food and energy prices rocketing.
• In the U.K., inflation numbers have already hit a 40-year high. Almost 90% of emerging markets and developing economies experienced food price inflation greater than 5% this year.
• Low-income countries that are reliant on imports for basic food consumption are the hardest hit. According to the UN World Food Programme (WFP), Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen remain at ‘highest alert’ as hotspots with “catastrophic conditions”, as Afghanistan and Somalia are added to this category.

CAUSES FOR THE GLOBAL FOOD CRISES

BLOCKADE AT BLACK SEA 

• Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine started, Ukraine had the capacity to export up to six million tonnes of wheat, barley and maize a month, mainly through its ports in the Black Sea/Sea of Azov.
• In the eight months before the war, some 51 million tonnes of grain were exported through Ukraine’s Black Sea ports. But exports have collapsed since the invasion as the Russian war effort is entirely focused on Ukraine’s eastern and southern parts along the Black Sea/Sea of Azov coast.
• Now, several Ukrainian port cities, including Mariupol, Kherson and Berdyansk, are under Russian control. Although the southern cities of Mykolaiv and Odesa, which are known as the ‘Pearl of the Black Sea’, are still with the Ukrainians, commercial ships cannot dock at these ports because of two reasons :
• Ukraine has mined the waters around these ports as a deterrent against potential Russian attacks and Russia has enforced a naval blockade in the waters of the Black Sea.

ECONOMIC SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA 

• Besides the blockade, the western sanctions on Russia are also contributing to the crisis. Russia, besides being the world’s top wheat exporter, is also a leading exporter of fertilizer, an essential commodity for food production.
• Russia and its ally Belarus together account for some 38% of potassic fertilizers, 17% of compound fertilizers, and 15% of nitrogenous fertilizers. Fertilizer prices are also on the rise, which would make food production costlier.
• Russia’s food and fertilizer sectors were not directly targeted by western sanctions, but the sanctions on its financial sector, which made payments difficult for Russia, have complicated its exports, including food grains.
• Also, the targeted sanctions on Russian oligarchs have choked finances for the agricultural industry.

PRE-WAR EXISTENCE OF GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTIONS

• The impact of the pandemic has been disastrous for the supply chain, with persistent effects. The varying trends of economic recovery, lockdowns, and slowdowns, at different points in time, in different hubs across the globe have clogged the movement of goods across borders. This has not only impacted the manufacturing industry but also the food processing industry and now the ongoing conflict has also added to it in terms of constrained global food supply chain.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND FOOD SECURITY 

• Climate change has impacted the production of various food crops especially due to the changes in the regular rainfall pattern and rising temperatures.
• Climate change impacts the biophysical conditions in which crops grow. Some crops are less heat resistant — as the atmosphere grows warmer, these become less productive. We’re already seeing declines in the productivity of staples like wheat.
• There are also significant nutritional impacts — as more carbon dioxide gathers in the atmosphere, crops have less nutrition and fewer vitamins and minerals in them.
• Food distribution is impacted — increasing wildfires and floods, war, and internal conflicts as well as the affordability and accessibility as seen in multiple countries disrupt the distribution systems transporting food from farmers to consumers. This results in higher food prices.

GLOBAL REPORT ON FOOD CRISES 2022

THE REPORT

• An annual report named Global Report on Food Crises 2022 was launched by the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC).The report is the flagship publication of the GNAFC and is facilitated by the Food Security Information Network (FSIN).
• Around 40 million more people globally experienced acute food insecurity at crisis or worse levels in 2021 than in 2020.
• Over half a million Ethiopians, southern Madagascar, South Sudanese and Yemenese are suffering from acute food insecurity.
• Over 193 million people in 53 countries or territories experienced acute food insecurity at crisis or worse levels in 2021.

MAIN DRIVERS FOR FOOD INSECURITY 

Conflict:

• Conflict forced 139 million people in 24 countries/territories into acute food insecurity.
• This is an increase from 99 million in 23 countries/territories in 2020.

Weather Extremes:

• It forced over 23 million people in eight countries/territories into acute food insecurity, up from 15.7 million in 15 countries/territories in 2020.

Economic Shocks:

• Over 30 million people in 21 countries/territories suffered acute food insecurity in 2021 due to economic shocks, down from over 40 million people in 17 countries/territories in 2020.

SUGGESTIONS

Need for an Integrated Approach:

• There is a need to have an integrated approach to prevention, anticipation, and better targeting to sustainably address the root causes of food crises, including structural rural poverty, marginalization, population growth and fragile food systems.

Need to Prioritize Smallholder Agriculture:

• The report demonstrated the need for greater prioritization of smallholder agriculture as a frontline humanitarian response, to overcome access constraints and as a solution for reverting negative long-term trends.

Strengthening a Coordinated Approach:

• The need is to strengthen a coordinated approach to ensure that humanitarian, development and peacekeeping activities are delivered in a holistic and coordinated manner.

IMPACT OF RUSSIA UKRAINE CONFLICT ON INDIA’S AGRI SECTOR

POSITIVE IMPACTS

• The economic sanctions on Russia by the West provides India with a chance to fill the void with Indian goods and commodities and serve as a blessing in disguise.
• Indian wheat can be sold at a highly competitive price in the global market. Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Syria and Tunisia have been major buyers of wheat from Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine meet about one-third of global demand. The Russian attack has halted these exports, so these countries are likely to go for Indian wheat instead.
• Another agricultural commodity which saw the impact of the conflict is maize, which Ukraine is the third-largest exporter. The country accounts for about 3% of the global maize production and around 13% of global exports. As exports from Ukraine decline, Indian maize will be able to take advantage.

NEGATIVE IMPACTS

• The major threat to our food prices and security comes from chemical fertiliser shortages. Russia is the second-largest producer of potash, which is used in the production of Di-ammonium phosphate (DAP). Now DAP is critical for chemical/industrial agriculture and without it farmers may experience poor yields and many times no germination.DAP prices have been sky-high. India has also experienced a shortage right before the rabi sowing season.
• A lack of availability of potash and NPK (majorly sourced from Russia and Ukraine) would lead to a significant increase in input costs and ultimately result in higher food prices for customers.
• Sunflower oils (90 % of which are sourced from Russia and Ukraine) present a serious case, especially for heart-conscious ones. Indian frying pans may miss this precious oil, and with no healthier alternatives, prices are already up and shipping companies are charging higher insurance premiums for freight consignments from the Black Sea. This will have a direct impact on edible oil prices. Adding to our troubles is India’s growing demand of cooking oils.
• The war between Russia and Ukraine can adversely affect the Indian tea industry as Russia is one of the biggest importers of Indian tea. It is not only due to the blockage of shipments but also due to economic sanctions which leads to payment crises

THE ANALYSIS OF THE ISSUE

• Ukraine and Russia mainly export staples to developing countries that are most vulnerable to cost hikes and shortages. Countries like Somalia, Libya, Lebanon, Egypt and Sudan are heavily reliant on wheat, corn and sunflower oil from the two warring nations. The burden is being shouldered by the very poor and marginalised. There is a humanitarian crisis which needs to be addressed at the earliest.
• Besides the threat of hunger, spiralling food prices risk political instability in many countries. Rising food prices were one of the causes of the Arab Spring, and there are worries that history may repeat itself in other parts of the world.
• Starvation and famine are stalking parts of Africa. Prices for staples like wheat and cooking oil in some cases are more than doubling, while millions of livestock that families use for milk and meat have died. In Sudan and Yemen, the Russia-Ukraine conflict aggravated the crises on top of domestic crises.
• United Nations has been trying to secure an agreement to unblock Russian exports of grain and fertilizer and allow Ukraine to ship commodities from the key port of Odesa. But progress has been slow.A vast amount of grain is stuck in Ukrainian silos or on farms in the meantime. And there’s more coming, Ukraine’s harvest of winter wheat is getting underway soon, putting more stress on storage facilities even as some fields are likely to go unharvested because of the fighting.
• The increases are fueling faster inflation worldwide, making groceries more expensive. Some countries are reacting by trying to protect domestic supplies. India has restricted sugar and wheat exports, while Malaysia halted exports of live chickens, alarming Singapore, which gets a third of its poultry from its neighbour.

THE WAY FORWARD:

• The only practical solution to take Ukrainian grains to the global markets is to open the Black Sea routes. Further, to ease the pressure on global food items, Russia will also have to step up exports of both grains and fertilizers. For this, it is imperative to stop war at the earliest. The countries must also try to import from alternative suppliers until a peace agreement is reached between Russia and Western nations. For instance, Egypt recently made a deal with India to help replace some of the 80% of its wheat imports which come from Russia and Ukraine.
• The war in Ukraine has laid bare for all to see the fragility of the dominant global food system based on highly specialized industrial production methods, transnational supply chains, and excessive concentration. Countries that rely on imports from Russia and Ukraine must find alternative sources of food imports and diversify their food sources. It’s imperative that grain exporting countries refrain from the temptation to impose export restrictions, which could further drive up food prices.
• In the longer term, more resilient food systems will require countries to sustainably strengthen and diversify their domestic food production. This means investing in improving domestic food production capacity to reduce excessive reliance on imports. It also means investing in infrastructure for local food markets, and support for more sustainable forms of agriculture such as agroecology that absorb carbon and rely less on chemical fertilizers.

THE CONCLUSION: A long-drawn conflict between Russia and Ukraine would not only disrupt global agricultural supply chains and trade but also worsen the current economic woes caused as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the global surge in inflation levels. Against this backdrop, it is crucial that India take adequate steps to reduce the impact of the conflict in Ukraine on its agricultural sector, including by seeking additional import options and tapping into export markets.The only practical solution to take Ukrainian grains to the global markets is to open the Black Sea routes. And to ease the pressure on global food items, Russia will also have to step up exports of both grains and fertilizers.

Mains Practice Questions:

1. Evaluate the impact of the Russia – Ukraine war on global food security.
2. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has been a boon as well as a bane for the Indian agriculture sector. Elucidate.

[WpProQuiz 299]

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

1. EXPLAINED: FED RESERVE RATE HIKE, US RECESSION AND IMPACT ON INDIA

THE CONTEXT: In its continuing bid to cool down raging inflation in the United States — at 9.1% in June, the inflation rate is at a four-decade high — the Federal Reserve or Fed (US’ central bank) decided to raise the Federal Funds Rate target by another 75 basis points. The Fed has steadily pushed up the targeted FFR from zero to almost 2.5% now.
THE EXPLANATION:
What is the Federal Funds Rate (FFR)?
• The FFR is the interest rate at which commercial banks in the US borrow from each other overnight. The US Fed can’t directly specify the FFR but it tries to “target” the rate by controlling the money supply.
• As such, when the Fed wants to raise the prevailing interest rates in the US economy, it reduces the money supply, thus forcing every lender in the economy to charge higher interest rates. The process starts
• with commercial banks charging higher to lend to each other for overnight loans.

Why is the Fed tightening money supply?
This is called monetary tightening, and the Fed (or any other central bank, for that matter) resorts to it when it wants to rein in inflation in the economy. By decreasing the amount of money, as well as raising its price (the interest rate), the Fed hopes to dent the overall demand in the economy. Reduced demand for goods and services is expected to bring down inflation.
What are the risks of monetary tightening?
Aggressive monetary tightening — like the one currently underway in the US — involves large increases in the interest rates in a relatively short period of time, and it runs the risk of creating a recession. This is called a hard-landing of the economy as against a soft landing (which essentially refers to monetary tightening not leading to a recession). The chances of a soft-landing for the US exist but are extremely low.
What is a recession?
The most common definition of recession requires the GDP of a country to contract in two successive quarters. Contracting GDP typically results in job losses, reduced incomes, and reduced consumption.
So, is the US in recession?
A firm answer may be available as early as 6 pm India time, when the US announces the GDP growth data for the second quarter (April, May and June) of 2022. Since the US GDP has already contracted by 1.6% during the first quarter (January, February and March) of 2022, a contraction in the second quarter will imply the US is in recession

However, many observers also contest this rather strict technical definition of recession.
What is the likely impact on India?
• In the latest — July update of the — World Economic Outlook, the IMF has downgraded the growth projections for the US, China and India. “Downgrades for China and the United States, as well as for India, are driving the downward revisions to global growth during 2022–23, which reflect the materialization of downside risks highlighted in the April 2022 World Economic Outlook”.
• A global slowdown is unlikely to have any positives for India apart from some relief in crude oil prices.
• The IMF has knocked off almost a full percentage point each (0.8%, to be precise) off India’s GDP projections for the current year and the next.
• Also, IMF noted that, for India, the revision reflects mainly less favorable external conditions and more rapid policy tightening”.

2. TREND ON FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT (FDI) IN INDIA

THE CONTEXT: Singapore (27.01%) and USA (17.94%) have emerged as top 2 sourcing nations in FDI equity flows into India in FY 2021-22 followed by Mauritius (15.98%), Netherland (7.86%) and Switzerland (7.31%). It may be noted that as per the UNCTAD World Investment Report (WIR) 2022, in its analysis of the global trends in FDI inflows, India has improved one position to 7th rank among the top 20 host economies for 2021.
THE EXPLANATION:
• India is rapidly emerging as a preferred country for foreign investments in the manufacturing sector. FDI Equity inflow in Manufacturing Sectors have increased by 76% in FY 2021-22 (USD 21.34 billion) compared to previous FY 2020-21 (USD 12.09 billion).
• The Government has implemented several transformative reforms under the FDI policy regime across sectors such as insurance, defence, telecom, financial services, pharmaceuticals, retail trading, e-commerce, construction & development, civil aviation, manufacturing etc.
• Despite the ongoing pandemic and global developments, India received the highest annual FDI inflows of USD 84,835 million in FY 21-22 overtaking last year’s FDI by USD 2.87 billion. Earlier, FDI inflows increased from USD 74,391 million in FY 19-20 to USD 81,973 million in FY 20-21.
• Top 5 sectors receiving highest FDI Equity Inflow during FY 2021-22 are Computer Software & Hardware (24.60%), Services Sector (Fin., Banking, Insurance, Non Fin/Business, Outsourcing, R&D, Courier, Tech. Testing and Analysis, Other) (12.13%), Automobile Industry (11.89%), Trading 7.72% and Construction (Infrastructure) Activities (5.52%).
• Top 5 States receiving highest FDI Equity Inflow during FY 2021-22 are Karnataka (37.55%), Maharashtra (26.26%), Delhi (13.93%), Tamil Nadu (5.10%) and Haryana (4.76%)
• Top 5 sectors receiving highest FDI Equity Inflow during FY 2021-22 are Computer Software & Hardware (24.60%), Services Sector (Fin., Banking, Insurance, Non Fin/Business, Outsourcing, R&D, Courier, Tech. Testing and Analysis, Other) (12.13%), Automobile Industry (11.89%), Trading 7.72% and Construction (Infrastructure) Activities (5.52%).

THROUGH AUTOMATIC ROUTE
• In India FDI up to 100% is allowed in non-critical sectors through the automatic route, not requiring security clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Prior government approval or security clearance from MHA is required for investments in sensitive sectors such as defence, media, telecommunication, satellites, private security agencies, civil aviation and mining, besides any investment from Pakistan and Bangladesh.
• All foreign investments are required to be in compliance with the applicable entry route, sectoral cap, attendant conditions, sectoral laws, Companies Act, 2013 and rules thereunder, pricing guidelines, documentation and reporting requirements.

THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

3. NEW RESEARCH: TWO STUDIES REINFORCE COVID-19’S WUHAN MARKET ORIGIN

THE CONTEXT: Recently, two companion papers published in Science magazine indicate that the Covid-19 pandemic “most likely began with at least two separate zoonotic transmissions starting in November 2019”, and that SARS-CoV-2 emerged via the live wildlife trade in China, with the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan being the likely early epicentre of the pandemic.
THE EXPLANATION:
• The lead authors of both studies are affiliated to American universities — the University of Arizona and the University of California San Diego — and the research has been primarily funded by the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH). One of the papers also received funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the US national public health agency.
• The paper titled ‘The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan was the early epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic’ (Worobey et al.), mapped geo locations of 155 of the initial 174 cases, and found that that the clustering in December around the Huanan market contrasts with the pattern of widely dispersed cases across Wuhan by early January through mid-February 2020 — indicating that the cases flowed outward from the market to elsewhere.
• The second paper, ‘The molecular epidemiology of multiple zoonotic origins of SARS-CoV-2’ (Pekar et al.), through simulations of SARS-CoV-2-like epidemics combined with genomic sequence data, concludes that “as with other coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2’s emergence likely resulted from multiple zoonotic events” (the spread of germs from animals to humans).

Related findings
• The molecular epidemiology paper argues that the paradox of genomic diversity in the early days (before February 2020) is best explained by rejecting a single-introduction origin of the pandemic from one lineage, and instead considering that “at least two separate zoonotic transmissions, in which lineage A and B progenitor viruses were both circulating in non-human mammals prior to their introduction into humans,” occurred.
• The companion paper on the Huanan market epicentre notes that “plausible intermediate wildlife hosts of SARS-CoV-2 progenitor viruses, including red foxes, hog badgers and common raccoon dogs, were sold live at the…market up until at least November of 2019”.
• Through spatial analyses within the market, the research records that “SARS-CoV-2-positive environmental samples, including cages, carts, and freezers, were associated with activities concentrated in the southwest corner of the market” — the same section where live mammals, including raccoon dogs, hog badgers, and red foxes, were being sold immediately prior to the outbreak of the epidemic.

The study took “multiple positive samples” from a stall known to have sold live mammals, and from a water drain close by, suggesting that infected animals were present at the market at the beginning of the outbreak.
Unanswered questions
• The Huanan market paper acknowledges that a crucial question that remains unanswered is the events upstream of the market — that is, prior to the transmission from the market. The exact circumstances at the market too remain obscure, and direct evidence of an intermediate animal infected with SARS-CoV-2 either at the market or at a location connected with the supply chain, remains missing.
• The authors acknowledge that precise latitude and longitude coordinates of all cases were not available, with many such cases missing the date of onset of symptoms as well. Of the 174 Covid-19 cases in Hubei province in December 2019, geolocations of 155 cases could be reliably extracted.
• One of the papers hypothesizes that the possible source of introduction of lineage B was a seafood vendor at the market, even though there is no published genomic data from the sample of this patient. The assumption is based on the fact that an environmental sample from the stall this vendor operated was detected with lineage B.

THE SECURITY AFFAIRS

4.WHAT IS CRYPTOJACKING, THE CYBER ATTACK CARRIED OUT BY CRYPTO MINERS?

THE CONTEXT: According to a report by SonicWall, a US-based cybersecurity firm, ‘Cryptojacking’ attacks on computer systems have gone up by 30% to 66.7 million in the first half of 2022 compared to the first half of last year (2022).
THE EXPLANATION:
The report highlighted While volume increases were widespread, some business sectors were hit harder than others, such as the finance industry, which saw a rise of 269%”.
What is cryptojacking?
Cryptojacking is a cyber attack wherein a computing device is hijacked and controlled by the attacker, and its resources are used to illicitly mine cryptocurrency. In most cases, the malicious programme is installed when the user clicks on an unsafe link, or visits an infected website — and unknowingly provides access to their Internet-connected device.
Why is cryptojacking done?
• Coin mining is a legitimate, competitive process used to release new crypto coins into circulation or to verify new transactions. It involves solving complex computational problems to generate blocks of verified transactions that get added to the blockchain. The reward for the first miner who successfully manages to update the crypto ledger through this route is crypto coins.
• But the race to crack this 64-digit hexadecimal number code needs considerable computing power involving state-of-the-art hardware, and electrical power to keep the systems involved up and running.
• Cryptojackers co-opt devices, servers, and cloud infrastructure, and use their resources for mining. The use of ‘stolen’ or cryptojacked resources slashes the cost involved in mining.

Why have cryptojacking incidents gone up?
• According to the SonicWall’s Cyber Threat Report, the crackdown on ransomware attacks is forcing cybercriminals to look for alternative methods. Cryptojacking involves “lower risk”, and promises “potentially higher payday”.
• “Unlike ransomware, which announces its presence and relies heavily on communication with victims, cryptojacking can succeed without the victim ever being aware of it”.

Why should this be a concern?

• Cryptojacking is hard to detect and the victims of these attacks mostly remain unaware that their systems have been compromised. Some telltale signs are the device slowing down, heating up, or the battery getting drained faster than usual.
• Apart from individuals, businesses too are on the target list of cryptojackers. According to the report, cryptojacking incidents targeting the retail industry rose by 63% year-to-date, while similar attacks on the financial industry skyrocketed 269%.
“The primary impact of cryptojacking is performance-related, though it can also increase costs for the individuals and businesses affected because coin mining uses high levels of electricity and computing power,” says the Interpol.

VALUE ADDITION:
Government initiatives to strengthen Cyber Security in India
• CERT-In (Cyber Emergency Response Team – India) – It was created by Section 70B of the IT Act. It is the national nodal agency to respond against computer security threats as and when required.
• National Cyber Security Coordination Centre (NCCC): The NCCC is mandated to perform real-time threat assessment. Further, they also create situational awareness of potential cyber threats to the country. It was made operational in 2017.
• Information Technology Act (IT) 2000 – It is the primary law for dealing with cyber-crime and digital commerce in India.
 The act covers a broad range of offences including child pornography, cyber terrorism etc.
 Section 75 of the Act empowers the government to punish people located outside India who is accused of the offence.

THE PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

5. REVISION SERIES: SAMUDRAYAAN MISSION

• Samudrayaan Mission is aimed to develop a self propelled manned submersible to carry 3 human beings to a water depth of 6000 meters in the ocean with a suite of scientific sensors and tools for deep ocean exploration. It has an endurance of 12 hours of operational period and 96 hours in case of emergency.
• The manned submersible will allow scientific personnel to observe and understand unexplored deep sea areas by direct interventions. Further, it will enhance the capability for deep sea man rated vehicle development.
• The projected timeline is five years for the period 2020-2021 to 2025-2026.
• National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai, an autonomous institute under MoES, has developed 6000 m depth rated Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and various other underwater instruments such as Autonomous Coring System (ACS), Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) and Deep Sea Mining System (DSM) for the exploration of deep sea.

VALUE ADDITION:
Deep Ocean Mission:
The Samudrayaan project is a part of the deep-sea ocean mission under MoES approved in 2021.
• It is India’s first unique manned ocean mission that aims to send men into the deep sea in a submersible vehicle for deep-sea ocean exploration and mining of rare minerals.
• Resources such as polymetallic manganese nodules, Gas hydrates, hydrothermal sulfides, and cobalt crusts will be explored which are usually located at a depth between 1000 to 5500 meters.
• The project is undertaken by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), under MoES.
• India has been allocated a site of 75,000 sq km in the Central Indian Ocean Basin by the International Sea Bed Authority (ISA) for the exploration of polymetallic nodules from the seabed in a 15-year contract.
• The estimated resource potential of polymetallic nodules is 380 million tonnes through preliminary studies.
• Major components in these nodules are manganese, nickel, copper, and cobalt.

The six components of the mission are-
1. Development of technologies for deep-sea mining and manned submersible.
2. Development of ocean climate change advisory services.
3. Technological innovations for sustainable use of marine bio-resources.
4. Deep ocean survey and exploration
5. Energy production from the ocean and offshore based desalination
6. Advanced marine station for ocean biology.

6. WORLD HEPATITIS DAY 2022

THE CONTEXT: On July 28, World Hepatitis Day is celebrated across the World, annually. The day seeks to raise awareness on the Hepatitis, which cause deaths of around 125 000 people in Africa every year, even though the disease can be cured.

THE EXPLANATION:
Theme of the World Hepatitis Day 2022:
• In year 2022, the World Hepatitis Day is being celebrated under the theme- “Bringing hepatitis care closer to you”.
• This theme is aimed at highlighting the usefulness of bringing hepatitis care closer to primary health care facilities and communities.
• It also seeks to ensure better access to treatment and care.
About Hepatitis:
• It is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals show no symptoms of hepatitis. On the other hand, others people develop yellow discoloration of skin and whites of the eyes, vomiting, poor appetite, abdominal pain, tiredness, and diarrhoea. The disease is acute, if it is treated within six months.
• It can be turned chronic, if it lasts more than six months. Acute hepatitis can be treated on its own, while chronic hepatitis causes failure of liver. Chronic hepatitis can lead to liver cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure.
Hepatitis case burden in WHO African Region:
• In Africa, over 90 million people are living with hepatitis. It accounts for 26% of total cases worldwide. The disease goes undetected mostly, because of absence of any symptoms. As per WHO, prevalence of Hepatitis B in around S8% of the total populations across 19 countries.
• Hepatitis C is prevalent among 1% population across 18 countries. Transmission of Hepatitis B from mother to child is high.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Q. Consider the following statements with respect to Deep Ocean Mission:
1. The Samudrayaan project is a part of the deep-sea ocean mission.
2. It was implemented by the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

Which of the above statements is/are incorrect?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2

ANSWER FOR THE PRACTICE QUESTION

ANSWER: D
Explanation:
Deep Ocean Mission:
The Samudrayaan project is a part of the deep-sea ocean mission under MoES approved in 2021.
• It is India’s first unique manned ocean mission that aims to send men into the deep sea in a submersible vehicle for deep-sea ocean exploration and mining of rare minerals.
• Resources such as polymetallic manganese nodules, Gas hydrates, hydrothermal sulfides, and cobalt crusts will be explored which are usually located at a depth between 1000 to 5500 meters.
• The project is undertaken by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), under MoES.

1. Lessons from the Burkapal acquittal: The case raises questions about the investigation skills of the local police and the impact of police action READ MORE
2. Envisage immortality in the mortal world READ MORE
3. Four objectives of education READ MORE

1. Birth versus worth: Impact of the caste system on entrepreneurship in India READ MORE
2. Get serious about ‘one health’: Prioritise investments to strengthen human & animal health infrastructure READ MORE
3. MTP Act: Does it enable choice for women? READ MORE

1. Big polluters must reset their climate goals READ MORE
2. Severe heatwave in Mediterranean Sea for 70 days, mass mortalities in marine life expected READ MORE

1. Keeping the ED impartial, apolitical READ MORE
2. Data is critical for democracy READ MORE
3. Surge in ED raids: Financial probe agency’s credibility is at stake READ MORE
4. Control population in noncoercive way READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Thousands of villages set to get 4G coverage READ MORE
2. initiates work on consumer spending survey READ MORE
3. Supreme Court upholds powers of arrest, raids, seizure under PMLA READ MORE
4. Explained: Lion’s future, cheetah’s past READ MORE
5. Kerala to exclude human settlements from 1-km eco zone of forests READ MORE
6. Lok Sabha passes Bill to create statutory framework for doping watchdog READ MORE
7. Glaciers Vanishing at Record Rate in Alps Following Heatwaves READ MORE
8. Hepatitis in children: Scientists have found a possible cause for the mystery outbreak READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. Birth versus worth: Impact of the caste system on entrepreneurship in India READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Keeping the ED impartial, apolitical READ MORE
2. Data is critical for democracy READ MORE
3. Surge in ED raids: Financial probe agency’s credibility is at stake READ MORE
4. Control population in noncoercive way READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Get serious about ‘one health’: Prioritise investments to strengthen human & animal health infrastructure READ MORE
2. MTP Act: Does it enable choice for women? READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. The message for Biden — West Asia has moved on: The U.S. President’s visit could serve his domestic interests to some extent, but it has made no difference to the region READ MORE
2. CPEC and ‘third parties’: India must make efforts to apprise world of its concerns READ MORE

 GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. The poor state of India’s fiscal federalism: Concerns of the founding fathers — addressing socio-economic inequities — are being forgotten in today’s fiscal policy READ MORE
2. From freebies to welfare READ MORE
3. The road to India’s $5 trillion economy READ MORE
4. Black Sea deal to ease global food challenge READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Big polluters must reset their climate goals READ MORE
2. Severe heatwave in Mediterranean Sea for 70 days, mass mortalities in marine life expected READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Lessons from the Burkapal acquittal: The case raises questions about the investigation skills of the local police and the impact of police action READ MORE
2. Envisage immortality in the mortal world READ MORE
3. Four objectives of education READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. ‘India’s fiscal federalism driven by political centralisation has deepened socio-economic inequality, belying the dreams of the founding fathers who saw a cure for such inequities in planning’. Critically examine.
2. ‘Freebies lower the quality and competitiveness of the manufacturing sector by detracting from efficient and competitive infrastructure.’ In the light of the statement, discuss whether of the culture of freebies should be stopped? Justify your view.
3. ‘In a country with low per capita income, public health must be treated as a crucial public good’. Comment.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• The groundwork for all happiness is good health.
• The case raises questions about the investigation skills of the local police and the impact of police action.
• Concerns of the founding fathers — addressing socio-economic inequities — are being forgotten in today’s fiscal policy.
• India’s fiscal federalism driven by political centralisation has deepened socio-economic inequality, belying the dreams of the founding fathers who saw a cure for such inequities in planning.
• Biden’s vision of a West Asia beholden to the U.S. for its security is obsolete.
• Freebies lower the quality and competitiveness of the manufacturing sector by detracting from efficient and competitive infrastructure.
• Public health must be treated as a crucial public good in a country with low per capita income.
• To ensure that ED and money-laundering probes remain apolitical and impartial, India needs strong political will and an inter-party consensus, both of which seem elusive today.

ESSAY TOPIC

• The groundwork for all happiness is good health.

50 WORD TALK

• There has been rise in food and fuel prices, as well as supply chain issues, as the mountains of grain stocks remained stuck in silos. It shows the enormous cost of allowing the conflict to rage on, supplying arms to Ukraine, and using the sanctions to isolate Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council. As rival egos took centre stage and crippling sanctions and geopolitics took priority in place of peace, the world has paid a heavy price.

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 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 298]

THE CONTEXT: On 29 May 2022, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (‘RLD’) organised a social justice conference that marked the 35th death anniversary of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh. During the conference, the demand was made for an Equality Commission by various political parties present at the conference. At present, there is no comprehensive anti-discrimination law covering the entire country. The constitutional provisions generally view discrimination from a state-citizen perspective. But this approach does not take into account the discriminatory actions of private individuals. This article analyses the merits of such an inclusive body.

HISTORY OF EQUALITY COMMISSION DEMANDS IN INDIA

SACHAR COMMITTEE REPORT

• In 2005, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh constituted a High-Level Committee to prepare a report on the social, economic, and educational status of the Muslim community of India.
• The seven-member committee was chaired by former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, Justice Rajinder Sachar, and it submitted its final report in November 2006.
• In its observations on the ‘development deficit’ among Muslims, the Sachar Committee Report recommended the setting up of an Equal Opportunity Commission (‘EOC’) to “look into grievances of all deprived groups”.

MENON COMMITTEE REPORT

• In 2008, an expert group, headed by a civil servant, lawyer and legal educator Prof. N.R. Madhava Menon was set up by the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs to implement the EOC model, including developing a legislative framework.
• The Menon Committee Report recommended the structure, scope, and functions of the proposed EOC, and advised on an appropriate legislative foundation for its implementation.
• It proposed an Equal Opportunity Commission Bill, 2008 to constitute an EOC.
• The Bill aimed to address discrimination or any distinction, exclusion, or restriction made on the basis of sex, caste, language, religion, descent, place of birth, residence, disability, descent, place of birth, residence, race, or any other unjustified criteria.
• The EOC, as conceptualised by the Sachar Committee and developed into an implementation model by the Menon Committee, represented a Commission to supplement reservations.

Ø  Reservations or ‘removal of disabilities’, as the Menon Committee Report observed, do not warrant equality of opportunities. Hence, the EOC was meant for the deprived groups to access their rights and entitlements, and to address inter-group inequalities, as a move beyond the existing policies on reservations.

Ø  The Equal Opportunity Commission Bill, 2008, as prepared by the Menon Committee, was approved by the Union Cabinet in February 2014, with the mandate of ensuring no minority community (restricting its ambit from a broader ‘deprived groups’) is discriminated on grounds of religion and redressing complaints therewith. However, the bill has been ignored since then.

RATIONALE BEHIND THE DEMANDS OF EQUALITY COMMISSION

• Though Equality is a foundational value of our Republic, stark inequalities mark our present social reality and prospects for the future generations. Inter-group inequalities often coincide with boundaries of communities and are becoming more visible than before which suggests that there is an urgent need to address these inequalities and supplement the existing policies of reservations by fine tuning the definition of the beneficiaries, expanding the range of modalities and evolving a forward looking and integral approach to affirmative action and for this reason we need an Equal Opportunity Commission. The setting up of an Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC), sooner than later, will be a significant step towards fulfilling the Constitutional promise of equality in its different dimensions.
• Existing modalities for dealing with problems of unequal opportunity, disproportionate deprivation and various forms of discrimination are in urgent need of rethinking for three main reasons:
• our methods of diagnosing the problem need to become more sophisticated;
• the range of proposed solutions needs to be expanded; and
• an integrated, forward looking strategy needs to be formulated for tackling the many different kinds of problems associated with inequality of opportunity in a systematic and phased manner.

 MANDATE OF EQUALITY COMMISSION

• In defining the scope of the proposed EOC there is a need to balance two kinds of considerations.
• On the one hand the very idea of an Equal Opportunity Commission demands that the commission should be able to address and redress any and every form of inequality of opportunity, cutting across domains, groups and sectors.
• On the other hand, care has to be taken to ensure that the new Commission does not duplicate the work already being done by pre-existing commissions and is not overwhelmed by the number of cases that it has to address. Hence it is imperative that the jurisdiction of the EOC should be wide-ranging in terms of the sectors and social groups, but it should be delimited in terms of the domains as well as the nature of complaints that it can take up.
• The opportunity offered by the setting up of the EOC must not be restricted only to SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities, persons with disabilities or to any other set of pre-defined groups. The EOC should in principle be open to any person who feels disadvantaged, deprived or discriminated against on grounds of belonging to any social group. Thus the jurisdiction of the Commission should extend to all “deprived groups” who have been denied or who claim to have been denied equal opportunities.

 EQUALITY COMMISSION IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBALISATION

• The rapid growth of global markets has not seen the parallel development of social and economic institutions to ensure balanced, inclusive and sustainable growth.
• For many, globalisation — the intensified cross-border exchange of goods, services, capital, technology, ideas, information, legal systems, and people — is both desirable and irreversible, having underwritten a rising standard of living throughout the world. Others recoil from globalisation as they feel it is the soft underbelly of corporate imperialism that plunders and profiteers on the back of rampant consumerism.
• There is a growing divergence in income levels between countries and peoples, with widening inequality among and within nations. Assets and incomes are more concentrated. Wage shares have fallen. Profit shares have risen. Capital mobility alongside labour immobility has also reduced the bargaining power of marginalised in many ways hence, it becomes imperative to have an Equality Commission to arrest the dark side of the globalisation.
• Globalisation has also let loose the forces of “uncivil society” and accelerated the transnational flows of terrorism, human and drug trafficking, organised crime, piracy, and pandemic diseases as we have already seen the plight of migrant labours (loss of livelihood), other marginalised sections (health, education, sanitation etc).

IDEA OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AND POLITICS

• Relevance of equal opportunity rests on two foundations.
• First, it rests on a semantic foundation. The rise of the concept of equal opportunity is accompanied by the fall of the idea of equal outcome, an idea that was strongly associated with the traditional welfare state that tried to create social equality through compensation. In contrast to equal outcome, equal opportunity presupposes that value is only produced to the extent that individuals actively pursue their opportunities.
• Second, it also rests on a social-structural foundation. At least since the 1970s, the political systems of Western welfare states had to find new solutions in the face of an ever-growing social pressure wherein the claims to welfare resources from social groups that had succeeded in being defined as “underprivileged” or even “marginalised” have grown. In all cases, such claims were justified by drawing on the value of social equality.
• In India also such demands for equality commission can be seen in the light of the growing pressure from all sections of the society on the government to adhere in letter and spirit to the constitutional ideals of equality and justice.

WHAT IS AN ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAW?

Discrimination means unfair treatment due to a person’s race, caste, religion, gender or other identity markers.  Thus, an anti-discrimination law or non-discrimination law or equality law (here and after “law”) means legislation aimed at preventing discrimination against people based on their personal characteristics. The pith and substance of these laws are twofold.

• One is the vesting of the right against discrimination on the basis of protected characteristics such as race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender, among others.
• The second is the imposition of civil liabilities on persons for engaging in unlawful discrimination.

Such laws concretise or give substance to the notion of equality mentioned in the Constitution without which the rights given therein will remain a myth.

Ø  Thus, the philosophy of the law is to bring an egalitarian society in its widest sense and purpose of the term by establishing a comprehensive anti-discriminatory legal-institutional ecosystem.

NEED FOR AN EQUALITY COMMISSION IN INDIA

STRUCTURAL DISCRIMINATION 

• More than 70 years after Independence, our society remains rife with structural discrimination. These prejudices pervade every aspect of life, from access to basic goods, education and employment etc.
• Cases of discrimination continue to be witnessed. They are frequently directed against Dalits, Muslims, Women, Persons of different sexual orientations, ‘Hijras’, persons with disabilities, persons from the North-Eastern States, unmarried couples and non-vegetarians, among others.
• Mob lynching, hate speech, communal polarization, etc are the results of such discriminatory practices.
• Today there are multiple sources of discrimination that go beyond what is provided in the Constitution.

DISCRIMINATION BY INDIVIDUALS

• The Right to Equality under the Constitution prevents the state from discriminating against persons on various grounds. But it is silent on the discrimination practised by private individuals and organisation although Art 15(2) and 17 deal with this aspect but their enforceability and effectiveness has been poor (Art 15 (2) prohibits discrimination on religion, race, caste etc from accessing shops, hotels, places of public entertainment, wells, tanks etc.)
• There is no legal recourse in India if citizens have been discriminated against by private entities such as service providers, landlords, housing societies, employers, educational institutions, retailers etc.
• The law would provide the right direction towards positive duties of every organisation to make such policies, which make diversification and anti-discrimination mandatory.

GROWING PUBLIC DEMAND

• Beginning from the Sachar committee’s recommendation for such a law, there have been a few efforts in recent times. Shashi Tharoor introduced a private member’s bill in 2017, while the Centre for Law & Policy Research drafted and released an Equality Bill in 2019.
• In mid-2021, many state governments brought draft anti-discriminatory bills to deal with the problems of discrimination faced by people.
• Most recently in May 2022, a Social Justice Conference organised to mark the 35th death anniversary of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh attended by various political parties also made demands for an Equality Commission.
• These attempts recognise that our civil liberties are just as capable of being threatened by acts of private individuals as they are by the state.

EXISTING LAWS ARE NOT ENOUGH 

• The existing laws cover only the major areas of discrimination, like untouchability, sexual harassment at the workplace etc.
• The questions of many vulnerable groups remain unanswered. For example, why are some minorities or homosexuals not taken as workers by private landowners? Why does a discriminatory mindset exist regarding someone’s marital status, disability, sexuality, or food habits?

JUDICIAL LIMITATIONS

• Since only the High Courts and the Supreme Court have the power to address violations of constitutional rights, approaching these courts for every instance of discrimination is hardly a feasible choice. Moreover, the judiciary continues to be overburdened with a considerable backlog of cases.
• Thus, local enforcement mechanisms, in the form of equality commissions, fit the bill.

EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE 

• We encounter so many situations every day where someone is refused accommodation because he is a Dalit, a Muslim or a Homosexual. NGOs, housing societies, schools, colleges, hospitals, no such institution is completely free from this evil. Even sports are not immune from this problem as a famous Indian cricketer pointed out how players from the south faced racial discrimination while playing in the north.
• During the Covid 19, Sex workers and healthcare workers have been facing stigma and harassment for being carriers of the virus. In Pune, 22 members of staff of a multi-speciality hospital were forced to vacate their accommodation as they had treated a Covid-19-positive and were thought to be infected. Nurses working at Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru were evicted from their paying guest accommodations based on the perception that they are infected with the coronavirus.

HUMAN RIGHTS AND SDGS

• The UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review of India in 2017 has commended that India needs to strengthen its national framework to reduce all kinds of discrimination and promote and protect the human rights of all its citizens in an inclusive manner, to fulfil the Sustainable Development Goal 10 of reducing inequality and discrimination.

GLOBAL EXAMPLES

SOUTH AFRICA 

• In South Africa, for example, a constitutional guarantee is augmented by an all-encompassing law that prohibits unfair discrimination not only by the government but also by private organisations and individuals. India is unique among democracies in that a constitutional right to equality is not supported by comprehensive legislation.

GREAT BRITAIN ( ENGLAND, SCOTLAND AND WALES)

• The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is Great Britain’s national equality body. As a statutory non-departmental public body established by the Equality Act 2006, the Commission operates independently. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) monitors human rights, protecting equality across 9 grounds – age, disability, sex, race, religion and belief, pregnancy and maternity, marriage and civil partnership, sexual orientation and gender reassignment.

USA 

• The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person’s race, colour, religion, sex (including pregnancy, transgender status, and sexual orientation), national origin, age. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a bipartisan Commission comprised of five presidentially appointed members.
• It enforces the “Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation Act (No FEAR) 2002” which aims to ensure that all Federal employees feel free to come forward with allegations of discrimination, wrongdoing, or misconduct, by making sure that Federal employees are aware of their rights.
• This law aims to increase the accountability of federal agencies for acts of discrimination and reprisal. This protection covers the full spectrum of employment decisions, including recruitment, selections, terminations, and other decisions concerning terms and conditions of employment.
• The EEOC also enforces the Civil Rights Act 1964, the Equal Pay Act, and The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, among others.

GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO DEMANDS OF EQUALITY COMMISSION

• Even after the recommendations given by the Sachar Committee Report (2006) and Menon Committee Report (2008), the then government did not expedite the legislative process of enacting an anti-discrimination law.
• The Union Cabinet belatedly approved setting up an Equal Opportunity Commission in February 2014. However, a few weeks later with the change in Government post the Lok Sabha elections, the Bill was more or less ignored.
• The Private Member Bill of Dr Tharoor (2016) also lapsed after the dissolution of the 16th Lok Sabha.
• The proposed Kerala Anti-Discrimination and Equality Bill, 2021 is a great step in the right direction and can be a textbook example to learn for other states.

THE ANALYSIS:

1. Commissions like the National Commissions for Women, Minorities, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes, among others, exist to deal with and handle thousands of cases of discrimination each year. Notably, these individual commissions focus on protecting the rights of specific communities against specific discrimination. The National Commission for Women, for instance, deals with issues like cybercrime, dowry deaths, police apathy, gender discrimination in education and work, and other forms of discrimination against women. While these Commissions handle complaints against inequalities, they do not provide an umbrella view of the discrimination witnessed in the country. Each of the Commissions operates with a different understanding of the term ‘discrimination’.
2. While various committees existed to protect separate rights of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and minorities, it is also felt that there is a need for an Equality Commission to enable the communities to unite. An entity like the Equality Commission, which is based on multiple identities and discrimination, can benefit from the complaints handled by the other Commissions. An Equality Commission can pose as a comprehensive mechanism that covers all forms of discrimination, as opposed to commissions that focus on caste, religion, or sex alone. However, it is imperative that the shortcomings of the proposed EOC under the Menon Commission be addressed so that the functions of an Equality Commission do not overlap with the already existing Commissions dealing with varied forms of discrimination.

THE WAY FORWARD:

1. Leadership by states: State legislations are contributing to the discourse on anti-discrimination law. In 2021, seven states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, West Bengal etc have come out with draft bills on this subject. The Centre can take a leaf out of this and make a comprehensive law and establish an Equal Opportunity Commission. This is vital as the states cannot legislate on subjects in Union List.
2. Ensuring effective implementation of existing laws: There are few laws and IPC provisions dealing with anti-discrimination in India. For instance, Equal Remuneration Act, of 1976 – Guarantees equal pay for equal work to men and women. Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Section 153 A)- Criminalises the use of language that promotes discrimination or violence against people on the basis of race, caste, sex, place of birth, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other category. Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 – Prohibits the denial or refusal to access mental healthcare facilities or services for people on the basis of race, caste, religion, place of birth, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability or any other category. Awareness of these and such other laws need to be generated through effective public communication and the administration needs to be sensitised and trained in their implementation.
3. Fundamental changes in the socialisation process: Discrimination is as much a social problem as it is legal. A law may not solve the discrimination unless the social mores changes which must discard discrimination. The family, school and the community need to play a major role in creating a social system without discrimination.
4. Constitutional morality and judicial intervention: The judiciary has employed the concept of constitutional morality to end many discriminatory practices in Indian society including those based on sex, gender, etc. The apex court needs to nudge or persuade the representative institutions through “judicial dialogue” to facilitate the process of ending discrimination either overt or covert. Also, it needs to revisit the judgment of Zoroastrian Cooperative Society 2005 which privileged freedom to associate over the right to equality.
5. Interlinking equal opportunity and diversity: Antidiscrimination and diversity promotion are related ideals. They should form part of a single ‘Equality Bill’ with a single regulatory and enforcement commission. Distinct bodies for monitoring the prohibition of discrimination and promotion of diversity are not only wasteful but may result in counterproductive turf wars.
6. A general duty to reduce inequality: The objective of reducing socio-economic deprivation should be taken into account by all public bodies (widely defined to include not only bodies established by the Constitution or any law but also any other bodies performing public functions) while framing policy in their respective fields of activity.

THE CONCLUSION:

A coherent anti-discrimination or Equality Commission is, however, ineffective without the backing of a single, comprehensive anti-discrimination or equality law. While such legislation has been proposed time and again, it is now up to the government to adopt a singular equality law. The Private Member’s Bill of 2016 lapsed, with the government not showing any interest in adopting it. In view of the recent upsurge in violence against minority communities in India, such legislation acquires significance.

MAINS PRACTICE QUESTIONS:

1. Anti-discrimination law is not a panacea for the problems of inequality and social prejudice that are deeply rooted in our society. Comment.
2. A comprehensive anti-discrimination legal framework is required to fill the existing legal lacunae in India. Elucidate.

THE PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS: MONSOON SESSION 2022

1.EXPLAINED: THE ENERGY CONSERVATION (AMENDMENT) BILL 2022 AND INDIA’S CLIMATE TARGETS

THE CONTEXT: In a bid to meet India’s commitment to exceed its Paris agreement climate targets, the Centre plans to table the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill 2022 in the ongoing Monsoon session of Parliament.
THE EXPLANATION:
The Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill seeks to increase India’s demand for renewable energy, thereby reducing the nation’s carbon emissions. The Bill proposes to amend the Electricity Conservation Act 2001, last amended in 2010, to introduce changes such as incentivising the use of clean energy by issuing carbon saving certificates.
What does the current Energy Conservation Act say?
• Currently, the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 (amended in 2010) governs the domain in India. The Act empowers the Centre to specify norms and standards of energy efficiency for appliances, industrial equipment and buildings with a connected load over 100 kilo Watts (kW) or a contractual demand of more than 15 kilovolt-amperes (kVA).
• The Act established the Bureau of Energy Efficiency. The 2010 amendment extended the tenure of the Director General of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency from three to five years. This Bureau can specify qualifications required for energy auditors who monitor and review the power consumption of various industries. The Bureau, which falls under the Central government, appoints its own officers and staff.
• The Act allows the Centre to prohibit the manufacture, sale, purchase or import of any particular equipment unless it conforms to specified norms issued six months/ one year before.

What are the proposed changes?
• The main objective of these proposed amendments is to reduce India’s power consumption via fossil fuels and thereby minimize the nation’s carbon footprint. The Centre aims to develop India’s Carbon market and boost the adoption of clean technology. India aims to meet its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), as mentioned in the Paris Climate Agreement, before its 2030 target date.
• Defining the minimum share of renewable energy to be consumed by industrial units or any establishment. This consumption may be done directly from a renewable energy source or indirectly via the power grid.
• Incentivising efforts to use clean energy by issuing carbon saving certificates
• Strengthening institutions set up originally under the Act, such as the Bureau of Energy Efficiency
• Facilitating the promotion of green Hydrogen as an alternative to the fossil fuels used by industries
• Considering additional incentives like carbon credits for the use of clean energy to lure the private sector to climate action.
• Including larger residential buildings under energy conservation standards to promote sustainable habitats. Currently, only large industries and their buildings come under the ambit of the Act.

What are India’s climate change commitments?
Recently, India revised the NDCs at the COP26 Summit held in Glasgow on November 1, 2021. India’s five new climate targets are:
1. To increase its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030
2. To meet 50 per cent of India’s power demand via renewable energy sources
3. To reduce the carbon intensity of the Indian economy by 45 per cent
4. To reduce India’s total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes from 2021 to 2030
5. To achieve a target net zero (for carbon emissions) by 2070.

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

2.IMF CUTS GLOBAL GROWTH FORECASTS, WARNS HIGH INFLATION THREATENS RECESSION

THE CONTEXT: Recently, the International Monetary Fund cut global growth forecasts again, warning that downside risks from high inflation and the Ukraine war were materializing and could push the world economy to the brink of recession if left unchecked.
THE EXPLANATION:
• Global real GDP growth will slow to 3.2% in 2022 from a forecast of 3.6% issued in April, the IMF said in an update of its World Economic Outlook. It added that world GDP actually contracted in the second quarter due to downturns in China and Russia.
• The Fund cut its 2023 growth forecast to 2.9% from the April estimate of 3.6%, citing the impact of tighter monetary policy.
• World growth had rebounded in 2021 to 6.1% after the COVID-19 pandemic crushed global output in 2020 with a 3.1% contraction.

RUSSIAN GAS EMBARGO
• The Fund said its latest forecasts were “extraordinarily uncertain” and subject to downside risks from Russia’s war in Ukraine spiking energy and food prices higher. This would exacerbate inflation and embed longer-term inflationary expectations that would prompt further monetary policy tightening.
• Under a “plausible” alternative scenario that includes a complete cut-off of Russian gas supplies to Europe by year-end and a further 30% drop in Russian oil exports, the IMF said global growth would slow to 2.6% in 2022 and 2% in 2023, with growth virtually zero in Europe and the United States next year.
• Global growth has fallen below 2% only five times since 1970, the IMF said, including the 2020 COVID-19 recession.
• The IMF said it now expects the 2022 inflation rate in advanced economies to reach 6.6%, up from 5.7% in the April forecasts, adding that it would remain elevated for longer than previously anticipated. Inflation in emerging market and developing countries is now expected to reach 9.5% in 2022, up from 8.7% in April.

U.S., CHINA DOWNGRADES
• For the United States, the IMF confirmed its July 12 forecasts of 2.3% growth in 2022 and an anemic 1.0% for 2023, which it previously cut twice since April on slowing demand.
• The Fund deeply cut China’s 2022 GDP growth forecast to 3.3% from 4.4% in April, citing COVID-19 outbreaks and widespread lockdowns in major cities that have curtailed production and worsened global supply chain disruptions.
• The IMF also said the worsening crisis in China’s property sector was dragging down sales and investment in real estate. It said additional fiscal support from Beijing could improve the growth outlook, but a sustained slowdown in China driven by larger-scale virus outbreaks and lockdowns would have strong spillovers.
• Russia’s economy is expected to contract by 6.0% in 2022 due to tightening Western financial and energy sanctions, and decline a further 3.5% in 2023, the IMF said. It estimated that Ukraine’s economy will shrink by some 45% due to the war, but the estimate comes with extreme uncertainty.

VALUE ADDITION:
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND:
• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international financial institution, Headquartered in Washington, D.C.
• Formed in July 1944, and its consisting of 190 countries.
• Countries working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world while periodically depending on the World Bank for its resources.
• It came into formal existence in 1945 with 29 member countries and the goal of reconstructing the international monetary system.
• It now plays a central role in the management of balance of payments difficulties and international financial crises.
• IMF Members: Any other state, whether or not a member of the UN, may become a member of the IMF in accordance with IMF Articles of Agreement and terms prescribed by the Board of Governors.
• Membership in the IMF is a prerequisite to membership in the IBRD.
• Pay a quota subscription: On joining the IMF, each member country contributes a certain sum of money, called a quota subscription, which is based on the country’s wealth and economic performance (Quota Formula).

Functions:
1. Regulatory functions: IMF functions as a regulatory body and as per the rules of the Articles of Agreement, it also focuses on administering a code of conduct for exchange rate policies and restrictions on payments for current account transactions.
2. Financial functions: IMF provides financial support and resources to the member countries to meet short term and medium term Balance of Payments (BOP) disequilibrium.
3. Consultative fun­ctions: IMF is a centre for international cooperation for the member countries. It also acts as a source of counsel and technical assistance.

THE ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

3.DESPITE INCENTIVES, WHY IS DSR TECHNIQUE NOT GAINING GROUND IN PUNJAB?

THE CONTEXT: The Punjab government has announced a Rs 1,500 per acre incentive to farmers for adopting the DSR method. But they are returning to the traditional method of puddled transplanting of rice in majority of the paddy area.
THE EXPLANATION:
Punjab is not only a long way away from its target of Direct Sowing of Rice (DSR) for this year (as it could only achieve 6.7% of the total target) but also the state has seen 85.7% decline in DSR area from the last season.
This has happened (ahead of paddy sowing) despite the state government announcing a Rs 1,500 per acre incentive to the farmers for adopting the DSR method and earmarking Rs 450 crore for the purpose.
What was the target for DSR and how much area could be brought under it in the state?
• In Punjab, rice (paddy and basmati) is grown in over 30 lakh hectares of farmland every year. The state government has set a target of bringing 12 lakh hectares (29.64 lakh acres) under DSR, which does not require puddled fields for transplanting paddy nursery and flood irrigation.
• With this much area, Punjab’s DSR area is 93.3% down from the target and if one compares it with last year’s (2021) area then also it is 85.7% down. Last year, 5.62 lakh hectares (13.88 lakh acres) was under DSR in the state and that was also the highest ever area under DSR in the history of the state.
• The main purpose of promoting DSR by announcing incentives was to save groundwater. Experts say that around 15% to 20% of groundwater can be saved by adopting DSR.

Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR)
• Direct seeding is a method under which pre-germinated seeds are directly drilled into the field by a tractor-powered machine.
• There is no nursery preparation or transplantation involved in this method.
• In this water is replaced by real chemical herbicides and farmers have to only level their land and give one pre-sowing irrigation.
• The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in Ludhiana has developed a ‘Lucky Seed Drill’ that can both sow seeds and simultaneously spray herbicides to control weeds.

Advantages
• Water savings because the first irrigation (apart from the pre-sowing rain) under DSR is necessary only 21 days after sowing.
• Less requirement of labour.
• Reduction in methane emissions and global warming potential
• Little disturbance to soil structure
• Enhanced system productivity

Disadvantage
• The main issue is the availability of herbicides.
• The seed requirement for DSR is also higher than transplanting.
• Land levelling is compulsory in DSR, therefore, increases the cost.
• In the DSR technique plants have to come out properly before the monsoon rains arrive, early sowing is required.
• The DSR method is not suitable on certain types of soil and in such fields only transplanting methods work.

Difference Between DSR & Normal Transplantation
In transplanting, farmers prepare nurseries where the paddy seeds are first sown and raised into young plants. These seedlings are then uprooted and replanted 25-35 days later in the main field.

4.STUDY SHEDS LIGHT ON PREY-PREDATOR RELATIONSHIP IN HIMACHAL PRADESH

THE CONTEXT: A recent study by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) on snow leopard ( Panthera uncia) has thrown up interesting insights on the elusive mountain cat and its prey species.
THE EXPLANATION:
The study under National Mission on Himalayan Studies revealed a strong link between habitat use by Snow Leopard and its prey species Siberian ibex and blue sheep.
Key highlights of the study:
Aim: Examining how the predator used habitat in presence or absence of its prey species and vice-versa.
• The snow leopard detection probability was high if the site was used by its prey species, i.e., ibex and blue sheep.
• Whereas, in the case of the prey species, the probability of detection was low when the predator (snow leopard) was present and detected.
• Snow leopards use rugged mountainous areas or non-forested areas covering an altitude between 3200m-5200m.
• The study suggested that habitat covariates, such as barren area, grassland, aspect, slope and distance to water were important drivers of habitat use for the snow leopard as well as its prey species.
• Spiti Valley possessed a good habitat in and outside the protected areas which could support a viable population of both threatened snow leopard and its prey species.
• Higher up in the mountains, predators such as snow leopards regulated the populations of herbivores such as the blue sheep and Siberian ibex, thereby safeguarding the health of grasslands.
• A long-term absence of snow leopards could cause trophic cascades as ungulate populations would likely increase, leading to depletion of vegetation cover.

Snow leopard (Panthera uncia):
• It is also known as the ounce.
• Habitat: Extends across the mountainous regions of 12 countries across Asia: Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
• 60% of the habitat found in China.
• In India they are found in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh.
• Population: total estimated 4,000-6,500
• Its fur is whitish to grey with black spots on head. Eyes are Pale green or grey in colour.

Conservation Status
• IUCN Status: Vulnerable
• CITES: Appendix I.
• Convention on Migratory Species (CMS): Appendix I.
• Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule Distribution

THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

5.NASA RELEASES FIRST PIECES OF THE MULTISPECTRAL MAPS OF MARS

THE CONTEXT: According to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Scientists released the first pieces of the multispectral maps made by the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM).
THE EXPLANATION:
• NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has been mapping minerals on the red planet for the last 16 years with the help of CRISM.
• The scientists highlighted that anyone can access these maps from NASA’s ‘Planetary Data System website’. It has managed to map 86 per cent of Mars’ surface with its multispectral mode, detecting nearly all of the minerals on the surface.
• CRISM is a visible-infrared spectrometer whose primary goal is to look for mineralogical evidence for past water on the surface and subsurface of Mars.
• The coverage goal for the multispectral mode was 80 per cent, owing to the limited lifetime of the coolers needed by its infrared detector. But it has managed to exceed that goal.
• The hyper spectral mode, which uses the wavelengths from the visible and near-infrared (VNIR) detector, doesn’t require cryogenic cooling and has attained more than 99 per cent coverage.
• According to the Scientists, the data gathered by CRISM over the last 16 years is invaluable for numerous research avenues and missions to Martian surface.
• For example, NASA’s Mars 2020 mission, which saw the Perseverance rover land on the surface of Mars, heavily relied on data gathered by CRISM.

VALUE ADDITION:
CRISM:
CRISM (Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars): This instrument splits visible and near-infrared light in its images into hundreds of “colours” that identify minerals, especially those likely formed in the presence of water, in surface areas on Mars not much bigger than a football field.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)
• MRO was launched in 2005, on a search for evidence that water persisted on the surface of Mars for a long period of time.
• It contains a host of scientific instruments such as cameras, spectrometers, and radar, which are used to analyze the landforms, stratigraphy, minerals, and ice of Mars.

THE PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

6.WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE ‘JOHAR’ GREETING USED BY PRESIDENT?

THE CONTEXT: The 15th President of India, assumed office with a ‘Johar’ greeting to the country.
THE EXPLANATION:
Johar’, which essentially means ‘salutation and welcome’, is used within the tribal communities of Jharkhand, and in parts of Chhattisgarh and Odisha. According to several tribal leaders from Jharkhand, the word ‘Johar’ also means ‘paying respect’. Tribal communities are nature worshippers and follow Sarna religion code, although it is not an official religion.

Do all tribal communities use the word ‘Johar’ for greeting?
There are 32 tribal communities in Jharkhand who speak different dialects. Almost all, including tribal Christians, use the word ‘Johar’ along with some other words for salutation. Johar, is predominantly used by Santhali,Munda and Ho communities that share some similarities. People belonging to the Oraon community use the word ‘Jai Dharam’, apart from Johar, as a salutation.

Is there only one form of ‘Johar’ salutation?
There are at least four types. One of them is ‘Doboh Johar’, which is used between people where one among them has a higher standing. Ratan Tikrey, a former member of Tribes Advisory Council (TAC) said that in ‘Doboh Johar’ there is a ritual where the person with a tumbler full of water bows in front of the person of higher standing.

VALUE ADDITION:
ABOUT SANTHAL TRIBE
• Santhal is the third largest Scheduled Tribe community in the country after Gond and Bhil. The Santal, or Santhal, are an ethnic group native to India and Bangladesh in South Asia.
• Santals are the largest tribe in the Jharkhand state of India in terms of population and are also found in the states of Assam, Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal.
• In the past, the Santals were leading a nomadic life, gradually they came to settle down in the Chhota nagpur plateau. Towards the end of 18th Century they migrated to the Santal Parganas of Bihar and then they came to Odisha. They speak Santali language which belongs to the Munda group of languages. The Santali has its own script called “Olchiki” invented by Pundit Raghunath Murmu.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Q. Recently, five new Ramsar sites were added into the list from India. Consider the following pairs with reference to it.
1. The Karikili Bird Sanctuary – Tamil Nadu
2. The Sakhya Sagar – Madhya Pradesh
3. The Pala Wetlands – Mizoram
4. Pichavaram Mangrove – Andhra Pradesh

How many pairs mentions above is/are correctly matched?
a) One pair only
b) Two pairs only
c) Three pairs only
d) All of them

ANSWER FOR THE PRACTICE QUESTION

Answer: C
Explanation:
Five new Ramsar sites were added into the list from India are as follows:
• The Karikili Bird Sanctuary, Pallikaranai Marsh Reserve Forest and Pichavaram Mangrove – Tamil Nadu
• The Sakhya Sagar – in Madhya Pradesh
• The Pala Wetlands – Mizoram

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5. Understanding the Gaps in the Anti-Defection Law READ MORE