[WpProQuiz 291]

THE CONTEXT:In the recent past various State governments have passed bills to take away the powers of the Governor as the chancellor of the State universities, driven by the opinion that the Governor’s role in State-run universities needs to be minimized. Apart from Tamil Nadu, the governments of West Bengal, Maharashtra and Kerala have expressed concerns over the Governors’ excessive intervention in the functioning of State universities.The area of conflict here is the appointment of vice-chancellors and the functioning of universities. This article analyses the issue which adds another potential flash point in the Governor – State government relations.

THE HISTORY OF THE ISSUE

• The practice of appointing the Governor as ex-officio chancellor of universities dates to the pre-Independence era. The foundation was laid down in the dispatch of Sir Charles Wood in 1854 to the court of directors described as ‘The Magna Carta of English Education’ in India.
• This document led the Court of Directors to deliberate that it was perhaps time to establish Indian universities modelled on the London University. Consequently, the universities of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras were established in 1857. These universities like the university back in London consisted of a chancellor, vice-chancellor and a senate. The Governor-General of British India was the chancellor of Calcutta University and the Governors of Bombay and Madras headed their State universities.
• After Independence, whenever a State university is established, it is done with the help of legislation passed by the State assembly. The statute unequivocally incorporates this vestigial provision of making the Governor of that State its ex-officio chancellor. And this is why the Governor, to date, exercises the power to appoint vice-chancellors. However, what we need to note is that post-Independence, the Governor is a constitutional functionary.

THE RECENT AMENDMENTS AND DEVELOPMENTS

TAMIL NADU

• The Tamil Nadu Universities Laws (Amendment) Act, 2022, substitutes the expression “chancellor” in the original Act with “government” with regards to both appointment and removal of VCs. The Bills seeking to amend the process of appointment of VCs in the State universities underline that “every appointment of the vice-chancellor shall be made by the government from out of a panel of three names” recommended by a search-cum-selection committee.
• A separate bill to amend the Chennai University Act, 1923 [Chennai University (Amendment) Act, 2022], with similar intent, was passed by the House.Currently, the Governor, in his capacity as the chancellor of State universities, has the power to pick a VC from the shortlisted names. The bills also seek to empower the State government to have the final word on the removal of VCs, if needed.
• Removal will be carried out based on inquiries by a retired High Court judge or a bureaucrat who has served at least as a Chief Secretary.

MAHARASHTRA

• In December 2021, the Maharashtra Assembly passed a bill amending the Maharashtra Public Universities Act, 2016.
• Under the original Act, the Maharashtra government had no say in the appointment of VCs. If the changes take effect, the Governor will be given two names to choose from by the State government.

WEST BENGAL

• In 2019, the West Bengal government reduced the Governor’s authority in appointing VCs to State universities. The government issued a gazette notification West Bengal State Universities (Terms and Conditions of Service of the Vice Chancellor & the Manner and Procedure of Official Communication) Rules, 2019; that abolished the chancellor’s secretariat, reduced the chancellor’s role in choosing vice-chancellors, took away his power to convene meeting of the highest bodies of the universities or take action against vice-chancellors.
• The new rules also Stated that in case of appointment of the vice chancellor of a university, the chancellor shall maintain the order of preference of names placed before him,” as against when the government used to send three names to the governor who was free to choose any one. The rules were notified in the name of the Governor since he is the constitutional head of the State.
• In June 2022, the State Legislative Assembly passed the West Bengal University Laws (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to replace the Governor, with the CM as the Chancellor of State-run universities. Ironically, the Bill will become law only after it receives Governor’s assent.

KERALA

• In December 2021, in an unprecedented move, Kerala Governor asked Chief Minister to take over as the chancellor of the universities, a post held by the Governor in the State, “so that nobody would question the political appointments and interference in the universities”.
• The case was related to the Vice-Chancellor of Kannur University Prof Gopinath Ravindran who was re-appointed for another four years even after issuing a notification for a fresh appointment.

THREE BROAD WAYS OF APPOINTING THE V-Cs IN A STATE UNIVERSITY

DISCRETION OF THE GOVERNOR

• Appointment of the V-C in a State University is the statutory power of the Governor, endowed over him either by any State law or by the statute of the university itself. In such a scenario, the Governor appoints the VC at his discretion after having suggestions by the search committee.
• Eg: Earlier Maharashtra Government had no say in the appointment of the VC and hence the bill was passed in 2021 to take away the statutory power of the Governor although it has not become a law yet.

BY THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF THE STATE

• The VC of a State university is appointed by the Council of Ministers of the State headed by the Chief Minister. The CoM may/may not constitute the search-cum-selection committee for the purpose.
• The Telangana Universities Act, 1991 States that the search committee shall “submit a panel of three persons to the Government in alphabetical order and the Government shall appoint the Vice-Chancellor from out of the said panel”.
• The Gujarat University Act, 1949 also States that “the vice-chancellor shall be appointed by the State government from amongst three persons recommended by a (search-cum-selection) committee”

BOTH THE GOVERNOR AND CoM PARTICIPATE IN DECISION MAKING

• The Governor chooses from a list of potential VCs submitted by the CoM.
• In Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, the vice-chancellors were appointed by the Governor from the list of three names recommended by the search committee and with the approval of the State government.
• Incident: In April 2022, Karnataka High Court quashed the appointment of Prof KR Venugopal as Vice-Chancellor of Bangalore University. The order Stated that the appointment had been made by the Governor without the concurrence of the State government. The Supreme Court stayed the Karnataka High Court order and the matter is sub-judice.

 ROLE AND POWERS OF THE GOVERNOR AS THE CHANCELLOR OF THE STATE UNIVERSITIES

The Governor of a State is the Chancellor of State Universities including General Universities, Agricultural Universities, Technical Universities, Medical Universities and also Deemed-to-be universities. The Chancellor, by virtue of his office, is a Head of the University and is vested with various powers:

• Appoints the Vice-Chancellors by setting up a search committee, which recommends a panel of names from which he/ she makes the final selection and appointment. Consequently, Chancellor is also vested with the authority to grant leave or institute disciplinary action and award penalties.
• Power to nominate certain members to the Executive Council/ Court of the University.
• Chancellor as the appellate authority has the power to annul decisions of the various university bodies/ authorities which in his view, is against the Act, statutes, ordinances and regulations.
• Power to assent or withhold assent to the statutes and other regulations passed by the Executive Council of the university submitted to the Chancellor for assent.
• Power to hear memorandum and representation of the employees and students.
• Power to take final decisions on election disputes with regard to the representation in different bodies of the universities and managing committees of its colleges.
• Power to nominate experts in the appointment of teachers of various categories in the university.
• Power to preside over the convocation of the university and meeting of its Court/ Senate.
• In order to draw the attention of the Government and streamline the academic session and improve the standard of University Education, convenes review meetings of Vice-Chancellors and concerned ministries.
• The Chancellor shall have also such other power as may be conferred on him by or under Act or the Statute.

IN THE CASE OF CENTRAL UNIVERSITIES

• Under the Central Universities Act, 2009, and other statutes, the President of India shall be the Visitor of a central university.
• With their role limited to presiding over convocations, Chancellors in central universities are titular heads, who are appointed by the President in his capacity as a Visitor.
• The Vice-Chancellor too is appointed by the Visitor from panels of names picked by search and selection committees formed by the Union government.
• The Act adds that the President, as Visitor, shall have the right to authorise inspections of academic and non-academic aspects of the universities and also to institute inquiries.

ROLE OF UNIVERSITY GRANTS COMMISSION

• Education comes under the Concurrent List, but coordination and determination of standards in institutions for higher education or research and scientific and technical institutions come under entry 66 of the Union List.
• The UGC plays that standard-setting role, even in the case of appointments in universities and colleges.
• According to the UGC Regulations, 2018, the “Visitor/Chancellor” (mostly the Governor in States) shall appoint the VC out of the panel of names recommended by search-cum-selection committees.
• Higher educational institutions, particularly those that get UGC funds, are mandated to follow its regulations. These are usually followed without friction in the case of central universities but are sometimes resisted by the States in the case of State universities.

 THE NEED FOR SUCH LAWS BY STATE LEGISLATURES

LACK OF CONSULTATION

• The tradition for the Governor to appoint the vice-chancellors in consultation with the State government is witnessing a change in the recent past.

ADMINISTRATIVE IRREGULARITIES

• The inability of the elected government to appoint a vice-chancellor of its own university was causing various irregularities in the overall administration of the varsity.

POWER CLASH

• Governors should not be vested with the powers that were not mentioned by the Constitution (appointing vice-chancellors) as it would lead to a clash of functions and powers between the State government and the Governor.

AT THE BEHEST OF THE CENTRE

• The elected governments have repeatedly accused the Governors of acting as per the wish of the Centre on various subjects, including education.

 OTHER FRICTION POINTS IN GOVERNOR-STATE LEGISLATURE RELATIONS

In recent years, these have been largely about the selection of the party to form a government, the deadline for proving the majority, sitting on Bills, and passing negative remarks on the State administration. For instance:

MAHARASHTRA

• The State government and the Governor were at odds in 2021 regarding the appointment of 12 MLCs as Governor Nominees.
• In 2019 the Governor invited a leader and administered him oath as CM. This government lasted just 80 hours.
• The Governor also stalled the election of a Speaker since the post fell vacant in February 2021.

RAJASTHAN 

• In 2020 when the State cabinet decided to convene the assembly and communicated that decision to the Governor to sign the order of summons, the Governor kept it pending and has kept sending a series of questions to the government seeking clarifications on the agenda of the house, etc.
• There was, thus, arose a question of great significance in relation to the powers and function of the Governor vis-à-vis the elected government of a State and legislature.

KERALA

• In December 2020, Kerala Governor turned down a request to summon a special sitting of the Assembly to debate the three central farm laws.

TAMIL NADU

• The steps taken by the Governor in regard to the NEET exemption Bill and the clemency petition of Mr Perarivalan had created quite a stir in the recent past.

THE ANALYSIS:

Governor is vested with Constitutional as well as Statutory powers and both of his roles have become controversial in the recent past. As the constitutional head of the State, Governor is bound by the advice of his Council of Ministers (CoM) and functions as a vital link between the Union Government and the State Government.In regard to his statutory powers, he is expected to act according to the statute books. The contestation in both these cases arises when he/she inclines toward any political party lines which usually happens when the ruling party at the Centre and the State are different.

The contemporary controversies have mostly been around the issues of selecting the chief minister, determining the timing for proving legislative majority, demanding information about day-to-day administration, taking an apparently long time in giving assent to bills or reserving bills for the President, commenting adversely on specific policies of the State government and exercising powers of the Governor as the chancellor of State universities. The controversies are not new but given that we have a single-party majority government at the Centre, the States have alleged the undue pressure from the Centre.

In the background of present controversies we need to understand that the Governor is the appointed head of the State and not the representative of the people, he cannot be held accountable for the issues of administration and any other disaffection among the people. The present disputes are more or less related to the political contestations and not to the autonomy, accountability and transparency required for academic excellence. Education being in the Concurrent List of the Schedule 7 calls for the cooperative mechanism between the Centre and the States to take the nation forward.

SOME INTERNATIONAL PRACTICES

The selection of vice chancellors ought to be based on the principle of open impartiality and political non-interference which most of the Western countries seems to follow, barring a few. For instance:

• The collegiums of professors elect the vice chancellor in Germany and France.
• The university council elects the vice chancellor.
• In the United States (US), the board of trustees searches and appoints the vice chancellor.

Ø  The government appoints the vice chancellor in Sweden.

VARIOUS COMMITTEE/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATIONS

JUSTICE R.S. SARKARIA COMMISSION (1988)

• It acknowledged the distinction between the Governor’s constitutional role and the statutory role performed as a Chancellor and also underlined that the Chancellor is not obliged to seek the government’s advice.

JUSTICE M.M. PUNCHHI COMMISSION (2010)

• The Commission was quite forthcoming in its 2010 report. Noting that the Governor should not be “burdened with positions and powers… which may expose the office to controversies or public criticism”, it advised against conferring statutory powers on the Governor.

KEY OBSERVATIONS BY THE COURTS VIS A VIS THE STATUTORY POWERS OF THE GOVERNOR

1. The full bench of the High Court of Punjab & Haryana in Hardwari Lal vs G D Tapase (1981) has held that the Governor has an independent existence and the office held by him is statutory in nature as distinct from the constitutional office of the Governor.
2. The Supreme Court has also affirmed in Bhuri Nath vs State of J&K (1997) that when Governors are entrusted with powers derived from statutes in an official capacity, they are not to act on the aid and advice of the council of ministers making a distinction between the two types of offices.
3. Most recently the Supreme Court had in March 2022 made some pertinent, though unrelated to the current dispute, observations while setting aside the appointment of the VC of Gujarat’s SP University by the State government. The court said that “any appointment as a Vice-Chancellor contrary to the provisions of the UGC Regulations can be said to be in violation of the statutory provisions, warranting a writ of quo warranto.” The apex court also held that in case of any conflict between State legislation and Central legislation, Central legislation shall prevail by applying the rule/principle of repugnancy as enunciated in Article 254 of the Constitution as the subject ‘education’ is in the Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.”

THE WAY FORWARD:

1. The recommendations of the Punchhi Commission to save the office of the Governor from any statutory functions not mentioned in the Constitution shall be accepted.
2. President Ramnath Kovind at the 51st Conference of Governors, Lieutenant Governors and Administrators called upon the heads of States to play the role of a friend, a philosopher and a guide to the State government. The persons holding the post of Governor shall act in line with such advice rendered by the President.
3. Governor as a State University Chancellor is in a way result of colonial hangover which shall be done away with. However, State governments should also try to find alternative means of protecting university autonomy so that the governments do not exercise undue influence on the functioning of universities.
4. Appointment and removal of Governor: Venkatachaliah Commission (2002) recommended that the Governor’s appointment should be entrusted to a committee comprising the prime minister, the home minister, the speaker of the Lok Sabha and the chief minister of the concerned State, if Governor to be removed before completion of the term, the central government should do so only after consultation with the Chief Minister.Punchhi Commission (2010) also recommended that the phrase “during the pleasure of the President” should be deleted from the Constitution; Governor should be removed only by a resolution of the State legislature.
5. At times judiciary has also come to the rescue of the office of the Governor and made judgments that in a way were meant to ascertain the dignity of the office like in SR Bommai vs. Union of India, 1994, Rameshwar Prasad Case, 2006 etc. These judicial pronouncements are in a way guiding light for the incumbent persons holding the office of the Governor and should act on wisdom.
6. It goes without saying that unless the Centre and States work based on cooperative federalism principles, the Governors’ position will keep attracting controversies. Hence, both Centre and State need to functions as partners in the development and governance process of the country.

THE CONCLUSION:The insightful and responsible recommendations made by the committees and commissions examining Centre-State relations have created widespread public sensitivity and opinion regarding various wrongdoings of the Centre through the office of the Governor which have proved to be damaging to the essential federal structure in India. There is little doubt that the provision of autonomy to academic institutions is one of the international benchmarks of a good institution, but we need to balance it with our social realities. It will achieve its desired effect only if any transformation goes beyond merely being ornamental or ascertaining the win in a political tussle.

MAINS PRACTICE QUESTIONS:

1. If we want our academic institutions to improve and feature higher in world rankings, we need to think beyond CMs and Governors as chancellors. Comment.
2. Many undesirable actions, from the standpoint of the federal and democratic constitutional systems that Governors often at times engage in, could be the result of the uncertainty of tenure that they suffer from. Critically examine.
3. ‘Constitutional functions of the Governor are different from his/her statutory functions. Hence the Governor can act independently of aid and advice by CoM while performing the latter roles.’ Examine the Statement in light of recent controversies related to the Governor as Chancellors in the State universities.

THE INDIAN POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1.EXPLAINED: THE PROCESS OF ELECTING INDIA’S PRESIDENT

THE CONTEXT: The tenure of the current President of India is set to end in July this year(2022), which is also when the 16th Indian Presidential election will be held to elect his successor. The Voting for the presidential election in which NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu is pitted against joint Opposition pick Yashwant Sinha began on July 18.

THE EXPLANATION:
How is the President elected?
• The Indian President is elected through an electoral college system, wherein the votes are cast by national and State-level lawmakers. The elections are conducted and overseen by the Election Commission (EC) of India.
• The electoral college is made up of all the elected members of the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament (Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha MPs), and the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of States and Union Territories (MLAs).
• This means, in the upcoming polls, the number of electors will be 4,896 — 543 Lok Sabha MPs, 233 MPs of the Rajya Sabha, and 4,120 MLAs of all States, including the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi and Union Territory of Puducherry.
• Before the voting, comes the nomination stage, where the candidate intends to stand in the election, and files the nomination along with a signed list of 50 proposers and 50 seconders. These proposers and seconders can be anyone from a total of 4,896 members of the electoral college from the State and national levels.

What is required to secure a victory?
• A nominated candidate does not secure victory based on a simple majority but through a system of bagging a specific quota of votes. While counting, the EC totals up all the valid votes cast by the electoral college through paper ballots and to win, the candidate must secure 50% of the total votes cast + 1.
• Unlike general elections, where electors vote for a single party’s candidate, the voters of the electoral college write the names of candidates on the ballot paper in the order of preference.

What is the value of each vote and how is it calculated?

A vote cast by each MP or MLA is not calculated as one vote. There is a larger vote value attached to it.

The fixed value of each vote by an MP of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha is 708. Meanwhile, the vote value of each MLA differs from State to State based on a calculation that factors in its population vis-a-vis the number of members in its Legislative Assembly. As per the Constitution (Eighty-fourth Amendment) Act 2001, currently, the population of States is taken from the figures of the 1971 Census. This will change when the figures of the Census taken after the year 2026 are published.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

2.WILL RBI MOVE HELP GREATER TRADE IN RUPEE?

THE CONTEXT:The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a circular that detailed ‘additional arrangement’ for invoicing, payment, and settlement of exports and imports in Indian rupees.
THE EXPLANATION:
Under this mechanism, Indian importers could make payment in rupees to the Special Vostro account of the correspondent bank of the partner country, against invoices for the supply of goods or services from the overseas seller. Indian exporters shall be paid proceeds in rupees from the balances in the designated vostro account of the correspondent bank of the partner country.

How does this change the status quo?
• Vostro accounts have been around for a while. They were likely not widely used because exporters in any country typically prefer settlements in a strong and stable currency.
• Also, there are at least three new aspects to the newly-issued circular. First, the RBI has explicitly said that exchange of messages in a safe, secure and efficient way may be agreed upon mutually between the banks of partner countries. SWIFT system was seen as an acceptable standard for international transactions.”
• It may be recalled that soon after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Belgium-based SWIFT, or Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, a system that allows instant messaging among banks, began excluding Russian banks from transacting through this channel.
• The aim was to make it difficult and tedious for Russian entities to transact with the rest of the world. The RBI’s circular could be taken to mean that partnering banks may use any messaging system they deem fit and not confine themselves to the SWIFT platform.

How does the new mechanism help India?

• For India, doing business with Russia using rupees would mean there is no hard currency outflow in such transactions. The impact on the rupee market is that foreign currency outflow would be lesser by $3 billion every month. Technically, it would ease the downward pressure on the rupee, which has been sliding to fresh record lows frequently in the recent past.
• However, the arrest in the rupee’s fall would be seen only in the medium to long term because in the current scenario, payments to Russia have anyway not been going through and a credit system has helped continuity of trade.
• If other countries too begin showing interest in using the facility, then a strengthening impact may be seen more quickly for the rupee. According to experts, “Amid ongoing rupee weakness, the RBI’s steps appear to be aimed at reducing demand for foreign exchange… While incremental for now, we see these measures as useful long-term steps, which can enable greater use of the rupee in foreign trade.”

NABARD PLANS FARMER DISTRESS INDEX
THE CONTEXT: With small and marginal farmers getting a raw deal in farm loan waivers, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) is planning to formulate a farmer distress index (FDI) to track, identify and support the real needy and distressed farmers.
THE EXPLANATION:
• According to a study jointly conducted by NABARD and Bharat Krishak Samaj (BKS), a farmers producers’ organization, in Punjab, more than 60 per cent of the ‘very high’ and ‘high’ distress small and marginal farmers (SMFs) did not receive farm loan waiver (FLW) benefits. The exclusion rate was also 60 per cent for the medium distress category SMFs.
• In Maharashtra, SMFs that were relatively better off as they were categorized as ‘low’ distress received the maximum FLW benefits. Close to 42 per cent of the SMF whose distress category was ‘very high’ did not receive FLW benefits.
• In UP, 47 per cent of the ‘very high distress’ category, and 45 per cent of the ‘high distress’ category SMF did not receive FLW benefits. In the three states together, more than 40 per cent of the ‘very high distress’ farmers did not receive any FLW benefits.
• NABARD study says this farmer distress index can integrate the available high-frequency data on key agricultural variables like deviation of monsoon rains, excessive rainfall, drought and dry spells, variations in temperature and soil moisture, the yield of major crops in the district, the proportion of area under irrigation, depth of underground water, unusual frost, marketing opportunities available to the farmer that may include the proportion of wheat, paddy, chana, tur, groundnut, soybean etc. produced and procured at MSP.
• NABARD also noted that the “Use of weather data derived from remote sensing technology, automatic weather stations, mobile telephony and artificial intelligence can help in identifying the distressed villages”.
• “Use of data of claims received for crop insurance is also likely to help in identification of distressed regions. These can be tracked on a real-time basis and be used to monitor and predict the level of farmer distress,” the study said.
• Technology breakthroughs like the use of space technology, AI and blockchain in agriculture can be harnessed to bring dynamism and credibility to the system.
• Further, depending on the kind and severity of distress, the support can be given as a combination of unconditional grants, loan restructuring and/or a complete debt waiver. The assistance to individual farmers can be based on a combination of district index and individual farmers’ distress captured via irrigation status of his land, income from crops grown by him, the average productivity of the district and the average price in APMC markets of this district as compared to the average price of the state.

VALUE ADDITION:
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)
• NABARD is a development bank focusing primarily on the rural sector of the country. It is the apex banking institution to provides finance for Agriculture and rural development. Its headquarter is located in Mumbai, the country’s financial capital.
• It is responsible for the development of small industries, cottage industries, and any other such village or rural projects.
• It is a statutory body established in 1982 under Parliamentary act-National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Act, 1981.

NABARD and RBI
• Reserve Bank of India is the central bank of the country with the sole right to regulate the banking industry and supervise the various institutions/banks
• This also includes NABARD defined under the Banking Regulation Act of 1949.
• RBI provides 3 directors to NABARD’s Board of Directors.
• NABARD provides recommendations to the Reserve Bank of India on the issue of licenses to Cooperative Banks, and the opening of new branches by State Cooperative Banks and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs).

THE AGRICULTURE

3.EXPLAINED: IS THERE A CRISIS IN RICE?

THE CONTEXT:The southwest monsoon’s revival this month has resulted in the total area sown under kharif crops not only recovering, but even surpassing last year’s coverage for the same period from June to mid-July. However, paddy (rice) acreage, at 128.50 lakh hectares (lh) as of July 15, was 17.4% down from last year’s 155.53 lh.
THE EXPLANATION:
Should that be cause for worry?
• On the face of it, not much, as government godowns had over 47.2 million tonnes (mt) of rice on July 1. These were nearly three-and-a-half times the minimum level of stocks, to meet both “operational” (public distribution system) and “strategic reserve” (exigency) requirements for the quarter. Rice stocks are still close to their peaks scaled last year.
• That comfort doesn’t extend, though, to wheat – where public stocks have plunged from all-time highs to 14-year lows within the space of a year (see table). Inflation-haunted policymakers would dread the wheat story getting repeated in rice. In wheat, it was a single bad crop — the one singed by the March-April 2022 heat wave — that did all the damage and brought down stocks to just above the minimum buffer.
• In rice, the stakes are higher: It is India’s largest agricultural crop (accounting for over 40% of the total foodgrain output), with the country also being the world’s biggest exporter (a record 21.21 mt valued at $9.66 billion got shipped out during the fiscal ended March 2022). Unlike with wheat, the options for import in rice — due to any production shortfall — are limited, when India’s own share in the global trade of the cereal is more than 40%.

Why has acreage fallen?
• Farmers first sow paddy seeds in nurseries, where they are raised into young plants. These seedlings are then uprooted and replanted 25-35 days later in the main field that is usually 10 times the size of the nursery seed bed.
• Nursery sowing generally happens before the monsoon rains. Farmers wait for their arrival to undertake transplantation, which requires the field to be “puddled” or tilled in standing water. For the first three weeks or so after transplanting, the water depth has to be maintained at 4-5 cm, in order to control weed growth in the early stage of the crop.
All this isn’t possible without the monsoon, which has overall been good this time. The country has received 353.7 mm of rainfall during June 1 to July 17, 12.7% more than the “normal” historical average for this period.

How serious is the situation?
• In UP — where the western and eastern subdivisions have so far recorded a mere 90 mm and 79.6 mm of rainfall, respectively — it certainly seems so.
• According to a farmer from Emiliya village in Chandauli district of eastern UP bordering Bihar, said paddy nursery sowing in his area is normally done from June 1 to June 10 and transplanting from July 1 to July 10. This time, there was some rain towards June-end, but hardly any thereafter. “The seedlings should leave the nurseries in 25-35 days, beyond which they will age and not have enough time to grow in the main field.

So, is there a crisis ahead in rice?
• To start with, the India Meteorological Department has forecast that the current monsoon trough, which is active and south of its normal position, is “very likely to shift gradually northwards from tonight (Sunday)”. That should, hopefully, provide much-needed relief to farmers in the Gangetic plains within the next few days.
• Secondly, paddy cultivation takes place across a wider geography, unlike wheat that is grown only in a few states north of the Vindhyas. Also, rice is both a kharif (monsoon) and rabi (winter-spring) season crop. So, the losses in one area or season can potentially be recouped from the other. In wheat, everyone — from farmers and traders to policymakers — was caught off-guard by the sudden surge in temperatures after mid-March that cut grain yields by a fifth or more. Rice is less likely to throw up huge negative surprises. And with the present stocks, it should be manageable.

THE GOVERNMENT SCHEMES IN NEWS

4.A NOD TO EXTEND GRAM SWARAJ SCHEME

THE CONTEXT: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved a proposal to continue the Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA), a scheme for improving the governance capabilities of Panchayati raj institutions, till 2025-2026.
THE EXPLANATION:
• The CCEA, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister, approved the extension of the scheme that ended on March 31, 2022, at a total financial outlay of ₹5,911 crores, of which ₹3,700 crores would be the Centre’s share and ₹2,211 crore the States’ share.
• “The approved scheme of RGSA will help more than 2.78 lakh rural local bodies…to develop governance capabilities to deliver on SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals] through inclusive local governance with a focus on optimum utilisation of available resources”.
• The scheme would work towards “poverty-free and enhanced livelihood in villages; healthy village, child-friendly village; water sufficient village; clean and green village; self-sufficient infrastructure in the village; socially secured village; village with good governance; engendered development in the village”.

Strengthening the panchayats
• The government said panchayats would be strengthened and a spirit of healthy competition inculcated. No permanent posts would be created under the scheme but “need-based contractual human resources may be provisioned for overseeing the implementation of the scheme and providing technical support to States/UTs”.

VALUE ADDITION:
About Gram Swaraj Abhiyan
• In continuation of “Gram Swaraj Abhiyan”, which started on the occasion of Ambedkar Jayanti, Govt. of India has extended it to 117 Aspirational Districts identified by the NITI Aayog.
• This campaign which, was undertaken under “Sabka Sath, Sabka Gaon, Sabka Vikas”, is to promote social harmony, spread awareness about pro-poor initiatives of the government, reach out to poor households to enrol them and also obtain their feedback on various welfare programmes.
• During this Abhiyan, the saturation of eligible households/persons would be made under seven flagship pro-poor programmes namely, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, Saubhagya, Ujala scheme, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana and Mission Indradhanush. In addition, 5 priority are related activities under Education, Health, Nutrition, Skills and Agriculture have also been identified as per the district plan.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Q.Consider the following statements with respect to election to the office of the President

1. all the elected members of the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament participate in the election
2. a vote cast by each MP or MLA calculated as one vote.
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 16TH JULY 2022

ANSWER: A
EXPLANATION:
Statement 1 is incorrect. The United Nations Credentials Committee is a committee of the United Nations General Assembly.
Statement 2 is incorrect. A Credentials Committee is appointed at the beginning of each regular session of the General Assembly. It consists of nine members, who are appointed by the General Assembly on the proposal of the President.
Statement 3 is correct. The Committee reports to the Assembly on the credentials of representatives. The Committee is mandated to examine the credentials of representatives of Member States and to report to the General Assembly thereon (Rule 28 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly).
The credentials of representatives and the names of members of the delegation of each Member State are submitted to the Secretary-General and are issued either by the Head of the State or Government or by the Minister for Foreign Affairs (Rule 27 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly).

1. Footprints on sand READ MORE
2. What makes a ‘hero’? Is it personality, psychology or evolution? READ MORE

1. Waterlogging in Malwa: Rainwater drainage needs improvement READ MORE
2. Saving life on Earth in times of climate change READ MORE
3. Why we need to factor ecosystem services into economic development planning READ MORE

1. Why is gender gap widening in India? READ MORE
2. Institute ranking system: Doesn’t serve purpose of improving standards of learning READ MORE

1. DBT schemes need a digital grievance redressal system READ MORE
2. Sedition law: Why India should break from Britain’s abusive legacy READ MORE
3. Making Private Members’ Bills Work READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. On World Snake Day, call to develop effective antivenom READ MORE
2. Forest fires rage in scorching southwest Europe READ MORE
3. Explained | Will RBI move help greater trade in rupee? READ MORE
4. Commodity prices’ fall can help India escape global inflation trap READ MORE
5. Explained: Kala Azar or Black fever disease detected in West Bengal READ MORE
6. India crosses 200 crore Covid-19 vaccinations: Day to remember forever, says Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya READ MORE
7. New Tardigrade Species Discovered in Kyrgyzstan READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. Why is gender gap widening in India? READ MORE
2. Waterlogging in Malwa: Rainwater drainage needs improvement READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. DBT schemes need a digital grievance redressal system READ MORE
2. Sedition law: Why India should break from Britain’s abusive legacy READ MORE
3. Making Private Members’ Bills Work READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Institute ranking system: Doesn’t serve purpose of improving standards of learning READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. Biden in West Asia: Neither the Palestine question nor the Iran deal appear to be the U.S.’s priorities READ MORE
2. The internal coherence of India’s seemingly contradictory stance on Russia READ MORE
3. Questions about I2U2: Iran and the China factor will need addressing READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. With India set to become most populous nation, a prosperity lesson READ MORE
2. We need an orderly transition from coal to renewables READ MORE
3. Government must act: If the rupee keeps falling against the dollar the country’s economy would be hit badly READ MORE
4. Why more women joining the Indian workforce is not necessarily a good thing READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Saving life on Earth in times of climate change READ MORE
2. Why we need to factor ecosystem services into economic development planning READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Time for vigilance: Increased testing and building awareness, not stigmatisation, can stop spread of monkeypox READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Footprints on sand READ MORE
2. What makes a ‘hero’? Is it personality, psychology or evolution? READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. ‘In the current era of more flexible partnerships, I2U2 could emerge as a platform for shaping responses to global challenges’. Critically examine.
2. With the help of the relevant examples discuss how India shed its Cold War mindset of non-alignment in recent times?

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• The important thing is not to stop questioning.
• Our inbuilt Parliamentary mechanisms, as well as minor modifications and adjustments, can help revitalise Private Members’ Bills.
• The multiplier effects of healthy forest cover are enormous regarding economic and social development objectives.
• Democracy is the basic feature of the Constitution. Parliamentary democracy does not envisage a condition where a one party-government becomes permanent.
• Without an effective Opposition, democracy will become dull, and the legislature will become submissive.
• Our constitutional goal was to establish a sovereign, democratic republic.
• A government which does not like opposition and always wants to be in power is not a patriotic but a traitor government.
• Improvement of the country’s human development index hinges on providing quality education to the girl child.
• Looking at coal from a singular focus on GHG emissions will give a myopic view of energy requirements for a growing economy like India. The path to achieving 500 GW of renewables needs to be gradual.
• WEF’s recent report paints a gloomy picture of gender equality in India.
• DBT schemes are meant to ride on digital rails to facilitate smooth direct cash transfers. However, transfers are not always smooth.
• In a vibrant democracy, it is not possible, as in China, to dragoon people into moving to new locations and settling there.
• Though the nature of I2U2 is different from the overt military collaboration of the Quad, it is worth recalling that the latter started as a joint response to the devastation in the region caused by the Tsunami in 2004.
• Economic distress, desperation and poor household incomes are driving women to low-paying jobs.

50 WORD TALK

• Any government initiative should aim to reduce inequalities in access to health services. Providing the Covid-19 vaccine precaution shot on payment was leading to the creation of bigger financial and geographical barriers; easier availability for the rich and urban population was widening inequities. This is contrary to the principles of equity in India’s National Health Policy, 2017.

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.) 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 290]

THE CONTEXT:On May 18, the Supreme Court invoked its extraordinary powers to do complete justice under Article 142 of the Constitution and ordered the release of A.G. Perarivalan, a convict in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The Court took this step owing to the delay in deciding the clemency petition and reference of the same to the President by the Governor of Tamilnadu. In this article, we will analyze this issue in detail.

A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE JUDGMENT OF THE SUPREME COURT

The Court was answering two questions essentially:

1. Whether the Governor can make such a reference to the President?
2. Whether the primacy accorded to the Centre’s opinion under the CrPC can be extended even to remission that may be granted by the Governor under Article 161.

The Court answered these questions in the following way, which are explained in the table below:

BINDING NATURE OF ADVICE

• The law laid down by a series of judgments of the Court is well-settled that the advice of the State Cabinet is binding on the Governor in the exercise of his powers under Article 161 of the Constitution.

SCOPE OF JUDICIAL REVIEW

• Non-exercise of the power under Article 161 or inexplicable delay in exercise of such power not attributable to the prisoner is subject to judicial review by this Court.

PRESIDENTIAL REFERENCE UNCONSTITUTIONAL

• The reference of the recommendation of the Tamil Nadu Cabinet by the Governor to the President of India two and a half years after such a recommendation had been made is without any constitutional backing.
• It is inimical to the scheme of our Constitution, whereby “the Governor is but a shorthand expression for the State Government”, as observed by this Court in Maruram Vs UoI 1980.

UNION HAS NO EXECUTIVE POWER

• No express executive power has been conferred on the Centre either under the Constitution or law made by the Parliament in relation to Section 302.
• In the absence of such specific conferment, it is the executive power of the State that extends with respect to Section 302, assuming that the subject matter of Section 302 is covered by Entry 1 of List III.

FIT CASE FOR ARTICLE 142

• The Court has considered the appellant’s prolonged period of incarceration etc., and the pendency of his petition under Article 161 for two and a half years after the recommendation of the State Cabinet.
• Hence, in the exercise of its power under Article 142 of the Constitution, the Court directed that the appellant is deemed to have served a sentence in connection with the crime and set him free.

BACK TO BASICS-THE CLEMENCY POWER OF THE PRESIDENT AND THE GOVERNOR

THE PRESIDENT

•  Article 72 deals with the clemency power of the President of India. This power extends to:

in all cases where the punishment or sentence is by a Court Martial;

in all cases where the punishment or sentence is for an offence against any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the Union extends;

in all cases where the sentence is a sentence of death.

• This power should be exercised on the advice tendered by the executive to the President, who, subject to the provisions of Article 74(1), must act in accordance with such advice.
• In several cases, the Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that when deciding mercy petitions, the President must follow the advice of the Council of Ministers. Maru Ram vs Union of India in 1980 and Dhananjoy Chatterjee vs State of West Bengal in 1994 are two examples.
• Relevant materials must be placed by the State before the Governor so that he can make a decision.

THE GOVERNOR

• Under Article 161, the Governor has the power to grant clemency to anyone convicted under any law on a matter which comes under the State’s executive power.
• This power is to be exercised by the Governor as per the advice of the CoM.
• The power to pardon in all cases where the sentence is death, the power lies within President as per Art 72.
• The Supreme Court has held in Maru Ram and Kehar Singh that the power under Articles 72 and 161 of the Constitution are to be exercised by the Central and the State Governments and not by the President or Governor on their own.
• In AG Perarivalan Vs State of TN, 2022, the SC held that the Governor could not refer the mercy petition to the President as it would be against federalism.
• In a 2021 judgement of the SC relating to the remission policies in Haryana, the Court held that the Governor is bound by the advice of the CoM. In fact, the Court noted that the sovereign power of a governor related to clemency to a prisoner under Article 161 is actually exercised by the State government and not the Governor on his own.

KEY TERMS-AN EXPLAINER

• Pardon: It absolves the convict of all sentences, punishments, and disqualifications by removing both the sentence and the conviction. A pardon may be absolute or conditional. It may be exercised at any time, either before legal proceedings are taken or during their pendency or after conviction. The rejection of one clemency petition does not exhaust the pardoning power of the President.
• Commutation: The substitution of one form of punishment for a less severe form. A death sentence, for example, may be commuted to rigorous imprisonment, which may then be commuted to simple imprisonment.
• Remission: It refers to reducing the length of a sentence without changing its nature. A sentence of rigorous imprisonment for two years, for example, may be reduced to rigorous imprisonment for one year.
• Respite: It refers to the imposition of a lesser sentence in place of one that was originally imposed due to a unique circumstance, such as a convict’s physical disability or a woman offender’s pregnancy.
• Reprieve:It denotes a temporary stay of execution of a sentence (especially one of death). Its purpose is to give the convict enough time to petition the President for a pardon or commutation.

CLEMENCY POWER OF THE GOVERNMENTS UNDER THE CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE(Cr.PC), 1973

• The Cr.PC provides for the clemency power of ” appropriate governments” under some conditions, which are enunciated in Sections 432, 433 and 435.
• Under Section 432, the ‘appropriate government’ may suspend or remit a sentence, in whole or in part, with or without conditions. Under Section 433, any sentence may be commuted to a lesser one by the appropriate government.
• Section 432 explains that which government has the authority to decide on clemency (Union or State) will depend on which government enjoy the executive power in enforcing the law against which the offence is committed.
• Section 435 says that if the prisoner had been sentenced in a case investigated by the CBI, or any agency that probed the offence under a Central Act, the State government could order such release only in consultation with the Central government.
• In the case of death sentences, the Central government may also concurrently exercise the same power as the State government to remit or suspend the sentence.
• In Maru Ram etc. vs Union of India (1980), the Supreme Court said: “Section 432 and Section 433 of the Code are not a manifestation of Articles 72 and 161 of the Constitution but a separate, though similar, power.”

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CLEMENCY POWER

UNITED KINGDOM

• At present, the monarch exercises power on the advice of the departmental minister, the Home Secretary.
• The Home Secretary’s decision can, in some situations, be challenged by judicial review.
• All in all, it may be concluded that in the UK, judicial review of the power of pardon is extremely restricted in scope.
• The British constitutional structure recognizes the supremacy of Parliament and provides an altogether narrower scope for judicial review than the Indian Constitution, which tends towards the separation of powers.
• Thus, British precedent in this area has limited application to India.

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

• Article II of the US Constitution grants the President of the United States the “Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.”
• The Court has been cautious in its interpretation of the pardoning power of the President except in very limited areas. However, apart from judicial scrutiny in these areas, the power of pardon has been allowed to be exercised freely.
• Governors (and, many would contend, Presidents) have regularly exercised the clemency power in ways that are clearly at odds with society’s interests, including granting or denying pardons to convicted murderers solely because of campaign promises made to supporters.
• One Governor was even impeached and removed for particularly blatant abuses of the pardoning power.

 A TIMELINE OF THE EVENTS LEADING TO THE SC JUDGMENT

• May 21, 1991:Former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu by a suicide bomber belonging to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
• June 11, 1991:19-year-old A G Perarivalan was arrested by CBI and booked under TADA along with other accused in the case.
• January 12, 1998: After a prolonged trial, the TADA court sentenced 26 accused to death, including Nalini and Perarivalan.
• May 11, 1999: Supreme Court upholds the death sentence of four, including Murugan, Santhan, Perarivalan and Nalini, sentenced three others to life sentences and frees 19 other death convicts.
• April 2000: Nalini’s death penalty is commuted to life by the then Tamil Nadu governor on the basis of a recommendation of the state cabinet and a public appeal made by Sonia Gandhi.
• 2001:Three death convicts, including Santhan, Murugan and Perarivalan, submit their mercy pleas to the President of India.
• August 11, 2011: Pratibha Patil, the then President, rejects their mercy petitions after 11 years.
• Aug 2011: Madras HC orders stay on the execution of three death convicts ahead of their scheduled hanging on September 9, 2011. A resolution is passed by the then chief minister J Jayalalithaa, seeking commutation of the death sentence.
• Nov 2013:Former CBI SP V Thiagarajan, who had taken the confession of Perarivalan in TADA custody, reveals that he altered it to qualify as a confession statement.
• January 21, 2014: SC commutes death penalty of three Rajiv Gandhi case convicts, along with 12 others, including aides of forest brigand Veerappan, into life imprisonment. The Court cited the inordinate delay in deciding the mercy petition by the President to commute the sentence of death.
• 2015:Perarivalan submits a mercy petition to the Tamil Nadu governor seeking release under Article 161 of the Constitution. Later, he moves Supreme Court after getting no reply from the Governor.
• Aug 2017: Tamil Nadu government grants parole to Perarivalan, the first after his arrest in 1991.
• September 9, 2018: Tamil Nadu Cabinet, headed by the chief minister, recommends the release of all seven convicts.
• Jan 2021: As the Governor continues to sit on the cabinet recommendation, SC orders to take a decision and warns that the Court will be forced to release them, citing the inordinate delay.
• May 2021:Perarivalan is out on parole. The new DMK government kept extending the parole.
• March 9, 2022:The Supreme Court grants bail to Perarivalan.
• May 11, 2022:The Supreme Court concludes the hearing in the case.
• May 18, 2022:Supreme Court orders release of Perarivalan from jail.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE ARGUMENTS AND COUNTER-ARGUMENTS GIVEN BY THE PARTIES

THE UNION GOVERNMENT

• In cases where the sentence is for an offence against any law relating to a matter to which the Union’s executive power extends, the Central Government is the appropriate government to consider pleas of remission.
• To demonstrate the scope of the Union’s executive power, the Union cited Article 73 of the Constitution, which states that such powers would extend to all matters over which Parliament has legislative authority.
• It indicated that the Indian Penal Code is a law enacted by Parliament and hence the remission requests for offences under the code would be considered by the President.
• The IPC is on the concurrent list, and under the principles outlined in Articles 246 to 245 when both the Union Government and the State Government have executive power, the Union Government would take precedence.

THE STATE OF TAMILNADU

• The Governor’s reference to the mercy petition to the President is an absolute derogation of the federal structure envisaged in the Constitution.
• The sentence for offences under the Central Act had already been undergone by the prisoner, and the only offence for which Perarivalan is now serving a sentence is punishable under Section 302 IPC.
• The proviso to Article 73 of the Constitution makes it clear that the Union Government’s executive power would not extend to matters over which the State Legislature also has legislative authority unless explicitly mentioned in the Constitution or any Central Law.
• Because neither the IPC nor the CrPC contains a saving clause that reserves power for the Union Government, the Union Government’s executive power would not extend to matters within the purview of the State executive.
• The IPC is not a Parliamentary enactment but rather an existing law that the Parliament has amended from time to time. The IPC is a collection of penal laws that deal with a wide range of offences that are referenced in various lists of Schedule 7 of the Constitution.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE JUDGMENT?

• First, the judgement holds that the Governor’s duty while performing his functions, including the power to remit, suspend, or commute sentences under Article 161, is to follow the recommendations of the State Cabinet.
• Second, an important finding is that the Governor was not required to refer the case to the President.
• Third, Governors must exercise their authority on time.
• Fourth, the judgement acknowledges the State’s power in matters of remission, commutation, and so on.
• Fifth, the verdict upholds prisoners’ human rights.

WHETHER INVOCATION OF ARTICLE 142 IS JUSTIFIED?

The use of Article 142 is justified by the case’s unusual facts, which are almost unique. The Governor’s delay in accepting the State Cabinet decision was enormous. It had an impact on a person’s liberty who was legally and constitutionally entitled to be released. For decades, the case was fought. The Centre’s usual litigation strategies contributed to the delay. The Court may have been aware of the procedural injustice meted out to Perarivalan and concluded that the only way to correct it was to invoke Article 142 and release the prisoner. A return to the Governor of the petition would have prolonged the litigation, which had already exceeded all reasonable bounds. Thus, the argument that this violates the separation of power doctrine does not hold much conviction, although this power being extraordinary, needs to be used very sparingly when either of the other two organs fails to act.

 THE WAY FORWARD:

ROLE OF GOVERNOR

• The Governor’s role has been seriously questioned due to the constitutional impropriety displayed by politically partisan governors.
• The inordinate delay in deciding the clemency petition needs to be seen in the context of changing the role of the Governor from “purely being an agent of centre”.
• Hence, governors should strictly follow their constitutional dharma.

CHANGING FEDERAL EQUATIONS

• The federal equations between the Centre and states have reached new lows in recent times, which open new fault lines in federal dynamics. This clemency controversy is another such instance, and hence a better Centre-state relationship must be developed.

NEED FOR CHANGE IN PARDON POWER

• A wide public debate needs to be initiated on the whole issue of pardoning power, its mechanism and employment.

FAULTY AND MOTIVATED INVESTIGATION

• All the limbs of the criminal justice system need to work towards securing justice for all, including the accused.
• In this instant case, it was seen that forced confession was extracted from the appellant and such motivated and faulty investigation strikes at the very roots of the justice system.

POLITICIZATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

• The human rights of individuals should not be made to suffer at the altar of political manipulations and machinations.

A TIME LIMIT FOR EXERCISING PARDON POWER

• In Perarivalan vs Union of India. 2014, the SC held that “apex constitutional authorities” like the President and the Governor must exercise their clemency powers under Articles 72 and 161, respectively, within the “bounds of constitutional discipline” and in an “expeditious manner”.
• The fact that no time limit is prescribed to the President/Governor for disposal of the mercy petition should compel the government to work in a more systematized manner to repose the confidence of the people in the institution of democracy.

REVISIT THE NEED FOR CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

• The entire saga of cases related to Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination once again generated a debate on the need for capital punishment in Indian Statute books, especially in the context of decision/non-decision/rejection of mercy petitions.
• As it is not possible to know the reason behind this act of the President/Governor, and subjective factors might influence decisions, a moratorium on capital sentence need to be enforced in the shorter term,

THE CONCLUSION: The SC judgement has provided clarity as to the nature of the relation between the governor and the state government vis a vis the clemency power. However, it would be naïve to think that such instances would not recur in future unless the governors display political sagacity. It is in the interest of justice, public cause and human rights that Centre-state relations should improve, for which the role of the Governor is very important while the scope of judicial review is minimum.

Questions:

1. What was held by the Supreme Court in AG Perarivalan Vs State, 2022? Do you think that this judgement has provided clarity with respect to the exercise of the clemency power by the Governor? Explain.
2. “Constitutional clemency differs from statutory clemency”. Comment.
3. “When politics determines justice, human rights become a causality” Elaborate in the context of the SC judgment on the clemency power of the Governor in the Perarivalan case 2022.

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2. Listen With Compassion READ MORE
3. MANAGING SELF is KEY TO SUCCESS IN LIFE READ MORE

1. Himalayan challenge: Vehicular emissions are causing Ladakh glaciers to melt and retreat at an alarming rate READ MORE
2. No one-size-fits-all approach to human-crocodilian conflict globally: Delegates at IUCN meet READ MORE

1. The population question: India will soon be the world’s most populous country. This, however, calls for a reasoned response READ MORE
2. Women suffer violence silently across the world READ MORE
3. What’s missing in govt’s plan to secure ‘accessibility’ for persons with disabilities READ MORE
4. Inequalities in School Education READ MORE

1. A trust deficit in Parliament READ MORE
2. India’s judiciary wants a new bail law – but wouldn’t be implementing existing rules do the job anyway? READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. IIT-M ranked India’s top higher education institute READ MORE
2. FM: Public capex key to India’s long-term growth READ MORE
3. Why indigenous HPV vaccine has the potential to drastically bring down the incidence & deaths caused by cervical cancer in India? READ MORE
4. Monsoon revives: Kharif crop area rises, but rice, arhar remain concern READ MORE
5. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam sign pact to resolve border dispute READ MORE
6. Govt launches “Jagriti” mascot for empowering consumers and generating awareness towards their rights READ MORE
7. Kerala becomes first state to have own internet service READ MORE
8. Rajnath Singh launches Project 17A stealth frigate ‘Dunagiri’ READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. The population question: India will soon be the world’s most populous country. This, however, calls for a reasoned response READ MORE
2. Women suffer violence silently across the world READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. A trust deficit in Parliament READ MORE
2. India’s judiciary wants a new bail law – but wouldn’t be implementing existing rules do the job anyway? READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. What’s missing in govt’s plan to secure ‘accessibility’ for persons with disabilities READ MORE
2. Inequalities in School Education READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. The Ukraine war and the return to Euro-centrism READ MORE
2. I2U2 and the Middle power great game: the US is key to West Asian Quad but India, Israel, UAE have their own plays too READ MORE
3. I2U2 reflects new geopolitical realities for all four nations READ MORE

 GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Deficit doubts: Fretting about current account deficit is warranted; fiscal space must be reassessed READ MORE
2. Govt betrayal over MSP fuelling farmers’ anger READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Himalayan challenge: Vehicular emissions are causing Ladakh glaciers to melt and retreat at an alarming rate READ MORE
2. No one-size-fits-all approach to human-crocodilian conflict globally: Delegates at IUCN meet READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Time for vigilance: Increased testing and building awareness, not stigmatisation, can stop the spread of monkeypox READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Master the technique of choosing wisely READ MORE
2. Listen With Compassion READ MORE
3. MANAGING SELF is KEY TO SUCCESS IN LIFE READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. ‘In the current era of more flexible partnerships, I2U2 could emerge as a platform for shaping responses to global challenges’. Critically examine.
2. With the help of the relevant examples, discuss how India shed its Cold War mindset of non-alignment in recent times?

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Here is my first principle of foreign policy: good government at home.
• The online trolling of the judiciary is a new low, highlighting a sustained and organised campaign of intimidation.
• The National Achievement Survey shows that students from disadvantaged social groups lag behind.
• Holding the executive and judiciary accountable for illegal arrests will go a long way in ensuring compliance with the law.
• To understand why the world’s only Jewish state would be keen on ties with a Sunni Muslim theocratic kingdom is important to make sense of US diplomacy in the region.
• With the sustained spread and a few cases already detected in women, the possibility of spreading into the general community cannot be dismissed. Increased testing, contact tracing, building awareness, and not stigmatising infected people can stop the spread.
• The key message from the European narratives about the Ukraine war is that European states would want to see their wars and conflicts as threatening international stability and the ‘rules-based’ global order.

ESSAY TOPIC

• Truth is beyond the rational mind.
• The best way to address challenges is through cooperation and dialogue

50 WORD TALK

• The Centre must ensure a legal guarantee of MSP, and a Bill in this regard should be tabled in Parliament during the coming Monsoon Session. Buying farm produce at a rate less than MSP should be punishable by law. MSP calculations should be made per the C2 formula and the committee’s recommendations headed by MS Swaminathan. The lack of accountability over MSP is painful.
• The emergence of the I2U2 grouping is clearly an outcome of the Abraham Accords of Aug 2020 and the possibilities that they have created for Israel and the UAE to be on the same platform as India and the US. As President Biden moves to Saudi Arabia for the second leg of his visit to West Asia, we are likely to see a push towards integrating Israel through trade, technology, direct flights and people-to-people contact, even with countries where full diplomatic ties may take some time to mature.

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 is in the news, you should do map work (marking those areas on maps and exploring other geographical locations nearby, including mountains, rivers, etc.) 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 INDIAN POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1.THE ROAD TO ROLLING OUT LABOUR CODES

THE CONTEXT:The Code on Wages (passed in Parliament in August 2019), the Industrial Relations Code, the Code on Social Security, and the Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (all passed on September 22 and 23, 2020 in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha) have not yet been implemented.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Centre claims that the four codes are a major step in the process of labour reforms. The central trade unions (CTUs) have held three general strikes against the codes so far, alleging that the codes will result in taking away whatever little social and economic security is left in the employment sector.
• The farmers’ organisations had also supported the trade unions in their protests. The employers’ associations, too, had mixed feeling towards the codes, but had generally welcomed them.

Where does it stand?

• The government says the delay in implementation is due to the delay in framing rules by the States. As labour is a concurrent subject, both the States and the Centre will have to prepare rules for the codes. The Centre had also offered help to the States so that the codes can be implemented from July 1, 2022.
• Union Minister for Labour recently said that only a few States have not yet framed the rules. According to a recent report, 24 States have so far published draft rules to all four codes.

What is the process?

• The States are publishing draft rules and inviting comments from stakeholders on those draft rules. The Centre had also published draft rules for certain sections of the four codes. The trade unions have been asking the Centre to stop this piecemeal approach and release the complete rules of four codes.
• Since the four labour codes are an amalgamation of 29 Central laws and about 100 State laws that are similar to various Central laws, drafting, publishing and holding consultations with stakeholders is taking considerable time. There are also complaints by the Opposition-ruled States that the codes are “poorly drafted”.
• The Opposition had objected to the way the three codes were passed in Parliament in just two days without much discussion.

What lies ahead?

• The trade unions are warning about more protests if the codes are implemented. They say that the Centre will have to repeal it the way it repealed the three farm laws.
• The Centre, too, is worried about the political fallout of its implementation and thus, this could also be a possible reason for the delay. The employers are worried that further increase in the salary bill will hamper their profits in a recession-hit economy and they expect the government to hold more discussions.

VALUE ADDITION:

About the labour codes:

• The new set of regulations consolidates 44 labour laws under 4 categories of Codes namely, Wage Code; Social Security Code; Occupational Safety, Health & Working Conditions Code; and the Industrial Relations Code.
• The Parliament has already passed all the four Codes and it has also received the President’s assent.

The 4 codes are:

1. The Code on Wages, 2019, applying to all the employees in organized as well as unorganized sector, aims to regulate wage and bonus payments in all employments and aims at providing equal remuneration to employees performing work of a similar nature in every industry, trade, business, or manufacture.
2. The Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions, 2020 seeks to regulate the health and safety conditions of workers in establishments with 10 or more workers, and in all mines and docks.
3. The Code on Social Security, 2020 consolidates nine laws related to social security and maternity benefits.
4. The Code on Industrial Relations, 2020 seeks to consolidate three labour laws namely, The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947: The Trade Unions Act, 1926 and The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946. The Code aims to improve the business environment in the country largely by reducing the labour compliance burden of industries.

 2.NIRF RANKINGS 2022

THE CONTEXT:The Union Education Minister released the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) Rankings 2022.

THE EXPLANATION:

NIRF India Ranking 2022 has been announced for 11 categories. This includes overall, university, management, college, pharmacy, medical, engineering, architecture, ARIIA (Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements), law and research institutions.

Assessment in five parameters:

• Teaching, Learning and Resources (TLR)
• Research and Professional Practice (RP)
• Graduation Outcomes (GO)
• Outreach and Inclusivity (OI)
• Peer Perception.

Key Highlights of India Rankings 2022

• Indian Institute of Technology Madras retains its 1st position in Overall Category for fourth consecutive year and in Engineering for seventh consecutive year.
• Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru tops the Universities Category for seventh consecutive year. It stood first in Research Institutions Category for second consecutive year.
• IIM Ahmedabad tops in Management subject retaining its first position for third consecutive year.
• All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi occupies the top slot in Medical for the fifth consecutive year. Moreover, AIIMS is ranked at 9th position in Overall category for the first time.
• Jamia Hamdard tops the ranking in Pharmacy for fourth consecutive year.
• Miranda House retains the 1st position amongst Colleges for the sixth consecutive year.
• IIT Roorkee stands at 1st position in Architecture subject for second consecutive year.
• National Law School of India University, Bengaluru retains its first position in Law for the fifth consecutive year.
• Colleges in Delhi dominate ranking of colleges with five colleges out of first 10 colleges from Delhi.
• The Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences takes the top slot for the first time in Dental Subject displacing Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal.

Increase in Number of Applicants for India Rankings from 2016 to 2022

• A total number of 4,786 unique institutions offered themselves for ranking under “Overall”, category-specific and / or domain-specific rankings for India Rankings 2022. In all, 7,254 applications for ranking were made by these 4,786 unique institutions under various categories / domains including 1,876 in Overall Category, 1,249 in Engineering, and 2,270 in General Degree Colleges.
• A noticeable increase in institutional participation in the rankings exercise this year indicates its recognition amongst institutions of higher education in India as a fair and transparent ranking exercise.

Increase in Number of Institutions Ranked in India Rankings from 2016 to 2022

• While 100 institutions are ranked in Overall, Universities and Colleges categories, number of institutions that are being ranked in Engineering has been increased to 200 from 2019 onwards. Moreover, number of institutions ranked in Management and Pharmacy are being increased from 75 to100 each from this year onwards.
• However, number of institutions ranked are restricted between 30 and 50 in subject domains namely Architecture, Law, Medical, Dental as well as in Research Institutions. Additional rankings are suitably bunched in Rank Bands of 101-150 and 151-200 in case of Overall, Universities and Colleges, 201-250 and 251-300 in case of Engineering and 101-125 in case of Pharmacy and Management.

VALUE ADDITION:

Related Initiatives:

• Institutes of Eminence: It is a government’s scheme to provide the regulatory architecture for setting up or upgrading 20 Institutions (10 from the public sector and 10 from the private sector) as world-class teaching and research institutions called ‘Institutions of Eminence’.
• Impacting Research Innovation and Technology (IMPRINT): It is a first-of-its-kind Pan-IIT and IISc joint initiative to develop a new education policy and a roadmap for research to solve major engineering and technology challenges that India must address and champion to enable, empower and embolden the nation for inclusive growth and self-reliance.
• Uchhatar Avishkar Yojana (UAY): It was announced to promote innovation of a higher order that directly impacts the needs of the Industry and thereby improves the competitive edge of Indian manufacturing.

 THE HEALTH ISSUES

3.NEW RESEARCH: PLAYING WIND INSTRUMENTS CAN SPREAD RESPIRATORY PARTICLES

THE CONTEXT:According to a study from Colorado State University (CSU), Just like coughing, sneezing, talking and singing, playing wind instruments — particularly brass ones — can spread respiratory particles that may carry the virus that causes Covid-19.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Early in the pandemic, CSU engineers teamed up with musicians and performers to try and quantify respiratory particle emissions from various activities like singing and music-playing.
• The researchers have now published the results of their measurements of particle emissions from wind instrument-playing, including brass and woodwinds, in the journal Scientific Reports.
• They used a cutting-edge aerosol measurement chamber and recruited volunteers to perform in the chamber while aerosol emissions from themselves — or their instruments — were analysed. For the instruments study, they had 81 volunteer performers who played wind instruments including the bassoon, clarinet, French horn, oboe, piccolo, saxophone, trombone, trumpet and tuba.
• Brass instruments, on average, produced 191 per cent more aerosols than woodwinds, according to the report. Being male was associated with a 70 per cent increase in emissions from instrument-playing, probably due to lung size and capacity, the researchers think. Louder playing of brass instruments was associated with higher particle counts, but louder playing of woodwinds didn’t increase emissions.
• The researchers also took measurements with performers using bell covers in an attempt to mitigate the particle spread, which seemed to work. The use of bell covers reduced emissions from trombone, tuba and trumpet players, with average reductions of 53-73 per cent, but not for oboe or clarinet.
• A single-exit instrument like a trumpet is easier to control with protective measures.
• According to the release, the study reconfirms that at the start of the pandemic, shutting down performing arts in the name of safety likely saved lives.

VALUE ADDITION:

According to the Centre for disease control and Prevention,the principal mode by which people are infected with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) is through exposure to respiratory fluids carrying infectious virus. Exposure occurs in three principal ways:

1. inhalation of very fine respiratory droplets and aerosol particles,
2. deposition of respiratory droplets and particles on exposed mucous membranes in the mouth, nose, or eye by direct splashes and sprays, and
3. touching mucous membranes with hands that have been soiled either directly by virus-containing respiratory fluids or indirectly by touching surfaces with virus on them.

PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES

• To decrease the spread of COVID-19, it is important to investigate the transmission routes of SARS-CoV-2. Although SARS-CoV-2 has been detected in the stool specimen of patients, faecal–oral transmission of the virus has not been confirmed. Currently, SARS-CoV-2 is considered to be mainly transmitted via respiratory droplets.
• Generally, respiratory droplets are defined as large respiratory particles that are >5–10 μm in diameter. SARS-CoV-2 can be transmitted via droplets when people are in close contact (within one meter) or owing to fomite transmission in the immediate environment.

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

4.INDIA GETS ELECTED TO THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE OF UNESCO’S 2003 CONVENTION

THE CONTEXT:India has been elected as a member of the Intergovernmental Committee of UNESCO’s 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage for the 2022-2026 cycle.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Intergovernmental Committee of the 2003 Convention consists of 24 members and is elected in the General Assembly of the Convention according to the principles of equitable geographical representation and rotation. States Members to the Committee are elected for a term of four years.
• Some of the core functions of the Intergovernmental Committee include promoting the objectives of the Convention, providing guidance on best practices, and making recommendations on measures for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage. The Committee also examines requests submitted by States Parties for the inscription of intangible heritage on the Lists as well as proposals for programmes and projects.
• In the past, India has served two terms as a member of the Intergovernmental Committee of this Convention. For its 2022-2026 term, India has formulated a clear vision for the protection and promotion of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Some of the priority areas that India will focus upon include fostering community participation, strengthening international cooperation through intangible heritage, promoting academic research on intangible cultural heritage, and aligning the work of the Convention with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
• India ratified the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in September 2005. As one of the earliest State Parties to ratify the Convention, India has shown great commitment towards matters related to intangible heritage and has actively encouraged other State Parties to ratify it. With 14 inscriptions on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, India also ranks high in the listing of intangible cultural heritage. After the inscription of Durga Puja in 2021, India submitted the nomination for Garba of Gujarat to be discussed in 2023.

Being a member:

• As a member of the intergovernmental committee, India will have the opportunity to closely monitor the implementation of the 2003 Convention. With the aim of strengthening the scope and impact of the Convention, India seeks to mobilize the capacity of different actors worldwide in order to effectively safeguard intangible heritage.
• Also noting the imbalance in the inscriptions on the three lists of the Convention, i.e., Urgent Safeguarding List, Representative List and Register of Good Safeguarding Practices, India shall endeavour to encourage international dialogue within the State Parties to the Convention in order to better showcase the diversity and importance of living heritage.

VALUE ADDITION:

UNESCO: (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)

• The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was born on 16 November 1945.UNESCO has 195 Members and 8 Associate Members and is governed by the General Conference and the Executive Board. The Secretariat, headed by the Director-General, implements the decisions of these two bodies. The Organization has more th 50 field offices around the world and its headquarters are located in Paris.
• UNESCO’s mission is to contribute to the building of a culture of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information.

UNESCO focuses on a set of objectives in the global priority areas “Africa” and “Gender Equality”

And on a number of overarching objectives:

• Attaining quality education for all and lifelong learning
• Mobilizing science knowledge and policy for sustainable development
• Addressing emerging social and ethical challenges
• Fostering cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and a culture of peace
• Building inclusive knowledge societies through information and communication

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

5.CENTRE EXTENDS RoSCTL SCHEME

THE CONTEXT:The government has approved the continuation of the Scheme for Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies (RoSCTL) with the same rates as notified by the Ministry of Textiles for exports of apparel/garments and made ups till March 31, 2024, with a view to boost exports and job creation in the textile sector.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to experts “RoSCTL is a forward-looking and growth-oriented scheme which has provided a stable and predictable policy regime, helping boost exports and employment. The scheme helped improve cost efficiency and the export competitiveness in the international market. It has also promoted incubation of start-ups & entrepreneurs in the domain and also led to the large number of MSMEs joining the apparel export business.”
• The RoSL (Rebate of State Levies) initiative was superseded by the new RoSCTL (Rebate of State and Central Taxes Levies) scheme in March 2019 following the implementation of GST in 2017. An initiative called the Rebate of State and Central Levies and Taxes (RoSCTL) Scheme aims to reimburse all embedded State and Central Taxes/Levies for exports of manufactured goods and garments. Importer-Exporter Codes (IECs) are necessary in order to apply for the RoSCTL programme. To enhance the productivity of the garment and made-up sectors, it has been established as a successor for the old “Rebate of State Levies (RoSL) Scheme” to rebate all embedded State and Central Taxes and Levies.
• According to sources, “All exporters of garments/Apparels and made-ups manufactured in India are eligible to take benefit under this scheme except entities/ IECs under the Denied Entity List of the DGFT. Further RoSCTL benefit is available subject to the facts that the exporter has not claimed RoDTEP benefits. Such exporter may either be the merchant or manufacturer exporter. However, such goods should have been directly exported by such person.

VALUE ADDITION:

Aim of the RoSCTL scheme

RoSCTL Scheme was launched with the aim of reimbursing all embedded State and Central Taxes or Levies for exports of manufactured goods and garments. Importer-Exporter Codes (IECs) are required to apply for RoSCTL programme. It also seeks to enhance productivity in garment and made-up sectors as it rebates all the embedded State and Central Taxes & Levies. It further aims to compensate State and Central Taxes and Levies apart from the Duty Drawback Scheme on export of apparel or garments and Made-ups.

Rebate of State Taxes and Levies

Rebate of State Taxes and Levies comprises of:

• VAT on fuel used in transportation
• Captive power
• Farm sector
• Mandi tax
• Duty of electricity
• Stamp duty on export documents
• Embedded SGST which are paid on pesticides, fertilizers etc.

THE ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

6.FOREST ACT: CENTRE TO DECRIMINALISE MINOR OFFENCES

THE CONTEXT:Recently, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has issued a public notice for decriminalisation of Indian Forest Act, 1927.

THE EXPLANATION:

The Ministry is undertaking a review of the Act to decriminalise minor sections of the law, including:

• Carrying timber into the forest,
• Trespassing by cattle,
• Felling a tree,
• Felling or damaging a tree reserved under a special provision of the law,
• Kindling a fire or carrying fire in forest areas.

Indian Forest Act (IFA), 1927:

• It provides a legal framework for protection and management of forests, transit of forest produce and timber, and duty that can be levied on forest produce and timber.
• IFA is an umbrella act which provides the basic architecture for the management of forests in the country.
• It also includes providing mechanisms to ensure notification of reserved, protected and village forests, protection of forest resources, forest biodiversity and wildlife of the country

Amendment Proposed:

The exercise is focused on:

• Decriminalisation of relatively minor violations of law,
• Expeditious resolution through compounding of relatively smaller offences,
• Reducing compliance burden on citizens,
• Rationalisation of penalties and
• Preventing harassment of citizens

The ministry seeks to replace the provision of imprisonment for six months and fine, with a fine of 500.

• The penalties will be collected under an environmental relief fund.

Power of Union Government:

• The Union does not have the jurisprudence to carry out amendments in the Act, as it does not fall under the Central government, having been enacted before Parliament was established.
• Instead, the Act is adopted by states as they feel fit.
• Only Haryana, Punjab, MP, Bengal and Bihar actually follow the Act.
• Other states have their own forest Acts.

Significance

• This is being done to ease the difficulties faced in differentiating between major and minor offences, and their punishments be made distinct.
• This will deter habitual offenders from committing more crimes, as at present there is the same level of punishment for both first-time and repeat offenders.

Criticism

• It might go on incentivising offences, especially that of felling trees which is extremely dangerous.
• The proposed amendment further does not clarify or promotes ambiguity whether the Rs 500 fine is the cost of felling one tree, or an entire forest can be felled and considered a single offence.
• The Centre’s move is actually an infringement on the rights of the states.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Q.With Reference to the “United Nations Credentials Committee”, consider the following statements: (2022)

1. It is a committee set up by the UN Security Council and works under its supervision.
2. It traditionally meets in March, June and September every year.
3. It assesses the credentials of all UN members before submitting a report to the General Assembly for approval.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 3 only

b) 1 and 3

c) 2 and 3

d) 1 and 2

ANSWER FOR 15^TH JULY 2022

ANSWER: C

EXPLANATION:

Both the statements are correct.

•  A zoonotic disease is a disease or infection that can be transmitted naturally from vertebrate animals to humans or from humans to vertebrate animals. More than 60% of human pathogens are zoonotic in origin. This includes a wide variety of bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa, parasites, and other pathogens.

THE CONTEXT: The Supreme Court’s order on 11 May 2022, “putting in abeyance” Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, which prescribes punishment for “sedition,” has been greeted with a measure of relief by the various sections. In a brief order delivered in S.G. Vombatkere vs Union of India, a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court of India effectively suspended the operation of Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). This article examines the issue in detail.

THE JUDGEMENT

• In a historic development, the Supreme Court on 11 May 2022 ordered that the 152-year-old sedition law under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code should be effectively kept in abeyance till the Union Government reconsiders the provision. In an interim order, the Court urged the Centre and the State governments to refrain from registering any FIRs under the said provision while it was under re-consideration. The Court also held that those already booked under Section 124A IPC and are in jail can approach the concerned courts for bail.

THE ANALYSIS OF THE PRESENT STAND OF THE SUPREME COURT

• Direction for reconsideration of sedition law was issued after the Union government filed an affidavit informing the Supreme Court that it had decided to re-examine the law as part of the Prime Minister’s efforts to scrap outdated laws and compliance burdens. The deposition, by itself, offered no firm commitment on whether the government would recommend to Parliament a complete removal of Section 124A. Another pertinent issue is whether the government is serious about re-examining and reconsidering the provisions of Section 124A or was it simply buying time to take the fight to another day? If it was serious, it would have come forward and put all pending cases on hold with an assurance to review them and weed out those that were clearly make-believe. The government was also ambiguous in stating that re-examination and reconsideration would be by the competent forum, namely the Parliament.
• The court’s interim order balances security interests and integrity of the state on one hand, and the civil liberties of citizens on the other. However, it is not the prerogative of the court to strike down any law made by the legislature if it is not in contravention of the Constitution. A constitutional bench in 1962 has already held the  Sedition Law to be Constitutional and we need a larger bench (Five judge bench in Kedar Nath Case) to re-examine the law’s constitutional validity. Though the rights and freedoms under Articles 19 and 21 have been expanded from time to time by the judiciary, it is yet to be ascertained whether the ‘reasonable restrictions’ under Article 19(2) can also be expanded or interpreted in a wider context by the judiciary. If so, then it might have irrevocable implications on the Constitutional scheme of governance. As empirical evidence shows the misuse of the sedition law by the executive, the judiciary has to step in to safeguard the rights of the people and enforce rule of law. But, in order that the judgement to be effective in practice, other limbs of the Criminal Justice System must also internalize the spirit of the judgment in its working.

WHAT IS SEDITION?

• Cambridge Dictionary defines sedition as language or behaviour intended to persuade other people to oppose their government and change it, sometimes by using violence.

 SEDITION LAW IN INDIA SECTION 124A IPC:

• Section 124A defines sedition as any action — “whether by words, signs, or visible representation” — which “brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the government established by law in India”.

Ø  This means that the law punishes attempts to create “hatred,” “contempt,” or “disaffection” towards the government as “sedition.” The explanation to Section 124A explicitly excludes “disapprobation” of the measures or actions of the government that does not excite or attempt to excite hatred, contempt or disaffection.

• The word “disaffection”, the provision explains, “includes disloyalty and all feelings of enmity”. However, comments without exciting or attempting to excite hatred, contempt or disaffection, will not constitute an offence under this section.

 SEDITION AS A COGNIZABLE OFFENSE:

• In 1962 the Supreme Court of India interpreted the section to apply only if there is, say, “incitement to violence” or “overthrowing a democratically elected government through violent means”.
• Sedition was made a cognizable offence for the first time in history in India during the tenure of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1973, that is, arrest without a warrant was now permissible.

THE HISTORY OF SEDITION

• Sedition laws were enacted around the 17th Century in England in a bid to protect the Crown and the State from any potential uprising. The premise was that people could only have a good opinion of the government, and a bad opinion was detrimental to the functioning of the government and the monarchy. It was subsequently introduced in the Indian Penal Code in 1870.
• Section 124A had been introduced in the Indian Penal Code by the British to punish sedition as an “offence against the state,” and was used to arrest freedom fighters, notably Bal Gangadhar Tilak and M K Gandhi.
• The first known instance of the application of the law was the trial of newspaper editor Jogendra Chandra Bose in 1891.
• Another major case was when Bal Gangadhar Tilak was brought to trial for sedition in 1897 for his lectures and songs at the Shivaji Coronation Ceremony. In 1908, Tilak was again charged with sedition for the publication of a critical article in his magazine Kesari. He was held guilty and sentenced to six years imprisonment by the Bombay High Court, which ruled that no one was permitted to “attribute dishonest or immoral motives to the government.”
• The next landmark sedition case in the pre-independence era was Gandhi’s trial for the offence of sedition for his articles in the Young India magazine. The trial itself was remarkable for his decision to plead guilty to the charge of sedition and Justice Broomfield’s reluctance to sentence him because he did not believe that Gandhi deserved to be charged with sedition in the first place. Mahatma Gandhi had described Section 124A as “the prince among the political sections of the Indian Penal Code designed to suppress the liberty of the citizen”.

CONTEMPORARY DEBATE AND DATA

• The law of sedition has been weaponised by the governments. Cases are filed for strange reasons. For example, the widowed mother of a child and the headmistress of a school was arrested and charged with sedition and school children were subjected to questioning for hours only for participating in a play that contained an “objectionable” line relating to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The intention behind the use of the law of sedition is apparently intended to quell dissent and criticism and scare people into submission.
• The offence of sedition has been invoked quite frequently in the recent past. The database of article-14.com called “A Decade of Darkness” is perhaps the only “live” study of sedition cases which informs us that sedition cases filed between 2014 and 2022 doubled as compared to the ones between 2010 and 2014. The number of people adversely affected also doubled— 7,136 versus 3,762. Statistically, the doubling rate is not surprising since the period under consideration also doubled.
• As per the 2020 National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, in 2018, 70 sedition cases were filed; however, not a single person was convicted. Similarly, in 2019, 93 cases were filed, while only two were convicted. Similarly, in 2020, 73 cases were filed and no one was convicted of sedition.
• Manipur filed the highest number of sedition cases (15) in 2020, followed by Assam (12), Karnataka (9), Uttar Pradesh (7), Haryana (6) and Delhi (5).

ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE USE OF SEDITION LAW

LAW TO CURB ALL KINDS OF CRITICISM

• The use of sedition law to curb all kinds of criticisms against the government, and not against incitement to violence against the state alone, has been well-documented over the years.
• Whether it is the first information reports (FIRs) against protestors at Koodankulam or the complaints against Kanhaiya Kumar or Amnesty International, Section 124A has been used by governments of all shades to stifle dissent.
• In its everyday application, sedition is deeply embedded in local politics and in variables such as caste, class, and community. For instance, in Haryana, various marginalised groups experience sedition as a tool for upper-caste domination.

BROAD SCOPE OF SECTION 124-A

• Unfortunately, the broad scope of Section 124-A allows it to be used by the State to go after those who challenge its power.
• Whether it is the JNU students, activists such as Hardik Patel and Binayak Sen, authors such as Arundhati Roy, cartoonists such as Aseem Trivedi, or the villagers of Idinthakarai in Tamil Nadu protesting against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant.
• These examples are demonstrative of the misuse of the provision.

PROCESS ITSELF BECOME PUNISHMENT

• Sedition charges are easily slapped, but seldom stick, but cause immense harassment in the process.
• Even if one is eventually acquitted of sedition, the process of having to undergo the trial itself is the punishment.

COLONIAL LEGACY OF THE LAW

• Since its inception 1870, Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code, which punishes sedition, has been a tool in the hands of the state to curb criticism and dissent though during those times the voices were raised against a foreign rule and in the interest of the nation.
• It has been used by the colonial British government as well as by successive governments of independent India against political dissidents. The colonial intent of the law is part and parcel of what continues to constitute “sedition” in modern-day India.

INTERNATIONAL EXAMPLES

• The global sentiment today is overwhelmingly anti-sedition with different countries either easing the law or simply getting rid of it. Many democratic countries, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda, have held sedition law as undemocratic, undesirable and unnecessary. Australia (2010) and Singapore (2021) have also repealed the Sedition Law in the recent past.

WHY THE LAW CONTINUE TO REMAIN IN THE STATUTE BOOK?

• Unity & Integrity: Section 124A of the IPC has its utility in combating anti-national, secessionist and terrorist elements.
• Stability of the state: It protects the elected government from attempts to overthrow the government with violence and illegal means. The continued existence of the government established by law is an essential condition of the stability of the State.
• Contempt of Government: If contempt of court invites penal action, contempt of government should also attract punishment.
• Naxalism and Insurgency: Many districts in different states face maoist insurgency and rebel groups virtually run a parallel administration. These groups openly advocate the overthrow of the state government by revolution. Against this backdrop, the abolition of Section 124A would be ill-advised merely because it has been wrongly invoked in some highly publicized cases.

CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY DEBATE ON THE CONTROVERSIAL ISSUE OF SEDITION

A COLONIAL LAW MEANT TO SUPPRESS INDIANS

• It is nothing short of a remarkable fete that India’s founding leaders ensured that Section 124A was not and is not part of the Constitution.
• They understood the perils of making sedition ‘a reasonable restriction’ on the freedom of speech and expression under Article 13 of the draft Constitution, but it continues to be a criminal offence.
• And, the Constituent Assembly vigorously debated the offensive nature of this law and the possibility that it will be misused to jail those critical of the government—the only reason the British wove it into the IPC in 1870.

CONSTITUTION WITHOUT ‘SEDITION’

• Congress leader and educationist K.M. Munshi, a key voice in the Constituent Assembly, said that there should be no room for ‘sedition’ in independent India.

He argued: “Now that we have a democratic government a line must be drawn between criticism of government which should be welcome and incitement which would undermine the security or order on which civilized life is based, or which is calculated to overthrow the State. Therefore, the word ‘sedition’ has been omitted. As a matter of fact, the essence of democracy is criticism of Government.”

• While key founding leaders opposed the draconian law, the real credit for sedition not finding a place in the Constitution goes to Sikh leader Bhupinder Singh Mann who represented East Punjab in the Constituent Assembly, made a case for upholding liberty—and appealed to them to vote against embedding sedition into the Constitution.

NEHRU’S VIEW ON THE SUBJECT

• He was not in support of the sedition law and opined that:

“Take again Section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code. Now so far as I am concerned that particular section is highly objectionable and obnoxious and it should have no place both for practical and historical reasons, if you like, in any body of laws that we might pass. The sooner we get rid of it the better.”

JUDICIAL INTERVENTIONS SINCE INDEPENDENCE:

• In 1951, the Punjab High Court ruled Section 124A to be unconstitutional. A similar ruling was passed in 1959 by the Allahabad High Court, which also concluded that it struck at the very root of free speech.
• Kedar Nath Singh v State of Bihar,1962: The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of Section 124-A (sedition) on the basis that this power was required by the state to protect itself. However, it said that every citizen has a right to say or write about the government by way of criticism or comment. A citizen can criticize the government to the extent it does not incite people into violence against the government or with the intention of creating public disorder.
• Alavi vs State of Kerala,1982: The Supreme Court held that sloganeering, criticizing of Parliament or Judicial setup does not amount to sedition.
• Balwant Singh v State of Punjab,1995: The Supreme Court acquitted persons from charges of sedition for shouting slogans such as “Khalistan Zindabad”. The court held that the mere raising of slogans by two individuals alone cannot be said as sedition. Further, it is also not considered an attempt aimed to excite hatred or disaffection against the government.
• Sanskar Marathe vs The State of Maharashtra, 2015: In this case, the Bombay High Court issued certain guidelines police officials must follow before filing a sedition case against anyone. These guidelines include an objective evaluation of the seditious material. By evaluation, the police must form an opinion on whether the words and actions caused disaffection and disloyalty to the government.
• Rajat Sharma v. The Union of India Case, 2021: In this case, the court ruling said that disagreeing with the views and policies of the government will not attract the offence of sedition. So the provision of sedition cannot be invoked to quiet the disquiet (criminalizing the critics).
• More recently, sedition charges against journalists (Vinod Dua, Siddique Kappan), farmers in Sirsa (Haryana), filmmaker Ayesha Sultana (Kerala) and even Ex-UP Governor Dr Aziz Qureshi (for making remarks against the present Chief Minister) are the incidents when Court granted interim relief, giving us hope that the misuse and arbitrary application of law to silence the voice of the people will be stopped.

Understanding Kedar Nath Singh v State of Bihar Case, 1962

The Court noted that the offence occurs in the chapter of the IPC relating to offences against the state (IPC Chapter VI) —not against any individual or political dispensation. The Court then laid down the law in the following words:

“The provisions of the sections along with the explanations make it reasonably clear that the sections aim at rendering penal only such activities as would be intended, or have a tendency, to create disorder or disturbance of public peace by resort to violence… It is only when the words, written or spoken, etc, which have the pernicious tendency or intention of creating public disorder or disturbance of law and order that the law steps in to prevent such activities in the interest of public order.”

Note that the keywords are “against the state,” “violence,” and “public disorder.” Without them, the offence of sedition does not take place.

Justice A P Shah (2017), while delivering the M N Roy Memorial Lecture, explained the Kedar Nath judgment further: The Court upheld the constitutionality of sedition, but limited its application to “acts involving intention or tendency to create disorder, or disturbance of law and order, or incitement to violence.” It distinguished these acts from “very strong speech” or the use of “vigorous words” which were strongly critical of the government.

WHY THE SEDITION LAW SHOULD BE DONE AWAY WITH?

POOR IMPLEMENTATION OF COURT GUIDELINES

• Every time the sedition case was getting quashed, the Judiciary guided the law enforcement agencies regarding its application. But the law enforcement agencies are not following the guidelines in letter and spirit.

INCREASING MISUSE OF SEDITION

• Between 2016 and 2019, the number of cases filed under Section 124-A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) increased by 160% while the rate of conviction dropped to 3.3% in 2019 from 33.3% in 2016, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

RECOMMENDATION OF LAW COMMISSION

• In 2018, the Law Commission of India questioned how far it is justified to retain Section 124A. It even suggested to re-think or repealing Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code.

AGAINST INDIA’S INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENT

• In 1979, India ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). It sets forth internationally recognized standards for the protection of freedom of expression. However, misuse of sedition and arbitrary slapping of charges are inconsistent with India’s international commitments.

ABOLITION OF SEDITION IN OTHER PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEMS

• The U.K. abolished the offence of sedition in 2010. Whereas, India is still retaining the law given by the British Empire. Similarly, in Australia also, following the recommendations of the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) the term sedition was removed and replaced with references to ‘urging violence offences’.

OTHER LAWS

• Various Sections of IPC, National Securities Act (NSA) and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) have provisions that penalize “disrupting the public order” or “overthrowing the government with violence and illegal means”. These are sufficient for protecting national integrity. There is no specific need for Section 124A.

SEDITION LAW IN OTHER COUNTRIES

THE UNITED KINGDOM

• The sedition law was officially repealed under Section 73 of the Coroners and Justice Act, 2009, citing a chilling effect on freedom of speech and expression.
• The common law on sedition, which is traced to the Statute of Westminster, 1275, when the King was considered the holder of divine right, was termed “arcane” and “from a bygone era when freedom of expression wasn’t seen as a right it is today.”

THE UNITED STATES

• Sedition is a federal felony under the Federal Criminal Code and was most recently used against rioters involved in the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.
• Despite the First Amendment that forbids any restrictions on free speech, “conspiracy to interfere directly with the operation of the government” and not just speech is considered sedition.

AUSTRALIA

• Repealed its sedition law in 2010.

SINGAPORE

• Repealed the law in 2021 citing that several new legislations can sufficiently address the actual need for sedition law without its chilling effects.

THE WAY FORWARD:

• The Union and the states need to engage in wide-ranging consultations with relevant stakeholders in the spirit of the SC judgment with a view to the eventual satisfactory resolution of this issue.
• The definition of sedition should be narrowed down, to include only the issues pertaining to the territorial integrity of India as well as the sovereignty of the country. India is the largest democracy in the world and the right to free speech and expression is an essential ingredient of democracy. The expression or thought that is not in consonance with the policy of the government of the day should not be considered sedition.
• India’s aspirations to be a world leader will get a boost if we align ourselves with the best examples of the world as most of the democratic countries around the world have either done away with the Sedition Law or diluted it.
• The government shall show some restraint in invoking such a draconian law and shall also educate the Law enforcement authorities to prevent the problem of misuse. The enforcement authorities might be trained regarding the application and non-application in cases of sedition and other criminal defamation suits. It is also imperative to rethink keeping the sedition as a cognizable offence, which gives more scope for its misuse.
• The present-day laws of the modern democratic society must reflect the needs and demands of the society as well as be strong enough to protect the liberty of the citizens. Any change/ amendment to the law shall be made by keeping the public interest at the centre and in line with the international covenants & ethos of “Argumentative Indians.” Over the past few years, the government has already repealed various colonial laws in line with the idea of “Minimum Government and Maximum Governance” but the laws such as Sedition, Blasphemy, Unlawful Assembly etc must also be given a thought to bring a real change.
• The ideals of the Arthashastra (one of the philosophical sources of the Constitution of India), shall be given a thought that the king (Prime Minister) and other machinery of the state shall be benevolent towards its citizens. However, at the same time, it should not relegate its duties of protecting the safety, security, unity and integrity of the state.

It is power and power alone which, only when exercised by the king with impartiality and in proportion to guilt either over his son or his enemy, maintains both this world and the next.

The just and victorious king administers justice in accordance with Dharma (established law), Sanstha (customary law), Nyaya (edicts, announced law) and Vyavahara (evidence, conduct).

— Arthashastra 3.1

THE CONCLUSION: The enforcement or the threat of invocation of sedition constitutes an insidious form of unauthorised self-censorship by producing a chilling effect on the exercise of one’s fundamental right to free speech and expression. That is why the law needs to be repealed. However, it is unlikely that any government will give up this power, and it is therefore left to the courts to re-examine the constitutionality of sedition. It is not enough to expect an acquittal by the courts; we need to stop the misuse of the law to silence dissent by removing the source of the power itself or at least narrowing down its expanse.

MAINS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

• “Laws that can be easily misused should be reconsidered.” Critically analyse the statement in the context of the recent Supreme Court order related to Section 124A IPC.
• Discuss how Section 124A IPC has been misused in post-independence India? Should the law be repealed, if not, suggest measures to restrict its misuse?
• Despite the attempts made by the higher judiciary to restrict the scope of sedition to an act of incitement to violence, its application by the executive narrates a story of its continued misuse. Illustrate and comment.

THE INDIAN POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. EXPLAINED: WHAT IS THE FLAG CODE AND HOW HAS IT BEEN CHANGED RECENTLY?

• THE CONTEXT:The Flag Code of India, 2002 was amended vide Order dated December 30, 2021, and National Flag made of polyester or machine made flag have also been allowed. However, the Union Government’s recent move to amend the National Flag Code, allowing polyester and imported cloth, has come as a shocker to many.
  THE EXPLANATION:
  • The use, display and hoisting of the National Flag in the country is guided by an overarching set of instructions called the ‘Flag Code of India 2002’. It brings together all laws, conventions, practices, and instructions for the display of the National Flag. It governs the display of the National Flag by private, public, and government institutions.
  • The Flag Code of India took effect on January 26, 2002. As per Clause 2.1 of the Flag Code of India, there shall be no restriction on the display of the National Flag by members of the general public, private organizations, educational institutions etc. consistent with the dignity and honour of the National Flag.
  Why is it being criticised?
  As per rule 1. 2 of part 1 of the Flag code of India 2002, only khadi or hand-spun cloth was the material for the flag. Use of other material was punishable. But the recent amendment has changed it to “The National Flag shall be made of hand spun and hand woven or machine made, cotton, polyester, wool, silk khadi bunting.” That means machine made polyester that is made in India or imported from elsewhere can now be used for the tricolour.
  What do khadi weavers have to say?
  • A section of Khadi weavers and activists have launched an agitation to protest the amendment. A nationwide protest has been called by the Karnataka Khadi GramudyogSamyukta Sangha (KKGSS) — a unit that spins the fabric used to make the National Flag, which has now paused operations in the wake of the move.
  • KKGSS, which claims to be the only BIS approved khadi unit for the material used to make the Tricolour, say they used to get orders worth Rs 3-4 crore every year in the run up to the Independence Day, but this year, in the wake of the amendment, the demand has been abysmal.
  • The unit became unique as a manufacturing centre for the National Flag in 2006, when it was accredited with ISI certification and an authorisation to sell the National Flag throughout the country. The Khadi and Village Industries Commission certified KKGSS as the sole manufacturer and supplier of the Tricolour to the entire country.
  VALUE ADDITION:
  Flag Code of India 2002’
  1.The National Flag shall be made of hand spun and hand woven wool/cotton/ silk/khadi bunting.
  2. The colour of the top panel of the flag shall be Indian saffron and that of the bottom panel shall be India green. The middle panel shall be white, bearing at its centre and design of Ashoka Chakra in navy blue colour with 24 equally spaced spokes.
  3. The Ashoka Chakra shall preferably be screen printed or otherwise printed or stencilled or suitable embroidered and shall be completely visible on both the sides of the flag in the centre of the white panel.
  4. The National Flag of India shall be rectangular in shape.
  5. The flags of 450×300 mm size are intended for the aircrafts on VVIP flights, 225×150 mm size for motor cars and 150×100 mm size for the table flags.
  6. There shall be no restriction on the display of the National Flag by the private organisations, educational institutions and members of the general public etc. except to the extent provided in the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act,1950 and National Honour Act, 1971.
  7. The flag shall not be used for commercial purposes in violation of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950.
  8. The flag should be displayed in open and should be as far as possible, be flown from sunrise to sunset.
  9. The flag shall not be intentionally allowed to touch the ground or trail in the water.
  10. The flag shall not be dipped in salute to any person or thing.
  11. The flag shall not be used as a portion of costume or uniform of any description nor shall it be embroidered or printed upon cushions, handkerchiefs, napkins or any dress material.
  12. Advertisement/Notification/Lettering of any kind should not be put upon the flag.
  13. The flag shall not be used as a covering for the statue /monuments/building etc.
  14. The flag shall not be used as a receptacle for receiving, delivering, holding or carrying anything.
  15. The flag made of paper may be hoisted by public on the occasions like national, cultural and sports events. But paper flags should not be discarded or thrown on the ground after the event.
  16. The flag shall not be intentionally displayed with the “Saffron” down.
  17. A member of the private, public organisation or an educational institution may hoist/display the National Flag on all days and occasions or otherwise with dignity and honour of the National Flag.
  18. No other flag should be placed higher than or above or side by side with the National Flag.
  19. A damaged or dirty flag should not be displayed.
  20. A damaged and soiled National Flag shall be destroyed in a private ceremony preferable burning or by any other dignified manner.

THE HEALTH ISSUES

2. KERALA REPORTS INDIA’S FIRST MONKEYPOX CASE

• THE CONTEXT:The first case of monkeypox was confirmed in India on July 14,2022 after a person who had returned to Kerala from abroad developed symptoms of the disease.
  THE EXPLANATION:
  According to Kerala Health Minister, the infection was diagnosed in a person who had returned from the United Arab Emirates three days ago and had come into contact with another confirmed case in the UAE. The person’s samples were tested at the National Institute of Virology in Pune, which confirmed monkey pox.
  Monkeypox
  Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease with symptoms similar to smallpox, although with less clinical severity. The CDC’s monkeypox overview says the infection was first discovered in 1958 following two outbreaks of a pox-like disease in colonies of monkeys kept for research — which led to the name ‘monkeypox’.
  How it spread?
  Monkeypox spreads in different ways. The virus can spread from person-to-person through:
  • direct contact with the infectious rash, scabs, or body fluids
  • respiratory secretions during prolonged, face-to-face contact, or during intimate physical contact, such as kissing, cuddling, or sex
  • touching items (such as clothing or linens) that previously touched the infectious rash or body fluids
  • pregnant people can spread the virus to their fetus through the placenta
  What are the key symptoms of monkeypox?
  • According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), monkeypox begins with a fever, headache, muscle aches, back ache, and exhaustion. It also causes the lymph nodes to swell (lymphadenopathy), which smallpox does not.
  • The World Health Organisation underlines that it is important not to confuse monkeypox with chickenpox, measles, bacterial skin infections, scabies, syphilis and medication-associated allergies.
  How long does it take for symptoms to show after infection?
  • Monkeypox is usually a self-limiting disease with symptoms lasting from two to four weeks. The incubation period (time from infection to symptoms) for monkeypox is usually 7-14 days but can range from 5-21 days.
  • The Health Ministry notes that the period of communicability is “1-2 days before the rash until all the scabs fall off/get subsided”.
  How does the disease progress?
  • The disease goes through four different phases. The first invasion period, which is between 0-5 days, is characterised by fever, headache and lymph node swelling.
  • The swelling of the lymphnodes is one of the characteristic features of monkeypox and is not observed in similar rash causing diseases like measles and chickenpox.
  What is the treatment?
  • There is no proven treatment for monkeypox yet. The WHO recommends supportive treatment depending on the symptoms. Those infected are advised to isolate immediately.
  • According to the Ministry of Health guidelines on supportive management of monkeypox, skin rashes should be cleaned with simple antiseptic, and covered with light dressing in case of extensive lesions. Oral ulcers should be managed with warm saline gargles
  • Doctors say monkeypox is a very well-understood condition that can be managed efficiently with available clinical remedies.

THE SOCIAL ISSUES AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

3. HOW MUCH ALCOHOL IS UNSAFE, BASED ON AGE: THE LANCET STUDY

• THE CONTEXT:Young people face higher health risks from alcohol consumption than older adults, according to a new analysis published in The Lancet.
  THE EXPLANATION:
  The analysis from the Global Burden of Disease is the first study to report alcohol risk by geographical region, age, and sex. Using estimates of alcohol use in 204 countries, researchers calculated that 1.34 billion people (1.03 billion males and 0.312 billion females) consumed harmful amounts in 2020.
  Higher risk under 40
  • The analysis found males between ages 15-39 at the greatest risk of harmful alcohol consumption. In every region, males in this age group comprised the largest segment of the population drinking unsafe amounts. Among people who consumed unsafe amounts in 2020, 59.1% were in the 15-39 age group, and 76.7% of these were male.
  • In this age group, the analysis found no health benefits to drinking alcohol, only health risks, with 60% of alcohol-related injuries occurring among this segment, including motor vehicle accidents, suicides, and homicides.
  • In India, 1.85% females and 25.7% males in the 15-39 age group consumed unsafe amounts of alcohol in 2020. This was lower than 1.79% females and 23% males in the 40-64 age group who consumed unsafe amounts.
  • For adults over age 40, too, health risks vary by age and region. However, the authors note that consuming a small amount of alcohol (for example, between one and two 3.4-ounce glasses of red wine) can provide some health benefits for people in this age group, such as reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and diabetes.
  • According to doctors, “Our message is simple: young people should not drink, but older people may benefit from drinking small amounts. While it may not be realistic to think young adults will abstain from drinking, we do think it’s important to communicate the latest evidence so that everyone can make informed decisions about their health” .
  ALL FOR NEW GUIDELINES
• The authors suggested that global alcohol consumption recommendations should be based on age and location, with the strictest guidelines targeted toward the 15-39 age group. They stressed that the consumption level recommended by many existing guidelines is too high for young people in all regions.
• How much to drink
  • The study also estimates how much alcohol a person can drink before taking on excess risk to their health, compared to someone who does not drink any alcohol.
  • AGE 15-39: For this group, the recommended amount of alcohol before risking health loss was 0.136 standard drinks per day (standard drink defined in box). That amount was slightly higher for females at 0.273 drinks per day.
  • AGE 40-64: For those without underlying health conditions, safe alcohol consumption levels ranged from about half a standard drink per day (0.527 for males and 0.562 for females) to almost two standard drinks per day (1.69 for males and 1.82 for females).
  • AGE 65 & OVER: A little more than three standard drinks per day (3.19 drinks for males and 3.51 for females).
  VALUE ADDITION:
  WHO GUIDELINES:
  The global strategy focuses on ten key areas of policy options and interventions at the national level. The ten areas for national action are:
  1. Leadership, awareness and commitment.
  2. Health services’ response.
  3. Community action.
  4. Drink-driving policies and countermeasures.
  5. Availability of alcohol.
  6. Marketing of alcoholic beverages.
  7. Pricing policies.
  8. Reducing the negative consequences of drinking and alcohol intoxication.

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

4. I2U2 LEADERS’ SUMMIT HIGHLIGHTS INVESTMENTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY, FOOD PARKS IN INDIA

• THE CONTEXT:The first-ever meeting of I2U2 leaders focused on the food security crisis and clean energy. India, Israel, the US, and the UAE have committed to advance low-carbon industries and promote green tech.
  THE EXPLANATION:
  • The first-ever meeting of I2U2 leaders on July 14 was held virtually and focused on the food security crisis and clean energy. The four nations have been tightening their diplomatic and economic ties over the past few years.
  • The I2U2 nations (India, Israel, the US and the UAE) will advance a 300-megawatt (MW) hybrid renewable energy project in Gujarat while the UAE steps up its planned $2 billion investments into developing a series of integrated food parks across India, a joint statement issued after the inaugural summit of I2U2 leaders.
  • The I2U2 leaders have committed to advancing low-carbon industries and promoting the development of critical emerging and green technologies, all while ensuring near- and long-term food and energy security.
  • The Gujarat project will consist of wind and solar capacity complemented by a battery energy storage system and has ‘the potential to make India a global hub for alternate supply chains in the renewable energy sector’, the joint statement said.
  • The US Trade and Development Agency has funded a feasibility study for the $330 million project while UAE-based companies are exploring opportunities to serve as critical knowledge and investment partners, it added. India has committed to a goal of achieving 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030.The UAE is home to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the host of global climate change summit COP28 in 2023
  What is the aim of I2U2 grouping?
  • Its stated aim is to discuss “common areas of mutual interest, to strengthen the economic partnership in trade and investment in our respective regions and beyond”.
  • Six areas of cooperation have been identified by the countries mutually, and the aim is to encourage joint investments in water, energy, transportation, space, health, and food security. The press release added that with the help of “private sector capital and expertise”, the countries will look to modernise infrastructure, explore low carbon development avenues for industries, improve public health, and promote the development of critical emerging and green technologies.
  Significance of the initiative
  • I2U2 seeks to empower the partners and encourages them to collaborate more closely, resulting in a more stable region.
  • India is seen as a large consumer market as well as a large producer of high-tech and highly sought-after items in the United States.
  • This has led India to enhance its relationship with Israel without jeopardising its ties with the UAE and other Arab states.

THE GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND INTERVENTION

5. BETI BACHAO BETI PADHAO TO BE EXTENDED TO ALL DISTRICTS

• THE CONTEXT:According to guidelines issued by the Women and Child Development (WCD) Ministry, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, the Centre’s flagship programme for women’s empowerment, which focuses on education of girl child and improving sex ratio, will now be extended across the country.
  THE EXPLANATION:
  • According to the guidelines, “The component will aim for zero-budget advertising and encouraging greater spend on activities that have on-ground impact…for promoting sports among girls, self-defence camps, construction of girls’ toilets, making available sanitary napkin vending machines and sanitary pads, especially in educational institutions, awareness.
  • According to the guidelines, the ministry has now targeted improvement in the Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) by 2 points every year, improvement in the percentage of institutional deliveries at 95% or above, 1% increase in 1st Trimester ANC Registration per year, 1 per cent increase in enrolment at secondary education level and skilling of girls and women per year, to check dropout rate among girls at secondary and higher secondary levels and raising awareness about safe menstrual hygiene management.
  • The scheme will also look at increasing girls’ participation in sports by identifying talent and linking them with appropriate authorities under ‘Khelo India’.
  • The ministry also plans to strengthen One-Stop Centres (OSCs), set up to help women facing violence, including domestic violence and trafficking, by adding 300 OSCs in districts which either have a high rate of crimes against women or are geographically large, preferably in aspirational districts.
• The OSCs will be the mainstay of the ministry at the district level for coordination and convergence with other initiatives under Nirbhaya Fund — such as women’s helplines, Anti-Human Trafficking Units, women’s help desks, and special fast-track courts, District Legal Service Authority, etc.VALUE ADDITION:BETI BACHAO BETI PADHAO
  To Celebrate the Girl Child & Enable her Education
  The objectives of the Scheme are as under:
  • To prevent gender biased sex selective elimination
  • To ensure survival and protection of the girl child
  • To ensure education and participation of the girl child
  • To increase girl’s participation in the fields of sports
  Target
  BBBP scheme aims to achieve the following:
  • Improvement in the Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) by 2 points every year,
  • Improvement in the percentage of institutional deliveries or sustained at the rate of 95% or above,
  • 1% increase in 1st Trimester ANC Registration per year, and
  • 1% increase in enrolment at secondary education level and skilling of girls/women per year.
  • To check dropout rate among girls at secondary and higher secondary levels.
  • Raising awareness about safe menstrual hygiene management (MHM)
  Target group
  • Primary : Young and newly married couples and expecting parents, Adolescents (girls and boys) and youth, Households and communities
  • Secondary : Schools and AWCs,  Medical doctors/ practitioners, private hospitals, nursing homes, diagnostic centres etc. Officials, PRIs/ULBs, frontline workers, Women Collectives and SHGs, civil society organizations, media, industry, religious leaders

6.THE PRADHAN MANTRI FASAL BIMA YOJANA (PMFBY)

• THE CONTEXT:The Union Agriculture Ministry announced that Andhra Pradesh has decided to rejoin the crop insurance scheme Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) from the ongoing kharif season. Andhra Pradesh was one of six states that have stopped implementation of the scheme over the last four years. The other five, which remain out, are Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Telangana.
  THE EXPLANATION:
  Why did these states opt out?
  ANDHRA PRADESH: The state left the PMFBY from rabi season 2019-20. Sources said the state had mentioned several reasons: that the scheme should be voluntary; those states should be given options to choose the risks covered; the scheme should be universal; the cut-off date for enrolment should be flexible; and fourth, the state should be given option to use their own database of E-crop, an application used by the state government to collect information about crops.
  BIHAR: The first state to opt out, from 2018-19, after implementing the scheme in 2016-17 (27.1 lakh farmers insured) and 2017-18 (23 lakh). Sources say there were main three reasons for the state’s decision.
  • First, the state wanted universal coverage.
  • Second, the state government wanted zero premium for farmers (meaning the entire premium should be paid by the government.) Under the PMFBY, a farmer is required to pay as premium 2% of the sum insured or actuarial rate, whichever is less, for all kharif foodgrain and oilseed crops; 1.5% of sum insured or actuarial rate, whichever is less, for all rabi food grain and oilseed crops; and 5% for horticultural crops. Sources said the Centre can not make farmers’ premium zero. However, states such as Haryana, Goa and Puducherry are paying farmers’ share from their own budget for selected crops.
  JHARKHAND: Jharkhand stopped implementing the scheme soon after the Centre revamped it in February 2020, effective from kharif 2020. Under the revised guidelines, “The non-payment of the State Share of premium subsidy within the prescribed timelines as defined in the seasonality discipline will lead to the disqualification of the State Government to implement the scheme in the next season.”
  • Sources said Jharkhand’s share of premium subsidy was overdue for 2018-19 and 2019-20. This was the main reason that Jharkhand opted out from 2020-21. Besides, there were other “operational challenges” and “political reasons”, the sources said.
  WEST BENGAL: Sources said the reason for West Bengal not implementing the PMFBY is purely “political”. The state wants to implement the scheme without mentioning Pradhan Mantri in the scheme’s name, which is not possible, sources said.
  • West Bengal implemented the scheme for three years from 2016-17 to 2018-19, covering 41.3 lakh farmers in 2016-17, 40.4 lakh in 2017-18, and 51.3 lakh in 2018-19.
  GUJARAT: Gujarat implemented the PMFBY from 2016-17 to 2019-20, covering 19.8 lakh farmers in 2016-17, 17.6 lakh in 2017-18, 21.7 lakh in 2018-19, and 24.8 lakh in 2019-20. Sources say, after the scheme was revamped, Gujarat invited tenders for three years in 2020 but insurance companies quoted a very high premium, and hence the state opted out.
  TELANGANA: Telangana too implemented the PMFBY for the initial four years, covering 9.7 lakh, 11 lakh, 8 lakh in 2018-19 and 10.3 lakh farmers in successive years before stopping in 2020-21. Sources said Telangana’s share of premium was overdue for 2018-19 and 2019-20, the main reason why it did not notify the scheme for 2020-21.
  • The Agriculture Ministry is in talks with the state government to bring back on board. A central team made a presentation before of a Group of Ministers of Telangana on June 23, said sources, who expect the state to rejoin from the coming rabi season or next year.
  VALUE ADDITION:
  PRADHAN MANTRI FASAL BIMA YOJANA (PMFBY)
  Objectives
  • To provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the event of failure of any of the notified crops as a result of natural calamities, pests & diseases.
  • To stabilise the income of farmers to ensure their continuance in farming.
  • To encourage farmers to adopt innovative and modern agricultural practices.
  • To ensure the flow of credit to the agriculture sector.
  Highlights of the scheme
  • There will be a uniform premium of only 2% to be paid by farmers for all Kharif crops and 1.5% for all Rabi crops. In the case of annual commercial and horticultural crops, the premium to be paid by farmers will be only 5%. The premium rates to be paid by farmers are very low, and the balance premium will be paid by the Government to provide the full insured amount to the farmers against crop loss on account of natural calamities.
  • There is no upper limit on Government subsidies. Even if the balance premium is 90%, it will be borne by the Government.
  Farmers to be covered
  • All farmers growing notified crops in a notified area during the season who have an insurable interest in the crop are eligible.
  • To address the demand of farmers, the scheme has been made voluntary for all farmers from Kharif 2020.
  • Earlier to Kharif 2020, the enrolment under the scheme was compulsory for the following categories of farmers:
   Farmers in the notified area who possess a Crop Loan account/KCC account (called Loanee Farmers) to whom credit limit is sanctioned/renewed for the notified crop during the crop season.
   And Such other farmers whom the Government may decide to include from time to time.
  Voluntary coverage: Voluntary coverage may be obtained by all farmers not covered above, including Crop KCC/Crop Loan Account holders whose credit limit is not renewed.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY

• Q. Consider the following statements in the context of zoonotic disease:
  1. It refers to the transmission of diseases between animals and humans.
  2. Deforestation could be the primary reason as it increases the contact between humans and wild animals
  Which of the above statements is/are correct?
  a) 1 only
  b) 2 only
  c) Both 1 and 2
  d) Neither 1 nor 2

ANSWER FOR 14TH JULY 2022

ANSWER: A
EXPLANATION:
ABOUT WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM:
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a Swiss nonprofit foundation established in 1971, based in Geneva, Switzerland. It is recognised by the Swiss authorities as an international institution for public-private cooperation
What is the mission of WEF?
WEF is committed to improving the situation of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry.

[WpProQuiz 289]

THE CONTEXT:In the past few months, there has been a steep increase in the number of demolitions carried out by the state using bulldozers without serving appropriate notices to the parties involved.This has generated a debate whether there is Constitutionalism and the Rule of Law in the country. This article analyzes this debate in detail while looking into the tenets behind the state-sponsored demolition drives, its impact on the psyche of the society and the future of a harmonious social fabric.

ILLUSTRATIONS OF RECENT DEMOLITION DRIVES

COMMUNAL CLASHES AFTER THE RELIGIOUS PROCESSION

• The incident was in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri, where the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (MCD) decided to demolish the houses of alleged encroachers.
• In fact, ‘anti-encroachment’ drives were seen in several locations including Shaheen Bagh which had seen communal clashes on Ram Navami in April 2022.
• In April, a similar drive was seen in Gujarat when the Himmatnagar civic body demolished kiosks, shacks and portions of shops as part of its own ‘anti-encroachment drive’.
• The administration of Gujarat’s Anand district, too, undertook such an exercise, where structures belonging to people allegedly involved in the Ram Navami clashes were razed.
• A similar drive was also undertaken in Madhya Pradesh’s Khargone, another site of communal clashes in April. Another example of a demolition drive in Madhya Pradesh took place in the Jirapur village, where 48 houses were razed after the authorities identified these houses as encroachments over government land.

PROTESTS AGAINST CUSTODIAL DEATH

• In June 2022, the Assam administration demolished houses of people who were allegedly involved in setting fire to a police station while protesting an alleged custodial death. The demolition took place in Salonabari in Assam’s Nagaon district.

PROTESTS IN THE AFTERMATH OF PROPHET REMARK ROW

• The house of an activist associated with the Welfare Party of India was demolished in Prayagraj who was allegedly involved in the violent protests that erupted in Prayagraj over the remarks on Prophet Muhammad.

JUSTIFICATIONS GIVEN BY THE GOVERNMENT FOR THE DEMOLITION DRIVES

IN CONFORMITY WITH LAWS

• The State of Uttar Pradesh has submitted before the Supreme Court that the recent demolitions carried out in Kanpur and Prayagraj were done by Local Development Authorities strictly in accordance with the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973.

PRIOR NOTICE GIVEN

• The state governments have submitted that prior show cause notice, demolition notice etc. for the illegal construction was given to the encroachers and also adequate opportunity was provided to them.

DEMOLITION IS A CONTINUOUS PROCESS

• The state governments have rejected any argument which tried to give such demolitions as retributive and against one particular community after the aftermath of riots and protests. The state government stated that such kinds of demolition drives are carried out from time to time against illegal constructions.

CREATING DETERRENT

• The government said that such demolition drives create the deterrence in the society against the constructions which are illegal and/or do not conform to the permissions granted for the construction.

 CONCERNS RAISED BY SUCH ACTS OF DEMOLITION

DEMOLITION UNDERMINES CONSTITUTIONALISM

• Constitutionalism is the doctrine often associated with the political theories of John Locke. It says that government powers should be legally limited and its authority or legitimacy depends on observing these limitations.
• Constitutionalism recognizes the need of limiting the concentration of power in order to protect the rights of groups and individuals. In such a system, the power of the government can be limited by the constitution – and by the provisions and regulations contained in it – but also by other measures and norms.
• The present actions taken by the state goes against the idea of limited government. The government cannot be absolute and it has to act within the constitutional boundaries. The government seems to trespass on the legal protections of the statute by taking unilateral  actions.

VIOLATES RULE OF LAW

• Dicey’s concept of Rule of law is a legal principle that law should govern a nation, as opposed to being governed by arbitrary decisions of individual government officials. It primarily refers to the influence and authority of law within society, particularly as a constraint upon behaviour, including behaviour of government officials.
• Rule of Law demands non-arbitrary action by the government and the laws shall be applied equally irrespective of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them.
• The present actions of the state seem to be in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India (Equality before law) as the laws are applied arbitrarily and the appropriate opportunities were not given to defend the constructions.

VIOLATE ARTICLE 300A

• Article 300A of the Indian Constitution states that no person shall be deprived of his property save by the authority of law. It protects an individual from interference by the State and dispossesses a person of the property unless it is in accordance with the procedure established by law.
• The recent acts of demolition are prima facie seen as antithetical not only to Article 300A but to the spirit of the Constitution as a whole.

RETRIBUTIVE ACTIONS AND COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT

• For any act done by any individual which is in contravention to the laws or against the state, the family members and/or the section of the community shall not be punished. Such punishments are against the natural law of justice. The present case of the demolition of homes and shops of alleged culprits of communal riots is also seen as a sign of retributive justice.

MUNICIPAL AND STATE LAWS RELATED TO ANTI-ENCROACHMENT DRIVES

DELHI

• Section 343 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 states that notice needs to be served to the parties before the demolition of any building.
• It also states that the occupant has to be given 5-15 days before the commissioner himself orders the demolition of the structure.
• The proviso of the Section states that no order of demolition shall be made unless the person has been given, by means of a notice served in such manner as the commissioner may think fit, a reasonable opportunity of showing cause why such an order shall not be made.

MADHYA PRADESH

• As per Madhya Pradesh Bhumi Vikas Rules, 1984, the authorities are required to serve notice to the person supposedly violating said rules, which prescribe a period of ten days for the violator to stop the violation.

UTTAR PRADESH

• Section 27 of the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973 requires the affected person to be heard and given 15 days prior notice before proceeding with the demolition. Besides this, the Act allows a person aggrieved with the order of demolition to appeal within 30 days.

DEMOLITION DRIVES AND INTERNATIONAL LAWS

UDHR

• Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that “everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care…”
• Article 12 of UDHR prohibits arbitrary interference in an individual’s right to property. It also stipulates that “everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks”.

ICCPR

• Article 17 further provides that everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others and that no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property. Thus, arbitrary interference with an individual’s property is a gross violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

ICESCR

• Article 11.1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) recognises “the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions”. Under this article, countries are under an obligation to take “appropriate steps” to ensure the realisation of these rights.
• The rights recognised under ICESCR, according to Article 4, can be restricted by States only if the limitations are determined by law in a manner compatible with the nature of these rights and solely to promote society’s general welfare.

UN HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE

• According to the UN Human Rights Office, an integral element of the right to adequate housing is ‘protection against forced evictions.
• It defines ‘forced evictions’ as ‘permanent or temporary removal against the will of individuals, families and/or communities from the homes and/or land which they occupy, without the provision of, and access to, appropriate forms of legal or other protection’.
• The right to adequate housing also entails freedom from arbitrary interference with one’s home, privacy, and family.

JURISPRUDENCE AND DEMOLITION/ENCROACHMENT

SUPREME COURT

• In a landmark judgment passed by the Supreme Court in the case of Olga Tellis vs Bombay Municipal Corporation, the top court observed that the right to life, guaranteed under Article 21 of the constitution, also includes a person’s right to live with dignity, housing and livelihood. The procedure of eviction should lean in favour of procedural safeguards which follow the natural principles of justice like giving the other side an opportunity to be heard. The right to be heard gives affected persons an opportunity to participate in the decision-making process and also provides them with a chance to express themselves with dignity.
• Another judgment was passed by the Supreme Court in 2019 in Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai & Ors. v M/S Sunbeam High Tech Developers Private Ltd. wherein the court held that the government authorities need to follow proper procedure for demolition.
• Most recently in the Jahangirpuri demolition drive against encroachments, the Supreme Court ordered a stay on demolition and asked the authorities to maintain a status-quo.
• In Uttar Pradesh also the court asked the government not to carry out demolition activities except in accordance with the procedure established by Law.

DELHI HIGH COURT

• The Delhi high court, in 2010, passed a judgment in Bal Kishan Das vs Municipal Corporation of Delhi wherein the court said that serving a show-cause notice to the parties is a mandatory requirement.
• The Delhi high court delivered another judgment in 2010 upholding the practice of the issuance of notice before demolition, in the case of Sudama Singh & Others vs Government of Delhi & Anr. The court had held that before the government authorities decide to evict someone from their house, they need to provide for an alternate accommodation where basic civic amenities that uphold their right to life and dignity, are available.This got crystalised in the Delhi Slum & JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015.
• In Ajay Maken vs Union of India (2019), the Delhi High Court held that no authority shall carry out an eviction without conducting a survey, consulting the population that it seeks to evict and providing adequate rehabilitation for those eligible.

HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH

• In Arun Bharti vs The State Of Madhya Pradesh by the Madhya Pradesh high court.  The court had held that the necessity of compliance with the principle of natural justice of audi alteram partem (‘Let the other side be heard’) by affording a reasonable opportunity of hearing, is inherent in the provisions of Section 248 of the Madhya Pradesh Land Revenue Code, 1959.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK TO DEAL WITH DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY

• We have one precedent where the apex court agreed to fix liability on persons accused of damaging public property. The judgment was passed by the Supreme Court in 2009 in the case Destruction of Public & Private Properties vs State of Andhra Pradesh & Ors. In the aforesaid judgment, the Supreme Court had observed that public and private property is often damaged by the invocation of political processions, illegal demonstrations, strikes, bandhs and protests in the country, and that strict legislation is required to prevent it.
• In absence of any statute in 2009, the court had passed certain guidelines in which there was also a mention of holding perpetrators liable:
• ü  “The principles of absolute liability shall apply once the nexus with the event that precipitated the damage is established… The liability will be borne by the actual perpetrators of the crime as well as organizers of the event giving rise to the liability – to be shared, as finally determined by the high court or Supreme Court, as the case may be.”
• Nowhere, however, does the judgment grant government authorities the power to demolish properties without notice. It only states that if a person is a perpetrator or one of the organizers of the crime, he will be held liable for up to twice the amount of damages liable to be paid.
• Interestingly, the aforesaid judgment has also been used by ruling party supporters to justify the Uttar Pradesh government’s actions against the attachment of property of ‘rioters’, even though the judgment does not allow the state to attach said property. The Uttar Pradesh government came up with an ordinance “The Uttar Pradesh Recovery of Damages to Public and Private Property Ordinance, 2020”which empowers the state government to constitute one or more claims tribunals to decide compensation claims for damages to any public or private property due to riots, hartals, bandhs, protests, or public processions.
• The Nariman Committee’s (formed after the Destruction of Public & Private Properties vs State Of Andhra Pradesh & Ors.) recommendations dealt with extracting damages for destruction. Accepting the recommendations, the court said the rioters would be made strictly liable for the damage, and compensation would be collected to “make good” the damage. The apex court explicitly vested the responsibility of setting up machinery to investigate the damage caused with the high court and, in case more than one state is concerned, the Supreme Court, not the government.

DEMOLITION, CONSTITUTIONALISM AND RULE OF LAW – AN ANALYSIS

The actions of state and local authorities to bulldoze shops and homes in riot-hit neighbourhoods citing “illegal encroachment” raises major legal concerns. Such actions show a disregard for the due process of law and established judicial precedents regarding evictions. It conveys the use of brute state power for collective punishment undermining the basic tenets of criminal law. This increases the trust deficit between the state and its citizens, as the state is perceived to be the perpetrator and not the protector of human rights and dignity. Prejudiced state action towards one particular community might lead to social disharmony and might aggravate communal tensions.

The Apex Court of the country has made it unambiguously clear that no authority can directly proceed with demolitions, even of illegal constructions, without providing notice and an opportunity of being heard by the occupant. The other two arms of the state shall adhere to various judicial pronouncements and constitutional provisions and shall not resort to arbitrary actions which go against the very idea of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas ,Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas. However, the undue haste, the manner and context of the demolitions, the targeted approach to a particular community etc seems to indicate that some states have decided to make bulldozers as instrument state policy. Such an approach is nothing but absolutism and hence antithetical to Constitutionalism and rule of law.  State is a benevolent institution which must not act like private money lenders or organised gangs who act with vengeance and revenge.

THE WAY FORWARD:

• Constitutional morals shall be the guiding principles for state policies. Mere executive fiats cannot be used to take away a person’s property. While it is inherent for a sovereign state to exercise its power of eminent domain over private property, the deprivation of the property should be for a public purpose and shall be subject to judicial review.
• As the custodian of India’s constitutional order, it is high time that the judiciary acted and imposed necessary checks on the unbridled exercise of power by the executive. Courts can also refer to international covenants to counter the nationalist-populist discourse.
• The reforms in laws shall be modelled along the lines and furthering the idea of “Good Governance” as propounded by the World Bank which suggests the participative law-making in the modern liberal democratic political order.
• The Government shall not act in any way which distorts the fraternity and must ensure the dignity of the individual. The idea of punishment is reformative in nature but the present state actions are perceived as vindictive in nature. The state shall also restrain itself in affecting punitive actions and shall be just and reasonable for the greater social good.
• The state shall be even in the application of the law and must not distinguish on varied lines such as rich/poor, on a communal basis, region, etc.
• The Latin American doctrine of “an unconstitutional state of affairs” can also be given a thought.

“The unconstitutional state of affairs is a legal ruling that allows the Constitutional Court to acknowledge the failure of both the Legislative and Executive branches of government to enforce public policies against widespread and systemic violation of fundamental rights, thus justifying a judicial intervention in order to combat the structural causes of the violations and to put everything back in order with the Constitution.”

THE CONCLUSION:Any justification for a demolition drive, as a penal consequence of a criminal act is totally against established canons of criminal justice. The conduct of demolition drives, as a retaliatory measure, even with the avowed object to curb violence is a clear act of subversion of the principle of rule of law.It is imperative for the state as well as the citizens to abide by the constitutional standards and present a glaring example of the spirit of Constitutionalism.

Mains Practice Questions:

1. How far do you agree with the view that the recent demolition drives conducted by the states in India are against Constitutionalism and the Rule of Law? Justify your stand.
2. Demolition drives are not only against the law of the land but also against the international covenants on Human Rights. Argue.

THE HEALTH ISSUES

1.INDIA’S FIRST HPV VACCINE COULD MEAN FOR FIGHT AGAINST CERVICAL CANCER

THE CONTEXT:The Serum Institute of India (SII)’s vaccine Cervavac recently received the Drugs Controller General of India’s (DGCI) approval for market authorisation. Cervavac is India’s first quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine (qHPV) and intended to protect women against cervical cancer.

THE EXPLANATION:

Experts see this as a real opportunity to eliminate cervical cancer and have expressed the hope that it will be rolled out in national HPV vaccination strategies and be available a cost more affordable than existing vaccines.

The disease

• Cervical cancer is preventable but kills one woman every eight minutes in the country, according to reports. It is preventable as long as it is detected early and managed effectively.
• Cervical cancer is a common sexually transmitted infection. Long-lasting infection with certain types of HPV is the main cause of cervical cancer.
• Worldwide, cervical cancer is the second most common cancer type and the second most common cause of cancer death in women of reproductive age (15–44). India accounts for about a fifth of the global burden, with 1.23 lakh cases and around 67,000 deaths per year according to the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC-WHO).
• “Screening and vaccination are two powerful tools that are available for preventive cervical cancer. Still there is little awareness among women for prevention of this cancer and less than 10% of Indian women get screened. All women aged 30-49 must get screened for cervical cancer even if they have no symptoms and get their adolescent daughters vaccinated with HPV vaccine”.

Existing vaccines

• Two vaccines licensed globally are available in India — a quadrivalent vaccine (Gardasil, from Merck) and a bivalent vaccine (Cervarix, from GlaxoSmithKline). Each dose costs Rs 2,800 per dose (Gradasil) or Rs 3,299 (Cervarix).Although HPV vaccination was introduced in 2008, it has yet to be included in the national immunisation programme.
• According to a report in the Indian Journal of Gynaecologic Oncology (December 2021), a vaccine delivery and demonstration project led by international non-profit organisation PATH was started in 2009 in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat but had to be suspended in 2010 as a result of public concern allegedly arising from the deaths of seven girls who received the vaccine.
• In 2016, a multidisciplinary expert group of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) reviewed available evidence globally regarding immunogenicity and efficacy, adverse effects and cost effectiveness of HPV vaccines, and recommended that adolescent girls should be vaccinated with two doses.

The new vaccine

• The vaccine is based on VLP (virus like particles), similar to the hepatitis B vaccine, and provides protection by generating antibodies against the HPV virus’s L1 protein.
• Experts have expressed hope that the DGCI approval will allow the government to procure enough HPV vaccines at a special price to vaccinate nearly 50 million girls aged 9–14 years in India who are waiting to receive the vaccine. This will be a huge step to accelerate cervical cancer elimination in India and globally, a statement from IARC.

THE SOCIAL ISSUES AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

2.THE GLOBAL GENDER GAP INDEX 2022

THE CONTEXT:The Global Gender Gap Index for 2022 was released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and it ranks India at 135 out of 146 countries. In 2021, India was ranked 140 out of 156 countries.

THE EXPLANATION:

What is the Global Gender Gap Index?

• The Global Gender Gap index “benchmarks the current state and evolution of gender parity across four key dimensions(Economic Participation and Opportunity,Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment)”. According to the WEF it is the longest-standing index, which tracks progress towards closing these gaps over time since its inception in 2006.
• On each of the four sub-indices as well as on the overall index the GGG index provides scores between 0 and 1, where 1 shows full gender parity and 0 is complete imparity. “The cross-country comparisons aim to support the identification of the most effective policies to close gender gaps,” states the report.
• 

How has India fared on different sub-indices?

• India has approximately 662 million (or 66.2 crore) women. In 2022, India’s overall score has improved from 0.625 (in 2021) to 0.629. “India’s (135th) global gender gap score has oscillated between 0.593 and 0.683 since the index was first compiled. In 2022, India scored 0.629, which is its seventh-highest score in the last 16 years,” states the report.
• The report notes that India’s score of 0.629 was its seventh-highest score in the last 16 years. India also “recovered” ground since 2021 in economic participation and opportunity though the report goes on to add that the labour force participation shrunk for both men (by -9.5 percentage points) and women (-3 percentage points).
• The gender parity score for estimated earned income improved because even though the values for both men and women diminished, the decline was more for men. India recorded a declining score on political empowerment due to the diminishing share of years women have served as head of state for the past 50 years.

VALUE ADDITION:

ABOUT WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM:

The World Economic Forum (WEF) is a Swiss nonprofit foundation established in 1971, based in Geneva, Switzerland. It is recognised by the Swiss authorities as an international institution for public-private cooperation

What is the mission of WEF?

WEF is committed to improving the situation of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas.

Some of the major reports published by WEF are:

• Energy Transition Index,
• Global Competitiveness Report,
• Global IT Report (WEF along with INSEAD, and Cornell University publishes this report),
• Global Gender Gap Report,
• Global Risk Report
• Global Travel and Tourism Report

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

3.EXPLAINED: WHAT IS I2U2 THAT IS HOLDING ITS FIRST-EVER LEADER’S SUMMIT

THE CONTEXT:Prime Minister will participate in the first-ever I2U2 Virtual Summit along with the heads of state of Israel, the UAE, and the US according to a press release by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

THE EXPLANATION:

What does I2U2 stand for?

• I2U2 stands for India, Israel, the UAE, and the US, and was also referred to as the ‘West Asian Quad’. Back in October 2021, a meeting of the foreign ministers of the four countries had taken place when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was visiting Israel. At that time, the grouping was called the ‘International Forum for Economic Cooperation’.
• The MEA said in its press release that the countries have had sherpa-level interactions regularly to discuss the possible areas of cooperation.

What is the aim of I2U2 grouping?

• Its stated aim is to discuss “common areas of mutual interest, to strengthen the economic partnership in trade and investment in our respective regions and beyond”.
• Six areas of cooperation have been identified by the countries mutually, and the aim is to encourage joint investments in water, energy, transportation, space, health, and food security. The press release added that with the help of “private sector capital and expertise”, the countries will look to modernise infrastructure, explore low carbon development avenues for industries, improve public health, and promote the development of critical emerging and green technologies.

Significance of the initiative

• I2U2 seeks to empower the partners and encourages them to collaborate more closely, resulting in a more stable region.
• India is seen as a large consumer market as well as a large producer of high-tech and highly sought-after items in the United States.
• This has led India to enhance its relationship with Israel without jeopardising its ties with the UAE and other Arab states.

VALUE ADDITION:

ABRAHAM ACCORDS

• The Israel–UAE normalization agreement is officially called the Abraham Accords Peace Agreement.
• It was initially agreed to in a joint statement by the United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on August 13, 2020.
• The UAE thus became the third Arab country, after Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994, to agree to formally normalize its relationship with Israel as well as the first Persian Gulf country to do so.
• Concurrently, Israel agreed to suspend plans for annexing parts of the West Bank. The agreement normalized what had long been informal but robust foreign relations between the two countries.

THE ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

4.CAQM FORMULATES COMPREHENSIVE POLICY TO ABATE THE MENACE OF AIR POLLUTION IN DELHI-NCR

THE CONTEXT:The Commission for Air Quality Management in NCR & Adjoining Areas (CAQM) has formulated a Comprehensive Policy to abate the menace of air pollution in Delhi-NCR, in a crucial step towards overall amelioration of the air quality of the National Capital Region (NCR) through differentiated geographical approach and timelines of action.

THE EXPLANATION:

• This policy contains sector-wise recommendations for Agencies and Departments of Central Government, NCR State Governments and GNCTD along with Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and State Pollution Control Boards (PCBs) of NCR to prevent, control and abate air pollution in the NCR including industries, vehicles/ transport, construction and demolition (C&D), dust from roads and open areas, municipal solid waste burning, crop residue burning etc.
• The policy framed by CAQM also deals with thermal power plants (TPPs), clean fuels & electric mobility, public transportation, road traffic management, diesel generators (DGs), bursting of firecrackers and abating air pollution through greening and plantation.

The scope of this comprehensive plan by CAQM is to abate air pollution primarily in Delhi and NCR. Owing to a deficit in infrastructure and systems across sub-regions of the NCR, wide variations in baseline actions, and varying levels of urbanization, a differentiated approach and timelines have been suggested for various sub-regions. These sub-regions include:

WHAT IS THE NEW POLICY?

• According to the policy, all thermal power plants located within 300 kilometer radius of Delhi will have to ensure compliance with emission standards as per the deadline set by the Union environment ministry.
• The policy talks about phasing out diesel-run auto-rickshaws in Gurugram, Faridabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad by December 31, 2024 and the remaining districts in the National Capital Region (NCR) by December 31, 2026.
• Only Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and electric autos will be registered in NCR from January 1, 2023.
• Fuels pumps in Delhi-NCR will not give fuel to vehicles not having a valid pollution-under-check certificate from January 1, 2023.
• State governments have been asked to implement scrappage policy for the end-of-life vehicles that cannot be used any more.
• Delhi and all NCR states will have to develop a plan to create a CNG and LNG fuelling network in NCR and on highways to shift long-haul trucking and other commercial vehicles to gas.
• The use of coal in industrial application will be banned from January 1, 2023.
• To prevent stubble burning, Punjab and Haryana will have to utilise 6 million tonnes and 2 million tonnes of paddy straw industrial applications, respectively as well as thermal power plants, biomass power and production of bio-fuels by December 31, 2026.
• The policy also stressed the need to upscale the application of bio-decomposer solution, which decomposes paddy straw, in the harvest season this year.
• For effective traffic management, the policy mandates the development of early warning systems to inform commuters and plan route diversions in Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad districts.
• It also focuses on strengthening the quality of air pollution data and filling gaps through sensor-based monitoring to cover rural and peri-urban areas.

VALUE ADDITION:

Why Delhi air pollution rises in October?

Natural factors

• Northwesterly Winds: Month of October marks the withdrawal of Monsoon winds (South-West) from North India, leading to the arrival of North-Easterly winds.
  • Monsoon winds carry Moisture and rainfall all over the country, whereas northwesterly winds carry dust from dust storms originating in Rajasthan and sometimes Pakistan and Afghanistan.
  • As per the study conducted by scientists at the National Physical Laboratory, 72 per cent of Delhi’s wind in winters comes from the northwest, while the remaining 28 per cent comes from the Indo-Gangetic plains.
  • One of such examples is a storm of 2017, originated from Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait that led to a drastic dip in Delhi’s air quality in a couple of days.
• Low-level inversion: Another factor is the temperature dip in the month of October. Low-temperature results in low-level inversion i.e. the layer that stops the upward movement of air from the layers below. It leads to the concentration of pollutants in the air at the lower heights.
• Wind speed: High wind speed in summers facilitates the faster movement of particulate matters in the air. As the wind speed decreases in winters, the air is not able to draw the pollutant away from a region.
• Landlocked Geography of Delhi: Geography of Delhi and the region around in the northern plains is landlocked. On the one hand source wind from North-West is already having pollutants, on the other, the Himalayas obstruct the escape route of air. Moreover, large buildings and other structures in Delhi also reduce airspeed.
  • It is the reason that Chennai with the third-highest number of automobiles in India faces far less pollution in the city in comparison as coastal reason provides air with an effective route to enter and exit.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

5.EXPLAINED: WHAT IS FCRA, THE LAW RELATED TO NGO FUNDING?

THE CONTEXT:The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has removed some crucial data from the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) website.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The information removed includes the annual returns of NGOs and a list of NGOs whose licences have been cancelled.
• The FCRA website used to maintain detailed data on NGOs granted licences; NGOs granted prior permission for receiving foreign contribution; NGOs whose licences have been cancelled, and the ones whose licences are deemed to have expired. It also had the annual returns of NGOs.

FOREIGN CONTRIBUTION (REGULATION) ACT:

• It is an act of Parliament enacted in 1976 and amended in 2010. It was to regulate foreign donations and to ensure that such contributions do not adversely affect internal security.
• Coverage: It is applicable to all associations, groups, and NGOs which intend to receive foreign donations.
• Registration: It is mandatory for all such NGOs to register themselves under the FCRA. The registration is initially valid for five years. Further, it can be renewed subsequently if they comply with all norms.
• Registered NGOs can receive foreign contributions for five purposes — social, educational, religious, economic, and cultural. There are 22,591 FCRA registered NGOs.

For how long is approval granted?

• Once granted, FCRA registration is valid for five years. NGOs are expected to apply for renewal within six months of the date of expiry of registration. In case of failure to apply for renewal, the registration is deemed to have expired, and the NGO is no longer entitled to receive foreign funds or utilise its existing funds without permission from the ministry.
• The FCRA registration of close to 5,900 NGOs, including Oxfam India Trust and Indian Medical Association, lapsed on December 31 last year. According to sources, the registration of as many as 5,789 NGOs had lapsed after they failed to apply for renewal before the due date. The rest, who had applied for renewal, were refused as the MHA found their operations or accounts to be in violation of the FCRA, sources had said at the time.
• According to the MHA, NGOs failing to apply before the due date can petition the ministry with cogent reasons within four months of the expiry of registration, following which their applications can be reconsidered.

On what basis is approval cancelled?

• The government reserves the right to cancel the FCRA registration of any NGO if it finds it to be in violation of the Act.
• Registration can be cancelled if an inquiry finds a false statement in the application; if the NGO is found to have violated any of the terms and conditions of the certificate or renewal; if it has not been engaged in any reasonable activity in its chosen field for the benefit of society for two consecutive years; or if it has become defunct.
• It can also be cancelled if “in the opinion of the Central Government, it is necessary in the public interest to cancel the certificate,” the FCRA says.
• Registrations are also cancelled when an audit finds irregularities in the finances of an NGO in terms of misutilisation of foreign funds.

THE PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

6.THE DHAMMACAKKA DAY 2022-13^TH JULY 2022

THE CONTEXT:The President of India, addressed the Dhammacakka Day 2022 celebrations at Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Dhammacakka Day 2022, Ashaḍha Purṇima is the second most important sacred day of observance for Buddhists after Vaishakha Buddha Purṇima.
• It commemorates Buddha’s First Sermon or the First Turning of the Wheel of Dhamma, when he taught the Dhammacakka-pavattana Sutta (Pāli) or Dharmacakra pravartana Sūtra (Sanskrit).”
• “Seven weeks after his enlightenment, he gave this discourse to pancavargiya – the first five ascetic disciples- at the ‘Deer Park’, Ṛṣipatana Mrigadaya in the current day Sarnath, which is in Varanasi. It is here that the Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Paths and the Middle Path: avoiding the two extremes, i.e., life of extreme indulgence and the life of extreme penance”.

VALUE ADDITION:

First Buddhist Council

• Venue: In Sattaparnaguha Cave situated outside Rajgriha (the modern city of Rajgir).
• Year: 486 BC.
• King: Ajatasatru, son of King Bimbisara (Haryanka Dynasty).
• Presiding Priest: Venerable Maha Kasyapa with 500 monks.

Resulted in:

• Vinaya Pitaka which mainly contains the rules of the Buddhist order. This was recited by Upali.
• Suttapitaka was recited by Ananda. It contains the great collections of Buddha’s sermons on matters of doctrine and ethical beliefs.

Second Buddhist Council

• Venue: Vaishali.
• Year: 386 BC
• King: Kalasoka (Shisunaga Dynasty).
• Presiding Priest: Sabakami.

Resulted in:

• The split of the Buddhist order into Sthaviravadinis(Theravada) and Mahasanghikas. The split was over small points of monastic discipline.
• The Second Buddhist Council made the unanimous decision not to relax any of the rules and censured the behaviour of the monks who were accused of violating the ten points.

Third Buddhist Council

• Venue: Pataliputra (today’s Patna).
• Year: 250 BC.
• King: Ashoka (Maurya Dynasty).
• Presiding priest: Mogaliputta Tissa (Upagupta).
• Its objective was to reconcile the different schools of Buddhism and to purify the Buddhist movement, particularly from opportunistic factions which had been attracted by the royal patronage.
• The responses to doctrinal questions and disputes formulated at the Third Council were recorded by Moggaliputta Tissa in the Kathavatthu, one of the books of the Abhidhamma Pitaka.

Resulted in:

• Made Sthaviravada School as an orthodox school – believed that the past, present, and future are all simultaneous. They may have contributed some formative influence to Mahayana.
• Codification of Abhidhamma Pitaka, dealing with Buddhist philosophy written in Pali.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Q.Consider the following statements in the context of World Economic Forum:

1. It is an intergovernmental organization based in Geneva.
2. Global Gender Gap Report released by World Economic Forum.

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 13^TH JULY 2022

ANSWER: D

EXPLANATION:

• All the Statements are Correct

 Types of Bail in India

Depending upon the sage of the criminal matter, there are commonly three types of bail in India:

Regular bail- A regular bail is generally granted to a person who has been arrested or is in

1. police custody. A bail application can be filed for the regular bail under sections 437 and 439 of CrPC.
2. Interim bail– This type of bail is granted for a short period of time and it is granted before the hearing for the grant of regular bail or anticipatory bail.
3. Anticipatory bail– Anticipatory bail is granted under section 438 of CrPC either by session court or High Court. An application for the grant of anticipatory bail can be filed by the person who discerns that he may be arrested by the police for a non-bailable offence.

What is default bail?

• Also known as statutory bail, this is a right to bail that accrues when the police fail to complete the investigation within a specified period in respect of a person in judicial custody. This is enshrined in Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure where it is not possible for the police to complete an investigation in 24 hours, the police produce the suspect in court and seek orders for either police or judicial custody. This section concerns the total period up to which a person may be remanded in custody prior to the filing of the charge sheet.

THE CONTEXT:On January 12, 2022, the Union government sent out a ‘Proposal for Amendments in IAS (Cadre) Rules, 1954’, to the state governments. As per this, an IAS officer whom the Union wishes to place on deputation would “stand relieved” from their respective cadre, irrespective of the state government’s consent. These proposed amendments have created a controversy that many states have termed them anti-federal while the Centre has rejected such a claim. This write-up examines these issues in detail.

WHAT IS THE CURRENT IAS (CADRE RULES) DEALING WITH CENTRAL DEPUTATION?

RULE-6 of IAS (cadre) Rules, 1954• To ensure the service of IAS officers at the Centre, suitable provisions have been made under the IAS (Cadre) Rules, 1954.
• Central deputation in the Indian Administrative Service is covered under Rule-6 (1) of the IAS (Cadre) Rules-1954.

MANNER OF DEPUTATION UNDER RULE-6• A cadre officer may, with the concurrence of the State Governments concerned and the Central Government, be deputed for service under the Central Government or another State Government.
• In case of any disagreement, the matter shall be decided by the Central Government and the State Government or State Governments concerned shall give effect to the decision of the Central Government.

ROLE OF THE IAS OFFICER  .Rule 6(2) states that “no cadre officer shall be deputed to certain kinds of organization or body except with his/her consent.

CENTRAL DEPUTATION RESERVE• The Indian Administrative Service regulations provide for Central Deputation Reserve (CDR) not exceeding 40 per cent of the Sanctioned Duty Posts (SDP) of a cadre/joint cadre.
• The Central Deputation quota fixes the share of the Government of India out of the State cadre.

HEALTHY CONVENTIONS IN THE PAST• In the past, certain healthy conventions were generally followed. No officer was sent on central deputation against his/her own will. Every year, the States would prepare an “offer list” of officers who had opted for central deputation without arbitrarily withholding any names.
• The Centre would choose officers only from among those “on offer” from the States. The States would relieve the officers picked up by the Centre at the earliest.

UNDERSTANDING THE PROPOSED IAS CADRE (AMENDMENT) RULES, 2022

WHAT IS THE AMENDMENT?

• The proposal amends Rule 6 of the 1954 Rules.
• It says that in case of any disagreement, the matter shall be decided by the Centre and the State Government or State Governments concerned shall give effect to the decision of the Central Government as the case earlier but adds:within a specified time.
• If the State government delays posting a State cadre officer to the Centre and does not give effect to the Central government’s decision within the specified time, “the officer shall stand relieved from cadre from the date as specified by the Central government”.
• In specific situations (national security, major disasters, domain expertise) where the services of cadre officers are required by the Central government in “public interest”, the State shall give effect to its decisions within a specified time.
• Additionally, from now on, the centre itself would decide the number of officers required to be deputed and the states would have to ensure this number.

WHY THE AMENDMENT?

• As per the Union, various state/joint cadres are not sponsoring an adequate number of officers for central deputation, as part of the Central Deputation Reserve (CDR).

• As a result of this, the number of officers available for central deputation is not sufficient to meet the requirement at the Centre.
• The number of IAS officers on CDR has gone down from 309 in 2011 to 223 as of date.
• The number of such officers on central deputation has gone down from 117 to 114 during the period in spite of an increase in the number of IAS officers at the deputy secretary/director level from 621 in 2014 to 1,130 in 2021.
• Only 10% of mid-level IAS officers were posted with the Union government in 2021, a sharp fall from 19% in 2014.

WHAT HAS BEEN THE RESPONSE OF THE STATES REGARDING THE PROPOSALS?

MAJOR OPPOSITION• The proposed changes in the rules have been opposed by eight states as per the RTI reply by the Union government.
• As expected, states ruled by the ruling party at the Centre have responded positively while others took strong objections to the proposed amendments.

CONTRARY TO COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM• The problem with the proposed amendments is that they would hamper the existing fabric of cooperative federalism.
• The state governments would be under compulsion to send officers on deputations against the wishes of the officers themselves.
• The existing deputation rules are already tilted towards the centre, such amendments would only introduce further stringency in cadre deputation.

PROBLEM OF ADMINISTRATIVE ANARCHY• Based on experiences in the recent past, State governments have a justified apprehension that this proviso may be misused for political considerations.
• States say, what if the Centre unilaterally places at its disposal the services of the Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister and other key officers of a State ruled by a rival party or deputes them to other States.
• This will create administrative anarchy in states.

POOR STATE CONTROL OVER BUREAUCRACY• The proposed amendments to the IAS (Cadre) Rules would allow the Union government larger control over the deputation of IAS officials vis a vis the states.
• This will in turn reduce the control over the personnel management practices of IAS officers by the state government.
• If the proposed amendments come into effect, then the state governments lose their autonomy as they would have to make a said number of AIS officers available for deputation as would be prescribed under the Central Deputation Reserve (CDR).
• The lack of effective government control over the bureaucracy is antithetical to the democratic form of government.

REDUCED INDEPENDENCE, SECURITY, AND THE OVERALL MORALE• The amended rules may put officials posted in states in a dilemma while discharging their duties, and this may lead to a situation of instability.
• The Officers career growth prospects may suffer due to the Centre-State tussle. It may also undermine the principle of political neutrality of the civil services.

LONG TERM DAMAGES• If States begin to doubt the loyalty of IAS officers, they are likely to reduce the number of IAS cadre posts and also their annual intake of IAS officers.
• They may prefer officers of the State Civil Services to handle as many posts as possible.
• In course of time, the IAS will lose its sheen, and the best and the brightest candidates will no longer opt for the IAS as a career. Short-sighted decisions can do long-term damage to the polity.

REASONS FOR THE FALL IN THE NUMBER OF OFFICERS FOR CENTRAL DEPUTATION

POLITICAL CONFLICTS BETWEEN THE CENTRE AND THE STATES• Both the Centre and the States have at times flouted the healthy conventions in deputation for political considerations.
• In July 2001, the Centre unilaterally “placed at its disposal” the services of three IPS officers of the Tamil Nadu cadre.
• In December 2020, the Centre did the same in respect of three IPS officers of the West Bengal cadre.
• In May 2021, the Centre unilaterally issued orders for the central deputation of the Chief Secretary of West Bengal just before his last day in service.
• In all these cases, the States concerned refused to relieve the officers.

QUESTIONABLE ROLE OF STATES• Some States used to vindictively withhold the names of some of the officers who had opted for central deputation or delayed their relief after they were picked up by the Centre.
• An example was that of a senior IPS officer who was not allowed to join the Central Bureau of Investigation despite earlier clearance and was suspended by the Government of Tamil Nadu in May 2014 when she relieved herself from the State pursuant to the Centre’s direction.
• States are also not sponsoring enough officers which also is another reason as recently indicated by reports related to Andhra Pradesh.

STRUCTURAL PROBLEMS• Poor working conditions in junior-level posts, an opaque and arbitrary system of empanelment for senior-level posts, and lack of security of tenure at all levels also are reasons for the shortage of IAS officers.

PERSONAL CHOICE OF OFFICERS• Many are not opting for Central deputation because they also see better career growth in the State.
• There is also a sense of uncertainty regarding how many actually make it to the top ranks at the Centre and who will be unceremoniously repatriated if they don’t find a way with the political setup.

HOW DOES THIS MOVE ADD ANOTHER ATTEMPT TOWARDS CENTRALISATION OF POLITY?

There has been a tendency towards increasing the unitisation of Indian polity recently. It is held that the Union government has been encroaching upon the legislative, policy, and administrative domains of the states. Many states have argued that this centralizing approach has disturbed the federal nature of Indian governance and is making states “glorified municipalities”! They provide a few examples of this alleged encroachment which are briefly discussed below:

FARM LAWS•Agriculture, Agri trade and market, etc are state subjects. But the union brought crucial laws through the colourable exercise of power.(Repealed later)

NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY • States have not been consulted at all in its formulation and the governance structure proposed has no role for states.

15TH FINANCE COMMISSION•The terms of reference to the commission like whether revenue deficit grants are to be provided to states, making grants conditional on implementing the pet schemes of the centre, etc have been criticized by states.

GST COMPENSATION•States argue that despite the pandemic hitting their revenue badly, the centre has not fulfilled the commitment to compensate the states under GST.

ELECTRICITY ACT•The act mandated states to privatize their DISCOMs, remove subsidies and provide for DBT and Vest the tariff deciding power with a central body etc

NATIONAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY ACT•The NIA act has been challenged by the Chhattisgarh government in the SC alleging that the act encroaches into the “policing” function. Police is an exclusive state subject and the NIA exercising the power of a police force is contrary to the federal division of subjects in Schedule 7.

DOWNGRADING A STATE INTO A UT•After the repeal of Art 370 and 35A, through the Jammu Kashmir reorganization act, the state of J&K has been downgraded into a UT.

MISUSE OF INVESTIGATIVE AGENCIES•The Enforcement Directorate, Narcotics Control Bureau, the CBI and the Income Tax dept etc. have been more enthusiastic to go after the opposition-ruled states and their prominent functionaries.

ROLE OF GOVERNORS•Self-Explanatory.

WHAT SHOULD BE THE WAY FORWARD?

EXPANDING THE POOL OF INTAKE• With the Government of India itself enthusiastically promoting lateral entry to posts in the Centre and providing an increased share of central deputation posts to the central services, there is no need to push unwilling IAS officers on central deputation.

STREAMLINING CENTRAL STAFFING SCHEME• Officers of the level of deputy secretary/director and above are usually appointed in central government ministries/departments (i.e. on central deputation) under the Central Staffing Scheme (CSS).
• The CSS needs to be streamlined with timely cadre review, selection and appointment and timely repatriation etc.

COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM• Non-availability of a sufficient number of officers at the Centre is affecting the functioning of the Central government since New Delhi needs the services of these officers to obtain fresh inputs in policy formulation and programme implementation. Similarly, states also benefit from the policy-level exposure of the officers which can improve state-level governance
• Thus, better consultation and coordination between the Union and states are needed for ensuring a win-win situation for both.

GREATER DECENTRALISATION• There should be greater decentralisation within the elected organs of the state, like the Panchayati Raj system. Greater control should be bestowed on people themselves.
• More decentralization must be accompanied by restructuring and rationalizing the government machinery at the Centre and states and giving control to local governments.

INTROSPECTION BY THE CENTRE• The centre should introspect and find out the reasons for the perceptible decline, over a couple of the last few years, in the number of officers opting to go on Central Deputation.
• The empanelment process based on 360n degree appraisal is one such issue that needs reforms.

DE CADRE POSTS• Many posts are manned by IAS and other AIS officers are strictly not cadred posts.
• So, such officers need to be relieved which will free up these officers for deputation.

THE CONCLUSION: As per the union government, a final view on the proposed amendment has not been taken. It is in the interest of the union, states and the officers to have wider consultation before finalizing the changes. Also, the larger issues related to cadre management, personal administration, centre-state relations and autonomy of civil services need to be addressed as a priority.
Questions:
1. The proposed IAS cadre(amendment) rules, 2022 addresses the problem of shortage of officers in the ministries and departments of the union government. Examine.
2. How far do you think the proposed IAS cadre(amendment) rules, 2022 is another instance centralization of Indian polity?
3. Political control of administration is the necessary concomitant of democratic accountability. Analyze the statement in the context of the proposed IAS cadre(amendment) rules, 2022.
4. Although the All India Services are the manifestations of the unitary features of Indian polity, their management should be governed by federal principles. Elucidate.

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