1. Community reserves: Are they forest department’s backdoor entry into North East India READ MORE  
2. How Shimla’s Water Crisis Flows Along Spatial and Economic Lines READ MORE

1. No discrimination: Supreme Court ruling makes it easier for more women to get safe abortions READ MORE
2. Swachh Bharat 2.0: Moving forward together READ MORE
3. The implications of India’s spatial development READ MORE

1. Preventive detention serious invasion of personal liberty, says SC READ MORE
2. Letting go of a chance to democratise telecom services: The draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022, struggles to break free of its colonial roots READ MORE
3. A landmark for women’s rights READ MORE
4. In Pursuit of an Ideal Bureaucracy READ MORE
5. AFSPA extended in Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh READ MORE
6. Prosecuting cyber criminals need of the hour READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Monsoon season ends on a high, India records 6% surplus rain: IMD READ MORE
2. SC collegium recommends transfer of chief justices of two HCs, appointment of three new CJs READ MORE
3. Zelenskyy seeks fast-track membership of Nato as Putin annexes 4 Ukrainian regions READ MORE
4. To better track PLI claims, Govt floats digital platforms for data sharing READ MORE
5. RBI policy: Repo rate hiked by 50 bps to 5.9%; FY23 GDP forecast cut to 7% READ MORE
6. Mortality higher among COVID patients with chronic kidney, liver diseases, malignancy and tuberculosis: report READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. Community reserves: Are they forest department’s backdoor entry into North East India READ MORE  

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Preventive detention serious invasion of personal liberty, says SC READ MORE
2. Letting go of a chance to democratise telecom services: The draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022, struggles to break free of its colonial roots READ MORE
3. A landmark for women’s rights READ MORE
4. In Pursuit of an Ideal Bureaucracy READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. No discrimination: Supreme Court ruling makes it easier for more women to get safe abortions READ MORE
2. Swachh Bharat 2.0: Moving forward together READ MORE
3. The implications of India’s spatial development READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. India-US ties: Depth & nuance READ MORE
2. A win-win trade deal: India-Australia FTA serves both nations well READ MORE
3. Cutting-edge ideas must to earn UNSC place READ MORE

 GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. The RBI’s playbook: Further interest rate hikes are expected, albeit more calibrated READ MORE
2. Leading economies of the world are driving global instability. What can India do to retain its balance? READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT

1. How Shimla’s Water Crisis Flows Along Spatial and Economic Lines READ MORE

SECURITY

1. AFSPA extended in Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh READ MORE
2. Prosecuting cyber criminals need of the hour READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Nine-step blueprint to raise our consciousness READ MORE
2. In Pursuit of an Ideal Bureaucracy READ MORE
3. Ahimsa, the greatest force at our disposal READ MORE
4. Just be a real human READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. ‘Ahimsa not only develops man’s moral dignity and personality, but it also makes possible an ideal society’. Comment.
2. The traditional system cannot cope with the diverse demands and specific needs to mete out punishment to digital offenders. In light of the statement discuss the need for a separate cyber-criminal justice ecosystem to address the challenges posed by cyber fraud.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• If you can abuse your power, you have too much.
• The draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022, struggles to break free of its colonial roots.
• The opportunity for significant legislative reform has been squandered not just for surveillance and Internet shutdowns but also for net neutrality.
• At a time when unsafe abortions remain a major cause of maternal mortality, SC judgement is a significant verdict that advances the cause of safe abortion services.
• Public-private partnerships are building on successes of the first phase of the Swachh Bharat Mission and setting more ambitious goals for the next phase.
• Ahimsa implies that there is no violence in thought, word or deed and, finally, no loss of temper. Ahimsa thus is necessary for human evolution and building of peaceful society.
• Ahimsa not only develops man’s moral dignity and personality, but it also makes possible an ideal society.
• It is essential to keep the conversation between the nations going, to ensure a speedy signing of the full-fledged free trade agreement.
• With a global recession now looking almost certain, the current cycle of partly proactive monetary tightening is perhaps prudent.
• Poverty and social traps have strong spatial characteristics, but not all social outcomes are driven by spatial income trends.
• The traditional system cannot cope with the diverse demands and specific needs to mete out punishment to digital offenders.
• Wildlife conservation cannot be achieved by ad hoc measures, it should involve people and have a grounded policy framework.

50-WORD TALK

• Every once in a while, Supreme Court stands up for individual rights and strikes a blow for freedom and choice. Its order on women’s reproductive rights falls in this landmark category. It has also helped by hinting its mind on criminalising marital rape. It’s a big win for Indian women.

Things to Remember:

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

THE INDIAN POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. WHAT ARE THE FUNCTIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR INDIA?

THE CONTEXT: Recently, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi has declined the government’s offer to be Attorney General (A-G) for India after “second thoughts”. Rohatgi, who had earlier agreed to take up the position.

THE EXPLANATION:

The term of the incumbent A-G, K K Venugopal, ends on September 30. He is 91 years old, and on his third extension. Venugopal has conveyed to the government that in view of his advanced age, he would not be able to continue after the end of his current term.

Who is the Attorney General for India?

• The Constitution of India places the post of the A-G on a special footing. The A-G is the Government of India’s first law officer, and has the right of audience in all courts of the country.
• Article 76(2) of the Constitution says “it shall be the duty of the Attorney-General to give advice to the Government of India upon such legal matters, and to perform such other duties of a legal character, as may from time to time be referred or assigned to him by the President”.
• The A-G is also supposed to “discharge the functions conferred on him by or under this Constitution or any other law for the time being in force”.
• Under Article 88, the “Attorney-General of India shall have the right to speak in, and otherwise to take part in the proceedings of, either House, any joint sitting of the Houses, and any committee of Parliament of which he may be named a member”. However, he “shall not by virtue of this article be entitled to vote” in the House.
• Also, the A-G for India is not, like the A-G for England and Wales and the A-G of the United States, a member of the Cabinet.

Who can become A-G?

• Under Article 76(1), the A-G is appointed by the President from among persons who are “qualified to be appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court”. Article 76(4) says “the Attorney-General shall hold office during the pleasure of the President, and shall receive such remuneration as the President may determine.”
• The post of the A-G has been occupied by some of the finest jurists in India’s history. The first two incumbents of the post were the legendary M C Setalvad and C K Daphtary.
• Soli Sorabjee served as A-G twice, in 1989-90 when V P Singh and Chandra Shekhar were Prime Ministers, and from 1998-2004 under Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Milon K Banerji was also A-G twice, from 1992-96 under P V Narasimha Rao, and from 2004-09 when Manmohan Singh was PM.

2. THE DRAFT INDIAN TELECOMMUNICATION BILL, 2022

THE CONTEXT: The Ministry of Communications released a draft of the Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022 for public comments. Since then, the draft has generated a significant amount of discussion on various changes that it proposes to make to the current telecom regulatory framework. 

THE EXPLANATION:

How does the draft telecommunication Bill affect over-the-top communication services?

• Over-the-top (OTT) communication services refer to services that provide real time person-to-person telecommunication services. Some popular examples of these include messaging platforms like Whatsapp, Telegram, Signal, Messenger, Duo, Google Meet etc.
• These platforms use the network infrastructure of telecom service providers like Airtel, Vodafone and Jio and provide features that compete with telecommunication services such as voice calls and SMS services.
• Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) allege that these features result in a double whammy for them as they cut into their sources of revenue (voice calls, SMS) while not having to deal with infrastructure and licensing costs that they have to undertake. Therefore, TSPs have been demanding a level playing field with OTT services.
• The current draft of the Bill expands the definition of “telecommunication services” to include OTT communication services. As a consequence of this, OTT telecommunication services may be subject to the same licensing conditions as TSPs.
• Under the extant framework, TSPs have to be issued the Unified Access Service Licence (UASL) for them to be able to provide telecom services in India.
• If OTT communication services are required to obtain the same licence, they would also be subject to a number of conditions such as maintaining ‘know your customer’ details of their users, adhering to certain encryption regulations and allowing lawful access to the government of their equipment and networks.

What are the draft Bill’s provisions on internet shutdowns?

• For the first time in the Indian legal framework, a specific provision enabling the government to order suspension of internet power has been introduced through the draft Bill.
• Currently, suspension of internet services is ordered under the Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency and Public Safety) Rules, 2017 that have been made under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885.
• However, civil society has raised concerns that the proposed provision gives the government power to order internet shutdowns while failing to incorporate safeguards such as judicial oversight that have been recommended by the Standing Committee on Information Technology.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

3. RBI HIKES REPO RATE BY ANOTHER 50 BASIS POINTS

THE CONTEXT: The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) raised the policy repo rate by 50 basis points (bps) to 5.9%, with RBI Governor citing the ‘persistence of high inflation that necessitated the withdrawal of monetary accommodation to restrain broadening of price pressures and contain second round effects’.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The committee also voted by a 5:1 majority to “remain focused on withdrawal of accommodation to ensure that inflation remains within the target going forward”.
• According to RBI Governor that this action will support medium-term growth prospects”.
• The committee also voted by a 5:1 majority to “remain focused on withdrawal of accommodation to ensure that inflation remains within the target going forward”.
• Noting that these actions had caused tightening of financial conditions, extreme volatility and risk aversion, he asserted: “Despite this unsettling global environment, the Indian economy continues to be resilient; there is macroeconomic stability.
• However, given headwinds from extended geopolitical tensions, tightening global financial conditions and a possible decline in external demand, the RBI Governor said the RBI projected economic growth in FY23 at 7% (down from the 7.2% it had forecast earlier).
• The MPC, however, retained the retail inflation projection for the current fiscal year at 6.7%.

VALUE ADDITION:

ABOUT MONETARY POLICY:

• The Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 was amended by Finance Act (India), 2016 to constitute MPC.
• It is tasked with framing monetary policy using tools like the repo rate, reverse repo rate, bank rate, cash reserve ratio (CRR).
• It has been instituted by the Central Government of India under Section 45ZB of the RBI Act that was amended in 1934.

Functions:

The MPC is entrusted with the responsibility of deciding the different policy rates including MSF, Repo Rate, Reverse Repo Rate, and Liquidity Adjustment Facility.

Composition of MPC:

• The committee will have six members. Of the six members, the government will nominate three. No government official will be nominated to the MPC.
• The other three members would be from the RBI with the governor being the ex-officio chairperson. Deputy governor of RBI in charge of the monetary policy will be a member, as also an executive director of the central bank.

WHAT IS REPO RATE AND REVERSE REPO RATE?

Repo Rate

The interest rate at which the Reserve Bank provides overnight liquidity to banks against the collateral of government and other approved securities under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF).

Reverse Repo Rate

The interest rate at which the Reserve Bank absorbs liquidity, on an overnight basis, from banks against the collateral of eligible government securities under the LAF.

THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

4. 5G SERVICES TO BE ROLLED OUT TODAY; HOW WILL YOUR EXPERIENCE CHANGE?

THE CONTEXT: From today (1^st Oct 2022) India will get 5G mobile services — almost five years after the country took its first steps towards the launch of the next generation of mobile telephony.

THE EXPLANATION:

What has been India’s journey towards launching 5G?

• In 2017, the government had set up a high-level forum comprising representatives from the industry, academia, government and regulators to evaluate and approve the country’s roadmap for rolling out 5G. The main agenda of this forum was to keep India’s roadmap for 5G aligned with the global standards so as to prevent the lack of homogeneity in global telecom networks that was witnessed in services up till 4G.

Which operators will roll out 5G services and where?

• While the government has not specified the cities that the PM will first launch 5G services in, telecom operators have revealed how they plan to roll out 5G services on their network.
• Reliance Jio, which was the top spender at this year’s 5G spectrum auctions bidding an amount of more than Rs 88,000 crore, said in August that it will roll out high-speed mobile internet services on its 5G network by Diwali in metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata by Diwali this year.
• Bharti Airtel which was the second highest spender in the auction has said that 5G will be available on its network in all urban parts of the country by the end of 2023. Also, the company said that 5G will be available in towns and key rural areas by March 2024.

What are the benefits of 5G?

• The Ministry of Communications said in a statement: “5G can unleash new economic opportunities and societal benefits giving it the potential for being a transformational force for Indian society … The cumulative economic impact of 5G on India is expected to reach $450 billion by 2035.”
• For consumers, 5G could have benefits owing to the superior Internet speed and low latency it promises over 4G. At its peak, internet speeds on 5G could touch 10 Gbps, compared to the 100 Mbps peak of 4G.
• Similarly, latency under 4G is between 10-100 ms (millisecond) whereas on 5G it is expected to be under 1 ms. Latency is the time it takes for a device to send packets of data and get a response. Shorter the latency, quicker the response.

THE PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

5. WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA’S RECENT FINDINGS IN BANDHAVGARH TIGER RESERVE?

THE CONTEXT: Recently the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) reported 26 Buddhist caves in Madhya Pradesh’s Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, after a month-long exploration conducted this summer.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Besides the caves, which date back to the 2nd-5th century BCE, other archaeological remains of the Mahayana sect of Buddhism, such as chaitya-shaped doors and cells containing stone beds, were also reported by the ASI team.

The exploration

• The exploration was conducted between May 20 and June 26 this year by the ASI’s newly formed Jabalpur Circle, under the direction of its Superintending Archaeologist, and a dozen team members including archaeologists, archaeological analysts, photographers and forest guards. The team covered nearly 170 sq km within the reserve’s core area.

The findings

• The 26 caves that were found are associated with the Mahayana sect of Buddhism, ASI said, adding that these date back to the same time as the Ajanta caves in Aurangabad, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Besides the caves, the team also found the remains of 26 temples, two mathas, two stupas, 46 idols and sculptures, 26 fragments and 19 water bodies, according to the report signed by Bajpai. It also mentioned a Buddhist pillar fragment containing a miniature stupa carving, dating to the 2nd-3rd century CE, and 24 Brahmi inscriptions from the 2nd-5th century CE.
• The temples are from more recent times — the Kalachuri period (9th-11th century), while the water bodies range between 2nd-15th centuries CE. The report says that the places Kaushambi, Mathura, Pavata (Parvata), Vejabharada and Sapatanaairikaa are mentioned in the Brahmini inscriptions, while the inscribed names of kings include Shri Bhimsena, Maharaja Pothasiri and Bhattadeva.

Other explorations at the reserve

• This was the first phase of the current exploration by ASI, which covered the expanse of the Tala Range. In the coming phases, the ASI will survey the remaining ranges of the Bandhavgarh forest, Khitauli and Magadhi. Tala, Khitauli and Magadhi comprise the three main zones of the national park, which together cover an area of 716 km.
• Bandhavgarh was declared a national park in 1968 and became a tiger reserve in 1993. The ASI stated that explorations in the region had been undertaken for the first time since 1938, under the command of ASI archaeologist NP Chakravarty.

6. WHAT IS BLACK COCAINE, SEIZED BY THE NCB IN MUMBAI?

THE CONTEXT:Recently the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested a Bolivian woman from Mumbai airport for allegedly carrying black cocaine. Based on her interrogation, the NCB also arrested a Nigerian national from Goa, who was to receive the contraband.

THE EXPLANATION:

What is Black Cocaine?

• “Black cocaine”, a rare drug, is a mixture of regular cocaine and other chemicals of administrated quantity. In a bid to ensure that sniffer dogs used at airports do not detect cocaine, it is being used by drug peddlers coming to India from South American countries. It neutralises the smell of cocaine so that it can pass through checkpoints easily.
• Black cocaine is a mixture of regular cocaine base with various substances to camouflage typical appearance (e.g. charcoal), to interfere with colour-based drug tests (cobalt salts form deep red complexes in solution), to make the mixture undetectable by drug-sniffing dogs as activated carbon may sufficiently absorb trace odours.
• The pure cocaine base is then recovered from the mixture by extraction using common organic solvents such as methylene chloride or acetone. A second process is required to convert the cocaine base into powdered cocaine hydrochloride.

What has been the major source of cocaine in India?

South American countries where coca plants grow are major suppliers of cocaine to India. Generally, Mumbai is one of the landing points from where it is then sent to other parts of the country, especially to metro cities and Goa. Amongst narcotics, Cocaine is one of the most expensive ones and is primarily used by the upper classes.

THE CONTEXT: The ever-growing mechanisation, electrification, chemicalisation and sophistication have made industrial jobs more and more complex and intricate leading to increased dangers to human life in industries through accidents and injuries. In fact, the same underline the need for and importance of industrial safety. This article discusses about the industrial disaster related problems, measures and possible solutions.

DEFINING INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT

• An industrial accident may be defined as “an occurrence which interrupts or interferes with the orderly progress of work in an industrial establishment.
• According to the Factories Act of 1948, it is “an occurrence in an industrial establishment causing bodily injury to a person which makes him unfit to resume his duties in the next 48 hours.

In other words, it is an unexpected event which is neither anticipated nor designed to occur. It is always sudden, for a gradual process does not constitute an accident.

SOME MAJOR INCIDENTS

• Bhopal Gas Tragedy, 1984
• A chlorine gas leak at Jamshedpur (2008),
• A fire at an Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) platform at Bombay High (2005),
• A toluene fire at a Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd factory in Mohali (2003),
• A chlorine gas leak in Vadodara (2002) that affected 250 people.
• Ammonia gas leaked at Oswal Chemicals and Fertilisers Ltd at Paradip, Odisha, in 1999 during a supercyclone,
• An earthquake damaged a phosphoric acid sludge containment at Bhuj, Gujarat, in 2001.

Recent incidents

• On 20th August 2020, a major fire broke out in late night hours, in an underground hydroelectric power plant in Srisailam in the state of Telangana. The fire blaze killed 9 people, including 5 engineers.
• On 7th May 2020, a gas leak from the LG Polymers plant in Visakhapatnam, which was operating without environmental clearance for over two decades, killed 12 people and sickened hundreds.

ISSUES RELATED TO THE INDUSTRIAL DISASTERS

Less attention

• Since May 2020, there have been 30 industrial accidents in India, killing at least 75 workers, according to IndustriALL, a global union of workers.
• From 2014 to 2017, 8,004 such incidents occurred in Indian workplaces killing 6,368 employees.
• Most such incidents took place in Delhi, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

Industrial reforms v/s Industrial safety

• The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has identified about 400 plus reforms, some of which have an adverse impact on industrial safety.
• The government, as part of these reforms, is dismantling the inspection system which overlooked regulations to a self-certification system or third-party certification.

Issue of decommissioning

• There is no proper mechanism for decommissioning of power plants for example the atomic power plants which have completed their lifespan of 30-40 years have still not been decommissioned.
• Even the Nuclear Liability Act is inadequate to deal with such disasters.

Inadequate compensation

• Inadequate compensation policy for example the inadequacy of the compensation under the PLI Act, which is the only legislation we have for compensating victims of tragedies such as Bhopal and Vizag, is best highlighted by the amount offered which was too less.

MEASURES TAKEN BY THE GOVERNMENT

• 1948-Draft regulations on the control of, major accident hazards were first prepared as model rules that were then notified to the states under the Factories Act of 1948.
• 1987 amendment-One important change that followed Bhopal and the oleum gas leak case came in 1987, when the Factories Act, 1948, was amended to extend the scope of risk from such industries. What used to be a narrowly defined scope covering only workers and the premises of the factory was extended to the general public in the vicinity of the factory.
• 1989-The Ministry of Environment and Forests included the rules as the ‘Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989’ under the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986 which detail and catalogue chemicals deemed “hazardous” entering the country, the port of entry and the quantity imported.
• The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991, which is an insurance meant to provide relief to persons affected by accidents that occur while handling hazardous substances.
• The Chemical Accidents (Emergency Planning, Preparedness, and Response) Rules, 1996, which address gas leaks and similar events.
• Chemical Accidents (Emergency, Planning, Preparedness and Response) Rules, 1996: Centre is required to constitute a central crisis group for management of chemical accidents; set up quick response mechanism termed as the crisis alert system. Each state is required to set up a crisis group and report on its work.
• The Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008, fix responsibility on those who have control over a facility dealing with such hazardous substances, and those who import, handle or transport such waste, making them “liable for all damages caused to the environment or third party” as well as payment of “financial penalties”.
• The National Green Tribunal (NGT),which was set up by an Act of Parliament in 2010 for the Public Liability Insurance Act would provide interim relief and that the tribunal would determine the final compensation. The Act also provides for the “principle of no fault liability”, which means that the company can be held liable even if it had done everything in its power to prevent the accident.
• Factory Advice Service and Labour Institute– The Government has set up Factory Advice Service and Labour Institute, Bombay, which functions as an integral body to advise Government, industry and other interests concerned with matters relating to safety, health and welfare of factory workers.
• National Program for Co-ordinated Action Plan – The Government has drawn up a “National Program for Co-ordinated Action Plan” for control of hazards, and protection of occupational health and safety workers in dangerous manufacturing processes. The Action Plan lists out the responsibilities of the Government, management and workers’ organisations in the field of safety and health in work environment, and includes ‘Model Scheme for setting up Full Safety Control System Cell’ in hazardous industries and ‘Safety and Health Accidents Reduction Action Plan’ (SAHARA) in all industries.
• National Safety Council– National Safety Council was set up in 1966 to promote safety consciousness among workers to prevent accidents, minimise dangers and mitigate human sufferings, conduct programs, lectures and conferences safety.
• National Safety Awards– To give recognition to good safety performance on the part of industrial undertakings and to stimulate and maintain the interest of both the managements and the workers in accident prevention programs, the Central Government instituted in 1965 the National Safety Awards.

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE

Some of the steps for ensuring safety and preventing industrial disasters are:

Intervention at the Managerial Level

• Management should assess the overall workplace safety aspects and possible threats or hazards.
• Drafting safety policy according to the assessment of the possible threats. Safety policy implementation & follow-up should be taken on a regular basis.
• Safety Training & drills on a periodic basis.
• Workload assessment and Equipment and maintenance audit on regular basis for the proper assessment of hazards.

Technological Interventions

The technological interventions refer to technology-audit and ensuring that better technologies are used and employed in the organizations that enhance safety aspects.

• Design and construction of plant and workplace should be safe.
• Arrangement of machinery equipment and material should be such as to eliminate risk of accident.
• Machines and equipments should be kept in good working conditions.
• Good working environment free from noise, pollution, and other environmental hazards should be ensured.
• Use of fire-retardant materials in construction, dual exits, easy vertical escape routes using staircases and alarm systems should be the part of safety codes.

Training and Placement Side

• Great cares should be taken while selecting persons for the jobs only skilled persons should be selected to handle machinery and equipment.
• Workers should be given proper in plant training and education regarding safety and use of safety devices.

Behavioural Interventions

• Making safety at workplace a way of life rather than a periodic inspection issue is the real challenge.
• Safety should become everyone’s agenda rather than being an enforcement issue.
• Zero tolerance for any unsafe practice or unsafe act, zero procrastination of safety aspects, prioritizing safety over everything are some of the desired behaviour from employees especially from managers.

Government interventions

• Once government allows setting up a factory manufacturing hazardous substances or is otherwise hazardous, it is essential for government to ensure an adequate buffer zone and not permit people to stay around in that zone or allow any business shops or constructions therein.
• The central crisis group is required to constantly monitor post-accident situations, conduct analyses of these accidents and suggest preventive steps to avoid recurrence.
• Effective monitoring and regular follow up of safety measures.

ACCOUNTABILITY NEED TO BE FIXED

• After the Bhopal gas tragedy the judiciary evolved what came to be called the Doctrine of Absolute Responsibility in a case of oleum gas leak from a Delhi Cloths Mill factory.
• In a public interest litigation (1986) a five-judge bench of the apex court defined “absolute liability” as an enterprise which is engaged in a hazardous or inherently dangerous industry which poses a potential threat to the health and safety of the persons working in the factory and residing in the surrounding areas owes an absolute and non-delegable duty to the community to ensure that no harm results to anyone on account of hazardous or inherently dangerous nature of the activity which it has undertaken,”
• In the judgement court also said that compensation needs to have a “deterrent effect” and must be reflect the “magnitude and capacity of the enterprise”. The larger and more prosperous the enterprise, the greater must be the amount of compensation payable by it, the court said.
• Accountability of local administration is also need to be fixed as the administration is responsible for safety measures is being taken or not by the enterprise.

WAY FORWARD

• There are so many rules and regulations related to industrial disasters but the questions arises as to what extent are these laws relevant today? Have they been effectively used? Or is there a need for a more comprehensive law?
• Major risks are recognized, but preventive laws are generally inadequate to cope with hazards and emergencies. The enforcement efforts of the governmental agencies concerned with the protection of workers, the public, and the environment need to be properly coordinated.
• With industrialisation and a growing number of industries using hazardous substances, our legislative framework is no longer in sync with the changing times.

CONCLUSION: In this era of competition, market volatility and uncertainty there may be sometimes a tendency to cut-corners when it comes to safety issues. No such steps must be permitted that endangers lives of the employees or of any other member of the society due to operations of an organization.