ARAM IAS ACADEMY’S MAINFRAME

89396 96868 89396 96869

[email protected] www.aramiasacademy.com

# C-40, 2nd Avenue, Anna Nagar West, Chennai - 40.

SEPTEMBER-2020

ARAM IAS ACADEMY’S

MAINFRAMEAN EXCLUSIVE MAGAZINE FOR ENHANCING MAINS ANSWER WRITING

Aram.Academy.IAS aramias_academy aramias_academy aimcivilservices aramiasacademy.com

FOR

PC

M C

IRC

ULA

TIO

N


INDEX

02

BANNING MANUAL SCAVENGING IN INDIA

#Poverty and developmental issues, urbanisation, their problems and remedies

05

ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY (REGULATION) BILL, 2020

#Role of women and women’s organisations, population and associated

issues, poverty and developmental issues, urbanisation, their problems and remedies

08

CENTENARY OF DISCOVERY OF HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION

#Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and

Architecture from ancient to modern times 11

MEDICANES

#GS I Salient features of world’s physical geography 14

QUESTION HOUR AND ZERO HOUR IN INDIAN

PARLIAMENT #Parliament and State Legislatures 16

MISSION KARMAYOGI

# Role of civil services in a democracy 20

GLOBAL INNOVATION INDEX # Issues relating to development and

management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human

Resources 23

INTERNATIONALISATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIA

# Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services

DIGITAL DIVIDE IN INDIA

# Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability,

e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential 30

BASIC STRUCTURE DOCTRINE:

KESAVANANTHA BHARATHI CASE # Indian Constitution ,historical

underpinnings, evolution, features amendments, significant provisions 33

EMPOWERING THE YOUTH

# Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services

relating to Human Resources 36

GRAM PANCHAYAT DEVELOPMENT PLANS # Devolution of powers and finances up to

local levels and challenges therein 38

ORDINANCE MAKING POWER OF EXECUTIVES IN INDIA

# Structure, organisation and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary 40

FOREIGN CONTRIBUTION (REGULATION) ACT

# Development processes and the development industry – the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, institutional and other stakeholders 43

SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANISATION

# Important International institutions, agencies, their structure and mandates 45

REDUCING INDIA’S CANCER BURDEN

# Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human

Resources 48

ISSUE OF MALNUTRITION IN INDIA # Issues relating to poverty and hunger 50

GS PAPER - I

GS PAPER - II

relating to Health, Education, Human Resources 27


03

REFORMS FOR TRANSFORMING PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

# Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability 53

INDIA- MALDIVES TIES

# India and its neighborhood – International relations 55

INDUS WATER TREATY

# Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or

affecting the Indian interests 58

INTRA-AFGHAN TALKS AND A ROLE FOR INDIA # India and its neighborhood – International

relations 61

GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK FOR NON-PERSONAL DATA

# Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability 63

SELECT COMMITTEES AND OTHER

PARLIAMENTARY PANELS: ROLES AND LIMITATIONS

# Parliament and State Legislatures 65

UNITED NATIONS: ORIGIN AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE

# Important International institutions, agencies, their structure and mandates 68

AGR CRISIS IN TELECOM COMPANIES

# Infrastructure – Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.72

SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE

# Various Security forces and agencies and their mandates 76

ZERO-BUDGET NATURAL FARMING

# Major cropping patterns in various parts of the country, different types of irrigation and

irrigation systems storage 78

RBI’S REVISED PRIORITY SECTOR LENDING GUIDELINES

# Inclusive growth and associated issues/challenges 81

NARCOTIC DRUGS AND PSYCHOTROPIC

SUBSTANCES ACT, 1985 # Security challenges and their management in border areas; linkages of organised crime

with terrorism 84

EASE OF DOING BUSINESS: STATES PERFORMANCE

# Effects of liberalisation on the economy (post 1991 changes), changes in industrial

policy and their effects on industrial growth 87

CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION AND COAL

# Conservation 90

AIRCRAFT (AMENDMENT) BILL 2020 # Infrastructure – Energy, Ports, Roads,

Airports, Railways etc. 92

BANKING REGULATION AMENDMENT BILL 2020 # Indian Economy and issues relating to

planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development and employment. 95

SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE

# Infrastructure – Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc. 97

ESSENTIAL COMMODITIES AMENDMENT BILL

2020 # Indian Economy and issues relating to

planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development and employment. 100

ISSUES OVER UTILIZATION OF CESS

# Government Budgeting. 103

INDUSTRIAL RELATION CODE AND ITS IMPACT # Changes in industrial policy and their

effects on industrial growth. 105

GS PAPER - III


04

THE BENEFITS OF A CARBON TAX # Environmental pollution and degradation

107

THE NEED FOR MORAL AND ETH ICAL LEADERSHIP

# Essence, Determinants and Consequences of Ethics in - Human Actions 109

CONSCIENCE AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN

DECISION-MAKING # Aptitude and foundational values of Civil

Service, Integrity 111

CORPORATE ETHICS # Civil Service Values and Ethics in Public

Administration 113

RELEVANCE OF GANDHIANISM IN TODAY’S WORLD

# Contributions of moral thinkers and philosopher 116

WORK CULTURE AND ITS IMPORTANCE

# Ethics and Human Interface 119

ACCOUNTABILITY IN GOVERNMENT # Accountability and ethical governance;

strengthening of ethical and moral values in governance 120

GS PAPER - IV


05

1. BANNING MANUAL SCAVENGING IN INDIA

Context:

The Union government is set to introduce The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation (Amendment) Bill, 2020 in the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament.

Menace of Manual Scavenging in India

Despite stringent provisions in the law, manual scavenging continues unabated in India. Manual scavenging is defined as “the removal of human excrement from public streets and dry latrines, cleaning septic tanks, gutters and sewers”.

The practice is driven by caste, class and income divides. Despite the introduction of several mechanised systems for sewage cleaning, human

intervention in the process still continues. Despite a 2013 law prohibiting employment of manual scavengers, a government

survey identified 54,130 people engaged in this job as of July 2019. The number of people killed while cleaning sewers and septic tanks has increased

over the last few years. 814 deaths of manual scavengers engaged in cleaning sewers and septic tanks have

been recorded in India from 1993 to July 2019 in 20 States and UTs. Tamil Nadu had registered 206 deaths of manual scavengers who were cleaning

sewers and septic tanks between 1993 and July 2019. This was the highest among all States. Gujarat recorded 156 such deaths, the second highest. 15 States and UTs have not reported data on deaths.

Various government initiatives

In 1955, the Protection of Civil Rights Act called for the abolition of scavenging or sweeping on grounds of untouchability. This was revised in 1977 for a stricter implementation.

The centrally sponsored scheme of low cost sanitation for Liberation of Scavengers (ILCS) began from 1980-81 for the conversion of dry toilets into pit toilets through integrated low-cost sanitation scheme.

In 1989, the Prevention of Atrocities Act became an integrated guard for sanitation workers. As more than 90 per cent people employed as manual scavengers belonged to the Scheduled Caste, this act became an important landmark to free manual scavengers from designated traditional occupations.

The provisions of constitutional validity to municipal governance in India and categorisation of urban local bodies through the 74th Amendment Act, 1992, made India’s sanitation structure more concrete.

In 1993, The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of DryLatrines (Prohibition) Act was enacted as a stricter stance was taken against employing manual scavengers. But the Act had its limitations.

GS PAPER - I


அறம ்செய்ய பழகு.. S I N C E 2 0 1 1

06

In 1994, the newly constituted National Commission for SafaiKaramcharis(NCSK), a statutory body made by the same Act of Parliament, 1993, was made and was valid up to 1997. But it was later extended indefinitely.

In 2000, NCSK submitted its first report stating that there was a big gap in the implementation of the 1993 Act on the ground.

Since then, various organisations such as the SafaiKarmachariAndolan (SKA) and National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR) have been working to eradicate manual scavenging. The practice, however, continues because of loopholes in implementation of these laws.

In 2002, the MinistryofSocial JusticeandEmpowerment came up with a report stating that over 79 million people were engaged in this practice.

In 2013, the Parliament passed the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers Act, 2013, with a greater emphasis on rehabilitation.

About the amendments bill This Bill will be an amendment to The Prohibition of Employment as Manual

Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. The seeks not only to make the existing laws tighter, but also eradicate the practice

through a better faecal sludge management system. It proposes to completely mechanise sewer cleaning, introduce ways for ‘on -site’

protection and provide compensation to manual scavengers in case of sewer deaths. This is not the first time a Bill on the practice of manual scavenging has introduced

proposals of mechanisation of sewer cleaning; as early as 1956, the KakaKalelkarCommissionemphasised on the immediate mechanisation to eradicate the ‘sub-human’ level of practice.

BarveCommision suggested looking for measures to improve the lives of manual scavengers in India.

Pandya Committee sought recommendations to regulate the service conditions of the manual scavengers.

It will make construction of insanitary toilets an offence and will call for their rehaul.

Suggested reforms There is an immediate need to redefine manual scavenging with an emphasis on

categorisation of sanitation workers. The Amendment Bill should take into consideration following measures for complete abolition of manual scavenging from India. The definition of manual scavenging has to be broadened from manually cleaning

of human excreta to the ‘manual collection, source separation, storage, transportation, transfer, processing, treatment and disposal of solid waste and the proper handling, treatment and disposal of liquid waste / wastewater or sewage’.

It has to be noted that it is only after categorisation of sanitation workers such as faecal sludge handlers, sewage treatment plant sanitation workers, toilet sanitation workers, sewer and drain sanitation workers, etc. that proper framework for the eradication of manual scavenging can be developed

The Amendment Bill should draw from the many health assessment reports of the sanitation workers and the manual scavengers in public domain (Human Rights Watch, WaterAid etc) to establish concrete measures for the protection of the health of manual scavengers.


07

The gap between the integration of the sanitation campaigns and schemes emphasising on the infrastructure part and workers’ front which leads to the complete disregard of the rights of the workers should be addressed to resolve the implementation challenges

A few existing guidelines in the previous bills regarding compensations should be revisited with stricter enforcement of on-ground implementation.

The Amendment Bill should seek evaluative reports from numerous bodies on provision of compensation in all previous cases of sewer deaths. It should also enquire the current grounds of assessment and delivery of compensation.

The Amendment Bill should also address a proper mechanism for easy legal help in both cases of death and legal redressal and consultation otherwise.

The Amendment Bill should also highlight the importance of trade unions, self-help groups, co-operatives and pressure groups in the fight against eradication of manual scavenging by giving incentives to the sanitation workers who are a part of an umbrella of protection.

The Way Ahead There are a lot of expectations with The Prohibition of Employment as Manual

Scavengers and their Rehabilitation (Amendment) Bill, 2020 mainly, because this will help in safeguarding the interest of the workers as they will understand their rights, fair wage structures, policies, entitlements, restoration and rehabilitation measures, etc.

Practice question:

Discuss the reasons for the continued menace of manual scavenging despite stringent law. Also enumerate the measures taken by the government to fight this menace.


08

2. ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY (REGULATION) BILL, 2020

Context:

The Centre moved to standardize protocols of the growing fertility industry and introduced the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill, 2020, in Lok Sabha on the first day of the monsoon session of Parliament.

Assisted Reproductive Technology ART is used to treat infertility. It includes fertility treatments that handle both a

woman's egg and a man's sperm. It works by removing eggs from a woman's body. The eggs are then mixed with sperm to make embryos. The embryos are then put back in the woman's body.

In Vitro fertilization (IVF) is the most common and effective type of ART.ART procedures sometimes use donor eggs, donor sperm, or previously frozen embryos. It may also involve a surrogate carrier.

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few years. India is among countries that have seen the highest growth in the number of ART centres and ART cycles performed every year.

India has become one of the major centres of the global fertility industry (ART), with reproductive medical tourism becoming a significant activity. This has also introduced a plethora of legal, ethical and social issues; yet, there is no standardisation of protocols and reporting is still very inadequate.

ART Regulation Bill, 2020 The select committee of the Parliament that examined the

Surrogacy Regulation Bill, 2019 has said that it would be prudent to bring the ART Bill before the Surrogacy Bill, 2019, to establish a regulatory mechanism for ART clinics.

The ART Regulation Bill is supposed to be more overarching and the first step to regulate the sector. Without registration and a proper database of medical institutions and clinics providing such services, it is impossible to regulate services like surrogacy and abortion (Medical Termination of Pregnancy Amendment Bill, 2020).

It needs to be noted that all the three Bills are designed around protecting and recognizing women’s reproductive rights.

Features of the ART Regulation Bill, 2020 Defining ART: The Bill defines ART to include all

techniques that seek to obtain a pregnancy by handling the sperm or the oocytes (immature egg cell) outside the human body and transferring the gamete or the embryo into the reproductive system of a woman.

Examples of ART services include gamete (sperm or oocyte) donation, in-vitro-fertilisation (fertilising an egg in


09

the lab), and gestational surrogacy (the child is not biologically related to surrogate mother).

ART services will be provided through: (i) ART clinics, which offer ART related treatments and procedures, and (ii) ART banks, which store and supply gametes.

RegulationofARTclinicsandbanks:The Bill provides that every ART clinic and the bank must be registered under the National Registry of Banks and Clinics of India.

The National Registry will be established under the Bill and will act as a central database with details of all ART clinics and banks in the country.

State governments will appoint registration authorities for facilitating the registration process.

Clinics and banks will be registered only if they adhere to certain standards (specialised manpower, physical infrastructure, and diagnostic facilities).

The registration will be valid for five years and can be renewed for a further five years. Registration may be cancelled or suspended if the entity contravenes the provisions of the Bill.

Conditions for gamete donation and supply: Screening of gamete donors, collection and storage of semen, and provision of oocyte donor can only be done by a registered ART bank.

A bank can obtain semen from males between 21 and 55 years of age, and oocytes from females between 23 and 35 years of age.

An oocyte donor should be an ever-married woman having at least one alive child of her own (minimum three years of age).

The woman can donate oocyte only once in her life and not more than seven oocytes can be retrieved from her.

A bank cannot supply gamete of a single donor to more than one commissioning couple (couple seeking services).

ConditionsforofferingARTservices:ART procedures can only be carried out with the written informed consent of both the party seeking ART services as well as the donor.

The party seeking ART services will be required to provide insurance coverage in the favour of the oocytes donor (for any loss, damage, or death of the donor).

A clinic is prohibited from offering to provide a child of pre-determined sex. The Bill also requires checking for genetic diseases before the embryo implantation.

RightsofachildbornthroughART:A child born through ART will be deemed to be a biological child of the commissioning couple and will be entitled to the rights and privileges available to a natural child of the commissioning couple.

A donor will not have any parental rights over the child. NationalandStateBoard:The Bill provides that the National and State Boards for

Surrogacy constituted under the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 will act as the National and State Board respectively for the regulation of ART services.

Key powers and functions of the National Board include: advising the central government on ART related policy matters, reviewing and monitoring the implementation of the Bill, formulating code of conduct and standards for ART clinics and banks, and overseeing various bodies to be constituted under the Bill

The State Boards will coordinate enforcement of the policies and guidelines for ART as per the recommendations, policies, and regulations of the National Board.


10

Offencesandpenalties Offences under the Bill include: abandoning, or exploiting children born through ART,

(ii) selling, purchasing, trading, or importing human embryos or gametes, (iii) using intermediates to obtain donors, (iv) exploiting commissioning couple, woman, or the gamete donor in any form, and (v) transferring the human embryo into a male or an animal.

These offences will be punishable with a fine between five and ten lakh rupees for the first contravention.

For subsequent contraventions, these offences will be punishable with imprisonment for a term between eight and 12 years, and a fine between 10 and 20 lakh rupees.

Any clinic or bank advertising or offering sex-selective ART will be punishable with imprisonment between five and ten years, or fine between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 25 lakh, or both.

No court will take cognizance of offences under the Bill, except on a complaint made by the National or State Board or any officer authorized by the Boards.

Practice question:

Discuss the features of Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation)

Bill, 2020 in regulating the fertility industry in India.


11

3. CENTENARY OF DISCOVERY OF HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION

To mark the centenary of the discovery of the Harappan civilization at Mohenjo-daro,

the India Study Centre Trust in collaboration with the Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, Maharashtra, organised a 10-day online lecture series.

Harappan Civilisation The Indus River Valley Civilization (3300-1300 BCE) also known as the Harappan

Civilization, was extended from modern-day northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest India.

It is often separated into three phases: the Early HarappanPhase from 3300 to 2600 BCE, the Mature HarappanPhase from 2600 to 1900 BCE, and the Late HarappanPhase from 1900 to 1300 BCE.

In the 1920s, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) carried out excavations in the Indus valley wherein the ruins of the two old cities, viz. Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa were unearthed.

Mohenjo-Daro was the largest city of the Indus Valley Civilization. It was known for advanced engineering and urban planning.

Harappa was a fortified city in modern-day Pakistan, the city had fortified administrative and religious centres of the same type used in Mohenjo-Daro.

An Analysis in Modern Context Some of the most striking aspects of the discoveries are the town planning and

architecture, art and crafts and the social, religious and economic condition of that era.

Much has been known about the town planning and architecture of the Harappan civilization. The cities boasted of well-planned roads wide and straight, houses provided with an efficient drainage system and ventilation.

The excavations have yielded a rich collection of objects in stone, bronze and terracotta. One of the most known figurines is perhaps the `dancing girl’ (inbronze). It has been suggested that this `dancing girl’ is representative of a class of temple dancers and prostitutes, such as existed in contemporary Middle Eastern civilizations and were an important feature of later Hindu culture, but this cannot be proved. It is not certain that the girl is a dancer much less a temple dancer.


12

In stone much discussed are two male figures – one is thetorsoinredsandstone and the other is the bustofabeardedman. In the former, the limbs have been made separately and fitted into sockets.

The Harappan people also made rough terracotta statuettes of women, usually naked, but with elaborate head dresses, these are certainly icons of the mother goddess and are so numerous that they seem to have been kept in nearly every home. In terracotta we also find a few figurines of bearded male with coiled hair, their posture rigidly upright, legs slightly apart, and the arms parallel, to the sides of the body. The repetition of this figure in exactly the same position would suggest that he was a deity. A terracotta mask of a horned deity has also been found.

Archaeologists have discovered thousands of seals with beautiful figures of animals, such as unicornbull,rhinoceros,tiger,elephant,bison,goat,buffalo etc.

The most remarkable seal is PashupatiSeal. From the seals it appears certain that the Indus valley civilization had trade links with Mesapatomia and perhaps merchants from India even visited and stayed there.

It appears that the seals were also used as amulets, carried on the persons of their owners, perhaps as modern day identity cards. Some seals have also been found in gold, ivory or blue or white. They all bear a great variety of designs, most often of animals including bull, with or without hump, elephant, tiger, goat and also monsters. Sometimes trees or human figures were also depicted.

Toolsofstone,copperandbronzehavebeenfound , which in many respects were technologically sound. The blades were flat and easily bent while the axe heads had to be lashed to their shafts.

In the design of one tool, however, the Harappans had been superior; they had devised a saw with undulating teeth, which allowed the dust to escape freely from the cut and much simplified the carpenter’s craft.

The originandtheraceof theHarappan are still a matter of dispute. While one section of scholars believes that they were Dravidian, definitely Indo -Aryan, another section believes that they were the same as Sumerians or the Cretans. The Harappan script has not been deciphered but the discovery of writing material clearly indicates that the Harappans were educated.

The discoveryofalargenumberofspindlesofvarioussizes indicate that threads both of cotton and woolen must have been spun in those days.

The main diet consisted of wheat, barley and milk products. Fruits, vegetables, fish and meat were also consumed. Music and dance appear to be the main sources of entertainment.

No temple has yet been discovered. From the Pashupati seal, it is certain that they worshipped Shiva. There is an image of Shiva, seated on a stool flanked by an elephant. Numerous pottery figurines of Mother Goddesses have also been found. Nature worship must have been part of their ritual as revealed in the seals.

Conclusion The Indus Valley Civilization declined around 1800 BCE but the actual causes behind

its demise are still debated. Invasion by Aryans, decline due to natural causes, flooding because of a shift in river courses are among the major theories on its decline.

Source: The Hindu


13

Practice question:

Harappan civilization forms an important landmark in the prehistory

of the Indian subcontinen t. The civilization offers an excellent

example to the modern world in various ways. Examine


14

4. MEDICANES

Context:

Extra tropical storms in the Mediterranean Sea, known as ‘Medicanes’ or ‘Mediterranean Hurricanes’, could become more frequent due to human -induced climate change, experts have warned.

Medicanes Medicanes are extra-tropical hurricanes observed over the Mediterranean Sea. The Mediterranean Sea is a body of water almost completely surrounded by land. The

southern part of Europe lies to the north and the northern tip of Africa lies to the south.

With the surrounding dry climate and the relatively shallow waters of the sea, the occurrence of tropical-like cyclones is infrequent but it does happen.

These storms are often referred to as Medicanes, a concatenation of Mediterranean with hurricanes.

Like tropical storms, medicanes have a symmetric structure, a warm core, a clearly visible eye, and winds of at least tropical-storm strength. Medicanes are typically smaller in diameter and have lower wind speeds than true tropical cyclones.

Medicanes typically form in the fall or winter months and occur once or twice a year. Difference between Medicanes and Tropical cyclone

Medicanes occur more in colder waters than tropical cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons. Hence, the cores of these storms are also cold, as compared to the warm cores of tropical cyclones. Warmer cores tend to carry more moisture (hence rainfall), are bigger in size and have swifter winds.

Sometimes, warm-cored tropical cyclones transform into cold-cored extratropical cyclones and in rare cases, the opposite can also happen, according to the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), an intergovernmental organisation created through an international convention agreed by 30 countries that are part of the European Union.


15

The rare event of an extra tropical cyclone becoming a tropical cyclone happens because of warmer-than-usual waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Such an event occurred in November 2011 and caused severe flooding in parts of Spain, Italy and France, killing 11 people.

Effect of ENSO on Medicanes

ENSO is El Nino Southern Oscillation that is developed over the Pacific Ocean. The 2020 year according to the World Meteorological Organisation is a La Nina year.

Usually La Nina reduces the number of hurricanes. But this year in spite of a mild La Nina in the Pacific, hurricanes are very active. This means that the impacts of El Nino southern oscillation is getting modulated due to global warming of all oceans including the Mediterranean.

This is why in spite of a mild La Nina the number of Mediterranean cyclones have increased.

Conclusion Medicanesdid show an

increase in number during the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. But the total number was about 20 in the 2010s and more than 25 in the 2000s. It is however apparent that a warm Mediterranean is experiencing more of these storms.

Increase in frequency of medicanes will be a threat for already vulnerable populations living in North Africa, possibly triggering human migration.They could also be a menace for European countries like Italy and Greece.

Source: Down to Earth Practice question:

What are medicanes? Discuss its impact on the world climate.


16

1. QUESTION HOUR AND ZERO HOUR IN INDIAN PARLIAMENT Context:

Recently, the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretariats notified that there will be no Question Hour during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, which has been truncated to September 14-October 1 in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, and that Zero Hour will be restricted in both Houses. Here is a look at what happens in the two Houses during Question Hour and Zero Hour:

About Question Hour Question Hour is the liveliest hour in Parliament. It is during this one hour that

Members of Parliament ask questions of ministers and hold them accountable for the functioning of their ministries.

Asking questions of the government has a long history in our legislative bodies. Prior to Independence, the first question asked of government was in 1893. It was on

the burden cast on village shopkeepers who had to provide supplies to touring government officers.

With the broadcasting of Question Hour since 1991, Question Hour has become one the most visible aspects of parliamentary functioning.

The questions that MPs ask are designed to elicit information and trigger suitable action by ministries.

Over the last 70 years, MPs have successfully used this parliamentary device to shine a light on government functioning.

Their questions have exposed financial irregularities and brought data and information regarding government functioning to the public domain.

Regulation over question hour Parliament has comprehensiverules for dealing with every aspect of Question Hour

and the presiding officers of the two houses are thefinalauthority with respect to the conduct of Question Hour.

For example, usually Question Hour is the first hour of a parliamentary sitting. In 2014, Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari shifted Question Hour in the House from 11 am to 12 noon. The move was to preventthedisruption of Question Hour.

Nature of Questions under question hour Parliamentary rules provide guidelines on the kind of questions that can be asked by

MPs. Questions have to be limited to 150 words. They have to be precise and not too

general. The question should also be related to an area of responsibility of the Government of

India. Questions should not seek information about matters that are secret or are under

adjudication before courts.

GS PAPER - II


17

It is the presiding officers of the two Houses who finally decide whether a question raised by an MP will be admitted for answering by the government.

Type of Questions Members have a right to ask questions to elicit information on matters of public

importance within the special cognizance of the Ministers concerned. The questions are of four types:— (i) Starred Questions-

A Starred Question is one to which a member desires an oral answer from the Minister in the House and is required to be distinguished by him/her with an asterisk.

Answer to such a question may be followed by supplementary questions by members.

(ii) Unstarred Questions- An unstarred Question is one to which written answer is desired by the

member and is deemed to be laid on the Table of the House by Minister. Thus it is not called for oral answer in the House and no supplementary

question can be asked thereon. (iii) Short Notice Questions

A member may give a notice of question on a matter of public importance and of urgent character for oral answer at a notice less than 10 days prescribed as the minimum period of notice for asking a question in ordinary course.

Such a question is known as ‘Short Notice Question’. (iv) Questions to Private Members

A Question may also be addressed to a Private Member (Under Rule 40 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha), provided that the subject matter of the question relates to some Bill, Resolution or other matter connected with the business of the House for which that Member is responsible.

The procedure in regard to such questions is same as that followed in the case of questions addressed to a Minister with such variations as the Speaker may consider necessary.


18

Regulation over questions Rules on the number of questions that can be asked in a day have changed over the

years. In Lok Sabha, until the late 1960s, there was no limit on the number of unstarred questions that could be asked in a day.

Now, Parliament rules limit the number of starred and unstarred questions an MP can ask in a day.

The total number of questions asked by MPs in the starred and unstarred categories are then put in a random ballot.

From the ballot in Lok Sabha, 20 starred questions are picked for answering during Question Hour and 230 are picked for written answers.

Last year, a record was set when on a single day, after a gap of 47 years, all 20 starred questions were answered in Lok Sabha.

Frequency of question hour The process of asking and answering questions starts with identifying the days on

which Question Hour will be held. At the beginning of Parliament in 1952, LokSabharules provided for Question Hour

to be held everyday.RajyaSabha, on the other hand, had a provision for Question Hour for twodaysaweek.

A few months later, this was changed to four days a week. Then from 1964, Question Hour was taking place in RajyaSabhaoneverydayofthesession .

Now, Question Hour in both Houses is held on all days of the session. But there are two days when an exception is made.

There is no Question Hour on the day the President addresses MPs from both Houses in the Central Hall.

The President’s speech takes place at the beginning of a new Lok Sabha and on the first day of a new Parliament year.

Question Hour is not scheduled either on the day the Finance Minister presents the Budget. Since the beginning of the current Lok Sabha, approximately 15,000 questions have been asked in the Lower House.

Significance of Question hour The Question Hour’s significance is not limited to just MPs’ right to ask questions. It

has political impact too. In the Parliament history, several scandals have tumbled out due to Question Hour.

India’s first big financial scam, the Mudhra Scandal was unearthed entirely like this. Over six decades ago, on 16 December 1957, MP Feroze Gandhi raised a question in

Lok Sabha regarding the government-controlled Life Insurance Corporation’s investment in several firms of HaridasMundhra amounting to Rs 1.26 crore.

It led to the resignation of then finance minister T.T. Krishnamachari and “shook the Nehru government”

Some people even say the coal scam (in the late 2000s) was unearthed due to the Question Hour.

About Zero Hour While Question Hour is strictly regulated, Zero Hour is an Indian parliamentary

innovation. The phrase does not find mention in the rules of procedure. The concept of Zero Hour started organically in the first decade of Indian Parliament,

when MPs felt the need for raising important constituency and national issues.


19

During the initial days, Parliament used to break for lunch at 1 pm. Therefore, the opportunity for MPs to raise national issues without an advance notice became available at 12 pm and could last for an hour until the House adjourned for lunch.

This led to the hour being popularly referred to as ZeroHour and the issues being raised during this time as Zero Hour submissions.

Over the years, presiding officers of both Houses have given directions to streamline the working of Zero Hour to make it even more effective.

Its importance can be gauged from the support it receives from citizens, media, MPs and presiding officers despite not being part of the rulebook.

The Way Ahead The absence of Question Hour and a shorter Zero Hour may restricts the ability of

Members of Parliament to hold the government accountable and represent public interest. Despite the curtailed session and the constraints due to the coronavirus, they should make the best of the limited time to do so. They need to wrest back their rightful role in our democracy.

Practice Question:

What is the role of Question hour in making executive accountable to

Parliament? Also discuss the ra tionale behind the recent suspension of

question hour in India.


20

2. MISSION KARMAYOGI Context:

The Union Cabinet gave its approval for Mission Karmayogi, a new national capacity building and performance evaluation programme for civil servants.

Mission Karmayogi Mission Karmayogi aims to prepare Indiancivilservants for the future by making

them more creative, constructive, imaginative, innovative, proactive, professional, progressive, energetic, enabling, transparent and technology-enabled.

This programme will lay thefoundationforcapacitybuilding for civil servants so that they remained entrenched in Indian culture, while they learn from best practices across the world.

The mission will focus on individual (civil servants) & institutional capacitybuilding. Comprehensive reform of the capacity building apparatus at the individual, institutional and process levels for efficient public service delivery.

A total of Rs. 510.86 crore will be spent over a period of 5 years from 2020-21 to 2024-25, the expenditure is partly funded by multilateral assistance to the tune of Rs. 366 crore.

Salient Features The Programme will be delivered by

setting up an IntegratedGovernmentOnline Training-iGOTKarmayogiPlatform.

The core guiding principlesof the Programme will be Supporting Transition from 'Rules

based' to 'Roles based’ HRManagement. Aligning work allocation of civil servants by matching their competencies to the requirements of the post.

To emphasize on 'on-sitelearning' to complement the ‘off-site’learning,

To create an ecosystem of sharedtraining infrastructure including that of learning materials, institutions and personnel,

To calibrate all Civil Service positions to a FrameworkofRoles,Activities and Competencies(FRACs)approach and to create and deliver learning content relevant to the identified FRACs in every Government entity,

To make available to all civil servants, an opportunity to

IGOT-Karmayogi The platform brings the scale and state-of-

the-art infrastructure to augment the capacities of over two crore officials in India.

The platform is expected to evolve into a vibrant and world-class market place for content where carefully curated and vetted digital e-learning material will be made available.

Besides capacity building, service matters like confirmation after probation period, deployment, work assignment and notification of vacancies etc. would eventually be integrated with the proposed competency framework.


21

continuously build and strengthen their Behavioral, Functional and DomainCompetenciesin their self-driven and mandated learning paths.

To enable all the Central Ministries and Departments and their Organizations to directly invest their resources towards co-creationandsharing the collaborative and common ecosystem of learning through an annual financial subscription for every employee.

To encourage and partner with the best-in-class learning content creators including public training institutions, universities, start-tips and individual experts,

To undertake data analytics in respect of data emit provided by iGOT- Karmayogi pertaining to various aspects of capacity building, content creation, user feedback and mapping of competencies and identify areas for policy reforms.

Institutional Framework under the Mission Institutional Framework will consist of Prime Minister’s Public Human Resources

(HR) Council, Capacity Building Commission, Special Purpose Vehicle for owning and operating the digital assets and the technological platform for online training, and Coordination Unit headed by the Cabinet Secretary.

PMledHRCouncil – A council headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will help

approve civil services capacity building plans under Mission Karmayogi. The council consist of national & international experts under the chairmanship of Prime Minister.

CapacityBuildingCommission- Capacity Building Commission will be set up which will harmonies training standards, create shared faculty & resources & will have a supervisory role over all training institutions so that there’s common understanding of India’s aspirations & development goals.

EstablishmentofSpecialPurposeVehicle(SPV)- A wholly owned Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) will be set up. The SPV will create and operationalize the content, market place and manage key business services of the iGOT-Karmayogi platform.

Significance Democratized Civil Service:This is a New National Architecture for Civil Services

Capacity Building that will herald into Silo-less Performance. It would help augment the capacities of over two crore officials in India.


22

Holistic: This is a Comprehensive reform of the capacity building apparatus at individual, institutional and process levels for efficient public service delivery.

CompetencydrivenHRManagementpolicy: The mission ensures that right person with right competencies is at the right position

EnhancedAccessibility: The mission enables Civil Servants to learn from the best institutions and practices across the world (through marketplace of iGOT platform)

Increased Expertise The mission is Knowledge driven and aims at building competencies to transform Civil Servants into leaders and subject matter experts.

Better Governance: Capacity of Civil Services plays a vital role in performing core governance functions. The mission will help make Civil Servant more efficient, effective, accountable and responsive to the needs of the citizen

Leads to better Work Culture : The mission organically links the transformation of work culture and strengthening public institutions through adopting modern technology (iGOTKarmayogi platform) which lays emphasis on skills

ProfessionalGrowth:It helps make available to all civil servants, an opportunity to continuously build and strengthen their Behavioural, Functional and Domain Competencies in their self-driven and mandated learning paths

UniformApproach: The mission will enable a uniform approach in managing and regulating the capacity building ecosystem on collaborative and co-sharing basis.

Reducesthecostof training Civil Servants for both Centre & States, due to emphasis given on continuous online learning and shared ecosystem. Expenditure on foreign training will thence be cut down.

Way Ahead To serve the need of the hour and the nation adequately, National Programme for

Civil Services Capacity Building will bring a shift in the human resource management from ‘rules-based’ to a ‘roles-based’ approach.

Linking training and development of competencies of civil servants will be targeted through Mission Karmayogi.

Practice Question:

By highlighting the several challenges faced by civil servants in India,

analyze the significane of Mission Karmayogi in bringing the shift

from rules based to roles based governance in India.


23

3. GLOBAL INNOVATION INDEX Context:

India has climbed 4 spots and has been ranked 48thby the World Intellectual Property Organization in the Global Innovation Index 2020 rankings.

Global Innovation Index (GII), 2020 GII is published annually by Cornell

University, INSEAD and the WIPO. It provides detailed metrics about the

innovation performance of 131 countries and economies around the world.

Its 80 indicators explore a broad vision of innovation, including political environment, education, and infrastructure and business sophistication.

The GII 2020 sheds light on the state of innovation financing by investigating the evolution of existing mechanisms and by pointing to progress and remaining challenges.

Theme of GII 2020 is “Whowill FinanceInnovation?”

The rankings show stability at the top but a gradual “eastward shift in the locus of innovation” as Asian economies like China, India, the Philippines and Vietnam have advanced considerably in the innovation ranking over the years.

Top 5: Switzerland, Sweden, the US, the UK and the Netherlands lead the innovation ranking.

Components of GII Fiveinputpillars capture elements of the national economy that enable innovative

activities under GII are: Institutions, Human capital and research, Infrastructure, Market sophistication, and Business sophistication.

Twooutputpillars capture actual evidence of innovation outputs: Knowledge and technology outputs and Creative outputs


24

India’s Performance India has climbed 4 spots and has been ranked

48th. India was at the 52nd position in 2019 and was ranked 81st in the year 2015.

India has become the third most innovative lower middle-income economy in the world, with newly available indicators and improvements in various areas of the GII.

India ranks in the top 15 in indicators such as ICT (Information and Communication Technology) services exports, government online services, graduates in science and engineering, and R&D-intensive global companies.

Government's Role in Promoting Innovation

The consistent improvement in the global innovation index rankings is owing to the immense knowledge capital, the vibrant startup ecosystem, and the amazing work done by the public & private research organizations.

The scientific ministries like the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Biotechnology and the Department of space have played a pivotal role in the enriching the national innovation Ecosystem.

The NITI Aayog has been working to ensure optimization of national efforts in this direction by bringing policy led innovation in different areas such as EVs, biotechnology, Nano technology, Space, alternative energy sources, etc.

The IndiaInnovationIndex , which was released by the NITI Aayog, has been widely accepted as the major step in the direction of decentralization of innovation across all the states of India. A constant thrust in monitoring and evaluating India’s position in


25

global rankings has be provided by the NITI Aayog, including the global innovation index.

Atal Innovation Mission: Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) is NITI Aayog’s flagship initiative to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in India

AIM has been established to create and promote an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship in a holistic manner through various initiatives at school, university and industry levels

The Atal Innovation Mission has thus two core functions: Innovation promotion: to provide a platform where innovative ideas are

generated. Entrepreneurship promotion: Wherein innovators would be supported and

mentored to become successful entrepreneurs at Incubation Centres. “Samadhan” Challenge: The Innovation Cell of the Ministry of HRD and All India

Council for Technical Education in collaboration with Forge and InnovatioCuris has launched this online challenge.

Under the challenge, the students and faculty will be motivated for doing new experiments and new discoveries and provide them with a strong base leading to spirit of experimentation and discovery.

Institution’s Innovation Council (IIC): Union HRD Ministry has launched the ‘Institution’s Innovation Council (IIC) program under Innovation cell of MHRD in New Delhi.

It aims to foster the culture of Innovation in all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across the country.

Significance of Innovation Technological innovation has boosted economic performance, improved efficiency,

accelerated the pace of globalization, and transformed human society in the process. It is fundamentally altering how goods, services and ideas are exchanged. As the costs are rapidly declining, making digital technologies even more affordable

and accessible, they will transform people’s lives and livelihoods. Digital technologies have unlocked new routes to prosperity through agriculture,

manufacturing, trade in services, the linking of informal and formal sectors, and domestic interconnectivity.

Low- and middle-income countries around the world now have an opportunity to build new industries, deliver better services, and improve peoples’ lives.

Challenges to Innovation promotion These gains may not reach the world’s poorest people. An estimated three billion

people could still lack internet access by 2023, and many more will have little or no opportunity to reap the benefits of digital technologies.

It demands renewed policy cooperation at all levels of governance. The latest wave of technological change is broad, and it is coming fast.

Digital technologies can also entrench existing forms of exclusion, disrupt livelihoods, and provide new tools for the powerful to abuse and exploit the weak.

Developing countries have more difficulties because they are already grappling with the challenges of low human capital, ineffective institutions, and a difficult business environment.


26

Way Ahead India must aim high and double its efforts in improving its ranking in the global

innovation index. The call for AatmaNirbhar Bharat by the Prime Minister could only be realized if India punches above its weight class and compete with global superpowers in developing scientific interventions. It is time that India brings a paradigm shift and aims to be in the top 25 countries in the next global innovation index rankings.

Practice Question:

India needs education systems that help prepare the next generation of talent in India. Discuss in the context of India’s performance on Global Innovation Index.


27

4. INTERNATIONALISATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIA

Over the last five years, internationalization of higher education and research has become one of the key policy priorities for the government of India. Besides, in the recently released NEP, there is an emphasis on developing a distinctly Indian approach to internationalization of higher education.

Potential for internationalisation The idea of internationalisation of higher education is based on the mobility of

students, faculty members, programmes, and institutions across countries. With more than 1.5 million schools, over 40,000 colleges and close to 720

universities, India has the second-largest education system in the world after China. India has entered into the stage of massification of higher education with a gross

enrollment ratio of 26.3 per cent, which is fast increasing. This could make it a lucrative destination for foreign universities.

India has an inspirational history of Nalanda, Takshashila and Vikramashila that served as the melting pot of scholars from across the world.

Indian education system is on its way to reconstruct itself. Several initiatives have been taken by the government to attract a large number of foreign scholars to study in Indian universities and enriching our system through ideas and diversity.

Nearly 30 years after the move to open up the economy, a policy to attract foreign universities in the country was, perhaps, inevitable.

Popularity of English as a spoken language places India at an advantage vis-a-vis China.

The cost of higher education is relatively cheap in India, offering an interesting place in the cost-value matrix.

Government Initiatives: Global Initiative of Academic Network (GIAN):

In 2015, the Ministry of Human Resource Development implemented the Global Initiative of Academic Network (GIAN) to enable the country’s higher education institutions to invite world-class scholars, scientists and researchers.

More than 1,500 courses have been completed at Indian higher education institutions in collaboration with international faculty members.

Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration In 2018, the Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration was

launched to promote joint research and collaboration with top 500 QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) ranking institutions.

Study in India programme

The same year, the Study in India programme identified 30 Asian and African countries (now 42) from where meritorious students would be drawn to study in top 100 NIRF ranked institutions.

Institute of Eminence: The University Grants Commission, has nominated 20 institutions for Institutes of

Eminence tag (IOE) which focuses on creating world-class teaching and research institutions.


28

Leadership for Academicians Programme The government had also rolled out another major scheme, Leadership for

Academicians Programme in 2019 to provide international training for Indian academics in academic and administrative leadership in partnership with selected foreign universities.

NEP with regard to internationalization follow: Provide low-cost, quality education to attract international students Simplified visa and Foreigner Registration Regional Office processes and

internship policies for international students Additional funds for Indian universities that aim to become attractive destinations

for international students to develop specially designed courses. Special schemes that offer research scholarships to students from developing countries

Twinning, international research partnerships and more MoUs for mutual recognition of degrees will be encouraged

Global immersion programs for Indian students Public and private Indian universities that meet specified eligibility crit eria will be

encouraged to set up campuses in select countries particularly in the global South Select universities (those from among the top 200 universities in the world) would

be permitted to operate in India. A legislative framework facilitating such entry would be put in place.

Significance of Internationalisation The NEP aims to attract top 100 QS World Ranking universities to open offshore

campuses in India. The invitation to foreign universities in the top 100 QS world rankings could ensure the entry of quality institutions to meet this demand.

It would reduce the migration of Indian students and give those who cannot afford to go abroad an opportunity to study in foreign universities at home.

Further, foreign campuses would bring knowledge, techno logy and innovative pedagogy to the country and set new standards in higher education, spurring Indian institutions to improve.

The collaboration between Indian and foreign higher educational institutions would enhance India’s exposure to global intellectual resources

Challenges in Internationalisation The first challenge will be to widen the scope of internationalisation. Several world-

class institutions such as the Max Planck Institute could fall through the policy’s cracks because they do not participate in any world rankings, let alone the QS World Ranking.

Second, there is a growing body of literature critiquing the world rankings. Third, STEM and professional courses have greater market value compared to social

sciences and humanities. There is thus a possibility of foreign campuses turning their back on disciplines in these streams.

Fourth, vocational and skill education on which the NEP lays much importance cannot be internationalized in the same manner as academic education.

Finally, we do not know if the foreign varsities actually agree with the overall vision of NEP.


29

The Way Ahead Education can be an important source of soft power if it is pursued in the right

direction. Lessons can be learnt from our Yoga culture which has gained tremendous recognition worldwide.

Practice Question:

Explore India’s potential for Internationalisation of H igher Education. Also discuss the several initiatives taken by the government in this regard


30

5. DIGITAL DIVIDE IN INDIA

On 31st July 2020 India completed 25 years of mobile services. Now, the way this digital infrastructure is getting deployed in the country is leading to a new level of digital divide.

Digital divide Digital divide is a

term that refers to the gap between demographics and regions that have access to modern information and communications technology, and those that don’t or have restricted access. The term describes a gap in terms of access to and usage of information and communication technology.

India is the second-highest internet consumer in the world, the population making this cut is only 34 per cent as of 2017. For those remaining, access to the internet is still a farfetched luxury.

According to the Internet and Mobile Association of India report, on the national level, fewer women (33 per cent) have access to internet compared to men (67 per cent), with rural areas experiencing more disparities (28-72) compared to urban areas (38-62).

Implications of digital divide Increasing penetration of digital technology by bridging the existing digital divides is

associated with greater social progress of a country. Digital divide thus in a way hinders the social progress of a country.

Economic disparityis created between those who can afford the technology and those who don’t. A direct correlation between a company’s access to technological advancements and its overall success in bolstering the economy. Thus, digital divide hinders economic growth of a country.

The digital divide also impacts children’s ability to learn and grow in low-income school districts. Without Internet access, students are unable to cultivate necessary tech skills in order to understand today’s dynamic economy

Almost all India’s socio-economic problems have links to the digital divide. Rural India suffered from information poverty. Information is controlled by a few at the top of the pyramid who restrict its percolation down to those at the bottom.

Politicalempowerment and mobilisation in the age of social media is difficult when there is a digital divide.


31

Transparencyandaccountabilityislessdue to digital gap. For instance, it impacts delivery of services and good governance as well.

Government's efforts to eliminate digital divide BharatNetProgram:The objective of this project is to provide accessible broadband

services to citizens and institutions in rural and remote areas with the participation of states and private sector.

Under the BharatNet project, more than 2.5 lakh gram panchayats are to be provided high speed broadband through optical fiber at affordable rates. It aims to set broadband speeds from 2 to 20 Mbps.

The project was funded by the Universal Service Obligation Fund-USOF. Under this, internet connection was provided free of cost in schools, health centers and skill development centers.

NationalDigital LiteracyMission: The National Digital Literacy Mission has been launched with the objective of making at least one person digitally literate in every household in India by the year 2020.

The project aims to help technically illiterate adults to find their place in a rapidly digitalizing world.

NationalDigitalCommunicationsPolicy-2018: Provide universal broadband connectivity at 50 Mbps to every citizen. Provide 1 Gbps connectivity to all Gram Panchayats by 2020 and 10 Gbps by 2022. Ensure connectivity to all uncovered areas. Attract investments of USD 100 billion in the Digital Communications Sector. Train one million manpower for building New Age Skill. Expand IoT ecosystem to 5 billion connected devices. Establish a comprehensive data protection regime for digital communications that

safeguards the privacy, autonomy and choice of individuals. Facilitate India’s effective participation in the global digital economy. Enforce accountability through appropriate institutional mechanisms to assure

citizens of safe and secure digital communications infrastructure and services. What needs to be done?

Enablement alone cannot lead to empowerment. Technology is no longer a building block, a tool, which needs to be merely provisioned and then left to consumers to build on that.

There is a need for a paradigm shift and think from more of a ‘demand’ side approach in the telecom services.

The vision document for next 25 years of Indian telecommunications has to be based on ‘DigitalEquity’, where the focus is not merely providing access but understanding the needs of consumers and offering solutions.

The telecommunications industry has to exactly understand the requirements of the consumers in India across urban, semi-urban, rural, hinterlands as well as through all possible segmentations based on socio-economic demographics and create a social change through equity model that shall lead to equality.

Unless this approach is adopted, the benefits of digital cannot be harnessed to the full potential.

The telecom layer will get deployed over the uneven structure of the society which will result in uneven development of the sector.


32

Conclusion Telecom will not just drive the communications industry going forward. It is going to

be the core over which social, economic and political activities will develop ushering not just to Digital Economy, but Digital Living. As we celebrate the glorious 25 years of mobility services in India, this is the time to rise up and extensively drive research, thought-leadership and dialogues to peep into the future and lay the foundation of a magnificent telecom sector in the country that will in essence drive everything.

Practice Question:

“The benefits of digitisation cannot be harnessed to the full potential unless the Digital divide is bridged” Comment


33

6. BASIC STRUCTURE DOCTRINE: KESAVANANTHA BHARATHI CASE Context:

The landmark ruling in which the Supreme Court announced the basic structure doctrine was in the case of His Holiness KesavanandaBharatiSripadagalvaruandOrsvStateofKerala. Kesavananda Bharati, the man who lent his name to this iconic case as the petitioner, died recently

The Background of the case The Kesavanandacase had its roots in GolaknathvsStateofPunjab, in which the

Supreme Court in an 11-member bench, ruled that Parliament could not curtail any fundamental right guaranteed under the Constitution.

To nullify the Golaknath verdict, Parliament enacted the 24th Amendment to the Constitution, laying down that its powers to amend the Constitution were unrestricted and unlimited.

Two years after Golaknath, the government nationalised a big portion of the banking system but the compensation to existing shareholders was paltry, in fact, almost extortionate.

RustomCooper vsUnion of India, known as the BankNationalization case again resulted in a loss for the government, as the Supreme Court struck down the compensation offered, while upholding the government’s right to nationalization.

The 25thAmendment made many changes in Article31 (dealing with compulsory acquisition of property) following the Bank Nationalization case.

Then came the abolition of privy purses to the princes. The privy purses had been a reassurance given at Independence that was reneged upon by the government, and successfully challenged.

The26thAmendment, terminating the privileges and privy purses of the ex-rulers of the former princely states, was aimed at getting over the Supreme Court's ruling in the privy purses case.

All cases had been argued by Palkhivala for the petitioners, and all of them resulted in the government’s defeat.

Much of the issue turned around Articles 13 and 368 of the Constitution and Parliament’s right under 368 to amend any provision of the Constitution, including those that affected fundamental rights, as mentioned in 13.

About Kesavanantha Bharathi Case Kesavananda Bharathi challenged the Kerala land reforms legislation in 1970,

which imposed restrictions on the management of religious property. The case was challenged under Article 26, concerning the right to manage religiously

owned property without government interference. A 13-judge Bench was set up by the Supreme Court, the biggest so far, and the case

was heard over 68 working days spread over six months. The Bench gave 11 separate judgments that agreed and disagreed on many issues but

a majority judgment of seven judges was stitched together by then Chief Justice of India S M Sikri.

The case was primarily about the extent of Parliament’s power to amend theConstitution, reviewing a 1967 decision in Golaknath v State of Punjab and also deciding the constitutional validity of several other amendments.


34

Verdict in the Kesavananda Bharathi Case: The landmark judgment was delivered on 24th April 1973 by a thin majority of 7:6

wherein the majority held that any provision of the Indian Constitution can be amended by the Parliament in order to fulfil its socio-economic obligations that were guaranteed to the citizens as given in the Preamble, provi ded that such amendment did not change the Constitution’s basic structure.

The minority, however, in their dissenting opinion, were wary of giving the Parliament unlimited amending power.

The court held that the 24thConstitutionalAmendment was entirely valid. But it found the second part of the 25th Constitutional Amendment to be ultra vires.

The Supreme Court declared the Article31C as unconstitutional and invalid on the ground that judicialreview is basic structure and hence cannot be taken away.

Despite the ruling that Parliament cannot breach fundamental rights, the court upheld the amendment that removed the fundamental right to property.

The court ruled that in spirit, the amendment would not violate the “basicstructure” of the Constitution.

Basic Structure Doctrine The origins of the basic structure doctrine are found in the German Constitution

which, after the Nazi regime, was amended to protect some basic laws. The original WeimarConstitution , which gave Parliament to amend the Constitution

with a two-thirds majority, was in fact used by Hitler to his advantage to made radical changes.

Learning from that experience, the new German Constitution introduced substantive limits on Parliament’s powers to amend certain parts of the Constitution which it considered ‘basiclaw’.

In India, the basic structure doctrine has formed thebedrockofjudicialreview of all laws passed by Parliament.

No law can impinge on the basic structure. What the basic structure is, however, has been a continuing deliberation.

While parliamentary democracy, fundamental rights, judicial review, secularism are all held by courts as basic structure, the list is not exhaustive.

Significance of the Judgment: Politically, as a result of the verdict, the judiciary faced its biggestlitmustest against

the executive. The government ignored the opinion and superseded three judges. The executivevs. judiciarymanoeuvres displayed in the amendments ended with

the Kesavananda Bharati case, in which the court had to settle these issues conclusively.

Within less than two years of the restoration of Parliament's amending powers to near absolute terms, the Forty-second amendment was challenged before the Supreme Court by the owners of MinervaMills (Bangalore) a sick industrial firm which was nationalized by the government in 1974.

Basic structure doctrine was reaffirmed in the Minerva Mills and later in the Waman Rao case, 1981.


35

Conclusion The proponents of doctrine have hailed the concept as a safety valve against

majoritarianism and authoritarianism. At the same time, Critics of the doctrine have called it undemocratic, since unelected judges can strike down a constitutional amendment.

Practice Question:

Discuss about the origin and evolution of B asic Structure Concept of Indian Constitution


36

7. EMPOWERING THE YOUTH

India can achieve that goal of self-reliance only if we enhance our citizens’ capabilities. Given our demographic composition, we must begin by empowering our youth.

National Youth Policy, 2014 The government has launched the National Youth Policy (NYP 2014) to cater th e

needs of youth in India. It is a comprehensive policy document that states the vision of the Government of

India (GOI) for the youth of the country and also how this vision is sought to be realised by the government.

NYP-2014 caters to needs of the youth in the age-group of 15-29 years, which constitutes 27.5 per cent of population. The target groups identified are Student Youth (ii) Migrant Youth (iii) Rural Youth (iv) Tribal Youth (v) Youth At

Risk (vi) Youth in violent conflicts (vii) out of school/dropouts (viii) groups with social /moral stigma (ix) Youth in Institutional Care.

Young women, Youth belonging to socially and economically disadvantaged communities /groups, and differently abled youth form the three priority groups among the target age group.

NYP 2014 identifies the vision and the five key objectives for youth development that are further sub-divided into 11 priority areas.

It further suggests policy imperatives that should be implemented in each of these identified priority areas.

The concerns of target groups and the priority groups therein, shall be addressed through a subsequent action plan based on policy interventions.

NYP 2014 seeks to achieve a productive workforce through education, skill development for better employability and entrepreneurship training; a healthy generation with sports as a way of life; a sense of community service and strong social values; high levels of participation in governance; and social inclusiveness by creating equitable opportunities for all.

The thrust areas are promotion of National values, social harmony, national unity, and empowering youth through employable skills, education, health, sports and recreation, gender justice, participation in community service, environment and local governance.

Status of Youth in India According to the NYP report, the Central government spends about Rs. 2,710 per

youth on education, skill development, employment, healthcare and food subsidies. The total amount is pegged at more than Rs. 90,000 crore.

Assuming that States spend an equal amount, the total investment in our youth would be under1%oftheGDP, hardly commensurate with their population and potential.

A World Bank report pegged the projectedcostofnot investing inchildrenandyouthat4%oftheGDPeveryyear. Of this, the costs of unemployment account for 0.6%.

As of 2017-18, youth participation in India’s labour force was 38.3%. Drawing from the 2018 State of Working India Report, we peg the youth unemployment rate to be at least 18.3% (3.47 crore youths). About 30% of youth fall under the ‘neither in


37

employment nor in education’ category and 33% of India’s skilled youth are unemployed.

Further, around 50 lakh youth are expected to be entering the workforce annually. Following the COVID-19 lockdown, the CMIE estimated a loss of 14 crore jobs in April alone of which 2.7 crore concerned youth. These numbers, coupled with impending grim implications of the pandemic, have landed us in uncharted turbulent economic waters.

What needs to be done? IndianYouthGuarantee(IYG)programme : It is an appropriate time to launch an

IYG programme, akin to the European Union Youth Guarantee (EU -YG) but tuned to our country’s context. EU-YG emerged in 2010 at a time when youth unemployment rates were soaring above 20%. An IYG initiative, with statutory backing, can function as a facilitatory framework for ensuring gainful and productive engagement of youth.

Its strategic goal should be to ensure that within a fixed time frame, young people graduating from college or losing a job either find a good quality job suited to their education and experience or acquire skills required to find a job through an apprenticeship. An important aspect of IYG should be to rope in the district administration and local bodies for effective outcomes. Existing youth schemes and skilling infrastructure need to be dovetailed and streamlined while leveraging industry to enable an in situ empowerment of youth.

Youth Component Plan: At a time of fiscal stress, one way to allocate budgetary resources would be to create a Youth Component Plan, earmarking a specific percentage of funds under a separate head on the lines of the Special Component Plan for the Scheduled Castes and the Tribal Sub-Plan. The Youth Component Plan would be formulated by States/Union Territories/Central Ministries to channelise flow of outlays and benefits proportional to the percentage of youth population based on sub-regional requirements.

Youth Development Index (YDI): Before the initiation of the Indian Youth Guarantee (IYG) programme, there is a need to identify the needs of the youth.

The Youth Development Index (YDI) in India can be used as an advisory and monitory tool for youth development in India. It can help recognise priority areas, gaps and alternative approaches specific to each State.

The index also packs a new dimension of social inclusion to assess the inclusiveness of societal progress due to prevalence of systemic inequalities. In short, YDI can be revisited and deployed to play a vital role in crafting a region-specific IYG.

Conclusion A focus on our youth is the first step towards self-reliance. It is time we summon the

political will to guarantee our youth a viable future. Practice Question:

“Increased focus on youth empowerment is the first step towards self -

reliance in India.” Justify


38

8. GRAM PANCHAYAT DEVELOPMENT PLANS

With the current Covid-19 situation, DAY-NRLM designed an online training program to train all State Missions across the country on Village Poverty Reduction Plan, in partnership with Kudumbashree (National Resource Organisation), National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR), Hyderabad and Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

Background The Article 243G of the Constitution intended to empower the Gram Panchayats

(GPs) by enabling the State Governments to devolve powers and authority in respect of all 29 Subjects listed in the Eleventh Schedule for local planning and implementation of schemes for economic development and social justice.

The local bodies (GPs) play a significant role in the effective implementation of flagship schemes on subjects of national importance, for transformation of rural India.

In 2015, the Fourteenth Finance Commission grants were devolved to GPs that provided them with an enormous opportunity to plan for their development themselves.

Since then, local bodies, across the country are expected to prepare context specific, need based Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDP).

Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDP) Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) brings together both the citizens and their

elected representatives in the decentralized planning processes. GPDP is expected to reflect the development issues, perceived needs and priorities of

the community, including that of the marginalized sections. Apart from the demand related to basic infrastructure and services, resource

development and convergence of departmental schemes, GPDP has potential to address the social issues.

GPDP is conducted from 2nd October to 31st December, every year across the country, under the People’s Plan Campaign (PPC).

Village Poverty Reduction Plan (VPRP) Since last two years, the PPC guidelines and the joint advisory issued by the Ministry

of Panchayati Raj and Ministry of Rural Development, has mandated Self Help Groups and their federations under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana -National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) to participate in the annual GPDP planning process and prepare the Village Poverty Reduction Plan (VPRP).

VPRP is a comprehensive demand plan prepared by the Self Help Group (SHG) network and their federations for projecting their demands and local area development which needs to be integrated with the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP).

The VPRP is presented in the Gram Sabha meetings from Oct. to Dec. every year. Objectives of VPRP

Prepare a comprehensive and an inclusive demand plan of the community for local development

Facilitate an interface between the SHG federation and Panchayati Raj institutions for development of demand plan


39

Strengthen the community based organisations and their leadership for active participation in poverty reduction activities.

Significance: Socialinclusion - plan for inclusion of vulnerable people/household into SHGs under

NRLM Entitlement - demand for various schemes such as MGNREGS, SBM, NSAP, PMAY,

Ujjwala, Ration card etc. Livelihoods - specific demand for enhancing livelihood through developing

agriculture, animal husbandry, production and service enterprises and skilled training for placement etc.

Public Goods and Services - demand for necessary basic infrastructure, for renovation of the existing infrastructure and for better service delivery

Resource Development - demand for protection and development of natural resources like land, water, forest and other locally available resources

Social Development - plans prepared for addressing specific social development issues of a village under the low cost no cost component of GPDP

Practice question:

Discuss the role of Gram Panchayat Development Plans in alleviating rural poverty.


40

9. ORDINANCE MAKING POWER OF EXECUTIVES IN INDIA Context:

As Parliament convenes amid the Covid-19 pandemic from Monday, it will need to consider and approve ordinances promulgated over the past six months. Since March 24, when the lockdown was imposed, 11 ordinances have been signed by the President.

About Ordinance power Article123 of the Constitution grants the President certain law-making powers to

promulgate ordinances during the recess of Parliament. These ordinances have the same force and effect as an Act of Parliament but are in the

nature of temporary laws. Likewise, the Governor of a state can issue ordinances under Article 213 of the

Constitution, when the state legislative assembly (or either of the two Houses in states with bicameral legislatures) is not in session.

The ordinance making power is the most important legislative power of the President and the Governor. It has been vested in them to deal with unforeseen or urgent situations.

Features of ordinance making power An ordinance can be promulgated only when both Houses and either of the two

Houses of Parliament is not in session or when the state legislature is not in session in case of Governor's ordinance making power.

An ordinance can be issued only on those subjects on which the Parliament can make laws.

An ordinance is subject to the same constitutional limitations as an Act of Parliament. Hence, an ordinance cannot abridge or take away any of the fundamental rights.

Every ordinance issued must be laid before both the Houses of Parliament or state legislature within sixweeks from the reassembly of Parliament or state legislature and it ceases to exist if it is not approved within six weeks of reassembly.

Whenever a Bill seeking to replace an ordinance is introduced in the House, a statement explaining the circumstances that had necessitated immediate legislation through ordinance route should also be placed before the House.

Key debates relating to the Ordinance making powers of the Executive:

There has been significant debate surrounding the Ordinance making power of the President (and Governor).

Constitutionally, important issues that have been raised include 1. JudicialreviewoftheOrdinancemakingpowersoftheexecutive

In RCCoopervs.UnionofIndia(1970) the Supreme Court, while examining the constitutionality of the Banking Companies (Acquisition of Undertakings) Ordinance, 1969 which sought to nationalise 14 of India’s largest commercial


41

banks, held that the President’s decision could be challenged on the grounds that ‘immediate action’ was not required; and the Ordinance had been passed primarily to by-pass debate and discussion in the legislature.

Parliament inserted a new clause (4) in Article 123 through 38th Constitutional Amendment Act stating that the President’s satisfaction while promulgating an Ordinance was final and could not be questioned in any court on any ground.

However 44th Constitutional Amendment Act deleted clause (4) inserted by the 38th CAA and therefore reopened the possibility for the judicial review of the President’s decision to promulgate an Ordinance.

In AKRoyvs.UnionofIndia(1982) while examining the constitutionality of the National Security Ordinance, 1980, which sought to provide for preventive detention in certain cases, the Court argued that the President’s Ordinance making power is not beyond the scope of judicial review.

However, it did not explore the issue further as there was insufficient evidence before it and the Ordinance was replaced by an Act.

It also pointed out the need to exercise judicial review over the President’s decision only when there were substantial grounds to challenge the decision, and not at “every casual and passing challenge

2. Thenecessityfor‘immediateaction’whilepromulgatinganOrdinance 44th Constitutional Amendment has reiterated that the satisfaction of the

President to promulgate ordinance could be challenged in case an ‘immediate action’ was not required.

3. ThegrantingofOrdinancemakingpowerstotheexecutive,giventheprincipleofseparationofpowers The power of the executive to issue ordinances goes against the principle of

separation of powers as lawmaking is the domain of legislature. It was argued in DCWadhwa vs. the State of Bihar (1987) that the legislative

power of the executive to promulgate ordinances is to be used in exceptional circumstances and not as a substitute for the law-making power of the legislature.

Supreme Court in Krishna Kumar Singh v. the State of Bihar held that the authority to issue ordinances is not an absolute entrustment, but is “conditional upon satisfaction that circumstances exist rendering it necessary to take immediate action”.

4. Issueofpromulgationofordinance There has been a long standing debate on the validity of Repromulgation of an

ordinance by way of notification in the name of President extending the validity of an ordinance by another six months.

The Supreme has many times faced this issue by way of many petitions and cases wherein it has invalidated Repromulgation of Ordinance by way of notifications and clarified that this provisions is one of the important emergency provisions and cannot be taken as a normal provision and needs special treatment.

5. IncreasedFrequencyofPromulgatingOrdinance Another issue with ordinance is that in the recent years it has been a trend of

increase in the number of ordinances issued by the President and even more at the state level by the Governor.

This is connected one more severe problem in the parliamentary procedures disruptions in the parliament which affects the proper functioning of the legislature.


42

The Way Ahead

Though it is contrary to democratic norm for an executive to make a law but this power is given to the President to meet emergencies so it should be limited in some point of time. Hence the power to make an ordinance should be used to meet an extraordinary situation and it should not be made to meet political ends of an individual.

Practice question:

The law making power of the executive is not a relic of British raj and is necessary to meet extraordinary situations. Illustrate.


43

10. FOREIGN CONTRIBUTION (REGULATION) ACT

The licenses of 13 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have been suspended under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010, this year. Their FCRA certificates were suspended and bank accounts frozen. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said it had received “serious adverse inputs” regarding the working of several NGOs which come under the ambit of the FCRA in tribal areas.

Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act The FCRA regulates foreign donations and ensures that such contributions do not

adversely affect internal security. First enacted in 1976, it was amended in 2010 when a slew of new measures were

adopted to regulate foreign donations. The FCRA is applicable to all associations, groups and NGOs which intend to receive

foreign donations. It is mandatory for all such NGOs to register themselves under the FCRA. The

registration is initially valid for five years and it can be renewed subsequently if they comply with all norms.

Registered associations can receive foreign contribution for social, educational, religious, economic and cultural purposes. Filing of annual returns, on the lines of Income Tax, is compulsory.

In 2015, the MHA notified new rules, which required NGOs to give an undertaking that the acceptance of foreign funds is not likely to prejudicially affect the sovereignty and integrity of India or impact friendly relations with any foreign state and does not disrupt communal harmony.

It also said all such NGOs would have to operate accounts in either nationalised or private banks which have core banking facilities to allow security agencies access on a real time basis.

Regulation of Foreign Funding Members of the legislature and political parties, government officials, judges and

media persons are prohibited from receiving any foreign contribution. However, in 2017 the MHA, through the Finance Bill route, amended the 1976-

repealed FCRA law paving the way for political parties to receive funds from the Indian subsidiary of a foreign company or a foreign company in which an Indian holds 50% or more shares.

The other way to receive foreign contributions is by applying for prior perm ission. It is granted for receipt of a specific amount from a specific donor for carrying out specific activities or projects.

But the association should be registered under statutes such as the Societies Registration Act, 1860, the Indian Trusts Act, 1882, or Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956.

A letter of commitment from the foreign donor specifying the amount and purpose is also required. In 2017, the MHA suspended the FCRA of the Public Health Foundation


44

of India (PHFI), one of India’s largest public health advocacy groups, on grounds of using “foreign funds” to lobby with parliamentarians on tobacco control activities.

After several representations by the PHFI to the government, it was placed in the ‘prior permission’ category.

According to MHA data, since 2011, the registration of 20,664 associations was cancelled for violations such as misutilisation of foreign contribution, non-submission of mandatory annual returns and diversion of foreign funds for other purposes.

Concerns The Act held that the government can refuse permission if it believes that the

donation to the NGO will adversely affect “public interest” or the “economic interest of the state”. However, there is no clear guidance on what constitutes “public interest”.

The FCRA restrictions have serious consequences on both the rights to free speech and freedom of association under Articles 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(c) of the Constitution.

The right to free speech is affected in two ways: By allowing only some political groups to receive foreign donations and

disallowing some others, can induce biases in favour of the government. NGOs need to tread carefully when they criticise the regime, knowing that too

much criticism could cost their survival. FCRA norms can reduce critical voices by declaring them to be against the public

interest. This chilling effect on free speech can lead to self-censorship. Similar to this on unclear guidelines on public interest, in Shreya Singhal v. Union of

India (2015), the Supreme Court (SC) struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act. The SC held that the Act could be used in a manner that has a chilling effect on free speech.

Besides, given that the right to freedom of association is part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a violation of this right also constitutes a human rights violation.

Way Ahead A National Accreditation Council consisting of academicians, activist, retired

bureaucrats should be made to ensure compliance by NGOs. There should be better coordination between Ministries of Home Affairs and Finance

in terms of monitoring and regulating illicit and unaccounted funds. A regulatory mechanism to keep a watch on the financial activities of NGOs and

voluntary organizations is the need of the hour. Citizens today are keen to play an active role in processes that shape their lives and it

is important that their participation in democracy go beyond the ritual of voting and should include promotion of social justice, gender equity, inclusion etc.

Practice question:

The role of NGOs in social development, community development, and sustainable development is indispensable in any modern society. Critically analys e.


45

11. SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANISATION

As External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi negotiated a five-point agreement which they hoped will lead to a disengagement process between Indian and Chinese troops ranged against each other at the Line of Actual Control (LAC), it wasn’t just the host, Russia, that played a part behind the scenes.

Evolution of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

The SCO was founded in June 2001, built on the ‘Shanghai Five’ grouping of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyz Republic) and Tajikistan, which had come together in the post-Soviet era in 1996, in order to work on regional security, reduction of border troops, and terrorism.

A particular goal all these years has been “conflict resolution”, given its early successes between China and Russia, and then within the Central Asian Republics.

The 1996 meeting of the Shanghai Five, for example, resulted in an ‘Agreement on Confidence-Building in the Military Field Along the Border Areas’ between China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, which led to an agreement on the mutual reduction of military forces on their common borders in 1997. Subsequently, it helped push the Central Asian countries to resolve some of their boundary disputes as well.

The 1997 meeting of the Shanghai Five, for example, resulted in “an Agreement on Mutual Reduction of Military Forces along China’s borders with Kazakhstan” and other agreements that resolved “disputes between Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan on border issues and the Ferghana Valley enclaves” have been facilitated by the grouping.

In 2001,theShanghaiFiveinductedUzbekistan into the group and named it the SCO, outlining its principles in a charter that promoted what was called the “Shanghai spirit” of cooperation.

IndiaandPakistan joined the SCO as observers in 2005, and were admitted as fullmembersin2015.


46

Structure According to its rules, the organisation has two permanent bodies — the SCO

Secretariat based in Beijing and the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-TerroristStructure(RATS) based in Tashkent.

The SCO Secretary-General and the Director of the Executive Committee of the SCO RATS are appointed by the Council of Heads of State for a term of three years. However, the venue of the SCO council meetings moves between the eight members (including India and Pakistan).

The SCO also has four observer states — Afghanistan, Iran, Belarus and Mongolia — which may be inducted at a later date.

Role of SCO The SCO describes its main goals, part of its Charter that was adopted in St.

Petersburg in 2002, as: “strengthening mutual trust and neighbourliness among the member states; promoting their effective cooperation in politics, trade, economy, research and technology and culture, as well as in education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection, and other areas; making joint efforts to maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region; and moving towards the establishment of a democratic, fair and rational new international political and economic order.”

No doubt, the SCO was eyed with some misgivings by the U.S. and Europe as a result of this, not the least by its desire to build a “new international political and economic order”, and it was even dubbed the “Anti-NATO” for proposing military cooperation.

In 2005, the Astanadeclaration called for SCO countries to work on a “joint SCOresponsetosituationsthatthreatenpeace,securityandstabilityintheregion”, indicating the group’s strategic ambitions

The SCO has become a platform for Eurasian cooperation in a region richwithenergyresources.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which Russia is not a part of but supports, and is joined by all members of the SCO (with the exception of India), has also become a part of the SCO declarations.

Contradictions Joining the SCO has been seen as one of the Modi government’s more significant yet

puzzling foreign policy choices, as it came at a time that New Delhi was looking more keenly at the West, and in particular at the maritime ‘Quadrilateral’ with the U.S., Japan and Australia. India has explained its membership in both ostensibly clashing groups as a part of its principles of “strategic autonomy and multi-alignment”.

Other contradictions have also been noted. Since 2014, India and Pakistan have cut all ties, talks and trade with each other, and India has refused to attend the SAARC summit due to tensions with Pakistan, but both their leaderships have consistently attended all meetings of the SCO’s three councils: the Heads of State, Heads of Government, Council of Foreign Ministers, as well as other meetings.

Despite the fact that India accuses Pakistan of perpetrating cross-border terrorism at every other multilateral forum, at the SCO, Indian and Pakistani armed forces even take part in military and anti-terrorism exercises together, as part of the SCO-Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure. In addition, the two countries are part of the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group, to discuss the course of Afghanistan’s future, an issue New Delhi and Islamabad are bitterly divided over.


47

Way Ahead The SCO Charter doesn't allow any bilateral dispute to be taken up, but it provides a

comfortable platform for building mutual trust, expanding cooperation, finding common ground and eventually, creating conditions for dialogue between countries.

The SCO will no doubt continue to provide other venues for its disputing members to meet, as it seeks to build a continental coalition that, its founders hope, may one day be as strong as some of the other coalitions that exist to its west and south.

Practice question:

Examine the role of SCO in strengthening mutual trust and neighbourliness among the member states.


48

12. REDUCING INDIA’S CANCER BURDEN Context:

The figures relating to cancer cases have been released by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Centre for Disease Informatics & Research (NCDIR), Bengaluru.

Cancer: Cancer arises from the transformation of normal cells into tumour cells in a

multistage process that generally progresses from a pre-cancerous lesion to a malignant tumour. These changes are the result of the interaction between a person's genetic factors and 3 categories of external agents, including:

physical carcinogens, such as ultraviolet and ionizing radiation; chemical carcinogens, such as asbestos, components of tobacco smoke, aflatoxin (a

food contaminant), and arsenic (a drinking water contaminant); and biological carcinogens, such as infections from certain viruses, bacteria, or parasites. WHO, through its cancer research agency, International Agency for Research on

Cancer (IARC), maintains a classification of cancer-causing agents. Ageing is another fundamental factor for the development of cancer. The incidence of

cancer rises dramatically with age, most likely due to a build-up of risks for specific cancers that increase with age. The overall risk accumulation is combined with the tendency for cellular repair mechanisms to be less effective as a person grows older.

India’s Cancer Burden It has estimated that the number of cancer cases in India in 2020 is 13.9 lakh. India

has seen a steady rise in cancer cases over many decades. A 2017 report showed that India’s cancer burden increased 2.6 times between 1990

to 2016, and deaths due to cancers doubled during the time. Almost two-thirds of these cancer cases are at late stages. In men, the most common cancers are of the lung, oral cavity, stomach and

oesophagus, while in women, breast, cervix, ovary and gall bladder cancers are the most common.

Tobacco use (in all forms) is a major avoidable risk factor for the development of cancer in 27% of cancer cases. Other important risk factors include alcohol use, inappropriate diet, low physical activity, obesity, and pollution.

Cancer causes loss of lives and also has a tremendous socioeconomic impact. Reducing cancer is a prerequisite for addressing social and economic inequity, stimulating economic growth and accelerating sustainable development.

Government efforts Cancer occurrence is a complex interplay of host and environmental determinants,

which makes it difficult to predict it at an individual level. India is committed to achieving a one-third reduction in cancer-related deaths by

2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals, and it has made considerable progress.


49

India has improved in some areas, such as personal hygiene, which are distant drivers of cancer.

Government programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, Swasthya Bharat, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, PoshanAbhiyaan and Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya JanaushadhiPariyojana and initiatives such as FSSAI’s new labell ing and display regulations and drug price control can encourage inter-sectoral and multi-sectoral action.

Other initiatives such as the National Health Policy, the National Tobacco Control Programme, and the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke are also paving the way for progress.

However, apart from investing in cancer treatment, there is also the need to focus on three key aspects: risk reduction, early detection and programmatic and policy solutions.

What needs to be done? Risk reduction:As per the available data, nearly 50%-60% of cancer cases can be

avoided by tackling the known risk factors effectively. Promoting certain behaviour can help reduce such potential risk factors.

Community empowerment: Community empowerment through a multisectoral approach that brings together government, private practitioners and civil society to increase health literacy and promote certain behaviour can go a long way in reducing potential risk factors. Improved awareness can also prevent stigma attached to the disease.

We need to ensure that health systems are strengthened so that there is greater access to screening and vaccination, early detection, and timely, affordable treatment.

Programmaticandpolicysolutions:Population health approaches are also relevant for large-scale impact. Programmatic and policy-level solutions need to be driven by data.

The information collected through the National Cancer Registry Programme has been used effectively over the years to advocate for better access to screening, early detection, referral, treatment and palliative care services.

It has also helped shape cancer research in the country, which is of crucial importance to guide our efforts on cancer prevention and control. Making cancer a notifiable disease could be one of the ways to help drive this research further by providing greater access to accurate, relevant data that can drive policy decisions.

Way Ahead Our approach should not simply focus on diagnostics, treatment modalities and

vaccines, but emphasise inclusivity in thinking and action for equitable solutions that can greatly reduce the impact of cancer across all socioeconomic levels in the country.

Practice question:

What are the causes of cancer. Discuss the ways of preventing it with the steps taken by the government in this regard.


50

13. ISSUE OF MALNUTRITION IN INDIA Context:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have launched a campaign declaring the month of September as “POSHANMaah2020”. By inviting citizens to send nutritional recipes, the campaign aims to create awareness about the POSHAN Abhiyan through community mobilisation.

Malnutrition: Adequate Nutrition is essential for human development. Malnutrition includes both

undernutrition as well as over-nutrition and refers to deficiencies, excesses or imbalances in the intake of energy, protein and/or other nutrients. Benefits of good health are perceived not only at the individual level but also at the level of society and country level as well. Health of an individual is determined by interplay of various factors like social factors, economic factors, dietary factors, lifestyle related factors, environmental factors, government policies and political commitment, etc.

Burden of malnutrition status in India

Globally, there were 673 million undernourished people, of which 189.2 million (28 per cent) were in India in 2017-19, as per the combined report of FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO (FAO, et.al. 2020) on “The state of Food Security and NutritionintheWorld” .

Additionally, India accounts for 28 per cent (40.3 million) of the world’s stunted children (low height-for-age) under five years of age, and 43 per cent (20.1 million) of the world’s wasted children (low weight-for-height) in 2019.

As a proportion of India’s own population, around 14percent were undernourished during 2017-19. In China and Brazil, the prevalence of under-nourishment in their respective total population was less than 2.5 per cent.

In India, the problem has been more severe amongst children below the age of five years. As per the NationalFamilyHealthSurvey(NFHS,2015-16), the proportion of underweight and stunted children was as high as 35.8 per cent and 38.4 per cent respectively.

In several districts of Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and even Gujarat, the proportion of underweight children was more than 40 per cent


51

Determinants of malnutrition With deep research of unit-level data of NFHS (2015-16) (with a sample of 2,19,796

children under five years age),the determinants of malnutrition can be known. 1. Mothers’ education:

The mothers’ education, particularly higher education, has the strongest inverse association with under-nutrition.

Women’s education has a multiplier effect not only on household food security but also on the child’s feeding practice and the sanitation facility.

Despite India’s considerable improvement in female literacy, only 13.7 per cent of women have received higher education (NFHS, 2015-16). This is way below several countries at comparable income levels.

Therefore, programmes that promote women’s higher education such as liberal scholarships for women need to be accorded a much higher priority.

2. Wealth index: The second key determinant of child under-nutrition is the wealth index, which

subsumes access to sanitation facilities and safe drinking water. WASH initiatives, that is, safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, are critical

for improving child nutritional outcomes. In this context, it was commendable that the Prime Minister launched the Swachh

Bharat Abhiyan in October 2014 to eliminate open defecation and bring about behavioural changes in hygiene and sanitation practices.

This remarkable achievement of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, subject to third-party evaluations, is expected to have a multiplier effect on nutritional outcomes.

However, behavioural change towards personal hygiene still needs to be promoted at the grassroots level.

3. Nutrition sensitive agricultural policies The third factor is leveraging agricultural policies and programmes to be more

“nutrition-sensitive” and reinforcing diet diversification towards a nutrient-rich diet. Food-based safety nets in India are biased in favour of staples (rice and wheat).

They need to provide a more diversified food basket, including coarse grains, millets, pulses and bio-fortified staples to improve the nutritional status of pre-school children and women of reproductive age.

Bio-fortification is very cost-effective in improving the diet of households and the nutritional status of children.

4. Increased Infant care Lastly, the promotion of exclusive breastfeeding and the introduction of

complementary foods and a diversified diet after the first six months is essential to meet the nutritional needs of infants and ensure appropriate growth and cognitive development of children.

Access and utilisation of prenatal and postnatal health care services also play a significant role in curbing undernutrition among children.

Aanganwadi workers and community participation can bring significant improvements in child-caring practices and antenatal care for mother and children through comprehensive awareness programmes.


52

Government Initiatives Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme

The scheme provides specific interventions targeted towards the vulnerable groups include children below 6 years and women.

It provides a package of six services namely supplementary nutrition, pre-school non-formal education, nutrition & health education, immunization, health check-up and referral services.

National Health Mission (NHM) National Health Mission (NHM) was launched by the government of India in

2013.It subsumed the National Rural Health Mission and the National Urban Health Mission.

The main programmatic components include health system strengthening in rural and urban areas for - Reproductive-Maternal- Neonatal-Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCH+A), and Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases.

Universal Salt Iodisation:- National Iodine Deficiency Control Programme (NIDDCP) was initiated in 1992

with the goal that all salt for human consumption will be iodised to ensure universal household access to iodised salt.

National Nutrition Mission (POSHAN Abhiyaan) POSHAN Abhiyaan which is India’s flagship program, envisages improving

nutritional outcomes for children, adolescents, pregnant women and lactating mothers, is a step in the right direction.

It seeks to ensure a “malnutrition free India” by 2022 POSHAN Atlas:

To map the crops and food grains grown in different regions of the country so that nutritious protein rich food in local areas can be promoted.

Other Schemes There are a number of existing programmes targeting nutrition outcomes, directly

or indirectly. These include the National Health Mission – Janani Suraksha Yojana, the National

Rural Drinking Water Programme, MatritvaSahyog Yojana, SABLA for adolescent girls, Mid-day Meal Scheme, Targeted Public Distribution System, National Food Security Mission, MGNREGA and the National Rural Livelihoods Mission among others.

SDG Target The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-2 goal, which aims to “end hunger,

achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”, is a priority area for India, which can offer key solutions for hunger and poverty eradication and also tackle the issue of malnutrition and undernourishment in the country.

The Way Ahead For “POSHAN Maah” to contribute towards the holistic nourishment of children and a

malnutrition free India by 2030, the government needs to address the multi-dimensional determinants of malnutrition on an urgent basis.

Practice question:

Discuss the double burden of malnutrition and steps taken by the government in achieving food security.


53

14. REFORMS FOR TRANSFORMING PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION Context:

The various administrative reforms measures are introduced in the last six weeks which seeks to improve the quality of bureaucracy and the nature of State-citizen interface.

Historical background of reforms Every government since 1947, irrespective of political affiliation, has expressed

frustration at the inefficiency of India’s vast bureaucracy and the maze of red-tape. Hundreds of committees have provided recommendations but the basic structure of

public administration has remained unaltered. The first Administrative Reform Commission was set up in 1966 and its report of 20

volumes and 537 recommendations were be placed in Parliament in 1977 but was unable to implement the recommendations

The reforms of 1991 freed many parts of the economy from direct gove rnment control. But the functioning of the bureaucracy only went through few changes.

Therefore, a second Administrative Reform Commission was set up in 2005 under VeerappaMoily. In the preface of a report tabled in 2008.

The present government have also tried to bring the reforms in administration through various attempts such as Lateral entry, digitisation etc. However, the new effort has a totally different level of ambition.

About the key reforms Here are measures introduced in the last six weeks: One, a national platform for

recruitment. 1. Establishment of National Recruitment Agency

Almost all discussion around government recruitment tends to focus on that of the higher bureaucracy through Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examinations. However, this thin layer of gazetted officers accounts for a tiny fraction of the civil service.

The rest of the recruitment is done through a bewildering network of agencies and examinations.

The lackof transparency not only makes it difficult for candidates but has led frequently to allegations of manipulation.

The government, therefore, has announced the establishment of a NationalRecruitment Agency that will conduct a Common Eligibility Test across the country.

For now, it will be a standardisedfirst-level filter that will enable candidates to take things forward for final selection.

The scores will be shared, so state governments, public sector and even private sector can use them as they deem fit.

2. Compulsory retirement to remove the unfit. The health of any organisation is dependent on systematically weeding out

deadwood.


54

Unfortunately, entry into the Indian civil service is seen as a ticket to guaranteed employment till retirement.

Interestingly, service rules have long included provisions that allow for civil servants to be compulsorily retired after he/she has completed 30 years of service and crossed the age of 50 (or 55 even if less than 30 years in service).

This can be done under the Fundamental Rule 56(j)/(l) and Rule 48 of CCS (Pension) Rules. Around 320 senior officers have already been retired through this route since 2014, but the government reissued the guidelines on August 28 along with supporting Supreme Court judgments.

It also provided basic criteria and procedures for using these provisions to remove officials “whose integrity is doubtful” or “found to be ineffective”.

3. Rationalisation of autonomous bodies. The central government alone has hundreds of autonomous bodies such as think-

tanks, industry bodies, advisory boards and so on. These entities have a role in the delivery of public services but, inevitably, there is

also a large amount of duplication and redundancy. It is rare that a government body, once established, will be wound up. For the first time, the central government is carrying out a comprehensive

initiative to review the functioning of these institutions. In August, the ministry of textiles alone abolished the All India Handicrafts Board,

Cotton Advisory Board, Jute Advisory Board, and the All India Handloom Board. Their duties have been transferred to other existing bodies for better delivery.

Other ministries are also carrying out similar exercises. 4. Taxpayer’s charter and faceless assessment.

An important aspect of administrative reform is to improve the interface with the citizen. The tax department is an obvious place to start.

In August, the PM announced a TaxpayersCharter that clearly lays out 14 rights for the taxpayer.

The announcement of the Charter accompanied a shift to a system of faceless assessment where cases are to be assigned by an automated system.

Together, it is hoped that the measures will significantly reduce persistent complaints of harassment and rent-seeking.

The way ahead The overall direction of the reform effort should be clear to improve the

inflow/outflow of personnel, rationalise processes, weed out redundant bodies and upgrade the interface with the citizen. The momentum is only going to accelerate.

Practice question:

Enumerate various administrative reforms measures introduced to improve the quality of bureaucracy and the nature of State -citizen interface


55

15. INDIA- MALDIVES TIES

Apparently responding to the growing anti-India refrain from the political opposition in the Maldives, Foreign Minister Abdulla has said that those “unable to stomach” the strengthening bilateral ties were resorting to such criticism.

Background of India-Maldives relations India and Maldives share ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious and commercial links

steeped in antiquity and enjoy close, cordial and multi-dimensional relations. India was among the first to recognise the Maldives after its independence in 1965

and to establish diplomatic relations with the country. India established its mission at the level of CDA in 1972 and resident High Commissioner in 1980.

The Maldives opened a full-fledged High Commission in New Delhi in November 2004, at that time one of its only four diplomatic missions worldwide.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, almost all Prime Ministers of India visited the Maldives.

India and Maldives have consistently supported each other in multilateral for a such as the UN, the Commonwealth, the NAM, and the SAARC.

Importance of the Maldives for India The Maldives is an important aspect of India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy. Strategically located in the Indian Ocean, Maldives archipelago comprising 1200 coral

Islands lies next to key shipping lanes which ensure uninterrupted energy supplies to countries like China, Japan, and India. More than 97% of India’s international trade by volume and 75% by value passes through the region.

As the pre-eminent South Asian power and a ‘net security provider’ in the Indian Ocean region, India needs to cooperate with the Maldives in the security and defense sectors.

India is also a preferred destination for Maldivians for education, medical treatment, recreation, and business.

Maldives is also a member of SAARC. It is important for India to have the Maldives on board to maintain its leadership in the region.

Since China’s naval expansion into the Indian Ocean - Maldives significance has steadily grown and now it’s at the heart of international geopolitics.

There is significant Indian diaspora in the Maldives. Innumerable Indians work across the hospitality, education, and health-care sectors of the Maldives economy.

Bilateral Assistance India is a leading development partner of Maldives and has established many of the

leading institutions of Maldives including the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), Faculty of Engineering Technology (FET) and Faculty of Hospitality & Tourism Studies(IMFFHTS).

India has offered assistance to the Maldives wherever required. Operation Cactus - when India saved Gayoom’s regime from a coup in 1984

After the tsunami that struck the Maldives on December 26, 2004, India was the first country to rush relief and aid to the Maldives.


56

India provided a budget support aid of Rs.10 crores to help stabilize the Maldivian fiscal position.

In January 2014, India released $25 million to meet Maldives’ import expenditure. This was done in the context of the Framework Agreement on Cooperation for Development of 2011.

Operation Neer was initiated by the Indian government in response to the Maldives government's request for help after a major fire broke out at the Male Water and Sewerage Company.

With the Maldives reeling under mounting Chinese debt, India in 2018 announced a $1.4 billion financial assistance to the island nation.

Currently, India has provided the US $ 100 million Stand -by Credit facility (SCF) to the Maldives, including long-term loans and revolving credit for trade.

$800 million Line of Credit Agreement was signed in March 2019, for assisting the Maldives to achieve sustainable social and economic development.

Capacity building and skills development is one of the key components of India’s assistance to the Maldives. India offers several scholarships to Maldivian students under the following schemes: ICCR scholarships SAARC Chair Fellowship ITEC training & scholarships Technical Cooperation Scheme of the Colombo Plan Medical scholarships

Several Maldivian diplomats have received training in India under the Indian Foreign Service Institute’s Professional Course for Foreign Diplomats (PCFD) program.

Challenges During President Yameen’s time in office, India-Maldives relations deteriorated, his

government was accused of an evident China slant. China has been a close development partner and lender. Malé has been trying to renegotiate some $1.4 billion it owes to Beijing.

However, India’s engagement with the Maldives has significantly grown since President Solih came to power, particularly in development partnerships.

Recently opposition Progressive Party of Maldives -People’s National Congress (PPM-PNC) combine has been protesting foreign military presence in Maldivian soil.

In the last few weeks, some Maldivians also took to Twitter, beginning an “#Indiaout” campaign that trended for some time.

According to the UNDP, the Maldives is amongst the worst affected countries in the Asia region and potentially globally, due to the impact of Covid-19.

The Maldives is facing a massive challenge in the form of the economic impact of Covid-19 that has brutally hit the nation.

Meanwhile, some in government fear the simmering tensions within the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) – apparently between President Solih and Speaker and former President Nasheed may pose yet another serious challenge.

Way Ahead It is important for India not to allow the Maldives to slip from its sphere of influence.

India should reach out to all governmental and nongovernmental actors of the atoll in economic, socio-cultural and political arenas. Governmental dialogue mechanisms are not sufficient in themselves, which should in the first place be regularised. India is


57

indeed a neutral actor in the atoll’s politics, but such a perception needs to be efficiently conveyed.

Practice question:

Discuss the role of India -Maldives rel ation in making India, the net security provider in the Indian ocean region.


58

16. INDUS WATER TREATY Context:

September 19 marks the 60th anniversary of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) between India and Pakistan

About the evolution of the treaty The six rivers of the Indus basin

originate in Tibet and flow across the Himalayan ranges to end in the Arabian Sea south of Karachi.

Preceding partition, it was one common network for both India and Pakistan. However, while partition managed to draw terrestrial borders, the question of how to divide the Indus waters was something that needed to be worked out.

Since the rivers flowed from India to Pakistan, the latter was unsurprisingly threatened by the prospect of being fed by the former.

Initially, the issue of water sharing was sorted out by the Inter-Dominion accord of May 4, 1948 that laid out that India would release enough waters to Pakistan in return for annual payments from the latter.

The problems of this arrangement was soon realized and it was considered necessary to find an alternative solution.

Eventually, in 1960, the two countries reached a decisive step with the intervention of the World Bank wherein precise details were laid out regarding the way in which the waters would be distributed.

About the treaty The Indus Waters Treaty was signed on September 19, 1960 by the then Prime

Minister JawaharlalNehru and Pakistan's President AyubKhan. It was brokered by the WorldBank . The treaty administers how river Indus and its tributaries that flow in both the

countries will be utilized. According to the treaty, Beas,RaviandSutlej are to be governed by India, while,

Indus,ChenabandJhelum are to be taken care by Pakistan. India thus conceded 80.52percentof the aggregate water flows in the Indus system

to Pakistan. It also gave Rs83crore inpoundssterling to Pakistan to help build replacement

canals from the western rivers. Such generosity is unusual of an upper riparian. However, since Indus flows from India, the country is allowed to use 20percent of

its water for irrigation, power generation and transport purposes. The treaty states


59

that aside of certain specific cases, no storage and irrigation systems can be built by India on the western rivers.

A PermanentIndusCommission was set up as a bilateral commission to implement and manage the Treaty. The Commission solves disputes arising over water sharing.

The Treaty also provides arbitrationmechanism to solve disputes amicably. Both sides are required to exchange information related to river flows observed by

them, not later than three months of their observation and to exchange specified information on Agricultural Use every year.

India is under obligation to supply information of its storage and hydroelectric projects as specified.

Significance of the treaty It is a treaty that is often cited as an example of the possibilities of peaceful

coexistence that exist despite the troubled relationship. The treaty has survived after three wars between the both countries and India knows

the importance of this treaty. While the tense political relations between the two countries have to a large extent

resulted in conflicts over the treaty, to a large extent it is the framing of the treaty itself that has led to grievances.

Well-wishers of the treaty often dub it “uninterrupted and uninterruptible” because India respects its signatory and values trans-boundary rivers as an important connector in the region in terms of both diplomacy and economic prosperity.

The World Bank, which, as the third party, played a pivotal role in crafting t he IWT, continues to take particular pride that the treaty functions.

Concerns with the treaty The treaty is highly technical leading to far ranging divergences between the two

countries in terms of interpretations. For instance, while the treaty says that storage systems can be built but to a limited extent, the technical details makes it increasingly difficult to conclude under what circumstances projects can be carried out.

While India on the one hand tries to make maximum use of the breathing space provided by the treaty to build projects on the western rivers, Pakistan on account of its suspicions towards India keeps an extra keen eye on every technical aspect of the project and tries its absolute best to get it suspended.

In recent years, Pakistan has raised objections on many other projects, including the Ratle project, the PakalDul dam, and Sawalkot

Though Indus originates from Tibet,China has been kept out of the Treaty. If China decides to stop or change the flow of the river, it will affect both India and Pakistan.

Climate change is causing melting of ice in Tibetan plateau, which scientists believe will affect the river in future.

Every now and then, there is a clamour in India for abrogating the IWT as a response to Pakistan’s cross-border terrorism and intransigence.

For instance, following the Uri attack in September 2016, India decided to not hold a meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission so long as Pakistan does not stop funding terrorist activities.

Need for reforms Article XII of the IWT says that it “mayfromtimetotimebemodified” but carefully

notes “by a duly ratified treaty concluded for that purpose between the two governments”. Pakistan will see no merit in any modification having already got a


60

good deal in 1960. India’s best option, therefore, would be to optimise the provisions of the treaty.

India has been woefully wanting in not utilising the 3.6 million acre feet (MAF) of “permissible storage capacity” granted by the IWT on the western rivers.

Poor water development projects have allowed 2-3 MAF of water to easily flow into Pakistan which needs to be urgently utilised.

Further, out of the total estimated capacity of 11406 MW electricity that can be harnessed from the three western rivers in Kashmir, only 3034 MW has been tapp ed so far.

The Way Ahead While the treaty may have served some purpose at the time it was signed, now with a

new set of hydrological realities, advanced engineering methods in dam construction and de-siltation, there is an urgent need to look at it afresh.

Practice question:

Indus Waters Treaty is considered one of the most successful water

sharing endeavours in the world today.


61

17. INTRA-AFGHAN TALKS AND A ROLE FOR INDIA Context:

In September 12, the intra-Afghan talks between the Taliban and the Afghan High Council for National Reconciliation opened in Doha, Qatar.

Background After the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. that stunned the world and marked the beginning of

the U.S. war in Afghanistan against al Qaeda and the Taliban, its local sponsors. The Trump administration soon realised that its 2017 policy of breaking the military

stalemate by a small increase in U.S. troops was not working and reverted to seeking a managed exit.

Direct negotiations with the Taliban began two years ago with Ambassador Khalilzad’s appointment as Special Envoy. Actually, it became a three-way negotiation. The Doha track was with the Taliban, a second track was with Islamabad/Rawalpindi to cajole the Pakistan Army to lean on the Taliban to get them to the negotiating table, and the third was with Kabul to ensure that the Afghan government would accept the Doha outcome.

Originally Ambassador Khalilzad had spelt out four objectives: an end to violence by declaring a ceasefire; an intra-Afghan dialogue for a lasting peace; the Taliban cutting ties with terrorist organisations such as al Qaeda, and U.S. troop withdrawal.

Latter two process has now been completed. The two elements that remained open ended in the U.S.-Taliban deal are the ceasefire declaration and the intra-Afghan talks.

Intra-Afghan talks The US-Taliban agreement said “[a] permanent and comprehensive ceasefire will be

an item on the agenda of the intra-Afghan dialogue and negotiations. The participants of intra-Afghan negotiations will discuss the date and modalities of a

permanent and comprehensive ceasefire, including joint implementation mechanisms, which will be announced along with the completion and agreement over the future political roadmap of Afghanistan”.

Challenges Ahead for Intra-Afghan Talks If the two main goals are a power-sharing settlement between the Afghan polity and

the Taliban, and a ceasefire, the immediate question is which should come first. The Afghan government has said it wants a ceasefire first.

It is doubtful the Taliban would agree to a truce first before getting what they want out of a political settlement. While in talks with the US, the Taliban continued violent attacks, leveraging these to underline their demands.

What the Taliban want out of a political settlement is unclear. In the past, they have denounced democracy as a western imposition on their vision of Afghanistan.

They have dropped several hints of a return to the Taliban-run Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan of 1996-2001. But they have signalled they may accept some of the democratic gains Afghanistan has made in the last two decades.

The current reality is that 74% of Afghan population is below 30 and has lived, for most part, in a conservative but open society. However, the Taliban continue to


62

maintain the Kabul administration as an imported western structure for continued American occupation.

The expectation is that the two sides should agree on an “inclusive” interim government that will be entrusted with hammering out the way forward.

Evolving Indian stand India has been always supportive of the inclusive peace process, specifically Afghan -

owned, Afghan-led and Afghan-controlled. Addressing the opening session of the Doha meeting, India’s External Affairs Minister

S. Jaishankar reiterated that the peace process must be “Afghan led, Afghan owned and Afghan controlled” but Indian policy has evolved from its earlier hands-off approach to the Taliban.

By participating in the intra-Afghan inaugural dialogue in Doha, India has shown its willingness to engage with all Afghan parties including the Taliban for peace in Kabul and to ensure no anti-India activity is allowed from Afghan soil.

Interest of major powers For the U.S. the peace talks provide U.S. President Donald Trump an exit opportun ity

weeks before his re-election bid. The European Union has made it clear that its financial contribution will depend on

the security environment and the human rights record. China can always lean on Pakistan to preserve its security and connectivity interests. For Russia, blocking the drug supply and keeping its southern periphery secure from

extremist influences is key. That is why no major power is taking ownership for the reconciliation talks, but

merely content with being facilitators. Way Ahead

A report issued last month by the Heart of Asia Society, a Kabul-based think tank observes that “the prospect for peace in Afghanistan depends on regional consensus to support the peace process as much as it depends on actual progress in the intra-Afghan talks”.

India’s vision of a sovereign, united, stable, plural and democratic Afghanistan is one that is shared by a large constituency in Afghanistan, cutting across ethnic and provincial lines.

A more active engagement will enable India to work with like-minded forces in the region to ensure that the vacuum created by the U.S. withdrawal does not lead to an unravelling of the gains registered during the last two decades.

Practice question:

Discuss the Afghan peace process and its implications on India.


63

18. GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK FOR NON-PERSONAL DATA Context:

The Gopalakrishnan Committee set up by the government on developing a governance framework for non-personal data recently put out its draft report for public consultation.

Back ground Gopalakrishnan Committee was set up in 2019 and is referred to as the Expert

Committee on Non-Personal Data Governance Framework. It is a nine-member panel, headed by former Infosys vice-chairman Kris

Gopalakrishnan. It was set up by the government for developing a governance framework for non-

personal data. The Gopalakrishnan report is the first policy document globally that tries to address

the issue of economic governance of digital society’s data. Recommendations given by theGopalakrishnan Committee

DefinitionofNon-personaldata(NPD): NPD is defined as ‘data that is not personal data, or when it is without any personally identifiable information’. It includes data that- (a) never related to an identified or identifiable natural person; (b) anonymized personal data, and aggregated data to which certain data transformation techniques are applied to the extent that individual specific events are no longer identifiable. Three categories of NPD have been recommended: PublicNPD: Data collected or generated by any government agency, and includes

data collected during execution of all publicly funded works; PrivateNPD: NPD collected by entities/persons other than governments through

assets and processes privately owned by the entity/person. It includes derived/observed data collected through private effort, such as through use of algorithms or proprietary knowledge; and

CommunityNPD: Data that pertains to a community of natural persons. It can include NPD about animate and inanimate things or phenomena. Such data shall not include private NPD. The definition of community NPD is wide in its ambit, with a community defined as any group of people that are bound by common interests and purposes, and involved in social and/or economic interactions. Examples cited include data collected by municipal corporations and public electric utilities. It also includes user information collected by telecom companies, e-commerce players, and ride-hailing platforms.

Data-sharing regulation: To shift data’s economic benefits for citizens and communities in India as well as help the government in policy making and service delivery.

The report’s proposed regulation wouldrequirecompaniestosharetheirprivatedata, excluding “proprietary data”, atnoremuneration.

Citizens, startups, researchers, and the government canrequestdata for purposes of national security, legal, public interest (such as service delivery), and economic purposes to create a level playing field.

Introducing a new category of ‘data businesses’: Entities involved in data collection or processing will be classified as ‘data businesses’ based on a certain


64

threshold of data collected/processed. Businesses below the threshold can register as a data business voluntarily.

It recommends to formulate a separate legislation to govern non-personal data and setup a new regulatory body-Non-PersonalDataAuthority(NPDA).

The report identifies and defines new stakeholders in the non-personal data ecosystem, including dataprincipal,datacustodian,datatrustee,anddatatrust, and contours their obligations and mechanisms to enable data sharing.

Significance of regulating and sharing non-personal data Economic value: Non-personal Data sets will help to map consumer biases and

ensure targeted delivery of services. It will unlock the doors of economic value and innovation in the country.

With a robust domestic data/AI industry, dependence on U.S. and Chinese companies will reduce.

Publicgood: Data collected from various communities are considered to be ‘owned’ by the relevant community. Such ‘community ownership’ means that the data should be shared back with all those who need it in society, whether to develop domestic digital businesses or for producing important digital public goods.

Infrastructural nature of data: Industrial age infrastructure — roads, electricity, etc. — were often publicly owned. Even if there was some private role, these were run as closely regulated public utilities. The idea was to ensure widespread availability of such infrastructural elements to all, and avoid wasteful duplications. Society’s data have a similar nature for a digital economy.

Digitalverticalintegration:Very few corporations have vertically integrated all the digital components involved in delivery of any digital service is the reason for their becoming such huge global monopolies.

Seven out of the top 10 companies globally today have a data-centric model. Such unsustainable concentration of digital power has a significant geopolitical dimension, with complete domination globally of U.S. and Chinese companies.

At the national level its deleterious effect is of exploitation of consumers and small economic actors, and of strangulating competition and innovation. There are calls worldwide to break up Big Tech; to moderate their monopoly power. Their monopoly is best addressed by separating the infrastructural elements of digital service provision from the business of digital service delivery.

There is a need to treat data as infrastructure, or ‘commons’, so that data are widely available for all businesses. The digital businesses then shift their key business advantage from exclusive access to data to employing available data for devising digital services for consumers’ benefit.

Way Ahead India is the first country to come up with a comprehensive framework in this area.

Starting early in this important digital policy and governance area may just provide a formidable first mover advantage for India to acquire its rightful place in the digital world.

Practice Question:

What d o you understand by Non personal Data? Examine the need for regulating Non personal data in India


65

20. SELECT COMMITTEES AND OTHER PARLIAMENTARY PANELS: ROLES AND LIMITATIONS

Context:

The government recently pushed through two crucial agriculture Bills in Rajya Sabha, rejecting Opposition demands that they be referred to a Select Committee of Rajya Sabha. Proceedings were disrupted as the Opposition protested against the fact that neither Bill had been scrutinized by a parliamentary committee

Methods of scrutinizing a bill Parliament scrutinizes legislative proposals (Bills) in two ways.

1. Discussingthebillonthefloorofthehouse This is a legislative requirement; all Bills have to be taken up for debate. The

time spent debating the bills can vary. They can be passed in a matter of minutes, or debate and voting on them can

run late into the night. Since Parliament meets for 70 to 80 days in a year, there is not enough time t o

discuss every Bill in detail on the floor of the House. Plus debate in the house is mostly political and does not go into the technical

details of a legislative proposal. 2. ReferringaBilltoaparliamentarycommittee

It takes care of the legislative infirmity of debate on the floor of the House. Woodrow Wilson, before he became US President in 1885: “… it is not far from

the truth to say that Congress in session is Congress on public exhibition, whilst Congress in its committee rooms is Congress at work”.

But referring of Bills to parliamentary committees is not mandatory. In the current Lok Sabha, 17 Bills have been referred to committees. In the

16th Lok Sabha (2014-19), 25% of the Bills were referred to committees, which was much lower than the 71% and 60% in the 15th and 14th Lok Sabha respectively

About Select Committee India’s Parliament has multipletypesofcommittees. They can be differentiated on

the basis of their work, their membership and the length of their tenure. 1. Department related standing committee

First are committees that examine bills, budgets and policies of ministries. These are called departmentally related Standing Committees.

There are 24 such committees and between them, they focus on the working of different ministries. Each committee has 31 MPs, 21 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha.

Departmentally related Standing Committees have a tenure of one year, then they are reconstituted and their work continues throughout the term of a Lok Sabha.

Ministers are not members; key committees like those related to Finance, Defence, and Home etc. are usually chaired by Opposition MPs.

Besides Bills, the DRSCs also examine the budget. The detailed estimates of expenditure of all ministries, called Demand for Grants are sent for examination to the DRCSs.


66

2. Joint Parliamentary Committee

Then there are committees constituted for a specific purpose, with MPs from both Houses. The specific purpose could be detailed scrutiny of a subject matter or a Bill. These are Joint Parliamentary Committees (JPC).

In 2011 the issue of telecom licenses and spectrum was examined by a JPC headed by Congress MP P C Chacko.

In 2016, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill was sent to a JPC chaired by BJP MP Rajendra Agarwal.

3. Select Committee on a Bill And finally, there is a Select Committee on a Bill. This is formed for examining a

particular Bill and its membership is limited to MPs from one House. Last year Rajya Sabha referred the Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2019 to a Select

Committee of 23 of its MPs from different parties. The committee was headed by BJP MP Bhupender Yadav.

Since both the JPCs and Select Committees are constituted for a specific purpose, they are disbanded after their report. Both these types of committees are chaired by MPs from the ruling party.

When does a committee examine a Bill? Bills are not automatically sent to committees for examination. There are three broad

paths by which a Bill can reach a committee. The first is when the minister piloting the Bill recommends to the House that his Bill

be examined by a Select Committee of the House or a joint committee of both Houses. For instance, Last year Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad moved a

motion in Lok Sabha referring the Personal Data Protection Bill to a Joint Committee.

If the minister makes no such motion, it is up to the presiding officer of the House to decide whether to send a Bill to a departmentally related Standing Committee. For instance, during the last Lok Sabha, Venkaiah Naidu as Chairman of Rajya

Sabha sent eight Bills to departmentally related Standing Committees. And finally, a Bill passed by one House can be sent by the other House to its Select

Committee. In 2011, the Lokpal Bill passed by Lok Sabha was sent by Rajya Sabha to its Select

Committee. In the last Lok Sabha, multiple Bills were sent to Rajya Sabha select committees

Sending a Bill to any committee results in two things. First, the committee undertakes a detailed examination of the Bill. It invites

comments and suggestions from experts, stakeholders and citizens. The government also appears before the committee to present its viewpoint. All

this results in a report that makes suggestions for strengthening the Bill. While the committee is deliberating on a Bill, there is a pause in its legislative

journey. It can only progress in Parliament after the committee has submitted its report.

Usually, parliamentary committees are supposed to submit their reports in threemonths,but sometimes it can take longer.


67

What happens after the report? The report of the committee is of a recommendatory nature. The government can

choose to accept or reject its recommendations. Very often the government incorporates suggestions made by committees. Select

Committees and JPCs have an added advantage. In their report, they can also include their version of the Bill. If they do so, the

minister in charge of that particular Bill can move for the committee’s version of the Bill to be discussed and passed in the House.

Significance of the bill The main purpose of these committees are to ensure the accountability of

Government to Parliament through more detailed consideration of measures in these committees.

There is a short of amount of time for MPs to be able to get into the depth of matters being discussed in the House. Since Committees meet throughout the year, they help make up for this lack of time available on the floor of the House.

Over the years, the Committees have immensely contributed to strengthen the laws passed by Parliament. For example, the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, overhauling the 1986 law, was

recently passed during the Budget Session. An earlier version of the Bill had been examined by the Committee on Food and Consumer Affairs, which suggested several amendments such as increasing penalties for misleading advertisements, making certain definitions clearer. The government accepted most of these recommendations and incorporated them in the 2019 Act.

Committees also examine policy issues in their respective Ministries, and make suggestions to the government.

Limitations of Parliamentary committee However, the rules do not require that all Bills be examined by a Committee. This

leads to some Bills being passed without the advantage of a Committee scrutinizing its technical details.

Recently, there has been a declining trend in the percentage of Bills being referred to a Committee. In the 15th LS, 71% of the Bills introduced were referred to Committees for examination, as compared to 27% in the 16th Lok Sabha.

Practice Question:

What are the different types of parliamentary committees?. Examine

its functions in upholding democratic principles in India


68

21. UNITED NATIONS: ORIGIN AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE Context:

The United Nations completed 75 years this year. In order to commemorate the historic moment, world leaders come together at a one-day high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly.

The birth of the United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an international organization founded in 1945. It is

currently made up of 193 Member States. It was born out of the horrors of World War II as the ashes of yet another

international organisation created with the intention of keeping war away. The League of Nations was created in June 1919, after World War I, as part of the

Treaty of Versailles. However, when the Second World War broke out in 1939, the League closed down

and its headquarters in Geneva remained empty throughout the war. Consequently, in August 1941, American president Franklin D. Roosevelt and

British Prime Minister WinstonChurchillheld a secret meeting aboard naval ships in Placenta Bay, located in the southeast coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

The heads of the two countries discussed the possibility of creating a body for international peace effort and a range of issues related to the war. Together they issued a statement that came to be called the AtlanticCharter.

It was not a treaty, but only an affirmation that paved the way for the creation of the UN. It declared the realisation of “certain common principles in the national policies of their respective countries on which they based their hopes for a better future for the world.”

The United States joined the war in December 1941, and for the first time the term ‘UnitedNations’ was coined by president Roosevelt to identify those countries which were allied against the axis powers.

On January 1, 1942, representatives of 26 allied nations met in Washington DC to sign the declaration of the United Nations, which basically spelledoutthewarobjectivesoftheAlliedpowers.

Over the next couple of years, several meetings took place among the Allied big four i.e. The United States of America, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom andChina to decide on the post-war charter that would describe the precise role of the United Nations.

The United Nations finally came into existence on October 24, 1945 after being ratified by 51 nations, which included five permanent members (France, theRepublicofChina,theSovietUnion,theUKandtheUS) and 46 other signatories.

The first meeting of the General Assembly took place on January 10, 1946. Goals and Objectives of UN

At the time of its foundation, it was primarily tasked with the goal of maintaining world peace and saving future generations from the evils of war.

The four main goals of the UN are Maintaining international peace and security, Developing friendly relations among nations, Achieving international cooperation in solving international problems


69

Being at the centre for harmonising the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.

Principle bodies of UNO The main organs of the UN are shown in the

figure. All the 6 were established in 1945 when the UN was founded.

1. General Assembly The General Assembly is the main

deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the UN.

All 193 Member States of the UN are represented in the General Assembly, making it the only UN body with universal representation.

Decisions on important questions, such as those on peace and security, admission of new members and budgetary matters, require a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly.

Decisions on other questions are by simple majority.

2. Security Council It has primary responsibility, under the

UN Charter, for the maintenance of international peace and security. The Security Council is made up of fifteen member states, consisting of five

permanent members—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—and ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly on a regional basis.

"Veto power" refers to the power of the permanent member to veto (Reject) any resolution of Security Council.

3. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) It is the principal body for coordination, policy review, policy dialogue and

recommendations on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as implementation of internationally agreed development goals.

It has 54 Members, elected by the General Assembly for overlapping three-year terms.

It is the United Nations’ central platform for reflection, debate, and innovative thinking on sustainable development

4. Trusteeship Council It was established in 1945 by the UN Charter, under Chapter XIII. Trust territory is a non-self-governing territory placed under an administrative

authority by the Trusteeship Council of the United Nations. United Nations trust territories were the successors of the remaining League of

Nations mandates It had to provide international supervision for 11 Trust Territories that had been

placed under the administration of seven Member States, and ensure that adequate steps were taken to prepare the Territories for self -government and independence.


70

By 1994, all Trust Territories had attained self-government or independence. The Trusteeship Council suspended operation on 1 November 1994.

5. International Court of Justice (ICJ) The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United

Nations. It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946.

The ICJ is the successor of the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ), which was established by the League of Nations in 1920.

6. Secretariat The Secretariat comprises the Secretary-General and tens of thousands of

international UN staff members who carry out the day-to-day work of the UN as mandated by the General Assembly and the Organization's other principal organs.

The Secretary-General is chief administrative officer of the Organization, appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council for a five-year, renewable term.

UN staff members are recruited internationally and locally, and work in duty stations and on peacekeeping missions all around the world.

Achievements of the UN in the last 75 years While at the time of its formation, the UN consisted of only 51 member states,

independence movements and de-colonisation in the subsequent years led to an expansion of its membership. At present, 193 countries are members of the UN.

The UN boasts of several significant achievements in the last 75 years. It has also expanded its scope to resolve over a large number of global issues such as

health, environment, women empowerment among others. Soon after its formation, it passed a resolution to commit to the elimination of nuclear

weapons in 1946. In 1948, it created the WorldHealthOrganisation (WHO) to deal with communicable diseases like smallpox, malaria, HIV. At present the WHO is the apex organisation dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

In 1950, the UN created the HighCommissioner forRefugees to take care of the millions who had been displaced due to World War II. It continues to be on the frontlines of crises faced by refugees from countries across the world.

In 1972, the UNenvironmentprogramme was created. More recently in 2002, the UN established the UNcriminalcourt to try those who

have committed war crimes, genocide, and other atrocities. The UNESCO has helped 137 countries to protect ancient monuments and historic,

cultural and natural sites.It has negotiated international conventions to preserve cultural property, cultural diversity and outstanding cultural and natural sites. More than 1,000 such sites have been designated as having exceptional universal value - as World Heritage Sites.

The first world conference on women (Mexico City, 1985) put women's right, equality and progress on the global agenda.

Failures of UN The UN has also met with its share of criticisms. In 1994, for instance, the

organisation failed to stop the Rwandan genocide. In 2005, UN peacekeeping missions were accused of sexual misconduct in the

Republic of Congo, and similar allegations have also come from Cambodia and Haiti.

Aram.Academy.IAS aramias_academy aramias_academy aimcivilservices aramiasacademy.comAram.Academy.IAS aramias_academy aramias_academy aimcivilservices aramiasacademy.com

71

In 2011, the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan was unsuccessful in eliminating the bloodshed caused in the civil war that broke out in 2013.

The UN Security council has remained largely static, while the UN General Assembly membership has expanded considerably.It is often observed that UN's effectiveness and responsiveness to international security threats depends on judiciously use of the UNSC veto.

Nations that support groups that are widely linked to terrorism, such as Pakistan, are not held accountable specifically for these actions. To this date, the UN still does not have a clear definition of terrorism, and they have no plans to pursue one.

In 1970, the nuclear non-proliferation treaty was signed by 190 nations. Despite this treaty, nuclear stockpiles remain high, and numerous nations continue to develop these devastating weapons. The failure of the non-proliferation treaty details the ineffectiveness of the United Nations and their inability to enforce crucial rules and regulations on offending nations

The Way Ahe ad To confront global challenges and to remain relevant in a fast-changing world, United

Nations must bring the comprehensive reforms to increases accountability and transparency and improves on the delivery of our mandates.

Practice Question:

United Nation organization requ ires a comprehensive reform to confront global challenges to remain relevant in a fast changing world. Critically Analyse


72

1. AGR CRISIS IN TELECOM COMPANIES Context:

The Supreme Court recently held that telecom firms will get 10 years to clear their adjusted gross revenue or AGR dues, and that the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) should decide whether or not spectrum can be sold under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

About the AGR AdjustedGrossRevenue(AGR) is a fee-sharingmechanismbetween government

and the telcos who shifted to 'revenue-sharingfee'model in 1999, from the 'fixed license fee' model.

In this course, telecoms are supposed to share a percentage of AGR with the government

Evolution of AGR The telecom sector was liberalized under theNationalTelecomPolicy,1994 after

which licenses were issued to companies in return for a fixedlicensefee. To provide relief from the steep fixed license fee, the government in 1999 gave an

option to the licensees to migrate to the revenue sharing fee model. Under this, mobile telephone operators were required to share a percentage of their

AGR with the government as annuallicensefee(LF) and spectrumusagecharges(SUC).

License agreements between theDepartmentofTelecommunications (DoT) and the telecom companies define the gross revenues of the latter.

AGR is then computed after allowing for certain deductions spelt out in these license agreements.

The LF and SUC were set at 8 per cent and between 3-5 per cent of AGR respectively, based on the agreement.

Background of the issue The dispute between DoT and the mobile operators was mainly on the definitionof

AGR. The DoT argued that AGR includes all revenues (before discounts) from both telecom

andnon-telecomservices.

GS PAPER - III


73

The companies claimed that AGR should comprise just the revenue accrued from

coreservices and not dividend, interest income or profit on sale of any investment or fixed assets.

In 2005, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) challenged the government’s definition for AGR calculation.

Aram.Academy.IAS aramias_academy aramias_academy aimcivilservices aramiasacademy.comAram.Academy.IAS aramias_academy aramias_academy aimcivilservices aramiasacademy.com

74

In 2015, the TDSAT (Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal) stayed the case in favour of telecom companies and held that AGR includes all receipts except capital receipts and revenue from non-core sources such as rent, profit on the sale of fixed assets, dividend, interest and miscellaneous income.

However, setting aside TDSAT’s order, Supreme Court on October 24, 2019 upheld the definition of AGR as stipulated by the DoT.

Further the court had said since the licensee had agreed to the migration packages, they were liable to pay the dues, the penalty on dues, and the interest on penalty due to delay in payments.

The top court had then given the telecoms three months to clear their AGR dues. The definition of AGR has been such a contentious issue because it has huge financial

implications for both telecoms and the government. The revenue shared by telecoms with the government goes into the consolidatedfundofIndia.

It was estimated, after the SC’s judgment, that the telecom operators owe the government about Rs. 92,000crore in back charges, interest and penalties on license fee alone.

Though the telecoms sought a review of the judgment, it was dismissed by the top court which had then insisted that telecoms clear all the dues by January 23, 2020.

Extending the payment timelines Following requests by the DoT and the telecom companies that asking them to pay

within such a short period of time could have meant the end of the road for them, the Supreme Court agreed to hear them on a revised timeline, but refused to reconsider the quantum of AGR to be paid by them.

In an affidavit to the Supreme Court, the DoT had suggested that telecoms be given up to 20years to complete the payment of pending dues as calculated by the telecom ministry. These dues, the DoT suggested, could be paid by the telecoms in annual instalments.

In its plea before the SC, the DoT had also suggested that the interest on the past unpaid amount, penalty and the interest on penalty with respect to past dues, be frozen as of October 24, 2019

Supreme Court rule on AGR dues In its recent judgment, the top court gave all telecoms a 10-year timeline to

complete the payments of AGR dues, instead of the old 20-year schedule suggested by the DoT.

The top court also directed telecoms to pay 10 per cent of the total AGR dues by March 31, 2020, following which they can make payments in annual instalments between 2021 and 2031.

Telecom companies would also have to make payments on or before February 7 every year. The non-payment of dues in any year would lead to accrual of interest and invite contempt of court proceedings against such companies.

The managing directors of the telcos which are required to pay AGR will deposit a personal guarantee within four weeks from today

A crucial issue of whether the spectrum could be sold under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code will now be decided by the NationalCompanyLawTribunal, the Supreme Court said.


75

The Way Ahead Clearly this judgment has significantly damaging implications for India’s telecom

industry, which is already reeling under huge financial stress and is left with only four operators. In order to enhance the growth in telecom sector, to improve the quality of services and to generate the resources, the government should made the long term vision plan.

Practice Question:

Discuss about the long persisting issue over Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) rules in India


76

2. SPECIAL FRONTIER FORCE

There have been reports that a Special Frontier Force (SFF) unit, referred to as Vikas Battalion, has been instrumental in occupying some key heights on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China in Ladakh to thwart any occupation by the Chinese troops. Here is a look at what the mysterious SFF comprises and their historic role in the Indian military.

About Special Frontier Force (SFF) SFF was the firstspecialforce of independent India which is based in Uttarkhand. SFF was a covert outfit which recruited Tibetans(now it has a mixture of Tibetans

and Gorkhas) and initially went by the name of Establishment22. It was raised in the immediate aftermath of the 1962Sino-Indiawar. It was named so because it was raised by Major General Sujan Singh Uban, an

Artillery officer who had commanded 22 Mountain Regiment. He, therefore, named the new covert group after his regiment.

Subsequently, the group was renamed as Special Frontier Force and it now falls under the purview of the Cabinet Secretariat where it is headed by an Inspector General who is an Army officer of the rank of Major General.

The units that comprise the SFF are known as Vikas battalions. Former Chief of Army Staff, General Dalbir Singh held that office at one point while in his service.

Structure of SFF SFF units arenotpartoftheArmy but they function under operational control of

the Army. The units have their ownrankstructures which have equivalent status with Army

ranks. However, they are highly trainedSpecialForcespersonnel who can undertake a

variety of tasks which would normally be performed by any Special Forces unit. The SFF units, therefore, function virtually as any other Army unit in operational

areas despite having a separate charter and history. They have their owntrainingestablishment where the recruits to SFF are imparted

special forces training. Incidentally, womensoldiers too form a part of SFF units and perform specialized

tasks. The commandos and officer of SPF are trained in four areas Viz. Mountain,

Amphibious,AirandJunglewarfare. This concealed special force operates under India’s intelligence agency Researchand

AnalysisWing and reports directly to the Prime Minister through the Directorate General of Security in the Cabinet Secretariat.

The major operations of SFF There are several overt and covert operations in which SFF units have taken part over

the years. They took part in operations in the 1971 war, Operation Blue Star in Golden Temple

Amritsar, Kargil conflict and in counter -insurgency operations in the country. There are several other operations too in which the SFF has participated but the

details are classified. In Peacetime, they operate as a second line of defence in conjunction with the ITBP


77

SFF role in 1971 war In 1971, the SFF operated in the Chittagong hill tracts in East Pakistan (later

Bangladesh) to neutralize Pakistan Army positions and help the Indian Army advance ahead.

The operation was code-named ‘Operation Eagle’. They were airlifted into operational areas and infiltrated behind enemy lines to destroy lines of communication of Pakistan Army.

They also played a vital role in preventing the escape of Pakistan Army personnel from Bangladesh into Burma (now Myanmar).

By one estimate more than 3,000 SFF personnel were used in the covert operations in the eastern theatre of the 1971 war. A large number of SFF personnel received awards for their bravery.

Practice Question:

Explain about the structure and mandate of Special Frontier Force


78

3. ZERO-BUDGET NATURAL FARMING Context:

Zero-budget natural farming brought big gains for Andhra farmers, as per recent study

Background Agriculture is both the cause and victim of water scarcity. Excessive use of water

threatened the sustainability of livelihoods dependent on water and agriculture, according to the FoodandAgricultureOrganization.

In India, the Green Revolution had a phenomenal impact on India’s food production, but it also rendered the land infertile, led to extensive water consumption and aggravated groundwater loss.

The country’s agriculture sector already consumed over 83percent of the available water resources, according to the Central Water Commission. And the demand will grow.

In the recent past, there was a global demand to shift to sustainable farming systems, such as zero-budgetnaturalfarming(ZBNF).

India, too, introduced ZBNF in its Union Budget 2019-20. Zero-budget natural farming

It is the adaptation of an ancient practice that reduces farmers’ direct cost and encourages them to use natural inputs, such as cow dung and cow urine.

The inputs help manage soil nutrition, fertility, pests and seeds. The technology requires less tilling and completely rejects the use of inorganic

fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. Benefits of ZBNF 1. No input cost:

With the rising cost of external inputs (fertilizers and pesticides), which is the leading cause of indebtedness and suicide among farmers. According to the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) data, almost 70% of agricultural households spend more than they earn and more than half of all farmers are in debt.

Since in ZBNF there is no need to spend money or take loans for external inputs, the cost of production could be reduced and farming made into a “zero budget” exercise.

This would break the debt cycle for many small farmers and help to envisage the doubling of farmer's income by 2022.

2. Environmental friendly farming At a time when chemical-intensive farming

is resulting in soil and environmental degradation, a zero-cost environmentally-friendly farming method is definitely a


79

timely initiative. The ZBNF method promotes soil aeration, minimal watering, intercropping, bunds

and topsoil mulching and discourages intensive irrigation and deep ploughing. It suits all crops in all agro-climatic zones.

3. Conservation of Water If all of India’s paddy area 43-44 million ha is brought under ZBNF, 150-400 billion

cubic metre of water can potentially be saved. The volume is equivalent to storage potential of 40 to 100 Tehri dams, one of India’s

biggest dams located in Uttarakhand. ZBNF farming can also solve disputes between farming communities where upstream

farmers employ canal irrigation and end up guzzling more water, leaving downstream farms with insufficient volume.

4. Improving groundwater level Additionally, ZBNF can address several on-ground challenges, such as groundwater-

stress, water disparity in canal water usage and overuse of resources (flooded irrigation).

In India, 70 per cent of the farms rely on groundwater, which depletes reserves. In water-stressed zones, tube wells have to be dug up to about 300 metres.

ZBNF can avoid the current drawing of groundwater by 50-60 per cent, ensure adequate groundwater reserve, improve water table and reduce financial and labour stress on farmers.

Study in Andhra Pradesh Citing the benefits of ZBNF, inJune2018,AndhraPradeshrolledoutanambitious

plantobecomeIndia’sfirstStatetopractise100%naturalfarmingby2024. Researchers at Bengaluru-based technology-policy think-tank Center for Study of

Science, Technology and Policy conducted an exploratory study in Andhra Pradesh to compare ZBNF and non-ZBNF techniques in paddy, groundnut, chilli, cotton and maize farming.

The comparison was made on six parameters: Water, electricity, energyconsumption,greenhousegasemissions,yieldandnetrevenue.

It found maximum benefits of ZBNF in paddy farming, with a saving of 1,400 to 3,500 cubic metres of water per acre per paddy cropping period (one acre equals 0.4 hectare).

This was accomplished by increasing the time interval of irrigation cycles — every eight to 10 days — unlike the conventional method that required watering every five to six days. Water saving was attributed to the multiple aeration practice. This water management method involves periodic aeration of the soil between watering periods.

Water consumption in paddy cultivation depended on the frequency and depth of irrigation. Paddy farms under ZBNF were irrigated with only 2.54-5.7 centimetres-deep water, while those under non-ZBNF were watered up to 12.7 cm.

ZBNF advocates mulching of crop residues to promote moisture retention in soil and increase humus. It also involves waaphasa (soil aeration) to reduce water consumption.

Traditional flood irrigation was plagued with inconsistent spread of nutrients — with excess water use — something that can also drop crop productivity.

In just one crop season, electricity consumption of farms relying on groundwater reduced by 1,500-3,900 units per acre and saved Rs 6,000-16,000.


80

Challenges with ZBNF While ZBNF has definitely helped preserve soil fertility, its role in boosting

productivity and farmers’ income isn’t conclusive yet. ZBNF advocates the need of an Indian breed cow, whose numbers are declining at a

fast pace. According to Livestock Census, the country’s total population of indigenous and nondescript cattle has dropped by 8.1%.

Last year, the government launched Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, a flagship Green Revolution scheme with an allocation of Rs 3,745 crore for the financial year 2019-20.

Whereas the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana, whi ch was meant to promote organic farming and soil health has been allocated Rs 325 crore only.

Way Ahead ZBNF does show water-saving potential and can address India’s food and security in

the long run, but deep investigation is required to ascertain if it can be replicated in the various agro-climatic zones across the country.ZBNF requires time and policy support so that the government provides monetary help for it to be adopted in all states.

Practice Question:

How far do you agree with the view that Zero Budget Natural Farming is a viable solution to the agricultural distress in India


81

4. RBI’s Revised Priority Sector Lending Guidelines

Reserve Bank of India has comprehensively reviewed the Priority Sector Lending (PSL) Guidelines to align it with emerging national priorities and bring sharper focus on inclusive development, after having wide ranging d iscussions with all stakeholders.

About Priority Sector Lending Priority Sector means those sectors which the Government of India and Reserve Bank

of India consider as important for the development of the basic needs of the country and are to be given priority over other sectors.

The banks are mandated to encourage the growth of such sectors with adequate and timely credit.

As per the RBI circular released in 2016, there are eight broad categories of the Priority Sector Lending.

They are: (1) Agriculture (2) Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (3) Export Credit (4) Education (5) Housing (6) Social Infrastructure (7) Renewable Energy (8) Others.

The others category includes personal loans to weaker section, loans to distressed persons, loans to state sponsored organisations for SC/ST.

All scheduled commercial banks and foreign banks (with a sizable presence in India) are mandated to set aside 40% of their Adjusted Net Bank Credit (ANDC) for lending to these sectors.

Regional rural banks, co-operative banks and small finance banks have to allocate 75% of ANDC to PSL.

The idea behind this is to ensure that adequate institutional credit reaches some of the vulnerable sectors of the economy, which otherwise may not be attractive for banks from the profitability point of view.

Salient features of revised PSL guidelines Inclusion of new Categories:

Bank finance to start-ups up to Rs. 50 crore, loans to farmers for installation of solar power plants for solarisation of grid connected agriculture pumps and loans for setting up Compressed BioGas plants have been included as fresh categories eligible for finance under priority sector.

Aid to farmers: Higher credit limit has been specified for Farmers Producers

Organisations(FPOs) undertaking farming with assured marketing of their produce at a predetermined price.

Loans for these activities will be subject to an aggregate limit of Rs. 2 crore per borrowing entity.

The targets prescribed for small and marginal farmers and weaker sections will be increased in a phased manner.

It has defined farmers with land holding of up to one hectare as marginal farmers, and farmers with a landholding of more than one hectare and up to 2 hectares as small farmers.

Boosting Credit: The credit limits for renewable energy, health infrastructure, including the projects

under ‘Ayushman Bharat’ , have been doubled.


82

Bank loans up to a limit of Rs. 30 crore to borrowers for purposes like solar-based and biomass-based power generators, windmills, non-conventional energy-based public utilities, etc. For individual households, the loan limit will be Rs. 10 lakh per borrower.

Bank loans up to a limit of Rs.10 crore per borrower for building healthcare facilities including under ‘Ayushman Bharat’ in Tier II to Tier VI centres, have been allowed.

Addresses regional Disparity: It seeks to address the issues concerning regional disparities in the flow of priority

sector credit at district level which includes: Ranking districts on the basis of per capita credit flow to the priority sector. Building an incentive framework for districts with comparatively low flow of credit

and a dis-incentive framework for districts with comparatively high flow of priority sector credit.

Higher weightage has been assigned to priority sector credit in ‘identified districts’ where priority sector credit flow is comparatively low.

Significance of new guidelines Revised PSL guidelines will enable better credit penetration to credit deficient areas;

increase the lending to small and marginal farmers and weaker sections; boost credit to renewable energy, and health infrastructure.

Credit to new ‘priority’ sectors such as start-ups (renewables were added to this list a

few years back), besides addressing sectoral as well as regional gaps in credit flows.


83

Issues with PSL Banks are able to trade in priority sector lending certificates (akin to ‘carbon credits’)

to meet PSL shortfalls in various categories, while also investing in the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund, which offers a below-market return.

Unfortunately, RIDF investments have dipped over time, reducing funds for public investment in agriculture in the credit-deficit regions.

PSL targets have also been met by lending to relatively affluent sections such as large farmers, businesses, traders and transporters. This has become easier with the rise in limits for loans.

Besides, loan waivers cannot serve the cause of PSL. As for loans to start-ups, these are hard to value and do not have collateral. They are more suited to risk finance.

The Way Ahead However, the revised guidelines are expected to align them with emerging national

priorities and bring sharper focus on inclusive development in India. Practice question:

The development of Priority Sector is important for the development of the basic needs of the country an d needs to have special focus. Discuss.


84

5. NARCOTIC DRUGS AND PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES ACT, 1985 Context:

Actor Rhea Chakraborty and nine others so far have been booked under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in the case related to Sushant Singh Rajput’s death.

Background: Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances have several medical and scientific uses.

However, they can be and are also abused and trafficked. India's approach towards Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances is enshrined in Article 47 of the Constitution of India which mandates that the ‘State shall endeavour to bring about prohibition of the consumption except for medicinal purposes of intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health.’ The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 was framed taking into account India’s obligations under the three UN drug Conventions as well as Article 47 of the Constitution. This Act prohibits, except for medical or scientific purposes, the manufacture, production, trade, use, etc. of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.

About the Act The NDPS Act, enacted in the country in 1985,

is the primary legislation for dealing with drugs and their trafficking.

It was passed as India had to fulfil obligations as a signatory of various international conventions on narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances to prevent its use and illicit trafficking.

NDPS Act has made stringent provisions for the control and regulation of operations relating to narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.

Features of the Act As per the NDPS Act, narcotic drugs include

coca leaf, cannabis (hemp), opium and poppy straw.

The central government can add or omit from the list of psychotropic substances. For instance, in 2015, the central government classified mephedrone also called as meth or meow meow as a psychotropic substance in

Drug menace in India In February 2019, AIIMS submitted

its report “Magnitude of Substance Use in India” to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. Key highlights of the report are: Alcohol is the most abused

substance in India. Around 5 crore Indians reported to

have used cannabis and opioids at the time of the survey (conducted in the year 2018).

It has been estimated that there are about 8.5 lakh people who inject drugs.

Of the total cases estimated by the report, more than half of them are contributed by states like Punjab, Assam, Delhi, Haryana, Manipur, Mizoram, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh.

About 60 lakh people are estimated to need help for their opioid use problems.

More and more children are taking to alcohol consumption and the highest percentage of children who are addicted to alcohol are in Punjab followed by West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.


85

the Act after its popularity grew among the youth and experts warned of its grave health consequences.

The act prohibits a person to produce/manufacture/cultivate, possess, sell, purchase, transport, store, and/or consume any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance.

Psychotropic substance means any natural or synthetic material or any salt or preparation covered under the 1971 convention on Psychotropic substances.

Punishments under the Act It can vary based upon the sections the accused is charged. As per the NDPS Act, the minimum sentence for dealing with drugs is 10 years

rigorous imprisonment coupled with a fine of Rs. 1 lakh. No bail is granted for those persons booked under this act. In addition, no relief can be obtained by the drug convicts through suspension,

remission and commutation of sentences passed. It also provides for forfeitureofproperty derived from, or used in, illicit traffic in

narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. Even worse, NDPS Act prescribes capital punishment for repeat offenders of drug

trafficking even though the offence cannot be called as a heinous crime. The Act also has provisions for the court to grant immunity from prosecution to an

addict involved in a small quantity of drugs after they voluntarily seek to undergo medical treatment for de addiction under section 64A.

Narcotics Control Bureau Under Section 4(3) of the NDPS Act, the central government can form an authority

to exercise its powers for preventing and combating abuse of and illicit traffic in narcotic drugs.

The government subsequently constituted the Narcotics Control Bureau on 17 March 1986.

The agency is tasked with coordinating with the state governments and other authorities, under NDPS Act, Customs Act, Drugs and Cosmetics Act and any other law, for the enforcement of the provisions of the NDPS Act

Amendment to NDPS Act The NDPS Act has since been amended thrice

in 1988, 2001 and 2014. The maximum punishment under the Act is

was allowed under Section 31 A of the law, which was inserted through the 1988 amendment, and says that such a punishment can be given on the discretion of a judge for repeat offenders.

Effectiveness of the Law Criticism of the law has centred on the state

being placed as a “moral guardian vis-a-vis the citizens”.

Debates have also been made on the stringent

Related International Convention India is a signatory to

The UN Single Convention on Narcotics Drugs 1961,

The Convention on Psychotropic Substances, 1971

The Convention on Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, 1988

These conventions prescribe various forms of control aimed to achieve the dual objective of limiting the use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances for medical and scientific purposes as well as preventing the abuse of the same.

The administrative and legislative setup in the field of Narcotics has been put in place in the country in accordance with the spirit of the UN Conventions.


86

bail conditions under the law, which says that an accused person is not to be released on bail unless a court has reasonable grounds to believe that she or he is not guilty and not likely to commit an offence while on bail. This makes getting bail under the Act extremely difficult.

Researchers have also pointed out that the Act incorporates stringent provisions through strict liability, i.e. they require no intention of committing a crime. The burden of proof is on the purported offenders.

The law does make a distinction between individual drug consumers and drug traffickers the former can be diverted to rehabilitation, while the latter are subject to strict penal action.

Section 39 of the NDPS Act allows courts to release an addict for treatment if found guilty of consumption of drugs, under Section 27 of the Act.

The Way Ahead However, the fact that consumption of drugs is still prima facie criminalised is one of

the reasons why the law has been blamed for not achieving its objectives of deterrence and rehabilitation. There is a need to strictly implement the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Practice question:

With India wedged between the world’s two largest areas of illicit opium production, it is vulnerable to drug trafficking which affects Indian society. Comment.


87

6.EASE OF DOING BUSINESS: STATES PERFORMANCE Context:

The latest ease of doing business rankings for Indian states, released by the DepartmentforPromotionofIndustryandInternalTrade(DPIIT), have thrown up some interesting results.

Methodology of Ranking Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs recently announced the 4th edition

of Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) ranking of states. The objective of DPIIT’s reform exercise is to provide a business -friendly

environment, for which the regulations in a state have to be made simpler. Therefore, it devised a methodology to rank the states according to the ease of doing

business (EoDB) in a state. DPIIT provides a set of recommendations meant to reduce the timeandeffort spent

by businesses on compliance with regulation called the Business Reform ActionPlan (BRAP).

BRAP 2019 is an 80-pointlistof reforms recommended to simplify, rationalise and digitise the regulatory framework in a state.

The reforms are grouped into 12 broad areas like land administration, labour regulation, obtaining electricity and water supply permits, environment regulation, etc.

States are required to submit proof of implementing each reform on the DPIIT’s EoDB portal and submit a list of users of these reforms.

A sample of these users is then surveyed to determine the efficacy of these reforms. Each question is assigned a weight. The final score is a weighted average of all the responses applicable to a state.

DPIIT recommended reforms DPIIT recommends all states have a single-window system that provides all necessary

information on permits and licences required for starting a business. Permissions required from municipal or village government bodies or police for

activities like filming movies should also be explicitly mentioned. To reduce delays further, DPIIT recommends that the duration of licences be

extended or that they be renewed automatically based on self-certification or third-party verification.

A state is also rewarded if a set of regulations (like labour or environment laws) are not applicable to it.

For the first time since its inception in 2015, the BRAP rankings relied entirely on the feedback it received from the businesses for whom these reforms were intended.

Earlier editions computed scores based on the responses of the relevant state government departments. The 2017-18 edition used a combination of state government and user feedback to compute the score.

Therefore, the 2019 rankings are not comparable with those from last year. Performance of the states

Andhra Pradesh secured the top spot for the third time since the ranking was first released in 2015 (Table 1).


88

UP jumped ten spots to number two and Telangana slipped to three. Gujarat, which was first in the first-ever edition of the rankings, was ranked 11 this year; Haryana slipped all the way to 17.

Criticism/Limitation of Ranking

DPIIT’S methodology does not consider the actual number of reforms implemented by the states, as shown in Table 2.

States like Haryana and Gujarat have implemented all the reforms recommended by the DPIIT, but were ranked low on the EoDB list.

Gujarat has reportedly attributed this to poor response from the survey respondents. The methodology used by the DPIIT awards points on a reform to a state only if there was an adequate response from users of that response.

Ideally, the number of respondents for every state should be decided based on population or number of business clusters to ensure that the sample is representative of the state. It is not clear if DPIIT used representative samples.

Also, business owners’ expectations from the governments can differ. A business owner from Tamil Nadu may assess their state government’s IT portal differently from one in UP.

Impact of reforms on investments An analysis by CARE Ratings shows that “the top-ranking states in terms of ease of

doing business have not necessarily been associated with higher shares of new investments announced during the year”.

As Table 3 shows, except for Andhra Pradesh, the top-ranking states as per these rankings do not have high shares in the total investment during the year. This is because businesses respond to other conditions like the availability of skilled labour, infrastructure, finance, etc.

In addition, these rankings do not consider the cost of doing business, which is what matters to businesses at the end of the day.


89

Conclusion India is seen taking the reform process seriously which showed when foreign direct

investment in the country increased even during the Covid-19 pandemic, amid what was called world’s strictest lockdown. Some states have shown extraordinary energy in putting together action plans and making sure that reforms happen. States have embraced the true spirit behind the State Business Reforms Action Plan.

Practice question:

The steady climb of India in the Ease of doing business is due to the extraordinar y policy actions of the states in India. Examine.


90

7. CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION AND COAL Context:

In an extraordinary move in climate diplomacy, UN Secretary General António Guterres, delivering the Darbari Seth Memorial Lecture on August 28, at the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), in New Delhi, called on India to make no new investment in coal after 2020.

UN Secretary General’s climate proposal He called on the Indian government to move away from coal and other fossil fuel-

based economic growth and fully embrace renewable energy (RE). He cautioned that new coal auctions, in a bid to kick-start a post-covid economic

recovery, would be counterproductive, since coal has no future economic viability. It would rather lead to greater pollution, add to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and place a burden on India’s healthcare system.

He said that in India 50% of coal would become uncompetitive by 2022, and this would rise to 85% by 2025.

India’s target for climate mitigation In the Paris Agreement, India committed to achieve the following three targets(INDC) India’s greenhouse gas emission intensity of its GDP will be reduced by 33-35 %

below 2005 levels by 2030. 40 % of India’s power capacity would be based on non-fossil fuel sources. India will create an additional ‘carbon sink’ of 2.5 to 3 billion tons of Co2 equivalent

through additional forest and tree cover by 2030. An Intended Nationally Determined Contribution is a public pledge from a country on

how it plans to play its part in post-2020 collective action on climate change. These contributions are to be achieved before 2030.

India’s track record Its renewable energy programme is ambitious while its energy efficiency programme

is delivering, especially in the domestic consumption sector. India is one of the few countries with at least 2° Celsius warming compliant climate

action, and one of a much smaller list of those currently on track to fulfilling their Paris Agreement commitments.

Despite the accelerated economic growth of recent decades India’s annual emissions, at 0.5 tonnes per capita, are well below the global average of 1.3 tonnes, and also those of China, the United States and the European Union (EU), the three leading emitters in absolute terms, whose per capita emissions are higher than this average.

In terms of cumulative emissions, India’s contribution by 2017 was only 4% for a population of 1.3 billion, whereas the European Union, with a population of only 448 million, was responsible for 20%.

Challenges in ending coal investment Currently, roughly 2 GW of coal -based generation is being decommissioned per year,

which implies that by 2030, India will have only 184 GW of coal-based generation. But meeting the 2030 electricity consumption target of 1,580 to 1,660 units per

person per year, based on the continuation or a slight increase of the current decadal growth rate, will require anywhere between 650 GW to 750 GW of renewable energy.


91

Unlike the developed nations, India cannot substitute coal substantially by oil and gas and despite some wind potential, a huge part of this growth needs to come from solar.

None of this will really drive industry, particularly manufacturing, since renewables at best can meet residential consumption and some part of the demand from the service sector.

Currently, manufacturing growth powered by fossil fuel -based energy is itself a necessity, both technological and economic, for the transition to renewables.

Whether providing 70% to 80% of all generation capacity is possible through renewables depends critically on technology development, including improvements in the efficiency of conversion of energy from its source into electricity, in the management of the corresponding electricity grids, as well as advance in storage technologies.

But since the Copenhagen Accord signalled the end of legally binding commitments to emissions reduction by the developed countries, technology development in climate change mitigation technologies has registered a significant fall. Annual filing of patents shows a marked decline, ranging between 30% to 50% or more from 2009-10 to 2017, across all subsectors and across all developed countries, without exception. The exception is China which has a rising trend in select areas.

Lacking production capacity in renewable energy technologies and their large-scale operation, deployment on this scale will expose India to increasing and severe dependence on external sources and supply chains. It is also a truism that renewables alongside coal will generate, directly and indirectly, far more employment than renewables alone.

Way Ahead While talking about their phasing out of coal, which is often a decade or more into the

future, the global North has obscured the reality of its continued dependence on oil and natural gas, both equally fossil fuels, with no timeline for their phaseout.

Hence India must reiterate its long-standing commitment to an equitable response to the challenge of global warming.

Practice question:

The right blend of policies and technologies is must for India’s transition from coal to renewable energy. Discuss.


92

8. AIRCRAFT (AMENDMENT) BILL 2020

Context: The Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2020, which was passed earlier by the Lok Sabha on

March 17, was passed by the Upper House by voice vote recently. About Aircraft Act of 1934

The Aircraft Act of 1934 was enacted to make provisions for the control of the manufacture, possession, use, operation, sale, import and export of aircraft.

It makes provisions for securing the safety of aircraft operations in India, and for carrying out civil aviation operations as per internationally accepted standards, procedures and practices as laid down by the International Civil AviationOrganisation(ICAO).

From time to time, the government has made amendments to the Act to meet the evolving global and Indian aviation scenario.

The various changes that needed to be made necessitated amendments to the Aircraft Act.

Trigger for the recent changes The ICAO, under its Universal Safety Oversight

Audit Programme and the Universal SecurityAudit Programme, regularly conducts safety and security audits of all countries which are signatory to the Chicago Convention to ensure they are carrying out their safety and security oversight functions.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ofthe United States also conducts safety audits of countries whose airlines operate to the US under its International Aviation Safety Assessment Programme.

India, as a signatory, is also subjected to periodic audits by ICAO and the FAA. According to government sources, the audits conducted by the ICAO in 2012 and

2015 indicated Aneed to amend theAircraftAct to give proper recognition to the regulators

under the Act, To enhance the maximum quantum of fines and to empower the departmental

officers to impose financial penalties on individuals or organisations involved in violations of the legal provisions

To include certain areas of air navigation services for rulemaking purposes under Section 5 of the Act.

International Civil Aviation Organisation ICAO is a United Nations (UN)

specialized agency, established in 1944, which laid the foundation for the standards and procedures for peaceful global air navigation.

The Convention on International Civil Aviation was signed on 7th December 1944 in Chicago.

It established the core principles permitting international transport by air, and also led to the creation of the ICAO.

Its one of the objectives is to foster the planning and development of international air transport so as to ensure the safe and orderly growth of international civil aviation throughout the world.

India is among its 193 members. It is headquartered in Montreal,

Canada


93

Key features of the Bill Authorities:

The Bill converts three existing bodies under the Ministry of Civil Aviation into statutorybodies under the Act. These three authorities are:

(i) Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), (ii) Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS (iii) Aircraft Accidents Investigation Bureau (AAIB).

Each of these bodies will be headed by a DirectorGeneral who will be appointed by the centre.

The DGCA will carry out safetyoversightandregulatoryfunctions with respect to matters under the Bill.

The BCAS will carry out regulatoryoversight functions related to civil aviation security.

The AAIB will carry out investigations related to aircraft accidents andincidents.

The central government may issue directions to these authorities on matters related to their functions, if considered necessary in public interest.

Power of centre to make rules: Under the Act, the central government may make rules on several matters. These

include: (i) Registration of aircraft, (ii) Regulating air transport services, (iii) Prohibition of flight over any specified area.

The Bill adds the regulation of air navigation services to this list. It also allows the centre to empower the Director General of BCAS or any authorised officer to issue directions and make rules on certain matters. These matters include:

(i) conditions under which an aircraft may be flown, (ii) inspection of aircrafts, (iii) Measures to safeguard civil aviation against acts of unlawful interference.

Adjudicating officers: The Bill provides for the appointment of designated officers, not below the rank of

Deputy Secretary to adjudicate penalties under the Bill. Persons aggrieved by an order of a designated officer may appeal to an appellate

officer. Appeals must be filed by the aggrieved person within 30 days from the day the

order is received. Offences and Penalties:

Under the Act, the penalty for various offences is imprisonment of up to two years, or a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh, or both. These offences include:

(i) carrying arms, explosives, or other dangerous goods aboard aircraft, (ii) Contravening any rules notified under the Act, (iii) Constructing building or structures within the specified radius around an

aerodrome reference point. The Bill raises the maximumlimitonfines for all these offences from Rs 10 lakh

to one crore rupees. Under the Bill, the central government may cancel the licences, certificates, or

approvals granted to a person under the Act if the person contravenes any provision of the Act.


94

Courts will not take cognizance of any offence under this Act, unless a complaint is made by, or there is previous sanction from the Director General of Civil Aviation, BCAS, or AAIB. Only courts equivalent or superior to a Metropolitan Magistrate or a Magistrate of the first class may try offences under the Act.

Exemption for Armed Forces: Aircraft belonging to the naval, military, or air forces of the Union are exempted

from the provisions of the Act. The Bill expands this exemption to include aircraft belonging to any other armed

forces of the Union. However, aircrafts belonging to an armed force other than the naval, military, and

air forces which are currently regulated under the Act will continue to do so until specified otherwise by the central government.

Conclusion India being the one of the fastest growing nation in the field of Civil Aviation, the

regulatory framework of Civil Aviation needs not only to have effective regulatory mechanism but the regulations are also expected to facilitate safe, smooth and rapid growth of the Civil Aviation in India.

Practice Question:

Discuss about the key changes brought under the Aircraft amendment

act 2020.


95

9. BANKING REGULATION AMENDMENT BILL, 2020 Context:

The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was introduced in Lok Sabha was passed by the both the houses of the parliament. The Bill replaces the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 promulgated in June 2020.The Bill amends the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

Highlights of the bill The banking regulation Act regulates the functioning of banks and provides details on

various aspects such as licensing, management, and operations of banks. Key features of the new bill are Power to make a scheme for reconstruction or amalgamation without imposing moratorium:

Under the Act, RBI may, after placing a bank under moratorium, prepare a scheme for reconstruction or amalgamation of the bank to secure its proper management, or in the interest of depositors, general public or the banking system.

Banks placed under moratorium do not face any legal action for up to six months. Further, banks cannot make any payment or discharge any liabilities during th e moratorium.

The new bill allows RBI to initiate a scheme for reconstruction or amalgamation without imposing a moratorium.

If a moratorium is imposed, in addition to the existing restrictions, the Bill adds that banks cannot grant any loans or make investments in any credit instruments during the moratorium.

Issuance of shares and securities by co-operative banks: The Bill provides that a co-operative bank may issue equity, preference, or special

shares on face value or at a premium to its members or to any other person residing within its area of operation.

Further, it may issue unsecured debentures or bonds or similar securities with maturity of ten or more years to such persons.

Such issuance will be subject to the prior approval of the RBI, and any other conditions as may be specified by RBI.

The Bill also states that no person will be entitled to demand payment towards surrender of shares issued to him by a co-operative bank.

Further a co-operative bank cannot withdraw or reduce its share capital, except as specified by the RBI.

Qualifications for management: The Bill applies certain provisions of the Act to co-operative banks in relation its

management. Under the Bill, co-operative banks cannot employ as Chairman, someone who is

insolvent or has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, among other restrictions.

RBI may remove the Chairman if he is not fit and proper and appoint a suitable person if the bank does not do so.


96

Further, the Board of Directors must have at leas t 51%ofmemberswith special knowledge or experience in areas such as accountancy, banking, economics or law.

RBI may direct a bank to reconstitute its Board if it does not conform to the requirements. If the bank does not comply, RBI may remove individual directors and appoint suitable persons.

Power to exempt cooperative banks: The Bill states that RBI may exempt a cooperative bank or a class of cooperative

banks from certain provisions of the Act through notification. These provisions relate to restrictions of certain types of employment,

qualifications of the Board of Directors and, appointment of a chairman. The time period and conditions for the exemption will be specified by RBI

Supersession of Board of Directors: The Act states that RBI may supersede the Board of Directors of a multi-state co-

operative bank for up to five years under certain conditions. These conditions include cases where it is in the public interest for RBI to

supersede the Board, and to protect depositors. The Bill adds that in case of a co-operative bank registered with the Registrar of

Co-operative Societies of a state, RBI may supersede the Board of Directors after consultation with the concerned state government, seeking their comments within such period as specified by it

Omission of various provision The Bill omits certain provisions from the Act. One of them relates to a restriction

on a co-operative bank from making loans or advances on the security of its own shares.

Further, it prohibits the grant of unsecu red loans or advances to its directors, and to private companies where the bank’s directors or chairman is an interested party.

The Act also specifies conditions when unsecured loans or advances may be granted and specifies the manner in which the loans may be reported to RBI. The Bill omits this provision from the Act.

Exclusion The Banking Regulation Amendment Bill, 2020 will not be applicable to a)

Primary agricultural credit societies, b) Cooperative societies whose principal business is long term financing for agricultural development.

These two societies must not: a) use the term ‘bank’, ‘banker’ or ‘banking’ in their name or in connection with their business, b) Act as an entity that clears cheque.

Conclusion With this new Bill, the central government aims to bring cooperative banks under the

supervision of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as the need was felt necessary in the wake of the recent Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank crisis.

Practice Question:

Highlight the features of Banking Regulation Amendment Act. Also discuss its relevance in addressing the challenges faced by cooperative society in India.


97

10. SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE

In a way, 2020 signals the end of SEZs. For developers of Special Economic Zones (SEZs), the sunset clause for income-tax exemptions kicked in in April 2017. For units in SEZs, the sunset clause became effective in April 2020.

Special Economic Zone With a view to overcome the shortcomings experienced on account of the multiplicity

of controls and clearances; absence of world-class infrastructure, and with a view to attract larger foreign investments in India, the SpecialEconomicZones(SEZs)Actwaspassedin2005.

An SEZ is an enclave within a country that is typically duty-free and has different business and commercial laws chiefly to encourage investment and create employment.

Apart from generating employment opportunities and promoting investment, SEZs are created also to better administer these areas, thereby increasing the ease of doing business.

The chief objectives of the SEZ Act are: To create additional economic activity. To boost the export of goods and services. To generate employment. To boost domestic and foreign investments. To develop infrastructure facilities.

SEZ Rules Simplified procedures to develop, operate and maintain SEZs and also to set up

units and conduct businesses in the SEZs. Single-window clearance to set up a Special Economic Zone, and also to set up a

unit in an SEZ. Single-window clearance for matters connected to the Central and State

governments. Simplified compliance procedures and documentation with a focus on self-

certification. Different minimum land requirements for different classes of Special Economic

Zones. Incentives for setting up a Unit in an Indian SEZ

Duty free import and domestic procurement of goods for the development, operation, and maintenance of your company;

100 percent income tax exemption on export income for first five years, 50 percent for five years thereafter, and 50 percent of the export profit reinvested in the business for the next five years (these incentives will be withdrawn from April 1, 2020 under the Sunset Clause, but many observers expect it to be extended following recent tax cuts);

Exemption from the Goods and Services (GST) and levies imposed by state government (supplies to SEZs are zero rated under the IGST Act, 2017, meaning they are not taxed);

Single window clearances for all state and federal government approvals.


98

Performance of SEZs By the end of July 2020, there were 357

notified SEZs, in addition to 7 Union government and 12 state government/private SEZs that were established before the SEZ legislation of 2005. There were 5,524 units in SEZs.

Exports from SEZs are growing at a faster rate than overall exports from the country. E.g. In April-June 2019, even as overall export growth from India slowed down to 2 per cent, exports from SEZs posted a robust 15 per cent growth.

In SEZs, growth in manufacturing segment was around 4%, while in services segment (constituting majorly of IT &ITeS) export growth was 23.69%.

Since the SEZ Act came into force in 2005, over 2 million jobs have been created, with an incremental annual growth rate of 25.2%. The share of SEZ exports in India’s total exports value has grown to around 30% in 2018-19.

Challenges In absolute terms, growth in exports from SEZs might seem impressive, but as a share

of exports, they never became the driver they were e xpected to be. About half of the land notified for SEZs was unutilized (as of August 2017). It was

mainly due to lack of flexibility to utilise land in SEZs for different sectors. Domestic sales of SEZs face a disadvantage as “they have to pay full customs duty”, as

compared to the lower rates for countries due to free-trade agreement (FTA). It is suggested that the “best FTA rates” should be allowed for domestic sales, too.

Existence of multiple models of economic zones such as SEZ, coastal economic zone, Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, National Investment and Manufacturing Zone, food park and textile park.

Lack of a future ready SEZ policy because of which India is not able to emerge as alternate to China and facing competition from countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam.

Recommendations of the Baba Kalyani Committee The Baba Kalyani led committee constituted by the Ministry of Commerce and

Industry to study the existing SEZ policy of India has recently submitted its report. Framework shift from export growth to broad-based Employment and Economic

Growth (Employment and Economic Enclaves-3Es). Formulation of separate rules and procedures for manufacturing and service SEZs. Enhance competitiveness by enabling ecosystem development by funding high speed

multi modal connectivity, business services and utility infrastructure. Shift from supply driven to demand driven approach for 3Es development to improve

the efficiency of investment-based on certain industries, current level of existing inventory in the region.


99

Enabling framework for Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) in 3Es in sync with State EoDB initiatives. One integrated online portal for new investments, operational requirements and exits related matters.

Promote integrated industrial and urban development- walk to work zones, States and center to coordinate on the framework development to bring linkages between all initiatives.

Procedural relaxations for developers and tenants to improve operational and exit issues.

Extension of Sunset Clause and retaining tax or duty benefits. Broad-banding definition of services/allowing multiple services to come together. Utilizing Multi Services SEZ IFSC for all inbound and outbound investment of the

country. Incentives for availing services from IFSC SEZ by domestic institutions. Extension of benefit under services Export incentives scheme Allowing alternate sectors to invest in sector specific SEZs/ 3Es. Flexibility of long term lease for developers and tenants. Infrastructure status to improve access to finance and enable long term borrowing. Dispute resolution through arbitration and commercial courts.

Way Ahead In a broader context, we face the issue of devising World Trade Organisation-

compatible incentives, since export subsidies are not WTO-compatible. In the narrower enclave liberalization context, SEZs will also have to look beyond tax concessions. The states need to recognize multiplier benefits from exports; and not be interested simply because there is central fiscal assistance.

In that sense, the right lessons still need to be learned from SEZs elsewhere in the world, including China of the 1980s.

Practice question:

What are Special Economic Zones? Does Indian SEZ have fulfilled its stated objectives? Give reasons for your answer.


100

11. ESSENTIAL COMMODITIES AMENDMENT BILL 2020 Context:

Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2020 which has been introduced to replace an ordinance that the government had promulgated on June 5 was recently passed by both the houses of the parliament.

About the Act The Essential Commodities (Amendment)

Ordinance, 2020 amends the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.

The Act empowers thecentralgovernment to control the production, supply, distribution, trade, and commerce in certain commodities.

The Act empowers the central government To designate certain commodities (such

as food items, fertilizers, and petroleum products) as essentialcommodities.

To regulate the stock of an essential commodity that a person can hold.

There is no specific definition of essential commodities in the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. Section 2(A) States that an “essential commodity” means a commodity specified in the Schedule of the Act.

The Act gives powers to the central government to add or remove a commodity in the Schedule. The Centre, if it is satisfied that it is necessary to do so in public interest, can notify an item as essential, in consultation with stategovernments.

According to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, which implements the Act, the Schedule at present contains sevencommodities

Trigger for invoking the stock limit. While the 1955 Act did not provide a clear framework to impose stock limits, the

amended Act provides for a price trigger. It says that agricultural foodstuffs can only be regulated under extraordinary

circumstances such as war, famine, extraordinary price rise, and natural calamity. However, any action on imposing stock limits will be based on the price trigger.

Horticulturecrops: a 100% increase in the retail price of a commodity over the immediately preceding 12 months or over the average retail price of the last five years, whichever is lower.

Non-perishableagriculturalfoodstuffs: the price trigger will be a 50% increase in the retail price of the commodity over the immediately preceding 12 months or over the average retail price of the last five years, whichever is lower.

Exemptionsfromstock-holdinglimits:Processors and value chain participants of any agricultural produce, and orders relating to the Public Distribution System.

Need for Amendment The 1955 Act was legislated at a time when the country was facing a scarcity of

foodstuffs due to persistent low levels of food grains production. The country was dependent on imports and assistance (such as wheat import form the US under PL-

Essential Commodities under the Act 1. Drugs 2. Fertilizers, whether inorganic,

organic or mixed 3. foodstuffs including edible oils 4. Hank yarn made wholly from cotton 5. Petroleum and petroleum products 6. Raw jute and jute textiles 7. Seeds of food-crops and seeds of

fruits and vegetables, seeds of cattle fodder, jute seed, cotton seed.


101

480) to feed the population. To prevent hoarding and black marketing of foodstuffs, the Essential Commodities Act was enacted in 1955.

But now the situation has changed. Productionofwheathas increased 10 times (from less than 10 million tonnes in

1955-56 to more than 100 million tonnes in 2018-19 Productionofrice has increased more than four times (from around 25 million

tonnes to 110 million tonnes during the same period). Theproductionofpulses has increased 2.5 times, from 10 million tonnes to 25

million tonnes. Further, the last 10 years have seen periods of prolonged application o f the EC Act.

Once imposed, they were for long periods, pulses from 2006 to 2017, rice from 2008 to 2014, and edible oilseeds from 2008 to 2018.

While the purpose of the Act was originally to protect the interests of consumers by checking illegal trade practices such as hoarding, it has now become a hurdle for investment in the agriculture sector in general, and in post-harvesting activities in particular.

Highlights of the amendment Regulation of the food items:

The bill provides that the central government may regulate the supply of certain food items including cereals, pulses, potato, onions, edible oilseeds, and oils, onlyunderextraordinarycircumstances.

These include: (i) war, (ii) famine, (iii) extraordinary price rise and (iv) natural calamity of grave nature.

Imposition of stock limit: The bill requires that imposition of any stock limit on certain specified items must

be based on price rise. A stock limit may be imposed only if there is: (i) 100% increase in retail price of horticultural produce; and (ii) 50% increase in the retail price of non-perishable agricultural food items.

The increase will be calculated over the price prevailing immediately preceding twelve months, or the average retail price of the last five years, whichever is lower.

The bill provides that any stock limit will not apply to a processor or value chain participant of agricultural produce if stock held by such person is less than the: (i) overall ceiling of installed capacity of processing or (ii) demand for export in case of an exporter.

A value chain participant means a person engaged in production, or in value addition at any stage of processing, packaging, storage, transport, and distribution of agricultural produce.

Applicability to Public Distribution System: The provisions of the bill regarding the regulation of food items and the imposition

of stock limits will not apply to any government order relating to the Public Distribution System or the Targeted Public Distribution System.

Under these systems, food grains are distributed by the government to the eligible persons at subsidized prices.

Significance of the amendment The bill seeks to increase competition in the agriculture sector and enhance farmers’

income. It aims to liberalize the regulatory system while protecting the interests of consumers


102

The key changes seek to free agricultural markets from the limitations imposed by permits and mandis that were originally designed for an era of scarcity. The move is expected to attract private investment in the value chain of commodities removed from the list of essentials, such as cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onions and potatoes.

The private sector had so far hesitated about investing in cold chains and storage facilities for perishable items as most of these commodities were under the ambit of the EC Act, and could attract sudden stock limits. The amendment seeks to address such concerns.

Concerns with the bill The bill was one of the three ordinances/Bills that have seen protests from farmers in

parts of the country. They argue that it will bring in irrational volatility in prices of essential items. Also,

the price levels set for "extraordinary circumstances" are so high, that they are unlikely to be triggered.

Bill also remains ambiguous on who would define "exceptional circumstances". Big companies will have the freedom to stock commodities and may, in turn, dictate terms to farmers.

The Way ahead However, the amendments in the ECA 1955 are an important step by the government

to achieve its target of doubling farmers’ income and also for ease of doing business. Practice question:

Discuss the role of Essential Commodities Act, 1955 in maintaining the stability of prices in the Indian market.


103

12. ISSUES OVER UTILIZATION OF CESS Context:

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, in its latest audit report of government accounts, has observed that the Union government withheld in the Consolidated Fund of India (CFI) more than ₹1.1 lakh crore out of the almost ₹2.75 lakh crore collected through various cesses in 2018-19.

What is a cess? The Union government is empowered to raise revenue through a gamut of levies,

including taxes (both direct and indirect), surcharges, fees and cess. Cess is different from taxes such as income tax, GST, and excise duty etc. as it is

charged over and above the existing taxes. While all taxes go to the Consolidated Fund of India (CFI), cess may initially go to the CFI but has to be used for the purpose for which it was collected.

If the cess collected in a particular year goes unspent, it cannot be allocated for other purposes. The amount gets carried over to the next year and can only be used for the cause it was meant for.

The procedure for introducing cess is comparatively simpler than getting the provisions done for introducing taxes, which usually means a change in the law. Cess is also easier to modify and abolish.

Every cess is collected after Parliament has authorised its creation through an enabling legislation that specifies the purpose for which the funds are being raised.

Article270of the Constitution allows cess to be excluded from the purview of the divisible pool of taxes that the Union government must share with the States.

Types of cess in India A report titled Cesses and Surcharges: Concept, Practice and Reforms since 1944,

prepared by the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy in August 2018 and submitted to the Fifteenth Finance Commission listed 42 cesses that have been levied at various points in time since 1944. The very first cess was levied on matches, according to this study.

Education Cess: Education cess was introduced to finance and provide standard quality education to poor people.

Health and education cess: Proposed in Budget 2018 by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to meet the education and health needs of rural and rural and Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.

And in 2020, Finance Minister introduced a new cess — a Health Cess of 5% on imported medical devices — in the Finance Bill for 2020-2021.

SwachhBharatCess: Introduced in 2015, a 0.5% Swachh Bharat cess was imposed to fund national campaign for clearing the roads, streets and the infrastructure of India.

KrishiKalyanCess: This cess was aimed at developing the agricultural economy, and was collected at the rate of 0.5%.

InfrastructureCess: Announced in Union Budget 2016, this cess was charged on the production of vehicles.

GSTcompensationcess: As part of the GST reforms, this Cess has been introduced through the GST (Compensation to States) Act, 2017. It is levied on inter- and intra-


104

State supply of notified goods such as aerated drinks, coal, tobacco, automobiles for 5 years.

Issues over its utilization The CAG’s finding that the Centre retained ₹ 47,272 crore of GST compensation cess

in the Consolidated Fund instead of crediting it to the GST compensation fund in the very first two years of the implementation of the new indirect tax regime has raised several key questions.

Also, a major concern is that the compensation cess transfers to States were accounted as Grants-in-aid to States, distorting the Centre-States fiscal math.

Funds collected by the Centre as cesses for specific purposes, such as the mineral trust, oil industry development and infrastructure, have not been fully transferred to dedicated funds.

Cess collected on crude oil has not been transferred to an oil industry development body it was meant to finance, for over 10 years. Part of the hefty cess collected as additional excise duties on petrol and diesel, to finance roads and infrastructure, was retained in the CFI.

Also, as the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy report observed, the share of revenue to the Centre’s annual tax kitty from cess had risen to 11.88% of the estimated gross tax receipts in 2018-19, from 6.88% in 2012-13.

Given that cess does not need to be a part of the divisible pool of resources, this increasing share of cess in the Union government’s tax receipts has a direct impact on fiscal devolution.

Way Ahead The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) of India has on multiple

occasions, urged the Finance Ministry to take immediate corrective actions. Cesses, starting with the excise duties on petrol and diesel, need to be rationalized. Finally, absolute transparency is needed in the management of cess receipts so that

Parliament and the people do not need to wait for audit findings to learn of this subterfuge.

Practice question:

The Centre’s increasing reliance on cesses and surcharges are

increasing day -by-day. Discuss its implication on the state finances.


105

13. INDUSTRIAL RELATION CODE AND ITS IMPACT Context:

Three Codes on labour law were passed by Parliament this week, amid strident criticism and vociferous protests by many trade unions. Among these, the Industrial Relations Code is touted as one that would energise industry and spur economic activity, as it aims to free employees from the constraints of earlier labour laws.

Features of the Industrial Relations Code The IndustrialRelationsCode combines the features of three erstwhile laws — the

Trade Unions Act, 1926, the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946, and the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947.

It defines ‘workers’ to include, besides all persons employed in a skilled or unskilled, manual, technical, operational and clerical capacity, supervis ory staff drawing up to Rs. 18,000 a month as salary.

It introduces ‘fixed term employment’, giving employers the flexibility to hire workers based on requirement through a written contract.

Fixed term employees should be treated on a par with permanent workers in terms of hours of work, wages, allowances and other benefits, including statutory benefits such as gratuity.

The Code says any establishment that employs 300 or more workers must prepare standing orders relating to classification of workers, manner of intimating to them periods and hours of work, holidays, pay days etc. shifts, attendance, conditions for leave, termination of employment, or suspension, besides the means available for redress of grievances.

Earlier, the 2019 Bill applied this to units with 100 employees or more. The threshold has been raised to 300 in the 2020 Code.

It confers on the ‘appropriate Government’ , that is the Centre or the State governments, the power to exempt, with or without conditions, any industrial establishment or class of industrial establishments from all or any of the provisions of the Code, if it is satisfied that adequate provisions exist to fulfil its objectives.

Provisions for trade unions Where there is more than one trade union in an establishment, the sole negotiating

union status will be given to the one that has 51% of the employees as its members. It has been brought down from the 75% requirement in the 2019 version.

Where no union qualifies under this criterion, the employer must constitute a ‘negotiating council’ consisting of representatives drawn from the various unions, with only those with at least 20% of employees as its members.

Provisions on lay-off and closure The provisions that require the prior permission of the government for lay-off,

retrenchment and closure are made applicable to only establishments that had employed 300 or more workers on an average per working day in the preceding 12 months.

The Code also allows the government to raise this threshold by notification. A lay-off would be deemed illegal if it is effected without permission or is done despite refusal of permission, but it will not be so if the employee had been offered alternative employment that does not require any special skill or cause undue hardship.


106

The Code prescribes notice period, or payment in lieu of notice period, and prior government permission before retrenchment of anyone who has been in continuous service for a year or more.

Such a prior permission requirement is in place also for closure of a unit, with the application to be filed 90 days prior to the intended closure.

Impact of Code on Right to Strike The Code prohibits strikes and lock-outs in all industrial establishments without

notice. No unit shall go on strike in breach of contract without giving notice 60 days before

the strike, or within 14 days of giving such a notice, or before the expiry of any date given in the notice for the strike.

Further, there should be no strike during any conciliation proceedings, or within seven days of the conclusion of such proceedings; or during proceedings before an industrial tribunal or 60 days after their conclusion or during arbitration proceedings.

Similar restrictions have been given on the employer from announcing a lock-out. The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, had placed such restrictions on announcing strikes only in respect of public utility services.

However, the present Code extends it to all establishments. Even the Standing Committee on Labour had favoured limiting these provisions to public utilities

Practice question:

Enumerate the features of the Industrial Relations Code in energizing industry and spur economic activity.


107

14. THE BENEFITS OF A CARBON TAX

With China, the largest carbon dioxide emitter, announcing that it would balance out its carbon emissions with measures to offset them before 2060, the spotlight is now on the U.S. and India, countries that rank second and third in emissions. Pricing the carbon content of domestic production and imports will help cut effluents.

Carbon tax A carbon tax is a form of pollution tax imposed on the burning of carbon-based fuels

(coal, oil, gas). It is a tax levied on products that are a source of greenhouse gases, primarily fossil

fuels. The tax is imposed with the goal of environmental protection to reduce the output of greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide.

Research shows that carbon taxes are the most efficient and effective way to curb climate change, with the least adverse effects on the economy.

Need for de-carbonization Record heat waves in Delhi, floods in southwest China, and catastrophic forest fires in

California this year are indicative of the existential danger from global warming. India ranks fifth in the Global Climate Risk Index 2020.

Between 1998 and 2017, disaster-hit countries reported $2.9 trillion in direct economic losses, with 77% resulting from climate change, according to a United Nations report. The U.S. faced the highest losses, followed by China, Japan, and India.

Air pollution has fallen worldwide after the COVID-19 outbreak, including in India. But with resumption of polluting activities, emissions in India are set to rise sharply unless strong action is taken.

Carbon dioxide, the chief culprit in global warming, was 414 parts per million in August 2020 because of past accumulation. As one half comes from the three top carbon emitters, they need to drive de-carbonisation.

Benefits of a carbon tax As the tax makes using dirty fuels more expensive, it encourages businesses and

individuals to reduce consumption and increase energy efficiency. It checks the use of fossil fuel.

The alternative energy such as solar, hydro and wind energy are costlier than the fossil fuel energy. The carbon tax on fossil fuel makes the alternative energy competitive to the fossil fuel resulting in more use of alternative clean energy.

Carbon tax offers social and economic benefits. It increases revenue while simultaneously promoting objectives of climate change policy. The revenue can be used for socio-economic purposes like health and education and also on efforts to reduce pollution. It can make the correct use of fund availability for programmes like afforestation.

Carbon tax helps in reducing consumption leading to less emissions. The carbon tax charges a fee based on the carbon emission. So, to reduce the fee, users use less fossil fuel. This will help to protect the environment and ensure good quality air in cities especially cities like Delhi and Kanpur.

A carbon tax is a step towards helping India meet their voluntary target, to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released per unit of GDP by 25% from 2005 levels by 2020. It will also help India to reach the committed INDC of 33% by 2030.


108

The clean energy tax will help to finance a National Clean Energy Fund (NCEF). All the money raised by the tax can help subsidise environmental programs and clean energy. It will also help India to promote the flagship programmes like International solar Alliance, Start up India and Make in India by reducing use of non-renewable fossil fuels.

Challenges Carbon tax is inherently regressive as it puts a burden on the poor. The poor in India

contribute the least to climate change and face the maximum brunt of carbon tax through rise in prices of various commodities and services.

Imposing carbon tax has a direct effect of increasing the production cost which can seriously hamper our competitiveness in international markets as well as domestic production. Indian exports and small scale industries are affected by increase in input costs. Production may shift to countries with no or lower carbon taxes.

There is no particular methodology to exactly calculate carbon emission. Thus a higher carbon tax and how much to be levied is subjective and debatable.

What needs to be done? One way to price carbon is through emission trading, i.e., setting a maximum amount

of allowable effluents from industries, and permitting those with low emissions to sell their extra space.

Pilot projects on carbon trading in China have shown success. There is valuable experience in the EU, and some American states — for example, the regional greenhouse gas initiative in the U.S. northeast.

Another way is to put a carbon tax on economic activities — for example, on the use of fossil fuels like coal, as done in Canada and Sweden.

Canada imposed a carbon tax at $20 per tonne of CO2 emissions in 2019, eventually rising to $50 per tonne. This is estimated to reduce greenhouse gas pollution by between 80 and 90 million tonnes by 2022. The fiscal gains from pricing carbon can be sizeable.

A carbon tax at $35 per tonne of CO2 emissions in India is estimated to be capable of generating some 2% of GDP through 2030. An internally recommended carbon price of $40 per metric tonne in China could generate 14% additional revenues.

Conclusion Big economies like India should also use their global monopsony or the power of a

large buyer in international trade, to impose a carbon tariff as envisaged by the EU. Focusing on trade is vital because reducing the domestic carbon content of production alone would not avert the harm if imports remain carbon-intensive. Therefore, leading emitters should use their monopsony, diplomacy and financial capabilities to forge a climate coalition with partners.

India is among the nations that are hardest hit by climate impacts. There is growing public support for climate action, it need solutions that are seen to be in India’s interest. A market-oriented approach to tax and trade carbon domestically and to induce similar action by others through international trade and diplomacy offers a way forward.

Practice question:

Pricing the carbon content of domestic production and imports will

help cut effluents. Critically examine.


109

1. THE NEED FOR MORAL AND ETHICAL LEADERSHIP

The world is faced with an unprecedented pandemic with the advent of Covid-19. In countries where there has been a strong moral leadership, such as Norway, Germany, Taiwan, South Korea and New Zealand, the pandemic has come under control. Scientists are saying that we need to understand that the novel coronavirus jumped the transmission chain from animals to human beings because we have indulged in deforestation and encroached into the space of animals and come too close to them. Earlier, Ebola too jumped into humans because of the same reason.

Impact of Human Behaviour More than 200 billion animals are slaughtered every year for human consumption.

This can be reduced if human beings decide to change their food habits. A huge amount of forests are cut for mining, and to create sports goods and habitats

for humans. In the absence of moral leaders in the world who can influence a new kind of awareness to have a safe earth, human beings will continue to over-consume and endanger nature.

Many scientists envision worse pandemics in the future due to this. Industrial revolution and Life

The industrial revolution invented lots of technology, goods and services that satiated the human hunger to live in comfort and luxury.

It created a lot of good things that allowed us to travel faster, live better, have better health systems and live longer.

However, it also created a sociological construct of competition and competitive advantage.

The entire educational system, borne out of the industrial revolution, focused on creating people with a competitive consciousness.

From early childhood, students were introduced to competition, to win against others by scoring the maximum marks in the examination system.

They were convinced that if one did well in this educational system, they would get a good job, which would ultimately result in having a high standard of living and a meaningful life.

An interesting point is that they were not encouraged to start new industries, but were encouraged to work for the industrialists.

Consumption and greed The industry also created a philosophy that the more we consume and live in luxury,

the more satisfied we will be in life. This led to greed and increased consumption and created an economy fuelled by

consumption. Higher consumption in turn led to global warming, climate change and endangering the earth. Philosopher Terence McKenna says, “We have a crisis of

GS PAPER - IV


110

consciousness and conditioning. We have the technological power and engineering skills to save our planet, cure disease, feed the hungry, and end war, but we lack the intellectual vision, the ability to change our minds.

A New leader We must recondition ourselves from 10,000 years of badbehaviour. And it’s not easy.”

Robert Greenleaf in his book, Servant Leadership, spoke about the need for a different kind of leader in the industry and society, under whom followers will get transformed into better human beings and grow in maturity and wisdom with a want to serve society, than to lead. Peter Block spoke about stewardship, which means becoming caretakers of the company we work for and the earth.

Many earlier leaders and reformers, such as the Buddha, Guru Nanak, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, etc., showed a holistic way to live without endangering the earth.

Sri Ramakrishna, the guru of Swami Vivekananda, practiced the different paths of three religions, namely Hinduism, Christianity and Islam, to demonstrate that all religious paths lead to God and live with universal tolerance.

Martin Luther King was a moral leader. In his famous speech, ‘I have a dream’, he said, “No man should be judged by the colour of their skin, but by their content and character”. His work had a proud impact in the reduction of racism.

We are seeing a rise in employment and wages in enlightened companies. People all over the world are fed up with inequality, violation of civil rights, exploitation and police brutality. In India too, the Dalits and tribal population have been exploited for centuries. Except for some tokenism of giving them reservation in jobs and education, nothing significant has been done in the last 70 years to bring them to the mainstream of civilisation. With the declining trust in institutions, political leaders, banks and industries, the average human being is feeling helpless, apathetic and indifferent to what is happening around him.

Albert Einstein said, “Humanity is going to require a substantially new way of thinking if it has to survive.” To create a new kind of consciousness to solve global problems, we will need, more than ever, moral and ethical leadership from the government and industries to work towards a sustainable future.

Practice question:

To create a new kind of consciousness to solve gl obal problems, we need a moral and ethical leadership from the government and industries. Elaborate.


111

2. CONSCIENCE AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN DECISION-MAKING

Conscience is the human “inner ear” for the voice which tells us what we should do and what we should leave undone, what the pattern and purpose of our lives should be. But it is more than the existence of this voice -it is the particular human ability to hear this voice within. Conscience thus acts as a warning mechanism, telling us that certain work, thoughts, feelings or acts, are wrong-headed or evil; at other times conscience acts as a calling, urging and impelling action, words, thoughts or feelings as being right and dutiful. All adult humans have this conscience within.

Importance of conscience in decision-making: Conscience makes us feel that we ought to do what we believe to be right. In the same

connection we may say, that it makes us feel that we ought not to do what we believe to be wrong. Both amount to the same thing; for, failing to do right, is doing wrong. For instance, a boy sees tempting fruit in a neighbour’s garden. He knows that it

would be wrong to steal it. Now, whether we say, his conscience admonishes him that it is right to let it alone, or that it is wrong to steal it, our meaning is of course the same.

On returning from the bank, a man finds that the teller has accidentally counted to him a ten dollar note too much. We mean the same, whether we say, his conscience reminds him that he ought to return it, or, that it would be wrong not to do so.

Conscience is to afford us a delightful feeling of self-approval when we have done what we believe to be right. This feeling is especially vivid, after a successful encounter with a strong and dangerous temptation to do wrong. When a severe struggle has been had, and a triumph has been won on the side of virtue, the feeling of satisfaction is peculiarly rich and delightful.

A human being always comes across ethical dilemmas in the decision making the process. Conscience acts as the guide for taking correct decisions when we have to choose between competing sets of principles in a given, usually undesirable or perplexing, situation.

For instance, helping an accident victim during the golden hour. The conscience of an individual helps in analysing the situation from different

perspectives and help in taking the right decision. For instance, one will not turn away genuine people in times of distress, like an old

destitute woman who has lost all her documents and is trying to register for a government scheme.

Conscience helps in avoiding Conflicts of interest for better decision making. For e.g. deciding between personal gains and public welfare.

Conscience is our ability to make a practical decision in light of ethical values and principles. Example: Follow the orders from superior vis-à-vis to follow the right path.

Conclusion Conscience indicates ‘a person’s moral sense of right and wrong’ as well as the

consciousness of one’s actions. Expressions such as ‘gut feeling’ and ‘guilt’ are often applied in conjunction with a conscience. In this sense, the conscience is not essentially a product of a rational deduction but is something that can be influenced by the indoctrination of one’s parentage, social class, religion or culture.


112

Practice Question:

Discuss the importance of decision making in Civil Service with examples?


113

3. CORPORATE ETHICS

The COVID-19 pandemic struck the business ecosystem to its core, propelling management to deal with operational distress and business continuity with urgency. As tough decisions are being taken amid the crisis, the risk of unethical behaviour and compliance infractions has increased and can weigh heavily on organisations. Turbulent times like these can have corporate integrity becoming a true differentiator as organisations concentrate on encouraging ethical conduct, building trust in third party partnerships, protecting data and circumnavigating the risks present now, next and beyond.

Business Ethics Business Ethics is defined as “the application of ethical values to business behaviour”.

While profit remains one of the key motives of an enterprise, it is not the sole purpose of its existence.

Major agenda being addressed within boardrooms is around good corporate governance and the associated ethical framework.

Contradiction between Business and Ethics Thinkers like Milton Friedman have termed ‘Business ethics’ an oxymoron. They

believe that it is wrong to impose morality on business organizations as it is antithetical to their purpose of extracting profits.

Ethics follows a set of rules which are widely accepted but might not necessarily be cost-beneficial. Example: The management of a private company may allow insider trading of a competitor which is an unethical practice but it may bring useful returns to the company.

Similarly, a company which follows rules strictly may lose a tender to another company which engages in crony capitalism.

Need for Business Ethics Rising number and scale of scandals have shaken large multinationals—causing

collateral damage by tarnishing reputation and brand image, plummeting sales, financial loss etc. Hence, professionally managed organisations have always striven to focus on good governance and adherence to compliance measures to pre-empt malpractices.

Organisations can be compliant to internal processes and fulfil all statutory laws yet be unethical. One example of this is Surrogate advertising.

Promoting alcohol consumption is banned on national television. If a company advertises an alternative product with the same brand name, it is indirectly trying to increase brand recall to the intended product. Legally, the company is not flouting any law. However, the practice is clearly unethical.

While profit maximization remains one of the key motives of an enterprise, it is not the sole purpose of its existence. Besides growth and profitability, a major agenda being addressed within boardrooms is around good corporate governance and the


114

associated ethical framework. There is a growing need to introduce stronger governance mechanisms and ethical practices to pre-empt malpractices.

In doing so, organizations strive to promote value creation for all stakeholders like customers, shareholders, employees, vendor partners and community.

Good corporate governance calls for stringent compliance and pervasive ethical practices.

Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to knowwhetheryoudiditornot.” -OprahWinfrey

Elements for Business Ethical framework The company’s executive leadership sponsoring the Ethics programme with the

continued support of middle and lower-level teams An ongoing dialogue across levels to address tough questions that may arise during

the business ethics journey. A two-way communication process, cutting across levels, to foster an environment of

openness and trust. Code of Conduct

It specifies the general principles of behaviour which employees and other stakeholders are expected to follow. It is an articulation of the value statement. It is usually framed as a mix of rules to be adhered and aspirations towards which the organisation seeks to evolve.

The organisation’s external ecosystem such as value chain partners—often considered as an extension of the organisation itself—should also abide by the principles of the Code.

Senior managers should practise principles of ethics in their day-to-day dealings. The middle layer (shock absorber layer) is a pivotal entity in the development of the organisation’s ethical business culture. The middle level managers should therefore reflect, reinforce and reiterate the Code to build ethical values into the organisation’s fabric.

Ethical dilemmas do not always have prescriptive and clear-cut answers. Hence, an effective training programme to understand and live the Code will not will be beneficial.

Building a Check Mechanism The first step towards building a culture of ethics is to review the integrity index of

employees at two levels: the hiring process and every performance appraisal cycle. The second step is to institute a check mechanism to help the organisation and

stakeholders navigate ethical dilemmas. Building a team of Ethics Counsellors is often seen as a good practice. Unethical

behaviour demands prompt action. Create Channels to Address Concerns

Employees and stakeholders must be encouraged to speak up against any suspected or known situations or persons where the Code has been compromised and report the dilemmas faced. Managers must be trained on matters of law and regulations, company’s policies procedures, and the Code of Conduct.

A channel to report and log concerns must be made available to all employees. Care must be taken to ensure confidentiality to protect the complainant from any act of retribution.


115

Conducting a fair and just trial instils confidence within the stakeholders by showing the organisation’s ability to ‘walk the talk’

Way Ahead Our built-in moral compass should serve as our best guide when faced with complex

ethical dilemmas in both our professional and personal lives. Organisations need to set the tone at the top, and leaders need to lead by example; even as companies address ethical by providing guidance through codes and other supporting mechanisms like training and counselling.

Source: Yojana Practice Question:

What is business ethics? Examine the major ethical issues that

business faces t oday with relevant Examples.


4. RELEVANCE OF GANDHIANISM IN TODAY’S WORLD

Gandhianism starts with the famous line – ‘Simple living and high thinking’ and its objective is to transform the individual and society. Therefore, in the turbulent times where the world is grappled with so many problems, it is imperative to strive to inculcate Gandhian philosophy in various facets of life and governance

Major Gandhian Ideologies 1. Truth and Non-violence: They are the twin cardinal principles of Gandhian

thoughts. For Gandhi ji, truth is the relative truth of truthfulness in word and deed, and the absolute truth – the ultimate reality. This ultimate truth is God (as God is also Truth) and morality – the moral laws and code – its basis.Nonviolence, far from meaning mere peacefulness or the absence of overt violence, is understood by Mahatma Gandhi to denote active love – the pole opposite of violence, in every sense.

2. Satyagraha: Gandhi ji called his overall method of nonviolent action Satyagraha. It means the exercise of the purest soul-force against all injustice, oppression and exploitation.It is a method of securing rights by personal suffering and not inflicting injury on others.

3. Sarvodaya: Sarvodaya is a term meaning ‘Universal Uplift’ or ‘Progress of All’. The term was first coined by Gandhi ji as the title of his translation of John Ruskin’s tract on political economy, “Unto This Last”.

4. Swaraj: Although the word swaraj means self-rule, Gandhi ji gave it the content of an integral revolution that encompasses all spheres of life. For Gandhi ji, swaraj of people meant the sum total of the swaraj (self-rule) of individuals and so he clarified that for him swaraj meant freedom for the meanest of his countrymen. And in its fullest sense, swaraj is much more than freedom from all restraints, it is self-rule, self-restraint and could be equated with moksha or salvation.

5. Trusteeship: Trusteeship is a socio-economic philosophy that was propounded by Gandhi ji.It provides a means by which the wealthy people would be the trustees of trusts that looked after the welfare of the people in general.

6. Swadeshi: The word swadeshi derives from Sanskrit and is a conjunction of two Sanskrit words. ‘Swa’ means self or own and ‘desh’ means country. So swadesh means one’s own country. Swadeshi, the adjectival form, means of one’s own country, but can be loosely translated in most contexts as self-sufficiency. Swadeshi is the focus on acting within and from one’s own community, both politically and economically. It is the interdependence of community and self-sufficiency.

Application of Various Facets of Gandhian Ideology 1. Civil Services:

Truth lies at the core of Gandhian philosophy as he himself has tried to remain truthful throughout his life.

Gandhian view of truth was irreversible in different contexts irrespective of the urgency of the situation.

This was why Gandhiji cancelled the Non-Cooperation movement after the satyagrahis deviated from the path of truth and a violent incident of Chaurichaura took place.

This principle of truthfulness to self and to the public is essential for civil servants in the current context to rampant corruption.

116


117

2. Peace And Stability in the World: Non-Violence is a key component of Gandhianism, which was the great weapon

used by Gandhiji during the freedom movement of India against British Raj. Gandhiji believed non-violence and tolerance require a great level of courage and

patience. In a world that is moving through the phases of war marred by violence and

terrorism, there is a significant requirement of Gandhian idea of Non- violence more and more today than the past days.

3. Secularism: Gandhianism was tolerant towards all religions and the world today needs more

and more religiously and faith wise tolerant people in societies where violence is committed in the name of religion.

Tolerance in the society will help in neutralizing the ethnocentric bias in the globe that is taking place day by day on the basis of religion, caste, ethnicity and region etc.

4. Creation of Casteless Society: Gandhiji was against the caste system and coined the term Harijan to pay respect

to the lower caste people. As the Caste system is still prevalent in the Indian society, the Gandhian

philosophy is useful to create a casteless society where everyone is treated equally irrespective of their caste.

5. Gandhian Socialism: Gandhian view of socialism is not political but more social in its approach, as

gandhiji thought of a society with no poverty, no hunger, no unemployment and education and health for all.

These Gandhian ideologies will continue to act as the lighthouse for Indian policy makers.

From poverty alleviation to SarvaShikshaAbhiyan and universal health care (Ayushman Bharat) to skill India programs everywhere the core inspiration comes from Gandhianism.

6. Decentralization: Gandhian idea of decentralization of power can be implemented in democracies

through empowered local self governments at grass root level. Indian government, for instance, has implemented local self government by

adopting the Panchayati Raj and Municipality system in rural and urban areas respectively.

7. Cleanliness: Gandhiji laid great emphasis upon cleanliness or Swacchta, as he used to say-

‘SwacchtaHinSeva’. The recent Swacchta Bharat Abhiyaan, the biggest cleanliness drive of India, is to

fulfill the dream of Bapu by making India clean. However, this cleanliness drive is more than physical cleanliness and the need to

lay more emphasis upon the internal cleanliness of the individual. Thus, along with clean roads, toilets for a clean India we require a corruption free

society with greater levels of transparency and accountability too. 8. Sustainable Environment:

Gandhiji held that “Earth has enough for Human needs, But not for Human greed’s”.


These lines of Mahatma Gandhi reflect upon how human behaviour destroys nature and how a sustainable way of living is the need of the hour.

The world is whirling under the burden of global warming, climate change and resource crunch and all environmental conservation treaties and sustainable development efforts must implement this Gandhian philosophy.

9. Ethical Importance: On the ethical and behavioural part Gandhianism has much significance today

because society is witnessing the degradation of values. Societal values have degraded to such an extent that people don’t hesitate to kill

someone for the gratification of their own needs. Respect for women is one of the major ideas of Gandhian philosophy and the

world is witnessing the increased level of violence, subjugation women face nowadays in society.

Thus, Gandhian dream of a safe country necessitates social consciousness and women emancipation.

Conclusion Gandhiji’s political contributions offered us Independence but his ideologies

enlightened India as well as the world even today after so many years. Every individual, thus, should follow the key Gandhian ideologies in their day to day life for a happy, prosperous, healthy, harmonious and sustainable future.

Practice Question:

What teaching of Gandhiji relevant today and why? Discuss.

118


119

5. WORK CULTURE AND ITS IMPORTANCE

Workplace culture is the environment that you create for your employees. It plays a powerful role in determining their work satisfaction, relationships and progression. It is the mix of your organisation’s leadership, values, traditions, beliefs, interactions, behaviours and attitudes that contribute to the emotional and relational environment of your workplace. These factors are generally unspoken and unwritten rules that help to form bonds between your colleagues.

Importance of Work culture: 1. Attractsandkeepstalentedstaff:When an employee spend more time per week

at work than at home, it’s natural to want to work in an environment that they enjoy spending time in. This means that if anemployer want the best staff for their team, they will have to invest in creating a strong workplace culture. In a study from the Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends 2015, ‘culture and engagement’ was the highest priority on the corporate agenda and companies with the strongest cultures were much more able to attract and keep talent.

2. Drivesengagementandretention: one can successfully recruit employees but it becomes a cost to their business if they leave. A good workplace culture is proven to keep employees engaged in their work. It’ll allow employees to better understand what is expected of them and how they can achieve their professional goals. This will then allow you to keep them on board for longer.

3. Creates an environment for healthy development: A good workplace culture provides everyone with the opportunity to initiate change and to grow on a professional and personal aspect. It also promotes openness and encourages your employees to voice their opinions and chase after the values they believe in.

4. Creates satisfied employees and increases productivity: A healthy workplace culture will make employees feel happy to come to work day-in and day-out. A happy work environment increases employees concentration, thus, this leads to increases in their productivity levels.

5. Drivesfinancialperformance:92% of leaders from successful companies believe that workplace culture and financial performance are closely interrelated. Workplace culture directly influences the way employees perform, which subsequently has a direct impact on business’ financial profit.

Conclusion Work culture is an intangible ecosystem that makes some places great to work and

other places toxic. This is why work culture is so important in bringing out the best from your employees even in adverse circumstances. Negativity not only kills creativity and will to perform but also does not allow an employee to develop a sense of affection and ownership with the organization. Human beings are fundamentally simple and a positive work environment impacts the way they think, act and reflect.

Practice Question:

Define work Culture. Discuss its importance in the success of any

organization.


120

6. ACCOUNTABILITY IN GOVERNMENT

Accountability institutions assume importance and form the core of any good governance mechanism.

“Justasitisimpossibletoknowwhenaswimmingfishisdrinkingwater,soitisimpossibletofindoutwhenagovernmentservantisstealingmoney”

―Kautilya,ARTHASHASTRAAccountability

UNDP describes governance as “a system of values, policies and institutions by which a society manages its economic, political and social affairs through interactions within and among the state, civil society and the private sector.”

Accountability can broadly be defined as the obligation of those holding power to take responsibility and be held answerable for their behavior and actions. This obligation might stem out of a moral-ethical need to account for one’s behavior, or out of a legal requirement.

Accountability has an answerability component to justify the action and an enforcement component that is to take action in cases where act of omission or commission is established.

Helps in improving public confidence in government performance. It facilitates a feedback mechanism between the Government and its citizens.

Who is Accountable to Whom? First and foremost, stakeholder in any case would be the citizens. The citizens are the

tax payers. They have a right to know how the money has b een expended by the government.

Hence, the accountability to the citizen is most critical. It ensures sustenance of public trust and confidence in the existing democratic system.

Accountability is an ongoing process. The stakeholders directly or indirectly participate in framing the vision and indicating the priorities. The schemes are framed and implemented by the government. The results of evaluation help in improving the system. At the same time, they empower the stakeholder to seek justification from the decision makers.

Accountability for What? Accountability is essentially an obligation to give an account of the actions taken or

the decisions made by the person in authority to the stakeholders who are impacted by those decisions. While on one hand, it necessitates transparency in decision making on the other it also presupposes that the accurate and reliable information and data is maintained by the government agency and is available in public domain for public scrutiny. In absence of information and facts neither the grievance of the citizens could be appreciated nor could the responsibility be imposed for act of omission or commission.

The government functionaries are expected to take decisions within the administrative framework provided for the same in the form of General Financial Rules (GFR). Delegation of Financial Power Rules (DFPR).

Manual of Purchase of Goods and Services etc. Therefore, any deviation would have to be seen by the oversight agencies with reference to this framework. However, in order for accountability- mechanism to be really effective, it also needs to be ensured


121

that the framework itself is robust. A weak administrative framework would lead to weak accountability mechanisms.

The Right to Information Act, 2004 has introduced a huge element of transparency in the decision-making in the government as well as access to information. Similarly, digitisation of various services to the citizens has not only facilitated faster delivery of services but also provided a clear trail of transactions for any analysis by an oversight agency.

The Citizen’s Charter also clearly spelt out the responsibilities of various agencies of the government. By laying down the timelines for rendering the specific services they proactively make themselves accountable to the citizens.

For example, the Citizen’s Charter of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) provides for inter-alia service delivery standards which include the specified timelines for issue of refunds or redressal of grievances. In the budget speech in February 2020. The Finance Minister announced insertion of new section 119 A in the Income Tax Act namely, “Taxpayers’ Charter”.

This would provide the much-needed legal backing to Citizen's Charter in India as it would follow the model of governmental accountability in the form of a vision being strengthened through legal status to a priority area of service delivery. Following this new approach would help establish a precedent for Citizen’s Charters in other governmental agencies thereby improving not only their credibility but also efficiencies for governmental functioning.

The Institutional Mechanisms The institutional mechanisms in context of the Government to ensure accountability

may emanate out of Constitutional provisions, Legislative Framework and administrative arrangements.

External accountability between the Government and the citizens is established through the elections. Internal accountability mechanisms refer to systems ofchecksandbalancesandoversightmechanisms.

The framers of the Indian Constitution, while adhering to the principle of separation of powers between Legislature, Judiciary and Executive also provided for appropriate checks and balances for administrative objectivity and accountability.

The institutions of horizontal accountability in Indian context include the institutions of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), the ElectionCommission, the Vigilance Commission, the Central Information Commissionand the Ombudsman. In addition, there are a large number of Regulatory bodies including SEBI, THAI, CERC, CPCB etc.

While the institution of CAG and Election Commission derives their mandate from the Constitution. Others draw their mandate from the respective Acts governing them.

Financial accountability Financial accountability is rather critical for the overall functioning of the

government. In order to ensure accountability of the executive to the legislature, the framers of the

constitution created an independent oversight agency namely CAG of India as per Article 148 of the Constitution of India. Further, accounting for the expenditure incurred by the ministries and departments is done by the office of Controller General of Accounts (Ministry of Finance).


122

The Finance and Appropriation Accounts prepared by them are audited by the CAG of India who submits a report thereof to the Parliament in terms of Article 151 of the Constitution. This completes the financial accountability loop. The role of CAG is not limited to financial audit of accounts. In addition, CAG of India conducts Compliance Audit and Performance Audit.

The focus of Compliance Audit is on examination of rules, regulations, orders and instructions for their legality, adequacy, transparency, propriety, prudence and effectiveness.

Performance audit is an independent assessment or examination of the extent to which an organisation, program or scheme operates economically, efficiently and effectively. Thus, the audit conducted by the CAG of India covers almost all aspects of accountability.

The CAG of India is an independent constitutional authority who is neither part of the Executive, nor of the Legislature. Further, his independence is ensured through Constitutional and legislative provisions. Independence of the authority entrusted with the task of oversight helps in efficient discharge of his functions as part of the accountability mechanism.

Way Ahead The accountability mechanisms need to keep pace with developments of modern

government structures particularly in the era of digitization. There is also a need to sensitize the functionaries towards their responsibilities and

duties in the context of the accountability frameworks. An element of discretion needs to be minimized for ensuring responsiveness,

transparency and accountability. Source: Yojana

Practice question:

“The recent emphasis on revolutionised democracy seeking increased accountability fro m the government has brought into focus its need and importance in Governance and government functioning”. Analyse.

89396 96868 89396 96869

[email protected] www.aramiasacademy.com

# C-40, 2nd Avenue, Anna Nagar West, Chennai - 40.

UPSC TOPPER 2019 - 2020

ARAM PCM STUDENT

S PRIYANKA, I.A.S.ALL INDIA RANK - 68

ARAM PCM STUDENT

R ISHWARYA, I.A.S. ALL INDIA RANK - 47

ARAM PCM STUDENT

VIBHU KRISHNA U, I.R.S.ALL INDIA RANK - 473

ARAM STUDENT

M. MURUGANANTHAM, I.A.S.ALL INDIA RANK - 119

JOIN THE PATH OF TOPPERS

ADMISSION STARTS FOR PCM 2022 BATCH

PREPARING YOUNG MINDS FORCIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION

24+ SUCCESSFUL

CANDIDATES

2019-20

250+ CIVIL SERVANTS

IN 5 YEARS


Documents

ARAM IAS ACADEMY’S MAINFRAME