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  • Parliament – Sessions, Procedures, Motions, Committees etc

    President’s Address

    | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Indian Constitution – historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure

     

    Today, with the first day of the Budget Session of Parliament, Hon’ble President will address a joint sitting of the two Houses.

    President’s or Governor’s Address

    • Commonly referred to as the President’s or Governor’s Address, they are a constitutional requirement.
    • The Constitution gives the President and the Governor the power to address a sitting of the legislature. The special power is with regard to two occasions.
    • The first is to address the opening session of a new legislature after a general election. The second is to address the first sitting of the legislature each year.
    • A session of a new or a continuing legislature cannot begin without fulfilling this requirement.
    • When the Constitution came into force, the President was required to address each session of Parliament.
    • So during the provisional Parliament in 1950, the President gave an address for all three sessions. At the suggestion of Speaker G V Mavalankar, the first Constitutional Amendment in 1951 changed this position.
    • Besides being a constitutional requirement, the President’s or Governor’s Address is keenly watched as it outlines the government’s policy agenda and stand on issues.

    What procedures follow the address?

    • After the President or Governor delivers the address, a debate takes place not only on the contents of the address but also the broad issues of governance in the country.
    • This then paves the way for discussion on the Budget.

    Significance of the address

    • The President’s Address in India is mirrored on the British system.
    • During the framing of the Constitution, B R Ambedkar drew a similarity between the President and the monarch under the English system.
    • He said the President “is the Head of State but not of the executive. He represents the nation but does not rule the nation.
    • He is the symbol of the nation. His place in the administration is that of a ceremonial device of a seal by which the nation’s decisions are made known”.
    • The Constitution binds the President and the Governor to act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers of the Union and state governments respectively, on a majority of issues.
    • Therefore, the speech that the President or the Governor reads before the legislature is the viewpoint of the government and is prepared by it.

    Are there parallels in other countries?

    • Similar provisions exist in other democracies. In the United States, it is referred to as the “State of the Union”.
    • The phrase comes from an article in the US Constitution which specifies that the President from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.
    • In the United Kingdom, it is referred to as the Queen’s Speech and is part of the ceremony to mark the formal start of the parliamentary year.

    What is the content of the President’s or Governor’s address?

    • During the making of the Constitution, an unsuccessful attempt was made to bring some specificity to the content of the President’s Address.
    • The President’s speech follows the convention of the British system, where it contains legislative and policy proposals that the government intends to initiate.
    • The speech also recaps the government’s accomplishment in the previous years. The contents of the speech are put together by aggregating inputs from various ministries of the government.

    Is the text of the speech binding?

    • The President or a Governor cannot refuse to perform the constitutional duty of delivering an address to the legislature.
    • But there can be situations when they deviate from the text of the speech prepared by the government.
    • So far, there have been no instances of President doing so. But there has been an occasion when a Governor skipped a portion of the address to the Assembly.
    • In 1969, the Governor of West Bengal skipped two paragraphs of the address prepared by the United Front government.
    • The skipped portion described as unconstitutional the dismissal of the first United Front government by the Congress-ruled central government. The issue was then debated in Parliament.
    • The Opposition was critical of the Governor’s conduct and moved a motion disapproving it. But the motion was ultimately defeated.

    How have members responded to the addresses over the years?

    • The conduct of MLAs during the address has sometimes been an issue.
    • The Governor’s speech in state legislatures has routinely been interrupted.
    • In Parliament, the first instance of interruption of a President’s speech happened in 1963; President Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was speaking when some MPs interrupted him.
    • The Lok Sabha took note of the incident and a reprimand was issued to the MPs.
    • Over the years, political parties have resolved to treat the President’s Address sacrosanct and agreed not to interrupt it.

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  • Economic Indicators and Various Reports On It- GDP, FD, EODB, WIR etc

    Economic Survey & its significance

    DOMR | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    With the Indian economy in the doldrums, this year’s Economic Survey will be keenly watched. The Economic Survey for 2019-2020 will be tabled in Parliament today.

    What is the Economic Survey?

    • The Economic Survey is a report the government presents on the state of the economy in the past one year, the key challenges it anticipates, and their possible solutions.
    • One day before the Union budget, the Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) of the country releases the Economic Survey.
    • The document is prepared by the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) under the guidance of the CEA.
    • Once prepared, the Survey is approved by the Finance Minister.
    • The first Economic Survey was presented in 1950-51. Until 1964, the document would be presented along with the Budget.
    • For the past few years, the Economic Survey has been presented in two volumes.
    • For example, in 2018-19, while Volume 1 focussed on research and analysis of the challenges facing the Indian economy, Volume 2 gave a more detailed review of the financial year, covering all the major sectors of the economy.

    Why is the Economic Survey significant?

    • The Economic Survey is a crucial document as it provides a detailed, official version of the government’s take on the country’s economic condition.
    • It can also be used to highlight some key concerns or areas of focus — for example, in 2018, the survey presented by the then CEA Arvind Subramanian was pink in colour, to stress on gender equality.

    Is it binding on the government?

    • The government is not constitutionally bound to present the Economic Survey or to follow the recommendations that are made in it.
    • If the government so chooses, it can reject all suggestions laid out in the document.
    • But while the Centre is not obliged to present the Survey at all, it is tabled because of the significance it holds.

    What are the expectations from Economic Survey 2020?

    • At a time when India’s growth has plummeted to a six-year low, the Economic Survey ahead of the Union Budget is expected to offer key insights into the path ahead for the government to revive growth.
    • The conundrum of remaining fixated on deficit targets or making a concerted push towards more expenditure to kickstart growth is one of the key challenges the government is facing.
    • The Survey is expected to shed light on the crucial gaps that the Budget will aim to fill in terms of unemployment, private investment, and a slump in consumption.

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  • Coronavirus – Health and Governance Issues

    Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

    IOCR | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Health & Education,International Institutions

     

    The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the novel Coronavirus infection a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). In the past decade, WHO has declared public health emergencies for outbreaks including swine flu, polio and Ebola.

    What is PHEIC?

    Definition: Under the International Health Regulations (IHR), a public health emergency is defined as “an extraordinary event which is determined, as provided in these Regulations: to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease; and to potentially require a coordinated international response”.

    What criteria does the WHO follow to declare PHEIC?

    • PHEIC is declared in the event of some “serious public health events” that may endanger international public health.
    • The responsibility of declaring an event as an emergency lies with the Director-General of the WHO and requires the convening of a committee of members.

    Implications of a PHEIC being declared

    • There are some implications of declaring a PHEIC for the host country, which in the case of the coronavirus is China.
    • Declaring a PHEIC may lead to restrictions on travel and trade.
    • However, several countries have already issued advisories to their citizens to avoid travelling to China, while others are airlifting their citizens from it.

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  • Air Pollution

    IMO Sulphur regulations for Shipping

    IOCR | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    The International Maritime Organization (IMO), the shipping agency of the United Nations issued new rules aiming to reduce sulphur emissions, due to which ships are opting for newer blends of fuels.

    What do the new IMO rules say?

    • The IMO has banned ships from using fuels with sulphur content above 0.5 per cent, compared with 3.5 per cent previously.
    • Sulphur oxides (SOx), which are formed after combustion in engines, are known to cause respiratory symptoms and lung disease, while also leading to acid rain.
    • The new regulations, called IMO 2020, have been regarded as the biggest shake up for the oil and shipping industries in decades. It affects more than 50,000 merchant ships worldwide.
    • The new limits are monitored and enforced by national authorities of countries that are members of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) Annex VI.

    Cleaner options

    • Under the new policy, only ships fitted with sulphur-cleaning devices, known as scrubbers, are allowed to continue burning high-sulphur fuel.
    • Alternatively, Ships can opt for cleaner fuels, such as marine gasoil (MGO) and very low-sulfur fuel oil (VLSFO).
    • Of the two cleaner fuels, ship-owners were expected to opt for MGO, which is made exclusively from distillates, and has low sulphur content.
    • However, many are reportedly choosing VLSFO, which has better calorific properties and other technical advantages.

    Issues with the rule

    • There are complaints against VLSFO as well, as testing companies have claimed that high sediment formation due to the fuel’s use could damage vessel engines.
    • VLSFO, with 0.5 per cent sulphur content, can contain a large percentage of aromatic compounds, thus having a direct impact on black carbon emissions.
    • Black carbon, which is produced due to the incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels, contributes to climate change.

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  • Forest Conservation Efforts – NFP, Western Ghats, etc.

    Plantation Corporation of India

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    The Union government is likely to announce the setting up of a Plantation Corporation of India in the upcoming budget.

    Plantation Corporation of India

    • The PCI will subsume all afforestation-related schemes currently underway in India including the Green India Mission, National Afforestation Programme and compensatory afforestation.
    • The corporation will use Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) money to undertake the plantations and investment will also come from the global pension fund.
    • CAF is a huge corpus of money collected from projects proponents for diverting forest land to be used for non-forestry activity.

    Issues with PCI

    • Critics have raised concerns over the move’s impact on the federal structure of forest governance in the country.
    • While forests are a concurrent subject, land-related issues are the responsibility of the states.

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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-Bangladesh

    [pib] Exercise SAMPRITI-IX

    PIB | International Relations | Mains Paper 3: Various Security Forces, Agencies & Their Mandates

    As part of the ongoing Indo-Bangladesh defence cooperation, a joint military training exercise SAMPRITI-IX is being conducted in Meghalaya.

    Exercise SAMPRITI

    • It is an important bilateral defence cooperation endeavour between India and Bangladesh and will be the ninth edition of the exercise which is hosted alternately by both countries.
    • During the joint military exercise SAMPRITI-IX, a Command Post Exercise (CPX) and a Field Training Exercise (FTX) will be conducted.
    • For both the CPX and FTX, a scenario where both nations are working together in a Counter-Terrorism environment will be simulated under the UN Charter.
    • The FTX curriculum is progressively planned where the participants will initially get familiar with each other’s organizational structure and tactical drills.
    • The training will culminate with a final validation exercise in which troops of both armies will jointly practice a Counter Terrorist Operation in a controlled and simulated environment.

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  • Horticulture, Floriculture, Commercial crops, Bamboo Production – MIDH, NFSM-CC, etc.

    India’s first ‘fruit train’

    Prelims Only | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Transport & Marketing Of Agricultural Produce

     

    A ‘fruit train’, said to be the first of its kind in India, was flagged off from Tadipatri Railway Station in Anantapur district of Andhra.

    About the fruit train

    • This is the first time in India that an entire train is being sent to the gateway port (JNPT) for export.
    • This helps save both time and fuel as 150 trucks would have been required to send a consignment of this size by road to JNPT, which is over 900 km away, before the temperature-controlled containers are loaded on ships.
    • The bananas are being exported under the brand name ‘Happy Bananas’.
    • Farmers from Putlur region in Anantapur and Pulivendula in Kadapa district are exporting ‘Green Cavendish’ bananas to many international markets.

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  • Primary and Secondary Education – RTE, Education Policy, SEQI, RMSA, Committee Reports, etc.

    [op-ed of the day] Time to prioritise education and health

    op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Health & Education

    Context

    The policy currently being pursued is intended primarily to incentivise potential investors while social objectives and help in indigenisation are being jettisoned.

    Call for more liberalisation and its possible impacts

    • What reforms are asked for?
      • Reforms such as labour market liberalisation and removal of constraints on the acquisition of land for industrial purposes are demanded.
    • What could be their possible impacts?
      • The negative impact such reform measures are likely to have on the incomes, living conditions and the economic security of the workers and the agricultural class.
      • Counterproductive labour policy: The policy of freedom of hiring and firing of labour will be counterproductive as it would squeeze demand further in a situation of huge demand deficit.

    Social sector and demand

    • Neglect of human infrastructure: While talks of economic revival focus on infrastructure there is little talk of investment in human infrastructure, particularly in education and 
      • Conditional expenditure: On the contrary, the expenditure in social sectors is made conditional upon a higher rate of growth. 
      • The flawed premise of long term impact: Most mainstream economists believe that public expenditure in social sectors can only have a long- term impact on growth. Which is not entirely correct.
    • The benefit of investment in human infrastructure:
      • Increases demand in short-run: Investment in social sectors results in creating demand in the short run by way of opening avenues for large-scale employment.
      • Competitiveness and sustainability: It imparts competitiveness and sustainability to the Indian economy in the medium and long run.
    • Example of RTE, teacher employment and demand creation
      • The recruitment of 5.7 million additional teachers over a period of, say, five years, can create huge scale demand.
      • And, this is only one factor essential for universalising quality school education.
      • There is also a large gap between the requirement of infrastructure in the schools and that available and built recently.
      • The gap between requirement and availability: According to government data, only 12.5% of the schools covered by the RTE Act were compliant with RTE norms.
      • Meeting these norms has the potential of creating employment on a large scale.
    • Importance of health and education
      • Education has a crucial role to play for an individual in gaining employment and retaining employability.

    Conclusion

    The gestation period of projects in social sectors is not as long as it is made out to be. It is, therefore, time for reprioritising education and health in the scheme of development strategy and the allocation of budgetary resources.

     

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  • Economic Indicators and Various Reports On It- GDP, FD, EODB, WIR etc

     [op-ed snap] Don’t be deterred by the ‘crowding out’ effect of the fisc

    op-ed snap | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Government Budgeting

    Context

    Market borrowings of the government do not always squeeze credit for the private sector in India.

    What is ‘crowding out’ effect?

    • Increased government spending and borrowing: It refers to how increased government spending, for which it borrows more money, tends to reduce private spending.
      • Why does private spending reduce? This happens because when the government takes up the lion’s share of funds available in the banking system, less of it is left for private borrowers.
      • Relationship with interest rate: Higher borrowing by the government and subsequent crowding out also impacts interest rates in the economy.

    How the Government borrowing works and the role of RBI

    • Local borrowing local spending: Typically, the government funds its fiscal deficit by borrowing from the domestic bond market.
      • Its expenditure is also local in nature.
    • Overdraft from RBI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the official banker to the government-which spends money by first taking an overdraft from the central bank.
      • This overdraft gets repaid through bond market borrowings.
    • Why overdraft? The understanding is that any such government spending should ideally not affect the availability of funds to other borrowers in the market.
    • Excessive borrowing and effects on the interest rate: Excessive government borrowing from the bond market, many cautions, could lead to a rise in interest rates for the government itself and consequently for everyone else in the economy.

    Analysis of the effects of borrowing on other variables

    • Analysis of the data reveals the following trends.
    • No impact on other variables: Local borrowing and spending by the Indian government does not impact any other macroeconomic variables like-
      • The availability and cost of funds for other participants in the economy.
      • Inflation.
      • Deposit growth, at the current deficit level—that is, with the state and central combined figure above 6% of GDP.
    • What impacts the interest rate the most?
      • The two most important variables that impacted interest rates were inflation and the repo rate. Which tend to move together.
      • What does it indicate? This clearly indicates that RBI is extremely proactive in the way it manages interest rates.
    • Effects of funds on inflation: Such borrowings that are funded by the central bank could lead to inflation, the same is true for large external inflows to domestic money markets.
      • The foreign borrowings finally get reflected in the country’s foreign exchange reserves, which have a very strong relationship with inflation.
      • Effects on interest rates: Technically, any large inflow of a foreign currency sterilized by RBI does have the potential to move the inflation needle up, thus placing upward pressure on interest rates.
    • Relationship between borrowing and growth: It is clear that government borrowing and spending actually drives GDP growth.
      • Government borrowing should not impact bank lending to companies, as the sums borrowed return to the market almost immediately.
    • How RBI controls bond yield?
      • RBI ensures that bond yields don’t shoot up because of the excessive borrowing, by taking bonds onto its books to be released back into the market in good times.

    The uniqueness of the Indian money market

    • Why is it unique? India market is a unique money market, different from the rest of the world, for the following reasons-
      • We have investors who are explicitly required to invest in government debt.
      • Banks, non-banking financial companies, insurers, provident funds, and pension funds are all forced to invest in government debt as a condition for their licence to operate in India.
      • We also find that RBI works towards aiding the government borrowing programme rather effectively, ensuring that interest rates do not change too adversely.

    Conclusion

    The government should not be excessively worried about the government living beyond its means at this juncture. Government spending being the main driver for the country’s GDP growth, it could be a good way to put the economy on a higher growth trajectory. Perhaps it is time to revisit the entire FRBM framework.

     

     

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  • Trade Sector Updates – Falling Exports, TIES, MEIS, Foreign Trade Policy, etc.

    [op-ed snap] A road map for robust trade ties

    op-ed snap | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    Context

    The challenge for India and Australia is to transform people-to-people ties into a trade relationship.

    People-to-people the two countries

    • Soft power: Soft power rather than hard economics has traditionally been the driving force behind India-Australia relations.
      • Cricket is a dominant theme that connects the two countries.
      • The Indian diaspora in Australia is a vibrant community that plays a robust role in connecting their country of adoption with their country of origin.

    Trade relationship scenario

    • $31 bn bilateral trade: The trade between the two countries has been at a modest $31 billion, largely composed of resources like coal and other minerals.
    • No progress on FTA: Negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement, which began in 2011, have not moved forward significantly.
    • No progress on coal mining projects in Australia: The problems faced by the Adani Group to begin work on a coal mining project in Queensland did not go down too well with investors from India.
    • India Economic Strategy 2035 by Australia: One of the most widely commended initiatives has been the Australian government’s release of an India Economic Strategy 2035 Report.
      • It observes that no single market over the next 20 years will offer more growth opportunities for Australia than India.
      • It lays down a comprehensive road map for strengthening Australia’s trade engagement with India.

    Development in digital technology and the role of youth

    • Development of new architecture: Meanwhile India-Australia trade has been steadily evolving into a new architecture underpinned by developments in digital technology.
      • There is a rise of a younger generation of entrepreneurs and a noticeable shift in the trade basket from resources to services.
      • Technology and young entrepreneurship make a formidable combination and should set the agenda for the future of bilateral trade relations.
      • About 80% of the Australian small and medium-sized enterprises are managed by young professionals.
      • The young can see issues like immigration and outsourcing with far more equanimity than the older generation.
      • An important role of young Australians: Young Australians are thus emerging as great champions of India-Australia trade relations.

    Scope for engagement in innovation and trade relations

    • Tech. expertise of  Australia: There is also recognition that Australia is a laboratory of ideas, innovation, technology-led growth and university-industry partnerships.
    • Scope for India in innovation and trade: India is a large and demographically young market with a love for innovation and an appetite for new products and services.
      • These synergies should add momentum to a growing engagement in trade relations.

    India’s weakness and Way forward

    • Weakest link and way forward: The weakest link in India’s exports to Australia is in merchandise. India needs to look at three broad areas.
    • First-Focus on Market Research:  Despite globalisation, markets are country-specific and culturally sensitive.
      • Indian companies will need to invest a little more in market research on Australian consumer expectations and lifestyles.
    • Second-Brand creation: Australia is a brand-conscious market while India has not created a single consumer brand of international acceptance.
      • Only when products are visible across the world’s shopping malls and supermarkets displaying their own brands that India will be recognised as a major player in the global markets.
    • Third-Innovation: Innovation is emerging as the single-most-important factor for sustained success in every sphere. Global trade cannot be different.

     

     

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  • The Crisis In The Middle East

    Explained: West Asia Peace Plan

    Explained | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: India & Its Neighborhood – Relations

    With West Asia Peace plan US plans to revive the stalled two-state talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who had earlier spoken against the two-state solution, has accepted the Trump plan.

    West Asia Peace Plan

    The West Asia peace plan unveiled by U.S. President Trump seeks to give the Israelis what they have long wanted — an expansive state with Jerusalem as its “undivided capital” and tight security control over a future Palestinian state.

    What’s the plan about?

    • The Trump plan seeks to address most of the contentious issues in the conflict such as the border of Israel, status of Palestinian refugees, Jewish settlements on the West Bank, land swap between Israel and Palestine, Israel’s security concerns and the status of the city of Jerusalem.
    • However US have proposed to almost all of these issues favour the Israeli positions.
    • For example, Israel would be allowed to annex the Jewish settlements on the West Bank as well as the Jordan Valley.
    • The Palestinian refugees, who were forced out from their homes during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that followed the declaration of the state of Israel in the historic Palestine, would not be allowed to return.
    • They could move to the future Palestinian state, be integrated into the host countries or settled in other regional countries.

    Jerusalem: The undivided Capital

    • Jerusalem, perhaps the most contentious issue, would be “the undivided capital” of Israel, with Palestine gaining its capital in the east of the city — beyond the security border Israel has already built.
    • In return, Israel would freeze further settlement activities on the West Bank for four years — the time for negotiations.

    Land Swap

    • According to the Oslo Accords, the West Bank was divided into three areas and only one of them is under the direct control of the Palestinian Authority.
    • The plan proposes some land swap for the Israeli annexation of the West Bank Jewish settlements.
    • It seeks to enlarge Gaza and connect the strip with the West Bank through a tunnel.
    • The Arab towns in the southeast of Israel, which are close to Gaza, could become part of a future Palestinian state.

    Curb on Hamas

    • During this period, the Palestinian Authority should dismiss its current complaints at the International Criminal Court against Israel and refrain itself from taking further actions.
    • It should also crack down on “terrorist” groups such as Hamas and the Islamic Jihad.

    Investment Plans

    • US has also proposed $50 billion in investment over 10 years should Palestine accept the proposals.
    • In the final settlement, Palestine would get control over more land than what it currently controls.

    Implications for Palestine

    • The Palestine position is backed by most of the world powers is the formation of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state based on the 1967 border.
    • It means the whole of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital including the Old City that houses Haram esh-Sharif, also known as Temple Mount, a holy site for both Muslims and Jews.
    • Issues like the right of return of the Palestinian refugees are to be settled in final negotiations.
    • But US has effectively rejected the Palestinian claims outright and asked them to make more compromises.
    • He seeks to give Jerusalem and about 30% of the West Bank to the Israelis and has denied the right of return of the Palestinian refugees.
    • And for this, the Palestinians should take action against militant groups, stop supporting Palestinian families of those jailed or killed by Israel and refrain itself from questioning the occupation in international fora.

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  • Human Rights Issues

    Karnataka Anti-superstition Law

    Bills/Act/LawsStates | Governance | Mains Paper 1: Social Empowerment

    A controversial anti-superstition law in Karnataka was formally notified by the current government.

    Provisions of the earlier drafts

    • The law, which was initially drafted as the Karnataka Anti Superstition Bill, 2013, was a pet project of former CM Siddaramaiah.
    • The model Bill held human dignity as its central tenet and sought eradication of irrational practices found in different communities.
    • The first draft made practices like inflicting self-wounds and conversion through bribery illegal.
    • Some of the proposals opposed by religious leaders and political parties in the early draft were the ban on practices such as the carrying of priests in palanquins, worshipping the feet of religious leaders.
    • It sought to ban Made Snana practised in the Dakshina Kannada region where Dalits roll over the remains of food consumed by upper castes.

    The current version

    • A Bill with sizable consensus across the political spectrum finally evolved in 2017. A total of 16 practices have been banned under the law.
    • The practice of Vaastu, astrology, pradakshina or circumabulation of holy places, yatras, parikramas performed at religious places were kept out of the purview of the law.
    • Made Snana was banned under the law with respect to having Dalits roll over leftover food.
    • The practice has now been modified to be voluntary and not involving leftover food.
    • Practices such as barring menstruating women from entering houses of worship and their homes, coercing people to take part in fire-walks, and beating up people by declaring them evil, are among the irrational practices that have been banned under the 2017 law.

    Penalties

    • The law stipulates “imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to seven years and with fine which shall not be less than five thousand rupees but which may extend to fifty thousand rupees”, as punishment for violations.
    • The law is to implemented by the state police with the appointment of vigilance officers under the law at police stations.

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  • Mother and Child Health – Immunization Program, BPBB, PMJSY, PMMSY, etc.

    [pib] The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020

    Bills/Act/LawsPIB | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Health & Education

    The Union Cabinet has approved the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 to amend the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1971.

    About the Bill

    • The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill, 2020 is for expanding access of women to safe and legal abortion services on therapeutic, eugenic, humanitarian or social grounds.
    • It aims to increase upper gestation limit for termination of pregnancy under certain conditions and to strengthen access to comprehensive abortion care, under strict conditions, without compromising service and quality of safe abortion.

    Salient features of proposed amendments:

    • Proposing requirement for opinion of one provider for termination of pregnancy, up to 20 weeks of gestation and introducing the requirement of opinion of two providers for termination of pregnancy of 20-24 weeks of gestation.
    • Enhancing the upper gestation limit from 20 to 24 weeks for special categories of women which will be defined in the amendments to the MTP Rules and would include ‘vulnerable women including survivors of rape, victims of incest and other vulnerable women (like differently-abled women, Minors) etc.
    • Upper gestation limit not to apply in cases of substantial foetal abnormalities diagnosed by Medical Board. The composition, functions and other details of Medical Board to be prescribed subsequently in Rules under the Act.
    • Anonymity of the person: Name and other particulars of a woman whose pregnancy has been terminated shall not be revealed except to a person authorised in any law for the time being in force.

    Benefits

    • It is a step towards safety and well-being of the women and many women will be benefitted by this.
    • Recently several petitions were received by the Courts seeking permission for aborting pregnancies at a gestational age beyond the present permissible limit on grounds of foetal abnormalities or pregnancies due to sexual violence faced by women.
    • The proposed increase in gestational age will ensure dignity, autonomy, confidentiality and justice for women who need to terminate pregnancy.

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  • AYUSH – Indian Medicine System

    [pib] National Commission for Indian System of Medicines

    | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Statutory, Regulatory & Various Quasi-Judicial Bodies

    The Union Cabinet has given its approval for proposal of Official Amendments in the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Bill, 2019 (NCIM) which is pending in the Rajya Sabha.

    About the Commission

    • The main objective of establishing NCIM is to promote equity by ensuring adequate supply of quality medical professionals and enforce high ethical standards in all aspects of medical services in Indian System of Medicine.
    • The Commission will promote availability of affordable healthcare services in all parts of the country.
    • The Commission has been structured to streamline the functions related to academic standards, evaluation, assessment and accreditation of educational institutions pertaining to Indian System of Medicine.

    Composition

    • The NCISM will consist of 29 members, appointed by the central government.
    • A Search Committee will recommend names to the central government for the post of Chairperson, part time members, and presidents of the four autonomous boards set up under the NCISM.
    • These posts will have a maximum term of four years.
    • The Search Committee will consist of five members including the Cabinet Secretary and three experts nominated by the central government (of which two should have experience in any of the fields of Indian System of Medicine).

    Functions

    Functions of the NCISM include:

    • framing policies for regulating medical institutions and medical professionals of Indian System of Medicine,
    • assessing the requirements of healthcare related human resources and infrastructure,
    • ensuring compliance by the State Medical Councils of Indian System of Medicine of the regulations made under the Bill, and
    • ensuring coordination among the autonomous boards set up under the Bill.

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  • Festivals, Dances, Theatre, Literature, Art in News

    Nagoba Jatara

    Prelims Only | History and Art & Culture | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture

    The month long Nagoba Jatara recently concluded in Adilabad dist. of AP.

    Nagoba Jatara

    • Nagoba Jatara is a tribal festival held in Keslapur village, Inderavelly Mandal[1] Adilabad district, Telangana, India.
    • It is the second biggest tribal carnival and celebrated by Mesaram clan of Gond tribes for 10 days.
    • Tribal people from Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh belonging to the Mesram clan offer prayers at the festival.
    • It starts in pushya masam. A ceremony of ‘bheting’ is it’s integral part where the new brides are introduced to the clan god during first jatra afer their marriage
    • The few hundred Raj Gond and Pardhan Adivasis, men clad in pure white dhoti-kurta and the pagdi headgear and women in the traditional colourful nau-vari Maharashtrian style saree.
    • The temple for which a new structure is coming up is dedicated to the serpent god, known as Shri Shek to the aboriginal people, and is the centre of all activities during the week long festivities.

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  • Beating Retreat Ceremony

    Prelims Only | Trivia | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture

    The Beating Retreat ceremony recently took place at Vijay Chowk. The ceremony, which takes place on January 29 every year, marks the culmination of the four-day Republic Day celebrations.

    What is the Beating Retreat function?

    • ‘Beating Retreat’ marks a centuries old military tradition, when the troops ceased fighting, sheathed their arms and withdrew from the battlefield and returned to the camps at sunset at the sounding of the Retreat.
    • The military tradition began in 17th century England, when King James II ordered his troops to beat drums, lower flags and organise a parade to announce the end of a day of combat.
    • The ceremony was then called ‘watch setting’ and took place at sunset after firing a single round from the evening gun.
    • The ceremony is currently held by Armed Forces in the UK, US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and India, among others.

    How did it begin in India?

    • Beating the Retreat’ has emerged as an event of national pride when the Colours and Standards are paraded.
    • The ceremony traces its origins to the early 1950s when Major Roberts of the Indian Army indigenously developed the unique ceremony of display by the massed bands.
    • Section D (Ceremonials) at the Ministry of Defence conducts the event.
    • The ceremony consists of musical performances by the bands, who each year play Indian and western tunes.

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  • No-fly List

    Prelims Only | Security Issues | Mains Paper 3: Various Security Forces, Agencies & Their Mandates

    Four airlines in India have banned a stand-up comedian from taking flights after he allegedly heckled television news anchor on-flight.

    No-Fly List

    • In 2017, the government issued rules for preventing disruptive behaviour by air travellers and laid down guidelines for a no-fly list.
    • As per the rules, a complaint of unruly behaviour needs to be filed by the pilot-in-command, and this is to be probed by an internal committee to be set up by the airline.
    • During the period of pendency of the inquiry, the rules empower the concerned airline to impose a ban on the passenger.
    • The committee is to decide the matter within 30 days, and also specify the ban duration.
    • Any aggrieved person, upon receipt of communication of a ban from the airline, may appeal within 60 days from the date of issue of the order, to an Appellate Committee constituted by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

    Three categories of unruly behaviour:

    • Level 1 refers to behaviour that is verbally unruly, and calls for debarment up to three months;
    • Level 2 indicates physical unruliness and can lead to the passenger being debarred from flying for up to six months;
    • Level 3 indicates life-threatening behaviour for which the debarment would be for a minimum of two years.

     

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  • Women Safety Issues – Marital Rape, Domestic Violence, Swadhar, Nirbhaya Fund, etc.

    [op-ed of the day] The many problems of delayed data

    op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Governance, Transparency & Accountability, Citizens Charters

    Context

    Delay in releasing the crime data by NCRB reduces the utility of the data for the policymakers.

    Formidable challenges faced by NCRB

    • The First-Casual approach of the States: The first is the lackadaisical approach of some of the States in providing data.
      • The NCRB merely assembles the figures it receives from the State police forces and does not tinker with them to reach a predetermined conclusion.
      • States’ irregularity: Data collection hits a roadblock when a few States either don’t bother to send the figures or send them much after the volume is published.
    • The second-Utility of the released data: The second problem is that questions are raised over the utility of the data.
      • There was a two-year delay in releasing the crime statistics for 2017.
      • Just two months after it was published, the ‘Crime in India’ (CII) 2018 report was released.
      • Reduced utility from a policy point of view: These numbers are only relevant to researchers, not policymakers as it does not carry us far in understanding what is happening on the ground.
      • A fossilised CII is meaningless.
    • The third- Third problem lies with the police and the public.
      • The Reluctance of the police to register the complaint: The police are notorious the world over for not registering complaints.
      • They do this so that they can present a false picture of a decline in crime.
      • The reluctance of the public: The public is also not very enthusiastic about reporting crimes to the police.
      • Catch-22 situation: Public is fearful of being harassed at the police station or do not believe that the police are capable of solving the crime. This is a Catch-22 situation.

    Crimes difficult to bury

    • The positive role played by the media: However, the problem has declined slightly over the years due to public awareness and intense media scrutiny.
      • There are a few classes of offences which are becoming increasingly difficult to bury. This is attributable to the extraordinary interest evinced by the media in reporting crime.
    • The crimes which are difficult to bury: The following cases of crime are becoming difficult to bury.
      • Homicide: The first category of crimes that is difficult to bury is of homicides.
      • Matter of distress: India reports an average of 30,000 murders every year (29,017 were registered in 2018). Every murder is a matter of distress.
      • Nevertheless, the stabilisation of the figure at 30,000 is a mild assurance.
      • The corresponding figure for the period in the U.S. was around 16,200.
      • Need to study the US decline: Though the U.S. has about one-third of India’s population, the reported decline in murders in many major U.S cities is worth studying.
      • Crime against women: The common man in India does not lag behind others in reacting strongly to attacks on hapless women and men.
      • The growth of the visual media possibly explains this welcome feature in Indian society.
      • The hope of a decrease in crime: The nationwide outrage over the gang-rape in Delhi and the subsequent tightening of laws on sexual crimes generated the hope that attacks against women would decrease.

    The issue of under-reporting

    • Under-reporting of crime in rural areas: In 2018, there were 33,356 rapes, a higher number than the previous year.
      • But these figures do not fully reflect realities on the ground.
      • There is still the unverifiable suspicion that while in urban areas sexual violence cases are reasonably well-reported, the story is different in rural India.
      • The role played by money and caste: Money power and caste oppression are believed to play a significant role in under-reporting.
      • What is more significant is that a substantial number of such crimes are committed by the ‘friends’ and families of victims.

    Conclusion

    • To be fair to the NCRB, we must concede that the organisation has more than justified its existence. The CII is used extensively by researchers.
    • Need for educating the people on realities of crime and its reporting: There is scope for more dynamism on the NCRB’s part, especially in the area of educating the public on the realities of crime and its reporting.
    • Greater pressure on the States to stick to a schedule: The NCRB will also have to be conscious of the expectation that it should bring greater pressure on States to make them stick to schedules and look upon this responsibility as a sacred national duty.

     

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  • WTO and India

     [op-ed snap] How to protect trade in a tug of war between nations

    op-ed snap | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    Context

    Developing countries have argued for decades that the rules governing international trade are profoundly unfair. But similar complaints are now emanating from the developed countries that established most of those rules.

    Why are developed countries complaining now?

    • Competition: A simple but inadequate explanation is “competition.”
      • Turning tide: In the 1960s and 1970s, industrialized countries focused on opening foreign markets for their goods and set the rules accordingly.
      • Since then, the tide has turned.
    • Left behind communities in developed countries
      • Cheap labour-an advantage: One reason why emerging-market producers are competitive is that they pay workers less.
      • Job creation in services by developed countries: To replace lost manufacturing jobs, developed economies have been creating jobs in services.
      • Not everyone has moved to the service sector job: Unfortunately, not everyone in developed countries has been able to move to good service jobs.
      • Efforts by the left-behind bring back the manufacturing job: The left-behind former manufacturing communities have a voice in the capital city now, and it wants to bring back manufacturing.
      • Yet this explanation, too, is incomplete. The ongoing US-China trade war is not about manufacturing, it is about services.
    • Services a reason behind US-China dispute: Much of the US dispute with China is not about manufacturing. It is about services.
    • Emerging market competition increasing in services: Although eight of the top ten service exporters are developed countries, emerging-market competition is increasing.
      • New services related rules: This increased competition from emerging markets is prompting a major push by advanced-economy firms to enact new service-related trade rules.
      • An opportunity to protect the developed country producers: The new rules will ensure continued open borders for services. But it will also be an opportunity to protect the advantages of dominant developed-country producers.

    Trade disputes- The combined effects of the two factors

    • There are no easy trade deals anymore.
      • Two conflicting factors: In sum, two factors have increased the uneasiness over international trade and investment arrangements.
      • First-Left behind community: Ordinary people in left-behind communities in developed countries are no longer willing to accept existing arrangements.
      • They want to be heard, and they want their interests protected
      • Second-emerging economy demanding access to service sector: At the same time, emerging-economy elites want a share of the global market for services and are no longer willing to cede ground there. So, there is no easy trade deal anymore.
    • Trade disputes-exercise in power politics
      • High tariffs and ram tactics: Threats of sky-high tariffs to close off markets, for example, and battering-ram tactics to force “fairer” rules on the weaker party.
      • The important difference from the past: One important difference is that the public in emerging markets is more democratically engaged than in the past.
      • Short timed victory: Any success that rich countries have in setting onerous rules for others today could prove pyrrhic.
      • No consensus on the rules: For one thing, it is unclear that there is a consensus on those rules even within developed countries. For example- rules to regulate social media.

    Way forward

    How should developed countries respond to domestic pressures to make trade fairer?

    • Demand lower tariffs from developed countries: For starters, it is reasonable to demand that developing countries lower tariffs steadily to an internationally acceptable norm.
    • Challenge the discriminatory barriers: Discriminatory non-tariff barriers or subsidies that favour their producers excessively should be challenged at the World Trade Organization.
    • Go for less intrusive treaties: To go much beyond these measures—to attempt to impose one’s preferences on unions, regulation of online platforms, and duration of patents on other countries—will further undermine the consensus for trade.
      • Less intrusive trade agreements today may do more for the trade tomorrow

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  • Economic Indicators and Various Reports On It- GDP, FD, EODB, WIR etc

    [op-ed snap] Examining the slowdown

    op-ed snap | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    Context

    Setting aside the gloomy projections based on short-term economic trends, the long-term and comparative evidence reveal interesting trends about the health of the Indian economy.

    Performance of the Indian economy after 1991

    • Higher growth plateau reached after 1991: After the 1991 economic reforms, the Indian economy reached a higher growth plateau of 7% compared to a prior rate of 3. 85%.
      • The high growth rate during 2003-2011: India witnessed a high growth momentum during 2003-04 and 2010-11 with a period average of 8.45% (GDP with base 2004-05) or 7% (base 2011-12).
      • Ups and downs after 2012: The momentum lost steam in 2011-12 and 2012-13, gradually picked up again gradually to reach the 8% mark in 2015-16, and then started falling consistently to reach 6.63% in 2018-19.
      • Structural dimension? This trend suggests that India’s current growth challenge has a structural dimension as it began in 2011-12.
    • Comparison with China and the world
      • Average at 7.07% after 2011-12: Despite these fluctuations from 2011-12, on average, India clocked a growth rate of  7.07% from 2011 to 2019, a decent figure compared to China’s and the world’s economic growth rates.
      • Whereas like India, the growth of the world economy was fluctuating since 2011, China’s growth declined consistently from 10.64% in 2010 to 6.60% in 2018.

    Why couldn’t India’s growth momentum be sustained after 2010-11?

    • Analysis of five variables: To answer the above question, an in-depth analysis of trends in five key macroeconomic variables was done for two different periods: 2003-04 to 2010-11 and 2011-12 to 2018-19.
      • Consumption.
      • Investment.
      • Savings.
      • Exports.
      • Net foreign direct investment (NFDI) inflows.
    • What emerged from the analysis: The results reveal that compared to 2003-2011, investment and savings rates and exports-GDP ratio declined in the 2011-2019 period.
      • How much the investment declined? The investment rate declined from 34.31% of GDP in 2011-12 to 29.30% in 2018-19.
      • Household vs. corporate sector decline: The investment decline was caused mainly by the household sector and to some extent by the public sector, but not the corporate sector.
      • The decline in investment compensated by NFDI: The slump in the domestic investment rate in the 2011-2019 period was compensated by increased NFDI inflows.
      • On average, NFDI inflow was 1.31% of GDP during 2011-2019 compared to 0.89% during 2003-2011.

    Why tax-cut not help the economy

    • The justified policy of reviving the housing sector: The decline in household sector investment justifies the package of measures introduced by the Central government to revive the housing sector.
    • Why corporate tax cut won’t help much? The questionable policy, however, is the steep cut in the corporate income tax rate from 30% to 22%, aimed at boosting private investment.
      • Given that the corporate investment rate has not eroded severely during 2011-2019, the tax cut would help economic revival.
      • Lost opportunity to spur rural consumption: A part of the largesse offered to Corporate India could have been used to spur rural consumption.

    What the decline in saving rate mean?

    • Importance of savings: The savings rate declined almost consistently from 27% of GDP to 30.51% between 2011 and 2018.
      • This was also caused by a significant fall in the savings of the household sector in financial assets. Corporate savings did not fall.
      • Why the fall in household financial savings needs to be increased? The fall in household financial savings is alarming and needs to be arrested.
      • Savings are required to meet the requirements of those who want to borrow for their investment needs.
      • Saving-investment relation: Lower household savings imply lesser funds available in the domestic market for investment spending.
    • Economic growth powered by consumption: The decline in household savings has pushed up private final consumption expenditure consistently
      • Private final consumption rose from 56.21% of GDP in 2011-12 to 59.39% in 2018-19.
      • Consumption driven economic growth in 2011-19: The increase in private consumption suggests that economic growth during 2011-2019 was powered by consumption, not investment.
      • Investment driven growth during 2003-2011: In contrast, during 2003-2011, growth was powered by investments.
    • So, declining saving rate means a slowdown in the economy may not be due to structural issues.
      • Re-examination of popular view: Thus, the popular view that economic slowdown was caused due to a slowdown in consumption demand needs to be re-examined.
      • There is no concrete evidence to suggest that the economy is facing a structural consumption slowdown.

    Export-GDP ratio decline and what it means

    • Export-GDP decline from 24.54% to 19.74%: India’s exports-GDP ratio declined from 24.54% to 19.74% during 2011-2019.
    • A trend similar to the rest of the world: The decline started from 2014-15, coinciding with a similar trend in the world export-GDP ratio.
      • However, the drop in India’s exports was significantly larger than the world, a cause for concern.
      • The exports- and NFDI-GDP ratio has deteriorated sharply and consistently in China after 2006.
    • Indian economy doing better than China: Sharp decline in China’s export-GDP and NFDI-GDP, together with the consistent fall in China’s GDP growth after 2010, proves that the Indian economy is doing better than China.

    Conclusion

    The popular view that the slowdown in the Indian economy is due to the structural problems needs a re-examination in the view of the decline in investment in tandem with the world.

     

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