Current Affairs Magazine (July 2019)

Jatin Verma’s Current Affairs Magazine (July 2019)

Visit:- www.jatinverma.org

Smith

When and why did you enter in UPSC competitive exams? Entered preparation in July 2015. Reason- Need for a diverse work profile with wider impact.

Q. How much did you rely on online sources/videos while preparing for this exam? It was a mix of online resources and books. I used mrunal.org extensively for all the basic subjects like economics and geography.

Q. How did you make notes? Extensive notes from current affairs and all the basic books on A4 sheets. Notes are very important for timely revision.

Q. Prelim 2017’s and 2018’s GS papers were very tough. What are your views? If you were to prepare for the Prelims-2019, what changes would you make in the strategy? Almost 60% questions in last 2 prelims were applied. Only basic books won't suffice now. Need of next examinations as per my understanding is ability to eliminate options based on applied knowledge and solve more and more MCQ's to deal with complex, ambiguous and lengthy questions

Q. Kindly tell us how to complete GS paper-II (Prelims) in time. As mentioned above, the best way is to solve lot of practice papers before going into the actual exam. Also the proven strategy of doing 3 rounds of the paper needs a rethink, given the lengthy nature of questions.

Q. Kindly tell us about your approximate no. of attempted answers vs. correct answers you got in Prelims-2018. Attempt 100, Correct-66, Incorrect-34

Q. Compulsory language paper: Your preparation strategy / booklist? Did not prepare anything specifically for these papers

Q. How did you prepare for the essay paper? Wrote around 25-30 essays in the first attempt. Also Pavneet Singh's book is good to develop an approach to write UPSC essays.

Q. Which two essays did you write what key points did you include in it?

Wrote first essay on Poverty. Started with a self-made poem and wrote about the topic rather than focusing on poverty (generally we tend to write about the keyword rather than the topic). Second essay I attempted was about cultural rigidity and social progress. This was a tricky topic which I attempted by including lot of examples substantiating the topic. Q. In ethics, what are your observations and tips for future aspirants regarding preparation Watch my live session on Jatin's YouTube channel.

Q. Some experts claim you should attempt all questions in Mains, some say attempt only those questions you know perfectly. What is your thought? Attempt all questions without any second thought.

Q. How was your experience with the ‘fixed space’ answer sheet? Sufficient space is available

Q. Did you write answers in bullet points or in paragraphs? I prefer writing in bullet points to convey ideas in crisp and concise way

Q. Did you follow the “introduction-body-conclusion” format? Yes, I followed it meticulously in every answer

Q. What’s your optional subject and why did you choose it? Commerce and accountancy due to previous experience during graduation

Q. Please provide the essential book/resource list. Rankers classes notes for both paper 1 and paper 2 along with preparing model answers for each PY question using Google to fill gaps. Referring to to too many books can restrict your revsion capabilities. Revision remains a key in such a vast optional subject. Restrict your resources and focus on PY questions.

Q. How much of internet-research / current affairs is necessary for this optional? Negligible. Stick to the basics

Q. How many months did it take to finish the core optional syllabus? It took me 4-5 months along with GS prep without classes

Q. How many days/ weeks before the exam, you started answer writing practice? After prelims examination

Q. Do you maintain notes for revision of optional? In which format- electronic or paper? Paper based notes work for me.

Q. Your observation about the difficultly level of 2018 mains vs previous papers.

Pattern is shifting towards analytical questions. It is no more sufficient just to know something. It's important to analyse, understand and apply.

Q. What precautions are necessary in the future strategy for given optional subject? No short cut that can fetch you marks if you don't have a good hold over PY Questions.

Q. How long was the interview? 30 mins.

Career Backup: I got selected into IPS through CSE-2017. I would have continued with IPS. I am a B. Com. from local Pune College. I gave 3 interviews in 3 attempts. Your past is bygone. Your future is still ahead of you. Give it your best shot.

For detailed Interview visit: www.jatinverma.org

Table of Contents  Focus Articles ...... 1  Union Budget 2019-20 ...... 1  Economic Survey 2018-19 ...... 16  Polity & Governance...... 27  Karnataka’s Political Crisis ...... 27  Parliamentary Standing Committees ...... 29  The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2019 ...... 31  The Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2019 ...... 32  The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019 ...... 33  Adding OBCs to the Scheduled Castes list ...... 35  Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre ...... 37  Nagaland to initiate its own version of NRC ...... 38  SC Judgments in Vernacular Languages ...... 39  OHCHR report on Jammu and Kashmir ...... 39  Schemes/Bills/Acts...... 42  STRIDE Scheme ...... 42  Paramarsh Scheme ...... 43  Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Bill, 2019 ...... 44  Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2019 ...... 45  International Relations ...... 47  G20: Osaka Summit ...... 47  ICJ Verdict on Kulbhushan Jadhav ...... 48  Trump-Kim Meeting ...... 50  India and Italy set up Fast Track Mechanism ...... 50  Inter-Institutional Agreement between India and USA ...... 51  Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity ...... 51  Economy...... 52  Draft Model Tenancy Act(MTA), 2019 ...... 52  One Nation, One Ration Card scheme ...... 53  Sovereign Bond ...... 55  The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2018 ...... 56  Three Airports Leased through PPP...... 57  Ban on Private Cryptocurrencies ...... 58  Global Innovation Index (GII) ...... 59  Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) ...... 60  SEBI’s New Powers ...... 61  Base Erosion and Profit Shifting ...... 61  Environment & Disaster Management ...... 63  NDMA conducts workshop on Glacial Hazards and Risks ...... 63  Jal Shakti Abhiyan ...... 63  Capacity Strengthening Initiative for 2.5 lakh Panchayats launched ...... 64  Indian Ports witness higher sea level rise than the global average ...... 65  Project to control population of Wild Animals ...... 65  Decline in Global Freshwater Fish Species: IUCN ...... 66  Blue Flag certification...... 66  M-sand ...... 67  Dracaena Cambodiana ...... 67  Social Justice & Development ...... 69  Mob Lynchings in India ...... 69  The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019 ...... 73  National Digital Health Blueprint Report ...... 74  UNESCO Education Report on children with disabilities ...... 76  WHO’s guidelines on Self-Care Interventions ...... 78  Security ...... 80  National Investigative Agency (Amendment) Bill, 2019 ...... 80  The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2019 ...... 80  Bhabha Kavach ...... 82  Garuda-VI ...... 82  Science & Technology ...... 83  Chandrayaan 2 ...... 83  ISRO Technical Liaison Unit at Moscow ...... 84  Sagar Maitri Mission-2 ...... 84  TIFR Desalinates Seawater without Electricity ...... 85  Tiangong-2 ...... 85  Diversity, Art & Culture ...... 86  Jaipur a World Heritage Site ...... 86  Markandeshwar Temple ...... 86  Pothamala Menhirs ...... 86  Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskars ...... 87  Kharchi Pooja ...... 87  Ashadhi Bij ...... 88  Aanayoottu ...... 88  PIB Corner ...... 89  UN Convention on International Settlement Agreements ...... 89  Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) ...... 89  India – UK JETCO Meeting ...... 90  Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana-lll (PMGSY-III) ...... 91  Draft Plan for Power Distribution Sector ...... 91  India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue (IRSED) ...... 92  INS Tarkash in Russia ...... 93  RSTV Corner ...... 94  Kashmir – No Third Party ...... 94  Single Tribunal for River Water Disputes ...... 95  Floods & River Linking ...... 96  The 5G Debate ...... 97  YOJANA - Citizen Centric e-Services ...... 100  Empowering Citizens Through e-Services ...... 100  Tracking Schemes Through GIS ...... 101  Digital Infrastructure: Core of Governance ...... 102  ICT Enabled Farm Centric Agricultural Services ...... 103  Reimagining Citizen Services with Open Fintech Platforms ...... 105  Leveraging Technology for transforming education ...... 106  Empowering the Marginalised through Digital Platforms ...... 109  Fostering the Right Ecosystem – A software Products Led Approach ...... 109  Development of Metro Rails in India ...... 110  e-Health Services ...... 112  Kuruksherta – Rural Non-Farm Sector ...... 114  Rural Non-Farm Sector ...... 114  Rural Tourism ...... 116  Handlooms and Handicrafts: Potential Employers in Non-Farm Sector ...... 117  Food processing for Non-farm Sector ...... 119  Map Based Practice Questions ...... 120  Solutions ...... 122

Note: Our magazine covers important current affairs from all the important sources referred by UPSC CSE aspirants- The Hindu, Indian Express, PIB, RSTV, LSTV, Economic & Political Weekly and Frontline magazine and other journals. Since we do not want to compromise on quality of facts & analysis, the magazine might run into some extra pages. We assure you that we have tried our best to make this magazine the “one stop solution” for your current affairs preparation for UPSC CSE 2020.

Focus Articles

Union Budget 2019-20

Global economy

There is slowdown in global economic activity. As per the IMF’s World Economic Outlook Report (April 2019), the growth in world output reduced to 3.6% in 2018 from 3.8% in 2017 and is further expected to reduce to 3.3% in 2019. Attributable reasons are:

 The trade tensions between the US and China  Weakening of consumer and business confidence  Financial tightening in emerging and advanced economies  Softening of demand from emerging markets.

Global growth is expected to pick up in the second half of 2019, based on policy stimulus by major economies and improvements in global financial market sentiment and possible easing in trade tensions.

Indian economy

 Several downside risks continue for India based on global factors, including geo-political tensions leading to pressures on oil prices and India’s import dependence on oil.  The falling yields in the US have also led to FII inflows and consequent strengthening of the INR. These further impact India’s export competitiveness.  There is also slowdown in Indian economic growth in recent years.  GDP grew by 6.8% in 2018-19, which is the lowest growth rate in the last five years.  GDP growth for Q4 for 2018-19 has dropped to 5.8%, which is significantly lower than 8%– 6.6% growth witnessed during the first three quarters.  Economic Survey 2018-19 has projected that the economy will grow at 7% in 2019-20.

Agriculture Sector

 The agriculture sector grew at 2.9% in 2018-19, against 5% the previous year.  The total production of food grains during 2018-19 reduced to 283.4m tonnes from 285m tonnes in 2017-18.  Gross Capital Formation in agriculture and allied sectors fell to 15.2% of sectoral GVA in 2017-18 from a peak of 17.7% in 2013-14.

Manufacturing sector

 It grew at 6.9% in 2018-19, in comparison to 5.9% in 2017-18.  The sector witnessed subdued growth in Q3 and Q4 of FY 2018-19 due to slow credit flow to SME industries, reduced lending by NBFCs owing to liquidity crunch and decelerating domestic demand in key sectors such as automobiles, pharmaceuticals and machinery & equipment.  The IIP for manufacturing has also dipped in 2018-19, standing at 3.6%, in comparison to 4.6% in 2017-18.

Services sector

 It accounts for around 54% of GDP.  Its growth dipped to 7.5% in 2018-19, in comparison to 8.1% in 2017-18.  Tourism, trade, hotels, transport, and communication suffered major deceleration, while the financial, real estate and professional services segment accelerated.  FDI equity inflow into the services sector fell by 1.3% from last year.  Analysing the expenditure components of GDP, there has been deceleration in growth of private consumption, investment and exports in the last two quarters of 2018-19.

Employment

 As per the periodic labour force survey released in May 2019, the unemployment rate in India is 6.1% in 2017-18 with higher unemployment in urban areas (7.8%) than rural areas (5.3%).

Achievements during 2014-19  1 trillion dollars added to Indian economy over last 5 years (compared to over 55 years taken to reach the first trillion dollar).  India is now the 6th largest economy in the world, compared to 11th largest five years ago.  Indian economy is globally the 3rd largest in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) terms.  Strident commitment to fiscal discipline and a rejuvenated Centre-State dynamic provided during 2014-19.  Structural reforms in indirect taxation, bankruptcy and real estate carried out.  India’s Ease of Doing Business ranking under the category of ‘paying taxes’ jumped from 172 in 2017 to 121 in the 2019.  Direct tax revenue increased by over 78% in past 5 years to Rs. 11.37 lakh crore.  Average amount spent on food security per year almost doubled during 2014-19 compared to 2009-14.  NPAs of commercial banks reduced by over Rs. 1 lakh crore over the last year. Record recovery of over Rs. 4 lakh crores affected over the last four years.  Provision coverage ratio at its highest in seven years.  Domestic credit growth increased to 13.8%.  Patents issued more than trebled in 2017-18 as against the number in 2014.

Governments Income vs. Expenditure

10-point Vision for the decade

 Building Team India with Jan Bhagidari: Minimum Government Maximum Governance.  Achieving Green Mother Earth and Blue Skies through a pollution-free India.

 Making Digital India reach every sector of the economy.  Launching Gaganyan, Chandrayan, other Space and Satellite programmes.  Building physical and social infrastructure.  Water, water management, clean rivers.  Blue Economy.  Self-sufficiency and export of food-grains, pulses, oilseeds, fruits and vegetables.  Achieving a healthy society via Ayushman Bharat, well-nourished women & children, safety of citizens.  Emphasis on MSMEs, Start-ups, defence manufacturing, automobiles, electronics, fabs and batteries, and medical devices under Make in India.

Towards a 5 Trillion Dollar Economy

 Indian economy to become a 3 trillion-dollar economy in the current year.  Government aspires to make India a 5 trillion-dollar economy.  Need for investment in:  Infrastructure.  Digital economy.  Job creation in small and medium firms.  Initiatives to be proposed for kick-starting the virtuous cycle of investments.  Common man’s life changed through MUDRA loans for ease of doing business.

Direct Taxes

 Increase in threshold turnover for lower rate of corporate tax. Currently, the lower tax rate of 25% is only applicable to companies having annual turnover of upto Rs 250 crore. This has now been extended to include all companies with annual turnover of up to Rs 400 crore. Now only 0.7% of companies will remain outside this rate.  Budget has proposed an increase in the effective tax rate paid by high net-worth individuals (HNIs) by hiking the surcharge paid by those earning more than ₹2 crore and ₹5 crore a year.

Tax Simplification and Ease of living

 Interchangeability of PAN and Aadhaar  Those who don’t have PAN can file tax returns using Aadhaar.  Aadhaar can be used wherever PAN is required.

 Pre-filling of Income-tax Returns: for faster, more accurate tax returns  Pre-filled tax returns with details of several incomes and deductions to be made available.  Information to be collected from Banks, Stock exchanges, mutual funds etc.

 Faceless e-assessment  Faceless e-assessment with no human interface to be launched. To be carried out initially in cases requiring verification of certain specified transactions or discrepancies.  The existing system of scrutiny assessments in the income-tax department involves a high level of personal interaction between the taxpayer and the department, which leads to certain undesirable practices on the part of tax officials.  Under the new system, cases selected for scrutiny will be allocated to assessment units in a random manner and notices will be issued electronically by a Central Cell, without disclosing the name, designation or location of the Assessing Officer.

 This Central Cell will be the single point of contact between the taxpayer and the IT Department.

 Simplification of tax laws to reduce genuine hardships of taxpayers  Higher tax threshold for launching prosecution for non-filing of returns  Appropriate class of persons exempted from the anti-abuse provisions of Section 50CA and Section 56 of the Income Tax Act.

Indirect Taxes

 Increase in Special Additional Excise Duty and Road and Infrastructure Cess each by Rs. 1 per litre on petrol and diesel.  Custom duty on gold and other precious metals increased.  Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme for quick closure of pending litigations in Central Excise and Service tax from pre-GST regime.  Exemptions from Custom Duty on certain electronic items now manufactured in India withdrawn.  Export duty rationalised on raw and semi-finished leather.

Investment

 Measures to enhance the sources of capital for infrastructure financing:  Credit Guarantee Enhancement Corporation to be set up in 2019-2020.  Action plan to be put in place to deepen the market for long term bonds with focus on infrastructure.  Proposed transfer/sale of investments by FIIs/FPIs (in debt securities issued by IDF-NBFCs) to any domestic investor within the specified lock-in period.

 Measures to deepen bond markets:  Stock exchanges to be enabled to allow AA rated bonds as collaterals.  User-friendliness of trading platforms for corporate bonds to be reviewed.

 Social stock exchange:  Electronic fund-raising platform under the regulatory ambit of SEBI.  Listing social enterprises and voluntary organizations.  To raise capital as equity, debt or as units like a mutual fund.

 SEBI to consider raising the threshold for minimum public shareholding in the listed companies from 25% to 35%.  Know Your Customer (KYC) norms for Foreign Portfolio Investors to be made more investor friendly.  Government to supplement efforts by RBI to get retail investors to invest in government treasury bills and securities, with further institutional development using stock exchanges.  Measures to make India a more attractive FDI destination:  FDI in sectors like aviation, media (animation, AVGC) and insurance sectors can be opened further after multi-stakeholder examination.  Insurance Intermediaries to get 100% FDI.  Local sourcing norms to be eased for FDI in Single Brand Retail sector.

 Government to organize an annual Global Investors Meet in India, using National Infrastructure Investment Fund (NIIF) as an anchor to get all three sets of global players (pension, insurance and sovereign wealth funds).  Statutory limit for FPI investment in a company is proposed to be increased from 24% to sectoral foreign investment limit. Option to be given to the concerned corporate to limit it to a lower threshold.

 FPIs to be permitted to subscribe to listed debt securities issued by ReITs and InvITs.  NRI-Portfolio Investment Scheme Route is proposed to be merged with the Foreign Portfolio Investment Route.  Cumulative resources garnered through new financial instruments like Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs), Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) as well as models like Toll- Operate-Transfer (ToT) exceed Rs. 24,000 crores.  Set of four labour codes proposed, to streamline multiple labour laws to standardize and streamline registration and filing of returns.  This will not only ensure standardised process of registration and filing of returns but will also help in reducing labour disputes across the country.  This will also boost foreign investment in manufacturing activities, which was otherwise shying away from establishing manufacturing plants in the country due to various labour law issues.

 Government to raise a part of its gross borrowing program in external markets in external currencies. This will also have beneficial impact on demand situation for the government securities in domestic market.

Infrastructure

Transport Sector

 India’s first indigenously developed payment ecosystem for transport, based on National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) standards, launched in March 2019.  Inter-operable transport card runs on RuPay card and would allow the holders to pay for bus travel, toll taxes, parking charges, retail shopping.  Massive push given to all forms of physical connectivity through:

 Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.  Industrial Corridors, Dedicated Freight Corridors.  Bhartamala and Sagarmala projects, Jal Marg Vikas and UDAN Schemes.

 State road networks to be developed in second phase of Bharatmala project.  National Highway Programme to be restructured to ensure a National Highway Grid, using a financeable model.  Navigational capacity of Ganga to be enhanced via multi modal terminals at Sahibganj and Haldia and a navigational lock at Farakka by 2019-20, under Jal Marg Vikas Project.`  Four times increase in next four years estimated in the cargo volume on Ganga, leading to cheaper freight and passenger movement and reducing the import bill.  Rs. 50 lakh crore investment needed in Railway Infrastructure during 2018-2030.  Public-Private-Partnership proposed for development and completion of tracks, rolling stock manufacturing and delivery of passenger freight services.

 Policy interventions to be made for the development of Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO), to achieve self- reliance in aviation segment.  Regulatory roadmap for making India a hub for aircraft financing and leasing activities from Indian shores, to be laid by the Government.

Electric Vehicles

 Additional income tax deduction of Rs. 1.5 lakh on interest paid on electric vehicle loans.  Customs duty exempted on certain parts of electric vehicles.  Outlay of Rs. 10,000 crores for 3 years approved for Phase-II of FAME Scheme.  Upfront incentive proposed on purchase and charging infrastructure, to encourage faster adoption of Electric Vehicles.  Only advanced-battery-operated and registered e-vehicles to be incentivized under FAME Scheme.

Energy Sector

 Power at affordable rates to states ensured under ‘One Nation, One Grid’.  Blueprints to be made available for gas grids, water grids, i-ways, and regional airports.  High Level Empowered Committee (HLEC) recommendations to be implemented:  Retirement of old & inefficient plants.  Addressing low utilization of gas plant capacity due to paucity of Natural Gas.

 Cross subsidy surcharges, undesirable duties on open access sales or captive generation for industrial and other bulk power consumers to be removed under Ujjwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY).  Package of power sector tariff and structural reforms to be announced soon.

Housing

 Reform measures to be taken up to promote rental housing.  Model Tenancy Law to be finalized and circulated to the states.  Joint development and concession mechanisms to be used for public infrastructure and affordable housing on land parcels held by the Central Government and CPSEs.  Additional deduction up to Rs. 1.5 lakhs for interest paid on loans borrowed up to 31st March, 2020 for purchase of house valued up to Rs. 45 lakhs.

Space and R&D

 New Space India Limited (NSIL), a PSE, incorporated as a new commercial arm of Department of Space.  To tap the benefits of the Research & Development carried out by ISRO like commercialization of products like launch vehicles, transfer to technologies and marketing of space products.

Measures related to MSMEs

 Pradhan Mantri Karam Yogi Maandhan Scheme  Pension benefits to about three crore retail traders & small shopkeepers with annual turnover less than Rs. 1.5 crore.  Enrolment to be kept simple, requiring only Aadhaar, bank account and a self-declaration.

 Rs. 350 crores allocated for FY 2019-20 for 2% interest subvention (on fresh or incremental loans) to all GST-registered MSMEs, under the Interest Subvention Scheme for MSMEs.  Payment platform for MSMEs to be created to enable filing of bills and payment thereof, to eliminate delays in government payments.

Mega Investment in Sunrise and Advanced Technology Areas

 Scheme to invite global companies to set up mega-manufacturing plants in areas such as Semi- conductor Fabrication (FAB), Solar Photo Voltaic cells, Lithium storage batteries, Computer Servers, Laptops, etc.  Investment linked income tax exemptions to be provided along with indirect tax benefits.

Start-ups

 Capital gains exemptions from sale of residential house for investment in start-ups extended till FY21.  ‘Angel tax’ issue resolved- start-ups and investors filing requisite declarations and providing information in their returns not to be subjected to any kind of scrutiny in respect of valuations of share premiums.  Funds raised by start-ups to not require scrutiny from Income Tax Department  E-verification mechanism for establishing identity of the investor and source of funds.  Special administrative arrangements for pending assessments and grievance redressal  No inquiry in such cases by the Assessing Officer without obtaining approval of the supervisory officer.  No scrutiny of valuation of shares issued to Category-II Alternative Investment Funds.  Relaxation of conditions for carry forward and set off of losses.  A television program proposed exclusively for and by start-ups, within the DD bouquet of channels.

Banking and Financial Sector

Measures related to PSBs

 Rs. 70,000 crores proposed to be provided to PSBs to boost credit.  PSBs to leverage technology, offering online personal loans and doorstep banking, and enabling customers of one PSBs to access services across all PSBs.  Steps to be initiated to empower accountholders to have control over deposit of cash by others in their accounts.  Reforms to be undertaken to strengthen governance in PSBs.

Measures related to NBFCs

 Ensuring that NBFCs that are fundamentally sound continue to get funding from banks and mutual funds without being unduly risk averse.  Proposals for strengthening the regulatory authority of RBI over NBFCs to be placed in the Finance Bill.  Steps to allow all NBFCs to directly participate on the TReDS platform.  For purchase of high rated pooled assets of financially sound NBFCs, amounting to a total of Rs 1 lakh cr, Govt to provide one time six months' partial guarantee to PSBs for first loss of up to 10%.

 Government to take necessary steps to allow all NBFCs to directly participate on the TreDs platform.  Requirement of creating a Debenture Redemption Reserve will be done away with to allow NBFCs to raise funds in public issues.  Return of regulatory authority from NHB to RBI proposed, over the housing finance sector.  Rs. 100 lakh crore investment in infrastructure intended over the next five years. Committee proposed to recommend the structure and required flow of funds through development finance institutions.  Steps to be taken to separate the NPS Trust from PFRDA to prevent conflict of interest, keeping in mind the wider interest of subscribers.  Reduction in Net Owned Fund requirement from Rs. 5,000 crores to Rs. 1,000 crores proposed:  To facilitate on-shoring of international insurance transactions.  To enable opening of branches by foreign reinsurers in the International Financial Services Centre.  New series of coins of One Rupee, Two Rupees, Five Rupees, Ten Rupees and Twenty Rupees, easily identifiable to the visually impaired to be made available for public use shortly.

Digital Payments

 TDS of 2% on cash withdrawal exceeding Rs. 1 crore in a year from a bank account.  Business establishments with annual turnover more than Rs. 50 crores shall offer low cost digital modes of payment to their customers and no charges or Merchant Discount Rate shall be imposed on customers as well as merchants.

Measures related to CPSEs

 Target of Rs. 1, 05,000 crore of disinvestment receipts set for the FY 2019-20.  Government to reinitiate the process of strategic disinvestment of Air India, and to offer more CPSEs for strategic participation by the private sector.  Present policy of retaining 51% Government stake to be modified to retaining 51% stake inclusive of the stake of Government controlled institutions.  Retail participation in CPSEs to be encouraged.  Government to offer an investment option in ETFs on the lines of Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS).

 Government to meet public shareholding norms of 25% for all listed PSUs and raise the foreign shareholding limits to maximum permissible sector limits for all PSU companies which are part of Emerging Market Index.

Grameen Bharat / Rural India

 Ujjwala Yojana and Saubhagya Yojana have transformed the lives of every rural family, dramatically improving ease of their living.  Electricity and clean cooking facility to all willing rural families by 2022.  Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Gramin (PMAY-G) aims to achieve "Housing for All" by 2022:  Eligible beneficiaries to be provided 1.95 crore houses with amenities like toilets, electricity and LPG connections during its second phase (2019-20 to 2021-22).  Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY)  A robust fisheries management framework through PMMSY to be established by the Department of Fisheries.  To address critical gaps in the value chain including infrastructure, modernization, traceability, production, productivity, post-harvest management, and quality control.  Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY)  Target of connecting the eligible and feasible habitations advanced from 2022 to 2019 with 97% of such habitations already being provided with all-weather connectivity.  30,000 kilometers of PMGSY roads have been built using Green Technology, Waste Plastic and Cold Mix Technology, thereby reducing carbon footprint.

 1,25,000 kilometers of road length to be upgraded over the next five years under PMGSY III with an estimated cost of Rs. 80,250 crores.  Scheme of Fund for Upgradation and Regeneration of Traditional Industries’ (SFURTI)  Common Facility Centres (CFCs) to be setup to facilitate cluster-based development for making traditional industries more productive, profitable and capable for generating sustained employment opportunities.  100 new clusters to be setup during 2019-20 with special focus on Bamboo, Honey and Khadi, enabling 50,000 artisans to join the economic value chain.  Scheme for Promotion of Innovation, Rural Industry and Entrepreneurship’ (ASPIRE) consolidated.  80 Livelihood Business Incubators (LBIs) and 20 Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) to be setup in 2019-20.  75,000 entrepreneurs to be skilled in agro-rural industry sectors.  Private entrepreneurships to be supported in driving value-addition to farmers’ produce from the field and for those from allied activities.  Dairying through cooperatives to be encouraged by creating infrastructure for cattle feed manufacturing, milk procurement, processing & marketing.  10,000 new Farmer Producer Organizations to be formed, to ensure economies of scale for farmers.  Government to work with State Governments to allow farmers to benefit from e-NAM.  Zero Budget Farming in which few states’ farmers are already being trained to be replicated in other states.

India’s water security

 New Jal Shakti Mantralaya to look at the management of our water resources and water supply in an integrated and holistic manner.  Jal Jeevan Mission to achieve Har Ghar Jal (piped water supply) to all rural households by 2024.  To focus on integrated demand and supply side management of water at the local level.  Convergence with other Central and State Government Schemes to achieve its objectives.  1592 critical and over exploited Blocks spread across 256 District being identified for the Jal Shakti Abhiyan.  Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) fund can be used for this purpose.

Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

 9.6 Crore toilets constructed since Oct 2, 2014.  More than 5.6 lakh villages have become Open Defecation Free (ODF).  Swachh Bharat Mission to be expanded to undertake sustainable solid waste management in every village.

Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan

 Over two crore rural Indians made digitally literate.  Internet connectivity in local bodies in every Panchayat under Bharat-Net to bridge rural-urban divide.  Universal Obligation Fund under a PPP arrangement to be utilized for speeding up Bharat-Net.

Shahree Bharat/Urban India

 Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-Urban)-  Over 81 lakh houses with an investment of about Rs. 4.83 lakh crore sanctioned of which construction started in about 47 lakh houses.  Over 26 lakh houses completed of which nearly 24 lakh houses delivered to the beneficiaries.  Over 13 lakh houses so far constructed using new technologies.  More than 95% of cities also declared Open Defecation Free (ODF).  Almost 1 crore citizens have downloaded Swachhata App.  Target of achieving Gandhiji’s resolve of Swachh Bharat to make India ODF by 2nd October 2019.  To mark this occasion, the Rashtriya Swachhta Kendra to be inaugurated at Gandhi Darshan, Rajghat on 2nd October, 2019.  Gandhipedia being developed by National Council for Science Museums to sensitize youth and society about positive Gandhian values.  Railways to be encouraged to invest more in suburban railways through SPV structures like Rapid Regional Transport System (RRTS) proposed on the Delhi-Meerut route.  Proposal to enhance the metro-railway initiatives by:  Encouraging more PPP initiatives.  Ensuring completion of sanctioned works.  Supporting transit-oriented development (TOD) to ensure commercial activity around transit hubs.

Youth

 New National Education Policy to be brought which proposes  Major changes in both school and higher education  Better Governance systems  Greater focus on research and innovation.  National Research Foundation (NRF) proposed  To fund, coordinate and promote research in the country.  To assimilate independent research grants given by various Ministries.  To strengthen overall research eco-system in the country  This would be adequately supplemented with additional funds.  Rs. 400 crore provided for “World Class Institutions”, for FY 2019-20, more than three times the revised estimates for the previous year.  ‘Study in India’ proposed to bring foreign students to study in Indian higher educational institutions.  Regulatory systems of higher education to be reformed comprehensively:  To promote greater autonomy.  To focus on better academic outcomes.  Draft legislation to set up Higher Education Commission of India (HECI), to be presented.  Khelo India Scheme to be expanded with all necessary financial support.  National Sports Education Board for development of sportspersons to be set up under Khelo India, to popularize sports at all levels.  To prepare youth for overseas jobs, focus to be increased on globally valued skill-sets including language training, AI, IoT, Big Data, 3D Printing, Virtual Reality and Robotics.  Stand-Up India Scheme to be continued for the period of 2020-25. The Banks to provide financial assistance for demand-based businesses.

Naari Tu Narayani/Women

 Approach shift from women-centric-policy making to women-led initiatives and movements.  A Committee proposed with Government and private stakeholders for moving forward on Gender budgeting.  SHG:  Women SHG interest subvention program proposed to be expanded to all districts.  Overdraft of Rs. 5,000 to be allowed for every verified women SHG member having a Jan Dhan Bank Account.  One woman per SHG to be eligible for a loan up to Rs. 1 lakh under MUDRA Scheme.  For schemes on the safety of women, ₹500 crore has been set aside for the Nirbhaya Fund.

Ease of Living

 About 30 lakh workers joined the Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maandhan Scheme that provides Rs. 3,000 per month as pension on attaining the age of 60 to workers in unorganized and informal sectors.  Requirement for enrolment in the scheme would require only Aadhar and a bank account. Rest will be on self-declaration.  Approximately 35 crore LED bulbs distributed under UJALA Yojana leading to cost saving of Rs. 18,341 crores annually.  Solar stoves and battery chargers to be promoted using the approach of LED bulbs mission.  A massive program of railway station modernization to be launched.

India’s Soft Power

 Proposal to consider issuing Aadhaar Card for NRIs with Indian Passports on their arrival without waiting for 180 days.  Mission to integrate traditional artisans with global markets proposed, with necessary patents and geographical indicators.  18 new Indian diplomatic Missions in Africa approved in March, 2018, out of which 5 already opened. Another 4 new Embassies intended in 2019-20.  Revamp of Indian Development Assistance Scheme (IDEAS) proposed.  17 iconic Tourism Sites being developed into model world class tourist destinations.  Present digital repository aimed at preserving rich tribal cultural heritage, to be strengthened.  The government has allocated ₹45 crore for India’s building activities in the crucial port of Chabahar in Iran, a reduction from the previous year’s allocation of ₹150 crore. (India’s works received a waiver from the anti-Iran sanctions of the U.S.)  Afghanistan’s allocation has also come down from ₹470 crore to ₹400 crore.  However, a major share of the allocation of ₹17,884.78 crore for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is for Bhutan at ₹2,801.79 crore against the previous allocation of ₹2,510 crore.  Both Nepal and Mauritius have maintained the high priority and have received ₹1,050 crore and ₹1,100 crore respectively.  In terms of regional allocation, Latin America, home of Brazil and Argentina among other countries, received a meagre ₹15 crore.

Major Criticisms of the Budget

 Shareholding norm tweaked for listed companies - According to the budget, government would consider raising minimum public shareholding in the listed firms to 35% from 25% at

present. Analysts say many MNCs listed on Indian bourses may consider delisting, if increase public shareholding is implemented. In case of many midcap and small cap stocks it was better to have more promoter skin in the game since India's capital market is in a developing phase.  Corporate tax - Under a phased reduction plan for corporate taxes, the budget proposed to bring under 25% tax ambit companies with an annual turnover of up to Rs 400 crore, in place of the earlier cap of Rs 250 crore. The move came under criticism from experts who said the tax rejig should have been applicable to all companies and not just a select section.  Defence - At a time when India's security risks are at an all-time high, no specific mention of the forces came as a major disappointment for both the forces and the country at large.  Tax dampener- Standard deduction and TDS threshold didn't find a mention in the budget. It came as disappointment for the salaried taxpayer because previously government had promised to hike these limits in the February’s interim budget.  LTCG remains a pain in the neck –LTCG tax on equities were expected to be done way with or diluted to an extent at least. However, this issue remained unaddressed.  Taxing Super-rich - The finance minister shunned the wealth tax, but increased the surcharge for the rich. This move will make the economy uncompetitive when India’s neighbours have relative low levels of corporate tax and income tax. It can make Indians to disappear to low-tax land.  Raiding the RBI - government in the budget expects higher dividend payout from the Reserve Bank of India, bringing a contentious issue back into focus.  Human development – Budget remained short in plugging the loopholes that to become a true global power, India needs massive investments in health, education and social sectors, with appropriate involvement of different tiers of governance, and innovation from and other stakeholders, including private sector.  Employment - For employment generation, the government intends to boost agro-rural industries through cluster-based development. While focusing on clusters is the step-in right direction, a top- down model in this regard might not work. A bottom- up approach for cluster identification and development through stakeholder engagement and focused on resolving unique cluster specific problems is needed.  Lack Details- Being a strong statement of intent, the Budget lacks details on the nuts and bolts of how the stated goals will be achieved. How would the required funds be raised in wake of sluggish growth of last 2 years.  While the push on MSMEs is laudable, the announcements on improving creditworthiness of NFBs lacks credibility since support is promised only for “financially sound” ones.  The Budget document speaks of a 3.3% deficit but the road-map to achieve that is missing.

Measures to Boost Investment Rate Pushing the Indian economy to a size of $5 trillion by 2024-25 depends on real growth rate, inflation rate and the movement of Indian rupee vis-a-vis the U.S. dollar. Starting with a base size of $2.7 trillion in 2018-19, if annual growth is uniformly distributed across the next five years, a nominal growth rate of 13% per annum is required which can be decomposed into a real growth of 8%-9% and an inflation rate of 5%-4% with an assumed rate of depreciation on the Indian rupee of 2% per annum. The Union Budget has proposed a number of growth-promoting initiatives to achieve this target.  Budget proposes to access global investors by floating sovereign bonds denominated in external currency. This will ease pressure on domestic savings and interest rates which will eventually facilitate an effective transmission of a repo rate reduction to lending rates.

 Budget has come out with a clear focus on Make in India where the emphasis will now be on relatively limited sectors such as MSMEs, start-ups, defence manufacturing, automobiles, and electronics.  Budget aims to invite global investors for setting up mega-manufacturing plants to bring in advanced technology in electric vehicles, electronics and other related areas.  The burden of NPAs on the banking sector is likely to ease with a budgeted capital infusion of ₹70,000 crore.

Areas of Appreciation

The focus of Union Budget 2019-20 on promoting infrastructure development, fostering connectivity, and attracting foreign investment, is impressive. The focus on rural economy, housing, agricultural reforms, higher education and environment (LED bulbs, Electric Vehicles) would go long way in securing a balanced growth.

 In context of a good FDI performance (6% growth last year against global slow down by 13%), additional steps to relax FDI in media and insurance and access to local sourcing for single brand retail shall go way along to induce investments.  Granting access to voluntary organizations focussed on welfare/social sector to raise capital as equity, debt and mutual fund from the markets under supervision of SEBI would help alleviate major pending concerns.  A relief to the twin balance sheet problem plaguing investment cycle in context of reduction of NPAs by Rs. 400,000 crores over 4 years through the announcement of Rs. 70,000 crores recapitalization of public sector banks.  The intent of brownfield asset modernization to augment infrastructure investment; utilization of land bank with Central Ministries and CPSEs through PPP; divestments of CPSEs; relaxing access to and exit from the bond market backstopped by credit enhancement are noteworthy.  Government’s proposal to use PPP to unleash faster development and completion of tracks, rolling stock manufacturing, and delivery of passenger freight services can be a big boost to the Indian manufacturing industry.  Promise of building rail infrastructure with Public Private Partnership is encouraging.  Push to startups -If there is one sector that has found tremendous push in India Budget 2019, it is startups. Announcement of an exclusive channel for startups industry, changes in much asked for angel tax incentivisation of women entrepreneurs and by extending the start-up age from 7 years to 10 years, investment in this industry will be highly encouraged.  Changes in Angel Tax and assurance of income tax assessment without scrutiny - This will create a fertile ground for innovation to mushroom and make it easier for innovations to attract the right partners in their growth journey.  The ‘nudge theory’ of economist Richard Thaler, mentioned extensively in the Economic Survey 2018-19, has been put to use by the Finance Minister to push forward two of the government’s pet themes — increasing digitalisation of money and promoting electric mobility.  Allowing people to use Aadhaar in place of PAN number is a big move. It will potentially help in easy on-boarding of customers in financial markets as well as various digital platforms.

All in all, budget is a robust policy statement that must be backed up by resolute action if we are to achieve our potential in economy.

Economic Survey 2018-19

 The Economic Survey is an annual document that “reviews” the developments in the economy over the previous 12 months.  The Department of Economic Affairs, Finance Ministry of India presents the Economic Survey in the parliament every year, just before the Union Budget.  It is prepared under the guidance of the Chief Economic Adviser, Finance Ministry.  The Economic Survey serves as a useful policy document since it contains policy ideas, key statistics on economic parameters and in-depth research on macro and sectoral trends.  Often, the survey serves as a policy guideline for the Union Budget. However, its recommendations are not binding on the government.  More often than not, the policy recommendations presented in the document have not made their way into the Budget proposals.

Highlights of previous Economic Surveys

 The 2015 survey was reportedly inspired by the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) World Economic Outlook. The survey basically focused on JAM – Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile.  The next Economic Survey (2016) focused on creating a more competitive environment and highlighted the “Chakravyuha challenge”, a Mahabharata-inspired term to denote the lack of exit policy for companies running in losses.  The survey noted that the lack of exit policy has been an impediment to investment, efficiency, job creation, and growth.  The survey also talked about major investments in human resources to reap the demographic dividend.  The 2017 Economic Survey deliberated on the demonetisation policy.  While claiming that demonetisation was a complex idea, the document noted that the policy had short-term costs but potentially long-term benefits.  The survey also introduced the idea of ensuring Universal Basic Income (UBI) for every citizen.  The Economic Survey 2018 had a bright pink cover highlighting the urgent need for empowerment of women and gender equality.  The survey also touched upon the cultural obsession with having a male child and focused on parameters determining women empowerment in India.

Theme that underlies this Economic Survey is, the sky blue colour, the colour used for the survey, captures “unfettered blue sky thinking”.

Shifting gears: Private Investment as the Key Driver of Growth, Jobs, Exports and Demand

 Survey states that pathways for trickle-down opened up during the last five years; and benefits of growth and macroeconomic stability reached the bottom of the pyramid.  Sustained real GDP growth rate of 8% is needed for a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25.  “Virtuous Cycle” of savings, investment and exports catalyzed and supported by a favorable demographic phase required for sustainable growth.  Private investment- Key driver for demand, capacity, labor productivity, new technology, creative destruction and job creation.  Survey departs from traditional Anglo-Saxon thinking by viewing the economy as being either in a virtuous or a vicious cycle, and thus never in equilibrium.

 Key ingredients for a self-sustaining virtuous cycle:  Presenting data as a public good.  Emphasizing legal reforms.  Ensuring policy consistency.  Encouraging behavior change using principles of behavioral economics.  Nourishing MSMEs to create more jobs and become more productive.  Reducing the cost of capital.  Rationalizing the risk-return trade-off for investments.

Policy for Real People, Not Robots: Leveraging the Behavioral Economics of “Nudge”

 Decisions by real people deviate from impractical robots theorized in classical economics.  Behavioral economics provides insights to ‘nudge’ people towards desirable behavior.  Humans, being not-so-rational, often need encouragement or intervention — a nudge — to get going and do what’s best for the country or society at large.  The ‘Nudge Theory’ recognises this behavioural trait. It says that people, rather than being forced, can be encouraged and influenced to pursue or desist from certain actions through nudges.  The ‘Nudge theory’ got international spotlight in 2017 when Richard Thaler bagged the Economics Nobel that year for his work on behavioural economics.  Behavioural economics provides the necessary tools and principles to not only understand how norms affect behaviour, but also to utilize these norms to effect behavioural change.  Given India’s rich cultural and spiritual heritage, social norms play a very important role in shaping the behaviour of each individual.  Nudge policies gently steer people towards desirable behaviour while preserving their liberty to choose.  Using insights from behavioral economics to create an aspirational agenda for social change:  From ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ to ‘BADLAV’ (Beti Aapki Dhan Lakshmi Aur Vijay Lakshmi).  From ‘Swachh Bharat’ to ‘Sundar Bharat’.  From ‘Give it up” for the LPG subsidy to ‘Think about the Subsidy’.  From ‘Tax evasion’ to ‘Tax compliance’. . Highest taxpayers over a decade could be recognised by naming important buildings, monuments, roads, trains, initiatives, schools and universities, hospitals and airports in their name.

Nourishing Dwarfs to become Giants: Reorienting policies for MSME Growth

 Survey focuses on enabling MSMEs to grow for achieving greater profits, job creation and enhanced productivity.  Dwarfs (firms with less than 100 workers) despite being more than 10 years old, account for more than 50% of all organized firms in manufacturing by number.  Contribution of dwarfs to employment is only 14% and to productivity is a mere 8%.  Large firms (more than 100 employees) account for 75% employment and close to 90% of productivity despite accounting for about 15% by number.  Job creation in India suffers from policies that foster dwarfs, that is small firms that never grow, instead of infant firms that have the potential to grow and become giants rapidly.  Unshackling MSMEs and enabling them to grow by way of:  A sunset clause of less than 10 years, with necessary grandfathering, for all size-based incentives beyond which a small firm should be able to sustain itself. . In public policy, a sunset provision or clause is a measure within a statute, regulation or other law that provides that the law shall cease to have effect after a specific date, unless further legislative action is taken to extend the law.  Deregulating labour law restrictions to create significantly more jobs, as evident from Rajasthan.  Re-calibrating Priority Sector Lending (PSL) guidelines for direct credit flow to young firms in high employment elastic sectors.  Survey also focuses on service sectors such as tourism, with high spillover effects on other sectors such as hotel & catering, transport, real estate, entertainment etc., for job creation.

Data “Of the People, By the People, For the People”

 Society’s optimal consumption of data is higher than ever given technological advances in gathering and storage of data.  Survey has called for setting up a central welfare database of citizens by merging different data maintained by separate Ministries and departments.  As data of societal interest is generated by the people, data can be created as a public good within the legal framework of data privacy.

 The government could utilise the information embedded in these distinct datasets to enhance ease of living for citizens, enable truly evidence-based policy, improve targeting in welfare schemes, uncover unmet needs, integrate fragmented markets, bring greater accountability in public services and generate greater citizen participation in governance.  Survey has also recommended granting access to select database to private sector for a fee, given that stringent technological mechanisms exist to safeguard data privacy.

Ending Matsyanyaya: How to Ramp up Capacity in the Lower Judiciary

 Delays in contract enforcement and disposal resolution are arguably now the single biggest hurdle to the ease of doing business and higher GDP growth in India.  Around 87.5 per cent of pending cases are in the District and Subordinate courts.  There are currently 17,891 judges compared to the sanctioned strength of 22,750. On average, a judge disposes of 746 cases.  100 per cent case clearance rate (CCR) can be achieved by filling out merely 2279 vacancies in the lower courts and 93 in High Courts.  CCR is the ratio of the number of cases disposed of in a given year to the number of cases instituted in that year.  States of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal needs special attention.  Productivity improvements of 25 percent in lower courts, 4 percent in High Courts and 18 percent in Supreme Court can clear backlog.  Survey suggested improving the efficiency of the courts, increasing number of working days of courts, establishment of Indian Courts and Tribunal Services, and deployment of technology in legal system.

How does Policy Uncertainty affect Investment?

 Significant reduction in Economic Policy Uncertainty in India over the last one decade, even when economic policy uncertainty increased in major countries, especially the U.S.  Uncertainty dampens investment growth in India for about five quarters. Lower economic policy uncertainty can foster a salutary investment climate.  Top-level policy makers must ensure that their policy actions are predictable, provide forward guidance on the stance of policy, maintain broad consistency in actual policy with the forward guidance, and reduce ambiguity, arbitrariness in policy implementation.

 To ensure predictability, the horizon over which policies will not be changed must be mandatorily specified so that investor can be provided the assurance about future policy certainty.  The government must encourage construction of economic policy uncertainty sub-indices to capture uncertainty stemming from fiscal policy, tax policy, monetary policy, trade policy, and banking policy.  As organisations in the private sector compete and seek the highest level of quality certifications, government departments must also be mandated to similarly seek quality certifications.

India's Demography at 2040: Planning Public Good Provision for the 21st Century

 Sharp slowdown in population growth expected in next 2 decades. Most of India to enjoy demographic dividend while some states will transition to ageing societies by 2030s.  It is forecasted that the population rate will grow less than 1% from 2021 to 2031 and under 0.5% from 2031 to 2041.  This is primarily due to the fall in the total fertility rate (TFR), which is projected to decline between 2021-2041 and fall below replacement level fertility at 1.8 as early as 2021.  The total fertility rate of 2.1 is called the replacement level fertility below which populations begin to decline.  For India, the effective replacement level fertility is slightly higher than the normal benchmark due to the skewed gender ratio and is at 2.15-2.2.  The current TFR in 14 out of the 22 major States is already below the effective replacement level fertility.  The size of the elderly population, 60 years and above, is expected to nearly double from 8.6% in 2011 to 16% by 2041, whereas the population size of those between 0-19 years, which is on the decline, is likely to drop from as high as 41% in 2011 to 25% by 2041.  States need to consolidate/merge schools to make them viable rather than build new ones.  Policy makers need to prepare for ageing by investing in health care and by increasing the retirement age in a phased manner.  This will be key to the viability of pension systems and would also help increase female labour force participation in the older age-groups  Many countries such as the U.S., Germany and France have already raised the retirement age to reduce the burden on pension funding.

From Swachh Bharat to Sundar Bharat via Swasth Bharat: An Analysis of the Swachh Bharat Mission

 Traceable health benefits brought about by Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM).  93.1% of the households have access to toilets. 96.5% of those with access to toilets are using them in rural India. 100% Individual Households Latrine (IHHL) Coverage in 30 states and UTs.  Financial savings from a household toilet exceed the financial costs to the household by 1.7 times on average and 2.4 times for poorest households.  The next big goal on the Swachh Bharat journey is the 100% safe and scientific disposal of solid and liquid waste.  Some of the areas which must be dealt with in this next phase are sewer construction and water availability, scientific techniques for waste disposal, treatment of industrial effluence, drain bio- remediation, river surface cleaning, sustained rural sanitation and monitoring of villages.  As the resource requirements are large, there is a need to facilitate and sustain innovative financing mechanisms. Some examples are micro-financing, concessional loans, private partnerships, corporate social responsibility, and crowd funding aligned with local government financing.

 Apart from financial resources, mindset change is the other major ingredient required for sustained progress in sanitation. The swachhagrahis or village level ambassadors are key to maintaining momentum & keeping with its thrust on leveraging behavioural economics.

Enabling Inclusive Growth through Affordable, Reliable and Sustainable Energy

 2.5 times increase in per capita energy consumption needed for India to increase its real per capita GDP by $5000 at 2010 prices, and enter the upper-middle income group.  4 times increase in per capita energy consumption needed for India to achieve 0.8 Human Development Index score.  India now stands at 4th in wind power, 5th in solar power and 5th in renewable power installed capacity.  Rs 50,000 crore saved and 108.28 million tonnes of CO2 emissions reduced by energy efficiency programmes in India.  Share of renewable (excluding hydro above 25 MW) in total electricity generation increased from 6% in 2014-15 to 10% in 2018-19.  Thermal power still plays a dominant role at 60% share.  Market share of electric cars only 0.06% in India while it is 2% in China and 39% in Norway.  Access to fast battery charging facilities needed to increase the market share of electric vehicles.

Effective Use of Technology for Welfare Schemes – Case of MGNREGS

 Survey says that efficacy of MGNREGS increased with use of technology in streamlining it.  Significant reduction in delays in the payment of wages with adoption of NeFMS and DBT in MGNREGS.  Demand and supply of work under MGNREGS increased, especially in distressed districts.  Vulnerable sections of the society viz. women, SC and ST workforce increased under MGNREGS during economic distress.

Redesigning a Minimum Wage System in India for Inclusive Growth

 Survey proposes a well-designed minimum wage system as a potent tool for protecting workers and alleviating poverty.  Currently, the minimum wage system, under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, in India is complex, with 1,915 different minimum wages defined for different job categories across States.  1 in every 3 wage workers in India not protected by the minimum wage law.  Survey supports rationalization of minimum wages as proposed under the Code on Wages Bill.  This code amalgamates the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 into a single piece of legislation.

 ‘National Floor Minimum Wage’ should be notified by the Central Government, varying across five geographical regions.  Minimum wages by states should be fixed at levels not lower than the ‘floor wage’. The floor wage is currently non-statutory.  Minimum wages should be fixed for four categories namely, unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled and highly skilled based on the geographical region and should cover all workers, irrespective of any wage ceilings.  Survey proposes a simple and enforceable Minimum Wage System using technology.  ‘National level dashboard’ under the Ministry of Labour & Employment for regular notifications on minimum wages, proposed by the Survey.

 Toll-free number to register grievance on non-payment of the statutory minimum wages.  Effective minimum wage policy as an inclusive mechanism for more resilient and sustainable economic development.

State of the Economy in 2018-19: A Macro View

 India still the fastest growing major economy in 2018-19.  Growth of GDP moderated to 6.8 per cent in 2018-19 from 7.2 per cent in 2017-18.  Inflation contained at 3.4 per cent in 2018-19.  Non-Performing Assets as percentage of Gross Advances reduced to 10.1 per cent at end December 2018 from 11.5 per cent at end March 2018.  Investment growth recovering since 2017-18: o Growth in fixed investment picked up from 8.3 per cent in 2016-17 to 9.3 per cent next year and further to 10.0 per cent in 2018-19.  Current account deficit manageable at 2.1 percent of GDP.  Fiscal deficit of Central Government declined from 3.5 percent of GDP in 2017-18 to 3.4 percent in 2018-19.  Prospects of pickup in growth in 2019-20 on the back of further increase in private investment and acceleration in consumption.

Fiscal Developments

 FY 2018-19 ended with fiscal deficit at 3.4 per cent of GDP and debt to GDP ratio of 44.5 per cent (Provisional).  As per cent of GDP, total Central Government expenditure fell by 0.3 percentage points in 2018- 19 PA over 2017-18:  0.4 percentage point reduction in revenue expenditure and 0.1 percentage point increase in capital expenditure.  States’ own tax and non-tax revenue displays robust growth in 2017-18 RE and envisaged to be maintained in 2018-19 BE.  General Government (Centre plus states) on the path of fiscal consolidation and fiscal discipline.  The revised fiscal glide path envisages achieving fiscal deficit of 3 per cent of GDP by FY 2020- 21 and Central Government debt to 40 per cent of GDP by 2024-25.

Money Management and Financial Intermediation

 Banking system improved as NPA ratios declined and credit growth accelerated.  Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code led to recovery and resolution of significant amount of distressed assets and improved business culture.  Till March 31, 2019, the CIRP yielded a resolution of 94 cases involving claims worth INR 1, 73,359 crores.  Liquidity conditions remained systematically tight since September 2018 thus impacting the yields on government papers.  Financial flows remained constrained because of decline in the equity finance raised from capital markets and stress in the NBFC sector.  Capital mobilized through public equity issuance declined by 81 per cent in 2018-19.  Credit growth rate y-o-y of the NBFCs declined from 30 per cent in March 2018 to 9 per cent in March 2019.

Prices and Inflation

 Headline inflation based on CPI-C continuing on its declining trend for fifth straight financial year remained below 4.0 per cent in the last two years.  Food inflation based on Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) also continuing on its declining trend for fifth financial year has remained below 2.0 per cent for the last two consecutive years.  CPI-C based core inflation (CPI excluding the food and fuel group) has now started declining since March 2019 after increment during FY 2018-19 as compared to FY 2017-18.  Miscellaneous, housing and fuel and light groups are the main contributors of headline inflation based on CPI-C during FY 2018-19 and the importance of services in shaping up headline inflation has increased.  CPI rural inflation declined during FY 2018-19 over FY 2017-18. However, CPI urban inflation increased marginally during FY 2018-19. Many States witnessed fall in CPI inflation during FY 2018-19.

Sustainable Development and Climate Change

 India’s SDG Index Score ranges between 42 and 69 for States and between 57 and 68 for UTs:  Kerala and Himachal Pradesh are the front runners with a score of 69 amongst states.  Chandigarh and Puducherry are the front runners with a score of 68 and 65 respectively among the UTs.  Namami Gange Mission launched as a key policy priority towards achieving the SDG 6, with a budget outlay of INR. 20,000 crores for the period 2015-2020.  For mainstreaming Resource Efficiency approach in the development pathway for achieving SDGs, a national policy on Resource Efficiency should be devised.  A comprehensive NCAP launched in 2019 as a pan India time bound strategy for:  Prevention, control and abatement of air pollution  Augmenting the air quality monitoring network across the country.  Achievements in CoP 24 in Katowice, Poland in 2018:  Recognition of different starting points for developed and developing countries.  Flexibilities for developing countries.  Consideration of principles including ‘equity’ and ‘Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities’.  Paris Agreement also emphasizes the role of climate finance without which the proposed NDCs would not fructify.  Though the international community witnessed various claims by developed countries about climate finance flows, the actual amount of flows is far from these claims.  Scale and size of investments required to implement India’s NDC requires mobilizing international public finance and private sector resources along with domestic public budgets.

External Sector

 As per WTO, World trade growth slowed down to 3 per cent in 2018 from 4.6 per cent in 2017. Reasons:  Introduction of new and retaliatory tariff measures.  Heightened US-China trade tensions.  Weaker global economic growth.  Volatility in financial markets (WTO).  In Indian rupee terms growth rate of exports increased owing to depreciation of the rupee while that of imports declined in 2018-19.

 India’s External Debt was US$ 521.1 billion at end-December 2018, 1.6 per cent lower than its level at end-March 2018.  The key external debt indicators reflect that India’s external debt is not unsustainable.  The total liabilities-to-GDP ratio, inclusive of both debt and non-debt components, has declined from 43 per cent in 2015 to about 38 per cent at end of 2018.  The share of foreign direct investment has risen and that of net portfolio investment fallen in total liabilities, reflecting a transition to more stable sources of funding the current account deficit.  The income terms of trade, a metric that measures the purchasing power to import, has been on a rising trend, possibly because the growth of crude prices has still not exceeded the growth of India’s export prices.  The exchange rate in 2018-19 has been more volatile than in the previous year, mainly due to volatility in crude prices, but not much due to net portfolio flows.  Composition of India’s exports and import basket in 2018-19(P):  Top export items continue to be Petroleum products, precious stones, drug formulations, gold and other precious metals.  Top import items continue to be Crude petroleum, pearl, precious, semi-precious stones and gold.  India’s main trading partners continue to be the US, China, Hong Kong, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.  India has signed 28 bilateral / multilateral trade agreements with various country/group of countries.

Agriculture and Food Management

 Agriculture sector in India typically goes through cyclical movement in terms of its growth.  Gross Value Added (GVA) in agriculture improved from a negative 0.2 per cent in 2014- 15 to 6.3 per cent in 2016-17 but decelerated to 2.9 per cent in 2018-19.  Women’s participation in agriculture increased to 13.9 per cent in 2015-16 from 11.7 per cent in 2005-06 and their concentration is highest (28 per cent) among small and marginal farmers.  A shift is seen in the number of operational land holdings and area operated by operational land holdings towards small and marginal farmers.  89% of groundwater extracted is used for irrigation. Hence, focus should shift from land productivity to ‘irrigation water productivity’. Thrust should be on micro-irrigation to improve water use efficiency.  Fertilizer response ratio has been declining over time. Organic and natural farming techniques including Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) can improve both water use efficiency and soil fertility.  Adopting appropriate technologies through Custom Hiring Centers and implementation of ICT are critical to improve resource-use efficiency among small and marginal farmers.  Diversification of livelihoods is critical for inclusive and sustainable development in agriculture and allied sectors. Policies should focus on  Dairying as India is the largest producer of milk.  Livestock rearing particularly of small ruminants.  Fisheries sector, as India is the second largest producer.

Industry and Infrastructure

 Overall Index of Eight Core Industries registered a growth rate of 4.3 percent in 2018-19.  India’s ranking improved by 23 to 77th position in 2018 among 190 countries assessed by the World Bank Doing Business (DB) Report, 2019.  Road construction grew at 30 km per day in 2018-19 compared to 12 km per day in 2014-15.

 Rail freight and passenger traffic grew by 5.33 per cent and 0.64 per cent respectively in 2018-19 as compared to 2017-18.  Total telephone connections in India touched 118.34 crore in 2018-19.  The installed capacity of electricity has increased to 3, 56,100 MW in 2019 from 3, 44,002 MW in 2018.  Public Private Partnerships are quintessential for addressing infrastructure gaps.  Building sustainable and resilient infrastructure has been given due importance with sector specific flagship programmes such as SAUBHAGYA scheme, PMAY etc.  Institutional mechanism is needed to deal with time-bound resolution of disputes in infrastructure sector

Services Sector

 Services sector (excluding construction) has a share of 54.3 per cent in India’s GVA and contributed more than half of GVA growth in 2018-19.  The IT-BPM industry grew by 8.4 per cent in 2017-18 to US$ 167 billion and is estimated to reach US$ 181 billion in 2018-19.  The services sector growth declined marginally to 7.5 per cent in 2018-19 from 8.1 per cent in 2017-18.  Accelerated sub-sectors: Financial services, real estate and professional services.  Decelerated sub-sectors: Hotels, transport, communication and broadcasting services.  Services share in employment is 34 per cent in 2017.

Tourism

 10.6 million foreign tourists received in 2018-19 compared to 10.4 million in 2017-18.  Forex earnings from tourism stood at US$ 27.7 billion in 2018-19 compared to US$ 28.7 billion in 2017-18.

Social Infrastructure, Employment and Human Development

 The public investments in social infrastructure like education, health, housing and connectivity is critical for inclusive development.  Government expenditure (Centre plus States) as a percentage of GDP on  Health: increased to 1.5 per cent in 2018-19 from 1.2 per cent in 2014-15.  Education: increased from 2.8 per cent to 3 per cent during this period.  Substantial progress in both quantitative and qualitative indicators of education is reflected in the improvements in Gross Enrolment Ratios, Gender Parity Indices and learning outcomes at primary school levels.  Encouraging Skill Development by:  Introduction of the skill vouchers as a financing instrument to enable youth obtain training from any accredited training institutes.  Involving industry in setting up of training institutes in PPP mode; in curriculum development; provision of equipment; training of trainers etc.  Personnel of Railways and para-military could be roped in for imparting training in difficult terrains.  Create a database of Instructors, skill mapping of rural youth by involving local bodies to assess the demand-supply gaps are some of the other initiatives proposed.  Net employment generation in the formal sector was higher at 8.15 lakh in March, 2019 as against 4.87 lakh in February, 2018 as per EPFO.

 Around 1, 90, 000 km of rural roads constructed under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) since 2014.  About 1.54 crore houses completed under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) as against a target of 1 crore pucca houses with basic amenities by 31st March, 2019.  Accessible, affordable and quality healthcare being provided through National Health Mission and Ayushman Bharat scheme for a healthy India.  Alternative healthcare, National AYUSH Mission launched to provide cost effective and equitable AYUSH healthcare throughout the country to address the issue of affordability, by improving access to these services.  Employment generation scheme, MGNREGA is prioritized by increasing actual expenditure over the budgetary allocation and an upward trend in budget allocation in the last four years.

Polity & Governance

Karnataka’s Political Crisis

The ruling Cong.-JD(S) coalition government of Karnataka succumbed to factional pulls and political opportunism in July after it lost the trust vote.

Brief Timeline of Events

 The 13-month-old Karnataka government slumped into a crisis after Congress and JD(S) MLAs announced their resignations on 6 July.  The MLAs moved the Supreme Court claiming that the Speaker was "deliberately" delaying accepting their resignations.  The Supreme Court on 17 July held that the 15 rebel Karnataka Congress-JD(S) MLAs could not be compelled to participate in the trust vote that was scheduled to be held in Karnataka Assembly on 18 July and an option should be given to them that they can take part in the said proceedings or to opt to remain out of the same.  Supreme Court also observed that the Karnataka Speaker couldn't be forced to take a decision on the resignations of the rebel MLAs within a time frame, as was the demand of the petitioners.  The trust vote was eventually conducted and the Congress-JD(S) government fell as 105 MLAs voted against while only 99 MLAs voted in support of the government.

The political scenario in Karnataka has posed serious debates;  On the Speaker’s powers to decide upon resignation of members.  Role of the Governor in a politically volatile situation.  Issue of control exercised by a political party over its members in the House in the backdrop of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.

Supreme Court’s order with respect to resignations of MLAs and petitions seeking their disqualification had thrown questions on the right of political parties to issue whip to their party MLAs to attend the legislature session.

What is a Whip?

 In political parlance, a whip is a written order which demands party members to be present in Parliament or a state assembly if an important vote is scheduled, and also asks them to vote in a particular way.  The term ‘whip’ is derived from the traditional British parliamentary practice of ordering the legislators (ruling or opposition) to follow the party line.  In India all parties can issue a whip to their members. Parties appoint a senior member from among their House contingents to issue whips, this member is called a Chief Whip, and he/she is assisted by additional Whips.  A Chief Whip is responsible for effective communication between the party high command and its members. This is not a constitutional post.  A whip’s role assumes more importance when a party has a thin majority in the House.

Kinds of Whips

The importance of a whip can be inferred from the number of times an order is underlined.

 A one-line whip, underlined once, is usually issued to inform party members of a vote, and allows them to abstain in case they decide not to follow the party line.  A two-line whip directs them to be present during the vote.  A three-line whip is the strongest, employed on important occasions such as the second reading of a Bill or a no-confidence motion, and places an obligation on members to toe the party line.

Defiance

 In India, defiance against a three-line whip can put a legislator’s membership of the House at risk.  The anti-defection law allows the Speaker/Chairperson to disqualify such a member.  The only exception is when more than a third of legislators vote against a directive, effectively splitting the party.

Speaker’s powers to decide upon resignation of members

 The validity of the resignations tendered by MLAs has to be decided by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in terms of Article 190(3)(b) of the Constitution which stipulates that resignation by a member of the House has to be accepted by the Speaker to come into effect.  Before accepting such resignation, the Speaker has to conduct an inquiry based upon information received regarding the resignation in question or otherwise to reach a conclusion that the resignation is voluntary or genuine.  In case, the Speaker concludes to the contrary, the resignation can be rejected.  The provision envisages the Speaker to be the final arbiter of voluntary and genuine nature of resignation by a member of the House.

The MLAs in question have refused to take back their resignations. They have also expressly declined to participate in the floor test which has been conducted to prove the majority of their political parties in the House.

Paragraph 2 of Tenth Schedule postulates the following two scenarios which incurs disqualification on the ground of defection:  The member ‘voluntarily gives up the membership’ of the political party.  The member votes or abstains from voting contrary to any direction issued the political party.

The Supreme Court, in the case of Ravi S. Naik v. Union of India, concluded that the term ‘voluntarily giving up the membership’ is not synonymous with resignation and has a wider conversation. Even in the absence of a formal resignation from membership an inference can be drawn from the conduct of a member that he has voluntarily given up his membership of the political party to which he belongs.

Subsequently, in the case of Rajendra Singh Rana v. Swami Prasad Maurya, the Supreme Court elaborated that the conduct of a member which runs contrary to the stand his political party can be construed to be evidence of ‘voluntarily giving up membership’.

The refusal of the MLAs to participate in the floor test brings the spotlight to the aforementioned second scenario envisaged by Paragraph 2 of the Tenth Schedule.

Role of the Governor in a politically volatile situation

The issuance of repeated directives by Governor of Karnataka fixing the time for completion of the floor test has also added to Constitutional conundrum.  The Governor of a State, under Article 175 of the Constitution, has the right to send message to the House for consideration of any matter.

 The Constitution does not spell out the nature of matters upon which a Governor can seek consideration by sending a message. Use of the words ‘any matter’ suggests that the right to send message will extend to a myriad of matters of public importance. The question that arises - whether the right under Article 175 extends to issuing directives of to conduct business in the House in a particular manner?  Conduct of business in the Legislature is within the exclusive domain of the House and members.  The Speaker is responsible for conducting the proceedings in the House which at times include debate and voting on motions of confidence and no confidence. Voting on a motion is preceded by debate in the House by the members and is regulated by the Speaker.  As per convention, the Governor can call upon the Chief Minister to hold a confidence motion and prove majority.  The right under Article 175 cannot be given such a wide and expansive interpretation so as to include a right to issue directive touching upon a motion moved in the House and also regulating the manner in which business is to be conducted in the House.  In other words, right to send ‘message’ to the House under Article 175 cannot be invoked to send ‘directive’ to conduct business in the House in a particular manner.

Note: For detailed explanation of the Anti-Defection Law & Role of Speaker, please refer May’s edition of JV’s IAS Academy Magazine.

Parliamentary Standing Committees

Eleven of the 22 Bills introduced in the ongoing session of Parliament have been passed, which makes it a highly productive session after many years. But these Bills have been passed without scrutiny by parliamentary standing committees, their purpose being to enable detailed consideration of a piece of legislation.

After the formation of the 17th Lok Sabha, parliamentary standing committees have not been constituted as consultations among parties are still under way.

Importance

Parliamentary committees draw their authority from Article 105 (on privileges of Parliament members) and Article 118 (on Parliament’s authority to make rules for regulating its procedure and conduct of business).

Committee reports are usually exhaustive and provide authentic information on matters related to governance. Bills that are referred to committees are returned to the House with significant value addition.

 Parliamentary Committees serve as a forum of deliberation and are the backbone of our parliamentary system.  Due to capacity and time constraints, it is not possible for Members of the Parliament to scrutinize all policies and legislation on the floor of the House. By forming smaller groups of members to examine the subjects ensure deeper deliberation and debate.  It ensures that detailed scrutiny of government finances, legislation and working continues to take place even if Parliament sessions are disrupted.  With a representation of members from across political parties, these committees also act as a consensus-building platform.  Another feature of the committee system is its engagement with relevant stakeholders and power to summon witnesses.  The committees regularly seek feedback from citizens and experts on subjects it examines.

 After detailed discussion, the prepared reports are tabled in Parliament. These comments add value to the discourse in Parliament. The committees also publish reports on the status of implementation of their recommendations.

Issues

Issue of Transparency:

 Closed-door Working - The deliberations of the committee are confidential, and evidence tendered before it is usually kept secret and made public only after the committee presents its report.  The absence of cameras live telecasting its proceedings discourages political grandstanding.  Limited Oversight - House rules do not say that all bills introduced in the House should be referred to the standing committee as a matter of course. The 14th and 15th Lok Sabha saw 60% and 71% of bills referred to committees. This number dipped sharply to just 27% in the 16th Lok Sabha.  Attendance- The attendance of members in committee meetings has been a cause for concern as well, which is about 50% since 2014-15.  Tenure- In the present format, the members are nominated to a Standing Committee for one year. However, shifting of committees every year defeats this purpose. The vice-president, as chairman of the Rajya Sabha, emphasised on the need to extend the tenure of committee members.  Advisory in nature - Committee’s reports are recommendatory in nature, the executive may not necessarily accept them. Moreover, the reports of the committees are not taken up for discussion in Parliament except for references in certain debates on bills.  Lack of expertise - Parliamentary committees don’t have dedicated subject-wise research support available. Parliamentary committees perform poorly due to a lack of supervision and executive neglect.  In several countries (e.g. U.K), the concerned minister appears before the committee to elaborate and defend the policies of the government. In India, ministers don’t appear before the committees but other functionaries do. Way-Forward

 It might be an opportune time for our parliamentary committees to open their doors when witnesses are testifying before them. It can be done in multiple ways. The easiest will be to permit Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha television to telecast the testimony of witnesses.  The rules of parliament provide some avenues for opening committee meetings. For example, rule 269 of the rules of procedure of the Lok Sabha gives the chairman of a committee the discretion to allow evidence presented before it to either be treated as confidential or made public.  Timeline and periodic review - The regulator should annually present a report to Parliament assessing its success in achieving the objectives set out in it its annual plan.  Access to reports and evidence - The annual report and the committee’s discussions with the regulator should be made widely accessible to the public.  Power to require attendance - The regulators should be present before the standing committees to explain their actions and be subjected to legislative questions.  Expert support to MPs- As in the US and UK, we should consider attaching experts to support such committees, while opening up deliberation to public record.  Regularity of scrutiny - It was observed that ad-hoc scrutiny of the regulator was not adequate for effective oversight. Furthermore, the Annual Reports did not reflect that they were prepared for the purpose of parliamentary scrutiny. The reports should be prepared keeping in mind legislative oversight.  The NCRWC argues for trimming the number of Standing Committees and entrusting them with additional responsibilities of financial oversight and doing away with existing finance committees to avoid overlapping of work.

 NCRWC also makes a case for establishing Standing Committee on Economy providing space for deliberations on economic policies and its implementation separately. The US Congress has a committee of both Houses called the Joint Economic Committee. It reviews economic conditions and recommends improvement in policy. Similarly, UK has an Economic Affairs Committee.  Mandatory scrutiny of bills by parliamentary committees would ensure better planning of legislative business.

Strengthening the committee system can go a long way in improving the quality of laws drafted and minimise potential implementation challenges. The need of the hour is for greater and effective utilisation of Parliamentary Committees to strengthen Parliament as a deliberative body which can ensure effective oversight.

The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2019

Parliament has passed the Jammu and Kashmir (Reservation) Amendment Bill 2019 in July. The Bill, replaces the Jammu and Kashmir (Reservation) Amendment Ordinance 2019.

It provides for reservation in appointment and promotions in state government posts, and admission to professional institutions for certain reserved categories.

With the constitutional amendments, the benefits of reservation available to the residents along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) have been extended to residents living along the International Border (IB). This benefits residents in Jammu, Samba and Kathua.

 The act provides for amendments in the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act, 2004 to bring persons residing in the areas adjoining International Border within the ambit of reservation at par with persons living in areas adjoining Actual Line of Control (ALoC).  Through the Presidential Order, government has applied the 77th Constitutional Amendment of 1995 to J&K, giving benefits of reservation in promotion to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in government service.  The act also applies the 103rd Constitutional Amendment of 2019 to J&K, which gives 10% reservation to Economically Weaker Sections among people in the general category.  Earlier, the provision of 3% reservation was available only for youth living within 6 kms of LoC in J&K.  Now, this provision will be applicable for people living near the international border also, which in J&K extends from Kanachak to Kathua in the Jammu region, while the original act applied only to people living close to the LoC, which begins in Rajouri and runs north through Kashmir.  This has been a long-pending demand of the population living near the international border, as they have been facing the brunt of cross border firing in J&K.  The act states that any person who has been appointed on the basis of residence in an area adjoining the Line of Control, must serve in such areas for at least seven years.  It also states that any person whose annual income exceeds three lakh rupees or other amount as notified by the state government, would not be included within socially and educationally backward classes.

While no one in J&K has opposed the decision to provide benefits to SCs, STs and EWS, there has been opposition to the route taken by the Centre and its nominee the J&K Governor, on the ground that they “breached” Article 370 while issuing the amendment to the 1954 Presidential Order.  The Constitution of India applies to Jammu & Kashmir by virtue of Article 370, which provides a mechanism for the way it applies.

 The 1954 order is an executive order issued by the President under Article 370 to extend provisions of an Act of Parliament to J&K State, which can be done only with the concurrence of the state government.  The J&K Assembly was dissolved by Governor Satya Pal Malik last November in 2018. Since then the state has been under Presidential rule, and elections have been kept in abeyance citing security reasons.

Three court petitions, have challenged the Centre’s ordinance issued in February this year.

 No centrally legislated Act can be extended to J&K until the state government gives its assent to such legislation. However, in the absence of a state government, this is being done on the basis of the governor’s assent.  Government means an elected government and the President cannot seek concurrence of the Governor because “the Governor is a representative of the President.  At the centre of the controversy is therefore the question, whether the Governor, in the absence of an elected government, has the authority to give consent to extend a law of Parliament and change the constitutional arrangement between J&K and the Union.

The issue of the Governor’s powers was defined by the Supreme Court in Mohammad Maqbool Damnoo versus State of J&K (1972).

 While dealing with the replacement of an elected Sadr-i-Riyasat with the Centre-appointed Governor, the court observed that a Governor is “head of government aided by a council of ministers”. It is not as if the state government, by such a change (replacing elected Sadr-i-Riyasat with Centre-appointed Governor) is made irresponsible to the state legislature.

Since the Pulwama outrage, there have been fewer attacks by militants in Kashmir, and virtually no cross-border infiltration, but home-grown radicalism and alienation remain high.

In all the ideological eagerness to see demographic engineering as the solution to Kashmir, it should not be forgotten that Article 370 is the constitutional provision that mediates the conditional accession of J&K to India in 1947. Doing away with it would be akin to breaking a bridge between Kashmir and the rest of India.

The Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2019

The Parliament has passed the Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill 2019. It amends the Protection of Human Rights Act 1993.

Need

 The NHRC has proposed certain amendments to the Act to address the concerns raised at certain global platforms.  Besides this, certain State Governments have also proposed for amendment of the Act, as they have been facing difficulties in finding suitable candidates to the post of Chairperson of the respective State Commissions owing to the existing eligibility criteria.  Supreme Court has recognized that the NHRC is a "toothless tiger", because the government doesn't heed its suggestions. Several cases are pending before it.

The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 was enacted to provide for the constitution of a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) and the Human Rights Courts for protection of human rights.

Key Provisions

 Composition of NHRC: Under the Act, the chairperson of the NHRC is a person who has been a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.  The Bill amends this to provide that a person who has been Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, or a Judge of the Supreme Court will be the chairperson of the NHRC.  The Act provides for two persons having knowledge of human rights to be appointed as members of the NHRC.  The Bill amends this to allow three members to be appointed, of which at least one will be a woman.  Under the Act, chairpersons of various commissions such as the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, and National Commission for Women are members of the NHRC.  The Bill provides for including the chairpersons of the National Commission for Backward Classes, the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, and the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities as members of the NHRC.  Chairperson of SHRC: Under the Act, the chairperson of a SHRC is a person who has been a Chief Justice of a High Court.  The Bill amends this to provide that a person who has been Chief Justice or Judge of a High Court will be chairperson of a SHRC.  Term of office: The Act states that the chairperson and members of the NHRC and SHRC will hold office for five years or till the age of seventy years, whichever is earlier.  The Bill reduces the term of office to three years or till the age of seventy years, whichever is earlier.  Act allows for the reappointment of members of the NHRC and SHRCs for a period of five years.  The Bill removes the five-year limit for reappointment.  Powers of Secretary-General: The Act provides for a Secretary-General of the NHRC and a Secretary of a SHRC, who exercise powers as may be delegated to them.  The Bill amends this and allows the Secretary-General and Secretary to exercise all administrative and financial powers (except judicial functions), subject to the respective chairperson’s control.  Union Territories: The Bill provides that the central government may confer on a SHRC human rights functions being discharged by Union Territories. Functions relating to human rights in the case of Delhi will be dealt with by the NHRC.

Concerns Raised

 Reduction of tenure - A quick change in the leadership of the NHRC can cause inconsistency throughout the process of the commission.  Vacancies: The post of the DG of the NHRC was vacant for three years from 2014, until the Supreme Court pulled up the government over the lapse. A hostile government can cripple the Constitution by not appointing people in office.  Failure to provide clarity to the NHRC, the act is completely unclear about the jurisdiction of the NHRC courts.

The proposed amendments however, will enable both the Commission as well as the State Commissions to be more compliant with the Paris Principles concerning its autonomy, independence, pluralism and wide-ranging functions in order to effectively protect and promote human rights.

The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019

The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2019 that amends the Right to Information Act, 2005 has been passed by the Parliament. Under the RTI Act, 2005, Public Authorities are required to make disclosures on various aspects of their structure and functioning. This includes:  Disclosure on their organisation, functions, and structure  Powers and duties of its officers and employees  Financial information The intent of such suo moto disclosures is that the public should need minimum recourse through the Act to obtain such information. If such information is not made available, citizens have the right to request for it from the Authorities. The intent behind the enactment of the Act is to promote transparency and accountability in the working of Public Authorities. Ambit of ‘Public Authorities’

 ‘Public Authorities’ include bodies of self-government established under the Constitution, or under any law or government notification.  For instance, these include Ministries, public sector undertakings, and regulators.  It also includes any entities owned, controlled or substantially financed and non-government organizations substantially financed directly or indirectly by funds provided by the government. Enforcement of RTI

The Act has established a three-tier structure for enforcing the right to information guaranteed under the Act.  Public Authorities designate some of their officers as Public Information Officers. The first request for information goes to Central/State Assistant Public Information Officer designated by the Public Authorities. These Officers are required to provide information to an RTI applicant within 30 days of the request.  Appeals from their decisions go to an Appellate Authority.  Appeals against the order of the Appellate Authority go to the State Information Commission or the Central Information Commission.  These Information Commissions consists of a Chief Information Commissioner, and up to 10 Information Commissioners. Proposed Changes

The Bill changes the terms and conditions of service of the CIC and Information Commissioners at the centre and in states. Provision RTI Act, 2005 RTI (Amendment) Bill, 2019 The Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) The Bill removes this provision and and Information Commissioners (ICs) (at the states that the central government Term central and state level) will hold office for a will notify the term of office for the term of five years. CIC and the ICs. The salary of the CIC and ICs (at the central The Bill removes these provisions level) will be equivalent to the salary paid and states that the salaries, to the Chief Election Commissioner and allowances, and other terms and Quantum of Election Commissioners, respectively. conditions of service of the central Salary and state CIC and ICs will be Similarly, the salary of the CIC and ICs (at determined by the central the state level) will be equivalent to the government. salary paid to the Election Commissioners

and the Chief Secretary to the state government, respectively. The Act states that at the time of the appointment of the CIC and ICs (at the central and state level), if they are receiving pension or any other retirement benefits for previous government service, their salaries will be reduced by an amount equal to the The Bill removes these provisions. Deductions pension. in Salary Previous government service includes service under: (i) the central government, (ii) state government, (iii) corporation established under a central or state law, and (iv) company owned or controlled by the central or state government.

Issues/Concerns

 Threat to the freedom and autonomy of Information Commissions at the Central and State levels - Bill undermines the security of tenure of an adjudicating authority, whose mandate is to intervene in favour of information-seekers against powerful regimes and bureaucrats.  The terms of appointment, salaries and tenures of the Chief Information Commissioners and Information Commissioners can be decided on a case-to-case basis by the government.  Irrational rationale - The government argues that while the Chief Election Commissioner is a constitutional functionary, the CIC is only a statutory authority. And while the CEC is equal in status to a Supreme Court judge, it would be incongruous for the CIC to enjoy the same status as the CIC’s orders are subject to judicial review by the high courts.  This is a fallacious argument as even the Election Commission’s decisions can be reviewed by high courts.  Protecting citizens’ right to information is a cause important enough for adjudicating authorities to be vested with high status and security of tenure.  Manner in which the amendments are being pushed - Without any citizen consultation, examination by the standing committee and without even proper parliamentary scrutiny clearly overlooks the mandatory pre-legislative consultative policy.  Bill violates the constitutional principles of federalism and significantly dilutes the widely used framework for transparency in India. The RTI Act is a sunshine legislation. Astute handling of RTI queries directly impact governance, especially the public delivery system and expose corruption. The need of the hour therefore is to strengthen the RTI regime by posting bold, upright and competent Commissioners who uphold the dignity and power of the institution.

Adding OBCs to the Scheduled Castes list

Uttar Pradesh had included 17 communities belonging to the Other Backward Classes in the Scheduled Castes list. However, Centre declared its decision “not appropriate” and “unconstitutional”.  According to an estimate by the UP Backward Classes Welfare Department, these 17 castes make up around 15% of the state’s population.

 A caste in the SC list gets more government benefits than one in the OBC list. Also, since the OBC population is large, there is close competition among OBC groups for reservation benefits.  If these 17 castes were moved to the list of SCs, they would have faced less competition because the SC population is smaller.

Past Attempts  The first attempt was made in 2004 through a resolution. The then SP government amended the U.P. Public Services Act, 1994, to include as many as 17 OBC communities in the SC category.  Since the power to declare any caste as SC rests with the Centre, the then State government’s decision, taken without the Centre’s consent, proved futile.  The Allahabad High Court later quashed the decision declaring the move unconstitutional and void.  Another attempt was made in 2012 when a high-level committee, headed by the then Chief Secretary, sought details from the Department of Social Welfare in this regard. The matter, however, was rejected by the Centre.  In 2016, a notification was issued stating that 17 castes were to be treated as Scheduled Castes.  The matter reached the Allahabad High Court, but in an interim order in March 2017, the court observed that in case any certificates were issued on the basis of the notification, these would be subject to the outcome of the litigation.  More than two years later, this order has been utilised by the UP government to restore the proposal in an oblique manner.

Distinction between an OBC and an SC

 While extreme social, educational and economic backwardness are common qualifications for both groups, SCs draw such backwardness from untouchability.  For OBCs, apart from social, educational and economic backwardness, lack of adequate representation in government posts and services is a criterion.  The positive rights guaranteed under the Constitution to SCs are to correct the historical wrongs of untouchability, and critics argue that addition of other castes in the group dilutes that guarantee.  Categorising the backward classes into two or three sections has been seen as one way to apportion the benefits of reservation among many social groups. In such an exercise, these castes may qualify for a compartment within the OBC quota.  However, treating them as Scheduled Castes is beset with problems. For one thing, they may not qualify to be treated as SCs because they may not have suffered untouchability and social discrimination.  A caste or community can be declared SC if it faces extreme social, educational and economic backwardness arising out of traditional practice of untouchability.

Procedures for listing a caste as an SC

 The name ‘Scheduled Caste’ derives from the fact that this is annexed as a Schedule to the Constitution.  Article 341(1) of the Constitution prescribes the procedure for regarding castes as “Scheduled Castes”.  As per the procedure to make additions or deletions to the Schedule by amending the concerned Presidential Order for a state under Article 341(2), state governments first propose to modify the Schedule.  Only proposals agreed by both the Registrar General of India and the National Commission for Scheduled Castes are introduced as a Bill in Parliament.

 This procedure was adopted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in 1999 and was amended in 2002. A similar provision exists for Scheduled Tribes under Article 342.  So, in short, parliament alone is vested with the power to include or exclude any entry in the SC list under Article 341 of the Constitution.

The Centre has already appointed a commission under the ‘chairmanship of G Rohini’ to propose sub categorization of the OBCs. The panel should carve out a way for those backward communities to benefit from reservations which have lost out so far.

Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre

The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Bill, 2019 has been passed by the Parliament. The Bill replaces the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Ordinance, 2019.

 The Bill provides for reservation of teaching positions in central educational institutions for persons belonging to: (i) Scheduled Castes, (ii) Scheduled Tribes, (iii) socially and educationally backward classes, and (iv) economically weaker sections.  For the purpose of such reservation, a central educational institution will be regarded as one unit. This implies that the allocation of teaching posts for reserved categories would be done on the basis of all positions of the same level.  Note that, under previous guidelines, each department was regarded as an individual unit for the purpose of reservation.  The Bill will apply to ‘central educational institutions’ which include universities set up by Acts of Parliament, institutions deemed to be a university, institutions of national importance, and institutions receiving aid from the central government.

Background  The issue emerges from an April 2017 Allahabad High Court order, in which it said that for the purpose of reservation for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes in universities, an individual department should be considered as the base unit to calculate the number of teaching posts to be reserved.  The order was challenged in the Supreme Court, which upheld the HC order.  A review petition filed by the HRD Ministry in February this year was also dismissed by the apex court.  University Grants Commission announced that an individual department will be considered as the base unit to calculate the number of teaching posts to be reserved, based on an Allahabad High Court order from 2017. This led to a move from the 200-point roster system to a 13- point roster.  This led to massive protests from teachers and students across the country as it was feared the new system would lower the numbers of reserved seats in universities.  In March, the Cabinet cleared an ordinance on reservation mechanism for appointment of faculties in universities in order to overturn the HC and SC orders.

The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Teachers’ Cadre) Bill, 2019 considers the University/College as one unit restoring earlier reservation system based on 200-point roster.

 Reservation based on department or subject as ‘unit’ means the number of reserved posts at the level of, say, assistant professor, will be determined separately for each department based on the total assistant professor posts in each department.  So, a department with only one professor cannot have reserved posts. This will drastically reduce the number of SC, ST, and OBC teachers in higher education.  Under the old formula, posts of professors across different departments were clubbed together, and there was a better chance of positions being set aside for SCs, STs, and OBCs.

Significance

 It will allow up of more than 7000 existing vacancies in Central Educational Institutions and pave the way for filling up 3 lakh vacancies in the Government (Central and State) Educational institutions by direct recruitment in Teacher’s Cadre.  Ensure compliance of the Constitutional Provisions of Articles 14, 16 and 21. According to a government report in 2016, only seven of every 100 teachers in colleges and universities were from the disadvantaged sections.  Ensure full representation of the Scheduled Castes/ the Scheduled Tribes, the socially and Educationally Backward Classes and Economically Weaker Sections in direct recruitment in teachers’ cadres.  This decision is also expected to improve the teaching standards in the higher educational institutions by attracting all eligible talented candidates belonging SCs/STs/SEBCs/EWS.

Nagaland to initiate its own version of NRC

Four years after Assam started revising the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the Government of Nagaland has decided to set up a Register of Indigenous Inhabitants of Nagaland (RIIN) with the aim of preventing fake indigenous inhabitants’ certificates. The RIIN will be the master list of all indigenous inhabitants of the state.

 The RIIN list will be based on “an extensive survey”. It will involve official records of indigenous residents from rural and (urban) wards and would be prepared under the supervision of the district administration.  All indigenous inhabitants of the state would be issued a barcoded and numbered Indigenous Inhabitant Certificate.  The process will be conducted across Nagaland and will be done as part of the online system of Inner Line Permit (ILP), which is already in force in Nagaland.  Respondents will be given an opportunity to make their case before the authorities. Eventually, respective Deputy Commissioners will adjudicate on the claims and objections based on official records and the evidence produced.

Inner Line Permit (ILP)

 It is an official travel document required by Indian citizens residing outside certain “protected” states while entering them.  The ILP is issued by the Government of India and is obligatory for all those who reside outside the protected states.  With the ILP, the government aims to regulate movement to certain areas located near the international border of India.

 ILP’s origin dates back to the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulations, 1873, which protected the British Crown’s interest in tea, oil and elephant trade. It prohibited “British subjects” or Indians from entering into these protected areas.  After Independence, in 1950, the word “British subjects” was replaced by Citizens of India and the focus of the ban on free movement was explained as a bid to protect tribal cultures in northeastern India.

SC Judgments in Vernacular Languages

Supreme Court has launched a software application that will translate its judgments into all vernacular languages for the benefit of the public and litigants across the length and breadth of the country.  Unlike orders written in English that are posted on the website on the day they are passed, the translated versions would be uploaded a week later.  Project includes not only translating the apex court judgments vernacular languages but also to provide summaries of the apex court’s verdicts.

Under the Constitution, English is the language of the High Courts and the Supreme Court. However, through Article 348 (2) of the Constitution, the governor of a state, with the consent of the President, can allow the use of the local language in the High Court.

So far, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar have taken this route to do use Hindi in their High Court proceedings.

Significance

 This will benefit the litigants, who after fighting their cases for years, are left unable to read the judgments in their own cases for the sole reason that they do not know English.  Translations will be of greater use to lawyers than to litigants. That is because when the Supreme Court delivers a judgement, it means that the case has attained finality.

Concerns

 To be truly effective, any reform in the courts should start from the bottom. It is the district and High Courts where the need for communication in the local language is greatest.  There are also doubts about how effective the Supreme Court’s translation project will be. For instance, many of the legal terms are in Latin and may have no equivalent in Indian languages  Even in states where the regional language is used in the local courts, the effort is undermined by the perception that English is the language in which the legal profession must be conducted.  In Tamil Nadu, for instance, the government amended the law in 1976 to make Tamil compulsory in the lower courts. But the bulk of proceedings continue in English because many lawyers believe that their clients will not trust them if they fail to use the language.

OHCHR report on Jammu and Kashmir

In a second report on Kashmir in 13 months, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has reiterated its accusations about the rising graph of human rights violations and the killing of civilians by state authorities over the past one year.

In June 2018, OHCHR had released its first report ever on the human rights situation in both parts of Kashmir. While Pakistan welcomed it, India had dismissed the report, calling it biased.

Now in an ‘Update’ published OHCHR has reached similar conclusions about continuing human rights violations in Kashmir. It has also been rejected by India as the output of a “prejudiced mindset” while claiming that it “legitimises terrorism”.

Key Highlights

 The Report calls on the UN Human Rights Council, of which India is a member, to consider the possible establishment of a commission of inquiry to conduct a comprehensive independent international investigation into allegations of human rights violations in Kashmir.  It also refers to the Pulwama suicide bomb attack and how it led to further tension in Kashmir amidst additional strain on relations between India and Pakistan.  The OHCHR report noted that the figures provided by the Indian ministry of home affairs are lower.  It also noted that there is no information of any new investigation into “excessive use of forces leading to casualties” or the status of the five investigations into extra judicial executions in 2016.  The report stated that despite international concerns, Indian security personnel regularly used shotguns as a means of crowd control, even though they are not deployed elsewhere in India.  The report criticised the return of “cordon and search operations” in 2017, which “enable a range of human rights violations, including physical intimidation and assault, invasion of privacy, arbitrary and unlawful detention, collective punishment and destruction of private property”.  There was also criticism of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act remaining as a “key obstacle to accountability”.  Reiterating the observations from 2018 report, the report said that despite “significant challenges”, civil society was able to operate in Jammu and Kashmir, while restrictions in PoK have “limited the ability of observers, including OHCHR, to assess the human rights situation there”.

India’s Dismissal

 The Update seems to be a contrived effort to create an artificial parity between the world’s largest and the most vibrant democracy and a country that openly practices state-sponsored terrorism.  India asserted that it was of deep concern that this Update seems to accord a legitimacy to terrorism that is in complete variance with UN Security Council positions.  Terrorist leaders and organisations sanctioned by the UN are deliberately underplayed by the report as “armed groups”.  It has failed to recognise an independent judiciary, human rights institutions and other mechanisms in the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir that safeguard, protect and promote constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights to all citizens of India.  It belittles constitutional provisions, statutory procedures and established practices in an established, functioning democracy.  Prejudiced mindset of the Update has also chosen to willfully ignore the determined and comprehensive socio-economic developmental efforts undertaken by the Government in the face of terrorist challenges.

India do not expect any adverse impact from this latest ‘Update’, owing to the languishing state of the previous report. It was not discussed in the Human Rights Council, rather some member states criticised the activism of the commissioner. At most, it can be used by Pakistan for point-scoring.

Way-Forward

 Government’s “knee jerk denial” of all the UN findings can run counter to the fact that official Indian inquiries “have flagged violations and made recommendations similar to those by OHCHR.  OHCHR report includes certain new references to human rights violations by militant groups that should be welcomed by India.  It is important to note, that for the first time, the UN is taking note of child soldiers being used by militant groups. The government should engage with the process to acknowledge evidence supported violations, take steps towards accountability, and call for Pakistan to ensure an end to militant abuses.

Schemes/Bills/Acts

STRIDE SCHEME

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has approved a new scheme - ‘Scheme for Trans- Disciplinary Research for India’s Developing Economy’ (STRIDE).

The nearly Rs 500 crore programme will support the efforts of students and faculty in universities and colleges to discover new areas of knowledge. It will provide support to research projects that are socially relevant, locally need-based, nationally important and globally significant.

It will support research capacity building as well as basic, applied and transformational action research that can contribute to national priorities with focus on inclusive human development.

Objectives

 To identify young talent, strengthen research culture, build capacity, promote innovation and support trans-disciplinary research for India’s developing economy and national development.  To fund multi institutional network high-impact research projects in humanities and human sciences.

Trans-disciplinary research

 Trans-disciplinary research is a team effort of investigators from different disciplines to create new conceptual, theoretical, methodological innovations that integrates and transcends beyond discipline-specific approaches to address a common problem.  Trans-disciplinary research goes beyond mere production of knowledge and extends to the practical use of the knowledge outside academic endeavour.  It takes into consideration the societal impact of knowledge enunciating as what should be the main aim of research.  It creates unity of intellectual frameworks beyond the disciplinary perspectives and solve problems by going beyond the boundaries of disciplines to involve various stakeholders.

STRIDE Components  Component-1 will endeavour to identify the motivated young talents with research and innovation aptitude in universities and colleges. This component is open to all disciplines for grant upto 1 crore.  Component-2 will be mainly to enhance problem solving skills with help of social innovation and action research to improve wellbeing of people and contribute for India’s developing economy. This component is open to all disciplines for grant upto 50 lakh – 1 crore.  Component-3 will fund high impact research projects in the identified thrust areas inhumanities and human sciences through national network of eminent scientists from leading institutions. Grant available for this component is upto 1 crore for one HEI and upto 5 crores for multi institutional network.

Significance  STRIDE scheme will strengthen research culture and innovation in colleges and Universities and help students and faculty to contribute towards India’s developing economy with help of collaborative research.  It will provide opportunity to build multi-sectoral linkages between university-government- community-industry for national development and wellbeing of people.  STRIDE will give major impetus to high impact research in Humanities and Human Sciences and will boost quality research on Indian languages and knowledge systems.  It shall support creation, development and integration of new ideas, concepts and practices for public good and strengthening civil society.

Paramarsh Scheme

Government has launched ‘Paramarsh’ – a University Grants Commission (UGC) scheme for Mentoring National Accreditation and Assessment Council (NAAC) Accreditation Aspirant Institutions to promote Quality Assurance in Higher Education.

 Scheme will be operationalized through a “Hub & Spoke” model wherein the Mentor Institution, called the “Hub” is centralized and will have the responsibility of guiding the Mentee institution through the secondary branches the “Spoke” through the services provided to the mentee for self- improvement.  This will allow a centralized control over operational efficiency, resource utilization to attain overall development of the mentee institution.  Scheme will target 1000 Higher Education Institutions for mentoring with a specific focus on quality as enumerated in the UGC Quality Mandate.  The eligibility guidelines laid down by UGC say the mentor and the mentee can be government, aided, private or self-financing institution.  The mentor institution should be NAAC accredited with an A grade, having an overall score of 3.26 and above. About NAAC

 The NAAC is an autonomous body that assesses and accredits higher education institutions (HEIs) in India.  It assesses the higher learning institutes on the basis of seven parameters.  The parameters include teaching-learning and evaluation, infrastructure and learning resources, research, innovation and extension, curricular aspects, governance, leadership and management, student support and progression and institutional values and best practices.

Significance

 It will be a paradigm shift in the concept of mentoring of institution by another well performing institution to upgrade their academic performance.  It will enable mentee to get accredited by focusing in the area of curricular aspects, teaching- learning & evaluation, research, innovation, institutional values & practices etc.  The scheme is expected to have a major impact in addressing a national challenge of improving the quality of Higher Education in India.  Scheme will lead to enhancement of overall quality of the Mentee Institutions and enhance its profile as a result of improved quality of research, teaching and learning methodologies.  Mentee Institution will also have increased exposure and speedier adaptation to best practices.

 It will also facilitate sharing of knowledge, information and opportunities for research collaboration and faculty development in Mentee Institutions.

Mentor-Mentee relationship will not only benefit both the institutions but also provide quality education to the 3.6 crore students who are enrolling to Indian Higher Education system at present.

Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Bill, 2019

Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Bill, 2019 has been introduced in the Parliament.

This is the second of the four codes that aim to merge 44 labour laws. The Cabinet had earlier approved the Code on Minimum Wages Bill that prescribes mandatory minimum wages.

Code on Minimum Wages Bill

Code on Wages Bill, will be applicable to workers of organised and unorganised sectors, except government employees and MNREGA workers.

 As per the Bill, minimum wages will be linked only to factors of skills and geographical regions.  At present, minimum wages are fixed on the basis of categories such as skilled, unskilled, semi-skilled, high skilled, geographical regions, and nature of work such as mining and are applicable for 45 scheduled employments in the central sphere and 1709 scheduled employments in states.  This is expected to effectively reduce the number of minimum wage rates across the country to 300 from about 2,500 minimum wage rates at present.  The Code on Wages will amalgamate the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.  A National Floor Level Minimum Wage will be set by the Centre to be revised every five years, while states will fix minimum wages for their regions, which cannot be lower than the floor wage.

Government had proposed codification of labour laws into four codes. The labour and employment ministry had drafted four labour codes: Industrial relations, wages, social security and welfare, and occupational safety, health and working conditions by amalgamating, simplifying and rationalising the relevant provisions of the existing central labour laws.

The New Code has been drafted after amalgamation, simplification and rationalisation of the relevant provisions of the 13 Central Labour Acts. After the enactment of the Code, all these Acts being subsumed in the Code will be repealed.

Important Provisions

 Any business entity with 10 or more workers will mandatorily be required to issue appointment letter and also get the medical check-up done annually for all its workers.  The new code envisages uniform threshold for welfare provisions such as crèche, canteen, first aid and welfare officer.  Women can voluntarily opt for working in night shift. The code permits women to work beyond 7 pm and before 6 am subject to safety, holidays, working hours or any condition as prescribed by

appropriate government in respect of prescribed establishments and only after taking their consent for night work.  Code prescribes one registration for an establishment. At present six labour Acts out of 13 provides for separate registration.  Code enhances the ambit of provisions of safety, health, welfare and working conditions from existing about 9 major sectors to all establishments having 10 or more employees.  The multiple committees under five labour Acts would be replaced by the National Occupational Safety and Health Advisory Board to advise the government on matters relating to standards, rules and regulations framed under the Code.

Benefits  Code would enhance the coverage of the safety, health and working conditions provisions manifold as compared to the present scenario.  Workforce of the country would become more productive and occurrence of less accidents and unforeseen incidents would be economically beneficial to the employers as well.  Ease of doing business - One license and one return would save time, resources and efforts of establishments.

Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill, 2019

Lok Sabha has passed the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill with an aim to tackle the menace of illicit deposit- taking activities in the country. The bill will replace the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Ordinance, 2019.

Provisions

 It has provisions which ban deposit takers from promoting, operating, issuing advertisements or accepting deposits in any unregulated deposit scheme.  It makes it absolutely necessary for everyone to register before taking a deposit and creating a central repository of all the registered entities which can take deposits.  The law also proposes to create three different types of offences - running of unregulated deposit schemes, fraudulent default in regulated deposit schemes, and wrongful inducement in relation to unregulated deposit schemes.  It also provides for severe punishment ranging from 1 year to 10 years and pecuniary fines ranging from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 50 crore to act as deterrent.  It has provisions for disgorgement or repayment of deposits in cases where such schemes nonetheless manage to raise deposits illegally.

Impact  The Bill will help tackle the menace of illicit deposit taking activities in the country, which at present are exploiting regulatory gaps and lack of strict administrative measures to dupe poor and gullible people of their hard-earned savings.  An outright ban empowers the government to take action against illicit entities, while it strengthens the case of regulated banking activities.  It will help create a central repository of all registered entities which can take deposits.

Background  The banning of Unregulated Deposit Scheme Bill, 2018 was considered by the Lok Sabha in its sitting held on 13th February, 2019 and after discussion, the same was passed, as amended through the proposed official amendments, as the banning of Unregulated Deposit Scheme Bill, 2019.  However, before the same could be considered and passed in the Rajya Sabha, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die on the same day.  In the last four years, the CBI has lodged about 166 cases related to chit funds and multi-crore scams, with the maximum in West Bengal and Odisha.

International Relations

G20: Osaka Summit

Leaders of the G20, met in Osaka, Japan on 28-29 June 2019 to make united efforts to address major global economic challenges.

The G20 (short for 'Group of 20') Summit — formally known as the “Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy" is council meeting of 19 countries.

 Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States, apart from the European Union. Spain, on the other hand, is a permanent guest invitee.  The group was established in 1999 to broaden the remit of the G7 – a grouping of the world’s most powerful nations — and its primary mandate is to “prevent future international financial crises”.  Together, members account for roughly 85 percent of the world economy; that's around three-quarters of global trade and two-thirds of the world’s population.  The chairpersons and the members’ leaders initially met twice a year, but this was changed to once a year since 2011.  The leaders’ meetings are usually preceded by ministerial meetings by trade ministers, finance ministers and central bank governors, which are designed to set the agenda for the meet of the world’s most powerful leaders.

As a forum, the G-20 is often watched more closely for the meetings the event affords on its sidelines, than for substantive outcomes.

G20: Osaka Declaration

 U.S. and China have called a halt to raising tariffs until they resolve issues. It has come as a relief, given the impact of those tensions on the national and global economies.  Osaka Blue Ocean Vision - This was included in the final statement as a good start in addressing the problem of marine plastic waste as the initiative commits to reducing additional marine plastic litter to zero by 2050.  G-20 found consensus on issues such as ocean pollution management, gender equality and concerted efforts to fight corruption.  The Osaka leaders’ declaration contained no specific mention of battling protectionism as it was rejected by the United States.  On climate change, the statement was a virtual repeat of the agreement in Buenos Aires, with the other 19 members specifically committed to the Paris agreement, but the U.S. only obliged to simply continue reducing its own greenhouse gas emissions.

India at G20

 India used the occasion of the G-20 summit at Osaka for as many as 20 such meetings, including nine bilaterals, eight pull-aside engagements, and of the Russia-India-China (RIC), Japan-U.S.- India (JAI) and Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa groupings.

 India presented its 5-I’s vision (Inclusiveness, Indigenisation, Innovation, Investment in infrastructure & International cooperation) to maximise digital technology for social benefit in the G20 Summit on digital economy and artificial intelligence (AI).  India held an informal meeting with BRICS leaders’ meeting in which it emphasised on the need to stop all the mediums of support to terrorism and racism.  India raised several concerns at the G-20 deliberations, including the need for cooperation on dealing with serious economic offenders and fugitives, as well as climate change funding.  India refused to attend the digital economy summit or Osaka track pushed by Japan for “data free flow with trust”, included in the G-20 declaration, as it runs counter to the Reserve Bank of India’s proposed data localisation guidelines.  The initiative seeks to standardise rules in global movement of data with better protection for personal information and intellectual property.  Twenty-four countries and groupings signed a statement agreeing to the Osaka Track. India, Indonesia, Egypt and South Africa did not sign the declaration.

Way Ahead

 With Saudi Arabia hosting the next G-20 in 2020, followed by Italy in 2021, all eyes will soon turn to the agenda India plans to highlight when it holds the G-20 summit in 2022.  Many global challenges, such as climate change and its impact, the balance between the needs for speed and national security with 5G networks being introduced, as well as technology-driven terrorism, will become even more critical for the grouping, and the government must articulate its line.

The G-20 is an important platform to discuss pressing issues, and it must not be detracted from its original purpose of promoting sustainable growth and financial stability by grandstanding by one or two members. India should lead the exercise in making the G-20 more effective in dealing with some of the inequities in its system.

ICJ Verdict on Kulbhushan Jadhav

International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered its final verdict on the Kulbhushan Jadhav case between India and Pakistan. With a 15-1 majority decision in India’s favour, the court found that Pakistan had breached its obligations under the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR).

Verdict Key Highlights

 ICJ affirmed Kulbhushan Jadhav the right to consular access and slammed Pakistan for denying this.  The verdict clarified that the Vienna Convention on Consular Access is applicable even for spies and Indian consular officers must be given access to Jadhav to arrange for his legal representation.  It made clear that Jadhav’s death sentence should remain suspended until Pakistan effectively reviews and reconsiders the conviction and sentence in the light of its breach of Article 36 of the Vienna Convention that is denial of consular access and notification.  ICJ rejected India’s call to annul the military court decision and ensure his release and safe passage home. This means that Jadhav will not be free in the immediate term and the it is for the Pakistan’s court to decide his fate.

Brief Background

 Jadhav was arrested by Pakistan on 3 March 2016 on the suspicion that he was a spy sent by India to conduct subversive activities in Pakistan.  India was informed of Jadhav’s arrest on 25 March 2016 after an inexplicable 22-day delay.  India claimed that Jadhav, who was carrying on a business in Iran post-retirement, was abducted and tried on false and fabricated charges of terrorism and espionage.  Consequently, India made repeated requests for consular access to Jadhav, so as to visit him and arrange for his legal representation. This was not only denied by Pakistan, but was also made conditional upon receiving India’s assistance for investigation against Jadhav.  Eventually, Jadhav was sentenced to death by Pakistan’s military court on grounds of espionage and terrorism on 10 April 2017.  India filed a case before the ICJ on 8 May 2017 accusing Pakistan of egregious violations of the VCCR.  On 18 May 2017, the ICJ indicated provisional measures and ordered Pakistan to ensure that Jadhav was not executed, pending a final judgment by the court.

How binding are ICJ judgments?

 According to ICJ, judgments delivered by the court (or by one of its chambers) in disputes between states are binding upon the parties concerned.  Article 94 of the United Nations Charter provides that “each Member of the United Nations undertakes to comply with the decision of [the court] in any case to which it is a party”. Judgments are final and without appeal.  If there is a dispute about the meaning or scope of a judgment, the only possibility is for one of the parties to make a request to the court for an interpretation. In the event of the discovery of a fact hitherto unknown to the court which might be a decisive factor, either party may apply for revision of the judgment.  However, there have been instances when the ICJ’s rulings have not been followed.  In 1986, when the ICJ ruled in a petition by Nicaragua, which alleged that the US had waged a covert war against it by supporting a rebellion.  The ICJ ordered reparations from the US in favour of Nicaragua. The US, in response, cancelled its declaration of the ICJ’s jurisdiction. It then went to the UN Security Council against the ICJ order and succeeded.

Remedies beyond ICJ’s remedy

 Once India is given consular access, it can seek to equip Jadhav with the best possible legal defense under Pakistan’s laws.  Apart from this, India has a few options for recourse should Pakistan’s actions be unsatisfactory. Though ICJ decisions are final and without appeal, India can approach the court again to:  Interpret the judgment, should India and Pakistan differ on its meaning and scope, and  To revise it, if new and crucial facts are discovered by India.  If Pakistan remains unwilling to execute any of the ICJ’s orders, India can approach the United Nations Security Council, which is empowered to take binding measures to give effect to an ICJ judgment.  However, this course of action depends on the concurrence of the P5 for decision-making, which includes Pakistan’s all-weather friend China.  On its own level, India could suspend diplomatic relations, retaliate through sanctions, and push for public censure against Pakistan’s actions at the international stage.

On legal grounds, the Jadhav case is a resounding victory for India and provides clarity to a country’s obligations under VCCR. However, the question of its implementation continues to loom large given the outcomes in previous VCCR cases.

Trump-Kim Meeting

U.S. President Donald Trump became the first sitting U.S. President to set foot in North Korea on when he met its leader, Kim Jong-un in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas and agreed to resume stalled nuclear talks.

Both the leaders met for the third time in just over a year on the old Cold War frontier that for decades has symbolized the hostility between their countries, which are technically still at war.

 Trump and Kim met for the first time in Singapore in June last year, and agreed to improve relations and work towards the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.  But the second summit in Hanoi broke down after the two sides failed to narrow differences between a U.S. demand for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons and a North Korean demand for sanctions relief.  North Korea has pursued nuclear and missile programmes for years in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions, and easing tensions with North Korea is one of the U.S. president’s top foreign policy priorities.  The DMZ was set up after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a truce, leaving North Korea and a U.S.-led U.N. forces still technically at war.

India and Italy set up Fast Track Mechanism

In order to facilitate Italian companies and investors in India and Indian companies and investors in Italy, it has been decided to establish fast-track system for companies and investors of both the countries.  The key objectives of the fast track system in India will be to pave the way for and identify and solve problems faced by Italian companies and investors with their operations in India.  The system will also serve as a platform for discussing general suggestions from the point of view of Italian companies and investors with regard to ease of doing business in India.  Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) in close cooperation with Invest India will represent the India side in this system in India.  DPIIT will facilitate the participation of other relevant Ministries and authorities on a case by case basis.  Invest India will be the responsible agency to pursue and monitor individual cases. They will be constantly reviewed by DPIIT.  The Italian Embassy in India in close cooperation with the Italian Trade Agency and relevant Ministries in Italy will represent the Italian side of this system in India. The fast-track system will be reviewed twice a year at the level of Secretary, DPIIT and Italian Ambassador in India. The Italian Embassy and DPIIT will meet on the working level at shorter intervals as and when required to review the progress achieved.

Inter-Institutional Agreement between India and USA

The Union Cabinet has given ex-post facto approval to the Inter-Institutional Agreement between India and the USA in the areas of regenerative medicine and 3D bioprinting, new technologies, exchange of scientific ideas/information and technologies, and joint use of scientific infrastructure.

Salient features

The objective of the Agreement is to contribute towards the development of research and education of both the Institutions through academic collaboration. The general areas of common interest where collaboration and exchange of knowledge are intended for both include:  Exchange of faculty members and students for training, study and research especially in the areas on 3D Bioprinting.  Execution of joint research projects.  Exchange of information and academic publications.  The joint research projects, training programmes, conferences, seminars etc. under this Agreement will be open to all qualified scientists and technologists, and will be supported on the basis of scientific merit and excellence.  Scientific research and technology development in the areas of regenerative medicine and 3D bio-printing will have potential for generation of new Intellectual Property, processes, prototypes or products.

Agreement will lead to the development of specific projects, each of which may have academic, clinical and commercial implications.

Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

India abstained at the vote for term-renewal of the Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the U.N. Human Rights Council on violence and discrimination against sexual minorities.  The Resolution numbered L10 Rev 1 granted an extension of three years to the Independent Expert to carry on reporting on incidents of violence against the LGBTQ community all over the world.  The Resolution will help integrating the work of the crucial official into the larger body of global work by the United Nations.  The resolution received support from most of the member countries at the Human Rights Council but India, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameron, Congo, Hungary, Togo and Senegal abstained during the final voting.  Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, China, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Qatar, Somalia opposed the resolution.

India’s abstention

 India’s abstention drew widespread criticism from activists especially since it came after the Supreme Court struck down Section 377 and decriminalised the LGBTQ community.  India had also abstained during the 2016 vote on appointment of the Independent Expert.  Indian delegation supported some of the amendments that were brought by countries that opposed the work of the Independent Expert.

Economy

Draft Model Tenancy Act (MTA), 2019

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has drafted a ‘Model Tenancy Act’, 2019. Need  As per Census 2011, nearly 1.1 crore houses were lying vacant in the country and making these houses available on rent will complement the vision of ‘Housing for All’ by 2022.  The existing rent control laws are restricting the growth of rental housing and discourage the owners from renting out their vacant houses due to fear of repossession. One of the potential measures to unlock the vacant house is to bringing transparency and accountability in the existing system of renting of premises and to balance the interests of both the property owner and tenant in a judicious manner. Background

 In 2015, before the Housing for All by 2022 Mission (Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban) was launched, it was decided that 20 per cent of the two crore houses that were to be created should be exclusively for rent.  The decision was based on a 2013 report by a Union government Task Force for Rental Housing, which held that affordable rental housing “addresses the issues of the underprivileged and inclusive growth, in an even more direct manner than affordable ownership housing”.  The Expenditure Finance Committee cleared an outlay of Rs 6,000 crore for a rental component in PMAY-U.  However, when it was rolled out in late 2015, the mission promoted only ownership housing with no mention of rental stock.  In subsequent years, the MHUA worked on a draft National Urban Rental Housing Policy, but this did not have the monetary backing of a PMAY mission.

Major Provisions of Draft MTA, 2019

 MTA stipulates a robust grievance redressal mechanism comprising of Rent Authority, Rent Court and Rent Tribunal.  It has been proposed to cap the security deposit equal to a maximum of two month’s rent in case of residential properties and, minimum of one month’s rent in case of non-residential property.  After coming into force of this Act, no person shall let or take on rent any premises except by an agreement in writing.  It seeks to penalize recalcitrant tenants for refusing to move out of their rental properties after the agreed-upon rental period expires.  It stipulates that a landlord cannot refuse to provide essential utilities and access to common facilities.  The landlord will also not be able to increase the rent without giving at least three months’ notice to the tenant, and cannot increase rent in the middle of a rental term.  After the commencement of this Model Act, a tenant without the prior consent in writing of the landowner won’t be able to sublet whole or part of the premises held by him, or transfer or assign his rights in the tenancy agreement or any part thereof.

 The terms of agreement executed between a landlord and his tenant will be binding upon their successors in the event of the death of the landowner or tenant.  The Model Act provides for its applicability for the whole of the State i.e. urban as well as rural areas in the State.  Within two months of executing rental agreement both landowner and tenant are required to intimate to the Rent Authority about the agreement and within seven days a unique identification number will be issued by the Rent Authority to the both the parties.  A digital platform will be set up in the local vernacular language of the State for submitting tenancy agreement and other documents.  Model Act would be applicable prospectively and will not affect the existing tenancies.

Benefits  It will enable creation of adequate rental housing stock for various income segments of society including migrants, formal and informal sector workers, professionals, students etc.  Increased access to quality rented accommodation, will enable gradual formalization of rental housing market.  It will help overhaul the legal framework vis-à-vis rental housing across the country.  It is also expected to give a fillip to private participation in rental housing for addressing the huge housing shortage across the country.  It will also promote growth of rental housing and investment in the sector and promote entrepreneurial opportunities and innovative mechanism of sharing of space. Concerns  Repeal of rent control Acts has been a politically sensitive issue in the cities, especially in South Mumbai, where old properties in prime locations have been occupied for decades by residential and commercial tenants at negligible rents.  Since land and urban development are state subjects, the central Model Act is not binding on the states unless they draft their legislation based on it.  It is unlikely to ensure a robust rental housing stock that caters to all groups, including large numbers of people in the cities who are forced to live in informal settlements.

The Model Tenancy Act, 2019 may turn out to be a toothless tiger if above mentioned concerns are not taken care of, Centre therefore must ensure that modification of the rules at state level does not happen beyond a reasonable limit.

One Nation, One Ration Card scheme

The Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution recently announced that the One Nation, One Ration Card scheme would be introduced from July 1, 2020.

 The scheme seeks to facilitate portability of subsidised food grains for internal migrant workers, provided their ration card is digitalised and linked with Aadhar.  Intra-state access to the Public Distribution System (PDS) under the Integrated Management of Public Distribution System (IMPDS), an online database of ration cards, is already in practice in a few states like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Kerala.  To ensure that one member of a family after shifting to another place does not buy the entire family quota in one go, a maximum limit of buying will be fixed.  The food ministry will also create a central repository of all ration cards which will help in de- duplication.

From the inception of the food rationing system in India, a series of reforms have been carried out to identify legitimate beneficiaries, fix per capita food grain, include the most vulnerable people, digitalise and authenticate, in order to improve its target and efficiency.

 The food rationing and PDS system was begun during the famine of 1940, and was revived in 1970 as a universal food entitlement programme for Indian citizens.  Post-liberalisation, in 1997, the universal food scheme was made a targeted one, covering poor and vulnerable people.  Later, in 2013, due to civil society and judicial influence, the landmark National Food Security Act (NFSA) was passed by Parliament. It made the right to food a legal entitlement for two- thirds of poor households in India.

Status on Required Infrastructure

 Aadhaar cards of about 89 per cent of beneficaries have been linked with the system, while 77 per cent of ration shops have installed PoS machines.  As many as 22 states have 100 per cent PoS coverage and there is no problem in implementing the new system.  Centre has given a six-month deadline to states to automate the operations of their foodgrain depots in order to minimise storage losses.  The depots of Food Corporation of India (FCI) and Central Warehousing Corporation are fully automated at present.

Need

 The mobility of the poor inside the country for employment is quite complex and multifaceted. A majority of poor households practice temporary or seasonal migration in India.  According to some academic estimation, the seasonal rural-to-urban migration in India is somewhere around 10 crore people, who work as informal workers in urban areas.  That internal migration in India is huge is evident from the 2011 Census data. It indicates that 45.36 crore people or 37 per cent of the total population of India are migrants.  Mobility of poor people from poor and backward states is rising due to the current agrarian crisis, unemployment, poverty and vulnerability resulting out of natural disasters.  Most of the anti-poverty, rural employment, welfare and food security schemes were historically based on domicile-based access and restricted people to access government social security, welfare and food entitlements at their place of origin.  Migration data on people engaged in informal work within the state and inter-state destinations is yet to be captured through any systematic survey or enumeration.

Furthermore, the working group on Migration formed by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation made a number of recommendations for inclusion of migrant workers through special migrant, caste-based enumeration and argued for inter-state portability of PDS.

Challenges

The ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ will mostly assist seasonal and circular migrant workers to have better access to PDS, both, at source and destination. The authorities can be expected to encounter hard- hitting ground realities for designing and implementing the scheme.

 Although there are provisions under the Inter State Migrant Workers Act of 1979 to register inter-state migrant workers, state governments have failed to register such workers and create databases about them, either at source or at destination.  Aadhar seeding and the biometric authentication of eligible migrant workers at the destination may create obstacles for hassle-free access to PDS both, at source and destination.  Domicile-based legislation for accessing government schemes and social security needs serious rethinking before making ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ portable.  There are multiple social security, welfare, food and anti-poverty schemes in India, in addition to an array of labour laws.

Way ahead: The Rastriya Sawthya Bima Yojna (RSBY), the national health insurance scheme of the Indian government, had an interesting component of splitting the unique insurance card to help both migrants and those left behind. This component from RSBY may be adopted.

‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ should create inclusion in food schemes, both, at source and destination, without negating the very spirit of ensuring household food security of the migrant family.

Sovereign Bond

Government in the budget announced that the Indian “government would start raising a part of its gross borrowing programme in external markets in external currencies”. Several top economists, such as former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, raising red flags have underscored the reasons why past governments have stayed away from raising loans overseas in foreign-denominated currencies.

What is a sovereign bond?

 In a sovereign bond an issuer promises to pay back a fixed amount of money every year until the expiry of the term, at which point the issuer returns the principal amount to the buyer. When a government issues such a bond it is called a sovereign bond.  Typically, the more financially strong a country, the better respected is its sovereign bond. Some of the best known sovereign bonds are the Treasuries (of the United States), the Gilts (of Britain), the OATS (of France), Bunds (of Germany) and the JGBs (of Japan).

Controversy

The current controversy relates to India’s sovereign bonds that will be floated in foreign countries and will be denominated in foreign currencies.

 In other words, both the initial loan amount and the final payment will be in either US dollars or some other comparable currency. This would differentiate these proposed bonds from either government securities (or G-secs, wherein the Indian government raises loans within India and in Indian rupee) or Masala bonds (wherein Indian entities — not the government — raise money overseas in rupee terms).  Incidence of exchange rate risk - If the loan is in terms of dollars, and the rupee weakens against the dollar during the bond’s tenure, the government would have to return more rupees to pay back the same amount of dollars. If, however, the initial loan is denominated in rupee terms, then the negative fallout would be on the foreign investor.

Need/Significance

 Indian government’s domestic borrowing is crowding out private investment and preventing the interest rates from falling even when inflation has cooled off and the RBI is cutting policy rates.  If the government was to borrow some of its loans from outside India, there will be investable money left for private companies to borrow.  India’s sovereign external debt to GDP is among the lowest globally, at less than 5%. Thus there is a scope for the Indian government to raise funds this way.  Sovereign bond issue will provide a yield curve, a benchmark for Indian corporates who wish to raise loans in foreign markets. This will help Indian businesses that have increasingly looked towards foreign economies to borrow money.  Globally, and especially in the advanced economies where the government is likely to go to borrow, the interest rates are low and owing to easy monetary policies of foreign central banks, there are a lot of surplus funds waiting for a product that pays more.

In an ideal scenario, it could be win-win for all: Indian government raises loans at interest rates much cheaper than domestic interest rates, while foreign investors get a much higher return than is available in their own markets.

Concerns

 Volatility in India’s exchange rate is far more than the volatility in the yields of India’s G-secs (the yields are the interest rate that the government pays when it borrows domestically).  This means that although the government would be borrowing at “cheaper” rates than domestically, the eventual rates (after incorporating the possible weakening of rupee against the dollar) might make the deal costlier.  Unpleasant experience of other emerging economies - It is quite likely that the government will be tempted to dip into the foreign markets for more loans every time it runs out of money. At some point, especially if India does not take care of its fiscal health, the foreign investors will pull the plug on fresh investments, creating dire consequences for India.

The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (Amendment) Bill, 2018

The Rajya Sabha has passed a Bill allowing the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) to bid out any new airport at a pre-determined tariff structure.

Highlights of the Bill

 Definition of major airports: The Act defines a major airport as one with annual passenger traffic over 15 lakh, or any other airports as notified by the central government.  The Bill increases the threshold of annual passenger traffic for major airports to over 35 lakh.  Tariff determination by AERA: Under the Act, AERA is responsible for determining: (i) the tariff for aeronautical services every five years, (ii) the development fees, and (iii) the passenger’s service fee. It can also amend the tariffs in the interim period.  The Bill adds that AERA will not determine tariff, tariff structures, or the development fees, in certain cases.  AERA will be consulted (by the concessioning authority, the Ministry of Civil Aviation) before incorporating such tariffs in the bid document, and such tariffs must be notified.

 Currently, there are 31 major airports (annual traffic above 15 lakh), and AERA regulates tariffs at 24 of these. Under the Bill, AERA will regulate 14 major airports (annual traffic above 35 lakh). The remaining 10 airports will be regulated by AAI.

Role of AERA

 Over the last few years, private players have started operating civilian airports. These private airports run the risk of becoming a monopoly. This is because cities typically have one civilian airport which controls all aeronautical services in that area.  To ensure that private airport operators do not misuse their monopoly, the need for an independent tariff regulator in the airport sector was felt.  Consequently, the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act, 2008 (AERA Act) was passed which set up AERA to regulate the growing competition in the airline industry, and to provide a level playing field among different categories of airports.  Before AERA was set up, AAI fixed the aeronautical charges for the airports under its control and prescribed performance standards for all airports and monitored them.  Various committees had noted that AAI performed the role of airport operator as well as the regulator, which resulted in conflict of interest  AERA regulates tariffs and other charges (development fee and passenger service fee) for aeronautical services (air traffic management, landing and parking of aircraft, ground handling services) at major airports.  Major airports include civilian airports with annual traffic above 15 lakh passengers. In 2017-18, there were 31 such airports. As of July 2018, 24 of these were being regulated by AERA. For the remaining airports, tariffs are determined by AAI.

Issues

 The Bill increases the threshold of annual passenger traffic for major airports to over 35 lakh. With this increase in threshold, 14 airports will be regulated by AERA as against 24 at present. It may be argued that instead of strengthening the role of the regulator, its purview is being reduced.  The Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill states that the exponential growth of the sector has put tremendous pressure on AERA, while its resources are limited. Therefore, if too many airports come under the purview of AERA, it will not be able to perform its functions efficiently.  If the challenge for AERA is availability of limited resources, its capacity needs to be strengthened instead of curtailing its role.  Till 2030-31, air traffic in the country is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 10- 11%. This implies that in a few years, the traffic at the other 10 airports will increase to over 35 lakh and they will again fall under the purview of AERA. This may lead to constant changes in the regulatory regime at these airports.

Three Airports Leased through PPP

Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for leasing out of three airports viz. Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Mangaluru of Airports Authority of India (AAI) through Public Private Partnership (PPP) to the highest bidder i.e. Adani Enterprises for operation, management and development under PPP. Impact:

 These projects will bring efficiency in delivery, expertise, enterprise and professionalism apart from harnessing the needed investments in the public sector.  This will also result in enhanced revenues to the AAI, which may lead to further investment by AAI at Tier II and Tier III cities and economic development in these areas in terms of job creation and related infrastructure. Ban on Private Cryptocurrencies

An Inter-Ministerial Committee set up by the government has proposed a draft bill ‘Banning on private Cryptocurrencies & Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2019’.

Key Proposals

 The committee has proposed a complete ban on private cryptocurrencies due to various adverse effects.  According to it the private cryptocurrencies are inconsistent with the essential functions of money/currency, hence private cryptocurrencies cannot replace fiat currencies.  However, given the utility of the blockchain or the DLT, the committee recommended: That it would be advisable to have an open mind regarding the introduction of an official digital currency in India.

Procedure

 Enabling provisions are available in the Reserve Bank of India Act that permits the central government to approve a “Central Bank Digital Currency” recommended by the RBI to be a “banknote” and therefore, a legal tender in India.  The major point of difference between fiat currency and virtual currency is that while the former is expressly guaranteed by the central government, the latter has no such backing.  In order for any virtual currency to be declared legal tender, it will have to be expressly guaranteed by the Central government.  In that case, parties are legally bound to accept it as a mode of payment, the committee noted.

Significance

 DLT-based systems can be used by banks and other financial firms for processes such as loan- issuance tracking, collateral management, fraud detection, and claims management in insurance and reconciliation systems in the securities market.  Europe’s largest shipping port, Rotterdam, has launched a research lab to explore blockchain’s applications in logistics, and utilities in North America and Europe are using this technology for trading energy futures. Business forecasts project blockchain’s business value addition to grow to $176 billion by 2025.

Prevalence/ Status

 While no accurate information of trading volumes in India is available, in February 2018, there were around 50 lakh traders in India in 24 exchanges and cryptocurrency trading volumes were in the range of 1,500 Bitcoins a day, or around Rs 100 crore, whereas the global 24-hour trading volume is in excess of $21 billion, the report noted.  Other than Bitcoin, various other cryptocurrencies have emerged including Ethereum, Ripple, and Cardano.  As of date, there are around 2,116 cryptocurrencies, with a market capitalization of $119.46 billion.

 While China has imposed a complete ban on virtual currencies, countries including Japan, Switzerland, and Thailand have recognized these as means of payment.  But no country has allowed it as a legal tender or fiat currency.

Concerns

 Non-official virtual currencies can be used to defraud consumers, and sharp fluctuation in their value can cause significant losses to investors.  In December 2017, Bitcoin was valued at around $20,000 per coin. However, by November 2018, Bitcoin was trading at a price of $3800.  These can also affect the central bank’s ability to regulate the money supply, restricting its ability to stabilize the economy.

Global Innovation Index (GII)

India has moved up five positions to become the 52nd most innovative country, according to the Global Innovation Index (GII).  The GII ranks 129 world economies on 80 innovation indicators such as intellectual property filing rates, mobile app creation, education, spending, and scientific and technical publications.  Switzerland retained the first rank as the world’s most innovative country, followed by Sweden, the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Finland, Denmark, Singapore, Germany and Israel.

Key Findings

 The global landscape of science, innovation, and technology has undergone important shifts over the last decades.  Middle-income economies, especially in Asia, are increasingly contributing to global research and development (R&D) and international patenting rates via WIPO’s International Patent System;  The GII 2019 shows that public R&D expenditures – particularly in some high-income economies – are growing slowly or not at all. This raises concerns given the public sector’s central role in funding basic R&D and blue-sky research, which are key to future innovations.  Most top science and technology clusters are in the U.S., China, and Germany, whlie Brazil, India, Iran, the Russian Federation, and Turkey also feature in the top 100 list.  The top five clusters: Tokyo-Yokohama (Japan); Shenzhen-Hong Kong, China (China); Seoul (Republic of Korea); Beijing (China); San Jose-San Francisco (U.S.).

India’s Position

 India has improved its innovation ranking from 29 spots in last five years from 81th position in 2014 to 52th position in 2019.  In comparison, India’s rank in World Bank’s Doing Business survey has improved 65 spots to 77th position in 2018.  India improved its ranking in four out of seven pillars of GII, such as  Knowledge and technology outputs (up 11 spots to 32nd),  Market sophistication (up 3 spots to 33rd),  Human capital and research (up 3 spots to 53rd),  Institutions (up 3 spots to 77th).

 By contrast, in business sophistication (65th), infrastructure (79th), creative outputs (78th), it lost one, two and three spots respectively.  Among the sub-pillars, where India lost relative strength to other countries, the largest drops are found in;  Logistics performance (down 9 spots to 43rd),  Females employed with advanced degrees (down 10 spots to 103rd) and  Printing and other media (down 12 spots to 88th).  Three Indian cities — Bengaluru, Mumbai and New Delhi — are among the world’s top 100 science and technology clusters, according to the report.  When it comes to quality of innovation which includes quality of local universities, internationalisation of patented inventions and quality of scientific publications, China, India, and the Russian Federation hold the top 3 positions among middle income countries with India ranking 26th globally.  India maintained its top place in Central and Southern Asia, improving its position in labour productivity growth, knowledge and technology outputs, and intellectual property related variables, among other parameters.  WIPO said India’s improvement this year is largely due to its relative performance and less so to new GII data or methods.

About Global Innovation Index (GII)

 The Global Innovation Index (GII) is an annual ranking of countries by their capacity for, and success in, innovation.  The GII report is compiled by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), Cornell University, INSEAD and other GII knowledge partners.  The theme for this year was ‘Creating Healthy Lives — The Future of Medical Innovation’.

Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)

The 2019 global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) from the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) was released in July.

Key Findings

 India lifted 271 million people out of poverty between 2006 and 2016, recording the fastest reductions in the multidimensional poverty index values during the period with strong improvements in areas such as assets, cooking fuel, sanitation and nutrition.  Noting the examples of pro-poor reduction, where the poorest regions improved the fastest, the report said that Jharkhand in India reduced the incidence of multidimensional poverty from 74.9 per cent in 2005-06 to 46.5 per cent in 2015-16.  India reduced deprivation in nutrition from 44.3 per cent in 2005-06 to 21.2 per cent in 2015-16, child mortality dropped from 4.5 per cent to 2.2 per cent, people deprived of cooking fuel reduced from 52.9 per cent to 26.2 per cent, deprivation in sanitation from 50.4 per cent to 24.6 per cent, those deprived of drinking water reduced from 16.6 per cent to 6.2 per cent.

About MPI

The global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) is an international measure of acute multidimensional poverty covering over 100 developing countries. The global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) is calculated by identifying multiple deprivations. These deprivations are divided into three broad categories — health, education and standard of living each with 33.3% weightage.

The global MPI was developed by OPHI with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) for inclusion in UNDP’s flagship Human Development Report in 2010. It has been published in the HDR and by OPHI ever since.

SEBI’s New Powers

The Finance Bill, 2019 has given the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) new powers to act against entities that tamper or destroy electronic databases or fail to furnish information when sought.  As per the Finance Bill, a new section 15HAA has been inserted in the SEBI Act that says if a person tampers with information to obstruct or influence an investigation, destroys regulatory data or tries to access data in an unauthorised manner then the entity could be penalised up to ₹10 crore or three times the unlawful gains, whichever is higher.  The Centre has also explicitly allowed the regulator to impose a fine of up to ₹1 crore on brokers if they fail to issue a contract note to clients in the format as laid down by the exchanges. Earlier, only the lower limit of ₹1 lakh was prescribed.  These new powers assume significance as SEBI is in the midst of probing the leak of sensitive data through WhatsApp and also recently passed fresh orders on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) co-location matter, which had been challenged at the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT).  WhatsApp leak case and the NSE co-location matter deal with the data being leaked through electronic means and unauthorised access to exchange data, which forms the base in most regulatory probes.

Base Erosion and Profit Shifting

India has ratified the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (multilateral instruments (MLI)).

Base erosion and profit shifting refers to the phenomenon where companies shift their profits to other tax jurisdictions, which usually have lower rates, thereby eroding the tax base in India.  The MLI will modify India’s tax treaties to curb revenue loss through treaty abuse and base erosion and profit shifting strategies by ensuring that profits are taxed where substantive economic activities generating the profits are carried out.  The MLI will be applied alongside existing tax treaties, modifying their application in order to implement the BEPS measures.  Out of 93 tax treaties notified by India, 22 countries have already ratified the MLI so far and the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with these countries will be modified by MLI.

About MLI

 The MLI is a result of concerted work by the G20 countries to tackle the issue of base erosion and profit shifting.  India was part of the Ad Hoc Group of more than 100 countries and jurisdictions from the G20, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and other interested countries, which worked on the finalising the text of the Multilateral Convention.

Environment & Disaster Management

NDMA conducts workshop on Glacial Hazards and Risks

National Disaster Management Authority in partnership with Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) organized a two-day brainstorming meeting on the assessment and management of glacial risks, particularly glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). The purpose of this workshop was to bring all national and international experts on one platform. GLOFs refer to the sudden discharge of a water reservoir that has formed either underneath, at the side, in front, within, or on the surface of a glacier. As was evident during the 2013 Kedarnath disaster, the resulting impacts on communities and infrastructure can be catastrophic. Vulnerabilities  The fragile mountain ecosystem in the Indian Himalayan Region is under tremendous stress of climate change and land use degradation.  Glaciers and permafrost environments are changing rapidly across the Indian Himalayan Region, giving rise to threats such as GLOFs.  The region is particularly sensitive to changes in global climate, and with residential, tourism and hydropower infrastructure expanding higher into alpine valleys, there is a clear need for the assessment and management of glacial hazards to be mainstreamed into major policies.  Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh are the most vulnerable States to glacial hazards. The technical sessions at the workshop established the context and priorities besides discussing specific case studies and experiences in managing glacial hazards from Central Asia, Caucasus and various Indian States. Jal Shakti Abhiyan

Government has announced commencement of the Jal Shakti Abhiyan - a campaign for water conservation and water security.

 Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) is a time-bound, mission-mode water conservation campaign. It is a collaborative effort of various Ministries of the Government of India and State Governments, being coordinated by the DDWS.  The JSA has two Phases:  Phase I: 1st July to 15th September 2019 (all States)  Phase II: 1st October to 30th November 2019 (States with retreating monsoon)

 During the campaign, officers, groundwater experts and scientists from the Government of India will work together with state and district officials in India’s most water-stressed districts for water conservation and water resource management by focusing on accelerated implementation of five target intervention.  Water conservation and rainwater harvesting  Renovation of traditional and other water bodies/tanks  Reuse and recharge structures  Watershed development  Intensive afforestation

Special Intervention Areas

 Block and District Water Conservation Plan - Development of Block and District Water Conservation Plans (To be integrated with the District Irrigation Plans).  Krishi Vigyan Kendra Mela - Krishi Vigyan Kendra Melas to promote efficient water use for irrigation (Per Drop More Crop), and better choice of crops for water conservation.  Urban Waste Water Reuse - In urban areas, plans/approvals with timebound targets to be developed for waste water reuse for industrial and agriculture purposes. Municipalities to pass by- laws for the separation of grey water and blackwater.  Scientists and IITs - Scientists and IITs to be mobilised at the national level to support the teams.  3D Village Contour Mapping - 3D Village Contour Maps may be created and made accessible for efficient planning of interventions.

Water-stressed districts: Districts with critical or over-exploited groundwater levels as per the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) 2017. For states without critical and over-exploited groundwater levels, districts with the least availability of groundwater in comparison to the rest of the districts in the state have been selected.

 The JSA aims at making water conservation a Jan Andolan through asset creation and extensive communication.  It will help people to work for rain water harvesting, maintenance and upkeep of ponds and village tanks and conservation of water.  A large-scale communications campaign has also been planned alongside the JSA involving mass mobilisation of different groups including school students, college students, swachhagrahis, Self Help Groups, Panchayati Raj Institution members, etc.

Capacity Strengthening Initiative for 2.5 lakh Panchayats launched  This initiative will create a pool of 2800 field trainers in its initial trainings, who will reach out to around 2.5 lakh Gram Panchayats across the country.  The initiative seeks to ensure the sustainability of open defecation free (ODF) villages created under the Swachh Bharat Mission in the long term and enable field trainers and

members of PRIs (Panchayat Raj Institutions) to create capacity to manage solid and liquid wastes as well as improve access to safe and adequate drinking water supply.

Indian Ports witness higher sea level rise than the global average

Of the major ports in India, Diamond Harbour in West Bengal located at the mouth of river Hooghly has recorded the maximum sea level increase, according to data tabled in the Lok Sabha by the Ministry of Earth Sciences.  Going by the data from the Ministry of Earth Sciences, four ports — Diamond Harbour, Kandla, Haldia and Port Blair — recorded a higher sea level rise than the global average.  While recent studies reveal that sea level rise in the country has been estimated to be 1.3 mm per year along India’s coasts during the last 40-50 years, at Diamond Harbour the rise was almost five times higher at 5.16 mm per year.  This is followed by Kandla port in Gujarat where the sea level rise was 3.18 (1950 to 2005), followed by Haldia in West Bengal, which recorded a sea level rise of 2.89 mm a year (1972 to 2005). Port Blair also recorded a sea level rise of 2.20 mm per year (1916-1964).  Chennai and Mumbai recorded a sea level rise far below the global and the national averages at 0.33 mm per year (1916-2005) and 0.74 mm (1878-2005) respectively.

Reason

 Sea level rise is said to be linked with global warming and as per the fifth assessment report of the International Panel on Climate Change, the global sea level was rising at an average rate of 1.8 mm per year over the last century.  Global warming not only causes melting of ice and glaciers, but also leads to internal expansion of water in oceans and thus a rise in the sea level.  The sea level rise is higher in West Bengal, particularly in the Sunderbans delta because of the deltaic sediment deposition as a result of the mixing of fresh water and saline water, according to experts.

Impact Rising sea levels can exacerbate the impacts of coastal hazards such as storm surge, tsunami, coastal floods, high waves and coastal erosion in the low lying coastal areas in addition to causing gradual loss of coastal land to sea.

Project to control population of Wild Animals

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC) has launched a project for undertaking ‘immuno-contraceptive measures’ for population management of four species of wild animals — elephant, wild boar, monkey and blue bull (Nilgai).

Immuno-contraception is a technology that uses a’female’ animal’s immune system to build a protein around the egg that prevents it from fertilising.

Need

 Human-animal conflict has emerged as a major challenge in managing wildlife in the country and human-elephant conflict causes the maximum number of causalities every year.  Between 2014 and March 2019, 2,398 people died in elephant attack in the country, with West Bengal accounting for maximum number of such deaths.

 Birth-control method has been tried in Africa in areas like the Kruger National Park. The pilot project will begin in Uttarakhand and then implemented in rest of the country.

Decline in Global Freshwater Fish Species: IUCN

Freshwater fish species globally are under grave threat according to the latest edition of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List.

Key findings

 The world’s freshwater fish species, which number almost 18,000, are undergoing a dramatic and largely unrecognized global decline, as made apparent in the high levels of extinction threat to freshwater fish species in Japan and Mexico  Over half of Japan’s endemic freshwater fishes and more than a third of freshwater fishes in Mexico were threatened with extinction, the list of threatened species released on July 18, 2019  The main reasons behind this were the usual suspects, namely loss of free-flowing rivers and agricultural and urban pollution.  It was revealed recently that two-thirds of the world’s great rivers no longer flow freely.  The loss of these species would deprive millions of people of a critical source of food and income and could have knock-on effects on entire ecosystems.

India’s Case

 India has an incredible diversity of freshwater fish, including many found nowhere else on earth.  Of these, there are several in the most threatened category of Criticality Endangered, particularly in the southern peninsula, and many that are currently not assessed, which makes them extremely vulnerable  The main threats to native fish are gross and illegal pollution, and the loss of river flow and habitat due to dam building.  In India, it is alleged that fisheries experts are not consulted for their advice before a plan to construct a dam is drawn up.  Also high up the list of threats are releases of invasive fish that bring potential diseases and over- compete for finite resources.  Destructive fishing methods like use of poisons or dynamite not only harm fish, they also indiscriminately kill all wildlife and lessen the chances for future generations to sustainably harvest from rivers.

Blue Flag certification The Union Environment Ministry has selected 12 beaches in India to vie for a ‘Blue Flag’ certification, an international recognition conferred on beaches that meet certain criteria of cleanliness and environmental propriety.  The Blue Flag programme for beaches and marinas is run by the international, non-governmental, non-profit organisation FEE (the Foundation for Environmental Education).  It started in France in 1985 and has been implemented in Europe since 1987, and in areas outside Europe since 2001, when South Africa joined.  Japan and South Korea are the only countries in South and southeastern Asia to have Blue Flag beaches.  Spain tops the list with 566 such beaches; Greece and France follow with 515 and 395, respectively.

 There are nearly 33 criteria that must be met to qualify for a Blue Flag certification, such as the water meeting certain standards such as waste disposal facilities, disabled-friendly facilities, first aid equipment and no access to pets in the main areas of the beach.  India is set to apply for certification for two beaches, at Shivrajpur (Gujarat) and Ghogla (Diu), by July-end.  To help Indian beaches meet these criteria, the Union Ministry has allowed structures such container toilet blocks, change rooms, shower panels, mini greywater treatment plants in an enclosed structure, mini solid waste recycling plants and off-grid solar photovoltaic panels. M-sand The government in Rajasthan is considering formulating a policy on manufactured sand (M-sand) as a substitute of ‘bajri’ (riverbed sand) used for construction of buildings, in view of the Supreme Court’s ban on mining of the latter in the State. Manufactured sand (M-Sand) is a substitute of river sand for concrete construction.  M-Sand is obtained from specific hard rock (granite) using the state-of-the-art International technology, thus the required property of sand is obtained.  M-Sand is cubical in shape and is manufactured using technology like High Carbon steel hit rock and then ROCK ON ROCK process which is synonymous to that of natural process undergoing in river sand information.

Advantages of Manufactured Sand (M-Sand)  It is well graded in the required proportion.  It does not contain organic and soluble compound that affects the setting time and properties of cement, thus the required strength of concrete can be maintained.  It does not have the presence of impurities such as clay, dust and silt coatings, increase water requirement as in the case of river sand which impair bond between cement paste and aggregate. Thus, increased quality and durability of concrete.  Since manufactured sand can be crushed from hard granite rocks, it can be readily available at the nearby place, reducing the cost of transportation from far-off river sand bed.  M-Sand is the only alternative to river sand. Dredging of river beds to get river sand will lead to environmental disaster like ground water depletion, water scarcity, threat to the safety of bridges, dams etc.  M-Sand has balanced physical and chemical properties that can withstand any aggressive environmental and climatic conditions as it has enhanced durability, greater strength and overall economy. Dracaena Cambodiana

Assam has added to India’s botanical wealth a plant that yields dragon’s blood, a bright red resin used since ancient times as medicine, body oil, varnish, incense and dye. This is for the first time that a dragon tree species (Dracaena cambodiana) whose sap turns bright red after coming in contact with air has been reported from India.  Dracaena cambodiana is an important medicinal plant as well as an ornamental tree.  It is a major source of dragon’s blood, a precious traditional medicine in China.  Several antifungal and antibacterial compounds, antioxidants, flavonoids, etc., have been extracted from various parts of the plant.  Recent overexploitation to meet the increasing demand for dragon’s blood has resulted in rapid depletion of the plant.  The habitat of the plant is severely fragmented due to open excavation of a stone quarry and there is continuing decrease in its area of occupancy and number of mature individuals.

 The Dracaena seeds are usually dispersed by birds. But due to the large fruit size, only a few species of birds are able to swallow the fruits, thus limiting the scope of its natural conservation. In India, the Dracaena genus belonging to the family Asparagaceae is represented by nine species and two varieties in the Himalayan region, the northeast and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. But Dracaena cambodiana is the only true dragon tree species.

Social Justice & Development Mob Lynchings in India

The Supreme Court turned down a request to list for urgent hearing a contempt application against states that have failed to implement the court’s direction to control lynch mobs.

According to the Oxford English dictionary, lynching refers to the act of killing/s done by a mob without any legal authority or process involved. The word ‘lynch’ is said to have originated during the American Revolution, phrased as ‘Lynch Law’ which is a punishment without trial.

Current Status and Statistics

 According to the IndiaSpend, there have been about 129 incidents of mob lynchings in India since 2012 leading to about 47 deaths.  56% of the victims have been muslims and about 9% dalits. In 2018, 100% of victims attacked in these hate crimes were Muslim.  In more than 28 of 85 incidents mobs or groups of people were spurred into violence on the mere suspicion of cow slaughter.

Reasons

 Impunity - A mob has no face, thus it becomes difficult to fix accountability and bring perpetrators to book. When an individual act, there is a sense of responsibility, but in a mob, there is a dispersion of responsibility and guilt.  Growing Xenophobia - Sub-national or regional xenophobia has led to many mob lynchings wherein victims were tourists or strangers to a particular place in suspicion of child lifters & abusers.  Weak & Delayed Justice Delivery - Had justice delivery system in our country been efficient and effective people seeking justice would not have had taken law into their own hands to. For example, several rape accused have been lynched in the past e.g. in Himachal Pradesh & Assam.  Poor Law & Order - Inability to enforce law and order has a direct manifestation in form of mob violence. This also results in low conviction rates thereby incentivising such acts further.  Fake & Hate News - With an increased role & penetration of social media, fake and hate news have direct impact on the psyche of an individual especially when the rate of effective literacy is low. According to IndiaSpend report, 77% mob attacks are attributed to fake news.  Prejudice against certain communities and castes - There has been an unprecedented surge in the number of lynching and hate crimes in cow-related cases and most of the victims are from the Muslim and Dalit communities.  Political Instigation - Behind the present fraught conditions is the deterioration in the calibre of some politicians whose only objective is to remain in power even if it means bending the administrative system for their partisan advantage by undermining the autonomy and professionalism of the various services, especially the police.  Emerging Individualism - With the rise in individualism owing to ambitions based lifestyles, there has been an erosion of associational life and its benefits considered indispensable for democratic life.  Rising Superstitions - About 2000 women have been killed by mobs between 2000-2012 in 12 states on the suspicion of having indulged in witchcraft practices.

Impacts

•Erodes the founding principles of 'unity in diversity'. Social •Aggravates hatred related to caste, region, religion etc. • Enhances xenophobia

•Leads to selective distribution of resources and investments. •Erosion of investor's confidence. Lowering of sovereign ratings. Economic •Adversely affects internal migration. •Deployment of resources to check law and order

•Sets a bad convention, unfortunately to be followed by rest. •Encourages politics based on caste and religion to a greater Political extent. •Disencourages co-operative federalism •Defames national image at global level. •Incentivises non-state actors to take leverage of such Security sensitive situations. •May lead to emergence of sub-nationalism

Once set off for any reason, mob hysteria is extremely difficult to control.

Important Judgments

The Indian judicial system has in the recent past attempted to counter mob killings and emphasise on the rule of law and values enshrined in the Indian constitution as seen in the cases below -  National Human Rights Commission v. State of Gujrat and others (2009) - The Supreme Court said that- “Communal harmony is the hallmark of a democracy. The Constitution of India, in its Preamble refers to secularism. Religious fanatics are’ no better than terrorists who kill innocent for no rhyme or reason in a society which as noted above is governed by the rule of law.”  Krishna Sradha v. State of Andhra Pradesh (2017) - The Supreme court said that- “A right is conferred on a person by the rule of law and if he seeks a remedy through the process meant for establishing the rule of law and it is denied to him, it would never subserve the cause of real justice.”  Cardamom Marketing Corporation v. State of Kerala (2017) - The Supreme Court said that- “The Rule of Law reflects a man’s sense of order and justice. There can be no Government without order; there can be no order without law”.  SC in 2018 condemned case of mob-lynching and called the incidents "horrendous acts of mobocracy" which cannot be allowed to become a new norm. It issued a slew of directions to provide "preventive, remedial and punitive measures" to deal with offences like mob violence and cow vigilantism.

Guidelines

 The states shall designate a senior police officer not below the rank of police superintendent as nodal officer in each district.  These officers will set up a task force to be assisted by one DSP-rank officer for taking measures to prevent mob violence and lynching.  The state governments shall immediately identify districts, sub-divisions and villages where instances of lynching and mob violence have been reported in the recent past.  The director-general of police or the home department secretary shall hold regular review meetings (at least once a quarter) with all the nodal officers and state police intelligence heads.  All police officers will have to ensure the dispersal of mobs that have a tendency to cause violence or lynch in the garb of vigilantism or otherwise.  The Union home department must work in co-ordination with the state governments to sensitise law- enforcement agencies and by involving all stakeholders to identify the measures for the prevention of mob violence and lynching on the grounds of caste or community  The central and state governments should broadcast on media platforms, that lynching and mob violence will invite serious consequence.  It will be the duty of the Centre and the states to curb the dissemination of irresponsible and explosive messages, videos and other material on social media platforms.  The police shall register FIRs under Section 153A of the IPC (promoting enmity among people) and/or other relevant provisions against the perpetrators.  The Centre shall issue appropriate directions to the states on the gravity of the situation and the measures to be taken.

Remedial measures

 Despite the preventive measures taken by the state police, if it comes to the notice of the local police that an incident of lynching or mob violence has taken place, the jurisdictional police station shall immediately lodge an FIR.  It shall be the duty of the station house officer to immediately intimate the nodal officer in the district who shall, in turn, ensure that there is no further harassment of the family members of the victim(s).  The investigation in such offences shall be personally monitored by the nodal officer, who shall be duty-bound to ensure that the investigation is carried out effectively and the chargesheet filed within the statutory period  The states shall prepare a scheme to compensate lynching and mob violence victims.  The cases of lynching and mob violence shall be specifically tried by designated courts in each district. Such courts shall try cases on a day-to-day basis. The trial should preferably be concluded within six months.

Deterrent punishment

 The trial court must ordinarily award the maximum sentence under the provisions of the IPC  The courts may, on application by a witness or by the public prosecutor, take such measures as it deems fit, for protection and for concealing the identity and address of the witness.  The victim(s) or the next of kin of the deceased shall be given timely notice of court proceedings.  The victim(s) or the next of kin of the deceased shall receive free legal aid if he or she so chooses.

Punitive measures

 Departmental action must be taken against police or district officials who fail to act against the perpetrators. Such failure will be considered as an act of deliberate negligence and/or misconduct for

which appropriate action must be taken. The action shall be taken to its logical conclusion preferably within six months.

Way-Forward

 Effective implementation of SC 2018 guidelines along with the enactment of Anti-Communal Violence Bill on the lines of MASUKA.  Manav Suraksha Kanoon (MASUKA) is a law against mob lynching which has been proposed by National Campaign against Mob Lynching (NCAML). It defines, for the first time in Indian legal history, the terms ‘lynching’, ‘mob’ and ‘victim’ of mob lynching. Other proposals;  Measures to help rehabilitate victims and/or their families fiscally with compensation packages from the state government.  Creation of special courts to fast track trials.  Judicial probe to be conducted wherever lynching takes place and investigate into the possible role of the Station House Officer (SHO).  Action against officials if found guilty of inaction or collaboration with the perpetrator.  Dedicated witness protection programme for witnesses in such cases to ensure their safety till the completion of trial  While the proposed MASUKA will fulfil the need for a specialised law to counter mob lynching, it has to be complemented with a multi-pronged approach with the help of laws like the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill, 2011, or the Anti-Communal Violence Bill and ushering in long pending police reforms.  Recommendations of the Rajiv Gauba committee must be made public for effective deliberations and for its incorporation into the law to be enacted.  Maintenance of proper data - At present the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) does not maintain specific data with respect to lynching incidents in the country.  Include making it mandatory that WhatsApp forwards and memes contain originator details, and that a “fact check this” option be inserted at the user end to allow a message to be decrypted.  A database of ‘reported hashes’ be created, which all users could download, and which would automatically rate messages on ‘trust’.  Police’ and ‘Public Order are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. State Governments, therefore must promptly act upon the complaints of kidnapping or abduction of children in a manner that instills a sense of confidence in the affected family or locality that action as per law would be and is taken to bring the guilty to book.  Police reforms should be initiated without any further delay through incorporation of SC guidelines in Prakash Singh V Union of India, 2006.  There is a provision in law which enables government to issue orders to remove objectionable content, block websites etc. Law enforcement agencies should be able to step up the act and monitor more proactively.  There is also a need to promote social inclusiveness via laws, as seen in The Maharashtra Protection of People from Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2016. It helps in outlawing any act that may amount to boycotting any person or community socially.  Political condemnation of these acts from the important leaders is essential to send out a message to discourage the mob.  Community Sensitisation and awareness through multi-media campaigns along with counter- information campaigns to check fear-mongering and fake news.  Strengthening civil society organisation to nurture solidarity and confidence among the diverse groups.  Re-orientation of values and traditional principles towards enhancing compassion, empathy and fraternity among people.

 A targeted region specific approach is need of the hour as reasons for such acts vary widely across space.  Encourage critical thinking and critical inquiry for questioning the information they receive, a very important part of countering fake news.

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2019

The Rajya Sabha passed a bill entailing amendments to the POCSO Act, 2012 by including death penalty for aggravated sexual assault on children, besides providing stringent punishments for other crimes against minors.

Important Provisions

 Penetrative sexual assault: Under the Act, a if a person commits “penetrative sexual assault” if the punishment for such offence is imprisonment between seven years to life, and a fine.  The Bill increases the minimum punishment from seven years to ten years.  It further adds that if a person commits penetrative sexual assault on a child below the age of 16 years, he will be punishable with imprisonment between 20 years to life, with a fine.  Aggravated penetrative sexual assault: The Act defines certain actions as “aggravated penetrative sexual assault”. Currently, the punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault is imprisonment between 10 years to life, and a fine.  The Bill adds two more grounds to the definition of aggravated penetrative sexual assault. These include: (i) assault resulting in death of child, and (ii) assault committed during a natural calamity, or in any similar situations of violence.  The Bill increases the minimum punishment from ten years to 20 years, and the maximum punishment to death penalty.  Aggravated sexual assault: “Aggravated sexual assault” includes cases where the offender is a relative of the child, or if the assault injures the sexual organs of the child, among others.  The Bill adds two more offences to the definition of aggravated sexual assault.  These include: (i) assault committed during a natural calamity, and (ii) administrating or help in administering any hormone or any chemical substance, to a child for the purpose of attaining early sexual maturity.  Pornographic purposes: Under the Act, a person is guilty of using a child for pornographic purposes if he uses a child in any form of media for the purpose of sexual gratification. The Act also penalises persons who use children for pornographic purposes resulting in sexual assault.  The Bill defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a child including photograph, video, digital or computer generated image indistinguishable from an actual child.  Storage of pornographic material: The Act penalises storage of pornographic material for commercial purposes with a punishment of up to three years, or a fine, or both.  The Bill amends this to provide that the punishment can be imprisonment between three to five years, or a fine, or both.  In addition, the Bill adds two other offences for storage of pornographic material involving children. These include: (i) failing to destroy, or delete, or report pornographic material involving a child, and (ii) transmitting, displaying, distributing such material except for the purpose of reporting it. Concerns

 National Crime Record Bureau has no data on offences against children after 2016.  Poor conviction rate under the law - out of over one lakh such offences, trial was completed in around 10,000 cases with conviction in 30% cases.

 Bill did not consider observations made by the Madras High Court suggesting that consensual sex, physical contact or allied acts after the age of 16 be excluded from the POCSO Act.  POCSO is often misused to cover up cases of elopement or inter-caste marriages. Bill should have looked into the fact that any harassment under the POCSO should be avoided to curb misuse.

Suggestions

 Budget allocated by the government under the women and child development be fully utilized as despite making provision of good amounts, the funds remain largely unutilized.  All public buildings should have close circuit TV cameras and the entire expenses on treatment of such victims should be borne by the State.  Medical examination of female victims in such cases should be done by lady doctors and the role of mental health professionals must be further mainstreamed.  Time-bound investigation is crucial along with prosecution and proportionate compensation.  Government should provide for an independent national children tribunal.  Need for an awareness campaigns centered around crimes against women and children at the end of various television serials to reach out to the women and children at large.  There should be a social audit of shelter homes in the backdrop of Muzafarnagar incident in Bihar.

 The Supreme Court in July directed the setting up of special courts in each district across the country that had over a 100 cases of child abuse and sexual assault pending trial under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.  The Bench directed the courts to be set up within 60 days.  They will be established under a Central scheme and fully funded by the Centre. The order came on a suo motu public interest litigation petition registered by the Supreme Court after being concerned by the “alarming rise” in child abuse cases and their long pendency in courts.

National Digital Health Blueprint Report

To strengthen the Digital India and accelerate the efforts towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC), the Union health ministry has released the National Digital Health Blueprint (NDHB) report.

Objectives of National Digital Health Blueprint (NDHB)

 To establish state-of-the-art digital health systems, for managing the core digital health data, and the infrastructure required for its seamless exchange.  To create a National Digital Health Eco-system that supports Universal Health Coverage in an efficient, accessible, inclusive, affordable, timely and safe manner, through provision of a wide- range of data, information and infrastructure services, duly leveraging open, interoperable, standards-based digital systems, and ensuring the security, confidentiality and privacy of health- related personal information.  To establish National and Regional Registries to create Single Source of Truth in respect of Clinical Establishments, Healthcare Professionals, Health Workers and Pharmacies.  To enforce adoption of open standards by all the actors in the National Digital Health Eco- system.  To create a system of Personal Health Records, based on international standards, easily accessible to the citizens and to the healthcare professionals and services providers, based on citizen-consent  To promote development of enterprise-class health application systems with a special focus on addressing the Sustainable Development Goals related to the health sector.

 To adopt the best principles of cooperative federalism while working with the States and Union Territories for the realization of the Vision.  To ensure that the healthcare institutions and professionals in the private sector participate actively in the building of the NDHE, through a combination of prescription and incentivization.  To ensure National Portability in the provision of health services.  To promote the use of Clinical Decision Support (CDS) Systems by health professionals and practitioners.  To promote a better management of the health sector leveraging Health Data Analytics and Medical Research  To provide for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of Governance at all levels through digital tools in the area of Performance Management.  To support effective steps being taken for ensuring Quality of Healthcare.  To leverage the Information Systems existing in the health sector, by ensuring that they conform to the defined standards and integrate with the proposed NDHE.

Important Recommendations  An Institutional Framework which is a hybrid of GSTN, UIDAI and NPCI should be considered given the federal nature of Indian government and the fact that Health is a State subject.  It proposed that the National Digital Health Mission should be set up as a new organization to avoid duplication of activities. The existing organizations handling electronic records and with similar functions should be subsumed in the new organization.  Given the sensitivity of health data involved, Government should have complete ownership of the proposed institution with flexibility to attract private sector talent at appropriate levels of implementation, with adequate safeguards.  The Blueprint recommends a Federated Architecture for collecting and storing of health information. While certain core datasets like the various Registries, would be managed centrally, bulk of the information relating to citizen/ patient health records would be maintained and managed in a distributed model, at regional centres.

 Incentive driven governance mechanisms need to be designed to ensure facility registry is kept updated and made available for integration with Health Systems.  The Government needs to create a strong facility registry for use by several actors in the ecosystem.  There is a strong need to uniquely identify health facilities and ensure that any health data is correctly tagged with the facility id to ensure traceability, accountability and reliability of the health information.

It is envisaged that the Blueprint will shape the path for a digitally inclusive healthcare system to be established in our country.

UNESCO Education Report on children with disabilities

The 2019 State of the Education Report for India: Children with Disabilities, was launched at an event organized by UNESCO in New Delhi.

The substance of the Report has been developed by an experienced team of researchers from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, under the guidance of UNESCO New Delhi.

To be published annually, the 2019 report is the first of its kind published by UNESCO New Delhi and highlights accomplishments and challenges with regards to the right to education of children with disabilities (CWDs).

 The Report acknowledges that inclusive education is complex to implement and requires a fine understanding of diverse needs of children and their families across different contexts.  India has made considerable progress in terms of putting in place a robust legal framework and a range of programmes and schemes that have improved enrolment rates of children with disabilities in schools.  The RTE Act 2009 and the RPWD Act 2016 have helped create a comprehensive legal framework for inclusive education.  Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan envisions inclusive education as the underlying principle of providing a continuum of education. It emphasizes on increasing enrolment of children with disabilities in regular schools, removal of barriers, training of teachers and use of technology, it also provides for home-based education.  The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) created the Barkha – Graded Reading Series for children, which highlights the possibilities of Universal Design of learning.  NCERT has developed two manuals on ‘Including Children with Special Needs’ for primary and upper primary stage teachers.  Many States are using them extensively to understand the need for curriculum adaptations wherever children with disabilities study alongside other children in inclusive classrooms.  The international normative framework comprising the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), Sustainable Development Goals, specifically SDG4 and the Agenda 2030 provides a strong vision and a set of goals that have guided India’s processes of fostering inclusion in schools.  However, further measures are needed to ensure quality education for every child so as to achieve the goals and targets of Agenda 2030 and more specifically Sustainable Development Goal 4.

Key Findings

 At present, three-fourths of the children with disabilities at the age of 5 years and one-fourth between 5-19 years do not go to any educational institution.  The number of children enrolled in school drops significantly with each successive level of schooling.  There are fewer girls with disabilities in schools than boys with disabilities in school.  More work is required in the field of assistive technologies, with particular attention paid to bridging the digital divide and overcoming equity concerns.  As an example of good practice, recently, in a two-year research-cum-documentation project in the North East, sign languages operating in the region were compiled in a web- based application known as 'NESL Sign Bank'.  It is an online open source educational resource that contains information regarding the types of sign languages used by the deaf community.  RTE Act 2009 and the RPWD Act 2016 - There remain a few ambiguities in terms of where children with disabilities should study and who should teach them; and gaps in terms of appropriate norms and standards applicable to all educational institutions and services provided to children with disabilities and an absence of a coordinated authority that can enforce the norms and standards.  Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan - Implementation of the scheme with the conceived coordinated effort is yet to be operationalised.

Emerging from extensive analysis, the report proposes a set of ten recommendations:

 Amend the RTE Act to better align with the RPWD Act by including specific concerns of education of children with disabilities.  Establish a coordinating mechanism under MHRD for effective convergence of all education programmes of children with disabilities.  Ensure specific and adequate financial allocation in education budgets to meet the learning needs of children with disabilities.  Strengthen data systems to make them robust, reliable and useful for implementation and monitoring.  Enrich school ecosystems and involve all stakeholders in support of children with disabilities.  Massively expand the use of information technology for the education of children with disabilities.  Give a chance to every child and leave no child with disability behind.  Transform teaching practices to aid the inclusion of diverse learners.  Overcome stereotypes and build positive dispositions towards children with disabilities, both in the classroom and beyond.  Foster effective partnerships involving government, civil society, the private sector and local communities for the benefit of children with disabilities.

Other Recommendations

 According to the UNESCO report, the attitude of parents and teachers towards including children with disabilities into mainstream education is also crucial to accomplish the goal of inclusive education.  Development of inclusive practices requires flexible curriculum and availability of appropriate resources.  Different frameworks for curriculum design can be adopted to develop curriculum that is both universal and suitable to adaptations.

Significance

 Report will serve as a reference tool for enhancing and influencing the policies and programs that practice inclusion and scale-up quality education opportunities for CWDs.  It is expected to deepen our understanding in this regard and help the education system better respond to the learning need of children with disabilities.  It will enable government and stakeholders to make significant progress towards collective objective of leaving no one behind and provide to all children and youth equitable opportunities for quality learning.

About UNESCO

 UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It seeks to build peace through international cooperation in Education, the Sciences and Culture.  UNESCO's programmes contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals defined in Agenda 2030, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015.

WHO’s guidelines on Self-Care Interventions

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has launched its first guidelines on self-care interventions for health in response to an estimate that by 2035 the world will face a shortage of nearly 13 million healthcare workers and the fact that currently at least 400 million people worldwide lack access to the most essential health services.

According to the WHO, Self-care is the “the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a health-care provider”.

 Guidelines focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights. Some of the interventions include self-sampling for sexually transmitted infections, self-injectable contraceptives, home-based ovulation predictor kits, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) self-testing and self-management of medical abortion.  These guidelines look at the scientific evidence for health benefits of certain interventions that can be done outside the conventional sector, though sometimes with the support of a health-care provider.  They do not replace high-quality health services nor are they a short cut to achieving universal health coverage.  The guidelines, meanwhile, will be expanded to include other self-care interventions, including for prevention and treatment of non-communicable diseases.

Significance

 Self-care interventions represent a significant push towards new and greater self-efficacy, autonomy and engagement in health for self-carers and caregivers.  Self-care interventions could expand access to health services, including for vulnerable populations.  It is also a means for people who are negatively affected by gender, political, cultural and power dynamics, including those who are forcibly displaced, to have access to sexual and reproductive health services.

WHO is establishing a community of practice for self-care, and will be promoting research and dialogue in this area.

Security

National Investigative Agency (Amendment) Bill, 2019

The National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed by the Parliament after a detailed discussion in July, 2019.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is a central agency, which was formed in the wake of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack of 2008. The agency functions as the Central Counter-Terrorism Law Enforcement Agency in India.

There are three major amendments to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act of 2008. The Act provides for a national-level agency to investigate and prosecute offences listed in a schedule (scheduled offences).

 The first change is the type of offences that the NIA can investigate and prosecute. Under the existing Act, the NIA can investigate offences under Acts such as the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967.  Latest amendments will enable the NIA to additionally investigate offences related to human trafficking, counterfeit currency, manufacture or sale of prohibited arms, cyber- terrorism, and offences under the Explosive Substances Act, 1908.  The second change pertains to NIA’s jurisdiction. Under the Act, for the offences under its purview, NIA officers have the same power as other police officers and these extend across the country.  The Bill amends this to give NIA officers the power to investigate offences committed outside India. NIA’s jurisdiction will be subject to international treaties and domestic laws of other countries.  With terrorism having international dimensions, it is imperative that the NIA is empowered to probe incidents of terrorism targeting Indians, the Indian embassy and other assets abroad.  The third change relates to the special trials courts for the offences that come under NIA’s purview or the so-called “scheduled offences”. The existing Act allows the Centre to constitute special courts for NIA’s trials.  Bill enables the Central government to designate sessions courts as special courts for such trials.  By designating special courts, the cases would be expedited and transfers or delay in appointments of judges would not delay them.

Government is governed by Rule of Law and all investigative agencies follow the procedure established by law. Parliament needs to ensure that the agency would not be misused in any way by the Government. The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2019

The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2019 was passed by the Lok Sabha on July 24, 2019. The Bill amends the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. The Act provides special procedures to deal with terrorist activities, among other things.

Important Provisions;

 Who may commit terrorism: Under the Act, the central government may designate an organisation as a terrorist organisation if it: (i) commits or participates in acts of terrorism, (ii) prepares for terrorism, (iii) promotes terrorism, or (iv) is otherwise involved in terrorism.  Bill additionally empowers the government to designate individuals as terrorists on the same grounds.  Approval for seizure of property by NIA: Under the Act, an investigating officer is required to obtain the prior approval of the Director General of Police to seize properties that may be connected with terrorism.  The Bill adds that if the investigation is conducted by an officer of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the approval of the Director General of NIA would be required for seizure of such property.  Investigation by NIA: Under the Act, investigation of cases may be conducted by officers of the rank of Deputy Superintendent or Assistant Commissioner of Police or above.  The Bill additionally empowers the officers of the NIA, of the rank of Inspector or above, to investigate cases.  Insertion to schedule of treaties: The Act defines terrorist acts to include acts committed within the scope of any of the treaties listed in a schedule to the Act. The Schedule lists nine treaties, including the Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings (1997), and the Convention against Taking of Hostages (1979).  The Bill adds another treaty to the list. This is the International Convention for Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (2005).

The 2004 amendments to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, made it a comprehensive anti-terror law that provided for punishing acts of terrorism, as well as for designating groups as ‘terrorist organisations’. Parliament further amended it in 2008 and 2013 to strengthen the legal framework to combat terror.

The UAPA amendment Bill is meant to further enhance power of the NIA, which was recently bolstered through the NIA Act (amendment) Bill passed by Parliament.

Concerns Designating an individual as a terrorist raises serious constitutional questions and has the potential for misuse.  The practice of designating individuals under anti-terrorism laws, prevalent in several countries, is seen as being necessary because banned groups tend to change their names and continue to operate. However, there is no set procedure for designating an individual a terrorist.  Parliament must consider whether an individual can be called a ‘terrorist’ prior to conviction in a court of law. The absence of a judicial determination may render the provision vulnerable to invalidation.  There ought to be a distinction between an individual and an organisation, as the former enjoys the right to life and liberty. A wrongful designation will cause irreparable damage to a person’s reputation, career and livelihood.  Individuals may be subjected to arrest and detention, even after obtaining bail from the courts.  There is no change in the process of getting an entity removed from the list. Just as any organisation getting the tag, individuals, too, will have to apply to the Centre to get their names removed.

The Act assigns absolute power to the central government, by way of which if the Centre deems an activity as unlawful then it may, by way of an Official Gazette, declare it so. It must therefore be ensured

that this law will not be misused. India needs tough laws to combat terror, but the proposed amendments could be misused.

Bhabha Kavach

Bhabha Kavach, billed as “India’s lightest bullet-proof jacket”, was launched at the International Police Expo 2019 in New Delhi.

 The bullet-proof jacket, is developed jointly by the Ordnance Factories Board (OFB) and the public sector metals and metal alloys manufacturer MIDHANI.  It can withstand bullets from an AK-47 assault rifle (7.62 mm hard steel core bullets), and the 5.56 mm INSAS rifle.  The Kavach weighs 9.2 kg, a half kilogram less than the weight for a bullet-proof jacket prescribed by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).  It is built from layers of “high-density, high-tenacity polyethelene, which are thermo-sealed” by MIDHANI. This means the layers are fused together at high temperature.  This forms a thick, hard armour plate, which is then sprayed with BARC’s carbon nanomaterial. Soaking into the layers of the plate, the nanomaterial instils the toughness and tenacity needed to slow down and trap a bullet as it passes through the plate.  Each Bharat Kavach has four hard armour plates, which protect the wearer from the front, back, and either side.  The bullet-proof jacket is a fillip to the government's 'Make in India' project. It will help our country to be stronger on our defence front without depending on other developed nations.  The OFB is exploring export markets for the Bhabha Kavach, including Nepal, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

Garuda-VI

Garuda 2019, a bilateral Indo-French large force employment warfare exercise hosted by French Air Force (FAF) in July at Mont-de-Marsan France.  Garuda-VI was the largest international air training exercise for the year 2019.  Objectives for the exercise were to foster closer relationship between India and France so as to promote interoperability through exchange of knowledge and experience.  The exercise ensured that the participating forces were exposed to operational environment in an international scenario.  The Operational lessons learnt by IAF during the exercise will assist IAF in adding more teeth to its overall war waging capabilities and assist in better jointmanship with the friendly forces. Participation in an International air exercise assumes importance in view of the continued engagement of the IAF with friendly foreign countries. Over the last decade, IAF has been actively participating in operational exercises hosted by various countries, wherein collaborative engagements have been undertaken with the best air forces in the world.

Science & Technology Chandrayaan 2

India’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle GSLV MkIII-M1, successfully launched the 3840 kg Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft into an earth orbit on July 22, 2019.

Chandrayaan-2 consists of an Orbiter, Lander and Rover, all equipped with scientific instruments to study the moon.  The Lander is the distinguishing feature. It is the first time that ISRO is attempting to soft-land a module in extra-terrestrial space.  The main challenge is in controlling its speed as it approaches the surface. Once the Lander and the Rover, enter the Moon’s gravity, they would be in a state of free fall. That could end in crash-landing and destruction of instrument.  Because of lack of air to provide drag, these instruments cannot make use of parachute- like technologies. Instead, the Lander fires thrusters in the opposite direction to slow down.  The Rover, a six-wheeled solar-powered vehicle, will detach itself and slowly crawl on the surface, making observations and collecting data.  The Orbiter, a 2,379-kg spacecraft with seven instruments on board, would remain in orbit for a year. It is equipped with different kinds of camera to take create high-resolution three- dimensional maps of the surface.  It also has instruments to study the mineral composition on moon and the lunar atmosphere, and also to assess the abundance of water.

Chandrayaan-1  Chandrayaan-1, an Orbiter mission was launched in October 2008. It was ISRO’s first exploratory mission to moon.  It was designed to just orbit the Moon and make observations with instruments on board. The closest the spacecraft came was in an orbit 100 km from the Moon surface.  The confirmation for water had come through studies on data produced by instrument onboard the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, the M3 or Moon Mineralogy Mapper, that had been put by NASA.

 With Chandrayaan-2, India will become the fourth country to land a spacecraft on Moon.  So far, all landings, human as well as non-human, have been in areas close to the Moon’s equator. That was mainly because this area receives more sunlight, which is required by solar-powered instruments.  In January this year, China landed a lander and rover on the Moon’s far side (not facing the Earth). This was the first time any landing had taken place on that side. The Chinese mission, Chang’e 4, was designed to function for three lunar days but has already entered its fifth lunar night.  Chandrayaan-2 will make a landing at a site where no earlier mission has gone, near the south pole of the Moon. The south pole of the Moon holds possibility of presence of water.  In addition, this area is also supposed to have ancient rocks and craters that can offer indications of history of the Moon, and also contain clues to the fossil records of early solar system.  The moon offers a pristine environment to study. It is also closer than other celestial bodies.  Understanding how it formed and evolved can help us better understand the solar system and even earth itself.

 With space travel taking shape and exoplanets being discovered everyday, learning more about earth’s celestial neighbour can help in advanced missions.

Note: For further explanation of the Chandrayaan-2 , please refer May’s edition of JV’s IAS Academy Magazine.

ISRO Technical Liaison Unit at Moscow

The Union Cabinet has approved the setting up of ISRO Technical Liaison Unit (ITLU) at Moscow, Russia.  The ISRO Technical Liaison Unit (ITLU) at Moscow will enable effective technical coordination for timely interventions on diversified matters with Russia and neighbouring countries for realization of the programmatic targets of ISRO.  It shall support the ongoing bilateral programmes of cooperation in space technology and act on behalf of ISRO on the matters referred.  ISRO will be able to collaborate with Space agencies/industries in Russia and neighbouring countries for mutually synergetic outcomes.  ISRO’s Gaganyaan programme requires development of some of the key technologies and establishment of specialized facilities, which are essential to support life in space. Russia, being one of the space faring nations, it is envisaged to collaborate with Russia extensively in various fields of relevance.

Background

 Department of Space has instituted technical Liaison Units, namely ISRO Technical Liaison Units (ITLU) at Washington, USA and Paris, France with the prime objective to liaise with various Government and space agencies in USA and Europe, respectively.  Space cooperation has been one of the major links between India and Russia almost from the beginning of the space era and currently both sides are actively pursuing interactions in diversified areas of space programme.  Apart from intensifying cooperation with Russia, India has expanded its space cooperation with countries near to Russia. This calls for extensive uninterrupted coordination & interface support for increased level international technical collaboration.

Sagar Maitri Mission-2

Oceanographic research vessel of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), INS Sagardhwani, embarked on a two-month long SAGAR MAITRI (SM) Mission-2 from South Jetty, Southern Naval Command (SNC) in Kochi.  SAGAR MAITRI is a unique initiative of DRDO which aligns with the broad objective of “Safety And Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR)” to promote closer co-operation in socio-economic aspects among Indian Ocean Rim (IOR) countries.  The prime objectives of the SAGAR MAITRI Mission are data collection from the entire North Indian Ocean, focussing on the the Andaman Sea and adjoining seas and establishing long-term collaboration with eight IOR countries in the field of ocean research and development.  SAGAR MAITRIMission-2 commemorates the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of India’s lone research ship INS Kistna’s missions as part of the historic International Indian Ocean Expeditions(IIOE), which took place during 1962-65.

 INS Sagardhwani has been designed and developed by Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Kochi, a premier systems laboratory of DRDO. It conducts ocean research experiments in the Indian waters and spearheads NPOL’s at-sea data collection activities.

TIFR Desalinates Seawater without Electricity

Researchers at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, have been able to desalinate seawater to produce drinking water using gold nanoparticles that absorb sunlight.

 Using 2.5 mg of gold nanoparticles, researchers were able to use sunlight to heat the water to 85-degree C and generate steam to produce drinking water from seawater.  Unlike the conventional reverse osmosis that is energy intensive, the gold nanoparticles require no external energy to produce potable water from seawater.  The gold nanoparticles decorate the surface of 3D fibrous silica nanosphere structure. In the presence of a reducing agent, the gold chloride gets deposited on the silica nanospheres.  The formation of smaller gold nanoparticles allows variation in size, which is essential for harvesting light.  Each gold nanoparticle has an electron cloud on the surface that resonates with light. As the gold nanoparticles come closer when they grow bigger, the resonating electron cloud starts coupling together.  This allows the gold nanoparticles to absorb light of different wavelength — visible and near infrared light. Alternatively, the gold nanoparticles can be used to convert carbon dioxide into methane.

 This happens when the light absorbed by the gold nanoparticles excites the electrons, and the excited electrons when transferred into carbon dioxide converts it into methane in the presence of hydrogen.  The hydrogen comes from the water that is used as a reaction solvent. This was only a preliminary study. The next step would be to replace gold with some inexpensive metal to make it sustainable.

Tiangong-2

Tiangong-2 was a manned Chinese space station that was destroyed upon its controlled re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean on July 19.

 Tiangong-2 was launched on September 15, 2016 and, in late 2016, hosted two Chinese astronauts for 30 days in what was China’s longest manned space mission so far.  The mission refuelled the station, tested out a new spacecraft, and conducted robotic demonstrations. Tiangong means “Heavenly Palace”.  Tiangong-2 was retired from service after it had completed its experiments in space.  It followed the Tiangong-1, China’s first space station, which crashed into the southern Pacific Ocean on April 1, 2018 after Chinese scientists lost control of the spacecraft in March 2016.  China expects to complete its space station, Tianhe, which will be able to host three astronauts for long durations, around 2022.

Diversity, Art & Culture Jaipur a World Heritage Site

India’s nomination of the Jaipur City, Rajasthan got inscribed on the World Heritage List of UNESCO during the 43rd Session of the World Heritage Committee held at Baku, Azerbaijan. India's nomination was initially recommended by the ICOMOS (advisory body of World Heritage (WH) Centre for cultural sites) as Deferral, but the 21 nation World Heritage Committee debated it and after discussion decided to inscribe it on the World Heritage list.  The City of Jaipur is an exceptional urban example in indigenous city planning and construction in South Asia.  Unlike other medieval cities of the region, Jaipur was deliberately planned as a new city on the plains open for trade as opposed to hilly terrain and military cities of past.  Besides an exemplary planning, its iconic monuments such as the Govind Dev temple, City Palace, Jantar Mantar and Hawa Mahal excel in artistic and architectural craftsmanship of the period.  Jaipur is an expression of the astronomical skills, living traditions, unique urban form and exemplary foresighted city planning of an 18th century city from India.  Jaipur is an exemplary development in town planning and architecture that demonstrates amalgamation and important interchange of several ideas over the late medieval period. With this, India now has 38 World Heritage Sites, that include 30 Cultural properties, 7 Natural properties and 1 mixed site. Markandeshwar Temple The restoration work of Markandeshwar temple in Maharashtra by the Archaeological Survey of Indiais in full swing.  Known as the “Khajuraho of Vidarbha”, the temple of Markandadeo is situated on the bank of River Wainganga in district Gadchiroli of Maharashtra.  The temple belongs to the Nagara group of temples of North India. The temple belongs to saiva, vaishnava and sakta faith. This temple has many tantrik images dedicated to Shaivaite cult.  There are many intricate idols (murtis) on the outer walls of this temple complex.  On stylistic grounds, its date ranges in between 9-12th centuries CE. It has a simple plan, with ardhamandapa, mandapa, antaralaand garbhagriha forming the component of the entire set up.  The most striking feature of this temple is the largescale destruction caused on the main shrine (garbhagriha) by lightning which led to the partial collapse of the shikhara (the finial, north and south facade).  The then Gond Ruler renovated the temple about 120 years ago, trying to restore the fallen portions as much as possible. This restoration attempt was however not as per the modern conservation standards.  The Archaeological Survey of India initiated the largescale conservation work of this temple since November 2017. Pothamala Menhirs

The sighting of new menhirs, perhaps the largest-ever recorded in Kerala, on the Pothamala hills in the Udumbanchola taluk on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border, has thrown light on the possible existence of a major prehistoric necropolis.

 Pothamala hills have hundreds of cobbled stone structures, pointing to the existence of a structured graveyard of a prehistoric civilisation.  The menhirs were planted in a specific geometrical pattern on a cluster of hills. Most of these structures are oriented in the east-west direction.  Exquisite natural settings of the hills and dales at Pothamala have made the yet-to-be explored megalithic site different from similar sites spotted in other parts of the State.  The megalithic stone sentinels at Pothamala might hold the key to the hitherto unexplored facets of a civilisation that dated back around 3,000 years.

Seventy megalithic sites have already been identified in different parts of Idukki by researchers and historians, including 40 megalithic sites in the Udumbanchola taluk itself.

Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskars

The Sangeet Natak Akademi, National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama, the apex body of performing arts in the country in the meeting of its General Council at Guwahati, Assam has selected 32 (Including one joint Awards) artists of India who have made a mark as young talents in their respective fields of the performing arts for Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar 2018.  The Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar is conferred upon artists below the age of 40 years with the objective of identifying and encouraging outstanding young talents in diverse fields of performing arts and giving them national recognition early in their life, so that they may work with greater commitment and dedication in their chosen fields.  Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar carries a purse money of Rs 25,000/-. Kharchi Pooja

 The word Kharchi is derived from two Tripuri words 'Khar' or Kharta meaning or Sin, 'chi' or si meaning cleaning. Final meaning is cleaning of the sins of the people or the kingdom.  Kharchi puja is the worship of the dynasty deity of Tripuri people, the fourteen gods. It is performed in the month of July-August on the eight day of new moon.  The fourteen gods are worshipped by the royal priest Chantai. They are all Tripuri by birth, and it is hereditary one. Only members of chantai family descendants are allowed to take the post of Chantai.  This is the only puja exclusively performed by the pujari or the priests belonging to Tripuri people.  The Khachi puja is performed after 15 days of Ama pechi or Ambu bachi. According to Tripuri legends Ama Pechi is menstruation of mother goddess or earth mother. So the soil is not ploughed or dig any where on this day.  Among Tripuri the menstruation of a woman is considered as unholy, which is why in this period all the auspicious functions performed by women are prohibited.  After the menstruation of mother earth during Ama pechi, the earth is considered to become unholy. The kharchi puja is performed to wash out the sins, to clean up the post menstrual uncleanly mother earth.  Kharchi puja lasts for seven days, the festival is held at Old Agartala, at the temple premises of fourteen gods. On day of puja, the fourteen deities are carried by members of chantai, taken to river Saidra, it is bathed in the holy water and brought back to temple.

Ashadhi Bij The Kutchi people celebrate their Kutchi New Year on Ashadi Beej. It is the 2nd day of Shukla paksha of Aashaadha month of Hindu calendar (June – July).

 As for people of Kutch, this day is associated with beginning of rains in Kutch, Gujarat.  During Ashadhi-beej, they check the moisture in the atmosphere to help predict which crop would do best in coming monsoon.  Moisture in the air makes the seed and soil gain weight. If the pre-monsoon air has a lot of moisture in it, that is a fairly good indication that the season will be well.  Kutch is largely a desert area therefore people living valuate rain very much.  Ashadhi-beej is celebrated mainly at two places in India – Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, UP and Mulesh Mahadev in Umreth, Gujarat.  Other then these Kutchi people all around the world celebrate this day.  Coincidentally on Ashadi Beej the famous Jagannath Rath Yatra takes place in Ahmedabad and Puri.

Aanayoottu

The Aanayoottu (feeding of elephants) is a festival held in the precincts of the Vadakkunnathan temple in City of Thrissur, in Kerala.  The festival falls on the first day of the month of Karkkidakam (timed against the Malayalam calendar), which coincides with the month of July.  It involves a number of unadorned elephants being positioned amid a multitude of people for being worshipped and fed.  It is believed that offering poojas and delicious feed to the elephants is a way to satisfy Lord Ganesha—the god of wealth and of the fulfillment of wishes.  Among the temples the most popular Anayoottu is at the Vadakkunnathan temple, which is considered to be one of the oldest Shiva temples in southern India.  Elephants are an integral part of Kerala culture, and elephants are integral to all festivals, including the Aanayoottu. Vadakkunnathan Temple  It is an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva at city of Thrissur, of Kerala state in India.  It is a classic example of the architectural style of Kerala and has monumental towers on all four sides and also a kuttambalam.  Mural paintings depicting various episodes from Mahabharata can be seen inside the temple.  The temple, along with the mural paintings, has been declared as a National Monument by India under the AMASR Act.  According to popular local lore, this is the first temple built by Parasurama, the sixth avatar of Vishnu.  In the year 2012 the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has recommended Vadakkumnathan Temple and palaces, from Kerala to include in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

PIB Corner

UN Convention on International Settlement Agreements

The Union Cabinet has approved the signing of the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements (UNISA) resulting from mediation by the Republic of India scheduled to be held at Singapore on 7th August, 2019, or at United Nations Headquarters.

Background

 The United Nations General Assembly adopted the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation ("the Convention") on 20th December 2018.  The General Assembly authorized that the Convention will open for signature at a signing ceremony to be held on 7thAugust 2019 in Singapore and will be known as the "Singapore Convention on Mediation" (the Convention).  The Convention provides a uniform and efficient framework for the enforcement of international settlement agreements resulting from mediation and for allowing parties to invoke such agreements.  The Convention defines two additional grounds upon which a court may, on its own motion, refuse to grant relief. Those grounds relate to the fact that a dispute would not be capable of settlement by mediation or would be contrary to public policy.

Benefit

 Signing of the Convention will boost the confidence of the investors.  It shall provide a positive signal to foreign investors about India's commitment to adhere to international practice on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR).

Initiatives to promote ADR Mechanisms

 In order to encourage international commercial arbitration in India, to evolve a comprehensive ecosystem of arbitration the Government is establishing the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (NDIAC) as a statutory body.  The Commercial Courts Act, 2015, has been further amended and legislative exercise to further amend the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, is currently underway.  A new Chapter (IIIA) has been inserted in the Commercial Courts Act, 2015, for mandatory pre- institution mediation and settlement in certain category of cases.  Therefore, the provisions of the 'Convention' are in line with the domestic laws and the efforts made to strengthen Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms.

Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS)

Among the many milestones recorded by Election Commission of India during the recently concluded Lok Sabha Election 2019, Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) is one of its kind.

 For the first time enabled through the dedicated portal online registration, the service voters were sent postal ballots electronically one way to save processing time, resources and avoid human errors.

 Persons working in Central Forces under Arms Act and Government officials deployed in Embassies outside the country are classified as Service Voters and are provisioned for online enrolment.  In the seven phases spanning GE 2019, a total of 18,02,646 postal ballots were dispatched electronically using the flagship IT programme – ETPBS of Election Commission of India. In return 10,84,266 e-postal ballots were received indicating 60.14% turnout. Service Voter turnout in 2014 was only 4%.

About ETPBS

 ETPBS is a fully secured system, having two security layers.  Secrecy of voting is maintained through the use of OTP and PIN and no duplication of casted ETPB is possible due to the unique QR Code in the portal.  Through this system the service voters cast their vote on an electronically received postal ballot, from anywhere outside their constituency, thus reducing the chances of losing the voting opportunity.  The purpose of the online system was to create convenient and easy-to-use online system for Defense Personnel to become Service Voters.

With the motto of “no voter to be left behind”, Election Commission of India’s ETPBS has empowered and ensured all eligible service electors with their constitutional power to vote while performing their duty for the nation.

India – UK JETCO Meeting

Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Railways, addressed the UK-India Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) in London.

 On the side lines of the event, India and the UK agreed to set up three new bilateral working groups to tackle barriers in specific sectors including food and drink, healthcare and data services.  India called for fast-tracking of the engagements by leveraging the competitive strengths of each other for mutual benefit.

 UK is the third largest FDI investor in India and is among India’s main trading partners. Trade totalled Euro 13.6 billion in 2018.  Moreover, trade between India and UK increased at an average rate of 8.8% per year between 2002 and 2018.

Prospects

 If the spirit of research and innovation in British industry and academia is bound together with the strength of the skilled Indian work force, the two countries may become the preferred supplier to the rest of the world.  ‘Designed in the UK - Made in India’ can be the new focus area for this partnership. Manufacturing in India, in a cost-competitive environment, could be the key for British companies to expand their footprints to other parts of the world.  Similarly, in the services sector, India can provide huge technical expertise to the British companies.  Leveraging on the opportunities, particularly in the post-BREXIT scenario and also the strength of the 1.5 million strong Indian community settled in the UK who are a bridge between the two countries.  India aims to be a 5 trillion-dollar economy by 2025. It will require a major focus on investment in infrastructure where the UK can share its expertise.

JETCO can be a powerful forum through which both the countries can identify the areas of mutual cooperation and it can also be a platform where both countries and their businesses may resolve their trade-related issues.

India – UK trade and economic relations are reviewed annually by the JETCO at the level of Commerce and Industry Minister. The India – UK JETCO was established on 13th January, 2005, to further develop a strategic economic relationship and nurture business led vehicles to enhance bilateral trade and investment.

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana-lll (PMGSY-III)

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, has given its approval for the launch of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana-lll (PMGSY-III). PMGSY-III involves consolidation of Through Routes and Major Rural Links connecting habitations to Gramin Agricultural Markets (GrAMs), Higher Secondary Schools and Hospitals.

 Project period: 2019-20 to 2024-25.  Under the PMGSY-III Scheme, it is proposed to consolidate 1,25,000 Km road length in the States.  It will entail an estimated cost of Rs 80,250 crore. The funds would be shared in the ratio of 60:40 between the Centre and State for all States except for 8 North Eastern and 3 Himalayan States (Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh & Uttarakhand) for which it is 90:10.  The States shall be asked to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) before launching of PMGSY-III in the concerned State for providing adequate funds for maintenance of roads constructed under PMGSY post 5-year construction maintenance period.

Impact

 This would facilitate easy and faster movement to and from Gramin Agricultural Markets (GrAMs), Higher Secondary Schools and Hospitals.  Roads constructed under PMGSY would also be maintained properly.

PMGSY-I PMGSY was launched in December, 2000 with an objective to provide single all-weather road connectivity to eligible unconnected habitation of designated population size (500+ in plain areas and 250+ in North-East, hill, tribal and desert areas as per Census, 2001) for overall socio-economic development of the areas. 97% of the eligible and feasible habitations have already been connected by all-weather road. Road Connectivity Project for Left Wing Extremism Area (RCPLWEA) Government launched Road Connectivity Project for Left Wing Extremism affected Areas in the year 2016 as a separate vertical under PMGSY to provide all-weather road connectivity with necessary culverts and cross-drainage structures in 44 districts (35 are worst LWE affected districts and 09 are adjoining districts), which are critical from security and communication point of view. Under the Scheme, 5,066 Km road length has been sanctioned.

Draft Plan for Power Distribution Sector

Power Minister reviewed first ever Draft Plan for Power Distribution Sector prepared by CEA.

 The draft plan is the first ever plan at Distribution level which has been prepared by Central Electricity Authority (CEA) under the guidance of the Ministry of Power.  Till now, the Central Government has been preparing Perspectives Plans for Generation and Transmission Sectors under the aegis of the National Electricity Plan (NEP).  The Distribution plan keeps the needs of consumers at the center of its focus.

Key Highlights of the Plan

 The plan lays emphasis on 100% metering of all consumers and providing an electricity connection on demand.  The efforts towards making a Distribution plan is aimed at sustaining the goal of 24X7 uninterrupted power for all with increasing demand of electricity by consumers.  The plan also envisages frontier technology initiatives with an objective of providing reliable quality power supply to consumers.  Additionally, the plan also envisages conversion of all Electricity consumer meters into smart meters in prepaid mode within the next three years.  Smart metering would empower consumers with tools to help them conserve energy and plan their electricity usage in an efficient and optimum manner.  The plan anticipates an increase in Distribution substation capacity by 38%, Distribution transformation capacity by 32% and an increase in different type of feeder lengths by 27-38% till 2022.

The plan, once released, would be operationalized along with the States and their DISCOMs under the spirit of cooperative and competitive federalism.

CEA is also preparing a Distribution Planning Manual for guiding DISCOMs for future planning. This is a step in the direction of developing Standards of Service for Power Sector in India. India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue (IRSED)

The Second India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue (IRSED) was held in New Delhi, under the chairmanship of Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog and Mr. Timur Maksimov, Deputy Minister of the Economic Development of the Russian Federation.  The Dialogue included parallel roundtables which discussed areas of cooperation and concrete roadmaps for future negotiations across outlined core areas.  Participants included government officials, business leaders and experts, bringing in diverse perspectives for ideation. The Second meeting of the IRSED focussed on six core areas of cooperation;  Digital transformation and Frontier Transformation roundtable recommended areas of collaboration between India and Russia in the digital space and frontier technologies.  Transport Infrastructure and Technologies roundtable recommended cooperation across various modes of transport such as speed upgradation, safety and passenger comfort in railways, creation of twin ports between India and Russia, ship building and river navigation.  Small and Medium Businesses in India and Russia - the roundtable recommended setting up of nodal points of interaction between the two countries.

 Agriculture and Agro-processing roundtable recommended reciprocity in terms of acceptance of certification, deployment of AI-backed frontline technologies and software.  Tourism and Connectivity roundtable recommended expansion of visitor itineraries for both countries, and creation of more products for tourist interest such as yoga and medical tourism.  Industrial Trade and Cooperation roundtable recommended awareness exchange between the two countries in areas of investment opportunities. The IRSED was established following a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation during the 19th edition of the Annual India-Russia Bilateral Summit, which was held in 2018, New Delhi. The First India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue was held in St. Petersburg, 2018.

INS Tarkash in Russia

Towards bolstering the robust ties between Russia and India and in recognition of the 'Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership' between the two countries, Indian Naval Ship Tarkash reached Russia to participate in The Russian Navy Day Parade.  INS Tarkash, is the second ship of the state-of-the-art Teg Class Stealth Frigates (P1135.6), built by Yantar Shipyard at Kaliningrad, Russia.  It is equipped with a versatile range of weapons and sensors. It incorporates the latest stealth features such as reduced radar, infra-red, acoustic and magnetic signatures, thus making it difficult to detect at sea.

RSTV Corner

Kashmir – No Third Party

While responding to Pakistan’s request for U.S. assistance to resolve the issue of Kashmir, Trump said that India’s Prime Minister had also asked him to mediate the Kashmir dispute.

 Upon India’s rebuttal of the above mentioned claim U.S. backtracked from the allegation by saying that Kashmir remains a “bilateral issue”, but maintained that the U.S. “stands ready to assist” any India-Pakistan talks. India’s long-standing position has been that Kashmir is a bilateral issue that needs to be negotiated directly between India and Pakistan. India had always refused overt third-party involvement in the Kashmir dispute especially in terms of any mediation between India and Pakistan.

Why India is opposed to Third Party Mediation?

 Historical suspicion, since the 1950s and 1960s, mediated talks by the United Nations and World Bank, the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia have been unsuccessful in resolving the issues between India and Pakistan.  Dixon Mission, of 1950 for partition of some areas of Jammu & Kashmir between India and Pakistan (Ladakh to India, PoK and Northern Areas to Pakistan, with Jammu divided between the two), strengthened India’s determination to shut the door on international mediation.  India sees itself as a regional leader, and does not require any assistance in sorting out its issues with other regional countries.  Widespread belief that mediation favours the weaker party by levelling the playing field, and with its stronger conventional and non-conventional military prowess, India has seen no significant gain from bringing a third-party into its 70-year-old conflict with Pakistan.

India’s Position

 After winning the war with Pakistan that saw the creation of Bangladesh, India, in 1972, negotiated the Simla Agreement, which did away with any idea of future mediation between the two countries.  According to the Agreement, the two countries “resolved to settle their differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations or by any other peaceful means mutually agreed upon between them”.  In 1999, the Lahore declaration also affirmed the bilateral nature of issues and their resolution.

Brief History of Mediation Attempts

 The early attempts at mediation by the UN were made after India took its complaint against Pakistan’s forced occupation of parts of Kashmir (PoK) to the UN Security Council on January 1, 1948.  The UN then set up the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) which proposed mediating a resolution along a three-point action plan:  Pakistani demilitarisation of the Kashmir region  Indian reduction in military presence  A proposed final resolution by an impartial U.N. administered plebiscite to “determine the wishes of the Kashmiri people”.

 The deal never got off the ground as Pakistan never agreed to demilitarise, and India under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru made it clear that a plebiscite would never be accepted. Where the UNCIP was successful was in mediating a ceasefire in 1949, and negotiating the geographical location of the cease-fire line which would be monitored by the United Nations Military Observer Group In India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP).  Individual U.N. representatives continued to visit both sides from 1949 to 1953 but failed to improve the atmosphere for a resolution, or to convince either side to demilitarise the two sides of the LoC.  The only exceptions to this dismal record were the 1960 World Bank guaranteed Indus Water Treaty, and a territorial agreement on the Rann of Kutch, mediated successfully by the British government in 1965.  Soviet Premier Kosygin also moderated between Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and Pakistani President Ayub Khan to broker the 1965 Tashkent peace agreement, but the treaty has always been marked by suspicion and doubts, tainted by Shastri’s sudden death at Tashkent.  In 1993, U.S. President Bill Clinton decided to mediate between India and Pakistan. At the UN General Assembly, U.S questioned the validity of Kashmir’s ‘Instrument of Accession’. Powered by Summit exclusively for The Hindu

Single Tribunal for River Water Disputes

India has seen many river water sharing disputes in recent years. But India might soon have a single Inter-State River Water Disputes Tribunal to arbitrate inter-state water disputes. Over the years, there have been several tribunals hearing disputes between states on river water sharing, but they have not been effective in resolving disputes in a time-bound manner.

Background

There are two legislations under the Constitution to deal with river water disputes 1. River Boards Act – The River boards advise the government on river basins particularly when projects are set up. 2. Inter-state River Water Dispute Act of 1956 introduced after the reorganization of states. It was enacted under Article 262 of the Constitution to address inter-state water disputes.  Currently, if any dispute arises between two or more state on the sharing of water, a tribunal is constituted to solve the issue.  Such tribunals take about 6 to 20 years to award a decision.  Such decisions are not supposed to be appealed in the Supreme Court. But many of the cases are taken to the SC citing a violation of Article 21 and 32.

Advantages of the single tribunal

 It creates a permanent infrastructure for the resolution of interstate water disputes.  It reduces the time taken to constitute a tribunal.  It also contains the provision for a pre-litigation dispute resolution process through a dispute resolution committee which will take a maximum of one year extendable by six months.  The central government will play the role of an arbitrator. The case is referred to the tribunal only if the dispute is not solved within 18 months.  The process of disposing of cases will be expedited as there will be more benches of the tribunal available.

Challenges

 The bill does not mention the timeline for resolution and implementation in a tribunal once a case is referred to it.  Often there is the politicization of the issue which escalates the problem.  The tribunals fail to recognise that water is more of an emotional issue. The bill also tries to address the issue in the same way.  There is no supporting database available for the tribunals to make an informed decision which would definitely solve the issue.

Way forward

 There should be a federal consensus between the states on the role that the Centre can play.  The solution given by the committee should be supplemented by other solutions as well.  The existing policies on the water should be relooked at.  The Centre should consider a water policy for the country to supplement the Bill at a time when there is a water scarcity in the country. This means implementing an effective farming policy as well.  The tribunal should be given institutional support as provided for the Competition Commission of India as the tribunal would have an investigative role as well.  The centre should also formulate a mechanism for implementing the awards given by the tribunal.  There should be a fear mechanism to make the politicians implement the tribunal awards otherwise of which they should be held for contempt.  There should also be a review mechanism to assess the impact of implementing the awards given by the tribunals on the environment.  To avoid conflicts, the planning of the projects should be based on the basin level for which river basin organisations should be formulated. Passing the river basin management bill would help in bringing together the states sharing a basin and avoiding conflict.  There should be clarity on the water dispute, what the needs of a state are and negotiations should be held to that extent which would bring in a balance between the states.  Awareness should be created among the people of the warring states to avoid politicization of the issue.  A database should be created spanning 5-6 years on the rainfall, the amount of water available and the needs of a particular region which would be helpful for the tribunals in future.

Floods & River Linking

According to disaster management officials, at least 9 districts in the state have been hit with floods and over 13 people have lost their lives. While some states are facing floods others states are facing a water crisis.

River Linking

 It is done under the National Water Development agency under the Ministry of Water Resources.  It was mooted as a solution to the water crisis in the country as some parts of the country receive an excess amount of rainfall resulting in floods while other parts of the country experience droughts.  Under this project, rivers having excess water would be linked to rivers having negligible water thus allowing the excess water to flow out preventing floods.  Ken-Betwa linkage was one of the first projects taken up for implementation though it could not take off due to many reasons.

Challenges

 The funding required for interlinking of rivers is very large which will have to be allocated by the central or the state governments. The funds are to be allocated at a time when funds for welfare schemes are deemed inadequate.  Interlinking of rivers might require pumping water from one river to another as the level of the rivers above the sea level will not be the same.  It remains to be seen whether state governments would agree to share river waters at a time when monsoons are erratic and there is a shortage of rainfall.  The environmental concerns for interlinking of rivers have not been alleviated. There are concerns of submergence of huge areas besides increasing the incidence of droughts in other areas.

Way forward

 The government should take up river linking projects of local rivers which are less costly and see the impact of the project in terms of environment, drought mitigation and flood control.  State governments sharing a river should come together in the management of river basins which will provide clarity on the interlinking of rivers and the needs of the state governments.  Besides river linking, the government should look into other methods for conserving water like rainwater harvesting, water management in the high rainfall and low rainfall areas, sustainable cropping patterns, etc.  Water tables of a region are a very good indication of imminent floods or droughts in an area as they do not change easily. These water tables can be utilized to study the requirement of a river linking project in that area.  India can also learn from international experiences like Israel which have used the little water available economically for agriculture there. In Israel, water is recycled using low-cost technology for washing which is recycled for toilet use which is again recycled for irrigation.  In London, the water tables started increasing by a meter after taking away the industries present there.  The government should plan before executing the project by taking in to account the land available for habitation, agriculture, forests, etc. and the water required for all purposes. The planning should be done keeping in mind the variability of rainfall in the coming years.

The 5G Debate

The debate about Huawei’s role in the 5G network rollout in India continues. In fact, this comes at a time when the government has made its intentions clear to start with the 5G trials soon.

However, a leading newspaper reported that the high-level committee on 5G is opposed to including Chinese vendors including Huawei in the 5G trials. There is a persistent fear that equipment being sold by Chinese vendors includes a backdoor which can allow the Chinese government to access data from 5G networks.

In India, Huawei still doesn’t have the permissions for the 5G trials, and getting these will be crucial. The company has already made the repeated assurances that it does not share any data with any entity.

About 5G

 It is the next generation cellular technology that will provide faster and more reliable communication with ultra low latency.  A government panel report points out that with 5G, the peak network data speeds are expected to be in the range of 2-20 Gigabit per second (Gbps).

 This is in contrast to 4G link speeds in averaging 6-7 Megabit per second (Mbps) in India as compared to 25 Mbps in advanced countries.

Benefits

 With 5G technology, consumers will be able to download data heavy content such as 8K movies and games with better graphics in just a few seconds.  5G is expected to form the backbone of emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and machine to machine communications, thereby supporting a much larger range of applications and services, including driverless vehicles, tele-surgery and real time data analytics.  The ultra low latency offered by 5G makes the technology desirable for such use cases. Latency is the amount of time data takes to travel between its source and destination.  One of the primary applications of 5G will be implementation of sensor-embedded network that will allow real time relay of information across fields such as manufacturing, consumer durables and agriculture.  5G can also help make transport infrastructure more efficient by making it smart.  5G will enable vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, making driverless cars, among other things, a reality.

What is the biggest fear in involving Chinese technology?

 US had banned Huawei when the US-China trade war was going on. The ban has been lifted after talks between both the leaders took place.  All communication technologies starting from 2G to 4G have been built by Huawei. But, the Chinese law regarding the same came only in 2017 according to which the Chinese companies are duty bound to provide intelligence related data to the Chinese government.  Huawei has 30% share in the component sector globally. Its cost is also 20% lower than other competitors. It also provides bank loans and vendor financing at much lower interests than the domestic banks in India.  But, it is also to be remembered that Huawei technology cannot be compared to the Google and the Facebook technology provided by the US. The difference lies in the state interference in private sector.

Challenges

 Everyone is concerned about the technological aspect of 5G rather than its use. 5G technology is useful for robotic surgery and driverless cars both of which India is not equipped for until now.  5G is not a wireless technology. In addition to the wireless part, it consists of fixed line, satellite, Wi-Fi and the internet.  Besides being the leader in IT services, India could not develop its 5G technology or any other such fast means of communication due to which it is being sandwiched between the US based MNCs and Chinese based Huawei.  The presently available networks cannot be used for secure communication as it is based outside India.  Besides high spectrum prices, India’s telecom industry is under a financial stress. Banning a major telecom equipment manufacturer like Huawei should be looked into.

Way forward

 India should develop its own encoded systems of communication for security related data. It should have its own cyber defense against cyber offense.  As in the US and China, India should provide funds to the private sector for developing such technology.

 There may also be public private partnerships for the development of technology in India.  India should rope in tech savvy people at the policy making levels to take a holistic view and to leap forward in technology rather than having bureaucrats to decide what India should have.  Before banning Huawei in India, it should conduct a cost-benefit analysis and the security implications of the same.  There are other options available for India like Samsung which is ready to roll out 5G in India besides Nokia and Ericson who hold the maximum IPRs of 5G have said they would beat the prices of any other country.  There is a geopolitical struggle globally between trade and technology but India should focus on national security, its interests, its requirements and its preparedness rather than aligning with any country.  All stakeholders must be consulted and an informed decision should be taken before banning or going forward with any technology in India offered by other countries.

YOJANA - Citizen Centric e-Services Empowering Citizens through e-Services

India has taken the definition of e-governance to higher trajectory, wherein differentiated strategy was adopted technically, and a remarkable shift from project based approach to platform based approach resulted in development of public digital platform based ecosystem, delivering a plethora of common services for citizens.

Some of the important citizen centric initiatives of digital India programme are;

As per the data from Electronic Transaction Aggregation and Analysis Layer (eTAAL), the portfolio of electronic services has grown to 3,702 an average number of electronic transactions on a daily basis is around 9.5 crore, which can be attributed to both i.e. growing number of transactions as well as increase in consumption of e-services.

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Digital India is getting restructured and revamped to raise its bar and in this direction, several new and innovative schemes, projects and services have been planned. Some of the major planned initiatives are;  India Enterprise Architecture (IndEA) aims to offer one Government experience to citizens and businesses by establishing the best in class architectural governance, processes and practices with optimal utilization of ICT infrastructure and applications.  A national software products mission is planned to implement National Policy on Software Products -2019 that inter-alia includes nurturing 10,000 technology startups in software product industry and upskilling of 1lakh IT professionals.  National Progamme on AI has been designed with priority mission areas. This mission will be implemented in a hub and spoke model, wherein the proposed National Centre on AI will act as the hub and centers of excellence (CoEs) along with startups will act as spokes.  Meity Startup HUB (MSH) has been set-up under the aegis of Ministry of Electronics and IT to promote technology startups in the country. It will facilitate Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE 2.0) that includes coverage of 51 incubators and 2000 tech incubators.

Tracking Schemes through GIS

Location-based information is a vital aspect of a digital economy not only to plan and monitor the developmental programmes but also to manage transparent, efficient and effective delivery of citizen- centric services.  The use of Geographic Information System (GIS) as a decisive support system for developmental planning is a critical component of e-Kranti pillar under the Digital india Programme.  To leverage GIS under Digital India, Meity had launched National Centre of Geo-Informatics (NCoG) in 2015.  A major e-governance sub-system, GIS is an important lever to accelerate growth and increase focus in numerous domains including government, education, environment, natural resources and business. NCoG platform is aimed as a single source GIS platform for sharing, collaboration, location-based analystics and as a decision support system, catering to the central and the state government Departments across the country. The key features of NCoG may be summarized through the following:  Open Source and in-house development – This results in cost saving as there is no use of any proprietary software.  Compatibility with multi purpose geo-datasets.  Dynamic Query – Logical & Boolean operations based query models. This facilitates in generation of customized reports and advanced analytical dashboards.  Authentication – The representation of data on GIS platform is authenticated by the user/owner department/agency itself.  A solution based approach, keeping in view the user’s requirement.

GIS has the potential for enabling good governance through effective and efficient monitoring of schemes: proactive identification of gaps in the implementation of gaps in the implementation of schemes/programmes; and efficient allocation/management of resources. In addition, the government is also working on leveraging and integrating emerging technologies such as Block chain, AI, Machine Learning, Internet of Things, Big Data Analytics with GIS to give further boost to developmental planning, foster citizen-centric service delivery and good-governance.

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Digital Infrastructure: Core of Governance

Digital India, one of the flagship programmes of the government, has given significant push to adoption of technology and has brought a paradigm shift in the delivery of services to citizens and also the way government engages with citizens.

Evolution of key components of digital infrastructure for government is highlighted below;

Pan India Network

 NICNET – Pan India communication network for exclusive use of government has continuously evolved since 1980s in terms of its geographical expansion, state of the art technology, reliability as well as security architecture.  National Knowledge Network – NKN is steadily evolving as the National Education Research Network (NREN) of India and has made significant progress by connecting over 1699 institutes, 5 crore students, researchers and faculty in the network through a multigigabit nationwide network connected through 10G backbone.

Data Centres: A Host to e-Governance Applications

 Realising the importance of Data Centres, National Informatics Centre (NIC) has established large data centres at Delhi, Hyderabad, Bhubneshwar, and Pune which are offering robust, resilient and setup for e-governance applications, web portals and websites with high availability and accessibility.  Hosting support is being provided from Data Centres and National Cloud for approximately 10,000 various critical e-governance projects.

Command and Control Centre

 Command and control centre have been setup at NIC Headquarters which has increased the agility of NIC’s ICT infrastructure.

National Cloud

 The National Cloud was launched in 2014 under the umbrella of Meghraj, a government of India initiative of MeitY.  Setting up of a secured cloud infrastructure has reduced considerable amount of time in provisioning of digital infrastructure.  On-demand services and scale-up of infrastructure during peak loads has also been made possible by cloud infrastructure.

Geospatial Technology

 Geographical Information Systems (GIS) have improved the accessibility of various e- governance services by offering location based access, visual gap analysis and actual on-site representation of various activities.  Bharat Maps is a multi-layered GIS platform/web service comprising of seamless country wide base maps, satellite images and hybrid maps aligned as per the global geo-spatial standards.  One such successful implementation of geographic information system has been in the rural development scheme MGNREGA.

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Direct Benefit Transfer

 Public Finance Management System electronically interfaces with all banks and gives a holistic view of the overall flow of funds in the government, thereby eliminating delay and increasing transparency.

Email Services

 X400 email services were launched for government of India officials in the late 1980s for providing an open source based secure and unified messaging platform to government officials at all levels.  It today provides security features such as Geo-fencing, device mapping and adaptive authentication.

Video-Conferencing

 NIC has been offering video conferencing services since 1995 for connecting and bringing administration close to each other.  It is used extensively at all levels of government thereby resulting in substantial saving of time and cost.

Cyber Security

 Cyber Security has evolved from just being about network security to application security.  Computer Emergency Response Team (NIC-CERT) group has been constituted with an objective of analyzing, monitoring and responding to cyber threats on critical government cyber infrastructure.  It works in close guidance of CERT-In, which is the national nodal agency for responding to computer security incidents as and when they occur.

For rural development, the government has harnessed technology for implementing various ICT applications in over 10 programs including PMAY-G, MGNREGA, NSAP, DDUGKY, DAY-NRLM etc.

NIC is in a unique position to cater to the ICT needs at all levels of governance and is in line with the approach of embracing new technologies, areas such as AI, IoT, 5G, Edge Computing etc. e-Governance Initiatives for ST Welfare Schemes  Ministry of Tribal Affairs has developed online portals namely DBT Tribal and NGO Grants Online Application & Tracking System for bringing in greator e-governance in implementation of welfare schemes for STs.  The Ministry has further developed module for verification of students by universities and colleges under fellowship scheme and grievance module for all stakeholders including beneficiary students.  The NGO Portal, developed for implementing scheme of Aid to voluntary Organisations working for the welfare of STs, has been fully revamped and redesigned with simplified application form, Inspection Report and Fund Processing module.

ICT Enabled Farm Centric Agricultural Services

The Indian agriculture system is confronted with its own sheer complexity, inadequate factors of production, weather uncertainty, multiplicity of schemes and multiplicity of Institutions, at farm level, hence there is no size neutral solution possible.

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Bridging the gaps in human resources development

In India, 54.6% of people are engaged in the agriculture sector and 50% of them as agricultural labourers (census 2011). 90% of current jobs in agriculture are skill-based where only about 6% of the workforce has received vocational training. There is thus a pronounced skill gap both in terms of quality and quantity.  The existing farm extension system needs to be broad based problem-oriented.  ATMA and KVK are the two eyes of the present extension system which further require a third eye for problems resolution, maybe ICT enabled agricultural Polytechnics for bridging the emerging gaps and development of human resources for farm-level functionaries.  Agricultural Informatics program courses advocated at Mtech, BTech, and PG diploma level, to prepare about 1 lakh rural youths, for undertaking S&T based agricultural development and to rejuvenate and usher in agricultural dynamism in the country, 2022 through agricultural Informatics and e-Governance.  The national digital communication policy 2018 under its mission 2022, has envisaged (a) Connect India- BharatNet, GramNet, NagarNet and Jan Wi-Fi infrastructure. (b) Propel India, for services based on 5G, IoT, cloud computing and Big Data Analytics. (c) Secure India, ensuring sovereignty, safe and security of digital communications.  The regulator of higher education in India - UGC AICTE have of late realized the higher potential of Agricultural Informatics in rural India.

Digitalization of farming system is the step towards achieving sustainable agricultural production and minimising farmer's distress. It aims at farm as 'economic unit', household as 'social unit' and land as 'environmental unit'. The three units are the core kernel of the multi-threaded agricultural system for achieving agricultural reforms through digitalization and Geospatial Technologies.

Doubling farmers income by 2022 Committee report 2018 has deliberated and suggested the following 'digital technology mission mode' projects for strengthening 'farm centric' and 'farmer centric' services;  Digitalised Agro-Met advisories and agricultural risk management solution. Digitalized agricultural resources information system and micro level planning for achieving smart village and smart farming. Digitalised value chain for about 400 agricultural commodities.

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 Digitalised access to inputs, Technology, knowledge, skill, agricultural finance, credit, marketing, and agri Business Management to farmers.  Digitalised form Health Management for reduction of farmer’s losses.

This DFI-2022 digital technology mission projects are envisaged to usher in agriculture 4.0 in India. The possible action plan for 2019-22 shall be as follows;  Setting up of a National Centre for IT in Agriculture (NCITA).  Operationalization of the DFI-2022 digital technology mission mode projects, in identified topologies as Pilots, with one district in each state and UTs.  Trending the operational Digital Network for farmers  Steps to operationalize NeGP-AMMP projects which have been in cold storage for a long time  Steps to dedicate BharatNet for farmers .  Creation of a farmer welfare portal in 22 constitutionally recognised languages, for actively dealing with their grievances redressal.  Agricultural Informatics program at Mtech, BTech and PG level to attract rural youth into S&T based farming methods.  Creation of a national level farmer’s database based on core parameters, for providing personalized services for each and every farmer based on his /her agricultural assets and resources including grievances redressal in an effective manner through language computing.  The convergence of various sectoral programmes/schemes of Agriculture and Rural Development is essential at village level to achieve desired impact at farm and farmer level.

This may be considered as a possible roadmap for empowering small and marginal farming and agri startups in the country.

Reimagining Citizen Services with Open Fintech Platforms

The number of mobile users in India has crossed 1 billion mark and most of them have experienced internet for the first time on their smartphones. Forecasted to cross $2.4 Billion by 2020, as per report by KPMG India and Nasscom, India is currently home to more than 500 fintech startups whose collective aim is to attain financial inclusion.

Since early 2015 the fintech sector has undergone massive changes chief among them being the move towards a cashless economy.

Thinking beyond

 Revised payment services directive or PSD2 are set of guidelines which Financial Institutions in SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) need to abide for enabling their financial products.  It is creating a strides in the domain of open banking and has opened up numerous opportunities for new age Financial Institutions.  It allows third party providers to access customer bank account data based on the customer’s approval to provide value added services in the payments Arena.  This open financial framework and data sharing ecosystem will eradicate Monopoly of human situations on customer data.  API based banking products are empowered to create open frameworks for the first time in history.  Open banking Framework would enable various businesses to extend various banking and allied services without regulatory banking licence.  It will empower fintech Institutions and startups to a large extent by collaborative data sharing.  It will even allow various banks to share their data score related to a customer and help Financial Institutions to decide on a business transaction.

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Technology-based customer centric Approach

 Digitally literate uburn customers can leverage this channel for getting best services from their banks but there are many customers were living in rural areas with Limited infrastructure and facility to connect with their banks. Open banking might show them a way forward.  Open banking will create a Marketplace where in banks, Fintechs, non banking entity are connected to a market place through secured open APIs and give direct access to the service provider about customers and information.  Open banking platforms with service level API can thus unlock the true potential of business correspondent network to deliver additional citizen services.

Create a trusted third party ecosystem As a trusted party in the Marketplace Bank's could vet third parties to protect customers against fraudulent providers and educate them about the implications and potential risk associated with enabling access to sensitive personal data.

Conclusion Open banking and fintech platforms hold the potential to transform lives of citizen in this digital Era. Perceptions and needs of financial inclusion customer segment are heterogeneous and different from their urban counter parts. Hence it is an imperative to understand the need and requirements of all demographics of citizens and to make them aware about how innovative solutions can actually make a difference in their daily lives. Payment and Settlement System - RBI's vision document Payment and settlement system are the backbone of any economy. The last decade has witnessed substantial developments in this area of activity across the country the RBI vision document outlines the roadmap for the three-year period spanning from 2019 to 2022.

The payment systems vision 2021 recognises the need for continued emphasis on innovation, cyber security, financial inclusion, customer protection and competition.

Positive development during 2015-2018 Introduction of new and innovative systems, distinctive shift from paper to electronic payment modes, sizeable increase in transaction turnover, customer centric initiatives, international recognition etc.

Highlights of payment systems vision - 2021  Empower every Indian with access to a bouquet of e-payment that is safe, secure, convenient, quick and affordable.  The decade to follow will witness a Revolutionary shift in the way Indian citizens use digital payment options and will also empower them with an e payment experience that will be exceptionally safe, secure and truly world class.  The vision envisages 4 goal posts- competition, cost, convenience and confidence. For enhancement of competition in the payment system landscape specific thrust areas like creating regulatory sandbox, authorising new players etc. have been incorporated.

Leveraging Technology for transforming education

With more than 50% of India's population under the age of 25, investments in education and equipping students with 21st century skills are crucial to ensure relevance and productivity as a part of the Global and Indian workforce.

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 Unity in diversity is our biggest strength however it is also and equally what the challenge in creation of a uniform education system.  With 16 official languages 720 recognisable dialects, and 13 script it is a mammoth task to implement education homeogenity.  Difference of access in urban and rural Geography further complicates the equation.

Irrespective of these challenges, India has made strides in universalizing primary education and sharing improvement in both and enrollment and completion rates of primary and Elementary School. Along with budgetary come commitments to education pathbreaking initial search as Niti Aayog Atal innovation mission I have made a Dent on the learning culture.

A lot has been done but there is still on many miles to traverse this is where Technology can help.

Providing access and bridging the divide

It is important for both students and teacher to play an active role in creating ingenious content. Need of end point device is a necessity to accomplish. ICT is also helping classrooms to evolve from being isolated blocked by expanding the scope for collaboration and communication between students, teachers and administrators from different geographies.

Capacity building of teachers

It is important to not just equip teachers with ICT device and knowledge but also to handhold them through the journey of being productive in an ICT enabled classroom. Initiatives like a upskilling of teachers through common service centres are strategically well aligned with this mission. Technology here can play a pivotal role by providing personalized learning models which adjust to diverse skill sets and mental faculties.

Need to adapt to varying needs

MAIT, an Apex industry body proposed and Eduvision maturity model ll suit needs of schools across five levels where level one in schools need the most basic Tech enabled infrastructure and level 5 schools that are already ICT matured but need to invest on applications and use of emerging Technologies.

Fostering Innovation and the spirit to unlearn and relearn is at heart of the digital transformation that should be aimed for.

World is home to billion people with disability and more than 100 million citizens with disability reside in India. Digital transformation has facilitated ease of accessing products and services for all citizens whereas citizens with disability are empowered to access various products/services with ease.

Assistive technology

Citizens with disability use assistive technology to access various modes of ICT channels such as the web portal, Mobile application, kiosk, etc.  Non-visual display access (NVDA), and open source the screen reading software is now available in seven Indian languages.

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 Avaz, an invention from India is an alternative and augmentative communication device. It works by generating speech from limited muscle movements are and is used by people with speech disorders.  Kabi, is an app for speech impaired children which assist them for quick communication with the external world by selecting pictograph image on their handheld android devices.  Blee watch is a smart watch specially designed for the needs of hearing impaired citizens. The watch enables recording emergency sounds into the connected app. e-Services leads to inclusion

 Citizens with disability are contributing to conversation with government and private in terms of improving their service delivery mechanism.  E-services has lead to financial inclusion of citizens with disability, they now have full control of their finances including banking transaction as their embrace digital channel.  Digital channel of Service Delivery mechanism has empowered citizens with disability to raise a grievance with ease at the comfort of being in their own residence.  Citizens with disability truly enjoy accessing entertainment based content on mobile apps because these apps integrate Universal design and can be accessed with ease through use of assistive Technology.

Government Initiatives

 Income tax e-filling, IRCTC, MeitY are some of the finest examples of undertaking the accessibility journery and its features are largely accessible to citizens with disability.  Accessible India Campaign – It has an objective of achieving physical infrastructure, transport system and ICT ecosystem within a defined timelines along with quantitative target to comply with this national mission.  DAISY Forum of India – A consortium of Not for Profit organisations from India who are involved in production and distribution of books and reading material in accessible formats for persons who cannot read normal print due to cognitive or physical disabaility.  DFI in collaboration with government of India has launched Sugmaya Pustakalaya, an online library of digital books in accessible format for print impaired citizens.  DFI is currently in the process of converting course curriculum of primary, secondary and higher education for 19 major states of India.  DFI proactively was involved in campaigning for negotiating of Marrakesh VIP Treaty which facilitate access to Published work to visually impaired persons and persons with print disabilities.  Ministry of Urban Development has issued a notification mandating that all cities within Smart City Mission project have to ensure that their ICT is digitally accessible, enabling citizens with disability to avail government services with ease.  Dial 112 Mobile App, intiative of Chattisgarh to enable citizens to report emergency. It is equipped to respond to hearing impaired citizens through texting features and can interact in real time.  Revised Persons with Disability Act (2016) stresses on digital inclusion within digital India mandate conformance to international accessible standard for all government e-services.

Way-Forward

Digital accessibility is enabling an environment that has easy access to the computer, software electronic resources, and Communications.  Instead of creating dedicated solutions for citizens with disability within the cyberspace, the aim should be to create a Universal design offering access to all, including citizens with disability.

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 The design of products, environment, programs and services should be made user-friendly for all regardless of sex, situation or disability and to the greatest extent possible or without the need for adaptation of specialized design.  Both National and state governments have legal compulsion to ensure that Digital Service Delivery channel incorporates Universal design and offers equal access to all, including citizens with disability.

Empowering the Marginalised through Digital Platforms

Digital technologies are vital for the inclusive growth of a country like India.  Government has been trying to address the issue of identification and providing Unique Identity for the last two decades.  Towards this UIDAI was established in 2009 and Pilots for transfer of direct benefits were done subsequently.  In 2015 the government launched the digital India program with the aim of transforming India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.  By adopting a citizen centric approach in delivering services with latest technology, governance has changed remarkably.  The combination of Jan Dhan bank accounts, mobile phones and digital identity through Aadhar that is JAM Trinity is helping the poor to get benefits directly into their bank account.  The United Nations, in its report titled 'Leaving no one behind: the imperative of inclusive development' praised India's decision of launching Aadhar as it will be a step forward in ensuring inclusion of all people especially the poorest and the most marginalised.  The national digital platforms comprising unique programs and products such as Aadhaar, DBT, UPI BHIM, Jeevan pramaan, digital locker etc have already created a huge societal impact.  India has Indian language content in cyberspace in at least 15 languages and the rest would soon be available on the Internet.  Pradhan Mantri digital Saksharta Abhiyan has been appreciated as the world's largest government effort to bridge the digital divide. It aims to make 6 crore rural adults digitally literate- one person in every household.  Common service centres are internet enabled centres along near door step access to citizens to government private and social services. They are not only ensuring social but also financial inclusion of society to ensure nobody is left Behind.  Digital payments have enabled alternative methods of credit scoring based on auditable transaction chain and with small ticket loan build over digital payments which are helping people who were left behind in the financial ecosystem.  The BPO scheme in tier II and III locations are offering services in local languages which is in turn creating employment opportunities for the local youth near their home at small towns.

India has set an example with the help of technology that supports emerging socio-economic rights and ensuring the inclusion of downtrodden vulnerable and marginalized section of the society. Journey of digital antyodaya has begun.

Fostering the Right Ecosystem – A software Products Led Approach

The 181-billion-dollar IT BPM industry has been services led and exports driven industry. It has become a global powerhouse in the IT services sector NASSCOM strategic review estimates that the software products segment stands at $7.1 billion in 2018. Of which the domestic market is at 4.8 Billion USD.

The national policy on software products NPSP, 2019 has been tabled.

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 At its core is a vision to expand Indian software products Market by tenfold in the next 5 to 6 years.  A dedicated software product development fund is proposed which will provide risk capital to scaleup market ready for software products.  A Corpus of rupees 5,000 crore will bridge the gap between capital requirements of software product startups and the funding available from banks.  It will provide risk capital to enable the creation of at least a hundred Indian software product companies having a valuation of rupees 500 Crore or employing 200 people.  An attempt to bridge the gap between what the industry requires and the academia delivers a budgetary outlay of rupees 500 crores will support Research and innovation in software products in institutes of Higher Learning.  The policy will also nurture 10,000 software product startups which in turn will create a million jobs both direct and indirect. At least 1000 of the startups will have to be in Tier 2 and 3 locations.  MeitY will be initiating two incubation schemes;  Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE) 2.0 for software product development aimed at societal sectors.  Next Generation Incubation Scheme (NGIS) for tier 2 and 3 software product companies based out of STPI.  20 domain specific Indian software product clusters will be initiated which will have integrated ICT infrastructure, marketing, incubation, R&D and mentoring support for at least 500 Technology startups.  Future skills PRIME initiative will aim to skill/reskill another 3-3.5 million people.

Caveats & Commentary

 Software products often take up to 2 years for release in addition there will be periodic upgrades releases.  Towards ease of doing business a single repository of all laws and regulations applicable to the software product industry should be created.  Funding for innovation can be appropriated through an exclusive innovation fund within the purview of MeitY to promote the domestic product companies.  Testing is a very important aspect of software product development there has to be definitely incentives for investors to set up testing lab and centres of Excellence.  The measuring metrics today are centred on volume, age old practice. We have to move towards quality. We cannot be looking at products and services in isolation. If anything there is a healthy mix of both and progressive companies which are supremely concerned about providing a superior experience for its customers.

Development of Metro Rails in India

As per Census 2011, more than 31 % of the population is living in urban areas and this is expected to grow to over 40%, that is nearly 60 crore in 2031 and 50% leading to over 80 crore by 2051. At present 65% of countries GDP comes from urban areas and it is likely to grow over 75% by 2030.  As a result of the Rapid urbanization the transport in urban areas has been largely hegemonized by private motor vehicles and supporting ancillary Infrastructures like flyovers, networks etc.  The Rapid growth of personal vehicle has adversely impacted the share of public transport share of buses has reduced to 1% only.  Quite evident results of these are increased congestion, pollution, road accident, energy consumption and travel time in our cities which has dropped by about 3 kilometre per hour in seven major cities between 2017 and 2018.

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National Urban transport 2006

In order to address the challenges of urban mobility and also to provide clear direction and a Framework for future action, Government of India formulated the national Urban transport policy (NUTP) in 2006.  The vision of this policy is to recognise that people occupy Centre stage in our cities and all plans should be people-centric.  The focus of the policy is to address the movement of people and goods and not the vehicles so as to make our cities livable and enable them to become the engines of the economic growth.  The objective of this policy is to ensure safe, affordable, quick, comfortable, reliable and sustainable access for the growing number of city residents to jobs, education, health, and such other needs within cities.

Existing metro rail systems in India

 The first metro rail started its commercial services Kolkata in 1984. It continued to be the only metro system in the country till Delhi Metro commenced operations in 2002.  The success of Delhi Metro inspired other big cities to follow suit and in 2011 Bangalore metro started operations. This was followed by operation of mass transit systems in Mumbai, Gurugram, and Chennai etc.  Since 2014 the metro has spread across the country very rapidly and metro rail have been made operational in 18 cities.  More than 800 kilometre of metro rail and 82 kilometre of regional Rapid Rail transit systems (RRTS) are under various stages of construction at present.

Challenges of Existing Metro systems

 Metrorail is a capital intensive system which requires used investments from union, state local governments.  Being a fairly new system in India the technology available is not standardized resulting in higher cost of construction and operations.  Lack of last Mile connectivity keep the system beyond reach for the last segment of the potential users and limits the catchment area of the system.  Parking lots and roads leading to many stations remain poorly lit. Many of these stretches do not have eyes on the street which compromises security.  Non availability of demand forecasts for metro rail projects in the country.

Addressing the challenges

For addressing the challenges in the following initiative have been taken by the government of India;  Metro rail policy 2017 - It focuses on systematic planning and implementation of metro rail systems that act as a guide to the state governments for preparing comprehensive proposals for metro rail projects. New the policy Lays down various financial models for metro rail development including public private partnership (PPP) and provide a proper ecosystem for its growth in the country.  Value capture financing - The value capture financing policy Framework 2017 identify tools such as Transferable development rights, betterment levy, fee for changing land use, vacant land tax and land pooling systems and sources of financing infrastructure projects.  Standardisation of metro components -To promote make in India in 2017 the department of promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) issued public procurement order to encourage such initiatives. The aim is to increase minimum local content in rolling stock, and signalling to 50% by 2023 in a phased manner.  Transit oriented development (TOD) - Government issued national TOD policy 2017 with the objective to integrate land use and transport planning to develop compact and inclusive growth

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centres within the influence zone of 500 to 800 metres. This will promote public transport usage and achieve reduction in the private vehicle ownership.  National common mobility card (NCMC) - To enable seamless travel by metro rails and other transport systems across the country besides retail shopping and purchase.  This card meets travel needs based on stored value of money and does away with the need of carrying separate cards for banking, and transit requirements.  This would allow fast deployment of digital payments due to the standardised implementation process and will enable Rapid digital penetration.  Setting up of Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (UMTA) - Urban transport in cities are managed and implemented by different agencies which generally work independently with little synergy between them, there if thus a need for an umbrella organisation like UMTA that monitors, integrates and coordinates aspects related to Urban transport.  Multi Modal Integration - The National Urban transport policy 2006 recommends multimodal integration as the most critical requirement in creation of seamless public transport services.  Initiatives taken in Metro systems to promote multimodal integration includes; Rapid metro rail in Gurgaon is integrated with metro station of Delhi Metro.  Feeder service of have been provided in cities like Delhi, Bangalore etc. to improve last mile connectivity.  In order to ensure fare integration Kochil card has been introduced which is acceptable across all modes of transport.

Future of metro systems in the country

 Currently Metro systems are governed by the Metro Railways (construction of works) act, 1978 and the Metro Railways (operation and maintenance) act, 2002.  However, in view of the metro rail policy 2017 a new Metro Rail (construction, operation and maintenance) bill is under preparation which combines the provisions of existing two metro acts.  The unified act will enable private participation in Metro Rail and delegation of Greater powers to the state governments and metro rail administration.  The proposed at act envisages to have an independent permanent metro rail fare regulatory authority for timely revision of metro rail fares.  I-Metros an Association of Indian Metro rails has been launched in March 2018 as a platform to exchange ideas of knowledge, experience, best practices etc.  It will enable adoption of the latest technology and improving performance and passenger experience in future through resonance of each other’s strengths.

E-Health Services

The central government has undertaken various initiatives using ICT for improving efficiency and effectiveness of the public Healthcare system. The ICT initiatives are briefed as under;

National Health portal

Its objective is to create awareness amongst the citizens about health and government programs and services in health sector. It provides information to citizens and stakeholders in different languages. e-Hospital

It is a workflow based ICT solution for hospitals specifically meant for the hospitals in the government sector. This is a generic software which covers major functional areas like patient care, laboratory services, workflow based document information exchange, human resource and medical records management of a hospital.

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Online registration system (ORS) In order to improve ease of services for citizens, it provides services to citizens for taking online registration and appointment, payment of fees, online viewing of Diagnostic reports, inquiring availability of blood online etc. in various public hospitals.

Mera Aspataal (patient feedback) application

It is an IT based feedback system to collect information on patients level of satisfaction using a multi- channel approach. Empower citizens to participate in improvement of Healthcare Service Delivery by providing feedback on service quality, facilities at hospitals and ultimately help establish patient driven, responsivesave and accountable Healthcare system.

Food safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)

For ease of services to food sector stakeholders, FSSAI is offering services for online licence, clearance, product approval to the food business operators.

National organ and tissue transplant organisation (NOTTO)

In order to promote organ donation amongst citizen at large NOTTO through its web portal offers services for online registration for organ/tissue transplantation or retrieval and online pledge registry by citizens for organ donation.

To harness wide penetration of mobile connectivity, various mobile apps have been launched so far namely;  Vaccine tracker (Indradhanush Immunization) It supports parents in tracking immunization status of their children and help them ensuring complete and timely vaccination.

 NHP Swasthya Bharat To empower the citizens to find reliable and relevant health information the application provides detailed information regarding Healthy lifestyle, disease conditions, symptoms, treatment options, first aid and Public Health alerts.

 Mother and child tracking system (MCTS)/ reproductive child health (RCH) application It is an individual based tracking system implemented across all the states and UTs to facilitate timely delivery of antenatal and postnatal care services and immunization of children with an objective of improving IMR, MMR and morbidity.

 KilKari It delivers free, weekly time appropriate 72 audio messages about pregnancy, child birth and child care delivery to families’ mobile phones.

 TB patient monitoring system (Nikshay) For tracking of individuals for treatment adherence has been implemented across all states for monitoring of TB patients. Also a missed call centre facility for reaching to unreached TB patients is available for counseling and treatment support.

 Tobacco cessation program It is a mobile based interventional initiative for counselling and helping people to quit tobacco by giving a missed call.

 Hospital information system (HIS) It is being implemented in hospitals for automation of hospital processes to achieve better efficiency and Service Delivery in public health facilities up to CHC level.

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Kurukshetra – Rural Non-Farm Sector

Rural Non-Farm Sector

‘Mahatma Gandhi once said the soul of India lives in its villages’ - this quote is relevant even today as around 70% of Indian population still lives in rural areas with the major source of income continuing to be agriculture. However, increasing urbanization and decrease in the agricultural land non-farm sector in rural India is gradually gathering Momentum.

Rural Non-Farm Sector

The rural non-farm sector encompasses all nonagricultural activities like mining and quarrying, household and non-household manufacturing, repair, construction, trade and Commerce, transport and other services in villages and rural towns undertaken by Enterprises varying in size from household on account Enterprises to factories.

Need

 Over the years the economic contribution of agriculture to India's GDP is steadily declining with the countries broad-based economic growth.  The average size of agriculture land holding declined from 1.15 hectare in 2010-11.  to 1.08 hectare in 2015-16.  64% of Rural Employment is in the agriculture sector while the share of agriculture and rural output is 39%.  The working women population of rural India has witnessed a decline of 22 million during 2004-05 to 2011-12.  There is also a continuous increase in the population which is adding to the labour force.  The heavy dependence on agriculture and consequent poverty and unemployment can be reduced by encouraging non-farm activities in rural sector.  It may prevent many rural people from migrating to urban areas, reducing there by the immense pressure of planning, development and provisioning of services in the urban areas.  Non-farm activities can provide forward and backward linkages.  It offers more remunerative activities to supplement agricultural income.  It provides a means for the rural poor to cope when farming fails.  By providing supplementary and non-seasonal employment two small and marginal farmers then non-farm this can help reduce income inequality and enhance the quality of life in rural areas.  Rural non-farm sector is sustainable and less capital intensive it has a scope to employ a large number of people specially from lower socio-economic strata.

The top four sectors contributing to the non-farm jobs between financial years 2011 aa -15 are; Trade and Hospitality (15.6%), Construction (14.3%), Transport (5.7%), Education and health (1.6%)

Government of India has introduced a large number of schemes over the year to diversify population into non-farm activities:

 Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) The pioneer scheme to diversify agricultural activities was MGNREGA. This scheme intended to provide at least hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult member volunteers to do unskilled manual work.  Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gramin Kaushal Yojana

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According to census 2011 India has 55 million potential workers between the ages of 15 and 35 years in rural area. The Ministry of Rural Development implements DDU-GKY to develop skills and productive capacity of rural Youth from poor family.  Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission It seeks to reach out to 8-9 crore rural poor households and organised one-woman member from each household into affinity-based women SHGs and federations at village level and at Higher levels.  Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana It is a new sub-scheme under DAY-NRLM. Distil help groups will operate road transport service in backward areas. This will help to provide safe, affordable & community- monitored rural transport services to connect remote villages with key services and amenities.  Development of rural tourism Government has created tourist circuits around specific themes india Union budget 2014-15 besides Ministry of Tourism is promoting a Farm tourism as niche products and is also encouraging Homestay facilities in rural areas.  Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojna It was introduced provide loans upto rupees 10 lakh to the non-corporate, non-farm small and micro Enterprises.

Challenges in Rural Non-Farm Sector

 Infrastructure - the most significant bottleneck in generating higher levels of non-farm activities in India is the quantity, and reliability of infrastructure.  Regulatory restrictions on small sectors - In the initial stages, investment restrictions were imposed to protect the small scale sector, in rural areas, predation by large industry.  It was initiated to create a domestic market and quantitative restrictions imposed to protect them from competition from imports.  At the end of the 1990s, the very policies became detrimental to the dynamism of the small scale sector especially in the rural areas.  Capital investment limits discouraged economy is officer scale and concessions offered to small industry have created adverse incentive against reinvestment.  Education and awareness - High levels of illiteracy in rural India have hampered the growth of the rural non-farm sector.  Migration of skilled labour from rural to urban region also leads to a lowes of workforce in the rural small scale industry.

Role of NGOs & Private Sector Non-governmental organisations

 NGOs can provide training in soft skills with the help of digital tools to rural population which would help them in accessing quality inputs and crop advisory for many of the non-farm activities.  Social workers can encourage the young generation to learn the technique of group non-farm activities which have a direct linkage to market.  NGOs can help create direct link with the government for marketing of goods produced by the rural youth.  They can also help in establishing co-operate society so that the economic activities which require larger resources can be pooled together. Corporate social responsibility (CSR)

 Business cannot succeed when the society fails. Private organisations owe to the people their social and economic success.

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 The profit making business houses have been mandated to spend 2% of their net profit to the charity areas.  CSR funds are flexible, the needs are intensively analysed and evaluated before such funds are passed onto the local entrepreneurs.

Private sector

 They can mentor and motivate rural people to participate in their development programs.  They can organise community development programmes, empower the community members by providing educational and employment opportunities, can help them improve their work efficiency and assist them with the knowledge of utilising your resources in an optimum way.

Way forward

 There is a need to identify institutional setup for development of non-farm policy so that more employment opportunities can be created in the rural areas.  It is also necessary to improve rural road transportation as it would help in marketing of goods and articles manufactured in rural non-farm sector.  It is important that all stakeholders come together and develop an integrated farm and non-farm sector development plan with common goal of enhancing the rural household income.

Rural Tourism

As per Ministry of Tourism any form of tourism that showcases rural life art, culture and heritage at rural locations, thereby benefiting local community economically and socially as well as enabling interaction between tourist and local for a more enriching tourism experience can be termed as rural tourism.

Rural economy constitutes 46% of national income. Despite the rise of urbanization, population projections indicate that India will continue to be predominantly rural till the year 2050. Thus the growth and development of rural economy is the key to overall inclusive development.

Role of rural tourism

 India's national tourism policy 2002 identified rural tourism as one of its focus areas. A collaborative effort termed as endogenous tourism project- Rural tourism scheme, MoT and UNDP was initiated in 2003.  Rural circuit development has been included among the 13 thematic circuits identified under Swadesh Darshan.  Rural tourism has the capability to make tourism more inclusive by invoking entrepreneurial pursuits and focusing on human resource empowerment.

Rural Tourism v/s Conventional Tourism

As against conventional tourism, rural tourism has certain typical characteristics like it is experience- oriented, the locations are thinly populated, it is predominantly in natural environment, it engages local events and is based on preservation of culture, heritage and traditions.

Mapping the rural resources for tourism

 Villages in India have a facet that makes them unique. A survey to identify such resources may be started in order to showcase the attractions and transform them into tourism products. MoT has attempted to divide the rural resources into three categories;  First, resources by virtue of geographical and climatic characteristics of the region.

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 Homestays in kalap village Uttarakhand  Fireflies festival in purushwadi village Maharashtra  Second, aspects of the rural culture like village folklore, handicrafts, textile products, social bonds.  Stone craft and pattachitra in raghurajpur village Odisha  Tribal cultural trails in Bishnoi village Rajasthan  Textile village tour in Sarai Mohana village Varanasi UP  Third farm produce and practices like sowing, harvesting etc.  Mangoes in malihabad, Ratnagiri  Vineyards in Nashik, Maharashtra

Capacity building and government schemes

 Those educated in village may be imparted fundamental technological skills so that they can connect with the tourist before and after the visits and also with the various service providers in the supply chain.  Schemes of Central Government like National Rural livelihoods mission, Deendayal Upadhyay Gramin Kaushal Yojana and similar schemes of the state governments can offer significant help in conducting training programs in hospitality related services.

Coordination among stakeholders

For tourism to thrive, there has to be sync between attractions, accessibility, accommodation and amenities.  Necessary infrastructural facilities are essential. Scheme of e-Visa that allows visa approval on the email through the application within 72 hours of the application has eased foreign tourist entry in India.  Hodka village resort in Rann of Kutch, Gujarat is one of the most successfully implemented rural tourism initiatives.  There is need to make Panchayat functionary aware about the concept and benefits of the rural tourism.  Support from state Institute of rural development and Panchayati Raj and tourism department of state governments can act as catalyst.

Marketing strategy for rural tourism

A big challenge in implementing rural tourism successfully is that of marketing.  Familiarisation trips to rural sights can be organised for travel writers and bloggers.  Promotions can be done through government magazines, weekly newsletters, television, government portals and emails.  In-flight magazines should have write-ups of success story when they area.  Rural tourism resources could be instrumental in bringing out the much-needed turn of rural communities at the same time provide visitors of wholesome tourism experience.  It can revive many traditional crafts which are dying a floor death. Socially it can open rural mindset two new thoughts and ideas from the outside world.

Handlooms and Handicrafts: Potential Employers in Non-Farm Sector

Handloom emerged as a symbol of Patriotism and our indigenous identity during Indian National Movement. Passed on from generation to generation as a legacy these activities took an economic form and went on to become an alternative livelihood for farmers and rural people in off seasons.  Handloom provides employment to more than 43 lakh Weavers and other associated people directly and indirectly.

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 In Non-agricultural Season Handicrafts and Handlooms provide subsidiary employment to their practitioners.  They also help in getting social recognition to the respective producer community and thereby in maintaining social stability and harmony in the rural society. They exhibit the glory of their native places.  Preventing Migration of artisans, weavers and small-marginal farmers from rural to urban areas is their contribution in the rural economy.

Challenges

 Consumers changing preferences  Challenges from the international market  Availability of low cost alternative  Lack of interest in the younger generation process chain the traditional craftsmanship

Measures/Initiatives

Office of the development Commissioner-handloom and office of the development Commissioner- handicrafts, Ministry of textile are the nodal agencies of the Government of India to implement the schemes legal frameworks and other initiative interventions for the growth of Handloom and handicraft sector respectively.  National Handloom development programme - It is an umbrella scheme consisting of two major components - overall development of the Handloom sector and welfare of the Handloom Weavers.  Weavers Mudra scheme - Concessional credit scheme for the Weavers was launched in the year 2015. Under the scheme loans are provided at concessional rate of 6% for a period of 3 years.  Apart from production, marketing assistance is also provided directly to the Weavers or through Agencies like state Handloom Corporation with a view to link the buyers and sellers and does encourage direct marketing.  In order to expand the Handloom market with the help of modern technology 21 leading e commerce companies have been engaged for online marketing of Handloom products.  BunKar Mitra helpline was introduced in the year 2017 as a solution to Weavers professional queries.  Sankul is the art cum trade centre and crafts museum dedicated to the public in September 2017 to provide standard marketing facilities to the Weavers and artisan.  The Indian Handloom brand (IHB) initiative to create market for premium Handloom products. It includes measures like widespread awareness and brand building activities.  Handloom Mark was launched to assure quality and genuineness of Handloom products to the consumers.  Enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and e-Dhaga mobile app may also be named in the context of use of technology in this traditional domain.  Sant Kabir award, national Award and national merit certificate are some of the motivational efforts to encourage the rivers and their younger generation to sustain their ancestral livelihoods.  As a long term measure, professional courses in Handloom Technology have been introduced through six Central Indian Institutes of Handloom Technology.  Mahatma Gandhi Bunker Bima Yojana and Health Insurance Scheme are significant among the Welfare measures for the Weavers.  The National Handicrafts Development Programme strives for integrated development of handicraft sector.  Comprehensive Handicrafts cluster Development Scheme has three fold objectives and infrastructure development, technology upgradation, human resource development and development and marketing support and services.

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 Handicraft mark a Trademark certification to ensure authenticity of the product and to provide collective identity to the artefacts.  Pehchan aims at facilitating artisans smooth access to their due benefits

The efforts are those diverse, need-based and driven by vision to convert this twin sector as a sustainable venture and as a potential employer contributed towards minimization of poverty and unemployment in rural and semi urban areas.

Food processing for Non-farm Sector

During the last decade food processing sector in India has grown significantly and moved from a situation of insufficiently to surplus in food production which is expected to be doubled in the next 10 years. Currently India stands second in terms of global food production.

Food processing is an activity that changes the raw food stuff into a suitable form for marketing purpose. It is the major source of employment and income for rural areas and holds the key to reduction of waste in the fragile supply chain thereby helping to attain food security.

 Currently the Indian Government food market is valued at 14 free billion USD and is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 20%  The food processing sector in India has received around 7 54 billion US ji worth of foreign direct investment during the. 2000-2017.  It engages share of workers from the agricultural sector who face disguised unemployment.  Processed food occupy less space for storage and can be exported for foreign exchange.  Its growth in India will help in creating new employment opportunities, enhance agricultural yield, improve productivity and enhance the quality of standard of living of the people across the country. The broader idea behind the food processing activities is to bring together farmers, and retailers and link agricultural production to the market so as to guarantee maximization of value addition, minimization of wastages and improving enhancing farmer’s income.

Government initiatives for food processing sector

 Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana, it covers establishment of Mega Food parks, integrated cold Chain and value addition infrastructure, expansion of food processing and preservation capacities, infrastructure for Agro processing, backward and forward linkages, food safety and quality assurance infrastructure, generation of human resources and Institutions.  Indian government aims to boost growth in the food processing sector by liberating reforms such as hundred percent FDI in marketing of food products and various incentives at centre state government level along with the strong focus on supply chain infrastructure.

Despite huge development in the food processing sector, there are several constraints that hinder the further development.  Capital intensive functions  Poor supply chain linkages  Infrastructure bottlenecks  Lack of skilled manpower  Low adherance to quality standards due to low competition These challenges can be minimised by making awareness programs related to food processing to rural farmers who are primarily engaged in agricultural activities.

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Map Based Practice Questions

Q1. Which one of the following pairs is not correctly matched? (a) Caribbean Sea: Greater Antilles (b) Mediterranean Sea: Malta (c) South China Sea: Palawan island (d) Caspian Sea: Assumption Island Q2. Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the code given below the lists: List-I (State) List-II (Capital) A. Victoria 1. Sydney B. Western Australia 2. Perth C. New South Wales 3. Melbourne D. Queensland 4. Brisbane Select the correct answer using the codes given below: 1 2 3 4 (a) C B A D (b) C D A B (c) D A C B (d) D B A C Q3. Situated some 500 km due south of the Maldives, this chain of islands comprises more than 60 individual tropical islands. It is the southernmost archipelago of the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge. This description best fits: (a) Southampton Island (a) Sumatra Island (b) Chago islands (c) Tierra del Fuego

Q4. “They are the Muslim ethnic minority mostly based in China’s Xinjiang province. The community speaks Asian Turkic language similar to Uzbek, and most of them practice a moderate form of Sunni Islam. The reference here is to: (a) Zhuang (b) Jingpo (c) Sibe (d) Uighurs

Q5. Sabang, located on Weh Island, often in the news assumes greater significance for India due to- (a) Availability of mineral reserves and resources (b) Its position at mouth of Malacca Strait. (c) To control illegal maritime activities (d) None of these

Q6. Which of the following countries border ‘Red sea’ 1. Saudi Arabia 2. Eritrea 3. Egypt 4. Jordan Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

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(a) 1 & 2 (b) 2 & 3 (c) 1, 2, 3 (d) 1,2,3,4

Q7. Consider the following statements with respect to ‘Worlds southernmost city’ 1. Puerto Williams in Argentina has become the world’s southernmost city 2. Till recently Ushuaia city in chile was holding the title of world’s southernmost city Choose the correct option (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2

Q8. Consider the following with respect to “Diffo Bridge”? 1. It will provide uninterrupted access between Dibang valley and lohit valley of Assam 2. It was build under project Udayak of border Roads organisation Choose the correct option (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2

Q9. The National Highway 7 passes through which of the following reserve? a) Dampa tiger reserve b) Pench Tiger Reserve c) Periyar Tiger Reserve d) Rajaji Tiger Reserve

Q10. Which of the following cities adopted the first global conference on ‘synergies between 2030 agenda and Paris agreement’ recently? a) Paris b) London c) Copenhagen d) Katowice

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Solutions

Answer 1. D

Assumption Island is a small island in the Outer Island of Seychelles north of Madagascar, with a distance of 1,135 km southwest of the capital, Victoria, on Mahé Island. It was discovered by Captain Nicolas Morphey on 14 August 1756 and was named after the religious feast of the next day. In 2015, India leased the island from Seychelles. Now, India has a military base on the island, which includes both naval and airbase and is located 3,915 km south-southwest of the southern tip of India (at Kanyakumari). Why in news? India is increasing the share of foreign aid for the Indian Ocean countries- mainly Mauritius, Maldives and Sri Lanka. India has been interested in developing, along with our own Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Agalega Islands in Mauritius and Assumption Islands in Seychelles. The country’s main approach has been to develop the sea and air transportation in the islands and better the conditions of the inhabitants.

Answer 2. A Australia is divided into:  Queensland (Brisbane)  New South Wales (Sydney)  Victoria (Melbourne)  South Australia (Adelaide)  Western Australia (Perth)  Northern Territory (Darwin) Why in news? Increasing political importance of Australia for India.

Answer 3. C The Chagos Islands, currently known as British Indian Ocean Territory is a group of seven atolls, comprising more than 60 individual tropical islands in the Indian Ocean, situated some 500 km due south of the Maldives. It lies about 1,770km east of Mahe, the main island of Seychelles.

This chain of islands is the southernmost archipelago of the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge (a long submarine mountain range in the Indian Ocean).

Why in news?

The Chago islands were in news recently due to territorial disputes. In March this year, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said that Britain must end its administration of the Chagos islands ‘as rapidly as possible’.

Historically, the Chagos Islands had been an integral part of Mauritius. However, in 1965, the Chagos Islands were detached from Mauritius and made a part of British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). Since 1966, Diego Garcia, the largest of the Chagos Islands, has been home to a United States military and naval base, pursuant to an agreement between the UK and the US in 1966 for making BIOT available to the US for defence purposes. The French started a colony of approximately 50 to 60 people on the island of Diego Garcia, which later became a staging post for the slave trade. Those born

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on the island are known as Chagossians. The United Kingdom took possession of all of the French dependencies with the Treaty of Paris in 1814. Due to the expansion of the Soviet Union and its increasing influence in the region, the U.K.decided to build a military base in the region. Later, the United States agreed and offered a subsidy on the U.K.’s nuclear program to help facilitate the base. The road to the International Court of Justice began as United Nations General Assembly Resolution 71/292, put forth by Mauritius, which requested an advisory opinion on the territorial dispute.

Answer 4. D

The Uighurs are a Muslim ethnic minority mostly based in China’s Xinjiang province. They speak their own language, an Asian Turkic language, and most of them practice a moderate form of Sunni Islam. They make up around 45 percent of the population in China.

Why in news?

A United Nation Human Rights Committee in its report stated that China detains about 1 million in secretive ‘re-education camps’, where they face political indoctrination and torture. There are around 11 million Uighurs living in Xinjiang, which means that almost one in 10 of them have been detained. Answer 5. B India is developing its maiden deep-sea port in Indonesia's Sabang close to Andaman and Nicobar Islands making its maiden foray in the Southeast Asian. Sabang Island, located off the northern tip of the Sumatran islands at the northwestern entry point to the Malacca Strait.

Why in news? Last year, India launched a joint initiative to develop deep-sea port in Sabang in Indonesia’s Aceh province to enhance maritime connectivity as part of respective Indo-Pacific strategies. Now, India has access to 4 important ports abroad:  Sabang (Indonesia)  Duqm (Oman)  Chabahar (Iran)  Assumption Island (Seychelleys)

Answer 6. D

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Why in News: Jordan has unveiled its 1st underwater military museum

Answer 7. D The southern part of South America is fractured into a number of small islands collectively known as Tierra del Fuego. Recently Puerto Williams in Chile has been upgraded to the category of “city” by Chilean authorities, making it the world’s southernmost city.

Why in News: Puerto Williams, Chile now world's southernmost city, not Ushuaia, Argentina

Answer 8. B Dedicating the bridge to the nation, the Raksha Mantri praised the commendable work being done by Project Udayak, Border Roads Organisation (BRO) in this region. Smt Sitharaman appreciated completion of this prestigious bridge which would provide uninterrupted access between Dibang valley and Lohit valley region of Eastern Arunachal Pradesh and an all-weather Road to the troops deployed on the China Border. Why in news: Raksha Mantri Smt Nirmala Sitharaman today inaugurated the 426.60 metre long Pre Stressed Concrete Box Girder type bridge over Diffo River on Roing-Koron-Paya road in Arunachal Pradesh.

Answer 9. B Why in news: Pench tiger crossing NH-7 raises concern

Answer 10. C Why in news: The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC) teamed up, in collaboration with other partners, to organize a Global Conference to strengthen synergies between the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement. The Conference took place between 1-3

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April in 2019 in the UN City in Copenhagen, bringing together practitioners, experts and policy makers from both developing and developed countries, as well as international resource persons from academia and think tanks, the private sector, NGOs and representatives of relevant UN organizations.

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