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Current Issues
What's hot today?
Analysis of:
75 Important Issues
Useful for UPSC CSE Mains and Interview
By clearias.com
Edition: 3.0
This is the 3rd Edition of the book “Current Issues – What’s hot today?”.
We thank all our readers for the warm support and reception given for the
first and second editions.
Issue-based study (with views and counterviews) is highly helpful for the
UPSC Civil Services Exam Mains (written test) as well as the Interview
(personality test).
The new edition includes about 75 current issues which need your
attention (yes, a lot more new issues than our 1st and 2nd editions!) Also,
many of the earlier topics still relevant today are updated with the latest
current affairs. Some topics that are not applicable for this year are omitted
as well.
Thanking all of you once again for supporting our mission of quality but
affordable education. Stay tuned for more updates.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Aadhaar and Privacy issues .................................................................................................................................. 7
Ban on cow slaughter/ Beef ban ........................................................................................................................ 12

Page | 3
Cashless Economy ............................................................................................................................................... 18
Economic growth Vs Environmental conservation .......................................................................................... 22
Election Funding ................................................................................................................................................. 28
Free Speech: Rights & Limits.............................................................................................................................. 35
Frequent promulgation of Ordinance ................................................................................................................ 42
Full statehood to Delhi: Should it be granted or not? ....................................................................................... 47
Interstate water disputes: Focus on Cauvery Water Dispute .......................................................................... 53
Judicial activism and judicial Overreach ........................................................................................................... 59
Judicial appointment: Collegiums Vs NJAC........................................................................................................ 64
Kashmir Unrest ................................................................................................................................................... 69
Media freedom and Responsible reporting....................................................................................................... 74
Muslim Personal law: Polygamy/ Triple talaq.................................................................................................. 79
Nationalism vs Regionalism ............................................................................................................................... 86
NGOs and Development/ Crackdown on NGOs ................................................................................................ 90
Dalit assertion and Politics of reservation ........................................................................................................ 96
Restriction on entry of women in places of worship ...................................................................................... 103
Should India spend more on science or Social welfare? ................................................................................ 108
Supreme Court judgement on Caste, Religion in Polls ................................................................................... 112
Parliamentary disruptions ............................................................................................................................... 116
Uniform civil code ............................................................................................................................................. 121
Privatization of certain Healthcare Services ................................................................................................... 126

Agrarian crisis: Issues in farmer economy ...................................................................................................... 132
Issues related to Social Media .......................................................................................................................... 138
Criminalisation of politics ................................................................................................................................ 144
Stubble burning in neighborhood of Delhi ...................................................................................................... 149 Page | 4
Marital rape ....................................................................................................................................................... 154
‘Living wills’/ Euthanasia ................................................................................................................................. 160
Separate State Flag in Karnataka ..................................................................................................................... 166
Net neutrality .................................................................................................................................................... 169
Merger of PSU banks ......................................................................................................................................... 175
Privatization of Air India .................................................................................................................................. 180
Capital Punishment/death sentence ............................................................................................................... 186
Politics and Economics of farm loan waiver ................................................................................................... 191
Laws to ban certain social practices ................................................................................................................ 197
Entry of foreign universities in India............................................................................................................... 202
Respecting national anthem ............................................................................................................................. 207
Special court for trying politicians................................................................................................................... 212
FRDI bill ............................................................................................................................................................. 217
National Medical Commission Bill ................................................................................................................... 223
Barring MPs from practicing law ..................................................................................................................... 228
Controversy over changing the Constitution .................................................................................................. 232
Lateral entry: Professionalizing Governance or Committed Bureaucracy?.................................................. 238
Section 377: Constitutionality Vs Morality ..................................................................................................... 243
Institutions of Eminence: Can the tag help to create worldclass universities? ........................................... 249
Higher Education Commission of India ........................................................................................................... 256
Bad bank: Is it a good idea? .............................................................................................................................. 263

Data protection: Privacy Vs Innovation........................................................................................................... 268
Ayushman Bharat: Can it make India healthier? ............................................................................................ 275
SC/ST Act judgment: Protecting the innocent or diluting the Protection? ................................................... 280
Crisis in the sugar sector .................................................................................................................................. 286 Page | 5
Khap Panchayats and honour killing ............................................................................................................... 292
National Policy on Biofuels............................................................................................................................... 298
Should the SC proceedings be live streamed? ................................................................................................. 304
Doubling the Farmer’s income ......................................................................................................................... 309
Is AI a danger to humanity?.............................................................................................................................. 315
What prevents women from working in India? .............................................................................................. 320
Special category status ..................................................................................................................................... 325
National Register of Citizens ............................................................................................................................ 330
Price Deficiency Payment mechanism ............................................................................................................. 334
Death penalty for raping minor ....................................................................................................................... 338
Mob lynching: Is it becoming a new normal? .................................................................................................. 343
RTI amendments ............................................................................................................................................... 349
India in SCO: Benefits and challenges .............................................................................................................. 354
Minimum Support Price ................................................................................................................................... 359
Reservation in promotion for SC/ST employees ............................................................................................ 363
No detention under RTE ................................................................................................................................... 367
Interlinking of rivers ....................................................................................................................................... 373
Compensatory Afforestation ............................................................................................................................ 378
Non Performing Assets ..................................................................................................................................... 382
Amendments to prevention of corruption Act ................................................................................................ 387
Issues related to appointment of Lokpal ......................................................................................................... 391

Does RBI need more power to monitor Banks? .............................................................................................. 396
Office of the Speaker: Powers and Issues ........................................................................................................ 399
Page | 6
AADHAAR AND PRIVACY ISSUES
Concept in brief:
Aadhaar is biometricbased 12 digits unique identification number issued

Page | 7
to all Indian residents. As many as 121 crore people have been issued
Aadhaar numbers so far.
Aadhaar (Target Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and

Services) Act, 2016, regulates the enrolment process to collect
demographic and biometric information and create a statutory authority
for regulating and supervising the process.
Application of Aadhaar:
 Aadhaar is a powerful instrument against retail corruption. It enables

the government to prevent fraud, corruption, and waste by requiring
the Aadhaar number for delivery of any benefit, subsidy or service
from the Consolidated Fund of India, such as LPG subsidy, MGNREGA
wages, various insurance schemes, provident fund schemes,
government scholarships, and much more.
 Aadhaar reduces bureaucratic layers. This helps the government to
quickly provide the services to the targeted beneficiaries.
 It helps the government to expand the coverage for financial
inclusion in India.
 It could eliminate fraud in government subsidies.
 Other potential applications of Aadhaar include unclogging highways,
eliminating fraud in degrees etc. For e.g.: CBSE uses Aadhaar verified
DigiLocker for issuance and verification of documents and
certificates digitally.
The key features of the Aadhaar Act:

 Enrolment is voluntary. It shall only be used as proof of identity and
not as proof of citizenship.
 It does not prohibit the use of Aadhaar for any other purpose by any
public or private entity.
Page | 8
 It provides privacy protection at an unprecedented level for Indian
law.
1. One, “use limitation” — it can only be used for the purpose for
which the user gives consent.
2. Two, “collection limitation” — no information other than
demographics (name, address, date of birth, sex and,
optionally, email id/ mobile number) and biometric (photo,
fingerprint and iris scan) will be collected.
3. Three, “access and rectification” — the user can access his own
information and has an obligation to rectify it if it needs
updating.
4. Four, no demographic information or identity information
received from the Unique Identification Authority of India can
be displayed publicly.
5. Five, the only exception to certain confidentiality obligations is
national security, provided an order to disclose information is
issued either by a court, or by a joint secretary or higher
officer, and vetted by a highpowered committee headed by the
cabinet secretary.
Criticisms:
 Clause 4(3) states that the Aadhaar number may be accepted as proof
for “any purpose”, not merely for the payment of subsidy or other
monetary benefits. This is not in conformity with the decisions of the
Supreme Court on the issue of making Aadhaar mandatory.
 As per the Section 29(4), no Aadhaar number or biometric
information will be made public “except for the purposes as may be
specified by regulations”. This is a broad exemption as the
rulemaking is the prerogative of the government.
 The inbuilt confidentiality clauses under the Section (33) will not
stand when it concerns national security. The only reassurance could
Page | 9
be that in such cases the direction has to come from an official who is
not below the rank of a Joint Secretary to the government.
 Experts and even a Parliamentary panel had earlier raised questions
over the protection of privacy of individuals under the new law.
The exception permits the government to access the database in two

separate ways.
1. One way is if a district judge orders disclosure of information. We

have inadequately trained district judges all over the country and
that they are not given enough support to understand the
implications of a database like Aadhaar. These judges can now
authorize access to Aadhaar data.
2. A Joint Secretary authorized by the government can direct disclosure
of information “in the interests of national security”. While this order
will be reviewed by a committee consisting of the Cabinet Secretary
and the Secretaries to the Government of India in the Department of
Legal Affairs and the Department of Electronics and Information
Technology, this is an inadequate safeguard.
Since we freely give in to Google and Facebook, what is wrong in giving

in to the state?
The state can use coercive power in a way in which private entities cannot.
Private entities are not inconsequential in the exercise of power, but that
power operates differently. The state can coerce, imprison, and deprive you
of your rights. So the standards of accountability have to be
correspondingly adjusted.
‘Virtual ID’ – a fresh layer of security
Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) recently unveiled a fresh

layer of security — a ‘Virtual ID’ to prevent Aadhaar from being shared –
even as it asserted that the system and data were safe. Page | 10
 Virtual ID is a 16digit temporary number that can be shared with a

bank, insurance company or telecom service provider instead of the
12digit Aadhaar number.
 It also added a safety feature to ensure only needbased sharing of
information, by way of a limited KYC.
 One can opt to use the Virtual ID as many times as he/she wants, or
keep generating a new one every time you have to share your unique
ID.
 It will not be possible to locate an individual’s Aadhaar number by
using the Virtual ID.
It is a unique innovation to strengthen the privacy and security of 121 crore

Aadhaar holders.
Virtual Aadhaar ID: Has it come too late?
 The move to introduce a virtual ID to address security concerns over

Aadhaar database is a case of too little, too late, as many of the 121
crore Aadhaar holders have already shared their 12digit numbers
with various entities.
 The virtual ID is voluntary and the Aadhaar number is still needed to
be used at some places. Unless all entities are required to use virtual
IDs and are barred from storing Aadhaar numbers, the new measures
won’t really help.
Srikrishna panel recommendations on Aadhar:

Justice Srikrishna panel on data protection noted that the existing
provisions of the Aadhaar Act are not good enough to protect data privacy
because they leave scope for misuse of citizens’ details captured in the
database.
Page | 11
 It recommended that the Aadhaar Act needs to be amended to bolster
data protection. The panel called for insertion of Section 8A after
Section 8 of the principal Act to ensure no data breach happens
during offline verification.
 It also suggests that the offline verificationseeking entity obtain the
consent of an individual before verifying him offline. Plus, the entity
shall be bound to ensure all data collected from the individual for
offline verification is used only for the specific purpose intended.
 The panel recommended establishing a new adjudication and appeals
process for disputes arising from the act.
 It also recommended increasing or creating civil and criminal
penalties for contraventions of the act.
References
1. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/leadarticleonaadhaar
billbychinmayiarunprivacyisafundamental
right/article8366413.ece
2. http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/aadhaarbill
lpgsubsidymgnregapaperlessgovtbasisofarevolution/
3. http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/privacyafter
aadhaarmoneybillrajyasabhaupa/
4. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/virtualaadhaaridtoo
littletoolate/article22423218.ece
BAN ON COW SLAUGHTER/ BEEF BAN
Introduction:
The recent ban on cattle slaughter in states like Maharashtra has raised
Page | 12
questions about a State’s authority to decide its citizens’ dietary habits.
Under Entry 15 of the State List, State legislatures have exclusive powers to
legislate the prevention of slaughter and preservation of cattle. The laws
regulating/prohibiting cattle slaughter vary from state to state.
The Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Act criminalizes the

possession of the flesh of cattle slaughtered even outside Maharashtra.
Slaughter is completely banned within the state.
Arguments in support of ban on cow slaughter
 Slaughtering of cow and its progeny hurts the religious sentiments, as

the cow is considered as holy in Hinduism.
 The ban on cow slaughter is in the public interest as cattle
preservation is important in an agrarian economy.
 Article 48 of the Constitution of India mandates the state to prohibit
the slaughter of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.
 Beef contributes less than 2 percent of the total meat consumption
and nutrition is not necessarily associated with nonvegetarian diet.
Arguments against ban on cow slaughters
 Freedom of religion and freedom of trade are violated if the cow

slaughter is prohibited. It violates the right to livelihood of a large
number of people both directly and indirectly.
 Attitude towards cow slaughter should change as India shifts
towards an industrialized economy from the agrarian economy.
 Beef is an important and cheap source of protein for a large section of
people in India, – including Adivasis, Dalits, Christians, and Muslims.
 The citizens are required to be let alone especially when the food of
their choice if not injurious to health. The state cannot prevent a
Page | 13
citizen from possessing and eating the food of his choice. This
intrusion is prohibited by the right to privacy guaranteed under
Article 21.
Should there be fundamental right to eat as per one's own choice?
 Antibeef ban group argued that the government cannot decide what
one can eat and what he can't. With expanding the interpretation of
the right to privacy, as contained in Article 21 of the Constitution, a
citizen has a right to choose how he lives, so long as he is not a
nuisance to the society.
 But, Pork is banned in all Islamic countries. Jews abhor horse meat.
Recently Communist Cuba too implemented a ban on the sale of Cow
meat. That means countries have the right to ban some animal
slaughtering depending upon culture, community sentiments and
also on hygiene ground.
 As far as the fundamental right of eating as per own choice is
concerned, the constitution has provided many fundamental rights
but not provided the right to eat anything as per the choice. No
constitution of any country or no holy book of any religion ever
allowed right to eat anything as per choice.
Supreme Court judgments
1958 judgments:
 In 1958, the Supreme Court held that “there is no getting away from
the fact that beef or buffalo meat is an item of food for a large section
of the people in India.”
 The comparatively low prices of beef and buffalo flesh, which are
nearly half that of mutton or goats’ flesh, is the main reason for their
demand.
 The bench held that cattle, except cows of all ages and calves of both
Page | 14
cows and buffaloes, not capable of milch or draught can be
slaughtered. The court classified such cattle as “useless.”
2005 judgments:
 In 2005, the Supreme Court overrode the 1958 verdict and said that
it only reflected “India’s panic” due to food scarcity of that era.
 Beef contributes only 1.3 percent of the total meat consumption
pattern of the Indian society.
 The court said now the “real problem facing India is not the
availability of proteinrich diet, but unequal distribution.” Nutrition is
not “necessarily associated with nonvegetarian diet and that too
originating from slaughtering a cow and its progeny.
 It will be an act of reprehensible ingratitude to condemn cattle in old
age as useless and send them to a slaughterhouse. The weak and
meek need more protection and compassion.
2017 judgments:
 In the landmark judgment in Justice Puttaswamy (Retd.) case, the

Supreme Court declared that the right to privacy a fundamental right.
 The court observed that the right to eat the food of one's choice is
now protected under privacy.
 In July 2017, the Supreme Court had suspended the modifications
made to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of
Livestock Market) Rules, 2017. These amendments banned the sale
of cattle, including buffaloes and camels, for slaughter. The court
pointed out that the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1960
allowed slaughter for food and religious sacrifices. The amendments
were later withdrawn by the union government.
Impact of the ban on cow slaughter on the farmers:

Page | 15
 Depleting grazing lands, the disappearing role for indigenous cattle
breeds in agriculture production as providers of milk, energy,
manure, and beef, coupled with a ban on cattle slaughter has led to
falling cattle populations.
 The tractors have replaced bullocks/draught animals that were used
to plough, thresh, and anchor rural transportation. Chemical
fertilizers have replaced manure.
 Hence keeping indigenous bullocks or rearing indigenous cows has
become uneconomical for farmers. Once animals stop having an
economic value, they stop being reared.
 Most farmers particularly those rearing crossbreeds for the
commercial sale of milk, rarely keep cows beyond five lactations. The
reason is fodder and feed is a precious resource. Farmers will not
find it worthwhile to keep the cow once it stops calving.
Impact of the ban on cow slaughter on Meat industries:
 In meat production systems, it is the female which is reared carefully

in large numbers to reproduce future generations and the male that
goes to slaughter. It is only the sick, old, infertile and nonlactating
female that is sold for slaughter.
 Eating the female bovine as a primary source of meat will
compromise future production, and hence they are rarely consumed.
 A nationwide ban or a blanket ban on cow slaughter ignores this
basic fact.
Cow vigilantism:
In most of the states excluding Kerala, West Bengal, and the Northeastern
states, there are laws that strictly ban cow's meat and rules that prescribe
extreme punishment to violators. Most of these states have banned cow
slaughter solely in the name of faith.
Page | 16
In recent times “cow vigilantes” have taken to attacking and sometimes
killing people they suspect of trafficking in cattle intended for slaughter.
Most have targeted Muslims and Dalits, who traditionally skin the carcasses
of cows. The ‘cow protectors’ attack without verifying whether the cows
carried are being sent to slaughter or, in the case of meat, whether it is
indeed beef.
The costs of the attacks are high.
 The dairy industry has taken a hit. Farmers are increasingly unwilling
to expand their herds, as it is hard to get rid of unproductive
livestock. Shelters for old cows are often overcrowded.
 The attacks disturb communal harmony. In most cases, there is a loss
of innocent lives.
Some steps should be taken to improve the situation.
 Stricter laws that recognize cow vigilantism as a crime against

minorities should be enacted.
 Victimprotection schemes and faster court rulings may help to keep
a check on vigilantism.
 More stringent punishments should be meted out to those who use
cows as a pretext to exacerbate communal tensions.
References
1. http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com/Article.aspx?eid=31805&article
xml=Gandhimadeareallystrongcaseagainstthe
05112015012052
2. http://www.thehindu.com/news/scverdictsdifferonbeefbeinga
poormansfood/article6959800.ece
3. https://thewire.in/13849/whythebanoncowslaughterisnot
justantifarmerbutanticowaswell/
4. http://www.merinews.com/mobile/article/India/2015/03/18/beef Page | 17
banshouldtherebefundamentalrighttoeatasperonesown
choice/15905101
5. http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/o02yUnePn0sMZooqprgEQO/A
boosttofundamentalrights.html
6. https://www.economist.com/theeconomist
explains/2018/02/15/cowvigilantisminindia
CASHLESS ECONOMY
Concept in brief:
When all the economic transactions are done through the noncash mode
Page | 18
like electronic transfer, cheque etc, then such an economy can be termed as
the cashless economy.
 Before demonetization, India had one of the highest cash to gross

domestic product ratios (around 12%) in the world.
 A report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Google India
revealed that around 75 percent of transactions in India were cash
based.
 Scrapped highvalue currency notes of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000
denominations formed around 86% of total legal tender.
The depletion of cash due to demonetization has pushed digital and e

transactions to the forefront. The recently launched Unified Payments
Interface by National Payments Corporation of India makes digital
transactions as simple as sending a text message.
Advantages
 The ease of conducting financial transactions is the biggest motivator

to go digital. It is also a safer and easier spending option while
traveling.
 If all transactions are on record, it will be very easy for people to
keep track of their spending. It will also help while filing income tax
returns and, in case of a scrutiny, people will find it easy to explain
their spending.
 Besides the tax, the digital transaction will have a good impact on
budgeting/spending.
 The digital transaction will make it more difficult for tax evaders to
hide their income.
 According to a study by the credit card company Visa titled
“Accelerating the Growth of Digital Payments in India: A FiveYear
Page | 19
Outlook”, India can save up to Rs 70,000 crore in the next five years
by widening the digital transactions base. The report says the cost of
cash places a huge burden on the economy which is equivalent to 1.7
percent of the GDP. The time cost of cash handling, forgone interest
earnings, bank charges, depreciation and cost of risk together make
up the gross cost of cash.
Disadvantages
 On the other hand, the digital transaction could open a spending trap
for an unsuspecting population. The pain of spending money is felt
more acutely if we use physical cash instead of a card. Digital
payment could end up in overspending.
Challenges
 A major obstacle to the adoption of an alternate mode of payments is

mobile and internet penetration.
 A large part of the population is still outside the banking net and not
in a position to reduce its dependence on cash. India’s unbanked
population is at around 233 million.
 Banks have been charging money on cardbased transactions, which
is seen as a disincentive to move towards a cashless economy.
 The low literacy rate in rural India is another hurdle.
 The safety of the digital payment channels is important for pushing
the cashless economy idea. The risks associated with electronic
payment instruments are far more diverse and severe. For example,
recently the ability of financial institutions to protect the data came
into question when lakhs of debit card data were stolen by hackers.
This is also an important reason why people favor cash.
 India’s cashdriven economy is fuelled by rampant corruption in
society and black money. The modus operations for corruption are
Page | 20
cash.
 As per the estimate, around 92 percent of the transactions made
using debit cards were cash withdrawals from ATMs. The sole
purpose of cards in India is to withdraw cash. Changing this mindset
will be an uphill task.
 If people start flocking to alternate currencies, governments could
end up in losing much of their power to influence economic issues
such as inflation and unemployment. The government can't set an
interest rate for institutions, lending in a currency that it doesn't
control.
 Banks and related service providers will have to constantly invest in
technology in order to improve security and ease of transaction.
People will only shift when it’s easier, certain and safe to make
cashless transactions.
Is India shifting towards a cashless economy?
The Reserve Bank of India’s annual report for the year 201617 says
demonetization has helped the country’s currency in circulation (CIC) to
GDP ratio compared with advanced economies like Germany and France.
Before demonetization, the cash to GDP ratio in India was 12.2%. It came
down to 8.8%, after scrapping the old highvalue currency notes of Rs. 500
and Rs. 1000. In contrast, an emerging economy like Indonesia had a much
lower ratio of around 5%.
The RBI annual report also revealed that only around 1.4% of scrapped Rs
1,000 notes didn’t come back into the banking system post demonetization.
The high cash to GDP ratio is the biggest impediment to India’s march
towards becoming a cashless economy.
But it should also be noted that India has a large informal sector and hence
its cash needs are also higher. A lower cashtoGDP ratio could mean that Page | 21
the informal sector has shrunk due to demonetization thereby needing
lower cash. It could also be on account of people shifting from cashbased
transactions to informal creditbased transactions.
CashtoGDP ratio would depend upon the status of the economy, the
proportion of the informal economy, whether it is an unbanked society or
fully banked.
Conclusion:
Making the transition to a cashless economy is challenging. Rushing the

economy into a cashless state without proper planning and infrastructure
will be disastrous. A gradual move towards lesscash society as said by the
Prime Minister is the right way forward.
References:
1. https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/demonetisation
impactindiascashtogdprationowcompareswithnationslike
germanyandfrancesaysrbi/834251/
2. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/demonetisation
narendramodiblackmoneyindianeconomyarunjaitleycashless
economy4927252/
3. https://thewire.in/economy/indiagdpdemonetisation
ECONOMIC GROWTH VS ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
Introduction:
In India, often economic growth gets priority over environmental

Page | 22
conservation. From the Sardar Sarovar Dam to the polluting tanneries of
Kanpur, to Delhi’s air pollution, environmental issues remain highly
contested.
India has strong environmental legislation such as the Wildlife (Protection)

Act of 1972, Water Act of 1974, Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980, Air Act
of 1981, and the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986. But, they are not
implemented in letter and spirit. This is because of the perception that
environmental conservation is antithetical to the growth.
 Recently, the government has delinked forest approval from

clearance by the National Board of Wild Life and halved NBWL
clearance requirements from 10 km to 5 km around forest reserves.
 The government has diluted procedures for the application of the
Forest Conservation Act (FCA) for exactly those areas where FCA
applies most – linear projects in forest areas, ecosensitive areas
along the international border and areas affected by Naxalism.
 According to the Wildlife Conservation Trust, of the 1,697 roads,
irrigation and railway projects, 399 projects are coming up in the
tiger landscape of Central India and the Eastern Ghats. The area is
home to 31% of the country's tiger population and these projects
threaten the existence of the big cats.
Economy Vs Environment: A performance analysis
The country’s notsogood rank on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing

Business index is often cited as a reason to streamline and speed up
regulatory approvals, especially those related to the environment and
forests.
Contrast to Ease of Doing Business report is surveys on the state of our
environment.
 India ranked 177 out of 180 countries on Yale University’s

Environmental Performance Index (EPI), in 2018. This places India Page | 23
among the bottom five countries on the list. In 2016, the country had
ranked 141 out of 180 countries.
 On the other hand, for the first time ever, India has jumped 30
positions to become the top 100th country in terms of ease of doing
business (EoDB) ranking 2018.
There were widescale debates on how government can further improve

the ranking in the World Bank’s EoDB. But, nobody raised a question on
what the government is planning to do to improve India’s ranking in
Environmental Performance Index (EPI). In fact, it is common for the
government to respond to such environmental surveys by questioning their
methodology or, worse, motives.
Why environmentalism always takes a back seat?
The reason for this situation is the idea that environmental quality comes
only after basic needs such as food and housing are met. So, countries
initially focus on economic growth, even if it comes at the expense of
environmental quality. This works on the principle “pollute first; clean up
later”.
But this, “pollute first; clean up later” approach is flawed for the following
reasons.
 In the case of global pollutants such as carbon dioxide, there is not

enough evidence that its levels start falling after countries become
richer.
 Further, it is not clear how much damage we can cause to our
ecological systems before which they start undergoing irreversible
changes.
 The improvement in environmental quality after an income
Page | 24
threshold may have more to do with the ability of developed nations
to shift polluting industries to developing nations at low economic
cost and less to do with policies that lead to a cleaner environment.
‘Environment vs Growth’ debate has become much more significant

especially after liberalization and globalization.
Why is environmentalism becoming prominent?
 In India, post1991, the pressure on the environment increased with

development. It is becoming a real issue affecting people’s daily lives,
health, and livelihoods. For example, the pollution of the Ganga,
where the effluent and sewage treatment capacity cannot treat even
half the pollutants pumped into the river every day.
 On the global stage, organized environmental advocacy has taken off.
The Rio Convention (1992), the Kyoto Protocol (1997), and the
annual climate change summits have meant that the environment has
obtained a prominent global profile.
 In India, NGOs have effectively used Public Interest Litigation (PILs)
and Right to Information (RTI) as instruments of actions for
conservation.
 Even the judiciary is showing ‘activism’, for environmental
conservation. For example, judicial action forced the government to
move the entire fleet of buses in Delhi to CNG in 2001. A number of
ad hoc interventions by the court eventually culminated in the
establishment of a National Green Tribunal in 2011, to adjudicate on
the environment and forestryrelated cases.
Balanced growth:
It is argued that mines and industries bring in jobs and improve economic
wellbeing. Such simplistic, dichotomous comparisons of environment vs
development neglect the many aspects of human wellbeing. It also
compromises the future ecological security of natural resources like water,
clean air, local climate, and forest resources that people depend upon. Page | 25
It is unfortunate that growth and environment are placed on opposite sides

when they actually go together. Environmental conservation and economic
growth are not an ‘eitheror’ choice; solutions that strike a balance are
indeed possible. There is no development without environment and
country cannot develop until it grows sustainably.
The new buzzword in the ‘environment Vs growth’ debate is “balancing”

growth with environmental protection.
Some development projects can have negative environmental

consequences. Speeding up clearances for developmental projects means
that environmental clearances will have to be reviewed quickly. But this
should not compromise environmental assessments or result in dilution of
existing protection norms.
There are many reasons why environmental or forest clearance for a

project might be delayed.
 The delays are not always due to slow assessments or bureaucratic

hurdle. In many cases, it is because of incomplete information by the
applicant, or noncompliance with the procedure.
 There is a lack of environment and conservation expertise in the
assessment. Scientists and civil society are underrepresented in the
assessment machinery.
Thus, our policy should not be based on the “pollutefirst; cleanuplater”

approach. We should explicitly identify tradeoffs between economic
benefit and ecological impact.
The idea of sustainable development cannot be mere rhetoric; it must be
accompanied by transparent, participatory mechanisms that allow for
meaningful discussion of the development paths that make growth truly
sustainable.
Page | 26
Reforms needed:
 We need to have ‘smarter’ regulation that leverages technology and

markets. Technologybased tools and market approaches can make
for better regulation. For example, the Emissions Trading Scheme
conceived in 2011, where realtime emissions monitoring and
trading was launched in select industrial clusters.
 India’s current Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process is
broken. The project proponent chooses consultants who conduct the
assessment, mandatory public consultations are rarely held with
integrity, and environmental damage is seldom quantified rigorously.
EIAs need to be done by independent accredited professionals and
need to follow more robust methods that quantify the economic
benefits and the environmental costs, surfacing tradeoffs and
outlining mitigation measures.
 We need to strengthen participatory processes such as public
hearings in the environmental and forest clearance process.
Meaningful public participation in decisionmaking in environmental
and natural resources management will build greater trust among
various stakeholders and reduce conflict.
 It is high time India has an independent, professional environmental
regulator. It should be a permanent professional body, with adequate
teeth and specialist expertise to appraise projects and monitor
compliance.
References:
1. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/460148/developmentvs
environment.html
2. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/developmentvs Page | 27
environment/article1162467.ece
3. http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/BPOKLclleRJvSdml46LraI/Econo
micgrowthvsenvironmentalsustainability.html
4. http://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/the
environmentdevelopmentdivideisthereroomfordialogue46687
5. http://www.livemint.com/Politics/m8vwrdS79Wnbps2cwY9i5M/25
yearsofreformsTheenvironmentvsgrowthdebate.html
6. https://www.thehindu.com/scitech/energyand
environment/indiaranks177outof180inenvironmental
performanceindex/article22513016.ece
ELECTION FUNDING
Introduction:
Page | 28
To fight elections and run their routine activities, political parties in India
seek donations from all possible sources. It is true that without money
multiparty democracy cannot function, but ‘Money Power’ involves certain
risks like:
 The uneven Playing field and lack of fair competition

 Political Exclusion i.e. Certain sectors face disadvantage
 Elected politicians under campaign debts
 Tainted Governance and Rule of Law is undermined
Of course, there are laws to check money power in the elections. For
example, under Section 123 (6) of the Representation of the People Act,
1951, a candidate spending more than the specified limit is guilty of
indulging in corrupt practices.
Over the years, there have been many complaints of underinvoicing, false
declaration, and underdeclaration of expenses by candidates. There is
clearly a lack of transparency in the election funding. Part of the
explanation lies in the lacunae in the law, and part in black money and poor
enforcement.
Brief history:
 In 1964, the Santhanam Committee warned of the corrosive effects of

collusion between businessmen and politicians.
 In 1969, Parliament amended the Companies Act and imposed a total
ban on corporate giving to political parties. But the government did
not provide an alternative financing mechanism such as state
funding. This effectively pushed campaign finance underground.
 Moreover, the ban spurred the rise of individuals and organizations,
especially those with criminal backgrounds, who had access to
Page | 29
unaccounted money and were thus sought after by parties for their
ability to discreetly aggregate and distribute cash.
 In 1985 government once again legalized corporate giving, but
corporate contributions largely remained under the table.
Why do we need reforms in poll funding?
 Campaign funding reforms are needed to prevent a few wealthy

individuals or corporate houses from buying up candidates or
parties.
 The major share of funding comes from the voluntary contribution
from unnamed sources.
 Elections are an important part of representative democracy. Any
corruption at this stage will lead to institutional corruption.
 Nonexpenditure ensures defeat but high expenditure does not
necessarily bring success. This poses an entry barrier to Ethical
politics and prevents good people from entering politics.
Legal loopholes:
 The Representation of Peoples Act (RP Act) only covers expenditure

by individual “candidates”, and not by political parties (Section 77).
 The travel expenses of star campaigners of political parties are
exempt under the RP Act, 1951. Thus clever accounting can allow
parties to attribute large amounts of expenditure to their star
campaigners and hence, avail of the exception under the Act.
 ECI’s transparency guidelines do not have the statutory backing and
there is no legal consequence for noncompliance.
 There is no regulation of the manner of raising and spending funds.
Accounts of political parties are not in the public domain for scrutiny
by the people.
Currently, political parties are required to report any donation of over Rs. Page | 30
2,000 to the IT department. Earlier this limit was at Rs. 20,000. The recent
Budget reduced the disclosure limit to Rs. 2,000.
State Funding of Elections
 At present, there is no direct subsidy by the state.

 The partial inkind subsidy, in the form of free air time on state
owned electronic media to parties based on their past performance,
is allocated.
 Further, political parties are supplied with free copies of electoral
rolls and identity slips of electors.
Following table summarizes the pros and cons of state funding of elections.
Pros Cons
1. There is a possibility of
1. Political parties, through undermining the
voluntary associations of independence of the parties
individual citizens, are due to their financial reliance
performing the vital on the exchequer and can be
public function of sustaining especially problematic for new
democracy. And for parties.
performing such 2. The State funds should be
public function of great utilized for the welfare and
importance, they need to be common good of the people
financed from public funds. and not for the benefit of a few
2. Contributions to such funds of following political pursuits.
political parties from State 3. State funding would result in
coffers would make them less increased capacity of
dependent on private the political parties to spend
contributions, which on election campaigns making
mostly come from big the elections even costlier.
industrial houses and 4. It would encourage the
industrial houses on quid mushroom growth of parties
pro quo basis and this would as such grants would be a Page | 31
serve a great public cause and great incentive for even non
interest of removing serious and
corruption. frivolous organizations to call
3. Even the parties with themselves as political outfits.
modest financial resources 5. The Central and
may be able to compete with State Governments are facing
those having higher resources, a severe financial crunch and
on a level playing field and State funding would be an
with a fair chance of success. additional financial burden on
them.
Various opinions on state funding of elections:
 In 2001, the NCRWC concurred with the 1999 Law

Commission report that the question of permitting state funding
should not even arise without an effective systemic acceptance of full
audit of party funds including a full audit of campaign funds, a
foolproof mechanism to deter expenditure violations.
 2nd ARC’s Report on “Ethics in Governance” recommended partial
state funding of elections to reduce the scope of illegitimate and
unnecessary funding of elections expenses.
 255th report of Law Commission of India opinioned that complete
public funding of elections or political parties in India is not
a practical option; instead, indirect state subsidy is a better
alternative.
The opinion of the election commission on state funding:
“Commission does not believe that is going to help because it is not the money
which is accounted for, but the black money we are fighting against. In fact,
we feel that if there is state funding, the money that the candidate will save Page | 32
will probably go into the notorious envelope that would be slipped under the
door. What is the guarantee that after state funding, all illegal and devious
ways of spending money will disappear? Most of the money spent goes
directly to buy votes not for campaigning. So state funding may not be
useful”.
Electoral bonds:
An electoral bond is a bearer instrument like a promissory note that is

payable to the bearer on demand and free of interest. It can be purchased
by any citizen of India or a body incorporated in India.
Every party that is registered under section 29A of the Representation of

the Peoples Act, 1951 and has secured at least one percent of the votes
polled in the most recent Lok Sabha or State election are eligible to receive
funding through the electoral bonds.
Why is it important?
 Today, most political parties use the lax regime on donations to

accept cash donations from anonymous sources. According to the
Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), Nearly 70 percent of the
Rs. 11,300 crore in party funding over an 11year period came from
unknown sources.
 The electoral bonds will prompt donors to take the banking route to
donate, with their identity captured by the issuing authority.
 There will be a banking trail of the donations which will be made.
Concerns and criticism on electoral bonds:
 The amendment in section 29 C of the Representation of the People

Act, 1951 making it no longer necessary to report details of
donations received through electoral bonds is a retrograde step as Page | 33
transparency of political funding would be compromised.
 The bank would have the KYC of the donor and the recipient because
the bond can only be encashed through an official account of a
political party. The ruling dispensation at the Centre would be at an
advantage. If it so wishes, it can dig out who is funding whom on
some national security pretext or the other.
 There is no level playing field for new political parties. It is because
only recognized political parties with a minimum one percent vote
share can be a recipient.
The Centre’s electoral bond scheme for funding the poll expenditure of
political parties is at best a partial solution to the electoral funding reforms.
Other developments:
While the government introduced electoral bonds to bring in transparency

in election funding, it also got the Parliament to approve two key
amendments to the Companies Act.
 The first amendments removed the limit of the percentage of profits

that a company could donate to political parties. This limit, which
was originally 5 percent but had been raised to 7.5 percent, was
completely removed.
 The Companies Act 2013 requires that a company making donations
to political parties shall disclose “particulars of the total amount
contributed and the name of the party to which such amount has
been contributed” in its profit and loss account. The second
amendment removed this requirement of disclosing the name of the
political party. Now a company making a donation to a political party
will not need to disclose the name of the party.
Some suggestions: Page | 34
 Separate the financial activities of the political parties from the

decisionmaking and other processes.
 Differentiate between political and legal accountability, and
mechanisms to achieve both.
 Bring political parties under the Right to Information Act as far as
Financing is concerned.
But, for any reform to see the light of the day, all political parties must
willingly support it. Otherwise, it will remain a topic of debate only.
References
1. http://www.pib.nic.in/newsite/feacontent.aspx?relid=104029
2. http://indianexpress.com/article/india/politics/raiseelection
expensesbar3050ectotellgovt/
3. http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/theresilience
ofbriefcasepolitics/
4. http://lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/reports/Report255.pdf
5. https://www.thequint.com/voices/opinion/electoralbondsworst
fearscometrue
6. http://www.newindianexpress.com/opinions/editorials/2018/jan/
06/electoralbondswontbringtransparency1745926.html
FREE SPEECH: RIGHTS & LIMITS
Introduction:
Page | 35
Article 19(1) (a) of the constitution, guarantees the citizens a right to

freedom of speech and expression. But the subsequent clause, Article 19(2)
empowers the state to impose “reasonable restrictions” on such a right
under the following circumstances:
 In the interests of sovereignty and integrity of the country

 In the interests of the security of the state
 Friendly relations with foreign states
 Public order
 Decency or morality
 In relation to contempt of court
 Defamation or incitement to an offense.
In response to the different situations like demand for a separate Sikh

homeland in the north and Dravida Nadu in the south, the government had
increased the grounds to impose reasonable restrictions. For example,
 The 1st amendment (1951) empowered the government to impose

reasonable restrictions on the freedom of speech on the ground “in
the interests of the security of the state”.
 The 16th amendment in 1963 permitted the government to impose
restrictions on free speech “in the interests of the sovereignty and
integrity of India”.
Why is freedom of speech important?
 Free speech is essential to democracy and it acts as a bulwark against

the tyranny of the rulers and majority.
 The hallmark of a thriving democracy is not only to raise important
and fundamental questions, but also to objectively question
stereotypes and prejudices.
 Free speech encourages new ideas, inventions etc.
Page | 36
 It is inseparable from the mission of higher education. Today’s
universities are racked with debates on diverse issues. It is argued
that free speech is the best way to acquire knowledge about the
world.
Freedom of speech and expression needs to be protected fully. But, there is

no protection for defamatory speech, or for expression that is obscene or
likely to ignite a riot or provoke a fight. It is for this reason that states are
empowered to put “reasonable restriction” on free speech.
Reasonable restriction:
 The state has imposed reasonable restriction under various laws and
sections like Section 124A of IPC, Contempt of court Act etc.
What constitutes ‘reasonableness’?
In the Shreya Singhal case, the court noted that both the substantive and
the procedural aspects of the restrictive law should be examined to
determine if it is a reasonable restriction on speech.
The substantive test of reasonableness means examining whether the

statute is understood in the narrowest possible terms. If instead, the
statute can extend its purview to inhibit speech by finding a large amount
of innocent and protected speech offensive, it will be void as an
unreasonable restriction.
When considering the procedural reasonableness, a court has to examine

whether a punishment is reasonable for an offense, which is committed to
exciting disaffection with an intention to create disorder or incite violence,
irrespective of whether what was attempted actually occurred.
How to ensure that restrictive laws are not misused?

Page | 37
In penal law, vague and ‘overbroad’ definitions of offenses often result in
mindless prosecutions based merely on the wording of the act that seems
to allow both provocative and innocuous speeches to be treated as
equally criminal. Some suggestions reduce the misuse are,
 All speechrelated offenses should be made bailable offenses; this

would lessen the harmful impact of using arrest and custody as a way
of harassment.
 The offenses should be made noncognizable so that there is at least a
judicial check on the police acting on the basis of politically
motivated complaints.
 In the case of hate speech, it is important to raise the burden of proof
on those who claim that their sentiments are hurt rather than accept
them at face value.
 It is crucial that courts begin to take action against those who bring
malicious complaints against speech acts.
Different dimensions of free speech:
Sedition (Section 124A of IPC)
Section 124A of the IPC defines sedition and says: (i) whoever by words
either spoken or written or by signs or by visible representation or
otherwise brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, the
government established by law; or (ii) whoever by the above means excites
or attempts to excite disaffection towards the government established by
law, has committed the offence of sedition.
The punishment prescribed varies from imprisonment up to three years to
life imprisonment, with fine or without it.
Civil rights activists, student leaders, cartoonists, writers, actors, and poets
are bearing the brunt of whimsical registration of sedition cases. According Page | 38
to the NCRB report, in 2017, thirtyfive cases of sedition were filed. But, the
government managed only two convictions.
Why is sedition law wrong?
 The word ‘sedition’ is not mentioned in Article 19(2).

 The word sedition appeared in Article 13(2) of the draft constitution
but was deleted during the discussion in the constituent assembly.
Therefore, the sedition is not a ground for restricting speech under
Article 19(2) of the constitution, as the framers expressly deleted it.
 The law criminalizes any act that “excites disaffection”, irrespective
of whether it instigates violence. Such a law is detrimental to free
speech and does not belong in a democracy.
 Section 124A of the IPC is a colonial law and was meant to suppress
the voice of Indian people. It has no place in a modern democracy.
Supreme Court judgments:
In Kedarnath Vs State of Bihar (1962) the Supreme Court said, “Citizen has
a right to say or write whatever he likes about the government, or its
measures, by way of criticism or comment, so long as he does not incite
people to violence against the government established by law or with the
intention of creating public disorder”. In other words, a person can be
charged with sedition only if there is an incitement to violence in his
speech or writing or an intention to create disorder.
Some legal experts are of the opinion that, by not striking down the section
124A, Supreme Court brought it within the purview of Article 19(2), which
allows legislative restrictions on speech in the interests of ‘public order’ by
reading in a requirement that the alleged acts include mere intention or
tendency to create disaffection.
Recently, the Supreme Court asserted that “making a strong criticism of the
government” is not even defamatory, let alone seditious. Page | 39
Defamation:
The objective of the defamation law is to protect the reputation, dignity,

honor or character of individuals against unjustified attacks or slanders.
As the law stands, defamation is both a civil wrong and a criminal

offense. In a civil action, a person may be sued for monetary compensation
while a criminal wrong can invite imprisonment up to two years. With the
former being an effective enough remedy, the latter needs to be repealed.
Arguments against defamation law:
 This is a strong weapon in the hands of private parties—whether

corporations or politicians—to stifle critical speech.
 Defamation cases often involve the grant of “injunctions”—i.e., a
court order requiring that the allegedly defamatory material not be
published or distributed until the end of the legal
proceedings. Criminal defamation also undermines public interest by
coercing the media to observe selfcensorship and selfrestraint.
 Reputation as part of one’s right to life under Article 21 is not
absolute. Right to reputation should not be at the cost of freedom of
speech. Free speech is necessary because it enables the media to hold
governments and individuals accountable.
 Having both a civil and criminal remedy for the same injury forces an
already overburdened judiciary to respond to the same matter twice.
Defamatory acts that may harm public order are covered by Sections
124, 153 and 153A, and so criminal defamation does not serve any
overarching public interest.
 Criminal prosecution in India can be incredibly harassing and
intimidating, and thus it is an ‘unreasonable’ restriction.
Arguments in support of defamation law:

Page | 40
 It protects reputation which is the person’s ‘estimation in the eyes of
the general public’. It is necessary for social stability.
Possible solution:
 Decriminalizing defamation will bring the IPC in accord with Article

19(2), ensuring that the means used to discourage defamation do not
end up damping legitimate criticism.
Online trolling:
Trolling is the act of provoking people without the intention of adding

anything of value to the conversation.
Anonymous profiles, on the social media, very often descend to trolling.

Beyond a point, it involves comments which are insulting, abusive, laced
with profanity and even contain threats of violence.
Anonymity and free speech:
 Anonymity in social media has widened the base of people

commentating and participating in India’s public debates.
 The American Civil Liberties Union thinks that “encryption and
anonymity are modern safeguards for free expression” while Human
Rights Watch argues that “the ability to speak anonymously” is
crucial for “human rights defenders, journalists, and vulnerable
minority groups”.
Internet anonymity is crucial for free speech but abusive anonymous trolls
have become major irritants. Anonymous speech is hardly insulated from
criminality.
The Supreme Court’s quashing of Section 66A, that had earlier made the
posting of, ‘grossly offensive or menacing character’, punishable act, ended
the brief attempt at controlling the offensive comments.
Page | 41
References:
1. http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist
explains/2015/11/economistexplains11
2. https://thewire.in/62725/isthereanyplaceforseditionina
democracy/
3. http://indianexpress.com/article/india/indianewsindia/strongsc
reminderonseditionlookforincitingviolencenotcriticismof
govt/
4. http://www.livemint.com/Sundayapp/rmuG3eK2nvEODMuD069ch
O/Theslowmarriageoffreespeechanddefamation.html
5. https://scroll.in/article/734716/internetanonymityinindia
encouragestrollsbutitsalsonecessary
FREQUENT PROMULGATION OF ORDINANCE
Concept in brief:
An ordinance is a temporary law passed by the executive to meet an

Page | 42
emergency that necessitates immediate legislative action.
 Article 123 of the Constitution vests the power to issue an ordinance

with the president and Article 213 with the governor of a state.
 The only condition laid down by the Constitution is that there should
be circumstances necessitating immediate action and that Parliament
should not be in session.
 An ordinance has the same force and effect as an Act of Parliament.
 In India, these powers are the legacy of the British Raj and
Government of India Act, 1935. Neither the United States nor the
United Kingdom confers such powers on the executive.
 The apex court has said that the president or the governor is free to
decide whether such circumstances indeed exist to issue ordinances.
Members of the Constituent Assembly were apprehensive about giving the

executive ordinancemaking powers. Both H.N. Kunzru and K.T. Shah called
for restricting these powers through greater legislative oversight.
Reasons for frequent ordinances:
 The frequent disruptions of Parliament have created a situation

where crucial bills are held up. The disruption of Parliament blocks
all legislative work of the government. After disrupting the Houses
and blocking the passage of bills, one cannot turn around and say
that issuing ordinances is undemocratic.
 The government may use the ordinance route to break through the
logjam in Parliament and demonstrates its focus to push reforms and
development.
 When the government has no required number in Rajya Sabha to
pass the bill it may resort to the ordinance to break the logjam.
 Governments are increasingly avoiding constructive engagement
with the opposition because the option of legislating through the
Page | 43
ordinance is available to them.
How it violates the spirit?
 Between 1952 and 2017, nearly 700 ordinances were promulgated

by the president to meet ‘emergency’ situations.
 The bank nationalization ordinance was promulgated just two days
before the convening of Parliament.
 The record of governors in promulgating ordinances is far more
depressing. Many ordinances were repromulgated several times. For
example, Bihar has the record of promulgating 50 ordinances in one
day.
The above points make it clear that an ordinance is an undemocratic route

to lawmaking, which is the primary job of the legislature.
 The power to promulgate an ordinance is essentially a power to be

used to meet an extraordinary situation and it cannot be allowed to
be perverted to serve political ends.
 If the executive were permitted to continue the provisions of an
ordinance in force by adopting the methodology of repromulgation
without submitting to the voice of the legislature, it would be a
usurpation of the lawmaking function of the legislature by the
executive.
 Frequent promulgation ordinances also violate the principle of
separation of powers. It amounts to subversion of the democratic
process.
 While ordinances have the same effect as laws, their promulgation is
not preceded by debates and does not reflect the will of the nation.
Further, an ordinance has a short life as it lapses automatically six
weeks after the reassembly of Parliament.
Judgments on the promulgation of ordinances:

Page | 44
 Judiciary has held that the executive’s motive for promulgating an
ordinance is not open to judicial review, as courts cannot look into
the motive for passing a legislative act.
 The motives of the legislature in passing a statute are beyond the
scrutiny of courts. It is a settled principle because it is difficult to
describe a single, clear motive for the enactment of a law to the entire
legislative body. Thus, an ordinance cannot be invalidated on the
grounds of either nonapplication of mind or ulterior motive.
 Courts have uniformly held that the power of the President and the
Governors to issue ordinances is in the nature of an emergency
power. In A.K. Roy vs Union of India and R.C. Cooper vs the Union of
India, the Supreme Court said that ordinancemaking power was a
legislative power given to the President and was not similar to the
exercise of his executive powers. As such, ordinances are also “law”
under Article 13.
 In D.C. Wadhwa Vs State of Bihar (1986) the Supreme Court
judgment declared that it was the “constitutional duty” of the public
to approach the court against repromulgation of ordinances in a
massive scale as a routine measure. The Supreme Court held the
power to promulgate an ordinance is essentially a power to be used
to meet an extraordinary situation and cannot be allowed to serve
political ends.
 The judgment held that the apex court can adjudicate if the re
promulgation subverted the democratic process.
Former President Pranab Mukherjee on Ordinances:

 Former President Mukherjee had questioned the traditional wisdom
of opposition parties that extracting an assurance or concession
across the floor by willfully obstructing proceedings is part of a
legitimate exercise of parliamentary duties.
Page | 45
 It is often the combination of stubbornness on the part of the
Treasury Benches and the Opposition’s obstructionist tactics that
lead to a legislative impasse and, further, to the promulgation of
ordinances.
In summary:
The frequent promulgation of ordinances may be the government’s way of

showing seriousness about its agenda of development. But it also exposes a
weakness. That is the inability of the government in skillfully managing the
floors of the parliament to get bills passed.
Issuing ordinances become unacceptable when ordinances are rarely

brought before the legislature but are reissued again and again.
So when the executive starts abusing its power to issue ordinances, the
judiciary could set it right. An ordinance is certainly inferior to legislation
and thus cannot have the same protection from judicial review. The
president’s “satisfaction” that an ordinance is warranted by an emergency
should be reviewable.
References:
1. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/ajointsittingmaybe
toughifrajyasabhafreezesexperts/article6799272.ece
2. http://www.prsindia.org/theprsblog/?p=3088
3. https://indiankanoon.org/doc/170984/?type=print
4. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/thepresidents
counsel/article6808920.ece
5. http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/whennotto
usepower/
6. http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/itsno Page | 46
ordinanceraj/
FULL STATEHOOD TO DELHI: SHOULD IT BE GRANTED OR NOT?
Concept in brief:
The National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCTD) is not a fullfledged State.

Page | 47
Schedule I of the Constitution lists Delhi as a Union Territory (UT). NCTD
occupies a unique position among the UTs in the Constitution. It has its
own elected legislature and council of ministers. NCT is headed by the
lieutenant governor.
Constitutional provisions:
 The 69th amendment (1991) changed the status of Delhi from a Union
Territory to a National Capital Territory. Article 239AA of the
constitution of India provides for an elected government with
legislative and coextensive executive powers.
 But in comparison to other states, as per Article 239AA (3) (a), three
key jurisdictions of the state list – public order, police, and land – are
not within the purview of the Delhi government.
 Further, Article 239AA(3)(b) makes it amply clear that despite
giving this power to the Delhi State Assembly, it does not derogate
from the power of Parliament to make a law on any subject. In case of
a conflict, the law passed by the Delhi Legislative Assembly would
prevail if the President gave assent to such a law.
 Thus, unlike other states, Delhi is not a “full state” because it does not
have jurisdiction over these three areas.
The root of conflict:
 The legal structure envisages two constitutional authorities for Delhi:

the elected Chief Minister of Delhi and the Lieutenant Governor (LG),
the appointee of the central government. Unlike the governors, there
is no explicit recognition that the LG too had to act upon the aid and
advice of the Council of Ministers.
 New Delhi municipal council is headed by a chairman, who is
appointed by the central government.
Page | 48
 Delhi Development Authority (DDA) comes under union Urban
Development Ministry.
 Delhi police come directly under the Ministry of Home Affairs,
Government of India.
This situation creates a multiplicity of authority. This delays the

development work and also results in a lack of accountability.
Source: https://thewire.in
Arguments supporting full statehood:
 In a federal system, state governments should have clearly defined

spheres of influence when compared to the national government.
 In a study of governance in national capitals, the Observer Research Page | 49
Foundation notes that no other large national capital globally has
such limited governance mandate than the NCT of Delhi has. The
study found that even Washington D.C., the most constricted national
capital in their analysis, has more functional autonomy than Delhi
with the municipal police directly overseen by the city mayor.
 Globally, the administrative changes in major national capitals such
as London, Berlin, Paris, and Mexico City have been towards granting
substantial autonomy to locally elected governments.
 Recently, Islamabad also surpassed Delhi by giving its first elected
mayor substantial control over its daytoday functions, including
that of its legacy planning authority. The only comparable large
national capital globally, with overwhelming central control, is
Beijing.
 Dual power center results in a lack of transparency and
accountability.
 The government elected by the people is subverted by
Administrative heads nominated by the Centre. By not giving full
statehood to Delhi, we are treating votes of people of Delhi as second
class in comparison to voters of other states. This violates the
principle of democracy.
Arguments against full statehood:
 A nation’s capital houses federal institutions, a diplomatic

community, and other national institutions. Therefore, an
arrangement that gives primary control over a city that serves as a
nodal center for the entire nation to a local state government is
undesirable.
 Internationally, the concept of the central government exercising
complete control over the country’s capital is the norm.
Page | 50
 Statehood would bring land allocation under the state government,
whose concern for the country’s capital would give in to satisfying
local demands. The federal government cannot be confined to a
smaller area called NDMC. Further, Delhi is located in a seismic zone,
the scope for highrise construction is limited.
 In the national capital, the protection of dignitaries and the
maintenance of public order are the highest priorities. An attack on a
Union minister or diplomat would guarantee an ‘unsafe’ tag not just
for Delhi but the country. So union government should have control
over Delhi police.
Some of the recommendations of 2nd ARC on the administration of Delhi:
 The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), including the

appointment of the Commissioner and other functionaries, should lie
in the domain of the Government of the National Capital Territory
(GNCT). However, the appointment of the Commissioner should be
made by the GNCT in consultation with the Union Government.
 In order that the Union Government retains its overarching role over
the delivery of municipal services in the National Capital Territory,
some provisions of the existing Act should remain unchanged. For
example, Provisions dealing with building regulations, exemptions to
the diplomatic missions etc.
 The Mayor of the MCD should be directly elected by popular mandate
through a citywide election. The term should be for five years.
 The composition of the DDA needs to be changed. The Chief Minister
of Delhi should be the Chairperson of this body in place of the Lt.
Governor.
 The Union Government may retain control over the broader aspects
of security and law and order whereas traffic, local policing and
enforcement of the special laws could be handed over to the Delhi
Government.
Page | 51
The recent judgment of the Supreme Court:
Recently, the constitution bench of the Supreme Court in the Government

of NCT Delhi Vs Union of India case held that apart from issues pertaining
to land, police, and law and order, the elected government of the citystate
would have primacy over the Lieutenant Governor (LG).
 The court held that the LG is bound by the “aid and advice” of the
elected government.
 It also observed that Delhi cannot be accorded complete statehood
under the current Constitutional scheme.
 Court interpreted contentious provisions under the Constitution –
Articles 239 AA and 239AB – to say that LG’s concurrence is not
required in every decision taken by the council of ministers – except
on issues pertaining to land, police, and law.
 The court also upheld Parliament’s power to frame laws for Delhi on
subjects falling both under the concurrent and state lists.
An earlier Delhi high court ruling had said that the LG was the
administrative head of Delhi.
The fight between the LG and the elected government has frequently
impeded decision making in Delhi. With this ruling of the Supreme Court,
the administrative crisis in Delhi is expected to move a step closer to
resolution.
Possible solution:
The solution for Delhi is a hybrid one. The New Delhi Municipal
Corporation (NDMC), comprising areas housing the central government,
the diplomatic enclave and national institutions, should continue to be a
municipality with an elected mayor and for all practical purposes should be
designated as National Capital Area. The remaining portions of Delhi Page | 52
should be given full statehood.
But the debate will continue about whether the right balance has been
struck between the Union government’s responsibility in exercising control
over an area in which Parliament, other key central institutions, and
foreign missions are located and the democratic principle that people are
ruled by a representative government.
From the point of view of the citizens of Delhi, what matters is that systems
are transparent and daytoday work is attended to. This does not need
statehood, only good governance is needed.
References:
1. http://arc.gov.in/15threport.pdf
2. http://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/columnswhydelhi
shouldntaskforstatehood/50944/
3. https://thewire.in/58286/decodingdelhidemandforfull
statehood/
4. http://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/eteditorials/full
statehoodfordelhiminusndmc/
5. https://thewire.in/67831/unionterritoriesoutcastsofdemocracy/
6. https://www.hindustantimes.com/delhinews/scruleslieutenant
governorboundbydelhiselectedgovtbutsaysbothpartiesmust
workoutdifferences/storyzntnvYDVf9GRLNACwe8QaK.html
INTERSTATE WATER DISPUTES: FOCUS ON CAUVERY WATER
DISPUTE
Introduction:
Page | 53
With the increasing threat of drought and climate change, the number of
states in India sparring over water will increase.
There are water conflicts between different states in the country. Some of
them are,
 The one between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over the sharing of
the Krishna and Godavari waters.
 Then there is a conflict between Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi.
 Recently there has been a conflict between Karnataka and Goa over
the sharing of the water of the Mahadayi River.
 Similarly, there has been increasing tension between Odisha and
Chhattisgarh over the sharing of the waters of the Mahanadi.
 Most important is Cauvery water dispute between Karnataka and
Tamil Nadu.
Why there is an increase in interstate water disputes?
 There will be greater stress on natural resources like water, land, and
forests when the states are aiming to achieve growth rates of 8%
10% through the industrial route. Water will be diverted from
agriculture and rural areas to industries and urban areas impacting
the lives and livelihoods of rural people.
 Water conflicts are also symptoms of larger issues in the governance
of water resources. Many of our mega projects, whether big dams, or
diversions or interlinking schemes, does harm to the longterm
viability and sustainability of the water resource, as environmental
and ecological concerns are neglected.
Legal redressal:
 The InterState Water Disputes Act, 1956, provides for the

constitution of a water disputes tribunal to resolve interstate water
disputes. Page | 54
 Once a tribunal is constituted, the Act bars the Supreme Court from
intervening in the adjudication process.
 Another legal window for interstate water dispute redressal is the
River Boards Act of 1956. However, this has never been used in India
because of resistance from the states.
Since both the InterState Water Disputes Act and River Boards Act have
not been able to resolve conflicts for various reasons, a constitutional
review committee set up in 2000 recommended that water is shifted to the
concurrent list so that the Union government could make decisive
interventions in case of a dispute. However, there are many in the water
sector who believes that this will not help solve interstate water conflicts
either.
Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2017:
The Centre has proposed the InterState River Water Disputes

(Amendment) Bill, 2017 for early and amicable resolution of disputes.
 The Bill proposes that the Centre notify an InterState River Water
Disputes Tribunal with multiple benches.
 All existing tribunals dealing with interState water disputes would
stand dissolved on the date of establishment of this tribunal.
 Disputes already settled by an existing tribunal, prior to the date of
commencement of the 2017 Amendment Act, shall not be reopened.
 When an interstate water dispute arises, the union government shall
set up a Disputes Resolution Committee consisting of expert
members from relevant fields to resolve the dispute amicably. If the
dispute remains unresolved, the Centre will refer the matter to the
tribunal.
 The total time period for adjudication of a water dispute would be a
maximum of four and a half years. The decision of the Bench of the
Page | 55
tribunal shall be final and binding.
Cauvery water dispute
Brief history:
 The Cauvery dispute started in the year 1892, between the Madras
Presidency and the Princely state of Mysore when they had to decide
on dividing the river water between the two states.
 After India attained Independence, a Fact Finding Committee was set
up in 1970 to figure out the situation on the ground.
 Later in 1986, Tamil Nadu government appealed the Central
government to constitute a tribunal for solving the issue under Inter
State Water Disputes Act, 1956.
 However, the tribunal was not setup until the Supreme Court took
cognizance of the matter and ordered the Central government to do
so in 1990. The Cauvery Waters Tribunal was constituted on June 2,
1990.
 After 16 years of hearing and an interim order, the Tribunal
announced its final order in 2007 allocating 419 tmc ft water to
Tamil Nadu and 270 tmc ft to Karnataka. Kerala was given 30 tmc ft
and Puducherry got 7 tmc ft.
 After the declaration of the final award in 2007, the contending states
had the liberty to go back to the tribunal with a review petition for a
supplementary award. However, they approached the Supreme Court
instead.
Since the InterState Water Disputes Act bars the intervention of the
Supreme Court after the constitution of the tribunal, the apex court should
have directed the petitions to the tribunal instead of admitting these
petitions.
Page | 56
Changing land use pattern along Cauvery basin:
 Deforestation across the basin has contributed to a reduction in

rainfall, soil erosion, and flooding, with hundreds of thousands of
trees being decimated to make way for plantations, urban
construction, and agriculture.
 In the place of forests, plantations of waterhungry trees such as
eucalyptus and acacia are further reducing the water table.
 In the districts surrounding the Cauvery, rampant sand mining has
altered the natural topography of the river, eroding its banks,
widening the river, and altering water flow patterns.
 Rapid urbanization has converted fertile agriculture, forests, and
wetlands into concreted areas that are unable to retain rainwater or
channel them into tributary streams that feed the Cauvery.
 A large number of dams across the river contribute to a significant
decrease in the river’s capacity for water storage. Siltation in dams
and connecting river channels has reached alarming proportions.
 Industries along the Cauvery and its tributaries send large volumes of
polluted water that, far from being of use to farmers, destroy their
land beyond redemption. The toxic sludge from industrial effluents
builds up on the river bed, further reducing its capacity for storage.
Changes in agricultural patterns:
 Widespread changes in farming and agricultural patterns exacerbate

the problem. Once an area of millet cultivation, the Cauvery basin has
transformed into a location for the cultivation of highyield paddy
and sugar cane, both waterintensive crops.
 There needs to be a redesign of the farming system, keeping in mind,
in particular, the water requirements of the crops planted after the
onset of the southwest monsoon.
 Farmers need better alternatives and greater state assistance in
Page | 57
facilitating explorations of alternative cropping strategies, including
an examination of a possible return to millet farming, or to multi
cropping of vegetables, or even to the development of more water
efficient varieties of paddy.
Recent Supreme Court verdict:
The Supreme Court recently delivered its verdict in the Cauvery water
dispute.
 The court ordered the Karnataka government to release 177.25 tmcft

of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu from its interstate Biligundlu dam.
 The judgment clarified that Karnataka will now have an enhanced
share of 14.75 tmcft water per year. As per the 2007 award of the
Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal (CWDT), Karnataka had a share of
270 tmcft of Cauvery water. This will now increase to 284.75 tmcft.
 Tamil Nadu will get 404.25 tmcft, which will be 14.75 tmcft less than
what was allotted by the tribunal in 2007.
The union government constituted the Cauvery Water Management

Authority in compliance with a Supreme Court order to address the water
dispute involving the states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and
Puducherry.
In summary:
As climate change makes its impact visible, we are going to face many more
seasons of drought and points of conflict. It is important that we think long
term and in a coordinated fashion across the basin. We need to find ways to
recharge the rivers, increase the inflow of water and the efficiency of water
use, and clean up hotspots of pollution.
For this, we must take up afforestation along the river on a war footing,
move to waterefficient cropping, limit industrial pollution of rivers, ban Page | 58
excessive sand mining, and limit the growing consumption of water for
cities and towns along the river. This requires conversation and
cooperation across the basin, not reactive conflict.
References:
1. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/columns/Whentheriver
weeps/article14410581.ece
2. http://indianexpress.com/article/india/indianewsindia/cauvery
waterdisputeallyouneedtoknowkarnatakatamilnadu
3016736/
3. http://www.asianage.com/columnists/cauverydisputeresolution
sight931
4. https://scroll.in/article/816715/whatdoesthecauverywater
conflictteachus
5. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/awater
umpire/article19595609.ece
JUDICIAL ACTIVISM AND JUDICIAL OVERREACH
Introduction:
Indian constitution confers the power on courts to strike down laws made Page | 59
by Parliament and state legislatures if such laws are violative of provisions
of the constitution. But there are many instances, where courts have gone
beyond their mandate. Some call it ‘Judicial activism’ and others term it as
‘Judicial overreach’.
Judicial activism and judicial overreach are not easy concepts to define.
They mean different things to different individuals.
‘Judicial activism’ is when courts do not confine themselves to reasonable

interpretations of laws, but instead create rules and laws. On the other
hand, excessive judicial interference with executive action is called ‘judicial
overreach’.
From 1979, the judiciary led by the Supreme Court in India became
relevant to the nation in a manner not contemplated by the makers of the
Constitution and became an active participant in the dispenser of social
justice.
Arguments against judicial activism/overreach:
 Judges assume the role of independent policy makers that go beyond

their traditional role as interpreters of the Constitution and laws.
 It enables unelected judges to put a stop to the will of the people

expressed through their elected representatives. In the words of
Thomas Jefferson, it is "the despotism of an oligarchy."
 In a democracy, the remedy for a malfunctioning legislature and

executive must come from the people, not the judiciary.
 There is a broad separation of powers under the Constitution, and
the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary must respect each
other, and must not ordinarily encroach into each other's domain.
Argument in support of judicial activism/overreach: Page | 60
 ‘Judicial overreach’ is the direct result of legislative as well as

executive neglect or inaction: Poor and dilatory performance, not
only in the making of laws but also in their implementation.
 In India, every law, every action of officers of State and of public
bodies is within the reach of the courts’ ample jurisdiction under
Articles 32 and 226 of the Constitution. There is, therefore, no
judicial ‘overreach’.
Some instances of judicial activism and overreach:
An area of judicial activism has been social and economic policymaking.
 From the case of the pollution around the Taj Mahal to air pollution
in Delhi, the judiciary has been virtually setting policy on critical
issues of the environment.
 The ban on smoking in public places ordered by the Supreme Court
was another instance of activism.
 The order drafting detailed rules for the protection of women from
sexual harassment in the workplace was another instance of
activism.
Many of these orders were based on creative legal reasoning that read into
the right to life such rights as the right to a clean and unpolluted
environment and the right to a life with dignity.
Because they always brought about desired outcomes, they were generally
applauded by the public. More important, they have underlined the failures
of the executive and the legislatures.
But, the Supreme Court’s directions to check air pollution in Delhi not only
violate the delicate balance of power enshrined in the Constitution but are
also problematic because the judiciary has neither the expertise nor the
resources to perform these functions.
Page | 61
There are many instances of judicial overreach. Some of them are,
 The Supreme Court took away the constitutionally conferred power

of the President of India to appoint judges after consultation with the
Chief Justice and appropriated this power in the Chief Justice of India
and a collegium of four judges. In no Constitution in the world, the
power to select and appoint judges is conferred on the judges
themselves.
 The Supreme Court has made an order even in a military operation.
In 1993, the Court issued orders on the conduct of military
operations in Hazratbal, Kashmir where the military had as a matter
of strategy restricted the food supplies to hostages. The Court
ordered that the provision of food of 1,200 calorific values should be
supplied to hostages.
Judicial restraint:
The concept of judicial restraint is the polar opposite of judicial activism.

Judicial restraint is particularly important for the Supreme Court for
several reasons:
 Of the three organs of the state, only one, the judiciary, is empowered
to declare the limits of the jurisdiction of all three organs. This great
power must, therefore, be exercised by the judiciary with the utmost
humility and selfrestraint.
 The errors of the lower courts can be corrected by the higher courts,
but there is none above the Supreme Court to correct its errors.
 Judicial restraint not only recognizes the equality of the other two
branches of the judiciary, it also fosters that equality by minimizing
interbranch interference by the judiciary.
 Judicial restraint tends to protect the independence of the judiciary.
Page | 62
When courts encroach onto the legislative or administrative fields,
almost inevitably voters, legislators, and other elected officials will
conclude that the activities of judges should be closely monitored.
In summary:
The emergence of unstable coalition governments, the decline of

Parliament and criminalization of Indian politics have helped judicial
activism. The electronic media also played an important role in
strengthening this phenomenon by building public opinion in its favor.
Armed with the favored public opinion, the courts have become the first
port of call for all problems. For example, Olympic medalist Sushil Kumar
had moved the Delhi high court to help him make the cut for Rio Olympics
2016, but the court had rightly refused to interfere.
As the National Commission to Review, the Working of the Constitution

observed, "Constitutional adjudications have an inevitable legislative
element. But then, they need great wisdom and restraint on the part of the
judges in wielding the high power for fear that they erect their own
prejudices into principles."
References:
1. http://www.hindustantimes.com/analysis/judicialoverreachits
theorderoftheday/storya24UnXJ2AST3aAxqnES39H.html
2. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/Disturbingtrendsin
judicialactivism/article12680891.ece
3. http://www.thehindu.com/2005/04/29/stories/200504290106100
0.htm
4. https://thewire.in/17470/weneedcleanairbutspareusthe
judicialoverreach/
5. http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/lPqfldPjTc9t4aBYupFZKK/The Page | 63
judiciaryisshiftingthebalanceofpower.html
JUDICIAL APPOINTMENT: COLLEGIUMS VS NJAC
Background:
 Article 124 of the Constitution provides that the President shall Page | 64
appoint judges to the Supreme Court after consultation with such of
the judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts in the States
as the President may deem necessary for the purpose. And, where the
appointment is of a judge other than the Chief Justice of India, the
President is mandatorily required to consult the Chief Justice.
 Article 217 provides that the President shall appoint judges to the
High Courts’ after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, the
Governor of the State, and in case of appointment of a judge other
than the Chief Justice, the Chief Justice of the High Court concerned.
Article 124 came up for interpretation for the first time in 1981.
 In SP Gupta Vs President of India, (First Judges Case), the SC ruled

that the recommendation made by the CJI to the President can be
refused for “convincing reasons”. This judgment tilted the balance in
favour of the executive.
 In the Supreme Court AdvocatesonRecord Association vs Union of
India case (Second Judges Case, 1993) the majority verdict held that
the CJI be given the “primal” role in appointments. It led to the
creation of the collegium system.
 In the Third Judges Case, 1998, the Supreme Court laid down 9
guidelines for the functioning of the panel for appointments and
transfers. This has established the present form of the collegium.
Through the Second and Third Judges Cases, the Supreme Court
appropriated the power to appoint judges. Now the Indian judiciary has
become an institution that decides on its own composition, with the
existing judges empowered to shape future courts. This has made the
Indian judiciary perhaps the most powerful in the world.
Arguments in favour of Collegium:

Page | 65
 Collegium was necessary to step against “court packing” of the
judiciary by the executive.
 It helped in maintaining the independence of the judiciary. It
safeguards the judges from executive favouritism.
 Judges in the collegium will be familiar with the institutions of High
Courts and know HC judges better in the matter of discharge of duty.
So they know better whom to elevate, transfer etc.
Arguments against the Collegium:
 Collegium was created by the judiciary itself. The creation of

collegium is not backed by the constitution.
 There is a lack of transparency and accountability under the
collegium system. It is inherently secretive. Due to this, there are no
checks or balances on the judiciary.
 Choosing judges based on undisclosed criteria in largely unknown
circumstances has led to an increasing democratic deficit.
 Collegium also did not rise above their religion, caste, gender,
language, family, friends and other affinities.
 Many of the deserving judges were not elevated to Supreme Court.
The case of justice A.P. Shah can be cited as an example. On the other
hand, some nondeserving candidates were appointed to the higher
judiciary.
 Collegium system has also damaged the federal character of our
judiciary. The true federalism as per the Constitution was provided
only in the judicial system. Our high courts are in no way subordinate
to the SC.
 Since appointments to the apex court are now in the hands of the five
seniormost judges of the apex court, the incentive for dissent in the
high court has been lost.
National judicial Appointment commission: Page | 66
The 99th amendment to the Constitution inserted three new Articles —

124A, 124B, and 124C with the objective of providing a “meaningful role to
the judiciary, executive and eminent persons to present their viewpoints
and make the participants accountable while also introducing transparency
in the selection of judges.”
 Under Article 124A, the NJAC has six members of whom three are
judges — the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and two seniormost judges.
The remaining three are the Union Law Minister and two “eminent
persons” who are to be appointed by the Prime Minister, the Leader
of the Opposition and the CJI.
 Article 124B prescribes the duties of the National Judicial
Appointments Commission.
 Article 124C enables Parliament to empower the commission to
make regulations for selecting judges and for “other matters.”
The National Judicial Commission suggested by the Venkatachalliah

Committee, was a fivemember body consisting of three senior most
Supreme Court judges, the Union Minister, and one eminent person.
The judiciary has acknowledged the deficiencies of the collegium system

but the alternative, the NJAC, has been rejected in a clear expression of lack
of confidence and faith in the political class to protect the independence of
the judiciary.
There are some areas which need immediate attention.

 Vacancies in the Supreme Court and in the High Courts’ need to be
filled up. Most High Courts are functioning with half or one third
the sanctioned strength.
 Persons of doubtful integrity who might have been appointed by
Page | 67
the mistake of the Collegium have to be weeded out.
Arguments in favor of NJAC:
 Appointments to higher judiciary cannot be left to the whims and

fancies of the collegium of the day.
 The criteria for selecting judges must be delineated. Considerations
for appointment to the higher judiciary are numerous and go beyond
the minimum criteria prescribed in the Constitution. These must be
predetermined.
Why was NJAC opposed?
 While the 99th Constitution Amendment Act aimed at creating a space

for the new NJAC, its composition and voting pattern are designed
not by the amended Constitution, but by a statute, namely the NJAC
Act. In other words, NJAC was vulnerable to statutory amendment by
a simple majority in Parliament.
 Article 124C is most sinister and enables Parliament to empower the
commission to make regulations for selecting judges and for “other
matters.” Thus, constitutional provisions and safeguards can easily
be thwarted by regulations framed by the commission.
 Section 5(2) of the NJAC Act, 2014 prescribed “any other criteria of
suitability as may be prescribed.” Thus, additional criteria not
mentioned in the Constitution can be added for High Court judges.
 Section 6(4) of the NJAC Bill envisaged consultation with seniormost
judges and eminent advocates in the High Courts. But their opinion
was not binding on the NJAC.
NJAC judgment has raised some important questions:
 Are parliament and more than 20 states not equal to 5 judges? The
Constituent Assembly, in the Preamble to the Constitution, made it
clear that the people of India will be the sovereign of the Indian Page | 68
Republic. The most important structure of the Constitution is
parliamentary democracy and Parliament represents the will of the
sovereign.
 The ability of the two ‘eminent persons’ to veto any appointment
flowed not from the 99th Constitutional Amendment but the NJAC Act.
Therefore, it defied logic to render the entire amendment invalid
solely because of this provision.
Memorandum of procedure
Presently, Judiciary and executive are working out alternative methods for
judicial appointment through ‘Memorandum of Procedure’. The Supreme
Court Collegium is engaged in exhaustive consultations to finalize the long
pending Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for the appointment of judges.
References:
1. http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/collegiumsystem
supremecourthowjudgesareappointedandtransferredthe
debatearoundit4375719/
2. http://www.thehindu.com/todayspaper/tpopinion/afatally
flawedcommission/article6327057.ece
3. http://www.thehindu.com/2005/04/29/stories/200504290106100
0.htm
4. http://www.thehindu.com/todayspaper/tpopinion/an
anticonstitutionaljudgment/article7820337.ece
5. http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/njacwasthe
peopleswill/
KASHMIR UNREST
Introduction:
The year 2016 saw unrest in Kashmir, aftermath killing of Hizbul

Page | 69
Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, a homegrown militant. He was
credited with mobilizing a new generation of the disaffected in Jammu and
Kashmir. The unending cycle of violence in the Kashmir Valley started
especially after the killing of Burhan Wani, is a cause of worry for the
central government. The Valley is witnessing largescale unrest and more
youths are joining the militancy.
Several reasons have been cited for the unrest in the valley. Some of them
are,
 The absence of a political dialogue

 The lack of economic opportunities
 Frustration due to high unemployment
 Excessive militarization of the public space
 Human rights violations by the security forces.
Some security experts like, former National Security Adviser M.K.

Narayanan opinioned that the current phase of unrest in Kashmir is a
“homegrown” popular uprising which cannot be blamed on Pakistan or
outsiders.
On the other hand, the separatists scuttled the efforts of union and state
governments to bring normalcy to the Kashmir Valley. For example,
Hurriyat conference and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) called for
a strike to protest against the killing of Wani. Even now, a “protest
calendar” is being issued every week (with varying effect) by Hurriyat
leaders.
Government response:
The government refused to hold talks with the separatists/ protestors,
though a delegation of members of parliament met separatist leaders/
protestors.
Indian security forces trying to control the Kashmiri agitators have used Page | 70
pellet guns, which led to a high number of casualties including permanent
eye injuries. This to some extent further escalated the situation.
Faced with an attacking mob, policemen are bound to perceive a sense of

siege. But it is imperative that any response should be measured and never
grossly disproportionate to the cause of action.
Recent developments:
The union government has appointed Dineshwar Sharma as interlocutor, to

hold talks with individuals, groups, and organizations in Jammu and
Kashmir.
 Since the state came under governor's rule in June 2018, the role of
interlocutor is in a limbo. In the absence of a government in the state,
people who had earlier engaged with interlocutor have now refused
to hold any dialogue with him.
 Even the civil rights groups, common people, and separatists are
reluctant to engage with him, as he is former Intelligence Bureau
chief.
 In one of his reports to the Centre, Dineshwar Sharma flagged the
trust deficit among Kashmiris and how the recent developments in
the state had put a brake on his attempt to engage with shades of
opinion, including separatists.
 Security analysts are of the opinion that the role of the interlocutor
could soon become redundant under governor's rule, with the Centre
perceived to be following an ironhand policy.
Earlier, the Union government had declared a conditional ceasefire in
Jammu and Kashmir during the holy month of Ramzan.
Possible solution:
Page | 71
Continued repression is likely to intensify the alienation of the Kashmiri
people from India, and could also foster a revival of armed resistance in
Kashmir and beyond.
So many experts have suggested development along with giving more

political voice to the grievances of the Kashmiri people. In this regard
implementation of the report of interlocutors (submitted in 2012) on
Kashmir is very important.
Some of the important recommendations in the report are,
 The interlocutors recommended that a Constitutional Committee

(CC) should be set up to review all the central Acts that have been
extended to the state of Jammu and Kashmir since 1952. The CC
should review whether, and to what extent, the application of central
acts to the state has led to an erosion of the state’s special status.
 Central laws shall only be made applicable to the state if they relate
to the country’s security or a vital economic interest, especially in the
areas of energy and water resources.
 The word ‘Temporary’ in Article 370 should be replaced with
‘Special’ which has been used for certain states such as Assam,
Nagaland, and Andhra Pradesh.
 Separate Regional Councils for Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh should
be created and certain legislative, executive and financial powers
should be devolved to them.
 An expert committee to review the state’s financial needs should be
constituted.
 The central government should tap the hydroelectricity potential of
the state. Till date, only 15 percent of the potential has been
harnessed. Additional hydroelectricity projects should be
established for which the central government should meet the entire
Page | 72
equity capital.
 A financial package of incentives on the pattern given to the North
Eastern States should be given to the state.
 The hilly, remote areas should be declared as special development
zones.
In order to fulfill these recommendations, the Interlocutor’s Group

proposed the following roadmap:
 The ‘stone pelters’ and political prisoners against whom no serious

charges have been framed should be released.
 There should an amendment and review of the Armed Forces Special
Powers Act, 1990 and the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act,
1978.
 The state policy should provide for the return of Kashmiri Pandits.
 A judicial commission to supervise the identification of bodies buried
in the unmarked graves should be established.
References:
1. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/Thenewabnormalin
Kashmir/article16695599.ece
2. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/Calmingthe
Valley/article14483514.ece
3. http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toieditorials/kashmir
unrestcentremustengageinsustaineddialoguewithall
stakeholders
4. http://www.prsindia.org/theprsblog/?p=1657
5. https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/questionmarkon
interlocutorroleinjk244337
Page | 73
MEDIA FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBLE REPORTING
Introduction:
In India, freedom of the press has been treated as part of the freedom of
Page | 74
speech and expression guaranteed by Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court in Brij Bhushan Vs State of Delhi (1950) and Sakal
Papers Vs Union of India (1962) held that freedom of the press is part of
the fundamental right of speech and expression as enshrined in the
Constitution.
However, reasonable restrictions can be placed on this right, in the interest

of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state, public
order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, defamation
or incitement to an offence.
Hence, freedom of the media is not an absolute freedom.
Why is freedom of press important?
 Media is considered as the fourth pillar of democracy and has the

responsibility of delivering the truths or facts to form correct and
responsible public opinion.
 In countries like India, the media have a responsibility to fight
backward ideas such as casteism and communalism and help the
people fight poverty and other social evils.
 They help to keep an eye on working of the state organs and thus
bring transparency and accountability to their working.
 Free flow of information and ideas, is an essential democracy. For a
proper functioning of democracy, it is essential that citizens are kept
informed about news from various parts of the country and even
abroad, because only then can they form rational opinions.
In India, the media have informed the people about the tremendous
poverty in the country, the suicide of farmers in various States, the honor
killings in many places by Khap panchayats, corruption, and so on. For such
responsible reporting, the media deserves appreciation.
Page | 75
Issues in media reporting:
The media have a great responsibility to see that the news they present is
accurate and serve the interest of the people.
Some of the critical issues in media reporting are,
 Sometimes the media present twisted or distorted news that may

contain an element of truth but also an element of untruth. The media
should avoid giving any biased news, and avoid sensationalism and
‘yellow journalism’.
 If the media convey the false news that may harm the reputation of a
person or an institution, it may do great damage since reputation is a
valuable asset for a person/institution. Even if the media
subsequently correct a statement, the damage done may be
irreparable.
 Another issue is that of paid news. Paid news involves someone
paying a newspaper and getting something favorable to him
published. Editors have a great responsibility in curbing this practice.
 Next issue is that of media trial. Media comments on subjudice cases.
These are delicate issues as many of the cases involve the question of
life and liberty and should be carefully considered. After all, judges
are human beings too, and sometimes it may be difficult for them not
to be influenced by such news.
 Often the media places too much emphasis on frivolous news such as
those concerning the activities of film stars, models, cricketers and so
on while giving very little prominence to much more important
issues that are basically socioeconomic in nature.
An assessment of press freedom in India:
As per the World Press Freedom Index 2018, published by the Reporter’s
Without Border (Reporters Sans Frontières, RSF), India stood at 136 in a
list of 180 countries. Page | 76
Describing the state of press freedom in the country, RSF stated, “with
Hindu nationalists trying to purge all manifestations of “antinational”
thought from the national debate, selfcensorship is growing in the
mainstream media and journalists are increasingly the targets of online
smear campaigns by the most radical nationalists, who vilify them and even
threaten physical reprisals”.
 The report noted that government was using prosecutions to gag

journalists who are overly critical of it, by invoking various sections,
including sedition charges. No journalist has so far been convicted of
sedition, but such a threat encourages selfcensorship.
 Coverage of regions that the authorities regard as sensitive, such as
Kashmir, continues to be very difficult. The foreign reporters are
barred from the region and the Internet is often disconnected there.
 The physical violence against journalists is largely responsible for
India’s low ranking. At least three of the journalists murdered in
2017 were targeted in connection with their work in India. The RSF
cited the case of the killing of journalist activist Gauri Lankesh who
was shot down outside her house in Bengaluru in September 2017.
Regarding the global situation, the report noted that “more and more
democraticallyelected leaders no longer see the media as part of
democracy’s essential underpinning, but as an adversary to which they
openly display their aversion”.
Another important issue is ownership. There needs to be complete

transparency and media houses can’t function as an extension of a business
empire. Without a wall separating the media business, freedom of the press
can be compromised. The nature of money and ownership is, at least in
part, responsible for the decline and direction of the media.
Regulating the media: Page | 77
At present, the Indian business of news/media is a largely selfregulated

consortium. Though this informal selfregulation helps in protecting media
from excessive government regulation and safeguarding freedom of the
press, it adds the risk of media falling prey to priorities and practices which
could be contrary to public interest or as well be a threat to national
security.
The press wields a unique power of impacting public opinion and plays a
vital role in democracy. This power, however, must be exercised in tandem
with other democratic values.
Freedom has many components and is rarely absolute in a democracy. This

is because democracy may itself be thought of as a system for reconciling
competing freedoms.
The need of the hour is the legislation in the media business space, which
will protect the freedom of the press under and will also prevent media
sector from impinging on the freedoms and rights of citizens of India and
acting against public interest or national security in any manner.
Freedom is important, so is responsibility.
References
1. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/Mediaandissuesof
responsibility/article13059658.ece
2. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/freedomofthepressand
journalisticethics/article2071551.ece
3. http://www.governancenow.com/views/columns/debating
freedompressexpression
4. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/indiasrankinginpress
freedomfallsto138reporterswithoutborders5151340/
5. https://www.thequint.com/voices/opinion/pressfreedomday Page | 78
indiasleadingnewsmenhowfreeisourmedia
MUSLIM PERSONAL LAW: POLYGAMY/ TRIPLE TALAQ
Introduction:
Most contentious of the Muslim personal laws are ‘Triple talaq’ and
Page | 79
‘polygamy’. These personal laws governing marriage, inheritances etc are
based on sharia law and these are considered as discriminatory against
women. This is one of the main reasons for a plea for reforming Muslim
personal laws and to bring in Uniform civil code.
What are the drawbacks/ misunderstandings in Muslim personal laws?
 Many merely permissive provisions of traditional Muslim law,

including on polygamy and unilateral divorce, are unjustifiably seen
as scriptural mandates.
 Many are inconsistent with the constitutional provisions and other
laws enacted by the parliament. For example, under Muslim personal
law, marriage is permitted between a boy and a girl who have
attained “bulugh (puberty)”. The earliest this could happen is about
age 12 and nine, respectively. Prohibition of child marriage act 2006
does not permit this.
 Some of the personal laws are misinterpreted by the religious leaders
as these are not codified. For example, The Quran permits polygamy
subject to the impossible condition that the husband is able to deal
“justly with his wives”. But such preconditions are often ignored.
 There are many who contend that instant divorce is not allowed and
that the triple talaq has to be spread over a specified time period,
during which there are two opportunities to revoke it. Only the
articulation of the third makes it irrevocable. It should be possible for
the court to test these practices for compliance with the Constitution.
Are personal laws sacrosanct?

 Many practices governed by religious tradition are at odds with the
fundamental rights guaranteed in the Indian Constitution.
 Muslim personal law can claim the protection of Article 25 only if it is
established that marriage, inheritance and the other areas it covers
Page | 80
are “essential and integral parts” of Islam.
 Crucially, Article 25(2) (a) permits the state to regulate or restrict
“any economic, financial, political or other secular activity which may
be associated with religious practice”.
Thus, the legal point is very clear: whenever there is a contradiction

between personal law and parliament enacted a law, the latter will prevail.
The underlying principle of reforming personal laws should be that
constitutional law will override religious law in a secular republic.
Various judgments related to triple talaq:
Since its inception in 1972, the Muslim Personal Law Board has opposed
every legislation and judicial precedent which goes against the traditional
understanding of Muslim law on the ground of interference with religion.
Shah Bano case (1985) was to decide on Muslim women’s postdivorce

rights. Muslim religious leaders believed that women’s postdivorce rights
were extremely restricted under their professedly divine law. The Muslim
Personal Law Board said that the CrPC, 1973 could not be applied to
Muslims due to a conflict with the personal law. SC ruled that the CrPC law
was in tune with true Islamic law.
Agitated that vested interests had projected it as a death knell for the
personal law, Muslims demanded “corrective” legislation. The government
enacted the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986.
The passage of the Act reversed a Supreme Court judgment that granted
maintenance to divorced Muslim women.
The constitutional validity of the 1986 act was challenged before the SC. In
Danial Latifi, 2001, the SC decisively ruled for all time that Shah Bano had
not been superseded by the act; it must, in fact, regulate its implications
and application.
Page | 81
On triple talaq, courts have adopted the view (Shamim Ara, 2002) that
Islam does not sanction divorce without reason or any attempt at
reconciliation, and that talaq would not be valid unless some conditions are
fulfilled.
A plea was filed by Shayara Bano (2016) challenging the validity of the
‘triple talaq’ under the Muslim personal law. She has sought direction to the
government and others to declare that the "practices of talaqebidat, nikah
halala and polygamy under Muslim personal laws as illegal,
unconstitutional" and being violative of the fundamental rights guaranteed
under the articles 14, 15, 21 and 25.
In Shayara Bano case (August 2017) the Supreme Court held that the
Muslim practice of triple talaq unconstitutional. The Court said triple talaq
violates the fundamental rights of Muslim women as it irrevocably ends a
marriage without any chance of reconciliation.
But the dissenting minority judgment in the Shayara Bano case upheld the
validity of triple talaq, saying that talaqebiddat is an integral part of the
Sunni community and has been practiced for a 1000 years.
The Supreme Court asked the government to bring legislation to govern

marriage and divorce in the Muslim community.
Judgments related to polygamy:
In March 2018 the Supreme Court agreed to examine the constitutional

validity of practices like polygamy, nikah halala, nikah misyar and nikah
mutah among Muslims.
 While polygamy allows a Muslim man to have four wives, nikah
halala deals with the process in which a Muslim woman, in order to
remarry her former husband, has to marry a different person and get
divorced from him.
Page | 82
The petitioners told the Supreme Court that the Nikah mutah and nikah
misyar are temporary marriages for “pleasure”. A man by considering the
woman an object of man’s desire and by practising nikah halala, nikah
mutah, nikah misyar and polygamy causes gross affront to the dignity of
women.
They also contended that the practice of triple talaq, polygamy, and nikah
halala are violative of Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution and
injurious to public order, morality and health.
These issues had not been addressed by the Supreme Court in its August
2017 order, in the Shayara Bano case, that abolished triple talaq.
Both issues – polygamy and triple talaq in Islam have long been
controversial within and outside the community.
Comparison with personal laws of other religions:
Nevertheless, discrimination against women pervades even modern

codified Hindu laws.
 Marriage Act has been made for Hindus on which Supreme Court
observed once that instead of uniting it breaks families. On rare
occasions, the continuation of the Hindu Undivided Family property
is perceived as its main lacuna. In contrast, a Muslim marriage has
always been a civil contract—a view later adopted by continental and
English laws.
 Much was made of a Census study on marriage and polygamy, which
showed that the incidence of polygamy (usually bigamy) was, in fact,
greater among Hindus than Muslims. Moreover, such wives had no
rights under the reformed Hindu law, unlike the rights available to
Muslim women under polygamy.
The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Bill, 2017 – Page | 83

Salient features:
 This Bill makes instant triple talaq or talaqebiddat a punishable

offense. It follows the Supreme Court judgment in the case of Shayara
Bano Vs The union of India.
 The bill states that any pronouncement of talaq by a person upon his
wife, by words, either spoken or written or in electronic form or in
any other manner whatsoever, shall be void and illegal.
 A man who pronounces talaq on his wife will be punished with a jail
term and a fine.
 This Bill also makes the pronouncement of talaqebiddat a non
bailable offence.
 The woman upon whom talaq is pronounced will have to receive an
allowance from her husband, and she retains custody of her children.
The legislation will help in ensuring the larger Constitutional goals of

gender justice and gender equality of married Muslim women and help
subserve their fundamental rights of nondiscrimination and
empowerment.
In summary:
 In innumerable cases, courts have given secular laws precedence

over personal laws and religious codes. For example, Muslim women
are entitled to maintenance beyond the iddat (roughly three months)
period.
 One way to reform personal laws is to enact specific legislation,
which will apply to women uniformly across communities. For
example the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005.
The more the state takes over the task of social reform, the less likely it is to Page | 84
emerge from within the society. Religious traditions often respond to
external interventions by growing more conservative and resisting reform.
Further, attempts by the state at a “social revolution” only weaken the

efforts of social reformers who belonged to various communities.
From Shah Bano to Shayara Bano case, the focus has been on gender
friendly reforms of Personal Laws. With changing times, the need has
arisen for having a Common Civil Code for all citizens, irrespective of
religion, ensuring that their fundamental and constitutional rights are
protected.
References
1. http://www.thehindu.com/todayspaper/tpopinion/Personallaws
andtheConstitution/article15621434.ece
2. http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/foralltheshah
banos/
3. http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/5pwNnS5hmjm4iOtnsvWo0M/U
niformcivilcodeOnenationonelaw.html
4. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/WhynotaCommonCivil
Codeforall/article14491018.ece
5. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/whatistheinstant
tripletalaqbill/article22296008.ece
6. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/supremecourtbars
tripletalaqfor6monthsuntilparliamentlegislateson
issue/articleshowprint/60170130.cms
7. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/tripletalaqillegalnowsc
bigbenchtolookatpolygamynikahhalala5112282/
Page | 85
NATIONALISM VS REGIONALISM
Concept in brief:
Page | 86
Nationalism in Europe came to be associated with the formation of nation

states. It also meant a change in peoples understanding of who they were,
and what defined their identity and sense of belonging.
Indian nationalism sought to balance the principles of unity and diversity.

The nation would not mean the negation of the region. In this sense, the
Indian approach was very different from the one adopted in many
European countries where they saw cultural diversity as a threat to the
nation.
India adopted a democratic approach to the question of diversity.

Democracy allows the political expressions of regional aspirations and does
not look upon them as antinational. Besides, democratic politics allows
parties and groups to address the people on the basis of their regional
identity, aspiration and specific regional problems. Thus, in the course of
democratic politics, regional aspirations get strengthened. At the same
time, democratic politics also means that regional issues and problems will
receive adequate attention and accommodation in the policymaking
process.
Such an arrangement may sometimes lead to tensions and problems.

Sometimes, the concern for national unity may overshadow the regional
needs and aspirations. At other times a concern for region alone may blind
us to the larger needs of the nation. Therefore, political conflicts over issues
of power of the regions, their rights, and their separate existence are
common to nations that want to respect diversity while trying to forge and
retain unity.
Why regionalism?
The region is always interpreted on the basis of geography, culture and so

on. It is also linked to state, political parties, leaders, and other institutions.
Page | 87
 The citizens of nationstate demand recognition for the separate
region due to marginalization, feeling of alienation from the larger
spectrum of the state, lack of access to resources, absence of dignity
and so on.
 Regionalism can be a form of resistance against the imposition of a
particular cultural ideology that is linked to the integration of a
nation.
 State formation on the basis of language also gave rise to some
conflicts. For instance, the Tamil resistance against the Hindi belt
shows the conflict related to languages.
Advantages of regionalism:
 Regionalism plays important role in nation building by giving voice to

regional aspirations.
 It helps in preserving local culture and identity and thus helps in
maintaining the diversity of culture in India.
 Politically regionalism helped in bringing democracy closer to the
people.
Disadvantages of regionalism:
 Regionalism is seen as a threat to the unity and the integrity of the

nation.
 It is believed that regionalism promotes loyalties to a particular
region than to a nation.
 Regional imbalances in development combined with regionalism
often take violent expressions. Eg: Attack on migrant workers.
Advantages of nationalism:
 Nationalism is helpful in keeping the country sovereign.

 It helps to achieve economic prosperity.
 Nationalism enables the country to face the economic and political Page | 88
crisis effectively.
 It leads to political unity and stability.
Disadvantages of nationalism:
 Aggressive nationalism leads to racism.

 It encourages Colonialism and Imperialism.
 International cooperation takes a backseat due to aggressive
nationalism.
Nationalism vs patriotism:
Nationalism is a more complex idea and is subject to manipulation by those

in power and those who can influence. It is more about stressing unity on
basis of common cultural traits – like language and heritage.
Nationalism has often been criticized by great minds as something that

breeds hatred and violence for its noncompromising nature and poses
threat to peace and coexistence.
Patriotism, on the other hand, is a more passive idea of love and admiration
for one's own country, its identity, and values. Patriotism has a moderate
take on internationalism but nationalism only believes in backing one's
own identity as the best.
Useful resources:
1. Politics in India since Independence, Textbook in political science for

Class XII, Chapter 8 (http://ncert.nic.in/ncerts/l/leps208.pdf)
2. http://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/3780/1/MWG002
B3U2.pdf
3. Regionalism Vs Nationalism (24/01/17), discussion on Loksabha TV,
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0G_KBF1TH88)
Page | 89
NGOS AND DEVELOPMENT/ CRACKDOWN ON NGOS
What are NGOs?
The term ‘NGO’ is used to describe a body that is neither part of a

Page | 90
government nor a conventional forprofit business organization. NGOs are
typically set up by groups of ordinary citizens and are involved in a wide
range of activities that may have charitable, social, political, religious or
other interests.
As per the article 19 (1) (c) of the Constitution of India, citizens have the
right ‘to form associations and unions’ subject to reasonable restrictions in
the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the
state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order etc.
NGOs in India:
 In India, NGOs can be registered under a different Acts such as the

Indian Societies Registration Act, 1860, Religious Endowments Act,
1863, Indian Trusts Act, etc.
 NGOs may receive funds from abroad, provided, they register
themselves with the Home Ministry under the Foreign Contribution
(Regulation) Act (FCRA). Without this, no NGO can receive cash or
anything of value higher than Rs 25,000.
 Charitable donations are eligible for tax exemption, with the
condition that it should not be for benefit of any religious community
or caste, among other conditions.
 India has the largest number of active NGOs in the world, but no
specific number is available. A government study put the number of
NGOs in India at around 33 lakh. That is one NGO for less than 400
Indians.
The power that NGOs wield has increased concurrently with the increased
demand for real and operational democracy.
Why are NGOs important?

Page | 91
 In a democracy, a citizen has a right to dissent without fear of
victimization — as long as such dissent does not lead to
unconstitutional action. In a democracy, nongovernmental
organizations provide a platform to civil society to dissent in an
informed and reasoned manner.
 They provide a mechanism for the citizens to keep a check on those
who are in positions of power.
 NGOs have played a critical role in developing better modes of
service delivery and institutionbuilding at the local level.
 Worldwide, NGOs are helpful in implementing government schemes
at the grassroots. In India, ministries such as Health and Family
Welfare, HRD, WCD, and MoEF have separate sections to deal with
NGOs.
 In India, many important reforms like, the system of declaration of
assets by those who are contesting elections, the Right to Information
Act etc have brought in as a result of the initiatives of different NGOs.
Why crack down on NGOs?
 Many of the NGOs are perceived as antidevelopment. It is said that

many NGOs work for stalling development projects along with
agitations against nuclear power plants, uranium mines, coalfired
power plants and hydel projects.
 The opposition to several development projects by a number of NGOs
will have a negative impact on the economic growth by two to three
percent.
 It is also alleged that many NGOs receive funds from abroad to
oppose developmental works, especially in the mining and power
sector. For example, the IB report alleged Greenpeace expanded its
activities to oppose coalfired power plants and coal mining and
received Rs. 45 crore from abroad in the last seven years.
 The IB report suggested that the activities of some notforprofits
Page | 92
account for a 2 to 3 percent loss in the GDP. (How the loss has been
calculated is uncertain).
Do we need a new legislation to regulate the non-profit sector?
An NGO gets tax breaks the Income Tax Act when it gets registered with the
government. When an NGO gets funding from the Government, it is public
money. So there are reasons to make NGOs accountable.
 Noting that NGOs get “mindboggling” funds and it has become a

major problem, the Supreme Court recently said it will consider
asking the Law Commission of India to bring an effective law to
regulate the flow of money to more than 30 lakh NGOs functioning in
India.
 Noting that less than 10% of 33 lakh NGOs file their audited accounts
regularly, the government had framed guidelines requiring NGOs and
other voluntary organizations to register with NITI Aayog for
accreditation to receive public funds.
What is needed is not just a law to regulate NGOs, but a comprehensive

reform of the entire nonprofit sector.
Some suggestions in this regard:
 The role of an NGOs regulator should be to effectively secure

compliance with the laws of the land in a fair, transparent and
nonpartisan manner, free from political influence to enhance public
trust and confidence in both the regulator and the NGOs.
 It should make the regulatory process as simple and costeffective as
possible.
 The regulator should have adequate autonomy and integrity in its
operation and the capacity to educate the public.
 The law should be able to meet the needs of an evolving society.
NGO Law in Cambodia: Page | 93
Cambodia’s National Assembly unanimously passed the Law on

Associations and NonGovernmental Organizations (LANGO).
 The government said the law is necessary to prevent international

terrorist groups from using Cambodia as a base for their operations.
 The provision on mandatory registration will criminalize the
activities of groups that fail or refuse to register with the
government.
 Registered local associations must commit to being politically neutral
or else they will face penalties and lose government accreditation.
But critics contend it is a repressive legal tool that will undermine citizens’
constitutional right of political participation.
NGOs Vs Local Self-governments:
Some policymakers are of the view that NGOs must cede the space to local
selfgovernment.
 NGOs have played a critical role in development at grassroots levels

in the 1980s and 1990s.
 For many years, NGOs faced criticism that they were taking over the
role of the state in providing basic services.
 Post decentralization through 73rd and 74th amendments, citizens’
are empowered to run their own affairs at the local level.
 Granting rights to citizens have empowered them to engage with the
state and expand the spaces of policy formulation, implementation
and holding representatives of the state both the politicians and
bureaucrats to account.
 In the context of changing role of states in the sphere of
developmental administration, NGOs that positioned themselves as
Page | 94
the representatives of the unrepresented citizens have to cede the
space to the 3 million democraticallyelected Panchayati Raj
institution members across the country.
 These are 3 million men and women, in leadership positions in their
community, who people can hold to account for the delivery of basic
services.
In summary:
True democracies celebrate the involvement of citizens, deepen it at every

level and make consultation a habit. The government should work hard to
include and protect civil society and NGOs rather than Crackdown.
The government has to work with the NGOs with mutual trust and share
responsibility. While regulating the activities of NGOs, it should be ensured
that their initiatives which are constructive and in the interest of the
country, are not overregulated.
References:
1. http://indianexpress.com/article/india/indiaothers/explained
lensonngos/
2. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/NGOshavetoregister
withNITIAayogforgrants/article14504884.ece
3. http://indianexpress.com/article/india/indiaothers/foreignaided
ngosareactivelystallingdevelopmentibtellspmoinareport/
4. http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/DkMZr8Py1U3jZzOeFxn2PI/Wh
ythetraditionalmodelofNGOleddevelopmentmustend.html
5. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/Theimportanceof
dissentindemocracy/article11640706.ece
6. http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/firstofficialestimatean
ngoforevery400peopleinindia/643302/
7. https://thewire.in/politics/ngofcralegalreform Page | 95
8. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/howindia
treatsitsngos/
DALIT ASSERTION AND POLITICS OF RESERVATION
Introduction:
From countrywide protests after the suicide of Rohith Vemula in

Page | 96
Hyderabad Central University to the agitation against the ‘dilution’ of the
SC/ST Act, Dalit politics is on the boil in India.
Dalits are, now, asserting for their Fundamental Rights which are given to
them by the Indian Constitution.
Reasons for atrocities against Dalits:
 The religious and social roots of violence are the main factor
for atrocities. The dominant castes tend to reinforce the hierarchical
castebased power structure and suppress Dalit rights
assertions. The Dalit assertion is being resisted by the upper caste
and that has been leading to atrocities.
 There are also economic reasons behind the atrocities against Dalits.
The Dalits are being empowered economically through education and
ownership of land and capital. Attempts by Dalits to secure equal
rights are being countered with violence and economic boycott.
 The access to justice for Scheduled Castes is abysmally low.
 There is a lack of empathy on the part of the administrators, police
and other authorities that tend to carry their biases and this is also a
big mindset problem.
Some suggestions to reduce discrimination/ crime against Dalits:
 The strict enforcement of the law, particularly, the Scheduled Caste &
the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
 Intercaste marriages should be promoted. Even today the honour
killings take place which is a matter of shame.
 Promoting nonusage of the surnames, because they identify a person
by his or her caste.
 Proper implementation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
SubPlan.
Page | 97
 The policies that encouraged the growth of enterprises have
practically bypassed the Dalits. The recent initiatives such as stand
up India, to encourage Dalit enterprise through loans are welcome.
Efforts to promote Dalit capitalism through bodies such as Dalit
Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry could be one solution.
Views on economic and political empowerment:
Many social scientists have questioned the belief that economic

advancement of Dalits can reduce crimes against them.
 Far from being a solution, this could be a trigger for more crimes
against Dalits. Economic advancement alone will not diminish the
psychic traumas of caste; it may actually create more conflict.
 The empowerment of these groups rather than becoming a
celebration of justice becomes a sign of a fatal concoction of guilt and
loss of power. For example, the inequality between Dalits and others
is lower than the national average in Rajasthan, the state with the
highest proportion of crimes against Dalits. Punjab, which sees the
highest inequality between Dalits and others, has fewer crimes
against Dalits.
 If better economic means is to promote the status of Dalits in the
society, then it should also reflect in increasing political
representation. The constitution provides for mandatory reservation
of seats for Dalits and tribals in the Lok Sabha and state
assemblies. However, the representation of Dalits in addition to this
mandated quota is very low. Often Dalits are not given tickets by
major political parties from unreserved seats.
Reservation for Dalits
Why reservation?
 Education and employment through reservation is a major source of

Page | 98
upward mobility for Dalits.
 Reservation is a necessary remedy for discrimination against Dalits.
Reservations combined with economic opportunities and social
empowerment of Dalits could stem atrocities against them.
Challenges:
 Privatisation — both education and employment— has narrowed the

sources of Dalit empowerment. Selective discrimination has blocked
the entry of Dalits in private jobs.
 Recently, the government opened 10 joint secretary level posts for
lateral entry. This may dilute the reservation policies.
 The state had instituted reservations, but it had forgotten to remind
its citizens why reservations policies were put in place. As a result,
reservations remained under persistent threat and a new stigma had
been invented for Dalits.
Some contentious issues:
 The present criterion for reservation is “socially and educationally

backward classes” and reservation is denied to other backward
classes such as the “economically” backward classes. It also raises a
dispute as to who should be called “socially” backwards.
 There is also a dispute with regard to the percentage of the
reservations.
Supreme Court held that caste could not be the sole determinant of the
backwardness of a class. New practices, methods, and yardsticks have to be
continuously evolved moving away from the castecentric definition of
backwardness. Social backwardness is a distinct concept that emerges from
multiple circumstances ranging from the social and cultural, to economic,
educational and even political.
Reservation for other castes: Page | 99
In recent times, India has been witnessing agitations for reservations by

communities like the Jats in Haryana, Patidars in Gujarat and Marathas in
Maharashtra.
 One characteristic that is common to these communities is that they

are considered as dominant communities because of their higher
caste ranking. At the same time, they are economically vulnerable.
Why there is a demand for reservation by dominant castes?
 The earlier insistence on quotas being for the weak or the

incompetent has been abandoned.
 The communities which benefited from the liberalization and
globalization have overwhelmingly been the upper and dominant
castes. The new avenues opened up by the liberalization and
globalization were cornered by those who were able to take
advantage of the new opportunities — namely, those with the English
language and technical skills. Thus not all members of these groups
benefited from new opportunities.
In support of extending the reservations:
 The provision of reservations to upper castes would reinforce the

continuation of existing reservations for Dalits.
 It helps to reduce the stigma associated with reservations.
Arguments against extending the reservations:

 It dilutes the rationale for the provision of reservations since the
reservations are an instrument against the discrimination suffered by
historically marginalized groups.
 Extension of reservations will encounter legal hurdles.
Page | 100
 Affirmative action has been the predominant mechanism to bring
together the elite, and marginalized groups in decisionmaking
positions. As the role of the state shrinks so does the redistributive
potential of affirmative action. The new quota rush by other
communities ends up eroding this already limited entitlement for
Dalits and Adivasi people.
Views on extending reservation to other communities (Justice P B Sawant,

former Supreme Court judge)
 Article 16(4), which permits reservations in the government services,

does not restrict them to the “socially and educationally backward
classes” but extends it to “any backward class” which does not have
adequate representation in the services. Hence, only “economically
backward class” which does not have adequate representation in the
government services, is entitled to claim reservation under that
article. It, however, appears from the court decisions that they have
restricted the definition of the “backward class” in Article 16(4) to
the backward classes mentioned in Article 15(4).
 Coming to the question of the percentage of reservations to be kept
in education and in services, the present limit of reservation is
restricted to 49 percent on the ground that reservations being an
exception to the general rule of equality, it has to be less than the
rule. It is true that the exceptions have to be smaller than the rule.
However, the question arises whether the reservations can be
considered an exception to the rule of equality. The reservations are
a means to bring equality and as such complementary to the principle
and rule of equality, and not an exception to it.
Will the extension of reservation end the agitation?
 First, if reservations were extended to upper castes, all caste groups

might still clamor to further divide the reservation benefits, with
each group fearing that other groups in their respective category Page | 101
were going to capture most of the benefits. In a laborsurplus,
employmentscarce economy, there will be enough reasons to
mobilize voters on the basis of reservationrelated demands.
 Second, the addition of upper castes would substantially diversify the
castebased coalition of reservation beneficiaries – more castes
would be invested in preserving the reservations system overall.
Together, these groups would constitute a substantial electoral
majority. Given the limited number of public sector jobs available, the
focus of this coalition would almost certainly shift to the private
sector. In other words, there is still plenty of avenues for the
reservationcentric agitations.
In summary:
Extending reservations to upper castes will not end the debate on

reservations; rather it will only change the qualitative character of the
agitation. No one will argue for the end of reservations; in fact, more people
will argue for their preservation and calls will only grow for their
expansion to the private sector.
The particular Dalit stigma associated with reservations will abate, yet
those advancing without reservations are still likely to lord their status
over others.
References:
1. http://www.livemint.com/Politics/lsViQ0UPriZXVlav9gWjpK/Why
isDalitpoliticsontheboil.html
2. https://scroll.in/article/812238/beyondunanarendrajadhavs
fouractionpointstodealwithatrocitiesagainstdalits
3. http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/dalit Page | 102
reservationdiscriminationuppercasteunaflogging3033276/
4. http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/casefor
extendingthequotajatspatidarsmarathas3729998/
5. http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/jatreservation
paidarpatelthequotakapus/
6. https://scroll.in/article/815448/adalitleadersdemandforupper
castereservationsmayappearoddbuttheresarationaleforit
RESTRICTION ON ENTRY OF WOMEN IN PLACES OF WORSHIP
Context:
The recent issues of restriction on entry of women in places of worship like

Page | 103
Sabarimala, Shani Shingnapur, and Haji Ali have once again brought the
focus on the debate ‘religious tradition versus gender equality’.
 In April 2016, the Shani Shingnapur temple, which had barred

women from entering its core area for over 400 years, allowed
women to pray inside the temple following the court’s orders.
Views against restriction on the entry:
 Preventing women from entering the places of worship goes against

Articles 14, 15, 19, and 25 of the Indian constitution, which deal with
the right to equality, the right against discrimination based on
gender, freedom of movement and freedom of religion.
 In Haji Ali case, the excluded women claimed that barring them
access to the inner sanctum of the shrine violated their fundamental
right under Article 25(1) to freely practice their religion.
 Right to manage its own religious affairs under Article 26(1) cannot
“override the right to practice religion itself”, as Article 26 cannot be
seen to overrule the right to practice one’s religion as guaranteed
under the Constitution of India.
 Restricting the entry of women into places of worship is one of the
ways of imposing patriarchy. Often the restrictions are based on
patriarchy and not religion.
 Banning entry to the temple is discriminatory since it subverts the
idea of everyone being equal to God.
Views in support of a restriction on the entry:

 In Haji Ali case, the Dargah Trust argued that since the exclusion of
women from the inner sanctum of Dargahs was mandated by Islam,
its actions were protected by Article 25(1). They also said entry of
women in close proximity to a grave of a male Muslim saint is a
Page | 104
grievous sin as per Islam.
 The Dargah Trust also claimed the right to manage its own affairs
under Article 26(1).
 Women are banned from entering the temples to preserve 'purity'.
The reason cited in Sabarimala case is that women during their
menstruation period are not supposed to enter places of worship.
Sabarimala case:
There is a ban on the entry of women between 10 and 50 years of age, into
Kerala’s Sabarimala temple.
The Supreme Court is currently hearing in the Sabarimala Temple entry

case. The Supreme Court has observed that the ban must pass the
constitutional test.
 During the hearing, the court observed that it can’t be oblivious to the
fact of the case that a class of women is disallowed due to
physiological reasons (menstruation).
 Further, the bench asked whether the practice at Sabarimala of
barring women of the age group of 1050 years from entering the
temple was an “essential and integral” practice of a religious
denomination. But the court also observed that the test should be
whether a religious practice is in accordance with the Constitution
irrespective of whether it is essential or not.
 The Amicus Curiae in the case, K. Ramamoorthy supported the
restriction on accessing the temple by menstruating women between
the ages of 10 and 50 years, as it is an ageold customary practice
rooted in ardent religious beliefs associated with the Temple.
If the Supreme Court declares that the Sabarimala temple must be thrown
open to women of all ages, it will be seen as another victory for the cause of
gender equality. But, even women who are in a position to visit the temple
might choose not to do so out of a certain regard for norms and practices.
Page | 105
Haji Ali case:
 The Haji Ali case was distinct from the Sabarimala and Shani
Shingnapur cases because women were permitted entry into the Haji
Ali Dargah sanctum sanctorum earlier. Right until 2012, women were
allowed into the inner sanctum.
 Haji Ali Dargah case represented a clash of conflicting religious
claims.
 Bombay High Court in a landmark verdict allowed the entry of
women up to the Mazar in the revered Sufi dargah (Haji Ali Dargah).
 Furthermore, the Court took note of the fact the Trust was a public
charitable trust, and that therefore, the Dargah itself was akin to a
public space, open to all without discrimination.
 In October 2016, Haji Ali Dargah Trust conceded before the Supreme
Court that it has resolved to allow women to enter the sanctum
sanctorum.
Can state/court determine the validity of religious claims?
 These issues highlight the tension between religious tradition and

the reformist impulse of the Constitution.
 Over the years, courts have intervened in religious matters backed by
Article 25(2) of the constitution.
 The courts have put in place what is known as the “essential
practices” test, used to decide a variety of cases. The court has used
this test to decide which religious practices are eligible for
constitutional protection. And to judge the extent of independence
that can be enjoyed by religious denominations.
 This test, developed by the Supreme Court in the 1950s and 60, has
been criticized as allowing secular courts to determine the validity of
religious claims.
Some important judgments: Page | 106
 In the Ananda Marga case (2004), the Supreme Court held that the
public performance of the Tandava dance was not an essential part of
the religion of the Ananda Marga sect, even though it had been
specifically set down as such in their holy book.
 In Shirur Mutt case, the Supreme Court observed that a “religious
denomination or organization enjoys complete autonomy in the
matter of deciding as to what rites and ceremonies are essential and
no outside authority has any jurisdiction to interfere with their
decision”. At the same time, the court also said that the state can
legitimately regulate religious practices when they “run counter to
public order, health and morality” and when they are “economic,
commercial or political in their character though they are associated
with religious practices”.
In summary:
 Essence is that, without the protective cover of the freedom of

religion, excluding women from access to the shrine is a clear
violation of their fundamental rights to equality (Article 14), non
discrimination (Article 15), and freedom of religion (Article 25).
 The main issue is not an entry, but equality. The religious exclusion
has a public character, and that it is not just an issue of sacred
traditions but one of the civil rights and material and symbolic
equality.
 It is unfortunate that the courts have become the arbiter of what
constitutes true religion. This situation has arisen because the Indian
state is the agent for the reform and management of Hinduism and its
institutions.
 Beliefs and customs of devotees cannot be changed through a judicial
process. The reforms should come from within the society.
Page | 107
 So long as that does not happen, we are likely to see religious issues
being repeatedly taken to court.
References:
1. http://www.epw.in/journal/2016/9/webexclusives/menstruation
purityandrightworship.html
2. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/Theequalityof
entry/article14626846.ece
3. http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/sabarimala
templewomenentrysupremecourtshirurmutt2762694/
4. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/Reformonlylefttothe
judiciary/article14003308.ece
5. http://www.livemint.com/Politics/pi85V4pabPkQReeOIJYZAO/SC
questionsrationalebehindbanonwomenatSabarimalatem.html
6. http://indianexpress.com/article/blogs/shanishingnapur
sabarimalatempleentryprotestrights/
7. https://scroll.in/article/815427/thehajialidargahdecision
deservestobecelebratedbutletsnotdrawparallelswith
sabrimala
8. http://indianexpress.com/article/india/indianews
india/transcendingtraditionalboundariesindianwomenreclaim
religiousplaces2997075/
SHOULD INDIA SPEND MORE ON SCIENCE OR SOCIAL WELFARE?
Introduction:
Page | 108
Every time when India announces some of the biggest science experiments
in the world (Like India Based Neutrino Observatory) or when ISRO/DRDO
achieves some new feats, there would be some debate on whether India
should spend so much money on scientific achievements?
In a povertystricken country is it worth spending so much money on

defence and science rather than spending on Social welfare?
Spending on science:
Apart from raising funding for the scientific experiments and

developments, Indian scientists abroad were persuaded to return through
generous fellowships. Some areas of science like nanoscience were chosen
for large investments.
As a result, India now spends as much money as most developed countries

do per researcher employed. Also, India is now sixth in scientific output in
the world.
Apart from government, rich individuals are beginning to fund science too.
For example, IISc is establishing a brain research centre with the help of Rs.
225 crore from Infosys cofounder Kris Gopalakrishnan.
But such spending on science and defence by the government as well as by

the philanthropists, have attracted criticism from some sections of the
society.
Some social indicators:

 The overwhelming majority of people living on less than 1.25 dollars
a day belong to Southern Asia and subSaharan Africa. Onethird of
the worlds extreme poor live in India alone.
 India also has one of the highest numbers of underfive deaths in the
Page | 109
world.
 Almost onethird of all global maternal deaths are concentrated in
the two populous countries — India and Nigeria. India has around 17
percent of the global maternal deaths.
Against spending on science:
 The first assumption of the critics is that spending money on

scientific research will reduce the money available to spend on social
welfare. In other words, the money that used in scientific research
could have used that to solve poverty, hunger, and nutrition etc.
 Another argument is that spending money on scientific research and
defence doesn't help in solving our basic problems like poverty and
hunger.
 Apart from overcoming the problem on which the money is spent,
social sector spending is also helpful in enhancing macroeconomic
fundamentals like higher growth, lower government debt etc.
According to a recent HSBC report, “India's quantity and quality of social

sector spending are "inadequate" by global and other emerging market
standards.” According to the report, social sector spending can play a
superior role in enhancing macro fundamentals higher growth, lower
government debt, lower inflation and more jobs.
In support of spending on science
 Spending on science is a minuscule amount compared to India’s GDP.

 Money spent on scientific and defence establishments like ISRO and
DRDO comes back as revenue. ISRO generates revenue by launching
foreign satellites. DRDO developed weapons can be exported to
foreign countries.
 There are indirect benefits like weather prediction and early disaster
warning using satellite launched by ISRO.
Page | 110
 Satellite services are used to help the farmers by providing dynamic
weather report; timely marketing information etc. satellites are also
used to help fishermen. This helps directly to solve the problem of
poverty, as a large number of people in India are dependent on
agriculture and fishing.
 Telemedicine and tele education helps in overcoming the problem of
disease burden and illiteracy.
 Remote sensing data helps in tapping natural resources such as
water, minerals, and energy in a better manner.
 Strengthening the defense helps in avoiding wars. Wars adversely
affect the society. Thus avoiding wars, directly and indirectly, helps
the country. Further, development can occur only in a peaceful
environment.
 Spending on science creates plenty of jobs for the skilled persons.
In summary:
It is not to say that spending on science is more important than spending

on social welfare. At present, India’s spending on science and defense is
negligible when compared to other countries.
Also, science and technology help in solving problems like poverty and
hunger. What is important is how we tap our scientific achievements to
solve these problems. There should not be a dichotomy between the two.
As a former president, Late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam said: “Self respect will
come when we will be selfdependent”. We need to be selfdependent in
every field.
References:
1. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/science/willindiabe
amongthetop3nationsinscienceoutputby
2030/articleshow/56429161.cms Page | 111
2. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/indias
socialsectorspendinginadequatebyglobalstandards
hsbc/articleshow/56445419.cms
SUPREME COURT JUDGEMENT ON CASTE, RELIGION IN POLLS
What is the judgment about?
The Supreme Court in January 2017 ruled that “religion, race, caste,
Page | 112
community or language would not be allowed to play any role in the
electoral process”.
 The election of a candidate would be declared null and void if an

appeal is made to seek votes on these considerations.
 An election will be annulled not only if votes are sought in the name
of the religion of the candidate but also when such an appeal hinges
on the religion of voters or candidate’s election agents or by anybody
else with the consent of the candidate.
 Supreme Court said that the secular ethos of the Constitution had to
be maintained by keeping elections a secular exercise.
The Supreme Court was examining a politically explosive question – will a

religious leader's appeal to his followers to vote for a particular political
party amount to electoral malpractice under Section 123 of the
Representation of People Act.
 Section 123(3) of the Act defines as “corrupt practice” appeals made

by a candidate or his agents to vote or refrain from voting for any
person on the ground of “his” religion, race, caste, community or
language.
What came up for interpretation before the Constitution Bench was the
meaning of the term “his” since that would define whose religion it has to
be when an appeal is made.
The 1995 judgment:

 In the 1995 landmark judgment, the Supreme Court called Hindutva a
“way of life and not a religion”, and said a candidate was not
necessarily violating the law if votes were sought on this plank.
But, in the 2017 case, the Supreme Court refrained from revisiting its 1995 Page | 113
judgment on whether the words “Hindutva” and “Hinduism” connote the
“way of life” of the Indian people and not just Hindu religious practices.
Views in support of judgment:
 Religions and religious beliefs should not be mixed with secular

activity such as elections.
 The State being secular in character should not identify itself with
any one of the religions or religious denominations.
 The tremendous reach is available to a candidate through the print
and electronic media, the Internet, and social media. Therefore it is
necessary to ensure that the ‘corrupt practices’ are not exploited by a
candidate by making an appeal on the ground of religion with a
possibility of disturbing the social harmony.
Counter views:
 The decision amounts to “judicial redrafting of the law”.

 The judgment prohibits people from articulating legitimate concerns
of voters that have an origin in religion, race, caste, community or
language, and reduces “democracy to an abstraction”.
 Electoral politics in a democratic polity is about mobilization.
Mobilization based on the social traits is an integral element of the
search for authority and legitimacy.
 Discussion and dialogue related to a voter’s background is part of
social mobilization to bring marginalized groups into the
mainstream.
Challenges in implementation:
 Religion, caste, community, creed, language are so intertwined in our
daily lives that it's unrealistic to expect politics to be free of them.
 It is a myth that religion is purely personal and can be separated from
the state. The state is involved in Haj subsidies, the Kumbh Mela just
Page | 114
as it is involved in bans on animal slaughter during Jain festivals.
 There are many ways to seek votes on the basis of caste and religion
without appearing to do so overtly. Is the promise of a Ram Mandir
satisfies a group on the basis of their religious or caste identity? What
about an Ambedkar memorial?
 It is wrong to assume that the political parties want a level political
playing field where all will compete on the basis of issues not
identities. It's easier for politicians to appeal to identities rather than
solve developmental problems. Religion is a convenient way to do
that.
 If we observe regional parties, in one way or the other the foundation
of these parties is caste or religion. For instance, Samajwadi Party
(SP) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal Party (RJD) are supported by the
Yadav community; Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is supported by Dalits;
Shiromani Akali Dal by Sikhs; Janata Dal (S) by Vokkaliga.
 India has reservations based on caste, and on this basis, seats are
allocated to state legislative assembly and parliament with the seal of
the constitution. This is direct caste politics.
Conclusion:
It is a good judgment and a fine one at its own level but on the ground
caste, religion and ethnicity matter because of the mindset of the people.
The question is that this judgment needs to be implemented and how that
will be done.
References:
1. http://www.hindustantimes.com/indianews/seekingvotesinthe
nameofreligioncasteillegalsupremecourt/story
S5aw9VRsZnRtQD6d6RGh3J.html
2. https://scroll.in/article/825739/notquitewhatitseemsdecoding
thesupremecourtsjudgementonelectionspeeches Page | 115
3. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/Secularisingthe
election/article16983751.ece
4. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/cantseekvotesinname
ofreligioncastesupremecourt4456135/
5. https://www.huffingtonpost.in/2017/01/03/canthesupreme
courtrulingrealisticallyfreepoliticsofreli_a_21646171/
6. https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2017/01/india
supremecourtbanpolitics170127131816254.html
PARLIAMENTARY DISRUPTIONS
Introduction:
Parliamentary debates during the 1950s and 1960s used to be livelier, and
Page | 116
disruption was not used for expressing dissent or opposition. But, in the
recent years, the parliament has seen increasing disruption of proceedings.
This raises two questions.
 Are parliamentary disruptions detrimental to democracy, or do they

serve some function?
 What are the institutional incentives that work in favor of disruptions
rather than debate?
Some facts:
 Over Rs 2.5 lakh is spent per minute to run Parliament, implying that
disruptions are a waste of taxpayer’s money.
 The Budget session of Parliament, which ended in April 2018, was
the least productive since the year 2000.
 Compared to some of the world's major parliaments, the average
annual meetings of the Indian Parliament and the time spent in the
proceedings are very short. England’s House of Commons works on
an average for 140 days, 1,670 hours in a year, in the US 136 days,
2,000 hours, in Australia 64 days, 626 hours, while Indian Parliament
functions for an abysmally shorter duration – 64 days, 337 hours.
The following chart represents the productivity of Loksabha from 1962 to

2014.
Page | 117
Source: Economic Times
Views against parliamentary disruptions:
 Parliamentary disruptions not only undermine the democratic role of

legislatures but also affect governance by the executive arm of the
state.
 Many of the pending Bills deal with the daily lives of the common
people. The role of legislators is to debate the appropriateness of
legislation, and the disruptions not only delay legislative business but
also allow little time for debates.
 Disruptions also contribute to undermining the respect
representatives ought to have in the eyes of the citizens.
 It is also widely known that disruptions in India are often not caused
by the actions of individual legislators but by the coordinated action
of a party to which the disrupting members belong. This trend may
be due to the passage of the antidefection law.
Views against parliamentary disruptions:
 Parliamentary disruptions have been defended by the opposition,

now as well as in the past, as a means to counter arrogance of the
ruling dispensation, in other words, to counter the “tyranny of the
majority” problem.
 Some are of the opinion that Parliamentary disruptions are a means
to highlight matters of public interest particularly constituents,
existing or potential. Page | 118
 Further, the Parliamentary disruptions are defended on the ground

that they give an opportunity for legislators to express dissent.
Why is it increasing?
 The first is the change in parliamentary culture. In the first decade of

Parliament’s existence, there was a fair degree of homogeneity in the
composition of the House. The composition of the House became
more heterogeneous after the 1970s — in terms of both caste and
class — completely transforming the tenor and idiom of debates.
 This process was hastened in the late1980s, which saw the
establishment of coalition politics as well as new political forces. The
changed composition and diversity of Parliament had a significant
impact on parliamentary culture, which was far more permissive to
disruptions and protests inside the House.
 Besides, the Congress’s formidable majority in the early years of
Parliament meant that the Opposition never really had the numbers
to seriously challenge the government.
 Opposition members are not allowed to raise certain issues, however
urgent the topic may be.
 Increase in disruption corresponds to the significant increase in
penetration of mass media in society including direct coverage of
parliamentary proceedings on TV. The newsworthiness of
disruptions and unruly behavior in the legislatures attracts media
attention, keeps the party causing the disruptions in the limelight and
gives it recognition.
 Contrariwise, participating in a debate requires investment in details
of any proposed legislation or discussion, which, due to its staid
nature, may not attract media attention.
 Moreover, legislators are selected by the parties not on the basis of
their ability to debate and put across their viewpoint in a discursive Page | 119
manner, but for their ability to win elections. Hence, it is natural for
them to exhibit their preferences through protests rather than
through debate.
 The other possible explanation for the rise in disruptions is the
enactment of the antidefection law in 1985, which allows parties to
herd their members, weakens incentives of legislators to invest in
developing their own viewpoints and express them freely as they
cannot use their own stand on different issues to evolve or develop
their own political careers. The role of legislators has been reduced
to mere instruments in the formation of government from the point
of a party because they are expected to follow the diktat of the party
as far as legislative business is concerned.
What can be done?
 All political parties, especially the opposition parties, should be

assured guaranteed time in the parliament.
 The parliamentary schedule is decided by the government, which
often postpones or curtails a session if faced with uncomfortable
issues. The rules can be amended to ensure that House is summoned
if a significant minority (say 25% or 33%) of members gives a
written notice.
 Office of the speaker should rise above the ideology of the party on
whose ticket he/she is elected as an MP. The presiding officers
should assure that the concerns of all parties are accommodated.
 The government should adopt a better floor management strategy.
Speaker can help the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs in managing
the floor of the house.
Page | 120
References:
1. http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/Vf3anAosbfd9A6TJJiYFHL/The
politicsofparliamentarydisruption.html
2. http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/president
pranabmukherjeeparliamentdisruptionwintersession4422240/
3. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/thepoliticsof
parliamentaryparalysis/article7562315.ece
4. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politicsandnation/a
lookatparliamentsfallingproductivityandwhatcanbedoneto
makeitwork/articleshow/63446061.cms
UNIFORM CIVIL CODE
The concept in brief:
The concept of one nation, one law goes back to the drafting of the
Page | 121
Constitution. Some members of the Constituent Assembly argued for a
common personal law for marriage, divorce, inheritance, and adoption,
while others believed that this was a goal to be achieved in stages. Hence a
compromise was found through the directive principle (Art 44).
Article 44 of the Indian constitution says that “the State shall endeavour to
secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of
India”.
Need for UCC:
 A secular republic needs a common law for all citizens rather than
differentiated rules based on religious practices. Uniform civil code is
necessary for moving towards the negative concept of secularism.
 Interpersonal conflicts of law are a byproduct of the absence of a
“Uniform Civil Code” (UCC).
 There are many inherent defects in the personal laws. For example,
Christian women do not have property inheritance right.
 Article 44 of the Constitution makes the case for UCC.
 Common Civil Code was very important for national unity.
 The rights of women are usually limited under religious law, be it
Hindu or Muslim. The practice of triple talaq is a classic example. UCC
will reduce gender discrimination by empowering women and
restoring their dignity and selfesteem.
 Countries like Turkey and Tunisia have modernized their Islamic
personal laws as have also Pakistan and Bangladesh, even though
marginally.
Arguments against having UCC:
The Union Law Ministry sees three chief impediments in the adoption of
the Uniform Civil Code — separatism, conservatism and misconceived
notions about personal laws. Page | 122
 First of all, there is a fear that bringing UCC means the imposition of
laws of the majority community.
 Enactment of Uniform Civil Code is seen as interference with
religious freedom guaranteed by the constitution under Article 25.
 Many merely permissive provisions of traditional Muslim law,
including on bigamy and unilateral divorce, are unjustifiably seen as
scriptural mandates. This is the premise of stiff opposition to any
reform of Muslim personal law.
 Personal laws do not come under the definition of Article 13. Hence
the state cannot interfere with the personal laws.
Does UCC violate freedom of religion?
 The Constitution protects citizens' rights to religion but also

empowers courts to ascertain if any religious practice is repugnant to
constitutional ideals.
 The personal law can claim the protection of Article 25 only if it is
established that marriage, inheritance and the other areas it covers
are “essential and integral parts” of the religion.
 The legal point is very clear: whenever there is a contradiction
between personal law and parliament enacted a law, the latter will
prevail.
Concerns:
 The most pertinent question would be about the type of model being
chosen since every model has huge differences. And if in the name of
Common Civil Code Hindu law is implemented, it will cause unrest in
the country. This was the reason that Dr. Ambedkar opposed
implementation of Common Civil Code.
 Discrimination against women pervades even modern codified Hindu
laws. Clearly, no personal laws, Hindu or otherwise, can be a perfect
Page | 123
model for the UCC. Marriage Act has been made for Hindus on which
Supreme Court observed once that instead of uniting it breaks
families.
 Nobody has actually spelt out what this common code will look like.
Is it to take the ‘best’ practices from all religions and, if so, which
ones? Smaller religious groups, such as Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists,
who are miscategorized by the personal law system and forcefitted
into a religious identity they don’t themselves recognize.
Legal Pluralism:
It is an erroneous perception that we in India have different personal laws

because of religious diversity. As a matter of fact, the laws differ from state
to state. Similarly, it is a myth that Hindus are governed by one law. For
instance, marriage among close relatives is prohibited in north India but is
considered auspicious in the south. This is also true of Muslims and
Christians. The Constitution itself protects the local customs of Nagaland,
Meghalaya, and Mizoram.
It is repeatedly mentioned that Goa already has a UCC. But the truth is that
the Hindus of Goa are still governed by Portuguese family and succession
laws. The reformed Hindu law of 195556 is still not applicable to them.
The unreformed shastric Hindu law on marriage, divorce, adoption and the
joint family is very much valid. This also holds true for Goan Muslims, as
The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937 has not been
extended to Goa.
The highlevel committee on Status of Women in India (2015) by Pam

Rajput straddles the fine line between ensuring gender justice and
maintaining the plurality of family laws. It reiterated the need to protect
diversity and rejected uniformity. Between uniformity and legal pluralism,
the latter is a superior value.
Way forward: Page | 124
The move towards a common civil code cannot be a hasty one. There is the
obvious political challenge on assuaging the fears of the Muslim
community. The government will have to work hard to build trust, but
more importantly, make common cause with social reformers rather than
religious conservatives.
 One argument in favor of a status quo and against a UCC is that the
courts have in innumerable cases given secular laws precedence over
personal, religious codes. Eg: Muslim women the right to legally
adopt children even though this goes against their personal law etc.
 Another strategy to break the stalemate is to enact specific
legislation, which will apply to women uniformly across
communities. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act,
2005, is an example.
 A stepbystep approach towards uniformity of rights would be an
effective strategy—since the enactment of a uniform civil code
appears to be entrapped in communally vitiated identity politics. The
underlying principle should be that constitutional law will override
religious law in a secular republic.
References:
1. http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/5pwNnS5hmjm4iOtnsvWo0M/U
niformcivilcodeOnenationonelaw.html
2. http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/downtoearth
105/
3. http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/whylegal
pluralismmatters/
4. http://www.livemint.com/Sundayapp/yXcMGdlDJymHN9p61ZNtLN
/Uniformrightsnotauniformlaw.html
Page | 125
PRIVATIZATION OF CERTAIN HEALTHCARE SERVICES
What is the issue?

Page | 126
The NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare have
developed a framework which allows private hospitals run certain services
within district hospitals, on a 30year lease.
The framework was prepared in consultation with the World Bank.
Salient features of the framework:
 Under the framework, the government will be allowing a single

private partner or a single consortium of private partners to bid for
space in districtlevel hospitals, especially in tier 2 & 3 cities.
 Private hospitals will set up 50 or 100bed hospitals in the portions
of district hospital buildings.
 The State governments could lease up to five or six district hospitals
within the State.
 Further, the State governments will give Viability Gap Funding (VGF),
or onetime seed money, to private players to set up infrastructure
within district hospitals.
 Care will be provided for only three noncommunicable diseases —
cardiac disease, pulmonary disease, and cancer care.
 Private hospitals, working in the district hospitals premises, will
provide treatment for these diseases at prices that are not higher
than those prescribed under government health insurance schemes.
 The private parties and State health departments will share
ambulance services, blood banks, and mortuary services.
 The district health administration will ensure referrals for treatment
from primary health centers, community health centers, disease
screening centers and other government health programmes and
ventures are made to these private hospitals.
Safeguards to reduce the financial burden:

Page | 127
In order to control the price of different healthcare services the
government has incorporated certain safeguards in the new framework.
 The government will fix pricing through tendering for different

services.
 Prices under government insurance schemes have been set as
benchmarks.
 Beneficiaries of the government insurance schemes will be able to get
treatment at these hospitals.
 For BPL patients, services will be provided free or at prefixed prices.
Is it a new Idea?
Privatization of health care services is not a new idea in India. Several

states have already privatized parts of their public health system.
The erstwhile Planning Commission had lengthy arguments with the health
ministry over the nature and level of influence the private sector should be
given in providing health care. The Planning Commission advocated a
greater role of the private sector.
The national health policy, 2017 made a stronger case for private sector
participation but not quite along the lines that the model concession
agreement now advocates.
Why is government planning such a move?
The health ministry said that the proposal is not exactly privatization of
public healthcare and is rather in line with the strategic purchase of
services for secondary and tertiary care as has been envisaged in the
National Health Policy by the ministry.
The proposal to invite private sector investment in district hospitals is

based on the following premises: Page | 128
 Treatment of noncommunicable diseases is expensive and is often

unavailable at district level hospitals. The new framework will make
such services available to patients at local levels and at a government
determined price.
 Despite recent efforts, current capacities in public facilities to
manage disease conditions in cardiology, pulmonology, and oncology
are practically nonexistent in TierII and TierIII towns in most
States, even in the private sector. It leads to overcrowding in tertiary
level facilities in big cities, compromising the quality of care and
leading to high outofpocket expenditures.
 The waiting time in premier public institutions like AIIMS, Delhi for
certain procedures can range from several months to a few years. So
the District hospitals need to be upgraded to provide goodquality
secondary care and some elements of tertiary care in order to reduce
dependence on and overcrowding of medical college hospitals and
corporate hospitals.
 The disease burden on account of NCDs is increasing rapidly. A 2014
study by Harvard University for the World Economic Forum shows
that India stands to incur a cost of $2.17 trillion between 2012 and
2030 due to cardiovascular diseases alone. The new framework will
help in meeting the present need, even while building the capacity of
the public health system.
 For any private hospital, one of the biggest expenses is the cost of
land. The other big challenge is to ensure adequate patient footfall.
With this PPP model, both are taken care of as land will be provided
by the district hospital and the government is supposed to refer
patients to the PPP facility.
Criticism:
Page | 129
 The policy will essentially hand over public assets to the private
sector. This will lead to a further dismantling of the public services
available for free.
 Private providers will be able to cherrypick the most lucrative
districts where patients have a higher paying capacity.
 There will be no reserved beds or quota of beds for free services. The
government provides seed money, share blood banks and other
infrastructure, and still, it will not be able to reserve beds for poor
patients. So, the government is handing over critical public assets
without gaining anything much in return.
 Though the general patients will also be allowed to seek treatment,
the patients not covered by the state insurance and health schemes
would be required to pay the full cost. The outofpocket expenditure
of the vast majority of the population is likely to increase. This would
also effectively exclude hundreds of millions of the Indian population
from vital hospital services.
 The framework says that states can, if they wish, refer 100% of
patients for cashless care, but it is a matter of concern as the
framework also proposes that States can set a cap on this
entitlement. How would this work? What happens when the cap is
reached?
 If implemented, these proposals could threaten to take India away
from universal health care (UHC), a key sustainable development
goal, rather than towards it.
 Health activists criticized this proposal saying that it is a bid to
privatize public health facilities which would raise health care costs
and lead to the exploitation of patients for profiteering by the private
sector.
 The framework will erode the public system, and the bargaining
power of the private sector goes up and so do their demands. This
Page | 130
happened in the Arogyasri programme in Andhra Pradesh and the
state is continuing to give in to the demands. In 2016, private
hospitals empanelled under Arogyasri went on strike demanding
revised rates for services under the scheme.
 The challenge in the NITI Aayog hybrid model is its implementation.
How do public and private management coexist in the same physical
space? A hospital is a living institution that cannot be dismembered.
Salary streams, motivation levels, working methods, prescription
practices, monitoring and accountability systems, work expectations,
all vary.
 Health is a state subject in India and NITI Aayog has no locus standi
to make health policy. The policy document has also come under
sharp criticism for the Ministry’s failure to consult with key
stakeholders from civil society and academia.
In Summary:
The framework will help to upgrade the healthcare facilities in district

hospitals. It also helps in the decentralization of healthcare service
delivery. Private hospitals should supplement the government healthcare
system.
The proposed PPP model can function smoothly with shared facilities and a
dual payment system.
In a mixed health system, it could be efficient to engage the services of the

private sector to supplement the capacity of the public sector. However,
cost and quality must be controlled for delivering appropriate and
affordable care with accountability.
References:
1. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/ministrynitiaayog
Page | 131
mootprivatisationofselectservicesindistrict
hospitals/article19309644.ece
2. http://www.businessstandard.com/article/currentaffairs/model
contractforprivatisingurbanhealthcare117071900249_1.html
3. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/govtmaypartnerwith
privatesectortoprovidehealthcare/articleshow/59673935.cms
4. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/publichealthprivate
players/article19373105.ece
5. http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/nitiaayoga
strangehybridpublichospitalsgovernment4791233/
AGRARIAN CRISIS: ISSUES IN FARMER ECONOMY
Introduction:
Page | 132
In recent times, there were farmers’ agitations in states of Tamil Nadu,

Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and elsewhere. In states like Madhya
Pradesh and Maharashtra despite an unusually large crop growth and
harvest, farmers are agitating.
States like Telangana and Karnataka have a high incidence of farmer’s

suicides. These are the symptoms of a deep malaise in the agrarian
economy in India.
Some facts on Indian Agriculture:
 Though agriculture now accounts for less than 15% of gross

domestic product (GDP), it is still the main source of livelihood for
nearly half our population.
 Agriculture is the core of our food security. With over 1.3 billion
mouths to feed, imports will not solve our problem if there are a
severe drought and food shortage.
 About 50 percent of India's farms still depend on rainfall due to a lack
of irrigation facilities. Rainfall has become increasingly uncertain in
an era of climate change.
What are the reasons for the agrarian crisis?
 The fundamental root of the agrarian crisis is the intense pressure of

population on land. Demographic pressure has pushed down the
land: man ratio to less than 0.2 hectares of cultivable land per head of
rural population.
 The landless or marginal farmer households account for over 80% of
rural households. Their tiny plots of land can no longer sustain whole
families, especially in rainfed agriculture, which accounts for two
thirds of India’s total cultivable area.
Page | 133
 There are many risks to which a farmer is constantly exposed.
1. The first is the weather. The large majority of small farmers are
dependent on the rains. A weak monsoon or even a delayed
monsoon means a significant loss of production.
2. The next is weak soil fertility, pests, and plant diseases.
3. The third risk is the price. Even a good harvest can be bad news
for the small farmer. The better the crop the lower would be
the price. The highly distorted and exploitative product market
is the most important factor responsible for the misery of the
small farmer.
 Landless or marginal farmers lack the resources to either buy or
lease more land or invest in farm infrastructure—irrigation, power,
farm machinery, etc.—to compensate for the scarcity of land. As land
scarcity intensifies with population growth, farming progressively
becomes a less viable source of livelihood.
 Despite subsidies on power, fertilizers, etc., input costs have been
rising faster than sale prices, further squeezing the meager income of
the small farmers and driving them into debt. Further, a survey
commissioned by NABARD has confirmed that 94% of the
government subsidies are being availed by big and medium farmers.
The smaller farmers for whom subsidies are actually meant are
sidelined.
 The government procurement at the minimum support price is
supposed to protect the farmer. But it mainly benefits the large
traders who sell grain to the government. Small farmers typically do
not have enough marketable surpluses. Often their crop is sold to
traders at the nearest mandi.
 Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs), which were
supposed to protect the farmer, has had the opposite effect. Farmers
have to sell their produce through auctions in regulated markets
controlled by cartels of licensed traders. These cartels fix low
Page | 134
purchase prices, extract large commissions, delay payments, etc.
 The rural youth, especially young males, are migrating to the towns
and cities for a better future. But there is not much employment
growth anyway and they lack the skills required for a decent job.
 Experts say the present agrarian crisis is the result of shortsighted
policies implemented by successive governments over several
decades. The public investment in agriculture is slowing down. As a
consequence, the agricultural growth is slowing down.
Why are farmers agitating despite bumper crop?
Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra have a large area under rainfed

conditions. Unfortunately, the monsoon behavior has been very erratic and
farmers have been facing the problems of severe drought for the past few
years.
Fortunately, there is a bumper, but farmers are not satisfied with the
procurement price. They are unable to repay loans they have taken, both
from institutional sources and private moneylenders. And without doing
so, they will not be eligible for fresh credit for the Kharif crop. This is one of
the reasons why farmers are demanding loan waiver.
Possible solutions:
 Farmers increase their income and productivity from small land

holdings through methods such as higher productivity, multiple
cropping, value addition to biomass and croplivestock irrigation.
 In rainfed areas, water security primarily depends upon rainwater
harvesting and the efficient use of the available water. There is a
need to promote methods like drip irrigation and the appropriate
choice of farming systems. Groundwater augmentation and
management is an important method of ensuring adequate and
timely availability of water for crops.
Page | 135
 Public investment in agriculture should be increased, especially in
irrigation projects.
 There is a need to rationalize the subsidies so that they benefit the
small and marginal farmers.
 Lab to farm gap should be bridged. Agricultural research in India
should be scaled up and the technology should be easily accessible to
the farming community.
 Animal husbandry and rural industries should be promoted in order
to supplement the agricultural income.
 Public procurement price policy should be rationalized. Minimum
Support Price (MSP) should not disturb the regional cropping
pattern.
 Organic farming provides a sustainable solution for many problems
of agriculture. It also has a specialized market, which helps in
augmenting the agricultural income.
 Wastage of agricultural products can be reduced by providing cold
storage facilities in rural areas and by encouraging food processing
industries.
 There is a need to strengthen the rural warehousing. This will
increase the holding back capacity of the farmers and help them to
wait for the better price.
 As a shortterm measure, farmers can get relief through a farm loan
waiver. But this is not a sustainable solution to the agrarian crisis.
Can cooperative farming provide solution?
Increasing land scarcity and the marginalization of farmers cannot be easily

reversed. But agriculture can be organized in a different way in order to
contain the adverse consequences of such marginalization. An idea that has
gained much traction in recent days is cooperative farming.
There are several variants of cooperation ranging from collective action in

accessing credit, acquiring inputs and marketing to production Page | 136
cooperatives that also include land pooling; labor pooling; joint investment,
joint water management, and joint production.
The advantages of aggregating small farms into larger, voluntary,

cooperatives include,
 Greater capacity to undertake lumpy investment in irrigation and

farm machinery
 More efficient farming practices
 Greater bargaining power and better terms in the purchase or leasing
of land
 Easier access to credit, purchase of inputs
 Better terms the sale of produce.
The institutional transformation of our small farmer economy into

cooperative farming systems on a national scale can address the agrarian
crisis.
Conclusion:
Finally, the agrarian crisis needs to be handled with a human touch. Lakhs
of farmer have committed suicide and those who failed in these attempts
have been imprisoned under the law. This shows the collective failure of
both the society and the state; the time has come to ensure that no farmer
is pushed to the brink because human lives matter above all.
References:
1. http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/Y3Fp6CcumJhRIEwl2WeUMM/A
grariancrisisthechallengeofasmallfarmereconomy.html
2. http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/06/qams
swaminathanindiaagrariancrisis170613093045688.html
3. http://www.thehindu.com/todayspaper/tpopinion/agrariancrisis Page | 137
naturecausesandremedies/article3044873.ece
4. http://www.dw.com/en/indiasagriculturaleconomyindeep
crisis/a39214828
5. http://www.huffingtonpost.in/martandjha/therootsofindias
agrariancrisis_a_21577235/
ISSUES RELATED TO SOCIAL MEDIA
Introduction:
Page | 138
In many countries of the world, activists and artists with a social

conscience have used social media to spark a debate. While some have
snowballed into political movements, some also peter out after being
momentary social media hullabaloo.
The social media has provided a platform for anyone to be an activist, just
by clicking the right links and sign online petitions. The best part of social
media is that anybody with a thought can put it out there.
Social media, on the one hand, is playing a crucial role in separating fact
from fiction. On the other hand, the social media has exacerbated low trust
and ‘fake news’.
In this article, we will discuss two important issues related to social media
–Social media Vs mainstream media and tackling the fake news.
Social Media vs mainstream media:
Media is often referred to as the fourth pillar of the functioning of a

democracy. Unfortunately, media in India (especially English media both
print and electronic) is more often than not seen as a cheerleader of the
ruling establishment (of any political hue) than a conscience keeper of the
nation.
With Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and blogs

everyone now has a voice. Increasing numbers of young people don't use
newspapers or television anymore as their primary source of information
and entertainment.
Advantages of social media:
 Social media has democratized content. Till a few years ago

producers of content were a privileged minority.
 Social media provides a platform to initiate a debate. Many such Page | 139
debates have snowballed into political movements.
 Social and online media have made traditional media more
accountable. Editors and TV anchors are routinely named and
shamed if they wander off the straight and narrow. Prejudices are
ruthlessly exposed, political affiliations closely scrutinized.
 Over the past few years, mainstream media has been hit by a
credibility crisis. The line between journalism and public relations
(PR) is blurring. Corruption in mainstream media occurs in two
ways: one, individual journalists are paid in cash or kind; two, media
owners are compromised by political parties or business houses
through convoluted stock deals, sponsored content and other
inducements. The social media now acts as an informal watchdog of
mainstream media.
Social media and Fake news:
Though social media has helped in democratizing the content, fabricated

and manipulated content are gaining steam. This often leads to the
possibility of potential violence and impacting society. The rise of digital
and social media as powerful platforms has only magnified the effect of
fake and false news.
Most worrying fact is that young people are increasingly relying on social
media for news. This combined with increasing manipulated content is
dangerous.
Why is it growing?
 There are few entry barriers for social media and blogs, unlike in the
traditional media. So umpteen number of news/information portals
can be set up very easily.
 Online platforms have more scope for wrongdoing due to the lack of
Page | 140
binding rules, and the ability to keep owners and editors private like
in the case of fake news sites. In the absence of such crucial
information, there is no understanding of the liability and the
credibility of the information that is being hosted on their respective
sites. This is the main strength of the creators of fake news.
 Growing polarization of society on ideological lines has made the job
of spreading fake news easier. Content that denigrates
leaders/groups of the opposite ideology based on falsehoods,
deepens communal polarization or incites hatred have gained
traction.
 Though the number of people trusting mainstream media is twice the
number of those who trust social media, perceived mainstream
media bias, and consequent low trust has been one of the drivers for
the increase in fake news.
Should WhatsApp be singled out for India's fake news problem?
It is not just WhatsApp, fake news, doctored images and videos

representing unrelated events are also shared on Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram and via other methods.
But, what separates WhatsApp from other means is its technology. As a

simple messaging app, it was designed as less intrusive on people’s privacy
than the Facebook. WhatsApp’s administrators have no access to the
content of messages – they are encrypted unless specifically reported.
Because Facebook knows much more about its users, it has a greater
capacity to combat fake news and more means to handle the issue.
This is one of the dilemmas of the modern, electronic world: The more a
social medium knows about its users, the more it can do to limit malicious
behaviour. But the more it knows, the more it can be used to spy on
people’s lives.
Page | 141
 In an effort to combat a flurry of fake messages, WhatsApp has
published an advertisement in key newspapers. It aims to create
awareness among WhatsApp users to identify fake news.
 WhatsApp also rolled out a new feature that will label forwarded
messages as such, indicating to receivers that the sender is not the
creator of the message.
 WhatsApp has announced that it will soon be limiting the forward
messages to five chats at one time.
How to tackle fake news problem?
 Users creating hate content and sharing it can be booked under

relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
 The responsibility to check the news on social media also lies with
the user. The need of the hour is to educate the users on how to
identify the ‘fake news’.
 Both Google and Facebook, as the largest platforms for content
distribution, are said to be creating systems that will filter fake news.
Facebook has deleted 583 million fake accounts in the first three
months of 2018.
 The lack of uniform guidelines, regulation, and policy regarding
fabricated content need to be addressed urgently.
The biggest vectors of fake news in India like WhatsApp are still grappling
with compromising mechanisms, for privacy like encryption and the need
to weed out fake news spread through its application.
Thus, protecting the privacy and democratization of content, and tackling
the issues like manipulated content requires a tightrope walk.
Challenges:
Page | 142
In many States, people have been booked in isolated incidents for the
content they shared on messaging and social media platforms. In states like
Jammu and Kashmir, authorities often shut down the Internet on the
pretext of inciting violence and to stop the spread of doctored videos.
But treating every symptom in a localized way is not an efficient or

productive way to tackle the disease.
 The sheer expanse of the Internet and the anonymity it grants makes
it difficult to track down people.
 Considering the rapid penetration of mobile phones and the rise in
the use of social media in India, the dissemination of fake news is no
longer a problem limited to the online world, especially because it
has political, social and economic ramifications on the ground.
 In the past, communal violence in India was a localized affair. Today,
it is extensively being fed and triggered through the Internet.
Provocative content, inaccurate information, doctored videos, and
pictures are being disseminated through various online and mobile
platforms. The platforms serve as nodal agencies distributing
unverified information.
Other dimensions:
Social media has a profound impact on human behavior. Social networking

sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Myspace are changing the way that
children look at their lives.
 It has recently been proved that teens that use Facebook a lot, tend to
display narcissistic tendencies. The overuse of social media has been
proved to make them more prone to psychological disorders, and
highly susceptible to future health problems.
 Young adults who spend a lot of time on Facebook show signs of
other psychological disorders, such as antisocial and aggressive
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behavior.
Although there are many disadvantages of using social media, there are
several advantages as well. For example, kids gain social confidence, which
encourages them to go out and make new friends or join a sports team.
References:
1. http://www.thehindu.com/society/beyondthesocialmedia
horizon/article19961072.ece
2. http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/CGrOB1FiBTG4FKlWhs8UqN/So
cialmediawillshapethefutureofnews.html
3. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/tacklingfake
news/article19963184.ece
4. http://www.firstpost.com/india/journalismtodaywillsocial
mediaturnmainstreammediairrelevant2594736.html
5. https://www.dailyo.in/politics/socialmediatwitterfacebooknew
yorktimesnationalgeographicbuzzfeed/story/1/2877.html
6. http://www.rediff.com/business/slideshow/slideshow1special
beginningoftheendofindiasmainstreammedia/20120718.htm
7. https://thediplomat.com/2018/07/whatsappfakenewsthe
internetandrisksofmisinformationinindia/
CRIMINALISATION OF POLITICS
Introduction:
One of the biggest issues in India, at present, is the criminalization of

Page | 144
politics – people with criminal backgrounds becoming politicians and
elected representatives. The charges in several of the cases are of heinous
crimes such as murder, robbery, kidnapping, and not just a violation of
Section 144, or something similar.
What do political parties gain by recruiting criminally connected

individuals, especially when it can be selfdefeating as the party’s image can
take a beating for fielding criminals in elections?
In this article, we will discuss reasons for criminalization, its consequences,

and other related issues.
Reasons for Criminalization of politics:
The nexus between politicians and criminals is growing stronger and

stronger. Reasons for this are many.
 In India, we have a multiparty system. With the proliferation of

political parties and expanding size of the electorate, electoral
democracy has become a costly affair. This necessitates a steady flow
of money to win the election. Criminal candidates with illgotten
wealth make themselves available to political parties as “self
financing” candidates and make a contribution to the party funds,
thereby liberating parties of the financial constraint.
 In India, the majority of voters do not know why they ought to vote.
Therefore the majority of the voters are manoeuvrable and
purchasable. Gaining their support is easier through muscle power
and money power.
 Studies show the link between criminality and the probability of
winning. While any random candidate has one in eight chances of
winning a Lok Sabha seat, a candidate facing criminal charges is twice
as likely to win as a clean candidate.
Page | 145
 Lack of internal party democracy has increased the discretionary
powers of the party patriarch/matriarch. A candidate can easily
influence the party patriarch/matriarch by showing his money and
muscle power which generally increases his chances of winning. So
they win and help others in their party win as well. There would be
no voice in such party to question the suitability/background of the
candidates.
 A candidate has to spend lakhs of rupees to get elected and even if he
gets elected, the total salary he gets during his tenure as an MP/MLA
will be meager compared to his election expenses. The gap between
the income and expenses can be bridged in two ways: Publicly
through donations and secretly through illegal means. Only criminal
activity can generate such large sums of untaxed funds.
 Toothless laws against convicted criminals standing for elections
further encourage this process. This leaves the field open for charge
sheeted criminals. Unless a person has been convicted, he is not a
criminal. Mere chargesheets and pending cases do not suffice as bars
to being nominated to fight an election.
Does minimum educational qualification help in checking

criminalization?
The level of education does not appear to reduce criminality among the
candidates or the elected representatives.
 53 out of the 76 MPs in the 15th Lok Sabha who were facing serious
criminal charges were graduates and above.
 Again, in the graduate and above category too, candidates facing
criminal charges had better chances of winning than those with no
criminal charges.
The comparatively better winnability of a criminal candidate across Page | 146

gender, financial status and education of the candidate and across political
parties and States, is a worrisome pattern.
Consequences of criminalization:
 The prime victim of criminalization is governance, along with

transparency and accountability.
 Expensive election campaigning favors candidates with the strong
financial background. Such candidates, when elected, seek to recover
their expenses besides securing a corpus for the future election as
quickly as possible, especially in the era of coalition governments
with weak stability. Criminalization is the root cause of corruption.
 Criminal elements in the politics are used to influence the mind and
the will of the people to gain the majority to rule the country
according to their will. Dominating the election scene with the help of
criminal elements is a real threat to democracy.
 The politicians are thriving today on the basis of muscle power
provided by criminals. The common people who constitute the voters
are in most cases too reluctant to take measures that would curtail
the criminal activities.
 Once the political aspect joins the criminal elements the nexus
becomes extremely dangerous. Many politicians chose muscle power
to divide the society on caste, region and religious lines, to gain vote
bank in the country. This is the reason for many of the riots and
communal violence that occur in the country, especially just before
the elections.
Agents of change:
The Supreme Court and the Election Commission of India (ECI) have
undertaken some commendable steps for reforming the electoral process.
But these two constitutional bodies are also bound by the laws enacted by
the elected legislative body.
Page | 147
 The ECI has achieved considerable success in containing the role of
muscle power through measures such as the effective
implementation of the model code of conduct and the setting up of
the expense monitoring cell.
 Mandatory declaration of assets and existing criminal charges in self
sworn affidavits to the ECI prior to elections has brought in some
transparency.
 Supreme Court judgments have attempted to clean the politics by
disqualifying convicted MPs and MLAs (Lily Thomas Vs Union of
India, 2013), barring those in jail from contesting (Chief Election
Commissioner Vs Jan Chowkidar, 2013) and by directing the EC to
bring the issue of electionrelated freebies under the ambit of the
Code of Conduct.
 The Allahabad High Court banned caste and religionbased political
rallies in an attempt to change the system.
However, implementation of these judgments has faced unequivocal

opposition from all the political parties.
Conclusion:
The Election Commission must take more measures to break the nexus
between the criminals and the politicians.
The forms prescribed by the Election Commission for candidates disclosing

their convictions, cases pending in courts and so on in their nomination
papers is a step in the right direction if it applied properly. These steps
would bring more transparency to the process.
However, too much should not be expected from these disclosures. They
would only inform people of the candidate’s history and qualifications, but
not prohibit them from casting their votes, regardless, in favor of a
criminal. Voters should be politically educated to make wise choices and
vote responsibly. Page | 148
References:
1. http://www.thehinducentre.com/verdict/getthe
fact/article5962667.ece
2. http://www.legalserviceindia.com/article/l290Criminalizationof
Politics.html
3. https://thewire.in/121252/whencrimepaysmilanvaishnav/
4. https://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/theenchanted
word/varsitydegreescrimechargesandthegreatindianpolitical
pantomime/
5. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/criminalisati
onofpoliticsgrewmanifoldinlast10years
adr/article4966384.ece
STUBBLE BURNING IN NEIGHBORHOOD OF DELHI
Introduction:
Poor air quality and the problem of smog in the National Capital Region has
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been blamed in part on stubble burning by farmers, especially in
neighbouring Punjab and Haryana.
In this article, we will discuss the genesis of the problem and potential
solutions.
Why farmers burn stubble?
 In states like Punjab, Haryana, and parts of western Uttar Pradesh

and Uttarakhand, farmers grow paddy and wheat and harvest these
using combine harvesters. In manual harvesting using sickles, the
crop is cut close to the ground. The resultant paddy straw after
threshing can be used as fodder or packaging material. As against
this, combines harvesters, operate at 5060 cm above the ground.
The machine leaves the residues in such a state that it is difficult to
collect them manually.
 Normal paddy straw fetches very low rates, as it cannot be finely cut
or made into chaff (bhusa) like wheat straw. For farmers in North
India — who have the option of feeding their animals wheat bhusa,
sugarcane tops, jowar, bajra and other superior fodder — it is only
worthy of burning.
 In an effort to mitigate the crisis of groundwater, the Punjab
Preservation of Subsoil Water Act, 2009, banned the nursery sowing
and transplantation of paddy before May 15 and June 15 respectively.
Given the small turnaround window of hardly 20 days between rice
harvesting and the optimal sowing of wheat, the flexibility to clear
the field of leftover straw, whether by manual removal or in situ
incorporation, is limited. The most economical and timesaving
option is to simply burn.
Wheat residue Vs Rice straw:

Page | 150
The wheat residue is a highly valuable animal feed and is even traded
across districts. Given its economic use, the farmers collect straws, cut
stubbles and make into chaff for feeding to animals directly or mixed with
green fodder. So the burning of wheat residue is not necessary for the
farmers because of the availability of technology and its higher economic
value as dry fodder.
However, Rice straw has high silica content that animals can’t digest. So it
is not used as fodder. Because of its little economic value as animal feed
and other general uses, farmers find it more economical to burn it on the
field instead of collecting it.
Consequences of Stubble burning:
 Stubble burning causes moisture loss. So, the farmer has to irrigate
the land once and wait for seven or eight days until the field has the
right amount of moisture.
 Stubble burning is one of the reasons for air pollution in Delhi and
the surrounding region.
Possible solutions:
 One way out is to reduce the paddy crop’s duration, which will
increase the farmer’s time to prepare for the sowing of the next
wheat crop.
 The rice varieties that are both rich in grain yield and high in straw
quality should be developed. Use of such dualpurpose rice varieties
will help to maintain food security, farm income and improve
environmental sustainability.
 Use of the straw choppercumspreader provides a solution for straw
management. This machine chops the stubble and mixes it in the soil.
But such solutions are costly, due to the high cost of machines.
 Paddy residue can be used for power generation, which will go a long
Page | 151
way towards overcoming the problem of disposal of crop residues
and power deficit in the region and also Delhi’s air pollution.
 Incorporation of crop residues in the soil can improve soil moisture
and help activate the growth of soil microorganisms for better plant
growth. However, suitable machinery for collection, chopping and in
situ incorporation of straw is required.
 Initiatives should be taken to convert the removed residues into
enriched organic manure through composting.
 Presently, a limited quantity of paddy straw is used for cardboard
making and in packing industries and paper mills. New opportunities
for industrial use can be explored through scientific research.
Challenges:
 These combine harvester machines require an investment of more

than Rs 2 lakh, but small and medium farmers don’t have the money.
 Use of farm labor is the most expensive at Rs 6,000 an acre.
 The State governments’ initiatives to push crop diversification as a
strategy to overcome these problems have not convinced farmers to
break the ricewheat rotation.
 Crop diversification with vegetables and fruits hit a roadblock due to
marketing problems.
 The government also feels that shifting from paddy could hit food
security situation.
An agro-ecological crisis:
 Historically, rice was not a major crop grown in Punjab and Haryana.
 Extensive development of irrigation, assured price (minimum
support price) and secured market (government procurement) have
induced farmers to grow paddy and expand the area of cultivation
considerably over time. Consequently, farmers in this traditionally
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wheatgrowing belt started cultivating rice and wheat in rotation
year after year.
 The ricewheat rotation has put land and other resources under
severe strain, resulting in depletion of soil nutrients, the decline in
the water table, the buildup of pests and diseases, and micronutrient
deficiency.
 Falling groundwater levels to feed the thirsty paddy, and massive
Electricity Board and State government deficits owing to subsidies
for pumping power, the paddywheat cycle has been at the center of
the rising concern about the agroecological crisis.
In summary:
The right mix of technological and economic incentives can create

economic opportunities for farmers and other stakeholders to come
together to stop the practice of stubble burning.
Even though farmers are aware that the burning of straw is harmful to
health, they do not have alternatives for utilizing them effectively.
Therefore, blaming only the farmers may not solve the problem of air
pollution.
The real solution to Punjab’s groundwater woes, Delhi’s air pollution woes
(to the extent that it is due to cropburning) and India’s imbalanced
agricultural economy are to diversify cropping to decisively break the
paddywheat cycle.
For India, tackling air pollution is not only a domestic policy issue but a
global one as well. India is a signatory to the Paris Accord on climate
change and has committed itself to start mitigation activities immediately
as well as developing a fiveyear plan for mitigation activities.
Page | 153
References:
1. http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/delhiairpollution
smogcropstubbleburningdelhischoolshutoddevenscheme
manishsisodiaamarindersingharvindkejriwalpunjabfarmers
4930457/
2. http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/whydofarmersburn
paddystubble/storycN5uXCkzIr8Cs9K1R9TtVK.html
3. http://www.financialexpress.com/indianews/delhichokesonair
pollutionwhyblamefarmersforburningcropshereswhat
governmentmustdo/922802/
4. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/Strawsinthe
wind/article16441019.ece
5. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/farmstubble
burningsolutionsdelhismogairpollution/article9999426.ece
6. http://www.thehindu.com/thread/sciencehealth
environment/howdelhisairpollutioncrisismayhaveoriginsin
thegreenrevolution/article20452244.ece
MARITAL RAPE
Introduction:
Recently, NGO RIT Foundation, All India Democratic Women’s Association,

Page | 154
and a marital rape victim have challenged as unconstitutional an exception
to Section 375 of IPC and Section 376B.
In this article, we will discuss the current legal position, arguments in

favour of criminalizing marital rape and arguments against it.
Marital rape as an exemption:
The unjust treatment of marital rape as an exemption stems from three

common law notions:
1. Marriage constitutes a contract, which includes the woman’s

irrevocable consent to sex;
2. A woman is the property of her husband, and rape is a violation of a
man’s property rather than a crime against women;
3. After marriage, a woman’s identity becomes part of her husband’s.
Despite the outdated, problematic origins of this exception, the Indian

government has consistently resisted a change in the law.
What is the current legal position?
 Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) defines rape. This section
has an exception that says sexual intercourse by a man with his wife
aged 15 years or above is not rape even if it is without her consent.
 Section 376B deals with sexual intercourse by a man with his wife
during their separation. This provision makes rape of a wife who is
living separately a criminal offence.
The Justice J.S. Verma committee, which recommended sweeping changes
in the law relating to offences against women, called for marital rape to be
made an offence. This was not implemented.
Discrepancies in legal position: Page | 155
In 2013, the Criminal Law Amendment Act raised the age of consent for
sexual intercourse for girls, from 16 to 18 years. However, the exception
clause retained the age of consent for married girls as 15 years. This
deprived married girls between the ages of 15 to 18 of legal protection
against forced sexual intercourse.
The clause was also against the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences
Act which considers sex with children — those below 18 — as rape.
These discrepancies have created an unnecessary and artificial distinction

between a married girl child and an unmarried girl child.
Arguments in favour of criminalizing marital rape:
 The exemption given to marital rape stems from a long outdated

notion of marriage which regarded wives as no more than the
property of their husbands. A marriage license shouldn’t be viewed
as a license for a husband to rape his wife with impunity.
 Rape is an act of sexual assault inflicted upon a person against their
will. Whether the perpetrator of such an act is married to the victim
or not, the nature of the act, the violence inflicted on the victim, and
the emotional trauma faced by the victim do not change. The trauma
is worse because the victim must continue to live with the
perpetrator even after the assault.
 The exception to marital rape is an attempt to perpetuate a
patriarchal mindset. It diminishes the struggle and emotional abuse
that thousands of women, stuck in marriages that they have been
forced into and cannot leave for fear of social ostracism.
 Marriage has been the site of egregious violations that have been
gradually reformed through the centuries – from the banning of sati
to legalizing widow remarriage to inheritance, divorce – to make it a
more equitable institution. Marriage is a social vehicle and must
Page | 156
transform and the government cannot be the agent to hold back
women in exploitative relationships.
 Marital rape is an assault on a woman, who loses autonomy over
their bodies and sexuality.
 The merit of an antimaritalrape law lies in raising consciousness
about a crime that is not spoken of, that women often only
acknowledge in moments of extreme distress, to their peers, in
private, for fear of rebuke, infamy, abuse or worse – a crime that is
considered normal behaviour by men.
 It is not really true that the private or domestic domain has always
been outside the purview of law. The law against domestic violence
already covers both physical and sexual abuse as grounds for the
legal system to intervene. It is difficult to argue that a complaint of
marital rape will ruin a marriage, while a complaint of domestic
violence against a spouse will not.
Arguments against criminalizing marital rape:
 Criminalizing rape within marriages will deal a body blow to the

institution of marriage.
 There are too little education and too many customs and beliefs in
Indian society and marriage as an institution is considered as
sacrosanct.
 Supreme Court and high courts had already pointed to the misuse of
Section 498A of Indian Penal Code (IPC) that prescribes punishment
for a husband for subjecting his wife to cruelty. Antimarital rape law
could also be misused.
 The resolution of marital rape complaints would be tricky with no
“lasting evidence”.
 The concept of marital rape as understood internationally cannot be
suitably applied in the Indian context due to various factors like level
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of education/illiteracy, poverty, myriad social customs and values,
religious beliefs and the mindset of the society to treat the marriage
as a sacrament.
 Changes in law need to be accompanied by social shifts, without
which there’s no meaning in “blindly aping” the west in a poor
country.
 The principal objection to the criminalization of rape within a
subsisting marriage is rooted in western tradition too. It originates in
the common law principle of marriage as ‘coverture’, the idea that the
woman is always under the husband’s protection and authority.
Recent judgments:
Supreme Court in a recent judgment held that sex between a man and his
minor wife is a criminal act. Supreme Court struck down a part of Section
375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) when it ruled that sexual intercourse
with a minor wife is rape and a case can be registered against the husband
on her complaint.
But the Supreme Court was categorical that its verdict does not pertain to
the other contentious aspect of the exception clause: Marital rape of
women above 18 years.
The judgment made reference to the Justice J.S. Verma committee

recommendations that explained why the exemption of marital rape must
be removed, and that a marital or other relationship is not a defence or
justification for a lower sentence.
Recently, the Delhi High Court, while hearing petitions on making marital
rape an offence, has observed that physical force is not necessary for rape
as a man could bring her wife under financial pressure to force her for sex.
It also held that marriage doesn't mean that wife is always consenting for
physical relation with her husband. Page | 158
In conclusion:
Indian women face the greatest violence and trauma in their own homes;
marital rape is usually a longrunning pattern of abuse. Recognizing it as
such is a crucial test for any jurisdiction that claims to treat women as
equal citizens.
One by one, most progressive legal systems now recognize that spousal
rape is a crime, India being one of the shameful exceptions.
The Delhi High Court has been hearing a petition to criminalize marital
rape, where the government has stuck to its reasoning on the “sanctity of
the institution of marriage”. So, the higher courts are increasingly
recognizing that the notion of consent needs to be redefined to do justice to
women’s rights.
Now, Indian society should also change its attitude towards this issue.
References:
1. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/criminalisingmarital
rapeandmanekagandhi/article8352904.ece
2. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/thelegal
message/article19856025.ece
3. http://www.hindustantimes.com/editorials/rapeincludingwithin
amarriageisacrimeitmustbetreatedassuch/story
nze6WgCIfodvPgnSu0Ky1I.html
4. http://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/theremustbezero
toleranceformaritalrapefromallquarters/story
4UzRhD3zjvikjQGPHCwLHJ.html
5. https://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toieditorials/rapein
marriagestillaviolationofconsentandthereforerape/ Page | 159
‘LIVING WILLS’/ EUTHANASIA
What is the issue?

Page | 160
Recently, the Supreme Court has allowed people to draw up "living wills",
meaning they can seek what is known as passive euthanasia.
Legalizing euthanasia and allowing living will have legal, moral and
philosophical implications. In this article, we will discuss these issues.
What are living wills?
“Living wills” are advance directives that people can lay down while being
sound of mind, on whether they should continue to get lifesustaining
treatment after they reach a stage of total incapacitation, that is, a
vegetative state.
The present law provides for advance directives regarding treatment of

mental illness, so the concept is not new to Indian law.
The argument in support:
 The government has accepted passive euthanasia as law after the

2011 SC judgment. This is consonant with the right to live and die
with dignity. But there is a stronger case for a living will. It is an
extension of passive euthanasia.
 A living will respect the patient’s autonomy and right to self
determination.
 A living will may relieve the close family members and caregivers of a
terminally ill patient of the moral burden of making a lifeending
decision.
 Arguments against living will ignore how Indic religious practices
such as santhara, samadhi and iccha mrityu grant individuals the
power to attain mortality at a time and place of their choosing. These
traditions indicate strong religious sanction too for the right to die
with dignity.
 Medical ethics and human rights place a moral obligation upon
Page | 161
doctors and relatives to accept patients’ preferences. Many countries
have passed laws allowing advance healthcare directives. A living will
is not a manifesto courting death or an invitation to crime. It is
merely a recognition that death cannot be annulled.
Argument Against living wills:
 The legalization of ‘advance directives’ would amount to waiving of

the paramount fundamental right to life enshrined under Article 21
of the Constitution.
 The State’s primary obligation is to sustain life and not legalize a
person’s wish to die.
 The Supreme Court itself, in 2011, issued comprehensive guidelines
allowing passive euthanasia in the tragic case of Aruna Shanbaug. So
the passive euthanasia is the law of the land. Doctors withdraw life
support after getting the informed consent of the relatives. There is
no need for recognizing living will.
 The ‘living will’ may be misused and it may also result in the neglect
of the elderly. A ‘living will’ can make the elderly vulnerable to
greedy relatives who have an eye on their wealth.
 The Central government opposed recognition of a living will and said
patients may not be aware of medical advancements that could cure
them.
Supreme Court judgment:
The Supreme Court in a landmark judgment recognized that a terminallyill

patient or a person in the persistent vegetative state can execute an
“advance medical directive” or a “living will” to refuse medical treatment.
The judgment was delivered on a PIL filed by an NGO Common Cause in
2005.
 The court held that the right to life and liberty, enshrined under
Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, also includes the right to die Page | 162
peacefully and with dignity.
 The court laid down principles relating to the procedure for
execution of advance directive or ‘living will’ and spelt out guidelines
and safeguards to give effect to passive euthanasia in both
circumstances — where there are advance directives and where
there are none.
 The court found that refusal to take treatment and allowing the
disease to take its natural course is not suicide. It addressed the
concerns of doctors who find it difficult to take a decision to
withdraw life support in terminal cases, as it goes against their
Hippocratic Oath.
The bench laid down strict guidelines for creating and executing a living
will.
 It must be made by an adult in his normal state of health and mind.

 The document should indicate the circumstances when treatment
which will only delay the process of death that may otherwise cause
him pain, anguish, and suffering.
 The ‘living will’ should also name a guardian to give consent for
stopping the treatment.
 It should be ratified by a judicial magistrate.
 For the execution of the living will, two medical boards should be set
up and certification by the judicial magistrate is required.
The court has said that its guidelines shall remain in force till a law is
enacted to regulate passive euthanasia. The government has proposed a
bill to legalize passive euthanasia.
By contrast, active euthanasia in which death is medically administered
using a lethal injection continues to be illegal in India.
Various concerns:
Page | 163
1. Does a ‘living will’ imply that the state has come to accept a patient’s
autonomy and selfdetermination to the point of legalizing a wish to
die?
2. For doctors, does it mean an abandonment of their obligation to
preserve life?
3. The ethical priorities of medicine, combined with the unhealthy
commercialization of the trade, have spurred the medicalization of
old age and the prolongation of life beyond reason. Should the
decision of executing the will be left entirely to hospitals and doctors,
whose inclinations may be in intrinsic conflict?
4. The living will is witnessed by the state when it is authored and acted
upon by a panel established by the state. In this process, the patient’s
family is excluded.
5. Living wills, if sanctified in law, should come with robust safeguards.
Aruna Shanbaug case:
 The Supreme Court had in 2011 ruled in favour of passive

euthanasia. SC had said life support system can be withdrawn on the
recommendation of a panel of doctors, consent of family members
and permission of the high court.
 The Aruna Shanbaug judgment had relied on the Gian Kaur judgment
of 1996, which observed that the right to live with dignity also
includes the right to die with dignity, to approve of passive
euthanasia.
 The Supreme Court ruled out any support for active euthanasia.
Medical Treatment of Terminally ill Patients (Protection of Patients and
Medical Practitioners) Bill:
 According to the draft Bill, a terminally ill patient above the age of 16
years can decide on whether to continue further treatment or allow Page | 164
nature to take its own course.
 The Bill provides protection to patients and doctors from any liability
for withholding or withdrawing medical treatment and states that
palliative care can continue.
 When a patient communicates her or his decision to the medical
practitioner, such decision is binding on the medical practitioner.
However, the medical practitioner must be “satisfied” that the patient
is “competent” and that the decision has been taken on free will.
 There will be a panel of medical experts to decide on a case by case
basis.
 The medical practitioner has to ensure that the patient takes an
informed decision. He is also required to inform the patient whether
it would be best to withdraw or continue treatment.
 The draft also lays down the process for seeking euthanasia, right
from the composition of the medical team to moving to the high court
for permission.
The Bill portends to legalize only “passive euthanasia”, as discussed in the

Aruna Shanbaug judgment.
References:
1. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/thewillto
die/article19840981.ece
2. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/livingwillcantake
effectifamedicalboardcertifiesapersonincurablesupreme
court/article19839126.ece
3. https://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toieditorials/grant
livingwillalesstaxingpassagecanbeadyingpersonslastwish Page | 165
itshouldnotbedenied/
4. https://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toieditorials/respect
livingwillbillseekstoempowerterminallyillpatientsbutneeds
criticalrevisions/
5. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/jailfinefordistorting
factsinpassiveeuthanasiacases/article21827608.ece
6. http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/Xv0QgQZQxeb1jxewDC2thI/Wh
ywemusthavetherighttochoosedeath.html
7. http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/euthanasia
arunashanbaugcasewillingdeath4887748/
8. https://www.hindustantimes.com/indianews/scallowslivingwill
forpassiveeuthanasiarecognisesrighttodiewithdignity/story
xkMj8MAcnddS2AJUogjzcL.html
9. https://www.huffingtonpost.in/2016/05/16/euthanasiadraft
bill_n_9988522.html
SEPARATE STATE FLAG IN KARNATAKA
Introduction:
Page | 166
Recently, the Karnataka government constituted a ninemember committee

to design a state flag and look into the legalities of it. The issue has sparked
a row over the legality of the demand.
In this article, we will discuss various dimension of this issue.
Brief history:
Karnataka has had an unofficial flag since the mid1960s. The red and
yellow flag was created by Kannada writer and activist Ma Ramamurthy for
a proKannada political party called the Kannada Paksha. The unofficial flag
is a common sight in Karnataka and the proKannada activists have
virtually adopted the flag as a symbol of state pride.
The red and yellow flag was once accorded official status in 2012 through a
notification. Then chief minister of Karnataka D. V. Sadananda Gowda said
in his budget speech that it would be compulsory to hoist the state flag on
government buildings, schools, and colleges.
However, the notification was withdrawn later when activists started

misusing the flag.
At present, Jammu and Kashmir is the only state to have its own flag.
A separate flag for Nagas is one of 33 demands made by the NSCN (IM),
which has been engaged in talks with the central government since a truce
was finalized in 1997. In August 2015, the Naga insurgent group and the
Centre signed a ‘framework agreement’ for a final settlement. Though the
exact meaning of shared sovereignty hasn’t been divulged, people aware of
the matter have hinted at the possibility of Nagas getting a separate
constitution, flag, parliament, and judiciary.
Why do states demand a separate flag?

Page | 167
A flag symbolizes a country’s past, its struggles, the achievements and helps
crystallize a nation’s identity. It also defines a country’s character. So, why a
state or region demands a separate flag?
It is either a reflection of disconnect or that they believe that they identify

with their individual, regional identities more than the homogenized
national identity.
Arguments in support:
The Constitution is silent on the issue of states having their own flags.
While it does not bar states from having their own flags, it also does not
condone having a separate state flag. The silence is open to interpretation
and triggers row when a state asks for its own flag.
 Federalism is a basic feature of the Constitution and States are

supreme in their sphere.
 In SR Bommai vs Union of India case, the Supreme Court had said:
"… there is no prohibition in the Constitution for the State to have its
own flag. However, the manner in which the state flag is hoisted should
not dishonour the national flag. It has to be always below the national
flag."
 Importance of a regional flag does not mean rejection of the national
flag. This is an issue of local identity. Unfortunately, the debate is not
taking into account the diversity of our country but is only focused on
unity. Unity cannot have a strong base without diversity.
 There should not be any problems for states having their own flags,
as long as they observed a system of checks and balances. There
should be clear rules that flag of state cannot be a substitute of the
national flag.
 Countries like the United States, Germany, Australia and Myanmar
(Burma) allow different regions to have a different regional flag to
Page | 168
show their distinct identity.
Arguments against:
 There is neither a bar nor provision in the Constitution for states to

have separate flags. But a state which intends to have its own flag will
have to be mindful of Article 19 of the Constitution wherein
reasonable restrictions are provided.
 Having a separate state flag is against the spirit of ‘One Nation One
Flag’.
 One should think about its impact on the unity and integrity of the
country. We say India is known for unity in diversity. At the same
time, we give scope for issues like a separate flag that will affect the
integrity.
Flag Code:
Hoisting and use (including misuse and insult) of the National Flag is
regulated by the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act,
1950; the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971; and Flag
CodeIndia.
The flag code is neither a statute nor a statutory rule or regulation. The Flag
Code lays down the rules for hoisting the national flag and its use. It was
given effect by an executive order issued by the Government of India.
Possible solution and safeguards:

 The state should frame a flag code without giving scope for it to affect
the unity and integrity of the country if it wants to have a separate
flag.
 The state should frame a Flag Code carefully without giving scope for
Page | 169
it to affect the unity and integrity of the country.
 Moreover, the codes for both the flags should not clash. For instance,
it is the fundamental duty of citizens to respect the national flag.
There are guidelines for display of the national flag in public places
and government establishments. Similar guidelines need to be
framed for a state flag.
In conclusion:
If other states too follow Karnataka, there will be scope for conflict
between states in case of disrespect to the flag of another state.
So, having a separate flag is a question of policy rather than law. But there
is a need to examine whether having a separate flag can be disruptive.
References:
1. http://www.firstpost.com/india/watchcankarnatakahaveitsown
flagnoprovisioninconstitutionthatprohibitsstatesfromdoing
so3829837.html
2. http://www.bbc.com/news/worldasiaindia40653553
3. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/statescanhaveown
flagwithcertainconditionsshashi
tharoor/articleshow/59722754.cms
4. http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/2017/jul/19/
separateflagaquestionofpolicynotlawexperts1630616.html
5. http://www.livemint.com/Politics/KIDqwlk15IotaCetiWB6CI/Identi
typaradeThepoliticsofstateflags.html
NET NEUTRALITY
Introduction:
TRAI in its recommendations on Net neutrality has suggested amendments

to the various classes of telecom and Internet licenses to have an express
recognition of a nondiscriminatory principle for Internet content. Page | 170
The willing embrace of Net neutrality by many, including the Telecom

Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), is not only seen as a function of mass
rhetoric and intelligent campaigning but of the concept of Net neutrality
itself taking forward values of Indian constitutionalism.
The Telecom Commission has approved the recommendations of the

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on net neutrality. With this
India now has the world’s strongest net neutrality rule.
On the other hand, U.S. Federal Communications Commission has scrapped

the regulations imposed on service providers that have disallowed Internet
service providers (ISPs) in the U.S. from throttling, blocking or speeding up
Internet content for firms that pay for faster access for customers. The
move is against the net neutrality.
In this article, we will discuss net neutrality, the importance of net

neutrality and other related issues.
What is net neutrality?
 The core principle of net neutrality is that the internet should be a

level playing field, and its networks should be agnostic to providers
and users.
 Put simply, Net neutrality creates rules of the road for a free and
open Internet.
 It requires that barriers should not be created by telecom and
Internet service providers for user choice by limiting their power to
discriminate between content providers and different classes of
content.
 Through binding rules and regulations, the power of access providers
to selectively price or create technical imbalances is corrected.
Page | 171
TRAI recommendations:
TRAI had strongly indicated its preference for an open internet in 2015
when it rejected a move by Facebook’s Free Basics to provide a free,
limited version of the internet to Indian villages, citing concerns over net
neutrality.
 TRAI has suggested amendments to the various classes of telecom

and Internet licenses to have an express recognition of a non
discriminatory principle for Internet content.
 TRAI also warned providers against the practice of blocking certain
websites and tinkering with content speeds.
TRAI has been careful to allow some exceptions that allow companies to
discriminate between content if it helps them regulate the flow of traffic or
offer “specialized services”.
Importance of TRAI recommendations:
 The service providers such as telecom companies cannot stand in the

way of a consumer’s access to content that would otherwise be
provided to her without any undue hindrance.
 Service providers cannot charge consumers for access to certain
content, or receive payment from websites promising greater
promotion of their product over the rest.
 TRAI has been open to adopting a nuanced view that differentiates
between various forms of content instead of imposing a blanket ban
on all forms of price differentiation. The new policy will still allow
companies to justify the costs incurred in providing niche content to
consumers. At the same time, TRAI’s measured response is likely to
effectively address the problem of anticompetitive practices adopted
by certain providers.
Why is net neutrality important? Page | 172
 According to UN report, India is the world’s second largest internet

market with about 460 million users. It has also become the world’s
secondlargest smartphone market. Yet its internet penetration
remains among the lowest of the world’s major economies with only
about 29.5% of Indians connected to the internet.
 For a developing country, the internet is primarily a great equalizer,
delivering quality communications to the interior, driving
information, education and health services seamlessly all over the
country and helping the underserved to connect with government
and the financial system.
 An equalaccess internet also allows smaller companies to challenge
the big brands. This has been an important factor in the rapid growth
of the internet economy.
 This gives consumers — whether of news, social media — the
maximum possible choice, and gives entrepreneurs maximum
opportunity.
 The absence of Net neutrality would fragment the community and
the diversity of choice offered by it. This would impact both the right
to speak and the ability to receive knowledge, hence impacting our
right to freedom of speech and expression.
 India has a huge population and economy is growing rapidly. Huge
things are going to happen on the internet. It is important that this
platform is kept open and free.
The argument against net neutrality:

 Net neutrality regulations are seen as disincentives for ISPs from
improving or increasing investment in Internet infrastructure. It is
also argued that the Internet thrived before the net neutrality order
and there is no reason for alarm.
Page | 173
 The internet service providers (ISPs) have right to differential pricing
because a video streaming website uses more bandwidth than news
website and the former should pay more to enjoy the “fast lane”.
 A tiered internet, in which users and providers pay to connect with
each other, would raise funds to build broadband infrastructure.
 Net neutrality may have other economic consequences. For instance,
it is entirely possible that telecom companies increase their prices to
combat what they see as revenue losses arising from customers using
“OverTheTop apps” to make and receive calls.
The concern of service providers:
The infrastructure that serves as the backbone of the Internet has not come
without huge investments by private service providers. So any regulation
that severely restricts the ability of companies to earn sufficient returns on
investment will only come at the cost of the welfare of the public.
Conclusion:
Currently, India enjoys complete net neutrality. This means that no Internet
provider can block a website or offer a few select websites for free while
charging fees for surfing their rivals.
Net neutrality is the basic requirement for the democratization of content,

free speech over the internet. But, for the incomechallenged, the offer of a
low Internet pack is attractive even if it means that the consumer can
access only specific sites offered by the Internet provider. Service providers
have their own concerns.
In this regard, TRAI has made some wellbalanced suggestions to maintain
net neutrality, by taking into consideration the concerns of service
providers as well as other stakeholders.
Page | 174
References:
1. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/theroadtoanopen
internet/article21119579.ece
2. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/aneutral
internet/article21123852.ece
3. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/securingnet
neutrality/article22288668.ece
4. http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/HAB9d7DAT48FLVgdG6ZuQM/T
raionnetneutrality.html
5. http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/openequal
internetnetneutralitytrai4960942/
6. http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/netneutrality
usfederalcommunicationscommissionajitpai4951590/
7. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/nov/29/india
communicationsregulatorendorsesnetneutralitytelecominternet
8. http://www.hindustantimes.com/editorials/netneutralityindias
telecomregulatortakestherightcall/story
WWrOETAgE3pA6J1PMHlMGL.html
MERGER OF PSU BANKS
The concept in brief:

Page | 175
In August 2017, the Union Cabinet decided to set up the alternative

mechanism to oversee proposals for expeditious consolidation of public
sector banks (PSBs) so as to create larger and stronger lenders.
The proposals received from banks for inprinciple approval to formulate

schemes of amalgamation will be placed before the panel.
Further, to fasttrack consolidation, the government has exempted mergers

of nationalized banks from seeking fair trade watchdog CCI’s approval.
Since various approaches involving varying processes are possible with

regard to consolidation amongst PSBs, Government has requested the
Reserve Bank of India for views as well as suggestions regarding specific
possible combinations to achieve scale and synergy for appropriate
consideration.
Currently, there are 21 public sector banks. The government aims to reduce
the number of PSU banks to 10 to 15.
In this article we will discuss the history of the merger, what is the
objective of consolidation, challenges in bank merger and lessons learned
from earlier consolidation.
History of the merger in India:
Former RBI governor Narasimham in his report on banking reforms in

1991 recommended merger of public sector banks to make them stronger.
The report had envisaged a threetier banking structure with three large
banks with an international presence at the top, eight to 10 national banks
at tier two, and a large number of regional and local banks at the bottom.
Since then there have been 32 bank mergers, involving private sector
banks.
Important instances of the merging of PSBs are takeover of New Bank of

India by Punjab National Bank (PNB) in 1993, and recent merger of Page | 176
associate banks with State Bank of India.
While the objective has, all along, been building scale and strengthening the
risktaking ability, the trigger for the latest round of discussion is the pile of
bad assets under which some of the stateowned banks are likely to get
buried.
Why do we need consolidation?
 The consolidation is aimed at improving the efficiency of public

lenders, which are burdened with bad loans, and also saving capital.
 Another objective of consolidation is to cut the cost of operation and
to acquire efficiency. Weak banks will have to sell assets, reduce
overheads and shut lossmaking branches.
 Consolidation will be beneficial for deposit growth as the merged
bank will gain market share in deposits.
 Consolidation of banks could entail the sale of real estate where
branches are redundant, as well as offering voluntary retirement
schemes to manage headcount and adding younger, digitalsavvy
personnel
Challenges in the merger:
 The key challenge of any merger will be largescale shutting of

branches in urban centers, a reduction in staff strength and exploring
the right business synergy and work culture.
 Employee integration could be tricky, apart from other challenges
such as provisions for pension liability due to differing employment
benefit structures.
 For a merger or any other restructuring option, PSBs face the
foremost challenge of an acute talent deficit and absence of the right
people in sufficient numbers. Almost every PSB on the merger radar
lacks the talented personnel to effectively manage even existing
Page | 177
operations.
 It may not be easy to arrive at the swap ratio as rights of minority
shareholders have to be protected.
 Another key challenge is on the technology front. Unlike the SBI
merger, there is no uniformity in the information technology
architecture in PSBs, each bank having engaged multiple vendors for
developing its system.
 Another critical point to ponder is – Do our relatively large banks
have the ability to absorb weaker peers?
Lessons from SBI merger:
The State Bank of India’s (SBI) merger with its own five associate banks
placed it among the top 50 global lenders. A bigger size would allow SBI to
finance large infrastructure projects and takeover deals with greater ease.
Already, the SBI carries the tag of a domestic systemically important bank
and, therefore, needs to set aside more capital than its peers to cover risks.
The combined entity should be well capitalized.
SBI’s merger should actually be viewed as an internal reorganization and

not a classical merger exercise.
 The Associate Banks (ABs) had enjoyed a common identity with SBI
for long.
 SBI had been exercising tight operational control of the ABs from
inception. The SBI chairperson was presiding over the individual
boards of the ABs, which were run by top executives of SBI sent on
deputation. As a result, the banking products, operational systems
and procedures, and norms of business were all common.
 All ABs were operating under the same information technology
platform as SBI.
 The treasury operations of the ABs had been integrated with SBI for
several years. This has provided valuable expertise to them, and cost
Page | 178
advantage in fund mobilizations.
 Major loan decisions of ABs used to be vetted first by SBI under
centralized control before the proposals received local approval from
the concerned AB’s board. This oversight had added a valuable layer
and helped steer the asset portfolios of ABs on generally prudential
lines.
Can merger solve NPA problem?
A large chunk of NPAs at PSBs relate to projects that are indeed viable.
These projects have remained incomplete for several extraneous reasons,
such as problems in land acquisition and environmental clearances. This is
bound to improve the risk rating of NPAs in the period ahead.
The exercise of consolidating PSBs should, therefore, be based on a sound

analysis of every PSB, a granular analysis of its assets and liabilities, sector
wise loan exposures, security backup, common loans among PSBs, etc.
A key factor to consider is whether the merger of any two PSBs would
result in substantial value addition in the combined entity, or result in
value diminution. Just the large size of a combined balance sheet cannot be
a conclusive indicator.
Conclusion:
Indeed, bank consolidation is the flavor of the season, but one should not
lose sight of the fact that India needs more banks. RBI should continue to
give licenses to more small banks as well as universal banks along with the
experiment on consolidation.
It should be remembered that the Narasimham committee had spoken
about a large number of regional and local banks at the lowest tier of
banking structure.
Page | 179
References:
1. https://scroll.in/latest/848194/centreapprovesthemergerof
publicsectorbanks
2. https://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/eteditorials/letsnot
rushintomorebankmergers/
3. http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/D2mfHcAdkiZPeOthBjnL3N/The
whysandhowsofbankconsolidationinIndia.html
4. http://www.epw.in/journal/2017/29/commentary/publicsector
bankmergers.html
5. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/forcedpsubank
mergerswontwork/article9837064.ece
PRIVATIZATION OF AIR INDIA
Introduction:
Page | 180
The union government had approved the privatization of debtridden Air

India and its five subsidiaries. A panel headed by Finance minister was
formed to decide modalities of the sale.
The airline has a debt of more than Rs 52,000 crore and is surviving on an
Rs. 30,000crore bailout package. There is a view that the financially
bleeding airline could serve connectivity goals in private hands.
Air India was founded as Tata Airlines in 1932 and was operated by the
Tata Sons Ltd till it was nationalized in 1953.
Earlier proposal on privatization:
An attempt to privatize Air India was made in 2001. But a wave of

privatizations in the early 2000s failed to touch the airline. Since then, Air
India has been through a messy merger with Indian Airlines, racked up
debt and seen aggressive challengers emerge.
Even though there is a political will for the sale of Air India now, there is
scepticism over whether it would make economic sense for a buyer.
Different views on privatization:
 NITI Aayog has recommended complete privatization.

 The aviation ministry favors selling AI's assets and subsidiaries to
reduce its debt burden before privatizing the airline. The ministry
estimates about Rs 30,000 crore can be raised this way, which will
take care of the working capital loan.
 Existing rules allow foreign airlines to own as much as 49% in
private Indian airlines, but not in Air India. But recently the
government allowed foreign airlines to buy a stake of up to 49% in
Air India with prior government approval.
Page | 181
Assets of Air India:
Air India has the best assets compared to other airlines in India.
 The airline has 140 planes including 43 owned Airbus A320s and 15
owned Boeing 777s that can fly nonstop to the US and Europe. It also
has nearly two dozen brand new Boeing 787 Dream liner planes.
 Air India’s $150 million aircraft maintenance and repair unit in
Nagpur is the only such in the country. It’s the only airline in India
that performs major aircraft checks including for rivals like Jet
Airways Ltd.
 Air India has its own training center in Hyderabad and a
multimilliondollar aircraft simulator for Boeing 777 and 787 Dream
liners.
 The airline also has vast land holdings, including nearly 32 acres in
central Mumbai, besides the iconic headquarters on Marine Drive
valued at more than Rs1,600 crore. It also has a housing colony in
south Delhi surrounded by embassies. It also has properties in
London, Hong Kong, Nairobi, Japan, and Mauritius. The Centaur
hotels in Delhi and Srinagar belong to it.
 Air India has four slots at Heathrow. A slot allows an airline to land
and takes off from an airport at a particular time. Last year, a London
Heathrow slot was sold for about $75 million.
 It is a part of Star Alliance, the biggest airline grouping, which counts
Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, United Airlines among its members.
Passengers of most of these airlines can fly on a single Air India
ticket. The entry into Star Alliance itself was an exhaustive exercise
that cost €10 million in the entry fee and $100 million in investments
in IT and other related infrastructure.
Arguments in support of privatization:

Page | 182
 A privatized Air India will cease to be a drain on the exchequer.
 Nationalization and monopolization of an industry—such as when
Air India and the erstwhile Indian Airlines had governmentgranted
monopolies on international and domestic flights, respectively—only
makes sense in situations in which the private market cannot deliver
the good or service.
 The government should not be in the airline business. If the rationale
is to support flights to commercially unviable areas, subsidies, not
nationalization, is the way to go.
 Private carriers have been allowed to enter the industry. The fact that
Air India’s domestic market share has been on nosedive. This tells its
own tale: Most people would rather not fly Air India.
 As the Economic Survey noted disinvestment in Air India will help
boost Indian airlines’ international market share.
 Air India flights are routinely delayed, the equipment is old and
mouldering, and the prospect of good service depends upon the
whims of the flight attendant. The airline has come to be seen as a
platform through which politicians and officials enjoy the perks of
office, at everyone else’s expense.
Lessons from other countries:
 Following the privatization of British Airways, the airline rose, in a

few short years, to become the world’s “favorite airline”.
 The experience of other countries in successfully privatizing their
national carriers, from Kenya (Kenya Airways) to Canada (Air
Canada) to Singapore (Singapore Airlines) should prove instructive
in designing our own approach.
Key questions:
 When privatizing, the key questions for the government will be the
following: How will it protect Air India’s employees from job losses?
 Will the bilateral rights of the airline be valued in a potential deal? Page | 183
Will the brand equity of Air India be valued?
 If Air India is privatized, who will evacuate stranded Indians from
wartorn countries, transport people in crisis zones?
Parliamentary panel recommendations:
 The parliamentary committee recently said that it will not be

appropriate at this stage to disinvest when Air India has started
earning profit from its operations.
 It also said that as some of its subsidiaries Air India Air Transport
Services Ltd, Air India SATS Airport Services Pvt Ltd, Alliance Air and
Air India Express were making profits, these units should “not be
disinvested”.
 The panel recommended that the airline’s debt should be written off
by the government.
 It also recommended that Air India should be given a chance for at
least five years to revive themselves. The tenure of five years
indicates the end of the turnaround plan in 2022.
 Air India may be permitted to function as a government PSU with less
government control.
 The committee also expressed apprehension that Air India’s strategic
disinvestment would result in job loss of many people and asked the
government to make an assessment of the job loss before deciding on
stake sale.
 It asked the ministries of finance and civil aviation to develop a
strategic package to protect the rights and interests of officers and
staff of Air India and its subsidiaries in respect of their pension,
gratuity and VRS and also the wages of contractual workers engaged
by government from time to time in case the disinvestment of Air
India is inevitable.
 The panel found merit in the views that if Air India is withdrawn
Page | 184
from the aviation scene, private airlines would indulge in gouging
and that will not be in the interest of the consumers.
Current privatization plan:
The Civil Aviation Ministry unveiled a preliminary information

memorandum for prospective bidders.
According to this, the Centre will divest 76% of its stake in AI. A 100%
stake is being offered in its subsidiary Air India Express, and a 50% stake is
on offer in its ground handling operations arm.
Other subsidiaries, such as Alliance Air, Hotel Corporation of India, Air

India Air Transport Services and Air India Engineering Services, are not
being sold. They will be transferred to a special purpose entity along with
roughly a third of AI’s outstanding debt.
 Unfortunately, no bidder came forward to propose purchasing 76%

of Air India. Interested parties refused the terms when the
government made it clear that it didn’t wish to sell Air India in parts.
 After the failed attempt of privatization, Air India has raised a fresh
requirement of Rs. 2,100 crore from the Centre to take care of its
immediate operational expenses.
Now, the government intends to take a fresh look at the options before it,
which may include inviting new bids with revised terms.
References:
1. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india
business/cabinetclearsprivatisationofdebtriddenair
india/articleshow/59361206.cms
2. http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/Y1PhhD4SiV2LRJemCETfeL/Priv
atizeAirIndianow.html Page | 185
3. http://www.livemint.com/Companies/Ja2kqlZl9uJERjWejrAgjJ/Air
Indiaslonganddifficultjourneytowardsprivatization.html
4. http://www.firstpost.com/business/economicsurveyairindia
privatisationwillbekeytoimproveindianairlinesintlmarket
share3919809.html
5. http://www.livemint.com/Companies/ZZ24bKttrDawThpcOJ49gJ/D
ontprivatiseAirIndiagiveit5yearstoreviveparlia.html
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT/DEATH SENTENCE
Introduction:
Around 140 countries worldwide have abolished the death penalty in law
Page | 186
or practice. But India still awards capital punishment and executes the
convicted persons, who have been awarded death sentence by the courts.
Though India follows due process and awards capital punishment only in
“rarest of the rare cases”, there is growing demand for the abolition of
death penalty in India.
In this article, we will discuss arguments in support of capital punishment,

arguments against it and some important judgment of the Supreme Court
on capital punishment.
The argument against Capital Punishment:
 The process of socialization contributes to an individual’s thinking

and actions. Society cannot demand to take the life of an individual
when it has contributed to the person’s wrongdoing and outcome.
Crimes are as much about social failure as they are about individual
responsibility.
 The burden of the death penalty has a disparate impact on the most
marginalized and poorest sections of society.
 Our criminal justice system is in severe crisis given the rampant use
of torture in investigations, a broken legal aid system and alienating
trial processes. It is incapable of administering the death penalty in a
fair manner and that is evidenced by the fact that over 30% of death
sentences handed out by trial courts result in acquittals in the
appellate process.
 The state cannot seek to take a life because it has an equal
commitment to everyone within its fold. When a crime is committed,
the perpetrator is not the only one breaking the social contract.
Obviously, the state has failed to protect the victim and society.
 There is no empirical data to confirm that capital punishments act as
a deterrent. The Law Commission’s report on the death penalty
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declares deterrence to be a myth, based on extensive research.
 In the context of India’s flawed criminal justice system, even
safeguards such as the right to appeal and mercy petitions do not
provide foolproof protection from the miscarriage of justice, given
the uneven and errorprone application of relief.
 When a death sentence is given to satisfy the “collective conscience of
the community,” it raises troubling questions about the fairness of
the trial.
 There a growing international trend where a number of countries
have done away with capital punishment from their statute books.
 Between awarding the death penalty and execution, the prisoner on
death row suffers from extreme agony, anxiety and debilitating fear
arising out of an imminent yet uncertain execution. This in itself
constitutes a form of torture. It goes against the grain of democratic
traditions which uphold the dignity and human rights of all
individuals.
 Abolition is now firmly entrenched in the human rights discourse and
no longer limited to national criminal justice policy.
 The International Criminal Court envisages life imprisonment even
for crimes against humanity such as genocide. The customary
international law does not prohibit the death penalty currently, but
global opinion is rapidly moving towards abolition.
The argument in support of Capital Punishment:
 The crimes we are now witnessing cannot be addressed by simple

punishments. The vulnerable sections of our society that continue to
be targeted. The punishment meted out to them should serve as
examples of deterrence for others.
 Statesanctioned death penalty promotes fear of the law and serves
as a deterrent to future offenders. There are two main arguments for
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capital punishment: first, that it acts as a deterrent; and second, it
gives due justice to the aggrieved.
 Unless we take drastic action, especially in the case of rape, murder
and terror attacks, the situation will not improve. The attacks on our
security personnel are increasing due to different extremist forces.
Such killings must be visited with Capital Punishment.
 The argument against Capital Punishment is not really tested. How
can the state compensate for the mindless killing of innocent people?
What do you do as a society when it is impossible to reform
criminals? What do you do to prevent the recurrence of heinous
crimes against the vulnerable sections? Why should the perpetrators
be allowed to languish in a prison for life at the expense of the Indian
taxpayers? All such acts call for a serious deterrence.
 Besides, our legal system has multiple layers of appeal from the trial
court to the apex court. These layers act as a safety valve against
miscarriage of justice.
 In the landmark judgment of Bachan Singh Vs the State of Punjab

(1980) the Supreme Court carved the rule of “rarest of the rare cases”
to justify the death penalty. It affirmed the principle of “life
imprisonment” as the rule and death penalty as the exception.
 The Supreme Court has put this position forward on various matters
like Vasanta Sampat Dupare Vs State of Maharashtra (2014,
2017) and Machhi Singh Vs State of Punjab (1983). This test was
also applied in the case of Dhananjoy Chatterjee v. State of West
Bengal (1994).
 The Supreme Court in Sangeeth (2013) agreed that this principle
laid down in Bachan Singh case has received erroneous and
inconsistent interpretations in most judgments since Machhi Singh
case. The court concedes that the test has become arbitrary and
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judgecentric rather than principlecentric.
Law Commission views:
 The Law Commission of India has taken a historic step by declaring

that the abolition of the death penalty must become a goal for India.
 It has recommended, for a start, the scrapping of the death penalty
for all crimes except terrorismrelated offences and those that
amount to waging war against the state.
In summary:
Capital punishment has its efficacy and ought to be imposed only in the
rarest of cases in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law. Law
has sufficient safeguards and checks and balances against misuse and there
are sufficient layers of appeal before the sentence can actually be carried
out.
The concept of “an eye for an eye makes the world blind” may be true in the
context of private retributive acts and not where punishment is imposed by
the State in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law.
References:
1. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/shouldwedoaway
withcapitalpunishment/article18429160.ece
2. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/thecaseagainst
deathpenalty/article7608365.ece
3. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/rethinkthedeath
penalty/article6655766.ece
4. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/whythedeath
penaltyshouldstay/article8054902.ece
5. http://www.hindustantimes.com/editorials/deathpenaltyisa Page | 190
formoftortureabolishit/storyLu6rKNcHEnKPoerJHp2t5L.html
POLITICS AND ECONOMICS OF FARM LOAN WAIVER
Page | 191
Introduction:
Recently, few States like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, and

Karnataka have responded to farm distress by rolling out farm loan waiver
schemes as a measure of immediate relief to those farmers who qualify
certain criteria. The demand for such measures is spreading to other States
too.
In this article, we will discuss the views for and against the farm loan
waiver in India.
Agriculture loan in India:
 Since Independence, the primary objective of India’s agricultural

policy has been to improve farmers’ access to institutional credit and
reduce their dependence on informal credit.
 The government has improved the flow of adequate credit through
the nationalization of commercial banks, and the establishment of
Regional Rural Banks and the National Bank for Agriculture and
Rural Development.
 The government has also launched various farm credit programmes
over the years such as the Kisan Credit Card scheme in 1998, the
Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme in 2008, the
Interest Subvention Scheme in 201011, and the Pradhan Mantri Jan
Dhan Yojana in 2014.
 According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, there
is a robust increase in institutional credit from Rs. 8 lakh crore in
201415 to Rs. 10 lakh crore in 201718.
 A worrisome fact out of NSS surveys on Investment and Debt (NSS
I&D) is that the loans taken by cultivators from noninstitutional
sources, which involve highinterest rate, are rising faster than from
institutional sources. This point to a worrying development — much
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of the growth in household demand in rural India has been debt
ridden and not supported by growth in income.
Importance of Agriculture loan:
 Modern agriculture requires investment in farm machinery and use

of purchased inputs like seed, fertilizer, agrichemicals, diesel and
hired labor. Most often, savings generated from nonremunerative
crop enterprise are inadequate for such investments.
 Rising expenses on health, education, social ceremonies and nonfood
items put an additional financial demand on farm families.
Consequently, the majority of the farmers have to take loans from
institutional or noninstitutional sources or both.
The argument in support of loan waiver:
Indian agriculture is not a profitable venture. The inherent problems of

agriculture and rural areas call for farm loan waiver.
 Indian agriculture is characterized by the low scale and low

productivity. Agriculture income generated at an average size of
landholding is not adequate to meet farmers’ needs.
 The agrarian problem is exacerbated by weather and market risks.
According to the latest, National Sample Survey on Situation
Assessment Survey of Agricultural Households (NSSSAS), 13.9% of
farm households experienced negative return from crop production
during 201213.
 Nonfarm income comprised 40% of the income of farm households,
but access to nonfarm sources of income is highly skewed as about
40% of farm households reported zero income from such sources.
The ultimate goal of farm loan waiver is to lessen the debt burden of Page | 193
distressed and vulnerable farmers.
The argument against loan waiver:
The success of the loan waiver lies on the extent to which the benefits reach
the needy farmers. Loan waivers suffer from several drawbacks in this
respect.
 India could witness farm loan waivers well in excess of Rs. 1 lakh
crore. That would add to the states’ fiscal deficit and raise the
combined public sector borrowing, setting off an alarm about the
country’s fiscal discipline.
 Farm loan waivers cover only a tiny fraction of farmers. According to
201213 NSSSAS, 48% of the agricultural households did not have
any outstanding loan.
 Out of the indebted agricultural households, about 39% borrowed
only from noninstitutional sources. The farmers investing from their
own savings and those borrowing from noninstitutional sources are
equally vulnerable to weather and market risks. But all such
households are outside the purview of loan waiver.
 It provides only a partial relief to the indebted farmers as about half
of the institutional borrowing of a cultivator is for nonfarm
purposes.
 In many cases, one household has multiple loans either from
different sources or in the name of different family members, which
entitles it to multiple loan waiving.
 Farm loan waiving excludes agricultural laborers who are even
weaker than cultivators in bearing the consequences of economic
distress.
 It severely erodes the credit culture, with dire longrun consequences
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to the banking business.
 The loan waiving scheme is prone to serious exclusion and inclusion
errors, as evidenced by the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG)
findings in the Agricultural Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme,
2008. According to the CAG report, 13.46% of the accounts which
were actually eligible for the benefits under the scheme were not
considered by the lending institutes while preparing the list of
eligible farmers.
 Such schemes have serious implications for other developmental
expenditure, having a much larger multiplier effect on the economy.
A similar amount spent on improvement of agriculture infrastructure
and other developmental activities would create a base for future
growth and development of the sector.
 The loan waiver provides instant relief from debt but largely fails to
contribute to farmers’ welfare in the long run. To what extent this
relief measure can help bring farmers out of indebtedness and
distress remains a question.
Sustainable solutions:
 The sustainable solution to indebtedness and agrarian distress is to

raise income from agricultural activities and enhance access to non
farm sources of income.
 Improved technology, expansion of irrigation coverage, and crop
diversification towards highvalue crops are appropriate measures
for raising productivity and farmers’ income.
 Encouraging farmers to supplement their income through animal
husbandry is a sensible decision.
 Another major source of the increase in farmers’ income is
remunerative prices for farm produce. This requires removal of old
regulations and restrictions on agriculture to enable the creation of a
liberalized environment for investment, trading, and marketing.
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 Instead of hobbling farmers with the inefficient subsidy, the
government should invest in irrigation, transport and storage
infrastructure, R&D and environmental regulation while allowing
markets to function in insurance, price discovery and boosting
productivity.
In conclusion:
Loan waivers will give temporary relief to farmers but will not
permanently fix problems that the agriculture sector faces. They can help
beneficiary farmers make a fresh start but will not help farmer households
double their real income by 2022.
It appears that loan waiving can provide a shortterm relief to a limited

section of farmers; it has a meager chance of bringing farmers out of the
vicious cycle of indebtedness. There is no concrete evidence of a reduction
in agrarian distress following the first spell of allIndia farm loan waiver in
2008.
Agrarian distress and farmers’ income will be addressed much better if

States undertake and sincerely implement longpending reforms in the
agriculture sector with urgency.
The problems in Indian agriculture are structural. They need longterm

solutions. Loan waivers will only end up complicating the problem.
References:
1. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/thinkbeyondloan
waivers/article19309519.ece
2. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/loanwaiverisnotthe
solution/article20394319.ece
3. https://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/eteditorials/farm Page | 196
loanwaiversdisruptthefiscaldiscipline/
4. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/columns/farm
loanwaiversnotenoughinindia/article9739037.ece
5. http://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/farmloanwaiverabad
ideaforagricultureeconomy/story
TkznlX88n7uWjfReMLaouM.html
6. http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/sppwUbJDGPxoypUZ4SSoVO/Fa
rmloanwaiverisnosolutionforIndianagriculture.html
LAWS TO BAN CERTAIN SOCIAL PRACTICES
Page | 197
Introduction:
Recently, Maharashtra and Karnataka have passed bills in their respective

state assemblies to protect people from certain evil social practices and to
prevent and eradicate some of the inhuman evil practices.
In this article, we will discuss salient features of the two Acts, and
argument in support and against such legislation.
Maharashtra Protection of People from Social Boycott (Prevention,

Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2016
Salient features:
 It prohibits the social boycott of individuals, families or any

community by informal village councils.
 The Act targets the evil practice of informal caste panchayats or
dominant sections using ostracism as a means of enforcing social
conformity.
 The Act lists over a dozen types of actions that may amount to ‘social
boycott’, which has been made a criminal offense punishable with
imprisonment up to three years or a fine of Rs. 1 lakh or both.
 The practices it prohibits range from preventing the performance of a
social or religious custom, denial of the right to perform funerals or
marriages, cutting off someone’s social or commercial ties to
preventing access to educational or medical institutions or
community halls and public facilities, or any form of social ostracism
on any ground.
 The law recognizes the human rights dimension to issues of social
boycott, as well as the varied forms in which it occurs in a caste
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based society.
 It even makes it an offense to create cultural obstacles by forcing
people to wear a particular type of clothing or use a particular
language.
Importance of this legislation:
Article 17 of the Constitution and the Protection of Civil Rights Act outlaw
untouchability in all its forms, but these are legal protections intended for
the Scheduled Castes. In reality, members of various castes and
communities also require such protection from informal village councils
and gatherings of elders who draw on their own notions of conformity,
community discipline, morality and social mores to issue diktats to the
village or the community to cut off ties with supposedly offending persons
and families.
The Maharashtra Protection of People from Social Boycott (Prevention,

Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2016, may serve as a template for similar
legislation in other States.
Karnataka Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices and

Black Magic Bill, 2017
Salient features:
 The bill seeks to prohibit actions that offend human dignity, resulting
in the exploitation of gullible and vulnerable people or cause harm to
them.
 Organizing macabre rituals, offering magical cures and threatening
people, under peril of incurring divine or supernatural displeasure,
are covered under this law.
 Among the rituals, the Bill outlaws the urulu seve, also known as
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made snana, in which devotees roll over food leftovers, the practice
of walking on fire, branding children, and piercing one’s tongue or
cheeks.
 It exempts established religious practices and the propagation of
spiritual learning and arts, besides astrology and Vaastu.
 Overall, it tries to heed the line between religious traditions and
superstitious practices.
The proposed law ought to be seen as a reasonable restriction on the right

to practice and propagate one’s religion under Article 25 of the
Constitution. As long as these restrictions are in the interest of public order,
morality, and health, the law may withstand the test of constitutionality.
The argument in support of anti-superstition law:
 Superstitious practices that are utterly dehumanizing, brutal and

exploitative need to be dealt with by a law that specifically addresses
them. India needs legislation on superstition, though what should go
into it requires debate.
 Provisions of Indian Penal Code (IPC) can be applied only after the
crime is committed. But, legislation has a capacity to act as a
deterrent.
 The present IPC is not equipped to take care of crimes committed on
account of black magic and other superstitious practices. A separate
law is necessary because the relationship between a devotee and so
called godman is of a peculiar nature, often marked by violence.
 The antisuperstition law also makes it possible to curtail activities of
socalled godmen before they become too powerful. Once something
is made illegal in the eye of the law, it will not be possible for anyone
to openly support fraudulent godmen.
The argument against the anti-superstition law:

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 The domain of antisuperstition law is to curb superstition,
associated primarily with religious and occult practices. It has to be
noted that almost everything associated with any religion can be
considered superstitious for the simple fact that there is no scientific
rationale behind the same.
 The fundamental tenets of a liberal democracy give us the freedoms
of conscience and to believe in things even when science and
rationality don’t support them.
 There is no need for a separate law to curb evil practices because the
substantive legal framework of our country is adequate to address
such crimes. For instance, parading a woman naked can also be
addressed specifically by Section 354B of the IPC.
 Most of the evil acts, which have been made punishable by the
Karnataka legislation, are already punishable by the IPC and other
existing laws. Therefore, having a new law to recriminalize such acts
doesn’t make much juridical sense.
 Law and order is a State subject, so States are free to enact specific
criminal laws. If the executive is serious about curbing such practices,
active implementation and enforcement of existing laws need to be
made more effective. We already have a reputation for having good
laws but bad implementation.
Conclusion:
The mere legislation is not enough to eradicate superstition from society,

but laws do have the utility value of curbing the prevalence of inhuman
rituals and practices.
It is not a proud moment for a country when special legislation is required
to prohibit social discrimination, ostracism, and practices repugnant to
human dignity. Yet, given the prevailing circumstances, any legislative
assault on abhorrent social practices ought to be welcomed.
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Ultimately, it is education and awareness that can truly liberate a society
from superstition, blind faith and abominable practices in the name of faith.
Until then, the law will have to continue to identify and punish acts that
violate the people’s right to life, health and dignity.
References:
1. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/theboycott
ban/article19337662.ece
2. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/lawfaith
unreason/article19814402.ece
3. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/doweneedananti
superstitionlaw/article20724256.ece
ENTRY OF FOREIGN UNIVERSITIES IN INDIA
Introduction:
By 2020, India is projected to become the youngest country with 64

Page | 202
percent of its population in the working age group. India is expected to be a
supplier of manpower to the rest of the world with a projected surplus of
47 million workers by 2020.
Economists believe that the demographic potential can add a significant

two percent to the gross domestic product growth rate. Thus a higher
education system geared to train a young India population with a quality
education is a necessity.
In this regard, the NITI Aayog has submitted a report to the Prime
Minister’s Office (PMO) and Ministry of Human Resource Development
(HRD) in favor of inviting foreign universities to set up campuses in India.
Present situation:
There are currently 651 foreign education providers in India which have
either entered into collaborative twinning programmes, share faculty with
partnering institutions and offering distance education.
India lacks a legal framework to allow foreign educational institutions to

set up campuses. At present, laws do not allow international educational
institutions to set up India campuses without tying up with local players.
The University Grants Commission Act says that only universities set up by
Parliament or a state legislature, and those declared deemed universities
by the government, can award degrees.
Earlier attempts:
 Governments in the past have made several attempts to enact
legislation for entry, operation and regulation of foreign universities
in the country.
 The first was in 1995 when a Bill was introduced but could not go
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forward.
 In 200506 too, the draft law could not go beyond the Cabinet stage.
 The last attempt was in 2010 in the shape of the Foreign Educational
Institutions Bill, which failed to pass muster in Parliament and lapsed
in 2014.
Many of the reforms being considered now are on the lines of the lapsed
Bill. But the key difference is the suggestion on “profitmaking” and
allowing foreign investors to repatriate their profits.
NITI Aayog suggestions:
NITI Aayog has suggested three routes to permit entry of foreign education
providers:
1. A new law to regulate the operation of such universities in the

country;
2. An amendment to the UGC Act of 1956 and deemed university
regulations to let them in as deemed universities;
3. Facilitating their entry by tweaking UGC and AICTE regulations on
twinning arrangements between Indian and foreign institutions to
permit joint ventures.
Following are the ways in which the entry of foreign universities can help
us:
 The foreign universities will help meet the demand for higher
education in the country, increase competition and subsequently
improve standards of higher education.
 India stands to gain from setting up of foreign universities in terms of
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availability of resources both human and financial, stateoftheart
teaching methodology, research, and innovation.
 Capital expenditure in the cost of setting up an institution is high and
land and buildings are also a major issue. Entry of foreign
universities and leveraging FDI will offset some of these costs.
 The Government also hopes students from neighboring countries
such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan as also from West Asia will
come to the campuses of foreign universities in India rather than
travel to the West.
 It will also make economic sense for India to become a net foreign
exchange earner by attracting students from the neighboring
countries and the extended neighborhood.
 The focal point of foreign investment in education is to give a thrust
to India as an Asian hub — a hub of innovation, business, and
education, driven by strategic policies targeted at economic
development.
Arguments against:
 One of the reservations on foreign universities operating in India was

that they would raise the cost of education, rendering it out of reach
for a large part of the population.
 With quality and education standards varying drastically, entry of
foreign institutions will not be an easy task.
 While foreign transplants elsewhere in the world have provided
some additional access, they have not dramatically increased student
numbers.
 Global experience shows that the large majority of higher education
institutions entering a foreign market are not prestigious universities
but rather lowend institutions seeking market access and income.
 The ethos of Indian education, with its emphasis on social duties and
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character building, also need to be protected and balanced with
modern and scientific education.
Issues and challenges:
 The present regulation says that an institution registered as a society

or a trust or a Section 8 Company can be granted deemed university
status. Global institutions might not want to register as a society or
trust or a company in India to open a campus. International
institutions will prefer to come on the basis of their own strength and
reputation, not as a newly formed society in India.
 It is well known that Indian universities are routinely subjected to
unwarranted interference, even harassment, by the government and
various regulatory bodies in higher education on matters big and
small. This is indisputably one of the big reasons why our best
institutions do not count among the world’s best.
 Assuming that foreign universities are eventually permitted to set up
campuses on terms that are favorable to them they will still have to
consider the possibility that regular and persistent attempts will be
made by the government to reinterpret and redefine the meaning
and scope of that autonomy. This is a risk foreign universities will
have to take if they decide to enter India.
 It is quite clear that reputed foreign universities will not step into
India if they are not allowed to repatriate profits. Education and
profit have always had an uncomfortable relationship and, therefore,
the issue becomes political and divisive.
 It is not clear if the foreign branches will be subject to India's highly
complicated reservation regime (affirmative action programmes)
that often stipulates that half of the enrolments consist of designated
disadvantaged sections.
 A further possible complication may be the role of State governments
in setting their own regulations and conditions for foreign branches.
Page | 206
Indian education is a joint responsibility of the Central and State
governments — and many States have different approaches to higher
education generally and to foreign involvement in particular.
References:
1. http://indianexpress.com/article/india/indianewsindia/allow
foreignuniversitycampusesnitiaayog2755773/
2. https://www.telegraphindia.com/1170113/jsp/frontpage/story_13
0103.jsp
3. https://thewire.in/11541/foreignuniversitieswillbetakingarisk
iftheyenterindia/
4. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/education/centreto
makeiteasyforforeignuniversitiestosetup
campus/article7102316.ece
5. http://www.dailypioneer.com/columnists/oped/openindiasdoors
toforeignschools.html
6. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/Indiasopendoorto
foreignuniversities/article16364745.ece
RESPECTING NATIONAL ANTHEM
What is the issue?

Page | 207
The Supreme Court in December 2016 asked all cinemas to play the
national anthem before a film is screened “for the love of the motherland”,
reigniting a debate over whether an increasingly assertive brand of
nationalistic pride is stifling civil liberties.
The order was based on a petition filed by Shyam Narayan Chouksey in

October 2016. The petition wanted Parliament to apply its mind and define
‘respect’ for the national anthem and flag under Article 51A (a) of the
Constitution. If not, it alternatively wanted the Supreme Court to issue a
mandamus to the government to frame guidelines.
SC judgment of December 2016:
 The Supreme Court’s interim order banned dramatizing, abridging or

making money from the 52secondlong Jana Gana Mana.
 It also said the national flag must be displayed on the movie screen
when the anthem is played.
 Moviegoers must stand up and all doors of cinema halls are closed at
such times to stop people moving around.
 The court had exempted persons “who are wheelchair users, those
with autism, persons suffering from cerebral palsy, multiple
disabilities, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, leprosy cured, muscular
dystrophy and deaf and blind” from the ambit of its order.
Earlier legal interventions:
There have been legal interventions on playing the national anthem in

theatres in the past.
 The national anthem was last ordered to be played in cinemas in
India after the country’s 1962 war with China but the practice was
discontinued in 1975 after most moviegoers ignored it.
 The national anthem is already played before movies in some states –
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such as Maharashtra – but the measure is often controversial, with
instances of people beaten up for not standing up for the anthem.
Current legal position:
 Existing laws don’t penalize or force any person to stand up or sing

the national anthem. The Prevention of Insults to National Honour
Act, 1971 states: “Whoever intentionally prevents the singing of the
Jana Gana Mana or causes disturbances to any assembly engaged in
such singing shall be punished with imprisonment for a term, which
may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.”
 A Home Ministry order in 2015 stated, “Whenever the Anthem is sung
or played, the audience shall stand to attention. However, when in the
course of a newsreel or documentary the Anthem is played as a part of
the film, it is not expected of the audience to stand as standing is bound
to interrupt the exhibition of the film and would create disorder and
confusion rather than add to the dignity of the Anthem.”
 And the law until now, specifically says that it has been left “to the
good sense of the people” not to indulge in indiscriminate singing or
playing of the national anthem. There are even specific rules as to
whom the national anthem should be played for (the President and
not the Prime Minister), and when people can indulge in mass singing
of the anthem.
 India’s Constitution speaks of respect to the national flag and anthem
as a fundamental duty in Part 1V A under Article 51(A). It says that “it
shall be the duty of every citizen of India — (a) to abide by the
Constitution and respect the ideals of the national flag and the national
anthem”.
The argument against the order:
 No central government can extract respect for the national anthem.

Respect has to be voluntary and driven by emotions.
 It would practically be not possible to enforce such an order by the Page | 209
country’s overstretched police, which will also have to worry about
selfappointed vigilante groups trying to bring to bear the court
directive.
 It is bad enough for the Supreme Court to scorn individual freedom.
The directive was intrusive and hardly useful in promoting
patriotism.
 Some argued that this requirement infringes upon their right to
choose the manner and place of respecting the national anthem.
 Cinema halls should not be allowed to play the national anthem
before a movie because some people don't stand up for it, causing
disrespect.
 The official duration of the anthem is 52 seconds, though what is
usually played in cinema halls exceeds that length, causing
disrespect.
 The power of the court rests upon the compelling character of its
reasoning. By passing an order that does not try to meet even the
minimal burden of reasoning, the court only reminds citizens of the
growing imperiousness of its claims.
 Besides encouraging moral policing, extreme laws create any number
of unnecessary conundrums: are the infirm, or foreigners, also forced
to stand up? Why single out movie theatres? It is also a valid question
why the judiciary should want to write new laws rather than stick to
interpreting the law, thereby messing with the separation of powers.
Arguments in favour of the order:

 People were bound to show respect when the national anthem is
played or recited or sung, which is the symbol of the Constitutional
Patriotism and inherent national quality.
 Plying national anthem in cinema halls and standing up to show
Page | 210
respect would help to unite people.
Modification of earlier order:
The Supreme Court recently modified its December 2016 interim order and
made it optional for cinema halls to play the 52second national anthem
before every show.
Supreme Court clarified that it is not mandatory to play the anthem before
screenings. The court left the choice of whether to play the anthem or not
to the discretion of individual cinema hall owners. However, if the anthem
was played, patrons were bound to stand up in respect.
The modification will be in place till the Union government takes a final
decision on the recommendations of an interministerial committee on the
occasions, circumstances, and events for the solemn rendering of the
national anthem.
Conclusion:
It makes sense to play the anthem every day at school and college. It
perhaps makes sense before television news — this is, after all, news about
the nation. It may even make sense before certain films — serious films like
Swades or Border that deal with “nationalistic” subjects.
But how can the compulsory presentation of the national anthem before
every show considered a form of respect? In this context, the Supreme
Court does it right to make the playing of the national anthem before a film
optional.
References:
1. http://www.hindustantimes.com/indianews/supremecourtsays
playingnationalanthemmandatoryincinemahallsbutno
commercialexploitation/storyrjjGJSPmpC7gQx4TSoUdNJ.html Page | 211
2. http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2016/11/30/justwhyshouldthe
nationalanthembeplayedincinemahalls_a_21617133/
3. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/Playingofthenational
anthemandlaws/article16730624.ece
4. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/respectfornationalflag
anthemnonnegotiablecentretellssc/article18115099.ece
5. https://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toieditorials/sitatease
foistingnationalanthemonfilmgoersdoesdisservicetogenuine
patriotism/
6. http://www.thehindu.com/todayspaper/playingofnational
anthemincinemahallsmadeoptional/article22408357.ece
SPECIAL COURT FOR TRYING POLITICIANS
What is the issue?

Page | 212
Recently a PIL petition was filed by Supreme Court advocate Ashwini

Upadhyay who has sought a lifetime ban on all convicted politicians.
In the context of this PIL, the court recently directed the Centre to place
before it details of 1,581 cases involving MPs and MLAs, as declared by the
politicians at the time of filing their nominations during the 2014 general
elections.
In response, the Centre has set up at least 12 special courts to try

exclusively criminal cases involving MPs and MLAs. Of the 12 special
courts, ten have started functioning.
In this article, we will discuss different arguments in support and against

setting up special courts.
Criminalization of politics:
There is scarcely any doubt that the country’s political system requires an
urgent cleanup.
 According to the Association for Democratic Reforms, more than a

third of the members of the current Lok Sabha have criminal cases
against them.
 Another report notes that more than 50 lawmakers in the country
face charges of crimes against women.
What is more worrying is that a candidates’ criminal reputation is often

perceived as an asset in an election.
The Second Administrative Reforms Commission (2005) had noted that the
“opportunity to influence crime investigations and to convert policemen from
being potential adversaries to allies is the irresistible magnet drawing
criminals to politics.”
Page | 213
Scheme to set up special courts:
 The Centre has set up 12 special courts to try exclusively criminal

cases involving MPs and MLAs. The Supreme Court gave the green
signal for the Centre’s scheme to set up 12 fasttrack courts to
exclusively prosecute and dispose 1,581 criminal cases pending
against Members of Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies
within a year.
 The government has allotted Rs. 7.8 crore and framed a scheme to set
up the special courts.
 The State governments, in consultation with the High Courts, will set
up the Fast Track Courts to ensure that the courts start functioning
from 01.03.2018. Of the 12 special courts, ten have started
functioning. The remaining two courts – one each in Tamil Nadu and
Uttar Pradesh are likely to start functioning soon.
 The scheme proposes to club the cases of several politicians together
and have one court to hear them. This way, the Supreme Court
expected a special court to finish at least 100 cases a year.
 The Supreme Court directed the High Courts, acting through the
various trial courts, to trace out from the case records the criminal
cases pending against politicians and transfer them to the special
courts concerned for adjudication.
Why special courts?
 It took years, probably decades, to complete the trial against a

politician. By this time, he or she would have served as a Minister or
legislator several times over. Special courts are the determined effort
to cleanse politics of criminality and corruption.
 It is apparent that those with political influence have taken full
advantage of its inherently lethargic nature by delaying hearings,
Page | 214
obtaining repeated adjournments and filing innumerable
interlocutory petitions to stall any meaningful progress.
 It is in the public interest to expedite cases in which those in public
life face serious charges. It would be primarily in their own interest
to clear their names quickly, lest their candidature be tainted.
 Prosecuting politicians in special courts and the threat of impending
disqualification will serve as a powerful disincentive for political
parties to award tickets to such characters. The enduring neta
criminal nexus calls for strong corrective action rather than
persisting with the status quo.
Concerns:
However, establishing special courts may not be the ideal way to expedite
cases.
 From the viewpoint of the accused, the idea could smack of

victimization and engender a feeling of being chosen for
discriminatory treatment. There is already a provision for special
courts to try various classes of offenses. However, creating a court for
a class of people such as politicians is discriminatory.
 While corruption charges against public servants are being handled
by special courts, it is a moot question whether there can be special
treatment for offenses under the Indian Penal Code solely because
the accused is a politician.
 The earlier order of Supreme Court for completion of trial within one
year appears to have had no significant impact. Special courts may
indeed address these issues, but the ideal remedy will always be a
speedy trial in regular courts.
 The country’s experience with such courts is not so encouraging.
More than 50 percent of the fasttrack courts are not functioning.
Page | 215
According to the Department of Justice, more than 6.5 lakh cases are
pending in fasttrack courts in the country, about 1,500 of them in
Delhi. Without adequate infrastructure and qualified judges, many of
the fast track courts are illequipped to deal with such a huge volume
of cases.
 Given the shortage of judges in the country, fasttracking criminal
cases against lawmakers will inevitably mean slowing down the pace
of other litigation.
 With deadlines hanging over their heads, the judges will be under
pressure to process evidence without due consideration. Rulings will
inevitably be challenged, defeating the purpose of setting up these
courts.
Important judgments of SC:
In recent years, increasing numbers of criminal are entering the electoral

fray.
 In a landmark verdict in 2013, the court removed the statutory

protection for convicted legislators from immediate disqualification;
 In 2014, it directed completion of trials involving elected
representatives within a year.
The court is now keen on establishing a timebound and exclusive judicial

mechanism to expedite trials involving “political persons”.
Views of election commission:
The Election Commission (EC) had told the court that it supported
decriminalization of politics through a lifetime ban on members of
Parliament and legislative assemblies, who at present can contest elections
even after being convicted in criminal cases.
It also submitted that recommendations of the EC and Law Commission for

lifetime disqualification of politicians convicted in criminal cases were Page | 216
under consideration by the government.
Conclusion:
The Supreme Court’s order directing the Centre to frame a scheme to

establish special courts exclusively to try cases against politicians marks
another milestone in the higher judiciary’s continuing campaign to cleanse
politics of the taint of crime.
Setting up the special court may not be the ideal solution for
decriminalizing the politics. But it is the step in right direction.
References:
1. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/specialcourtstotry
politicianscentreinformssc/article21540568.ece
2. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/scclears12special
courtstotrycasesagainstpoliticians/article21665775.ece
3. http://www.livemint.com/Politics/SMbfLsCmuB4PQWE1J6kimO/Go
vtproposesspecialcourtstofasttrackcriminalcasesag.html
4. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/trying
politicians/article19969747.ece
5. http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/supreme
courtpoliticalcriminalcasesaquickerjustice4919892/
FRDI BILL
What is the issue?
The Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill, 2017 created
Page | 217
much mass hysteria among bank customers.
The controversial Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) bill

were introduced in the Lok Sabha in August 2017. The bill was deferred by
the parliamentary standing committee.
The bill aimed to provide a resolution to deal with bankruptcies in banks,

insurance companies, and other financial intermediaries through a
'Resolution Corporation' and a 'Corporation Insurance Fund'.
In this article, we will discuss the salient features of the bill, the ‘bailin’
clause and other related issues.
Salient features:
 The Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill (FRDI) aims to

set up a resolution corporation which will monitor financial
companies, categories them as per their risk profiles and step in to
prevent them from going bankrupts by writing down their liabilities.
 The bill aims to consolidate all the various regulatory laws covering
India’s financial institutions. As such, the Bill is to work in tandem
with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
 The bill's bailin clause which empowers the resolution corporation
to rescue a failing financial institution with the help of creditors and
depositors money.
 Barring money which is insured, rest of the money can be subjected
to the bailin clause. However, bailin can be invoked only if the
depositor had given prior consent at the time of signing the deposit
forms.
 The proceeds from the sale of assets of a bank would have first gone
to insured depositors.
In the previous regime, the depositors were insured for only Rs. 1 lakh
irrespective of the deposit made in a bank. However, the new bill made no Page | 218
mention of the maximum amount of insured deposit.
About “bail-in” clause:
The banking system of any country is built on an edifice of trust that

depositors have in their banks. The confidence that money is safe, keeps
depositors away from withdrawing their funds unless they really need it.
Meanwhile, it allows banks to lend out the money to borrowers which
generate interest income for the depositor, profit for the bank and larger
economic growth.
However, Section 52 of the Bill allows the proposed Resolution

Corporation to cancel the liability owed by a failed bank. Since the main
liability of a bank is the ordinary depositor’s money, it naturally caused
concern whether depositors stand to lose their money beyond what is
insured in the event of a bank failure.
When a failed bank does not have any assets left to pay its creditors, it is
natural that depositors will not get back all or part of their money.
The government can never commit to paying out all depositors in such an
event. Such a commitment would signal to banks that it is acceptable to
take more risks because in case they go bellyup, the government will pay
out depositors; the level of risk in the banking system would simply
explode. Hence, “depositors have to take some hit if a bank fails.” This is
formalized in the FRDI Bill’s bailin clause.
The FRDI Bill stipulates several procedural and substantive
requirements that ought to be fulfilled before a bailin is actualized in
practice.
 For instance, only upon a determination by either the resolution Page | 219
corporation or the appropriate regulator (RBI for banks) of a ‘critical
risk to viability’ of a particular bank alone, can any of the resolution
tools be resorted to.
 Additionally, the corporation has to substantively satisfy itself of the
very ‘necessity’ of ‘bailin’ as against an exhaustive set of indicators
and as opposed to other resolution tools.
 Procedurally, any resort to the ‘bailin’ clause has to be preceded by
bringing the central government and the parliament on board and
keeping both institutions informed at all stages of the bailin process.
 Two further significant limitations on the use of ‘bailin’ tool are the
obligation to respect the hierarchy of claims as in the case of an
ordinary liquidation procedure and the obligation to ensure that
creditors are not affected in any manner worse than they would be in
the event of an ordinary liquidation.
 The Bill provides further scope for the corporation to devise
additional safeguards that might be applicable to a ‘bailin’
procedure.
Thus, the Bill essentially makes the actual use of the ‘bailin’ tool
considerably more difficult and demanding than it is perceived to be.
Are the deposits at risk?
 Under the current Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee

Corporation Act, deposits up to Rs. 1 lakh are insured. Under the
FRDI Bill, the Resolution Corporation will be empowered to increase
this limit to whatever it chooses. So, at least that much will be
protected.
 Further, the government said that under the FRDI Bill, the claims of
uninsured depositors (that is, beyond Rs. 1 lakh) would be given
precedence over the claims of unsecured creditors and government
dues. This is currently not the case.
Page | 220
 Further, the government has clarified that the bailin clause will not
be used for public sector banks (PSBs). It also reiterated its implicit
guarantee of PSB solvency. In other words, it said that it “stands
ready” to bailout the PSBs if needed, removing the need for a bailin.
 Equally important is cancellation of the liability of a depositor
beyond the insured amount cannot take place without his or her
prior consent. So, the bailin clause can only be used in private banks,
and that too only if the customers allow it.
It is also important for the depositor to believe that the need for a bailin
will never arise. Here lies the role of trust in the banking system.
Arguments in support of the bill:
 The present Bill is not only an appropriate response to accumulated

wisdom characterizing financial booms and busts but is also an
impending necessity in the context of global financial reform.
 In line with global best practices, the FRDI Bill creates an overarching
framework for resolving ‘financial service providers’, stipulates a
toolbox of several resolution mechanisms, mandates a new entity,
the ‘resolution corporation’ to effectuate an orderly resolution
process and provides for several safeguards to effectuate such bank
resolutions.
 Moreover, the Bill integrates the question of liability arising out of
deposit claims that are to be insured and protected under the FRDI
Bill, including the manner and means of payment of deposit
insurance, in the event of a bank failure. It streamlines the
procedures for deposit insurance claims and further imposes strict
timelines for the disbursal of amounts payable under deposit
insurance.
Withdrawal of the bill:

Page | 221
The Union government has withdrawn the Financial Resolution and
Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill.
Though the government did not give any official reason for the withdrawal
of the bill, it is believed that the government wanted to avoid further
controversy surrounding contentious provisions included in the Bill, such
as the ‘bailin’ clause.
Views in support of Withdrawal of the bill:
In India, where over 70 percent of the depositors’ money is parked in state

owned banks, proposing the use of deposits for bailins would have shaken
public faith in the banking system.
In India, where instances of commercial banks going defunct are very rare,
incorporating a bailin clause, as in other developed countries post the
2008 crisis, will always be unwise.
Of course, the scrapping of the Bill has left a gap in the legal framework for
resolution, including liquidation, of financial firms in India. But it is a
matter that the Centre can take up at a later date.
References:
1. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/indiabusiness/frdi
bill2017whatdoesitmeanforyour
money/articleshow/62170145.cms
2. http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/frdidepositortrust
iskeytobanking/article22392036.ece
3. http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/clearingtheairon
thebailinclause/article22360662.ece
4. https://thewire.in/210613/indefenceofthefrdibillbanking
finiancialregulators/
5. https://www.ndtv.com/business/arunjaitleysaysfrdibillwill Page | 222
protectdepositorsmoney1790943
6. http://www.businesstoday.in/current/policy/parliamentary
standingcommitteefrdibilldeferredbudget
session/story/266067.html
NATIONAL MEDICAL COMMISSION BILL
Introduction:
Page | 223
The National Medical Commission Bill, 2017, was introduced in the Lok
Sabha by health minister J.P. Nadda on December 29, 2017. But the
controversial Bill was referred to a standing committee for scrutiny.
The Bill was drafted by the NITI Aayog, following a standing committee
report in 2016 on the corrupt functioning of the Medical Council of India
(MCI).
In this article, we will discuss the salient features of the bill, why the
government has introduced this bill and why doctors opposed this bill.
Salient features:
 The Bill attempts to tackle two main things on quality and quantity:
Corruption in medical education and a shortage of medical
professionals.
 It proposes instituting a National Medical Commission (NMC) instead
of the MCI. The NMC’s functions would include writing policies to
regulate medical institutions and individuals, and also to lay down
some guidelines on fees in private medical colleges.
 The commission will have a governmentnominated chairman and
members, and the board members will be selected by a search
committee under the Cabinet Secretary.
 The Bill prescribes four autonomous boards under the NMC,
specifically for undergraduate and postgraduate education. The
boards will come up with the curriculum, standards and necessary
recognition. Its members too will be appointed by the government.
 There will be a medical assessment and rating board which will grant
permissions for new colleges and penalize institutions which don’t
follow the prescribed standards.
 The final MBBS examination would be held as a common exam
Page | 224
throughout the country and would serve as an exit test to be called
the National Exit Test (NEXT).
 Bill permits 60% of seats to be open for management with the
unfettered freedom to charge any quantum of fees in order to recoup
the investment.
 Clause 49 of the Bill calls for a joint sitting of the National Medical
Commission, the Central Council of Homoeopathy and the Central
Council of Indian Medicine at least once a year “to enhance the
interface between homoeopathy, Indian Systems of Medicine and
modern systems of medicine”.
Arguments against the bill:
The Indian Medical Association opposed the Bill, calling it “antipeople and
antipoor”.
 The new NMC would have its members largely nominated and
appointed by the government, while office bearers in the MCI were
elected from among the medical fraternity. The NMC would have 25
members appointed by the central government. This body is
controlled by the government and there is overcentralization of
powers and functions.
 Such wideranging powers that will be exercised by the central
ministry rob not just the federal nature of the law and reduce the
NMC to an advisory role. In fact, the whole nineyear battle for
revamping the MCI was mainly centered on the growing
politicisation of medical education.
 The act has introduced a system under which the Commission and
the heads of the councils of Ayush can, by a simple voice vote of those
present, design bridge courses legalizing Ayush practitioners to
prescribe allopathy medicines. At all levels – primary level to post
Page | 225
graduate. Such provision will promote quackery and has been
severely opposed.
 On the other side, staunch and trained homeopaths and traditional
practitioners also are unhappy with the Bill that proposes a “bridge
course” for their community to practice allopathy. Instead of
popularizing traditional medicines, this move encourages traditional
practitioners to gravitate towards allopathy.
 NMC bill will “cripple” the functioning of medical professionals by
making them completely answerable to the bureaucracy and non
medical administrators.
 The Medical Council of India is a representative body of the medical
profession in India. Abolishing a democratic institution and replacing
it with a body in which a majority is nominated by the government, is
certainly a retrograde step.
 The bill, in its current form, allows private medical colleges to charge
at will, nullifying whatever solace the NEET brought.
In 2013, the Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC) returned the earlier

bill to replace MCI with three observations:
 The states’ autonomy and potential violation of federal principles;

 excessive bureaucratization and centralization; and
 Faulty selection procedure of regulators, providing scope for abuse.
Ironically, all these observations pertain to the current NMC Bill as well.
Recent amendments:
 The government approved an amendment to make the punishment
for any unauthorized practice of medicine “severe” by including a
provision for the imprisonment of up to one year along with a fine
extending to up to Rs five lakh.
Page | 226
 The final MBBS examination would be held as a common exam
throughout the country and would serve as an exit test to be called
the National Exit Test (NEXT). Thus, students would not have to
appear in a separate exam after MBBS to get a license to practice and
‘NEXT’ would serve as the screening test for doctors with foreign
medical qualifications in order to practice in India.
 The provision dealing with “bridge course” for AYUSH practitioners
to practice modern medicine has been removed. The provision was
strongly opposed by health organizations, which said allowing
AYUSH doctors to practice modern medicine would promote
“quackery”.
 The maximum limit of 40 percent seats – for which fee would be
regulated in private medical institutions and deemed universities –
has been increased to 50 percent. Further, it has been clarified that
the fee would include all other charges taken by the colleges.
 The nominees of states and UTs in the NMC have been increased from
3 to 6.
 The NMC will comprise 25 members of which at least 21 will be
doctors.
Thus these amendments try to address major concerns gathered during a

discussion with stakeholders and the states.
References:
1. https://thewire.in/209968/billprescribingintegrationof
homeopathyandmodernmedicinesenttostandingcommittee/
2. https://thewire.in/210859/nationalmedicalcommissionbill2017/
3. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/questionable
remedy/article22354009.ece
4. http://indianexpress.com/article/india/imaprotestagainstnmc
billmayhitservicesinprivatehospitals5007682/
5. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/nmcbill Page | 227
helpsputthespotlightonmedicaleducationdoctor
shortages/article10008413.ece
6. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/govtapproves
amendmentstonationalmedicalcommissionbillremoves
provisionofbridgecourse/
BARRING MPS FROM PRACTICING LAW
Introduction:
An expert committee of the Bar Council of India is considering a plea to ban

Page | 228
lawmakers — Members of Parliament and Members of the Assemblies —
from doubling up as practising advocates, saying they are salaried public
servants and cannot ride two horses at the same time.
The committee is examining the provisions of the Advocates Act and the
Bar Council of India Rules in this respect.
In this article, we will discuss the views in support and against this
proposal.
 The BCI Rule 49 restricts a salaried employee from practising as an

advocate. Many senior advocates practising in the Supreme Court are
also party politicians and sitting MPs.
 Under Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 2(c) of the
Prevention of Corruption Act, MLAs and MPs are public servants.
Hence, allowing them to practice, as an advocate and restricting other
public servants is arbitrary, irrational and violation of Articles 1415
of the Constitution.
 It amounts to “professional misconduct” that MLAs and MPs, who get
salary and other benefits from the public fund, appear against the
government.
 Some of these lawmakers even hold corporate retainerships. They
appear against the State to defend their lawbreaker clients in the
Court of Law, which is the matter of conflict of interest.
 While an advocate should be fully dedicated to his profession,
legislators are also expected to dedicate their full time to the public
and their constituents ahead of their personal and financial interests.
It is impossible for a person to perform two fulltime duties at a time.
Therefore, MLAs and MPs must be barred from practising as an
advocate.
Page | 229
 The top court in an April 1996 judgment had held that a doctor
cannot practice as an advocate before the court of law until he leaves
his medical career, likewise, a person should also give up his job as a
lawmaker to continue the practice.
 The nobility of the profession of law also has to be preserved and
protected. Therefore, provisions of the Advocates Act and BCI Rules
must be given effect in letter and spirit to maintain a clean and
efficient Bar to serve the cause of justice.
 There is also a conflict of interest. MPs and MLAs have the power to
initiate impeachment proceedings against a judge, which means that
they can pressurize the judge to give a favourable verdict when they
plead before him or her in a case.
 When MPs and MLAs find a draft Bill wanting, they should argue in
Parliament, not challenge it in a court of law.
 There are instances that beedi or liquor barons eventually become
MPs and sit on committees to influence the destiny of their
businesses.
The question raised in the petition filed by Ashwini Upadhyay is based on a

1996 judgment which actually specifies who can practice as an advocate.
Briefly, the judgment says that while being an advocate, you cannot engage
in any other activity either partly or fully (in trade, business, etc.).
But the question is, can politics be equated with being in a trade or is it an
employment? What MPs and MLAs get in the form of remuneration is
termed as allowance, not as earnings.
Arguments against the petition:

 Barring MPs from practising will make parliament a place for the
unemployed. Some argued that it would be a regressive step and
unwarranted interference with the legal profession.
 Competent and wellintentional persons do not betray the ideals of
Page | 230
either the Parliament or of the legal profession. Hence there is no
reason to discuss the proposal.
 It is ironic that while sectors like the civil service (where generalists
predominate) are seeking a partial conversion to specialized
personnel and technocrats, we have a reversion and regression
inbuilt in this outlandish idea. Parliament deserves to be enriched by
diverse talents, varied experiences, and different vocational acumen.
 Lawyers are articulate and known for logical thinking. Training in
law helps them understand law and legislation better. Ultimately, the
country has to be run in accordance with the rule of law.
 The remuneration which MPs/MLAs get is meager and is often cited
as one of the reasons for engaging in other professional activities.
 If there is misconduct — their presence or absence in the House or
appearance for certain clients, amongst other reasons — the parties
have to take note. One can inform the Privileges Committee or Ethics
Committee in the event of a transgression.
Petition in the Supreme Court:
The Supreme Court is currently hearing the petition in this matter.
 During the hearing, the Centre did not accept the proposition that
lawyers should be banned from being legislators. Such a ban is not
correct or justifiable as being an MP/MLA is not a fulltime job.
 The Bar Council of India maintained that they are not objecting to
legislators practicing law.
As of now, the court has reserved its judgment on the matter after an
elaborate hearing.
References:
1. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/shouldmpsmlasbe
Page | 231
barredfrompractisingasadvocatesbcipanel
examines/article22281631.ece
2. http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/parliamentoftheunemployed
lawyernetasupsetwithbciforconsideringbanonlawmakers
frompracticing/1/1119164.html
3. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/cantbanmpsfrom
otherprofessionssc/article17754103.ece
4. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/shouldmpsandmlas
bebarredfrompractisinglaw/article22369299.ece
5. http://www.livelaw.in/centrebcisaylegislatorscanbeallowedto
practiceasadvocatesscreservesjudgment/
CONTROVERSY OVER CHANGING THE CONSTITUTION
What is the issue?

Page | 232
Recently, Minister of state for skill development Anant Kumar Hegde

created a controversy by stating that “The Constitution needs to be
changed from time to time and we have come for that.”
Earlier a controversy has been sparked by a government advertisement on

Republic Day which featured the preamble to the Constitution with the
words ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ missing.
In this article, we will discuss the legality of changing (not amending)

constitution, whether inserting the words ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ was
correct or not.
Does India need a new Constitution?
The demand for a new constitution mainly comes from two sides: one,
which envisages making constitution more progressive by limiting the
power of the state and giving more power to the citizens; other side
demands change in the constitution mainly on the basis of ideology and to
score political brownie points.
The reformist demand to change the constitution is mainly based on the

following:
 India’s Constitution has the dubious distinction of being the largest in

the world and consequently unreadable, and largely unread. It gives
the government enormous powers to intervene in the economy, to
enact laws that discriminate among citizens based on attributes such
as religion and caste, restricts freedom of speech and limits the right
to property. In short, it allows deliberate political and economic
exploitation.
 Undue government interference in the economy politicizes the
economy, which in turn leads to the corruption of politics.
Page | 233
 The Indian Constitution places the government as the master and
people as its servants—as can be expected of an essentially colonial
government.
 Constitutions provide the structure of rules and constraints within
which political decisions are made. Very large constitutions encoding
a vast set of rules point to a “low trust” society. India is not inherently
a low trust society but it became so because of the adversarial
relationship between the government and the people, established by
the British and continued postindependence.
 The Constitution’s colonial origins give the government near
omnipotent powers that are not consistent with a free society. It
allows the government to interfere and restrict economic and civic
freedoms.
Thus, India needs a new Constitution (or need to change the existing one)
that constrains governmental power and restricts it to the proper role of
the government in a free society, namely to protect life, liberty, and
property of the citizens.
Counter-arguments:
 The Indian Constitution is large and unwieldy but it is considered to

be one of the finest in the world. The authors of the constitution were
known for their mastery of the comparative law, history, politics,
sociology and the literary idiom.
 The Constitution was the outcome of two major movements in Indian
history that shaped each other. One was the series of colonial laws
enacted to govern India and the second was the freedom struggle.
The historical struggle generated imaginations, aspirations, and ideas
that were indisputably democratic.
 Despite the major destruction of lives and property, the makers of
the Constitution continued to hold fast to the values of the freedom
Page | 234
struggle: democracy, fundamental rights, minority rights, limited
government, rule of law, and an independent judiciary. That is why
the Indian Constitution has held a fractious body politic together
when country after country in the postcolonial world has fallen prey
to authoritarianism.
The second set of people are those who are not comfortable with the words
like ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’ in the constitution. The two terms were inserted
as part of the 42nd amendment which was passed during the Emergency.
Here we will discuss whether inserting the words ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’
was correct or not.
Circumstances under which the words were added:
 The government of the time had severely weakened civil and political
rights so it was probably keen to demonstrate a commitment to
social and economic rights. So it wanted to enshrine the idea of a
socialistic pattern of society.
 The government had also abolished the privy purses of former
princely states and nationalized banks during the radical phase in the
late 1960s.
Was it correct or not?
 Inserting ‘secular’ is harmless since secularism is built into the

Constitution’s provisions, including Article 25.
 The judiciary has held secularism to be a part of the basic structure of
the Constitution.
 However, inserting the term ‘socialist’ is more problematic as it limits
policy choices that can be made by a democratically elected
government. What if such a government decides that the market can
be useful in achieving some national goals?
Page | 235
In fact, the very issue was debated when the Constitution was drafted. B R
Ambedkar rejected insertion of ‘socialist’ into the preamble with a succinct
explanation. “What should be the policy of the state, how the society should
be organized in its social and economic side are matters which must be
decided by people themselves according to time and circumstances.” Those
are wise words which should be definitive last ones on the subject.
Counterview:
 Discarding socialism from the Constitution would provide the

government with the excuse to dismantle the rather weak social
protection the government offers to the poorest. Socialist word was
added to reassure the nation that the moneyed class would not
dominate the economy.
 The word ‘socialist’ is not an empty phrase and does not reflect
political opportunism. It expresses widely felt sentiments and give a
sense of direction to more detailed social and economic programmes
and policies of governments. It does not represent a doctrinaire and
theoretical commitment of the state but rather is part of a pragmatic
and flexible approach especially when there has been an over
emphasis on the growth fetish in recent times.
 Regardless of the economic course that governments since 1991 have
pursued, the principle of socialism takes into consideration the
objective realities of India, where there continue to be large numbers
of poor people.
 Dropping secularism would permit the government to introduce all
sorts of mythical and religious concepts into education—in history
and science, but elsewhere too, which would only produce an
intellectually stunted generation in future.
 Besides, it would enable the state to remove protection for minorities
from discrimination, by citing reverse discrimination.
Page | 236
In summary:
The constitutional guarantees against discrimination will remain

regardless of politicians tinkering with the preamble, and so would the
guarantees that enable Indians to live their lives with dignity. But the
removal of explicit assurance can, in theory, weaken the resolve of
subsequent governments, and possibly judiciaries, to protect and extend
the rights of the vulnerable.
Moreover, the Supreme Court’s Keshavananda Bharati judgment of 1973

underlined that the amending power of Parliament did not extend to
tampering with the Constitution’s “basic structure”. Thus even if it should
pass in Parliament, it is liable to be struck down by the Supreme Court.
The Constitution should be changed only if a cataclysmic event,

geopolitical, economic, maybe technological, necessitates it. That too would
have to pass the scrutiny of the judiciary.
References
1. https://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toieditorials/dangerous
rhetoricfocusonimprovingpeopleslivesdonotdragthe
constitutionintopettypolitics/
2. http://www.hindustantimes.com/editorials/ananthegdes
commentontheconstitutionwasdesignedtoprovokeandearn
politicalbrowniepoints/storytsrPAuxkpqmWV3qzuh1DYM.html
3. http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/Il2MQqKxm60JzDVpkXfJnL/Why
IndianeedsanewConstitution.html
4. https://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toieditorials/was
insertingsocialismintoconstitutionpreambleamistake/
5. http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/XKcwMBM2WpKX7TM20yPBBP
/WhysecularismandsocialismareintegraltotheIndiancons.html
6. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/politicsoverthe Page | 237
constitution/article24427698.ece
LATERAL ENTRY: PROFESSIONALIZING GOVERNANCE OR
COMMITTED BUREAUCRACY?
Page | 238
Context:
Recently, the Department of Personnel and Training invited applications

from outstanding individuals, including those from the private sector, for
appointment to joint secretarylevel posts. Initially, 10 posts are offered in
the areas such as financial services, agriculture, environment, renewable
energy, transport, and revenue.
What is ‘lateral entry’?
The term lateral entry relates to the appointment of specialists, mainly

from the private sector, in government organizations.
Arguments in support of lateral entry:
 The idea behind the lateral entry is to invite expertise and

specialization. Specialist inputs will be very useful in situations like
WTO negotiations or dealing with intellectual property or services,
climate change negotiations, financial services agreements etc.
 Despite being sent on training programmes to acquire specialization,
there is a paucity of specialists at higher levels. Given their years of
grassroots experience, senior bureaucrats are well informed across a
range of subjects. But as the experience of public sector undertakings
being run by IAS officials tells us, they may not be the best of
managers or specialists.
 Lateral entry expected to disrupt the existing bureaucratic setup with
new ideas and methods. Existing bureaucratic setup has failed to
deliver in terms of governance and accountability.
 Though the UPSC recruits from diverse educational backgrounds, the
scheme of posting and transfer focuses more on the general
competency than specialized skills. By the time a bureaucrat attains
seniority, he/she has served in so many departments that his/her
Page | 239
original set of skills and expertise has attenuated considerably.
 A generalist was suited to the times when the state was the nerve
center of the economy. But as the state started yielding to the market,
a bureaucrat must not only guide a complicated government
apparatus but also regulate and facilitate the private sector.
Arguments against lateral entry:
 The process for appointments to senior level through lateral entry is

not transparent. There is a risk that lateral entry may be reduced into
‘spoils system’.
 There are apprehensions that lateral entry may create synergy
between the government and big businesses and it may compromise
the integrity of the government.
 The government is expected to cover the sectors which the private
sector has missed or not allowed to enter. The dialogue between
business and government is indisputably necessary, but the
philosophy of running a government like a business is questionable
because the government is not supposed to be run like a business,
especially in the developing countries like India.
 UPSC has the mandate to make recruitment to civil service jobs under
the Constitution and the civil service statutes. Looking outside the
UPSC will destroy a meritbased, politically neutral civil service. In
other words, the lateral entry may lead to ‘committed bureaucracy’.
 Lateral entry adversely affects the morale of incumbent bureaucrats,
and it is likely to distort the incentives of new entrants. It would
adversely affect careerprogression opportunities.
 Lateral entry may result in dilution of reservation for weaker section
of the society.
Is lateral entry a new concept?

Page | 240
No. The need for ‘specialization in the bureaucracy’ had been pointed out as
early as 1965 by the First Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC).
 In its 2002 report, the Civil Services Review Committee headed by Y.

K. Alagh recommended lateral entry, on the lines of countries like the
US, where the administration has a mix of permanent civil servants
and midcareer professionals.
 The Surinder Nath Committee (2003) and the Hota Committee
(2004) supported the idea of lateral entry.
 In 2005, the Second ARC envisaged a shift from a “careerbased
approach to a postbased approach” for toptier government jobs. It
recommended “institutionalized and transparent process for lateral
entry at both the Central and state levels”.
 The NITI Aayog floated the idea of lateral entry about a year ago.
Examples of lateral recruits:
In the past, governments have occasionally inducted talent from outside

the bureaucracy for administrative purposes.
 In the 1950s and 1960s, nonbureaucrats such as Lovraj Kumar, P. L.

Tandon, and V. Krishnamurthy were appointed to senior
administrative positions.
 Manmohan Singh as Finance secretary, and Montek Singh Ahluwalia
as Finance Secretary and Commerce Secretary, are the sterling
examples of lateral recruits.
 Most recent examples include the appointment of Nandan Nilekani as
head of the UIDAI.
Given the requirements of technical expertise, the lateral entry has
traditionally been easier in the economic ministries and in the Departments
of Space, Science, and Technology, Biotechnology, Electronics, etc.
But, in general, governments have tried to meet the need for specialists by Page | 241
appointing consultants.
What can the government do?
 The union government must ensure that the selection process for
lateral recruits is above board. Individuals picked must be of
unquestionable integrity and credentials.
 As recommended by the 2nd ARC, the process for lateral entry
should be transparent and institutionalized. This can be done
through the credible institutions like UPSC.
 The recruitment and service rules for lateral entry have to be
clearly defined and made incentivecompatible, and the processes
managed transparently.
 As suggested by Alagh committee, successful individuals from
nonprofit organizations and cooperatives could be inducted into
middle and senior levels of the government.
 There should be no suggestion of a conflict of interest, an issue
that cropped up in the UK some years ago with respect to
corporate executives on deputation to the energy ministry.
 In order to acquire credibility, reforms such as lateral entry must
be accompanied by steps to uphold institutions, such as the
Central Information Commission.
It is pertinent to recall here that sometimes back there was a proposal for
posting government employees in multinational agencies and private
organizations, to acquire specialization. Again, this proposal has the same
challenges such as a conflict of interest, integrity etc.
Conclusion:
There are already precedents for lateral entry of professionals into the
higher echelons of policymaking.
Page | 242
Though the lateral entry helps to bring in rightminded professionals and
the adoption of best practices for improving governance, it should be
weighed against our country’s sociopolitical context, as well as the
complex nature of our public policy challenges.
The success of the lateral entry announced by the government will depend
on transparency and its ability to address potential conflicts of interest and
to lay down proper terms of engagement.
References:
1. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/ias
bureaucracyreformslateralentryupscmoreopenmerrier
5213430/
2. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/lateralentry
blindalley/
3. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/editorial/professio
nalisinggovernance/article24137455.ece
4. https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/w9IUEN2qOv4OZxT8ofx4SK/T
heneedforlateralentryincivilservices.html
5. https://thewire.in/politics/cautionproceedslowlyanargument
againstallowinglateralentryintotheias
6. https://www.hindustantimes.com/analysis/shouldthegovernment
allowlateralentryintothecivilservices/story
Q75UKek5TPGwCrMreb9G0I.html
SECTION 377: CONSTITUTIONALITY VS MORALITY
Context:
The Supreme Court is currently considering a petition related to the

Page | 243
constitutionality of Section 377 of Indian Penal code (IPC). While those who
are opposed to the section 377 argue on the basis of health,
constitutionality, and fundamental rights, others argue for retaining the
section 377 mainly on the grounds of religion and morality.
What is section 377?
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code refers to the colonial era legislation
related to ‘Unnatural offences’. It criminalizes sexual activities that are
against the ‘law of nature’.
Section 377 says, “Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the
order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with
imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term
which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.”
Is it limited only to the LGBT community?
Though the section does not mention the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender), the term “against the order of nature” has come to be
referred for samegender sexual relations.
The section is not limited to the samegender sexual relations. The Section
empowers the state to make private consensual acts between
heterosexuals unlawful as the implication of the section includes
consensual sexual acts of oral and anal sex in private.
Why should section 377 of IPC go?
 Criminalizing homosexual activity between consenting adults does

not befit a liberal democracy.
 Social morality changes from time to time. What the public perceives
as moral may not be constitutional, and what is natural to one may
not be natural to another.
 The state and law are bound by the Indian constitution to not
Page | 244
discriminate on the basis of gender or sexual orientation. Any
discrimination on such ground violates the fundamental right to
equality conferred under the Art. 14.
 Section 377, in so far as it criminalizes homosexuality, violates Article
14 (equality before law), Article 15 (prohibition of discrimination on
grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth), Article 19
(freedom of speech and expression, and to form associations or
unions) and Article 21 (right to Life) of the Constitution of India.
 Section 377 is an abrogation of the right to privacy recognized by the
Supreme Court as a fundamental freedom guaranteed by the
Constitution.
 As a minority, the LGBT community, like other minority communities,
needs protection – not prosecution and persecution.
 Homosexuality is not one of the reasons for the spread of HIV. It’s the
suppression of sexual orientation that has contributed to the spread
of HIV. Recognition of sexual orientation helps the LGBT community
to avail appropriate medical care. Further, sexually transmitted
diseases occur among heterosexuals too.
 The British, who enacted the law, got rid of it in the 1960s in England.
Many countries have got rid of such laws, either by amendment of
legislation or vide decisions of the court. Now it is the time for India
to get rid of this colonial piece of legislation.
Arguments in support of section 377:
 The first argument for supporting the section 377 is homosexuality is

an unnatural act and it is immoral.
 Section 377 does not violate Article 14, as it does not guarantee
equality in respect of differences in circumstances. By the process of
classification, the State has the power of determining who should be
regarded as a class for purposes of legislation. Those who indulge in
Page | 245
carnal intercourse in the ordinary course and those who indulge in
carnal intercourse against the order of nature constitute different
classes.
 Section 377 does not violate Article 15 of the Constitution as the
Article prohibited discrimination on the basis of “sex” and not “sexual
orientation”.
 Section 377 did not criminalize “sexual orientation” but penalized
“certain acts” and criminalization of such acts was necessary to
prevent the risk of HIV AIDS.
 Section 377 is necessary to ensure that the rights of others –
especially those who may be vulnerable and may be easily tricked
into unacceptable behaviour or physical intimacy by another
individual with a different sexual orientation – are protected.
 While striking down the 2009 judgment of Delhi High Court, the
Supreme Court in 2013 noted that there is no record or finding to
show that homosexuals, gays, etc., are being subjected to
discriminatory treatment either by State or its agencies or the
society.
Court Judgments:
 In Naz Foundation Vs Government of NCT of Delhi (2009), Delhi

High Court held that Section 377 was unconstitutional based
primarily on the argument that it criminalizes sexual activity
between consenting adults in private, violates their right to privacy.
The judgment held that section 377 violates Article 14, 15 and 21 of
the Constitution of India.
 The judgment was overturned by the Supreme Court in Suresh
Kumar Koushal Vs Naz N Foundation (2013).. It reinstated the 1860
law that criminalizes consensual sex among homosexual adults.
 In National Legal Services Authority Vs Union of India (2014)
(2014),
Page | 246
concerning the rights of transgender persons, the Supreme Court
questioned the reasoning
reasoni given in Koushal case.
It is pertinent to recall here that the current hearing is taking place against
the backdrop of Justice K.S. Puttaswamy Vs Union of India judgment judgment,
which said: “the right to privacy and the protection of sexual orientation lie
at the core of the fundamental rights guaranteed by Articles 14, 15 and 21
of the Constitution”.
Timeline:
• Delhi High Court decriminalized homosexuality and held that

2009 Section 377 was unconstitutional.
• The Supreme Court struck down the Delhi High Court judgment and
2012 upheld the validity of section 377.
• Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament, introduced a private

member's bill to replace Section 377 and decriminalize consensual
2015 samesex relations.
relations The bill was defeated.
• The Supreme Court is hearing a review petition to ascertain the

2018 constitutionality of the Section 377.
What is the government stand?
The union government has chosen to not take an explicit position towards
LGBTQ rights, either of support or of opposition. The government has
chosen to not file any substantive response to the petitions before the
court, and has instead said that it “would leave the decision to the wisdom
of the Supreme Court.”
However, the union government informed that if the court wanted to deal
with any other aspect of civil rights other than decriminalizing the sexual Page | 247
act, it would file a detailed affidavit.
With such a stand, essentially, union government aims to achieve two

things:
 Given that the strongest opposition to legalizing homosexual

relationships has come on the religious grounds, the government
does not want to carry the blame for decriminalizing homosexuality
and has decided that the courts should carry that burden.
 The samesex relationships will have an effect on a gamut of laws
which are fundamentally based on religious customs (Eg: The Hindu
Succession Act, 1956). Any change to these laws would have a
profound impact on the very concept of family in the Indian context.
Thus, the government asked the court to restrict the proceedings to
decriminalizing the sexual act, rather than going into the civil rights
aspect.
Conclusion:
Those opposing the scrapping of Section 377 argue about the moral and
religious unacceptability of sex between persons of the same sex.
But the issue surrounding the section 377 has gradually expanded from a
narrow moral and health concern to one of the fundamental rights and of
laws being consistent with the Constitution and the freedoms it provides to
all its citizens. Such citizenship freedoms then enable access to enjoying
other rights – to ration cards, housing loans and so on that those from the
LGBT community do not enjoy today.
Further, section 377 was not an ancient law that we in India need to
preserve, but an imposition of Victorian England in all its colonies.
It is the time to decide whether Section 377 that concerns itself with sexual
conduct between consenting adults is a violation of the fundamental rights Page | 248
guaranteed by the Constitution. It is the time that Indian Penal Code
reflects the diverse and progressive nation that India is.
References:
1. https://www.livemint.com/Politics/KSwVPGiEiDVLe7p4OX803O/Ar
gumentsconcludeSCreservesverdictonSection377.html
2. http://www.livelaw.in/whysection377isconstitutional/
3. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/section377and
beyond/article24401186.ece
4. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/etview/etviewon
section377willsupremecourtnowfulfilitsresponsibilityas
guardiansoftheconstitution/articleshow/64961169.cms
5. https://scroll.in/article/886119/whythecentrewantssupreme
courttostickonlytosexualrightsoflgbtqcommunity
6. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/isittimetoreview
section377/article19595727.ece
INSTITUTIONS OF EMINENCE: CAN THE TAG HELP TO CREATE
WORLD-CLASS UNIVERSITIES?
Page | 249
Context:
Recently, six higher education institutions have been accorded with the tag
of Institutions of Eminence (IoE) by the Union government. They are Indian
Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, the Indian Institutes of Technology at
Mumbai and Delhi, the Manipal Academy of Higher Education, BITS Pilani
and the proposed Jio Institute of the Reliance Foundation.
Basic facts:
 The Empowered Expert Committee (EEC) received a total of 113

applications, out of which six institutions have been selected.
 The EEC was headed by former Chief Election Commissioner N.
Gopalaswami.
 Out of the six institutions, three are public institutions and three are
private institutions.
 BITS Pilani will receive the letter of intent only after its branches in
Goa and Hyderabad are regularized by UGC. In 2015, UGC directed
BITS Pilani – a deemed university – to shut down its offcampus
centers.
 Proposed Jio Institute will be handed over a ‘letter of intent’
subjected to certain conditions. The institute was selected under the
green field category.
 Only public institutions will receive financial assistance from the
government.
Why Institutions of Eminence status?

 Hon'ble Finance Minister in his 201617 budget speech proposed to
make 10 institutions each in the public and private sectors globally
competitive. The ‘Institutes of Eminence’ is a way to implement this
commitment.
Page | 250
 Institutes of Eminence status will provide an enabling regulatory
architecture to the selected institutions to emerge as worldclass
Teaching and Research institutions in a reasonable time period.
The main goal of the institutions will be to achieve a respectable rank in the
global university ranking system. Section 4 of the University Grants
Commission (Institutions of Eminence Deemed to be Universities)
Regulations, 2017, says: “The institute should come in top five hundred of
any of the worldrenowned ranking frameworks in the first ten years of
setting up or being declared as Institution of Eminence, and having achieved
top five hundred ranks, should consistently improve its ranking to come in the
top one hundred, eventually over time.”
Advantages of ‘IoE’ status:
 The status will enable the selected institutions to be free from

regulations of the AICTE, UGC, or the Higher Education Commission
of India that is set to replace the UGC.
 These institutions will be permitted to admit 30% foreign students
with no restrictions on fees charged from them.
 The institutions will be allowed to hire foreign faculty up to 25% of
the total faculty.
 They are permitted to enter into academic collaborations with the
top 500 global universities without UGC approval.
 The selected institutions will have full flexibility in evolving
curriculum and syllabi.
 The public institutions will get the assistance of up to Rs. 1000 crore
over five years.
It is expected that the coveted status will enable these institutions to break
into the world’s top 500 in a decade and into the top 100 after that.
Why there is a controversy?

Page | 251
Under the Greenfield category, Jio Institute of the Reliance Foundation was
granted this coveted status. The university is yet to be established.
Eleven applications had been received from Greenfield institutions. The

expert committee had adopted four parameters for judging them:
1. The availability of land

2. A core team with very high qualification and wide experience
3. Availability of funds
4. A strategic vision plan with clear annual milestones and action plan
The EEC concluded that out of the eleven applications, only Jio Institute has
satisfied all the four parameters stated above, and hence was
recommended for issuing a Letter of intent for setting up an Institute of
Eminence.
The EEC has picked one that has zero track record, by ignoring many other
institutions. Though the government policy recognizes Greenfield
institutions, the idea of equating an existing institution with a record of
achievements with a nonexistent one is problematic.
Further, a senior bureaucrat who worked on the proposal joined Reliance

after retirement and participated in the Jio Institute’s presentation before
the Empowered Expert Committee (EEC).
Concerns and criticism:
 The EEC didn’t conduct any field visit or tabular rankings of the
institutes, both of which are in the University Grants Commission
(Declaration of Government Educational Institutions as Institutions
of Eminence) Guidelines, 2017.
 The appraisal methodology detailed in the EEC report mentions
various aspects taken into consideration. But there is no information
Page | 252
on specific parameters and weightage of each in the overall
assessment of an institute.
 Only three of India's official top 10 institutions, as per the National
Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), received the coveted status.
The most surprising is the omission of IIT Madras, ranked second
under NIRF.
 Though the UGC guidelines say that the institutions should preferably
be multidisciplinary, the initial list of six institutions is largely tilted
towards technical education. It neglects social science focused
universities such as JNU. JNU has had schools of Computer Science
and the Life Sciences for many decades, right from the time when
they were just nascent disciplines in the country. The government’s
narrowminded approach to higher education shows in its IoE list,
which totally disregards social sciences.
 The government promised the status to ten public universities, which
was brought down to eight by the committee. But the government
accepted only three public universities without giving any reason
why the other five were denied despite the recommendation. This
decision demoralizes the entire academic community as there is no
justification for denying the other five public universities.
 The knowledge economy does not consist of multidisciplinary
universities alone. The IoE eligibility criteria completely ignore the
sectoral institutions, like the Indian Institutes of Management.
 There is no mechanism through which the UGC will ensure that there
is an equitable geographical distribution of the selected Institutes of
Eminence across the country.
 The deserving private greenfield university applicants that did not
make the cut include ISB Hyderabad and KREA University headed by
former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan. There is no justification to
deny a few other private universities when there is no financial
Page | 253
commitment.
 The government will provide financial assistance of Rs 1,000 crore
over five years to each of the three selected public universities. That
is a budgetary outlay of Rs 600 crores per year. The proposed
financial support may prove to be insufficient to build an institution
of the desired quality. To put this in context, the top 10 universities in
the world spend annually an average of Rs 5,800 crore each on
research alone.
 If public institutions reserve 50% of the seats as per the Constitution
and then reserve 30% of the seats for foreign students, general
category candidates could get squeezed.
 As India’s student population grows significantly, it is the ‘average’
university that must serve as the ‘anchor institution’, the mainstay
for social and economic growth and development. The potential
spillover benefits of raising worldranked universities will be limited
if the rest of the higher education sector remains wasted.
 The bigger concern for India is that despite being a country with a
huge young population, higher education remains a privilege; many
do not yet have access to it, mainly because it is not affordable. For
most of those who have access to attend universities, getting into the
world’s top 500 is not a priority.
 Education is a continuum from lower to higher. The quality of higher
education is determined by the quality of lower education, which
currently is extremely poor. So the focus should be more on the
lower education.
Where do these institutions stand in NIRF rankings?

Institutions NIRF Ranking (2018)
Indian Institute of Science 1
IIT Mumbai 3 Page | 254
IIT Delhi 4
Manipal Academy of Higher 18

Education
BITS Pilani 26
Jio Institute NA
Conclusion:
India currently has approximately 800 universities, 39,000 colleges and

12,000 standalone institutions and over 34 million young Indians join
higher education annually.
No University in India is well funded. Universities in India are largely

teaching based and not focused on entrepreneurship, researchers, and
creators.
Given the sheer size and scale of the Indian higher education system, the
direct benefits that may accrue from implementing this proposal are likely
to be minimal.
Raising the quality of higher education across the board should be a

priority. Islands of eminence can inspire, but the longterm goal should be
to raise the quality of higher education in all institutions through academic
reform.
References:
1. https://www.thehindu.com/education/sixuniversitiesincluding
jioinstitutetobeinstitutionsofeminence/article24371429.ece
2. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/theinstitutesof Page | 255
eminencefallswoefullyshortofwhatindianeeds5261317/
3. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/jioinstituteeminence
10thingsbeforecriticisingmhrdugc5255613/
4. https://thewire.in/education/institutionsofeminenceindiaugc
5. https://www.thehindu.com/todayspaper/tpopinion/alistof
questionableeminence/article24403962.ece
6. https://thewire.in/education/institutionsofeminenceindian
highereducation
7. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/hrdministry
iitdelhiiitbombayiiscbangalorejioinstituteinstitutionof
eminencestatus5254082/
8. https://scroll.in/article/885897/reliancesjiouniversitygets
governmentsinstituteofeminencestatusbutitsyettobesetup
HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION OF INDIA
Context:
Page | 256
A draft Act for setting up Higher Education Commission of India has been
prepared by the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD).
The draft Higher Education Commission of India (Repeal of University

Grants Commission Act) Bill, 2018 (HECI), aims to replace the regulatory
body, the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Why HECI?
It is argued that the UGC is preoccupied with disbursing funds and is unable
to concentrate on mentoring higher education institutes, focus on research,
and implement other quality measures required in the education sector.
So, there is a need for an institution which will focus solely on academic
matters.
The draft Bill is in accordance with the government’s commitment to

reform the regulatory mechanism to provide “more autonomy” to higher
education institutes. The HECI will and facilitate the holistic growth of the
education system and cater to the changing priorities of higher education.
Salient features of the HECI bill:
1. The focus of the Commission will be on improving academic

standards and quality of higher education, specifying norms for
learning outcomes, lay down standards of teaching/research etc.
2. It will provide a roadmap for the mentoring of institutions found
failing in maintaining the required academic standards.
3. It shall have the power to enforce its decisions through legal
provisions in the Act.
4. The Commission shall have the power to grant authorization for
starting of academic operations on the basis of their compliance with
norms of academic quality.
5. It will have the powers to revoke authorization granting to a higher
education institution where there is a case of wilful or continuous Page | 257
default in compliance with the regulations.

6. It will also have the power to recommend the closure of institutions
which fail to adhere to minimum standards, without affecting
students’ interest.
7. The Bill provides for the penal provisions, which will cover the
withdrawal of power to grant degrees/diplomas or direction to cease
academic operations and in cases of willful noncompliance, may
result in prosecution sanction as per the Criminal Procedure Code
with a punishment of imprisonment for a term which may extend up
to 3 years.
8. There will be an Advisory Council to render advice to the
Commission on matters concerning coordination and determination
of standards in the country. This will be chaired by the Union
Minister for HRD.
9. The Commission will specify norms and processes for fixing of fee
chargeable by higher education institutions and advice the Central
Government or the State Governments regarding steps to be taken
for making education affordable to all.
How will HECI be different from UGC?
UGC HECI
Disburses grants to No financial powers.

Central institutions out The funding will be
Financial powers
of its funds. taken care of by an
independent body.
Mandated to promote Specify standards for
and coordinate grant of authorization
university education to a University of the
Academic powers and determine and higher educational Page | 258
maintain standards of institution to
teaching, examination, commence its academic
and research. operations.
Periodic inspections to No inspections. The

assess financial needs body will prescribe
Inspection
or standards of norms on academic
teaching in an performance by higher
institution. educational
institutions.
Affiliations of colleges Empowered to penalize

to universities can be or even shut down sub
terminated for standard institutions
Action on bogus contravention of its without affecting
institutions regulations. It can students' interests.
withhold grants to and
occasionally publishes
lists of bogus
institutions.
A Chairman, a Vice A Chairperson, a Vice

Chairman, and 10 Chairperson, and 12
members appointed by members to be
Composition the Center, some ex appointed by the
officio members and Center, including
some from academia, educationists and a
industry. The member of the
Chairman's retirement industry. The
age is 65 and has a term Chairperson's
of 5 years, with an retirement age is 70,
extension of an will hold office for five
Page | 259
additional 5 years. years.
Structure of the HECI:
 The proposed HECI will be packed with more government than ever,
as all its members and Chairperson are to be handpicked by the
government, via a SearchCumSelectionCommittee headed by the
Cabinet Secretary with ‘reputable academicians’ as members.
 The HECI Bill removes the exclusion in the UGC Act against officers of
the Union/State governments acquiring the major share of
appointments in the Commission. Nine of the 12 members of the
proposed Commission is either directly officers of the Union
government or exofficio members who serve at the government’s
pleasure. Only two members are teachers, and there is space for a
dozen of the industry as well.
 The Secretary of the Commission is also a Union government officer.
 The proposed Advisory Council has a quorum loaded with nominees
of the government. The Advisory Council will be chaired by the Union
HRD Minister and comprise Chairpersons/ViceChairpersons of State
Councils for Higher Education as members.
After much criticism, the HRD ministry proposed to drop the provision of
an advisory council and any advice to the states from the government will
flow through the existing bodies like the Central Advisory Board on
Education (CABE).
In comparison to this, the UGC Act makes provision only for two officers of
the Union government to represent the government in the Commission.
It also mandates the inclusion of not less than four serving teachers of
Universities. The remaining four members of the 10member commission
are to be drawn from persons, who are knowledgeable in agriculture,
commerce, forestry or industry, or are members of the learned professions
like engineering, law or medicine, or are ViceChancellors or educationists Page | 260
or persons who have obtained high academic distinctions.
The Secretary to the Commission is to be appointed by the Commission

itself.
Concerns and criticisms:
 Centre’s move to repeal UGC without waiting for the National

Education Policy is premature and unwarranted. Since the National
Education Policy is underway, the prerogative of HECI is a subject
matter of NEP under the section ‘Governance and Regulation of
Education’, as stated in the mandate of the committee on NEP.
 The nature of the structure of the commission and its advisory
council shows that they are bound to have more government
representation in decisionmaking processes rather than academics.
 Sweeping powers render the HECI more authoritative. The powers
and functions of the HECI trivialize the concept of autonomy, not the
least because noncompliance of directions could result in fines or jail
sentence. This also means that the authority of the HRD Ministry is
strengthened.
 Under the new terms of engagement, universities will have to take
the concurrence of the HECI before offering a course. This restricts
the freedom of a university’s Board of Studies.
 With its mandate of improving academic standards with a specific
focus on learning outcomes, evaluation of academic performance, and
training of teachers, the HECI is likely to overregulate and
micromanage universities.
 The proposal to empower the Central government to remove the
HECI’s chairperson and vicechairperson for reasons including
“moral turpitude” will curtail the regulator’s autonomy, which in turn
will impact the autonomy of universities.
Page | 261
 Instead of allowing institutions to evolve over time, based on their
specific needs, focusing on homogeneous, onesizefitsall
administrative models will go against the ethos of academic freedom,
diversity, and knowledge production.
 The move to replace the UGC with the HECI points to the Centre’s aim
to restrict the role of the States in matters relating to education. This
will weaken federalism.
 The HECI Bill envisages an annual evaluation of the performance of
all Higher Educational Institutions by HECI. However, this function is
unlikely to have much of a regulatory effect as, according to the All
India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE), 201617, there are 864
Universities and 40,026 colleges in India today, and the sheer
numbers will make it virtually impossible for this task to be
undertaken with any seriousness.
Grant giving power:
The newly proposed HECI will have no grant giving power. Initially, it was
proposed that the grantgiving power will be taken over by the Ministry
directly.
This was nothing but an attempt to control the universities by the party in
power.
After much criticism, the Ministry of Human Resource Development

clarified that the grantgiving power will be given to an ‘independent body
of experts’ to be set up especially for the purpose.
What could have been done?

The argument in favour of HECI is perplexing as what is expected of the
higher education system as envisaged by the government can very well be
done by the UGC. To do so, the UGC needs to be restructured in a manner
that will ensure that its autonomy is strengthened without any scope for
patronage politics and political interference. Page | 262
However, no such restructuring has been attempted, taking into account

the UGC’s founding goals, achievements, shortcomings and the reasons for
such shortcomings. The HECI may suffer from the same shortcomings as
with the UGC.
References:
1. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/theproblemswiththe
hecidraftbill/article24392313.ece
2. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politicsand
nation/abvpquestionsmovetoreplaceugcwith
heci/articleshow/65017337.cms
3. https://www.thehinducentre.com/thearena/current
issues/article24442608.ece
4. http://pib.nic.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1536783
5. https://www.thehindu.com/education/colleges/howdifferentis
theproposedhecifromthepresentugc/article24287473.ece
6. https://www.hindustantimes.com/indianews/govtdropsplanto
controlfundingofuniversitiesaftercriticismfromstatesunder
proposedheci/storynynNGEBr1qZkydLUJK0ZWK.html
BAD BANK: IS IT A GOOD IDEA?
Context:
Page | 263
In India, with accumulated bad loans crossing the Rs. 10lakhcrore mark,
the idea of ‘bad bank’ has been in the discussion with different name and
structure.
The idea of starting a bad bank by the government was proposed in the
Economic Survey 201617 under the name ‘Public Sector Asset
Rehabilitation Agency’ (PARA). The need for a governmentowned bad
bank has been felt for some time as the commercial banks are finding it
difficult to deal with NonPerforming Assets (NPAs) or bad loans.
What is a ‘Bad Bank’?
A bad bank is a bank which will take over all the nonperforming assets of
the commercial banks in order to clean up their balance sheet and help
them to lend more freely.
How does a bad bank work?
The structure of a bad bank would be largely based on the principles of an

asset restructuring company (ARC), which buys bad loans from the
commercial banks at a discount and tries to recover the money from the
defaulter by providing a systematic solution over a period of time.
Since a bad bank specializes in loan recovery, it is expected to perform

better than commercial banks, whose expertise lies in lending.
 When a bank has large nonperforming assets (NPAs), provisions eat
into its capital base and slow recoveries hamper its lending activities.
This erodes the confidence of the depositor.
 Setting up of a bad bank to buy out all bad loans from banks helps
Page | 264
them to get on with business as usual. The bad bank will take up the
responsibility of recovering the loans or realizing cash from selling
the underlying assets.
 The stress in our banking sector must be eradicated to allow the
system to lend to small businesses and other growing sectors of the
economy. And the present health of our public sector banks does not
allow them to do so.
 A professionallyrun ‘bad bank’ could assume custody of the largest
and most difficulttoresolve NPAs from lenders’ balance sheets. This
would allow banks to focus on extending fresh credit and supporting
the pickup in growth.
 A bad bank taking tough decisions on borrowersgonebad could free
bankers from the risks entailed in large loan writedowns.
 Parts of the bad loans are genuine business risks. Cyclical downturn
after the financial crisis in 200809 and the Great Recession were
unexpected events. So, some economists are of the opinion that the
government needs to ‘socialize’ these risks.
Concerns and Criticism:
 As much as 90 percent of nonperforming assets are with staterun

banks. Suppose they’re asked to transfer their NPAs into the bad
bank and if it fails taxpayers may end up paying over and above the
recapitalization fund.
 A bad bank will allow public sector banks to evade accountability.
 There is no justification for using taxpayers' money to buy bad loans
of the private sector. It would be the socialization of the losses of the
private sector, who can pay but are not willing to pay.
 Going by the experience of private asset reconstruction companies, a
bad bank by itself would not be able to deploy dramatically different
tools to extract better value from underlying assets. There is no
reason why one manned by the government should do any better.
Page | 265
 A governmentowned bad bank could still face scrutiny from the
Comptroller and Auditor General and the Central Vigilance
Commissioner. So it may not get more freedom than the banks in
recovering the bad loans.
 A sale of assets at a discount should be transparent since it involves
taxpayers’ money. Such transparency is provided by the Insolvency
and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), which is more open and rulebased. With
the IBC in place, a bank to take over nonperforming assets marks a
step backwards.
Sunil Mehta panel recommendations:
Recently, the Sunil Mehta panel proposed Project Sashakt – a fivepoint

plan to revive Indian banks – and suggested that a new Asset Management
Company (AMC) should be set up to tackle the problem of bad loans of over
Rs. 500 crores.
The AMC will in turn set up alternative investment funds that will buy up
stressed assets in different sectors, from asset reconstruction companies,
and then try to auction them off to raise cash.
However, the global experiences with such methods suggest that they often
don’t deliver results.
Experience in other countries:
 In 1999, China set up four statecontrolled AMCs — Cinda, Huarong,

Great Wall, and Orient — to clean up bad loans from its ailing banks.
 In 2012, Spain set up a bad bank — Sareb — to take over about €50
billion worth of property and loan assets from the country’s ailing
banks, with the intention of turning the loans around.
Though the bad banks of China and Spain have helped take doubtful assets Page | 266
from the banks’ hands, they themselves haven’t succeeded in fully
restructuring these assets or recover cash from selling the underlying
assets.
China’s AMCs have found restructuring not so lucrative, and have ventured
into lending and investing in foreign bonds for profits. Spain’s Sareb has
remained a lossmaking entity from the beginning.
Words of caution:
It must be noted that all the nonperforming assets are no the results of are
genuine business risks or cyclical downturn. There is the other part which
includes the wilful defaults of some big business houses. The willful
defaults should be separated and dealt with strictly.
If the government does not make the distinction and bails out all big
defaulters, then it could lead to a moral hazard problem. This should be
avoided.
Further, as mentioned above, a sale of assets at a discount should be

transparent. The IBC process is more open, besides being creditordriven
and rulesbased in terms of laying strict terms for the bidders.
Conclusion:
Economists are divided on the issue that if India needs a ‘bad bank’ to deal
with nonperforming loans. Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan was
more in favour of capitalizing the banking system. He opinioned that it
would be preferable to push banks to clean up balance sheets themselves.
A bad bank is not a magic bullet; tackling NPAs requires other structural
reforms as well. For a decisive turnaround, there must be parallel efforts to
improve governance, risk management, and underwriting standards. Some
other options before the government are:
Page | 267
 Amending the Prevention of Corruption Act to shield bankers and
officers from investigative witchhunts.
 Supporting the bankers to take demonstrable action against wilful
defaulters.
 Address the issue that ails the smooth working of the Insolvency and
Bankruptcy Code.
References:
1. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/columns/slate/all
youwantedtoknowaboutbadbank/article24435092.ece
2. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/banking/finance/b
anking/whyindiasbadbankbackersarebadly
wrong/articleshow/64551928.cms
3. https://www.ndtv.com/business/whatisabadbankhereiswhat
youneedtoknow1660219
4. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/noeasy
solutions/article24130615.ece
5. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/editorial/withthe
ibcinplaceabanktoparktoxicassetsmarksastep
backwards/article24186789.ece
DATA PROTECTION: PRIVACY VS INNOVATION
Context:
Page | 268
Recently, Justice B N Srikrishna panel on data protection framework, set up

by the Ministry of Electronics and Technology submitted its report.
The report, titled “A Free and Fair Digital Economy: Protecting Privacy,
Empowering Indians”, has been muchawaited for its implications on data
handling and processing practices by government departments and
companies, both Indian and foreign.
What is data protection?
Data Protection refers to the set of privacy laws, policies, and procedures
that aim to minimize intrusion into one's privacy caused by the collection,
storage and dissemination of personal data.
The Constitution of India does not patently grant the fundamental right to
privacy. But in a recent landmark judgment in Justice K S Puttaswamy Vs
Union of India, the Supreme Court held Right to Privacy as a fundamental
right, subject to certain reasonable restrictions.
Why is Data privacy important?
At present India has the second highest number of Internet users in the
world, and is an important market for many global companies as well as for
local firms. These companies collect, store and analyze the online
behaviour of millions of Indians. The business model of most firms always
factors in a premium for personal data.
Another layer for the extraction of personal data is added by the

government. India has the unique distinction of being one of the few
countries that gathers vast amounts of personal data through its national
biometric ID scheme, Aadhaar. The Aadhaar information is not only used
for public entitlements or regulated services, but also for private services
such as online matrimonial portals.
Principles of data protection law: Page | 269
The Srikrishna Committee has identified seven principles for the data
protection law. They are:
1. Technology agnosticism: The data protection law must be flexible to

include changing technologies.
2. Data minimization: Data sought and processed must be minimal and
as necessary.
3. Informed and meaningful consent.
4. The law should be applicable to the private sector and the
government, maybe with different obligations.
5. The data controller must be accountable for any processing.
6. Establishing a highpowered statutory authority for enforcement,
supported by a decentralized enforcement mechanism.
7. Penalties for wrongful data processing to ensure deterrence.
Existing laws and regulations:
 India does not have a separate law for data protection, though
Section 43A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 provides a
measure of legal protection of personal information.
 The other data protection law is the Information Technology
(Reasonable Security Practices and Sensitive Personal Data or
Information) Rules, 2011, or the SPDI Rules.
But, these laws remain substantially deficient and practically

unenforceable.
The main flaw of the SPDI Rules is that it solely looks at the private sector,
leaving the government out of its ambit. As per these rules, consent of the
provider is not required when it comes to sharing information with
Government agencies and such information can be shared for purposes
such as verification of identity, prevention, detection and investigation Page | 270
including of cyber incidents, prosecution, and punishment of offences.
Further, the rules are restricted only to the sensitive personal data,
including attributes like “sexual orientation, medical records and history,
biometric information”, and not larger personal data.
In 2012, the Justice A.P. Shah Committee recommended a set of principles

for a legal framework for protecting privacy.
Data protection in other countries:
 The European Union’s rightsbased model is excessively stringent,

and it imposes many obligations on the organizations processing
data. The very preamble of the General Data Protection Regulation
(GDPR) reflects an attempt to protect the rights of individuals
through a data protection law, treating the requirements of industry
and state as limited exceptions.
 On the other end, the US model seeks to protect the individual from
excessive State regulation but recognizes the value of data to
encourage innovation.
 The Chinese law focuses on the interests of the collective over the
individual.
The Justice B N Srikrishna panel carved out a fourth approach. It focuses on

allowing data flow for a growing data ecosystem and creating a free and
fair digital economy, where citizens come on top, with the state having
some responsibilities even as the protection does not come at the cost of
trade and industry.
Recommendation of Srikrishna Committee:
The Justice BN Srikrishna headed committee submitted its

recommendations along with the draft Personal Data Protection Bill,
2018. Some of the important recommendations are: Page | 271
1. The personal data shall be processed only for the purposes that are
clear, specific and lawful.
2. All firms and agencies shall appoint data protection officers. They
will also act as a point of contact for individuals for raising
grievances.
3. It recommended processing of data for certain interests such as
security of the State, legal proceedings, research and journalistic
purpose, may be exempt from certain obligations of the proposed
data protection law.
4. The union government shall notify a Data Protection Authority of
India, an independent body responsible for the enforcement and
effective implementation of the law. DPAI Shall consists of a
chairperson and six wholetime members.
5. An appellate tribunal to be established to hear and dispose of any
appeal against an order of the Data Protection Authority.
6. Individuals will have the right to withdraw the consent.
7. Firms will have to ensure at least one copy of the personal data to be
stored in India.
8. ‘Critical’ personal data shall only be processed in a server or data
center located in India.
9. Penalties recommended by the committee range from 2% to 4% of a
company’s worldwide turnover, or fines between Rs. 5 crores and Rs,
15 crores, whichever is higher.
10. A data protection fund and data protection awareness fund to
be set up through the proceeds from the penalties and the fines.
11. The committee proposed amendments to the Aadhaar Act to
bolster data protection by restricting access to a select band of
entities and suggested that the Unique Identification Authority of
India (UIDAI) should be empowered to take action against errant
companies. Page | 272
Implications of these recommendations:
If accepted by the government, the recommendations of the Srikrishna

committee will sharply increase citizens’ privacy levels, affect technology
and ecommerce companies, and redefine government’s access to personal
information.
 Citizens and internet users will have the final say on how and for
which purpose personal data can be used and they will also have the
right to withdraw consent.
 For technology and internet companies, recommendations on storing
one copy of ‘personal data’ in India – that is, creating a mirror of data
stored in servers abroad – will mean higher costs and a major change
in business models. Smaller companies will be affected more by this
rule.
 It is also likely to bring more financial companies, aside from only
payments companies, under the ambit of data localization by
categorizing all financial data as sensitive personal data.
 Key laws such as those on Aadhaar, right to information and
information technology may have to change.
Criticisms:
While the draft Bill for the protection of personal data of Indian citizens has
been welcomed as a positive start, it is not without loopholes.
 In order to truly protect the privacy of all Indians, we can’t afford to
have broad exceptions for government use of data and data
localization requirements.
 The recommendations make every offence cognizable and non
Page | 273
bailable which just creates more hurdles for businesses and
individuals. Working of the IT Act shows that, with little
understanding of technology, sections are slapped forcing companies
and executives to deal with the criminal machinery.
 The data localization requirement is not only regressive but against
the fundamental tenets of our liberal economy.
 The requirement that every data fiduciary should store one live,
serving copy of personal data in India is against the basic philosophy
of the Internet and imposes additional costs on data fiduciaries
without a proportional benefit in advancing the cause of data
protection.
 The bill exempts government agencies from seeking consent when it
comes to the delivery of services. This could be concerning because
several government services exist in the same marketplace as private
actors, from schools and hospitals to payment systems and
transportation. It is not clear why the government need not obtain
consent, in situations where similar private services will have to.
Conclusion:
Ideally, the Data protection legislation should be about protecting people,

not innovation. But as the Srikrishna panel noted, India has the potential to
lead the world into a digital economy. Hence the data protection
framework must not stifle innovation.
The framework must be considerate of the country’s need for

empowerment based on datadriven access to services and benefits for the
common man.
The panel has carved out a new approach to achieving this balance.
References:
1. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/telecom/telecom
Page | 274
policy/trairecommendationsondataprivacyraises
eyebrows/articleshow/65033263.cms
2. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/whattraisdata
privacyblueprintrecommendsandwhereitissilent5263807/
3. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/the7pillars
ofdataprotectionlawaccordingtosrikrishna
committee/articleshow/61829256.cms
4. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/dataprotection
frameworksrikrishnacommitteesuggests7keyprinciplessetting
upofauthority4957720/
5. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/controllingthe
machine/article23349817.ece
6. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/dealingwith
data/article21235782.ece
7. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/dataprivacy
whichwayareweheading/article24522324.ece
8. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/expertspickholesin
dataprotectionbill/article24542431.ece
9. Economic Times, 28/07/2018
AYUSHMAN BHARAT: CAN IT MAKE INDIA HEALTHIER?
Introduction:
Ayushman Bharat is the National Health Protection Scheme, announced in

Page | 275
the 201819 Budget. Ayushman Bharat will target 107.4 million ‘poor and
vulnerable’ families identified by 2011 SocioEconomic and Caste Census
— at least 500 million individuals, or about 40% of the population.
The scheme will subsume the ongoing centrally sponsored schemes

Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and the Senior Citizen Health
Insurance Scheme (SCHIS).
Salient Features:
 Ayushman Bharat – National Health Protection Mission will have a

defined benefit cover of Rs. 5 lakh per family per year.
 Benefits of the scheme are portable across the country and a
beneficiary covered under the scheme will be allowed to take
cashless benefits from any public/private empanelled hospitals
across the country.
 Ayushman Bharat will be an entitlement based scheme, with
entitlement decided on the basis of deprivation criteria in the SECC
database.
 The beneficiaries can avail benefits in both public and empanelled
private facilities.
 To control costs, the payments for treatment will be done on the
package rate (to be defined by the Government in advance) basis.
 One of the core principles of Ayushman Bharat National Health
Protection Mission is to cooperative federalism and flexibility to
states.
 So far, India’s primary healthcare has been focusing on reproductive,
maternal health, newborn and child health as well as controlling
priority communicable diseases.
 Public health action for preventive health has been limited. There is a
Page | 276
huge unmet need for primary health care, namely, care for non
communicable diseases, mental health, care of the aged, adolescent
health, palliative health care, basic eye care and dental health.
 The country is facing the emerging problem of chronic non
communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes,
cancer which are now the leading cause of mortality. This
epidemiological transition is being fueled by social and economic
determinants of health, as well as by demographic changes such as an
ageing population, by environmental factors such as climate change,
and by factors such as globalization, urbanization and changing
lifestyles.
 The existing health infrastructure is under severe strain. Moreover,
the high cost of health care and out of pocket expenditure force
families to sell their assets, pushing nearly 60 million people every
year into poverty.
 The share of healthcare expenditure in the Indian households’
consumption expenditure has been rising and is currently estimated
at around 8 percent. The government intervention to control prices
through Drug Price Control Orders has provided some relief in the
past but with treatment protocols and drugs changing, that has not
proved enough. Ayushman Bharat will have a major impact on the
reduction of Out of Pocket (OOP) expenditure by:
 Increasing the benefits coverage to nearly 40% of the
population, (the poorest & the vulnerable).
 Covering almost all secondary and many tertiary
hospitalizations.
 Coverage of 5 lakh for each family, without restriction of family
size.
 This mission enables increased access to inpatient health care for
the poor and lower middle class. The access to health care is cashless
Page | 277
and nationally portable. This will lead to increased access to quality
health and medication.
 It is expected that the scheme will help in providing timely
treatments, improving the health outcomes, patient satisfaction,
improving the productivity and efficiency, job creation thus leading
to improvement in the quality of life.
Key issues and Criticism:
 While the NHPS will empower patients with an Rs. 5 lakh voucher,
where do they encash this? Between the states and within the states,
the available healthcare facility is grossly inequitable. Insurance does
little for access to hospital care in vast areas where there are no
providers. That needs public investment.
 There is a massive shortage in the supply of services such as human
resources, hospitals and diagnostic centers in the private/public
sector. A condition for the success of Ayushman Bharat is matching
human resource policy with the objectives of the scheme.
 The health budget has neither increased nor is there any policy to
strengthen the public/private sector in deficit areas. While the NHPS
provides portability, one must not forget that it will take time for
hospitals to be established in deficit areas. This, in turn, could cause
patients to gravitate toward the southern States that have a
comparatively better health infrastructure than the rest of India.
 States are expected to agree for 40 percent share under the NHPS.
Health being a state subject, state ownership and commitment will be
critical to the success of the programme.
 Ayushman Bharat is just an existing scheme reannounced with some
expansion. The scheme seeks to build on existing Rashtriya Swasthya
Bima Yojana (RSBY), but does not address many problems associated
with RSBY. Reviews show that RSBY has not reduced healthcare
Page | 278
costs for the poor, with many States discontinuing it.
 The funds allocated are grossly inadequate. The allocation of Rs.
2,000 crore to cover 50 crore households, amounts to barely Rs. 40
per person per year. Even the later projected amount of Rs. 11,000
crore is less than half of the minimum amount required for this
scheme.
 Ayushman Bharat scheme would overlap with many established
State health insurance schemes. Where States have already
established insurance programmes, the NHPS could finance these,
instead of replacing them.
 The scheme does not deal with preventive, promotive or outpatient
care and hence, it is unlikely to lead to larger public health benefits.
 The NHPS is not a move towards Universal Health Care since even in
the best case scenario, 60% of the population would be left out.
 The scheme focuses on hospitalization and there is no evidence that
it would be integrated with primary level health care.
 The success of Ayushman Bharat needs a wellcoordinated referral
mechanism with specialists and doctors in the secondary and tertiary
hospitals, but there are very limited effort and investment regarding
this.
 In the absence of effective regulation of the private sector, the
consumption of healthcare services is determined more by what
private providers find more profitable to provide, rather than health
care needs of the poor.
Conclusion:
In some of its early assessments on the road to universal health coverage,
NITI Aayog advocated a Statespecific approach rather than a Grand
National health system to expand access. But the NHPM has a national
character, with States playing a crucial role in its implementation, and
beneficiaries being able to port the service anywhere. Page | 279
The scheme, if implemented properly could be a game changer by

enhancing access to health care including early detection and treatment
services by a large section of society who otherwise could not afford them.
References:
1. http://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=151854
4
2. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/canayushmanbharat
makeforahealthierindia/article23516837.ece
3. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/ahealthschemethat
shouldnotfail/article24007836.ece
4. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/afirst
step/article23336879.ece
5. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/isayushmanbharata
gamechangernationalhealthinsurancescheme5054394/
6. https://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/et
commentary/pictureofahealthierindia/
SC/ST ACT JUDGMENT: PROTECTING THE INNOCENT OR
DILUTING THE PROTECTION?
Context:
Page | 280
Recently, the Supreme Court delivered a judgment in the case of Subhash
Kashinath Mahajan Vs State of Maharashtra, regarding framing
guidelines on how to deal with a person accused under the Scheduled
Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
The judgment is concerned with a limited aspect of the Act — protecting

innocent officers and employees in government and private sectors from
the misuse of the Act, especially “when no prima facie case is made out or
the case is patently false or mala fide”.
This is not the first time that the need for protecting the ‘innocent’ was felt.
The demand for “an inbuilt provision” to protect those falsely accused
under the Act was first raised by a parliamentary committee in December
2014.
Guidelines:
Issuing a slew of guidelines to protect public servants and private

employees from arbitrary arrests under the Atrocities Act, the Supreme
Court directed that,
 Public servants can only be arrested with the written permission of

their appointing authority.
 In the case of private employees, the Senior Superintendent of Police
concerned should allow it.
 A preliminary inquiry should be conducted before the FIR is
registered to check whether the case falls within the parameters of
the Atrocities Act and if it is frivolous or motivated.
Arguments in support of the judgment:
 An innocent should not be punished. The judgment noted that the

Atrocities Act is creating “terror in society”, no sensible person can
question the need to protect those who are innocent, of arbitrary Page | 281
arrest.
 A large number of acquittals in atrocities cases are false cases. The
act is misused as an instrument of blackmail or to wreak personal
vengeance.
 Instead of blurring caste lines, the Act has been misused to file false
complaints to promote caste hatred. The current working of
Atrocities Act may even “perpetuate casteism” if it is not brought in
line.
 The 1989 Act penalizes casteist insults and even denies anticipatory
bail to the suspected offenders. The law is therefore used to rob a
person of his personal liberty merely on the unilateral word of the
complainant.
 Public servants find it difficult to give adverse remarks against
employees for fear that they may be charged under the Act. The
public administration has been threatened by the abuse of this Act.
Arguments against the judgment:
 Any member of the Scheduled Castes (SCs)/Scheduled Tribes (STs)

should not be deprived of his rights.
 There is a wealth of evidence to show that crimes against Dalits are
rising, but that conviction rates remain shockingly low.
 A basic fact of law is that acquittal does not necessarily prove
innocence. The police apathy, the social and the economic might of
the accused and the dependence of SC/STs on those accused are the
main reasons for a large number of acquittals. It is a mistake to
assume that a large number of acquittals in atrocities cases are due to
the false cases.
 There is no precise data on the scale and extent to which the Act has
been misused by SC/ST employees.
Page | 282
 There are adequate provisions in the Indian Penal Code (Sections
191 to 195), which prescribe punishment for falsifying evidence. So,
there is no need to dilute a law which protects the weaker section.
 The judgment is a judicial exercise of policymaking. The judgment
was unmindful to the constitutional procedure to be followed in
making policies that affect the SC/STs. Article 338(9) stipulates: The
Union and every State Government shall consult the National
Commission for Scheduled Castes on all major policy matters
affecting Scheduled Castes. Article 338A provides the same
procedure in the case of STs.
 The procedural checks ordered by the apex court by way of
preliminary inquiry before an arrest will reduce the rate of
registration of cases and conviction, increase pendency and act as a
deterrent against filing FIRs.
 Watering down the atrocities prevention law will strengthen the
hand of those who call for it to be repealed and who seek to exploit
loopholes in the law. It adds weight to the grievances of dominant
castes and credence to anecdotal stories about false cases.
 The Act is intentionally severe in its prescriptions. The provisions for
arrest without anticipatory bail are designed to both deter and
educate. It has a “civilizing function” in that it seeks to delegitimize
crimes that are often justified by reference to tradition, hierarchy or
custom.
 The Constitution does not penalize caste sentiment or hierarchy but
the practice of untouchability is made an offence under Article 17.
Two laws that construct and counter untouchability are the
Protection of Civil Rights Act 1974, and the Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocity Act. It is the atrocities
prevention law that books a person who “intentionally insults or
intimidates with intent to humiliate a member of a Scheduled Caste
or a Scheduled Tribe in any place within public view”.
Page | 283
 The judgment declared that the nonDalit appellants’ rights to
equality and liberty stand violated because of malicious complaints.
But, in a case of the protection of civil rights or prevention of
atrocities against Dalits and Adivasis, Article 14 and 21 are only
intelligible in their intersection with Article 15 and Article 17 (which
prohibit vertical and horizontal discrimination and untouchability).
 The court has deviated from the established judicial opinion on the
subject. The Supreme Court had clearly said that anticipatory bail
provision for the first time was introduced in 1973 and it is merely a
limited statutory right and not part of the right to life and personal
liberty under Article 21.
Did Supreme Court dilute the SC/ST law?
There are opinions which say that the Supreme Court didn’t dilute the
SC/ST law but just ensured that it applied to genuine cases.
 The Supreme Court guidelines are narrow and the court’s decision
was carefully constructed in light of prior decisions, criminal
procedure guidelines, and constitutional principles.
 The court correctly observed that the SC/ST Act was not being
diluted in any fashion. Instead, the Act was being interpreted to
ensure that it applied to genuine cases, and that other instances were
appropriately handled.
 There was a difference between shifts in the burden of proof, which
were permissible, and the presumption of guilt, which found no place
in our constitutional schema.
What else could have been done?

Given poor conviction rates and processes, the National Coalition for
Strengthening ST/ST Prevention of Atrocities (PoA) Act called for the law
to be given more teeth to make it more effective.
The National Coalition recommended special courts and public prosecutors Page | 284
to fasttrack such cases.
The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities)

Amendment Act, 2015 introduced the establishment of exclusive special
courts and special public prosecutors to try offences under the PoA Act, so
that cases are disposed of expeditiously.
The law requires these courts to take direct cognizance of an offence, and
complete the trial of the case within two months from the date of filing of
the charge sheet.
Were such courts to operate as intended, any misuse of the Act would be
detected early and those who have been unfairly accused would be
exonerated.
Conclusion:
No doubt, there is evidence on both sides of the equation — there is

evidence that SC/STs are subject to discrimination and there is evidence
that the SC/ST Act is abused. But the numbers are of little constitutional
importance because the right against an arrest without reasons is not a
contingent matter. It is among the most central and elementary civil
liberties.
It is also true that our criminal justice system is terribly broken and that
many victims of discrimination, including SC/STs, can scarcely hope to
receive the justice that they deserve. The solution lies in working towards
fixing that system, rather than flip over our Constitution.
The task of balancing the rights of innocent persons facing false accusations
and the need to accord legitimacy to the Atrocities Act requires
compassion, equanimity, reverence for the Constitution and awareness.
Page | 285
References:
1. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/faultlinesina
landmarkjudgment/article24476850.ece
2. https://theprint.in/opinion/supremecourtscstlawapplied
genuinecases/46359/
3. https://scroll.in/article/873678/bydilutingscstatrocitiesact
supremecourtharmsdalitandadivasistrugglesfordignity
4. https://thewire.in/law/scstactahostileenvironmentandan
atrociousinterpretation
5. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/expandingthescst
act/article23446502.ece
6. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/sendingthewrong
signal/article23375824.ece
CRISIS IN THE SUGAR SECTOR
Introduction:
Page | 286
The sugar industry is an important agrobased industry that impacts the

rural livelihood of about 50 million sugarcane farmers and around 5 lakh
workers directly employed in sugar mills.
India is the second largest producer of sugar in the world after Brazil and is
also the largest consumer.
Despite bountiful production in the current agricultural season, India’s

sugar sector is facing a crisis. Around Rs. 22,000 crore is pending in arrears
for sugarcane farmers.
What are the reasons for this?
 Excess production of sugar in the current season has depressed sugar

prices. While India’s estimated annual consumption of sugar is 25
million tonnes, production in 201718 touched 31.6 million tonnes.
 India’s sugar production has increased by an average 89% in the last
eight years. This has been owing to the usage of a higheryielding
variety of sugar cane Co0238 by farmers.
 Low prices have resulted in a liquidity crunch for sugar mills which
in turn resulted in the accumulation of cane dues to Rs 22,000 crore.
 According to the sugar price data by National commodity exchange
(NCDEX), while the Fair and Remunerative Prices (FRP) for
sugarcane increased by 10.8% in the current year, sugar prices have
fallen by more than 24% since October 2017.
 While the country’s production is increasing, its exports have fallen
due to the surplus global supply and falling global sugar prices.
According to data from the International Sugar Organization, global
sugar prices have fallen by 45% in the last 18 months from their
highs in October 2016.
According to the agriculture experts, the sugar industry and sugarcane

farmers are likely to be in a similar crisis next year too as domestic Page | 287
production is likely to be in excess of domestic consumption.
Government’s recent measures:
 The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved Rs.

7,000 crore package to deal with the crisis in the sugar industry.
 CCEA has also decided to fix the minimum selling price of
white/refined sugar at Rs. 29 per kg and impose stock holding limits
on sugar mills.
 To ensure more sugarcane is diverted for producing ethanol which
could be blended with petrol, the Government made provision to give
soft loans to sugar mills for augmenting their ethanol production
capacity. This would help diversion of sugar to ethanol production
during surplus years to reduce excess inventories.
 The government would bear an interest subvention of up to Rs. 1,332
crore over a period of five years with a oneyear moratorium on
these loans that would be sanctioned by banks over a period of three
years.
 The Government announced doubling the Customs duty on imported
sugar to 100 percent from the earlier 50 percent. It also withdrew the
Customs duty on sugar.
 It also announced export quota for sugar mills to export a total of 2
mt during the current marketing season.
Key policy issues related to the sector:
With sugar being regulated across the value chain, the pricing and
marketing mainly depend on government policies.
 Unlike rice and wheat, where the government procures the crop at
Minimum Support Prices (MSPs), sugar cane farmers sell their
produce to sugar mills at governmentnotified Fair and
Remunerative Prices (FRP). The states can hike it by issuing a state
Page | 288
advisory price or SAP.
 As per the Sugarcane Control Order, sugar mills are expected to buy
all sugarcane that arrives at their gate from farmers within a radius
of 25 km.
 The sugar mills have to purchase cane at a fair and remunerative
price (FRP) from farmers and compulsorily crush for sugar
production. The FRP has to be paid mandatorily by sugar mills to
farmers within 15 days of the commencement of crushing. Thus, mills
do not have any control over cane pricing as well as on the quantity
of sugar produced.
 The latest FRP will only incentivize farmers to grow more sugarcane.
The FRP announcement will make matters worse for the sugar
industry in India and across the globe.
 Under the Sugarcane Control Order, every designated mill is
obligated to purchase from cane farmers within the cane reservation
area. However, this arrangement reduces the bargaining power of the
farmer. He is forced to sell to a mill even if there are cane arrears.
Mills are also restricted to the quality of cane that is supplied by
farmers in the area.
 Under the Sugarcane Control Order, the central government has
prescribed a minimum radial distance of 15 km between any two
sugar mills. This causes distortion in the market. The virtual
monopoly over a large area can give the mills power over farmers,
especially where landholdings are smaller.
 Every sugar mill mandatorily surrenders 10% of its production to the
central government at a price lower than the market price, known as
levy sugar. This enables the central government to get access to low
cost sugar stocks for distribution through PDS. But, the burden is
borne by the sugar sector.
Rangarajan on de-regulation of sugar sector:

Page | 289
The deregulation of the sugar sector is important to improve the financial
health of sugar mills, enhance cash flows, reduce inventory costs and also
result in timely payments of cane price to sugarcane farmers.
 On the issue of cane area reservation, the committee recommended

that over a period of time, states should encourage the development
of such marketbased longterm contractual arrangements, and
phase out cane reservation area and bonding.
 Minimum Distance Criteria of 15 Kms is not in the interest of
development of sugarcane farmers or the sugar sector and may be
dispensed with. Removing the regulation will ensure better prices for
farmers and force existing mills to pay them the cane price on time.
 The Committee recommended that states should not declare an SAP.
The committee suggested the sharing of the revenues/value created
in the sugarcane production chain should be in a ratio of 70:30
between farmers and millers.
 The Committee recommended dispensing with levy sugar and doing
away with a centralized arrangement for PDS sugar. States that want
to provide sugar under PDS may henceforth procure it directly from
the market.
 The committee recommended that there should be no restrictions on
the sale of byproducts and prices should be market determined.
States should also undertake policy reform to allow mills to harness
power generated from bagasse.
Some suggestions:
 The sugar industry could be made to shift from the current control
and protection mode to a contract farming mode under the new
Model Contract Farming (Promotion and Facilitation) law. The model
law takes care of all major concerns. It provides for
Page | 290
a) An enforceable contract between sugar mills and the farmers,
b) An effective intermediary mechanism to enforce the terms of a
contract, including payments,
c) An agreed price for the produce, in advance, so that farmers are
able to take planting decisions well in time, and
d) An orderly harvesting arrangement as part of the contract.
 Further, Sugarcane Control Acts in existence in the states can be
repealed.
 The limits imposed by land ceiling laws can be removed to enable
mills to own land and bring economies of scale.
 An ICRIER study has pointed out the serious water crisis in
sugarcane (and some rice) areas, necessitating a strategic rethink of
water use and conservation policies. Water pricing mechanism could
be introduced.
Conclusion:
There are some good years and some bad years in cane production. So
sharp planning is needed to balance the two.
The Centre could start by scrapping the sugarcane and sugar control orders
and deregulate the industry.
There is a need to diversify crops and ensure that sugarcane production

falls. This requires longterm investment, and the government will have to
encourage farmers to cultivate crops like pulses and oilseeds.
The Centre’s package for the sector does little to address structural
problems and sticks to oldstyle pricing and stockholding interventions
instead of signalling a shift to marketdriven cropping decisions.
Page | 291
References:
1. https://www.hindustantimes.com/indianews/whygovernments
interventiontodealwithsugarindustrycrisisdoesnotsolve
muchonground/storyfXX77YH3ciLQjmgWIAyDDO.html
2. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri
business/cabinetapprovesbailoutpackageforsugar
sector/article24094524.ece
3. http://www.prsindia.org/parliamenttrack/report
summaries/regulationofsugarsectorinindia2520/
4. https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/sugarcrisisbeyond
thesweetpackageopportunityforreform/1197958/
5. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/sweet
nothing/article24175650.ece
6. http://dfpd.nic.in/sugarsugarcanepolicy.htm
KHAP PANCHAYATS AND HONOUR KILLING
Context:
The Supreme Court (SC) recently declared that any attempt by Khap
Page | 292
panchayats to end a marriage between consenting adults is illegal.
The Court asked the Parliament to come up with a suitable legislation

against these social assemblies. The court has laid down guidelines to
prevent such intrusions, including the use of Section 144 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure to prevent the gathering of khap panchayats.
The ruling came on a plea by NGO Shakti Vahini, which had moved the apex
court in 2010 seeking protection of couples from honour killings by such
panchayats.
Though these panchayats earlier told the court that they were encouraging
intercaste and interfaith marriages, they continue to pronounce
punishment including honour killings.
Several cases of women and men falling victim to 'khap' diktats have been
reported over the years, particularly in states like Haryana, Uttar Pradesh,
and Rajasthan.
What are Khap Panchayats?
'Khap' panchayats are caste or community groups, present largely in rural

areas, which at times act as quasijudicial bodies, lay down social norms
and pronounce punishments based on ageold customs.
The Khap panchayats claim to perform the duties as conscience keepers of

the society.
In rural Haryana, and parts of western Uttar Pradesh, Khap panchayats are
known to exercise more power than state agencies. The statutory
panchayats in these areas have been reduced to agencies for executing civil
works, while the khaps exercise control over social matters, especially the
enforcement of complex exogamous and endogamous conventions around
marriage.
Why Khap panchayats flourishes in India? Page | 293
While the role and prestige of these groups are shrinking in some ways, as
younger generations become exposed to more modern ideas through
urbanization and the media, they often have staunch supporters.
 Firstly, those who support Khaps say that such institutions are part
of traditions and culture.
 The belief that caste system is a static rigid feature of Hindu society
and it cannot change, gives strength to the system of Khap
panchayats in our society.
 In certain parts of India, there is a strong kinship feeling among
various clans. This provides strength to the Khap panchayats.
 The weakness of Panchayati Raj institutions is also responsible for
the continued strength of the Khaps.
 Political parties do not want to ban Khap panchayats because these
caste groups command large vote banks.
 The witnesses are reluctant to come forward and there is political
pressure on the police to go slow or botch up the cases against Khaps.
What is honour Killings?
Honour killings are murder committed by family members and the people
belonging to the concerned caste/class, who believe that the victims have
brought shame and dishonor to their family name.
It should be noted that most of the honor killings have been reported from
those areas where Khap panchayats are more active.
In the case of Arumugam Servai Vs State of Tamil Nadu, the SC observed
that Khap panchayat often decree or encourage honor killings or other
atrocities in an institutionalized way.
Supreme Court Guidelines to prevent honor killing: Page | 294
a) Governments should identify districts, subdivisions and/or villages

where instances of honor killing or assembly of Khap panchayats
have been reported in the recent past.
b) Home department of the states shall issue directives or advisories to
the superintendents of police and other police officers to be extra
cautious if any instance of intercaste or interreligious marriage
within their jurisdiction comes to their notice.
c) Police shall inform Khap panchayats that convening of such meeting
or gathering is illegal.
d) Khaps will be personally criminally liable if any harm is caused or
decision is taken harm the couple or their family members.
e) Police will invoke various provisions of law, including prohibitory
orders under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and also
by causing the arrest of the participants in the assembly under
Section 151 CrPC to prevent meetings of Khap panchayats.
f) As a remedial measure, the police shall provide protection to couples
facing threats and, if they so desire, facilitate their marriage and its
registration.
g) The government shall establish safe houses to shelter such couples
and these safe houses shall be under the supervision of the district
magistrate or the superintendent of police.
Importance of the judgment:
 The Supreme Court’s order may push state governments to take

measures to deter Khaps from pronouncing arbitrary sentences.
 The judgment will impress upon Khap panchayats that they will face
the full force of the law if they overstep the legal boundaries.
 The judgment provides protection from hate crimes (honor killings)
for intercaste and interfaith marriages.
Page | 295
 Indian constitution provides not only the right to life but also the
right to a dignified life. The right to choose one’s life partner is
integral to the dignity of life. The judgment reiterates this, by holding
that ‘if a marriage is legal, no individual or body of individuals has
any right to interfere’.
 The guidelines are a benchmark in upholding the constitutional
values of our country.
Should the Khap panchayats be banned?
 Khaps are not created under any legal provision in the Indian
constitution. They are a congregation of individuals, under the age
old custom.
 Khap members have a fundamental right to free speech and free
association, just as other Indian citizens do.
 But, assembling peacefully and taking law and order in their hands
are two separate things. If they perform a criminal act, they are also
liable for punishment under the Indian Penal Code.
 If Khaps make comments that are inflammatory or they issue diktats,
legal action should be taken.
 In the olden days, in the absence of judiciary these groups often acted
as arbitrators, but with the modernday legal system, we don’t need
them. Legislation could be introduced to ban the illegal measures of
these institutions. But nothing has been done yet because such a step
may have political fallout.
Law commission recommendations:

The Law Commission in 2012 prepared a draft bill to prohibit interference
in marriage alliances.
 Key provisions in the draft bill say such informal groups would be
treated as an ‘unlawful assembly’. Page | 296
 The decisions taken by such assemblies that amount to harassment
social boycott, discrimination or incitement to violence should be
punishable by a minimum sentence.
Conclusion:
The Supreme Court judgment will not stop attacks on couples altogether.
To stop such attacks, the customs and patriarchal mindsets that view
women as property have to change. This will not happen unless families
change their own belief systems, and boys and young men are taught to
respect women.
Until then, India needs a strong law that will afford protection to selfchoice
partnerships and punish those who in the name of honor and tradition seek
to obliterate that right.
References:
1. https://www.hindustantimes.com/indianews/scsayskhap
interferenceinmarriageofconsentingadultsillegalherearethe
guidelines/storyYzRhHoc6Q3MfrNVeWfm13N.html
2. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/khapout
supremecourthonourkilling5115105/
3. https://www.hindustantimes.com/editorials/whypoliticalparties
arereluctanttobankhappanchayats/story
QRTcp7SxNtUpHW8dhqZabN.html
4. http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/1610/KhapPanchyats,
AdjudicatingCulturalDishonour?.html
5. https://scroll.in/article/873523/catastrophiccrisisforruleoflaw
supremecourtcracksdownonkhappanchayatshonourcrimes
Page | 297
NATIONAL POLICY ON BIOFUELS
Introduction:
The union cabinet recently approved a National Policy on Biofuels, which

Page | 298
encourages the generation and use of Biofuels such as ethanol.
Background:
 To promote the use of alternative and environmental friendly fuels,

to reduce import dependency for energy requirements and to give a
boost to agriculture sector Government launched Ethanol Blended
Petrol (EBP) Programme in 2003.
 In order to promote Biofuels in India, a National Policy on Biofuels
was formulated by the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
in 2009.
 The government has set an ambitious target of 10 percent ethanol
blending in petrol by 2022.
Despite the government efforts, the ethanol story has not yet succeeded in
India. Let us examine why.
 In India, sugarcane molasses are the major resource for bioethanol

production and the inconsistency in raw material supply is the major
cause behind this sluggish response to blending targets.
 Since sugarcane production is cyclical, ethanol production also varies
accordingly and does not assure optimum supply levels needed to
meet the demand at any given time.
 The investment in research on the conversion of different raw
materials into biofuel has been inadequate.
 Inadequate ethanol production resulted in missing the country’s
targets for ethanolblended petrol programme.
 Some state governments impose a tax on ethanol supplies for non
potable purposes. So far, only Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and
Goa have removed controls over interState ethanol movement
meant for EBP. This has an impact on industry’s supply commitment.
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Salient features of national policy on Biofuels, 2018:
 The policy categorizes Biofuels as basic Biofuels and Advanced

Biofuels. Basic Biofuels includes the first generation (1G) bioethanol
& biodiesel. Advanced Biofuels includes second generation (2G)
ethanol, Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) to dropin fuels and third
generation (3G) Biofuels, bioCNG etc.
 This categorization enables the government to extend appropriate
financial and fiscal incentives under each category.
 The policy expands the scope of raw material for ethanol production.
It allows the use of sugarcane juice, sugarcontaining materials like
sugar beet, sweet sorghum, starchcontaining materials like corn,
cassava, damaged food grains like wheat, broken rice and rotten
potatoes that are unfit for human consumption, for ethanol
production.
 The policy allows the use of surplus food grains for production of
ethanol for blending with petrol with the approval of National Biofuel
Coordination Committee. This allows the farmers to get the
appropriate price for their produce during the surplus production
phase.
 With a thrust on advanced Biofuels, the policy indicates a viability
gap funding scheme for 2G ethanol Biorefineries of Rs. 5000 crore in
6 years in addition to additional tax incentives, higher purchase price
as compared to 1G Biofuels.
 The policy encourages setting up of supply chain mechanisms for
biodiesel production from nonedible oilseeds, used cooking oil,
short gestation crops.
 Roles and responsibilities of all the concerned
Ministries/Departments with respect to Biofuels have been captured
in the policy document to synergize efforts.
How does this policy benefits? Page | 300
 Encouraging the domestic production of ethanol will reduce the

import dependency. As per the government estimate, one crore litres
of E10 saves Rs. 28 crore of foreign exchange at the current rates.
The year 201718 is likely to see a supply of around 150 crore litres
of ethanol which will result in savings of over Rs.4000 crore of
foreign exchange.
 One crore lit of E10 saves around 20,000 ton of CO2 emissions. So,
for the ethanol supply year 201718, there will be lesser emissions of
CO2 to the tune of 30 lakh ton. This helps India to move a step closer
to its commitment to Paris declaration.
 By reducing crop burning and conversion of agricultural
residues/wastes to Biofuels there will be a further reduction in Green
House Gas emissions. This may, in part, reduce the problem of
stubble burning around the national capital.
 Prolonged reuse of cooking oil for preparing food, particularly in
deepfrying is a potential health hazard and can lead to many
diseases. But, the used cooking oil is a potential feedstock for
biodiesel. Its use for making biodiesel will prevent diversion of used
cooking oil in the food industry.
 In India, annually 62 MMT of Municipal Solid Waste gets generated.
There are technologies available to convert waste/plastic, MSW to
drop in fuels. One ton of such waste has the potential to provide
around 20% drop in fuels.
 As per the government estimate, setting up a biorefinery of 100klpd
capacity requires around Rs. 800 crore capital investments. This will
spur infrastructural investment in the rural areas. At present Oil
Marketing Companies are in the process of setting up twelve 2G
biorefineries with an investment of around Rs.10,000 crore.
 A 2G biorefinery of 100klpd capacity can contribute 1200 jobs in
Plant Operations, Village Level Entrepreneurs and Supply Chain
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Management.
 Conversion of agricultural residues/waste into ethanol can fetch a
price for these wastes if a market is developed for the same. This will
be an additional source of income for farmers.
 Further, conversion of surplus grains and agricultural biomass into
Biofuels can help in price stabilization.
Concerns and challenges:
 Experts are of the opinion that the objective of the policy goes
beyond the current technological and financial feasibility.
 To convert India’s existing biofuel potential into reality, huge
investments need to be made in creating biorefinery capacity. While
stateowned oil marketing companies are in the process of setting up
12 biorefineries, this can only be a base to build on. On the ground,
private sector investment in this space has been hampered by
financial constraints and lack of cohesive support from the Central to
the local level.
 The technology to make ethanol from feedstock other than sugar
molasses is still under development.
 As per the World Bank data, 22 percent of the population or 270
million people are lives below the poverty line in India. Hunger
related deaths, malnutrition are not uncommon in India. Hence, there
is a need for caution in using surplus foodgrains to produce ethanol.
 There is also the likelihood of misuse of the policy. Sugarcane may be
diverted for production of ethanol instead of sugar when sugar prices
are low. Similarly, food grains may be used for ethanol production
instead of surplus or damaged food grains. The same possibility
exists with vegetables also. This will have serious consequences on
food security.
 Removing the shackles on raw material supply can have definite
benefits, but it cannot make a significant difference to biofuel
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production as long as the supplychain infrastructure required to
deliver Biofuels to the final consumer remains inadequate. The
government should take steps to remove policy barriers that have
discouraged private investment in building supply chains. Until that
happens, India’s huge biofuel potential will continue to remain
largely untapped.
 The government should steer clear of micromanaging the supply
chain. Instead, it should help in land acquisition for the biorefineries
and work with the stakeholders to fix a reasonable price for the end
product.
 The policy needs to be followed up with coordinated action at the
user end to ensure that the larger goal of the policy — of cleaning up
the air, reducing the carbon footprint and shift to more sustainable
renewable fuels — is not lost sight of.
 To be successful, the policy needs a coordinated implementation.
Coordination with state public transport bodies and civil bodies is of
utmost importance.
In summary:
It seems, the National Policy on Biofuels, 2018 has learnt from the previous
experiences and it addresses many of the gaps in the earlier measures.
But there are many concerns that are yet to be addressed, such as
coordination with states, civic bodies etc.
The policy widened the raw material available for biofuel production, but it
has sparked the food Vs energy debate. So, there is a need to monitor the
implementation of the policy to avoid unintended and undesirable
consequences.
Page | 303
References:
1. http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=179313
2. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/green
push/article24027326.ece
3. http://www.freepressjournal.in/analysis/bharatjhunjhunwala
whatisthefutureofbiodieselinindia/1138033
4. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/editorial/thenew
biofuelspolicyticksalltherightboxesbutexecutionholdsthe
key/article23952399.ece
5. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/targetsfor
ethanolblendedpetrolmaybemissedagain/article24106625.ece
SHOULD THE SC PROCEEDINGS BE LIVE STREAMED?
Introduction:
Page | 304
Recently, the Supreme Court said that it is ready to go live on camera. A

threejudge Bench led by Chief Justice of India said a live stream is only an
extension of the ‘open court’ system, where the public can walk in and
watch court proceedings. With court proceedings beamed live on air,
litigants, law students and the public can watch them as they happen.
The government has mooted a separate TV channel for livestreaming court

proceedings.
In support of live streaming:
 The courts are now opting for digitization, with online records of all
cases, a provision for filing FIRs online, an automated system of case
rotation, etc., there is still a need to push the bar much higher. In the
light of these technological advancements, why shouldn’t millions of
people be allowed to watch the rich deliberations that transpire in
the halls of justice?
 The live streaming and videography of the proceedings of the
Supreme Court in matters of great public importance will be in
keeping with the principle of open access to justice and will ensure
justice is not only done but it is seen to be done.
 A live stream would help litigants follow the proceedings in their case
and also assess their lawyers’ performance.
 A live stream would keep a check on lawyers’ conduct inside the
courtrooms. With the entire country watching them, there would be
fewer interruptions, raised voices and adjournments from the
lawyers.
 People from farflung States such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala do not
have to travel all the way to the national capital for a day’s hearing.
 Citizens have the right to information and matters of constitutional
and national importance can be livestreamed.
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 It will be in the public interest, to advance the rule of law and bring
accessibility and transparency in the administration of justice.
 To promote transparency, livestreaming has been allowed for both
Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha proceedings since 2004. Similarly, the
recording of videos is allowed in the highest courts in Canada and
Australia, as well as in the International Court of Justice.
 Livestreaming of court proceedings will educate common people on
how the judiciary functions and it helps in building the right
perception.
 It helps in avoiding multiple versions or wrong projections of facts, or
the menace of fake news or faulty reporting.
Arguments against live streaming:
 Legal luminaries have expressed reservations about livestreaming

cases involving national security concerns, matrimonial disputes, and
rape cases. A public viewing of marital dispute and rape case
proceedings would seriously affect justice and amount to a violation
of the fundamental right to privacy.
 The livestreaming is neither called for in all types of matters nor in
all courts. The matters which have a privacy dimension, such as
family matters or criminal matters, or matters with legal procedural
intricacies, such as most trial court matters, are out of its scope. But
matters which have a bearing on important public interest issues
such as entry of women to the Sabarimala temple, or the scope of the
right to the choice of one’s food, or the constitutionality of the
Aadhaar scheme, or the legality of Section 377 of the Indian Penal
Code, all of which are pending before the Supreme Court, should be
available for all to watch.
 Judiciary is already overburdened. Livestreaming may further
increase this burden. Further, there is difficulty in deciding how to
Page | 306
implement this.
 Infrastructure for implementing this idea is inadequate.
 The Indian Supreme Court on any given day is actually 1213 panels
of judges hearing cases simultaneously, and it issues a far higher
number of judgments than any comparable court. The live streaming
may put pressure on judges and the judgments issued may tend to be
hurriedly reasoned and poorly articulated.
 Lawyers and judges before the Supreme Court tend to rely
extensively on an ‘oral’ culture where much less emphasis is placed
on written briefs and documents or on thorough preparation in
advance of hearings. Lawyers in India arguably get more time to
argue their cases than in any other jurisdiction. Given these realities,
it is not clear that televising the proceedings would entail any great
benefit to the public. Rather it runs the risk of adversely affecting
court proceedings. In comparison to this, the proceedings of the
International Court of Justice like most apex courts in the world is
based on written advocacy.
 The role of the judiciary cannot be equated with the roles of the
legislature and the executive. While broadcasting parliamentary
proceedings may be good for ensuring accountability, this is not the
case with the courts. The reason is that: in democratic governance,
the public is sovereign, and the public judges its representatives. But
the public cannot judge the judges. Judges are accountable neither to
the general public nor to the sovereign. They are accountable only to
the rule of law and to the Constitution.
 A comparison of the Supreme Court with the Parliament is, at the
most, illusory. The Parliament is fundamentally different from courts.
Parliamentary debates are based on policy and policy by its very
nature is experimental. A policy debate warrants the direct
participation of public and wherever required, even criticism. The
courts, on the other hand, function on logic and application of the
law. The courts are known not for the outcomes, but for the process. Page | 307
 The unwanted public gaze caused by livestreaming will tend to make

judges subject to popular public opinion and accountable to the
general public. While the impetus to act for the executive and the
legislature lies in popularity, the courts have to carry out justice even
if it involves one person against everyone else.
 The individuality of judges is more likely to become a subject of
public debate through livestreaming, creating problems of its own.
 There is a greater likelihood of lawyers aspiring to publicize
themselves through their addresses to the Bench. With live
streaming, there is a strong possibility that lawyers will tend to
address not only the judges but also the public watching them. This
will only hamper their objectivity.
 Debates inside a courtroom, especially before the Constitution
Benches of the Supreme Court, require reasonable expertise to be
understood. During hearings, judges make oral observations and ask
questions which may not be a formal expression of what they are
thinking. Many times, contradictory observations are made to bring
out the version of rival parties. An irresponsible debate on an oral
observation of a judge may make the judge conscious, and this will
affect the normalcy of the proceedings.
Way forward:
The Supreme Court had already passed an order in Pradyuman Bisht Vs

Union of India (2017) directing all High Courts to ensure CCTV and audio
and video recordings in subordinate courts.
This order should be extended to the Supreme Court and High Courts, and a
copy of the recordings should be made available to the parties concerned
and to the general public under the Right to Information Act.
The government has mooted a separate TV channel for livestreaming court Page | 308
proceedings.
As suggested by the Attorney General, the livestreaming of court

proceedings could start on a trial basis from the CJI’s court and only in
Constitution Bench matters. The response should be gauged for three
months before proceeding further in the matter. He further suggested that
the constitutional matters for livestreaming should be selected by the CJI.
However, the agreements with broadcasters should be on a non

commercial basis. No one should profit from the arrangement. There
should be no unauthorized reproduction. There should be guidelines for
livestreaming proceedings.
References:
1. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/supremecourtfavours
livestreamingofcourtproceedings/article24370456.ece
2. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/shouldsupremecourt
proceedingsbelivestreamed/article22765577.ece
3. http://www.livelaw.in/shouldthesupremecourtproceedingsbe
livestreamed/
DOUBLING THE FARMER’S INCOME
Introduction:
Page | 309
After two consecutive years of drought, in 201415 and 201516, farmers of

many crops were hit by low market prices in several states in 201617. The
country is currently facing the agricultural distress. There is a sense of
urgency about addressing these issues.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing a farmers’ rally in Bareilly

on February 28, 2016, expressed his desire to double the income of farmers
by the year 2022. This has evoked strong responses from various analysts,
experts, and the media.
In February 2018, the ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare

organized a conference to prepare a strategy for doubling farm income by
2022, when the country completes 75 years of independence.
At the conference Prime Minister expounded a fourpoint solution on this

subject:
 Reducing input costs.

 Ensuring better returns.
 Wealth from farm waste.
 Creating nonfarm incomes.
Why is it Important?
 The agriculture and allied activities remain the main livelihood for
more than half of the Indian population.
 The SocioEconomic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011, released in 2015
indicates that out of 24.39 crore households in the country, 17.91
crores lived in villages and are more or less dependent on
agriculture.
 Further, the Economic Survey of 201516 highlights that the share of
agriculture in employment was 48.9% of the workforce, while its
Page | 310
share in the gross domestic product (GDP) was 17.4% in 201415 at
constant prices.
Can this be achieved?
It is important to point out that what is sought to be doubled is the income

of farmers, not output or valueadded or the GDP of the agriculture sector.
If technology, input prices, wages and labor use could result in perunit cost
savings, then farmers’ incomes would rise at a much higher rate than the
rate of increase in output.
1. Remunerative prices:
To realize the remunerative prices for the agricultural products, reforms

are required in two areas: marketing reforms and minimum support price
(MSP) reform.
 Currently existing agricultural marketing – under the Agricultural

Produce Market Committees (APMC) acts in various states – has led
to policy distortions and fragmentation, largely as a result of a huge
number of intermediaries and poor infrastructures.
 In order to address the shortcomings of the APMC acts, the central
government circulated a model Agricultural Produce Marketing
Committees (Development and Regulation) Act of 2003.
 The government has launched the eNAM portal, envisioned as a
unified national electronics agriculture market.
Since agriculture is a state subject, the central government cannot do much

here apart from facilitating the reform process.
 The major disadvantage of MSP regime is that it is excessively
focused on wheat and paddy. It completely neglects pulses. As a
dryland crop, pulses are important not only for income security but
also for nutritional security.
Page | 311
 The current MSP driven model to increase farm income is not
sustainable and does not increase productivity.
 Also, the announcement of MSP does not match the procurement by
the government. Thus the main objective of announcing MSP is lost.
 There is an urgent need to reform MSP regime. Price Deficiency
Payment system could provide a solution to this. This has been tried
in Madhya Pradesh in Kharif 2017.
Turning farm waste into fuel instead of burning is another worthwhile

project. This will bring lowincome rural households into a commercial
farming and encourage small enterprises for the collection, processing, and
extraction of biofuels. The national Biofuel policy, 2018 is a right step in
this direction.
2. Raising productivity:
Indian agriculture is dominated by marginal and small farmers who have

small holdings. As per the Agriculture Census 201011, 67% of India’s total
farmers are marginal farmers (below 1 h.a.) followed by small farmers (12
h.a.) at 18%.
Raising productivity is the single most important factor if incomes of this

group are to be doubled. But here also there are many challenges.
 On the one side resources like water and land are limited and on the
other hand, land holding is getting fragmented.
 The problem is further compounded by rising input costs.
What can be done?

 There is a need to diversify farm activities towards highvalue crops
and enterprises. Nationallevel data reveals that shifting to high
value crops can more than quadruple income from the same piece of
land.
Page | 312
 The assured sources of irrigation can double the productivity.
Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana is a step in the right
direction.
 NITI Aayog has suggested many modifications in the existing
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana. It suggested that the scheme
should have a capped subsidy amount per farm household and any
farmer desiring to insure larger sums should pay the full premium
for the difference. It also suggested extending the time period of
coverage under the scheme for three to five years so as that coverage
extends to both good and bad years.
The NITI Aayog has advocated for reforms in land leasing laws so that the
operational land holding could be consolidated to raise the level of
productivity. In this regard, the thinktank has prepared a model Land
Leasing Law.
 This could happen if farmers take up nonfarm jobs and would sell
their pieces of land but they prefer not to do so since land is a source
of security.
 Leasing of landholding faced legal difficulties in the country as most
of the states have either banned the land leasing or allow it under
strict circumstances.
The land leasing laws need to be reformed to give legal status to tenancy.
This would give a greater sense of security to the owner who wants to lease
out land and it will also give greater certainty of tenure to the tenant, above
all, it will open doors for the consolidation of the operational land holdings.
But again, since land is a state subject, response from the states has not
been encouraging in this regard.
Criticisms:
Page | 313
 The target is to double the farmer’s income by 2022, but there are
some unanswered questions. Is it nominal income or real income that
has to be doubled? Does the targeted income include only income
derived from agricultural activities or would it also include income
from other sources?
 Agriculture is subject to a lot of uncertainties, ranging from rainfall
and pest attacks to market prices. Even within states, there is
enormous variation in agroclimatic conditions, the extent of
irrigation, penetration of roads, proximity to markets, and
availability of credit through banking infrastructure. Therefore, the
strategy for doubling farmer incomes will differ from state to state
and from one region to another even within a state.
 According to the 70th round National Sample Survey, the annual
income of a farm household in Punjab in 2013 was Rs. 2,17,450 while
in Bihar it was only Rs. 44,172. It is clear that doubling farmer
incomes in Punjab is not only much more difficult but will also
require a completely different strategy than in Bihar.
 Some commentators have produced calculations that agriculture will
require an annual growth of 14.86 percent per year for the next five
years to double the income of farmers, and pointed out that this
growth level hasn’t been achieved even for a single year in Indian
agriculture.
 The agricultural growth in the postreform period, barring a few
exceptional years, has been stagnant and has historically failed to
meet the target set by the government. For example, the average
annual rate of growth in agriculture and allied sector during the
period from (199192 to 201314) comes at 3.2% – lower than the
targeted 4%. At the current 3percent growth rate it would take 25
years to double farmers’ income.
Suggestion by M.S. Swaminathan:

Page | 314
 Swaminathan suggested promoting organic farming zones and
introducing a systems approach with concurrent attention to all links
in the conservation, cultivation, consumption and commerce chain,
with an emphasis on assured and remunerative marketing.
 Swaminathan stressed to create a good weather code to fight the ill
effects of climate change, special programmes to empower female
farmers and proper utilization of biomass.
References:
1. https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/nPimBfIVnUEAUIQcocqWPP/A
griculture2022willthedreamcometrue.html
2. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/whydoubling
farmersincomeby2022ispossible2754028/
3. https://thewire.in/agriculture/mission2022ailsindianfarmer
4. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/fivewaysto
doublefarmersincome/article23827672.ece
5. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/jammu/Needtoreform
leaselawsforconsolidatinglandholding
Niti/articleshowprint/51880222.cms
IS AI A DANGER TO HUMANITY?
Introduction:
Page | 315
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is poised to disrupt our world. With intelligent

machines enabling highlevel cognitive processes like thinking, perceiving,
learning, problemsolving and decision making, coupled with advances in
data collection and aggregation, analytics and computer processing power,
AI presents opportunities to complement and supplement human
intelligence and enrich the way people live and work.
On the other hand, some of the leading scientists and thinkers have warned
about ‘technological singularity’. Technological singularity refers to the
belief that ordinary humans will someday be overtaken by artificially
intelligent machines or cognitively enhanced biological intelligence, or
both.
What is artificial intelligence?
It is a technology that takes in huge amounts of information from a specific

domain and uses it to make a decision in the service of a specified goal. For
example, AI technology can be used to analyze loan repayment histories
(information) of a person to decide whether to give an individual a loan or
not (decision) so as to maximize the profits for the lender (goal).
An AI machine is an autonomous entity and they are like other human

beings in terms of their capacities for decision and action.
In 2016, Googlerun artificial intelligence (AI) programme “AlphaGo”

defeated legendary player Lee Sedol in Go — a complex Chinese board
game that is considered the “quintessential unsolved problem” for machine
intelligence.
Though the AI has many benefits, it has sparked up a debate about its
dangers to the humanity.
AI is a threat:
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 AI machines are like other human beings in terms of their capacities
for decision and action. They cannot be compared to other machines
as the degree of independence that AI technologies have is much
more complex.
 AI is an attempt to reproduce super intelligent humans. It chooses
one aspect of human beings, namely the intelligence, and artificially
magnifies it to an extent that allows the machine to do things far
better than humans can.
 AI is that associated with superlative memory, calculative power,
decisionmaking capacity, high speeds of action, etc. These machines
thus become super beings, and a society filled with many super
beings is a recipe for disaster.
 AI machines are a mirror to our desire for immortality and absence of
human weaknesses.
 Most importantly, the AI has not been used to get rid of poverty, to
have a more equitable distribution of wealth, or to make people more
content with what they have. Instead, they will primarily be dictated
by profit for the companies that make them.
AI is not a threat:
 The threat is not in the technology but in the humans who use such
technology. For example, guns don’t kill, only people do.
 It should be remembered here that the technology is as useful as it
can be harmful.
 Technology will always be under our control and so we can literally
pull the plug when we want.
 From paper to telegraph, from steam engines to computers, human
beings have always feared new technology. Yet, we know from
history that we have always embraced technology eventually, to
make our life better, easier. There’s no reason to believe that our
Page | 317
future with AI will be any different.
 Healthcare and medicine become affordable and accessible with AI
taking center stage in telemedicine and quick diagnosis. Water and
energy networks become accessible and widely usable when AI can
mediate the use of different sources.
Artificial intelligence and economic inequality:
Unlike the Industrial Revolution and the computer revolution, the AI

revolution is not taking certain jobs (artisans, personal assistants who
use paper and typewriters) and replacing them with other jobs
(assemblyline workers, personal assistants conversant with
computers).
Instead, it is poised to bring about a widescale decimation of jobs —

mostly lowerpaying jobs, but some higherpaying ones, too. This
transformation will result in enormous profits for the companies that
develop AI, as well as for the companies that adopt it.
For example, imagine how much money a company like Uber would
make if it used only robot drivers.
Thus, the world is facing two developments that cannot be placed together:
enormous wealth concentrated in few hands and large numbers of people
out of work.
Part of the solution lies in educating or retraining people in tasks that AI

tools aren’t good at. For example, artificial intelligence is not suited for jobs
involving creativity, planning and “crossdomain” thinking.
A more promising solution is creating lowerpaying jobs involving the
“people skills” that AI lacks, such as social workers, bartenders etc. these
professions require nuanced human interaction. But the question is how
many such workers does a society really need?
Page | 318
NITI Aayog discussion paper:
The NITI Aayog has published an ambitious discussion paper on kick

starting the artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem in India.
The paper talks about powering five sectors — agriculture, education,

healthcare, smart cities/infrastructure and transport — with AI.
The discussion paper accepts that adoption of AI till date has been driven
primarily from a commercial perspective.
Further, it notes that technology disruptions like AI are onceina

generation phenomenon, and hence largescale adoption strategies need to
strike a balance between narrow definitions of financial impact and the
greater good.
The report identifies the following barriers for adoption of AI in India:
 Lack of broadbased expertise in research and application of AI.

 The absence of enabling data ecosystems – access to intelligent data.
 High resource cost and low awareness for adoption of AI.
 Privacy and security, including a lack of formal regulations around
anonymization of data.
 The absence of a collaborative approach to the adoption and
application of AI.
Data is one of the primary drivers of AI solutions, and thus appropriate

handling of data, ensuring privacy and security is of prime importance. In
order for India to ride the AI innovation wave, a robust data protection
framework and intellectual property framework are required.
Conclusion:
Despite the beneficial uses of AI, scientists and leading thinkers like
Stephen Hawking, Nick Bostrom, and Elon Musk warn us about the dangers
of AI and the coming technological singularity. Page | 319
It is believed that the purely intelligent creatures, whether people or

machines are bad for humanity.
On the other hand, AI, by itself, is not looking to destroy humanity. Whether
we use AI to augment ourselves, create new species, or use it to destroy
lives and what we’ve built is entirely in our hands — at least for now.
No matter how dangerous AI might be for humanity, it's clear that there's
no slowing down the pace of progress. Regardless of how many deponents
come out against AI, there's no way to stop its advancement.
Future discussions will help in directing AI for good rather than bad, but no
matter what happens, there's certainly no stopping the wheels of progress
as they slowly grind forward.
References:
1. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/isaiadangerto
humanity/article22898598.ece
2. https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertadams/2016/03/25/is
artificialintelligencedangerous/#4ee33ff8358b
3. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/24/opinion/sunday/artificial
intelligenceeconomicinequality.html
4. https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/technologicalsingularity
5. http://niti.gov.in/writereaddata/files/document_publication/Nation
alStrategyforAIDiscussionPaper.pdf
WHAT PREVENTS WOMEN FROM WORKING IN INDIA?
Introduction:
Page | 320
The relatively low proportion of working women in India is one of the most
significant obstacles to economic progress.
 According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), the

difference in the labor participation rate of men and women in India
is over 50 percentage points. It is one of the highest among G20
nations.
 According to a study by the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), India’s
gross domestic product (GDP) in 2025 can be higher by as much as
60% if women’s participation in the economy were on par with that
of men.
 International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde says employing
additional 217 million ‘missing women’ (considering zero gender
gap) will boost India’s economic output by as much as 27%.
Income level and labor force participation:
Economist Claudia Goldin has shown that women labor force participation
in relation to men follows a U shape.
 Participation is higher at lower income levels when people are more

dependent on agriculture.
 However, as the income goes up due to the inevitable shift in
economic activity from agriculture to industry and services, the level
of participation drops.
 But then, over time, as the level of female education improves,
women tend to come back to the labor market.
India is in a situation where participation is declining with rising income.
This also explains why rural women enter the labor force during drought
years while they withdraw during years of good harvests. Therefore, steps
will be required not only to arrest the fall but to reverse it meaningfully.
Page | 321
Reasons for the poor participation of women:
 The abysmal women labor force participation rate has been a

structural problem in India. Ninetythree percent of Indian workers
are employed in the unorganized sector. Lower wages for women,
inability to provide flexibility, childcare benefits, and maternity
leaves creates disincentives for women to seek work outside the
home.
 Social systems play a major role. For instance, women’s economic
participation is highest in the northeastern states, where women
traditionally enjoy a higher status in society.
 Customs and social norms can also play a role. Unlike the women
dominated the garment industry in southern states, there are very
few womendominated industries in the north. This might be because
even migrant women in north India find it difficult to break social
taboos and travel for work.
 Economic census data shows the gender gap to be higher in urban
areas. In rural areas, high poverty and the economic necessity of
work helps bridge the gap.
 A high wage gap between men and women for the same work also
acts as a deterrent.
 Discrimination against women, starting from practices like sex
selective abortion, is a possible reason for the poor participation of
women in the workforce.
 There is a wide gap in the level of education and skills between men
and women. Though more women enroll and complete
primary/secondary level, the female enrollment drastically declines
at higher education level.
 The lack of safety and supporting infrastructure plays a role in
deterring many educated, urban women from pursuing careers. The
Page | 322
safety of women is also an important concern, all the more so in
countries like India.
 Distance to the place of work adversely affects women’s chances of
getting employment. Even if she can arrange for paying transport
costs, the extra time involved may become a deterrent since women
have to take care of most of the household work.
 Better access to modes of transport might be preventing women to
travel greater distances as well.
 More women workers travel on foot than men workers in both rural
and urban India. So, they would be looking for work, not far from
their home. Nonavailability of work in the vicinity of their place of
dwelling act as a deterrent.
Is the maternity leave responsible for female job loss?
The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017 is a landmark legislation

which entitles a woman to 26 weeks of paid maternity leave. It was
expected that the legislation would help women to rejoin the work.
But, a study by TeamLease estimates that the maternity leave increased

cost for companies and may have discouraged them from hiring women.
The estimated loss of female jobs was between 1.1 to 1.8 million for the
fiscal year 201718, over and above the usual job loss due to attrition
related to maternity.
How can this situation be reversed?
The first step in reversing the low female employment is, understanding
the cause.
Some of the fall in the Female Labour Force Participation (FLFP) rate is a
sign of progress. Girls are staying in school, and thus out of the labor force,
for longer. But, mostly it is the result of unwelcome trends like conservative
social mores.
Page | 323
 Promoting education, a timetested development strategy, may not
succeed. Studies show that the more schooling an Indian woman
receives, the less likely she is to work, at least if she has anything less
than a university degree.
 Same goes with urbanization: citydwelling women are half as likely
as rural ones to have a job.
 Promoting femalefriendly workplace policies, such as maternity
leave, may not yield the desired result as most workers operate
outside the formal economy.
The most fruitful policy would be to reform India’s labor market. India’s
labor market needs formalization.
Also, the state will have to create a safe and secure environment to
facilitate greater labor mobility among women. This will require increased
investments in infrastructure and public administration.
Besides, Indian society will have to discourage gender discrimination in all

forms.
References:
1. https://www.economist.com/leaders/2018/07/05/whyindia
needswomentowork
2. https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/hfaRh6PsbtrUlpcGOP9AxL/Wh
yIndianeedsmoreworkingwomen.html
3. https://www.livemint.com/Politics/vGSjSt72LCVC6sRYezfFxM/Indi
acouldadd60to2025GDPbybridginggendergapatwo.html
4. https://www.livemint.com/Politics/jedAN6zwNy0V0eXmc2vMGM/
WhatpreventswomenfromworkinginIndia.html
5. https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/v80I9EwDz6oyklST8ebqMM/R Page | 324
eversingwomensdeclineintheIndianlabourforce.html
6. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/thecurious
caseof217millionmissingwomenintheindian
workforce/articleshowprint/59774345.cms
SPECIAL CATEGORY STATUS
Introduction:
Page | 325
A growing clamor for Special Category Status (SCS) in Andhra Pradesh has
led to statewide protests and heated debates in Parliament.
Apart from Andhra Pradesh which is in the news lately, Bihar and Odisha
had recently demanded SCS status.
What is SCS?
Some regions in the country were historically disadvantaged in comparison

to others. Recognizing this fact some states have been granted more
assistance by the erstwhile Planning Commission body, National
Development Council (NDC).
The Special Category Status (SCS) is based on a number of features of the

States which included:
 Hilly and difficult terrain

 Low population density or the presence of sizeable tribal population
 Strategic location along international borders
 Economic and infrastructural backwardness
 Nonviable nature of State finances.
The Constitution does not include any provision for categorization of any
State in India as a Special Category Status (SCS) State.
What kind of assistance does the SCS States receive?
The SCS States used to receive block grants based on the GadgilMukherjee
formula, which effectively allowed for nearly 30 percent of the Total
Central Assistance to be transferred to the SCS States.
Besides, SCS States was given with 90% assistance to Centrally Sponsored
Schemes.
What is the basis of A.P.’s claim for SCS?

Page | 326
 Following the bifurcation, Andhra lost a large volume of its revenue
due to Hyderabad remaining the capital of Telangana.
 In a debate in the Rajya Sabha on the A.P. Reorganization Act on
February 20, 2014, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had
promised special category status to the Successor State of Andhra
Pradesh, for a period of five years. This oral submission by the then
PM has been the basis for A.P.’s claim to the status.
Recently, Manmohan Singh said that Special Category Status to Andhra

Pradesh was an assurance made by him on behalf of the Parliament and he
had expected his successor to fulfill it.
There are political compulsions for making such a demand, with elections
to the Lok Sabha and the State Assembly only a year away.
Arguments against SCS:
 There are asymmetric arrangements laid down in the Constitution,

such as Article 370 for Jammu and Kashmir, and in Articles, 371A to
H for the States in the Northeast and even these are under the
“temporary, transitional and special provisions” (Part XXI).
 The decision to give and not accord special category status in the past
was taken by the erstwhile National Development Council on the
recommendation of the Planning Commission based on
aforementioned factors and this was entirely an executive decision.
Asymmetric arrangements on discretionary and political grounds
will only weaken the fabric of federalism.
 The 11 SCS States have not seen a rise in growth in the long run.
Barring exceptions, most States had growth in real per capita SDP
(20052015) being significantly lower (between 45 percent) than
the average growth of 6 percent. This shows that these States’ future
depends on something more than the SCS package.
 The perception that Andhra is currently disadvantaged is misleading
Page | 327
as industries such as communications, business, and local community
services are doing reasonably well there.
Why is union government not granting SCS to Andhra?
 Following the recommendations of the Fourteenth Finance

Commission (FFC), Central plan assistance to the SCS States has been
subsumed in an increased devolution of the divisible pool to all States
(from 32% in the 13th FC recommendations to 42%) and do not any
longer appear in plan expenditure.
 The union finance minister promised to give A.P. the monetary
equivalent of the special status. But the Andhra Pradesh wanted it to
be institutionally recognized. It felt that the assurance of granting the
monetary equivalent was not an enduring or longterm solution.
 Besides procedural hurdles, the union government feared this would
lead to other States such as Bihar making similar demands.
Did 14th FC recommend to stop granting SCS to States?
On this issue, M. Govinda Rao, a member of the 14th Finance Commission,

expressed following opinion:
 The terms of reference of the 14th FC did not require it to deal with
the categorization of States into the “special category” and “non
special category”.
 Constitution does not classify States into general and special
categories and therefore, the Finance Commission, which was formed
under Article 280 of the Constitution, has no business to make any
recommendations on the issue.
 The status was accorded to some States by the National Development
Council. The Finance Commissions have had no role in either
specifying the criteria or making recommendations for admission to
special category status.
Page | 328
Thus, nowhere has the FFC referred to the issue of desirability or of
according special category status in its report. Therefore, attributing blame
to the FFC for the inability to accord special category status is clearly
misleading.
Are there more deserving states?
Bihar is waiting for the ‘special category status’ for the last 18 years after
the mineralrich part of the state was hewed out and Jharkhand came into
existence.
 The 2005 report of the InterMinistry Task Group (IMTG) constituted

by the Planning Commission observed that Bihar not only had the
highest number but also the highest proportion of backward districts
compared with any other state. As many as 36 out of 38 districts in
Bihar were backward as per the rankings of IMTG.
 Of the 117 aspirational districts identified by the NITI Aayog, Bihar
has second highest (13) number of districts and Jharkhand has 19
districts, whereas Andhra has only 3 aspirational districts.
 Besides, Bihar is strategically located at the border with Nepal. The
state faces the problem of economic and infrastructural
backwardness.
References:
1. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/Whatisthespecial
categorystatus/article14553662.ece
2. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/bifurcationandblame
ongrantingspecialcategorystatustostates/article23041901.ece
3. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/friendswith
benefits/article22986276.ece
4. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/statesmuststop Page | 329
relyingoncentreshandouts/article23408354.ece
5. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/shouldbiharget
specialcategorystatus/article20564978.ece
NATIONAL REGISTER OF CITIZENS
Introduction:
Page | 330
Assam’s demographic changes date back to the 19th century and have
economic, ethnic, cultural and religious dimensions. Partition and the
hardening of national identities since have complicated the citizenship
question.
Currently, an exercise is being carried out to determine the citizenship

status of the state’s residents.
The final draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) was published recently.
The final draft left our 40.07 lakh people, wherein 2.89 crore people were
found eligible out of 3.29 crore applicants.
What is NRC?
The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is the list of Indian citizens in

Assam. The NRC update in Assam is an exercise being carried out to
determine the citizenship status of the state’s residents.
Why is NRC being updated now?
The National Register of Citizens, 1951 is being updated in Assam since

2015 for two reasons.
1. In 2005, a tripartite agreement was signed between the union

government and state government and the All Assam Students Union
(AASU) to implement the Assam Accord. The Accord was signed in
1985 to end the antiimmigration agitation in Assam. It created an
exclusive cutoff date of March 25, 1971, for Indian citizenship for the
residents of the state. The date for the rest of India is November 26,
1949, and for those migrating from East Pakistan is July 19, 1948.
2. In response to the petitions seeking implementation of the main
clause of the Assam Accord – detection and deletion of “foreigners”
from the state’s electoral rolls – Supreme Court in December 2014
directed the government to update the NRC.
Page | 331
The Supreme Court is monitoring the NRC update process.
The people of Assam look at it as their last chance to have an errorfree

electoral roll, the reason for which they started agitation in 1979.
Challenges:
 Since the ongoing NRC update has sprung out of the Accord, most
Bengali Muslims and Hindus tend to treat it only as a tool for the
majority community to harass and disenfranchise them. The process
may disturb harmony in the state.
 The Central government is implementing the Assam Accord 33 years
later by seeking 48yearold papers from applicants. Many of the
affected people are poor, illiterate people and many were affected by
floods and therefore may have lost many crucial papers. Thus the
process of updating NRC comes with its own challenges, and often at
the cost of the most disadvantaged.
What does it mean to be out of NRC?
 The government has made it clear that the NRC published on 30th July
is only a draft and adequate opportunity for claims and objections
will be given. Only thereafter, final NRC will be published.
 Those not part of the draft NRC will not automatically be declared
foreigners but will get a onemonth window to file claims and
objections, besides subsequent judicial recourse.
 The Centre is all set to amend the rules that would enable residents
whose names don’t feature in the National Register of Citizens (NRC)
to file an appeal before the Foreigners Tribunals in Assam.
 These amendments will be made to the rules in the Foreigners
Tribunal Order, 1964 as under the existing law only State or Police
could move the Tribunal against a person suspected to be illegally
staying in Assam.
Page | 332
 Thus, any person who is not satisfied with the outcome of claims and
objections can appeal in the Foreigner’s Tribunal. There are 100
Foreigners Tribunals functioning in Assam.
So, the government is providing adequate opportunity for the people

whose name did not figure in the final draft NRC.
However, the Registrar General of India (RGI) will not make public the
reasons for excluding the names of 40 lakh people from the final draft.
Only the ‘doubtful’ voters identified by the Election Commission and those
who have, at any point of time, been referred to Foreigners’ Tribunals and
their descendants will get to know the reason for exclusion.
Voting rights of ‘doubtful’ voters and their descendants already stand

suspended.
Conclusion:
The state can, of course, use its many instruments to discriminate against
“noncitizens”, but such an approach could create new fault lines and
trigger social unrest. A fresh political imagination which recognizes that
modern nations are a product of migrations and cultural diffusion is
necessary to address the citizenship issue in a mature and reasonable way.
The NRC must be handled with care.
The saving grace for the NRC process is that it is being monitored by the
Supreme Court. The court has to be extremely vigilant in this regard and be
seen delivering justice to all.
References:
1. https://thewire.in/politics/assamnrccitizenshipbillbangladesh
2. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/assamnrc
firstdraftnationalregisterofcitizens5009184/ Page | 333
PRICE DEFICIENCY PAYMENT MECHANISM
Introduction:
Page | 334
Recently, the NITI Aayog has suggested ‘Price Deficiency Payment’ system
to address the gaps in Minimum Support Price (MSP) based procurement of
crops.
In this article, we will discuss the meaning, importance and other issues
related to the price deficiency payment mechanism.
What is it?
Under a Price Deficiency Payment system farmers are paid the difference
between the governmentannounced minimum support price (MSP) for
select crops and the actual market price.
For crops such as rice and wheat where it is effective now, MSP
announcements will continue. For other targeted crops, price deficiency
payments will be made.
How does this work?
 Under the Price deficiency procurement scheme, if the sale price is

below a modal price then the farmers may be compensated to the
difference between MSP and actual price, subject to a ceiling.
 To avail the benefit under the price deficiency system, each farmer is
required to register with the nearest APMC mandi and report the
total area sown.
 The subsidy may be paid via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) into the
farmer’s Aadhaarlinked bank account.
 However, there may be a cap on the extent to which the Centre will
bridge the gap between MSP and market price. NITI Aayog has said
that the farmer may be entitled to the difference up to say, 10
percent.
 No compensation would be due if the modal price in neighbouring
States is above the MSP.
Page | 335
 The key benefit from the price deficiency payment is that it will
reduce the need for the government to actually procure food crops,
transport and store them and then dispose of them under PDS.
 Price deficiency payment can also India’s bill on food subsidies under
check. India’s food subsidy schemes have frequently come under the
WTO scanner. WTO sees India’s procurement subsidies as trade
distorting.
 Price deficiency payment reduces the market distortion caused by
the subsidies. It allows the market to discover the actual prices as
government intervention in the market is reduced.
 In recent years, the government has been seeing the accumulation of
large foodgrain stocks in its godowns over and above the buffer
requirement. This entails storage and wastage costs that add on to
the subsidy bill. Such costs can be reduced.
 The current MSP system has limited reach, in terms of both the crops
and the geographical area it covers.
 Though MSPs are announced for more than 20 crops, actual
procurement at MSP is restricted mostly to paddy and wheat. This
resulted in the skewed cropping pattern in favor of rice and wheat,
leading to the reduced sowing of coarse cereals.
 The price deficiency system may incentivize farmers to diversify
beyond the conventional cereals. This may lead to crop
diversification, according to the agroclimatic condition of the region.
It should be noted that monoculture of rice, wheat, and sugarcane
resulted in soil degradation, higher usage of chemical fertilizers and
pesticides. These are also waterintensive crops.
Concerns:
Page | 336
 The price deficit compensation scheme is not a substitute for the
government’s procurement operations. It is not an excuse to
dismantle current systems of food security. In fact, there is a strong
case for expanding the food schemes to include other commodities as
well as larger quantities.
 According to Crisil Research, implementing a price deficiency
payment scheme, as announced in the budget, may require around
Rs. 25,000 crores.
Experience from the states:
MP and Karnataka are essentially operating price deficiency payment

programmes, wherein government support to producers does not involve
direct market intervention.
Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana scheme of Madhya Pradesh pays farmers the

difference between the official MSP and the average modal rate in markets
for any crop. Karnataka government uses this mechanism for the milk
cooperatives.
But the Karnataka and MP schemes are not without flaws.
 The Karnataka government has used the Rs 5/liter incentive to

reward not just producers, but also keep prices of milk for consumers
in Karnataka lower than in other states.
 The bhavantar scheme did not anticipate collusion by traders, who
reportedly pulled down prices drastically, telling farmers they need
not worry as they would be compensated by the government.
 In addition, many conditions without sound rationale were imposed.
For instance, farmers were initially given just a month to register for
the scheme, that too through an online portal, with 3,500 primary
agricultural cooperatives providing this facility.
Page | 337
 Another condition was the time window within which sales were to
take place – which was two months for seven of the commodities.
This meant that even those with the ability to retain their produce
would have to rush to the market.
 In Madhya Pradesh, registered farmers could sell only in their
corresponding, designated markets. This again meant limiting the
play of demand and supply to the extent that farmers could not make
rational choices about where to sell.
 Furthermore, a ceiling was fixed on how much a farmer could sell
under the scheme.
References:
1. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/columns/allyou
wantedtoknowaboutpricedeficiency
payment/article9872658.ece
2. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/pathto
prosperitymadhyapradeshbhavantarbhugtanyojanaforfarmers
5030611/
3. https://scroll.in/article/865968/madhyapradeshsprice
compensationschemecouldsavefarmersfrombeingpricedoutif
doneright
DEATH PENALTY FOR RAPING MINOR
Introduction:
Following the outrage over the Kathua rape and murder, the Cabinet has
Page | 338
approved the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018 providing for death
penalty for rape of minors.
It seeks to amend the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Evidence Act, the Code of
Criminal Procedure (CrPC), and the Protection of Children from Sexual
Offences (POCSO) Act to introduce a new provision to sentence convicts of
such crimes punishment of death.
The Lok Sabha has passed the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018. The
bill will replace the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018.
Salient features:
 The bill seeks the death penalty for rapists of girls below 12 years of
age and stringent punishment for perpetrators of rape particularly of
girls below 16 years.
 The minimum punishment in case of rape of women has been
increased from the rigorous imprisonment of 7 to 10 years,
extendable to life imprisonment.
 In case of rape of a girl under 16 years, minimum punishment has
been increased from 10 to 20 years, extendable to life imprisonment.
 The punishment for the gangrape of a girl under 16 years will be
imprisonment for the rest of the life of the convict.
 The Bill also provides for investigation of rape cases within two
months from the registration of an FIR.
 It also provides for a sixmonth time limit for disposal of appeals in
rape cases.
Arguments in support of the death penalty:

 Only a severe penalty will act as a deterrent to a heinous crime. And
only then will people’s faith in the law be restored and potential
criminals are afraid of breaking the law. Raping a child deserves a
very harsh sentence, and that sentence is death.
Page | 339
The argument against the death penalty:
 Capital punishment is all about retribution, disregards the

reformative aspect of the criminal justice system, and is said to have
a little deterrent effect.
 The Justice J. S. Verma Committee formed in the aftermath of the
December 2012 Delhi gangrape and murder ruled that “death
penalty would be a regressive step in the field of sentencing and
reformation”.
 The introduction of the death penalty for the rape of children under
the age of 12 is likely to put future victims at grave risk. Since the
punishment for rape and the punishment for murder are now the
same, a rapist will have no incentive to spare his victim’s life,
especially since her testimony would be the most important piece of
evidence against him.
 As per National Crime Records Bureau statistics on the rape of
women and children, 94% of the rapists are known to the victim. The
death penalty will, therefore, put undue pressure on the girl child to
suppress the matter or in some cases turn hostile at a later stage of
the trial.
 The IPC/the POCSO Act arise only after the sexual offence is
committed. The state is not doing anything to stop such occurrence.
The inclusion of the death penalty will not keep our children secure.
 Law Commission of India in its Report No. 262 noted that “a
worldwide consensus has now emerged that there is no evidence to
suggest that the death penalty has a deterrent effect over and above
its alternative — life imprisonment.”
 In focusing on the death penalty as the ultimate measure of justice to
victims, the restorative and rehabilitative aspects of justice are lost
sight of. Reliance on the death penalty diverts attention from other
problems ailing the criminal justice system.
Page | 340
 Instead of attempting to instil fear in the minds of potential rapists of
minors, the state should concentrate on winning the confidence of
children through skilled investigation, modern forensic gathering,
and establish structures/ appoint human resources under the POCSO
Act.
Criticisms relate to the bill:
 The bill amends IPC Section 376, meant for only female survivors/
victims of rape keeping in mind their specific vulnerabilities. It does
not cover boys. A better way would have been to amend the
Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, which is a
genderneutral law and covers victims who are both boys and girls.
 The new law fails to factor in the fact that a majority of sexual assault
cases go unreported due to the child’s silence or lack of support from
family members.
 One of the striking features of the amendment is its arbitrariness in
terms of the cutoff age of 12 years. A study by Rahat, the sociolegal
support arm of Majlis Legal Centre, looked at 644 child raperelated
FIRs registered between 2008 and 2012 by Mumbai Police under the
IPC and the POCSO Act. It found that children aged between 11 and
18 are most vulnerable, accounting for almost 51% of the total cases.
 The new ordinance provides for fasttrack courts and a twomonth
time period each for police investigation and completion of the trial
of all rape cases. But it is mum on the appointment of more judges to
handle the burden or sensitizing the judiciary and the police in
dealing with such cases.
 It is also silent on victim support and rehabilitation, despite evidence
pointing to the need for one so that victim can be facilitated at every
stage from the police station, to hospital and courts.
Conclusion: Page | 341
Worldwide experience shows that more than strict punishment, it is speedy

justice that works as a deterrent. Some child rights activists are of the
opinion that only deterrent in rape cases is a conviction in not more than
90 days.
Deterrence of the crime and the victim’s access to justice require both
better implementation of existing laws and systemic changes.
Section 166A of IPC provides for rigorous imprisonment of up to two years

for a police officer who fails to record the information given to him in cases
of rape. This is rarely invoked, although a number of victims complain of
having been turned away at police stations.
Creating a supportive and enabling environment for the victim to report

the crime on their terms, effective and meaningful victim and witness
protection, sensitive criminal justice system including courts, legal aid and
police, rehabilitation and ensuring certainty of conviction of the accused
are among the areas which will generate deterrence.
References:
1. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/deathpenaltyforrape
ofminorspresidentapproves
ordinance/articleshow/63873817.cms
2. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/whydeathpenalty
forchildrapeorwhynotkathuaminormurderrape5156458/
3. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/tougherisnt
betterdeathpenaltychildrapepocso5148898/
4. http://www.ptinews.com/news/9663565_Childrightsactivists
opposedeathpenaltyforrapeofminors
5. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/shouldthosewhorape Page | 342
minorsgetthedeathpenalty/article23686547.ece
6. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/lspassesbillonrape
ofgirls/article24555802.ece
MOB LYNCHING: IS IT BECOMING A NEW NORMAL?
Introduction:
Page | 343
Recently, the Supreme Court had condemned lynching incidents and

recommended to Parliament to enact a separate law to punish offenders
participating in the lynching.
The Supreme Court had said that horrendous acts of “mobocracy” cannot
be tolerated and cannot be allowed to become a new norm.
What is a lynching?
The common definition of lynching by the National Association for the

Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in the US is that:
 There must be evidence that a person was killed;

 The person must have met death illegally;
 A group of three or more persons must have participated in the
killings; and
 The killing is carried out in public.
Reasons for the increase in mob lynching:
 The viral text on the social media is, in part, responsible for the
recent surge in mob lynching cases.
 Rising intolerance and growing polarization have taken the form of
mob lynching. In most of the cases, the victims of lynching and hate
crime belong to marginalized groups like Muslim, Adivasi, Dalit,
Christian, and others.
 Failure of the state to control the vigilante groups in its nascent
stages is one of the reasons for recent incidents of mob lynching.
Allegations of cow smuggling, beef eating, love jihad etc make it more
convenient to orchestrate lynching and mob violence.
 The failure of our criminal justice system is also responsible for the
increase in such incidents. For example, in 2015, a man who was
Page | 344
accused of raping a tribal woman was taken out of the highsecurity
Dimapur central jail and was lynched. The police remained mute
spectators during the incident.
 State machinery like police and investigation departments have been
biased in providing justice to the victims of lynching and hate crimes.
Supreme Court guidelines:
Recently, the Supreme Court issued guidelines to combat mob violence. It

also asked the parliament to draft a new law against lynching.
 States should designate an officer, not below the rank of

superintendent of police as a nodal officer in each district to prevent
mob violence.
 A special task force should be constituted to collect intelligence about
the people who are likely to commit such crimes or are involved in
spreading hate speech/fake news.
 The nodal officer should meet at least once in a month with district
intelligence officials and police to identify the tendencies in the
vigilantism, mob violence.
 DGP/Home secretaries should meet nodal officers, at least once in a
quarter.
 States should identify areas where incidents of mob violence have
been reported and step up patrolling to discourage antisocial
elements.
 District administration/police failure to comply with the guidelines
will be treated as deliberate negligence and will be dealt with
appropriately.
 States should draw a compensation scheme for mob
violence/lynching with provision for interim relief to victims/next
kin within 30 days.
 Lynching cases to be tried at designated/fasttrack courts in the
Page | 345
districts holding a trial on daytoday basis and trial should be
completed within six months.
 Center and states should curb the spreading of irresponsible
messages, fake news, and create awareness about the consequences
of such crime.
 FIR is must against the person spreading hate speech/fake news.
Arguments in support of the new law on lynching:
 New laws are required to introduce federal crimes, which affect the
federation and are not to be described as affecting “law and order”
but as crimes that are offenses against the Constitution and hence for
which, the Union has to take responsibility.
 The assertion that “law and order is a state subject and the Centre
has nothing to do with it”, is meaningless. The Centre has a
constitutional duty to ensure that all states adhere to the
Constitution. The new law should put the responsibility on the union
government too.
 There should be a public message that lynching is a crime, that no
person can be denied equal protection of laws.
Arguments against new law:
 A new law is just an opportunity for the government to pass

legislation since it allows them to cheaply signal their good intentions
without actually doing anything substantive.
 Governments are always keen to write new laws as it frees them
from the burden of actually attacking the underlying problem. The
political class has few problems agreeing to laws that it knows will
not disturb its influence in practice.
 The new law either cannot or will not be implemented on the ground
further undermines public confidence in the constitutional state. The
Page | 346
legal commitment to address a particular problem combined with an
inability to meet that commitment works against the constitutional
order.
 The new laws are just to satisfy the popular urge of the day.
 There are enough provisions in the Indian Penal Code — for example,
Sections 302 (murder), 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to
murder) and 307 (attempt to murder), 34 (Acts done by several
persons in furtherance of common intention) — to tackle such
incidents.
Should WhatsApp be held accountable for lynching?
There is no doubt that mobile messaging platforms are in a powerful

position to make significant interventions to prevent mob attacks that are
arising out of what they themselves are facilitating. However, messaging
platforms are only one actor in the chain of fake/hate content that is being
spread.
WhatsApp is responsible for assessing the social risks it creates and for
helping manage those risks. Short messaging is an immensely powerful
social force. A system that broadcasts intense emotional signals must take
account of its effects.
What are governments doing?
 The government constituted a highlevel committee, headed by

Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba to check cases of “mob lynching.”
The committee will submit its recommendations within four weeks.
 A Group of Ministers (GoM), headed by Union Home Minister will
consider the report of the committee and submit its
recommendations to Prime Minister.
 In the wake of mob lynching incidents triggered by rumors spread
Page | 347
through social media, the Uttar Pradesh police have decided to
recruit “digital volunteers” at every police station in the State to curb
the menace of rumors and bust illegal activities.
 Under this initiative, 250 digital volunteers will be recruited at each
of the 1,469 police stations. They will operate through popular social
media application WhatsApp, which is prone to be misused to spread
fake and provocative posts.
Conclusion:
The public nature of mob lynching is intended to make it an impact crime,

to teach not only the person lynched a lesson but to make an entire
community afraid of exercising its civil rights. Lynching based on particular
identity discriminates against a whole community and violates Article 14
and Article 15 of the Constitution of India.
Mob vigilantism and mob violence have to be prevented by the

governments by taking strict action and by the vigil society who ought to
report such incidents to the state machinery and the police instead of
taking the law into their own hands.
The blatant reliance on social media needs to be checked by the citizens

themselves, to ensure peace and order in the society.
Unless there is widespread condemnation across party, religious caste and

community lines in civil society, this curse will continue.
References:
nation/whygovernmentshouldmakenewlawonlynchingsoon
beforeitstoolate/articleshow/65085294.cms
2. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/cjicondemnslynchings
acrosscountryasksparliamenttomakenewlaw/ Page | 348
3. https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/W8A6q4jQxTar41crOOpyXL/A
nantilynchinglawisthewrongsolution.html
4. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/alwarfalloutgovt
paneltocheckcasesofmoblynching/article24497927.ece
5. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/columns/from
theviewsroom/letsnotshootthemessenger/article24488586.ece
6. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/shouldwhatsappbe
heldaccountableforlynchings/article24463841.ece
7. https://thewire.in/caste/whatexplainsmoblynchingsbecoming
thenewnormalinindia
RTI AMENDMENTS
Introduction:
The Government is considering a proposal to amend the Right to

Page | 349
Information Act, 2005.
A notice of intention has been given to introduce “The Right to Information

(Amendment) Bill, 2018” in the Rajya Sabha for consideration and its
passage during the current session of Parliament.
Salient features:
1. The amendment bill empowers the central government to prescribe

the salaries and allowances, and terms and conditions of service of
the chief information commissioner and the information
commissioners.
2. It also states that the information commissioners, both at the Centre
and in states, “shall hold office for such term as may be prescribed by
the Central government instead of five years”.
Current situation:
Currently, the salaries and tenures of information commissioners, both at

the Centre and in the states, are statutorily protected and at par with those
of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners at the
Centre, and also the election commissioners in the states.
Further, information commissioners (IC) serve for five years.
Why does the government want to amend the Act?
The objective of the amendments is to provide for enabling provision under

the RTI Act to frame Rules regarding salaries, allowances and conditions of
service for CIC and Information Commissioners and State Information
Commissioners. Presently, there are no such provisions available under
the RTI Act.
The government has said functions carried out by the Election Commission
(EC) and information commissions are completely different. Page | 350
The EC is a constitutional body established by Article 324 of the

Constitution, while the CIC and state information commissions are
statutory bodies established under the provisions of the RTI Act, 2005.
Therefore, the mandate of Election Commission of India and Central and

state information commissions are different. Hence, to rationalize their
status and service conditions, the government has proposed amendments
to the RTI Act.
Criticism:
 The Right to Information (Amendment) Bill, 2018, removes the

statutory safeguards in place to ensure the independence of
information commissioners at the Centre and in the states.
 The proposed amendment to the RTI Act will take away the stature of
information commissions from the equivalent of the Election
Commission. This will end their autonomy.
 The principle of according a high stature, and protecting the terms of
service by equating it to functionaries of constitutional bodies, is
routinely adopted for independent statutory oversight bodies,
including the Central Vigilance Commission and the Lokpal.
 The stature was given to the CIC and the SICs work independently of
the government pressure. The argument that the CIC cannot have the
stature of the EC, which is a constitutional body, is flawed as it is the
requirement of the job done at these commissions.
 The efficacy of the RTI Act, allowing any Indian to seek information
from any authority, hinges closely on the independence of the CIC
and state information commissions.
 These amendments were proposed without consulting the Central
Page | 351
Information Commission.
 The changes will reduce the impact of CIC rulings/direction on public
servants and government.
 The Supreme Court has held the right to information as being integral
to the right to free expression under Article 19(1)(a); weakening the
transparency law would negate that guarantee.
Observations of PSC:
The Parliamentary Standing Committee, which analyzed the original RTI

Bill in 2004 before it became a law, had pointed out: “It should be ensured
that the Commission and its functionaries perform their duties independently.
For this reason, it is necessary to elevate their status to that of election
commissioners.”
Working of information commission:
 A recent public interest petition filed in the Supreme Court by the

National Campaign for People’s Right to Information pointed out that
the Central Information Commission has over 23,500 pending
appeals and complaints.
 In many States, the Commissions are either declining or working at
low capacity owing to vacancies, resulting in a pileup of appeals.
 The challenges to the working of the law are also increasing, with
many State departments ignoring the requirement under Section 4 of
the Act to publish information suo moto. The RTI law envisaged that
voluntary disclosure would reduce the need to file an application.
 Since fines are rarely imposed, officers give incomplete, vague or
unconnected information to applicants with impunity.
 The Act envisaged appointment of persons of eminence in various
walks of public life as ICs. However, exbureaucrats have cornered
the position, which requires a proactive attitude towards disclosing
information unlike that of the typical bureaucrat.
Page | 352
 Section 8(1) of the RTI Act together with its clauses has often been
misused to deny information requests.
 Dedicated RTI activists have been verbally and physically abused,
and some have even been killed.
Conclusion:
The RTI Act empowered citizens to hold public functionaries accountable

for their actions. It held the promise of cleaning up governance, but that
hope proved shortlived.
It is unfortunate that a law that would have helped lower corruption in

public offices and increase transparency in the functioning of government
and thus help improve governance has become hostage to political and
bureaucratic insecurity.
Any government that is committed to democratic values should improve

transparency and be more accountable to the people it ostensibly exists to
serve. It needs to take the lead in setting the right example by embracing
the RTI Act in letter and spirit.
References:
1. http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2018/jul/17/rtiact
amendmentactivistsformercentralinformationcommissionslam
government1844676.html
2. https://www.businessstandard.com/article/politics/howmodi
governmentsproposedamendmentscoulddestroythertiact
118071700406_1.html
3. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/sunlightand
shadow/article24489371.ece Page | 353
4. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/rightto
informationact2005billamendment5266601/
5. https://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toieditorials/dontkill
rtiinsteadofshacklinginformationcommissionersusethemto
improvetransparency/
INDIA IN SCO: BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES
Introduction:
India became a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Page | 354
(SCO) at the Astana Summit on June 89, 2017.
A brief history of SCO:
The SCO grew out of the Shanghai Five grouping — of Russia, China,
Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan — which was set up in 1996 to
resolve boundary disputes between China and each of the four other
members.
After the admission of Uzbekistan in 2001, the group rechristened itself

into the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. It also broadened its agenda to
include political, economic and security cooperation.
It admitted India and Pakistan as full members in 2017.
At present, SCO represents half the globe in terms of population. On a

possibly more troubling note, India is the only fully democratic country
among SCO members.
Benefits for India:
 India’s membership in the SCO provides it with select opportunities

in the geoeconomic and the geostrategic sphere in the Central Asian
Region (CAR).
 With India being one of the most energyhungry nations, involvement
in the SCO provides it with an opportunity to satisfy its energy
requirements through regional diplomacy. India’s pending energy
projects like the TAPI (TurkmenistanAfghanistanPakistanIndia)
pipeline, IPI (IranPakistanIndia) pipeline, and CASA (Central Asia
South Asia)1000 electricity transmission projects can get a much
needed push through the SCO.
 India’s bilateral economic relations with Central Asian countries
since their independence continue to be modest. The SCO can provide
Page | 355
a platform for India to improve its bilateral relations with the Central
Asian countries. The grouping is planning to initiate negotiations on
the SCO FTA by 2020 and India should not miss out on this
opportunity.
 One of the crucial reasons for the lack of flourishing of trade between
India and Central Asian states is that there is no direct access. India
could look to use the SCO for exploring an alternative route to the
CAR.
 In the sphere of security, the SCO formed Regional AntiTerrorism
Structure (RATS) in 2005 at Tashkent. RATS works on information
sharing and joint counterterrorism measures between member
states. India’s full membership in the SCO will enable it to play an
instrumental role in RATS. Through the SCO, India can also work on
antidrug trafficking, which is a major concern for Afghanistan.
 The reemergence of radicalism in Afghanistan, particularly the
presence of the Islamic State, will have a major impact on the
Kashmir region of India. Thus India along with the SCO will have to
help fill the security vacuum left after the NATO withdrawal. India’s
full membership in the SCO will allow it to play a pivotal role in the
issue.
 With Pakistan joining the Organisation and Afghanistan and Iran
knocking on the doors for membership, the logic of India’s
membership becomes stronger.
 SCO membership had facilitated resolution of China’s boundary
disputes with Russia and Central Asian countries. Harmonious
cooperation in the SCO may pave the way for an IndiaPakistan
rapprochement.
Challenges:
 Indian involvement in the SCO is not as simple as it looks. China is the

principal driver of the SCO. The presence of Pakistan and the
dominance of China in the SCO limit India to a secondary role in the Page | 356
organization.
 India’s membership in the SCO may come at the expense of China’s
interest in the Indianled organization, such as the Bay of Bengal
Initiative for MultiSectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation
(BIMSTEC) or the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
(SAARC). China’s membership in these organizations could dilute
India’s position as well as its influence in the region.
 The presence of Pakistan and China in the SCO limits India’s ability to
push on the issue of terrorism, as Pakistan itself has indulged in a
major proxy war with India. China has repeatedly shielded terrorists
from Pakistan in the United Nations Security Council with its veto
power.
 Pakistan may try to regionalize the Kashmir issue through the SCO.
India will also have to tread carefully should China raise the Tibet
issue at the SCO, as India has given shelter to the Dalai Lama for
decades.
 The SCO has traditionally adopted a clear antiWestern posture. It is
important for India to identify itself distinctly and avoid such
rhetoric, which the SCO promotes.
 India has to carve out a political and economic space for itself in
Central Asia, alongside Russia’s role as a net security provider and
China’s dominating economic presence.
 The Regional AntiTerrorist Structure (RATS) of the SCO coordinates
cooperation for security and stability, through intelligencesharing
on criminal and terrorist activities. India will have to find ways to
cooperate with Pakistan in the RATS.
 An enhanced linkage between armed forces is an SCO objective. India
has agreed to participate in the SCO’s counterterrorism military
exercises in Russia when Indian and Pakistani troops will operate
together.
Page | 357
 Reconciling Indian and Pakistani views in the SCO’s initiatives on
Afghanistan would be another challenge.
Conclusion:
Indian’s benefits from the SCO will be limited due to the role of China and
Pakistan in the organization. Positive outcomes will depend on how Indian
diplomacy deals with its rivals. On the other hand, IndiaRussia diplomatic
relations will have a major role in promoting India’s interests in the SCO,
and India’s cordial relations with Central Asian countries will determine
the fate of India’s interests.
India has to concede the fact that the CAR is China’s sphere of influence and
India’s engagement with the region should proceed with utmost caution.
Thus India’s full membership and subsequent involvement in the SCO
comes with limited opportunities and many challenges.
The Indian government will have to walk a thin diplomatic line and adopt a
careful approach while engaging in the SCO. It has to take care of its
interests and remain neutral on issues which are not directly related to it.
References:
1. https://thediplomat.com/2017/12/indiasscochallenge/
2. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/indiaspivotto
eurasia/article24203924.ece
3. https://www.hindustantimes.com/editorials/indiasroleinsco
willdependonhowitstieswithchinapakistanevolve/story
RRVRpvAqoIUqS627rBa7AJ.html
4. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/editorial/future
power/article9725507.ece Page | 358
MINIMUM SUPPORT PRICE
Introduction:
Page | 359
Amid farmers’ unrest in many parts of the country, the demand for an
increase in minimum support price (MSP) has been voiced regularly.
MSP is the minimum price paid to the farmer for procuring agro
commodities. It offers an assurance to farmers that their realization for the
agricultural produce will not fall below the stated price.
MSPs are usually announced at the beginning of the sowing season and this
helps farmers make informed decisions on the crops they must plant.
MSP is computed on the basis of the recommendations made by the

Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). It considers factors
such as the cost of production, change in input prices, market price trends,
demand and supply, and a reasonable margin for farmers.
 The share of agriculture in India’s GDP is around 14 percent now. But

almost half of India’s population is dependent on agriculture for
livelihood. It protects farmers from any sharp fall in the market price
of a commodity.
 Farming is a risky business with the farmer’s income dependent on
the vagaries of weather and pests, as well as local and international
price trends. The MSP mechanism shields farmers to an extent, from
such risks, by guaranteeing a floor price for their produce.
 MSP also ensures that the country’s agricultural output responds to
the changing needs of its consumers. MSP is a market intervention
tool used by the government to incentivize the production of a
specific crop which is in short supply.
 Rural prosperity, sales of discretionary goods and consumer goods
have risen steadily over the last few years. Hence, higher MSP and
Page | 360
rising farm income can augur well for companies that make
consumer durable goods, automobiles or FMCG.
 Higher farm profits will encourage farmers to spend more on inputs,
technology etc, which can have a positive rub off on companies in the
Agri inputs and farm equipment space.
Criticism:
 The sharp and frequent increases in MSP can feed inflation too.
 The fixing of values by CACP for grains, in advance of about 10
months, that take 100110 days to mature in the stresses of hot, cold
and rainy climate is a futile exercise. This is because the market
dynamics may be totally different after about 12 months.
 The determinants upon which CACP relies have a timelag up to 3
years because the data of previous year take time to be updated. For
example, MSP of 201718 may be based upon inputs from FY13 or
FY14 collated from different states.
 Hikes in minimum support prices (MSP) have been the highest for
pulses but the focused procurement of paddy and wheat has a dis
incentivized output of other crops like oilseeds.
 Cultivation of waterguzzling crops like paddy, higher imports of
edible oil and declining export of oil meals, and the disparity in
export prices of corn and cotton are the visible outcome of the faulty
MSP regime. Minimum support prices discourage crop
diversification.
 According to data of the National Sample Survey Organization’s 70th
round, only six percent of all farmers have benefited from Minimum
Support Price (MSP) through the sale of food grains to an official
procurement agency.
Recommendation of M.S. Swaminathan committee:

Page | 361
National Commission on Farmer headed by M.S. Swaminathan
recommended that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) should be at least
50% more than the weighted average cost of production.
This recommendation was not accepted by the Government as MSP is

recommended by Commission of Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) on
objective criteria, considering a variety of relevant factors. The government
also said that prescribing an MSP at least 50% above the cost may distort
the market.
Suggestions of the Ramesh Chand Committee (2015):
 While calculating the cost of production, two villages should be

selected in place of one village from each block for wider coverage to
strengthen the system of collection of cost data from farmers.
 The committee held the view that counting of time spent by farmers
in production alone and valuing it as the wage rate of ordinary labor
is a gross undervaluation of the farmers' time. So, head of a family
engaged in farming should be valued at skilledwage rates.
 The interest on working capital should be estimated for whole, not
half, of the period of a crop season and should be on actual interest
paid out by the sample farmers.
 The land rental values should be based on actual rates prevailing in
the sample villages.
 The committee said various items of fixed cost are not projected for
the year for which MSP is announced. Therefore, interest and
depreciation on fixed capital be projected by raising them at the rate
of inflation in construction material.
Conclusion:
An MSP can be effective only if it is matched by the procurement. But at

present, the procurement is excessively focused on wheat and paddy.
Page | 362
Though MSP provides some relief to farmers during price crash, it is
considered as a market distortion measure.
In order to address such problems, the NITI Aayog has recommended ‘Price
deficiency payment system’.
References:
1. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/allyouwantedto
knowaboutminimumsupportprice/article7342789.ece
2. https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/editorialdismantlethe
mspregime/20835/
4. https://www.businessstandard.com/article/economy
policy/centralpanelforrevampofmspcalculation
115040801184_1.html
5. https://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/whatisminimum
supportpriceforcrops/article19331962.ece
RESERVATION IN PROMOTION FOR SC/ST EMPLOYEES
Introduction:
The Supreme Court recently set up a fivejudge Constitution to hear cases

Page | 363
relating to reservation in promotions for SC/ST employees and to
reconsider the correctness of its 2006 verdict in M. Nagraj Vs Union of
India.
Promotions had come to a “standstill” because of the status quo order

passed by the court in 2015.
What is the issue?
On November 16, 1992, the Supreme Court in Indra Sawhney case declared
reservation in promotions unconstitutional but allowed it to continue for
five years. The government had passed an order extending reservation in
promotion to SC/ST employees beyond the permitted five years. In August
2017, the Delhi High Court quashed this government order.
What is M. Nagaraj case?
In M. Nagaraj case the Supreme Court held that the creamy layer concept
cannot be applied to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes for
promotions in government jobs.
However, Court prescribed certain preconditions for extending the benefit

of reservation in promotions to SC/ST employees. These conditions are:
 The state will have to show the existence of compelling reasons,

including ‘backwardness’, ‘inadequacy of representation’ and ‘overall
administrative efficiency’ before making provisions for reservation in
promotions for SCs and STs.
 The state concerned has to collect quantifiable data showing
backwardness of the class and inadequacy of representation of that
class.
Citing Supreme Court ruling in Nagraj case, several high courts had struck Page | 364
down decisions for reservation in promotions.
So far, Indian courts have largely been opposed to reservation in

promotions and favored reservation in initial appointments.
 In 1963, the government notified that there shall be no reservation in

promotions to Class I and Class II positions. The Supreme Court
upheld this policy in the CA Rajendran case (1968).
 In the Indira Sawhney case, the Supreme Court held that the
reservation policy cannot be extended to promotions.
 As a reaction to this, the parliament passed the 77th constitutional
amendment to restore provision of reservations in promotions.
 As SC/ST candidates got quick promotions ahead of their batch
mates, realizing heartburn among general candidates, the court
restored their seniority once they, too, were promoted. The
Parliament passed the 82nd constitutional amendment to give
“consequential seniority” to SC/ST promotees.
The flip side of reservations in promotions is the frustration of general

candidates of officers of the same batch who permanently become juniors
to their own SC/ST batch mates and have to work under them for many
years.
Does reservation in promotion hampers efficiency?

Efficiency is demonstrated in the performance of employees. No research
has so far proved that SC/ST employees are less efficient than employees
recruited under the general category.
Even the most meritorious candidate, once appointed, may prove to be Page | 365
highly inefficient. Efficiency does not necessarily depend on merit for each
and every post.
It is wrong to prejudge the efficiency of any category of the employee prior

to their appointment/promotion.
Conclusion:
Reservation in promotions is basically a nonissue since in the services

other than the IAS, IFS, IPS promotions are made through Departmental
Promotion Committees. DPC does take into account confidential reports as
to the performance of the employee in question over the past five to eight
years. So, only those who have been consistently efficient are promoted.
Unless the apex court’s judgment in the M Nagraj case (2006) is either
reversed by a larger bench or overturned by an ordinance, there won’t be
clarity on this contentious issue.
References:
nation/scallowsreservationinpromotiontosc/st
employees/articleshow/64462958.cms
2. https://www.hindustantimes.com/analysis/whyreservationin
promotionsforstatejobsisanonissue/story
0g2rbR3N3qvyqnRT8L5KYK.html
3. https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/reservationin
promotionforscstemployeescjisetsupfivejudgeconstitution
bench/630378.html
4. https://barandbench.com/constitutionbenchreconsidermnagaraj
unionindia/ Page | 366
5. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/questionsof
promotion/article24116633.ece
NO DETENTION UNDER RTE
Introduction:
Several surveys, ranging from the Prathamconducted Annual Status of Page | 367
Education Reports to the international Programme for International
Student Assessment run by the OECD, have indicated that learning levels of
Indian school children are abysmal and stagnant over time.
While the RTE’s focus on inputs and the emphasis on the expansion of
schooling have succeeded in achieving nearuniversal enrolment and in
retaining students, this has not had the intended effect of improving
learning outcomes. The controversial no detention policy is widely being
blamed for deteriorating learning levels across schools in India.
Recently, Lok Sabha passed the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory
Education (Second Amendment) Bill, 2017, to end no detention policy in
schools.
What is ‘no detention’ clause?
Under the current provisions of the RTE Act, no student can be detained till
class 8 and all students are automatically promoted to the next grade.
 Section 16 of the RTE mandates that “no child can be detained or held
back in a class until the completion of his/her elementary education”.
 The corollary of this is continuous and comprehensive evaluation
prescribed in Section 29 (h), more commonly known as CCE.
The argument in support of ‘no detention’:
 The no detention clause under RTE is consistent with the

development of a progressive and holistic evaluation framework
enunciated in the National Policy on Education, 1986 and also the
National Curriculum Framework, 2005.
 The notion of “fail/expulsion” is not compatible with the concept of
“right”.
Page | 368
 The ‘no detention’ provision is made because examinations are often
used for eliminating children who obtain poor marks. Once declared
‘fail’, children either repeat a grade or leave the school altogether.
Compelling a child to repeat a class is demotivating and discouraging.
 The nodetention policy (NDP) and CCE are based on sound
principles of pedagogy and assessment, recognized worldwide. They
are thus a welcome change to the examcentric culture prevalent in
Indian schools.
 There are also very strong equity considerations behind the NDP
policy, especially for children from lowincome families, and girls. In
fact, wastage in the schooling system due to high repetition and high
dropout rates has been a major concern since the 1990s. The no
detention clause in the RTE Act seeks to address that concern.
 Since the introduction of ‘No Detention’, the annual dropout rate has
halved (from 8.61% in 200607 to 4.34% in 201415). The retention
rate has increased by 9% (74.92% in 2008 to 83.73% in 201415)
and the transition rate (Primary to Upper Primary) has increased by
7%.
 Research evidence indicates that detention of students by a year or
more does not improve learning. Even the Geeta Bhukkal Committee
admits that there is no research anywhere in the world which
establishes that repeating a year helps children perform better. But
research does say that repeating has adverse academic and social
effects on the child.
 For decades, experts and laypersons have decried the stress
inducing, examcentric culture of schooling. The Yashpal Committee
(1993) and the National Curriculum Framework (2005) had both
underlined how the exam system had become burdensome and was
giving way to rote learning.
The argument against ‘no detention’:

Page | 369
 Nodetention policy has led to students developing a lackadaisical
attitude, with there being no risk of failing.
 Nodetention system makes no distinction between good and bad
students, and between those who work hard and those who don’t.
The result is anomalies like a large number of repeaters in class IX.
 Nodetention is a noble way of teaching, but it’s not a very practical
one. By doing away with detention, the system which was used to
judge the accountability of teachers was also removed.
 A report by the parliamentary standing committee on human

resource development recognizes this gap and has recommended
that the “no detention” until Class VIII policy be reconsidered.
 The Geetha Bhukkal committee recommended measuring learning
level outcomes of all children on regular basis, to catalyze a
performancedriven culture.
Continuous and comprehensive evaluation:
A common misconception was that nodetention meant no assessment. But,

CCE allows for students to be assessed on noncognitive as well as non
academic areas of learning. In this way, a child need not be ‘failed’ simply
because of nonperformance on a narrowly defined and rigid set of
indicators. In fact, CCE is the assessment system under RTE and should go
hand in hand with the nodetention policy.
 The CCE is a procedure that is nonthreatening, releases the child

from fear and trauma of failure and enables the teacher to pay
individual attention to the child’s learning and performance.
 The process of continuous and comprehensive evaluation is intended
to inform teachers about how a child is progressing at short intervals
so that supplementary instruction can be provided in time. The idea
behind continuous and comprehensive evaluation, therefore, is to
Page | 370
ensure that every child learns and progresses.
 The opposition to the nodetention policy and CCE policies is mainly
because the CCE has failed to take off in most schools, owing to lack
of basic capacity and awareness. Continuous and comprehensive
evaluation has been reduced to a series of tests, resulting in lots of
paperwork, but not in informing timely teacher interventions. In the
absence of an effective system of comprehensive assessment along
the lines of CCE, which enables learning, a nodetention policy
becomes meaningless.
Why are children learning less under the Right to Education Act?
The Annual Survey of Education Report also shows that since the
implementation of the RTE, the overall quality of elementary education has
declined in government schools.
Exams were replaced by a system called Continuous and Comprehensive

Evaluation, better known as CCE. The CCE provides for shorter, graded
tests spread across the academic year. CCE tests are meant to evaluate the
child’s holistic development.
 However, some analysts say that the RTE Act's CCE has made life
tougher for students.
 The CCE puts teachers under increased pressure to prove that
students are indeed improving from one test to another.
 Even though the emphasis has gone away from marks, there has been
an utterly bizarre shift of focus. The whole purpose is to show
improvement. This is the malaise of the education system.
 Apart from the extra paperwork, teachers are also burdened to prove
that under their watch, children have miraculously become better
human beings.
 The RTE’s preoccupation with building toilets, playgrounds, and
Page | 371
classrooms, fixing pupilteacher ratios and the like has also had the
unintended effect of thousands of budget schools shutting down due
to inability to fulfil these criteria.
Conclusion:
The RTE’s aim should be to orient schools towards delivering a certain

minimum level of learning to every child. This requires having an
independent measure of learning at each grade, rather than automatic
advancement that fails to take into account if children are actually meeting
the expectations of the curriculum.
The background factors needed to make the nodetention policy

meaningful are not in place: A conducive pupilteacher ratio, welltrained
and decent infrastructure, with an enabling, nondiscriminatory school
environment.
Until the time an adequate number of teachers are recruited and the PTR is
met, it is unreasonable to expect CCE and NDP to succeed.
However, it should be noted that in a country of unequal opportunities,

detention could be another scale weighing down the underprivileged —
those who send their children to government schools that are low on
resources and resolve.
References:
1. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/educating
india2/
2. https://thewire.in/education/dontmakethenodetentionpolicya
scapegoatforpoorlearningoutcomes
3. http://www.cprindia.org/sites/default/files/policy
briefs/NDP%20%26%20CCE%20_policy%20brief%20final.pdf
4. https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/simplyputthenofail Page | 372
policymayhavefailedwhatnow/
5. http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/2248/NoDetention
Policy:AnAppraisal.html
6. https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/ONLzhLd6ft9An6oMwoeD4N/T
hereversalofnodetentionpolicyisregressive.html
7. https://thewire.in/education/civilsocietiesteacherunionsurge
govttowithdrawscrappingofnodetentionpolicy
8. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/misadventuresin
education/article24575866.ece
9. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/detentionno
cure/article24514436.ece
INTER-LINKING OF RIVERS
Introduction:
Page | 373
The project to interlink the rivers of India has been in the discussion for
over three decades. The interlinking project aims to link India’s rivers by a
network of reservoirs and canals that will allow for their water capacities
to be shared and redistributed.
Under the National Perspective Plan (NPP) prepared by the Ministry of

Water Resources, the NWDA has identified 14 links under the Himalayan
Component and 16 links under the Peninsular Rivers Component.
Why inter-linking of rivers?
 Many problems that confound the country—flood control, irrigation,

limiting droughts and boosting farm output—can be sorted out by
linking the country’s rivers in two big garlands.
 As the country’s population grows, the need for betterirrigated
farmland will only increase. In this context, there are limits to what
small and medium irrigation projects can do. While these projects are
important for conserving water, their returns from investment are
low and their potential is somewhat limited. Interlinking of rivers
may provide a solution.
For example, the RaviBeasSutlej link has benefitted Punjab’s agrarian

boom and the desertified areas of Rajasthan through irrigation and canal
systems like the Indira Gandhi canal.
Page | 374
(Image source: The Hindu, March 03, 2012

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/ariversutrawithout
links/article2954807.ece )
However, there are plenty of issues to resolve.
Issues and challenges:
 Waterrich states were not willing to share their surplus with water
deficit states, arguing that they did not have any water to spare, given
their future plans. Thus, the Interlinking projects are gathering dust.
 Building consensus among states is essential if these projects are to
take off. Sharing of river waters even under an agreed formula has
not been easy, as the Cauvery issue has shown.
 As water is a state subject under the Constitution, the Union
Page | 375
government remained a helpless spectator in the fight between the
states.
 Any clear cut division between “deficit” and “surplus” areas is
becoming more difficult in these times of climate change when
erratic weather patterns are more frequently seen. So the basic
conditions of problemfree transfer of water from the country's
“surplus” to “deficit” areas simply do not exist.
 As the Supreme Court has pointed out on various occasions,
environmental impact assessment must be the cornerstone of any
project. Most riverbasins are located in ecologically fragile forest
lands. A 2008 National Council on Applied Economic Research report
on the “Economic Impact of Interlinking of Rivers Programme”
explicitly did not consider the plan's environmental aspects or cost
benefit calculus.
 Moving waters across river basins cannot be achieved without
energyintensive heavy lifts and destructive modification of
ecologically important landscapes. For example, the KenBetwa river
linking project involves diversion of around 6,000 hectares of forests,
mostly from the Panna National Park tiger reserve in Madhya
Pradesh.
 Agriculture, the key beneficiary, is already shrinking in southern
states because of rapid urbanization. Farmers are ageing as the youth
is quitting agriculture to participate in the booming nonfarm growth.
Decades from now, agriculture will have majorly shrunk in the south
and the west but it will still be flourishing in the Ganga basin, with its
population still growing and irrigation expanding. The interlinking
project has to consider this factor.
 Transferring food rather than water — the socalled virtual water
transfer — from surplus to deficit basins will help the Indian
agriculture while ensuring national food security.
 The project has also been criticized on the basis that its canal system
Page | 376
would become an open sewer spreading across the length and
breadth of the country.
 River interlinking is an expensive business: from building the link
canals to the monitoring and maintenance infrastructure needed
requires a huge sum. Finding the financial and other resources for the
task is an issue.
 Interlinking of Rivers involves the displacement of a large number of
people. The national record on resettlement of people displaced by
megadam projects does not inspire confidence.
 In the Himalaya plan component, there is the additional challenge of
taking along neighboring countries (Bangladesh and Nepal). The
tensions are likely to be much greater when interbasin transfers also
involve neighboring countries.
Task Force on Interlinking of Rivers:
Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation has

constituted a ‘Task Force’ to look into the issues relating to Interlinking of
Rivers (ILR) in the country. The Task Force was chaired by B. N.
Navalawala.
Apart from examining the existing links that are laid out as per the National
Perspective Plan under both Himalayan and Peninsular components, the
task force would also consider alternative plans in place of infeasible links
in the present plan. The Task Force would facilitate interlinking of intra
state and intrabasin Rivers also along with that of interstate and inter
basin links.
What else can be done?

The National Commission on Integrated Water Resources Development
Plan, which went into the Interlinking of Rivers proposal a decade ago,
favored the development of water resources within river basins over
massive interbasin transfers.
Page | 377
These include devoting resources for rainwater harvesting programmes of
scale, raising irrigation efficiency, curbing pollution and affecting local
water transfers for agricultural and municipal use.
References:
1. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/mrmodisriver
disconnect/article6313925.ece
3. https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/Hi8y34oWbB0V7PEkM6i5JL/A
garlandofriversacrossIndia.html
4. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/ariverruns
throughit7/
5. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/chasinga
mirage/article2947029.ece
6. https://www.governancenow.com/news/regularstory/navalawala
headtaskforceinterlinkingrivers
COMPENSATORY AFFORESTATION
Introduction:
Page | 378
When industrial projects need to take over forests, they are legally bound
to pay a sum of money equal to the monetary value of the forest plus the
cost of planting at least the same number of trees as compensation. This is
as per the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
So far, more than Rs. 50,000 crores have been collected as ‘compensation’
for the diverted forests. This amount was deposited in the Statewise
accounts operated by an Adhoc Authority.
The money had remained unspent in the absence of a legal mechanism for
the same. The parliament passed the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act,
2016 to create a legal mechanism.
Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016:
 The Act provides for the establishment of a permanent institutional

framework at the Central at each State and Union territory to ensure
utilization of funds in an expeditious and transparent manner.
 The Bill Act seeks to transfer these amounts to dedicated, non
lapsable interest bearing funds under the public account of the Union
of India and each State so as to bring these funds within the overall
oversight and control of the Parliament and the State legislatures.
 The Act also seeks to provide for constitution of a multidisciplinary
Monitoring Group to monitor activities undertaken from these funds.
 The Act provides for an annual audit of the accounts by the C&AG.
 The Act provides for the transfer of 90 % of the accumulated
amounts to the States for creation and maintenance of compensatory
afforestation and execution of other activities for conservation,
protection, improvement, and expansion of forest and wildlife
resources of the country.
 The remaining 10 % Amounts to be retained at the National level will
be used for monitoring and evaluation of activities to be undertaken
Page | 379
by the States/UTs and Central Government.
Benefits:
 The Act has ended the long era of adhocism and will help the Centre
and State Governments to utilize these amounts in a planned manner.
 It will facilitate make available more than Rs. 6,000 crores per annum
to the States/UTs for conservation, protection, improvement, and
expansion of forest and wildlife resources of the country.
 It will also result in the creation of more than 15 crores mandays of
direct employment. Majority of the employment will be generated in
tribaldominated and backward areas of the country.
 Apart from the creation of direct employment, utilization of these
amounts will result in increased availability of timber and various
other nontimber forest products, and will thus help in improvement
of the overall living standards of the forestdependent communities.
 A major part of these amounts will be used to restock and improve
quality of degraded forests, which constitutes more than 40 % of the
total forest cover of the country.
Concerns and criticisms:
 Compensatory Afforestation money, its very existence is tied down to

the diversion of original forests. This leads to the question whether
the proliferation of this fund should be privileged at all and if forest
diversion needs an inherent pause.
 Though the funds are available, the concern is to find the land
available for planting new forests.
 The several States have said that they do not have land banks for
planting new forests. For this reason, parts of the Compensatory
Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA)
funds have been used in the past for purchasing forest department
Page | 380
vehicles or repairing buildings.
 The premise of ‘compensation’ is that of a tradeoff: environmental
concerns will be sacrificed for developmental projects. Compensatory
Afforestation relies on this notion, but it also believes that forests are
replaceable fairly easily. However, the science of biodiversity
debunks the idea that complex forest systems can be recreated easily.
 Compensatory afforestation has been undertaken on the flanks of
railway lines, highways, and so on, raising trees with poor survival
rates but certainly not creating biodiverse forests.
 Official records show that 19.4 million hectares have been afforested
by the forest department over the last decade but forest cover has
barely increased, reflecting the failure of the centralized forest
bureaucracy to undertake ecological greening. Even the ecological
value of whatever survives is highly dubious, as monocultures and
mixed plantations can’t be substitutes for natural forests.
 The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act 2016 is not in compliance
with the Forest Rights Act (FRA). The Act does not include the
provision of gram sabha consent for any afforestation activity.
 Even though both the Kanchan Chopra Committee and the IIFM
Committee on Forest net present value (NPV) clearly mention that
communities must be compensated for the loss of forests, the CAF
Act, 2016 is totally silent about their rights and compensation.
India has a large number of examples of communities taking up ecological

restoration at low costs. These efforts can be greatly strengthened through
securing local rights over forests and providing support to community
efforts to conserve them. Pointing out that gram sabhas had been ignored
in the earlier bill (2008), the parliamentary standing committee on the
environment had recommended that they should be the "key body"
involved in decisions related to forest diversion and afforestation. Such
issues need to be addressed.
Page | 381
In summary:
Putting in place a scientific national plan to expand good green cover is

essential since the sequestration of carbon through sustainably managed
forests is a key component of the commitment made under the Paris
Agreement.
However, it must be emphasized that replacing a natural forest with a

plantation does not really serve the cause of nature, wildlife, or the forest
dwelling communities who depend on it, because of the sheer loss of
biodiversity. Yet, there is immense potential to augment the services of
forests through a careful choice of plants and trees under the afforestation
programme.
References:
1. http://pib.nic.in/newsite/mbErel.aspx?relid=147937
2. https://thewire.in/environment/compensatoryafforestationfund
acthurtingforestcommunitiessayspetition
3. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/growing
forests/article22320377.ece
4. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/antiforestantiforest
dweller/article23437396.ece
NON PERFORMING ASSETS
Introduction:
One of the biggest problems being faced by the Indian economy is the level
Page | 382
of existing and potential nonperforming assets (NPAs) in banks.
Bad loans of the 38 listed banks collectively crossed Rs. 10.17 lakh crore in
Q4 of the Financial Year 2018. Around 90 percent of Indian banks’ non
performing assets is with stateowned banks.
What are non-performing assets (NPAs)?
Nonperforming asset (NPA) is the loans or advances that are in default or

are in arrears on scheduled payments of principal or interest.
A debt is classified as nonperforming when loan payments have not been

made for a period of 90 days.
The problem of mounting NPAs:
Indian banks’ pile of bad loans is a huge drag on the economy. It’s a drain
on banks’ profits. Because profits are eroded, public sector banks (PSBs),
where the bulk of the bad loans reside, cannot raise enough capital to fund
credit growth. Lack of credit growth, in turn, hinders the economy’s growth
of the country. Clearly, the bad loan problem requires effective resolution.
Reasons for growth in NPAs:
Following are some of the reasons for growth in the nonperforming assets
in the Indian banking system:
 Increasing pressure on banks to lend to infrastructure.

 Misuse of the restructuring and corporate debt restructuring
mechanism by banks and promoters.
 Poor governance in public sector banks (PSBs)
 Prolonged fiscal and monetary easing created inflationary pressures,
which coupled with global slowing and domestic factors reduced
savings, especially financial savings and capital formation. The result
was slowing economic growth that in turn exacerbated the pressure
Page | 383
on asset quality.
 The formality of credit appraisal is wellestablished. But the process
is vulnerable to manipulation. The high profile NPA cases raise
questions about both the integrity of the creditappraisal processes
within banks.
 NPAs are, in part, the legacy of an economic downturn, coupled with
regulatory delays and difficulties in completing a land acquisition
that stranded many ambitious industrial projects and made it
difficult for their promoters to repay debt.
Some measures taken by Government and RBI:
 The government has launched ‘Mission Indradhanush’ to reform the

working of public sector banks in India.
 The Government of India announced the recapitalization of Public
Sector Banks in October 2017. The capital infusion plan for 201718
includes Rs. 80,000 crore through Recap Bonds and Rs. 8,139 crore
as budgetary support. This plan addresses the regulatory capital
requirement of all PSBs and provides a significant amount towards
growth capital for increasing lending to the economy.
 The government also announced a strong reforms package across six
themes incorporating 30 action points. The reform agenda is aimed
at EASE Enhanced Access and Service Excellence, focusing on six
themes of customer responsiveness, responsible banking, credit off
take, PSBs as Udyami Mitra, deepening financial inclusion &
digitalization and developing personnel for brand PSB.
 Reserve Bank of India has placed 11 public sector banks under the
prompt corrective action, or PCA, framework. The RBI deploys the
PCA to monitor the operation of weaker banks more closely to
encourage them to conserve capital and avoid risks.
Some suggestions:
Page | 384
1. The current ownership structure of the public sector banks (PSBs)
has led to several inefficiencies such as:
 Disempowered boards
 Muted incentives for senior management to effect
organizational change
 External vigilance enforcement causing paralyzed decision
making
 Widespread frauds and endemic corruption
 Opacity at various levels, as well as distortions in human
resource management
Diversified market ownership could bring market discipline to PSBs.
2. The P.J. Nayak Committee recommended a bank holding company

(BHC) structure under which the government shareholding to be
reduced below 52 percent. The BHC should be professionally
managed.
3. The government should implement the recommendations of the
Nayak Committee. Though the government constituted Bank Boards
Bureau (BBB), none of the governance reforms suggested by the
Nayak Committee has been implemented.
4. In India, social sector lending programmes routed through PSBs. It
may be useful to consider hiving off all agricultural and social sector
lending into a separate governmentowned entity. This is because the
Priority Sector Lending (PSL) is deemed unprofitable for several
banks leading to a “PSL drag.”
5. Recapitalization and governance reform can enhance market
valuations of PSBs and should lead to a path for privatization. But
repeated recapitalization of PSBs creates moral hazard issues.
6. The idea of a single bad bank where the NPAs of all PSBs are
transferred to clean up PSB balance sheets may be considered. But Page | 385
simply consolidating all NPAs would create an additional level of

complexity.
7. It is crucial to clarify the role and purpose of PSBs and for them to
concentrate on specific regions or business segments. For example, it
is unclear why certain PSBs have branches in South Africa.
8. The terms of bank chairpersons must be elongated in order to effect
meaningful changes and to hold them accountable.
9. Incentives for PSB personnel must be significantly augmented. Better
incentive structures will attract better talent.
10. Although vigilance mechanisms exist, lax enforcement means
that wrongdoing is rarely penalized.
11. Basic principles of credit appraisal and monitoring are
obviated in PSBs and must be sharpened.
12. RBI lacks the supervisory capacity to conduct forensic audits
and this must be strengthened with human as well as technological
resources.
In summary:
Despite the RBI and the Central government taking multiple steps to solve
the NPAs, the problem has only been getting worse.
Though the government has announced recapitalization of PSBs, the

governance reforms package announced with it remains unimpressive.
More structural reforms are needed to maximize the bank recapitalization
effort.
There are plenty of recommendations by the expert committee constituted
by the RBI and government itself. These recommendations should be
implemented in letter and spirit.
References: Page | 386
1. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/upfront/2018/03/01/howto
solveissueofrisingnonperformingassetsinindianpublicsector
banks/
3. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/bankingongood
faith/article22545428.ece
4. https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/Py24b5BY45mckkhGGROT6J/U
shaThoratRejuvenatingIndianbanks.html
5. https://www.businessstandard.com/article/opinion/badloans
andworse114081000687_1.html
AMENDMENTS TO PREVENTION OF CORRUPTION ACT
Introduction:
Page | 387
The Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill, 2013, for amending the

Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in
2013.
The Bill was also considered by the Department related Parliamentary

Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, in its
69th Report and the Law Commission of India in its 254th Report.
After considering the recommendations made by the Select Committee,

amendments were moved on the Bill.
The Bill was taken up for discussion and passed by the Rajya Sabha on 19th
July 2018. Further, it was taken up for discussion and passed by the Lok
Sabha on 24th July 2018.
Salient features:
 The bill makes giving bribes to a public servant an offence. By making

citizens liable for offering a bribe to a public servant, the bill has been
brought in line with the UN Convention against Corruption. India is a
signatory to this convention.
 The amendment bill also redefines criminal misconduct to cover just
the misappropriation of property and the possession of
disproportionate assets.
 It narrows definitions and penalties for a range of offences, and
outlines powers and procedures for seizing the property of public
servants accused of corruption.
 The bill also removes the provision that protected bribe givers from
prosecution for statements they make during a corruption trial.
 The bill provides for prior approval to be sought before an
investigation is initiated against any government officer. The earlier
Page | 388
version made approvals necessary only for inquiries against officials
above the rank of a joint secretary. The legislation also provides
immunity from arrest to all officers, as against the previous provision
of immunity to officers above the level of a joint secretary.
 The amendment also seeks to set a time frame for a court to decide
on the matter. As per the Bill, trial by the special judge should be
completed within two years.
Key Issues and criticisms:
 The Bill makes giving a bribe an offence. Some legal experts

opinioned that a coerced bribe giver must be distinguished from a
collusive bribe giver. There are diverging views on whether bribe
giving under all circumstances must be penalized.
 As the bill deleted the provision that protects a bribe giver from
prosecution, for any statement made by him during a corruption trial,
the bribe givers may not appear as witnesses in court.
 The threshold to establish the offence of possession of
disproportionate assets has been increased by the Bill. It altered the
definition of criminal misconduct. It now requires that the intention
to acquire assets disproportionate to income also be proved, in
addition to possession of such assets.
 The Bill does not cover circumstances where the public official: (i)
uses illegal means, (ii) abuses his position, or (iii) disregards public
interest and obtains a valuable thing or reward for himself or another
person.
 Under the Act, the guilt of the person is presumed for the offenses of
taking a bribe, being a habitual offender or abetting an offense. The
Bill amends this provision to only cover the offense of taking a bribe.
 The bill provides for prior approval norm to start an investigation.
Page | 389
When a prior sanction requirement exists in law for prosecution, it is
incomprehensible that the legislature should create another layer of
protection in the initial stage of a probe.
Report of the standing committee:
 The committee recommended that the definition of ‘public servant’

should include retired officials, in line with a provision that extends
the protection of sanction for the prosecution to retired public
servants.
 It is suggested that the government must ensure that chances of
coercive bribery are reduced.
 The Committee suggested that laws like the Right of Citizens for
Timebound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their
Grievances Bill, 2011, pending in Parliament should be enacted. This
would address the concerns of persons forced to give bribes to access
services from the state and encourage them to report acts of
corruption respectively.
 The Bill provides for the inclusion of proving the intention of a public
servant, in a disproportionate assets case against him. The
Committee recommended that this provision should be removed. The
inability of the public servant to explain the source of his
disproportionate asset should be sufficient for prosecution.
Impact of the bill:
Recent time saw many current and former bankers being arrested for
extending loans that soured later. With the bill attempting to shield honest
public servants from prosecuting agencies, there could be a revival in bank
lending.
This was one of the important demands from the banking sector, as a part
of larger banking reforms. Page | 390
Protecting honest public servants is important. However, this should not

dilute the anticorruption efforts.
References:
2. https://scroll.in/latest/887830/loksabhaclearsamendmentsto
preventionofcorruptionact
3. http://www.prsindia.org/billtrack/thepreventionofcorruption
amendmentbill20132865/
4. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/oped/abalancing
act/article24555727.ece
5. http://www.livelaw.in/preventionofcorruptionamendmentbill
2013aspresentedinrajyasabhasalientfeatures/
6. https://www.livemint.com/Politics/GBv8EGPBorhBD34dHPIrqJ/Par
liamentnodtonewanticorruptionlawprotectshonesto.html
7. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/layersof
protection/article24547851.ece
ISSUES RELATED TO APPOINTMENT OF LOKPAL
Introduction:
Page | 391
The Lokpal is an ombudsman to protect the common man from corruption

in public service and power centers. The appointment procedure, power,
and functions of the Lokpal have been provided under the Lokpal and
Lokayukta Act of 2013.
This law was passed in 2014 but was not implemented all these years
because there was no Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the 16th Lok Sabha. As
per the Act of 2013, the leader of the opposition is part of the selection
committee. In April 2017, the Supreme Court clarified that the Lokpal
appointment process need not be stalled merely due to the absence of the
LoP.
Recently, the Supreme Court expressed its displeasure, over the

government stand on the appointment of a Lokpal. The government stand
is that the Lokpal appointment process should wait till the 2013 Act was
amended to replace the LoP with the single largest Opposition party leader.
Brief history:
The idea of an ombudsman first came up in 1963. The First Administrative

Reforms Commission recommended the setting up of two independent
authorities – at the central and state level, to look into complaints against
public functionaries, including MPs.
The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution

headed by M.N. Venkatachaliah recommended the appointment of the
Lokpal and Lokayuktas. It also recommended that the PM should be kept
out of the ambit of the authority.
The second Administrative Reforms Commission chaired by Veerappa
Moily recommended that office of Lokpal be established without delay.
Between 1968 and 2011 eight attempts were made to pass the Lokpal Bill,
but in vain. Finally, in 2013, Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill were passed in Page | 392
both Houses of Parliament, but only after a nationwide protest led by Anna
Hazare.
Salient features of the Lokpal Act:
 The Act for establishing autonomous and independent institutions

called Lokpal at the central level and Lokayukta for states.
 Lokpal and Lokayukta have powers of superintendence and direction
for holding a preliminary inquiry, causing an investigation to be
made and prosecution of offences in respect of complaints under any
law for the prevention of corruption.
 The Lokpal will consist of a chairperson and a maximum of eight
members of which fifty percent shall be judicial members.
 Fifty percent of members shall be from amongst Scheduled Caste
(SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC),
minorities and women.
 It has an inquiry wing for conducting the preliminary inquiry and a
separate independent prosecution wing.
 Prime minister has been brought under the purview of the Lokpal
with specific exclusions. The exceptions include allegations related to
international relations, external and internal security of the country,
public order, atomic energy, and space. Further, any decision to
initiate an investigation against the Prime Minister shall be taken
only by the full bench with a 3/4th majority.
 Jurisdiction of Lokpal extends over all categories of public servants
including Group 'A', 'B', 'C' and 'D' officers and employees of
government.
 Further, all entities receiving donations from foreign sources in the
context of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) in excess
of Rs. 10 lakh per year are brought under the jurisdiction of the
Lokpal.
Page | 393
 Lokpal to have the power of superintendence and direction over any
investigation agency including Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
for cases referred to them.
However, Lokpal will not be able to initiate suo moto inquiries.
Is government right in delaying the appointment?
The government stand is that the single largest party in the opposition does
not have the strength required to recognize its leader as ‘leader of the
opposition’.
However, the rule that the Speaker can recognize as LoP only the leader of
the principal opposition party that has 10 percent of the total number of
Lok Sabha seats is based on precedent.
The only legal provision defining the ‘Leader of the Opposition’ is a 1977
law concerning the office holder’s salary. The definition says the LoP shall
be the leader of the party in opposition with “the greatest numerical
strength” and “recognized as such by the Speaker”.
Therefore, there is nothing in the law that prevents the Speaker from
recognizing the leader of the principal opposition party as the LoP.
Instead of waiting for the amendment, the Speaker can adopt the solution
of recognizing the leader of the principal opposition party (i.e. Congress)
and expedite the formation of Lokpal.
Importance of appointing Lokpal:

India has been ranked 81st in the global corruption perception index for
2017. For eradicating the corruption from the society India needs a strong
anticorruption watchdog.
At present, there is no truly independent anticorruption body in India. All Page | 394
existing institutions, in one way or the other, are controlled by the
government.
Lokpal covers all public servants from a small government employee to the
prime minister. Lokpal will ensure transparency in governance. India’s
global image will improve.
There are plenty of laws. But India needs a strong, independent Anti
corruption body.
However, only the Lokpal and Lokayukta cannot eradicate the corruption
from the society. Strong deterrence, a strong press, RTI Act, good
governance, strong integrity of the public servants and independent &
effective judicial system to deal with the corruption are necessary to move
towards a corruptionfree society.
References:
1. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/govtstandonlokpal
apointmentiswhollyunsatisfactorysayssupreme
court/article24502495.ece
2. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/Appointinga
Lokpal/article16701980.ece
3. https://www.deccanchronicle.com/131217/newscurrent
affairs/article/salientfeatureslokpalbill
4. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/allyouneedtoknow
aboutthelokpalbill/article18254568.ece
5. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/salientfeaturesof
lokpallokayuktasbill/article5474256.ece
Page | 395
DOES RBI NEED MORE POWER TO MONITOR BANKS?
Introduction:
Page | 396
RBI Governor Urjit R Patel who appeared before the Standing Committee
on Finance on made a strong case for more power to RBI to regulate public
sector banks (PSB) effectively.
For the recent fraud at Punjab National Bank, the government shifted the
responsibility on the RBI. But, RBI expressed its helplessness citing lack of
regulatory power in the case of public sector banks.
Why RBI want more power?
Section 5(C) of the Banking Regulation Act defines a banking company as

‘any company’ which transacts the business of banking in India.
Public sector banks (PSB) are not companies, but corporations formed by
statutes. Therefore, they are not ‘banking companies’ and the Banking
Regulation Act does not apply to them in full.
According to RBI, only those provisions of the Banking Regulation Act

specifically enumerated in Section 51 or elsewhere in that Act apply to
PSBs. This forms a great constraint for a regulator and supervisor. RBI has
important powers under the Banking Regulation Act to apply to private
banks, but not to PSBs.
Arguments in support of more power to RBI:
 The banking industry is plagued by many overlapping laws that make

regulation difficult and help the smart one escape. There are at least
four different Acts that govern Indian banks – the Banking Regulation
Act of 1949; public sector banks are regulated by the government
under the Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of
Undertakings) Act, 1970; the Bank Nationalization Act, 1980; and the
State Bank of India Act, 1955.
 The regulatory discrepancy between the private sector and public
sector banks has been pointed out by the first Narasimham
Page | 397
Committee as early as in the 1990s. While the RBI regulates all banks
in India, staterun banks are also regulated by the government, which
owns majoritystakes in them. This has, in effect, led to a system of
"dual regulation".
 The RBI can neither remove nor appoint a CMD or a wholetime
director in public sector banks. Many appointments to the banks’
board and even to the top management were partly political.
 It cannot grant licenses or impose conditions or force mergers in the
case of PSBs as per the section 45 of the Banking Regulation Act.
 At present, RBI has no power to call a meeting of bank directors,
depute its officers for board meetings of PSBs or appoint observers.
 When it came to the resolution of bad debt, the government asked
the RBI to take charge. So, it is necessary to give powers to govern
public sector banks. Responsibility without power will not help in
solving the problems.
Arguments against more power to RBI:
 According to the finance ministry, the RBI has enough powers under
the Banking Regulation Act to regulate PSBs. It had listed 13
provisions of the Banking Regulation Act that empowers RBI.
 According to C. Rangarajan, former governor of RBI, “so far as
supervision is concerned, there are enough powers”. But to take
action against the public sector banks, consultations with the
government is needed because the government is the owner of the
PSU banks.
 The RBI cannot remove a public sector bank chairman. But it can
make recommendations to the government and get rid of one
executive director/chairman in a public sector bank. In the case of
PSBs regulator and the owner act together.
Way forward:
Page | 398
Just like one set of rules govern companies in aviation, mutual funds,
refining and telecom, the banking industry needs a uniform set of laws
across the spectrum, be it private or stateowned.
As the regulator of the banking sector, RBI should have full authority over
any kind of banks and ownership should not have any kind of impact.
References:
1. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/rbibidsagainfor
morepowertoreininpsbs/article24146773.ece
2. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/banking/finance/b
anking/whyrbishouldbegivenmorepowersandageold
bankinglawsbefixedtoavoidscamslike
pnb/printarticle/63390500.cms
3. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/dear
rbiyoudonotlackpowertocleanupbanksyoulackthewill
damodaran/printarticle/63712171.cms
OFFICE OF THE SPEAKER: POWERS AND ISSUES
Introduction:
Page | 399
India is a parliamentary democracy. The elected governments derive their

legitimacy from the confidence they command in the lower house of the
legislature. It is in the Lower House that noconfidence motions are fought.
As the presiding officer of the lower house, the speaker plays a pivotal role
in Indian parliamentary democracy.
In order to perform his/her duties, the speaker is vested with enormous

power. These powers are mainly derived from the constitution,
parliamentary rules, and conventions.
But when the speaker fails to safeguard the objectivity, while exercising the
discretionary powers, the office of the speaker comes under great scrutiny
and criticism.
The position of the Speaker:
 In the Warrant of Precedence, the office of Lok Sabha Speaker is

subservient to just that of the President, VicePresident and Prime
Minister.
 It is often said that while the members of a house represent
individual constituencies, the Speaker of the house represents the
whole house and consequentially the entire nation.
 In a parliamentary democracy, he or she is the sole arbiter in
interpreting the rules of procedure of the House. His decisions cannot
be easily challenged and he cannot be asked to review them.
Powers and Functions of the speaker:

 Speaker presides over the proceedings of the house, except when a
resolution for his removal is under consideration.
 The speaker is the sole authority in interpreting the rules of
procedure of the House. On many occasions, the Speaker is allowed
Page | 400
to exercise discretion.
 Speaker has the power to exercise a casting vote in the case of
equality of votes. But he/she cannot vote in the first instance.
 The decision of the speaker is final in the question of deciding
whether a bill is a money bill or not.
 It is the duty of the Speaker to ensure that the business of the House
is conducted in an orderly manner in accordance with parliamentary
rules and procedures.
 The Speaker also performs a quasijudicial role. In matters of
defection, the Speaker decides on the petition alleging defection.
In discharging such functions, the office of the speaker is vested with

enormous power. But, often the offices of the Speakers in India have been
accused of partisanship.
Reasons for accusations:
The main reason is that we have failed to develop good constitutional

conventions.
 In India Speakers, generally, do not resign from the membership of

their party once they are elected to the esteemed office. So far, only
two Speakers have given up party membership upon being elected to
the office. The convention of Speakers foregoing their party
membership has not developed in India. This is because the
Speaker’s reelection to the House is not secure. All political parties
campaign in the constituency of the Speaker. Even if the Speaker is
reelected to the House, the office of the Speaker in India is still open
for elections. Thus, as the electoral system and conventions have not
developed to ensure protection to the office, there are cogent reasons
for Speakers to retain party membership.
 Indian Speakers have held ministerial positions immediately before
and after their term.
Page | 401
 Often, political parties, on whose ticket the speaker was elected to the
house as a member, try to control the office of the Speaker. For
example, One Speaker was expelled from his party for refusing to
follow the party command.
 Under Article 110 of the constitution, Speaker has the final authority
in deciding whether a Bill is a Money Bill or not. In Mohd. Saeed
Siddiqui Vs State of U.P. (2014) the Supreme Court decided that the
decision of the Speaker in this regard is final. This power has, often,
been misused. A case in point is Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of
Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016.
Recently, the Supreme Court questioned the government's
justification for passing the Aadhaar Act as a Money Bill.
 The Speaker is empowered to refer the Bill to a Standing
Committee. This power is exercised indirectly by the government, to
hastily pass a particular bill or to delay the passing of such bill, to suit
the need of the government in power. Hasty passage of Bills without
compliance with the practice of reference to Standing Committees
can adversely impact the quality of legislation.
 Speaker has the power to suspend or evict the members from the
house. This power was conferred to ensure the smooth conduct of
legislative business. It is expected that this power is to be used in
extraordinary situations only. But the power has been misused to
prevent opposition members from raising important issues, or to
pass a bill without discussion, particularly when the government
does not have the required number to pass such bills. Recently,
almost all the members of the principal opposition party in the
legislatures of Tamil Nadu were suspended and evicted on the orders
of the Speaker.
 Under the Tenth Schedule of the constitution, Speaker has the
powers to disqualify legislators for defection and power to alter the
Page | 402
composition of the House during the floor test.
 The most recent case is acceptance of the resignation of members of
Parliament. There is no time limit for the speaker to accept or reject
resignation tendered by the members. This power has been used to
make sure that the government of the day survives the floor test, or
to avoid byeelections, as has been done in the case of resignations
tendered by some of the MPs from Andhra Pradesh.
But all such decisions of the Speaker do not go unchallenged. The Supreme
Court often stepped in to check the misuse or abuse of powers.
In Kihoto Hollohan Vs Zachillhu (1992) the Supreme Court said that the
decision of speaker to disqualify legislators for defection under the tenth
schedule is subjected to judicial review.
Challenges faced by the Speaker:
 Often the office of speaker is accused of partisanship.

 In addition to this, the increase in disruptions in the House is a major
challenge faced by the speaker in recent times.
 Further, with the increase in the multitude of parties, the time
available to each party to represent its interests during discussions is
reduced, even when the number of sittings in Parliament has not
increased proportionately. This aggravates the constraints faced by
the members and the Speaker in prioritizing between matters. House
management has become a shared responsibility of Minister for
Parliamentary Affairs and the Speaker.
Office of the speaker in England:

 In England, the Speaker resigns from the party, after his election as
speaker.
 A Minister does not propose him. Unofficial members propose and
second him to demonstrate his independence and impartiality.
Page | 403
 Unlike India, the Speaker renounces active party politics.
 In England, the convention is not to field candidates in the Speaker’s
constituency. During a general election, Speakers do not campaign on
any political issues but simply stand as 'the Speaker seeking re
election'. So, no sitting Speaker of the House of Commons in Britain
has lost his or her seat.
Way forward:
 The adjudicatory role of the Speaker relating to defections splits, and

mergers must be entrusted with either the Election Commission or
any neutral body outside the legislature.
 The Speaker should resign from the party and should eschew active
party politics.
 ‘Once a Speaker always a Speaker’ convention should be established
to reelect him without contest.
Whether there is political will at the highest levels of the major parties to
carry out this reform only time can tell. Until then the Indian Speaker will
neither command public confidence nor public esteem.
References:
1. https://www.thehindu.com/todayspaper/tpopinion/Mr.Speaker
theIndianldquoavatarrdquo/article15270560.ece
2. https://www.thehindu.com/todayspaper/tpopinion/politicaland
partisan/article19879177.ece
3. https://www.thehinducentre.com/multimedia/archive/01587/India
n_Parliament__1587590a.ece
4. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/Speakingtruthto
power/article14587199.ece
Page | 404
MORE ARTICLES ON CLEARIAS.COM!
Many other Current Issues relevant to UPSC CSE Mains and interviews are
discussed regularly in the Current Affairs section of clearias.com.
Link: https://www.clearias.com/category/current-affairs-notes/
Some articles which you should not miss:
1. Bullet Trains – Does India really need them?

2. Asia-Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC) – A Game Changer?
3. Lateral Entry into Civil Services – Should the Government Allow It?
4. National Policy for Women – Will it Change the Status of Women in
India?
5. Right To Recall – Can this clean up the Indian Political System?
6. Gig Economy – What’s the problem with this new trend?
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The information in this publication is provided for information only, is

Aadhaar and Privacy issues .................................................................................................................................. 7

Ban on cow slaughter/ Beef ban ........................................................................................................................ 12

Economic growth Vs Environmental conservation .......................................................................................... 22

Election Funding ................................................................................................................................................. 28

Free Speech: Rights & Limits.............................................................................................................................. 35

Frequent promulgation of Ordinance ................................................................................................................ 42

Full statehood to Delhi: Should it be granted or not? ....................................................................................... 47

Interstate water disputes: Focus on Cauvery Water Dispute .......................................................................... 53

Judicial activism and judicial Overreach ........................................................................................................... 59

Judicial appointment: Collegiums Vs NJAC........................................................................................................ 64

Kashmir Unrest ................................................................................................................................................... 69

Media freedom and Responsible reporting....................................................................................................... 74

Muslim Personal law: Polygamy/ Triple talaq.................................................................................................. 79

Nationalism vs Regionalism ............................................................................................................................... 86

NGOs and Development/ Crackdown on NGOs ................................................................................................ 90

Dalit assertion and Politics of reservation ........................................................................................................ 96

Restriction on entry of women in places of worship ...................................................................................... 103

Should India spend more on science or Social welfare? ................................................................................ 108

Supreme Court judgement on Caste, Religion in Polls ................................................................................... 112

Parliamentary disruptions ............................................................................................................................... 116

Uniform civil code ............................................................................................................................................. 121

Privatization of certain Healthcare Services ................................................................................................... 126

Issues related to Social Media .......................................................................................................................... 138

Criminalisation of politics ................................................................................................................................ 144

Stubble burning in neighborhood of Delhi ...................................................................................................... 149 Page | 4

Marital rape ....................................................................................................................................................... 154

‘Living wills’/ Euthanasia ................................................................................................................................. 160

Separate State Flag in Karnataka ..................................................................................................................... 166

Net neutrality .................................................................................................................................................... 169

Merger of PSU banks ......................................................................................................................................... 175

Privatization of Air India .................................................................................................................................. 180

Capital Punishment/death sentence ............................................................................................................... 186

Politics and Economics of farm loan waiver ................................................................................................... 191

Laws to ban certain social practices ................................................................................................................ 197

Entry of foreign universities in India............................................................................................................... 202

Respecting national anthem ............................................................................................................................. 207

Special court for trying politicians................................................................................................................... 212

FRDI bill ............................................................................................................................................................. 217

National Medical Commission Bill ................................................................................................................... 223

Barring MPs from practicing law ..................................................................................................................... 228

Controversy over changing the Constitution .................................................................................................. 232

Lateral entry: Professionalizing Governance or Committed Bureaucracy?.................................................. 238

Section 377: Constitutionality Vs Morality ..................................................................................................... 243

Higher Education Commission of India ........................................................................................................... 256

Bad bank: Is it a good idea? .............................................................................................................................. 263

Ayushman Bharat: Can it make India healthier? ............................................................................................ 275

Crisis in the sugar sector .................................................................................................................................. 286 Page | 5

Khap Panchayats and honour killing ............................................................................................................... 292

National Policy on Biofuels............................................................................................................................... 298

Should the SC proceedings be live streamed? ................................................................................................. 304

Doubling the Farmer’s income ......................................................................................................................... 309

Is AI a danger to humanity?.............................................................................................................................. 315

What prevents women from working in India? .............................................................................................. 320

Special category status ..................................................................................................................................... 325

Interlinking of rivers ....................................................................................................................................... 373

Aadhaar is biometricbased 12 digits unique identification number issued

 Virtual ID is a 16digit temporary number that can be shared with a

The depletion of cash due to demonetization has pushed digital and e

The country’s notsogood rank on the World Bank’s Ease of Doing

There were widescale debates on how government can further improve

 In India, post1991, the pressure on the environment increased with

Thus, our policy should not be based on the “pollutefirst; cleanuplater”