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08.06.2024 Editorial
08.06.2024 Editorial
3 இந்த ஆண்டு நடைபெற்ற நீட் தேர்வு குறித்த சர்ச்சை எழும்பியுள்ளது ஏன்? Indian 22
-தீக்ஷா தேரி Express
As a global instrument to end plastic pollution, it also needs to ensure social justice and
equity principles for the informal recycling worker.
As discussions still continue for an international legally binding treaty on plastic pollution,
it becomes crucial to consider how it can support a fair transition for individuals who
collect and recycle waste informally. According to the OECD Global Plastic Outlook, global
production of plastic waste was 353 million tonnes in 2019 — more than double since it
was in 2000, and is set to triple by 2060.
Only 9% of this was recycled, 50% sent to landfills, 19% incinerated, and 22% disposed of
in uncontrolled sites or dumps. According to the United Nations Environment Programme,
of the 9% recycled, 85% was done by informal recycling workers.These workers collect,
sort and recover recyclable and reusable materials from general waste, alleviating
municipal budgets of financial burdens around waste management and, at large,
subsidising the environmental mandate of the producers, consumers and the government.
The Centre for Environment Justice and Development has also observed that they
promote circular waste management solutions and help mitigate greenhouse gas
emissions, valuably contributing to sustainability. Their efforts significantly reduce plastic
content in landfills and dump sites, effectively preventing plastic leaking into the
environment.
Yet, these workers are often overlooked and remain highly vulnerable in plastic value
chains. They face risks such as increasing privatisation of waste management,
waste-to-energy or incineration projects, and exclusion through other public policy
The informal waste and recovery sector (IWRS) is more than a minor player in worldwide
municipal solid waste management systems. According to the UN-Habitat’s Waste Wise
Cities Tool (WaCT), the informal sector accounts for 80% of municipal solid waste
recovery in many cities.
A recent study by UN-Habitat and the University of Leeds estimates that around 60
million tonnes of plastic from municipal solid waste pollute the environment, including
waterbodies, due to inadequate collection services and mismanagement of solid waste.
Without the IWRS, the volume would be higher.
However, as highlighted in the recent Leave No One Behind Report, strategies to reduce
plastic pollution often neglect to effectively involve the recovery capacities, skills, and
knowledge of the IWRS. This oversight worsens livelihood vulnerabilities and undermines
existing informal recovery systems.
The Global Plastics Treaty is a significant attempt to establish a legally binding agreement
aimed at reducing and eliminating plastic pollution. The decision to establish an
Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) was made in early 2021 during the fifth UN
Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya. The INC’s journey, beginning with an Ad Hoc
Open-Ended Working Group meeting in Dakar, Senegal, in mid-2022, was followed by
subsequent meetings in Uruguay, Paris, and Nairobi, with the fourth INC-4 in Canada in
April this year. The final INC-5 meeting in South Korea will continue to see active
participation from the International Alliance of Waste Pickers (IAWP).
The IAWP, a vocal participant in the UNEA Plastic Treaty process, emphasises the
importance of supporting the formalisation and integration of informal waste pickers into
discussions on addressing plastics. It also advocates including waste pickers’
perspectives and solutions at every stage of policy and law implementation.
We, therefore, need to rethink the formulation of our EPR norms and raise questions on
how to integrate this informal worker cohort into the new legal framework.
As the final round of negotiations for the Global Plastics Treaty approaches the INC-5, a
key question remains — on how a global instrument to end plastic pollution can enable a
just transition for nearly 15 million people who informally collect and recover up to 58% of
global recycled waste, thereby shaping a sustainable future. By incorporating their
perspectives and ensuring their livelihoods are protected, the treaty can embody social
justice and equity principles while leaving no one and no place behind.
Neethi P. is Senior Researcher at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS),
Bangalore and an Advisory Member to the Karnataka Labour Policy (KLP) Committee.
Akbar A. is the Director, Programme Design at Hasiru Dala, a social impact organisation
that works with waste pickers and other waste workers in Karnataka.
© The Hindu, First published on: June 08, 2024 12:08 am IST
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/remoulding-the-global-plastics-treaty/article68
264041.ece
அங்கீகாரத்தின் தேவை
முறைசாரா கழிவு மற்றும் மீட்புத் துறை (informal waste and recovery sector
(IWRS)) உலகளவில் கழிவு மேலாண்மையின் குறிப்பிடத்தக்க பகுதியாகும். ஐக்கிய
நாடுகள் வாழ்விட அமைப்பின் கழிவு வாரியான நகரங்கள் கருவி (UN-Habitat's Waste
Wise Cities Tool (WaCT)) அறிக்கையின் படி, இந்தத் துறையானது பல நகரங்களில்
80% நகராட்சி திடக்கழிவுகளை மீட்டெடுக்கிறது.
Utilisation of the country’s resources needs to be decided jointly by the Centre and the
States. The changed political situation after the general election makes this feasible.
The results of the general election 2024 have thrown up a surprise. They portend greater
democratisation in the country, with the regional parties doing well. These parties will
share space on the ruling party benches as well as on the Opposition side in Parliament.
This will help strengthen federalism, which is so crucial for a diverse nation such as India.
It was badly fraying till recently.
Centre-State relations became contentious during the campaigning for the general
election. The idea of ‘400 paar’, ‘one nation one election’ and the Prime Minister’s
emphatic threat that the corrupt (i.e., Opposition leaders) will soon be in jail were
perceived as threats to the Opposition-ruled States.
The Opposition-ruled States have been complaining about stepmotherly treatment by the
Centre. Protests have been held in Delhi and the State capitals. The Supreme Court of
India has said that ‘a steady stream of States are compelled to approach it against the
Centre’. Kerala has complained about the inadequate transfer of resources, Karnataka
about drought relief and West Bengal about funds for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The attempt seems to be to show the
Opposition-ruled States in a bad light.
The Supreme Court, expressing its helplessness, recently said that Centre-State issues
need to be sorted out amicably. When the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in 2014,
it had talked of cooperative federalism. The introduction of the Goods and Services Tax
(GST) in 2017 was an example of this when some States that had reservations about it,
There is a huge diversity among the States — Assam is unlike Gujarat and Himachal
Pradesh is very different from Tamil Nadu. A common approach is not conducive to the
progress of such diverse States. They need greater autonomy to address their issues in
their own unique ways. This is both democracy and federalism. So, a dominant Centre
forcing its will on the States, leading to the deterioration in Centre-State relations, does
not augur well for India.
Expenditures have to be financed to achieve goals, and that results in conflict. Revenue
has to be raised through taxes, non-tax sources and borrowings. The Centre has been
given a predominant role in raising resources due to the efficiency in collecting taxes
centrally. Among the major taxes, personal income tax (PIT), corporation tax, customs
duty and excise duty are collected by the Centre. GST is collected by both the Centre
and the States and shared. So, the Centre controls most of the resources, and they have
to be devolved to the States to enable them to fulfil their responsibilities.
A Finance Commission is appointed to decide on: the devolution of funds from the Centre
to the States, and the share of each State. The Centre sets up the Commission and has
mostly set its terms of reference. This introduces a bias in favour of the Centre and
becomes a source of conflict between the Centre and States. Further, there has been an
implicit bias in the Commissions, that the States are not fiscally responsible. This reflects
the Centre’s bias — that the States are not doing what they should and that they make
undue demands on the Centre.
The rich States, which contribute more and get proportionately less, have resented this.
What they forget is that the poorer States provide them the market, which enables them
to grow faster. The poorer States also lose much of their savings which leak out to the
rich States, accelerating their development. It is often said that as Mumbai contributes a
bulk of the corporation and income taxes, it should get more. But, this is because Mumbai
is the financial capital. So, the big corporations are based there and pay their tax in
Mumbai. More revenue is contributed in an accounting sense, and not that production is
taking place in Mumbai.
The Centre allocates resources to the States in two ways. First, on account of the
Finance Commission award. Second, the Centre is notional while the States are real. Thus,
all expenditures by the Centre are in some State. The amount spent in each State is also
a transfer. This becomes another source of conflict. Expenditures lead to jobs and
prosperity in a State. Benefits accrue in proportion to the funds spent. As a result, each
State wants more expenditure in its territory. The Centre can play politics in the
allocation of schemes and projects. For instance, it is accused of favouring Gujarat and
Uttar Pradesh. The Opposition-ruled States have for long complained of step-motherly
treatment.
Issues in federalism
The Sixteenth Finance Commission has begun work. It should try to reverse fraying
federalism and strengthen the spirit of India as a ‘Union of States’. This is not only a
political task but also an economic one. The Commission could suggest that there is
even-handed treatment of all the States by the Centre and also less friction among the
rich and poor States when proportionately more resources are transferred to poor States
so as to keep rising inequality in check.
The issue of governance, both at the Centre and in the States, needs to be flagged. It
determines investment productivity and the pace of development. Corruption and
cronyism lead to resources being wasted and a loss of social welfare.
To reduce the domination of the Centre over the States, the devolution of resources
from the Centre to the States could be raised substantially from its current level of 41%.
The Centre’s role could be curtailed. For instance, the Public Distribution System or
MGNREGS are joint schemes, but the Centre asserts that it be given credit. It has
penalised States that have not done so.
The Centre’s undue assertiveness undermines federalism. Funds with the Centre are
public funds collected from the States and spent in the States. The Centre is notional and
constitutionally created, while States and local bodies are the real entities, where
economic activity occurs and resources are generated. The States have agreed to the
Centre’s constitutional position but that does not make them supplicants for their own
This has become more feasible with the changed political situation after the results of the
2024 general election.
Arun Kumar is a retired professor of economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, and
the author of ‘Ground Scorching Tax’ (2019)
© The Hindu, First published on: June 08, 2024 12:16 am IST
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-centre-is-notional-the-states-the-real-entitie
s/article68264096.ece
The test for admission to undergraduate medical courses has been mired in controversy
this year. Students have flagged several issues, and multiple petitions relating to the
exam are pending in the courts.
On June 4, as most of India had its eyes on the results of the Lok Sabha election, the
National Testing Agency (NTA) published the results of the National
Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test, Undergraduate (NEET UG), the competitive examination for
admission to medical, dental, and AYUSH courses in government and private colleges.
The results drew immediate attention for the extraordinarily large number of candidates
who got the perfect score of 720/720, and for the reason that some candidates got 718
or 719 — marks that others claimed were impossible to get in the scheme of the exam.
At least two petitions have been filed in two High Courts against the results. On June 1, a
petition was filed in the Supreme Court asking that the examination be held again on the
ground that the question paper had been leaked. Last month, hearing another, similar
petition, the Supreme Court had declined to stay the publication of the results.
Around 2.4 million candidates took the entrance examination held on May 5 in 571 cities,
14 of which were outside India. According to the latest available data, there are a total of
1,08,940 MBBS seats in more than 700 medical colleges across the country.
Why has NEET UG 2024 been so controversial? On Thursday, the NTA issued a press
release clarifying some of the concerns that have been raised around the examination.
As The Indian Express reported in its edition of June 6, 44 of the 67 toppers got the
answer to a basic physics question wrong but were still given “grace marks” because an
older version of the NCERT’s Class 12 textbook had a mistake.
A provisional answer key released by NTA on May 29 picked the correct answer out of
the choices given to the candidates, but more than 13,000 candidates challenged the key
on the ground that the textbook contained information that pointed to a different answer.
An NTA official told The Indian Express that it had been decided to not penalise these
students “since we strongly recommend all aspirants study only from NCERT textbooks
for their NEET preparation”.
In its press release, NTA said that the number of candidates who appeared in the 2024
exam was almost 3 lakh more than the 2023 number, and “the increase in candidates
naturally led to an increase in high scorers due to a larger pool of candidates”.
Also, according to the NTA official, the 2024 NEET was “comparatively easier” than
previous years.
Thereafter, “the loss of examination time was ascertained and such candidates were
compensated with marks based on their answering efficiency and time lost, as per the
mechanism/ formula established by the Hon’ble Apex Court, vide its judgment dated
13.06.2018”.
According to the release, “1,563 candidates were compensated…and the revised marks of
such candidates vary from – 20 to 720… Amongst these, the score of two candidates
also happens to be 718 and 719 marks respectively due to compensatory marks.”
The Economic Offences Unit of Bihar Police said it had seized “admit cards, post-dated
cheques, and certificates” from “members of the organised gang arrested in this case”.
However, while a “thorough” investigation is ongoing, the Special Investigation Team has
said that the evidence collected so far is not enough to confirm a paper leak.
The NTA has “categorically denied any case of paper leak”. It has said that cases have
been registered against “impersonators”, and “NTA has been extending support” to
investigators.
NTA has, however, confirmed that in Sawai Madhopur (Rajasthan), some Hindi-medium
students were mistakenly given English-medium question papers, and the examinees had
responded by walking out of the examination hall taking the question paper with them.
According to the NTA, the question paper was posted on the Internet around 4 pm, but
by that time the exam, which had started at 2 pm, was well underway at all other
centres.
However, according to the NTA, the results of all its examinations are “declared at the
earliest on the completion of the necessary checks in the result processing post the
Answer Key challenge period”, and “the Result of NEET (UG) 2024 has been processed as
per the established procedure”.
The NTA has pointed out that it “managed to declare the Results of about 23 lakh
candidates within 30 days”, and “the Result of JEE (Main) 2024 Session-1 was declared in
11 days and of Session-2 (combined with Session – 1) was declared in 15 days”.
“The cutoff scores are determined based on the overall performance of candidates each
year. The increase in cutoff reflects the competitive nature of the examination and the
higher performance standards achieved by the candidates this year,” the release said.
NTA has provided a table showing that in 2022, when “the average marks out of 720 of
qualified candidates” was 259.00, the “minimum score to qualify in UR (unreserved)
category” was only 117, whereas in 2024, when the first number was 323.55, the cutoff
was a high 164.
Also, according to NTA, a record 23.81 lakh students registered for NEET UG this year,
significantly higher than the 20.87 lakh registrations last year, which could have
contributed to the higher cutoff.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd, First published on:June 8, 2024 07:08 IST
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/why-is-there-a-controversy-around-neet-thi
s-year-9378906/
The man, who died on April 24, had no history of exposure to poultry or other animals,
raising significant concerns about the virus's transmission. Here is a look at why the
incident has raised an alarm among experts.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday (June 5) confirmed the death of a
59-year-old man in Mexico caused by a strain of bird flu called H5N2, which was never
recorded in humans before.
The man, who died on April 24, had no history of exposure to poultry or other animals,
raising significant concerns about the virus’s transmission. Here is a look at why the
incident has raised an alarm among experts.
Symptoms of avian influenza in humans are similar to those of regular flu and can include:
Fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches, and severe respiratory distress in advanced
cases
Why is the Mexico death a concern?
The recent case in Mexico is particularly concerning because the victim had no known
exposure to infected animals, indicating a potential shift in the virus’s ability to infect
humans without direct contact with poultry.
Avian influenza is a zoonotic disease, meaning it can spread from animals to humans. The
global nature of the poultry industry and international travel means that outbreaks can
quickly become international public health emergencies.
While human cases of avian influenza are rare, the potential for the virus to adapt and
spread among humans is a serious public health concern. It indicates a new level of
transmission or virulence of the virus that was not previously observed in the region.
Movements in the repo rate thus have a significant impact on the EMIs you pay for your
car, home, or business loan.
On Friday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) unveiled its latest bi-monthly monetary policy
review and, for the eighth time in a row, decided that it would not change the benchmark
policy rate, also called the repo rate.
The repo rate is the interest rate at which the RBI lends money to commercial banks.
When RBI wants to incentivise economic activity in the broader economy, it reduces the
repo rate, which makes it cheaper for banks to borrow from it and lend onwards to
customers. When it wants to disincentivise economic activity, it raises the repo rate,
which makes it costly for everyone in the economy to borrow money.
What is the goal of RBI’s monetary policy? The RBI has two goals.
The primary goal is to maintain price stability in the economy. Simply put, the RBI aims to
ensure that prices do not fluctuate beyond a reasonable degree. This fluctuation is
measured by the retail inflation rate — the rate of price rise that is faced by the average
individual consumer.
By law, the RBI is required to target an inflation rate of 4%, which means that the general
price level should go up by 4% from one year to another. Research suggests that this is
the sweet spot where producers have an incentive to produce (and earn more) without
being a huge disincentive for consumers (for whom inflation reduces purchasing power).
The secondary goal for RBI is to promote economic growth. When economic activity
needs a boost — like when the economy needed to recover from the shock of the Covid
pandemic — the RBI cuts the repo rate to make it easy for consumers and producers
alike to borrow money and spend. When inflation shoots significantly above the 4% mark
— as in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war — the RBI raises the repo rate to reduce the
demand for credit-fuelled consumption. Higher repo rates also imply it pays more to keep
money in the bank instead of spending it.
As the chart alongside shows, the repo rate was raised sharply between May 2022 and
February 2023 but it has stayed stagnant at the 6.5% level since then. Why?
Two, the RBI does not cut the repo rate as soon as the overall inflation rate falls to (or
below) the 4% target in any one month. The RBI is, in the words of Governor Shaktikanta
Das, “resolute in its commitment to aligning inflation to the target of 4.0 per cent on a
durable basis”. The RBI has to be convinced that inflation rate will stay around the 4%
mark sustainably. The RBI’s policy statement predicts that inflation is likely to fall below
the 4% target in the near future but that fall would only be due to temporary reasons.
Three, as explained earlier, the RBI typically cuts the repo rate when it finds that
economic activity needs a boost. However, India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth
rate has been surprisingly strong over the past year in particular. The RBI upped the GDP
forecast for the current financial year from 7% to 7.2%. Das said this would be the fourth
consecutive year of more than 7% GDP growth rate by India. Under the circumstances, it
is unlikely that repo rates are holding back India’s economic growth.
Four, although not articulated by the RBI per se, the decision may have to do with India’s
forthcoming Union Budget. Most economists are waiting to see how the political
compulsions of a coalition government will impact the Centre’s commitment to fiscal
deficit — the amount of money the government intends to borrow from the market.
Higher than anticipated fiscal deficit has implications for both inflation (if more fresh
money is printed) or interest rates (if there is less money for the private sector to
borrow).
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd, First published on:June 8, 2024 07:10 IST
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-economics/sticky-inflation-why-is-
rbi-refusing-to-cut-interest-rates-9378904/
Gandhi spent 21 years in South Africa, during which time he formulated his ideas on non
violent resistance against oppression.
Here is a recall.
This led to a police constable being summoned, and Gandhi being ejected from the train at
the Pietermaritzburg station. He spent the night shivering in the station’s waiting room, as
he resolved to fight racial discrimination.
In fact, Gandhi’s time in South Africa as a whole deeply shaped his personal and
philosophical evolution. He debated Christians, who challenged his own orthodoxy,
pushing him towards conceiving a more inclusive spirituality. He legally defended Indian
traders against discrimination, countering efforts to disenfranchise Indian voters in Natal,
and also wrote a ‘guidebook’ for Indian students, reflecting his commitment to personal
and professional growth.
“The South African years were crucial to Gandhi, and to the distinctive form of political
protest that is his most enduring legacy to India and the world,” Ramachandra Guha wrote
in Gandhi Before India (2012).
From writing letters, articles and petitions, to mass mobilisation and seeking imprisonment
if demands are not met, Gandhi both theorised and practiced satyagraha in South Africa,
They then went on to influence other movements for justice, globally, from Martin Luther
King Jr’s Civil Rights Movement in the United States, to Nelson Mandela’s struggle against
the apartheid.
As Guha wrote: “As I write this in August 2012, sixty-five years after Indian
independence, forty-four years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act in the United
States, twenty-three years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, eighteen years after the
ending of apartheid, and in the midst of ongoing non-violent struggles for democracy and
dignity in Burma, Tibet, Yemen, Egypt and other places, Gandhi’s words (and claims)
appear less immodest than they might have seemed when he first articulated them.”
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd, First published on:June 7, 2024 20:08 IST
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-history/131-years-ago-gandhis-first
-satyagraha-9378555/
The circular Central Hall, topped by a dome 98 feet in diameter, has witnessed several
historical events since it was established in 1927. Here is a short history of Central Hall
over the years.
The circular Central Hall, topped by a dome 98 feet in diameter, has witnessed several
historical events since it was established in 1927. Here is a short history of Central Hall
over the years.
The Parliament House Complex in the heart of New Delhi contains several buildings: the
new Parliament House that was opened last year; the old Parliament House, the iconic
circular building that has now been renamed as Constitution House; Parliament House
Annexe; and the Parliament Library Building.
The Speaker of Lok Sabha is the custodian of the Parliament House Complex. Political
parties and groups are allocated office space inside the complex. They can hold meetings
with their members on the premises. In the past, political parties have held their
Parliamentary Party meetings at venues within the complex, including at the Balayogi
Auditorium in the Parliament Library Building.
In May 2014, soon after the announcement of that year’s Lok Sabha election results, Modi
was elected leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party at a meeting held in Central Hall.
Central Hall was originally used as the library for the members of the legislature.
In 1946, when the Constituent Assembly needed a space to meet to deliberate on the
Constitution of independent India, Central Hall was refurbished and benches were added
— its name was changed to Constituent Assembly Hall. The Constituent Assembly met at
this venue for about three years between 1946 and 1949.
It was primarily used for formal occasions such as the annual President’s Address to
Members of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and swearing-in ceremony of the
President. It was also the venue for farewells of the President, and Parliamentary events
like the outstanding Parliamentarian award ceremony.
During Parliament Sessions, members of both the Houses would convene at the spot to
discuss issues of the day over tea and coffee.
More recently, the venue was used for the National Conference of Women Legislators (in
March 2016), for centenary celebration of the Public Accounts Committee (2021), and for
student programmes organised by the Parliament Secretariat.
What is the current status of the old Parliament House where Central Hall is located?
The chambers of the old Parliament House are currently not being used for holding
Sessions. Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha meet in the new building. However, the Parliament
Secretariat has some offices that continue to operate out of the old building.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd, First published on: June 8, 2024 07:11 IST
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/central-hall-parliament-9378513/
வட்ட வடிவ மத்திய வளாகம் (circular Central Hall), 98 அடி விட்டம் கொண்ட
குவிமாடத்தைக் (dome) கொண்டுள்ளது. இது 1927-ல் நிறுவப்பட்டதிலிருந்து பல
வரலாற்று நிகழ்வுகளை இந்த இடம் கண்டுள்ளது.
Before Seshan, there was V S Ramadevi : Only woman CEC who held office
for shortest tenure
-Adrija Roychowdhury
V S Ramadevi made history by becoming India's first female Chief Election Commissioner
(CEC). Despite her qualifications, she was also the shortest serving CEC, remaining in
office for only 16 days. Ramadevi was also the first woman to become the secretary
general of the Rajya Sabha and the governor of Karnataka.
V S Ramadevi
The pages of India’s electoral history vaguely recall the name of V S Ramadevi. Her
colleagues and officers who knew her describe her as “nice”, “intelligent”, “humane”, and
“empathetic”, but little else is known about her contributions to the administrative
machinery of India.
“Some people were not even ready to recognise her as an election commissioner since it
was for a very short time and more like a stop-gap arrangement,” says S K Mendiratta,
former legal adviser to the Election Commission.
Ramadevi’s short stint as CEC began on the recommendation of then prime minister V P
Singh upon the death of her predecessor, R V S Peri Shastri. At that time, she was the
secretary of the legislative department in the Ministry of Law and Justice. Mendiratta
recollects that Ramadevi shared a close friendship with Shastri and would often visit the
election office during the latter’s tenure to get his advice on drafting various acts
“In particular, they would discuss the 73rd amendment to the constitution on gram
panchayats, which was being drafted at that time,” says Mendiratta, adding that it was
during the course of these meetings that he happened to first encounter Ramadevi.
“I thought she was extremely intelligent and a very good draftsman,” he says.
When Singh brought in Ramadevi as CEC, the idea was to soon make her permanent. As
per Mendiratta, despite it being a stop gap arrangement, Ramadevi took complete
command immediately after her appointment. “Even during that short period, we had a
meeting of all the chief election officers,” he remembers.
Consequently, the law ministry moved the file for her appointment as a regular CEC, and
Singh cleared it shortly. When the file reached the president for approval, it had to be
held for a while since he was away at that time. However, before the president could
return and approve Ramadevi’s appointment, the government changed and Chandra
Shekhar came to power.
With Seshan’s appointment, Ramadevi’s brief encounter with the election commission
came to an end. “Perhaps it was just fate. Although she was well suited for the role, most
senior officials in the commission welcomed her appointment as well,” says Mendiratta.
Ramadevi’s career in the administrative apparatus of the country, though, still had a long
way to go. From the election commission, she went back to the law ministry, from where
she retired. Soon after retiring, she went on to hold the post of the secretary general of
the Rajya Sabha in July 1993. Once again, she was the first woman to hold this post.
P P K Ramacharyulu, who was then a section officer in the Rajya Sabha secretariat,
remembers her as an “efficient” and “humane” woman who “took several welfare
measures for the secretariat employees”.
Ramacharyulu, who is currently the secretary general of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative
Assembly, admits that he had very brief interactions with Ramadevi, but recollects that
she brought in some important measures. Chief among them was providing air
conditioning in all the offices of the Rajya Sabha secretariat. Modernisation of the
secretariat by encouraging large-scale computerisation and creating new posts for
officers were among some of the other initiatives she undertook.
After Rajya Sabha, Ramadevi held the post of governor in Himachal Pradesh from July
1997 to December 1999, and then that of the first and only woman governor of Karnataka
between December 1999 and August 2002.
Apart from donning multiple senior administrative roles, Ramadevi also co-authored a
book with Mendiratta titled How India Votes: Election Laws, Practice and Procedure,
which was published by LexisNexis in 2000.
“I am not even sure if we can technically consider her to have been a CEC in a
constitutional sense, given that she was just temporarily in charge and her permanent
appointment was not notified,” says S Y Quraishi, another former CEC.
“Although I would have been happy had she been CEC for a full term,” adds Quraishi. “One
of my greatest grievances is that despite being such a great democracy, we have never
had a woman CEC,” he laments.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd, First published on: June 3, 2024 14:13 IST
https://indianexpress.com/article/research/before-seshan-there-was-v-s-ramadevi-only-
woman-cec-who-held-office-for-shortest-tenure-9369132/
வி.எஸ்.ரமாதேவி (V S Ramadevi)
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