The Hindu Editorials Summary

March 2020

www.AroraIAS.com

Index

GS-1 Mains

Question – Comment on the mass migration of workers to their villages despite the complete lockdown orders of the government.
Question – Discuss the various short term and long term effects that take place as a result of rioting.
Question – Analyze the issue of female infanticide and suggest the way ahead.

GS-2 Mains

Question – Should the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) be given more powers? Analyse.
Question – Will freeing Indian universities from excessive interference and politicization improve their condition. Discuss with reference to their position in world ranking.
Discuss – The motor vehicles (amendment) act 2019 and its significance. Suggest reforms that will help to address its limitations.
Question – In its recent decision, in the Chief Information Commissioner v. High Court of Gujaratcase, the Supreme Court, regrettably, barred citizens from securing access to court records under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Access the signal this will send and suggest measures as to what can be done ahead.
Note – Today there was an article titled ‘For a level playing field’. This deals with the reforms suggested by the Election Commission of India. The following are the major highlights.
Question – The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resource Development presented its report on budgetary grants for school education and literacy 2020-21. Analyse the report and suggest the way ahead.
Question – The SC ruling gives relief to cryptocurrency exchanges, but they still need to be regulated. Discuss.
Question – Policies on domestic violence ignore the effect of trauma on children and inter-generational transmission of violence. Discuss.
Question – Childhood lost in coaching centres. Comment.

Question – What is sedition? Should the law be scrapped?

Question – Critically analyse the U.S. President pushing India for importing nuclear reactors from the U.S.
Question – Policies on domestic violence ignore the effect of trauma on children and inter-generational transmission of violence. Discuss.
The present situation:

GS-3 Mains

Question – Comment on the possibility of a threat to food security as a result of the COVID-19.
Note – In the last two days we have already seen the measures that should be taken by the government to successfully deal with the coronavirus pandemic. The following are the additional points:
Question – Analyse the efforts undertaken by the government’s of other countries to revive the economy from the slowdown resulting from the coronavirus outbreak. Suggest the way ahead for India.
Question – Suggest the measures to deal with the present economic crisis brought in by the coronavirus pandemic
Question – Can the pandemic coronavirus present India with an opportunity to revive multilateralism in an environment where the major powers like the U.S. are turning protectionist?
Note – There is another article on coronavirus outbreak. This too has been covered from all possible angles. The following are the additional points:
Question – Critically analyze the facial recognition technology being adopted as one of the latest additions to the policing reforms in the country.
Question – Can the pandemic coronavirus present India with an opportunity to revive multilateralism in an environment where the major powers like the U.S. are turning protectionist?
Note – Today there is another article on genome sequencing. Not much is there to note but the following are the highlights with additional inputs:
Note – Cryptocurrency is recently in the news and there is a lot of ambiguity about it. So today we will get all the things clear about what is cryptocurrency, what is blockchain, how cryptocurrency mining work and other related titbits.
Question – Discuss the relationship between epidemics and economics
Note – Though Coronavirus and epidemic control has been discussed earlier in the article of 24th January, the following are some additional highlights on epidemic spread and ways to deal with them.
Topic- An inadequate lockdown package
Topic- Shift to upscaling food rationing now

GS-1 Mains

Question – Comment on the mass migration of workers to their villages despite the complete lockdown orders of the government.

Context – The complete lockdown order and its effect on the migrant labourers.

Why in news?

Lakhs of migrant labourers have been jostling to get any form of transport back home; walking and sleeping in the heat and rain, in the open, through day and night, dodging the police and sometimes even hiding under tarpaulin in trucks. Almost as many have died undertaking this inhumane journey as people have lost their lives due to COVID-19 so far.

Analysis:

This virus upends the sharp divide of the two Indias we have manufactured.
The lockdown has a disproportionate impact on the socioeconomic conditions of the poor and unorganised sector.
With no work, and no guarantee from the government, migrant labourers logically sought the security of their distant homes, like all of us have. They decided to travel any way they could, including by foot, to go home.
Contradictory and uncoordinated government orders followed in rapid succession adding to the chaos.
On March 29, for instance, with lakhs walking home, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued orders to stop the home-bound and quarantine them for 14 days. The propagandists uttered platitudes of support reiterating mandatory ‘social distancing’. The pretended ignorance of how the labour force lives — crammed together, 10 in a room — makes such statements pointless. In the slum or basti,social distancing is a non-existent concept. No order will work unless the government recognises and addresses the dire circumstances of the so-called informal sector.

Way forward/ What can be done?

People will stay where they are, only if real support is provided.
. Those already walking home should reach safely with proper screening en route, food in their stomachs, practical health protocols in their minds, and some reassurance in their hearts. When they reach their blocks, they can be put under observation, further screening, isolation, testing, and quarantine where required. Their families also have to be given minimum guarantees of food, health, and some income by the government for the next few months. We must remember that they are primary breadwinners, and the added anxiety of the survival of their families back home is also pulling them back.
Draconian orders and platitudes will not work. Governments must show leadership, resolve, commitment, and compassion. Resources have to be effectively and optimally used. There is no excuse for hoarding the 58 million tonnes of current foodgrains stock when only four million tonnes are required by the PDS every month.
The Finance Minister’s announcement of free grains to Food Security Act card-holders for three months, the government must use these resources to immediately provide States with at least an additional month’s quota, without conditions, to help prevent hunger amongst those who may have no cards.
While many front line functionaries such as sanitation workers, government officials and health care workers have been working zealously and extending assistance, the government needs to ensure that this response is uniform and persistent.
If supply chains of our most essential services are to be maintained, front line workers of all these services in the formal or informal sector must be given equipment, quick basic training, and adequate insurance.

Overall:

COVID-19 will affect both the producer and the consumer. We have to work together to fight this pandemic.

Question – Discuss the various short term and long term effects that take place as a result of rioting.

Context – The riots in Delhi recently.

Recent riots that shook Delhi experienced vandalisation of schools and other public property. This has affected the life of people residing in that area along with creating a deep impact in the mind of children which last throughout their life. Some loss is observed just after the riots but some are long term impacts that led to society go back several decades.
Let us look at both short term and long term effects of riots in different sphere :

Social impacts –

Increase in citizens’ perception of insecurity
Women are more vulnerable.
fear of crime
avoiding of the places of the riots
urban space becoming increasingly more attractive for rioters.

Economic impact –

Riots lead to considerable costs in both a direct and an indirect way. Direct costs of destruction by riots come in the form of:

Preventive costs in anticipation of riots (e.g. security measures, insurance)
Material and immaterial costs as a consequence of rioting (e.g. physical damage, repairs, medical costs, mental harm); and
Responsive costs to riots (e.g. the costs of detection and prevention, prosecution, support trial, etc.
In addition, the indirect economic impact of crime has to be considered:
Riots make investors nervous.
Impact on tourism, not even at the time of riots but in future also as the threat continues to remain in the mind of people.

Mobility impact

Since riots take place at open and civic spaces, the mobility function of those areas might be seriously hampered.
Accessibility might be reduced when, for example, roads are blocked.
With traffic management measures one can attempt to concentrate the riot at a location with little impact on mobility and to reduce the negative consequences for mobility, for example by rerouting traffic around the riot location.
Access control can ensure only flows of the intended people enter or exit the area and can enforce and intended separation of crowds.

Safety impact

Riots can do massive physical and/or bodily damage.
A rioting crowd has very little attention for the consequences of their actions.

Measures

Potential measures that can mitigate the likelihood or impact of destruction by riots include:

directing traffic flows or access control can prevent a riot getting out of hand.
Surveillance may have some effect on deindividuation if spectators know they are there.
Intervention force is needed to make detection measures, such as alarms or surveillance, effective.
By providing clear and logical access and exit routes and/or transportation through an area, unnecessary provocation can be avoided.
Also one could consider levels of permeability if it would facilitate natural crowd dispersion
Removing means can contribute to a more secure environment by making sure any materials that might be helpful for riots are unavailable, e.g. by designing a road in asphalt instead of throwable bricks.
Avoid long stretches of blank walls where the space is located near a public throughway. Where this cannot be avoided access to buildings / blank walls should be made difficult through the planting of trees, bushes or shrubs.
Controlling inhibitors such as alcohol can directly decrease the problem.
Removal of crime motivators can sometimes be affected by moving a riot-prone activity to a less vulnerable area.
Access control can ensure only flows of the intended people enter or exit the area and can enforce and intended separation of crowds.
Screening can sometimes be applied for examples at stadiums at high-risk matches to ensure the nature of the visitors, such as scanning for a restraining order or for the presence of forbidden materials, such as fireworks or weapons.

Question – Analyze the issue of female infanticide and suggest the way ahead.

Context – the recent case in Tamil Nadu.

Why in news?

Last week’s case of infanticide in Tamil Nadu’s Usilampatti, historically notorious for its crude methods of killing female babies.

Analysis:

India has globally become a force to reckon with and this makes each one of us very proud. But there still are some ugly truths that need our attention and it’s high time that we stop turning a deaf year towards them. Female infanticide is one such social issues.
Female infanticide is a heinous crime. In simple terms, it is a deliberate attempt to kill newborn female children within one year of their birth. It is a century old phenomena caused by social evils likes poverty, illiteracy, child marriage, dowry system, births to unmarried women, female genital mutilation, famine, maternal illness, sex-selective abortion, etc. These barbaric practices are still rampant in India, forcing people to commit social evils like female infanticide, female feticide, and sex-selective abortion.
In spite of being criminalised, it is one of the most under-reported crimes. Girl children in India often face various challenges from their childhood to their adulthood. On every step, girls face more rejection, discrimination, and fear than boys. This might not be evidently visible, but it is true. Sex ratio in India is rapidly decreasing. This is mostly to do with what is the ‘value’ of a girl child in India. There is a strong preference for male children than female children.

Few reasons:

India as a society is insecure. Girls are not safe and girls from poverty-stricken families are even more vulnerable. They are often subjected to different kinds of harm, neglect, and violence in the form of abuse, harassment, domestic violence, rape, etc. Most Indians have stereotyped opinions about girls. They are socialised to believe that girls will eventually get married and go to another household and serve them. Therefore, girls are often considered a financial burden. Educating them is not deemed necessary and their opinions don’t matter. This is one of the major reasons for preferring a son over a daughter.

Way forward:

The need of the hour is to change such narrow mindsets of people. This will help in empowering females. The government of India is trying to come up with various schemes to reduce discrimination against females and to change the preconceived notions people have about them. ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ is one such initiative that aims at providing survival, safety, and education to girl children.
Collaboration with the NGOs working towards this cause must be taken as they are aware of the ground realities. For example, Save the Children is a leading child rights non-government organisation (NGO). We work hand-in-hand with the government and the communities to ensure that every girl child gets a happy, protected, and safe childhood and a bright future.
However government alone cannot bring about the change we seek in our society. We all have to join hands in doing so. By supporting us you can not only avail tax benefits but also be heartened to know that you are one of the reasons that the girls in India are getting empowered. Educated and empowered girls will eventually grow up to be confident and independent women who will contribute towards our society and will be in a capacity to add millions to the Indian economy.

GS-2 Mains

Question – Should the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) be given more powers? Analyse.

Context – The controversy over the NHRC being a toothless tiger.

Why in news?

A Full Bench of the High Court will be deciding upon whether “recommendations” made by the Human Rights Commissions are binding upon their respective State (or Central) governments, or whether the government is entitled to reject or take no action upon them.

What is the controversy?

This can be best understood through the description given by ex-CJI H.L. Dattu.
At present he is the chairman of the National Human Rights Commission.
According to him, the NHRC painstakingly investigates human rights violation cases, sometimes in remote areas, with our limited resources. The evidence collected is put to forensic judicial adjudication by its chairman and members, who are former judges. But at the end, when NHRC arrives at a finding , it can only recommend remedial measures or direct the state concerned to pay compensation.
They have to keep writing letters to the authorities concerned to implement their recommendations. But at the end it is the will of the authorities concerned. So it is for Parliament to decide whether to confer NHRC with some kind of contempt powers to make authorities implement the recommendations.

Looking back:

Twenty-six years ago the state of Madhya Pradesh launched human rights activism in a structural manner by the creation of its own State Human Rights Commission (SHRC).
This was a full year before the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was formed. Before the NHRC, the Indian parliament had created two related commissions in 1990 (a National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and a National Commission for Women), as well as a National Commission for Minorities in 1992.
In June 2016, the current chair of the NHRC and former chief justice of India, HL Dattu, described this institution over which he presided as “a toothless tiger.” In 2017, the Supreme Court of India seemed to support Justice Dattu’s remarks while dealing with the alleged extra-judicial killings of 1,528 persons in Manipur by police and armed forces.

Purpose:

In 1993, the Indian Parliament enacted the Protection of Human Rights Act. The purpose of the Act was to establish an institutional framework that could effectively protect, promote and fulfil the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. To this end, the Act created a National Human Rights Commission, and also, Human Rights Commissions at the levels of the various States.
It also acts as the ‘fourth branch’ of democracy. According to the classical account, democracy is sustained through a distribution of power between three “branches” — the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary, with each branch acting as a check and a balance upon the others.

Need:

The complexity of governance and administration in the modern world has necessitated the existence of a set of independent bodies, which are charged with performing vital functions of oversight.
Some of these bodies are constitutional bodies — established by the Constitution itself. These include, for instance, the Election Commission and the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General. Others have been established under law: for example, the Information Commission under the Right to Information Act, and Human Rights Commissions under the Protection of Human Rights Act.

Has it served its purpose?

In the two-and-a-half decades of their existence, however, the functioning of the Human Rights Commissions has come under scrutiny and criticism.
There have been the usual critiques of the politicisation of autonomous bodies, and selectiveness.
Even more than that, however, it has been alleged that for all intents and purposes, the Human Rights Commissions are toothless: at the highest, they play an advisory role, with the government left free to disobey or even disregard their findings.

Is it a toothless tiger?

Under the Protection of Human Rights Act, the Human Rights Commissions are empowered to inquire into the violations of human rights committed by state authorities, either upon petitions presented to them, or upon their own initiative.
Also while conducting these inquiries, the Commissions are granted identical powers to that of civil courts, such as the examining witnesses, ordering for documents, receiving evidence, and so on. These proceedings are deemed to be judicial proceedings, and they require that any person, who may be prejudicially affected by their outcome, has a right to be heard.
But the controversy before the Madras High Court is based on the issue of what is to be done after the Human Rights Commission completes its enquiry, and reaches a conclusion that human rights have been violated.
Section 18 of the Protection of Human Rights Act empowers the Human Rights Commission to “recommend” to the concerned government to grant compensation to the victim, to initiate prosecution against the erring state authorities, to grant interim relief, and to take various other steps.
The key question revolves around the meaning of the word “recommend”.

Should NHRC be given more powers?

The first is that there is often a gap between the ordinary meanings of words, and the meanings that they have within legal frameworks. Legal meaning is a function of context, and often, the purpose of the statute within which a word occurs has a strong influence on how it is to be understood.
This brings us to the purpose of the Human Rights Act, and the importance of fourth branch institutions. As indicated above, the Human Rights Act exists to ensure the protection and promotion of human rights. To fulfil this purpose, the Act creates an institutional infrastructure – the Human Rights Commissions.
The Human Rights Commissions, thus, are bodies that stand between the individual and the state, and whose task is to ensure the adequate realisation of constitutional commitment to protecting human rights.
It stands to reason that if the state was left free to obey or disobey the findings of the Commission, this constitutional role would be effectively pointless, as whatever the Human Rights Commission did, the final judgment call on whether or not to comply with its commitments under the Constitution would be left to the state authorities (effectively, the state judging itself). This, it is clear, would defeat the entire purpose of the Act.
Past examples – in the past, courts have invoked constitutional purpose to determine the powers of various fourth branch institutions in cases of ambiguity. For example, the Supreme Court laid down detailed guidelines to ensure the independence of the Central Bureau of Investigation; various judgments have endorsed and strengthened the powers of the Election Commission to compulsorily obtain relevant details of candidates, despite having no express power to do so. It is therefore clear that in determining the powers of autonomous bodies such as the Human Rights Commission, the role that fourth branch institutions are expected to play in the constitutional scheme is significant.
And lastly, as pointed out above, the Human Rights Commission has the powers of a civil court, and proceedings before it are deemed to be judicial proceedings. This provides strong reasons for its findings to be treated — at the very least — as quasi-judicial, and binding upon the state (unless challenged).

Overall/ way forward:

In sum, the crucial role played by a Human Rights Commission — and the requirement of state accountability in a democracy committed to a ‘culture of justification’ — strongly indicates that the Commission’s recommendations should be binding upon the state. Which as the Madras HC said, will have a crucial impact upon the future of human rights protection in India.

Question – Will freeing Indian universities from excessive interference and politicization improve their condition. Discuss with reference to their position in world ranking.

Context – Poor performance of Indian universities.

At present:

In the recent subject-wise ranking of world universities by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), Indian institutions improved with 26 departments or schools placed in the top 100 of their respective disciplines.
Not even a single Indian university features in the QS ranking of the world’s top 150 in overall parameters. The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) of Bombay and Delhi are at the 152nd and 182nd places in the overall rankings, while IISc Bangalore appears at the 184th position.

What we can learn from top universities :

All the top five American names in this QS’s list are private universities, while the British and Swiss institutions are public universities which have nonetheless enjoyed significant autonomy from governmental control over decades.
One common factor behind the success of the topmost universities is the freedom with which they operate.
They have been major centres of innovation in teaching and research thanks to independence from bureaucratic or corporate meddling and political intervention by parties of the day.
They could remain centres of extraordinary excellence in a sustained way by focusing on intellectual ideas and solutions to problems, and avoiding becoming hostage to dogmatic thought.

Other factors :

All the great universities of the world are ideologically pluralistic, with a mix of right, left and centre among their faculty and students.
Professors and students are free to choose whatever opinion they prefer.
The top universities are also excellent at attracting and retaining talent.
They hire professors very selectively, based on outstanding scholarly abilities.
They reject a large number of candidates for admission as students, and admit only the brightest and the most meritorious.
Top universities incentivise publication and citation of research in an unforgivingly rigorous way. If an Assistant Professor does not produce brilliant publications in the most reputed journals of her field, she may lose her job and not get tenured as an Associate Professor.
By insisting on tough standards which are never lowered or relaxed, these universities promote a meritocratic culture as a habit.
Big universities also inculcate critical thinking, debating and writing abilities in their students.
They encourage students to look at issues through interdisciplinary lenses and to challenge their own professors.
They award grades to students who are argumentative and who question conventional wisdom in the classroom and in assignments. This type of interactive pedagogy produces champion graduates who have a reputation for cutting-edge skills and knowledge in the job market compared to peers from second- or third-tier universities.
The world’s best universities are known for involving their own alumni in governance and reforms. Top global universities are also super-smart financial managers.
Many of them, especially the U.S. universities, have sophisticated alumni offices through which they raise funding, which can exceed the revenue from student tuition fees.
By 2019, the total endowment of Harvard was worth $40 billion, which is made up of over 13,000 individual funds.
Harvard invests this money in a variety of financial instruments and generates phenomenal income from it.
These big universities are products of historical circumstances which relied on private philanthropy, colonial plunder or governmental subsidies to reach the level they are at today.

The Chinese example:

China with massive state funding has propelled Chinese universities into the top tiers in barely two decades. In the QS world rankings on overall basis, Tsinghua University is ranked number 16, Peking University is at 22, Fudan University is at 40.

Why Indian universities are far behind :

1.Spending : India spends 3.4% of GDP on education, world average is 4.9%.

Poor emphasis on learning outcomes.
Teachers :quality issues and also the numbers.
Focus on quantity rather than quality.
R&D : Lack of research and creativity.
Politics : Political interference in higher education.
Wrong incentives to study. People aren’t taught to be passionate about the subject topics they choose to pursue but rather rely on extrinsic factors such as money, fame, societal status, etc.
Capitation fees.
Poor employability of graduates.
Poor Infrastructure: Our engineers are still taking lab. readings on machines from the 1950s.

What should India do ?

In India, as the government is cash-strapped and lacks the kind of resources which the Chinese state deployed to pump-prime Chinese universities, our only viable path to world class universities is in the form of enlightened private philanthropy and borrowing best practices from established iconic universities.
Avoiding politicisation, ideological rigidity and nepotism
freeing our universities from excessive interference and over-regulation
spending in infrastructure
focusing on research activity
Ingrained mediocrity and laid-back culture which result in inadequate training of students in theories and methodologies have to be overcome.
A nationalistic passion for India to be recognised as a top educational hub must underpin the strategies and activities of our universities.

Way forward

The government’s decision to identify 20 Institutes of Eminence (IOEs) which will get maximum autonomy from bureaucracy in order to climb up the world rankings is a step in the right direction. The selected IOEs must innovate with new degree programmes, expanded variety of faculty members and digital learning platforms.
India has miles to go in higher education. Unlike in authoritarian and top-down China, there is little likelihood of a meteoric breakout of multiple Indian universities into the top 100 of the world at a rapid clip. Still, with long-term vision and selfless leadership, our universities can eventually make it.To be among the best in the world, Indian universities must be freed from excessive interference and politicization.

Discuss – The motor vehicles (amendment) act 2019 and its significance. Suggest reforms that will help to address its limitations.

Context – The amendments.

Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019 which amends the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.This new act has increased fine for many offences to check the road accidents and improve the road safety in the country.

Key Salient Features of the Amendment Act:

Compulsory Insurance: The Act requires the central government to constitute a Motor Vehicle Accident Fund, to provide compulsory insurance cover to all road users in India.
Compensation for Accident Victims: Increases the minimum compensation in case of death in hit and run cases from previous 25,000 to Rs 2 lakh and in case of grievous injury from previous Rs.12500 to Rs 50000.
National Road Safety Board: Provides for a National Road Safety Board, to be created by the central government. The board will advise the central and state governments on all aspects of road safety and traffic management.
Registration of Vehicles: States that new vehicles should be registered at the dealer level and it will eventually remove buyers’ interface with registration authorities.
Treatment of road accident victims: Proposes that the central government should develop a scheme for cashless treatment of road accident victims during golden hour. It defines golden hour as the time period of up to one hour following a traumatic injury.
National Transportation Policy: Proposes a National Transportation Policy for ushering in guidelines on the transportation of goods and passengers.
Taxi Aggregators: Calls for issuance of licenses to taxi aggregators by state. Further, they must comply with the Information Technology Act, 2000. It defines aggregators as digital intermediaries or marketplaces which can be used by passengers to connect with a driver for transportation purposes (taxi services).
Recall of Vehicles: It allows the central government to order for recall of motor vehicles if a defect in the vehicle may cause damage to the environment, or the driver, or other road users.
Good Samaritan: Good Samaritan (one who lends help to accident victim) will not be liable for any civil or criminal action for any injury to or death of an accident victim, caused due to their negligence in providing assistance to the victim
Penalties: Increases penalties for traffic violations.

Limitations of the Act :

Confusion over its limitations in the states.
Implementation through CCTVs and other equipments is essential for proper implementation of the act. But this requires huge funding and the act is silent about it.
Implementation is difficult at the all-India level.
For successful implementation of the act, proper surveillance is important. And India is still far behind in this field.
Road transport is in concurrent list and states are free to enact their own laws.

Did the new law have any significance ?

The new Motor Vehicles law does have more muscle in being able to levy stringent penalties for road rule violations.
But this doesn’t mean that India has moved to a scientific road system marked by good engineering, sound enforcement, appropriate technology use and respect for all road users.
The World Bank’s ‘Delivering Road Safety in India’ report says that rapid motorisation and more high-speed road infrastructure have raised the risks for road users.
The transition to a professional road environment requires implementation of first-tier reforms.

Additional changes that should be brought to curb road accidents :

Increasing safe and cheap public transport.
Adoption of best practices in terms of passenger safety.
Improving the conditions of roads.
Building sidewalks will help to reduce accidents.
Increase awareness about the new laws.
Using sensors that can give real time driving suggestions to drivers, it is seen that it leads to reduction of accidents.

Way forward:

It is important to save lives at any cost. Center and states must work together to implement the act. Making the law strict should be just on paper, proper implementation at the ground level is required alongwith equal support from society.

Question – In its recent decision, in the Chief Information Commissioner v. High Court of Gujarat case, the Supreme Court, regrettably, barred citizens from securing access to court records under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Access the signal this will send and suggest measures as to what can be done ahead.

Context – The court’s decision.

Why in the news?

In its recent decision, in the Chief Information Commissioner v. High Court of Gujaratcase, the Supreme Court, regrettably, barred citizens from securing access to court records under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Instead, the court held that such records can be accessed only through the rules laid down by each High Court under Article 225 of the Constitution.

The importance of transparency:

Transparency is a fundamental characteristic of modern democracies. It helps ensure the citizens’ control of and participation in public matters. In practice, transparency should include the ability of citizens to request access to public information and the state’s duty to generate information and make it broadly accessible to citizens. Empowering citizens to hold States accountable to these obligations is another crucial pillar of transparency.
Transparency is particularly important in judicial institutions because it promotes accountability, combats corruption, and helps eliminate arbitrariness. In this way it facilitates greater judicial independence and enhances public confidence. The open operation of justice systems creates an increased flow of information from the judiciary to society, enabling the public to learn about its performance and rulings. A policy of transparency and access to public information fundamentally enhances the level of trust and the legitimacy of judges and others operating in the justice system by providing information that enables society to understand its operation, challenges, and limitations. Transparency fundamentally reassures society that justice is served.

What signal does it send?

The Supreme Court fails to understand that the judiciary’s track record of transparency is vastly inferior when compared to other arms of the state. In today’s world where every public institution is striving to become more transparent, the continued resistance from the judiciary to making itself transparent in a meaningful manner will have an eroding effect on its legitimacy.

What can be done/ Way forward:

People should have access to certain information about the judiciary. like:

Judicial selection and appointment – Across the globe in analyses of systems of governance, the process used to appoint judges has long been identified as a critical element in promoting the principle of judicial independence. Using transparent and open processes for appointment helps protect judges from undue external influences that may be exerted by the other branches of government or from interest groups. Likewise, transparency helps ensure the selection of candidates that meet the basic international standards for qualifications, including high professional standing and the necessary legal skills and experience.

While there is no single mechanism for the selection of judges, the process should—at a minimum—reflect certain basic principles: appointments should be clear, merit-based and objective, transparent to the public, and satisfy requirements for legal qualifications. It is also important for the process to be open to the input of civil society groups, including professional associations related to judicial activities, so that they may provide opinions on the merits of the candidates. Greater involvement by civil society in the judicial appointment process also enhances public confidence in the judiciary.

Judicial financial disclosures – Another tool which is widely used to build trust in public administration, including the judiciary, is the requirement that public officials file asset and income disclosure statements. Such disclosures have been a key element of anti-corruption efforts worldwide. In conjunction with the right to access public information, these disclosures allow for oversight of members of all government branches, including the judiciary. By monitoring financial assets and transactions, these statements help identify and prevent potential conflicts of interest as well as crimes such as bribery and illicit enrichment.

The identification of potential conflicts is particularly relevant for members of the judiciary, who may be asked to rule on matters of significant public and commercial significance involving a variety of parties. Knowing where government officials – even judges – may have conflicting personal or financial interests helps all officials avoid situations where they have their actions questioned and helps the public maintain trust that these officials are acting in the best interests of the public.

Publication of court statistics – The gathering, analysis, and sharing of statistical information is another important way of increasing judicial transparency. Such information makes it possible to analyze performance, identify achievements, detect problems and, design strategies to solve them. It is therefore important to both collect and share some basic information on court performance.

Making such statistical information available to citizens contributes not only to improved transparency of justice systems but also increases the interaction between the courts and civil society. It also allows citizens to learn about the operation and workload of judges.

Access to substantive works of the courts – The second category of international best practices for judicial transparency is related to increasing public access to and awareness of the cases placed before the courts and their results. Fostering such access is an important way to address the double challenge of making the work of the courts known as well as strengthening citizen trust in judicial institutions. It includes access to court proceedings and publication of judicial decisions.
Access to the courts by the citizens and the press – Public access to the courts, including through the media, is important to publicizing the work the judiciary is doing. Such access can include the recording of court sessions by video, audio or transcription. The press also has a fundamental role to play in informing citizens about the important work of the courts, particularly with respect to cases with broad public significance, because citizens do not typically go to the courts to attend a trial. Thus, access by the press to courtrooms – whether in person or remotely — is one way to facilitate public awareness of these processes and their results.
Publishing judicial decisions – Additionally, the principle of open justice is recognized as a vital element in preventing perceptions of secrecy and lack of accountability, which can in turn generate distrust and confusion amongst the public. Such perceptions can be avoided by public access to the decisions made by the judiciary.

Access to decisions of the Supreme Court of Justice is particularly relevant since those decisions transcend the cases at issue and affect government institutions and actions more broadly. Such decisions may address matters relating to the rights of individuals or the obligations of the state and thus have a critical influence on the ways in which citizens’ rights are understood and protected. Additionally, the decisions made by such bodies are vitally important since they establish guidelines for the operation of the lower courts.
Furthermore, by making judicial decisions readily accessible to citizens, legal professionals, and lower courts, judicial transparency fosters greater clarity and consistency in judicial decision making. Greater consistency enhances respect for and adherence to the law, as well as confidence in the rule of law.

Note – Today there was an article titled ‘For a level playing field’. This deals with the reforms suggested by the Election Commission of India. The following are the major highlights.

The present situation:

Candidates and winners in Assembly and Lok Sabha polls have largely been from affluent sections — some even with several criminal cases against them. (read the article of 15th February 2019 on criminalisation of politics in India).
With elections becoming expensive, most parties have sought to field richer candidates irrespective of their merit in representing public interest.
So in many cases, capable candidates stand no chance against the money power of more affluent candidates.

Why in the news?

Now the ECI is considering tightening ways to cap the expenditure of parties is therefore quite welcome, as it should provide a more level playing field.
But even this can be meaningful only if there is more transparency in campaign finance which suggests that the electoral bonds system, as it is in place now, is untenable.

What the ECI has planned to do:

The ECI has suggested bringing social media and print media under the “silent period” ambit after campaigning ends.
Regulating social media will be difficult and it remains to be seen how the ECI will implement this.
The ECI also plans to introduce new “safe and secure” voting methods, however, need thorough scrutiny.

Concerns:

The use now of the EVM as a standalone, one-time programmable chip-based system, along with administrative safeguards renders it a safe mechanism that is not vulnerable to hacking.
Any other “online” form of voting that is based on networked systems should be avoided.
The idea of an Aadhaar-linked remote voting system that is sought to be built as a prototype could be problematic.
- Considering the unique identity card has excluded genuine beneficiaries when used in welfare schemes, not to mention the inherent vulnerabilities in its recognition mechanisms.

Way forward:

Two key measures are missing from the recommendations — the need for more teeth for the ECI in its fight against “vote buying” and hate speech.
Increasingly, parties have resorted to bribing voters in the form of money and other commodities in return for votes, and while the ECI has tried to warn outfits or in some cases postponed polls, these have not deterred them.
In times when hate speech is used during elections, the ECI has only managed to rap the offending candidates or party spokespersons on the knuckles.
- But stricter norms including disqualification of the candidate would be needed for true deterrence.
ECI’s plans to strengthen the electoral process are welcome, but some require scrutiny.

Question – The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resource Development presented its report on budgetary grants for school education and literacy 2020-21. Analyse the report and suggest the way ahead.

Context – The report and its findings.

Why in news?

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resource Development in its latest report on budgetary grants for school education and literacy for 2020-21 found from data for 2017-18,

Only 56.45% of government schools had electricity and,
98% a playground, while almost 40% lacked a boundary wall.

Other depressing insights from the district information database as of end-2019, are:

Neglect of toilet construction for children with special needs,
Failure to build toilets for girls in a third of secondary schools and,
Laboratories for higher secondary science students.

The tardy progress on such important facilities, in spite of the projects having been sanctioned, shows the low priority that school education is being accorded.

The importance of school education/ the importance of education in our society:

Removing poverty – Education helps in removing poverty as if a person is educated, he can get a good job and fulfill all the basic needs & requirements of his family.
Safety and security against crime – If a person is well-educated, he will not be fooled by anyone easily. An educated person is less prone to involve in domestic violence & other social evils. They enjoy healthy relationships in life. This means people are less susceptible to being cheated or becoming a victim of violence.
Prevention of wars and terrorism – To lead a safe & secure life, one needs to understand the value of education in our daily life. One needs to take an active part in various educational activities. These types of productive activities provide knowledge to live a better life.
Commerce and trade – A good education doesn’t simply mean going to school or college & getting a degree. Trade & commerce of the country will also be flourished easily if its citizens are well-educated. Education helps to become self-dependent and build great confidence among them to accomplish difficult tasks. On getting an education, their standard of life gets improved.
Law and order – Education enables the process of the Nation’s Fast Development. If you have a good education, you can serve your country well. It develops a good political ideology.
Women empowerment – Education also helps in empowering women. Certain old customs like Not Remarrying Widows, Sati Pratha, Child Marriage, Dowry System etc. can be demolished with the power of education. Women, if educated, can raise voice against the injustice done to her. This will bring a lot of development in society as well as in the nation. In short, Right to Freedom of speech & expression can be used in the right way if all women will become educated.
Upliftment of economically weaker sections of society – Education is the most important ingredient to change the world. Due to lack of education, many illiterate people suffer the hardships of discrimination, untouchability & injustices prevailing in the society but with the advancement of a good education. If all the people will be educated; this ultimately leads to the upliftment of economically weaker sections of society.
Communications – The relation between education & communication is apparent. Good education helps to communicate better with other people. It also improves our communication skills such as speech, body language etc. A person who is educated feels confident within him to confront or give a speech in front of a large public or can held a meeting or seminars. Writing emails, letters, typing messages, reading magazines & newspapers or even using a Smartphone can never be possible without getting a basic education.
Overall education helps create a better society – An educated person is more likely to develop better moral and ethical values as compared to an uneducated person. Lack of education creates problems like superstition, domestic violence, poor health, and poor living standards. Education brings equal opportunity for both men and women and educated people will be able to create a better society. Without a good education, a better society can’t be formed.

The importance of playground in schools:

Today’s kids get so few opportunities to play freely, because we understandably fear for their safety, be it the road or dangerous people.
Children nowadays spend much of their time in the structured confines of school, and a lot of the rest of the time in extra-curricular activities and hobbies.
Whilst these offer a lot of valuable learning for kids, much of their day is spent under the supervision of adults and as directed by adults.
When kids have the opportunity to go out and get some fresh air, they are also developing important life skills along the way. The school playground allows them to climb, jump, swing, and slide. All of these movements are important building blocks of the gross motor skills that they will constantly need to use throughout their lives. The sandbox can be a great venue for children to work on sensory play. Many playgrounds also include extra games and activities which help develop fine motor skills as well.

Emotional benefits of playing for children:

Builds kids’ self-esteem and confidence to try things they’ve never tried before.
Allows kids to experience a range of emotions normally not available to them in other situations.
Helps them overcome trauma.

Social benefits:

The child learns how to navigate a complex social network.
How to listen
How to collaborate
How to play with others
How to gain independence.

Mental and creative benefits:

Enhanced critical thinking skills
Increased attention spans
Improved motor skills
No labels or preconceived ideas: When conventional rules are out the window, as often happens on a playground, kids create new worlds and rules in ways that are sometimes difficult to do at home, and almost impossible to do in a classroom environment. Playground equipment can help kids use their creativity and have tons of fun in the process.
Leadership skills.

Physical benefits:

Reducing obesity
Strengthening the immune system.
Improving school performance and school work.
Lowering anxiety
Helping with sleep.

Way ahead:

One of the first things the NDA government did at the launch of its second term was a ‘100-day programme’ for education, focused in part on training of schoolteachers and opening of central schools. It should be possible to bring the same mission-mode approach to infrastructure now, ensuring that no school is left behind.
Solar power can be installed in schools and toilets built for all students in 100 days. Community participation can make sure that the objectives are satisfactorily met.
It may be more challenging to find attached playgrounds, but that problem can also be overcome by identifying suitable commons that can be upgraded to accommodate students, while permanent arrangements are made.
More fundamentally, the Centre and States must realise that their talk of a demographic dividend has little meaning, when they do not provide enough funding for proposals on the one hand and the administrative machinery fails to utilise even the amount allocated in some cases.
As the parliamentary committee notes, the allocation to the School Education and Literacy department has suffered a cut of 27.52%, amounting to ₹22,725 crore in the Budget Estimate for 2020-21, although public expenditure on education has been rising.
The government-run school sector needs a fund infusion. A public school system that guarantees universal access, good learning and all facilities has to be among the highest national priorities.
The transformation in the upgradation of school infrastructure in Delhi government schools and the impact it has had on the morale and behaviour of the children must be studied and implemented by the states in their own modified way according to their needs.

Question – The SC ruling gives relief to cryptocurrency exchanges, but they still need to be regulated. Discuss.

Context – The verdict of the SC.

Why in news?

The Supreme Court struck downas “disproportionate” a 2018 circular by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that directed entities not to provide services to those trading in “virtual currencies” (cryptocurrencies).

Why the ruling?

Despite ministerial committee recommendations, and warnings by institutions such as the RBI about the problematic nature of their payment and exchange methods, the use of virtual currencies over the Internet continues to remain legal in India.
But the immediate effect of the RBI circular was to choke the agencies that sought to provide a platform to facilitate trading in cryptocurrencies by cutting them off from banks.
This, the petitioners claimed, had a chilling effect on the fledgling cryptocurrency exchanges industry in India and went against their entrepreneurial right to operate a business enshrined in Article 19(1)(g).

What did the court say?

The Court conceded this limited point saying that the “RBI has not come out with a stand that any of the entities regulated by it… have suffered any loss… on account of [cryptocurrency] exchanges” and this provides relief to the firms providing the virtual exchanges.

Arguments against:

After a decade or so of deployment and use, the pros and cons of cryptocurrencies are now well known.
The primary misgiving with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin has remained the highly speculative nature of assessing their value. For example, from humble beginnings, the cryptocurrency traded at a peak of $20,000 in mid-2018 before crashing to $3,000 by the end of the year, signaling the volatility that came to be associated with this instrument.
This limited its original purpose of becoming an alternative and stable currency that is not backed by any central institution but derives trust from its intricate blockchain ledger system.
Moreover, reports suggest that bitcoins, with their assured anonymity, remain popular with currency speculators, and in use in illicit transactions over the “dark web”.

Arguments for:

But their utility due to the robust nature of the blockchain algorithm is also not to be sneezed on i.e. should be seen with suspicion.
Cryptocurrencies have now been adopted by international trading firms for use in lending, raising funds for other crypto projects besides facilitating easier cross-border payments.

Way forward:

It is for these utilities that the Indian government should err on the side of jurisdictions such as the European Union which have not outrightly banned the instrument and have sought to regulate its functioning.
The 2019 Bill even proposed the creation of a “digital rupee” as official currency. It is now up to authorities to find the right “regulatory balance” on cryptocurrencies, a task that is easier thought than done, considering their ever-evolving nature due to technological innovation.

Question – Policies on domestic violence ignore the effect of trauma on children and inter-generational transmission of violence. Discuss.

Context – The increasing instances of domestic violence in the country.

According to Dr. John Bowlby, a renowned psychiatrist known for his pioneering work in developing attachment theory, the “internal working model” of a child is developed based on familial patterns of showing love and resolving conflicts.

Understanding childhood trauma step by step:

According to a study one in three women faces intimate partner violence, according to the World Health Organization. Each successive government has tried to put in place legal and judicial recourses for these women, but has left children unprotected and exposed.
Witnessing such widespread violence at home affects children seriously. First, there are recorded physiological effects of trauma on the brain. CT scans show that children who have been exposed to trauma develop smaller corpus callosum and smaller hippocampus regions, which means that their learning, cognitive abilities and emotional regulation are affected.
Second, inter-generational transmission of violence is a disturbing consequence of violence in families. Dr. Byron Egeland, a widely published researcher in the areas of child maltreatment and developmental psychopathology, showed a history of abuse to be a major risk factor for abusing the next generation.
Researchers have estimated an average inter-generational transmission rate of 40%. This means that for every 100 persons who were abused as children, 40 transmit this violence to the next generation.
A study also shows that if a child himself was a victim of violence or if he had been a witness to violence between his parents at home every day, there are high chances that he saw his mother being slapped, and learnt to create cover-up stories for the frequent injuries that appeared on his and his mother’s bodies. Such child gradually learns that violence was an acceptable means to deal with conflict, and that it was important for the man to dominate through power-assertive violence.

The consequence:

To cope with the trauma at home, the child learns to quickly suppress his childhood fear and deep insecurity.
Thus the trauma leaves physical effects on his brain, leading to poor emotional regulation.
some of these victimised children will end up being violent themselves

Way forward:

It is important to note that not all victims of domestic violence become aggressors.
Yet, it is crucial in a country that faces a massive crisis of violence against women to understand that a history of abuse is often a risk factor that points to a likelihood of perpetrating inter-generational abuse.
There is a need for a deeper understanding of domestic violence and the increasing crimes against women because India puts in place reactive policies every time a new case of violence comes to the fore. The country’s domestic violence policies have ranged from declaring certain offences against women as criminal offences, to setting up all-women police stations, to capital punishment for fatal rape cases. These policies have ignored the effect of trauma on children and the concept of inter-generational transmission of violence.
As a 2016 report by the U.S. Children’s Bureau explains, “violence and abuse produce trauma symptoms which when left unresolved, increase the likelihood that the individual will engage in violent behaviour as an adult.” We need to provide spaces for children to resolve these symptoms of childhood trauma.
India has become serious about mental health beginning with the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, but it needs to do more. Policymakers need to link the provision of professional mental health services to families recovering from domestic violence. A prospective policy, working with families to actively provide trauma-informed mental health care, needs to be in place.
But for this to happen, India needs more mental health practitioners. It needs accredited systems to train and track the quality of mental health trauma-care providers. Connecting such a network to peer-supportive groups can help survivors integrate their experiences into their lives and finally heal.

Question – Childhood lost in coaching centres. Comment.

Context – Children rushing to coaching centres from an early age for competitive exam preparation.

Understanding childhood:

Childhood is the time for children to be in school and at play, to grow strong and confident with the love and encouragement of their family and an extended community of caring adults. It is a precious time in which children should live free from fear, safe from violence and protected from abuse and exploitation. As such, childhood means much more than just the space between birth and the attainment of adulthood. It refers to the state and condition of a child’s life, to the quality of those years.

The present scenario:

From school to reality shows, children are being forced to perform.
It’s not only in schools that children face pressure today. At home, parents demand performance not only in academics but also in extra-curricular activities. The situation is turning so alarming that children in the age group of 5-10 years are suffering from anxiety and depression.
As much as there is pressure to get good grades in school, parents are increasingly seeing their child a tool to win fame.
As a result childhoods are getting lost in competition and there is significant rise in cases of depression and anxiety among children.

The role of schools and coaching institutes:

Ignoring the children’s learning stages, the schools have distorted the curriculum. A principal of a corporate school revealed that coaching for the IIT examination began as early as Class VI.
The school focused on physics, math and chemistry, while the mother tongue and social sciences were sidelined.
Further, as the school had to ‘complete’ the syllabus prescribed by the State government along with IIT coaching, the syllabi for Classes XI and XII was taught from Class VI onwards too, with 10% of the syllabus being ‘covered’ each year. During interviews, government officials and teachers said that students in such schools did little or no physical or extracurricular activities, and got little rest.
The pressure on students was enormous. As per the principal, students were divided into three ‘levels’ according to ability, and taught separately. There were fortnightly exams and cumulative exams every month, and students were re-allotted to different levels after the latter.
The atmosphere was very competitive. The school hours stretched up to nine hours or more, and there were few holidays. There were several cases of student suicides each year, usually following a demotion in the ‘level’. As per the principal, around 20% students were placed at the top level, and of them 15-20% were likely to get admission to the IITs. In other words, after a high level of stress and sacrificing a well-rounded education, 3-4% of the total students got into IITs. How many would have got admission to the IITs with a proper education too, is a matter of conjecture.

Childhood lost:

All the students in such schools lost the chance to be children, explore and grow, develop their special talents, and form their unique identity. But for those who did not get admission to engineering colleges, the loss was manifold. They got little support in the school, as the best teachers were deployed to teach the top-level students.
Reportedly, the students in the bottom layer were pejoratively called ‘patrons’ by the management, as their parents paid high fees, while their chances of getting into an engineering college were negligible.
Behind this story of lost childhoods, and for many students, lost career opportunities too, lay corporate greed and state failure. Corporate greed was visible in aggressive campaigns to enrol students.
Teachers at a government school said private school representatives came to the school in January, made lists of good students, contacted parents, and encouraged students to join.
An individual who once worked in a corporate school reported that teachers were given targets to enrol students and collect fees, and their salary was withheld if they did not meet them. Norms regarding minimum infrastructure, such as space, sanitation, play-grounds, fire safety etc. were flouted. The maximum fees a school was allowed to charge was ₹4,000 per year, but corporate schools charged extra as coaching fees and for facilities, adjusting the fees to the paying capacity of the area.

What are corporate schools?

Corporate schools are like private schools or coaching centres or institutions. They are managed by a team of professionals who claim to provide the best teaching to the students for getting into various streams that they want. They mostly charge heavy fees.

The changed meaning of education now a days:

Education should be an equalizer. We should have a similar offering for everybody and education should be inexpensive so that every child has equal access and opportunity. Unfortunately, that is not a reality. So we have government schools and corporate schools and the richer kids go to the latter. Ideally, schooling should mean that every child becomes a responsible citizen, a complete person who has good values, somebody who can make independent decisions, know right from wrong, to understand morality, love, respect.
For every category [however], the goal has become – our child should be able to speak English like the upper-class and should get a good job; our child should do better than us. When people say ‘better than us’ they don’t mean it in terms of having a better quality of thinking or being more progressive as compared to them but in terms of a bigger house, better cars. And that’s what reflects in education.

The ground picture:

Government officials, teacher educators, and even panchayat representatives interviewed were aware that the educational practices of corporate schools were questionable, and that they fooled and exploited students and parents.
However, regulating such schools was beyond the capacity of the government system. One, at inter-college, or the Classes XI and XII stage, where corporate schools first began, the number of government educational institutions was inadequate.
Two, the manpower available for regulation was deficient. At the district level, the senior-most principal of government inter colleges was designated the Regional Inspection Officer (RIO), and was responsible for regulating private schools, in addition to his existing duties. Moreover, because of a lack of manpower, some RIOs had charge of more than one inter-college. For Classes IX and X, education officials remained busy with government schools, and had little time to inspect private schools.
Three, the corporate school management exercised considerable influence at the very top levels of government. They were reported to contribute funds during elections, and some had begun political careers themselves. Officials described several instances of political pressure to prevent action against corporate schools. So much so that representatives of small private schools complained that the government favoured corporate schools and discriminated against them. Not surprisingly, little effort had been made to inform people about the problems with corporate schools.

Way forward:

It is very important to restore childhood back in children if we want to produce healthy citizens for the future.
The meaning of education needs to be realised and children should not be used as a tool to fame by their guardians. After all there is no use of a good tag and hefty money is the child is stressed and depressed or in some cases decides to take his or her life. Kota is an eye opening example.

Question – What is sedition? Should the law be scrapped?

Context – The spike in sedition charges.

An overview:

Sedition as a concept comes from Elizabethan England, where if you criticised the king and were fomenting a rebellion, it was a crime against the state. When they ruled India, the British feared the Wahhabi rebellion. They brought the [sedition] law in, and it was used against our freedom fighters as well. Both Mahatma Gandhi and [Bal Gangadhar] Tilak were tried under this law and sentenced.
The sedition law was incorporated into the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in 1870 as fears of a possible uprising plagued the colonial authorities. Most of this penal code was retained intact after 1947. Despite demands to scrap it, the law of sedition remains enshrined in our statute book till today.

The view of the Supreme Court: (understanding the concept)

The Supreme Court, in its interpretation of Section 124A, clearly says that it has to be against the state, not against the government.
Onecan criticise the BJP, the Congress, Mamata Banerjee, or the Communist parties. That is not sedition. When one starts criticising the constitutional state of India, that is when they invite the charge of sedition and even there the Supreme Court clearly says that there has to be a direct incitement to violence.

So should the law be scrapped?

Argument in support of removal:

the problem is with the section itself. As somebody correctly said, the essence of tyranny is in the making of harsh laws and then using those laws selectively against the people.
So, it’s like this, administrators like this tool handy. Take away the tool and come back with specific laws on hate speech and speeches that incite violence. That is understandable, but to elevate ordinary dissent into an anti-national insurrection or uprising is certainly not on. The point is that if you keep a harsh law on the statute book, there will be misuse. And there’s no sense applying ointment thereafter. This has been on the statute book for more than 100 years. Experience has shown that it does not actually work. Experience has shown that it has led to great abuse. It’s time that we scrapped it and came up with something else.

Argument against:

It is not compulsory that one needs to remove this law. It falls on the judiciary to protect Articles 19 and Article 21 of the Constitution. Justice Kurian Joseph recently made some anguished remarks that the police is neither independent nor professional. The time has come for the judiciary to set up a search committee in every State, and a particular judge of the High Court has to suo moto check each sedition case being filed. And if it is baseless, if it has been used to only terrorise the ordinary citizen expressing his views, it must be quashed without putting the onus on the citizen to come to the court.
One can argue that the police have become totally politicised, but who is to stop this? Who is to guard the citizens? It is the judiciary that has been charged with this job and they can’t expect the ordinary citizen to always come to the court. Our legal aid system is just not as robust as it should be. The problem is not with the section, but with its abuse.

Is hate speech and sedition the same?

Hate speech is a totally different offence from sedition. Hate speech is when you provoke violence between two communities. You are not abusing the state. You are not telling people to revolt against the state. When you challenge the constitutional scheme of India, that is sedition. But when you provoke violence against a particular community, that is hate speech.

Way forward:

The people must be made aware about the constitution and its provisions. It is then that the abuse and misuse of power can be checked.
Also the judiciary being the check against the arbitrariness of the executive needs to play a more proactive role.

Question – Critically analyse the U.S. President pushing India for importing nuclear reactors from the U.S.

Context – The first official visit of the U.S. President to India.

The article says that the idea of India importing nuclear reactors raises serious concerns about their cost and safety.
The basis of the argument is that the deal which was signed doesnt let the responsibility on the builders if there is any mishap.
Further the cost of the energy generated through the reactors is a lot greater than those from other sources.
While Lazard, the Wall Street firm, estimates that wind and solar energy costs have declined by around 70% to 90% in just the last 10 years and may decline further in the future.
So the article argues that on the basis of cost and safety, the 2008 deal to purchase American nuclear reactors should be called off the table.

Cost:

Analysts estimate that each of the two AP1000 units being constructed in the U.S. state of Georgia may cost about $13.8 billion. At these rates, the six reactors being offered to India by Westinghouse would cost almost ₹6 lakh crore.
If India purchases these reactors, the economic burden will fall upon consumers and taxpayers. In 2013, we estimated that even after reducing these prices by 30%, to account for lower construction costs in India, the first year tariff for electricity would be about ₹25 per unit. On the other hand, recent solar energy bids in India are around ₹3 per unit.

Safety:

nuclear reactors can undergo serious accidents, as shown by the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Westinghouse has insisted on a prior assurance that India would not hold it responsible for the consequences of a nuclear disaster, which is effectively an admission that it is unable to guarantee the safety of its reactors.
Nuclear power can also impose long-term costs. Large areas continue to be contaminated with radioactive materials from the 1986 Chernobyl accident and thousands of square kilometres remain closed off for human inhabitation. Nearly a decade after the 2011 disaster, the Fukushima prefecture retains radioactive hotspots and the cost of clean-up has been variously estimated to range from $200-billion to over $600-billion.
Starting with the Tarapur 1 and 2 reactors, in Maharashtra, India’s experiences with imported reactors have been poor. The Kudankulam 1 and 2 reactors, in Tamil Nadu, the only ones to have been imported and commissioned in the last decade, have been repeatedly shut down. In 2018-19, these reactors produced just 32% and 38%, respectively, of the electricity they were designed to produce. These difficulties are illustrative of the dismal history of India’s nuclear establishment. In spite of its tall claims, the fraction of electricity generated by nuclear power in India has remained stagnant at about 3% for decades.

Analysis:

How is nuclear energy produced?

It is in the ‘Nuclear fission’ where the Uranium is used, this starts off the process for nuclear power to be generated. ‘Nuclear fission is the process of atoms splitting’, so when a heavy nucleus such as Uranium splits into two smaller, lighter nuclei. In this reaction, the ‘strong nuclear force’ which is the attractive force, is acting on the ‘electrostatic force’ which is the repulsive force, these can be knocked out of balance on each other when they gain the energy from either a photon or a neutron. The two forces are affected by the gain of this other element and will try to act on each other to regain the state in which they were in, but in nuclear fission the ‘electrostatic force’ will gain more power than the ‘nuclear force’, therefore causing it to repel and for the nucleus to split apart, also releasing energy as it does so.
To make this slightly easier to understand, imagine a load of marbles in a rough circle shape on a flat tabletop (this is going to be representing the original atoms nucleus, where all the forcing are acting the same on one another and are equal, so all the marbles/atoms are stable). ‘What if I were to then throw or roll another marble into this group of stable marbles?’ All the marbles would spread apart and move out into the space around them, this marble that is being rolled into them is acting as the photon or neutron that is being gained in the nucleus. This is unbalancing the forces and causing the atoms to all move around as they react to the change that is taking place, but seeing as all the marbles move out, and away from each other shows to us that the repelling force has gained more control, as the attractive force wasn’t able to keep them all together, and this is exactly what happens in nuclear fission.

Pros and cons:

Nuclear power has both advantages and disadvantages. For example,

Pros:

Relatively low costs – the initial construction costs of nuclear power plants are large. On top of this, when the power plants first have been built, we are left with the costs to enrich and process the nuclear fuel (e.g. uranium), control and get rid of nuclear waste, as well as the maintenance of the plant. The reason this is under advantages is that nuclear energy is cost-competitive. Generating electricity in nuclear reactors is cheaper than electricity generating from oil, gas and coal, not to speak of the renewable energy sources (but the cost of generating electricity from renewable sources is gradually declining).

Base load energy – Nuclear power plants provide a stable base load of energy. This can work synergistically with renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. The electricity production from the plants can be lowered when good wind and solar resources are available and cranked up when the demand is high.
Low pollution – It is in most cases more beneficial, in terms of the climate crisis, to replace other energy harnessing methods we use today with nuclear power. The environmental effects of nuclear power are relatively light compared to those. However, nuclear waste is potentially harmful for both humans and the environment.
Thorium – Reports show that with the yearly fuel consumption of today’s nuclear power plants, we have enough uranium for 80 years. It is possible to fuel nuclear power plants with other fuel types than uranium. Thorium, which also is a greener alternative, has lately been given an increased amount of attention. China, Russia and India have already plans to start using thorium to fuel their reactors in the near future. It looks like nuclear fuel is of good availability if we combine the reserves of the different types together. In other words, hopefully enough time for us to find cost-competitive greener ways of harnessing energy.
High energy density – It is estimated the amount of energy released in a nuclear fission reaction is ten million times greater than the amount released in burning a fossil fuel atom (e.g. oil and gas). Therefore, the amount of fuel required in a nuclear power plant is much smaller compared to those of other types of power plants.

Cons:

One major problem that could occur with nuclear power is that there is always the risk that there could be a leakage of radioactive fluids, which will have a massive impact on the environment and its surroundings. These radioactive fluids that may leak from the power stations can cause cancers and very harmful illnesses in humans. So for this reason people will believe that yes, nuclear power should be banned, especially those people living around or near a nuclear power station, or those that have close relatives that may be affected if something like this were to happen.
The world’s worst nuclear accident occurred after an explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. It released radiation over much of Europe. Thirty-one people died in the immediate aftermath of the explosion. Hundreds of thousands of residents were moved from the area and a similar number are believed to have suffered from the effects of radiation exposure.
From this 31 innocent people died from a nuclear power accident, that’s hundreds of people left without a family member, and what if this was to happen again, but this time it could be even worse, and possibly even more people killed. Also from this event, thousands and thousands of people were once again exposed to the radiation which can cause cancerous cells in our bodies, which could lead to a number of deaths years down the line, all from this one accident that happened because of nuclear power.

Debatable:

The sustainability and low pollution of nuclear energy is debatable.
Is nuclear energy renewable or non-renewable? This is a good question.
By definition, nuclear energy is not a renewable energy source. As I mentioned above, there is a limited amount of fuel for nuclear power available. On the other hand, you could argue that nuclear energy is potentially sustainable by the use of breeder reactors and fusion reactors. Nuclear fusion is the holy grail of harnessing energy. If we can learn to control atomic fusion, the same reactions as those that fuel the sun, we have practically unlimited energy. At the moment, these two methods both have serious challenges that need to be dealt with if we are to start using them on a larger scale.
Waste – Saying that, although there isn’t much waste being produced, that that is produced is extremely dangerous and would have to be stored, ‘sealed up and buried for thousands of years to allow the radioactivity to die away’. During this time it has to be kept far away from any potential natural disasters such as Earthquakes, Volcanic eruptions, flooding and terrorist attacks. This can be very difficult at times.

Way forward:

Keeping in mind the benefits of nuclear energy it cannot be suggested that nuclear energy should be done away with. But can definitely be said that it depends on project to project, the place the reactor is supposed to be built, the history of the builder, the question of who will be liable in case of an accident are the things that have to be crucially evaluated before giving a nod to any new project. And also about the longevity of the nuclear reactor and how to deal with the waste generated.

Question – Policies on domestic violence ignore the effect of trauma on children and inter-generational transmission of violence. Discuss.

Context – The increasing instances of domestic violence in the country.

According to Dr. John Bowlby, a renowned psychiatrist known for his pioneering work in developing attachment theory, the “internal working model” of a child is developed based on familial patterns of showing love and resolving conflicts.

Understanding childhood trauma step by step:

According to a study one in three women faces intimate partner violence, according to the World Health Organization. Each successive government has tried to put in place legal and judicial recourses for these women, but has left children unprotected and exposed.
Witnessing such widespread violence at home affects children seriously. First, there are recorded physiological effects of trauma on the brain. CT scans show that children who have been exposed to trauma develop smaller corpus callosum and smaller hippocampus regions, which means that their learning, cognitive abilities and emotional regulation are affected.
Second, inter-generational transmission of violence is a disturbing consequence of violence in families. Dr. Byron Egeland, a widely published researcher in the areas of child maltreatment and developmental psychopathology, showed a history of abuse to be a major risk factor for abusing the next generation.
Researchers have estimated an average inter-generational transmission rate of 40%. This means that for every 100 persons who were abused as children, 40 transmit this violence to the next generation.
A study also shows that if a child himself was a victim of violence or if he had been a witness to violence between his parents at home every day, there are high chances that he saw his mother being slapped, and learnt to create cover-up stories for the frequent injuries that appeared on his and his mother’s bodies. Such child gradually learns that violence was an acceptable means to deal with conflict, and that it was important for the man to dominate through power-assertive violence.

The consequence:

To cope with the trauma at home, the child learns to quickly suppress his childhood fear and deep insecurity.
Thus the trauma leaves physical effects on his brain, leading to poor emotional regulation.
some of these victimised children will end up being violent themselves

Way forward:

It is important to note that not all victims of domestic violence become aggressors.
Yet, it is crucial in a country that faces a massive crisis of violence against women to understand that a history of abuse is often a risk factor that points to a likelihood of perpetrating inter-generational abuse.
There is a need for a deeper understanding of domestic violence and the increasing crimes against women because India puts in place reactive policies every time a new case of violence comes to the fore. The country’s domestic violence policies have ranged from declaring certain offences against women as criminal offences, to setting up all-women police stations, to capital punishment for fatal rape cases. These policies have ignored the effect of trauma on children and the concept of inter-generational transmission of violence.
As a 2016 report by the U.S. Children’s Bureau explains, “violence and abuse produce trauma symptoms which when left unresolved, increase the likelihood that the individual will engage in violent behaviour as an adult.” We need to provide spaces for children to resolve these symptoms of childhood trauma.
India has become serious about mental health beginning with the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, but it needs to do more. Policymakers need to link the provision of professional mental health services to families recovering from domestic violence. A prospective policy, working with families to actively provide trauma-informed mental health care, needs to be in place.
But for this to happen, India needs more mental health practitioners. It needs accredited systems to train and track the quality of mental health trauma-care providers. Connecting such a network to peer-supportive groups can help survivors integrate their experiences into their lives and finally heal.

The present situation:

The IS, which is concentrated in the eastern parts of Afghanistan, carried out several attacks in the past targeting the country’s minorities. But, in recent months, the jihadist group suffered setbacks in the wake of sustained military operations by both Afghan and U.S. troops.
So the attack on a gurdwara in Kabulon March 25 that killed at least 25 people, mostly members of Afghanistan’s persecuted Sikh minority, is a barefaced attempt by the Islamic State (IS) to revive its fortunes in the country at a time when it is politically divided and the peace process (between the U.S. and Taliban) is hamstrung by the Taliban’s continuing violence.
On the administrative side, Afghanistan now has two governments, one led by Ashraf Ghani, who was declared winnerof the September presidential election, and the other by Abdullah Abdullah, who has disputed the results and formed a rival administration. The peace agreement reached between the Taliban and the U.S. failed to bring any halt to violence, with the insurgents and the government not being able to reach an understanding even on a prisoner swap.
Besides, the country has also seen a jump in the number of SARS-CoV-2 infections, with the Herat Province, which shares a border with Iran, emerging as the epicentre.

The significance of the attack:

By attacking the gurdwara and an adjacent housing complex, the IS has not just terrified the country’s minorities further, but sent a message to the Afghan authorities that it remains a potent security threat.

Way forward:

Afghanistan has too many problems, ranging from terrorism to the breakdown of the administration, which demands absolute resolve from the government.
But, unfortunately, the country’s political leadership appears to be concerned less about resolving any of them than about keeping power.
The leadership should realise the magnitude of this crisis, and take a united approach to tackle it. It should kick-start the peace process with the Taliban, fight the IS cells more aggressively and work towards at least ensuring the minimum rights of its citizens guaranteed by the constitution.

GS-3 Mains

Question – Comment on the possibility of a threat to food security as a result of the COVID-19.

Context – The pandemic.

The main threats to food security in the world:

The main threats to food security are (1) world population growth, (2) the increase demand for food, (3) food price, (4) the disappearance of the variety of agricultural plant species (4) the increase in the area of scarcity water and the limitation of the availability of land and (5) the food losses and food.

But this is not we are talking about now. We are talking about a more serious risk arousing out of the coronavirus pandemic.

While there’s no need to panic — there is enough supply of food in the world to feed everyone — we must prepare to face the enormous risk that food may not be made available where it is needed.
Restrictions of movement, as well as basic aversion behaviour by workers, may impede farmers from farming and food processors (who handle most agricultural products) from processing. Shortage of fertilizers, veterinary medicines and other input could also affect agricultural production.
Closures of restaurants and less frequent grocery shopping diminish demand for fresh produce and fisheries products, affecting producers and suppliers, especially smallholder farmers, with long-term consequences for the world’s increasingly urbanised population.
Export restrictions put in place by exporting countries to increase food availability domestically could lead to serious disruptions in the world food market, resulting in price spikes and increased price volatility.
Uncertainty about food availability can induce policymakers to implement trade restrictive measures in order to safeguard national food security. Given the experience of the 2007-2008 global food price crisis, we know that such measures can only exacerbate the situation. In 2007-08, these immediate measures proved extremely damaging, especially for low-income food-deficit countries.

So what can be done? / Way forward:

We should all learn from our recent past and not make the same mistakes twice. Policymakers must take care to avoid accidentally tightening food supply conditions. While every country faces its own challenges, collaboration between governments and the full gamut of sectors and stakeholders is necessary.
We are experiencing a global problem that requires a global response. We must ensure that food markets are functioning properly and that information on prices, production, consumption and stocks of food is available to all in real time. This approach will reduce uncertainty and allow producers, consumers, traders and processors to make informed decisions and to contain unwarranted panic behaviour in global food markets.
The health impacts of the unfolding pandemic on some of the poorest countries are still unknown. Yet, we can say with certainty that any ensuing food crisis as a result of poor policymaking will be a humanitarian disaster that we can avert. We already have 113 million people experiencing acute hunger; in sub-Saharan Africa, a quarter of the population is undernourished. Any disruptions to food supply chains will intensify both human suffering and the challenge of reducing hunger around the world.
So, Global markets are critical for smoothening supply and demand shocks across countries and regions, and we need to work together to ensure that disruptions of food supply chains are minimised as much as possible. COVID-19 forcefully reminds us that solidarity is not charity, but common sense.

Note – In the last two days we have already seen the measures that should be taken by the government to successfully deal with the coronavirus pandemic. The following are the additional points:

we do not really know how widespread the epidemic is in India because such a small number of people have been tested and many mild cases go undetected. To what extent India’s ongoing efforts to control COVID-19 using physical distancing and isolation will be successful is yet unknown.
it is critically important to put in place well-functioning between-State and within-State coordination mechanisms that enable efficiently leveraging resources such as doctors, nurses, equipment, supplies from elsewhere and direct them to regional/sub-regional hotspots (i.e. where the number of cases have been maximum).
Increasing hospital capacity – Addressing the scarcity of hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) beds in India is critical for providing clinical support to severe COVID-19 cases. Without flattening India’s COVID-19 epidemic curve, our current hospital capacity is so low that it will be quickly overwhelmed if infections surge. India has around 70 hospital beds and 2.3 ICU beds per 100,000 people.
This is in contrast to China (Italy) has 420 (340) hospital beds and 3.6 (12.5) ICU beds per 100,000 people, and yet both these countries struggled to care for the severely sick.
What can be done? – It is critically important that India puts in place a strategy to ramp up hospital and ICU capacity, as well as provision for essential equipment such as ventilators and personal protective equipment for health workers. In both China and Italy, hospitals were rapidly constructed to accommodate infected patients. It is doubtful that we can construct new hospitals as quickly as China or even staff them adequately. Therefore, it is important to consider alternatives, such as, extending current hospital capacity, hospital trains that can easily move from one location to another, or converting university dormitories into treatment centres.
Tapping the resources in the private sector is particularly important. India’s health system is highly privatised and most of the country’s health-care capacity in terms of human resources, hospital beds, laboratories, and diagnostic centres is in the private sector. Recognising this, private laboratories can be enlisted for testing and using the private hospital bed capacity to treat positive patients. More of this is needed, as well as, engaging private hospitals in planning and coordinating the COVID-19 response.
Health workers are crucial– Health-care workers are a critical resource for the COVID-19 response. They go into communities to carry out preventive care, trace potentially exposed people, and treat the infected. The success of countries such as South Korea and Singapore in controlling the spread and mortality due to COVID-19 has been credited to the ability of health workers to locate, test and treat cases.
This requires a substantial number of health workers, and India faces an acute shortage of them. India has around 3.4 qualified doctors and 3.2 nurses and midwives per 10,000 population; in contrast, China (Italy) has 18 (41) doctors and 23(59) nurses per 10,000 population. Moreover, health workers in India are mostly concentrated in the urban areas and there are huge disparities between States (Bihar has 0.3 and Kerala has 3.2 doctors per 10,000 population).
While increasing the health workforce in the short term is difficult, it is important to consider task shifting and multi-skilling strategies where a variety of health-care workers (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy doctors, nurses, as well as general and specialist doctors) are engaged.
Safety of healthcare workers is crucial – Health worker safety is particularly important for India because it already faces a shortage of doctors and nurses. In China and Italy, the fight against COVID-19 has taken a huge toll on health workers.
As a recent article in The Lancet notes, estimates from China’s National Health Commission show that more than 3,300 health-care workers have been infected as of early March and, by the end of February at least 22 had died. Health workers also face physical and mental exhaustion, which affects their morale, in addition to the infection risk. Protecting health workers in the forefront of the COVID-19 response will be critical. Procuring and ensuring the widespread use of personal protective equipment (e.g. masks, gloves, gowns, and eye wear) in the care of all patients with respiratory symptoms needs to be prioritised.

Way forward:

India, like other countries, faces important health system challenges in mounting a credible response to COVID-19. Many of these issues are not new. Addressing these health system issues will require sustained effort and financing.
Also it is important to maintain the trust of the people on the healthcare system through all possible government effort.

Question – Analyse the efforts undertaken by the government’s of other countries to revive the economy from the slowdown resulting from the coronavirus outbreak. Suggest the way ahead for India.

Context – The economic slowdown as a result of coronavirus outbreak.

The present global economic condition:

The Finance Minister of the United Kingdom unveiled the U.K.’s biggest economic recovery package in its history, as an antidote to the crisis; there is no fixed cost to it.
The United States is finalising a trillion-dollar economic recovery package, while Germany is going ahead with ‘unlimited government financing’ for the disruptions due to the outbreak.
France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands have all launched a half-a-trillion dollars combined in recovery measures. If this reads like panic, consider this one data point — the number of people who lost their jobs, in just the last two weeks in America is the highest ever weekly job losses recorded in its history.
These large, developed economies are expected to not merely slow down, but to contract and experience negative growth. The economic devastation will be much more painful and longer than the health impact.

Situation in India:

There are already reports that a third of all restaurants could shut down in the formal sector alone and shed more than 20 lakh jobs, in the coming months. The entire automotive sector is shutting down its factories, putting at risk the incomes of a million people employed in this sector.
When people lose their jobs, entire families suffer, consumption drops and overall demand collapses.
When businesses close down, then they default on their commercial obligations down the chain and to their financiers. This freezes up credit flow in the economy and halts production.
Since this is a global crisis, it is not even possible for India to import and export its way to recovery.
Under such painful conditions, India needs a comprehensive recovery package that will first cushion the shock and then help the economy recover.

What can be done?

A three-step plan:

There is a need for an economic package. The package should rest on four pillars: providing a safety net for the affected; addressing disruptions in the real economy; unclogging the impending liquidity squeeze in the financial system, and incentivising the external sector of trade and commerce. So here is a broad plan for a ‘COVID-19 Economic Recovery Package for India.
The destruction of jobs, incomes and consumption can be addressed through a direct cash transfer of ₹3,000 a month, for six months, to the 12 crore, bottom half of all Indian households. This will cost nearly ₹2-lakh crore and reach 60 crore beneficiaries, covering agricultural labourers, farmers, daily wage earners, informal sector workers and others.
It is important that this is not just a one-month income boost but, instead, a sustained income stream for at least six months for the millions who have lost their incomes, to provide them a safety net and a sense of confidence. The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM KISAN) programme with a budget of ₹75,000 crore can be subsumed into this programme.
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) must be expanded and retooled into a public works programme, to build much-needed hospitals, clinics, rural roads and other infrastructure. This can be achieved by integrating MGNREGA with the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and the roads and bridges programme. These three programmes together have a budget of nearly ₹5 lakh crore. This must be doubled to ₹3 lakh crore and serve as a true ‘Right to Work’ scheme for every Indian who needs it.
In addition, the Food Corporation of India is overflowing with excess rice, wheat and unmilled paddy stocks — enough excess stock to provide 10kg rice and wheat to every Indian family, free of cost, through the Public Distribution System.
This combination, of a basic income of ₹3,000 a month, a right to work and food grains, will provide a secure safety net.
COVID-19 testing, treatment, medical equipment and supplies capacity can be expanded through the private sector and be reimbursed directly for patient care. This will need a budget of ₹5- lakh crore for testing and treating at least 20 crore Indians through the private sector. This will help create a large number of jobs in the private health-care sector, with trickle-down benefits.

Steps for the RBI:

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a ₹5-lakh crore liquidity and credit backstop facility on Monday, which is a very welcome move. Further, the RBI should show regulatory forbearance and also set up a credit guarantee fund for distressed borrowers for credit rollover and deferred loan obligation.
The central bank must also immediately reduce interest rates drastically to spur business activity. A two-year tax holiday and an appropriate incentive scheme must be designed for exports and service sectors that have been devastated (airlines, tourism, hospitality, entertainment, logistics, textiles, leather). This could cost the exchequer between ₹1-lakh crore and ₹2-lakh crore.

How to fund?

In sum, the total incremental expenditure for the recovery package will be between ₹5-lakh crore to ₹6-lakh crore for FY2021. The next obvious question is: Where is the money for this?
The ₹5-lakh crore to ₹6-lakh crore recovery package can be funded largely thorough three sources — reallocation of some of the budgeted capital expenditure, expenditure rationalisation, and the oil bonanza.
Given the extraordinary situation the world is facing, it is important to reprioritise our expenditure plan in the near term. The government had budgeted more than ₹4-lakh crore in capital expenditure for FY2021. This will, unfortunately, have to be reworked and some part of it allocated to the COVID-19 recovery package. For example, there is a budget of ₹40,000 crore for the revival of the telecom public sector units which can be delayed and the amount reallocated.
Similarly, the budget of nearly ₹1-lakh crore for national highways, roads and bridges can be rationalised to reallocate this to the recovery package. It is possible to extract a total of ₹1-lakh crore for the package out of the ₹4-lakh crore budgeted capital expenditure for FY2021.
Fifty-four ministries in the Union government of India made a demand for grants and a total of ₹30-lakh crore has been budgeted as total expenditure for FY2021. Of these, 13 large ministries account for as much of the Budget expenditure as the remaining 41 ministries combined. There is ample scope to rationalise expenditure in these 41 ministries to extract ₹2-lakh crore for the recovery package.
The blessing in disguise for India is the dramatic fall in global crude oil prices —from $40 a barrel to an estimated $20 a barrel — which can help save nearly ₹2-lakh crore; this can be used to fund the recovery package or make up for shortfall of tax revenues.
To be sure, there will be a fiscal implication of this stimulus package and the fiscal deficit will rise driven both by increased expenditure and shortfall of revenues from the slowing economy. But now is not the time for fiscal conservatism.

Helping the states:

It is often asked why the States cannot embark on an economic stimulus plan. The States combined incur an expenditure of ₹40 lakh crore. There can be some sharing of expenditure of the recovery package of ₹1-2 lakh crore by the States. But after Goods and Services Tax (GST), States do not have the fiscal freedom to raise tax revenues on their own. They are largely dependent on the Centre for their tax revenues through direct taxes and GST.
In summary, India needs an immediate relief package of ₹5-lakh crore to ₹6-lakh crore targeted across all sections of society and sectors of the economy. Though daunting, the money for this can be found through detailed analysis and some bold thinking. The global economy is headed for a dark phase and it is our duty to rise to the challenge to secure the future of all Indians.
It is time to think big, bold and radical to pull our economy out of this crisis. This is India’s moment for the equivalent of the “New Deal” that U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt launched in America after the Great Depression of 1929.

Note – today there is an article titled ‘The perils of an all-out lockdown’.

This has already been covered earlier. The following are the major highlights of today’s article.
Also read the article of 21st March to know in detail about how to deal with the economic effects of the corona pandemic.

Highlights:

The novel coronavirusspreads, a double crisis looms over India: a health crisis and an economic crisis.
We must bear in mind the dual motive for taking precautions. When you decide to stay at home, there are two possible motives for it: a self-protection motive and a public-purpose motive. In the first case, you act out of fear of being infected. In the second, you participate in collective efforts to stop the spread of the virus.
In terms of casualties, the health crisis is still very confined but the economic crisis is hitting with full force, throwing millions out of work by the day.
Very importantly, unlike the health crisis, it is not class-neutral, but hurts poor people the most.

India slowing down: An example:

Migrant workers, street vendors, contract workers, almost everyone in the informal sector — the bulk of the workforce — is being hit by this economic tsunami. In Maharashtra, mass lay-offs have forced migrant workers to rush home, some without being paid.
Many of them are now stranded between Maharashtra and their homes as trains have been cancelled. The economic standstill in Maharashtra is spreading fast to other States as factories, shops, offices and worksites close with little hope of an early return to normalcy.
With transport routes dislocated, even the coming wheat harvest, a critical source of survival for millions of labouring families in north India, may not bring much relief. And all this is just a trailer.

What is needed for them?

This economic crisis calls for urgent, massive relief measures. Lockdowns may be needed to slow down the epidemic, but poor people cannot afford to stay idle at home. If they are asked to stay home, they will need help.
There is a critical difference, in this respect, between India and affluent countries with a good social security system. The average household in, say, Canada or Italy can take a lockdown in its stride (for some time at least), but the staying power of the Indian poor is virtually nil.

Way ahead:

Since time is of the essence, the first step is to make good use of existing social-security schemes to support poor people — pensions, the Public Distribution System (PDS), midday meals, and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), among others.
Initial measures could include advance payment of pensions, enhanced PDS rations, immediate payment of MGNREGA wage arrears, and expanded distribution of take-home rations at schools and anganwadis.
Some States have already taken useful steps of this sort, but the scale of relief measures needs radical expansion.
That, in turn, requires big money from the Central government. It also requires the government to avoid squandering its resources on corporate bailouts: most crisis-affected sectors of the economy will soon be lobbying for rescue packages.
An explicit list of essential services (already available in some States) and official guidelines on coronavirus readiness at the workplace would be a good start. Also many public spaces could also be used, with due safeguards, to disseminate information or to impart good habits such as distancing and washing hands.

Question – Suggest the measures to deal with the present economic crisis brought in by the coronavirus pandemic.

Context – The economic slowdown owing to the Cronavirus.

Note – also go through the article of 24th January and 2nd March that deals with the relationship between pandemics and the economic impact all around.

The effect of the strong clampdown measures taken by the government to arrest the spread of the coronavirusis beginning to be felt across a swathe of the country.
A task force under Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has been constituted to assess the economic impactof the pandemic and suggest palliative measures.

Analysis:

There are certain factors that the task force should keep in mind.

The present situation –

Those such as cab drivers, restaurant waiters, mall workers, domestic help, itinerant retailers and other casual job workers are either already without jobs and incomes or will soon find themselves in that position.

What can be done?

Cash flow:

The government might consider cash transfers of a fixed amount to these vulnerable sections. There are 33 crore accounts under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana that can be leveraged for this purpose.
There is also an efficient Public Distribution System prevalent in most States through which the beneficiaries can be identified for a cash handout.
There are a total of 23.53 crore ration cards in the country according to the National Food Security Portal. Assuming that all of these are below poverty line cards, a transfer of ₹1,000, which is the least that should be considered.
For example, last month, Hong Kong announced a cash handout of HK$10,000 to every permanent resident as a supportive measure. The United States is also weighing the option of a cash handout totalling $250 billion to its citizens.
But there is a concern, this will cost the Centre over ₹23,500 crore.

Loan guarantee:

Service industries such as airlines, hotels and restaurants and tourism have begun to feel the pinch, and in course of time the pain will extend to the manufacturing sector as well.
The immediate problem for the services industry is that the cash spigot has been turned off. There will be revenue and profit issues to deal with later but the immediate crisis is one of cash flows.
These businesses have to deal with expenses that cannot be put off such as salaries, lease instalments, loan repayments and so on.
Banks are not going to offer any accommodation to these businesses given their own issues with bad loans. This is where the government can consider what most of the affected nations in the West have done —offer loan guarantees to affected businesses.
For example, Britain has pledged £330 billion of government-backed loans and guarantees, France and Spain have announced €300 billion and €100 billion aid, respectively.
The priority is to keep businesses liquid and that is the reason why these countries have pledged such large amounts as guarantees. The cash machine has to be kept well-lubricated in these difficult times and the government can play a role in that.
For a start, it can provide guarantees to working capital loans and link it with assurances from the borrowers concerned that they will secure the jobs in their companies.

Mortgage holiday:

An equated monthly instalment (EMI) holiday can be a huge blessing for individuals and businesses when faced with a job loss, salary cut or loss of revenue.
A three-month mortgage holiday should be coaxed out of lenders by the government to begin with for businesses in obvious trouble and to those employed by such businesses.
The Reserve Bank of India should show regulatory forbearance in the matter of asset recognition for banks when it comes to these industries. But it should be made amply clear that this is only temporary accommodation till the crisis plays itself out.
but if this shutdown prolongs beyond the next couple of weeks, the government may have to look at offering temporary tax relief to businesses. We are looking at an unprecedented situation where revenues are likely to fall off the cliff and cash flows wind down to zero.
There are other helpful actions that the government can take such as promptly discharging its bills, refunding taxes without delay, promptly carrying out direct benefit transfers already budgeted for, and, if necessary, even permitting affected businesses to temporarily delay payment of statutory dues such as provident fund and ESI.

Ways to arrange the huge finance requirement of the government:

The resources of the Centre and the States have to be pooled to develop a national response to this unfolding economic tragedy. Kerala, for example, has already announced a ₹20,000 crore package and other States may follow suit. It may be a good idea for the Centre to leverage State resources along with its own.
, the government will have to engage with the private sector while devising assistance measures. There is a lot of expertise and sharp financial minds available in the private sector and these should be tapped into for innovative ideas. The Yes Bank rescue proves the heft of the private financial sector in coming to the rescue of one of its own.
The Budget is just-a-month-old, it is not just tax revenues that are heading for trouble, even the disinvestment budget of ₹10 lakh crore now appears unachievable. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and Air India appear destined to remain government companies in the foreseeable future.
So, in this backdrop, it is impossible for the Budget to fund any stimulus programme now.
Extra budgetary support will be needed and that is where the idea of a bond issue comes in.

Way forward:

A well-structured, tax-efficient bond issue can be an option to tap into the large pool of domestic savings.
The large Indian diaspora can also be tapped into. Remember the Resurgent India Bonds experience of 1998 post-Pokhran? The State Bank of India raised about $4 billion from non-resident Indians against all odds to help India tide over the immediate impact of sanctions. Why not do something similar now? After all, this is as unprecedented a situation for the country as the aftermath of the sanctions in 1998.

Question – Can the pandemic coronavirus present India with an opportunity to revive multilateralism in an environment where the major powers like the U.S. are turning protectionist?

Context – Coronavirus and its aftermath.

Note – Before understanding today’s article, we have to understand two words – cross national and cross domain.

Cross national – relating to two or more nations.
Cross domain – means that a disruption in one domain will lead to a parallel disruption in the other domain.
Multilateralism – the principle of participation by three or more parties, especially by the governments of different countries. Opposite of unilateralism or bilateralism.

The present scenario:

Nationalist trends are becoming more intense, countries are beginning to build walls around themselves and hence even the existing multilateralism of the present is being further weakened.
Institutions such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization which are already marginalised may become increasingly irrelevant. There could be a return to autarkic economic and trade policies and an even deeper and more pervasive anti-globalisation sentiment.
Unless there is a conscious effort to stem this through a reaffirmation of multilateralism, we are looking at a very depressing decade ahead.

Analysis:

The article uses the reference of the pandemic coronavirus and highlights two facts. First, that through coronavirus disruption we have understood one thing that just like coronavirus is not limited to just one nation, in the same way the problems that will arise in the future will be cross national in character i.e. they will not be limited to just one nation. Let us see water scarcity for example or other environmental changes or trafficking and so on.
Second, that these challenges are cross-domain in nature, with strong feedback loops i.e. a disruption in one domain often cascades into parallel disruptions in other domains. Simply put, the treatment of one problem adversely affects the other end. For example, the use of chemical fertilizers and toxic pesticides may promote food security but have injurious health effects, undermining health security.
So when formulating any policy to deal with an issue, the policy makers should keep these two inter domain linkages in mind.

The example of coronavirus:

This is a global challenge which recognises no political boundaries. It is intimately linked to the whole pattern of large-scale and high-density food production and distribution (believed to have spread from a meat market in Wuhan in China) and global movement of goods and people. It is not only a health crisis but is also spawning an economic crisis through disrupting global value chains and creating a simultaneous demand shock. It is a classic cross-national and cross-domain challenge.
The interventions to deal with the COVID-19 crisis are so far almost entirely at the national level, relying on quarantine and social distancing. There is virtually no coordination at the international level.
For example, we are also seeing a blame game erupt between China and the United States which does not augur well for international cooperation and leadership.

So what should be the approach?

The intersection of cross-national and cross-domain challenges demand multilateral approaches. They require empowered international institutions of governance. Underlying these must be a spirit of internationalism and solidarity, a sense of belonging to a common humanity.
The countries need to finally realise that there is no option but to move away from nationalistic urges and embrace the logic of international cooperation through revived and strengthened multilateral institutions and processes.
There is a role here for India which is a key G-20 country, the world’s fifth largest economy and with a long tradition of international activism and promotion of rule-based multilateralism.

The Indian government’s approach:

Historically, India has always professed its desire to have friendly relations with all countries but has been equally firm in safeguarding its interests when these are threatened. India’s non-alignment did not prevent it from forging strong and mutually beneficial partnerships with major countries. The India-Soviet partnership from 1960-1990 is an example just as the current strategic partnership with the U.S. is. The foreign policy of his predecessors had been rooted in India’s civilisational sense, its evolving place in the international system and its own changing capabilities.
A leadership role in mobilising global collaboration, more specifically in fighting COVID-19 would be in keeping with India’s traditional activism on the international stage. The Prime Minister has shown commendable initiative in convening leaders of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation nations for a regional collaborative effort on COVID-19. This should be followed by an international initiative, either through the G-20 or through the U.N.
At present, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks at the recentThe Economic Times Global Business Summit reflect the government’s approach. While speaking of the COVID-19 crisis, he said, “Like today, the world is facing a huge challenge in the form of Corona Virus. Financial institutions have also considered it a big challenge for the financial world. Today, we all have to face this challenge together. We have to be victorious with the power of our resolution of ‘Collaborate to Create’.

Way forward:

The COVID-19 pandemic presents India with an opportunity to revive multilateralism, become a strong and credible champion of internationalism and assume a leadership role in a world that is adrift. The inspiration for this should come from reaffirming the well springs of India’s foreign policy since its Independence rather than seeking to break free.

Note – There is another article on coronavirus outbreak. This too has been covered from all possible angles. The following are the additional points:

The government has decided to give ₹1,70,000-crore relief package— Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY) — towards alleviating the distress caused to vulnerable sections of the population by the 21-day lockdown imposed to combat the spread of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).
It covers various sections of the vulnerable, ranging from farmers and women Jan Dhan account holders, to organised sector workers, to the most important of all — healthcare workers, who will now get a sizeable insurance cover of ₹50 lakh. The doubling of foodgrain allocation offered free is a good idea that privileges the hungry poor over rodents and pests devouring the stocks in Food Corporation of India godowns. So is the move to provide free cooking gas refills to the underprivileged who are part of the PM Ujjwala scheme.
The offer to pay both employer and employee contributions to the Provident Fundfor very small business enterprises is welcome and will offer relief to those businesses that have been forced to shut down operations, and also to employees earning small salaries for whom the PF deduction may hurt at this point in time.

Analysis:

The effort appears to be to keep the funding within the budget as much as possible and retain control over the deficit. For instance, the PM Kisan transfer has been already budgeted for and the increase in MGNREGA wages can also be accommodated within the budget. Ditto with the Jan Dhan account transfer of ₹500 per month for the next three months which will cost the government ₹30,450 crore. It is possible to argue here that the transfer could have been a little more generous — at least ₹1,000 a month. The government may have wanted to stay within the budget for now.

Overall/ to conclude:

At some point soon, the government will have to break the fiscal deficit shackles. Also, it needs the financial bandwidth to support businesses in trouble. In fact, ideally the government ought to have announced a relief package for the corporate sector and the middle class along with the PMGKY. It should now turn its focus towards businesses that are running out of cash and may soon default on even salaries and statutory commitments if relief is not given.
There are enough ideas to borrow from others such as the U.S. which is in the process of finalising a $2 trillion package. Part II of the economic relief package should not be delayed beyond the next couple of days.

Question – Critically analyze the facial recognition technology being adopted as one of the latest additions to the policing reforms in the country.

Context – India is closer to installing the world’s largest facial recognition system to nab criminals.

The present condition:

The role of the police is not merely to maintain peace in public places but also of equal importance is crime detection and prevention.
Now, it is in the area of detection that the police is most infamous for not only in India but in most countries, even in those countries where police forces which have huge manpower and can afford to buy the latest technology.
For example, Crime using knives continues to worry London’s Metropolitan Police, while the frequency of gun violence is high in U.S. cities. All this despite robust and aggressive policing.
Also except in sensational cases which have attracted public and media attention, the Indian police have also been guilty of underperformance.

The paradox:

Here there is a paradox that has to be noted. The citizens no doubt demand newer crime control measures which will keep them safe. At the same time they resent productive and smarter police innovations in the field because of perceived danger to individual rights and privacy.
This can be explained by the opposition to the crime facial recognition technology. This is the technology that seeks to make inroads into the underworld’s ability to be elusive and their machinations in order to escape detection by the police.

What is facial recognition technology?

Computerized facial recognition is a relatively new technology, being introduced by law enforcement agencies around the world in order to identify persons of interest.
Coupled with an automated biometric software application, this system is capable of identifying or verifying a person by comparing and analysing patterns, shapes and proportions of their facial features and contours.
The INTERPOL Face Recognition System (IFRS) contains facial images received from more than 160 countries which makes it a unique global criminal database.

How does it work?

Today, we are inundated with data of all kinds, but the plethora of photo and video data available provides the dataset required to make facial recognition technology work. Facial recognition systems analyze the visual data and millions of images and videos created by high-quality Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras installed in our cities for security, smartphones, social media, and other online activity.
Machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities in the software map distinguishable facial features mathematically, look for patterns in the visual data, and compare new images and videos to other data stored in facial recognition databases to determine identity.
Today, it’s used in a variety of ways from allowing you to unlock your phone, go through security at the airport, purchase products at stores and so on.

Advantages and disadvantages:

Just like with any other new technology, facial recognition brings positives and negatives with it.
Pros:

One of the major advantages of facial recognition technology is safety and security. Law enforcement agencies use the technology to uncover criminals or to find missing children or seniors. In New York, police were able to apprehend an accused rapist using facial recognition technology within 24 hours of an incident where he threatened a woman with rape at knifepoint.
When people know they are being watched, they are less likely to commit crimes so the possibility of facial recognition technology being used could deter crime.
Since there is no contact required for facial recognition like there is with fingerprinting or other security measures, facial recognition offers a quick, automatic, and seamless verification experience. There is nothing such as a key or I.D. that can be lost or stolen.
Facial recognition can add conveniences. In addition to helping you tag photos in Facebook or your cloud storage via Apple and Google, you will start to be able to check-out at stores without pulling out money or credit cards—your face will be scanned.
Although possible, it’s hard to fool facial recognition technology so it can also help prevent frauds.

Cons:

The biggest drawback for facial recognition technology in most people’s opinions is the threat to an individual’s privacy.
The technology isn’t as effective at identifying people of color and women as it is white males. One reason for this is the data set the algorithms are trained on is not as robust for people of color and women. Until this is rectified, there are concerns about the ramifications for misidentifying people with the technology.
In addition, there are issues that need to be resolved that can throw off the technology when a person changes appearance or the camera angle isn’t quite right (although they are working on being able to identify a person by only their earlobe).
Another potential downside is the storage of sensitive personal data and the challenges that come with it.

Analysing the views of the opposers:

Opposition to facial recognition technology has come mainly from two groups. The first are those who believe that the software discriminates against minorities and ethnic groups, especially blacks and other non-whites. This is, however, not comprehensible because the cameras are meant to take pictures at random rather than of specific segments of the population.
Next are rights activists who focus on privacy violation. Criticism is mainly on the ground that technology, despite the tall claim of infallibility by those producing it, has many a time been found guilty of errors. Therefore, harassment of innocent citizens is not uncommon.
The argument that policing without consent — harms individuals, either physically or in terms of reputation. The point that critics of facial recognition technology who raise privacy concerns should remember is that our faces are already online in a number of places. Increased use of CCTV cameras in a number of public places is in a sense a threat to anonymity. When this is the reality, how can we object to the police scanning us for the laudable objective of solving a case under investigation? also citizens have no qualms in handing over their data to private companies, especially while unlocking phones using one’s fingerprint.

In India:

The benefits will be “a robust system for identifying criminals, missing children /persons, unidentified dead bodies and unknown traced children/persons all over the country; a repository of photographs of criminals in the country; enhanced ability to detect crime patterns and modus operandi across the states and communicate to the state police departments for aiding in crime prevention”. With the help of the software, the state police personnel can check the suspect with the hotlist of criminals.
Currently, the leading face recognition software are: Amazon Rekognition; Face Recognition and Face Detection by Lambda Labs, Microsoft Face API; Google Cloud Vision and IBM Watson Visual Recognition, among others. In China, startup Megvii and AI unicorns like SenseTime, CloudWalk and Yitu have made facial recognition commonplace in China. In April last year, Delhi Police identified around 30,000 missing children in just 4 days during a trail of facial recognition system.
However, there are concerns that the technology can be misused. According to Pavan Duggal, one of the nation’s top cyber law experts, the Information Technology Act, 2000 does not specially deal with misuse of this technology. The first casualty of the absence of regulatory framework for facial recognition technology is people’s right to privacy.
Given the potential for abuse of the fast advancing facial recognition technology, governments across the world need to start adopting laws to regulate this technology in 2019.

Overall:

In the ultimate analysis, any modern technology is fraught with hidden dangers. There is no claim of infallibility either by the software maker or by the person selling it or who advocates its deployment. Grave errors from its use are however few and far between. Just as DNA testing establishes either the guilt or the innocence of a person arraigned for crime, facial recognition performs an equally vital role in criminal justice administration.
Amazon has also defended the face recognition. It offers “Rekognition” – a facial recognition tool that has been used to spot criminals. According to NCRB, the Automated Facial Recognition System (AFRS) to be implemented that would help in automatic identification and verification of persons from digital images, photos, digital sketches, video frames and video sources by comparison of selected facial features of the image from an already existing image database. “A facial recognition system is a great investigation enhancer for identification of: criminals, missing children/persons, unidentified dead bodies and unknown traced children/persons. It can provide investigating officers of the civil police with the required tools, technology, and information,” said NCRB.

Question – Can the pandemic coronavirus present India with an opportunity to revive multilateralism in an environment where the major powers like the U.S. are turning protectionist?

Context – Coronavirus and its aftermath.

Note – Before understanding today’s article, we have to understand two words – cross national and cross domain.

Cross national – relating to two or more nations.
Cross domain – means that a disruption in one domain will lead to a parallel disruption in the other domain.
Multilateralism – the principle of participation by three or more parties, especially by the governments of different countries. Opposite of unilateralism or bilateralism.

The present scenario:

Nationalist trends are becoming more intense, countries are beginning to build walls around themselves and hence even the existing multilateralism of the present is being further weakened.
Institutions such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization which are already marginalised may become increasingly irrelevant. There could be a return to autarkic economic and trade policies and an even deeper and more pervasive anti-globalisation sentiment.
Unless there is a conscious effort to stem this through a reaffirmation of multilateralism, we are looking at a very depressing decade ahead.

Analysis:

The article uses the reference of the pandemic coronavirus and highlights two facts. First, that through coronavirus disruption we have understood one thing that just like coronavirus is not limited to just one nation, in the same way the problems that will arise in the future will be cross national in character i.e. they will not be limited to just one nation. Let us see water scarcity for example or other environmental changes or trafficking and so on.
Second, that these challenges are cross-domain in nature, with strong feedback loops i.e. a disruption in one domain often cascades into parallel disruptions in other domains. Simply put, the treatment of one problem adversely affects the other end. For example, the use of chemical fertilizers and toxic pesticides may promote food security but have injurious health effects, undermining health security.
So when formulating any policy to deal with an issue, the policy makers should keep these two inter domain linkages in mind.

The example of coronavirus:

This is a global challenge which recognises no political boundaries. It is intimately linked to the whole pattern of large-scale and high-density food production and distribution (believed to have spread from a meat market in Wuhan in China) and global movement of goods and people. It is not only a health crisis but is also spawning an economic crisis through disrupting global value chains and creating a simultaneous demand shock. It is a classic cross-national and cross-domain challenge.
The interventions to deal with the COVID-19 crisis are so far almost entirely at the national level, relying on quarantine and social distancing. There is virtually no coordination at the international level.
For example, we are also seeing a blame game erupt between China and the United States which does not augur well for international cooperation and leadership.

So what should be the approach?

The intersection of cross-national and cross-domain challenges demand multilateral approaches. They require empowered international institutions of governance. Underlying these must be a spirit of internationalism and solidarity, a sense of belonging to a common humanity.
The countries need to finally realise that there is no option but to move away from nationalistic urges and embrace the logic of international cooperation through revived and strengthened multilateral institutions and processes.
There is a role here for India which is a key G-20 country, the world’s fifth largest economy and with a long tradition of international activism and promotion of rule-based multilateralism.

The Indian government’s approach:

Historically, India has always professed its desire to have friendly relations with all countries but has been equally firm in safeguarding its interests when these are threatened. India’s non-alignment did not prevent it from forging strong and mutually beneficial partnerships with major countries. The India-Soviet partnership from 1960-1990 is an example just as the current strategic partnership with the U.S. is. The foreign policy of his predecessors had been rooted in India’s civilisational sense, its evolving place in the international system and its own changing capabilities.
A leadership role in mobilising global collaboration, more specifically in fighting COVID-19 would be in keeping with India’s traditional activism on the international stage. The Prime Minister has shown commendable initiative in convening leaders of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation nations for a regional collaborative effort on COVID-19. This should be followed by an international initiative, either through the G-20 or through the U.N.
At present, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks at the recentThe Economic Times Global Business Summit reflect the government’s approach. While speaking of the COVID-19 crisis, he said, “Like today, the world is facing a huge challenge in the form of Corona Virus. Financial institutions have also considered it a big challenge for the financial world. Today, we all have to face this challenge together. We have to be victorious with the power of our resolution of ‘Collaborate to Create’.

Way forward:

The COVID-19 pandemic presents India with an opportunity to revive multilateralism, become a strong and credible champion of internationalism and assume a leadership role in a world that is adrift. The inspiration for this should come from reaffirming the well springs of India’s foreign policy since its Independence rather than seeking to break free.

Note – Today there is another article on genome sequencing. Not much is there to note but the following are the highlights with additional inputs:

What is genome sequencing?

Genome sequencing is figuring out the order of DNA nucleotides, or bases, in a genome—the order of As, Cs, Gs, and Ts that make up an organism’s DNA. The human genome is made up of over 3 billion of these genetic
Today, DNA sequencing on a large scale—the scale necessary for ambitious projects such as sequencing an entire genome—is mostly done by high-tech machines. Much as our eye scans a sequence of letters to read a sentence, these machines “read” a sequence of DNA bases.

The IndiGen Genome Project:

TheIndiGen Genome Project, launched in April, 2019, is a government-funded exercise that sequenced more than a thousand individuals from diverse ethnicities to create a genome database for Indians.
Since most of the globally available genetic tests have been developed using data of Caucasian populations, this indigenous genetic mapping exercise might improve our ability to diagnose, prevent, and treat diseases specific to the Indian population.

Importance of genomic data:

Human genome sequencing has the potential to determine the role of individual genes and their ability to cause diseases. Data generated through these sequencing technologies offer opportunities to assess genetic predisposition to a disease, diagnose heritable cancers, and develop tests to prevent adverse drug reactions.
Examples include prenatal genetic testing for expectant couples to detect birth defects or genetic disorders, predictive genetic testing to diagnose heritable breast and ovarian cancers, and diagnostic genetic testing to confirm the possibility of monogenic disorders such as sickle cell anaemia and cystic fibrosis.
In short, genomics offers the potential to medically treat patients according to their unique genetic profiles.

Privacy concerns:

Gene sequencing is becoming so inexpensive that companies now sell testing kits directly to customers. Do-it-yourself (DIY) genetic testing may transfer disease diagnosis from health professionals directly to consumers. This raises risks. Some of these can be seen today, while others will appear in hindsight.
India today has only loose regulations for this budding field. The Indian Council of Medical Research, the apex body that regulates clinical trials in India, has no specific guidelines to govern genetic testing laboratories.
Companies have access to sensitive personal information, which could be hacked or sold to third parties without participants’ consent. Since genomic data also characterises a person’s ancestral history, information about one person reveals information about the person’s close or distant biological relatives. Health insurers and employers might misuse this data to marginalise or discriminate against people based on genetic profiles. In India, where caste, sex, religion and colour-based discrimination is so common, genetic discrimination can be another ticking bomb.

How to keep genome data safe?

Given the sensitivity of genomic data, every effort must be made to minimise the likelihood of data breaches and to maintain public trust in institutions that gather, store and use such data. This can be achieved in three different ways.
First, there is a need for a more comprehensive and effective policy to guide the use of genomic information, with significant emphasis on protecting the privacy of research subjects. One way to make this possible is through ‘dynamic consent’ by which people who wish to participate in a research project can register themselves and provide consent on an ongoing basis. These models will help improve participation rates while providing patients with the autonomy to make informed decisions regarding the use of personal data they chose to part with.
Second, gathering such large-scale information can only be achieved if the process of data collection is reliable, confidential, and accurate. A practical and feasible solution to build such a reliable and safe database is the application of blockchain technology—a digital distributed ledger—to secure genomic data. This model can provide the data subject with singular control over her data, and the authority to grant access to specific healthcare providers and research institutions for collaboration on disease prevention and treatment.
Third, a collaborative and harmonised framework must be developed to balance sharing of genomic data with an individuals’ privacy. The framework must be transparent enough to specify the purpose of the collected genomic data and the duration for which it will be stored in the databank.
The framework should also have specific clauses dealing with the communication of results to not only data users but also the contributors of data.
The Data Protection Authority—set up under the draft Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018— should periodically monitor this to help build public trust and to ensure that the data-sharing model minimises harm and maximises benefits.

Way forward:

Although the current market for genetic testing is limited due to lack of awareness and cost challenges, India’s massive population along with a huge burden of genetic diseases holds tremendous potential for the field.
India, however, needs to balance the protection of patient’s privacy with data access to reap the benefits of advancements in genomics in the field of personalised medicine—a scenario where patients are treated based on their unique genetic profiles.

No. 1.

Note – Cryptocurrency is recently in the news and there is a lot of ambiguity about it.
So today we will get all the things clear about what is cryptocurrency, what is blockchain, how cryptocurrency mining work and other related titbits.

What is cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency is best thought of as digital currency (it only exists on computers). It is transferred between peers (there is no middleman like a bank). Transactions are recorded on a digital public ledger (called a “blockchain”). Transaction data and the ledger are encrypted using cryptography (which is why it is called “crypto” “currency”). It is decentralized, meaning it is controlled by users and computer algorithms and not a central government. It is distributed, meaning the blockchain is hosted on many computers across the globe. Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies are traded on online cryptocurrency exchanges, like stock exchanges. Bitcoin (commonly traded under the symbol BTC) is one of many cryptocurrencies; other cryptocurrencies have names like “Ether (ETH),” “Ripple (XRP),” and “Litecoin (LTC).” Alternatives to Bitcoin are called “altcoins”.

How to use cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency is roughly the equivalent of using PayPal or a Debit Card, except the numbers on the screen represent cryptocurrency instead of fiat currency like a dollar. All a new user needs to do is set up a Coinbase account. With Coinbase users can buy, sell, send, receive, and store Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether, and Litecoin(Coinbase provides an all-in-one wallet, broker, and exchange service making them a one-stop-shop for new users.
The basic concepts are: To use cryptocurrency, you don’t need to understand it (any more than you need to understand the monetary system to use a debit card). However, if you want to understand cryptocurrency you need to understand the concept of digital currency, the concept of blockchain(both as a public ledger of transactions and a technology), and the concept of cryptography.
After-all, cryptocurrency is a digital currency, where transactions are recorded on a public digital ledger called a blockchain, and every process along the way is secured by cryptography.
Cryptocurrency works a lot like bank credit on a debit card. In both cases, a complex system that issues currency and records transactions and balances works behind the scenes to allow people to send and receive currency electronically. Likewise, just like with banking, online platforms can be used to manage accounts and move balances. The main difference between cryptocurrency and bank credit is that instead of banks and governments issuing the currency and keeping ledgers, an algorithm does.

How does cryptocurrency work?

Transactions are sent between peers using software called “cryptocurrency wallets.” The person creating the transaction uses the wallet software to transfer balances from one account (AKA a public address) to another. To transfer funds, knowledge of a password (AKA a private key) associated with the account is needed. Transactions made between peers are encrypted and then broadcast to the crypto currency’s network and queued up to be added to the public ledger. Transactions are then recorded on the public ledger via a process called “mining” (explained below). All users of a given cryptocurrency have access to the ledger if they choose to access it, for example by downloading and running a copy of the software called a “full node” wallet(as opposed to holding their coins in a third party wallet like Coinbase). The transaction amounts are public, but who sent the transaction is encrypted (transactions are pseudo-anonymous). Each transaction leads back to a unique set of keys. Whoever owns a set of keys, owns the amount of cryptocurrency associated with those keys (just like whoever owns a bank account owns the money in it). Many transactions are added to a ledger at once. These “blocks” of transactions are added sequentially by miners. That is why the ledger and the technology behind it are called “block” “chain.” It is a “chain” of “blocks” of transactions.

How does blockchain work?

The blockchain is like a decentralized bank ledger, in both cases the ledger is a record of transactions and balances. When a cryptocurrency transaction is made, that transaction is sent out to all users hosting a copy of the blockchain. Specific types of users called miners then try to solve a cryptographic puzzle (using software) which lets them add a “block” of transactions to the ledger. Whoever solves the puzzle first gets a few “newly mined” coins as a reward (they also get transaction fees paid by those who created the transactions). Sometimes miners pool computing power and share the new coins. The algorithm relies on consensus. If the majority of users trying to solve the puzzle all submit the same transaction data, then it confirms that the transactions are correct. Further, the security of the blockchain relies cryptography. Each block is connected to the data in the last block via one-way cryptographic codes called hashes which are designed to make tampering with the blockchain very difficult. Offering new coins as rewards, the difficulty of cracking the cryptographic puzzles, and the amount of effort it would take to add incorrect data to the blockchain by faking consensus or tampering with the blockchain, helps to ensure against bad actors.

What is cryptocurrency mining?

People who are running software and hardware aimed at confirming transactions to the digital ledger are cryptocurrency miners. Solving cryptographic puzzles (via software) to add transactions to the ledger (the blockchain) in the hope of getting coins as a reward is cryptocurrency mining.

How does cryptography work with cryptocurrency?

The keys that move balances around the blockchain utilize a type of one-way cryptography called public-key cryptography. The “hashes” (the one-way cryptographic codes that tie together blocks on the blockchain) use a similar type of cryptography. Meanwhile, transaction data sent and stored on the blockchain is tokenized (tokenizationis a type of one-way cryptography that points to data but doesn’t contain all the original data). The key to understanding these layers of encryption which ensure a system like Bitcoin’s (some coins work a little differently) is found in one-way cryptographic functions (cryptographic hash functions, cryptographic tokens, and public-key cryptography are all names for specific, but related, types of one-way cryptographic functions). The main idea is that cryptocurrency uses a type of cryptography that is easy to compute one way, but hard to compute the other way without a “key.” Very loosely you can think of it like this, it is easy to create a strong password if you are in your online bank account, but very hard for others to guess a strong password after it has been created.

How does one obtain or trade cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency can be obtained most of the same ways other types of currencies can. You can exchange goods and services for cryptocurrency, you can trade dollars for cryptocurrencies, or you can trade cryptocurrencies for other cryptocurrencies. Trading is generally done via brokers and exchanges. Brokers are third parties that buy/sell cryptocurrency, exchanges are like online stock exchanges for cryptocurrency. One can also trade cryptocurrencies directly between peers. Peer-to-peer exchanges can be mediated by a third party, or not. Please be aware that cryptocurrency prices tend to be volatile. One should ease into cryptocurrency investing and trading and be ready to lose everything they put in (especially if they invest in or trade alternative coins with lower market caps).

Taxed?

Generally there are tax implications to trading or using cryptocurrency.
It is important to understand the tax implications. In short, you’ll owe money on profits (capital gains) and may owe sales tax or other taxes when applicable.

Question – Discuss the relationship between epidemics and economics.

Context – Threat of a global recession due to coronavirus.

In the context of the coronavirus outbreak we have already discussed epidemics and how to deal with them.
Today we will have a look at the relationship between epidemics and the economy, i.e. the economic risks and impacts of epidemics like coronavirus.

To understand:

Infectious diseases and associated mortality have reduced, but they remain a significant threat throughout the world.
Some infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis and malaria, are endemic to many areas, imposing substantial but steady burdens. Others, such as influenza, fluctuate in pervasiveness and intensity, wreaking havoc in developing and developed economies alike when an outbreak (a sharp increase in prevalence in a relatively limited area or population), an epidemic (a sharp increase covering a larger area or population), or a pandemic (an epidemic covering multiple countries or continents) occurs.

The relation between epidemics and economics:

The health risks of outbreaks and epidemics—and the fear and panic that accompany them—map to various economic risks.

First, and perhaps most obviously, there are the costs to the health system, both public and private, of medical treatment of the infected and of outbreak control.
A sizable outbreak can overwhelm the health system, limiting the capacity to deal with routine health issues and compounding the problem.
Beyond shocks to the health sector, epidemics force both the ill and their caretakers to miss work or be less effective at their jobs, driving down and disrupting productivity.
Fear of infection can result in social distancing or closed schools, enterprises, commercial establishments, transportation, and public services—all of which disrupt economic and other socially valuable activity.
Concern over the spread of even a relatively contained outbreak can lead to decreased trade. For example, a ban imposed by the European Union on exports of British beef lasted 10 years following identification of a mad cow disease outbreak in the United Kingdom, despite relatively low transmission to humans.
Travel and tourism to regions affected by outbreaks are also likely to decline. Some long-running epidemics, such as HIV and malaria, deter foreign direct investment as well.
The consequences of outbreaks and epidemics are not distributed equally throughout the economy. Some sectors may even benefit financially, while others will suffer disproportionately. Pharmaceutical companies that produce vaccines, antibiotics, or other products needed for outbreak response are potential beneficiaries. Health and life insurance companies are likely to bear heavy costs, at least in the short term, as are livestock producers in the event of an outbreak linked to animals.
Vulnerable populations, particularly the poor, are likely to suffer disproportionately, as they may have less access to health care and lower savings to protect against financial catastrophe.

Need:

Economic policymakers are accustomed to managing various forms of risk, such as trade imbalances, exchange rate movements, and changes in market interest rates. There are also risks that are not strictly economic in origin. Armed conflict represents one such example; natural disasters are another.
We can think about the economic disruption caused by outbreaks and epidemics along these same lines. As with other forms of risk, the economic risk of health shocks can be managed with policies that reduce their likelihood and that position countries to respond swiftly when they do occur.

Note – Though Coronavirus and epidemic control has been discussed earlier in the article of 24th January, the following are some additional highlights on epidemic spread and ways to deal with them.

Challenges to containing the spread of epidemics:

Several factors complicate the management of epidemic risk. Diseases can be transmitted rapidly, both within and across countries, which means that timely responses to initial outbreaks are essential.
In addition to being exacerbated by globalization, epidemic potential is elevated by the twin phenomena of climate change and urbanization.
Climate change is expanding the habitats of various common disease vectors, such as the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which can spread dengue, chikungunya, Zika, and yellow fever.
Urbanization means more humans live in close quarters, amplifying the transmissibility of contagious disease. In rapidly urbanizing areas, the growth of slums forces more people to live in conditions with substandard sanitation and poor access to clean water, compounding the problem.
Perhaps the greatest challenge is the formidable array of possible causes of epidemics, including pathogens that are currently unknown. In December 2015 the World Health Organization (WHO) published a list of epidemic-potential disease priorities requiring urgent research and development (R&D) attention. That listhas since been updated twice, most recently in February 2018.
Beyond this list, diseases that are currently endemic in some areas but could spread without proper control represent another category of threat. Tuberculosis, malaria, and dengue are examples, as is HIV.
Pathogens resistant to antimicrobials are increasing in prevalence throughout the world, and widespread pan-drug-resistant superbugs could pose yet another hazard.
Rapid transmission of resistant pathogens is unlikely to occur in the same way it may with pandemic threats, but the proliferation of superbugs is making the world an increasingly risky place.

What can be done?

Epidemic risk is complex, but policymakers have tools they can deploy in response. Some tools minimize the likelihood of outbreaks or limit their proliferation. Others attempt to minimize the health impact of outbreaks that cannot be prevented or immediately contained. Still others aim to minimize the economic impact.

Investing in improved sanitation, provisioning of clean water, and better urban infrastructure.
Investment in reliable disease surveillancein both human and animal populations.
Informal surveillance systems, such as ProMEDand HealthMap, which aggregate information from official surveillance reports, media reports, online discussions and summaries, and eyewitness observations, can also help national health systems and international responders get ahead of the epidemiological curve during the early stages of an outbreak.
Social media offers additional opportunities for early detection of shifts in infectious disease incidence.
Collaborations for monitoring epidemic readiness at the national level, such as the Global Health Security Agendaand the Joint External Evaluation Alliance, provide information national governments can use to bolster their planned outbreak responses.
Countries should be ready to take initial measures to limit the spread of disease when an outbreak does occur. Historically, ships were quarantined in port during plague epidemics to prevent the spread of the disease to coastal cities. In the case of highly virulent and highly transmissible diseases, quarantines may still be necessary, although they can inspire concerns about human rights.
Likewise, it may be necessary to ration biomedical countermeasures if supplies are limited. Countries should decide in advance if they will prioritize first responders and other key personnel or favor vulnerable groups, such as children and the elderly; different strategies may be appropriate for different diseases.
Technological solutions can help minimize the burden of sizable outbreaks and epidemics. Better and less-costly treatments—including novel antibiotics and antivirals to counter resistant diseases—are sorely needed. New and improved vaccines are perhaps even more important.

Topic- An inadequate lockdown package

CONTEXT:

The Central government has asked States to seal borders to prevent lakhs of workers, who have been rendered jobless overnight with no guarantee of wages and shelter, from reaching their villages.
The workers are to be herded into quarantine zones. These atrocious actions amount to a mass criminalisation of the labour force of India.

APATHY OF THE GOVERNMENT:

The workers are paying for the callousness of the government in declaring a lockdown without even a day’s notice.
The Home Ministry has also invoked Sections 51 to 60 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, to imprison those who violate government instructions.
However, it is not using the same law to transfer essential funds to the States in the front line of dealing with the COVID-19 crisis.
The sealing orders come after the Finance Minister’s announcement of a “package of ₹7 lakh crore for the poor”.
If the workers really believed that the package was helpful, they would not have started their long march home.

WELCOME INITIATIVES:

There are two components of the Central government package that are welcome.
One, households that are already entitled to receive foodgrains at subsidised rates from the public distribution system will be given an additional 5 kg free for the next three months.
With the sharp rise in the prices of essential commodities, this measure will also bring down the prices of foodgrains.
The government should follow this up with the inclusion of other essential commodities at subsidised rates through the PDS.
Offering one kilo of pulses a month for an entire family, as has been done in the package, does not even rate as a charitable gesture. It is also too small an amount to have any impact on the rising prices of pulses.

CHALLENGE:

The challenge will be to ensure that the free foodgrains reach the beneficiaries. For this all the conditionalities should be waived.
For example, lakhs of people, including migrant workers, do not have ration cards. They should not be denied free foodgrains; their presence in the village should be enough proof of their existence.
Similarly, the thousands of migrant workers stranded in the cities should also have access to free foodgrains. Mechanisms have to be set up urgently.
Two, all beneficiaries of the PM Ujjwala Yojana will be given free LPG cylinders over a three-month period.
Apart from monetary relief, this will especially help women who will find it difficult to step out of their homes to collect fuel.
So far, for the last few years, the government has not given any benefits to the people in spite of the sharp reduction in global crude prices, the levying of higher duties on petroleum products, and the consequent windfall in government revenues.
A free gas cylinder would be a tiny portion of this revenue. Nevertheless, it is welcome.

PROBLEMS IN THE PACKAGE:

The rest of the “package” can be described in many ways, the most polite of which would be to call it disappointingly inadequate.
In fact, although claimed to be a package of ₹7 lakh crore, the actual additional funds allocated by the government for alleviating economic distress caused by measures to control the spread of SARS-CoV-2 are much smaller and mainly notional.
For crores of daily workers, the reality is that if they stay home, their families can’t eat.
For this large section of the population, what was required was an immediate cash transfer, through the PM Jan-Dhan Yojana or MNREGA accounts of a minimum of ₹5,000 for the three-week period of the lockdown.
Instead, the government has decided to give a cash transfer of just ₹500 a month to women with Jan-Dhan accounts. This is around 53% of the 38 crore accounts.
The other cash transfer is equally meagre. The government has decided to give ₹1,000 to pension holders who are widows, disabled and senior citizens.
As is known, these are not universal schemes. Only a small percentage of such citizens, about 3 crore people, get the pension.
Taken together the cash transfers to the poor comes to under ₹35,000 crore.
These cash transfers are the lowest in the world. Every other country hit by the COVID-19 pandemic has done more for its poor and working people than the Indian government.
It is a shame that a government that can write off bad loans, primarily to corporates, amounting to ₹4 lakh crore (in 2019) cannot even match that amount to save its poor from certain hunger and starvation.
Whereas countries have guaranteed up to 70% to 80% of workers’ wages to prevent lay-offs, the Indian government limits it to a subsidy on EPF. If workers are thrown out of employment, what good would this be?

Example- MNREGA:

The Finance Minister claimed that 5 crore families would benefit from a ₹20 increase in the daily wages for MGNREGA workers. This is based on the assumption that all workers who are registered get 100 days of work a year.
The MGNREGA website itself contradicts the Minister’s claims. The average workdays are just between 45 to 49 days a year, which means a less than ₹1,000 annual benefit from the measly wage increase.
Moreover, there are a substantial amount of wage arrears that the Finance Minister was silent on.
In the lockdown period, all MGNREGA work has stopped. Shockingly, the guidelines issued by the Home Ministry on March 24 do not consider agricultural work as an essential service.
The Central government has to change its guidelines so that rural workers can demand work under MGNREGA.
The ₹2,000 for farmers is already a government scheme which was due in four months and has been accounted for in the Budget.
It would be deceitful if this amount were to be included in the ₹7 lakh crore package, as seems to be the case.
Also, the District Mineral Fund, which is legally mandated to be used for tribal welfare in mining-affected districts, is now to be used by State governments for meeting COVID-19-related expenditure.
It is illegal to divert funds meant for the most exploited of our society to fulfil the financial responsibilities of the Central government.

AN AVOIDABLE TRAGEDY:

The government’s refusal to take the people into confidence about the lockdown that had already been planned, as indicated by the Prime Minister in his second address on COVID-19, has led to immense avoidable distress.
Thousands of workers remain stranded without food, shelter or money in cities. Countless have walked hundreds of kilometers, facing hostile police forces, just to get home.
A lockdown which is considered essential to fight SARS-CoV-2 cannot lead to a disproportionate burden on the poor.

CONCLUSION:

The government must expand its package to ensure that the spectre of SARS-CoV-2 is not replaced by the spectre of hunger and suffering for the majority of Indians.
At a time of crisis when India unites, the lockdown should not mean a lockdown of the rights of the working poor.

Shift to upscaling food rationing now

CONTEXT:

Two days ago, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a ₹7-lakh crore package of social security measures to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic in the period of the 21-day lockdown.
In respect of food security, the package falls far short of what is needed.

ENSURING UNIVERSAL RATIONING:

I argue that we need to immediately ensure universal rationing with an expanded food basket, and special measures for cooked food in urban areas for the vulnerable population.
The burden of the current lockdown is borne disproportionately by the large unorganised workforce, comprising hundreds of millions of casual daily wage-workers and self-employed workers.
India already holds the record for the largest number of malnourished persons in the world.
As their ability to purchase food diminishes, a growing population of working people and their families will soon enter a phase of hunger and undernourishment.
The answer to this looming and very real scenario of food insecurity lies in a massive programme of food rationing, far greater than what the Finance Minister has promised.

LESSONS FROM HISTORY:

To ensure that all people have access to adequate food in the midst of this unprecedented health and economic crisis with potentially high levels of mortality, we must immediately expand our food security system.
Before I come to the components of such an expanded programme, let us briefly look at the lessons provided by the experience of other countries in using rationing in times of scarcity.

UK EXAMPLE:

In the United Kingdom in the 1940s, rationing or a policy of “fair shares” was introduced in a period of war and scarcity.
Starting in 1939, each and every person was issued a ration book, with a weekly entitlement that could be collected at a local grocery store.
Rationing encompassed many commodities, starting with butter, bacon and sugar, and later augmented by eggs, biscuits, tinned food, meat, cereals, etc.
A remarkable outcome of the war years was, as Amartya Sen has demonstrated, a significant improvement in vital statistics including a rise in life expectancy and a decline in the mortality rate.
Despite heavy war casualties and a decline in consumer expenditure per capita, life expectancy actually improved.
In the first six decades of the 20th century, the decade from 1941 to 1950 saw the largest increase in life expectancy in England and Wales.

INDIA’S TIMELINE:

In India, the British introduced rationing in six cities in 1942, mainly to supply industrial workers with adequate food.
Following demands from a strong political movement, Malabar became the first rural area to implement rationing in 1943.
In the mid-1960s, the system of rationing or the Public Distribution System (PDS) was made a national universal programme, which steadily expanded till 1991.
In the 1990s, the policies of liberalisation led to the withdrawal of universal rationing and its replacement by a policy of narrow targeting.
Differential entitlements were provided for BPL (Below Poverty Line) and APL (Above Poverty Line) households.
In 2013, the landmark National Food Security Act (NFSA), ensured legal entitlement to rations and other food-based schemes (such as mid-day meals in schools).
Around 75% of rural households, and 50% of urban households, that is, a total of two-thirds of all households, were eligible for inclusion (now termed priority households) in the NFSA.
The implementation of the NFSA — notably the PDS, the Mid-day Meal Scheme, and the Integrated Child Development Services scheme — varies significantly across States; nevertheless, the infrastructure for distribution of food is in place in all parts of the country.

CHINA’S STRATEGY:

In China, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), a planning body, was the key coordinator along with the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) in ensuring supplies of basic foods and price stability to the poor, especially in Wuhan province, the epicentre of the current pandemic, which was under lockdown since January 23, 2020.
The Chinese strategy had multiple components, which included public corporations and ministries, 300 large private companies, 200,000 private stores, and local government institutions.
To illustrate, State-owned companies such as COFCO or the China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation, and Sinograin (China Grain Reserves Corporation) supplied key commodities to Wuhan.
This included 200 tonnes of rice, 50 tonnes of flour and noodles, and 300 tonnes of edible oils each day during the peak of the pandemic in February 2020.
The National Grain Trade Centre has to date supplied 155,000 tonnes of corn and 154,000 tonnes of soyabean to Wuhan.
Special delivery trucks for transport of vegetables were arranged, and the local government organised open-air markets.

INDIA:

Kerala was the first State in India to announce a package with income support measures and in-kind measures including free rations of 15 kg (grain) and provision of cheap meals.
The government of Tamil Nadu announced free rations of rice, sugar, cooking oil and dal to all ration card holders.
The supply of rations for unorganised workers is to be through Amma canteens. The Delhi government will give 1.5 times existing entitlements at no cost to all ration card holders.

KEY POINTS OF A PLAN:

In India a system of expanded rations must have the following components.
First,for all rural households, free rations of rice and wheat at double the normal entitlement must be distributed.
The current entitlement is about half the quantity of daily cereal intake recommended by the Indian Council of Medical Research:
- the new quantities should be the actual minimum requirement per person per day.
The government of India has now doubled rations (rice or wheat) to all priority households, from 5 kg to 10 kg per person per month.
However, this falls short, as the rations are not to all households but only priority households; the rations are not free (only the additional 5 kg is free).
Universal Provisioning: The provision of rations must be universal: this is not the time to demarcate households by type of ration card or whether they have a ration card or by any form of biometrics.
The system of identification of priority households is not error-proof, and no household wrongly excluded should be outside the ambit of rationing today.
This upscaling is feasible as the country has stocks of 58 million tonnes of rice and wheat; and the wheat harvest is currently underway in north India.
Second,for all rural households, additional rations of cooking oil, sugar, salt and lentils should be provided on a regular basis.
Soap must also be included in this list. As supplies have to be arranged, the distribution could be weekly or fortnightly in order to ensure smooth availability.
It is good to see that the government of India has announced one kg of dal per household, but it needs to provide more commodities quickly.
Third,if milk, eggs and vegetables (or one or more of them) can be supplied, we can not only ensure basic food security at the time of a major health crisis, but actually address our burden of malnutrition.
For urban areas, we need a combination of provision of dry goods and of cooked food. All households with ration cards can be given the same entitlements as proposed for rural households.

FOR WORKERS AND MIGRANTS:

For the vast numbers of workers and migrants in towns and cities, however, we must set up arrangements for preparation and delivery of cooked food.
The large numbers of closed community kitchens (schools and colleges, company and office canteens, for example) and restaurant workers now sitting idle or laid off can be brought together to undertake a massive programme of provision of cooked meals at subsidised rates.
Kerala has taken the lead here. This will require careful planning and technology to distribute food while ensuring physical distancing.
The answer is not to simply close the Indira Canteens (serving low-cost meals) as Karnataka has done.

CONCLUSION:

All the measures proposed must continue for at least three months, and be reviewed afterwards.
An imaginative massive exercise of expanded rations could not only provide succour in this pandemic but also bring in a policy shift that will help sustain a nourished and healthy population.

The Hindu Editorials Summary

March 2020

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1st to 31st March 2020 : Complete The Hindu Editorials Summary Notes ( Arora IAS)

The Hindu Editorials Summary

March 2020

www.AroraIAS.com

Arora IAS

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