CONTENTS
SUPACE
#Judiciary #AI 27
APP TO VIEW SC PROCEEDINGS
01
#Judiciary #Live Stream #Court Proceedings 27
SC ON NGT
#NGT #Judgment 28
# G S P a p e r ( P r e l i m s ) & G S P a p e r I I ( Ma i n )
INDIA AND RUSSIA
#Bilateral Relations 02
INDIA AND US: FONOP
#Geopolitics # Bilateral Relations 03
INDIA AND PAKISTAN
#Bilateral Relations 05
BIMSTEC
WORLD PRESS FREEDOM INDEX REPORT 2021
#Index #Governance 30
NEW CEC APPOINTED
#CEC #Election 31
TRIBUNALS REFORMS
#Tribunal #Governance 33
PRACTICE QUESTIONS
34
#Organization 07
MULTIPOLARITY AND MIDDLE POWERS
#Geo Politics 09
35
SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCE INITIATIVE
#Grouping 10
HEART OF ASIA
#Geopolitics 11
PRACTICE QUESTIONS 12
13
# G S P a p e r ( P r e l i m s ) & G S P a p e r I I I ( Ma i n )
CAPITAL EXPENDITURE
#Government Policies 35
IPR WAIVER ON COVID DRUGS
#TRIPS 37
INVERSE FORK-TO-FARM STRATEGY
#Agriculture 39
# GS Paper (Prelims) & GS Paper II (Main)
JUSTICE N.V. RAMANA APPOINTED AS CJI
#Judiciary #CJI #Collegium #Master of the Roster
#Judgments 13
SC ALTERS MEMORANDUM OF PROCEDURE
#Judiciary #MOP 18
AD HOC JUDGES IN HIGH COURT
#Judiciary #Appointments 22
SYSTEM OF RICE INTENSIFICATION
#Agriculture 40
LARGE AREA CERTIFICATION SCHEME
#Agriculture 41
GLOBAL MINIMUM CORPORATE TAX
#Public Finance 42
GST COLLECTIONS
#Public Finance 44
i
RBI’S MONETARY POLICY
# Banking 46
WAYS AND MEANS ADVANCES (WMA)
# Banking 47
MICRO-FINANCE INSTITUTIONS (MFIs)
# Banking 48
EMERGENCY CREDIT LINE GUARANTEE SCHEME (ECLGS)
# Banking 49
RACIAL DISCRIMINATION
#Tolerance #Discrimination #Social Cohesion # Fraternity
61
EATSMART CITIES CHALLENGE
#Health & Disease # behavioural change towards food
safety 62
MALARIA ELIMINATION
#Malaria # Vector borne disease 63
PRACTICE QUESTIONS 64
PLI SCHEME FOR WHITE GOODS
#Manufacturing 50
PRICING OF PHARMACEUTICAL DRUGS
65
#Govt Polices 51
CURRENCY WATCH LIST
#External Sector 52
E-Santa 52
AGRICULTURE INFRASTRUCTURE FUND 53
SWAMITVA SCHEME 53
KVIC 53
SMALLCASES 54
COTTON SEED PRICE (CONTROL) ORDER 54
PRACTICE QUESTIONS 54
# G S P a p e r ( P r e l i m s ) & G S P a p e r I I I ( Ma i n )
COVID-19 REINFECTION
#Science 65
OXYGEN CONCENTRATORS AND VENTILATORS
#Health #Science 67
MEDICAL OXYGEN
#Health #Science 68
CT VALUE
#Health #Technology 69
MATERNAL MORTALITY
#Health #Science 70
56
POST-VACCINE BLOOD CLOTS
#Health #Science 70
WORLD HAEMOPHILIA DAY
#Health #Science 71
# G S P a p e r I & G S P a p e r I I ( Ma i n )
GLOBAL GENDER GAP REPORT 2021
#Gender Gap #Social Justice 56
NATIONAL POLICY FOR RARE DISEASES, 2021
#Rare disease #Health & Disease 56
PMAY-G
NATIONAL POLICY FOR RARE DISEASES, 2021
#Health #Science #Policy 71
BRUCELLOSIS
#Health #Science 73
ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE
#Health #Science 73
#Affordable Housing #Social justice 58
MONKEYDACTYL
PNEUMOCOCCAL CONJUGATE VACCINE
#Space 75
#Vaccine #Health & Disease 58
SARTHAQ
#Education #Teachers’ Quality 59
WORLD POPULATION REPORT 2021
#Social Issues #Population 59
MIGRANT WORKERS ARE REGARDED AS 'OUTSIDERS': NHRC
REPORT #Social Justice #Migrant Workers 60
AZHDARCHID PTEROSAURS
#Biology #Science 75
TIKI FORMATION
#Biology #Science 76
SPACE STATION
#Space #Science #Technology 76
CREW-2 MISSION
#Space #Science #Technology 78
ii
MUONS
PRACTICE QUESTIONS
99
#Physics #Science 79
INGENUITY HELICOPTER
#Space 80
101
WOLF–RAYET STARS
#Space 81
NLS1 GALAXY
#Space 82
ADITYA-L1
#Space #Science #Technology 83
GAGANYAN MISSION
#Space #Science #Technology 84
NATIONAL INTERNET EXCHANGE OF INDIA (NIXI)
#Biology #Science 84
WHITEST PAINT
#Biology #Science 85
XENOBOTS
#Technology #BioMedicine 86
PRACTICE QUESTIONS
87
# GS Paper (Prelims) & GS Paper I (Main)
ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA (ASI) 101
BHITARGAON BRICK TEMPLE 102
BRIHADEESWARAR TEMPLE 102
BIBI KA MAQBARA 102
CHAUKHANDI STUPA 102
ELEPHANTA CAVES 103
GOLCONDA FORT 103
JAGANNATH PURI TEMPLE 103
KHAIR-UL-MANAZIL MOSQUE 104
KONARK SUN TEMPLE 104
LAKSHMI NARASIMHA TEMPLE 104
88
LALITGIRI MUSEUM 104
MALCHA MAHAL 105
MAMALLAPURAM 105
ORCHHA 106
# GS Paper (Prelims) and GS Paper I &
I I I ( Ma i n )
GROUND WATER CHALLENGES IN INDIA
#Ground Water Conservation 88
NITI VALLEY
#Map Location 92
FOREST FIRES
#Forestry 93
PARIS CLIMATE DEAL- STATUS
#Climate Change 94
IRRAWADDY DOLPHIN
#Biodiversity 97
e-FUEL
PADMANABHASWAMY TEMPLE 106
PHUTI MASJID 106
PURANA QILA 106
QILA RAI PITHORA 107
RAMAPPA TEMPLE 108
RANI KI VAV 108
RED FORT, DELHI 108
SHER SHAH GATE 109
SURANGA BAWADI 109
TAWANG MONASTERY 110
VEERABHADRASWAMY TEMPLE, MOTUPALLI 110
VITTALA TEMPLE 110
#pollution 97
CARACAL
#conservation 98
111
INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT OF WILDLIFE HABITATS
#wildlife conservation 99
# G S P a p e r I I I ( Ma i n )
iii
FOCUS ON DEFENCE EXPORTS
#Security #Policy # Partnership 111
CASE STUDIES for Practice
MAINS GS PAPER IV 123
SINGLE CRYSTAL BLADES TECHNOLOGY
#Defence Technology #Innovation 112
P-8I PATROL AIRCRAFT
#Defence #Technology 113
NANOSNIFFER
#Technology 113
126
ESSAY 1: ROLE OF OPPOSITION IN A DEMOCRACY
# Legislature 127
ESSAY 2: RIGHT CONDUCT OF A CIVIL SERVANT IS AN
ENABLER FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE
# Governance
129
ESSAY 3: TECHNOLOGY CANNOT REPLACE MANPOWER
# Science 132
115
NEED OF ETHICS IN MEDIA
ESSAY 4: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IS A PANACEA FOR
THE GROWTH AND SECURITY OF THE NATION
# Science 134
#Ethics in organisations 116
iv
logical .simple .targeted
analysis & explanation
of all relevant news of the month
INDIA AND RUSSIA
• In 2000, both countries established a Strategic
Partnership.
EMERGING GEOPOLITICAL ISSUES AND INDIA RUSSIA RELATIONS
IN NEWS
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s came to India for
a ‘working visit’. The principal objective of the visit was to
prepare the ground for the visit of President Vladimir
Putin later this year. Only in 2020 there was break in the
annual Summit between the Russian President and the
Indian PM.
In this background, there was a speculation that this
annual summit did not happen because of India's
Alignment with US
• India aligning with US in the Quad in the Indo-Pacific
strategy is one of the key issues between India and
Russia.
• India insists that its Indo-Pacific initiatives seek a
cooperative order, that the Quad dialogue (of India,
Japan, Australia and the U.S.) is not the nucleus of a
politico-military alliance.
Russia - China Bonhomie
alignment with the US in the Indo-Pacific Policy and anti-
• India’s has raised concerns about Russia’s China
China Policy which undermined the India - Russia
embrace, encompassing close political, economic and
relations.
defense cooperation.
BACKGROUND OF INDIA RUSSIA RELATIONS
• India and Russia have traditionally enjoyed good
relations since 1947 wherein Russia helped India in
attaining its goal of economic self-sufficiency through
investment in areas of heavy machine-building,
mining, energy production and steel plants.
• Later India and the Soviet Union signed the Treaty of
Peace and Friendship in 1971 which was the
manifestation of shared goals of the two nations as
well as a blueprint for the strengthening of regional
and global peace and security.
• After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, India and
Russia entered into a new Treaty of Friendship and
Cooperation in January 1993 and a bilateral MilitaryTechnical Cooperation agreement in 1994.
• Russia accounted for 77% of China’s arms imports in
2016-20.
• India
has
raised
apprehensions
about
their
technology- and intelligence-sharing.
• Further speculations are rife about a future RussiaChina military alliance.
Russia - Pakistan angle
• Russian foreign minister recently visited Pakistan. This
is the first time a Russian Minister has done so.
• He
highlighted
that
Russia
would
strengthen
Pakistan’s “counter-terrorism capability”. This is being
seen as a step to increase the Russian weapon supply
to Pakistan.
• Russia is Pakistan’s second largest defense supplier,
accounting for 6.6% of its arms imports in 2016-20.
2
• Further, both are cooperating on joint “counterterrorism” drills and sharing perspectives on military
tactics and strategic doctrines.
New cold war
• US is taking on both China and Russia thereby driving
the two countries closer.
• This is leading the world towards bipolarity, a new
cold war.
Concerns for India - Russia ties
• Russia supplied 49% of India’s arms imports in 201620. The share although still high has been falling off
late.
INDIA AND US: FONOP
• Concerns have been raised regarding the potential
technology secrets that can be shared with India's
adversaries like Pakistan and China because of
improving relations of Russia with Pak and China.
• Further, there is fear of attracting sanctions from
America under its CAATSA law for the S – 400 missile
deal.
IN NEWS
The US Navy had asserted navigational rights and freedoms
(freedom
of
navigation
operation
(FONOP)
approximately 130 nautical miles west of Lakshadweep
Islands, inside India’s exclusive economic zone, without
Geography and geopolitics
requesting India’s prior consent.
• The Eurasian landmass to India’s north is dominated
by Russia and China.
This move of the US was seen as a breach of the UNCLOS
and was also seen as unnecessary at a time when India - US
• Strategic and security interests in Central Asia, West
relations are on a high.
Asia and Afghanistan dictate our engagement with the
US POSITION ON THE MOVE
region and the connectivity projects linking it, like the
• U.S. defended the military operation off India’s waters
International
North-South
Transport
Corridor
through Iran.
• For pursuing these interests, India will have to
effectively manage its relations with Russia.
terming it “consistent with international law”.
• For the U.S. Navy, FONOPs are a way of showing
that the maritime claims of certain states are
incompatible with international law.
• India’s requirement of prior consent for the passage
of foreign warships through Indian EEZs, U.S. officials
believe,
is
a
violation
of
the
United
Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
• Articles 56 and 58, Part V of the Law of the Sea
entitles U.S. warships to high-seas freedoms in the
200-nautical mile EEZs of another coastal state.
INDIA'S POSITION
• India interprets the maritime convention differently.
3
• Indian experts note that the UNCLOS does not
explicitly permit the passage of military vessels in
another state’s EEZ.
IN THE EEZ, THE COASTAL STATE HAS:
1. Sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and
exploiting, conserving and managing the natural
• When India ratified the convention in 1995 it stated
resources, whether living or non-living, of the waters
that - “India understands that the provisions of the
superjacent to the seabed and of the seabed and its
Convention do not authorize other States to carry out
subsoil, and with regard to other activities for the
in the exclusive economic zone and on the continental
economic exploitation and exploration of the zone,
shelf military exercises or maneuvers, in particular
such as the production of energy from the water,
those involving the use of weapons or explosives
currents and winds;
without the consent of the coastal State.”
2. Jurisdiction as provided for in the relevant provisions
• This position is consistent with India’s domestic law —
the Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive
Economic Zone and Other Maritime Zones of India
Act of 1976 — and remains unchanged.
of this Convention with regard to:
ο the
establishment and use of artificial islands,
installations and structures;
ο marine scientific research;
WHAT IS EEZ UNDER UNCLOS?
ο the
protection and preservation of the marine
environment;
ο other
rights
and
duties
provided
for
in
this
Convention.
RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF OTHER STATES IN THE
EEZ
• In the exclusive economic zone, all States enjoy the
freedoms of navigation and overflight and of the
laying of submarine cables and pipelines, and other
internationally lawful uses of the sea related to these
freedoms, such as those associated with the operation
• An Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is a concept
adopted at the Third United Nations Conference on
the Law of the Sea (1982), whereby a coastal State
assumes
jurisdiction
over
the
exploration
and
exploitation of marine resources in its adjacent
section of the continental shelf, taken to be a band
extending 200 miles from the shore.
• The exclusive economic zone is an area beyond and
adjacent to the territorial sea, subject to the specific
legal regime established in this Part, under which the
rights and jurisdiction of the coastal State and the
rights and freedoms of other States are governed by
the relevant provisions of this Convention.
• The exclusive economic zone shall not extend
beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from
which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured.
of ships, aircraft and submarine cables and pipelines,
and compatible with the other provisions of this
Convention.
• In exercising their rights and performing their duties
under this Convention in the exclusive economic zone,
States shall have due regard to the rights and
duties of the coastal State and shall comply with
the laws and regulations adopted by the coastal
State in accordance with the provisions of this
Convention and other rules of international law in so
far as they are not incompatible with this Part.
• Why did India not react on such FONOP by US
Navy?
• Indian observers have come to accept U.S. FONOPs as
an instrument in Washington’s military and diplomatic
toolkit that gives the U.S. Navy leverage in the
contest with China in the South China Sea.
4
• However, India has the concern that overlooking such
the Western edge), in particular, is a discrepancy that
moves by US can give China an excuse to have greater
cannot be explained as a minor departure from the
Naval presence in the Indian Waters. This can also
provisions of the UNCLOS.
increase the threat of People’s Liberation Army Navy
submarines near Indian islands.
• The
U.S.
Navy
sail
through
the
waters
off
Lakshadweep highlights a gap in the Indian and
• U.S. FONOPs in Indian EEZs have been relatively low
American
perception
an
of
key. Since 2016, the U.S. Navy has carried out three
complicating
already
forays through Indian EEZs keeping well outside
international maritime law.
navigational
complex
freedoms,
domain
of
Indian territorial waters.
• In contrast, U.S.
warships
challenged
excessive
Chinese claims thrice in 2016, four times in 2017, six in
INDIA AND PAKISTAN
2018, eight in 2019, and nine in 2020.
• Most patrols are said to have come within 12 nautical
miles of the territorial sea limit around China’s islands.
• These numbers clearly highlight the U.S. Navy’s
strategic priorities in Asia.
• Further US had also carried out FONOP in the
IN NEWS
India’s External Affairs minister’s visit to UAE
drew
territorial waters of Maldives with which it signed a
attention as his visit overlapped with that of Pakistan’s
defense agreement in 2020.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. The Minister
• The choice of carrying out such an operation near the
Lakshadweep island is also seen as an attempt by the
US to not irk India.
• This is because maritime boundaries around the
Lakshadweep are more settled than the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands.
• Thus, the overall idea might have been to signal to
China that the U.S. Navy is committed to uphold the
rules-based order in the waters of opponents and
partners alike.
CONCERNS
• Such operations normalize military activism by other
countries close to India’s island territories that remain
vulnerable to incursions by foreign warships.
• The U.S. Navy’s emphasis on navigational freedoms in
the EEZs encourages other regional navies to violate
India’s domestic regulations in the waters surrounding
the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
met his counterpart from UAE Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed
Al Nahyan, who also met with Mr. Qureshi. The meetings
came amidst strong speculation that the Gulf country was
mediating to restart dialogue between India and Pakistan.
While Pakistan has welcomed the reports of third party
mediation, India has maintained silence as it goes against
its traditional position on diplomacy with Pakistan. India
maintains officially that issues with Pakistan are of a
bilateral nature that has no space for third party
mediation or intervention. So let us understand the
various aspects of this issue in detail .
RECENT ISSUES IN INDIA – PAK TIES
• Ties between India and Pakistan have been frozen
since 2016, and the Pulwama terror attack in February
2019 worsened the situation. This was followed by the
Balakot airstrikes, retaliatory strikes by Pakistan and
the capture of an Indian pilot who was later released.
• In August 2019, after India revoked the special status
of J&K under Article 370, and bifurcated the state into
• It is noteworthy that U.S. is yet to ratify the UNCLOS.
two
• India’s domestic law is said to be out of sync with
diplomatic ties, forcing India to do the same. This also
international law.
• India’s declaration of straight baselines delineating
zones around the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (on
Union
Territories,
Pakistan
downgraded
led to snapping of trade ties.
• The Kartarpur corridor is a positive development in
minimizing the trust deficit that exists between the
5
two countries and could further contribute to other
• During the Kargil War, Prime Minister Atal Bihari
confidence building measures such as enhancing
Vajpayee
cooperation in trade.
interlocutor, R.K. Mishra.
chose
an
unorthodox
back-channel
• In February, the militaries of India and Pakistan
• In 2016, six former Pakistani High Commissioners also
announced adherence to ceasefire agreements along
travelled to Delhi for a Track-II consultation with nine
the Line of Control — a sign of thaw amid the chill in
former Indian High Commissioners, where they met
ties.
NSA Doval and senior MEA officials
• This, according to sources, was possible since India
and Pakistan have been holding back-channel talks for
the few months, with NSA Ajit Doval leading the Indian
initiative with Pakistan’s civilian-military leadership.
• The two Prime Ministers exchanged messages after
Prime Minister of India sent greetings on Pakistan’s
National Day on March 23.
WHY BACKCHANNEL NOW?
• Front door diplomacy is not possible because of a
complex past.
• Pakistan’s dire economic condition and the mounting
pressure from the Financial Action Task Force to shut
down all terrorist safe havens or face severe sanctions
is clearly one imperative for Islamabad’s willingness to
WHAT IS BACK-CHANNEL DIPLOMACY?
engage via the backchannel even after India’s decision
• Back-channel talks are used to talk to each other
on Jammu and Kashmir.
through non-official channels to discuss and resolve
• To avoid the possible two Front war.
the problems facing the countries.
• It can play a key role bringing peace in Afghanistan.
• It is generally conducted through foreign diplomats
or neutral Governments trusted by both sides
desirous of change in status quo.
• It is also a means of restoring the status quo ante in
case of difficulties.
• It is also conducted by respected figures in public lives
who are known for integrity, accuracy, who are
capable of clarity, caution and patience and deep
knowledge of the issue.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF SUCH A
DIPLOMACY?
• It enables would-be dealmakers to test the waters—to
determine whether the other party is capable of
negotiating in good faith—before exploring real
commitments.
• They can be particularly appealing to high-level
leaders who are fearful of a public failure if their
efforts to reach a deal collapse.
BACKCHANNEL DIPLOMACY IN THE PAST
• Such talks had been initiated by General Zia-ul-Haq
and Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi through Jordanian
Crown Prince Hassan.
UAE’s geostrategic role as a peace broker: In recent
years, the UAE has shifted its attention away from
military projection to diplomacy, investment and other
forms of soft power.
• Abu Dhabi was the prime mover in last year’s
Abraham Accords between Israel and several Arab
states.
• UAE
played
a
key
role
alongside
their
Saudi
counterparts in mediating the 2018 peace deal
between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
• The UAE has greatly reduced its footprint in Yemen
and drawn down its forces in the Horn of Africa. It is
looking to scale back in Libya, where it provided both
air cover and material support for the rebel forces of
Khalifa Haftar; the Emiratis are now backing a political
solution to the civil war.
• The UAE has also sought to reduce tensions with Iran
and is leading Arab efforts to reengage with the
regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, having concluded
that the war there has effectively ended and that the
only way to advance Emirati interests is through
political, diplomatic and commercial means.
• UAE’s strong trade & commercial ties to India and
Pakistan, and the fact that it is home to millions of
Indian and Pakistani expatriate workers makes it
6
uniquely qualified to mediate between the two
Master Plan for Transport Connectivity, which will be
countries.
adopted at the next summit.
• The UAE is hoping restoration of trade links between
the two countries.
Robust connectivity is an essential prerequisite for
economic integration of the region with smooth cross-
• More ambitious still, it is aiming to secure a viable
border movement of people and goods.
understanding on Kashmir, which has been the
In this background, let us understand the need for
flashpoint for several wars since their 1947 partition
reinventing BIMSTEC and some facts from the prelims
upon independence from British rule.
perspective.
• The South Asian initiative also plays into the UAE’s
BIMSTEC
pursuit of other important foreign-policy objectives. It
helps to deepen the partnership with USA by
paralleling American efforts to resolve the conflict in
neighboring Afghanistan, where India and Pakistan
have competing economic and security interests.
WHAT ARE THE RISKS WITH SUCH AN
APPROACH?
• Back-channel negotiating may foster costly delays and
perpetuate
the
impasse
they
are
designed
to
overcome.
• They provide only temporary protection from deal
spoilers and public scrutiny.
• Such
secret
breakthrough
negotiations
agreements
can
but
facilitate
yield
early
diminishing
returns when relied on too frequently.
UPSC MAINS - 2015
Q.
Terrorist activities and mutual distrust have
clouded India – Pakistan relations. To what extent
the use of soft power like sports and cultural
exchange could help generate goodwill between
the two countries. Discuss with suitable examples.
• Established as a grouping of four nations — India,
Thailand, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (‘BIST-EC’ Bangladesh, India, Sri-Lanka and Thailand Economic
Cooperation) — through the Bangkok Declaration of
1997 to promote rapid economic development.
• It was renamed as ‘BIMST-EC’ in 1997, following the
inclusion of Myanmar.
• With the admission of Nepal and Bhutan in 2004, the
name of the grouping was changed to ‘Bay of Bengal
BIMSTEC
Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic
Cooperation’ (BIMSTEC).
• BIMSTEC was expanded later to include three more
countries — Myanmar, Nepal and Bhutan.
• Present members -
Bangladesh, Bhutan, India,
Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand
IN NEWS
The foreign ministers of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative
for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation)
met virtually. The ministers conveyed their support for the
• Its members lie in the littoral and adjacent areas of
the Bay of Bengal constituting a contiguous regional
unity.
BIMSTEC
not
only
connects
South
and
Southeast Asia, but also the ecologies of the Great
Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal.
7
• Platform for intra-regional cooperation between
SAARC and ASEAN members.
India-Nepal,
India-Sri
Lanka,
and
Bangladesh-
Myanmar ties in recent years.
• A fourth of the world’s traded goods cross the bay
every year.
• Bangladesh is facing one of the worst refugee crises
of Rohingyas from Myanmar who are fleeing
prosecution in the state of Rakhine in Myanmar.
• Important Connectivity Projects:
o Kaladan Multimodal Project – links India and
Myanmar.
o Asian Trilateral Highway – connecting India and
Thailand through Myanmar.
o Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal
(BBIN)
Motor
Vehicles Agreement – for seamless flow of passenger
and cargo traffic.
Strategic Significance for India: Enables India to pursue
three core policies:
1. Neighbourhood First - primacy to the country’s
immediate periphery;
There is a border conflict between Myanmar and
Thailand.
• Uncertainties
over
SAARC
hovers,
complicating
matters. Both Nepal and Sri Lanka want the SAARC
summit revived, even as they cooperate within
BIMSTEC, with diluted zeal.
• China’s decisive intrusion in the South-Southeast Asian
space has cast dark shadows.
• The military coup in Myanmar, brutal crackdown of
protesters and continuation of popular resistance
resulting in a protracted impasse have produced a
new set of challenges.
2. Act East - connects India with Southeast Asia; and
• BIMSTEC planned to hold summits every two years,
3. Economic development of India’s North Eastern
ministerial meetings every year, but only four summits
states – by linking them to the Bay of Bengal region
have taken place in 20 years up to 2018.
via Bangladesh and Myanmar.
o In fact, BIMSTEC received special attention as India
• India has moved from Look East Policy to Act East
Policy and Indo Pacific cooperation through its
diaspora, culture and connectivity. This has led to
India’s goodwill in the region.
in countries around the Bay of Bengal due to the
spread of its Belt and Road Initiative.
• Physical connectivity with BIMSTEC would also help
India integrate itself with ASEAN’s Master Plan of
Connectivity 2025.
• A new platform for India to engage with its neighbours
with South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
becoming
dysfunctional
regional cooperation over a faltering SAARC.
o Most multilateral groupings from G20 to ASEAN
(Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and SCO
• Allows India to counter China’s creeping influence
(SAARC)
chose to treat it as a more practical instrument for
because
of
differences between India and Pakistan. BIMSTEC
suddenly received special attention as New Delhi
chose to treat it as a more practical instrument for
regional cooperation over a faltering SAARC.
ISSUES IN THE FUNCTIONING OF BIMSTEC
• A strong BIMSTEC presupposes cordial and tensionfree bilateral relations among all its member-states.
This has not been the case, given the trajectory of
(Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) held their
deliberations at the highest political level even in
the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020,
BIMSTEC leaders failed to do so.
• BIMSTEC FTA was negotiated in 2004, talks on it are
yet to be concluded.
• What has been missing from recent deliberations is a
reference to the lack of progress on the trade and
economic dossier.
o A January 2018 study by the Federation of Indian
Chambers
of
suggested
that
Commerce
BIMSTEC
and
Industry
urgently
had
needed
a
comprehensive Free Trade Agreement to be a
real game changer. Ideally it should cover trade in
goods,
services
regulatory
and
harmonisation;
investment;
adopt
promote
policies
that
develop regional value chains; and eliminate nontariff barriers.
8
WAY FORWARD
NEW COLD WAR
As BIMSTEC readies itself to celebrate the silver jubilee of
• U.S. continues to view China as its principal adversary
its formation next year, it faces a serious challenge: to
affect a paradigm-shift in raising the level of our
cooperation and regional integration. The grouping
needs to reinvent itself, possibly even rename itself as
‘The Bay of Bengal Community’. It should consider
holding regular annual summits. Only then will its
leaders
convince
the
region
about
their
strong
commitment to the new vision they have for this unique
platform linking South Asia and Southeast Asia.
MULTIPOLARITY AND
MIDDLE POWERS
on the world stage.
• It aims to counter China by using QUAD in the IndoPacific.
• US also has had issues with Russia ever since its
occupation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and the
allegations of meddling with the US elections.
• This has encouraged Russia and China to solidify their
relations which is visible in their commitment towards
‘Greater Eurasian Partnership’.
• Both have condemned the Quad for “undermining
global strategic stability”.
• Due this alignment between China and Russia on the
one hand and the Indo - Pacific on the other it is being
argued that the divides in the New Cold War will be
between the Indo-Pacific versus Eurasia.
ROLE OF MIDDLE POWERS
• "Middle powers” like Japan, Iran, Turkey and India
IN NEWS
It has been argued by experts that the Position taken by
Joe Biden in USA's foreign policy towards Russia, China,
Iran and Indo - Pacific are quite similar to the ones
have the capacity to project power regionally, build
alliances, and support (or disrupt) the strategies of
international powers pursuing their interests in the
region.
adopted by the previous president Donald trump.
• Japan and India are part of Quad.
This approach highlights that US sees China as its biggest
• Iran has had issues with the west and allies naturally
adversary and due this, new alliances are shaping up
with the Sino-Russian alliance.
leading to what has been termed as a "NEW COLD WAR".
• Turkey, a NATO member, has found its interests
This cold war is being reflected between the Indo-Pacific
better served by Russia and China rather than the U.S.
and the Eurasia.
and its European allies
In this background, it has been highlighted that the final
shape of the cold war will be determined by four nations,
namely Japan, Iran, Turkey and India.
Although these nations, sometimes called as the "middle
powers", have allegiance towards one side or the other
but they are reluctant to be seen as a part of rigid alliance
(unlike the rigid the Cold war alliances formed post World
• But these alliances have their own geopolitical realities
and as such they are reluctant in making these
alliances a rigid reality.
JAPAN
• It has a territorial dispute with China relating to the
Senkaku islands in the East China Sea.
war II). And as such these middle powers are likely to
• From security perspective, Japan relies more on US.
make multipolarity, rather than a new Cold War, the
While from economic perspective as of 2019 around
defining characteristic of the emerging global order.
25% of the Japan's imports came from China.
So, let us understand, how the new cold war is shaping up
and the role played the middle powers.
• Under PM Shinzo Abe, it has tried to reduce
dependency upon the US and pursue an independent
role in the Indo-pacific.
9
SUPPLY CHAIN
• Its $200 billion ‘Partnership for Quality Infrastructure’
funds infrastructure projects in Asia and Africa, and it
has also shown interest in working with the BRI on a
selective basis.
RESILIENCE INITIATIVE
INDIA
• Of late because of increasing threat from China, India
has strengthened its ties with the USA, which is visible
in its engagement in the QUAD and the foundational
agreements signed between India and the USA.
• However, India needs to resolve its 3500 km border
issue with China on its own.
• Further, India is likely to be dependent upon defense
imports from Russia in the near future.
The Trade Ministers of India, Japan and Australia formally
launched the Supply Chain Resilience initiative in a
Trilateral Ministerial Meeting held virtually .
WHAT IS SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCE?
• In the context of international trade, supply chain
IRAN
• Although it seems Iran might be a natural ally of the
Sino-Russian axis, given the sanctions imposed under
the Nuclear deal (JCPOA), still it does align naturally
with
IN NEWS
any
of
the
axis
and
pursues
strategic
independence.
resilience is an approach that helps a country to
ensure that it has diversified its supply risks across a
clutch
of
supplying
nations
instead
of
being
dependent on just one or few.
• Unanticipated
events
like
natural
calamities,
pandemics or armed conflict in a region, that disrupt
TURKEY
supplies from a particular country or even intentional
• It is a part of the west led NATO. Still, it is steadily
distancing from its western partners and increasing
geopolitical, military and economic alignment with
halts to trade because of trade wars, could adversely
impact economic activity in the destination country.
WHY RELEVANT NOW?
• COVID-19
Russia and China.
• However, it still wants to pursue an independent
policy by balancing its relations between the west and
China.
pandemic
has
revealed
supply
chain
vulnerabilities across the globe. When assembly lines
are heavily dependent on supplies from one country,
the impact on importing nations could be crippling if
that source stops production because of any of the
reasons mentioned above.
WAY FORWARD
• Given the geopolitical realities of these "middle
powers", these countries are likely to pursue what has
been called as the "Strategic autonomy".
Example: Japan heavily depends on Electrical and
electronic machinery imports from China. when China
had to shut down factories due to COVID-19
pandemic, it halted the economic activity in Japan
• Such “strategic autonomy” will be defined by flexible
• The Ministers from Japan, India and Australia noted
partnerships, with freedom to shape alliances to suit
the importance of risk management and continuity
specific interests at different times.
plans in order to avoid supply chain disruptions and
• These
four
middle
powers
will
thus
make
multipolarity, rather than a new Cold War, the defining
characteristic of the emerging global order.
affirmed their commitment to strengthen resilient
supply chains
POLICY MEASURES UNDER THIS MAY INCLUDE
• supporting
the
enhanced
utilization
of
digital
technology;
10
• supporting trade and investment.
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia,
ADVANTAGES TO INDIA
Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates
• Diversifying supply chains may help India decoupling
its economy from Import dependency on China.
• Japan and Australia will increase their imports from
India while achieving diversification of their supply
chains.
This
might
lead
to
increased
foreign
investment in Indian manufacture sector.
• A credible alternative to China driven supply chains
under
the
Regional
Comprehensive
Economic
Partnership (RCEP), which India couldn’t join.
EMERGING PICTURE
• This initiative is seen as a move to counter China's
dominance of supply chain in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Since India, Australia and Japan are also members of
Quad, it gives support to the argument that Quad is
turning into a trade bloc as well. However, with no
involvement of USA in the SRI, its alignment with the
objectives of QUAD is still not clear.
HEART OF ASIA
and Uzbekistan
• 9
th
HOA-IP conference was held at Dushanbe in
Tajikistan
• India extends its support to Afghan-Taliban talks,
signalling a subtle shift in its approach towards the
Afghan crisis
EVOLUTION OF INDIA’S POSITION ON
AFGHANISTAN AND TALIBAN:
• India has been one of the oldest and strongest
proponents of democratic governance in Kabul.
• It has provided billions of dollars in infrastructure
development
and
humanitarian
assistance
to
Afghanistan since 2001 (since 2001 Bonn conference
which facilitated the formation of an interim government
to take over from the Taliban).
• Although India has long chosen to refrain from putting
boots on the ground in Afghanistan, the country has
provided the Afghan security forces with critical
operational training and limited military equipment.
• Though India was opposed to any dealings with
Taliban till recently, its position has evolved over the
years
o India sent non official representatives to Moscow
conference on Afghan peace in 2018.
IN NEWS
Indian External Affairs minister recently participated in
the heart of Asia Conference related to resolution of the
Afghan War.
HEART OF ASIA-ISTANBUL PROCESS
• The Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process is a regional
initiative of Afghanistan and the Republic of
Turkey, which was launched in 2011 in Istanbul.
• The Heart of Asia – Istanbul Process aims at
promoting and strengthening peace, security, stability
o India attended inauguration summit of intra-Afghan
talks at Doha
But India’s consistent policy has been that any
conciliation efforts or peace process should be
Afghan-led, Afghan-owned, Afghan-controlled.
WHY IS INDIA ENGAGING WITH TALIBAN?
• Growing international legitimacy to Taliban after
Moscow summit and Historic US-Taliban deal.
• Need to engage to safeguard our investments and
development work that has been done till now.
and prosperity in Afghanistan and in the region
• Establishing diplomatic contacts with a politically
through confidence building and enhancing regional
empowered Taliban will be crucial in safeguarding
cooperation among 15 countries of the Heart of Asia
India’s existing and future economic interests in the
Region.
country, including those linked with Central Asian
• Member Countries of Heart of Asia – Istanbul
energy markets and broader connectivity projects
Process: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, India, Iran,
11
• Not engaging completely with Taliban might result in
Afghanistan.
Pakistan wielding too much of influence over future of
Q1.
Which of the following statements is/are
correct about Heart of Asia Conference?
3.
1.
It is a regional initiative of Afghanistan and the
a)
1 only
b)
1 and 3 only
c)
2 and 3 only
d)
1, 2 and 3
Q4.
Which of the following is/are the members of
Supply chain Resilience initiative?
1.
India
3.
USA
Republic of Turkey.
2.
India is not a member of this process.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
a)
1 only
b)
2 only
c)
Both 1 and 2
d)
Neither 1 nor 2
Bhutan
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
2.
Japan
Q2.
International North South Transport Corridor
passes through which of the following seas ?
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
a)
Mediterranean
b)
Caspian
a)
1 only
b)
1 and 2 only
c)
Black
d)
North sea
c)
2 and 3 only
d)
1, 2 and 3
Q3.
Which of the following countries is/are the
members of BIMSTEC?
Q5.
Which of the following countries have not
1.
Thailand
2.
Malaysia
ratified the UNCLOS ?
a)
India
b)
China
c)
USA
d)
Russia
Q1. To what extent can backchannel diplomacy resolve the issues between India and Pakistan. Discuss
Q2. In the background of failure of SAARC, India is focusing on BIMSTEC as a crucial regional platform. In the light of
this statement, highlight the challenges faced by BIMSTEC in its functioning.
Answers to above MCQs: 1 (a), 2 (b), 3 (b), 4(b), 5(c)
12
JUSTICE N.V. RAMANA
APPOINTED AS CJI
Minister forwards the recommendation to the Prime
Minister who, in turn, advises the President.
• Second Judges Case - SC in the Second Judges Case
(1993) ruled that the senior most judge of the
Supreme Court should alone be appointed to the
office of the CJI.
ADMINISTRATIVE POWERS OF CJI & CHIEF
JUSTICES OF HC
IN NEWS
The President of India, in exercise of the powers conferred
by clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution of India,
appointed Shri Justice Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana,
Judge of the Supreme Court, to be the Chief Justice of India
(CJI).
• Chief Justice of High Courts (HC) and Chief Justice of
India apart from carrying judicial responsibilities and
duties also ensures administrative work such as
allocating cases to judges, forming division bench of
two judges, forming vacation bench or constitution
bench to oversee matters of constitutional importance
A notification in this regard has been issued by the
Department of Justice, Ministry of Law & Justice. The
Warrant of Appointment and a copy of the Notification of
Appointment have been handed over to Shri Justice N. V.
Ramana.
and also deciding roster.
• In the case of State of Rajasthan v. Prakash Chand
and Others, the Court stated that - Chief Justice of the
High Court is the master of the roster and there is no
justification not to treat the Chief Justice of India, who
Justice N. V. Ramana has taken over as 48 Chief Justice of
is the Chief Justice of the Apex Court, to have the same
the Supreme Court of India on 24th April, 2021 and will be
power. If the same principles are not followed, the
th
th
CJI till 26 August, 2022. As CJI, Justice N.V. Ramana will
also be the Master of the Roster and preside over the
Collegium comprising five senior most judges of Supreme
Court.
• Appointed by President - The Chief Justice of India
and the Judges of the Supreme Court are appointed
by the President under clause (2) of Article 124 of the
Constitution.
-
As
per
ROSTER
• A roster refers to a list or plan showing turns of duty
in an institution.
APPOINTMENT OF THE CJI
• Convention
institution cannot function.
convention, outgoing
CJI
recommends the name of the senior most judge of
• In Supreme Court, the Roster is prepared by
the Registrar of Supreme Court under the orders of
CJI.
• The Roster may contain:
General or specific instructions regarding assignment
or allocation of case to a particular Bench.
the Supreme Court as his successor. The Union Law
13
Also includes allocation of work of a Bench, on
regulating the general practice and procedure of the
account of non-availability of Judges to another Bench.
Court including:
Further, to meet any contingencies or emergency, CJI
Rules as to the procedure for hearing appeals, time
may instruct the Registrar to re-allocate judicial work
within which appeals are to be entertained by the
to some other Bench.
Court.
In case of transfer of cases from one Bench of Judges
Rules as to the proceedings of the Court for
to another Bench of Judges, then in such case the
enforcement of any rights conferred by PART III
Registrar shall place the listing for transfer before CJI
(Fundamental Rights).
for his approval.
Rules pertaining to transfer of cases under Article
139A where the same question of law or substantially
ALLOCATION OF BENCH BY CJI
• In case of Division Bench – any matter heard by a
Division Bench of not less than 2 Judges shall be
nominated by the CJI.
• Forming Constitution Bench - CJI may from time to
time constitute a Constitution Bench consisting of 5 or
more judges under Article 145 (3) to adjudicate
the same question of law are pending before the
Supreme Court and one or more High Courts or
before two or more High Courts.
Rules pertaining to transfer of any case, appeal or
other proceedings pending before any High Court
to any other High Court to meet ends of justice.
matters involving substantial question of law or for
The Supreme Court may by rule fix the minimum
interpretation of the Constitution or under Article 143
number of judges who are to sit for any case and
pertaining to Presidential reference.
also provide for powers of Single Judges and
• A Division Bench of two or more judges may refer
Division Bench (more than one judge).
any matter to a larger Bench of not less than 5
Article 145 (3) explains that the minimum number of
judges involving a substantial question of law. In such
Judges who are to sit for the purpose of deciding any
instances, the Division Bench shall refer the case to
case involving a substantial question of law as to the
the CJI who shall thereupon constitute such a
interpretation of this Constitution or for the purpose
larger bench for hearing the matter.
of hearing any reference under Article 143 shall be
Are there any rules or guidelines for Master of
All judgments shall be delivered by the Supreme
Roster?
• Regarding the issue of Master of the Roster, one
needs
to
five.
understand
about Article
145 of
the
Constitution of India.
• Article 145 states that Supreme Court may from time
to time, with the approval of the President, make rules
Court with the concurrence of a majority of judges
present at the hearing of the case and such judge
or judges who do not concur with the judgment of the
majority can freely express their dissenting opinion
or judgment.
for regulating generally the practice and procedure of
the Court.
• This includes rules regarding the procedure for
hearing appeals and other matters pertaining to
appeals including the time within which appeals to the
Court are to be entered.
• Parliament of India under Article 145 has accordingly
framed Supreme Court Rules, 2013.
• Article 145 further mentions that Supreme Court with
the approval of the President may make rules
STATE OF RAJASTHAN V PRAKASH CHAND
The Court stated The administrative control of the High Court vests in
the Chief Justice alone. On the judicial side, however,
he is only the first amongst the equals.
The Chief Justice is the master of the roster. He alone
has the prerogative to constitute benches of the court
and allocate cases to the benches so constituted.
14
That the puisne Judges can only do that work as is
• An
institution
has
to
function
within
certain
allotted to them by the Chief Justice or under his
parameters and that is why there are precedents,
directions.
Rules and conventions. As far as the composition of
The Judges of Division Bench cannot take up any
Benches is concerned, SC accepted the principles
other kind of judicial business which has not been
assigned to them by or under the directions of the
Chief Justice.
stated in Prakash Chand, which was stated in the
context of the High Court, and clearly state that the
same shall squarely apply to the Supreme Court
and there cannot be any kind of command or
CAMPAIGN FOR JUDICIAL ACCOUNTABILITY
order directing the Chief Justice of India to
constitute a particular Bench.
& REFORMS v. UNION OF INDIA &
OTHERS
SHANTI BHUSHAN V SUPREME COURT OF
INDIA
• Supreme Court stated - There can be no doubt that
the Chief Justice of India is the first amongst the
equals,
but
definitely,
he
exercises
certain
administrative powers and that is why in Prakash
Chand Judgment, it has been clearly stated that the
administrative control of the High Court vests in the
Chief Justice alone. The same principle must apply
proprio vigore (by its own force or vigour) as regards
the power of the Chief Justice of India.
• On the judicial side, CJI is only the first amongst the
equals. But, as far as the roster is concerned, as has
been stated by the Three-Judge Bench in Prakash
Chand (supra), the Chief Justice is the master of the
roster and he alone has the prerogative to constitute
the Benches of the Court and allocate cases to the
Benches so constituted.
• The Supreme Court also noted that the convention of
CJI being the master of the roster is followed because
of the principles of law and because of judicial
discipline and decorum.
• Once the Chief Justice is stated to be the master of the
roster, he alone has the prerogative to constitute
Benches.
• Neither a two-Judge Bench nor a three-Judge Bench
can allocate the matter to themselves or direct the
composition for constitution of a Bench.
• There cannot be any direction to the Chief Justice of
India as to who shall be sitting on the Bench or who
shall take up the matter as that touches the
composition of the Bench.
• A petition was filed in the Supreme Court which stated
that the "master of the roster" cannot be an
"unguided
and
unbridled"
discretionary
power,
exercised arbitrarily by the Chief Justice by handpicking the benches of select judges or by assigning
cases to particular judges.
• Accordingly, Shanti Bhushan's petition had advocated
for a panel of senior judges to decide on roster of
judges and also on assigning of cases.
• However, the Supreme Court declared that the Chief
Justice of India is the "master of the roster" and has
the power to assign cases.
• The Court further stated that CJI has the role of first
among
equals
and
is
empowered
to
exercise
leadership in administration of the court which
includes assignment of cases.
• Thus, the Supreme Court refused to declare that the
function of allocating cases and assigning benches
should be exercised by the collegium of five senior
Judges instead of the Chief Justice of India.
WHAT IS A COLLEGIUM?
• The Collegium System is one where the CJI and a
forum of four senior-most judges of the Supreme
Court recommend appointment and transfer of
judges of higher judiciary.
• The collegium system evolved through three different
judgments which are collectively known as the Three
Judges Cases.
15
• Now, recommendations of collegium have been made
• In 1973, the Union government departed from this
public on the website of Supreme Court including the
practice and appointed Justice A.N. Ray as CJI who was
reasons for appointment or transfer.
fourth in order of seniority bypassing three senior
judges of Supreme Court. The government was
JUDGES APPOINTMENT – ARTICLE 124(2) AND
accused of tampering with the independence of
217(1)
• Judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts are
appointed by the President of India by warrant under
his hand and seal respectively under Article 124(2) and
217(1).
•
Judges of Supreme Court shall hold office till the age
of 65 years whereas Judges of High Courts shall hold
office till the age of 62 years.
higher judiciary has not been explicitly provided in the
Constitution. Thus, the process for appointment,
elevation and transfer of Judges to higher judiciary has
been a debatable issue.
• Government of India earlier passed The Constitution
(Ninety-Ninth Amendment) Act, 2014 to establish a
National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC)
to replace the Collegium.
• However, a Five Judge Bench of Supreme Court
NJAC
as
unconstitutional
because
of
interference from the executive in the judicial
appointments. This decision effectively revived the
Collegium system.
HOW COLLEGIUM CAME INTO BEING? - EARLIER
PRACTICE
primarily with the Executive. The practice was to
appoint the senior most judge of the Supreme Court
whenever a vacancy occurred by the Executive under
Article 124 and 217.
move
• Again in 1976, government appointed Justice Beg as
CJI bypassing Justice Khanna who was senior to him.
Thus,
interference
by
executive
in
judicial
appointments was cloaked in veils of politics and it
started a disturbing trend in judicial appointments in
• Till 1976, India had witnessed emergency and
implementation of 42nd amendment had casted a
serious doubt on the ever growing power of executive
in all spheres of democracy.
• In
such
an
environment
of
growing
executive
influence, the collegium system evolved through three
different judgments which are collectively known as
the Three Judges Cases.
THREE JUDGES CASE – 1982 (E) – 1993 (J) – 1999 (J)
The Three Judges Case was delivered by Supreme Court
amid changing political atmosphere of the country. Post
Emergency and Constitution 42
nd
Amendment, Executive
had become all powerful and had started their
interference even in appointment of Judges as we have
seen earlier.
►First Judges Case - S.P Gupta vs. Union of India
• Power to appoint Supreme Court judges rested
• This
post in protest.
India.
• However, the method and manner of their selection to
declared
judiciary. The three senior Judges resigned from their
was
criticized
by
Fourteenth
Law
Commission Report and suggested to widen the role
of Chief Justice of India (CJI) in judicial appointments.
• However, the government did not act upon this
recommendation and continued its practice.
DEPARTING FROM THE PROCESS – (EMPOWERED
(1982) – (In favour of Executive)
• SC held - opinions of Chief Justice of India (CJI) and
Chief Justice of respective High Courts were merely
“consultative”
and
the
power
of
appointment
resides solely and exclusively with the Central
Government.
• Central government “could” override the opinions
given by the Judges. Thus, the opinion of Chief Justice
of India in matters of appointment was not given
primacy in matters of judicial appointments under
Article 217(1).
EXECUTIVE) – (UNDERSTANDING THE
►Second Judges Case - S.C. Advocates on Record
CHRONOLOGY)
Association v. Union of India (1993) – (Primacy of
16
Judiciary) – The matter was decided by Nine Judge
If majority of the Collegium is against the appointment
Constitution Bench
of a particular person, that person shall not be
• The Court considered the question of “Primacy of
appointed.
opinion of CJI in regard to appointment of Supreme
Even if two of the judges have reservation against
Court Judges”. The Court said that the question had to
appointment of a particular Judge, CJI would not press
be
for such appointment.
considered
in
the
context
of
achieving
constitutional purpose of selecting the best so as to
ensure the independence of judiciary and thereby
preserving democracy.
Article 124(2), - SC emphasized that Government
does NOT enjoy primacy or absolute discretion in
matters of appointment of Supreme Court judges.
• Court said that provision for consultation with
Chief Justice was introduced as CJI is best
equipped to know and assess the worth and
suitability of a candidate and it was also necessary
to eliminate political influence.
• Selection should be made as a result of ‘Participatory
Consultative Process’ where Executive has the power
to act as a mere check on the exercise of power by CJI
to achieve constitutional purpose.
held
that
initiation
appointed as Supreme Court Judge regardless of his
standing in the seniority list.
• Referring to ‘Consultative Process’ as envisaged in
• SC
A High Court Judge of outstanding merit can be
of
the
proposal
for
appointment of a Supreme Court Judge must be by
the Chief Justice.
• Thus, Judiciary was given primacy and participatory
consultative process was suggested for selection of
CJI.
►Third Judges Case - (1999) - Re: Presidential
Reference (Emergence of Collegium System)
• Supreme Court on a reference made by the
President under Article 143 has laid down the
following proposition with respect to appointment
of Supreme Court judges
While making recommendation, CJI shall consult four
senior most Judges of Supreme Court. This led to the
emergence of present Collegium System.
The opinion of all members of collegium regarding
their recommendation shall be in writing.
PROBLEMS WHICH EMERGED IN THE
FUNCTIONING OF COLLEGIUM SYSTEM
• Lack of transparency: Collegium System worked in
complete secrecy and initially did not reveal the
methodology or reasons provided for transfer or
promotion of judges or even appointing senior
lawyers as Judges of SC or HC.
• Nepotism
–
Accusations
of
favouritism
and
preferential treatment to members from judicial
fraternity were raised. This also impacted quality of
judgment specially in High Courts.
• Politicization
of
judiciary:
Due
to
lack
of
transparency in appointing process, certain political
appointments
especially
to
High
Court
were
Commission:
Law
witnessed.
• Absence
of
Permanent
Commission in its 121st Report on Reforms for Judicial
Appointments proposed to set up a National Judicial
Service Commission for appointment of Judges. Even
NCRWC in its 2002 Report highlighted the need for
National Judicial Commission for the purpose of
appointments to higher judiciary.
WHY DID THE SUPREME COURT DECLARE NJAC
ACT AS UNCONSTITUTIONAL?
• Violation of Basic Structure - Five Judge Bench of
Supreme Court [4:1] declared the Constitution 99th
Amendment
Appointment
Act
and
the
Commission
National
Act,
Judicial
2014
as
unconstitutional as it violated the Basic Structure of
the Indian Constitution.
The views of the senior-most Supreme Court Judge
• Inclusion of Members of Executive - Constitution
who hails from the High Court from where the person
99th Amendment introduced Article 124A which
recommended comes must be obtained in writing for
provided for the constitution and composition of the
Collegium’s consideration.
National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC)
17
which apart from members of Judiciary also included
Appointment
Union Minister of Law & Justice and two Eminent
unconstitutional.
Persons to be appointed by the Central Government.
• Violation of Independence of Judiciary - SC held
Commission
Act,
2014
as
• Since, MoP does not prescribe for any fixed time line
for
appointment,
hence
it
leg
room
central
primacy of the judiciary, in the matter of selection and
process. This also at times results in delay in the
appointment of Judges to the higher judiciary as
appointment process.
of
independence
members
of
of
judiciary
executed
and
the
violated
aspect
of
separation of powers. Accordingly, Article 124A (a) to
(d) was set aside by the Constitution Bench as being
ultra vires.
• Collegium System to Continue - The judgment
officially allowed Collegium System for appointment
and transfer to continue.
for
the
government
inclusion
certain
gives
that Article 124A was insufficient to preserve the
appointment
• There are also instances where despite vacancies no
recommendations are made by the Collegium of High
Courts.
• In the present MoP, there is no law to bind the Chief
Justice of High Court for the same. Even the
Constitution of India does not prescribe for either the
Collegium
System
of
Appointment
or
the
Memorandum of Procedure to be followed.
• Now, we have already gone through the collegium
SC ALTERS
MEMORANDUM OF
PROCEDURE
system of appointment in the first chapter. So, from
our examination perspective, let us go through the
Memorandum
of
Procedure
(MoP)
for
the
appointment of judges of Supreme Court and
respective High Courts.
SUPREME COURT
MoP FOR APPOINTMENT OF CHIEF JUSTICE OF
IN NEWS
INDIA
The Supreme Court has prescribed a judicially mandated
timeline for the Union government to make appointment
of judges in the High Courts. Thus, through its ruling, the
Court has essentially altered the Memorandum of
Procedure (MoP) and stated that the government must act
on the names recommended for appointment within four
months. So far, the MoP does not prescribe any time limit
for the Centre to forward the recommendations for
• Senior most Judge of SC - Appointment to the office
of the Chief Justice of India should be of the senior
most Judge of the Supreme Court considered fit to
hold the office.
• Union Law Minister to seek recommendations of
outgoing CJI - at the appropriate time for the
appointment of the next CJI.
appointment. However, the centre has assured the Court
• Consultation with other Judges as per Article
that it will take a decision within the next three months on
124(2) in case of doubt - Whenever there is any
ten names still pending with it after being recommended
doubt about the fitness of the senior most Judge to
by the Collegium for appointment as High Court judges.
hold the office of the Chief Justice of India,
consultation with other Judges as envisaged in Article
IMPORTANCE OF MEMORANDUM OF
PROCEDURE IN APPOINTING JUDGES OF SC & HC
• Memorandum
of
Procedure
(MoP)
became
an
important document especially for the centre after
Supreme
Court
Amendment
Act
declared
and
the
the
Constitution
National
99th
Judicial
124 (2) of the Constitution would be made for
appointment of the next Chief Justice of India.
• PM to advise the President on Appointment of CJI After receipt of the recommendation of the Chief
Justice of India, the Union Minister of Law, Justice and
18
Company Affairs will put up the recommendation to
• Issue of Gazette Notification for Appointment - As
the Prime Minister who will advise the President in the
soon as the warrant of appointment is signed by the
matter of appointment.
President, the Secretary to the Government of India in
the
MoP FOR APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES OF
Department
of
Justice
will
announce
the
appointment and issue the necessary notification in
SUPREME COURT
• CJI to initiate proposal in case of vacancy Whenever a vacancy is expected to arise in the office
the Gazette of India.
MoP FOR APPOINTMENT OF ACTING CHIEF
of a Judge of the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice of
JUSTICE
India
• Appointment of acting Chief Justice is to be made
will
initiate
proposal
and
forward
his
recommendation to the Union Law Minister.
by
• Opinion of CJI must be in consultation with the
Collegium – which comprises 5 senior most Judges of
the Supreme Court including CJI.
most Judge in the Supreme Court who hails from
High
Court
from
President
under
Article
126
of
the
Justice must be filled whatever the period of vacancy.
• In such an eventuality, the senior most available Judge
• The CJI would ascertain the views of the senior
the
the
Constitution - Vacancy in the office of the Chief
where
the
person
of the Supreme Court will be appointed to perform
the duties of the office of the Chief Justice of India.
• As
soon
as
the
President
has
approved
the
recommended comes - but if he does not have any
appointment, the Secretary to the Government of
knowledge of his merits and demerits, the next senior
India in the Department of Justice will inform the Chief
most Judge in the Supreme Court from that High
Justice of India or in his absence the Judge concerned
Court should be consulted.
of the Supreme Court, and will announce the
• Opinion of Collegium to be given in Writing as part
of Record to the Government - The opinion of
appointment and issue the necessary notification in
the Gazette of India.
members of the collegium in respect of each of the
recommendations as well as the senior rmost Judge in
HIGH COURT (HC)
the Supreme Court from the High Court, from which a
prospective candidate comes, would be made in
MoP FOR APPOINTMENT OF CHIEF JUSTICE OF
writing and the CJI, in all cases, must transmit his
HC
opinion as also the opinion of all concerned to the
Government of India as part of record.
• Union Law Minister to put forward collegium’s
recommendation to the Prime Minister - who will
then
advise
the
President
in
the
matter
of
appointment.
• Secretary,
Department
of
Justice
to
obtain
Certificate of Physical Fitness - As soon as the
appointment is approved, the Secretary to the
Department of Justice will inform the Chief Justice of
India and obtain from the person selected a certificate
• The Government in consultation with the Chief
Justice of India has decided as a matter of policy to
appoint the Chief Justice of all High Courts from
outside the state.
• In case of initial appointment of a Chief Justice of a
High Court, the provisions of Article 217 will have to
be followed.
• Transfer of Chief Justice from one High Court to
another will be governed by the provision of Article
222.
of physical fitness signed by a Civil Surgeon or a
Article 217 - Appointment and conditions of the
District Medical Officer. The Medical Certificate is to be
office of a Judge of a High Court
obtained from all persons selected for appointment
whether they are at the time of appointment in the
service of the State or not.
(1) Every Judge of a High Court shall be appointed by the
President by warrant under his hand and seal and shall
hold office, in the case of an additional or acting Judge,
19
as provided in article 224, and in any other case, until
whose opinion is likely to be significant in adjudging
he attains the age of sixty-two years.
the suitability of the candidate.
Article 222 - Transfer of a Judge from one High Court
Law Minister along with his proposal.
to another
(1) The President may transfer a Judge from one High Court
• For purposes of elevation as Chief Justices - the
inter-se seniority of puisne Judges will be reckoned on
the basis of their seniority in their own High Courts
and they will be considered for appointment as Chief
Justices in other High Courts when their turn would
normally have come for being considered for such
appointment in their own High Courts.
• A Judge in a High Court who has one year or less to
retire when his turn for being considered for
as
Chief
Justice
arrives,
may
be
considered for appointment as Chief Justice in his own
High Court if vacancy is to occur in the office of the
Chief Justice in that High Court during that period.
• CJI to initiate appointment of CJ of HC - Initiation of
the proposal for the appointment of Chief Justice of a
High Court would be by the Chief Justice of India. The
process of appointment must be initiated well in time
to ensure the completion at least one month prior to
the date of anticipated vacancy for the Chief Justice of
the High Court.
must ensure that when a Chief Justice of HC is
to
another
HC,
then
simultaneous
appointment of his successor in office should be
made. Ordinarily, the arrangement of appointment of
an acting Chief Justice should not be made for more
than one month.
would
obtain the views of the concerned State Government.
After receipt of the views of the State Government, the
Union Law Minister will submit proposals to the Prime
Minister, who will then advise the President as to the
selection of Chief Justice of High Court.
• Issue of Notification for Appointment - As soon as
the appointment is approved by the President, the
Department of Justice will announce the appointment
and issue necessary notification in the Gazette of
India.
MoP FOR APPOINTMENT OF ACTING CHIEF
JUSTICE OF HC
• Article 223 - Appointment of Acting Chief Justices is to
be made by the President under Article 223 of the
Constitution.
• Intimation from the Chief Justice about his
proceeding on leave or being unable to perform
the duties of the Office of Chief Justice must be
send
arrangement for appointment of Acting Chief Justice.
• Gazette
Notification
-
When
the
intimation
(mentioned above) is received, the Union Law Minister
would send the proposal to appoint the senior most
judge of HC as Acting Chief Justice to the President.
The Secretary to the Government of India in the
Department of Justice then informs the Chief Minister
• CJI to consult with two senior most judges of SC CJI
Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs would
sent to all concerned well in advance to make
• In Case of Transfer of Chief Justice of HC - The CJI
transferred
• Views to be obtained from State Government After receiving CJI’s recommendations, the Union
to any other High Court.
elevation
• Views of Judges of SC to be sent by CJI to the Union
his
recommendation
for
the
appointment of a Judge of the High Court as Chief
Justice of that High Court or of another High Court, in
consultation with the two senior most Judges of the
Supreme Court.
• CJI would also ascertain the views of the senior
most colleague in the Supreme Court who is
conversant with the affairs of the High Court in which
the recommended Judge has been functioning and
and announces the appointment and issue the
necessary notification in the Gazette of India.
• However, if it is proposed to appoint an Acting Chief
Justice, other than the senior most puisne Judge, then
the procedure for appointment of a regular Chief
Justice as prescribed will have to be followed.
Article 223 - Appointment of acting Chief Justice
When the office of Chief Justice of a High Court is vacant or
when any such Chief Justice is, by reason of absence or
otherwise, unable to perform the duties of his office, the
20
duties of the office shall be performed by such one of the
receipt of the proposal from the Chief Justice of the
other Judges of the Court as the President may appoint for
High Court. If the comments are not received within
the purpose.
the said time frame, it should be presumed by the
MoP - APPOINTMENT OF PERMANENT JUDGES OF
HC
that the Governor (i.e. Chief Minister) has nothing to
add to the proposal and proceed accordingly.
• CJ to communicate his views to CM for appointment
of Judge for HC at least 6 months before the date of
occurrence of the vacancy.
Judges of HC - regarding the suitability of the names
proposed.
• All consultation must be in writing and these
opinions must be sent to the Chief Minister along
with the recommendations.
Appointing
an
-
the
Additional
Chief
or recommendations available to the Government
Justice
• The complete material would then be forwarded
to the Chief Justice of India for his advice.
• The Chief Justice of India would, in consultation
with the two seniormost Judges of the Supreme
Court, form his opinion in regard to a person to be
recommended for appointment to the High Court.
Judge
as
a
permanent Judge, certain information needs to be
furnished
• The Union Law Minister to consider other reports
regarding names under consideration.
• CJ to seek recommendations from two senior most
• For
Union Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs
along
with
his
recommendation must furnish statistics of month
wise disposal of cases and judgments rendered by the
Judge concerned as well as the number of cases
reported in the Law Journal duly certified by him. The
information would also be furnished regarding the
total number of working days, the number of days he
actually attended the court and the days of his
absence from the Court during the period for which
the disposal statistics are sent.
• In case CM recommends a name other than the
name recommended by CJ - he should forward the
same to the Chief Justice for his consideration.
• CJ’s proposal must also be sent to the Governor,
Chief Justice of India & Union Law Minister with
full details - Since the Governor is bound by the
advice of the Chief Minister heading the Council of
Ministers, a copy of the Chief Justice’s proposal, with
full set of papers, should simultaneously be sent to
the Governor to avoid delay. Similarly, a copy thereof
may also be endorsed to the Chief Justice of India and
the Union Minister of Law, Justice and Company
Affairs to expedite consideration.
• Governor as advised by the Chief Minister should
forward his recommendation along with the entire
• CJI + Collegium of 2 Judges of SC to take into
account views of - the Chief Justice of the High Court
and of those Judges of the High Court who have been
consulted by the Chief Justice as well as views of those
Judges in the Supreme Court who are conversant with
the affairs of that High Court.
• After their consultations, the Chief Justice of India
will in course of 4 weeks send his recommendation
to the Union Law Minister.
• Consultation by the Chief Justice of India with his
colleagues should be in writing.
• If Names are referred back, opinion of CJI must be
obtained - Once the names have been considered
and recommended by the CJI, they should not be
referred back to the State Constitutional authorities
even if a change takes place in the incumbency of any
post. However, where it is considered expedient to
refer back the names, the opinion or Chief Justice of
India should be obtained.
• The Union Law Minister would then preferably,
within 3 weeks, put the recommendation of the CJI
to the Prime Minister who will advise the President
in the matter of appointment.
• All correspondences between constitutional office
holders must be in writing for record.
• Union Secretary in Dept. of Justice to inform Chief
set of papers to the Union Law Minister as early as
Justice of HC - who will obtain from the person
possible but not later than six weeks from the date of
selected (i) a certificate of physical fitness signed by a
21
Civil Surgeon or District medical officer, and (ii) a
of Article 224A to tackle the problem of mounting case
certificate
arrears in High Court.
of
date
of
birth.
A
copy
of
the
communication will also be sent simultaneously to the
Chief Minister of the State.
Accordingly, Supreme Court in the case of Lok Prahari vs
Union of India agreed that a plan to appoint retired
• CJ of HC to forward documents to central govt.
judges on an ad hoc basis to reduce pendency in the High
When these documents are obtained, the Chief Justice
Courts should not become an excuse to stop or further
will intimate the fact to the Secretary to the
delay the appointment process of regular judges. Thus,
Government of India in the Department of Justice and
Supreme Court activated a dormant provision of the
also forward these documents to him.
Constitution of India – Article 224A – for the appointment
• Announcement of Appointment - As soon as the
warrant of appointment is signed by the President, the
Secretary
to the
Government of
India
in
the
Department of Justice will inform the Chief Justice and
a copy of such communication will be sent to the Chief
of ad hoc Judges to deal with the unprecedented situation
arising from the backlog of cases pending in the High
Courts, which has now crossed the figure of 57 lakh
coupled with 40% vacancies remaining in the regular
appointments (both permanent and additional judges)
Minister. He will also announce the appointment and
over the last two years.
issue necessary notification in the Gazette of India.
CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS – HIGH COURT
CONCLUSION
• Law Commission in its 121st Report on Reforms for
Judicial Appointments has highlighted that failure to
fill in the vacancy is failure to perform a constitutional
duty.
• It is the responsibility of the state not only to set up
adequate number of courts but to provide manpower
• Chapter V of Part VI of the Constitution of India
commencing from Article 214 upto Article 231 relates
to the High Courts in the states.
• Article 217 provides for the appointment and
conditions of the office of a Judge of the High Court,
wherein the current age of retirement is 62 years.
• Article
224
deals
with
the
appointment
of
for its functioning. Disposal of cases among other
additional and acting judges - The objective as set
things is directly proportionate to the number of
out in the Article is to take care of any temporary
judges in position. Unfilled vacancies are one of the
increase in business of the High Court, or by reason of
prime causes for mounting arrears.
arrears of work therein. The appointment of an
• Thus, the central government must complete the
process of appointment for judges of various High
Courts as more manpower will help to clear backlog of
pending cases.
AD HOC JUDGES IN
HIGH COURT
additional judge duly qualified to be the judge of a
High Court has to be for a period not exceeding
two years, or as the President may specify. The
ground
reality
however,
remains
that
while
determining the strength of different High Courts, the
practice that has been adopted is that about 25% of
the strength consists of additional Judges.
Article 224A - Appointment of retired Judges at
sittings of High Court
• Article 224A begins with a non-obstante clause
(Notwithstanding anything in this Chapter….) – This
empowers the provision to override the effects of any
IN NEWS
Lok Prahari, an NGO, had approached the Supreme Court
through a PIL filed under Article 32 seeking the invocation
other legal provisions contrary to this as provided
under Chapter V of Part VI of the Constitution. This
provision was placed so that a request can be made to
any person who has held the office of a Judge of that
22
Court or of any other High Court, to sit and act as a
- for recalling retired judges to function on the bench
judge of the High Court for the state if needed.
of a High Court for short periods has been found to be
• The second aspect of Article 224A is that while
sitting and acting, such a judge would be entitled to
such allowances as the President may by order
determine and have all the jurisdiction, powers, and
privileges of the High Court judge. But for all other
neither adequate nor satisfactory. It was sought to be
replaced by the current Article 224, making provision
for the appointment of Additional Judges to clear off
arrears and for the appointment of Acting Judges in
temporary vacancies.
purposes shall not be deemed to be a High Court
• Constitution (15th Amendment) Act, 1963 – After
judge. The retired judge must give his consent for
7 Amendment, there appears to have a legislative re-
appointment under Article 224A.
think as the provision for the appointment of ad hoc
CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY DEBATES SUGGEST
THAT AD HOC JUDGES WERE NOT TO BE
APPOINTED FOR INDEFINITE PERIOD OF TIME
• Article 224A was numbered as Article 200 in the Draft
Constitution
and
discussed
by
the
Constituent
Assembly on 7th June 1949. The debate focused on
th
judges was reintroduced through Article 224A by the
Constitution (15th Amendment) Act, 1963.
• Constitution 15
th
Amendment also increased the
retirement age for Additional & Acting Judges of High
Court from 60 years to 62 years.
WHAT DOES THE TERM “BUT SHALL NOT
the purpose and duration of the appointment of
OTHERWISE BE DEEMED TO BE A JUDGE OF THAT
retired High Court judges.
HIGH COURT” PROVIDED UNDER ARTICLE 224A
• Some part of the debates indicate that the retired
MEANS?
judge was to be invited back only for their expertise
Krishan Gopal vs. Shri Prakash Chandra & Others -
and experience to decide cases that were particularly
Constitution Bench of Supreme Court clarified:
difficult or important.
• The person requested while so sitting and acting shall
• However, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar had clarified that the
have all the jurisdiction, powers and privileges of a
intent behind the appointment of ad hoc judges was
judge of the High Court. Such a person shall not
as an alternative to the appointment of temporary or
otherwise be deemed to be a judge of that Court.
additional judges and they were not intended to be
appointed for an indefinite length of time.
• Dr. Ambedkar said, "It seems to me that if you are not
going to have any temporary or additional judges you
must make some kind of provision for the disposal of
certain business, for which it may not be feasible to
appoint a temporary judge in time to discharge the duties
of a High Court Judge with respect to such matters."
• The aforesaid provision, it was emphasized by Dr.
Ambedkar, was borrowed (word for word) from
Section 8 of the Supreme Court of Judicature
(Consolidation) Act, 1925 in the UK, and similar
provisions in America.
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
• Constitution 7
th
Amendment - The provision for
appointment of ad hoc judges was removed by the
Constitution (7th Amendment) Act, 1956. The
Amendment clarified that the provision in Article 224
• The words "while so sitting, and acting" show that
the person requested not merely has the Jurisdiction,
powers and privileges of a Judge of the, High Court, he
also sits and acts as a Judge of that Court.
• Question then arises as to what is the significance of
the concluding words "but shall not otherwise be
deemed to be a Judge of that Court". These words,
indicate that in matters not relating to jurisdiction,
powers and privileges the person so requested shall
not be deemed to be a Judge of that Court.
• The dictionary meaning of the word "otherwise" is "in
other ways", "in other circumstances", "in other
respects". The word "otherwise" would, therefore,
point to the conclusion that for the purpose of
jurisdiction,
powers
and
privileges
the
person
requested shall be a Judge of the concerned High
Court
and
jurisdiction,
for
purposes
powers
and
other
than
privileges,
those
the
of
person
23
requested shall not be deemed to be a Judge of that
the High Court and the Chief Minister and will issue
Court.
the necessary notification in the Gazette of India.
• For example – for such a Judge appointed under
Article 224A, it will not be permissible to transfer
him/her under Article 222 of the Constitution.
• Note* No timeline has been provided to complete
the process of appointment under Article 224A.
SC JUDGMENT IN LOK PRAHARI CASE (APRIL
• The use of the word "deemed" shows that the
person who sits and acts as a Judge of the High Court
under Article 224-A is a Judge of the said High Court
but by a legal fiction he is not to be considered to be a
Judge of the High Court for purposes other than those
relating to jurisdiction, powers and privileges.
2021)
• SC highlighted the existing vacancies – The data
drawn from the National Judicial Data Grid (“NJDG”)
shows that 5 High Courts alone are responsible for
54% of the pendency. They are: High Courts of
Allahabad, Punjab & Haryana, Madras, Bombay, and
MoP – APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES OF HIGH
Rajasthan. The Madras High Court has among the
COURT UNDER ARTICLE 224A
highest arrears in the country of 5.8 lakh cases.
Before understanding the SC judgment in the Lok Prahari
• Ad Hoc Judges will deal with pending cases - The
case, let us understand the Memorandum of Procedure
NJDG data shows that 56.4% pending cases were filed
followed in appointing Judges under Article 224A.
within the past five years whereas 40% of the pending
• Request to be made - Under Article 224A of the
cases were filed between 5 to 20 years ago. The
Constitution, the Chief Justice of a High Court may at
any time, with the previous consent of the President,
request any person who has held the office of a Judge
of that court or of any other High Court to sit and act
• Communication to CM after receiving consent of
the person to be appointed - Whenever the
necessity for such an appointment arises, the Chief
Justice will after obtaining the consent of the person
concerned, communicate to the Chief Minister of the
State the name of the retired Judge and the period for
which he will be required to sit and act as Judge of the
High Court.
• CM after consultation with the Governor to
the
recommendation
to
Union
law
Minister.
• Union Law Minister to then consult with Chief
Justice of India as per the procedure.
• On receipt of CJI’s advice, the same would be put
up to the Prime Minister - who will then advise the
President as to the person to be appointed to it and
act as a Judge of the High Court.
• Notification of Appointment - As soon as the
President gives his consent to the appointment, the
Secretary
to the
Government of
deal with the latter group of cases that have been
pending for over five years.
• SC highlighted the Administratative function of
Chief Justice of HC - one of the most important
as a Judge of the High Court of that State.
forward
primary purpose of appointing ad hoc Judges is to
India
in
the
Department of Justice will inform the Chief Justice of
administrative functions of the Chief Justice of the
High Court is to identify suitable candidates for elevation
as judges of the High Court and make recommendations
in turn. The pipeline of recommendation of Judges has
to be kept flowing so as to cover vacancies. Once the
recommendation
is
made,
opinions
of
State
Governments are solicited as also the input from the
Intelligence Bureau. The recommendations are then
processed by the Central Government in all manners,
before they are put up to the collegium of the
Supreme Court of India.
• No time Limit for recommendations – SC noted that
there have been many cases which have remained
pending for long periods of time regarding approval of
name by the central government.
• Central
Govt.
has
the
right
to
return
the
recommended names with reservations - The
Supreme Court collegium, which is the first three
judges,
(in
such
cases)
thereafter
bestows
its
consideration on these names after obtaining the
opinions of the consultee judges. Those names which
find approval of the collegium are then recommended
24
for appointment to the Union of India. At that stage,
Article 224A of the Constitution. The concern was to
the Government either proceeds to appoint the
bring the arrears within manageable proportions.
judges or it may have some reservations, in which
case it would be within their right to return the
recommendations with the reservations they have
over the appointment. On reconsideration, if the
recommendation is reiterated, in terms of the
prevalent legal position, the appointment has to be
made.
• Delay in the process of returning of recommended
names by the Central Govt. – The Supreme Court
has highlighted this as an area of concern as the
recommendation of the collegium should not remain
pending for a long period of time. The aforesaid
process should be completed at the earliest.
• SC raised two crucial aspects: The aforesaid process
has not resulted in filling up of vacancies for many
years leading to vacancy as high as 40% across the
High Courts. On this Supreme Court raised two
important points:
• Earlier use of Article 224A – The dormant Article has
been used rarely on three occasions to appoint judges
in Madhya Pradesh, Madras and Allahabad High
Court.
• Appointment
under
Article
224A
does
not
constrain regular appointment process in High
Courts.
• Checks & Balances needed for appointments made
under Article 224A – to ensure that the route of
Article 224A is not taken in ordinary course of
procedure in filling vacancies.
• SC held that 3 months is sufficient to complete the
process of appointment for a retired Judge – as
he/she for their judicial appointment has already gone
through the complete process. This in turn would be
facilitated if the Chief Justice of the High Court takes
the initial steps at least three months in advance so
that there is no unnecessary delay in this regard.
1. How to make this process more efficacious; and
2. Till the vacancies are filled up, what is it that can
support a quicker adjudicatory process?
• MoP is not law under Article 141 and can be varied
– Judicial pronouncements under Article 141 are law
declared
by
the
Supreme
Court.
However,
the
• Supreme Court also mentioned about various Law
Memorandum of Procedure has been framed under an
Commission Reports which approved to take the
administrative discussion and cannot be said to be law
route via Article 224A to reduce mounting arrears of
declared by this Court and can always be varied.
cases in High Courts.
• Allowance of an Ad Hoc Judge – Allowances as
• Law Commission’s 124th Report recognized that
admissible to an ad-hoc judge is to be determined by
retired judges have several decades of adjudicatory
the President of India. The Court held that despite the
experience, and their talents could be utilized to
voluntary nature of work no one would like to accept
dispose of mounting arrears. On account of their
allowances less than what are admissible to a sitting
experience, they would be quick in disposing cases
judge. Thus, the same monetary benefits and privileges
and
should be payable to an ad-hoc judge as admissible to a
being
unburdened
with
administrative
or
admission work, they could spend their entire time
hearing old matters. Thus, the appointment of retired
judges as ad-hoc judges was seen as a part of a
"multipronged attack" on arrears, and was strongly
recommended.
• Even Law Commission’s 79th Report suggested
recourse to Article 224A to reduce pendency of cases.
judge minus the pension.
• Emoluments to be paid would be a charge on the
Consolidated Fund of India consisting of salary and
allowances - For all practical purposes the ad hoc
Judge
would
receive
the
same
emoluments,
allowances and benefits as are admissible to the
permanent/additional Judges.
• Law Commission’s 188th Report - In the interest of
• SC issued Continuing Mandamus – The Court held
clearing arrears in the High Court in various types of
that it would not be appropriate to close the present
cases, including criminal matters, it was felt that it was
proceedings but instead a concept of continuing
the need of the hour to make appointments under
mandamus would be appropriate in the present
25
proceedings to work out the most effective method of
• Considering the strength of the High Court and the
taking recourse to Article 224A. The principle of
problem faced by the Court, the number of ad hoc
continuing mandamus forms part of constitutional
Judges should be in the range of two to five in a High
jurisprudence and the term was used for the first time
Court.
in Vineet Narain v. Union of India. The practice of
issuing continuing directions to ensure effective
discharge of duties was labelled as a “continuing
mandamus”.
• Continuing mandamus is an innovative procedure
not a substantive one - it allows the Court an
effective basis to ensure that the fruits of a judgment
can be enjoyed by the right-bearers, and its realisation
is not hindered by administrative and/or political
recalcitrance. It is a means devised to ensure that the
administration of justice translates into tangible
benefits.
SC GAVE FIVE TRIGGER POINTS TO USE ARTICLE
224A FOR JUDICIAL APPOINTMENT
1. If the vacancies are more than 20% of the sanctioned
strength.
2. The cases in a particular category are pending for over
five years.
3. More than 10% of the backlog of pending cases is over
five years old.
4. The percentage of the rate of disposal is lower than
the institution of the cases either in a particular
subject matter or generally in the Court.
5. Even if there are not many old cases pending, but
depending on the jurisdiction, a situation of mounting
arrears is likely to arise if the rate of disposal is
consistently lower than the rate of filing over a period
of a year or more.
TENURE OF APPOINTMENT UNDER ARTICLE 224A
• The tenure for which an ad hoc Judge is appointed
may vary on the basis of the need.
• However, in order to give an element of certainty and
ensuring the purpose of their appointment, generally
the appointment should be for a period between two
to three years.
• However, the Court clarified that an ad hoc Judge(s)
will not be part of the sanctioned strength of Judges of
the High Court to which they are appointed.
ROLE OF ADHOC JUDGES
• The primary objective is to deal with long pending
arrears and the objective will be subserved by
assigning more than five-year-old cases to the ad hoc
Judges so appointed.
• However, Chief Justice of HC shall have discretion to
allocate cases which are less than 5 years old.
• Adhoc
Judge
will
not
be
entrusted
any
administrative work, as it will defeat the very
purpose of appointment of ad hoc Judge(s), which is to
clear the backlog of old cases.
• Division Bench (Bench of 2 Judges) in HC may be
constituted only of ad hoc Judges because these are
old cases which need to be taken up by them.
• Adhoc Judges appointed under Article 224A are not
allowed to perform any other legal work whether it
be advisory, of arbitration or appearance because of
the very nature of the profile and work to be carried
out by ad hoc Judges.
ADHOC JUDGE OF SUPREME COURT (ART 127)
• If at any time there is not enough quorum of judges in
the Supreme Court to conduct hearing, the Chief
Justice of India with previous consent of President and
after consultation with the Chief Justice of High Court
concerned, request as Judge of High Court (Qualified
for appointment to Supreme Court) to attend
Supreme Court, as a Judge of Supreme Court to be
designated by Chief Justice of India.
• Period of service of an Adhoc Judge is determined by
CJI.
• Adhoc judges have powers, jurisdiction and privileges
similar to a judge of Supreme Court.
NUMBER OF JUDGES TO BE APPOINTED UNDER
ARTICLE 224A
26
APP TO VIEW SC
PROCEEDINGS
SUPACE
IN NEWS
The Supreme Court has launched its Artificial Intelligence
portal - Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Courts
Efficiency - SUPACE. Through this portal, the SC intends to
IN NEWS
leverage machine learning to deal with the vast amounts
Chief Justice of India NV Ramana launched a mobile app
of data received at the time of filing of cases. SUPACE was
inaugurated by the former CJI in an event held virtually
and attended by judges from several High Courts of the
country.
to enable journalists to report virtual proceedings without
having to visit court premises. In a September 2018
judgment, a three-judge bench headed by then CJI Dipak
Misra had given its nod to live stream court proceedings,
saying this will bring more accountability and enhance the
ABOUT SUPACE
• Enhance Efficiency - This integration of artificial
rule of law.
intelligence in the judicial domain is aimed at reducing
POINTS HIGHLIGHTED BY THE CJI
pendency and enhancing efficiency and productivity of
• Transparency is a time-honored principle when it
justice delivery.
comes to the country’s judicial process and it’s
• SUPACE was launched by former CJI SA Bobde, who
described it as a “perfect blend of human intelligence
and machine learning.”
important for the public to be able to access court
proceedings.
• Rulings of the court affect lives of people and in
concerns regarding
this regard media’s role assumes importance in the
unemployment or redundancy of certain posts
process of disseminating true information to the
after introduction of SUPACE -- which is expected to
public at large.
• Former CJI
dismissed all
be initially used on an experimental basis by the
judges of Bombay and Delhi High Courts who deal
with criminal matters.
• SUPACE is AI-enabled assistive tool that can
augment the efficiency of the legal researchers and
judges to work on cases, extract relevant information,
read case files, manage teamwork and draft case
documents.
• The initiative to launch the mobile app for
journalists came after CJI heard that the Press was
depending on lawyers for video links of virtual
hearings.
• Supreme Court’s website would have a new
feature, called “Indicative Notes” that would
provide concise summaries of landmark judgments in
an easy-to-understand format. This will serve as a
• SUPACE is fully customizable and behaves uniquely
useful resource for media persons and the general
like its user. The AI within it adapts and adopts user
public who wish to be better informed about the
behaviour based on incremental usage of the
rulings of the court.
platform. This is one of the first examples of mass
customization in the world.
• SUPACE provides a digital infrastructure in the
• CJI stated that the project must be implemented in
a progressive, structured and phased manner,
with certain safeguards to ensure that the purpose
judicial world. SUPACE, with its robust workflow and
of
machine learning abilities, will help in unlocking the
holistically and that it does not interfere with the
unutilised power of digitisation.
administration of justice or the dignity and majesty of
live-streaming
of
proceedings
is
achieved
27
the court hearing the matter and/or impinge upon any
rights of the litigants or witnesses.
LIVE STREAMING OF SUPREME COURT CASES
IN NEWS
The Supreme Court declared that National Green Tribunal
(NGT) does not have the powers to examine validity of
laws or strike them down. A bench headed by Chief Justice
Positive
Negatives
1. Enhance transparency
and rule of law.
1. Lack
sufficient
infrastructure
across
Courts in India.
challenging Section 40 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
2. Need additional funds
from the respective state
governments.
In this analysis, let us learn about Biodiversity Authority
2. It will give accessibility
to the Court Room to
common citizens and
this will help them to
understand
and
shape
their
own
opinion on various
matters of national
concern.
3.
It will empower
citizens
and
strengthen
Article
19(1)(a).
4. It
will
prevent
dissemination of fake
news
by
certain
vested interests on
controversial
judgments.
5. Indicative Notes will
translate tough legal
language
of
judgment in a simple
communicable one.
This will also clear
confusion about the
judgment.
6. It will allow law
students, interns and
young lawyers to
learn by watching
actual court room
proceedings.
3. Need additional data,
(especially by not well to
do lawyers) to hear
lengthy
court
room
proceedings.
4. Misuse of the technology.
5. Live
streaming
of
argument in Courts can
be
used
by
the
government as platform
to air their political views
on serious constitutional
and legal issues.
6. Not
desirable
or
reasonable to provide live
streaming of criminal
cases or cases of divorce
or adoption or family
disputes
related
to
inheritance.
7. Live streaming of cases
may impact “Right to
Privacy” of citizens as
enshrined
by
K.S.
Puttaswamy judgment.
S A Bobde made the observation while hearing an appeal
Supreme Court also stayed further proceedings before the
National Green Tribunal.
and National Green Tribunal.
SECTION 40 OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY ACT, 2002
• Power of Central Government to exempt certain
biological resources - Notwithstanding anything
contained in this Act, the Central Government may, in
consultation with the National Biodiversity Authority,
by notification in the Official Gazette, declare that the
provisions of this Act shall not apply to any items,
including biological resources normally traded as
commodities.
NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY AUTHORITY
• The
National
Biodiversity
Authority
(NBA)
was
established by the Central Government in 2003 to
implement India’s Biological Diversity Act (2002).
• The NBA is a Statutory Body and it performs
facilitative, regulatory and advisory functions for the
Government of India on issues of conservation,
sustainable use of biological resources and fair and
equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of
biological resources.
• The Biological Diversity Act (2002) mandates
implementation of the provisions of the Act
through
decentralized
system
with
the
NBA
focusing on advising the Central Government on
matters relating to the conservation of biodiversity,
sustainable use of its components and equitable
sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of
SC ON NGT
biological
resources;
and
advising
the
State
Governments in the selection of areas of biodiversity
importance to be notified as heritage sites and
measures for the management of such heritage sites.
• The State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) focus on
advising the State Governments, subject to any
guidelines issued by the Central Government, on
28
matters relating to the conservation of biodiversity,
• The Tribunal shall have the jurisdiction over all civil
sustainable use of its components and equitable
cases where a substantial question relating to
sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of
environment (including enforcement of any legal right
biological resources.
relating to environment), is involved and such
• The SBBs also regulate, by granting of approvals or
otherwise
upon
requests
for
commercial
utilization or bio-survey and bio-utilization of any
biological resource by the Indians.
local level are responsible for promoting conservation,
sustainable use and documentation of biological
including
preservation
enactments specified in First Schedule.
• First Schedule of NGT Act, 2010 provides for the
following enactments –
• Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) at
diversity
question arises out of the implementation of the
of
habitats,
conservation of land races, folk varieties and cultivars,
domesticated stocks and breeds of animals and
The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act,
1974
The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Cess
Act, 1977
The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980
microorganisms and chronicling of knowledge relating
The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981
to biological diversity.
The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
ABOUT THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL (NGT)
The Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991
• The National Green Tribunal has been established
The Biological Diversity Act, 2002
under The National Green Tribunal Act 2010 for:
effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to
environmental protection and conservation of forests
and other natural resources;
including enforcement of any legal right relating to
environment and
giving relief and compensation for damages to
persons and property.
• NGT is a specialized body equipped with the necessary
expertise to handle environmental disputes involving
multi-disciplinary issues.
• The Tribunal's dedicated jurisdiction in environmental
matters shall provide speedy environmental justice
and help reduce the burden of litigation in the higher
courts.
• The Tribunal is mandated to make and endeavour for
disposal of applications or appeals within 6 months of
filing of the case.
• New Delhi is the Principal Place of Sitting of the
Tribunal and Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai shall
be the other four place of sitting of the Tribunal.
• Taking up matter Suo Moto by NGT: NGT has power
to take up any matter suo motu (on its own) as per
Section 14 and 15 of NGT Act, 2010.
RELIEF, COMPENSATION AND RESTITUTION
(SECTION 15)
The Tribunal may, by an order, provide –
• relief and compensation to the victims of pollution
and other environmental damage arising under the
enactments specified in the Schedule I (including
accident occurring while handling any hazardous
substance).
• for restitution of property damaged.
• for restitution of the environment for such area or
areas.
Appeal to SC: Any person aggrieved by any award,
decision or order of the Tribunal, may, file an appeal to
the Supreme Court, within ninety days from the date of
communication of the award, decision or order of the
Tribunal.
COMPOSITION OF NGT
JURISDICTION OF THE TRIBUNAL TO SETTLE
• As per the NGT Act, 2010, the Tribunal shall consist of
DISPUTES (SECTION 14)
(a) a full time Chairperson
29
(b) not less than ten but subject to maximum of twenty
full time Judicial Members as the Central Government
may, from time to time, notify
(c) not less than ten but subject to maximum of twenty
WORLD PRESS FREEDOM
INDEX REPORT 2021
full time Expert Members, as the Central Government
may, from time to time, notify
QUALIFICATION
• For Chairperson & Judicial Member - A person shall
not be qualified for appointment as the Chairperson
or Judicial Member of the Tribunal unless he is, or has
been,
a Judge of the Supreme Court of India or
Chief Justice of a High Court
IN NEWS
India has been ranked 142/180 countries having a score of
46.56 in 2021. This means that press freedom in India is
continuously declining and India remains one of the
world’s most dangerous countries for journalists. India
was ranked 142/180 even last year in 2020.
• The Chairperson, Judicial Member and Expert Member
of the Tribunal shall not hold any other office during
their tenure.
APPOINTMENT
• The Chairperson shall be appointed by the Central
Government in consultation with the Chief Justice of
India.
• The Judicial Members and Expert Members of the
Tribunal shall be appointed on the recommendations
of such Selection Committee and in such manner as
may be prescribed.
TERM OF OFFICE
• The Chairperson, Judicial Member and Expert Member
of the Tribunal shall hold office as such for a term of
five years from the date on which they enter upon
their office, but shall not be eligible for reappointment.
•
Provided that in case a person, who is or has been a
Judge of the Supreme Court, has been appointed as
Chairperson or Judicial Member of the Tribunal, he
shall not hold office after he has attained the age of
seventy years.
RESIGNATION
• The Chairperson, Judicial Member and Expert Member
of the Tribunal may, by notice in writing under their
hand addressed to the Central Government, resign
their office.
WHAT DOES THE INDEX MEASURE?
• The Index ranks 180 countries and regions according
to the level of freedom available to journalists.
• It is a snapshot of the media freedom situation based
on an evaluation of pluralism, independence of the
media, quality of legislative framework and safety of
journalists in each country and region.
• It does not rank public policies even if governments
obviously have a major impact on their country’s
ranking. Nor is it an indicator of the quality of
journalism in each country or region.
GLOBAL INDICATOR
• Along with the Index, RSF calculates a global indicator
and regional indicators that evaluate the overall
performance of countries and regions (in the world
and in each region) as regards media freedom.
• It is an absolute measure that complements the
Index’s comparative rankings.
30
• The global indicator is the average of the regional
indicators, each of which is obtained by averaging the
scores of all the countries in the region, weighted
according to their population as given by the World
Bank.
IN NEWS
The President of India has appointed Shri Sushil Chandra,
the senior-most Election Commissioner, as the Chief
Election Commissioner (CEC) in the Election Commission of
India. Shri Sushil Chandra has assumed the charge of
IMPORTANT HIGHLIGHTS OF THE REPORT FOR
office of the Chief Election Commissioner with effect from
INDIA
the 13th ApriI, 2021. In this regard, let go through some of
• World Press Freedom Index is compiled by Reporters
Without Borders (RSF).
• With four journalists killed in connection with their
the important functions performed by the Election
Commission in Indian elections.
ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA
work in 2020, India is one of the world’s most
• The Election Commission of India is an independent
dangerous countries for journalists trying to do their
Constitutional Authority since 25th January, 1950.
job properly.
• The
• Journalists in India are exposed to every kind of attack,
including police violence against reporters, ambushes
by political activists, and reprisals instigated by
criminal groups or corrupt local officials.
2019, pressure has increased on the media to toe the
government’s line. The coordinated hate campaigns
waged on social networks against journalists who dare
or
write
about subjects
that annoy
government followers are terrifying and include calls
for the journalists concerned to be murdered.
• Criminal
prosecutions
are
often
invoking
“sedition”
used
to
gag
against
those
journalists are critical of government’s steps or
performances.
coronavirus crisis to step up its control of news
by
one
or
Chief
Election
more
Election
Commissioners to be appointed.
• Currently, the Commission has a Chief Election
Commissioner and the Election Commissioners enjoy
the status of a Judge of the Supreme Court of India.
• The Chief Election
Commissioner
shall not be
removed from his office except in like manner and
on the like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme
Court and the conditions of service of the Chief
disadvantage after his appointment.
• Whereas any other Election Commissioner or a
Regional Commissioner shall not be removed from
office except on the recommendation of the Chief
Election Commissioner.
• In 2020, the government took advantage of the
coverage
and
for
Election Commissioner shall not be varied to his
journalists critical of the authorities, with some
prosecutors
Commissioner
provides
Commissioner and two Commissioners. Chief Election
• According to the Report, after the general elections of
to speak
Constitution
prosecuting
journalists
providing
information at variance with the official position.
• The
Election
Commission
shall
have
the
superintendence, direction and control of the
preparation of the electoral rolls for, and the
conduct of, all elections to Parliament and to the
• NITI Aayog had earlier raised objections on the
Legislature of every State and of elections to the
methods adopted to rank countries which are based
offices of President and Vice-President held under
on biased data.
this Constitution.
• The Election Commission prepares, maintains and
NEW CEC APPOINTED
periodically updates the Electoral Rolls, which show
who is entitled to vote, supervises the nomination of
candidates, registers political parties, monitors the
election
campaign,
including
the
funding
and
exponential by candidates.
31
• The Commission also organises the polling booths
where voting takes place, and looks after the
Legislative Assemblies. For the Rajya Sabha the age
limit is 30 years. Candidates for Vidhan Sabha should
counting of votes and the declaration of results. All
this is done to ensure that elections can take place in
an orderly and fair manner.
be residents of the same state from which they wish
to contest.
• The Commission decides most matters by consensus
but in case of any dissension, the majority view
prevails.
• At the state level, a Chief Electoral Officer with a core
staff of varying numbers, is available on a full time
basis.
• At the district and constituency level, officers and staff
of the civil administration double up as election
officials.
• During actual conduct of elections, a vast number of
additional staff are temporarily deployed and they
function mainly as polling and counting officials.
IMPORTANT ROLE PLAYED BY ELECTION
COMMISSION
• Supervisory Powers to Conduct Elections - The
Election Commission shall have the superintendence,
direction and control of the preparation of the
electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections to
Parliament and to the Legislature of every State and of
elections to the offices of President and Vice-President
held under this Constitution.
• Preparations of Electoral Rolls - The updating of
electoral rolls is a continuous process, which is
interrupted only at the time of the elections during the
period from after the last date of filing nominations till
the completion of the elections. The administrative
machinery involved in the preparation, maintenance
and revision of the electoral rolls has the ECI at the
top of the hierarchy. The Election Commission has
undertaken the computerisation of all electoral rolls
throughout India, which has led to improvements in
the accuracy and speed with which the electoral roll
can be updated.
• Issue of Notification - The election process starts
with the issue of notification for the Parliamentary
Constituencies and Assembly Constituencies.
• Age to contest elections - Any Indian citizen who is
registered as a voter is otherwise not disqualified
under the Law and is over 25 years of age is allowed
to contest elections to the Lok Sabha or State
• Deposits made by Candidates - Every candidate has
to make deposit of Rs. 25,000/- for Lok Sabha election
and Rs. 10,000/- for Rajya Sabha or Vidhan Sabha
elections, except for candidates from the Scheduled
Castes and Scheduled Tribes who pay half of these
amounts. The deposit is returned if the candidate
receives more than one-sixth of the total number
of valid votes polled in the constituency.
• Appointment of Returning Officers - RO appointed
by the Election Commission, are put in charge to
receive nominations of candidates in each
constituency, and oversee the formalities of the
election.
• Reserved Seats for SC & ST - In a number of seats in
the Lok Sabha and the Vidhan Sabha, the candidates
can only be from either one of the scheduled castes or
scheduled tribes. The number of these reserved seats
is meant to be approximately in proportion to the
number of people from scheduled
scheduled tribes in each state.
castes
or
• Model Code of Conduct - During the election
campaign the political parties and contesting
candidates are expected to abide by a Model Code of
Conduct (MCC) evolved by the Election Commission on
the basis of a consensus among political parties. The
Model Code lays down broad guidelines as to how the
political parties and candidates should conduct
themselves during the election campaign.
• Limit on Election Expense – Conduct of Elections
(Amendment) Rules, 2014 amended Rule 90 of
Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 to increase the limit of
expense for elections to Lok Sabha and State
Assembly. For Lok Sabha, the minimum expense
allowed is Rs. 70 lakhs with an exception of
constituencies of Sikkim, Arunachal and some Union
Territories where minimum expense allowed is Rs. 54
lakhs. Whereas minimum expense by candidates for
state assembly election is Rs. 28 lakhs. Recently, the
Law Ministry (October, 2020) has increased the
expenditure limit for Assembly and Lok Sabha
elections by 10% based on suggestions of Election
Commission.
32
• Use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) & VVPAT Electronic Voting Machines has been developed to
2021 under Article 123 to amend the Cinematograph Act,
1952, the Customs Act, 1962, the Airports Authority of
facilitate easy polling and counting. The machines
have been developed by Electronics Corporation of
India Limited (ECIL) and Bharat Electronics
India Act, 1994, the Trade Marks Act, 1999 and the
Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001
and certain other Acts.
Corporation of India Limited (BEL). From 2013, a new
system has been added in the EVM called Voter
Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT). A printer is
WHAT HAS BEEN CHANGED THROUGH THE
attached with the EVM and kept into Voting
Compartment which prints Serial Number, Name and
Symbol of the candidate for whom a voter has voted.
This printed slip remains exposed for 7 seconds under
a transparent window and gets cut automatically and
falls into a dropbox which remain sealed.
ORDINANCE?
• The Ordinance amends various Acts and has replaced
the word “Tribunal” with High Court, Central
Government
legislations.
or
other
authority
for
different
• The Finance Act, 2017 empowered the central
government to notify rules on:
(i) qualifications of members of tribunals,
TRIBUNALS REFORMS
(ii) terms and conditions of their service, and
(iii) composition of search cum selection committees for
19 tribunals (such as the Customs, Excise, and Service
Tax Appellate Tribunals).
IN NEWS
The President of India promulgated the Tribunals Reforms
(Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance,
• The 2021 Ordinance amends the 2017 Act to include
provisions related to the composition of search-cumselection committees and term of office of tribunal
members in the Act itself.
Transfer of functions of key appellate bodies as proposed under the Ordinance
Acts (Legislations)
Present Appellate
Body
Proposed Entity to which authority is Transferred
The Cinematograph Act, 1952
Appellate Tribunal
High Court
The Trade Marks Act, 1999
Appellate Board
High Court
The Copyright Act, 1957
Appellate Board
Commercial Court or the Commercial Division of a High Court
The Customs Act, 1962
Authority
for
Advance Rulings
High Court
The Patents Act, 1970
Appellate Board
High Court
Airport
Tribunal
Central government, for disputes arising from the disposal of
properties left on airport premises by unauthorised occupants.
The Airports Authority
India Act, 1994
of
Appellate
High Court, for appeals against orders of an eviction officer.
The Control of National
Highways (Land and Traffic)
Act, 2002
The
Airport
Appellate Tribunal
Civil Court
The Geographical Indications
of Goods (Registration and
Protection) Act, 1999
Appellate Board
High Court
33
Q1.
Consider the following statements:
(b)
1.
Every Judge of the Supreme Court shall be
(c)
appointed by the President by warrant under his
hand and seal.
2.
Inviting more Public Interest Litigations on similar
issues currently being heard by the Court.
(d)
No such term exists.
Q4.
The term SUPACE which has been in news can
A Judge of Supreme Court may, by writing under
his hand addressed to the President or Prime
Minister, (whoever is available) resigns his office.
Which of the statement given above is/are correct?
(a)
1 only
(b)
2 only
(c)
Both 1 and 2
(d)
Neither 1 nor 2
Q2.
Consider the following statements:
1.
Memorandum of Procedure has been framed
under Article 141 of the Constitution of India.
2.
Allowing more time to collect evidence
Memorandum of Procedure cannot be varied at
be associated with?
(a)
Lok Adalat – conduct and management
(b)
AI driven research portal for judiciary
(c)
Legal mechanism to deal with Bitcoins
(d)
Environmental Regulations
Q5.
Consider the following statements:
1.
Chief
all.
1 only
(b)
2only
(c)
Both 1 and 2
(d)
Neither 1 nor 2
Commissioner
shall
not
be
and on the like grounds as a Judge of the
Which of the statement given above is/are correct?
(a)
Election
removed from his office except in like manner
Supreme Court.
2.
Any
other
Election
Commissioner
can
be
removed from office by the central govt.
Which of the statement given above is/are correct?
Q3.
(a)
Which of the following best describes the
(a)
1 only
(b)
2 only
term “continuing mandamus”?
(c)
Both 1 and 2
(d)
Neither 1 nor 2
The practice of issuing continuing directions to
ensure effective discharge of duties.
Q1.
Highlight various ways in which mounting arrears of pendency in High Courts and Supreme Court can be
decreased. (10 Marks) (150 Words)
Q2.
Critically analyse the steps taken by the judicial fraternity to allow live streaming of Supreme Court proceedings.
(15 Marks) (250 Words)
Answers: 1-a, 2-d, 3-a, 4-b, 5-a
34
CAPITAL EXPENDITURE
The objective is to ensure multiplier effect, boost both
demand and supply, crowd-in private sector investment,
revive the spirits and kickstart Indian economy. However, it
is easier said than done. The ability of capital expenditure to
boost long-term growth within the Indian economy is
saddled with multi-faceted challenges.
IN NEWS
In order to deal with the economic slowdown caused due to
Covid-19, the Economic Survey 2020-21 has called for
In this regard, let us have a look at the following dimensions:
A. Trends in Revenue and Capital Expenditure in India
B. Case for Increase in Capital Expenditure
adoption of Counter Cyclical Fiscal Policy with more focus
C. Concerns and Challenges
on Capital Expenditure. Similarly, the Budget has allocated
D. Way Forward
5.54 lakh crores for the Capital expenditure in the Financial
year 2021-22. This is almost 34% higher allocation in
comparison to previous financial year 2020-21.
Trends in Revenue and Capital Expenditure in India
35
• The share of revenue expenditure in the total
expenditure has increased from 73% in 1990 to 84%
in 2021. However, the share of Capital Expenditure
has reduced from 27% in 1990 to 12% in 2019-20.
CASE FOR INCREASE IN CAPITAL EXPENDITURE
• Revive Economy: In India, the capital expenditure
multiplier
is
around
2.45,
while
the
revenue
expenditure multiplier is 0.99 (RBI Bulletin, Dec 2020).
• Similarly, a higher share of our borrowings (Fiscal
Thus, for a Rs. 1 crore increase in capital expenditure,
Deficit) is used for funding Revenue Expenditure
GDP increases by Rs. 2.45 crores, whereas if there is a
rather than Capital Expenditure. This shows a
1 crore increase in revenue expenditure, the GDP
consistent decline in the quality of Fiscal Deficit in
increases only by Rs.0.99 crore. Hence, Capital
India. For example, in 2020-21, out of total Fiscal
Expenditure has the potential to revive both demand
Deficit of Rs 18 lakh crores (9.5% of GDP), the share of
and supply leading to expeditious economic recovery.
revenue expenditure is 14.5 lakh crores (7.5% of GDP).
Remaining only Rs 3.5 lakh crores of the Fiscal Deficit
is spent for capital expenditure.
• Crowd-in
Private
sector
Investment
as
the
Government expenditure on creation of capital assets
would
boost
demand
for
Goods
and
services
produced by the Private sector entities.
• Shift
gears
from
Consumption
driven
to
Investment driven economy as recommended by
Eco Survey 2019-20.
• Higher Debt Sustainability: The Economic Survey
2020-21 has highlighted that India need not be
worried about Quantity of Public Debt, rather we
should be worried about our capacity to repay. Our
capacity to repay in turn depends upon Interest rate
growth differential (IRGD).
• The IRGD is calculated as Interest rate - GDP growth.
The Public Debt would be sustainable as long as the
GDP growth rate is higher than the rate of Interest at
which we are borrowing loans. Higher Capital
expenditure would lead to higher GDP growth rate
and hence leads to higher debt sustainability.
• Plug gaps in Infrastructure: India needs to spend
$4.5 trillion on infrastructure by 2030 to sustain its
growth rate. Higher Capital expenditure would lead to
creation of world class infrastructure in terms of
Roads, railways, ports etc.
• Reduce Logistics cost and boost Make in India:
Higher Capital expenditure would help us bring down
the logistics cost from around 12%-14% of the GDP to
the global benchmark of around 8-10% of GDP.
• Boost
Employment
expenditure
would
Creation:
create
Higher
more
Capital
employment
opportunities, enable people to earn their livelihoods
and boost demand in the economy.
36
CONCERNS AND CHALLENGES
• Neglect of Immediate needs of the people:
According to some of the economists, instead of
providing benefits to the people in the form of cash
transfers, free ration, Education, healthcare etc. to
deal with Covid-19 pandemic, Government ends up
giving more emphasis on creation of capital assets.
• Problem of Time lag as the increase in the capital
expenditure would not have immediate impact on the
economy.
• Multiplier effect may not come into being as the
private sector may not increase its investment due to
fear of lower GDP growth rates and lower rate of
returns. Similarly, due to unforeseen circumstances
prevailing in the economy, people may decide to save
money instead of spending leading to decline in
demand.
• Time and cost overrun in completing infrastructure
projects could lead to lower rate of returns and hence
make the projects financially unviable.
• Poor quality of asset creation can lead to higher
recurring expenditure on maintenance.
WAY FORWARD
• The Budget 2021-22 has rightly prioritised on Capital
Expenditure. However, in order to ensure that it would
lead to expected outcomes, the Government needs to
address some of the constraints such as time and cost
overruns, improving Ease of Doing Business etc.
• At the same time, new initiatives such as Development
Bank and National Monetisation Pipeline have to be
implemented in the right earnest. The government
should also aim to cut down on inefficient revenue
expenditure and focus on creating a balanced and
stable virtuous cycle.
• Crowd out Private sector investment due to higher
government borrowings.
IPR WAIVER ON COVID
DRUGS
IN NEWS
The entire world is grappling with the CoVID-19. During these
exceptional times, patent protection available on vaccines,
medicines and diagnostic tests for Covid-19 could act as the
37
biggest hindrance to ensure affordable, inclusive and
MECHANISM FOR WAIVERS UNDER WTO
equitable healthcare. Hence, in Dec 2020, India and South
AGREEMENTS
Africa had asked for patent waiver to deal with CoVID-19.
So far, it was opposed by number of countries including
USA. Now recently, the Joe Biden administration has agreed
to this proposal of waiver on Patents. A number of other
countries, including France and NZ have also indicated their
support for waiver.
Supporters of the proposal say the waiver will allow for the
faster manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines for use by
developing countries. On the other hand, pharmaceutical
companies claim that granting the waiver could hurt future
• Marrakesh Agreement which led to establishment of
WTO provides that a waiver under WTO treaties,
such as TRIPS, can be decided at the WTO
Ministerial Conference through consensus among
all the member countries.
• The waiver needs to contain a justification based on
the exceptional circumstances.
• Waivers are reviewed by the Ministerial Conference
annually until its termination.
innovation and will not lead to the quick production of
BENEFITS OF PATENT WAIVER
coronavirus vaccines.
• Saving
Lives:
The
technological
breakthrough
So, clearly, there are both pros and cons of IPR waiver on
achieved in the form of vaccines and medicines has
various technologies related to Covid-19.
mainly benefitted the developed countries. For
example, the vaccination coverage in advanced
UNDERSTANDING THE WAIVER ON PATENTS
• Normal Circumstances: Usually, when a company is
issued a Patent, the company has the exclusive right
to manufacture the product for the next 20 years. For
example, Remdesivir which is now extensively used to
treat Covid infections is patented by US based
company Gilead. This means that only this US based
company can manufacture Remdesivir for the next 20
years. But at the same time, Gilead can enter into
voluntary
licensing
agreements
with
the
other
manufacturers wherein it can transfer the technology
and know-how of manufacturing Remdesivir. For
example, Gilead has entered into voluntary licensing
agreement with Indian pharma companies such as Dr.
Reddy's
laboratories
to
manufacture Remdesivir
injections.
• Waiver on Patents: Any pharmaceutical company
would be allowed to manufacture the vaccines,
medicines without having patents or without entering
into voluntary licensing agreements with the patent
holder. The pharma companies would have complete
economies such as USA, UK etc. is more than 50%.
However, in African countries, it is below 1%. In India,
it is around 10%. Hence, a patent waiver would
provide for equitable and inclusive approach to deal
with Covid-19.
• Public funded Research: Most of the pharma
companies, particularly in advanced economies such
as USA have received huge grants from their
governments to undertake R&D to develop vaccines
and medicines. Hence, since a significant chunk of
R&D
expenditure
is
indirectly
incurred
by
the
Government, it would be prudent to provide for
temporary waiver on Patents.
• Best bet to Fight Pandemic:
ο Promote Global Cooperation to fight Crisis.
ο Ramp up Production of Vaccines and Medicines and
Flatten the Curve
ο Equitable distribution of Vaccines
ο Availability of Vaccines at affordable cost
freedom to carry out reverse engineering and
• Saving Livelihoods: Impact of Pandemic- 1.4% of
manufacture the patented product. The company
Global Population pushed into extreme poverty; 90%
would have complete freedom in fixing the prices and
of countries faced GDP contraction.
more importantly, the company would not be liable to
pay any compensation to the patent holder.
• Current Mechanism for Exemptions for Patents
such as Compulsory Licensing and Parallel Imports –
Time Consuming and Complex Process
38
• Lower profit margins for the Pharma companies as
REASONS FOR OPPOSITION
The intent behind the push for waiver is to ramp up
production, bring down the prices and effectively deal
with Covid-19. However, Pharma companies and some of
the advanced economies believe that a temporary waiver
is a simple solution to a complex problem. In fact, a
they mainly sell vaccines to the Government at lower
prices. In spite of temporary waiver on Patents, lower
profit margins may prevent the Pharma companies
from manufacturing vaccines and medicines
• Problem of Quality controls as less capable pharma
waiver may not actually lead to increase in production or
companies
decrease in prices and can end up affecting the interests
products.
of global community at large.
further development in field of medicines, vaccines
and diagnostic tests. This is particularly of concern
since the virus is mutating. Similarly, if we waive off
the patent protection this time, then in case of future
pandemics, pharma companies may not willingly
come forward to develop vaccines and medicines.
• Flawed Assumption: The lower production and
higher prices of medicines and vaccines is not entirely
on account of Patent regime. Apart from Patents,
other extrinsic factors such as availability of raw
materials, Technological know-how, manufacturing
etc.
are
also
try
to
manufacture
patented
• Extremely time consuming and complex as the
• Discourage Investment in R&D for undertaking
capacity
may
hindering
widespread
availability.
• Complexity in manufacturing of medicines and
vaccines (such as mRNA Vaccines) prevent the
pharma companies from entering into voluntary
licensing agreements with the pharma companies in
the poor and developing countries.
INVERSE FORK-TO-FARM
STRATEGY
waiver on Patents would have to be agreed through
consensus among all the WTO member countries.
THIRD WAY
• The Director General of WTO has proposed for a third
way instead of Temporary waiver on Patents. Under
the third way, there is a need to encourage pharma
companies to enter into a greater number of
voluntary licensing agreements with the Pharma
companies based in poor and developing countries.
For example, AstraZeneca has entered into voluntary
licensing agreement with Serum Institute of India to
manufacture Covishield.
• AstraZeneca can enter into a greater number of such
voluntary licensing agreements with other pharma
companies in India as well as other countries.
• Hence, the fastest and better way to provide for
inclusive
and
technology
equitable
transfer
healthcare
partnerships
is
and
through
licensing
agreements.
the farmers. To ensure higher prices for the farmers, the
Dalwai Panel has recommended that the agricultural
marketing should guide the flow of produce from farm-tofork, through the flow of information from fork-to-farm.
Hence, in a way, there is a need to focus on Inverse "Fork-toFarm" strategy.
Let us understand as to how the Inverse Fork-to-Farm
IN NEWS
Strategy would benefit farmers.
The Strategy to double income level of farmers requires
UNDERSTANDING FORK-TO-FARM STRATEGY
three-pronged approach of - Reducing input costs,
To ensure higher prices for the farmers, we have so far
enhancing productivity and Ensuring higher prices for
used
"Farm-to-Fork
strategy"
to
streamline
the
39
agriculture
supply
intermediaries,
cut
chain,
down
reduce
number
of
post-harvest
losses
and
connect farmers directly with the consumers. However,
this strategy has solely focused on enhancing production
without understanding the prevailing demand and prices
in the market.
For example, inspite of the fact that horticulture crops
such as Fruits and vegetables are in much higher
demand and fetch higher prices, the farmers continue to
decisions about what to market, when to market and to
whom.
BENEFITS OF FORK-TO-FARM STRATEGY
This approach focuses on reverse flow of information
from markets to farmers would also enable the farmer
to take informed decisions about what to market,
when to market and to whom.
The new strategy would benefit Indian agriculture in a
grow water-intensive crops such as Rice, Sugarcane,
multi-faceted manner:
Wheat. The area under horticulture is hardly around
• Promote diversification of Indian Agriculture towards
14%, even though it contributes more than 33% of
agricultural GDP.
high value crops and allied sector.
• Enable Agriculture to cater to shift in consumption
Similarly, even today, India has remained a net importer
pattern towards protein-based foods such as Pulses,
of Pulses and Oilseeds due to lower production. Hence,
Egg, Fish, Meat etc.
in a way, even though Indian Agriculture has made rapid
strides in term of production, it has not led to
commensurate increase in the income levels of the
farmers.
Farm-to-Fork
Fork-to-Farm
Strategy
Strategy
Approach
Production led
Market led Approach
used
Approach
Strategy
Sale of agricultural Undertake cultivation
commodities in the
of crops based upon
market to ensure
prevailing demand.
remunerative prices
• Ensure higher prices for the farmers and reduce risk.
• Ensure both Food security as well as nutritional
security.
• Prevent Inflation in Agri commodities
• Enable us to boost exports according to international
demand and capture newer markets.
SYSTEM OF RICE
INTENSIFICATION
for farmers
Flow of
From farm to
Information Market (Production
Integration
From Market to Farm
(Demand related
related Information)
Information)
Poor Integration
Higher Integration.
of demand
Production based
with Supply
upon demand.
Prices
May be lower
Higher.
received by
Farmer
IN NEWS
India has the world’s largest area under Paddy cultivation
and this in turn has led to water crisis. Against this
background, the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) provides
for an effective strategy to reduce water consumption,
increase yields and thus ensure food security. In this regard,
let us understand about SRI and its benefits for India.
About SRI: The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) is a
Hence, Dalwai Committee has recommended adoption
set of practices for increasing the productivity of irrigated
of inverse "Fork-to-Farm" strategy in order to bring about
rice. It is a low-water and labor-intensive method that
a strategic shift from production-based push into
makes use of younger seedlings. The SRI method was
markets towards a demand-based pull. This approach
initially developed in the 1980s in Madagascar and later
focuses on reverse flow of information from markets to
adopted in number of countries, including India. SRI
farmers would also enable the farmer to take informed
practices and concepts have also been successfully
40
adapted to upland rice and to other crops such as wheat,
finger millet, and sugarcane.
• Potential to apply this method for other crops such as
Sugarcane, wheat, millet etc.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SRI AND CONVENTIONAL
Although the benefits of SRI have been demonstrated
METHODS
globally, the potential remains untapped. The report
As can be seen below, SRI method has number of
advantages
over
Conventional
Rice
management
methods:
"More Rice with Less Water" recommends that India
should convert at least 25% of current rice cultivation to
SRI. This would not only dramatically reduce the use of
water but also improve global food security.
SRI Method
Conventional
Rice
LARGE AREA
CERTIFICATION SCHEME
Management
50-60 kg/ha
5 kg/ha
Transplant older
Transplant young
seedlings
seedlings to preserve
Seeds
required
Transplanting
growth potential
Flood Irrigation
Water
Keep only the soil
Management
moist but not
IN NEWS
The Government of India has recently certified around
flooded
15,000 ha of area in A&N Islands under organic
Fertilizer
Use Chemical
Use organic matter
Certification. This area becomes the first large contiguous
Management
fertilizers
as much as possible
territory to be conferred with organic certification under the
Pest and
Higher
Lower
‘Large Area Certification’ (LAC) scheme of the PGS-India
(Participatory
Disease
Guarantee
System)
certification
programme.
Incidence
Less
Availability of
INITIATIVES TAKEN BY GOVERNMENT TO
More
Organic
PROMOTE ORGANIC FARMING
Matter
Certification for Organic Foods: India has adopted
two Organic Certification:
BENEFITS OF SRI
• National
• Decrease water consumption by almost 40%.
• Potential to double income level of farmers by
input
use
efficiency
and
higher
productivity.
who account for 83% of farmers.
• Greater tolerance to abiotic (drought, heat waves) and
biotic (pest and diseases) stresses.
• Promote environment friendly practices such as
farming,
Organic
Production
o Under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
o NPOP
certification
is
facilitated
by
Agriculture
Processed Food and Export Development Authority
(APEDA).
• Can easily be adopted by Small and Marginal farmers
Organic
for
(NPOP) for Exports.
• Increase yields by over 30%.
enhancing
Programme
reduce
emission
improvement in soil fertility etc.
of
methane,
• Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) for Domestic
and Local markets.
o Under the Ministry of Agriculture.
o Implemented by Ministry of Agriculture with National
Centre for Organic Farming (NCOF) acting as its
secretariat.
41
Note:
The Jaivik Bharat logo for Organic Food is an
ABOUT LARGE AREA CERTIFICATION SCHEME
identity mark to distinguish organic products from non-
Objective:
organic ones.
transform them into certified organic production hubs
• Paramaparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY): The
immediately. Usually, in case of areas having chemical
scheme promotes cluster based organic farming with
Participatory Guarantee System (PGS certification).
Cluster formation, training, certification and marketing
are supported under the scheme.
• Mission Organic Value Chain Development for
North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER): Development
of certified organic production in a value chain mode
to link growers with consumers. It provides support
for the development of entire value chain starting
from inputs, seeds, certification and creation of
facilities
for
collection,
aggregation,
processing,
marketing and brand building initiative.
STATUS OF ORGANIC FARMING IN INDIA
• India ranks first in number of organic farmers and
fifth in terms of area under organic farming.
• The total area under organic certification process
(registered under National Programme for Organic
Production) is 3.67 million Hectare (2019-20).
• Among all the states, Madhya Pradesh has covered
largest area under organic certification followed by
Identify
Traditional
Organic
Areas
and
input usage history, certification is a time-consuming
process and takes minimum 2-3 years. However, under
Large Area certification scheme, certification process is
faster, and the farmers do not have to wait for 2-3 years
to get certificate.
Requirements for Certification: Each village in the area
is considered as one cluster/group. All farmers need to
adhere to the standard requirements and on being
verified get certified. Certification is renewed on annual
basis through annual verification per the process of PGSIndia.
Potential of this scheme:
A. Agriculture
areas
in
States
like
Himachal,
Uttarakhand, North Eastern states and tribal belts of
Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, desert districts of
Rajasthan which are essentially free from the use of
chemical inputs can be transformed to certified
organic.
B. Facilitate
the
marketing
of
area-specific
niche
products through branding and labelling.
Rajasthan and Maharashtra.
• In 2016, Sikkim became the first State in the world to
become fully organic and other States including
Tripura and Uttarakhand have set similar targets.
GLOBAL MINIMUM
CORPORATE TAX
A number of multinational companies usually shift their
profits from high tax jurisdiction to tax haven countries such
as Mauritius,
Singapore,
Hongkong, Cayman Islands,
Panama, Bermuda etc. through "Base Erosion profit
Shifting" (BEPS). Hence, in order to prevent these MNCs from
shifting their profits to low tax jurisdictions, recently, the Joe
Biden Administration in USA has unveiled a new plan known
as "Made in America Tax Plan" in order to boost economic
activity and create employment opportunities.
IN NEWS
One of the most important proposals put forward by US is
with respect to adoption of Global Minimum Corporate tax.
42
However, the adoption of Global Minimum Corporate tax is
• Ideally, no country should have corporate tax rates
not going to be easy and would face multiple problems. In
below 21%. This proposal is set to be discussed before
this regard, we will look into the following dimensions:
the OECD.
• Proposal for Global Minimum Corporate Tax and working
• Working
Mechanism:
If
any
country
adopts
corporate tax below 21%, then in that case, a
mechanism
particular MNC would pay the lower corporate tax to
• Rationale
such a country and the remaining tax amount
• India's Position on the issue
(Minimum Corporate Tax amount of 21% - Prevailing
• Challenges and concerns
tax rate in a particular country) would be paid to the
Note: It is advisable
country to which the company originally belongs.
to know about the Base Erosion and
Profit Shifting (BEPS) and its various strategies such as
• For example, let’s consider a US based company
"Apple" is required to pay only 15% corporate tax in a
Misuse of DTAA, Treaty Shopping, Round Tripping etc. before
tax haven country such as Mauritius. In that case, it
going through this article. All these aspects have already
would pay 15% in the form of tax to Mauritius and
been covered in October 2020 Focus Magazine.
remaining 6% in the form of tax to US Government.
PROPOSAL FOR GLOBAL MINIMUM CORPORATE
So, the minimum tax liability would always be 21% and
TAX
not less than the minimum corporate tax rate.
• Proposal: According to proposal put forward by USA,
all the countries across the world need to impose
minimum corporate tax of 21%.
• In case, if Apple is required to pay corporate tax rate of
25% (above minimum threshold) in a country such as
China. In that case, the entire tax liability of 25% would
• Please do understand that it is the minimum
corporate tax which should be applicable. The
be paid to Chinese Government. In this case, no tax
would be paid to the US Government.
countries would have complete flexibility to fix
corporate tax rates above 21%.
All the Countries to agree to impose Minimum Corporate tax at 21%
Countries to have freedom to fix tax rates above 21%
If any country fixes tax rate below 21%, then the difference tax amount to the paid to the country to which
company originally belongs
Tax Rates
Scenario 1
Tax Paid
USA
Country XYZ
USA
Country XYZ
28%
21%
0
$21bn
28%
15%
$6bn
$ 15bn
28%
25%
0
$25bn
Company ABC (American Company) Country XYZ: India Annual
profits: $ l00bn Minimum Tax liability: $ 21bn
Scenario 2
Company ABC (American Company) Country XYZ: Mauritius Annual
profits: $ l00bn Minimum Tax liability: $ 21bn
Scenario 3
Company ABC (American Company) Country XYZ: China Annual
profits: $ l00bn Minimum Tax liability: $ 21bn
RATIONALE BEHIND THE GLOBAL MINIMUM
CORPORATE TAX
• Proposed
Tax
hikes
in
USA:
During
Trump's
Presidency, the Corporate tax rates in US was reduced
from 35% to 21%. Now, the Joe Biden Administration
43
seeks to increase the corporate tax rate from 21% to
CHALLENGES WITH GLOBAL MINIMUM
35% to raise revenue and provide stimulus measures.
CORPORATE TAX
However, the proposal to increase the tax rates might
prompt the US based companies to shift their bases to
other low tax jurisdictions. Hence, the idea is to
prevent the US based companies from shifting their
bases to low tax jurisdiction countries.
• Target Low Tax Jurisdictions: According to research
by the Tax Justice Network campaign group, total
revenue lost at the global level on an annual basis due
to BEPS is as high as $ 427bn. India’s annual tax losses
due to corporate tax abuse are estimated at over $10
billion. Almost $8.7 trillion of global wealth is stored in
these low-tax jurisdictions.
• Mainly serves the Interests of USA: Proposal put
forward in order to finance $ 2 trillion spending
programme; 30% of Forbes 2000 MNCs American
based and hence US government would be the
ultimate beneficiary.
• Against Interests of Poor and developing countries
which uses lower tax rates as a tool to attract foreign
investment and boost GDP growth.
• Difficult to achieve consensus among multiple
countries at international level.
• Goes against Principle of Sovereignty as the country
• Target Technological companies such as GAFAM
would lose their freedom to fix low tax rates.
which end up paying lower taxes due to BEPS.
• Prevent “Race to the Bottom”: According to OECD,
countries across the world are locked in intense
GST COLLECTIONS
competition to attract foreign investment by reducing
the corporate tax rates. The average corporate tax
rate has fallen from 32% in 2000 to 23% in 2018.
• Compulsions before the US Government to reduce
FD, higher Debt levels and finance $ 2 trillion spending
programme
IN NEWS
The Gross GST collections in the month of March 2021 hit a
record figure of Rs 1.24 lakh crores, touching its highest level
INDIA'S POSITION
since its introduction. This is the sixth consecutive month
So, far there is no official response from the Indian
Government with respect to US proposal. However, at
the same time, the Indian Government has already
that GST revenues have crossed Rs 1 lakh crore. This is on
account of number of factors such as sustained economic
revival, crack down on tax evasion, financial closure of the
reduced the corporate tax rate for the existing domestic
companies.
companies from 25% to 22%. The Government has also
However, in spite of record GST collections, the GST regime
reduced the MAT from 18.5% to 15%. Further, the
still faces considerable challenges. These challenges have
Government has taken number of steps to reduce the
been discussed in detail by 15th Finance Commission.
tax avoidance. These include: A. India is part of OECD BEPS project to tackle BEPS. It
has signed and ratified the multilateral convention to
curb BEPS in 2019.
B. India has sought to amend DTAA to make it difficult
for the MNCs to avoid taxes.
C. India
has
signed
Tax
DETAILS ABOUT GST
o What is GST? GST is a single tax on the supply of
goods and services, right from the manufacturer to
the consumer. Credits of input taxes paid at each
stage is made available in the subsequent stage of
value addition, which makes GST essentially a tax only
Exchange
Information
agreement with number of countries.
D. Imposition of Equalization Levy to bring technological
companies under the tax bracket.
on value addition at each stage. GST is a consumptionbased value-added tax on goods and services with
dual levy by both the Union and the States.
o Components of GST: States levy and collect State GST
(SGST) and the Union levies and collects the Central
44
GST (CGST). For any particular good or service, the
(IGST) is applied on inter-state movement of goods
SGST and CGST rates are equal. An integrated GST
and services and on imports.
o Taxes subsumed under GST:
Union Taxes
Rate (%)
State Taxes
Rate (%)
12.36
Value Added Tax (VAT)
10-14.5
Service Tax
15
Entry Tax
0-12.5
Central Sales Tax (CST)
2
Luxury Tax
3-20
12.36
Entertainment Tax
15-50
4
Purchase Tax
10-14.5
5-10
Taxes on lottery, betting & gambling
10-15
Central Excise duty
Countervailing Duties (CVD)
Special Additional Duty of Customs (SAD)
Additional excise duties
• Improvement in Tax base: Increase in number of
TRENDS IN GST COLLECTION- IMPORTANT
registered taxpayers from 1.08 crore to 1.23 crore.
PRELIMS POINTERS
• Lack of Revenue Neutrality:
A change in tax
structure can be said to be revenue neutral if the
More number of informal entities have come under
the tax bracket.
modified tax is able to realize revenue comparable to
CHALLENGES AND CONCERNS
the original tax regime. In this sense, the much-
The 15th Finance Commission has highlighted some
needed
revenue
neutrality
of
GST
stands
compromised.
The Share of General Government’s revenue from
taxes subsumed under GST was 6.3% of GDP in 201617. However, the collections under GST was 5.7% of
GDP in 2018-19 and 5.6% in 2019-20.
Figure: GST Collection s vis-à-vis Colleciton from
Taxes Subsumed Under GST
challenges with the implementation of the Goods and
Services Tax (GST). These include:
• Stagnation in Revenue: Monthly GST collections
crossed Rs 1 lakh crore in April 2018 and since then
remained stagnant.
• Inverted Duty Structure: The term ‘Inverted duty
Structure’ refers to a situation where the rate of tax on
inputs purchased (i.e., GST Rate paid on inputs) is
more than the GST rate on finished goods. The
inverted duty structure leads to higher input tax
credits and hence lower tax collection for the
Government.
• Complexity: The GST was introduced in order to
simplify the tax structure and improve the tax
compliance. However, the existing GST regime has
multiple rates: 0, 0.25, 1, 3, 5, 12, 18 and 28%.
• Coverage: Petroleum crude, petrol, high speed diesel,
natural gas etc. are still outside GST.
• Share of GST in Total Tax collection: GST accounts
for the highest share followed by Income Tax and
Corporate Tax. Amongst different components, IGST
accounts for highest share.
• Issues in Refunds: Delays in GST refunds, recent
unearthing of fake invoices and fraudulent practices
to corner input tax credit.
• Anti-profiteering framework: Need to evolve clear
guidelines on anti-profiteering mechanism.
45
• Shortfall in GST Compensation Cess: States still
RBI’S MONETARY
POLICY
depend upon Centre for the GST compensation.
o Permitting banks to on-lend through NBFCs: In
August 2019, the RBI had decided to allow bank
lending to registered NBFCs for on-lending to
agriculture, micro and small enterprises and housing
to be classified as priority sector lending. This was
allowed because on one hand, it would benefit banks
to fulfil their PSL requirements while on the other, it
would be able to leverage the reach of the NBFCs to
IN NEWS
The RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided to
keep the policy rates unchanged and continue with the
accommodative policy stance to kick start the Indian
economy. Apart from that, the MPC has taken a number of
policy decisions to enhance liquidity in the economy and
deepen the Financial sector.
provide credit to critical sectors.
Banks were allowed to lend up to 5% of the PSL
requirements to the NBFCs, who then should lend to
priority sectors such as Agriculture, MSMEs and
Housing.
This scheme was available up to March 2021. The RBI
has now decided to extend this scheme by another 6
POLICY RATES OF RBI
months up to September 2021.
Policy Repo Rate
:
4.00%
Reverse Repo Rate
:
3.35%
Marginal Standing Facility Rate
:
4.25%
Bank Rate
:
4.25%
• Measures taken to enhance Liquidity Supply
o On-tap Targeted long Term Repo Operations
(TLTROs)- Extension of Deadline
Presently, the On-tap Targeted long Term Repo
o Priority
Sector
Lending
(PSL)
guidelines-
Enhancement of Loan limit against eNWR/NWR
RELATED INFORMATION: NEGOTIABLE
WAREHOUSING RECEIPTS (NWRS)
o Legal Framework: The Warehousing development
and Regulation Act (WDR Act) provides for issuance of
Negotiable
Warehouse
Receipts
(NWRs)
by
the
warehouses registered under this Act.
o Regulation:
WDR
Act
has
also
established
Operations (TLTROs) is applicable to certain stressed
Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority.
sectors identified by the Kamath Committee. In Feb
It functions under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs,
2021, this facility was extended to NBFCs as well.
Food and Public Distribution.
This scheme was available up to March 2021. The RBI
has now decided to extend this scheme by another 6
months up to September 2021.
o Benefits of Negotiable Warehousing Receipts for
the farmers: Store perishable commodities + Use
collateral for short-term borrowing + direct sale of the
• Measures related to Regulation and Supervision
commodities under new farm acts + Scientific storage
o Enhancement of limit of maximum balance for
+ Reduce post-harvest losses.
Payments Banks: Presently, the Payments banks can
hold a maximum balance of Rs 1 lakh per individual
customer. The RBI has decided to enhance the
maximum limit to Rs 2 lakh per customer.
o Recent Progress: The Ministry of Agriculture has
enabled integration of NWRs with the E-NAM portal.
o RBI's New Announcement: Enhance the loan limit
from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 75 lakh per borrower against the
46
pledge of agricultural produce backed by NWRs/(e-
The RBI has accepted both the recommendations given by
NWRs) issued by warehouses registered and regulated
this committee.
by WDRA.
From the perspective of UPSC prelims exam, one needs to be
• Financial Inclusion: The RBI will construct and
periodically publish a “Financial Inclusion Index” (FI
Index). The FI Index would be based on multiple
parameters and shall reflect the broadening and
aware of the concept of Ways and Means Advances (WMA)
and its working mechanism.
WHAT IS WAYS AND MEANS ADVANCES (WMA)?
deepening of financial inclusion in the country. To
• The RBI acts as banker to the government i.e., it lends
begin with, the FI Index will be published annually in
money to the Central and State Government. Earlier,
July for the financial year ending previous March.
the government relied on ad-hoc Treasury bills to
• Payments Systems: Membership to the RBI-operated
Centralized Payment Systems (CPSs) i.e., RTGS and
borrow money from RBI. However, it was replaced by
Ways and Means advances in 1997.
NEFT is so far limited to banks. The RBI has now
• What is it?: It acts as a loan facility to the central and
proposed to enable non-bank payment system
state governments to meet their cash requirements.
operators like Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI)
This facility is availed by the Government due to the
issuers, card networks, White label ATM operators and
Trade
Receivables
Discounting
System
(TReDS)
platforms regulated by the Reserve Bank, to take
direct membership in CPSs.
temporary
mismatches
in
their
receipts
and
expenditure.
• Duration: The loan taken by the government through
ways and means advances need to be paid back in 90
WAYS AND MEANS
ADVANCES (WMA)
days.
• Interest rate: The interest rate of WMA currently is
the repo rate.
• Limits on borrowing: The limits for WMA are
mutually decided by the RBI and Government of India.
• Can the limit be exceeded? When the WMA limit is
crossed the government takes recourse to overdrafts.
IN NEWS
The interest rate on overdrafts would be 2 percent
In August 2019, the RBI had appointed an Advisory
Committee under the Chairmanship of Sudhir Shrivastava to
review the Ways and Means Advances (WMA) limits for State
Governments/UTs.
The
Committee
has
recently
recommended an overall revised limit of Rs 47,010 crore for
all states, as against the current limit of Rs 32,225 crore
(fixed in February 2016).
Further, in order to enable the states to tide over the crisis
due to COVID-19, the RBI had increased the WMA limit to Rs
51,000 crores in 2019. This was applicable until March 31,
2021. The Committee has recommended the RBI to continue
more than the repo rate.
REASONS FOR REPLACING AD-HOC T-BILLS WITH
WMAs
• Earlier, under an agreement between RBI and
Government, the central government needed to
always hold certain amount of cash balances. The
minimum cash limit was fixed in order to ensure
smooth conduct of Government business and to
ensure that government has sufficient cash to meet its
operational requirements.
with the enhanced limit up to September 30,2021.
47
• However, if the cash balances reduced to below the
threshold level fixed, the RBI provided the cash
through the creation of ad-hoc treasury bills. The ad
hoc Treasury Bills, which were meant to be temporary,
MICRO-FINANCE
INSTITUTIONS (MFIs)
gained a permanent as well as a cumulative character.
Further, ad-hoc treasury bills became an attractive
source of financing Government expenditures since it
was available at an interest rate which was below the
market rate of interest.
• Thus, the ad-hoc treasury bills led to increase in the
government borrowings leading to poor financial
discipline.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN AD-HOC TREASURY BILLS
AND WMA
• Firstly, WMA is not a source of financing Budget
Deficit. It is only a mechanism to cover day-to-day
mismatches
in
receipts
and
payments
of
the
Government.
• Secondly, limits on WMA will be fixed and any excess
withdrawal by Government beyond the limit will
become permissible for not more than 10 consecutive
working days.
• Thirdly, WMA will be charged at market related
interest rate i.e., Repo rate.
IN NEWS
Recently, the Micro-Finance Institutions have highlighted that
their borrowers have been hit hard due to Covid-19 and
hence may see a spike in their bad loans. Accordingly, they
have requested the RBI to grant them the flexibility to
restructure the loans.
Hence, let us have a look at important aspects of MFIs from
the perspective of Prelims Exam.
• Significance of MFIs
o Lack of Financial Inclusion has been identified as one
of the major constraints hindering the development of
poor and vulnerable sections as well as MSMEs in
India.
o Commercial banks have traditionally concentrated
their lending mainly to large formal enterprises which
have expertise of doing business and possess
collateral and not on small enterprises as they are
riskier investment.
48
o In
this
regard,
Microfinance
is
considered
as
important tool to promote business development.
IN NEWS
The Covid-19 pandemic has adversely affected the MSMEs
o Research shows that in Bangladesh, about 40% of the
and business enterprises and has made it difficult for them
overall reduction of rural poverty in recent years has
to avail loans. At the same time, most of the Banks and
been due to microfinance.
NBFCs are reluctant to lend loans due to the fear of rising
Microfinance Institutions (MFIs): MFIs are those
NPAs.
institutions which have microfinance as their main
In this context, in May 2020, the Government had unveiled
operation. The MFIs are regulated by RBI in India. As
the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme as part of
per the RBI's guidelines, MFI is defined as a non-
Aatma Nirbhar Bharat package to improve the credit
deposit
creation in the economy.
taking
NBFC
that
fulfils
the
following
conditions:
Now, recently in April 2021. the Government has decided to
• Minimum Net Owned Funds of Rs.5 crores. (For NBFC-
expand the scope of existing Emergency Credit line
MFIs registered in the North Eastern Region of the
Guarantee scheme to cover business enterprises in the
country, the minimum NOF requirement shall stand at
services sector such as those in Hospitality, Travel & Tourism
Rs. 2 crore).
etc.
• Not less than 85% of its loans are in the nature of
“qualifying assets.”
“Qualifying asset” shall mean a loan which satisfies the
following criteria: • Loan disbursed by an NBFC-MFI to a borrower with a
rural household annual income less than Rs. 1.25 lakh
or urban and semi-urban household income less than
Rs. 2lakhs.
• Loan amount does not exceed Rs. 1.25 lakh per
borrower.
FEATURES OF EMERGENCY CREDIT LINE
GUARANTEE SCHEME (ECLGS 1.0)
In May 2020, as part of AatmaNirbhar Bharat 1.0, the
Government had announced Emergency Credit Line
Guarantee Scheme with the following features.
• Objectives: Mitigate the economic distress faced by
MSMEs due to Covid-19 by providing them additional
funding in the form of a fully guaranteed emergency
credit line.
• Benefits: Banks and NBFCs to extend collateral free
• Loan extended without collateral.
loans worth Rs 3 lakh crores to the MSMEs, business
• The aggregate amount of loans, given for income
enterprises, individual loans for business purposes
generation should be at least 50 per cent of the total
loans given by the MFIs.
• The loan is repayable on weekly, fortnightly or
monthly instalments as per the choice of the
borrower.
and MUDRA borrowers
• Eligibility: Applicable to only standard loans (The
MSMEs who have not defaulted on their repayment of
loans and their accounts are categorized as Standard
Assets by Banks).
• Features of Loans: Moratorium of 12 months on the
EMERGENCY CREDIT
LINE GUARANTEE
SCHEME (ECLGS)
Principal repayment. Interest rate to be capped.
• Government's role: 100% Credit guarantee cover to
banks and NBFCs on principal and Interest. This
guarantee is provided by National Credit Guarantee
Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC).
• Expansion in scope of ECLGS
o ECLGS 2.0: In Nov 2020, Government extended ECLGS
through ECLGS 2.0 for the 26 sectors identified by the
Kamath Committee and the healthcare sector.
49
o ECLGS 3.0: In April 2021, Government extended ECLGS
o Credit Guarantee Fund for Skill Development
through ECLGS 3.0 to cover business enterprises in
(CGFSD): Guarantees for Skill Development Loans by
Hospitality, Travel & Tourism, Leisure & Sporting
the Banks.
sectors. Further, the validity of ECLGS i.e. ECLGS 1.0,
ECLGS 2.0 & ECLGS 3.0 have been extended up to 30th
June 2021 or till guarantees for an amount of Rs. 3
lakh crore are issued.
RELATED INFORMATION: NATIONAL CREDIT
GUARANTEE TRUSTEE COMPANY
Set up by the Department of Financial Services, Ministry
of Finance. Incorporated under the Indian Companies Act
in 2014 with a paid-up capital of Rs 10 crore. Main role is
to provide for credit guarantee on different types of
o Credit Guarantee Fund for Micro Units (CGFMU):
Guarantees for loans up to the specified limit
(currently Rs 10Lakh) sanctioned by Banks / NBFCs /
MFIs engaged in providing credit facilities to eligible
micro units.
o Credit Guarantee Fund for Standup India (CGFSI):
Guarantees for credit facilities of over Rs 10 lakh & up
to Rs 100 lakh sanctioned by the eligible lending
institutions, under
the Stand-Up
India
Scheme
(SC/ST/Women for setting up Greenfield enterprises).
loans extended by the Banks. Current funds managed:
PLI SCHEME FOR WHITE
GOODS
they are now available in a wide range of different
colors, they continue being called as white goods.
• Relatively light electronic consumer durables such as
TVs, radios, digital media players, and computers, as
distinct from heavy consumer durables are known as
Brown Goods.
PLI SCHEME FOR WHITE GOODS- FEATURES
IN NEWS
• Objectives: Boost domestic manufacturing of White
Earlier, as part of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Package, the
Goods; Reduce India's dependence on imports and
Government has already approved PLI schemes for 3
get integrated into Global value chains (GVCs)
sectors- Mobile Manufacturing and specified electronics
components, Active Pharmaceuticals Ingredients (APIs) and
Manufacturing of Medical Devices. Later on, the PLI scheme
was extended to 10 more champion sectors including that
for manufacturing White Goods. Recently, the Government
has launched the PLI Scheme for White Goods.
WHITE AND BROWN GOODS
• White goods are large home appliances such as
refrigerators, freezers, washing machines and air
conditioners. They are large electrical goods which
were traditionally available only in white. Even though
• Incentives: Extend an incentive of 4% to 6% on
incremental sales of goods (over base year of 2019-20)
for a period of 5 years.
• Coverage: Presently, it covers Air Conditioners and
LEDs.
• Eligibility: Incentives are provided under the scheme
to only those companies which cross the threshold
level in terms of incremental sale of Manufactured
Goods and Incremental investment over the base
year.
• Tenure of Scheme: 5 years
50
• Benefits: Incremental investment of Rs. 7000 crores,
incremental Production worth Rs. 1.6 Lakh crores,
exports worth Rs 64,000 Crore, earn direct and
indirect revenues of Rs 49,000 crore and create
additional four lakh direct and indirect employment
opportunities.
the non-scheduled drugs do not increase by more
than 10% every year.
Prices of Essential Medicines: The prices of the
medicines are fixed based on Market pricing model.
The ceiling price of the Essential drugs is the fixed by
calculating the simple average price of all the brands
having at least 1% of the market share.
PRICING OF
PHARMACEUTICAL
DRUGS
Exceptional Powers of NPPA: Under Paragraph 19 of
DPCO,
the
NPPA
has
been
given
the
following
exceptional powers:
• Fix the prices of even those drugs that are not listed
under NLEM. Example: In pursuance of these powers,
the NPPA has fixed the ceiling prices of Cardiac Stents
and Knee implants.
• Increase or decrease the prices of the drugs listed
under NLEM. In pursuance of these powers, the NPPA
IN NEWS
In order to bring down the prices of Remdesivir, recently a
has recently increased the prices of the 21 essential
medicines by almost 50%.
PIL was filed before the Bombay High Court. The PIL has
Recent amendments to DPCO, 2013: In 2019-20, the
argued for the Government's intervention to fix the
Government has made certain important amendments
maximum price for the Remdesivir injections.
to DPCO, 2013. These include:
In this context, the Bombay HC has asked the Centre to
• The new drugs patented under the Indian law will be
include Remdesivir in the list of Scheduled Drugs and
exempted from price control for five years from the
regulate its price.
date of commencement of its commercial marketing
DRUG PRICING
• Drug Price Control Orders (DPCO) are issued by the
Government in exercise of the powers conferred
in India.
• The drugs for treating rare or “orphan” diseases would
be exempted from price control.
under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, for
RELATED INFORMATION: ORPHAN DRUGS
enabling the Government to declare a ceiling price for
• Orphan drugs are medicines which are intended
lifesaving medicines so as to ensure that these
medicines are available at a reasonable price to the
general public.
• Price controls are applicable to “Scheduled drugs” or
“Scheduled formulations” i.e., those medicines which
are listed out in the Schedule I of DPCO, also referred
to as National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM).
• The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority
(NPPA) fixes the prices of controlled drugs and
formulations and enforces prices and availability of
the medicines in the country. It is to be noted that the
NPPA not only fixes the prices of Essential
Medicines, but it also ensures that the prices of
for treatment of life-threatening rare diseases
which may affect only a small percentage of
population. For example, Rituximab is an orphan drug
which is used to treat certain autoimmune diseases
and cancer.
• These drugs are called “orphan” because usually the
pharmaceutical
industry
has
little
incentive
in
developing and marketing products intended for only
a small number of patients.
• In order to promote research and innovation in
orphan drugs, countries such as US and EU extend the
patent duration to beyond 20 years for such drugs
and also give tax benefits.
51
CURRENCY WATCH LIST
Note: An Economy which meets all the above 3 criteria
is labelled as "Currency Manipulator".
An economy
meeting two of the three criteria is placed on the
Monitoring List.
WHY HAS INDIA BEEN PUT ON THE MONITORING
IN NEWS
LIST?
In its latest edition of April 2021, the US Treasury
• RBI's Intervention in Forex Market: The ultra-low
Department has decided to retain India on the ‘Currency
Interest rates in the developed economies has led to
Monitoring List’ along with 10 other countries. India was on
surge in foreign inflows in the form of FPI and FDI into
the list in the December 2020 report as well.
India. This in turn was leading to large scale
Currency watch List: It is basically a label given by the
appreciation in the Indian Rupee and hence affected
US government to countries which it believes are
deliberately devaluing their currencies against the dollars
to boost exports, reduce imports and thus achieve
higher trade surplus with US.
our export competitiveness. Thus, the RBI has been
intervening in the forex market to check large scale
Rupee Appreciation and to build up Forex Reserves.
• Trade
Surplus:
For
several
years,
India
has
maintained a significant bilateral goods trade surplus
3 CRITERIA
• A bilateral trade surplus with the US of more than $20
billion.
• A current account surplus of at least 3 per cent of
GDP.
• Net purchases of foreign currency of 2 per cent of
GDP over 12 months
with the United States, which totalled around $22
billion.
Note: To know about Currency Manipulation strategies
such as Devaluation, Revaluation and their associated
implications, please refer to December 2020 Edition of
Focus Magazine.
E-Santa
list their produce and quote their price while the
Recently, the Government has unveiled e-SANTA, an
and also to choose the products based on their
exporters have the freedom to list their requirements
electronic marketplace providing a platform to connect
aqua farmers and the buyers. It will enable the farmers
to get a better price and the exporters to directly
purchase quality products from the farmers.
dates etc. This enables the farmers and buyers to have
greater control over the trade and enables them to make
informed decisions.
Related Information: The E-NAM portal is Pan-India
DETAILS
The term e-SANTA stands for "Electronic Solution for
Augmenting
requirements such as desired size, location, harvest
NaCSA
Aquaculture". National
farmers'
Centre
for
Trade
in
Sustainable
Aquaculture (NaCSA) is an extension arm of Marine
Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA).
electronic trading portal which networks the existing
APMC mandis to create a unified national market for
agricultural commodities. The Ministry of Agriculture has
appointed Small Farmers' Agribusiness Consortium
(SFAC) as the Lead Implementing Agency of e-NAM.
Working Mechanism: Electronic trade platform between
Farmers and exporters. The farmers have the freedom to
52
AGRICULTURE
Mapping of Rural Areas -->Using Drone technology-->
Prepare GIS based Maps--> Issuance of Property cards to
Rural Households.
INFRASTRUCTURE FUND
BENEFITS
As part of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Package, the Finance
• Modernised Property records;
Minister had announced setting up of Agriculture
• Use Property Rights as collateral to take loans from
Marketing Infrastructure Fund worth Rs 1 lakh crores to
improve the overall marketing Infrastructure.
DETAILS
• Rationale: Improve the marketing infrastructure;
Bring down post-harvest losses; Encourage more
private sector investment; Encourage Banks and
Financial Institutions to give loans to agriculture.
• Objective: Provide loans to improve the farm-gate
infrastructure such as collection centres, storage, cold
chain infrastructure etc.
Banks;
• Increase in Property tax for Gram Panchayats;
• Better Quality of Planning.
• Reduce property related disputes and legal cases
Implementation Agency: Ministry of Panchayati rajNodal Ministry. In the States, the Revenue Department
will be the Nodal Department and shall carry out the
scheme
with
support
of
State
Panchayati
Raj
Department. Survey of India shall work as the technology
partner for implementation.
• Eligible entities: Primary Agricultural Cooperative
Societies, Farmers Producer Organizations, Agriculture
KVIC
entrepreneurs, Start-ups, SHGs, Joint Liability Groups
(JLG), Farmers etc.
• Benefits on loans: Interest subvention of 3% and
Credit Guarantee by Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for
Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) on loans up to
Rs 2 crores.
In a year marred by the economic despair surrounding
the Covid-19 pandemic, Khadi and Village Industries
Commission (KVIC) has just recorded its best ever
performance in job creation under the Prime Minister’s
Employment Generation Program (PMEGP).
• Duration of Scheme: 2020-21 to 2029-30.
ABOUT KHADI AND VILLAGE INDUSTRIES
• Who can give loans? All Scheduled Commercial
COMMISSION (KVIC)
Banks, Cooperative Banks, RRBs, Small Finance Banks,
NBFCs etc.
SWAMITVA SCHEME
Prime Minister recently launched the distribution of eproperty cards under the SWAMITVA scheme on
National Panchayati Raj Day on 24th April 2021.
DETAILS
SWAMITVA Scheme (Survey of Villages and Mapping with
Improvised Technology in Village Areas)
• Nature of Organisation: Statutory body created by
Parliament under the Khadi and Village Industries
Commission
Act,
1956.
It
functions
under
the
administrative control of Ministry of MSME.
• Mandate: Planning, promotion, organisation and
implementation of programs for the development of
Khadi and other village industries in the rural areas.
SCHEMES IMPLEMENTED BY KVIC:
• Prime Ministers Employment Generation Program
(PMEGP): Credit-linked subsidy programme launched
by Ministry of MSME in 2008-09 for creation of
Type of Scheme: Central Sector Scheme
employment in both rural and urban areas of the
Ministry: Ministry of Panchayati raj.
country. It is result of merger of two schemes- Prime
OBJECTIVE
Minister's Rojgar Yojana (PMRY) and The Rural
Employment Generation Programme (REGP).
53
• Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional
would be buying shares of different IT companies. The
Industries (SFURTI): Promote cluster development of
list of shares to be included in the smallcase is
Khadi and other village Industries.
decided
institutions to reorient their activities extending
emphasis
towards
customers.
Under this scheme, loans are given to eligible Khadi
Industries at concessional interest rate of 4%. The
difference between the actual interest rate and
concessional interest( 4%) is borne by KVIC as subsidy.
• Honey Mission: Under this mission, KVIC provides
awareness, training and ‘Bee Boxes’ along with Bee
Colonies to the farmers. The mission was launched in
August 2017 in line with the ‘Sweet Revolution’.
retail
investors
are
slowly
In 2015, the Government had for the first time issued
the Cotton Seed Price (Control) Order to fix the
maximum sale prices for Bt. Cotton. This was the first
formal intervention by the Centre to fix the prices of
cotton seeds.
Recently, in April 2021, for the first time since the
issuance of Cotton Seed Price (Control) Order, the
Government has decided to increase the maximum sale
price of Bt. Cotton Seeds
Rationale behind Cotton Seed Price (Control) Order
SMALLCASES
The
such as
COTTON SEED PRICE
(CONTROL) ORDER
increasing artisans'
earnings as well as ensuring quality of Khadi to
• Interest Subsidy Eligibility Certificate Scheme:
SEBI-licensed professionals
brokers and smallcase platforms.
• Market development assistance (MDA): Help Khadi
adequate
by
• Regulate the prices of genetically modified cotton
increasing
their
seeds which are considered to be highly prized.
participation in the stock market through small cases,
• Protect the interests of the cotton growers.
which are considered to be ready-made portfolios of
• Previously,
the
major
cotton
producing
State
shares.
Governments like Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and
• A smallcase is a basket of shares that may reflect a
Maharashtra came up with the orders on price
regulation of cotton seeds. But prices differed from
particular investment theme, idea or a sector. So,
instead
of
buying
a
single
share,
one
state to state and there was no uniformity. Hence,
can
Centre provided for uniform prices throughout India
simultaneously buy multiple shares of different
through the cotton seed price (control) order.
companies by buying smallcase.
• For example, if you buy Dividend-yield smallcase,
Note:
The Cotton Seed Price (Control) order has been
then you would be buying shares of different
issued by the Central Government in pursuance with the
companies which pay higher dividends to their
powers vested with it under the Essential Commodities
shareholders. Similarly, if you buy IT smallcase, you
Act.
Q1.
Which among the following is/are advantages
1.
Transplantation of young seedlings
of System of Rice Intensification (SRI) over the
2.
Require less water
conventional Rice management methods?
3.
Lower incidence of Pests and Diseases
54
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a)
1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(a)
1 only
(b) 2 only
(c)
1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
(c)
Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Q2.
With reference to Drug Pricing in India,
Q4.
With reference to Swamitva Scheme, consider
consider the following statements:
1.
the following statements:
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority
1.
(NPPA) can fix the prices of only those medicines
which are listed under National List of Essential
Medicines (NLEM).
2.
This scheme seeks to provide property cards to
the rural households.
2.
This scheme is implemented by the Ministry of
Rural Development.
The NPPA cannot reduce the prices of the
medicines which are listed under NLEM.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a)
1 only
(b) 2 only
(c)
Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Q3.
With reference to Negotiable Warehousing
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a)
1 only
(b) 2 only
(c)
Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Q5.
Which among the following schemes is/are
implemented by Khadi and Village Industries
Receipts
(NWRs),
consider
the
following
statements:
1.
The Warehousing development and Regulation
Act (WDR Act) provides for the issuance of
Negotiable Warehouse Receipts (NWRs) by the
warehouses registered under the Act.
2.
The farmers can use Warehouse Receipt as
collateral for short-term borrowing to obtain
working capital.
Q1.
Commission (KVIC)?
1.
Prime Ministers Employment Generation Program
(PMEGP)
2.
Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional
Industries (SFURTI)
3.
Honey Mission
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a)
1 only
(b) 1 and 2 only
(c)
2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
The Patent Waivers on CoVID related Vaccines, medicines etc. is a simple but wrong answer to a complex
problem. Critically Analyse ( 250 Words)
Q2.
Discuss the rationale behind the proposal of Global minimum corporate tax rate? What challenges do you think
would be faced in the adoption of such a tax regime at the global level. ( 250 Words)
Answers: 1-d, 2-d, 3-c, 4-a, 5-d
55
GLOBAL GENDER GAP
REPORT 2021
35,500 parliament seats and just 22.6% of over
3,400 ministers worldwide.
ο In 81 countries, there has never been a woman
head of state, as of 15th January, 2021.
ο Bangladesh is the only country where more
women have held head-of-state positions than
men in the past 50 years.
IN NEWS
In the World Economic Forum’s report on gender gap,
• The countries with the largest gender gaps in
economic participation include Iran, India, Pakistan,
India's ranking has dropped 28 places to 140, amongst
156 nations, making it the third-worst performer in South
Asia, way behind Bangladesh and Nepal.
Outcomes for India
Key
Dimensions
Political
Empowerment
Economic
Participation
and
Opportunity
India regressed 13.5% points with
9.1% decline in the number of
women ministers.
• Income of women in India is only
one-fifth of men's.
• India's gender gap widened by 3%
leading to a 32.6% gap closed till
date
• Decrease in women's labour force
by 22.3%
• Discrimination – Wide sex ratio at
birth gaps are due to high
incidence of gender-based sexselective practices
Health and
Survival
• More than 1 in 4 women face
violence.
Educational
Attainment
Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
• It will take South Asia 195.4 years to close the gender
gap, while Western Europe will take 52.1 years.
COVID IMPACT
•
Gender gap will now take additional time from 99.5
years to 135.6 years to bridge.
•
Women
continued
workplace
to
difficulties
face
and
economic
declining
and
political
participation.
• Future of Jobs:
o Women exhibit a larger job-switching gap in fields
such as Cloud Computing (58%), Engineering (42%)
and Product Development (19%).
o Trend is partially reversed in the Data and Al job
cluster.
NATIONAL POLICY FOR
RARE DISEASES, 2021
One third of women are illiterate
(34.2%) compared to 17.6% of men
GLOBAL SCENARIO
• Largest Gender Gap in Political Empowerment:
WHAT IS A RARE DISEASE?
ο The gender gap in political empowerment remains
WHO defines rare disease as often debilitating lifelong
the largest: women represent only 26.1% of some
disease or disorder with a prevalence of 1 or less, per
1000 population. However, different countries have
56
their own definitions to suit their specific requirements
• According to the policy, rare diseases include genetic
and in context of their own population, health care
diseases, rare cancers, infectious tropical diseases,
system and resources.
and degenerative diseases.
In the US, rare diseases are defined as a disease or
condition that affects fewer than 200,000 patients in the
country (6.4 in 10,000 people).
• Under the policy, there are three categories of rare
diseases —
ο requiring
• India, like many other developing countries, currently
has no standard definition of rare diseases and
data on prevalence. Since there is no epidemiological
data, there are no figures on burden of rare diseases
and morbidity and mortality associated with them.
• To overcome this, a hospital based National Registry
for Rare Diseases has been initiated by ICMR by
involving centers across the Country that are involved
in diagnosis and management of Rare Diseases. This
will yield much needed epidemiological data for rare
diseases.
• So far only about 450 rare diseases have been
recorded in India from tertiary care hospitals. The
most common rare diseases include:
one-time curative treatment - include
osteopetrosis
and
immune
deficiency
disorders,
among others.
ο diseases that require long-term treatment but where
the cost is low, and
ο those needing long-term treatments with high cost.
• As per the policy, the assistance of Rs 15 lakh will be
provided to patients suffering from rare diseases that
require a one-time curative treatment under the
'Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi Scheme'. The treatment will
be limited to the beneficiaries of 'Pradhan Mantri Jan
Arogya Yojana'.
• For diseases listed under Group 2, State Governments
can consider supporting patients of such rare diseases
that can be managed with special diets or hormonal
ο Haemophilia
supplements or other relatively low cost interventions.
ο Thalassemia
• Under the policy, certain medical institutes will be
ο Sickle cell Anaemia
certified as Centre of Excellence for rare diseases. It
ο Primary Immuno Deficiency in children
includes AIIMS, New Delhi; Sanjay Gandhi Post
Graduate Institute of Medical Science, Lucknow; King
ο auto-immune diseases
ο Lysosomal storage disorders such as Pompe disease,
Hirschsprung
disease,
Gaucher’s
disease,
Cystic
Fibrosis, Hemangiomas and
ο Certain forms of muscular dystrophies.
Edward Medical Hospital, Mumbai and four others.
• There are certain diseases such as Hurler Syndrome,
Gaucher’s disease, Wolman disease for which the
annual treatment expenses may vary from Rs 10 lakh
to Rs 1 crore. For such diseases, a digital platform is to
be set up to raise donations and corporate funding.
• It
proposes
an
inter-ministerial
consultative
committee is to be set up at national level. The
committee will be led by MoHFW.
• It also aims to create Administrative Committee that
will develop guidelines to determine which rare
diseases to fund.
CRITICISM OF THE POLICY
KEY FEATURES OF THE POLICY
• A patient registry of rare diseases is to be
constituted under ICMR (Indian Council of Medical
Research).
• Rare disease advocacy and support groups have called
out the policy for several discrepancies including a
lack of funding to support families and individuals
with a rare disease. They have pointed out that the
proposed allocation of financial support has been
57
PMAY-G
brought down to a maximum of Rs 15 lakh per case
under an umbrella scheme - 'Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi' –
for those who have a rare disease that falls in Group
1, and require one-time treatment. This is much lower
than the initially proposed corpus fund of Rs 100
crore.
• The policy also passes the buck, and says that
crowdfunding can be used to provide financial
support. It identifies eight hospitals across India as
‘centres of excellence’ and leaves it up to them to set
up crowdfunding initiatives for patients that require it,
or for families to themselves look at crowdfunding
options for treatment.
• According to latest government data, while the Centre
has set the annual target of building 6.377 million
houses in FY20-21, states have sanctioned only 3.557
million, or 56% of the target.
ο Of these, only 265,250 (or 4.16% of the year's
target) have been completed.
• This slow pace can be attributed to some factors like
• The policy caps resources for different diseases. While
inactivity due to Covid-19, elections in few states,
treatment for one particular disease might amount to
saturation of eligible beneficiaries from the SC and ST
Rs 10 lakh, another disease may require Rs 1 crore to
category, slow pace of working of remand module and
cover the cost of medications, which are only bound
lack of timely allocation of targets to districts.
to increase over time.
• The new policy offers no support to patients awaiting
treatment since the earlier National Policy for
Treatment of Rare Diseases 2017 was kept in
abeyance.
• The new policy has absolutely no consideration for
Group 3 patients, who require lifelong treatment
support.
• The policy has been criticised for acting more like a set
of guidelines to understand the disease, rather than
specifying actions which must be taken by the
government to offer support to those affected.
• Public health and hospitals being a State subject, the
Central Government shall encourage and support the
States in their endeavour towards screening and
prevention of rare diseases. However, while screening
has been emphasised as a preventive measure, there
is no mention of how and when screening will take
place, nor has it been stated how screening will be
implemented.
Case Study: What USA Does?
PRADHAN MANTRI AWAS YOJANA GRAMIN
(PMAY-G)
ο Aims is to provide a pucca house with basic amenities
to all rural households and households living in kutcha
and dilapidated houses up to two rooms in rural areas
by 2022.
ο Minimum size of the house is 25 sq.mt with a hygienic
cooking space.
ο Unit assistance is Rs. 1.20 lakh in plains and Rs 1.30
lakh in hilly states, difficult areas and IAP district.
ο Construction of toilet shall be leveraged though
convergence with SBM-G, MGNREGS etc.
ο Identification
of beneficiaries as per the Socio-
Economic Caste Census 2011 after due verification by
Gram Sabha.
PNEUMOCOCCAL
CONJUGATE VACCINE
In United States of America, development of drugs for
rare disease is sought to be encouraged through the
Orphan Drugs Act, which incentivises industry by way of
market exclusivity, grants to researchers and tax
incentives on expenditure incurred during evaluation of
drugs for their therapeutic potentials.
• Serum Institute of India is to start the supply of 1
st
Made-in­ India pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to the
Centre.
58
• This is the first indigenously developed vaccine in the
field
of
pneumonia.
Pneumococcal
conjugate
vaccine acts against potentially fatal pneumococcal
infections.
including new national and state curriculum
frameworks for school education as well as early
childhood care and education.
ο The programme will focus on the improvement
• Pneumococcal infections include any illness caused
by pneumococcal bacteria such as pneumonia,
septicaemia and meningitis.
• Pneumonia is a form of acute respiratory infection
that affects the lungs. Pneumonia is the single
largest infectious cause of death in
children
worldwide.
ο Pneumonia is caused by a number of infectious
agents, including viruses, bacteria and fungi.
ο The most common are:
Care
&
Education
(ECCE)
Acquisition of Foundational
Numeracy by Grade 3.
and
Universal
Literacy
and
ο It will implement vocational education, sports,
arts, knowledge of India, 21st-century skills,
ο It will focus on experimental learning.
Spreads via air-borne droplets
from a cough or sneeze, through blood.
ο It will also improve the
quality of Teacher
Education Programmes.
• Conjugate vaccine is a substance that is composed of
a polysaccharide (complex sugars on the surface of
bacteria) antigen fused (conjugated) to a carrier
molecule. This enhances the stability and
ο It will provide access to quality Early Childhood
values of citizenship, awareness of environment
conservation in the curriculum.
Streptococcus
pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae type b.
ο Transmission:
of the enrollment ratio of children at all levels
and a reduction in dropouts and out of school
children.
the
effectiveness of the vaccine.
ο In most conjugate vaccines, the polysaccharide is
attached to diphtheria or tetanus toxoid protein.
ο The immune system recognises these proteins
very easily that helps to generate a stronger
immune response to the polysaccharide.
SARTHAQ
ο SARTHAQ is aimed at meeting the diverse national
and global challenges of the present and the future
and help the students to imbibe 21st-century skills
along with India's tradition, culture and value
system.
WORLD POPULATION
REPORT 2021
IN NEWS
United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) flagship State of
World Population Report 2021 titled ‘My Body is My Own’
has been released.
• Students' and Teachers' Holistic Advancement
through Quality Education (SARTHAQ) has been
developed by the Department of School Education
and Literacy.
• It is an indicative and suggestive implementation
plan for school education.
• Plan is being implemented to meet the aims of NEP
2020.
ο It will
pave way for curriculum reforms
59
• This is the first time a United Nations report has
• Justice K S Puttaswamy v Union of India 2017:
focused on bodily autonomy, defined as the power
The SC held that reproductive rights include a
and agency to make choices about your body without
woman’s entitlement to carry a pregnancy to its full
fear of violence or having someone else decide for
term, to give birth, and to subsequently raise children;
you.
and that these rights form part of a woman’s right to
privacy, dignity, and bodily integrity.
• The principle of bodily integrity sums up the right of
each human being, including children, to autonomy
• Recently, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP)
and self-determination over their own body. It
(Amendment) Bill, 2020 was passed which seeks
considers an unconsented physical intrusion as a
to extend the termination of pregnancy period
human rights violation. Issues that involves right to
from 20 weeks to 24 weeks, making it easier for
bodily autonomy include
women to safely and legally terminate an unwanted
Child marriage, female
genital mutilation, Lack of contraceptive choices
pregnancy.
leading to unplanned pregnancy among others.
MIGRANT WORKERS
IMPORTANT OBSERVATIONS FROM THE REPORT
• Nearly half
the
women
from
57
developing
ARE REGARDED AS
countries do not have the right to make decisions
regarding their bodies, including using contraception,
seeking healthcare or even on their sexuality.
'OUTSIDERS': NHRC
• Only 75% of countries legally ensure full and equal
REPORT
access to contraception.
• Women around the world are denied the fundamental
right of bodily autonomy with the Covid-19 pandemic
further exacerbating this situation.
In India, according to National Family Health Survey
(NFHS)-4 (2015-2016):
IN NEWS
• 12% of currently married women (15-49 years of
Recently, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)
age) independently make decisions about their own
conducted study on the social security and health rights of
healthcare. 63% decide in consultation with their
migrant workers.
spouse. For 23% it is the spouse that mainly takes
KEY FINDINGS OF THE REPORT
decisions about healthcare.
• Migrant workers work in low income and high-risk
sectors such as construction and have poor access to
• 8% of currently married women (15-49 years) take
decisions
on
the
use
of
health services. E.g. 84% of the respondents in Delhi
contraception
did not have proper accommodation.
independently.
• 83% decide jointly with their spouse. Information
• Female migrant workers show a higher prevalence of
provided to women about use of contraception is also
nutritional deficiencies and have poor -access to
limited.
reproductive health services. E.g. 68 % of women do
not have access to toilets as they live in slums.
• 47% of women using a contraceptive were informed
about the side effects of the method.
•
or host state.
• 54% women were provided information about other
contraceptives.
•
They are looked upon as outsiders or second-class
citizens in the host states.
ENHANCEMENT IN THE RIGHT TO BODILY
INTEGRITY
Lack of political representation in the home state
•
Centre
has
taken
few
steps
to
reduce
the
vulnerabilities of the migrant workers:
60
ο One Nation One Ration Card Scheme to ensure the
• A study published by The Lancet drew attention to the
Nationwide portability of the Public Distribution
greater vulnerability of ethnic minorities, who have
System.
been disproportionately affected.
ο Platform to map skilled and certified workers with
• The World Health Organization has cautioned on the
demand clusters based on industrial requirements.
dangers of profiling and stigmatising communities
ο Scheme for Affordable Rental Housing Complexes for
that can lead to fear and the subsequent concealment
Migrant
Workers
and
Urban
Poor
to
provide
of cases and delays in detection.
affordable rental housing units under Pradhan
GLOBAL FORUM AGAINST RACISM AND
Mantri Awas Yojana.
DISCRIMINATION
RACIAL
DISCRIMINATION
• To contribute to this important discussion and signify
the need for urgent work, UNESCO’s headquarters in
Paris hosted a Global Forum against Racism and
Discrimination on March 22, 2021, in partnership with
the Republic of Korea.
• The Forum gathered policymakers, academics, and
partners
to
initiate
a
new
multi-stakeholder
partnership on anti-racism. The new proposed road
map to tolerance calls for a multisectoral effort to
tackle the root causes of racism through anti-racist
CONTEXT
Every year March 21 is marked as the International Day for
laws, policies and programmes.
the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
THE VALUE OF TOLERANCE
Current forms of racism and discrimination is:
• According
to
UNESCO,
Tolerance
is
respect,
1. Covert because public attitudes to anti-racism have
acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of
improved and racist ideology have become less
our world’s cultures, our forms of expression and
socially acceptable. Yet, the anonymity of the Internet
ways of being human. Tolerance is harmony in
has
difference.
allowed
racist
stereotypes
and
inaccurate
information to spread online.
ο At the onset of the pandemic, traffic to hate sites and
specific posts against Asians grew by 200% in the U.S.
ο In India and in Sri Lanka, social media groups and
messaging platforms were used to call for social and
economic boycotts of religious minorities, amid false
information accusing them of spreading the virus.
2. ‘techno-racism’ - The use of new technologies and
artificial intelligence in security raise the spectre of
‘techno-racism’, as facial recognition programmes can
misidentify and target racialized communities.
EFFECTS OF RACISM
• Tolerance refers to fair, objective and permissive
attitude towards those whose opinion practices, race,
religion, nationality etc. differ from one’s own. In
simple words tolerance is an act or capacity to endure
the
diversity
of
views
and
practices
in
our
environment.
SIGNIFICANCE OF TOLERANCE IN PRESENT
WORLD
• Control of one’s negative emotion of anger and hence
character. Shield against – propaganda, radicalization,
fake news etc.
• It leads to harmony and peace in pluralistic society in
Prejudiced attitudes and discriminatory acts whether subtle
which diversity is there in many contexts. Basic,
or overt, aggravate existing inequalities in societies.
fundamental and human rights of vulnerable section will
Racial discrimination, beyond being a breach of human
be protected. E.g.: section 377; issue of Rohingya etc.
rights, has harmful effects on human health and wellbeing, and risks wider disruptions to social cohesion.
61
• Tolerance is a basic value for other values. Empathy and
• UNESCO also offers master classes to empower
compassion is not possible without tolerance. The
students to become champions of anti-racism in their
other values of impartiality and objectivity also require
schools and communities.
tolerance in the society as a pre-condition.
• UNESCO's International Coalition of Inclusive and
• Unity in diversity will be encouraged – Incidence of fight,
Sustainable Cities provides an additional platform
for city-level planning and a laboratory for good
mob lynching, riots, honour killing etc. will stop.
• Rule of law can be established only when multiple
stakeholders practice tolerance and restraint.
practices in the fight against racism.
Recent
• Society can become land of hope for the marginalised
and prosecuted.
and
new
manifestations
of
racism
and
discrimination call for renewed commitments to mobilise
for equality. Racism will not be overcome with mere
professions of good faith but must be combatted with
QUOTES ON TOLERANCE
anti-racist action. A global culture of tolerance, equality
• We must not only tolerate others, but positively embrace
them. – Swami Vivekananda
and anti-discrimination is built first and foremost in the
minds of women and men.
• Truth can be stated in thousand different ways and yet
each one can be true. - Swami Vivekananda
• Whatever is begun in anger, ends in shame. – Benjamin
Franklin
• “The highest result of education is tolerance” ― Helen
Keller
• “In the practice of tolerance, one's enemy is the best
teacher.” ― Dalai Lama
• "Anger and intolerance are the enemies of correct
The words of former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
remain pertinent: “Our mission is to confront ignorance
with knowledge, bigotry with tolerance, and isolation
with the outstretched hand of generosity. Racism can,
will, and must be defeated.”
EATSMART CITIES
CHALLENGE
understanding." Mahatma Gandhi
• Tolerance is the oil which takes the friction out of life Wilbert E. Scheer
UNESCO’S EFFORT TO COMBAT RACISM
• UNESCO promotes the role of education in providing
the space for young people to understand processes
that sustain racism, to learn from the past, and to
stand up for human rights.
• Through new approaches to inter-cultural dialogue
and
learning,
equipped
with
youth
and
skills
to
communities
eradicate
can
be
harmful
stereotypes and foster tolerance.
ο Social
interaction
improved
the
quality
of
socialisation. It makes us a better social being.
ο Ashutosh Varshney explains in his book Ethnic
Conflict and Civic Life, that for peace and social
cohesion among different communities that must
be civic engagement.
• Recently, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
launched the Eat Smart Cities Challenge
• The Eat Smart Cities Challenge is envisioned as a
competition among cities to recognize their efforts in
adopting and scaling up various initiatives under Eat
Right India.
• It aims to motivate Smart Cities to develop a plan that
supports a healthy, safe and sustainable food
environment supported by institutional, physical,
social, and economic infrastructure along with the
application of ‘smart’ solutions to combat food related
issues.
• The challenge has a potential to create social and
behavioural change towards food safety, hygiene
and nutrition.
62
MALARIA ELIMINATION
• It is focused on the World Malaria Day elimination
theme of “Reaching the Zero Malaria target”.
• The Country leaders, frontline and community health
workers, and global partners will come together to
discuss their malaria elimination journeys and inspire
others to reach the target of zero malaria.
IN NEWS
INITIATIVES IN INDIA TO ELIMINATE MALARIA
The report, titled ‘Zeroing in on malaria elimination’,
• National
was released by the World Health Organization (WHO)
ahead of World Malaria Day 2021.The WHO has also
identified 25 countries with the potential to eradicate
malaria by 2025 under its ‘E-2025 Initiative’.
E2025 initiative aims to halt transmission of the disease
in 25 countries by 2025 co-sponsored by the Roll Back
Malaria (RBM) Partnership to End Malaria.
• Malaria
is
caused
by
protozoan
parasites
(Plasmodium species).
• It is transmitted from one human to another by the
bite of infected Anopheles mosquitoes.
• The malaria parasite Plasmodium has a complex,
multistage life cycle occurring within two living beings,
the vector Anopheles mosquitoes and the vertebrate
hosts.
Vaccines
• Known by its lab initials as RTS,S but branded as
Mosquirix, the vaccine has passed lengthy scientific
Framework
for
Malaria
Elimination
(NFME) 2016-2030: It outlines India’s strategy for
elimination of the disease by 2030. The objectives of
the national framework are:
ο Eliminate malaria from all low (Category 1) and
moderate (Category 2) endemic states/UTs (26) by
2022;
ο Reduce incidence of malaria to less than 1 case per
1000 population in all States/UTs and the districts and
malaria elimination in 31 states/UTs by 2024;
ο Interrupt indigenous transmission of malaria in all
States/ UTs (Category 3) by 2027;
ο Prevent re-establishment of local transmission of
malaria in areas where it has been eliminated and to
maintain malaria-free status of the country by 2030.
• Malaria Elimination Research Alliance (MERA)
India: It aims to identify, articulate, prioritise and
respond to the research needs of the country in a
coordinated and combinatorial way to eliminate
trials that found it to be safe and reducing the risk of
malaria from India by 2030.
malaria by nearly 40%, the best ever recorded.
ο It was launched by the ICMR Director General in
• It was developed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) company
and approved by the European Medicines Agency in
2015.
• The RTS,S vaccine trains the immune system to attack
the malaria parasite (Plasmodium (P.) falciparum, the
2019.
• It is a conglomeration of National and International
partners like World Health Organization (WHO),
National Vector Borne Diseases Control Program
(NVBDCP), and medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV).
most deadly species of the malaria parasite).
REACHING ZERO FORUM ON MALARIA
ELIMINATION
• It is a virtual forum jointly launched by World Health
Organisation (WHO) and RBM Partners.
63
Q1.
Consider the following statements regarding
“Rare Diseases”:
1.
There is a universally accepted definition of Rare
2.
d)
WHO in association with Ministry of Health &
Family Welfare
Disease.
Q4.
Consider the following statements regarding
India has abundant data on Rare Diseases due to
hospital based National Registry for Rare
Diseases.
1.
A vaccine is a biological preparation that
provides active acquired immunity to a particular
infectious disease.
2.
A
"Vaccine":
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a)
c)
1 only
Both 1 and 2
b)
d)
2 only
vaccine
always
contains
disease-causing
microorganism.
Neither 1 Nor 2
Which of the statements given above is/are incorrect?
Consider the following statements about
"Global Gender Gap Report 2021":
a)
1 only
b)
2 only
1.
It is published by WHO.
c)
Both 1 and 2
2.
India has been ranked 140/156 countries.
d)
None of the above
3.
It takes into account only educational attainment
of women.
Q5.
Consider the following statements about
PMAY:
1.
The scheme is implemented by Home Ministry
Q2.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a)
1 and 2 only
b)
2 only
c)
3 only
d)
2 and 3 only
and will ensure housing for all by 2022.
2.
Q3.
‘Eatsmart cities challenge’ has been initiated
Any household with an annual income between ₹
3 lakh to 18 lakh can apply for this scheme.
by:
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a)
FSSAI
a)
1 only
b)
2 only
b)
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
c)
Both 1 and 2
d)
Neither 1 nor 2
c)
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
Q1.
Discuss as to how non-recognition of unpaid household work by the women is perpetuating vicious cycle of
Gender-based discrimination. Also suggest some strategies to address these issues.
Q2.
Critically evaluate National Policy for Rare Diseases, 2021 with respect to cost and effectiveness in curing rare
diseases.
Answers: 1-d, 2-b, 3-c, 4-b, 5-b
64
COVID-19 REINFECTION
a set of most plausible cases of reinfection of SARS-CoV2
virus in India.
• The study found that the cases of 58 of the 1,300
individuals, or 4.5%, could actually be classified as
possible reinfections.
IN NEWS
In a first-of-its-kind exercise, a team of scientists from the
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has identified
WHY IS IT SIGNIFICANT?
• An understanding of the possibility of reinfection is
crucial to the fight against the pandemic.
• It will not only help decide the intervention strategies
required to control the spread of the disease, but also
help assess how long people would have to depend
on masks and physical distancing.
• In these 58, the two positive results had come at least
102 days apart, and they also had a negative test
result in between.
• It will have implications on the vaccination drive as
well. As of now, very few cases of reinfection have
been confirmed.
• The first confirmed case was reported from Hong
Kong in August 2020.
• After that, a couple of cases from the United States
and Belgium also emerged.
65
• There have been several cases of people testing
• As an additional measure to rule out the possibility of
positive for the virus multiple times, even in India, but
viral shedding, the investigators looked at only those
not all such cases are considered reinfections. That is
cases in which the individual had also taken another
because of what is called “persistent viral shedding”.
diagnostic test between the two positive results, and
RELATED INFORMATION: PERSISTENT VIRAL
had a negative result during that 102-day period.
SHEDDING
WHAT DID THE STUDY FIND ABOUT THESE
o When an individual gets infected by a respiratory
INDIVIDUALS?
virus like SARS-CoV-2, the virus particles bind to the
various types of viral receptor.
o Thus, recovered patients can sometimes continue to
carry low levels of virus within their system for up to
three months.
o These levels are no longer enough to make the
person sick or transmit the disease to others, but it
can get detected in diagnostic tests.
o The disease developed from such persistent virus is
what is called Persistent viral shedding.
HOW CAN REINFECTION BE DETERMINED?
• For a conclusive proof of reinfection, scientists rely
only on genome analysis of the virus sample.
• The majority of the disinfectant patients remained
asymptomatic during the intervening period, while
few reported mild symptoms.
• Some had symptoms such as intermittent fever,
cough, or shortness of breath.
WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS?
• The scientists point out that permanent immunity
cannot be assumed.
• Reinfection might very well be happening and could
be confirmed if it was possible to do genome analysis
of every infected person.
• If reinfection is the case the use of masks and social
distancing would be a new normal.
Because the virus mutates continuously, the genome
sequences of the two samples would have some
differences.
• Samples from only a few randomly selected patients
are sent for genome analysis to study the nature and
behaviour of the virus.
• Therefore, when a person tests positive for a second
time, and has to be checked for reinfection, there is
usually no genome sequence from the previous
infection to compare with.
HOW DID THE ICMR STUDY APPROACH THE
QUESTION OF REINFECTION?
• The group of scientists that carried out the study did
not carry out genome analysis, because that data was
not available.
• Instead, they looked at cases in which patients had
reported positive results at least 102 days apart.
• That would take care of the problem of persistent
viral shedding.
• According to the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) in
the United States, viral shedding continues until only
about 90 days.
66
OXYGEN
CONCENTRATORS AND
VENTILATORS
OXYGEN CONCENTRATORS
• An oxygen concentrator is a medical device that
concentrates oxygen from ambient air.
• Atmospheric air has about 78 per cent nitrogen and
21 per cent oxygen, with other gases making up the
remaining 1 per cent.
• The oxygen concentrator takes in this air, filters it
through a sieve, releases the nitrogen back into the
IN NEWS
air, and works on the remaining oxygen.
With the setting in of the second wave of COVID-19, there
is round the corner, a growth in the need for ventilators
and related interventions. While hospital ICU beds do
come with ventilators, makeshift ones will not be so,
hence the need. Indian Institute of Science researchers
have
come
up
with
several
non-pharmaceutical
interventions such as ICU ventilators, oxygen supply
manifolds and oxygen concentrators which will each
satisfy different sets of needs.
• This oxygen, compressed and dispensed through a
cannula, is 90-95 per cent pure.
• A pressure valve in concentrators helps regulate
supply, ranging from 1-10 litres per minute.
• According
to
a
2015
report
by
the
WHO,
concentrators are designed for continuous operation
and can produce oxygen 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week, for up to 5 years or more.
AT 90-95 PER CENT PURITY, IS THE OXYGEN
HOW ARE CONCENTRATORS DIFFERENT FROM
FROM CONCENTRATORS PURE ENOUGH?
OXYGEN CYLINDERS AND LMO?
• It is, however, not advisable for ICU patients.
• Oxygen concentrators are the easiest alternatives to
• Concentrators can be attached with multiple tubes to
serve two patients at the same time, but experts don’t
recommend it since it carries risk of cross-infection.
cylinders but can only supply 5-10 litres of oxygen per
minute (critical patients may need 40-50 litres per
minute) and are best suited for moderately ill
patients.
67
• Concentrators are portable and unlike LMO that
needs to be stored and transported in cryogenic
tankers, need no special temperature. And unlike
cylinders that require refilling, concentrators only
need a power source to draw in ambient air.
WHAT IS A VENTILATOR?
• A ventilator is invasive, as a tube is introduced into
the lungs through the patient's mouth and throat.
• The other end of the tube is attached to a machine
that pushes air in and out of the lungs.
OXYGENATION
• Oxygenation, on the other hand, is an artificial
process of providing oxygen when a patient's organs
or tissues are in a state of hypoxia (that is, when there
is a deficiency in the amount of oxygen reaching these
areas).
• Oxygen supply alters the concentration of oxygen in
the air we breathe. This means that instead of the
normal 21%, a higher percentage of oxygen can be
provided to the patient.
• The process of the exchange of gases between lungs
and ambient air is known as ventilation in respiratory
physiology.
• The patient is still responsible for his/her own
• The
• Unlike the ventilator, oxygen therapy will not aid in
ventilator
mimics
respiration
and
aids
in
breathing.
• In most cases, the machine completely takes over
breathing so that the patient can rest and allow their
body to heal.
• The machine has various settings that can be
adjusted to control lung pressures, oxygen
concentration, and duration and frequency of breaths
to cater to individual patients' needs.
breathing.
respiration.
• Oxygenation also refers to the treatment of a patient
by combining medication and other substances with
oxygen.
• The treatment is a non-invasive measure to aid
breathing.
• There are no tubes that are introduced into the body,
as oxygen is given via a face mask or nasal cannula.
MEDICAL OXYGEN
IN NEWS
A number of states are reporting shortage of medical
oxygen after an increase in the number of Covid-19
patients. So, India is planning to import at least 50,000
metric tonnes of medical oxygen to cater to the rising
demand. With the Covid-19 cases increasing day by day,
the demand for medical oxygen is going to increase in
near future.
WHAT IS MEDICAL OXYGEN?
• Medical oxygen is high purity oxygen suitable for use
in the human body.
• The Medical Oxygen cylinders contain a high purity of
oxygen gas (99.5% purity).
• No other types of gases are present in the medical
oxygen cylinder. This is to prevent contamination.
68
• The cylinders previously used for other purposes
have to be evacuated, thoroughly cleaned, and
labelled appropriately before filling up oxygen.
• It is cycle threshold; Ct is a value that emerges
during RT-PCR tests.
APPLICATION OF OXYGEN IN MEDICAL FIELD
• Due to the indispensable use of medical oxygen, the
World Health Organisation include this on their List of
Essential Medicines. Benefits include:
ο Provide a basis for virtually all modern anaesthetic
techniques.
ο Restore tissue oxygen tension by improving oxygen
availability. This is used for a wide range of conditions
such as shock, severe
monoxide
poisoning,
cardiac/respiratory arrest.
WHAT IS CT VALUE
haemorrhage, carbon
major
trauma,
ο Provide life support for artificially ventilated patients.
ο Aid cardiovascular stability of patients.
• In an RT-PCR test, RNA is extracted from the swab
collected from the patient. It is then converted
into DNA, which is then amplified.
• Amplification refers to the process of creating
multiple copies of the genetic material — in this
case, DNA.
• Amplification takes place through a series of cycles —
one copy becomes two, two becomes four, and so on.
• Put simply, the Ct value refers to the number of
cycles after which the virus can be detected.
• The lower the Ct value, the higher the viral load —
because the virus has been spotted after fewer cycles.
ο To aid heartbeat stability in an acutely ill patient
WHY CT VALUE IS IMPORTANT
SIDE EFFECTS OF MEDICAL OXYGEN
• The side effects include, Convulsions or seizure will
appear in patients after a few hours of exposure to
oxygen at pressures above 3bar(g).
• It can cause Retro lenticular fibroplasia in
premature infants if they exposed to oxygen
concentrations greater than 40%. In short, it is a
• According to the ICMR, a patient is considered Covidpositive if the Ct value is below 35.
• If the benchmark were to be lowered to 24 — the
value mentioned in Maharashtra’s letter — it would
mean that Ct values in the range 25-34 would not be
considered positive.
condition of abnormal growth of blood vessels in
the eye. Retro lenticular fibroplasia is the leading
cause of child blindness today in the world.
• A benchmark of 35, therefore, means that more
• Some patients will also develop coughing and
breathing difficulties after they put under medical
• The ICMR has said lowering Ct threshold parameter
oxygen.
• The
issue
of
Oxygen
toxicity:
Excessive
or
inappropriate supplemental oxygen can cause severe
damage to the lungs and other organ systems.
patients would be considered positive than we would
get if the benchmark were 24.
may lead to missing several infectious persons.
DOES CT SCORE INDICATE THE SEVERITY OF
DISEASE?
• A small study published in the Indian Journal of
Medical Microbiology found that there was no
CT VALUE
correlation between Ct values and severity of disease
or mortality in patients with Covid-19 disease.
• It found that the time since the onset of symptoms
has a stronger relationship with Ct values as
IN NEWS
Recently, the Maharashtra government sought clarity
from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on
the threshold Ct value to treat a person Covid-negative.
compared to the severity of the disease.
• The Ct value tells us about the viral load in the
throat and not in the lungs. The Ct value does not
correlate with severity – only with infectivity.
69
MATERNAL MORTALITY
IN NEWS
o 22% decline in prenatal services.
POST-VACCINE BLOOD
CLOTS
The Lancet Global Health journal releases a report titled
“Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mothers and
Babies”. It reports increasing maternal mortality as an
impact of pandemic-induced restrictions.
ABOUT THE LANCET REPORT:
• The Lancet report is based on an analysis of 40
studies across 17 countries. It includes Brazil, Mexico,
the U.S., Canada, UK, Denmark, Netherlands, Italy,
India, China, and Nepal.
• The report provides a clear indication that the health
of women and babies experienced worse outcomes
due to the pandemic.
IN NEWS
Researchers have come closer to identify the reason behind
the post-Vaccine blood clotting cases following the Covid-19
vaccination.
• The US pauses the use of Johnson and Johnson’s
Covid-19 vaccine. It was followed by adverse reactions
in a few vaccinated persons.
• A similar adverse reaction to AstraZeneca’s vaccine
has also been observed in some rare cases.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE REPORT:
ABOUT THE RESEARCH
• The risk of maternal mortality during pregnancy or
• Researchers show how the adverse reaction due to
childbirth increased by more than a third compared
with pre-pandemic instances.
• Global lockdowns, disruption in maternal health
services, reduction in health-seeking behaviour and
fear of getting infected from health providers added
to pregnancy risks and led to worsened health
outcomes for women and children.
• The chances of stillbirth have also increased by more
than 28% compared with pre-pandemic instances.
• Stillbirth: It means a baby born with no signs of life at
28 weeks of pregnancy or more.
• The study also focussed on maternal mental health. It
has found an increase in postnatal depression,
maternal anxiety or both during the pandemic.
IMPACT OF PANDEMIC ON INDIA
• According to HMIS data by Population Foundation of
India, during the national lockdown between April and
June in 2020 compared to the same period in 2019,
there was a
o 27% drop in pregnant women receiving four or more
antenatal check-ups;
o 28% decline in institutional deliveries and
the Covid-19 vaccine resembles a reaction to heparin
— a blood thinner.
• Usage of Heparin is normally to prevent clotting. But
in very rare cases, it can trigger a syndrome called
heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) which
causes blood clots and low platelet levels.
ADVERSE REACTION AFTER VACCINATION
• After
vaccination, the person develops
specific
antibodies which can bind to the platelets or
thrombocytes.
• Antibodies activate them to form clots which could
eventually block the blood vessel (thrombosis).
• There is also an accompanying decrease in the free
platelets (thrombocytopenia).
• The researchers are not sure whether it is the vaccine
that is causing the reaction. Or it is due to some
internal body mechanism.
METHOD PROPOSED BY RESEARCHERS:
• Researchers have differentiated the blood clots
arising from vaccination from HIT. Also, they have
70
outlined a way to test patients with worrying
who cannot afford to have the treatment of
symptoms.
• They have also developed a screening assay to
determine whether the person has developed these
particular antibodies.
thrombocytopenia.
that
testing
HAEMOPHILIA
rare blood disease blood clotting proteins that are
clotting factors are lacking or insufficient in blood.
for
vaccine-induced
immune
thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) followed by
specific
haemophilia.
• Haemophilia is an inherited bleeding disorder. In this
• They have advised to first rule out heparin-induced
• After
• This day also helps in raising funds for the patients
treatment
of
the
condition
with
immunoglobulin should take place.
WORLD HAEMOPHILIA
DAY
• When one is injured, blood clots normally, but in case
of haemophilia a person may bleed for a longer time.
• Internal bleeding is life-threatening as it may damage
organs and tissues also.
• There are three types of haemophilia:
o Haemophilia A- Lack of blood clotting factor VIII is
more common and this happens in 80 per cent of the
cases.
o Haemophilia B- Lack of factor IX
o Haemophilia C- Lack of clotting factor XI
IN NEWS
CAUSES OF HAEMOPHILIA
World Haemophilia Day is celebrated on April 17,2021.
• Caused by genetic mutation which involves genes that
code for blood clotting proteins.
• 13 different proteins termed; Factor I through
Factor XIII are the clotting factors.
NATIONAL POLICY FOR
RARE DISEASES, 2021
• World Haemophilia Day is celebrated on April 17
every year since 1989.
• This year’s theme ‘Adapting to change; sustaining
care in a new world’.
• Day observed for bringing together the communities
suffering with global bleeding disorder.
• Day creating international awareness of haemophilia
and inherited bleeding disorders.
IN NEWS
Caregivers to patients with rare diseases and affiliated
organisations are dissatisfied with the National Policy for
Rare Diseases, 2021. Though the document specifies
increasing the government support for treating patients
with a ‘rare disease’— from ₹15 lakh to ₹20 lakh —
caregivers say this doesn’t reflect actual costs of
treatment.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NATIONAL POLICY FOR
RARE DISEASES, 2021
71
comprehensive definitions of such diseases are
AIM:
• To bring down the high cost of treatment for rare
diseases.
• It is proposed to have a national registry for a
database of rare disease.
• The policy aims to increase focus on indigenous
research and local production of medicines.
listed under Group 1 in the rare disease policy) that
require one-time treatment will have the financial
support of up to Rs20 lakh under the umbrella
scheme of Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi.
Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi: The Scheme provides for
financial assistance to patients, living below poverty
line (BPL) and who are suffering from major lifethreatening diseases, to receive medical treatment at
any of the super specialty Government hospitals /
institutes.
• Beneficiaries for such financial assistance would not
be limited to BPL families, but the benefit will be
extended to about 40% of the population, who are
eligible under Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.
• The policy will make use of a crowdfunding
mechanism to cover the cost of treatment of rare
Corporates
and
individuals
will
development.
• Through the help of Health and Wellness Centres,
District Early Intervention Centres and counselling,
the policy aims to screen and detect rare diseases
early at early stages, which will in turn help in their
prevention.
• Those who are suffering from rare diseases (diseases
diseases.
available for those interested in research and
be
encouraged to extend financial support through a
robust IT platform.
THE POLICY CLASSIFIES RARE DISEASES INTO
THREE GROUPS:
• Group 1: Disorders controllable by one-time curative
treatment,
including
osteopetrosis
and
Fanconi
anaemia.
• Group 2: Diseases requiring long-term or lifelong
treatment with a relatively lower cost of treatment
and benefit has been documented in literature,
including galactosemia, severe food protein allergy,
and homocystinuria.
• Group 3: Diseases for which definitive treatment is
available, but challenges are to make optimal patient
selection for benefit, and very high cost and lifelong
therapy, covering diseases such as spinal muscular
atrophy
(SMA),
Pompe
disease,
and
Hunter
syndrome.
RARE DISEASE
• Also referred to as an orphan disease, is any disease
that affects a small percentage of the population.
• A national hospital-based registry of rare diseases will
be
created
to
ensure
adequate
data
and
72
• Most rare diseases are genetic, and are present
• Humans can get infected if they come in direct
throughout a person’s entire life, even if symptoms do
contact with infected animals or by eating or drinking
not immediately appear.
contaminated animal products or by inhaling airborne
agents.
• Rare diseases recorded in India are Haemophilia,
primary
• According to the WHO, most cases of the disease are
immunodeficiency in children, auto-immune diseases,
caused by ingesting unpasteurised milk or cheese
Lysosomal storage disorders such as Pompe disease,
from infected goats or sheep.
Thalassemia,
Hirschsprung
Fibrosis,
sickle-cell
disease,
anaemia
Gaucher’s
Haemangiomas
and
and
disease,
certain
Cystic
forms
of
muscular dystrophies.
•
The symptoms are fever, sweats, malaise, anorexia,
headache and muscle pain.
• While some signs and symptoms can last for long
CONCERNS RAISED:
periods of time, others may never go away.
• Lack of Sustainable Funding:
• These include recurrent fevers, arthritis, swelling of
o Unlike conditions under Group 1 and Group 2,
the testicles and scrotum area, swelling of the heart,
patients with Group 3 disorders require sustainable
neurologic symptoms, chronic fatigue, depression
treatment support.
and swelling of the liver or spleen.
o In the absence of a sustainable funding support for
• Human to human transmission of the virus is rare.
Group 3 patients, the precious lives of all patients,
mostly children, are now at risk and at the mercy of
ANTIMICROBIAL
RESISTANCE
crowdfunding.
• Lack of Drug Manufacturing:
o Where drugs are available, they are prohibitively
expensive, placing immense strain on resources.
o Currently
few
pharmaceutical
companies
are
manufacturing drugs for rare diseases globally and
there are no domestic manufacturers in India except
for those who make medical-grade food for those
with metabolic disorders.
BRUCELLOSIS
IN NEWS
WHO has declared that AMR is one of the top 10 global
public health threats facing humanity.
• Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health and
development threat. It requires urgent multisectoral
action
in
order
to
achieve
the
Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs).
• Misuse and overuse of antimicrobials are the main
drivers
IN NEWS
Health and Animal Husbandry teams have launched
preventive measures and initiated an epidemiological
investigation, after one case of brucellosis, was confirmed
in a prisoner. The infection is passed on to humans
through the ingestion of unpasteurized milk and milk
in
the
development
of
drug-resistant
pathogens.
• Lack of clean water and sanitation and inadequate
infection prevention and control promotes the spread
of microbes, some of which can be resistant to
antimicrobial treatment.
• The cost of AMR to the economy is significant. In
products or contact with animal secretions.
addition to death and disability, prolonged illness
• Brucellosis is a bacterial disease that mainly
results in longer hospital stays, the need for more
infects cattle, swine, goats, sheep and dogs.
expensive medicines and financial challenges for
those impacted.
73
• Without effective antimicrobials, the success of
modern medicine in treating infections, including
during major surgery and cancer chemotherapy,
would be at increased risk.
–
including
antibiotics,
• Poor hygiene and sanitation
• Absence of new antibiotics being discovered
• Patients taking antibiotics without consulting doctors
WHAT ARE ANTIMICROBIALS?
Antimicrobials
• Poor infection control in health care settings
antivirals,
& practitioners
antifungals and antiparasitic – are medicines used to
prevent and treat infections in humans, animals and
plants.
WHAT IS ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE?
• Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria,
viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no
longer respond to medicines making infections
harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease
spread, severe illness and death.
• As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics and other
antimicrobial
medicines
become ineffective and
infections become increasingly difficult or impossible
to treat.
GLOBAL ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE IMPLICATION
• The consequences of Antibiotic resistance are highly
problematic because of its severity;
• Leads to higher medical costs;
• Prolonged hospital stays;
• Increased mortality;
• Old researched antibiotics not working effectively/at
all on diseases, hence new medicines need to found;
• The cost of AMR to national economies and their
health systems is significant as it affects productivity
of patients or their caretakers through prolonged
hospital stays and the need for more expensive and
intensive care.
• Without effective tools for the prevention and
SIX MAJOR CAUSES OF ANTIBIOTICS
RESISTANCE:
• Over-prescription of antibiotics
• Patients not finishing the entire antibiotic course
adequate treatment of drug-resistant infections and
improved access to existing and new quality-assured
antimicrobials, the number of people for whom
treatment is failing or who die of infections will
increase.
• Overuse of antibiotics in livestock and fish farming
74
• Medical procedures, such as surgery, including
• They evolved into various species; while some were as
caesarean sections or hip replacements, cancer
large as an F-16 fighter jet, others were as small as
chemotherapy,
paper aeroplanes.
and
organ
transplantation,
will
become riskier.
DO’S AND DONT’S OF ANTIBIOTICS
• Do not use antibiotics to treat viral infections, such as
influenza, the common cold, a runny nose or a sore
throat. Ask your doctor for other ways to feel better.
• Use antibiotics only when a doctor prescribes them.
• When you are prescribed antibiotics, take the full
prescription even if you are feeling better. Ensure that
members of your family do the same.
• Never share antibiotics with others or use leftover
prescriptions.
MONKEYDACTYL
• The new pterosaur fossil was discovered in the
Tiaojishan Formation of Liaoning, China, and is
thought to be 160 million years old.
• It has been named Kunpengopterus antipollicatus,
also dubbed “Monkeydactyl”.
• “Antipollicatus” in ancient Greek means “opposite
thumbs”, and it was attached to the name because
the researchers’ findings could be the first discovery
of a pterosaur with an opposed thumb.
• Researchers suggested that K. antipollicatus could
have used its hand for grasping, which is likely an
adaptation for arboreal life.
• Opposability of the thumb enables the species to
“simultaneously flex, abduct and medially rotate the
thumb” in a way that one is able to bring the tip of the
thumb to touch the tips of the other fingers.
• Along with humans, some ancient monkeys and apes
IN NEWS
Researchers have described a pterosaur species with
opposable thumbs, which could likely be the earliest-known
instance of the limb.
also had opposable thumbs. Humans, however, have
a relatively long and distally placed thumb, and larger
thumb muscles.
• This means that humans’ tip-to-tip precision grip
when holding smaller objects is superior to nonhuman primates.
• This is the reason that humans are able to hold a pen,
unscrew an earring stopper, or put a thread through a
needle hole.
• The grasping hands of primates developed as a result
of their life in the trees — an opposable thumb made
it easier for the common ancestor of all primates to
cling on to tree branches.
AZHDARCHID
PTEROSAURS
• The pterosaur species were reptiles, close cousins
of dinosaurs and the first animals after insects to
evolve powered flight.
IN NEWS
Azhdarchid pterosaurs, the giant reptiles that flew in the
skies nearly 65 million years ago, had necks longer than
75
that of a giraffe (on average a giraffe’s neck is about 6
The Tiki Formation in Madhya Pradesh, a treasure trove
feet long). Now, researchers have reported a new finding
of vertebrate fossils, has now yielded a new species and
about their long necks — that the thin neck vertebrae
two genera of cynodonts, small rat-like animals that lived
were supported by an intricate internal structure that is
about 220 million years ago.
unlike anything seen before.
• The Tiki Formation is a Late Triassic geologic
formation in Madhya Pradesh.
• Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have
been recovered from the formation, although none
have yet been referred to a specific genus.
• Phytosaur
remains
attributable
to
the
genus
Volcanosuchus have also been found in the Tiki
Formation.
• The genera Tikiodon, Tikitherium and Tikisuchus and
• Pterosaurs are reptiles that are close cousins of
species
Rewaconodon
tikiensis,
Hyperodapedon
dinosaurs, the first animals after insects to evolve
tikiensis and Parvodus tikiensis have been named
powered flight.
after the Tiki Formation.
• Pterosaurs went extinct about 65-66 million years ago
• The fossil teeth were studied for size, crown shape,
(end of the Cretaceous period) and while they did not
structure of the cusps and compared with previously
leave any of their descendants behind.
reported cynodonts.
• One reason for this is that few pterosaurs lived in
• Cynodonts are important in evolutionary studies
places where fossils tend to form, because of which
as this group ultimately gave rise to the present-
their bones are preserved poorly.
day mammals.
• They are one type of pterosaur and one of the
distinguishing characteristics about them is how big
they were, especially their long necks.
• By studying their molar and premolar teeth, we see
how they slowly evolved and modified.
• Their crown shape shows that these animals are
• Some of these pterosaurs were the largest animals to
have flown in the sky, with wingspans greater than 30
feet.
actually intermediate forms that are very near to the
mammalian line of evolution.
• Cynodonts and living mammals both belong to a
• The name azhdarchid, as per a blog on Scientific
American comes from Azhdarcho, a Central Asian
form
named
by
Russian
ornithologist
and
palaeontologist in 1984.
group of egg-laying vertebrates (amniotes) called
synapsids.
• The close relationship of cynodonts with living
mammals is seen in their bones.
• Researchers involved in this study were curious about
how the reptile’s long neck functioned and how it was
able to support the pterosaur’s body, allowing them
to capture and eat heavy prey animals.
TIKI FORMATION
SPACE STATION
IN NEWS
Russia’s space agency hoped to launch its own orbital
station in 2025.
IN NEWS
76
the
• The ISS is a modular space station in low Earth orbit.
International Space Station programme to go it alone.
It is a multinational collaborative project involving five
• Russia lost its monopoly for manned flights to the ISS
participating space agencies: NASA (United States),
• Russia
is
considering
withdrawing
from
last year after the first successful mission of U.S.
company Space X.
ORBITAL STATION
• A space station, also known as an orbital station or an
orbital space station, is a spacecraft capable of
supporting a human crew in orbit for an extended
period of time, and is therefore a type of space
habitat.
• It lacks major propulsion or landing systems.
• Stations must have docking ports to allow other
spacecraft to dock to transfer crew and supplies. The
purpose of maintaining an orbital outpost varies
depending on the program.
• Space stations have most often been launched for
scientific purposes, but military launches have also
occurred.
• As of 2021, one fully operational and permanently
inhabited space station is in low Earth orbit: the
International Space Station (ISS), which is used to
•
Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe),
and CSA (Canada).
• The ownership and use of the space station is
established
by
intergovernmental
treaties
and
agreements.
• Its main construction was completed between 1998
and 2011; station continually evolves to include new
missions and experiments.
• Current plans call for the space station to be operated
through at least 2024, with the partners discussing a
possible extension until 2028.
• Crews aboard the ISS are assisted by mission control
centers in Houston and Moscow and a payload
control center in Huntsville, Ala.
• Other international mission control centers support
the space station from Japan, Canada and Europe.
• The space station flies at an average altitude of 400
kilometres above Earth. It circles the globe every 90
minutes at a speed of about 28,000 km/h.
study the effects of spaceflight on the human body as
• The commercial crew vehicles Dragon (by SpaceX) and
well as to provide a location to conduct a greater
CST-100 (by Boeing) are expected to increase ISS crew
number and longer length of scientific studies than is
numbers because they can bring up more astronauts
possible on other space vehicles.
at a time than Soyuz.
China, India, Russia, and the U.S., as well as Bigelow
• When the U.S. commercial vehicles are available,
Aerospace and Axiom Space, are all planning other
demand for Soyuz will decrease because NASA will
stations for the coming decades.
purchase fewer seats for its astronauts from the
ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
Russians. This limits the use of Russian spacecrafts.
• The space station, including its large solar arrays,
spans the area of a U.S. football field, including the
end
zones,
and
weighs
861,804
lbs.
(391,000
kilograms), not including visiting vehicles.
• The complex now has more liveable room than a
conventional five-bedroom house, and has two
bathrooms, gym facilities and a 360-degree bay
window.
• Astronauts have also compared the space station's
living space to the cabin of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet.
77
CREW-2 MISSION
• Demo-2 was followed by the Crew-1 mission in
November, which was the first of six crewed missions
between NASA and SpaceX marking the beginning of
a new era for space travel.
WHAT WILL CREW-2 DO AT THE ISS?
IN NEWS
Four astronauts were launched to the International Space
Station (ISS) from Florida as part of a collaboration
between NASA and SpaceX under the Commercial Crew
Program.
rotation of the SpaceX Crew Dragon and the first with
international partners.
• Two NASA astronauts and two each from the Japan
Aerospace
Exploration
Space
Agency
Agency
are
(JAXA)
among
and
the
the
four
astronauts (ESA).
• The aim of this test flight was to see whether
SpaceX
of
the
mission
conduct
microgravity
studies, investigate food physiology meant to study
the effects of dietary improvements on immune
function and the gut microbiome and how those
improvements can help crews adapt to spaceflight.
• The mission is called Crew-2 and is the second crew
European
• Members
capsules
could
be
used
to
shuttle
• Their central focus during this time will be to continue
a series of Tissue Chips in Space studies.
• Tissue Chips are small models of human organs
that contain multiple cell types that behave
similarly to the human body.
• According to NASA, these chips can potentially speed
up the process of identifying safe and effective drugs
and vaccines.
astronauts to and from the International Space
WHAT IS THE COMMERCIAL CREW PROGRAM?
Station on a regular basis.
• The main objective of this program is to make access
to space easier in terms of its cost, so that cargo and
78
crew can be easily transported to and from the ISS,
enabling greater scientific research.
BOSON
• Boson is a collective name given to particles that
• Through this program, NASA plans to lower its costs
carry forces. It has been named after Indian scientist
by sharing them with commercial partners such as
Satyendra Nath Bose. Gravity as a force of nature is
Boeing and SpaceX, and also give the companies
yet not accepted by the Standard Model due to the
incentive to design and build the Commercial Orbital
failure to discover its Boson.
Transportation Services (COTS).
MUONS
MUON
• The muon, a heavier cousin of the electron, is
expected to have a value of 2 for its magnetic
moment (g).
IN NEWS
• It occurs naturally in cosmic ray showers and has
Another hint of ‘new physics’, this time from Fermilab.
• Fermilab,
which
houses
the
American
particle
accelerator, has released the first results from its
‘muon g-2’ experiment.
• Before we proceed ahead to know the result of the
experiment and its significance, let’s go through the
basics first. Thus, according to the standard model
elementary particles in nature are Quarks, Leptons
and Bosons.
QUARKS
been
produced
copiously
in
the
Fermilab
experiments.
• Like the electron, the muon has a magnetic moment
because of which, when it is placed in a magnetic
field, it spins.
• As the muon spins, it also interacts with the
surrounding environment, which consists of shortlived particles popping in and out of a vacuum. So, its
g
value
(magnetic
moment)
is
altered
by
its
interactions with these short-lived excitations.
• They join to form hadrons, such as protons and
neutrons, which are components of the nuclei of
atoms.
• The antiparticle of a quark is the antiquark.
• There are 6 principal quarks and, hence, 6 antiquarks.
• Quarks and antiquarks are the only two fundamental
particles that interact through all four fundamental
forces of physics: gravitation, electromagnetism, and
the strong interaction and weak interactions.
• A quark exhibits confinement, which means that the
quarks are not observed independently but always in
combination with other quarks.
LEPTONS
• Like quarks, leptons too are of 6 types. However, they
do not have any fractional charge.
• The leptons are: electron, muon, tau and 3 types of
neutrinos.
79
• It has not yet been observed directly. It doesn't
THE ‘MUON G-2’ EXPERIMENT RESULT
• Fermilab has announced that the measured ‘g’
deviated from the amount predicted by the Standard
Model.
• That is, while the calculated value in the Standard
Model
is
2.00233183620
approximately,
the
experimental results show a value of 2.00233184122.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESULT- INDICATION OF
NEW PARTICLES
interact with matter and is completely invisible to light
and other forms of electromagnetic radiation making
it impossible to detect.
• Scientists are confident it exists because of the
gravitational effects it has on galaxies and galaxy
clusters.
• The light from distant galaxies gets distorted and
magnified by massive, invisible clouds of dark matter
in the phenomenon known as Gravitational Lensing
• The implications of this difference in the muon’s
magnetic moment can be significant.
• The Standard Model is supposed to contain the
effects of all known particles and forces at the particle
INGENUITY HELICOPTER
level.
• If the measured g factor differs from the value
calculated by the Standard Model, it could signify
that there are new particles in the environment
that the SM does not account for.
• So, a contradiction of the Standard Model would
imply that there exist new particles, and their
interactions with known particles would enlarge
the canvas of particle physics.
• These new particles could be the dark matter
particles which people have been looking out for, in a
long time.
• This observation together with the recently observed
anomaly in B decays at CERN indicates that the effects
of new yet unobserved particles and forces is being
seen as quantum effects.
RELATED INFORMATION: DARK MATTER
• It was in 1930s when Fritz Zwicky observed that
many galaxies were moving faster than theoretical
calculations.
• This implied that there was some mysterious
gravitational pull towards the centre of those galaxies.
The quantity of matter needed to exert such a pull far
exceed the observed matter.
• This extra matter which invisible and undetected has
been termed as Dark Matter.
IN NEWS
NASA's Ingenuity mini-helicopter has been dropped on the
surface of Mars in preparation for its first flight.
• Ingenuity is the first helicopter to fly on Mars. It was
carried by NASA’s rover called Perseverance that was
launched in July 2020.
• Ingenuity is able to fly using counter-rotating
blades that spin at about 2,400 rpm (Rotations Per
Minute).
• It has a wireless communication system, and is
equipped with computers, navigation sensors, and
two cameras.
• It is solar-powered, able to charge on its own.
• The helicopter’s mission is experimental in nature and
completely
independent
of
the
rover’s
science
mission.
• It will help collect samples from the surface from
locations where the rover cannot reach.
• Its performance during these experimental test flights
will help inform decisions about small helicopters for
future Mars missions — where they can perform a
support role as robotic scouts, surveying terrain from
above, or as full standalone science craft carrying
instrument payloads.
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• The Perseverance rover weighs less than 2,300
pounds and is managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab.
WOLF–RAYET STARS
• The rover’s mission will be to search for signs of past
microbial life.
• It will also collect samples of Martian rocks and dust,
according to the release.
• The rover will also be tasked with studying the red
planet’s geology and climate.
• All of NASA’s previous Mars rovers — including the
Sojourner (1997), Spirit and Opportunity (2004) and
Curiosity (exploring Mars since 2012) — were named
in this way.
IN NEWS
Indian astronomers have tracked a rare supernova
explosion and traced it to one of the hottest kind of stars
called Wolf–Rayet stars or WR stars.
• Wolf-Rayet stars represent a final burst of activity
before a huge star begins to die.
• These stars, which are at least 20 times more massive
than the Sun, “live fast and die hard”.
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• Supernovae (SNe) are highly energetic explosions
in the Universe releasing an enormous amount of
energy.
• Long-term monitoring of these transients opens the
door to understand the nature of the exploding star
as well as the explosion properties.
• It can also help enumerate the number of massive
stars.
NLS1 GALAXY
• Wolf-Rayets stars are divided into 3 classes based on
their spectra, the WN stars (nitrogen dominant, some
carbon), WC stars (carbon dominant, no nitrogen) and
WO where oxygen is in dominant quantities.
IN NEWS
Astronomers have discovered a new active galaxy identified
as the farthest gamma-ray emitting galaxy that has so far
been stumbled upon. This active galaxy called the NarrowLine Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxy.
• Indian
scientists
have
studied
around
25,000
luminous Active galactic nuclei (AGN) from the Sloan
• The average temperature of a Wolf-Rayet star is
greater than 25,000 Kelvin, and they can have
luminosities of up to a million times that of the Sun.
• Indian astronomers have conducted the optical
monitoring of one such stripped-envelope supernova
called SN 2015dj hosted in the galaxy NGC 7371 which
was spotted in 2015.
• They calculated the mass of the star that collapsed to
form the supernovae as well as the geometry of its
ejection.
• The scientists found that the original star was a
combination of two stars – one of them is a massive
WR star and another is a star much less in mass than
the Sun.
Digital Sky Survey (SDSS).
• They identified it as a gamma-ray emitting NLS1
galaxy, which is a rare entity in space.
• It is about 31 billion light-years away, opens up
avenues to explore more such gamma-ray emitting
galaxies that wait to meet us.
• Ever since 1929, when Edwin Hubble discovered that
the Universe is expanding, it has been known that
most other galaxies are moving away from us.
• Light from these galaxies is shifted to longer (and this
means redder) wavelengths – in other words, it is redshifted.
• Scientists have been trying to trace such red-shifted
galaxies to understand the early Universe.
82
• Powerful relativistic jets, or sources of particles in the
• A Satellite placed in the halo orbit around the
Universe travelling nearly at speed to light, are usually
Lagrangian point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system has
produced by AGN powered by large black holes and
the major advantage of continuously viewing the
hosted in a giant elliptical galaxy.
Sun without any occultation/ eclipses.
• NLS1s are a unique class of AGN that are powered by
• Therefore, the Aditya-1 mission has now been revised
the black hole of low mass and hosted in a spiral
to “Aditya-L1 mission” and will be inserted in a halo
galaxy.
orbit around the L1, which is 1.5 million km from the
• As of today, gamma-ray emission has been detected
in about a dozen NLS1 galaxies, which are a separate
Earth.
• The satellite carries additional six payloads with
enhanced science scope and objectives.
class of AGN identified four decades ago.
• All of them are at redshifts lesser than one, and no
method was present to date to find NLS1 at redshifts
larger than one.
• This discovery opens up a new way to find gamma-ray
emitting NLS1 galaxies in the early Universe.
ADITYA-L1
IN NEWS
ARIES
facility
(Aryabhata
Research
Institute
for
Observational Sciences) will host the support centre for
Aditya-L1 mission, which is due to be launched next year
(2022).
• The Indian programme to study the Sun and the
region between the Sun and the Earth from space
– Aditya-L1 is due to be launched next year.
• It will carry seven payloads which have been
developed by various institutions across the country.
• Once the mission is launched, there will be a need for
a ground support centre to monitor and coordinate
the work on its various payloads. This role will be
played by the ARIES facility (short for Aryabhata
Research Institute for observational Sciences) which is
situated near Nainital.
ADITYA – L1 FIRST INDIAN MISSION TO STUDY
THE SUN
• The Aditya-1 mission was conceived as a 400kg class
HALO ORBIT AROUND THE LAGRANGIAN POINT
1 (L1) OF THE SUN-EARTH SYSTEMS:
• Lagrange Points, named after Italian-French
mathematician Josephy-Louis Lagrange, are positions
in space where the gravitational forces of a twobody system (like the Sun and the Earth) produce
enhanced regions of attraction and repulsion.
• The L1 point is about 1.5 million km from Earth.
• L1 refers to Lagrangian/Lagrange Point 1, one of 5
points in the orbital plane of the Earth-Sun system.
satellite carrying one payload, the Visible Emission
• These can be used by spacecraft to reduce fuel
consumption needed to remain in position.
Line Coronagraph (VELC) and planned to be launched
• The L1 point is home to the Solar and Heliospheric
in a 800 km low earth orbit.
Observatory
Satellite
(SOHO),
an
international
83
collaboration project of National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space
Agency (ESA).
GAGANYAN MISSION
IN NEWS
Space agencies of India and France signed an agreement
for cooperation for the former’s first human space
mission, Gaganyaan, a move that will enable Indian flight
physicians to train at French facilities.
ABOUT INDIA FRANCE AGREEMENT ON
GAGANYAN MISSION
• The first space agreement between France and India
dates back to 1964.
• The recent agreement was announced during French
Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian’s visit to
the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO)
headquarters in Bengaluru.
• Existing partnerships between the two nations cover
almost all areas of space activity.
SIGNIFICANCE OF AGREEMENT
• Under this agreement, France will be contributing to
India’s Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme.
• ISRO has asked the French space agency CNES to help
prepare for Gaganyaan missions and to serve as its
single European contact in this domain.
• French space agency CNES under the agreement,
equipment developed by it, tested and still operating
aboard the International Space Station (ISS) will be
made available to Indian crews.
• The CNES will also be supplying fireproof carry bags
made in France to shield equipment from shocks and
radiation.
• Under the terms of the agreement, CNES will train
India’s flight physicians and CAPCOM mission control
teams in France at the CADMOS centre for the
development of microgravity applications and space
operations at CNES in Toulouse and at the European
Astronaut Centre (EAC) in Cologne, Germany.
GAGANYAAN MISSION
• India’s Mission sent a three-member crew to space.
• Gaganyaan will be launched after the second
unmanned mission planned in 2022-23.
• First unmanned mission is planned in December
2021, But due to the Covid-19 induced lockdown
delayed.
• Aim: To send a three-member crew to space for five
to seven days by 2022 when India completes 75 years
of independence.
NATIONAL INTERNET
EXCHANGE OF INDIA
(NIXI)
IN NEWS
The Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology
(MeitY) has inaugurated three path-breaking initiatives
for the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI).
84
• National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) is a not-forprofit organization (section 8 of the Companies
Act 2013) working since 2003 for spreading the
internet infrastructure to the citizens of India through
the following activities:
o Internet Exchanges through which the internet data is
exchanged amongst ISP’s, Data Centers and CDNs.
• It can be used to compare the IPv6 Indian adoption
rate with other economies in the world.
• NIXI will populate this portal with web adoption in
IPv6, IPv6 traffic etc. in the coming days.
• This portal will motivate organisations to adopt IPv6,
provide inputs for planning by technical organisations
and research by academicians.
o IN Registry, managing and operation of .IN countrycode domain and IDN domain for India.
WHITEST PAINT
o IRINN, managing and operating Internet protocol
(IPv4/IPv6).
THREE NEW INITIATIVES ARE:
IPV6 EXPERT PANEL (IP GURU)
IN NEWS
• IP Guru is a group to extend support to all the Indian
Engineers from Purdue University in the US have created
entities who are finding it technically challenging to
migrate and adopt IPv6.
• In addition to this, the IPv6 expert group will help in
what they are calling the whitest paint yet. Buildings
coated with this paint may be able to cool them off
enough to reduce the need for air conditioning, the
identifying & hiring an agency that will help end
researchers have said.
customer by providing necessary technical support to
• The researchers created an ultra-white paint pushing
adopt IPv6.
• This panel will guide all such Indian entities and help
in increasing IPv6 adoption.
NIXI ACADEMY
• NIXI Academy is created to educate technical/nontechnical people in India to learn and relearn
technologies like IPv6 which are normally not taught
in Educational Institutes.
• NIXI academy comprises an IPv6 training portal which
is developed with the help of various technical
experts in order to provide mass training to the
community.
• The easy-to-use platform helps network operators
and educators understand networking best practices,
principles and techniques; manage Internet resources
better; and use appropriate Internet technologies
more effectively.
NIXI-IP-INDEX
• NIXI has developed an IPv6 index portal for the
Internet community.
• NIXI-IP-INDEX portal will showcase the IPv6 adoption
rate in India and across the world.
the limits of how white paint can be.
• This older formulation was made of calcium
carbonate, while the new one is made up of barium
sulphate, which makes it whiter.
• The newer paint is whiter and keeps the surface
areas it is painted on cooler than the formulation
before this could.
WHAT DETERMINES IF A COLOUR ABSORBS OR
REFLECTS LIGHT?
• To understand how this works one needs to note that
whenever an object is seen by the eye, it is either
because of sunlight or the artificial light in the room.
• This light is made up of seven different colours (Violet,
Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange and Red or
VIBGYOR).
Specifically,
light
is
made
up
of
wavelengths of different colours.
• If an individual is looking at a sofa that is green, this is
because the fabric or material it is made up of is able
to absorb all the colours except green.
• This means that the molecules of the fabric reflect the
green coloured wavelengths, which is what the eye
sees.
85
• Therefore, the colour of any object or thing is
• Xenobots, named after the African clawed frog are
determined by the wavelength the molecules are not
synthetic organisms that are automatically designed
able to absorb.
by computers to perform some desired function and
WHAT DETERMINES WHICH WAVELENGTH OF
LIGHT WILL BE REFLECTED AND ABSORBED?
• This is dependent on how electrons are arranged in
an atom (the building block of life, an atom is made
up of electrons, protons and neutrons.
• These three particles make up everything in the
known universe from mountains, planets, humans to
pizza and cake).
• In contrast, if an object is black, it is because it has
absorbed all the wavelengths and therefore no light is
reflected from them.
• This is the reason that darker objects, as a result
built by combining together different biological
tissues.
• They are less than a 1-millimetre (0.039 inches) wide
and composed of just two things: skin cells and heart
muscle cells, both of which are derived from stem
cells harvested from early (blastula stage) frog
embryos.
• They can self-heal after damage, record memories
and work together in groups.
• These biological robots can record information about
their surroundings and move using cilia – minute hair
like particles present on their surface.
absorbing all wavelengths tend to heat up faster
(during absorption the light energy is converted into
heat energy).
SO, WHAT MAKES THE PAINT SO WHITE?
• There are two features:
o One is the paint’s high concentration of a chemical
compound called barium sulfate, which is also used
to make photo paper and cosmetics white.
o The second feature is that the team has used
different sized particles of this chemical compound,
which means different sizes scatter different amounts
of light.
• In this way, the varying size of particles of the
compound makes sure that the paint can scatter
more of the light spectrum from the sun.
XENOBOTS
XENOBOTS APPLICATIONS
• These soft-body living machines can have several
applications in biomedicine and the environment.
• They could be made from a human patient’s own
cells, which would bypass the immune response
challenges of other kinds of micro-robotic delivery
systems.
• Such xenobots could potentially be used to scrape
plaque from arteries and with additional cell types
and bioengineering, locate and treat disease.
IN NEWS
Researchers at Tufts University have developed robots
from stem cells of frogs.
86
Q.1)
Aditya – L1 is the first Indian mission to study:
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a)
Sun
(b)
Moon
(a)
1 only
(b)
2 only
(c)
Mars
(d)
Black Hole
(c)
Both 1 and 2
(d)
Neither 1 nor 2
Q.2)
Which of the following are the type of rare
diseases?
Q.4)
Consider the following statements:
1.
Xenobots are living machines can have several
1.
Haemophilia
2.
Thalassemia,
3.
Sickle-cell anaemia
4.
Pompe disease
applications in biomedicine and the environment.
2.
Xenobots could not be made from a human
patient’s own cells.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
(a)
1 only
(b)
2 only
(a)
1, 2 and 3 only
(b)
2, 3 and 4 only
(c)
Both 1 and 2
(d)
Neither 1 nor 2
(c)
1, 3 and 4 only
(d)
1, 2, 3 and 4
Q.5)
Single crystal blades technology is related to:
Defence Research and Development Organisation
(DRDO)
Q.3)
Consider the following statements:
(a)
1.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) include
medical oxygen on their List of Essential
(b)
International Space Station (ISS)
Medicines.
(c)
World Health Organisation (WHO)
2.
Medical oxygen is high purity oxygen suitable for
use in the human body.
(d)
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)
Q1.
What are the rare diseases? How National Policy of Rare Disease, 2021 is a way forward in ensuring citizen’s wellbeing in the country?
Answers: 1-a, 2-d, 3-c, 4-a, 5-a
87
GROUND WATER
CHALLENGES IN INDIA
CONTEXT
Ground water is an essential and vital component of our
life support system. The ground water resources are being
utilized for drinking, irrigation and industrial purposes.
There is growing concern on deterioration of ground water
quality due to geogenic and anthropogenic activities.
The quality of ground water has undergone a change to an
extent that the use of such water could be hazardous.
Increase in overall salinity of the ground water and/or
presence of high concentrations of fluoride, nitrate, iron,
arsenic, total hardness and few toxic metal ions have
been noticed in large areas in several states of India.
Ground water contains wide varieties of dissolved
inorganic chemical constituents in various concentrations
as a result of chemical and biochemical interactions
between water and the geological materials through
which it flows and to a lesser extent because of
contribution from the atmosphere and surface water
bodies.
OVER UTILIZATION OF GROUND WATER
• In Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan, ground
water development is more than 100%. This implies
88
that in these states, the annual ground water
into the cracks and crevices beneath the land's
consumption is more than annual ground water
surface. In some areas of the world, people face
recharge.
serious water shortages because groundwater is used
• In the states of Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and
Uttar Pradesh and the Union Territory of Puducherry,
the level of ground water development is 70% and
above.
faster than it is naturally replenished. In other areas
groundwater is polluted by human activities.
o Water in aquifers is brought to the surface
naturally through a spring or can be discharged
• In rest of the states, the level of ground water
development is below 70%. Over the years, usage of
ground water has increased in areas where the
resource was readily available.
• Experts believe that India is fast moving towards a
crisis of ground water overuse and contamination.
Ground water overuse or overexploitation is defined
as a situation in which, over a period of time, average
extraction rate from aquifers is greater than the
average recharge rate.
into lakes and streams. Groundwater can also be
extracted through a well drilled into the aquifer. A well
is a pipe in the ground that fills with groundwater. This
water can be brought to the surface by a pump.
Shallow wells may go dry if the water table falls below
the bottom of the well. Some wells, called artesian
wells, do not need a pump because of natural
pressures that force the water up and out of the well.
o In
areas where material above the aquifer is
permeable,
pollutants
can
readily
sink
into
groundwater supplies. Groundwater can be polluted
RELATED INFORMATION: AQUIFERS
by landfills, septic tanks, leaky underground gas tanks,
and from overuse of fertilizers and pesticides. If
groundwater becomes polluted, it will no longer be
safe to drink.
• In India, the availability of surface water is greater
than ground water.
• However, owing to the decentralised availability of
groundwater, it is easily accessible and forms the
largest share of India’s agriculture and drinking water
supply.
• 89% of ground water extracted is used in the
o Aquifers are typically made up of gravel, sand,
sandstone, or fractured rock, like limestone. Water
can move through these materials because they have
large connected spaces that make them permeable.
The speed at which groundwater flows depends on
the size of the spaces in the soil or rock and how well
the spaces are connected.
o Groundwater can be found almost everywhere. The
water table may be deep or shallow; and may rise or
irrigation sector, making it the highest category
user in the country.
• This is followed by ground water for domestic use
which is 9% of the extracted groundwater.
• Industrial use of ground water is 2%.
• 50% of urban water requirements and 85% of rural
domestic water requirements are also fulfilled by
ground water
fall depending on many factors. Heavy rains or
IRRIGATION THROUGH GROUND WATER
melting snow may cause the water table to rise, or
• The largest component of ground water use is the
heavy pumping of groundwater supplies may cause
the water table to fall.
o Groundwater
supplies
water extracted for irrigation. The main means of
irrigation in the country are canals, tanks and wells,
are
replenished,
or
recharged, by rain and snow melt that seeps down
including tube-wells. Of all these sources, ground
water constitutes the largest share.
89
• Wells, including dug wells, shallow tube-wells and
limits, all water under the land and on the surface.
deep tube wells provide about 61.6% of water for
This makes it difficult to regulate extraction of ground
irrigation, followed by canals with 24.5%.
water as it is owned by the person to whom the
land belongs.
• Further the law excludes landless ground water users
from its purview.
• Water falls under the State List of the Constitution.
This implies that state legislative assemblies can make
laws on the subject. In order to provide broad
guidelines to state governments to frame their own
laws relating to sustainable water usage, the central
government has published certain framework laws
or model Bills.
• Over the years, there has been a decrease in surface
• In 2011, the government published a Model Bill for
water use and a continuous increase in ground water
Ground Water Management based on which states
utilisation for irrigation.
could choose to enact their laws.
• The dependence of irrigation on ground water
• In addition, it outlined a National Water Policy in
increased with the onset of the Green Revolution,
2012 articulating key principles relating to demand
which depended on intensive use of inputs such as
management, usage efficiencies, infrastructure and
water and fertilizers to boost farm production.
pricing aspects of water. As recommended in this
Incentives such as credit for irrigation equipment and
policy, the government published a National Water
subsidies for electricity supply have further worsened
Framework Bill in 2013.
the situation. Low power tariffs has led to excessive
water usage, leading to a sharp fall in water tables.
• Ground water contamination is the presence of
certain pollutants in ground water that are in excess
of the limits prescribed for drinking water.
commonly
observed
contaminants
include
arsenic, fluoride, nitrate and iron, which are geogenic
in nature. Other contaminants include bacteria,
phosphates and heavy metals which are a result of
human
activities
including
domestic
governance of ground water under the public trust
doctrine. The concept of public trust doctrine ensures
GROUND WATER CONTAMINATION
• The
• The Model Bills and National Water Policy address the
sewage,
agricultural practices and industrial effluents.
• The sources of contamination include pollution by
landfills, septic tanks, leaky underground gas tanks,
and from overuse of fertilizers and pesticides.
• It has been pointed out that nearly 60% of all districts
in the country have issues related to either availability
of ground water, or quality of ground water, or both.
LEGISLATIVE AND POLICY FRAMEWORK
• The Easement Act, 1882 provides every landowner
with the right to collect and dispose, within his own
that resources meant for public use cannot be
converted into private ownership.
• Government being the trustee has the responsibility
to protect and preserve this natural resource for and
on behalf of the beneficiaries, that is, the people.
Additionally,
they
allow
every
person
the
fundamental right to be provided water of
acceptable quality.
• It may be noted that the fundamental right to water
has been evolved by the Supreme Court and various
High Courts of the country as part of ‘Right to Life’
under Article 21 of the Constitution. Courts have
delivered verdicts on concerns such as access to
drinking water and on the right to safe drinking water
as a fundamental right.
• Central Water Commission initiates and coordinates
schemes for the conservation and utilisation of water
resources in the country in collaboration with state
governments; and monitoring water quality.
90
• Central
Ground
Water
Board
develops
and
disseminates technology related to sustainable use of
ground water; monitoring and implementing policies
for the sustainable management of ground water
exploitation. This will reduce dependence of agriculture
on groundwater. These measures include:
• Crop planning for a specific area depending on the
aquifer type, ground water extraction, monsoonal
resources; estimating ground water resources.
rainfall and the water table level. This would include
• Central Ground Water Authority constituted under
some degree of shift towards higher-value and less-
Section 3(3) of the Environment (Protection) Act,
1986 to regulate and control development and
management of ground water resources; can resort to
penal
actions
and
issue
necessary
water consumption crops.
• Adoption
irrigation
beneficial, non-recoverable fractions of water use in
• Central Pollution Control Board implements the
agriculture.
• Restrictions to control ground water abstraction
or use through regulatory measures. These may
AGRICULTURE POLICES
include restricting the depth of irrigation water wells,
• In the last few decades, roughly 84% of the total
establishing
addition to the net irrigated area has come through
ground water. The primary cause of over-exploitation
has been the rising demand for ground water from
and
enforcing
minimum
distances
between irrigation.
• The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India in
its Performance Audit of Water Pollution in India,
agriculture.
2011-12 observed that despite increasing pollution of
• Further, decisions such as cropping pattern and
ground water sources and presence of contaminants
cropping intensity are taken independent of the
like
ground water availability in most areas.
• The practice of providing power
precision
which will help reduce evaporation and other non-
directives.
1974 which seeks to restore water quality.
modern
technologies such as drip and sprinkler systems
regulatory
Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act,
of
arsenic,
nitrate,
fluoride,
salinity,
etc.,
no
programme at the central or state level is being
subsidies
implemented for control of pollution and restoration
for
of groundwater.
agriculture has played a major role in the decline of
water levels in India.
• Additionally, the Central Pollution Control Board and
• The Draft National Water Framework Bill, 2013 also
the CGWB do not carry out real-time monitoring of
suggested that over extraction of ground water should
water pollution in rivers, lakes and ground water
be curtailed by regulating the use of electricity needed
sources.
for its extraction
• The CAG has made the following recommendations
with regard to the prevention and control of pollution
• The High-Level Committee on restructuring of the
of groundwater:
Food Corporation of India in 2014, chaired by Mr.
Shanta Kumar observed that even though Minimum
Support Prices (MSPs) are currently announced for 23
crops, the effective price support is for wheat and rice.
This creates highly skewed incentive structures in
favour of wheat and paddy, which are water intensive
crops and depend heavily on ground water for their
growth.
Experts
have
agriculture
to
suggested
demand
address
excessive
management
ground
in
water
(i)
the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate
Change needs to establish enforceable water quality
standards for lakes, rivers and ground water to help
protect ecosystem and human health;
(ii) penalties need to be levied for violations of water
quality standards, and
(iii) states need to take measures for source control of
pollutants through sewage and agriculture runoff
entering water bodies in projects for conservation
and restoration of lakes.
91
THE SOLUTION: LOCAL MANAGEMENT OF
sustainability of aquifers and participatory ground
GROUND WATER
water management.
The phenomena of local water users successfully
managing their water resources has been observed in
only
a
few
areas.
The
Planning
NITI VALLEY
Commission
recommended that local planners take the following
steps while planning for ground water management:
• Determining
the
relationship
between
surface
hydrological units such as watershed or river basins,
and hydrological units below the ground such as
aquifers,
• Identification of ground water recharge areas,
• Maintaining ground water balance at the level of the
village or the watershed, and
IN NEWS
At least eight people died after a glacier broke off in the
Sumna area of Niti Valley near Uttarakhand’s Chamoli
district.
NITI VALLEY
• Niti Valley is a remote valley located in the
• Creating regulatory options at the community level
northernmost region of Uttarakhand, India at a height
such as panchayat. Examples of activities that could
of 3, 600 m (11, 811 ft). It is close to the Chinese
be regulated at the local level include drilling depth,
border and Niti is the last village in the valley before
distance between wells, cropping patterns to ensure
the border with south Tibet.
• The Niti Pass was an ancient trade route between
India and Tibet, and it was sealed after the 1962 Sino-
Indian War. Since then, the border has remained
sealed.
92
• The valley is mostly inhabited by Bhotiyas or
Chamoli's Marchas, a community of Mongoloid
origin, or Tolcchas. The language spoken is a mix of
Tibetan and Garhwali or Rongpo.
• Due to adverse weather conditions in the winter, the
villages in the valley are only hospitable for about six
to eight months. Villagers migrate to lower regions
during the winters.
HOW PRONE TO FIRE ARE INDIA’S FORESTS?
• Various medicinal plants and herbs grow in the valley
• As of 2019, about 21.67% (7,12,249 sq km) of the
that have been mentioned in the Charak Samhita, an
country’s geographical area is identified as forest,
ancient treatise on Ayurveda.
according to the India State of Forest Report 2019
(ISFR) released by the Forest Survey of India (FSI),
FOREST FIRES
Dehradun. Tree cover makes up another 2.89% (95,
027 sq km).
• Based on previous fire incidents and recorded events,
forests of the Northeast and central India regions are
the most vulnerable areas to forest fires. Forests in
Assam, Mizoram and Tripura have been identified
IN NEWS
Uttarakhand has witnessed over 1,000 incidents of forest
fire over the last six months. Since the start of 2021, there
has been a series of forest fires in Himachal Pradesh,
Nagaland-Manipur border, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and
Gujarat, including in wildlife sanctuaries.
April-May is the season when forest fires take place in
various parts of the country. But forest fires have been
more frequent than usual in Uttarakhand and have also
taken place during winter; dry soil caused by a weak
monsoon is being seen as one of the causes.
WHERE HAVE FOREST FIRES HAPPENED?
• January saw prolonged fires in Uttarakhand, Himachal
Pradesh
(Kullu
Valley)
and
Nagaland-Manipur
border (Dzukou Valley). The ongoing one in Nainital
began in March-end. The Simlipal National Park in
Odisha saw a major fire between February-end and
early March.
as ‘extremely prone’ to forest fire.
• States with large forest areas under the ‘very highly
prone’ category include Andhra Pradesh, Manipur,
Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Maharashtra,
Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
• Western Maharashtra, Southern Chhattisgarh and
areas of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, along with
central Odisha, are turning into ‘extremely prone’
forest fire hotspots.
• Areas under the ‘highly prone’ and ‘moderately
prone’ categories make up about 26.2% of the total
forest cover.
WHAT CAUSES FOREST FIRES?
Forest fires can be caused by a number of natural
causes, but officials say many major fires in India are
triggered mainly by human activities. Emerging studies
link climate change to rising instances of fires globally,
especially the massive fires of the Amazon forests in
• Recent fires include those in Bandhavgarh Forest
Brazil and in Australia in the last two years. Fires of
Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, and in sanctuaries for the
longer duration, increasing intensity, higher frequency
Asiatic lion and the great Indian bustard in Gujarat.
and highly inflammable nature are all being linked to
climate change.
93
• As it is impossible to transport heavy vehicles loaded
with water into the thick forests, a majority of fire
dousing is initiated manually, using blowers and
similar devices.
• Wind speed and direction play a critical role in
bringing a forest fire under control. The fire often
spreads in the direction of the winds and towards
higher elevations.
WHAT FACTORS MAKE FOREST FIRES A
CONCERN?
• Forests play an important role in mitigation and
adaptation to climate change. They act as a sink,
reservoir and source of carbon. A healthy forest stores
and sequesters more carbon than any other terrestrial
• In India, forest fires are most commonly reported
during March and April, when the ground has large
quantities of dry wood, logs, dead leaves, stumps, dry
grass and weeds that can make forests easily go up in
ecosystem. In India, with 1.70 lakh villages in close
proximity to forests (Census 2011), the livelihood of
several crores of people is dependent on fuelwood,
bamboo, fodder, and small timber.
• Forest fires can have multiple adverse effects on the
flames if there is a trigger.
• Under natural circumstances, extreme heat and
dryness, friction created by rubbing of branches with
each other also have been known to initiate fire.
• In Uttarakhand, the lack of soil moisture too is being
seen as a key factor. In two consecutive monsoon
seasons (2019 and 2020), rainfall has been deficient by
18% and 20% of the seasonal average, respectively.
• But, forest officials say most fires are man-made,
sometimes even deliberately caused. Even a small
spark from a cigarette butt, or a carelessly discarded
lit matchstick can set the fire going. For example, in
Odisha, which saw a major fire last month in Simlipal
forest, villagers are known to set dry leaves to fire in
forest cover, soil, tree growth, vegetation, and the
overall flora and fauna. Fires render several hectares
of forest useless and leave behind ash, making it unfit
for any vegetation growth.
• Heat generated during the fire destroys animal
habitats. Soil quality decreases with the alteration in
their compositions. Soil moisture and fertility, too, is
affected. Thus forests can shrink in size. The trees that
survive fire often remain stunted and growth is
severely affected.
PARIS CLIMATE DEALSTATUS
order to collect mahua flowers, which go into
preparation of a local drink.
WHY ARE FOREST FIRES DIFFICULT TO CONTROL?
• The locality of the forest and access to it pose
hurdles in initiating firefighting efforts.
• During peak season, shortage of staff is another
challenge in dispatching firefighting teams.
IN NEWS
At the latest count by the non-profit, Energy and Climate
and
Intelligence Unit (ECIU), at the beginning of April, 32
equipment, depending on the type of fire, through the
countries had declared, in some documented form, their
• Timely
mobilisation
of
forest
thick forests remain challenges.
staff,
fuel
proposed intention to achieve carbon neutral status by
mid-century or thereabouts. Of these, only eight have any
94
firm status, the rest being in the form of proposed
that declares that the Paris Agreement “will be
legislation or mentions in policy documents.
implemented to reflect equity and the principle of
The UN Secretary General has taken the lead in sparking
common but differentiated responsibilities and
off an international chorus, led by global civil society
organisations based in the developed countries and
encouraged by their governments, that is urging all
countries, especially India, to make explicit declarations.
respective capabilities, in the light of different national
circumstances”.
CHALLENGE: CURRENT PLEDGES FALL SHORT:
• The hard scientific reality is that such a three-way
TEMPERATURE GOAL IN PARIS CLIMATE DEAL
compatibility between temperature goals, carbon
• The impetus for such declarations arises from Article
neutrality, and equity cannot be achieved for the 1.5°C
4.1 of the Paris Agreement that states that “In order
to achieve the long-term temperature goal set out in
Article 2, Parties aim to reach global peaking of
temperature goal at all. And even for the 2°C goal, the
current pledges are highly inadequate.
• According
to
IPCC
Special
Report
on
Global
possible,
Warming of 1.5° warming, what remains of this
recognizing that peaking will take longer for developing
global carbon budget from 2018 onwards, for a 50%
country Parties, and to undertake rapid reductions
probability of restricting temperature rise to less than
thereafter in accordance with best available science, so as
1.5°C, is 480 Giga-tonnes (billion tonnes) of carbon
to achieve a balance between anthropogenic emissions
dioxide equivalent (GtCO2eq).
greenhouse
gas
emissions
as
soon
as
by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases in
the second half of this century, on the basis of equity, and
in the context of sustainable development and efforts to
eradicate poverty”.
• The temperature goal referred to is the much better
known declaration of intent of the Paris Agreement, of
limiting temperature rise to well below 2°C and
further pursuing efforts to restrict it to 1.5°C
above pre-industrial levels.
• The balance of emissions and removal of greenhouse
gases is not sought on a country-wise basis but for
the world as a whole.
• Though both developed country governments and
civil society outfits commonly state this as an
individual commitment by all countries, the text of
the Paris Agreement clearly indicates, based on
considerations of equity and differentiation, that
this is a global goal.
HOWEVER, THERE ARE TWO, RELATED AND MORE
CRITICAL, ISSUES THAT ARE OFTEN IGNORED.
• The first is the compatibility of the intent of Article
4.1 and Article 2. Is the achievement of carbon
neutrality compatible with achieving the 1.5°C or 2°C.
goal?
• And whether the mid-century carbon neutrality goals
of developed countries are compatible with Article 2.2
• At the current rate of emissions of about 42 GtCO2eq
per year, this budget would be consumed in 12 years.
To keep within the 480 Gt budget, at a steady linear
rate of decline, global carbon neutrality must be
reached by 2039.
• For a 50% probability of restricting temperature rise to
below 2°C, the budget is considerably more generous,
amounting to about 1,400 GtCO2eq, that provides
considerably greater room for manoeuvre.
Carbon Peaking by the West: In order to be able to
understand the full impact of the commitments
made by developed countries, we will have to look
into their “historical emissions”
• Emissions in the U.S. (not considering land use and
land use change and forest related emissions)
(LULUCF), peaked in 2005 and have declined at an
average rate of 1.1% from then till 2017, with a
maximum annual reduction of 6.3% in 2009, at the
height of a recession.
• Even if it did reach net-zero by 2050 at a steady linear
rate of reduction, which
is unprecedented, its
cumulative emissions between 2018 and 2050 would
be 106 GtCO2, which is 22% of the total remaining
carbon budget for the whole world — so high, that
unless others reduced emissions at even faster rates,
the world would most certainly cross 1.5°C warming.
95
• Indeed, if the U.S. has to stay within its fair share of
the remaining carbon budget, it would have to reach
net zero emissions (with linear reduction) by 2025.
It would still owe a carbon debt of 470 GtCO2 to the
rest of the world for having used more than its fair
share of carbon space in the past. At a very moderate
carbon price of $30 per tonne of CO2, this translates
to a carbon debt of over $14 trillion, that the U.S. owes
the world.
• Similarly, the European Union, to keep to its fair
share of the remaining carbon budget would have
to reach net zero by 2033, with a constant annual
reduction in emissions.
• Individual countries will have different dates for a fair
net zero — Germany’s is 2030. If the EU reaches net
zero only by 2050 it would consume at least 71 GtCO2,
well above its fair share. Either way, the EU owes the
world a carbon debt of about $9.3 trillion (at the same
• India’s current low carbon footprint is a consequence
of the utter poverty and deprivation of a majority of its
population, and not by virtue of sustainability.
• Second, India does not owe a carbon debt to the
world. India’s emissions (non-LULUCF) are no more
than 3.5% of global cumulative emissions prior to
1990 and about 5% since till 2018.
• Nor are India’s current annual emissions such as to
seriously dent the emissions gap between what the
world needs and the current level of mitigation effort,
even as India’s mitigation efforts are quite compatible
with a 2°C target.
• Any self-sacrificial declaration of carbon neutrality
today in the current international scenario would be a
wasted gesture reducing the burden of the developed
world and transferring it to the backs of the Indian
people.
SHOULD INDIA BE ANNOUNCING CARBON
India’s twin burden of low-carbon development and
adaptation to climate impacts, is onerous and no doubt
requires serious, concerted action.
NEUTRALITY GOALS?
India’s approach to eventual net-zero emissions is
India clearly should not join this game of carbon
neutrality declarations, for a number of reasons.
contingent on deep first world emissions reductions and
an adequate and unambiguous global carbon budget.
Meanwhile, India must reject any attempt to restrict its
price of $ 30/tCO2) for past emissions.
• For one, India has to stay focused on development —
both as its immediate need as well as its aspirational
goal. While sustainability is desirable, the question of
options and be led into a low-development trap, based
on pseudo-scientific narratives.
how low India’s future low-carbon development can
be is highly uncertain.
96
IRRAWADDY DOLPHIN
The Indian Ocean humpback dolphin (Sousa
plumbea) is a member of the Delphinidae family
occupying coastal areas ranging from Southern Africa
to Western Indochina.
IN NEWS
e-FUEL
The population of dolphins in Chilika, India’s largest
brackish water lake, and along the Odisha coast has
doubled this year compared with last year.
• Three species were recorded during the census, with
544
Irrawaddy,
bottle-nose
and
humpback
dolphins sighted this year, compared with 233 last
year.
• Wildlife activists are elated over the sizeable growth
in the population of endangered Irrawaddy dolphins,
which are mostly found in Chilika lake, jumping from
146 in 2020 to 162 this year.
• Apart from Chilika, 39 Irrawaddy dolphins were
sighted in the Rajnagar mangrove division, though
their number has come down from 60 in 2020.
The Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) is a
euryhaline species of oceanic dolphin found in
discontinuous subpopulations near sea coasts and in
estuaries and rivers in parts of the Bay of Bengal and
Southeast Asia.
• The highest growth has been noticed in the case of
humpback dolphins. Only two humpbacks were
sighted in the Rajnagar mangrove in 2020. In 2021,
however, this population grew astronomically to 281.
eFuel PRODUCTION
• eFuel production is based on the extraction of
hydrogen. This happens by means of an electrolysis
process that breaks down water (e.g. seawater from
desalination plants) into its components of hydrogen
and oxygen. For this process and further production
IN NEWS
The Porsche has joined with Siemens Energy to produce
eFuel by 2022. The project of eFuel production is called
Haru Oni project.
WHAT ARE e-FUELS?
• eFuels are produced with the help of electricity from
renewable energy sources, water and CO2 from
the air.
• In contrast to conventional fuels, they do not release
additional CO2 but are climate-neutral.
• With
their
compatibility
with
today’s
internal
combustion engines, eFuels can also power vehicles,
airplanes and ships, thus allowing them to continue to
operate but in a climate-friendly manner.
• The same applies to all heating systems that use liquid
fuels.
Existing
transport,
distribution
and
fuel
infrastructures (especially filling stations) can also
continue to be used.
• In a second step, with the aid of Fischer-Tropsch
synthesis, the hydrogen is combined with CO2
extracted from the air and converted into a liquid
energy carrier: eFuel.
• Under high pressure using a catalyst, the hydrogen
binds with the CO2.
steps, electricity is required.
97
CARACAL
• Because electricity is used for the production of
eFuels, the procedure is known as a power-to-liquid
(PtL) process: electricity is converted into a synthetic
liquid that is easy to store and simple to transport.
• After refinery processing is complete, the eFuel
produced can be used as ePetrol, eDiesel, eHeating oil
and
eKerosene
–
and
can
completely
replace
conventional fuels.
The National Board for Wildlife and MoEFCC included the
• Thanks to their drop-in capability, eFuels can also be
blended with conventional fuels in any desired ratio.
• The
existing
IN NEWS
logistics,
distribution
and
tank
infrastructure such as tank farms, tank lorries,
pipelines and filling stations can stay in place – there is
no need for an expensive change of technologies.
caracal, a medium-sized wildcat found in parts of Rajasthan
and Gujarat, in the list of critically endangered species.
Though not under grave threat in its other habitats, the
animal is on the verge of extinction in India. The recovery
programme for critically endangered species in India now
includes 22 wildlife species.
• The climate neutrality of eFuels derives from the fact
that, on the one hand, electricity from renewable
energies is used in their production and, on the other
hand, only as much CO2 is emitted during use as was
previously bound during production.
• eFuels
can
therefore
make
a
climate-neutral
contribution in all sectors where conventional fuels
are currently used (e.g. transport or heating in
buildings).
• eFuels can solve two challenges of the energy
transition: the problems of storing and transporting
renewable energies.
• Carbon-neutrality: By utilizing CO2 that has been
previously released, Power-to-Liquid closes the carbon
cycle
• Electrical efficiency: Reusing heat and off-gas from
Fischer-Tropsch
synthesis
for
co-electrolysis
(Sunfire-SynLink) reduces electricity demand
• Infrastructure integration: Due to similar chemical
properties as crude oil, renewable crude can be
processed in existing refinery infrastructures
• Product quality: The use of pure feedstocks leads to
a superior quality of e-Fuel compared to fossil fuels,
e.g. no sulphur content, reduced NOX emissions
• Scalability: PtL can be used to produce a wide variety
of
end-products
transportation.
several dozen countries across Africa, the Middle East,
Central and South Asia. While it flourishes in parts of
Africa, its numbers in Asia are declining.
CORE ADVANTAGES
the
Distribution: Besides India, the caracal is found in
that
enable
decarbonization
TRAITS
• The wildcat has long legs, a short face, long canine
teeth, and distinctive ears — long and pointy, with
tufts of black hair at their tips.
• The iconic ears are what give the animal its name —
caracal comes from the Turkish karakulak, meaning
‘black ears’. In India, it is called siya gosh, a Persian
name that translates as ‘black Ear’.
• The caracal is an elusive, primarily nocturnal animal,
and sightings are not common. Very few studies have
been conducted on the wildcat, and there is no
reliable data on populations now or in the past.
• In the absence of sightings, several experts fear the
caracal could be on the verge of extinction in India —
some estimates put their numbers at no more than
50.
98
INTEGRATED
under the CSS- Project Tiger, which are duly notified
under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and are under
the control of the Chief Wildlife Wardens.
DEVELOPMENT OF
• Protection of Wildlife Outside Protected Areas:
There are substantial wildlife and natural resources
WILDLIFE HABITATS
lying outside the Protected Areas network of India.
This component seeks to support the conservation of
wildlife in these areas.
• Eligible areas: High-value biodiversity areas outside
PAs. Areas contiguous to PAs/corridors are given
• Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats’ (IDWH) is
priority. The Chief Wildlife Wardens prepare a
an on-going Centrally Sponsored Scheme which has
Biodiversity Conservation Plan for such selected area;
been made operational by adding more components
Human-wildlife conflict management in and around
and activities to the erstwhile Centrally Sponsored
Scheme - "Assistance for the Development of National
Parks and Sanctuaries" during the 11th Plan Period.
forests.
• Recovery programme for critically endangered
species and habitats: This component is for affecting
• Under IDWH, the financial assistance is provided to
State/UT
Governments
for
protection
the recovery of critically endangered species in the
and
country. Initially, 17 species have been identified
conservation of wildlife and its habitats in Protected
Areas (PAs) as well as outside PAs and also for the
recovery programmes of the critically endangered
under this component.
• The Director, Wildlife Preservation, Government of
India, in consultation with the Wildlife Institute of India
species.
or the relevant scientific institute and with the
• Components: The scheme has the following three
approval of the Standing Committee of the NBWL can
components:
initiate other recovery programmes or wind up an
ongoing programme.
1. Support to Protected Areas
2. Protection of Wildlife outside Protected Areas.
• The activities supported under the programme are:
3. Recovery programmes for saving critically endangered
ο Management planning and capacity building.
species and habitats.
• Eligible Protected Areas: National Parks, Wildlife
Sanctuaries, Conservation Reserves and Community
Reserves, other than those availing central assistance
Q1.
1.
Which of the following statements is/are
ο Anti-poaching and infrastructure development.
ο Restoration of habitats.
ο Eco-development and community-oriented activities.
2.
The valley is mostly inhabited by Bhotiyas or
correct regarding Niti Valley?
Chamoli's Marchas, a community of Mongoloid
It is a remote valley located in the northernmost
origin, or Tolcchas.
region of Uttarakhand.
99
3.
Due to adverse weather conditions in the winter,
(a)
1 only
(b)
2 only
the villages in the valley are only hospitable for
(c)
Both 1 and 2
(d)
Neither 1 nor 2
Q4.
With reference to Paris Climate deal, consider
about six to eight months.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a)
1 only
(b)
1 and 2 only
(c)
3 only
(d)
1, 2 and 3
the following statements:
1.
According to the treaty, the Global Peaking should
be achieved by 2045
Q2.
Consider the following statements:
1.
The Irrawaddy river dolphin can only live in
freshwater.
2.
It only talks about market mechanisms for carbon
mitigation, leaving out non market mechanisms.
3.
It does not recognizes the principle of Common
but Differentiated Responsibility.
Dams and barrages on rivers have wreaked the
greatest havoc to Ganga dolphins by reducing
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
river flow and isolating their populations to certain
(a)
1 and 2 only
(b)
2 and 3 only
(c)
1, 2 and 3
(d)
None of the Above.
Q5.
Consider the following pairs:
1.
Kullu Valley- Himachal Pradesh
2.
Dzukou Valley- Arunachal Pradesh
3.
Araku Valley – Odisha
dammed stretches.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a)
1 only
(b)
2 only
(c)
Both 1 and 2
(d)
Neither 1 nor 2
Q3.
Consider the following statements:
1.
Besides India, the caracal is found in several dozen
countries across Africa, the Middle East, Central
and South Asia
2.
2.
The National Board for Wildlife and MoEFCC
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
(a)
1 only
(b)
1 and 2 only
(c)
2 and 3 only
(d)
1, 2 and 3
included the caracal in the list of critically
endangered species.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answers: 1-d, 2-b, 3-c, 4-d, 5-a
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