B. GS 2 Related

Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. SC finds HC order on A.P. govt. ‘disturbing’

Context:

The Supreme Court termed interim order passed by the Andhra Pradesh High Court as disturbing and stayed the order.

Details:

• The unprecedented order of the High Court came while deciding habeas corpus petitions filed by relatives of persons remanded in judicial custody or out on bail.
• The Andhra Pradesh High Court order intended to embark on a judicial inquiry.
• The High Court had suo motu summoned the State counsel to assist it in deciding whether, in circumstances prevailing in the State of Andhra Pradesh, the court can record a finding that there is a constitutional breakdown in the State or not.
• The interim order had sought the assistance of the state government asking whether it can record a finding that constitutional machinery has broken down there, requiring a declaration of President’s rule.

Petition against the order:

• The petition by the AP government contended that the constitutional courts do not have any judicially discoverable and manageable standards to determine if there has been a constitutional breakdown.
• The government said the High Court’s observation violated the Basic Structure doctrine of the Constitution.
  • It said that the HC order is a serious encroachment on the powers of the executive as enumerated in the Constitution and thus violative of the doctrine of separation of powers.
• It argued that it is Article 356 that deals with the failure of constitutional machinery in a State and the power [to impose President’s rule] exclusively vests in the Executive.
• The power in this regard, like sending a report either to the Hon’ble President or to the Hon’ble Governor or to record a finding in that regard, cannot be exercised by the judiciary.

E. Editorials

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. Friend and neighbour

Context:

Recently, a virtual summit was held between India’s Prime Minister – Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina.

This topic has been covered in 18^th December 2020 Comprehensive News Analysis.

Details:

• Among the discussions were issues ranging from the violent border incidents to the COVID-19 fight.
• Indian PM called Bangladesh a major pillar in India’s neighbourhood first policy.
• He was invited to visit Bangladesh for the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of its independence.

Challenges facing Bangladesh:

• Bangladesh’s PM Sheik Hasina has done relatively well in steering Bangladesh through crises.
• Bangladesh has expanded its economy and improved social welfare.
• Despite the Awami League’s tight grip over the administration, the country has continued to face challenges from Islamist factions.
• War crimes and corruption trials have weakened the traditional opposition. But another Islamist group, Hifazat-e-Islam, organised mass protests against French President Emmanuel Macron and opposed the government’s plan to build a statue of the country’s founding father, Bangabandhu Mujibur Rahman, in Dhaka’s suburbs.
• In a speech marking Victory Day (December 16), Ms. Hasina said she would not allow the country to be divided on religious lines, in an indirect reference to Hifazat.

Issues:

• Despite the friendship remaining solid, the border has been sensitive.
  • At least 25 Bangladeshis were killed in the first six months of 2020 along the border by Indian forces, according to a rights watchdog.
• The Teesta water dispute remains unresolved.
• The Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens, have created a negative impression about India.
• China is making deep inroads into Bangladesh by ramping up infrastructure investments and expanding economic cooperation.

Significance:

• The summit demonstrated the desire on both the sides to reboot India-Bangladesh ties that have faced challenges in recent times.

Way forward:

• India should support Bangladesh’s fight against radical elements.
• India should also not allow the ideological inclinations of the ruling party to spoil the historic relationship between the two countries.
• Bangladesh is India’s largest trading partner in South Asia.
• New Delhi should take a broader view of the changing scenario and growing competition in South Asia, and reach out to Dhaka with an open mind.
• It is a key opportunity for India, which had played a major role in Bangladesh’s liberation in 1971, to revive the bonhomie and address the issues adversely affecting the partnership.
• It is imperative for India to bolster ties with this all-weather friend, and there may not be a better time to do so than when Bangladesh is to celebrate the golden jubilee of its independence.

Category: ECONOMY

1. MSP — the factoids versus the facts

Context:

The article talks about the predominance of factoids about Minimum Support Price (MSP) and procurement, in the backdrop of the ongoing debate over the three controversial farm laws passed by the government.

• After the passage of the three controversial farm laws, the Minimum Support Price (MSP) — not mentioned in the laws — has gained a lot of attention.

Note:

A factoid is “an item of unreliable information that is reported and repeated so often that it becomes accepted as fact”.

Factoids on MSP:

• Over the years, factoids about the MSP and government procurement have gained so much traction that they are cited as facts.
  • These pertain to how many have benefited from the MSP and who has benefited from it.
• According to popular beliefs:
  • Few (6%) farmers benefit.
  • Only large farmers benefit.
  • Only farmers of Punjab and Haryana (to some extent, western Uttar Pradesh) benefit.

Setting the record straight on these three factoids:

Note that the data used here is on State-wise procurement from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and agricultural household data for 2012-13 from the National Sample Survey (NSS) after which these data are not available.

• The 6% figure from the NSS data 2012-13 relates to paddy and wheat alone.
• The Government of India has made a systematic effort to expand the reach of MSP to more States, via the Decentralized Procurement (DCP) Scheme.
  • DCP, introduced in 1997-98, began to be adopted by States in earnest only around 2005.
  • Under the DCP scheme, the responsibility of procurement is devolved to the State governments that were reimbursed pre-approved costs.
• FCI data suggest that by July 2015, as many as 15 States had taken up this programme. Largely on account of it, procurement began moving out of ‘traditional’ States (such as Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh).
• Until 2000, barely 10% of wheat and rice was procured outside the traditional States. By 2012-13, the share of the DCP States rose to 25-35%.
• In the case of paddy, Chhattisgarh and Odisha have been the star performers.
  • These States today contribute about 10% each to the total paddy procurement in the country.
• For wheat, decentralised procurement has taken off in Madhya Pradesh in a big way, accounting for approximately 20% of wheat procurement.
  • In 2020-21, wheat procurement from Madhya Pradesh surpassed that from even Punjab.
• An overwhelming majority of agricultural households selling wheat to the procurement agencies come from Madhya Pradesh (33%) compared to 22% from Punjab and 18% from Haryana.
  • That only Punjab and Haryana farmers have benefited from the MSP is now truly a thing of the past.
• On APMCs:
  • It is widely believed that for the first time, the new laws allow farmers to sell outside the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC).
  • Even for commodities for which MSP is announced, the proportion of sales via the mandi range is only between 10-64%; the demand for the MSP originates because the prices paid outside the mandi tend to be much lower.
  • Countrywide, sales to mandi or government procurement agencies fetched on average 13.3% higher prices for paddy and 5.8% for wheat.

Which farmer benefits?

• As per the factoid, only large farmers have benefited.
• In fact, procurement has benefited the small and marginal farmers in much bigger numbers than medium and large farmers.
• At the all-India level, among those who sold paddy to the government, 1% were large farmers, owning over 10 hectares of land. Small and marginal farmers, with less than 2 hectares accounted for 70%. The rest (29%) were medium farmers (2-10 hectares).
• In the case of wheat, 3% of all wheat-selling farmers were large farmers. More than half (56%) were small and marginal farmers.

In a nutshell:

The facts are as follows:

1. The proportion of farmers who benefit from government procurement policies is not insignificant.
2. The geography of procurement has changed in the past 15 years. It is less concentrated in traditional States such as Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, as DCP States such as Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha have started participating more vigorously.
3. Most importantly — it is predominantly the small and marginal farmers who have benefited from the MSP and procurement, even if the size of the benefits may be larger for larger farmers. This is true not just in the DCP States, but also in the traditional States.
4. Data suggests that procurement in Punjab may not have prevented diversification to the extent imagined. Similarly, confusion persists about other areas of interest from the point of view of the new farm laws.

Way forward:

• Getting the facts right is an important first step in resolving the issues facing the agricultural sector and farmers’ issues.
• The range of claims made regarding the consequences of the MSP on diversification needs to be examined as well.
• The debate — popular, academic or political — on these issues must take into account the changed geography of procurement and the profile of the seller.

Q1. Inner Line Permit is applicable to which of these states?

Q2. Consider the following statements:

Q3. Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib and Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib mark the places of execution 
and cremation of which of the following Sikh Gurus?

Q4. India conducts military exercise Sampriti with which of the following countries?

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. Throw light upon key opportunities for India in Bangladesh, examining the recent trends in India’s relationship with its all-weather friend. (15 Marks, 250 Words) (GS 2 International Relations).
2. What do you understand by “E20 fuel”? Discuss its benefits for India and the associated challenges. (10 Marks, 150 Words) (GS 3 Environment and Ecology/Economy).

Read the previous CNA here.