24 June 2019: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

A. GS1 Related

Context:

The Ministry of External Affairs has rejected the U.S state department’s annual report on religious freedom pointing to India’s failure to protect minority communities stating that there is locus standi for a ‘foreign entity/government’ to pronounce on the rights of the citizens of India.

Details:

• The report pointed out that though India’s Constitution guarantees the right to religious freedom, it has come under attack in recent years with the growth of exclusionary extremist narratives”.
• In its annual report on religious freedom, the U.S has made references to multiple instances of the government at the Centre and various State governments of the Bharatiya Janata Party having taken steps that hurt the Muslim community.
• It has highlighted the growing instances of the murders and lynching by cow vigilante groups.
• Several attempts to undermine minority institutions and change the names of cities also find mention in the report, terming it the pluralistic nature of India.

India’s response:

• The centre has questioned the locus standi of a foreign agency to comment on Indian citizens’ rights.
• It was further added that it is widely acknowledged that India is a vibrant democracy where the Constitution provides protection of religious freedom, and where democratic governance and rule of law further promote and protect the fundamental rights.
• The Ministry of External Affairs has refused to accept the report saying that India is proud of its secular credentials and is committed to tolerance and inclusion.

B. GS2 Related

Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Plea in SC seeks protection for non-Nagas in Dimapur

Context:

The Chief Justice of India has written a letter to the Prime Minister to initiate a motion for the removal of S.N. Shukla, the Judge of Allahabad High Court, months after he was found guilty of misconduct.

Background:

• Justice Shukla, who was heading a division bench in the high court, had allegedly defied the categorical restraint orders passed by a CJI-led bench of the apex court last year to permit private colleges to admit students for the 2017-18 academic session
• In January 2018, a three-judge committee, concluded there was sufficient substance in the allegations in the complaint against Justice Shukla.
• They had asserted that the aberrations were serious enough to call for initiation of proceedings for his removal.
• Following the committee’s report, the then Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, in accordance with the relevant in-house procedure, advised Justice Shukla either to resign or seek voluntary retirement.
• Following Justice Shukla’s refusal to do, the Chief Justice of Allahabad was asked to withdraw all judicial work from him with immediate effect.
• Justice Shukla then, went on a long leave.
• In March 2019, Justice Shukla addressed a letter to CJI Gogoi to allow him to dischare his judicial duties in the High court.
• Considering the findings of the three- judge committee proving Mr. Shukla guilty of misconduct, CJI has written to the PM to initiate a motion for removal of the high court judge.

Details:

• When the CJI writes to the President and the PM for removal of a High Court judge, the Rajya Sabha Chairperson appoints a three-judge inquiry committee in consultation with the CJI to look into the allegations.
• The committee appointed by the Rajya Sabha chairperson would examine the evidence and records, and opine if the same formed the basis for whether or not removal motion be debated in the Upper House.
• After concluding its investigation, the Committee will submit its report to the Speaker or Chairman, who will then lay the report before the relevant House of Parliament.
• If the report records a finding of misbehaviour or incapacity, the motion for removal will be taken up for consideration and debated.
• The motion for removal is required to be adopted by each House of Parliament by: (i) a majority of the total membership of that House; and (ii) a majority of at least two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting.
• If the motion is adopted by this majority, the motion will be sent to the other House for adoption.
• Once the motion is adopted in both Houses, it is sent to the President, who will issue an order for the removal of the judge.

Context:

The labour ministry is in the process of seeking the Union Cabinet’s approval on amended wage code bill after its vetting by the parliamentary standing committee, so that it could be pushed for passage in Parliament.

Details:

• In line with the recommendations of the Second National Commission on Labour, the ministry has taken steps for formulating four labour codes on wages; industrial relations; social security and welfare; and occupational safety, health and working conditions by amalgamating, simplifying, and rationalising the relevant provisions of the existing central labour laws.
• The Code on Wages Bill 2017 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 10, 2017 and thereafter referred to the standing committee.
• The Bill lapsed after the 16th Lok Sabha was dissolved. Now, Cabinet’s nod is necessary for introducing it in either House of Parliament.

Details:

• The wage code Bill is one of four codes envisaged by the government which would subsume 44 labour laws with certain amendments.
• The four codes will deal with wages, social security, industrial safety and welfare, and industrial relations.
• The Code on Wages will replace the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, Minimum Wages Act, 1948, Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.
• The bill provides that the central government will fix minimum wages for certain sectors, including railways and mines, while the states would be free to set minimum wages for other category of employments.
• The code also provides for setting of a national minimum wage.
• The central government can set separate minimum wages for different regions or states.
• The draft law also says that the minimum wages would be revised every five years.

C. GS3 Related

Category: ECONOMY

1. Interface between taxpayer, tax collector must reduce

Context:

A study has found that Plant-based foods could transmit antibiotic resistance to the microbes living in the gut.

Issue:

• Antibiotic-resistance is a threat to global public health and is an economic burden.
• In order to prevent Antibiotic-resistance infection, it is critical to understand how these bacteria are transmitted.
• Recent researches have shown plant-foods serve as vehicles for transmitting antibiotic resistance to the gut microbiome.

Details:

• Spread of antibiotic-resistant superbugs from plants to humans is different from outbreaks of diarrheal illnesses caused immediately after eating contaminated vegetables.
• Superbugs can colonise the intestines for long periods of time, and while escaping, cause an infection.
• Such superbugs are asymptomatic.
• “Superbugs” is a term used to describe strains of bacteria that are resistant to the majority of antibiotics commonly used today.

Conclusion:

There is an urgent need for tackling food-borne antibiotic-resistance from a food chain perspective including plant-foods and meat.

Context:

The genetic make-up of Arogyapacha (Trichopus zeylanicus) has been decoded by the Scientists from the University of Kerala.

Arogyapacha:

• Arogyapacha is a highly potent medicinal plant endemic to the Agasthya hills.
• Also termed the ‘miracle plant’ is known for its traditional use by the Kani tribal community to combat fatigue.
• It is known to have numerous pharmacological properties.
• The plant is anti-oxidant, aphrodisiac, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, anti-tumour, anti-ulcer, anti-hyperlipidemic, hepatoprotective and anti-diabetic.

Details:

• The lack of a reference genome hindered extensive research on Arogyapacha. This prompted the researchers to sequence the whole genome.
• This is the first report of draft genome sequencing of a plant species to be brought out by the University of Kerala.
• The genome and annotation data will be a valuable resource to expedite research on Arogyapacha, particularly its secondary metabolism, genetic breeding, and comparative studies.

D. GS4 Related

E. Editorials

The editorial talks about India’s fiscal federalism and proposes redesigning it around its four pillars.

Background:

• India’s Constitution-makers thought of India as a union of States with a centripetal bias, meaning that the union is stronger than the states.
• The idea was to preserve the unity and integrity of a newly fledged nation.
• Since then, the Indian economy, polity, demography and society have undergone many changes. The new aspirational India is now firmly on a growth track.

Fiscal imbalances:

• Federations face vertical and horizontal imbalances.
• A vertical imbalance occurs because the tax systems are designed to yield much greater tax revenues to the Central government in comparison with the State governments; while the Constitution mandates relatively greater responsibilities to the State governments.
• The horizontal imbalances arise because of differing levels of achievements by the States owing to differential growth rates and their developmental status in terms of the state of social or infrastructure capital in the state.
  • It involves two types of imbalances.
  • Type I is to do with the adequate provision of basic public goods and services.
  • Type II, is due to growth accelerating infrastructure or the transformational capital deficits.
  • Type II imbalances are known to be historically conditioned or path dependent.

Details:

The First Pillar:

• Traditionally, Finance Commissions have dealt with fiscal imbalances in India in a stellar manner, and must continue to be the first pillar of the new fiscal federal structure of India.

The Second Pillar:

• Removing both the types of horizontal imbalances clearly comprises two distinct policy goals and calls for two different policy instruments.
• It is here that NITI Aayog 2.0 must create a niche, assume the role of another policy instrument and become the second pillar of the new fiscal federal structure.
• In the past, the Planning Commission used to give grants to the States as conditional transfers using the Gadgil-Mukherjee formula. Now there is a vacuum especially as the NITI Aayog is primarily a think tank with no resources to dispense. This renders it toothless to undertake a transformational intervention.
• It can be argued that the Finance Ministry is the other alternative to deliver the goods in this regard but it is ill-suited to do this; its primary duty is to concern itself with the country’s macro-economic stability and the proper functioning of the financial system rather than be an instrument of growth at the sub-national level.
• It is best that the Union Finance Commission be confined to focussing on the removal of the horizontal imbalance across States of the Type I: i.e. the basic public goods imbalance.
• And to tackle the horizontal imbalance of the Type II the NITI Aayog is the most appropriate institution.
• NITI Aayog 2.0 must be allocated significant resources to promote accelerated growth in States that are lagging, and overcome their historically conditioned infrastructure deficit, thus reducing the developmental imbalance.
• NITI Aayog 2.0 should also be mandated to create an independent evaluation office which will monitor and evaluate the efficacy of the utilisation of such grants.
• It must be also accorded a place at the high table of decision-making as it will need to objectively buy-in the cooperation of the richer States as their resources are transferred to the poorer ones.

The Third Pillar:

• The same perspective will have to be translated below the States to the third tier of government.
• This is crucial because intra-State regional imbalances are likely to be of even greater importance than inter-State ones.
• Decentralisation, in letter and spirit, has to be the third pillar of the new fiscal federal architecture.
• For this, the missing local public finance must be birthed.
• One of the ways for this is through the creation of an urban local body/panchayati raj institutions consolidated fund.
• This would mean that the Constitution will need to be amended to ensure that relevant monies directly flow into this consolidated fund of the third tier.
• Through such constitutional amendments, the Centre and States should contribute an equal proportion of their CGST and SGST collections to the consolidated fund of the third tier.
• Further, the State Finance Commissions should be accorded the same status as the Finance Commission.
• The 3Fs of democratic decentralisation – funds, functions and functionaries must be vigorously implemented.

The Fourth Pillar:

• The fourth pillar and in a sense what is central and binding is the model GST.
• The GST in its present form, it is far from flawless, needs further simplification and extended coverage.
• The goal of single rate GST with suitable surcharges on “sin goods,” zero rating of exports and reforming the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) and the e-way bill must be achieved quickly.
• The GST Council should adopt transparency in its working, and create its own secretariat with independent experts also as its staff. This will enable it to undertake further reforms in an informed and transparent manner.

These four pillars with the GST as an enduring glue holding the pillars together would create the new fiscal federal architecture and strengthen India’s unique cooperative federalism.

2. Lacklustre meet – On GST Council’s meeting

Q1. Consider the following statements with respect to Pichwai:

Q2. Consider the following statements with respect to MANAV: Human Atlas initiative:

Q3. Consider the following statements: