Front Page / NATIONAL
[1]. Funds to political parties: Govt. may amend FCRA again
[2]. Supreme Court plans to go paperless
[3]. Multidrug-resistant TB will rise in India, says new study
Editorial/OPINION
[1]Triple talaq and the Constitution
[2]Navigating the new Silk Road
Economy
[1]. Rail regulator to define performance standards
Indian Express
[1]. A sacred geography
Live Mint
[1]. Indian healthcare must be evidence-based
Front Page / NATIONAL
[1]. Funds to political parties: Govt. may amend FCRA again
Context
Home Ministry will seek the Attorney-General’s opinion to amend the repealed Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) 1976, which barred foreign donations to political parties
What has happened?
After being pulled up by the Delhi High Court for not initiating any action against the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, which received foreign funds from two subsidiaries of Vedanta, a U.K.-based company, the Home Ministry will seek the Attorney-General’s opinion to amend the repealed Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) 1976, which barred foreign donations to political parties
Amendment in FCRA
In 2017, the NDA government had amended the FCRA through the Finance Bill route, which allowed foreign-origin companies to fund NGOs here and also cleared the way for donations to political parties by changing the definition of “foreign companies.”
The Glitch
Although the amendment was done retrospectively it only made valid the foreign donations received after 2010, the year when the 1976 Act was amended
Contempt petition
The retrospective amendment did not apply to donations prior to 2010 and the Association for Democratic Reforms, a political watchdog, moved a contempt petition against the Home Ministry in March 2017, pointing out that the directives of the High Court against the two political parties which received foreign funds were not followed
- It should be noted that both the Congress and the BJP have been charged with illegally receiving foreign funds for political activities from Vedanta from 2004 to 2012
- PIL: The ADR filed a PIL plea against the two parties for violating the FCRA. The Delhi High Court had held that the donations were illegal in 2014
Punitive provisions
The offence attracts an imprisonment of five years and fine or both to persons who assisted the political parties to receive the funds.
[2]. Supreme Court plans to go paperless
Context
The Integrated Case Management Information System (ICMIS) will allow a litigant to digitally file a case and watch its progress on a real-time basis
Inauguration of ICMS
PM, on 10th May 2017 inaugurated the Integrated Case Management System (ICMS) which has the potential to transform SC from a paper court to a digital court
What is ICMS?
The Integrated Case Management Information System (ICMIS) will allow a litigant to digitally file a case and watch its progress on a real-time basis
- The system will help litigants access data and retrieve information online
- Transparency: It would help usher in transparency, reduce manipulation and help the litigant track the progress of a case on a real- time basis
- Environmental friendly: A paperless approach would be a boon to both litigants and the environment. Millions of litres of water and thousands of trees can be saved. Ten litres of water is used to make one A4 size paper
[3]. Multidrug-resistant TB will rise in India, says new study
Context
By 2040, 12.4% of patients in the country will have that variant
What has happened?
Lancet, a medical journal, has come out with its latest study regarding Tuberculosis
Findings of the study
- MDR-TB will become more commonplace: Multidrug Resistant-Tuberculosis (MDR-TB), a version of the disease where patients do not respond to first-line drugs, will become more common than it is now
- By 2040, the percentage of MDR-TB will make up 32.5% of all TB cases in Russia, 12.4% of the TB cases in India, 8.9% of the TB cases in the Philippines, and 5.7% of all TB cases in South Africa
Significance of the findings
The findings are alarming as
- MDR-TB Hotspot: India is home to the most serious ‘hotspots’ of MDR-TB transmission, especially overcrowded cities such as Mumbai
- Highest drug resistant patients: India not only shoulders the highest TB burden in the world, with over 2 million of the 10 million reported cases, it also accounts for the most drug-resistant patients — nearly 1.3 lakh people who do not respond to first-line drugs
Poor access to TB Drugs
Two new TB drugs, Bedaquiline and Delamanid are being used in Europe and the U.S. for several years. But they are yet to be made available in India’s national healthcare system
- The drug is available only in six sites across the country, and according to the Health Ministry’s TB report released on 5th March 2017, only 207 of the 79,000 patients who need the drug have access to it
Editorial/OPINION
[1]Triple talaq and the Constitution
Context
The Supreme Court cannot decide this case without engaging in a series of complex and difficult choices
Backdrop
The Supreme Court will begin hearing arguments in ShayaraBano v. Union of India , which has popularly come to be known as the “triple talaq case”
The Court can take two approaches to the case.
The narrow view
- Triple talaq is invalid because it has no sanction in Muslim personal law
- There is no evidence to show that talaq-i-bidat constitutes an integral part of the Islamic faith and, consequently, it does not deserve constitutional protection
- The Supreme Court itself, in a number of cases, has either doubted the validity of instantaneous triple talaq, or gone so far as to say that it is not a part of Muslim personal law
The Broador Radical View
- It might hold that controversies such as whether triple talaq is sanctioned by the Islamic faith raise questions that a court cannot, or should not, attempt to address
- Far from entering the thicket of personal laws, the court should simply ask whether a challenged practice of personal law violates anyone’s fundamental rights.
Problem with this radical approach: Overrule 1951 judgement
- In order to subject triple talaq — as a claimed aspect of Muslim personal law — to constitutional norms, the court must first overrule a 1951 judgment of the Bombay High Court (subsequently affirmed by the Supreme Court in another case) called State of Bombay v. NarasuAppa Mali
- In that case, SC held that uncodified personal laws may not be scrutinised for fundamental rights violations
The Assumption
A distinction between law, as created by the state or its agencies through acts of legislation on the one hand, and “personal law”, which had its source in the scriptures, and in non-state bodies for interpretation and enforcement, on the other
Historically Inaccurate
This view, however, suffers from being historically inaccurate. There does not exist — and there probably never existed — a “pure” domain of personal law, which has its source in scriptures (the Koran for Muslims, or the shastras for Hindus) independent and untouched by state influence
The choice
The larger question, however, is whether the court will stick to its old, narrow, colonial-influenced jurisprudence, and strike down triple talaq while nonetheless upholding a body of law that answers not the Constitution, but to dominant and powerful voices within separate communities; or will it, in 2017, change course, and hold that no body of law (or rather, no body of prescriptions that carries all the badges and incidents of law) can claim a higher source of authority than the Constitution of India?
[2]Navigating the new Silk Road
Context
China’s Belt and Road Initiative reflects global trends and a new paradigm which India can support and shape
What has happened?
China’s 4 point initiative: Recently, China’s envoy to New Delhi floated a feeler (a tentative proposal intended to ascertain someone’s attitude or opinion) containing 4 points, towards improvement of Sino-Indian ties,
- Start negotiation on a China-India Treaty of Good Neighborliness and Friendly Cooperation
- Restart negotiation of China-India Free Trade Agreement
- Strive for an early harvest on the border issue
- Actively explore the feasibility of aligning China’s ‘One Belt One Road Initiative’ (OBOR) and India’s ‘Act East Policy’
Belt and Road Forum
On May 14th 2017, Beijing will host the highest-level international forum i.e. Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) to date to promote its ambitious, cross-continental development strategy known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Author’s contention
India should participate in the above forum as an outright rejection of OBOR will be a historic mistake
Author suggests: Long term interests
Author suggests that India should keep its long term interests in mind rather than short term concerns,
- OBOR as an opportunity for cooperation: India should treat the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) — which already has contracts of over $1 trillion covering over 60 countries — as an opportunity to enlarge areas of cooperation; and push for India as the southern node and a ‘Digital Asia’. India cannot be a $10 trillion economy by 2032 without integrating itself with the growing Asian market and its supply, manufacturing and market networks.
- Collaborating with the peripheral Asian economies: Complementary to China’s Initiative, develop common standards with the fastest growing economies in Asia that are on the periphery of the B&R Initiative, such as Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia, to facilitate trade, investment and business engagement.
- A new cooperation framework: Offer a new cooperation framework in South Asia around global challenges. For example, sharing meteorological reports, region specific climate research and the ‘Aadhaar’ digital experience, despite on-going security concerns.
- Thought leadership (a firm or an individual having expertise in a specialised field) provides an avenue to increasing global influence
Economic concerns trump other issues
Coordination between the major powers is emerging as the best way of global governance in a multi-polar world.
- Despite their territorial dispute, strategic differences and military deployment in the South China Sea, China and Japan have just agreed to strengthen financial cooperation, and the Forum could provide an impetus to settling the border dispute between India and China
Read More: Give this Diplomat article a go-through
Economy
[1]. Rail regulator to define performance standards
Context
To provide guidance on quantity and quality of service India’s
What has happened?
India’s first rail regulator, Rail Development Authority (RDA), would not just look at tariff structures for passenger and freight operations but also set standards of performance and efficiency that would be enforceable under the Railways Act
- The regulator will be mandated to “suggest measures for absorbing new technologies for achieving desired efficiency and performance standards.”
Regulator’s structure
- The Railway Board also defined the structure of the RDA with a Chairman along with three members each for tariff, public private partnership and efficiency, standards and benchmarking
- The regulator will, however, not involve itself in policy making of the Indian Railways, operations and maintenance of the rail system, financial management, setting technical standards and compliance of safety standards
- It clarified that the regulator would only make recommendations on tariff and not impose a tariff on the Indian Railways
Indian Express
[1]. A sacred geography
Context
PM Modi’s second visit to Sri Lanka must help restore deeper cultural connect between the two nations
2-day visit
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will today embark on a two-day visit to Sri Lanka to attend the biggest Buddhist festival ‘Vesak Day’ as its chief guest.
Vesak Day
The ‘International Day of Vesak’ will be held in Colombo from May 12 to 14. The festival includes an International Buddhist Conference in which over 400 delegates from more than 100 countries will participate
- Vesak, is the most important day in the Buddhist calendar, marking Lord Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and passing away
Dedication of a hospital
In the upcountry region, PM Modi will dedicate a hospital built with financial assistance of Rs 150 crore by India.
Visit to a Buddhist temple
During his two-day trip, PM Modi will also visit famous DaladaMaligawa which is a Buddhist temple in Kandy
Note: More details on PM’s Lanka visit will be listed soon
Live Mint
[1]. Indian healthcare must be evidence-based
Context
Healthcare policy has relied on pharmaceutical and equipment advances, but evidence-based policymaking has been absent when it comes to service delivery
Article discusses various aspects of NHP already covered in earlier briefs. Below are the main points
Evidence based Policymaking
- There is evidence to show that projects fail largely as they are not evidence-based
- The biggest dilemma that policymakers face is that though there is abundant evidence available, there is a lack of consensus about its quality
- Policymakers’ demands for quick results restrict policymaking processes from being evidence-based
- There is an immediate need for policymakers to sit across the table with researchers and have a meaningful dialogue. Think tanks are now focusing increasingly on building evidence bases for policies and programmes that can improve development outcomes. Researchers are aiding the government and stakeholders in conducting rigorous research and utilizing research findings
- Spending some resources on research will help the government deliver benefits in an effective way as well as avoid the often-repeated mistakes of earlier mechanisms
Conclusion
With minimal investment, the government will stand to gain from robust evidence. Research can prove to be a shot in the arm for safeguarding the government’s health goals—and the population.
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