9 PM Daily Brief – 3rd December 2015

A brief of newspaper articles for the day bearing
relevance to Civil Services preparation

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 National

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[1]. ‘Reforming criminals has not worked’

 

What has happened?

A majority judgement of five-judge constitution bench led by Chief Justice of India H.L Dattu observed that any further lenience shown in the matter of imposition of sentence vis-a-vis capital punishment and life imprisonment would only lead to chaos and anarchy in the country.

What was the case that SC was dealing with?

The court was delivering its verdict on Tamil Nadu government’s decision to cancel the life sentences of convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

In 2014, a three-judge Bench led by then Chief Justice of India P. Sathasivam had prepared a set of seven questions for the Constitution Bench to declare the law on,

1. Does imprisonment for life in terms of Section 53 read with Section 45 of the Indian Penal Code mean imprisonment for the rest of the life of the prisoner or a convict undergoing life imprisonment has a right to claim remission?
2. Can a special category of sentence be made for the very few cases where the death penalty might be substituted with imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term in excess of 14 years and can that category be put beyond the application of remission?
3. Is the ‘appropriate government’ permitted to exercise the power of remission under Section 432/433 of the Cr.PC after parallel power has been exercised by the President under Article 72 or by the Governor under Article 161 or by this court in its constitutional power under Article 32 as in this case?
4. Does Section 432(7) of the Cr.PC clearly give primacy to the executive power of the Union and exclude the executive power of the State where the power of the Union is co-extensive?
5. Which has primacy, the Union or the State, over the subject matter in List III of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution for exercise of the power of remission?
6. Can there be two appropriate governments in a given case under Section 432(7) of the Cr.PC? Is suo motu exercise of the power of remission under Section 432(1) permissible? If, yes, is the procedure prescribed in the same Section mandatory or not?
7. Does the term “consultation” stipulated in Section 435(1) of Cr.PC imply concurrence?

 

Verdict

1. Primacy of the centre: A State government has no suo motu power to remit sentences of persons who were convicted under a Central law and cases investigated by a central agency like the CBI. Centre and not State government will have the “primacy” in deciding whether persons convicted in matters of the CBI or central agency should be released or not on remission as in the Rajiv Gandhi killers’ case.
2. Interpretation of Sec 435 (2) of CrPC: the judgment held that the word ‘consultation’ means ‘concurrence’. This means that TN govt should have got the prior consent of the Centre before issuing its February 19 order to remit the sentences.
3. Constitutionality of special sentence: This ‘special sentencing’ was introduced in 2008 Swami Shraddananda murder case. Under this category, a prisoner is deprived of his statutory right to apply for remission for 20 to 40 years. SC upheld the constitutionality of such special sentencing.

 

Why SC has upheld the special sentencing?

SC gave following reasons,

1. Absence of proper infrastructure: Unless there was infrastructure to provide education and induce repentance in a criminal, prolonged periods of imprisonment without remission was an effective way to keep them away from society.
2. Keep criminals in check: Such harsh measures were required to tame “heartless, hardened, money-minded, lecherous, paid assassins” who preyed on the common man and the vulnerable.
3. Failure of state: It is a hard reality that the state machinery is not able to protect or guarantee the life and liberty of the common man. Therefore, any sympathy shown will only amount to a misplaced one which the courts cannot afford to take.

 

[2]. Child Friendly TB drugs launched

What has happened?

For the first time, child-friendly TB drugs was launched by TB Alliance, UNITAID and WHO (World Health Organisation) at the 46th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Cape Town, South Africa on 2^nd Dec 2015

What has been achieved?

Flavoured tablets for TB have been launched. These tablets are in fixed dosages as per the requirement and need not be crushed in order to be administered to children.

How it will help?

Earlier, children had to be given multiple pills designed for adults and had to be crushed or split in order to be given to children which often lead to miscalculation of exact dosages. Moreover, crushing made the tablet taste bitter but now with the flavoured tablets administering tablets to children would not be a problem.

According to the WHO, each year, at least 1 million children become ill with TB.

What is TB alliance?

TB Alliance is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the discovery and development of better, faster-acting, and affordable tuberculosis drugs that are available to those who need them

UNITAID

Established in 2006 by Brazil, Chile, France, Norway and the United Kingdom to provide an innovative approach to global health, UNITAID plays an important part in the global effort to defeat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, by facilitating and speeding up the availability of improved health tools, including medicines and diagnostics.

UNITAID identifies health solutions that show promise and invests in them to establish their viability so that partner organisations can then make them widely available.

[3]. Centre to amend 2 laws to meet climate goals

What has happened?

India will amend the Electricity Act and the Energy Conservation Act in order to achieve the efficiencies that it has pledged to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting at Paris.

Has India undertaken a similar step in the past?

Yes. India too similar measures for the Montreal Protocol when it issued the Ozone Rules to prevent the release of substances that affect the ozone layer, notably chlorofluorocarbons.

India’s companies, particularly in the cement and steel sectors, have been able to achieve globally reckoned energy efficiencies. Under the Perform, Achieve, Trade (PAT) scheme for industries that was in force until March 2015, trading of the energy savings certificates by those industries that achieved a surplus would start in January

PAT Scheme

With the aim to make the industrial sector energy efficient, India’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) launched its ‘Perform, Achieve and Trade’ (PAT) scheme on July 4, 2012. The scheme set energy efficiency targets for industries. Those that failed to achieve targets had to pay penalty.

PAT was launched under the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency, one of the eight missions under the umbrella National Action Plan on Climate Change, launched in June 2008

National Action Plan for Climate Change (NACP)

On June 30, 2008, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh released India’s first National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) outlining existing and future policies and programs addressing climate mitigation and adaptation.

• Eight core missions: The plan identifies eight core “national missions” running through 2017 and directs ministries to submit detailed implementation plans to the Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change by December 2008.

 

National Solar Mission: The NAPCC aims to promote the development and use of solar energy for power generation and other uses with the ultimate objective of making solar competitive with fossil-based energy options. The plan includes:

1. Specific goals for increasing use of solar thermal technologies in urban areas, industry, and commercial establishments;
2. A goal of increasing production of photovoltaics to 1000 MW/year; and
3. A goal of deploying at least 1000 MW of solar thermal power generation.
   Other objectives include the establishment of a solar research center, increased international collaboration on technology development, strengthening of domestic manufacturing capacity, and increased government funding and international support.

 

National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency: Current initiatives are expected to yield savings of 10,000 MW by 2012.  Building on the Energy Conservation Act 2001, the plan recommends:

1. Mandating specific energy consumption decreases in large energy-consuming industries, with a system for companies to trade energy-savings certificates;
2. Energy incentives, including reduced taxes on energy-efficient appliances; and
3. Financing for public-private partnerships to reduce energy consumption through demand-side management programs in the municipal, buildings and agricultural sectors.

 
National Mission on Sustainable Habitat: To promote energy efficiency as a core component of urban planning, the plan calls for:

1. Extending the existing Energy Conservation Building Code;
2. A greater emphasis on urban waste management and recycling, including power production from waste;
3. Strengthening the enforcement of automotive fuel economy standards and using pricing measures to encourage the purchase of efficient vehicles; and
4. Incentives for the use of public transportation.

 

National Water Mission: With water scarcity projected to worsen as a result of climate change, the plan sets a goal of a 20% improvement in water use efficiency through pricing and other measures.

National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem: The plan aims to conserve biodiversity, forest cover, and other ecological values in the Himalayan region, where glaciers that are a major source of India’s water supply are projected to recede as a result of global warming. 

National Mission for a “Green India”: Goals include the Afforestation of 6 million hectares of degraded forest lands and expanding forest cover from 23% to 33% of India’s territory.

National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture: The plan aims to support climate adaptation in agriculture through the development of climate-resilient crops, expansion of weather insurance mechanisms, and agricultural practices.

National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change: To gain a better understanding of climate science, impacts and challenges, the plan envisions a new Climate Science Research Fund, improved climate modelling, and increased international collaboration. It also encourages private sector initiatives to develop adaptation and mitigation technologies through venture capital funds.

[4]. Uniqueness of India’s smart cities

Context: PM’s commitment to make 100 smart cities in India is a laudable one but it should be seen that the project is implemented keeping mind India’s needs and is not simply a copy-paste job from efforts going on elsewhere in the world.

Author says that,

1. Technology-first approach to smart city development, without a clear understanding of local conditions, traditions and realities, will often fail to result in sustained, community-wide change.
2. Instead of focussing on smart cities of developed countries like San Francisco, Toronto, Helsinki India should focus on smart-cities built in the developing countries like Nairobi. The focus should be on clean and reliable energy, safe and secure streets, transparency and citizen engagement
3. Governance of smart-cities: Globally, most smart cities are governed at the city level; this is not the case in India. Though State governments are at liberty to engage directly with other countries to attract foreign investment and are largely responsible for all infrastructure development, further devolution of powers to local governance like municipalities is required. It is critical for the success of smart-cities.
4. Different cities, different solutions: 3 cities currently under US-India smart –city partnership are, Allahabad, Vizag and Ajmer. Alll three cities have different economies, different specialisations like for Vizag its trade and transport, for Allahabad its unregistered manufacturing and for Ajmer its agriculture. So, keeping these individualistic factors in mind while designing a roadmap for these cities is critical. Roadmaps for smart-city development should be centered on each city’s core strengths instead of a one size fits all approach.

 

[5]. Managing artificial intelligence and robotics

Context: This article re-iterates what most of us already know. A future where machines augment human efforts is not far away.

Examples of intelligent robotic systems,

1. IBM’s Watson
2. Rethink Robotics’ Baxter,
3. Deep-Mind,
4. Google’s driverless car

 

How much can we automate presently?

Presently, fewer than 5% of occupations can be entirely automated using current technology.

Also, about 60% of occupations could have 30% or more of their constituent activities automated.

Author concludes by saying that, machines can augment human capabilities to a high degree, and amplify the value of expertise by increasing an individual’s work capacity and freeing the employee to focus on work of higher value.

[6]. Land Bill Twists

What has happened?

As centre has put Land Acquisition Bill in the cold corner, States are now taking the lead to seek an exemption from the 2013 Act passed by the previous UPA government to get around provisions such as land owners’ consent and social impact assessment. Tamilnadu has already brought changes while Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and MP are looking to follow the suit. The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) has now served a notice to the Rajasthan government for not weaving in special safeguards for Scheduled Tribes (STs)

Changes Tamilnadu has brought,

Tamil Nadu amended the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 by inserting a new section — Section 105 — that exempts land acquisition for industrial purposes and highways from the provisions of the Centre’s land Act.

NCST (the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes) says,

That the state government has flouted Article 338A of the Constitution, which specifies that all matters relating to STs should be sent to the NCST and state commissions for vetting. Considering that land acquisition is a List-III, Entry 42 subject in the Concurrent List, any state law needs Presidential assent before it becomes law.

Author says that,

Instead of creating hurdles in the way of land acquisition the NCST should work towards ensuring that ST candidates get jobs in the units that are eventually set up. That would lead to quicker improvement in their financial status.

[7]. Tricky terrains in Child Labour Bill

 

What has happened?

The government plans to seek the passage of the Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Amendment Bill 2012 (CLPRA) in the ongoing winter session of Parliament. This article deals with few pitfalls in this new amendment.

What new amendment proposes?

The Bill proposes banning all kinds of child labour under the age of 14 years. This was done to align the child labour law with the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009, which makes education a fundamental right for all children in the age group of 6-14.

While the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986 banned the employment of children up to the age of 14 in hazardous occupations, this proposed amendment prohibits employment of children below 14 years in all occupations and processes.

Exemption: Children under 14 years can be employed in non-hazardous or entertainment industry but only after school hours or during holidays.

Employment of children

Original: banned employment of children below 14 years of age in only 18 hazardous industries.

New: prohibits employment of children below 14 years in all occupations and processes.

Penal criteria for 1^st and repeat offence

Original: Penalty for first offence is 20000rs. The penalty for second or subsequent offence of employing any child in contravention of the law is imprisonment for a minimum term of six months, which may extend to two years.

New: Penalty for first offence has been increased from 20000rs to 50000rs for the employer along with six month jail that can extend upto 2 years. In case of a second or subsequent offence of employing any child or adolescent in contravention of the law, the minimum imprisonment would be one year, which may extend to three years.

A cognizable offence

The Bill adds that the offence of employing any child or adolescent (14-18years) in contravention of the Act by an employer will be cognizable, which will allow police to arrest without a warrant.

Child and Adolescent Labour Rehabilitation Fund: This fund will be used to rehabilitate rescued children and adults

What critics are saying?

Critics point out that this new amendment has in a way legitimised child labour.

1. The amendment is in direct conflict with Right to Education. “Under the garb of family enterprises, these children can be made to work in labour-intensive areas like in brick kilns, carpet-weaving, zari and beedi-making units, diamond cutting, domestic help, etc
2. Anomaly: Different acts have different definitions of child which needs to be corrected. While the RTE Act 2009 and CLPRA 2012 define a child as a 14-year-old, the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000 considers this to be 18 years. The definition of child should be uniform
3. Earlier, there were 83 hazardous occupations, which have been brought down to just three—mines, explosives and inflammables as hazardous processes as per Factories Act 1948. It is a very serious issue because it means that children will be allowed to work in many occupations where they were not allowed to work in the past.

 

Conclusion

However, the key challenge would be the implementation part. Do we have the necessary infrastructure to ensure that parents or employers would not go scot-free in case of violations? Is policing enough? Should we not motivate parents to send their wards to the school? What will happen in case the unfortunate young girl/boy is the only bread-winner for the family? Framing rules and regulations without properly judging the ground reality is like hurling stones in the sky. There could be sound and fury; but it would not signify much

[8]. At WTO talks, India to oppose bid at dilution

Context: At the coming Nairobi ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), India is likely to oppose efforts by rich countries to dilute the ‘development’ dimension of the Doha Round negotiations, which are aimed at reaching an agreement to liberalise global trade.

When is the meeting?

The WTO meeting will be held at the Kenyan capital during December 15-18. This would be 10^th ministerial conference.

What is ministerial conference?

It is the topmost decision making body of WTO. There have been nine conferences from 1996 to 2013, usually every two years.

The Doha Round

The WTO launched the current round of negotiations, the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) or Doha Round, at the Fourth Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar in November 2001. The Doha round was to be an ambitious effort to make globalisation more inclusive and help the world’s poor, particularly by slashing barriers and subsidies in farming.

The initial agenda comprised both further trade liberalization and new rule-making, underpinned by commitments to strengthen substantial assistance to developing countries.

The negotiations have been highly contentious and agreement has not been reached, despite the intense negotiations at several Ministerial Conferences and at other sessions. As of 2008, disagreements still continued over several key areas including agriculture subsidies.

Agenda of developed world

At the meeting, it is being expected that the developed world will try to create divisions amongst the developing countries. Attempts were being made by some developed countries to categorise nations such as India (now ‘developing’) as ‘emerging economies’ by making “unsubstantiated” allegations that such ‘emerging economies’ were cornering the benefits meant for developing countries.

WTO’s stand

The WTO does not define ‘developing’ or ‘developed’ countries. Members can apply the principle of ‘self-election’ and themselves decide if they are to be labelled as ‘developing’ countries.

Other members can question any member about its decision to label itself as ‘developing’ with an aim to take advantage of provisions available to developing countries. However, the WTO recognizes the least developed countries as designated.

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International

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[1]. ISIS statehood project lies in tatters

 

What has happened?

The IS that has claimed to be more than a militant group, selling itself as a government for the world’s Muslims that provides a range of services in the territory it controls has its statehood project in tatters.

 

Why ISIS statehood project is in tatters?

1. Under pressure from airstrikes by several countries,
2. New ground offensives by Kurdish and Shiite militias
3. Important services have been failing because of poor maintenance. And as its smuggling and oil businesses have faltered, the Islamic State has fallen back on ever-increasing taxes and tolls imposed on its squeezed citizens

 
ISIS in need of experts

The caliphate “is in more need than ever before for experts, professionals and specialists who can help contribute to strengthening its structure and tending to the needs of their Muslim brothers.

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Economy

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[1]. Manipal Hospitals fight cancer using IBM’s ‘Watson’

 

What has happened?

Manipal Hospitals corporate and teaching facilities will adopt IBM’s supercomputer, called Watson, to fight cancer.

This is first deployment of Watson in India as per IBM

Watson

1. It analyses large amounts of medical data to speed up diagnostic process. It would reveal insights that would help oncologists (a doctor who specializes in treating people with cancer) provide cancer patients with individualized healthcare. This includes assessing individual tumours to suggest which drug should be used to target them.
2. IBM said the machine’s learning capability enables it to continuously learn about oncology over time.

 

Cancer in India

Cancers of all type claim approximately 6,80,000 lives each year in India, making it the leading cause of death in the country after heart diseases, according to the World Health Organization. There are one million new cancer cases diagnosed every year in India, and this is expected to rise fivefold by 2020.

What is cognitive computing?

It is the simulation of human thought processes in a computerized model. Cognitive computing involves self-learning systems that use data mining, pattern recognition and natural language processing to mimic the way the human brain works.

Conclusion

This engagement represents a major step in the transformation of healthcare in India. With IBM Watson cognitive computing has come to the healthcare ecosystem to help deliver greater value to patients in India.

[2]. What is New Development Bank (NDB)?

NDB – The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank,^[1] is a multilateral development bank operated by the BRICS states (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) as an alternative to the existing American and European-dominated World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Goal of NDB: The goal of the bank is to “mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries”. The bank is headquartered in Shanghai, China. Each participant country holds an equal number of shares and equal voting rights, and none of the countries will have veto power.

[3]. How much of commercial bank money is being created by one unit of central bank money?

India’s money multiplier has been gradually rising over the years due to steady decline in cash holdings

Every one rupee of central bank money in India is able to generate around 6 rupees of money supply in the economy. India’s ratio remains lower than that of Europe, but higher than that of the US.

Why is money multiplier important?

A higher value for this ratio, called the money multiplier, indicates that the banking system generates a higher money supply out of money given by central bank

 

Factors on which money multiplier depends,

1. How much individuals (and businesses) hold in cash: The more individuals hold cash in hand, the less the banking system will be able to create money and hence a lower value for the multiplier. In other words, cash in hand acts as a leakage for the banking system.
2. How much banks hold as reserves: Reserves that banks hold with the central bank also amount to a leakage, which again reduces the money multiplier. It should be noted that central banks generally tell the banks to maintain a part of their deposits as reserves, called the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR). So in essence, it is only the excess reserves (that banks maintain over and above the central bank’s requirement) that constitute leakages.

 
Indian people hold more cash which lowers the multiplier but Indian banks hold lower cash reserve than their European and American counterparts.

Why European and American banks have higher cash reserves?

After the global financial crisis, banks have been reluctant to lend money and have kept higher cash reserves with the Central bank. Consequently, the money multiplier in both the US and Europe has fallen in the recent years.

Financial inclusion and Money multiplier

The recent rise in India’s money multiplier is primarily due to the decline in tendency to hold cash in hand, rather than any significant changes in banks’ reserves as the behaviour of banks is regulated by RBI’s cash reserve ratio, currently at 4%.

The decline in tendency to hold cash has come in the backdrop of a rise in the proportion of population holding bank accounts.

High dormancy rate

Despite the fact that India has made progress in financial inclusion, the issue of dormant accounts remains an area of concern. A World Bank report of April 2015 said that 43% of Indian adults with an account at a financial institution did not make any deposit or withdrawal in the past 12 months. In contrast, in high-income OECD economies the dormancy rate is 5%.

Conclusion

India has still a lot of ground to cover as its currency circulation is still higher than most economies.

[4]. India’s monetary policy doesn’t reflect its current deflation

What is Inflation?

Inflation is defined as increase in the general level of prices for goods and services. It is measured as an annual percentage increase. As inflation rises, every Rupee you own buys a smaller percentage of a good or service.

What is Deflation?

Deflation is a decrease in the general price level of goods and services. It occurs when the inflation rate falls below 0% (a negative inflation rate)Deflation is negative price inflation.

1. Deflation is not necessarily bad, but often periods of deflation / low inflation can lead to economic stagnation and periods of high unemployment.
2. This is because deflation can discourage spending because things will be cheaper in the future.
3. Deflation can also increase real debt burdens – reducing the spending power of firms and consumers.
4. In such conditions it is not possible to service any debt & that puts paid to the financial system.

 
Inflation is measured via three methods

1. WPI
2. CPI
3. GDP deflator.

 

1. Inflation is measured in terms of annualized change in price indices. In India, the wholesale price index (WPI) for goods was commonly used.
2. There were and there still are several consumer price indices (CPI) for different situations.
3. The CPI has the advantage of capturing retail prices and services.
4. But it has never been aligned to the structure of the economy.

 
The WPI, however, is so aligned.

• The new CPI (starting 2010) uses the expenditures reported by the National Sample Survey of Household Consumption Expenditures to derive weights.

 
These surveys have been found to under-report aggregate consumption in the economy by over 50%.

• The ratio is much better for food and much worse for manufactured consumer goods and services. Hence, the weights tilt excessively to food items.

 

1. The third method to measure inflation is the implicit GDP deflator.
2. Like the consumer price index (CPI), the GDP deflator is a measure of price inflation/deflation with respect to a specific base year; the GDP deflator of the base year itself is equal to 100.
3. That is the rate derived from the GDP current and constant prices data. Cross-country data since 2000 shows that inflation as measured by the CPI and the implicit GDP deflator vary, but not by much.

 
Of the three measures, the implicit GDP deflator fully reflects the structure of the economy and is a good ex post indicator of what happened with inflation.

Current scenario

1. India has been in deflation in 2015 and steeply declining rates (direction) since the middle of 2014.
2. Our monetary policy does not reflect this. It is still battling an inflation that does not exist in the GDP data.

 
What lies ahead?

1. There is a great challenge ahead in 2016 in the way monetary policy will unfold globally.
2. After seven years of near-zero policy rates and liquidity creation via asset purchases, the US Federal Reserve is set to normalize monetary policy over the coming years.
• The European Central Bank already has a negative deposit rate and a main lending rate of 0.05%. It may or may not move to negative lending rates.
• But it is certain to maintain near zero rates. Thus, there will be an unprecedented divergence in which the main economic regions — the US and Eurozone (and Japan) — will move in 2016, and the consequential pulls may be tidal.

 
Impact on India

That is a very serious challenge for everyone, India included.

1. Yet, we are in disinflation and have a monetary stance befitting of a moderately high positive inflation trajectory.
2. Our domestic demand is still in an early phase of recovery. And our public sector banks are under pressure from weak asset quality and squeezed margins that cannot support rebuilding their balance sheets.

 

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Opinion & Editorial

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[1]. On hold and accommodative

What has happened?

RBI in its policy review kept its Repo Rate unchanged.

Author is trying to analyse RBI’s move. He is trying to ascertain the reason behind RBI’s move to not to move from its earlier stance.

Reasons,

1. External demand continues to remain weak
2. A slowing China
3. A U.S. economy coping with an accumulation of inventory, year-low consumer confidence and a strengthening dollar
4. Consumption demand, due consequent to poor monsoon has been weakened
5. The Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) survey pointed at the slowest growth rate of manufacturing sector in 2 years.
6. Retail inflation has increased due to sharp increase in food costs

 

RBI is currently focussing on taking steps to ensure that the rate cut benefits reach the borrowers. At present only half of the 125bps point cut has been conveyed forward to the borrowers.

[2]. Constitution day after

What has happened?

India observed constitution day on 26^th November 2015. The day has also been declared as the Constitution Day to spread awareness about the its architect Dr B.R. Ambedkar.

Winter session of the Parliament began with a debate on intolerance.

Author delineates principles that Baba Saheb Ambedkar laid down and which seems to have been forgotten in the current times.

• Baba Saheb said “Bhakti in religion may be a road to the salvation of the soul. But in politics, bhakti or hero-worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship.” How do we avoid this degradation caused to national life by acts of routine political sycophancy?

 

Author says that,

Unique constitutional feature: Ours is the only constitution that declares as an aspect of fundamental rights certain social practices as an offence, which are to be redressed by parliamentary legislation and oversight under Article 35. The laws framed are not implemented with any firmness. Atrocities against “untouchables” continue, and these notably include arson, rape and gangrape, mass and individual murder, stripping and parading, pursuit of “obnoxious” occupations as well as thousands of unspeakable daily horrors. Changes have happened but the pace needs to be increased.

Child labour: Census 2001 figures revealed 1.26 crore working children in the age group of 5-14, as compared to the total child population of 25.2 crore; approximately 12 lakh children work in hazardous occupations/ processes. Progress seems to have been made, if we take on board the National Sample Survey Organisation’s 2004-05 data, which estimates the number of working children at 90.75 lakh, and Census 2011, which places the number of working children in the age group of 5-14 years at 43.53 lakh.

Plight of the poor: the plight of India’s impoverished must always be recalled. We were told in 2010 the good news that India’s poverty rate was set to decline from 51 per cent of the population in 1990 to 24 per cent over the next five years. But this analysis by the London-based Overseas Development Institute and the UN Millennium Campaign did not prove accurate.

Conclusion

This overall picture would be a little less depressing if Parliament were to demonstrate the collective political will to celebrate Ambedkar Jayanti by declaring war on these unconstitutional evils and developing a timeline for eliminating them

By: ForumIAS Editorial Team