📰 Scientists set sail to unlock secrets of lost continent
Investigation of samples taken by drilling into rock will help discover how Zealandia has behaved over millions of years
•Scientists are attempting to unlock the secrets of the “lost continent” of Zealandia, setting sail on Friday to investigate the huge underwater landmass east of Australia that has never been properly studied.
•Zealandia, which is mostly submerged beneath the South Pacific, was once part of the Gondwana super-continent but broke away some 75 million years ago.
•In a paper published in the Geological Society of America’s Journal GSA Today in February, researchers made the case that it should be considered a new continent.
•They said it was a distinct geological entity that met all the criteria applied to Earth’s other continents, including elevation above the surrounding area, distinctive geology, a well-defined area and a crust much thicker than that found on the ocean floor.
Large landmass
•Covering five million square kilometres, it extends from south of New Zealand northward to New Caledonia and west to the Kenn Plateau off Australia’s east.
•Drill ship Joides Resolution will recover sediments and rocks lying deep beneath the seabed in a bid to discover how the region has behaved over the past tens of millions of years.
•The recovered cores will be studied onboard, allowing scientists to address issues such as oceanographic history, extreme climates, sub-seafloor life, plate tectonics and earthquake-generating zones. Co-chief scientist Jerry Dickens, from Rice University in Texas, said the region was a vital area to study changes in global climate.
•“As Australia moved north and the Tasman Sea developed, global circulation patterns changed and water depths over Zealandia fluctuated,” he said. “This region was important in influencing global changes.”
•Australian National University’s Neville Exon said the two-month expedition would also help better understand major changes in the global tectonic configuration that started about 53 million years ago.
•This is around the time that the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, a hotspot for volcanoes and earthquakes, came into existence.
Hidden from view
•In the February scientific paper, lead author Nick Mortimer said experts had been gathering data to make the case for Zealandia being a continent for more than 20 years.
•But their efforts had been frustrated because most of it was hidden beneath the waves.
•“If we could pull the plug on the oceans, it would be clear to everybody that we have mountain chains and a big, high-standing continent,” he said.
📰 Building block of life found on Saturn’s largest moon
Researchers analyse data on Titan from the Cassini mission
•An important building block of life has been discovered in the hazy upper atmosphere of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. Using data from the Cassini mission, scientists identified negatively charged molecules called ‘carbon chain anions’ in the atmosphere of Titan.
•These linear molecules are understood to be building blocks towards more complex molecules, and may have acted as the basis for the earliest forms of life on Earth, scientists said.
•The discovery of the carbon chain anions is surprising because they are highly reactive and should not last long in Titan’s atmosphere before combining with other materials.
Hazy atmosphere
•It is completely reshaping current understanding of the hazy moon’s atmosphere, they said.
•The detections were made using Cassini spacecraft’s plasma spectrometer, called CAPS, as it flew through Titan’s upper atmosphere, 950 – 1,300 kilometres above the surface.
•The data shows that the carbon chains become depleted closer to the moon, while precursors to larger aerosol molecules undergo rapid growth. This suggests a close relationship between the two, with the carbon chains ‘seeding’ the larger molecules that are thought to fall down to, and deposit on, the surface.
•“We have made the first unambiguous identification of carbon chain anions in a planet-like atmosphere, which we believe are a vital stepping stone in the production line of growing bigger, and more complex organic molecules, such as the moon’s large haze particles,” said Ravi Desai, a PhD student at University College London.
•“This is a known process in the interstellar medium — the large molecular clouds from which stars themselves form — but now we have seen it in a completely different environment, meaning it could represent a universal process for producing complex organic molecules,” said Desai, lead author of the study published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters .
Exoplanet possibility
•“The question is, could it also be happening at other nitrogen-methane atmospheres like at Pluto or Triton, or at exoplanets with similar properties?” he said.
•Titan boasts a thick nitrogen and methane atmosphere with some of the most complex chemistry seen in the solar system.
•It is even thought to mimic the atmosphere of early Earth, before the build-up of oxygen.
📰 Fight against terror, BRICS told
Meets Chinese President Xi Jinping along with other NSAs
•National Security Adviser Ajit Doval has called upon the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) grouping to exercise international leadership in countering terrorism, in tune with the growing role of the emerging economies in setting the global agenda. During his opening remarks on Friday at the seventh BRICS meeting of National Security Advisers, Mr. Doval, without referring to any country, urged the BRICS countries “to show leadership in countering terrorism.”
•He also advocated that the five emerging economies should work towards setting the agenda “on strategic issues of regional and global importance.” Later, accompanied by the security chiefs of other BRICS members, Mr. Doval called on Chinese President Xi Jinping.
•Mr. Xi, in his address to the BRICS NSAs, praised them for building a mutual trust and cooperation among the member nations.
•Though the meeting was meant to iron out the security agenda of the BRICS summit, slated for September, Mr. Doval’s call on Mr. Xi acquired a bilateral context in view of the Doklam face-off.
📰 Doval wants BRICS to fight terrorism
•Though the meeting was meant to iron out the security agenda of the BRICS summit, slated for September, Mr. Doval’s call on Mr. Xi, acquired a sharp bilateral context, in view of the on-going military face-off between Indian and Chinese troops in Doklam plateau area.
•President Xi said that having successfully completed its first 10 years, the BRICS in the coming decade can focus on three areas: security communication and coordination, financial cooperation as well as cultural exchanges. He added that these three aspects should guide the BRICS mechanism, to enable the stable growth of the five emerging economies.
•Mr. Doval, in his earlier remarks, proposed that the BRICS should pull its collective weight in shaping the international system, by pointing out that the grouping had grown in “global significance over the years.”
•“It is natural we should hold a BRICS forum to discuss security issues that impact global peace and stability.” Along with seeking common ground on major security threats with its emerging economy partners, India also appeared simultaneously engaged in resolving military tensions with China, during Mr. Doval’s visit.
Contradictory ties
•The contradictory relationship, where collaboration co-exists with serious differences, was evident when Mr. Doval met with China’s State Councillor Yang Jichei on Thursday evening.
•The Xinhua news agency reported that in the three separate meetings that he held with the visiting NSAs, Mr. Yang exchanged views on “bilateral relations, international and regional issues and multilateral affairs, and set forth China’s position on bilateral issues and major problems.”
📰 SC rejects abortion plea of 10-year-old
It would be in the interest of neither the rape victim nor foetus, says court; calls for State-level boards to hear urgent cases
•A 10-year-old rape victim has been left with no choice but to continue with her pregnancy after a medical panel informed the Supreme Court on Friday that an abortion will endanger both the girl and her 32-week-old foetus.
•On July 24, a Bench led by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar had directed doctors from P.G.I., Chandigarh, to medically examine the girl and file a report in court on whether the “health of the girl child concerned, who is stated to be of the age of 10 years, and also that of the foetus, would be adversely affected, if the pregnancy is continued for the full term”.
•In a short hearing, the court perused the report filed by the doctors in a sealed cover and denied permission for an abortion.
•“In view of the reasons recorded, it would neither be in interest of the girl child nor her foetus of 32 weeks to order abortion,” the court observed.
Permanent boards
•But the Bench went on to urge the government, represented by Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, to consider setting up permanent medical boards across the States so that women, especially child rape victims, could receive expedient access to medical care.
•The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971 bars abortion if the foetus has crossed the 20-week mark. An exception to the law is made if a registered medical practitioner certifies to a court that the continued pregnancy is life-threatening for either the mother or the baby.
•Presently, women are forced to undertake the cumbersome process of approaching different courts, from district courts to high courts and finally the Supreme Court, for permission to medically terminate their pregnancies which are over 20 weeks.
•The frequent number of such cases which have come to the Supreme Court range from child rape victims to destitute women to women with substantial foetus abnormalities.
•“In all such cases, time is very short. We are considering those cases under Article 142 (orders passed by the apex court to do complete justice). Can a permanent medical board be set up at State-level to examine the cases till the Bill is pending for amendment into the law?” the Bench asked Mr. Kumar.
Amendment pending
•An amended Bill of the 1971 law which extends the bar from 20 to 24 weeks has been in the cold storage for the past three years. This draft Bill allows women, whose pregnancies are within 24 weeks, reproductive rights in consultation with their medical practitioners. The draft Bill also allows abortion beyond 24 weeks in case the foetus suffers from substantial abnormalities.
•As of now, women who have crossed the 20-week limit need a judicial order to even get medically examined on their plea for abortion.
•In the case of the 10-year-old, a Chandigarh district court had refused to let the victim undergo abortion on July 18.
Time lost
•Subsequently, the PIL petition by advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava for medical termination of her pregnancy was urgently mentioned in the Supreme Court on July 21. The child was medically examined only on July 26 on the orders of the apex court. She was allegedly raped by her maternal uncle. An FIR has been registered.
📰 Most private hospitals evade tax: CAG
No process to track non-filers in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Delhi, says report
•A performance audit of India’s private hospitals has revealed that a majority of the institutions is evading tax. The report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), released on Friday, pointed out that data on ‘non-filers’ of income tax was available only in three states — West Bengal, Assam and Gujarat.
•The auditors found that Delhi, Kerala, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu had no process of identifying hospitals that were evading tax.
•“The detailed list of non-filers along with action taken thereof could be furnished in respect of West Bengal, Assam and Gujarat only, where out of 18,333 cases, Income-Tax Department had closed 3,627 cases and the remaining 14,706 cases were “under verification/action pending” or were yet to be closed. Audit found that no such process of identification on non-filers through a monitoring system existed in Delhi, Kerala, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu,” the audit said.
•The private sector accounts for 80% of out patient care and 60% of in patient care in the country. According to State-wide data from the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the health sector attracted Foreign Direct Investment of Rs. 23, 169.91 crore between April 2000 and September 2016. Yet, the report states that most private hospitals and practitioners did not submit valid Permanent Account Numbers (PAN).
•In West Bengal, out of 19,822 registered practitioners, PAN registration of only 4,849 cases could be traced.
Unjustified exemptions
•In Maharashtra, a study of charitable hospitals — that avail a tax exemption — found that private hospitals availed “unjustified exemptions” amounting to Rs. 249.66 crore involving a revenue impact of Rs. 77.14 crore.
•On the basis of data from Charity Commissioner in Mumbai, the CAG analysed 10 trust hospitals and found that none of them fulfilled the conditions of Bombay Public Trust Act. “Bed occupancy in eight out of 10 hospitals was less than the mandated 10% for weaker sections,” the report added.
📰 CAG spots weaknesses in missile defence system
70% scanners in Air Force bases are ‘non-functional’
•The strategic missile system, a medium range supersonic surface to air missile system to counter aerial threats were “deficient in quality”, according to a report tabled by the Comptroller and Auditor General in Parliament on Friday.
•Over 70% of the under vehicle scanners (UVS) installed at Indian Air Force (IAF) bases were non-functional, the report said. It also said that the IL series of aircraft, which provides vital transport support to the IAF during contingencies, “has not been upgraded, and continue to fly with 1985 vintage avionics”.
•The report comes amid increased threat perception to defence installations in the wake of terrorist attack at the Pathankot airbase in January 2016.
•The IAF in February said that out of the 57 UVS systems, 52 had been installed and only five were yet to be installed.
•However, 35 systems still remained in “unserviceable condition”.
Not enhanced
•“Even as on February 2017, over 70% of the procured UVS systems were not functioning or were uninstalled. Thus the security systems procured at a cost of Rs. 17.09 crore could not be utilised fully for the security of the air bases even after about five years. Besides, the security of the air bases could not be enhanced as envisaged,” the report said.
•“Strategic missile system is vital for the country’s air defence and deterrence capability. Audit found that the system delivered by Bharat Electricals Limited was deficient in quality,” the report added.
📰 ‘Scheme for banks not applied as envisaged’
Recapitalisation norms not met: CAG
•The Centre’s ‘Indradhanush’ scheme to recapitalise public sector banks (PSBs) based on their performance was not implemented in a manner envisaged, according to a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG)
•According to the CAG report tabled in Parliament on Friday, as per the scheme, a portion of the recapitalisation was to be based on the bank’ performance. However, this was not followed during disbursal of funds.
Rising NPAs
•The CAG report said gross NPAs with PSBs had risen sharply in recent years, from Rs. 2.27 lakh crore as of March 31, 2014 to about Rs. 5.4 lakh crore at the end of March 2016.
•The parameters used to determine whether banks required capital changed from year to year and in some years the rationale for capitalising banks was not even recorded. The audit report said the scheme’s target of raising Rs. 1.1 lakh crore from the markets by 2018-19 was not likely to be met.
•“Audit noticed that the estimation of the parameters based on which capital was infused altered from year to year and often within different tranches of the same year,” the report, an audit of bank recapitalisation efforts by the government between 2008-09 and 2016-17, found.
•“Audit also noticed that in some cases the rationale for distribution of GOI capital among different PSBs (Public Sector Banks) was not on record.”
•The report added that said some banks that did not qualify for additional capital as per the decided norms, were infused with capital, and in some cases, banks were infused with more capital than required.
📰 Centre seeks inputs on trade, industrial policies, services
Academia has to do research in emerging areas: Sitharaman
•Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday sought inputs from the academia on three topics — Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) review, the proposed revamp of manufacturing and industrial policies and India’s proposal at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on services sector liberalisation.
•Delivering the convocation address at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Ms. Sitharaman said she would like to receive inputs from the students and faculty as soon as possible on the FTP 2015-20 so that a comprehensively reviewed FTP can be released by September.
•In the backdrop of the Centre working on a new manufacturing and industrial policy to increase the contribution of the manufacturing sector in the country’s GDP to 25% by 2020 from the current level of about 16%, the Minister said as the (global) Industrial Revolution 4.0 is happening, the country needs more research on this emerging area showing how Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics and Internet of Things (IoT) will impact India’s manufacturing and services.
•It is learnt that India’s new manufacturing and industrial policies will bring manufacturing and services closer to ensure an increase in the contribution of services to manufacturing. Since India is already a part of many ‘global value chains’, the two new policies will aim to make India a global manufacturing hub in items including textile, pharmaceuticals and electronics. The Centre is working on these new policies to align the current manufacturing policy (of 2011) and the industrial policy (of 2009) with the Fourth Industrial Revolution that includes AI, robotics and IoT.
TFS pact
•Referring to India’s proposal at the WTO on a Trade Facilitation in Services (TFS) Agreement for easing norms, including on movement of foreign professionals and skilled workers across borders for short-term work, Ms. Sitharaman said during a recent visit to the WTO headquarters, she was informed that the TFS proposal was gaining traction. She said, therefore, the Centre for WTO Studies at the IIFT and others from the academia should contribute on what more can India do in the area of global services trade.
•In her address, Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia said, “India needs to generate good quality manpower in large numbers at all stages of the knowledge pyramid if it has to become globally competitive in the manufacturing sector.” She said many policy-level challenges have retarded growth in the manufacturing sector in India.
•These include, among others, difficult business environment, infrastructural constraints, including peak power deficit, labour market limitations including a surfeit of labour legislation(s) and trade unionism as well as the difficulty in availing commercial bank credit particularly for small firms.
•Earlier, Ms. Sitharaman said a new campus of IIFT will be opened soon in Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh).
📰 ‘Regulators shouldn’t restrain innovation’
Sandbox approach needed to help nurture fintech: Kant
•India’s financial sector regulators should stop hindering ideas in the financial technology sector and instead opt for a regulatory sandbox approach to nurture innovative financial technology applications, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Friday.
•“It is very important that we allow technology to move forward and the regulators don’t become restrictors, which very often they do, but become facilitators and creators,” Mr. Kant said, stressing that the role of India’s regulators needed to evolve as they often became restrictors of growth.
•A regulatory sandbox is an experimental oversight mechanism for innovative products and services that do not fall into an existing regulatory regime or cut across traditional regulators’ domains. Such innovations are permitted to operate for a limited period of time at a limited scale to understand their efficacy and implications, so that the best alternatives for regulation can be evolved based on concerns that emerge.
‘Consumer-centric lens’
•“The sandbox needs to be designed to adopt this unified consumer-centric lens through a single integrated sandbox, serving all four financial sector regulators… technology will always be ahead of regulation,” said Mr. Kant, speaking at a CII event on making India a global fintech hub.
•He was referring to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).
•“The (sandbox) option can be a great way to unlock innovations for mass public adoption, because a regulatory sandbox balances the twin objectives of nurturing financial innovation and safeguarding consumer interests,” the Niti Aayog CEO said.
•Stressing that there are over 600 start-ups in the country in the financial technology (fintech) space, Mr. Kant said that letting them operate in a ‘live, but controlled environment with some regulations relaxed… will provide a solid evidence base’ on their strengths and weaknesses.
•More than 30 of those start-ups are focused on the peer-to-peer lending space alone and their market potential is expected to reach $5 billion by 2020. Several start-ups are working in areas such as virtual currencies like Bitcoins, Blockchain-based settlements and so on. The total fintech market in India is estimated to be worth $8 billion and is expected to grow to about $14 billion by 2020.
•“With more than $17 billion funding and over 1,400 deals in 2016, FinTech is one of the most promising sectors globally. With nearly $270 million funding in 2016, India is ranked amongst the top ten FinTech markets globally,” said a CII-Deloitte report on the subject released on Friday.
•Globally, regulatory sandboxes have been introduced in the U.K., Singapore, Australia, Malaysia and UAE. Each country has a certain “target group” for which sandboxing is done. All these countries have so far created a sandboxed environment to support financial institutions (FIs) and fintech firms, the report noted.
Cryptocurrencies
•In India, for instance, since cryptocurrencies are not recognised officially, virtual currencies stored in e-wallets are exposed to hacking and users are exposed to a lack of recourse in case of any problems or disputes. The RBI has been cautioning users about the risks of dabbling in virtual currencies that it does not recognise, since 2013.
📰 Cinema & censorship
Sadly, the battle for free expression is having to be fought so often these days
•In a system that sets much store by retaining the power to censor films in the name of certifying them, random attempts by petitioners seeking cuts or even a ban often add to the pre-release anxieties of filmmakers. While rejecting the petition filed by a person claiming to be the daughter of the late Sanjay Gandhi to set aside the certificate granted to Indu Sarkar , a film directed by Madhur Bhandarkar, the Supreme Court has rightly banked on a well-established principle that freedom of expression cannot be curtailed without a valid reason. It has reiterated that the film is nothing but artistic expression within the parameters of law and that there is no warrant or justification to curtail it. Earlier, the Central Board of Film Certification, which under its present director, Pahlaj Nihalani, has not exactly distinguished itself, had granted a certificate to the film after suggesting 14 cuts. The Revision Committee had reduced the number of cuts, leaving nothing to be adjudicated as far as the suitability of the film for exhibition is concerned. Yet, a single individual managed to create some uncertainty over the release of the film by approaching the courts. The film relates to events set during the 1975-77 Emergency and, going by the director’s disclaimer, its factual content is limited to 30%. Apart from the expression of concern by some Congress functionaries, there was little to suggest that anyone would take seriously the claim that the party’s leaders may be convincingly shown “in a bad light”.
•Recent experience suggests that the CBFC does not always see itself as a certifying authority, but rather plays the censor quite merrily. In the case of Udta Punjab last year, it was seeking to be the guardian of Punjab’s honour against the depiction of the high prevalence of drug addiction in the State. The Bombay High Court had to remind the CBFC that certification, and not censorship, is its primary role and that its power to order changes and cuts must be exercised in accordance with constitutional principles. More recently, the CBFC sought to play the moral censor with regard to Lipstick Under My Burkha , a film it thought was too “lady-oriented” to be given a certificate, presumably because it depicts their fantasies. The Film Certification Appellate Tribunal had to intervene to secure the release of the film, with an ‘A’ certificate. These instances demonstrate that challenges to freedom come from both within the systemic framework and outside. It is a matter of satisfaction that the courts prefer to protect the right to free expression rather than entertain excuses such as maintenance of law and order and public tranquillity, or someone’s sense of hurt or the fear of someone being portrayed in a bad light. It is disconcerting, nonetheless, that the battle for free expression is having to be fought so often these days.
📰 The state’s domain
The proposal to allow the private sectorto run district hospitals has its risks
•The potential of India’s district hospital system to dramatically expand access to quality secondary and tertiary health care has never really been realised. The majority of patients today use the facilities created mostly by for-profit urban hospitals. That asymmetry could potentially be offset, though only in small part, through the proposal of the NITI Aayog and the Union Health Ministry to allow private entities to use the premises of the district hospitals to provide treatment for cardiac and pulmonary diseases and cancer. Viewed in perspective, a quick scaling-up of care for such non-communicable diseases is possible under the arrangement, because there are 763 functional district hospitals, with just five States led by Uttar Pradesh accounting for over 42% of the facilities. Yet, contracting out services in a virtually unregulated and largely commercial private system is fraught with risks. One major concern in such an arrangement is to ensure that the bulk of health spending, whether from government funds, subsidy or private insurance, goes into actual care provision, and that administrative expenditure is capped under the contract. Moreover, in consonance with the goal to provide health for all under the National Health Policy, care should be universal, and free at the point of delivery. A market-driven approach to providing district hospital beds for only those with the means would defeat the objective.
•Providing 50 or 100 beds in a district hospital may expand access to care, but such arrangements do not offer a cure for the larger problem of the growing non-communicable disease burden. Lifestyle choices and social determinants, such as tobacco and alcohol use, and environmental pollution, are often linked to such diseases. Controlling the epidemic, therefore, requires other policy approaches too. Given the already high prevalence of cardiac and pulmonary conditions, some arising from diabetes and hypertension, and cancers, having more beds for treatment is a necessity. It is incongruous, however, to opt for contracts of 30 years, given the move towards achieving universal health coverage and, aspirationally, a single-payer government-led model that mainly relies on public facilities. Strong oversight is also necessary to ensure that ethical and rational treatment protocols are followed in the new facilities, and procurement and distribution of drugs are centralised to keep costs under control. Ultimately, the success of such systems depends on medical outcomes on the one hand, and community satisfaction on the other. Both dimensions must find place in a contract, and be assessed periodically. A provision for audits, penalties and cancellation of contracts is essential. Given the recourse to tax funds for viability gap funding and use of public infrastructure, the operations should be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General.
📰 Not just a question of weeks
Parliament needs to take up the long-pending bill on updating provisions for abortion
•On Friday, the Supreme Court of India declined the abortion request of a 10-year-old rape survivor who was reportedly 32 weeks pregnant. Doctors who examined the adolescent opined that an abortion at this stage posed a risk to her life. Under the circumstances, the court could not have done much else. But this decision must be looked at in contrast to the recent landmark decision by the Supreme Court allowing an adult mother to abort her over-20 week foetus. The top court’s decision was not the first time that it had made an exception from the existing law. Like always, it relied on a report of a medical board which said that the infant was likely to suffer from a severe mental injury or cardiac problems that would require multiple surgeries. As is evident, leniency is not always extended from the existing legislation.
An arbitrary cap
•The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act stipulates a cap of 20 weeks within which an abortion can be performed. While advising an abortion, medical practitioners are expected to evaluate whether continuing with the pregnancy would involve a risk to the life of the mother or cause grave injury to her physical and mental health. Alternatively, the decision is based on whether there would be a substantial risk of the child being handicapped by physical or mental abnormalities. Notably, the Act also provides that if any of these medical eventualities is likely to arise, then the mother’s actual or foreseeable environment must also be taken into consideration.
•The 20-week cap is somewhat arbitrary and has drawn rightful criticism. Foetal impairments often get detected at the ultrasound done between 18 to 22 weeks, when the foetus is said to have “substantially developed”. But in a country where a majority of expectant mothers still seek advice from midwives and Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA), ultrasounds are only done when something “unusual” is suspected. Perhaps taking note of this, the government, in 2016, launched the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan under which doctors at private and government facilities are required to provide free antenatal care on the ninth of every month. While ultrasounds are also covered, some ASHAs report that free ultrasounds are often not offered.
•In fact, even before this programme, the government, in 2014, introduced the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill. A step forward, it proposed increasing the abortion ceiling limit from 20 to 24 weeks. It introduced the concept of “substantial foetal abnormalities” — in which case the time period of pregnancy is irrelevant — and widened the scope of who could carry out the abortions by introducing the term “registered health care provider”, which included recognised practitioners of Ayurveda, Unani and homoeopathy.
•Unfortunately, the Bill is still awaiting approval. The Prime Minister’s Office is reported to have returned the proposed amendments and called for stricter implementation of the law. It believes that amendments to the Act are likely to give rise to illegal sex selection and abortion rackets.
Downside to legal restrictions
•In contrast, the World Health Organisation notes: “Legal restrictions on abortion do not result in fewer abortions nor do they result in significant increases in birth rates. Conversely, laws and policies that facilitate access to safe abortion do not increase the rate or number of abortions. The principal effect is to shift previously clandestine, unsafe procedures to legal and safe ones. Restricting legal access to abortion does not decrease the need for abortion, but it is likely to increase the number of women seeking illegal and unsafe abortions, leading to increased morbidity and mortality. Legal restrictions also lead many women to seek services in other countries/states, which is costly, delays access and creates social inequities.”
•The WHO report also says that “laws and policies on abortion should protect women’s health and their human rights. Regulatory, policy and programmatic barriers that hinder access to and timely provision of safe abortion care should be removed.” While at present, petitions questioning the constitutional validity of the Act are pending before the Supreme Court in India, in the past, provisions of the Act have been held to be reasonable restrictions placed on the exercise of reproductive choices. The court has observed that in the case of pregnant women, there is also a “compelling state interest” in protecting the life of the prospective child. Therefore, the termination of a pregnancy is only permitted when the conditions specified are fulfilled.
•But from a women’s rights perspective, should not a pregnant mother have the right to decide whether to go through full-term when there is even the slightest chance of a foetal infirmity and not “substantial foetal abnormalities”? It is fair to state that no woman who voluntarily chose to get pregnant is likely to seek an abortion unless there are compelling circumstances. Should not the wishes and desires of the person who will be the caretaker be considered?
•Abortion the world over is a sensitive topic. Arguments cut both ways. Each country has its own time limit within which the pregnancy may be terminated, but in most cases it’s more than 20 weeks. Given the advancements in medical science, a lot of abnormalities can be determined by an ultrasound midway through a pregnancy. Unfortunately, there appear to be no guidelines relating to the conduct of ultrasounds. As a starting point, we need uniformity in medical standards. Simultaneously, the long-pending Bill, which took into account some of the changed circumstances, needs to get passed. It would be helpful alongside to also lay down objective standards to be followed by health-care providers so that every case does not fall in the court’s cradle. If the cord isn’t cut, we will continue to rely on court-ordered termination of pregnancies, which, most times, is not the desired route for the delivery of justice in abortion cases.
