📰 SC slams custom of genital mutilation
‘It is violation of a woman’s right to life and dignity’
•Female genital mutilation has numerous health hazards associated with it and amounts to violation of right to life and dignity of a woman, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra observed on Monday.
•The Chief Justice made the oral observation while hearing a PIL petition filed by advocate Sunita Tiwari to ban female genital mutilation performed by some communities on children as a religious practice.
•Justice D.Y. Chandrachud remarked during the hearing that a woman’s complete control over her genitalia is central to identity, dignity and autonomy.
•Chief Justice Misra asked how such a practice can be imposed on women. “Why should a lady be expected to make such efforts? Is she chattel?” the CJI asked.
Bodily privacy
•Senior advocate Indira Jaising submitted that the practice of female genital mutilation cannot be considered as an “essential practice” in religion as it can be brought under the ambit of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
•No one can violate the integrity and the bodily privacy of a woman in the name of religion, the Bench observed.
•The government has also urged the court to issue directions against the practice.
•Attorney-General K.K. Venugopal has submitted that female genital mutilation is punished with seven years’ imprisonment. The international community has condemned this practice.
•However, the Dawoodi Bohra Women’s Association for Religious Freedom, represented by senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, has contended that “khafz/female circumcision as practised by the Dawoodi Bohra community is not female genital mutilation.” It is an essential part of their religion and protected under the Constitution.
📰 The narrow and the transformative
The Supreme Court is hearing cases that place it at the heart of the culture wars
•Upon reopening in July after its annual summer break, the Supreme Courthas immediately found itself back in the spotlight. If the first half of the year (occupied entirely by the Aadhaar hearings) raised critical questions about the relationship between the individual and the state, then the second half — involving the (concluded) challenge to Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, the (ongoing) Sabarimala case, and the (scheduled) constitutional challenge to adultery — has placed the court at the heart of the culture wars. While the Aadhaar challenge was argued on the relatively straightforward basis of when and to what extent the state can exercise its coercive power over individuals, the 377 and Sabarimala hearings have seen clashes between the invocation of personal rights and the claims of cultural and religious groups. This is set to continue with the forthcoming adultery hearings, where the state’s objection to the decriminalisation of adultery is premised on the argument that it would destroy the institution of marriage.
The strategy of containment
•When a constitutional challenge pits individuals against the state, the court’s task is clear: if it finds that there has been a breach by the state, it must strike down the offending law (or rules), and vindicate the rights at issue. When, however, the court is called upon to settle a battle in the culture wars, the task is fraught with greater complexity. This is because these conflicts often represent deep, long-standing and irreconcilable divisions in society, touching issues of personal belief and conviction. Constitutional documents often consciously refrain from directly addressing them: for example, the framers of the Constitution deliberately placed the provision for a uniform civil code in the unenforceable “Directive Principles” chapter, thinking that it was too divisive to be made a fundamental right.
•This strategy of containment creates a situation where, for the most part, these conflicts remain submerged. The fear of permanent defeat prompts all parties to maintain a tense equilibrium. At times, however, the equilibrium is shattered when someone finally decides to break the stalemate, and raise the stakes towards a clear resolution. One method of resolution is through the courts. But ironically, it is the battles of the culture wars that are particularly ill-suited for resolution through the zero-sum game of courtroom litigation. Unlike in political or economic disputes, a decisive loss in a matter involving personal belief risks creating deeply embittered and alienated communities, and risks an erosion of faith in the neutrality and impartiality of state institutions.
The narrow approach
•For this reason, there is a popular school of thought that asks the court to tread with particular caution when questions of culture are at stake. As far as possible — or so this school of thought holds — the court should avoid hearing and deciding such questions altogether. However, if it must decide, then it should do so on the narrowest grounds possible. Ideally, its reasoning should be limited to technical points of law, avoid constitutional questions, decide only the case before it, consciously eschew establishing precedent, and, above all, refrain from expressing any opinion on the validity of any personal belief or conviction. The role of the court, in short, is to do everything it can to lower the stakes, and take a pragmatic, problem-solving approach to the conflict rather than an ideal-oriented, expansive one.
•This narrow approach has been in play in both the cases that the court has heard so far, this July. In the Section 377 hearings, the government stated that it would not oppose the “reading down” of Section 377 as long as it was confined to same-sex relations between consenting adults in private. During oral arguments, every time the petitioners pressed for something more, government counsel urged the court to limit itself to simple decriminalisation, and nothing more. Similarly, in the Sabarimala hearings, what is at issue is the validity of a piece of subordinate legislation (specifically, a rule), on the basis of which women of a certain age are denied access to Sabarimala. While arguments before the court have, of course, been pitched upon the touchstone of religious freedom and non-discrimination, it is equally open to the court (if it so desires) to simply hold that the rule exceeds the scope of the parent law, and is therefore invalid on purely statutory grounds. This would enable the court to avoid reaching any determination on whether Sabarimala is entitled to invoke the authority of religion (in this case, lord Ayyappa’s vow of celibacy) in order to deny girls/women between the ages of 10 and 50 the right to worship at the shrine. Indeed, this is precisely what the narrow approach would advocate.
The transformative approach
•There is, however, a rival philosophy of constitutional adjudication. This philosophy holds that the Constitution is a transformative document, whose goal is to erase and remedy long-standing legacies of injustice. A particular feature of these injustices is their deep-rooted, social and institutional character. In the Indian context, the most obvious example is that of caste. The pervasive and corrosive influence of caste-discrimination in our society not only prompted the inclusion of a specific article in the Constitution abolishing untouchability (Article 17), but over and above that, gave rise to a constitutional vision of equality that specifically included affirmative action.
•Consequently, where the narrow approach sees a culture war triggered by the disruption of a carefully-maintained accommodation of cultural difference, the transformative approach sees a long-suppressed protest against a system of hierarchy and subordination that has found its utterance in the language of constitutional rights. For the transformative approach, it would be a betrayal of the Constitution’s transformative purpose if the court were to retreat in the face of strident claims to cultural integrity, and duck deciding the “real” questions before it.
•In the 377 hearings, for example, the transformative approach was articulated by counsel representing mental health professionals, who argued that decades of social exclusion and ostracism of the LGBT community could not be remedied simply by “decriminalisation”. Rather, it would require a declaration by the court that no institution — public or private — would henceforth be permitted to discriminate on grounds of sexual orientation, or deny any person their civil rights. This would accomplish two crucial things: first, it would be a small step towards removing the structural and institutional barriers that continued to stand between the LGBT community and equal moral membership in the community; and second, it would serve as a public acknowledgement of a wrong that society had been complicit in, and which society was not determined to remedy. Similarly, in the Sabarimala case, counsel have urged the court to hold that religion cannot be invoked to shield a discriminatory practice from constitutional scrutiny; and that, at the end of the day, constitutional morality must prevail over precepts that are rooted in any particular religion.
•In these cases, therefore, the court is faced with a stark choice between the narrow and the transformative approaches to navigating the choppy waters of culture and the Constitution. Which direction it chooses to take depends upon what it believes the Constitution is for — and will have profound consequences in the years to come.
📰 The big five at 10
BRICS has grown in influence in its first decade but is still far from achieving its initial goals
•In the age of Twitter, BRICS, or the grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has produced a 102-paragraph-long Johannesburg Declaration, one of the longest in recent years. This implies that either this important multilateral grouping has a lot to say about the state of the world or it needs to hire a sharp editor.
•It is prudent to proceed on the first assumption. There is little doubt that BRICS has grown in influence, expanded the arc of its interests, and established new institutions and partnerships in its first decade. More importantly, it has created for its members the habits of working together. Intra-BRICS cooperation is on a rising trajectory.
•Yet, the fact remains that BRICS is still far from achieving its initial goals: reform of global financial governance, democratisation of the United Nations, and expansion of the Security Council — partially because two of its members (China and Russia) do not want the other three members (India, South Africa and Brazil) to obtain parity in the global pecking order.
Summit highlights
•In this backdrop, the 10th summit, held last week, framed its deliberations against U.S. President Donald Trump’s unconventional approach on world affairs, particularly the looming trade wars. “The summit is about the context,” said Maxim Oreshkin, Russia’s Economy Minister. “We are at a time when the U.S. and China announce new measures almost every week.”
•BRICS leaders, therefore, stressed “the centrality of the rules-based, transparent, non-discriminatory, open and inclusive multilateral trading”, based on the World Trade Organisation. This stemmed from their broader commitment to cooperate for strengthening multilateralism, the rule of law and an equitable international order. That one of the BRICS members (China) does not follow in word and spirit this high-sounding prescription in regard to Asian affairs may have escaped attention.
•The other big idea emanating from the summit is to help nations to prepare for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. South Africa, as the host, zoomed in on it early and managed to create sufficient enthusiasm for it. Participants embraced it, articulating the need for a new strategy on employment, education and skill development as the digital revolution unfolds. BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution (PartNIR), however, will make a meaningful contribution only if it goes beyond the five ministries of industry. It should engage with the private sector and young innovators working at the cutting edge of technology today.
•The summit saw further consolidation of the business pillar. The BRICS Business Council has been actively enhancing trade and economic cooperation in diverse sectors ranging from manufacturing and energy to financial services and regional aviation. Besides, the leaders renewed their commitment to an inclusive and “people-centred approach” on development. The steady progress in interactions through sports, films, education, culture and tourism has been commendable.
Africa, BRICS Plus
•The BRICS outreach to Africa began at the last summit hosted by South Africa, in 2013; it has picked up momentum now. But African leaders want more. They need big loans from the New Development Bank (NDB) for their infrastructure projects. A South African official stated that this would happen soon but uncertainty persists. So far, the NDB has dispersed loans totalling $5.1 billion — all to its members only.
•China introduced the “BRICS Plus” format at the Xiamen summit last year by inviting a few countries from different regions. South Africa emulated it, arranging the attendance of top-level representation of five nations of its choice: Argentina, Jamaica, Turkey, Indonesia and Egypt. The precise role of “BRICS Plus” countries will take time to evolve. An immediate benefit is the immense opportunities it provides for networking among leaders. A large number of bilateral meetings took place on the summit’s sidelines. For us, the most important was the interaction between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the third in four months, which deepened the trend towards conciliation between Asia’s two biggest powers.
Unity and divergence
•As a partnership that represents over 40% of the world’s population and accounts for 22% of global GDP, BRICS will continue to be an influential voice as long as its convergences prevail over its divergences. Changing power equations within BRICS are being watched closely. China’s dominance is a reality even as the grouping asserts the sovereign equality of all members. China-Russia proximity has been a continuing factor. Given its political and economic travails, Brazil played a low-profile role.
•Mr. Modi and his delegation were pro-active and visible. A South African commentator observed that India was playing “a delicate geopolitical game with the U.S., China and Russia as their spheres of influence wax and wane” across regions. To Delhi’s satisfaction, four paragraphs in the summit declaration were devoted to the problem of international terrorism. But no decision was taken to set up the BRICS credit rating agency that India favours. The India-South Africa partnership helped to ensure that the Johannesburg Declaration was balanced and well-rounded in its orientation.
•The critical question is whether BRICS’s exertions will have appreciable impact on G-7, the grouping of the developed countries, which is in disarray, and particularly on the U.S. administration.
📰 A balancing Act
Amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act aim to limit overzealousness of enforcement agencies, but they raise important concerns too
•It is unfortunate that India has not been able to shed the image of a highly corrupt nation even after seven decades of Independence. The average Indian believes that he cannot get even the basic services to which he is entitled under the law without greasing the palms of one or more officials at the ground level. In the recent past, things have undoubtedly changed for the better — even if only marginally — when people try to obtain a passport, a driving licence, or a birth/death certificate. This is thanks to digitisation and the sensible pruning of prescribed procedures. The Centre and a few States deserve praise for taking some initiatives to reduce corruption. But this is small comfort. A lot more needs to be done before we can relax the fight against corruption among public servants.
Significant changes
•It is against this backdrop that Parliament has passed the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Bill. At least one of the amendments, which mandates prior government approval of the Central or State government to initiate investigation into corruption charges, is bound to evoke negative reactions from large sections of the public.
•Protection to government servants from arbitrary and unilateral action by anti-corruption agencies without prior permission from the government was earlier available only to the higher echelons, from the rank of Joint Secretary and above, before the Supreme Court struck down the so-called ‘Single Directive’. The latest tweak extends this protection to all public servants.
•This is welcome but ambitious. The new directive that requires prior approval at the preliminary inquiry stage as well as before the registration of a regular case carries many imponderables, especially the risks involved in delegating authority to order commencement of investigations under the Act.
•Details of the expanded new procedure are not yet known. The Central Vigilance Commissioner may have to step in with some practical guidelines. The exercise involved here is enormous, given the size of India’s bureaucracy and the entrenched sophistication of dishonest practices. If the sanctioning authority is itself dishonest, can you expect an objective application of mind?
•We cannot fault anti-corruption agencies if they believe that this change in procedure would embolden dishonest government personnel. But this is debatable. Only the speed and honesty of administrative ministries while acting on requests for permission from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), in particular, for initiating action against an erring official would give us an idea of the practical difficulties involved.
•Another major change is the deletion of the whole of clause (d) of sub-section (1) of Section 13, which defines ‘criminal misconduct’ as the acquisition of a ‘valuable thing’ or ‘pecuniary advantage’ in a dishonest manner. The deleted clause was the sole effective weapon against a misbehaving senior official. This deletion (without substituting it with any other clause) is disappointing because corruption in high places is sophisticated and takes place in a highly clandestine manner.
•A few experts believe that there is also a certain dilution of the definition of ‘known sources of income’ through the incorporation of the statement that this would include income received from any ‘lawful source’, an expression that has been left undefined. This is critical because of the misconception that as long as tax has been paid on income received from an undisclosed and illegitimate source, such income becomes lawful.
•One reasonable apprehension is that where a public servant causes performance of a public duty which is improper and against prescribed rules and procedures, and there is no proof of a transaction of bribery, he will go scot free. What if such improper performance is in lieu of future bribes or post-retirement jobs? There is a misgiving here that the latest amendments to Section 13(1) could be in conflict with the spirit of Article 19 of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption.
•One of the welcome amendments widens the definition of criminal misconduct to include the bribe giver too. In the past, the bribe giver had enjoyed immunity and that helped perpetuate corruption. There is, of course, the proviso that a person who had been coerced into giving a bribe cannot be proceeded against. It is incumbent on his part to report such coercion to the authorities within a week of the incident.
•The amendments include a stipulation for a day-to-day trial and completion of court proceedings within two years. Where this is not possible, the judge concerned will have to record reasons for prolongation of the trial and give himself an initial extension of six months. Given the overburdening of the judiciary, even fast-track courts may be unable to stick to this deadline.
Walking a tightrope
•It must be remembered that in handling misdemeanours of government officials, we are prone to committing excesses and ignoring human rights considerations. This is deleterious to the morale of public servants. The amendments are meant to balance overzealousness and apathy. As in the case of a common crime, we must consider whether conferring greater autonomy on investigating outfits, shortening trial procedures through mechanisms such as fast-track courts, and making penalties more stringent will introduce the much-needed deterrence to prospective offenders. It is an accepted criminal justice axiom that deterrence works only up to an extent; beyond the threshold, the incidence of crime only escalates. This is why there is support to the balanced stand that giving arbitrary and excessive authority to enforcement agencies could only lead to miscarriage of justice, without bringing about a corresponding reduction in criminal misconduct.
•In sum, a totally negative perception of the Act may not be warranted. The primary objective of these amendments is to tone down law enforcement excesses without diluting the authority of agencies like the CBI; or, in other words, to strike a balance between enforcement overzealousness and the need for stringent action against corrupt public servants. With some civil servants complaining that they had been wronged for discharging their lawful duties, such a balance is the need of the hour.
•However, all this does not answer the fundamental question of how to cleanse our public administration. Is there a flaw in the psyche of the average Indian which pushes him to pay a price for securing a service without having to wait for it? If yes, we are fighting a never-ending battle which has earned us painful ignominy in world forums.
📰 The case for increasing the retirement age of judges
It will bring the Indian judiciary in line with the norm worldwide
•The issue of increasing the age of retirement for judges featured in the Venkatachaliah Report (Report of the National Commission to review the working of the Constitution) as early as 2002. A half-hearted attempt was made in 2010 to bring in the Constitution (114th Amendment) Bill to raise the retirement age of High Court judges to 65 from 62 years. The amendment never came through. The idea of increasing the age of retirement, which has gained traction in recent times, has now been brought into sharp focus by Justice Kurian Joseph of the Supreme Court.
The case in Western democracies
•A retirement age of around 70 for judges is commonplace in most Western liberal democracies. Some of them even opt for tenures for life. In the Supreme Court of the United States, and in constitutional courts in Austria and Greece, judges are appointed for life. In Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Australia, the retirement age for judges is 70 years. Judges in Canada and Germany retire at 75 and 68, respectively.
•For good reasons, the time has come for India to consider increasing the retirement age for judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court to 70. This will have significant benefits. Senior serving judges will bring with them years of experience.
•The judge-population ratio in India is among the lowest in the world at 19.66 judges per million (10 lakh) people as of today. In 2016, the U.K. had 51 judges per million people, the U.S. had 107, Australia had 41, and Canada had 75.
•It is also necessary to increase the number of judges in the pool to enable the judiciary to deal with the enormous pendency of cases. The Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra, recently expressed concern over the backlog touching 3.3 crore cases. According to National Judicial Data Grid data, more than 2.84 crore cases are pending in the subordinate courts, 43 lakh cases are pending before the High Courts, and 57,987 cases are pending before the Supreme Court. The fact that judges in India are retiring at 62 and 65 years is not helping alleviate this problem either. We are losing judges who are trained by time and experience well before their prime. If legislations provide for retired High Court and Supreme Court judges to man tribunals till the age of 70, there is no reason why these judges should be retired so early.
•One aspect which has not been factored in is that as the Indian economy grows, the ratio of litigation to population will increase exponentially. Advanced economies such as Australia, Canada, France, the U.S., the U.K., and Japan have much higher litigation-to- population ratios.
Positive consequences
•The issue of increasing the retirement age of judges thus requires serious and immediate consideration and must necessarily move beyond partisan politics. The time has come to deal with the lakhs of cases pending as arrears before the 24 High Courts in India for periods as long as 10-20 years. Pendency does not not only debilitate the justice redress system; it also makes the rule of law a distant dream. More and more litigants now enter the justice redress system without the faintest hope of seeing closure in their lifetimes.
•Increasing the age of retirement for Supreme Court and High Court judges has significant advantages. One, it will ensure the continued presence of a strong talent pool of experienced judges. Two, new judges can be appointed without displacing existing judges. Three, it will address the problem of mounting arrears. Four, it will be a buffer against impending litigation explosion. Five, it will render post-retirement assignments unattractive and, as a consequence, strengthen the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, both of which are crucial to sustain democracy.
📰 LS passes Bill on rape of girls
It provides for death sentence for those convicted of raping those aged under 12
•The Lok Sabha on Monday passed the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2018, that provides for the death sentence for raping a girl under 12 years and enhances the minimum punishment for rape of a woman from seven to 10 years.
•It amends the IPC, CrPC, Indian Evidence Act and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. The Bill, once passed by the Rajya Sabha, will replace the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance promulgated in April, 2018, after outcry over the Kathua rape case.
•The minimum punishment for the rape of a girl under 12 will be 20 years of rigorous imprisonment, the maximum being death sentence or life imprisonment. Earlier, the punishment was rigorous imprisonment ranging from 10 years to life imprisonment, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju told the House in his reply to the debate on the Bill. For gang-rape of a girl below 12, the punishment will be life imprisonment or death.
•The minimum punishment for rape of a girl under 16 will be 20 years of rigorous imprisonment, extendable to life imprisonment. The punishment in such cases earlier was 10 years of rigorous imprisonment. In the case of gang-rape of a girl below 16, the punishment will be life imprisonment.
•The minimum punishment under the Bill for the rape of a woman over 16 is 10 years, extendable to life (under Section 376, IPC). The minimum punishment earlier was seven years and the maximum, life imprisonment.
•The Bill also provides for investigation of rape cases within two months from the registration of an FIR, Mr. Rijiju said. While there was no timeline earlier for disposal of an appeal after conviction in a lower court, this would now have to be done within six months.
•He said there was no longer any provision for anticipatory bail in the case of rape of a girl below 16. He also said that the government would set up fast track, special courts for rape cases. He said the “character” of the victim would not be relevant to the question of consent. No lawyer will be allowed to examine the “character” or past episodes of the victim.
📰 Centre for removal of ‘NOTA’ from RS poll
SC reserves verdict on PIL petition
•The Supreme Court on Monday reserved for judgment a PIL petition, which won the full support of the Centre, seeking to scrap the ‘NOTA’ option in Rajya Sabha election.
•A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra indicated that the court may indeed rule against the two circulars issued by the Election Commission of India on January 24, 2014 and November 12, the subsequent year, giving Rajya Sabha members the option to press the NOTA (‘none of the above’) button in the Upper House polls.
•Chief Justice Misra orally observed that NOTA is meant only for universal adult suffrage and direct elections and not polls held by the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote as done in the Rajya Sabha.
Govt.’s support
•Attorney-General K.K. Venugopal, for the Centre, completely lent the government’s support to the PIL plea filed by Sharmesh Manubhai Parmar, represented by senior advocate A.M. Singhvi and advocate Devadatt Kamat, that NOTA in indirect elections, such as in the Rajya Sabha, would lead to horse-trading, corruption and using of extra constitutional methods to defeat a party candidate.
•The system of NOTA makes the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote nugatory and otiose, Mr. Singhvi argued.
•He argued that the Election Commission cannot sanction the use of NOTA by way of mere circulars, which have the effect of overriding the provisions of Article 80(4) — proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote, the provisions of Representation of the People Act 1951 and the Conduct of Election Rules 1961.
•Mr. Singhvi said the circulars had negated the entire purpose of open voting brought about in 2003 to further party discipline and adherence to party’s choice of candidate in the election to the Rajya Sabha.
EC’s counter
•Advocate Amit Sharma, for the Election Commission, countered that a person, along with a right to vote, also has the right not to vote.
•“Even if it is an open ballot system, it does not take away his right to not vote,” Mr. Sharma submitted.
📰 Leg-up for private sector participation in defence equipment manufacturing
Govt. approves implementation of Strategic Partnership guidelines
•In a major step towards boosting private sector participation in domestic defence manufacturing, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the implementation of Strategic Partnership guidelines on Monday.
•“SP model aims to revitalise defence industrial ecosystem and progressively build indigenous capabilities in the private sector to design, develop and manufacture complex weapon system for future needs of armed forces. The amplifying guidelines lay emphasis on incentivisation of transfer of niche technology and higher indigenous content,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement.
•The SP model has four segments — submarines, single engine fighter aircraft, helicopters and armoured carriers/main battle tanks — which would be specifically opened up for the private sector. Under this policy one Indian private company would be selected in each segment which would tie-up with shortlisted global equipment manufacturers to manufacture the platforms in India under technology transfer. The ambitious policy came into effect in May last year but progress was delayed due to the lack of specific guidelines.
•The DAC also approved platform specific guidelines for procurement of Naval Utility helicopters. Similar guidelines for the other categories will be issued soon.
•The Ministry stated that all procurements under the SP model would be executed by specially constituted Empowered Project Committees to “provide focussed attention and ensure timely execution.”
•In another decision, the DAC gave approval for the acquisition of eight Fast Patrol Vessels (FPV) for the Coast Guard at an approximate cost of ₹800 crore. These would be indigenously designed and manufactured.
📰 Ban on oxytocin: doctors feel pinch
Hormone needed for pregnant women
•Doctors are already feeling the pinch with the government’s decision to ban oxytocin and its formulations for the domestic market. The move, which came into effect from July 1, was intended to curb the hormone injection’s misuse in cattle but the impact is being felt by pregnant women, who require the medication the most.
•“Our stock got over as we required more number of vials of oxytocin for a particular patient,” said Malad-based gynaecologist Dr. Nikhil Datar. “We replenished it with some difficulty. There is no clarity on how to procure the injection and from where.”
‘Super important’
•Dr. Datar calls the medication “super important” for his field. Known as a natural hormone, oxytocin helps in effective uterine contractions during labour and preventing post partum haemorrhage. While there are alternatives that one can use to stop bleeding post delivery, if any, for effective contractions, doctors say, oxytocin is the only option. “If we are not able to create uterine contractions, we are increasing the chances of C-section deliveries,” said Dr. Datar.
•Post the government ban, chemists across the city have already returned the stock of injections to the companies.
•“Since we are not allowed to stock it any more, most of us have returned the stock to companies or sold it to nursing homes who may have the requirement,” said Hakim Kapasi of Andheri Chemist Association. The government’s ban involves removing chemists from the chain of supply of oxytocin and a complete ban on import of the medication as well.
‘Lopsided attitude’
•A Karnataka-based public sector company has been appointed and authorised to make and supply the drug in the country.
•“But there has been no communication on how to obtain the drug through this channel,” said gynaecologist Dr. Bipin Pandit, adding that the move reflected the lopsided attitude of the government.
•“They are preventing people from using the medication rather than stopping those misusing it. Those who misuse it will find ways and means to do so.”
📰 A good beginning: on draft data protection bill
The data protection bill drafted by the Srikrishna panel ticks many boxes
•Given the vast amounts of personal data being collected by private companies and state agencies, and their flow across national jurisdictions, the absence of a data protection legal framework in India has been a cause for deep concern. This is even more so because in many cases individuals whose data have been used and processed by agencies, both private firms and state entities, are oblivious to the purpose for which they are being harnessed. The need for legislation was also underlined last year with the landmark judgment in Justice K.S Puttaswamy v. Union of India that held the right to privacy to be a fundamental right. Against this backdrop, the draft legislation on data protection submitted by a committee of experts chaired by Justice B.N. Srikrishna to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology after year-long public consultations provides a sound foundation on which to speedily build India’s legal framework. It seeks to codify the relationship between individuals and firms/state institutions as one between “data principals” (whose information is collected) and “data fiduciaries” (those processing the data) so that privacy is safeguarded by design. This is akin to a contractual relationship that places obligations on the entities entrusted with data and who are obligated to seek the consent of the “principal” for the use of personal information. The draft legislation puts the onus on the “data fiduciary” to seek clear, informed, specific and free consent, with the possibility of withdrawal of data of the “principal” to allow for the use and processing of “sensitive personal data”.
•In many ways, the draft legislation mirrors the General Data ProtectionRegulation, the framework on data protection implemented in the European Union this May, in providing for “data principals” the rights to confirmation, correction of data, portability and “to be forgotten”, subject to procedure. It envisages the creation of a regulatory Data Protection Authority of India to protect the interests of “principals” and to monitor the implementation of the provisions of the enabling data protection legislation. Taken together, the draft bill and the report mark a welcome step forward, but there are some grey areas. The exemptions granted to state institutions from acquiring informed consent from principals or processing personal data in many cases appear to be too blanket, such as those pertaining to the “security of the state”. These are hold-all phrases, and checks are vital. The report recommends a law to provide for “parliamentary oversight and judicial approval of non-consensual access to personal data”. Without such an enabling law, the exemptions provided in the bill will fall short of securing accountability from the state for activities such as dragnet surveillance. The grey areas must spark public and parliamentary debate before a final legislation comes to fruition.
📰 ‘Bubble risk’ brews as unsecured loans rise
Share of unsecured loans in retail credit at a high: Jefferies
•With retail loans largely driving bank credit growth, and unsecured loans constituting almost a third of the retail portfolio, analysts say a ‘bubble’ may be brewing, meriting closer monitoring.
•With corporate credit growth sluggish, lenders have been on a retail lending spree. Banks’ unsecured loans are at a record high, contributing 32% to the retail loan basket, which at 25% of the total loan book, is almost at its peak, according to a report by Jefferies.
•RBI data shows that while overall credit growth as on May 25 was 10.9% year-on-year, retail loans grew 18.6% and outstanding dues on credit cards grew 33.1%.
‘RBI cautions’
•The RBI has flagged the issue, with Deputy Governor N.S. Vishwanathan observing that retail loans come with their own caveats.
•“There appears to be taking hold a herd movement among bankers to grow retail credit and the personal loan segment,” Mr. Vishwanathan said in April. “This is not a risk-free segment and banks should not see it as the grand panacea for their problem-riddled corporate loan book. There are risks here too that should be properly assessed, priced and mitigated,” the RBI official said.
•The delinquency rate, however, has remained steady, a TransUnion Cibil study showed. Delinquencies for personal loans fell 19 basis points (bps) over the year to 0.52% at the end of March, while for credit cards it rose 9 bps to 1.7%.
•Personal loans and dues on credit cards are examples of unsecured loans, while other retail loans include home and auto loans. Unsecured loans are riskier as they lack collateral that accompany home, auto loans.
•“Consumers are increasingly seeking and gaining access to... products such as consumer durable loans, credit cards and personal loans,” said Yogendra Singh, VP research and consulting, TransUnion Cibil.
•“As Indian consumers continue to expand beyond cash-based purchases, these products provide access to short-term liquidity as well as, in the case of credit cards, transactional convenience. Moreover, given the low and steady delinquency rates for these products, consumers are demonstrating their ability to effectively manage the credit they are taking on,” Mr. Singh said.
‘Fastest growth’
•The Jefferies report, citing the TransUnion Cibil study, said unsecured personal loans grew the fastest, at 49%, driven by a 27% growth in customers and 19% growth in average ticket size. “The bigger worry is the growth in the ‘New to Credit’ segment (60% yoy in the last two quarters) and the segment [contributes about] 65% of new origination,” Jefferies said. “Trends here need very close monitoring.”
•Observing that credit cards were one of the biggest beneficiaries of the 2016 demonetisation, TransUnion Cibil said the number of consumers with access to credit cards as well as aggregate balances had reached all-time highs. The number of credit card accounts at the end of March was 32.6 million while the outstanding balance was Rs. 75,700 crore. Credit card outstandings grew 43% till March 2018.
•In a report, JM Financial said unsecured loans had grown at a compounded annual rate of 31% over the last four years for the top 5 private banks — HDFC, Axis, Yes, IndusInd and Kotak Mahindra. “These... loans now form 25.5% of the combined loan books as of FY18 for these banks as against 19.8% in FY14.”
📰 Suicide reports in media can affect vulnerable people: study
‘Including resources like crisis services, message of hope can have positive impact’
•Reading details about suicide cases can push vulnerable people towards taking the extreme step, say scientists who underscore the need for understanding the impact of media reports on suicidal populations.
•A large study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, found significant associations between reporting details and suicide deaths, “It is important for reporters and media outlets to understand that how they report on suicide can have a real impact across the population,” said Mark Sinyor, a psychiatrist at University of Toronto in Canada.
•The study supports previous research that has shown that exposure to media reporting on suicide may lead some vulnerable people to similar behaviour, a phenomenon called suicide contagion, and in some circumstances, may also lead to help-seeking behaviour.
•“When media reports include resources such as crisis services and messages of hope, it can have a positive impact on the public, and potentially help a person in crisis by reminding them that suicide isn’t the only option and that help is available,” said Mr. Sinyor.
•Researchers examined the relationship between potentially harmful and helpful elements of print and online media reports about suicide. They looked at almost 17,000 articles in 13 major publications in the Toronto media market and suicide deaths in Toronto from 2011 to 2014. The study looked for a link between certain types of reporting and suicide deaths within the 7 days after publication.
•They identified associations between several specific elements of media reports and suicide deaths.
Responsible reporting
•It suggests that reporting on suicide can have a meaningful impact on suicide deaths and that journalists and media organisations should carefully consider the specific content of reports before publication. “This study emphasises the importance of responsible reporting and identifies that relatively few media reports included helpful information such as crisis resources and messages of hope,” said Mr. Sinyor.
•From 2011 to 2014, there were 6,367 articles with suicide as the major focus and 947 suicide deaths in Toronto over the same period.
•Several elements were associated with increased suicides, such as describing the method — especially in the headline describing suicide as inevitable and reporting on suicide in celebrities.
•Articles about murder-suicides were associated with decreased suicides.
•“Suicide is a complex phenomenon that is influenced by many factors. We encourage journalists to take extra care to contextualise their reporting, especially when a story is about someone or a situation that people are likely to identify with,” said Mr. Sinyor.
📰 Stem cells will now fight Parkinson’s
After successful trials on monkeys, researchers plan to inject 5 million iPS cells into a patient’s brain
•Japanese scientists announced on Monday the first human trial to treat Parkinson’s disease by injecting stem cells into brain, building on an earlier trial on primates.
•The research team at Kyoto University plans to inject five million induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells, which have the potential to develop into any cell in the body, into a patient’s brain, the university said in a press release.
•The iPS cells from healthy donors will be developed into dopamine-producing brain cells, which are no longer present in people with Parkinson’s disease.
•Parkinson’s disease is a chronic, degenerative neurological disorder that affects the body’s motor system, often causing shaking and other difficulties in movement.
•Worldwide, about 10 million people have the illness, according to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation.
•The clinical trials come after the researchers successfully used iPS cells to restore functioning brain cells in monkeys last year. They announced last year that primates with Parkinson’s symptoms regained significant mobility after iPS cells were inserted into their brains.
•iPS cells are created by stimulating mature, already specialised, cells back into a juvenile state — basically cloning without the need for an embryo. These can be derived from the patient, making them less likely to be rejected, while also sidestepping ethical qualms about taking cells from embryos.
•The cells can be transformed into a range of different types of cells, and their use is a key sector of medical research. Currently available therapies “improve symptoms without slowing or halting the disease progression,” the foundation says.
•But the new research aims to actively reverse the disease.
Monitoring period
•The clinical test with seven participants aged between 50 and 69 will begin on Wednesday.
•The university will monitor the conditions of the patients for two years after the operation.
•They also confirmed that the iPS cells had not transformed into tumors during the two years after the implant.
•iPS cells are created by stimulating mature, already specialised, cells back into a juvenile state — basically cloning without the need for an embryo.
•These can be derived from the patient, making them less likely to be rejected, while also sidestepping ethical qualms about taking cells from embryos. The cells can be transformed into a range of different types of cells, and their use is a key sector of medical research.
•In 2014, Riken, a Japanese government-backed research institution, carried out the world’s first surgery to implant iPS cells to treat a patient with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a common medical condition that can lead to blindness in older people.
