📰 CBSE cannot deny students name change on certificates: Supreme Court
Right to change names is part of freedom of speech, the Court says.
•The Supreme Court on Thursday found a Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) rule that prohibited students from changing or correcting their names on Board certificates, based on a presumption that it would affect “administrative efficiency”, far-removed from social realities and even “absurd”.
•The court said the CBSE’s examination bylaws of 2007 made it look as if the Board was more concerned about administrative paperwork than the future prospects of its students, who use their certificates as a public document to go for higher studies and gain employment.
•“Students stand to lose more due to inaccuracies in their certificates than the Board, whose sole worry is increasing administrative burden… Administrative efficiency cannot be the sole concern of CBSE. Every institution desires efficiency in their functioning. But it does not mean that efficiency is achieved by curbing their basic functions… One of the primary functions of CBSE is to grant certificates to its students,” a three-judge Bench led by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar observed in a 132-page judgment.
Right to be forgotten
•On the other hand, the court illustrated how a juvenile accused of being in conflict with the law or a sexual abuse victim whose identity is compromised due to lapses by the media or the investigative body may consider changing the name to seek rehabilitation in the society in exercise of their right to be forgotten. “If the Board, in such a case, refuses to change the name, the student would be compelled to live with the scars of the past,” Justice Khanwilkar highlighted.
•The court ordered the CBSE to take “immediate steps” to amend the by-laws and incorporate a mechanism outlined in the judgment “for recording correction or change, as the case may be, in the certificates already issued or to be issued by it”. The court said one’s name is an intrinsic element of identity. The right to change our name is part of the right to freedom of speech and expression.
•“Identity is an amalgam of various internal and external [factors], including acquired characteristics of an individual. A name can be regarded as one of the foremost indicators of identity,” Justice Khanwilkar, who authored the 132-page judgment, observed. The other judges on the Bench were Justices B.R. Gavai and Krishna Murari.
•The court said the seminal question in the case was whether the CBSE’s quest for administrative efficiency could deny a student “full control of her own identity”.
•“An individual must be in complete control of her name. The law must enable her to retain as well as exercise such control freely for all times. Such control would inevitably include the aspiration of an individual to be recognised by a different name for a just cause… For instance, ‘gender’ is an evolving concept which could warrant changes in identity documents,” Justice Khanwilkar reasoned.
•To use “administrative efficiency” as a ground to make it practically impossible for a student to alter her identity in the Board certificates, no matter how urgent and important it is, would be “highly disproportionate” and cannot be termed a reasonable restriction on the right to change one’s name.
Proper balance
•“Reasonableness” would demand a proper balance between a student’s right to be identified in the official records in a manner of her choice, and the Board’s argument of administrative efficiency, the court said, allowing students to apply for correction or change in their names on the certificates within a reasonable period.
•Noting that the CBSE was a ‘State’ in the Constitution due its public function, the court said State instrumentalities should play the role of enablers in the exercise of citizens’ rights. This includes correction of their records owing to purely personal choices.
•“CBSE certificates are public records of the Board and they carry a presumption of genuineness which must be respected by preserving the accuracy of such certificates… It would be contrary to the objectives of CBSE if it refuses to correct its documents despite having verified the genuineness of the supporting public documents (like Aadhar card, Passport, Birth Certificate etc.) and continues to perpetuate the obvious errors in the school records,” the court observed.
📰 Central Vigilance Commission lays down rules for post-retirement hiring of officials by government organisations
Absence of a procedure is resulting in those with tainted past being engaged, says CVC.
•The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has laid down a defined procedure to be followed by government organisations for getting vigilance clearance before employing a retired official on contractual or consultancy basis.
•In a letter to the Secretaries of all the Central government Ministries and departments, chief executives and chief vigilance officers of the public sector undertakings, the CVC said the absence of a uniform procedure sometimes led to a situation where officials with tainted past or cases pending against them were engaged.
•“Such a situation not only leads to unnecessary complaints/allegations of favouritism, but is also against the tenets of fairness and probity which is the basic principle governing the functioning of government organisations,” said the Commission.
•According to the procedure, before offering employment to the retired officers of the All India Services, Group A officers of the Central government or their equivalent in other organisations owned or controlled by the Centre, vigilance clearance from the employer organisation, from which the officer has retired, should be necessarily obtained.
•In case a retired officer had served in more than one organisation, clearance has to be obtained from all of them where the person was posted during the 10 years prior to retirement. Simultaneously, a communication seeking clearance should also be sent to the Central Vigilance Commission.
•If no reply is received from the erstwhile employer (s) within 15 days of sending the communication by speed post, a reminder can be sent for expediting the process. In case there is no response within 21 days of the initial communication, vigilance clearance should be deemed to have been given.
•Later, if the former employee is found involved in any vigilance related matter or not cleared from the vigilance point of view, the erstwhile employer organisation would be responsible for all consequential actions.
•The CVC said the posts to be filled up on contractual/consultancy basis should be advertised properly at least on the organisations’ website and made available in the public domain for all the interested persons.
“Cooling off” period
•In the case of retired officials taking up full time or contractual assignments in the private sector, the Commission said quite often the “cooling off” period was not being observed and the act constituted a serious misconduct.
•Therefore, the CVC directed all the government organisations to formulate appropriate rules for its employees to ensure the cooling off period was observed before accepting any offer. The guidelines should include a procedure to get permission before accepting such an offer during the period.
•The conduct rules should also be modified to ensure that if required, appropriate action can be initiated in case of any violation by the retired employees, said the Commission.
📰 Morning Digest: India sees significant progress in SDGs on clean energy, health; PM Modi and Kamala Harris discuss vaccine cooperation, and more
A select list of stories to read before you start your day
Significant progress in SDGs on clean energy, health: NITI index
•India saw significant improvement in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to clean energy, urban development and health in 2020, according to the NITI Aayog’s 2020 SDG Index. However, there has been a major decline in the areas of industry, innovation and infrastructure as well as decent work and economic growth.
New Delhi ‘will take all steps to bring back Mehul Choksi’
•The response of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) came shortly before it became known that Mr. Choksi is likely to remain in custody in Dominica for a few weeks more as the next hearing is expected to be around July 1.
Narendra Modi, Kamala Harris discuss nitty-gritty of U.S. offer on vaccine doses
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on the phone with U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris on Wednesday to discuss the U.S. announcement of how it would share the first tranche of 25 million vaccine doses out of the 80 million doses it has committed to sharing by the end of June. It is not yet clear what the specific allocation for India will be.
Eager to involve Indian investigators and sites in global clinical trials: Anthony Fauci
•India could face another coronavirus surge if the population is “lulled into complacence” over the current decline in cases, warned Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) K. VijayRaghavan, as U.S. Presidential Medical Advisor Anthony Fauci said that a key lesson was that “evidence-based” guidance was necessary from health officials and the political leadership of the country. Both advisors appeared on a special programme on Indo-U.S. Health Cooperation organised by the Washington-based U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum.
Finance Ministry advised caste-wise split in MGNREGA wage payments
•The decision to split MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) wage payments by caste categories was done on the advice of the Finance Ministry in order to assess and highlight the benefits flowing from budgetary outlay towards Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Rural Development Secretary N.N. Sinha told The Hindu on Thursday. He said this should not cause any delay in wage payments or any changes for beneficiaries if processes were put in place correctly, and added that there was no plan to focus MGNREGA only on districts with high SC and ST populations.
Samyukt Kisan Morcha calls for Total Revolution Day on June 5
•Protesting farmers plan to observe the first anniversary of the introduction of three contentious farm reform ordinances as Sampurna Kranti Divas, or Total Revolution Day, echoing the slogans of Jayaprakash Narayan’s historic agitation 47 years ago. The farmers groups will burn copies of the laws outside the homes and offices of the BJP leaders on Saturday, according to a statement from the Samyukt Kisan Morcha.
Bandyopadhyay responds to Centre, says he didn’t violate any rules
•Former West Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay on Thursday responded to the showcause notice issued by the Centre to him. Mr Bandyophyay, who is working as the Chief Adviser to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, was served a notice by the Centre under the Disaster Management Act on May 31.
CBSE cannot deny students name change on certificates: Supreme Court
•The Supreme Court on Thursday found a Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) rule that prohibited students from changing or correcting their names on Board certificates, based on a presumption that it would affect “administrative efficiency”, far-removed from social realities and even “absurd”.
Stand at U.N. Human Rights Council on Palestine not new: India
•India’s latest abstention on a Palestine-related resolution at the Human Rights Council (HRC) of the United Nations is not a “new” stand, said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.
Indian official kits for Tokyo Games unveiled
•Indian officials expect at least 25 more athletes to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics by the end of June and the contingent to return with at least 10 medals from the Games.
📰 Finance Ministry advised caste-wise split in MGNREGA wage payments
It is to assess Budget benefits for SC/STs, Rural Development Secretary says.
•The decision to split MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) wage payments by caste categories was done on the advice of the Finance Ministry in order to assess and highlight the benefits flowing from budgetary outlay towards Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Rural Development Secretary N.N. Sinha told The Hindu on Thursday. He said this should not cause any delay in wage payments or any changes for beneficiaries if processes were put in place correctly, and added that there was no plan to focus MGNREGA only on districts with high SC and ST populations.
•On Wednesday, The Hindu had reported on a March 2 advisory of the Rural Development Ministry, which directed States to divide wage payments into separate categories for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and others from this financial year. Workers’ advocates feared this move would cause unnecessary delays and complications in the payment system, and worried that it could lead to a reduction in scheme funding.
•“The rationale was very simple. It is not as if the payments made to SC and ST are not reported on the NREGA website, but overall, in terms of the budgetary outlay, people don’t have that intricate information about how much benefit is flowing from the Budget to the SC and ST [communities],” said Mr. Sinha. “When people take an assessment merely on the Budget head under which the programme is budgeted, then they miss out this intricate nuance. So the Finance Ministry advised that we should make Budget provisions under SC and ST components as well,” he added, saying that the measure was to a large extent aimed at highlighting what the Centre is doing for the SC and ST communities.
•The Secretary said there was no need to worry about the changes. “For field level people, they do not have to make multiple fund transfer orders. There is one fund transfer order which is split into three components depending on the community to which the household belongs, and then the payments are generated, and the money goes directly to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries,” he said. “For the beneficiaries and for the field officers, there is no difference. It’s only the process of debit and internal process which has been put in motion to reflect this process. If people have done the necessary preparations, there should not be any delays,” he added.
•Mr. Sinha also refuted concerns that this measure would be used to revive proposals to restrict MGNREGA to districts with high SC/ST populations. “MGNREGA does not restrict anyone, it does not even impose an income criteria for enrolment. This is not meant to direct payment or even MGNREGA activity into any particular districts,” he said. “It [MGNREGA] is universal at this moment and there is no plan at all to focus MGNREGA only in high SC/ST districts. There is absolutely no plan to change it from a demand driven scheme,” he added.
📰 30% of ration card holders yet to get PMGKAY benefit for May
Centre urges States to issue more ration cards to vulnerable.
•Almost a third of all ration card holders are yet to get their free foodgrains allocation for May under the Centre’s COVID-19 relief scheme, according to the Food Ministry. At a press conference on Thursday, Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey also said it was up to the States to take further action on providing rations to migrants and others without ration cards in compliance with a Supreme Court order, indicating that the Centre does not intend to revive last year’s scheme meant for these vulnerable populations.
•Out of the 79.25 crore beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), only 55 crore have so far received their 5 kg per person quota of free wheat or rice under the Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), which was announced to mitigate the economic distress caused by the pandemic. Thus, more than 30% have still not got their benefit. However, almost 90% of beneficiaries have received their regular subsidised grain for the month, raising questions over why the free grain has reached fewer beneficiaries. Food Ministry data showed that Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Odisha and Rajasthan did not even begin distribution of the May quota under PMGKAY until June 1.
•On Wednesday, the Centre issued an advisory to all States asking them to launch a special drive to issue ration cards to the most vulnerable sections of society, including migrant workers and street dwellers, noting that “some of the poor and needy people who do not have address proof may be finding it difficult to obtain a ration card”.
•However, this must be done within the existing coverage allowed for each State under the NFSA. Mr. Pandey told presspersons that there was a nationwide coverage gap of 1.97 crore beneficiaries. However, he admitted that 14 States had already reached their quota limits and would not be able to enrol any new beneficiaries.
•An analysis of NFSA data shows that the only major States which have significant coverage gaps are Himachal Pradesh (23%), Madhya Pradesh (14%) and Gujarat (9%). Most other large States have less than a 5% gap, which can be used to issue new ration cards. In a May 24 order, the Supreme Court had directed stranded migrant workers and poor people without ration cards should be provided with dry ration under the Atma Nirbhar scheme — which was implemented last year — or any other scheme found suitable by the States and Centre.
•“The action largely lies on part of State governments. Making ration card is within the domain of the States. So we have already complied with what is required from the Central government. We are running PMGKAY, NFSA, we are also issuing subsidised food grains to NGOs,” said Mr. Pandey. Asked about any possibility of revival of the Atmanirbhar scheme, he only said, “Atmanirbhar scheme was last year, and today the schemes are different. I would still reiterate that the action now lies on the part of the State governments to issue ration cards.”
•This comes at a time of record foodgrain procurement, with the Centre hiking its target for ongoing wheat procurement to 433 lakh metric tonnes in comparison to last year’s figure of almost 390 lakh tonnes. The record procurement has in fact led to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) being forced to temporarily store more than 28 lakh metric tonnes of grain in unscientific conditions, according to FCI Chairman and Managing Director Atish Chandra.
•With regard to cooking oils, whose prices have shot up 60% over the course of the last year, Mr. Pandey said the Centre was monitoring the market and taking steps to ease import supply chain disruptions. Asked if there was any move to reduce import duties on edible oils, he said that a declining trend in global rates and 15-20% reduction in domestic demand have led to a recent softening of prices.
📰 Journalists entitled to protection against sedition, says Supreme Court
Court quashes sedition case against journalist Vinod Dua.
•The Supreme Court on Thursday quashed a sedition case registered against senior journalist and Padma Shri awardee Vinod Dua for his critical remarks against the Prime Minister and the Union government in a YouTube telecast, underscoring its 59-year-old verdict that “strong words” of disapproval about the ruling regime did not amount to sedition.
•A Bench led by Justice U.U. Lalit upheld the right of every journalist to criticise, even brutally, the measures of the government with a view to improving or alter them through legal means. The free speech of a journalist should be protected from charges of sedition.
•The time is long past when the mere criticism of governments was sufficient to constitute sedition. The right to utter honest and reasonable criticism is a source of strength to a community rather than a weakness, the judgment recorded.
•It upheld the spirit and intent of the 1962 Kedar Nath Singh verdict, which said “commenting in strong terms upon the measures or acts of government, or its agencies, so as to ameliorate the condition of the people or to secure the cancellation or alteration of those acts or measures by lawful means, that is to say, without exciting those feelings of enmity and disloyalty which imply excitement to public disorder or the use of violence is not sedition”.
•Justice Lalit declared, “Every journalist is entitled to protection under the Kedar Nath Singh judgment”.
•The 1962 judgment said Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (sedition) was intended only to punish subversion of a lawfully established government through violent means.
Recovering from COVID-19
•The court acknowledged the submission made by Mr. Dua, who is currently recovering from COVID-19, that “there is a recent trend against the media where State governments who do not find a particular telecast to be in sync with their political ideologies register FIRs against persons of the media primarily to harass them and to intimidate them so that they succumb to the line of the State or else face the music at the hands of the police”.
•However, the court rejected Mr. Dua’s plea that FIRs should not be registered against journalists of 10 years’ experience unless cleared by a committee constituted by the State government concerned. Mr. Dua had said the committee should comprise the Chief Justice of the High Court or a judge designated by him, the Leader of the Opposition and the Home Minister of the State.
•The court said such a committee was outside the present statutory framework. By granting the prayer, it would be encroaching into the legislature’s domain.
•The judgment came as a blow to the government, which had even raised the question whether journalism itself could legally be termed a profession.
•The verdict may spell a pushback from the court against the indiscriminate number of sedition cases being filed against critical journalists, citizens, lawyers and activists. Recently, another Bench of the Supreme Court, in a separate case on sedition charges levelled against two Telugu channels by the Andhra government, had said it was time to define the limits of the sedition law.
The complaint
•The complaint against Mr. Dua was filed by a BJP leader. The senior journalist was accused of spreading fake news. Besides sedition, the other charges include causing public nuisance, printing of defamatory matter and making statements conducive to public mischief.
•Mr. Dua had approached the Supreme Court after the Himachal police appeared at his residence on June 12 last year and ordered him to be present at the remote Kumarsain police station the very next day in connection with the case.
📰 Services exports rose by 6.4% in May
Wadhawan says exports recovery ‘comprehensive’; asserts volumes rather than prices driving growth
•India’s services exports grew by 6.44% in May to $17.85 billion, while services imports grew just 0.3% to $10 billion, as per initial estimates, Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan said on Thursday.
•“There is a comprehensive recovery in India’s exports with May’s numbers building on the performance in April,” Mr. Wadhawan said, citing the 67% rise in merchandise exports in May, which was also 8% higher than the pre-pandemic month of May 2019.
•Services trade recorded a 15.4% higher surplus year-on-year last month, so the trade surplus from the sector had gone up, the Commerce Secretary said. Preliminary estimates for May’s merchandise trade were released on Wednesday, while the data for services trade is an estimation, which may undergo revision with subsequent data releases from the Reserve Bank of India.
•While petroleum and gems and jewellery exports had been doing badly earlier, Mr. Wadhawan said that they had contributed significantly to May’s numbers, suggesting that ‘this is a turning point’ for the two.
•Dismissing suggestions that imports from China were consistently rising despite India’s AtmaNirbhar Bharat programme, Mr. Wadhawan asserted that the view was not an accurate conclusion and that the country’s trade with China was ‘more balanced today’.
‘Wait for PLI’s effects’
•“Many of the measures taken are medium term so their effects will start showing. The production-linked schemes are materialising into investments on the ground in a very expedited framework, and the outcomes will be visible in the medium term to long term, more in the early medium term. In sectors like electronics and mobile phones, this will be visible by next year itself,” the Commerce Secretary added.
•Mr. Wadhawan asserted that rising commodity prices had not influenced the higher export figures.
•“We will give you that analysis, but the fact that the world is facing a recession, I don’t think the price aspect would be very dominant. The dominant effect would be from volume growth. The predominant impact is from volume growth, not price growth in today’s recessionary times… in some areas at the margins, the price would have helped,” he contended.
•The long-awaited notification of the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products (RoDTEP) scheme would be done ‘very early’, Mr. Wadhawan reiterated again. “There is no doubt on the fact that the RoDTEP will be introduced from January 1 this year and it’s part of the government’s policy. It’s a new scheme… needless to say, it has some implementation issues. We have been addressing them and very soon, we will be able to (implement it),” he said.
📰 Strong policies on black carbon can sharply cut glacier melt, says World Bank study
Enacting new policies can achieve benefits over the projected 23% reduction in Black Carbon as a result of ongoing efforts.
•Black carbon (BC) deposits produced by human activity which accelerate the pace of glacier and snow melt in the Himalayan region can be sharply reduced through new, currently feasible policies by an additional 50% from current levels, new research by World Bank (WB) specialists has said.
•The research report from the WB covers the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush (HKHK) mountain ranges, where, it says, glaciers are melting faster than the global average ice mass. The rate of retreat of HKHK glaciers is estimated to be 0.3 metres per year in the west to 1.0 metre per year in the east. BC adds to the impact of climate change.
•Full implementation of current policies to mitigate BC can achieve a 23% reduction but enacting new policies and incorporating them through regional cooperation among countries can achieve enhanced benefits, the WB said in its research report titled “Glaciers of the Himalayas, Climate Change, Black Carbon and Regional Resilience” released on Thursday.
•“BC is a short-lived pollutant that is the second-largest contributor to warming the planet behind carbon dioxide (CO2). Unlike other greenhouse gas emissions, BC is quickly washed out and can be eliminated from the atmosphere if emissions stop,” the publication says. Unlike historical carbon emissions it is also a localised source with greater local impact.
Cutting black carbon
•Some of the ongoing policy measures to cut BC emissions are enhancing fuel efficiency standards for vehicles, phasing out diesel vehicles and promoting electric vehicles, accelerating the use of liquefied petroleum gas for cooking and through clean cookstove programmes, as well as upgrading brick kiln technologies, says the publication, edited by Muthukumara Mani, lead economist, South Asia Region, World Bank. However, with all existing measures, water from glacier melt is still projected to increase in absolute volume by 2040, with impacts on downstream activities and communities.
•At a virtual panel discussion on the release of the report, Hartwig Schafer, vice-president, South Asia Region, World Bank Group, said regional integration and collaboration was one way to address the question of melting glaciers. The research done by the team brought new perspective to reduction of black carbon emissions in the region.
•Deposits of BC act in two ways hastening the pace of glacier melt: by decreasing surface reflectance of sunlight and by raising air temperature, the researchers point out.
•“Specifically, in the Himalayas, reducing black carbon emissions from cookstoves, diesel engines, and open burning would have the greatest impact and could significantly reduce radiative forcing and help to maintain a greater portion of Himalayan glacier systems. More detailed modelling at a higher spatial resolution is needed to expand on the work already completed,” it says, calling upon regional governments to review policies on water management, with an emphasis on basin-based regulation and use of price signals for efficiency, careful planning and use of hydropower to reflect changes in water flows and availability, and increasing the efficiency of brick kilns through proven technologies. There must also be greater knowledge sharing in the region.
•The WB publication says “Industry [primarily brick kilns] and residential burning of solid fuel together account for 45–66% of regional anthropogenic [man-made] BC deposition, followed by on-road diesel fuels (7–18%) and open burning (less than 3% in all seasons)” in the region.
•There are almost 55,000 glaciers in the HKHK mountains, and they store more freshwater “than any other region outside the North and South Poles”. The glaciers contain estimated ice reserves of 163 cubic kilometres, of which almost 80% feeds the Indus, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, the report says.
•Glacier melt produces flash floods, landslips, soil erosion, and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF), and in the short run, the higher volumes of melt water could replace receding groundwater downstream. But in the long run, decreased water availability would aggravate water shortage.
📰 Speed over optics: On why Centre should procure and allot vaccines to States
The Centre must act as procurer and allotter of vaccines, and leave distribution to States
•The Centre’s ‘liberalised’ policy of allowing vaccine companies to strike deals with States and private hospitals has borne limited fruit. While the age group of 18-44 years accounts for the bulk of vaccines being administered, attempts by States to negotiate deals with international vaccine companies have come to naught. In spite of opening vaccination for all adults, there were fewer doses administered in May — around six crore — as opposed to 7.7 crore doses administered in April. The Health Ministry has said that close to 8 crore doses were available in May (counting wastage and stocks with States) and that 12 crore will be available in June for the Centre, States and private hospitals. Over 22 crore doses have been administered so far. There is large variability within and among States regarding vaccination. It is in this context that State Chief Ministers, cutting across party divisions, are now demanding that the Centre be the sole buyer of vaccines. The Supreme Court too has expressed its dissatisfaction over the existing system that puts States in competition with each other and the Centre, almost like another competitor, for vaccine supplies. The Centre has tried to project that it was the clamour from States that forced it to abstain from being the sole purchaser of vaccines, but it was the Centre’s miscalculation that there would not be frantic public demand this calendar year and that the output from the Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech would be sufficient for India.
•International arrangements such as COVAX were premised on India being a large supplier to Africa and several countries around the world with no vaccine development facilities. Now that the Government has prevented the Serum Institute of India from honouring its supply commitments, it is unclear if international suppliers would trust India’s demand for large supply. The unpredictability in policy also weakens India’s ambit of negotiations now that it seems desperate to increase short-term vaccine supply. Moreover, given that vaccines are the most sought-after goods, it is unlikely India would be prioritised so late in the day. There is optimism of increased and significant supply from Bharat Biotech and SII by August. At this stage, it appears that the Centre has few options other than waiting for its domestic suppliers to hike production. Increased supply from abroad is unlikely in the near future, even if resources for procurement are not a constraint. It must however heed the States’ core demand that they be given a greater say in deciding how best to distribute the vaccine. The Centre can be a monitor of and an adviser to the process; and if it becomes the sole buyer, it can spell out a transparent distribution policy. But it ought to prioritise speedy administration over optics.
📰 Digital tax tussles: On preventing a tariff war
The world cannot afford a tariff war to protect digital sector, which has low-tax operations
•The United States announced and then immediately suspended a whopping 25% tariff rate on over $2 billion of imports from six countries including India, signalling Washington’s intent to act punitively on its long-held grouse with these nations for their digital services taxes primarily impacting Silicon Valley tech giants. The office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai said that the tariff proposed on goods from Austria, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the U.K. was approved following a “Section 301” investigation that found these digital taxes to be discriminatory. With the threat of tariffs hanging over these six economies when most of them are limping through a feeble post-COVID-19 recovery, the USTR appeared to project a softening of the blow by adding that the tariffs would be suspended pending ongoing tax negotiations to “provide time for those negotiations to continue to make progress while maintaining the option of imposing tariffs under Section 301 if warranted in the future”. The backstory is that the investigation was initiated by the Trump administration in June 2020, and the deadline for approving tariff action based on the investigation would have lapsed this week. The latest policy action comes a few months after the Biden administration similarly approved, then suspended, tariffs on France retaliating for its tax impacting firms such as Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft.
•One thing is clear: if the Biden administration did not subscribe to the notion that taxes on digital services by the titans of Silicon Valley, a significant portion of whose revenues are generated on foreign soil, were discriminatory, it could have distanced itself from the Trump-era investigation into this allegation without any serious political fallout. The fact that Mr. Biden has chosen to use the stick of tariffs to force the pace of negotiations on digital services tax with seven nations suggests that the current White House subscribes strongly to the idea of expanding the global playing field for American tech firms to dominate without fear of being slapped with tax liabilities. In the case of India, that was a mere 2% digital service tax on trade and services by non-resident e-commerce operators with a turnover of over ₹2 crore. Even more, Washington appears to be unafraid to throw serious political heft behind this venture even to the point of risking another tariff war outbreak, compounding the tensions generated by tax skirmishes between the Trump White House and Beijing on this count. The cost for India could be potentially high, as $118 million worth of its exports will fall under this proposed tariff, and a range of sectors could be impacted. At this point in the fragile, post-COVID-19 recovery, the world can hardly afford another tariff war, and that too one waged to protect a sector that has enjoyed low-tax or tax-free operations across the world for decades.
📰 A new home for old artefacts
A planned decision to move the National Museum could serve the institution’s interests well
•The National Museum in Delhi is a repository of India’s rich history and proud heritage. Over the past few months, many critical pieces have been written about the government’s decision to move the museum to the North and South Blocks. However, examples from other countries show that a planned move can serve the collection, comfort, and audience experience needs of the National Museum better. In addition to Egypt, where the impressive Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza will replace the crowded Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square in Cairo, many national museums have moved to new premises.
Limitations
•The current building, though impressive, has limitations in being a national institution. The new location will provide a space that is over four and half times bigger than the current space. The museum has over 2,00,000 cultural collections and less than 6% of them are in display. The move can provide an opportunity to bring more collections from storage to be displayed through the creation of several more galleries. Additionally, it will also provide much more space for storage, especially with more collections being constantly added from excavations, donations and repatriations.
•From the time an exhibition of Indian art was organised at the Royal Academy in London, and later in Rashtrapati Bhavan, which led to the creation of the National Museum, the collection numbers have been increasing manifold. They will only increase further in the next few decades.
•The North and South block buildings are a prominent part of Delhi’s landscape. Once they are retrofitted to provide a fitting external façade (without compromising on heritage), international standard exhibition and collection storage areas, and spaces for education and visitor services, they can become a landmark location. The increase in space would allow for more gallery spaces to include both ancient and contemporary Indian art and culture. The current museum also struggles in terms of finding a space with adequate environmental controls for travelling exhibitions. There will be an opportunity in the new location, with the increased space available, for accommodating both international and national travelling exhibitions. The National Museum as the nodal agency for all outgoing and incoming cultural collections, including repatriated collections, will be able to serve these collection needs better.
Key skills for students
•The National Museum Institute (NMI), whose highly skilled graduates not only serve the needs of the museum but also the broader needs of India’s cultural sector, will benefit much from the move. The students could gain a lot from the collections, their storage, conservation and interpretation. They can greatly benefit with a large increase in laboratory, gallery and teaching facilities. There is also an interest to expand NMI and incorporate its programmes in Museology, Art History and Conservation along with other programmes in Archaeology, Archival Studies and so on, under a new institute. The benefits would only be greater from an expanded operation.
•The exhibition areas in the current building are still operational. A new Buddhist gallery is being opened at the adjoining Archaeological Survey of India building. In this context, keeping the collections safe in the current building and getting the new location ready before carefully moving the collections with safe packing and transport is important. The risks of damage to collections during transit can be greatly minimised. A better designed and new collection storage area in the new location will minimise risks from the environment, disasters and pests.
•A revamped National Museum that looks at both people and collection comfort; has galleries that provide excellent audience experience; good education spaces; and uses technology creatively for interpretation, outreach and education could become a ‘must visit’ for every visitor. In fact, it could become the anchor for a vibrant museum movement in India.
📰 Rural health care needs fixing, and now
A takeaway from the pandemic is that India needs to revisit and refurbish its health infrastructure in the rural areas
•The two consecutive waves of COVID-19 and Mucormycosis have left us shattered. Multiple bruises have been caused to us. But during the second wave of the pandemic, it is our rural people who are struggling the most. They are struggling to get prompt and quality health care. The key role of health-care facilities in the rural areas is to provide regular and comprehensive health-care needs guided by the World Health Organization (WHO)’s principle of Universal Health Coverage, “ensuring that all people have access to needed health services (including prevention, promotion, treatment, rehabilitation and palliation) of sufficient quality to be effective while also ensuring that the use of these services does not expose the user the financial hardship”.
Data show shortfalls
•The second wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic has exposed the inadequate and poor health infrastructure in the rural areas. The fact shared by Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey on July 23, 2019 in the Rajya Sabha suggest that 29,337 primary health centres (PHCs) are required in the rural areas of the country; India has 25,743, a shortfall of 3,594 units. This means that we have one PHC for 25 villages in India. This needs to be revisited. In the fast-changing health scenario, we should have one expanded PHC for every 10 villages along with the provision of some beds and other minimum necessary facilities. We have 5,624 community health centres (CHCs) against the requirement of 7,322. Data on CHCs, which act as a referral centre covering a population of 80,000 people to 1.20 lakh people, show that, overall, there is a shortfall of 81.8% specialists at CHCs as compared to the requirement for existing CHCs. As in the Human Development Report 2020, India has eight hospital beds for a population of 10,000 people, while in China, it has 40 beds for the same number of people.
The picture in Haryana
•If I may talk about the health infrastructure in Haryana, which remained a backward area of Punjab till 1966, it had only one medical college in the public sector up to 2005 till I became the Chief Minister. During my tenure up to 2014, we laid much emphasis on health services; besides many private sector medical colleges, one State health university, four medical colleges (at Karnal, Faridabad and Nuh in Mewat), and one medical college for women (in the rural area of Sonipat district) were established. Called the Bhagat Phool Singh Government Medical College for Women, this is the second women’s medical college after Lady Hardinge Medical College in Delhi in the northern part of the country. We also established the All India Institute of Medical Sciences-II and a National Cancer Institute at Bhadsa village of Jhajjar district.
•Yet, Haryana requires 5,070 sub-health centres (SHCs) as against the existing 2,666; 845 PHCs as against 531 at present, and 253 CHCs as against 118 working at present. As per Census 2011, Haryana has a 2.53 crore population. And, as per the norms required after each block of one lakh population, Haryana requires 253 CHCs and 845 PHCs for the whole State. When infrastructure in the health services is so poor in a progressive and prosperous State such as Haryana, one can easily estimate the inadequacy of the physical health-care infrastructure in the rural areas in other States.
•It is of utmost importance that governments everywhere engage with all kinds of rural community organisations such as panchayats, gram sabha, notified area committees, municipal bodies and non-governmental organisations in minimising the adverse impact of the pandemic on rural life. For that purpose, in Haryana, we constituted Swasthya Kalyan Samitis, or SKSs for all CHCs, PHCs which has proved to be an effective management structure enabling people’s participation in ensuring better functioning of rural health services.
•According to worldometers.info, out of 139 crore population of India, at least 91 crore people are living in 649,481 villages. There are at least 10% of people in the urban areas who are partly settled in villages as well since they keep moving to their rural habitations quite frequently. Villages need adequate health services. Given the alarming proportion of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in India, we cannot sit idle any longer and need to focus on the existing health infrastructure in the rural areas. This is one of the most important takeaways for us after the two waves of COVID-19 and the spread of Mucormycosis in the country. For want of well-oiled health machinery, most of our people are unaware of being in the grip of NCDs such as hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases which assume significance in the pandemic.
The health network
•As per an estimate of WHO, NCDs including cases of cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory problems and cancer cause nearly 41 million (71%) of all deaths globally and about 5.87 million (60%) of all deaths in India. It will not be humanly possible to treat them all, thereby causing premature deaths on such a large scale. Persons with such morbidities are the most vulnerable in the case of a pandemic.
•I agree that the task is easier said than done, but it has to be accomplished. We have no other option but to treat the disease/s at the primary level in its first stage to create a healthy India. It will also help us save a lot of money and the resources being spent at tertiary level health care. If our SHCs work effectively, there will be less pressure on PHCs. If the PHCs function well, then there will be minimal pressure on CHCs and so on. Unfortunately, we have not been able to maintain the vibrancy and vitality of the network of health care. As a result, our vast rural populace remains deprived of critical health interventions.
•The chain of SHCs, PHCs and CHCs can very well take care of the multiple health needs of our people. They should have the health data of people in their respective areas. It will enable them to identify those likely to slip into the secondary or tertiary care zone. Regular health camps will help us identify those on the verge of developing tuberculosis, hypertension, diabetes or any diseases likely to be caused because of their socio and economic conditions. A CHC or referral centre equipped with specialists will do wonders if made to work efficiently. Every CHC is supposed to have ‘at least 30 beds for indoor patients, operation theatre, labour room, X-ray machine, pathological laboratory, standby generator’ and other wherewithal. Just imagine the kind of relief we would have had today in our fight against COVID-19 if our network of SHCs, PHCs and CHCs was working efficiently.
Collective responsibility
•In conclusion, I will only urge all stakeholders to revisit and refurbish our health infrastructure in the rural areas and build them in a better manner. As more than 65% of the population resides in the rural areas, we cannot ignore their health needs. WHO has its norms and yardsticks. We can have our own, perhaps even better than what has been stipulated by WHO. We also know health is a State subject, but all those living in the rural areas are not only the responsibility of the States or the Centre but also a collective responsibility. Just spending money will not take us anywhere. We have to see and ensure that the money being spent improves facilities and contributes to people’s ease of life. It is hugely challenging as a task but we have to firm up our strategies, their execution and by rigorous auditing so that we are ever well prepared not only to meet this pandemic effectively but also to make our rural folk healthier. We must remember that no one will survive unless all of us survive. As Bertrand Russell has put it, “It’s co-existence or no existence.”
📰 Comments to avoid in long-standing ties
Some actions of political figures in India are detrimental to the consolidation of cordial bilateral ties
•The Chief Minister of Delhi last month warned the Union government about a new strain of the novel coronavirus that has been observed in Singapore that was said to be extremely perilous for children and could visit India as part of a third wave. This triggered a strong denial from the authorities in Singapore that there was any ‘Singapore variant’, and they reserved the right to invoke against the Chief Minister a domestic law, the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act, against the online circulation of fake news. During this excessive over-reaction to a comment by the Chief Minister, India’s External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, declared that “irresponsible comments from those who should know better can damage long-standing partnerships” — a wise and pertinent observation.
Inappropriate statements
•It is improbable, however, that Mr. Jaishankar similarly cautioned his Cabinet colleague, the Home Minister, against the latter’s many derogatory statements with reference to Bangladesh prior to and during the Bharatiya Janata Party’s unsuccessful campaign in the election for the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. The Home Minister had described illegal Bangladeshi immigrants as vermin that he would push into the Bay of Bengal, and then implied that poor people in Bangladesh were starving, which drew a stinging public rebuke from the Bangladesh Foreign Minister. In this year, the 50th anniversary of Bangladesh’s liberation and the birth centenary of the father of the nation Sheikh Mubibur Rahman, irresponsible comments from those who should know better are profoundly inappropriate.
Diplomacy with Bangladesh
•India’s relations with Bangladesh, one of the most populous Muslim countries in the world, are acutely sensitive. As a neighbour nearly surrounded on all territorial sides by India, there are the inevitable bilateral problems of long duration, including a perennially favourable balance of trade for India, drought and flood in the 54 transboundary rivers flowing from India to Bangladesh, and the smuggling of goods and vulnerable human beings across the approximately 4,100 kilometre land border.
•The turbulent history of Partitions; East Bengal that became East Pakistan and then Bangladesh, attended by enormous bloodshed and the abuse of human rights, has left emotional wounds that will take many generations to heal. There are those in Bangladesh who believe that separation from Hindu India in 1947 was more significant than the break with Pakistan in 1971, there remain about three lakh ‘Biharis’ in Bangladesh who have failed thus far to be resettled in Pakistan, and there is the presence of militant Islamist groups such as Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, that have linkages and support from outside Bangladesh.
•In contrast to these circles, who take confrontation with India as part of their basic credo, are those who regard their Bengali roots and traditions as being of equal validity as their religious affiliation, and treasure the linguistic and cultural ties with adjacent India. It will take time for these inherent fractures in Bangladeshi society to be resolved, and it is for India to show patience and sympathy to this entirely internal process of healing.
•As quid pro quo for India’s benign attentions and support, New Delhi’s expectations are that a neighbour will keep India’s concerns in mind when devising and pursuing its policies, and this understanding is implemented with severity or laxity depending on the regime in New Delhi.
Favourable steps
•After decades of pro-Pakistani military and civilian governments following 1975, Mujibur Rahman’s daughter Sheikh Hasina, elected for a third consecutive term since 2008, has consolidated her position as unquestioned leader in Bangladesh. She has maintained vigilant supervision over Muslim fundamentalist terrorists as well as on Northeast militant movements sheltering in Bangladesh, with the result that the pacification of India’s Northeast has been greatly facilitated.
•She has permitted a considerable degree of connectivity between India and its Northeast by land, river and the use of Bangladeshi ports, and Indian investments in Bangladesh have been encouraged. There are at least 100,000 Indian nationals now living and working in that country. To complete the ties of economic integration, the day will come when, along with free movement of commerce and capital, the movement of persons on the lines of Nepal and Bhutan will have to be considered.
For India to note
•As the leading mid-wife of Bangladesh’s liberation struggle and its sole economic supporter in that nation’s early years of independence, New Delhi should view with satisfaction Bangladesh’s coming graduation in 2026 from ‘least developed’ to ‘developing country’ status, and its steady progress as one of South Asia’s leading performers in human development indicators. Its eventual membership of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership cannot be ruled out.
•To a certain degree, both India and Bangladesh depend on each other for security and stability. Responsible individuals on both sides of the border, whether in government or the Opposition, must be actively discouraged from words and actions detrimental to the consolidation of the existing cordiality. This is where Mr. Jaishankar’s dictum is applicable to members of his own party as well as the Opposition. What is sauce for the goose is equally sauce for the gander.
