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Showing posts with label Business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Business. Show all posts
Saturday, January 06, 2018
Thursday, March 30, 2017
The HINDU Notes – 30th March
VisionIAS
1:16 pm
THE HINDU – CURRENT NOTE 30 March
Supreme Court bans sale of BS-III vehicles from April 1
‘Public health more important than auto industry’s interests’.
•The health of the citizen is more important than the commercial interests of the automobile industry, the Supreme Court observed on Wednesday and ordered a freeze on the registration and sale of BS-III fuel compliant vehicles by “any manufacturer or dealer” on and from April 1, when the next level and environmentally friendly BS-IV fuel emission standards are scheduled to kick in.
•“On and from April 1, 2017, such vehicles that are not BS-IV compliant shall not be sold in India by any manufacturer or dealer, that is to say that such vehicles, whether two-wheeler, three- wheeler, four-wheeler or commercial vehicles will not be sold,” a Bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta ordered.
•The court further prohibited registration of vehicles meeting BS-III standards on and from April 1. “All the vehicle registering authorities under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, are prohibited from registering such vehicles on and from April 1, 2017, that do not meet BS-IV emission standards, except on proof that such a vehicle has already been sold on or before March 31, 2017,” the court directed.
•The court said it would give detailed reasons for the ban in due course.
‘Answer is obvious’
•“The seminal issue is whether the sale and registration and therefore, the commercial interests of manufacturers and dealers of such vehicles that do not meet the Bharat Stage-IV emission standards as on April 1, 2017, takes primacy over the health hazard due to increased air pollution of millions of our countrymen and women. The answer is quite obvious,” it observed.
•Vehicle manufacturers argued that they were entitled to make BS-III vehicles till March 31. So, the sale and registration of these vehicles should not be prohibited after April 1 with the introduction of BS-IV norms. They should be given a reasonable time to dispose of their stock.
•The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) had submitted data on the manufacturing and sale of BS-III vehicles on a monthly basis from January 2016 and told the court that the companies were holding stock of 8.24 lakh vehicles.
•The Centre too had favoured the prospect of selling the existent stock of BS-III vehicles.
•Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar had submitted that it was done twice before when fuel emission norms were upgraded to BS-II and BS-III, respectively. However, the court agreed with the arguments of its amicus curiae, who said that allowing their sale after April 1 would be a cause for “potential health hazard” for millions of people.
New fuel ‘cleaner’
•The court had pointed out that the new fuel was “cleaner” and the oil refineries had spent about ₹30,000 crore since 2010 to produce it.
•The amicus argued that though the number of the existing stock was 8.24 lakh – miniscule compared to over 19 crore BS-III vehicles already plying on the roads – the “health of the people is far, far more important than the commercial interests of the manufacturers or the loss that they are likely to suffer in respect of the so-called small number of such vehicles.”
Poser to manufacturers
•The court asked why manufacturers decided to sit back and not take pro-active steps despite knowing way back in 2010 that BS-IV norms would kick in by April 2017.
•So, it was entirely at their own cost and peril that some manufacturers refused to switch over to BS-IV despite having the technology to do so.
•“Keeping the larger public interest in mind and the potential health hazard to millions of our country men and women due to increased air pollution, there is no justification for any of the manufacturers not shifting to the manufacture of BS-IV compliant vehicles well before April 1, 2017,” the court observed.
Lok Sabha passes GST Bills after marathon debate
Historic step towards a new indirect tax regime.
•In a historic step towards implementing a new, consolidated indirect tax regime from the proposed date of July 1, the Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed four Bills, relating to the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), following a marathon nine-hour debate.
•“Congratulations to all the countrymen over passage of the GST Bill. New Year, New Law, New Bharat,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet in Hindi soon after the Bills were passed.
Assemblies to act
•The Lower House passed the Central GST Bill, the Integrated GST Bill, the GST Compensation Bill, and the Union Territory GST Bills. The fifth legislation, the State GST Bill, will need to be passed by the Assemblies of each of the States and the Union Territories with legislature.
•The passage of the Bills followed a day-long debate, in which Opposition leaders raised several objections, such as the disempowerment of Parliament in setting tax rates, the reduction in the fiscal autonomy of the States, the need for several tax rates when the principle is to be of ‘one nation, one tax,’ and the levy of additional cess.
•“The States and the Centre have pooled their sovereignty in the Council,” Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in reply to the objections.
•“The recommendation of the rates will come from the Council. But the Council has two-thirds voting by the States and one-third by the Centre. The GST Council has been given the power to only make a recommendation regarding the model law.
•“The Constitutional amendment gave that power in Article 279A. The plenary power to frame legislation can only be with Parliament or the state legislative assemblies as the case may be,” Mr. Jaitley said.
•However, the Finance Minister added, the states and the Centre mist be guided by the federal nature of the agreement between the Centre and the states.
•“The consequences of not acting on the GST Council’s recommendations is if everybody decided to set a different rate, then the implementation of GST become practically very difficult if not impossible,” Mr Jaitley said.
•Regarding the need for multiple rates, the Finance Minister explained that if there was only a single rate, then the GST regime would be a highly regressive one as luxury goods would then be taxed at the same rate as necessities.
•“If somebody uses a BMW car, then that cannot be taxed at the same rate as Hawaii chappals or baby food,” Mr Jaitley said. “A single rate is not possible. The easiest formula for this was that the GST rate for a good or service will be the closest slab to the current rate of tax.”
•Earlier in the day, opposition leader Veerappa Moily raised the objection that the GST Bills were being passed as money bills and hence were eliminating the Rajya Sabha from the decision making process.
SC directs Centre to prepare media guidelines for police briefings
‘Protect rights of accused and victims’
•The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Centre to prepare fresh guidelines for the police to brief the media, keeping in mind the protection of rights of both the accused and the victims of crime.
•A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar gave six weeks to the Centre to prepare the memorandum of the guidelines by examining the various suggestions submitted in the court.
‘Sensitive rights’
•“We, thereby, direct the Centre to prepare a fresh memorandum of police guidelines on media by taking into consideration the rights of the accused so that their rights are not prejudiced during trial and also the sensitive rights of victims,” the Bench ordered.
•The court was of the view that the last such office memorandum by the Centre was issued on April 1, 2010 and since then much deliberation had taken place. The subject had been examined from various angles, particularly keeping in mind the protection of rights of the accused as well as the protection of the rights of the sufferer.
•The issue of police briefing to the media has been dealt with by the Supreme Court and it has passed several directions on a petition filed by the NGO People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). The court on September 23, 2014 had passed a slew of directions for framing guidelines in encounter cases after it was alleged by the PUCL that 99 encounters took place in Mumbai, resulting in the death of about 135 persons, between 1995 and 1997.
How BS-IV engines cut emissions drastically
BS-III vehicles with mechanical fuel pumps use fuel less aptly
•Passenger vehicles compliant with Bharat Stage-III emission norms vary widely from their Bharat Stage-IV compliant engines, depending on the size of the car and whether they are petrol or diesel versions. On the outside, the differences are indistinguishable. However they differ in the electronics, sensor system, the engine’s ability to process low-sulphur fuel and their “after-exhaust” system that determines emissions.
•The Hindu spoke to experts from multiple car companies, who said that most passenger cars today were designed to comply with BS-IV emission standards. However, many heavy commercial vehicles, if they had BS-III built engines, employed a mechanical fuel pump and used fuel less efficiently. This in turn influenced subsequent emissions of nitrous oxide, carbon monoxide and particulate matter.
Sulphur content
•BS-IV engines also require that the sulphur content of the fuel they use be less than 50 part per million (ppm) whereas BS-III ones can run on 350 ppm fuel. “You cannot retrofit these engines as high sulphur can clog the injectors,” said an expert from a prominent car manufacturer on condition of anonymity. “The passenger cars are not a problem, it’s the heavy vehicles and two-wheelers,” he said.
•The Centre for Science and Environment said that the transition can lead to substantial reductions in particulate matter emissions. For instance, from new trucks, the emissions can dip by 80% and from cars by half.
•Dipankar Saha, who heads the Air Quality Division, Central Pollution Control Board, said that a major benefit in the city’s air was unlikely. “There may be more efficient cars around but the growth in cars continues to be high and that will not improve the air quality,” he said.
The modern way
The government should use the new mental health law to strengthen primary care
•The passage of the Mental Healthcare Bill in the Lok Sabha, putting it on course to become law and repealing the Mental Health Act of 1987, will potentially help India catch up with the advances made in the field by other countries. India urgently needs to make a transition from old-fashioned approaches to providing care for those suffering from mental illnesses, something that China, for example, has achieved through state-led policy reform. Even the sketchy studies on the nature of care available to Indians indicate that in terms of population coverage the new law faces a big challenge. The country’s grossly inadequate base of professional resources is evident from its ratio of 0.3 psychiatrists for 100,000 people (with marginally higher numbers taking independent private practitioners into account), compared to China’s 1.7. Then there are massive deficiencies in the availability of trained clinical psychologists and psychiatric social workers. Evidently, the National Mental Health Programme has not been sufficiently funded within the health budget; neither has capability been built in most States to absorb the meagre allocation. Delayed though it is, the new legislation can bring about change with its positive features. The important provisions relate to the recognition of the right to medical treatment, decriminalisation of attempted suicide, explicit acceptance of agency of people with mental illness and their freedom to choose treatments, prohibition of discrimination and regulation of establishments working in the field.
•Raising effective primary and district-level coverage of mental health services for the general population, without requiring people to travel long distances to see a specialist and get medicines, should be a priority. Since the base of psychiatrists is low in relation to the need, the use of trained general practitioners as the first line of contact assumes importance. Some studies show many of them are not confident enough with their training to detect, diagnose and manage mental illnesses. With a concerted effort, primary care physicians can be trained to help people with mild and severe problems, ranging from anxiety disorders to depression, psychoses and conditions arising from alcohol and substance abuse. Being able to get professional counselling will reduce the complications arising from extreme stress, often the trigger for suicide. Extending health insurance cover is also a step forward, since out-of-pocket expenditure has risen along with the expansion of the private sector in this sphere, just as for other ailments. The provision in the new legislation prohibiting seclusion of patients, something that is frequently resorted to in asylums, and the general use of electro-convulsive therapy must be welcomed. Modern treatment approaches rely more on family and community support. The new Central and State regulatory authorities should speedily weed out shady non-governmental rehabilitation organisations in this field.
The dragon at the NSG high table
India’s bid for NSG membership will continue to see hurdles, with China being vocal in its opposition
•At the Carnegie Endowment International Nuclear Policy Conference in 2015, a polling question asked to the hall full of global diplomats and foreign policy experts was: “Is there a likelihood of more than 50% that by March 24, 2017, India will become a participant in the Nuclear Suppliers Group?”
•Only one panellist and 37% of the audience responded positively. Three panellists and 67% of the audience were naysayers, and they were proved right.
•A similar question asked to some 800 delegates recently at a subsequent chapter of the Carnegie conference in Washington DC gave way to a fragmented response. An average of 25% were hopeful of a 50% chance of New Delhi making it through by 2019. As India continues to push for a seat at the nuclear high table, it seems an uphill task, and the view from the Hill isn’t rosy either.
•The former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Angela Kane, believes that India stands a good 55% chance to make it but is opposed to India’s push. “I do not believe India should be a member of NSG because of criterion. In a meeting that I attended, the Chinese representative, a high-ranking ambassador, was very vocal, opposing the U.S. position on this.”
•Speculation is rife if over the next two years, either India or India and Pakistan or none could make it through the NSG.
•In the NSG plenary session in Seoul in June 2016, New Delhi blamed Beijing for the “Consensus Minus One” hurdle to its bid even though close to a dozen countries including Mexico, Brazil, Norway, Ireland expressed serious reservations over India not being signatory to the Non Proliferation Treaty.
•It is now learnt from U.S. diplomatic sources that calls were generated from the White House as well as the State Department to some naysayers including New Zealand and Italy. Italy had wanted a way out on the diplomatic tangle around its two marines charged with the murder of Indian fishermen. They had sought trial in a third country as a possible option. New Delhi dismissed the proposals and Italy stuck to its opposition in the closed-door sessions.
•Since the Seoul summit, a committee under Rafael Mariano Grossi, Ambassador of the Argentine Republic and Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna and Chair of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, was tasked with backdoor consultations for expansion of the elite club. According to him, “several formulations are on the table to deal with the central issue of relationship with the NPT”.
•“The jury is still out and we need to wait a little bit,” he says.
The India-China-U.S. tango
•Indian and Chinese interlocutors too have held rounds of discussions to resolve mutual issues. But with a public opposition unlike a quiet one in 2008, Beijing looks less relenting.
•Laura Kennedy, former U.S. Ambassador and Board Member at the World Affairs Council, says, “Even if India were to allow Pakistan to come in, some have suggested China might still be averse because they see this as elevating India to almost ranks of the P5 or Security Council membership.”
•A view from Capitol Hill is that China is positioned as a focal point of resistance for those who were persuaded or coerced earlier in 2008 by the Bush regime but remain resentful of a country-specific waiver for India. But if China were to shed its resistance, it would be easier to achieve consensus.
•Meanwhile, India would have to find ways to woo the dragon. With the Trump administration busy with domestic agendas ranging from health care to the economy and also North Korea, Iran and the Islamic State being the focus areas overseas, the U.S.-China dialogue will hardly hinge on Beijing’s position on the NSG tangle for now. The U.S. continues to advocate support for India’s membership. Dr. Christopher Ford, U.S. President Donald Trump’s adviser at the National Security Council, says that while the NSG stand-off requires a change in tactics or circumstances for resolution, there have been no indications of change in the U.S. administration’s approach to India’s membership so far.
•With the NSG plenary set to meet again in Bjern in June this year, despite technical preparations, a resolution will be difficult to reach without political will. A top diplomat privy to the negotiations stressed that a green light to India’s entry is a political decision that China will have to make.
•China may not shy away from advocating keeping out all-weather friend Pakistan in order to keep India out. Meanwhile, American diplomats advise patience as India already has the functionality it needed with the 2008 waiver for nuclear commerce. A seat at the high table will be required to influence decisions and nuclear export in future. So, any proposal to woo baiters would have to be window-dressed to look considerate of future bids from other non-NPT players including Israel, instead of appearing to be tailor-made only for India.
•For now, NSG will be an uphill task with China unwilling to play nice, and contentious issues of the H-1B visa, intellectual property rights and trade dominating the India-U.S. agenda when Prime Minister Narendra Modi goes to Capitol Hill.
SEBI eyes one registration for equity, commodities brokers
Regulator set to approve in April a plan for brokerages present in both segments
•The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) will soon approve a single registration mechanism for brokerages that are present in both commodity and equity segments.
•The capital markets regulator is expected to give its approval to the plan at its board meet scheduled next month.
•The move, once implemented, will benefit a large number of market intermediaries who currently have to block separate funds in the form of net worth and base minimum capital for their stock and commodity broking entities. With a common registration in place, separate allocation of funds can be done away with.
Benefit for investors
•For investors, it could mean a single registration form and one-time KYC — Know Your Client — process to allow them to buy shares as well as trade in commodity derivatives thereby making it easier for individuals and institutions looking to invest in both.
•“The memorandum has been submitted to the board for a common single registration for commodity and equity brokers. It will be on the agenda when the board meets next month,” said a person familiar with the matter.
•Incidentally, a single registration and complete fungibility between the two segments was always part of the long-term plan of SEBI ever since the erstwhile Forward Markets Commission (FMC) was merged with the capital market regulator in September 2015.
•Market participants, meanwhile, say that a single intermediary for commodity and equity trading will benefit investors more than the brokerage itself. Most of the large well-known brokerages have a presence in both the segments.
•“Apart from the benefits of a single net worth and capital requirement, it will lower the operational cost for an intermediary but the investor will be the real winner,” said Chintan Modi, Executive Vice President, India Infoline.
•“A single KYC will allow investors to trade in both commodity and equity. The collaterals and margins that an investor keeps with the broker can also be used against his position in either segments. Currently, clients have to keep separate balance and ledger for commodity and equity since the entities through whom they trade are separate. That practice can also be done away with,” Mr. Modi said.
Networth requirement
•A clearing member in the debt and equity derivatives segments of BSE requires a net worth of Rs. 3 crore while those in currency derivatives segment require Rs. 10 crore. Members in the currency and equity derivatives further require a deposit of Rs. 50 lakh.
•In the commodity markets, the base minimum capital is Rs. 50 lakh for members of Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) with algo trading and Rs. 10 lakh for those without it. The initial security deposit is Rs. 1 crore for professional clearing member and institutional trading cum clearing member. The admission fee for the various categories of members ranges between Rs. 7.5 lakh to Rs. 25 lakh.
•The net worth requirement for commodity brokers is between Rs. 25 lakh and Rs. 5 crore depending on the type of membership. The reform will be just one more in the long list of reviews done by the regulator over the past year and a half.
•Since the SEBI-FMC merger, the regulator has reviewed and amended many regulations related to commodity trading, exchanges and intermediaries to bring it on par with the norms for the equity segment. For instance, trading and surveillance norms for commodity exchanges were tightened after the bourses came under the regulatory purview of SEBI.
‘Close loss-making branches’
Centre asks 10 PSU banks to also pare stakes in JVs, units
•The Centre has asked 10 public sector banks to consider selling stakes in joint ventures and subsidiaries and also to close down loss-making domestic and international branches to improve their financial health.
•In a communication to the 10 banks including IDBI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Central Bank of India and United Bank, the Finance Ministry has suggested initiatives that, when implemented, could help these banks put their house in order.
•While several public sector banks have joint ventures in areas like insurance and asset management, bankers said stake sales wouldn’t necessarily fetch reasonable valuations as some of these ventures were not faring well.
•Earlier this month, the Finance Ministry, while allocating capital to these 10 banks, had asked the lenders to submit a turnaround plan and said, “The release of capital is based on the premise that banks would significantly improve their performance with prudent financial management and going forward that they will be able to meet capital needs through their own earnings.”
•Active non-performing asset (NPA) management and strengthening of credit, arranging capital from the market, disposal of non-core assets, and divestment of subsidiary stake were among some of the initiatives that were highlighted.
•As of December 2016, commercial banks had 1,36,412 domestic branches of which more than 85,000 branches were located in semi-urban and rural areas. The growth rates of deposits and advances in rural and semi-urban areas have far exceed that of urban and metro areas.
•Rationalisation and reduction of administrative, operating expenses, including temporary restructuring of employees and benefits has also been recommended. The ministry said that these steps could be reversed once a bank managed to ensure a successful turnaround.
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
The HINDU Notes – 29th March
VisionIAS
11:51 am
States get warning to brace for heat waves
•Keep action plans ready, say Met department and NDMA.
•Even as the country braces for a scorching summer and temperatures in several States have been going up over the past week, the India Meteorological Department, along with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), is exhorting the States to implement Heat Wave Action Plans.
•These describe step-by-step procedures the States ought to implement — from communication and ensuring first-aid to imposing early summer vacations in schools and ensuring that labourers employed in MGNREGA schemes aren’t assigned work during certain times of the day — in case of heatwave-like conditions.
•So far Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Telangana, Odisha and Maharashtra have committed themselves to action plans, which are implemented in varying degrees by their districts.
Advice to U.P., Rajasthan
•“This year we’re talking to Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to have such a plan,” Madhavan Rajeevan, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, told The Hindu.
•Several IMD officials from various States as well as representatives from municipal corporations are attending here a two-day workshop, meant to nudge more States into having a State-specific plan.
Casualties reduced
Casualties reduced
•At a presentation, NDMA’s Anup Srivastava said heat waves killed 22,562 between 1992 and 2015.
•“In 2016, the number of casualties came down drastically to 1,111 from 2,040 in 2015,” he said in a paper. It was from 2016 that the IMD began giving heat wave forecasts and the States began considering plans.
•In 2015 Andhra Pradesh had 1,422 heat-related deaths. This came down to 723 the next year.
•While there are nuances and region-specific differences, the IMD broadly defines a heat wave as when a place’s temperature is 5-6°C above normal.
•It already forecasts heat waves on its website but a proper plan would mean that the States and district administrations would get warnings on the likelihood of temperatures rising to heat wave limits.
•“For instance, a State like Gujarat would like to know when temperatures would hit 41-42°C and we give them a forecast,” said S.C. Bhan, an IMD meteorologist associated with the programme.
•On Feb. 28, the IMD forecast “above normal” temperatures this summer in Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Telangana.
•The summer forecast is in line with a generally warm trend over previous months; 2016 was the warmest year in a century, according to the IMD, with the country 0.91°C warmer than the 1961-1990 average. The summer months of March-May last year were 1.36°C higher than the historical average, making it the second warmest since 1901. The higher temperatures coincide with three, consecutive years of weak monsoons.
•On Tuesday, the IMD said that “prevailing winds & clear sky conditions over northwest & adjoining central India” has led to heat wave conditions in West Rajasthan & Gujarat and at isolated places over West Madhya Pradesh. Delhi was already 7°C hotter than what’s normal for the last week of March.
New Bill on mental illness termed progressive
•The Mental Health Bill passed on Monday in the Lok Sabha after almost a six-year-long wait is expected to revive the way mental illnesses are dealt with in the country. While the Bill has been termed as progressive by the fraternity, a particular clause that emphasises on advanced directive from the patient has been debated widely.
•Pune-based psychiatrist Dr. Saumitra Pathare, who had drafted the Bill along with Professor Jaya Sagade, said the Bill will turn good a lot of aspects in mental healthcare. “For the first time, there is an emphasis on rehabilitation within the community. The Bill talks about the patients right to live within the community and not in seclusion. This changes the perspective with which we look at mentally-ill patients.”
•Dr. Pathare added that the Bill has a clause that mandates the government to increase the number of mental health workers. It also talks about free access to medication from the levels of Community Health Centres (CHCs) and above.
•“These two points will make a big difference at the ground level,” said Dr. Pathare adding that the focus can now shift to implementation. “We need to ensure that all the talks are now turned into reality,” he added.
Ire over ECT
•The Bill prohibits Electro Convulsive Therapy (ECT) for minors. In adults, ECT can be given only after the use of anaesthesia or muscle relaxant. While this therapy is used by few medical practitioners who are rooted to age old treatments, retaining ECT in the Bill has not gone down well with many progressive doctors who don’t believe in this therapy. The Bill also restricts medical institutions from chaining patients or keeping them in seclusion.
•The Bill states that a mentally-ill person shall have the right to make an advance directive that states how he wants to be treated and who his nominated representative shall be. “However, this is an dicey clause. How will a person who has illusions, or feels that everyone is conspiring against him or her, be in the state to give such a consent,” asks psychiatrist Dr. Rajendra Barve.
•The Bill further adds that the advance directive has to be certified by a medical practitioner or someone registered with the Mental Health Board. If a mental health professional/ relative/care-giver does not wish to follow the directive while treating the person, he can make an application to the Mental Health Board to review/alter/cancel the advance directive. Doctors say that this could result in them just making application after application.
Some positives
•The Bill empowers every person to access mental healthcare and treatment from services run or funded by the government. The right to access mental health care includes affordable, good quality of and easy access to services.
•In another progressive step, the Bill has made it mandatory for insurance companies to cover hospitalisation due to mental disorders.
Can’t appoint Lokpal for now, Centre tells SC
•The Centre on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that appointment of the anti-corruption ombudsman, Lokpal, is not possible now.
•Appearing before a Bench led by Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi said the amendments to the Lokpal law, concerning the substitution of the Leader of Opposition (LoP) with the leader of the single largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha on the high-power Lokpal selection committee, is still pending with Parliament.
•The committee comprises the Prime Minister, Lok Sabha Speaker, LoP and the Chief Justice of India or a SC judge as per the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act of 2013. But the 16th Lok Sabha has no recognised LoP.
•Mr. Rohatgi said the implementation of the Lokpal law would remain in limbo till Parliament allowed the single largest opposition party leader to take the place of the LoP in the latter’s absence. “Unless the proposed amendment making leader of the largest opposition party as LoP is passed by Parliament, the Lokpal cannot be appointed,” he submitted.
Judgment reserved
•The court reserved the case for pronouncement of judgment. During the hearing, Mr. Rohatgi said Parliament may discuss the amendment in the monsoon session along with other ones in the Lokpal Bill.
•Senior advocate Shanti Bhushan, for petitioner NGO Common Cause, alleged that the Lokpal Act which came into force in 2014 was deliberately not implemented for ulterior motives.
•Mr. Bhushan submitted that the court should not leave it to the political parties to pass the Lokpal law, and give directions to Parliament to amend it. He pointed out how the LoP has been substituted with the single largest opposition party leader in other laws concerned with the appointments of the Chief Vigilance Commissioner, the CBI chief and the Chief Information Commissioner.
•The SC had earlier criticised the government for “dragging its feet” on the appointment of Lokpal to usher in probity in public life.
Whither human rights in Sri Lanka?
•The singular focus on international rights intervention is killing a once-vibrant local rights movement
•From the time Sri Lanka’s civil war ended in 2009, international actors have infused narratives of the war with stories of human rights abuses. Eight years since, it has only become clear how irrelevant current human rights campaigns are to the war-torn people and their struggles.
•This is not for the lack of inhuman wrongs done by the state and others — there are plenty of them in Sri Lanka as in the rest of the world. Rather, it is the singular focus on international human rights intervention that is killing a once-vibrant local human rights movement in the country.
Notes from Geneva
•Sri Lanka was again in the limelight at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva this month. The September 2015 resolution, adopted months after regime change in Sri Lanka, signalled a departure from the Council’s earlier antagonistic stand, with Sri Lanka itself co-sponsoring the resolution to address war-time accountability.
•The new resolution, on March 23, co-sponsored by the United States, Sri Lanka and other countries, accedes to Sri Lanka’s request for an extension of two more years to fulfil its commitments on accountability.
•The Tamil nationalist campaign, including that by many Tamil politicians, was predictably about opposing such an extension. In the island’s Sinhala-majority south on the other hand, the debate centred on whether any future justice mechanism for accountability should include foreign judges or not.
•That Sri Lanka will get its extension, that foreign judges will never be allowed to enter the country and that the U.S. will shield Sri Lanka at the UN, are political realities that escape those firmly pursuing this prolonged engagement in Geneva.
•This reality check begs the question: What has eight years of international human rights engagement really achieved?
•The record is one of reports and counter-reports by the human rights community, the Sri Lankan state and the Tamil nationalist lobby, as well as multiple resolutions in the UNHRC. If only the spotlight on Geneva could be turned towards the ground situation, it will make evident the emptiness of these campaigns. While the state has been rather slow to address the issue of disappearances and military land grabs, these campaigns hardly address the economic deprivation of the missing people’s families and the predicament of the landless. Furthermore, the rights of women, fisherfolk, workers, oppressed castes and the northern Muslims seldom figure in popular human rights narratives.
Shift in the movement
•This was not always the case. The human rights movement had a different character during its early decades.
•The Civil Rights Movement emerged after the brutal state repression of the 1971 JVP insurrection, an uprising by rural Sinhala youth, and took up the legal cases of those in custody. Some years later in the context of the Prevention of Terrorism Act of 1979 and a state of Emergency, the Movement for Inter-Racial Justice and Equality, a membership organisation with a significant presence in Jaffna, mobilised people against state repression of Tamil youth during the early years of the armed conflict. Some of the trade unionists who organised the general strike of 1980, which was crushed by the J.R. Jayewardene-led regime, went on to form the Movement for the Defence of Democratic Rights to resist the authoritarian attacks on democracy.
•With the war in the late 1980s, the University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) tried creating space for the university community to monitor the various armed actors, including the Sri Lankan military, the Tamil armed movements and the Indian Peace Keeping Force. Their work also addressed the disastrous political developments engulfing the Tamil community.
•These organisations placed political critique and the mobilisation of people at the heart of their work. However, the targeting of activists and increased political repression by the state and the LTTE, curtailed the democratic space for such work, particularly in the north and the east. The growing international attention on the protracted conflict and increasing donor funding for non-governmental organisations (NGO) in Colombo, brought about the shift of appealing to international forums.
•Over the last decade, with the cataclysmic end to the war and the intransigent authoritarianism of the Mahinda Rajapaksa-led regime, human rights engagement backed by powerful western interests deviated the broad set of rights and justice concerns onto war crimes investigation in Geneva. In effect, the international human rights community, national NGOs and the Tamil nationalist lobby, all placed their bets on internationalisation, without considering the political space that was opening after the war.
War-time accountability
•In this context, the deteriorating rural economy and the political marginalisation of the war-torn people continues even as year after year they are asked to await the verdict of human rights gods. Indeed, Geneva has become a convenient cover for the state’s failings, the Tamil nationalists’ hollow politics and the international donors’ questionable agendas. Together, these actors have made a real mess of post-war reconstruction.
•The media in Sri Lanka dramatises the proceedings in Geneva, as if Sri Lanka is at the centre of the world. The geopolitical changes with the crisis in Syria, the populist racism of the Trump Presidency and anti-immigrant xenophobia in Europe are rarely considered. The Tamil nationalist fringe continues to forge fantastic demands, such as Sri Lanka’s referral to the International Criminal Court, which even the Northern Provincial Council plays up. For the current Sri Lankan government, defending the country and its military in Geneva has become a selling point to its Sinhala constituencies. While the government rightly claims that the constitutional political solution is the priority over war-time accountability, it has done little to take forward that constitutional process over the past year. The government has not even communicated to the public its vision nor steps towards a constitutional solution.
•The months before and during the Geneva sessions, result in a bluster of statements, reports and documentaries. Indeed, human rights work has increasingly become about the perverse parading of victims and their families in front of powerful international actors, and dispatching statements signed by NGOs and individuals to the UN.
Engaging the state
•The earlier human rights movement with a left perspective valued international solidarity, for example with Palestine, which necessarily entailed a critique of imperialism. Today’s campaigns have become dependent on western donors. This apolitical variant of human rights activism has no qualms accommodating, or even endorsing, rabid Tamil nationalists who are at the forefront of the campaign for accountability, while remaining silent on the LTTE’s grave crimes. The convergence of the human rights and Tamil nationalist campaigns, both beholden to the West and determined by the geopolitics of forums such as the UNHRC, provides further fuel to the chauvinist fire of the Sinhala Buddhist nationalists.
•The state is at the core of the historical problems, whether it is repressive militarisation, the reinforcement of majoritarian interests or the centralisation of state power in Colombo. But reforming the state requires direct challenges by its citizenry, rather than flight to international forums. However, that depends on a broad political movement and a domestic process consisting of all the communities, such as the one that threw out the Rajapaksa regime.
•If the unravelling international order may finally end the internationalisation of Sri Lanka, the tremendous loss of credibility within the country with such internationalisation may make it impossible to revitalise the human rights movement. However, recognising the hollowness of narrow, donor-driven human rights engagement that happily coexists with dangerous nationalist politics, is a necessary starting point for envisioning a broader social justice movement. Such political rethinking and the forging of progressive movements is a priority to address the tremendous challenges facing post-war Sri Lanka.
Unique distinction: SC's clarification on Aadhaar gives space for reforms
•The SC’s clarification on the use of Aadhaar gives the government space for key reforms
•The Supreme Court’s oral observations on Monday regarding the use of Aadhaar numbers by the government are significant, for they alter the narrative and potential scope of the ambitious unique identification programme. While reiterating its position that no beneficiary of a welfare scheme shall be denied benefits due to her for want of an Aadhaar number, a Bench led by Chief Justice J.S. Khehar said the government is free to “press” for Aadhaar for ‘non-welfare’ transactions or activities. These include filing income tax returns, opening bank accounts or getting a mobile phone connection. This assumes significance as the government announced two such changes over the past week itself. First, it included amendments to the Finance Bill of 2017, now approved by the Lok Sabha, making Aadhaar mandatory for all applications for PAN (Permanent Account Number) cards and filing of income tax returns. Earlier, following the surge in bank deposits after the demonetisation of high-value currency notes, the Income Tax Department had already asked banks to ensure that all savings bank accounts are seeded with PAN details by the end of February. The only exemptions to this norm are the no-frills savings accounts such as those opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. Effectively, this means that all other new savings bank accounts will require an Aadhaar number. And last week the Department of Telecommunications directed all telecom service providers to re-verify the credentials of their nearly 100 crore subscribers through an Aadhaar-based, electronically authenticated Know Your Customer process within a year.
•While the Supreme Court’s observations do not amount to a judicial order, they dispel some of the ambiguity relating to the scope, even future, of Aadhaar. In its interim order in October 2015 the court made it clear that the Aadhaar scheme cannot be made mandatory till the matter is finally decided “one way or the other”. But it has set the stage for the 12-digit Unique Identification (UID) numbers being used as the basic identity proof for all residents. As Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has pointed out, biometrics captured under the Aadhaar enrolment process will ensure no individual can hold more than one PAN card to evade tax dues. Those concerned about privacy may be right about the need for an effective law to ensure that private data aren’t misused. But tagging this concern solely to the UID programme is short-sighted. In an age where data are stored in electronic form, it is possible to collate vast amounts of information from various databases ranging from applications for passports, driving licences, ration cards, and more. The apex court is yet to decide on whether Aadhaar violates the right to privacy. Meanwhile, savings from weeding out ghost beneficiaries have begun to pay off the investment on building the now 111-crore strong Aadhaar database. But the Centre must not stretch the leeway granted by the court.
Centre may expand social security net
•A lower contributory rate of 10% toward EPF mooted
•The Employees’ Provident Fund Organidation’s central board of trustees will meet on Thursday to consider extending social security benefits to volunteers under anganwadi, mid-day meal and Accredited Social Health Activists (Asha) schemes.
•The EPFO has proposed to the Labour ministry that a lower contributory rate of 10% of income towards the Employees’ Provident Fund be allowed for scheme workers as against 12% contribution stipulated for the organised workers.
•According to estimates, there are 14 lakh Anganwadi workers, 12 lakh Anganwadi helpers, 25.50 lakh mid-day meal workers in the country, as per the agenda of the EPFO’s central board of trustees meeting reviewed by The Hindu. The meeting, to be chaired by Labour Minister Bandaru Dattarreya, will be held on Thursday.
•There is no mandatory social security cover for such scheme workers at present. However, the Centre can issue a notification to cover any class of establishments with a lower contributory rate under the Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952. This will only be applicable to scheme workers in organisations employing at least 20 workers.
•“The Central Board (EPF) may kindly consider for recommendation to the Central Government to issue notification for the Social Security Benefits to the volunteers of various schemes workers i.e. Anganwadi, ASHA, Mid-day Meal Workers under the ambit of EPFO,” the agenda of the meeting said.
•Providing social security coverage to the unorganised workers has been one of the key demands of the central trade unions.
•The EPFO will also consider a proposal to increase wage ceiling for its social security coverage to Rs 25,000 a month from Rs 15,000 a month at present in a bid to bring more workers under the provident fund net.
•At present, EPF is optional for employees earning more than Rs 15,000 a month. The EPFO had sent a formal proposal to the Union Labour Ministry last year to increase the wage ceiling for EPF coverage to Rs 25,000 a month.
•“The purpose of revision of wage ceiling is to ensure that on increase in wages due to inflation etc, minimum social security benefits are continuously made available to intended beneficiaries. Timely revision of wage ceiling is of utmost importance to ensure that new employees who are joining establishments covered under the EPF & MP Act, 1952 are assured of PF benefits,” the agenda stated.
•The EPFO said that “there is an immediate requirement to enhance wage ceiling under EPP & MP Act, 1952” to ensure workers remain eligible for provident fund benefits.
•However, the move may lead to additional financial burden on the Union government as it contributes 1.16% of the employee’s salary as subsidy towards the Employees’ Pension Scheme. The wage ceiling hike will lead to additional burden of Rs 2,708 crore per annum on the central government, the EPFO said.
Northeast may get subsidised capital
DIPP aiming to reduce cost of funds
•The Centre is working on an industrial policy for backward areas of the northeast as well as the Himalayan States to subsidise the cost of capital, a senior official said.
•“It is a challenge to access funds in India,” said Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Secretary Ramesh Abhishek.
•“Cost of funds is high, and the government is working to bring this down and make funds easily accessible. We have interest subsidy schemes specifically for more difficult areas like the northeast. We are trying to come out with an industrial policy for backward areas of northeast and the Himalayan States and we are going to see how we can subsidise the cost of capital in these areas,” he said at an interactive session on Make In India initiative online.
Online regulations
•Mr. Abhishek said norms were yet to be announced by the regulators concerned, including the RBI and the SEBI, regarding regulations for online lending platforms.
•“Those platforms are doing a good job. So we are hoping that regulators will come out soon with good and positive regulations so online platforms are able to do their business,” the DIPP Secretary said.
•On state-wise start-up policy, he said as of now there are 16 states that have their respective start-up policies and the Centre has asked the remaining states to soon join the initiative.
•Noting that start-up policy is important, he said start-ups are the biggest job creators. “We have to turn our youth into job givers not job seekers. Creating a start-up ecosystem [is] also important,” he said.
•The development of agriculture sector is a key priority area for the Centre, he said. The government is encouraging organic farming across the country and he has sought suggestions in this regard from the public.
•Mr. Abhishek said Invest India — the national investment promotion agency — in the last one and a half years had promoted foreign investments to the tune of $70 billion, of which already $3.1 billion worth of investments had come into the country. “This kind of hand holding was never done by the Centre earlier,” Mr. Abhishek added.
•On the matter of “troubles” relating to conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural land for its commercial use, the official said it was a “tricky issue” and sought suggestions from stakeholders so that the Centre can form a view on it and then forward them to the state governments as land issues fall under the jurisdiction of states.
