Section 8(4) of the Representation of People Act 1951

Syllabus :GS 2/Polity and Governance

In News 

Recently, Section 8(4) of the Representation of People Act 1951 was seen in the news because of Disqualification of Rahul Gandhi of the Congress party.

• A sitting legislator is disqualified the moment the court orders conviction and sentence under Section 8(3) of the Representation of People Act.

About Section 8(4) of the Representation of People Act 1951

• Under the RPA, Section 8(4) stated that the disqualification takes effect only “after three months have elapsed” from the date of conviction. 
• Within that period, lawmakers could file an appeal against the sentence before the High Court.
• It had allowed a three-month period within which to appeal. Disqualification was not to take effect during this period; when the appeal is admitted, disqualification would depend on the final outcome of the appeal.

Lily Thomas case  Judgement 

• In the landmark 2013 ruling in ‘Lily Thomas v Union of India’, the Supreme Court struck down Section 8(4) of the RPA as unconstitutional. 
• The Supreme Court invalidated Section on the grounds that the Constitution does not empower Parliament to make a special provision in favour of sitting legislators.
  • Since Article 102 makes both a candidate and a sitting member equally liable to disqualification there is no justification for making a special provision for the sitting members. 
• The top court said that Article 102(1) does not create any difference between the sitting member and a candidate so far as disqualification is concerned
  • So, the court held that the distinction made by Section 8(4) is legally not sustainable and is ultra vires the Constitution.

Criticism of Judgement 

• The judgement in Lily Thomas can play havoc with the careers of sitting legislators in the country. 
• Instant disqualification on conviction and sentence will upset their entire legislative career without giving them breathing space because the courts in general have a very dilatory system in dealing with appeals, revisions .
• The judgement has not resulted in any perceptible qualitative change in the criminal proclivity of politicians.
  • Politicians belonging to the powerful ruling dispensation at a particular time may be able to get a conviction stayed within a few hours, thus saving themselves from instant disqualification. 
• Section 8(4) needs to be restored and protected constitutionally in order to protect the careers of India’s legislators from abrupt convulsions caused by court orders .

Supreme Court’s recent observation 

• The Supreme Court stayed the conviction of a Congress leader in a criminal defamation case .
• It pointed out that the Gujarat trial judge, other than severely admonishing Gandhi for his alleged remarks, failed to give even a single reason for serving the Congress leader with the maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment.
• The Bench noted that “disqualification not only affects the rights of the individual but also that of the electorate he represents in the Parliament

20th ASEAN India Economic Ministers’ Meeting

Syllabus: GS-2/International Relations

Context

• Recently, the 20th ASEAN India Economic Ministers’ meeting was held in Semarang, Indonesia.

Key Points

• The Economic Ministers from all the 10 ASEAN countries viz. Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam participated in the meeting. 

• The Ministers reviewed the bilateral trade and investment relations between India and ASEAN in order to strengthen and enhance the economic partnership.
  • India and ASEAN registered a bilateral trade of USD 131.5 billion in 2022-23. 
  • The trade with ASEAN accounted for 11.3% of India’s global trade in 2022-23.
• The Ministers also interacted with the ASEAN-India Business Council (AIBC) to discuss various activities including the 5th ASEAN-India Business Summit.
• Other important issues discussed are the multidimensional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, heightened volatility in the global financial market, inflationary pressures, and geopolitical tensions. 
• Areas of Cooperation: Supply chains, food security, energy security, health and financial stability.
• ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA):
  • The main agenda of this year is ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) which was signed in 2009.
  • The review of the AITIGA was a long-standing demand of Indian businesses and it would help in making the FTA trade facilitative and mutually beneficial. 
  • It is expected to enhance and diversify trade while addressing the current asymmetry in bilateral trade.

Debt-Fossil Fuel Trap Report

Syllabus:GS3/Economy

In News

• The Debt-Fossil Fuel Trap report has been published by the anti-debt campaigners Debt Justice and partners in affected countries.

About

• It explores the links between debt and fossil fuel production in global south countries, and presents a number of solutions for addressing high debt burdens as a contribution towards efforts for a fossil fuel phase-out. 
• It provides evidence of a debt-fossil fuel production trap whereby countries rely on fossil fuel revenues to repay debt, and anticipated revenues from fossil fuels are often overinflated and require huge investments to reach expected returns, leading to further debt, eroding long-term development prospects, and causing devastating environmental and human harms. 

Findings

• Debt in the global south: It is a term used for developing, less developing and underdeveloped countries, located in Africa, Latin America, and Asia — countries.
  • Global south countries are currently spending five times more on repaying debt than they are on addressing the impacts of the climate crisis.
  • Their external debt payments (money borrowed from richer countries, or fromWorld Bank and IMF, or private lenders) has gone up by 150% between 2011 and 2023, reaching their highest levels in 25 years.

• Debt Situation worsened: It is worsened by extreme weather events, which force these countries to borrow more money as they lack adequate finances and resources for adaptation, mitigation and tackling loss and damage.
  • Dominica’s debt as a percentage of GDP rose from 68% to 78% after Hurricane Maria hit the island in 2017.
• Extraction of fossil fuels: To deal with the mounting debts, these countries have turned to extracting more fossil fuels.
  • Argentina has been supporting fracking projects in the Vaca Muerta oil and gas field in Northern Patagonia to generate revenues to ease the country’s debt crisis. Notably, the IMF has also backed these projects.
  • Despite many assurances, to stop investing in fossil fuels in global south countries, richer countries and multilateral and bilateral lenders have financed fossil fuel projects, often through loans, adding to debt burdens and keeping countries locked in fossil fuel production.
• Resource backed loans (RBLs): One of the ways this happens is through loan contracts like resource backed loans (RBLs). 

• In RBLs repayment is either made directly in natural resources (in kind) such as oil or minerals, or from a resource-related future income stream; or repayment is guaranteed by a resource-related income stream, or where a natural resource asset serves as collateral.
• Suriname, a South American country, defaulted on its debt in late 2020, and in 2021. In the final deal, it was agreed that creditors would get the right to 30% of Suriname’s oil revenue until 2050.
• This deal keeps Suriname trapped in oil exploitation whilst being incentivised to maximise oil revenues.
• Thus, not only do many fossil fuel developments in global south countries cause human and environmental harm, they also do not make economic sense and leave many countries financially worse off, further indebted and even more reliant on fossil fuel exploitation than they were before. 

Way Ahead

• Governments should implement ambitious debt cancellation for all countries that need it, across all creditors, free from economic conditions.
• Debts accrued from fossil fuel projects should be recognised as illegitimate and cancelled.
• Significantly scale up grant-based, new and additional public climate finance.
• Bilateral and multilateral finance should be aligned with a 1.5 degree warming scenario and fair share calculations, and not be used to finance fossil fuels.  

Bharat NCAP(New Car Assessment Programme)

Syllabus: GS3/Economy

News

• The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways launched the Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP), an indigenous car crash testing programme.

About

• The Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP) is modeled on the Global New Car Assessment Programme (Global NCAP), a project of the Towards Zero Foundation.
  • Towards Zero Foundation which is a U.K.-registered charity that promotes the universal adoption of the United Nation’s most important motor vehicle safety standards worldwide.
• Objective:The Program aims to create an ecosystem of competitive safety enhancements leading to increased awareness among consumers. Consumers can take an informed decision by making a comparative assessment on vehicle performance under crash test conditions.
• Applicability:The new programme will be applicable to passenger vehicles with not more than eight seats in addition to the driver’s seat with gross vehicle weight not exceeding 3.5-tonne . This is a voluntary program and will be based on the Automotive Industry Standard 197
• Rating:A rating from one star to five stars will be assigned to a vehicle after an evaluation of three parameters — adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, and safety assist technologies present in the car.

Assessment Process

• The process of obtaining a star rating involves an original equipment manufacturer(OEM) nominating a vehicle model for testing, after which Bharat NCAP representatives will visit the manufacturing facility or a dealer outlet to select the base variant of the model.
• The model will be selected  through random sampling and sent to a testing center in coordination with the Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT). 
• Once the test results are compiled, they will be approved by the Bharat NCAP Standing Committee and published on the website of the Bharat NCAP and a certificate issued by the CIRT.

Significance of the programme

• Bharat NCAP will ensure fewer casualties and injuries, lessening the strain on healthcare and insurance sectors and fostering a positive societal impact by reducing trauma caused by road traffic injuries and deaths.
• Manufacturers too would benefit from enhancing their brand reputation through consumer-centric practices and enjoy higher consumer loyalty.

Concluding Remark

• Bharat NCAP will greatly push the safety and quality of the vehicles in India, while simultaneously promoting a healthy competition among original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to manufacture safer vehicles. 
• The new safety regime is a mutual win-win for manufacturers and consumers and an instrumental step towards safeguarding lives of our citizens and making India’s Automobile Industry the number one auto manufacturing hub in the world.

India: A young country with an ageing workforce

Syllabus: GS1/ Population & Associated Issues

In News

• India’s Prime Minister recently made a special mention to India being a youthful nation and highlighted the opportunities that lay before India’s youth.

More about the news

• India: A young country: As the countries around the world are witnessing an age structure that is growing old, India is moving towards its youthful age structure owing to the fact that India has the highest population under the age of 30. 
• India’s ageing workforce: An analysis of India’s workforce, sourced from CMIE’s Economic Outlook data, shows that while India may be the country with the most youthful population, its workforce is rapidly ageing.
  • An ageing workforce means that if one looks at all the employed people in India, the share of young people is going down while the share of those closer to 60 years of age is going up.

India’s workforce

• Data on India’s workforce: India’s youth: Population under the age of 30:
  • The share of India’s youth (population under the age of 30) has fallen from 25% in 2016-17 to just 17% at the end of the last financial year in March. 
  • Middle Group: Those aged 30 years or more but less than 45 years:
    • The share of those in the middle group has fallen from 38% to 33% over the same period.
  • Oldest age category: Those aged 45 years and older:
    • The oldest age category however has grown its share from 37% to 49%.

Significance

• The data clearly shows that even though India has a fast-growing youth population, that by itself does not guarantee more jobs for the youth. 
• India’s young workforce is failing to make their mark in the job market and it appears they are increasingly getting elbowed out by the not-so-young Indians.
  • Just in the past seven years, the workforce has aged so much that the share of people 45 years and older has gone from one-third to almost one-half.
• Even if one accounts for the possibility that a lot of young people may be pursuing higher studies, the trend is still stark enough to merit a look by policymakers.

Challenges of India’s employment

• Job opportunity & qualification mismatch: India presents a paradox of skill shortages while being labour surplus.
  • Trucks are idle because of the shortage of drivers. The steel industry needs more metallurgists. 
  • The healthcare sector is short of nurses and technicians. 
  • The construction sector needs civil engineers, hi-tech welders, bricklayers, and so on. 
• Sector-specific mismatch: India’s economic growth has been largely services led, with a small pool of skills at the upper end, given a glaring failure in mass education, while capital intensity has increased in manufacturing overall in spite of our labour abundance. 
• Less Jobs: Post-pandemic, people unable to find jobs remain high among those looking for jobs. Also, the unemployment rate is higher among the younger and more educated. 
• Low participation of women: One reason is essentially about the working conditions — such as law and order, efficient public transportation, violence against women, societal norms etc — being far from conducive for women to seek work.
  • A lot of women in India are exclusively involved within their own homes (caring for their family) of their own volition. 
  • Lastly, it is also a question of adequate job opportunities for women.
• More Informal Sector Jobs: While there are signs of increasing formalisation as indicated by the EPFO data, a substantial share of the labour force continues to remain employed in the informal sector, lacking a safety net.
• AI & possible job loss: The other culprits are artificial intelligence and data analytics.
  • According to experts, AI would take over 7,800 human jobs in the next five years as an eye-opener. 
  • AI could replace some back-office functions and human resources.

Government initiatives

• National Career Service (NCS) Project: Project for transformation of the National Employment Service to provide a variety of career related services like job matching, career counselling, vocational guidance, information on skill development courses, apprenticeship, internships etc.
  • It is under the aegis of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
• Pt. DeenDayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushlya Yojana (DDU-GKY): DDU-GKY is a part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM), tasked with the dual objectives of adding diversity to the incomes of rural poor families and cater to the career aspirations of rural youth.
• PM- SVANidhi Scheme: Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) Scheme aims to provide collateral free working capital loan to Street Vendors, vending in urban areas, to resume their businesses which were adversely affected due to COVID-1 induced lock-down. 
• Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY): Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) is the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE) implemented by National Skill Development Corporation.
• Rural Self-Employment and Training Institutes (RSETIs): RSETIs are Rural Self Employment Training Institutes,  an initiative of the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) to have dedicated infrastructure in each district of the country to impart training and skill upgradation of rural youth geared towards entrepreneurship development.
  • RSETIs are managed by banks with active co-operation from the Government of India and State Governments.

Suggestions

• Productivity and economy: The youth will have to be equipped with skills that are indispensable to the knowledge economy.
  • People’s productivity will have to increase for any given per capita income.
  • Will need policies to increase jobs so that the labour force participation rate increases for both, the younger population and women.
• Unless these trends are reversed, India may continue to experience the rather counterintuitive phenomenon of being a youthful country with an ageing workforce.

Food Fortification

Syllabus: GS3/Food Processing

News

• The Department of Food and Public Distribution(DFPD) organised a one-day National Seminar on Rice Fortification recently.

About Food Fortification

• It is a process of adding micronutrients like iron, folic acid and vitamin B12 during processing of food, which is an effective, preventive and cost-efficient complementary strategy to address the nutrition problem within a short period.
• According to WHO, the practice of adding vitamins and minerals to commonly consumed foods during processing improves their nutritional value.

Benefits of Fortification

• Eliminates malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies: India has slipped to the 101st position in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2021 of 116 countries, from its 2020 position of 94th.
• Provides extra nutrition at affordable costs: The Copenhagen Consensus estimates that every 1 Rupee spent on fortification results in 9 Rupees in benefits to the economy. 
• The inherent characteristics of the food remain the same even after fortification. This means that the original taste, texture, and appearance are unchanged.
• It does not require any changes in the food habits and patterns of people.
• Wide-scale production of fortified foods can help improve the overall nutritional problem of a country, by catering to both the poor and the wealthy.

Concerns

• Only a handful of nutrients are added in the process of fortification. 
• Fortified food products fail to reach the poorest segments of society (Low Purchasing Power), who are among the worst section affected with nutritional deficiencies. 
• Fortified foods could lead to a nutritional overdose.
• Even though fortified foods aid in providing certain nutrients, in the long run, you will need a substantial diet.

Government Steps

• India aims to ensure the nutritional security of the country through fortified rice distribution across government food security schemes.
• The Prime Minister’s announcement of Universalisation of rice fortification by 2024, will cover about 100 crore target population, including about 20 crore women of reproductive age.
• Food Corporation of India (FCI) has been tasked to come up with a comprehensive plan for procurement and distribution of fortified rice under the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) & Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Scheme.
• ‘F+’ logo: FSSAI has notified standards of fortification for five staple product categories — milk, edible oil, rice, flour and salt.
• Milk Fortification Project: By the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in collaboration with the World Bank.

Way Ahead

• There is a need for proper research to analyse the impact of fortified food. 
• A proper certification machinery along with a monitoring mechanism is the answer for nutrition deficiencies that India is facing today.

Voter Awareness Initiatives of ECI

Syllabus :GS 2/Polity and Governance

In News

Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar will become a “national icon” of the Election Commission (EC) and spread awareness regarding the need for greater voter participation in the electoral process.

• Earlier ,It recognised famous actor Pankaj Tripathi as the National Icon. 

About 

• EC will sign a Memorandum of Understanding delhi and It will be a three-year agreement as part of which the cricketing legend will spread voter awareness.
• This collaboration would mark a significant step towards leveraging SachinTendulkar’s unparalleled impact with the youth demographic for increasing voter’ participation in the forthcoming elections

Other Related Initiatives

• National Voters’ Day: Election Commission of India celebrated 13th National Voters’ Day on 25th January 2023.
  • National Voters’ Day is celebrated on January 25 every year, all across the country to mark the foundation day of the Election Commission of India, i.e. 25th January 1950.
    • The main purpose of the NVD celebration is to create electoral awareness amongst citizens and encourage them to participate in the electoral process.
•  ‘Matdata Junction’: The Chief Election Commissioner launched a yearlong Voter Awareness Program – ‘Matdata Junction’ .
  • It is a 52 episode radio series produced by the Election Commission of India, in collaboration with All India Radio.
• Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation(SVEEP) :  It is the flagship program of the Election Commission of India for voter education, spreading voter awareness and promoting voter literacy in India. 

Candida Auris

Syllabus: GS-3/Health

Context

• Recently, cases of Candida Auris infection have increased in the United States.

Candida Auris (C. Auris)

• It is a type of yeast that can cause severe illness and spreads easily. It is often resistant to antifungal treatments.
• Its mortality rate was estimated at 30% to 60%, according to the CDC (Centre for Disease Control and Prevention).

How is it Contracted?

• Person-to-person transfer through healthcare environments like hospitals and nursing homes.
• It can either colonize a specific region of the body without generating symptoms, such as the skin, rectum, or mouth.

Symptoms: 

• It can cause infections in different parts of the body such as in the bloodstream, open wounds, and ears.  
• The most common are fever and chills that do not go away despite antibiotic treatment.

Diagnosis: 

• The fungus is diagnosed with a blood test. 

Treatment:

• Although most fungal infections may be treated with antifungal medications known as echinocandins
  • An increasing proportion of cases are developing resistance.
• To treat patients, doctors must combine enormous amounts of medications in high doses with different degrees of efficacy.

Diversion of Paravanar River Course

Syllabus: GS1/ Geography

In News

• Neyveli Lignite Corporation India Limited (NLCIL), a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) has announced the permanent diversion of Paravanar river course.
  • The Paravanar River previously posed a threat to villages and agricultural lands in its path.

About Paravanar River

• Paravanar River basin is a leaf shaped river basin and second smallest river basin of Tamil Nadu lies within Cuddalore District of Tamil Nadu.
• Paravanar Basin is bounded on the North by Pennaiyar river basin, in the South and West by Vellar river basin and on the East by Bay of Bengal.
• The Paravanar River is seasonal and ephemeral.

African Union

Syllabus: GS2/International Relation, Regional & Global Groupings

In News

• The African Union had suspended coup-hit Niger until civilian rule was restored and announced it would assess the implications of any armed intervention in the Sahel nation.

About African Union

• The African Union (AU) is a continental body consisting of the 55 member states that make up the countries of the African Continent.
  • It was officially launched in 2002 as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU, 1963-1999).
  • AU Member States are divided into five geographic regions which were defined by the OAU in 1976.
• The African Union was established to promote the unity and solidarity of African countries, defend state sovereignty, eradicate colonialism, promote international cooperation, and coordinate and harmonize Member States’ policies.

Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE)

Syllabus: GS3/Economy

News

• The revised guidelines were issued for the Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for the North East Region (PM-DevINE).

About

• PM-DevINE, was announced in the Union Budget 2022-23 to address development gaps in the North Eastern Region (NER).It was approved by the Cabinet for the remaining four years of the 15th Finance Commission from 2022-23 to 2025-26.
• The new Scheme is a Central Sector Scheme and will be implemented by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER).
• The PM-DevINE Scheme will have an outlay of Rs.6,600 crore for the four year period from 2022-23 to 2025-26.
• An Empowered Inter-Ministerial Committee (EIMC) will be established, tasked with various functions under the scheme.

Objectives of PM-DevINE 

• Fund infrastructure convergently, in the spirit of PM Gati Shakti;
• Support social development projects based on felt needs of the NER;
• Enable livelihood activities for youth and women;
• Fill the development gaps in various sectors.

Functions of Empowered Inter-Ministerial Committee (EIMC)

• It assesses initial project proposals based on quality, viability, and socio-economic impact, working alongside representatives from relevant Indian Government Ministries/Departments and State Governments.It then recommends project selection from among these proposals.
• The EIMC proposes effective monitoring and evaluation methods, which may involve on-site inspections through third-party agencies. 
• The committee also devises mechanisms for the operation and maintenance of PM-DevINE projects, aiming to ensure their sustainability.