04 august2018 CA

• Centre pushes for quota in promotion for SCs/STs
• Centre calls on Supreme Court to revisit 2006 Nagaraj ruling
• If implemented it provides for “accelerated promotion with consequential seniority” for members of the Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes (SCs/STs) in public employment.
• Dalit communities have suffered years of deprivation at the hands of society. They had been deprived of access to temples, schools and the basic facilities of life.
• Recent examples – Even today, Dalit grooms cannot ride horses; people denying drinking water to a woman Dalit officer; Temple purified in U.P. after visit by Dalit woman MLA.

2006 M. Nagaraj judgment of the Supreme Court

• Government cannot introduce a quota in promotion for its SC/ST employees unless they prove that the particular Dalit community is backward and inadequately represented, and such a reservation in promotion would not affect the overall efficiency of public administration.

Now the government wants larger Constitution Bench to re-examine and create possible situation for providing accelerated promotions with consequential seniority for the SCs/STs in government services.

• SBM-G to prevent more than three lakh deaths due to diarrhoea and protein-energy malnutrition between 2014-October 2019 (as per WHO report)
• India’s rural sanitation coverage escalated to 89.07%
• 19 States and Union Territories were declared Open Defecation Free (ODF)
• By 2019, the initiative aims to achieve 100% sanitation coverage.
• 14 million Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) can be avoided between 2014 and 2019

Important Value Additions

Fast Recap: Swachh Bharat Mission

We already are aware of the following –

Swachh Bharat Mission was launched on 2nd Oct, 2014. It aims at making India clean by October 2, 2019 with a two-fold objective:

1. Making the country 100% free from open defecation
2. Ensuring 100% modern and scientific municipal solid waste management.

The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) has two sub-missions – SBM (Rural) and SBM (Urban).

The SBM is in sync with the Goal 6 of the Sustainable Development Goals which commits the countries of the world to achieve universal access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation and hygiene to all in the next 15 years.

Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin)

• Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation
• SBM-G seeks to eliminate open defecation in rural areas by 2019 through improving access to sanitation.  
• It also seeks to generate awareness to motivate communities to adopt sustainable sanitation practices, and encourage the use of appropriate technologies for sanitation.
• Funding for SBM-G will be through budgetary allocations of the central and state governments, the Swachh Bharat Kosh, and multilateral agencies.  
• The Swachh Bharat Kosh has been established to collect funds from non-governmental sources.

Major schemes of the central government to improve rural sanitation

1. Central Rural Sanitation Programme (1986)
2. Total Sanitation Campaign (1999)
3. Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (2012)
4. Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) (2014)

Highlights of the report:

• Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin (SBM-G) will result in preventing more than three lakh deaths due to diarrhoea and protein-energy malnutrition between 2014-October 2019.
• India’s rural sanitation coverage has escalated to 89.07% till August 2. Under the SBM-G, 19 States and Union Territories were declared Open Defecation Free (ODF) and 7.9 crore toilets were built, while 421 districts were declared ODF. Also, more than 4.9 lakh villages in the country were declared ODF.
• The WHO study showed that before the initiation of SBM-G, unsafe sanitation caused 199 million cases of diarrhoea annually and that by 2019, the initiative aims to achieve 100% sanitation coverage.

• India aim at net zero imports of telecommunications equipment by 2022
• Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recommended the setting up of a ₹1,000 crore fund for promoting research and innovation in the sector.
• TRAI recommendations aim at enabling Indian telecom equipment manufacturing sector to transition from an import-dependent sector to a global hub of indigenous manufacturing.

• India had sought Sri Lanka’s cooperation in swift completion of joint ventures
• The two governments have agreed that India, with a 70% stake in the joint venture, will contribute $225 million to revamp and run the airport, while the Sri Lankan side will invest the balance.
• India will operate the airport on a 40-year lease, as per the draft agreement

India-assisted projects such as –

• joint venture to run the Mattala airport in Sri Lanka’s Southern Province;
• an LNG terminal near Colombo, and
• the joint development of the oil storage facility in the eastern port town of Trincomalee

Highlights of the Bill:

Establishment of the University:  The Bill establishes a National Sports University located in Manipur. It will promote sports education in the areas of: (i) sports sciences, (ii) sports technology, (iii) sports management, and (iv) sports coaching.  It will function as a national training centre for select sports disciplines. It may also establish campuses and study centres in other parts of the country.  The University will be empowered to grant degrees, diplomas and certificates.

Objectives:  The key objectives of the University are: (i) research, development and dissemination of knowledge in physical education and sports sciences, (ii) strengthening physical education and sports training programmes, (iii) generating knowledge capabilities, skills and competence at various levels, and (iv) training talented athletes to help them to evolve into international level athletes.

Authorities of the University:  The Bill provides for several authorities under the University.  These include: Court, Executive Council, Academic and Activity Council, Board of Sports Studies etc.

Role the central government: The central government will review and inspect the functioning of the University. The Executive Council may take action based on the inspection report. If it fails to take action to the satisfaction of the central government, it will have to comply with the directions issued by the central government. Further, the central government may annul any proceeding of the University which is not in line with the Act.

Funding: The University will be required to maintain a fund which will be credited with the funds that it receives from the central government, state government, and fees and money received from any other sources (grants and gifts).  All funds of the University will be invested as decided by the Board on the recommendation of the Finance Committee.

Significance of the move:

Setting up of National Sports University in Manipur will result in giving an opportunity for youth of country in general and of North Eastern States in particular for pursuing courses such as B.PEd, MPEd, Diploma / certificate courses in coaching, physiotherapy, fitness, sports management, sports journalism, etc.

• Article 23 and Article 24 of constitution of India provides for rights against exploitation.
• Article 23 of constitution of India specifically Prohibits trafficking of human being.
• There are constitutional provisions, still, according to NCRB data 8,132 cases has been recorded in the country in the year 2016.

Some Facts: The latest figures of the National Crime Records Bureau, released in 2017

• Total cases of human trafficking registered 8,132 (January to December 2016).
• 3,579 cases (around 44%) were from West Bengal.
• Only one third of registered cases were charge sheeted.

Reason of being easy target of human traffickers:

• Poverty
• Child marriages
• Unemployment
• Lack of education

Problems Faced by victims after Rescue:

• Physical and mental health issues; Trauma
• Sexually transmitted diseases
• Social Rejection and living with stigma
• Struggle for Justice and compensation

Examples of organisations working for Rescue and Rehabilitation:

• Shakti Vahini, a Delhi-based NGO
• Utthan, a trafficking survivors’ collective
• Birangana Seva Samity, Canning based NGO (West Bengal)

What Government did?

• Compensation awarded by SLSA (State Legal Services Authority)
• Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018 passed by Lok Sabha
• POCSO Act
• Provisions Under Criminal Procedure Code
• Help lines and Collaboration with NGOs.

Way forward:

• Speedy justice and immediate compensation
• Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill, 2018 should be enacted as soon as possible
• Legalising prostitution can be considered to keep record of sex trade and track human trafficking.
• Social security schemes need to penetrate till the last needy person.
• There is need to spread awareness against social stigma towards the survivors.

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What are Anganwadi Centres (AWCs)?

Anganwadi is a type of rural mother and child care centre in India. They were started by the Indian government in 1975 as part of the Integrated Child Development Services program to combat child hunger and malnutrition.

They provide a package of six services–supplementary nutrition, referral services, immunisation, health check-up, pre-school non-formal education and health and nutrition education– to women and children.

Challenges faced by AWCs?

About a third of total 13.6 lakh anganwadi centres have neither toilets nor drinking water facilities.

• In Manipur only 21 per cent AWCs have drinking water facilities followed by Arunachal Pradesh (28.51 per cent), Uttarakhand (29.04 per cent), Karnataka (38.76 per cent), Telangana (40.21 per cent), Jammu and Kashmir (48.18 per cent) and Maharashtra (53.47 per cent).

• Similarly, in Telanagana only 21.30 per cent AWCs have toilets, followed by Manipur (27.05 per cent), Jharkhand (38.74 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (43.93 per cent), Jammu and Kashmir (44.11 per cent), Assam (47.51 per cent), Arunachal Pradesh (48.73 per cent) and Odisha (52.64 per cent).

• ICDS seeks to provide young children with an integrated package of services such as supplementary nutrition, health care and pre-school education.

• ICDS programme seeks to provide all basic essential services to children and mothers in an integrated manner right in their villages or wards. Gradually, the scheme has been expanded to urban slums and to rural and tribal blocks.

Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS):

ICDS is one of the flagship initiatives of Govt. of India that is being implemented in the state by WCD Dept.

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As part of its digital initiative, Karnataka Bank has integrated its education loan scheme/s with Vidya Lakshmi Portal of Government of India.

About Vidyalakshmi Portal:

Vidya Lakshmi is a first of its kind portal for students seeking Education Loan.

• This portal has been developed under the guidance of Department of Financial Services, (Ministry of Finance), Department of Higher Education (Ministry of Human Resource Development) and Indian Banks Association (IBA).
• The portal has been developed and being maintained by NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Limited.
• Students can view, apply and track the education loan applications to banks anytime, anywhere by accessing the portal. The portal also provides linkages to National Scholarship Portal.

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Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana has achieved the 5 crore mark. Lok Sabha Speaker Smt Sumitra Mahajan handed over 5 croreth LPG connection under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) to Smt Takrdiran of Delhi in the Parliament House.

The target:

Through PMUY, initially, 5 crore BPL households were targeted for providing deposit free LPG connections to BPL households by 31st March,2019. In a record time of 28 months for its launch, PMUY achieved the initial target of providing 5 crores LPG connection to BPL households.

In the current year, considering the huge success of the Scheme, target was revised to 8 crores with budgetary allocation of Rs 12,800 crore.

About the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana:

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana aims to provide LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) connections to poor households.

Who is eligible? Under the scheme, an adult woman member of a below poverty line family identified through the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) is given a deposit-free LPG connection with financial assistance of Rs 1,600 per connection by the Centre.

Identification of households: Eligible households will be identified in consultation with state governments and Union territories. The scheme is being implemented by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Some of the objectives of the scheme are:

• Empowering women and protecting their health.
• Reducing the serious health hazards associated with cooking based on fossil fuel.
• Reducing the number of deaths in India due to unclean cooking fuel.
• Preventing young children from significant number of acute respiratory illnesses caused due to indoor air pollution by burning the fossil fuel.

What makes LPG adoption necessary?

A large section of Indians, especially women and girls, are exposed to severe household air pollution (HAP) from the use of solid fuels such as biomass, dung cakes and coal for cooking. A report from the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare places HAP as the second leading risk factor contributing to India’s disease burden.

According to the World Health Organization, solid fuel use is responsible for about 13% of all mortality and morbidity in India (measured as Disability-Adjusted Life Years), and causes about 40% of all pulmonary disorders, nearly 30% of cataract incidences, and over 20% each of ischemic heart disease, lung cancer and lower respiratory infection.

Significance of the project:

PMUY has been a revolutionary initiative that has transformed the lives of more than 3.57 crore households spanning across the length and breadth of the country. The initiative is in line with Governments aim to eradicate energy poverty, thereby promoting economic empowerment.

Way ahead:

The PMUY is a bold and much-needed initiative, but it should be recognised that this is just a first step. The real test of the PMUY and its successor programmes will be in how they translate the provision of connections to sustained use of LPG or other clean fuels such as electricity or biogas. Truly smokeless kitchens can be realized only if the government follows up with measures that go beyond connections to actual usage of LPG. This may require concerted efforts cutting across Ministries beyond petroleum and natural gas and including those of health, rural development and women and child welfare.

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The Centre has withdrawn a proposal to have hubs to monitor social media traffic and trends. The decision comes after the court had questioned the proposal in a hearing on July 13, saying this may transform the country into a surveillance state.

Concerns over the Social media hub:

It was alleged that though the stated aim of the project was to enable the government to understand the impact of social media campaigns on welfare schemes and improve the reach of such campaigns, the project had two aspects — “mass surveillance apparatus that aims at collecting and analysing huge volumes of data, and profiling people based on that” and “utilising this data to predict the mood of people online and issue responses, including those targeted at individuals or groups”.

The social media analytical tool is expected to ‘listen’ to conversations on all major digital channels, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Tumblr, as well as blogs and news channels. Therefore, it was contended that “such intrusive action on the part of the government, is not only without the authority of law, but also infringes fundamental right to freedom of speech under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.” The move was also violative of Articles 14, 19(1)(a) and 21.

What is Social media communication hub?

The hub proposes to monitor social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and even email) handles at the very local level in multiple languages to carry out “sentiment analysis”, track down the influence-making social media users and to categorise the conversations on social media into positive, negative and neutral sections.

It also aimed to track real time the way social media receives news on government’s schemes and announcements and also political events.

Usage of this information:

This information would help the government in formulating policies, schemes or rectify any flaws in their implementation at the ground level so that the ultimate beneficiary who is the common man is benefited and has a direct way to communicate any complaints regarding the same to the Government.

Social media managers:

As per the proposal, the project is meant to strengthen the social media division and recruit social media managers to be deployed in 712 districts of the country. Each district will have one social media manager who will be entrusted with the tasks of keeping a close eye on the regional and local media, collecting data of regional media and of local events, providing content for social media and supporting media units at the regional level for social media publicity.

Role of social media managers:

These social media managers will also monitor local editions of newspapers, local cable channels, local audio channels (FM) and key local social media handles for important local developments. They will make a daily analysis report incorporating local sentiments to be sent to region head in the PIB as well as the media hub (command centre).

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As on date, three funds have been established by the Government under the NIIF platform and registered with SEBI as Category II Alternative Investment Funds and National Investment and Infrastructure Fund II (‘Strategic Fund’) is one of those three funds.

The other two funds are National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (or Master Fund) and NIIF Fund of Funds – I.

About Strategic Fund:

• The objective of National Investment and Infrastructure Fund II (‘Strategic Fund’) is to invest largely in equity and equity-linked instruments. The Strategic Fund will focus on green field and brown field investments in the core infrastructure sectors.
• It will focus on green field and brown field investments in the core infrastructure sectors.

About NIIF:

• NIIF was set up in 2015 as an investment vehicle for funding commercially viable greenfield, brownfield and stalled projects in the infrastructure sector. NIIF will invest in areas such as energy, transportation, housing, water, waste management and other infrastructure-related sectors in India.
• The corpus of the fund is proposed to be around Rs40,000 crore, with the government investing 49% and the rest to be raised from third-party investors such as sovereign wealth funds, insurance and pension funds, endowments etc.
• NIIF’s strategy includes anchoring equity, quasi-equity and debt funds in partnership with investors targeting investments across the relevant sectors in India.

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add ons of the day:

• Telangana State Information Technology, Electronics and Communication department (ITE&C) signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tech Mahindra to launch India’s first Blockchain district. The MoU was signed at International Blockchain Congress 2018 held in Hyderabad.
• India was elected as President of the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) for period of two years. India got elected against Iran during voting which took place at 44th annual gathering of AIBD held in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Moreover, Director General of All India Radio (AIR) F. Sheheryar was also re-elected as chair of executive board of AIBD while Sri Lanka was elected as vice-chair. Broadcasters from 26 countries in the region including India are full members of the organization.