National Current Affairs – UPSC/IAS Exams- 11th July 2019

by Mentors4ias · July 11, 2019

Article 370

Topic: Polity and Governance

In News: The government has informed Parliament that “no foreign government or organisation has any locus standi” in repealing Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir as matters relating to the Constitution of India are internal and only for the Indian Parliament to deal with.

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Article 370 is the most controversial provision of the constitution of India. It deals exclusively with the state of Jammu and Kashmir. This article has been the subject of controversy right since its inception.
Some sections demand the abrogation of this article for a complete merger of J&K with the Union of India.
However, some sections, especially from the Kashmir valley, argue for the continuation of this article saying that it was an article of faith undergirding the Instrument of Accession under which J&K came into the Indian Union.
Under Article 1 of the Indian constitution, Jammu and Kashmir is a constituent state of Indian Union, and its territory forms an integral part of the territory of India. However, Article 370 gives it a special status, and consequently, all the provisions of the constitution of India are not applicable to it. The state of J&K is also unique in the sense that it has its separate state constitution.
Article 370 is a temporary provision. The President of India can declare that Article 370 ceases to be operative or operates with exceptions and modifications. However, this can be done by the President only on the recommendation of the Constituent Assembly of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Below mentioned are the various parameters under which special treatment to Jammu And Kashmir was provided:

Its name, area or boundary cannot be changed without the consent of state legislature.
Part VI of Indian constitution dealing with state government is not applicable.
Residuary power belongs to state, except in prevention of activities involving terrorist acts, questioning and disrupting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India and causing insult to the national flag, national anthem and the constitution of India.
Fundamental right to property is still granted in the state.
Special rights are granted to permanent residents of state with regard to public employment, acquisition of immovable property, settlement and government scholarships.
Directive Principles of state Policies and Fundamental duties are not applicable.
National emergency on the ground of internal disturbance will have no effect except with the concurrence of state government.
Financial emergency cannot be imposed.
High Court of Jammu and Kashmir cannot issue writs for other than Fundamental rights.
The denial of citizenship rights of migrants to Pakistan is not applicable.
Fifth schedule and sixth schedule of Indian Constitution are not applicable.
Official language provisions are applicable only in so far as they relate to the official language of the Union.
An amendment made to the Constitution of India does not apply automatically to the state unless extended by Presidential Order.
President rule can be applied only on the ground of failure of constitutional machinery of state constitution and not of Indian constitution.

Criticism of Article 370

Critics say that Article 370 is a case of special appeasement and it should be deleted for J&K s complete merger with India in the interest of larger national integration.
There is a legal provision in India that places of religious worship cannot be misused for political purposes. But this provision does not apply to J&K, according to one scholar, this result into a practical situation where the state does not come within the ambit of secularism. It leads to a situation where separatism gets legally recognised. The government remains a mere spectator when separatist leaders give anti-India speeches from the ramparts of the mosque routinely after Friday prayers.
Corruption corrodes developmental processes in India, and the situation of J&K is no different. The jurisdiction of institutions like CAG, Lokpal, CBI etc. do not extend to J&K due to Article 370.
RTI is not applicable to the state. Hence, the people of the state are deprived of the right to information. It means that an important aspect of democracy, transparency and accountability remains missing from the State. The civil society of the state lacks this RTI tool to fight corruption.
Separatist politics in J&K has a negative bearing on inter-communal relations and perceptions in other states of the Indian Union.

Conclusion:

The issues related Article 370 is very complex as well as sensitive. The political parties of J&K are also key stakeholders in these issues. They should refrain from inflaming popular passions on these sensitive issues.
There is a need to adopt a humane approach in solving the problems.
Other stakeholders should also understand the negative implications of doing politics over the demand for complete abrogation of Article 370 on the successful asymmetrical model of federalism practised by India.
Abrogation of Article 370 would also create negative perceptions for other states enjoying special states like Mizoram and Nagaland.
It might complicate centre-state relations in these border states with likely negative repercussions on national security.
The stakeholders should not be creating law and order issues in Jammu and Kashmir by doing negative politics on these sensitive matters as the issue is sub-judice now.

Source: The Hindu

Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill

Topic: Polity and Governance

In News: The Union Cabinet has approved the Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019 that will help adjudicate disputes relating to waters of inter-State rivers and river valleys.

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The Bill seeks to amend the Inter State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 to streamline the adjudication of inter-state river water disputes. A key feature of the bill is the constitution of a single tribunal with different Benches, and the setting of strict timelines for adjudication.
When any request under the Act is received from any State Government in respect of any water dispute on the inter-State rivers and the Central government is of the opinion that the water dispute cannot be settled by negotiations, the Central Government constitutes a Water Disputes Tribunal for the adjudication of the water dispute.
There are about a dozen tribunals that now exist to resolve disputes among States on sharing water from rivers common to them. The standalone tribunal so envisaged will have a permanent establishment and permanent office space and infrastructure so as to obviate with the need to set up a separate Tribunal for each water dispute, a time consuming process.
The Bill also proposes a Dispute Resolution Committee set up by the Central Government for amicably resolving inter-State water disputes within 18 months.
Any dispute that cannot be settled by negotiations would be referred to the tribunal for its adjudication.
The dispute so referred to the tribunal shall be assigned by the chairperson of the tribunal to a Bench of the tribunal for adjudication.
The Bill can also affect the composition of the members of various tribunals, and has a provision to have a technical expert as the head of the tribunal. Currently all tribunals are staffed by members of the judiciary, nominated by the Chief Justice.

Significance:

This panel will attempt to resolve differences between warring States in an institutionalised way. Only when the committee fails in its attempt, will the matter go to the tribunal. This way, the tribunal will be saved from being over-burdened as well.
Among the best features of the Bill is that it has a provision to settle disputes within definite time frame(four-and-a-half years).
This is marked departure from the present situation, where there is no time limit. Cases have dragged on for not just years but also decades. This has had disastrous consequences, because the failure in a reasonable period of time to resolve keeps the issue boiling and erupting from time to time.

Source: The Hindu

The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme

Topic: Government schemes

In News: A new study suggests that nutrition and health counselling delivered under the ICDS programme’s auspices is one of the best possible investments that can be made by any government.

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The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme is one of the world’s largest programmes for early childhood care and development.
As a behavioural change intervention, nutrition and health counselling is relatively low cost for every person that is reached. It’s important to note that this programme does not provide food, but instead provides information to the mother, making it more likely that the child will receive more and better food. And that in turn leads to lifelong benefits.
Many studies have now demonstrated that these benefits can be large. Improving the nutrition and health outcomes of the children of mothers reached makes this a highly cost-effective intervention.
Two analyses were undertaken in Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan, looking at a six-year campaign of nutrition counselling and hand-washing. Based on previous studies, it is estimated that counselling leads to a 12% reduction in stunting. This leads to better cognitive skills.

About ICDS Scheme:

The Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS) Scheme providing for supplementary nutrition, immunization and pre-school education to the children is a popular flagship programme of the government.
Launched in 1975, it is one of the world’s largest programmes providing for an integrated package of services for the holistic development of the child. ICDS is a centrally sponsored scheme implemented by state governments and union territories. The scheme is universal covering all the districts of the country.The Scheme has been renamed as Anganwadi Services.

Objectives:

To improve the nutritional and health status of children in the age-group 0-6 years;
To lay the foundation for proper psychological, physical and social development of the child;
To reduce the incidence of mortality, morbidity, malnutrition and school dropout;
To achieve effective co-ordination of policy and implementation amongst the various departments to promote child development; and
To enhance the capability of the mother to look after the normal health and nutritional needs of the child through proper nutrition and health education.

Beneficiaries

Children in the age group of 0-6 years
Pregnant women and
Lactating mothers

Services under ICDS:

The ICDS Scheme offers a package of six services, viz.Supplementary Nutrition,Pre-school non-formal education,Nutrition & health education,Immunization,Health check-up and Referral services
Three of the six services viz. immunization, health check-up and referral services are related to health and are provided through National Health Mission and Public Health Infrastructure. The services are offered at Anganwadi Centres through Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) and Anganwadi Helpers (AWHS) at grassroots level.

Source: The Hindu

Sea Level Rise India

Topic: Environment and Ecology

In News: Of the major ports in India, Diamond Harbour in West Bengal located at the mouth of river Hooghly has recorded the maximum sea level increase, according to data tabled in the Lok Sabha by the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

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While recent studies reveal that sea level rise in the country has been estimated to be 1.3 mm/year along India’s coasts during the last 40-50 years, at Diamond Harbour the rise was almost five times higher at 5.16 mm per year.
The sea level rise is higher in West Bengal, particularly in the Sunderbans delta is because of the deltaic sediment deposition as a result of the mixing of fresh water and saline water.
The mean sea level rise for Diamond Harbour was based on recordings over the period from 1948 to 2005. This is followed by Kandla port in Gujarat where the sea level rise was 3.18 (1950 to 2005) , followed by Haldia in West Bengal, which recorded a sea level rise of 2.89 mm a year (1972 to 2005). Port Blair also recorded a sea level rise of 2.20 mm per year (1916-1964).

The link with Global warming:

Sea level rise is said be linked with global warming and as per the fifth assessment report of the International Panel on Climate Change, the global sea level was rising at an average rate of 1.8 mm per year over the last century.
Global warming not only causes melting of ice and glaciers, but also leads to internal expansion of water in oceans and thus a rise in the sea level. The results of studies on the impact of global warning suggest that heavy rainfall and temperature extremes like heat waves and shifts in semi-arid regions were some of the recent findings which may have linkages with climate change and global warming.
Rising sea levels can exacerbate the impacts of coastal hazards such as storm surge, tsunami, coastal floods, high waves and coastal erosion in the low lying coastal areas in addition to causing gradual loss of coastal land to sea.

Source: The Hindu

Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana

Topic: Government Policies

In News: In line with the provisions of National Policy for Farmers (NPF) (2007), the Department of Rural Development, Ministry of Rural Development is implementing a programme exclusively for women farmers namely, Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP).

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The “Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana” (MKSP), a sub component of the Deendayal Antodaya Yojana-NRLM (DAY-NRLM) seeks to improve the present status of women in Agriculture, and to enhance the opportunities available to empower her.
MKSP recognizes the identity of “Mahila” as “Kisan” and strives to build the capacity of women in the domain of agro-ecologically sustainable practices.
It has a clear vision to reach out to the poorest of poor households and expand the portfolio of activities currently handled by the Mahila Kisan.
The focus of MKSP is on capacitating smallholders to adopt sustainable climate resilient agro-ecology and eventually create a pool of skilled community professionals.
Its objective is to strengthen smallholder agriculture through promotion of sustainable agriculture practices such as Community Managed Sustainable Agriculture (CMSA), Non Pesticide Management (NPM), Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF), Pashu-Sakhi model for doorstep animal care services, Sustainable regeneration and harvesting of Non-Timber Forest Produce.

Source: The Hindu

Faminisation of Indian Agriculture

Topic: Social Justice

In News: Faminisation of Indian agriculture was mentioned along with the government scheme Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana.

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The term ‘Feminization of agriculture’ refers to increasing participation of women in agricultural activities. It can be interpreted in the following ways:
An increase in the percentage of women who are economically active in agricultural sector either as self-employed or as agriculture wage workers or unremunerated family workers
An increase in the percentage of women in agricultural labour force relative to men, either because of more women are working or because of fewer men are working in agriculture.

Women in Indian agriculture: Statistics

Participation of both men and women in agriculture has declined, but the rate of decline has been faster among men than it has among women.
Decline among women has been specifically in relation to their roles as cultivators, however their numbers as agricultural labourers have increased
The Agriculture Census (2010-11) shows that out of an estimated 118.7 million cultivators, 3% were females. Similarly, out of an estimated 144.3 million agricultural labourers, 42.6% were females.
According to Census 2011, there has been a 24% increase in the number of female agricultural labourers between 2001 and 2011.
As per Census 2011, out of total female main workers, 55% were agricultural labourers and 24% cultivators.

Causes of Feminization of Indian Agriculture:

Poverty: Poverty is a major factor due to which women are women are forced to work as agricultural labourers to supplement the family’s income. Women also work as unremunerated workers in family fields.
Agrarian Distress and Shift of men to Casual work: Agrarian distress is a predominant factor for disruption of farm labour or de-pesantatization i.e. migration of males from agriculture towards casual work. According to a 2013 report published in The Hindu, between 2001 and 2011, a total of 7.7 million farmers left agriculture. With rising shift of men from farm to non-farm activities, women have got absorbed in agricultural and allied activities.
Migration to Urban Areas: According to the Economic Survey 2017-18, with growing rural to urban migration by men, there has been ‘feminisation’ of agriculture sector; there has been an increase in participation of women as cultivators, labourers and entrepreneurs
Mechanization of agriculture: With increased mechanisation of agriculture, men have moved to other non-farm activities while women have been confined to traditional roles such as winnowing, harvesting, sowing seeds and rearing livestock.
Mobility: The upward mobility of women for employment is restricted and is further constrained by gender wage differentials. As per Census, about 33.7% of rural males migrate for reasons of employment and better economic opportunities. However, in the case of females, it is as low as 3.6% for rural females.

Way Forward:

A gender analysis is important for development policies and programs directed at agriculture. The Economic Survey (2017-18) recommended that there is an urgent need for ‘inclusive transformative agricultural policy’ aimed at gender-specific interventions.
The government should ensure access to secure land and property rights. A formal access to land will help increase productivity by facilitating investments and would ensure household food security and nutrition
Provision of credit without collateral under the micro-finance initiative of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development should be encouraged
The training of rural women to help them adopt modern agricultural techniques that are tailored to local conditions and that use natural resources in a sustainable manner.Krishi Vigyan Kendras in every district can be assigned an additional task to educate and train women farmers about innovative technology along with extension services.
It is important to have gender-friendly tools and machinery for various farm operations. Manufacturers should be incentivised to come up with more women-friendly machineries.
Legal measures should be taken to ensure equal pay for work of equal value. Women should be made aware to help them negotiate equal wages and women organizations and unions can play an important role in this.
The ILO has developed a program named Women’s Education for Integrating Women Members in Rural Workers’ Organizations with the objective of increasing empowerment of rural women in Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh.
To achieve the full economic benefit from employment, rural women should be provided a greater choice over their occupations so that they are not forced to do the work left behind by men. It is thus important to have overall women empowerment through education, awareness and doing away with gender biases.

Model Mains Question: ‘Inclusive transformative agricultural policy’ needs gender-specific interventions. Comment.

Source: The Hindu

HT Bt Cotton

Topic: Science and Technology

In News: Few Haryana farmers tried to defy a government restriction against sowing banned HT Bt Cotton .

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Herbicide-tolerant Bt (HT Bt)Cotton is genetically modified cotton crop.It is also known as BG-III cotton, an advanced version of Bt Cotton, as it takes care of weeds problem.
Herbicide is like a poison which is used to destroy unwanted vegetation.They are designed to tolerate specific broad-spectrum herbicides, which kill the surrounding weeds, but leave the cultivated crop intact.
The herbicide-tolerant trait was developed and commercialised by US-based multinational seed giant Monsanto.
Currently, Bt-Cotton is the only GM crop allowed to be grown in India.
Herbicide-Tolerant Bt-cotton has unapproved genes which is not permissible in India.The herbicide-resistant gene in HT cotton can spread through pollen into biodiversity system leading to transformation of weeds into super weeds.
It will threaten growth and yields of all crops in future and leads to health hazards.
But farmers in Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra cultivates the unapproved HTBT cotton, as they want improved seeds and technology for better crops.
In the absence of government approval, production of HT Bt cotton is illegal.