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The Supreme Court asked the Centre and at least six States to respond to a plea about recurring lynchings and mob violence.
The plea said gruesome incidents of mob fury and vigilantism continue to happen despite a five-year-old top court judgment, which had made the government machinery squarely accountable for protecting the lives of victims, including minority community members.
Appearing before a Bench led by Justice B.R. Gavai, senior advocate Kapil Sibal began by requesting the court not to tell him to go to the High Courts. He said the incidents span multiple States. The victims should not be made to go to all these High Courts.
The senior lawyer, appearing for the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), highlighted how the 2018 judgment of the top court in the Tehseen Poonawala case had foretold that lynchings and mob violence were “creeping threats” and need to be nipped in the bud.
The court had warned that the rising wave of frenzied mobs — fed by fake news, self-professed morality and false stories — would consume the country like a “typhoon-like monster”.
The court asked the Home Ministry and heads of police forces of Maharashtra, Odisha, Haryana, Rajasthan, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh to respond to the petition.
On July 10, the top court, in a separate case, had decided to take stock of what the Centre and State governments have done so far to punish lynchings, mostly spurred by communal hate, since its July 2018 judgment.
The judgment had condemned these “horrendous acts of mobocracy” as an anathema that requires a special law and punishment.
Editorial
Charting the path for the Sixteenth Finance Commission (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The Sixteenth Finance Commission is due to be set up shortly. Many critical changes have taken place since the constitution of the Fifteenth Finance Commission in November 2017 that includes COVID-19 and the subsequent geopolitical challenges.
The combined government debt-GDP ratio had also shot up close to 90% at the end of 2020-21. Many States show large fiscal imbalances too.
The Fourteenth Finance Commission had raised the share of States in the divisible pool of central taxes to 42% from 32%. This was revised to 41% when the number of States in India was reduced to 28.
However, the Centre could manage the situation because of the withdrawal of Planning Commission grants as the Planning Commission was abolished.
There may not be a strong case for recommending any further increase in the States’ share of central taxes in view of the Centre’s large fiscal imbalances. Alongside, a re-examination of the role of non-shareable cesses and surcharges is required.
During 2020-21 to 2023-24 (BE), the effective share of States in the Centre’s gross tax revenues (GTR) averaged close to 31%, which was significantly lower than the corresponding share of nearly 35% during 2015-16 to 2019-20.
This was due to the inordinate increase in the share of cesses and surcharges to 18.5% of the Centre’s GTR during 2020-21 to 2023-24 (BE) from 12.8% during 2015-16 to 2019-20.
This heavy reliance on cesses and surcharges requires scrutiny by the Sixteenth Finance Commission. One option is to freeze the share of cesses and surcharges to some base number.
In the period under the Thirteenth Finance Commission, this share was just 9.6%. Perhaps, a 10% upper limit of the share of cesses and surcharges as a percentage of Centre’s GTR may be recommended.
To make it biting, the share of States must be increased if the proportion crosses 10%. Thus, there will be one proportion, say 42%, if cesses and surcharges exceed 10%, and another share of 41% if they are 10% or below.
News
2 health Bills passed without debate in LS (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
The Lok Sabha passed two key health Bills — the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill, 2023 and the National Dental Commission Bill, 2023 — without debate, amid uproar by the Opposition members.
The National Nursing and Midwifery Commission Bill seeks to repeal the Indian Nursing Council Act, 1947 and set up the National Nursing and Midwifery Commission (NNMC).
According to the Indian Nursing Council records, till 2022, there were around 33.41 lakh nursing personnel registered in the country.
The Bill seeks to provide for regulation and maintenance of standards of education and services by nursing and midwifery professionals, assessment of institutions, maintenance of national and State registers and creation of a system to improve access, research and development along with the adoption of the latest scientific advancement in the nursing and midwifery profession.
The National Dental Commission Bill seeks to repeal the Dentists Act, 1948 to regulate the profession of dentistry, provide quality and affordable dental education, and make accessible high-quality oral healthcare. According to government data, the country has 2.89 lakh registered dentists.
India, Japan will work to strengthen ‘peacetime cooperation’: Jaishankar (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said India and Japan would rather work to strengthen their “peacetime cooperation”, side-stepping a question about how the two countries would cooperate in case of a conflict in the Taiwan Strait, or between India and China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Speaking at an event in Delhi along with visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, he said the two countries were “natural partners” in facing the challenges of a “future world order”.
It is actually the peacetime cooperation, which is when you are tested,” Mr. Jaishankar said in response to a question from Japanese newspaper Nikkei about what kind of “wartime cooperation” could be expected from India in case of a war in the Taiwan Strait, in a reference to any possible Chinese military action against Taiwan.
I would say for us the challenge is that we work every day in every possible way to strengthen our cooperation, whether it’s in economics, supply chains, digital domain or critical technologies and also in maritime security.
He added that by strengthening “peace, stability and security” in the region, India and Japan could ensure that “many of the worst fears” would not be realised.
To a question on what Japan’s reaction to a conflict on the India-China border or in the Indo-Pacific would be, Mr. Hayashi, however, was more direct.
We are already doing some cooperation in the security sphere, such as in January,” he said, referring to India-Japan military and maritime exercises that included the first-ever joint fighter exercise in January.
He said strong bilateral ties and more people-to-people cooperation would increase stability in the region. “On top of that there is defence cooperation, and that will be working against any of those scenarios in the future.
Modi says India can become hub of chip-making industry (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said India would emerge as a global hub of semiconductor and chip-making industry, as he made a strong pitch to global investors, while inaugurating the ‘Semicon India 2023’ conclave in Gujarat.
“Earlier, people were questioning our aim to make chips and were asking ‘why invest in India’. Now, the question has changed to ‘why not invest’ in India,” the PM said, adding the country was rolling out a red carpet to investors in the sector.
India understands that semiconductors are not just a national need but a necessity for the world,” Mr. Modi said, adding that attracting global players to set up their plants and supply chain network in the country is one of the top priorities of his government.
The second edition of ‘Semicon India’ is being held in Gandhinagar in the presence of leaders and representatives from various global semiconductor companies and start-ups. The three-day summit will conclude on Sunday.
To expedite growth of the semiconductor sector in the country, we are continuously undertaking policy reforms and also working with partner countries for a comprehensive road map for semiconductor industry, while listing the reform measures and tax incentives the government offers to the companies wanting to set up their factories in the country.
Mr. Modi also highlighted Internet penetration and fibre infrastructure in the country, availability of talent, huge market, besides a friendly and attractive corporate tax system. He also underlined the political stability in the country.
In his speech, the Prime Minister touched upon the rapid development driven by India’s future aspirations, citing the reduction in extreme poverty and the widespread availability of affordable data connectivity which has reached even remote places in the country.
Need legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution: PM (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday called on the G-20 nations to work constructively for an effective, international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution.
He was addressing the G-20 Environment Ministers’ Meeting here through videoconference. Detailing India’s progress with regard to the climate action plan or the ‘Nationally Determined Contributions’ (NDCs), Mr. Modi said the country achieved its installed electric capacity from non-fossil fuel sources nine years ahead of the target of 2030.
He said India was one of the top five countries in the world in terms of installed renewable energy capacity and added that the country had set a target of attaining ‘Net Zero’ by 2070.
Mr. Modi stressed the need to enhance action on commitments under the ‘UN Climate Convention’ and the ‘Paris Agreement’ to help the Global South fulfil its developmental aspirations in a climate-friendly way.
Referring to the ‘Small Island States’ as ‘Large Ocean Countries’, Mr. Modi said the oceans were a crucial economic resource for them while also supporting the livelihoods of over three billion people across the globe. He stressed the importance of responsible use and management of oceanic resources.
Mr. Modi said 70% of the world’s tigers were found in India as a result of ‘Project Tiger’. He said work was under way on ‘Project Lion’ and ‘Project Dolphin’.
Land-use changes putting rocky addresses of animals under stress in Sahyadri plateau (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Envirinment)
The rapid shift from traditional local grain cultivation to monoculture plantations of mango and cashew in the Sahyadri plateaus of Maharashtra is impacting elusive amphibians, insects, and reptiles that live under a crop of loose rocks.
A team of five scientists upturned more than 7,000 rocks over a considerable period of time to find out how animals ranging from ants to snakes are responding to land-use changes in rocky habitats. Their study has been published in the Global Ecology and Conservation, a peer-reviewed international journal.
The study was carried out by Vijayan Jithin, Manali Rane, Aparna Watve, Varad Giri, and Rohit Naniwadekar representing Nature Conservation Foundation-India (NCF), Bombay Environmental Action Group (BEAG), and the Ahmedabad-based Reliance Foundation.
The animals the scientists focused on included the white-striped viper gecko (Hemidactylus albofasciatus) reported only from small parts of the Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts of Maharashtra, the Seshachari’s caecilian (Gegeneophis seshachari), a unique legless amphibian that mostly lives under soil, the saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus), ants, spiders, and scorpions.
The loose rocks shelter these animals – some endemic and threatened – from scorching heat during summer and heavy monsoon rains.
They have evolved to survive on the rocky plateaus, but their adaptability to changing conditions may not be enough for the pace of shift in the land-use pattern.
The rapidly changing agricultural trends in the rock outcrops include abandoning traditional local grain cultivation, and establishing monoculture plantations of mango and cashew by destroying the natural plateaus.
Business
Govt. allows Indian companies to list on foreign exchanges through IFSC (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
Union Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman said that Indian companies could now directly list their shares on foreign exchanges operating at the GIFT City-based International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Gujarat.
She said in May 2020 that direct listing of securities by public Indian companies would be permissible in foreign jurisdictions. Now I am pleased to announce that the government has taken a decision to enable direct listing of listed and unlisted companies on the IFSC exchanges. This is a major step forward to enable Indian companies to access global capital at better valuations.
The Finance Minister was in Mumbai to inaugurate a Limited Purpose Clearing Corporation (LPCC) mechanism called AMC Repo Clearing Ltd. (ARCL) and the Corporate Debt Market Development Fund (CDMDF) which will help in the development of a vibrant corporate bond market in India. The FM had made an announcement on this during her budget speech of 2021-22.
The LPCC has been set up with the purpose of clearing and settling corporate bond repo transactions and to develop an active repo market.
This is expected to improve liquidity in the underlying corporate bond market. The LPCC will allow market makers to access cost-effective funding for their inventory, bondholders to meet their short term liquidity needs without having to liquidate their assets, and entities with short term surpluses to deploy their funds in a safe and efficient manner.
In times of market dislocation, CDMDF will have access to capital worth ₹33,000 crore to purchase and hold eligible corporate debt securities from participating investors (i.e., specified debt-oriented MF schemes to begin with) and to sell these securities as markets recover.