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Increasing its surveillance of worksites under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the Union Ministry of Rural Development will be pressing drones into service to monitor both the progress and quality of assets produced.
According to a standard operating procedure (SOP) recently issued by the Ministry, the drones will be used for four types of monitoring: surveying the ongoing works, inspecting the completed works, impact assessment, and special inspection in case of complaints.
There are several complaints about corruption in MNREGS works that we receive regularly. These vary from machines being used in place of the workers, many receiving wages without doing work, or works beyond the approved list being undertaken, and so on.
Drones will be especially helpful in such cases for real-time monitoring and for garnering evidence.
The SOP stipulates that the drones will be used by the ombudsperson in every district, who is responsible for registering suo moto complaints and disposing of them within 30 days.
For efficient monitoring and redressal of grievances, it is decided by the Ministry that the ombudsperson may use drone technology facilities for verification of the works virtually.
Chandrayaan propulsion, lander modules separate (Page no. 1)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
After 34 days on board the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft, the propulsion module and the lander module parted ways on Thursday, and have now embarked on their respective journeys.
The Chandrayaan-3 consists of a lander module, a propulsion module and a rover. According to ISRO, “The lander will have the capability to soft land at a specified lunar site and deploy the rover, which will carry out in-situ chemical analysis of the lunar surface during the course of its mobility. The lander and the rover have scientific payloads to carry out experiments on the lunar surface.”
The propulsion module also has one scientific payload that will be operated post-separation of the lander module. The payload will be operational for a period of three to six months. The lander and the rover have a mission life of one lunar day (14 earth days).
As of now, the propulsion module continues its journey in the current orbit, and will continue to do so possibly for months or years.
The Spectro-polarimetry of Habitable Planet Earth (SHAPE) payload on board the propulsion module would perform spectroscopic study of the Earth’s atmosphere and measure the variations in polarisation from the clouds on Earth to accumulate signatures of exoplanets that would qualify for habitability by humans.
After the separation of the two modules, a series of complex braking manoeuvres will be executed to facilitate a soft landing in the south polar region of the moon.
States
P is for policy, preschool, and potential (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, Education)
On a humid July morning on Delhi’s outskirts in Sonipat, Haryana, children as young as three and four years are see-sawing and sliding down age-appropriate play equipment in an anganwadi centre that doubles as a preschool.
These playthings are new additions to the space, co-located on the campus of the Government Senior Secondary School of the Rai block headquarters. Soon, the warm savoury smell of aloo parathas wafts through, as about 35 children run to get their hot freshly cooked midday meal.
Like most anganwadis, literally translated as courtyard shelters, this one too looks after the healthcare and nutrition needs of pregnant women and children up to six years, in low-resource settings. Now, they are also responsible for preschool education.
With the 2020 National Education Policy (NEP) stipulating that early childhood education (ECE) for children from three to six years be taken care of by anganwadis, States like Haryana are developing plans to make preschool-based learning available here.
The premise of preschool itself is that over 85% of a child’s brain development occurs by the age of six, and the mind and body need to be stimulated in ways that encourage growth.
As per the NEP, free preschool education can be imparted in four ways: through anganwadis either located within government schools, or as stand-alone entities, through government schools that have a preschool, or through stand-alone preschools.
In Haryana, the anganwadi system is the most popular way of disseminating play-way-based learning. Chief Minister Manohar Lal announced in his 2020-21 budget speech that 4,000 anganwadis (of 25,000) would be converted into preschools.
In the run-up to next year’s Assembly election, sources close to the CM say that he personally monitors progress on building and running the preschools, in a bid to showcase change.
Editorial
Gaps in Births and Deaths Registration (Amendment) Act (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
The Registration of Births and Deaths (RBD) Act, 1969 provides for compulsory registration of births and deaths under a uniform law across India. Experience of its working indicates that it is necessary to amend it for several reasons, and things could be changing as a Bill to amend this Act — called the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2023 — for the first time since its inception, has been passed by Parliament and has got the assent of the President of India.
One of the major objectives that has been stated in the ‘Statement of Objects and Reasons’ attached to the Bill is “to create a National and State level database of registered births and deaths which would help in updating other databases resulting in efficient and transparent delivery of public services and social benefits”.
For this purpose, the Bill makes it compulsory that the Registrar General of India maintains a national level database of births and deaths, and that the Chief Registrar of births and deaths in every State is required to maintain a State-level database of registered births and deaths ‘using the portal approved by the Registrar General of India’.
These databases are to provide information to update the National Population Register, the Aadhaar database, electoral rolls, ration card, passport, and other databases at the national level, as may be notified.
In the case of birth, the amendments provide for collecting the Aadhaar number of the parents. Nothing is mentioned about the Aadhaar number of the deceased.
Updating many of the databases would require removing the names of the deceased from the database. If the Aadhaar number of a deceased person is not collected, it would be impossible to achieve this objective.
This means that the laudable objective of ensuring ‘efficient and transparent delivery of public services and social benefits’ would remain a dream.
Opinion
Is there a need to replace the IPC, the CrPC and the Evidence Act? (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
On August 11, 2023, Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduced three Bills in the Lok Sabha; the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill to replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita Bill to replace the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and the Bharatiya Sakshya Bill to replace the Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
The proposal raises questions on whether the existing laws were being misused for them to be changed, and the amendments made in the new Bills.
It is true that the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Indian Evidence Act were fully operational, their sections were utilised in the criminal justice system and the public had become used to it.
But it would be an exaggeration to say that they reflected the changing values and the democratic aspirations of the people. Much water has flowed down the rivers ever since the IPC was enacted in 1860.
The entire socio-economic scenario and political complexion have changed. I think a need was felt that these laws should reflect the change. What they (the government) have done is undertake a tremendous exercise.
For example, in the IPC, 175 sections have been amended, eight new sections have been added and 22 sections have been repealed to generate the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill.
It is very true that the codes (IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act) probably did not fully reflect the changes in society. But there seems to be some ambiguity about how these news laws would relate to all the precedents, jurisprudence and case laws that were developed on the basis of the old codes.
There is a debate going on across the world in terms of criminal justice jurisprudence, which talks about keeping someone in detention without being charged.
In Scotland, the amount of time for which you can keep someone in detention without bringing charges against them is six hours.
However, in our country, it was 60 days and the new Bill proposes 90 days. So, it seems we are going in the opposite direction. The new CrPC seems to have formalised this principle not just for acts related to terrorism, but for any IPC offence.
The new CrPC also seems to give a lot of discretionary powers to the police, like the ‘right to handcuff’ which we have never had in India.
Now there’s discretion to handcuff, to arrest women after sunset in exceptional circumstances, and to use any force and means necessary when arresting a person. That could legitimise encounters and all kinds of violence.
News
CJI asks if petitioners want SC to assess govt.’s ‘wisdom’ in repealing Article 370 (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
The Supreme Court appeared unenthusiastic to accept an “invitation” to judicially review the “wisdom” behind the Union government’s decision to dilute Article 370, which had given a special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
Instead, the Constitution Bench said that its ambit lay in investigating whether the repeal of the provision in August 2019 amounted to a “constitutional violation”.
Are you inviting the court to review the wisdom of the decision of the Government of India on the abrogation of Article 370? Are you saying that judicial review should reassess the basis of the government decision that it was not in national interest to continue with Article 370?
The Chief Justice’s queries came in response to submissions by senior advocate Dushyant Dave that the “whole exercise of abrogation of Article 370 was bereft of any reasons”.
He said that the earlier judicial notion that the court should not be mindful of political decisions had been expressly rejected in recent precedents.
Mr. Dave said that his submissions were indeed based on the Constitution. All he wanted to know was what material had decided the President to declare an Emergency in Jammu and Kashmir and rescind Article 370 months later.
Mr. Dave argued that clause (3) of Article 370, which empowered the President to repeal the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, had “exhausted itself” with the dissolution of the Jammu and Kashmir Constituent Assembly in 1957.
When the Constituent Assembly dissolved in 1957 without abrogating Article 370, the President’s power to repeal Article 370 died along with it, he said.
President Murmu launches warship Vindhyagiri (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Defence)
President Droupadi Murmu launched Vindhyagiri, the last in the series of three Project 17A (Alpha) frigates built by the Indian Navy at the Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE).
Describing the development as a move forward in enhancing India’s maritime capabilities, the President said that the launch was also a step towards achieving the goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat through indigenous shipbuilding.
President Murmu said that Project 17A, under which Vindhyagiri was developed, reflects the country’s commitment to self-reliance and technological advancement.
The President said that the security in the Indian Ocean Region and the larger Indo-Pacific has many aspects and the Navy has to always remain proactive in tackling security threats.
The President Murmu was joined by West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at the event.
Following the launch, Vindhyagiri will join its two sister ships at the Outfitting Jetty at GRSE, to progress remaining activities and equipment trials, in the run-up to their delivery and commissioning.
Bilkis Bano case: SC asks why remission policy is ‘selective’ (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
The Supreme Court asked the Gujarat government whether its premature release policy for prisoners was applied only “selectively”.
Justice B.V. Nagarathna shot the question at Additional Solicitor-General S.V. Raju, appearing for Gujarat, while hearing a series of petitions challenging the early release of 11 men who were sentenced to life imprisonment for gang-raping Bilkis Bano and murdering seven persons during the riots in Gujarat in 2002.
The petitioners, including Ms. Bano, have challenged the release of 11 convicts under the State’s Premature Release Policy of 1992. The writ petitions by CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali, Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra and others also challenged the early release of the convicts.
An affidavit by the State of Gujarat had revealed that while the Superintendent of Police, CBI, Special Crime Branch, Mumbai and the Special Judge (CBI) of Greater Bombay had opposed the premature release of the convicts, the Home Ministry had recommended it.
The State had clarified that, contrary to popular perceptions, the early release of the 11 convicts was not as per a circular allowing remission to prisoners as part of the celebration of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
WHO chief asks nations to unlock power of traditional medicine (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), urged countries to work towards unlocking the power of traditional medicine and provide evidence and action-based suggestions that could be interpreted into a global strategy.
He was speaking at the WHO’s first global summit on traditional medicine as part of the G-20 Health Ministers’ meeting in Gandhinagar.
I hope that the Gujarat Declaration will integrate use of traditional medicines in national health systems, and help unlock the power of traditional medicine through science.
Addressing the meeting, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that the G-20 nations could collectively work towards achieving the UN’s health-related Sustainable Development Goals while fostering an ethos of “One earth, one family, one future”.
In modern times, the demand for natural and herbal-based pharmaceuticals and cosmetics underscores the enduring significance of traditional healing practices.
Dr. Mandaviya said the WHO’s Global Centre for Traditional Medicine, with its headquarters in Jamnagar, Gujarat, accelerates advancements in traditional medicine globally. The Health Minister conducted bilateral meetings with several G-20 members.
He launched the Advantage Healthcare India portal for an upcoming exhibition and meet on medical value travel. Dr. Mandaviya said medical value travel would enable greater knowledge-sharing, sustainable partnerships and increased synergies.
Dr. Ghebreyesus said that by leveraging medical value travel, countries could offer specialised resources and services that may not be available, affordable, or accessible in other parts of the world.
Economy
‘Retail inflation to fall below 7% in August’ (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
India’s annual retail inflation in August is expected to fall below 7% after unexpectedly rising to a 15-month-high of 7.44% in July.
Retail inflation rose as of last count as prices of vegetables and cereals skyrocketed, beating all expectations and putting pressure on the government to bring down prices.
I think we must look at the drivers of higher inflation in India and not unnecessarily be worried about vegetable-led headline data,” Nikhil Gupta, economist, institutional equities research at Motilal Oswal, said in an interview.
Mr. Gupta was the only economist who forecast July’s retail inflation above 7% in the Aug. 3-8 Reuters poll of 53 economists.
He expects vegetable prices to keep inflation elevated in August though the headline number would be below 7%, before slipping under 6% in September.
World
China assures support for Sri Lanka’s debt relief ahead of crucial IMF review (Page no. 18)
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
China has pledged help for Sri Lanka’s debt challenge yet again, even as the Ranil Wickremesinghe government tries to finalise the terms of restructuring its foreign loans with bilateral creditors.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi “vowed that China will help Sri Lanka effectively address the challenges of financial debt”, according to a statement from the office of Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, who was the chief guest at the ongoing China-South Asia Exhibition in Kunming, in China’s southern Yunnan Province.
Mr. Wang “vowed that China will help Sri Lanka improve its capacity for independent development, get rid of the poverty trap, accelerate its industrialisation process and agricultural modernisation.”
Mr. Gunawardena, who earlier called China a “decisive global leader” thanked the government for its “firm support” for Sri Lanka in “safeguarding its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and for its timely and effective assistance” to Sri Lanka in times of difficulty.
However, the statement did not indicate if Sri Lanka and China have reached an agreement on debt treatment, a development that Colombo keenly awaits, ahead of a crucial assessment by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) next month.
An IMF team is scheduled to visit Colombo from September 14 to 37, to conduct the first review of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) extended to Sri Lanka, according to a spokesperson of the Fund.
While the first tranche of the EFF was disbursed soon after the IMF approved the $3-billion package in March this year, the second instalment is contingent on the Fund’s assessment of Sri Lanka’s progress on its commitments, including on debt treatment.
Sri Lanka is currently in talks with all its bilateral creditors to finalise the terms of restructuring the debt owed to them. China, the island’s largest bilateral lender, has refused to become a member of the common platform that 17 creditor countries set up in May this year to negotiate Sri Lanka’s foreign debt.
While India and Japan emphasise the need for comparable terms, parity, and transparency, China continues to be an observer in the “official creditor committee.