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The Supreme Court expressed acute displeasure at Governors holding back key Bills, especially in non-BJP-ruled States such as Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Telangana, until State governments approach the top court for judicial intervention.
We are a democracy in operation since the birth of the Constitution. These are matters to be sorted out between the Governors and Chief Ministers.
We will ensure that the Constitution is complied with,” Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, heading a three-judge Bench.
The Chief Justice said it was time everybody, including Governors and Chief Ministers, did “a little bit of soul-searching”.
Editorial
A telco double dip attempt that threatens Net neutrality (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
In July this year, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), at the request of the government, invited a comprehensive consultation on the need and possible mechanisms for regulation of Over-The-Top (OTT) services.
For more than a decade now, telecom companies have seen revenue from traditional streams such as voice calls and Short Message Service (SMS) come under pressure, as competing OTT services are often free.
At the same time, they have had to invest heavily in upgrading their infrastructure to handle increased data traffic, without necessarily seeing an equivalent rise in revenue.
It is also their lament that OTT services are not subject to the same level of taxation and licensing fees, leading to an uneven playing field.
On the flip side, the use of OTT services has led to a surge in data consumption, which is a growing revenue stream for telecom companies.
The OTT consultation has renewed the clamour from the telecom companies that content providers such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ Hotstar be asked to share in the costs of bandwidth.
They argue that streaming platforms are free riders, benefiting from the infrastructure built and maintained by the telecom companies.
However, this argument is fundamentally flawed and sets a dangerous precedent that undermines the principle of net neutrality.
The cult of operational superiority, from Israel to India (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Israel’s prevailing security policy has collapsed. For decades it projected a mirage of ruthless sophistication, as it repeatedly and confidently cut its Palestinian enemies down to size.
But the unspeakable horrors of October 7, 2023 have prompted a visceral retaliation in Gaza, that brings still-unknown risks of escalation on other fronts, and the unprecedented suffering of innocent civilians that will ricochet through generations.
The catastrophe should prompt a fundamental rethink of Israel’s strategic concepts — and carries dire warnings for India, too.
Every couple of years, starting in 2008, Israel launched limited air campaigns into Gaza, to degrade the military capabilities — from rocket launchers to tunnels — of Hamas and other militants.
Every couple of years, it would kill and destroy just enough of Hamas’s people and power to keep the rockets silenced, and the threat contained. A tenuous peace would return to the skies over Israel.
This strategic “concept” based on periodic attrition seemed to work. But in fact Israel’s military virtuosity masked the reality that its approach was bereft of a political plan.
Opinion
The Canadian dream is not waning (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The geopolitical environment and international relations are critical in choosing international study destinations. Disruptions in the diplomatic relationship between two countries impinge on the free flow of natural persons.
Thus, the deepening tension between India and Canada casts a dark shadow on the prospects of students.
Canada is home to about 1.3 million Indians who account for 4% of the country’s population (Canadian Census, 2021). Indian immigration peaked in the 2016-2021 period. Indians who have become permanent residents in Canada increased from 32,828 in 2013 to 1,18,095 in 2022. A good proportion of Indians in Canada are on student visas.
Canada has thus emerged as one of the most sought-after destinations for Indians who wish to study abroad.
The number of Indian students in Canada has sharply risen in recent years. In 2009, it was 31,665; this rose to 1,71,505 by 2018.
And by December 2022, nearly 3,20,000 Indians were in Canada on active study permits, accounting for about 40% of the international students in that country.
Text & Context
States in Court against their Governors (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
A battery of non-BJP ruled States have approached the Supreme Court accusing their Governors of using a non-existent discretion to unreasonably delay the passing of crucial Bills into law.
The Bills in limbo cover sectors such as public health, higher education, Lokayukta and cooperative societies.
Tamil Nadu has accused Governor R.N. Ravi of toying with the citizens’ mandate by sitting on the Bills by neither assenting nor returning them.
It said the Governor has positioned himself as a “political rival” who has caused a “constitutional deadlock” by simply sitting on the Bills for months together.
Kerala, in its separate petition, said that eight proposed laws passed by its Legislative Assembly were pending with the Governor, not for months, but years. Of the eight, three Bills were waiting for the Governor’s word for over two years.
Punjab complained that seven of its Bills were stuck with the Governor since June, threatening to bring the administration to a “grinding halt”.
News
India, Nepal begin talks on border-related matters (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The border guarding forces of India and Nepal started their three-day bilateral meeting in New Delhi. The two security forces — the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and the Armed Police Force (APF) — will be discussing measures to curb trans-frontier crimes and exchange of critical information, the SSB said in a statement.
India, Bhutan to discuss new routes of regional connectivity (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
India and Bhutan agreed to discuss new routes of regional connectivity and upgrade border and immigration posts to support Bhutan’s fifth King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck’s plans for a smart city at Gelephu on the border between Bhutan and Assam, after his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.
While no mention was made of India’s overhanging concerns over Bhutan’s border delimitation agreement process with China, the Ministry of External Affairs said the two leaders “held discussions on the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and regional and global issues of mutual interest”.
Apart from a decision to go ahead with the final survey for the 58-km crossborder rail link between Gelephu and Kokrajhar in Assam to be built by India, the two sides agreed to explore a second rail link for about 18 km between Samtse in Bhutan and Banarhat in West Bengal tea gardens area. India also agreed to allow Bhutanese trade items to be carried further on from Haldibari in West Bengal to Chilahati in Bangladesh.
The rail connectivity could in the future assist air connectivity for Indians in the northeast as well, as Bhutan plans to build an international airport at Gelephu as part of the larger Sarpang district Special Economic Zone, new initiative expected to be announced by the Bhutanese King on December 17.
House panel adopts reports on new criminal law Bills (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
The Parliamentary Committee on Home Affairs adopted three reports on the Bills that seek to replace the existing criminal laws. All 10 Opposition members will be submitting dissent notes.
The committee could not adopt the report in its last meeting on October 27, after several Opposition leaders sought more time to read the three reports on the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) that will replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.PC), 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, respectively.
Congress MPs Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary and Digvijaya Singh, along with DMK MP N.R. Elango, have filed dissent notes; the others are to follow soon.
Mr. Elango, who was one of the first to submit his dissent note, has taken strong exception to the provision in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita which has increased the police remand tenure from the present 15 days to 60 days for offences punishable by 10 years or above and 40 days for offences punishable with less punishment.
He said that these provisions should be invoked in exceptional cases, otherwise, the magistrates would be discouraged from giving bail.
Come out with policy for providing sanitary napkins at schools: SC (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
The Supreme Court gave the Centre four weeks to finalise and place on record an “optimum” menstrual hygiene policy with focus on the distribution of sanitary napkins.
The court further directed the Union government to set down a national model for the number of girls’ toilets per female population across government-aided and residential schools in the country.
Appearing before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, senior advocate Vibha Makhija, for the petitioner, said the case had been pending since 2011.
The government counsel responded that a draft policy had already been circulated for comments among various stakeholders. The final policy would be ready in four weeks.
Ms. Makhija said certain States had already been implementing their own schemes for distribution of sanitary napkins. In Tamil Nadu, she said, 18 packets with six napkins each were given to girls.
Ms. Makhija said the northeastern States had also shown progressiveness with their own schemes.
The Union of India should duly consider the practices followed in these States and come out with an optimum policy to ensure that an adequate number of sanitary napkins are made available to students in schools.
Heeralal Samariya is Chief Information Commissioner (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
Information Commissioner Heeralal Samariya was on Monday sworn in as the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) by President Droupadi Murmu. He is the first person from the Dalit community to hold the post.
Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh were among those who attended the swearing-in.
The 63-year-old retired IAS officer of the 1985 batch was born in the remote village of Pahadi in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan.
Mr. Samariya has held positions as Secretary in the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, and Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Telangana. He was sworn in as an Information Commissioner in the Central Information Commission on November 7, 2020.
The post of the CIC had been lying vacant since October 3 following the completion of Y.K. Sinha’s tenure. On October 30, the Supreme Court asked both the Centre and the State governments to take steps to fill vacant posts in the CIC and the State Information Commissions.
After taking charge, Mr. Samariya administered the oath of office to two Information Commissioners — Anandi Ramalingam and Vinod Kumar Tiwari — at the Central Information Commission.
World
China urges Myanmar to cooperate to maintain stability on the border (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Myanmar should cooperate with China to maintain stability on their common border, a Chinese official said on Monday, after a surge of fighting in Myanmar between junta forces and insurgents rocked the region.
Last week, Myanmar’s ruling military said it was trying to restore order near the border after an alliance of ethnic minority armies battling for self-determination launched a series of coordinated attacks on junta targets.
Myanmar is called on to cooperate with China to maintain stability along the China-Myanmar border, earnestly ensure the safety of the lives and property of Chinese border residents, and take effective measures to strengthen the security of Chinese personnel,” said Nong Rong, assistant Chinese Foreign Minister.
Mr. Nong, who visited Myanmar between November 3-5, said China hoped Myanmar would restore stability, and it supported all parties to properly handle differences and achieve reconciliation through dialogue as soon as possible.
Thailand is trying to bring home 162 of its nationals trapped by the fighting in Myanmar. Myanmar has been in chaos since a military coup in February 2021 unseated a democratically elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Pro-democracy insurgent groups have in some areas teamed up with ethnic minority guerrillas who have been campaigning for decades for greater autonomy to battle junta forces.
Science
In the Sikkim flood’s wake, a trail of hazards lie in wait (Page no. 18)
(GS Paper 1, Geography)
The South Lhonak lake in the Himalayan state of Sikkim breached on the night of October 3, resulting in a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) that ravaged four districts. At least 42 people died as a result and 77 more are still missing. More than a month after the disaster, the lake remains a potential hazard, say scientists.
The South Lhonak lake is located in North Sikkim, at an altitude of 5,200 m. According to scientists, the current interpretation of the flood – which relies heavily on satellite data – suggests that on October 3 night, a slope failure occurred along the lateral moraine (a mass of debris and rocks) on the lake’s left bank.
Preliminary research found that some of the landslide material scraped the glacier terminus; most of it hit the lake, creating an impulse wave that moved towards the lake’s narrow front end.
It widened the lake’s outlet, resulting in a partial breach, said Ashim Sattar, a mountain hazard specialist who is currently studying the GLOF and has authored research articles predicting different GLOF scenarios for the South Lhonak lake.
There was also a probable overtopping as water moved over the moraine along the lake’s outlet.The result was a GLOF that affected around 88,400 people in Sikkim’s Mangan, Gangtok, Pakyong, and Namchi districts.
The lake is one of the largest and fastest growing glacial lakes in Sikkim, and has been a potential hazard for several years now.
Dan Shugar, a geomorphologistfrom the University of Calgary in Canada, who is currently conducting research on the GLOF, noted that before the flood, the lake’s area was 1.62 sq. km, and after water being drained out in the GLOF, the area dropped to 1.46 sq. km.