Whatsapp 93125-11015 For Details
The Union Cabinet has approved new guidelines for uplinking and downlinking of television channels in India, under which all the stations holding permission — except for foreign channels and where it may not be feasible — will have to broadcast content on issues of national importance and social relevance for at least 30 minutes every day.
The provision has been introduced as “airwaves/frequencies are public property and need to be used in the best interest of society”.
The eight listed themes include education and spread of literacy; agriculture and rural development; health and family welfare; science and technology; welfare of women; welfare of the weaker sections of society; protection of environment and of cultural heritage; and national integration.
The consolidated guidelines exempt the channels including those related to sports, where it would not be feasible to broadcast such content. As and when required, the Centre would issue general advisories to the channels in this regard.
Information & Broadcasting Secretary Apurva Chandra on Wednesday said the new guidelines which replaced those operational since 2011, would ease the issue of permission to the companies and limited liability partnership (LLP) firms, which have been allowed for the first time] registered in India for uplinking-downlinking of TV channels and associated activities.
Listing the advantages, Mr. Chandra said the requirement to seek permission for live telecast of events had been done away with, only prior registration of events would be necessary for live telecast. Prior permission would not be needed for change of language or conversion of mode of transmission, from Standard Definition to High Definition or vice versa; only prior intimation would suffice.
While specific timelines have been proposed for the grant of permission, LLPs/companies would be allowed to uplink foreign channels from Indian teleports which would create employment opportunities and make India a teleport-hub for other countries, it said, also adding that a news agency could now get permission for a five-year period as against one year at present.
The Ministry said a channel could be uplinked by using facilities of more than one teleport/satellite. The guidelines have broadened the possibility of allowing the transfer of TV channel/teleport to a company/LLP, as permissible under the Companies Act or the Limited Liability Act.
Kerala govt. moves to divest Governor of Chancellor role (Page no. 1)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
The State Cabinet resolved to request Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan to promulgate an ordinance removing him as the sole chancellor of State universities.
The government wants to supplant Mr. Khan with “renowned academic experts” as chancellors of various varsities. It was still being determined whether the government would appoint a separate chancellor for each of the 14 universities in the State.
The government appeared to have opened a new political and legal front in the Left Democratic Front’s (LDF) conflict with Mr. Khan over the administration of State universities.
For one, the proposed ordinance would, at a stroke, divest Mr. Khan’s power as chancellor and render Raj Bhavan remote from all aspects of the university administration.
The Cabinet cited that the M. M. Punchhi Commission, constituted in 2007 to study Centre-State relations, had vouched against granting Governors the chancellor’s powers.
The Cabinet contended that the Legislative Assembly had created the office of the chancellor and weaved the legislation into the founding statute that established State universities. Hence, the Assembly was assertively competent to withdraw the Governor’s powers as chancellor.
The Cabinet noted that the Punchhi Commission had stressed that State governments should desist from burdening Governors with the role of chancellor of universities lest the extra authority impede them from the discharge of their constitutional obligations.
The Cabinet decision came as no surprise. On Sunday, CPI(M) State secretary M. V. Govindan had hinted the party would go to any extent to insulate the jurisdictional autonomy of universities from Mr. Khan’s alleged trespasses.
The three-day CPI(M) State leadership conference Mr. Govindan chaired had flagged the friction caused by Mr. Khan’s continuation as chancellor and also grappled with the vexing question of curtailing his powers.
The CPI(M) also seemed to take a cue from the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government’s reported weighing of a similar measure following several run-ins with the neighbouring State’s governor over various issues related to university administration.The Cabinet’s momentous decision came when government-Governor relations were at their lowest point.
Earlier, Mr. Khan had controversially withdrawn the pleasure for the continuation of Finance Minister K. N. Balagopal in office. He accused the Minister of seditious speech and repeatedly engaged in an acrimonious war of words with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Mr. Khan had also thrown down the gauntlet to the LDF government by seeking the resignation of vice-chancellors on the ground that the Supreme Court had deemed their appointment processes flawed.
States
Kerala joins T.N., Bengal in bid to curb Governor’s powers (Page no. 5)
(GS Paper 2, Parliament and State Legislature)
By proposing an ordinance which would replace the Governor with eminent academics in the post of university Chancellor, the Left Democratic Front government in Kerala has formally joined the club of Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and West Bengal, other States ruled by BJP rivals which have brought legislation curbing the Raj Bhavan’s role in higher education institutions.
Under the previous Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, a similar experiment was done in Maharashtra too in 2021.
The West Bengal University Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was an attempt by the Mamata Banerjee government to appoint the Chief Minister as the Chancellor of the 31 public universities in the State, replacing the Governor. The then-Governor and current Vice-President, Jagdeep Dhankar, returned the Bill to the State Cabinet.
The Tamil Nadu Assembly has passed two Bills curtailing the power of the Governor in appointing Vice-Chancellors for State-run universities.
The MVA government in Maharashtra had also amended the existing laws to limit the Chancellor’s role in appointing Vice-Chancellors. However, the present government is against it.
The Rajasthan State Funded Universities Bill was an attempt to vest the power to appoint Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors with the Chief Minister, making the Governor the Visitor of all State-run universities instead.
The AAP government in Punjab has also been mulling a legislation to remove the Governor as the Chancellor of all State-run universities.
In a statement, the Kerala Cabinet said it had decided to recommend to the Governor to promulgate an ordinance providing for the appointment of eminent academicians to the post of Chancellor.
Kerala Law Minister P. Rajeeve said that the Cabinet’s decision was based on the recommendations of the Punchhi Commission. “Under entry 32 of the Constitution, universities are a State subject.
The State Cabinet has the power to bring an ordinance on this matter. The UGC decides the quality of the universities, but its rules are silent on the role of Chancellors. So the State’s law will prevail and there is no conflict,” said Mr. Rajeeve.
Editorial
The EWS judgment and the shadow of Pandora (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
The Supreme Court of India’s recent decision, upholding the constitutional validity of the law granting 10% reservation to Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) of the upper castes, has ignited much debate.
Some pundits have affirmed the judgment marks the death knell of caste as a factor in reservation, while others argue that it underscores its perpetual relevance.
In all the brouhaha, the media and the commentariat have overlooked another Supreme Court judgment just seven years ago which was potentially even more far-reaching for our democracy but which has been ignored entirely in the current debate.
In a 64-page decision in 2015, a bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Rohinton F. Nariman struck down the United Progressive Alliance Government’s 2014 notification including Jats in the Central list of Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
Most significant was the rationale the justices provided: they observed that the state should not go by the “perception of the self-proclaimed socially backward class” on whether they deserved to be categorised among the “less fortunates”; new formulae, they averred, must be found to determine backwardness.
The issue, the justices concluded, was not whether reservations were a tool to address millennia of caste discrimination or an instrument of affirmative action; the issue was how to determine who deserved consideration for reservation benefits.
Most significantly, the top court held that caste, while acknowledged to be a prominent cause of injustice in the country historically, could not be the sole determinant of backwardness.
It argued in its judgment: “Owing to historical conditions, particularly in Hindu society, recognition of backwardness has been associated with caste.
Social groups who would be most deserving must necessarily be a matter of continuous evolution. New practices, methods and yardsticks have to be continuously evolved moving away from caste-centric definition of backwardness.” It ruled that the State should uncover emerging forms of backwardness in an evolving society.
“The gates would be opened only to permit entry of the most distressed. Any other inclusions would be a serious abdication of the constitutional duty of the State,” the Court warned.
It observed that “grave and important” decisions in reference to Article 14 and Article 16 of the Constitution must be made on the basis of “contemporaneous inputs”, which were not available.
Most striking were the Court’s observations on what constitutes “social backwardness”. It said that neither educational nor economic backwardness, which the Government referred to, were enough, though both may contribute to social backwardness.
Policing with talent, resource sharing, not squabbling (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2/3, Governance/Internal Security)
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) convened a conference in late October in the capital, which saw the participation of the Union Home Minister, a few State Home Ministers and police chiefs.
West Bengal did not send its highest officials citing its preoccupation with pooja-related issues. The Delhi conference was a very important occasion aimed at improving the quality of policing in the country through an exchange of ideas.
The seriousness of the subject required attendance at the level of the Chief Minister and if some States gave it a miss, it was an unfortunate development and a reflection of the lack of seriousness in matters of governance affecting public order and crime.
The debate now over the way the Tamil Nadu police have handled the case of a blast in Coimbatore that happened recently, and a possible terror-related plot, also fits in this scene and is relevant to the state of law and order in the State and elsewhere.
There is a section of influential public opinion which has accused the Tamil Nadu government of having been slothful and delayed handing over investigation of the incident to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
This has been rebutted by the State Director General of Police (DGP) who said that his force could not abruptly abandon the investigation and had to do the preliminary investigation to facilitate an NIA take-over.
The exchange of barbs by the two sides has been an unfortunate and avoidable development and the truth lies in between. Rather than getting into a slanging match, what is more important is an examination of the standard operating procedures in place, the identification of lacunae and the initiation of corrective measures.
The first Home Minister of independent India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, would have been dismayed by the politics in Centre-State relations in a matter as serious as policing.
He placed great value on professional policing, one reason why he insisted on an elitist and well-trained corps such as the Indian Police Service (IPS) which worked alongside the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).
He was under immense pressure from various quarters, which included his own Congress party, to disband both the Indian Civil Service and IP, but as a distinguished and astute visionary, he was steadfast in his belief. Subsequent events proved him right.
Despite all their faults, the two all-India services have been a cementing force and have greatly contributed to establishing nationally accepted standards of governance, especially in the area of law and order.
The passage of 75 years in a free India has more than established that a country of our proportions and diversity will need objective policing by a highly trained police force.
It is distressing that there is still conflict between the MHA and some States over utilising talent in the IPS and the sharing of resources available in the States.
Both sides have to be partially blamed for this unfortunate state of affairs. Petulance in personnel management has occasionally affected administration in the Centre and States.
Opinion
Enforcing the ban on the two finger test (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 1, Social Issues)
On October 31, the Supreme Court declared that any person conducting the ‘two-finger test’ on rape or sexual assault survivors will be found guilty of misconduct.
The court said that the test is “regressive and invasive” and has “no scientific basis as it neither proves nor disapproves allegations of rape”. It instead “re-victimises and re-traumatises women who may have been sexually assaulted.”
In 2013, too, in Lillu v. State of Haryana, the Supreme Court had held that the two-finger test violates the right of rape survivors.
Section 53A of the Evidence Act states that previous sexual experience “shall not be relevant to the issue of consent or the quality of consent” in prosecutions of sexual offences.
In 2014, the Union Ministry of Health issued ‘guidelines and protocols’ proscribing the application of the two-finger test. It directed health providers to conduct a medical examination as per the detailed ‘proforma for medico-legal examination of survivors/victims of sexual violence’, a copy of which was annexed to the guidelines.
The guidelines state that a copy of the medical report must be given immediately, and free of cost, to the survivor/victim. These guidelines were circulated to hospitals, but it appears that the instructions were not taken seriously by the doctors handling medico-legal cases.
It is important to note that the doctor’s medical opinion has a vital bearing on the outcome of a criminal case. In the case of sexual assault, the doctor is required to mention marks of resistance and sign(s) of recent intercourse.
She is not supposed to give her opinion about rape, as rape is a legal term and not a medical diagnosis. It is for the investigating officer to conclude after their investigation whether or not rape was committed.
An unsolicited opinion by a medical practitioner may create doubt and weaken the case. Therefore, it is undesirable to conduct the two-finger test (on a victim of sexual assault), which has no evidential value in the investigation.
The Supreme Court said that workshops must be conducted. This is relevant as there is no institutional platform to share such judgments with medical practitioners.
Forensic science laboratories (FSLs) generally work under the Home Departments of States. Funds for the modernisation of the police are also planned and utilised by the police under the supervision of the Home Department.
A part of these funds are used for the upgradation of FSLs. The police department’s interaction with the FSL is generally continuous, and both understand each other’s requirements.
However, despite the Health Department’s relevance in the investigation of offences relating to assault, rape, unnatural death, age determination (by the ossification method), etc., interaction between the Health Ministry and the Home Ministry (or the police department) is limited.
Further, the Health Department is not one of the pillars of the Inter-Operable Criminal Justice System (ICJS), which is an extension of the Home Ministry’s mission mode project, the Crime and Criminal Tracking and Network Systems, and is operational at each police station of the country.
Explainer
In the hopes for a clear blue sky (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Last week, Delhi was once again covered in a cascading haze of smog— witnessing very poor air quality, sticking to the trend that has existed during winter months for some years now.
The last stage of the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) was activated and then revoked, primary schools closed, and the debate about the “main culprit” for the polluted air was rekindled.
As the situation becomes an annually recurring one, here’s a look at how far back it goes and what policies have been adopted by the Centre and Delhi’s elected governments over the years.
While civil society and media attention for Delhi’s air pollution problem and high PM2.5 concentrations peaked in the last decade, with annual episodes of pollution induced smog setting over the Capital in winter months, air pollution has been on the rise since the 1990s.
In March 1995, the Supreme Court, while hearing a plea by environmentalist and lawyer M.C. Mehta about Delhi’s polluting industries, noted that Delhi was the world’s fourth most polluted city in terms of concentration of suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the ambient atmosphere as per the World Health Organisation’s 1989 report.
The Court took note of two polluting factors— vehicles and industries, and in 1996 ordered the closure and relocation of over 1,300 highly-polluting industries from Delhi’s residential areas beyond the National Capital Region (NCR) in a phased manner. Multiple brick kilns were also directed to be relocated outside city limits.
In 1996, Mr. Mehta filed another public interest litigation alleging that vehicular emissions were leading to air pollution and posed a public health hazard. In the same year, a report about Delhi’s air pollution by the Centre for Science and Environment made the apex court take suo motu action, issuing a notice to the Delhi government to submit an action plan to curb pollution. Both matters were later merged.
Later that year, the Delhi government submitted an action plan. The Supreme Court, recognising the need for technical assistance and advice in decision-making and implementation of its orders, asked the Ministry of Environment and Forests (now the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change- MoEFCC) to establish an authority for Delhi, leading to the creation of the Environmental Pollution Control Authority of Delhi NCR (EPCA) in 1998.
The EPCA submitted its report containing a two-year action plan in June of that year and the Supreme Court subsequently ordered the conversion of the whole Delhi Trasport Corporation (DTC) bus fleet, taxis, and autos to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), and the phasing out of all pre-1990 autos.
Other measures between the late 1990s and early 2000s included the complete removal of leaded petrol, removal of 15 and 17-year-old commercial vehicles and a cap of 55,000 on the number of two-stroke engine auto rickshaws (which reports at the time said were contributing to 80% of pollution in the city). Coal-based power plants within Delhi were also later converted to gas-based ones.
Around this time, the Centre also decided to revamp its monitoring programme and establish a network of monitoring stations under the National Air Quality Programme (NAMP) to measure key pollutants.
Under the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) specified by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), pollutants like PM10 (particulate matter with a diameter exceeding 10 microns), sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides were measured.
News
D.Y. Chandrachud takes charge as the 50th Chief Justice of India (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
Justice Dhananjaya Yashwant Chandrachud was sworn in as the 50th Chief Justice of India (CJI) by President DroupadiMurmu at a brief ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
CJI Chandrachud took the oath in English and in the name of God in the presence of Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairperson Jagdeep Dhankhar, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Law Minister Kiren Rijiju.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was not present at the event, tweeted, ““Congratulations to Dr Justice D Y Chandrachud on being sworn in as India’s Chief Justice. Wishing him a fruitful tenure ahead.”
His predecessor, Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, who demitted office on Tuesday, was also present at the oath-taking ceremony.
Justice Chandrachud as CJI will have a term of two years and will head India’s judiciary until November 10, 2024, a day before he completes 65 years.
His father, Y.V. Chandrachud, holds the distinction of being the longest serving CJI, who headed the judiciary from February 22, 1978 to July 11, 1985.
CJI Chandrachud, who describes dissent as the “safety valve of democracy”, has been part of several Constitution benches and landmark verdicts of the top court, including judgments on the Ayodhya land dispute, and the Right to Privacy.
He wrote lead judgment for a nine-judge Constitution Bench in the Justice K.S. Puttaswamy Vs. Union of India case, in which it was unanimously held that Right to Privacy constituted a fundamental right.
Recently, a Bench headed by him expanded the scope of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act to include unmarried women for abortion between 20-24 weeks of pregnancy.
CJI Chandrachud has been part of the Benches that delivered path-breaking judgments on decriminalising same-sex relations, after it partially struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.
He has also been part of Benches that rule on the validity of the Aadhaar scheme, the Sabarimala issue, and paved the way for permanent commission for women officers in the Armed Forces.
A Bench headed by him also passed several directions to assuage people’s miseries during the COVID-19 crisis, terming the brutal second wave of the pandemic in 2021 a “national crisis”.
CJI Chandrachud, as the senior-most judge after then CJI Lalit, was among the two judges of the Supreme Court Collegium who had objected to the method of “circulation” adopted for eliciting views of its members on the appointment of judges to the top court.
His dissenting or minority views on the Bench of the court are as incisive as his concurring opinions.
CJI Chandrachud was designated as a senior advocate by the Bombay High Court in June 1998 and became Additional Solicitor General in the same year till his appointment as a judge in the Bombay High Court on March 29, 2000.
Pashmina shawls have Shahtoosh guard hair, say Customs officials; all fluff, counter traders and artisans (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 1, Art and Culture)
Traders of universally-prized Pashmina shawls are complaining that “obsolete testing methods” have resulted in many of their export consignments being flagged for presence of ‘Shahtoosh’ guard hair, which is obtained from endangered Tibetan antelopes.
The traders claim the use of obsolete techniques such as ‘Light Microscopy’ by the authorities has resulted in several cases of ‘false positive’ leading to their wrongful prosecution.
Pashmina is obtained from breeds of mountain goats (caprahircus) found in the Changthang Plateau in Tibet and parts of Ladakh, in the Himalayan region of India.
Manufacture of Pashmina is a largely unorganised cottage/handicraft industry providing employment and livelihood to approximately 6 lakh people, most notably to local skilled villagers and artisans in Kashmir.
Shahtoosh, on the other hand, is the fine undercoat fibre obtained from the Tibetan Antelope, known locally as ‘Chiru’, a species living mainly in the northern parts of the Changthang Plateau in Tibet. As they offer high levels of smoothness and warmth, Shahtoosh shawls became a highly expensive commodity.
Unfortunately, due to commercial poaching of the animal, their population declined dramatically. CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna & Flora) included the Tibetan Antelope in 1979 leading to prohibition in sale and trade of Shahtoosh shawls and scarves.
As the two materials have similar physical properties and tangibility, differentiation is hard without advanced scientific forensic methods.
Naqeed Qazi, a Pashmina trader, has first-hand experience of one of his export consignments of Pashmina shawls getting flagged by Customs authorities for presence of Shahtoosh. “I had sought DNA testing of the consignment but my appeal was rejected.
The sample from his consignment was instead sent to the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, which employs Light Microscopy technique to look for the presence of Shahtoosh.
Light Microscopy method, Mr. Naqeed said, “was subjective and depended to a large extent on the expertise of the examiner”.
“My case then involved the CBI. The agency came to my office in Kashmir and went to the artisans. Even though they were very professional and there was no harassment, for a common trader or weaver, CBI knocking on your door is a big thing,” he said.
“Now, Enforcement Directorate (ED) has got involved in the case and they are looking into the money laundering angle. This is all being done on the basis of one wrong test.
Another Pashimina trader, Imran Rashid, said due to the “prevailing system” a lot of export orders get cancelled as it takes months - in some cases years - for the shipment to eventually get released by the officials.
Level of groundwater extraction lowest in 18 years, finds study (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Groundwater extraction in India saw an 18-year decline, according to an assessment by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) made public.
The total annual groundwater recharge for the entire country is 437.60 billion cubic metres (bcm) and annual groundwater extraction for the entire country is 239.16 bcm, according to the 2022 assessment report.
Further, out of the total 7,089 assessment units in the country, 1,006 units have been categorised as “over-exploited” in the report.
By comparison, an assessment in 2020 found that the annual groundwater recharge was 436 bcm and extraction 245 bcm.
In 2017, recharge was 432 bcm and extraction 249 bcm. The 2022 assessment suggests that groundwater extraction is the lowest since 2004, when it was 231 bcm.
Such joint exercises between the CGWB and States/Union Territories were carried out earlier in 1980, 1995, 2004, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2017 and 2020.
The groundwater recharge levels don’t reflect the water that can be actually extracted, called the “extractable groundwater resources”. In 2020, for instance, the “extractable groundwater resources” amounted to 397.62 bcm, which is less than the recharge that year. The comparitive figure for 2022 was not specificied in the Ministry statement for the report.
“A detailed analysis of the information collected from the assessment indicates increase in ground water recharge which may mainly be attributed to increase in recharge from canal seepage, return flow of irrigation water and recharges from water bodies/tanks & water conservation structures.
Further, analysis indicates improvement in ground water conditions in 909 assessment units in the country when compared with 2017 assessment data.
In addition, overall decrease in number of over-exploited units and decrease in stage of groundwater extraction level have also been observed,” the Ministry of Water Resources said in a statement.
Business
Rupee-settled trade suitable for export, obligation perks’ (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The Centre has expanded the norms for incentives and export obligations under the Foreign Trade policy to cover foreign trade transactions settled in rupees, the Commerce Ministry.
In July, the RBI and the Directorate General of Foreign Trade had carried out amendments in the Foreign Trade policy and trade settlement procedures to enable the use of the rupee for invoicing, payment and settlement of export, import dues.
The ministry said that changes have now been introduced for granting export benefits and incentives as well as for meeting Fulfilment of Export Obligation norms for importers, for export realisations made in Indian rupees.
Given the rise in interest in internationalisation of Indian rupee, the policy amendments have been undertaken to facilitate... international trade transactions in Indian rupees.
Engineering Export Promotion Council of India chairman Arun Kumar Garodia said allowing rupee trade settlement under the various export promotion schemes should help boost exports and signals the ‘internationalisation of the domestic currency’.
The new norms for export realisation in Indian rupees cover schemes including imports for exports, Advance Authorisation and Duty Free Import Authorisation, and Realisation of Export Proceeds under Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme.