Droupadi Murmu is President of India (Page no. 1)(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
Droupadi Murmu took oath of office as the 15th President of India and created history by being the first tribal head of State and the second woman to occupy the country’s highest constitutional post.
That I attained the post of President is not my personal achievement, it is the achievement of every poor person in India. My election is a proof of the fact that the poor in India can have dreams and fulfil them too.
Ms Murmu, who succeeds Ram Nath Kovind, is India’s youngest President at 64 and the first to be born after Independence.
She took her oath of office in Hindi and in the name of God to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law".
It is a tribute to the power of our democracy that a daughter born in a poor house in a remote tribal area can reach the highest constitutional position in India. That I attained the post of President is not my personal achievement, it is the achievement of every poor person in India,” marking her journey from Odisha’s Mayurbhanj – one of the most underdeveloped districts in India-- to the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Former President Ram Nath Kovind, Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and CJI Ramana were on the dais while other dignitaries including former President of India Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik seated in the front row seat of the historic Central Hall.
Prime Minister Modi said that Ms Murmu assuming the Presidency is a “watershed moment” for the “poor,marginalised and downtrodden”.
In her address after taking oath, President Droupadi Murmu Ji gave a message of hope and compassion. She emphasised on India's accomplishments and presented a futuristic vision of the path ahead at a time when India is marking Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
States
Punjab, Delhi plan sops for farmers to stop stubble burning (Page no. 5)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
The Aam Aadmi Party governments in Punjab and Delhi plan to provide cash incentives to farmers in the border State for not burning stubble and have requested the Centre to share the cost.
Paddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is a major reason behind the alarming spike in air pollution levels in the national capital in October and November.
Farmers set their fields on fire to quickly clear the crop residue before cultivating wheat and potato. Punjab generates around 20 million tons of paddy straw annually.
We have prepared a proposal to provide cash incentives to farmers who desist from burning paddy straw. The plan is that the Centre should bear 50% of the cost and Punjab and Delhi will contribute 25% each.
Delhi will share the cost since smoke from farm fires impact air quality in the National Capital. The proposal has been
sent to the Centre. Once it is approved, it will be tabled before the Punjab Cabinet.
Punjab and Delhi governments will implement the scheme even if the Centre doesn’t agree. Under a Centre sponsored
scheme, farm machinery is provided to farmers at a subsidised rate for in situ management of the stubble.
Farmers say a cash incentive can help them cover the cost of fuel used in operating the machinery.
Ravi Varma’s kin seek Bharat Ratna for him (Page no. 5)
(GS Paper 1, History)
Ahead of the 175th birth anniversary fete of the legendary artist Raja Ravi Varma, who revolutionised Indian aesthetics and redefined art practice during the colonial era, the erstwhile royal family of Kilimanoor has urged the Union Ministry to posthumously confer the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award, on Mr. Varma.
In a proposal submitted to G. Kishan Reddy, Union Minister for Culture, the Kilimanoor Palace Trust said considering Mr. Varma’s creative excellence, path-breaking innovations, amazing artistic prowess and exceptional performance that carried India’s name and fame beyond its borders, the family members and the people who love him believe that he is the most eligible candidate for the highest civilian honour.
Ramavarma Thampuran K.R., general secretary of the Trust said it is still not too late to honour and perpetuate the memory of the master painter who democratised art and popularised the characters of myths and classical literature with his masterly brush strokes.
His paintings continue to inspire generations and exert influence on art, architecture, culture, religion, textiles, ceramics, and fashion accessories even now. In addition, Hinduism and the country are obliged to him as he changed the images of gods and goddess from the supernatural to the human form.
We hope there will be a positive decision as the Union Minister has responded to our request sympathetically. We will soon submit a proposal to hold a one-year-long grand anniversary celebration across the country in connection with his 175th birth anniversary fete.
It is believed that he had made around 7,000 paintings before his death at the age of 58. But only one painting is now left in ‘Chithrashala,’ the artist’s studio at Kilimanoor Palace — an unfinished portrait of ‘Parsi lady’ which was his last work.
Editorial
A global order caught up in a swirl of chaos (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Adrift at the end of the 20th century, the world of the 21st century is proving to be highly chaotic. Geopolitical experts in the West confine their findings at present solely to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, believing that this alone would determine not only war and peace but also other critical aspects as well.
This tends to be a myopic view, for the Ukraine-Russia conflict is only one of the many strands currently altering the contours of world governance.
Significant developments are also taking place in many other regions of the globe, which will have equal if not more relevance to the future of the international governance system.
What the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said in June 2022 at the end of a three-day gathering of G7 leaders in the Bavarian Alps, sums up the prevailing mood overall, viz., “a time of uncertainty lies ahead of us.
We cannot foresee how it will end”. In this case possibly, the German Chancellor was referring only to the fallout from the Ukraine-Russia conflict, for he clearly did not reckon with the fact that many other momentous changes were taking place outside Europe, and which are already beginning to dictate the new order of things.
The obsession in the West over the outcome of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, giving it an importance overriding all else, is indeed misleading.
European leaders tending to look inwards is, perhaps, not surprising. Europe has been undergoing several major changes in recent months.
Germany, which has steered European politics for almost two decades under Angela Merkel, now has a Chancellor (Olaf Scholz) who has hardly any foreign policy experience.
Without Germany’s steadying hand, Europe would be virtually adrift in troubled waters. Emmanuel Macron may have been re-elected the President of France, but his wings have been clipped with the Opposition now gaining a majority in the French National Assembly.
This has damaged his image, and Mr. Macron can hardly be expected to provide the kind of leadership that Europe needs at present. The United Kingdom is in deep trouble, if not disarray. Consequently, at a time when actual and moral issues require both deft and firm handling, Europe appears rudderless.
Reform bail law, but make the right diagnosis first (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
Over 75% of India’s prison population are undertrials while overcrowding in Indian prisons stands at 118%. These stark realities are often cited to represent the scale of the crisis in India’s criminal justice system.
The Supreme Court of India recently acknowledged, in Satender Kumar Antil vs CBI, the ineffectiveness of India’s bail system and its contribution to this crisis. The Court noted that despite repeated guidelines on bail law, things have not changed much on the ground.
The Court provided comprehensive guidelines on laws related to bail, such as mandating timelines for the disposal of bail applications and laying emphasis on the need to enact a separate legislation.
The judgment noted that crowding jails with undertrial prisoners ignored the principle of ‘presumption of innocence’ and that ‘bail not jail’ should be the norm. However, there is still a need to reflect on why these established principles are honoured more in their breach than observance.
Any reimagination of the law on bail needs to first understand the exact nature of the problem that results in large-scale undertrial incarceration.
This assessment needs to be based on multiple parameters and we have no real empirical evidence on how each of these impacts the issue.
effective bail law must be based on the correlation of these answers with variables such as the demographics of undertrials, category of offences and timelines for bail, and also address socio-economic and structural barriers.
The foundations of the current bail law ensure that it is anti-poor and disproportionately burdens those from marginalised backgrounds. The solutions we intend to craft must be based on a deep and realistic understanding of the problem.
OPED
Backsliding on climate action (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Countries in Europe led by Germany, Austria and the Netherlands are cranking up their coal plants again. Coal exports to Europe are surging.
Fossil fuels are making a comeback and countries are rejecting the European Union (EU)’s plan to reduce natural gas consumption by 15%. Dutch, Polish and other European farmers are protesting against emission cuts from agriculture.
Renewables are nowhere near meeting the rising power demand in summer or winter, with record high temperatures now. Hasty and ill-conceived EU climate policies are coming home to roost.
While the current problems are being blamed on the Ukraine conflict, and more specifically Russia, they actually started when power prices began surging well before anything happened in Ukraine. Europe is staring at a recession and its appetite for climate action is waning.
In the U.S. too, the Senate and the Supreme Court have struck blows to climate action. And in the U.S. too, prices of fuel started increasing last year, not just this year.
This is causing inflation. Energy security is nowhere near. Fossil fuels are making a quiet comeback, since the strength of the U.S. is its oil and gas industry. That is why we have just witnessed a ‘re-calibration’ of U.S. policy towards the Gulf.
The U.S.’s choice is between concentrating on its economy and getting it on track for its people or fighting hard against climate change and facing an irate electorate in November. The choice is clear.
So, coal, oil and gas are not going anywhere in the developed world; they are, in fact, making a comeback. It was foolish to think that the world would miraculously transition, and especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, to renewables.
The West had rushed to draw down on fossil fuels even before technology for renewables were in place. Many developing countries are also facing unrest due to skyrocketing energy prices, which are threatening their governments.
The United Nations, unsurprisingly, continues to pillory coal. In this scenario, we may do well to remember that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who made ambitious pledges on climate change last year in Glasgow at the Conference of the Parties (COP).
Further, when India fought to make the COP language closer to our current energy-mix reality by calling for a ‘phase down’ of coal rather than a ‘phase out’, the COP President supposedly ‘struggled to hold back tears’.
Explainer
The latest guidelines on arrests and bail orders (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
On July 11, a division bench of the Supreme Court of India in Satender Kumar Antil vs CBI laid down fresh guidelines on arrests in order to have strict compliance with the provisions of Section 41 and 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
These guidelines are in addition to the earlier ones which the apex court had already laid down in the case of Arnesh Kumar vs State of Bihar (2014).
The Court in the present case has also emphasised upon separate legislation on the law relating to bail and has also issued specific directions in this regard.
On July 16, even the Chief Justice of India (CJI) cautioned against “hasty and indiscriminate arrests”. He further commented on the delay in bails and the plight of undertrial prisoners.
Arrest in its simplest form is defined as, “when one is taken and restrained from his liberty”. The police has wide powers to arrest under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
In the Joginder Kumar (1994) verdict, the Court had stated that “arrest and detention in police lock-up of a person can cause incalculable harm to the reputation and self-esteem of a person”.
Further, in the case of Arnesh Kumar, the apex Court had rightly observed that “arrest brings humiliation, curtails freedom and cast scars forever”. In recent times, there have been several controversies regarding the arrest and subsequent bail of accused persons.
With regard to the Satender Kumar Antil case, the Court has issued specific directions and has also called for a compliance report.
The Court said that the investigating agencies and their officers are duty-bound to comply with the mandate of Section 41 and 41A and the directions issued in the Arnesh Kumar case.
Section 41 of the Code provides for the circumstances in which arrest can be made by the police without a warrant and mandates for reasons to be recorded in writing for every arrest and non-arrest.
Section 41A of the Code provides for the requirement of a notice to be sent by the investigating agencies before making an arrest in certain conditions prescribed by the Code.
The Court stated that any dereliction on the part of the agencies has to be brought to the notice of the higher authorities by the court followed by appropriate action.
The Bench further said that the courts will have to satisfy themselves on the compliance of Section 41 and 41A. Any non-compliance would entitle the accused for grant of bail.
The private sector boost in India’s space industry (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)
Principal Scientific Adviser Ajay Kumar Sood stated earlier this month that the government would soon come up with a new space policy that could initiate the rise of India’s own “SpaceX-like ventures”.
Mr. Sood stated that the proposed move would increase private sector participation in the industry. Consultations have already been held and the final version of the policy would soon be referred to the Empowered Technology Group for further examination.
According to Mr. Sood, India has not tapped into its complete potential in this sector. “In 2022, the space sector is witnessing what the information technology sector experienced in the 1990s. We will have our own SpaceX (SpaceX is Elon Musk’s private space transportation company) in the next two years.
Enhancing space technology would be beneficial to bolster connectivity and combat climate-related implications through a more secure and effective means.
Satellites provide more accurate information on weather forecasts and assess (and record) long-term trends in the climate and habitability of a region.
For example, by monitoring the long-term impact of climate change at regional, territorial, and national scales, governments would be able to devise more pragmatic and combative plans of action for farmers and dependent industries.
Additionally, they can also serve as real-time monitoring and early-warning solutions against natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, wildfires, mining etc. Real-time tracking can also serve multiple purposes in defence.
As for connectivity, satellite communication can reach more remote areas where conventional networks would require a heavy complimenting infrastructure.
Additionally, as to reliability, the World Economic Forum had stated (in September 2020) that satellite communication can help connect 49% of the world’s unconnected population.
In this light, it must be noted that satellite communications, which are used to facilitate telecommunication services, are among the major categories for investment in the space technology sector. Other prominent categories include spacecraft and equipment manufacturing.
News
SC Collegium recommends 35 names for judges in six HCs (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
In a significant step to fill vacancies in the higher judiciary, the Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana approved and recommended to the Centre the proposal for the elevation of 20 advocates and 15 judicial officers as judges in six High Courts.
The collegium, which also comprises Justices Uday Umesh Lalit and A.M. Khanwilkar, approved the proposal for the elevation of a maximum of 13 advocates as judges in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, followed by the elevation of six advocates for the Telangana High Court.
The collegium in its meeting has approved the proposal for elevation of the following (13) advocates as judges in the Punjab and Haryana High Court” and they are Nidhi Gupta, Sanjay Vashisth, Tribhuvan Dahiya, Namit Kumar, Harkesh Manuja, Aman Chaudhary, Naresh Singh, Harsh Bunger, Jagmohan Bansal, Deepak Manchanda, Alok Jain, Harpreet Singh Brar, and Kuldeep Tiwari.
Names of six lawyers for the judgeship in the Telangana High Court were also recommended by the collegium and they are “Enugula Venkata Venugopal, Nagesh Bheemapaka, Pulla Karthik @ P. Elamadhar, Kaja Sarath @ K. Sharath, Jaggannagari Sreenivasa Rao @ J. Srinivas Rao, and Namavarapu Rajeshwar Rao,” the resolutions of the collegium, uploaded on the apex court website.
Woman lawyer Suman Pattanayak was also recommended as a judge of the Orissa High Court, a statement said.
Out of 15 judicial officers, nine names were recommended to the Centre for the judgeship in the Calcutta High Court and they are Biswaroop Chowdhury, Partha Sarathi Sen, Prasenjit Biswas, Uday Kumar, Ajay Kumar Gupta, Supratim Bhattacharya, Partha Sarathi Chatterjee, Apurba Sinha Ray, and Md. Shabbar Rashidi.
