[Mission 2023] INSIGHTS DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS + PIB SUMMARY 26 November 2022

GS Paper 2

Syllabus: Polity: Indian Constitution

Source: The Hindu, Indian Express, Indian Express

Direction: This is important for Mains. Keep ready the points about the strengths and weaknesses of the Indian constitution.

Context: The Constitution of India was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949, for ‘We the people of India’. After being unnoticed for a long, the day began to be celebrated as Constitution Day since 2015

The Constitution of India after more than 72 years of its adoption continues to function as the framework within which the government of our country operates.

• Another testimony is that despite amending it more than 100 times its basic premises remain unaltered because of the political and judicial maturity
• An enduring constitution is a rare phenomenon and acts as the soul of a nation or the defining identity of a country

Sources of Constituion:

• Tilak’s Swaraj Bill of 1895 (which included rights to free speech, free press, and equality before the law)
• Declaration of Rights of 1918 (where the Indian National Congress demanded that civil and political rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom of press and association and for all this to be included in the Government of India Act 1919).
• Resolution of Fundamental Rights and Economic Changes at the Karachi Session of the Congress in 1931
• Government of India Act, 1935

Constitution has a clear imprint on day-to-day life:

• Rights we enjoy— it is the Constitution which made this possible through fundamental rights.
• Freedom of movement
• Freedom of expression
• Freedom to choose a calling of our liking
• Freedom to buy, sell and carry on any trade
• Freedom to wear garments of our choice

All these freedoms emanate from the Constitution in the form of fundamental rights.

Weakness of the constitution:

• Law is a weak source to bring about change in human thinking and behaviour: Just because the Constitution declared all Indians as equals, equality does not prevail from the day of such a declaration.
• Poor awareness: Constitutional values such as respect for women, empathy towards the weak and the meek, and rejecting dowry, caste and creed as the basis to measure the values of a person are seldom practised.
• Hardly any focus on the Constitution at the school level, not to speak of tertiary education

Changes in the Indian Constitution:

The Constitution of India is called a living document rather than a closed and static rulebook. The procedure of amendment in the constitution is laid down in Part XX (Article 368) of the Constitution of India to meet the aspirations and the need of the coming generations but despite amendments to make the much-needed changes the basic principles have remained inviolable.

Despite amendments, the basic premises remained unchanged:

• The farsightedness of the constituent assembly – It is true that the Constitution makers were very farsighted and provided many solutions for future situations. The basic framework of the Constitution created by the constituent assembly is very much suited to our country.
  • They wanted the Constitution to be ‘flexible’ and at the same time ‘rigid’. They have created a different kinds of amendment procedures ranging from a simple majority to ratification by the states.
• Basic structure Doctrine – The Supreme Court has given a clear list of the basic features of our Constitution, which cannot be amended. Judiciary has the power to decide whether an amendment violates basic structure or not.  The Kesavananda Bharati ruling has set clear limits on Parliament’s power to amend the Constitution which helps in making the basic premises unchangeable.
  • The doctrine of basic structure restrained the authoritarianism of the government. Had the judiciary not invented the doctrine, India would have gone on the same path as other 3rd world countries, it could save democracy in India.
• Maturity of the Political Leadership-. Political parties, political leaders, the government, and Parliament, accepted and followed in letter and spirit the idea of an inviolable basic structure. Even when there was talk about a ‘review’ of the Constitution, that exercise could not cross the limits set by the theory of the basic structure.
• Judicial efforts and interventions – During the controversy between the Judiciary and the Parliament, the Parliament thought that it had the unchecked power and responsibility to make laws (and amendments) but the Judiciary insisted that it has to take place within the framework provided by the Constitution and parliament should not bypass the basic features.
  • For example – After the Supreme Court gave the ruling in the Kesavananda case some attempts were made to ask the Court to reconsider its ruling. When these failed, the 42nd amendment was made and parliamentary supremacy was asserted. But the Court again repeated its earlier stand in the Minerva Mills case (1980).
• Indian Constitution accepts the necessity of modifications according to changing needs of society. – Even after so many changes in society, the Constitution continues to work effectively because of this ability to be dynamic, to be open to interpretations and the ability to respond to the changing situation. This is a hallmark of a democratic constitution
• There has been enough flexibility in interpretations-. In a democracy, practices and ideas keep evolving over time and the society engages in experiments according to these. A constitution, which protects democracy and yet allows for the evolution of new practices, becomes not only durable but also the object of respect from the citizens.

Conclusion

The Constitution empowers the people as much as the people empower the Constitution. The framers had realised that no matter how well written and how detailed, it would have little meaning if it failed to establish a symbiotic bond with the institutions and the people.

It was the foresight, intellect and ingenuity of the great men in the Constituent Assembly that helped succeed in framing a Constitution whose acceptability has only grown with each passing generation.

Mains Links

Q. ‘Despite undergoing many amendments, the constitution of India has remained intact and the basic premises have not changed’. Comment. (15M)

Prelims Links

GS Paper 2

Syllabus: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes

Source: TH

 Direction: There have been demands from several quarters in India to scrap the MGNREGA. The article emphasises that, while the scheme has flaws, it is not useless. This is why the government has established a committee to reform the scheme.

Context: The Central government has constituted a committee to review the implementation of the MGNREGA scheme, especially to assess the programme’s efficacy as a poverty alleviation tool.

Background:

• The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was enacted in 2005, and the demand-driven scheme promises 100 days of unskilled work per year to every rural household that wishes to participate.
• It was launched as a poverty alleviation instrument for the rural region, providing them with a safety net in the form of guaranteed work and wages. The scheme now has 51 crore active workers enrolled.
• However, it was felt that states like UP and Bihar where there is a higher level of poverty, haven’t been able to utilise the scheme optimally.
• The scheme has also been criticised by economists like Jagdish Bhagwati and Arvind Panagariya as an “inefficient instrument of shifting income to the poor”.

About the committee:

• The Sinha committee (named after former Rural Development secretary Amarjeet Sinha) has now been tasked to study –
  • The various factors behind the demand for MGNREGA work,
  • The expenditure trends and inter-State variations, and
  • The composition of work.
• It will suggest (within 3 months) what changes in focus and governance structures are required to make MGNREGA more effective.

Terms of reference of the committee:

• It will look at the argument that the cost of providing work has also shot up since the scheme first started.
• It will review the reasons and recommend ways to bring in a greater focus on poorer areas.
• It will study if the composition of work taken up presently under the scheme should be changed, i.e., whether it should focus more on community-based assets or individual works.

Criticism of the scheme:

• Lack of tangible asset creation: Bihar, for example, despite its levels of poverty, does not generate assets to make a concrete difference, while Kerala which is economically better has been utilising it for asset creation.
• Allocation of funds is not as per the needs of the states: From the above example, while Bihar needs MGNREGA more, Kerala cannot be denied funds because of the current structure of the programme.

Conclusion: Regardless of all the criticism, MGNREGA acted as a crucial safety net during the COVID pandemic. Thus, the scheme needs to be reformed to provide not only social (safety net for the vulnerable) but also economic (tangible asset creation) benefits.

Insta Links:

MGNREGA

Mains Links:

Q. Discuss the key features and significance of MGNREGA. What are the recent concerns regarding the implementation of the scheme? (15M)

GS Paper 3

Syllabus: Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development and Employment

Source: TH

 Direction: This article discusses an issue related to fiscal federalism – how cess and surcharges are impacting the revenues of states.

Context:

• Several states have recently urged the central government to reduce its reliance on revenue-raising cesses and surcharges, which lower their portion of the divisible pool of taxes.
• They also want more financial support to help the economy recover, as well as an extension of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation period.

Background:

• Recently, the Union Finance Minister presided over a consultation meeting for the Union Budget of 2023-24, which was attended by Chief Ministers, Deputy Chief Ministers, and State Finance Ministers.
• The issues of the federal fiscal framework were flagged by the states in the meeting.
• For example, Tamil Nadu Finance noted that the share of cesses and surcharges had grown from 10.4% of gross tax revenue in 2011-12 to 26.7% in 2021-22.
• This has deprived the States of their legitimate share of revenue collected by the Union Government.
• The states also raised concerns about pending dues from the five-year GST compensation window for states that expired on June 30 this year.

Revenue sharing between centre-states:

• The Indian Constitution grants the Union government more revenue-raising powers while the States are tasked to undertake most of the development and welfare-related responsibilities. According to the 15th Finance Commission’s (FC) report (in FY19), the Union government raised 62.7% of the total resources raised by the Union government and States, while States had borne 62.4% of the aggregate expenditure.
• This allocation of taxation powers and expenditure responsibilities results in an
• Therefore, the Constitution provides for sharing of the Union government’s revenue with the States. Although the 14th and 15th FC raised the share of States in gross taxes to over 40%, the actual share never reached this mandated level.
• For example, during the pandemic, as the gross tax revenues took a hit, the States’ share of the Union government’s taxes recorded a steep fall of 15% and 9% in FY20 and FY21, respectively.
  • However, the Union government’s share increased due to the Centre increasing its revenue by imposing cesses and levies that are not shared with the states.

 Why is levying cesses a cause of worry?

• The Union government has the authority to collect revenue through a variety of levies, such as taxes direct and indirect, surcharges, fees, and cess.
• Unlike traditional taxes and duties, a Cess is a tax on tax, that is levied as an additional tax on top of the existing tax, to raise revenue for a specified purpose. For example, the Swachh Bharat cess.
  • It is normally paid by the general people and is added to their basic tax liability.
• Article 270 of the Indian Constitution exempts cess from the divisible pool of revenues that the Union government must distribute to the states.
• This means, while the cess/surcharge boosts the Union government’s revenues, it reduces the divisible pool of resources and thus the states’ share of the revenue.

Way out suggested by states: They requested the Union Government to merge the cesses and surcharges into the basic rates of tax so that the States receive their legitimate share in devolution.

Insta Links:

The poor state of India’s fiscal federalism

Mains Links:

Q. While fiscal federalism in India has a long history, its practice has grown increasingly opaque over the years. Serious attention is required to improve its principles and practices. Analyse. (250 words)

GS Paper 3

Syllabus: Indian Agriculture/ Nutritional Security

Source: Indian Express

Direction: Millet and its promotion is an important part of the government’s agenda and therefore becomes important for UPSC exams

Context: At India’s led initiative for the UN’s International Year of Millets 2023, India has called “Covid, conflict, and climate” the world’s main food security challenges, and placed the cultivation and popularisation of millets in the context of the wider imperative of “de-risking the global economy”.

Millets are a group of highly variable small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food.

Historical background:

Millets were among the first crops to be domesticated. There is evidence for the consumption of millets by the Indus valley people (3,000 BC), and several varieties that are now grown around the world were first cultivated in India

Global distribution:

 Millets are now grown in more than 130 countries and are the traditional food for more than half a billion people in Asia and Africa. Globally, sorghum (jowar) is the biggest millet crop. The major producers of jowar are the United States, China, Australia, India, Argentina, Nigeria, and Sudan. Bajra is another major millet crop; India and some African countries are major producers.

Benefits of Millets:

• Nutritional Security: cheap and more nutritious. For E.g. Ragi has the highest calcium content and high iron content and can fight the high prevalence of anaemia.
• Climate Resilient: they are known as hardy and drought-resistant crops. They require much less water than rice and wheat and are mainly grown in rainfed areas.
• Economic Security: low investment for inputs
• Against Health Issues: Millets are gluten-free and have a low glycemic index (glucose level) and therefore can help in tackling lifestyle problems and health challenges such as obesity and diabetes.
• Millets have antiaging and antioxidant
• Millets are considered to be “powerhouses of nutrition”. In 2018, the Agriculture Ministry declared millets as “Nutri Cereals”

Challenges:

• Preference for Wheat as staple food: Wheat because of gluten makes softer food and is more liked.
  Government policies:g. National Food Security Act promotes wheat and rice
• Lack of awareness about the benefit of Millet.
  • Although coarse grains are included in the definition of “foodgrains” under Section 2(5) of the NFSA, the distribution through PDS is negligible.
• MSP challenges: The government declares a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for jawar, bajra, and ragi only.
• Low Consumption: In the latest available NSSO household consumption expenditure survey (which is more than a decade old), less than 10 per cent of rural and urban households reported consumption of millets.
• Other challenges: lack of input subsidies and price incentives, and changing consumer preferences.

Initiatives in India:

• Government declared (in 2018) millets as “Nutri-Cereals”, considering their “high nutritive value” and also “anti-diabetic properties”.
• The 2018 year: ‘National Year of Millets”.
• Increase in MSP for millets
• The government has included millets in the public distribution system (PDS) and POSHAN Abhiyan.
• Millet Mission (under the National Food Security Mission): It will help develop farm-gate processing and empower farmers using FPOs.
• Kerala State Agriculture Department: Millet Village scheme
• Millet Startup Innovation Challenge
• A contest for designing a comic story, with the theme ‘India’s Wealth, Millets for Health’

Other Initiatives for millets:

• SCO: India proposed to organize the “Millet Food Festival’

Conclusion:

In view of the impact of climate change and the government’s aim for climate-smart agriculture, Millets deserves encouragement. It can also help in providing nourishment to people across all income categories and supporting climate adaptation of rainfed sustainable farming systems.

Mains Links

Q. Millets have enormous potential to form a core component in climate-smart agriculture whilst offering nutritional and food security benefits. Elaborate. (15M)

Prelims Link