[Mission 2024] Insights SECURE SYNOPSIS: 5 September 2023

NOTE: Please remember that following ‘answers’ are NOT ‘model answers’. They are NOT synopsis too if we go by definition of the term. What we are providing is content that both meets demand of the question and at the same

General Studies – 1

Topic: urbanization, their problems and their remedies.

1. Addressing the challenges in urban solid waste management requires a multi-pronged approach involving infrastructure development, awareness campaigns, policy reforms, and technology integration. Discuss. (250 words)

Difficulty level: Moderate

Reference: Down to Earth

Why the question:

The article discusses the potential benefits of digitalizing waste management in Indian cities and towns. It highlights that adopting digital technologies can lead to cleaner and more sustainable urban environments.

Key Demand of the question:

To write about challenges associated with Solid waste management (SWM) and remedies for the issue.

Directive word: 

Analyse – When asked to analyse, you must examine methodically the structure or nature of the topic by separating it into component parts and present them in a summary.

Structure of the answer:

Introduction: 

Begin the answer by defining Solid waste management.

Body:

First, explain the challenges pertaining to SWM in India – infrastructure, sanitation, manual scavenging, lack of disposal, pollution etc.

Next, write about various ways to tackle it – leveraging Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) 2.0, periodic data collection on waste generation, strict segregation at source, improving waste collection efficiency and exploring Waste to Energy options.

Conclusion:

Conclude by writing a way forward.

Introduction

Solid waste management (SWM) refers to the process of collecting and treating solid wastes. It also offers solutions for recycling items that do not belong to garbage or trash.  In a nascent effort to look beyond toilets and kick off its ODF+ phase — that is, Open Defecation Free Plus — focussing on solid and liquid waste management, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (SBA) has included the prevalence of plastic litter and water-logging in villages as indicators of cleanliness in its 2019 rural survey.

Body

Current Situation of SWM in India:

• As per the SBM 2.0 guidelines, the total quantity of waste generated by urban areas in India is about 32 lakh tonnes daily. This adds up to 4.8 crore tonnes per annum.
• Of this only about 25% is being processed; the rest is disposed of in landfills every year.
• Given that the waste dumpsites have been operational since the early 2000s, more than 72 crore tonnes of waste need to be processed.
• Most cities have confined themselves to collection and transportation of solid waste. Processing and safe disposal are being attempted only in a few cases.
• The CPCB report also reveals that only 68% of the MSW generated in the country is collected of which, 28% is treated by the municipal authorities. Thus, merely 19% of the total waste generated is currently treated.
• According to a UN report, India’s e-waste from old computers alone will jump 500 per cent by 2020, compared to 2007.
• Disappearance of urban water bodies and wetlands in urban areas can be attributed to illegal dumping of Construction & Demolition waste.

Some of the major issues concerning solid waste management are:

• Absence of segregation of waste at source.
• Lack of funds for waste management at ULBs.
• Unwillingness of ULBs to introduce proper collection, segregation, transportation and treatment/ disposal systems.
• Lack of technical expertise and appropriate institutional arrangement
• Lack of infrastructure and technology
• Lack of involvement from the private sector and non-governmental organisations
• Indifference of citizens towards waste management due to lack of awareness
• Lack of community participation towards waste management and hygienic conditions
• Lack of sewage management plan.
• About 70% of the plastic packaging products turn into plastic waste within a short period.
• Unorganized vendors and markets, existence of slum areas and Corruption are other issues plaguing MSWM.

Measures needed

• State governments should provide financial support to ULBs to improve their waste management system under various schemes and programs.
• Initiatives like Smart Cities Mission, AMRUT should provide significant funding to improve civic services infrastructure.
• The key to efficient waste management is to ensure proper segregation of waste at source and to ensure that the waste goes through different streams of recycling and resource recovery as stated in the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016.
• Waste to energy is a key component of SWM. Installation of waste-to-compost and bio-methanation plants would reduce the load of landfill sites
• There is a need to encourage research and development so as to reinvent waste management system in India.
• The focus should be on recycling and recovering from waste and not landfill. Further, it is important to encourage recycling of e-waste so that the problem of e-waste
• Public- Private Partnership models for waste management should be encouraged.
• Construction and demolition waste should be stored, separately disposed off, as per the Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules, 2016.
• Responsibilities of Generators have been introduced to segregate waste in to three streams, Wet (Biodegradable), Dry (Plastic, Paper, metal, wood, etc.) and domestic hazardous wastes (diapers, napkins, empty containers of cleaning agents, mosquito repellents, etc.) and handover segregated wastes to authorized rag-pickers or waste collectors or local bodies.
• Sensitization of citizens as well as government authorities, community participation, involvement of NGOs. Littering should be prohibited.
• International Best practices should be emulated. South Korea is one of the few countries to separate and recycle food waste. It has also launched landfill recovery projects such as the Nanjido recovery project which have successfully transformed hazardous waste sites into sustainable ecological attractions.

Conclusion

Municipal solid waste management (MSWM) is one of the major environmental problems of Indian cities. The need of the hour is scientific, sustainable and environment friendly management of wastes.

General Studies – 2

Topic: Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary—Ministries and Departments of the Government;

2. Critics argue that the Collegium system lacks transparency in the selection and appointment of judges. Over the years, there have been calls for reforming the judicial appointment process to make it more transparent, accountable, and inclusive. Examine. (250 words)

Difficulty level: Easy

Reference: Insights on India

Why the question:

The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 2 and mentioned as part of Mission-2024 Secure timetable.

Key Demand of the question:

To write about the process of selection of SC and HC and evolution of the process of the appointment of Judges to the SC and the reforms that are needed to the existing collegium system.

Directive word: 

Examine – When asked to ‘Examine’, we must investigate the topic (content words) in detail, inspect it, investigate it and establish the key facts and issues related to the topic in question. While doing so we should explain why these facts and issues are important and their implications.

Structure of the answer:

Introduction: 

Begin by giving context of collegium system.

Body:

Frist, show evolution of appointment process. Mention, in brief, the three judges’ cases and NJAC act, 2014.

Next, write about the reasons which call for reforms to the existing collegium system. Opaqueness, lack of accountability, lack of representation from weaker sections, slow pace of appointments and lack of public faith etc.

Suggest reforms to overcome the above issues that are affecting the collegium system.

Conclusion:

Conclude by writing a way forward.

Introduction

The judges of the Supreme Court and High Court in India are appointed by President as per article 124(2) and 217 of the constitution. In such appointment, the President is required to hold consultation with such of the Judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts in the States as he may deem necessary for the purpose.

Justice D Y Chandrachud, who is the 50th Chief Justice of India, said criticism of the Collegium system must be looked at in a “positive light” and attempts made to improve it.

Body

Collegium system:

• The Collegium System is a system under which appointments/elevation of judges/lawyers to Supreme Court and transfers of judges of High Courts and Apex Court are decided by a forum of the Chief Justice of India and the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court.’
• The collegium of judges is the Supreme Court’s invention. It does not figure in the Constitution, which says judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts are appointed by the President and speaks of a process of consultation.
• In effect, it is a system under which judges are appointed by an institution comprising judges.
• After some judges were superseded in the appointment of the Chief Justice of India in the 1970s, and attempts made subsequently to affect a mass transfer of High Court judges across the country, there was a perception that the independence of the judiciary was under threat. This resulted in a series of cases over the years.
• The ‘First Judges Case’ (1981)ruled that the “consultation” with the CJI in the matter of appointments must be full and effective.
• The Second Judges Case (1993)introduced the Collegium system, holding that “consultation” really meant “concurrence”. It added that it was not the CJI’s individual opinion, but an institutional opinion formed in consultation with the two senior most judges in the Supreme Court.
• On a Presidential Reference for its opinion, the Supreme Court, in the Third Judges Case (1998)expanded the collegium to a five-member body, comprising the CJI and four of his senior most colleagues.
• The recommendations of the Collegium are binding on the Central Government, if the Collegium sends the names of the judges/lawyers to the government for the second time.

Procedure followed by the collegium:

• The President of India appoints the CJI and the other SC judges. As far as the CJI is concerned, the outgoing CJI recommends his successor.
• For other judges of the top court, the proposal is initiated by the CJI. The CJI consults the rest of the collegium members, as well as the senior most judge of the court hailing from the High Court to which the recommended person belongs.
• The Chief Justice of High Courts is appointed as per the policy of having Chief Justices from outside the respective States. The collegium takes the call on the elevation. High Court judges are recommended by a collegium comprising the CJI and two senior most judges.

Need for reforms in the Collegium system:

• Credibility of the SC:
  • Controversial collegium system of judicial appointments undermines the independence of judges and raises doubts about the credibility of the highest court.
  • There is a failure to make an assessment of the personality of the contemnor at the time of recommending his name for elevation.
  • Example: The controversy over the proposed elevation of Justice P.D. Dinakaran of the Karnataka High Court to the Supreme Court by the collegium of the Chief Justice and four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court was criticized for overlooking apparently suitable judges by the collegiums
  • The judiciary off late has been caught in many such situations of credibility crisis off late.
• The executive has little or no role in the appointment of judges as a result.
• Nepotism:
  • Unfortunately, in some cases, it has not covered itself with glory. There have been cases where the nearest relative of Supreme Court judges has been appointed as a high court judge, ignoring merit.
  • During the regime of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, judges far lower in the combined All India Seniority of High Court judges were appointed to SC, and the reason assigned was that those selected were found more meritorious.
• Supreme court is overburdened:
  • The Supreme Court did not realize the burden it was imposing on the collegium of selecting judges for the Supreme Court and High Courts and transferring them from one High Court to another.
  • An administrative task of this magnitude must necessarily detract the judges of the collegium from their principal judicial work of hearing and deciding cases.
• Lack of Transparency:
  • The lack of a written manual for functioning, the absence of selection criteria, the arbitrary reversal of decisions already taken, the selective publication of records of meetings prove the opaqueness of the collegium system.
  • No one knows how judges are selected, and the appointments made raise the concerns of propriety, self-selection and nepotism.
  • The system often overlooks several talented junior judges and advocates.
• NJAC, A Missed Opportunity:
  • The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) could guarantee the independence of the system from inappropriate politicization, strengthen the quality of appointments and rebuild public confidence in the system.
  • The decision was struck down by the SC in 2015 on the ground that it posed a threat to the independence of the judiciary.
• Lack of Consensus among Members:
  • The collegium members often face the issue of mutual consent regarding appointment of judges.
  • The shadow of mistrust between the members of the collegium exposes the fault lines within the judiciary.
  • For instance, recently retired CJI Sharad A. Bobde was perhaps the first chief justice to have not made even a single recommendation for appointment as SC judge due to lack of consensus among the collegium members.
• Unequal Representation:
  • The other area of concern is the composition of the higher judiciary. While data regarding caste is not available, women are fairly underrepresented in the higher judiciary.
• Delay in Judicial Appointments:
  • The process of judicial appointment is delayed due to delay in recommendations by the collegium for the higher judiciary.

Reforms needed in the collegium system:

• The need of the hour is to revisit the existing system through a transparent and participatory procedure, preferably by an independent broad-based constitutional body guaranteeing judicial primacy but not judicial exclusivity.
  • The collegium members have to make a fresh start and engage with each other.
  • A transparent process adds accountability that is much needed to resolve the deadlock.
  • Individual disagreements over certain names will continue to take place, but care must be taken that the institutional imperative of dispensation of justice does not suffer.
• The new system should ensure independence, reflect diversity, demonstrate professional competence and integrity.
• The system needs to establish a body which is independent and objective in the selection process.
  • In several countries of the Commonwealth, National Judicial Appointment Commissions have been established to select judges.
  • Such judicial commissions have worked with success in the U.K., South Africa and Canada.
• Setting up a constitutional bodyaccommodating the federal concept of diversity and independence of judiciary for appointment of judges to the higher judiciary can also be thought of as an alternate measure.
• There should be a fixed time limit for approval of recommendations.
• As of now, instead of selecting the number of judges required against a certain number of vacancies, the collegium must provide a panel of possible names to the President for appointment in order of preference and other valid criteria.
• New memorandum of procedure:
  • After the Second and Third Judges Cases, a Memorandum of Procedure had been formulated to govern how the process of how the Collegium would make recommendations to the Executive.
  • The government therefore suggested that a new MOP be drafted and finalized for appointment of SC judges and the Executive to get a veto over candidates for national security reasons in this new MOP.

Conclusion

Faced with intense public scrutiny and government pressure, the judiciary’s institutional weaknesses are being laid bare. These are not simply the moral failings of one individual or the consequences of the misjudgment of a few. It is another illustration of the institution’s inability to accept its internal infirmities.

Topic: Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary—Ministries and Departments of the Government;

3. Backlog of cases in the legal system, can be attributed to a combination of systemic, structural, and procedural factors. Analyse. Suggest measures to overcome them. (250 words)

Difficulty level: Moderate

Reference: Insights on India

Why the question:

The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 2 and mentioned as part of Mission-2024 Secure timetable.

Key Demand of the question:

To write about various causes for pendency of cases in India, its impact and suggest measures to overcome this issue.

Directive:

Analyse – When asked to analyse, you must examine methodically the structure or nature of the topic by separating it into component parts and present them in a summary.

Structure of the answer:

Introduction: 

Begin by giving vital statistics to substantiate on the judicial pendency of cases.

Body:

First, write the causes for it – The cumulative effect of persisting vacancies, strained budgets, inadequate infrastructure combined with the continuous inflow of cases inevitably impacts mounting pendency and the time taken for cases to resolve.

Next bring out the impact of it – faith in the justice system, under trial prisoners their due of justice, impact on Economic reforms and foreign investors, Judiciary becomes overworked and lose its efficiency.

Suggest measures to overcome the above.

Conclusion:

Conclude writing a way forward.

Introduction

The justice system in any democracy is set up, under the Constitution to serve the public without “fear or favour, affection or ill-will” as far as judges are concerned. The Indian Judiciary plays an increasingly important role in the life and the governance of this country. A measure of the justice delivery system is the pendency of cases in courts across the country. There has been a significant deterioration in this aspect. The problem of pendency of cases is “intensifying” due to a lack of the sufficient number of judges.

Body

Vacancies in the Indian Judiciary at various levels

• The courts are operating at a fraction of their authorised capacity.
• India has about 21 judges for every million people, by contrast, China has about 159 judges for every million people.
• More than four crore cases are pending in the lower courts of India, of which about 25% are pending for over five years.
• Judicial vacancies as a share of sanctioned strength in lower courts are 20% or more in some States/U.T.s.
• Due to inconsistent recruitment, in some States there is only one judge per one lakh people.
• Around 46 per cent of the total pending cases in the court system pertains to the government.
• Because of the incessant delays, undertrials as a share of total prisoners have peaked at 76% in 2020.

Causes for huge pendency of cases:

• Shifting role of SC:
  • The key reason for the mounting of pending cases can be attributed to shifting the role of the Supreme Court from adjudicating cases of constitutional significance into a regular court of appeals.
  • According to legal experts, most of the cases that the Supreme Court was handling daily are either appeals from various high courts or cases of gross violation of individual’s fundamental rights. But this role was never meant for the apex court.
• Shortage of judges:
  • From 1950 to 1921, the number of Supreme Court judges has increased nearly four times. Even then, case pendency has steadily kept rising.
  • Around 5,580 or 25% of posts are lying empty in the subordinate courts, which leads to poor Judges to Population Ratio, as India has only 20 judges per million population. Earlier, Law Commission had recommended 50 judges per million.
• Frequent adjournments:
  • The laid down procedure of allowing a maximum of three adjournments per case is not followed in over 50 per cent of the matters being heard by courts, leading to rising pendency of cases.
• Low budgetary allocation leading to poor infrastructure:
  • India spends only about 09% of its GDP to maintain the judicial infrastructure.
  • Infrastructure status of lower courts of the country is miserably grim due to which they fail to deliver quality judgements.
  • A 2016 report published by the Supreme Court showed that existing infrastructure could accommodate only 15,540 judicial officers against the all-India sanctioned strength of 20,558.
• Burden of government cases:
  • Statistics provided by LIMBS shows that the Centre and the States were responsible for over 46% of the pending cases in Indian courts.
• Special leave petition:
  • cases in the Supreme Court, currently comprises to 40% of the court’s pendency.
  • It is because of frivolous PILs and various government policies which are challenged by the people that takes up most of judiciary’s time
• Judges Vacation:
  • Supreme Court’s works on average for 188 days a year, while apex court rules specify minimum of 225 days of work.
• Lack of court management systems:
  • Courts have created dedicated posts for court managers to help improve court operations, optimize case movement and judicial time.
  • However, only few courts have filled up such posts so far.
• Inefficient investigation:
  • Police are quite often handicapped in undertaking effective investigation for want of modern and scientific tools to collect evidences.

Rise in number of judges alone will not help reduce the pendency:

• From 1950 to 1921, the number of Supreme Court judges has increased nearly four times. Even then, case pendency has steadily kept rising.
• The key reason for the mounting of pending cases can be attributed to shifting the role of the Supreme Court from adjudicating cases of constitutional significance into a regular court of appeals.
• According to legal experts, most of the cases that the Supreme Court was handling daily are either appeals from various high courts or cases of gross violation of individual’s fundamental rights. But this role was never meant for the apex court.
• It is because of frivolous PILs and various government policies which are challenged by the people that takes up most of judiciary’s time

Other measures needed to reduce pendency of cases:

• Improving infrastructure for quality justice:
  • The Parliamentary Standing Committee which presented its report on Infrastructure Development and Strengthening of Subordinate Courts, suggested:
  • States should provide suitable land for construction of court buildings etc. It should undertake vertical construction in light of shortage of land.
  • Timeline set out for computerization of all the courts, as a necessary step towards setting up of e- courts.
• Addressing the Issue of Vacancies:
  • Ensure the appointments of the judges be done in an efficient way by arriving at an optimal judge strength to handle the cases pending in the system.
  • The 120th Law Commission of India report for the first time, suggested a judge strength fixation formula.
  • Supreme Court and High Courts should appoint efficient and experienced judges as Ad-hoc judges in accordance with the Constitution.
  • All India Judicial Service, which would benefit the subordinate judiciary by increasing quality of judges and help reduce the pendency.
• Timeframe to dispose of cases:
  • Having a definite time frame to dispose the cases by setting annual targets and action plans for the subordinate judiciary and the High Courts. The judicial officers could be issued a strict code of conduct, to ensure that the duties are adequately performed by the officials.
  • Strict regulation of adjournments and imposition of exemplary costs for seeking it on flimsy grounds especially at the trial stage and not permitting dilution of time frames specified in Civil Procedure Code.
• Better Court Management System & Reliable Data Collection:
  • For this categorization of cases on the basis of urgency and priority along with bunching of cases should be done.
• Use of Information technology (IT) solutions:
  • The use of technology for tracking and monitoring cases and in providing relevant information to make justice litigant friendly. A greater impetus should be given to
• Process reengineering:
  • Involves redesigning of core business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in productivity and quality by incorporating the use of technology in court rules. It will include:
  • Electronic filing of cases: e-Courts are a welcome step in this direction, as they give case status and case history of all the pending cases across High courts and Subordinate courts bringing ease of access to information.
  • Revamping of National Judicial Data Grid by introducing a new type of search known as elastic search, which is closer to the artificial intelligence.
• Alternate dispute resolution (ADR):
  • As stated in the Conference on National Initiative to Reduce Pendency and Delay in Judicial System- Legal Services Authorities should undertake pre-litigation mediation so that the inflow of cases into courts can be regulated.
  • The Lok Adalat should be organized regularly for settling civil and family matters.
  • Gram Nyayalayas, as an effective way to manage small claim disputes from rural areas which will help in decreasing the workload of the judicial institution.
  • Village Legal Care & Support Centre can also be established by the High Courts to work at grass root level to make the State litigation friendly.

Conclusion

The fundamental requirement of a good judicial administration is accessibility, affordability and speedy justice, which will not be realized until and unless the justice delivery system is made within the reach of the individual in a time bound manner and within a reasonable cost. Therefore, continuous formative assessment is the key to strengthen and reinforce the justice delivery system in India.

General Studies – 3

Topic: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.

4. India’s transition towards a clean energy system is vital for mitigating climate change and ensuring sustainable economic growth. However, several constraints and challenges hinder this transition. Analyse. (250 words)

Difficulty level: Moderate

Reference: Indian Express

Why the question:

The article discusses how current approaches to the green transition often overlook the social and political complexities, both at the international and domestic levels.

Key Demand of the question:

To write about challenges for clean energy transition of India and measures to overcome them.

Directive:

Analyse – When asked to analyse, you must examine methodically the structure or nature of the topic by separating it into component parts and present them in a summary.

Structure of the answer:

Introduction: 

Introduce with the current status of energy dependency and efforts for clean energy transition by India.

Body:

First, write about the need for clean energy transition.

Next, write about the constraints with the clean energy transitions such as clean energy transition will be long and expensive, fossil fuels will dominate the energy basket during this transition phase, “ OPEC plus” will resurge in market influence, etc.

Suggest measures to overcome the above.

Conclusion:

Conclude writing a way forward.

Introduction

Climate sustainability is integral to India’s economic policy while energy security also is equally important in this transitional phase. The energy transition will also have far-reaching implications for energy security, and the ripple effects of unfolding events in Ukraine are a sobering reminder of its relevance.

Clean energy appears to be the future for the power needs of humanity across the globe as reliance of fossil fuels continues to diminish. However, the road to clean energy is not straight forward and here is where the government must rely on calculated measure to balance energy security and net-zero commitments.

Body

Green energy transition in India

• Exceeding the NDC commitment: India is on track (as reports/documents show) to meet and exceed the NDC commitment to achieve 40% electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based sources by 2030.
• Reduction in emission intensity of GDP: Against the voluntary declaration for reducing the emission intensity of GDP by 20%-25% by 2020, India has reduced it by 24% between 2005-2016.
• More importantly, we achieved these targets with around 2% out of the $100 billion committed to developing nations in Copenhagen (2009), realised by 2015.
• Renewable energy expansion: India is implementing one of the most extensive renewable energy expansion programmes to achieve 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022 and 450 GW by 2030.
• Investment in green measures: As part of the fiscal stimulus after the pandemic, the Government announced several green measures, including:
• a $26.5-billion investment in biogas and cleaner fuels,
• $3.5 billion in incentives for producing efficient solar photovoltaic (PV)
• and advanced chemistry cell battery, and $780 million towards an afforestation programme.
• India’s contribution to global emissions is well below its equitable share of the worldwide carbon budget by any equity criterion.

Measures needed

• Focus on Energy Efficiency: Will need energy efficient buildings, lighting, appliances and industrial practices to meet the net-zero goal.
• Increased usage of Biofuels: Can help reduce emissions from light commercial vehicles, tractors in agriculture.
• In aviation, the only practical solution for reducing emissions is greater use of biofuels, until hydrogen technology gains scale.
• Transition towards Electric vehicles: This will further help curb the carbon emissions and move towards cleaner fuel. Vehicular emissions are one of the biggest sources of GHG.
• Carbon Sequestration: India willhave to rely on natural and man-made carbon sinks to soak up those emissions. Trees can capture 0.9 billion tons; the country will need carbon capture technologies to sequester the rest.
• Carbon Pricing:
• India, which already taxes coal and petroleum fuels, should consider putting a tax on emissions to drive change.
• Deploying lower-carbon Energy: There are four main types of low-carbon energy: wind, solar, hydro or nuclear power. The first three are renewable, which means these are good for the environment – as natural resources are used (such as wind or sun) to produce electricity.
• Deploying lower carbon energy would help address both domestic and international climate challenges while simultaneously improving the economic well-being of India’s citizens.
• Mainstreaming Renewable energy: India’s energy mix is dominated by coal powered electric generation stations as of now.
• The need of the hour is increasing the share of renewable energy in this energy mix.

Conclusion and way forward

• Given the massive shifts underway in India’s energy system, we would benefit from taking stock of our actions and focusing on near-term transitions.
• This will allow us to meet and even over-comply with our 2030 target while also ensuring concomitant developmental benefits, such as developing a vibrant renewable industry.
• We can start putting in place the policies and institutions necessary to move us in the right direction for the longer-term and also better understand, through modelling and other studies, the implications of net-zero scenarios before making a net-zero pledge.
• It would also be in India’s interest to link any future pledge to the achievement of near-term action by industrialised countries.
• That would be fair and consistent with the principles of the UNFCCC and also enhance the feasibility of our own actions through, for example, increasing availability and reducing costs of new mitigation technologies.
• There appears to be no turning back on the path of decarbonized economic growth for India. The recent Union budget has made this sufficiently clear. The scale of the challenge is also balanced by an opportunity. It’s the execution that will now determine the pace at which we proceed along that path.

Topic: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

5. What is ecocide? Examine the implications of making it a crime on environmental protection and corporate accountability. (250 words)

Difficulty level: Tough

Reference: The Hindu

Why the question:

The article explores the international efforts to criminalize ecocide, raising important questions about its potential impact on environmental conservation and corporate responsibility. This necessitates an analysis of the global campaign for ecocide as a crime.

Key Demand of the question:

To write about ecocide as a criminal offense and its potential repercussions on safeguarding the environment and holding corporations accountable.

Directive:

Examine – When asked to ‘Examine’, we must investigate the topic (content words) in detail, inspect it, investigate it and establish the key facts and issues related to the topic in question. While doing so we should explain why these facts and issues are important and their implications.

Structure of the answer:

Introduction: 

Provide context by explaining the concept of ecocide.

Body:

First, write about the Impact on Environmental Protection – how making ecocide a crime can contribute to better environmental protection, potential deterrent effect on activities harmful to the environment etc.

Next, write about the implications of ecocide as a crime for corporate accountability Discuss how it might hold corporations responsible for environmental damage caused by their activities.

Next, write about the downside to ecocide.

Conclusion:

Conclude by writing a balanced opinion on ecocide.

Introduction

Ecocide, derived from Greek and Latin,translates to ‘killing one’s home’ or ‘environment’. Such ‘killing’ could include port expansion projects that destroy fragile marine life and local livelihoods; deforestation; illegal sandmining; polluting rivers with untreated sewage. 

Ecocide refers to extensive damage, destruction, or loss of ecosystems and their services, often as a result of human activities. This concept has gained traction in recent years as a potential international crime, akin to crimes against humanity or genocide

Body

About ecocide

• Biologist Arthur Galston in 1970 is credited be the first to link environmental destruction with genocide, which is recognised as an international crime, when referring to the U.S. military’s use of Agent Orange (a herbicide) during the Vietnam War.
• Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, two years later, used the term in a speech at the United Nations, warning that unchecked industrialisation could cause irreversible damage to the environment. British lawyer Polly Higgins became the linchpin, when in 2010, she urged the United Nations’ International Criminal Court (ICC) to recognise ecocide as an international crime.
• There is no accepted legal definition of ecocide, but a panel of lawyers in June 2021 for Stop Ecocide Foundation prepared a ‘historic’ 165-word articulation that, if accepted, would locate environmental destruction in the same category as crimes against humanity.
• Ecocide, they proposed, is the “unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts.”

Implications of making ecocide a crime

• Deterrence: Making ecocide a crime would act as a powerful deterrent. Knowing that individuals or corporations could be held legally accountable for causing severe environmental harm would likely lead to more cautious and responsible behavior.
• Preventative Measures: Companies and individuals would likely invest more in sustainable practices and technologies to avoid potential legal consequences. This could lead to the development and implementation of cleaner, more environmentally friendly technologies and practices.
• Global Cooperation: The establishment of ecocide as a crime would necessitate international cooperation to define and enforce it. This could foster greater collaboration between nations on environmental issues, potentially leading to more effective global environmental policies.
• Companies might redirect resources towards research and development of environmentally friendly technologies and practices. This could lead to innovations in areas like renewable energy, waste management, and sustainable agriculture.
• An amendment to the Rome Statute could have a ‘catalysing’ impact across nations to formulate their own laws; individual nations enshrining ecocide in their legislation could, in turn, build up pressure on the ICC.
• Ecocide laws could also double as clarion calls for justice for low- and middle-income countries disproportionately shouldering the impact of extreme weather.
  • Eg : Small nation-states like Vanuatu and Barbuda are lobbying for the ICC to declare crimes against the environment as violations of international law.

Limitations

• Arguments against ecocide laws are varied: some question the need for a separate law, others question the definition of ‘ecocide’ itself.
• Experts argue the 2021 definition is ambiguous and sets the threshold too low for implicating an entity.
• Words like “long-term” or “widespread damage” are abstract and leave room for misinterpretation.
• The definition describes ‘wanton’ as damage “clearly excessive in relation to the social and economic benefits anticipated.” This constructs a development-versus-environment narrative, she adds, with the implication that it is okay to destroy the environment as long as it benefits humans.
• Case in point- activists criticised the Great Nicobar Project for imperilling indigenous communities and biodiversity; the government claims the Project is in service of “holistic development.”
• The ICC in itself has limited legal powers, and has a speckled track record when it comes to converting prosecutions into convictions. The court’s power is limited to “natural persons,” and without any changes, ICC would be unable to hold corporate entities criminally liable.

Indian context: Ecocide laws

• India’s environmental regime includes the Environmental (Protection) Act of 1986, Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972, and Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016 (CAMPA) as well as separate rules to prevent air and water pollution.
• These separate laws have to be consolidated into a code, and institutions need to be streamlined, for debates like ecocide and rights of nature to find “their proper way through legal channels”.
• Further, the National Green Tribunal, India’s apex environmental regulatory body, does not hold jurisdiction to hear matters relating to the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the Indian Forest Act, 1927 and other State-enacted laws.
• Mining in Chambal, or even the Himachal floods, qualify as being environmental crimes under the current articulation
• A critical challenge is to tackle problems of liability and compensation — an example of the “friction between committing to environmental protection and actual action.” For example, Bhopal gas tragedy survivors are still fighting for compensation; the disaster’s aftermath is sketched by an intergenerational impact on health and mass-scale contamination of soil and groundwater. Investigations have found misuse and diversion of funds earmarked for CAMPA. But despite the National Green Tribunal having slapped fines worth ₹28,180 crore on seven States, there is little clarity on the total fines collected and the way they were used

Conclusion

Making ecocide a crime could be a powerful tool for environmental protection and corporate accountability. However, it would also pose significant legal, logistical, and economic challenges that would need to be carefully navigated. The potential benefits, in terms of long-term environmental sustainability, could outweigh these challenges, but the implementation would require a concerted global effort.

General Studies – 4

Topic: Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service, integrity, impartiality and nonpartisanship, objectivity, dedication to public service, empathy, tolerance and compassion towards the weaker- sections.

6. In recent times, world has been put to the test in various global crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and geopolitical conflicts. Compassion, cooperation, and solidarity are now more important than ever. Discuss. (150 Words)

Difficulty level: Easy

Why the question:

The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 4 and part of ‘Conceptual Tuesdays’ in Mission-2024 Secure.

Key Demand of the question:

To write about the importance compassion, cooperation and complete solidarity in dealing with contemporary challenges.

Directive:

Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you must debate on paper by going through the details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You must give reasons for both for and against arguments.

Structure of the answer:

Introduction:

Begin by giving context.

Body:

First, write about the challenging circumstances prevailing across the world in recent past – pandemic, extreme weather events, wars, social strife etc.

Next, write how compassion, cooperation and solidarity can play a part in overcoming the above-mentioned challenges. Substantiate with examples.

Conclusion:

Complete by summarising.

Introduction

Compassion, cooperation and solidarity are the guiding stars of humanitarianism. Today in a world mired by wars, terrorism, trafficking, hunger and poverty, the three saviours will be amalgamation of compassion, cooperation and solidarity.

The tragic war between Russia and Ukraine is now almost in its seventh month. The assault and humiliation faced by Ukrainian citizens in this period will be remembered as the stigma of the 21st century.

Body

Compassion is our first guiding star to advance humanity in crisis settings. Without compassion, which literally means ‘suffering together,’ we would not be able to put ourselves into each other’s shoes, or see a crisis through the eyes of a child and realise that other human lives are worth saving, sometimes by taking risks.

Solidarity comes next. Countless times I have seen solidarity shape into a collective force to do good. Solidarity does not always have to be heroic: sometimes, it can mean giving voice to the powerless, protesting injustice, or not letting others suffer alone. Other times, it can make the difference between life and death.

Eg: In India, people came together to go the extra mile and lend a hand during covid-19 pandemic. Several initiatives- from distributing food to migrant workers to buying protective gear for healthcare workers – brought a sense of solidarity among the society.

Cooperation is needed to provide a mindset and solid anchor to compassion and solidarity; it is also what enables us to ‘make things happen’. In wars, disasters and emergencies, there are a hundred jobs to be done, and it is natural that we may get paralysed. Only cooperation can save the day and humanity.

More than ever, it is imperative to stand up against stigma, hate speech, xenophobia, racism, war and all forms of discrimination that are an affront to universal human values and rights

Conclusion

“If we want societies to be inclusive, cohesive and peaceful, this is the time to foster an alliance between cultures, civilizations, and people”. Global fraternity and global village must become a reality to save human kind from an impending apocalypse which is man-made.

Topic: Ethics and Human Interface: Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics in-human actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics – in private and public relationships.

7. Do you think the concept of moonlighting is ethical in your opinion? (150 Words)

Difficulty level: Tough

Reference: Insights on India

Why the question:

The question is part of the static syllabus of General studies paper – 4 and part of ‘Conceptual Tuesdays’ in Mission-2024 Secure.

Key Demand of the question:

To form an opinion on ethicality of moonlighting.

Structure of the answer:

Introduction:

Begin by defining the concept of moonlighting.

Body:

First, give reasons as to why there is need of moonlighting and cite reasons as to why it maybe considered ethical.

Next, given reasons as to why moonlighting maybe considered unethical.

Conclusion:

Conclude by giving a balanced opinion the issue.

Introduction

The practice of working for one organisation while also taking up extra responsibilities and jobs, typically without the employer’s knowledge, is referred to as moonlighting. It is called so the side employment is typically performed at night or on the weekends. The phrase became well-known when Americans began looking for second jobs in addition to their regular 9-to-5 jobs to supplement their income.

Recently, Indian MNCs like Wipro, Infosys has warned of repercussions of moonlighting to their employees.

Body

Need for moonlighting and its ethical basis

• While moonlighting is often considered wrong, “Ethical moonlighting” is a win-win concept in which individuals are able to monetize their skills in more than one placeor role and in the most ethical manner within the data governing principles of such a practice.
• This helps in creating a positive position for all three parties involved: the individual, the primary employer, and the secondary employer that takes the additional services.
• As the pandemic hit in 2020, many gainfully employed professionals lost their jobs at every level—the layoffs were not restricted to fresher’s and middle management,but impacted CxO level roles too.
• Companies downscaled their working staff and even rolled out pay cuts as severe as 60%-75%.
• This left many highly-skilled, experienced and talented professionals with a meagre primary source of income and bills to pay that were aligned with their original salaries.
• The only way to bridge the gap and meet their expenses was totake up a second job.

Ethical issues that may arise

• A person may work more than one job in India without breaking the law.
  • However, a person with asimilar set of jobs could give rise to concerns about a violation of confidentiality because many employers include such restrictions in their employment agreements in addition to prohibitions against holding down multiple jobs.
  • Eg: Same person working for google and Microsoft and risk of sharing trade secret.
• Moonlighting could be considered cheating if an employee’s contract calls for non-compete and single employment, which is the situation with the majority of conventional employment contracts.
  • However, it is not cheating if the employment contracts do not have such a clause or provide relaxations.

Conclusion

No longer a stop-gap measure, many companies and employees have embraced the benefits of moonlighting, as long as it is done ethically. There must be a water-tight contract hiring which can alleviate problems related to confidentiality. This can lead to gig economy for organised sectors too.

Join our Official Telegram Channel HERE

Please subscribe to Our podcast channel HERE

Subscribe to our YouTube ChannelHERE

Follow our Twitter Account HERE

Follow our Instagram ID HERE

Follow us on LinkedIn : HERE