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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the PM-PRANAM (PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Generation, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth) scheme, a promise made in the last Budget.
Union Fertilizer Minister Mansukh Mandaviya told reporters after the meeting that the new scheme would promote use of nutrient-based biofertilizers for sustainable agriculture and it would have a total outlay of ₹3,70,128.7 crore.
Mr. Mandaviya said the scheme was aimed at saving the soil and promoting sustainable, balanced use of fertilizers, and it involved the participation of State governments.
Surge in food prices shows inflation far from tamed (Page no. 1)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
A sharp increase in the retail prices of several crucial food items over the past one month — from the essential vegetables of tomato, onion and potato to the basic cereals of rice and wheat, toor dal, the commonest protein source in vegetarian households, and even loose tea — has left households and small eatery operators scrambling to juggle their budgets.
Data from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution’s Price Monitoring Division show that prices of nine of the 10 key food items sampled— rice, wheat, toor dal, sugar, milk, tea (loose), salt (iodised, packed), potato, onion and tomato — had increased as from a month earlier. The price of salt alone was unchanged.
While the 0.5% month-on-month increase in milk price was the least, the prices of all three essential vegetables had risen, with potato up 8.8%, onion 11.1% higher and tomato almost twice as high as in the last week of May.
The national average retail price of tomato on June 27 was ₹46.1 per kilogram, 95% higher than ₹23.6 a month earlier.
“Even a simple rasam has become a costly dish these days,” said Prema K. P., a homemaker at Kunduparamba in Kerala’s Kozhikode, lamenting the sharp surge in tomato prices in the State.
At the Connemara market in Kerala’s capital Thiruvananthapuram, the vegetable cost ₹100 per kg on Wednesday. Only a week ago, tomato was being sold at ₹45-₹50 a kg in the State.
The price of tomato in fact was highest as per government data in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur, at ₹121 a kg.
Union Consumer Affairs Ministry Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said the surge in tomato prices was the result of seasonal factors. “Across the country, tomato is grown and harvested at different points of year”.
Editorial
Manifestly arbitrary, clearly unconstitutional (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
In 2015, soon after the Aam Aadmi Party won the Delhi Legislative Assembly elections by a significant margin, the central government issued a notification taking control over services in the National Capital Territory (NCT).
This sparked an eight-year long legal battle between the Delhi government and the central government, involving four rounds of litigation before the Supreme Court of India.
In May 2023, the Court ruled decisively in favour of the Delhi government. However, rather than being the end of the battle, the Court’s decision turned out to be only another pit stop.
Within days, the central government, acting through the President of India, issued an ordinance amending the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act of 1991.
Through this ordinance, the central government sought to undo the Court’s judgment: it explicitly deprived the Delhi Legislative Assembly from enacting laws pertaining to services within the NCT, and, instead, set up a parallel body, comprising the Chief Minister and two bureaucrats, who would be responsible for taking service-related decisions with respect to Delhi.
Shorn of legalese, and in effect, the Delhi Services Ordinance takes away the control of services from the elected government of Delhi, and hands it back to the central government.
A close look at the ordinance reveals two justifications offered by the central government. At the level of policy, the central government argues that Delhi’s status as the national capital requires a “balancing” of interests between the elected Delhi government, and the government at the Centre.
At the level of law, it is argued that Article 239AA of the Constitution (which encodes Delhi’s “special status”) expressly authorises Parliament to pass laws with respect to fields that are normally within the exclusive competence of the States. One of these fields is that of “services”.
Both these arguments, however, miss the mark. In particular, they cannot paper over the major constitutional flaw with the Delhi Services Ordinance, i.e., that the ordinance violates and undermines core principles of democracy, representative governance, and a responsive administration.
To understand how, let us begin with first principles. Any functioning modern polity requires the performance of a vast range of daily administrative functions, which must be coordinated at multiple levels.
This task is performed by the body that we colloquially call “the Services.” While elected representatives are responsible for formulating policy and shaping vision when it comes to crucial issues such as health or education, it is the services that are responsible for implementing both vision and policy, in concrete terms.
Mahalanobis in the era of Big Data and AI (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Professor P.C. Mahalanobis, who introduced statistics to India, is a scientist whose absence is felt dearly even today. Mahalanobis’s lifelong courtship with statistics, his unwavering and fearless leadership to advance a statistics and survey culture in India, the founding of the Indian Statistical Institute — “a mighty monument of his handicraft” — and his nurturing of a generation of outstanding academicians have all left behind an enduring legacy.
There is little doubt that India was in the Mahalanobis-era nearly five decades prior to his passing on June 28, 1972. Today, in the midst of the shifting socio-economic dynamics in post-pandemic India, he is greatly missed.
Over the past 20 years, there has been a global shift in both the nature of data and statistics. With the advent of the Internet and virtually everything confined to the Internet of Things, there has been a flood of data, most of it junk.
We now have much more data than what available technology can leverage. This is widely perceived as the era of Big Data.
Another significant yet related issue is how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming our lives and lifestyles. The state of society is precarious.
One can wonder how Mahalanobis, a statistical doyen and a key figure in the early development of Indian democracy, would have responded to the Big Data-related craziness and the AI-driven revolution. Though speculative, the answer would be based on his legacy.
Historically, data often appears to be Big when the available technology at that time fails to analyse it. Mahalanobis also encountered a Big Data problem when his large-scale surveys yielded lots of data that needed to be looked into for effective planning.
To handle tons of data and tackle the complex mathematical calculations, Mahalanobis persuaded the government and succeeded in procuring the first two digital computers of the country (and South Asia, too) at his Indian Statistical Institute, in 1956 and 1958, and thus ushered in the age of computers in India. It was indeed a remarkable accomplishment by a statistician.
Rankings, and the realities of higher education (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, Education)
The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) recently released the India Rankings for 2023. This is the eighth consecutive edition of rankings of higher education institutions in five categories — overall, universities, colleges, research institutions, and innovation — and eight subject domains — engineering, management, pharmacy, medical, dental, law, architecture and planning, and agriculture and allied sectors.
The NIRF evaluates institutions on five parameters: teaching, learning and resources; graduation outcome; research and professional practices; outreach and inclusivity; and perception. Ranks are assigned based on the sum of marks secured by institutions on each of these parameters.
Notwithstanding some of the criticisms on the methodology adopted and the parameters chosen by the Ministry of Education, a scrutiny of the 2023 edition as well as some of the available data on higher education raises some important issues warranting policy attention.
The first is the issue of participation of institutions. According to the Ministry of Education, in this edition of NIRF, 5,543 institutions offered themselves for ranking under overall, category-specific or domain-specific ranking.
In all, 8,686 applications for ranking were submitted by these institutions. This has to be seen in conjunction with the total number of universities and colleges in India.
As per the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2021, there were 1,113 universities and 43,796 colleges in 2020-21. This implies that only 12.3% of higher educational institutions participated in the ranking process.
That there is near to no information on the parameters decided by NIRF for the remaining 87.7% of higher education institutions is a matter of concern, especially for a nation aspiring to reap rich demographic dividends.
This issue gets accentuated further when we examine the rural-urban divide in participation. The list of top 100 colleges shows scant presence of colleges from rural areas.
AISHE data show that about 43% of the universities and 61.4% colleges are in rural areas. The lack of participation of institutions from rural areas raises questions on the inherent urban bias of the ranking framework, reinforced by the choice of parameters.
Editorial
Changing economy of rural West Bengal (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
As panchayat elections are nearing in West Bengal — voting is on July 8 — three streams of political discourse are becoming more and more apparent across different platforms.
The first stream often reiterates the inevitability of the Trinamool Congress retaining its majority despite several corruption and criminal charges against members of the leadership in recent times.
This line of discourse primarily banks on the large-scale cash-transfer schemes and the ‘incorruptible’ public image of the Chief Minister.
The second discourse acknowledges the recent win recorded by the Left-Congress alliance in the recent by-election (it is another matter that the candidate has since joined Trinamool) and other local body elections while dismissing their chance at becoming a harbinger of change at the larger electoral level.
This is partly due to the previous Assembly Election performances and more importantly a critique of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPIM) led Left Front being a party of ‘old-veterans’.
The third stream that is doing the rounds still hopes that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could be a game-changer and could stand up to the alleged violence and cut-money culture that Trinamool is often associated with.
However, this stream of discourse is getting quieter because of the regular in-and-out migration of political leaders between the Trinamool and the BJP.
Therefore, at this juncture, the BJP might be considered to be in an incapacitated condition within the political arena of West Bengal. In this article, we will focus on the changes that have occurred in the rural economy of West Bengal during the last decade, and how those changes have shaped the political formations for both the Trinamool and the Left.
This might provide a deeper understanding of the first and second discourses that we have mentioned above, and take the discussion beyond the tiring binary rhetoric of ‘Trinamool’s cash transfer worked’ and ‘CPI(M) is old’.
News
SC Collegium gets a makeover with two new judges joining (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
A majority of the judges in the current Supreme Court Collegium are in line to be Chief Justices of India (CJI), as per the seniority norm, in the next few years.
The collegium has got two new members in Justices B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant. Justice Sanjeev Khanna is the new number-three judge in the collegium after the Chief Justice and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul.
Until recently, the Supreme Court had a six-member collegium instead of the usual five members.
Justice Khanna was part of the earlier collegium, though not one among the first four puisne judges of the court, as he was expected to succeed Chief Justice Chandrachud in November 2024.
The Supreme Court in the Third Judges Case and the Memorandum of Procedure for the appointment of Supreme Court judges had said the successor to the incumbent CJI should have a hand in the selection of judges.
The collegium reverted to the usual five-member composition with the retirement of Justice M.R. Shah in May. Two more judges in the earlier collegium — Justices K.M. Joseph and Ajay Rastogi — also retired in June, during the summer holidays, paving the way for the entry of Justices Gavai and Kant into the Chandrachud Collegium.
Justice Gavai is expected to take over as top judge from Justice Khanna in May 2025. Justice Kant is expected to succeed Justice Gavai as Chief Justice in November 2025 till his retirement in February 2027.
The next change in the collegium would come with the retirement of Justice Kaul, the current number two judge in the Supreme Court, in December 2023.
The new collegium would have to swing into action after the court reopens on July 3. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has published a new subject-wise roster for allocation of cases to its 15 Benches from July 3.
Cases dealing with key subjects such as elections, habeas corpus pleas, personal law matters, etc., would be heard by the CJI’s Bench.
‘India, U.S. can join hands to boost security, stability’ (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
India and the United States are willing to “deploy” ships in the Pacific and the Indian Oceans, U.S. Ambassador Eric Garcetti said here.
Speaking at the Indian Institute of Technology, Mr. Garcetti said that in the interests of safeguarding peace, prosperity and sovereign borders, India and the U.S. could join hands to resist the “might makes right mentality” in international affairs.
United States and India working together across the Pacific and into the Atlantic, from Central Asia to Southern Africa. We can stand together against those who would upend the common good for their own benefit. We can deploy our ships together in the Pacific and Indian oceans, and even beyond, to ensure maritime security.
He was delivering a speech titled “Peace, prosperity, planet, people: a new chapter in U.S.-India relations”. Mr. Garcetti said that the U.S. is poised to be the suitable partner for India as both sides are tied by bonds of common values, science and technology and people-to-people contact.
In 2022, Mr. Garcetti said one out of every five U.S. student visas issued across the world was received by an Indian student. With $191 billion dollars in bilateral trade, the U.S. is India’s largest trading partner.
Our connection is very personal, based on affinity and friendship. We’re linked by a diaspora community more than four-million strong.
The U.S. Ambassador avoided naming any country but said that there are states who believe in advancing their interest through aggressive means. Working together, the world’s two largest democracies can bolster the security, stability, and prosperity of the entire world.
Centre plans ‘market’ scheme to promote sustainable living (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
The Environment Ministry has issued a draft notification detailing a proposed ‘Green Credit Scheme’ that will incentivise a host of activities including afforestation programmes, water conservation, waste management and remedying air pollution by allowing individuals and organisations to generate ‘green credits”. These credits, through a yet-to-be-specified mechanism, can also be traded for money.
“A Green Credit Programme is proposed to be launched at national level to leverage a competitive market-based approach for Green Credits thereby incentivising voluntary environmental actions of various stakeholders.
Apart from incentivising individual/community behaviour, the Green Credit Programme will encourage private sector industries and companies as well as other entities to meet their existing obligations, stemming from other legal frameworks, by taking actions which are able to converge with activities relevant for generating or buying Green Credits,” says the notification that is open to public comment for 60 days.
A senior official in the Ministry, told The Hindu that the government’s immediate priority was to “create supply (of green credits)” via voluntary actions and then “create demand by bringing in laws or rules that will incentivise companies and organisations to buy credits that can then be traded.”
The official said that unlike carbon markets, where only greenhouse gas emissions were traded, the Green Credit Scheme was “trickier” as it involved accounting for a wide range of actions.
The notification for instance lists out eight sectors, or activities, that can qualify for generating credits. They include tree plantation-based green credit to promote activities for increasing green cover through tree plantation and related activities; water-based green credit to promote water conservation, water harvesting and water use efficiency/savings, including treatment and reuse of wastewater; sustainable agriculture-based green credit to promote natural and regenerative agricultural practices and land restoration to improve productivity, soil health and nutritional value of food produced; and waste management-based green credit to promote sustainable and improved practices.
World
Nepal Supreme Court orders govt. to register same-sex marriages (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 1, Social Issues)
The Supreme Court of Nepal issued an interim order directing the office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers and other relevant ministries to establish a “transitional mechanism” to ensure the registration of marriages for “same-sex couples”.
The court asked the government to establish a “separate register of marriages” for such couples from gender minority communities.
The interim order from the Supreme Court of Nepal came as a result of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed on June 7, by Pinky Gurung (current president of the Blue Diamond Society, a rights group).
The PIL had sought equality before law for the vulnerable sexual minority groups in Nepal.
“This is a very significant development as same-sex as well as third genders and their partners can register their marriages. They will be entitled to the same rights as heterosexual couples,” said Sunil Babu Pant, a member of Nepal’s Parliament.
Business
Indian economy resilient despite global risks: RBI (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Despite the global economy facing heightened uncertainty, the Indian economy and the domestic financial system remain resilient supported by strong macroeconomic fundamentals, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its biannual Financial Stability Report (FSR).
Scheduled Commercial Banks’ gross non-performing assets ratio continued its downtrend and fell to a 10-year low of 3.9% in March 2023 and the net non-performing assets ratio declined to 1%.
Macro stress tests for credit risk reveal that SCBs would be able to comply with the minimum capital requirements even under severe stress scenarios.
The global financial system has been impacted by significant strains since early March from the banking turmoil in the U.S. and Europe. In contrast, the financial sector in India has been stable and resilient.
Mr. Das said both banking and corporate sector balance sheets had been strengthened, engendering a ‘twin balance sheet advantage’ for growth.