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The Supreme Court said it may refer the Delhi government’s petition against a Central Ordinance, which effectively gives power over civil services in the national capital to the Lieutenant-Governor, to a Constitution Bench for an authoritative pronouncement.
The court’s indication that it may refer the case to a Constitution Bench came despite a submission made by Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, for the Centre, that the Ordinance would be tabled in Parliament during the Monsoon Session.
The Chief Justice, however, went on to outline the questions of law that may require the attention of the Constitution Bench. He said a cardinal issue would be whether the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023 amounted to an amendment of the Constitution via the Ordinance route. The Delhi government has argued that the Ordinance took away its control over civil servants.
Editorial
A common civil code spelling equality for every Indian (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
The 22nd Law Commission has called for responses to a proposal for a Uniform Civil Code in India. This has set off a debate, which has often been acrimonious.
But the debate itself is much needed as Indians have never been consulted on the personal laws they are governed by. These laws were instituted by the British colonial government by giving a cursory hearing to the clergy, or religious scholars in the case of religions without one.
The result was a religion-based set of personal laws for Hindus, Muslims and Christians. Whether the colonisers did this out of a deep concern for the sentiments of the natives or it was intended as another instrument in a strategy of divide and rule in order to hold India is irrelevant, but we should note the provenance of India’s personal laws.
Personal laws in India are boxed according to the religion or social origins of the citizen. However, it does not take much to see a fearful symmetry between them.
This is their unmistakably patriarchal framing, whereby men are privileged at every turn. Thus, only a man can be the ‘karta’ or head of a Hindu Undivided Family, a divorced Muslim woman is not entitled to maintenance beyond a certain period, among some tribes of India, the custom is that women do not inherit ancestral property, and a Parsi woman who marries outside the community is excommunicated.
So, from the point of view of women’s empowerment, India’s civil code is uniform already. As for the section of the population that we today refer to as the LGBT community, the British colonialists considered them mere flotsam and jetsam, to be ignored altogether. Not only did they not even merit a personal law but their actions deserved to be criminalised, even when they were consensual.
A Bill that fences in the right to information (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
The news that the Union Cabinet has approved the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill and will table it in the monsoon session of Parliament (July 20-August 11) raises certain issues.
The draft Bill was placed in the public domain in December 2022 but the final Bill has not been placed before the public. Citizens are concerned that if two of its provisions are not changed, it may lead to a major regression for democracy.
The proposed Digital Personal Data Protection Bill has two provisions which would greatly weaken the Indian citizen’s right to information. The Indian Right to Information (RTI) Act, effective since October 12, 2005, is one of the best transparency laws in the world, empowering citizens and is a practical recognition of their role as the rulers and owners of India.
This is the outcome of people’s struggles led by the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan’s fight starting in rural Rajasthan which culminated in the drafting of the law in 2004.
There were intense discussions about its provisions and it took an all-party parliamentary committee to carefully craft its provisions.
Its preamble elegantly states that democracy requires informed citizens and transparency in the affairs of their government so that they can hold it accountable and curb corruption. It harmonised the need for an efficient government while preserving the ideals of democracy.
Governments and those wielding the levers of power have been perturbed by this transfer of power to the ordinary citizen. Citizens have taken to the RTI like a fish to water.
Despite public officials using various devices to deny citizens their legitimate right, many have used this democratic instrument to expose wrongdoing and corruption.
The law recognises that the default mode is that each citizen has the right to access almost all the information with the government.
Ten categories of information have been exempted from disclosure to prevent harm to certain interests and to ensure smooth working of the government. These are outlined in Section 8(1), with the 10 subsections from a to j.
Opinion
Dispute settlements that have no parallel (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
One of the significant outcomes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official state visit to the U.S. was the decision of the two countries to end six long-standing trade disputes at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The WTO Appellate Body has been redundant since 2019, and disputes filed into the ‘void’ will not be considered for adoption.
In view of the continuing impasse in the appointment of ‘judges’ to hear appeals at the Appellate Body, a meaningful resolution of these disputes was almost out of sight.
Three cases settled as part of the deal are before the defunct Appellate Body, while the rest could have potentially been ‘appealed into the void’. In this context, what has been achieved by both sides is without a parallel.
One of the early cases among the settled disputes involved a challenge of the domestic content requirements under India’s National Solar Mission.
While disagreements persisted regarding India’s compliance with the WTO treaty obligations, a number of off-shoot proceedings arose out of this dispute with the U.S. seeking authorisation from the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body for trade retaliation, which India contested.
India too challenged certain sub-federal programmes implemented in the U.S. in the renewable energy sector and won the case. However, over time, some of the sub-federal schemes expired or were modified substantially, and the prospects of enforcing the WTO panel ruling became slim.
Amending domestic laws to effect compliance with international treaty obligations is a matter of great political sensitivity, especially in the U.S. That said, while India’s victory in the original WTO proceedings was significant, the U.S. also retrieved certain gains in the subsequent compliance proceedings. This dispute was poised to reach the Appellate Body and could have remained moribund for years.
Explainer
How are cheetahs faring in India? (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
As more deaths of cheetahs have been reported last week from the Kuno National Park (KNP), Madhya Pradesh, an expert committee charged with managing the Project Cheetah programme has recommended that all animals undergo a thorough medical review.
Project Cheetah is India’s cheetah relocation programme and is perhaps among the most ambitious of its kind in the world. The attempt is to, over the next decade, bring in 5-10 animals every year until a self-sustaining population of about 35 cheetahs is established.
Unlike cheetahs in South Africa and Namibia that are living in fenced reserves, India’s plan is to have them grow in natural, unfenced, wild conditions.
As of today, 11 of the translocated cheetahs are in the true wild with four in specially designed one-square-kilometre enclosures called ‘bomas,’ to help the animals acclimatise to Indian conditions. Five of the translocated animals and three of four cubs born in India have died.
One of the cheetahs, nicknamed Surya, was found dead in KNP last week. Veterinarians examining the animal saw a wound on its neck, infected with maggots. The larvae of the maggots were also found on the radio-collar fitted onto the cheetah’s neck.
There was a chance that chafing from the collar may have indirectly sickened the cheetah.
The collars that the cheetahs wear are made from polystyrene and equipped with a radio-frequency tracking chip that helps monitor the animals. While ideally expected to not interfere with the animal’s movement, it is known to pose obstructions. Coupled with the moisture from the monsoon season — something that South African cheetahs aren’t acclimatised too — the animal may have been unable to lick itself clean which allowed parasites to fatally lodge inside the wound.
There are veteran forest officers who say that radio-collaring is an extremely common practice in India among lions, tiger, leopards, elephants and never have they been linked to any such infections.
News
Rupee-dirham deal is bilateral: envoy (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The India-UAE rupee-dirham deal signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Abu Dhabi is bilateral, and does not carry any agenda to “de-dollarise” the global economy.
Mr. Modi returned from his meeting with the UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan on Saturday, Ambassador Abdulnasser Alshaali said that the deal would significantly ease the path for trade between India and the UAE by lowering transaction costs and making it easier to convert the currency.
Asked about whether India would use the agreement to resolve its problems in payments to Russia in dirhams, he said the agreement was not “multilateral” or about “third countries”.
This is a purely bilateral matter between the UAE and India. We have decided that we want to make sure that there are more options for traders, exporters, importers to set up their trade. And it’s basically up to them on how they want it to work.
The UAE-India trade has increased approximately 15% since the implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between them in May 2022.
Bilateral trade including oil purchases have reached about $85 billion, of which UAE exports to India make up about $50 billion.
The UAE Ambassador said that technical teams had discussed how to ensure that the bilateral deficit against India and a surfeit of Indian rupees did not become an issue, as it had become for India’s trade with Russia for oil payments and defence purchases, as well as for Iran.
DRDO’s propulsion system in focus as India expects three more Scorpenes (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
As India begins negotiations with France for three more Scorpenes, the Naval Group, the French co-developer of these submarines, has already invested over ₹100 crore in three workshops with tools and infrastructure for important tasks and spares for maintenance of critical systems of these submarines.
The group is also working on qualifying the air independent propulsion (AIP) system developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for installation on the Scorpenes.
Naval Group and Mazagon Dock Ltd. (MDL), Mumbai, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation on three additional Scorpenes on July 6.
“The details of technical features and other parameters, including delivery lead time, will be complied with by the MDL as per the requirements of the Indian Navy.
Industrial partners, both French and Indian, will provide all necessary support,” Pierre Éric Pommellet, Naval Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
The three additional Scorpene submarines will also come fitted with the DRDO-developed AIP system to enhance their endurance.
The Navy has drawn up plans to install AIP modules on all Scorpene submarines as they go for their refit beginning with INS Kalvari likely by 2024-end to enhance their endurance.
The indigenous AIP module has been tested on shore and recently DRDO and Naval Group signed an agreement to integrate the AIP module on the Scorpene.
In addition to submarines, the Naval Group has signed MoUs with Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Visakhapatnam to support its bid for the Navy’s Landing Platform Dock ships and with Larsen and Toubro to support their midget submarine development.
World
Russia ‘exits’ UN-brokered deal to export Ukrainian grain via Black Sea (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The Kremlin said it was exiting a major agreement allowing Ukraine grain exports hours after drones struck Russia’s only bridge connecting its mainland to the Crimea peninsula.
Moscow said the deadly Kerch bridge attack had nothing to do with its withdrawal and for months has complained about the implementation of the pact, which was designed to ease fears of food shortages in vulnerable countries.
The grain deal has ceased. As soon as the Russian part (of the agreements) are fulfilled, the Russian side will immediately return to the grain deal.
The announcement came hours after drones struck the sole road link connecting Russia to the annexed Crimea peninsula, a key supply line for Russian forces resupplying frontlines in the south of Ukraine.
Kyiv’s Navy and SBU security service carried out a “special operation” using seaborne drones. Russian authorities said a civilian couple was killed and their daughter wounded in the attack on the bridge, which was also damaged last year in a blast that Moscow blamed on Kyiv.
Local officials said traffic had been halted and asked tourists to stay in their lodgings. Officials encouraged Russians travelling to and from Crimea to travel through occupied Ukrainian territory.
The Kremlin noted Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered “repair and restoration work” on the bridge and help for people stuck in traffic.
Of course, there will be a response from Russia. The Defence Ministry is preparing relevant proposals. From a military point of view, this is a senseless crime. He said the bridge had not been used for military transportation “for a long time” and called for tougher security measures.
Business
RBI to detail SOP for banks to help expedite rupee trade (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
To tide over the hiccups faced by exporters with the rupee-based trading mechanism for foreign trade, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to issue a standard operating procedure for banks to issue proofs of inward remittances for exporters expeditiously.
There were some initial problems with the rupee-trading mechanism, but transactions have started happening in many areas, although we are not sure of the figures.
On Indian oil firms paying Russia in Chinese yuan, the official said there was no bar on traders using any currency. There were some exporters who had approached us that the FIRC (Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate) from one bank was not being sent to the other, because of which e-BRCs were not getting generated.
Electronic bank realisation certificates or e-BRCs are issued by banks to exporters as a proof of payment that validates their exports and makes them eligible for any benefits.