CSP_Polity : Pre resource house

Google Doc : Polity Pre XL Sheet

Google Doc _ Types of Majority

CSP_Polity : Oaths and Resignation

Google Doc : Oaths and Resignation

CSP_Polity : Federalism Constitutional Provisions

Election Commission of India

Election Commission [Art 324-329]

"Elections are the bedrock of democracy & EC's credibility is central to democratic legitimacy" - former CEC, SY Quraishi

Art 324 : Election Commission --> Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Conditions of Service) Act, 1991

• Composition & Conditions of Service
• CEC vs ECs
• Independence
• Power & Functions
• Administrative 
• Advisory
• Quasi-judicial

EC source of Power :

• Constitution : Art 324 “superintendence, direction and control of elections”
• RPA 1950 & RPA 1951
• EC Act,1991

Mohinder Singh Gill vs The CEC, New Delhi and Others (1977)
SC held Art 324 “operates in areas left unoccupied by legislation and the words ‘superintendence, direction and control’ as well as ‘conduct of all elections’ are the broadest terms”. EC has residuary & plenary powers to discharge their function for free & fair election

Issues with EC : Structural + Functional

• APPOINTMENT- selection done under aegis of PM & his cabinet min;
• by Prez on advice of political executive at Center : situation gives opportunity for ruling party to choose loyal [violation of Art 14 - Equality]
• REMOVAL : Procedure to remove ECs vague, says petition in SC
• Limited INDEPENDENCE
• no prescribed qualifications
• not debarred retiring ECs from further appointment by govt
• not charged on CFI
• INSTITUTIONAL LIMITATION: No separate independent & permanent secretariat 
• FUNCTIONAL LIMITATION : 
• No power to de-register pol parties
• No explicit power to postpone polls if evidence of money power use to influence voters(has to invoke Art 324)
• Allegation of political biasness
• Internal Dissent in EC

Strengthening ECI : (recommendations)

• APPOINTMENT-
• Tarkunde Panel(1975) - by collegium(PM, LoP-LS, CJI)
• 2nd ARC - by a broad based Committee on lines of CVC, NHRC
• REMOVAL- giving equal constitutional protection to all members of Commission in matters of removability; [ amend Article 324(5) ]
• Financial AUTONOMY - its budget should be ‘charged’ on consolidated fund of India- just like CAG  and UPSC.
• creating a permanent, independent Secretariat for the ECI.[insert Art 324(2A)]
• Increasing POWER -
• to de-register defunct PP
• adding clause 58B to RPA to postpone polls if money power used to influence voters (58A- booth capturing + muscle power)

Suggestions of Law Commission Report on Electoral Reform #255(Justice AP Shah, 2015)
Strengthening the office of the Election Commission of India

• making the appointment process of the ECs and the CEC consultative; [amend Election Commission Act, 1991]
• PM + LoP of the Lok Sabha (or the leader of largest opposition party in LS ) + CJI
• giving equal constitutional protection to all members of Commission in matters of removability; [ amend Article 324(5) ]
• creating a permanent, independent Secretariat for the ECI.[insert Art 324(2A)] - along the lines of the LS/RS Secretariats

Electoral Reforms by ECI : 

• Model Code of Conduct - 1971
• Registration of political parties - To eliminate the mushrooming of parties
• Decriminalisation of Politics
• Limits on political expenses
• Use of S&T advancements - EPIC,EVM, Computerisation of electoral records
• RPA Amendment to make 'paid news' an electoral offence
• SVEEP : Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation

Agricultural - Some good terms/techniques

Permaculture

No tillage/ Zero Tillage - Happy Seeder is a zero tillage technology (residue management)

Soil Solarisation 

agro-diplomacy

Uberisation of Agriculture - renting agricultural machinery for fee

converting farmers to ‘agripreneurs’

‘Zero Budget Natural Farming’

Growth and Competitiveness of Indian economy

Context : News - India moves one notch up to 44th rank in IMF's World Competitiveness Rankings 2018


This blog aims to discuss a paradoxical feature of Indian economy : Currently, India appears a "bright spot" when it comes to the growth rate but it is punching way below its weight mainly due to its lower competitiveness.

Why is India’s growth high but competitiveness low?

Competitiveness refers to such an objective: It determines how countries, regions and companies manage their competencies to achieve long-term growth, generate jobs and increase welfare. In an era of open economy and interdependence, growth rate of an economy should go hand in hand with its competitiveness. However, India seems to be an outlier.

Evidences of India's Low Competitiveness : 

• A/t WEF's Global Competitiveness Report 2017-18, India is ranked at 40. 
• India ranks100 in World Bank's doing Business Report, 2018
• Low competitiveness in Infrastructure
• Poor Human Resource : UNDP's HDI - India's rank of 131 puts it in the "medium human development" bracket with nations like Bangladesh, Bhutan, Pakistan
• results in low workforce productivity

Reasons of low competitiveness :

• Yawning Infrastructure gap --> high logistics cost
• Inadequate digital infrastructure
• Poor quality Roadways
• high turnaround time of ports
• Human Resource Quality
• Education system
• Health
• Skill base of Labour
• Complex Tax structure

But still India has high growth rate because : 

• cheap labour availability in large number(wage competitiveness) 
• services sector - the mainstay of Indian economy
• Indian growth rate is not export oriented unlike other competitive economies but is largely domestic consumption driven.

Way Forward : 

India will need to bridge above gaps in short to medium by 

• focusing on both creating physical infrastructure like roads, airports and railway networks, and ‘soft’ infrastructure like fixing our schools or repairing our degraded higher education system or making the population more healthy.

On the other hand, the emergence of disruptive technologies like AI, Automation, 3D printing etc. and developed countries insistence on adding new issues like environmental safety, gender and labour issues etc in trade pacts(WTO, TPP,RCEPT) forces Indian policy makers to think a step ahead. 

Nutritional challenges in India

In India, around 22% of its over a billion population still lives below poverty line. Proving minimal nutritional needs to such number is a challenge in itself.  In 2013 Parliament enacted historic National Food Security Act which aims to provide subsidized food grains to approximately two thirds of India's 1.2 billion people. Significant strides has been made in strengthening public distribution system. However, new Global Nutrition Report 2017 place India at the bottom of the table. Recently, sensing the urgency  and based on NITI Ayog's National Nutrition Strategy, the Cabinet approved National Nutrition Mission. Let us look into India's nutritional challenge in more depth. 

Issues : malnutrition manifest in stunting (low weight for age), wasting (low weight for height), micro-nutrient deficiencies and over-weight.

In Sept 2016, NHRC issued notice to Maharashtra govt over reports of 600 children dying due to malnutrition in Palghar district.

Status : 

• ~ 1/3 rd of children are undernourished
• UNICEF - India 10th spot among countries with highest no of underweight children. 17th - stunted children 
• Global Nutrition Report 2017 - 
• more than half (51%) of all women of reproductive age have anaemia, whereas more than one in five (22%) of adult women are overweight.
• 38% of children under-5 are affected by stunting(Mission 25 by 2022) & 21% of under-5s are defined as 'wasted' or 'severely wasted' 
• calls for nutrition to be placed at the heart of efforts to end poverty, fight disease, raise educational standards and tackle climate change. 

Nutritional Diseases : 

• Kwashiorkor & Marasmus - protein deficiency 
• Anemia - Iron deficiency - 51% of Indian women aged 15-49 anaemic
• Goitre - Iodine deficiency
• Pellagra - niacin deficiency etc. 

Causes : 

• Poverty - extreme hunger; NITI Aayog in a report on the rule played by rations in food security found families BPL consumed more cereals and less milk compared to affluent.
• Lack of access to health and child care services (Poor service delivery)
• Lack of awareness & Illiteracy - hidden hunger; low breastfeeding 
• Unbalanced diet - rice-based diets of south & east India make these ppl more vulnerable to micro-nutrient deficiencies
• Poor Water, Sanitation & Hygiene(WASH) reduces uptake of nutrition (diarrhea, worms)
• Inter-generational cycle of under-nutrition
• Gender discrimination 
• Child marriage 

Need of investment in Nutrition : 

• poor nutrition is poor economics - a/t WB India loses 2-3% of GDP annually due to lower productivity
• poor nutrition will fracture the dreams and aspirations of India to become a global player in manufacturing and other industries. Success of several of Government's initiative like Make In India, Smart City etc rest on healthy workforce.
• poor nutrition is poor humanity - DPSP Article 47 of the Constitution mentions the “duty of the state to raise the level of nutrition..."
• Improving nutrition will be a catalyst for achieving goals throughout the SDGs
• Fighting poverty : a well-nourished child is one third more likely to escape poverty,
• India pays income penalty of 10% due to workforce that was stunted during their childhood.
• Global Nutrition Report 2015 - investment in nutrition has benefit : cost = 16:1 for low & middle income countries 
• Eco Survey 2015-16 noted that it is important to focus on “mother and child,” involving maternal health and early life interventions .

Existing schemes/policies :

• NFSA - 
• ICDS, - caters to the needs of pregnant and nursing mothers and children under the age of 6
• MDM
• PDS
• National Deworming Programme
• National Nutrition Policy
• National Policy for Children,2013 - identifies key priority areas: 
• survival, health and nutrition; 
• education and development; 
• protection and participation, for focused attention

Steps to enhance outcomes : 

NITI Ayog - National Nutrition Strategy

• Focus on governance reforms - strengthening local governance in policy designing and implementation
• Convergence of govt schemes & convergence of state/district implementation prog
• focus on 200 low performing states
• give prominence to demand & community mobilization - key determinant to address India's nutritional needs
• coordination among front line workers -ASHA, ANM, ...
• decentralized approach promoting greater flexibility and decision making at the state, district and local levels.
• Technological intervention through private sector participation in R&D - Fortification 
• providing DBT where service delivery is poor (e.g. Poshak Yojna, BH)

Other suggestion : 

• coarse cereals(millet) - bajra, ragi, along with legumes, leafy vegetables & coconut - could reduce India's micro-nutrient deficiencies & reduce GHG emissions.

Recent Steps taken : 

• National Nutrition Mission (click here for Features, Targets, Strategy) 
• 2018 - National Year of Millet (nutritional superiority)
• Budget 2018-19 : TB Patient to get Rs. 500 per month during treatment

---

Some points to ponder ? 

• Per capita food production in India has increased by 26% (2004-05 to 2013-14), while it has doubled in the last 50 year. Why is then India ranked low in Global Hunger Index ? 
• “The Global Nutrition Report highlights that the double burden of undernutrition and obesity needs to be tackled as part of India’s national nutrition strategy". What explains the existence of such paradox ? 

Why the Risk of Obesity is Greater for the Poor ? 

• Poor families have limited food budgets and choices
• Families choose high-fat foods dense with energy – foods such as sugars, cereals, potatoes and processed meat products – because these foods are more affordable and last longer than fresh vegetables and fruits and lean meats and fish.
• Economic insecurity – such as trouble paying bills or rent – leads to stress, and people often cope by eating high-fat, sugary foods.
• Poor families often live in disadvantaged neighborhoods where healthy foods are hard to find. Instead of large supermarkets, poor neighborhoods have a disproportionate number of fast food chains and small food stores providing cheap, high-fat foods.
• Options for regular physical activity can also be restricted for poor people:
• Due to inflexible work schedules, lack of transportation, or unmet needs for child care, poor parents, especially single mothers, may find it hard to support extra activities for their children. Leaving kids in front of the TV is often all stressed poor parents can manage
• In many poor neighborhoods, parks, playgrounds, trails, and free public gyms are often not available or safe
• mothers who smoked during pregnancy(inefficient chulhas), poor breastfeeding