General Studies Paper 2

Context: The theme for International Women’s Day 2023 is ‘DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality.

Data on Digital Disparity:

• According to a UNICEF report, as many as 90% of the jobsin the world today have a digital component. These jobs, however, are available only to the digitally able, and to more men than women.
• According to the report, in developing countries, only 41% of women have access to the internet compared with 53% of men.
  • Women are 20% less likely to own a smartphone and are more likely to borrow phones from a male family member.
• Another report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development revealed that the gender gap in internet use is widening. Software development remains a male-dominated field, with women comprising only 15% of software designers.

Examples of how digital literacy helps in tackling issues:

• The FoSafMDM application by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in partnership with the Governments of Odisha and Rajasthan has rolled out technology-based training modules
• This helps in strengthening the capacity of the community in ensuring that proper hygiene and safety measures are followed so that children reap the full benefits of the nutrition that these school meals offer.
• Young women known as ‘Digital Sakhis’ from Madhya Pradesh are upturning discriminatory social norms through the use of smartphones.

Indian situation:

• India accounts for half the world’s gendered digital divide given that only a third of all Internet users in the country are women.
• In Asia-Pacific, India has the widest gender gap of 40%. Less than 32% of women in India own a mobile phone compared to over 60% of men.

Conclusion:

• Women can harness digital tools for improving nutrition schemes and initiatives, while also using them to create economic opportunities that ensure long-term food and nutrition security.
• Women20—the G20’s official engagement platform to promote gender equity—identifies “bridging the gender digital divide” as one of its five priorities that need to be mainstreamed as part of the G20 agenda this year.

General Studies Paper 2

Context: The recently-held Munich security conference, a major concern of the members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was the reluctance of the Global South to align itself with the G-7 on the war in Ukraine.

About the Conflict:

• Contestation about post-Cold War central European territoriality and resurrecting a burnished Russian past is at the core of the Ukraine crisis.
• Ukraine’s bid for NATO membership and Russian interests in the Black Sea accompanied by the protests in the Ukraine are the major causes of the ongoing conflict.

Stand on war:

• The vast majority of countries across the world condemn the Russian invasion and wanted war to come to an end (as shown in the United Nations vote on the subject in February 2023),
• Few countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America support the political and economic sanctions on Russia imposed by the G-7.

The right side of history:

• The developing world,and especially Africa, Asia and the Middle East/West Asia, has been the site of many wars, including those of the proxy kind, in the course of the past 70 years.
• India’s External Affairs Minister: “Europe has to grow out of its mindset that Europe’s problems are the world’s problems, but the world’s problems are not Europe’s.”
• The United States and Germany tried to induce Latin American countries.
• Ukraine’s President to African leaders to meet with him over a teleconference turned out to be a fiasco:
  • Only four out of 55 showed up.
• The Foreign Minister of Ukraine: Latin American and Caribbean nations should leave behind their neutrality and put themselves on the right side of history”.

Active Non-Alignment (ANA):

• It originated in 2019and was developed in 2020 in response to the U.S.-China struggle for primacy, in which Latin America was caught in the middle.
• It was a bit of a manifesto calling for Latin American countries not to give in to pressures from either Washington or Beijing and to stick to their own interests.
• It took a page from the honorable tradition of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)
  • Adapted it to the imperatives of the new century,impelled by the urgency of the Latin American crisis.
• It turns out, more than a future-oriented proposal, it is an approach that is already being applied in practice.
• ANA has been referred to as “ the region’s most significant foreign policy development since the end of the Cold War”.
• Foreign Policy Magazine called it “the year of Non-Alignment”.
• ANA arose in the context of the U.S.-China spat.

Latin American governments:

• They participated in the China-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) ministerial forum in Mexico City.
• Democracies Summiti n Washington DC, seeing no contradiction in doing so.

India’s difficult balancing act:

• India plays a key role in it, having taken a clear stand of non-alignment on the war, despite its closer ties with the U.S. and its membership in
• As host and chair of this year’s G-20: India is managing the difficult balancing act of keeping this important informal group of developed and developing nations
• Seventeen African countries abstained in the UNGA vote to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• South Africa: It scheduled a naval exercise with the Russian Navy and China off the country’s Indian Ocean coast.

Way Forward

• The BRICS group embodies the New South that has emerged in the new century.
  • It has the potential to play a critical role in furthering some sort of a mediated solution to the Ukraine conflict.
• Brazil, under the leadership of its President: It has indicated its interest in promoting a peaceful solution.
• China peace plan:Because of its pivotal position, very much holding the balance in the international balance of power
  • India is in a privileged position to act as a peace broker.
• Look for a mediated outcome, a peace agreement that would necessarily entail a compromise solution acceptable to both parties.

General Studies Paper 1

Context: The climate crisis is no longer a distant event that might happen in the future.

Indications of the impending climate crisis:

• Temperatures are rising, rainfall patterns are shifting, and extreme events such as record-high temperatures, etc.
• For example,the month of February (this year) in India was the hottest since 1901.
• According to a 2021 study (The Lancet), more than five million people died(between 2000-2019) on average each year worldwide because of extreme temperatures.
• The IPCC 6th Assessment Report states that extreme heat events will grow with increasing global warming.

The case of India:

• A study shows that the temperature in India has been steadily increasing during both summer and winter.
• The recorded increase in maximum and minimum temperature over 30 years (1990-2019) is up to 9º C and 0.5º C, respectively.

 Impact of increasing heat:

• A cause of suffering and death in extreme cases.
• It undermines systems such as agriculture and other climate-sensitive sectors that support the livelihoods and well-being of people.

Climate projections for the districts of India (2021-2050):

• The summer maximum temperature will increase(between 2º C – 3.5º C) even under a ‘moderate emissions’ scenario.
• Even winter minimum temperatures are projected to increase by 0.5º C to 3.5º C in the future.
• The diurnal temperature range (DTR – variation between high and low air temperature during a single day) is also changing.
  • A Department of Science and Technology study (2020) shows an asymmetric increase in the minimum temperature compared to the maximum.
• This will, in turn, increase the risk of heat stress → drought, deteriorating soil quality, crop failure, job loss, higher migration, morbidity, and mortality → can affect ecological systems, and the carbon economy.
• According to a 2019 ILO report, India is expected to lose 5.8% of working hours in 2030 due to heat stress.

Way ahead:

• Implement the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction through improved early warning systems, public awareness, and formulation of heat action plans.
• Prepare district-level heat hotspot maps to design long-term measures to reduce deaths due to extreme heat.

Best practices: Innovative strategies such as –

• Emergency cooling centres (similar to the ones in Toronto and Paris);
• Survival guides that are strategically displayed to survive extreme heat or heat waves (like in Athens);
• White roofs(Los Angeles);
• Green rooftops (Rotterdam);
• Self-shading tower blocks (Abu Dhabi); and
• Green corridors (Medellin).

General Studies Paper 1

Context: All 12 districts of Himachal Pradesh have figured on a list prepared by the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of locations prone to landslides.

• The Landslide Atlas of India was released by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) at the “National Meet on Disaster Risk Management — Trends & Technologies” held at Hyderabad.
• The NRSC, one of the centres of ISRO, manages data from aerial and satellite sources.

About Landslide:

• A landslide is “a movement of a mass of rock, earth or debris down a slope”.

Types of flows

• Debris flows: It is a form of rapid mass movement in which a combination of loose soil, rock, organic matter, and slurry that flows downslope. They are commonly caused by intense precipitation or rapid snowmelt.
• Earth flow:It is a down-slope viscous flow of fine-grained material saturated with water.
• Mudflow: A mudflow is a wet or viscous fluid mass of fine and coarse-grained material that flows rapidly along drainage channels.
• Creep:Creep is the slow, steady, downward movement of material under gravity that occurs in a large area

Key Findings:

• India is among the top four countries with the highest landslide risk, where every year the estimated loss of life per 100 km2 is greater than one.
• This Atlas provides risk assessment in landslide locations during the period of 1998-2022 and covers vulnerable regions in 17 states and 02 UTs of India in the Himalayas and Western Ghats.
• Northwest Himalayas contribute 66.5% of landslides in India, followed by Northeast Himalayas (8%) and Western Ghats (14.7%).
• Top 5 districts based on their exposure to landslide: Rudraprayag and Tehri Garhwal (Uttarakhand), Thrissur (Kerala), Rajouri (J&K), and Palakkad (Kerala)
• The database includes three types of landslide inventory – seasonal, event-based and route-wise

About NRSC:

National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) has the mandate for the establishment of ground stations for receiving satellite data, generation of data products, dissemination to the users, development of techniques for remote sensing applications including disaster management support, geospatial services for good governance and capacity building for professionals, faculty, and students

General Studies Paper 3

Context: India’s robust export performance has made a critical contribution to its economic growth in recent times.

Despite global economic woes, India’s overall exports grew at 17.33% to $641 billion during April-January 2022-23 compared to $547 billion during the same period last year.

How has India improved its export performance in recent years?

• The country’s exports performance was the result of well-crafted trade policy interventions, their efficacious implementation and a host of other initiatives.
• Export facilitation– It ensured the effective conceptualisation and implementation of export promotion schemes.
• These schemes are Market Access Initiative (MAI), Remission of Duties and Tax on Exported Products (RoDTEP), Trade Infrastructure for Exports Scheme (TIES) and Interest Equalisation Schemes on pre- and post-shipment rupee export credit.
• Production-linked Incentive scheme– It has been a game changer. It has not only transformed India into a manufacturing hub. It has also curtailed its large trade deficit in electronics and other manufactured goods.
• As a result of this scheme, electronics manufacturing attracted a massive investment and its exports have grown rapidly by over 55 % annually. Exports of mobile phones alone may reach $10 billion during the current financial year.
• Logistics– it has been a critical stumbling block in India’s exports competitiveness. It has been proactively addressed in the Union budget 2023-24.
• Capital expenditure allocation has been sharply increased by 33% to a record Rs 10 trillion on the development of rail, road, air, and ocean infrastructure.
• It will make export logistics efficient. It will also integrate Indian production systems with global value chains.
• Restructuring of process– There has been rationalisation of work allocation within the Ministry of Commerce and restructuring of its divisions and subordinate offices. It is likely to transform India’s institutional mechanisms to promote exports.
• Adopting the latest technology in the collection, assimilation, processing of data and making available real-time information across stakeholders has bridged the information gap between the exporters and the various government departments.
• Work with state governments– In recent years, the Ministry of Commerce has been actively engaging with state governments and at the district level for speedy and effective implementation of policy measures to promote exports.
• Each of the Indian states was asked to prepare an export promotion strategy. Proactive involvement of Indian missions abroad helped not only in market identification but also in facilitating product entry.
• Free Trade Agreements– Most Free Trade Agreements signed by India previously became counterproductive. The Ministry of Commerce has re-examined all the FTAs. It is in the process of engaging in newer ones to benefit India.
• Recently, India negotiated new FTAs with UAE, Mauritius and Australia.It is in the advanced stages of negotiations with the UK.
• It is also actively exploring new trade agreements with the EU and US.

General Studies Paper 2

Context: Parliament enacted the anti-defection law in 1985 to curb political defection. The promise of political stability provided by the law seems to be facing challenges, especially in the last five years.

Objectives of anti-defection law:

The first was to curb the act of defection by disqualifying the defecting member.

The second was to protect political parties from instability. Frequent defections from even well organised political parties leave them weak. Indian democracy is based essentially on a party system. Stable parties are requirements of a stable democracy.

How is the stability of parties the principal focus of the 10th schedule?

• It is clear from two provisions enacted in the 10th Schedule- the provision of a split in a political party and that of a merger of two political parties.
• ‘Split’ is no longer a defence against disqualification with the deletion of paragraph three of the Schedule. But, a closer look at this erstwhile provision is necessary for a proper understanding of the true objective of this law.
• Under this paragraph, if a split in a political party results in a faction coming into existence, and one third of the legislators move out of the party and join that faction, those members could get an exemption from disqualification.
• The point to note here is that one third of the legislators would get protection only if there was a split in the original political party.So, the split in the original political party is the precondition for exempting one third of legislators from disqualification.
• Paragraph four protects defecting members from disqualification. The condition is merger of the original political party with another party and two thirds of the legislators agreeing to such a merger.
• It can be analysed from paragraph three and four that the legislators do not have the freedom to bring about a split or merger. It is the original political party in both cases which takes that decision.
• The argument that the Speaker cannot make inquiry into the split or merger is not right. The Speaker takes the decision only after ascertaining the fact of the merger.
• This means that for exempting defecting legislators from disqualification, merger is taken into account only if two thirds of legislators have agreed to it.

What are the constitutional questions that arose in the Maharashtra case?

• The first question that should be decided by the Court is related to the validity of whip. The breakaway group of the Members of the Legislative Assembly chose its own whip. It also reportedly issued whips to all the MLAs of the Shiv Sena.
• But the question related to the validity of the whip should have been decided on the basis of the explanation (a) to paragraph 2(1)(a). It says that an elected member of a House shall be deemed to belong to the political party who made them candidate for election.
• This explanation makes it clear that the party which can legally issue the whip is the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray as this is the party which set them up as candidates in the last election.
• It should not be forgotten that the anti-defection law was enacted to punish defectors, not to facilitate defection.
• The Supreme Court by allowing the Election Commission of India to decide the petition under paragraph 15 of the symbols order has put the cart before the horse.
• The 10th Schedule is a constitutional law and paragraph 15 of the symbols order is subordinate legislation. The disqualification proceedings under it should have been given primacy over the proceedings under paragraph 15.

General Studies Paper 3

Context: All cars in showrooms have to be E20 compliant from April this year. This means that cars should be able to run with 20 percent ethanol blended petrol.

How much ethanol blending has been achieved by India?

• India had already crossed the 10 percent ethanol blended petrol and according to the National Policy on Biofuels, India could hit the 20 percent mark by 2025.
• India is the world’s fifth-largest producer of ethanol after the US, Brazil, the European Union (EU) and China.

What is the major concern associated with ethanol production and how has the government tried to tackle it?

• Ethanol in India is mostly produced from sugarcane. Other crops from which ethanol can also be produced are maize, broken-rice, wheat, etc.
• Hence, one of the concerns with ethanol production from sugarcane is its pricing.
• The government has tried to solve the issue of price by adopting the system of Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) for sugarcane farmers and that of minimum support price for sugar mills.
• This has become the reason farmers in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra prefer sugarcane to other crops.
• This has ultimately led India to surpass Brazil in sugar production in the current sugar season (2022-23) and has become the world’s second-largest exporter.
• This FRP and MSP model to control prices of ethanol and expect sugarcane farmers and millers to respond with production shifts has worked well.
• For example,the year 2021-22 (October-September) saw about 35 lakh tonnes of sugar diverted for ethanol production. This number is expected to reach 60 lakh tonnes by 2025-26.

What are other concerns with ethanol production in India?

• Ethanol Production from other corps:The government has plans to offer price support for maize or broken rice. But due to the higher prices in the market, there has been no attempt by the grain-based distilleries to produce ethanol from these two crops.
• Stock reserves for Ethanol: Stocking the ethanol crops is another concern because crops like sugarcane or maize production depends on the weather. However, this issue can be solved once the automobiles incorporate a flexi-fuel design that allows the car to run on any combination of ethanol and oil.
• Increasing Demand:As per Niti Aayog, the demand for ethanol is expected to increase 1,016 crore litres by 2025. The domestic production of 684 crore litres will have to jump by 48 per cent to achieve this target.
• Fiscal Requirement:The government will need more money for FRP and MSP in order to reduce dependence on oil imports.

Way forward:

• There is a need to come up with an option of storage of ethanol like that of petroleum reserves because a sudden drought could be dangerous to the production.

General Studies Paper 3

Context: ‘Cyber Warrior’ Teams and Help Desks to Combat Rising Cybercrime in Visakhapatnam.

About

• During the year 2022, visakhapatnam had reported as many as 610 cybercrime cases, as against 316 during the year 2021, which is almost a 93% increase.
• To combat the rise in cybercrime, all police stations in the city will soon have exclusive ‘cyber warriors’ teams to handle such cases.
• Additionally,cybercrime help desks will be set up in all police stations within the next two months.

What are Cyber Warriors?

• As part of the initiative, around 70 police personnel,including around 20 sub-inspectors and several ASIs will be undergoing virtual and offline training on various aspects of cybercrime.
• The cyber warriors team will be headed by a Sub-Inspector and staff.
• The personnel will be trained on various aspects of cybercrime cases being reported, including the modus operandi of cyber fraudsters.
• The police are planning to introduce the cyber sentinel concept in which at least one person in each colony or area will be trained with basic skills to handle cybercrime and create awareness among people.
• Personnel will also be trained in technical skills to launch immediate communication with data operators and bank authorities after a cybercrime is committed.
• The aim is to freeze accounts or stop money transfers and retrieve call data records to prevent money from being transferred to fraudsters.

Cybercrime in India: (NCRB Report)

• India reported nearly 52,974 cybercrime incidents in 2021 which was an increase of nearly 6% from 2020.
• Telangana was the state with the highest number of cybercrime cases, accounting for more than 19% of the total.
• Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka saw a decrease in the number of cybercrime cases by 20%and 24%, respectively.
• The main challenges in prosecuting cybercrime cases are jurisdictional issues and difficulty in obtaining electronic logs from foreign service providers.
• Bengaluru had the highest number of cybercrime cases, but there has been a decline in cases over the past three years.
• Fraud was the most common motive for committing cybercrime, accounting for nearly 61% of cases.
• Karnataka recorded the highest number of cybercrimes against women in 2021, with 2,243 cases.
• The police pendency percentage in cybercrime cases improved from 71.3% in 2020 to 56.4% in 2021.
• The conviction ratio for cybercrime cases remains poor, and the charge-sheeting rate declined from 47.5% in 2020 to 33.8% in 2021.
• The court pendency percentage remained high, with 4% of total cases in trial in 2021 remaining. pending at the end of the year.

Challenges of Cybercrime

• Lack of Awareness: Many people in India are still not aware of the risks associated with cybercrime, making them more vulnerable to attacks.
• Low Cybersecurity Awareness: A large number of individuals and organizations in India lack basic cybersecurity awareness, making them easy targets for cybercriminals.
• Rapidly Evolving Cyber Threat Landscape: Cybercrime is evolving at a rapid pace, with new threats emerging regularly. It is challenging for law enforcement agencies to keep up with these developments.
• Limited Cybersecurity Infrastructure: India’s cybersecurity infrastructure is still developing, and many organizations do not have adequate security measures in place to protect their networks and data.
• Increasing Use of Technology: With the widespread adoption of technology in India, more people are becoming vulnerable to cybercrime, making it even more challenging to combat.
• Lack of Cybercrime Laws: India has outdated cybercrime laws that are not in line with current threats. There is a need for updated laws to be enacted to combat the ever-changing cybercrime landscape.

Need for controlling cyber-crimes in India

• Increasing Digitalization: With the growing digitalization of India, more people are using online services and technology, which has led to an increase in cybercrime incidents.
• Economic Impact: Cybercrime has a significant economic impact on India, with losses amounting to billions of dollars annually. The country is also losing out on potential investments due to concerns about cybersecurity.
• National Security:Cybercrime can have severe consequences for national security, as it can compromise sensitive information and infrastructure, leading to potential political instability.
• Personal Privacy: Cybercrime can violate personal privacy, leading to identity theft, financial fraud, and other forms of cyberstalking.
• Cyber Security Jobs: With the growing importance of cybersecurity, there is a need for skilled professionals in the field, creating job opportunities in India.
• Digital India Initiative: The Indian government’s Digital India initiative aims to transform India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy. However, cybercrime can hinder the initiative’s progress and undermine public trust in digital technologies.

Laws governing Cybercrime in India

• Information Technology Act, 2000: This is the primary law governing cybercrime in India. The act provides legal recognition for electronic transactions, penalties for cybercrime, and procedures for handling cybercrime investigations and prosecutions.
• Indian Penal Code (IPC): The IPC has provisions for dealing with cybercrime, including identity theft, online stalking, hacking, and dissemination of obscene materials.
• Aadhaar Act, 2016:This law regulates the use of Aadhaar, a biometric identification system, and provides penalties for unauthorized access or misuse of Aadhaar information.
• Copyright Act, 1957:This law protects intellectual property rights, including copyrights, patents, and trademarks, and provides penalties for cybercrime related to intellectual property theft.
• Right to Information Act, 2005: This law empowers citizens to access information from public authorities and provides penalties for cybercrime related to unauthorized access to public information.
• Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002: This law aims to prevent money laundering and provides penalties for cybercrime related to money laundering activities.

Way ahead

• Cybercrime is a crucial issue in India due to its economic, national security, and personal privacy implications.
• It is necessary to take proactive steps to combat cybercrime and create a safe and secure digital environment in the country.
• In this regard, Cyber warriors are significant especially when India ranks fifth globally in terms of the number of incidents reported.

General Studies Paper 2

Context: India’s G-20 Presidency places multilateral reform as one of its top presidential priorities as India stated that its agenda would be inclusive, ambitious, action-oriented, and decisive.

• India also said that its primary objectives are to build global consensus over critical development and security issues and deliver global goods.

What is the Need for Multilateralism?

• Due to persistent deadlocks, multilateralism has lost the majority’s trust.Multilateralism is facing a utility crisis, where powerful member-states think it is no longer useful for them.
• Moreover, increasing great-power tensions, de-globalisation, populist nationalism, the pandemic, and climate emergencies added to the hardships.
• This impasse led states to seek other arenas, including bilateral, plurilateral and Mini lateral groupings, which subsequently contributed to further polarization of global politics.
• However, cooperation and multilateral reform is the need of the hour. Most of the challenges nations face today are global in nature and require global solutions.
• Pressing global issues such as conflicts, climate change, migration, macroeconomic instability, and cybersecurity   can indeed only be solved collectively.
• Furthermore, disruptions such as the Covid-19 pandemic  have reversed the social and economic progress that global society made in the past couple of decades.

What are the Roadblocks to the Reforms?

• Global Power Politics:
  • Multilateralism is deeply entrenched in global power politics. As a result, any action in reforming multilateral institutions and frameworks automatically transforms into a move that seeks changes in the current distribution of power.
  • Modifications in the distribution of power in the global order are neither easy nor normal.Moreover, it may have adverse implications if not done cautiously.
• Considers a Zero-Sum Game:
  • The status quo powers see multilateral reforms as a zero-sum game. For instance, in the context of the Bretton Woods system, the U.S. and Europe believed reform would reduce their influence and dominance.
  • This makes decisions about reform in these institutions, by consensus or voting, hard.
• Multiplex Global Order:
  • Multilateralism appears at odds with the realities of the emerging multiplex global order.
  • The emerging order seems more multipolar and multi-centred.
  • Such a situation facilitates the formation of new clubs, concerts and coalitions of the like-minded,which makes the reform of older institutions and frameworks more challenging.

How can G-20 and India Promote Multilateralism?

• Constitution of Engagement Group:
  • Currently, the multilateralism reform narrative lives only in elite circles and some national capitals, particularly the emerging powers.
  • Therefore, the G-20 should first focus on setting proper narratives of multilateral reform.
  • G-20 may constitute an engagement group dedicated to bringing the narrative to the forefront of global discourse.
  • India should also urge the upcoming chairs of the grouping, Brazil and South Africa, to place multilateral reforms as their presidential priorities.Since both have global high-table ambitions, it would be an easier task for India.
• Encouraging Minilateral Groupings:
  • While supporting multilateral cooperation, G-20 should continue encouraging minilateral groupings as a new form of multilateralism.
  • Creating networks of issue-based minilateralism, particularly in areas related to the governance of the global commons will be helpful in preventing competitive coalitions where other actors play the same game to their advantage, leading to a more fragmented world order.
• Being More Inclusive:
  • The group needs to be more inclusive without sacrificing efficiency. For example, including the African Union as a permanent member and the UN Secretary-General and General Assembly President as permanent invitees would be helpful to enhance its legitimacy.
  • Similarly, to address the crisis of trust and utility, G-20 should put all its efforts into solving one or two pressing global issues and showcase it as the model of new multilateralism.
    • Food, fuel and fertilizer security can be one such issue. On the one hand, it falls under the ‘low politics of world politics, so cooperation is more achievable.

General Studies Paper 2

Context:

In the case of Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a powerful committee must choose the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners. This committee has the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India as members (ECs).

What are the changes introduced by SC regarding selecting Election Commissioner?  

• There are just five Articles (324-329) in Part XV (Elections) of the Constitution which deals with CEC and ECs. The Constitution does not lay down a specific legislative process for the appointment of the CEC and ECs. Currently, the President makes the appointment on the advice of the Union Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister.
• The SC has now given the Opposition and the judiciary a say in the matter, ruling that the CEC and ECs must be appointed by the President on the advice of a committee comprising the PM, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India.
• Other observations made by SC in respect of the election commission are:
• Secured Tenure: The SC noted that the conditions of service of Election Commissioners, after appointment, should not be “varied to their disadvantage”. These directions hold that the tenures of the Election Commissioners should not be disturbed in any way. The Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991 requires that the CEC and Election Commissioners must hold the post for a period of six years.
• Expenses from the Consolidated Fund of India: The court has made an appeal to the Parliament and the Union Government to set up a permanent secretariat which draws its expenses directly from the Consolidated Fund of India and not the government.

What is the need for the change in selecting Election Commissioner?

• To uphold the constitution: Article 324(2) of the Constitution stipulated that the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners shall be appointed by the President subject to the provisions of any law made on that behalf by Parliament. It may not have happened in the last 70 years. This change will help make the constitutional requirement happen.
• To ensure free and fair elections: As a constitutional body vested with plenary powers of superintendence, direction and control over elections, the ECI is a vital component of the republic that requires functional freedom and constitutional protection to ensure free and fair elections.
• To end monopoly: To end the government monopoly and “exclusive control” over appointments to the highest poll body.
• To bring uniformity: The judgment also brings a certain uniformity in appointment procedures across institutions and statutory bodies responsible for independently maintaining democracy and institutional autonomy.
• To fulfil the historical demand: The demand for an independent system for the appointment of members of the Election Commission goes back nearly 50 years. It has been repeatedly recommended in various committees such as the Justice Tarkunde committee 1975; the Dinesh Goswami committee, 1990; the second administrative reforms commission, 2007, and by the Law Commission of India in its 255th report, 2015.

What are the advantages of the changes to the process of selecting election commissioners? 

• The advantage of the neutral selection committee for selecting election commissioners are a) It addresses the conflict of interest inherent in the current selection process for election commissioners, b) Enforces the EC’s credibility and insulates the EC from political attacks, c) Can act as a constitutional lesson in India’s troubled times, and d) Recognises the fine distinction between conventional democracy and constitutional democracy.

What are the challenges associated with the changes to the process of selecting election commissioner?

• Highlights “judicial activism”: According to the government, “in the absence of a law, the President has the constitutional power.” Hence, Judiciary’s committee guidelines are seen as the era of judicial activism by some experts. Even the government has also asked the court to exhibit judicial restraint.
• Note: The ruling cites past instances of the Court stepping in to fill a gap in the law, including the Vishaka guidelines to curb sexual harassment in the workplace, and the interpretation of the process of appointment of judges.
• Against the “doctrine of separation of power”:  The constitution has given powers to the Parliament to frame the law with respect to the appointments of the election commission. The Supreme Court’s intervention in this domain is regarded as a disregard for the doctrine of separation of powers. This is also against the “basic structure” of the Constitution.
• Against the idea of “constitution is supreme”: The words “subject to the provisions of any law made on that behalf by Parliament” mentioned in Article 324(2) have been included only after prolonged discussions in the Constituent Assembly. This highlights that the government can decide and frame any law.
• The debates made clear that a)The Parliament will step in and provide norms to govern the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and the Election Commissioners, b) A law by Parliament is final and not the executive who exclusively calls the shots in the matter of appointments to the Election Commission.
• At this juncture, the involvement of the Court in the selection process has highlighted that the judiciary is the sole impartial body capable of ascertaining the best interests of the country.
• Success is uncertain: For the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), a similar panel for making appointments has been set up. There is no clear proof that the CBI Director maintains independence.
• Also, having the CJI on appointing committees could give all appointments extra legitimacy and make it harder for judges to look objectively for mistakes or flaws in the process.

Way forward:

• Extend safeguards to other Election Commissioners: The procedural safeguards in place for effecting the removal of a Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) should be extended to the Election Commissioners under the first proviso to Article 324(5) of the Constitution. A CEC, like Supreme Court judges, can be removed from office only by way of a parliamentary process. However, no such protection of tenure is available to the Election Commissioners.
• The retired member of the Election Commission shall be prohibited from taking any office of profit under the state.
• Similarly, he shall be prohibited from joining any political party for at least 10 years after relinquishing his office.
• Constitutional functionaries have to be not just appointed fairly, but also held to account thereafter. So, the EC and other regulatory bodies should be made autonomous of the executive and held answerable to designated committees of Parliament or committees of legislators.
• The SC’s attention to the functioning of EC is timely. The ruling examined a number of provisions in the Constitution, including the ones relating to the powers of the Supreme Court and High Court; establishing the SC, ST and Backward Classes Commissions, etc. But the judgement also raises questions about the selection process for the judiciary. The selection process for the judiciary to needs reform.