Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

The Supreme Court upheld the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and retained the powers of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

• The core amendments made to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), which gives the government and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) virtually unbridled powers of summons, arrest, and raids, and makes bail nearly impossible while shifting the burden of proof of innocence on to the accused rather than the prosecution.
• The verdict came on an extensive challenge raised against the amendments introduced to the 2002 Act by way of Finance Acts.
• The PMLA a law against the “scourge of money laundering” and not a hatchet wielded against rival politicians and dissenters.

Extensive Challenge

• The verdict came on an extensive challenge raised against the amendments introduced to the 2002 Act by way of Finance Acts.
• Over 240 petitions were filed against the amendments, which the challengers claimed would violate personal liberty, procedures of law and the constitutional mandate.

EDs Power of Arrest: 

• The petitioners had argued that the ED could arrest a person even without informing him of the charges. This power was violative of the right to ‘due process’ enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution. 
• However, the court rejected the notion that the ED has been given blanket powers of arrest, search of person and property and seizure. The court said there were in-built safeguards” within the Act, including the recording of reasons in writing while effecting an arrest.

Conditions of Bail

• The court upheld the stringent twin bail conditions required under the law for granting bail to an accused. The two conditions require a court to hear the public prosecutor against the bail plea and reach a satisfaction that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the accused is not guilty of the offense and that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail.
• However, the court said undertrials could seek bail under Section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure if they had already spent one-half of the term of punishment in jail for the offence prescribed in law. But, again, this is not an “absolute right” and would depend from case to case.

Burden of Proof 

• The court upheld this provision and said that this provision did not suffer from the “vice of arbitrariness or unreasonableness”.

Attaching a property

• Petitioners’ argument: They objected the powers bestowed on the ED to attach a property as proceeds of crime.
• They had contended that even properties which were not proceeds of crime could be attached by the agency.
• SC: The court said Section 5 of the PMLA, which concerns with the provisional attachment of property, cannot be used by the agency “mechanically”.
• The court said the provision provided a “balancing arrangement” between the interests of the accused and that of the State.
• Further, if the accused was eventually absolved of the crime, no further action could be taken against the attached property suspected to have been linked to the crime.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Odisha is the first State in the country to make budgetary provision for implementation of the Central Act – ₹8 crore for 168 FRA cells in 2021-22. 

• Till last year, forest rights committees were functioning in Tribal Sub Plan areas. 
• Now, they have been extended to the entire State. 
• The State is not only ensuring tenurial security and entitlement over land but also addressing livelihood and food security under the Act.
• State about to launching Mission 2024 for FRA by granting all kinds of forest rights whether it is for the individual, community or habitat,”
• Odisha’s ST and SC Development Department is about to launch Mission 2024 for FRA by granting all kinds of forest rights whether it is for the individual, community or habitat.
• The mission, currently under Finance Department and Planning and Convergence Department scrutiny, aims at granting the tribal people their rightful ownership.

About Forest Rights Act 2006

• The symbiotic relationship between forests and forest-dwelling communities found recognition in the National Forest Policy, 1988.
• The policy called for the need to associate tribal people in the protection, regeneration and development of forests.
• The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, was enacted to protect the marginalised socio-economic class of citizens and balance the right to environment with their right to life and livelihood.

Provisions of the 2006 Act

• The Act recognizes that tribal and other traditional forest-dwelling communities would be hard put to provide documentary evidence for their claims.
• Rule 13 of the Act, therefore, stipulates that the gram sabhas should consider more than one evidence in determining forest rights.
• The rule sanctions a wide range of evidence, including “statements by village elders”, “community rights” and “physical attributes such as houses, huts and permanent improvements made to land such as levelling, bunds and check dams”.

The act identify four types of rights:

• Title rights: It gives FDST and OTFD the right to ownership to land farmed by tribals or forest dwellers subject to a maximum of 4 hectares.

• Ownership is only for land that is actually being cultivated by the concerned family and no new lands will be granted.

• Use rights: The rights of the dwellers extend to extracting Minor Forest Produce, grazing areas, to pastoralist routes, etc.
• Relief and development rights: To rehabilitation in case of illegal eviction or forced displacement and to basic amenities, subject to restrictions for forest protection
• Forest management rights: It includes the right to protect, regenerate or conserve or manage any community forest resource which they have been traditionally protecting and conserving for sustainable use.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) filed a general retail power tariff revision petition with the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission proposing to hike power tariffs by 10% to 35%.

According to Niti Aayog’s report of August 2021, most power DISCOMs in the country incur losses every year — the total loss was estimated to be ₹90,000 crore in the financial year 2021. 

Why has the tariff revision petition been filed by the power utility?

• A number of factors, which include mounting losses, outstanding loans and the consequent increase in interest burden, has compelled the Tangedco to file the petition. 
• Even after joining the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) — a scheme meant for improving the health of state-owned electricity distribution companies (DISCOM)—in January 2017, Tamil Nadu could not bring down the gap between the Average Cost of Supply (ACS) and the Average Revenue Realised (ARR) to nil by 2018-19, as stipulated in the scheme.

What about other power DISCOMS in the country?

• The Tamil Nadu case is an example of what is happening in the distribution sector in the country. 
• According to Niti Aayog’s report of August 2021, most power DISCOMs incur losses every year — the total loss was estimated to be ₹90,000 crore in the financial year 2021. Due to these accumulated losses, DISCOMs were unable to pay for generators on time — as of March 2021, an amount of ₹67,917 crore was overdue.
• To help these DISCOMs, the Centre in May 2020, announced a Liquidity Infusion Scheme (Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan), under which loans of ₹1,35,497 crore have been sanctioned. As of December 31, 2021, a total of ₹1.03 lakh crore has been disbursed.

Where do other States stand on power tariffs?

• Despite the Centre’s prescription for annual or periodical revision of retail power tariff, States have found the exercise painful, as the parties in power in the States link the process to their prospects at the time of Assembly or Lok Sabha elections.
• In Andhra Pradesh, the power tariff hike for domestic consumers approved in March, took place after a gap of two decades. 
• Kerala, where the increase came into effect in late June, had it after three years. In March 2022, the Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission issued an order, rejecting the proposal for a 9.9% hike.
• In Punjab, no changes in the tariff were made and on the contrary, since the beginning of this month, domestic consumers in the State have been given free electricity up to 300 units each month.
• In Tamil Nadu, all domestic consumers are entitled to 100 units of free electricity bi-monthly since May 2016 when the AIADMK retained power. 

These dues are of three types.

• Improper Tariff fixation by regulators: Regulators themselves have failed to fix cost-reflective tariffs thus creating Regulatory Assets, which are to be recovered through future tariff hikes.
• Pending Subsidies: Second, about a seventh of DisCom cost structures is meant to be covered through explicit subsidies by State governments. Cumulative unpaid subsidies, with modest carrying costs, make DisComs poorer by over ₹70,000 crore just over the last 10 years.
• Consumer Bills pending: Third, consumers owed DisComs over ₹1.8 lakh crore in FY 2018-19, booked as trade receivables.

Way Ahead

• More Stimulus: There is a need a much larger liquidity infusion so that the entire electricity chain will not collapse
• Working on AT&C losses is important, but will not be sufficient. We need a complete overhaul of the regulation of electricity companies and their deliverables.
• Rationalisation of subsidies whereby doling out of free electricity can be eliminated to those who do not deserve such support.
• Segregation of feeders has been suggested as an option to arrive at the accurate consumption of the farm sector so that the disproportionate quantum of consumption is not attributed to agriculturists in the absence of meters.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Chief Justice of India said the culture of promising freebies during elections “a very serious issue” and asked the central government to take a stand on curbing the situation.

• The Election Commission of India (ECI), on the other hand aid it has no power to regulate the same or take action against parties making such poll promises.
• In an affidavit, the poll body said “offering/distribution of any freebies either before or after election is a policy decision of the party concerned, and whether such policies are financially viable or its adverse effect on the economic health over the state is a question that has to be considered and decided by the voters.
• The Court asked the central government to consider involving the Finance Commission to deliberate on the issue.
• The hearing came on a writ petition filed by Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, who had argued that the offer and distribution of “irrational freebies” amounted to bribery and unduly influencing voters. It vitiated free and fair elections in the country.
• Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, who is the petitioner in the PIL, informed the court that all Indian states combined have a debt of “over Rs 70 lakh crore.”
• The state of Punjab was under debt of Rs 3 lakh crore. The entire population of Punjab is 3 crore. This means that every citizen has a debt amounting to crores!

Finance Commission of India

The Finance Commission (FC) is a constitutional authority that sets the mechanism and formula for allocating tax revenues between the Centre and states, as well as among states, in accordance with the Constitution and current needs. The President of India is mandated by Article 280 of the Constitution to appoint a Finance Commission every five years or sooner. In November 2017, the President of India appointed the 15th Finance Commission, under the chairmanship of NK Singh. It will make suggestions for a five-year period, from 2021-22 to 2025-26. 

Finance Commission – Members Qualifications

• Parliament may by law determine the qualifications which shall be requisite for appointment as members of the Commission and the manner in which they shall be selected.
• The Chairman of the Commission is selected from among persons who have experience in public affairs, and the four other members are selected from among persons who:
• are, or have been, or are qualified to be appointed as Judges of the High Court;
• have special knowledge in the finances and accounts of the Government;
• have had wide experience in financial matters and in administration;
• have special knowledge of economics.

Disqualification: Members may be disqualified if they are found to be of unsound mind, have committed a heinous act, or have a conflict of interest.

Tenure of Finance Commission

• The President of India specifies the term of office for Members of the Finance Commission, they are normally appointed for five years, and in some situations, the members are re-appointed.
• The members must contribute part-time or volunteer service to the Commission as the President directs.
• Before the five-year period expires, the President can appoint a Finance Commission if he deems it essential.
• Functions

Functions of the Finance Commission

• It is the duty of the Commission to make recommendations to the President as to:
• The distribution between the Union and the States of the net proceeds of taxes which are to be, or maybe, divided between them and the allocation between the States of the respective shares of such proceeds.
• The principles which should govern the grants-in-aid of the revenues of the States out of the consolidated fund of India.
• The measures needed to augment the Consolidated Fund of a state to supplement the resources of the Panchayat in the State on the basis of the recommendation made by the Finance commission of these states.
• The measures needed to augment the Consolidated Fund of a state to supplement the resources of the Municipalities in the State on the basis of the recommendation made by the Finance commission of these states.
• Any other matters referred to the Commission by the President in the interests of sound finance.
• The Commission determines its procedure and has such powers in the performance of their functions as Parliament may by law confer on them.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

India has designated five (5) new wetlands of International importance, which include 

• Three wetlands (Karikili Bird Sanctuary, Pallikaranai Marsh Reserve Forest & Pichavaram Mangrove) in Tamil Nadu, 
• One (Pala wetland) in Mizoram
• One wetland (Sakhya Sagar) in Madhya Pradesh, making a total of 54 Ramsar sites in the country.  

The Ramsar sites have been increased from 49 to 54 Ramsar sites.

What is a Wetland?

• Wetlands are areas where water covers the soil, or is present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season. 
• Water saturation (hydrology) largely determines how the soil develops and the types of plant and animal communities living in and on the soil.
• Wetlands may support both aquatic and terrestrial species. 
• The prolonged presence of water creates conditions that favor the growth of specially adapted plants (hydrophytes) and promote the development of characteristic wetland (hydric) soils.

Wetland in India

• The convention entered into force in India on 1 February 1982.
• India currently has 54 sites designated as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites), with a surface area of 1,098,518 hectares.
• The National Wetland Inventory and Assessment compiled by the Indian Space Research Organisation, estimates India’s wetlands to span around 1,52,600 square kilometres which is 4.63% of the total geographical area of the country.
• India has 19 types of wetlands whereas Gujarat has the maximum area followed by Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
• Wetlands in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat serve as important spaces for migratory birds.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

The CPEC is bilateral project between Pakistan and China. Its stated objective is to enhance connectivity across Pakistan with a network of highways, railways, and pipelines accompanied by other infrastructure development projects.

• Under CPEC plan, China will invest in industrial power stations, roads and railways from Kashgar in Xinjiang (China) to Gwadar port (Pakistan) in the 3000 km long belt.
• The proposed project is financed by heavily-subsidized Chinese loans, disbursed to Pakistan Government by Chinese banking giants such as China Development Bank, Exim Bank of China and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
• CPEC is a component of OBOR (One Belt One Road) initiative of China.

China’s Interest in CPEC

• China is interested in CPEC because it will help it to access the Middle East and Africa from Gwadar Port, enabling China to access the Indian Ocean.

Pakistan’s Interest in CPEC

• China will support development projects in Pakistan to overcome the latter’s energy crises and stabilizing its faltering economy.

India’s stand

India is against joining CPEC due to the following reasons:

• Passes through a disputed area: China’s insistence on establishing the CPEC project through PoK is seen by India as infringing its sovereignty as it passes through disputed territory of Gilgit-Balistan.
• If CPEC project gets implemented successfully, this would hamper India’s strategic interests in the South Asian region. It will serve Beijing’s strategic ambition to encircle India.
• If India joined CPEC, it would legitimize the territorial claims of China-Pakistan over the land that actually belongs to India.
• China’s interference in Kashmir: India shares a great deal of trust deficit with China and Pakistan and has a history of conflict with both. 

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

The sports Bodies like the All India Football Federation(AIFF) and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) face potential ban/suspension if elections to the executive body are not done immediately.

What is the Sports Code?

• The Sports Code or National Sports Development Code of India was introduced in 2011 by the Central government.
• Purpose: To introduce good governance practices in the management of sports at the national level without interfering with the autonomy of the national sports bodies.
• The code lays down restrictions on the age and tenure of the office-bearers of federations apart from envisaging transparent functioning along with free and fair elections.

In case of violation of the sports code

• The respective federations can be put under a Committee of Administrators (CoA). That is what happened with the football and hockey association.
• For example, the Supreme Court appointed a three-member CoA led by a former Supreme Court judge to run the AIFF whose president had to resign as continuing in the post would be in violation of the Sports Code as he had been the president for more than 12 years.
• Similarly, the Delhi High Court observed that the Sports Code was violated by Hockey India and a CoA was formed to run the game’s administration in India.

Earlier Instances

• In February, the Delhi High court appointed Gita Mittal as the chairperson of the CoA to run the Table Tennis Federation of India, which was suspended following an inquiry into the match-fixing allegations raised by one of India’s leading players.
• In 2017, the Supreme Court had appointed a CoA to implement the reforms in the administration of cricket in the country suggested by the Justice R.M. Lodha committee.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The government would soon come up with a new space policy to increase private sector participation in the industry.

• Enhancing space technology would be beneficial to bolster connectivity and combat climate-related implications through a more secure and effective means. 
• Private sector’s involvement in the long term, as with other commercial sectors, is believed to help spur investment and expertise in the realm which is capital-intensive and demands high technology. 

Why is development in the space sector important?

• Enhancing space technology would be beneficial to bolster connectivity and combat climate-related implications through a more secure and effective means.
• Satellites provide more accurate information on weather forecasts and assess (and record) long-term trends in the climate and habitability of a region. 
• As for connectivity, satellite communication can reach more remote areas where conventional networks would require a heavy complimenting infrastructure. 
• The World Economic Forum had stated (in September 2020) that satellite communication can help connect 49% of the world’s unconnected population.
• The space avenue is an integration of the aerospace, IT hardware and telecom sectors. It is thus argued that investment in this arena would foster positive carryover effects to other sectors as well.

Where does India stand in the global space market?

• As per Space Tech Analytics, India is the sixth-largest player in the industry internationally having 3.6% of the world’s space-tech companies (as of 2021). 
• The Indian Space Industry was valued at $7 billion in 2019 and aspires to grow to $50 billion by 2024. The country’s standout feature is its cost-effectiveness. India holds the distinction of being the first country to have reached the Mars’ orbit in its first attempt and at $75 million — way cheaper than Western standards.
• Most companies in the sector, globally, are involved in manufacture of spacecraft equipment and satellite communications. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), a majority of them were dealing in projects related to space debris management. 
• India’s total budgetary allocation for FY2022-23 towards the Department of Space was ₹13,700 crore. 

(IN-SPACe)

• An announcement for the establishment of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) was made.
• It was mandated the task of promoting, authorising and licensing private players to carry out space activities.
• As an oversight and regulatory body, it is responsible for devising mechanisms to offer sharing of technology, expertise, and facilities free of cost to promote non-government private entities (NGPEs).
• IN-SPACe’s Monitoring and Promotion Directorate oversees NGPE’s activities as per prescribed regulations and reports back in case any corrective actions or resolutions are required.
• ISRO shares its expertise in matters pertaining to quality and reliability protocols, documentations and testing procedure through IN-SPACe’s ‘interface mechanism’.

NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL)

• Additionally, constituted in March 2019, NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL) is mandated to transfer the matured technologies developed by the ISRO to Indian industries.

India is among a handful of countries with advanced capabilities in the space sector. With these reforms, the sector will receive new energy and dynamism, to help the country leapfrog to the next stages of space activities.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Prime Minister of India in his 2020 Independence Day speech, laid out the vision to connect every village in the country with Optical Fiber Cable (OFC) in 1,000 days. Also, India is preparing to auction off about 72 Ghz of airwaves to rollout 5G services in the country. However, the fiberization is required to rollout such an infrastructure.

Fiberisation

• The process of connecting radio towers with each other via optical fibre cables is called fiberization.
• It helps provide full utilisation of network capacity, carry large amounts of data, and aid in providing additional bandwidth.
• It provides a stronger backhaul support. The backhaul is a component of the larger transport that is responsible for carrying data across the network. 
• It represents the part of the network that connects the core of the network to the edge.

Statistics

• In India, only 33% of the towers are fiberized. It is very low compared to the 65%-70% in South Korea and 80%-90% in the U.S., Japan and China.
• India’s fibre kilometer (fkm) per capita is just .09 compared to 1.35 in Japan.
• The tower sites which are connected via fibre are called fibre point of presence (POP). Currently, India’s fibre POP can just handle data at one to five Gbps speed.

Challenges

• Investment: To reach the targeted level of fiberisation, India requires about ₹2.2 lakh crore of investment to help fiberise 70% towers.
• To connect every village in the country with optical fiber cable (OFC) in 1,000 days, cables must be laid around 3.6 times the current average speed of 350 km a day.
• These tower sites which are connected via fibre are called fibre point of presence (POP). Currently these fibre POPs at a tower site can handle data at one to five Gbps speed.
• One of the biggest issues in the way of fiberisation remains the Right of Way (RoW) rules. While all States/UTs are required to implement these rules, they are not in complete alignment and still require certain amendments to align.

In October 2021, the DoT revised the RoW rules, making it easier to install aerial optical fibre cable in the country. This can enable infrastructure providers to deploy cables overhead via street light poles and traffic light posts.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 1

Eastern Rajasthan Canal Projects (ERCP) is planned to harvest surplus yield available in the Southern Rajasthan rivers and transfer to deficit basins in South-Estern Rajasthan.

Eastern Rajasthan Canal Projects (ERCP)

• ERCP is an ambitious project that is set to benefit 13 districts with over 3.5 crore population through the interlinking of the Parvati, Kali Sindh and Chambal rivers.
• It aims to transfer surplus water available in Southern Rajasthan rivers such as Chambal and its tributaries during the rainy season to the south-eastern districts of the state.
• It will ensure the availability of water for drinking and irrigation purposes.
• It would help to improve the groundwater table of the state.
• It will promote socio-economic development in the state.
• It will ensure women’s empowerment and also improve the standard of living of the people.
• It will help in encouraging investment in the state and also increase the revenue potential of the state.

Chambal River

• It originates from the northern slopes of the Vindhya mountains in Madhya Pradesh.
• From Madhya Pradesh, it enters Rajasthan and then Uttar Pradesh.
• In UP it joins the Yamuna River in Etawah District.
• Tributaries: Banas, Kali Sindh, Sipra, Parbati, etc.
• The National Chambal Sanctuary is located along the river Chambal.
• It is known for the critically endangered Gharial.

Issues

• All parties should strive for national status to Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project.
• Rajasthan government opposed centre’s objection to halt work on the proposed Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP) until issues with Madhya Pradesh are resolved
• An all-party meeting on ERCP, reiterated the project’s significance for the State and offered to send a team of experts to the Centre for holding talks on its technical aspects.

2005 Agreement

The Inter-State Water Control Board had decided in an agreement signed in 2005 that any of the two States could use water from its own catchment area as well as 10% of the water received from the catchment areas of the other for any project.

Rajasthan Views

• Rajasthan claims to have prepared the DPR on ERCP in accordance with the Inter-State Water Control Board’s decision and in compliance with the 2010 guidelines of the Central Water Commission (CWC).
• Terming the objection to its project baseless, Rajasthan said MP had constructed the Mohanpura dam on the Newaj river, a tributary of Parbati river, and the Kundalia dam on Kali Sindh river, developing about 2.65-lakh hectare irrigation area in its territory.
• Madhya Pradesh obtained the no-objection certificate from Rajasthan after the construction of dams in 2017.
• The all-party meeting again raised the demand for the national project status for ERCP.

Madhya Pradesh’s Objection

• A significant aspect of Madhya Pradesh’s objection is related to the water dependability.
• According to the agreement between the two States, a project for water supply can be formulated only on 75% water dependability, whereas the detailed project report (DPR) of ERCP is based on 50% water dependability.
• This will result in the breach of agreement, according to the Madhya Pradesh.