Govt. offers to make 8 changes to farm laws
Paper:
Mains: G.S. II & III Governance, Social Justice and Sectors of economy
Why in news?
After over 7 hours of discussion, the 4th round of talks between centre and the farmer leaders ended inconclusively. Although, the centre offered to consider eight amendments to the contentious farm laws.
Key details
- offered assurance to the farmers that MSP for farm produce would continue.
- Farmer leaders demanded to scrap all the three laws and create a new law guaranteeing MSP.
- APPREHENSIONS : This could corporatize agriculture, threaten the current mandi network and State revenues and dilute the system of government procurement at guaranteed prices.
- THE FARMERS’ PRODUCE TRADE AND COMMERCE (PROMOTION AND FACILITATION) BILL, 2020 : It allows farmers to sell their harvest outside the notified Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandis without paying any State taxes or fees.
- THE FARMERS (EMPOWERMENT AND PROTECTION) AGREEMENT ON PRICE ASSURANCE AND FARM SERVICES BILL, 2020: It facilitates contract farming and direct marketing.
- THE ESSENTIAL COMMODITIES (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2020 : It deregulates the production, storage, movement and sale of several major foodstuffs, including cereals, pulses, edible oils and onion, except in the case of extraordinary circumstances.
- They also want the govt. to stop slapping large fines on farmers for burning stubble and to withdraw the Electricity Bill, 2020 which could affect power subsidies for farmers.
- Much of the opposition really is just to one of the three laws. It is the Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act and its provisions that are seen as weakening the APMC mandis.
- Farmers would want no restrictions on the movement, stocking and export of their produce. For example, Maharashtra’s onion growers have vehemently opposed the Centre’s resort to ban on exports and imposition of stock limits whenever retail prices have tended to go up.
- Much of government procurement at minimum support prices (MSP) — of paddy, wheat and increasingly pulses, cotton, groundnut and mustard — happens in APMC mandis.
- More than half of all government procurement of wheat and paddy in the last five years has taken place in Punjab and Haryana.
- More than 85% of wheat and paddy grown in Punjab, and 75% in Haryana, is bought by the government at MSP rates. From the government’s standpoint, the elephant in the room would be if the farmers insist on an additional demand: Making MSP a legal right.
Indian vaccines after phase 3 trials
Paper:
Mains: G.S. II & III Social Justice and Science & Technology
Why in news?
With Pfizer’s RNA vaccine having been approved in the U.K. and being readied for about 80,000 of the country’s most vulnerable population, India’s own vaccines could be available almost immediately for public use after the completion of phase 3 trials.
Key details
- Vaccines would be introduced when the drug regulator would be convinced of vaccine’s potential efficacy.
- Emergency use authorisation procedure in India is similar to that in the EU, the U.K. and the U.S. EUA is not an approval, it is a permission granted to a company for a limited time to offer a vaccine or a drug to people to tide over a crisis.
- Were Pfizer to apply in India to the regulator here, depending on whether the Drug Controller is satisfied with the data. If the situation so demands, the regulator has the power to waive or recommend more tests, and doesn’t necessarily require Indian data.
- Covishield is based on the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine candidate, and is being tested in 16,000 volunteers across the country.
- Covaxin has just begun phase 3 trials and is being tested in 28,500 volunteers across the country.
- Covaxin and Covishield are the furthest ahead among Indian vaccines in the approval journey.
- Indian officials have said that they have a broad blueprint ready to vaccinate 30 crore high-risk individuals within the first half of next year.
Carefully monitoring Brahmaputra developments: India
Paper:
Mains: G.S. II International Relations
Why in news?
A state run Chinese hydropower firm, POWERCHINA, is planning to build the first downstream dam on the Brahmaputra, known as Yarlung Zangbo in Tibet.
Key details
- While China in 2015 operationalised it’s 1st hydropower project at Zangmu in Tibet and is constructing three other dams at Dagu, Jiexu, and Jiacha, these are run of the river dams on the upper and middle reaches of the Brahmaputra river.
- While the proposed new dam is also likely to be a run of the river hydropower project that will not divert water, but will be the first in the lower reaches of the Brahmaputra river.
- As a lower riparian sate with considerable established user rights to the waters of the trans-border river, the GOI has consistently conveyed it’s views and concerns to the Chinese authorities and urged them to ensure the interests of downstream states.
- The Chinese side has conveyed to us on several occasions that they are only undertaking run-of-the-river hydropower projects which do not involve diversion of the waters of the Brahmaputra.
- Brahmaputra river system is one of the largest rivers in the world. In the Tibet region, it is known by the name of Yarlung Tsangpo. It enters by the names of Siang and Dihang in India. And after it is joined by its two main tributaries, the Dibang and the Lohit, it is known by the name of Brahmaputra. It flows in Bangladesh by the name of Jumna. Finally, it merges with the Ganga river.
- The world’s largest riverine island, Majuli Island is on the Brahmaputra river in the state of Assam.
- The Brahmaputra river rises from Chemayundung glacier of the Kailash range near the Mansarovar Lake to the north of the Himalayas in the southwest Tibet region.
- Tributaries of the Brahmaputra river: Dhansiri, Lohit, Dibang, Subansiri, Kameng, Manas, Sankosh, Teesta.
Convicted legislators can’t be barred for life from polls
Paper:
Mains: G.S. II Polity and Governance
Why in news?
Central govt. has told the Supreme Court that it rejected the idea of barring convicted legislators for life from contesting elections.
Key details
- Union Ministry of Law and Justice said an elected representative of the people cannot be equated with public servants who are banned for a lifetime on conviction.
- The government said disqualification under Representation of People Act of 1951 for the period of the prison sentence and six years was enough for legislators.
- Centre’s stand differs from that taken by Election Commission, which endorsed a life ban as necessary to champion the cause of decriminalization of politics.
- In 2004, 24% of the Members of Parliament had criminal cases pending against them. It shot up to 30% in 2009 and 34% in 2014.
- In 2019 as many as 43% of MPs had criminal cases pending against them.
- Majorly whatever progress made in curbing criminalisation of politics has been through the initiative of the Supreme Court and the Election Commission.
- However, it is parliament’s responsibility to amend the Representation of the People (RPA) Act 1951, which deals with disqualification of candidates against whom charges have been proved in court for serious offences.
- In spite of taking appropriate measures to amend the RPA Act, there has been an unsaid understanding among the political parties which deters Parliament to make strong law curbing criminalisation of politics.
Not using masks flouts Fundamental Rights: SC
Paper:
Mains: G.S. II Social Justice
Why in news?
The Supreme Court said on Thursday, people who do not wear masks in public and follow social distancing norms violate the fundamental rights of others amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Key details
- Justice Ashok Bhushan said, “Things are wanting. People are violating guidelines on COVID with impunity all over the country”.
- Justice M.R. Shah, drew attention to how vegetable markets overflowed with people showing scant regard for physical distancing. There are places where the super spread started.
- It comes under the wider ambit of Article 21 which ensured Right to Life and Personal Liberty to citizen.
Speak for all religions, India tells UN
Paper:
Mains: G.S. II Governance
Why in news?
India has asked the United Nations to expand it’s criticism of hatred and violence against religions beyond the three Abrahamic religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Key details
- First Secretary at India’s Permanent Mission to the UN said, “We fully agree that anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and anti-Christian acts need to be condemned and India firmly condemns such acts. However, UN resolutions on such important issues speak only of these three Abrahamic religions together”.
- He said that this august body fails to acknowledge the rise of hatred and violence against Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism.
- These remarks were made during a Culture of Peace session organised by the UN General Assembly. The UN has organised such sessions each year since 1997.
- The shattering of the iconic Bamiyan Buddha by fundamentalists, the terrorist bombing of Sikh Gurudwara in Afghanistan and the destruction of Hindu and Buddhist temples and minority cleansing of these religions by countries, call for condemning such acts against these religions also.
- Secretary further said, what we are trying to build here is an alliance of civilisations not set up a clash.
- Overall Hinduism has more than 1.2 billion followers, Buddhism has more than 535 million followers, and Sikhism has around 30 million followers.
- It is time attacks against these religions are also added to earlier list of the three Abrahamic religions when such resolutions are passed. Culture of Peace cannot be only for Abrahamic religions.
