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In his first public push for a Uniform Civil Code, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the country cannot have separate laws for its people, and that the Constitution obligates the State to secure a UCC for its citizens.
Addressing BJP booth-level workers at a party event called ‘Mera Booth, Sabse Mazboot’ in Madhya Pradesh where Assembly elections are due later this year, Modi said the Opposition was trying to “instigate” Muslims on the UCC issue while not caring for their welfare.
Today we are witnessing how efforts are being made to instigate people in the name of a Uniform Civil Code. We must remember that the Indian Constitution also speaks of equal rights for citizens.
Editorial
Out of line (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Constitution)
Babasaheb Ambedkar spoke of constitutional morality in the Constituent Assembly on November 4, 1948. He said: “While everybody recognises the necessity of the diffusion of constitutional morality for the peaceful working of a democratic Constitution, there are two things interconnected with it which are not, unfortunately, generally recognised.
One is that the form of administration has a close connection with the form of the Constitution. The other is that it is perfectly possible to pervert the Constitution, without changing its form by merely changing the form of the administration and to make it inconsistent and opposed to the spirit of the Constitution.
The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Ordinance, 2023, changes the form of administration in Delhi and is inconsistent with the spirit of the Constitution.
While the constitutional validity of the Ordinance will be decided by the Supreme Court, as and when it is challenged in its present form, there is no doubt that it overturns the form of administration prevailing in Delhi at least since 1991 when the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act became effective.
The Supreme Court had, just about a week before the Ordinance was promulgated, settled the controversy between the government of Delhi and the government of India regarding the appointment and control over officers working with the government of Delhi.
The Constitution Bench settled the issue through a unanimous judgment effectively in favour of the government of Delhi.
Grey to Green (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) lifts the heavy burden of implementing the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) and financing projects in the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP). To finance India’s infrastructure needs, NaBFID has disbursed 60 per cent of the Rs 25,000 crore loans that it has sanctioned. The bank has recently declared its intent to introduce takeout financing products, invest in Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InVITs) and refinance loans. Many of these plans are welcome. Nevertheless, a few words of caution are warranted.
Integration of climate risk in NIP is largely limited to building for acute physical risks, such as disasters and extreme events. Building resilience against chronic physical risks like rising temperatures or accelerated loss of biodiversity finds space in the broad policy recommendations, but not in the sectoral needs identified. Contrary to the global trend in the adoption of nature-based solutions and embracing green and blue infrastructure, NIP continues to focus on traditional grey infrastructure. For instance, it champions the improvement of stormwater drainage infrastructure and eschews integrating green infrastructure — like green roofs — that global cities are adopting for flood mitigation.
Ideas Page
Myanmar blind spot in Manipur (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
While there has been extensive coverage of the violence in Manipur, it betrays a blind spot in Indian public discourse. It is usually in denial about the spillover effects of refugee flows on the country’s internal political stability.
This was the case with the refugee flow from the civil war in East Pakistan in 1971 that led to the liberation of Bangladesh. A similar dynamic is now playing out in Manipur.
A major obstacle to foreseeing the potential harmful effects of the refugee flow from East Pakistan was the triumphalist national mood that accompanied the birth of Bangladesh.
The break-up of Pakistan brought geopolitical advantages to India; and at a time when secular ideals dominated our public sphere, the effective repudiation of the two-nation theory that was the basis for the Partition of 1947 became an occasion for national rejoicing.
With the hindsight of five decades, however, it becomes apparent that the effects of the refugee flow were disastrous for northeast India, especially for the political stability of Assam.
World
Detainees face cruel treatment: First UN investigator to visit Guantanamo prison (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
The first U.N. independent investigator to visit the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay said Monday the 30 men held there are subject “to ongoing cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment under international law.”
The investigator, Irish law professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, said at a news conference releasing her 23-page report to the U.N. Human Rights Council that the 2001 attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania that killed nearly 3,000 people were “crimes against humanity.”
But she said the U.S. use of torture and rendition against alleged perpetrators and their associates in the years right after the attacks violated international human rights law — and in many cases deprived the victims and survivors of justice because information obtained by torture cannot be used at trials.
Ní Aoláin said her visit marked the first time a U.S, administration has allowed a U.N. investigator to visit the facility, which opened in 2002.
India Caucus brings bill to fast-track weapon sales (Page no. 16)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Members of the powerful India Caucus have introduced bipartisan legislation aimed at providing India access to the weapons it needs to defend itself and boost its security goals with the US in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.
Indian-American Democratic Congressmen Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna and Marc Veasey joined Republican Congressmen Andy Barr and Mike Waltz in introducing the legislation that will allow weapon sales to India from the US to be fast-tracked and deepen the US-India defence ties.
Companion legislation has also been introduced by Democratic Senator Mark Warner and Republican Senator John Cornyn in the US Senate.
Barr’s office said in a statement that this legislation would “place India on equal footing with other U.S. partners and allies by streamlining and accelerating the review and sales process for Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and exports under the Arms Export Control Act.”
It subjects Indian FMS to the same threshold for oversight and accountability as other key US partners and allies, ensuring that India has streamlined access to the high-end capabilities necessary to defend itself.
Economy
CAD down to 0.2% of GDP in Q4 FY23 as trade gap shrinks (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
India’s current account deficit (CAD), a key indicator of the external sector, narrowed to $1.3 billion, or 0.2 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), in the January-March quarter (Q4) of fiscal 2022-2023 (FY23), mainly on account of moderation in trade gap and rise in services exports.
In the January-March quarter (Q3) of FY23, CAD — the difference between exports and imports of goods and services — was $16.8 billion, or 2 per cent of GDP. In Q3 of FY22, it was $13.4 billion, or 1.6 per cent of GDP, according to the data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The sequential decline in CAD in Q4 FY23 was mainly on account of a moderation in the trade deficit to $ 52.6 billion in Q4 FY23 from $71.3 billion in Q3 FY23, coupled with robust services exports.
Aditi Gupta, an economist at Bank of Baroda, said the uptick in merchandise imports due to higher global commodity prices led to the widening of trade deficit. This was offset to some extent by resurgent services exports as well as remittances.
Explained
Indian Ocean Dipole and its potential to limit El Nino effects (Page no. 18)
(GS Paper 1, Geography)
With the El Nino phenomenon almost certain to affect the Indian monsoon this year, high hopes are pinned on the development of a positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and its ability to counterbalance the El Nino effect.
The IOD is an ocean-atmosphere interaction very similar to the El Nino fluctuations in the Pacific Ocean, playing out, as the name shows, in the Indian Ocean. It is also a much weaker system than El Nino, and thus has relatively limited impacts.
But a positive IOD does have the potential to offset the impacts of El Nino to a small measure in neighbouring areas, and it has, at least once in the past (1997), delivered admirably on this potential.
While the El Nino is already firmly established in the Pacific Ocean this year, the IOD is still in the neutral phase. “The Indian Ocean Dipole is currently neutral.
All international climate models surveyed by the Bureau suggest a positive IOD event may develop in the coming months,” Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology noted in its latest update on IOD.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD), in its bulletin earlier this month, said there was an 80% chance of a positive IOD in the coming months.
The probability forecast for IOD indicates about 80% probability for positive IOD conditions and 15% of a neutral IOD during June-August 2023 season.
The Civil code and debate (Page no. 18)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a pitch for the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and hit out at Opposition parties for allegedly inciting minority communities against it.
The PM’s statement comes a week after the 22nd Law Commission invited the views of the public and “recognised” religious organisations on the UCC within 30 days.
UCC is the idea of having a common code of personal laws for people of all religions. Personal law includes aspects of inheritance, marriage, divorce, child custody, and alimony. However, currently, India’s personal laws are fairly complex and varied, with each religion following its own specific regulations.
While the form and shape of a common civil code are often debated, the idea also finds mention in the Constitution.