What to read in The Hindu

Ask finance panel if possible to check freebies: SC to government (Page no. 1) (GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)

Wondering why the Centre “is hesitating to spell out its stand” on a plea seeking directions to regulate distribution of freebies by political parties using public money, the Supreme Court asked it to consult the Finance Commission whether it is possible to check this by regulating allocation of revenue to states.

Please find out from the Finance Commission,” Chief Justice of India N V Ramana, heading a three-judge bench hearing a petition that seeks directions to stop distribution of freebies since it is draining the exchequer, told Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj after Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal suggested that the Finance Commission would be the appropriate body to do something on the issue.

The bench, also comprising Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli, said it will see to what extent it can or cannot intervene to stop political parties from distributing irrational freebies and asked the ASG to inform it, which authorities should be prodded to at least start a debate on the subject.

The Supreme Court had issued notice to the Centre and Election Commission of India on the plea by Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay in January this year.

Responding to the notice, the ECI said 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 Election Commission of India cannot regulate state policies and decisions which may be taken by the winning party when they form the government.

A similar petition challenging freebies, filed by Pentapati Pulla Rao who contested as a candidate of the Janasena Party from Eluru Parliamentary constituency in Andhra Pradesh in 2019, has also been pending in the Supreme Court since 2019. In that matter too, while the ECI took a similar stand, the Centre is yet to file a response.

 Battle lines harden as 19 Opposition MPs suspended from Rajya Sabha for a week (Page no. 1)

(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)

Deepening the political divide and setting the stage for more stormy days in the monsoon session of Parliament, 19 Opposition MPs were suspended for a week from Rajya Sabha, a day after four Congress MPs were suspended from Lok Sabha for the remainder of the current session for alleged misconduct.

The 19 MPs, suspended for disrupting House proceedings while pressing for an urgent discussion on price rise and the hike in GST rates, are Sushmita Dev, Mausam Noor, Shanta Chhetri, Dola Sen, Santanu Sen, Abhi Ranjan Biswar and Md. Nadimul Haque (all 7 from TMC); M Hamamed Abdulla, S Kalyanasundaram, R Girranjan, N R Elango, M Shanmugam and Kanimozhi (all 6 from DMK); B Lingaiah Yadav, Ravichandra Vaddiraju, Damodar Rao Divakonda (all 3 from TRS); A A Rahim and V Sivadasan (both from CPM); and, Santhosh Kumar P from CPI.

Deputy Chairman Harivansh repeatedly asked the Opposition MPs to return to their seats but when they refused, he asked the treasury benches to move a motion for their suspension.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V Muraleedharan moved a motion to suspend 10 MPs from the sitting of the House for the remainder of the week for their “misconduct” by showing “utter disregard to the House and authority of the chair”. But when Harivansh put the motion to vote, he read out the names of 19 members.

The suspended MPs refused to leave, leading to three adjournments — first for 15 minutes by Harivansh, then for an hour and finally, for the day by Bhubaneswar Kalita, who was in the chair.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal, Leader of the House in Rajya Sabha, said the decision to suspend the 19 Opposition MPs was taken with a “heavy heart” as they repeatedly ignored the Chair’s appeals to let the House function and infringed on the rights of other members.

The government is ready for a debate on price rise once Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recovers (from Covid) and returns to Parliament. Members of the Opposition called the suspension decision “deplorable.

 In Parliament

 

Lok Sabha passes family courts Bill (Page no. 6)

(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)

The Lok Sabha  passed the Family Courts (Amendment) Bill, 2022 that seeks to amend the Family Courts Act, 1984 to establish family courts in Himachal Pradesh with effect from February 15, 2019 and in Nagaland with effect from September 12, 2008.

The Bill also seeks to insert a new Section 3A to retrospectively validate all actions under the said Act taken by the State Government of Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland and the Family Courts of those states prior to the commencement of the Family Courts (Amendment) Act, 2022.

Replying to the debate on the Bill, Rijiju said that 11.49 lakh cases were pending in 715 family courts across 26 states and Union Territories at the beginning of May 2022.

Rijiju said the government has called a meeting of the district judges on July 30. This is the first time that a meeting of district judges has been called, he said, adding that the Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India and other judges of the Supreme Court will be present in the conference. Many issues including matter related to family courts will be discussed.

Discussing the issue of judges’ appointment, he said the government can not approve the appointment of judges without “due diligence”.

The Supreme Court’s collegium doesn’t have that system. The information we have like judges’ background, their activities, their achievements, all these information is available with the government. If we did not approve a name, it is because we had a valid reason. We don’t do this to suppress or stop someone.

The Law Minister expressed concerns over increasing number of pending court cases, which is about to touch the 5 crore mark.

In all 21 members participated in the debate on the Bill that was passed by a voice vote. Several members from the Opposition parties like Congress were not present in the House.

Initiating the debate, BJP member Sunita Duggal raised the issue of pending court cases. She said the pending cases should be disposed by appointing more and more judges.

JD (U) member Kaushalendra Kumar observed a family court should be established for 10 lakh population in a district but the district population in Bihar and other states now exceeds 20 lakh.

Supporting the Bill, BJD member Bhartruhari Mahtab said that under the 1984 law, states can open a court or a number of courts but the ultimate notification has to be done by the Central Government.

 

Govt. and Politics       

Third countries in CPEC projects: India slams China Pak (Page no. 7)

(GS Paper 2, International Relations)

India criticised China and Pakistan for their efforts to encourage third countries to join projects relating to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) — a multi-billion dollar connectivity corridor that passes through PoK.

China and Pakistan are making efforts to extend the CPEC to Afghanistan. Ministry of External Affairs’ spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said such activities under the CPEC are “inherently illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable”, and will be treated accordingly by India.

New Delhi has consistently been critical of “projects in the so-called CPEC”, which are in Indian territory “illegally occupied by Pakstan”.

At a meeting of the CPEC Joint Working Group on International Cooperation and Coordination on Friday, Pakistan and China decided to welcome interested third countries to join CPEC initiative.

Bagchi said: “We have seen reports on encouraging proposed participation of third countries in so-called CPEC projects. Any such actions by any party directly infringe on India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

India firmly and consistently opposes projects in the so-called CPEC, which are in Indian territory that has been illegally occupied by Pakistan.”

Such activities are inherently illegal, illegitimate and unacceptable, and will be treated accordingly by India. CPEC was launched in 2013 to improve Pakistan’s road, rail and energy transport infrastructure, besides connecting its deep-sea port of Gwadar with China.

Express Network

 

UAE is our third largest trading partner; there are huge economic stakes in ties with it’ (Page no. 9)

(GS Paper 2, International Relations)

Many people in India don’t understand how important the relationship with West Asia, in particular the larger arc of Gulf countries, is from an Indian perspective.

The first dimension of this relationship is historical. If we go back a hundred years, the only point of reference for people here was Bombay, which they came to for trade, education, healthcare and tourism much before they discovered London, Paris and New York with the oil boom.

We need to reclaim that space, which we lost for some decades after our independence in 1947. The trauma of Partition blinded us to the reality that we had traditionally been a maritime nation.

Around 25 years ago, the Government started the Look East Policy, by which we improved our relationship with Southeast Asia and now we have the Look West policy to reclaim our relationship with the Gulf countries.

Our trade ties anchor this relationship. While the US is our number one trading partner, China is number two and the UAE is number three. During the 2021-2022 financial year, trade was $72 billion. Our trade with the GCC countries — Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, UAE and Kuwait — is larger than our trade with the European Union. Last year, our exports to UAE alone were about $32 billion, which is our second-largest destination of exports after the US.

So there are huge economic stakes in the relationship. The large sovereign funds like PIF in Saudi Arabia, the Qatar Investment Authority in Doha and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority are investing billions of dollars in the Indian economy and this is the kind of patient, long-term capital that the Indian economy needs.

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is the world’s second-largest sovereign wealth fund with assets of almost $900 billion and they’ve put money into our national infrastructure fund. They’ve invested hundreds of millions of dollars into renewable energy, highways, logistics and a range of new sectors.

Nearly 60 per cent of India’s imports from GCC countries are crude and natural gas. In the longer term, oil from the Gulf will always be more economically viable than the temporary situation with Russian oil. Therefore, our energy security is critically dependent on Gulf countries.

Close to 80 lakh Indians call one or another country in the Gulf their home. Unlike, the Indian diaspora in the US, Canada or elsewhere, virtually all of these are Indian passport holders, placed at top-end groups like Lulu and Landmark.

They are now investing in India. According to the Word Bank, our total remittances globally last year were about $84-85 billion, two-thirds from the Gulf.

Editorial Page

           

Tipping point (Page no. 10)

(GS Paper 2, Governance)

Last week, the Delhi High Court stayed the operation of guidelines issued by the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), which prohibited hotels and restaurants from adding a component of service charge to their bills. 

The guidelines stated that collection of service charge as a pre-condition to placing an order of food and beverages amounts to a restrictive trade practice as per Section 2 (41) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

Under Article 226 of the Constitution, the application of an order passed by the Delhi HC ought to only be confined to the national capital territory (NCT) of Delhi.

However, in view of the decision passed by the Supreme Court in Kusum Ingots and Alloys Ltd. v. Union of India (2004), any order passed by a high court on the constitutionality of central legislation will have effect throughout the country.

With the Consumer Protection Act being an enactment of Parliament, it is safe to say that the order clears the way for hotels and restaurants across the country to restore their practice of levying a service charge.

The practice of levying a service charge has been followed by the hospitality industry since Independence. The first formal validation for service charge came in 1958, when the Hotel Standards and Rate Structure Committee under the chairmanship of Dewan Chaman Lal recommended that there be a uniform charge of 10 per cent on the customer’s bill throughout India.

The committee condemned the practice of solicitation of tips, calling it injurious to the dignity of the worker and causing harassment to the customer. It further called for the introduction of comprehensive legislation, which would provide a minimum-wage structure, uniform rate of service charge and most importantly, the utilisation and apportionment of the service charge for the benefit of the staff.

The report emphasised the need for regulating the working conditions of the unskilled and semi-skilled staff working at hotels and restaurants and suggested that a portion of the service charge so collected may be utilised to provide benefits such as provident funds, pensions and life insurance.

Thereafter in 1964, a Wage Board was constituted by the Chief Commissioner, Delhi which accepted the practice of levying a service charge ranging between 5-10 per cent on a customer’s bills.

It even provided for the apportionment of the service charge collected, of which 45 per cent was to be allocated for the staff working at the establishment.

Economy

 

IMF cuts FY 23 India GDP forecast by 80 bps to 7.4 % (Page no. 13)

(GS Paper 2, International Relations)

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) cut global growth forecasts again on Tuesday, warning that downside risks from high inflation and the Ukraine war were materializing and could push the world economy to the brink of recession if left unchecked.

Global real GDP growth will slow to 3.2% in 2022 from a forecast of 3.6% issued in April, the IMF said in an update of its World Economic Outlook.

The IMF added that world GDP actually contracted in the second quarter due to downturns in China and Russia. The Fund cut its 2023 growth forecast to 2.9% from the April estimate of 3.6%, citing the impact of tighter monetary policy.

World growth had rebounded in 2021 to 6.1% after the COVID-19 pandemic crushed global output in 2020 with a 3.1% contraction.

The Fund said its latest forecasts were “extraordinarily uncertain” and subject to downside risks from Russia’s war in Ukraine spiking energy and food prices higher.

This would exacerbate inflation and embed longer-term inflationary expectations that would prompt further monetary policy tightening.

Under a “plausible” alternative scenario that includes a complete cut-off of Russian gas supplies to Europe by year-end and a further 30% drop in Russian oil exports, the IMF said global growth would slow to 2.6% in 2022 and 2% in 2023, with growth virtually zero in Europe and the United States next year.

Global growth has fallen below 2% only five times since 1970, the IMF said, including the 2020 COVID-19 recession.

The IMF said it now expects the 2022 inflation rate in advanced economies to reach 6.6%, up from 5.7% in the April forecasts, adding that it would remain elevated for longer than previously anticipated. Inflation in emerging market and developing countries is now expected to reach 9.5% in 2022, up from 8.7% in April.

           Explained Page

 

Johar (Page no. 14)

(Miscellaneous )

The 15th President of India, Droupadi Murmu, assumed office Monday with a ‘Johar’ greeting to the country. ‘Johar’, which essentially means ‘salutation and welcome’, is used within the tribal communities of Jharkhand, and in parts of Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

According to several tribal leaders from Jharkhand, the word ‘Johar’ also means ‘paying respect’. Tribal communities are nature worshippers and follow Sarna religion code, although it is not an official religion.

There are 32 tribal communities in Jharkhand who speak different dialects. Almost all, including tribal Christians, use the word ‘Johar’ along with some other words for salutation.

Johar, is predominantly used by Santhali, Munda and Ho communities that share some similarities. People belonging to the Oraon community use the word ‘Jai Dharam’, apart from Johar, as a salutation.

There are at least four types. One of them is ‘Doboh Johar’, which is used between people where one among them has a higher standing. Ratan Tikrey, a former member of Tribes Advisory Council (TAC) said that in ‘Doboh Johar’ there is a ritual where the person with a tumbler full of water bows in front of the person of higher standing.

 The person who bows will touch the earth and in return the other person will wash his/her hand (using water in the tumbler) and let the water drop on the earth. The entire exercise means that the hospitality being shown has been accepted.

Leaders from the tribal communities say that the greeting has been in use since ‘time immemorial’, adding that it is hard to pinpoint when it actually began.

 

Ranveer’s photoshoot and laws covering obscenity in India (Page no. 14)

(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)

Based on a complaint by a Mumbai-based NGO, the Mumbai Police registered an FIR against actor Ranveer Singh on Tuesday (July 26) for sharing photographs from an apparently nude photoshoot that he did with ‘Paper’ magazine. What is the case about, and what sections of the law is he supposed to have broken?

Two individuals, a lawyer and a person running an NGO, approached the police separately to complain against Ranveer. Chembur police registered the FIR based on the statement of one Lalit Tekchandani (50), who has told the police that he runs the Shyam Mangaram Foundation, which works with widows and children of farmers who have committed suicide. In his statement, Tekchandani has said that he is a private contractor.

Tekchandani has said that on July 24, a friend sent him images of Ranveer that the actor had shared on Instagram and Twitter. He was wearing no clothes in the pictures. Tekchandani has said that when he zoomed in on one of the photographs, he realized that the actor’s private parts were visible.

The photo had gone viral, Tekchandani has said. He has said that India is a land of culture, and such photos could influence children who have a “craze” for movie actors and actresses.

According to the complainant, upon inquiring, he had found that Ranveer had done the photoshoot for ‘Paper’ magazine, and would have earned a lot of money from it.

He added that it would also influence youngsters struggling to get into the industry to resort to similar measures to earn money and fame. Based on Tekchandani’s statement, the Chembur police registered an FIR in the matter.

The police have invoked Sections 292, 293 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), along with Section 67A of the IT Act.

Section 292 (Sale, etc. of obscene books, etc) says that “a book, pamphlet, paper, writing, drawing, painting, representation, figure, or any other object shall be deemed to be obscene if it is lascivious or appeals to the prurient interest” or, “if its effect, or (where it comprises two or more distinct items) the effect of any one of its items, is, if taken as a whole, such as to tend to deprave and corrupt persons” who are likely to read, hear, or see it.