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Addressing the inaugural session of Interpol’s 90th General Assembly in New Delhi – it is being held in India after 25 years — Modi said, “Such crimes against people in one place are crimes against everyone, crimes against humanity. Further, these not only harm our present but also impact our future generations. Police and law enforcement agencies need to devise procedures and protocols to increase cooperation. Interpol can help by speeding up Red Corner Notices for fugitive offenders.
A safe and secure world is our shared responsibility. When the forces of good cooperate, the forces of crime cannot operate.
Representatives from 195 countries are participating in the three-day session that began at PragatiMaidan. The session will discuss strategies for international cooperation on terrorism, drug trafficking, international crime syndicates and child sex abuse offences.
Interpol recently declined to issue a Red Notice against Khalistani separatist Gurpantwant Singh Pannun. The Canada-based chief of the banned Sikhs For Justice is wanted in several cases of terrorism registered by the National Investigation Agency.
On October 12, The Indian Express reported that the Interpol rejected India’s request stating that Indian authorities failed to provide sufficient information to support their case.
Modi said that India had been combating trans-national terrorism for several decades, long before the world woke up to the threat.
Despite all the past successes, today, I want to remind the world about a few things. There are many harmful globalised threats that the world faces.
Terrorism, corruption, drug trafficking, poaching and organised crime. The pace of change of these dangers is faster than earlier. When threats are global, the response cannot be just local. It is high time that the world comes together to defeat these threats.
India had been combating trans-national terrorism for several decades, long before the world woke up to the threat. He also spoke on going after the corrupt and called corruption a “dangerous threat.
Corruption and financial crimes have harmed the welfare of the citizens of many countries. The corrupt find a way to park the proceeds of crime in different parts of the world. This is one of the major sources of terror funding.
Different laws an affront to nation’s unity: Centre pitches UCC to Supreme Court(Page no. 3)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
Underlining that the Constitution obligates the State to have a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) for its citizens, and that people belonging to different religions and denominations following different property and matrimonial laws is an “affront to the nation’s unity”, the Centre has told the Supreme Court that the matter will now be placed before the 22nd Law Commission.
The Centre said this in its response to petitions filed in the apex court seeking uniformity in laws governing matters of divorce, succession and inheritance and adoption and guardianship for all, irrespective of gender and religion.
The government said that “Part IV of the Constitution of India is related to Directive Principles of State Policy and creates an obligation upon the State to endeavour to secure for citizens a Uniform Civil Code throughout the country under its Article 44”.
In its response, filed on October 13, the Centre pointed out that the expression Uniform Civil Code “denotes the field of personal law relating to marriage, divorce, maintenance, custody and guardianship of children, inheritance and succession and adoption.
It submitted that the purpose behind Article 44 is to strengthen the object of “Secular Democratic Republic, as enshrined in the Preamble of the Constitution.
The government stated in its response: “This provision is provided to effect integration of India by bringing communities on the common platform on matters which are at present governed by diverse personal laws.
This Article [44] is based on the concept that in matters of inheritance, right to property, maintenance and succession, there will be a common law. Article 44 divests religion from social relations and personal law.
Citizens belonging to different religions and denominations follow different property and matrimonial laws, which is an affront to the nation’s unity.
The Centre said that “in view of the importance of the subject matter and sensitivity involved, which requires in-depth study of the provisions of various personal laws governing different communities”, it had requested the Law Commission of India to “undertake examination of various issues relating to Uniform Civil Code and to make recommendations thereof.”
Following this, the 21st Law Commission examined various aspects of the matter, accepted representation from various stakeholders, and after detailed research on it, uploaded a consultation paper titled ‘Reform of family law’ on its website on August 31, 2018 “for wider deliberation/discussions”.
However, the the 21st Commission’s term ended on August 31, 2018 and the 22nd Commission was constituted, the government’s response noted.
It pointed out that the “subject matter will be placed before the 22nd Law Commission for its consideration when chairman and members of the Commission are appointed.
It also said that once the Commission submits its report, the government would examine it “in consultation” with various stakeholders involved in the matter.
City
How effective are anti-smog guns in Delhi? Here’s what experts have to say(Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Vehicle-mounted ‘anti-smog guns’ have begun their rounds of the city, spraying water in a fine mist, in what is an effort to get suspended dust to settle as air quality begins to take a turn for the worse.
This winter, Delhi will have more anti-smog guns than in previous years. While only large construction sites of 20,000 sqm or more needed them last year, they have now been mandated by the Delhi government at smaller construction sites of 5,000 sqm or more.
The number of anti-smog guns that are required to be placed varies according to the size of the site, with a maximum of four being required at sites of 20,000 sqm or more.
The Public Works Department is also rolling out more vehicle-mounted anti-smog guns this year than it did last year.
There are 120 anti-smog guns on hire that are running on roads between 8 am and 8 pm, and 30 more will be added by the end of the week. The vehicles that are being used to mount the anti-smog guns are either CNG or BS-VI engines.
Experts say that there has been no thorough scientific analysis so far to determine what impact they have, and there could be some brief effect at best.
In winter, conditions are dry and with repeated action on the top soil, it gets lifted, explained DipankarSaha, former head of the CPCB’s air laboratory. Due to low humidity, this dust is unable to settle.
If the anti-smog gun is used along the roadside, the particulate matter may settle. It may reduce particulate pollution, but it is not a permanent solution.
In emergency situations, where there is a fire or construction and demolition dust, this can be applied so that the situation is not aggravated in nearby areas. For the entire city, it is not possible. Water itself is an important resource.
There has been no study so far, but the effectiveness needs to be monitored scientifically — to see if it is effective or if it’s an eyewash.
We know that in China, they tried artificial rain to control haze. But that works at scale. Rain droplets remove pollutants, water has that ability which is called wet scavenging.
That is the idea that is being pursued. Whatever comes beneath the droplets, the droplets will carry the particles and gases.
Govt. and Politics
Govt hikes MSP of 6 Rabi crops, Rs 110 per quintal jump for wheat(Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 3, Agriculture)
The government on Tuesday announced minimum support price (MSP) for six rabi crops for the marketing season (RMS) 2023-24, with Rs 110 per quintal (5.46 per cent) increase for the wheat crop.
The MSP for other rabi crops — barley, gram, lentil (masur), rapeseed & mustard, and safflower — has been increased in the range of 2.01 per cent to 9.09 per cent.
In absolute term, the highest increase in the MSP has been approved for lentil (masur) at Rs 500 per quintal, followed by rapeseed and mustard (Rs 400 per quintal), safflower (Rs 209 per quintal), gram (Rs 105 per quintal), and barley (Rs 100 per quintal).
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs met under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and they have approved the increase in the MSP for all mandated rabi crops for marketing season 2023-24. Wheat MSP was Rs 2,015 (per quintal), and after an increase of Rs 110, it will be Rs 2,125.
The increase in the wheat MSP is higher in both absolute and percentage terms compared to last year. Last year, the government hiked the wheat MSP by Rs 40 per quintal (2.03 per cent).
In absolute terms, a hike of Rs 110 per quintal in the MSP of wheat is the highest since 2017-18, when an equal hike was made — from Rs 1,625 to Rs 1,735.
The increase in the wheat MSP assumes significance in view of lower production and procurement in the just-ended rabi season.
As per the Fourth Advance Estimates released by the Agriculture Ministry on August 17, 2022, wheat production is estimated at 106.84 million tonne during 2021-22, which is lower than the target (110 million tonne) for the year and 109.59 million tonne actual production recorded in 2020-21.
While there has been a marginal dip in production during 2021-22, there has been a sharp decline in the procurement of wheat for the Central pool. In the RMS 2022-23, the government has procured 18.79 million tonnes of wheat, which is less than half of the quantity (43.3 million tonne) procured in the previous year (RMS 2020-21). Besides, there has been a sharp increase in the retail and wholesale prices of wheat and ‘atta’ (wheat flour) in recent months.
The hike is significant in view of lower production and procurement in the just-ended rabi season. As per the Fourth Advance Estimates released by the Agriculture Ministry on August 17, wheat production is estimated at 106.84 million tonne during 2021-22 against the targeted 110 million tonne. Besides the marginal dip in production, there has also been a sharp dip in the procurement for the Central pool.
An official statement, issued after the CCEA meeting, said that the Centre has increased the MSP of rabi crops to “ensure remunerative prices to the growers”.
Idea Page
The Making of SabkaVikas(Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 2, Welfare Scheme)
Last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) lauded India’s Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Scheme as a “logistical marvel” that has reached hundreds of millions of people and specifically benefitted women, the elderly and farmers. Paolo Mauro, Deputy Director in the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department, praised the role of technological innovation in achieving this feat.
Earlier this month, David Malpass, President of the World Bank Group, had also urged other nations to adopt India’s move of targeted cash transfer instead of broad subsidies noting that “India managed to provide food or cash support to a remarkable 85 per cent of rural households and 69 per cent of urban households”.
Nearly four decades back, the candid public admission in the mid-1980s by the government of the day about the huge leakages in India’s public welfare schemes reflected a feeling of helplessness at the highest levels in dealing with this gnawing problem.
India has come a long way since then, especially in the last eight years, primarily on account of the aggressive rollout of the DBT programme that transfers subsidies and cash benefits directly to beneficiaries through Aadhaar-linked bank accounts.
This has been made possible by the inclusive financial sector system where the most marginalised sections of society have been uniquely linked to the formal financial network.
The complex and multi-layered governance machinery — its diversity, access barriers, and digital divide — can fail any novel scheme unless the building blocks are effectively addressed.
DBT alone would not have been able to address the size and scale of the problem of sub-optimal service delivery under government machinery. An ambitious vision, holistic approach and a multi-pronged strategy enabled the DBT ecosystem to deliver impact at a phenomenal scale — the accomplishment that has been acknowledged by the IMF and World Bank.
In 2014, the Government of India embarked on an ambitious and well-structured financial inclusion programme with the aim of including all households within the fold of the formal financial network.
In a mission-mode approach, it endeavoured to open bank accounts for all households, expanded Aadhaar to all, and scaled up the coverage of banking and telecom services.
An unavoidable incongruity (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Defence)
On September 28, former Eastern Army Commander Lt General Anil Chauhan (Retd) was appointed the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). I do not know him and nor does this piece intend to cast any aspersions on him.
The objective of this article is to delineate the avoidable incongruity created by circumventing Parliament and through a modification in the rules and regulations.
The Army, Air Force and Navy Acts constitute the governing law. Any change, let alone reform of the magnitude of creating the position of CDS, and its implications on higher defence management should have been routed through amendments to the principal Acts.
Nothing in these Acts provides for the kind of seminal changes effected through the notifications since 2019 — one dated December 28, 2019 and other dated June, this year — that institutionalised the CDS, and as a result, the appointment criterion stood amended.
Section 191 of the Army Act empowers the Centre to make rules to give effect to its provisions. This rule-making power inter-alia extends to matters relating to removal, retirement, release or discharge from service, assembly and procedures of courts of inquiry, court-martials and punishments.
There is nothing in this Section that provides for the creation of a position that de facto ostensibly supersedes the Chief of Army Staff.
In the Airforce and Navy Acts, the provision for a CDS has been made by amending the requisite regulations, and not even the rules. Regulations, as a function of delegated legislation, are thus considered non-statutory in character.
Amendments to rules that do not take into consideration the scheme of the parent act have the potential to create legal black holes.
For instance, Section 88 of the Army Act defines “superior military authority”. Where would the CDS fit into this scheme of things? Should he not be the ex-officio superior military authority for any disciplinary proceedings for the purposes of Section 88 (b), given that, as Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs, he exercises superintendence over the Armed Forces of the Union, Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence and Territorial Army, to name but a few.
Similarly, in terms of the amendments made on December 28, 2019, certain rules including 14, 15, and 15A of the Army Act and the analogous rules in the Airforce and Navy enactments are not to apply to the CDS.
Rule 14 provides for termination of service by the Centre on account of misconduct. Rule 15 provides for termination of service if the officer is unfit for service due to inefficiency or physical disability.
Rule 15A allows the release of an officer on medical grounds. How will the CDS be removed from office were an unfortunate eventuality to arise?
In Rule 16-A Sub Rule 4 the new provision inserted gives powers to the Centre to extend the tenure of the CDS till the age of 65 and nowhere is the process of removal delineated.
Explained Page
Tipping points of global warming(Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
While the world is worried about restricting global warming to within 1.5 degree or 2 degree Celsius, a new study has found that even the current level of average global temperatures — about 1.1 degree Celsius higher than preindustrial times — is enough to trigger catastrophic changes in several climatic systems.
The study, published recently in Science journal, has warned that the thresholds for many of these systems could be crossed at the current levels of warming, setting off self-perpetuating changes that could put living beings at serious risk.
The research is an updated assessment of important climate tipping points, or the thresholds beyond which changes in the earth’s systems become uncontrollable and irreversible.
Its findings could lead to a reassessment of global efforts to fight climate change, and are being widely discussed in scientific circles.
The discussion on climate tipping points is not new, and several studies in the past 15 years have identified different tipping points such as the disintegration of Greenland ice sheet, a spontaneous reduction in Amazon forest cover, melting of glaciers, or softening of the permanently frozen grounds in the polar regions that have large amounts of carbon trapped in them.
Over the years, researchers have identified at least 15 tipping points, each correlated with different levels of temperature rise.
The latest study has identified nine global and seven regional tipping points, and has re-assessed their dynamics and correlation with global warming.
Rising temperatures are causing largescale changes in these climatic systems. Glacial melt, thinning of Arctic ice, rise in sea-levels are all well-documented and visible changes.
However, it is still possible, at least theoretically, to arrest these changes, or even reverse them over time. But once the tipping points are crossed, this possibility no longer exists. It is like the dam burst moment.
The process of change becomes self-perpetuating. It feeds into itself and accelerates the process. What is worse, it also feeds into and accelerates other linked processes.
The Greenland ice sheet, which is already melting, is a good example to illustrate this process. As it melts, the height of the ice sheet gradually reduces. In the process, a larger part of it gets exposed to warmer air.
That is because air is warmer at lower altitudes than at higher altitudes. The exposure to warmer air expedites the process of melting. Once the tipping point is crossed, this becomes a self-sustaining and cyclic system. The system does not reverse even if the global temperatures stop rising.
Similar is the case with Amazon forests. These play a very important role in causing rains in the region. If deforestation continues unabated, there would be fewer and fewer trees, which would reduce rainfall, causing further stress on the trees. Once again, it develops into a self-perpetuating process.
Tussle in Kerala: Can Governor Khan dismiss a state minister?(Page no. 15)
(GS Paper 2, Parliament and State Legislature)
Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who is locked in a standoff with the elected government on a range of issues including appointments to the state-run Kerala University, on Monday threatened to sack ministers who “lowered the dignity” of his office.
The CM and Council of Ministers have every right to advise the Governor. But statements of individual ministers that lower the dignity of the office of the Governor, can invite action including withdrawal of pleasure.
The central leadership of the CPI-M, which leads the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, said the Constitution does not give the Governor “dictatorial powers”, and Khan’s “political bias” against the government had been “exposed”.
There has been no occasion so far of a Governor unilaterally removing a minister from the government.
The position, role, powers, and conditions of office of the Governor are described in Articles 153-161 of the Constitution.
The position of Governor is similar to that of the President at the Union. He is at the head of the state’s executive power, and barring some matters, acts on the advice of the council of ministers, which is responsible, in accordance with the parliamentary system, to the state legislature.
The Governor is appointed by the President (on the advice of the central government) and, therefore, acts as the vital link between the Union and the state governments.
The post was envisaged as being apolitical; however, the role of Governors has been a contentious issue in Centre-state relations for decades. The Governor enjoys certain powers such as giving or withholding assent to a Bill passed by the state legislature or determining the time needed for a party to prove its majority — or which party must be called first to do so, generally after in a hung Assembly — which have been weaponised by successive central governments against the political opposition.
This is the provision that the Kerala Governor was seemingly alluding to. Former secretary general of Lok Sabha PDT Acharysaid: “Article 164(1) deals with the appointment of the Chief Minister and other ministers.
While the Governor does not have to seek anyone’s advice while appointing the Chief Minister, he can appoint a minister only on the recommendation of the Chief Minister.
The Governor has no power to pick anyone he chooses to make a minister. He can appoint a minister only on the advice of the Chief Minister.
The World
Karunatilaka and his booker winning afterlife tale(Page no. 16)
(Miscellaneous)
His website describes him as a “Booker-shortlisted writer of punchlines, manifestos, and calls-to-action. Failed cricketer, failed rockstar, failed vegan. Observer of people, machines and markets. Does not know how to use semi-colons; and unable to spell diarrhea without assistance.
But Sri Lankan writer ShehanKarunatilaka will need to update that: the 47-year-old has won the 2022 Booker Prize for his second novel, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida (published in the subcontinent as Chats with the Dead in 2020 by Penguin Random House).
He is only the second Sri Lankan to win the prestigious £50,000 after Michael Ondaatje in 1992 for The English Patient.
It is an entirely serious philosophical romp that takes the reader to ‘the world’s dark heart’ — the murderous horrors of civil war Sri Lanka. And once there, the reader also discovers the tenderness and beauty, the love and loyalty, and the pursuit of an ideal that justifies every human life.’
Born in Galle, Sri Lanka, in 1975, Karunatilaka is one of contemporary South Asia’s most exciting writers. He burst on to the literary scene with Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew, which he self-published in 2010, before it was picked up by Penguin Random House and launched in 2011.
Karunatilaka’s cricketing parable, which cricketers’ almanac Wisden called the “second best cricket book of all time”, went on to win the Commonwealth Book Prize (2012) and the DSC Prize (2012).
The writer, who currently lives in Sri Lanka, has also written three children’s books. He has been an advertising copywriter and has over 20 years’ work experience in Asian and European markets, including in Singapore, London, Colombo, Sydney and Amsterdam.
He was also a guitarist with a band called Independent Square. His latest collection of short stories, The Birth Lottery and Other Surprises (Hachette India) has just been published.
Set in 1989, at the heart of a vicious and long-drawn civil war in Sri Lanka, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida is a whodunnit set in the afterlife and came a decade after Karunatilaka’s feted debut.
War photographer Maali Almeida wakes up dead in what appears to be a bureaucratic office in the afterlife, even as his dismembered body is dumped in the Beira Lake in central Colombo.
He has many problems of his own — he is a gambler, a closeted gay, and he has no clue about who his murderer is. As he races against time trying to solve his own murder mystery, what emerges is a satirical tale of a chaotic country, torn asunder by violence and held together along its frayed edges by the complicated commitment of men like Almeida.
The judges said what set the book apart “was the ambition of its scope, and the hilarious audacity of its narrative techniques.