Whatsapp 93125-11015 For Details
Outgoing Chief Justice of India N V Ramana said that he “was subjected to conspiratorial scrutinies” from the day he joined the bench till he reached “the highest possible position in the judiciary”. “My family and I suffered in silence. But ultimately, the truth will always prevail.
Speaking at the farewell function organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) to mark his last day in office, CJI Ramana also spoke about the highlights of his tenure — from filling up “nearly 20 percent” of the sanctioned strength of High Court judges to appointing more women judges and promoting social diversity.
He also spoke about the need to use “modern technological tools” and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to reform the functioning of the system.
I am happy to inform that, thanks to my collegium judges and consulting judges, in the last 16 months, we could appoint 11 judges to the apex court and out of the 255 recommended for the various High Courts, 224 judges are already appointed.
This amounts to nearly 20 per cent of the total sanctioned strength of the High Courts…We got 15 new Chief Justices for various High Courts during the same period.
CJI Ramana, who took charge on April 24, 2021, said progress was also made in appointing more women judges and promoting social diversity on the Bench, adding that “this process is a reflection of the coherence and determination of the judges to strengthen our institution, to further the goal of justice”.
CJI-incumbent Justice U ULalit, who will take over as the 49th Chief Justice of India on Saturday, acknowledged the work done during CJI Ramana’s tenure.
Justice Lalit said that he “will strive hard to make the process of listing cases as simple and transparent as possible”; make the process of mentioning — where lawyers bring urgent matters to the court’s notice — easier; and, ensure that there is at least one Constitution bench functioning throughout the year.
CJI Ramana, meanwhile, said the Indian judiciary “is not defined by a single order or decision” and “at times, it fell short of peoples’ expectations” but he added that “most of the times, it has championed the cause of the people”.
He recalled how the Supreme Court had restored due process in the Maneka Gandhi case (upholding personal liberty), which was said to have been sacrificed in the A K Gopalan case (which upheld preventive detention).
He then referred to how the ADM Jabalpur decision (upholding suspension of fundamental rights) “which was seen as a death knell on personal liberty…stood rectified…in the K S Puttaswamy (Aadhaar case)”.
Express Network
India needs $10-tn investment from now: report (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
India will require an economy-wide investment of $10.1 trillion from now if it is to achieve its net-zero emissions target by 2070, according to a report released by former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd and others in New Delhi .
According to the ‘Getting India to Net Zero’ report, the investment required will be $13.5 trillion if the target is to be met by 2050.
The report also says achieving net-zero by 2070 would boost annual GDP by up to 4.7% by 2036 and create as many as 15 million new jobs by 2047.
The report was released by Rudd, also the president of Asia Society Policy Institute,, former UN Secretary-General and Global Green Growth Institute President & Chair Ban Ki-moon, International Finance Corporation’s Head and Director of Climate Business, Vivek Pathak and former Indian foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
India’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets set in 2015 are likely to be met early within the next few years through current policies, says the report.The report said India could peak in emissions as soon as 2030.
Further policies, especially to boost renewables and electrification, could make net zero possible by mid-century. Ending new coal by 2023 and transitioning from unabated coal power by 2040 would be particularly impactful for reaching net zero emissions closer to mid-century.
On his visit to India, Rudd will meet Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav and Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh.
Reaching net zero by 2050 would lead to greater benefits, increasing India’s GDP by up to 7.3% and creating 20 million new jobs by 2032. The independent commission is about getting India, China, Indonesia to Net Zero.
But as a pragmatic, I think it would be unjust to do this at the cost of development of some of these nations. So, the matter of equity needs to be considered.
Also we need to accept and understand that the historical responsibility of emissions and climate change does lie with the West – and the transfer of finance and technology to developing countries is crucial in this challenge.
Editorial Page
A few high and belied hope (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
Judges must never forget that sooner or later, they too will be judged. Of late, we have witnessed many who failed their oath of office and withered away unwept, unsung and unhonoured.
Chief Justice of India N V Ramana, who retires on August 26, took over the reins of the Supreme Court in difficult times when the fundamental rights and civil liberties of the citizens were under threat as never before.
Speaking against the government or its policies was treated as equivalent to speaking against the Indian state. People of all hues, including political opponents of the present dispensation, journalists, social activists, artists, and comedians, irrespective of their age or standing in life, were booked under the sedition law or the draconian Unlawful Activities and Prevention Act (UAPA), making it difficult — almost impossible — for them to obtain bail.
Judges at the district level, barring a few brave exceptions, treated the police version as the gospel truth. High courts were loath to interfere. Most people do not have the wherewithal to come to the Supreme Court.
However, when journalist Siddique Kappan, who was apprehended on his way to cover the Hathrasgangrape, approached the Supreme Court after spending over two years in custody he was sent back by the then Chief Justice.
Even more shockingly, this was done with the observation that the court wanted to discourage petitions under Article 32 of the Constitution.
Against this background, Justice Ramana faced the onerous task of restoring the people’s faith in the judiciary. To his credit, by and large, he lived up to what was expected of him — though he could have done much more.
Soon after assuming charge, speaking from a public platform, he said that the “judiciary is an independent organ which is answerable to the Constitution alone, and not to any political party”.
It was a message to the political class that he was his own man. On another occasion, he said that “people are confident they will get relief from the judiciary — they know when things go wrong the judiciary will stand by them”.
This statement held out the hope that the judiciary was there to protect the people. As Justice Ramana retires, it is time to look back, and see if he lived up to his own words. The answer isn’t black or white.
The bench headed by Justice Ramana passed some laudable, and pro-citizen orders — the order in the Pegasus spyware case, for example.
RBI’s green challenge (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
As the world copes with the repercussions of legacy emissions, there is growing pressure to achieve climate-compatible growth. Fiscal and monetary authorities will now have to be cognisant of the feedback from climate change to the economy and suitably adapt their policy responses.
Exposure of assets to extreme weather events and loss of asset value due to a green transition are imminent risks to the financial system.
Yet, the inclusion of climate change in a central bank’s policy response function is a widely contested issue. Some experts see no harm in the bank’s internal assessment of the impact climate change would have on the economy but shy away from asking the bank to actively set a monetary policy based on such assessments.
Others argue that climate change is a significant threat to financial stability and a central bank that does not address climate risk is “failing to do its job”.
Central banks can guide the flow of finance by restricting the flow of credit to fossil fuel-dependent sectors. Central Banks adopt a range of best practices and approaches.
For example, the Bank of Lebanon sets different reserve requirements for loans linked to energy savings. The People’s Bank of China offers positive incentives to commercial banks for extending green credit and India includes renewable energy (RE) within priority sector lending.
The RBI has been measured yet receptive in addressing the concern. In 2021, it joined the Network for Greening Financial System, a voluntary group of 116 central banks that promotes the exchange of best practices on green finance.
In July 2022, it released a discussion paper that covers the issue of climate risks and sustainable finance. The paper seeks to understand preferred approaches to identification and disclosure of exposures to climate-related risks, frameworks for management of risks and capacity building within the banking sector.
Heeding the shift, RBI’s paper indicates interest in understanding the degree of physical and transition risks. While at the same time it reflects that RBI prefers to tread carefully by assessing the preparedness of the system rather than indicate its own approach to what a central bank can do.
The RBI’s approach is reasoned since acknowledgement of risks is a double-edged sword. Not recognising the risks hints at complacency whereas preempting all such risks through regulation means that the already stressed loan books will be aggravated.
The paper, therefore, allows the RBI to respond based on existing practices and a better understanding of the risk profiles of banks.
RBI’s past research papers also indicate a growing acknowledgement of risks to the financial system. In 2021, an RBI research paper demonstrated that extreme weather events can elevate inflation — as was demonstrated by wheat prices this year.
In 2022, RBI estimated the exposure of Indian banks to green transition. The report found that direct exposure of public and private banks to three fossil fuel-based sectors — electricity, chemicals, and automobiles — may not be “not alarming”. Nevertheless, indirect exposure through other sectors within the fossil fuel value chain must also be closely monitored, given that some already have bad loans.
Both reports indicate that there is a need for further comprehensive risk assessment to be carried out. To add to this, the risk to public borrowing from declining fossil fuel revenue also needs to be established.
While the wheels are turning within RBI, disclosures and risk assessment frameworks are a starting point. It remains to be seen what macro and micro-prudential regulations RBI will introduce.
Moreover, the scope of discussion in the paper remains limited and without a general narrative on the central bank’s role. It does not detail the various instruments such as capital requirements for fossil fuel-based lending by banks or credit guidance a central bank can work with to ensure the greening of the financial system.
Express Network
Paddy dwarfing: PAU decodes mystery, blames virus first reported in China (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Weeks after a mystery disease hit the paddy crop causing “dwarfing” of the plants in Punjab and Haryana, the scientists at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) decoded the mystery blaming it on ‘Southern Rice Black-Streaked Dwarf Virus’ (SRBSDV), named after Southern China where it was first reported in 2001.
This is the first time that SRBSDV has been found in Punjab, the experts at the Ludhiana-based university said, adding that the incidence of stunting was more pronounced in early sown paddy crops, irrespective of the variety.
As per the scientific reports, the SRBSDV is transmitted by white-backed plant hopper (WBPH) in a persistent circulative and propagative manner.
University Vice-Chancellor Dr Satbir Singh Gosal, said that a team of scientists, including Dr Gurvinder Singh, director, Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Punjab; Dr P P S Pannu, ADR (NR&PHM), Dr A S Dhatt, director of research, PAU, Dr G S Mangat, ADR (Crop Improvement), and Dr Mandeep Singh Hunjan, principal plant pathologist, managed to decipher the mystery behind stunting in rice in the shortest possible time.
Dr Dhatt said it was in mid-July that PAU started receiving complaints of stunted paddy plants. “The samples were collected from different districts and analysed for the detection of different rice pathogens, including nine viruses and one phytoplasma.
The laboratory analysis was carried out using PCR-based molecular markers on all diseases of rice. These markers indicated the presence of SRBSDV in the analysed samples,” said Dr Dhatt.
To further confirm it, PAU scientists said the molecular marker amplified DNA fragments from the samples sequenced. Resulting data showed more than 99 per cent similarity to already reported or published SRBSDV sequences.
The sequenced data has also been submitted to National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), an international genomic database.
Scientists said that in addition to rice, SRBSDV also infects different weed species as nymphs of WBPH can transmit the virus more efficiently as compared to adults.
They said long-distance transmission of this virus may occur through WBPH migrating with the typhoons and strong convection winds.
They said that since there was no corrective measure for the viral disease, farmers should regularly monitor the crop for the presence of WBPH and a few plants should be slightly tilted and tapped 2-3 times at the base at weekly intervals.
Secondly, if WBPH nymphs/adults are seen floating on water, then insecticides, including Pexalon 10 SC (triflumezopyrim) @ 94 ml/acre or Osheen/Token 20 SG (dinotefuran) @ 80 g/acre or Chess 50 WG (pymetrozine) @ 120 g/acre, can be sprayed towards the base of the plants.
SC relaxes iron ore mining limit for Bellary, 2 other Karnataka districts (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 1, Geography)
The Supreme Court relaxed the iron ore mining limit for Bellary, Chitradurga and Tumkur districts in Karnataka, stating that “conservation of the ecology and the environment must go hand in hand with the spirit of economic development” and noting that the situation in the state had “vastly changed” since the time a ban was imposed on mining in these districts in 2011.
A bench presided by Chief Justice of India N V Ramana allowed raising the ceiling for Bellary from the existing 28 MMT to 35 MMT and for Chitradurga and Tumkur districts collectively from 7 MMT to 15 MMT.
Acting on reports of rampant illegal mining, the court had on July 29, 2011, prohibited all mining activity in Bellary, followed by Chitradurga and Tumkur on August 28, 2011.
By order dated September 23, 2011, the court directed disposal of the accumulated iron ore through the process of e-auction conducted by the Monitoring Committee and also constituted a Special Purpose Vehicle to take mitigating measures.
On May 20 this year, the court after considering petitions, which said the e-auctions conducted by the Monitoring Committee had received poor response and sale of iron ore even at the reserve price is dismally low, had allowed the “already excavated stock” to be sold directly without resorting to e-auction, and also permitted their export.
Though the mine operators also urged the court to lift the ceiling limit for production of iron ore for mining leases in these districts, the court decided to take the opinion from the Oversight Authority before deciding the issue.
The Oversight Committee in its report expressed inability to express its firm opinion in the matter in view of the conflicting reports submitted by court-appointed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) and the Monitoring Committee.
The court also pointed out that the state of Karnataka, the Ministry of Steel, Karnataka Iron and Steel Manufacturers Association and the mining lease holders were all in agreement that the changed situation on ground warrants a complete removal of the ceiling limits.
The bench said the views of both sides merit consideration. The concerns raised by the original petitioner, of possible over excavation and its adverse impact on inter-generational equity, must be balanced against the concerns of the other parties, as the principles of sustainable development also come into play.
Explained Page
Chhattisgarh’s forest ‘by mistake’ (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has objected to the transfer of thousands of hectares of land without following due process by Chhattisgarh from its Forest to the Revenue Department for setting up industries and for building road, rail, and other infrastructure.
While the Chhattisgarh government has described these areas as non-forest land that were earlier given “by mistake” to the Forest Department, the Environment Ministry has warned that the land in question is “undemarcated protected forests”, which cannot be used for non-forest purposes without clearance under the Forest Conservation (FC) Act, 1980.
Broadly, state Forest Departments have jurisdiction over two types of forests notified under the Indian Forest (IF) Act, 1927: Reserve Forests (RF), where no rights are allowed unless specified; and Protected Forests (PF), where no rights are barred unless specified. Certain forests, such as village or nagarpalika forests, are managed by state Revenue Departments.
The FC Act, 1980, applies to all kinds of forests, whether under the control of the Forest or the Revenue Department, and it requires statutory clearance before forests can be used for any non-forest purpose such as industry, mining, or construction. In 1976, forests were included in List III (Concurrent List) under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
The recorded forest area in Chhattisgarh covers 44.21% of its geography. The state government says it is constrained by the limited availability of land, particularly in the tribal regions, for development works.
Therefore, in May 2021, the state Revenue Department sought a field survey to identify non-forest land — parcels smaller than 10 hectares with less than 200 trees per hectare — “that had been included by mistake” in “Orange Areas” under the Forest Department.
This March, Chief Minister BhupeshBaghel announced that over 300 sq km of “Orange” area in the Bastar region had been handed over to the Revenue Department.
Under the zamindari system, villagers used local malguzari (livelihood concessions) forests for firewood, grazing, etc. When zamindari was abolished in 1951, malguzari forests came under the Revenue Department. In 1958, the government of undivided Madhya Pradesh notified all these areas as PFs under the Forest Department.
Through the 1960s, ground surveys and demarcations of these PFs continued — either to form blocks of suitable patches to be declared as Reserve Forests, or to denotify and return to the Revenue Department.
For this purpose, Madhya Pradesh amended the IF Act, 1927, in 1965 — when forests figured in the State List — to allow denotification of PFs.
The areas yet to be surveyed — undemarcated PFs — were marked in orange on the map.Since 2003, a case has been pending in the Supreme Court on rationalising these orange areas that have remained a bone of contention between the two Departments.
Why Nepal has put on hold Gorkhas recruitment under India’s Agnipath scheme (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 2/3, International Relations/Defence)
Nepal has postponed the recruitment rallies which were to be held in that country to recruit Gorkha soldiers for the Indian Army under the Agnipath scheme.
We explain the reservations that the Nepalese government has about the new scheme of recruitment, and the current socio-economic impact of the historic military ties between the two countries.
The decision to postpone these rallies has been taken by the Nepalese government as it is of the opinion that this new form of entry into the Indian military is not covered under the Tripartite Agreement signed between Nepal, Indian and UK governments in 1947, soon after Indian independence.
According to reports from Nepal, the government feels that the Agnipath scheme must be approved by it and for that political consultations with all parties in Nepal must take place.
Till the time these consultations are held and their result is known, the Nepalese government has requested that the Indian Army should not conduct recruitment rallies in Nepal which were scheduled to begin on August 25.
Soon after Indian Independence on August 15, 1947, an agreement was reached by the governments of India, Nepal and the UK regarding the future of the Gorkha soldiers who were serving in the Indian Army.
As per the terms of this agreement four regiments of Gorkha soldiers – 2nd, 6th, 7th and 10th – were transferred to the British Army while the rest – 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th and 9th – remained with the Indian Army.
A new Gorkha Regiment, the 11th Gorkha Rifles, was raised by India soon after Independence. The agreement also provides for the terms and conditions of the Nepal-domiciled Gorkha soldiers in the Indian Army and for their post-retirement benefits and pensions.
An interesting historical aspect of Gorkha troops is that Pakistan, at the time of Independence, and China, soon after the 1962 war, had also requested Nepal for Gorkha soldiers in their respective armies, a request which was turned down by the Nepal government.
The largest body of Gorkha troops serves in the Indian Army while in the UK their presence has been reduced from four regiments to just two – 1 Royal Gurkha Rifles and 2 Royal Gurkha Rifles (British Army uses the term ‘Gurkha’ while the Indian Army uses ‘Gorkha’).
Mercenaries are understood as fighters who take part in a conflict for financial gain and usually are not parties to that conflict.
As per the definition of the 1949 Geneva Convention, which gives the officially agreed definition of a mercenary, soldiers serving in sovereign armies are not considered mercenaries, and Gorkha soldiers cannot be called mercenaries.