26 SEPTEMBER 2023

Topic 1: Women’s reservation Bill (updated from 25^th September 2023)

Why in news: In a historic move, Parliament passed the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty Eighth Amendment) Bill, commonly referred to as the women’s reservation Bill, which provides 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.

About the Bill:

• The Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, as the Bill is called, seeks to reserve one-third of all seats for women in the Lok Sabha, the State Legislative Assemblies, and the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
• This will also apply to seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies.
• The seats reserved for women will be rotated after each delimitation exercise.

Evolution:

• National Perspective Plan of 1988
  • The National Perspective Plan for Women recommended reservations for women at all levels of governance, from Panchayat to Parliament.
  • Consequently, the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution were enacted, mandating one-third of seats for women in Panchayati Raj institutions and one-third of chairperson offices at various levels, with additional reservation for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) women in these seats.
• Introduction in Parliament – 1996
  • The Women’s Reservation Bill was first introduced in Parliament in 1996 by the H D Deve Gowda-led government.
  • The Constitution (Eighty-first Amendment) Bill, 1996 (insertion of new Articles 330A and 332A) was introduced to the Lok Sabha.
  • However, several leaders in the United Front government, a coalition of 13 parties, were not in favour of the Bill.
  • It was then referred to a Joint Committee headed by Geeta Mukherjee.
  • The committee felt that the phrase “not less than one-third” should be replaced with “as nearly as may be, one-third“.
  • Other recommendations included:
    • reservation of seats in Rajya Sabha,
    • consideration for Other backward Classes (OBCs), and
    • the period of time women should hold the seat under the reservation.
    • The committee also recommended that one of the Anglo-Indian members should be women, on a rotational basis.
    • A rotation policy was also suggested for states that had existing reservations, in less than three seats, for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and the Scheduled Tribes (STs).
  • Despite multiple attempts by different governments, the Bill remained unpassed due to a lack of political consensus.
• NDA Government (1998-2004)
  • Between 1998 and 2004, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, made several attempts to pass the Women’s Reservation Bill.
  • These attempts were unsuccessful, as the Bill lapsed again.
• UPA government:
  • In 2004, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, led by then PM Manmohan Singh, declared its commitment to introduce legislation for one-third reservation for women in Vidhan Sabhas and the Lok Sabha.
    • However, key UPA constituents were opposed to the Bill.
  • In 2008, when the UPA reintroduced the Bill, chaos unfolded in the Parliament.
    • It was later referred to a parliamentary committee, which recommended passing the Bill without further delay, but differences persisted.
  • In 2010, the Bill passed in the Rajya Sabha but failed in the Lok Sabha.

Main issues regarding the Bill

• Linkage with delimitation exercise:
  • The Opposition has questioned the linking of the implementation of women’s reservation with the periodical delimitation exercise as this would mean a prolonged delay in the quota coming into force.
  • The main issue raised was whether this would mean that the women’s quota would not be implemented until the 2031 Census figures are available and delimitation is subsequently done.
  • The decadal Census due in 2021, but delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is yet to be conducted.

About Delimitation:Delimitation, or the readjustment of territorial limits of the Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies, as well as the number of seats in the Assembly and the Lok Sabha in each State, is a periodical exercise done based on the figures available in the latest Census.The last delimitation order of the Delimitation Commission was issued in 2008, fixing the boundaries of all constituencies.However, there is currently a freeze on the readjustment of the number of seats in the State Assemblies and the Lok Sabha.In 2002, Article 82 was amended to the effect that it shall not be necessary to readjust the allocation of Lok Sabha constituencies State-wise and the division of each State into constituencies until the figures of the first Census held after 2026 were available.

• Issue of sub-quota:
  • Another issue is the question of having a sub-quota for women from Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
  • While there is reservation for SCs and STs in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies, there is no separate reservation for OBCs, who constitute more than 40% of the population.
• Minority quota:
  • Some members opposed the Bill on the ground that it should have separate quotas for OBC and Muslim women as both communities are under-represented in Parliament and Legislative Assemblies.

Implications of the Bill:

• At present, there are 82 women in the Lok Sabha.
• After implementation, there should be at least 181 women.
• The share of women will also increase significantly in Legislative Assemblies, where women now comprise less than 10% in 20 States and Union Territories.

Arguments for the Bill

• Necessary to overcome patriarchy:
  • Affirmative action is imperative to better the condition of women since political parties are inherently patriarchal.
• Under representation of women:
  • Despite the hopes of the leaders of the national movement, women are still under-represented in Parliament.
  • Reservations will ensure that women form a strong lobby in Parliament to fight for issues that are often ignored.
• Lessons from Panchayati Raj:
  • There is now evidence that women as panchayat leaders have:
    • shattered social myths,
    • been more accessible than men,
    • controlled the stranglehold of liquor,
    • invested substantially in public goods such as drinking water,
    • helped other women express themselves better,
    • reduced corruption,
    • prioritised nutrition outcomes, and
    • changed the development agenda at the grassroots level.
• Necessary to address challenges related to women:
  • Today, India has a high percentage of crimes against women, low participation of women in the workforce, low nutrition levels and a skewed sex ratio.
  • To address all these challenges, it is argued, we need more women in decision-making.

Arguments against the Bill

• Against the principle of equality:
  • The idea runs counter to the principle of equality enshrined in the Constitution.
  • Women will not be competing on merit if there is reservation, which could lower their status in society.
• Women different from caste groups:
  • Women are unlike a caste group, which means that they are not a homogenous community.
  • Therefore, the same arguments made for caste-based reservation cannot be made for women.
• Not possible to isolate their interests:
  • Women’s interests cannot be isolated from other social, economic and political strata.
• It will restrict the choice of voters:
  • Reservation of seats in Parliament would restrict the choice of voters to women candidates.
  • This has led to suggestions of alternate methods including reservation for women in political parties and dual member constituencies (where constituencies will have two MPs, one of them being a woman).
  • Even these may not work as parties may field women candidates in unwinnable seats, or women may contest the elections but not get voted to power, or they may get relegated to a secondary role.
• Destruction of the idea of an ideal family:
  • As men hold primary power as well as key positions in politics, some have even argued that bringing women into politics could destroy the “ideal family”.

Way forward:

• Proposals should be fine tuned to ensure that when it becomes an Act, it is not mere tokenism for women’s political representation.
• It is a fact that local bodies are better represented, with the share of women in panchayati raj institutions well above 50% in several States.
• Lessons must be imbibed on how women at the grassroots level have broken all sorts of barriers, from patriarchal mindsets at home to not being taken seriously in their official duties, and made a difference.
• Women struggle on so many other counts:
  • they have uneven access to health, nutrition and education,
  • there is a lack of safe places,
  • women are also falling out of the workforce — among the G-20 countries, India’s female labour force participation is the lowest at 24%.
• India, which gave women voting rights at the very outset, should not falter when it comes to ensuring better political representation for women.
• For growth, and instituting change in key areas, women need to have their say.

---

Topic 2: IBSA forum

Why in news: External Affairs Minister visits the United States as part of the IBSA group meeting, to further strengthen South-South cooperation.

About IBSA

• IBSA is a unique forum which brings together India, Brazil and South Africa, three large democracies and major economies from three different continents, facing similar challenges. 
• The grouping was formalised and named the IBSA Dialogue Forum when the foreign ministers of the three countries met in Brasilia on June 6, 2003 and issued the Brasilia Declaration.
• The IBSA has emerged as a key tripartite grouping for the promotion of cooperation in a range of areas.
• The IBSA Fund is a special feature of IBSA collaboration, an internationally recognised initiative of South-South cooperation, with 42 projects in 37 countries. 
• Cooperation in IBSA is on three fronts:
  • As a forum for consultation and coordination on global and regional political issues.
  • Trilateral collaboration on concrete areas/projects, through fourteen working groups and six People-to-People Forums, for the common benefit of three countries.
  • Assisting other developing countries by taking up projects in the latter through IBSA Fund.

---

Topic 3: Vibrio vulnificus

Why in news: Vibrio vulnificus is a marine bacterium that could become a major threat to coastal populations in the future

Key details:

• People can get V vulnificus by eating infected raw shellfish or by exposing wounds to waters where the bacteria live.
• It can cause life-threatening flesh-eating disease that kills about 20 per cent of the infected in one or two days.
• These pathogens thrive in the tropics or subtropics, where sea or brackish water temperatures reach 20°C or higher.
• They also prefer waters with low salinity.
• As climate change increases the frequency and intensity of cyclones, rain and flooding, coastal communities across the world could face a higher risk of exposure to V vulnificus.
• High rainfall also reduces salt levels in the sea, which suits the bacteria.
• V vulnificus belongs to the same family as Vibrio cholerae, which causes cholera, a highly contagious diarrhoeal disease.
• For V vulnificus, the mortality rate is 15-50 per cent despite prompt diagnosis and treatment.

Indian scenario:

• In India, the sea surface temperatures average 28°C, making the waters conducive to growth and proliferation of V vulnificus.
• The Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal are growing warmer by 0.013°C and 0.016°C per year.
• The salinity in the Bay of Bengal is one of the lowest in the world since it gets high precipitation and freshwater influx from rivers.
• Despite conducive marine conditions and a long coastline, reports of human infections of V vulnificus from India are sparse.
  • This could be probably due to a lack of awareness among both clinicians and laboratory personnel.
• The microbes can enter the digestive tract when people eat raw or undercooked seafood.
  • As Indians mostly consume properly cooked seafood, they are less at risk of contracting the infection through this route.

Treatment:

• Treatment becomes difficult when the bacteria enter the bloodstream and when people are already immunocompromised.
• If the bacteria infect lesions on a limb or thumb, doctors will be forced to perform an amputation.
  

---

Topic 4: Kaobal Gali-Mushkoh Valley

Why in news: Kaobal Gali-Mushkoh Valley opens up for tourists.

Key details:

• Kaobal Gali:
  • Kaobal Gali is a high mountain pass located in Kargil, Jammu and Kashmir. 
  • It is the main link between the Mushkoh Valley in Drass, Ladakh and the Tulail Valley in Gurez. 
• Mushkoh Valley:
  • The Mushkoh Valley is located in the westernmost portion of Ladakh.
  • The meadows of Mushkoh offer boisterous wild tulip flowers and views of breath-taking glaciers.
  • The valley is also home to the endangered Himalayan yew.
• Gurez valley:
  • The high-altitude passes of the Gurez valley in north Kashmir, out of bounds to civilians, was once prone to frequent shelling from Pakistan.
  • Now, it is all set to connect with the Mushkoh valley, in Kargil’s Drass Sector, Ladakh, the site of the war in 1999.
  • The Gurez valley is one of few habitations in Kashmir where villages with only log houses exist, with no intervention of urban concrete materials.
  • It is also home to ibex, musk deer and marmots.

---

Topic 5: Nilgiri tahr

Why in news: Tamil Nadu, Kerala to join hands to count endangered Nilgiri tahr.

Key details:

• After launching Project Nilgiri Tahr last year for the conservation of the State animal, Tamil Nadu is now working on a standardised protocol to count the endangered population of southern India’s only mountain ungulate.
• The Tamil Nadu Forest Department will also propose to its Kerala counterpart to conduct a synchronised census, as the animal is only found in select habitats in the two States.
• For the first time, drones may be used in the census, as the Nilgiri tahr prefers montane grasslands, with steep and rocky terrains.
• There are believed to be a little over 3,100 of the animals living in highly fragmented habitats in the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

About Nilgiri Tahr:

• The Nilgiri tahr is the only mountain ungulate in southern India amongst the 12 species present in India.
• It is also the state animal of Tamil Nadu.
• The Nilgiri tahr, which used to be found along the entire stretch of Western Ghats, is presently found only in small fragmented pockets.
• This is an endemic species of the Western Ghats.
• Conservation status:
  • IUCN:
    • It is listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
  • WPA, India:
    • It is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of India, 1972.
• Habitat And Distribution:
  • Currently, the Nilgiri tahr distribution is along a narrow stretch of 400 km in the Western Ghats between Nilgiris in the north and Kanyakumari hills in the south of the region.
  • Only two well-protected, large populations are documented:
    • one from the Nilgiris and
    • the other from the Anamalais
    • The Eravikulam National Park in Anamalai hills, Kerala, is home to the largest population of the Nilgiri tahr, with more than 700 individuals.

Threats:

• Habitat loss due to rampant deforestation
• Competition with domestic livestock
• Hydroelectric projects in Nilgiri tahr habitat
• Monoculture plantations
• Occasional hunting for its meat and skin
• As a result of extreme habitat fragmentation, its population has declined drastically in the last few years.
• Plantation activities affect the Nilgiri tahr habitat, which includes grasslands and sholas.
• Besides anthropogenic pressures, Nilgiri tahr habitats face threats from invasive plants such as wattles, pines, and eucalyptus in the grasslands.
• They also suffer from lumpy skin disease.

---

Topic 6: Findings of the Parliament panel on New Education Policy

Why in news: The Parliament Standing Committee on Education tabled a report during the special session of Parliament on the “Implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 in Higher Education.”

What did the report say?

• The report looked at the salient features of the NEP’s implementation in the higher education sector and the progress made so far.
• The report noted that of the 1,043 universities functioning in the country, 70% are under the State Act and that 94% of students are in State or private institutions with just 6% of students in Central higher educational institutions, stressing the importance of States in providing higher education.
• Variousissuesdiscussed in the report:
  • Rigid separation of disciplines,
  • limited access to higher education in socio-economically disadvantaged areas,
  • lack of higher education institutes (HEIs) that teach in local languages,
  • the limited number of faculty, lack of institutional autonomy,
  • lesser emphasis on research,
  • ineffective regulatory system and
  • low standards of undergraduate education.
• The panel said that by 2030, every district in the country should have at least one multidisciplinary HEI and that the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education, including vocational education, should be increased from 26.3% in 2018 to 50% by 2035.

Recommendations

• The panel asked the Union Government and the State Governments to take actions such as:
  • earmarking suitable funds for the education of Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs),
  • setting clear targets for higher Gross Enrolment Ratio for SEDGs,
  • enhancing gender balance in admissions to HEIs,
  • providing more financial assistance and scholarships to SEDGs in both public and private HEIs,
  • making admission processes and curriculum more inclusive,
  • increasing employability potential of higher education programmes
  • for developing more degree courses taught in regional languages and bilingually.
  • specific infrastructural steps to help physically challenged students
  • a strict enforcement of all no-discrimination and anti-harassment rules.

Funding

• The Committee suggested improving the effectiveness and impact of the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) in funding HEIs.
• It asked the HEFA to diversify its funding sources beyond government allocations and explore partnerships with private sector organisations, philanthropic foundations, and international financial institutions.
• It recommended reviewing and adjusting the interest rates on loans provided by HEFA to make them more competitive and affordable for HEIs.

Multiple entry multiple exit programme

• The panel said that Indian institutions were likely to face several issues in implementing the multiple entry and multiple exit (MEME) system.
• The panel said while the MEME looked like a flexible system, which was being operated by Western educational institutions effectively, it might not work well in the country.
• If institutions allow MEME, it would be very difficult for the institutions to predict how many students would exit and how many would join midway.
• Since institutions would not know the in- and out-traffic, it will certainly disturb the pupil-teacher ratio.

---

Topic 7: Fukushima N-wastewater controversy

Why in news: Amid strong backlash from the public and neighbouring countries, Japan began the release of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea.

Key details:

• In 2021, Japan’s government announced plans to release over one million tonnes of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea over the next 30 years.
• The wastewater is a byproduct of the catastrophic 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which disabled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, leading to the release of radioactive materials.
• After more than a decade of storing this wastewater, Japan says they are running out of storage space, and allege that the, now treated water is safe for release.

Criticism:

• Since the announcement in 2021, a sizeable fraction of the public, both domestic and foreign, have been speaking out against this decision, claiming that mixing radioactive materials in the sea poses major health risks, especially since these countries rely heavily on seafood.

How is the water being treated?

• The water is being treated by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), Japan’s largest electric utility firm.
• The water has been treated with multiple techniques, notably the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), which removes 62 types of radioactive materials.
• However, it doesn’t remove tritium.
• TEPCO and the Japanese government argue that the concentration of tritium does not exceed international standards.
• According to TEPCO, the radiation emitted by tritium is extremely weak, and can be blocked with a single sheet of paper.
• The concentration is also six times less than the limit for tritium in drinking water, set by the World Health Organization.

Why tritium cant be removed:

• Tritium cannot be removed because it is identical to hydrogen.
• So removing it, chemically extracting it from wastewater becomes quite impossible.

Safety of the water:

• Experts observe that the levels of radiation in the wastewater are not so high as to cause panic.
• There is evidence showing that exposure to radiation, even at low levels, can harm the health of humans and the environment.
• Tritium is easily absorbed by the bodies of living creatures when it is in the form of tritiated water, and rapidly distributed throughout bodies via blood.
• Since tritiated water can pass through the placenta, it could lead to developmental effects in babies when ingested by pregnant women.
• Chemically, there is no difference between tritiated water and water with tritiate.
• But there is no other option, besides releasing the water, partially because of space around the plant, but also because of potential leakages.

Way forward:

• Japan will release the treated wastewater over the next 30 years, and will continue to monitor the seawater’s radiation.
• The government is also setting aside 80 billion yen to compensate fishers who will lose business because of public fears.
• The government is looking to revive the country’s nuclear power plant industry, with the hopes to stabilise the energy sector.
  • Before the 2011 earthquake, 30% of Japan’s electricity needs were met via nuclear reactors.
  • Now, less than 10% of Japan’s power came from these facilities.

---

Topic 8: The Cauvery water conundrum

Why in news: The Supreme Court asked Karnataka to continue releasing 5,000 cubic feet per second (cusecs) of water from the Cauvery river to Tamil Nadu for 15 days, in line with decisions of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) and the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA). This has evoked a strong reaction from certain sections of Karnataka, an upper riparian State.

How is the Cauvery water being shared?

• The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT)’s final award of 2007 and the Supreme Court’s judgment of 2018 spell out the system for sharing the river water and the institutional mechanisms for ensuring implementation of the judicial verdicts.
• Pointing out that 740 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft) of water would be available in the Cauvery basin in a normal year, the Court (which broadly adhered to the CWDT’s award) made the allocation for constituents of the basin as follows:
  • Karnataka (284.75 tmc ft);
  • Tamil Nadu (404.25 tmc ft);
  • Kerala (30 tmc ft) and
  • Puducherry (7 tmc ft).
• Ten tmc ft and four tmc ft have been set apart for environmental protection and inevitable escapages into the sea.
• Of Tamil Nadu’s overall allocated quantity, Karnataka is to ensure 177.25 tmc ft, as per a monthly schedule, at Biligundulu, located on the inter-State border.
  • Of this quantity, 123.14 tmc ft is to be given during the period from June to September, also marking the season of the southwest monsoon.
  • It is during this period that the Cauvery issue gets flared up, as the monsoon sometimes yields lower rainfall than anticipated.
• The CWMA and its assisting body, CWRC, are in existence since June 2018 to oversee the implementation of the verdicts of the Tribunal and the Court.

Issues in Karnataka:

• This year’s southwest monsoon has played truant, especially in south interior Karnataka, the region where the Cauvery river originates.
• The region suffered a deficit rainfall of 27%, according to the India Meteorological Department.
• The catchment of the Cauvery and its tributary, Kabini, registered a deficit rainfall of 43% and 56% respectively.

Issues in Tamil Nadu:

• Being the lower-riparian State in the Cauvery basin, Tamil Nadu is mainly dependent on releases by Karnataka, particularly during the southwest monsoon, as it falls under the rain shadow region in the season.
• The State received 40.76 tmc ft, whereas it should have got 112.11 tmc ft in a normal year.
• Even after giving allowance for the failure of the monsoon and the quantum of shortfall as quoted by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu contends that it should have got at least 7.8 tmc ft more.
• It is in need of water for at least three lakh acres over which a short-term crop (kuruvai) has been raised.
• In addition to serving irrigation, the Cauvery is the main source of drinking water for several districts in the State.

Way forward

• It is time that the CWMA along with the constituents finalised a distress-sharing formula.
• There have been differences over the choice of parameters that determine such a formula.
• Making use of the present crisis, the Authority should take the initiative in convincing all the stakeholders in evolving the proposed formula.