24 APRIL 2023

Topic 1: National Civil Services Day

Context: The Government of India commemorates ‘Civil Services Day’ every year on April 21.

Key details:

• Purpose:
  • The day is marked to celebrate the exemplary work done by our civil servants, and as an opportunity for them to recommit themselves to the cause of citizens. 
• Theme: Viksit Bharat: Empowering Citizens and Reaching the Last Mile.
• Awards:
  • Every year on this day, the Prime Minister confers Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration to districts/implementing units for priority programme implementation and innovation categories.
• History
  • National Civil Services Day was first celebrated on April 21, 2006.
  • Why April 21?
    • April 21 was chosen because it is on this day that the first Home Minister of Independent India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, 1947 addressed the probationers of Administrative Services Officers at Metcalf House in Delhi.
    • He referred to the civil servants as the “steel frame of India.”
    • Patel also exhorted the civil servants to cultivate an esprit de corps.
    • It means to have a shared feeling of pride among team or group members.
• This year’s awards
  • The Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration were given for exemplary work done in four identified priorityprogrammes:
    • Promoting Swachh Jal through Har Ghar Jal Yojana;
    • Promoting Swasth Bharat through Health & Wellness Centres;
    • Promoting quality education with an equitable and inclusive classroom environment through Samagra Shiksha;
    • Holistic Development through Aspirational District Programme – overall progress with special focus on saturation approach.

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Topic 2: UN climate report

Context: The report was recently published by the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Key findings:

• Record high temperatures
  • The years between 2015-2022 were the warmest on record.
  • The heatwave which struck Europe last summer caused more than 15,000 deaths.
  • The La Nina cooling weather phenomenon failed to ease the temperature hikes, with the past eight years considered the highest mean temperatures on record.
  • In 2021, greenhouse gas concentrationspeaked.
    • Carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration was at 415.7 parts per million globally, which is 149% of the pre-industrial level.
    • Methane meanwhile stood at 262% and nitrous oxide at 124%.
• Data on oceans and glaciers:
  • Oceans were meanwhile the warmest on record.
  • Saving glaciers was now effectively a lost cause.
  • It also recorded sea levels rising at an annual average of 4.62 millimetres in the past decade.
  • The world’s glaciers melted at dramatic speed last year, with global sea levels rising at double the pace they did two decades ago.
  • 58% of ocean surfaces experienced a marine heatwave.
  • Around 90% of the energy trapped in the climate system by greenhouse gases goes into the ocean, somewhat ameliorating even higher temperature increases but posing risks to marine ecosystems.

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Topic 3: Pushkaralu festival

Context: The 12-day Pushkaralu festival celebrated by Telugus started in Varanasi recently.

About the festival:

• Pushkaram is festival dedicated to worshiping of rivers.
• It is also known as Pushkaralu (in Telugu), Pushkara (in Kannada) or Pushkar.
• It is celebrated at shrines along the banks of 12 major sacred rivers in India.
• The celebration happens annually, once in 12 years along each river.
• Each river is associated with a zodiac sign, and the river for each year’s festival is based on which sign Jupiter is in at the time.
• The Pushkaram tradition is not mentioned in the early Hindu texts.
• It is part of the medieval Hindu astrological lore.  
• The 12 rivers associated with this festival are:

	River
1	Ganga
2	Narmada
3	Saraswati
4	Yamuna
5	Godavari
6	Krishna, Krishna in Telangana and Andhra PradeshIn Tamil Nadu, the festival is celebrated at the Sangu Theertham tank at Vedagiriswarar temple.
7	Kaveri
8	Bhima, Bhima in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana; andTamraparni river in Tamil Nadu.
9	Tapti, (Pushkaravahini);In Assam, the festival is celebrated on the banks of Brahmaputra river.
10	Tungabhadra
11	Sindhu (Indus);
12	Pranhita (Parineeta);

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Topic 4: Rule of law

Context: The killing of Atiq Ahmed (gangster-politician) in Uttar Pradesh has raised questions on the rule of law.

What is the rule of law?

• The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country are accountable to the same laws.
• The notion behind the rule of law is to curb the exercise of arbitrary power by anyone.
• Definition:
  • For the United Nations (UN), the rule of law “is a principle of governance in which all persons, institutions and entities, public and private, including the State itself, are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced and independently adjudicated, and which are consistent with international human rights norms and standards”.

World Justice Project:

• The World Justice Project (WJP) is an independent, multidisciplinary organization working to advance the rule of law worldwide.
• It lays out four broad outcomes, as it were, if the rule of law prevails in a country. These are:
  • Accountability:
    • Implying that the government as well as private actors are accountable under the law.
  • Just Law:
    • Implying that the law is clear, publicised, and stable and is applied evenly.
    • It ensures human rights as well as property, contract, and procedural rights.
  • Open Government:
    • Implying that the processes by which the law is adopted, administered, adjudicated, and enforced are accessible, fair, and efficient.
  • Accessible and Impartial Justice:
    • Implying that justice is delivered timely by competent, ethical, and independent representatives and neutrals who are accessible, have adequate resources, and reflect the makeup of the communities they serve.

Rule of law index

• The World Justice Project brings out a report ranking countries on the basis of the rule of law index annually.
• The index measures people’s perceptions and experiences of the rule of law in 140 countries and jurisdictions.
• To build this index, the WJP looks at eight factors, which are further sub-divided into 44 sub-factors.
• The eight main factors are:
  • Constraints on government powers:
    • This includes things like how effectively does the legislature or the judiciary deal with the government.
  • Absence of corruption:
    • This essentially ascertains if public offices are being used for private gains.
  • Open Government:
    • This includes things such as the right to information and laws and government data are well publicised.
  • Fundamental rights:
    • This also includes whether the due process was followed.
  • Order and security:
    • Whether crime is effectively controlled and civil conflict limited etc.
  • Regulatory enforcement:
    • Things like whether regulations are effectively enforced etc.
  • Civil justice:
    • Includes factors such as whether people can afford and access civil justice,
  • Criminal justice:
    • Includes factors such as whether due procedures are followed etc.
• The index values range between 0 and 1 with 1 being the score for complete adherence to the rule of law.
   

Significance of Rule of law:

• Research shows that a stricter adherence to the rule of law is positively correlated to:
  • higher economic growth
  • better educational attainment
  • improved health outcomes
  • greater peace

Where does India stand on the rule of law Index?

• India’s overall score in the 2022 report is 0.5 and its global rank is 77 out of 140 countries.
• In 6 out of the 8 categories, India’s rank is lower than its overall rank.
• Within the South Asia region, India is placed third, behind Nepal and Sri Lanka, out of six countries: Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan being the other three.
• Among the 38 countries that fall under the lower-middle income — India is ranked 9th.
• Countries such as Senegal, Ghana, Indonesia and Ukraine were ahead of India as of the 2022 report.

Where does Uttar Pradesh rank on the rule of law?

• The WJP Index does not provide sub-national ranks.
• However, the India Justice Report (IJR) (a collaborative effort between DAKSH, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Common Cause, Centre for Social Justice, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy and TISS-Prayas) for the year 2022 ranks UP at 18 among the 18 large and mid-sized states of India.
• UP has been stuck at the bottom level since 2019 when IJR was first released.
• It has ranked poorly in each of the four sub-components of the IJR.
• UP was never particularly known for upholding the rule of law.

Rule of Law and Indian Constitution

• Rule of law has no fixed articulation in the Indian constitution though the Indian courts refer to this phrase in variety of its judgements.
• The maxim ‘The King can do no wrong’ has no application in India and all public authorities are made subject to jurisdiction of ordinary law courts and to the same sets of laws.
• Under the Indian constitution the rule of law is incorporated in many of its provisions.
  • The object of achieving equality, liberty and justice are reflected in the Preamble to the Indian constitution.
  • Article 14 guarantees right to equality before law and equal protection of law.
  • Article 15, 16, 23 further strengthened the ideal of equality by the incorporation of protective discrimination as a means of ensuring equality amongst equals.
  • Article 13 upheld the doctrine of Rule of Law in India.
    • The “laws’’ defined under Article 13 as rules, regulations, bye-laws and ordinances can be struck down if they are contrary to the constitution.
  • In Keshavananda Bharti v. State of Kerala, the Supreme Court has included the Rule of Law as the basic feature of the Constitution.
  • Fundamental rights can only be protected by the state that respects the Rule of Law.
  • Article 21 postulates that no person shall be deprived of his life and liberty except by the procedure established by law, thus making the law supreme.
  • Article 19 which provides various freedoms to the individual is runs on the principles of Rule of Law as these freedoms can only be curtailed on the grounds of reasonableness which should be satisfied on the basis of Article 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution.
  • Judicial review.
    • Judicial review is the essential part of the rule of law.
    • It not only protects the constitutional principles but also checks administrative actions and its legality.

Exceptions to Rule of Law

• Wide discretionary powers to the executive:
  • President and governor of the state are given wide discretionary power under Article 72 and 161 respectively.
  • The president and the governor have a prerogative to grant pardons, reprieves, respite or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or  commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence.
  • Article 85 provides the president with discretion in relation to the prorogation of either house of the parliament and the dissolution of the house of people.
  • The governor has discretion in sending the report to the president under Article 356 of the constitution and in reserving bills for consideration under Article 200.
  • Police are given wide power of arrest without warrant in case of cognizable offences.
  • Criminal courts in India have wide discretionary power in providing sentences.
• Immunities and privileges:
  • The President/Governor is not answerable to the court of law in discharge of his executive functions.
  • No criminal proceedings can be instituted against President or Governor of state, while he is in office.
  • No civil proceedings in which relief is claimed can be filed against the President or Governor except after an expiration of a 2 month notice that is served on him.
  • Under International laws, the visiting heads of state, heads of government, ministers, officials and foreign diplomats who are posted in the country are not subjected to jurisdiction of local courts in discharge of their official functions.
• The application of special laws to some categories of people is not prohibited under the rule of law; for instance, military laws apply to the armed forces.
• The Act grants extensive flexibility to ministers and other executive authorities.

Conclusion

• Rule of law is the fundamental principle of governance in any civilized democratic country.
• The fundamental principle of the rule of law is that every human being, even if he is a criminal, is entitled to basic human rights and due process.
• Observing rule of law is the true basis of a democratic society.

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Topic 5: Guided bombs

Context: Russia is increasingly using guided bombs against Ukraine.

What are guided bombs?

• A guided bomb is also known as a smart bomb or a guided bomb unit (GBU).
• It is a precision-guided munition designed to achieve a smaller circular error probable (CEP).
• Unlike simple bombs, guided bombs have small wings and tail surfaces that allow them to be put into gliding flight.
• It allows for precise targeting and the bombs can hit targets at a great distance from where they are dropped.

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Topic 6: Quote: Every village has to become a self-sufficient republic

Context: The National Panchayati Raj Day was celebrated recently and the law on the governance of India’s villages was also a manifestation of one of Mahatma Gandhi’s central principles.

Context of the quote

• Full quote:
  • Independence must mean that of the people of India, not of those who are today ruling over them… Independence must begin at the bottom. Thus, every village will be a republic or Panchayat having full powers. It follows, therefore, that every village has to be self-sustained and capable of managing its affairs even to the extent of defending itself against the whole world.
• His values and ideology with respect to village:
  • Gandhi put forth values like ahimsa (non-violence) and satya (truth).
  • But apart from ideology, he also gave practical steps for achieving true self-rule or swaraj.
  • He said India must have panchayats, a setup where the village’s adults elect a council of five people and a head among them, as local representatives.
  • This does not mean not taking any help from the outside world, but simply that each person must be so capable as to take care of their own basic needs in life in harmony with nature and those around them.
  • This would mean contributing labour for public work like sanitation, growing food locally, creating a rotational force for guarding the village, ensuring education for all, wearing hand-spun khadi to promote local artisans, shunning intoxicants, etc.

• Gandhi pressed for democratic decentralisation.
• The idea also reflects his larger inclination towards preserving Indian traditions and resisting external forces.
• The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act of 1992
  • Before the act, India’s Constitution only mentioned a two-tier form of government and local institutions found a mention only in Directive Principles of State Policy.
    • DPSP is not enforceable by courts or bound to be followed, only meant as a guiding document for governments.
  • Several committees were constituted for studying these issues, such as the Balwant Rai Mehta Committee and the Ashok Mehta Committee, which gave important recommendations.
  • The 73^rd and 74^th Amendment Act sought to look at local governance in rural and urban areas and constituting panchayats and municipal bodies respectively.
  • The Act said the state government may devolve powers for such bodies.
  • It mandated women’s representation in one-third of the seats.
  • A five-year term was fixed for representatives, with a procedure given for conducting timely elections.
  • The Governor of a State would constitute a Finance Commission to review the financial position of the Panchayats.

• Evaluation of the Act:
  • The act has been instrumental in involving more and more people in the democratic processes at a grassroots level.
  • Decentralisation generally results in more transparency between the government and the people, better grievance redressal and better information flow.
  • Civil servants can gain timely news about developing health concerns or outbreaks in rural areas, for example, to suggest intervention.
• Concerns that remain:
  • problems with finances,
  • real devolution and
  • genuine representation of marginalised groups.

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Topic 7: How can a juvenile be tried as an adult in Court?

Context: The National Commission for Protection of Children (NCPCR) has recently issued guidelines for conducting a preliminary assessment by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) under Section 15 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 (JJ Act, 2015).

Key details:

• Purpose:
  • This preliminary assessment is to ascertain whether a juvenile can be tried as an adult.
  • The 2015 Act, for the first time, provided for trying juveniles in the age group of 16-18 as adults in cases of heinous offences.
  • The sole objective of having such a preliminary assessment is to determine whether a child within the age group of 16-18 years should be tried as an adult in case of heinous offences.
• How does a child get tried as adult?
  • The Act has categorised the offences committed by children into three categories:
    • petty offences,
    • serious offences, and
    • heinous offences.
  • The JJ Act provides that in case of a heinous offence alleged to have been committed by a child, who has completed or is above the age of sixteen years, the Board shall conduct a preliminary assessment regarding:
    • his mental and physical capacity to commit such offence,
    • ability to understand the consequences of the offence and
    • the circumstances in which he allegedly committed the offence.
  • If the Board, after preliminary assessment passes an order that there is a need for trial of the said child as an adult, then the Board may order the transfer of the case to the Children’s Court having jurisdiction to try such offences.
• Responsibilities of the Board
  • The Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) shall be responsible for the preliminary assessment.
  • In case the JJB does not have at least one member who is a practising professional with a degree in child psychology or child psychiatry, the Board shall take the assistance of psychologists or experts who have the experience of working with children in difficult times.
  • The child should also be provided with a legal aid counsel through the District Legal Services Authority who shall be present during the preliminary assessment.
  • The Act mandates experts, who have the required qualification to assist the JJB, to undergo training.
  • During the preliminary assessment, the Board and experts shall also analyse and take into consideration the Social Investigation Report (SIR) or a Social Background Report (SBR) to be prepared after interaction with the child or child’s family.
    • It will be prepared by the Probation officer or Child Welfare Officer or any social worker.

Conclusion:

• The NCPCR is under a statutory obligation to monitor the proper implementation of the provisions of the Act.
• The guidelines have been made to remove any ambiguity and to clarify the steps that need to be followed while conducting the preliminary assessment.
• The major issue remains the implementation and absorption of these principles in the system, particularly to be followed by the JJB and the Children’s Court.
• A lot of principles which have been made a part of the Act have not been given due prominence by the Board as well as by the Children’s Court.

About NCPCR The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights is a statutory body established by the Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005.Concerned ministry:The Commission works under the aegis of Ministry of Women and Child Development.Role:The Commission is mandated to ensure that all Laws, Policies, Programmes, and Administrative Mechanisms are in consonance with the Child Rights perspective as enshrined in the Constitution of India and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.Definition of child:As defined by the commission, child includes person up to the age of 18 years.MembersA chairperson andSix members, out of which at least two are woman are appointed by the Central GovernmentGHAR Portal:The Commission has developed and launched the portal GHAR – Go Home and Reunite, with the sole purpose of restoration and repatriation of children.The GHAR portal has been developed to digitally monitor and track the restoration and repatriation of children.

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children Act) 2015The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act was introduced and passed in Parliament in 2015 to replace the Juvenile Delinquency Law and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children Act) 2000.Main Provisions:Allowing the trial of juveniles in conflict with law in the age group of 16-18 years as adults, in cases where the crimes were to be determined.The nature of the crime, and whether the juvenile should be tried as a minor or a child, was to be determined by a Juvenile Justice Board.Another major provision was with regards to adoption, bringing a more universally acceptable adoption law instead of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act (1956) and Guardians of the ward Act (1890) which was for Muslims, although the Act did not replace these laws.The Act streamlined adoption procedures for orphans, abandoned and surrendered children and the existing Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) has been given the status of a statutory body to enable it to perform its function more effectively.

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