Current Affairs - Polity & Governance

• On 21^st June, 2022, in a significant judgment, the Supreme Court(SC) held that Secrecy of ballot is the cornerstone of free and fair elections.

Background

• The judgment came on an appeal against the Allahabad High Court (HC) decision setting aside the voting of a no-confidence motion in a zila panchayat in Uttar Pradesh in 2018.
• The High Court found that some of the panchayat members had violated the rule of secrecy of ballot.
• The appellants in the SC contended that the principle of secrecy of ballots was not an absolute principle, and that voluntary waiver of the privilege was permissible.
• They referred to Section 94 of the Representation of Peoples Act to state that voter can voluntarily chose to waive the secrecy of ballot.
• Further, they argued that the HC has wrongly held that the voluntary waiver principle could not apply to the case in hand with respect to the members of the Zila Panchayat voting on a no confidence motion.
• The SC referred to Section 28(8) of the Uttar Pradesh Kshettra Panchayat and Zila Panchayat Adhiniyam, 1961 and ordered a re-vote of the motion within the next two months, by the secret ballot system.

Key Points of SC Verdict

• The Supreme Court has observed that the principle of secret ballot is an important postulate of constitutional democracy.
• It is to be observed that one of the fundamental principles of election law pertains to the maintenance of free and fair elections, ensuring the purity of elections.
• It referred to Section 94 of the Representation of People Act, which upholds the privilege of the voter to maintain confidentiality about her choice of vote.
• It is the policy of law to protect the right of voters to secrecy of the ballot.
• The choice of a voter should be free and the secret ballot system in a democracy ensures it.
• Even a remote or distinct possibility that a voter can be forced to disclose for whom she has voted would act as a positive constraint and a check on the freedom to exercise of franchise.
• However, a voter can also voluntarily waive the privilege of non-disclosure.
• The privilege ends when the voter decides to waive the privilege and instead volunteers to disclose as to whom she had voted.
• No one can prevent a voter from doing. Nor can a complaint be entertained from any, including the person who wants to keep the voter’s mouth sealed as to why she disclosed for whom she voted.

• On 18^th May, 2020, the Jammu and Kashmir administration issued a notification defining the rules for issuing domicile certificates in the Union territory, which specify the conditions and the process to obtain the documents required to applying to jobs and avail other privileges restricted to residents in Jammu and Kashmir.
• The new rules replace the previous J&K permanent resident rules.

Background

• On 1^st April, 2020, , eight months after abrogation of Articles 370 and 35A, the government notified a law, spelling out new domicile rules for Jammu and Kashmir and eligibility for employment in the region.
• Under the law, the domiciles have been defined as those who have resided for a period of 15 years in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, those have studied for a period of seven years and appeared in Class 10th /12th examination in educational institutions located in J&K.

Need

• Previously such domicile certificates were issued by officers of the level of deputy commissioners and it involved passing through a labyrinth of procedures and shuffling back and forth between many offices.
• In that sense, the new rules are intended to bypass the byzantine bureaucracy and offer an accelerated path towards acquiring the domicile for non-locals.

Domicile Certificate (Procedure) Rules 2020

• West Pakistan Refugees (WPRs), safai karamcharis and children of women married outside Jammu and Kashmir shall also be now eligible for Domicile Certificate.
• All migrants and their children who are registered with Relief and Rehabilitation Commissioner will be granted domicile certificate.
• All people who have resided in the UT for 15 years, or have studied for seven years and appeared in class 10th or 12th examination in an educational institution in the region, and their children, are eligible for grant of domicile.
• Kashmiri migrants can get the Domicile certificate on the production of either a PRC or certificate of registration of migrant.
• Children of central government, All India service, bank and PSU, statutory body, and central university officials, who have served in Jammu of Kashmir for a total period of 10 years will also be eligible for domicile status.
• Children of those residents of Jammu and Kashmir who reside outside the Union territory in connection with their employment of business or other professional or vocational reasons have also become eligible for grant of domicile status.
• The domicile certificate has been made the basic eligibility criteria for appointment to any post under the Union Territory following amendments in the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (decentralization).
• The certificate will be issued by the designated authority which in all cases is tehsildars or other officials that may be notified by the government.
• Any officer not able to issue the certificate would be penalised ₹50,000. The amount would be recovered from his salary.

Impact

• As a result of the new rules and procedure, West Pakistan Refugees (WPRs) including others who were earlier deprived shall also be now eligible for Domicile Certificate.
• Further, the domicile rule makes all local government jobs available to non-natives, including those in police and administration, which means they will now be able to serve in such positions as station house officers and senior superintendents of police, etc.
• As a result, the immediate implication of this change will most likely be reflected by the administrative set-up, which has so far been dominated by J&K natives.

Criticism

• The regional parties rejected the J&K Reorganisation (Adaptation of State Laws) Order, 2020, and the J&K Grant of Domicile Certificate (Procedure) Rules 2020, saying it was aimed at changing the demography of the erstwhile State of J&K.
• Describing it “unacceptable” and fraught “with widening the gap and inducing alienation”, they stated that his order was aimed at disempowering the people of J&K and effecting a demographic change.

• Recently, the Defence Ministry has approved the proposal of Engineer-in-Chief of Military Engineering Services (MES) for optimisation of more than 9,300 posts in the basic and industrial workforce.
• It is in line with the recommendations of the Committee of Experts, headed by Lt General Shekatkar, which had recommended measures to enhance combat capability and rebalance defence expenditure of the Armed Forces.
• The recommendation was aimed at making MES an effective organisation with a leaner workforce, well equipped to handle complex issues in the emerging scenario in an efficient and cost effective manner.

Background

• The 11-member committee, appointed by the late Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in 2016, had made about 99 recommendations, from optimising defence budget to the need for a Chief of the Defence Staff.

Key Recommendations

• According to a 2017 report, the Shekatkar Committee had recommended that India’s defence budget should be in the range of 2.5 to 3 per cent of the GDP, keeping in mind possible future threats.
• It had suggested the establishment of a Joint Services War College for training for middle-level officers, even through the three separate war colleges — Mhow, Secunderabad and Goa — could continue to train younger officers for their respective services.
• It had also recommended that the Military Intelligence School at Pune be converted to a tri-service intelligence training establishment.
• The report also focuses on optimisation of Signals establishments to include radio monitoring companies, corps air support signal regiments, air formation signal regiments, composite signal regiments, and merger of corps operating and engineering signal regiments.
• It included restructuring of repair echelons in the Army to include base workshops, advance base workshops and static/station workshops in the field Army.
• It also called for the closure of military farms and army postal establishments in peace locations, which is among the recommendations already implemented.

• As the economy struggles with the lockdown and thousands of firms and workers stare at an uncertain future, the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat made key changes in the application of labour laws.
• Labour is a concurrent subject under the Constitution of India, states can frame their own laws but need the approval of the Central government.

Need

• These changes are being brought about to incentivise economic activity in the respective states.
• To provide employment to workers who have migrated back to the state and to protect the existing employment, some flexibility has to be given to business and industry.
• To bring about transparency in the administrative procedures and convert the challenges of a distressed economy into opportunities.
• To increase the revenue of states which have fallen due to closure of industrial units during Covid-19 lockdown.

Changes Made

MADHYA PRADESH

Hire & Fire

• Establishments with up to 100 workers can hire according to needs.
• No registration for contractors with 50 labourers.

 End of Inspector Raj

• No factory inspection for 3 months
• No inspection for firm with less than 50 workers
• Third-party inspection allowed.

Easier Licenses and Registration

• Registration and licenses to be issued in a day
• Renewal of a factory license once in 10 years
• startups need one time legislation; no renewal.

 Shift Hours

• Raised to 12 hours from 8 hours in factory
• Overtime of up to 72 hours permitted; flexibility in changing shifts
• Shops and establishments can operate from 6 am till midnight

UTTAR PRADESH

Industry exempted from all labour laws barring the following:

• Building and Other Construction Workers' Act, 1996
• Workmen Compensation Act, 1923
• Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976
• A section of Payment of Wages Act to apply.

GUJARAT

New industrial establishments exempted from all labour laws barring the following:

• Minimum Wages Act
• Industrial Safety Rules
• Employees' Compensation Act
• Ordinance to roll out benefits that will be available for 1,200 days
• 100% online approvals within 15 days.
• 33,000 hectares set aside; land to be allocated in 7 days.

Impact

• The relaxation of rigid and archaic labour laws by is expected to help restart economic activity, attract investments, and in the long create more jobs by ushering in labour market flexibility.
• Will allow more factories to operate without following safety and health norms and give a free hand to new companies to “keep labourers in service as per their convenience”.
• No labour inspection or govt intervention.
• No role of unions, leading to the smooth function of the industries.
• These new reforms will promote ease of doing business in the state and will promote competition among states for reforms.

Criticism

• The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) has opposed the slew of changes in the labour laws by these states.
• It has, however, attacked the relaxations as retrograde and warned of erosion of rights of workers.
• These changes to the labour laws are violation of the international labour law conventions and it will create a situation where there is no rule of law.
• Safety will be compromised as the provisions of the Factories Act will no longer be there.
• The new labour law changes are also seen as a bane for the workers desperately looking for a job to end their financial nightmare.
• Instead of providing protections to the most marginalised and vulnerable, as exposed by the covid crisis, and thus an opportunity to rectify the fractured economic system, these moves will further exacerbate the crisis for those who are worst affected by it.

Way Forward

• Theoretically, it is possible to generate more employment in a market with fewer labour regulations.
• However, as the experience of states that have relaxed labour laws in the past suggests, dismantling worker protection laws have failed to attract investments and increase employment, while not causing any increase in worker exploitation or deterioration of working conditions.
• There is already too much unused capacity. Firms are shaving off salaries up to 40% and making job cuts. The overall demand has fallen.
• According to the experts, instead of creating exploitative conditions for the workers, the government should have —partnered with the industry and allocated 3% or 5% of the GDP towards sharing the wage burden and ensuring the health of the labourers.

Indian Labour Laws

• Estimates vary but there are over 200 state laws and close to 50 central laws. And yet there is no set definition of “labour laws” in the country.
• Broadly speaking, they can be divided into four categories, shown in the image below.
• The main objectives of the Factories Act, for instance, are to ensure safety measures on factory premises, and promote health and welfare of workers.
• The Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, on the other hand, aims to regulate hours of work, payment, overtime, weekly day off with pay, other holidays with pay, annual leave, employment of children and young persons, and employment of women.
• The Minimum Wages Act covers more workers than any other labour legislation.
• The most contentious labour law, however, is the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 as it relates to terms of service such as layoff, retrenchment, and closure of industrial enterprises and strikes and lockouts.

Source: Indian Express

Criticism of Labour Laws

• Indian labour laws are often characterised as “inflexible”. In other words, it has been argued that thanks to the onerous legal requirements, firms (those employing more than 100 workers) dither from hiring new workers because firing them requires government approvals.
• Even the organised sector is increasingly employing workers without formal contracts. This, in turn, has constrained the growth of firms on the one hand and provided a raw deal to workers on the other.
• Further, there are too many laws, often unnecessarily complicated, and not effectively implemented. This has laid the foundation for corruption and rent-seeking.

• An expert committee, under chairmanship of former chief secretary K Abraham, appointed by Kerala government to review Covid-19 nationwide lockdown has suggested a phased relaxation of the lockdown to contain COVID-19 for areas outside the seven hotspot districts in the state from April 15, 2020.
• The committee has also come up with health-related and non-health-related objectives for the withdrawal strategy and steps for management of hotspots and vulnerable population.

Strategy Adopted

• According to the committee, the phased withdrawal is sustainable only if there is a steady recovery and decline in the number of cases leading to initial flattening of the infection curve and then gradual tapering of the curve to zero infection cases.

Lockdown relaxation to be provided in 3 phases-

Phase I

• For qualifying for Phase 1 relaxation, there has to be not more than one new case in the district for the entire week prior to the date of review on April 14, 2020.
• No increase more than 10% of the number of persons under home surveillance in the district
• No hotspots of COVID-19 anywhere in the district as identified by the Health Department are the other criteria fixed.

Restrictions & Relaxations

• No outdoor travelling without face masks, occupancy of government vehicles should be restricted to two persons per vehicle excluding the driver, vehicles carrying frontline care workers or other public servants should not exceed the seating capacity of the vehicle.
• Only one person per house will be allowed to go out at a time for a specific purpose and for not more than 3 hours at a time.
• Any person above age of 65 years with history of co-morbidity or undergoing any treatment for cancer or major ailments will not be permitted to go out.

Phase II

• A district will qualify for Phase II relaxation at the time of second review only if there is no more than one new case for the entire fortnight prior to the date of review.
• Not more than a 5% increase in the number of persons under home surveillance from the date of the previous review and no infection hotspots are the additional criteria.

Restrictions & Relaxations

• Autos and Taxis may be allowed but restricted to one and three passengers, respectively.
• Travelling by bus for short distance within a city or town may be permitted but with one person per seat.
• Activities under National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (NREGA) to be allowed with protocols like use of masks and sanitisers.
• All Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) shall be allowed to reopen.

Source: The Hindu

Phase III

• A district will qualify for Phase III relaxation only if there is no new case of infection in that district for the fortnight prior to the date of review.
• In addition, a decrease of more than 5% of the number of persons under home surveillance in the district from the date of the previous review and no hotspots anywhere in the district are needed.

Restrictions & Relaxations

• Inter-district bus transport may be allowed with two-third capacity with maintaining social distancing protocols.
• Domestic flights for doctors, health workers, patients etc.
• International trips and travelling from other parts of India should not be allowed till full relaxation of the lockdown.
• For educational sector, universities, schools and colleges shall be instructed to open for examination holding purpose.
• Religious congregations in and outside worship places, weddings, political meetings or conferences or cultural gatherings shall continue to be prohibited during this phase.

• As a part of Government’s continued efforts to contain spread of COVID 19, the Union Cabinet on 6^th April, 2020, decided to cut in the salaries of all Members of Parliament and not to operate Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) for two years (2020-21 and 2021-22).
• These funds will be used to strengthen Government’s efforts in managing the challenges and adverse impact of COVID19 in the country

Key Points

• The Cabinet approved an ordinance to amend the Salaries, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament Act, 1954.
• It will cut the salaries of Members of Parliament (MPs) by 30%, effective from 1st April 2020.
• The consolidated amount of MPLAD Funds for 2 years – Rs 7,900 crores – will go to Consolidated Fund of India.
• The amendment will only cut MPs’ salaries, not allowances or the pensions of ex-MPs.

About MPLAD Scheme

• Launched during the Narasimha Rao Government in 1993, the objective is to enable the Members of Parliament (MP) to suggest and get executed developmental works of capital nature based on locally felt needs with emphasis on creation of durable assets.
• The Ministry of Rural Development initially administered the scheme. Since October 1994, it has been transferred to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).

Funds Allotted

• The MPs were entitled to recommend works to the tune of Rs. 1 crore annually between 1994-95 and 1997-98, after which the annual entitlement was enhanced to Rs. 2 crore.
• The UPA government in 2011-12 raised the annual entitlement to Rs 5 crore per MP.

Salient Features

• In the case of Lok Sabha, the scheme is implemented in the districts falling within the constituency of the concerned
• In the case of Rajya Sabha, the MP can suggest works in one or more districts within the State from which he is elected.
• As far as the nominated MPs are concerned, they can suggest works anywhere in India.
• It recommend MPs to suggest works costing at least 15 percent of their MPLADS entitlement for the year for areas inhabited by Scheduled Caste population and 7.5 per cent for areas inhabited by ST population.
• In case there is insufficient tribal population in the area of Lok Sabha Member, they may recommend this amount for the creation of community assets in tribal areas outside of their constituency but within their State of election.
• The scheme can be converged in individual/stand-alone projects of other Central and State Government schemes provided such works of Central/State Governments Schemes are eligible under MPLADS.

Types of Recommended Work

• Key Priority Sectors: Drinking water facility, education, electricity facility, non-conventional energy resources, healthcare and sanitation, irrigation facilities, railways, roads, pathways and bridges, sports, agriculture and allied activities, self-help group development, urban development.
• Works Prohibited: construction of office and residential buildings for public and private agencies, land acquisition or paying compensation, naming assets after individuals, grants or loans to state/central relief fund, assets for individual benefits, works on lands belonging to religious groups, execution of works in unauthorized colonies.

Implementation

• To implement their plans in an area, MPs have to recommend them to the District Authority of the respective Nodal District.
• The District Authorities then identify Implementing Agencies which execute the projects.
• The respective District Authority is supposed to oversee implementation, and has to submit monthly reports, audit reports, and work completion reports to the Nodal District Authority.
• All recommended eligible works should be sanctioned within 75 days from the date of receipt of the recommendation, after completing all formalities.
• The District Authority shall, however, inform MPs regarding rejection, if any, within 45 days from the date of receipt of recommendations, with reasons thereof.

Issues with MPLADS

Corruption Issue

• There have been cases of widespread corruption and misappropriation of funds. In a lot of cases, private contractors (which are not permitted) are engaged to implement the works.
• Also, there have been instances where expenditure has been incurred on works which are prohibited under the scheme.

Transparency and Accountability Issue

• Lack of transparency and accountability in the execution of this scheme has come in for adverse comment from a variety of institutions, including the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC), the Second Administrative Reforms Commission and the Comptroller and Auditor-General General of India.
• There are large amounts of unspent balances rising over the years, low utilisation of funds and an expenditure bias towards a particular sector.
• However, despite the severe indictment of this scheme from various quarters, there has been no visible effort by Parliament to stop the misuse of funds and to remove the anomalies.

Implementation Issue

• There are weaknesses in the process of sanction. The District Authorities tend to execute works without receiving any recommendations from MPs concerned or on the recommendation of the representatives of the MPs rather than the MPs themselves.
• Further, there are lapses on the monitoring and supervision front, with the District Authorities failing to inspect the required number of sanctioned works as well as in sending regular monitoring reports.

Sustainability Issue

• There have been charges that the scheme goes against the spirit of the 73rd and the 74th Amendment, with MPs enjoying the privilege of an uninterrupted yearly flow of funds to do the work which local bodies are better placed to deliver.
• The constitutionality of the scheme has also been questioned, with the argument that the scheme erodes the notion of separation of powers, as the legislator directly becomes the executive.
• In 2002, the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution recommended immediate discontinuation of the MPLAD scheme on the ground that it was inconsistent with the spirit of federalism and distribution of powers between the centre and the state.

Suggestive Measures for Effective Implementation

• There needs to be a greater focus on regular monitoring by the District Authorities.
• Implementing agencies could involve the local community in the voluntary supervision of works.
• Since maintenance of public assets is where the system breaks down, arrangements can be made for the maintenance of assets or maintenance can be outsourced.
• In order to better assess the needs of the constituents, surveys can be conducted across the constituency. For this purpose, NGOs and local community can be involved.
• For the scheme to be more effective, an impact assessment study should be undertaken at the constituency level, on a yearly basis, to assess the benefits of the works implemented to the community at large.
• To tackle the issue of large unspent balances which have accumulated and are rising over the years, fund can be made lapsable. This way funds lying unused can be put to other uses.
• Thrust areas could be also modified so as to reflect the needs of the constituency, rather than taking a generic view.

• Recently, the Madhya Pradesh government invoked the National Security Act (NSA), 1980, against four persons accused of instigating residents of a locality to pelt stones and chase away health workers.
• Similarly, an order was passed by the Uttar Pradesh government to detain under any person under the NSA, who are found guilty of attacking police and other officials.

About National Security Act (NSA), 1980

• The NSA is an act that empowers the government to detain a person if the authorities are satisfied that he/she is a threat to national security or to prevent him/her from disrupting public order.
• The goal is to prevent the individual from committing a crime.

History

• The first preventive detention rule was passed by government of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru when it enacted the Preventive Detention Act of 1950.
• The NSA is a close iteration of the 1950 Act.
• After the Preventive Detention Act expired on December 31, 1969, the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, brought in the controversial Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) in 1971 giving similar powers to the government.
• Finally, NSA was promulgated on September 23, 1980, during the Indira Gandhi government.

Constitutional Provisions

• Article 22 (3) (b): It allows for preventive detention and restriction on personal liberty for reasons of state security and public order.
• Article 22(4): It states that no law providing for preventive detention shall authorise the detention of a person for a longer period than three months unless: An Advisory Board reports sufficient cause for extended detention.
• The 44th Amendment Act of 1978 reduced the period of detention without obtaining the opinion of an advisory board from three to two months.
• However, this provision has not yet been brought into force, hence, the original period of three months still continues.

Grounds for Preventive Detention of a Person

• Acting in any manner prejudicial to the defence of India, the relations of India with foreign powers, or the security of India.
• Regulating the continued presence of any foreigner in India or with a view to making arrangements for his expulsion from India.
• Preventing them from acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of the State or from acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of public order or from acting in any manner prejudicial to the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the community it is necessary so to do.

Key Provisions

Time Period for Detention

• Under the Act, an individual can be detained without a charge for up to 12 months; the state government needs to be intimated that a person has been detained under the NSA.
• A person detained under the Act can be held for 10 days without being told the charges against them.

Appeal

• The detained person can appeal before a high court advisory board but they are not allowed a lawyer during the trial.

Criticism of the Act

Denial of Basic Rights

• In the normal course, if a person is arrested, he or she is guaranteed certain basic rights.
• Additionally, Article 22(1) of the Constitution says an arrested person cannot be denied the right to consult, and to be defended by, a legal practitioner of his choice.
• But none of these rights are available to a person detained under the NSA.
• A person could be kept in the dark about the reasons for his arrest for up to five days and in exceptional circumstances not later than 10 days.
• Even when providing the grounds for arrest, the government can withhold information which it considers to be against public interest to disclose.
• The arrested person is also not entitled to the aid of any legal practitioner in any matter connected with the proceedings before an advisory board, which is constituted by the government for dealing with NSA cases.

No Recorded Figure

• The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), which collects and analyses crime data in the country, does not include cases under the NSA in its data as no FIRs are registered.
• Hence, no figures are available for the exact number of detentions under the NSA.

Way Forward

• According to the experts, the governments sometimes use NSA as an extra-judicial power.
• India’s parliament and judiciary must revisit the NSA to close any loopholes that permit law enforcement to abuse constitutional and statutory rights.

• The Invest India Business Immunity Platform (BIP) is working 24X7 as a comprehensive resource to help businesses and investors get real-time updates on India’s active response to COVID-19 (Coronavirus).

About BIP

• Launched on 21^st March, 2020, the BIP is the active platform for business issue redressal, with a team of dedicated sector experts who respond to queries at the earliest.
• This dynamic and constantly updating platform keeps a regular track on developments with respect to the virus, provides latest information on various central and state government initiatives, gives access to special provisions, and answers and resolves queries through emails and on WhatsApp.
• BIP has launched ‘Joining the Dots’ campaign to procure essential healthcare supplies.
• It is also facilitating matchmaking to fill the demand-supply shortages of essential equipment to combat COVID-19.

About Invest India

• Invest India was formed in 2009 under Section 25 of the Companies Act 1956 for promotion of foreign investment with 49% equity of the then Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion(now renamed as Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry and 51% shareholding by FICCI. The current shareholding pattern of Invest India is 51 % of Industry Associations (i.e. 17% each of FICCI, CII & NASSCOM) and the remaining 49% of Central and 19 State Governments.
• As the national investment promotion and facilitation agency, it focuses on sector-specific investor targeting and development of new partnerships to enable sustainable investments in India.
• It facilitates and empowers all investors under the ‘Make in India’ initiative to establish, operate and expand their businesses in India.

Projects Being Handled by Invest India

• Proactive Investor Targeting: Invest India identifies target companies across focus sectors from target markets looking to initiate investment into India or further expansion in India.
• Handholding Support: Invest India creates vital differentiation and an invaluable service offering of guidance, handholding, problem solving and facilitation for investors.
• Bilateral CEO Forums: Invest India takes up the responsibility of acting as the nodal point for investment related issues/ recommendations and help action investment specific resolutions raised at the CEOs Forums.
• Country – Sector Outreach: Invest India proactively contributes to national and regional policy development by planning Country/Sector interactions.
• Strategic Investment Research Unit: It shapes India’s investment landscape and drives a step change in the quality and quantity of FDI.
• Harnessing Information & Communication Technology for FDI: Invest India scales up use of technology for investment targeting and facilitation.
• Working with State Investment Promotion Agencies: It plays a central role in ensuring that FDI is on the agenda of all State agencies, State Governments and stakeholders.
• Startups: The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade with the help of Invest India aims to empower Startups to grow through innovation and design through this initiative.
• Accelerating Growth of New India’s Innovations (AGNIi): It aims to support the ongoing efforts to boost the innovation ecosystem in the country by connecting innovators across industry.
• India Investment Grid: It is an online platform to showcase investment opportunities in India to global investors. The platform is looked after by Invest India.

• On 24^th March, 2020, Government announced a 21-day countrywide lockdown effective from midnight in order to contain the spread of Coronovirus-COVID-19.
• Those violating the lockdown orders can face legal action under the Epidemic Diseases Act (EDA), 1897, which lays down punishment as per Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, for flouting such orders.

Epidemic Disease Act, 1897

• The Epidemic Diseases Act was enacted on February 4, 1897, to stop the spread of the bubonic plague outbreak in Bombay (now Mumbai).
• Using powers conferred by the Act, colonies authorities would search suspected plague cases in homes and among passengers, with forcible segregations, evacuations, and demolitions of infected places.

Provisions of the EDA Act

• The Act consists four sections, aims to provide for the better prevention of the spread of Dangerous Epidemic Diseases.

First Section

• It describes all the title and extent, the second part explains all the special powers given to the state government and centre to take special measures and regulations to contain the spread of disease.

Second Section

• It has a special subsection 2A empowers the central government to take steps to prevent the spread of an epidemic, especially allowing the government to inspect any ship arriving or leaving any post and the power to detain any person intending to sail or arriving in the country.

Third Section

• It provides penalties for disobeying any regulation or order made under the Act. These are according to Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant).

Fourth Section

• This section deals with legal protection to implementing officers acting under the Act.

Recent Implementation of EDA Act

• In 2018, the district collector of Gujarat’s Vadodara issued a notification under the Act declaring the Khedkarmsiya village in Waghodia taluka as cholera-affected after many people  complained of symptoms of the disease.
• In 2015, to deal with malaria and dengue in Chandigarh, the Act was implemented and controlling officers were instructed to ensure the issuance of notices and challans of Rs 500 to offenders.
• In 2009, to tackle the swine flu outbreak in Pune, Section 2 powers were used to open screening centres in civic hospitals across the city, and swine flu was declared a notifiable disease.

Scope for Misuse

• While it helps contain epidemics, the Act can also be misused.
• In 1897, for instance, freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak was imprisoned for 18 months under this Act for his newspaper Kesari‘s anti-establishment coverage of the plague, according to The Indian Express newspaper.

Limitations of EDA Act

• There is no clear definition of whether an epidemic is “dangerous” on the basis of the magnitude of the problem, the severity of the problem, the age of the population affected or its potential to spread internationally.
• There is no explicit reference pertaining to the ethical aspects or human rights principles during a response to an epidemic.
• The Act is purely regulatory in nature and lacks a specific public health focus.
• It does not describe the duties of the government in preventing and controlling epidemic.
• The Act emphasises the power of the government, but is silent on the rights of citizens. It has no provisions that take the people’s interest into consideration.
• The Act is not in line with the contemporary scientific understanding of outbreak prevention and response, but only reflects the scientific and legal standards that prevailed at the time when it was framed.
• For example, the Act placestoo much emphasis on isolation or quarantine measures, but is silent on the other scientific methods of outbreak prevention and control, such as vaccination, surveillance and organised public health response.

Need of the Hour

• The Act was formulated about 123 years ago and thus has major limitations in this era of changing priorities in public health emergency management.
• The factors leading to the emergence and spread of communicable diseases have also changed over the years.
• Some of the factors that need to be addressed now are the increasing rates of international travel,more extensive use of air travel compared to sea travel, greater migration within states, increased urbanisation, man-made ecological changes, changing climatic conditions, breakdown of public health measures and biosafety lapses.
• The Epidemic Diseases Act needs modifications in the changing scenario. For example, it is too oriented towards travel by ship and silent on “air travel”, which was uncommon at that time.
• The epidemiological concepts used in relation to the prevention and control of epidemic diseases have also changed over time.

Way Forward

• The political scenario in the country and Centre-state relationships have changed.The Act, as such, is not sufficient to deal with the prevention and control of communicable disease in the current situation.
• There is a need to strengthen legal frameworks to prevent and control the entry, spread and existence of communicable diseases in India.
• There is a need for an integrated, comprehensive, actionable and relevant legal provision for the control of outbreaks in India that should be articulated in a rights-based, people-focused and public health-oriented manner.

• On 29^th February, 2020, the US and Taliban signed an agreement for “Bringing Peace to Afghanistan”, which will enable the US and NATO to withdraw troops in the next 14 months and to facilitate intra-Afghan dialogue in Oslo (Norway) starting from 10^th March, 2020.
• India attended the signing ceremony which was held in Doha, Qatar.

Key Elements of the Pact

• Troops Withdrawal: The US will draw down to 8,600 troops in 135 days and the NATO or coalition troop numbers will also be brought down, proportionately and simultaneously.
• Counter-terrorism Assurances: The main counter-terrorism commitment by the Taliban is that it will not allow any of its members, other individuals or groups, including al-Qaeda, to use the soil of Afghanistan to threaten the security of the United States and its allies.
• Sanctions Removal: UN sanctions on Taliban leaders to be removed by three months (by May 29, 2020) and US sanctions by August 27, 2020.
• Prisoner Release: The US-Taliban pact says up to 5,000 imprisoned Taliban and up to 1,000 prisoners from “the other side” held by Taliban “will be released” by 10^th March, 2020.
• Ceasefire: The agreement states that, ceasefire will be simply “an item on the agenda” when intra-Afghan talks start and indicates actual ceasefire will come with the “completion” of an Afghan political agreement.

                                                                           Source: The Hindu

Challenges

• There are still many issues remain to be worked out during intra-Afghan negotiations, including sharing power, disarming and reintegrating Taliban fighters into society, and determining the future of the country’s democratic institutions and constitution.
• The process could be complicated by a weak central government, afflicted by ethnic, sectarian, and tribal differences, which may descend into open conflict and might start the next round of civil war, hampering the peace deal.
• At the same time, experts say the Taliban is stronger now than at any point in the last eighteen years. It earns millions of dollars from opium poppy cultivation and the illegal drug trade. Some analysts are also worried that rank-and-file Taliban fighters might not abide by a peace deal.

Impact on Afghanistan

• The U.S. withdrawal will invariably weaken the Kabul government, altering the balance of power both on the battlefield and at the negotiating table.
• The Taliban have got what they wanted: Troops withdrawal, removal of sanctions, and release of prisoners. This has also strengthened Pakistan, Taliban’s benefactor, and the Pakistan Army and the ISI’s influence appears to be on the rise.
• Further, the social change brought about by two decades of US presence in Afghanistan — human rights, female emancipation, entertainment — could be in peril.
• The future for the people of Afghanistan is uncertain, and will depend on how Taliban honours its commitments and whether it goes back to the mediaeval practices of its 1996-2001 regime.

Impact on India

• The Taliban perceived India as a hostile country, as India had supported the anti-Taliban force Northern Alliance in the 1990s.
• India never gave diplomatic and official recognition to the Taliban when it was in power during 1996-2001.
• The peace deal holds strategic and geopolitical implications for the country, which has invested billions of dollars in Afghanistan.
• The decision to withdraw precipitously from Afghanistan is likely to have far-reaching consequences for India – an increase in Taliban’s influence in Afghanistan could negatively impact the security situation in the restive Kashmir valley.
• Further, the pact is silent on other terrorist groups — such as anti-India groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba or Jaish-e-Mohammed. Again, India, not being an US ally, is not covered under this pact.
• The deal also holds significance in terms of the strained relations with Pakistan which has interests in the region.
• With US withdrawal from Afghanistan, Pakistan will indeed become an important player. And India’s security in the region would be far more vulnerable than it is today.

Way Forward

• The withdrawal of US forces has the probability of the creation of vacuum in the region and possibility of filling the void by terrorists and extremists.
• US, along with other stakeholders in the region like India, Russia and Chinashould be prepared for a long-term diplomatic engagement with Afghanistan, which will involve simultaneously strengthening the country’s political mainstream and integrating the Taliban within it.
• The challenges ahead are formidable. There is hope, but skepticism runs deeper.