- Indian Heritage
- Culture
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharajâs statue unveiled in Kupwara
ammu and Kashmir LieutenantGovernor Manoj Sinha and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Tuesday unveiled a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Kupwara district. The statue has been installed at the Armyâs 41 Rashtriya Rifles Maratha Light Infantry Regiment in the north Kashmir district which shares its border with Pakistan. Special prayers were held by a priest on the occasion. Mr. Shinde said the statue will always inspire the security forces.
- Modern Indian history
- The Freedom Struggle
- Post-independence
- Indian Society
–, population and associated issues
– poverty and developmental issues
– urbanization
7. Geographical features
8. Indian Constitution
9. Polity
10. Governance
– institutions
– regulatory
– Government policies
– role of NGOs
– measures
DISHA Scheme
The Minister of Law and Justice has informed Lok Sabha that âDesigning Innovative Solutions for Holistic Access to Justiceâ (DISHA) Scheme was launched for a period of five years 2021-2026
- It was launched in order to provide a comprehensive, holistic, integrated and systemic solution on access to justice at pan India level.
- It aims to secure âJusticeâ to the people of India as enunciated in the Preamble and under Articles 39A, 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India.
- It aims to design and consolidate various initiatives to provide citizen- centric delivery of legal services.
- Components: There are three components under DISHA at present,
- Tele-Law: Reaching the Unreached:
- To strengthen pre litigation legal advice and consultation, the Tele-Law Service connects the citizen with the Panel lawyers through the use of video /Teleconferencing facilities available at the Common Service Centres (CSCs) and via Tele-Law Mobile App.
- The Nyaya Bandhu Programme:
- The Nyaya Bandhu (Pro Bono Legal Services) programme aims to provide free legal assistance and counsel to the marginalized sections.
- Nyaya Bandhu Mobile Application, for android and iOS phones, has been developed to connect the registered Pro Bono Advocates with the registered applicants.
- Legal Awareness Programmes:
- To provide for a more robust framework, Legal Service Institutions network at the National, State and District and Taluk level, constituted under the Legal Services Authorities, Act, 1987.
- Information Education and Communication (IEC):
- In order to ensure its widened reach, dedicated Information Education and Communication (IEC) including (Technology) component has been embedded in DISHA.
- Tele-Law: Reaching the Unreached:
What are the Major Steps Taken on Access to Justice?
- National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms:
- The Mission has been pursuing a coordinated approach for phased liquidation of arrears and pendency in judicial administration, which, inter-alia, involves better infrastructure for courts, including computerization, an increase in strength of subordinate judiciary, policy and legislative measures.
- Improving Infrastructure for Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts:
- Rs. 9291.79 crores have been released since the inception of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for Development of Infrastructure Facilities.
- The number of court halls has increased from Significantly.
- Leveraging Information and Communication Technology (ICT):
- The Government has been implementing the e-Courts Mission Mode Project throughout the country for information and communication technology enablement of district and subordinate courts.
11. Social Justice
– Welfare schemes
– Health
– Education
How education fails the Constitution test
The book under review uses a wide lens drawn from a range of disciplines like history, sociology, and economics to critically examine the checkered origin and evolution of education in India against the backdrop of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The introduction by Maya John traces Indiaâs contested history of education, beginning with the pre-modern and the colonial periods. It draws attention to certain âdisturbing trendsâ in the post-independence years which sustained structural inequalities, that were later compounded by the rise of neoliberalism from the 1990s onwards. The fiÂrst four essays in this book explore these issues in the context of school and higher education against the backdrop of the NEP 2020.
Jyoti Raina examines the signifiÂcant shifts in successive education commission reports and policy frameworks to understand their impact in the sphere of school education in post-independent India.
The Kothari Commission Report 1964, Raina argues, typifiÂed âthe 1960s era of redistributive policymaking for inclusive developmentâ by promoting the idea of a common schooling system (CSS) along with provisions for uniforms, good quality textbooks, and trained teachers. In contrast, the National Policy on Education (NPE) 1986 and NEP 2020, situated as they were within a neoliberal framework, moved far away from the promise of providing quality equitable education.
Pointing to the legitimisation of an non-formal schooling system to address the problems of high dropouts among schoolchildren, the entry of non-governmental organisations to universalise elementary education, and funding by global agencies, Raina underscores how such policy shifts have resulted in the abandonment of constitutional promises.
According to Mohd. Bilal, successive educational policies and practices over the years have, in fact, enabled an âeducational apartheidâ against Dalits. While a sincere attempt was made by the Kothari Commission to end this apartheid through its proposal for CSS, the lack of political will prevented it from becoming a reality. Subsequent policy frameworks such as the NPE 1986 legitimised a multi-level schooling system while the Right to Education Act 2009, through its provisioning for 25 percent reservation of seats in private schools for children from economically weaker sections (EWS), rang a death knell to the idea of CSS.
The NEP 2020, Bilal opines, has furthered this âlong durĂ©eâ of educational apartheid through its provision for multiple exits right from Class 3, options for vocational studies, and support for privatisation of elementary education in the name of quality education.
Kumkum Roy fiÂnds the âlack of space accorded to the Constitutionâ within the NEP 2020 rather alarming, especially in the current context when âsocioeconomic, cultural and political diffÂerences and inequalities have become sharperâ. She questions the undue and singular importance accorded to Sanskrit in the NEP, the complete elision of any reference to the medieval period, as also the advocacy for the existence of a monolithic Indian knowledge system which âobliterates memories of the multiplicity and diversity of Indian traditionsâ and their rich, vibrant, and conflÂictual history.
Geetha B. Nambissan exposes the nexus between powerful global corporate houses and governmental agencies that has enabled an ever-expanding market for âedu-businessâ and âventure philanthropyâ both in urban and peri-urban India.
Nambissan questions whether such market-driven policies, which reduce education to narrow and artifiÂcially scripted learning outcomes and replace well-trained teachers with technology, can adequately address educational requirements, especially of those children who were the most affÂected by the pandemic. She emphasises the need to critically examine the NEP 2020âs proposition to improve government schools through public-philanthropic-partnerships (PPP).
Madhu Prasad examines how the NEP 2020 âreveals itself as a deliberate market-oriented education policy which is a manifest carrier of both historically entrenched exclusions and contemporary neoliberal inequalitiesâ. Under such a system, Prasad points out, knowledge gets reduced to pre-determined âcompetenciesâ and âlearning outcomesâ to be measured by âstandardised assessment mechanismsâ. It thus âmakes a mockery of all learning as it cultivates conformism in thought and produces persons fiÂtted only for being cogs in the economic and technological machineâ.
Focussing on higher education, Saumen Chattopadhyay provides a critical appraisal of key features in the NEP 2020 such as the push for online education through MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses), SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds) and ABC (Academic Bank of Credits).
While he agrees that these platforms might well provide students with the opportunity to choose from a range of e-learning courses and possibly give them an edge in the job market, he points to the prospect of âweakening of teacher-student relations and therefore undermining the emotional connection between the university and the studentsâ. This will adver
A case study conducted by L.R.S. Lakshmi among the Muslims of Lakshadweep makes a strong case for public provisioning as a viable means for providing quality equitable education.
sely impact campus life âwhich, in turn, can affÂect the self-formation of the students and their consequent contribution to societyâ.
Similarly, Debaditya Bhattacharya draws attention to the NEPâS proposal for transforming the entire teaching-learning process in the higher education sector to an online mode. He admits that it has the potential to enhance enrolment exponentially, especially among fiÂrst-generation learners, thereby leading to a certain democratisation of the higher education space. However, he cautions that this initial euphoria has every possibility of withering away, paving the way for âventure capitalist invasionâ into the higher education sector or âleveraged buyout of the university systemâ whereby âtechnical startups could make use of public resources to sell their products to prospective buyers of online educationâ.
Bhattacharya also highlights the NEPâS âcasteist biasâ as reflÂected in its deliberate silence on the state-mandated reservation policy and the inclusion of the amorphous category of âsocio-economically disadvantaged groupsâ (SEDG).
Rohan Dâsouza focusses on the âunholy allianceâ between Ed-tech giants and the current political regime, an alliance that has the potential to reshape the institutes of higher education from sites meant for nurturing students into active and reflÂective political citizens into mere âstudent users of a platform universityâ, bereft of any intellectual acumen for political activism.
He notes that with the increasing push towards online education, where learning becomes a personalised and individualised experience and not a collaborative one where dialogue, debate, and dissent are an integral part of academic life, public universities are likely to undergo a complete overhaul.
Anthony Joseph questions the feasibility of actualising the claim envisioned in the NEP of laying the foundation of a âNew Indiaâ that would evolve into a âknowledge societyâ to provide inclusive and equitable quality education. Since the state is willing to renounce its role in the development sector and hand over the responsibility to private organisations, Joseph foresees a situation where education will become an instrument for âderegulated, market responsive knowledge creationâ. He makes a case for developing teacher-educators who are reflÂexive, because reflÂexive pedagogy, he says, âpositions teacher-educators to collaboratively connect the dots from various teaching-learning settings to interrogate how provoked moments of disruption or clarity can fuse various interventions and lead to the mobilisation of transformative education for social justiceâ.
Maya John argues that in a context where most of the Indian youth, especially those from the most marginalised sections, aspire to access quality higher education as the best means for social mobility, a meaningful policy intervention should have created opportunities for âliquidation of a segmented education structure through the establishment of the common school, uniform allocation of resources which equalises the pre-existing disparity among central and regional universities and the creation of more public-funded universities with equitable funding to facilitate entry of the last person in line into the formal, regular mode of higher educationâ.
Instead, the NEP 2020, John writes, has paved the way for increased privatisation and greater hierarchisation in higher education through its provisioning of âmultiple exit optionsâ within school and college education and âmultiple pathwaysâ of learning (formal and non-formal modes). This, she states in the book, will only serve to rein
force the existing socio-economic inequalities in the country.
The book also includes an interesting case study, conducted by L.R.S. Lakshmi among the Muslims (a Scheduled Tribe) of Lakshadweep. The study highlights how a wellplanned investment by the Union Territory government, along with positive interventions by the Central government through policies like affiÂrmative action, resulted in large-scale educational achievement and upliftment.
The Lakshadweep islandsâ proximity to Kerala, the most literate region in the country, also helped the cause. The case study makes a strong case for public provisioning as a viable means for providing quality equitable education.
Put together, the 11 essays in this volume provide a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the issues that plague education in India today, both in the context of school and higher education. If organised diffÂerently, these thematically distinct, though not unrelated, ideas could have provided a better reading experience.
– Human Resources
– poverty and hunger
Jal Jeevan Mission
There are tanks, taps, and pipelines. But no water. Despite the Centreâs ambitious effÂorts, tap water remains elusive in Uttar Pradeshâs
Jal Jeevan Mission, is envisioned to provide safe and adequate drinking water through individual household tap connections by 2024 to all households in rural India. The programme will also implement source sustainability measures as mandatory elements, such as recharge and reuse through grey water management, water conservation, rain water harvesting. The Jal Jeevan Mission will be based on a community approach to water and will include extensive Information, Education and communication as a key component of the mission. The Jal Jeevan Mission will be based on a community approach to water and will include extensive Information, Education and communication as a key component of the mission. JJM looks to create a jan andolan for water, thereby making it everyoneâs priority..
12. International relations
– India and its neighbourhood
A verdict that hampers international law obligations
he foremost challenges foreign investors face in India is the uncertainty in taxation measures. Taxationrelated improbabilities arise not just due to the actions of the executive but also the judiciary. This makes doing business in India difficult for foreign players. The Supreme Court of Indiaâs recent judgment in the Assessing Officer Circle (International Taxation) New Delhi vs M/s Nestle SA case, which disposed of 11 petitions involving corporations such as Nestle (a Swiss multinational company) and Steria (a European company) deserves to be seen in this light. The critical question in the case was whether the most favoured nation (MFN) clause in tax treaties such as the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs) that India has signed, could be given effect in India without notification for the same under Section 90 of the IncomeTax Act. This provision allows India to sign tax treaties with other countries to avoid an income being taxed twice.
OOn Most Favoured Nation status
Indiaâs bilateral DTAAs with the Netherlands, France, and Switzerland â all three countries are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) â require imposing a 10% withholding tax (tax on dividends paid by Indian entities of foreign companies to the residents of Netherlands, France, and Switzerland). These DTAAs also contain an MFN provision. Thus, if India extends a preferential tax treatment to any third country âwhich is a member of the OECDâ, the same treatment should be accorded to the Netherlands, France, and Switzerland under their respective DTAAs. Indiaâs DTAAs with Slovenia, Colombia, and Lithuania have a lower withholding tax requirement of 5%.
When India signed DTAAs with these countries, they were not OECD members but joined the group later. When the matter initially came before the Delhi High Court, it held that under the MFN provision, the preferential tax in, say, the IndiaSlovenia DTAA should extend to the
Opaque scheme
The government of the day is often heard saying that âMaking India corruption freeâ is its prime task. Though we understand this to be âmission impossibleâ, such a statement elevates the âfeel goodâ factor â for some time , at least. But, subsequently, we are made to understand that such teaches at the Faculty of Legal Studies, South Asian University statements are mere political narratives. Let us now take the example of electoral bonds. Their âanonymousâ nature runs against the fundamental right to information. A voter, as a citizen, should have the right to know the source of funds to a candidate. Also, nothing comes free and such donations promote
IndiaNetherlands DTAA. However, the Supreme Court overruled this, holding that when the IndiaNetherlands DTAA was signed, Slovenia was not an OECD member. Thus, the benefits given to Slovenia, which became an OECD member later, do not apply to the IndiaNetherlands DTAA. This ruling will impose a tax burden estimated to be âč11,000 crore on foreign investors. It may also lead to opening past cases.
This reasoning is specious because it freezes the provisions of a treaty in time. There is nothing in the text of the IndiaNetherlands DTAA, for example, to prove that the words âis a member of the OECDâ are restricted to countries that were members on the day the treaty was signed. It is puzzling that the top court used domestic interpretative techniques to interpret a term in an international treaty. Such an interpretation defeats the purpose of including nondiscrimination standards such as MFN in economic treaties. MFN in a treaty ensures that future benefits given to a third country by one of the treatysigning countries become automatically available to its treaty partners.
Dualism strikes back
The Supreme Court held that to give effect to the MFN provision in the DTAA, notification under Section 90(1) of the Income Tax Act is necessary and mandatory. Thus, the Court advocated the doctrine of dualism wherein international law is not enforceable domestically till it is transformed into municipal law through enabling legislation. While it is true that the Indian Constitution provides for such formal dualism, the Supreme Court has moved away from this principle toward the monist tradition of incorporating international law in the domestic legal regime, even if it is not explicitly incorporated, provided the international law is not inconsistent with domestic law.
– groupings and agreements
– Indian diaspora
– International institutions
World Intellectual Property Indicators Report
Global patenting activity soared to new records in 2022, fueled by Indian and Chinese innovators, but an uncertain economic outlook is weighing on further growth.
Interactive charts: Barchart
Even as global filings for trademarks and designs dropped, innovators from around the world submitted 3.46 million patent applications in 2022, marking a third consecutive year of growth, according to WIPOâs annual World Intellectual Property Indicators (WIPI) report.
China, the US, Japan, Republic of Korea and Germany were the countries with the highest numbers of patent filings in 2022. While innovators from China continue to file nearly half of all global patent applications, the countryâs growth rate dipped for a second consecutive year from 6.8% in 2021 to 3.1% in 2022. Meantime, patent applications by residents of India grew by 31.6% in 2022, extending an 11-year run of growth unmatched by any other country among the top 10 filers.
In releasing the report, WIPO Director General Daren Tang warned that geopolitical instability and an uncertain economic outlook could weigh on the global intellectual property (IP) ecosystem.
Trademark application class counts declined by 14.5% in 2022, following extraordinary growth in 2020 and 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a shift in work and life patterns, spurring the introduction of new goods and services into the marketplace. Similarly, industrial design filing activity recorded a 2.1% decline, following growth over the previous four years [1].
Continuing a longer-term trend, the bulk of IP filing activity occurs in Asia, from all origins. Asia accounted for 67.9%, 67.8% and 70.3% of global patent, trademarks and industrial designs filing activity in 2022.
13. Economic Development
– Government Budgeting
– agricultural produce
– industrial
– Infrastructure
– Investment models
– issues
14. Technology
15. Environment
Hydropower project
THE shelving of the 1,750-megawatt hydropower project in Arunachal Pradesh after over a decade is a blessing in disguise (âWildlife be damnedâ, November 3). Eastern Arunachal Pradesh is an eco-sensitive and earthquake-prone region, located as it is in Zone V of the seismic map.
Authorities venturing into the revival of the damâs construction would do well to learn from the recent devastation in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Sikkim owing to the unmindful exploitation of natural resources
16. Security
17. Disaster Management