Daily Prelims Notes 30 May 2022

Daily Prelims Notes

30 May 2022

Table Of Contents

1. 30th anniversary of the Panchayati Raj 
2. Planetary boundaries and biodiversity
3. West Nile Virus
4. Community Forest Resource Area
5. UN-Habitat
6. Aadhar advisory
7. National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NABFID)
8. Indo-US trade
9. Linkage between WPI and CPI
10. Fair Price Shops
11. Rule of origin
12. IndiGo fined for denying boarding
13. CITU complains to ILO on anganwadi layoffs

1. 30th anniversary of the Panchayati Raj

Concept:

• Three decades ago, in 1992, the Constitution 73rd (on Panchayat Raj) and 74th Amendment Acts (on Nagarpalika or urban local bodies) were enacted.
• These amendments were to give expression to Article 40 of the Constitution which enshrines one of the Directive Principles of State Policy, which requires the State to take steps to organise village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government.

Historical Background

• India has a long history of ‘democratic’ institutions from ancient times.
• Marked by shared sovereignty, the separation of power and authority left the villages to a great extent to function as self-governing village republics.
• REGULATING ACT OF 1773
  The earliest efforts in municipal Government in India were made in the Presidency towns of Madras, Calcutta and Bombay. In 1687, an order of the Court of Directors directed the formation of a Corporation of European and Indian members of the city of Madras. However, the Corporation did not survive.
• Under the Regulating Act of 1773 the Governor-General nominated the servants of the Company and other British inhabitants, to be the Justice of Peace, to appoint for the cleaning and repairing of the street of Calcutta, Madras and Bombay.
• In the year 1817 and 1830, sporadic attempts were made in Madras and Calcutta to undertake works paid out of the lottery funds and much was done with this money in laying out these towns.
• In1840, an Act widened and in 1841 an Act was passed for Madras. These Act widened the purpose for which the municipal assessment was to be utilized.  The inhabitants of the towns were given control over the assessment and collection of taxes. There was no response from the public.

Charles T. Metcalfe, the acting Governor-General of India (1835-38) recorded that “The village communities are little republics, having nearly everything that they can want within themselves…Dynasty after dynasty tumbles down. Revolution succeeds to revolution…. but the village communities remain the same……This union of the village communities, each one forming a separate little state in itself, has contributed more than any other cause to the preservation of the peoples of India.”

MAYO’S RESOLUTION OF 1870
It was only after 1870 that real progress was made in direction of local-self government. Lord Mayo’s government in their Resolution of 1870 dealing with decentralization of finance, referred to the necessity of talking further steps to bring local interests and supervision to bear on the management of funds devoted to education, sanitation, public works, etc. New municipal Acts were passed in the various provinces between 1871 and 1874. The Acts extended the elective principle. The results of the policy of 1870 were described in the Resolution of the Local self-government, 1882, thus considerable progress  had been made since 1870.  A large income from local rates and cesses had been secured, and some provinces the management of the income had been freely entrusted to local bodies.

RIPON’S RESOLUTION OF 1881
The next step was taken during the tenure of Lord Ripon who has been rightly called the father of Local Self-government in India. His resolution on Local Self-government is a great landmark in the growth of Local Self-government in the country. After pointing out the beneficial effects on the local finance of the resolution of 1870,the resolution of 1881 stated that the Governor-General of India thought time had come when further steps should be taken to develop the idea of Lord Mayo’s Government. It was asserted that agreements with the provincial Government regarding finance should not ignore the question of Local Self-revenues to the local bodies.

RESOLUTION OF 1882
In this Resolution of Lord Ripon took special pains to make it clear that the expansion of the system of Local Self-government. Would not bring about a change for the better from the point of view of efficiency in municipal administration.

Lord Ripon’s resolution enunciated the following principles which were henceforth to inform and guide local government in India:

1. Local bodies should have mostly elected non-governmental members and chairman.
2. The state control over local bodies should be indirect rather than direct.
3. These bodies must be endowed with adequate financial resources to carry out their functions.
4. Local government personnel should operate under the administrative control of the local bodies. The government personnel who are deputed to the local government must be treated as employees of the local government and subject to government its control.
5. The resolution of 1882 should be interpreted by the provincial government according to the local conditions prevalent in provinces.

Another significant stage in the history 0f local government was the publication in 1909 of the report of Royal commission upon Decentralization, set up in 1906. It made the following principal recommendations:

1. The village should be regarded as the basic unit of local self-government institutions and every village should be constituted in urban areas.
2. There should be a substantial majority of elected members in the local bodies.
3. The municipality should elect its own president, but the district collector should continue to be the president of the district local board.
4. Municipalities should be given the necessary authority to determine the taxes and to prepare their budgets after keeping a minimum reserve fund. The government should give grants for public works like water-supply, drainage scheme, etc.
5. The bigger cities should have the services of full-time nominated officer. Local bodies should enjoy full control over their employee’s subject, of course to certain safe-guards for the security of services.

INDIA ISSUED THE RESOLUTION RE-AFFMING 1918
In 1918 the object of self government is to train the people in the management of their own local affairs and the political education of this sort must in the main take precedence over consideration of departmental efficiency. It follows from this that local bodies should be as representative as possible of the people whose affairs they are called upon to administer, that their authority in  the matter entrusted should be real and not nominal and that they should not be subjected to unnecessary control, should learn mistakes and profiting bt them.

The resolution contained the following:

1. Panchayats should be levied in the villages.
2. local bodies should contain a large elective majority.
3. local government should be made broad-based by suitably extending the franchise.
4. The president of the local body should be a member of the public and elected, rather than nominated.
5. Local should be allowed freedom in the preparation of the budget, the imposition of taxes and sanction of works.

THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ACT OF 1935
The diarchic system of government at the provincial level was replaced by provincial autonomy.  The national movement for independence was also reaching new proportions. With the growing strength of the national movement in India ceased to be a mere experimental station of self-government The central provinces set up on enquiry committee in 1935, the united provinces in 1938, and Bombay in 1939. Although the recommendations of the municipal enquiry committees were unevently carried out in various provinces, there was a definite trend towards democratization of local government by further lowering of the franchise and abolition of system of nominations, and secondly by the separation of deliberative functions from executive ones.

After Independence: 

• Panchayat Raj did not find a place in the draft Constitution.
• As a result of the efforts of M.K. Gandhi, Article 40 was inserted in the Directive Principles of State Policy of the Constitution and thus, was left for the future governments to deal with.
• After the 1950’s, many states created a new three-tier system or a two tier system of local governance, but they all faced neglect.
• Numerous official committees examined the issue of effective rural governance.
• The Balwant Rai Mehta Committee (1957) recommended the transfer of decision-making powers from the state to the village panchayats.
• The National Development Council (1958) wanted democracy to be extended to the grassroots and people’s participation in all governmental processes and development.
• The Ashok Mehta Committee (1977) proposed a two-tier system with the district panchayats to be the power centre below the state.
• The V.K. Rao committee (1985) recommended a three-tier structure.
• Recognising the gram sabhas to be incarnations of direct democracy, the L.M. Singhvi Committee (1986), favored a new chapter to be brought in through constitutional amendment, with the gram sabha as the base of decentralized democracy.
• This resulted in the 73rd Amendment Act on Panchayat Raj and Constitution 74th Amendment Act on Nagarpalika, passed on December 22 and 23, 1992 respectively.

The amendments

• Two new parts were added to the Constitution: Part IX ‘The Panchayats’ and Part IXA ‘The Municipalities’.
• The Acts transferred 29 subjects to the panchayats and 18 subjects to the municipalities.
• Rural governance was to be handed over to a three-tier Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs), and urban governance to three types of municipalities, one each for the large and smaller urban areas, and towns in transition from rural to urban area.
• As the subject of ‘local government’ is under the State list in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, the States were to enact suitable laws for operationalising Panchayats.

Exemptions

• Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya, hill areas of Manipur, hill areas of Darjeeling district in West Bengal, and the scheduled areas and tribal areas referred to in Article 244 (1) and (2) of the Constitution were exempted from the application of the 73rd Amendment.
• The special Constitutional provisions under Article 371A for Nagaland  and 371G for Mizoram  provide exclusive power to their state assemblies on matters concerning religious or social practices, customary law and procedure of the concerned communities, administration of civil and criminal justice in areas covered by customary law, and ownership and transfer of land and its resources.
• Similar arrangements exist in the Sixth Schedule Areas, dominated by tribal populations.
• Such areas are in Assam (six of the 21 districts), Meghalaya (except for the municipality and cantonment of Shillong), Tripura (about 68% of the State) and Mizoram (three districts).

2. Planetary boundaries and biodiversity

• Biodiversity has been defined as one of nine planetary boundaries that help regulate the planet’s operating system.
• But humanity is crossing those boundaries, threatening life on Earth.
• The planetary boundary for biodiversity loss was initially measured by extinction rates, but this, as well as other measurements, have proved to be insufficient in determining a global threshold for biodiversity loss.
• While the planetary boundary framework provides one way of understanding biodiversity or biosphere integrity loss, there are many other measures of biodiversity loss — and all point toward the fact that we are continuing to dangerously destabilize life on Earth.

Planetary Boundary theory

• According to this theory, a theory that argues Earth has nine biophysical subsystems or processes with clear limits beyond which they cannot withstand anthropogenic pressure.
• These were described as climate change, the rate of biodiversity loss, interference with the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles, ozone depletion, ocean acidification, global freshwater use, land use changes, chemical and other pollution, and atmospheric aerosol loading.
• If humanity stays within the “safe operating space” of these boundaries, life can thrive, the theory suggests.
• If the thresholds are crossed, humanity can push Earth into a new, dangerous state that isn’t as accommodating to life as we know it.
• While it is difficult, if not impossible, to identify a global threshold for biosphere integrity, many researchers suggest that biodiversity boundaries can be defined at local or regional scales through something called “regime shifts,” also known as “tipping points.”
• A regime shift is an abrupt change that fundamentally alters the structure and function of an ecosystem, changing it from one state to another. In most cases, such shifts are irreversible.
• However, in most cases, regime shifts aren’t identified until after the process has occurred.
• Despite all these uncertainties, researchers argue that biosphere integrity acts as a core boundary in the planetary boundary framework, providing capacity for the planet to adjust to changes that occur in other boundaries, such as elevated levels of ocean acidification, and the onslaught of plastic pollution and other man-made chemicals.
• But if the biosphere becomes too compromised through anthropogenic pressures, other boundaries will weaken as a result.
• Despite the many uncertainties surrounding biosphere integrity and the approaches to measuring it, experts agree that biodiversity loss is happening now at unacceptable rates.

3. West Nile Virus

• The West Nile Virus is a mosquito-borne, single-stranded RNA virus.
• According to the WHO, it is “a member of the flavivirus genus and belongs to the Japanese Encephalitis antigenic complex of the family Flaviviridae”.

Transmission

• Culex species of mosquitoes act as the principal vectors for transmission.
• It is transmitted by infected mosquitoes between and among humans and animals, including birds, which are the reservoir host of the virus.
• WNV can also spread through blood transfusion, from an infected mother to her child, or through exposure to the virus in laboratories.
• It is not known to spread by contact with infected humans or animals.
• Mosquitoes become infected when they feed on infected birds, which circulate the virus in their blood for a few days.
• The virus eventually gets into the mosquito’s salivary glands.
• During later blood meals (when mosquitoes bite), the virus may be injected into humans and animals, where it can multiply and possibly cause illness.
• WNV outbreak sites are found along major bird migratory routes.

Symptoms

• The disease is asymptomatic in 80% of the infected people. The rest develop what is called the West Nile fever or severe West Nile disease.
• In these 20% cases, the symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, body aches, nausea, rash, and swollen glands.
• Severe infection can lead to encephalitis, meningitis, paralysis, and even death.
• It usually turns fatal in persons with comorbidities and immuno-compromised persons (such as transplant patients).

Prevention

• This vector-borne disease can be prevented by protecting one-self from mosquito bites.
• Other steps are wearing clothing that acts as a barrier to exposure to bites, reducing breeding sites, covering water storage containers, eliminating puddles and drainage of places where water accumulates, eliminating unusable containers where water pools, and controlling garbage in yards and gardens.

4. Community Forest Resource Area

• The community forest resource area is the common forest land that has been traditionally protected and conserved for sustainable use by a particular community.
• The community uses it to access resources available within the traditional and customary boundary of the village; and for seasonal use of landscape in case of pastoralist communities.
• Each CFR area has a customary boundary with identifiable landmarks recognised by the community and its neighboring villages.
• It may include forest of any category – revenue forest, classified & unclassified forest, deemed forest, DLC land, reserve forest, protected forest, sanctuary and national parks etc.

Community Forest Resource rights

• Aimed at undoing the “historic injustice” meted out to forest-dependent communities due to curtailment of their customary rights over forests, the FRA came into force in 2008.
• The Community Forest Resource rights under Section 3(1)(i) of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act (commonly referred to as the Forest Rights Act or the FRA) provide for recognition of the right to “protect, regenerate or conserve or manage” the community forest resource.
• These rights allow the community to formulate rules for forest use by itself and others and thereby discharge its responsibilities under Section 5 of the FRA.
• CFR rights, along with Community Rights (CRs) under Sections 3(1)(b) and 3(1)(c), which include nistar rights and rights over non-timber forest products, ensure sustainable livelihoods of the community.
• These rights give the authority to the Gram Sabha to adopt local traditional practices of forest conservation and management within the community forest resource boundary.
• It is important as it recognises the community’s right to use, manage and conserve forest resources, and to legally hold forest land that these communities have used for cultivation and residence.
• It also underlines the integral role that forest dwellers play in sustainability of forests and in conservation of biodiversity.
• It is of greater significance inside protected forests like national parks, sanctuaries and tiger reserves as traditional dwellers then become a part of management of the protected forests using their traditional wisdom.

5. UN-Habitat

• The United Nations Habitat Program (UN-Habitat) is a global programme for Urban development that promotes sustainable human settlements.
• It is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all.

Objectives

• As an inter-governmental policy-making and decision-making body, the Governing Council of UN-Habitat seeks to promote an integral and comprehensive approach to human settlements, assist the countries and regions in addressing human settlement problems and strengthen cooperation among all countries on the human settlement issue.
• It was established with a vision to provide well-governed, well-planned and efficient cities and other human settlements. These settlements would have adequate housing and infrastructure along with enough basic necessities like water, sanitation and electricity.

UN-Habitat Publications/Reports

• The State of the World’s Cities
• The Global Report on Human Settlements
• New Urban Agenda
• Sustainable Development Goals and Urban Local Bodies – The Future We Want

6. Aadhar advisory

• The central government has withdrawn with immediate effect its recent advisory that warned citizens not to share photocopies of their Aadhaar cards with any organization as they can be misused.
• It included:
  • The notification asked citizens to use a masked Aadhaar which displays only the last 4 digits of the Aadhaar number and can be downloaded from UIDAI’s official website.
  • The government also suggested citizens avoid using a public computer at an internet cafe or kiosk to download their e-Aadhaar. However if one still needs to do so, they must ensure to delete all the downloaded copies of e-Aadhaar permanently from that computer.
  • Only those organizations that have obtained a User License from the UIDAI can use Aadhaar for establishing the identity of a person. Unlicensed private entities like hotels or film halls are not permitted to collect or keep copies of Aadhaar card. It is an offence under the Aadhaar Act 2016.

7. National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NABFID) 

Context :

The central bank also observed that the setting up of the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NABFID) is expected to shift the burden of long-term financing away from banks.

Concept: 

National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NABFID) 

NBFID will be set up as a corporate body with authorised share capital of one lakh crore rupees.

Objectives:

• To directly or indirectly lend, invest, or attract investments for infrastructure projects located entirely or partly in India.
• It intends facilitating the development of the market for bonds, loans, and derivatives for infrastructure financing.

Functions of NBFID:

• Extending loans and advances for infrastructure projects.
• Taking over or refinancing such existing loans.
• Attracting investment from private sector investors and institutional investors for infrastructure projects.
• Organising and facilitating foreign participation in infrastructure projects.
• Facilitating negotiations with various government authorities for dispute resolution in the field of infrastructure financing.
• Providing consultancy services in infrastructure financing.

Source of Funds:

• It may raise money in the form of loans or otherwise both in Indian rupees and foreign currencies, or secure money by the issue and sale of various financial instruments including bonds and debentures.
• It may borrow money from the central government, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), scheduled commercial banks, mutual funds, and multilateral institutions such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.

Initially, the central government will own 100% shares of the institution which may subsequently be reduced up to 26%.

Management of NBFID:

• NBFID will be governed by a Board of Directors.
• The Chairperson will be appointed by the central government in consultation with RBI.
• A body constituted by the central government will recommend candidates for the post of the Managing Director and Deputy Managing Directors.
• The Board will appoint independent directors based on the recommendation of an internal committee.

Support from the Central Government:

• The central government will provide grants worth Rs. 5,000 crore to NBFID by the end of the first financial year.
• The government will also provide guarantee at a concessional rate of up to 0.1% for borrowing from multilateral institutions, sovereign wealth funds, and other foreign funds.
• Costs towards insulation from fluctuations in foreign exchange (in connection with borrowing in foreign currency) may be reimbursed by the government in part or full.
• Upon request by NBFID, the government may guarantee the bonds, debentures, and loans issued by NBFID.

Prior Sanction For Investigation And Prosecution:

• No investigation can be initiated against employees of NBFID without the prior sanction of the central government in case of the chairperson or other directors, and the managing director in case of other employees.
• Courts will also require prior sanction for taking cognisance of offences in matters involving employees of NBFID.

8. Indo-US trade

Context:

The US surpassed China to become India’s top trading partner in 2021-22, reflecting strengthening economic ties between the two countries

• Exports to the US increased to $76.11 billion in 2021-22 from $51.62 billion in the previous fiscal year
• Imports rose to $43.31 billion as compared to about $29 billion in 2020-21.

Concept: 

Bilateral trade trends:

• In 2019-20, the bilateral trade between the USA and India stood at USD 88.75 billion.
• The USA is one of the few countries with which India has a trade surplus.
• India’s trade surplus with the USA increased to USD 17.42 billion in 2019-20 from USD 16.86 billion in 2018-19.
• For the USA, India was the sixth largest supplier of services imports.
• Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) Programme-Effective from June 2019, the USA decided to withdraw duty-free benefits to Indian exporters under the GSP programme.
• India and the United States signed various foundational agreements including the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement – BECA.

Generalized System of Preferences (GSP):

It is an umbrella that comprises the bulk of preferential schemes granted by industrialized nations to developing countries. It involves reduced Most Favored Nations (MFN) Tariffs or duty-free entry of eligible products exported by beneficiary countries to the markets of donor countries.

The GSP was adopted at UNCTAD in New Delhi in 1968 and was instituted in 1971.

There are currently 13 national GSP schemes notified to the UNCTAD secretariat.

UNCTAD. The 13 countries that provide GSP preferences to emerging and developing countries are:

• Australia
• Belarus
• Canada
• European Union
• Iceland
• Japan
• Kazakhstan
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Russia
• Switzerland
• Turkey
• USA

The motive behind granting GSPs is to help developing countries and particularly least developed countries (LDCs) to promote productive capacity development and to encourage trade and investment.

Foundational agreements:

India and the United States signed the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA), which, along with the two agreements signed earlier — the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) and the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) — forms the “foundational pacts” for deep military cooperation between the two countries.

1. Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA)?

BECA will help India get real-time access to American geospatial intelligence that will enhance the accuracy of automated systems and weapons like missiles and armed drones.

Through the sharing of information on maps and satellite images, it will help India access topographical and aeronautical data, and advanced products that will aid in navigation and targeting.

BECA will provide Indian military systems with a high-quality GPS to navigate missiles with real-time intelligence to precisely target the adversary.

2. Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) ?

LEMOA was the first of the three pacts to be signed in August 2016.

LEMOA allows the militaries of the US and India to replenish from each other’s bases, and access supplies, spare parts and services from each other’s land facilities, air bases, and ports, which can then be reimbursed.

The signing of LEMOA was in itself an affirmation of the mutual trust between the two militaries, and its application will enhance the trust.

3. Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA)?

COMCASA was signed in September 2018, after the first 2+2 dialogue during which then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and then Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met the visiting Secretary of State Michael R Pompeo and then Secretary of Defence James N Mattis.

The pact allows the US to provide India with its encrypted communications equipment and systems so that Indian and US military commanders, and the aircraft and ships of the two countries, can communicate through secure networks during times of both peace and war.

The signing of COMCASA paved the way for the transfer of communication security equipment from the US to India to facilitate “interoperability” between their forces — and potentially with other militaries that use US-origin systems for secure data links.

9. Linkage between WPI and CPI

Context

Wholesale price inflation hit 15.08% in April, the highest since September 1991, having grown at double-digit rates for the 13th month in a row. Meanwhile, inflation based on the consumer price index (CPI), scaled an 8-year high of 7.79% in April and breached the upper band of the RBI’s medium-term target for a fourth straight month.

How is WPI unrelated to the CPI (likely causes of the divergence)?

There are various layers between the wholesale price and retail price:

• One is the additional cost of transportation from the wholesale to the point of sale– a rise in this cost of transportation would be translated into a higher CPI but no effect on the WPI.
• Another is the retail mark-up– if there is scarcity, the retail margin goes up, adding to the price.
• Exclusion of services- the wholesale market is only for goods, you cannot buy services on a wholesale basis. 
• Differential weighing-Certain items on WPI, such as fuel, are also closely linked to international prices, creating a gap between the figures on this index and the CPI.
• Differences in the indirect taxes-WPI is the wholesale price index hence, excludes indirect taxes levied on various goods.

How is the CPI linked to the WPI?

• Input prices and cost of production- WPI includes the price of intermediate goods, if these are dearer, goes on increasing the CPI in the longer run.
• Imported inflation-WPI reflects the imported inflation- especially in the crude oil price rise which is again a basic intermediate good in various goods measured under the CPI.
• Rise in transportation cost-due to rise in crude oil prices.

10. Fair Price Shops

Context:

Of the ubiquitous fair price shops (FPSes) in the country, as many as 15,300 are now serving as financial services agents for the masses, a move that will catalyze the process of financial inclusion and boost digital connectivity in remote areas.

Concept

Under the Digital India initiative, the food ministry in collaboration with the ministry of electronics and IT has identified at least 0.13 million FPSes out of the existing 0.53 million outlets which have the potential to be revamped into Common Service Centres.

Fair Price Shops:

Fair Price Shop means a shop which has been licensed to distribute essential commodities by an order issued under section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, to the ration card holders under the Targeted Public Distribution System.

The term is defined in Section 2(4) of National Food Security Act, 2013.

Responsibility:

It is the responsibility of every State Government to establish institutionalised licensing arrangements for fair price shops in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2001 made under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, as amended from time to time for efficient operations of the Targeted Public Distribution System.

Under the Targeted Public Distribution System, it is the duty of the State Government to-

• take delivery of foodgrains from the designated depots of the Central Government in the State, at the prices specified,
• organise intra-State allocations for delivery of the allocated foodgrains through their authorised agencies at the door-step of each fair price shop; and
• ensure actual delivery or supply of the foodgrains to the entitled persons at the prices specified

Every local authority, or any other authority or body, as may be authorised by the State Government, can conduct or cause to conduct, periodic social audits on the functioning of fair price shops, Targeted Public Distribution System and other welfare schemes, and may publicise its findings and take necessary action, in such manner as may be prescribed by the State Government.

The State Government can fix an amount as the fair price shop owner’s margin, which may be periodically reviewed for ensuring sustained viability of the fair price shop operations. The State Governments may allow sale of commodities other than the foodgrains distributed under the Targeted Public Distribution System at the fair price shop to improve the viability of the fair price shop operations.

FPS are mandated to make a lot of disclosures such as opening and closing stock, sample quality of grains sold, retail price details etc. Accounts of the actual distribution of foodgrains and the balance stock at the end of the month, at the fair price shop, have to be sent to the designated authority of the State Government with a copy to the local authority.

Common Service Centre:

• It is an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY).
• The CSC is a strategic cornerstone of the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP), approved by the Government in May 2006, as part of its commitment in the National Common Minimum Programme to introduce e-governance on a massive scale.
• They are the access points for delivery of various electronic services to villages in India, thereby contributing to a digitally and financially inclusive society. CSCs enable the three vision areas of the Digital India programme:

1. Digital infrastructure as a core utility to every citizen.
2. Governance and services on demand.
3. Digital empowerment of citizens.

• The objective of CSCs is to provide high quality and cost-effective video, voice and data content and services, in the areas of e-governance, education, health, telemedicine, entertainment as well as other private services..
• The PPP (Public Private Partnership) model of the CSC scheme envisages a 3-tier structure consisting of the:
  • CSC operator (called Village Level Entrepreneur or VLE);
  • Service Centre Agency (SCA), that will be responsible for a division of 500-1000 CSCs; and
  • State Designated Agency (SDA) identified by the State Government responsible for managing the implementation in the entire State.

CSC 2.0 Scheme:

Based on the assessment of the CSC scheme, the Government launched the CSC 2.0 scheme in 2015 to expand the outreach of CSCs to all Gram Panchayats across the country. CSCs functioning under the existing scheme will also be strengthened and integrated with an additional 1.5 lakh CSCs across the country.

11. Rule of origin

Context:

The directorate general of foreign trade has tweaked the import policy of major paper products from ‘free’ to ‘free subject to compulsory registration under the Paper Import Monitoring System

Concept:

The local paper industry has been raising issues of dumping of paper products in the domestic market by way of under-invoicing, entry of prohibited goods by fake declaration, re-routing goods through other countries in lieu of trade agreements.

Customs officials have long suspected that Chinese firms may be diverting their supplies of various products to India through Asean nations, abusing rules of origin, to illegally take advantage of duty-free market access under the free trade agreement.

Concept:

Dumping is said to occur when the goods are exported by a country to another country at a price lower than the price it normally charges in its own home market.

This is an unfair trade practice which can have a distortive effect on international trade.

Imposition of Anti-dumping duty is a measure to rectify the situation arising out of the dumping of goods and its trade distortive effect. In the long-term, anti-dumping duties can reduce the international competition of domestic companies producing similar goods. It is a protectionist tariff that a domestic government imposes on foreign imports that it believes are priced below fair market value.

The use of anti-dumping measures as an instrument of fair competition is permitted by the World Trade Organisation.

Rule of Origin: 

Rules of origin are the criteria needed to determine the national source of a product. Their importance is derived from the fact that duties and restrictions in several cases depend upon the source of imports. Mentioning Countries of origin in the Bill is relevant for regulating various areas of customs.

Rules of origin are used:

•  to implement measures and instruments of commercial policy such as anti-dumping duties and safeguard measures;
• to determine whether imported products shall receive most-favoured-nation (MFN) treatment or preferential treatment;
• for the purpose of trade statistics;
• for the application of labelling and marking requirements; and
• for government procurement.

Non-preferential rules of origin

Non-preferential rules of origin are those which apply in the absence of any trade preference — that is, when trade is conducted on a most-favoured nation basis. Not all countries apply specific legislation related to non-preferential rules of origin. However, some trade policy measures such as quotas, anti-dumping or “made in” labels may require a determination of origin and, therefore, the application of non-preferential rules.

Preferential rules of origin

Preferential rules or origin are those which apply in reciprocal trade preferences (i.e. regional trade agreements or customs unions) or in non-reciprocal trade preferences (i.e. preferences in favour of developing countries or least-developed countries).

The rules of origin which apply under reciprocal trade preferences or regional trade agreements must conform with the general disciplines of Annex II of the Agreement on Rules of Origin. In addition, the GATT and the Agreement on Trade Facilitation contain some provisions related to origin requirements.

Law in India:

• Finance Act of 2020, introduced Section 28DA under the Customs Act, 1962 as an enabling provision for administration of Rules of Origin under trade agreements.
• Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules, 2020 -provide specific provisions and outline a roadmap for governance of claims made under the trade agreements by the importers of goods in India. Further the onus of maintaining the requisite documents and checking the correctness & accuracy of the Countries of origin is through reasonable care has been placed on the importer.

Rules of origin and WTO:

Article 1 of the WTO  Agreement defines rules of origin as those laws, regulations and administrative determinations of general application applied to determine the country of origin of goods except those related to the granting of tariff preferences.

Thus, the Agreement covers only rules of origin used in non-preferential commercial policy instruments, such as MFN treatment, anti-dumping and countervailing duties, safeguard measures, origin marking requirements and any discriminatory quantitative restrictions or tariff quotas, as well as those used for trade statistics and government procurement. It is, however, provided that the determinations made for purposes of defining domestic industry or “like products of domestic industry” shall not be affected by the Agreement.

The agreement aims at long-term harmonization of rules of origin, other than rules of origin relating to the granting of tariff preferences, and to ensure that such rules do not themselves create unnecessary obstacles to trade.

The agreement sets up a harmonization programme, to be initiated as soon as possible after the completion of the Uruguay Round and to be completed within three years of initiation.

12. IndiGo fined for denying boarding

In a first for any airline in the country, the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has imposed a fine of ₹5 lakh on IndiGo for denying boarding to a boy with special needs earlier this month at Ranchi airport

DGCA

• The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is the statutory body formed under the Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2020.
• This directorate investigates aviation accidents and incidents, maintains all regulations related to aviation and is responsible for issuance of licenses pertaining to aviation like PPL’s, SPL’s and CPL’s in India.
• It is headquartered along Sri Aurobindo Marg, opposite Safdarjung Airport, in New Delhi.
• The Government of India is planning to replace the organisation with a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), modelled on the lines of the American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

13. CITU complains to ILO on anganwadi layoffs

The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) has approached the International Labour Organisation (ILO) against the Haryana and Delhi governments for retrenching 975 and 991 anganwadi workers, respectively, for striking work demanding an increase in honorarium that the retrenchments were a gross violation of several principles of fundamental rights of the workers as enshrined in ILO Conventions, ILO recommendations and declarations.

Anganwadi:

• Anganwadi is a centrally sponsored scheme implemented by the States / UTs which serves as a rural child and maternal care centre in India.
• It was started by the Government of India In 1975 as part of the Integrated Child Development Services program to combat child hunger and malnutrition.
• Anganwadi centres provide a package of six services: supplementary nutrition, pre-school non-formal education, immunisation, health check-up, nutrition and health education, and referral services.
• The beneficiaries under the Anganwadi Services Scheme are identified on the basis of Aadhaar.

ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work

Adopted in 1998, the Declaration commits Member States to respect and promote principles and rights in four categories, whether or not they have ratified the relevant Conventions.

These categories are:

• freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining,
• the elimination of forced or compulsory labour,
• the abolition of child labour
• the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
• The ILO was created in 1919 by the Versailles Peace Treaty.
• After the demise of the League of Nations, it became the first specialized agency associated with the UN.
• Its secretariat is in Geneva, Switzerland.
• It has 187 of the 193 UN member states plus the Cook Islands.
• It is responsible for drawing up and over seeing international labour standards.
• It has a tripartite governing structure – representing governments, employers, and workers.
• It publishes Global Wage report.

Eight Core Conventions of the ILO

• Forced Labour Convention (No. 29)
• Abolition of Forced Labour Convention (No.105)
• Equal Remuneration Convention (No.100)
• Discrimination (Employment Occupation) Convention (No.111)
• Minimum Age Convention (No.138)
• Worst forms of Child Labour Convention (No.182)
• Freedom of Association and Protection of Right to Organised Convention (No.87)
• Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention (No.98)

Note: India has not ratified Convention No 98 and 87.