06 July 2023

MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS

Q1. Focus on how the constitutionally intended power of the president and governor to promulgate ordinances undermines the legislative process.
Paper & Topic: GS II – Parliament-related issues
Model Answer:

• Ordinances are laws that the president of India or the governor of a state enacts in a crisis or to deal with urgent problems. The capacity to pass ordinances is the President and Governor’s most important legislative power. These ordinances have the same power and effect as parliamentary acts even if they take the form of temporary laws. Articles 123 and 213 of the Constitution, respectively, grant the President and Governor the power to enact ordinances.

Constitutional clauses governing the president’s and governor’s power to pass laws:

• Except when both Houses of Parliament are in session and the president is certain that immediate action is required, the president may promulgate an ordinance in accordance with Article 123 at any time.
• Once it is published, the ordinance will operate exactly like a Parliamentary Act.
• Before becoming law, the ordinance must be introduced to both houses of the legislature. If both Houses pass a resolution denouncing it, it will be rendered inoperable six weeks after the legislature reconvenes.
• Any ordinance clause that the parliament would not be able to adopt in accordance with this Constitution is void.
• The requirements under Article 213 for the governor are similar to those under Article 123 for the president, with the exception of the instances when the governor requests the president’s advice before promulgating an ordinance. the following
• if a similar piece of legislation had required the President’s consent before it could be presented to the state legislature.
• If he had determined that it was necessary to keep a bill with the same provisions on the table for the President’s approval.
• A state legislature legislation with the identical provisions would have been null and void without the President’s consent.

Abuse of the power to enact ordinances damages the legislative process in the following ways:

• Lack of legislative discretion: The president rarely uses his or her legislative authority; instead, he or she merely promulgates legislation, which is a serious flaw in the ordinance. Actually, whether or not the ordinance is required is decided by the council of ministers. The influence of the ministers occasionally led to arbitrary decisions.
• Abuse of loopholes: According to the articles of the constitution, the president is not limited to a certain number of ordinances in a specific period of time. The president may enact as many ordinances as he likes without the parliament being in session due to the lack of specifics.

Problems with re-promulgating ordinances:

• When an ordinance is re-promulgated, its lifespan is increased, directly usurping the authority of the legislative branch. Ordinances have expiration dates because they are an exception to the legislative’s ability to enact laws in an emergency. In Krishna Kumar Singh v. State of Bihar, the Supreme Court determined that amending ordinances is unconstitutional.
• undermines the concept of the separation of powers: In the Kesavananda Bharati case, the Indian Supreme Court decided that the concept of the separation of powers is a fundamental feature of the constitution. The ordinance’s mechanism doesn’t take the role of the legislative branch of the parliament; it merely acts as a fallback in case of emergency. The president can adopt laws that will be in force indefinitely without any debate or discussion by re-promulgating the ordinances.
• disregarding supreme court decisions: The Supreme Court has often decided that re-promulgation is incompatible with the fundamental principles of the Constitution. For instance, the court found that the D.C. administration was improperly and unconstitutionally using its authority when it promulgated ordinances again. Case of Wadhwa.
• The Constitution’s writers intended ordinance-making powers exclusively for sudden and urgent situations when the government need additional legal authorisation to solve the issue. The ability of the executive branch to adopt ordinances must be carefully limited in order to keep a correct balance of power between the executive and the legislature in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution.

Q2. What potential effects can climate change have on Indian food security and agriculture? Call attention to the actions required to improve food security.
Paper & Topic: GS II – Food Security related issues
Model Answer:

• The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) predicts that by 2030, climate change may cause India’s food production to decline by 16% and the number of people at risk of going hungry to rise by 23%. This prediction is made in a report on climate change and the food systems. A rise in temperature of 2.5 to 4.9 degrees Celsius across the country, according to experts and researchers, may cause a major drop in the production of rice and wheat.

Climate change’s effects on food security and production:

• reduced crop yield: Due to climate change, crop yields and overall food production are reduced as a result of elevated temperatures and unanticipated rainfall across the country. All agroecological zones may be affected by climate change’s effects on irrigated agriculture productivity due to temperature rises and changes in water availability.
• Impact on livestock: The productivity of cattle is impacted by climate change in a number of ways, both directly and indirectly. The most important effects are on animal production and health, as well as forage and feed crop outputs. Rising temperatures and less precipitation may cause significant drops in fodder output.
• Impact on fisheries and aquaculture: Both freshwater and marine environments are affected by the rise of aquaculture. Both the gradual warming of the atmosphere and the resulting physical and chemical changes in the aquatic ecosystem have an impact. Many fish species that are currently migrating poleward are responsible for the quick “tropicalization” of mid- and high-latitude systems.
• Climate change has an impact on food production as well as food availability. This has an effect on the small-scale food producers’ income and way of life. The rising cost of food and the erratic nature of the market make it difficult for the poor and excluded to access food.
• lowering soil productivity: Two variables that cause soil degradation are incorrect fertiliser use and deforestation. This has a big impact on agricultural production and food availability.

To boost food security, the following activities should be taken:

• Increased resource efficiency, particularly for unrenewable resources like soil, water, and air, depends on agriculture that is climate resilient. It includes particular actions such as:
• Precision agriculture methods like drip irrigation can help save a lot of water.
• Utilising irrigation systems with sensors can enable automated control and improve the efficiency of resource utilisation.
• Research and development on nano-fertilizers can reduce fertiliser subsidies while also reducing carbon emissions.
• use of modified crop breeds or varieties, especially underutilised crops, that are more tolerant of their environment.
• Social protection programmes: These are essential for breaking the cycle of poverty and hunger. Social protection refers to a broad range of measures that assist the weak and disadvantaged in improving their chances and ability to earn a living.
• Adopting climate resilient technologies is essential for attaining climate resilient agriculture in vulnerable locations and for enhancing farmers’ capacity to adapt to changing weather conditions.
• A landscape-based strategy can be used to implement adaptation strategies such as watershed preservation and management, fire management, erosion control, coastal zone management, and pest and disease control.
• Climate change puts the well-being of a large population at danger, which could have a negative effect on India’s social stability and economic development. Because of this, we must accept this fact and implement climate-smart diversity in our food and agricultural systems.