17 April 2023

 DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

 1 – Abortion rules in India: GS I – Women Empowerment

What is the Indian law regarding abortion?

Historical Summary:

• According to Section 312 of the Indian Penal Code, a woman who had an abortion before the 1960s may be sentenced to three years in prison and/or a fine (IPC).
• In the middle of the 1960s, the government formed the Dr. Shantilal Shah-led Shantilal Shah Committee and asked the group to look into the topic of abortions and assess whether India need a law for the same.
• Based on the Shantilal Shah Committee’s recommendations, a medical termination bill was introduced to the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and adopted by Parliament in August 1971.
• The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971, which applied to all of India with the exception of the state of Jammu & Kashmir, came into force on April 1st, 1972.
• Additionally, even if the expectant mother consents to the miscarriage, Section 312 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 renders purposefully “causing a miscarriage” illegal unless it is done to save the woman’s life.
• This suggests that anybody involved in an abortion, including the woman herself, could be charged.
• Two stages of medical pregnancy termination were permitted by the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act of 1971:
• One doctor’s approval was all that was necessary for abortions up to 12 weeks after conception.
• Two medical opinions were required for pregnancies between 12 and 20 weeks to determine whether continuing the pregnancy would endanger the mother’s life or seriously harm her physical or mental health, or whether there was a high likelihood that the child would be born with severe physical or mental abnormalities that would qualify it as “handicapped.”

Recent alterations:

• In 2021, Parliament amended the law to allow abortions for pregnancies up to 20 weeks based on a single doctor’s recommendation.
• The revised guideline now calls for the recommendation of two doctors for pregnancies that are 20 to 24 weeks along.
• Seven categories of women were also specified in the recommendations as being eligible to request an abortion under section 3B of the regulations created under the MTP Act for pregnancies between 20 and 24 weeks. rape, sexual assault, or incest survivors Minors,
• changing one’s marital status during pregnancy (divorce and widowhood), women with physical constraints, and (major disability as per criteria laid down under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016)
• ladies who suffer from mental disorders like mental retardation,
• the likelihood that a child may be born with severe physical or mental disabilities or a foetal anomaly that provides a serious risk of being incompatible with life
• Pregnant women who are affected by crises, disasters, or humanitarian situations may be designated by the government.

What are the concerns?

• Unsafe abortion cases: Unsafe abortions are the third leading cause of maternal mortality in India, according to the United Nations Population Fund’s (UNFPA) State of the World Population Report 2022. More than 8 women die every day from illnesses linked to improper abortions.
• Low-income, single, and unmarried women are frequently forced to use unsafe or illegal means of ending unwanted pregnancies.
• According to a 2018 research in the Lancet, India has 15.6 million abortions yearly as of 2015.
• Only gynaecologists or obstetricians are authorised to perform abortions in accordance with the MTP Act.
• However, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s 2019–20 Rural Health Statistics report reveals that there is a 70% shortage of obstetrician–gynecologists in rural India.
• Maternal Mortality as a Result of Illegal Abortions: Because the law outlaws spontaneous abortion, it drives women to access illegal abortions in risky situations, increasing maternal mortality.

How to Proceed:

• India’s legal system is widely seen as progressive in comparison to many other countries, such as the United States, where abortion restrictions are rigidly upheld both historically and today.
• Additionally, public policy needs to be thoroughly rethought in order to take into account all the stakeholders and prioritise women and their reproductive rights rather than establishing limitations on what doctors can and cannot do when performing abortions.

Source The  Hindu

2 – Council of Ministers: GS II – Parliament-related issues

About:

• While Article 74 of the Constitution deals with the position of the council of ministers, Article 75 of the Constitution deals with the appointment, tenure, responsibilities, qualifications, oath, salaries, and allowances of ministers.
• The three categories of ministers that comprise the COM are cabinet ministers, ministers of state, and deputy ministers. All of these ministers are listed underneath the Prime Minister.
• Government Ministers These people are in charge of the major divisions of the Central Government, including as the divisions of home, defence, finance, and external affairs.
• The Cabinet is the principal policy-making body of the Central government.
• Ministers of State: These people can either be attached to cabinet ministers or given independent responsibility for specific ministries or departments.
• Deputy Ministers: They assist cabinet members or ministers of state in carrying out their legislative, political, and administrative duties.
• Sometimes, the COM will also have a deputy prime minister. Politics plays a major role in choosing the deputy prime ministers.
• Constitutional provisions:
• According to Article 74, the President’s advice from the Ministers is not susceptible to judicial review (COM to assist and advise President).
• The President is required to abide by the suggestion made after the COM’s review of the President’s request for the review of such advice.
• Article 75 states that the President shall appoint the Prime Minister and that the President shall appoint the other Ministers on the suggestion of the Prime Minister (Other Provisions as to Ministers).
• The Prime Minister and a maximum of 15% of the entire membership of the Lok Sabha are eligible to serve as ministers in the COM.
• This section was inserted by the 91st Amendment Act of 2003.
• If a minister misses six consecutive months of the Parliament (either chamber), they lose their position.
• According to Article 77 (Conduct of Business of the Government of India), the President is required to make laws for the more practical conduct of the Government of India’s business and for the allocation of said business among Ministers.
• Article 78 (Prime Minister’s Duties) COM decisions regarding the administration of Union affairs and legislative measures shall be communicated to the President.
• According to Article 88, each minister is entitled to speak and take part in any proceedings of either House, any joint sitting of the Houses, and any Committee of Parliament of which he may be named a member (Rights of Ministers with Respect to the Houses). However, he won’t be able to cast a ballot.

Ministers’ obligations:

• Individual Responsibility: The COM is jointly and severally liable to the Lok Sabha in accordance with Article 75. As a result, the Lok Sabha would jointly be responsible for all of each minister’s actions, both good and negative.
• Individual Responsibilities: The concept of personal accountability is also included in Article 75. This section states that a minister may be fired by the President at any time, even if the COM has the support of the Lok Sabha. According to the saying, ministers work at the president’s pleasure.
• But the President will only remove a minister on the Prime Minister’s advice.
• State Council of Ministers: The Council of Ministers in States is structured and performs business in the same way as the Council of Ministers at the Center, in accordance with Articles 163 (COM to assist and advise Governor) and 164 (Other Provisions relating to Ministers).

Source The  Hindu

3 – Census: GS II – Government Policies and Interventions

About Census:

• The process of acquiring, compiling, analysing, and disseminating statistical data on the population is known as a census.
• It comprises statistics about the population, the economy, and society as of a particular date.

What is the purpose of the census?

• to collect data for the planning and policy-making processes of the federal and state governments.
• The census indicates our nation’s identity and future direction.
• It supports government decision-making regarding the distribution of funds and help to cities and states.
• The census data is extensively used by numerous national and international organisations, academics, businesses, manufacturers, and other parties.

What is the significance of the census?

• This most trustworthy information source offers data on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Language, Religion, Immigration, Disability, Economic Activity, Literacy, Housing & Household Amenities, Urbanization, Fertility and Mortality, as well as many other socio-cultural and demographic data.
• Delineation of constituencies and reservations: The Parliament, the Assembly, the Panchayats, and other Local Bodies use the demographic data from the Census to make decisions as well.
• Administration: The census provides the framework for assessing the country’s development during the past 10 years and maintaining a record of the ongoing Government Schemes.
• Future planning: It provides ways to organise, handle problems, and develop. The government analyses the census data and creates future policies in line with it.
• In-depth analyses: Since a census guarantees to count every Indian, even the best sample surveys cannot compete with it. It will be challenging for the state to conceal or ignore the data when it relates to every individual during a census.
• Welfare programmes: Developing identification and confirming it over time depend on identifying the actual recipients through a census.
• Statistics from the census allow for simple cross-temporal comparison.

India’s most recent census:

• In India, the Maurya dynasty, which was a very long time ago, was when the first censuses were first conducted.
• Since it has been running consistently since 1881 despite being organised from 1865 to 1872, it is a dependable source of information.
• Despite diseases, wars, Partition, and other turmoil from 1881 to 2011, India regularly performed decadal censuses, with COVID-19 being the lone exception.
• The 2011 Census marks the fifteenth nationwide count in the nation.
• The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is dropping quickly and is expected to stabilise, according to the census.
• The 2011 Census also refuted the notion that divorce rates varied between urban and rural India. According to census data, the divorce rate in urban areas (0.89%) is roughly identical to that in rural areas (0.82%).

Why was the 2021 census that was supposed to take place delayed forever?

• The Ministry of Home Affairs notified the Lok Sabha that the arrival of the Coid-19 epidemic was to blame for the massive, decennial exercise’s premature termination in August 2021.
• What was the original schedule for the Census, and why was it postponed?
• a publication in the Gazette The Center planned to conduct the Census in 2021, according to a notice that was issued in The Gazette of India on March 28, 2019. The exercise was to be completed in two phases, with the housing Census taking place in April 2020 and the population count concluding on February 9, 2021. but it was prevented by the spread of COVID-19.
• A different timeline following COVID-19: A Parliamentary subcommittee was given a draught alternative schedule by the Home Ministry in March 2021. It stated that the fieldwork for the first phase, which would provide data on housing conditions, household amenities, and assets possessed by households, is anticipated to take place in 2021–2022, while the fieldwork to count the population and collect data on demography, religion, Scheduled Castes and Tribes (SC/ST), language, literacy, and education, economic activity, migration, and fertility would be finished in 2023–2024, it said.
• Said The Ministry stated that preliminary statistics will be released in 2023–2024 prior to the following general elections. More detailed tables with village-level data on specific indicators will often continue to be made accessible after the key information is released.

Effect of the 2021 census delay:

• Targeted public distribution system: Under the National Food Security Act of 2013, 50% and 75% of rural residents, respectively, are eligible to receive government-subsidized food grains (PDS).
• According to the 2011 Census, India has over 121 crore people, hence the PDS covered about 80 crore people.
• If we used the predicted population of 137 crore, more than 10 crore people would continue to be denied access to subsidised food benefits. In Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, where 2.8 crore and 1.8 crore expected exclusions, there would be the largest discrepancies.
• Welfare programmes: Although the Government intended to use SECC data, the anticipated expansion’s funding allotment fell short.
• Although the majority of programmes do not base their beneficiary selection on census data, planning, budgeting, and policy implementation do.
• Several programmes must use the disaggregated age and fertility data to assess their effectiveness as demographics change over time.
• Significant lag in migration data: COVID19 lockdowns revealed that it was impossible to identify the numbers, causes, and migration trends using the most recent 2011 Census data.
• The D-tables on migration from the 2011 Census were only made available to the public in 2019, therefore when they were released, they were already out of date.
• Except for the One Nation, One Ration card programme, which now allows food subsidy benefits to move anywhere, the migration data is actually not used all that much in general economic policy and planning.

Source The  Hindu

4 – Joshimath Town: GS I – Places in News

How is the general public reacting?

• Hotels have been closed, families have been evacuated, residences have developed cracks, and the ropeway service has been discontinued. People are furious.

Location:

• The settlement near Badrinath and Hemkund Sahib, which is located in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand at an elevation of 6,000 feet, is in seismically active “Zone-V.”
• It is at the top of the Main Central Thrust (MCT) line.
• The ground is unstable throughout the entire state of Uttarakhand. Additionally, Joshimath in particular is constructed on old land deposits.
• Therefore, Joshimath is constantly at risk for landslides. Joshimath locals find fractures in their homes and farms every year as a result.
• One of the most important sites in Hinduism is located here, the Jyotirmath Hindu monastery.
• Also nearby is one of the closest military installations on China’s border.

About the MCT line (Main Central Thrust):

• Simply defined, the MCT is a geological fault or crack in the Himalayas.
• It is the result of the interaction between the Indo-Australian and Eurasian plates.
• The region underneath the MCT is particularly vulnerable because of frequent tectonic activity.
• Therefore, seismic activity is relatively common in MCT locations.
• Over 2200 kilometres of the MCT cross the Himalayas in a northwest-southeast direction. Joshimath is positioned above the MCT.

Who is responsible?

• Both natural phenomena and human action contributed to Joshimath’s predicament.
• Nearly all of Joshimath’s wards have structural flaws and damage as a result of ground subsidence, which causes the earth’s surface to gradually settle or suddenly sink as a result of the removal or relocation of underlying components.
• The Tapovan-Vishnugad hydro project’s tunnelling and slope cutting, as well as the current construction of the Helang bypass, are regarded to be some of the main sources of sinking.
• According to the 1976 Mishra Committee report, significant development activities should be forbidden since “Joshimath stands atop an ancient landslide.”

Actionable suggestions:

• More construction should only be done there after the stability of the site has been determined, and excavation down the slope should be forbidden.
• No trees should be cut down or rocks removed using blasting or excavation in the landslide zone.

Source The  Hindu