Daily News Analysis 06 September 2023 (The Hindu)

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Here are the topics covered for 06 September 2023: ‘Bharat’ replaces ‘India’ in the G­20 invite from the President, FM flags threats to the financial system from crypto, tax havens, Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), Laws gover0ning forests of the Northeast, Carrying Capacity of Himalayan states, Byelections to 7 Assembly seats, What is Ecocides?.

 

Table of Contents:

GS-2

  1. ‘Bharat’ replaces ‘India’ in the G­20 invite from the President.

 

GS-3:

  1. FM flags threats to the financial system from crypto, tax havens
  2. Purchasing Managers Index (PMI)
  3. Laws governing forests of the Northeast
  4. Carrying Capacity of Himalayan states.

 

Facts For Prelims:

  1. Byelections to 7 Assembly seats
  2. What is Ecocides?

 

‘Bharat’ replaces ‘India’ in G­20 invite from President

Contex: Invitations sent by President Droupadi Murmu to the heads of states and governments and the Chief Ministers of Indian States for an official banquet on the occasion of the G­20 Summit by the name President of the Republic of Bharat by replacing the name with India.

 

Use of India or Bharat, The Legal Aspect:

  1. Article 348(1) of the Constitution states that all proceedings in the Supreme Court and in every High Court shall be in English language until Parliament passes a law. “If they want to pass such a law, then that would be a federal issue.”
  2. Article 1 of the Constitution, which said: “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of state.

 

What needs to be done for the singular name Bharat?

  1. Former Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice said an amendment would be required only if the government insisted on the use of any one term or wanted to remove a particular term.
  2. Former Additional Solicitor General and senior Supreme Court advocate any change of name would require a constitutional amendment under Article 368.

 

Origin of Name Bharat and its History:

  1. The roots of “Bharat”, “Bharata”, or “Bharatvarsha” are traced back to Puranic literature, and to the epic Mahabharata. The Puranas describe Bharata as the land between the “sea in the south and the abode of snow in the north”
  2. Bharata in the sense of a religious and socio-cultural entity, rather than a political or geographical one.
  3. ‘Bharata’ refers to the “supraregional and subcontinental territory where the Brahmanical system of society prevails”.
  4. Bharata is also the name of the ancient king of legend who was the ancestor of the Rig Vedic tribe of the Bharatas, and by extension, the progenitor of all peoples of the subcontinent.
  5. In January 1927, Jawaharlal Nehru referred to India\’s enduring \”fundamental unity\” rooted in a shared faith and culture, symbolized by the presence of major Hindu pilgrimage sites in the nation\’s four corners.

 

Supreme Court on Change of Name:

  1. The Supreme Court dismissed a PIL seeking to remove “India” from the Constitution and retain only Bharat in order to “ensure the citizens of this country…get over the colonial past” saying: “India is already called Bharat in the Constitution itself.”

 

What about the word Hindustan or India:

  1. The name \”Hindustan\” is believed to have originated from \”Hindu,\” a Persian term for the Sanskrit \”Sindhu\” (Indus) dating back to the 6th century BC during the time of Buddha in the Gangetic basin.
  2. The Achaemenids used \”Hindu\” to refer to the lower Indus basin, and by the 1st century CE, the suffix \”stan\” was added, forming \”Hindustan
  3. The Greeks, influenced by the Achaemenids, transliterated \”Hind\” as \”Indus.\” When Alexander the Great invaded India in the 3rd century BC, \”India\” had come to represent the region beyond the Indus.

 

Names During Mughal Era:

  1. Early Mughals (16th century), the name ‘Hindustan’ was used to describe the entire Indo-Gangetic plain.
  2. From the late 18th century onwards, British maps increasingly began to use the name ‘India’, and ‘Hindustan’ started to lose its association with all of South Asia.

 

Constituent Assembly Debate:

  1. During the Constituent Assembly debates the “Name and Territory of the Union” was taken up for discussion on September 17, 1949. Right from the time the first article was read out as “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States”, a division arose among the members. There were quite a few members who were against the use of the name ‘India’, which they saw as being a reminder of the colonial past.

 

GS-3

FM flags threats to the financial system from crypto, and tax havens

Context: The Finance Minister at Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2023 told some emerging and grave threats to the global financial ecosystem.

 

Need for collaborative and cooperative Approach:

  1. On threats of drug, drug wars and drug mafias, tax havens, round-tripping of resources, tax evasion, cryptocurrencies (crypto), drug mafias, tax havens, and cyber intrusions.

 

More on News:

  1. Identifying the above threats would help in making the global economy resilient to emerging threats.
  2. The fintech industry to guard against these threats through heavy investment in robust security measures.

 

India’s Roles:

  1. “India can lead in making the financial ecosystem inclusive, resilient, and sustainable.
  2. Government enacted Fugitive Economic Offenders Act 2018.
  3. Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2022
  4. In 2017 RBi said that cryptocurrency/virtual currencies are illegal in India.
  5. Central Bank Digital Currency was introduced by RBI.

 

Purchasing Managers Index (PMI)

  1. India Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), eased to 60.1 in August, from July’s 13­year high of 62.3.

 

About PMI:

  1. It is a survey-based index that takes responders\’ changes of perceptions about the key variables as compared with the last month.
  2. The main purpose is to provide information regarding the current and future business trends for investors, business analysts, and shareholders.
  3. It accounts for manufacturing and services sectors separately and a composite index is also created.

 

How is it Calculated?

  1. It is calculated from a range of 0-100
  2. Above 50 means expansion and below 50 means contraction.
  3. At 50 means no change.
  4. If the PMI is higher in the previous month as compared to the current month it means the economy is contracting.
  5. It is released start of every month and it is considered a good indicator of economic activity.

 

Who Compile PMI?

  1. It is compiled by IHS Markit for more than 40 global economies.
  2. IHS Markit is part of S&P Global

 

India’s performance as compared with Global Economy:

  1. After rapid economic growth of 7.2% in the 2022-23 fiscal year, economic momentum has remained strong in the first half of 2023.
  2. Expansionary economic conditions driven by domestic demand.
  3. PMI Business Activity Index signaled the sharpest increase in output since June 2010. The upturn was largely attributed to demand strength and new business gains.
  4. FDI reached a new record level of USD 85 billion in the 2021-22 fiscal year.

 

Laws governing forests of the Northeast

Context: The Mizoram Assembly unanimously passed a resolution opposing the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023 “to protect the rights and interests of the people of Mizoram.

 

What are the Key Amendments?

  1. The amendment allows the diversion of forest land for roads, railway lines or “strategic linear projects of national importance and concerning national security” within 100 km of India’s international borders or lines of control, without a forest clearance under the Forest (Conservation) Act (FCA) 1980. Most of India’s Northeast falls in this 100 km range.

 

The issue with Amendments:

  1. Nagaland Assembly will also face strident demands to pass a resolution against the Amendment. Tripura, Mizoram, and Sikkim, ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or its allies, have also opposed the 100­km exemption clause.

 

Does FCA is applicable to NE regions/states?

  1. Special constitutional protections, such as Article 371A for Nagaland and 371G for Mizoram, prohibit the application of any law enacted by Parliament that impinges on Naga and Mizo customary law and procedure, and ownership and transfer of land and its resources.
  2. Such laws can be extended to these States only if their Legislative Assemblies decide thus in a resolution.

 

Nagaland Act:

  1. In 1986, Nagaland extended the application of the FCA “to government forests and such other forests and Wildlife Sanctuaries under the control of [the] State Government.
  2. Government forests make up only 2.71% of the State’s Recorded Forest Area.
  3. However, the Union government confirmed that the e FCA is covered under the term “land resources” and is not applicable to Nagaland, as its Legislative Assembly had not adopted any resolution to apply FCA to the State.
  4. The Union in the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change has approved any forest clearance since 1980 in Nagaland.

 

What about Manipur?

  1. In 1986, the Union Territory became a State with the 53rd amendment of the Constitution, adding Article 371G to the Constitution. It stipulated that all Central Acts in force before 1986 be extended to the State, including the FCA.
  2. The FCA covers 84.53% of forest areas that are notified forests, and 6,630 ha have thus far received FCA clearance.
  3. The FCA is applicable in the rest of the Northeast.

 

What is RFA?

  1. These are recorded forests but not notified as forests. More than half of the Northeast is a Recorded Forest Area (RFA).
  2. Of this, 53% are unclassed forests controlled by individuals, clans, village councils, or communities, and governed by customary law and procedures.

 

Supreme Court Judgement:

  1. The Court expanded the term “forest land” in the FCA in the Godavarman case to “not only include ‘forest’ as understood in the dictionary sense but also any area recorded as forest in the Government record irrespective of the ownership”, thus extending the FCA to unclassed forests.
States RFA
Assam 34.21%
Mizoram 35.48%
Sikkim 82.31%
Meghalaya 42.34%
Nagaland 53.01%
Arunachal Pradesh 61.55%
Tripura  75.67%
Manipur  88.15%

 

About FRA:

  1. In the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act (FRA) 2006, “forest land” includes unclassified forests, undemarcated forests, existing or deemed forests, protected forests, reserved forests, Sanctuaries and National Parks. It is compiled after the SC ruling in 1996.

 

Rights Under the Act:

  1. Rights which are recognized under any state law or laws of any autonomous district council or autonomous regional council or which are accepted as rights of tribal under any traditional or customary law of the concerned tribes of any State.

 

Implementation of FRA:

  1. However, none of the Northeast States have implemented FRA except for Assam and Tripura.
  2. The reasons include the FRA being ‘irrelevant’ as communities, clans, chiefs, and individuals own most of the land, that their rights are already being enjoyed, and a lack of forest­dwellers who are totally forest dependent.
  3. The Nagaland Assembly, as required under Article 371A, is yet to decide whether it wants this law.
  4. The Environment Ministry mandated FRA implementation and prior informed consent of the Gram Sabha in 2009 to admit a forest diversion proposal.
  5. The responsibility was delegated to the District Collector, who ironically also headed the District Committee that issues FRA titles.
  6. The Collectors’ certificate of FRA compliance in the in­principle Stage I forest clearance was shifted to Stage II final clearance.
  7. But the Ministry’s 2022 Forest Conservation Rules eliminated compliance with the FRA before final approval altogether.

 

How protect Forests?

  1. States can formulate and take legal measures to ensure mandatory fulfillment of the FRA before recommending a forest diversion proposal and ensuring Gram Sabha\’s consent before handing over forest land.

 

Carrying Capacity of Himalayan states.

  1. Carrying capacity” is a concept derived from population biology and generally refers to the quantity of a species that can thrive sustainably in a defined ecosystem.
  2. Generally, a population exceeding capacity will lead to a natural decline in numbers, as witnessed when grasslands or overgrazed or invasive species throttle existing biome.
  3. Assess the carrying capacity of their hill stations, cities, and ecosensitive zones.

 

SC Previous committee on Himalayan ecosystem:

  1. Following the devastating floods in Uttarakhand in 2013, the Supreme Court had appointed a committee of experts to evaluate the role of hydropower projects in the State.
  2. The committee’s reports did influence a reduction in the proposed hydro projects, they failed to restrict road widening projects and the carving up of mountainsides in ways that were deemed unsuitable for the topography

 

Facts For Prelims:

Byelections to 7 Assembly seats

Context: Recently Byelections to Assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Kerala, Tripura, and Uttarakhand were held.

 

What are bye-elections?

  1. It is also called bye polls which are conducted to fill vacant offices that are vacant for some reason before the general election. Be it Lok Sabha or State Assembly.

 

When does Bye-election be conducted?

  1. By-elections can be conducted if a seat becomes vacant due to the death, resignation, expulsion, or disqualification of sitting members.

 

Legal Backing:

  1. Under Sec-151-A of RPA 1951, the Election Commission has the mandate to fill casual vacancies that occurred in the State Assembly and Lok Sabha through the bye-election within 6 months of a vacancy occurring, provided that remained of the term of Lok sabha of the term of a member in relation with a vacancy is one year or more.
  2. That means if the term of LS is less than 1 year there is no need to hold bye-elections.

What is Ecocides?

  1. Sweden Prime Minister Olof Palme used the term in a speech at the U.N. British lawyer Polly Higgins became the linchpin when in 2010 she urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to recognise ecocide as an international crime.
  2. Ecocide is a crime in 11 countries, with 27 others considering laws to criminalize environmental damage that is wilfully caused and harms humans, animals, and plants.

 

Current Status:

  1. There is no accepted legal definition of ecocide, but a panel of lawyers in June 2021 for the Stop Ecocide Foundation prepared a 165­word articulation.

 

Proposed Definition:

  1. Ecocide, they proposed, constitutes the “unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long­term damage to the environment being caused by those acts.”

 

Indian Stance:

  1. Some Indian judgments have affirmed the legal personhood of nature by recognizing rivers as legal entities with the right to maintain their spirit, identity, and integrity.
  2. In Chandra CFS and Terminal Operators Pvt. Ltd. v. The Commissioner of Customs and Ors (2015), the Madras High Court noted: “the prohibitory activities of ecocide has been continuing unbridledly by a certain section of people by removing the valuable and precious timbers”.

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