(13 Aug, 2018)



Delhi High Court Decriminalises Beggary

The Delhi High Court has decriminalised beggary by striking down Delhi Prevention of Begging Rules, 1960, formulated under the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959 as unconstitutional.

  • The court has held that the Begging Act violated Article 14 (equality before law) and Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty) of the Constitution.
  • The court noted that the definition of begging under the Act was arbitrary.
  • It also held that under Article 21 of the Constitution, it was the state’s responsibility to provide the basic necessities for survival (food, clothing, shelter), to all its citizens. Poverty was the result of the state’s inability or unwillingness to discharge these obligations.
  • A move to criminalise them will make them invisible without addressing the root causes of the problem. The root cause is poverty, which has many structural reasons: no access to education, social protection, discrimination based on caste and ethnicity, landlessness, physical and mental challenges, and isolation.
  • The court said that the state is at liberty to bring in alternative legislation to curb any racket of forced begging after undertaking an empirical examination on the sociological and economic aspects of the matter.
  • Provisions including those permitting the arrest, without a warrant, any person found begging, taking the person to court, conducting a summary inquiry and detaining the person for up to 10 years have been struck down.
  • The court has not struck down provisions that do not treat beggary per se as an offence, including the provision which deals with penalty for employing or causing persons to beg. This addresses forced begging or begging rackets, which are used to justify retaining the Act.

Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959

  • There is no central Act on beggary, many states and Union Territories have used the Bombay Act as the basis for their own laws.
  • The Act defines a “beggar” as anyone having no visible means of subsistence, and wandering about or remaining in any public place in such condition or manner, as makes it likely that the person doing so exists by soliciting or receiving alms.
  • “Begging” under the Act includes soliciting or receiving alms in a public place, whether or not under any pretence of singing, dancing, fortune-telling, performing or offering any article for sale.
  • The Act gives the police the power to arrest individuals without a warrant. It gives magistrates the power to commit them to a a detention centre for up to three years on the commission of the first “offence”, and up to 10 years upon the second “offence”. Before that, it strips them of their privacy and dignity by compelling them to allow themselves to be fingerprinted.
  • The Act also authorises the detention of the family of the beggar, and the separation of children over the age of five.
  • Certified institutions or detention centres have absolute power over detainees, including the power of punishment, and the power to exact “manual work”. Disobeying the rules of the institution can land an individual in jail.

History of Legislation

  • The Act was formulated with the objective of keeping the streets of then Bombay clear of the destitute, leprosy patients or the mentally ill so they could be sent into institutions.
  • The Act gave powers to a chief commissioner to order the immediate, indefinite detention of any person detained in a certified institution who is considered blind, a cripple or otherwise incurably helpless.
  • The Act has been seen as one strand from the colonial laws that dehumanised communities and ways of life.
  • The Act has been criticised for treating individuals as subjects to be controlled and administered, rather than rights-bearing citizens.

Significance

  • In decriminalising begging, the court has validated the idea that poverty is a human rights issue. It has emphasised that the denial of the right to life, livelihood and dignity to the poor is a patent violation of fundamental rights that cannot and should not be tolerated in a country governed by rule of law.
  • The judgment recognises the Constitution as a transformative document, which seeks to undo legacies of injustice and lift up all individuals and communities to the plane of equal citizenship.

Way Forward

  • A court can strike down an unconstitutional law, but it cannot reform society. Poverty is a systemic and structural problem.
  • It is the task of the Legislative Assembly and the government to replace the punitive structure of the Begging Act with a new set of measures that genuinely focus on the rehabilitation and integration of the most vulnerable and marginalised members within the society.

ISRO to Launch TV Channel

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will have have a year-long centenary programme to honour its legendary founding father and space pioneer, Vikram Sarabhai

  • As a tribute to Sarabhai, the ISRO has also decided to roll out a dedicated TV channel showcasing space applications and science issues to educate the youngsters in remote areas of the country.
  • Its tribute to Sarabhai starts with naming the first Indian Moon landing spacecraft of the Chandrayana-2 mission ‘Vikram’. The mission is slated to take place in January 2019.
  • According to ISRO Chief Dr Kailasavadivoo Sivan “ISRO will further initiate capacity building programmes for students from class 8 to 10 to inculcate scientific temper among them”.
  • The space agency will select students and organise training camps for 25 to 30 days and during this period the students will be allowed to visit the laboratory and make their small satellite.
  • ISRO is also planning to set up six incubation centres across the country for startups with ideas in the field of space technology. Technology cells would be started for industry and academia to improve the existing linkages.

Note: Vikram Sarabhai

  • Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai, (born August 12, 1919, Ahmadabad, India—died December 30, 1971, Kovalam), is an Indian physicist and industrialist who initiated space research and helped develop nuclear power in India.
  • Remembered as the founding father of the Indian space programme, Sarabhai set up the Physical Research laboratory in his hometown in Ahmedabad in 1947 which was a precursor to the ISRO.
  • After the death of physicist Homi Bhabha in 1966, Sarabhai was appointed the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India.
  • Sarabhai was awarded two of India’s highest honours, the Padma Bhushan (1966) and the Padma Vibhushan (awarded posthumously in 1972).

India May Miss 100 GW Solar Power Target by 2022: Crisil Report

According to a recent report released by rating agency CRISIL, India may not reach its ambitious National Solar Mission target to add 100 gigawatts (GW) of solar power capacity by 2022.

Key Points

  • Currently, India has a capacity to generate 21.65 GW of solar power and is expected to make an additional 56-58 GW of solar capacity addition between FY19 and FY23.
  • A safeguard duty on solar modules from China and Malaysia has slowed the solar capacity addition. The fast-growing Indian market for solar components is dominated by Chinese companies due to their competitive pricing.
  • The surge in imports led the government to impose a safeguard duty from 30 July for two years on solar cells and modules imported from China and Malaysia.

NOTE: What is a safeguard duty?
A safeguard duty or technically, product safeguard duty is a tariff or tax imposed by a country on the import of a specific commodity on the ground that the import is creating injuries to the local manufactures. Low pricing or cheap imports is an important reason for imposing safeguard duty.

  • Individual states have also set aggressive targets under their respective solar policies. However, state government projects are not as well-funded and they have less access to cheap financing.
  • India's solar mission target for the rooftop segment of 40 GW by 2022 is the key concern. Under this segment, the rooftops of commercial and industrial units are used to generate power to reduce dependence on the grid. However, since the cost of solar power at rooftops is expected to be higher it is not expected to add more than 8 GW by 2023.

Background

  • Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) was launched in 2009 with a target for Grid Connected Solar Projects of 20,000 MW by 2022.
  • The sector has witnessed rapid development with installed solar capacity increasing rapidly from 18 MW to about 3800 MW during 2010 - 15.
  • In 2015, Government of India gave its approval for stepping up of India’s solar power capacity target by five times, reaching 1,00,000 MW by 2022.
  • The target will principally comprise of 40 GW Rooftop and 60 GW through Large and Medium Scale Grid Connected Solar Power Projects.

The Government of India has set itself a target of 100 GW of solar power by 2022, of which 60 GW is to come from utilities and 40 GW from rooftop solar installations. While the 60 GW target seems achievable, the country is lagging behind on the target set for rooftop solar.

  • With a view to accelerating the deployment of rooftop solar power in the country, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has proposed the ‘Sustainable Rooftop Implementation for Solar Transfiguration of India (SRISTI)’ scheme.
  • The government has set a target of reaching 100 GW of solar power installed capacity in the country by 2022, of which 40 GW is targeted through the solar rooftop.
  • The Ministry is implementing Grid Connected Rooftop Solar (RTS) Power Programme in which subsidy/incentives are being provided for residential, institutional, social and Government sector. States/UTs have also taken conducive policy and regulatory measures for the promotion of solar rooftop.

What is rooftop solar?

  • Rooftop solar installations — as opposed to large-scale solar power generation plants — can be installed on the roofs of buildings. As such, they fall under two brackets: commercial and residential. This simply has to do with whether the solar panels are being installed on top of commercial buildings or residential complexes.

What are the benefits?

  • Rooftop solar provides companies and residential areas the option of an alternative source of electricity to that provided by the grid. While the main benefit of this is to the environment, since it reduces the dependence on fossil-fuel generated electricity, solar power can also augment the grid supply in places where it is erratic.
  • Rooftop solar also has the great benefit of being able to provide electricity to those areas that are not yet connected to the grid — remote locations and areas where the terrain makes it difficult to set up power stations and lay power lines.

Why is it not being adopted widely?

  • One of the major problems with rooftop solar — and what affects solar energy generation in general — is the variability in supply. Not only can the efficiency of the solar panels vary on any given day depending on how bright the sunlight is, but the solar panels also produce no electricity during the night. Arguably, the night is when off-grid locations most need alternative sources of electricity.
  • Another major reason why rooftop solar is not becoming popular is that the current electricity tariff structure renders it an unviable option. Many states have adopted a net metering policy, which allows disaggregated power producers to sell excess electricity to the grid. However, the subsidised tariffs charged to residential customers undermine the economic viability of installing rooftop solar panels. The potential profit simply does not outweigh the costs.
  • Storage technology for electricity is still underdeveloped and storage solutions are expensive. Residential areas also come with the associated issues of use restrictions of the roof — if the roof is being used for solar generation, then it cannot be used for anything else.

Automated Multi-Modal Biometric Identification System

Maharashtra government has stated that after the implementation of Automated Multi-modal Biometric Identification System (AMBIS), rate of conviction is expected to rise substantially in the State.

  • AMBIS is an advanced crime detection system, for detection of crime based on the available fingerprint, palmprint and iris scan data of criminals on record as well as accidental finger/ palm-prints collected from crime scenes.
  • AMBIS uses mobile live scanners and a police patrol team can ascertain on the spot if a suspect has criminal antecedents.
  • Besides detecting crime through fingerprints at the crime scene, the system with the help of retinal scan, writers pad, palm and even bare sole scans can help trace criminals with 100% accuracy, and that too within a 0.46 milliseconds.
  • In any crime, fingerprints as evidence is accorded very high value, and if available, it is accepted in a court of law.

Fingerprint Identification

  • Ever since the British introduced fingerprint identification in Kolkata in 1857, the Fingerprint Bureau has been under the jurisdiction of the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
  • After the system crashed in 2012, the CID has been manually scanning and matching fingerprint data with available crime scene data, employing eight to 10 different characteristics. The task is huge as the CID has to go through 6.5 lakh fingerprints data stored with it.

Significance

  • The system can be useful in identifying bodies, especially in cases where the body is mutilated, does not have an arm or a hand is lost. In such cases, the bare sole scan can help identify the body.
  • The system provides for the retinal scans, which will make it very difficult for criminals to escape the law. The retina of every individual is unique, and the blood vessels inside the retina too have unique arrangement.
  • Another feature of the system is facial recognition of suspects in cases of mob violence and mob lynching, with the help of photographs and CCTV footage.
  • The system will prove handy in cases of terrorist attacks in crowded places like railway stations, giving 50%-60% accuracy if 40% of the information available is accurate.
  • The system can ensure that there will be no data loss, and has back-up facility at a very high level.
  • AMBIS can be interfaced with any other operating system, whereby data can be accessed anywhere, anytime.
  • Fingerprint data can be shared by the State government with the National Crime Records Bureau, other State governments, investigation agencies, courts, crime experts and even with Interpol and foreign investigation agencies.
  • Presently, AMBIS is being used by Interpol and other European agencies.

Important Facts for Prelims (13th August 2018)

VS Naipaul

  • Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul, an Indian-origin British author and Nobel laureate known for his critical commentary on colonialism, religion and politics, died aged 85.
  • He was born on Aug 17, 1932, in Chaguanas, Trinidad, where his paternal grandfather had emigrated from India in the 1880s as an indentured servant to work on the sugar plantations.
  • His first novel was "The Mystic Masseur (1957)". His other important novels are A House for Mr Biswas, The Mimic Men, The Loss of El Dorado, Guerrillas, A Bend in the River, etc.
  • He was awarded Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001.

Parker Solar Probe

  • NASA has launched a Parker Solar Probe spacecraft to the sun that will fly closer to the star than anything ever sent before. The spacecraft was carried by Delta-IV Heavy rocket.
  • Protected by a revolutionary new heat shield, the spacecraft will fly past Venus in October. The Solar Probe Spacecraft is expected to make 24 close approaches over the next seven years.
  • Previous closest probe launched was Helios 2 in 1976.

Read more...

Malayaha Tamils

  • Malayaha Tamils is a nearly million-strong hill population consisting of Tamil community in Sri Lanka.
  • They are distinct from those living in the war-affected areas, as they comprise of descendants of labourers that the British brought down from South India to work on the estates.
  • They have served as the primary workforce in Sri Lanka’s tea estates, contributing significantly to the country’s foreign exchange earned through the sector.
  • The Malayaha Tamil community wants the issue of their identity to be resolved. Even though certain sections of the community are not in favour of disowning their Indian roots completely, they do not want to be addressed as “Indian Tamils” as this nomenclature of theirs has been “a source of political and administrative discrimination and social antipathy”, besides carrying a “historical baggage.”
  • The community has been historically neglected and confined to British-era line-room accommodations, which are small, cramped dwellings where many still live.
  • Recently, over 400 families from the community took possession of their new houses built with Indian assistance. The construction of the homes is part of India’s commitment to building 4,000 homes in the island’s central highlands that is home to Malayaha Tamils.

INSV Tarini

  • An all-woman crew commanding the INSV Tarini who successfully completed circumnavigation expedition around the globe in more than eight months were conferred prestigious Nari Shakti Purashkar 2017. 
  • The expedition, christened 'Navika Sagar Parikrama', was flagged off from the INS Mandovi boat pool on September 10 last year.
  • The expedition titled ‘Navika Sagar Parikrama’, is in consonance with the National policy to empower women to attain their full potential. It also aims to showcase ‘Nari Shakti’ on the world platform and help revolutionise societal attitudes and mindset towards women in India by raising the visibility of their participation in challenging environs.
  • The crew used an indigenously built INSV Tarini, a 55-foot sailing vessel built indigenously in India thus showcasing the ‘Make in India’ initiative on the International forum.

Note: Nari Shakti Purashkar

Nari Shakti Puraskar is a series of India's National Honours conferred on individual women for their exceptional achievement.