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Solar E-Waste

According to a recent study conducted by an energy consultancy firm Bridge To India (BTI) Ltd., India’s PV (photovoltaic) waste volume is...

12 Apr 2019 News Analysis
Jallianwala Bagh Massacre

(This editorial is based on the article 'Deep Regret is Simply Not Good Enough' which appeared in 'The Hindu' on 12th April, 2019. The article...

12 Apr 2019 News Editorials
New Human Ancestor Species Found

Scientists have identified a new human ancestor species previously unknown. It has been named as Homo luzonensis. Homo luzonensis is...

12 Apr 2019 News Analysis
Sudan’s President Ousted by Army

President Omar al-Bashir, who ruled Sudan for 30 years, was overthrown in a coup by the armed forces. The president was forcefully removed after...

12 Apr 2019 News Analysis
Important Facts For Prelims (12th April 2019)

New Genetic Method To Empower Conservation A team of scientists at Stanford University and the National Centre for Biological Sciences at India's...

12 Apr 2019 News Analysis
Special Leave Petition

Vedanta Ltd. has moved the Supreme Court (SC) with a Special Leave Petition (SLP) seeking interim access to undertake maintenance activities at its...

12 Apr 2019 News Analysis
BT Cotton in India - Problems and Solutions

This editorial is based on two articles “White gold: How a revolution was reversed” which appeared in Indian Express on 21st march,...

11 Apr 2019 News Editorials
First Images of A Black Hole

The scientists at Event Horizon Telescope Project have released the first-ever image of a Black Hole (more precisely, of its shadow). The black...

11 Apr 2019 News Analysis
State of World Population-2019: UNFPA

According to State of World Population-2019 report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), India’s population grew at an average of 1.2%...

11 Apr 2019 News Analysis
Important Facts For Prelims (11th April 2019)

Law for Banning Sale of e-cigarettes The Commerce Ministry has asked its Health Counterpart to frame a law for banning manufacture and sale of...

11 Apr 2019 News Analysis
Electronic Voting Machine and Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail

(This editorial is based on the article 'Technology and the unhurried mind' which appeared in 'The Hindu' on 10th April, 2019. The article talks...

10 Apr 2019 News Editorials
India Remained the Highest Recipient Of Remittances

According to the latest edition of the World Bank’s Migration and Development Brief, India has retained its position as the world’s...

10 Apr 2019 News Analysis
Meteorite Sheds Light on the Sun’s Infant Years

By analyzing a piece of meteorite found in Kazakhstan in 1962, researchers have envisaged how the Sun behaved in its...

10 Apr 2019 News Analysis
Data Protection Law in the United States

The U.S. government is bringing a law which could allow people to see or prohibit the use of their data by tech firms. This will be the first of...

10 Apr 2019 News Analysis
Cyber Security

10 Apr 2019 Paper 3
Cyber Security

According to EY’s latest Global Information Security Survey (GISS) 2018-19 – India edition, one of the highest number of cyber threats...

10 Apr 2019 Paper 3
Xaxa Committee on Tribal Communities of India

The Indian State must aim to ensure that all sections of society share in the economic and social prosperity of the country. It is widely...

10 Apr 2019 Summary of Important Reports
Open Up The Supreme Court

(This editorial is based on the article 'Open Up The Supreme Court' which appeared in ‘The Hindu’ on 9th April, 2019. The article talks...

09 Apr 2019 News Editorials
Parliamentary Election in Maldives

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has made a landslide victory in the parliamentary election in the Maldives by winning more than two-thirds seats...

09 Apr 2019 News Analysis
NIRF & ARIIA Rankings 2019

The President of India has announced the results for National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF)-2019 and Atal Ranking of Institutions...

09 Apr 2019 News Analysis

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			'title' => 'Solar E-Waste',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>According to a recent study conducted by an energy consultancy firm Bridge To India (BTI) Ltd., I<strong>ndia&rsquo;s PV (photovoltaic) waste volume is estimated to grow to 2,00,000 tonnes by 2030 and around 1.8 million tonnes by 2050.</strong></p>
<h3>Highlights</h3>
<h3></h3>
<p><strong>PV module</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A PV module is essentially made up of glass, metal, silicon and polymer fractions.</li>
<li>Glass and aluminium, together constituting around 80% of total weight, are non-hazardous.</li>
<li>But a few other <strong>materials used including polymers,</strong> metals, metallic compounds and alloys are <strong>classified as potentially hazardous.</strong></li>
<li>For instance, Leaching of lead has<strong> huge environmental impact</strong> including loss in biodiversity, decreased growth and reproductive rates in plants and animals, and several other <strong>health hazards</strong> like adverse impact on kidney function, nervous, immune, reproductive and cardiovascular systems.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>PV Waste Recycling</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>PV waste recycling is still <strong>at a nascent stage globally,</strong> both in terms of technical standards and physical infrastructure. The waste is usually sent to laminated glass and metal recyclers that recover 70-80% of the material by weight.</li>
<li>PV module recycling is still <strong>not commercially viable</strong> as total estimated cost including transportation can vary between USD 400-600/ tonne, far exceeding value of the recovered material.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Status in India</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India is among the leading markets for solar cells in the world, buoyed by the government&rsquo;s commitment to install 100 GW of solar power by 2022. So far, India has installed solar cells for about 28 GW and this has been done largely from imported solar PV cells.</li>
<li><strong>India is poorly positioned to handle PV waste</strong> as it doesn&rsquo;t yet have a policy guideline on the same.</li>
<li>Most of the central bidding documents rest the responsibility of handling and disposing PV waste on the developers as per the E-waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011. However, the <strong>E-waste rules make no mention of solar PV waste.</strong></li>
<li>Unavailability of even basic recycling facilities for laminated glass and e-wastes.</li>
<li>Despite the e-waste regulation being in place for over seven years, only less than 4% of estimated e-waste is recycled in the organised sector.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Regulations for PV recycling in other countries</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The European union (EU) has a Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive,</strong> based on the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) concept that mandates all member states to implement a regulation for setting up tracking, collection and waste treatment mechanisms. It also has an <strong>eco-design directive</strong> for reducing environmental impact of energy-related products throughout their lifecycle.</li>
<li>There are <strong>no federal regulations </strong>for module waste management<strong> in the US</strong> but regulatory initiatives have been undertaken at the state-level to manage it.</li>
<li><strong>Voluntary guidelines</strong> to ensure proper recycling of solar PV modules have been issued <strong>by the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association</strong> (JPEA).</li>
<li><strong>China&rsquo;s 13th five-year plan (2016-2020)</strong> states that the principle of EPR will be imposed on waste treatment in general but a regulatory framework specific to module waste is yet to be adopted.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Suggestions For India</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Mandating <strong>module manufacturers to use environmentally sustainable design and materials</strong> with end-of-life in mind (similar to the eco-design initiative of the EU).</li>
<li>Specifying liability and responsibility of each stakeholder for waste management and treatment.</li>
<li>Laying down <strong>standards for PV waste collection, treatment and disposal.</strong></li>
<li>Encouraging mutual recycling responsibility agreements between module suppliers, project developers and power purchasers.</li>
<li>Undertaking regular surveys of recycling facilities to understand technology and capacity levels.</li>
<li><strong>Identifying investment and technical requirements for dedicated PV recycling facilities with focus on high-value recovery.</strong></li>
</ul>',
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			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/solar-e-waste'
		],
		(int) 1 => [
			'title' => 'Jallianwala Bagh Massacre',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>(This editorial is based on the article <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/deep-regret-is-simply-not-good-enough/article26810058.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener">'Deep Regret is Simply Not Good Enough'</a> which appeared in 'The Hindu' on 12<sup>th</sup> April, 2019. The article talks about Jallianwala Bagh Massacre which will soon be completing 100 years of its occurrence.)</p>
</div>
<p>Jallianwala Bagh&rsquo;s importance lies not in the numbers killed but in what preceded it and in what followed. <strong>The Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act of 1919, better known as the Rowlatt Act, came into force a month before the massacre in Jallianwala Bagh.</strong> It shocked most Indians who had expected to be rewarded, not punished, for willingly fighting alongside the British in the First World War.</p>
<p>A long due formal British apology came on the occasion of the centenary of the horrific Jallianwala Bagh massacre, but the question however remains - Is It Enough?</p>
<h3>Run up to the event</h3>
<p>During <strong>World War I (1914&ndash;18)</strong> the British government of India enacted a series of repressive emergency powers that were intended to combat subversive activities. By the war&rsquo;s end, expectations were high among the Indian populace that those measures would be eased and that India would be given more political autonomy.</p>
<p>The <strong>Montagu-Chelmsford Report,</strong> presented to the British Parliament in 1918, did in fact recommend limited local self-government. Instead, however, the government of India passed what became known as the <strong>Rowlatt Acts</strong> in early 1919, which essentially extended the repressive wartime measures.</p>
<p>The acts were met by widespread anger and discontent among Indians, notably in the Punjab region. Gandhi in early April called for a one-day general strike throughout the country. In Amritsar the news that prominent Indian leaders had been arrested and banished from that city resulted in mass protests.</p>
<p>The arrest and banishing of Saifudeen Kitchlew and Satya Pal sparked protests on April 10, in which soldiers fired upon civilians, buildings were looted and burned, and angry mobs killed several foreign nationals and severely beat a Christian missionary.</p>
<p>A force of several dozen troops commanded by Brig. Gen. Reginald Edward Harry Dyer was given the task of restoring order. Among the measures taken was a ban on public gatherings.</p>
<h3>The Massacre</h3>
<p>On April 13, 1919, Baisakhi day, following unrest in Amritsar after protests against the Rowlatt Act, Brigadier General (temporary rank) Reginald Dyer took a strike force of 50 rifles and 40 khukri-wielding Gurkhas into an enclosed ground, Jallianwala Bagh, where a peaceful public meeting of 15,000-20,000 was being held.</p>
<p>Immediately and without warning, he ordered fire to be opened on the crowd. The firing of 1,650 rounds was deliberate and targeted, using powerful rifles at virtually point blank range. The firing resulted in death of several hundreds of people and many times more were wounded.</p>
<p>Atrocity however did not stop at it, several repressive measures followed after the brutal killing such as the <strong>infamous crawling order, the salaam order, public floggings, arbitrary arrests, torture and bombing of civilians by airplanes &mdash; all under a veil of strictly enforced censorship</strong>.</p>
<h3>A history of evasion</h3>
<p>The massacre, followed by the praising and rewarding of its perpetrator, General Dyer, by the British public, removed all illusions about benign British rule in the country. It also marked the start of a liberation struggle like no other under Mahatma Gandhi; Rabindranath Tagore troubled by the incident renounced his Knighthood and questioned the morality of the British government and failure of rulers to act.</p>
<p>After calls for an investigation, including by liberals in Britain, a <strong>Disorders Inquiry Committee, under Chairmanship of Lord Hunter,</strong> was set up. The committee selectively criticised Dyer but let off the Lieutenant Governor, Michael O&rsquo;Dwyer.</p>
<p>The conservative Lords however took a different tack and criticised the government for being unjust to the officer. Similar sentiments in Dyer&rsquo;s favour came from the right-wing press &mdash; the Morning Post started a fund for him which collected &pound;26,000 &mdash; as well as from conservative sections of the public who believed he had saved India for the empire.</p>
<p>Rudyard Kipling, a famous writer too supported Dyer by putting an ambivalent comment on the wreath he sent to Dyer&rsquo;s funeral in 1927: &ldquo;He did his duty as he saw it.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Many people having ties with colonial history have called the incident an isolated one which had nothing to do with British rule and an exception. Winston Churchill who criticised the incident too quoted that it was not the British way of doing things and tried to save the larger colonial enterprise from being called as inherently repressive.</p>
<p>While there remains little doubt that Dyer was indeed wrong, British government cannot be exonerated from the atrocities it committed during the colonial era, as the incident was not an isolated one and he was one of a line of several such &mdash; John Nicholson, Frederick Cooper, J.L. Cowan &mdash; who resorted to severe disproportionate violence in 1857 and after the 1872 Kuka rebellion.</p>
<h3>Way Forward: Healing a wound</h3>
<p>Any British government can ill-afford to apologise for the glory days of its country&rsquo;s history. After all, incidents such as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre are a frequent adjunct to a system as repressive as the British Raj and admitting blame can also have legal and financial consequences.</p>
<p>While apologising in Parliament can be called symbolic, in a court of law, it is admitting a liability. Recent, British apology therefore can best be called symbolic which only addresses the concerns of its MPs and not those who actually suffered.</p>
<p>There is little doubt that an incident like this can best be healed with time but there are many ways to heal a wound between nations. Mere words are certainly not one of them.</p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Rowlatt Act, 1919</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The act was officially known as the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, 1919 and was passed in March 1919 by the Imperial Legislative Council.</li>
<li>The act was passed as per recommendations of the Rowlatt Committee chaired by a judge, Sir Sidney Rowlatt.</li>
<li>This act authorized the government to imprison for a maximum period of two years, without trial, any person suspected of terrorism.</li>
<li>The act provided s speedy trial of the offenses by a special cell that consisted of 3 High Court Judges. There was no court of appeal above that panel.</li>
<li>This panel could also accept the evidences which were not even acceptable in the Indian Evidences Act.</li>
<li>It also placed severe restrictions on the freedom of the press.</li>
<li>The act was widely condemned by Indian leaders and the public. The bills came to be known as &lsquo;black bills&rsquo;.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="/daily-news-editorials/impact-of-wwi-on-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read more...</a></p>',
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			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/jallianwala-bagh-massacre'
		],
		(int) 2 => [
			'title' => 'New Human Ancestor Species Found',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>Scientists have identified a new human ancestor species previously unknown. It has been named as&nbsp;<strong>Homo luzonensis.<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1573032556_image13.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1573032556_image13.png" width="340" height="241" style="float: right;" caption="false" /></a></strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Homo luzonensis is classified as <strong>a separate species</strong> on the basis of 13 bones and teeth from two adults and one child found in a cave on the island of <strong>Luzon in the Philippines.</strong></li>
<li>Unlike Homo sapiens, whose premolar teeth generally have a single root, Homo luzonensis' premolars had two or three roots, similar to more primitive species such as Homo erectus, which lived in Africa and Asia between about 1.89 million and 143,000 years ago.</li>
<li>The Homo luzonensis <strong>were around 3-4ft tall</strong> and lived on the island of Luzon at least <strong>50,000 to 67,000 years ago.</strong></li>
<li>It is <strong>not a direct ancestor of modern day humans</strong>, but rather a distant ancient relative.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Significance</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The fossils have an<strong> unexpected mix of both ancient and more advanced traits of hominin</strong> (the group consisting of modern humans, extinct human species and all our immediate ancestors).</li>
<li>The<strong> teeth's small sizes and relatively simple shapes point to a more modern species.</strong> <strong>Foot bone resembles those of the ancient australopithecines.</strong></li>
<li>The discovery also adds to a growing body of evidence that <strong>human evolution is not as linear</strong> as was once thought.</li>
<li>There are some questions which are unanswered such as <strong>how the species arrived on the island and who its ancestors were.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ehV-MmuvVMU" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/new-human-ancestor-species-found'
		],
		(int) 3 => [
			'title' => 'Sudan’s President Ousted by Army',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p><strong>President Omar al-Bashir</strong>, who ruled <strong>Sudan for 30 years</strong>, was overthrown in a coup by the armed forces.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The president was forcefully removed after months of protest over rising costs of food and other necessities but the demands quickly widened for the removal of President Omar al-Bashir and his government.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Reasons for Ouster</h3>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1573032437_image20.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1573032437_image20.png" width="529" height="378" caption="false" style="float: right;" /></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Economic Hardships and Civil War</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Mr. Bashir presided over a<strong> 21-year war in southern Sudan.</strong></li>
<li>In 2011, following a referendum,<strong> South Sudan gained independence from Sudan.</strong> The referendum had been part of a peace deal agreed between Mr. Bashir and rebels from South Sudan.</li>
<li>However<strong>, the split had significant financial repercussions, because South Sudan gained 75% of Sudan&rsquo;s oil resources.</strong></li>
<li>Sudan's economy - which had already been strained by more than a decade of US sanctions - was hit hard.
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>US Sanctions:</strong> Sudan has suffered prolonged periods of isolation since 1993 when the United States added Bashir&rsquo;s government to its <strong>list of terrorism sponsors for harboring Islamist militants.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>In December 2018, the government of Sudan tried to prevent economic collapse, brought on by years of US sanctions and loss of oil revenue, with emergency austerity measures and a sharp currency devaluation.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Algeria&rsquo;s Influence</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Recently, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/president-of-algeria-resigns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Abdelaziz Bouteflika, president of Algeria has resigned</a> after remaining in power for more than two decades.</li>
<li>This increased the wave of protests throughout Sudan.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>ICC Charges</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Mr. Bashir has been indicted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague and is <strong>facing an arrest warrant over allegations of genocide in Sudan&rsquo;s Darfur region</strong> during an insurgency that began in 2003 and led to the death of an estimated 300,000 people.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>What Now?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Defence Minister of Sudan Awad<strong> Ibn Ouf has announced that the army would oversee a two-year transitional period followed by elections</strong> and that a three-month state of emergency was being put in place.</li>
<li>However, Protests are still continuing <strong>demanding for a civilian government in place of military rule.</strong></li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/sudans-president-ousted-by-army'
		],
		(int) 4 => [
			'title' => 'Important Facts For Prelims (12th April 2019)',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>New Genetic Method To Empower Conservation</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A team of scientists at<strong> Stanford University and the National Centre for Biological Sciences at India's Tata Institute of Fundamental Research</strong> have developed a method for extracting genetic information.</li>
<li>The new method is <strong>faster and cheap and collects information from degraded and left-behind materials,</strong> such as <strong>feces, skin or saliva, and from food products</strong> suspected of containing endangered animals.</li>
<li>This is significant as it will <strong>help wildlife conservationists aiming to protect endangered species,</strong> but they were unable to collect the DNA samples from rare and elusive animals.</li>
<li>The new method relies on <strong>identifying multiple, short portions of DNA segments in a single experiment (a multiplex PCR), followed by &lsquo;next-generation sequencing&rsquo;, in which multiple fragments of DNA can be decoded simultaneously, and several times, in an automated process.</strong></li>
<li>The team tested their method on Caribbean queen conches and tigers.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (Multiplex PCR)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Multiplex polymerase chain reaction refers to the use of polymerase chain reaction to amplify several different DNA sequences simultaneously.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Three-Person Baby</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A team of Greek and Spanish doctors has produced a baby (in Greece) using<strong> genetic material from two women and a man.</strong></li>
<li>The technique used is called as<strong> &lsquo;Maternal Spindle transfer&rsquo;</strong> in which maternal DNA is put into the egg of a donor woman, which is then fertilized using the father&rsquo;s sperm.</li>
<li>The procedure was developed to<strong> help existing IVF treatments in which mothers have mitochondrial diseases.</strong></li>
<li>The technique is considered controversial by some doctors.</li>
<li><strong>Mitochondrial diseases are long-term, genetic, often inherited disorders</strong> that occur when mitochondria fail to produce enough energy for the body to function properly.</li>
<li><strong>In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)</strong> is a medical procedure in which<strong> mature egg cells are removed from a woman, fertilized with male sperm outside the body, and inserted into the uterus</strong> of the same or another woman for normal gestation.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Bold Kurukshetra</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The<strong> 12th edition</strong> of joint military exercise between<strong> India and Singapore,</strong> BOLD KURUKSHETRA 2019 came to an end on 11th April 2019.</li>
<li>A closing ceremony for the same was held at the<strong> Babina Military Station, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh.</strong></li>
<li>The four-day long joint training focused on developing interoperability and conduct of joint tactical operations in mechanized warfare.</li>
<li>India and Singapore had signed a cooperation agreement in November 2017 to strengthen the defense ties between the Indian Military and Singapore Armed Forces. As per the agreement, the Singapore military would undergo training and participate in firing exercise with Indian counterpart.</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-12th-april-2019'
		],
		(int) 5 => [
			'title' => 'Special Leave Petition',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>Vedanta Ltd. has moved the Supreme Court (SC) with a Special Leave Petition (SLP) seeking interim access to undertake maintenance activities at its Sterlite Copper plant in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The plant was ordered shut after protests in May 2018.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Article 136 in the Constitution Of India&nbsp;</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Special leave to appeal by the Supreme Court:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>(1) Notwithstanding anything in this Chapter, the Supreme Court may, in its discretion, grant special leave to appeal from any judgment, decree, determination, sentence or order in any cause or matter passed or made by any court or tribunal in the territory of India.</li>
<li>(2) Nothing in clause ( 1 ) shall apply to any judgment, determination, sentence or order passed or made by any court or tribunal constituted by or under any law relating to the Armed Forces.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>In the case of any SLP , the SC has first to decide in its discretion whether it should grant or deny the requested Special Leave.</li>
<li>When discussing the SLP, it is important to understand its position with respect to the judgements of Inter-State Water Dispute (ISWD) Tribunal as well.</li>
<li>The Inter-State Water Disputes Act of 1956, coupled with Article 262 (2) of the Constitution, excludes the SC from hearing or deciding any appeals against the Inter-State Water Dispute (ISWD) Tribunal's decision.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>However, the reference to "any Court or tribunal in the territory of India," in Article 136 seems to bring the ISWD Tribunals within the purview of the Article.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The SC had also argued that the remedy under Article 136 (Special Leave Petition) is a constitutional right. Thus, the bar can be overcome through the possible routes under Articles 32, 131, and 136 of the Constitution.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Article 32 provides for constitutional remedies to get the rights protected through writs namely Habeas Corpus, Mandamus, Prohibition, Certiorari and Quo warranto.</li>
<li>Article 131 ( Original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court ) is about Centre-State or inter-State disputes in general.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/special-leave-petition'
		],
		(int) 6 => [
			'title' => 'BT Cotton in India - Problems and Solutions',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>This editorial is based on two articles &ldquo;White gold: How a revolution was reversed&rdquo; which appeared in Indian Express on 21st march, 2019 and &ldquo;Spinning the right yarn&rdquo; which appeared in Indian Express on 9th April, 2019. In this article we will see what are the results from the use of BT cotton in the Indian cotton sector.</p>
<p>In 2003-04, India was the world&rsquo;s third largest cotton producer and seventh biggest exporter of cotton in the world. Overall, India was a net importer of cotton.&nbsp;With the introduction of BT-cotton, India in a decade rose to become not only biggest producer of cotton bales but also the 2nd biggest exporter.</p>
<p>Can this transformation in cotton industry be solely attributed to the introduction of BT-Cotton? Before answering one must have to look what led to the introduction of Bt-cotton in India.</p>
<h3><strong>A brief history of cotton production in India:</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li>Before the advent of British in India, different varieties of cotton, indigenously developed over a long period of time, were grown in different parts of the country, each being suited to the local soil, water and climate.</li>
<li>However, labelling this variety of cotton as inferior, the British introduced Bourbon cotton in 1797, just to suit the needs of Lancashire mills. It resulted in neglect of the varieties of the cotton that were pest resistant, and resistant to the vagaries of weather, resulting in loss of traditional seed selection, manuring and cultivation practices of Indian cotton farming.</li>
<li>The new varieties of cotton, though profitable, were not able to resist the vagaries of weather, pest resistance. This continued even after Independence. To overcome the problem of pests such as ballworm, a lot of pesticide and insecticide were being used and to control this problem, Govt introduced BT-cotton in 2002.</li>
</ul>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%;">
<h3><b>A brief introduction of BT-COTTON</b></h3>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bt cotton is an insect-resistant transgenic crop designed to combat the bollworm. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bt cotton was created by genetically altering the cotton genome to express a microbial protein from the bacterium&nbsp;</span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bacillus thuringiensis</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">In short, the transgene inserted into the plant's genome produces toxin crystals that the plant would not normally produce which, when ingested by a certain population of organisms, dissolves the gut lining, leading to the organism's death.&nbsp;</span></li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p></p>
<p><strong></strong></p>
<p><strong><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/254bt cotton 1.PNG" /></strong></p>
<p><strong></strong></p>
<h3><strong>How Bt-cotton changed Indian cotton industry:</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li>A study conducted on 533 farm households between 2002 and 2008, who switched to BT-cotton has following findings:
<ul>
<li>Yield of plots planted with Bt cotton increased by 24% compared with conventional cotton plots. This translated to a 50% increase in profits.</li>
<li>During 2006&ndash;08, families who adopted Bt cotton spent 18% more money than conventional farming households, suggesting an increase in living standards. The benefits were due solely to reduced pest damage.</li>
<li>There was an initial reduction in insecticide use with Bt technology.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The introduction of Bt cotton led to a dramatic increase in production across the cotton producing states and soon Bt cotton took over most of the acreage under cotton cultivation. Cotton production rose from 14 million bales in the pre-Bt year of 2001-'02 to 39 million bales in 2014-'15, a rise of almost 180%. India&rsquo;s cotton imports fell, export grew and in 2015-16 have overtaken China as the biggest cotton producer in the world.</li>
<li>There was an expansion in crop area from 7.67 million hectares to 11.96 million hectares during this period.</li>
</ul>
<h3><strong>Change at what cost?</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li>What should be noted is farmers and food activists have been protesting for the past decade on various ground, some of which are as follows:
<ul>
<li>The seeds are more expensive than local, non-genetically modified varieties.</li>
<li>Seeds cannot be reused and farmers need to buy new stock for every growing season. This, along with licensing agreements with local seed companies, has given Monsanto a near monopoly on cotton seeds in India that has been the biggest worry for activists.</li>
<li>Diffusion of illegal Bt hybrids that hadn't been cleared for bio safety standards, leading to fears of environmental toxicity.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3><strong>An analysis of other cost involved:</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li>The introduction of hybrid Bt-cotton led to an initial reduction in insecticide use, but by 2012, insecticide use was at pre-2002 levels, and now targeted still newer induced secondary pests.</li>
<li>Resistance to insecticides and to Bt toxins was developing in pink bollworm and American bollworm: two pest which were running havoc on Indian cotton industry. This resulted in double jeopardy of insecticide and biotechnology to Indian farmers.</li>
</ul>
<p>Has Indian farmer benefitted at all ?</p>
<ul>
<li>Opinions are divided on this. Definitely big farmers and corporate sector have benefited from the introduction of Bt-cotton. But it is the middle and small farmers who have suffered a lot with Bt-cotton.
<ul>
<li>According to Rajya Sabha 301st committee report, the use of insecticides increased steeply both in value and quantity.</li>
<li>Farmers were forced to pay almost triple the price of regular seeds for Bt cotton seeds, increasing indebtedness and reliance on high yield.</li>
<li>This increase in indebtedness led to an increase in farmer suicides, in light of failure of crop yield.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Causes of indebtedness include:
<ul>
<li>Changes in cropping patterns caused due to development of plant resistance to pesticides and hence increased spending on pesticides.</li>
<li>A shift in the agrarian economy from low-cost food crops to high-cost cash crops along with a lack of access to institutional credit facilities.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%;">
<h3><strong>Why Bt-cotton is facing failure only in India?</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li>Even though Bollgard 2, or BG-2, Monsanto&rsquo;s second generation insecticidal technology for cotton, was supposed to protect crops against the pink bollworm, the pest has grown resistant to the toxins produced by this trait only in India.</li>
<li>The following reasons can be attributed for this:
<ul>
<li>It is often argued by scientists that Bt-cotton seeds are not suitable under Monsoon conditions.</li>
<li>Unlike other Cotton-growing countries where open-pollinated cotton varieties are grown, Indian cotton farmers only opt for hybrid varieties.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/172bt cotton 2.PNG" /></p>
<p></p>
<h3><strong>Way forward</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li>The solution is planting rainfed short season high density (SS-HD) cotton as developed at CICR, Nagpur, and other institutions &mdash; cotton that could double yields, avoid pink bollworm infestations and hence reduce insecticide use and obviate the need for Bt technology.</li>
<li>Further, in the era of globalization where indigenous varieties has become a tradition, witnessed in the ever increasing demand of muslin cloth, indigenous varieties should be promoted. Also, infrastructure should also be promoted for local weaving and spinning, along with creating demand through e-commerce.</li>
</ul>
<h3><strong>Conclusion </strong></h3>
<p>Without doubt Bt-cotton in India provided a lot of impetus to the Indian textile sector thus creating a lot of employment around, but the gains made were short term in nature, manifested in the recent upheaval in our agriculture sector. Now, it&rsquo;s time to move over to a better and equitable upgrade to Bt-cotton and perhaps resort back to indigenously grown cotton which would create equity for farmers and sustainability to environment.</p>
</div>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/bt-cotton-in-india-problems-and-solutions'
		],
		(int) 7 => [
			'title' => 'First Images of A Black Hole',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>The scientists at <strong>Event Horizon Telescope Project</strong> have released the first-ever image of a<strong> Black Hole</strong> (more precisely, of its shadow).</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The black hole is located in the center of <strong>galaxy Messier 87,</strong> in the <strong>constellation Virgo.</strong> It is located about <strong>53 million light -years away from earth.</strong></li>
<li>The black hole has a mass of <strong>6.5 billion Suns.</strong></li>
<li>The image was made possible by the <strong>Event horizon telescope (EHT).</strong></li>
<li>The <strong>EHT picks up the radiation emitted by particles</strong> in the galaxy heated to billion degrees as they revolve around the black hole close to the speed of light.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xsnjYC64RqA" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">What is a black hole?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The term &lsquo;black hole&rsquo; was coined in the mid-1960s by <strong>American Physicist John Archibald Wheeler.</strong></li>
<li>Black hole refers to a point in space where matter is so compressed as to <strong>create a gravity field from which even light cannot escape.</strong></li>
<li>Black-holes were<strong> theorized by Albert Einstein in 1915.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1573028361_Image1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1573028361_Image1.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="612" height="334" /></a></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Event Horizon</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There is a<strong> region of space beyond the black hole called the event horizon</strong>. This is a<strong> "point of no return",</strong> beyond which it is<strong> impossible to escape the gravitational effects of the black hole.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Event Horizon Telescope Project</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>EHT is a group of <strong>8 radio telescopes (used to detect radio waves from space)</strong> located in different parts of the world.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/first-images-of-a-black-hole'
		],
		(int) 8 => [
			'title' => 'State of World Population-2019: UNFPA',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>According to <strong>State of World Population-2019 report</strong> by the<strong> United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA),</strong> India&rsquo;s population grew at an average of 1.2% annually between 2010 and 2019 which is <strong>more than double the annual growth rate of China.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The release of report also <strong>marks 50 years of the UNFPA being established</strong> to support countries to<strong> bring down fertility levels.</strong></li>
<li>It also marks <strong>25 years of International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994,</strong> where 179 governments agreed on a rights-based approach to sexual and reproductive health to address population growth.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Reproductive health</strong> can be defined as a state of well-being related to one&rsquo;s sexual and reproductive life. It implies, <strong>&ldquo;that people are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so&rdquo;.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Highlights</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>world&rsquo;s population rose to 7.715 billion in 2019, up from 7.633 billion in 2018,</strong> with the global average life expectancy of <strong>72 years.</strong></li>
<li>The <strong>least developed countries</strong> recorded the highest population growth, with countries in Africa registering an average of 2.7% a year.</li>
<li>Much of the overall increase in global population till 2050 is projected to occur in high fertility countries, mostly in Africa, or in countries with large populations, such as Nigeria and India.</li>
<li><strong>India&rsquo;s population grew at 1.2% a year</strong> between 2010 and 2019, <strong>marginally higher than the global average of 1.1%</strong> a year in this period.</li>
<li>Around half of India&rsquo;s population in 24 states have achieved the <strong>replacement fertility rates of 2.1 children per women</strong>, which is the desired family size when the population stops growing.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>However, the country&rsquo;s large youth population will continue to fuel population growth even as the size of the ageing population increases.</li>
<li><strong>Replacement level rate</strong> is the average number of children born per woman&mdash;<strong>at which a population exactly replaces itself from one generation to the next, without migration.</strong> This rate is roughly <strong>2.1 children per woman</strong> for most countries, although it may vary with mortality rates.</li>
<li>In India, the <strong>total fertility rate</strong> per woman declined from 5.6 in 1969 to 3.7 in 1994 and<strong> 2.3 in 2019.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>As of 2019, India&rsquo;s population stood at 1.36 billion, growing from 942.2 million in 1994 and 541.5 million in 1969.</li>
<li>27% of India&rsquo;s population was in the age bracket of 0-14 years and 10-24 years, while 67% of the country&rsquo;s population was in the 15-64 age bracket. <strong>6% of the country&rsquo;s population was of the age 65 and above.</strong></li>
<li>India registered an <strong>improvement in life expectancy at birth.</strong> The life expectancy at birth in 1969 was 47 years, growing to 60 years in 1994 and <strong>69 years in 2019.</strong></li>
<li>The findings on <strong>women aged between 15-49 years</strong> were published for <strong>the first time as part of United Nations Population Fund&rsquo;s (UNFPA) State of World Population 2019 report.</strong> It includes data on women&rsquo;s ability to make decisions over <strong>three key areas:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Sexual intercourse with their partner,</strong></li>
<li><strong>Contraception use and</strong></li>
<li><strong>Health care.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>According to the analysis, the absence of reproductive and sexual rights has major and negative repercussions on women&rsquo;s education, income and safety, leaving them &ldquo;unable to shape their own futures&rdquo;.</li>
<li>Early marriage continues to remain an obstacle to female empowerment and better reproductive rights.</li>
<li>The report highlights the threat to women&rsquo;s and girls&rsquo; reproductive rights posed by emergencies caused by conflict or climate disasters.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>United Nations Population Fund&nbsp;</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>UNFPA is the <strong>United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency.</strong> It was established as a trust fund in 1967 and began operations in 1969.</li>
<li>In <strong>1987, it was officially renamed the United Nations Population Fund</strong>. However, the original abbreviation, UNFPA (United Nations Fund for Population Activities), was retained.</li>
<li>The mandate of <strong>UNFPA is established by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).</strong></li>
<li>UNFPA is a <strong>subsidiary organ of the UN General Assembly.</strong></li>
<li>UNFPA is <strong>entirely supported by voluntary contributions</strong> of donor governments, intergovernmental organizations, the private sector, and foundations and individuals, <strong>NOT </strong>by the United Nations regular budget.</li>
<li>UNFPA works directly to tackle <strong>Sustainable Development Goal 3 on health, Goal 4 on education and Goal 5 on gender equality.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/state-of-world-population-2019-unfpa'
		],
		(int) 9 => [
			'title' => 'Important Facts For Prelims (11th April 2019)',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Law for Banning Sale of e-cigarettes</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Commerce Ministry has asked its Health Counterpart to frame a law for banning manufacture and sale of e-cigarettes in the country.</li>
<li>Earlier, the Health Ministry had asked the Commerce Ministry to issue a notification banning import of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), including e-cigarettes and flavoured hookah.</li>
<li>Without banning domestic sale and manufacturing of ENDS through a law, ban on its import will amount to the infringement of global trade norms.</li>
<li>In August last year, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/ban-on-e-cigarettes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the health ministry had issued an advisory</a> to all states and Union Territories (UTs) to stop the manufacture, sale and import of ENDS.</li>
<li>In March, the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/panel-finds-dosing-mismatches-in-many-fdcs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Central Drugs Standard Control Organization</a> also directed all drug controllers in states and UTs to not to allow the manufacture, sale, import and advertisement of ENDS, including e-cigarettes and flavoured hookah, in their jurisdictions.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>ENDS<strong> heat a solution (e-liquid) to create an aerosol</strong> which frequently contains flavourants, usually dissolved into Propylene Glycol or/and Glycerin.</li>
<li>Electronic cigarettes, the most common prototype, are devices <strong>that do not burn or use tobacco leaves but instead vaporise a solution</strong> so that a user can inhale. The main <strong>constituents</strong> of the solution, in addition to<strong> nicotine</strong>, are <strong>propylene glycol,</strong> with or without glycerol and <strong>flavouring agents. </strong></li>
<li>ENDS solutions and emissions also contain some other toxicant chemicals.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Global Financial Stability Report</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) is a <strong>semiannual report by the <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/international-monetary-fund-imf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">International Monetary Fund (IMF)</a></strong> that assesses the stability of global financial markets and emerging-market financing. It is <strong>released twice per year, in April and October.</strong></li>
<li>It draws out the financial ramifications of economic imbalances highlighted by the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/world-economic-outlook-2019-growth-slowdown-precarious-recovery-imf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>IMF's World Economic Outlook.</strong></a></li>
<li>In addition to <strong>assessing the condition of worldwide markets,</strong> the GFSR also issues <strong>recommendations for central banks, policymakers and others who supervise global financial markets.</strong></li>
<li>The April 2019 Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) finds that despite significant variability over the past two quarters, financial conditions remain favourable.</li>
<li>The latest GFSR <strong>introduces a way to quantify vulnerabilities</strong> in the financial system, encompassing<strong> six sectors: corporates, households, governments, banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions.</strong></li>
<li>The report specifically focuses on corporate sector debt in advanced economies, the sovereign&ndash;financial sector nexus in the Euro area, China&rsquo;s financial imbalances, volatile portfolio flows to emerging markets, and downside risks to the housing market.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>However, the short-term risks to global financial stability are still low by historical standards, though they are slightly higher than what was <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-12th-october-2018" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>highlighted in October 2018 Global Financial Stability Report</strong> </a>. In the medium term, however, risks remain elevated.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>It recommends action by policymakers, including through the clear communication of any changes in their monetary policy outlook, the deployment and expansion of macroprudential tools, the stepping up of measures to repair public and private sector balance sheets, and the strengthening of emerging market resilience to foreign portfolio outflows.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Cloud Honeypots</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>According to a report by <strong>Sophos (an IT security company)</strong> "Exposed: Cyber attacks on Cloud Honeypots", over five million attacks were attempted on the global network of honeypots.</li>
<li>Cybercriminals attempted attacks on a <strong>Mumbai Cloud server honeypot more than 678,000 times in a mont</strong>h, which was second to Ohio in the US that recorded more than 950,000 login attempts.</li>
<li><strong>What is a Honey Pot?</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Honeypots are decoy systems providing hosts that have no authorized users other than the honeypot administrators, as they serve no business function.</strong></li>
<li>A honeypot is a system<strong> intended&nbsp;to mimic likely targets of cyberattackers</strong> for security researchers&nbsp;to monitor cybercriminal behavior.</li>
<li><strong>Honeypots are used to trap attackers into thinking that they have penetrated a network,</strong> allowing time for defenders to analyze their threat parameters and generate appropriate threat indicators to block an impending attack.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-11th-april-2019'
		],
		(int) 10 => [
			'title' => 'Electronic Voting Machine and Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>(This editorial is based on the article <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/technology-and-the-unhurried-mind/article26785466.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener">'Technology and the unhurried mind'</a> which appeared in 'The Hindu' on 10<sup>th</sup> April, 2019. The article talks about the recent controversy surrounding the tampering of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM). The article tries to examine the root of the problem.)</p>
</div>
<p>The recent order of the Supreme Court on increasing the existing Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) verification rate from one to five random Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) per Assembly constituency or segment, tries to reassure those sceptical about the integrity of counting by means of EVMs.</p>
<p>VVPAT slip verification reassures the voters that the EVM is indeed foolproof, over and above the technical and administrative safeguards that are already in place to prevent any tampering.</p>
<p>However the cynicism continues to remain, regarding the fallibility of EVMs and thus necessitates an in depth scrutiny to allay any apprehensions regarding the most important feature of a democratic polity- Elections.</p>
<h3>EVMs: As we know</h3>
<p>The Commission in December, 1977 mooted the idea of EVM to overcome certain problems associated with use of ballot papers and taking advantage of development of technology so that voters cast their votes correctly without any resultant ambiguity and removing the possibilities of invalid votes totally.</p>
<p>MB Haneefa invented the first Indian voting machine in 1980. It was first used in 1981 in the by-election to North Paravur Assembly Constituency of Kerala in 50 polling stations. The EVMs were commissioned in 1989 by Election Commission of India in collaboration with Bharat Electronics Limited and Electronics Corporation of India Limited.</p>
<p>The law was amended by the Parliament in December, 1988 and a new section 61A was inserted in the Representation of the People Act, 1951 empowering the Commission to use voting machines. The amended provision came into force with effect from 15th March, 1989.</p>
<h3>From Ballot to Machine</h3>
<p>Electronic Voting Machine was introduced in India <strong>to solve the problem of Ballot Box capturing and casting of false vote,</strong> which was a common scenario in India while using the Ballot Paper.</p>
<p>Another constraint of the pre-EVM era was the <strong>high proportion of invalid votes</strong>. Many people found it difficult to put the stamp in the allocated space.</p>
<p>In addition, <strong>the cost of paper ballots and the prolonged drudgery of the polling staff</strong> was an additional burden.</p>
<p>Hence, the Indian Parliament decided to use Electronic Voting Machine by Election Commission of India to Conduct General and State elections in India.</p>
<p>EVMs in India consists of a Ballot Unit, buttons in front of the name of respective Candidates or Political Parties, for the voters and a Control Unit which is operated by the booth&nbsp; officer.</p>
<p>Studies have been conducted which have shown that EVMs have reduced electoral fraud and re-polling due to electoral rigging, and made elections a safe affair, thereby enhancing voter turnout.</p>
<h3>The Controversy</h3>
<p>Electronic Voting Machines in the recent times in India have become the topic of debate. As there have been various reports on EVM came up, that <strong>it can be tampered easily</strong> and the votes of one political party or candidate can be easily transferred to another.</p>
<p>Many incidents have aroused which has made the public doubt the authenticity of EVMs such as <strong>technical glitches</strong> where EVMs have stopped responding and multiple people claiming that the system is <strong>hackable</strong>.</p>
<p>Countries like Germany, Ireland, U.S.A. and Italy which are more technologically sound than India have also have doubted the transparency of EVM machines from time to time and have even banned the use of these machines in there elections.</p>
<p>However, the Election Commission of India has repeatedly denied from time to time the possibility of tampering of EVMs and also have given reports on EVM can&rsquo;t be tampered and has also challenged publicly to temper the EVM for a prize.</p>
<h3>Measures to secure EVMs</h3>
<p><strong>Functional check:</strong> The machines are cleaned and earlier results are cleared. Switches, buttons, cables and latches are inspected for damage.</p>
<p><strong>Random check:</strong> A mock poll is conducted on 5% of the total number of EVMs to be used for a poll. About 1,000 votes are polled and the result printouts are shared with representatives of various political parties.</p>
<p><strong>Throwing the dice:</strong> EVMs are randomly placed in the constituencies and booths and it is difficult to know which machine is kept where. During the first, EVMs are allocated at random to a constituency. In the second round, they are randomised and allocated to a polling booth.</p>
<p><strong>A dry run:</strong> Before the start of the actual poll, a mock poll is conducted with at least 50 votes in the presence of candidates or their agents. The mock poll is then closed and the results are displayed. On poll day, various checks are conducted by polling agents, observers and central paramilitary forces.</p>
<p><strong>Safe and secure:</strong> EVMs are placed in their carrying cases and sealed. The machines are transported back to the reception centres under armed escort and kept in the strong room.</p>
<h3>Reclaiming the Faith</h3>
<p>Rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater, a couple of procedural changes will bring in credibility to the voting process.</p>
<p>The EC has already operationalised the voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) with an attached printer that provides a paper trail for those who have cast their votes.</p>
<p>At present, after casting the vote in EVMs, the printed paper is directly dropped in the box (the voter only has seven seconds to see this). Instead, the paper should be given to the voter who should then drop it in the ballot box. This was the procedure before the introduction of EVMs.</p>
<p>In the current system, to ask for a counting of ballots from the VVPAT, one has to move the courts. Instead, the ECI should introduce a new procedure wherein the manual counting of the printed ballots has to be done before announcing the result if the difference between the winner and the loser is less than, say, 10%, and the loser demands a recount.</p>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<p>In a democracy, there is perhaps nothing more important than the credibility of the electoral process therefore in a democracy, elections should not only be fair but should be seen to be fair. By shoring up its image and bringing in some more transparent reforms, the EC can restore faith in elections.</p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>VVPAT is an <strong>independent verification printer machine</strong> and is attached to electronic voting machines. It allows voters to verify if their vote has gone to the <strong>intended candidate</strong>.</li>
<li>When a voter presses a button in the EVM, a paper slip is <strong>printed through the VVPAT</strong>. The slip contains the <strong>poll symbol</strong> and <strong>name of the candidate</strong>. It allows the voter to verify his/her choice.</li>
<li>After being visible to the voter from a glass case in the <strong>VVPAT for seven seconds,</strong> the ballot slip will be cut and dropped into the <strong>drop box in the VVPAT</strong> machine and a beep will be heard.</li>
<li>VVPAT machines can be <strong>accessed by polling officers only</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/electronic-voting-machine-and-voter-verifiable-paper-audit-trail'
		],
		(int) 11 => [
			'title' => 'India Remained the Highest Recipient Of Remittances',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>According to the latest edition of the<strong><a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/world-bank-group" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> World Bank</a>&rsquo;s Migration and Development Brief,</strong> <strong>India</strong>&nbsp;has retained its position as the <strong>world&rsquo;s top recipient of <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/migration-and-remittances-the-gender-angle" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remittances</a></strong> with its diaspora sending a whopping $79 billion back home in 2018.</p>
<h3>Key Findings</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Increase in Remittances</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Remittances to low- and middle-income countries reached a record high in 2018.</li>
<li><strong>Global remittances,</strong> which also include flows to high-income countries, <strong>reached $689 billion in 2018</strong>, up from $633 billion in 2017.</li>
<li>The officially recorded annual remittance flows to<strong> low- and middle-income countries</strong> reached $529 billion in 2018, an<strong> increase of 9.6 %</strong> over the previous record high of $483 billion in 2017.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Regional Stats</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Growth</strong> in remittance inflows ranged from almost <strong>7% in East Asia</strong> <strong>and the Pacific</strong> to<strong> 12 %in South Asia.</strong></li>
<li>Remittances to South Asia grew 12% to $131 billion in 2018, outpacing the 6% growth in 2017.</li>
<li>The overall increase was driven by a <strong>stronger economy and employment situation in the United States</strong> and a rebound in <strong>outward flows</strong> from some <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-11th-december-2018" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)</a> countries and <strong>the Russian Federation.</strong></li>
<li><strong>In 2019</strong>, remittance flows to <strong>low- and middle-income countries</strong> are expected to reach<strong> $550 billion,</strong> to become their <strong>largest source of external financing.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Country-wise stats</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Among countries, <strong>the top remittance recipients were India with $79 billion</strong>, followed by China ($67 billion), Mexico ($36 billion), the Philippines ($34 billion), and Egypt ($29 billion).</li>
<li>In Pakistan, remittance growth was moderate (7%), due to significant declines in inflows from Saudi Arabia, its largest remittance source.</li>
<li>In Bangladesh, remittances showed a brisk uptick in 2018 (15%).</li>
<li>Remittances grew by <strong>more than 14% in India,</strong> where a<strong> flooding disaster in Kerala likely boosted the financial help</strong> that migrants sent to families. India received $62.7 billion in 2016 and $65.3 billion in 2017 from remittances.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>High Remittance Cost</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Global average cost of sending $200 remained high, at around<strong> 7% in the first quarter of 2019.</strong></li>
<li>Remittance costs across many African corridors and small islands in the Pacific in general remain above 10%.</li>
<li><strong>Banks</strong> were the <strong>most expensive remittance channels,</strong> charging an average fee of 11 percent in the first quarter of 2019. Post offices were the next most expensive, at over 7 percent.</li>
<li><strong>Reducing remittance costs to 3% by 2030</strong> is a global target under<strong> Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 10.7.</strong></li>
<li>Renegotiating exclusive partnerships and letting new players operate through national post offices, banks, and telecommunications companies will increase the competition and thus lower the remittance prices.&rdquo;</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>World Bank&rsquo;s Migration and Development Brief</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This is prepared by the <strong>Migration and Remittances Unit, Development Economics (DEC)</strong>- the premier research and data arm of the World Bank. .</li>
<li>The brief <strong>aims to provide an update on key developments in the area of <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/migration-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">migration</a> and remittance flows</strong> and related policies over the past six months.</li>
<li>It also provides medium-term projections of remittance flows to developing countries..</li>
<li>The brief is<strong> produced twice a year.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Remittances</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Remittances are usually understood as <strong>financial or in-kind transfers made by migrants to friends and relatives back in communities of origin.</strong></li>
<li>These are basically sum of two main components - <strong>Personal Transfers</strong> in cash or in kind between resident and non-resident households and <strong>Compensation of Employees,</strong> which refers to the income of workers who work in another country for a limited period of time.</li>
<li>Remittances help in stimulating economic development in recipient countries, but this can also make such countries over-reliant on them.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/india-remained-the-highest-recipient-of-remittances'
		],
		(int) 12 => [
			'title' => 'Meteorite Sheds Light on the Sun’s Infant Years',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>By analyzing a piece of meteorite found in Kazakhstan in 1962, researchers have envisaged how the Sun behaved in its infancy.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Findings</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Researchers found that <strong>during initial years Sun was able to generate superflares</strong> which were a million times stronger than the strongest solar flare ever recorded at the 1859 Carrington event.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>solar storm of 1859 (also known as the Carrington Event)</strong> was a powerful geomagnetic storm during solar cycle 10 (1855&ndash;1867).</li>
<li>A <strong>solar flare is a sudden flash of increased brightness on the Sun,</strong> sometimes they are also accompanied by a<strong> coronal mass ejection.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Such superflares must have taken place 4.5 billion years ago when the Sun was barely forming.</li>
<li>Researchers also inferred that irradiation by such superflares from the Sun is the <strong>sources of elements like beryllium-7.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Among the first-formed solids of the solar system were the calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAI).</strong> The CAIs are nearly 4.5 billion years old.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Terms Related to Rocks of Space</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Asteroid:</strong> These rocks are generally<strong> found between Mars and Jupiter</strong> in an orbit called the <strong>asteroid belt.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>These are usually <strong>the fragments of a planet</strong> that never came together.</li>
<li>Sometimes asteroids after being ejected from the main belt, intersect earth orbits.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Comet:</strong> It is a<strong> chunk of ice and rock originating from the outer solar system.</strong> Some of them occasionally get gravitationally pulled towards the inner solar system, with the possibility of hitting Earth.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>When passing close to the Sun, <strong>the comet warms and begins to release gases, a process called outgassing. </strong></li>
<li>This produces a <strong>visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Meteoroid:</strong> <strong>a space rock that&rsquo;s bigger than a dust grain but smaller than an asteroid.</strong> The dividing line between asteroid and meteoroid is fuzzy, but generally, space rocks bigger than boulders are asteroids and smaller ones are meteoroids.</li>
<li><strong>Meteor:</strong> <strong>The streak of light seen when a space rock &mdash; an asteroid or a comet &mdash; enters the earth&rsquo;s atmosphere and starts burning up.</strong> It&rsquo;s the scientific synonym for &ldquo;shooting star.&rdquo;</li>
<li><strong>Meteorite:</strong> If a meteor doesn&rsquo;t entirely burn up, a piece of <strong>space rock that lands on Earth</strong> are called a meteorite.</li>
<li><strong>Bolide:</strong> astronomers use the term to describe a b<strong>right fireball from an incoming meteor;</strong> geologists use it as a catch-all term for a comet or an asteroid that hits the Earth.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Coronal Mass Ejection</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A coronal mass ejection (CME) is a <strong>significant release of plasma and accompanying magnetic field from the solar corona.</strong> They are <strong>often followed by solar flares.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Solar Flares on reaching earth causes spectacular light</strong> shows by interacting with the earth&rsquo;s magnetic field called Aurora&rsquo;s.</li>
<li><strong>Solar Flares can also disrupt</strong> radio transmission and harm satellites in orbit.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/meteorite-sheds-light-on-the-suns-infant-years'
		],
		(int) 13 => [
			'title' => 'Data Protection Law in the United States',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>The U.S. government is bringing a law which could<strong> allow people to see or prohibit the use of their data by tech firms.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This will be the <strong>first of its kind data protection law in the US</strong> at the national level.</li>
<li>The new law will <strong>control the ability of the largest technology companies to collect and make money off people's personal data</strong>. Companies would need permission to release such information.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Necessity for Such Law</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The need for such a law was felt due to <strong>rising concern over the compromise of private data held by Facebook, Google,</strong> and other information technology (IT) giants.</li>
<li>In the US, the<strong> IT industry has been lightly regulated and has resisted closer oversight</strong> as a threat to its culture of free-wheeling innovation.</li>
<li>Support for privacy law is part of a<strong> broader effort by regulators and lawmakers to lessen the domination of companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon.</strong></li>
<li>Recently, the US state of California also enacted data privacy law. The law allows<strong> California citizens to see the personal data being collected on them and where it's being distributed and to forbid the sale of it.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>With some exceptions, consumers could also request that their personal information be deleted entirely.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>&lsquo;GAFA&rsquo; tax plan</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>France parliament has approved a <strong>new tax on digital giants such as Facebook and Apple.</strong></li>
<li>The legislation, called as &ldquo;GAFA&rdquo; after Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple, comes amid <strong>rising public outrage at the minimal tax paid by some of the world&rsquo;s richest firms.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>India and Data Privacy</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Recently, <strong>India has also enforced<a href="/to-the-points/paper3/Data-Localisation" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Data Localisation</a> norms&nbsp;<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/payment-firms-begins-process-of-data-localisation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">for Payment firms.</a></strong></li>
<li>To address the issue of the protection of data the government of India has formed the<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/justice-bn-srikrishna-committee-submits-data-protection-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> BN Srikrishna Committee</strong></a> and has also brought Data Protection Bill 2018. Highlights of which are:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>all personal data to which the law applies must have at least one serving copy stored in India</li>
<li>personal data critical to national interest must be stored and processed only in India</li>
<li>the Centre will have the power to exempt transfers on the basis of strategic or practical considerations.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/data-protection-law-in-the-united-states'
		],
		(int) 14 => [
			'title' => 'Cyber Security',
			'catname' => 'Paper 3',
			'desc' => '<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/514Drishti_ias_Cyber_Security.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/514Drishti_ias_Cyber_Security.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/mind-map/gs-paper3/cyber-security-mind-map'
		],
		(int) 15 => [
			'title' => 'Cyber Security',
			'catname' => 'Paper 3',
			'desc' => '<p>According to EY&rsquo;s latest Global Information Security Survey (GISS) 2018-19 &ndash; India edition, one of the highest number of cyber threats have been detected in India, and the country ranks second in terms of targeted attacks. Although Banking and Telecom are the most attacked sectors but Manufacturing, Healthcare, and Retail have also faced a significant number of cyber attacks.</p>
<h3>Cyber Security</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Cyber Security</strong> is protecting cyber space including critical information infrastructure from attack, damage, misuse and economic espionage.</li>
<li><strong>Cyber Space:</strong> A global domain within the information environment consisting of the interdependent network of information technology infrastructures, including the Internet, telecommunications networks, computer systems, and embedded processors and controllers.</li>
<li><strong>Critical Information Infrastructure:</strong> According to Section 70(1) of the <strong>Information Technology Act,</strong> CII is defined as a &ldquo;computer resource, the incapacitation or destruction of which, shall have debilitating impact on national security, economy, public health or safety&rdquo;.</li>
<li><strong>Cyber Attack:</strong> It is a malicious and deliberate attempt by an individual or organization to breach the information system of another individual or organization.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Motives behind Cyber Attacks</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>To seek commercial gain by hacking banks and financial institutions.</li>
<li>To attack critical assets of a nation.</li>
<li>To penetrate into both corporate and military data servers to obtain plans and intelligence.</li>
<li>To hack sites to virally communicate a message for some specific campaign related to politics and society.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Types of Cyber Attacks</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Malware,</strong> short for malicious software refers to any kind of software that is designed to cause damage to a single computer, server, or computer network. Ransomware, Spy ware, Worms, viruses, and Trojans are all varieties of malware.</li>
<li><strong>Phishing:</strong> It is the method of trying to gather personal information using deceptive e-mails and websites.</li>
<li><strong>Denial of Service attacks:</strong> A Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack is an attack meant to shut down a machine or network, making it inaccessible to its intended users. DoS attacks accomplish this by flooding the target with traffic, or sending it information that triggers a crash.</li>
<li><strong>Man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks,</strong> also known as eavesdropping attacks, occur when attackers insert themselves into a two-party transaction. Once the attackers interrupt the traffic, they can filter and steal data.</li>
<li><strong>SQL Injection:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>SQL (pronounced &ldquo;sequel&rdquo;) stands for Structured Query Language, a programming language used to communicate with databases.</li>
<li>Many of the servers that store critical data for websites and services use SQL to manage the data in their databases.</li>
<li>A SQL injection attack specifically targets such kind of servers, using malicious code to get the server to divulge information it normally wouldn&rsquo;t.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Cross-Site Scripting (XSS):</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Similar to an SQL injection attack, this attack also involves injecting malicious code into a website, but in this case the website itself is not being attacked.</li>
<li>Instead the malicious code the attacker has injected, only runs in the user's browser when they visit the attacked website, and it goes after the visitor directly, not the website.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Social engineering</strong> is an attack that relies on human interaction to trick users into breaking security procedures in order to gain sensitive information that is typically protected.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Latest Cases</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>WannaCry</strong>: It was a ransomware attack that spread rapidly in May, 2017. The ransomware locked users&rsquo; devices and prevented them from accessing data and software until a certain ransom was paid to the criminals. Top five cities in India (Kolkata, Delhi, Bhubaneswar, Pune and Mumbai) got impacted due to it.</li>
<li><strong>Mirai Botnet:</strong> Mirai is malware that infects smart devices that run on ARC processors, turning them into a network of remotely controlled bots or zombies. This network of bots, called a botnet, is often used to launch Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. In September 2016, Mirai malware launched a DDoS attack on the website of a well-known security expert.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Components of Cyber Security</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Application Security:</strong> It encompasses measures or counter-measures that are taken during an application&rsquo;s development process to protect it from threats that can come through flaws in the app design, development, deployment, upgrade or maintenance.</li>
<li><strong>Information security:</strong> It is related to the protection of information from an unauthorized access to avoid identity theft and to protect privacy.</li>
<li><strong>Network Security:</strong> It includes activities to protect the usability, reliability, integrity and safety of the network.</li>
<li><strong>Disaster Recovery Planning:</strong> It is a process that includes performing risk assessment, establishing priorities, developing recovery strategies in case of an attack.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Need for Cyber Security</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>For Individuals:</strong> Photos, videos and other personal information shared by an individual on social networking sites can be inappropriately used by others, leading to serious and even life-threatening incidents.</li>
<li><strong>For Business Organizations:</strong> Companies have a lot of data and information on their systems. A cyber attack may lead to loss of competitive information (such as patents or original work), loss of employees/customers private data resulting into complete loss of public trust on the integrity of the organization.</li>
<li><strong>For Government:</strong> A local, state or central government maintains huge amount of confidential data related to country (geographical, military strategic assets etc.) and citizens. Unauthorized access to the data can lead to serious threats on a country.</li>
</ul>
<h3>International Mechanisms:</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>International Telecommunication Union (ITU)</strong> is a specialized agency within the United Nations which plays a leading role in the standardization and development of telecommunications and cyber security issues.</li>
<li><strong>Budapest Convention on Cybercrime:</strong> It is an international treaty that seeks to address Internet and computer crime (cybercrime) by harmonizing national laws, improving investigative techniques, and increasing cooperation among nations. It came into force on 1 July 2004. <strong>India is not a signatory to this convention.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Internet Governance Forum (IGF):</strong> It brings together all stakeholders i.e. government, private sector and civil society on the Internet governance debate. It was first convened in October&ndash;November 2006.</li>
<li><strong>Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN):</strong> It is a non-profit organization responsible for coordinating the maintenance and procedures of several databases related to the namespaces and numerical spaces of the Internet, ensuring the network's stable and secure operation. It has its headquarters in Los Angeles, U.S.A.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Laws related to Cyber Security in India</h3>
<p><strong>Information Technology Act, 2000</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The act regulates use of computers, computer systems, computer networks and also data and information in electronic format.</li>
<li>The act lists down among other things, following as offences:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Tampering with computer source documents.</li>
<li>Hacking with computer system</li>
<li>Act of cyber terrorism i.e. accessing a protected system with the intention of threatening the unity, integrity, sovereignty or security of country.</li>
<li>Cheating using computer resource etc.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Strategies under National Cyber Policy, 2013</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Creating a secure cyber ecosystem.</li>
<li>Creating mechanisms for security threats and responses to the same through national systems and processes. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>National Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-in) functions as the nodal agency for coordination of all cyber security efforts, emergency responses, and crisis management.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Securing e-governance by implementing global best practices, and wider use of Public Key Infrastructure.</li>
<li>Protection and resilience of critical information infrastructure with the <strong>National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre</strong> (NCIIPC) operating as the nodal agency. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>NCIIPC has been created under Information Technology Act, 2000 to secure India&rsquo;s critical information infrastructure. It is based in New Delhi.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Promoting cutting edge research and development of cyber security technology.</li>
<li>Human Resource Development through education and training programs to build capacity.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Challenges</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Increased use of mobile technology and internet by people.</li>
<li>Proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) and lack of proper security infrastructure in some devices.</li>
<li>Cyberspace has inherent vulnerabilities that cannot be removed.</li>
<li>Internet technology makes it relatively easy to misdirect attribution to other parties.</li>
<li>It is generally seen that attack technology outpaces defence technology.</li>
<li>Lack of awareness on Cyber security.</li>
<li>Lack of Cyber security specialists.</li>
<li>Increased use of cyberspace by terrorists.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Recent Steps taken by Government</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Cyber Surakshit Bharat Initiative:</strong> It was launched in 2018 with an aim to spread awareness about cybercrime and building capacity for safety measures for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT staff across all government departments.</li>
<li><strong>National Cyber security Coordination Centre (NCCC):</strong> In 2017, the NCCC was developed. Its mandate is to scan internet traffic and communication metadata (which are little snippets of information hidden inside each communication) coming into the country to detect real-time cyber threats.</li>
<li><strong>Cyber Swachhta Kendra:</strong> In 2017, this platform was introduced for internet users to clean their computers and devices by wiping out viruses and malware.</li>
<li>Training of 1.14 Lakh persons through 52 institutions under the <strong>Information Security Education and Awareness Project (ISEA)</strong> &ndash; a project to raise awareness and to provide research, education and training in the field of Information Security.</li>
<li><strong>International cooperation:</strong> Looking forward to becoming a secure cyber ecosystem, India has joined hands with several developed countries like the United States, Singapore, Japan, etc. These agreements will help India to challenge even more sophisticated cyber threats.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Real-time intelligence is required for preventing and containing cyber attacks.</li>
<li>Periodical &lsquo;Backup of Data&rsquo; is a solution to ransomware.</li>
<li>Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) for predicting and accurately identifying attacks.</li>
<li>Using the knowledge gained from actual attacks that have already taken place in building effective and pragmatic defence.</li>
<li>Increased awareness about cyber threats for which digital literacy is required first.</li>
<li>India needs to secure its computing environment and IoT with current tools, patches, updates and best known methods in a timely manner.</li>
<li>The need of the hour for Indian government is to develop core skills in cyber security, data integrity and data security fields while also setting stringent cyber security standards to protect banks and financial institutions.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/308Drishti_ias_Cyber_Security.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/308Drishti_ias_Cyber_Security.jpg" /></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/to-the-points/paper3/cyber-security'
		],
		(int) 16 => [
			'title' => 'Xaxa Committee on Tribal Communities of India',
			'catname' => 'Summary of Important Reports',
			'desc' => '<p>The Indian State must aim to ensure that all sections of society share in the economic and social prosperity of the country. It is widely acknowledged that a large section of the Indian population, especially the tribal communities, have not received the full benefits of development processes undertaken over the past six decades and adversely affected by the developmental projects undertaken during this period.</p>
<p>Accordingly, the Prime Minister&rsquo;s Office constituted a High-Level Committee (HLC) in 2013, under <strong>chairmanship of Prof. Virginius Xaxa</strong>.</p>
<p>The Committee was mandated to examine the socio-economic, educational and health status of tribal communities and recommend appropriate interventional measures to improve the same. It submitted report in May, 2014.</p>
<h2>Introduction</h2>
<h3>Schedule Tribes</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The tribal population in India, though a numerically small minority, represents an enormous diversity of groups.</li>
<li>They vary among themselves in respect of language and linguistic traits, ecological settings in which they live, physical features, size of the population, the extent of acculturation, dominant modes of making a livelihood, level of development and social stratification.</li>
<li>While tribes have a distinct culture and history, they also <strong>share commonalities with other marginalised sections</strong> of Indian society, such as the lack of adequate political representation, economic deprivation and cultural discrimination.</li>
<li>However, tribal society must be appreciated and it must be recognised that non-tribal people have much to learn from the richness of tribal cultures and systems of knowledge.</li>
<li><strong>The category of 'tribe'</strong> entails a social and cultural dimension <strong>but the Scheduled Tribe</strong> category has politico-administrative implications.</li>
<li><strong>A majority of the Scheduled Tribe population</strong> is concentrated in the eastern, central and western belt covering the <strong>nine States</strong> of Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.</li>
<li><strong>About 12 per cent inhabit the North-eastern region,</strong> about five per cent in the Southern region and about three per cent in the Northern States.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Political &amp; Administrative History</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Tribal rebellions in the nineteenth century resulted in British policy of exclusion of Tribal areas from the operation of general laws.</li>
<li><strong>Regulation XIII of 1833</strong> created <strong>Non-Regulation Provinces</strong> and were to be governed by special rules for civil and criminal justice, collection of land revenue, and so on. It introduced a new system of administration in Singhbhum area.</li>
<li>In the Northeast region, the British put in force <strong>the Inner Line Regulation in 1873,</strong> as the point beyond which general laws for the colony would not be applicable and entry of <strong>subjects living outside the area was strictly prohibited</strong>.</li>
<li>As per Government of India Act, 1919, Governor General was exclusively responsible for law and administration and could act through local officials.</li>
<li>According to The Government of India Act, 1935, the Governor could determine policy directly or through his agents in the tribal areas.</li>
<li>Post independence, groups and communities identified and enumerated as tribes during British rule came to be re-classified as <strong>Scheduled Tribes</strong> after the Constitution (Article 342) was adopted in 1950.</li>
<li>Areas where Schedule Tribes are numerically dominant, two distinct administrative arrangements have been provided for them in the Constitution in the form of the <strong>Fifth</strong> and <strong>Sixth Schedules</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>5th Scheduled Areas</strong> under the Constitution is &ldquo;such areas as the <strong>President may by order declare</strong> to be Scheduled Areas&rdquo;. <strong>At present, 10 States</strong> namely Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana have Fifth Schedule Areas.</li>
<li>The provisions of the Fifth Schedule have seen further legal and administrative reinforcement in the form of <strong>Provisions of Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996</strong> for more democratisation.</li>
<li>The <strong>Sixth Schedule</strong> areas are some of the areas which were &lsquo;excluded&rsquo; until the Government of India Act, 1935 in the erstwhile Assam and other tribal-dominant areas which became separate States.</li>
<li>These areas (6th schedule) have also been given special provisions under <strong>Part XXI</strong> of the Constitution.</li>
<li><strong>Removal of Area Restrictions (Amendment) Act 1976</strong> removed area restrictions on the recognition of Scheduled Tribes, making lists applicable to entire States rather than blocks and districts within States.</li>
<li>Areas where Schedule Tribes are a <strong>numerical minority,</strong> they are a part of the general administrative structure of the country. Certain rights have accrued to Scheduled Tribes across the country <strong>through reservations</strong> in educational institutions and government employment.</li>
<li>Parliament and state legislatures are also empowered to create <strong>tribal autonomous regions</strong> out of ambit of 5th &amp; 6th Schedules. For example &ndash; <strong>Leh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil Autonomous Hill Development Council, Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council</strong>.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Defining Schedule Tribes &amp; various committees</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>As per Census-1931, Schedule tribes are termed as "backward tribes&rdquo; living in the "Excluded" and "Partially Excluded" areas. The Government of India Act of 1935 called for the first time for representatives of "backward tribes" in provincial assemblies.</li>
<li><strong>The Constitution does not define</strong> the criteria for recognition of Scheduled Tribes and hence the definition contained in 1931 Census was used in initial years after independence.</li>
<li>However, Article 366(25) of the Constitution <strong>only provides process to define</strong> Scheduled Tribes: &ldquo;Scheduled Tribes means such tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under Article 342 to be Scheduled Tribes for the purposes of this Constitution.&rdquo;</li>
<li>The first Backward Classes Commission (<strong>Kaka Kalelkar Commission,</strong> 1953) appointed by the President of India under Article 340, defined Scheduled Tribes as &ldquo;They lead a separate exclusive existence and are not fully assimilated in the main body of the people. They may belong to any religion.&rdquo;</li>
<li><strong>Elwin Committee (1959)</strong> was constituted to examine the functioning of Multi-Purpose Development Blocks, the basic administrative unit for all tribal development programmes.</li>
<li><strong>U.N. Dhebar Commission</strong>, constituted in 1960 to address the overall situation of tribal groups, including the issue of land alienation in tribal areas.</li>
<li><strong>The Lokur Committee (1965)</strong> was set up to look into criteria for defining Schedule Tribes. The Committee recommended <strong>five criteria</strong> for identification, namely, <strong>primitive traits, distinct culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact</strong> with the community at large, and <strong>backwardness</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>The Shilu Ao committee, 1966,</strong> like the Elwin committee, addressed the issue of tribal development and welfare.</li>
<li><strong>Tribal Sub-Plan approach</strong> of the government emerged on the recommendations of several committees constituted during 1970s.</li>
<li><strong>The Bhuria Committee (1991)</strong> recommendations paved the way for the enactment of the <strong>PESA Act, 1996</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>Bhuria Commission (2002-2004)</strong> focused on a wide range of issues from the Fifth Schedule to tribal land and forests, health and education, the working of Panchayats and the status of tribal women.</li>
<li><strong>Bandopadhyay Committee (2006)</strong> looked at development and governance in Left-Wing Extremist areas.</li>
<li><strong>Mungekar Committee (2005)</strong> examined issues of administration and governance.</li>
<li>The issues that the above mentioned Committees have dealt with fall broadly into two categories: <strong>development and protection</strong>. And yet, on both these issues, the outcome for tribal communities has been mixed.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Study &amp; Analysis</h3>
<p>The <strong>five critical issues:</strong> (1) livelihood and employment, (2) education, (3) health, (4) involuntary displacement and migration, (5) and legal and constitutional matters have been studied by <strong>Xaxa Committee</strong>.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Of the five issues, first three are concerned with issues that have been at the root of <strong>the post-colonial State&rsquo;s development agenda for tribes:</strong> livelihood and employment, education and health.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Substantial resources have been allocated specifically for tribes in all these spheres, and special programmes and schemes have also been formulated to address problems on these fronts, beginning from the first phase of India&rsquo;s planned development.</li>
<li>And yet the status of tribes in these spheres continues to be one of the critical gaps in India&rsquo;s road to development. This also raises the question of institutions and systems for delivery of public goods and services.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Massive development displacement:</strong> As a part of the faulty nation-building process, tribal areas have witnessed the large-scale development of industry, mining, infrastructure projects such as roads and railways, hydraulic projects such as dams and irrigation.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>These have been followed by processes of urbanization as well.</li>
<li>It has been often loss of livelihood, massive displacement and involuntary migration of tribes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Another important issue analysed by the Committee is the <strong>working of legislations</strong>.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Provisions of Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA), 1996 and The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act (FRA), 2006, enacted to redress the historical injustice to tribal and forest communities, have been significant initiatives that <strong>have changed their legal status</strong>.</li>
<li>However, <strong>policies and practices</strong> have been <strong>slow</strong> to absorb the <strong>changed circumstances recognised in the law</strong>.</li>
<li>These legislations and their violations have been examined for future amendment.</li>
<li>Subjects such as land acquisition, food security, detention and imprisonment, the status of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) and De-notified Tribes, have also been highlighted.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Other observations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In one of the discourses, the overall condition of tribal people, including their poverty, is attributed to <strong>their social and geographical isolation</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>Verrier Elwin</strong> attributed their deplorable and impoverished condition to their contact with the outside world, which had led to indebtedness and loss of control over their land and forests. <strong>(Verrier Elwin (1902 &ndash; 1964) was a British self-trained anthropologist, ethnologist and tribal activist.)</strong></li>
<li><strong>Integration and Development:</strong> The nationalist leadership recognized both of these dimensions (social and geographical isolation) and addressed them. The provisions enshrined for Scheduled Tribes in the Indian Constitution are a testimony to this <strong>dual approach</strong>.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It provides for development as well as for safeguarding and protection of their interests.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>However, what the State is actually pursuing for tribals is assimilation rather than integration, contrary to what is claimed (development as well as for safeguarding and protection of their interests).</li>
<li><strong>A policy of integration</strong> would provide space for protections and safeguards for their distinct identity, as enshrined in the Constitution.</li>
<li>There is also argument for <strong>inadequate resource allocation</strong> for tribal development.</li>
<li><strong>Poor implementation of programmes</strong> is offered as another explanation for the issue of lack of social development among tribes.</li>
<li>Another arguments regarding poor development of the tribal populations is built around the <strong>issue of the traditional socio-cultural aspects of tribal life</strong>.</li>
<li>For example, education in the regional language is usually familiar to the general population, including the Scheduled Castes, but this is not the case in the tribal context.</li>
<li>Thus, there is a need to re-orient development in tune with the tribal culture and to adopt a more humane approach to tribal development.</li>
</ul>
<p>Beyond the concerns of inadequate resource allocation, ineffective implementation or tribal traditions, there is <strong>needed to engage with the larger question of national and regional development</strong>.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The appropriation of tribal land and forests began during colonial rule and has continued to the present. Since tribal-inhabited regions are rich in mineral, forest and water resources, large-scale development projects invariably came to be located in tribal areas.</li>
<li>States of Jharkhand and Odisha, which have considerable natural resources, but also the highest percentages of tribal people living below the poverty line.</li>
<li>In 2004&ndash;05, the proportion of tribal people living below poverty line stood at 54.2 per cent in Jharkhand while the percentage was as high as 75.6 per cent in Odisha in the same year.</li>
<li><strong>Overcoming tribal &lsquo;isolation&rsquo; through large-scale mining,</strong> industrial and infrastructure projects, as these States have witnessed, has clearly not resolved the problem of poor development indicators. Rather, these have led to <strong>further impoverishment and vulnerability</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>The model of development</strong> imposed on tribals has been questioned. Massive push to this development agenda with economic liberalisation and the entry of private corporations into tribal areas, has been met with considerable resistance by tribal communities.</li>
<li><strong>Laws and rules</strong> that provide protection to tribes are being routinely manipulated and subverted to accommodate corporate interests.</li>
<li><strong>Violence:</strong> Tribal protests are being met with violence by the State&rsquo;s paramilitary forces and the private security staff of corporations involved.</li>
<li>These dismal situations have paved the way for Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) in tribal areas.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Left-Wing Extremism (LWE)</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Of the nine States considered to be seriously affected by LWE, six are States with Scheduled districts.</li>
<li>Among the 83 LWE-affected districts, 42 districts have Scheduled Areas.</li>
<li>These regions are marked by the following features
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Serious neglect and deprivation, widespread poverty and poor health and educational status;</li>
<li>Exploitation and oppression by traders and money lenders, on the one hand, and absence of an effective and sensitive civil administration, on the other;</li>
<li>Large-scale displacement of tribal people for development projects;</li>
<li>Occurrence of all of the above despite the special Constitutional and legal provisions for the tribal people (in the form of the Fifth Schedule, laws to prevent alienation of tribal land and restoration of alienated lands, and in recent years, progressive legislations, such as PESA, 1996 and FRA, 2006).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>3 Perspectives through which LWE in the region is viewed:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The first view sees it primarily as a <strong>national security problem</strong> to be addressed militarily. This approach will result in the further alienation of tribal communities, widen the trust deficit between the State and the people, and strengthen the Maoists.</li>
<li>The second perspective notes the <strong>overlap between Maoist strongholds and tribal areas</strong> with dismal development indices and views more development as the only solution.</li>
<li>The third, a combination of the above two, <strong>combines a military approach to secure the area with a focus on establishment</strong> of better public infrastructure.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>However, there should be <strong>a fourth perspective</strong> based on the explicit recognition that there has been <strong>subversion of the law by both government and corporations in order to appropriate tribal resources,</strong> and that this situation needs to be rectified.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It acknowledges that <strong>State failures</strong> and the <strong>trust deficit</strong> have facilitated the entry of the Maoists into these areas and helped them gain some support among the people, particularly Dalits and adivasis.</li>
<li>Any solution, therefore, should <strong>begin with confidence-building measures</strong> through the redress of past wrongs and the guarantee of justice.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>The Committee formulated thematic sections based on various socio-economic parameters:</p>
<ol>
<li>Geographical and Demographic Profile</li>
<li>Tribes: Legal and Administrative Framework</li>
<li>Livelihoods and Employment Status</li>
<li>Education</li>
<li>Health</li>
<li>Land Alienation, Displacement and Enforced Migration</li>
<li>Legal and Constitutional Issues</li>
<li>Delivery of Public Goods and Services</li>
</ol>
<h2>1. Geographical and Demographic Profile</h2>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Census of 2011:</strong> Total population of Scheduled Tribes is 10,42,81,034 persons, constituting 8.6 per cent of the population of India.</li>
<li><strong>Draft National Tribal Policy, 2006</strong> records<strong> 698 Scheduled Tribes</strong> in India. As per the <strong>Census of India 2011,</strong> the number of individual groups notified as Scheduled Tribes is 705.</li>
<li>The five broad regional groupings of tribes: <strong>Himalayan Region</strong> (a) North-eastern Himalayan region, (b) Central Himalayan region, and (c) North-Western Himalayan region), <strong>Middle Region&nbsp;</strong>(Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh where more than 55 per cent tribal people of India live), <strong>Western Region&nbsp;</strong>(Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli), <strong>Southern region&nbsp;</strong>(Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala), <strong>Island Region&nbsp;</strong>(Andaman and Nicobar in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea).</li>
<li><strong>Northeast</strong> is often viewed as a singular and homogeneous entity, the region is highly diverse with over 200 tribes and sub-tribes, each of which have their own language, culture and political structures.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Northeast differs from tribes in other parts of India, particularly in terms of their <strong>historical relationship with the colonial and Indian State</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The Islands are administered as a Union Territory under the Central Government and are home to some of the smallest tribes such as the Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa and the Sentinelese.</li>
<li><strong>Language:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Indo-European</strong>-only a little over one per cent of tribal population speak languages of this family, the Bhil and Halbi tribes being the two main groups among them.</li>
<li><strong>Dravidian family</strong> languages are spoken by tribes such as the Gond, Khond, Koya, Oraon, and Toda.</li>
<li><strong>Tibeto-Burman</strong> languages are spoken by the tribes of the Himalayas and Northeast India.</li>
<li><strong>Austro-Asiatic</strong> family of languages is spoken only by tribals in the country like the Santhal, Munda, and Ho.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Scheduled Tribes communities live in about 15% of the country&rsquo;s area.</li>
<li>Over 80% of Scheduled Tribes work in the primary sector against 53% of the general population.</li>
<li>The sex ratio among the Scheduled Tribes is 991 females to every 1000 males in rural areas and 980 females to every 1000 males in urban areas, the average being 990.</li>
<li>Regarding the distribution of ST population by States, Madhya Pradesh stands first with 14.7%, followed by Maharashtra (10.1%), Odisha (9.2%), Rajasthan (8.9%), Gujarat (8.6%), Jharkhand (8.3%), Chhattisgarh (7.5%), Andhra Pradesh (5.7%), West Bengal (5.1%), Karnataka (4.1%), Assam (3.7%), Meghalaya (2.5%), and the remaining States represent 11.6% of the tribal population.</li>
<li>Proportion of ST population in the rural areas is 11.3% and in urban areas is 2.8%.</li>
<li><strong>Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>PVTG (earlier: Primitive tribal group) is a government of India classification created with the purpose of enabling improvement in the conditions of certain communities with particularly low development indices.</li>
<li>This was created based on the <strong>Dhebar Commission report</strong> (1960, it stated that within Scheduled Tribes there existed an inequality in the rate of development.)</li>
<li>The features of such a group include a <strong>pre-agricultural system of existence,</strong> which practices hunting and gathering, zero or negative population growth, extremely low level of literacy in comparison with other tribal groups.</li>
<li>PVTGs with population of less than a 1000 persons are: Birjia (Bihar), Sentinelese, Great Andamanese, Onge,Birhor (Madhya Pradesh), Asur (Bihar), Mankidias (Odisha), Jarawa, Cholanaicken (Kerala), Shompen,Birhor (Bihar), Savar (Bihar), Raji (Uttarakhand), Sauria Paharia (Bihar), Birhor (Odisha), Korwa (Bihar), Todas (Tamil Nadu), Kota (Tamil Nadu), Raji (Uttar Pradesh).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Forest Survey of India, 2011:</strong> The total forest cover in the country is 692, 027 sq. km., 21.05 per cent of the total geographical area.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Integrated Tribal Development Programme (ITDP) covers about 411, 881 sq. Km. Therefore, almost 60 per cent of the forest cover of the country is found in tribal areas.</li>
<li>However, much of this forest was classified as <strong>Reserved Forests</strong> and <strong>Protected Forests</strong> as well as <strong>Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks,</strong> resulting in the marginalisation of tribal communities who were treated as encroachers on this land prior to the passing of the <strong>Forest Rights Act, 2006</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>With regard to mineral resources,</strong> three States with substantial tribal populations &ndash; Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand - have considerable mineral reserves (Coal-70%, Iron ore-80%, Bauxite-60%, Chromites near 100%)
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Centre for Science and Environment: about half of the top mineral-producing districts are tribal districts.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Dams:</strong> About 40 per cent of those displaced by dam-building belong to the Scheduled Tribes. Scheduled Tribes constitute about eight per cent of the country&rsquo;s population; they are clearly disproportionately represented in the number of displaced persons.</li>
<li><strong>Conflicts affecting tribal populations:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Armed conflict between the <strong>Communist Party of India (Maoist)</strong> and the Indian state, which is ongoing in parts of the states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal, among others.</li>
<li>The conflict has only escalated in recent years, particularly in central India, following the initiation by the state of a counter-insurgency operation known as the <strong>Salwa Judum</strong> in Chhattisgarh which has been responsible for rapes, murders, arson, looting and intimidation in the name of defeating the Maoists.</li>
<li><strong>Northeast:</strong> There are conflicts between the State and tribal groups, between different tribes, and between tribes and non-tribal groups &ndash; although the State is involved in all of these conflicts.</li>
<li><strong>Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958</strong> is in operation in the states of Manipur, Assam and Nagaland as well as parts of Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh.
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>This Act gives considerable powers to the armed forces to arrest and search without warrant as well as shoot to kill on mere suspicion, once an area has been declared as 'disturbed'.</li>
<li>Many cases of extra-judicial killings, rapes and harassment by armed forces have been reported in these States.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h2>2. Tribes: Legal and Administrative Framework</h2>
<h3>Scheduled Areas</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Tribal rebellions in the nineteenth century,</strong> the British became convinced of the vulnerability of tribal populations in the form of various 'outsiders' and assumed the role of <strong>paternalist protectors</strong> of tribals against the non-tribal exploiters. British policy advocated protection of these areas through exclusion from the operation of general laws.</li>
<li><strong>Regulation XIII of 1833:</strong> It introduced a system of administration in Singhbhum area. These areas came to be known as <strong>Non-Regulation Provinces</strong> and were to be governed by <strong>special rules for civil and criminal justice, collection of land revenue, and so on</strong>.</li>
<li>In the Northeast region, the British put in force <strong>the Inner Line Regulation in 1873,</strong> as the point beyond which general laws for the colony would not be applicable and entry of <strong>subjects living outside the area was strictly prohibited</strong>.</li>
<li>Government of India Act, 1919, Governor General was exclusively responsible for law and administration and could act through local officials.</li>
<li><strong>The Government of India Act, 1935,</strong> the Governor could determine policy directly or through his agents in the tribal areas.</li>
<li>In the post-1947 period, however, this feature was altered vis-&agrave;-vis the Fifth Schedule areas since now all Central and State laws would automatically apply to tribal areas unless the Governor took the decision to prevent application or modify/amend the legislation in keeping with the circumstances of the Scheduled Areas.</li>
<li><strong>Scheduled Areas</strong> (under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution) is &ldquo;such areas as the <strong>President may by order declare</strong> to be Scheduled Areas&rdquo;.</li>
<li>At present, 10 States namely Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana have Fifth Schedule Areas.</li>
</ul>
<h3>5th Schedule</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Fifth Schedule</strong> contains provisions relating to the administration of Scheduled Areas.</li>
<li>Areas can be designated Scheduled Areas on the order of the President.</li>
<li>Part B of the Fifth Schedule provides for the creation of a <strong>Tribes Advisory Council (TAC)</strong> in each State having Scheduled Areas. The duty of the TAC is to advise on matters pertaining to the &ldquo;welfare and advancement&rdquo; of the Scheduled Tribes &ldquo;as may be referred to them by the Governor&rdquo;. <strong>Shortcomings of TAC:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The TACs can only discuss and make recommendations on those issues which are referred to it by the Governor.</li>
<li>It functions only in an advisory capacity and has no power of implementation.</li>
<li>The Councils are not accountable to the tribal population given that they are appointed by the Governor or the State Government.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Fifth Schedule accorded far greater autonomy to tribal areas, but Tribes Advisory Council remained a mere consultancy body rather than an autonomous decision-making body.</li>
<li><strong>Unlike the Sixth Schedule</strong> wherein <strong>Autonomous District Councils</strong> have been given significant legislative, judicial and executive powers on several important matters, the Fifth Schedule places the governance of tribal areas in &lsquo;mainland&rsquo; India largely in the hands of the Governor.</li>
<li>It is the State Governments rather than the Governor which have framed the rules regarding TAC functioning which has led to the <strong>near complete usurpation of these bodies by the political parties in power</strong>.</li>
<li>Governor&rsquo;s reports is not covering issues of <strong>displacement and rehabilitation,</strong> law and order problem, tribal protests, <strong>atrocities against tribes,</strong> and so on. The reports do not offer an independent assessment of the policies of the State Governments vis-&agrave;-vis Scheduled Areas.</li>
<li>There are a large number of States wherein tribes form a sizeable population in blocks or villages, for example, in States like West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, etc. Tribal areas in these States are kept <strong>out of the ambit of Scheduled Areas</strong>.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Difference between 5th and 6th Schedules of Indian Constitution</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The 5th schedule designates Schedule areas in <strong>large parts of India</strong> in which the interests of the Scheduled Tribes are to be protected. The Scheduled area has more than 50 percent tribal population.</li>
<li>The 6th schedule is related to administration of north-eastern states- Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram.</li>
</ul>
<h3>6th Schedule</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Northeast India,</strong> home to numerous diverse ethnic groups and located strategically with borders with Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Bangladesh.</li>
<li>Historically, tribes of Northeast India have seen &ldquo;isolationist&rdquo; policies of the colonial British who labelled many hilly tribal tracts of the Northeast as &ldquo;wholly excluded&rdquo; areas.</li>
<li>In 1929, Nagas submitted a petition to the Simon Commission, asking for autonomy from the future Indian nation-state.</li>
<li>Khasis and the Mizos called for self-governance on issues such as customary laws, control over resources and so on, while also demanding separation from the larger State of Assam.</li>
<li>The British philosophy of maintaining status quo and <strong>isolation was replaced by policies of development and integration</strong> of the Northeast through the <strong>Sixth Schedule of the Constitution</strong>.</li>
<li>The Sixth Schedule provides for the creation of <strong>Autonomous District and Regional Councils</strong> and accords a host of legislative, executive and judicial powers to these autonomous bodies.</li>
<li>It (6th Schedule) <strong>applies to certain tribal areas of the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram</strong>.</li>
<li>Apart from the Sixth Schedule, there are other constitutional provisions in the Northeast such as <strong>Article 371-A (Nagaland), Article 371-C (Manipur), Article 371- G (Mizoram)</strong>.</li>
<li>Two types of Autonomous District Councils: (1) <strong>set up under the Sixth Schedule, (2) &amp; established by various Acts of the State Legislative Assembly</strong>.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Autonomous District Council
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Assam: Dima Hasao, Karbi Anglong, Bodoland under 6th schedule.</li>
<li>Entire State of Meghalaya except Shillong area is covered under the provisions of the Sixth Schedule- Khasi Hills, Garo Hills, Jaintia Hills.</li>
<li>Mizoram: Chakma, Mara, Lai</li>
<li>Tripura: Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Established by Acts-Assam(6), Manipur(6)</li>
<li><strong>Outside North-eastern India -</strong> Leh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil Autonomous Hill Development Council, Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #f7e3c1;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 263px; background-color: #f5ae33;"><span style="color: #ffffff;"><strong>State</strong></span></td>
<td style="width: 993px; background-color: #f5ae33;"><span style="color: #ffffff;"><strong>Legal and administrative structure</strong></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 263px;">Arunachal Pradesh</td>
<td style="width: 993px;">Article 371H. No Autonomous Councils, Panchayati Raj Institutions</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 263px;">Assam</td>
<td style="width: 993px;">Sixth Schedule, Article 371B. Three Autonomous Councils</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 263px;">Manipur</td>
<td style="width: 993px;">Article 371C, Manipur Hill Village Authority Act and Manipur Hill Areas District Council</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 263px;">Mizoram</td>
<td style="width: 993px;">Sixth Schedule, Article 371G, Three Autonomous</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Assessment of the Autonomous District Councils under Sixth Schedule
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The State Governments has held the view that that these Councils ought to stick to their traditional role, which is to protect tribal culture, land and identity and refrain from engaging in developmental activities.</li>
<li>In many cases, State Governments have deliberately impeded the functioning of the Councils, particularly through blocking the flow of funds to them.</li>
<li>Powers given to the Councils to make legislation and implement development programmes have not been matched with the financial autonomy.</li>
<li>All the activities and departments under the control of the Councils as per the provisions of the Sixth Schedule have not yet been transferred to them and neither have parallel institutions such as the District Rural Development Agencies (DRDA).</li>
<li>There is also no mandatory time limit for the reconstitution of the ADC once it is dissolved, and hence election is indefinitely postponed.</li>
<li>73rd Amendment to the Constitution provides for the reservation of one-third of all Panchayats seats at all levels for women, the Councils, unlike Panchayats, do not have any provision for such reservation.</li>
<li>The demographic change is no longer reflected in the representative structure of the ADCs. Unless reviewed comprehensively, the Sixth Schedule could become one of the chief sources of future conflicts in the region.</li>
<li>Autonomous Councils must be covered under State Finance Commission that is empowered to review periodically the financial position and lay down appropriate principles of resource distribution between State and the Autonomous Council. Funding should not be left to arbitrary discretion of the State Governments.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Criminal Tribes Acts (CTA) of 1871:</strong> About 200 communities were deemed to be &lsquo;hereditary criminals&rsquo; and subject to surveillance, confinement and gross discrimination. It was in light of the then <strong>prevailing notion that crime was a genetic trait</strong> passed down from one generation to the next.</li>
<li>The CTA was removed from the statute books in 1952 on the recommendation of the All India Criminal Tribes Inquiry Committee (1949) and henceforth, &lsquo;Criminal Tribes&rsquo; came to be known <strong>as 'De-notified Tribes' instead</strong>.</li>
<li>Nomadic and semi-nomadic communities practice a range of occupations-pastoralists and hunter-gatherers, mainly shepherds, cowherds and hunters of small game, entertainers including dancers, acrobats, snake charmers, monkey trainers.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Certain tribes have been characterised as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) (earlier known as Primitive Tribal Groups) on the basis of their greater &rsquo;vulnerability&rsquo; even among the tribal groups.</li>
<li>PVTGs, currently including 75 tribal groups have been identified as such on the basis of the following criteria: forest-dependent livelihoods, pre-agricultural level of existence, stagnant or declining population.</li>
<li>As per the 2001 census, these 75 PVTGs had a total population of 27,68,322.</li>
<li>The groups most under threat have been identified as the Shompens, Sentinelese and Jarawas of the Andaman Islands; the Bondos of Odisha; Cholanaickans of Kerala; Abujh Marias of Chhattisgarh and Birhors of Jharkhand.</li>
<li>All tribes in the list of PVTGs have not been granted Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.</li>
<li>States with PVTGs, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal do not have Scheduled Areas, thereby increasing the vulnerability of these tribes, who lack the protections and rights offered by the Fifth Schedule and the Provisions of Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996.</li>
<li>Habitat rights for PVTGs as guaranteed by the Forest Rights Act must be granted to them and definitional as well as procedural ambiguities must be cleared up.</li>
</ul>
<h2>3. Livelihoods and Employment Status</h2>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Traditionally, the tribes in India pursued an economy, which was closer to nature, and used indigenous technology. This is reflected in their dependence on forests and other natural resources available in their habitat.</li>
<li>While some tribal communities have adopted a way of life, similar to the neighbouring non-tribal communities</li>
<li>In Traditional tribal economy, livelihoods of tribal groups are characterized by (a) forest-based livelihoods, (b) pre-agriculture level of technology, (c) a stagnant or declining population (d) extremely low literacy and (e) a subsistence level of economy.</li>
<li>In the pre-independence period, tribes from Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh, such as <strong>the Munda, the Oraon, the Santhal and others had migrated to the sprawling tea gardens</strong> of Assam as indentured labour. In post- independence era, they are not included in the list of Scheduled Tribes in Assam.</li>
<li>Anthropological Survey of India:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Communities practicing hunting and gathering have declined by 24.08 percent, as forests have disappeared and wildlife has diminished.</li>
<li>There is a sharp rise in the number of Scheduled Tribes employed in Government and private services, self-employment, etc.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Land Ownership:</strong> Household Ownership Holdings (HOH) through the 59th round of survey by the NSSO, average area owned per household in India is 0.563 hectare; it is 0.708 for Scheduled Tribes.</li>
<li><strong>44.98 percent of households have bank accounts</strong> thus availing banking services, whereas 58.7 percent of all households have the same facility.</li>
<li>Work Force Participation:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Worker Population Ratios</strong> (WPRs &ndash; Worker population ratio is defined as the number of persons employed per thousand persons.)</li>
<li>As per NSSO (2012), in 2004-05 and 2009-10, the rural male Scheduled Tribes have WPR of 56.2 percent and 55.9 percent as against 54.6 percent and 54.7 percent respectively for all groups.</li>
<li><strong>Labour Force Participation Rate</strong> (LFPR- is defined as the number of persons in the labour force per 1000 persons. Any person who is working or is available for/seeking work will be considered part of the &lsquo;labour force&rsquo;.)</li>
<li>As per Third Annual Employment &amp; Unemployment Survey (2012-13), Labour Bureau, Ministry of Labour&amp; Employment, LFPR at all India level is highest among Scheduled Tribes with 56.7 percent, and it is lowest among overall category with 50.9 percent.</li>
<li><strong>The female LFPR</strong> is highest in case of Scheduled Tribes with 33.6 percent compared to the all India average of 22.6 percent.</li>
<li>Unemployment Rates:
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Unemployment rates (UR-number of unemployed per 1000 in the labour force) and proportional Unemployment rates (PU-number of unemployed per 1000 in total population).</li>
<li>As per NSSO (2012), As per NSSO (2012), UR (17) and PU (10) for male &amp; UR (9) and PU (3) for female in 2009-10.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Income: As per India Human Development Survey (IHDS), 2004-05,</strong> ST households have the lowest annual income of Rs. 32,345 compared to general population (Rs. 72717).</li>
<li><strong>Poverty: Panagariya and More</strong> computed the estimates of the poverty rates as the <strong>percentages of population below the Tendulkar poverty line</strong> in rural and urban regions and in the combined areas (Rural + Urban), for Scheduled Tribes. As per 2011-12 census, 45.3% of tribal population is still below poverty line.</li>
</ul>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #b5def7;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 702px; height: 19px; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; background-color: #00a4eb;" colspan="9"><span style="color: #ffffff;"><strong>Poverty by Social Groups, 1993-94 to 2011-12 in All-India &ndash; Rural, Urban and Combined</strong></span></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 38px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;"><strong>Social Groups</strong></td>
<td style="width: 118px; height: 38px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;" rowspan="2"><strong>Percent of Share in Propulation</strong></td>
<td style="width: 168px; height: 38px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;" rowspan="2"><strong>Regions</strong></td>
<td style="width: 240px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7; text-align: left;" colspan="4"><strong>Percent of Population Below the<br />Tendulkar Line</strong></td>
<td style="width: 138px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7; text-align: left;" colspan="2"><strong>Percent Point Poverty Reduction</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 38px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;"></td>
<td style="width: 74px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;"><strong>1993-94</strong></td>
<td style="width: 57px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;"><strong>2004-05</strong></td>
<td style="width: 56px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;"><strong>2009-10</strong></td>
<td style="width: 53px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;"><strong>2011-12</strong></td>
<td style="width: 71px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;"><strong>1993-94 to 2004-05</strong></td>
<td style="width: 67px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;"><strong>2004-05 to 2011-12</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="height: 19px; vertical-align: top; text-align: center; width: 156px; background-color: #c1e7f7;" colspan="2"></td>
<td style="vertical-align: top; width: 168px; height: 19px; text-align: left; background-color: #c1e7f7;">Rural</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; width: 378px; height: 19px; background-color: #c1e7f7;" colspan="6"></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 38px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">ST</td>
<td style="width: 118px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">11.1</td>
<td style="width: 168px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; text-align: left; background-color: #c1e7f7;"></td>
<td style="width: 74px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">65.9</td>
<td style="width: 57px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">62.3</td>
<td style="width: 56px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">47.4</td>
<td style="width: 53px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">45.3</td>
<td style="width: 71px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">3.7</td>
<td style="width: 67px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">16.9</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 38px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">FC</td>
<td style="width: 118px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">23.0</td>
<td style="width: 168px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; text-align: left; background-color: #c1e7f7;"></td>
<td style="width: 74px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">44.0</td>
<td style="width: 57px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">27.1</td>
<td style="width: 56px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">21.0</td>
<td style="width: 53px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">15.5</td>
<td style="width: 71px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">9.0*</td>
<td style="width: 67px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">11.6</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 38px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">All</td>
<td style="width: 118px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">100.0</td>
<td style="width: 168px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; text-align: left; background-color: #c1e7f7;"></td>
<td style="width: 74px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">50.3</td>
<td style="width: 57px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">41.8</td>
<td style="width: 56px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">33.3</td>
<td style="width: 53px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">25.4</td>
<td style="width: 71px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">8.5</td>
<td style="width: 67px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">16.4</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="height: 19px; vertical-align: top; text-align: center; width: 156px; background-color: #c1e7f7;" colspan="2"></td>
<td style="vertical-align: top; width: 168px; height: 19px; text-align: left; background-color: #c1e7f7;">Urban</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; width: 378px; height: 19px; background-color: #c1e7f7;" colspan="6"></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 38px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">ST</td>
<td style="width: 118px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">3.5</td>
<td style="width: 168px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; text-align: left; background-color: #c1e7f7;"></td>
<td style="width: 74px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">41.1</td>
<td style="width: 57px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">35.5</td>
<td style="width: 56px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">30.4</td>
<td style="width: 53px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">24.1</td>
<td style="width: 71px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">5.6</td>
<td style="width: 67px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">11.4</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 38px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">FC</td>
<td style="width: 118px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">40.3</td>
<td style="width: 168px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; text-align: left; background-color: #c1e7f7;"></td>
<td style="width: 74px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">28.2</td>
<td style="width: 57px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">16.1</td>
<td style="width: 56px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">12.4</td>
<td style="width: 53px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">8.1</td>
<td style="width: 71px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">5.8*</td>
<td style="width: 67px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">8.0</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 38px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">All</td>
<td style="width: 118px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">100.0</td>
<td style="width: 168px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; text-align: left; background-color: #c1e7f7;"></td>
<td style="width: 74px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">31.9</td>
<td style="width: 57px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">25.7</td>
<td style="width: 56px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">20.9</td>
<td style="width: 53px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">13.7</td>
<td style="width: 71px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">6.2</td>
<td style="width: 67px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">12.0</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="height: 19px; vertical-align: top; text-align: center; width: 156px; background-color: #c1e7f7;" colspan="2"></td>
<td style="vertical-align: top; width: 168px; height: 19px; background-color: #c1e7f7; text-align: justify;">Combined (R + U)</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; width: 378px; height: 19px; background-color: #c1e7f7;" colspan="6"></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 38px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">ST</td>
<td style="width: 118px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">8.9</td>
<td style="width: 168px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; text-align: left; background-color: #c1e7f7;"></td>
<td style="width: 74px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">63.7</td>
<td style="width: 57px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">60.0</td>
<td style="width: 56px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">45.6</td>
<td style="width: 53px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">43.0</td>
<td style="width: 71px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">3.7</td>
<td style="width: 67px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">17.0</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 38px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">FC</td>
<td style="width: 118px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">28.0</td>
<td style="width: 168px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; text-align: left; background-color: #c1e7f7;"></td>
<td style="width: 74px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">39.5</td>
<td style="width: 57px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">23.0</td>
<td style="width: 56px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">17.6</td>
<td style="width: 53px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">12.5</td>
<td style="width: 71px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">8.1*</td>
<td style="width: 67px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">10.5</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 38px; vertical-align: top; height: 19px; background-color: #c1e7f7;">All</td>
<td style="width: 118px; vertical-align: top; height: 19px; background-color: #c1e7f7;">100.0</td>
<td style="width: 168px; vertical-align: top; height: 19px; text-align: left; background-color: #c1e7f7;"></td>
<td style="width: 74px; vertical-align: top; height: 19px; background-color: #c1e7f7;">45.7</td>
<td style="width: 57px; vertical-align: top; height: 19px; background-color: #c1e7f7;">37.7</td>
<td style="width: 56px; vertical-align: top; height: 19px; background-color: #c1e7f7;">29.9</td>
<td style="width: 53px; vertical-align: top; height: 19px; background-color: #c1e7f7;">22.0</td>
<td style="width: 71px; vertical-align: top; height: 19px; background-color: #c1e7f7;">8.0</td>
<td style="width: 67px; vertical-align: top; height: 19px; background-color: #c1e7f7;">15.7</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><span style="font-size: 12px;"><em>Estimated using comparable estimates of poverty among the OBC and FC combined in 2004-05, which came down to 35 percent (Rural), 22.5 percent (Urban)<br />and 31.4 percent (Rural + Urban) in 2004-05.<br /></em></span><span style="font-size: 12px;"><em>Source: Arving Panagariya and Vishal More (2013).</em></span></p>
<h3>Recommendations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There is a dire need to establish agro-based training institutions and related labour-intensive processing industries in tribal regions.</li>
<li>In order to make use of land available with the tribal farmers, they should be motivated to undertake organic farming and eco-forestry.</li>
<li>Micro watershed development program with people-centred participatory approach is a good method for poverty reduction.</li>
<li>Prevention of all kinds of tribal land alienation through strict enforcement of laws and restoration of alienated land to the tribal owners as per the provisions of the PESA and the confirmatory Acts by various States.</li>
<li>The newly acquired land under FRA, 2006 could be utilized in eco-forestry rather than for food grain cultivation, which could give more return to the ST farmers.</li>
<li>There is severe under-representation of STs and pending vacancies in Central Government services.</li>
<li>Therefore, the Government should follow a transparent policy with regard to jobs for STs in public sector.</li>
<li>Tribes should be encouraged to use their traditional knowledge to meet their needs by recreating their forest ecosystem and forest-based livelihood.</li>
</ul>
<h2>4. Education</h2>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The colonial government depended upon the Christian missionaries to induce and educate the tribes since 1854.</li>
<li>The literacy rate of the tribals was only 3.46 per cent in 1951 owing to the British colonial educational policy, which did not care for the education of the tribal population.</li>
<li><strong>Education as a Site of Discrimination:</strong> For the tribal children, teaching-learning is not always friendly. The classrooms are not free from the <strong>traditional social prejudice</strong> against the tribal children.</li>
<li><strong>Deficient 'free' education:</strong> Government&rsquo;s failure in providing free education to tribal children is leading to provide an exploitative opportunity for private schools. They are primarily guided by commercial interests.</li>
<li>The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It provides for <strong>re-admission</strong> of every child, who discontinued elementary education for some reason, to a school in a class appropriate to his/her age, with the proviso of <strong>special training or additional instruction</strong> so that he/she is brought at par with others.</li>
<li>Its implementation generally and particularly in respect to the tribal child is a daunting task for the Government.</li>
<li>Putting a tribal child in the class of his appropriate age would <strong>need special attention</strong> which would be <strong>at the cost of teaching other students</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Teachers and Way of Teaching Tribal Children: There <strong>is not much effort</strong> in developing <strong>curricula</strong> and devising <strong>instructional materials,</strong> keeping in mind socio-cultural milieu of the tribals.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>The National Sample Survey-2007-08</strong> data reveals that the tribal languages listed in the Eighth Schedule, viz., Bodo, Dogri and Santhali, are educationally used merely by 0.11 per cent, 0.02 per cent and 0.01 per cent of the tribals respectively.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Residential Schools and the Tribals:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>As a way of providing quality education to the tribals in an efficient manner, the Government has been, from the 1950s to the present policy, opening residential schools and hostels for them at central places. <strong>Ashram School, Eklavya Model School</strong> and <strong>Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya</strong> are leading schemes under this approach.</li>
<li>They are often in the news for corruption, bad maintenance of facilities and sexual exploitation of resident girls.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Educational Domain and Knowledge on Tribes:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Ever since Nehru recognized tribal culture as an autonomous constituent of Indian culture, there has been effort, under the national democratic ethos, to know about the tribals and their problems.</li>
<li>Despite this policy enunciation, <strong>tribes as a subject figure insignificantly in the school curriculum</strong>. There is dearth of textbook materials and of advanced knowledge on the tribes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Contemporary Concerns in Tribal Education:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Incidence of High Dropout Rates:</strong> Dropout rates among the tribal students, particularly at the secondary and senior secondary stages, are very high (<strong>Statistics of School Education, 2010-11&nbsp;</strong>: 73 per cent at Class X, 84 per cent at Class XI and 86 per cent at Class XII).
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>No-detention policy,</strong> before and after the RTE Act, does not allow students from the tribal community to acquire basic skills in Three Rs (Reading, Writing and Arithmetic). This absence of background education is also a cause of dropouts.</li>
<li><strong>Long duration summer vacation</strong> happens to be critical period for mass dropouts not only in tribal areas, but also in all rural areas. Vacations are also not aligned with local festivals.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Shortage of 'Quality' Teachers:</strong> The dearth of teachers fulfilling the eligibility criteria set out under the RTE Act is an impediment to achieving the right to education in tribal areas. Owing to paucity of trained teachers, learning achievement levels of tribal students remain low.</li>
<li><strong>Language Barriers</strong> for the Tribal Students: Most of the tribal communities in India have their <strong>own mother tongue</strong>. But in most of the States, <strong>official/regional languages</strong> are used for classroom teaching and these <strong>are not understood by the tribal children</strong> at primary level of schooling.</li>
<li><strong>Education of Nomadic Tribes:</strong> Nomadic tribes are constantly mobile depending on the climate, occupations and livelihood opportunities. Therefore, these children miss out on primary level schooling.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Recommendations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The purpose of education anywhere, including in tribal areas, should be to provide children with an understanding of the environment and society in which they live and to endow them with the capability to earn a livelihood in the local society and, for those who have the desire and ability, in the national job market.</li>
<li>There is a need for greater gender focus and social mobilization to encourage education of girls.</li>
<li><strong>The dearth of teachers</strong> fulfilling the eligibility criteria set out under the RTE Act is an impediment to achieving the right to education in tribal areas. For addressing the current crisis of absence of teachers in tribal areas, special efforts need to be made to produce more teachers who have qualified the Teachers Ability Test.</li>
<li><strong>The policy of no-detention</strong> needs a review. When the student, teachers, or parents of the student request for retention of a child to enable him/her to acquire skills to move to the next class, he/she should be retained.</li>
<li>To address the problem of low representation of the tribals in higher education, it is necessary to refurbish primary and secondary school education through special coaching.</li>
<li>Keeping in view the difficulties of adjusting to a new cultural environment, teachers for schools in the tribal regions should be recruited locally.</li>
<li>The State Governments should develop a policy for multilingual education, so that early learning is conducted in the local language.</li>
<li>Inclusion of local culture, folklore and history in the curriculum can help in building confidence of tribal children and enhance the relevance of education in their lives.</li>
<li>The Government needs to establish well-run residential schools such as <strong>Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas</strong> closer to the habitations (within a radius of ten kilometres) up to Class XII.</li>
<li>In residential schools, which are often in the news for incidents of sexual abuse of students, strong mechanisms should be put in place to protect the students from abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence.</li>
<li>Schemes like <strong>Ashram School, Eklavya Model School</strong> and <strong>Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya</strong> should be promoted at large scale.</li>
<li><strong>Involvement of community</strong> in educational interventions through the <strong>Panchayati Raj</strong> Institutions needs to be institutionalized. Information on various schemes and benefits to beneficiaries should be provided to the Gram Sabhas and Gram Panchayats, which would create transparency and increase awareness about their entitlements.</li>
<li><strong>The scope of education</strong> needs to be expanded for the purpose of scholarships and should include tribal <strong>painting, art, craft, song, music and dance</strong>&nbsp;etc.</li>
<li><strong>Regional Resource Centres</strong> in States with significant tribal populations should be established to provide training, academic and other technical support for development of pedagogic tools and education materials catering to multilingual situation.</li>
<li>It is recommended that <strong>a Tribal Chair</strong> be established by the UGC in <strong>Universities in every State comprising Fifth Schedule Areas</strong>.</li>
</ul>
<h2>5. Health</h2>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Sex Ratio:</strong> The tribal population has shown favourable sex ratio 990 females per 1000 males as compared to 938 as general in the country (Census of India, 2011).</li>
<li><strong>Fertility:</strong> As per NFHS 3 (2005-06), the estimated Total Fertility Rate (TFR) among the Scheduled Tribe population was around 3.1 against estimate of 2.4 for the rest of the population.</li>
<li><strong>Disease Patterns:</strong> The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), through its various national institutes and centers, collects data on some diseases in certain states and among some tribes.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Malnutrition &ndash; Low birth weight, under-nutrition of children, lower body size of adults, anaemia, iron and vitamin A and B deficiency.</li>
<li>Maternal and child health problems &ndash; higher IMR, U5MR, neonatal mortality, acute respiratory infections, and diarrhea.</li>
<li>Communicable diseases &ndash; malaria, filaria, tuberculosis, leprosy, skin infections, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, typhoid, cholera, diarrheal diseases, hepatitis, and viral fevers.</li>
<li>Non-communicable illnesses &ndash; hypertension, stroke, diabetes, and cancers.</li>
<li><strong>Hereditary diseases</strong> such as the Hemoglobinopathies (Sickle Cell) and G-6 PD deficiency.</li>
<li>Mental health problems &ndash; especially in the areas affected by conflicts.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Recommendations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The first principle of any policy or program for tribal people is participation. Hence their views and priorities must get due place in any health care program. Committee suggests making use of three types of existing institutional mechanisms to improve the programs.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Tribal Health Assembly:</strong> From the Gram Sabhas at village level, upto the national level, Tribal Health Assemblies should be annually organized in which the people (at the level of village) or their representatives (at the higher levels) participate.</li>
<li><strong>Tribal Health Councils:</strong> These should be constituted by including elected representatives, NGOs, experts and government officers for the purpose of planning and monitoring of programs.
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Such councils should be constituted at the block or ITDP level, district, state and national level.</li>
<li>These should be empowered to shape the health plans and monitor implementation.</li>
<li>These sub-committees of Panchayat level, district level and Zilla Parishad could function as Tribal Health Councils.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Tribes Advisory Councils</strong> at the state level: These Councils should approve the health plans prepared by the Tribal Health Councils, and to review the performance of implementation.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>In view of the enormous diversity among nearly 700 tribes in India, the second principle to be followed is of area specific and tribe-sensitive local planning. The PESA provides an institutional basis for this.</li>
<li>Building their capabilities to care for their health is the long term solution far superior to a perpetual dependence.</li>
<li>To bridge the scientific knowledge gap of centuries, health care for Scheduled Areas should give paramount importance to spreading &lsquo;health literacy&rsquo; by way of mass educational methods, folk media, modern media and school curriculum.</li>
<li>Anganwadis should become the Primary Health Knowledge Centers.</li>
<li>Instead of alienating or rejecting<strong> Traditional healers and Dais,</strong> a sensitive way of <strong>including them</strong> or getting their cooperation in health care, must be explored.</li>
<li>The well-known <strong>difficulties in deploying doctors, nurses and other technical personnel from outside</strong> into Scheduled Areas have created the problem of human resources. <strong>The candidates must be local, belong to Scheduled Tribes, be fluent in local tribal dialects,</strong> be selected on merit and should be committed to serve in the local Scheduled Area for at least ten years.</li>
<li><strong>The Proposed Goals of the Tribal Health Plan</strong> should be:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>To attain the Millennium Development Goals (2015) on health and nutrition for the Scheduled Tribe population in India by the year 2020.</li>
<li>To bring the health, sanitation and nutrition status of the Scheduled Tribe population to the same level as that of the non-Scheduled Tribe population in the respective states by the year 2025.</li>
<li>To create the human resources necessary for provision of healthcare in Scheduled Areas, as per the norms set by the High Level Expert Group on Universal Health Coverage (2011), by the year 2025.</li>
<li>To create and make functional the institutions for participatory governance (Tribal Health Assemblies and Councils) at all levels in the Scheduled Areas by the year 2016.</li>
<li>To annually generate Tribal Health Plans at all levels by the year 2017.</li>
<li>To annually allocate and spend 8.6 percent, in proportion to the Scheduled Tribes population, of the total Health Sector Plan and Non-plan budget, plus 10 percent of the TSP for the implementation of the Tribal Health Plan.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h2>6. Land Alienation, Displacement and Enforced Migration</h2>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Tribal communities of India reside in hill areas that are rich in minerals and forest cover. Land is the basis of their socio-cultural and religious identity, livelihood and their very existence.</li>
<li>Traditionally, ownership of land was by the community and economic activity mainly agrarian, including shifting cultivation, which fostered egalitarian values which influenced their power relations and organizational system.</li>
<li>It is in this context that the <strong>devastation of lives of tribal people</strong> caused by<strong> loss of access</strong> to forest and <strong>involuntary displacement</strong> from their land has to be understood.</li>
<li><strong>Indian Forest Act, 1865 (amended 1878, 1927)</strong> for acquisition of forest lands for creation of infrastructure such as railways, accorded the State a monopolised control over forest lands for commercialization purpose.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Even after independence, under its provision <strong>new rights were acquired by the State</strong> under the principle of eminent domain and cultivation by people, who are descendants of <strong>original settlers of land, was categorized as illegitimate</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>The Development model</strong> in India is a carry forward from the pre-independence British period which was based <strong>on exploitation of natural resources</strong> and human capital for extraction and export of surplus for boosting industrial revolution in Britain.</li>
<li>The only difference is that this model of primitive accumulation is being used within the country for development of capital goods sector.</li>
<li>Despite Constitution for protection and special treatment for tribal people and other weaker groups this colonial emphasis did not change in independent India.</li>
<li><strong>Due attention</strong> and importance was not given <strong>to social costs</strong> consequently a large number of people were displaced for economic development.</li>
<li><strong>The ways in which tribal land alienation take place:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Schedule V</strong> of the Constitution lays down provisions for protection of land, and welfare and advancement of Scheduled Tribes.</li>
<li><strong>Sixth Schedule of the Constitution:</strong> Autonomous Districts and Autonomous Regions have powers to make laws relating to land, for the management of any forest not being a reserved forest, the inheritance of property.</li>
<li>Forest rights of tribal people were discontinued as<strong> Reserved Forests</strong> and <strong>Protected Forests</strong> were &lsquo;brought outside the scope of legal rights settlement&rsquo;.</li>
<li><strong>The Wild Life Protection Act, 1972,</strong> the <strong>Forest Conservation Act, 1980,</strong> the <strong>Tree Prevention Act and the Forest Policy, 1988,</strong> also affected tribal people.</li>
<li>'The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013&rsquo; comprehensive resettlement has been legally mandated and people affected by the Project have been included. But till this new law came into being, much harm had been caused by the misuse of the concept of &lsquo;eminent domain&rsquo;.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Recommendations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Serious effort is required by the State to minimize displacement. There should be a rights- based approach to comprehensive rehabilitation.</li>
<li>The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, is progressive in the sense. However, the definition of 'public purpose' in the new law is very wide and will only lead to greater acquisition and displacement in Scheduled Areas.</li>
<li>Public-Private Partnership mode of acquiring land is simply a backdoor method of alienating land.</li>
<li>There is plenty of unutilized tribal land available with Central/State/PSUs, and Central/State Governments which is not being used for the purpose for which it was acquired.</li>
<li>Governments should be legally mandated to return such land to the original landowner/successors or use the same for resettlement of displaced tribals.</li>
<li>Land and water sources polluted by industrial and mining projects in tribal regions require attention and the onus for taking corrective measures.</li>
<li>There is considerable emphasis on consultation and consent of Gram Sabhas. It is essential that the State be vigilant through adequate 304 monitoring mechanisms for ensuring that consent is obtained freely.</li>
<li>Tribal people who have been displaced by conflict in Chhattisgarh and the Northeast should be rehabilitated by the State Government in their villages and provided facilities of housing, safe drinking water, health and education, skill development, electricity supply, irrigation facilities, and agricultural inputs.</li>
<li>In pursuance of the PESA, 1996, Land Transfer Regulations/Tenancy laws of all Schedule V Areas should be suitably amended to ensure Gram Sabha participation in the identification, investigation and restoration of lands to tribal people.</li>
</ul>
<h2>7. Legal and Constitutional Issues</h2>
<h3>Forest Rights Act 2006</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The Indian Forest Act, 1927</strong> and its predecessor Act of 1878 vested control over the forest resources in the state. Forest area covers 23 percent of land mass and over the years, forest communities have been treated as encroachers and their activities in forest areas as &lsquo;forest offences&rsquo;.</li>
<li>The enactment of the FRA has been a very important move in taking away the burden of illegality from the shoulders of tribals, and forest dwelling and dependent communities.</li>
<li>The FRA stipulates that forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs) are not to be evicted or removed from forest land under their occupation till the process of recognition and verification of their rights is complete. <strong>Forest Rights Committee (FRC)</strong> at the grassroots level found that this provision of the Act has been violated.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act 1996</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Gram Sabhas consultations have to be merely &lsquo;considered&rsquo; by government officials when deciding land acquisition proposals.</li>
<li><strong>Forged and manipulated Gram Sabha resolutions,</strong> lack of consent before land acquisition and other grave issues still persist in the implementation of the PESA.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The Right to Food Commissioner&rsquo;s Report identifies</strong> Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) as most susceptible to malnutrition. The report acknowledges that these communities <strong>derive their nutrition from the forest and habitat they live in</strong>. Tribals are <strong>denied access to the forest and its produce,</strong> often due to persistent lobbying <strong>by conservationists and environmentalists</strong>.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Use of criminal law in tribal areas</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Land acquisition, displacement and the <strong>commencement of project work without settling issues</strong> that arise in the context of the project have given rise to various forms of protest and resistance. Local people complained that <strong>when they raised their voices against a project proposal</strong> that was brought to them, they invariably <strong>found themselves charged with criminal cases</strong>.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Salwa Judum</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Salwa Judum,</strong> translated variously as peace march, or as purification hunt, was a government initiative in Bastar region. It was set up in 2005, to counter the naxalites presence in the area. Its mainstay was the SPOs (Special Police Officers) who were local tribal youth, some as young as 16 years, who were recruited, paid a stipend, armed and handed the task of fighting the naxalites. What resulted was a civil strife which displaced whole villages, rapes, excesses of power, murders and the burning of houses.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Niyamgiri experience</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Niyamgiri hills are inhabited by the Dongria Khond, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group. The Dongria Khonds opposed the mining of bauxite by Vedanta Aluminium Ltd., the Supreme Court directed, on 18th April, 2013, that the Gram Sabha needed to consider the rights that were being affected by the proposed mining.</li>
<li>The proposed mining was unequivocally rejected by all Gram Sabhas.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Matters of migration and exploitative labour</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There has been a significant increase in urban tribal population, during 2001-11, which is a pointer to their &lsquo;push&rsquo; migration resulting in exploitation as bonded labour.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Recommendations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There is an urgent need for <strong>extending the pattern of the Sixth Schedule</strong> in the form of Autonomous Councils in the Fifth Schedule areas as has been provided for in the Provisions of <strong>Panchayat</strong> (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996.</li>
<li>The past twenty years have been dramatic in the changes in the economy in terms of liberalisation &amp; privatisation, and in the effect that economic policy has had on tribal communities. PESA Act, 1996 and the Forest Rights Act, 2006, have been enacted which recognize autonomy and rights of tribal communities.</li>
<li>The implementation of these laws is, however, reluctant. There is needed to strengthen the institutional system to support the process of implementation, including strengthening of the Gram Sabhas.</li>
<li>Given the close relationship between forests, forest produce and women&rsquo;s lives, representation of women in Gram Sabha as per FRA Act must be implemented.</li>
<li>Government officials who were the agencies to prevent tribal loss of land are increasingly being seen to be negotiators on behalf of project authorities. This must be stopped.</li>
<li>There have been recorded cases of Gram Sabha consent being fraudulently obtained or forged; such conduct must face penalties, and projects that proceed on the basis of consent so obtained cannot be allowed to proceed.</li>
<li>Article 243-ZC of Constitution; provide provision for the creation of new Nagar Palikas in Fifth Schedule areas and tribal areas. Implementation must be preceded by a law made by Parliament, which sets out the exceptions and modifications to suit local conditions of tribal area.</li>
<li>The amendments proposed to PESA with prior informed consent, is necessary for the effective implementation of PESA.</li>
<li>With proliferation of MoUs between states and companies that imposes responsibility on the state to facilitate environmental and forest clearances, it takes away the neutrality of the state. Such MoUs must be to be reviewed.</li>
<li>Public policy and practice must be drafted base on the experience of Niyamgiri, and the adverse lessons from the Salwa Judum.</li>
<li>The criminal law is being used as a tool of the state to suppress dissent. Judicial Commission needs to be appointed to investigate cases filed against tribals and their supporters. Only, this will satisfy the concerns that have risen about the misuse of criminal law by the state.</li>
<li><strong>De-notified Tribes</strong> have been asking that steps be taken to remove stigma and prejudice from their lives. Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 was repealed in 1952 and the Habitual Offenders Act was enacted in its place. Tribes continue to be stigmatised under the Habitual Offenders. Habitual Offenders Act must be repealed and rehabilitate the de-notified and nomadic tribes.</li>
<li><strong>Anti-beggary laws</strong> render the talents that they possess, such as juggling and acrobatics, into punishable conduct. Whole communities of women find themselves in prostitution without a choice. Such laws must be repealed.</li>
<li>The persistence of bonded labour, and the trafficking, in large measure, of women from tribal areas needs a concerted effort to end it.</li>
</ul>
<h2>8. Delivery of Public Goods and Services</h2>
<p>The Planning process in India has, since its inception, emphasized inclusion of marginalized communities, including the Scheduled Tribes. Initially, it focused on directing sufficient resources for the development of Scheduled Tribes, along with establishing institutions and mechanisms for delivery of goods and services.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>However, these could not fully serve the interests of the tribal people, as there were <strong>several schemes that were broad in nature</strong>.</li>
<li>During the Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-79), the strategy of the Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) was adopted.</li>
<li>As per guidelines issued by the Planning Commission, the Tribal Sub Plan funds were to be non-divertible and non-lapsable. But, most of the funds meant for TSP had been diverted to other sectors and purposes, and some of them had also been lapsed due to their improper utilization or failure of administrative machinery.</li>
<li>As per the Sub-Plan approach, the Central Government is required to ensure that out of its total Plan budget, at least 8.6 percent (as per 2011 Census) is earmarked for the development of Scheduled Tribes in the Union Budget.</li>
<li>But, the decline in the budget allocations for Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) in proportion to the Scheduled Tribe population is a cause for serious concern.</li>
<li><strong>Schedule Tribes who migrate</strong> from rural areas to urban areas suffer<strong> loss of identity, community solidarity, land, entitlements such as ration cards,</strong> and common resources.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Recommendations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There is dispersed population of tribes and displaced population (due to infrastructure projects, conflicts) in some States, including the North-eastern region, there is no agency dedicated to deliver the programs. New micro-agencies need to be created in such pockets to cater to specific tribal groups.</li>
<li>Absence of supporting staff for implementing the MGNREGA and FRA has resulted in low absorption of funds available for supervision of these works.</li>
<li>Many tribes have migrated to urban areas and are wage-earners. It is imperative that States work towards the creation of micro projects in urban areas which have substantial ST population.</li>
<li>Most Tribal Research Institutions (TRIs) are facing financial and manpower constraints and are finding it difficult to perform their functions effectively. There is an urgent need for strengthening and broadening research and training activities by these institutions.</li>
<li>The Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI) is one of the many organizations under the Ministry of Culture. However, the primary focus of AnSI is study of tribes. AnSI can become a stronger organization if it comes under Ministry of Tribal Affairs.</li>
<li>Funds available to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs for giving grants to States under Article 275 (1) of the Constitution should be substantially enhanced so as to enable the Ministry to provide larger support to the States for strengthening of institutions and up-gradation of administration in tribal areas.</li>
</ul>
<p>To summarize, tribal communities face disregard for their values and culture, breach of protective legislations, serious material and social deprivation, and aggressive resource alienation. Hence, the solution to these issues should enable the tribes to protect their own interests.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>An empowered citizenry</strong> and a functioning, participatory (including participation of women) self-governance is the best guarantee for a democratic nation;</li>
<li>Due share in socio-economic progress for tribal people and their habitations, including facilities like health, education, livelihood, drinking water, sanitation, roads, electricity and sustainable income, in situ;</li>
<li><strong>Protecting the land and forest rights</strong> of tribal communities is equivalent to protecting their livelihoods, life and liberty.</li>
<li>The right to natural resources in tribal lands has to be protected. They should only be accessed with the consent of the Gram Sabhas of the villages</li>
<li>While tribal lands hold much of the natural and mineral wealth of the nation, these resources cannot be alienated against their will. Moreover, communities who part with their lands have the right to share in the wealth and income so generated from its resources.</li>
<li>Hence, a reasonable share of the wealth generated by the resources in their homelands must accrue to them by law</li>
<li>The right to preservation of their language, culture and traditions, and to protect themselves against the loss of identity, must be recognized, protected, documented and allowed to thrive as a dynamic living culture.</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/summary-of-important-reports/xaxa-committee-on-tribal-communities-of-india'
		],
		(int) 17 => [
			'title' => 'Open Up The Supreme Court',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>(This editorial is based on the article <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/open-up-the-supreme-court/article26773825.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener">'Open Up The Supreme Court'</a> which appeared in &lsquo;The Hindu&rsquo; on 9th April, 2019. The article talks about the opacity in the functioning of Supreme Court and the right steps required for bringing the desired transparency in judiciary.)</p>
</div>
<p>The Supreme Court and high courts are not only the final adjudicatory authority for the law but are also the upholder of the highest ideals of our democracy. It was in this sense the High Court of Delhi, 10 years back handed down a landmark judgment dealing with the fledgling Right to Information (RTI) Act.</p>
<p>It held that the Office of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) was a &ldquo;public authority&rdquo;, and therefore, subject to the provisions of the Act. Information held by the CJI &mdash; including, in the context of the case, information about judges&rsquo; assets therefore could be requested by the public through an RTI application.</p>
<p>However the judgement has not seen the light and has been stayed by the Highest Court itself. The issue of transparency has been a sticking point for the highest judiciary, especially with respect to the appointment of judges and administration of justice.</p>
<p>The recent judgement of Supreme Court therefore warrants us to understand the whole debate surrounding the questions of accountability and transparency in Judiciary.</p>
<h3>Issues Affecting Judiciary</h3>
<p>India is one of the few countries where judges have the last word on judicial appointments, through the mechanism of the Collegium. The Collegium itself is not mentioned in the text of the Constitution but it arose out of a judgment of the Supreme Court, in response to increased executive interference in judicial appointments, particularly during Indira Gandhi&rsquo;s regime.</p>
<p>The Collegium started as a tool to secure and guarantee the independence of the judiciary.</p>
<p>In 2015, the Supreme Court struck down a constitutional amendment establishing a National Judicial Appointments Commission, which would have replaced the Collegium.</p>
<p>A majority of the five-judge Bench held that judicial primacy in appointments was the only constitutionally-authorised way of securing/ensuring judicial independence against an increasingly powerful political executive.</p>
<p>However appointments and transfers within the higher judiciary still remain a mystery. It is almost as though the Supreme Court Collegium has many paths to opacity that can exist in the appointments process. It is increasingly being perceived that judicial appointments have too often been made in an ad hoc and arbitrary manner.</p>
<p>The Collegium has immunised itself from any form of public scrutiny. The nomination process is secret and there is little information regarding how a person is selected. The deliberations are secret, the reasons for elevation or non-elevation are secret which creates an extremely unhealthy climate, in which rumours become staple and breeds anonymity between people working in the judiciary.</p>
<h3>The Need for the Transparency</h3>
<p>A combined reading of the principle of independence of judiciary and the provisions of the constitution gives the understanding that ensuring its accountability is the sole prerogative of the Supreme Court itself. No other institution can meddle with the functioning of the highest court of the land to achieve the desired goal.</p>
<p>The workings of the courts, as powerful organs of state, have to be as transparent and open to public scrutiny as any other body. The legitimacy of the courts rests on their ability to provide reasoned orders based on verified facts and principles of law.</p>
<p>Legal arguments are tested against preceding judgments of higher courts or larger benches of the same court. The judiciary consists of a hierarchy of courts. From courts of trial to those of appeal, and thus facts and law are tested at various stages,.</p>
<p>According to the Delhi High Court judgement all power including judicial power is subject to accountability in a modern Constitution. A blanket judicial exemption from the RTI Act therefore would defeat the basic idea of &ldquo;open justice&rsquo;&rsquo;.</p>
<p>The fear that bringing the judiciary under the RTI Act would destroy the personal privacy of judges is therefore unfound as the RTI Act itself has an inbuilt privacy-oriented protection, which authorises withholding the disclosure of personal information unless there is an overriding public interest.</p>
<h3>The Hesitancy to Open up</h3>
<p>The farmost fear in bringing the judiciary under the RTI Act is that it would destroy the personal privacy of judges impacting their non-partisanship and integrity.</p>
<p>For judges, their credibility and reputation is hugely important, and many feel that the slightest potential slight on this could be debilitating and prevent judges from doing their job.</p>
<p>Apprehensions have also been raised by people that few over-enthusiastic advocates might get their hands on dirt against judges that they can take it out of context and use for leverage in court, by asking for their recusal or otherwise, questioning their independence in hearing a case.</p>
<h3>The Way Out</h3>
<p>Judges, undoubtedly, require protection from being sued for their judicial decisions so as to be able to &ldquo;do the duty with complete independence and free from fear&rdquo; and hence require independence and supremacy in their functioning.</p>
<p>Meanwhile it is imperative to have a transparent system within the judiciary itself to deal with cases of judicial misconduct and to infuse the idea of judicial accountability.</p>
<p>The only way to salvage this is to open up the court. A judiciary that is confident of itself and of its place in the democratic republic should not be worried about subjecting judicial appointments to public scrutiny.</p>
<p><em><strong>As Lord Woolf had aptly said, &ldquo;the independence of the judiciary is&hellip; not the property of the judiciary, but a commodity to be held by the judiciary in trust for the public&rdquo;.</strong></em></p>',
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		(int) 18 => [
			'title' => 'Parliamentary Election in Maldives',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has made a landslide victory in the parliamentary election in the Maldives by winning more than two-thirds seats in 87-Member People&rsquo;s Majlis&nbsp;(Maldives Parliament).</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>MDP victory is also a boost to President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih of the Maldives, who also belongs to MDP. Victory paves the way for easy passage of bills and a policy agenda with a realistic chance of implementation.</li>
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/maldives-election-result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">President Solih assumed power after a presidential election in September 2018,</a> replacing his predecessor Abdulla Yameen, who had propelled the Maldives into China&rsquo;s economic embrace.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Significance For India<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/836drishti_maldives.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/836drishti_maldives.png" width="334" height="236" style="float: right;" caption="false" /></a></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>After a downward trend in relation during the presidency of Abdulla Yameen, that benefited China considerably, the relation between India and Maldives are warming up again under the new president Ibrahim Solih.</li>
<li>Since September 2018, India and Maldives have seen a number of bilateral visits
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/pm-visit-to-maldives" target="_blank" rel="noopener">India&rsquo;s Prime Minister Visited Maldives</a> to attend the swearing-in ceremony of President Solih.</li>
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/maldives-presidents-visit-to-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Maldives President also visited India</a> in December 2018.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>India-Maldives Relation</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India and the Maldives share deep<strong> historical, cultural, and economic ties.</strong></li>
<li>India was among the <strong>first to recognize the Maldives after its independence in 1965</strong> and to establish diplomatic relations with the country. India established its mission at Mal&eacute; in 1972.</li>
<li>India&rsquo;s bilateral and financial assistance to the Maldives has been reciprocated through an <strong>&ldquo;India first&rdquo; policy by the Maldives.</strong></li>
<li>Importance of the Maldives for India:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Maldives is an important aspect of India&rsquo;s<strong> &lsquo;Neighbourhood First&rsquo; policy.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Strategically located in the Indian Ocean</strong>, Maldives archipelago comprising 1200 coral Islands lies next to key shipping lanes which ensure uninterrupted energy supplies to countries like China, Japan, and India. More than 97% of India&rsquo;s international trade by volume and 75% by value passes through the region.</li>
<li>As the pre-eminent South Asian power and a<strong> &lsquo;net security provider&rsquo; in the Indian Ocean region,</strong> India needs to cooperate with the Maldives in security and defense sectors.</li>
<li>India is also a preferred destination for Maldivians for education, medical treatment, recreation, and business.</li>
<li><strong>Maldives is also a member of SAARC</strong>. It is important for India to have the Maldives on board to maintain its leadership in the region.</li>
<li>Since China&rsquo;s naval expansion into the Indian Ocean - Maldives significance has steadily grown and now it&rsquo;s at the heart of international geopolitics.</li>
<li>There is significant Indian diaspora in the Maldives. Innumerable Indians work across the hospitality, education, and health-care sectors of the Maldives economy.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is a regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union in South Asia<strong> formed in 1985.</strong></li>
<li>The member states include <strong>Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.</strong></li>
<li>SAARC compromises 3% of the world's area, 21% of the world's population and 9.12% of the global economy, as of 2015.</li>
<li><strong>The organization promotes the development of economic and regional integration. It launched the South Asian Free Trade Area in 2006.</strong></li>
<li>SAARC maintains permanent diplomatic relations at the UN as an observer and has developed links with multilateral entities.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
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		(int) 19 => [
			'title' => 'NIRF & ARIIA Rankings 2019',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>The President of India has announced the <strong>results for&nbsp;National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF)-2019 and&nbsp;Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA)-2019</strong> at a function held in Vigyan Bhawan at New Delhi.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>These were the&nbsp;<strong>fourth edition of NIRF</strong> Rankings and<strong> first edition of ARIIA</strong> ranking.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Highlights</h3>
<h3></h3>
<h4>NIRF Rankings 2019</h4>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Indian Institute of Madras <strong>(IIT Madras)</strong> has<strong> topped</strong> the list in<strong> &lsquo;overall category&rsquo;.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>7 IITs are among the<strong> first ten position</strong> holders whereas <strong>JNU, Delhi has secured the seventh rank.</strong></li>
<li>Seven Institutes from Karnataka have made it to the top 100.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>IISc Bengaluru </strong>has <strong>topped &lsquo;University category&rsquo;.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Banaras Hindu University (BHU)</strong> has retained its<strong> third position in the top 10 universities</strong> in the country for the third consecutive year.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Miranda House, Delhi has secured the top position in Colleges category,</strong> IIT Madras in engineering category, National Law School of India University, Bangalore in Law category, IIT Kharagpur in Architecture category, AIIMS in medical category, IIM Bangalore in management category and Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi in &lsquo;Pharmacy Category&rsquo;.</li>
</ul>
<h4>ARIIA Rankings 2019</h4>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>IIT Madras</strong> has topped the <strong>&lsquo;Public funded Institutions Category&rsquo;.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Vellore Institute of Technology, Tamil Nadu</strong> has topped the <strong>&lsquo;Private Institutions Category&rsquo;.</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) <strong>was launched by the Minister of Human Resource Development on 29th September 2015.</strong></li>
<li>This framework<strong> outlines a methodology to rank institutions across the country.</strong></li>
<li>The<strong> parameters</strong> broadly cover
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Teaching, Learning and Resources,</li>
<li>Research and Professional Practices,</li>
<li>Graduation Outcomes,</li>
<li>Outreach and Inclusivity and</li>
<li>Perception.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>NIRF rankings 2019 has been given under 8 categories: Overall, Universities, Engineering, Medical, Management, Law, Architecture, Pharmacy and Colleges.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is an <strong>initiative of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD)</strong>, Govt. of India to systematically rank all the major higher educational institutions and universities in India on indicators related to<strong> &ldquo;Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development</strong>&rdquo; amongst students and faculties.</li>
<li><strong>Major Indicators</strong>&nbsp;are:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Budget &amp; Funding Support.</li>
<li>Infrastructure &amp; Facilities.</li>
<li>Awareness, Promotions &amp; support for Idea Generation &amp; Innovation.</li>
<li>Promotion &amp; Support for Entrepreneurship Development.</li>
<li>Innovative Learning Methods &amp; Courses.</li>
<li>Intellectual Property Generation, Technology Transfer &amp; Commercialization.</li>
<li>Innovation in Governance of the Institution.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>More than quantity, ARIIA<strong> focuses on quality of innovations</strong> and tries to measure the real impact created by these innovations nationally and internationally.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
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		'title' => 'Solar E-Waste',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>According to a recent study conducted by an energy consultancy firm Bridge To India (BTI) Ltd., I<strong>ndia&rsquo;s PV (photovoltaic) waste volume is estimated to grow to 2,00,000 tonnes by 2030 and around 1.8 million tonnes by 2050.</strong></p>
<h3>Highlights</h3>
<h3></h3>
<p><strong>PV module</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A PV module is essentially made up of glass, metal, silicon and polymer fractions.</li>
<li>Glass and aluminium, together constituting around 80% of total weight, are non-hazardous.</li>
<li>But a few other <strong>materials used including polymers,</strong> metals, metallic compounds and alloys are <strong>classified as potentially hazardous.</strong></li>
<li>For instance, Leaching of lead has<strong> huge environmental impact</strong> including loss in biodiversity, decreased growth and reproductive rates in plants and animals, and several other <strong>health hazards</strong> like adverse impact on kidney function, nervous, immune, reproductive and cardiovascular systems.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>PV Waste Recycling</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>PV waste recycling is still <strong>at a nascent stage globally,</strong> both in terms of technical standards and physical infrastructure. The waste is usually sent to laminated glass and metal recyclers that recover 70-80% of the material by weight.</li>
<li>PV module recycling is still <strong>not commercially viable</strong> as total estimated cost including transportation can vary between USD 400-600/ tonne, far exceeding value of the recovered material.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Status in India</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India is among the leading markets for solar cells in the world, buoyed by the government&rsquo;s commitment to install 100 GW of solar power by 2022. So far, India has installed solar cells for about 28 GW and this has been done largely from imported solar PV cells.</li>
<li><strong>India is poorly positioned to handle PV waste</strong> as it doesn&rsquo;t yet have a policy guideline on the same.</li>
<li>Most of the central bidding documents rest the responsibility of handling and disposing PV waste on the developers as per the E-waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011. However, the <strong>E-waste rules make no mention of solar PV waste.</strong></li>
<li>Unavailability of even basic recycling facilities for laminated glass and e-wastes.</li>
<li>Despite the e-waste regulation being in place for over seven years, only less than 4% of estimated e-waste is recycled in the organised sector.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Regulations for PV recycling in other countries</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The European union (EU) has a Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive,</strong> based on the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) concept that mandates all member states to implement a regulation for setting up tracking, collection and waste treatment mechanisms. It also has an <strong>eco-design directive</strong> for reducing environmental impact of energy-related products throughout their lifecycle.</li>
<li>There are <strong>no federal regulations </strong>for module waste management<strong> in the US</strong> but regulatory initiatives have been undertaken at the state-level to manage it.</li>
<li><strong>Voluntary guidelines</strong> to ensure proper recycling of solar PV modules have been issued <strong>by the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association</strong> (JPEA).</li>
<li><strong>China&rsquo;s 13th five-year plan (2016-2020)</strong> states that the principle of EPR will be imposed on waste treatment in general but a regulatory framework specific to module waste is yet to be adopted.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Suggestions For India</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Mandating <strong>module manufacturers to use environmentally sustainable design and materials</strong> with end-of-life in mind (similar to the eco-design initiative of the EU).</li>
<li>Specifying liability and responsibility of each stakeholder for waste management and treatment.</li>
<li>Laying down <strong>standards for PV waste collection, treatment and disposal.</strong></li>
<li>Encouraging mutual recycling responsibility agreements between module suppliers, project developers and power purchasers.</li>
<li>Undertaking regular surveys of recycling facilities to understand technology and capacity levels.</li>
<li><strong>Identifying investment and technical requirements for dedicated PV recycling facilities with focus on high-value recovery.</strong></li>
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	(int) 1 => [
		'title' => 'Jallianwala Bagh Massacre',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>(This editorial is based on the article <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/deep-regret-is-simply-not-good-enough/article26810058.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener">'Deep Regret is Simply Not Good Enough'</a> which appeared in 'The Hindu' on 12<sup>th</sup> April, 2019. The article talks about Jallianwala Bagh Massacre which will soon be completing 100 years of its occurrence.)</p>
</div>
<p>Jallianwala Bagh&rsquo;s importance lies not in the numbers killed but in what preceded it and in what followed. <strong>The Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act of 1919, better known as the Rowlatt Act, came into force a month before the massacre in Jallianwala Bagh.</strong> It shocked most Indians who had expected to be rewarded, not punished, for willingly fighting alongside the British in the First World War.</p>
<p>A long due formal British apology came on the occasion of the centenary of the horrific Jallianwala Bagh massacre, but the question however remains - Is It Enough?</p>
<h3>Run up to the event</h3>
<p>During <strong>World War I (1914&ndash;18)</strong> the British government of India enacted a series of repressive emergency powers that were intended to combat subversive activities. By the war&rsquo;s end, expectations were high among the Indian populace that those measures would be eased and that India would be given more political autonomy.</p>
<p>The <strong>Montagu-Chelmsford Report,</strong> presented to the British Parliament in 1918, did in fact recommend limited local self-government. Instead, however, the government of India passed what became known as the <strong>Rowlatt Acts</strong> in early 1919, which essentially extended the repressive wartime measures.</p>
<p>The acts were met by widespread anger and discontent among Indians, notably in the Punjab region. Gandhi in early April called for a one-day general strike throughout the country. In Amritsar the news that prominent Indian leaders had been arrested and banished from that city resulted in mass protests.</p>
<p>The arrest and banishing of Saifudeen Kitchlew and Satya Pal sparked protests on April 10, in which soldiers fired upon civilians, buildings were looted and burned, and angry mobs killed several foreign nationals and severely beat a Christian missionary.</p>
<p>A force of several dozen troops commanded by Brig. Gen. Reginald Edward Harry Dyer was given the task of restoring order. Among the measures taken was a ban on public gatherings.</p>
<h3>The Massacre</h3>
<p>On April 13, 1919, Baisakhi day, following unrest in Amritsar after protests against the Rowlatt Act, Brigadier General (temporary rank) Reginald Dyer took a strike force of 50 rifles and 40 khukri-wielding Gurkhas into an enclosed ground, Jallianwala Bagh, where a peaceful public meeting of 15,000-20,000 was being held.</p>
<p>Immediately and without warning, he ordered fire to be opened on the crowd. The firing of 1,650 rounds was deliberate and targeted, using powerful rifles at virtually point blank range. The firing resulted in death of several hundreds of people and many times more were wounded.</p>
<p>Atrocity however did not stop at it, several repressive measures followed after the brutal killing such as the <strong>infamous crawling order, the salaam order, public floggings, arbitrary arrests, torture and bombing of civilians by airplanes &mdash; all under a veil of strictly enforced censorship</strong>.</p>
<h3>A history of evasion</h3>
<p>The massacre, followed by the praising and rewarding of its perpetrator, General Dyer, by the British public, removed all illusions about benign British rule in the country. It also marked the start of a liberation struggle like no other under Mahatma Gandhi; Rabindranath Tagore troubled by the incident renounced his Knighthood and questioned the morality of the British government and failure of rulers to act.</p>
<p>After calls for an investigation, including by liberals in Britain, a <strong>Disorders Inquiry Committee, under Chairmanship of Lord Hunter,</strong> was set up. The committee selectively criticised Dyer but let off the Lieutenant Governor, Michael O&rsquo;Dwyer.</p>
<p>The conservative Lords however took a different tack and criticised the government for being unjust to the officer. Similar sentiments in Dyer&rsquo;s favour came from the right-wing press &mdash; the Morning Post started a fund for him which collected &pound;26,000 &mdash; as well as from conservative sections of the public who believed he had saved India for the empire.</p>
<p>Rudyard Kipling, a famous writer too supported Dyer by putting an ambivalent comment on the wreath he sent to Dyer&rsquo;s funeral in 1927: &ldquo;He did his duty as he saw it.&rdquo;</p>
<p>Many people having ties with colonial history have called the incident an isolated one which had nothing to do with British rule and an exception. Winston Churchill who criticised the incident too quoted that it was not the British way of doing things and tried to save the larger colonial enterprise from being called as inherently repressive.</p>
<p>While there remains little doubt that Dyer was indeed wrong, British government cannot be exonerated from the atrocities it committed during the colonial era, as the incident was not an isolated one and he was one of a line of several such &mdash; John Nicholson, Frederick Cooper, J.L. Cowan &mdash; who resorted to severe disproportionate violence in 1857 and after the 1872 Kuka rebellion.</p>
<h3>Way Forward: Healing a wound</h3>
<p>Any British government can ill-afford to apologise for the glory days of its country&rsquo;s history. After all, incidents such as the Jallianwala Bagh massacre are a frequent adjunct to a system as repressive as the British Raj and admitting blame can also have legal and financial consequences.</p>
<p>While apologising in Parliament can be called symbolic, in a court of law, it is admitting a liability. Recent, British apology therefore can best be called symbolic which only addresses the concerns of its MPs and not those who actually suffered.</p>
<p>There is little doubt that an incident like this can best be healed with time but there are many ways to heal a wound between nations. Mere words are certainly not one of them.</p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Rowlatt Act, 1919</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The act was officially known as the Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act, 1919 and was passed in March 1919 by the Imperial Legislative Council.</li>
<li>The act was passed as per recommendations of the Rowlatt Committee chaired by a judge, Sir Sidney Rowlatt.</li>
<li>This act authorized the government to imprison for a maximum period of two years, without trial, any person suspected of terrorism.</li>
<li>The act provided s speedy trial of the offenses by a special cell that consisted of 3 High Court Judges. There was no court of appeal above that panel.</li>
<li>This panel could also accept the evidences which were not even acceptable in the Indian Evidences Act.</li>
<li>It also placed severe restrictions on the freedom of the press.</li>
<li>The act was widely condemned by Indian leaders and the public. The bills came to be known as &lsquo;black bills&rsquo;.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><a href="/daily-news-editorials/impact-of-wwi-on-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read more...</a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/jallianwala-bagh-massacre'
	],
	(int) 2 => [
		'title' => 'New Human Ancestor Species Found',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>Scientists have identified a new human ancestor species previously unknown. It has been named as&nbsp;<strong>Homo luzonensis.<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1573032556_image13.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1573032556_image13.png" width="340" height="241" style="float: right;" caption="false" /></a></strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Homo luzonensis is classified as <strong>a separate species</strong> on the basis of 13 bones and teeth from two adults and one child found in a cave on the island of <strong>Luzon in the Philippines.</strong></li>
<li>Unlike Homo sapiens, whose premolar teeth generally have a single root, Homo luzonensis' premolars had two or three roots, similar to more primitive species such as Homo erectus, which lived in Africa and Asia between about 1.89 million and 143,000 years ago.</li>
<li>The Homo luzonensis <strong>were around 3-4ft tall</strong> and lived on the island of Luzon at least <strong>50,000 to 67,000 years ago.</strong></li>
<li>It is <strong>not a direct ancestor of modern day humans</strong>, but rather a distant ancient relative.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Significance</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The fossils have an<strong> unexpected mix of both ancient and more advanced traits of hominin</strong> (the group consisting of modern humans, extinct human species and all our immediate ancestors).</li>
<li>The<strong> teeth's small sizes and relatively simple shapes point to a more modern species.</strong> <strong>Foot bone resembles those of the ancient australopithecines.</strong></li>
<li>The discovery also adds to a growing body of evidence that <strong>human evolution is not as linear</strong> as was once thought.</li>
<li>There are some questions which are unanswered such as <strong>how the species arrived on the island and who its ancestors were.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ehV-MmuvVMU" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/new-human-ancestor-species-found'
	],
	(int) 3 => [
		'title' => 'Sudan’s President Ousted by Army',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p><strong>President Omar al-Bashir</strong>, who ruled <strong>Sudan for 30 years</strong>, was overthrown in a coup by the armed forces.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The president was forcefully removed after months of protest over rising costs of food and other necessities but the demands quickly widened for the removal of President Omar al-Bashir and his government.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Reasons for Ouster</h3>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1573032437_image20.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1573032437_image20.png" width="529" height="378" caption="false" style="float: right;" /></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Economic Hardships and Civil War</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Mr. Bashir presided over a<strong> 21-year war in southern Sudan.</strong></li>
<li>In 2011, following a referendum,<strong> South Sudan gained independence from Sudan.</strong> The referendum had been part of a peace deal agreed between Mr. Bashir and rebels from South Sudan.</li>
<li>However<strong>, the split had significant financial repercussions, because South Sudan gained 75% of Sudan&rsquo;s oil resources.</strong></li>
<li>Sudan's economy - which had already been strained by more than a decade of US sanctions - was hit hard.
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>US Sanctions:</strong> Sudan has suffered prolonged periods of isolation since 1993 when the United States added Bashir&rsquo;s government to its <strong>list of terrorism sponsors for harboring Islamist militants.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>In December 2018, the government of Sudan tried to prevent economic collapse, brought on by years of US sanctions and loss of oil revenue, with emergency austerity measures and a sharp currency devaluation.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Algeria&rsquo;s Influence</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Recently, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/president-of-algeria-resigns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Abdelaziz Bouteflika, president of Algeria has resigned</a> after remaining in power for more than two decades.</li>
<li>This increased the wave of protests throughout Sudan.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>ICC Charges</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Mr. Bashir has been indicted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague and is <strong>facing an arrest warrant over allegations of genocide in Sudan&rsquo;s Darfur region</strong> during an insurgency that began in 2003 and led to the death of an estimated 300,000 people.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>What Now?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Defence Minister of Sudan Awad<strong> Ibn Ouf has announced that the army would oversee a two-year transitional period followed by elections</strong> and that a three-month state of emergency was being put in place.</li>
<li>However, Protests are still continuing <strong>demanding for a civilian government in place of military rule.</strong></li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/sudans-president-ousted-by-army'
	],
	(int) 4 => [
		'title' => 'Important Facts For Prelims (12th April 2019)',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>New Genetic Method To Empower Conservation</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A team of scientists at<strong> Stanford University and the National Centre for Biological Sciences at India's Tata Institute of Fundamental Research</strong> have developed a method for extracting genetic information.</li>
<li>The new method is <strong>faster and cheap and collects information from degraded and left-behind materials,</strong> such as <strong>feces, skin or saliva, and from food products</strong> suspected of containing endangered animals.</li>
<li>This is significant as it will <strong>help wildlife conservationists aiming to protect endangered species,</strong> but they were unable to collect the DNA samples from rare and elusive animals.</li>
<li>The new method relies on <strong>identifying multiple, short portions of DNA segments in a single experiment (a multiplex PCR), followed by &lsquo;next-generation sequencing&rsquo;, in which multiple fragments of DNA can be decoded simultaneously, and several times, in an automated process.</strong></li>
<li>The team tested their method on Caribbean queen conches and tigers.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Multiplex polymerase chain reaction (Multiplex PCR)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Multiplex polymerase chain reaction refers to the use of polymerase chain reaction to amplify several different DNA sequences simultaneously.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Three-Person Baby</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A team of Greek and Spanish doctors has produced a baby (in Greece) using<strong> genetic material from two women and a man.</strong></li>
<li>The technique used is called as<strong> &lsquo;Maternal Spindle transfer&rsquo;</strong> in which maternal DNA is put into the egg of a donor woman, which is then fertilized using the father&rsquo;s sperm.</li>
<li>The procedure was developed to<strong> help existing IVF treatments in which mothers have mitochondrial diseases.</strong></li>
<li>The technique is considered controversial by some doctors.</li>
<li><strong>Mitochondrial diseases are long-term, genetic, often inherited disorders</strong> that occur when mitochondria fail to produce enough energy for the body to function properly.</li>
<li><strong>In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)</strong> is a medical procedure in which<strong> mature egg cells are removed from a woman, fertilized with male sperm outside the body, and inserted into the uterus</strong> of the same or another woman for normal gestation.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Bold Kurukshetra</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The<strong> 12th edition</strong> of joint military exercise between<strong> India and Singapore,</strong> BOLD KURUKSHETRA 2019 came to an end on 11th April 2019.</li>
<li>A closing ceremony for the same was held at the<strong> Babina Military Station, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh.</strong></li>
<li>The four-day long joint training focused on developing interoperability and conduct of joint tactical operations in mechanized warfare.</li>
<li>India and Singapore had signed a cooperation agreement in November 2017 to strengthen the defense ties between the Indian Military and Singapore Armed Forces. As per the agreement, the Singapore military would undergo training and participate in firing exercise with Indian counterpart.</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-12th-april-2019'
	],
	(int) 5 => [
		'title' => 'Special Leave Petition',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>Vedanta Ltd. has moved the Supreme Court (SC) with a Special Leave Petition (SLP) seeking interim access to undertake maintenance activities at its Sterlite Copper plant in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The plant was ordered shut after protests in May 2018.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Article 136 in the Constitution Of India&nbsp;</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Special leave to appeal by the Supreme Court:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>(1) Notwithstanding anything in this Chapter, the Supreme Court may, in its discretion, grant special leave to appeal from any judgment, decree, determination, sentence or order in any cause or matter passed or made by any court or tribunal in the territory of India.</li>
<li>(2) Nothing in clause ( 1 ) shall apply to any judgment, determination, sentence or order passed or made by any court or tribunal constituted by or under any law relating to the Armed Forces.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>In the case of any SLP , the SC has first to decide in its discretion whether it should grant or deny the requested Special Leave.</li>
<li>When discussing the SLP, it is important to understand its position with respect to the judgements of Inter-State Water Dispute (ISWD) Tribunal as well.</li>
<li>The Inter-State Water Disputes Act of 1956, coupled with Article 262 (2) of the Constitution, excludes the SC from hearing or deciding any appeals against the Inter-State Water Dispute (ISWD) Tribunal's decision.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>However, the reference to "any Court or tribunal in the territory of India," in Article 136 seems to bring the ISWD Tribunals within the purview of the Article.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The SC had also argued that the remedy under Article 136 (Special Leave Petition) is a constitutional right. Thus, the bar can be overcome through the possible routes under Articles 32, 131, and 136 of the Constitution.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Article 32 provides for constitutional remedies to get the rights protected through writs namely Habeas Corpus, Mandamus, Prohibition, Certiorari and Quo warranto.</li>
<li>Article 131 ( Original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court ) is about Centre-State or inter-State disputes in general.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/special-leave-petition'
	],
	(int) 6 => [
		'title' => 'BT Cotton in India - Problems and Solutions',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>This editorial is based on two articles &ldquo;White gold: How a revolution was reversed&rdquo; which appeared in Indian Express on 21st march, 2019 and &ldquo;Spinning the right yarn&rdquo; which appeared in Indian Express on 9th April, 2019. In this article we will see what are the results from the use of BT cotton in the Indian cotton sector.</p>
<p>In 2003-04, India was the world&rsquo;s third largest cotton producer and seventh biggest exporter of cotton in the world. Overall, India was a net importer of cotton.&nbsp;With the introduction of BT-cotton, India in a decade rose to become not only biggest producer of cotton bales but also the 2nd biggest exporter.</p>
<p>Can this transformation in cotton industry be solely attributed to the introduction of BT-Cotton? Before answering one must have to look what led to the introduction of Bt-cotton in India.</p>
<h3><strong>A brief history of cotton production in India:</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li>Before the advent of British in India, different varieties of cotton, indigenously developed over a long period of time, were grown in different parts of the country, each being suited to the local soil, water and climate.</li>
<li>However, labelling this variety of cotton as inferior, the British introduced Bourbon cotton in 1797, just to suit the needs of Lancashire mills. It resulted in neglect of the varieties of the cotton that were pest resistant, and resistant to the vagaries of weather, resulting in loss of traditional seed selection, manuring and cultivation practices of Indian cotton farming.</li>
<li>The new varieties of cotton, though profitable, were not able to resist the vagaries of weather, pest resistance. This continued even after Independence. To overcome the problem of pests such as ballworm, a lot of pesticide and insecticide were being used and to control this problem, Govt introduced BT-cotton in 2002.</li>
</ul>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%;">
<h3><b>A brief introduction of BT-COTTON</b></h3>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bt cotton is an insect-resistant transgenic crop designed to combat the bollworm. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bt cotton was created by genetically altering the cotton genome to express a microbial protein from the bacterium&nbsp;</span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bacillus thuringiensis</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">In short, the transgene inserted into the plant's genome produces toxin crystals that the plant would not normally produce which, when ingested by a certain population of organisms, dissolves the gut lining, leading to the organism's death.&nbsp;</span></li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p></p>
<p><strong></strong></p>
<p><strong><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/254bt cotton 1.PNG" /></strong></p>
<p><strong></strong></p>
<h3><strong>How Bt-cotton changed Indian cotton industry:</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li>A study conducted on 533 farm households between 2002 and 2008, who switched to BT-cotton has following findings:
<ul>
<li>Yield of plots planted with Bt cotton increased by 24% compared with conventional cotton plots. This translated to a 50% increase in profits.</li>
<li>During 2006&ndash;08, families who adopted Bt cotton spent 18% more money than conventional farming households, suggesting an increase in living standards. The benefits were due solely to reduced pest damage.</li>
<li>There was an initial reduction in insecticide use with Bt technology.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The introduction of Bt cotton led to a dramatic increase in production across the cotton producing states and soon Bt cotton took over most of the acreage under cotton cultivation. Cotton production rose from 14 million bales in the pre-Bt year of 2001-'02 to 39 million bales in 2014-'15, a rise of almost 180%. India&rsquo;s cotton imports fell, export grew and in 2015-16 have overtaken China as the biggest cotton producer in the world.</li>
<li>There was an expansion in crop area from 7.67 million hectares to 11.96 million hectares during this period.</li>
</ul>
<h3><strong>Change at what cost?</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li>What should be noted is farmers and food activists have been protesting for the past decade on various ground, some of which are as follows:
<ul>
<li>The seeds are more expensive than local, non-genetically modified varieties.</li>
<li>Seeds cannot be reused and farmers need to buy new stock for every growing season. This, along with licensing agreements with local seed companies, has given Monsanto a near monopoly on cotton seeds in India that has been the biggest worry for activists.</li>
<li>Diffusion of illegal Bt hybrids that hadn't been cleared for bio safety standards, leading to fears of environmental toxicity.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3><strong>An analysis of other cost involved:</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li>The introduction of hybrid Bt-cotton led to an initial reduction in insecticide use, but by 2012, insecticide use was at pre-2002 levels, and now targeted still newer induced secondary pests.</li>
<li>Resistance to insecticides and to Bt toxins was developing in pink bollworm and American bollworm: two pest which were running havoc on Indian cotton industry. This resulted in double jeopardy of insecticide and biotechnology to Indian farmers.</li>
</ul>
<p>Has Indian farmer benefitted at all ?</p>
<ul>
<li>Opinions are divided on this. Definitely big farmers and corporate sector have benefited from the introduction of Bt-cotton. But it is the middle and small farmers who have suffered a lot with Bt-cotton.
<ul>
<li>According to Rajya Sabha 301st committee report, the use of insecticides increased steeply both in value and quantity.</li>
<li>Farmers were forced to pay almost triple the price of regular seeds for Bt cotton seeds, increasing indebtedness and reliance on high yield.</li>
<li>This increase in indebtedness led to an increase in farmer suicides, in light of failure of crop yield.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Causes of indebtedness include:
<ul>
<li>Changes in cropping patterns caused due to development of plant resistance to pesticides and hence increased spending on pesticides.</li>
<li>A shift in the agrarian economy from low-cost food crops to high-cost cash crops along with a lack of access to institutional credit facilities.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%;">
<h3><strong>Why Bt-cotton is facing failure only in India?</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li>Even though Bollgard 2, or BG-2, Monsanto&rsquo;s second generation insecticidal technology for cotton, was supposed to protect crops against the pink bollworm, the pest has grown resistant to the toxins produced by this trait only in India.</li>
<li>The following reasons can be attributed for this:
<ul>
<li>It is often argued by scientists that Bt-cotton seeds are not suitable under Monsoon conditions.</li>
<li>Unlike other Cotton-growing countries where open-pollinated cotton varieties are grown, Indian cotton farmers only opt for hybrid varieties.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/172bt cotton 2.PNG" /></p>
<p></p>
<h3><strong>Way forward</strong></h3>
<ul>
<li>The solution is planting rainfed short season high density (SS-HD) cotton as developed at CICR, Nagpur, and other institutions &mdash; cotton that could double yields, avoid pink bollworm infestations and hence reduce insecticide use and obviate the need for Bt technology.</li>
<li>Further, in the era of globalization where indigenous varieties has become a tradition, witnessed in the ever increasing demand of muslin cloth, indigenous varieties should be promoted. Also, infrastructure should also be promoted for local weaving and spinning, along with creating demand through e-commerce.</li>
</ul>
<h3><strong>Conclusion </strong></h3>
<p>Without doubt Bt-cotton in India provided a lot of impetus to the Indian textile sector thus creating a lot of employment around, but the gains made were short term in nature, manifested in the recent upheaval in our agriculture sector. Now, it&rsquo;s time to move over to a better and equitable upgrade to Bt-cotton and perhaps resort back to indigenously grown cotton which would create equity for farmers and sustainability to environment.</p>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/bt-cotton-in-india-problems-and-solutions'
	],
	(int) 7 => [
		'title' => 'First Images of A Black Hole',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>The scientists at <strong>Event Horizon Telescope Project</strong> have released the first-ever image of a<strong> Black Hole</strong> (more precisely, of its shadow).</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The black hole is located in the center of <strong>galaxy Messier 87,</strong> in the <strong>constellation Virgo.</strong> It is located about <strong>53 million light -years away from earth.</strong></li>
<li>The black hole has a mass of <strong>6.5 billion Suns.</strong></li>
<li>The image was made possible by the <strong>Event horizon telescope (EHT).</strong></li>
<li>The <strong>EHT picks up the radiation emitted by particles</strong> in the galaxy heated to billion degrees as they revolve around the black hole close to the speed of light.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xsnjYC64RqA" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">What is a black hole?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The term &lsquo;black hole&rsquo; was coined in the mid-1960s by <strong>American Physicist John Archibald Wheeler.</strong></li>
<li>Black hole refers to a point in space where matter is so compressed as to <strong>create a gravity field from which even light cannot escape.</strong></li>
<li>Black-holes were<strong> theorized by Albert Einstein in 1915.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1573028361_Image1.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1573028361_Image1.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" caption="false" width="612" height="334" /></a></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Event Horizon</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There is a<strong> region of space beyond the black hole called the event horizon</strong>. This is a<strong> "point of no return",</strong> beyond which it is<strong> impossible to escape the gravitational effects of the black hole.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Event Horizon Telescope Project</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>EHT is a group of <strong>8 radio telescopes (used to detect radio waves from space)</strong> located in different parts of the world.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/first-images-of-a-black-hole'
	],
	(int) 8 => [
		'title' => 'State of World Population-2019: UNFPA',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>According to <strong>State of World Population-2019 report</strong> by the<strong> United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA),</strong> India&rsquo;s population grew at an average of 1.2% annually between 2010 and 2019 which is <strong>more than double the annual growth rate of China.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The release of report also <strong>marks 50 years of the UNFPA being established</strong> to support countries to<strong> bring down fertility levels.</strong></li>
<li>It also marks <strong>25 years of International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994,</strong> where 179 governments agreed on a rights-based approach to sexual and reproductive health to address population growth.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Reproductive health</strong> can be defined as a state of well-being related to one&rsquo;s sexual and reproductive life. It implies, <strong>&ldquo;that people are able to have a satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so&rdquo;.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Highlights</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>world&rsquo;s population rose to 7.715 billion in 2019, up from 7.633 billion in 2018,</strong> with the global average life expectancy of <strong>72 years.</strong></li>
<li>The <strong>least developed countries</strong> recorded the highest population growth, with countries in Africa registering an average of 2.7% a year.</li>
<li>Much of the overall increase in global population till 2050 is projected to occur in high fertility countries, mostly in Africa, or in countries with large populations, such as Nigeria and India.</li>
<li><strong>India&rsquo;s population grew at 1.2% a year</strong> between 2010 and 2019, <strong>marginally higher than the global average of 1.1%</strong> a year in this period.</li>
<li>Around half of India&rsquo;s population in 24 states have achieved the <strong>replacement fertility rates of 2.1 children per women</strong>, which is the desired family size when the population stops growing.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>However, the country&rsquo;s large youth population will continue to fuel population growth even as the size of the ageing population increases.</li>
<li><strong>Replacement level rate</strong> is the average number of children born per woman&mdash;<strong>at which a population exactly replaces itself from one generation to the next, without migration.</strong> This rate is roughly <strong>2.1 children per woman</strong> for most countries, although it may vary with mortality rates.</li>
<li>In India, the <strong>total fertility rate</strong> per woman declined from 5.6 in 1969 to 3.7 in 1994 and<strong> 2.3 in 2019.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>As of 2019, India&rsquo;s population stood at 1.36 billion, growing from 942.2 million in 1994 and 541.5 million in 1969.</li>
<li>27% of India&rsquo;s population was in the age bracket of 0-14 years and 10-24 years, while 67% of the country&rsquo;s population was in the 15-64 age bracket. <strong>6% of the country&rsquo;s population was of the age 65 and above.</strong></li>
<li>India registered an <strong>improvement in life expectancy at birth.</strong> The life expectancy at birth in 1969 was 47 years, growing to 60 years in 1994 and <strong>69 years in 2019.</strong></li>
<li>The findings on <strong>women aged between 15-49 years</strong> were published for <strong>the first time as part of United Nations Population Fund&rsquo;s (UNFPA) State of World Population 2019 report.</strong> It includes data on women&rsquo;s ability to make decisions over <strong>three key areas:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Sexual intercourse with their partner,</strong></li>
<li><strong>Contraception use and</strong></li>
<li><strong>Health care.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>According to the analysis, the absence of reproductive and sexual rights has major and negative repercussions on women&rsquo;s education, income and safety, leaving them &ldquo;unable to shape their own futures&rdquo;.</li>
<li>Early marriage continues to remain an obstacle to female empowerment and better reproductive rights.</li>
<li>The report highlights the threat to women&rsquo;s and girls&rsquo; reproductive rights posed by emergencies caused by conflict or climate disasters.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>United Nations Population Fund&nbsp;</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>UNFPA is the <strong>United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency.</strong> It was established as a trust fund in 1967 and began operations in 1969.</li>
<li>In <strong>1987, it was officially renamed the United Nations Population Fund</strong>. However, the original abbreviation, UNFPA (United Nations Fund for Population Activities), was retained.</li>
<li>The mandate of <strong>UNFPA is established by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).</strong></li>
<li>UNFPA is a <strong>subsidiary organ of the UN General Assembly.</strong></li>
<li>UNFPA is <strong>entirely supported by voluntary contributions</strong> of donor governments, intergovernmental organizations, the private sector, and foundations and individuals, <strong>NOT </strong>by the United Nations regular budget.</li>
<li>UNFPA works directly to tackle <strong>Sustainable Development Goal 3 on health, Goal 4 on education and Goal 5 on gender equality.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/state-of-world-population-2019-unfpa'
	],
	(int) 9 => [
		'title' => 'Important Facts For Prelims (11th April 2019)',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Law for Banning Sale of e-cigarettes</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Commerce Ministry has asked its Health Counterpart to frame a law for banning manufacture and sale of e-cigarettes in the country.</li>
<li>Earlier, the Health Ministry had asked the Commerce Ministry to issue a notification banning import of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS), including e-cigarettes and flavoured hookah.</li>
<li>Without banning domestic sale and manufacturing of ENDS through a law, ban on its import will amount to the infringement of global trade norms.</li>
<li>In August last year, <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/ban-on-e-cigarettes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the health ministry had issued an advisory</a> to all states and Union Territories (UTs) to stop the manufacture, sale and import of ENDS.</li>
<li>In March, the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/panel-finds-dosing-mismatches-in-many-fdcs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Central Drugs Standard Control Organization</a> also directed all drug controllers in states and UTs to not to allow the manufacture, sale, import and advertisement of ENDS, including e-cigarettes and flavoured hookah, in their jurisdictions.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>ENDS<strong> heat a solution (e-liquid) to create an aerosol</strong> which frequently contains flavourants, usually dissolved into Propylene Glycol or/and Glycerin.</li>
<li>Electronic cigarettes, the most common prototype, are devices <strong>that do not burn or use tobacco leaves but instead vaporise a solution</strong> so that a user can inhale. The main <strong>constituents</strong> of the solution, in addition to<strong> nicotine</strong>, are <strong>propylene glycol,</strong> with or without glycerol and <strong>flavouring agents. </strong></li>
<li>ENDS solutions and emissions also contain some other toxicant chemicals.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Global Financial Stability Report</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) is a <strong>semiannual report by the <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/international-monetary-fund-imf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">International Monetary Fund (IMF)</a></strong> that assesses the stability of global financial markets and emerging-market financing. It is <strong>released twice per year, in April and October.</strong></li>
<li>It draws out the financial ramifications of economic imbalances highlighted by the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/world-economic-outlook-2019-growth-slowdown-precarious-recovery-imf" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>IMF's World Economic Outlook.</strong></a></li>
<li>In addition to <strong>assessing the condition of worldwide markets,</strong> the GFSR also issues <strong>recommendations for central banks, policymakers and others who supervise global financial markets.</strong></li>
<li>The April 2019 Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) finds that despite significant variability over the past two quarters, financial conditions remain favourable.</li>
<li>The latest GFSR <strong>introduces a way to quantify vulnerabilities</strong> in the financial system, encompassing<strong> six sectors: corporates, households, governments, banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions.</strong></li>
<li>The report specifically focuses on corporate sector debt in advanced economies, the sovereign&ndash;financial sector nexus in the Euro area, China&rsquo;s financial imbalances, volatile portfolio flows to emerging markets, and downside risks to the housing market.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>However, the short-term risks to global financial stability are still low by historical standards, though they are slightly higher than what was <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-12th-october-2018" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>highlighted in October 2018 Global Financial Stability Report</strong> </a>. In the medium term, however, risks remain elevated.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>It recommends action by policymakers, including through the clear communication of any changes in their monetary policy outlook, the deployment and expansion of macroprudential tools, the stepping up of measures to repair public and private sector balance sheets, and the strengthening of emerging market resilience to foreign portfolio outflows.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Cloud Honeypots</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>According to a report by <strong>Sophos (an IT security company)</strong> "Exposed: Cyber attacks on Cloud Honeypots", over five million attacks were attempted on the global network of honeypots.</li>
<li>Cybercriminals attempted attacks on a <strong>Mumbai Cloud server honeypot more than 678,000 times in a mont</strong>h, which was second to Ohio in the US that recorded more than 950,000 login attempts.</li>
<li><strong>What is a Honey Pot?</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Honeypots are decoy systems providing hosts that have no authorized users other than the honeypot administrators, as they serve no business function.</strong></li>
<li>A honeypot is a system<strong> intended&nbsp;to mimic likely targets of cyberattackers</strong> for security researchers&nbsp;to monitor cybercriminal behavior.</li>
<li><strong>Honeypots are used to trap attackers into thinking that they have penetrated a network,</strong> allowing time for defenders to analyze their threat parameters and generate appropriate threat indicators to block an impending attack.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-11th-april-2019'
	],
	(int) 10 => [
		'title' => 'Electronic Voting Machine and Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>(This editorial is based on the article <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/technology-and-the-unhurried-mind/article26785466.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener">'Technology and the unhurried mind'</a> which appeared in 'The Hindu' on 10<sup>th</sup> April, 2019. The article talks about the recent controversy surrounding the tampering of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM). The article tries to examine the root of the problem.)</p>
</div>
<p>The recent order of the Supreme Court on increasing the existing Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) verification rate from one to five random Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) per Assembly constituency or segment, tries to reassure those sceptical about the integrity of counting by means of EVMs.</p>
<p>VVPAT slip verification reassures the voters that the EVM is indeed foolproof, over and above the technical and administrative safeguards that are already in place to prevent any tampering.</p>
<p>However the cynicism continues to remain, regarding the fallibility of EVMs and thus necessitates an in depth scrutiny to allay any apprehensions regarding the most important feature of a democratic polity- Elections.</p>
<h3>EVMs: As we know</h3>
<p>The Commission in December, 1977 mooted the idea of EVM to overcome certain problems associated with use of ballot papers and taking advantage of development of technology so that voters cast their votes correctly without any resultant ambiguity and removing the possibilities of invalid votes totally.</p>
<p>MB Haneefa invented the first Indian voting machine in 1980. It was first used in 1981 in the by-election to North Paravur Assembly Constituency of Kerala in 50 polling stations. The EVMs were commissioned in 1989 by Election Commission of India in collaboration with Bharat Electronics Limited and Electronics Corporation of India Limited.</p>
<p>The law was amended by the Parliament in December, 1988 and a new section 61A was inserted in the Representation of the People Act, 1951 empowering the Commission to use voting machines. The amended provision came into force with effect from 15th March, 1989.</p>
<h3>From Ballot to Machine</h3>
<p>Electronic Voting Machine was introduced in India <strong>to solve the problem of Ballot Box capturing and casting of false vote,</strong> which was a common scenario in India while using the Ballot Paper.</p>
<p>Another constraint of the pre-EVM era was the <strong>high proportion of invalid votes</strong>. Many people found it difficult to put the stamp in the allocated space.</p>
<p>In addition, <strong>the cost of paper ballots and the prolonged drudgery of the polling staff</strong> was an additional burden.</p>
<p>Hence, the Indian Parliament decided to use Electronic Voting Machine by Election Commission of India to Conduct General and State elections in India.</p>
<p>EVMs in India consists of a Ballot Unit, buttons in front of the name of respective Candidates or Political Parties, for the voters and a Control Unit which is operated by the booth&nbsp; officer.</p>
<p>Studies have been conducted which have shown that EVMs have reduced electoral fraud and re-polling due to electoral rigging, and made elections a safe affair, thereby enhancing voter turnout.</p>
<h3>The Controversy</h3>
<p>Electronic Voting Machines in the recent times in India have become the topic of debate. As there have been various reports on EVM came up, that <strong>it can be tampered easily</strong> and the votes of one political party or candidate can be easily transferred to another.</p>
<p>Many incidents have aroused which has made the public doubt the authenticity of EVMs such as <strong>technical glitches</strong> where EVMs have stopped responding and multiple people claiming that the system is <strong>hackable</strong>.</p>
<p>Countries like Germany, Ireland, U.S.A. and Italy which are more technologically sound than India have also have doubted the transparency of EVM machines from time to time and have even banned the use of these machines in there elections.</p>
<p>However, the Election Commission of India has repeatedly denied from time to time the possibility of tampering of EVMs and also have given reports on EVM can&rsquo;t be tampered and has also challenged publicly to temper the EVM for a prize.</p>
<h3>Measures to secure EVMs</h3>
<p><strong>Functional check:</strong> The machines are cleaned and earlier results are cleared. Switches, buttons, cables and latches are inspected for damage.</p>
<p><strong>Random check:</strong> A mock poll is conducted on 5% of the total number of EVMs to be used for a poll. About 1,000 votes are polled and the result printouts are shared with representatives of various political parties.</p>
<p><strong>Throwing the dice:</strong> EVMs are randomly placed in the constituencies and booths and it is difficult to know which machine is kept where. During the first, EVMs are allocated at random to a constituency. In the second round, they are randomised and allocated to a polling booth.</p>
<p><strong>A dry run:</strong> Before the start of the actual poll, a mock poll is conducted with at least 50 votes in the presence of candidates or their agents. The mock poll is then closed and the results are displayed. On poll day, various checks are conducted by polling agents, observers and central paramilitary forces.</p>
<p><strong>Safe and secure:</strong> EVMs are placed in their carrying cases and sealed. The machines are transported back to the reception centres under armed escort and kept in the strong room.</p>
<h3>Reclaiming the Faith</h3>
<p>Rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater, a couple of procedural changes will bring in credibility to the voting process.</p>
<p>The EC has already operationalised the voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) with an attached printer that provides a paper trail for those who have cast their votes.</p>
<p>At present, after casting the vote in EVMs, the printed paper is directly dropped in the box (the voter only has seven seconds to see this). Instead, the paper should be given to the voter who should then drop it in the ballot box. This was the procedure before the introduction of EVMs.</p>
<p>In the current system, to ask for a counting of ballots from the VVPAT, one has to move the courts. Instead, the ECI should introduce a new procedure wherein the manual counting of the printed ballots has to be done before announcing the result if the difference between the winner and the loser is less than, say, 10%, and the loser demands a recount.</p>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<p>In a democracy, there is perhaps nothing more important than the credibility of the electoral process therefore in a democracy, elections should not only be fair but should be seen to be fair. By shoring up its image and bringing in some more transparent reforms, the EC can restore faith in elections.</p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>VVPAT is an <strong>independent verification printer machine</strong> and is attached to electronic voting machines. It allows voters to verify if their vote has gone to the <strong>intended candidate</strong>.</li>
<li>When a voter presses a button in the EVM, a paper slip is <strong>printed through the VVPAT</strong>. The slip contains the <strong>poll symbol</strong> and <strong>name of the candidate</strong>. It allows the voter to verify his/her choice.</li>
<li>After being visible to the voter from a glass case in the <strong>VVPAT for seven seconds,</strong> the ballot slip will be cut and dropped into the <strong>drop box in the VVPAT</strong> machine and a beep will be heard.</li>
<li>VVPAT machines can be <strong>accessed by polling officers only</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/electronic-voting-machine-and-voter-verifiable-paper-audit-trail'
	],
	(int) 11 => [
		'title' => 'India Remained the Highest Recipient Of Remittances',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>According to the latest edition of the<strong><a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/world-bank-group" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> World Bank</a>&rsquo;s Migration and Development Brief,</strong> <strong>India</strong>&nbsp;has retained its position as the <strong>world&rsquo;s top recipient of <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/migration-and-remittances-the-gender-angle" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remittances</a></strong> with its diaspora sending a whopping $79 billion back home in 2018.</p>
<h3>Key Findings</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Increase in Remittances</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Remittances to low- and middle-income countries reached a record high in 2018.</li>
<li><strong>Global remittances,</strong> which also include flows to high-income countries, <strong>reached $689 billion in 2018</strong>, up from $633 billion in 2017.</li>
<li>The officially recorded annual remittance flows to<strong> low- and middle-income countries</strong> reached $529 billion in 2018, an<strong> increase of 9.6 %</strong> over the previous record high of $483 billion in 2017.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Regional Stats</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Growth</strong> in remittance inflows ranged from almost <strong>7% in East Asia</strong> <strong>and the Pacific</strong> to<strong> 12 %in South Asia.</strong></li>
<li>Remittances to South Asia grew 12% to $131 billion in 2018, outpacing the 6% growth in 2017.</li>
<li>The overall increase was driven by a <strong>stronger economy and employment situation in the United States</strong> and a rebound in <strong>outward flows</strong> from some <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-11th-december-2018" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)</a> countries and <strong>the Russian Federation.</strong></li>
<li><strong>In 2019</strong>, remittance flows to <strong>low- and middle-income countries</strong> are expected to reach<strong> $550 billion,</strong> to become their <strong>largest source of external financing.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Country-wise stats</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Among countries, <strong>the top remittance recipients were India with $79 billion</strong>, followed by China ($67 billion), Mexico ($36 billion), the Philippines ($34 billion), and Egypt ($29 billion).</li>
<li>In Pakistan, remittance growth was moderate (7%), due to significant declines in inflows from Saudi Arabia, its largest remittance source.</li>
<li>In Bangladesh, remittances showed a brisk uptick in 2018 (15%).</li>
<li>Remittances grew by <strong>more than 14% in India,</strong> where a<strong> flooding disaster in Kerala likely boosted the financial help</strong> that migrants sent to families. India received $62.7 billion in 2016 and $65.3 billion in 2017 from remittances.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>High Remittance Cost</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Global average cost of sending $200 remained high, at around<strong> 7% in the first quarter of 2019.</strong></li>
<li>Remittance costs across many African corridors and small islands in the Pacific in general remain above 10%.</li>
<li><strong>Banks</strong> were the <strong>most expensive remittance channels,</strong> charging an average fee of 11 percent in the first quarter of 2019. Post offices were the next most expensive, at over 7 percent.</li>
<li><strong>Reducing remittance costs to 3% by 2030</strong> is a global target under<strong> Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 10.7.</strong></li>
<li>Renegotiating exclusive partnerships and letting new players operate through national post offices, banks, and telecommunications companies will increase the competition and thus lower the remittance prices.&rdquo;</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>World Bank&rsquo;s Migration and Development Brief</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This is prepared by the <strong>Migration and Remittances Unit, Development Economics (DEC)</strong>- the premier research and data arm of the World Bank. .</li>
<li>The brief <strong>aims to provide an update on key developments in the area of <a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/migration-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">migration</a> and remittance flows</strong> and related policies over the past six months.</li>
<li>It also provides medium-term projections of remittance flows to developing countries..</li>
<li>The brief is<strong> produced twice a year.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Remittances</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Remittances are usually understood as <strong>financial or in-kind transfers made by migrants to friends and relatives back in communities of origin.</strong></li>
<li>These are basically sum of two main components - <strong>Personal Transfers</strong> in cash or in kind between resident and non-resident households and <strong>Compensation of Employees,</strong> which refers to the income of workers who work in another country for a limited period of time.</li>
<li>Remittances help in stimulating economic development in recipient countries, but this can also make such countries over-reliant on them.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/india-remained-the-highest-recipient-of-remittances'
	],
	(int) 12 => [
		'title' => 'Meteorite Sheds Light on the Sun’s Infant Years',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>By analyzing a piece of meteorite found in Kazakhstan in 1962, researchers have envisaged how the Sun behaved in its infancy.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Findings</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Researchers found that <strong>during initial years Sun was able to generate superflares</strong> which were a million times stronger than the strongest solar flare ever recorded at the 1859 Carrington event.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>solar storm of 1859 (also known as the Carrington Event)</strong> was a powerful geomagnetic storm during solar cycle 10 (1855&ndash;1867).</li>
<li>A <strong>solar flare is a sudden flash of increased brightness on the Sun,</strong> sometimes they are also accompanied by a<strong> coronal mass ejection.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Such superflares must have taken place 4.5 billion years ago when the Sun was barely forming.</li>
<li>Researchers also inferred that irradiation by such superflares from the Sun is the <strong>sources of elements like beryllium-7.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Among the first-formed solids of the solar system were the calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAI).</strong> The CAIs are nearly 4.5 billion years old.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Terms Related to Rocks of Space</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Asteroid:</strong> These rocks are generally<strong> found between Mars and Jupiter</strong> in an orbit called the <strong>asteroid belt.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>These are usually <strong>the fragments of a planet</strong> that never came together.</li>
<li>Sometimes asteroids after being ejected from the main belt, intersect earth orbits.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Comet:</strong> It is a<strong> chunk of ice and rock originating from the outer solar system.</strong> Some of them occasionally get gravitationally pulled towards the inner solar system, with the possibility of hitting Earth.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>When passing close to the Sun, <strong>the comet warms and begins to release gases, a process called outgassing. </strong></li>
<li>This produces a <strong>visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Meteoroid:</strong> <strong>a space rock that&rsquo;s bigger than a dust grain but smaller than an asteroid.</strong> The dividing line between asteroid and meteoroid is fuzzy, but generally, space rocks bigger than boulders are asteroids and smaller ones are meteoroids.</li>
<li><strong>Meteor:</strong> <strong>The streak of light seen when a space rock &mdash; an asteroid or a comet &mdash; enters the earth&rsquo;s atmosphere and starts burning up.</strong> It&rsquo;s the scientific synonym for &ldquo;shooting star.&rdquo;</li>
<li><strong>Meteorite:</strong> If a meteor doesn&rsquo;t entirely burn up, a piece of <strong>space rock that lands on Earth</strong> are called a meteorite.</li>
<li><strong>Bolide:</strong> astronomers use the term to describe a b<strong>right fireball from an incoming meteor;</strong> geologists use it as a catch-all term for a comet or an asteroid that hits the Earth.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Coronal Mass Ejection</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A coronal mass ejection (CME) is a <strong>significant release of plasma and accompanying magnetic field from the solar corona.</strong> They are <strong>often followed by solar flares.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Solar Flares on reaching earth causes spectacular light</strong> shows by interacting with the earth&rsquo;s magnetic field called Aurora&rsquo;s.</li>
<li><strong>Solar Flares can also disrupt</strong> radio transmission and harm satellites in orbit.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/meteorite-sheds-light-on-the-suns-infant-years'
	],
	(int) 13 => [
		'title' => 'Data Protection Law in the United States',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>The U.S. government is bringing a law which could<strong> allow people to see or prohibit the use of their data by tech firms.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This will be the <strong>first of its kind data protection law in the US</strong> at the national level.</li>
<li>The new law will <strong>control the ability of the largest technology companies to collect and make money off people's personal data</strong>. Companies would need permission to release such information.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Necessity for Such Law</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The need for such a law was felt due to <strong>rising concern over the compromise of private data held by Facebook, Google,</strong> and other information technology (IT) giants.</li>
<li>In the US, the<strong> IT industry has been lightly regulated and has resisted closer oversight</strong> as a threat to its culture of free-wheeling innovation.</li>
<li>Support for privacy law is part of a<strong> broader effort by regulators and lawmakers to lessen the domination of companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon.</strong></li>
<li>Recently, the US state of California also enacted data privacy law. The law allows<strong> California citizens to see the personal data being collected on them and where it's being distributed and to forbid the sale of it.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>With some exceptions, consumers could also request that their personal information be deleted entirely.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>&lsquo;GAFA&rsquo; tax plan</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>France parliament has approved a <strong>new tax on digital giants such as Facebook and Apple.</strong></li>
<li>The legislation, called as &ldquo;GAFA&rdquo; after Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple, comes amid <strong>rising public outrage at the minimal tax paid by some of the world&rsquo;s richest firms.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>India and Data Privacy</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Recently, <strong>India has also enforced<a href="/to-the-points/paper3/Data-Localisation" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Data Localisation</a> norms&nbsp;<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/payment-firms-begins-process-of-data-localisation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">for Payment firms.</a></strong></li>
<li>To address the issue of the protection of data the government of India has formed the<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/justice-bn-srikrishna-committee-submits-data-protection-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> BN Srikrishna Committee</strong></a> and has also brought Data Protection Bill 2018. Highlights of which are:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>all personal data to which the law applies must have at least one serving copy stored in India</li>
<li>personal data critical to national interest must be stored and processed only in India</li>
<li>the Centre will have the power to exempt transfers on the basis of strategic or practical considerations.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/data-protection-law-in-the-united-states'
	],
	(int) 14 => [
		'title' => 'Cyber Security',
		'catname' => 'Paper 3',
		'desc' => '<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/514Drishti_ias_Cyber_Security.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/514Drishti_ias_Cyber_Security.jpg" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/mind-map/gs-paper3/cyber-security-mind-map'
	],
	(int) 15 => [
		'title' => 'Cyber Security',
		'catname' => 'Paper 3',
		'desc' => '<p>According to EY&rsquo;s latest Global Information Security Survey (GISS) 2018-19 &ndash; India edition, one of the highest number of cyber threats have been detected in India, and the country ranks second in terms of targeted attacks. Although Banking and Telecom are the most attacked sectors but Manufacturing, Healthcare, and Retail have also faced a significant number of cyber attacks.</p>
<h3>Cyber Security</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Cyber Security</strong> is protecting cyber space including critical information infrastructure from attack, damage, misuse and economic espionage.</li>
<li><strong>Cyber Space:</strong> A global domain within the information environment consisting of the interdependent network of information technology infrastructures, including the Internet, telecommunications networks, computer systems, and embedded processors and controllers.</li>
<li><strong>Critical Information Infrastructure:</strong> According to Section 70(1) of the <strong>Information Technology Act,</strong> CII is defined as a &ldquo;computer resource, the incapacitation or destruction of which, shall have debilitating impact on national security, economy, public health or safety&rdquo;.</li>
<li><strong>Cyber Attack:</strong> It is a malicious and deliberate attempt by an individual or organization to breach the information system of another individual or organization.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Motives behind Cyber Attacks</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>To seek commercial gain by hacking banks and financial institutions.</li>
<li>To attack critical assets of a nation.</li>
<li>To penetrate into both corporate and military data servers to obtain plans and intelligence.</li>
<li>To hack sites to virally communicate a message for some specific campaign related to politics and society.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Types of Cyber Attacks</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Malware,</strong> short for malicious software refers to any kind of software that is designed to cause damage to a single computer, server, or computer network. Ransomware, Spy ware, Worms, viruses, and Trojans are all varieties of malware.</li>
<li><strong>Phishing:</strong> It is the method of trying to gather personal information using deceptive e-mails and websites.</li>
<li><strong>Denial of Service attacks:</strong> A Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack is an attack meant to shut down a machine or network, making it inaccessible to its intended users. DoS attacks accomplish this by flooding the target with traffic, or sending it information that triggers a crash.</li>
<li><strong>Man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks,</strong> also known as eavesdropping attacks, occur when attackers insert themselves into a two-party transaction. Once the attackers interrupt the traffic, they can filter and steal data.</li>
<li><strong>SQL Injection:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>SQL (pronounced &ldquo;sequel&rdquo;) stands for Structured Query Language, a programming language used to communicate with databases.</li>
<li>Many of the servers that store critical data for websites and services use SQL to manage the data in their databases.</li>
<li>A SQL injection attack specifically targets such kind of servers, using malicious code to get the server to divulge information it normally wouldn&rsquo;t.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Cross-Site Scripting (XSS):</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Similar to an SQL injection attack, this attack also involves injecting malicious code into a website, but in this case the website itself is not being attacked.</li>
<li>Instead the malicious code the attacker has injected, only runs in the user's browser when they visit the attacked website, and it goes after the visitor directly, not the website.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Social engineering</strong> is an attack that relies on human interaction to trick users into breaking security procedures in order to gain sensitive information that is typically protected.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Latest Cases</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>WannaCry</strong>: It was a ransomware attack that spread rapidly in May, 2017. The ransomware locked users&rsquo; devices and prevented them from accessing data and software until a certain ransom was paid to the criminals. Top five cities in India (Kolkata, Delhi, Bhubaneswar, Pune and Mumbai) got impacted due to it.</li>
<li><strong>Mirai Botnet:</strong> Mirai is malware that infects smart devices that run on ARC processors, turning them into a network of remotely controlled bots or zombies. This network of bots, called a botnet, is often used to launch Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. In September 2016, Mirai malware launched a DDoS attack on the website of a well-known security expert.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Components of Cyber Security</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Application Security:</strong> It encompasses measures or counter-measures that are taken during an application&rsquo;s development process to protect it from threats that can come through flaws in the app design, development, deployment, upgrade or maintenance.</li>
<li><strong>Information security:</strong> It is related to the protection of information from an unauthorized access to avoid identity theft and to protect privacy.</li>
<li><strong>Network Security:</strong> It includes activities to protect the usability, reliability, integrity and safety of the network.</li>
<li><strong>Disaster Recovery Planning:</strong> It is a process that includes performing risk assessment, establishing priorities, developing recovery strategies in case of an attack.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Need for Cyber Security</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>For Individuals:</strong> Photos, videos and other personal information shared by an individual on social networking sites can be inappropriately used by others, leading to serious and even life-threatening incidents.</li>
<li><strong>For Business Organizations:</strong> Companies have a lot of data and information on their systems. A cyber attack may lead to loss of competitive information (such as patents or original work), loss of employees/customers private data resulting into complete loss of public trust on the integrity of the organization.</li>
<li><strong>For Government:</strong> A local, state or central government maintains huge amount of confidential data related to country (geographical, military strategic assets etc.) and citizens. Unauthorized access to the data can lead to serious threats on a country.</li>
</ul>
<h3>International Mechanisms:</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>International Telecommunication Union (ITU)</strong> is a specialized agency within the United Nations which plays a leading role in the standardization and development of telecommunications and cyber security issues.</li>
<li><strong>Budapest Convention on Cybercrime:</strong> It is an international treaty that seeks to address Internet and computer crime (cybercrime) by harmonizing national laws, improving investigative techniques, and increasing cooperation among nations. It came into force on 1 July 2004. <strong>India is not a signatory to this convention.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Internet Governance Forum (IGF):</strong> It brings together all stakeholders i.e. government, private sector and civil society on the Internet governance debate. It was first convened in October&ndash;November 2006.</li>
<li><strong>Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN):</strong> It is a non-profit organization responsible for coordinating the maintenance and procedures of several databases related to the namespaces and numerical spaces of the Internet, ensuring the network's stable and secure operation. It has its headquarters in Los Angeles, U.S.A.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Laws related to Cyber Security in India</h3>
<p><strong>Information Technology Act, 2000</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The act regulates use of computers, computer systems, computer networks and also data and information in electronic format.</li>
<li>The act lists down among other things, following as offences:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Tampering with computer source documents.</li>
<li>Hacking with computer system</li>
<li>Act of cyber terrorism i.e. accessing a protected system with the intention of threatening the unity, integrity, sovereignty or security of country.</li>
<li>Cheating using computer resource etc.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Strategies under National Cyber Policy, 2013</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Creating a secure cyber ecosystem.</li>
<li>Creating mechanisms for security threats and responses to the same through national systems and processes. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>National Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-in) functions as the nodal agency for coordination of all cyber security efforts, emergency responses, and crisis management.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Securing e-governance by implementing global best practices, and wider use of Public Key Infrastructure.</li>
<li>Protection and resilience of critical information infrastructure with the <strong>National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre</strong> (NCIIPC) operating as the nodal agency. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>NCIIPC has been created under Information Technology Act, 2000 to secure India&rsquo;s critical information infrastructure. It is based in New Delhi.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Promoting cutting edge research and development of cyber security technology.</li>
<li>Human Resource Development through education and training programs to build capacity.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Challenges</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Increased use of mobile technology and internet by people.</li>
<li>Proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) and lack of proper security infrastructure in some devices.</li>
<li>Cyberspace has inherent vulnerabilities that cannot be removed.</li>
<li>Internet technology makes it relatively easy to misdirect attribution to other parties.</li>
<li>It is generally seen that attack technology outpaces defence technology.</li>
<li>Lack of awareness on Cyber security.</li>
<li>Lack of Cyber security specialists.</li>
<li>Increased use of cyberspace by terrorists.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Recent Steps taken by Government</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Cyber Surakshit Bharat Initiative:</strong> It was launched in 2018 with an aim to spread awareness about cybercrime and building capacity for safety measures for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT staff across all government departments.</li>
<li><strong>National Cyber security Coordination Centre (NCCC):</strong> In 2017, the NCCC was developed. Its mandate is to scan internet traffic and communication metadata (which are little snippets of information hidden inside each communication) coming into the country to detect real-time cyber threats.</li>
<li><strong>Cyber Swachhta Kendra:</strong> In 2017, this platform was introduced for internet users to clean their computers and devices by wiping out viruses and malware.</li>
<li>Training of 1.14 Lakh persons through 52 institutions under the <strong>Information Security Education and Awareness Project (ISEA)</strong> &ndash; a project to raise awareness and to provide research, education and training in the field of Information Security.</li>
<li><strong>International cooperation:</strong> Looking forward to becoming a secure cyber ecosystem, India has joined hands with several developed countries like the United States, Singapore, Japan, etc. These agreements will help India to challenge even more sophisticated cyber threats.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Real-time intelligence is required for preventing and containing cyber attacks.</li>
<li>Periodical &lsquo;Backup of Data&rsquo; is a solution to ransomware.</li>
<li>Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) for predicting and accurately identifying attacks.</li>
<li>Using the knowledge gained from actual attacks that have already taken place in building effective and pragmatic defence.</li>
<li>Increased awareness about cyber threats for which digital literacy is required first.</li>
<li>India needs to secure its computing environment and IoT with current tools, patches, updates and best known methods in a timely manner.</li>
<li>The need of the hour for Indian government is to develop core skills in cyber security, data integrity and data security fields while also setting stringent cyber security standards to protect banks and financial institutions.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/308Drishti_ias_Cyber_Security.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/308Drishti_ias_Cyber_Security.jpg" /></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/to-the-points/paper3/cyber-security'
	],
	(int) 16 => [
		'title' => 'Xaxa Committee on Tribal Communities of India',
		'catname' => 'Summary of Important Reports',
		'desc' => '<p>The Indian State must aim to ensure that all sections of society share in the economic and social prosperity of the country. It is widely acknowledged that a large section of the Indian population, especially the tribal communities, have not received the full benefits of development processes undertaken over the past six decades and adversely affected by the developmental projects undertaken during this period.</p>
<p>Accordingly, the Prime Minister&rsquo;s Office constituted a High-Level Committee (HLC) in 2013, under <strong>chairmanship of Prof. Virginius Xaxa</strong>.</p>
<p>The Committee was mandated to examine the socio-economic, educational and health status of tribal communities and recommend appropriate interventional measures to improve the same. It submitted report in May, 2014.</p>
<h2>Introduction</h2>
<h3>Schedule Tribes</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The tribal population in India, though a numerically small minority, represents an enormous diversity of groups.</li>
<li>They vary among themselves in respect of language and linguistic traits, ecological settings in which they live, physical features, size of the population, the extent of acculturation, dominant modes of making a livelihood, level of development and social stratification.</li>
<li>While tribes have a distinct culture and history, they also <strong>share commonalities with other marginalised sections</strong> of Indian society, such as the lack of adequate political representation, economic deprivation and cultural discrimination.</li>
<li>However, tribal society must be appreciated and it must be recognised that non-tribal people have much to learn from the richness of tribal cultures and systems of knowledge.</li>
<li><strong>The category of 'tribe'</strong> entails a social and cultural dimension <strong>but the Scheduled Tribe</strong> category has politico-administrative implications.</li>
<li><strong>A majority of the Scheduled Tribe population</strong> is concentrated in the eastern, central and western belt covering the <strong>nine States</strong> of Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.</li>
<li><strong>About 12 per cent inhabit the North-eastern region,</strong> about five per cent in the Southern region and about three per cent in the Northern States.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Political &amp; Administrative History</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Tribal rebellions in the nineteenth century resulted in British policy of exclusion of Tribal areas from the operation of general laws.</li>
<li><strong>Regulation XIII of 1833</strong> created <strong>Non-Regulation Provinces</strong> and were to be governed by special rules for civil and criminal justice, collection of land revenue, and so on. It introduced a new system of administration in Singhbhum area.</li>
<li>In the Northeast region, the British put in force <strong>the Inner Line Regulation in 1873,</strong> as the point beyond which general laws for the colony would not be applicable and entry of <strong>subjects living outside the area was strictly prohibited</strong>.</li>
<li>As per Government of India Act, 1919, Governor General was exclusively responsible for law and administration and could act through local officials.</li>
<li>According to The Government of India Act, 1935, the Governor could determine policy directly or through his agents in the tribal areas.</li>
<li>Post independence, groups and communities identified and enumerated as tribes during British rule came to be re-classified as <strong>Scheduled Tribes</strong> after the Constitution (Article 342) was adopted in 1950.</li>
<li>Areas where Schedule Tribes are numerically dominant, two distinct administrative arrangements have been provided for them in the Constitution in the form of the <strong>Fifth</strong> and <strong>Sixth Schedules</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>5th Scheduled Areas</strong> under the Constitution is &ldquo;such areas as the <strong>President may by order declare</strong> to be Scheduled Areas&rdquo;. <strong>At present, 10 States</strong> namely Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana have Fifth Schedule Areas.</li>
<li>The provisions of the Fifth Schedule have seen further legal and administrative reinforcement in the form of <strong>Provisions of Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996</strong> for more democratisation.</li>
<li>The <strong>Sixth Schedule</strong> areas are some of the areas which were &lsquo;excluded&rsquo; until the Government of India Act, 1935 in the erstwhile Assam and other tribal-dominant areas which became separate States.</li>
<li>These areas (6th schedule) have also been given special provisions under <strong>Part XXI</strong> of the Constitution.</li>
<li><strong>Removal of Area Restrictions (Amendment) Act 1976</strong> removed area restrictions on the recognition of Scheduled Tribes, making lists applicable to entire States rather than blocks and districts within States.</li>
<li>Areas where Schedule Tribes are a <strong>numerical minority,</strong> they are a part of the general administrative structure of the country. Certain rights have accrued to Scheduled Tribes across the country <strong>through reservations</strong> in educational institutions and government employment.</li>
<li>Parliament and state legislatures are also empowered to create <strong>tribal autonomous regions</strong> out of ambit of 5th &amp; 6th Schedules. For example &ndash; <strong>Leh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil Autonomous Hill Development Council, Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council</strong>.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Defining Schedule Tribes &amp; various committees</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>As per Census-1931, Schedule tribes are termed as "backward tribes&rdquo; living in the "Excluded" and "Partially Excluded" areas. The Government of India Act of 1935 called for the first time for representatives of "backward tribes" in provincial assemblies.</li>
<li><strong>The Constitution does not define</strong> the criteria for recognition of Scheduled Tribes and hence the definition contained in 1931 Census was used in initial years after independence.</li>
<li>However, Article 366(25) of the Constitution <strong>only provides process to define</strong> Scheduled Tribes: &ldquo;Scheduled Tribes means such tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within such tribes or tribal communities as are deemed under Article 342 to be Scheduled Tribes for the purposes of this Constitution.&rdquo;</li>
<li>The first Backward Classes Commission (<strong>Kaka Kalelkar Commission,</strong> 1953) appointed by the President of India under Article 340, defined Scheduled Tribes as &ldquo;They lead a separate exclusive existence and are not fully assimilated in the main body of the people. They may belong to any religion.&rdquo;</li>
<li><strong>Elwin Committee (1959)</strong> was constituted to examine the functioning of Multi-Purpose Development Blocks, the basic administrative unit for all tribal development programmes.</li>
<li><strong>U.N. Dhebar Commission</strong>, constituted in 1960 to address the overall situation of tribal groups, including the issue of land alienation in tribal areas.</li>
<li><strong>The Lokur Committee (1965)</strong> was set up to look into criteria for defining Schedule Tribes. The Committee recommended <strong>five criteria</strong> for identification, namely, <strong>primitive traits, distinct culture, geographical isolation, shyness of contact</strong> with the community at large, and <strong>backwardness</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>The Shilu Ao committee, 1966,</strong> like the Elwin committee, addressed the issue of tribal development and welfare.</li>
<li><strong>Tribal Sub-Plan approach</strong> of the government emerged on the recommendations of several committees constituted during 1970s.</li>
<li><strong>The Bhuria Committee (1991)</strong> recommendations paved the way for the enactment of the <strong>PESA Act, 1996</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>Bhuria Commission (2002-2004)</strong> focused on a wide range of issues from the Fifth Schedule to tribal land and forests, health and education, the working of Panchayats and the status of tribal women.</li>
<li><strong>Bandopadhyay Committee (2006)</strong> looked at development and governance in Left-Wing Extremist areas.</li>
<li><strong>Mungekar Committee (2005)</strong> examined issues of administration and governance.</li>
<li>The issues that the above mentioned Committees have dealt with fall broadly into two categories: <strong>development and protection</strong>. And yet, on both these issues, the outcome for tribal communities has been mixed.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Study &amp; Analysis</h3>
<p>The <strong>five critical issues:</strong> (1) livelihood and employment, (2) education, (3) health, (4) involuntary displacement and migration, (5) and legal and constitutional matters have been studied by <strong>Xaxa Committee</strong>.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Of the five issues, first three are concerned with issues that have been at the root of <strong>the post-colonial State&rsquo;s development agenda for tribes:</strong> livelihood and employment, education and health.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Substantial resources have been allocated specifically for tribes in all these spheres, and special programmes and schemes have also been formulated to address problems on these fronts, beginning from the first phase of India&rsquo;s planned development.</li>
<li>And yet the status of tribes in these spheres continues to be one of the critical gaps in India&rsquo;s road to development. This also raises the question of institutions and systems for delivery of public goods and services.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Massive development displacement:</strong> As a part of the faulty nation-building process, tribal areas have witnessed the large-scale development of industry, mining, infrastructure projects such as roads and railways, hydraulic projects such as dams and irrigation.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>These have been followed by processes of urbanization as well.</li>
<li>It has been often loss of livelihood, massive displacement and involuntary migration of tribes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Another important issue analysed by the Committee is the <strong>working of legislations</strong>.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Provisions of Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA), 1996 and The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act (FRA), 2006, enacted to redress the historical injustice to tribal and forest communities, have been significant initiatives that <strong>have changed their legal status</strong>.</li>
<li>However, <strong>policies and practices</strong> have been <strong>slow</strong> to absorb the <strong>changed circumstances recognised in the law</strong>.</li>
<li>These legislations and their violations have been examined for future amendment.</li>
<li>Subjects such as land acquisition, food security, detention and imprisonment, the status of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) and De-notified Tribes, have also been highlighted.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Other observations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In one of the discourses, the overall condition of tribal people, including their poverty, is attributed to <strong>their social and geographical isolation</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>Verrier Elwin</strong> attributed their deplorable and impoverished condition to their contact with the outside world, which had led to indebtedness and loss of control over their land and forests. <strong>(Verrier Elwin (1902 &ndash; 1964) was a British self-trained anthropologist, ethnologist and tribal activist.)</strong></li>
<li><strong>Integration and Development:</strong> The nationalist leadership recognized both of these dimensions (social and geographical isolation) and addressed them. The provisions enshrined for Scheduled Tribes in the Indian Constitution are a testimony to this <strong>dual approach</strong>.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It provides for development as well as for safeguarding and protection of their interests.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>However, what the State is actually pursuing for tribals is assimilation rather than integration, contrary to what is claimed (development as well as for safeguarding and protection of their interests).</li>
<li><strong>A policy of integration</strong> would provide space for protections and safeguards for their distinct identity, as enshrined in the Constitution.</li>
<li>There is also argument for <strong>inadequate resource allocation</strong> for tribal development.</li>
<li><strong>Poor implementation of programmes</strong> is offered as another explanation for the issue of lack of social development among tribes.</li>
<li>Another arguments regarding poor development of the tribal populations is built around the <strong>issue of the traditional socio-cultural aspects of tribal life</strong>.</li>
<li>For example, education in the regional language is usually familiar to the general population, including the Scheduled Castes, but this is not the case in the tribal context.</li>
<li>Thus, there is a need to re-orient development in tune with the tribal culture and to adopt a more humane approach to tribal development.</li>
</ul>
<p>Beyond the concerns of inadequate resource allocation, ineffective implementation or tribal traditions, there is <strong>needed to engage with the larger question of national and regional development</strong>.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The appropriation of tribal land and forests began during colonial rule and has continued to the present. Since tribal-inhabited regions are rich in mineral, forest and water resources, large-scale development projects invariably came to be located in tribal areas.</li>
<li>States of Jharkhand and Odisha, which have considerable natural resources, but also the highest percentages of tribal people living below the poverty line.</li>
<li>In 2004&ndash;05, the proportion of tribal people living below poverty line stood at 54.2 per cent in Jharkhand while the percentage was as high as 75.6 per cent in Odisha in the same year.</li>
<li><strong>Overcoming tribal &lsquo;isolation&rsquo; through large-scale mining,</strong> industrial and infrastructure projects, as these States have witnessed, has clearly not resolved the problem of poor development indicators. Rather, these have led to <strong>further impoverishment and vulnerability</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>The model of development</strong> imposed on tribals has been questioned. Massive push to this development agenda with economic liberalisation and the entry of private corporations into tribal areas, has been met with considerable resistance by tribal communities.</li>
<li><strong>Laws and rules</strong> that provide protection to tribes are being routinely manipulated and subverted to accommodate corporate interests.</li>
<li><strong>Violence:</strong> Tribal protests are being met with violence by the State&rsquo;s paramilitary forces and the private security staff of corporations involved.</li>
<li>These dismal situations have paved the way for Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) in tribal areas.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Left-Wing Extremism (LWE)</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Of the nine States considered to be seriously affected by LWE, six are States with Scheduled districts.</li>
<li>Among the 83 LWE-affected districts, 42 districts have Scheduled Areas.</li>
<li>These regions are marked by the following features
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Serious neglect and deprivation, widespread poverty and poor health and educational status;</li>
<li>Exploitation and oppression by traders and money lenders, on the one hand, and absence of an effective and sensitive civil administration, on the other;</li>
<li>Large-scale displacement of tribal people for development projects;</li>
<li>Occurrence of all of the above despite the special Constitutional and legal provisions for the tribal people (in the form of the Fifth Schedule, laws to prevent alienation of tribal land and restoration of alienated lands, and in recent years, progressive legislations, such as PESA, 1996 and FRA, 2006).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>3 Perspectives through which LWE in the region is viewed:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The first view sees it primarily as a <strong>national security problem</strong> to be addressed militarily. This approach will result in the further alienation of tribal communities, widen the trust deficit between the State and the people, and strengthen the Maoists.</li>
<li>The second perspective notes the <strong>overlap between Maoist strongholds and tribal areas</strong> with dismal development indices and views more development as the only solution.</li>
<li>The third, a combination of the above two, <strong>combines a military approach to secure the area with a focus on establishment</strong> of better public infrastructure.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>However, there should be <strong>a fourth perspective</strong> based on the explicit recognition that there has been <strong>subversion of the law by both government and corporations in order to appropriate tribal resources,</strong> and that this situation needs to be rectified.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It acknowledges that <strong>State failures</strong> and the <strong>trust deficit</strong> have facilitated the entry of the Maoists into these areas and helped them gain some support among the people, particularly Dalits and adivasis.</li>
<li>Any solution, therefore, should <strong>begin with confidence-building measures</strong> through the redress of past wrongs and the guarantee of justice.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>The Committee formulated thematic sections based on various socio-economic parameters:</p>
<ol>
<li>Geographical and Demographic Profile</li>
<li>Tribes: Legal and Administrative Framework</li>
<li>Livelihoods and Employment Status</li>
<li>Education</li>
<li>Health</li>
<li>Land Alienation, Displacement and Enforced Migration</li>
<li>Legal and Constitutional Issues</li>
<li>Delivery of Public Goods and Services</li>
</ol>
<h2>1. Geographical and Demographic Profile</h2>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Census of 2011:</strong> Total population of Scheduled Tribes is 10,42,81,034 persons, constituting 8.6 per cent of the population of India.</li>
<li><strong>Draft National Tribal Policy, 2006</strong> records<strong> 698 Scheduled Tribes</strong> in India. As per the <strong>Census of India 2011,</strong> the number of individual groups notified as Scheduled Tribes is 705.</li>
<li>The five broad regional groupings of tribes: <strong>Himalayan Region</strong> (a) North-eastern Himalayan region, (b) Central Himalayan region, and (c) North-Western Himalayan region), <strong>Middle Region&nbsp;</strong>(Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh where more than 55 per cent tribal people of India live), <strong>Western Region&nbsp;</strong>(Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli), <strong>Southern region&nbsp;</strong>(Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala), <strong>Island Region&nbsp;</strong>(Andaman and Nicobar in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea).</li>
<li><strong>Northeast</strong> is often viewed as a singular and homogeneous entity, the region is highly diverse with over 200 tribes and sub-tribes, each of which have their own language, culture and political structures.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Northeast differs from tribes in other parts of India, particularly in terms of their <strong>historical relationship with the colonial and Indian State</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The Islands are administered as a Union Territory under the Central Government and are home to some of the smallest tribes such as the Great Andamanese, Onge, Jarawa and the Sentinelese.</li>
<li><strong>Language:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Indo-European</strong>-only a little over one per cent of tribal population speak languages of this family, the Bhil and Halbi tribes being the two main groups among them.</li>
<li><strong>Dravidian family</strong> languages are spoken by tribes such as the Gond, Khond, Koya, Oraon, and Toda.</li>
<li><strong>Tibeto-Burman</strong> languages are spoken by the tribes of the Himalayas and Northeast India.</li>
<li><strong>Austro-Asiatic</strong> family of languages is spoken only by tribals in the country like the Santhal, Munda, and Ho.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Scheduled Tribes communities live in about 15% of the country&rsquo;s area.</li>
<li>Over 80% of Scheduled Tribes work in the primary sector against 53% of the general population.</li>
<li>The sex ratio among the Scheduled Tribes is 991 females to every 1000 males in rural areas and 980 females to every 1000 males in urban areas, the average being 990.</li>
<li>Regarding the distribution of ST population by States, Madhya Pradesh stands first with 14.7%, followed by Maharashtra (10.1%), Odisha (9.2%), Rajasthan (8.9%), Gujarat (8.6%), Jharkhand (8.3%), Chhattisgarh (7.5%), Andhra Pradesh (5.7%), West Bengal (5.1%), Karnataka (4.1%), Assam (3.7%), Meghalaya (2.5%), and the remaining States represent 11.6% of the tribal population.</li>
<li>Proportion of ST population in the rural areas is 11.3% and in urban areas is 2.8%.</li>
<li><strong>Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>PVTG (earlier: Primitive tribal group) is a government of India classification created with the purpose of enabling improvement in the conditions of certain communities with particularly low development indices.</li>
<li>This was created based on the <strong>Dhebar Commission report</strong> (1960, it stated that within Scheduled Tribes there existed an inequality in the rate of development.)</li>
<li>The features of such a group include a <strong>pre-agricultural system of existence,</strong> which practices hunting and gathering, zero or negative population growth, extremely low level of literacy in comparison with other tribal groups.</li>
<li>PVTGs with population of less than a 1000 persons are: Birjia (Bihar), Sentinelese, Great Andamanese, Onge,Birhor (Madhya Pradesh), Asur (Bihar), Mankidias (Odisha), Jarawa, Cholanaicken (Kerala), Shompen,Birhor (Bihar), Savar (Bihar), Raji (Uttarakhand), Sauria Paharia (Bihar), Birhor (Odisha), Korwa (Bihar), Todas (Tamil Nadu), Kota (Tamil Nadu), Raji (Uttar Pradesh).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Forest Survey of India, 2011:</strong> The total forest cover in the country is 692, 027 sq. km., 21.05 per cent of the total geographical area.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Integrated Tribal Development Programme (ITDP) covers about 411, 881 sq. Km. Therefore, almost 60 per cent of the forest cover of the country is found in tribal areas.</li>
<li>However, much of this forest was classified as <strong>Reserved Forests</strong> and <strong>Protected Forests</strong> as well as <strong>Wildlife Sanctuaries and National Parks,</strong> resulting in the marginalisation of tribal communities who were treated as encroachers on this land prior to the passing of the <strong>Forest Rights Act, 2006</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>With regard to mineral resources,</strong> three States with substantial tribal populations &ndash; Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand - have considerable mineral reserves (Coal-70%, Iron ore-80%, Bauxite-60%, Chromites near 100%)
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Centre for Science and Environment: about half of the top mineral-producing districts are tribal districts.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Dams:</strong> About 40 per cent of those displaced by dam-building belong to the Scheduled Tribes. Scheduled Tribes constitute about eight per cent of the country&rsquo;s population; they are clearly disproportionately represented in the number of displaced persons.</li>
<li><strong>Conflicts affecting tribal populations:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Armed conflict between the <strong>Communist Party of India (Maoist)</strong> and the Indian state, which is ongoing in parts of the states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal, among others.</li>
<li>The conflict has only escalated in recent years, particularly in central India, following the initiation by the state of a counter-insurgency operation known as the <strong>Salwa Judum</strong> in Chhattisgarh which has been responsible for rapes, murders, arson, looting and intimidation in the name of defeating the Maoists.</li>
<li><strong>Northeast:</strong> There are conflicts between the State and tribal groups, between different tribes, and between tribes and non-tribal groups &ndash; although the State is involved in all of these conflicts.</li>
<li><strong>Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958</strong> is in operation in the states of Manipur, Assam and Nagaland as well as parts of Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh.
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>This Act gives considerable powers to the armed forces to arrest and search without warrant as well as shoot to kill on mere suspicion, once an area has been declared as 'disturbed'.</li>
<li>Many cases of extra-judicial killings, rapes and harassment by armed forces have been reported in these States.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h2>2. Tribes: Legal and Administrative Framework</h2>
<h3>Scheduled Areas</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Tribal rebellions in the nineteenth century,</strong> the British became convinced of the vulnerability of tribal populations in the form of various 'outsiders' and assumed the role of <strong>paternalist protectors</strong> of tribals against the non-tribal exploiters. British policy advocated protection of these areas through exclusion from the operation of general laws.</li>
<li><strong>Regulation XIII of 1833:</strong> It introduced a system of administration in Singhbhum area. These areas came to be known as <strong>Non-Regulation Provinces</strong> and were to be governed by <strong>special rules for civil and criminal justice, collection of land revenue, and so on</strong>.</li>
<li>In the Northeast region, the British put in force <strong>the Inner Line Regulation in 1873,</strong> as the point beyond which general laws for the colony would not be applicable and entry of <strong>subjects living outside the area was strictly prohibited</strong>.</li>
<li>Government of India Act, 1919, Governor General was exclusively responsible for law and administration and could act through local officials.</li>
<li><strong>The Government of India Act, 1935,</strong> the Governor could determine policy directly or through his agents in the tribal areas.</li>
<li>In the post-1947 period, however, this feature was altered vis-&agrave;-vis the Fifth Schedule areas since now all Central and State laws would automatically apply to tribal areas unless the Governor took the decision to prevent application or modify/amend the legislation in keeping with the circumstances of the Scheduled Areas.</li>
<li><strong>Scheduled Areas</strong> (under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution) is &ldquo;such areas as the <strong>President may by order declare</strong> to be Scheduled Areas&rdquo;.</li>
<li>At present, 10 States namely Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana have Fifth Schedule Areas.</li>
</ul>
<h3>5th Schedule</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Fifth Schedule</strong> contains provisions relating to the administration of Scheduled Areas.</li>
<li>Areas can be designated Scheduled Areas on the order of the President.</li>
<li>Part B of the Fifth Schedule provides for the creation of a <strong>Tribes Advisory Council (TAC)</strong> in each State having Scheduled Areas. The duty of the TAC is to advise on matters pertaining to the &ldquo;welfare and advancement&rdquo; of the Scheduled Tribes &ldquo;as may be referred to them by the Governor&rdquo;. <strong>Shortcomings of TAC:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The TACs can only discuss and make recommendations on those issues which are referred to it by the Governor.</li>
<li>It functions only in an advisory capacity and has no power of implementation.</li>
<li>The Councils are not accountable to the tribal population given that they are appointed by the Governor or the State Government.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Fifth Schedule accorded far greater autonomy to tribal areas, but Tribes Advisory Council remained a mere consultancy body rather than an autonomous decision-making body.</li>
<li><strong>Unlike the Sixth Schedule</strong> wherein <strong>Autonomous District Councils</strong> have been given significant legislative, judicial and executive powers on several important matters, the Fifth Schedule places the governance of tribal areas in &lsquo;mainland&rsquo; India largely in the hands of the Governor.</li>
<li>It is the State Governments rather than the Governor which have framed the rules regarding TAC functioning which has led to the <strong>near complete usurpation of these bodies by the political parties in power</strong>.</li>
<li>Governor&rsquo;s reports is not covering issues of <strong>displacement and rehabilitation,</strong> law and order problem, tribal protests, <strong>atrocities against tribes,</strong> and so on. The reports do not offer an independent assessment of the policies of the State Governments vis-&agrave;-vis Scheduled Areas.</li>
<li>There are a large number of States wherein tribes form a sizeable population in blocks or villages, for example, in States like West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, etc. Tribal areas in these States are kept <strong>out of the ambit of Scheduled Areas</strong>.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Difference between 5th and 6th Schedules of Indian Constitution</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The 5th schedule designates Schedule areas in <strong>large parts of India</strong> in which the interests of the Scheduled Tribes are to be protected. The Scheduled area has more than 50 percent tribal population.</li>
<li>The 6th schedule is related to administration of north-eastern states- Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram.</li>
</ul>
<h3>6th Schedule</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Northeast India,</strong> home to numerous diverse ethnic groups and located strategically with borders with Bhutan, China, Myanmar and Bangladesh.</li>
<li>Historically, tribes of Northeast India have seen &ldquo;isolationist&rdquo; policies of the colonial British who labelled many hilly tribal tracts of the Northeast as &ldquo;wholly excluded&rdquo; areas.</li>
<li>In 1929, Nagas submitted a petition to the Simon Commission, asking for autonomy from the future Indian nation-state.</li>
<li>Khasis and the Mizos called for self-governance on issues such as customary laws, control over resources and so on, while also demanding separation from the larger State of Assam.</li>
<li>The British philosophy of maintaining status quo and <strong>isolation was replaced by policies of development and integration</strong> of the Northeast through the <strong>Sixth Schedule of the Constitution</strong>.</li>
<li>The Sixth Schedule provides for the creation of <strong>Autonomous District and Regional Councils</strong> and accords a host of legislative, executive and judicial powers to these autonomous bodies.</li>
<li>It (6th Schedule) <strong>applies to certain tribal areas of the States of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram</strong>.</li>
<li>Apart from the Sixth Schedule, there are other constitutional provisions in the Northeast such as <strong>Article 371-A (Nagaland), Article 371-C (Manipur), Article 371- G (Mizoram)</strong>.</li>
<li>Two types of Autonomous District Councils: (1) <strong>set up under the Sixth Schedule, (2) &amp; established by various Acts of the State Legislative Assembly</strong>.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Autonomous District Council
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Assam: Dima Hasao, Karbi Anglong, Bodoland under 6th schedule.</li>
<li>Entire State of Meghalaya except Shillong area is covered under the provisions of the Sixth Schedule- Khasi Hills, Garo Hills, Jaintia Hills.</li>
<li>Mizoram: Chakma, Mara, Lai</li>
<li>Tripura: Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Established by Acts-Assam(6), Manipur(6)</li>
<li><strong>Outside North-eastern India -</strong> Leh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Kargil Autonomous Hill Development Council, Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #f7e3c1;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 263px; background-color: #f5ae33;"><span style="color: #ffffff;"><strong>State</strong></span></td>
<td style="width: 993px; background-color: #f5ae33;"><span style="color: #ffffff;"><strong>Legal and administrative structure</strong></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 263px;">Arunachal Pradesh</td>
<td style="width: 993px;">Article 371H. No Autonomous Councils, Panchayati Raj Institutions</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 263px;">Assam</td>
<td style="width: 993px;">Sixth Schedule, Article 371B. Three Autonomous Councils</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 263px;">Manipur</td>
<td style="width: 993px;">Article 371C, Manipur Hill Village Authority Act and Manipur Hill Areas District Council</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 263px;">Mizoram</td>
<td style="width: 993px;">Sixth Schedule, Article 371G, Three Autonomous</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Assessment of the Autonomous District Councils under Sixth Schedule
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The State Governments has held the view that that these Councils ought to stick to their traditional role, which is to protect tribal culture, land and identity and refrain from engaging in developmental activities.</li>
<li>In many cases, State Governments have deliberately impeded the functioning of the Councils, particularly through blocking the flow of funds to them.</li>
<li>Powers given to the Councils to make legislation and implement development programmes have not been matched with the financial autonomy.</li>
<li>All the activities and departments under the control of the Councils as per the provisions of the Sixth Schedule have not yet been transferred to them and neither have parallel institutions such as the District Rural Development Agencies (DRDA).</li>
<li>There is also no mandatory time limit for the reconstitution of the ADC once it is dissolved, and hence election is indefinitely postponed.</li>
<li>73rd Amendment to the Constitution provides for the reservation of one-third of all Panchayats seats at all levels for women, the Councils, unlike Panchayats, do not have any provision for such reservation.</li>
<li>The demographic change is no longer reflected in the representative structure of the ADCs. Unless reviewed comprehensively, the Sixth Schedule could become one of the chief sources of future conflicts in the region.</li>
<li>Autonomous Councils must be covered under State Finance Commission that is empowered to review periodically the financial position and lay down appropriate principles of resource distribution between State and the Autonomous Council. Funding should not be left to arbitrary discretion of the State Governments.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Criminal Tribes Acts (CTA) of 1871:</strong> About 200 communities were deemed to be &lsquo;hereditary criminals&rsquo; and subject to surveillance, confinement and gross discrimination. It was in light of the then <strong>prevailing notion that crime was a genetic trait</strong> passed down from one generation to the next.</li>
<li>The CTA was removed from the statute books in 1952 on the recommendation of the All India Criminal Tribes Inquiry Committee (1949) and henceforth, &lsquo;Criminal Tribes&rsquo; came to be known <strong>as 'De-notified Tribes' instead</strong>.</li>
<li>Nomadic and semi-nomadic communities practice a range of occupations-pastoralists and hunter-gatherers, mainly shepherds, cowherds and hunters of small game, entertainers including dancers, acrobats, snake charmers, monkey trainers.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Certain tribes have been characterised as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) (earlier known as Primitive Tribal Groups) on the basis of their greater &rsquo;vulnerability&rsquo; even among the tribal groups.</li>
<li>PVTGs, currently including 75 tribal groups have been identified as such on the basis of the following criteria: forest-dependent livelihoods, pre-agricultural level of existence, stagnant or declining population.</li>
<li>As per the 2001 census, these 75 PVTGs had a total population of 27,68,322.</li>
<li>The groups most under threat have been identified as the Shompens, Sentinelese and Jarawas of the Andaman Islands; the Bondos of Odisha; Cholanaickans of Kerala; Abujh Marias of Chhattisgarh and Birhors of Jharkhand.</li>
<li>All tribes in the list of PVTGs have not been granted Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.</li>
<li>States with PVTGs, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal do not have Scheduled Areas, thereby increasing the vulnerability of these tribes, who lack the protections and rights offered by the Fifth Schedule and the Provisions of Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996.</li>
<li>Habitat rights for PVTGs as guaranteed by the Forest Rights Act must be granted to them and definitional as well as procedural ambiguities must be cleared up.</li>
</ul>
<h2>3. Livelihoods and Employment Status</h2>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Traditionally, the tribes in India pursued an economy, which was closer to nature, and used indigenous technology. This is reflected in their dependence on forests and other natural resources available in their habitat.</li>
<li>While some tribal communities have adopted a way of life, similar to the neighbouring non-tribal communities</li>
<li>In Traditional tribal economy, livelihoods of tribal groups are characterized by (a) forest-based livelihoods, (b) pre-agriculture level of technology, (c) a stagnant or declining population (d) extremely low literacy and (e) a subsistence level of economy.</li>
<li>In the pre-independence period, tribes from Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh, such as <strong>the Munda, the Oraon, the Santhal and others had migrated to the sprawling tea gardens</strong> of Assam as indentured labour. In post- independence era, they are not included in the list of Scheduled Tribes in Assam.</li>
<li>Anthropological Survey of India:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Communities practicing hunting and gathering have declined by 24.08 percent, as forests have disappeared and wildlife has diminished.</li>
<li>There is a sharp rise in the number of Scheduled Tribes employed in Government and private services, self-employment, etc.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Land Ownership:</strong> Household Ownership Holdings (HOH) through the 59th round of survey by the NSSO, average area owned per household in India is 0.563 hectare; it is 0.708 for Scheduled Tribes.</li>
<li><strong>44.98 percent of households have bank accounts</strong> thus availing banking services, whereas 58.7 percent of all households have the same facility.</li>
<li>Work Force Participation:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Worker Population Ratios</strong> (WPRs &ndash; Worker population ratio is defined as the number of persons employed per thousand persons.)</li>
<li>As per NSSO (2012), in 2004-05 and 2009-10, the rural male Scheduled Tribes have WPR of 56.2 percent and 55.9 percent as against 54.6 percent and 54.7 percent respectively for all groups.</li>
<li><strong>Labour Force Participation Rate</strong> (LFPR- is defined as the number of persons in the labour force per 1000 persons. Any person who is working or is available for/seeking work will be considered part of the &lsquo;labour force&rsquo;.)</li>
<li>As per Third Annual Employment &amp; Unemployment Survey (2012-13), Labour Bureau, Ministry of Labour&amp; Employment, LFPR at all India level is highest among Scheduled Tribes with 56.7 percent, and it is lowest among overall category with 50.9 percent.</li>
<li><strong>The female LFPR</strong> is highest in case of Scheduled Tribes with 33.6 percent compared to the all India average of 22.6 percent.</li>
<li>Unemployment Rates:
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Unemployment rates (UR-number of unemployed per 1000 in the labour force) and proportional Unemployment rates (PU-number of unemployed per 1000 in total population).</li>
<li>As per NSSO (2012), As per NSSO (2012), UR (17) and PU (10) for male &amp; UR (9) and PU (3) for female in 2009-10.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Income: As per India Human Development Survey (IHDS), 2004-05,</strong> ST households have the lowest annual income of Rs. 32,345 compared to general population (Rs. 72717).</li>
<li><strong>Poverty: Panagariya and More</strong> computed the estimates of the poverty rates as the <strong>percentages of population below the Tendulkar poverty line</strong> in rural and urban regions and in the combined areas (Rural + Urban), for Scheduled Tribes. As per 2011-12 census, 45.3% of tribal population is still below poverty line.</li>
</ul>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #b5def7;">
<tbody>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 702px; height: 19px; text-align: center; vertical-align: top; background-color: #00a4eb;" colspan="9"><span style="color: #ffffff;"><strong>Poverty by Social Groups, 1993-94 to 2011-12 in All-India &ndash; Rural, Urban and Combined</strong></span></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 38px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;"><strong>Social Groups</strong></td>
<td style="width: 118px; height: 38px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;" rowspan="2"><strong>Percent of Share in Propulation</strong></td>
<td style="width: 168px; height: 38px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;" rowspan="2"><strong>Regions</strong></td>
<td style="width: 240px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7; text-align: left;" colspan="4"><strong>Percent of Population Below the<br />Tendulkar Line</strong></td>
<td style="width: 138px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7; text-align: left;" colspan="2"><strong>Percent Point Poverty Reduction</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 38px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;"></td>
<td style="width: 74px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;"><strong>1993-94</strong></td>
<td style="width: 57px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;"><strong>2004-05</strong></td>
<td style="width: 56px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;"><strong>2009-10</strong></td>
<td style="width: 53px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;"><strong>2011-12</strong></td>
<td style="width: 71px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;"><strong>1993-94 to 2004-05</strong></td>
<td style="width: 67px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;"><strong>2004-05 to 2011-12</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="height: 19px; vertical-align: top; text-align: center; width: 156px; background-color: #c1e7f7;" colspan="2"></td>
<td style="vertical-align: top; width: 168px; height: 19px; text-align: left; background-color: #c1e7f7;">Rural</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; width: 378px; height: 19px; background-color: #c1e7f7;" colspan="6"></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 38px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">ST</td>
<td style="width: 118px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">11.1</td>
<td style="width: 168px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; text-align: left; background-color: #c1e7f7;"></td>
<td style="width: 74px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">65.9</td>
<td style="width: 57px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">62.3</td>
<td style="width: 56px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">47.4</td>
<td style="width: 53px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">45.3</td>
<td style="width: 71px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">3.7</td>
<td style="width: 67px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">16.9</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 38px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">FC</td>
<td style="width: 118px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">23.0</td>
<td style="width: 168px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; text-align: left; background-color: #c1e7f7;"></td>
<td style="width: 74px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">44.0</td>
<td style="width: 57px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">27.1</td>
<td style="width: 56px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">21.0</td>
<td style="width: 53px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">15.5</td>
<td style="width: 71px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">9.0*</td>
<td style="width: 67px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">11.6</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 38px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">All</td>
<td style="width: 118px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">100.0</td>
<td style="width: 168px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; text-align: left; background-color: #c1e7f7;"></td>
<td style="width: 74px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">50.3</td>
<td style="width: 57px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">41.8</td>
<td style="width: 56px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">33.3</td>
<td style="width: 53px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">25.4</td>
<td style="width: 71px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">8.5</td>
<td style="width: 67px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">16.4</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="height: 19px; vertical-align: top; text-align: center; width: 156px; background-color: #c1e7f7;" colspan="2"></td>
<td style="vertical-align: top; width: 168px; height: 19px; text-align: left; background-color: #c1e7f7;">Urban</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; width: 378px; height: 19px; background-color: #c1e7f7;" colspan="6"></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 38px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">ST</td>
<td style="width: 118px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">3.5</td>
<td style="width: 168px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; text-align: left; background-color: #c1e7f7;"></td>
<td style="width: 74px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">41.1</td>
<td style="width: 57px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">35.5</td>
<td style="width: 56px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">30.4</td>
<td style="width: 53px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">24.1</td>
<td style="width: 71px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">5.6</td>
<td style="width: 67px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">11.4</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 38px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">FC</td>
<td style="width: 118px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">40.3</td>
<td style="width: 168px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; text-align: left; background-color: #c1e7f7;"></td>
<td style="width: 74px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">28.2</td>
<td style="width: 57px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">16.1</td>
<td style="width: 56px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">12.4</td>
<td style="width: 53px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">8.1</td>
<td style="width: 71px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">5.8*</td>
<td style="width: 67px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">8.0</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 38px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">All</td>
<td style="width: 118px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">100.0</td>
<td style="width: 168px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; text-align: left; background-color: #c1e7f7;"></td>
<td style="width: 74px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">31.9</td>
<td style="width: 57px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">25.7</td>
<td style="width: 56px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">20.9</td>
<td style="width: 53px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">13.7</td>
<td style="width: 71px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">6.2</td>
<td style="width: 67px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">12.0</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="height: 19px; vertical-align: top; text-align: center; width: 156px; background-color: #c1e7f7;" colspan="2"></td>
<td style="vertical-align: top; width: 168px; height: 19px; background-color: #c1e7f7; text-align: justify;">Combined (R + U)</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; width: 378px; height: 19px; background-color: #c1e7f7;" colspan="6"></td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 38px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">ST</td>
<td style="width: 118px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">8.9</td>
<td style="width: 168px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; text-align: left; background-color: #c1e7f7;"></td>
<td style="width: 74px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">63.7</td>
<td style="width: 57px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">60.0</td>
<td style="width: 56px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">45.6</td>
<td style="width: 53px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">43.0</td>
<td style="width: 71px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">3.7</td>
<td style="width: 67px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">17.0</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 38px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">FC</td>
<td style="width: 118px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">28.0</td>
<td style="width: 168px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; text-align: left; background-color: #c1e7f7;"></td>
<td style="width: 74px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">39.5</td>
<td style="width: 57px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">23.0</td>
<td style="width: 56px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">17.6</td>
<td style="width: 53px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">12.5</td>
<td style="width: 71px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">8.1*</td>
<td style="width: 67px; height: 19px; vertical-align: top; background-color: #c1e7f7;">10.5</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 19px;">
<td style="width: 38px; vertical-align: top; height: 19px; background-color: #c1e7f7;">All</td>
<td style="width: 118px; vertical-align: top; height: 19px; background-color: #c1e7f7;">100.0</td>
<td style="width: 168px; vertical-align: top; height: 19px; text-align: left; background-color: #c1e7f7;"></td>
<td style="width: 74px; vertical-align: top; height: 19px; background-color: #c1e7f7;">45.7</td>
<td style="width: 57px; vertical-align: top; height: 19px; background-color: #c1e7f7;">37.7</td>
<td style="width: 56px; vertical-align: top; height: 19px; background-color: #c1e7f7;">29.9</td>
<td style="width: 53px; vertical-align: top; height: 19px; background-color: #c1e7f7;">22.0</td>
<td style="width: 71px; vertical-align: top; height: 19px; background-color: #c1e7f7;">8.0</td>
<td style="width: 67px; vertical-align: top; height: 19px; background-color: #c1e7f7;">15.7</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><span style="font-size: 12px;"><em>Estimated using comparable estimates of poverty among the OBC and FC combined in 2004-05, which came down to 35 percent (Rural), 22.5 percent (Urban)<br />and 31.4 percent (Rural + Urban) in 2004-05.<br /></em></span><span style="font-size: 12px;"><em>Source: Arving Panagariya and Vishal More (2013).</em></span></p>
<h3>Recommendations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There is a dire need to establish agro-based training institutions and related labour-intensive processing industries in tribal regions.</li>
<li>In order to make use of land available with the tribal farmers, they should be motivated to undertake organic farming and eco-forestry.</li>
<li>Micro watershed development program with people-centred participatory approach is a good method for poverty reduction.</li>
<li>Prevention of all kinds of tribal land alienation through strict enforcement of laws and restoration of alienated land to the tribal owners as per the provisions of the PESA and the confirmatory Acts by various States.</li>
<li>The newly acquired land under FRA, 2006 could be utilized in eco-forestry rather than for food grain cultivation, which could give more return to the ST farmers.</li>
<li>There is severe under-representation of STs and pending vacancies in Central Government services.</li>
<li>Therefore, the Government should follow a transparent policy with regard to jobs for STs in public sector.</li>
<li>Tribes should be encouraged to use their traditional knowledge to meet their needs by recreating their forest ecosystem and forest-based livelihood.</li>
</ul>
<h2>4. Education</h2>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The colonial government depended upon the Christian missionaries to induce and educate the tribes since 1854.</li>
<li>The literacy rate of the tribals was only 3.46 per cent in 1951 owing to the British colonial educational policy, which did not care for the education of the tribal population.</li>
<li><strong>Education as a Site of Discrimination:</strong> For the tribal children, teaching-learning is not always friendly. The classrooms are not free from the <strong>traditional social prejudice</strong> against the tribal children.</li>
<li><strong>Deficient 'free' education:</strong> Government&rsquo;s failure in providing free education to tribal children is leading to provide an exploitative opportunity for private schools. They are primarily guided by commercial interests.</li>
<li>The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It provides for <strong>re-admission</strong> of every child, who discontinued elementary education for some reason, to a school in a class appropriate to his/her age, with the proviso of <strong>special training or additional instruction</strong> so that he/she is brought at par with others.</li>
<li>Its implementation generally and particularly in respect to the tribal child is a daunting task for the Government.</li>
<li>Putting a tribal child in the class of his appropriate age would <strong>need special attention</strong> which would be <strong>at the cost of teaching other students</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Teachers and Way of Teaching Tribal Children: There <strong>is not much effort</strong> in developing <strong>curricula</strong> and devising <strong>instructional materials,</strong> keeping in mind socio-cultural milieu of the tribals.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>The National Sample Survey-2007-08</strong> data reveals that the tribal languages listed in the Eighth Schedule, viz., Bodo, Dogri and Santhali, are educationally used merely by 0.11 per cent, 0.02 per cent and 0.01 per cent of the tribals respectively.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Residential Schools and the Tribals:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>As a way of providing quality education to the tribals in an efficient manner, the Government has been, from the 1950s to the present policy, opening residential schools and hostels for them at central places. <strong>Ashram School, Eklavya Model School</strong> and <strong>Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya</strong> are leading schemes under this approach.</li>
<li>They are often in the news for corruption, bad maintenance of facilities and sexual exploitation of resident girls.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Educational Domain and Knowledge on Tribes:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Ever since Nehru recognized tribal culture as an autonomous constituent of Indian culture, there has been effort, under the national democratic ethos, to know about the tribals and their problems.</li>
<li>Despite this policy enunciation, <strong>tribes as a subject figure insignificantly in the school curriculum</strong>. There is dearth of textbook materials and of advanced knowledge on the tribes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Contemporary Concerns in Tribal Education:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Incidence of High Dropout Rates:</strong> Dropout rates among the tribal students, particularly at the secondary and senior secondary stages, are very high (<strong>Statistics of School Education, 2010-11&nbsp;</strong>: 73 per cent at Class X, 84 per cent at Class XI and 86 per cent at Class XII).
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>No-detention policy,</strong> before and after the RTE Act, does not allow students from the tribal community to acquire basic skills in Three Rs (Reading, Writing and Arithmetic). This absence of background education is also a cause of dropouts.</li>
<li><strong>Long duration summer vacation</strong> happens to be critical period for mass dropouts not only in tribal areas, but also in all rural areas. Vacations are also not aligned with local festivals.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Shortage of 'Quality' Teachers:</strong> The dearth of teachers fulfilling the eligibility criteria set out under the RTE Act is an impediment to achieving the right to education in tribal areas. Owing to paucity of trained teachers, learning achievement levels of tribal students remain low.</li>
<li><strong>Language Barriers</strong> for the Tribal Students: Most of the tribal communities in India have their <strong>own mother tongue</strong>. But in most of the States, <strong>official/regional languages</strong> are used for classroom teaching and these <strong>are not understood by the tribal children</strong> at primary level of schooling.</li>
<li><strong>Education of Nomadic Tribes:</strong> Nomadic tribes are constantly mobile depending on the climate, occupations and livelihood opportunities. Therefore, these children miss out on primary level schooling.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Recommendations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The purpose of education anywhere, including in tribal areas, should be to provide children with an understanding of the environment and society in which they live and to endow them with the capability to earn a livelihood in the local society and, for those who have the desire and ability, in the national job market.</li>
<li>There is a need for greater gender focus and social mobilization to encourage education of girls.</li>
<li><strong>The dearth of teachers</strong> fulfilling the eligibility criteria set out under the RTE Act is an impediment to achieving the right to education in tribal areas. For addressing the current crisis of absence of teachers in tribal areas, special efforts need to be made to produce more teachers who have qualified the Teachers Ability Test.</li>
<li><strong>The policy of no-detention</strong> needs a review. When the student, teachers, or parents of the student request for retention of a child to enable him/her to acquire skills to move to the next class, he/she should be retained.</li>
<li>To address the problem of low representation of the tribals in higher education, it is necessary to refurbish primary and secondary school education through special coaching.</li>
<li>Keeping in view the difficulties of adjusting to a new cultural environment, teachers for schools in the tribal regions should be recruited locally.</li>
<li>The State Governments should develop a policy for multilingual education, so that early learning is conducted in the local language.</li>
<li>Inclusion of local culture, folklore and history in the curriculum can help in building confidence of tribal children and enhance the relevance of education in their lives.</li>
<li>The Government needs to establish well-run residential schools such as <strong>Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas</strong> closer to the habitations (within a radius of ten kilometres) up to Class XII.</li>
<li>In residential schools, which are often in the news for incidents of sexual abuse of students, strong mechanisms should be put in place to protect the students from abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence.</li>
<li>Schemes like <strong>Ashram School, Eklavya Model School</strong> and <strong>Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya</strong> should be promoted at large scale.</li>
<li><strong>Involvement of community</strong> in educational interventions through the <strong>Panchayati Raj</strong> Institutions needs to be institutionalized. Information on various schemes and benefits to beneficiaries should be provided to the Gram Sabhas and Gram Panchayats, which would create transparency and increase awareness about their entitlements.</li>
<li><strong>The scope of education</strong> needs to be expanded for the purpose of scholarships and should include tribal <strong>painting, art, craft, song, music and dance</strong>&nbsp;etc.</li>
<li><strong>Regional Resource Centres</strong> in States with significant tribal populations should be established to provide training, academic and other technical support for development of pedagogic tools and education materials catering to multilingual situation.</li>
<li>It is recommended that <strong>a Tribal Chair</strong> be established by the UGC in <strong>Universities in every State comprising Fifth Schedule Areas</strong>.</li>
</ul>
<h2>5. Health</h2>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Sex Ratio:</strong> The tribal population has shown favourable sex ratio 990 females per 1000 males as compared to 938 as general in the country (Census of India, 2011).</li>
<li><strong>Fertility:</strong> As per NFHS 3 (2005-06), the estimated Total Fertility Rate (TFR) among the Scheduled Tribe population was around 3.1 against estimate of 2.4 for the rest of the population.</li>
<li><strong>Disease Patterns:</strong> The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), through its various national institutes and centers, collects data on some diseases in certain states and among some tribes.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Malnutrition &ndash; Low birth weight, under-nutrition of children, lower body size of adults, anaemia, iron and vitamin A and B deficiency.</li>
<li>Maternal and child health problems &ndash; higher IMR, U5MR, neonatal mortality, acute respiratory infections, and diarrhea.</li>
<li>Communicable diseases &ndash; malaria, filaria, tuberculosis, leprosy, skin infections, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, typhoid, cholera, diarrheal diseases, hepatitis, and viral fevers.</li>
<li>Non-communicable illnesses &ndash; hypertension, stroke, diabetes, and cancers.</li>
<li><strong>Hereditary diseases</strong> such as the Hemoglobinopathies (Sickle Cell) and G-6 PD deficiency.</li>
<li>Mental health problems &ndash; especially in the areas affected by conflicts.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Recommendations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The first principle of any policy or program for tribal people is participation. Hence their views and priorities must get due place in any health care program. Committee suggests making use of three types of existing institutional mechanisms to improve the programs.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Tribal Health Assembly:</strong> From the Gram Sabhas at village level, upto the national level, Tribal Health Assemblies should be annually organized in which the people (at the level of village) or their representatives (at the higher levels) participate.</li>
<li><strong>Tribal Health Councils:</strong> These should be constituted by including elected representatives, NGOs, experts and government officers for the purpose of planning and monitoring of programs.
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Such councils should be constituted at the block or ITDP level, district, state and national level.</li>
<li>These should be empowered to shape the health plans and monitor implementation.</li>
<li>These sub-committees of Panchayat level, district level and Zilla Parishad could function as Tribal Health Councils.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Tribes Advisory Councils</strong> at the state level: These Councils should approve the health plans prepared by the Tribal Health Councils, and to review the performance of implementation.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>In view of the enormous diversity among nearly 700 tribes in India, the second principle to be followed is of area specific and tribe-sensitive local planning. The PESA provides an institutional basis for this.</li>
<li>Building their capabilities to care for their health is the long term solution far superior to a perpetual dependence.</li>
<li>To bridge the scientific knowledge gap of centuries, health care for Scheduled Areas should give paramount importance to spreading &lsquo;health literacy&rsquo; by way of mass educational methods, folk media, modern media and school curriculum.</li>
<li>Anganwadis should become the Primary Health Knowledge Centers.</li>
<li>Instead of alienating or rejecting<strong> Traditional healers and Dais,</strong> a sensitive way of <strong>including them</strong> or getting their cooperation in health care, must be explored.</li>
<li>The well-known <strong>difficulties in deploying doctors, nurses and other technical personnel from outside</strong> into Scheduled Areas have created the problem of human resources. <strong>The candidates must be local, belong to Scheduled Tribes, be fluent in local tribal dialects,</strong> be selected on merit and should be committed to serve in the local Scheduled Area for at least ten years.</li>
<li><strong>The Proposed Goals of the Tribal Health Plan</strong> should be:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>To attain the Millennium Development Goals (2015) on health and nutrition for the Scheduled Tribe population in India by the year 2020.</li>
<li>To bring the health, sanitation and nutrition status of the Scheduled Tribe population to the same level as that of the non-Scheduled Tribe population in the respective states by the year 2025.</li>
<li>To create the human resources necessary for provision of healthcare in Scheduled Areas, as per the norms set by the High Level Expert Group on Universal Health Coverage (2011), by the year 2025.</li>
<li>To create and make functional the institutions for participatory governance (Tribal Health Assemblies and Councils) at all levels in the Scheduled Areas by the year 2016.</li>
<li>To annually generate Tribal Health Plans at all levels by the year 2017.</li>
<li>To annually allocate and spend 8.6 percent, in proportion to the Scheduled Tribes population, of the total Health Sector Plan and Non-plan budget, plus 10 percent of the TSP for the implementation of the Tribal Health Plan.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h2>6. Land Alienation, Displacement and Enforced Migration</h2>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Tribal communities of India reside in hill areas that are rich in minerals and forest cover. Land is the basis of their socio-cultural and religious identity, livelihood and their very existence.</li>
<li>Traditionally, ownership of land was by the community and economic activity mainly agrarian, including shifting cultivation, which fostered egalitarian values which influenced their power relations and organizational system.</li>
<li>It is in this context that the <strong>devastation of lives of tribal people</strong> caused by<strong> loss of access</strong> to forest and <strong>involuntary displacement</strong> from their land has to be understood.</li>
<li><strong>Indian Forest Act, 1865 (amended 1878, 1927)</strong> for acquisition of forest lands for creation of infrastructure such as railways, accorded the State a monopolised control over forest lands for commercialization purpose.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Even after independence, under its provision <strong>new rights were acquired by the State</strong> under the principle of eminent domain and cultivation by people, who are descendants of <strong>original settlers of land, was categorized as illegitimate</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>The Development model</strong> in India is a carry forward from the pre-independence British period which was based <strong>on exploitation of natural resources</strong> and human capital for extraction and export of surplus for boosting industrial revolution in Britain.</li>
<li>The only difference is that this model of primitive accumulation is being used within the country for development of capital goods sector.</li>
<li>Despite Constitution for protection and special treatment for tribal people and other weaker groups this colonial emphasis did not change in independent India.</li>
<li><strong>Due attention</strong> and importance was not given <strong>to social costs</strong> consequently a large number of people were displaced for economic development.</li>
<li><strong>The ways in which tribal land alienation take place:</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Schedule V</strong> of the Constitution lays down provisions for protection of land, and welfare and advancement of Scheduled Tribes.</li>
<li><strong>Sixth Schedule of the Constitution:</strong> Autonomous Districts and Autonomous Regions have powers to make laws relating to land, for the management of any forest not being a reserved forest, the inheritance of property.</li>
<li>Forest rights of tribal people were discontinued as<strong> Reserved Forests</strong> and <strong>Protected Forests</strong> were &lsquo;brought outside the scope of legal rights settlement&rsquo;.</li>
<li><strong>The Wild Life Protection Act, 1972,</strong> the <strong>Forest Conservation Act, 1980,</strong> the <strong>Tree Prevention Act and the Forest Policy, 1988,</strong> also affected tribal people.</li>
<li>'The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013&rsquo; comprehensive resettlement has been legally mandated and people affected by the Project have been included. But till this new law came into being, much harm had been caused by the misuse of the concept of &lsquo;eminent domain&rsquo;.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Recommendations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Serious effort is required by the State to minimize displacement. There should be a rights- based approach to comprehensive rehabilitation.</li>
<li>The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, is progressive in the sense. However, the definition of 'public purpose' in the new law is very wide and will only lead to greater acquisition and displacement in Scheduled Areas.</li>
<li>Public-Private Partnership mode of acquiring land is simply a backdoor method of alienating land.</li>
<li>There is plenty of unutilized tribal land available with Central/State/PSUs, and Central/State Governments which is not being used for the purpose for which it was acquired.</li>
<li>Governments should be legally mandated to return such land to the original landowner/successors or use the same for resettlement of displaced tribals.</li>
<li>Land and water sources polluted by industrial and mining projects in tribal regions require attention and the onus for taking corrective measures.</li>
<li>There is considerable emphasis on consultation and consent of Gram Sabhas. It is essential that the State be vigilant through adequate 304 monitoring mechanisms for ensuring that consent is obtained freely.</li>
<li>Tribal people who have been displaced by conflict in Chhattisgarh and the Northeast should be rehabilitated by the State Government in their villages and provided facilities of housing, safe drinking water, health and education, skill development, electricity supply, irrigation facilities, and agricultural inputs.</li>
<li>In pursuance of the PESA, 1996, Land Transfer Regulations/Tenancy laws of all Schedule V Areas should be suitably amended to ensure Gram Sabha participation in the identification, investigation and restoration of lands to tribal people.</li>
</ul>
<h2>7. Legal and Constitutional Issues</h2>
<h3>Forest Rights Act 2006</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The Indian Forest Act, 1927</strong> and its predecessor Act of 1878 vested control over the forest resources in the state. Forest area covers 23 percent of land mass and over the years, forest communities have been treated as encroachers and their activities in forest areas as &lsquo;forest offences&rsquo;.</li>
<li>The enactment of the FRA has been a very important move in taking away the burden of illegality from the shoulders of tribals, and forest dwelling and dependent communities.</li>
<li>The FRA stipulates that forest-dwelling Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs) are not to be evicted or removed from forest land under their occupation till the process of recognition and verification of their rights is complete. <strong>Forest Rights Committee (FRC)</strong> at the grassroots level found that this provision of the Act has been violated.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act 1996</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Gram Sabhas consultations have to be merely &lsquo;considered&rsquo; by government officials when deciding land acquisition proposals.</li>
<li><strong>Forged and manipulated Gram Sabha resolutions,</strong> lack of consent before land acquisition and other grave issues still persist in the implementation of the PESA.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The Right to Food Commissioner&rsquo;s Report identifies</strong> Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) as most susceptible to malnutrition. The report acknowledges that these communities <strong>derive their nutrition from the forest and habitat they live in</strong>. Tribals are <strong>denied access to the forest and its produce,</strong> often due to persistent lobbying <strong>by conservationists and environmentalists</strong>.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Use of criminal law in tribal areas</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Land acquisition, displacement and the <strong>commencement of project work without settling issues</strong> that arise in the context of the project have given rise to various forms of protest and resistance. Local people complained that <strong>when they raised their voices against a project proposal</strong> that was brought to them, they invariably <strong>found themselves charged with criminal cases</strong>.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Salwa Judum</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Salwa Judum,</strong> translated variously as peace march, or as purification hunt, was a government initiative in Bastar region. It was set up in 2005, to counter the naxalites presence in the area. Its mainstay was the SPOs (Special Police Officers) who were local tribal youth, some as young as 16 years, who were recruited, paid a stipend, armed and handed the task of fighting the naxalites. What resulted was a civil strife which displaced whole villages, rapes, excesses of power, murders and the burning of houses.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Niyamgiri experience</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Niyamgiri hills are inhabited by the Dongria Khond, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group. The Dongria Khonds opposed the mining of bauxite by Vedanta Aluminium Ltd., the Supreme Court directed, on 18th April, 2013, that the Gram Sabha needed to consider the rights that were being affected by the proposed mining.</li>
<li>The proposed mining was unequivocally rejected by all Gram Sabhas.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Matters of migration and exploitative labour</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There has been a significant increase in urban tribal population, during 2001-11, which is a pointer to their &lsquo;push&rsquo; migration resulting in exploitation as bonded labour.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Recommendations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There is an urgent need for <strong>extending the pattern of the Sixth Schedule</strong> in the form of Autonomous Councils in the Fifth Schedule areas as has been provided for in the Provisions of <strong>Panchayat</strong> (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996.</li>
<li>The past twenty years have been dramatic in the changes in the economy in terms of liberalisation &amp; privatisation, and in the effect that economic policy has had on tribal communities. PESA Act, 1996 and the Forest Rights Act, 2006, have been enacted which recognize autonomy and rights of tribal communities.</li>
<li>The implementation of these laws is, however, reluctant. There is needed to strengthen the institutional system to support the process of implementation, including strengthening of the Gram Sabhas.</li>
<li>Given the close relationship between forests, forest produce and women&rsquo;s lives, representation of women in Gram Sabha as per FRA Act must be implemented.</li>
<li>Government officials who were the agencies to prevent tribal loss of land are increasingly being seen to be negotiators on behalf of project authorities. This must be stopped.</li>
<li>There have been recorded cases of Gram Sabha consent being fraudulently obtained or forged; such conduct must face penalties, and projects that proceed on the basis of consent so obtained cannot be allowed to proceed.</li>
<li>Article 243-ZC of Constitution; provide provision for the creation of new Nagar Palikas in Fifth Schedule areas and tribal areas. Implementation must be preceded by a law made by Parliament, which sets out the exceptions and modifications to suit local conditions of tribal area.</li>
<li>The amendments proposed to PESA with prior informed consent, is necessary for the effective implementation of PESA.</li>
<li>With proliferation of MoUs between states and companies that imposes responsibility on the state to facilitate environmental and forest clearances, it takes away the neutrality of the state. Such MoUs must be to be reviewed.</li>
<li>Public policy and practice must be drafted base on the experience of Niyamgiri, and the adverse lessons from the Salwa Judum.</li>
<li>The criminal law is being used as a tool of the state to suppress dissent. Judicial Commission needs to be appointed to investigate cases filed against tribals and their supporters. Only, this will satisfy the concerns that have risen about the misuse of criminal law by the state.</li>
<li><strong>De-notified Tribes</strong> have been asking that steps be taken to remove stigma and prejudice from their lives. Criminal Tribes Act of 1871 was repealed in 1952 and the Habitual Offenders Act was enacted in its place. Tribes continue to be stigmatised under the Habitual Offenders. Habitual Offenders Act must be repealed and rehabilitate the de-notified and nomadic tribes.</li>
<li><strong>Anti-beggary laws</strong> render the talents that they possess, such as juggling and acrobatics, into punishable conduct. Whole communities of women find themselves in prostitution without a choice. Such laws must be repealed.</li>
<li>The persistence of bonded labour, and the trafficking, in large measure, of women from tribal areas needs a concerted effort to end it.</li>
</ul>
<h2>8. Delivery of Public Goods and Services</h2>
<p>The Planning process in India has, since its inception, emphasized inclusion of marginalized communities, including the Scheduled Tribes. Initially, it focused on directing sufficient resources for the development of Scheduled Tribes, along with establishing institutions and mechanisms for delivery of goods and services.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>However, these could not fully serve the interests of the tribal people, as there were <strong>several schemes that were broad in nature</strong>.</li>
<li>During the Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-79), the strategy of the Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) was adopted.</li>
<li>As per guidelines issued by the Planning Commission, the Tribal Sub Plan funds were to be non-divertible and non-lapsable. But, most of the funds meant for TSP had been diverted to other sectors and purposes, and some of them had also been lapsed due to their improper utilization or failure of administrative machinery.</li>
<li>As per the Sub-Plan approach, the Central Government is required to ensure that out of its total Plan budget, at least 8.6 percent (as per 2011 Census) is earmarked for the development of Scheduled Tribes in the Union Budget.</li>
<li>But, the decline in the budget allocations for Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) in proportion to the Scheduled Tribe population is a cause for serious concern.</li>
<li><strong>Schedule Tribes who migrate</strong> from rural areas to urban areas suffer<strong> loss of identity, community solidarity, land, entitlements such as ration cards,</strong> and common resources.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Recommendations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There is dispersed population of tribes and displaced population (due to infrastructure projects, conflicts) in some States, including the North-eastern region, there is no agency dedicated to deliver the programs. New micro-agencies need to be created in such pockets to cater to specific tribal groups.</li>
<li>Absence of supporting staff for implementing the MGNREGA and FRA has resulted in low absorption of funds available for supervision of these works.</li>
<li>Many tribes have migrated to urban areas and are wage-earners. It is imperative that States work towards the creation of micro projects in urban areas which have substantial ST population.</li>
<li>Most Tribal Research Institutions (TRIs) are facing financial and manpower constraints and are finding it difficult to perform their functions effectively. There is an urgent need for strengthening and broadening research and training activities by these institutions.</li>
<li>The Anthropological Survey of India (AnSI) is one of the many organizations under the Ministry of Culture. However, the primary focus of AnSI is study of tribes. AnSI can become a stronger organization if it comes under Ministry of Tribal Affairs.</li>
<li>Funds available to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs for giving grants to States under Article 275 (1) of the Constitution should be substantially enhanced so as to enable the Ministry to provide larger support to the States for strengthening of institutions and up-gradation of administration in tribal areas.</li>
</ul>
<p>To summarize, tribal communities face disregard for their values and culture, breach of protective legislations, serious material and social deprivation, and aggressive resource alienation. Hence, the solution to these issues should enable the tribes to protect their own interests.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>An empowered citizenry</strong> and a functioning, participatory (including participation of women) self-governance is the best guarantee for a democratic nation;</li>
<li>Due share in socio-economic progress for tribal people and their habitations, including facilities like health, education, livelihood, drinking water, sanitation, roads, electricity and sustainable income, in situ;</li>
<li><strong>Protecting the land and forest rights</strong> of tribal communities is equivalent to protecting their livelihoods, life and liberty.</li>
<li>The right to natural resources in tribal lands has to be protected. They should only be accessed with the consent of the Gram Sabhas of the villages</li>
<li>While tribal lands hold much of the natural and mineral wealth of the nation, these resources cannot be alienated against their will. Moreover, communities who part with their lands have the right to share in the wealth and income so generated from its resources.</li>
<li>Hence, a reasonable share of the wealth generated by the resources in their homelands must accrue to them by law</li>
<li>The right to preservation of their language, culture and traditions, and to protect themselves against the loss of identity, must be recognized, protected, documented and allowed to thrive as a dynamic living culture.</li>
</ul>',
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		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/summary-of-important-reports/xaxa-committee-on-tribal-communities-of-india'
	],
	(int) 17 => [
		'title' => 'Open Up The Supreme Court',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>(This editorial is based on the article <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/open-up-the-supreme-court/article26773825.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener">'Open Up The Supreme Court'</a> which appeared in &lsquo;The Hindu&rsquo; on 9th April, 2019. The article talks about the opacity in the functioning of Supreme Court and the right steps required for bringing the desired transparency in judiciary.)</p>
</div>
<p>The Supreme Court and high courts are not only the final adjudicatory authority for the law but are also the upholder of the highest ideals of our democracy. It was in this sense the High Court of Delhi, 10 years back handed down a landmark judgment dealing with the fledgling Right to Information (RTI) Act.</p>
<p>It held that the Office of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) was a &ldquo;public authority&rdquo;, and therefore, subject to the provisions of the Act. Information held by the CJI &mdash; including, in the context of the case, information about judges&rsquo; assets therefore could be requested by the public through an RTI application.</p>
<p>However the judgement has not seen the light and has been stayed by the Highest Court itself. The issue of transparency has been a sticking point for the highest judiciary, especially with respect to the appointment of judges and administration of justice.</p>
<p>The recent judgement of Supreme Court therefore warrants us to understand the whole debate surrounding the questions of accountability and transparency in Judiciary.</p>
<h3>Issues Affecting Judiciary</h3>
<p>India is one of the few countries where judges have the last word on judicial appointments, through the mechanism of the Collegium. The Collegium itself is not mentioned in the text of the Constitution but it arose out of a judgment of the Supreme Court, in response to increased executive interference in judicial appointments, particularly during Indira Gandhi&rsquo;s regime.</p>
<p>The Collegium started as a tool to secure and guarantee the independence of the judiciary.</p>
<p>In 2015, the Supreme Court struck down a constitutional amendment establishing a National Judicial Appointments Commission, which would have replaced the Collegium.</p>
<p>A majority of the five-judge Bench held that judicial primacy in appointments was the only constitutionally-authorised way of securing/ensuring judicial independence against an increasingly powerful political executive.</p>
<p>However appointments and transfers within the higher judiciary still remain a mystery. It is almost as though the Supreme Court Collegium has many paths to opacity that can exist in the appointments process. It is increasingly being perceived that judicial appointments have too often been made in an ad hoc and arbitrary manner.</p>
<p>The Collegium has immunised itself from any form of public scrutiny. The nomination process is secret and there is little information regarding how a person is selected. The deliberations are secret, the reasons for elevation or non-elevation are secret which creates an extremely unhealthy climate, in which rumours become staple and breeds anonymity between people working in the judiciary.</p>
<h3>The Need for the Transparency</h3>
<p>A combined reading of the principle of independence of judiciary and the provisions of the constitution gives the understanding that ensuring its accountability is the sole prerogative of the Supreme Court itself. No other institution can meddle with the functioning of the highest court of the land to achieve the desired goal.</p>
<p>The workings of the courts, as powerful organs of state, have to be as transparent and open to public scrutiny as any other body. The legitimacy of the courts rests on their ability to provide reasoned orders based on verified facts and principles of law.</p>
<p>Legal arguments are tested against preceding judgments of higher courts or larger benches of the same court. The judiciary consists of a hierarchy of courts. From courts of trial to those of appeal, and thus facts and law are tested at various stages,.</p>
<p>According to the Delhi High Court judgement all power including judicial power is subject to accountability in a modern Constitution. A blanket judicial exemption from the RTI Act therefore would defeat the basic idea of &ldquo;open justice&rsquo;&rsquo;.</p>
<p>The fear that bringing the judiciary under the RTI Act would destroy the personal privacy of judges is therefore unfound as the RTI Act itself has an inbuilt privacy-oriented protection, which authorises withholding the disclosure of personal information unless there is an overriding public interest.</p>
<h3>The Hesitancy to Open up</h3>
<p>The farmost fear in bringing the judiciary under the RTI Act is that it would destroy the personal privacy of judges impacting their non-partisanship and integrity.</p>
<p>For judges, their credibility and reputation is hugely important, and many feel that the slightest potential slight on this could be debilitating and prevent judges from doing their job.</p>
<p>Apprehensions have also been raised by people that few over-enthusiastic advocates might get their hands on dirt against judges that they can take it out of context and use for leverage in court, by asking for their recusal or otherwise, questioning their independence in hearing a case.</p>
<h3>The Way Out</h3>
<p>Judges, undoubtedly, require protection from being sued for their judicial decisions so as to be able to &ldquo;do the duty with complete independence and free from fear&rdquo; and hence require independence and supremacy in their functioning.</p>
<p>Meanwhile it is imperative to have a transparent system within the judiciary itself to deal with cases of judicial misconduct and to infuse the idea of judicial accountability.</p>
<p>The only way to salvage this is to open up the court. A judiciary that is confident of itself and of its place in the democratic republic should not be worried about subjecting judicial appointments to public scrutiny.</p>
<p><em><strong>As Lord Woolf had aptly said, &ldquo;the independence of the judiciary is&hellip; not the property of the judiciary, but a commodity to be held by the judiciary in trust for the public&rdquo;.</strong></em></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/open-up-the-supreme-court'
	],
	(int) 18 => [
		'title' => 'Parliamentary Election in Maldives',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has made a landslide victory in the parliamentary election in the Maldives by winning more than two-thirds seats in 87-Member People&rsquo;s Majlis&nbsp;(Maldives Parliament).</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>MDP victory is also a boost to President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih of the Maldives, who also belongs to MDP. Victory paves the way for easy passage of bills and a policy agenda with a realistic chance of implementation.</li>
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/maldives-election-result" target="_blank" rel="noopener">President Solih assumed power after a presidential election in September 2018,</a> replacing his predecessor Abdulla Yameen, who had propelled the Maldives into China&rsquo;s economic embrace.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Significance For India<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/836drishti_maldives.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/836drishti_maldives.png" width="334" height="236" style="float: right;" caption="false" /></a></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>After a downward trend in relation during the presidency of Abdulla Yameen, that benefited China considerably, the relation between India and Maldives are warming up again under the new president Ibrahim Solih.</li>
<li>Since September 2018, India and Maldives have seen a number of bilateral visits
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/pm-visit-to-maldives" target="_blank" rel="noopener">India&rsquo;s Prime Minister Visited Maldives</a> to attend the swearing-in ceremony of President Solih.</li>
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/maldives-presidents-visit-to-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Maldives President also visited India</a> in December 2018.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>India-Maldives Relation</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India and the Maldives share deep<strong> historical, cultural, and economic ties.</strong></li>
<li>India was among the <strong>first to recognize the Maldives after its independence in 1965</strong> and to establish diplomatic relations with the country. India established its mission at Mal&eacute; in 1972.</li>
<li>India&rsquo;s bilateral and financial assistance to the Maldives has been reciprocated through an <strong>&ldquo;India first&rdquo; policy by the Maldives.</strong></li>
<li>Importance of the Maldives for India:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Maldives is an important aspect of India&rsquo;s<strong> &lsquo;Neighbourhood First&rsquo; policy.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Strategically located in the Indian Ocean</strong>, Maldives archipelago comprising 1200 coral Islands lies next to key shipping lanes which ensure uninterrupted energy supplies to countries like China, Japan, and India. More than 97% of India&rsquo;s international trade by volume and 75% by value passes through the region.</li>
<li>As the pre-eminent South Asian power and a<strong> &lsquo;net security provider&rsquo; in the Indian Ocean region,</strong> India needs to cooperate with the Maldives in security and defense sectors.</li>
<li>India is also a preferred destination for Maldivians for education, medical treatment, recreation, and business.</li>
<li><strong>Maldives is also a member of SAARC</strong>. It is important for India to have the Maldives on board to maintain its leadership in the region.</li>
<li>Since China&rsquo;s naval expansion into the Indian Ocean - Maldives significance has steadily grown and now it&rsquo;s at the heart of international geopolitics.</li>
<li>There is significant Indian diaspora in the Maldives. Innumerable Indians work across the hospitality, education, and health-care sectors of the Maldives economy.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is a regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union in South Asia<strong> formed in 1985.</strong></li>
<li>The member states include <strong>Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.</strong></li>
<li>SAARC compromises 3% of the world's area, 21% of the world's population and 9.12% of the global economy, as of 2015.</li>
<li><strong>The organization promotes the development of economic and regional integration. It launched the South Asian Free Trade Area in 2006.</strong></li>
<li>SAARC maintains permanent diplomatic relations at the UN as an observer and has developed links with multilateral entities.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
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		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/parliamentary-election-in-maldives'
	],
	(int) 19 => [
		'title' => 'NIRF & ARIIA Rankings 2019',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>The President of India has announced the <strong>results for&nbsp;National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF)-2019 and&nbsp;Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA)-2019</strong> at a function held in Vigyan Bhawan at New Delhi.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>These were the&nbsp;<strong>fourth edition of NIRF</strong> Rankings and<strong> first edition of ARIIA</strong> ranking.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Highlights</h3>
<h3></h3>
<h4>NIRF Rankings 2019</h4>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Indian Institute of Madras <strong>(IIT Madras)</strong> has<strong> topped</strong> the list in<strong> &lsquo;overall category&rsquo;.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>7 IITs are among the<strong> first ten position</strong> holders whereas <strong>JNU, Delhi has secured the seventh rank.</strong></li>
<li>Seven Institutes from Karnataka have made it to the top 100.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>IISc Bengaluru </strong>has <strong>topped &lsquo;University category&rsquo;.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Banaras Hindu University (BHU)</strong> has retained its<strong> third position in the top 10 universities</strong> in the country for the third consecutive year.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Miranda House, Delhi has secured the top position in Colleges category,</strong> IIT Madras in engineering category, National Law School of India University, Bangalore in Law category, IIT Kharagpur in Architecture category, AIIMS in medical category, IIM Bangalore in management category and Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi in &lsquo;Pharmacy Category&rsquo;.</li>
</ul>
<h4>ARIIA Rankings 2019</h4>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>IIT Madras</strong> has topped the <strong>&lsquo;Public funded Institutions Category&rsquo;.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Vellore Institute of Technology, Tamil Nadu</strong> has topped the <strong>&lsquo;Private Institutions Category&rsquo;.</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) <strong>was launched by the Minister of Human Resource Development on 29th September 2015.</strong></li>
<li>This framework<strong> outlines a methodology to rank institutions across the country.</strong></li>
<li>The<strong> parameters</strong> broadly cover
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Teaching, Learning and Resources,</li>
<li>Research and Professional Practices,</li>
<li>Graduation Outcomes,</li>
<li>Outreach and Inclusivity and</li>
<li>Perception.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>NIRF rankings 2019 has been given under 8 categories: Overall, Universities, Engineering, Medical, Management, Law, Architecture, Pharmacy and Colleges.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is an <strong>initiative of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD)</strong>, Govt. of India to systematically rank all the major higher educational institutions and universities in India on indicators related to<strong> &ldquo;Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development</strong>&rdquo; amongst students and faculties.</li>
<li><strong>Major Indicators</strong>&nbsp;are:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Budget &amp; Funding Support.</li>
<li>Infrastructure &amp; Facilities.</li>
<li>Awareness, Promotions &amp; support for Idea Generation &amp; Innovation.</li>
<li>Promotion &amp; Support for Entrepreneurship Development.</li>
<li>Innovative Learning Methods &amp; Courses.</li>
<li>Intellectual Property Generation, Technology Transfer &amp; Commercialization.</li>
<li>Innovation in Governance of the Institution.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>More than quantity, ARIIA<strong> focuses on quality of innovations</strong> and tries to measure the real impact created by these innovations nationally and internationally.</li>
</ul>
</div>',
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		'articles__metadescription' => 'string',
		'articles.metadescription' => 'string',
		'metadescription' => 'string',
		'articles__metakeyword' => 'text',
		'articles.metakeyword' => 'text',
		'metakeyword' => 'text',
		'articles__status' => 'integer',
		'articles.status' => 'integer',
		'status' => 'integer',
		'articles__sort_order' => 'integer',
		'articles.sort_order' => 'integer',
		'sort_order' => 'integer',
		'articles__addedby' => 'integer',
		'articles.addedby' => 'integer',
		'addedby' => 'integer',
		'articles__updatedby' => 'integer',
		'articles.updatedby' => 'integer',
		'updatedby' => 'integer',
		'articles__added' => 'timestamp',
		'articles.added' => 'timestamp',
		'added' => 'timestamp',
		'articles__modified' => 'timestamp',
		'articles.modified' => 'timestamp',
		'modified' => 'timestamp',
		'articles__whatsnewid' => 'integer',
		'articles.whatsnewid' => 'integer',
		'whatsnewid' => 'integer',
		'articles__display_printpdf' => 'integer',
		'articles.display_printpdf' => 'integer',
		'display_printpdf' => 'integer',
		'articles__display_comments' => 'integer',
		'articles.display_comments' => 'integer',
		'display_comments' => 'integer',
		'articles__pdf_name' => 'string',
		'articles.pdf_name' => 'string',
		'pdf_name' => 'string',
		'articles__display_archive' => 'integer',
		'articles.display_archive' => 'integer',
		'display_archive' => 'integer'
	],
	'decorators' => (int) 0,
	'executed' => false,
	'hydrate' => true,
	'buffered' => true,
	'formatters' => (int) 0,
	'mapReducers' => (int) 0,
	'contain' => [],
	'matching' => [],
	'extraOptions' => [],
	'repository' => object(App\Model\Table\ArticlesTable) {}

}
$page = (int) 204
$search = 'class'
$totalPages = (float) 276
$title = 'Search'
$lastyear = (int) 2018
$year = '2021'
$i = (int) 2017
$selected = ''
$m = (int) 13
$month = 'December'

include - ROOT/plugins/Drishti/src/Template/Element/rightsection.ctp, line 100
Cake\View\View::_evaluate() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1196
Cake\View\View::_render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1157
Cake\View\View::_renderElement() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1554
Cake\View\View::element() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 668
include - ROOT/plugins/Drishti/src/Template/Element/articlebox.ctp, line 5
Cake\View\View::_evaluate() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1196
Cake\View\View::_render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1157
Cake\View\View::_renderElement() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1554
Cake\View\View::element() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 668
include - ROOT/plugins/Drishti/src/Template/Search/index.ctp, line 85
Cake\View\View::_evaluate() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1196
Cake\View\View::_render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1157
Cake\View\View::render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 765
Cake\Controller\Controller::render() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 623
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 125
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 93

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