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Major Constitutional Amendments: Part-3

Click here for Major Constitutional Amendments: Part 1 Click here for Major Constitutional Amendments: Part 2 Seventy Third Amendment Act,...

12 Mar 2020 Constitutional Amendments
Major Constitutional Amendments: Part-2

Important Amendments Thirty-Ninth Amendment Act, 1975 Reasons: It was enacted in response to the ruling of the Allahabad High Court who...

09 Mar 2020 Constitutional Amendments
Major Constitutional Amendment: Part 1

Introduction Like any other written Constitution in the world, the Constitution of India also provides for its amendment in order to adjust itself...

07 Mar 2020 Constitutional Amendments
States’ Prerogative to Provide 10% Reservation

Why in News Recently, the Centre informed the Supreme Court that it would be the States’ prerogative to provide 10% economic reservation in...

10 Jan 2020 Constitutional Amendments
Pathalgarhi Movement

Why in News Recently, the Union government withdrew amendments to the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006 which would have diluted tribal rights over...

02 Dec 2019 Constitutional Amendments
Call of the River

This article is based on “Call of the River” which was published in The Indian Express on 02/11/2019. It talks about Inter-State River...

02 Nov 2019 Constitutional Amendments
Protection of Human Right (Amendment) Bill, 2019

To make the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) more inclusive and efficient, Lok Sabha passes the Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill,...

20 Jul 2019 Constitutional Amendments
Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI)

When the panchayat raj is established, public opinion will do what violence can never do. — Mahatma Gandhi Context Panchayati...

02 Jul 2019 Constitutional Amendments
Administration of Agriculture Sector

Agricultural distress in the country and the inability of the State to deal with the problem is raising the demand of shifting agriculture from State...

11 Jun 2019 Constitutional Amendments
Protests in Mizoram over Citizenship Bill

Apart from other Northeastern states recently Mizoram has witnessed massive demonstrations over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016. This...

28 Jan 2019 Constitutional Amendments
Cabinet Decides to Strengthen NE Autonomous Councils

Cabinet has approved the amendment to Article 280 and the sixth schedule to the Constitution in order to increase powers of Autonomous Councils in...

24 Jan 2019 Constitutional Amendments
Debate on the Procedure of Amendment

Why in News? Both houses of the parliament have passed the Constitution (124th) Amendment Bill 2019. The Bill was passed by the special majority...

11 Jan 2019 Constitutional Amendments
Lok Sabha Passes the Constitution (124th Amendment) Bill 2019

The Bill aims to provide reservation in public employment and higher education for economically weaker sections. Economic reservation in jobs and...

09 Jan 2019 Constitutional Amendments
Should Article 35A be scrapped?

The ‘Yes, No, It’s complicated’ column of The Hindu for 24th August, 2018, looks upon the Article 35 A, its constitutionality and...

24 Aug 2018 Constitutional Amendments
25 Years of Local Democracy in India

The editorial traces the historical development and present state of local democracy in India- Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and...

08 Aug 2018 Constitutional Amendments
Constitutional Status for National Commission for Backward Classes

The Lok Sabha has passed the 123rd Constitutional Amendment Bill which seeks to grant constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward...

03 Aug 2018 Constitutional Amendments

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		'article_id' => (int) 4683,
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		'title' => 'Major Constitutional Amendments: Part-3',
		'description' => '<p><em>Click here for <a href="/to-the-points/Paper2/major-constitutional-amendment-part-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Major Constitutional Amendments: Part 1</strong></a></em></p>
<p><em>Click here for <a href="/to-the-points/Paper2/major-constitutional-amendments-part-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Major Constitutional Amendments: Part 2</strong></a></em></p>
<p><strong>Seventy Third Amendment Act, 1992</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendment:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Granted constitutional status and protection to the <strong>Panchayati Raj institutions.</strong> For this purpose, the Amendment has <strong>added a new Part-IX</strong> entitled as &lsquo;the panchayats&rsquo; and a new <strong>Eleventh Schedule</strong> containing 29 functional items of the panchayats</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Seventy Fourth Amendment Act, 1992</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendment:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Granted constitutional status and protection to the<strong> urban local bodies.</strong> For this purpose, the Amendment has <strong>added a new Part IX-A</strong> entitled as <strong>&lsquo;the municipalities&rsquo;</strong> and a new <strong>Twelfth Schedule</strong> containing 18 functional items of the municipalities.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Seventy Seventh Amendment Act, 1995</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendment:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Provided for reservation in promotions in government jobs for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.</strong> This amendment nullified the Supreme Court ruling with regard to reservation in promotions.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eightieth Amendment Act, 2000</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendment:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Provided for an &lsquo;alternative scheme of devolution&rsquo; of revenue between the Centre and states. This was enacted on the basis of the recommendations of the Tenth Finance Commission which had recommended that out of the total income obtained from Central taxes and duties, 29% should be distributed among the states.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eighty First Amendment Act, 2000</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Empowered the state to consider the unfilled reserved vacancies of a year as a separate class of vacancies to be filled up in any succeeding year or years.</strong> Such class of vacancies is not to be combined with the vacancies of the year in which they are being filled up to determine the <strong>ceiling of 50% reservation</strong> on total number of vacancies of that year. In brief, this amendment ended the 50% ceiling on reservation in backlog vacancies.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eighty Second Amendment Act, 2000</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Provided for making of any provision in favour of the SCs and STs</strong> for relaxation in qualifying marks in any examination or lowering the standards of evaluation, for reservation in matters of promotion to the public services of the Centre and the states</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eighty Fourth Amendment Act, 2001</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Extended the ban on the readjustment of seats in the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies for another 25 years (i.e., up to 2026)</strong> with the same objective of encouraging population limiting measures. In other words, the number of seats in the Lok Sabha and the assemblies are to remain the same till 2026. It also provided for the readjustment and rationalisation of territorial constituencies in the states on the basis of the population figures of 1991 census.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eighty Fifth Amendment Act, 2001</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Provided for &lsquo;consequential seniority&rsquo; in the case of promotion by virtue of rule of reservation for the government servants belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes with retrospective effect from June 1995.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eighty Sixth Amendment Act, 2002</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Made elementary education a fundamental right under the Article 21A</strong></li>
<li><strong>Changed the subject matter of Article 45 in Directive Principles</strong></li>
<li><strong>Added a new fundamental duty under Article 51-A</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eighty Seventh Amendment Act, 2003</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Provided for the readjustment and rationalisation of territorial constituencies in the states on the basis of the population figures of 2001 census and not 1991 census as provided earlier by the 84th Amendment Act of 2001.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eighty Ninth Amendment Act, 2003</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Bifurcated the erstwhile combined National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes into two separate bodies, namely, National Commission for Scheduled Castes (Article 338) and National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (Article 338-A).</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Ninety First Amendment Act, 2003</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Made the following provisions to limit the size of Council of Ministers, to debar defectors from holding public offices, and to strengthen the anti-defection law:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The total number of ministers, including the Prime Minister, in the Central Council of Ministers, shall not exceed 15% of the total strength of the Lok Sabha.</li>
<li>A member of either house of Parliament belonging to any political party who is disqualified on the ground of defection shall also be disqualified to be appointed as a minister.</li>
<li>The total number of ministers, including the Chief Minister, in the Council of Ministers in a state shall not exceed 15% of the total strength of the Legislative Assembly of that state. But, the number of ministers, including the Chief Minister, in a state shall not be less than 12.</li>
<li>A member of either House of a state legislature belonging to any political party who is disqualified on the ground of defection shall also be disqualified to be appointed as a minister.</li>
<li>A member of either House of Parliament or either House of a State Legislature belonging to any political party who is disqualified on the ground of defection shall also be disqualified to hold any remunerative political post. The expression &ldquo;remunerative political post&rdquo; means:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Any office under the central government or a state government where the salary or remuneration for such office is paid out of the public revenue of the concerned government or,</li>
<li>Any office under a body, whether incorporated or not, which is wholly or partially owned by the central government or a state government and the salary or,</li>
<li>Remuneration for such an office is paid by such a body, except where such salary or remuneration paid is compensatory in nature (Article 361-B).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The provision of the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law) pertaining to exemption from disqualification in case of split by one-third members of the legislature party has been deleted. It means that the defectors have no more protection on grounds of splits.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Ninety Second Amendment Act, 2003</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Included four more languages in the Eighth Schedule. They are <strong>Bodo, Dogri (Dongri), Maithili and Santhali.</strong> With this, the total number of constitutionally recognised languages increased to 22</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Ninety Third Amendment Act, 2005</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Empowered the state to make special provisions for the socially and educationally backward classes or the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes in educational institutions including private educational institutions (whether aided or unaided by the state), except the minority educational institutions (clause (5) in Article 15).</strong></li>
<li>This Amendment was enacted to nullify the Supreme Court judgement in the Inamdar case (2005) where the apex court ruled that the state cannot impose its reservation policy on minority and non-minority unaided private colleges, including professional colleges. The court declared that reservation in private, unaided educational institutions was unconstitutional.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Ninety Sixth Amendment Act, 2011</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Substituted &ldquo;Odia&rdquo; for &ldquo;Oriya&rdquo;. Consequently, the &ldquo;Oriya&rdquo; language in the Eighth Schedule shall be pronounced as &ldquo;Odia&rdquo;.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Ninety Seventh Amendment Act, 2011</strong></li>
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Gave constitutional status and protection to cooperative societies.</strong> It made the following three changes in the constitution:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>It made the right to form co-operative societies a fundamental right (Article 19).</li>
<li>It included a new Directive Principle of State Policy on the promotion of co-operative societies.</li>
<li>It added a new Part IX-B in the constitution which is entitled &ldquo;The Co-operative societies&rdquo;.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Ninety Ninth Amendment Act 2014</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Replaced the collegium system of appointing judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts with a new body called the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC).</li>
<li>However, in 2015, the Supreme Court declared this Amendment Act as unconstitutional and void. Consequently, the earlier collegium system became operative again</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>One Hundredth Amendment Act, 2014</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Gave effect to the acquiring of certain territories by India and transfer of certain other territories to <strong>Bangladesh</strong> (through the exchange of enclaves and retention of adverse possessions) in pursuance of the<strong> Land Boundary Agreement of 1974 and its Protocol of 2011.</strong></li>
<li>For this purpose, this amendment act amended the provisions relating to the territories of four states (Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya and Tripura) in the First Schedule of the Constitution.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>One Hundred and First Amendment Act, 2017</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Introduction of the Goods and Services Tax</strong></li>
<li>Goods and Services Tax (GST) is an indirect tax (or consumption tax) used in India on the supply of goods and services. It is a comprehensive, multistage, destination-based tax: comprehensive because it has subsumed almost all the indirect taxes except a few state taxes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>One Hundred and Second Amendment Act, 2018</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Constitutional status was provided to the National Commission for Backward Classes under India's Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.</strong></li>
<li>Article 338B into the Constitution after Articles 338 and 338A which deal with the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (SC) and National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (ST) respectively.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>One Hundred Third Amendment Act, 2019</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It introduced <strong>reservations for Economic Weaker Section</strong> for the first time in independent India</li>
<li>Amendment in Article 16 allows a 10% reservation to EWS in public employment.</li>
</ul>
</li>
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		'title' => 'Major Constitutional Amendments: Part-2',
		'description' => '<h2>Important Amendments</h2>
<h3>Thirty-Ninth Amendment Act, 1975</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Reasons:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It was enacted in response to the ruling of the Allahabad High Court who declared the election of PM Indira Gandhi to Lok Sabha void on the petition of Raj Narain.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Placed the disputes relating to the president, Vice President, prime minister and Speaker beyond the scope of the judiciary. They are to be decided by such authority as may be determined by the Parliament.</li>
<li>Included certain Central Acts in the Ninth Schedule</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Forty Second Amendment Act, 1976</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Added three new words (i.e., socialist, secular and integrity) in the Preamble.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Added Fundamental Duties by the citizens (new Part IV A).</strong></li>
<li>Made the president bound by the advice of the cabinet.</li>
<li>Provided for administrative tribunals and tribunals for other matters (Added Part XIV A).</li>
<li>Froze the seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies on the basis of 1971 census till 2001 - Population Controlling Measure</li>
<li>Made the constitutional amendments beyond judicial scrutiny.</li>
<li>Curtailed the power of judicial review and writ jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and high courts.</li>
<li>Raised the tenure of Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies from 5 to 6 years.</li>
<li>Provided that the laws made for the implementation of Directive Principles cannot be declared invalid by the courts on the ground of violation of some Fundamental Rights.</li>
<li>Empowered the Parliament to make laws to deal with anti-national activities and such laws are to take precedence over Fundamental Rights.</li>
<li><strong>Added three new Directive Principles viz., equal justice and free legal aid, the participation of workers in the management of industries and protection of the environment, forests, and wildlife.</strong></li>
<li>Facilitated the proclamation of national emergency in a part of the territory of India.</li>
<li>Extended the one-time duration of the President&rsquo;s rule in a state from 6 months to one year.</li>
<li>Empowered the Centre to deploy its armed forces in any state to deal with a grave situation of law and order.</li>
<li>Shifted five subjects from the state list to the concurrent list, viz, education, forests, protection of wild animals and birds, weights and measures and administration of justice, constitution and organisation of all courts except the Supreme Court and the high courts.</li>
<li>Did away with the requirement of quorum in the Parliament and the state legislatures.</li>
<li>Empowered the Parliament to decide from time to time the rights and privileges of its members and committees.</li>
<li>Provided for the creation of the All-India Judicial Service.</li>
<li>Shortened the procedure for disciplinary action by taking away the right of a civil servant to make representation at the second stage after the inquiry (i.e., on the penalty proposed).</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Forty-Third Amendment Act, 1977</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Restored the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the High Courts in respect of judicial review and issue of writs.</li>
<li>Deprived the Parliament of its special powers to make laws to deal with anti-national activities.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Forty-Fourth Amendment Act, 1978</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Restored the original term of the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies (i.e., 5 years).</li>
<li>Restored the provisions with regard to the quorum in the Parliament and state legislatures.</li>
<li>Omitted the reference to the British House of Commons in the provisions pertaining to the parliamentary privileges.</li>
<li>Gave constitutional protection to publication in a newspaper of true reports of the proceedings of the Parliament and the state legislatures.</li>
<li>Empowered the president to send back once the advice of the cabinet for reconsideration. But, the reconsidered advice is to be binding on the president.</li>
<li>Deleted the provision which made the satisfaction of the president, governor, and administrators final in issuing ordinances.</li>
<li>Restored some of the powers of the Supreme Court and high courts.</li>
<li><strong>Replaced the term &lsquo;internal disturbance&rsquo; by &lsquo;armed rebellion&rsquo; in respect of national emergency.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Made the President to declare a national emergency only on the written recommendation of the cabinet.</strong></li>
<li>Made certain procedural safeguards with respect to a national emergency and President&rsquo;s rule.</li>
<li><strong>Deleted the right to property from the list of Fundamental Rights and made it only a legal right.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Provided that the fundamental rights guaranteed by Articles 20 and 21 cannot be suspended during a national emergency.</strong></li>
<li>Omitted the provisions which took away the power of the court to decide the election disputes of the president, the vice-president, the prime minister and the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Fiftieth Amendment Act, 1984</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Empowered the Parliament to restrict the Fundamental Rights of persons employed in intelligence organisations and telecommunication systems set up for the armed forces or intelligence organisations.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Fifty-Second Amendment Act, 1985</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Reasons:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>To stop defection and the politics of 'Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram'</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Provided for disqualification of members of Parliament and state legislatures on the ground of defection and <strong>added a new Tenth Schedule</strong> containing the details in this regard.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Fifty Eighth Amendment Act, 1987</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Provided for an authoritative text of the Constitution in Hindi language and gave the same legal sanctity to the Hindi version of the Constitution.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Sixty-First Amendment Act, 1989</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Reduced the voting age from 21 years to 18 years for the Lok Sabha and state legislative assembly elections.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Sixty-Fifth Amendment Act, 1990</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Provided for the establishment of a multi-member National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the place of a Special Officer for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Sixty-Ninth Amendment Act, 1991</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Accorded a special status to the Union Territory of Delhi by designing it as the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The amendment also provided for the creation of a 70-member legislative assembly and a 7-member council of ministers for Delhi.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Seventy-First Amendment Act, 1992</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Included Konkani, Manipuri and Nepali languages in the Eighth Schedule. With this, the total number of scheduled languages increased to 18.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><em>Click here for <a href="/to-the-points/Paper2/major-constitutional-amendment-part-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Major Constitutional Amendments: Part 1</a></em></p>',
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		'article_id' => (int) 4640,
		'category_id' => (int) 27,
		'title' => 'Major Constitutional Amendment: Part 1',
		'description' => '<h3>Introduction</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Like any other written Constitution in the world, the Constitution of India also provides for its amendment in order to adjust itself according to the changing conditions and needs.</li>
<li>Article 368 in Part XX of the Constitution deals with the powers of Parliament to amend the Constitution and its procedure. It states that the Parliament may amend the Constitution by way of addition, variation or repeal any provision in accordance with the procedure laid down for the purpose.</li>
<li>However, the Parliament cannot amend those provisions which form the &lsquo;basic structure&rsquo; of the Constitution. This was ruled by the Supreme Court in the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973).</li>
</ul>
<h3>Important Amendments</h3>
<p><strong>First Amendment Act, 1951</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Reasons:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>To remove certain practical difficulties created by the court's decision in several cases such as Kameshwar Singh Case, Romesh Thapar Case, etc.</li>
<li>Issues involved in the cases included freedom of speech, acquisition of the Zamindari land, State monopoly of trade, etc</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Empowered the state to make special provisions for the advancement of socially and economically backward classes.</li>
<li>Provided for the saving of laws providing for acquisition of estates, etc.</li>
<li>Added Ninth Schedule to protect the land reforms and other laws included in it from the judicial review. After Article 31, Articles 31A and 31B were inserted.</li>
<li>Added three more grounds of restrictions on freedom of speech and expression: public order, friendly relations with foreign states and incitement to an offence. Also, it made the restrictions &lsquo;reasonable&rsquo; and thus, justiciable in nature.</li>
<li>Provided that state trading and nationalisation of any trade or business by the state is not to be invalid on the ground of violation of the right to trade or business.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Fourth Amendment Act, 1955</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Made the scale of compensation given in lieu of compulsory acquisition of private property beyond the scrutiny of courts.</li>
<li>Authorised the state to nationalise any trade.</li>
<li>Included some more Acts in the Ninth Schedule.</li>
<li>Extended the scope of Article 31 A (savings of laws).</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Seventh Amendment Act, 1956</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Reasons:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>To implement the recommendations of the State Reorganization Committee and to implement the State Reorganization Act, 1956.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Second and Seventh Schedules were amended</li>
<li>Abolished the existing classification of states into four categories i.e., Part A, Part B, Part C, and Part D states, and reorganised them into 14 states and 6 union territories.</li>
<li>Extended the jurisdiction of high courts to union territories.</li>
<li>Provided for the establishment of a common high court for two or more states.</li>
<li>Provided for the appointment of additional and acting judges of the high court.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Ninth Amendment Act, 1960</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Reasons:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>After the Nehru-Noon agreement was signed between India and Pakistan to divide the territory of Berubari Union, the Government of West Bengal opposed it. After this Union referred the matter to SC which held that the power of Parliament to diminish the area of a state (under Article 3) does not cover cession of Indian territory to a foreign country. Hence, Indian territory can be ceded to a foreign state only by amending the Constitution under Article 368. Consequently, the 9th Constitutional Amendment Act (1960) was enacted.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Facilitated the cession of the Indian territory of Berubari Union (located in West Bengal) to Pakistan as provided in the Indo-Pakistan Agreement (1958).</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Tenth Amendment Act, 1961</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Incorporation of Dadra, Nagar and Haveli as a Union Territory, consequent to acquisition from Portugal.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eleventh Amendment Act, 1961</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Changed the procedure of election of the vice president by providing for an electoral college instead of a joint meeting of the two Houses of the Parliament.</li>
<li>Provided that the election of the President or vice president cannot be challenged on the ground of any vacancy in the appropriate electoral college.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Twelfth Amendment Act, 1962</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Incorporated Goa, Daman and Diu in the Indian Union.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Thirteenth Amendment Act, 1962</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Gave the status of a state to Nagaland and made special provisions for it.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Fourteenth Amendment Act, 1962</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Incorporated Puducherry in the Indian Union.</li>
<li>Provided for the creation of legislatures and council of ministers for the Union Territories of Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Goa, Daman and Diu, and Puducherry.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Seventeenth Amendment Act, 1964</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Prohibited the acquisition of land under personal cultivation unless the market value of the land is paid as compensation.</li>
<li>Included 44 more Acts in the Ninth Schedule</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Eighteenth Amendment Act, 1966</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Made it clear that the power of Parliament to form a new state also includes a power to form a new state or union territory by uniting a part of a state or a union territory to another state or union territory.</li>
<li>It created new states namely, Punjab and Haryana</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Twenty First Amendment Act, 1967</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Included Sindhi as the 15<sup>th</sup> language in the Eighth Schedule.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Twenty Fourth Amendment Act, 1971</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Reasons:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Twenty Fourth Constitutional Amendment Act was brought in response to the Golaknath ruling (1967) of the Supreme Court which held that the Parliament does not have the power to take away any fundamental rights through amendment to the Constitution.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Affirmed the power of Parliament to amend any part of the Constitution including fundamental rights by amending Article 13 and 368.</li>
<li>Made it compulsory for the President to give his assent to a Constitutional Amendment Bill.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Twenty-Fifth Amendment Act, 1971</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Curtailed the fundamental right to property.</li>
<li>Provided that any law made to give effect to the Directive Principles contained in Article 39 (b) or (c) cannot be challenged on the ground of violation of the rights guaranteed by Articles 14, 19 and 31.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Twenty-Sixth Amendment Act, 1971</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Abolished the privy purses and privileges of the former rulers of princely states.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Thirty First Amendment Act, 1973</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Reasons:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>An increase in the population of India revealed in the Census of 1971.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Increased the number of Lok Sabha seats from 525 to 545.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Thirty Third Amendment Act, 1974</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Amended Articles 101 and 190 and provided that the resignation of the members of Parliament and the state legislatures may be accepted by the Speaker/Chairman only if he is satisfied that the resignation is voluntary or genuine</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Thirty-Fifth Amendment Act, 1974</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Terminated the protectorate status of Sikkim and conferred the status of an associate state of the Indian Union. The Tenth Schedule was added laying down the terms and conditions of association of Sikkim with the Indian Union</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Thirty Sixth Amendment Act, 1975</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Made Sikkim a full-fledged State of the Indian Union and omitted the Tenth Schedule.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Thirty-Eighth Amendment Act, 1975</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendments:</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Made the declaration of emergency by the President non-justiciable.</li>
<li>Made the promulgation of ordinances by the President, governors and administrators of Union territories non-justiciable.</li>
<li>Empowered the President to declare different proclamations of national emergency on different grounds simultaneously</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>',
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		'article_id' => (int) 4124,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'States’ Prerogative to Provide 10% Reservation',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, the Centre informed the <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-national-institutions/supreme-court-of-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Supreme Court</strong></a> that it would be the States&rsquo; prerogative to provide <strong>10% economic reservation</strong> in government jobs and admission to educational institutions.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The State governments concerned are to decide whether or not to provide reservation to the <strong>Economically Weaker Section (EWS)</strong> in appointment to State government jobs and admission to State government educational institutions, as per provisions of the newly inserted <strong>Articles 15(6) and 16(6) by the Constitution 103<sup>rd</sup> Amendment Act, 2019.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This comes as a response to a<a href="/to-the-points/Paper2/public-interest-litigation" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> Public Interest Litigation</strong></a> <strong>(PIL)</strong> that seeks the Supreme Court&rsquo;s intervention to<strong> implement the 10% EWS quota in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka</strong> without disrupting the <a href="/to-the-points/Paper2/reservation-in-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>existing reservation framework</strong></a>, which covers the Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), Backward Classes (BC) and Most Backward Classes (MBC).</li>
<li>The 10% reservation prescribed by the Amendment Act is <strong>in addition to the existing reservation.</strong> It nowhere affects or infringes anybody&rsquo;s fundamental rights to equality instead gives rights of equal participation and representation to the EWS.</li>
<li>Centre informed the Supreme Court that it has <strong>no role in deciding the reservation policy of any state government.</strong> The concerned state governments have to decide the reservation under Articles 15(6) and 16(6).</li>
</ul>
<h3>Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In 2019, SC issued a notice to the Centre on a PIL <strong>seeking direction to Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to implement 10% quota</strong> in jobs and education for EWS as per the mandate of the 103rd Constitutional (Amendment) Act, 2019.</li>
<li>The petition contended that <strong>neither Tamil Nadu nor Karnataka had implemented </strong>this amendment.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It also highlighted that <strong>Tamil Nadu reserves 69%</strong> of its jobs and education seats for SCs, STs, BCs and MBCs, while the number stands at <strong>70% in Karnataka.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Constitution (103<sup>rd</sup> Amendment) Act, 2019</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It introduced <strong>economic reservation</strong> by <strong>amending</strong> <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/lok-sabha-passes-the-constitution-124th-amendment-bill-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Articles 15 and 16.</strong></a> It inserted <strong>Article 15 (6) and Article 16 (6)</strong> in the Constitution to allow reservation for the economically backward in the unreserved category.</li>
<li>It was enacted to promote the welfare of the poor not covered by the 50% reservation policy for SCs, STs and Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC).</li>
<li>It enables both Centre and the states to provide reservation to the EWSs of society.</li>
<li>Since this is a<strong> central law on subjects (employment, education) in the concurrent list (subjects on which states and the central government both have jurisdiction),</strong> the state governments need to ratify it before adopting it locally.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/it-is-up-to-states-to-provide-10-quota/article30506662.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
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		'article_id' => (int) 3775,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Pathalgarhi Movement',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<p>Recently, the Union government withdrew amendments to the <a href="/to-the-points/Paper2/forest-rights-act-2006" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006</strong></a> which would have diluted tribal rights over forests. These amendments evoked sustained protests by tribal and environmental activists.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The state government of<strong> Jharkhand</strong> tried to amend the <strong>Chotanagpur Tenancy Act, 1908</strong> and <strong>Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act, 1876</strong> to facilitate easier land acquisition norms which added to the problem. They were also withdrawn later on.</li>
<li>However, these decisions gave rise to the <strong>Pathalgarhi incidents</strong> in the tribal belt demanding implementation of the FRA and provisions of the <strong>Panchayats (Extension of Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA), 1996.</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/jharkhand-foundation-day" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Birsa Munda&rsquo;s</strong></a> struggle against the exploitation and discrimination against tribals led to the passing of the <strong>Chotanagpur Tenancy Act in 1908</strong> which restricted the passing of land from the tribal people to non-tribals.</li>
<li>The <strong>Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act, 1876</strong> prohibits the sale of Adivasi land to non-Adivasis in Santhal Pargana region along Jharkhand's border with Bengal.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Pathalgarhi Rebellion</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is a <strong>protest</strong> in which tribal people embed stone slabs (pathals) on the outskirts of a village or area, demarcating the limits of where their writ runs, prohibiting the entry of any institution connected to the state.</li>
<li>It is mainly concentrated in the four districts in the State&mdash; namely <strong>Khunti, Gumla, Simdega and West Singhbhum.</strong></li>
<li>In Munda tribal custom, placement of a huge stone marks the death of a person. The Pathalgadi movement draws on this tradition of honouring the community&rsquo;s ancestors.</li>
</ul>
<h3>The Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Area) Act, 1996</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It <strong>safeguards and preserves</strong> the traditions and customs of the people, and their cultural identity, community resources, customary mode of dispute resolution.</li>
<li>PESA <strong>empowers</strong> Gram Sabha/Panchayat at an appropriate level with the right to mandatory consultation in land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation of displaced persons.</li>
<li>It seeks to <strong>reduce alienation</strong> in tribal areas as they will have better control over the utilisation of public resources.</li>
<li>It will help<strong> minimise exploitation</strong> of tribal population as they will be able to control and manage money lending, consumption and sale of liquor and also village markets.</li>
<li>It <strong>promotes cultural heritage</strong> through the preservation of traditions, customs and cultural identity of tribal population.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://www.thehindu.com/elections/jharkhand/bjp-puts-up-a-brave-face-amid-tribal-discomfort/article30131419.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Source: TH</strong></a></p>',
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		'article_id' => (int) 3519,
		'category_id' => (int) 22,
		'title' => 'Call of the River',
		'description' => '<div class="border">
<p>This article is based on <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/interstate-river-water-disputes-bill-policy-making-call-of-the-river-6098671/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>&ldquo;Call of the River&rdquo;</strong></a> which was published in The Indian Express on 02/11/2019. It talks about Inter-State River Water Disputes Amendment Bill, 2019.</p>
</div>
<p>Recently, Lok Sabha passed the amendment to <strong>Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956.</strong> The Bill is yet to be discussed in the Rajya Sabha. It <strong>proposes a permanent tribunal</strong> and several other measures to improve the settlement of inter-state river water disputes.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The resolution of water dispute is governed by the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>According to its provisions, if a State Government makes a request regarding any water dispute and the Central Government is of the opinion that the water dispute cannot be settled by negotiations, then a <strong>Water Disputes Tribunal</strong> is constituted for the adjudication of the water dispute.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The Act was <strong>amended in 2002</strong> and it mandated a one year time frame to setup the water disputes tribunal and also a 3 year time frame to give a decision.</li>
<li>It was again <a href="/to-the-points/Paper2/inter-state-river-water-sharing-disputes" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>amended in 2017.</strong></a></li>
<li><strong>Reasons why Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 was not successful-</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Nine tribunals</strong> were set up under this act but <strong>only four gave final awards.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Cauvery River Water Dispute</strong> between <strong>Karnataka and Tamil Nadu,</strong> took <strong>28 years</strong> to settle which is way too long.</li>
<li><strong>The Ravi and Beas River Waters Tribunal</strong> was set up in <strong>1986</strong> and has not given the final award yet.</li>
<li><strong>Formation of multiple tribunals</strong> led to <strong>duplication and repetition</strong> of the work and <strong>increased red-tapism.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Unnecessary politicisation</strong> of the issue led to <strong>complications</strong> and made the process <strong>time consuming.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>The Inter-State River Water Disputes Amendment Bill, 2019</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is a<strong> modified version</strong> of the the Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2017.</li>
<li>Latest bill has<strong> three new elements-</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>A <strong>permanent tribunal</strong> with exclusive benches for each dispute instead of separate tribunals in the principal act.</li>
<li>A<strong> Disputes Resolution Committee (DRC)</strong> to attempt resolutions through mediated negotiations, instead of the Centre&rsquo;s mediation.</li>
<li>A<strong> provision for appointing a technical agency for a data bank</strong> to support dispute resolution.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Composition</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>The Tribunal</strong> will consist of-<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>A Chairperson</li>
<li>Vice-Chairperson</li>
<li>Three judicial members</li>
<li>Three expert members</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>They will be <strong>appointed by the Central Government</strong> on the <strong>recommendation of a Selection Committee.</strong></li>
<li>The Central Government may also appoint <strong>two experts serving in the Central Water Engineering Service as assessors</strong> to advise the tribunals in its proceedings. The assessor should not be from the state which is a party to the dispute.</li>
<li><strong>The DRC</strong> will comprise of-<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>A Chairperson</li>
<li>Experts with at least 15 years of experience in relevant sectors, to be nominated by the Central Government.</li>
<li>One member from each state who will be nominated by the concerned State Government, party to the dispute.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Central government</strong> will <strong>appoint or authorise an agency to maintain data bank</strong> and information system at the national level for each river basin.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Importance</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A permanent tribunal mechanism will <strong>reduce the delays</strong> in resolving interstate river disputes. It will also<strong> save costs</strong> compared to long-running individual tribunals.</li>
<li>It provides an opportunity to <strong>build knowledge on new and evolving approaches</strong> for resolving interstate river water disputes in India. It will <strong>increase the potential for transboundary river water governance in South Asia</strong> as well.</li>
<li>The <strong>role of DRC</strong> has been elevated from a superficial techno-legal body to an agency with a <strong>proactive role.</strong></li>
<li>The <strong>DRC aims for politically negotiated settlements</strong> for river water disputes which are deeply political at their core and to <strong>avoid legal adjudication.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Major Blind Spots in the Bill</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Bill leaves the scope for <strong>tussle between the legislature and judiciary.</strong> It does not address resolving mechanisms.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>power to create dispute solving mechanism remains with Parliament</strong> but <strong>Supreme Court&rsquo;s orders and guidance create hurdles</strong> in the process.</li>
<li>The <strong>Supreme Court</strong> says that it has <strong>jurisdiction over interstate river water disputes</strong> while the legislature has the opposite views.</li>
<li>The Supreme Court in February 2018 <strong>modified the allocations of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal Final award of 2007.</strong></li>
<li>The <strong>last instance</strong> of creating a mechanism was <strong>under the Supreme Court&rsquo;s orders</strong> when the <strong>Centre created the Cauvery Water Management Authority (2018).</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The <strong>tribunal judge selection committee comprises of the Prime Minister or a nominee as the Chairperson, the Minister of Law and Justice, the Minister of Jal Shakti and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This composition<strong> might pose the risk of states politicising disputes</strong> as well as the <strong>adjudication by the tribunal.</strong> This creates a situation where the dispute could escalate to the Supreme Court.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>There are <strong>concerns relating to the composition and functionalities.</strong><br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The DRC might <strong>not</strong> be adequately <strong>empowered.</strong> The <strong>Cauvery Supervisory Committee (CSC)</strong> which had a similar composition did not have much success.</li>
<li>There is <strong>ambiguity about the DRC being a part of the Permanent Tribunal.</strong></li>
<li>Ensuring <strong>neutral and meaningful participation</strong> by the involved states in the DRC process in a daunting task.</li>
<li>The <strong>vagueness</strong> in the Bill <strong>about the agency performing the function of a credible data bank</strong> is puzzling.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>To set up a <strong>single, permanent tribunal</strong> to adjudicate on inter-state river water disputes is a <strong>major step towards streamlining the dispute redressal mechanism.</strong></li>
<li>This alone will not be able to address the different kinds of legal, administrative, constitutional and political problems so <strong>other supportive measures are also needed.</strong></li>
<li>Centre&rsquo;s proposal to set up an agency alongside the tribunal, to collect and process data on river waters, is a step which will <strong>enable fast and easy access to data.</strong></li>
<li>To <strong>strengthen the cooperative federalism,</strong> parochial mindset making regional issues superior to national issues should not be allowed.</li>
<li><strong>Dialogues and talks must be the dispute resolving mechanisms</strong> and political opportunism must be avoided.</li>
<li>A <strong>robust and transparent institutional framework with cooperative approach</strong> is the need of the hour.</li>
</ul>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 100%; border-color: #ff0000; border-style: dotted; background-color: #f7f7dc;"><span style="color: #0000ff;"><em><strong>Drishti Mains Question</strong></em></span><br /><br />The problem of water crisis in India is more about water mismanagement. Examine the proposed Inter-State River Water Disputes Amendment Bill, 2019 in this context.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
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		'article_id' => (int) 2571,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Protection of Human Right (Amendment) Bill, 2019 ',
		'description' => '<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>To make the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) more inclusive and efficient, Lok Sabha passes the Protection of <strong>Human Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2019</strong> which amends the Protection of Human Rights Act,1993.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Amendment proposed</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A person <strong>who has been a Judge of the Supreme Court</strong> is also made eligible to be appointed as Chairperson of the Commission in addition to the person who has been the Chief Justice of India.</li>
<li><strong>Increasing the members of the commission who have knowledge of human rights issues,</strong> from two to three, out of which one must be a woman;</li>
<li>Include <strong>Chairperson of the National Commission for Backward Classes</strong>, <strong>Chairperson of the National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights and the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities</strong> as deemed Members of the Commission;</li>
<li><strong>Reduces the term of the Chairperson</strong> and Members of the Commission and the State Commissions from <strong>five to three years</strong> and shall be eligible for re-appointment;</li>
<li>A person who has<strong> been a Judge of the High Court is also made eligible</strong> to be appointed as Chairperson of the State Commission in addition to the person who has been the Chief Justice of the High Court; and,</li>
<li><strong>Confer upon State Commissions,</strong> the functions relating to human rights being discharged by the Union territories, other than the Union territory of Delhi, which will be dealt with by the Commission.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Protection of Human Right Act, 1993</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993</strong> came into force with <strong>retrospective effect from September 28, 1993.</strong></li>
<li>It applies to the <strong>whole of India and in case of J&amp;K, it applies to matters pertaining to Union List and the Concurrent List only.</strong></li>
<li>The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 was enacted to provide for the constitution of:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>National Human Rights Commission (NHRC),</strong></li>
<li><strong>State Human Rights Commission (SHRC)</strong> and</li>
<li><strong>Human Rights Courts for the protection of human rights.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Human Right</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>According to Section 2 of the act <strong>-&ldquo;Human Rights&rdquo;</strong> means the rights relating to <strong>life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the International covenants and enforceable by courts in India.</strong></li>
</ul>
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		'article_id' => (int) 2370,
		'category_id' => (int) 63,
		'title' => 'Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI)',
		'description' => '<p><em>When the panchayat raj is established, public opinion will do what violence can never do.&nbsp; &nbsp;<strong>&mdash; Mahatma Gandhi</strong></em></p>
<h3>Context</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) is a system of <strong>rural local self-government</strong> in India.</li>
<li>Local Self Government is the management of local affairs by such local bodies who have been <strong>elected by the local people</strong>.</li>
<li>PRI was constitutionalized through the <strong>73<sup>rd</sup> Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992</strong> to build democracy at the grass roots level and was entrusted with the task of rural development in the country.</li>
<li>In its present form and structure <strong>PRI has completed 26 years of existence</strong>. However, a lot remains to be done in order to further decentralization and strengthen democracy at the grass root level.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Evolution of Panchayati Raj in India</h3>
<p>The history of Panchayat Raj in India can be divided into the following periods from the analytical point of view:</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Vedic Era:</strong> In the old Sanskrit scriptures, word &lsquo;Panchayatan&rsquo; has been mentioned which means a group of five persons, including a spiritual man.</li>
<li>Gradually the concept of the inclusion of a spiritual man in such groups vanished.</li>
<li>In the Rigveda, there is a mention of <strong>Sabha, Samiti and Vidatha as local self-units</strong>. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>These were the democratic bodies at the local level. The king used to get the approval of these bodies regarding certain functions and decisions.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Epic Era</strong> indicates the two great epic periods of India, that is, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.</li>
<li>The study of Ramayana indicates that the administration was divided into two parts - Pur and Janpad or city and village. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In the whole of the state, there was also a Caste Panchayat and one person elected by the Caste Panchayat was a member of the king's Council of Ministers.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Self-government of a village finds ample expression in the &lsquo;Shanti Parva&rsquo; of the Mahabharata; in the Manu Smriti as well as in Kautilya&rsquo;s Arthashastra.</li>
<li>As per the Mahabharata, over and above the village, there were units of 10, 20, 100, and 1,000 village groups. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>&lsquo;Gramik&rsquo;</strong> was the chief official of the village, <strong>&lsquo;Dashap&rsquo;</strong> was the chief of ten villages, <strong>Vinshya Adhipati, Shat Gram Adhyaksha</strong> and <strong>Shat Gram Pati</strong> were the chiefs of 20, 100, and 1,000 villages, respectively.</li>
<li>They collected the local taxes and were responsible for the defense of their villages.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Ancient Period:</strong> There is a mention of village panchayats in Kautilya&rsquo;s Arthashastra.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The town was referred to as Pur and its chief was the Nagarik.</li>
<li>Local bodies were free from any royal interference.</li>
<li><strong>During the Mauryan and Post-Mauryan periods too, the headman, assisted by a council of elders, continued to play a prominent role in the village life.</strong></li>
<li>The system <strong>continued through the Gupta period,</strong> though there were certain changes in the nomenclature, as the <strong>district official was known as the vishya pati</strong> and the <strong>village headman was referred to as the grampati</strong>.</li>
<li>Thus, in ancient India, there existed a well established system of local government which was run on a set pattern of traditions and customs.</li>
<li>However, it is significant to note that there is <strong>no reference of women heading the panchayat</strong> or even participating as a member in the panchayat.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Medieval Period:</strong> During the Sultanate period, the Sultans of Delhi divided their kingdom into <strong>provinces called &lsquo;Vilayat&rsquo;</strong>.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>For the governance of a village, there were three important officials - <strong>Mukkaddam for administration, Patwari for collection of revenues, and Choudhrie for settling disputes with the help of the Panch</strong>.</li>
<li>The villages had sufficient powers as regards self governance in their territory.</li>
<li>Casteism and feudalistic system of governance under the Mughal rule in the medieval period slowly eroded the self-government in villages.</li>
<li>It is again noteworthy to note that even in the medieval period there is no mention of women participation in the local village administration.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>British Period:</strong> Under the British regime, <strong>village panchayats lost their autonomy</strong> and became weak.</li>
<li>It is only from the year 1870 that India saw the dawn of representative local institutions.</li>
<li>The famous <strong>Mayo&rsquo;s resolution of 1870 gave impetus to the development of local institutions</strong> by enlarging their powers and responsibilities.</li>
<li>The year 1870, introduced the concept of elected representatives, in urban municipalities.</li>
<li>The revolt of 1857 had put the imperial finances under considerable strain and it was found necessary to finance local service out of local taxation. Therefore it was out of fiscal compulsion that Lord Mayo&rsquo;s resolution on decentralization came to be adopted.</li>
<li>Following the footsteps of Mayo, <strong>Lord Rippon in 1882 provided the much needed democratic framework to these institutions</strong>. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>All boards (then existing) were mandated to have a two-thirds majority of non-officials who had to be elected and the chairman of these bodies had to be from among the elected non-officials.</li>
<li>This is considered to be the <strong>Magna Carta of local democracy in India</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Local self-government institutions received a boost with the appointment of the <strong>Royal Commission on centralisation in 1907 under the Chairmanship of C.E.H. Hobhouse</strong>. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The commission recognized the importance of panchayats at the village level.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>It is in this backdrop that the <strong>Montagu Chelmsford reforms of 1919</strong> transferred the subject of local government to the domain of the provinces. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The reform also recommended that as far as possible there should be a complete control in local bodies and complete possible independence for them from external control.</li>
<li>These panchayats covered only a limited number of villages with limited functions and due to <strong>organisational and fiscal constraints</strong> they did not become democratic and vibrant institutions of local self government at the village level.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>However, by 1925, eight provinces had passed the Panchayat Acts and by 1926, six native States had also passed panchayat laws. Local bodies were given more powers and functions to impose taxes were reduced. But, the position of the local self-government institutions remained unaffected.</li>
<li><strong>Post&ndash;Independence Period:</strong> After the Constitution came into force, <strong>Article 40</strong> made a mention of panchayats and <strong>Article 246</strong> empowers the state legislature to legislate with respect to any subject relating to local self-government.</li>
<li>However, this inclusion of panchayats into the Constitution was not unanimously agreed upon by the then decision-makers, with the major opposition having come from the framer of the Constitution himself i.e. B.R.Ambedkar. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It was after much discussion among the supporters and opponents of the village panchayat that the panchayats finally got a place for themselves in the Constitution as <strong>Article 40 of the Directive Principles of State Policy</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Since the Directive Principles are not binding principles, the result was the absence of a uniform structure of these bodies throughout the country.</li>
<li>After independence, as a development initiative, India had implemented the Community Development Programmes (CDP) on the eve of Gandhi Jayanti, the 2nd October, 1952 under the major influence of the <strong>Etawah Project</strong> undertaken by the American expert, Albert Mayer. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It encompassed almost all activities of rural development which were to be implemented with the help of village panchayats along with the participation of people.</li>
<li>In 1953, the <strong>National Extension Service</strong> was also introduced as a prologue to CDP. But the programme did not yield much result.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>There were various reasons for the failure of CDP like bureaucracy and <strong>excessive politics, lack of people participation, lack of trained and qualified staff, and lack of local bodies interest in implementing the CDP</strong> especially the village panchayats.</li>
<li>In 1957, the National Development Council constituted a <strong>committee headed by Balwant Rai Mehta</strong> to look into the working of community development programme.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The team observed that the major reason for the failure of the CDP was the <strong>lack of people&rsquo;s participation</strong>.</li>
<li>The committee suggested a three-tier PRIs, namely, Grama Panchayats (GPs) at the village level, Panchayat Samiti (PSs) at the block level, and Zilla Parishad (ZPs) at the district level.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>As a result of this scheme of democratic decentralization was launched in Rajasthan on October 2, 1959.</strong></li>
<li>In Andhra Pradesh, the scheme was introduced on 1st November, 1959. The necessary legislation had also been passed and implemented in Assam, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, and Punjab etc.</li>
<li>The appointment of the <strong>Ashok Mehta Committee in 1977</strong> did bring new thinking in the concepts and practice of the Panchayat Raj. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The committee <strong>recommended a two-tier Panchayat Raj institutional</strong> structure consisting of <strong>Zilla Parishad and Mandal Panchayat</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>In order to use planning expertise and to secure administrative support, the district was suggested as the first point of decentralization below the state level.</li>
<li>Based on its recommendation, some of the states like Karnataka incorporated them effectively.</li>
<li>In subsequent years in order to revive and give a new lease of life to the panchayats, the Government of India had appointed various committees.</li>
<li>The most important among them are the <strong>Hanumantha Rao Committee (1983), G.V.K. Rao Committee (1985), L.M.Singhvi Committee (1986) and the Sarkaria Commission on Centre-State relations (1988), P.K. Thungan Committee (1989) and Harlal Singh Kharra Committee (1990)</strong>.</li>
<li>The <strong>G.V.K. Rao Committee (1985)</strong> recommended making the <strong>&ldquo;district&rdquo; as the basic unit of planning</strong> and also holding regular elections while the <strong>L.M.Singhvi committee</strong> recommended <strong>providing more financial resources and constitutional status to the panchayats</strong> to strengthen them.</li>
<li>The Amendment phase began with the 64th Amendment Bill (1989) which was introduced by Rajiv Gandhi seeking to strengthen the PRIs but the Bill was not passed in the Rajya Sabha.</li>
<li>The Constitution (74th Amendment) Bill (a combined bill for the PRIs and municipalities) was introduced in 1990, but was never taken up for discussion.</li>
<li>It was during the Prime Ministership of P.V.Narasimha Rao that a comprehensive amendment was introduced in the form of the Constitution 72nd Amendment Bill in September 1991.</li>
<li><strong>73<sup>rd</sup> and 74<sup>th</sup> Constitutional Amendments were passed by Parliament in December, 1992. Through these amendments local self-governance was introduced in rural and urban India.</strong></li>
<li>The Acts came into force as the Constitution (73<sup>rd</sup> Amendment) Act, 1992 on April 24, 1993 and the Constitution (74<sup>th</sup> Amendment) Act, 1992 on June 1, 1993.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Salient Features of the Constitution 73<sup>rd</sup> and 74<sup>th</sup> Amendments</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>These amendments <strong>added two new parts to the Constitution,</strong> namely, added <strong>Part IX titled &ldquo;The Panchayats&rdquo;</strong> (added by 73rd Amendment) and <strong>Part IXA titled &ldquo;The Municipalities&rdquo;</strong> (added by 74<sup>th</sup> Amendment).</li>
<li>Basic units of democratic system-<strong>Gram Sabhas (villages) and Ward Committees (Municipalities)</strong> comprising all the adult members registered as voters.</li>
<li><strong>Three-tier system</strong> of panchayats at village, intermediate block/taluk/mandal and district levels except in States with population is below 20 lakhs (Article 243B).</li>
<li>Seats at all levels to be filled by direct elections <strong>Article 243C (2)</strong>.</li>
<li>Seats reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) and the chairpersons of the Panchayats at all levels also shall be reserved for SCs and STs in proportion to their population.</li>
<li>One-third of the total number of seats to be reserved for women.</li>
<li>One third of the seats reserved for SCs and STs also reserved for women.</li>
<li>One-third offices of chairpersons at all levels reserved for women <strong>(Article 243D)</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>Uniform five year term</strong> and elections to constitute new bodies to be completed before the expiry of the term.</li>
<li>In the event of dissolution, elections compulsorily within six months (Article 243E).</li>
<li><strong>Independent Election Commission in each State</strong> for superintendence, direction and control of the electoral rolls (Article 243K).</li>
<li><strong>Panchayats to prepare plans for economic development</strong> and social justice in respect of subjects as devolved by law to the various levels of Panchayats including the subjects as illustrated in Eleventh Schedule (Article 243G).</li>
<li>74th Amendment provides for a <strong>District Planning Committee</strong> to consolidate the plans prepared by Panchayats and Municipalities (Article 243ZD).</li>
<li>Budgetary allocation from State Governments, share of revenue of certain taxes, collection and retention of the revenue it raises, Central Government programmes and grants, Union Finance Commission grants (Article 243H).</li>
<li>Establish a <strong>Finance Commission in each State</strong> to determine the principles on the basis of which adequate financial resources would be ensured for panchayats and municipalities (Article 243I).</li>
<li>The Eleventh Scheduled of the Constitution places as many as 29 functions within the purview of the Panchayati Raj bodies.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The following areas have been exempted from the operation of the Act because of the socio-cultural and administrative considerations: <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Scheduled <strong>areas listed under the V Schedule</strong> in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa and Rajasthan.</li>
<li>The states of <strong>Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram</strong>.</li>
<li>The hill areas of district of <strong>Darjeeling in the state of West Bengal</strong> for which Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council exists.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>In conformity with provisions in the Constitution Amendment Act, an Act called the <strong>Provisions of Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996</strong> passed by the Government of India.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Evaluating the Panchayati Raj Institutions at 26</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>PRIs has witnessed simultaneously a remarkable success and a staggering failure in the journey of 26 years depending on the goalposts against which they are evaluated.</li>
<li>While the PRI has <strong>succeeded in creating another layer of government and political representation</strong> at the grass-roots level, it has <strong>failed to provide better governance</strong>.</li>
<li>There are about 250,000 PRIs and urban local bodies, and over three million elected local government representatives.</li>
<li>The 73rd and 74th Amendments required that no less than one-third of the total seats in local bodies should be reserved for women. At 1.4 million, India has the most women in elected positions. Seats and sarpanch/pradhan positions were also reserved for SC/ST candidates.</li>
<li>Research using PRIs has shown that having <strong>female political representation in local governments</strong> makes women more likely to come forward and report crimes. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In districts with female sarpanchs, significantly greater investments are made in drinking water, public goods.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Moreover, the states have also provided the <strong>statutory safeguards for many devolution provisions</strong>, which have considerably empowered local governments.</li>
<li>Successive (central) Finance Commissions have, so substantially, <strong>increased fund allocations for local bodies</strong> and also the grants have been increased.</li>
<li>15th Finance Commission is also considering to further increase the allocations for local governments to match the international standards.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Issues</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The grey area is the <strong>lack of adequate funds</strong>. There is a need to enlarge the domain of panchayats to be able to raise their own funds.</li>
<li>The <strong>interference of area MPs and MLAs in the functioning of panchayats</strong> also adversely affected their performance.</li>
<li>The 73rd amendment only mandated the creation of local self-governing bodies, and left the decision to delegate powers, functions, and finances to the state legislatures, therein lies the failure of PRIs.</li>
<li>The transfer of various governance functions&mdash;like the provision of education, health, sanitation, and water was not mandated. Instead the amendment listed the functions that could be transferred, and left it to the state legislature to actually devolve functions.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>There has been very little devolution of authority and functions in the last 26 years.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Because these functions were never devolved, state executive authorities have proliferated to carry out these functions. The most common example is the terrible state water boards.</li>
<li>The major failure of the Amendment is the <strong>lack of finances for PRIs</strong>. Local governments can either raise their own revenue through local taxes or receive intergovernmental transfers.</li>
<li><strong>The power to tax, even for subjects falling within the purview of PRIs, has to be specifically authorized by the state legislature.</strong> The 73rd Amendment let this be a choice open to the state legislatures&mdash;a choice that most states have not exercised.</li>
<li>A second avenue of revenue generation is <strong>intergovernmental transfers,</strong> where state governments devolve a certain percentage of their revenue to PRIs. The constitutional amendment created provisions for State Finance Commissions to recommend the revenue share between state and local governments. However, these are merely recommendations and the state governments are not bound by them.</li>
<li>Though finance commissions, at every level, have advocated for greater devolution of funds, there has been <strong>little action by states to devolve funds</strong>.</li>
<li>PRIs are reluctant to take on projects that require any meaningful financial outlay, and are often unable to solve even the most basic local governance needs.</li>
<li>PRIs also <strong>suffer from structural deficiencies</strong> i.e. no secretarial support and lower levels of technical knowledge which restricted the aggregation of bottom up planning .</li>
<li>There is a <strong>presence of adhocism</strong> i.e. lack of clear setting of agenda in gram sabha, gram samiti meetings and no proper structure.</li>
<li>Though women and SC/STs has got representation in PRIs through reservation mandated by 73rd amendment but there is a <strong>presence of Panch-Pati and Proxy representation in case of women and SC/STs representatives respectively</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>Accountability arrangements remain very weak</strong> even after 26 years of PRIs constitutional arrangement.</li>
<li>The issue of <strong>ambiguity in the division of functions and funds has allowed concentration of powers with the states</strong> and thereby restraining the elective representatives who are more aware and sensitive to the ground level issues to take control.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Suggestions</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Genuine fiscal federalism</strong> i.e. fiscal autonomy accompanied by fiscal responsibility can provide a long term solution without this PRIs will only be an expensive failure.</li>
<li><strong>6th report of 2nd ARC, &lsquo;Local Governance- An inspiring journey into the future&rsquo;&rsquo;, had recommended that there should be a clear-cut demarcation of functions of each tier of the government.</strong></li>
<li>States should <strong>adopt the concept of &lsquo;activity mapping&rsquo;</strong>, wherein each state clearly delineates the responsibilities and roles for the different tiers of the government in respect to the subjects listed in the Schedule XI.</li>
<li>The subjects should divided and assigned to the different tiers on the basis of accountability to the public.</li>
<li>States like Karnataka and Kerala have taken some steps in this direction but overall progress has been highly uneven.</li>
<li>There is <strong>need for bottom up planning</strong> especially at the district level, based on grassroots inputs received from Gram Sabha.</li>
<li><strong>Karnataka has created a separate bureaucratic cadre for Panchayat</strong>s to get away from the practice of deputation of officials who often overpowered the elected representatives.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Such practices needs to be replicated in other states for strengthening the true character of local self governance.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The center also needs to <strong>financially incentivize states</strong> to encourage effective devolution to the panchayats in functions, finances, and functionaries.</li>
<li><strong>Training should be provided to local representatives</strong> to develop expertise so that they contribute more in planning and implementation of policies and programmes.</li>
<li>To solve the problem of proxy representation <strong>social empowerment must precede the political empowerment</strong>.</li>
<li>Recently states like Rajasthan and Haryana have set certain minimum qualification standards for Panchayat elections. Such necessary eligibility can help in improving effectiveness of governance mechanism.</li>
<li>These standards should apply for MLAs and MPs also and in this direction government should speeden up efforts for universal education.</li>
<li>There should be clear mechanisms to ensure that States comply with the constitutional provisions, particularly in the appointment and implementation of the recommendations of the State Finance Commissions (SFCs).</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The need of the hour is to bring about a holistic change in the lives of beneficiaries among the villagers by uplifting their socioeconomic and health status through effective linkages through community, governmental and other developmental agencies.</li>
<li>Government should take remedial action in the interest of democracy, social inclusion and cooperative federalism.</li>
<li>People&rsquo;s demands for the sustainable decentralisation and advocacy should focus on a decentralisation agenda. The framework needs to be evolved to accommodate the demand for decentralisation.</li>
<li>It is important to have <strong>clarity in the assignment of functions</strong> and the local governments should have <strong>clear and independent sources of finance</strong>.</li>
</ul>
<table border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #9becf2; border-style: none;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 899px;">
<p><em>If we would see our dream of Panchayat Raj, i.e., true democracy realized, we would regard the humblest and lowest Indian as being equally the ruler of India with the tallest in the land.</em></p>
<p style="text-align: right;"><em>&mdash; Mahatma Gandhi</em></p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
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		'article_id' => (int) 2163,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Administration of Agriculture Sector',
		'description' => '<p>Agricultural distress in the country and the inability of the State to deal with the problem is raising the demand of shifting agriculture from State list to the Concurrent list.</p>
<h3>Constitutional provisions</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Entry 14 of State list of Schedule VII</strong> of the constitution mentions agriculture as a state subject.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Agriculture, including agricultural education and research; protection against pests and prevention of plant diseases.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Government of India Act, 1935</strong> has provided to keep agriculture in the hands of the states.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The logic then was that since agriculture was basically <strong>region-specific</strong> and depended primarily on <strong>local agro-ecological conditions</strong> and <strong>native natural resources</strong>, the provincial administrations would be better placed to look after it.</li>
<li>The predominantly subsistence type of agriculture in vogue in those days was, more or less, self-contained with little inter-regional interactions for procuring inputs or selling the output. The problems besetting the farmers, too, were generally location-specific.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Modern-day challenges</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Integrated economy</strong>: The modern agriculture <strong>transgresses regional boundaries</strong> with i<strong>nter-state commercial dealings</strong> being part of the game. Agriculture is also getting integrated with other sectors of the economy, notably trade, industry and services.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Policy initiatives and regulatory decisions are taken by one state can now affect, directly or tacitly, the agri-economy of the other states as well.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Dependence on states</strong>: At present, the Centre has to rely on the state governments to implement even those farm development and farmer&rsquo;s welfare schemes that are sponsored and funded by it.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The decisions concerning support prices of crops, institutional credit and agri-commodities trade, both domestic and international, are taken by the Centre</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Important legislation</strong>: having a significant bearing on agriculture have been enacted by Parliament and are being administered by the Centre.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers&rsquo; Rights Act.</li>
<li>The Biological Diversity Act.</li>
<li>The National Food Security law.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>In-effective initiatives</strong>: to address the farmer&rsquo;s problems and to boost their incomes are not delivering the expected results because of non-cooperation of some state governments.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The notable ones among these are the crop insurance scheme; the <strong>Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan)</strong> and <strong>Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aayy Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA)</strong> to ensure remunerative prices for the farm produce.</li>
<li>Some vital reforms concerning agricultural marketing, land leasing, contract farming and a few others are not making much headway for the same reason.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>An unbridled control of the states over the farm sector is, therefore, posing problems and proving counterproductive.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Advantages</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Joint responsibility</strong>: The bulk of the funding for rural infrastructure, irrigation and other farm development programmes comes from the Centre.<br />By placing agriculture in the Concurrent List, serving farmers and saving farming becomes a joint responsibility of the Centre and the states.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Recommendations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>M.S. Swaminathan-headed National Commission on Farmers</strong> in his fifth and final report submitted in October 2006 has recommended shifting agriculture from the State List to the Concurrent List of the Constitution.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This would allow the Union government to have a greater and a relatively more decisive say in the matters related to agriculture and farmers without majorly diluting the powers of the state governments.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>The Dalwai committee</strong>: on the issue of doubling farmer's income, has also pitched for placing farm marketing in the Concurrent List to enable the Centre to revamp agricultural mandi&rsquo;s, improve their functional efficiency and expand the rural marketing infrastructure.</li>
<li>In the past, the Constitution has been altered to switch items from one List to another.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>42nd amendment,</strong> carried out in 1976, had shifted five subjects, including <strong>forests and wildlife protection</strong>, from the State List to the Concurrent list.</li>
<li>Looking at the significance of the issue and the potential gains from it, all political parties should support another Constitution amendment to put agriculture in the Concurrent List for the benefit of the farmers.</li>
</ul>
</li>
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		'article_id' => (int) 1278,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Protests in Mizoram over Citizenship Bill',
		'description' => '<p>Apart from other Northeastern states recently <strong>Mizoram has witnessed massive demonstrations</strong> over the <a href="/to-the-points/Paper2/upsc-ias-gs-paper-2-polity-the-citizenship-amendment-bill-2016" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016</a>.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This protest was organised by the influential <strong>Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP)</strong> which is a <strong>Mizo multinational student organization</strong> and apex students body in Mizoram state.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Reasons for Protest</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In Mizoram, the <strong>concern is not about Hindu immigrants from Bangladesh</strong> like in Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura but about<strong> Chakmas, a tribal and largely Buddhist group</strong>.</li>
<li>The Chakmas are present in parts of the Northeast, and the <strong>Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh</strong>, with which <strong>Mizoram shares an international border</strong>.</li>
<li>The state has seen<strong> ethnic violence</strong>, with instances of arson, names of Chakmas being struck off voters&rsquo; lists, and denial of admission to Chakma students in college.</li>
<li>MZP which is leading the current agitation, have often cited figures they attribute to the Census. In 1901, there were only 198 Chakmas in Mizoram and by 1991 it was over 80,000.</li>
<li><strong>According to MZP</strong> the <strong>growth rate is far more than normally possible</strong> which proves that there has been <strong>influx from Bangladesh</strong>.</li>
<li>At the same time Chakma activists cite a<strong> 2015 report</strong> submitted by the government of Mizoram to the <strong>National Human Rights Commission(NHRC)</strong> according to which the <strong>legitimacy of the Census figures between 1901 and 1941 cannot be ascertained</strong> as the same are not available with the Census Directorate, Mizoram.</li>
<li>The report cites Census data that puts the Chakma population at 15,297 in 1951 and 96,972 in 2011.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Who are Chakmas?<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577430693_image25.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577430693_image25.png" style="float: right;" caption="false" width="425" height="344" /></a></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Chakmas are<strong> ethnic people who lived in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, most of which are located in Bangladesh</strong>.</li>
<li>Chakmas are predominantly Buddhists. They are found in northeast India, West Bengal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.</li>
<li>The <strong>Chakmas living in India are Indian citizens</strong>. Some of them, mostly from Mizoram, live in relief camps in southern Tripura due to tribal conflict with Mizos. These Indian Chakmas living in Tripura take part in Mizoram elections too. The Election Commission sets up polling booths in relief camps.</li>
<li>The Chakmas living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts fled erstwhile East Pakistan in 1964-65, since they lost their land to the development of the <strong>Kaptai Dam</strong> on the<strong> Karnaphuli River</strong>.</li>
<li>They also faced religious persecution as they were non-Muslims and did not speak Bengali. They eventually sought asylum in India. The Indian government set up relief camps in Arunachal Pradesh and a majority of them continue to live there even after five decade.(According to the 2011 census, 47,471 Chakmas live in Arunachal Pradesh alone.)</li>
</ul>
<h3>Problem With Chakmas in Arunachal Pradesh</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In the 1960s, the <strong>Chakma refugees were accommodated</strong> in the relief camps constructed in the "vacant lands" of <strong>Tirap, Lohit and Subansiri districts</strong> of the erstwhile<strong> North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA)</strong>, a political division governed by the Union government.</li>
<li>In <strong>1972</strong>, <strong>NEFA</strong> was renamed <strong>Arunachal Pradesh</strong> and made a Union Territory, and subsequently, it attained statehood.</li>
<li>The <strong>locals and regional political parties opposed resettling refugees</strong> in their land fearing that it may change the demography of the State and that they may have to share the limited resources available for them.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Inclusion of Chakmas in Bangladesh</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>Chakmas opposed their inclusion in undivided Pakistan during Partition</strong>. They later <strong>opposed their inclusion in Bangladesh</strong> when East Pakistan was fighting the Liberation War with West Pakistan, on grounds that they are an ethnic and religious minority group.</li>
<li>A group of Chakmas resorted to armed conflict with Bangladeshi forces under the name 'Shanti Bahini'. The conflict increased the inflow of refugees to India.</li>
<li>In <strong>1997</strong>, the <strong>Bangladeshi government headed by Sheikh Hasina</strong> signed a <strong>peace accord</strong> with the <strong>Shanti Bahini</strong>, which resulted in the <strong>end of the insurgency</strong>.</li>
<li>According to the accord, the Chakma, Marma, Tripura, Murang and Tanchangya were acknowledged as tribes of Bangladesh entitled for benefits and a Regional Council was set up to govern the Hill Tracts. The agreement also laid out plans for the return of land to displaced natives and an elaborate land survey to be held in the Hill Tracts.</li>
<li><strong>Bangladesh </strong>was <strong>willing to take back a section of Chakma refugees living in India, </strong>but most of them were<strong> unwilling, fearing </strong>the return of<strong> religious persecution.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Granting Citizenship to Chakmas</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In <strong>2015</strong>, the <strong>Supreme Court</strong> directed the Centre to <strong>grant citizenship to Chakma</strong> who had migrated from Bangladesh in 1964-69.</li>
<li>The order was passed while hearing a plea by the Committee for Citizenship Rights of the Chakmas. Following this, the Centre introduced amendments to the Citizenship Act, 1955.</li>
<li>The Bill is criticized over making illegal immigrants eligible for citizenship on the basis of religion, which is a violation of Article 14 of the Constitution.</li>
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		'article_id' => (int) 1264,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Cabinet Decides to Strengthen NE Autonomous Councils',
		'description' => '<p>Cabinet has approved the<strong> amendment to Article 280</strong> and <strong>the sixth schedule to the Constitution</strong> in order to increase powers of Autonomous Councils in Sixth Schedule areas of North East.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The sixth schedule to the Constitution includes <strong>10 autonomous district councils of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura.</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p>The 10 autonomous councils <strong>among the 4 states</strong> under schedule six to the Constitution are:</p>
<p><strong>Assam</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Bodoland Territorial Council</li>
<li>Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council</li>
<li>Dima Hasao Autonomous District Council</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Meghalaya</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Garo Hills Autonomous District Council</li>
<li>Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council</li>
<li>Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Tripura</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Mizoram</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Chakma Autonomous District Council</li>
<li>Lai Autonomous District Council</li>
<li>Mara Autonomous District Council</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Approved Amendments</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Amendment in article 280 to <strong>mandate the Finance Commission to recommend devolution of financial resources.</strong> This will significantly improve the financial resources and powers of the autonomous districts councils.</li>
<li>Transfer of<strong> additional 30 subjects,</strong> including departments of Public Works, Forests, Public Health Engineering, Health and Family Welfare, Urban Development and Food and Civil Supply to Karbi Anglong Autonomous Territorial Council and Dima Hasao Autonomous Territorial Council in Assam.</li>
<li><strong>Renaming of few existing autonomous councils</strong> as the present jurisdiction of these councils extend to more than one districts.</li>
<li><strong>Increase in seats</strong> in Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (from 30 to 50 seats), Dima Hasao Autonomous District Council (30 to 40 seats), Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (30 to 42), Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (30 to 40) and Jaintia Hills Autonomous District Council (30 to 34).</li>
<li>Provide for <strong>elected village municipal councils</strong> which will be empowered to prepare plans for economic development and social justice, including those related to agriculture, land improvement, implementation of land reforms, minor irrigation, water management, animal husbandry, rural electrification, small scale industries and social forestry.</li>
<li>Elections to these<strong> village and municipal councils</strong> will be conducted by the State Election Commission. There will be a provision for <strong>anti-defection too.</strong></li>
<li>Reservation of at least <strong>one-third of seats for women</strong> in the village and municipal councils in the sixth schedule areas of Assam, Mizoram and Tripura.</li>
<li>At least <strong>two nominated members</strong> in all autonomous councils will be women.</li>
<li><strong>Meghalaya</strong> has for the time being <strong>kept out of the purview</strong> of the provision for elected village and municipal councils and one-third reservations for women.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Sixth Schedule</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Sixth Schedule of the Constitution deals with the<strong> administration of the tribal areas in the four northeastern states</strong> of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram <strong>as per article 244.</strong></li>
<li>The<strong> governor is empowered</strong> to increase or decrease the areas or change the names of the autonomous districts. While executive powers of the Union extend in Scheduled areas with respect to their administration in 5th schedule, the 6th schedule areas remain within executive authority of the state.</li>
<li>The acts of Parliament or the state legislature <strong>do not apply to autonomous districts</strong> and autonomous regions or apply with specified modifications and exceptions.</li>
<li>The Councils have also been endowed with wide <strong>civil and criminal judicial powers</strong>, for example establishing village courts etc. However, jurisdiction of these councils is subject to <strong>jurisdiction of the concerned High Court.</strong></li>
</ul>
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		'article_id' => (int) 1190,
		'category_id' => (int) 27,
		'title' => 'Debate on the Procedure of Amendment',
		'description' => '<h3>Why in News?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Both houses of the parliament have passed the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/lok-sabha-passes-the-constitution-124th-amendment-bill-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Constitution (124<sup>th</sup>) Amendment Bill 2019</strong></a>.</li>
<li>The Bill was passed by the special majority in both the houses i.e. a majority (that is, more than 50%) of the total membership of each House and a majority of two-thirds of the members of each House present and voting.</li>
<li>Debate on the 10% &lsquo;forward quota&rsquo; Bill saw arguments on the amendment procedure, including whether the Bill should be ratified by state Assemblies, and questions related to aided and unaided institutions.</li>
<li>The government has said that to amend part 3 of Article 368 of the Constitution which concerns the Fundamental Rights, there is no need for the amendment to be ratified by the state legislatures.</li>
<li>The 93<sup>rd</sup> Amendment Act, 2006 that added Article 15(5) to the Constitution was approved only by both houses of Parliament.</li>
<li>The Constitution (124th Amendment) Bill, 2019 was not required to be ratified by half the state assemblies.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Procedure for Amendment of Constitution</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Article 368 in Part XX of the Constitution deals with the power of parliament to amend the constitution and its procedures.</li>
<li>Article 368 provides for two types of amendments, that is, by a special majority of Parliament and the special majority of parliament along with the ratification of half of the states legislatures by a simple majority.</li>
<li>Amendment of certain provisions of the constitution requires amendment by a simple majority of each house present and voting. These amendments are not deemed to be amendments under Article 368.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Simple Majority</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A number of provisions in the Constitution can be amended by a simple majority of the two Houses of Parliament outside the scope of Article 368.</li>
<li>These provisions include
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>formation of new states and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing states,</li>
<li>abolition or creation of legislative councils in states,</li>
<li>use of official language,</li>
<li>citizenship &ndash; acquisition, and termination,</li>
<li>elections to Parliament and state legislatures,</li>
<li>fifth Schedule &ndash; administration of scheduled areas and scheduled tribes,</li>
<li>sixth Schedule &ndash; administration of tribal areas.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Special Majority</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Under <strong>Article 368(2),</strong> Parliament can amend the Constitution by passing a Bill with a special majority.</li>
<li>Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles are the two most important provisions that can be amended by the special majority. All provisions that do not require ratification by states, and those that come directly under the purview of Article 368, can be amended by the special majority.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Special Majority with the consent of half of States</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Those provisions of the Constitution which are related to the federal structure of the polity can be amended by a special majority of the Parliament and also with the consent of half of the state legislatures by a simple majority.</li>
<li>Provisions related to the federal structure enshrined in the Constitution can be amended only by a special majority and with the consent of the states.</li>
<li>Other important provisions that require ratification by the states include the election of President; Supreme Court and High Courts; representation of states in Parliament; distribution of legislative powers between the Union and the states; and the extent of executive power of the Union and the states.</li>
<li>Most importantly, an amendment to Article 368 itself, requires ratification by the states.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Basic Structure Doctrine</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In Kesavananda Bharati case 1973, the supreme court has ruled that parliament has the power to amend any part of the constitution but it cannot alter the &ldquo;basic structure of the constitution&rdquo;.</li>
<li>The constituents of basic structure are not clearly defined by the court. However, it has been interpreted to provisions like values enshrined in preamble like secularism, equality etc., federalism, separation of power, independence judiciary, rule of law etc.</li>
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	(int) 12 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {

		'article_id' => (int) 1178,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Lok Sabha Passes the Constitution (124th Amendment) Bill 2019',
		'description' => '<p>The Bill aims to provide reservation in public employment and higher education for economically weaker sections.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Economic reservation in jobs and education is proposed to be provided by inserting <strong>clause (6) in Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Provisions of Amendment Bill</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Amendment to Article 15:</strong> This clause enables State to make special provisions for advancement of any economically weaker section of citizens, including reservations in educational institutions.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>It states that such reservation can be made in any educational institution, including private institutions, whether aided or unaided, except minority educational institutions covered under Article 30 (1).</li>
<li>It further states that the upper limit of the reservation will be 10%, which will be in addition to the existing reservations.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Amendment to Article 16:</strong> The proposed Article 16 (6) enables State to make provision for reservation in appointments, in addition to the existing reservations, subject to a maximum of 10%.</li>
<li><strong>Definition of "Economically weaker sections":</strong> For the purposes of Articles 15 and 16 means such sections as notified by the State from time to time on the basis of family income and other indicators of economic disadvantage. This will be a class distinct from the already specified classes of SCs, STs, and socially and educationally backward classes.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><a href="/news-analysis-editorials/news-editorials/08-01-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Analysis of Reservation to Economically Backward Classes.</a></strong></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Article 15 in the constitution of India&nbsp;</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them</li>
<li>No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them, be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition with regard to
<ol style="list-style-type: lower-alpha;">
<li>access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and palaces of public entertainment; or</li>
<li>the use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort maintained wholly or partly out of State funds or dedicated to the use of the general public</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>It empowers the State to make special provision for women and children.</li>
<li>It empowers the State to make special provision for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.</li>
<li>It empowers the State to make special provision, by law, for the advancement of any socially and educationally backward classes of citizens or for the SCs or the STs in so far as such special provisions relate to their admission to educational institutions including private educational institutions except the minority educational institutions.</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>Article 16 in The Constitution Of India</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>There shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State</li>
<li>No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them, be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect or, any employment or office under the State</li>
<li>It empowers the Parliament for making any law prescribing, in regard to a class or classes of employment or appointment to an office under the Government of, or any local or other authority within, a State or Union territory, any requirement as to residence within that State or Union territory prior to such employment or appointment.</li>
<li>It empowers the State to make provision for the reservation of appointments or posts in favor of any backward class of citizens which, in the opinion of the State, is not adequately represented in the services under the State.</li>
<li>A law can provide that the incumbent of an office related to the religious or denominational institution or a member of its governing body should belong to the particular religion or denomination.</li>
</ol>
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		'article_id' => (int) 430,
		'category_id' => (int) 22,
		'title' => 'Should Article 35A be scrapped?',
		'description' => '<p><em>The &lsquo;Yes, No, It&rsquo;s complicated&rsquo; column of The Hindu for 24th August, 2018, looks upon the Article 35 A, its constitutionality and analyzes its impact on the State of Jammu and Kashmir.</em></p>
<h3>Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Article was introduced through a <strong>Presidential Order, of 1954,</strong> which gives the Jammu and Kashmir State Legislature a complete autonomy to decide who the &lsquo;permanent residents&rsquo; of the State are. It (despite its power, this article) is reflected only in an Appendix of the Constitution.</li>
<li>Under the Article, the J&amp;K State Legislature can enact any legislation on the issues of permanent residence, or special privileges and rights, or imposition of restrictions, or employment, acquisition of immovable property and settlement in the State, or aid from the State government. One of the preconditions of the enactment of the law was that it would not be considered to violate the fundamental rights of the citizens of the Jammu and Kashmir.</li>
<li>The Presidential Order was issued under <strong>Article 370(1)(d),</strong> which allows the President to make certain exceptions and modifications to the Constitution of India for the sole benefit of Jammu and Kashmir.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Implications of the Presidential Order</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>Instrument of Accession</strong> signed by Maharaja Hari Singh in 1947 which brought the State into the Union of India gave India control only over the State&rsquo;s <strong>defence, foreign policy and communications.</strong> On all other matters, the State government retained powers.</li>
<li>However, through the Presidential order, of 1954, India&rsquo;s control over the state was expanded by integrating the State&rsquo;s finances with India and the fundamental rights and directive principles were also extended to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir.</li>
<li>The Order also extended the Supreme Court&rsquo;s jurisdiction over certain aspects of Jammu and Kashmir.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Issues around the Article</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Article&rsquo;s addition to the Constitution under <strong>Article 370 (</strong>which allows the President to make certain exceptions and modifications to the Constitution for the benefit of Jammu and Kashmir) is in contradiction to the <strong>Article 368</strong> (procedure for constitutional amendments), which empowers only the Parliament to amend the Constitution. Also, its introduction through the Presidential order shows the lack of a comprehensive Parliamentary contemplation.</li>
<li>The &lsquo;classification&rsquo; of citizens created by the Article has been considered to be violative of the Fundamental Rights conferred on the citizens especially the Right to equality (Article 14). It has been considered to be discriminatory against the women with regards to property rights.</li>
<li>The Article does not consider the non-permanent residents of the state eligible for State government employment and also debars them from contesting elections.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Conclusion: Article 35A is a recognition of the conditional accession of J&amp;K into India</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Article is a small part of a larger process of the State&rsquo;s integration into India. The State&rsquo;s limited accession to India makes its legislations regulating land, rights over land and settlement in State different from the similar legislations in the other parts of the country like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand (where buying and selling of land to outsiders is not permitted by law). When the two fundamental rights - the freedom to reside and settle in any part of the territory and the freedom to practice any profession, trade and business gets violated in other states, they cannot be challenged in the case of Jammu and Kashmir, which in a way is a &lsquo;quasi-sovereign&rsquo; state.</li>
<li>All the issues revolving around the unconstitutionality of the legislation has to be decided according to laws and the Constitution of the State.</li>
<li>Even the decision to scrape it off should take into account the expression of the will of the people, through a political process which includes the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the discussion.</li>
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		'article_id' => (int) 552,
		'category_id' => (int) 22,
		'title' => '25 Years of Local Democracy in India',
		'description' => '<p><em>The editorial traces the historical development and present state of local democracy in India- Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Municipalities.</em></p>
<p>The &lsquo;Gram&nbsp;<g class="gr_ gr_95 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="95" data-gr-id="95">Sawaraj</g>&rsquo; dream of Mahatma Gandhi and the &lsquo;Power to the People&rsquo; exhortation of Rajiv Gandhi are the essence of true democracy. Twenty-five years of regular elections and the ever-increasing roles of panchayats in local development have contributed to their emergence as a formidable political platform for both national and regional parties. The implementation of all welfare&nbsp;programmes is&nbsp;routed through the panchayats. In fact, the panchayat head is the only elected representative in India who has executive roles as well. Panchayats and Municipalities enabling local democracy have constitutional sanction in India.</p>
<h3>73rd and 74th Amendment Acts, 1993</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It&rsquo;s been 25 years since decentralized democratic governance was introduced in India by the 73rd and 74th Constitution Amendments, which came into force on April 24 and June 1, 1993, respectively.</li>
<li>The 73rd Amendment to the Constitution (Part IX) has given constitutional status to the <g class="gr_ gr_293 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-del replaceWithoutSep" id="293" data-gr-id="293">Panchayats,</g> and has provided it with a substantial framework. It envisions the Panchayats as the institutions of local self-governance and also the universal platforms for planning and implementing programmes for economic <br />development and social justice.</li>
<li>The creation of lakhs of &ldquo;self-governing&rdquo; village panchayats and gram <g class="gr_ gr_72 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling" id="72" data-gr-id="72">sabhas</g>, with over three million elected representatives mandated to manage local development, was a unique democratic experiment.</li>
<li>Article 243A gives constitutional recognition to the Gram Sabha as a body consisting of persons registered in the electoral rolls relating to a village comprised within the area of the Panchayat at the village level.</li>
<li>The 74th Amendment Act provided for the constitution (Part IXA) of three types of municipalities in urban areas depending upon the size and area.</li>
<li>The Constitution provides for a complete institutional mechanism including reservation for women and formation of State Finance Commissions (SFCs) for local democracy.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Problems with Local Democracy in India</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Inadequate devolution:</strong> All states have not been forthcoming in giving Panchayats and Municipalities enough funds, functions <g class="gr_ gr_76 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Punctuation only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="76" data-gr-id="76">and</g> functionaries (3Fs). Functioning of local bodies is hampered by lack of interest in them by the states; devolution is uneven across states.</li>
<li><strong>States violating Provisions: </strong>From postponing the elections to the failure to&nbsp;constitute State Finance Commissions and District Planning Committees (DPCs), States have been seen to violate the&nbsp;various provisions of Parts IX and IXA.</li>
<li><strong>Inadequate Infrastructure:</strong> Insufficient staffing, office space, and infrastructure bottlenecks hamper the functioning of local bodies.</li>
<li>Panchayats and Municipalities have not used their fiscal powers efficiently. Very few Gram Panchayats levy and collect taxes (on markets, fairs, property, business and so on).</li>
<li>There was no real institutional decentralization except in the state of Kerala where local democracy has been very successful.</li>
<li>Most States continue to create parallel bodies (often fiefdoms of ministers and senior bureaucrats) that make inroads into the functional domain of local governments. For example, Haryana has created a Rural Development Agency, presided over by the Chief Minister, to enter into the functional domain of Panchayats.</li>
<li>Increasing allocations to Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) which started in 1993, and their State-level counterparts, known as the MLALADS has further eroded local democracy and grassroots decision making envisaged by the Constitution.</li>
<li>The 13th Finance Commission (FC) made significant steps to carry forward decentralized governance by <strong>linking the grants to local governments to the divisible pool</strong> via <br />Article 275 besides taking various measures to incentivize the process of decentralization. The 14th Finance Commission enhanced the grant substantially but did not take the change forward and the 15th FC which will submit its report in 2019 is also unlikely to incentivize devolution to local bodies.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Local government expenditure as a percentage of total public sector expenditure comprising Union, State and local governments are only around 7% in India as compared to 24% in Europe, 27% in North America and 55% in Denmark.</li>
</ul>
<p>Gram Sabha functioning should be improved. It should fully participate in planning, implementation and performance review (social audit) of various schemes with the participation of all stakeholders including women and other vulnerable groups.</p>
<div class="border-bg">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>NOTE</strong><br />National Panchayat Day: It is celebrated on 24 April every year. It was on this day in 1993, that the 73rd amendment act had come into force.</li>
<li>Panchayati Raj: The term was coined by PM Nehru who inaugurated the 3-tier Panchayati Raj in Nagaur (Rajasthan, 2 October 1959).</li>
</ul>
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		'article_id' => (int) 286,
		'category_id' => (int) 21,
		'title' => 'Constitutional Status for National Commission for Backward Classes',
		'description' => '<p>The Lok Sabha has passed the 123rd Constitutional Amendment Bill which seeks to grant constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) at par with the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) and the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST).</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The government has accepted two of the amendments moved by Rajya Sabha including appointing one woman member in the NCBC and giving power to state governments to frame policies for betterment of the OBCs.</li>
<li>The NCBC is a body set up under the National Commission for Backward Classes Act, 1993. It has the power to examine complaints regarding inclusion or exclusion of groups within the list of backward classes, and advise the central government in this regard.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>The Procedure for the Amendment of the Constitution: Article 368&nbsp;</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A Bill for the amendment of Constitution can be introduced only in either House of Parliament and not in the state legislatures.</li>
<li>The Bill must be passed in each House by a <strong>special majority</strong>, that is, a majority (more than 50%) of the total membership of the House and a majority of two-thirds of the members of the House present and voting.</li>
<li><strong>Each House must pass the Bill separately</strong>. In case of a disagreement between the two Houses, there is <strong>no provision for holding a joint sitting</strong> of the two Houses for the purpose of deliberation and passage of the bill.</li>
<li>The Bill <strong>must also be ratified by the legislatures of half of the states by a simple majority</strong> (a majority of the members of the House present and voting) if it seeks to amend the federal provisions of the Constitution.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Key Points</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Bill inserts <strong>Article 338 B</strong> in the Constitution, which provides for a National Commission for Backward Classes (for the socially and educationally backward classes) with a Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and three other members, all of whom shall be appointed by the President of India. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Their tenure and conditions of service will also be decided by the President through rules.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Currently, under the Constitution, the <strong>National Commission for Scheduled Castes</strong> has the power to look into complaints and welfare measures with regard to <strong>Scheduled Castes, backward classes and Anglo-Indians.</strong> <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Bill seeks to remove the power of the NCSC to examine matters related to backward classes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The Bill states that the President may specify the socially and educationally backward classes in the various states and union territories. He may do this in consultation with the Governor of the concerned state. However, a law of Parliament will be required if the list of backward classes is to be amended.</li>
<li>The duties of the NCBC will include: <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>investigating and monitoring how safeguards provided to the backward classes under the Constitution and other laws are being implemented,</li>
<li>inquiring into specific complaints regarding violation of rights, and</li>
<li>advising and making recommendations on socio-economic development of such classes.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The amended Bill will give the Commission powers equivalent to that of a civil court. It will be able to summon any person, ask for a document or public record, and receive evidence on affidavits. Union and state governments will have to consult the Commission on all significant policy matters affecting the socially and educationally backward classes.</li>
<li>The NCBC will be required to present annual reports to the President on working of the safeguards for backward classes. These reports will be tabled in Parliament, and in the state legislative assemblies of the concerned states.</li>
</ul>
<h3>National Commission for Scheduled Castes</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) is a constitutional body established by <strong>Article 338</strong> of the Constitution.</li>
<li>The separate National Commission for SCs came into existence in 2004.</li>
<li>It consists of a chairperson, a vice-chairperson and three other members. They are appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal. Their conditions of service and tenure of office are also determined by the President.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>NOTE:</strong> A committee under Justice G Rohini has been set up to examine sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes. The sub-categorization of OBCs can ensure increased access to benefits such as reservations in educational institutions and government jobs for less dominant OBCs.</p>
</div>
<h3>Concerns</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Bill makes Parliament the final authority on inclusion of communities in the OBC list and, therefore, takes away the authority of states which can now send requests to the NCBC &mdash; which, however, may or may not forward them to the union government.</li>
<li>Until now, the NCBS&rsquo;s recommendations with regard to inclusions and exclusions in the list are binding on the government.</li>
</ul>
<h3>A Brief History of OBC Reservations</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>Kalelkar Commission, set up in 1953,</strong> was the first to identify backward classes other than the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes at the national level. Its conclusion that caste is an important measure of backwardness was rejected on the ground that it had failed to apply more objective criteria such as income and literacy to determine backwardness.</li>
<li>The<strong> Mandal Commission report (1980)</strong> estimated the OBC population at 52% and classified 1,257 communities as backward. It <strong>recommended increasing the existing quotas</strong>, which were only for SC/ST, from 22.5% to 49.5% to include the OBCs. A decade later, its recommendations were implemented in government jobs, a move that sparked major agitations.</li>
<li>To assuage the anti-reservation protesters, the P V Narasimha Rao government in 1991 introduced a 10% quota for the &ldquo;economically backward sections&rdquo; among the forward castes.</li>
<li>The Supreme Court struck this down in the <strong>Indra Sawhney vs Union of India case (1993)</strong>, where it held that the Constitution recognised only social and educational &mdash; and not economic &mdash; backwardness.</li>
<li>The apex court, however, held reservation for OBCs as valid and directed that the creamy layer of OBC (those earning over a specified income) should not avail reservation facilities.</li>
<li>The overall reservation for SCs, STs and OBCs was capped at 50%. Based on the order, the central government reserved 27% of seats in union civil posts and services, to be filled through direct recruitment, for OBCs. The quotas were subsequently enforced in central government educational institutions.</li>
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