State Energy and Climate Index
Context:
NITI Aayog puts out Energy and Climate Index list.
Relevance:
GS III- Indian Economy
Dimensions of the Article:
- Background
- About State Energy & Climate Index (SECI)
- Highlights of SECI
Background:
- India, the third-largest energy consumer and the third-largest oil importer is working aggressively to provide affordable energy, ensuring energy access to all and ensuring high efficiencies in the operations.
- The intent to provide energy security to its 1.3 billion people will have far-reaching impact on India’s energy portfolio as its embraces clean energy pathways.
- India has strengthened its position in the market not only as a popular consumer but also as a transforming nation with some outstanding far-reaching agendas like increasing non-fossil fuel based installed electricity capacity of the country by 2030 to 500 GW, reducing the emission intensity of its GDP by about 45 percent from 2005 levels by 2030.
- The per capita energy consumption of India is one-third of the world average.
- The energy sector contributes to about 75% of the total greenhouse gas emissions of the country.
About State Energy & Climate Index (SECI)
- It measures the state’s efforts for improving the energy sector.
- The index has been designed to assess and identify the scope for improving the performance of states and to help them efficiently manage their energy resources.
- This will provide the states and concerned central ministries/departments with a ready reckoner of valuable information which in turn would empower them to formulate and implement suitable policies.
- The index has a preliminary set of 27 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) covering 6 parameters
- DISCOM’s performance
- access, affordability & reliability of energy
- clean energy initiatives
- energy efficiency
- environmental sustainability
- new initiatives
Objectives
- Ranking the States based on their efforts towards improving energy access, energy consumption, energy efficiency, and safeguarding environment;
- Helping drive the agenda of affordable, accessible, efficient and clean energy transition at the State level
- Encouraging healthy competition among the states on different dimensions of energy and climate.
Highlights of SECI:
- The States have been categorised based on size and geographical differences as larger and smaller States and UTs. The index is based on 2019-20 data.
- Gujarat, Kerala and Punjab have been ranked as the top three performers in the category of larger States, while Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh were the bottom three States.
- Goa emerged as the top performer in the smaller States category followed by Tripura and Manipur.
- Among UTs, Chandigarh, Delhi and Daman & Diu/Dadra & Nagar Haveli are the top performers.
- Punjab was the best performer in discom performance, while Kerala topped in access, affordability and reliability category.
- Haryana was the best performer in clean energy initiative among larger States and Tamil Nadu in the energy efficiency category.
The detailed rankings of the States/UTs under SECI are given in the following tables;
Score and Ranking of Larger States:
Score and Ranking of Smaller States:
Score and Ranking of Union Territories:
Idea that Judges Appoint Judges Is Wrong: CJI
Context:
The impression that “judges appoint judges” in India is wrong. It is the government which “finally appoints the judges in the name of the President of India, the head of our state”, Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana said in conversation with US Supreme Court judge.
Relevance:
GS II- Polity and Governance
Dimensions of the Article:
- What did the CJI say??
- What is the Collegium System?
- Evolution of the Collegium system
- Working of the Collegium System and NJAC
- Issues involved in appointment
What did the CJI say??
- There is an impression that in India judges appoint judges. It is a wrong impression.
- The appointment is made through the collegium system, which is a lengthy collaborative procedure. A large number of stakeholders are consulted.
What is the Collegium System?
- The Collegium System is a system under which appointments/elevation of judges/lawyers to Supreme Court and transfers of judges of High Courts and Apex Court are decided by a forum of the Chief Justice of India and the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court.’ There is no mention of the Collegium either in the original Constitution of India or in successive amendments.
- The recommendations of the Collegium are binding on the Central Government; if the Collegium sends the names of the judges/lawyers to the government for the second time.
Evolution of the Collegium system
- In the First Judges case (1982), the Court held that consultation does not mean concurrence and it only implies an exchange of views.
- In the Second Judges case (1993), the Court reversed its earlier ruling and changed the meaning of the word consultation to concurrence.
Third Judges Case, 1998:
- In the Third Judges case (1998), the Court opined that the consultation process to be adopted by the Chief Justice of India requires “consultation of a plurality of judges”.
- The sole opinion of the CJI does not constitute the consultation process. He should consult a collegium of four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court and even if two judges give an adverse opinion, he should not send the recommendation to the government.
- The court held that the recommendation made by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) without complying with the norms and requirements of the consultation process is not binding on the government.
- The Collegium system was born through the “Third Judges case” and it is in practice since 1998. It is used for appointments and transfers of judges in High courts and Supreme Courts.
- There is no mention of the Collegium either in the original Constitution of India or in successive amendments.
Working of the Collegium System and NJAC
- The collegium recommends the names of lawyers or judges to the Central Government. Similarly, the Central Government also sends some of its proposed names to the Collegium.
- Collegium considers the names or suggestions made by the Central Government and resends the file to the government for final approval.
- If the Collegium resends the same name again then the government has to give its assent to the names. But the time limit is not fixed to reply. This is the reason that appointment of judges takes a long time.
- Through the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2014 the National Judicial Commission Act (NJAC) was established to replace the collegium system for the appointment of judges.
- However, the Supreme Court upheld the collegium system and struck down the NJAC as unconstitutional on the grounds that the involvement of Political Executive in judicial appointment was against the “Principles of Basic Structure”. i.e., the “Independence of Judiciary”.
Issues involved in appointment
- Cumbersome Process: There are inordinate delays in the appointment of High Court judges and it leads to the pendency of cases.
- Lack of Transparency: There is no objective criteria for selection and people come to know about judges only after selection. It also promotes nepotism in the judiciary. The consultations of the Collegium are also not discussed in any public platform.
- Instances of Politicisation: In many cases, there is indication that due to the unfavorable judgments of certain judges the political executive hinders their appointments, elevation, or transfer. This reflects poorly on the concept of independence of the judiciary.
- Improper Representation: Certain sections of societies have higher representation whereas many vulnerable sections have nil representation.
SC to Look Into Easing Adoption Methodology
Context:
The Supreme Court decided to examine a plea to simplify the legal process for adoption of children in the country.
- The petition filed said that there were only 4,000 child adoptions annually though there were 3 crore orphan children in the country.
- Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System ought to appoint trained “adoption preparers” who could help the prospective parents to complete the cumbersome paperwork required for adoption.
Relevance:
GS II- Government policies and Interventions
Dimensions of the Article:
- About Central Adoption Resource Authority
- Eligibility criteria for prospective adoptive parents:
- Adoption Process
About Central Adoption Resource Authority
- Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) is a statutory body of Ministry of Women & Child Development, Government of India.
- It functions as the nodal body for adoption of Indian children and is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions.
- CARA is designated as the Central Authority to deal with inter-country adoptions in accordance with the provisions of the Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, 1993, ratified by Government of India in 2003.
- CARA primarily deals with adoption of orphan, abandoned and surrendered children through its associated /recognised adoption agencies.
Apart from CARA, there are other mandated organisations also which handle adoptions in India. They are as follows:
- State Adoption Resource Agency (SARA): Nodal body within the state to monitor & promote adoption and non-institutional care in coordination with CARA.
- Specialised Adoption Agency (SAA): Agencies recognised by the State Government for the placement of children in adoption.
- Authorised Foreign Adoption Agency (AFAA): A foreign social or child welfare agency that is authorised by CARA on the basis of recommendations of a foreign country’s adoption authority or govt department for all matters relating to the adoption of an Indian child by a citizen of that country.
- District Child Protection Unit (DCPU): A unit established by the state government at the district level for identifying orphaned, surrendered and abandoned children in the district. It also gets them declared legally free for adoption by the child welfare committees.
Eligibility criteria for prospective adoptive parents:
- The prospective adoptive parents shall be physically, mentally and emotionally stable, financially capable and shall not have any life-threatening medical condition.
- Any prospective adoptive parents, irrespective of his marital status and whether or not he has biological son or daughter, can adopt a child subject to following, namely: –
- the consent of both the spouses for the adoption shall be required, in case of a married couple;
- a single female can adopt a child of any gender;
- a single male shall not be eligible to adopt a girl child;
- No child shall be given in adoption to a couple unless they have at least two years of stable marital relationship.
- The minimum age difference between the child and either of the prospective adoptive parents shall not be less than twenty-five years.
- The age criteria for prospective adoptive parents shall not be applicable in case of relative adoptions and adoption by step-parent.
- Couples with three or more children shall not be considered for adoption except in case of special need children.
- In 2018, CARA has allowed individuals in a live-in relationship to adopt children from and within India.
Adoption Process
- Procedure for adoption adjudged by specialised adoption agencies preparing home study reports on the eligibility of prospective adoptive parents living in India who have been duly registered on the Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System (CARINGS), regardless of marital status or religion.
- After that, the specialised adoption agency obtains court orders authorising the adoption.
- All non-residents must register with an authorised adoption agency in their foreign country of residency under CARINGS.
- Authorized international adoption agencies determine their eligibility through home study reports, and CARA grants a pre-adoption ‘no objection’ certificate for foster care, followed by a court adoption order.
- For a passport and visa to leave India, a final “no objection” certificate from CARA or a compliance certificate under the adoption convention is required.
On Making Kannada Mandatory For UG Courses
Context:
Recently, the High Court of Karnataka stayed the implementation of two orders issued by the State Government making Kannada a compulsory language for undergraduate courses such as BA, BSc, BCom, etc., from the academic year 2021-22. With the interim order of the High Court, students admitted for the academic year 2021-22 are not required to compulsorily study Kannada for the time being.
Relevance:
GS II- Government policies and Interventions
Dimensions of the article:
- What were the Government Orders?
- What were the litigations that followed?
- Central government’s response
- What had the court ruled earlier?
What were the Government Orders?
- The Higher Education Department of Karnataka, on August 7, 2021, notified a Government Order issuing guidelines to universities and affiliated colleges for implementing the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020.
- As per the guidelines, students joining the undergraduate courses in Karnataka from the academic year 2021-22 were required to study Kannada as a compulsory language among the two languages mandated for the first four semesters.
- The government also prescribed preparation of a separate Kannada language syllabus for those who have not studied Kannada in 10+2 level and for those whose mother tongue is not Kannada.
- In another Government Order, issued on September 15, 2021, the department modified the guidelines stating that only functional Kannada is to be taught to students from outside Karnataka or from foreign countries or for those who have not studied Kannada in any level up to 10+2.
What were the litigations that followed?
- On September 23, 2021, the Samskrita Bharati (Karnataka) Trust filed a petition in the High Court challenging the constitutionality of making Kannada a compulsory subject under the cover of adopting NEP 2020.
- The litigants argued before the High Court that making Kannada a compulsory language to be studied in UG courses violates various fundamental rights of students and the teaching community.
- They also argued that making a language compulsory is contrary to the very purpose of NEP-2020, which purports to provide a choice-based system to promote inclusivity.
Central government’s response
- The High Court had asked the Central government to make its stand clear on whether NEP-2020 prescribes such compulsion to study a particular language.
- The Central government, in its written statement, clarified to the court that “there is no mention of any compulsory language in NEP-2020.”
- The Additional Solicitor General of India, in addition to reiterating the averments made in the statement, made it clear to the court that the regional language cannot be made a compulsory subject in implementation of the NEP.
What had the court ruled earlier?
- On December 16, 2021, the High Court said that students who have already chosen Kannada language should do so, but that pupils who do not choose to do so should not be forced to do so until further orders are issued.
- The government was also ordered by the court not to make Kannada a compulsory language.
- Because of the central government’s response, the court ruled that the Government Orders of August 7 and September 15, 2021, cannot be implemented for the time being.
The languages India Speaks
Context:
Recently, Home Minister suggested that states should communicate with each other in Hindi rather than English, while stressing that Hindi should not be an alternative to local languages.
Relevance:
GS II- Polity and Governance
Dimensions of the Article:
- How widely is Hindi spoken in India?
- Has it always been this widespread?
- And how widely is English spoken?
How widely is Hindi spoken in India?
- The 2011 linguistic census accounts for 121 mother tongues, including 22 languages listed in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.
- Hindi is the most widely spoken, with 52.8 crore individuals, or 43.6% of the population, declaring it as their mother tongue.
- The next highest is Bengali, mother tongue for 97 lakh (8%) — less than one-fifth of Hindi’s count.
- In terms of the number of people who know Hindi, the count crosses more than half the country.
- Nearly 13.9 crore (over 11%) reported Hindi as their second language, which makes it either the mother tongue or second language for nearly 55% of the population.
Has it always been this widespread?
- Hindi has been India’s predominant mother tongue over the decades, its share in the population rising in every succeeding census.
- In 1971, 37% Indians had reported Hindi as their mother tongue, a share that has grown over the next four censuses to 38.7%, 39.2%, 41% and 43.6% at last count).
- This begs the question as to which mother tongues have declined as Hindi’s share has risen.
- A number of mother tongues other than Hindi have faced a decline in terms of share, although the dip has been marginal in many cases.
- For example, Bengali’s share in the population declined by just 0.14 percentage points from 1971 (8.17%) to 2011 (8.03%).
- In comparison, Malayalam (1.12 percentage points) and Urdu (1.03 points) had higher declines among the mother tongues with at least 1 crore speakers in 2011.
- Punjabi’s share, on the other hand, rose from 2.57% to 2.74%.
- Between 1971 and 2011, the number of individuals who declared their mother tongue as Hindi multiplied 2.6 times, from 20.2 crore to 52.8 crore.
- The numbers more than doubled for Punjabi, Maithili, Bengali, Gujarati, and Kannada, and almost doubled for Marathi.
- At the other end of the scale (among the 22 languages listed in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution) were Malayalam, whose numbers rose by under 59% in four decades, and Assamese, rising just over 71% (Chart 3).
What explains Hindi’s high numbers?
- One obvious explanation is that Hindi is the predominant language in some of India’s most populous states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.
- Another reason is that a number of languages are bracketed under Hindi by census enumerators
And how widely is English spoken?
- Although English, alongside Hindi, is one of the two official languages of the central government, it is not among the 22 languages in the 8th Schedule; it is one of the 99 non-scheduled languages.
- In terms of mother tongue, India had just 2.6 lakh English speakers in 2011 — a tiny fraction of the 121 crore people counted in that census.
- That does not reflect the extent to which English is spoken.
Where is English most prevalent?
- As mother tongue, Maharashtra accounted for over 1 lakh of the 2.6 lakh English speakers.
- As second language, English is preferred over Hindi in parts of the Northeast.
- Among the 17.6 lakh with Manipuri (an 8th Schedule language) as their mother tongue in 2011, 4.8 lakh declared their second language as English, compared to 1.8 lakh for Hindi.
India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue
Context:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Joe Biden met virtually, as External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh were in Washington for the fourth ‘2+2’ foreign and defence ministry dialogues with their U.S. counterparts.
Relevance:
GS II- International Relations
Dimensions of the Article:
- Highlights of the Meeting
- ‘2+2’ Dialogue
Highlights of the Meeting
- The war between Russia and Ukraine featured prominently in the opening remarks of both.
- The two Leaders had an extensive exchange of views on several regional and global issues, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, global economic recovery, climate action, recent developments in South Asia and the Indo-Pacific region, and the situation in Ukraine.
- They also took stock of the significant progress made in bilateral relations in recent years.
- Both leaders agreed that further strengthening of the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership would be of tremendous benefit to the two countries, and would also contribute to global peace, prosperity and stability.
‘2+2’ Dialogue
- It’s a discussion format in which defence and foreign ministers or secretary meet with counterparts from other countries.
- The 2+2 Ministerial is the two countries’ highest-level institutional framework.
- India holds such talks with Australia and Japan as well.
- This was India’s fourth 2+2 meeting (Washington), the first of which took place in New Delhi in September 2018.
- US holds such ministerial dialogues with Australia and Japan also.
