PM IAS NOV 30 NEWS ANALYSIS

Doubling the court strength & pendency of cases

In Context

• The Supreme Court recently said that increasing the number of judges will not reduce the problem of the pendency of cases.

More about the news

• About the Public Interest Litigation (PIL):
  • According to the PIL, “doubling” the number of judges in the High Courts and the district judiciary was a rather “simplistic” solution to arrears.
    • It stated that there were at least 10 crore cases pending in the district judiciary alone.
  • The judge-population ratio in developed countries is 50 for every million. 
• Apex Court’s opinion:
  • The Supreme Court has said that increasing the number of judges will not demolish the perennial problem of pendency.
  • Difficulty in finding good lawyers:
    • The court also stated that it is already difficult to find good lawyers to accept the call to the Bench in High Courts.
    • Finding good lawyers even to fill the judicial vacancies in High Courts is difficult according to the CJI.
• Issues in the system & government’s inaction:
  • According to the Chief Justice of India, the Judiciary is overburdened because of the system. 
  • The Chief Justices of several High Courts had complained about lawyers being unwilling to accept invitations to the Bench because of the uncertainty posed by the government’s inaction.
    • The Justice Kaul Bench recently criticised the government for holding up Collegium recommendations for months together.

Collegium SystemAbout:It is the system of appointment and transfer of judges that has evolved through judgments of the Supreme Court, and not by an Act of Parliament or by a provision of the Constitution.Headed by:The Supreme Court collegium is headed by the Chief Justice of India and comprises four other senior-most judges of the court.A High Court collegium is led by its Chief Justice and four other senior-most judges of that court.Approval of CJI:Names recommended for appointment by a High Court collegium reaches the government only after approval by the CJI and the Supreme Court collegium.Judges of the higher judiciary are appointed only through the collegium system, and the government has a role only after names have been decided by the collegium.Role of Government in Judicial AppointmentThe government’s role is limited.It can only get an inquiry conducted by the Home Ministry if a lawyer is to be elevated as a judge in a High Court or the Supreme Court.It can also raise objections and seek clarifications regarding the collegium’s choices.But if the collegium reiterates the same names, the government is bound, under Constitution Bench judgments, to appoint them as judges.

Issue of Pendency of cases in India

• About:
  • Over 4.7 crore cases are pending in courts across different levels of the judiciary. 
  • Of them, 87.4% are pending in subordinate courts, 12.4% in High Courts, while nearly 1,82,000 cases have been pending for over 30 years. 
• Reasons behind the pendency:
  • Shortage of judges:
    • The major reason behind this situation is the overall shortage of judges in the high courts in India.
    • The situation is grim in subordinate courts where along with the shortage, lack of basic infrastructure is a big concern.
      • There are over 5,000 vacancies in subordinate courts against the total sanctioned strength of 24,490.
  • Absence of Time Limit: 
    • No time frame has been prescribed for the Courts for the disposal of cases.
  • Disruptions in Pandemic:
    • Disruptions due to the coronavirus pandemic further clogged the Indian judicial system.
      • There was a drop in new cases as courts went digital, but with lockdown restrictions in place, a slower disposal rate resulted in more pending cases.

Possible solution to reduce the pendency of cases

• Centre has suggested measures like:
  • Increasing the number of working days of courts, 
  • Establishment of fast track courts and 
  • Indian Courts and Tribunal Services (ICTs) to increase the productivity of the court system. 
• E-platforms:
  • Improving judicial infrastructure through the use of e-platforms and setting up of more courts.
  • India has launched the e-Courts National portal ecourts.gov.in of the eCourts Project.
• Strengthening the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism:
  • It uses modes like Arbitration, Mediation and Conciliation.
  • It uses a neutral third party who helps the parties to communicate, discuss the differences and resolve the dispute.
  • It offers to resolve all types of matters related to civil disputes, as explicitly provided by the law.
• Counseling:
  • Disputes can be settled at the pre-litigation stage through counseling.
• Speedy appointment of judges:
  • By not appointing judges, the government is depriving common persons of justice. Justice delayed is justice denied. 
  • There is an urgent need to improve the judge-to-population ratio to reduce the workload of judges.
• Internal restructuring:
  • The vacation period of the High Courts and the Apex Court needs to be curtailed.
  • Apart from that, increasing the number of working days for the judges is one of the solutions given by the law commission reports.
• Scrapping of redundant laws:
  • It was found that obsolete and redundant laws not only create confusion among citizens but also increase pendency of cases.

Way Ahead

• Using the funds collected from the citizens to build up a strong and efficient judicial system, providing infrastructure to deal with all kinds of problems, only then can the objective in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution be achieved in its true spirit. 

India’s Vision For Indo-Pacific

In News

• Recently, the Defence Minister of India stated that India has emerged as a regional power and net security provider in the Indo-Pacific.

Key Points

• India’s capacity to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to its citizens as well as regional partners has grown in recent years.
• India has strengthened multilateral partnerships through engagement via regional mechanisms.
  • This has improved interoperability, enabling faster response in crisis situations.
• Climate Change and Disaster Management:
  • Asia, particularly the Indo-Pacific region, is vulnerable to the impact of climate change.
  • India’s approach, after the formulation of the National Disaster Management Policy, has shifted in its focus from a relief-centric approach to a “multi-pronged” approach, including prevention, preparedness, mitigation, response, relief and rehabilitation
• Samanvay 2022: 
  • The multi-agency Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercise ‘Samanvay 2022’ was held in Agra, Uttar Pradesh.
  • It is an important exercise considering the value India holds for Indo-Pacific
  • The exercise was conducted by the Indian Air Force at the Agra Air Force Station. 
  • ASEAN nations also participated in this Exercise

India’s Vision For Indo-Pacific

• Term coin: 
  • While the coinage ‘Indo-Pacific’ in a geo-political sense might be of recent usage, India as an ancient maritime power is all too familiar with the transcendence of ocean boundaries; 
  • India historically reached out both to its east and west to mutual benefit. 
  • The usage, nevertheless, in a contemporary sense represents India’s widening interests. It is for us the next step beyond the Act East.
• Population: 
  • It is estimated that the Indo-Pacific is home to 60% of the world population and 2/3rd of global economic output. 
• Global Trade:
  • Half of the global trade transits the region and 90% of India’s own trade travels on its waters. 
  • For India, this shift in economic trajectory from the Atlantic to the Indo-Pacific is important. 
  • In fact the region’s security, stability, peace and prosperity is vital for the entire world.
• India’s Vision: 
  • About: 
    • The vision was laid out by the Prime Minister in his speech in Singapore in 2018.
    • He had subsequently in the East Asia Summit in Thailand in 2019 enunciated the ‘Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative’ listing its seven pillars, that are:
      • Maritime security 
      • Ecology and resources; 
      • Capacity building; 
      • Disaster risk reduction and management; 
      • S&T and academic cooperation; 
      • Trade, 
      • Connectivity and maritime transport.
  • Vision: 
    • India envisages a free, open, inclusive, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific, built on a rules based order and with sustainable and transparent infrastructure investments. 
    • It should have freedom of navigation and overflight, unimpeded lawful commerce, mutual respect for sovereignty, peaceful resolution of disputes, and equality amongst nations. 
    • It is positive, and inclusive of all nations in its geography and beyond who have a stake in it. 
    • ASEAN centrality and unity is an important element of the vision.
• Efforts: 
  • India has sought to strengthen security and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific by becoming a net security provider. 
  • It has built relations with partner countries across the region. 
  • It has provided defence training courses and deputed mobile training teams. 
  • Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean region has enhanced maritime domain awareness among partner countries. 
  • Indian Ocean Naval Symposium, which brings together 35 navies of the region, contributes to deepening mutual understanding on maritime challenges and encourages a collective approach.
• Indo-pacific Ocean’s initiative: 
  • It is an Indian initiative for safe, stable and secure maritime domain, especially the Indo-pacific ocean region.
  • The focus areas include enhancement of security, cooperation in disaster management and sustainable use of marine resources.
  • India has been in the pursuit of a rules-based international order in which countries abide by the awards of global dispute resolution mechanisms and there is a peaceful resolution of the disputes.
• Nine-dash line:
  • It is an imaginary, vague line which represents Chinese claims over the South China sea.
  • This line has led China into border disputes with neighbouring countries including Vietnam, Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan.
  • At the heart of the dispute is the resource-rich region surrounding Paracel and Spratly islands. China has led claims over the islands, but they are rejected by the majority of the members of the international community.

Significance of India Ocean Region

• Historical importance: The Indian Ocean has been one of the most important Sea Lane of Communication (SLOCs) for trade due to the faster development in the region since ancient times. The trade between the African nations, the Indian sub-continent and the East Asian countries including China kept the seas busy during early times.
• Race for domination: After the entry of Europeans, the Indian Ocean saw a race for dominance and search for strategic bases to exploit the resources and control the trade of the region. The earliest explorers in the region were Portuguese. However, it was the British who could establish a far greater influence over the region due to their blue-water navy. After world war II, it has been the US, which has been regarded as the top power in the region due to its superior naval capacity. However, of late, the control of the Indian Ocean has been defused in an increasingly multilateral world.
• String of Pearls: China has established multiple bases in the Indian Ocean Region as a part of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). For e.g. recently China acquired the Djibouti base, in addition to the already existing Gwadar port, which is in the advanced stages of development. Also, there are a number of logistics bases of China in the region. For e.g. the Hambantota port in Sri Lanka, Kyakpyu port in Myanmar etc.

Challenges

• The region is highly heterogeneous in terms of economic size and level of development, with significant differences in security establishments and resources.
• China is keeping a close watch at India’s engagement through strategic dialogues, military exercises and security agreements with many Indo-Pacific countries.
• The failure to realize concrete Indo-Pacific deliverables despite an early start has underlined the need to better understand each other’s priorities and challenges in the region. For example- since the release of the AAGC, there has been very little movement on this initiative.

Way Ahead

• Prediction of natural disasters has to be accompanied by dissemination of information to a larger population and shifting people to safer locations, which requires an empowered machinery. 
• As nations have different capacities, collaborative preparation to deal with disasters is required.

Perennial Rice (PR23)

Context

• Recently, researchers at the Yunnan University (China) have developed a variety of perennial rice named PR23 by crossbreeding regular annual rice Oryza sativa with a wild perennial variety from Africa.
  • In 2021, the variety was grown by more than 44,000 farmers in southern China.  

Background

• Rice is a staple crop that feeds an estimated four billion people around the world.
• Work on perennial rice began in early 1990s at the Yunnan Academy after a failed attempt in the 1970s.
• The first variety was released to Chinese growers in 2018.

What is the perennial variety of crops/ rice?

• Perennial crops are typically considered as those that are more permanent, requiring a few growth cycles before fruit is produced. 
• Perennial rice are varieties of long-lived rice that are capable of regrowing season after season without reseeding.
  • It can reduce the drudgery of annual trans-plantation which is a tough task and generate savings on seeds and other inputs.  
• Perennial rice like many other perennial plants can spread by horizontal stems below or just above the surface of the soil but they also reproduce sexually by producing flowers, pollen and seeds. 

Issues with the current techniques of growing rice

• Labour intensive: The current production methods are labour-intensive and expensive.
• Environmental effects: Rice is grown in flooded fields that are habitat for methane-producing microbes. Rice production currently releases an estimated 34 million tons of methane per year.

Issues with Perennial crops/rice

• Drop in yield: Their yields started to drop in the fifth year, suggesting that farmers will need to replant periodically.
• Methane emissions: Researchers also don’t know if the perennial plants emit less methane than conventional ones do.
• Difficult task: Since the plants’ roots are deeper and larger, farmers must work harder when they do eventually replant the perennials.
• Issue of weeds: Because farmers don’t till and plow as frequently with perennial rice, fungi and pathogens may build up in the soil, and weeds and insects can prosper in the fields.
• Herbicide treatment: Farmers needed to spray herbicide treatments more often on fields planted with PR23.

Significance of the Perennial crops/ rice

• This variety of rice does not need to be planted every year: unlike regular rice, which is planted every season, PR23 can yield eight consecutive harvests across four years as these plants with stronger roots grow back vigorously after each harvest.
• Productivity: Farmer profits from perennial rice ranged from 17% to 161% above annual rice. 
• Cheap: growing it is much cheaper since it requires less labour, seeds and chemical inputs.
• Environmental benefits: Perennials reduce soil erosion as they reduce soil disturbances because plants are left in place to grow for multiple years, thus there is less mechanical disturbance by farm equipment. 
• Low labour and input costs: The perennial varieties were preferred by farmers since it saved 58% in labour and 49% in other input costs, over each regrowth cycle. 
• It can transform farming: The researchers claim it can transform farming by improving livelihoods, enhancing soil quality and by inspiring research on other grains.

Learnings for India/ Data about Paddy in India

• India is the world’s second largest rice producer after China and the largest exporter with a 40% share in global trade.
  • Production has increased from 53.6 million tons in FY 1980 to 120 million tons in FY2020-21.
  • India has the largest area under rice cultivation.
  • It is a tropical plant, and it flourishes comfortably in a hot and humid climate.
  • Rice is mainly grown in rain-fed areas that receive heavy annual rainfall. That is why it is fundamentally a kharif crop in India. 
  • India is the leading exporter of the Basmati Rice to the global market.
  • West Bengal has the highest production of rice in India.
• It is grown during both summer and winter crop seasons. 
• China’s early success has another lesson for India: to raise investments in public research and agricultural sciences. This can help counter the impact of climate change on food security and rural incomes.

Way Forward

• Diet for many: Rice feeds about half of the world, and its farming and consumption are primarily in Asia. 
• Most crops grown today were once perennial but bred to be annual to make them more productive. 
• Perennial rice could be a transformational innovation if it proves to be economically sustainable.

The State of the Climate in Asia 2021

In News

• Recently the State of the Climate in Asia 2021 report was published by the World Meteorological Organization and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

Report highlights

• On Asia:
  • Natural Disasters:
    • Floods and storms accounted for 80 percent of the natural disasters that struck Asia in 2021. 
    • Flooding:
      • Flooding was the event with “by far the greatest impact in Asia in terms of fatalities and economic damage.”
  • Financial losses:
    • Asian countries incurred financial losses worth $35.6 billion (nearly 2.9 lakh crores) in 2021 because of natural disasters.
    • China suffered the highest economic loss in Asia ($18.4 billion) after flooding.
    • Similarly, storms also caused significant economic damage, especially in India ($4.4 billion), followed by China ($3 billion) and Japan ($2 billion), the report stated. 
• On India:
  • Heavy rains & Floods:
    • The country faced heavy rains and flash floods during the monsoon season between June and September 2021.
  • Storms:
    • During 2021, India experienced five cyclonic storms with maximum sustained wind speeds of ≥ 34 knots.
    • Taukte, Yaas, Gulab, Saheen, Jawad, etc are the Cyclonic storms reported by the report.
  • Casulty & damage:
    • These events resulted in about 1,300 casualties and damaged crops and properties, the report said.
    • Additionally, in 2021, thunderstorms and lightning claimed around 800 lives in different parts of the country, the report highlighted.
  • Economic losses:
    • India suffered huge economic losses from floods and storms in 2021 as climate change has made these events more frequent.
      • India suffered a total loss of $3.2 billion from flooding. 
    • The country was only second to China in the Asian continent in this regard, according to the report.
• Budget requirements:
  • ESCAP’s Asia-Pacific Disaster Reports of 2021 and 2022 estimated that India would need an annual investment in adaptation measures at $46.3 billion. 
  • It is estimated to be 1.7 percent of India’s GDP.
• Disaster potential of Global Warming:

• Warming is particularly strong in the Arabian Sea and in the Kuroshio Current system. These regions are warming more than three times faster than the global mean upper-ocean warming rate according to the report.
• Ocean warming could contribute to sea level rise, alter storm paths and ocean currents and increase stratification, the report warned.

More about ‘Disaster’ and ‘Disaster management’Disaster: It defines a ‘disaster’ as a catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence in any area – arising from natural or man-made causes, or by accident or negligence. It results in substantial loss of life, human suffering, or damage to and destruction of property or the environment.Disaster management: It is defined as a continuous and integrated process of planning, organising, coordinating and implementing measures necessary to prevent the danger or threat of a disaster, mitigating or reducing the risk of a disaster or its consequences; capacity-building; preparedness to deal with a disaster; and rehabilitation and reconstruction.

Indian initiative for Disaster Management:

• Disaster Management Act, 2005:
  • It is a national law that empowers the Central government to declare the entire country or part of it as affected by a disaster and to make plans for mitigation to reduce “risks, impacts and affects” of the disaster.
  • Nodal Authority:
    • The Act designates the Ministry of Home Affairs as the nodal ministry for steering the overall national disaster management.
  • Key Features:
    • It puts into place a systematic structure of institutions at the national, state and district levels. 
• Four important entities have been placed at the national level:
  • National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA): 
    • It is tasked with laying down disaster management policies and ensuring a timely and effective response mechanism.
  • National Executive Committee (NEC): 
    • It is composed of secretary level officers of the Government of India assigned to assist the NDMA.
  • National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM):  
    • It is an institute for training and capacity development programs for managing natural 
  • National Disaster Response Force (NDRF): 
    • It refers to trained professional units that are called upon for specialized response to disasters.
• Indian initiatives on global platforms:
  • India is taking the lead and offering the expertise of Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (DRI) to its friendly countries .
  • Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) was first proposed by India during the 2016 Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction held in New Delhi.
  • Security and Growth for All in the Region(SAGAR Programme):
    • SAGAR is a term coined by  Hon. PM Narendra Modi in 2015 during his Mauritius visit with a focus on the blue economy.
    • It is a maritime initiative which gives priority to the Indian Ocean region (IOR) for ensuring peace, stability and prosperity of India in the Indian Ocean region.
    • It is in line with the principles of the Indian Ocean Rim Association(IORA).
    • Effective response mechanism to address humanitarian crises & natural disasters one of the most important pillars of SAGAR.

Way ahead

• Lacunae:
  • India does not have a separate adaptation fund, but the money is embedded in several schemes by the agriculture, rural and environmental sectors.
  • The investment in adaptation is much lower than the annual average loss from disasters, which shows us how much economic losses we could be saving by investing in adaptation measures
• Suggestions:
  • Some adaptation priorities that require high investment include resilient infrastructure, improving dry land agriculture, resilient water infrastructure, multi-hazard early warning systems and nature-based solutions.
  • The civil society, private enterprises and NGOs can play a valuable role towards building a safer India.

Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) Policy Framework

In News

• NITI Aayog has recently released a study report on Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) Policy Framework and its Deployment Mechanism in India.

About the Framework

• The report explores the importance of Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage as an emission reduction strategy. 
• The report outlines broad level policy interventions needed across various sectors for its application.
• India’s per capita CO2 emissions were about 1.9 tonnes per annum which is less than 40% of the global average and about one-fourth of that of China.

What is Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS)?

• It aims to reduce carbon emission by either storing or reusing it so that captured carbon dioxide does not enter the atmosphere.
• It’s a three-step process involving: capturing the carbon dioxide produced by power generation or industrial activity, such as steel or cement making; transporting it; and then storing it deep underground.
  • It is the technology for decarbonising carbon dioxide (CO2) from high polluting sectors such as steel, cement, oil, gas, petrochemicals, chemicals and fertilisers.
  • Possible storage sites for carbon emissions include saline aquifers or depleted oil and gas reservoirs.
• It would help in promoting the low carbon-hydrogen economy and in removal of the CO2 stock from the atmosphere.

Major Challenges

• High Cost: the key challenge would be to reduce the cost of the mechanisms to implement the technology.
• The private sector is unlikely to invest in CCUS unless there are sufficient incentives or unless it can benefit from the sale of CO2 or gain credits for emissions avoided under carbon pricing regimes.
• CO2 Transport and Storage Sites Could Be Dangerous: While accident rates during the transport of CO2 are relatively low, the potential for a dangerous leak still exists.
• Security concerns: Because the gas is highly toxic and leakages in high quantity at such sites would render the air largely unbreathable.

Significance of the move

• Production of Clean products: CCUS can enable the production of clean products while still utilising our rich endowments of coal and reducing imports and thus leading to an Atmanirbhar Indian economy.
• Decarbonising various sectors: Implementation of CCUS technology is certainly an important step to decarbonise the hard-to-abate sector.
• The projects will also lead to a significant employment generation.
  • It estimates that about 750 mtpa of carbon capture by 2050 can create employment opportunities of about 8-10 million on full time equivalent (FTE) basis in a phased manner.
• It can Reduce the Social Cost of Carbon: The social cost of carbon is a value of the estimated costs and benefits to society from climate change caused by one additional metric ton of CO2 released into the atmosphere in a year.
• Circular economy: It can provide a wide variety of opportunities to convert the captured CO2 to different value-added products like:
  • Green urea
  • Food and beverage form application
  • Building materials (concrete and aggregates)
  • Chemicals (methanol and ethanol)
  • Polymers (including bioplastics)
  • Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) with wide market opportunities in India, thus contributing substantially to a circular economy. 
• Sunrise sectors: It has an important role to play in enabling sunrise sectors such as coal gasification and the nascent hydrogen economy in India.
• Enrich concrete: Captured CO2 could be used to strengthen concrete, leading to increased infrastructure durability.

India’s updated NDCAchieving 50% of its total installed capacity from non-fossil-based energy sources.45% reduction in emission intensity by 2030.Taking steps towards achieving Net Zero by 2070.

Way forward 

• There will be a positive impact on the economy if we are able to get value-added products such as green methanol, green ammonia that can be produced from this captured CO2.
• India’s dependency on fossil-based Energy Resources is likely to continue in future and hence CCUS policy in Indian Context is the need of the hour.
• Key to a successful CCUS implementation in India is to enact a policy framework that supports the creation of sustainable and viable markets for CCUS projects.
• The policy should be carbon credits or incentives based to seed and promote the CCUS sector in India through tax and cash credits.
• The policy should establish early-stage financing and funding mechanisms for CCUS projects.

Fujiwhara Effect

In News

• Recently, two cyclones, namely super typhoon Hinnamnor & tropical storm Gardo started hovering around the central line between them, showcasing the Fujiwhara Effect. 

About the Fujiwhara Effect

• Definition:
  • The Fujiwhara Effect is any interaction between tropical storms formed around the same time in the same ocean region with their centers or eyes at a distance of less than 1,400 km, with intensity that could vary between a depression (wind speed under 63 km per hour) and a super typhoon (wind speed over 209 km per hour).
• Propounder:
  • The Fujiwhara effect was identified by Sakuhei Fujiwhara, a Japanese meteorologist whose first paper recognising the Fujiwhara cases was published in 1921. 
• Known examples:
  • The first known instance of the effect was in 1964 in the western Pacific Ocean when typhoons Marie and Kathy merged.
• What it may lead to:
  • The interaction could lead to changes in the track and intensity of either or both storm systems. 
  • In rare cases, the two systems could merge, especially when they are of similar size and intensity, to form a bigger storm.
• There are five different ways in which the Fujiwhara Effect can take place. 
  • The first is elastic interaction:
    • In this only the direction of motion of the storms changes and is the most common case. 
    • These are also the cases that are difficult to assess and need closer examination.
  • The second is partial straining: 
    • In this a part of the smaller storm is lost to the atmosphere.
  • The third is complete straining out: 
    • In this the smaller storm is completely lost to the atmosphere. The straining out does not happen for storms of equal strength.
  • The fourth type is partial merger: 
    • In this the smaller storm merges into the bigger one and 
  • The fifth is complete merger: 
    • It takes place between two storms of similar strength.
  • During a merger interaction between two tropical cyclones the wind circulations come together and form a sort of whirlpool of winds in the atmosphere.

Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme

In News

• The Union Government has stopped pre-matric scholarships for students from classes 1 to 8 belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), Other Backward Communities (OBC), and minority communities from the academic year 2022-23.

The rationale behind the move 

• The government explained that these students are covered under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, which makes it obligatory for the government to provide free and compulsory elementary education (classes 1 to 8) to each and every child.
  • Only students in classes 9 and 10 are now covered under the pre-metric scholarship scheme,” the government has said.

About the Scheme 

• Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme for Scheduled Castes & Others is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme implemented through State Governments and UT administrations. 
• The Scheme is available for students pursuing studies in India only and will be awarded by the Government of the State/Union Territory to which the applicant belongs i.e. where he is domiciled.
• The Scheme is implemented through State Governments/U.T. Administrations
• Signifance
  •  The scheme will form the foundation for their educational attainment and provide a level playing field in the competitive employment arena.
  • Empowerment through education, which is one of the objectives of this scheme, has the potential to lead to the upliftment of the socio-economic conditions of minority communities.