Current Affairs Analysis, The Hindu (Monday, 19^th Apri 2021)

What is the News?

Scientists have discovered a new bat species in Meghalaya and with this the total number of c to has gone upto 66 while India records a total of 130 bat species.

Discovered by: Dr. Uttam Saikia of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Shillong.

About:

·         The disc-footed bat (Eudiscopus denticulus) was recorded in the north-eastern State’s Lailad area near the Nongkhyllem Wildlife Sanctuary, about 1,000 km west of its nearest known habitat in Myanmar.

·         There are a couple of other bamboo-dwelling bats in India. But the extent of adaptation for bamboo habitat in this species is not seen in the others.

·         The flattened skull and sticky pads enabled the bats to roost inside cramped spaces, clinging to smooth surfaces such as bamboo internodes. The disc-footed bat was also found to be genetically very different from all other known bats bearing disc-like pads.

·         Scientists analysed the very high frequency echolocation calls of the disc-footed bat, which was suitable for orientation in a cluttered environment such as inside bamboo groves.

·         The disc-footed bat has raised Meghalaya’s bat count to 66, the most for any State in India. It has also helped add a genus and species to the bat fauna of India.

Facts:

• Meghalaya has three wildlife sanctuaries.
• o   Nongkhyllem Wildlife Sanctuary,
• o   The Siju Sanctuary, and
• o   the Baghmara Sanctuary- home of the insect-eating pitcher plant (Nepenthes khasiana).

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Covid-19 crisis, stressing that ramping up vaccination was the key to battling the pandemic, and mooted steps to boost supply including invoking compulsory licensing provisions as in case of HIV/AIDS drugs.

Background:

Many have lost their source of livelihood, and several millions have been pushed back into poverty, noting that with the second surge being currently witnessed, "people are beginning to wonder when their lives will get back to normal".

India has seen a massive surge of Covid-19 cases with over two lakh cases being reported every day in the past four days.

Suggestions made in lieu of the efforts required to fight the Covid pandemic, for consideration in a spirit of constructive cooperation in which he has always believed and acted upon.:

o   Some states may want to designate school teachers, bus, three-wheeler and taxi drivers, municipal and panchayat staff, and possibly lawyers who have to attend courts as frontline workers, and they can then be vaccinated even if they are below 45 years.

o   The Centre should publicise vaccine dose orders placed and accepted for delivery over the next six months. The government should indicate how vaccine supplies are to be distributed to states."If we want to vaccinate a target number in this period, we should place enough orders in advance so that producers can adhere to an agreed schedule of supply," he noted.

o   The government should indicate how this expected vaccine supply will be distributed across states based on a transparent formula.

o   The central government could retain 10 percent for distribution based on emergency needs, and states should have a clear signal of likely availability so that they can plan their rollout.
Noting that India has emerged as the largest vaccine producer in the world, he said at this time of a public health emergency, the government must proactively support vaccine producers to expand their manufacturing facilities quickly by providing funds and other concessions.

o   This is the time to invoke the compulsory licensing provisions in the law so that a number of companies are able to produce the vaccines under a licence. This,had happened earlier in the case of medicines to deal with the HIV/AIDS disease.
Citing Israel's example, which has already invoked the compulsory licensing provision, there is an overwhelming case for India to do so as well quickly.

o   With domestic supplies being limited, any vaccine that has been cleared for use by credible authorities such as the European Medical Agency or the USFDA, should be allowed to be imported without insisting on domestic bridging trials."We are facing an unprecedented emergency and, experts are of the view that this relaxation is justified in an emergency.The relaxation could be for a limited period during which the bridging trials could be completed in India’.

o   A warning to all consumers of such vaccines be given that these vaccines are being allowed for use based on the approval granted by the relevant authority abroad.

What is the News?

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a ‘normal’ monsoon for the current year.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) – 

It is an agency under the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India which is responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology. It has the responsibility for forecasting, naming and distributing warnings for tropical cyclones in the Northern Indian Ocean region, including the Malacca Straits, the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf.

Details:

o   As per the IMD’s norms, a normal monsoon implies that India will get 96% to 104% of the 88 cm that it gets from June-September.

o    88 cm is the Long Period Average (LPA), which is a mean of monsoon rainfall from 1961-2010.

long period average (LPA) (noun) – LPA is the average rainfall received by the country as a whole during the south-west monsoon, for a 50-year period. The current LPA is 88 cm, based on the mean (average) rainfall over the years 1951 and 2000.

o    The months of July and August account for around two-thirds of the monsoon rains and are the most important months for sowing in India.

o    Notably, there is a good chance of ‘above normal’ rain in central and southern India. The ‘normal’ monsoon forecast for the current year is primarily predicated on ‘neutral’ surface temperatures in the Central Equatorial Pacific.

o    A warming El Niño is unlikely.

El Niño is the warm phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific. The ENSO is the cycle of warm and cold sea surface temperature (SST) of the tropical central and eastern Pacific Ocean. El Niño is accompanied by high air pressure in the western Pacific and low air pressure in the eastern Pacific. El Niño adversely impacts monsoon rainfall over the Indian subcontinent.

o   The Indian Ocean Dipole is expected to be unfavourable for excess rains.

The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is an irregular oscillation of sea surface temperatures in which the western Indian Ocean becomes alternately warmer (positive phase) and then colder (negative phase) than the eastern part of the ocean. The IOD affects the strength of monsoons over the Indian subcontinent.

Changes in IMD’s forecasting:

Dynamic model:

o   There has been the IMD’s increasing reliance on dynamical monsoon models.

o   Unlike the traditional statistical models, which are based on a fixed set of meteorological variables that have historically been correlated with variations in monsoon rainfall, the dynamical models generate forecasts based on evolving weather patterns.

More forecasts:

o   Up until now, the IMD used to follow a two-stage monsoon forecast system, wherein after the prognosis in April, it used to give an updated estimate in late May or early June.

o   This year onwards there will be forecasts for June and September too, to be given in May and August, respectively. Historically, predicting rain for June and September is challenging as it corresponds to the monsoon’s entry and exit.

Forecasts for monsoon core zone:

o   The IMD forecasts used to include an estimate of how much rain is likely in: northwest India, northeast India, central India and the southern peninsula.

o   Now onwards, there will also be forecasts for what is called the monsoon core zone, which represents most of the rainfed agriculture region in the country.

Way forward:

o   The forecasts apart from their emphasis on the agricultural sector should now get urban-focused too because of the natural disasters that accompany even ‘normal’ monsoons in Indian cities. The forecast should form a critical aspect of India’s disaster preparedness.

o   There should be more focus on incorporating the IMD forecasts down to municipal and block-level planning.

o   The IMD must continue to widen its focus to aid business and services sectors that are in need of weather products.

 .       The ECI cannot be a super-government (Polity & Governance)   Pg. 06

What is the News?

There is still some confusion about the extent and nature of the powers that are available to the Election Commission.

The ongoing state assembly elections have brought the focus on the functioning of the Election Commission of India.

Election Commission of India:

The Election Commission of India is a constitutional authority under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India is responsible for the conduct of elections at the national level, state level and local level.

Objectives: Constitutional Autonomous Body conducts the elections to the offices of the President and Vice-President of India,Parliament, State Legislative Assemblies and Legislative councils

Jurisdiction: Government of India

Unresolved questions over ECI:

There exists a considerable amount of confusion about the extent and nature of the powers which are available to the ECI in enforcing the model code of conduct as well as its other decisions in relation to an election.

Enforceability of the model code of conduct:

o   Paragraph 16A of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 says that the commission may suspend or withdraw recognition of a recognised political party if it refuses to observe the model code of conduct.

o   The article expresses doubts on the legal sustainability of this above provision.

o   The reason is that withdrawal of the recognition of a party recognised under these orders seriously affects the functioning of political parties. Given the fact that the model code of conduct is itself not legally enforceable, the ECI may not be allowed to resort to a punitive action such as withdrawal of recognition.

Transfer of officials:

o   The ECI can transfer officials working under State governments if it receives a report from the observers of the ECI about the conduct of certain officials of the States that could adversely affect the free and fair election in that State.

o   Given the fact that the transfer of an official is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the government, it is actually not clear whether the ECI can transfer a State government official in the exercise of the general powers under Article 324 or under the model code.

o   The article further argues that unbridled power to the ECI to transfer officials without the concurrence of the State governments could bring to a halt the whole state administration.

o   In Mohinder Singh Gill’s case, the Court had made it abundantly clear that the ECI can draw power from Article 324 only when no law exists which governs a particular matter. It means that the ECI is bound to act in accordance with the law in force. Transfer of officials, etc. is governed by rules made under Article 309 of the Constitution which cannot be bypassed by the ECI under the purported exercise of the power conferred by Article 324.

Interference in administration:

·         According to the model code, ministers cannot announce any financial grants in any form, make any promise of construction of roads, provision of drinking water facilities, etc. or make any ad hoc appointments in the government departments or public undertakings.

·         The government is not allowed by the ECI to take any action, administrative or otherwise if the ECI believes that such actions or decisions will affect free and fair elections.

·         This allows the ECI unbridled powers in intervening in the administrative decisions of a State government or even the union government.

·         This power has been used by the ECI to stop the Government of Kerala from continuing to supply kits containing rice, pulses, cooking oil, etc. The article argues against such a move based on the following aspects.

o    This step could adversely impact the poor and marginalized people’s ability to access food, especially in the post-pandemic phase.

o   The Supreme Court in Subramaniam Balaji vs Govt. of T. Nadu & Ors (2013) held that the distribution of colour TVs, computers, cycles, goats, cows, etc, done or promised by the government is in the nature of welfare measures and is in accordance with the directive principles of state policy, and therefore it is permissible during an election.

o   Section 123 (2)(b) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 says that the declaration of a public policy or the exercise of a legal right will not be regarded as interfering with the free exercise of the electoral right.

Conclusion:

·         The ECI, through the conduct of free and fair elections in an extremely complex country like India, has helped maintain the integrity and independence of the electoral process, considered indispensable to the democratic system.

·         However, the unlimited and arbitrary powers enjoyed by the ECI need to be addressed given the dangers associated with such a scenario.