📰 Chief Justice Gogoi rings in change in Supreme Court
Alters norms for out-of-turn hearing
•“I am what I am. I cannot change.”
•This is how the new Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi, described himself at a felicitation function held on the Supreme Court lawns on Wednesday. However, his first day after being sworn in as the 46th Chief Justice of India promised a lot of change.
•Chief Justice Gogoi announced that only “extremely urgent” matters would be allowed to be orally mentioned for out-of-turn hearing. Parameters for mentioning would change, he said.
•The Chief Justice was accompanied by Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K.M. Joseph on the Bench.
•Advocate Prashant Bhushan made an oral mention of his application against the government move to deport seven Rohingya refugees to Myanmar. Chief Justice Gogoi was non-committal, telling Mr. Bhushan that the Bench would have to first study the plea. The causelist, published later in the evening, showed the Rohingya case listed before his Bench on Thursday.
•The courtroom then witnessed a brief exchange between advocate Ashwini Upadhyay and Chief Justice Gogoi while the Bench was dealing with the few PIL pleas listed for the day.
📰 The scope of constitutional morality
Abolition of untouchability in all its forms, including scavenging, remains an unrealised constitutional right
•“The issue of the rights of sweepers and scavengers has never entered the mainstream legal consciousness in the country,” wrote Upendra Baxi in Law and Poverty: Critical Essays. “Nor have the Bar and the Bench, and the mushrooming legal aid and advice programmes shown any awareness of the exploitative conditions of work imposed upon the scavengers and sweepers under the employment of municipal corporations or related local bodies… [T]he exploitative conditions of work constitute governmental defiance of the law and the Constitution, which can be best summed up as a crucial component of overall governmental lawlessness in the country since Independence.”
•Written in 1988, Prof. Baxi’s lines remain disconcertingly relevant today. We struggle against the caricaturing of this extremely stigmatising, violently exploitative and degrading form of forced labour by a government and civil society that showcases empty rhetoric and ceremony around “cleanliness”, while decimating an entire class of citizens through callous neglect with impunity.
•There has been a steady rise in deaths of conservancy workers, and a steadier normalisation of the risks to life they bear on a daily basis. Why don’t sewer deaths bring the country to a grinding halt, as they should? Will a general strike of all conservancy workers across the country bring the country to its knees? Because then, it will not be a question of prime-time jingles on a clean India; the focus will shift on each of us to take the moral and physical responsibility of cleaning our own sewers and keeping ourselves free of the risk of toxic death.
Flouting laws
•To return to Prof. Baxi’s concerns on the place of law: Article 17 of the Constitution of India states: “Untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising out of Untouchability shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law.” This is a fundamental right and therefore justiciable and enforceable by courts, which shall call governments to account.
•In 2009, the Delhi High Court, in Naz Foundation v. NCT of Delhi, invoked Babasaheb Ambedkar’s delineation of constitutional morality in asserting the urgency of decriminalising consensual sexual relations proscribed by Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code. The court cited a second provision as well: Article 15(2) which prohibits any form of horizontal discrimination drawing again from the experience of untouchability that obstructed the universal use of public places, restaurants, water sources, etc. We witnessed last month a triumphal return of constitutional morality as a guiding principle for constitutional interpretation. A five-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India, in Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India, deployed this framework to reaffirm the rights of LGBTQ and all gender non-conforming people to their dignity, life, liberty, and identity.
•The genealogy of Ambedkar’s signposting of constitutional morality may be traced to the strength of anti-caste resistance and the abolition of untouchability. It is from this context that constitutional wisdom was applied to analogous situations of oppressions based on sexuality. It is time to call the government to account through a recursive method that takes us to the original constitutional proscription of untouchability, armed with the wisdom of the Navtej Singh Johar case.
Judicial empathy
•The first aspect is the importance of judicial empathy. In a violently exclusionary society, the application of the Constitution to lives as lived is an extremely emotional moment. We have people from India’s most oppressed castes dying painful deaths without dignity in the sewers of the same city where the court sits. There is neither accountability nor due diligence on the part of the state. The time for the expression of judicial empathy is now. Justice Indu Malhotra’s lines in Johar are apposite: “History owes an apology to the members of this community and their families, for the delay in providing redressal for the ignominy and ostracism that they have suffered through the centuries.”
•Given the urgency, with people dying daily despite constitutional and statutory protections, how do we right these historical wrongs, or at least “set the course for the future”? We are all agreed that the de minimis approach is bad law — rule by law rather than rule of law, as it should be, to echo Justice D.Y. Chandrachud. The fact that it is still possible for people to be sent into sewers without protection, and to be forced to perform degrading labour is enough for us to sit up and take note. Outgoing Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra set out four cardinal corners of the Constitution: Individual autonomy and liberty; equality sans discrimination; recognition of identity with dignity; right to privacy. He also underscored the centrality of fraternity to the constitutional value system. These signposts require us to contemplate and act on the meanings and expressions of “intrinsic dignity” for conservancy workers and safai karamcharis.
•If “self-determination and the realisation of one’s own abilities” lie at the core of personhood, how would forced, unsafe and degrading labour, and persistent untouchability figure in this new constitutional imaginary? In the case of safai karamcharis, we are today witness to the “violation of fundamental rights that strikes at the root of their existence” (Justice Misra), and there are no visible pathways to freedom in this virulent caste society. Lest we forget, untouchability is a crime under the Constitution.
Principle of non-retrogression
•Important for citizen consideration today is the fact that the Supreme Court, in deciding on the unconstitutionality of Section 377, recognised that the four corners of the Constitution rest on a social reality steeped in prejudice, stereotypes, parochialism, bigotry, social exclusion, and segregation. If decriminalising “unnatural” sex is one of the “necessary steps on the road to democracy”, abolition of untouchability in all its forms remains an unrealised constitutional right.
•The lesson on the importance of intersections in constitutional reasoning today is brought home to us in this case in yet another way. There is recognition by the court that majoritarian governments/sections work hard to keep oppressive structures in place, and that it is the duty of the court to place questions of liberty, equality, and dignity out of the reach of majoritarian impulses. The sanction for manual scavenging lies at the heart of majoritarian mindsets and structures. It is part of an ideological framework that permeates the institutional apparatus of government. If, as Justice Misra observes, “the sustenance of fundamental rights does not require majoritarian sanction”, can we call for some constitutional-procedural deliberation on the “progressive realisation of rights” in this instance? The principle of non-retrogression in the matter of fundamental rights has now been unequivocally stated. But on our streets, we only observe it in the breach especially in the case of manual scavengers.
•To end with Ambedkar: “We must remove this contradiction at the earliest possible moment or else those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of political democracy.”
📰 No sweeping change — on Swachh Bharat Mission
The Swachh Bharat Mission needs a broader vision of what constitutes cleanliness
•India’s Swachh Bharat Mission is receiving global praise for attempting to close the sanitation gap of nearly 60% of the rural population not having access to a toilet at home in 2014. The NDA government invoked Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of a clean and healthy country when it launched the ambitious programme. On the eve of Independence, Gandhi saw the lack of a “sense of national or social sanitation” as the root of all diseases among Indians. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a Swachh movement in 2014 to change that, and four years later the outcomes show that achieving social change is far from easy. For the BJP-led government at the Centre, the SBM enjoys arguably the highest priority, and a ₹16,400-crore fund was raised for it during 2015-17 when a special cess was in force. On Gandhi Jayanti this year, the SBM’s Gramin wing declared it has constructed 86.7 million Individual Household Latrines and raised sanitation access to 94% in rural areas; 5,07,369 villages are now ‘open defecation free’. On the face of it, this is big advance. But there is a need for a close audit of the outcomes. In some States, such as Rajasthan, independent verification shows that the social change that the SBM hopes to achieve remains elusive, and traditionally oppressed communities continue to manually remove filth from dry latrines used by the upper castes. There are reports of a similar situation prevailing in some parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh too. What this shows is that the very evil that Gandhi wanted to see changed — of some castes condemned to do such work by others — persists.
•Besides making sanitation a movement through the provision of well-designed toilets and behaviour change in rural India, the SBM should have a broader vision of what constitutes cleanliness. The Centre asserts that urban toilet coverage is now 87% of the target, and nearly three-fourths of the wards in the country have door-to-door collection of municipal waste, but the lived experience of the city-dweller, especially in the bigger metros, is different. Waste volumes continue to grow as economic growth spurs consumption. The laws on municipal solid waste, protection of water sources and pollution control are just not being enforced. The official machinery required to enforce legal provisions vigorously, and the infrastructure to manage waste scientifically are inadequate, making it unlikely that there will be significant public health outcomes flowing from high-profile cleaning campaigns. Without full commitment to these aspects of development, there is little chance of meaningfully achieving the Sustainable Development Goals on water and sanitation anytime soon. Besides ending manual scavenging, the Swachh Bharat Mission must ensure that the manual cleaning of septic tanks, which is killing so many workers each year, is stopped and that funds for rehabilitation reach them.
📰 The creamy layer of social justice
The progression from poor to bourgeois to elite is a welcome evolution in nation-building — the apex court missed it
•As citizens, we expect two certainties from any verdict on public policy by a constitution bench of the Supreme Court. One, it must hold whether the underlying principle(s) is/are consistent with the Constitution of India. Two, such a verdict must end governance paralysis. Unfortunately, the court has accomplished neither objective in its recent verdict in Jarnail Singh v. Lachhmi Narain Gupta, wherein it held that the government need not collect quantifiable data to demonstrate backwardness of public employees belonging to the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (SC/STs) to provide reservations for them in promotions.
•The core issue here was whether the ‘creamy layer’ among SC/STs should be barred from obtaining promotions through reservations. The court set aside the requirement to collect quantifiable data that was stipulated by its 2006 verdict in M. Nagaraj v. Union of India as it ignored the reasoning of a nine-judge bench in Indra Sawhney (1992) that any discussion on creamy layer “has no relevance” in the context of SC/STs.
•The court has taken more than a decade to correct an anomaly in the Nagaraj case which brought in a creamy layer filter for promotions for SC/ST employees. This resulted in thousands of employees being denied their due promotions.
•Can one now treat the matter as settled, that the creamy layer is a non-issue with regard to job reservations for SC/STs? Not so. A two-judge bench of the top court is considering a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the Samta Andolan Samiti that seeks the removal of creamy layer among the SC/STs in job reservations — a matter settled by a nine-judge Constitution Bench long ago and also a matter that has just been settled by a five-judge Constitution Bench.
•In the verdict in Jarnail Singh, the court cites an ‘admonition’ to itself by a Constitution Bench in the Keshav Mills case in 1965: “It must be the constant endeavour and concern of this court to introduce and maintain an element of certainty and continuity in the interpretation of law in the country.” The court followed its own admonition more in breach insofar as it concerns litigation related to reservation.
Out of synchrony
•The court merely removed the government’s responsibility to collect quantifiable data on backwardness but reasoned that the creamy layer test would be consistent with the equality principle. The challenge it faced is of a secular nature. It did not question reservations in promotions for SC/ST employees, but grappled with a different question: Which section or class among the SC/STs is more entitled?
•Some of the confusion in the debates over reservations since 1990 emanates in the context of reservations for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Sadly, the Supreme Court too relies on using arguments pertinent only in the case of OBCs to decide litigation on SC/ST quotas.
•But a close reading of relevant constitutional provisions and the verdict in Indra Sawhney make it clear that the SC/STs are given job reservations not because they are poor but because they are excluded. The first part of Article 335 stipulates job reservations for SC/STs as a right of representation, not as a welfare measure. However, the creamy layer among SC/ST employees helps fulfil the second part of Article 335 that requires maintaining the “efficiency of administration”.
•One can in fact argue for public employment having welfare objectives to plead the case of those less privileged among SC/STs. But such logic would require the removal of the creamy layer also while recruiting employees in the open category.
•The court could have addressed an often ignored aspect of the matter — the right of the creamy layer among the community to opt out of reservations. At present, an SC/ST candidate does not have the right to reject reservations. She is merely required to state whether she belongs to the SC or the ST category and a response in affirmation automatically puts her in the queue for reservations. It is also a punishable offence to withhold one’s caste status while seeking government employment. A simple administrative decision to allow SC/ST candidates to compete in the general category would have helped thousands to leave the space for the less privileged among them.
•What is also not appreciated while debating the matter is that the presence of the creamy layer works as a safety valve. The rationale behind the demand to prohibit elite or privileged sections from accessing quota posts is that these sections are as well qualified as general candidates, if not more, and numerous enough to warrant their removal.
•Herein lies the catch. A well-qualified and large SC/ST group having to compete as non-reserved candidates would corner a substantial number of open posts. At the same time, their less privileged cousins would fill the quota. Theoretically, SC/STs would end up garnering more posts than their proportion in population. This begs the question on the rationale behind the litigation.
•The Indian state must be proud that its policies have created a creamy layer among the most disadvantaged that gel well with those in the general category. They also help projecting the community as normal Indians, which is a revolutionary ideal. The whole enterprise of seeking to introduce obstacles before them in employment and promotions will have pernicious consequences. Will it do any good that the government recruits general candidates from the elite sections and reserved candidates from the poorer strata?
•Given the uneven educational opportunities across the divides of rich-poor and urban-rural, the poor or underprivileged access substandard education. We want our public servants to be well educated and smart. The point must not be treated as an affront to the less privileged. It is mere recognition of the fact that socio-economic progress moves by generations. Today’s creamy layer is yesterday’s underprivileged.
•In a 1970 memorandum to U.S. President Richard Nixon, Daniel P. Moynihan suggested that “the time may have come when the issue of race could benefit from a period of ‘benign neglect’.”
•India badly needs such a period of ‘benign neglect’ in matters related to caste as well as the constitutional provisions aimed at getting rid of the rough edges of caste discrimination. The least one expects of the highest level in the judiciary is to accord “an element of certainty and continuity” on the subject.
📰 Presuming the disabled to be ‘incompetent’
The government’s revised guidelines for conducting exams for persons with disabilities are unfair and regressive
•In an 1850 report, Samuel Gridley Howe, popularly considered the ‘father of the American blind’, emphatically wrote: “The blind as a class, are inferior to other persons in mental power and ability.” It is dismaying to note that, 168 years later, far too many people continue to harbour this unfounded and deeply offensive belief.
•This ‘presumption of incompetence’ would be deeply troubling, but nonetheless tolerable, if its scope were confined to the way society interacts with the disabled. However, that it has emerged as the unstated premise informing the formulation of policies is a far more worrying development.
•I speak here of the recently released ‘revised guidelines’ by the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment for conducting written examinations for persons with disabilities, which significantly whittle down the 2013 guidelines that played a transformative role in empowering such students.
Claims of cheating
•It is difficult to fathom why the decision to revise the 2013 guidelines was taken. The revised guidelines articulate two reasons. First, they state that the revision was triggered by representations made by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and others. It is believed that the UPSC’s discomfort with the 2013 guidelines flowed from their misuse by some students who coached their scribes before the exam. If an able-bodied student engages in cheating, the normal consequence is his disqualification. However, what the UPSC did was to demand that the guidelines be changed. This is much like demanding that when students cheat, say by keeping chits in their clothes, the very dress code be changed.
•Second, curiously, the revised guidelines state: “The Act [Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016] provides for reservation in Government jobs for persons with benchmark disabilities as defined under section 2 (r) of the said Act.” If the connection between reservation in government jobs for the disabled and guidelines for exams appears strange, that is because it is. Therefore, the very decision to fix what ain’t broken appears profoundly misguided.
•At a substantive level, the revised guidelines make three problematic alterations. First, in case the disabled candidate is allowed to bring his own scribe, the qualification of the scribe should be ‘one step below’ the qualification of the candidate. Whether the phrase ‘one step below’ here refers to one year below in the same degree or one degree below is unclear. The revised guidelines also do not deal with a situation in which a disabled candidate and the scribe are from different streams. The 2013 guidelines had stated that vague criteria like educational qualification should not be fixed.
•Second, for certain classes of candidates with benchmark disabilities, the revised guidelines have imposed a requirement that a certificate be furnished from a designated official, indicating that the candidate has a physical limitation and needs a scribe. This essentially renders the impact of a disability certificate wholly nugatory.
•Third, the new guidelines have transformed claims that were hitherto recognised as ‘legal entitlements’ to ‘liberties’ whose exercise is contingent upon the goodness of the exam-conducting bodies. For instance, the candidate is to be given an opportunity to choose his preferred mode of giving the examination and provided soft copy material for open book exams only to the extent possible. That the phrase ‘as far as possible’ has been inserted principally to provide authorities an escape hatch from making reasonable accommodations doesn’t require elaboration. While it is true that making some accommodations would not be practicable, the contingency could have been dealt with by making it mandatory for the examining body to record the reasons in writing.
•The fact that some candidates with disabilities have coached their scribes in the past is indisputable. While this malpractice is sometimes attributable to nothing more than a candidate’s indolence, it is also true that some see this as a means to level the playing field in a system that has failed to ensure their meaningful integration. Such barriers can only be addressed through ceaseless advocacy and strategic litigation.
•Finally, the dilution of the 2013 guidelines also appears legally suspect, given that the Supreme Court recently endorsed the principle of non-retrogression of rights, as per which there is no place for retreat in a progressive society. Therefore, one hopes that the courts will step in to ensure that this new stumbling block is swiftly removed.
📰 A dissenting view
The Sabarimala verdict could open the door to litigation on other places of worship as well
•In Indian Young Lawyers Association v. State of Kerala, the Supreme Court by a 4-1 majority held the practice of the Sabarimala temple of prohibiting entry of women of menstruating age as illegal and unconstitutional. In my opinion the majority judgment is incorrect, and the correct judgment is that of Justice Indu Malhotra, the sole dissenting judge.
•A contrast of the judgments of Justice Malhotra and of the majority shows the vital difference in their approaches. While the majority judges go by abstract and theoretical notions of dignity, equality and gender justice, ignoring the ground social realities of India, Justice Malhotra takes notice of the tremendous diversity of India and the care that judges must take when dealing with a sensitive issue like religion.
•She states: “The issues raised in the present writ petition have far-reaching ramifications and implications not only for the Sabarimala temple in Kerala, but for all places of worship of various religions in this country, which have their own beliefs, practices, customs and usages. In a secular polity, issues which are matters of deep religious faith and sentiment must not ordinarily be interfered with by courts.”
•Contrast this realistic approach with the remarks of Chief Justice Dipak Misra: “In the theatre of life, it seems, man has put the autograph and there is no space for a woman even to put her signature.” Or of Justice D.Y. Chandrachud: “To treat women as children of a lesser god is to blink at the Constitution.”
•It was held earlier by the Kerala High Court that this prohibition of entry to women of menstruating age was a practice prevailing for centuries. It was not aimed at degrading women, but was based on the belief that Lord Ayyappa, the temple deity, was a Naishtik Brahmachari (celibate). The devotees practise celibacy and austerity for 41 days before starting their journey to the temple.
•Justice Malhotra rightly said that the right to equality in Article 14 had to be harmonised with the right of people under Article 25 to follow their own religious practices, and the court was not entitled to see whether the practice was rational or not.
•There are thousands of temples, mosques, and gurdwaras in India, many with their own rituals and practices. There are some temples which do not permit entry to women, and some to men. Should courts now start interfering in all these?
•And what about mosques? While in theory there is no bar to women going to mosques, in practice hardly 1-2% mosques in India permit women to enter, and they have to pray at home.
•I fear that the judgment has opened a Pandora’s box. Litigation will surely start about other places of worship too.
📰 Forgo S-400 system, U.S. tells India
The proposed deal from Russia could attract American sanctions, warns White House
•The U.S. on Wednesday urged India to forgo its proposed deal to buy the S-400 missile defence system from Russia, warning that the deal could attract American sanctions. New Delhi and Kremlin are expected to announce the deal this week during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two-day visit to India starting Thursday.
•The U.S. administration is required under a domestic law, Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA, to impose sanctions on any country that has “significant transactions” with Iran, North Korea or Russia.
•President Donald Trump has the power to waive these sanctions for specific countries and specific transactions, and U.S. officials have repeatedly said in the recent past that India should not expect an automatic waiver if it goes ahead with the purchase from Russia.
•A State Department spokesperson told The Hindu that this waiver might not be available to India and the S-400 deal falls in the category of sanctionable transactions.
•“We urge all of our allies and partners to forgo transactions with Russia that would trigger sanctions under CAATSA. The Administration has indicated that a focus area for the implementation of CAATSA Section 231 is new or qualitative upgrades in capability – including the S-400 air and missile defense system,” the official said.
•The waiver provisions may not apply to India in this deal, the spokesperson indicated. “There are strict criteria for considering a waiver. The waiver is narrow, intended to wean countries off Russian equipment and allow for things such as spare parts for previously-purchased equipment,” said the official.
Extensive consultations
•Meanwhile, Indian sources said India and the U.S. have had extensive consultations on the deal and the decision does not come as a surprise to the Trump administration. “The U.S has been pressing India for scaling down its defence cooperation with Russia, while India has been clear about its intentions regarding the S-400 deal,” an official said.
•The State Department said recently that India has ordered defence equipment worth $18 billion from the U.S, and the administration is unlikely to stall it all under sanctions. There could be strong statements from the U.S, in continuation with its line, but sanctions are extremely unlikely according to both official and unofficial sources.
•Neil Bjorkman, Vice-President of Legislative Affairs at the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), who spearheads lobbying for waiver from CAATSA for India, said: “The U.S. Government does not want India to buy the S-400 from Russia but we predict that the Trump Administration will ultimately allow the go-ahead with the purchase without sanctioning India. U.S. Secretary of Defense Mattis spent a lot of political capital for India and the waiver authority was approved by the lead Republicans and Democrats on the Armed Services Committees. Is it a blank cheque for India? No. But was the law designed to allow India to receive the waiver? Absolutely.”
•“It is difficult to predict what the President will do, but it is safe to assume that no interest group in the U.S. wants to impose sanctions on India and reward Russia. The purpose of CAATSA is to punish, and not reward, Russia,” said Benjamin Schwartz, head of the U.S.-India Business Council’s Defense and Aerospace programme.
The waiver option
•“I believe the administration would like to use the waiver authority,” said Richard Rossow, Wadhwani Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies at CSIS. Mr. Rossow, however, thinks that “if Congress tightens sanctions against Russia, there is a chance that the S-400 agreement could be reviewed further down the road.”
•There is also no specific trigger points mentioned in CAATSA for sanctions, and the administration can delay the decision without announcing any waiver.
•The question of presidential waiver arises if and only when the State Department moves ahead with a plan to impose sanctions on India. Sanctions against India are not something that the State Department, Pentagon, White House or the U.S. Congress want.
📰 International Court of Justice orders U.S. to lift sanctions on humanitarian goods' import by Iran
The sanctions were reimposed in August 2018.
•The United Nations’ highest court on Wednesday ordered the United States to lift sanctions on Iran that affect imports of humanitarian goods and products and services linked to the safety of civil aviation.
•The ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is legally binding, but it remains to be seen if the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump will comply.
•Mr. Trump moved to restore tough U.S. sanctions in May after withdrawing from Tehran’s nuclear accord with world powers. Iran challenged the sanctions in a case filed in July at the ICJ.
•In a preliminary ruling, the court said that Washington must “remove, by means of its choosing, any impediments arising from” the reimposition of sanctions to the export to Iran of medicine and medical devices, food and agricultural commodities and spare parts and equipment necessary to ensure the safety of civil aviation.
•While imposing the so-called “provisional measures,” court president Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf stressed that the ruling does not prejudge the ultimate outcome of the case or establish that the court has jurisdiction.
•Iranian state television trumpeted the court’s decision in a scrolling graphic at the bottom of TV screens: “The victory of Tehran over Washington by the Hague Court.”
•The U.S. is expected to challenge the court’s jurisdiction in a future hearing.
•At hearings in August, Tehran sought the suspension of the sanctions while the case challenging their legality is being heard - a process that can take years. U.S. lawyers responded that the sanctions are a legal and justified national security measure that cannot be challenged by Tehran at the world court.
•In its decision, the court said that the U.S. sanctions “have the potential to endanger civil aviation safety” in Iran and that sanctions limiting sales of goods required for humanitarian needs such as food, medicines and medical devices “may have a serious detrimental impact on the health and lives of individuals on the territory of Iran.”
•The court said that the Trump administration must “ensure that licences and necessary authorizations are granted” and payments not restricted if they are linked to the humanitarian and aviation goods.
•The court also told both the U.S. and Iran to “refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute.”
Treaty of Amity
•Iran alleges that the sanctions breach a 1955 bilateral agreement known as the Treaty of Amity that regulates and promotes economic and consular ties between the two countries.
•The treaty was signed when the U.S. and Iran were still allies following the 1953 revolution fomented by Britain and the U.S. that ultimately cemented the rule of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
•Diplomatic relations were severed following the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran and takeover of the U.S. Embassy and the ensuing hostage crisis. However, the treaty remains in force.
•Wednesday’s ruling could set up another clash between the Trump administration and the Hague-based court. Last month, Mr. Trump’s National Security Advisor, John Bolton, denounced the International Criminal Court, a separate and unrelated institution based just a few kilometres away from the ICJ.
•The ICC prosecutes people accused of war atrocities while the ICJ settles disputes between nations.
•Mr. Bolton said last month that “for all intents and purposes, the ICC is already dead to us.”
📰 Lagoon villas to come to Lakshadweep’s emeralds
NITI Aayog plans ‘eco-cottages’ and a film city to boost tourism in the island territories
•Lagoons with luxurious water villas is not something India is known for. But there is now a plan to come up with a popular alternative to leading destinations such as Mauritius and Maldives, if the government’s plan for “holistic development of the islands” is any indication.
•“We want to set up island water villas. If you see Lakshadweep, we have so much lagoon area. Other countries have built villas and attract tourists from across the globe. But we don’t have any such project,” Jitendra Kumar, Adviser, NITI Aayog, told The Hindu.
•He added that the NITI Aayog, along with other stakeholders, including the Island Development Agency (IDA), which is chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, is conducting a technical feasibility study for the project. “We are looking at both Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar islands,” Mr. Kumar said, adding that it will be ensured that there is no damage to the marine ecosystem.
•Additionally, efforts are on to identify an island where a film city can be built. “It is a new idea that we are working on. This will not only attract tourists but also relieve some of the pressure on Mumbai as a filming hub,” Mr. Kumar said.
•As part of the plan, the government will issue tenders for four tourism-based hospitality projects – three in Andaman & Nicobar, and one in Lakshadweep. These will mainly be eco-cottages for which private players can bid to build. The projects will add about 700 rooms. “Ecological concerns and tribal-related issues will be fully addressed,” he stressed.
Few foreign tourists
•Mr. Kumar said that while the arrival of domestic tourists in Andaman and Nicobar islands rose from over 2.02 lakh in 2011 to over 3.84 lakh in 2016, the inflow of foreign tourists was stagnant at around 15,000. “This is in spite of the fact that globally, there is a high demand for eco-tourism, adventure tourism (sea sports, game fishing) and cruise tourism,” he said.
•The Diglipur Airport (in the Andamans) is expected to be operational for civilian aircraft by December, 2018. “Better connectivity to Diglipur, Port Blair, Car Nicobar and Campbell Bay through smaller aircraft, supplemented with more helicopter services using the 17 available helipads, will boost inter-island connectivity in Andaman and Nicobar,” he said. Efforts are on to start international flights from the Veer Savarkar International Airport, Port Blair.
📰 Gujarat acts to save its pride
Seeks help from Centre, foreign experts after 23 lions die in less than a month
•Stunned by the deaths of 23 lions since September 12, the Gujarat government, which initially insisted that the lions had died due to infighting for territorial domination, has now sprung into action and launched not only rescue efforts but also called experts from outside, including London, and imported a vaccine from the United States.
•“We have sought the help of the Central government and called international experts to help us control the situation,” said Dr. Rajiv Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary, Environment and Forest, Gujarat.
Under treatment
•“At present, 33 lions are under treatment at the rescue centre in Jamvala, while three others are being treated in the Jasadhar rescue centre,” Ganpat Vasava, Gujarat’s Environment and Forest Minister, told mediapersons on Wednesday.
•Elaborating on the measures underway, Mr. Vasava said that more than 500 lions had already been screened to detect viral infections in the big cats in the Gir forests and revenue areas, as Asiatic lions are spread in as many as eight districts in the Saurashtra region.
•In possibly the worst-ever tragedy in the Gir forest, the only abode of Asiatic lions in the world, apart from the 23 lions that have died since September 12, as many as 36 are battling for their lives as a deadly outbreak of Canine Distemper Virus (CDV) and tick-borne Babesiosis is killing the great cats famously known as Gujarat’s pride.
•According to the State Forest Department, of the 23 deaths, four lions died of CDV, and 17 were killed by a tick-borne infection. The cause of death of two lions is yet to be ascertained.
•Meanwhile, experts and forest officials blame the State authorities for “adopting a casual approach” in conservation, and not taking precautionary measures to deal with the epidemic.
•According to experts, the Gujarat government was warned in 2011, when the Centre for Animal Disease Research and Diagnosis (CADRAD), Bengaluru, and the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Uttarakhand, analysed tissues from a 2007 Gir lion carcass and found the presence of highly contagious Peste Des Petits Ruminants Virus (PPRV), which carries an 80%-100% chance of mortality. Subsequently, four lions sent from Gujarat to the Lion Safari Park in Uttar Pradesh in 2014, died of CDV in 2016.
📰 In harmony with Mother Nature
We need a clean environment for human empowerment, writes Prime Minister Narendra Modi
•Yesterday, the United Nations honoured me with the Champions of the Earth Award. While I was extremely humbled at receiving this honour, I do feel that this award is not for an individual. Instead, it is recognition of the Indian culture and values, which have always placed emphasis on living in harmony with Mother Nature.
A proud moment
•It was a proud moment for every Indian to see India’s proactive role in mitigating climate change being acknowledged and appreciated by the United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres, and Erik Solheim, the Executive Director of the UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme).
•Human beings and nature have a very special relationship. Mother Nature has nurtured and nourished us. The first civilisations were established on the banks of rivers. Societies that live in harmony with nature flourish and prosper.
•Today, human society stands at an important crossroads. The path that we take hereon will not only determine our well-being but also that of the generations who will inhabit our planet after us. The imbalances between our greed and necessities have led to grave ecological imbalances. We can either accept this, go ahead with things as if it is business as usual, or we can take corrective actions.
•Three things will determine how we as a society can bring a positive change.
•The first is internal consciousness. For that, there is no better place to look than our glorious past. Respect for nature is at the core of India’s traditions. The Atharvaveda contains the Prithvi Sukta, which contains unparalleled knowledge about nature and the environment. It is beautifully written in Atharvaveda: Salutations to Mother Earth. In Her is woven together Ocean and River Waters; in Her is contained Food which She manifests when ploughed; In Her indeed is alive all Lives; May She bestow us with that Life.
•The ancients write about the Panch Tatvas – Prithvi (Earth), Vayu (Air), Jal(Water), Agni (Fire), Akash (Sky) – and how our life systems are based on the harmonious functioning of these elements. The elements of nature are manifestations of divinity. Mahatma Gandhi wrote extensively on the environment and even practised a lifestyle where compassion towards the environment was essential. He propounded the Doctrine of Trusteeship, which places the onus on us, the present generation, to ensure that our coming generations inherit a clean planet. He called for sustainable consumption so that the world does not face a resource crunch.
•Leading lifestyles that are harmonious and sustainable are a part of our ethos. Once we realise how we are flag bearers of a rich tradition, it will automatically have a positive impact on our actions.
Need for public awareness
•The second aspect is public awareness. We need to talk, write, debate, discuss and deliberate as much as possible on questions relating to the environment. At the same time, it is vital to encourage research and innovation on subjects relating to the environment. This is when more people will know about the pressing challenges of our times and ways to mitigate them.
•When we as a society are aware of our strong links with environmental conservation and talk about it regularly, we will automatically be proactive in working towards a sustainable environment. That is why, I will put proactiveness as the third facet of bringing a positive change.
•In this context, I am delighted to state that the 130 crore people of India are proactive and at the forefront of working towards a cleaner and greener environment.
•We see this proactiveness in the Swachh Bharat Mission, which is directly linked to a sustainable future. With the blessings of the people of India, over 85 million households now have access to toilets for the first time. Over 400 million Indians no longer have to defecate in the open. Sanitation coverage is up from 39% to 95%. These are landmark efforts in the quest of reducing the strain on our natural surroundings.
•We see this proactiveness in the success of the Ujjwala Yojana, which has significantly reduced indoor air pollution due to unhealthy cooking practices that were causing respiratory diseases. Till date, over five crore Ujjwala connections have been distributed, thus ensuring a better and cleaner life for the women and their families.
•India is moving at a quick pace in cleaning its rivers. The Ganga, which is India’s lifeline, had become polluted in several parts. The Namami Gange Mission is changing this historical wrong. Emphasis is being given to proper treatment of sewage.
•At the core of our urban development initiatives such as AMRUT and the Smart Cities Mission is the need to balance urban growth with environmental care. The over 13 crore soil health cards distributed to farmers are helping them make informed decisions that will boost their productivity and improve the health of our land, which helps the coming generations.
•We have integrated objectives of Skill India in the environment sector and launched the schemes, including Green Skill Development Programme for skilling about seven million youth in environment, forestry, wildlife and climate change sectors by 2021. This will go a long way in creating numerous opportunities for skilled jobs and entrepreneurships in the environment sector.
•Our country is devoting unparalleled attention to new and renewable sources of energy. Over the last four years, this sector has become more accessible and affordable.
•The Ujala Yojana has led to the distribution of nearly 31 crore LED bulbs. The costs of LED bulbs have reduced and so have the electricity bills and the CO2 emissions.
•India’s proactiveness is seen internationally. It makes me proud that India remained at the forefront of the COP-21 negotiations in Paris in 2015. In March 2018, world leaders of several countries converged in New Delhi to mark the start of the International Solar Alliance, an endeavour to harness the rich potential of solar energy and bring together all nations that are blessed with solar power.
Climate justice
•While the world is talking about climate change, the call for climate justice has also reverberated from India. Climate justice is about safeguarding the rights and interests of the poor and marginalised sections of society, who are often the biggest sufferers from the menace of climate change.
•As I have written earlier, our actions today will have an impact on human civilisation much beyond our time. It is up to us to take on the mantle of global responsibility towards a sustainable future. The world needs to shift to a paradigm of environmental philosophy that is anchored in environmental consciousness rather than merely in government regulations. I would like to compliment all those individuals and organisations who are working assiduously in this direction. They have become the harbingers of a monumental change in our society. I assure them all possible support from the Government in their pursuits. Together, we will create a clean environment that will be the cornerstone of human empowerment!
📰 More liquidity for lending
The easing of SLR norms can release ₹2.5 lakh crore
What are SLR, CRR, and LCR?
•SLR, or statutory liquidity ratio, is a measure of the reserves that commercial banks are required to hold in the form of government bonds, gold, and similar liquid assets. CRR, or cash reserve ratio, is a measure of the reserves that banks need to hold in the form of cash. LCR, or liquidity coverage ratio, is a measure of highly liquid assets which can easily be converted into cash that banks are required to hold. All three are policy tools used by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to influence the total amount of reserves held by banks at any point in time. These reserve requirements, in turn, influence the amount of loans that banks can extend to borrowers. So when the RBI tightens reserve requirements, banks are forced to cut down lending and this causes money supply in the economy to shrink. Money supply rises when reserve requirements are eased by the RBI.
Why are they in the news?
•The RBI last week allowed banks to classify an additional 2% of the value of their SLR investments in government bonds as high-quality liquid assets (HQLAs). The move, which could increase the overall amount of assets that can be classified as highly liquid reserves by banks, can increase bank lending and ease the availability of funds in the economy. It is estimated that the latest easing of SLR norms by the RBI can release ₹2.5 lakh crore into the economy. The decision to reclassify SLR assets is part of the RBI’s emergency measures to improve the availability liquidity in the economy. Borrowers like non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) have had to to borrow at higher rates after investors turned cautious after infrastructure lender IL&FS’s default. The RBI hopes that increased bank lending can help ease the crisis.
Can they solve the liquidity crisis?
•The injection of fresh money through the banking system can help boost aggregate demand in the economy. It, however, remains to be seen whether banks are willing to risk lending money to NBFCs and other financial companies in the current environment. The move to ease reserve requirements is unlikely to have any effect until this happens. Money market rates, however, did witness an immediate drop after the RBI’s emergency measures suggesting that the RBI may be enjoying some success in calming the nerves of investors.
📰 ‘A default by IL&FS would have been catastrophic’
Consolidated group loss of ₹2,670 cr. in 2017-18 and a leveraging of 13 times equity
•Concerns of a “catastrophic” impact on the financial markets if IL&FS defaulted on its future payment obligations and the high leverage levels of the company led to the government swiftly acting to get the board of the infrastructure development and finance company replaced.
•Further, the fact that IL&FS had a non-functioning Risk Management Committee, – it met only once between 2015 and 2018 – was a critical lapse in the overall management and governance of IL&FS, as per a report prepared by the Ministry of Finance.
Leverage levels elevated
•“The future impact of more defaults in the [IL&FS] Group may be catastrophic for the financial stability. The leverage levels are quite elevated and need to be reduced to some manageable levels, which require new thinking and new management,” said the report sent to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) on September 30.
•As per the report, IL&FS Group showed a loss of ₹2,670 crore in its consolidated balance sheet for the financial year 2017-18.
•Further, the leverage was about 13 times, as the borrowing of about ₹91,000 crore was on the base of equity capital and reserves of about ₹6,950 crore.
•Incidentally, the Reserve Bank of India’s Capital to Risk weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) of 15% for Systemically Important Non-Deposit Accepting Non-Banking Finance Company would peg the leverage ratio at 6-7 times, while a CRAR of 30% for core investment company would result in a leverage ratio of about 3-4 times.
•A default by IL&FS could have significant repercussions, including widespread redemption pressures, sell-off in the debt market, liquidity crunch and smaller non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) shutting shop, according to the report.
•A possible default of IL&FS could lead to the cancellation of licences of as many as 1,500 smaller non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) due to lack of adequate capital, it added.
Fear of contagion
•“Given the systemic importance of IL&FS, the issue has led to fear of a contagion on other NBFCs and further to NBFC fed sectors like automobiles.
•The fear is also due to lack of proper information in the market about the financial status of 169 unlisted group companies,” stated the Finance Ministry report.
•The government report also highlighted the fact that mutual funds have an exposure of about ₹2,800 crore towards IL&FS bonds and fund houses would get redemption pressure from corporate clients and the illiquid corporate debt market and the recent sell-off in Dewan Housing Finance Ltd. (DHFL) may force asset management companies to sell government securities.
•The cascading impact of the default by the IL&FS Group on the financial sector would be quite substantial as evidenced from a partial default of some companies and its repercussions in the financial market in the month of September 2018, it said.
•“... there is a need to immediately stop further financial defaults and also repay the past defaulted dues to the claimants. This would require a combination of measures of asset sales, restructuring of some liabilities and fresh infusion of funds by the investors and lenders,” stated the government.
•“... the present management has lost all credibility to service any further financing to the company... the replacement of the existing management by the new management would be the first step towards restoring that confidence and to avoid any suboptimal liquidation of assets.” it added.
📰 The work of this year’s Chemistry Nobel laureates
•The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry2018 with one half to Frances H. Arnold and the other half jointly to George P. Smith and Sir Gregory P. Winter.
📰 Japan drops new robot on asteroid
The German-French observation device is part of a mission to find clues to the solar system’s origins
•A Japanese probe launched a new observation robot towards an asteroid on Wednesday as it pursues a mission to shed light on the origins of the solar system.
•The Hayabusa2 probe launched the French-German Mobile Asteroid Surface Scout, or MASCOT, towards the Ryugu asteroid’s surface, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said.
•“We can confirm that the MASCOT separated from the spacecraft as planned,” the agency said in a tweet on its official account.
•“I’m doing it! I’m descending to Ryugu! Can’t stop me now!” the lander’s official Twitter account @MASCOT2018 added. The robot has safely landed, officials later confirmed.
•“It is hugely significant to take data from the surface of an asteroid, we have high expectations for the scientific data,” Hayabusa2 mission manager Makoto Yoshikawa said. The 10-kg box-shaped MASCOT is loaded with sensors. It can take images at multiple wavelengths, investigate minerals with a microscope, gauge surface temperatures and measure magnetic fields.
Supplements rovers
•MASCOT’s launch comes 10 days after the Hayabusa2 dropped a pair of MINERVA-II micro-rovers on the Ryugu asteroid. It was the first time that moving, robotic observation device have been successfully landed on an asteroid.
•The rovers will take advantage of Ryugu’s low gravity to jump around on the surface — travelling as far as 15 metres while airborne and staying in the air for as long as 15 minutes — to survey the asteroid’s physical features with cameras and sensors. Unlike those machines, MASCOT will be largely immobile — it will “jump” just once on its mission, and it can turn on its sides. And while the rovers will spend several months on the asteroid, the MASCOT has a maximum battery life of just 16 hours, and will transmit the data it collects to the Hayabusa2 before running out of juice.
•The Hayabusa2 is scheduled later this month to deploy an “impactor” that will explode above the asteroid, shooting a two-kilo copper object into it to blast a small crater on the surface.
•The probe will then hover over the artificial crater and collect samples using an extended arm.
📰 ‘Jewel of Roman Empire’ faces danger
UNESCO declared Sabratha to be at risk in 2016, mainly due to damage caused by armed groups
•Perched on the edge of Libya’s Mediterranean coast, the ancient city of Sabratha remains an awe-inspiring spectacle, the pink columns of its amphitheatre towering above turquoise waters.
•But the world heritage site is classified as “endangered” by UNESCO, its majestic structures pockmarked by mortar and small arms fire.
•Shell casings and bullets still litter the surrounding earth, a year after clashes between rival armed groups.
•Locals say snipers positioned themselves at the top of the amphitheatre, once a jewel of the Roman Empire.
•Bringing bloodshed back to the gladiatorial arena some 18 centuries after it was built, 39 people were killed and 300 wounded in the fighting.
•Today, the site around 70 km from the capital lies eerily abandoned, encircled by parched grass and weeds.
•Since the toppling and killing of Libya’s dictator Moamer Kadhafi in a 2011 uprising, Sabratha has become a key departure point for illegal migration.
•Smugglers and militias have profited amply from a chronic security vacuum. It is from the long and deserted shores a few kilometres from ancient Sabratha that most migrants start their perilous boat journeys towards Europe.
‘Permanent danger’
•UNESCO declared Sabratha to be at risk in July 2016, along with four other Libyan sites on its World Heritage list.
•The UN’s cultural organisation based its decision on two factors — “damage already caused” and vulnerability to future destruction. It noted that “armed groups are present on these sites or in their immediate proximity”.
•Experts fear worse is to come for the country’s historic sites, as armed groups continue to vie for ascendancy.
•Libya’s archaeological heritage is at great risk, warns Mohamad al-Chakchouki, head of the North African country’s department of antiquities.
•The “entrenchment of armed groups inside archaeological sites and the battles which have unfolded near the sites, including Sabratha, pose a permanent danger”, he said.
•The conservation of sites was once entrusted to Western teams. But these experts have not travelled to Libya “for four years, because of the chaos and insecurity”, said Mr. Chakchouki.
•Spread out over 90 hectares, including a part engulfed by the sea, Sabratha is one of three former cities that constituted Roman Tripolitania.
•The others are Oea — modern-day Tripoli — and Leptis Magna in western Libya that was one of the sites categorised as endangered by UNESCO two years ago.
•Sabratha suffers from stone erosion and degradation, said Mohamad Abu Ajela, an official at the city’s office of antiquities. But the “damage caused by man is a greater fear”, he said.
•A Spanish archaeological mission recently visited Sabratha and signed an agreement to restore some areas, including the theatre. But completion of the work “depends on the security situation”, Mr. Ajela said.
•Also, several protected Libyan sites are threatened by uncontrolled urban expansion. One example is Cyrene, an ancient Greek city in northeastern Libya.
Urbanisation and looting
•Exploiting the chaos, people have claimed ownership of land and built within the archaeological site’s perimeter.
•Looting is another threat to these sites, as the lack of security has led to illicit excavation and smuggling of antiquities.
