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GS 3 – What is a ‘national disaster’?

As per the Disaster Management Act, 2005 – ‘’Disaster” means a catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence in any area, arising from natural or man-made causes, or by accident or negligence which results in substantial loss of life or human suffering or damage to, and destruction of, property, or damage to, or degradation of, environment, and is of such a nature or magnitude as to be beyond the coping capacity of the community of the affected area. A natural disaster includes earthquake, flood, landslide, cyclone, tsunami, urban flood, heatwave. A man-made disaster can be nuclear, biological and chemical.

• There is no fixed criterion to define any calamity as ‘National Calamity’

• Government had treated the 2001 Gujarat earthquake and the 1999 super cyclone in Odisha as “a calamity of unprecedented severity”.

• The 10th Finance Commission (1995-2000) – disaster be termed “a national calamity of rarest severity” if it affects one-third of the population of a state. did not define – rarest severity When a calamity is declared to be of “rare severity”/”severe nature”

• Support to the state government is provided at the national level.

• Additional assistance from the NDRF.

• A Calamity Relief Fund (CRF) is set up, with the corpus shared 3:1 between Centre and state.

• When resources in the CRF are inadequate, additional assistance is considered from the National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF), funded 100% by the Centre.

• Relief in repayment of loans or for grant of fresh loans to the persons affected on concessional terms, too, are considered once a calamity is declared “severe”. National Crisis Management Committee

• Headed by the Cabinet Secretary

• Deals with major crises that have serious or national ramifications.

• For calamities of severe nature, inter-ministerial central teams are deputed to the affected states for assessment of damage and relief assistance required. Q. In case of matters relating to loss of human life and property due to all natural and man-made calamities, which is the nodal ministry for disaster response?

GS 2 – Bill proposes to let NRIs nominate proxies to vote on their behalf

Voting in an Indian election can be done in three ways —

• In person

• By post

• Through a proxy Under proxy voting, a registered elector can delegate his voting power to a representative. Introduced in 2003 Only a “classified service voter” —armed forces, BSF, CRPF, CISF, GREF and BRO — is allowed to nominate a proxy to cast vote on his behalf in his absence. (can choose postal method too)

• The Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill, 2017, proposes to amend Section 60 and extend the facility of proxy voting to Indian voters living abroad.

• Right now – PHYSICAL presence of NRI is necessary

• UN report of 2015, India’s Diaspora population is the largest in the world at 16 million

• As of now, the number of registered NRI voters- 24,348

• It is not clear yet how NRIs will nominate their proxies. POSSIBLE method for voting –

• Online polling – could compromise “secrecy of voting”

• Vote at Indian missions abroad – they do not have the resources to organise polling

• e-postal ballot and proxy voting ISSUES

• Proxy voter may not vote as per the wishes of the overseas voter.

• Trust deficiency

• Violates the principle of ‘secrecy of voting’ and ‘free and fair elections’

• Logistical nightmare for the EC.

GS 2 – Decriminalise The Margins

• The Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959 “offenders” convicted for begging .

• Recently The Delhi High Court judgment has held the Act as unconstitutional in Delhi(Art 14 &21).

• Application of the anti-beggary act – arbitrary – arrest without a warrant.

• Under the Act, various forms of begging are criminalised – receiving alms in a public place, whether or not accompanied by singing, dancing, fortune-telling, performing or offering any article for sale

• Detention of the poor who may not be engaged in begging— Instead they could be homeless, poor persons living with disabilities, transgender persons, migrant or sex workers.

• Under this act many transgender persons are also harassed, arrested and detained .

What is transgender?

*Image courtesy – The Indian Express

• Transgender people have a gender identity or gender expression that differs from their assigned sex.

• Assigning someone’s sex is based on biology — chromosomes, anatomy, and hormones.

• But a person’s gender identity – the inner sense of being male, female, or both – doesn’t always match their biology.

• Transgender people say they were assigned a sex that isn’t true to who they are.

• Section 290 and 294 of the IPC – allow arrest for causing “annoyance of others” or doing “any obscene act in any public place”, or one who “sings, recites or utters any obscene song, ballad or words”.

• Stigmatisation – Criminal Tribes Act, 1871 (CTA) .

• In 1952 -replaced by the habitual offenders acts in various states for “restricting the movement of habitual offenders”. The Telangana Eunuchs Act, 1919, that allow for “registration and regulation” of transgender persons

Conclusion :-

• In NALSA vs Union of India, 2014, SC affirmed fundamental rights of transgender persons.

• They face extreme violence and discrimination . Pushed to the fringes of society where begging is the only way.

• Criminalising the act of seeking alms for sustenance violates the most basic human rights of the destitute and marginalised.

• This landmark DELHI HC judgment should pave the way for other high courts to follow suit and address laws that criminalise persons on account of their poverty.

GS 3 – From Plate to Plough: Lean year as a foundation

NABARD All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey (NAFIS)

• PM Modi in 2016 – ‘’We will double farmers’ income by 2022-23’’

• There was no assessment of the base (2015-16) aggregate income levels at that time . NAFIS fill that gap now . Sample Size of NAFIS – 40,327 rural households in 29 states

• 48 % are agriculture households (agri-HHs)

• 87 % are small and marginal farmer households.

• Average Indian farming household acc to NAFIS in 2015-16 – Rs 8,931 per month Rs. 1.07 lakh per annum

• NSSO’s – SAS Situation Assessment Survey in 2002-03 Rs 2,115 per month

• Different definition by NSSO & NAFIS

• If NAFIS followed NSSO’s definitions, the 2015-16 estimate of farmers’ income would have been somewhat lower, and so would have been its growth rate (below 3.7%).

• Income of non-agri rural HH Rs 7,269 per month.

• Almost 88 per cent of all rural HHs had bank accounts & expenditure on food was 51 per cent • 52.5% of the agri-HHS were found to be indebted, with an average outstanding debt of Rs 1,04,602 for the year Dalwai Committee did not have any benchmark income levels for 2015-16. Regional Disparity Punjab – Rs 23,133 UP – Rs 6,668 Compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) The All-India CAGR in farmers’ real income is 3.7 % , which is roughly same as the agri-GDP CAGR (3.6 %) during the same period. Income from various activities – 35 % – cultivation 50 % – wages and salaries 8 % – livestock 7 % – non-farm sectors. All these surveys were conducted in years of deficit rainfall: Rainfall in 2002-03 was 19.2 per cent below normal, in 2012-13 it was 7.1 per cent below normal and 2015-16 it was 14 per cent below

Conclusion :-

• The Dalwai Committee points out that farmers’ real incomes need to grow at 10.4 % per annum, that is, 2.8 times the growth rate achieved historically (3.7%).

• New MSP formula of 50 per cent above A2+FLcost, etc — does not offer confidence that the dream of doubling farmers’ incomes can be achieved by 2022-23. To Achieve Target by 2030 :- The government needs to undertake drastic steps to augment farmers’ incomes at faster pace.