Contents
- Migrant workers should not be prosecuted: SC
- SC: Address the problem of bonded labour
- India & China pull troops back
- Centre moves to regulate import of exotic animals
- India considering universal basic income: NHRC to UN
- IMF on giving needy nations SDR access
MIGRANT WORKERS SHOULD NOT BE PROSECUTED: SC
Focus: GS-II Social Justice
Why in news?
The Supreme Court has said migrant workers should not be prosecuted for trying to reach home amid the national lockdown.
Details
- The SC directed the Centre and the States to withdraw any complaint or prosecution lodged against migrant labourers who had set out on foot from big cities for their native villages to escape starvation, unemployment and disease during the pandemic.
- A migrant worker who walked home would have faced a year in prison or been fined or suffered both if found guilty of obstructing the law under Section 51 of the Disaster Management Act.
- The SC also ordered the States and the UTs to bring the stranded migrant workers home within the next 15 days.
In the Past regarding Migrant Labourers
- The court passed the order after suo motu taking cognisance of the migrant workers’ exodus –
- The court squarely placed the onus on the Centre, the States and the UTs to provide details of employment and benefits schemes to the returned workers.
- The States and UTs were directed to conduct extensive skill-mapping of the returned workers at village and block levels.
Disaster Management Act, 2005
- The Disaster Management Act, 2005, (23 December 2005) received the assent of The President of India on 9 January 2006.
- The Act extends to the whole of India.
- The Act provides for “the effective management of disasters and for matters connected there with or incidental thereto.”
- The Act calls for the establishment of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
- The Act under Section 8 enjoins the Central Government to Constitute a National Executive Committee (NEC).
- All State Governments are mandated under Section 14 of the act to establish a State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA).
- The Chairperson of District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) will be the Collector or District Magistrate or Deputy Commissioner of the district.
- The Section 44–45 of the Act provides for constituting a National Disaster Response Force “for the purpose of specialist response to a threatening disaster situation or disaster” under a Director General to be appointed by the Central Government.
-Source: The Hindu
SC: ADDRESS THE PROBLEM OF BONDED LABOUR
Focus: GS-II Social Justice
Why in news?
- The Supreme Court asked the Bihar Government not to “turn a blind eye” to the problem of bonded labour in Bihar merely because the administration was focused on handling the migrant workers’ influx amid the COVID-19 lockdown.
- The SC pointed out that “millions of adults and children across India are enslaved by the scourge”, despite the enactment of the Bonded Labour Abolition Act in 1976.
What is Bonded Labour?
- Bonded Labour is a practice in which employers give high-interest loans to workers who work at low wages to pay off the debt.
- Bonded labour was historically associated with rural economies where peasants from economically disadvantaged communities were bound to work for the landlords.
- The Supreme Court of India has interpreted bonded labour as the payment of wages that are below the prevailing market wages and legal minimum wages.
Bonded Labour Abolition Act in 1976
- Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976 provides for an institutional mechanism at the district level in the form of Vigilance Committees.
- The Act extends to the whole of India but implemented by respective state governments.
- Vigilance committees advise District Magistrate (DM) to ensure the provisions of this act are properly implemented.
- In order to implement the Act an Executive Magistrate can be given the powers of a Judicial Magistrate of the first class or second class for trial of offences under this Act – by the State Governments or UTs.
Right against exploitation in the Constitution
- Article 23: Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labour
- Traffic in human beings and begar and other similar forms of forced labour are prohibited and any contravention of this provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with law.
- However, the State (India) can impose compulsory service for public purpose by law without discrimination on the grounds of religion, race, caste or class.
-Source: The Hindu
INDIA & CHINA PULL TROOPS BACK
Focus: GS-II International Relations
Why in news?
India and China have pulled back their troops around 1-2km from three out of the four confrontation sites along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
But there has been no change as yet in the ground position at the main face-off site on the northern bank of Pangong Tso, where PLA soldiers have occupied the entire area from ‘Finger 4 to 8’.
Reaction to the pulling back of troops
The Pulling back of troops is a clear signal that the actual disengagement in the Himalayan region is now firmly on the cards.
While there is a broad agreement to disengage peacefully from Galwan and Gogra-Hot Springs area, the actual modalities will have to be worked out in meetings.
Click Here to read more about the India China Standoff
-Source: Times of India
CENTRE MOVES TO REGULATE IMPORT OF EXOTIC ANIMALS
Focus: GS-III Environment and Ecology, Prelims
Why in news?
In a first-of-its-kind move, the Union Ministry Of Environment, Forest And Climate Change (MoEFCC) has issued an advisory to streamline the process of importing and possessing live exotic animals.
The Order also asks owners of exotic pets to disclose information within six months.
What are “Exotic” pets?
According to the advisory, the phrase “exotic live species” includes only “animals named the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora” and “does NOT include species from the Schedules of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972”.
Wildlife Protection Act, 1972
- The Wild Life Protection Act, 1972 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted for protection of plants and animal species.
- The Act established schedules of protected plant and animal species; hunting or harvesting these species was largely outlawed.
- The Act provides for the protection of wild animals, birds and plants; and for matters connected there with or ancillary or incidental thereto.
- It extends to the whole of India.
- It has six schedules which give varying degrees of protection.
| Schedule I: Species: Endangered species Penalty: Harsh with imprisonment Hunting: Not allowed Trade: Prohibited Examples: Tiger, Blackbuck, Himalayan Brown Bear, Brow-Antlered Deer, Blue whale, Common Dolphin, Cheetah, Clouded Leopard, Hornbills, Indian Gazelle, and many others. | Schedule II Penalty: Harsh Hunting: Not allowed Trade: Prohibited Examples: Kohinoor (insect), Assamese Macaque, Bengal Hanuman langur, Large Indian Civet, Indian Fox, Larger Kashmir Flying Squirrel, Kashmir Fox and many others. |
| Schedule III & IV Species: Not Endangered Penalty: Less compared to Schedules I & II Hunting: Not allowed Examples: Hyena, Himalayan rat, porcupine, flying fox, Malabar tree toad, etc. | Schedule V Hunting: Allowed Examples: Mice, Rat, common crow, fruit bats, etc. |
| Schedule VI Species: Include plants that are forbidden from cultivation Examples: Pitcher plant, Blue Vanda, Red vanda, Kuth, etc. |
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
- The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is an international agreement to which States and regional economic integration organizations adhere voluntarily.
- CITES was drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
- CITES aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
- The CITES Secretariat is administered by UNEP (The United Nations Environment Programme) and is located at Geneva, Switzerland.
| Cites Appendix | Species Covered |
| CITES Appendix-I | Species that are in danger of extinction Commercial trade is prohibited. Permits are required for import and export. Trade permitted just for research only if the origin country ensures the trade won’t harm the species’ chance of survival. |
| CITES Appendix-II | Species that aren’t facing imminent extinction but need monitoring so that any trade doesn’t become a threat. Trade permits obtained legally and only if the origin country ensures that its harvesting and trade won’t harm the species’ chance of survival. |
| CITES Appendix-III | Species that are protected in at least one country. Regulations for these species vary, but typically the country that requested the listing can issue export permits, and export from other countries requires a certificate of origin. |
TRAFFIC
- TRAFFIC, the Wildlife Trade Monitoring Network, is the leading non-governmental organisation working globally on the trade of wild animals and plants in the context of both biodiversity and sustainable development.
- It was founded in 1976 as a strategic alliance of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
- The organisation’s aim is to ‘ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature’.
TRAFFIC and CITES
- A TRAFFIC priority is to promote international co-operation to address wildlife trade issues, with particular emphasis on CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and CBD, the Convention on Biological Diversity.
- TRAFFIC provides information and assistance to help the decision-making processes at CITES, supporting efforts to ensure that international wildlife trade is at sustainable levels and does not pose a threat to the conservation of species.
-Source: Times of India
INDIA CONSIDERING UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME: NHRC TO UN
Focus: GS-III Indian Economy
Why in news?
India is considering a universal basic income and will not consider a repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act or a moratorium on the death penalty, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has told the United Nations.
Details
- NHRC submitted a mid-term report to the United Nations on the human rights situation in the country.
- In the report, Universal Periodic Review (UPR)-III, the UN has been informed that the Indian government is examining and “actively considering” the possibility of a universal basic income to reduce poverty.
- The NHRC has the role of an onlooker as these recommendations are for the central government to address.
What is Universal Basic Income?
- Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a theoretical governmental public program for a periodic payment delivered to all on an individual basis without a means test or work requirement.
- In simple terms, UBI refers to periodic cash transfers to every citizen in a country, without having any conditions.
- UBI lets people decide what they spend on, instead of waiting for governments to plan and implement welfare programmes.
Disadvantages of UBI
- People would have no incentive to work if they were provided with free money.
- If people were given free cash, they might use it all on needless stuff and the poverty alleviation would become extremely difficult.
- No country has tried a national UBI for long enough to conclude its effectiveness.
- Even if the government were to put together the resources needed to fund the program, getting money into people’s hands will be challenging.
Cases for Advantage of UBI
- In the 2016–17 Economic survey- it was argued that an annual bank transfer of Rs. 7620, to everyone except the top 25% of India’s income pyramid, would shrink national poverty from 22% to 0.5%, costing 4.9% of the GDP.
- A study in Delhi in 2011 where subsidized food of the Public Distribution System (PDS) was replaced with cash transfers to households below the poverty line – it was found that expenses on nutritious foods like fish, eggs, and pulses had increased. There was no evidence of the money being used for alcohol or non-food expenses.
- Another Study in Madhya Pradesh in 2011, where people from one village received cash transfers while another village under observation did not, it was found that there was NO credible evidence to suggest that people were slacking off or weren’t working as hard and no rise in alcohol consumption.
-Source: Hindustan Times
IMF ON GIVING NEEDY NATIONS SDR ACCESS
Focus: GS-II International Relations
Why in news?
India, the US and other countries opposed an International Monetary Fund (IMF) proposal to issue fresh Special Drawing Rights (SDR) currencies to help countries deal with the economic fallout of the pandemic.
After the opposition, IMF is considering redistributing existing unused SDRs of rich member-countries to low-income countries in desperate need.
Issue with General SDR allocations
When you do a general SDR or increase SDR allocations, most of it goes to the countries that don’t need it. Because it is proportional to your quota, it goes to the very large economies.
India’s Concerns
India sounded a note of caution on the proposed new allocation of SDRs, saying that in the current context of illiquidity and flights to cash, the efficacy of an SDR allocation was not certain.
‘Special Drawing Rights – SDR’
- Special drawing rights (SDR) refer to an international type of monetary reserve currency created by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1969 that operates as a supplement to the existing reserves of member countries.
- Created in response to concerns about the limitations of gold and dollars as the sole means of settling international accounts, SDRs augment international liquidity by supplementing the standard reserve currencies.
- An SDR is essentially an artificial currency used by the IMF and is a basket of national currencies.
- The IMF uses SDRs for internal accounting purposes. SDRs are allocated by the IMF to its member countries and are backed by the full faith and credit of the member countries’ governments.
- The SDR isn’t regarded as a currency or a claim against the IMF assets. Instead, it is a prospective claim against the freely usable currencies that belong to the IMF member states.
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world while periodically depending on the World Bank for its resources.
- IMF focuses on fostering global monetary cooperation, securing financial stability, facilitating and promoting international trade, employment and economic growth around the world.
- Through the fund and other activities such as the gathering of statistics and analysis, surveillance of its members’ economies, and the demand for particular policies – the IMF works to improve the economies of its member countries.
- IMF is Headquartered in Washington, D.C.
-Source: Livemint
