Editorials/Opinions Analysis For UPSC 30 July 2024

CONTENTS

1. Defending Disability Reservations
2. Any Further Delay in Census is Perilous

Defending Disability Reservations

Context:

The recent controversy surrounding a civil servant, who allegedly misrepresented her disability and caste to gain benefits, has sparked a debate about the reservations provided to persons with disabilities (PwDs). The issue gained momentum when a former CEO of NITI Aayog tweeted that reservations for PwDs should be reconsidered.

Relevance:

GS2-

• Issues Related to Disability
• Government Policies & Interventions
• Constitutional Bodies
• Role of Civil Services in a Democracy

GS4- Aptitude and Foundational Values for Civil Service

Mains Question:

PwDs face multiple barriers to their effective participation in society and the workforce. However, questions have been raised on the reservation provided to them recently. In this context, discuss the challenges faced by PwDs. Analyse the role that reservation can play in easing their difficulties. (15 Marks, 250 Words).

Deep-seated Ableism:

• PwDs encounter numerous barriers to effectively participating in society and the workforce. These include infrastructural challenges, an education system, and exam formats designed for able-bodied individuals.
• Reservation policies aim to create a level playing field by providing equitable opportunities for PwDs.
• The fact that a few individuals exploit these benefits should not overshadow the broader purpose and impact of such policies.
• Broad generalizations based on isolated incidents are unfair and counterproductive.
• Some officers have questioned whether PwDs holding positions within the civil services have the “physical fitness” to perform their duties. Such statements reflect the unconscious bias many people have against PwDs.
• PwDs continue to face challenges in both education and employment, yet these issues are rarely highlighted.
• The 76th round of the National Sample Survey in 2018 revealed that only 23.8% of PwDs were employed, while the national Labor Force Participation Rate was 50.2% that year.
• This disparity can be attributed to a lack of access to accessible education, stigma and biases during hiring, and insufficient reasonable accommodation in the workplace for PwDs.
• These structural problems are rarely highlighted by those who question the legitimacy of affirmative action for PwDs.
• For example, a candidate who has muscular dystrophy, has not been assigned a position despite passing the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) civil service exam four times.
• Similarly, other candidate had to go to the Central Administrative Tribunal to secure her rightful posting, even though she ranked first in the civil service exams, due to her disability. These are the instances that should awaken the conscience of our intellectuals.

Potential Misuse:

• In a related matter, the Supreme Court examined the potential misuse of scribes in the Vikash Kumar v. UPSC (2021) case.
• There was concern that if persons with disabilities (PwDs) are allowed to choose their scribes and their disability percentage is below 40%, they might abuse this provision.
• The Court responded by saying: “If incidents arise where able-bodied candidates are found hiding chits in their dress code and using them to cheat during an exam, the appropriate response is to impose punitive measures on such students.
• The solution is not to switch to a different dress code that is so uncomfortable that it prevents many capable students from sitting for the entire exam duration and performing to the best of their ability.” This same principle should apply to reservations for PwDs.

Certification System:

• India’s disability certification system has notable flaws. The method of quantifying disabilities by percentage is outdated and not aligned with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
• Assessment should be based on functional limitations rather than medical percentages.
• Moreover, the UPSC requires a separate and independent disability assessment, which disregards the government-recognized certification process that results in the issuance of a disability certificate and Unique Disability ID (UDID). This can cause contradictory outcomes between the two sets of assessments.
• Another issue is the shortage of specialists to evaluate various disabilities, making the certification process inaccessible and time-consuming.
• The state’s complex assessment guidelines are often impractical for district hospitals, which lack adequate infrastructure and resources.
• This leaves the evaluation of disability and its extent open to interpretation.
• Psychosocial disabilities, which require more subjective assessment, are evaluated using the outdated IDEAS (Indian Disability Evaluation and Assessment Scale).
• In many cases, these tests are not even conducted. Individuals with invisible, hidden, or less apparent disabilities, such as blood disorders, often face rejection because they “do not look disabled.”

Conclusion:

The focus should be on addressing these systemic issues. Civil servants’ recent alleged fraudulent activities should be met with strict punishment. This is the solution, not an unjustified review of the reservation system that provides essential support to a marginalized group.

Any Further Delay in Census is Perilous

Context:

When the Central Government did not extend the June 30, 2024 deadline to freeze administrative boundaries for the Census, it raised hopes that the decennial Census operations, originally set to start in 2020 in preparation for Census 2021, might finally begin in October 2024. It typically takes about three months after the boundaries are established to make the extensive preparations required for fieldwork.

Relevance:

• GS1- Population and Associated Issues
• GS2- Government Policies & Interventions

Mains Question:

Highlight the origin and evolution of the decennial census in India. What have been the repercussions of the delay in census after 2011? (10 Marks, 150 Words).

Census on Hold:

• However, these hopes were dashed when the Budget 2024-25 recently allocated ₹1,309.46 crore for the Census, a significant decrease from the ₹3,768 crore allocated in 2021-22 for the decadal exercise, suggesting it may not proceed even after the substantial delay.
• Consequently, the next Census remains on hold, with the government yet to announce a new schedule.

An absolute Necessity:

• Conducting the Census promptly is essential because, without a Census since 2011, a large portion of the country’s population is unable to access various schemes, benefits, and services.
• Furthermore, implementing the women’s Reservation Act, passed by Parliament last year to reserve 33% of seats in Parliament and Assemblies for women, depends on conducting the Census.
• Preliminary preparations for the Census, such as updating maps and lists of administrative areas, pre-testing draft Census questionnaires, training officers and core staff who will train the large number of field staff to collect Census data digitally via a mobile app, and planning the fieldwork, logistics, and budgeting, have been underway in the Census Directorates in States and Union Territories for the past few years in anticipation of conducting a Census.
• A visit to the Census Directorate of Tamil Nadu in Chennai and conversations with officials reveals they are ready to undertake the task once a new Census date is set. They only need quick refresher training.
• The ₹1,309.46 crore allocated in the 2024-25 budget could be used by the Census department to carry out several preliminary activities, such as finalizing enumeration areas, questionnaire completion, refresher training of core staff for the proposed digital Census, and the tabulation plan.
• The Constitution (Eighty-fourth Amendment) Act of 2001 was specifically enacted to prevent the delimitation of constituencies until the first Census conducted after 2026.
• If the Centre is considering conducting the Census in 2027 and using the population figures for delimitation purposes, then the Census reference date should be announced soon, along with a new deadline for freezing the boundaries of administrative units by the State governments and Union Territory administration.

Clarifications:

• To build a comprehensive database of usual residents in the country, the National Population Register (NPR) was initially prepared in 2010 during the Houselisting and Housing Census phase of Census 2011. It was updated in 2015 to reflect changes due to births, deaths, and migration.
• This process was conducted under the Citizenship Act, 1955. The NPR will be updated again during the Houselisting and Housing Census Operations (Phase 1) of the upcoming Census.
• The draft form of the NPR for the next Census includes questions such as “mother tongue, place of birth of father and mother, and last place of residence,” which were not part of the NPR prepared for the 2011 Census in 2010.
• Some States and citizen groups have opposed these new questions, as they view the NPR as the first step toward compiling the National Register of Citizens (NRC), according to the Citizenship Rules 2003. However, the Centre has clarified that NPR data will not be used in preparing the NRC.
• The Centre must decide whether to retain or remove the contentious questions in the NPR format for the first phase of the upcoming Census.

On Caste Information:

• There is a growing demand for the Centre to conduct a caste-based census to accurately assess the economic well-being of marginalized communities.
• In an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court of India on September 23, 2021, the Union Government stated that a caste census (except for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, which is traditionally done) was unfeasible and “administratively difficult and cumbersome.”

Conclusion:

The Centre now needs to decide whether or not to collect caste information in the next Census. It is crucial that sufficient provisions are made in the 2025-26 Census Budget to ensure that the delayed 2021 Census can be held as soon as possible, ideally in 2026, following the completion of the first phase in 2025, which would include house listing, the housing census, and updating the National Population Register (NPR).