India’s five-year plans (FYPs) highlighted the import substitution policy under India’s inward-looking strategy. This meant that the goods that can be produced domestically should be produced domestically rather than importing from the foreign market. The domestic producers could thus sell their products in the Indian markets without any foreign competition. The main aim here was to boost the economic growth of the nation and achieve self-sufficiency. Such an economy is also known as a closed economy. Up until the 1990s, India chose to remain as a closed economy.

The system of import substitution and import restrictions was implemented with the help of a number of different methodsー through the imposition of a) Tariffs, b) Quotas.

Extremely high tariffs were levied on imported goods making them very expensive for the Indian consumers. This eventually forced them to buy goods that have been made domestically rather than the imported items.

The quota system led to the fixing the maximum limit on the imports made by a domestic consumer. Only a certain amount of very essential items such as raw materials and capital equipment were allowed to be imported and used. That means, if the producers wanted extra materials, they had to fend for themselves.

No doubt that the inward looking strategy brought a rise in the foreign trade sector with the domestic producers gaining exponentially but towards the early 1990s, the Indian law makers realised that there are many loopholes in the current foreign trade policy that they adopted. The main problem was that the domestic producers made no sincere efforts to step up the quality of their products, forcing the Indian consumers to purchase whatever was supplied by them.

In 1962, a review committee was formed to discuss the changes required in the government’s existing foreign trade rules and hence, in 1985, then Finance Minister V.P. Singh announced the EXIM Policy (short for Export-Import Policy) which formulated the export and import policies of the country. Initially, the policy was meant to be followed for a period of three years. Later from 1991, the policies were revised every 5 years in view of the changing international economic context. The EXIM policy came into being to get a better view of the trade situation of the country and to correct trade deficits, if any.

In the year 1991, India received a major setback. The Indian government availed a loan of $7 billion from the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the World Bank due to its inability to manage the economic condition of the country. In order to avail the loan, these international agencies expected India to liberalise, privatise and globalise its economy. The Indian government thus announced the New Economic Policy (NEP), popularly known as the LPG (Liberalisation, Privatisation, Globalisation) policies. Under the New Economic Policy, quantitative restrictions that were imposed after independence were substantially removed. For example, by the year 2001, import restrictions on manufactured consumer goods and agricultural products were completely eliminated. Similarly, tariffs were removed to a great extent in order to increase the competitiveness of the domestic goods in the foreign markets and to improve the quality of the products.

The first EXIM policy came into effect in 1992 and was effective until 1997. This policy aimed at removing the various protectionist measures that were taken by the Indian government previously. After that, the second EXIM policy started in the same year (1997) and stayed up until 2002. This time the focus was on making India a globally oriented economy through the adoption of a set of schemes such as the Export Promotion Capital Goods Schemes and Advanced License Schemes aimed at increasing investments from abroad. The next EXIM policy emerged after 2 years i.e. in 2004 up to 2009 (major trade decisions were taken under this EXIM policy which is why it is also called the ‘Trade Constitution’), under which newer policies such as Target Plus which focussed on providing incentives to producers and exporters with duty-free credit and Free Trade Zones. Soon after, the fourth EXIM policy came into effect from 2009 till 2014 which brought in new initiatives known as Focus Market scheme and product market scheme to help exporters compete in foreign markets and incentivise the export of those products which have high employment intensity. The fifth EXIM policy came after one gap year and came into effect in 2015 and stayed till 2020. This policy focussed on the export as well as the manufacturing services to improve the ease of doing business to increase India’s exports and thus increase its participation in the global market.

Fig 1. Imports of goods and services (% of GDP) – India | Source: World Bank

Fig 2. Exports of goods and services (% of GDP) – India | Source: World Bank

On March 31, 2020, the Government of India decided to extend the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020 for one year in light of the Covid-19 situation. It was to expire on March 31, 2021, but the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) again extended FTP 2015-20 up to September 30, 2021, and it has been operational since.

References:

1. Arora, S. (2019). What are the objectives of Foreign Trade Policy in India? Legodesk. https://legodesk.com/legopedia/foreign-trade-policy-india/

2. India’s International Trade Policy – EXIM Policy. Economics Discussion. https://www.economicsdiscussion.net/international-economics/indias-international-trade-policy-exim-policy/4241

3. Soares, N. (2014). Foreign Trade Policy of India since 1980. Slideshare. https://www.slideshare.net/NikhilSoares/foreign-trade-policy-of-india-since-1980

4. Saluja, N. (2021). Govt extends current foreign trade policy till September. The Economic Times. https://m.economictimes.com/news/economy/foreign-trade/govt-extends-current-foreign-trade-policy-till-september/amp_articleshow/81777971.cms

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Target-Oriented Population Control during the Emergency Period (1975-1977)

A major breakthrough in the population control process took place when then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi announced a nationwide emergency in 1975 and rigorously enforced mass sterilization programmes to bring down the population growth rate. About 6.2 million Indian men were sterilised in just a year which, according to a 2014 BBC news report, was 15 times the number of people sterilized by the Nazis. Vasectomy was a safer procedure than tubectomy, especially at that time, as it required less recovery time and follow-up hence poor men became the main targets of this gruesome campaign. The campaign to sterilise men involved many levels of harassment. There were even reports of police dragging the men to mass vasectomy camps. Men were considered easier targets for threats like job loss or fines, since they were more likely to be employed outside the home, to take public transportation and to go out or pick up government food rations.

Incentives and disincentives were given on a large scale for acts such as getting oneself sterilized or convincing other citizens to get sterilized. From offering plots of land in return for sterilization to threatening the loss of a government job for those who refused the procedure. While both men and women could be sterilized, the medical system was equipped to do many more vasectomies than tubectomies. Records have shown that the sterilization process mostly targeted the poor citizens and that wealthier Indians were able to buy their way out of the system. The coercive measures and the sterilizations caused a great deal of anger among the people. This unrest caused in the country is also considered as one of the reasons why Indira Gandhi’s government was voted out in the 1977 elections.

Voluntary Period since 1997

The next major breakthrough happened after the emergency period where the Indian government took a 180° turn and began to turn its family planning policy towards women. Female sterilizations became by far the most popular method of contraception. Family planning programmes further extended to rural areas through the network of primary health centres. The most fundamental change of the Indian population policy since 1977 was that family planning became mostly voluntary. The Indian government now put more emphasis on incentives to attract people to accept family planning voluntarily instead of forceful measures. During the Seventh Five Year Plan period between 1986 and 1991, the Indian government’s population control policy extended to including both long term and short term as well as specific goals. The long-term goal was to fix the net reproduction rate to be achieved by 2001 and the short-term goal focused on the female minimum age of marriage and the practice of contraception. The specific goal was to promote a two-child norm by increasing awareness among the people about family planning and responsible parenthood. The government efforts in population control now also extended to increase the literacy rate of the population and especially women.

Formation of the ICPD (1994)

The year 1994 is considered to be a noteworthy one in the history of family planning programmes in the world since the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) convened under the United Nations at Cairo in 1994 made some recommendations that were accepted by many developing countries including India that changed the direction of family planning programmes. The conference recommended that family planning programmes should not be driven by demographic goals but instead, they should be based on women’s reproductive rights and reproductive health, keeping in mind the well-being of everyone (International Institute for Population Sciences, 2016).

Adoption of NPP in the year 2000

India adopted the National Population Policy (NPP) in the year 2000 which decentralized the decision making to local government and improved the coordination between the government and the local and non-government organizations. Stress was given to improve the status of mothers and children. The programme focuses on the improvement of health care infrastructure and services and the empowerment of women. It also gives more emphasis to use of contraceptive methods like IUCDs, promotes delayed marriage for girls, provides a policy framework for imparting free and compulsory education up to 14 years of age, seeks to achieve universal immunization of children against all vaccine preventable diseases and to reduce infant mortality rate to below 30 per 1000 live births. Insurance is provided for the deaths, complications and failures caused by sterilization; compensating those who accept sterilizations and increasing male participation in family planning. Family welfare is now promoted as a people-centered program.

Endnote

Overpopulation is the root cause of numerous problems like low per capita income, unemployment and overburdened natural resources among many others. Therefore, the need of the hour today is a more effective measure to reduce the population growth in Indian society. Importance has to be given to population education, achievement of equal status for women and lower caste people, development of economy, urbanization, and modernization of the whole society. When socioeconomic conditions improve, the birth rate will be lower and the overpopulation problem will be reduced (Population Control Policies and Implementations in India, 2019).

References

• Biswas, S. (2014). India’s dark history of sterilisation. BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-30040790
• Srinivasan, K. (2016). “India’s Population Issues and Policies: Professionals’ Perceptions”, Working Paper No. 11, International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai. https://www.iipsindia.ac.in/sites/default/files/IIPS_Working_Paper11.pdf
• Wang, G. T. Population Control Policies and Implementations in India. https://doi.org/10.15640/jssw.v7n2a14

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Objectives and Goals

The NPP 2000 emphasised a series of important measures including an increase in the monetary compensation for sterilization, introduction of ‘population education in the Indian education system, increase in the usage of mass media in rural areas to increase awareness about family planning and contraceptives etc and thus sought to promote responsible and planned parenthood on a voluntary basis, aiming to freeze the population figures at the 1971 level until 2001 till the farthest extent possible. Broadly, the NPP 2000 can be summed up into three main objectives: short, middle and long term objectives.

Short term objectives:

1. To address the unmet needs for contraception, healthcare infrastructure and health personnel.
2. To provide integrated service delivery in consonance with the guidelines of WHO.

Middle term objectives:

1. To control the population through intersectoral operational strategies which include intersectoral collaboration between health and education to prevent problems like adolescent pregnancy and thus bring down the total fertility rate.

Long term objectives:

1. To achieve a stable population by the year 2045 by attempting to satisfy the economic needs of the present generation but in a manner that sustains natural resources and the environment for future generations.

The following goals were formulated to be achieved in the first decade after the introduction of the National Population Policy in 2000:

1. To address the unmet needs for basic reproduction (contraception), child health services, supplies and infrastructure (health personnel).
2. To make school education up to age 14 free and compulsory and reduce dropouts at primary and secondary school levels to below 20 per cent for both boys and girls.
3. To reduce the infant mortality rate to below 30 per 1,000 live births.
4. To reduce the maternal mortality rate to below 100 per 100,000 live births.
5. To achieve universal immunization of children against all vaccine-preventable diseases.
6. To promote delayed marriages for girls, not earlier than age 18 and preferably after 20 years of age.
7. To achieve universal access to information/counselling, and services for fertility regulation and contraception with a wide basket of choices.
8. To achieve 80 per cent institutional deliveries and 100 per cent deliveries by trained persons.
9. To achieve 100 per cent registration of births, deaths, marriages and pregnancies
10. To prevent and control communicable diseases, especially AIDS and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
11. To promote vigorously the small family norm.
12. To integrate Indian Systems of Medicine (ISM) in the provision of repro­ductive and child health services, and in reaching out to households.

In order to achieve these goals, certain promotional and motivational measures were also undertaken.

Current Outlook

Despite all the efforts and steps taken towards population control and family planning, the programme has failed to deliver any kind of desired results. According to a UNICEF report, in India, 67,385 births happen in a day. The reasons for the programme’s failure can be attributed to several reasons including large size of the population in the reproductive age group, higher fertility due to unmet needs of contraception, higher desire for fertility due to high infant mortality rate, ignorance of the rural masses about birth control techniques and the preference of a male child etc.

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Earlier, Prime Minister Mark Rutte was against the decision of resigning and subsequently dissolving the coalition government. He insisted that there is a need to have political stability in the wake of the pandemic. However, the coalition parties believed that a political backfire was bound to happen, and the consequences were unavoidable after the release of the parliamentary report. [2] 

It was only after this that in a press conference the Prime Minister said: “We are of one mind that if the whole system has failed, we all must take responsibility, and that has led to the conclusion that I have just offered the king, the resignation of the entire Cabinet.” [3]

With this statement, he confirmed that he and his government take full responsibility for the scandal and submit their resignation to King Willem-Alexander van Oranje. [4] 

At the same time, he reaffirmed that although he has resigned, he will play the role of the government’s role until the next general elections scheduled on March 17 this year. As per many political experts, there is a likely shift to the Dutch social policy left after this scandal. Nonetheless, one cannot deny that respite the resignation, and the Prime Minister has instead been able to escape relatively untouched successfully.

What Is the Child Benefits Scandal?

In the Netherlands, childcare is private. Under the tax department’s earlier policies, parents had to pay for childcare, but they did get subsidies that depended on their income. However, after Mark Rutte took over as the Prime Minister in 2010, several changes were made to the anti-benefit fraud laws. These measures were further taken in 2013 after authorities reported illegal methods used by Bulgarian crooks to collect such payments. [5]

With the policies’ changes, the tax department was given more power to make sure that such misuse of benefits does not occur. Also, this allowed the tax department to compensate for the seized funds.

However, things soon started going downhill when the negatives of these laws started impacting the Dutch citizens. Several parents lost both benefits and were further asked by the authorities to repay the child benefits that they had received in the past. It affected over 26,000 families, of which 10,000 households were forced to repay benefits. It led to bankruptcies, divorces and unemployment among those people. [6] Even when the citizens contacted the authorities with their grievances, there was no genuine response. [7] 

These complaints soon started piling up and finally in 2017, the government-appointed an official to look into these complaints. On a thorough check, it was observed that a disproportionate number were of immigrant parents who lost the child benefits. When the need for further information was required for evidence gathering, the parliamentary inquires got only a little information from the ministries with most of the information blacked out. However, one thing was exact, and civil servants had cut child benefits to families from 2013 to 2019. [8]  

By the end of 2019, an estimated amount of € 500 million, about €30,000 ($36,300) for each family was set aside. [9] Also, the current scheme was decided to be expanded. and expanded compensation was set aside when the government accepted its mistake, although payments were not made. [10]

The final nail in the coffin was the parliamentary report, [11] that brought out the government had falsely accused several parents of tax defrauding. It is a grave injustice done to the people of the Netherlands. In a separate investigation, the Dutch Data Protection Authority concluded that tax inspectors had discriminated against citizens with dual nationality. [12] 

In November, a report [13] ranked the Netherlands government is considered a leading global tax haven for large corporations. So the government chasing the individuals for such small amounts thus did not go unnoticed.

Families Reaction to This Scandal

Several families have been affected by these mishaps on the government’s side. So, they are suing the government. Ornaldo Kadir is an attorney who is currently representing over 600 families stated that it was predominantly immigrant Dutch citizens that were target due to the method of ethnic profiling. It used a particular algorithm that characterized immigrant dutch citizens of dual nationals to be a fraudster. Not only that, but even missing signatures were considered as a parameter by the tax authorities to brand the people as frauds. It was not only an injustice but also a violation of the constitution. [14]

Way Ahead

Several ministers such as Health Minister Tamara Van Ark, Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra, and former Tax Minister Menno Snel and opposition Labour Party leader Lodewijk Asscher have been named court documents.

The Leader of the Opposition Labour Party, Lodewijk Asscher who held the Social Affairs Minister, office from 2012-2017 has also stepped down from his current position due to the “unheard justice” done to people the Netherlands. It was his resignation that forced Prime Minister Mark Rutte to revisit his position on the issue. Eric Wiebes, Economic Affairs Minister, also resigned and stated that he would not be a part of the current guardian government. [15]

With the general elections scheduled in March, the current child benefits scandal is likely to significantly less impact Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s popularity. According to polls, it is expected that his People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy is likely to win a fourth term if he gets the largest share of votes. In other words, Mark Rutte’s VVD party is ahead of the far-right leader Geert Wilders’s party. If he wins, Prime Minister Mark Rutte would continue as the government’s head by forming a new coalition. [16]

With this scandal, the Netherlands in the third European country to be caught up in a political crisis. Earlier, Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte had to resign due to falling in the majority after their coalition party led by Renzi backed out and also the government in Estonia had to resign due to a corruption scandal.

References

[1] Erdbrink, Thomas. “Playing by the Rules: Dutch Leader Offers a Sober Contrast in a Brash Era.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 2 June 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/world/europe/rutte-dutch-netherlands.html.

[2] Schaart, Eline. Mark Rutte Pulls Plug on Dutch Government, PLANS Immediate Return. 15 Jan. 2021, www.politico.eu/article/dutch-government-resigns-over-childcare-benefit-scandal/.

[3] Press, Associated. “Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and His Entire Cabinet Resign over Child Welfare Scandal.” Free Press Journal, 15 Jan. 2021, www.freepressjournal.in/world/dutch-prime-minister-mark-rutte-and-his-entire-cabinet-resign-over-child-welfare-scandal.

[4] “Dutch PM Mark Rutte and His Entire Cabinet Quits over Welfare Scandal.” Hindustan Times, 17 Jan. 2021, www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/dutch-pm-mark-rutte-and-his-entire-cabinet-quits-over-welfare-scandal-101610900452800.html.

[5] “Netherlands Uncovers $120m ‘Bulgarian Fraud’ Benefits Scam.” BBC News, BBC, 25 June 2013, www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-23043543.

[6] “Dutch Government Resigns over Child Benefits Scandal.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 15 Jan. 2021, www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/15/dutch-government-resigns-over-child-benefits-scandal.

[7] Berg, Stephanie van den. “Dutch Government Quits over ‘Colossal Stain’ of Tax Subsidy Scandal.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 15 Jan. 2021, www.reuters.com/article/us-netherlands-politics-resignation-idUSKBN29K1IO.

[8] Amaro, Silvia. “Dutch Government Resigns after Childcare Benefits Scandal.” CNBC, CNBC, 15 Jan. 2021, www.cnbc.com/2021/01/15/dutch-government-resigns-after-childcare-benefits-scandal-.html.

[9] “Dutch Rutte Government Resigns over Child Welfare Fraud Scandal.” BBC News, BBC, 15 Jan. 2021, www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55674146.

[10] “Dutch Government Faces Collapse over Child Benefits Scandal.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 14 Jan. 2021, www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/14/dutch-government-faces-collapse-over-child-benefits-scandal.

[11]www.tweedekamer.nl/sites/default/files/atoms/files/20201217_eindverslag_parlementaire_ondervragingscommissie_kinderopvangtoeslag.pdf.

[12] Markus, Niels. “Belastingdienst Werkte Zeer Kritische Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens Tegen.” Trouw, 17 July 2020, www.trouw.nl/binnenland/belastingdienst-werkte-zeer-kritische-autoriteit-persoonsgegevens-tegen~b69beed9/.

[13] The State of Tax Justice: Tax Justice in the Time of COVID-19. Nov. 2020, The_State_of_Tax_Justice_2020_ENGLISH.pdf.

[14] “Dutch Government Quits over ‘Colossal Stain’ of Tax Subsidy Scandal.” Mint, 15 Jan. 2021, www.livemint.com/news/world/dutch-government-quits-over-colossal-stain-of-tax-subsidy-scandal-11610728718467.html.

[15] Kok, Laurens. DPG Media Privacy Gate, 14 Jan. 2021, www.ad.nl/dossier-vertrek-asscher/kabinetsval-dichterbij-blijven-zitten-terwijl-asscher-wel-zijn-conclusies-trekt-is-lastig-uitlegbaar~aff58082/.

 [16] CBS News. “Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and His Entire Cabinet Resign over Child Welfare Scandal.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 15 Jan. 2021, www.cbsnews.com/news/dutch-government-cabinet-mark-rutte-resign-child-welfare-scandal/.

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Jammu and Kashmir is a region bordered between India and Pakistan and has been in conflict since British rule. Both the nations claim the mountainous valley to be part of their respective nations and thus has been in an ever long political dispute (Ishfaq-ul-Hassan, 2018). For the longest time, Kashmir has been a victim of terrorism, unstable political situation and to top that, infrastructure has also been one of the major issues. The difficult terrain of Kashmir makes it especially challenging for construction and thus has been lagging when compared with most of the other states. Kashmir was for a long time, the princely state and the only Muslim majority state which joined India in 1947. Both India and Pakistan have thereon captured parts of Kashmir but are still in a tiff to have a bigger portion of the state.

An Overview of the Infrastructure Scenario of Kashmir

Infrastructure in Kashmir which includes health, education, tourism, industrial development has lagged for an exceptionally long time.  A survey of the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has shown that Jammu and Kashmir have the poorest sanitation facilities compared to the other states.  It is also important to note that the majority of the population still live in rural areas so the health and education infrastructure is not still as developed as it should be (Pandey, 2019). The rural areas lack private schools and the government schools are also in a bad state. Poor school infrastructure is one of the important reasons for the low literacy rate of the state. Several surveys conducted on the schooling facilities of Jammu and Kashmir have shown that due to lack of proper infrastructure, the students are made to sit on the floors, they do not have proper sanitation facilities in those schools etc. The buildings of the schools are in a worn-out state and on top of that, the 2014 floods in Jammu and Kashmir have damaged no less than 1400 schools (Digital, 2019). This leads to higher dropout rates in the state. Another important issue faced is that most of the schools do not have electricity. These infrastructural problems have been identified over the years and even though the government did put in efforts to resolve these issues, the condition of infrastructure in the state has not improved to a large extent.

As more and more tourists turn up each year, the pressure on the mountains is increasing at an alarming rate and poor infrastructure can cause unforeseen disasters if not taken care of immediately.

Why Article 370 Was a Cause of Concern?

According to Article 370 which was drafted by the then Chief Minister of Kashmir, other than a few areas of national concern like defence, foreign affairs, communication and finance, the central government had to take the consent of the state government to apply any laws or policies in Jammu and Kashmir. This article was made to be permanent and henceforth even more stringent. In simpler terms, the people of the state did not fall under the same rules as the rest of the country and lived by the rules of the state, hence given the status of special autonomy (Jaitley, 2016). This also gave the state’s government, the power to decide who could have ownership of land, or who could and could not invest in the land of Kashmir. This led to a huge problem as people who did not belong to Kashmir, could not officially buy land. This in turn meant that there weren’t any major external investments coming to Kashmir. The Modi government has linked Article 370 as one of the major reasons for the state’s infrastructure remaining underdeveloped for an awfully long period of time. In August 2019, Article 370 was finally abolished (TNN, 2019).

All of this has led to a rise in the need for a planned and vast investment boost in infrastructure in Kashmir to look forward to a better and safer future.

Huge Infrastructure Boost on the Way

The central government has aimed to bring a huge infrastructural boost to Jammu and Kashmir. The objective of this investment is to generate employment and investment in the state. Jammu and Kashmir was officially divided into two federally controlled territories on Oct 31, 2019. The region mostly depends on tourism, handicrafts and farming and has suffered poor infrastructure for decades continuously.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has agreed on an investment boost of $3.8 billion after scraping out article 370. This is done in the view of increasing investments in the territory and generating employment opportunities. 

Let us now look at the investment programs brought through this infrastructural boost:

1. There has been investment in an elevated Mass rapid transit system in Kashmir. Kashmir will have two Light Rail transit systems (LRTS). The LRTS I is a 17 km long corridor that connects Bantalab to Greater Kailash with 17 stations to be crossed. The LRTS II will be 6 km long that connects Udheywala to Exhibition Ground (Digital, 2019).
2. There are infrastructure plans are Srinagar which will have two corridors. It is a 12.5-km-long corridor I which will connect HMT Junction to Indra Nagar crossing 12 stations. The second corridor is a 12.5-km-long corridor II that will connect Osmanabad to Hazuri Bagh. In order to further develop Srinagar and Jammu, the Metropolitan Regional Development Authorities (MRDAs) have been set up. Satellite townships with 50,000 new houses each are being developed in Greater Srinagar and Greater Jammu. These new townships will have one million sq ft IT parks (Digital, 2019).
3.  In view of improving connectivity, there have been investments to develop the Bilaspur-Manali-Leh railway line. The corridor will help improve connectivity with Jammu Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. This railway line will be the world’s highest railway track and 465kms long. 52 per cent of the total 465 km length will pass through tunnels. The longest tunnel will be 27 km long. The total length of the tunnels is expected to be around 244 km (Digital, 2019).
4. The construction, operation and maintenance of 2-lane bi-directional Zojila Tunnel with Parallel Escape (Egress) Tunnel were approved during 2018 by the cabinet that excluded approaches on Srinagar-Leh section connecting NH-1A at Km 95.00 in Jammu & Kashmir. The 14 km-long tunnel will be India’s longest road tunnel and Asia’s longest bidirectional tunnel. This tunnel will be a sigh of engineering excellence considering the difficult terrain that it will be built on. The construction of this tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity between Srinagar, Kargil and Leh (Digital, 2019).
5. The Dal Lake will also be restored. The government has planned investment to improve and beautify the lake further. Srinagar and Kashmir are also set for new pollution free e-buses (Digital, 2019).

Possible Impact of the Infrastructure Boost on Kashmir’s Economy

The increase in public as well the private investment is looked forward to bringing a significant amount of income through Kashmir. The government is expecting to attract $5-6 million through these investment programs (ANI, 2020). As the Modi government was for long against the special status given to Kashmir, they now hope that the scraping out of Article 370 along with such a huge boost in the infrastructure will not only lead to a better life for the natives of Kashmir but will also help generate income to a very large extent.

The boost in infrastructure will lead to improvements in the tourism sector to a large extent. The tourism sector is one of the most important sectors of Kashmir. As every year, the number of tourists only rise, the infrastructure must be able to support the rising strengths, along with protecting the mountains and the ecology of the place (Vignesh Radhakrishnan, 2019).

The railway lines and corridors approved for construction will lead to better connectivity among the places which has been a major problem for a very long time. These large constructions were due for a long time and a properly planned and executed infrastructural project can generate employment as well as income for the long term.

The geographically difficult terrain makes it even more important focus on the infrastructure of the place for it being able to operate at its optimum capacity. The natives of Kashmir have been in distress for almost all their lives along with the fear of terrorism at any given time (IBEF, 2020). The beautiful landscape has a lot of potential for generating income and employment for its people. And this huge infrastructural boost will hopefully help in attaining that potential along with maintaining an adequate ecological balance.

Conclusion

The debate on stabilizing the economy of Kashmir has been a highlight for decades now. However, with this infrastructural boost on the way and the projects taken up by the government, there seems to be some light at the end of years of the dark tunnel.

Bibliography

Infrastructure boost for Kashmir! From highest railway line to longest tunnel, check upcoming projects. (2019). Times Now.

Ishfaq-ul-Hassan. (2018, January 23). Jammu and Kashmir: Infrastructure development gets massive boost; funds for new bridges, tunnels, highways earmarked. Retrieved from DNA: https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-jammu-and-kashmir-infrastructure-development-gets-massive-boost-funds-for-new-bridges-tunnels-highways-earmarked-2577795

Digital, E. N. (2019, June 15). Infrastructure boost for Kashmir! From highest railway line to longest tunnel, check upcoming projects. Retrieved from ETNOWNEWS.COM: https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/industry/article/infrastructure-boost-for-kashmir-from-highest-railway-line-to-longest-tunnel-check-upcoming-projects/436943

Jaitley, A. (2016, 26 June). India needs $1.5 trillion for infrastructure development: Arun Jaitley. Retrieved from ZeeNews: https://zeenews.india.com/business/news/economy/india-needs-1-5-trillion-for-infrastructure-development-arun-jaitley_1900273.html

ANI. (2020, August 2). Kashmir gets infrastructure boost in higher education sector. Retrieved from yahoo!news: https://in.news.yahoo.com/kashmir-gets-infrastructure-boost-higher-043022239.html

Vignesh Radhakrishnan, S. S. (2019, August 7 ). Is Jammu and Kashmir underdeveloped as stated by Amit Shah? Retrieved from The Hindu : https://www.thehindu.com/data/where-does-jammu-and-kashmir-stand-in-comparison-to-other-states-in-key-indicators-of-growth-and-development/article28855512.ece

IBEF. (2020, November 17 ). Jammu And Kashmir Presentation And Economic Growth Report | IBEF. Retrieved from India Brand Equity Foundation : https://www.ibef.org/states/jammu-and-kashmir-presentation

Pandey, G. (2019, August 5). Article 370: What happened with Kashmir and why it matters. Retrieved from BBC News : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-49234708

TNN. (2019, August 3). What is Article 370? Three Key Points . Retrieved from The Times of India : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/What-is-Article-370Article-370/articleshow/35678708.cms

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Nevertheless, such a political crisis is not new to the country. Italy has always been at the centre of political turmoil for decades. It is quite evident with the fact that the country has seen about 60 governments since WWII. Conte and Renzi’s drift has been known to the public for a long time, and hesitation escalating was very much anticipated. So far, the drift was kept at bay by this centre-left coalition due to the coronavirus emergency. However, the pandemic situation has also now escalated, and it seems that it outlasted the political goodwill. [2]

Why Did the Problem in Italian Politics Start?

The reason for this drift started due to the approach of Conte and Renzi concerning financial matters. [3] Back in 2020, the GDP of Italy slumped by about 10% due to COVID-19. [4] Adding on to that, was a stimulus package that was given by the European Union (EU) worth €750 billion that was allocated to several EU nations. In July 2020, Italy was allowed to get the lion share of the EU stimulus package, amounting to over €200 billion (about $243 billion) in a grant and low-interest loans. [5] Because of such loans, Italy is now the second most debt-ridden economy after Greece. [6]

For weeks, Matteo Renzi had criticized the plan laid out by Conte to use the EU funds to use these handout purposes and less on serving the health needs. Even when the plan was improved on Tuesday night as per the request, Matteo Renzi was still not satisfied. Finally, the usage of €200 billion worth of that package was approved during the night of about 12th and 13th January 2021 by the lawmakers. However, the lawmakers of the Italia Viva abstained from voting on it. Also, two members of resigned including Elena Bonetti, the former minister for family and equal opportunities.  Both Conte and Renzi have a different opinion on how this recovery money given by the European Union should be used.

It increased the difference between Renzi and Conte, as the issue became a matter of political vote bank and both the centrists are competing for the same voters. [7]

Matteo Renzi’s move has been met with a mixed response, ranging from anger to confusion to chaos. One opinion poll even suggested about 70% of the Italians feel that this move by Renzi is not due to the difference of opinion, but rather for his political gain. Some experts also state that this move by Renzi may be due to him being side-lined by the coalition in recent times. [8] So, Renzi was doing nothing but using this opportunity to improvise on his political gains.

However, on Wednesday, Renzi argued in a news conference that dealing with the pandemic also meant “solving problems, not concealing them,” He has taken issue with Conte’s strategy for rebuilding Italy’s tattered economy.

Nonetheless, it cannot be denied that Matteo Renzi is a very well-known political figure in Italian politics and holds an even more crucial role in the current government headed by Giuseppe Conte.

Why Renzi Is Crucial to the Italian Government?

Italia Viva was formed by Matteo Renzi in September 2019, after he quit the centre-left Democratic Party. After the populist right-wing League Party’s departure, Renzi and his party played a significant role in forming the coalition government by Conte. The coalition government comprises the centre-left Democratic Party, Five Star Movement (MS5) and the left-leaning parliamentary group called Free and Equal.

According to recent polls, even though Renzi has only 3% public support, his party Italia Viva has 30 lawmakers in the lower house and 18 lawmakers in the upper house, thereby making them a junior coalition partner.

Way Ahead

Renzi had elected as the Prime Minister in 2014. So, he understands how the situation prevails while on that post and how politics needs to be done to rule the state. Not only that, but he also has been known for mediating conflicts among parties having varied political inclination- ensuring that the far-right parties are out of power by making sure that a coalition is created between populist and centre-left parties. 

With the decision of Renzi, there are only a few alternative options that can be viable for moving ahead in this situation. First, that Conte and Renzi come to a compromise by keeping the current coalition government. In other words, without escalating the situation, Conte needs to convince Renzi to support the government. It is still possible as Renzi is still. However, if this does not happen, the country would be on the brink of losing a government in the middle of a pandemic. Alternatively, the Conte government can go through a no-confidence motion. If he loses, the situation of Conte’s government will be like Schrödinger’s cat. In other words, Conte would only be left as the caretaker of the government, and he would also not have much power over Renzi. However, a coalition is still possible. After all, with a lack of public support, Renzi would not want to put his 48 lawmaker seats at risk. Nonetheless, if this not, the situation may move ahead in a different path.

Second, if the coalition government does not move ahead, then considering the pandemic, a government of national unity will be sought to be created by President Sergio Mattarella.

Third, the country could go ahead with the national vote. It would mean that the country may end up going into an election right in the middle of the pandemic. In case of an election, either Conte would win the third term as the Prime Minister, or the far-right wing parties would form the government. The far-right in Italian politics comprises of the League Party and the Brothers of Italy. They have been gaining support for the past few years and hold about 40% of the electoral vote. So, in case an election happens and the far-right wins, then there Italy will have the most anti-European government in Western Europe. [9]

In this way, one can state that Italy is currently in such a political situation that it will not be suitable for the nation if escalated. [10] Hence, sorting out the differences is the best possible way out of this situation.

References:

[1] Italy – COVID-19 Overview – Johns Hopkins. coronavirus.jhu.edu/region/italy

[2] Harlan, Chico. “Italy’s Government Falls into Chaos, Further Complicating the Covid Response.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 13 Jan. 2021, www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/italy-government-renzi-conte/2021/01/13/dd65f6bc-55c6-11eb-acc5-92d2819a1ccb_story.html.

[3] Roberts, Hannah. “Italy’s Coalition Fights for Control of EU Recovery Cash.” POLITICO, POLITICO, 5 Jan. 2021, www.politico.eu/article/matteo-renzi-giuseppe-conte-coalition-government-recovery-fund-cash-coronavirus/.

[4] Amaro, Silvia, and Sam Meredith. “Italy’s Government in Crisis after Former PM Pulls Support for Ruling Coalition.” CNBC, CNBC, 13 Jan. 2021, www.cnbc.com/2021/01/13/renzi-italys-government-in-crisis-after-former-pm-pulls-support.html.

[5] Speak, Clare. “How Italy Plans to Spend €209 Billion of EU Money.” Thelocal.it, 17 Sept. 2020, www.thelocal.it/20200917/more-growth-lower-tax-for-families-italy-sets-out-plan-for-spending-eu-recovery-fund.

[6] Samuelson, Robert. “Opinion | Why Italy’s Debt Matters for Everybody.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 24 May 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-italys-debt-matters-for-everybody/2020/05/24/12b2f310-9baf-11ea-ac72-3841fcc9b35f_story.html.

[7] Roberts, Hannah. “Italy’s Coalition Fights for Control of EU Recovery Cash.” POLITICO, POLITICO, 5 Jan. 2021, www.politico.eu/article/matteo-renzi-giuseppe-conte-coalition-government-recovery-fund-cash-coronavirus/.

[8] Bozza, Claudio. “Sondaggio: Crisi Di Governo Incomprensibile per Un Italiano Su 2. E per Il 73% Renzi Persegue i Suoi Interessi.” Corriere Della Sera, Corriere Della Sera, 13 Jan. 2021, www.corriere.it/politica/21_gennaio_13/crisi-governo-italiano-due-non-capisce-motivi-il-73percento-renzi-persegue-suoi-interessi-59b0ac42-5515-11eb-89b9-d85a626b049f.shtml.

[9] Zampano, Giada. “Giorgia Meloni Is Rising Star on Italy’s Far-Right Stage.” AP NEWS, Associated Press, 18 Oct. 2019, apnews.com/article/fa37b62daab246f2a9ccb0887284aaee.

[10] “Italy’s Government in Crisis after Junior Coalition Partner Quits.” Euronews, 13 Jan. 2021, www.euronews.com/2021/01/13/italy-s-government-close-to-collapse-amid-row-over-covid-recovery-cash.

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Background of Bhopal Gas Tragedy

Any accident related to development gives lessons to mankind. Thus, the development activities should always be conducted by a responsible and disciplined administration. The horrific accident that took place on December 2 1984, in Bhopal still shakes the consciousness of the whole world.

In the 1960s, the year of green revolution advanced agricultural technology was used mainly to increase crop production with high-quality seeds, chemical, fertilizers and pesticides. In 1966, the production of pesticides in India was only 14,000 metric tons, which is significantly less than the requirement. Due to the sudden increase in demand for chemical pesticides and fertilizers UCC, a US-based company decided to set up a new agricultural division UCIL to capture the Indian market. Adopting the guidelines of the Indian Companies Act of 1956, UCC reduced its share of ownership from 100 % to 60% and registered the company UCIL in 1966. In 1968, the Indian government approved UCIL to build a fertilizer and pesticide plant in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh and leased several hectares of land “Kali Parade”. The plant began in 1969 to produce raw fertilizers and concentrated chemical pesticides of American origin to make usable energy.

How Did This Happen?

In 1978, the UCC and UCN decided to produce SEVIN, a carbaryl pesticide used on cotton and other crops.  Resulting in methylamine reacting with phosgene to produce intermediate Methyl Isocyanate, which on reaction with 1-naphthol produces 1-carbaryl.

In 1975, the Government of India permitted UCIL to produce 5000 tons of carbaryl pesticides per year in the Bhopal project.

There were several accidents at UCIL plant before December 2 1984, mainly due to the leakage of gases like phosgene, MIC, hydrochloric acid, chloroform. But most of them caused minor damage to workers. Many animals died by drinking water from a stream just outside the plant polluted by the fluid runoff from the plant. From 7 to 22 October 1984, the available phosgene and methylamine at the Bhopal plant were used for the final batch of MIC production. The 40-ton and 20-ton MICs are kept in two separate tanks. MIC production is subsequently stopped for maintenance. According to the report, on 2nd December 1984, the safety component gas scrubber, flare, refrigeration was in standby or non-operative condition due to the shutdown of MIC production. It is important to note that the vent gas scrubber uses caustic soda to neutralize toxic gas exhaust from MIC plant and storage tanks.

It is not yet clear what actually happened on December 2, 1984. Various studies have shown that MIC was stored in two-layered steel tanks having code numbers E610, E611, and E619. During the shift change from 10:45 PM to 11 PM an employee noticed that the pressure in the E610 tank had increased to 10psi, which was fivefold higher than the pressure previously recorded. Around 11:30 a.m. some of the workers noticed burning sensation and tears in their eyes, some of them noticed liquid droplets along with yellowish white gas coming out of the MIC tank, the pressure of E610 was indicating its maximum reading of 55 psi. There was even no sign of caustic soda floor and a cloud of gas was seen from the scrubbers stack. Toxic gas is emitted around 12:40 AM. The fire water sprayers were used but in the water could not reach the gas cloud, which was formed on the top of the scrubber stack. Due to the refrigeration system being off, attempts to cool the tank E6410 also failed. As a result emission of MIC gas could not be stopped and this continued for 2 hours.

Around 1 AM the residence of the surrounding area suffered from suffocation and odour due to gas leakage. At around 3 AM the retired army brigadier requested a team of army engineers to evacuate the workers and people near UCIL plant because the incident occurred in the late-night hours and there were no professional disaster management team to deal with the accident which happened in a peaceful town. There were corpses of people and animals on the ground the victims were shifted to the city’s government hospital Hamidia Hospital and its adjoining Gandhi Medical College. But thousands of people lay on the ground of inside and outside of the hospital people could be seen shouting, crying and praying.

 There are other possible reasons behind this man made catastrophe-

• On the evening of 2nd December, the supervisor on duty transferred from different unit to MIC plant with which he was not acquainted. The supervisor instructed a group of untrained workers to connect the hose to the pipeline system and keep it running for several hours but forgot to instruct them to add slip binds. At midnight, a group of workers noticed MIC presence in the air and they thought this leakage is common, so no necessary action is required.
• Researchers from Chauhan Delhi Science Forum, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and Disaster Management Institute said that, MICs design deficiencies that played a significant role in Bhopal plant accident. At the Bhopal plant, a dangerous but cost-effective method of manufacturing of SEVIN was chosen. Instead of storing MIC in many small barrels, like the UCC plant in Virginia, it was stored long-term in two large tanks.

Nevertheless, UCC admitted in their own investigation report that most of the systems were not functioning on the night of the accident-

• Tank temperature was not logged.
• The vent gas scrubber was not in use.
• The cooling system was not in use.
• The concentration of chloroform in the production tank was too high.
• The tanks high-temperature alarm was not working.

Both the plant design and safety management were of lower quality than the UCC operated other plants in the US and Europe.

Consequences of the Bhopal Disaster

Short Term Effects:

Residents of the surroundings were suffering from coughing, vomiting and burning sensation in the respiratory organs and a feeling of suffocation those who arrived at the hospital had shortness of breath with water in their lungs and were suffering from convulsions. Women and neo-natal mortality rates increased by 200%. While the unofficial death figure in 1991 was stated as 3928, more probable that at least 8000 died within the first days.

Long Term Effects:

According to survivor’s organization and activists, thousands of people have become permanently disabled due to the toxic gas. In 1986 R. Krishnamurthy, chairman of the commission of inquiry into accident said that between 30,000- 40,000 people were found to be permanently disabled.

Socio-Economic Effects

The economic situation of the hardest affected part of the Bhopal population in 1994 can be categorized as dependence on physical and casual work for cattle for income and male offspring for support in old age. From a survey conducted in late December 1984 found that 75% of the workforce was incapable of work mainly due to breathlessness. Many families had lost their stock of cattle. 25000 families suffered from total or substantial loss of income.

Government’s Reactions Towards Bhopal Gas Tragedy

The survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy are still fighting for compensation. This worst industrial disaster demonstrates what can happen when safety measures are overlooked. The government of India enacted the Bhopal gas leak act in March 1985 which enabled the government to act as legal representative to the victims.

The company in the government set aside $470 m in 1989 after the Bhopal court issued an arrest warrant against the chairman and chief executive of Union Carbide, Warren Anderson. The government of India has left a very small portion of the settlement amount to victims. Even today, the government has embezzled $370 million and the victims and their family are constantly campaigning for compensation.

Instead of helping the people of Bhopal, the Indian government has stepped up its efforts to look at the disaster lightly and insignificantly. Top officials in the state government asked truck drivers to carry a large number of dead buddies and dump them in the river and inside the forest.

The government had set up a number of hospitals but failed to take adequate measures such as lack of proper doctors, medicines, equipment to provide safe and appropriate treatment. Today in 2011, people are thoughtlessly given antibiotics, steroids, psychotropic and other potentially harmful medicines.

The government was ordered by the Supreme Court to provide safe water to areas adjacent to the Union Carbide factory but still some people there are being forced to drink contaminated water from hand pumps. The main reason that the ruling government, irrespective of political parties has been negligent towards the people of Bhopal that most of the victims are poor people who have no way to avail government benefits.

Warren Anderson, company’s chairman was arrested in the capital of Madhya Pradesh for four days after the disaster. But after few hours of house arrest, Anderson was released on bail and left the country. Several reports have suggested that PM Rajiv Gandhi’s government was pressured by the US to release Anderson. Human Rights activists have blamed successive governments for failing to secure the extradition of the man who was held responsible for the death of around 15,000 people.

36 Years of Bhopal Gas Tragedy: A Continuing Disaster

Immediately after the disaster, UCC began to try to absolve itself of the responsibility for the accident. Its principal tactic was to convict UCL, which was created and operated by an Indian subsidiary. On 7th December the toxic plume had barely cleared at the time of the filing of the multimillion-dollar lawsuit by the American attorney in the US court and its effect on Bhopal’s people was largely ignored.

In March 1985, the Government of India made provision for compensation under the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act, but the UCC suppressed the number of victims. According to the Gas Strategy Relief and Rehabilitation Department, at the end of the October 2003, 554895 injured and 15,310 killed were compensated.

A local charity, Sambhavna Trust had released a report in 2015 after three years of research which indicated that many children still suffer from congenital defects whose parents were exposed to toxic gases and subsequently exposed to prolonged exposure to contaminated drinking water. It basically surveyed 100 thousand people from 20,000 households living in Blue Moon Colony, Shriram Nagar and Annu Nagar adjacent to the Union Carbide Factory. But the government has refused to accept the NGO’s claim that birth defects and other medical problems in children are caused by contaminated soil and water. The affected children also did not get any help from the state for their treatment and rehabilitation.

Like Mohammad Zaid, who is 17, but looks like a small child. His body and mind have not developed with his age. his father was one of the victim of Bhopal gas tragedy , who inhaled the deadly Methyl Isocyanate gas in 1984. The Chingari Trust provides psychological support to all these children so that they can lead a normal life.

According to the international environmental organization Green Peace, more than 20,000 people still live around the plant and are exposed to deadly chemicals through groundwater and soil contamination.

Conclusion

The two most important reasons for the Bhopal gas tragedy are the company’s policy regarding plant design and cost consolidation. Negligence of agency and government authorities after the accident had a detrimental effect on public life. The incident shows that the ethical analysis of industrial accidents does not focus on the individual but on the responsibilities of the company, including the national and local authorities. Continuously and increasingly when a society breaks the rules of ethics, it can be considered as an unethical society and the company follows these as correct. 36 years after the catastrophic Bhopal gas tragedy, the government still fails to do justice to the victims, according to organizations fighting for the rights of the victims. Several rights organizations have been, for decades, demanding harsh and exemplary punishment to those responsible for the tragedy, adequate compensation to the victims, a proper rehabilitation plan and adequate medical facilities for survivors and removal of toxic chemicals lying on the plant premises among other things. The government should provide adequate employment and medical care to the survivors of this catastrophe. In addition, the current administration needs to do justice to Anderson’s escape from the country without having to face justice in the past.

Featured Image: AP Photo/Prakash Hatvalne

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“It is very difficult for a woman to make up her mind to enter politics. Once she makes up her own mind then she has to prepare her husband and her children and her family. Once she has overcome all these obstacles and applies for the ticket then the male aspirants against whom she is applying makeup all sorts of stories about her. And after all, this when her name goes to the party bosses, they do not select her name because they fear losing that seat”

The above quote of late Sushma Swaraj gives a glimpse of reality that how women have to face so many problems and criticisms while entering politics.

Since pre-independence to till now it has been seen that women are always marginalized in the mainstream of politics and in decision making as well as in getting an important position in the political organization and also in our society. But it has been seen that men and women also played an equal role for the development of the nation, they have worked shoulder to shoulder in pre-independent as well as in post-independent India.

Indian constitution is one of the strongest law that provides equal opportunity to both men and women in socio-economic and political aspects. But our societal norms, customs and patriarchal set up treated them as subordinate to men. Their financial dependency upon men also keeps them away from political activities or affiliations. United Nation’s 2008 survey shows that India marked the lowest number of women’s participation in parliament i.e. 9.1%. Even a country like UAE marked better than India in the perspective of women’s participation in parliament i.e. 22.5%. It was seen that the 15th Lok Sabha election has recorded 59 women as a member of parliament highest since independence. India ranked 148 out of the 193 nations with 11.48 percent women in the lower house and 11 percent in the upper house.

Government Initiatives and Constitutional Provisions

The Women’s Reservation Bill which allows 33% of reservation for women in the elected bodies but the bill is still reserved in the Lok Sabha after it was passed from the Rajya Sabha. As it has been already stated that the constitution provides equal opportunity to all citizens of India, the constitution also called the state to take measure to neutralize the socio-economic, political, educational and political disadvantages faced by women.

• Article 14 – It guarantees equality before the law and equal protection of law within the territory of India.
• Article 39(b) – has provision for equal pay for equal work for both men and women.
• Article 325 and 326 – They guarantee political equality equal right to participation in political activity and right to vote respectively.

Success Stories of Indian Women in Politics

There are many stories of success of Indian women in ancient, medieval as well as in the modern period. It is believed that administration and politics both are the arenas of men. However, in India, we have seen that many women have played and are still playing an important role in both the above-mentioned areas. Late Indira Gandhi has served the nation as the first PM of India and her daughter in law Mrs Sonia Gandhi is the present president of Indian National Congress and was the former chairperson of UPA. The first Indian to serve as the President of the United Nations General Assembly was a woman, Vijay Lakshmi Pandit. States like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir have had women as a chief minister in past. The highest decision making of CPI(M) i.e. Polit Bureau has two women representative out of its thirteen members body.

If we compare between two foremost national parties INC and BJP in respect of giving the nomination to female candidates, it shows that INC nominates more female candidates than BJP. It was in 2009 co-incidentally when both the parties gave the nomination to an equal number of female candidates i.e. 43.

Obstacles to Women Participation in Politics and the Role of Media in Changing the Societal Mindset

One of the main obstacles is the societal obstacle. It is mainly believed that the main work of a female is to do household chores and child care and keep herself within the boundary of the house. Managing the outside world is the work of a male. It is also believed that women have a lack of ability in case of giving leadership.

Due to the advancement of news media, print media and social media are playing an important role in changing the mindset of society. Women participating in mainstream politics not just of political awareness but also the role of media in breaking the stereotyped image of women. Undoubtedly media has played a vital role in creating awareness among women and in empowering them up to some extent. Media helps women in identifying and adopting the ways of self-actualization. Women are also becoming active in the journalism profession previously they were seen rarely in journalism. It is also criticized to sensationalize the issues and use women as a commodity for seeking the attention of viewers. Women’s image is seen as submissive to men. Women’s issues rarely got space in the leading stories of front pages.

Conclusion

From the above discussion, we can come to the conclusion that in spite of facing obstacles women in India is coming in the forefront and started demanding their own rights in various fields and many political and apolitical women organizations are acting as their agent in upholding their demands. One of the key thing that acts as an obstacle for women’s political participation in India is the lack of education. Women will come to know about their rights and privileges when they will get the proper education. With the objective of gender empowerment Government of India in 2014 formed a commission named National Mission of Empowerment of Women, but this project was not up to the mark.

Side by side governmental help is for the uprising of women empowerment. As discussed earlier there are my constitutional provisions which provide equality between men and women. Recently in Kerala, the Sabarimala case is an example of governmental help that provided to the women. For many decades women were not allowed to enter into the Sabarimala temple but the LDF government protested against this and provide the equal right to women as like men to enter into the temple.

Media has to some extent plays an important for women empowerment and truly highlighting their status in society. Establishment of women panchayat and 33% reservation of women into the local bodies is acting as an encouragement to women for taking part in politics and in the decision making process.                  

Reference

Alam Shah, January 2015, International journal of advanced in management and social sciences, Volume 4, no.1, page 78.

Nisha M.Ameen, Vezhaventhan. D,2018, International journal of pure and applied mathematics, volume 120 no. 5, page no. 4726.

Nisha M Ameen, Vezhaventhan.D 2018, International journal of pure and applied mathematics, volume 120 no. 5, page no.4728.

Kumar Amit, Dhamiya Somesh, Dhamiya Arun, December 2016, SIBM Pune research journal, volume XII, Page no. 6,

Alam Shah, January 2015, International journal of advanced research in management and social sciences, Volume 4 no.1, Page no. 81-82.

Nisha M.Ameen, Vezhaventhan.D, 2018, International journal of pure and applied mathematics, volume 120 no.5, page no. 4721.

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Agricultural labourers are difficult to explain. It is not possible for labourers to emerge as a separate class depending on full wages until capitalism develops in agriculture. Agricultural labour enquiry committee 1950-55 defined agricultural labourer as “those people who are engaged in raising crops on payment of wages“. According to the second committee, if 50% or more of wages is received from the agricultural sector, it can be classed to agricultural labour household. The number of agricultural labour has increased to 27.5 million in 1951. In 1981 the total number of agricultural workers has increased to 55.4 million and again in 1991, the total number of agricultural workers has increased to 74.6 million.

From the beginning, the landlords in this country have enslaved and oppressed these labourers for their own benefit and this system has been going generation after generation. After 50 years of independence, the situation has improved but they remain largely unorganized and thus economic exploitation continues.

Conditions and Problems of Agricultural Labour

As we know that 53% of the population in agricultural India is engaged in agriculture. But all these farmers still have to depend on the monsoon for crop production. Agriculture in India falls under the unorganized sector, so their income is not fixed.

• Marginalization of Agricultural Labourers – In 1951 the workforce in agriculture was 97.2 million and in 1991, it increased to 185.2 million. Agricultural labourers increased from 28% in 1951 to 40% in 1991. These facts indicate the first pace of casualization of the workforce in agriculture in India.
• Low wages and income – The daily wage and family income of agricultural labourers in India is very low. Although wage rates have risen since the green revolution, they have fallen far short of rising prices. At present agricultural workers in the rural area are getting around Rs. 150 per day under the MNREGA in rural areas.
• Gender issues in the agricultural sector – Women in agriculture are affected by issues of recognition and in the absence of land rights, female agricultural labourers, farm widows and tenant farmers are left bereft of recognition as farmers and consequent entitlements. They are excluded from their rights. On November 20, 2018, over 40,000 farmers had gathered in Delhi from across India. Chandravati from Ghazipur and 40 others women participated in Kishan Mukti March for their demand of compensation for the paddy crop that got spoilt in 2018, so as to sustain a livelihood. Female agricultural workers are generally forced to work harder and paid less than their male counterparts.
• Employment – Agricultural labourers are unemployed for most of the year and even have no alternative job opportunities.
• Indebtedness – Due to lack of banking system in rural areas, they are forced to take loans from moneylenders at very high rates. As a result, they often become involved in a vicious cycle.

Policy Implementation of Government of India

Indian agricultural policy has long been distinguished by its border and domestic intervention to protect farmers from international price concerns. To achieve this goal the Government of India has implemented a number of policies at various times –

• Land reforms – Government of India undertakes land reform measures for successful abolition of land intermediaries and transfer of land to actual farmers.
• Institutional credit -After the nationalization of banks in 1969, nationalized bank paid extra attention to the needs of the agricultural sector. Regional rural banks are established mainly for agricultural credit requirements. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) was also set up. The importance of moneylenders for the needs of institutional credit to the farmers declined and as a result, their exploitation on the farmers also decreases.
• Procurement and support prices– Another policy measure of significant importance is the announcement of procurement and support prices to ensure fair returns to the farmers that even in a year of surplus, the prices do not tumble down and farmers do not suffer losses.
• Input subsidies to agriculture– The purpose of input subsidization is to use modern input to increase agricultural production. Under this government policy, various inputs are supplied to the farmers below the fixed open market price.
• Passing Minimum Wage Act
• Abolition of bonded labourers
• Providing land to landless labourers
• Provision of housing cities to houseless

Special schemes for providing employment:

• Crash scheme for rural employment (CSRE)
• Pilot intensive Rural Employment Project (PIREP)
• National Rural Employment Programme
• Rural Landless Employment Programme(RLEP)
• Jawahar Rojgar Yojana
• National Scheme of Training of Rural Youth for Self Employment (TRYSM)
• Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP)

Another important government schemes in the agricultural sector-

• Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana was launched by the NDA government in 2015 to promote organic farming across India. According to the scheme for farmers will be encouraged to groups or clusters and each cluster or group have 50 farmers willing to take up organic farming under PKVY and they will be provided INR 20,000 per acre by the government over three years’ time.
• Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) is the Government sponsored crop insurance scheme that provides insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the event of failure of any of the notified crop as a result of natural calamities, pests and diseases.
• Livestock Insurance Scheme aims to provide a protection mechanism to the farmers and cattle against any eventual loss of their animals due to death.

Government’s Scheme: Myth or Reality?

How the policies adopted by the government has a positive impact on farmers or completely fail to protect the interest of farmers, as an example, farmers from Vimchur, a remote rural area in India’s Maharashtra province planted large quantities of grapes in March and exported them to various parts of India. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the lockdown from midnight of 24th March, he gave India’s 1.3 billion citizens barely for hour notice. It was a cruel joke that had a huge effect on millions of farmers. By that time, a farmer form Vimchur had dispatched 100 quintals of grapes to Bangladesh, but 350 quintals were still on vines in the fields. The Modi government had arranged special jets to bring back all reach people who are stranded abroad. But the train service was completely stopped and the farmers failed to sell their grapes. Even if they arranged a truck, but the permits were not granted despite pleas to the government.

The Indian parliament has passed two primary farm bills in this pandemic year. The upper house passed the Farmer’s Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill 2020 and the Price Guarantee and Farm Services Bill Agreement for Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) 2020 that are collectively referred as ‘Farm Bills’. This will assist small and marginal farmers as the law will move from the farmer to the sponsor the risk of market unpredictability. On the other hand, in ‘Mandis’ the laws likely to affect powerful commission agents (known as ‘arhatiyas‘ in Punjab and Haryana), who don’t want to lose their hold on the farmers (Sahoo, 2020). Due to the loss of Mandi tax, the strong source of revenue, the state government of Punjab and Haryana will be affected most, however, it is expected that the loss would be recovered under GST collection. The opposition claims the government wants to ‘enslaved farmers’ to capitalism. In response, the government says that monopoly of APMC Mandis will end but they will not be shut down and will continue to function as normal and that the Minimum Support Price (MSP) will not be scrapped. Thus the complex question remains whether farmers will benefit from the surplus at all if the crop is sold through a mediating private agent?

Farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh demand repeal of the controversial farm bill by their ‘Dilli Chalo’ campaign on Constitution Day, 26 November 2020. Police fired water cannons and tear gas at the protesting farmers. A large number of the farmer were oppressed by the government with the assistance of the police to disperse them. However, later the government invited them to have a discussion with them on the bill.

According to the World Bank, about 40% of Indians depend on agriculture for their livelihood but this sector has been under pressure for many years due to crop failure and price drop. A 2015 study found that about 40% of farmers committed suicide due to economic pressure for crop failure. Although the Modi government has introduced Minimum Support Prices for crops, few farmers are benefiting. The government is also in the thick of a controversy over the Prime Minister’s Cropping Insurance Scheme. In the other words, all the policies that the government is adopting in the name of security without planning are in fact nothing more than a myth. In fact, the government’s formulation of all these policies is the only way for farmers to be dependent on the private sector.

Conclusion

For the progress of the agrarian country, first of all, the necessary steps should be taken to improve the condition of the farmers because the improvement of their condition can be conducive to the benefit of the whole society. The government needs to focus on better implementation of legislative measures, improvement the bargaining position, resettlement of agricultural workers, creating alternative sources of employment, regulation of hours work, credit at cheaper rates of interest on easy terms of payment for undertaking subsidiary occupation, proper training for improving the skill of farm labourers. Therefore, in the interest of electoral politics, the ruling class must refrain from oppression in the name of protecting the labourers by using them as tools. In this way, a developed society will be built.

Reference(s)

Padhi, K. (2007).Agricultural Labour in India – A Close Look. Orissa Review

Sahoo, S. (2020). Impact of India’s New Farm Act 2020 on Farmers and Markets. Biotica Research Today, 2(10), 986.

Chand, S.”8 important policy measures introduced in the agricultural sector in India”, Your Article Library, (Dec 1, 2020)

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Status Of Pending Cases In The Country

As a child we often heard our family members, close relatives and neighbours complain of how tedious it is to seek justice in the Indian judicial system. As a citizen of a democratic country it is not only our right but a sacrosanct duty on behalf of the judicial system to ensure to the citizens’ justice at all costs, however sometimes cases take years and often decades to come to its conclusion and this is when the layman begins to lose hope in the judiciary. The problem especially increases for those who have abysmal knowledge of how the justice system work, lack of justice sensitisation and the available avenues like free legal aid as enshrined in our constitution under article 39A of Directive principles of state policy directs the executive to make available all provinces necessary to achieve the reality. Despite the available avenues and government intervention as of  September 2019, there is over 3.5 crore pending cases across Supreme Court, High court and the subordinate courts. Out of the 3.5 crore cases, approximately 87% account for subordinate court cases, followed by 12.5% pendency before the 24 High courts and the remaining in Supreme Court. These figures are staggering, and shocking to say the least. 

Why is the Indian Justice System Slow?

Among many reasons that slow the road to justice is Low judge strength and appointment. The approved number of judges in the High court in India stands at 1076 out of which 680 is the working strength. The vacancy is around 399 according to the data given above. The Allahabad high court has the maximum number of judges at 160 out of which 53 posts are vacant. In the present scenario, India has around 19 judges for every 10 Lakh people. One of the reasons mentioned by law minister Dr Ravi Shankar Prasad for a high vacancy is the inordinate delay in filling up the vacancies of judicial offices. If the present government wishes to solve the problem of pendency of cases it needs to ensure speedy recruitment of justices in High court and lower courts. 

An Extremely Slow Process of Law

The staggering number of 3.3 crore pending cases is a blot on the Indian judicial system. A particular case has multiple hearings and several adjournments, in the process, the culprit often roams free with no fear of the law. This creates a lack of faith in the laymen and women. However, in this regard, the Supreme Court should ensure that a time limit is given to high courts and subordinate courts in which they have to get done with the case. It is the need of the hour that the honourable Supreme court presents guidelines to dispose of cases at the earliest without compromising on justice.

Lack of Infrastructure 

In today’s day and age, it is imperative to ensure the needed infrastructure to provide speedy assistance to those who need help. There are several systemic issues like the inadequate staff and IT infrastructure, undue delay in getting reports from the understaffed forensic science laboratories, lack of victim support services and lack of victim/witness protection measures, frivolous adjournments are some of the common issues that have plagued the Indian justice system. What needs to be done is speedy infrastructural changes like the use of computers to admit the cases, computerisation to update the status of the cases the courts, filing of cases through the online platform, among others is the way to go. Now we will look at ways to resolve the problem ahead of the judiciary and citizens at large.

Speedy Recruitment 

The need of the hour is for the judiciary to fill its vacancies. For this, supreme courts must provide guidelines to the lower courts to fill the vacancies in a stipulated and time-bound manner. For example, young lawyers from hundreds of law colleges and universities must write a common judicial test after which they will be recruited in state district courts and alternate dispute resolution mechanisms like tribunals, after they’re recruited they can continue their practice so it doesn’t take too many years of hardship where they find hard to get themselves a steady job. 

Seminars and Workshops 

The world is constantly changing, and so is the justice system across the world. There are two ways to learn, one, by personal experience, as and when am advocate is confronted with the case and second, by learning from examples. There is no harm in learning by practice, however, the senior judges in lower and high courts must train those who have joined Indian judiciary through seminars and workshops. They must discuss the issues faces by young advocates and students who aspire to enter Indian judiciary and make a difference with their passion for justice. This will not only encourage young aspirants to join judiciary but also train young minds to face challenges as and when they appear in their professional careers. 

Need for Alternate Dispute Resolution Mechanism

Before we try and understand how ADR will help in speedy disposal of cases, let us understand what does alternate dispute resolution means, ADR refers to methods of mediation or arbitration to resolve disputes without the use of litigation. In the process, both the parties decide to employ the method of mediation to resolve the issue along with a third party who listens to the argument and presents a way to resolve the dispute without knocking the doors of courts. As we know that about 50% cases in India are civil, mostly compoundable, it is a wonderful way to provide justice in a time-bound manner without filing a case in courts and simply increasing the number of cases. 

What’s the Way Forward?

Indian constitution is the largest in the world, it has the most articles and deals with the most significant aspects of social, economic and political justice. It not only acts as a bible to those who take the task to provide justice to the citizen of this country but also enables the growth of a fertile mind. It aids liberty of the mind and soul, assists the sustenance of life-breath of the country’s growth and fulfils the aspirations of those who seek to take part in nation-building. Tall words, isn’t it? But the power of the judiciary is not to be taken lightly, it has the potential to uplift the flag of justice whenever a young woman like Kamala loses her life to gender-based violence, it uplifts the values on those minds that built this nation brick by brick. Hence, the way forward will be to educate the young about the true value of justice and what it means to be free, the civil society needs to be aware of its right to alternate dispute resolution, the poor must be provided with free legal aid to provide them with an equal ground to seek justice and the judiciary needs to buckle its shoes to make sure they surrender to those they promised to provide justice. 

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