DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS 22 NOVEMBER
SECURITY
Address ‘every question’ on curbs, SC tells J&K govt.
Government reply in Supreme Court:
- Prohibitory orders, issued under Section 144 CrPC, restricting liberties of citizens, were meant to protect their Right to life.
- Section 144 CrPC was a preventive measure to maintain public peace and tranquillity.
- There was only need-based restrictions and need-based relaxation.
- Each area was assessed based on threat perception and history based on the information of officials who were on ground.
- Govt. for the first time intervened in the purchase of apples through NAFED.
- Internet is available in tourist places in specific spots number of computers. In addition, tourists are going.
- Jurisprudence in countries like US is different, particularly regarding free speech, which is absolute in the US but is subjected to reasonable restrictions in India.
- The past records are used as a basis to curb terrorist activities.
- In 2016, when Burhan Wani was gunned down by Security Forces, internet facilities were shut for three months.
- It would have been irresponsible if preventive action to prevent Pakistani activities through Hurriyat were not taken.
Petitioner’s argument:
- Restrictions made people helpless and inert as they cannot defend democracy and show their dissent. It created fear in their minds of people.
- Expediency is not a standard, necessity is the standard. Rangarajan case had held that Article 19(1) (a) could be restricted subject to 19(2) only when there is necessity.
- People had the right on August 5 to say if they were in favour or against the orders.
- The problem of cross border terrorism in Kashmir is present only in limited areas of the region but the entire population of the region is being put under restrictions
- He cited Test of Proportionality provided in Puttaswamy judgement, which includes:
- The action must be sanctioned by law.
- The proposed action must be necessary in a democratic society for a legitimate aim.
- The extent of such interference must be proportionate to the need for such interference.
- There must be procedural guarantees against abuse of such interference.
INTERNATIONAL
India asks Colombo to boost reconciliation
India expects the newly elected President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa to boost the national reconciliation policy with the Tamil community of the country.
Government expectation:
- Sri Lankan government will take forward the process of national reconciliation to arrive at a solution.
- It must meet the aspirations of the Tamil community for equality, justice, peace and dignity.
- President has said that he will be President of all Sri Lankans irrespective of race and religious identities, and without creating a distinction on whether they voted for him or not.
Reference: https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/india-asks-colombo-to-boost-reconciliation/article30044512.ece
ENVIRONMENT
Avian botulism caused mass bird deaths at Sambhar Lake
The Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly, confirmed that avian botulism — a neuro-muscular illness caused by a toxin that is produced by a bacterial strain — was the cause of the recent mass mortality of birds, at Sambhar Salt Lake in Rajasthan.
POLITY
Only 4 of 82 Secretaries are from SC/ST communities
Government reply in Parliament:
- Out of 82 Secretaries to the Government of India, only four are from Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe communities.
- There are only 11 faculty members from them currently teaching at the 20 elite Indian Institutes of Management in the country.
- Two of the top IIMs in the country, those at Ahmedabad and Kolkata, are among the 12 IIMs that do not employ any SC/ST faculty at all.
- Five IIMs, including the ones at Bengaluru and Lucknow, employ one SC/ST faculty member each.
- The IIMs at Kozhikode, Shillong and Jammu have two each.
Government steps:
- It sent out an order to all IIM directors directing them that reservation rosters must be prepared and followed for all future recruitment.
- This mandates the following quotas: 15% reservation for SCs, 7.5% for STs, 27% for socially and educationally backward classes (usually termed OBCs) and 10% for economically weaker sections.
ECONOMY
Loans worth Rs. 2.52 lakh crore disbursed in October: Centre
Public sector banks (PSBs) and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) disbursed Rs. 2.52 lakh crore worth of loans in two tranches during their outreach programmes.
Disbursal of loans:
- Gave credit worth Rs. 19,627.26 crore to NBFCs.
- Over Rs. 1.22 lakh, crore were disbursed to corporates.
- Home loans accounted for Rs. 12,166 crore.
- Vehicle loans stood at Rs. 7,085 crore.
- Agricultural loans accounted for Rs. 40,504.
- Loans given to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) accounted for Rs. 37,210 crore.
New investments in FY20 fall to 15-year low
The value of new investment projects in the first half of the current financial year has fallen to a 15-year low of Rs. 1.9 lakh crore, as per a latest analysis by Care Ratings.
Findings of the Report:
- There has been consistent decline in new projects for last five years.
- Economy is passing through challenging times with decline in investment and consumption.
- Gross fixed capital formation has remained constant or declined to 28-29% of GDP.
- Within the new investment, government share has declined while private share has increased.
- In the first half of FY20, new investments by the private sector contracted by 77%.
- New investment projects were mainly seen in the manufacturing sector, even as services and electricity segments witnessed a decline in investments.
- Stalled or abandoned projects declined over the last five years.
- Lack of environment clearance and lack of funds are major reasons behind stalled projects.
- In the first half of FY20, stalled projects aggregated to Rs. 29,214 crore, 66% lower than the Rs. 86,623 crore in the corresponding period last year.
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