Multistate Cooperatives

Why in News

The Centre has decided to amend the Multi State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002 to “plug the loopholes in the Act”.

• Earlier, a new Ministry of Cooperation was formed.

Key Points

• About the Multi State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002:
  • Multi State Cooperative Societies: Although Cooperatives is a state subject, there are many societies such as those for sugar and milk, banks, milk unions etc whose members and areas of operation are spread across more than one state.
    • For example, most sugar mills along the districts on the Karnataka-Maharashtra border procure cane from both states.
    • Maharashtra has the highest number of such cooperative societies at 567, followed by Uttar Pradesh (147) and New Delhi (133).
    • The MSCS Act was passed to govern such cooperatives.
  • Legal Jurisdiction: Their board of directors has representation from all states they operate in.
    • Administrative and financial control of these societies is with the central registrar, with the law making it clear that no state government official can wield any control on them.
    • The exclusive control of the central registrar was meant to allow smooth functioning of these societies, without interference of state authorities.
• Associated Concerns:
  • Lack of Checks and Balances: While the system for state-registered societies includes checks and balances at multiple layers to ensure transparency in the process, these layers do not exist in the case of multi state societies.
    • The central registrar can only allow inspection of the societies under special conditions.
    • Further, inspections can happen only after prior intimation to societies.
  • Weak Institutional Infrastructure of Central Registrar: The on-ground infrastructure for central registrar is thin — there are no officers or offices at state level, with most work being carried out either online or through correspondence.
    • Due to this, the grievance redressal mechanism has become very poor.
    • This has led to several instances when credit societies have launched ponzi schemes taking advantage of these loopholes.
• Possible Reforms/Amendments:
  • Strengthening Institutional Infrastructure: The Centre government after consultation with various stakeholders should strengthen necessary institutional infrastructure to ensure better governance of the societies. For example:
    • Increasing the manpower.
    • Technology shall be used to bring in transparency.
  • Involving States: The administrative control of such societies should be vested in the state commissioners.

Cooperatives in India

• Definition:
  • The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) defines a Cooperative as “an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.”
    • Examples of Successful Cooperatives in India:
      • National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED),
      • Indian Farmers Fertilisers Cooperative Limited (IFFCO)
      • AMUL
• Constitutional Provisions:
  • The Constitution (97^th Amendment) Act, 2011 added a new Part IXB regarding the cooperatives working in India.
    • The word “cooperatives” was added after “unions and associations” in Article 19(1)(c) under Part III of the Constitution.
      • This enables all the citizens to form cooperatives by giving it the status of fundamental right of citizens.
    • A new Article 43B was added in the Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV) regarding the “promotion of cooperative societies”.
• Supreme Court Judgement:
  • In July, 2021, the Supreme Court struck down certain provisions of the 97th Amendment Act, 2011.
    • As per the SC, Part IX B (Articles 243ZH to 243ZT) has “significantly and substantially impacted” State legislatures’ “exclusive legislative power” over its co-operative sector.
    • Also, the provisions in the 97^th Amendment were passed by Parliament without getting them ratified by State legislatures as required by the Constitution.
    • The SC held that states have exclusive power to legislate on topics reserved exclusively to them (cooperatives are a part of State list).
      • The 97^th Constitutional Amendment required ratification by at least one-half of the state legislatures as per Article 368(2).
      • Since the ratification was not done in the case of the 97^th amendment, it was liable to strike it down.
      • It upheld the validity of the provisions of Part IX B which are related to Multi State Cooperative Societies (MSCS).
      • It said that in case of MSCS with objects not confined to one state, the legislative power would be that of the Union of India.

Source: IE

Use of Drone in Pesticide Application

Why in News

Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has released Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for drone application in Agriculture.

• The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) commonly known as drones have great potential to revolutionize Indian agriculture and ensure the country's food security.
• The drones were used for the first time in warding off locust attacks in various states of the country.
• Earlier, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had launched a Drone-Based vaccine delivery model named, Drone Response and Outreach in North East (i-Drone).

Key Points

• About Standard Operating Procedures (SOP): The SOP for drone regulation for pesticide application covers:
  • Important aspects like statutory provisions, flying permissions, area distance restrictions, weight classification, overcrowded areas restriction, drone registration, safety insurance, piloting certification, operation plan, air flight zones, weather conditions,
  • SOPs for pre, post and during operation, emergency handling plan.
• Drone Technology in Use of Application of Pesticides:
  • Pesticides: Pesticides are one of the important agri-inputs to address protection of crops against a large number of pests that can wash away entire investment of farmers and hence they act as an essential input that yields substantial returns to the farmers.
  • Conventional Spraying of Pesticide: Conventional methods of pesticide spray application lead to several problems like:
    • Excessive application of chemicals, lower spray uniformity, unnecessary deposition and non-uniform coverage.
    • Resulting in excessive usage, water & soil pollution as well as higher expenditure on pesticides.
    • With conventional manual sprayers, the safety of operators is also a major concern.
  • Use of Drone Technology: The use of drone technology as a modern farming technique is aimed at making production more efficient through precise spraying of pesticides and crop nutrients.
    • This approach would not only ensure accuracy, uniformity in spray across the field, reduction in the overall use of chemicals within the area, but will also take care of the safety of the operators.
• Other Uses of Drone Technology in Agriculture & Their Advantages:
  • Crop Monitoring: Drones are well-equipped with many features like multi-spectral and photo cameras.
    • Drones can be used for assessing the health of any vegetation or crop, field areas inflicted by weeds, infections and pests.
  • Optimum Nutrient Delivery: Based on an assessment, the exact amounts of chemicals needed to fight infestations can be applied thereby optimizing the overall cost for the farmer.
    • This will further help in doubling farmer’s income by 2022.
  • Better Crop Management: Drone planting systems have also been developed by many start-ups which allow drones to shoot pods, their seeds and spray vital nutrients into the soil.
    • Thus, this technology increases consistency and efficiency of crop management, besides reducing the cost.
    • This will help in enhancing the productivity as well as efficiency of the agriculture sector.
    • Use of drones in agriculture may also give ample opportunities to provide employment to people in rural areas.

Source: PIB

Depreciation of Indian Rupee

Why in News

The Indian currency declined 2.2% in the Sep-Dec 2021 quarter. This depreciation of currency is due to global funds worth $4 billion having been pulled out of the country’s stock market.

• This downfall of currency makes the Indian rupee as Asia’s worst-performing currency.

Key Points

• About Depreciation:
  • Currency depreciation is a fall in the value of a currency in a floating exchange rate system.
  • Rupee depreciation means that the rupee has become less valuable with respect to the dollar.
    • It means that the rupee is now weaker than what it used to be earlier.
    • For example: USD 1 used to equal to Rs. 70, now USD 1 is equal to Rs. 76, implying that the rupee has depreciated relative to the dollar i.e. it takes more rupees to purchase a dollar.
• Impact of Depreciation of Indian Rupee:
  • Depreciation in rupee is a double-edged sword for the Reserve Bank of India.
    • Positive: While a weaker currency may support exports amid a nascent economic recovery from the pandemic.
    • Negative: It poses risk of imported inflation, and may make it difficult for the central bank to maintain interest rates at a record low for longer.

• Reasons for Current Depreciation of Indian Rupee:
  • Record-High Trade Deficit: India’s trade deficit widened to an all-time high of about $23 billion in November amid higher imports.
    • This growing trade deficit is driven by a rebound in oil prices.
  • Policy divergence Between RBI and Federal Reserve: The strengthening of USD in line with expectations of better growth in the US economy and favorable interest offered by the Federal Reserve (US’ Central bank).
    • The RBI has been continuously buying dollars to build its reserves and prepare itself for any volatility.
  • Outflow of Capital: Foreign capital exodus from stocks have led to the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex Index falling by about 10% below an all-time high touched in October 2021.
  • Omicron Concerns: When concerns about the omicron virus variant are roiling the global markets.

Source: IE

Menace of Manual Scavenging

Why in News

Recently, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment informed the Lok Sabha that 22 people had died while Manual Scavenging in 2021 so far.

• According to the National Convener of the Safai Karmachari Andolan, 472 manual scavenging deaths across the country were recorded between 2016 and 2020.
  • Safai Karmachari Andolan is a movement for elimination of manual scavenging.
• Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees ‘Right to Life’ and that also with dignity. This right is available to both citizens and non-citizens.

Key Points

• Manual Scavenging:
  • Manual scavenging is defined as “the removal of human excrement from public streets and dry latrines, cleaning septic tanks, gutters and sewers”.
• Reasons for the Prevalence:
  • Indifferent Attitude: A number of independent surveys have talked about the continued reluctance on the part of state governments to admit that the practice prevails under their watch.
  • Issues due to Outsourcing: Many times local bodies outsource sewer cleaning tasks to private contractors. However, many of them fly-by-night operators, do not maintain proper rolls of sanitation workers.
    • In case after case of workers being asphyxiated to death, these contractors have denied any association with the deceased.
  • Social Issue: The practice is driven by caste, class and income divides.
    • It is linked to India’s caste system where so-called lower castes are expected to perform this job.
    • In 1993, India banned the employment of people as manual scavengers (The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993), however, the stigma and discrimination associated with it still linger on.
      • This makes it difficult for liberated manual scavengers to secure alternative livelihoods.
• Steps Taken:
  • The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013:
    • The act seeks to reinforce the prohibition of manual scavenging in all forms and ensures the rehabilitation of manual scavengers.
  • Prevention of Atrocities Act:
    • It delineates specific crimes against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
  • National Commission of Safai Karamcharis:
    • The Commission is acting as a non-statutory body of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment whose tenure is extended from time to time through Government Resolutions.
  • Swachh Bharat Mission:
    • Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is a national campaign launched by the Government on 2nd October, 2014 to clean the streets, roads and build social infrastructure of the country.
  • The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation (Amendment) Bill, 2020:
    • It proposes to completely mechanise sewer cleaning, introduce ways for ‘on-site’ protection and provide compensation to manual scavengers in case of sewer deaths.
    • It will be an amendment to The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.
  • Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge:
    • It was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on World Toilet Day (19^th November) in 2020.
    • The Government launched this “challenge” for all states to make sewer-cleaning mechanised by April 2021 — if any human needs to enter a sewer line in case of unavoidable emergency, proper gear and oxygen tanks, etc., are to be provided.
  • ‘Swachhta Abhiyan App’:
    • It has been developed to identify and geotag the data of insanitary latrines and manual scavengers so that the insanitary latrines can be replaced with sanitary latrines and rehabilitate all the manual scavengers to provide dignity of life to them.
  • SC Judgement:
    • In 2014, a Supreme Court order made it mandatory for the government to identify all those who died in sewage work since 1993 and provide Rs. 10 lakh each as compensation to their families.

Way Forward

• Proper Identification: States need to accurately enumerate the workers engaged in cleaning toxic sludge.
• Empowering Local Administration: With Swachh Bharat Mission identified as a top priority area by the 15^th Finance Commission and funds available for smart cities and urban development providing for a strong case to address the problem of manual scavenging.
• Social Sentisitation: To address the social sanction behind manual scavenging, it is required first to acknowledge and then understand how and why manual scavenging continues to be embedded in the caste system.
• Need For a Stringent Law: If a law creates a statutory obligation to provide sanitation services on the part of state agencies, it will create a situation in which the rights of these workers will not hang in the air.

Source: TH

Sri Aurobindo

Why in News

Recently, the Prime Minister has set up a 53-member committee to mark the 150^th birth anniversary of spiritual leader Sri Aurobindo on 15^th August 2022.

Key Points

• About: 
  
  • Aurobindo Ghose was born in Calcutta on 15^th August 1872. He was a yogi, seer, philosopher, poet, and Indian nationalist who propounded a philosophy of divine life on earth through spiritual evolution.
  • He died on 5^th December 1950 in Pondicherry.
• Education:
  
  • His education began in a Christian convent school in Darjeeling.
  • He entered the University of Cambridge, where he became proficient in two classical and several modern European languages.
  • In 1892, he held various administrative posts in Baroda (Vadodara) and Calcutta (Kolkata).
  • He began the study of Yoga and Indian languages, including classical Sanskrit.
• Indian Revolutionary Movement:
  
  • From 1902 to 1910 he partook in the struggle to free India from the British. As a result of his political activities, he was imprisoned in 1908 (Alipore Bomb case).
  • Two years later he fled British India and found refuge in the French colony of Pondichéry (Puducherry), where he devoted himself for the rest of his life to the development of his “integral” yoga with an aim of a fulfilled and spiritually transformed life on earth.
• Spirituality:
  
  • In Pondichéry he founded a community of spiritual seekers, which took shape as the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in 1926.
  • He believed that the basic principles of matter, life, and mind would be succeeded through terrestrial evolution by the principle of supermind as an intermediate power between the two spheres of the infinite and the finite.
• Literary Works:
  
  • An English newspaper called Bande Mataram (in 1905).
  • Bases of Yoga
  • Bhagavad Gita and Its Message
  • The Future Evolution of Man
  • Rebirth and Karma
  • Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol
  • Hour of God

Source: IE

Chillai Kalan

Why in News

One of the harshest winter periods of 40 days, called Chillai Kalan, has begun in Kashmir.

Key Points

• About:
  
  • It is the harshest winter period in Kashmir starting from 21^st December to 29^th January every year.
  • Chillai Kalan is a Persian term that means ‘major cold’.
  • Chillai-Kalan is followed by a 20-day long Chillai Khurd (small cold) that occurs between January 30 and February 18 and a 10-days long Chillai Bachha (baby cold) which is from February 19 to February 28.
  • The 40-day period brings a lot of hardships for Kashmiris as the temperature drops considerably leading to the freezing of water bodies, including the famous Dal Lake here.
  • During these 40 days, the chances of snowfall are the highest and the maximum temperature drops considerably. The minimum temperature in the Valley hovers below the freezing point.
• Impact on Daily Life of Kashmiris:
  
  • Use of Pheran (Kashmiri dress) and a traditional firing pot called Kanger increases.
  • Due to subzero temperature, tap water pipelines freeze partially during this period and world-famous Dal Lake also freezes.
  • Kashmiris celebrate with sumptuous Harissa, a dish made of lean mutton mixed with rice and flavoured with spices like fennel, cardamom, clove and salt.
  • Besides, they frequently consume dried vegetables as there is shortage of fresh supplies due to blocking of roads following heavy snowfall.

Source: TH