The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 26 July 2023

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis for UPSC

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 25 July 2023

What is a no-confidence motion?

A no-confidence motion is a parliamentary motion which is moved in the Lok Sabha against the entire council of ministers, stating that they are no longer deemed fit to hold positions of responsibility due to their inadequacy in some respect or their failure to carry out their obligations. No prior reason needs to be stated for its adoption in the Lok Sabha.

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Procedure to move a “No Confidence Motion”:
A motion of “No Confidence Motion” against the Government can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha under rule 198.
The Constitution of India does not mention about either a Confidence or a No Confidence Motion. Although, Article 75 does specify that the Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.
A motion of No Confidence can be admitted when a minimum of 50 members, support the motion in the house.
The Speaker then, once satisfied that the motion is in order, will ask the House if the motion can be adopted.
If the motion is passed in the house, the Government is bound to vacate the office.
A no-confidence motion needs a majority vote to pass the House.
If individuals or parties abstain from voting, those numbers will be removed from the overall strength of the House and then the majority will be taken into account.

The term “gig” draws its etymological origin from jazz musicians doing short time-based performances called “gigs” for a predetermined fee. The capitalist economy applied this definition to current working arrangements, to escape from employer-employee relationships of any kind.
The “gig economy” is in fact nothing more than the minute contractualisation of work, where the employer escapes from all responsibility except for determining the immediate task at hand, and arranging the pecuniary payment for it.
For example, in the case of a transport-based worker such as with Uber or Ola, or many others, the “aggregator” uses an app-based platform to connect the “customer” with the “driver”, for which they take a healthy “commission”.
Around the world, drawing inspiration and power from the architecture and legal regime of market fundamentalism, companies have resisted taking on the most basic responsibility for the dignity and “fair working conditions” of workers. The nature of unorganised work leaves all gig workers at the mercy of a cartel of employers that calls the shots
More than 60 years ago, people who carried sacks on their head or shoulders (called hamals) formed a union called the “Hamal Panchayat” in Maharashtra. They faced the same set of problems that most unorganised sector workers face, but in a more acute form. They had no single workplace, or “employer”.
Led by Baba Adhav, now 94, they demanded and won a law that set up a “Mathadi board” which would register both workers and merchants who used the labour of hamals.

Resource efficiency and circular economy are powerful strategies that can effectively minimise dependence on natural resources, curtail waste and encourage sustainable design practices.
In the collective global endeavour to ensure sustainable development and realise the Sustainable Development Goals, decoupling resource utilisation from economic growth is going to be the key.
Recognising the need to switch from the ‘take-make-dispose’ to ‘reduce-reuse-recycle’ model, India has prioritised ‘Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy’ as one of the three core themes for deliberations in the G-20 forum.
Most G-20 member countries have committed to net zero ambitions and are working to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. In order to ensure growing resource consumption in an environmentally responsible manner, there is also a need to raise the current recycling rates of 15%-25%.
Given the crucial role of steel in infrastructure development, its efficient utilisation is important. The demand for steel is poised to grow especially in growing economies such as India. Globally, about 7% of energy sector emission is attributed to iron and steel production.
Effective implementation of EPR plays a pivotal role in promoting the growth of the recycling infrastructure and establishing a streamlined waste collection system.
Biowaste such as municipal and industrial waste and agricultural residue has become a global issue as much of it is burned, causing pollution, biodiversity loss and global warming. Combined with crops well-suited for degraded lands, biowaste can serve as valuable primary raw materials and viable substitutes for mineral resources. Adopting a circular bioeconomy approach will reduce the need for extracting virgin resources and provide an effective waste disposal solution.

With the Bioethics Unit of the ICMR placing a consensus policy statement on Controlled Human Infection Studies (CHIS) for comments, India has taken the first step in clearing the deck for such studies to be undertaken here.
CHIS, also called human challenge studies, where healthy volunteers are intentionally exposed to a disease-causing microbe in a highly controlled and monitored environment

While collaborations with institutions and scientists well versed in conducting such studies are a must, navigating the ethical minefield is a challenge.
There is potential for exploitation, given the monetary dimension involving volunteers. If it becomes a reality, India should use CHIS only to study diseases with safe and effective treatment.

In the last one month, at least three different High Courts have either quashed First Information Reports (FIRs) and pending criminal proceedings or acquitted accused persons under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. One High Court released the accused on bail on the grounds that the accused and victim had consensual sex.
The Court recommended that the Indian government consider reducing the age of consent of the prosecutrix from 18 to 16 years.
A ‘child’ under POCSO is defined as any person below the age of 18 years. Acts of penetrative sexual assault committed on children are criminal offences under POCSO. The purpose of defining ‘child’ under POCSO, and of the provision under Section 375 of the IPC (sexual intercourse, whether with or without her consent, is rape if she is under 18 years of age), is to safeguard children against penetrative sexual assault irrespective of their consent, which could even be unequivocal and voluntary.

Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, said that names of over five crore workers had been deleted under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the financial year 2022-23. This is a 247% increase from 2021-22 figure.
The Ministry, in its reply, has said these deletions are a “regular exercise” conducted by the State governments. They have listed five reasons for the deletions — fake job card, duplicate job card, not willing to work, family shifted from gram panchayat permanently and single person in job card and the person is expired.
Statistics maintained by the Rural Development Ministry say there are 10 reasons listed for deletions of workers and job cards — incorrect job card, fake applicant, duplicate applicant, family shifted, person shifted to a new family, single person in job card and expired, unwilling to work, person expired, non-existent panchayat and village becomes urban.
MGNREGS job cards with Aadhaar and making wage payments through the Aadhaar-Based Payments System (ABPS).
About: MGNREGA is one of the largest work guarantee programmes in the world launched in 2005 by the Ministry of Rural development.
The primary objective of the scheme is to guarantee 100 days of employment in every financial year to adult members of any rural household willing to do public work-related unskilled manual work.
Legal Right to Work: Unlike earlier employment guarantee schemes, the act aims at addressing the causes of chronic poverty through a rights-based framework.
At least one-third of beneficiaries have to be women.
Wages must be paid according to the statutory minimum wages specified for agricultural labourers in the state under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.
Demand-Driven Scheme: The most important part of MGNREGA’s design is its legally-backed guarantee for any rural adult to get work within 15 days of demanding it, failing which an ‘unemployment allowance’ must be given.

On a day when India’s first President from the tribal community, Droupadi Murmu, completed one year in office, the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday got a unique gallery dedicated to tribal arts, culture and heroes.
The gallery, which is around 2,200 square feet in area, has been developed by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, an autonomous institution under the Union Culture Ministry.
Murmu took over as the 15th President of the country last July and is the first from the tribal community.
The new gallery ‘Janjatiya Darpan’ (tribal mirror) was inaugurated by Ms. Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The gallery showcases different themes such as unsung tribal freedom fighters, traditional natural resource management practices such as Halma, tribal art such as Dokra, musical instruments and various scripts such as Gunjala Gondi.

Flash floods during this year’s monsoon season have caused unprecedented damage to both lives and assets in Himachal Pradesh. The death toll has crossed 150, and the estimated total loss amounts to ₹10,000 crore.
The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) VI report has clearly stated that the Himalayas and coastal regions of India will be the hardest hit by climate change. In the Himalayas, there is a noticeable pattern of increased precipitation occurring in shorter periods of time.
Apart from climate change, anthropogenic factors have also significantly contributed to the disaster. The State’s development model initiated after it came into being in 1971 had been successful in transforming Himachal Pradesh into an exemplar of development for mountain States.
This model, known as the Dr. Parmar model (named after the founding Chief Minister, Dr. Y.S. Parmar), focused on exemplary land reforms, robust state-led investment in social welfare, and a strong emphasis on human resources.
The pursuit of hydropower projects became a dominant focus for hill States, with their capacity measured in terms of megawatts (MW) to attract investments.
Currently, there are 168 hydropower projects in operation, generating 10,848 MW of electricity. Looking ahead, it is projected that by 2030, 1,088 hydropower projects will be commissioned to harness 22,640 MW of energy. This surge in hydropower projects raises concerns about the inevitability of impending disasters in the region.
The development-driven road expansion is aimed at promoting tourism and attracting a large number of visitors.
The establishment of massive cement plants and extensive cutting of mountains in districts like Bilaspur, Solan, Chamba have resulted in significant land use changes that contribute to flash floods during rainfall. The cement plants alter the natural landscape, and the removal of vegetation leads to reduced capacity of land to absorb water.