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SYNOPSIS
Intro
Part XXI of the Indian Constitution, ‘Temporary, Transitional and Special
Provisions’, includes, apart from Article 370 Temporary Provisions with
respect to the State of Jammu and Kashmir special provisions for 11 other
states, listed under Articles 371, 371A-H, and 371J.
Art 371I deals with Goa, but does not include any provision that can be
termed ‘special
Body
Difference between Articles 370 and 371, and Articles 371A-H and 371J
One important difference between Articles 370 and 371, and Articles
371A-H and 371J, is that
Articles 371A-H and 371J set of provisions were incorporated
into the Constitution by Parliament through amendments under
Art 368 (which lays down the “power of Parliament to amend
the Constitution and procedure therefor”),
Articles 370 and 371 have been part of the Constitution from the
time of its commencement on January 26, 1950.
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1. J&K is not the only state which has special provisions under
Constitution. Elaborate (15 marks)
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Also briefly mention
The V Schedule for Scheduled Areas
As per Article 244(1), the President by order may designate
areas as 'Scheduled Areas' and they will be governed by the
special provisions in the Fifth Schedule. This is to give tribal
population more autonomy and voice in regulation of their
affairs.
The VI Schedule for the North-East According to Article
244 of the Constitution the VI Schedule lays down special
provisions for the protection of the interest and cultural
identities of the hill tribes of North.
o The most important provision of the VI Schedule is
creation of the Autonomous District Councils. While
tribals of some of the North Eastern states have the
Autonomous District Councils, Arunachal Pradesh,
Nagaland and greater part of Mizoram do not have
this. The inner Lines Regulation exist for three
states: i. e., Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and
Nagaland, aid North Cachar district of Assam
Conclusion
Despite the existence of special provisions for different areas, there has been
dissatisfaction on their relevance or inefficiency in almost all such regions of the
country where such provisions exist. Some oppose these provisions describing
them to be inadequate, others oppose them as unnecessary and violative of the
minority rights.
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SYNOPSIS
Intro
Special Category Status Special Status/Special
provision states
The Special Category States are
a purely administrative category
and not the constitutional ones.
Special status empowers
legislative and political
rights.
The constitution provides
that has to be passed by
2/3rds majority in both the
houses of Parliament special
status through an Act
The states which are backward
in terms of the development of
the infra-structure or which
have. Suffered due to the
national disasters like drought or
flood demand to be Categorised
as the Special Category States.
These provisions ensure the
protection of cultural
identities, customs and
economic and political
interests of the original
inhabitants of these areas.
Special category status is granted
by the National Development
Council, which is an
administrative body of the
government.
As of now special
provisions were provided
for 11 states listed under
Articles 371, 371A-H, and
371J.
Acceptance or rejection of such
demands also depends on the
political factors.
Body
‘The relevance of ‘special category states’
The concept of a special category status was first introduced in
1969 when the fifth Finance Commission sought to provide
certain disadvantaged states with preferential treatment in the
form of central assistance and tax breaks, establishing special
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Q2.What is the difference between Special Category Status and
Special Status? The relevance of ‘special category states’ were
diluted after 14th finance commission recommendation.
Evaluate
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development boards, reservation in local government jobs,
educational institutions, etc.
This formula was named after the then Deputy Chairman of the
Planning Commission, Dr Gadgil Mukherjee and is related to the
transfer of assistance to the states by centre under various schemes.
But after the dissolution of the planning commission and the
formation of NITI Aayog the Central plan assistance to SCS
States has been subsumed in an increased devolution of the
divisible pool to all States (from 32% in the 13th FC
recommendations to 42%) and do not any longer appear in
plan expenditure.
The FFC also recommended variables such as “forest cover”
to be included in devolution, with a weightage of 7.5 in the
criteria and which could benefit north eastern States that were
previously given SCS assistance.
Besides, assistance to Centrally Sponsored Schemes for SCS
States was given with 90% Central share and 10% State share
The recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission were
implemented which meant the discontinuation of the Gadgil
formula-based grants.
Even the state of Andhra Pradesh demand for Special category
status was diplomatically tackled by providing Special
package that consists almost similar features like that of
‘SCS’ but Special category status was denied.
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SYNOPSIS
Intro
The Central government implemented the mandal commission
recommendations during 1990’s for reservation of other backward classes.
Which created a chaos among various sections of the society.
Therefore, PIL was filed, and resulted in one of the most significant
judgment namely “Indra Sawhney case” also known as Mandal Case
Salient features of Indra Sawhney judgment
It recognized socially and economically backward classes as a
category and recognized the validity of the 27 per cent reservation.
Reservation on economic backwardness alone was not allowed
The concept of ‘creamy layer’ gained currency through this
judgment. Those among the OBCs who had transcended their social
backwardness were to be excluded from the reservation.
It laid down a 50 per cent limit on reservations and observed that
economic, social and educational criteria were needed to define
backward classes.
Reservation for backward classes (which include OBCs and SCs &
STs) should be confined to initial appointments and not extend to
promotions.
Body
How recently passed One Hundred and Third Amendment Act, 2019
compromises Indira Sawhney judgement .
The One Hundred and Third Amendment Act, 2019 provides
reservation of up to 10% for “economically weaker sections” in
educational institutions and public employment that will be in addition to
the existing reservation.
According to Indra Sawhney judgement the total number of
reserved seats/places/positions cannot exceed 50% of what is
available but the 103 amendment act will increase the total
reservation up to 60%.
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Q3.Enumerate the Supreme Court directives laid out in Indira
Sawhney vs. union of India case. Do you agree with the view
that that the recently passed One Hundred and Third
Amendment Act, 2019 compromises Supreme Court directives
laid out in Indira Sawhney judgement. Comment.
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Similarily,The judgement didn’t allow Reservation on economic
backwardness alone whereas The One Hundred and Third
Amendment Act, 2019 provides for reservation on the basis of
Economic criteria only
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SYNOPSIS
Intro
The first amendment was brought by the parliament after the Kamleshwar
case and with the insertion of article 31B along with the 9th schedule for
giving effect to agrarian reforms. The provisions inserted were made to
provide immunity to the laws inserted under them from judicial
encroachment.
Body
In Case of Shankari Prasad: It was contended that excluding judicial
scrutiny for such laws will amount to a violation of Article 13(2).
The Court rejected the petition by stating the parliament under Article 368,
is empowered to amend the fundamental rights also and at such instances
judicial encroachment is impermissible.
In Golaknath case: it was held that the parliament has no power to amend
the fundamental rights including the provisions on personal property. The
parliament aggrieved by the judgement in Golaknath, passed the 24th
amendment in 1971, which empowered it to amend any part of the
Constitution including the fundamental rights.
In its decision in Kesavananda Bharati case: the Apex Court through its
largest constitutional bench of 13 judges stated that “although the
amendments made under Article 368 are Constitutional, the court is
entitled to reject any of them if their nature is such that ‘they may violate
the basic structure of the Indian Constitution.
Waman Rao v. Union Of India: In this important judgement, the Apex
Court ruled that, “those amendments which were made in the constitution
before 24th April 1973 (date on which judgement in Keshavananda
Bharati was delivered) are valid and constitutional but those which were
made after the stated date are open to being challenged on the ground of
constitutionality and the State is only immunized for its acts before the
judgement in Keshavananda Bharati.
In I R Coelho v. State of Tamil Nadu case: The court upheld its
previous rulings and declared that any act can be challenged and is open to
scrutiny by the judiciary if it is not in consonance with the basic structure
of the constitution. In addition, it was held that if the constitutional validity
of any law under the ninth schedule has been upheld before, in future it
cannot be challenged again.
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Q4.Briefly explain the Scope of judicial review with respect to
laws placed under 9th Schedule.
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SYNOPSIS
Intro
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector has emerged as a
highly vibrant and dynamic sector of the Indian economy over the last five
decades.
MSMEs play a crucial role in providing employment opportunities.
MSMEs are complementary to big industries and contribute greatly to the
socio-economic development of the country.
Body
Significance of MSME’s
With around 36.1 million units throughout the geographical
expanse of the country, MSMEs contribute
o 6.11% of the manufacturing GDP;
o 24.63% of GDP from service activities;
o 33.4% of India’s manufacturing output.
Contributes to one-third of manufacturing output in the country
Nearly one-third of aggregate economy gross value added.
Provide employment to around 120 million persons and
contribute around 45% of the overall exports from India.
Have consistently maintained a growth rate of over 20%.
About 20% of the MSMEs are based out of rural areas, which
indicate the deployment of significant rural workforce in the
MSME sector.
Yet, MSMEs faces certain challenges like,
Inadequate exposure of Indian Industries including Micro, Small
and Medium Enterprises to International market.
Low capital base of MSMEs.
Strong competition from China faced by Indian MSMEs is evident
in high growth of India’s imports from China.
Along with this, MSMEs continue to face challenges of
formalization,
o Access to knowledge services,
o Access to timely and adequate finance,
o Improving competitiveness,
o Availability of skilled man-power,
o Access to latest technology and marketing.
The MSME sector is yet to benefit from the advances in
digitization
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Q5.MSMEs are Key component for India’s $5 trillion economy.
Discuss
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Government is implementing various plan schemes/programme to
overcome the challenges on the growth of MSMEs
Other government schemes to boost MSMEs and job creation in the
MSMEs sector:
Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme
(PMEGP), Micro and Small Enterprises-Cluster Development
Programme (MSE-CDP),
Scheme for Promotion of MSMEs in North Eastern Region and
Sikkim,
Tool Rooms and Technology Centers,
Mission Solar Charkha (MSC), Scheme of Fund for
Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI),
Procurement and Marketing Support Scheme, Entrepreneurship
Skill Development Programme (ESDP),
Credit Guarantee Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises
(MSEs)
Credit Linked Capital Subsidy and Technology Up gradation
Scheme (CLCS-TUS).
Conclusion
To reach the $5 trillion economy, MSMEs have to lay a much
bigger role, in employment generation, in exports, in skilling people
and in making the sector more formalized. So that they start
reaping the benefits of reforms such as GST. This will also pave the
way for easier access to credit flow.
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SYNOPSIS
Intro
Data localisation is the act of storing data on any device physically present
within the borders of a country. As of now, most of these data are stored,
in a cloud, outside India.
Body
Need:
The draft data protection law by Srikrishna committee
recommended that the government must enjoy unfettered access to
its citizens’ or residents’ data for use in domestic policy-making.
The main intent behind data localisation is to protect the personal
and financial information of the country’s citizens and residents
from foreign surveillance and give local governments and
regulators the jurisdiction to call for the data when required.
Its importance to India’s security.
Aid’s Investigation: Storing of data locally is expected to help
law-enforcement agencies to access information that is needed
for the detection of a crime or to gather evidence. Where data is
not localised, the agencies need to rely on mutual legal
assistance treaties (MLATs) to obtain access, delaying
investigations.
Job creation: Has the potential to create domestic jobs and
skills in data storage and analytics too, as the Srikrishna report
had pointed out.
Threat of foreign surveillance: it will stop the unregulated and
arbitrary use of personal data by other foreign nationals.
Example: Revelations of social media giant Facebook sharing
user data with Cambridge Analytica.
Source for Revenue: Data should be considered to be a
national resource. Just like the inflow and outflow of goods and
services are taxed, the movement of data in and out of the nation
should also be taxed. These additional taxes can then be used by
the government for more social programs.
Respects Data privacy: It is also very beneficial in maintaining
Data privacy and national security. Example: lynching’s across
States was linked to Whatsapp rumour.
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security.
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Way forward
Maintaining multiple local data centres may entail significant
investments in infrastructure and higher costs for global companies
has been the concern of companies such as Paytm, Whatsapp and
Google etc.
India with access to its billion-strong consumer market
needs to push for data localisation
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©Jatin Verma All Rights Reserved. https://www.jatinverma.org
©Jatin Verma All Rights Reserved. https://www.jatinverma.org