News paper 26 Aug 2020

The Ministry of Tourism is organizing the DekhoApnaDesh webinars with an objective to create awareness about and promote various tourism destinations of India – including the lesser known destinations and lesser known facets of popular destinations.

1. It also promotes spirit of Ek Bharat Sreshtha Bharat.

Note: Some important facts were mentioned in this PIB article. The facts mentioned are important for your Prelims as well as Mains.

Key facts:

1. Hyderabad is popularly known as the “City of Pearls” and the “City of Nizams”, and has been the centre of a vibrant historical legacy, ever since its inception by the QutubShahi dynasty.

Muhammad QuliQutb Shahestablished Hyderabad in 1591 to extend the capital beyond the fortified Golconda.
In 1687, the city was annexedby the Mughals. In 1724, Mughal governor NizamAsaf Jah I declared his sovereignty and founded the AsafJahi dynasty, also known as the Nizams.
Hyderabad served as the imperial capital of the AsafJahis from 1769 to 1948.

Important cultural sites of Hyderabad highlighted in the session:

Golconda Fort, Hyderabad: Built by the Kakatiya dynastyin the 13th century.
Chowmahalla Palace: Once the seat of the AsafJahi Dynasty. It has bagged the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Merit Award for Culture Heritage Conservation.
Charminar: The monument was erected when QuliQutab Shah shifted his capital from Golcondo to Hyderabad.
Mecca Masjid: Completed by Aurangazeb in 1693.The bricks used here are believed to be from Mecca, and hence the name.
Warangal Fort: This fort appears to have existed since at least the 12th century when it was the capital of the Kakatiya dynasty.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

DekhoApnaDesh series is organised by?
About Ek Bharat Sreshtha Bharat scheme.
Which city is popularly known as the “City of Pearls”.
Who founded the city of Hyderabad?
All dynasties who ruled Hyderabad.
Who built Chowmahalla Palace?
Who built Charminar?
About the Kakatiya dynasty.

Sources: pib.

GS Paper : 2

Topics Covered: Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.

Lokayukta:

Context:

The Supreme Court has issued notice on a plea filed by the State of Nagaland for a direction to its Lokayukta to cease exercising his powers and functions and transfer all his work to the Upa-Lokayukta.

What’s the issue?

The petition by the State asked the court to use its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to preserve the institutional integrity of the Lokayukta and ensure that a “fit, proper and competent person” occupies the office of the Lokayukta.

What is Lokayukta?

Lokayukta is an anti-corruption authority or ombudsman – an official appointed by the government to represent the interests of the public.

1. Most importantly, it investigates allegations of corruption and mal-administration against public servants and is tasked with speedy redressal of public grievances.

Genesis:

The Administrative Reforms Commission headed by Late Morarji Desai in 1966 recommended the setting up of the institution of Lokayukta.

The Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013, commonly known The Lokpal Act was passed by the Parliament of India in December 2013.

1. It provides for the appointment of a Lokayukta “to investigate and report on allegations or grievances relating to the conduct of public servants.”

It also called for establishment of Lokpal at the Centre.

Who is appointed as the Lokayukta?

The Lokayukta is usually a former High Court Chief Justice or former Supreme Court judge and has a fixed tenure.

Selection of Lokayukta:

1. The Chief Minister selects a person as the Lokayukta after consultation with the High Court Chief Justice, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, the Chairman of the Legislative Council, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly and the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council. The appointment is then made by the Governor.

Once appointed, Lokayukta cannot be dismissed nor transferred by the government, and can only be removed by passing an impeachment motion by the state assembly.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

Which states have not appointed Lokayukta?
Which was the first state in India to have the office of Lokayukta?
Who appoints Lokayukta?
Powers and functions.
Eligibility
Overview of the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013.

Sources: the Hindu.

Topics Covered: Indian Constitution- historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.

No Confidence motion:

Why in News?

The no-confidence motion against the Pinarayi Vijayan government was defeated 87-40 in the Kerala Assembly on Monday. The Assembly has been adjourned sine-die.

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.

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.

1. 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.

1. 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.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

What is a no-confidence motion?
Who can move it?
Procedure to be followed?
Can it be introduced in Rajya Sabha?
Majority needed to pass the no-confidence motion.
Article 75 is related to?

Mains Link:

Write a note on the no-confidence motion.

Sources: the Hindu.

Topics Covered: Important International institutions, agencies and fora, their structure, mandate.

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB):

Context:

Government of India, the Government of Maharashtra, Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) have signed a loan agreement for a $500 million Mumbai Urban Transport Project-III to improve the network capacity, service quality and safety of the suburban railway system in Mumbai.

What is AIIB?

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank with a mission to improve social and economic outcomes in Asia and beyond.

1. It is headquartered in Beijing.

It commenced operations in January 2016.
It is a development bank with a mission to improve the economic and social outcomes in Asia.

Is AIIB actively recruiting new members?

AIIB is an open and inclusive multilateral financial institution.

1. Membership in AIIB shall be open to members of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development or the Asian Development Bank.

Unlike other MDBs (multilateral development bank), the AIIB allows for non-sovereign entities to apply for AIIB membership, assuming their home country is a member.

AIIB Project Preparation Special Fund:

1. Established in June 2016, the Project Preparation Special Fund (Special Fund) is a multidonor facility with the primary purpose of supporting eligible AIIB members—especially low-income members—prepare bankable infrastructure projects AIIB may finance.

The Special Fund provides technical assistance grants for preparing bankable infrastructure projects. Through these grants, clients can hire experts and consultants to carry out the required preparation work.

Various organs of AIIB:

Board of Governors: The Board of Governors consists of one Governor and one Alternate Governor appointed by each member country. Governors and Alternate Governors serve at the pleasure of the appointing member.

Board of Directors: Non-resident Board of Directors is responsible for the direction of the Bank’s general operations, exercising all powers delegated to it by the Board of Governors. This includes approving the Bank’s strategy, annual plan and budget; establishing policies; taking decisions concerning Bank operations; and supervising management and operation of the Bank and establishing an oversight mechanism.

International Advisory Panel: The Bank has established an International Advisory Panel (IAP) to support the President and Senior Management on the Bank’s strategies and policies as well as on general operational issues. The Panel meets in tandem with the Bank’s Annual Meeting, or as requested by the President. The President selects and appoints members of the IAP to two-year terms. Panelists receive a small honorarium and do not receive a salary. The Bank pays the costs associated with Panel meetings.

Significance of AIIB:

The United Nations has addressed the launch of AIIB as having potential for “scaling up financing for sustainable development” for the concern of global economic governance. The capital of the bank is $100 billion, equivalent to 2⁄3 of the capital of the Asian Development Bank and about half that of the World Bank.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

AIIB vs ADB vs WB.
Members of AIIB.
Top shareholders.
Voting powers.
AIIB supported projects in India.

Mains Link:

Write a note on the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

Sources: pib.

Topics Covered: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Electricity Amendment Bill 2020:

Context:

Aam Aadmi Party has sought permission from the Speaker to table a motion for repealing of the Centre’s three agriculture-related ordinances and Power Amendment Bill-2020.

It is because AAP argues that these laws are contrary to the federal structure of the country, besides impinging on the rights of the States.

Note:

We have already discussed about the three agriculture related ordinances. For details, please refer:

https://www.insightsonindia.com/2020/08/04/centre-should-repeal-ordinances-farmers/.

In this article, we will discuss about the Electricity Amendment Bill, 2020.

Contentious clauses in the Electricity Amendment Bill, 2020:

Firstly, few states have accused the Centre of failure to consult the States on the Bill since electricity is on the Concurrent List. Other issues are:

The Bill seeks to end subsidies.All consumers, including farmers, will have to pay the tariff, and the subsidy will be sent to them through direct benefit transfer.

States are worried about this clause because:

1. This would mean people would have to pay a huge sum towards electricity charges, while receiving support through direct benefit transfer later.

This would result in defaults leading to penalties and disconnection.

The Bill “divests” the States of their power to fix tariff and hands over the task to a Central government-appointed authority.

This is discriminatory, since the tariff can be tweaked according to the whims and fancies of the Central government.

3. The Bill also makes it compulsory for the State power companies to buy a minimum percentage of renewable energy fixed by the Centre.

This would be detrimental to the cash- strapped power firms.

Other key provisions in the Bill:

Renewable Energy: It delegates the Central Government with the power to prepare and notify a National Renewable Energy Policy “for promotion of generation of electricity from renewable sources”, in consultation with State Governments.

Cross Border Trade: The Central Government has been delegated with the power to prescribe rules and guidelines to allow and facilitate cross border trade of electricity.

Creation of Electricity Contract Enforcement Authority: It has been proposed to be given sole jurisdiction to adjudicate upon matters on performance of obligations under a contract regarding sale, purchase and transmission of electricity, which exclusion of this specialized authority’s jurisdiction on determination of tariff or any other dispute regarding tariff.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

What are APMCs? How they are regulated?
Overview of Model Contract farming act.
What is an ordinance?
The price range fluctuation allowed in the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020.
Stock limit regulation under the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020 will not be applicable for?
Composition of the proposed Electricity Contract Enforcement Authority.
How DISCOMS in the country function?
What is the National Load Despatch Centre?

Mains Link:

Do you think the reforms proposed for agricultural sector under the realm of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan ensure better price realization for farmers? Elucidate.

Sources: the Hindu.

Topics Covered: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

DNA Bill can be misused for caste-based profiling, says panel draft report:

Context:

The parliamentary standing committee on science and technology headed by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has raised few concerns over the DNA Bill.

They are:

1. DNA data could be misused for caste or community-based profiling.

The Bill refers to consent in several provisions, but in each of those, a magistrate can easily override consent, thereby in effect, making consent perfunctory (Meaning of perfunctory: performed merely as a routine duty; hasty and superficial).
There is also no guidance in the Bill on the grounds and reasons of when the magistrate can override consent, which could become a fatal flaw.
The Bill permits retention of DNA found at a crime scene in perpetuity, even if conviction of the offender has been overturned.
The Bill also provides that DNA profiles for civil matters will also be stored in the data banks, but without a clear and separate index.

Overview of the DNA Technology (Use And Application) Regulation Bill, 2019:

It seeks to establish a national data bank and regional DNA data banks.
It envisages that every databank will maintain indices like the crime scene index, suspects’ or undertrials’ index, offenders’ index, missing persons’ index and unknown deceased persons’ index.
It also seeks to establish a DNA Regulatory Board. Every laboratory that analyses DNA samples to establish the identity of an individual, has to be accredited by the board.
The bill also proposes a written consentby individuals be obtained before collection of their DNA samples. However, consent is not required for offences with punishment of more than seven years in jail or death.
It also provides for the removal of DNA profiles of suspects on the filing of a police report or court order, and of undertrials on the basis of a court order. Profiles in the crime scene and missing persons’ index will be removed on a written request.

Sources: the Hindu.

Topics Covered: Issues related to health.

Glanders:

Why in News?

The Delhi High Court has asked municipal bodies to take steps to prevent spread of glanders disease in animals including horses and issued notice to the Delhi government and others on an application filed by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), India.

What’s the issue?

In its application, the PETA has sought directions to implement the provisions of the Prevention and Control of Infectious and Contagious Disease in Animal Act, 2009 and National Action Plan for control and eradication of glanders in horses, mules, ponies, and donkeys in the national capital.

About Glanders:

It is an infectious disease that is caused by the bacterium Burkholderia mallei.

Who can get infected?

While people can get the disease, glanders is primarily a disease affecting horses. It also affects donkeys and mules and can be naturally contracted by other mammals such as goats, dogs, and cats.

Transmission:

1. Transmitted to humans through contact with tissues or body fluids of infected animals.

The bacteria enter the body through cuts or abrasions in the skin and through mucosal surfaces such as the eyes and nose.
It may also be inhaled via infected aerosols or dust contaminated by infected animals.

Symptoms of glanders commonly include:

Fever with chills and sweating.
Muscle aches.
Chest pain.
Muscle tightness.
Headsche
Nasal discharge.
Light sensitivity (sometimes with excessive tearing of the eyes).

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

Glanders- causes, transmission, symptoms and treatments.
Who can get infected?

Sources: the Hindu.

GS Paper : 3

Topics Covered: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.

Google Pay violation: HC seeks reply from govt., RBI:

Context:

The Delhi High Court has sought response of the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on a plea seeking action against ‘Google Pay’ for allegedly violating the central bank’s guidelines related to data localisation, storage and sharing norms.

What’s the issue?

A petition was filed in the court seeking to impose penalty on the company for alleged violations of laws.

The plea claimed that the company was storing personal sensitive data in contravention of UPI procedural guidelines of October 2019, which allows such data to be stored only by Payment Service Provider [PSP] bank systems and not by any third-party application.

A timeline of the RBI’s localisation mandate for payments data:

April 2018: the localisation circular surfaces: The RBI told all payments system operators in India to ensure that payments-related data was stored within the country and gave the companies six months to comply. The RBI wanted data stored locally “to have unfettered access to all payment data for supervisory purposes”.
July 2018, Finance ministry tries to step in: The Finance Ministry eased the RBI’s directive for foreign payment firms, saying that mirroring a copy of the data in India would be sufficient.
In July, the Data Protection Bill mandated localisation:The long-awaited draft Data Protection Bill 2018 was submitted to the government, adding to the confusion. The bill overrode all sectoral regulators and therefore all their directives. It mandated that all data fiduciaries store a copy of users’ personal data in India. It also required mandatory storage of ‘critical personal data’ within India only. The bill, however, failed to explicitly define ‘critical data’.
September 2018, RBI asks for updates on local storage: The RBI asked payment companies to send it fortnightly updates about their progress on local storage of payments data.
October 2018, RBI circular comes into effect: The RBI’s circular on localisation of payments data came into effect.
February 2019:The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade released a Draft E-commerce Policy, which included strategies for regulating access to data, mandating data storage requirements, and controlling cross-border data flows. Data localisation may now be left out of the e-commerce policy, and left to the jurisdiction of the Data Protection Bill.

Why data localization is necessary for India?

1. For securingcitizen’s data, data privacy, data sovereignty, national security, and economic development of the country.

The extensive data collection by technology companies, has allowed them to process and monetize Indian users’ data outside the country. Therefore, to curtail the perils of unregulated and arbitrary use of personal data, data localization is necessary.
With the advent of cloud computing, Indian users’ data is outside the country’s boundaries, leading to a conflict of jurisdiction in case of any dispute.

InstaLinks:

Prelims Link:

What is data localisation?
What is Unified Payments Interface?
Overview of the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019.
National Payments Corporation of India- Key Functions.

Sources: the Hindu.

Facts for Prelims

Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited:

DFCCIL under the Ministry of Railways is a special purpose vehicle tasked with planning and completion of 3, Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs).

It has been registered as a company under the Companies Act 1956 on 30 October 2006.

1. In the first phase the organisation is constructing the Western DFC (1504 Route km) and Eastern DFC (1856 route km) spanning a total length of 3360 route km.

Guwahati gets India’s longest river ropeway:

It will be the country’s longest river ropeway that will connect two banks of the Brahmaputra.

1. The ropeway will cover a distance of 1.8 km, and bring down the travelling time between north Guwahati and the central part of the city to eight minutes.

People in News- Bondas:

1. Bondas is a tribal community residing in the hill ranges of Malkangiri district in Odisha.

They are a particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG).
Their population is around 7,000.
Bonda people are often led to bonded labour through marriage, also known as diosing.
A form of dowry (known as Gining) is paid for brides.

Why in News?

Four members of the community have tested positive for COVID-19.

The Hindu

The marginalisation of justice in public discourse

In India today, while self-interest and national glory dominate, concern for distributive justice is rare

Getty Images/iStockphotoevtushenko_ira/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Two ideas appear to dominate our public discourse today. One, somewhat implicitly, self-interest. The second, far more explicitly, national glory. How the pursuit of material or cultural self-interest affects others does not seem to bother us. There is little acknowledgement that the pursuit of greed and narrow self-interest leads to severe inequalities, to an unequal division of social benefits.

Also missing is the thought that the burden of realising national goals such as development must be shared equally by all. True, nothing of importance is achieved without sacrifice. But why should some people sacrifice virtually everything they have and others benefit without forgoing anything at all? Given the compulsion to advance our self-interest, this burden is easily passed on to those among us who are powerless to desist it. Isn’t it wrong that the least paid workers and peasants in our society are expected to offer the greatest sacrifices for building the nation? Why this grossly unfair division of social labour? Yet, concern for a fair distribution of benefits and burdens — the core issue of justice — is rare in mainstream public discourse.

Sharing benefits and burdens

What is distributive justice and why does it matter? Almost two decades ago, my younger daughter startled me by asking, “What is justice, baba?” I happened then to have a bottle of water before me. So, I began explaining to her. “There are many things I can do with this bottle. I can grab it, even if I am not thirsty, keeping it solely for myself. Or, out of love, I can give it to you even if I am thirsty. Finally, I can give it to some other person not because I love her, but because I can see that she needs it most. This is justice.” A few days later, as we stopped our car at the traffic lights, a ‘beggar’ came expectantly towards us and we gave him a packet of biscuits. My daughter immediately said, “That’s justice, no? We gave something away to him even though we don’t love him.” My daughter hadn’t grasped the concept of justice just yet, but she was on the right track. At the very least, justice requires that we not be greedy and grab things; instead, we share them with those we don’t know or love. Simply put, a sense of justice is born when we begin sharing things with strangers.

In fact, the idea of distributive justice presupposes not only a social condition marked by an absence of love or familiarity, but also others which the Scottish philosopher, David Hume, termed ‘the circumstances of justice’. For instance, a society where everything is abundantly available would not need justice. Each of us will have as much of everything we want. Without the necessity of sharing, justice becomes redundant. Equally, in a society with massive scarcity, justice is impossible. In order to survive, each person is compelled to grab whatever happens to be available. Justice, therefore, is possible and necessary in societies with moderate scarcity.

Justice also presupposes that people are neither totally alone nor organically united with others. If one was Robinson Crusoe, there would be no one with who to share. And, if one was totally fused with others, with no distinction between self and other, then again, sharing will be unnecessary. Surely, one cannot share anything with oneself! To sum up, justice acquires value in societies with moderate scarcity, where people are forced to deal with those who they don’t love. It presupposes a moral psychology in which humans are neither wholly selfish nor entirely benevolent. Since most societies share these conditions, we may safely conclude that justice is a necessary social virtue and has great moral value.

Giving persons their due

But what is justice? The basic idea of justice is that ‘each person gets what is properly due to him or her’, that the benefits and burdens of society be distributed in a manner that gives each person his or her due. But this begs the question: what is meant by ‘a person’s due’? Here, a distinction must be made between hierarchical and egalitarian notions of justice. In hierarchical notions, what is due to a person is established by her or his place within a hierarchical system. For instance, by rank determined at birth. Certain groups are born privileged. Therefore, their members are entitled to a disproportionately large share of benefits, and a disproportionately small share of burdens. On this conception, justice requires that the benefits and burdens be unequally shared or distributed. To take just one example, in a society ridden with caste hierarchies, those born in high castes are entitled to a much greater share of wealth, power, cultural status and knowledge. Conversely, those born in ‘low castes’ get whatever is their proper due — very little, sometimes nothing.

This conception of justice has rarely remained unchallenged. Innumerable examples can be cited in Indian history, where aspects of this hierarchical notion had been temporarily opposed — in the early teachings of the Buddha, passages in Indian epics, Bhakti poetry, and protest movements such as Veerashaivism. In our own times, however, this challenge has become robust, explicit and sustained. This is so because of the prevalence of the idea that each person, regardless of caste, class, colour, creed or gender, has equal moral worth. All have an equal, originary capacity of endowing the world with meaning and value because of which they possess moral worth or dignity. If so, we need a different conception of justice, of sharing or distributing, of giving people their due that is consistent with equal dignity. In societies still infested with live hierarchies, people must first struggle for recognition as equals, for what might be called basic social justice. Then, they must decide how to share all social benefits and burdens among equal persons — the essence of egalitarian distributive justice.

Needs and Desert

Two main contenders exist for interpreting what is due to persons of equal moral worth. For the first need-based principle,what is due to a person is what she really needs, i.e., whatever is necessary for general human well-being. Since our basic needs are identical, justice requires their fulfilment in every single person. Beyond this basic threshold, our needs usually vary, and therefore justice further requires the fulfilment of different needs — say, the specific needs of a scholar, as well as the very different needs of a mountaineer.

Second, the principle of desert for which what is due to a person is what he or she deserves, determined not by birth or tradition but by a person’s own qualities, for instance ‘natural’ talent or productive effort. In short, though we start as equals, those who are talented or work hard should be rewarded with more benefits and be less burdened. Conversely, those contributing unequally to the creation of wealth or cultural assets, don’t deserve the same benefits yielded by them. This underpins the idea of equal opportunity to all, albeit with justified inequalities of outcome.

Break the deafening silence

Most reasonable egalitarian conceptions of justice try to find a balance between need and desert. They try to ensure a distribution of goods and abilities (benefits) that satisfies everyone’s needs, and a fair distribution of social burdens or sacrifices required for fulfilling them. After this, rewards are permissible to those who by virtue of natural gift, social learning and personal effort, deserve more.

Our society is afflicted by deep material, cultural and knowledge-related inequalities. Worse, these inequalities are growing by the day. Sometimes they are accompanied by blatant assertions of unequal moral worth, though today, a deafening silence on social and distributive justice is more common. It is therefore imperative to ask where we stand in relation to different forms of egalitarian justice mentioned in our Preamble. Alas, we are falling way short of standards of social and distributive justice. When will this trend be reversed? Putting justice back into public discourse should be our priority. Or else, the dreams of our nation will never turn into reality.

Rajeev Bhargava is Professor, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), Delhi

Living with the earth in Kerala

The State’s future is inextricably linked to how it conserves its natural capital by limiting consumption

Natural disasters have by now come to be accepted as a feature of the annual monsoon season in Kerala. In the past two years there has been flooding on an unprecedented scale along with landslides. Last year, 59 people lost their lives in a landslide at Kavalappara in Malappuram district. This year we have seen one at Pettimudi in Idukki district where a hill collapsed, submerging the houses of estate workers while they slept. The estimated death toll had reached 65 some days ago, with persons still missing.

On top of the landslides, we have had to bear witness to a spectacular plane crash at Kozhikode airport, again accompanied with a loss of lives. While we try to wrench ourselves away from our memories of these fateful events by recalling the valiant effort made by the pilots to save lives and of the selfless act of local youths who arrived immediately to take the survivors to hospitals, the crash serves as a reminder that further hardship awaits us if we do not jettison the development model that has come to characterise the State.

It’s plunder everywhere

The fact that Kerala has received wide acclaim for having achieved social indicators associated with high human development has meant that a crucial underlying dynamic has been ignored. This dynamic is one of an unrelenting attack on the foundation of human survival, natural capital. Everywhere in Kerala the earth has been violated. The rivers are polluted when they are not dry, the valleys are filled with garbage and the hills gouged out to accommodate residences and religious houses when they have not been dynamited for quarrying. It is quite extraordinary that this has all taken place in a State that has been hailed by a section of the intelligentsia as representing the gold standard of development. For anyone willing to read the signs, such a decimation of natural capital, with its attendant consequences of flooding and landslides, bodes ill for the future of a whole people.

The natural disasters recurring year after year and the recent plane crash both represent the outcome of the hubris that we can consume as if the earth does not matter. As natural capital, such as year-round water availability and the nutrient content of the soil, has diminished, not only has it impacted sectors of the economy such as agriculture but we have now seen that the way we treat the earth matters also for our very security.

At the core is politics

Kerala’s future is inextricably linked to how it conserves its natural capital. With consumption defined broadly to include land use, it is apparent that the conservation of the State’s natural resources is crucially dependent upon a restraint on consumption. Politics is central to this issue, not in the sense of what political parties do in the normal course but whether citizens decide to alter the course of development by their action. This response cannot end with minimising one’s own consumption but must extend to calling out instances of the depletion of natural capital by vested interests. Kerala’s vested interests are not only economic, which are visible, but also cultural, which are less so. It is difficult to imagine that politics as usual, as defined by the two political fronts that have ruled Kerala for decades by now, will lead the State to a place where conservation of nature will guide our actions. Actually, the state of natural capital in the State reflects an absence of governance. Political parties everywhere are reluctant to dampen the aspiration for greater consumption for fear that it affects their electoral prospects, but Kerala’s two fronts set a high example of indulging the appetite for increasing consumption, an extreme example of this being the proposal for an airport serving Sabarimala, which if it were to fructify would be the fifth in this small State.

Though the plane crash at Kozhikode cannot so easily be construed as resulting in the destruction of natural capital, it can be seen as trying to extend the limits it imposes, with consequences for our security. While tabletop runways are by no means peculiar to Kerala, airports on India’s southwest coast have to face the challenge of the monsoon which produces hazardous conditions for landing. Also, Kozhikode sees much greater traffic than say Kathmandu or Shimla, thus increasing the possibility of a mishap. Ever since the crash of a flight in Mangaluru, an airport with similar characteristics, in 2010, it has been apparent that flights to Kozhikode are vulnerable. The answer would not have been to end flights but to avoid the height of the monsoon and to take wide-bodied aircraft off the menu. Experts on air safety have spoken publicly of how they had raised concerns about Kozhikode soon after Mangaluru. While this appears to have been over-ruled by a political process, we the people are no less culpable by nurturing consumption aspirations unmindful of the contours of the earth.

Past and present

It is useful to recall the belief that Kerala was named for its geography. For centuries, its people demonstrated a genius for conserving natural resources by restraining their consumption. This was soon lost as its economy globalised and domestic consumption came to be fuelled by wealth generated offshore. Building local infrastructure to support this consumption has become a threat to life. For the State to have a future, consumption has to be limited so that the State’s natural capital is not irretrievably lost. In the 1990s, as mobile telephony was spreading, someone had triumphantly coined the slogan “Geography is history”. We now see that at least some of our history will be shaped by geography.

Pulapre Balakrishnan is Professor of Economics at Ashoka University, Sonipat, Haryana

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News paper 26 Aug 2020

GS Paper : 1

Cultural heritage of Hyderabad:

GS Paper : 2

Lokayukta:

No Confidence motion:

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB):

Electricity Amendment Bill 2020:

DNA Bill can be misused for caste-based profiling, says panel draft report:

Glanders:

GS Paper : 3

Google Pay violation: HC seeks reply from govt., RBI:

Facts for Prelims

Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited:

Guwahati gets India’s longest river ropeway:

People in News- Bondas:

The Hindu

The marginalisation of justice in public discourse

Living with the earth in Kerala

The End

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