TOPIC : GS  2 Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

What is the news?

• The Supreme Court on June 29 pronounced its judgment in the migrant labourers case.
• Thousands of landless labourers had, walking towards their home States due to the loss of employment and income.
• The Supreme Court took cognisance of the matter on May that year and acknowledged the, plight of the workers in light of the strict lockdown

Guidelines by Supreme court

• The court has laid down numerous guidelines to provide relief to workers and efficiently tackle the problem till the threat of COVID-19 subsides.
• Two of the most important components to protect the migrants during this time were the food and travel arrangements insisted on by the court.
• In the orders pronounced in this year, it laid down that dry ration be provided to migrants who want to return to their homes.
• Further, the court said that identity proof should not be insisted upon by the governments the labourers might not be able to furnish it.
• It called upon the State governments to arrange transportation for workers who need ,to return to their homes. These guidelines by the court are crucial to ensure the safety of workers

Further Course of Action

• The Supreme Court fixed July as the deadline for the States to implement the ‘One nation One Ration Card’ scheme.
• Under this scheme, the States are to complete the registration of migrant workers in order to provide dry ration to them.
• Apart from dry ration, the topcourt also directed the State governments to run community kitchens formigrant workers.

Problems Attached

• There arise administrative problems in implementing these measures. First, migrant workers keep moving in search of employment and it is difficult tocover them all under the scheme.
• Second, many States do not have thenecessary infrastructure to run andmaintain community kitchens onsuch a large scale.

Important directives

• Under the National Food Security Act, migrant workers are issued ration cards and they are entitled to dryration under various government programmes, such as the Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme, during the pandemic.
• In the order passed , the court affirmed the Right to Food under Article 21 of the Constitution.
• In furtherance of this, the court asked the States to formulate their own schemes and issue food grains to migrants.
• This is an indispensable step to keep more than a fourth of the population of the country safe and healthy during the pandemic.
• The court took cognisance of the issue and directed the Ministry of Labour and Employment to ensure that the National Database Unorganised Workers is updated by July .
• The top court recognised the need for direct cash benefit transfer to workers in the unorganised sector. But it did not issue any guidelines for the same as the workers need to be covered by the States themselves.

Way Forward

• The Supreme Court has given a purposive declaration in the case but the bulk of the judgment seems declaratory rather than mandatory.
• In order to implement the orders of the court, the State governments need to work with the Centre closely.
• With the third wave of COVID-19 infections looming, it is imperative to ensure that government machinery works to its full potential and robust systems are developed to withstand the challenge

Sources : https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/a-long-road-for-migrant-workers/article35203372.ece

Mains Question

The guidelines laid down by the Supreme Courtare welcome, but they require robust systems . Explain

PRELIMS PUNCHERS

1. The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018

It empowers any special court (set up under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002) to confiscate all properties and assets of economic offenders who are charged in offences measuring over INR 100 crores and are evading prosecution by remaining outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts.

After hearing the application, a special court (designated under the PMLA, 2002) may declare an individual as a fugitive economic offender.It may confiscate properties which are proceeds of crime, Benami properties and any other property, in India or abroad.Upon confiscation, all rights and titles of the property will vest in the central government, free from encumbrances (such as any charges on the property).The central government may appoint an administrator to manage and dispose of these properties.

Sources :https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/fugitive-economic-offenders-exploit-gaps-weaknesses-in-international-cooperation-jitendra-singh/article34742155.ece

2. Pegasus spread

An online database on spyware Pegasus’ use was recently launched by ForensicArchitecture, Amnesty International and Citizen Lab todocument attacks againsthuman rights defenders.Amnesty said the interactive Digital Violence shows the NSO Group EnablesState Terror — showed theconnections between ‘digitalviolence’ of Pegasus spywareand the real-world harmsfaced by lawyers, activists,and other civil societyfigures

The investigation revealsextent to which the digital domain we inhabit hasbecome the new frontier ofhuman rights violations, asite of state surveillance andintimidation that enablesphysical violations in realspace. Major player inthe shadowy surveillancecompany” and Pegasus hadbeen used in some of the“most insidious digital attacks” on human rights activists in the world

Sources :https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/new-online-platform-maps-pegasus-spread/article35185350.ece

3. The eurozone

It is officially called the euro area, is a monetary union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro  as their primary currency and sole legal tender. The monetary authority of the eurozone is the Euro system. Eight members of the European Union continue to use their own national currencies, although most of them will be obliged to adopt the euro in the future.

The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.The ECB, which is governed by a president and a board of the heads of national central banks, sets the monetary policy of the zone. The principal task of the ECB is to keep inflation under control. Though there is no common representation, governance or fiscal policy for the currency union, some co-operation does take place through the Eurogroup, which makes political decisions regarding the eurozone and the euro.

Sources : https://www.thehindu.com/business/eu-forecasts-higher-growth-in-eurozone/article35203943.ece

4. Arka Shubha

It is the new variety of marigold developed by the Hessarghatta-based Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) are of value even if they get spoilt after full bloom as they can be used for extraction of crude carotene.Arka Shubha variety of marigold has high carotene content of 2.8% which is the highest content from plant source

As carotene is mainly used in pharmaceutical sector, there is always a high demand for it. Presently, India imports most of its carotene from other countries, including China.Carotenes are carotenoid pigments that are oxygen-free. Mostly they are unsaturated hydrocarbons that contain only carbon and hydrogen.Their colour varies from yellow to orange to red. The color is attributed to the chain of alternating single and double bonds.Carotene is responsible for the orange colour of carrots.

Sources : https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/bengaluru-scientists-develop-new-marigold-variety/article33795721.ece

PRELIMS PUNCHERS

1. Consider the following statement regarding The Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018
2. It is to confiscate all properties and assets of economic offenders who are charged in offences measuring over INR 150 crores
3. The supreme court may appoint an administrator to manage and dispose of these properties

Select the correct statement from the above

1. A only
2. B only
3. Both the statement
4. None of the above

Answer: D

It empowers any special court (set up under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002) to confiscate all properties and assets of economic offenders who are charged in offences measuring over INR 100 croresand are evading prosecution by remaining outside the jurisdiction of Indian courts.

After hearing the application, a special court (designated under the PMLA, 2002) may declare an individual as a fugitive economic offender. It may confiscate properties which are proceeds of crime, Benami properties and any other property, in India or abroad. Upon confiscation, all rights and titles of the property will vest in the central government, free from encumbrances (such as any charges on the property). The central government may appoint an administrator to manage and dispose of these properties

2.Consider the following statement regarding Arka Shubha

1. It has the highest content of carotene
2. Carotene are unsaturated hydrocarbons that contain only carbon and methane .

Select the correct statement from the above

1. A only
2. B only
3. Both the statement
4. None of the above

Answer: A

It is the new variety of marigold developed by the Hessarghatta-based Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) are of value even if they get spoilt after full bloom as they can be used for extraction of crude carotene.Arka Shubha variety of marigold has high carotene content of 2.8% which is the highest content from plant source

As carotene is mainly used in pharmaceutical sector, there is always a high demand for it. Presently, India imports most of its carotene from other countries, including China.Carotenes are carotenoid pigments that are oxygen-free. Mostly they are unsaturated hydrocarbons that contain only carbon and hydrogen.Their colour varies from yellow to orange to red. The color is attributed to the chain of alternating single and double bonds. Carotene is responsible for the orange colour of carrots.