March 21, 2023

Current Affairs

Reverse the hostility

Prelims: Position of Speaker in Britain, Role of the Speaker in India.

Mains: Importance of Speaker, Issues associated with the speaker.

Adversarial relations between the ruling party and the Opposition are inevitable in a democracy and, in a way, such relations that bring strong differences of opinion and contentious views to the fore are critical. Democracy flourishes when there is reconciliation through legislative debate. Yet, adversarial relations resulting in confrontation following the lack of discourse over differences on issues of public import, speak poorly of legislative conduct.

This holds true of Kerala, where legislative business has come to a standstill after a severe deterioration in relations between the ruling coalition and the Opposition.

What began as an issue of the Speaker repeatedly disallowing discussion on Rule 50 notices by the Opposition United Democratic Front last week has grown into a full-blown confrontation, with legal cases being filed against legislators after incidents that resulted in a ruckus in the Assembly.

Securing the neutrality of the Speaker is a question that experts in India have been grappling with for 60-plus years. A watchful Parliament forms the foundation of a well-functioning democracy. The presiding officers of Parliament are the key to securing the effectiveness of this institution. The MPs look to them to facilitate debate, protect their rights and uphold the dignity of Parliament.

The primary challenge before any Speaker is to conduct the proceedings of the Lok Sabha free from disruptions.

To do so, the Speaker will have to earn the trust of the Members of Parliament: One way to earn the trust of MPs will be by being neutral, both in practice and perception while running the House. Securing the neutrality of the Speaker is a question that experts in India have been grappling with for 60-plus years.

Why is the role of speaker so important?

Securing the neutrality of the Speaker is a question that experts in India have been grappling with for 60-plus years. A watchful Parliament forms the foundation of a well-functioning democracy. The presiding officers of Parliament are the key to securing the effectiveness of this institution. The MPs look to them to facilitate debate, protect their rights and uphold the dignity of Parliament.
The primary challenge before the any Speaker is to conduct the proceedings of the Lok Sabha free from disruptions. To do so, the Speaker will have to earn the trust of the Members of Parliament: One way to earn the trust of MPs will be by being neutral, both in practice and perception while running the House.
Securing the neutrality of the Speaker is a question that experts in India have been grappling with for 60-plus years.

How is the position of Speaker in Britain?

In Britain, the promise of continuity in office for many terms is used to ensure the Speaker’s impartiality.
By convention, political parties (usually) do not field a candidate against the Speaker at the time of general elections. And the Speaker can continue in office, until deciding otherwise. By convention, the Speaker also gives up the membership of his/her political party.

What is the role of the Speaker in India?

In India, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament) holds several powers like:

Presiding Officer: The Speaker presides over the meetings of the Lok Sabha, maintains order and decorum in the House, and ensures that the proceedings are conducted in accordance with the rules and procedures.
Decision-making: The Speaker decides on the admissibility of questions, motions, and amendments, and also decides on the allocation of time for discussions and debates.
Committee Formation: The Speaker appoints the members and chairpersons of various parliamentary committees, such as the Committee on Public Accounts, the Committee on Estimates, and the Committee on Privileges.
Casting Vote: In case of a tie during a voting, the Speaker has the power to cast the deciding vote.
Disqualification of members: The Speaker has the power to disqualify a member of the Lok Sabha on the grounds of defection, misconduct, or violation of parliamentary rules.
Maintenance of Order: The Speaker has the power to suspend or expel a member who violates the rules of the House or behaves in a disorderly manner.
Parliamentary Affairs: The Speaker is responsible for the administration of the Lok Sabha, including the preparation of the annual budget, allocation of funds, and the recruitment of staff.

Hence we can see that the Speaker of the Lok Sabha plays a crucial role in ensuring the smooth functioning of the parliament and maintaining the integrity of the democratic process in India.

What are the mechanisms to ensure the neutrality of Speaker in India?

His salaries and allowances are fixed by Parliament. They are charged on the Consolidated Fund of India
His work and conduct cannot be discussed and criticised in the Lok Sabha except on a substantive motion.
Powers of regulating procedure or conducting business or maintaining order in the House are not subject to the jurisdiction of any Court.
Only exercise a casting vote in the event of a tie. This makes the position of Speaker impartial.
He is given a very high position in the order of precedence. He is placed at seventh rank, along with the Chief Justice of India

Issues associated with speaker

With no security in the continuity of office, the Speaker is dependent on his or her political party for re-election.
This makes the Speaker susceptible to pulls and pressures from her/his political party in the conduct of the proceedings of the house.
The persistence of allegations of prejudice can be attributed to the issue of partisanship resulting from the way the Speaker is appointed and the duration of their tenure.
- There has been a tradition of appointing the Speaker from the majority party and the Deputy Speaker from the opposition side, which has led to structural problems.
There is no convention of Speakers relinquishing their party membership and hence they are often perceived as being partisan.
It is common for Indian Speakers to have occupied ministerial roles shortly before or after their term. As a result, even if there is no evidence to substantiate such allegations, it is not unexpected for Speakers in India to be accused of partisanship.
The challenge posed by coalitions is twofold.
- Firstly, the growing number of parties has led to a reduction in the amount of time each party has to articulate its interests during discussions.
- Secondly, there has been a decline in the frequency of annual sittings of Parliament/Legislatures.
- Rise in the number of political parties and varied political interest has made it harder for the Speaker to find consensus between members on use of disciplinary powers
Unparliamentary conduct: Members seek to use unparliamentary means such as disruptions etc. for attaining the indulgence of the Speaker.
The Anti-Defection Law assigns the responsibility of deciding whether a member should be disqualified to the Speaker, who has significant discretion. However, this discretion has often been exploited by the ruling party to eliminate dissenting voices.
Determination of money bill: It has been criticised for certifying bills such as Aadhaar Bill etc. as Money Bill, though it may not have met the strict criteria laid out in the Constitution.

Way forward

The responsibility of the Speaker in dealing with defections, splits, and mergers should be assigned to an impartial entity such as the Election Commission or a neutral body outside the legislature.
To ensure a smooth and uncontested re-election process, it is recommended to establish a tradition of re-electing the Speaker without any opposition.
During parliamentary discussions and question hour, efforts should be made to allocate time to members based on party strength and also to accommodate those who wish to express diverse concerns or viewpoints.
In order to enhance trust in the Speaker's decision-making process, it is advisable to increase transparency by making the Speaker's decisions publicly available.
The reluctance of Speakers to take action against disorderly members could be mitigated if the media plays a constructive role in highlighting instances of misconduct and their negative impact on the House's performance.

The wide disparities in human development

Today’s Hindu newspaper (21st march 2023) has an article on disparities in human development. with the help of this article, we will analyse the various aspect of human development in India.

What is Human Development?

The United Nations Development Programme defines human development as "the process of enlarging people's choices", said choices allowing them to "lead a long and healthy life, to be educated, to enjoy a decent standard of living", as well as "political freedom, other guaranteed human rights and various ingredients of self-respect".

How to measure human development?

United Nations Development Programme created Human Development Index to evaluate and compare the level of human development in different regions around the world. It was introduced in 1990 as an alternative to conventional economic measures such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which do not consider the broader aspects of human development.

The HDI assesses a country’s average accomplishment in three aspects:

long and healthy life (life expectancy at birth)
knowledge (Mean year of schooling, expected years of schooling)
a decent standard of living (Gross national income per capita)

Disparities in Human development in India

The five States with the highest HDI scores are Delhi, Goa, Kerala, Sikkim, and Chandigarh. Delhi and Goa have HDI scores above 0.799, which makes them equivalent to countries in Eastern Europe with a very high level of human development.

The bottom five States are Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Assam, with medium levels of human development. This category also includes States such as Odisha, Rajasthan, and West Bengal, which have HDI scores below the national average. The scores of these low-performing States resemble those of African countries such as Congo, Kenya, Ghana, and Namibia.

Does high GDP necessarily translate into high HDI?

No, it is not true because despite having the highest SGDP per capita among larger States, Gujarat and Haryana have failed to translate this advantage into human development and rank 21 and 10, respectively.

Conversely, Kerala stands out with consistently high HDI values over the years, which can be attributed to its high literacy rates, robust healthcare infrastructure, and relatively high-income levels.

Bihar, however, has consistently held the lowest HDI value among the States, with high poverty levels, low literacy rates, and poor healthcare infrastructure being the contributing factors.

What are the reasons behind regional disparities in India?

Unevenly distributed economic growth: The top 10% of the Indian population holds over 77% of the wealth. This has resulted in significant disparities in access to basic amenities, healthcare and education.

Poor quality of services: While India has made significant progress in reducing poverty and increasing access to healthcare and education, the quality of such services remains a concern. For example, while the country has achieved near-universal enrolment in primary education, the quality of education remains low.

How to reduce these disparities in human development?

This requires a multifaceted approach which includes

Address income inequality and gender inequality;
Improve access to quality social services;
Address environmental challenges;
Greater investment in social infrastructure such as healthcare, education, and basic household amenities including access to clean water, improved sanitation facilities, clean fuel, electricity and Internet in underdeveloped States.
Investment in human development and job creation, particularly for its youth

India and Japan Relations

CONTEXT: During the recent visit PM Kishida said that today’s Ukraine could be tomorrow’s Asia,” and indicated Japan’s concerns over China’s actions in the Senkaku Islands, South China Sea and Taiwan Straits.

The issue of “shared responsibilities” on the rule of law between India and Japan was discussed by the two leaders during bilateral talks.

The Japanese Prime Minister went on to launch Japan’s New Plan for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP).

The Japanese PM also highlighted the need for common perspective for international order.

The two leaders acknowledged that 2023 is a pivotal year for both India and Japan as chairs of the two major international groupings – India as the President of the G20 and Japan as the Chair of G7. Our countries have the unique opportunity of converging our priorities on issues of significance and drive through that and in the process, the global agenda.

The two leaders spoke about the challenge that they face in the region (China) and also globally.

The two leaders further highlighted that i.e. India and Japan and other like-minded countries can work together to address those challenges.

About India and Japan

India and Japan celebrated 70 years of friendship in 2022. Reflecting on how this relationship has developed from a Global partnership to a “special strategic and global partnership”.

However we can see gaps in economic partnership and people-to-people connect. While the economic partnership was the pillar on which this relationship took shape, the two leaders will unquestionably direct the policymakers of both nations to scrutinize and reflect on how to enhance this pillar.

Moreover, much-touted civilizational linkages have not translated into robust people-to-people connections.

The two leaders are hence putting forth various schemes to enable exchanges of people, namely youth, workforce, and artists, along with a stronger emphasis on tourism.

AGREEMENTS AND MOU’s IN RECENT MEETING

The two leaders exchanged documents on the financing of the 4^th tranche of Japanese funding for a loan of 300 billion Yen for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) or “Bullet Train” project.
A MoU on Japanese language education for the MEA.
Japan further plans to mobilise a total of U.S. $75 billion in public and private funds by 2030. Japanese leader also mentioned about coordinating with India for projects as a part of a “Bay of Bengal-Northeast India industrial value chain”.
The two leaders also had discussions over co-innovation, co-design, co-creation in defence field and also investment collaboration, investment partnership in this space. Indian PM highlighted the openness of Indian defence sector to Japanese private companies and Japanese FDI.
Ministry of Environment of Japan and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of India, signed an Aide Memoire essentially on the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) that has been under discussion for quite some time between the two countries.
The two leaders announced 2023 as "India-Japan Year of Tourism”. Indian PM expressed the desire to declare the next year as the year of youth exchanges between the two countries.

Founding Pillars of India - Japan Relations

Strategic Collaboration between India and Japan

Convergence on free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
Defence and security and in the region. – Quad, AUKUS, MALABAR.
India and Japan signed a Reciprocal Provision of Supplies and Services Agreement (RPSS).
The inaugural 2+2 ministerial meeting was held in November 2019.
Act East Forum: A decision was taken in the 2017 Summit to establish the India-Japan Act East Forum. The objective is to coordinate developmental projects in North-East India in areas of connectivity, forest management, disaster risk reduction and capacity building.
Northeast development - Upgradation of highways in Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram are underway. 20 km-long bridge over the Brahmaputra River between Assam and Meghalaya.
Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI) – The Trade and Economy Ministers of India, Japan and Australia launched the (SCRI) on 27 April 2021.

Economic Collaboration

Investment Promotion Partnership 2014: Both have achieved the target of 3.5 trillion Japanese Yen in public and private investments in India.
Industrial collaboration: 1,455 Japanese companies in India. Eleven Japan Industrial Townships (JIT).
FDI: Japan is 5th largest source of FDI, largest supplier of ODA.
Infrastructure projects are underway through Japanese assistance including Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail, Dedicated Freight Corridor, metro projects, DMIC etc.
Digital Partnership 2018 Indian start-ups have raised more than USD 10 billion from Japanese VCs. India and Japan have also launched a private sector driven fund-of-funds to invest in technology start-ups in India which has raised USD 100 million.
Cooperation in ICT, in areas such as 5G, under-sea cables, telecom and network security.
Movement of skilled workers: Japan’s population has peaked out its and working age population is reducing. In this respect, India with its surplus labour force can provide workers for Japan’s needs. India and Japan signed MoU on Specified Skilled Workers to promote movement of skilled workers and Japanese language requirement from India to Japan for employment on a contractual basis. `

Three main challenges which have constrained the Japan-India economic partnership:

India’s complex regulations, red tape, ad hoc nature of state-level interventions.
Japanese companies face considerable logistics challenges and non-availability of uninterrupted power supply constrains their manufacturing plans in India.
While India can emerge as a large market for Japanese infrastructure system exports (one of the core components of Abenomics), there have been incredible delays in the commencement of the projects. While there is the shining example of the Delhi Metro Rail, the delays with DMIC, CBIC are disappointing.

Collaboration in the Indo – Pacific

Collaboration in QUAD, SRI, MALABR Naval exercise with US and other like-minded countries in the Indo–Pacific.
Countering the Chinese assertion – Along the LAC, South China Sea and East China Sea.
Japan's Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)’ Strategy and India's ‘Act East’ Policy converge in action in the northeast of India—a bridge between South and Southeast Asia. Ex – Act EAST Forum.
Collaboration through infrastructure development in third countries (in the Indo- Pacific) such as Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Asia Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC)—a collaborative effort to soft-balance China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project.

Collaboration on Global Issues

Both believe in upholding freedom of navigation and reinforcing rules-based international order.
Japan supported a waiver of Nuclear Suppliers Group’s (NSG) embargo on nuclear trade with India and backed its application for membership of group.
Joint military exercises have contributed to the image of their rising regional power. JIMEX, MALABAR etc.
Both works closely on global issues such as proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs), terrorism, space and cyber security, and environment (e.g., the International Solar Alliance).
Permanent membership of the UNSC – Both are members of G4 club besides Brazil and Germany.

Differences between two countries

Neither of the two countries want to downgrade its own relations with China and neither is too eager to open alliance against China
Though two main political parties have positive disposition towards Japan their lies have shown negative attitude towards Japan due to its proximity with USA.
Japanese foreign policy is pre-eminence of Japanese career bureaucrats in foreign ministry that makes radical changes In policy difficult to accomplish
Weak political leadership and vertically divided administration as well as fragmented domestic consensus will continue to adversely affect Japan’s foreign policy
The trade and security bureaucratic establishment continue to have a rather negative opinion of India
Integration b/w Indian and Japanese economies remains shallow, in services sector both the countries have different demands from each other for opening up. For Japan these are maritime ,insurance, civil aviation and banking while for India these include IT , BIO TECH and Medical
Infrastructure inadequacy, a complicated legal and taxation system and insufficient regulation for interstate-transaction

Conclusion

Thus there is a need to enhance the relationship between the two countries in order that India-Japan relations are elevated to a new dimension.

As the Ex Japanese PM SHINZO ABE talked about a ‘broader Asia’ wherein he talked about advancing Japan’s national interest by strengthening its ties with India and in the next decade Japan-India relations to overtake Japan-US and Japan-China ties.