Issue of Poverty

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Last Updated: March 2024 (Issue of Poverty)

Issue of Poverty

This article deals with the ‘Issue of Poverty.’ This is part of our series on ‘Governance’ and ‘Economics’ series, which is an important pillar of the GS-2 and GS-3 syllabus respectively. For more articles, you can click here.

Poverty is the worst form of violence- GANDHI

Introduction

What is Poverty?

Poverty is a social concept which results due to unequal distribution of benefits of socio-economic progress.

How does it manifest itself?

Poverty manifests itself in the following ways

Hunger & Malnutrition
Lack of access to education and health care
Social Discrimination
Lack of participation in decision making

World Bank definition

World Bank defines extreme and moderate poverty in the following way

Extreme poverty	Living on less than $ 1.25 per day.
Moderate poverty	Living on less than $ 2 per day.

Note – Poverty is measured in Purchasing Power Parity(PPP) exchange rate & not absolute exchange rate.

A recent World Bank Report has shown that extreme poverty in India more than halved between 2011 and 2019 – from 22.5 per cent to 10.2 percent.

Poverty Gap

It measures the Depth of poverty
It is also called Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) Index.

Engel’s Law

Engel Law states that when incomes rises, percentage of overall income spent on food items decreases. This is known as ENGEL’S LAW.

SDG & Poverty

Sustainable Development Goals gives utmost importance to poverty. The First SDG talks about ending poverty in all its forms everywhere by 2030.

SDG 1: End Poverty in all its forms everywhere by 2030

India is home to 26% of the global extreme poor. Hence, the Indian role in achieving that goal is most important.

Causes of Poverty

Economic Reason

Growth Model not conducive to poverty alleviation: India chose a capital-intensive model in a labour-intensive country, which was a great fault.
Widespread reliance on agriculture (42% population is dependent on sector contributing 17% to the GDP)
Lack of formal institutional credit pushes a large number of Indians into poverty every year.
MATTHEW EFFECT: The phenomenon, widely spread across advanced welfare states that the middle class tends to be the primary beneficiary of social benefits & services targeted to the poor (India is trying to rectify this using Targeted Delivery of Subsidy with the help of Jan Dhan-Aadhar-Mobile).

Demographic Factors

Rapid Population growth in India is also the primary cause of poverty as enough resources were not available for all.

Social Cause

Caste system: The subordination of low caste people by the high caste people caused poverty of the former.
Joint family system: Joint Family System, followed by many families in India, provides social security to its members. As a result, some people take undue advantage of it and live upon the income of others. They become idlers. Their routine of life consists in eating, sleeping and begetting children.
Social Customs: Ruralites spend a large percentage of annual earnings on social ceremonies like marriage, death feasts etc., which force them to take debt and remain trapped in poverty.

Climatic Factors

Drought, Floods, Cyclones etc. perpetuate poverty.

Historical Factors

Historical reasons such as colonialism & imperialism led to the exploitation of Indian people. India’s wealth was drained to metropole Britain for two centuries.

Institutional Factors

Withdrawal of Government from Social Security, especially after LPG Reforms.
Anti-poverty schemes are not successfully implemented due to institutional inadequacies.

Poverty Line

What is Poverty Line?

The poverty line is the threshold income and households earning below this threshold are considered poor.
Different countries define the poverty line in different ways depending on local socio-economic needs.

Different approaches to define the poverty line

There are two approaches regarding this

Nutritional Approach: It is based on specific minimum criteria of nutrition intake
Relative Deprivation Approach: It doesn’t take into account just nutritional deficits, but in comparison to the progressive section, the person is not that progressed. E.g., a person earning less than 60% of the country’s per capita income

Developing countries generally follow the nutritional Approach. But now the time has come that India should move from the Nutritional Approach to the Relative Deprivation Approach to ensure sustainable and equitable development.

Poverty line in India is decided by

Earlier it was used to be determined by erstwhile Planning Commission
Now NITI Aayog determines the Poverty Line. NITI Aayog made the Commission under Arvind Panagariya recommend Poverty Line in India.
Panagariya has suggested that
- Tendulkar Committee’s report should be accepted for poverty line estimation.
- But socio-economic indicators, say, as collected by Socio-Economic Caste Census, should be used to determine entitlement for benefits.

Various Committees constituted for Poverty Line Determination

Timeline of Committees to define Poverty

1. Lakdawala Committee

In books, we frequently come across the Poverty Line defined as 2400 calories in Rural & 2100 calories in Urban. This definition of the Poverty Line was based on the recommendations of the Lakdawala Committee (1999).

2. Tendulkar Committee

Tendulkar Committee defined Poverty Line based on per capita monthly expenditure.

While calculating, Tendulkar Committee based its recommendation on food, health, education and clothing.

According to Tendulkar Committee Report, Poverty has declined in India from 37.2% in 2004 to 22% in 2011.

3. C Rangarajan Committee

C Rangarajan Committee defined Poverty Line based on Monthly Expenditure of family of five.

Rangarajan Committee took more things than Tendulkar Committee into its calculations

Rangarajan Committee also recommended delinking the Poverty line from the Government entitlement benefits. Food Security benefits should be given as per Social and Caste dimensions and not BPL.

4. Saxena Committee on Rural Poverty (2009)

When Tendulkar Committee Report came, the Ministry of Rural development hurriedly set up a committee known as the SAXENA COMMITTEE in 2009 to review the methodology for inclusion of a person in the BPL Category to include them in government schemes.

Recommendation of the Committee

Committee gave the famous Automatic Inclusion and Automatic Exclusion principle.

The automatic inclusion criterion for the most vulnerable sections of society (E.g. homeless people, persons with disabilities etc.)
Automatic Exclusion: Those having motorbikes etc.
Apart from being Automatically included, find other using scores of various deprivations.

5. Hashim Committee on Urban Poverty (2012)

To suggest a methodology for inclusion of a person in the BPL category in Urban Areas to include them in government schemes.

Recommendations of the Committee

Automatic Exclusion
Automatic Inclusion
Scoring Index: remaining households will be assigned scores from 0 to 12 based on various indicators. They should be considered eligible for inclusion in the BPL List in the increasing order of higher scores.

Multidimensional Poverty Index

In India, we calculate poverty using Tendulkar Method based on household consumption.
But UNDP takes a holistic view of poverty and measure it differently.
The report has been released since 2010.
In Multidimensional Poverty, they look into the following components to measure poverty (HES)
- Health with components like child mortality
- Education with components like years of schooling
- Standard of Living with components like Electricity, water etc.

Andhra Pradesh is already using this approach.

Capability Approach to Poverty by Amartya Sen

Traditional Approach

Poverty is defined by an individual’s income.
E.g., Extreme Poverty is defined as those who live on $1.25 per day or less.
As a result, following this approach, governments centre their Poverty Removal Policies on job creation, GDP growth and other economic policies.

Capability Approach

In richer countries, all are fortunate enough that they can earn a good income. Does that mean they are not poor?
Amartya Sen’s Capability approach defines poverty in a Holistic Way. A better approach to look at poverty is the deprivation of a person’s capabilities to live the life they value.

Well Being Approach

Given by Erik Allard, it includes three dimensions as:

Having (Material),
Loving (Social), and
Being (Spiritual-emotional)

World Poverty Clock

The World Poverty Clock was developed by World Data Lab to monitor global progress toward ending extreme poverty.
The latest data (released in March 2024) shows that India has managed to reduce extreme poverty to below 3% of its population.

Critique of these Poverty Lines

Experts argue that the Indian way of calculating poverty is incorrect. It is simply what some call a “starvation line”. Critics argue that governments around the world keep the poverty line at low levels to show that millions have been moved out of poverty.

India should be using some relative measure as opposed to the absolute measure to define poverty. In most Europe, a family with a net income of less than 60% of the “median net disposable income” is counted as poor. A poverty line “relative” to the national average also gives an idea about the state of inequality.

A comparison shows that India’s poverty line is abysmally low than even African Poverty Lines. Even the poverty line of Rwanda is higher than that of India. The per capita poverty line of a rural adult Rwandan in Indian terms comes out to be Rs. 900/ month, more than Rs. 816 for a person in rural India.

Another critique that Poverty Line faces is that once decided, the PL remains the same for years & don’t take into account inflation. It needs to be updated every year by applying a cost inflation index to keep it realistic.

Multidimensional Poverty Index: We define poverty in a minimal way by just looking at household consumption. UNDP defines poverty using the Multidimensional Poverty Index, which takes a holistic view and considers indicators like Health, Education, and Standard of Living. India should move toward that.

Reduction of Poverty in India

According to Tendulkar Committee Report, poverty in India has reduced from 37.2% in 2004 to 22% in 2011.

Reduction in poverty is attributed to

Increase in employment in the non-agriculture sector – The construction sector absorbed the landless labourers & daily wage earners from villages
Schemes like MGNREGA, National rural livelihood mission also reduced the stress during the lean season by creating employment opportunities during the non-agricultural season.
India’s demographic bulge provided more working population compared to dependents (Children and elders).
Social welfare schemes like PDS, AAY, MGNREGA, NRLM, Pension schemes and others provided a safety net to the poor
Inward remittances – Large emigration of the citizen to the US, EU etc. and to west Asian destinations like UAE, Saudi, Qatar etc. generated huge inward remittances for India, which directly benefited dependents in India
Quality jobs in the Service sector like BPO, Hospitality, Retail chain, E-commerce supply chain provided heavy wages.
The rapid growth of the economy provided better opportunities to come out of poverty through better employment opportunities, increased demand for services etc.

Chinese Case Study

According to World Bank, people living below the poverty line reduced from 770 million in 1978 to 5.5 million in 2019.
In 2021, China declared that it had eradicated extreme poverty.
Steps taken by Government in this regard
1. Targeted Approach: China identified the poorest region to allocate more resources there.
2. Economic Development: China’s economic development generated a lot of jobs, helping people to come out of poverty
3. Social Welfare Programs: The government provided healthcare coverage, education, housing assistance etc.
4. Agriculture and Rural Development: China focused on agricultural reforms, modernization, and supporting farmers.

Impact of LPG Reforms on Poverty

Poverty has decreased: Consider any Poverty Line, all points to the fact that Poverty in India has declined. Take the example of the extreme poverty line as defined by the World Bank.

Inequality: Inequality in India has increased after LPG Reforms.

The rich section has reaped the benefits of LPG Reforms. This is the leading cause of the increase in Inequality.

The above Paradox can be explained by the Redistribution of Income by Government. Because of the increase in income of richer sections, the government is getting more taxes. Therefore, redistribution of this source has ensured that Poverty has decreased.

Impact of Poverty

Several issues like hunger, illness and thirst are both causes and effects of poverty. Hence, the term known as poverty trap is usually used for this i.e. bad cycle is created not allowing people to come out of poverty

On Society	Poverty results in inequalities which can culminate into violent upheavals like Arab Spring. Various Revolutions in Arab Spring started because of the lack of jobs and high poverty levels.
On Children	Poverty leads children to build antisocial behaviour and social exclusion.
Terrorism	Most of the time terrorists do come from poor countries with high unemployment.
Diseases	Diseases are very common in people living in poverty because they lack the resources to maintain a healthy living environment.
Education	Those living below the poverty line cannot attend schools and create a vicious cycle in which poverty prevents people from getting a good education, and being uneducated prevents them from escaping poverty.

How can India reduce poverty?

Even though India has grown rapidly, its growth has been less effective at reducing poverty than in some of India’s middle-income peers such as China, Vietnam, Brazil and Turkey. The following can be done in this respect.

In Agricultural sector

With 4 out of every 5 of India’s poor living in rural areas, progress will need to focus on the rural poor. Hence, the government should focus on following to increase the income of those involved in the agriculture sector.

Value addition through food processing
Organic farming
Cooperation farming, milk cooperatives, and farmer producer organizations.

In Manufacturing Sector

Create Jobs in India via

Skill development
Make in India
Startup India

In Service Sector

Creation of quality jobs in BPO, IT and ITES for youth
Promotion of tourism
Promotion of higher job creation in e-commerce, supply chain, Hospitality and construction sectors.

In Governance

Implement Jan Dhan- Aadhar- Mobile (JAM) effectively to target subsidy to the poor and eliminate inclusion and exclusion errors.
Look into the feasibility of providing Universal Basic Income.

Pressure Groups

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Pressure Groups

This article deals with ‘Pressure Groups.’ This is part of our series on ‘Governance’ which is important pillar of GS-2 syllabus . For more articles , you can click here

What are Pressure Groups?

Pressure Groups are groups of people trying to pressurize the administrative-political system to protect and promote their interests.
These groups operate outside formal governmental structures and focus on specific issues or causes.

How & why they were born in India?

Market Economy

In the market economy, there is a struggle over tax/tariffs and a race to get concessions from the government. Different business groups emerged (e.g. FICCI, ASSOCHAM etc., in India) to pressurize the government to make policies that serve their interests.

Welfare State

The government started to look after welfare functions, e.g. reservations in education & jobs.
Different groups emerged to safeguard their interests.

Political Angle

Politicians set their priorities according to the vote bank because they ultimately need votes to win elections. Hence, politicians will always favour landless labourers and workers because their number is more.
In this case, Zamindars and Businessmen will try to protect their interests by forming a pressure group because, number-wise, they can’t win.

Activist Angle

Pressure groups are also formed to protect the rights of people. E.g.,

Narmada Bachao Andolan: To rehabilitate the displaced and protect the environment
Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan in Rajasthan pressurized government to form RTI

Political Party vs Pressure Group

Political Party	Pressure Group
They are permanent	They are temporary
They have a long-term vision & aim. They are formed on ideological lines, common values and preferences	They have short-term & narrow vision. In some cases, they may focus on a single issue (for instance, opposing a planned road development).
They have cadre based organization	They don’t have any cadre
Eg : BJP, INC, BSP etc.	Eg : FICCI, ADR etc.

Type of Pressure Groups

The different types of pressure groups found in India are business groups, trade unions, peasant groups, student groups, teachers’ associations, caste and religious associations, women’s associations, etc.

1. Business Groups

Business Groups are the most important and organized pressure groups as they have enough resources to safeguard their interests.
E.g., FICCI and the Associated Chambers of Commerce (ASSOCHAM).
Business Pressure Groups exert pressure via funding parties.

2. Trade Unions

Trade Unions are closely affiliated with political parties
The main weapon of Trade Unions includes strikes and demonstrations.

3. Peasant Organizations

Peasant Organizations were present even before independence. But after the abolition of Zamindari & Green Revolution, they became very important.
Examples of Peasant Pressure Groups include All India Kisan Congress, Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sangh etc. But these peasant groups have been organized on a territorial basis.
Their demands relate to procurement prices, fertilizer subsidies, electricity charges, etc.

4. Student Organizations

Student Organizations are mostly affiliated with political parties.
Examples of Student Pressure Groups include
1. National Students Union of India (NSUI) (affiliated with the Congress Party)
2. Students Federation of India (SFI) (affiliated with the Communist Party of India)
3. Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) (affiliated with BJP)
They try to pressurize governmental policy on various crucial issues and their activities are not just confined to educational issues

5. Community Associations

The Community Associations are organized on the basis of caste, class and religion.
These include
1. Caste Organizations: Scheduled Caste Federation, Backward Caste Federation, etc.
2. Religion Organizations: Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Northern and Southern India Christian Conference, etc.

Interest Groups vs. Cause Groups

Interest Groups

Interest Groups are pressure groups representing a particular interest of society: workers, employers, consumers or religious groups, etc.
Their membership is limited to people of that interest.
For example
1. Trade Unions (like AITUC)
2. Business Corporations (FICCI and ASSOCHAM)
3. Professional Bodies
4. Regional Groups (like Bajrang Dal)
5. Caste Groups (like Karni Sena, Jat Mahasangh etc.)

Cause Groups

Cause Groups are based on a certain cause
Causes range from charity, poverty reduction, environment, human rights, transparency in governance etc.
Membership is open to all. Members are motivated by altruistic concerns
For example
1. Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan: Working for transparency in governance
2. PETA: Working for Animal Rights
3. India against Corruption: Working to end corruption in India

Tools and Methods of Functioning of Pressure Groups

These methods and tools can be broadly divided into following groups

Meetings with Ministers and Civil Servants

Ministers and Civil Servants are the centres of power.
Pressure Groups (like FICCI or ASSOCHAM) aspire to get in touch with them to get some sort of concessions.

Lobbying

Lobbying is the act of loitering in lobbies of legislative assembly and influence decisions of law-makers
Pressure groups try to take their voice to the Parliament through MPs and MLAs as changes can be brought in details of the acts, and their issues can reach a larger audience through Parliamentary Questions.

Funding Political Parties

All parties need funds to fight elections. Pressure Groups with financial strength can fund the political parties in the hope that they will safeguard their interest if they form their Government.

Direct Action

Pressure groups may resort to direct action methods such as strikes, boycotts, sit-ins, and demonstrations to draw attention to their concerns and compel policymakers to address them. These actions aim to disrupt normal functioning to create pressure for change.

Coalition Building

Pressure groups often form alliances and coalitions with like-minded organizations and individuals to amplify their collective strength and impact.

Expert Testimony and Consultations

Pressure groups may provide expert testimony and participate in official consultations, committee hearings, and public forums to contribute their specialized knowledge and shape policy debates.

Media Engagement

Pressure groups utilize media channels, including print, electronic, and digital media, to disseminate their messages, highlight their concerns, and reach a wider audience.

Research and Policy Analysis

Pressure groups conduct in-depth research and policy analysis to gather evidence, data, and arguments supporting their positions. They may commission studies and publish reports.

Litigation and Legal Advocacy

Pressure groups may resort to litigation and legal advocacy to pursue their goals. They file public interest litigations (PILs) in courts to seek judicial intervention and influence policy outcomes through legal means.

Role & Benefits of Pressure Groups

1. Representation to Unrepresented

Pressure groups provide voice to groups and interests that are inadequately represented during elections.
For example
1. Women’s organizations such as Self Employed Women Association (SEWA), NCW etc., worked for the formulation of women-friendly laws like the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act of 2005.
2. In the North-Eastern State of Manipur, Pressure groups such as ‘Just Peace‘ and Meira Paibis (women’s groups) are trying to influence the Government to listen to people’s genuine grievances.

2. Policy Formulation

Pressure groups in India play a significant role in the policy formulation process.
For example
1. Business Groups like FICCI and ASSOCHAM are consulted by the government while forming Business Policy
2. Kisan Unions like All India Kisan Congress are consulted by the government while forming agricultural policies
3. Students Unions like ABVP, NSUI, AISF etc., are consulted by the government while forming education policies.

3. Persistent check on the government’s power

Elections are held just once in 5 years. In such a situation, these Pressure groups keep a check on the government all the time.
In cases where the government oversteps its boundaries or violates the law, pressure groups can take legal action, direct action, or mobilize public opinion.

4. Education

Pressure groups educate people through political debate and discussion. They gather and disseminate information about their cause or issue of concern. E.g.,

Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) releases reports to educate people on political issues and elections.
Greenpeace is an environmental pressure group that educates people about environmental issues like pollution, deforestation, and climate change.
Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) is an organization that advocates for digital rights, internet freedom, and privacy in India and educates people about online surveillance, data privacy, and censorship issues.

5. Other Benefits

Ensures pluralism in the representation of interests: In policy-making, you will find a group which demands a complete ban on tobacco to a group of tobacco manufacturers who is the pressurizing government not to implement such policies

Points against Pressure Groups

Create Political Inequality

Instead of dispersing power widely, pressure groups tend to empower the already powerful. Pressure groups often have varying levels of resources, such as funding, expertise, and connections, which can give them greater access to decision-makers and policymakers.

Tyranny of the Minority

Pressure groups aid in preventing the “tyranny of the majority.” However, pressure groups may create the opposite problem, i.e. Tyranny of the Minority.
These groups sometimes ransack the whole state, e.g. Jat Agitation, in which property worth Billions was vandalized.

Decreases the Legitimacy of the Government

When government work under pressure from Pressure groups, the common public loses trust in the government.

‘Behind the Scenes’ influence

Due to this, the governance lacks transparency and accountability.

Comparison of Indian and Western Pressure Groups

The pressure groups in the USA are regarded as the fourth organ of the government, while the Indian pressure groups are not yet able to play the same substantial role.
In India and Great Britain, Pressure Groups target cabinet and civil service. However, the targets of American pressure groups are Congress and its committees.
Indian pressure groups based on caste, religion, region, etc., are more powerful than modern groups like business organizations which are powerful in Western nations.
In the USA, pressure groups are interested in foreign policy issues, while in India, pressure groups are concerned more with domestic policy issues and problems.

MNREGA

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MNREGA

This article deals with ‘MNREGA.’ This is part of our series on ‘Governance’ which is important pillar of GS-2 syllabus . For more articles , you can click here

Introduction

Government as an employer of the last resort is an idea that has existed since Great Depression in United States.
However, MGNREGA takes this policy to a new realm because of its massive reach, universal nature, and its initiation during a period of rapid economic growth.

About Program (prelims)

MGNREGA = Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (2005)
Under Ministry of Rural Development
Provides a legal guarantee for 100 days of employment to adult member of any rural household willing to do unskilled manual work
It is demand driven scheme (not supply driven)
Wages are to be paid according to the Minimum Wages Act 1948 for agricultural labourers . Equal wages will be provided to both men and women.
60:40 wage and material ratio has to be maintained ( labour-intensive nature of the scheme)
Central Govt pays 100 percent wage cost of manual labour & 75 percent of the material cost
Social Audit has to be done by the Gram Sabha (legal provision).

Achievements of MNREGA

Revitalization of Rural Labour Markets : Poor workers have got bargaining power to demand higher wages .

Women : Women are getting work as right leading to their emancipation (dealt separately).

Sustainable Assets in water harvesting created especially in states like Bihar , Gujarat, Rajasthan etc . This also led to increase in agro productivity .

Hundreds of bonded labour (Saheriya Adivasis) in Rajasthan freed from generations of bondage.

MGNREGA has reduced distress migration.

Has shown some unintended benefits => Banks account opened by poor workers because wages were paid through banks (Financial Inclusion).

Empowering Gram Panchayats : act gave gram Sabhas the mandate to plan their own works and untied funds to execute these works. No other scheme has placed funds at this scale (Rs 15 lakh per year on average) directly with Gram Panchayats.

MGNREGA has served as an important shock absorber for the rural economy by providing an important relief in times of distress eg distress situation created by drought .

Criticism

Corruption : workers not paid in full or forced to pay bribes to get jobs + ghost workers

Poor Quality Infrastructure : Roads and irrigation canals built by unskilled labour are of very poor quality (₹ 3 trillion spent without tangible outcomes) .

No attempt is made to impart skill among workers.

MGNREGA pushed up rural wages without having much of an impact on rural productivity.

MGNREGA program has been found to distort labour markets
- Construction companies complain that NREGA has affected the availability of labour .
- MGNREGA has contributed to farm labour shortage in states like Punjab & Haryana .

According to some experts whole ideology on which MGNREGA is based is flawed because it is trying to contain migration of labour. As B.R. Ambedkar pointed out nearly a hundred years ago, the real solution to rural distress is to be found in rapid industrialization as well as urbanization. Govt shouldn’t stop time tested process of migration & instead provide more job facilities in urban centres.

Suggestions to improve

MGNREGA should have an intensified focus on marginalised communities in the most backward blocks
Emphasis on skill development
Act should be linked with the Socio-Economic Caste Census to ensure better targeting.
Fighting corruption through the use of IT and community-based accountability mechanisms
Suspend the NREGA programme during peak farming periods
In order to create the productive assets, the scheme should be converged with related programmes in the department of agriculture, irrigation, animal husbandry and road transport.

Side Topic : Why higher women participation in MGNREGA

Women participation in the flagship rural job scheme MGNREGA has clocked around 51% in financial year 2015-16.

Wage differential: in informal sector, there is generally greater wage differential between man and women, whereas MGNREGA provides equal wages
Work near to home
Unskilled work: since work provided in MGNREGA is unskilled, men who are educated or can find work in near-by towns, does not seek work and women from household take part in work.
Migration: generally, men migrates to urban areas, leaving women behind who in turn go to MGNREGA
Work place facilities: MGREGA says that crèche facility must be made available at worksite
Mobilisation by Self Help Groups in Kerala and other organizations in Rajasthan.

This show that if equal wages, better facilities at work, working facilities closer to home are provided women take active participation in work.

Film Certification Issues

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Film Certification Issues

This article deals with ‘Regulatory Bodies.’ This is part of our series on ‘Governance’ which is important pillar of GS-2 syllabus . For more articles , you can click here

Cases in news

2019	Nanak Shah Faqir certified by CBFC but not allowed to be screened in Punjab
2018	Supreme Court in case related to Padmavat has laid down the law: Once a film has been cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), it has the right to state protection for screenings. States cannot suspend screenings citing law and order concerns.
2017	Board refused to issue a film certificate to Lipstick Under My Burkha (2017), claiming film portrayed a woman’s “fantasy above life” & contained sexual scenes, abusive words, audio pornography that degraded the Indian culture.

Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC)

How CBFC work

CBFC was created under Cinematograph Act, 1952 & is a statutory body
Main function = regulate the exhibition of films .
Headquartered in Mumbai
Central Government appoints non-official members and a Chairman who constitute the Board
CBFC has nine Regional Offices .
Upon receiving an application for certification, relevant regional officer appoints an Examining Committee. Body assign each film to one of the four categories –
- U – Unrestricted public exhibition
- A- Restricted to adults
- UA –Unrestricted public exhibition (with word of caution that Parental discretion required for children below 12 years)
- S – viewing by special class of persons (for example: doctors)
If the applicant isn’t happy with the certification , he can apply to the Revising Committee
In case of persisting dissatisfaction , matter goes to independent Appellate Tribunal, whose members are appointed by I&B . Any further dispute goes to court.

Main Issues & Analysis

1 . Autonomy of CBFC

Cinematograph Act, 1952 empowers Central Government with overriding powers on censorship of films.
- All members of CBFC including Chairman are appointed by and holds office “during the pleasure of the Central Government
- Centre can uncertify a film already certified.

2. Vagueness in language

Certification under Cinematograph Act, 1952 can be denied if it is against security of state, challenges sovereignty and integrity etc . All these are inline with restrictions on Freedom of Speech under Article 19(2)but there is no clause in Cinematograph Act that SC judgements on Article 19(2) should be kept in mind while making judgement. This create problem because CBFC interpret these terms vaguely and take upon itself the role of moral policing

3. States overruling CBFC & Courts order

Even films with certificates have been stopped at the State level on a perceived threat to law and order. These include
- Punjabi film Sadda Haq
- Kamal Haasan’s Viswaroopam
- Prakash Jha’s Aarakshan
- Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela etc

4. Sticking only to Certification

CBFC does not always see itself as a certifying authority, but rather plays role of censor .
Even Shyam Benegal Report has suggested that CBFC should only certify a film.

Case for Censorship

A passage of a 1989 Supreme Court judgement (S. Rangarajan v P. Jagjivan Ram) says in part: “The combination of act and speech, sight and sound will have a strong impact on the minds of the viewers and can affect emotions. Therefore, it has potential for evil & Censorship by prior restraint is, therefore, not only desirable but also necessary.’’

Shyam Benegal Committee

Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting constituted a committee headed by noted film-maker Shyam Benegal to look into revamping the film certification process by Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).

Committee submitted its recommendations . Most important among them were

CBFC should only be a film certification body
In case, film goes beyond relaxation under Article 19(2), CBFC can deny certification. But CBFC will have to give proper explanation

Members of Regional Boards which are selected by government should instead be selected by bodies like Film Federation of India (FFI), National Commission of Women (NCW) , National Commission for protection of Child Rights etc

More Categories : CBFC should be more specific and apart from U category
- UA Category can be broken up into further sub-categories – UA12+ & UA15+.
- A category should also be sub-divided into A and AC (Adult with Caution) categories.

In order to preserve Indian Cinema, every applicant be asked to deposit the Director’s Cut in the NFAI(National Film Archives of India) for preservation of Indian Cinema, instead of the certified version

Out-of-turn certification may be permitted for which the applicant would have to pay 5 times the fee

Problems

Still not clear that whether Supreme Court’s judgement will be kept in mind regarding Article 19(2)
Similar recommendations were earlier given by committees like Justice Mudgal Committee in 2012 but nothing came out after that.

Way forward

Government should quit the arena of film certification and let the body setup by Industry decide film certification. This is the model in place in all the democracies. In US , rating system is overseen by an industry body (Motion Picture Association of America) & difference in the potential box-office earnings of films allows filmmakers to make decisions based on market logic

Cricket Governance

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Cricket Governance

Following the spot match fixing scandal in IPL and the issue of extreme political interference in the working of BCCI, the Supreme Court (SC) had appointed a committee to look into the matter under the chairmanship of former CJI RM Lodha The Committee suggested sweeping reforms in the troubled BCCI.

2015 : Supreme Court appointed Lodha Committee to improve cricket administration in India.

Recommendations of Lodha Committee

Analysing Legalising Betting

July 2018 : Law Commission has reported to Government of India that since it is impossible to stop illegal gambling in India, the only viable option is to “regulate” it . Law Commission has recommended “cashless” gambling

Transaction between Gamblers to be linked to PAN & Aadhar card
Cap on number of gambling transactions
Regulations to protect vulnerable groups from exploitation

Present Law

The law— gambling is largely governed by the Public Gambling Act of 1867
Only gambling in ‘games of chance’ is prohibited. Games of skill have no restriction. This distinction essentially means horse-racing is only sport in India in which gambling is legal.

Other problem (legal)

Betting is a state subject — to legalise sports betting pan India, each state have to make law legalising it separately .
A shorter route would be for the Council of States to pass a resolution stating that Parliament should legislate on sports betting in national interest.

Arguments that betting should be legalised

Gambling cant be eliminated and thrives underground . Hence, it is better to regulate it.

Taxing the gambling will generate revenue which can be used in public welfare measures (about ₹20,000 crore in tax revenue)

It will reduce money laundering

Western Nations have legalised it and results are good. We can take example from other countries & sports like betting on football is legal in UK and this has helped in making football Premier League more attractive & opportunity to fans to bid legally on their teams .

Gambling is not new to India and is part of Indian traditions.
- Betting on Horse races already legal in India
- Naradasamriti describes gambling as lawful amusement when carried in public gambling houses
- Kautilya also says gambling should be done in regulated way

Arguments that betting shouldn’t be legalised

Not good especially in India due to huge poverty in India. Given the bitter results, many states have banned lottery in India, since poor people spend their money to test their fortune .

Gambling will lead to other social evils like alcoholism, drug abuse, sex trade etc .

Lessons learned from Mahabharata : Pandavas and teachings of Gandhi .

It’ll be very difficult for the government to curb illegal cricket betting as it is very efficient closed-door system (why to pay tax if underground betting provide same without paying tax) .

India can take example from Brazil where socio-economic situation is more like India . In 2014(near World Cup) Brazil realised it was missing out on a huge revenue generator, and made betting legal . This led to gambling addiction, and even a rise in crime.

If cricket betting is legalised, there will be efforts to fix more games. It will be a nightmare for law enforcement agencies.

Jail Reforms

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Jail Reforms

This article deals with ‘Jail Reforms.’ This is part of our series on ‘Governance’ which is important pillar of GS-2 syllabus . For more articles , you can click here

Introduction

Oct 2018 : Supreme Court formed a committee on prison Reforms headed by former Supreme Court judge, Justice Amitava Roy. (But this is not the first time that such a body is being set up, example being the Justice A.N. Mulla committee )
June 2017 : murder of a women life convict in Byculla women’s prison over missing ration

Punjab Cases

March 2019 : IG PS Umranangal given special treatment in Jail in blatant violation of Punjab Jail Manual
Evergreen issue : periodic seizure of drugs and mobile phones from inmates
2012 Bibi Jagir Kaur : Special treatment given to her in Kapurthala Modern Jail

Problems with Prison System

Overcrowding : occupancy rate at all-India level was 114 %

Jail Manual Problem
- Outdated Jail Manuals prepared during Colonial Times.
- Prison management is a state subject. Therefore, there are great variations in Prison manuals among different states.

Frequent cases of Custodial Deaths, Custodial Suicides & Custodial Rapes

Undertrials : Number of under-trials constitute 67% of total inmates (UK : 20%) with major reasons being lack of money to obtain bail or delay in trial. NHRC has called this a case of blatant Human Right violation

Neglect of health and hygiene and giving Insufficient food and inadequate clothing

Focus on retributive justice rather than reformation and rehabilitation

Availability of drugs inside the prisons

Access to mobiles to prisoners to beat the communication protocol.

Influential prisoners get concessions privileges and favourable exemptions like recent V.K. Shashikala Case (Tamil Nadu)

Difficulty of re-integration in Society : No Vocal Training and psychological help given so that prisoners on release can re-integrate in society. Most of times, jails produce hardened criminals instead of reformed person

Solutions

Surveillance & Monitoring :
- Supreme Court last year ordered to install CCTV cameras in all the prisons in the country.

Reforms in bail laws– so that bail remains a norm and jail an exception for all people not just rich and affluent. It will address problem of Overcrowding and Undertrials
- May 2017 – Law Commission headed by Justice (Retd) BS Chauhan highlighted once again that bail is the norm and jail the exception but it’s application is limited to rich and affluent while people from lower socio-economic strata languish in jails. Commission recommended to make it easier for all those awaiting trial to obtain bail
- Law Commission has also recommended to Amend CrPC such that (268 Report, 2017)
  - Those detained for an offence that would attract up to seven years’ imprisonment be released on completing one-third of that period (currently , it is half)
  - those charged with offences attracting a longer jail term, after they complete half of that period.
  - For those who had spent the whole period as undertrials, the period undergone may be considered for remission.

Focus on reformation – provide them vocational training, employing them meaningfully after release, creating an open prison system for non-hard core criminals etc. should be tried

Upgradation and Uniformity in Manuals –

Justice Mulla Committee suggested setting up of a National Prison Commission as a continuing body to bring about modernization of prisons in India.

Implement National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Guidelines to Custodial Deaths : FIR should be filed and all cases must be reported to the NHRC within 24 hours of their occurrence . Erring prison officials should be given exemplary punishment .

Make Comprehensive anti-torture legislation – Even Supreme court has told government to consider passing a comprehensive anti-torture legislation

Reintegration within Society : Parivarthana programme taken up in Andhra Pradesh has proved to be a boon to prisoners to reform themselves and lead a dignified life after their release from jail. Under this, Parivarthana Centres have come up at district jail and sub-jails.

Option of Open Jails can also be considered which follows rehabilitative approach instead of retributive one.

Office of Profit Issue

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Office of Profit Issue

This article deals with ‘Office of Profit Issue.’ This is part of our series on ‘Governance’ which is important pillar of GS-2 syllabus . For more articles , you can click here

What is Office of Profit ?

According to Articles 102(1) a and 191 (1) ,
- Person shall be disqualified for being a MP or MLA if he holds any “office of profit” under the government of India, a state or a union territory other than an office protected by law.
- But term Office of Profit is neither defined in the constitution nor under Representation of People’s Act.
- Legislatures kept on expanding the list of exemptions from disqualification

Supreme Court in Pradyut Bordoloi vs Swapan Roy (2001), outlined the following questions for the test for office of Profit:
- Whether the government makes the appointment
- Whether the government has the right to remove or dismiss the holder
- Whether the government pays the remuneration (salary or honorarium)
- What are the functions of the holder and does he perform them for the government

Later : Not all but any one of above condition is sufficient to declare particular office as office of profit

Earlier Cases

2004

Jaya Bacchan v. Union of India : In 2004, Jaya Bachan, Rajya Sabha MP from the Samajwadi Party, was appointed chairperson of the UP Film Development Council (UPFDC) but she wasn’t receiving any salary . The apex court held that it was an Office of Profit, and disqualified her from being a member of the Upper House arguing that “an office which is capable of yielding a profit or pecuniary gain.” thus it is not the actual ‘receipt’ of profit but the ‘potential’ for profit that is the deciding factor in an ‘office of profit’ case.

2006

In 2006, BJP MPs sought the disqualification of Congress president Sonia Gandhi from the membership of the Lower House for holding an Office of Profit. Sonia was then chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC). She resigned her Lok Sabha seat, recontested the election, and came back.

Legislative History

Concept originated in the House of Commons in England. King in his efforts to undermine the House of Commons, used to offer positions of executive nature with pecuniary benefits to its members and buy their loyalty. This practice kept the members out of the House most of the time . Hence, House of Commons passed a law prohibiting its members from accepting any office from the Crown

In Modern times, Constitutional theory envisages that the elected legislature exercises oversight functions over government. Therefore, if the legislators are beholden to the executive, the legislature can no longer retain its independence and loses the ability to control the Council of Ministers

=> Hence, main issue is not of Pecuniary Benefits but weakening of Principle of Separation of Power.

Arguments against MPs/ MLAs holding Office of Profit

Against Separation of Powers: legislator cannot exercise control over Executive of which he/she becomes a part.

Circumventing Constitutional Provisions : Office of Parliamentary Secretaries or other offices are used by state governments to circumvent the constitutional ceiling of 15 % (10% in case of Delhi) on the number of ministers they can appoint.

Threat to Public Interest and National Security : Unlike ministers, the Parliamentary Secretaries are not administered under the Oath of Secrecy (Art 239 AA(4)), yet may be privy to such information which may threaten public interest or threaten national security.

Recommended by Various Committees : Various committees have spoken against it including 2nd ARC & V K Krishna Menon Committee

Used for Political Reasons without any benefit in governance : Chairmanships of Corporations, Parliamentary Secretary-ships of various ministries, and other offices of profit are often sops to legislators to satisfy their aspirations for rank, status and privilege and a way of buying peace for the government.

Side Topic : MPLADS

In 1993, the Central government started MPLADS, through which legislators can earmark a certain amount of public funds for projects in their constituency. The concept has been adopted by many states as MLALADS.
Argument was that elected MPs and MLAs know the needs of their electorate well and can be effective in allocation of resources.

Issue :Role of Legislators is to allocate the entire Central and State budgets, and to monitor the spending. They are expected to use their knowledge of ground-level issues in this allocation, and see that the funds are spent properly. By providing each of them a specific amount to spend on projects, their oversight role is weakened.

Suggestion of 2nd ARC : Schemes such as MPLADS and MLALADS should be abolished.

Current Issue : Parliamentary Secretary Cases

2016	– Article 239AA of the Constitution limits the number of Ministers in Delhi Government to 10% of the strength of Delhi Legislative Assembly (which is seven persons). – They appointed 21 more MLAs as parliamentary secretaries — which will make 40 per cent of the membership have some type of an executive role. – Delhi Members of Legislative Assembly (Removal of Disqualification) Act, 1997 was amended with retrospective effect to exempt the post of parliamentary secretary from the definition of the “office of profit”. However, Lt. Governor didn’t give assent to the amendment bill
2017	Punjab and Haryana high court quashed the appointments of four Haryana Chief Parliamentary Secretaries (CPSs).
2018	MLA’s in Delhi were disqualified by President for holding Office of profit.

Who are Parliamentary Secretary ?

Parliamentary Secretary is a member of the parliament in the Westminster system who assists a more senior minister with his or her duties. Originally, the post was used as a training ground for future ministers.
Post has been created in several states now and then like Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan etc and by Act of State Legislature, they are declared to be out of disqualification

Main issues with this post ?

All the issues discussed in Office of Profit debate like impinging Separation of Power, Conflict of Interest etc are relevant here as well.

Points given in Support

Constitution allows a legislature to pass a law to grant exemption to any office of profit holder. In past, states and Parliament have done this as well. The Supreme Court in UC Raman case has upheld this.

Sports Governance

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Sports Governance

Various reforms demanded in Sports Governance

Structured preparation for Olympics – Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) of Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to identify and support potential medal prospects for 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games.

Promoting grassroots level talent – through Khelo India Scheme which include Khelo India School Games to recognise young talent as well as creating infrastructure for sports in Urban and Rural Areas

August 2018 : National Sports University Bill 2018 – National Sports University will be opened in Manipur to enhance country’s standing in sports

Use of Narcotics : Large number of Indian athletes fail in Doping tests which hits prestige of country. Most of cases are such that athlete is unaware of the fact that supplements he is taking are banned. Frequent workshops should be organised in this respect

Apply Lodha Recommendations to other sports : Acceptance of Lodha committee recommendations has generated awareness & generated demand for reforms in other games as well. The recommendations of Lodha committee which can be applied to sports in general are:
1. Barring civil servants and ministers from becoming member of the sports federations and associations
2. Limits on the duration of the tenure and number of times a person can become a member of sports bodies
3. Former and existing Players should be associated with the bodies of their respective games
4. Auditing of accounts should be done by CAG nominee
5. Bringing sports bodies under RTI (Issue of BCCI under RTI is discussed in subsequent section).

Break the monopoly of cricket : Other games should be promoted as well. For this , approach should be regional on basis of where there are potential viewers . In end , we have to accept the fact that, today promoters encourage those sports only which can generate revenue and viewership . Eg : Promote
- Football : North East , West Bengal, Goa, Kerala
- Hockey : Punjab , Orissa etc
- Wrestling : Haryana, Punjab , UP
- Swimming : Coastal States

China Model : Our program to get medals at Olympics should be long . Like China, India should identify the potential junior players which can be trained for atleast decade to make a world class player out of him .

Police Governance

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Police Governance

This article deals with ‘Police Governance.’ This is part of our series on ‘Governance’ which is important pillar of GS-2 syllabus . For more articles , you can click here

Introduction

Police in almost all states is governed by Police Act , 1861 which was made to secure & strengthen Raj. Now same is used by Government to strengthen its hold

There have been many number of commissions, both at the State and Central level – State Police Commissions, National Police Commission, Gore Committee, Ribeiro Committee, Padmanabhaiah Committee, Malimath Committee, to name only a few

Why in news?

This topic remains in news always. Eg :-

June 2020

Rage over custodial death of father-son duo in Tamil Nadu

Why do we need police reforms ?

Biggest problem is Political Interference .
Economic progress cannot be sustained if we are not able to generate a safe and secure environment.
Numbers: global average ratio of police-population is 270 to 1,00,000, where it is 120 in India.
Low standard of Criminal Investigation
Human right violation : Inspite the known fact that Police indulge in Human Rights violations like custodial deaths and fake encounters ,but convictions are few. Eg : Tuticorin custodial killing case of 2020 in which father-son duo was killed by police leading to huge furore in the country.
Lack of expertise in Collection and analysis of preventive intelligence
Outdated arms and equipments: as seen in 26/11 attacks.
Lack of proper training.

Prakash Singh judgement,2006

Based on recommendation of various committees , SC gave broad guidelines to be implemented to reform Police in India

Directive 1

Constitute a State Security Commission (SSC) to:

Ensure that the state government does not exercise unwarranted influence or pressure on police
Lay down broad policy guideline and
Evaluate the performance of the state police

How State Security Commission will help

Directive 2

Ensure that the DGP is appointed through merit based transparent process and secure a minimum tenure of two years.

Directive 3

Ensure that other police officers on operational duties (including SSP (incharge of District) & SHO ( in-charge of a police station)) are also provided a minimum tenure of two years.

Directive 4

Separate the investigation and law and order functions of the police

Directive 5

Set up a Police Establishment Board (PEB) to decide transfers, postings, promotions of police officers.

Directive 6

Set up a Police Complaints Authority (PCA) at state level to inquire into public complaints against police officers .

Directive 7

Set up a National Security Commission (NSC) at the union level to prepare a panel for selection and placement of Chiefs of the Central Police Organisations (CPO) with a minimum tenure of two years.

Are these directives implemented ?

Almost no state seems willing to implement police reforms in letter and spirit. 17 states have passed new Acts while 12 have issued executive orders. But concerted efforts have been made by all to circumvent the SC directions . Thomas Committee, appointed by the Supreme Court to monitor the implementation of its directions in various states, in its report in 2010 deplored that “practically no state has fully complied with those directives so far, in letter and spirit”.
Main lynchpin of the directive was formation of State Security Commission (SSC) with members from the government, judiciary and civil society. But 17 States which have made SSC , it’s composition is flawed . Most states have avoided having the opposition leader in commission and independent members have been kept away.
Most states have refused to give more than a one-year fixed tenure to DGP . Reasons for DGP’s removal tenure have been kept vague with grounds ranging from ‘public interest’ and ‘administrative exigencies’ to ‘any other reason’.
Except Kerala and Karnataka, no state has provided for complete separation of law and order and investigation duties.
Centre, too, has been dragging its feet on the issue. It has as not yet set up the National Security Commission.

Parkash Committee Report (June 2016)

Was formed in wake of riots in Haryana during Jat agitation in which property worth billions was damaged and more than 30 persons were killed.

It tells the story of institutional decay in the state’s bureaucracy.
Former chief ministers of the state centralised powers in their own office to extend that officials have started to look upto their political masters even to exercise their inherent powers. (there are some inherent powers which police officers can exercise on their own but situation has gone that far that officers arent exercising these powers on their own too)
Political interference in recruitment and postings has played havoc with the police force which has come to be dominated by the dominant caste of the state. The fallout of this was collusion with rioters, desertions and an obvious caste bias.

Modernising of Police Force Scheme

Launched in 2000 by Ministry of Home Affairs

Aim

To modernize police
To equip the police with the latest equipment
To improve police mobility, training infrastructure, computerisation and forensic science facilities.

Funding

Core Scheme
60:40 ratio between Centre and States

But not much has come out of this scheme and CAG has also pointed towards this fact.

Side Topic : SMART Police

In 2014, Prime Minister of India gave an acronym of SMART police at Guwahati Conference of the Directors General of Police which means:
- S – Strict and Sensitive
- M – Modern and Mobile
- A – Alert and Accountable
- R – Reliable and responsive
- T – Tech savvy and Trained

Medical Governance

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Medical Governance

1 . Medical Council of India Issues

Medical Council of India (MCI) was established under Indian Medical Council Act-1933 and given responsibility for
1. Maintaining standards of medical education
2. Providing ethical oversight
3. Maintaining the medical register
4. Sanctioning medical colleges

MCI in recent times has been in the news for the wrong reasons
1. In 2010, secretary of MCI , Ketan Desai, was arrested for accepting bribe in return for recognising a private college.
2. March 2016 : Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health noted that MCI has repeatedly failed on all its mandates over years.
3. 2016 – Supreme Court has appointed at 3 member committee headed by former CJI R M Lodha to oversee MCI.

Weaknesses in MCI

Corruption : Eg : Ketan Desai Case
Too much power concentrated in a single body (i.e. MCI).
Failure to create sufficient manpower : Doctor – Population ratio in India is 1:1700 as against the WHO norm of 1:1000. Need to produce more doctors
Conflict of Interest: MCI members are elected from the same medical fraternity that they have to control.
Failure to create a curriculum that produces doctors suited to working in Indian context especially in the rural health services and poor urban areas.
Devaluation of merit in admission due to prevalence of capitation fees
Heavy focus on nitty-gritty of infrastructure and human staff during inspections but no substantial evaluation of quality of teaching, training and imparting of skills.
Failure to instill respect for professional code of ethics in the medical professionals

2. National Medical Commission Bill, 2019 (NMC)

Provisions of the act are

1 . Formation of NMC

It will replace MCI
It will consist of 25 members, appointed by the central government

2. Functions of NMC

Functions of the NMC include:

Regulating medical institutions and medical professionals,
assessing the requirements of healthcare human resources and infrastructure,
Ensuring compliance by the State Medical Councils (SMCs) of the regulations
framing guidelines for determination of fees for up to 50% of the seats in private medical institutions and deemed universities

3. State Medical Council

Each state will establish their respective State Medical Commission (SMC) having a role similar to the NMC, at the state level.

4. Four Autonomous Boards

Respecting Doctrine of Separation of Power

Under-Graduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB) and
Post-Graduate Medical Education Board
Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) => For medical college regulation of fees, standards and permission to setup new colleges
Ethics and Medical Registration Board

5. Provisions regarding fees of medical students

Fees in private colleges can be regulated for maximum of 50% of seats

6. Community health providers

NMC may grant a limited license to certain mid-level practitioners connected with the modern medical profession to practice medicine.

7. NEET

Uniform National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) will be conducted for admission to under-graduate & post graduate medical education in all medical institutions regulated by the Bill.

8. NEXT

There will be a common final year undergraduate examination called the National Exit Test (NEXT) to obtain the license for practice and admission into post-graduate courses at medical institutions.

Concerns

Fee Capping Dilemma : Bill permits 50% of seats to be open for managements . NMC Bill will push the medical education completely away from the reach of deserving people of lower socio economic class
Two-thirds of the members in the NMC are medical practitioners. Expert committees have recommended that the regulator should consist of more diverse stakeholders in order to reduce the influence of medical practitioners
Against federal setup: Previously, all the State governments had representation in MCI while in the NMC bill, only few States in rotation will have representation
Enforcing NEET might result in the mushrooming of expensive coaching centres . Southern states especially Tamil Nadu is against NEET