30 Nov 2022: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

E. Editorials

Category: INDIAN POLITY

1. Settling the language for cooperative federalism

Syllabus: Federal structure and the official language.

Mains: Imposition and spread of the Hindi language.

Prelims: Constitutional provisions associated with the official and national language.

Context: Press conference of the Parliamentary committee of official language.

Details:

• India has remained distinctively unified in spite of the multiplicity of its cultures. To impose Hindi at this point in time has once again raised the issue of ‘cultural nationalism’ when it is least required.
• Language is a crucial element of an individual’s identity. The issue of expressing national identity in a linguistically diverse society that wanted to reduce the use of English (as it was a symbol of colonial power) was highly contested in the Constituent Assembly and associated with ‘national prestige’.
• The debate about the Official Language brought forth ‘dissents’ while drafting the Constitution. It covered the language of legislatures, courts and the judiciary, and the official work of the Union. 

For more information on the Official Language Resolution, read here: Official Language Resolution

Constitutional provisions:

• According to Article 345, a state can choose its language for official purposes. However, in reality, several States/Union Territories continue to use English. 
• Article 348 of the Constitution specifies that all proceedings of the Supreme Court and ‘of every High Court’ and of Bills, etc. in Parliament shall be in the English language. 
• The Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, the Official Languages Act of 1963, and its Rules made in 1976 (amendments in 1987, 2007, 2011) clearly bring out the diversity and complexity of the language landscape of India.
• Article 351 directs the Union to promote the spread of the Hindi language and develop it so that it may serve as a medium of expression for all the elements of the composite culture of India. 
• Parliamentary Committee on Official language:
  • The committee (consisting of 30 members) is headed by the Home Minister. 
  • Its objective is to review the progress made in the use of Hindi for official purposes and to make recommendations to increase the use of Hindi in official communications. 
  • The report of the committee is submitted to the President of India, who forwards its recommendations to the two Houses.

Controversies associated with the imposition of the Hindi Language:

• Dissent has surfaced time and again beginning with the B.G. Kher Commission, which assumed a violent form in Tamil Nadu in 1965, resulting in over 50 deaths. 
• In the recent past (November 2022), it was reported by a newspaper that an 85-year-old DMK functionary ended his life in Salem because of the Central government’s imposition of Hindi in Tamil Nadu.
• It is observed that the recommendations of up to the ninth report (in 2010) have been forwarded to the Houses of Parliament. The 10th and 11th reports though submitted to the President are not in the public domain.
• Press conference of the Home Minister in October 2022:
  • The completion of the 11th Report was announced by the Home Minister at the conference. 
  • He further highlighted some of its recommendations on the language of instruction and examinations in technical courses. This resulted in a debate on its practicality, implications, availability of standard books, and ability of teachers to communicate adequately. 
  • Another associated concern was the competence of candidates undertaking examinations in it and competing with those having Hindi as a mother tongue.
• At the root of these debates is the bigger aspect of identity in a diverse society. It should be noted that it is nowhere suggested that diversity (including linguistic diversity) should be subsumed in linguistic uniformity.

For more information about parliamentary committee recommendations, read here: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis. Oct 18th, 2022.

The issue of ‘National Language’:

• It should be recalled that the language of the chapter on Official Language is definitive and restricts itself to the language of the Union. It does not mention a national language. Moreover, it is also not mentioned in the Directive Principles of State Policy or Fundamental Duties. 
• Article 344(3) clearly stipulates that ‘the just claims and interests of persons belonging to the non-Hindi speaking areas in regard to the public services’ shall be considered by the President.
• According to the author, the allegation of ‘cultural chauvinism’ emerges from the apprehension of the transition from English and Hindi as the Official Language of the Union to it being the national language and to bring it through some procedural devices like the language of instruction, examination, textbooks and its implications for competitiveness in the job market.
• The constitutional course open for the federal government in this context would be to opt for the language of Article 345, which allows each Legislature to use Hindi, or choose its language, for all official purposes. However, this would be based on the electoral success of the party in power. 

Also read: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis. Apr 30th, 2022

Nut Graf: The issue of imposition of the Hindi language emerges time and again and creates apprehensions, particularly in the non-Hindi-speaking states. The author of the article has suggested that the states adopt the language of Article 345 which makes it prudent for longer-term political harmony implying cooperative federalism.

Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. EWS are well represented in higher education

Syllabus: Welfare schemes for the vulnerable section of the population.

Mains: Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota.

Prelims: EWS.

Context: Supreme Court upheld the validity of the EWS quota.

Details: 

• According to the Constitution (124th Amendment) Bill, the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) from the general category has largely remained excluded in higher education institutions due to their financial incapacity. Thus, exclusion or under-representation in higher education is the principal justification for the EWS quota. 
• The authors of the article have examined whether this justification about the EWS quota is backed by evidence or not.

For more information on the SC verdict, read here: Sansad TV Perspective: EWS Quota

Detailed Analysis:

• A database of higher education institutions that were ranked under the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) was developed. The EWS students in 457 higher education institutions in 2019 (before the EWS quota was introduced) were compared with 528 institutions ranked in 2022 (the latest year).
• Though the NIRF data does not provide the proportion of EWS students directly, details of the number of ‘economically backward students’ defined as “students whose parental income is less than taxable slab” was considered. The socially backward category was excluded from it.
  • The Ajay Bhushan Pandey Committee has been appointed to examine the EWS income criteria.
  • The committee is of the view that the present effective income tax exemption limit is around ₹8 lakh for individuals, so the gross annual income limit of ₹8 lakh for the entire family should be considered reasonable for inclusion into the EWS quota.
• Findings of the analysis:

NIRF Institution	EWS share in 2019	Socially Backward Group (SC/ST/OBC) share in 2019	EWS share in 2022	Socially Backward Group (SC/ST/OBC) share in 2022
NIRF-ranked higher education institutions	19%	39%	15%	-*
Colleges	28%	47%	-*	-*
Medical institutes	2%	-*	-*	-*
Management institutes	-*	3%	-*	-*
Public higher education institutions (218 in total)	19%	-*	17%	-*
Private institutions (239 in total)	20%	36%	13%	36%
Centrally funded institutions like IITs and IIMs (within Public institutions)	21%	-*	16%	-*

*data not provided

• Other findings:
  • A Periodic Labour Force Survey analysis data of the year 2019 also confirms that EWS is neither excluded nor under-represented. 
  • According to insight by the Palma ratio, a policy-relevant inequality measure, households were categorized as the Bottom 40% (the poor), Middle 50% (middle class), and Top 10% (the rich). Out of the Bottom 40%
    • The proportion of the general category (non-SC/ST/OBCs) is 18%. And out of these:
      • Around 20% of 18-25-year-olds have enrolled in higher education institutions.
      • And 20% of 22 to 29 years olds have completed their graduation (or above).

Also read: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis. Nov 1st, 2022 CNA. Download PDF

Nut Graf: The justification and the objective of the EWS reservation policy is the under-representation and exclusion of the economically backward community from Higher Education Institutions. However, the authors of the article undertook research that showed that the representation of this group was well above the 10% quota.

Category: ENVIRONMENT

1. Where does waste originate and go?

Syllabus: Solid waste management.

Mains: Analysis of the source and destination of waste.

Prelims: Envistats India 2022.

Context: ‘EnviStats India 2022’ report published by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

Details: 

• The report titled ‘EnviStats India 2022’ has highlighted the arduous task of disposing of the solid waste generated by the States without degrading and depleting the environment.
• The report has taken the example of Delhi to capture and calculate the source and destination of all types of solid waste. Data was collected from all 5 Urban Local Bodies and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee pertaining to 2020-21.
• The following figure shows various sources (along with their share) of solid waste generated in Delhi.

Figure 1: Sources of solid waste generated in the year 2020-21

• Findings of the report:
  • Approximately 85% of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in Delhi was generated by households and nearly 15% by shops and restaurants. It should be noted that MSW includes garbage (highly decomposable material like food), trash (bulky items like tree branches, old appliances), and rubbish (slowly decomposing products like paper, metal, glass, etc.).
  • Moreover, approximately 3200 tonnes of hazardous waste was also generated in Delhi. Hazardous waste includes sludge from factories, waste from industrial manufacturing processes and batteries.
• Half of the solid waste was dumped into landfills, whereas the other half was recycled and reused. The detail about the waste disposal is given in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Ways in which waste was disposed of in Delhi in 2020-21

• It was highlighted that there is no treatment and disposal facility for e-waste in Delhi. However, the report suggests that out of the 610 tonnes of e-waste generated in 2020-21, refurbishers collected 28.6 tonnes and bulk consumers collected the rest. 
• Furthermore, nearly 22% of plastic waste was converted into energy, whereas 37% was taken to landfills.

Details about other states of India:

• As the data for 2020-21 is not available for other states, the assessment is done on the basis of figures from 2019-20.
• Approximately 68% of the MSW generated is processed in India. 
• The top performer is Himachal Pradesh which is processing 98% of MSW generated. It is followed by Chhattisgarh at 93%. 
• On the other hand, West Bengal processed only 9%. 
• An average of 2.5 tonnes of plastic was generated per 1,000 population in India in the year 2018-19.
• Around 87% of biomedical waste was treated across the country. It is observed that 17 States and 5 Union Territories have already achieved 100% bio-medical waste treatment. In contrast, in Bihar and Chhattisgarh, a mere 29% of the bio-medical waste was treated. 
  • Approximately 614 tonnes of biomedical waste was generated per day in India in 2018.
• Only 45% of the hazardous waste generated in India was recycled/utilized. The majority of states lag in this indicator. Out of the 30 States analyzed, less than 50% was recycled/utilized in 13 states; and in 22, less than 75% was recycled/utilized. 
  • The hazardous waste generated in India (in 2018) was 8.09 metric tonnes per 1,000 population.

Also read: What are the solutions for solid waste disposal?

Nut Graf: The data reveals that there are multiple sources of waste generation in India, particularly in Delhi. However, the treatment, processing, and recycling of waste are still dismal. The need of the hour is better disposal of the waste generated from multiple sources.