National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP)

What is the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP)?

• NIP includes economic and social infrastructure projects.
• During the fiscals 2020 to 2025, sectors such as Energy (24%), Roads (19%), Urban (16%), and Railways (13%) amount to around 70% of the projected capital expenditure in infrastructure in India.
• It has outlined plans to invest more than ₹102 lakh crore on infrastructure projects by 2024-25, with the Centre, States and the private sector to share the capital expenditure in a 39:39:22 formula.

Key benefits of NIP

• Economic: Well-planned NIP will enable more infra projects, grow businesses, create jobs, improve ease of living, and provide equitable access to infrastructure for all, making growth more inclusive.
• Government: Well-developed infrastructure enhances the level of economic activity, creates additional fiscal space by improving the revenue base of the government, and ensures the quality of expenditure focused in productive areas.
• Developers: Provides a better view of project supply, provides time to be better prepared for project bidding, reduces aggressive bids/ failure in project delivery, ensures enhanced access to sources of finance as a result of increased investor confidence.
• Banks/financial institutions (F1s)/investors: Builds investor confidence as identified projects are likely to be better prepared, exposures less likely to suffer stress given active project monitoring, thereby less likelihood of NPAs.

Projects include

• The report contains recommendations on general and sector reforms relating to key infrastructure sectors for implementation by the Centre and states.
• These projects will be implemented under the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), a first of its kind exercise, by consulting states, relevant ministries and departments.
• Three committees will be set up to monitor project progress, eliminate delays, and find ways to raise resources, along with a steering committee in each of the infrastructure ministries.
• Sectors such as energy (24%), roads (18%), urban (17%) and railways (12%) amount to around 71% of the projected investments.
• The projects will also be spread across sectors such as irrigation, mobility, education, health, water and the digital sector.

Rights of Minority Institutes not Absolute: SC

Recently, the Supreme Court of India gave its judgement on the admission criteria of minority institutions.

It held that National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) is mandatory for admission to all the medical colleges and the right of minority institutions is not absolute and is amenable to regulation.

Background:

• Few colleges challenged the notifications issued by the Medical Council of India (MCI) and the Dental Council of India (DCI) under Sections 10D of the Indian Medical Council Act of 1956 and the Dentists Act of 1948 for uniform entrance examinations.
• The management of such minority-run medical institutions held that uniformly bringing them under the ambit of NEET would be a violation of their fundamental right to occupation, trade and business [Article 19(1)(g)] and would violate their fundamental rights of religious freedom and to manage their religious affairs (Article 25-28) and to administer their institutions (Article 30).
• Few petitioners claimed that rules notified by Andhra Pradesh government are violative of rights of minority educational institutions under Article 30(1) of the Constitution.

Highlights of the Judgement:

• The SC held that the fundamental and religious rights of minorities and rights available under Article 30 are not violated by provisions carved out in Section 10D of the MCI and Dentists Act.
• The right to freedom of trade or business is not absolute. It is subject to reasonable restriction in the interest of the students’ community to promote merit, recognition of excellence, and to curb the malpractices. A uniform entrance test qualifies the test of proportionality and is reasonable.
• The NEET is mandatory for admission to medical colleges run by religious and linguistic minority communities and it would apply for both aided and unaided medical colleges administered by minorities.
• NEET was started to check several malpractices in the medical education, to prevent capitation fee by admitting students which are lower in merit and to prevent exploitation, profiteering, and commercialisation of education.
• Uniform entrance exams will ensure improvement in future public health by encouraging merit which will further enhance the Directive Principles enshrined in the Constitution.
• The SC also upheld rules framed by the Andhra Pradesh government making Secondary School Certificate (SSC)/Transfer Certificate (TC) the basis for a candidate’s claim of minority status for admission to B.Ed courses. The rules also require minority institutions to allot vacant seats under management quota to non-minority students on merit.

Daporijo Bridge

The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) constructed the Daporijo bridge over Subansiri river in Arunachal Pradesh in a record span of just 27 days.

Key Points:

The bridge is of utmost importance in strategic connectivity as it links roads leading upto the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China.

Subansiri River (gold river), originates in the Tibet Plateau and enters India through Miri hills in Arunachal Pradesh.It is the largest tributary of Brahmaputra River

Border Roads Organisation

• It was conceived and raised in 1960 by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru for coordinating the speedy development of a network of roads in the North and the North Eastern border regions of the country.

• It works under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence.

• BRO is regarded as a symbol of nation-building, national integration and an inseparable component in maintaining the security and integrity of the country.

• It has diversified into a large spectrum of construction and development works comprising airfields, building projects, defence works and tunneling and has endeared itself to the people.

World Press Freedom Index 2020

Norway ranks first for the fourth consecutive year and Finland and Denmark in second and third place.

 Impact of Coronavirus pandemic:

1. The coronavirus pandemic may threaten press freedom and worsen the crises that reporters around the world are facing.
2. The pandemic has already redefined norms. The pandemic has allowed governments to take advantage of the fact that politics are on hold, the public is stunned and protests are out of the question, in order to impose measures that would be impossible in normal times.
3. United States and Brazil were becoming models of hostility toward the news media.
4. China, Iran and Iraq are criticised for censoring coverage of the coronavirus outbreak.

 India’s performance:

1. India has dropped two places to be ranked 142nd.
2. With no murders of journalists in India in 2019, as against six in 2018, the security situation for the country’s media might seem, on the face of it, to have improved.

About World Press Freedom Index:

1. Published annually by Reporters Without Borders since 2002, the World Press Freedom Index measures the level of media freedom in 180 countries.
2. It is based on an evaluation of media freedom that measures pluralism, media independence, the quality of the legal framework and the safety of journalists.
3. It also includes indicators of the level of media freedom violations in each region.
4. It is compiled by means of a questionnaire in 20 languages that is completed by experts all over the world. This qualitative analysis is combined with quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period evaluated.

Maharashtra Political Crisis

What’s the issue?

Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray may end up losing his seat if he is not elected to the Legislative Council of the state before May 24th.

• He took the oath of his office on November 28, 2019 without being a member of either the State legislature or council.
• But, he will have to get elected to either of the houses of the state legislature before May 24, as Article 164(4) of the Constitution stipulates.
• However, the Election Commission has already postponed Rajya Sabha polls, byelections and civic body elections in the wake of Covid 19 pandemic.

What does the Constitution say?

Article 164 of the Constitution allows a non-legislator to occupy a post in the council of ministers, including the office of the chief minister for six months.

What’s the alternative available now?

Article 171 of the Constitution says the governor can nominate eminent persons from the field for literature, science, art, cooperative movement and social service.

Uddahv Thackeray does not directly fit into any of the criteria mentioned but social service has a wider scope. And, if governor nominates somebody to the legislative council, his/her decision cannot be challenged in the court, at least as of the precedent right now.

The Maharashtra legislative council has two vacancies to be filled by governor’s nominations.

Then, what is the problem now?

There are some legal hurdles.

Section 151A of Representation of the People Act 1951 puts a bar on the governor’s discretionary power to nominate a person to the legislative council.

It says election or nomination to vacant seats in the legislative council cannot be done “if the remainder of the term of a member in relation to a vacancy is less than one year”.

The tenure of the two vacancies that arose on the account of resignations by members recently ends in June. So, the remainder of the term is less than a year.

So, what next?

Uddhav Thackeray cannot continue unless elected to any of the houses of Maharashtra legislature after May 28.

Technically, he can be reappointed as the Maharashtra chief minister again after he resigns on May 27 or 28 and takes oath afresh.

But, if Uddhav decides to resign and takes oath afresh, there could be another obstacle. This relates to a case in Punjab, where Tej Parkash Singh of the Congress was appointed a minister in 1995 and was reappointed at the expiry of six months’ period in 1996 without getting elected to state assembly.

Litigation followed. And, in 2001, the Supreme Court declared the resign-and-reappoint bid as “improper, undemocratic, invalid and unconstitutional”.

This judgment did not have a bearing on Tej Parkash Singh but may come in the way of Uddav Thackeray if he takes the same route.

Operation Twist

The Reserve bank of India has decided to bring back its bond swapping programmed billed as India’s Operation Twist with an aim to help monetary transmission.

What is ‘Operation Twist’?

‘Operation Twist’ is RBI’s simultaneous selling of short-term securities and buying of long term securities through open market operations (OMO). Under this mechanism, the short-term securities are transitioned into long-term securities.

How does RBI manage ‘Operation Twist’?

1. This operation involves buying and selling government securities simultaneously in order to bring down long-term interest rates and bolster short-term rates.
2. There is an inverse relationship between the bond prices and their yields. As the central bank buys long-term securities (bonds), their demand rise which in turn pushes up their prices.
3. However, the bond yield comes down with an increase in prices. Yield is the return an investor gets on his (bond) holding/investment.
4. The interest rate in an economy is determined by yield. Thus, lower long-term interest rates mean people can avail long-term loans (such as buying houses, cars or financing projects) at lower rates.
5. This also results in a dip in the expected returns from long-term savings which tilts the balance from saving towards spending. Hence, cheaper retail loans can help encourage consumption spending which is the largest GDP component in the economy.

How does it affect investors?

• Fixed income investors with higher exposure to long term debt will benefit from easing yield of long-term bonds.
• Consumers/borrowers will also profit from ‘Operation Twist’ as the retail loans will now get cheaper.
• Previously banks were forced to price their retail loans at higher rates owing to high yields on long-term government borrowings. Cheaper retail loans mean a boost in consumption and spending in the economy which in turn will revive growth.

 What are Open Market Operations?

The RBI manages and controls the liquidity, rupee strength and monetary management through purchase and sale of government securities (G-Secs) in a monetary tool called Open market Operations.

• OMOs are the market operations conducted by the RBI by way of sale and purchase of G-Secs to and from the market with an objective to adjust the rupee liquidity conditions in the market on a durable basis.
• When the RBI feels that there is excess liquidity in the market, it resorts to sale of securities thereby sucking out the rupee liquidity. Similarly, when the liquidity conditions are tight, the RBI may buy securities from the market, thereby releasing liquidity into the market. On Friday, the yield on 10-year benchmark bonds fell by 13 bps to 6.60 per cent, following the RBI announcement

Annual Special 301 Report

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has released its Annual Special 301 Report.

What is Special 301 Report?

• It is prepared annually by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) that identifies trade barriers to United States companies and products due to the intellectual property laws, such as copyright, patents and trademarks, in other countries.
• It is published pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
• The Report includes a list of “Priority Foreign Countries”, that are judged to have inadequate intellectual property laws; these countries may be subject to sanctions.
• In addition, the report contains a “Priority Watch List” and a “Watch List”, containing countries whose intellectual property regimes are deemed of concern.

Observations made about India in the latest report:

• India continues to be on the ‘Priority Watch List’ for lack of adequate intellectual property (IP) rights protection and enforcement.
• While India made “meaningful progress” to enhance IP protection and enforcement in some areas over the past year, it did not resolve recent and long-standing challenges, and created new ones. The same assessment was made in the 2019 report.

What are the unresolved issues as per the report?

1. Innovators being able to receive, maintain and enforce patents particularly in the pharmaceutical sector.
2. Concerns over copyright laws not incentivising the creation and commercialisation of content.
3. An outdated trade secrets framework.
4. Restrictions on transparency of information provided on state-issued pharmaceutical manufacturing licenses
5. Restrictive patentability criteria to reject pharmaceutical patents.
6. Absence of an effective system for protecting against the unfair commercial use.
7. High customs duties on medical devices and Information and Communications Technology.
8. Weak enforcement by courts and the police, and Lack of familiarity with investigative techniques and no centralised IP enforcement agency.
9. India was ranked among the top five source economies for fake goods by the Organization of Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) in 2019.
10. Trademark counterfeiting levels were “problematic” and there were “excessive delays” in obtaining trademarks due to a lack of examination quality.
11. The government’s 2019 draft Copyright Amendment Rules, if implemented, would have “ severe” consequences for Internet-content rights holders, as the proposed rules broadened the scope of compulsory licensing from radio and television broadcasting to online broadcasting.

Demands by the USTR:

It has urged India to join the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks, a treaty that harmonises trademark registration.

• The treaty was adopted in Singapore on 28 March 2006. It entered into force on 16 March 2009.
• As of July 2016, there are 50 contracting parties to the treaty, which includes 48 states plus the African Intellectual Property Organization and the Benelux Organization for Intellectual Property.
• It includes provisions on the recording of trademark licenses, and establishes maximum requirements for requests for recordal, amendment or cancellation of the recordal of a license etc.
• The Treaty is open to States members of WIPO and to certain intergovernmental organizations.

What about other countries?

Algeria, Argentina, Chile, China, Indonesia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and Venezuela are also on the Priority Watch List.