Government to grant OBC status to Jats
The government has decided to bring a bill to grant Jats the Other Backward Class(OBC) status. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Home Minister, the National Security Adviser, the Army chief and the Delhi Police Commissioner with Jat leaders. A committee under Union Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu will look into all aspects of reservation for Jats and submit a report to the Centre on the issue.
Meanwhile the Jat community is expected to get reservation in jobs, and a Bill would be brought in the next session of the Haryana Assembly. Fresh incidents of violence and arson were reported in the State as the agitation entered the ninth day. Rohtak, Bhiwani, Jhajjar, Jind, Hisar, Hansi, Sonipat and Gohana continue to be under curfew.
Analysis
What is the OBC reservation about? – Other Backward Class (OBC) is a collective term used by the Government of India to classify castes which are socially and educationally disadvantaged. It is one of several official classifications of the population of India, along with Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SCs and STs).
27 percent of reservation was recommended as per Mandal Commission owing to the legal constraint that the total quantum of reservation should not exceed 50 percent.
The OBCs were found to comprise 52% of the country’s population by the Mandal Commission report of 1980, a figure which had shrunk  approximately to 41% by 2006 when the National Sample Survey Organisation took place.
What is the concept of creamy layer? – The creamy layer is a term used in Indian politics to refer to the relatively wealthier and better educated members of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) who are not eligible for government sponsored educational and professional benefit programs.
The creamy layer criteria was introduced at Rs 1 lakh in 1993, and revised to Rs 2.5 lakh in 2004, Rs 4.5 lakh in 2008 and Rs 6 lakh in 2013.
Why creamy layer concept is not applied to SC/ST reservation? – It has been a long standing argument that the benefit of reservation has been cornered by a few thus creating a creamy layer within the SC/ST caste.
In August 2013 OP Shukla, a retired officer of Indian Legal Services, filed a PIL petition before the Supreme Court of India seeking to bring “advanced and affluent†Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes out of the purview of reservation and sought a response from the Centre and all State governments on this issue. PIL sought to know the reasons why the Union and States were reluctant to exclude certain castes whose exclusion was recommended for by two central panels formed in this regard in 1975 and 2008.
The Supreme court said that it is not possible for the court to pass direction. It is for Parliament to decide. Few people argue that the creamy layer in SC/ST castes could be the torch bearers for the aspirations of other people from their community.
Why economic criteria cannot be used for reservations? – Â Reservations based on economic criteria is difficult to implement and would not serve the end goal of social inclusion.
- The poverty prevailing among the lower castes has its origin in the social-religious deprivations based on caste system. Therefore poverty is an effect and caste system the cause. The aim of reservation policy is to uplift these castes not only economically but socially.
- Financial empowerment is a step towards overall development but it cannot guarantee inclusion. For eg. In some places in our country Dalits are not allowed to buy food from certain locations even after having the money to buy it. They might have incomes that are above the average incomes of their area or even the country but still they are discriminated.
- Practical difficulties in proving economic status of individual to the state machinery are many. We have not been able to target our subsidies towards the deprived individuals. In some places the leakage in the system is as high as 50%.
- A nation where  just 3% individuals file their income tax return and a parallel black economy that is sometimes pegged as high as 50% of our GDP it would be nearly impossible to ensure proper implementation of reservation based on economic status.
Source: TheHindu, Wikipedia, TheIndianExpress
National Sample Survey Data on Unemployment
Data of survey conducted by National Sample Survey Organisation in 2011-12 was recently released. The unemployment rate in urban areas reduced from 4.5 per cent in 2004-05 to 3.4 per cent in 2011-12, new data from the National Sample Survey Office show. In rural areas, the rate has been stable at around 1.7 per cent during this period.
Analysis
What is the unemployment rate? – Unemployment rate is defined as the number of persons unemployed as a proportion of the labour force (persons who are either ‘working’ or ‘seeking or available for work’), not the total population.
Why unemployment rate is high in urban areas? – Unemployment level in India is highest among those people who are richer and more educated. The reason is that poor people can’t afford to stay unemployed, and hence, opt for any kind of work, irrespective of the nature of the job. The better off have the capacity to be unemployed as they look for the right job. Christians are the most educated group, hence unemployment rate is higher among them.
Christians have the highest rate of unemployment in both rural (4.5 per cent) and urban (5.9 per cent) areas in 2011-12. The rate in urban areas for Christians stood at 8.6 per cent in 2004-05 while the rural rate stays constant.
What are the trends in casual labour? – Self-employment is the major source of income for almost half the households, across all religious groups, in rural areas, followed by casual labour.
In urban areas, the proportion of households deriving major income from regular wage or salary earnings is the highest.
Half the Muslim households in urban areas have self-employment as major source of income, the highest among all religions, while regular wage or salary earnings was the highest for Christians with 45.8 per cent households.
Source: TheHindu
Default Project approval in naxal affected areas
The Environment Ministry has extended to December 2018 a scheme granting default Forest Department approval for public utility projects in Naxal-affected regions.
Such a scheme has been in place since 2011 in 117 districts, including those in Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Telangana.
The default approval is only eligible for projects that take up no more than five hectares.
Analysis
What are public utility projects? – Public utility infrastructure  includes schools, dispensaries/hospitals, electric and telecommunication lines, drinking water projects,   water/rainwater harvesting structures, minor irrigation canals, non-conventional sources of energy, skill upgrade/vocational training centres, power substations, rural roads, communication posts, police establishments like police stations/outposts/border outposts/watch towers in sensitive areas identified by the Ministry of Home Affairs.They also include underground laying of optical fibre cables, telephone lines and drinking water supply lines in Left-Wing Extremism-affected areas.
Source: TheHindu
GI Tags proposal for Bengali sweets
The West Bengal government is planning to get Geographical Identification (GI) tag for four traditional sweetmeat delicacies of the State to help protect them from imitations.
The four sweetmeats are ‘Moa’ of Jainagar, ‘Sarpuria’ of Krishnagar, and ‘Sitabhog’ and ‘Mihidana’ of Burdwan, said Jayanta Kumar Aikat, Director of Food Processing Industries.
A GI tag is given to products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. While ‘Jainagar-er moa’ is made of puffed rice and date palm jaggery at Jainagar in South 24 Parganas district, Krishnagar of Nadia district is famous for ‘Sarpuria’ which is made of milk cream. ‘Sitabhog’ and ‘Mihidana’ are rice-based sweets from Burdwan.
Analysis
What is a GI tag? Â – Â In order to celebrate and recognise the unique identity connecting the products and places, the GI tag was developed. Â The Indian Parliament passed the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection Act) in December 1999 which aimed at providing a registration and also protection of GI of the goods in India. This Act is administered by the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, who is also the Registrar of Geographical Indications.
The GI tag is an indication which is definite to a geographical territory. It is used for agricultural, natural and manufactured goods. For a product to get GI tag, the goods need to be produced or processed or prepared in that region.
Any established organisation or authority can apply for GI tag under the law. The application for the GI tag should be addressed to the Registrar of Geographical indications along with the fee. Under the Geographical Indications, persons who deal with production, processing, trading or dealing of agricultural goods, natural goods, making, manufacturing, trading or dealing of handicrafts or industrial goods, specific to the region are called the producers.
Registration of the product under the GI facilitates better legal protection and the authorised user can exercise his right to use the tag effectively. The registration of GI is valid for a period of 10 years each which can be renewed from time to time. If the GI is not renewed then it will be removed from the register.
Source: TheHindu
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