TNPSC Group -1 Mains Questions January 2023
1. India is one of the few countries where capital punishment is legal and is justified under the rarest of the rare doctrine. However, it is not just the execution in principle but the process of execution which matters. Discuss (10 Marks)
Answer
Model Answer
Approach:
Introduction: Define capital punishment and the rarest of the rare doctrine
Body: Mention some issues in the process of capital punishment, some general points on how a fair process will be important, and some reforms in the case of capital punishment.
Conclusion: Provide a way forward connecting it with the larger objective of a progressive society
Answer:
Capital punishment is a legal process where a person is sentenced to death by the state as a punishment for a crime they have committed. Indian Penal code of 1860 since British times provides for capital punishment in some instances.
Later on, the scope was limited by the rarest of the rare doctrine as evolved through Bachan Singh vs State of Punjab (1980) under which the death penalty could only be imposed in exceptional cases where the crime was particularly heinous and there were no mitigating circumstances. Since then various judgments have led to the evolution of this stance further.
However, there are multiple issues in the process of execution of capital punishment in India which raises concerns:
1) Discriminatory application of rarest of rare doctrine as it is disproportionately applied to marginalized communities, such as Dalits and Adivasis, rather than the wealthy and influential. In the Machhi Singh v. State of Punjab (1983) case, the Court held that the “rarest of rare” doctrine must be applied consistently and systematically and that the death penalty should not be imposed arbitrarily or capriciously.
2) India’s criminal justice system is plagued by problems such as police brutality, witness intimidation, and false confessions, leading to wrongful convictions thus the system is prone to errors.
3)Lack of adequate legal representation as access to it is limited to many in India, leading to a lack of proper defense and increasing the likelihood of wrongful convictions. This was also supported by the Death penalty in India report 2018.
4) Delay in execution of death sentence leading to agony and mental torture of death row convicts. Thus, in Shatrughan Chauhan v. Union of India (2014), Court held that the inordinate delay in the execution of a death sentence could be a ground for commutation if it resulted in the accused being subjected to “unending agony”.
5) Differing stances of lower and higher courts in case of death penalties. Project 39A at National Law University, Delhi published the seventh edition of the Death Penalty in India: Annual Statistics Report. It highlighted lower courts provide death penalties in a higher number of cases. In contrast, high courts continued to decide a few matters, with an increasing trend of commutations to life imprisonment without remission.
6) Courts have also raised some issues such as the Supreme Court acquitting prisoners due to fabricated evidence and manipulated FIRs while recognizing the mental health impact of solitary confinement as a supervening ground to commute a sentence as per the seventh edition of the annual statistics report.
7) Number of capital punishments and prisoners on death row rising as per this annual report under Project 39A despite an imperfect process.
Thus, a fair process of capital punishment is crucial:
- It helps adjudication of proper justice through our justice system.
- Capital punishment in the rarest of the rare cases considering all aggravating and mitigating circumstances will help provide deterrence in society.
- A fair process would provide a voice to the marginalized and understand their concerns also through adequate legal representation while deciding upon such cases.
- It will help us move towards a fair system where there is more focus on chances of reformation before consideration of the decision of capital punishment.
Solutions to ensure reforms in process of capital punishment in India:
- Ensure transparency in trial proceedings by adequate legal representation to the accused, timely disclosure of evidence, and transparent decision-making process.
- Improve prison conditions by addressing concerns of overcrowding, torture, and inhuman treatment for death row prisoners, and consider cases of delay on a priority basis to further prevent mental agony.
- Monitoring of investigations of such cases by independent agencies or organizations.
- Mental health assessment for such prisoners periodically with the necessary support to address the issues.
- Regular appeals to death row prisoners to provide them with a chance to challenge the death sentence.
- Exploring other alternatives to the death penalty such as life imprisonment without parole.
Thus, there should be a wider debate in society about ways to ensure streamlining the criminal justice system further to ensure injustice is prevented towards anyone either accused or the victims and we are able to move towards a fair system irrespective of class, caste, and other factors. By moving towards this goal, we would be able to ensure a more secure and progressive society that is able to realize liberty, equality, and fraternity as constitution makers envisaged.
2. Discuss why India needs to ensure diversification of its energy sources from coal and crude oil. Highlight other alternatives with further suggestions towards meeting India’s high energy needs, ensuring energy security as well as sustainability. (10 Marks)
Answer
Model Answer
Approach:
Introduction: Mention some statistics on the present state of energy share in India
Body: Mention reasons for diversification of the energy basket of India, describe other alternatives for such diversification, and suggest a few steps to further boost such diversification.
Conclusion: Mention the way forward connecting energy diversification to the international scenario.
Answer:
Over 80%of India’s energy needs are met by three fuels: coal, oil, and solid biomass as per International Energy Agency’s India Energy Outlook 2021. However, there is growing consensus towards the diversification of energy from conventional to non-conventional sources such as solar and wind, green hydrogen, etc.
Reasons India needs to diversify its energy basket further:
- Growing consensus against conventional use internationally such as at Sharm El Sheikh declaration of CoP27 pressing for phase down of coal as a fuel. This would contribute to decreased global greenhouse emissions.
- Soaring prices of coal and crude oil globally during Russia Ukraine war has again depicted the uncertainty in international markets. Diversification will reduce dependence on imported energy to strengthen the energy security of India.
- Growing price competitiveness: Renewable energy sector has witnessed tremendous advancement in the whole value chain, especially the technology leap enabled by innovation, which has immense potential to drive down the prices of renewables rapidly.
- Renewable energy is a safe bet for the long run: Renewables are being heavily encouraged by policymakers with the average wind or solar farm built for up to 25 to 30 years of operation.
- Supportive government policies: Various incentives and infrastructure and investment promotions are being taken to serve the social and economic growth of the country through non-conventional energies.
- The resource potential of India: Studies conducted recently suggest that with newer technologies available today, the wind energy segment can be scaled 40-64 times more than what it is at present.
- Market development initiatives: Exploring offshore wind, providing solar parks, or constructing a transmission corridor will boost the green economy.
Other alternatives to coal and crude oil are:
- Nuclear energy: Recent times such as Russia Ukraine war providing natural gas supply crunch in Europe are further boosting the move towards nuclear energy. India has put in motion construction activities for 10 ‘fleet mode’ nuclear reactors from 2022 to 2025-26.
- Biofuels with the opportunity to utilize agricultural waste for fuel generation as India is envisaged in its National biofuel policy boosting a circular economy.
- Promotion of green hydrogen: It is being described as the fuel of the future due to its potential to provide high energy with no emissions.
- Small hydroelectric power by building multiple run-off river dams with each having a potential of fewer than 25 Megawatts to impact the environment as well.
- Research is promoted storage further in solar and wind energy to further boost their reliability to provide a stable base power supply to replace thermal power plants.
Moving forward, key policy options for transitioning India’s energy mix toward more diversification include the following:
- Demand-side reforms such as reducing goods and services taxes on electric vehicles and promoting solar photovoltaic technology will encourage consumers to opt for green technology.
- Effective implementation of Renewable Energy Certificates and Renewable Purchase Obligations (which complement each other) could be a major factor in driving renewable energy. Incentivizing power generated from renewable energy sources through subsidies or rate cuts, while simultaneously disincentivizing fossil fuels, will also be important.
- Tapping financial resources through financial intermediaries and instruments for the renewable energy sector is also important. Green bonds may be attractive to investors as countries prioritize a green recovery from the recession.
India should utilize the host of multiple options present today with dedicated steps towards energy diversification to prove itself as a leader in the global south on energy transition. It should further continue to push advanced countries for providing financial, and technical funding for such transition at international fora to ensure such a transition is just and ensure energy security for most of the global south.
3. After 62 years of signing the Indus waters treaty, India has moved to amend this treaty with Pakistan. Discuss the reasons for this pathbreaking intention of India to modify the treaty with implications on India-Pakistan relations further. (10 Marks)
Answer
Model Answer
Approach:
Introduction: Describe the Indus waters treaty in brief.
Body: State official reasons for which modification is being sought also mentioning the potential benefits due to which modification is being thought of now. Implications of this on India-Pakistan relations.
Conclusion: Suggest a balanced way forward connecting it with the larger masses of the two nations.
Answer:
The Indus Waters Treaty is a water-sharing treaty between India and Pakistan, brokered by the World Bank, and signed in 1960. It allocates the use of the Indus River and its tributaries, which originate in India and flow through Pakistan, to the two countries.
Under the treaty, India controls the eastern rivers (the Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi) and Pakistan controls the western rivers (the Indus, Chenab, and Jhelum). A permanent Indus Waters Commission to resolve any disputes that may arise has also been established.
India can ensure run-off of the river hydroelectric projects on the western rivers alongside having complete rights over eastern rivers. However, there are differences between India and Pakistan due to which India decided to modify the treaty:
- Pakistan is intransigent in implementing the treaty and has raised objections to the construction of hydel projects on the Indian side. The treaty has a graded and sequential mechanism in case of differences- first the Indus Commissioners of both sides in case of difference, then the Neutral Expert of the world bank, and only then the Court of Arbitration.
- But Pakistan ignored the neutral expert and directly requested the WB to appoint a judge of the court of arbitration. Whereas India requested a neutral expert. India objects to two simultaneous dispute resolution mechanisms needing a revision in Treaty.
- Thousand cuts strategy by Pakistan through means of state sponsor terrorism hurting India. Just after differences arose over Kishenganga and Rattle projects, there was the Uri attack leading to demands to use water as a strategic leverage.
- The Prime Minister also mentioned that blood and water cannot flow together highlighting the level of tensions between the two countries.
- India is criticized for being a responsible upper riparian state despite Pakistan never budging on any tension issues such as on Kashmir. This creates pressure to seek to narrow down the accommodation being given in the original treaty.
The modification will provide certain benefits due to which it should be deliberated such as fulfilling India’s energy and water needs for development, addressing flood mitigation, and providing storage in dry season through dam construction, etc.
Implications of this on India-Pakistan relations further:
- Under Article XII (3) of the treaty these amendments can be enforced when ratified by the two governments. If Pakistan refuses to respond within a notice period of 90 days, Article XII (4) provides for its termination through ratification by both sides.
- India could spell out further conditions for the treaty and increase its leverage in the context of already significant challenges internally in Pakistan.
- India could also put certain conditions on terrorism and Kashmir although China being an all-weather friend of Pakistan may also toughen its stance on the Brahmaputra which is already underway.
- It could further strain the relations also with the closing of dialogue channels with the help of Indus commissioners and neutral experts.
- Cancellation of the treaty might lead to a race for the construction of hydel projects in this region for a prior appropriation of resources leading to a greater Chinese role in the Pakistani economy.
Overall, there should be proper deliberation and formation of a high-level task panel for India’s next move about putting out the concrete modifications we need in the treaty without leading to water wars in South Asia in the future as many lives on both sides depend on the Indus.