Over the last few days, many States have made changes to their labour laws. Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab have extended the maximum daily hours of work in a factory from eight/nine to 12, and allowed up to 72 hours a week in overtime. The provision of paying overtime wages at twice the normal rate would apply for working beyond these limits. Gujarat has made a similar change but the wages for overtime will be at the same rate (not double). Uttarakhand has increased the daily limit to 11 hours with overtime limited to 18 hours a week. Haryana has allowed work for 12 hours a day, and up to 60 hours a week, with overtime pay.

Madhya Pradesh has made similar changes. These changes have been made through notifications issued by the State governments, and will be applicable for the next three months. M.P. has also suspended most provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1946 (except those related to retrenchment and layoffs) for 1,000 days for State undertakings. In addition, M.P. issued an ordinance to amend two laws. The M.P. Industrial Employment Standing Orders Act will apply to establishments with more than 100 workmen (up from the existing threshold of 50), in line with the Central Act. The ordinance also enables the government to exempt establishments from the provision of another Act that provided for a labour welfare fund.

The Uttar Pradesh government has approved an ordinance that exempts establishments from all labour laws for three years with some exceptions (safety and security of workers, provisions related to employing women and children, payment of wages on time and above prescribed minimum wages, and no bonded labour). As this will override provisions of some Central laws, it will require the assent of the President or, in effect, the assent of the Central government. The question is, was there sufficient consultation before all these changes were made?

Lawful changes As per the Constitution, legislature has the authority to make laws. Such laws could delegate powers to the government which are in the nature of detailing some requirements. For example, the Factories Act allows State governments to exempt factories from the provisions of the Act during public emergencies for a maximum period of three months. A public emergency is defined as a grave emergency whereby the security of India or any part is threatened by war, external aggression or internal disturbance. Most States have used this provision, presumably interpreting the current situation as an ‘internal disturbance’. Haryana has used a provision that allows relaxation of work hours “to deal with an exceptional press of work”.

The Constitution also permits Central and State governments to make laws through the issuance of an ordinance when the legislature is not in session. Such a law needs to be ratified by the legislature within six weeks of the beginning of the next session. M.P. and U.P. are using this procedure.

The importance of consultation While the changes made are lawful, we need to see whether it is appropriate to make such far-reaching provisions without scrutiny by the legislature. Usually, any change in an Act follows a rigorous process of public consultation, scrutiny by committees of Parliament, and debates in the House before being approved. The changes described here have not gone through such a process. However, most of these have a three-month time limit, and any extension would need to be approved by the legislature.

Interestingly, Parliament is consolidating 29 existing laws into four codes dealing with wages, occupational safety and health, industrial relations and social security. The first of these has been enacted, the Standing Committee on Labour has submitted the report on the next two, and is examining the last. The Code on Occupational Safety and Health does not specify the maximum hours of work but empowers the government to do so. The Standing Committee report states that the government agreed to incorporate a provision of maximum eight hours per day with overtime permitted for certain types of industry.

Several regulations have been formulated to tackle COVID-19. There have been over 4,300 notifications by the Central and State governments since the beginning of March. Given the emergency, the government has to take quick action and change the response as the situation evolves. However, that should not be a reason to exclude the processes of consultation with and scrutiny by elected representatives. The legitimacy of state action in a parliamentary democracy comes from the fact that there is constant oversight and check by elected representatives. Parliament and State legislatures should find ways to meet and examine the measures taken by Central and State governments.

M.R. Madhavan is the President and co-founder of PRS Legislative Research

Food grains allocated to States / UTs, Government of India to bear entire cost: Shri Ram Vilas Paswan

23 states/UTs will be part of One Nation One Card scheme by August 2020: Shri Paswan Posted On: 16 MAY 2020 5:20PM by PIB Delhi

The Modi Government is sensitive to the plight of the migrant labourers and the poor and the Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs is doing everything possible to ensure that no one is hungry. This was stated by Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Shri Ram Vilas Paswan during a media interaction via video conference in Krishi Bhawan today.

The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi announced a special economic and comprehensive package of Rs 20 lakh crore on 12 May 2020. As part of the Economic Measures (Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan) the Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman announced many short and long term measures for supporting the poor including migrant workers.

This includes distribution of free food grains and pulses to 8crore migrant labourerswho arenot covered under National Food Security Act or State Scheme PDS Cards @ 5 kg per person per month free of cost for two months (May & June, 2020).

The Minister of Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan interacted with the Press through video conference in New Delhi today.

Shri Paswan said that to mitigate plight of migrants during this precarious COVID-19 situation and also ensure availability of food grains to them and their families, 8 LMT of food grains has been allocated to States / UTs and the Government of India will bear the entire cost on account of such distribution including transportation within the State, dealers’ margin etc.

He further said that the State/UT wise allocation orders have been issued. Allocation has been made taking 10% of the total number of beneficiaries covered under NFSA in a particular State/UT. He said that identification of beneficiaries and distribution of food grains to such beneficiaries will be the responsibility of respective State / UT Government.

Shri Paswan informed that the States / UTs have been requested to put in place a mechanism to share their details after fully distributing allocated food grains, with the Dept of Food and Public Distribution, by and large on the pattern adopted in the case of PMGKAY. The States / UTs may report the distribution details with leftover/ balance food grain, if any, to this Department not later than 15 July, 2020. Shri Paswan said that he will convene a meeting with all State/UT Food Ministers next week to review the distribution of food grains.

Further, Shri Paswan said that to ensure National Portability of ration card under ‘One Nation One Card’ Scheme, the department has started Integrated Management of Public Distribution System (IM-PDS). He further informed that as on 1st May 2020 beneficiaries of 17 states/UTs have onboarded the ‘One Nation One Card’ scheme. He said 3 more states/UTs will be added by June 2020 and by August, 2020 total 23 states/UT will be part of this scheme. He said the DoFPD is targeting to implement this plan in all State/UTs by March 2021. He said that in the time of COVID-19 Pandemic, the migrant labourers will benefit most with ONOC scheme, as PDS beneficiaries can draw their ration at any FPS shop with biometric verification anywhere across the ‘One Nation One Card’ covered states/UTs.

Indian Naval Ship Jalashwa completed embarkation of 588 Indian citizens on 15 May 20, at the port of Male, Maldives as part of Operation Samudra Setu - the Indian Navy's contribution to India's national effort to bring home our citizens from foreign shores by sea. Her manifest of 588 includes six expectant mothers and 21 children.

Braving rain and winds gusting to 30-40 knots at Male, the ship staff ensured completion of all formalities for the manifested passengers while observing safety and medical protocols at all times. The inclement weather hampered the planned embarkation process requiring various pre-embarkation activities to be done onboard the ship itself.

Posted On: 16 MAY 2020 8:47PM by PIB Delhi

KEY HIGHLIGHTS ü Commercial Mining introduced in Coal Sector ü Diversified Opportunities in Coal Sector ü Liberalised Regime in Coal Sector

ü Enhancing Private Investments and Policy Reforms in Mineral Sector ü Enhancing Self Reliance in Defence Production ü Policy Reforms in Defence Production

ü Efficient Airspace Management for Civil Aviation ü More World-Class Airports through PPP ü India to become a global hub for Aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO)

ü Tariff Policy Reform in Power Sector; Privatization of Distribution in UTs ü Boosting private sector investment through revamped Viability Gap Funding Scheme in Social Sector

ü Boosting private participation in space activities ü Reforms in Atomic Energy Sector

Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi announced a Special economic and comprehensive package of Rs 20 lakh crore - equivalent to 10% of India’s GDP on 12th May 2020. He gave a clarion call for आत्मनिर्भर भारत अभियान or Self-Reliant India Movement. He also outlined five pillars of Atmanirbhar Bharat – Economy, Infrastructure, System, Vibrant Demography and Demand.

In her opening remarks, the Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman said that structural reforms are the focus for today’s press conference. She said that many sectors need policy simplification, to make it simpler for people to understand what sector can give, participate in activities & bring transparency. Once we decongest the sectors, we can boost the sector, for growth, the Finance Minister added.

The Finance Minister further said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has very strong record in taking up deep systemic reforms citing Direct Benefit Transfer enabled giving money directly to people, GST brought in One Nation, One Market, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code (IBC) resolved insolvency issues and steps taken for Ease of Doing Business.

During her press conference, Smt. Sitharaman outlined the need for Policy reforms to fast track investments and the steps taken by the Government in this regard. She stated that fast track clearance is being done through Empowered Group of Secretaries, a Project Development Cell would be set up in each Ministry to prepare investable projects and coordinate with investors and Central and State governments.

The Finance Minister announced following policy reforms to fast track investment in an effort towards Aatma Nirbhar Bharat: There will be fast tracking of investment clearance through Empowered Group of Secretaries.

Project Development Cell will be constituted in each Ministry to prepare investible projects, coordinate with investors and Central/State Governments.

There will be ranking of States on investment attractiveness to compete for new investment.

Incentive schemes for promotion of new champion sectors will be launched in sectors such as solar PV manufacturing; advanced cell battery storage etc.

Smt. Sitharaman also announced that a scheme will be implemented in States through challenge mode for Industrial Cluster Upgradation of common infrastructure facilities and connectivity. There will be availability of industrial land/land banks for promoting new investments and making information available on Industrial Information System (IIS) with GIS mapping. 3376 Industrial Parks/ Estates/SEZs in five lakh hectares are mapped on IIS. All Industrial Parks will be ranked during 2020-21.

The Finance Minister today announced the following structural reforms in the eight sectors of Coal, Minerals, Defence production, Civil Aviation, Power Sector, Social Infrastructure, Space and Atomic energy. The details are as follows:

Introduction of Commercial Mining in Coal Sector The Government will introduce competition, transparency and private sector participation in the Coal Sector through:

A revenue sharing mechanism instead of regime of fixed Rupee/tonne. Any party can bid for a coal block and sell in the open market. Entry norms will be liberalised. Nearly 50 Blocks will be offered immediately. There will not be any eligibility conditions, only upfront payment with a ceiling will be provided.

There will be exploration-cum-production regime for partially explored blocks against earlier provision of auction of fully explored coal blocks. This will allow private sector participation in exploration. Production earlier than scheduled will be incentivized through rebate in revenue-share.

2. Diversified Opportunities in Coal Sector Coal Gasification / Liquefication will be incentivised through rebate in revenue share. This will result in significantly lower environment impact and also assist India in switching to a gas-based economy.

Infrastructure development of Rs. 50,000 crore will be done for evacuation of enhanced Coal India Limited’s (CIL) target of 1 billion tons coal production by 2023-24 plus coal production from private blocks. This will include Rs 18,000 crore worth of investment in mechanised transfer of coal (conveyor belts) from mines to railway sidings. This measure will also help reduce environmental impact.

3.Liberalised Regime in Coal Sector Coal Bed Methane (CBM) extraction rights will be auctioned from Coal India Limited’s (CIL) coal mines.

Ease of Doing Business measures, such as Mining Plan simplification, will be taken. This will allow for automatic 40% increase in annual production.

Concessions in commercial terms given to CIL’s consumers (relief worth Rs 5,000 crore offered). Reserve price in auctions for non-power consumers reduced, credit terms eased, and lifting period has been enhanced.

Enhancing Private Investments in the Mineral Sector There will be structural reforms to boost growth, employment and bring state-of-the-art technology especially in exploration through:

Introduction of a seamless composite exploration-cum-mining-cum-production regime.

500 mining blocks would be offered through an open and transparent auction process.

Joint Auction of Bauxite and Coal mineral blocks to enhance Aluminum Industry’s competitiveness will be introduced to help Aluminum industry reduce electricity costs.

2. Policy reforms in Mineral Sector The distinction between captive and non-captive mines to allow transfer of mining leases and sale of surplus unused minerals, leading to better efficiency in mining and production shall be removed. Ministry of Mines is in the process of developing a Mineral Index for different minerals. There will be rationalisation of stamp duty payable at the time of award of mining leases.

Enhancing Self Reliance in Defence Production ‘Make in India’ for Self-Reliance in Defence Production will be promoted by notifying a list of weapons/platforms for ban on import with year wise timelines, Indigenisation of imported spares, and separate budget provisioning for domestic capital procurement. This will help reduce huge Defence import bill.

Improve autonomy, accountability and efficiency in Ordnance Supplies by Corporatisation of Ordnance Factory Board.

Policy Reforms in Defence Production FDI limit in the Defence manufacturing under automatic route will be raised from 49% to 74%.

There will be time-bound defence procurement process and faster decision making will be ushered in by setting up of a Project Management Unit (PMU) to support contract management; Realistic setting of General Staff Qualitative Requirements (GSQRs) of weapons/platforms and overhauling Trial and Testing procedures.

Efficient Airspace Management for Civil Aviation Restrictions on utilisation of the Indian Air Space will be eased so that civilian flying becomes more efficient. This will bring a total benefit of about Rs 1,000 crore per year for the aviation sector. This will lead to optimal utilization of airspace; reduction in fuel use, time and will have positive environmental impact.

More World-Class Airports through PPP 6 more airports have been identified for 2nd round bidding for Operation and Maintenance on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) basis. Additional Investment by private players in 12 airports in 1st and 2nd rounds is expected to bring around Rs. 13,000 crore. Another 6 airports will be put out for the third round of bidding.

India to become a global hub for Aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO)

Tax regime for MRO ecosystem has been rationalized. Aircraft component repairs and airframe maintenance to increase from Rs 800 crore to Rs 2,000 crore in three years. It is expected that major engine manufacturers in the world would set up engine repair facilities in India in the coming year. Convergence between Defence sector and the civil MROs will be established to create economies of scale. This will lead to maintenance cost of airlines to come down.

1. Tariff Policy Reform Tariff Policy laying out the following reforms will be released:

(i) Consumer Rights DISCOM inefficiencies not to burden consumers Standards of Service and associated penalties for DISCOMs DISCOMs to ensure adequate power; load-shedding to be penalized

(ii) Promote Industry Progressive reduction in cross subsidies Time bound grant of open access Generation and transmission project developers to be selected competitively

(iii) Sustainability of Sector No Regulatory Assets Timely payment of Gencos DBT for subsidy; Smart prepaid meters

2. Privatization of Distribution in UTs Power Departments / Utilities in Union Territories will be privatised. This will lead to better service to consumers and improvement in operational and financial efficiency in Distribution. This will also provide a model for emulation by other Utilities across the country.

The Government will enhance the quantum of Viability Gap Funding (VGF) upto 30% each of Total Project Cost as VGF by the Centre and State/Statutory Bodies. For other sectors, VGF existing support of 20 % each from Government of India and States/Statutory Bodies shall continue. Total outlay is Rs. 8,100 crore. Projects shall be proposed by Central Ministries/ State Government/ Statutory entities.

G. SPACE SECTOR: BOOSTING PRIVATE PARTICIPATION IN SPACE ACTIVITIES There shall be level playing field provided to private companies in satellites, launches and space-based services. Predictable policy and regulatory environment to private players will be provided. Private sector will be allowed to use ISRO facilities and other relevant assets to improve their capacities. Future projects for planetary exploration, outer space travel etc shall also be open for private sector. There will be liberal geo-spatial data policy for providing remote-sensing data to tech-entrepreneurs.

H. ATOMIC ENERGY RELATED REFORMS Research reactor in PPP mode for production of medical isotopes shall be established to promote welfare of humanity through affordable treatment for cancer and other diseases. Facilities in PPP mode to use irradiation technology for food preservation – to compliment agricultural reforms and assist farmers shall also be established. India’s robust start-up ecosystem will be linked to nuclear sector and for this, Technology Development-cum-Incubation Centres will be set up for fostering synergy between research facilities and tech-entrepreneurs.

The index of mineral production of mining and quarrying sector for the month of March, 2020 (Base: 2011-12=100) at 132.7, was exactly the same as compared to the level in the month of March, 2019. The cumulative growth for the period April- March, 2019-20 over the corresponding period of previous year has been (+) 1.7 percent. It is released by Mining & Mineral Statistics Division of Indian Bureau of Mines.

Production level of important minerals in March, 2020 were: Coal 958 lakh tonnes, Lignite 42 lakh tonnes, Natural gas (utilized) 2323 million cu. m., Petroleum (crude) 27 lakh tonnes, Bauxite 1634 thousand tonnes, Chromite 582 thousand tonnes, Copper conc. 11 thousand tonnes, Gold 153 kg, Iron ore 204 lakh tonnes, Lead conc. 26 thousand tonnes, Manganese ore 181 thousand tonnes, Zinc conc. 117 thousand tonnes, Apatite & Phosphorite 133 thousand tonnes, Limestone 272 lakh tonnes, Magnesite 8 thousand tonnes and Diamond 3213 carat.

The team is certain that the newly developed alloys are suitable for biodegradable stent and orthopedic implant applications Posted On: 16 MAY 2020 12:02PM by PIB Delhi

Scientists at the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI) and Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences, Thiruvananthapuram both autonomous institutes under the Department of Science & Technology (DST) have jointly developed new generation Iron-Manganese based alloys for biodegradable metal implants for use in humans.

Biodegradable materials (Fe, Mg, Zn, and polymer), which can participate in the healing process and then degrade gradually by maintaining the mechanical integrity without leaving any implant residues in the human body are better alternatives to currently used metallic implants which remain permanently in the human body and can cause long-term side effects like systemic toxicity, chronic inflammation, and thrombosis.

The ARCI team employed both conventional melting and powder metallurgy techniques in manufacturing of the new Fe-Mn based biodegradable alloys and stent having dimensions as Diameter: 2 mm, Length: 12 mm and Wall thickness: 175 µm.

Iron-Manganese based alloy Fe-Mn (having Mn composition of more than 29% by weight) is a promising biodegradable metallic implant which exhibits single austenitic phase (non-magnetic form of iron) with MRI compatibility.

The Fe-Mn alloy produced at ARCI exhibited 99% density with impressive mechanical properties and behaved as a nonmagnetic material even under a strong magnetic field of 20 Tesla. These properties are comparable to presently used permanent Titanium (Ti) and stainless-steel metallic implants. The alloy also showed a degradation rate in the range of 0.14-0.026 mm per year in the simulated body fluid, which means that the Fe-Mn alloy exhibits mechanical integrity for 3-6 months and completely disappears from the body in 12-24 months.

During the degradationprocess, calcium phosphate deposits on the implant due to local alkalization and saturation of calcium and phosphate, allow cells to adhere onto the surface to form tissues.

The team is making further efforts to achieve control in corrosion rates through alloying addition and surface engineering and to employ advanced manufacturing processes like additive manufacturing to realize complicated shapes.

Based on the impressive results, the ARCI team is certain that the newly developed Fe-Mn based alloys are suitable for biodegradable stent and orthopedic implant applications. Invivo and in-vitro studies are being planned at Sri Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences by the team.

Goal Programme will develop Tribal Entrepreneurship and connect Tribal Youth to Domestic and International Markets through Digital Platforms Posted On: 15 MAY 2020 12:32PM by PIB Delhi

Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Shri Arjun Munda launched the “GOAL (Going Online As Leaders)” programme of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) in partnership with Facebook at a Webinar in New Delhi today. MoS , M/oTribal Affairs Ms Renuka Singh Saruta; Secretary, M/o Tribal Affairs, Shri Deepak Khandekar and senior officers of the M/o Tribal Affairs as well as representatives of Facebook were present at the launch through webinar. The GOAL programme is designed to provide mentorship to tribal youth through digital mode. The digitally enabled program envisages to act as a catalyst to explore hidden talents of the tribal youth, which will help in their personal development as well as contribute to all-round upliftment of their society.The link of the Webinar is as follows :

Announcing the program, Shri Arjun Munda said that the Digital literacy has gained importance in view of challenges posed by Covid pandemic. He said that MoTA’s partnership with Facebook through GOAL programme has come at the right time to provide a platform to tribal youth and women to move ahead in life. The program intends to upskill and empower 5,000 tribal youths in the current phase to harness the full potential of digital platforms and tools to learn new ways of doing business, explore and connect with domestic and international markets as is the vision of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

He expressed his confidence that digital skilling and technology will integrate them into the mainstream.The Minister explained that the programme has been designed with a long term vision to develop the potential of tribal youth and women to help them acquire skills and knowledge through mentorship in various sectors including horticulture, food processing, bee keeping, tribal art and culture, medicinal herbs, entrepreneurship among others.Starting with 5000, the programme can be extended to cover any number of tribal persons who show keen interest in being mentored to achieve their goals, the Minister added.

Smt Renuka Singh Saruta said that the intent and content of GOAL program is unique and influential. This will go a long way in creating an environment for empowerment of tribal women by connecting them with digital world and use digital platforms to groom their talents. She hoped that the GOAL program will be successful in making fruitful impact towards enabling the ST youth to become financially independent.

Shri Deepak Khandekar said that the GOAL programme demonstrates affirmative action which will go a long way to reduce the gap between tribal and non-tribal youth and will enlist participation of tribal youth in nationa building.

Ms. Ankhi Das, Director, Public Policy, Facebook - (India, South & Central Asia) said that the current global pandemic is the most severe health and humanitarian crisis that we have seen. The Ministry of Tribal affairs is dedicated to enhancing the preservation of the tribal culture of India and enhancing the competitiveness of our tribal communities. At this juncture, we are expanding our collaboration with the Ministry to build more entrepreneurial capacity of our tribal youth through phase 2 of our GOAL program by creating a learning and training platform that will connect 5000 tribal learners with experienced mentors. We anticipate the program will ignite several tribal enterprises which will be built by the program's alumni.

In this program, 5000 scheduled tribe youth (to be called as ‘Mentees’) will get an excellent opportunity to get training by experts from different disciplines and fields (to be called as ‘Mentors’). There will be 1 mentor for 2 mentees. The program aims to enable Scheduled Tribe (ST) youth in remote areas to use digital platforms for sharing their aspirations, dreams and talent with their mentors.

● GOAL (Going Online As Leaders), Joint initiative of Facebook India with Ministry of Tribal affairs

● 5,000 young tribal entrepreneurs, professionals, artisans and artists will be trained on digital skills under digital entrepreneurship program ● Aspiring candidates invited to apply at online portal “goal.tribal.gov.in”

● Application will be open from May 4, 2020 till midnight of July 3, 2020. ● Leaders from the industry and academia invited to register as mentors on “goal.tribal.gov.in”

The Facebook had on its own run the project on pilot basis from February 2019 to October 2019 in 5 states with 100 mentees and 25 mentors;which received enthusiastic response. Based on its success, Facebook approached MoTA for a joint initiative under affirmative action and help Facebook in selection of mentees, design curriculum and various activities under the program.

The Mentees and Mentors have to register on portal (goal.tribal.gov.in), which will be open for 2 months from May 4, 2020 to July 3. 2020.Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has been requested to associate CSCs (Common Service Centres) in facilitating ST youth who do not have smartphone, for registration with Portal.

The mentees and mentorswill be selected based on their inputs in such a way that it represents tribal youth from varied professions and has representation from urban and rural area across India. The IT based system is designed to match mentors and mentees so that they are from similar profession and preferably speak same language. The selected mentees will remain engaged in the program for nine months or 36 weeks comprising of 28 weeks of mentorship followed by eight weeks of internship.

The program will focus on three core areas – Digital Literacy, Life Skills and Leadership and Entrepreneurship, and on sectors such as Agriculture, Art & Culture, Handicrafts & Textiles, Health, Nutrition, among others. At least 250 Fellows who are getting scholarship from Ministry of Tribal Affairs under National Scholarship and Fellowship Scheme and are part of Tribal Talent Pool will also be mentored through the program.

All the selected mentees will be provided with smartphones and Internet access (for one year) by Facebook along with exposure to various external forums that will give opportunity to the participants to showcase their entrepreneurial skills and leadership abilities.The program will also create awareness amongst tribal beneficiaries about various schemes initiated by Central and State Governments for welfare of STs as well as their fundamental duties.

Efforts will be made to integrate the program with other government schemes such as Mudra Yojana, Kaushal Vikas Yojana, Jan Dhan Yojana, Skill India, Start Up India, Stand Up India, among others. This will enable participants to leverage opportunities provided under these government schemes.

In order to give a boost to domestic defence and aerospace manufacturing, Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has approved the launch of Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS) with an outlay of Rs 400 crore for creating state of the art testing infrastructure for this sector.

The Scheme would run for the duration of five years and envisages to setup six to eight new test facilities in partnership with private industry. This will facilitate indigenous defence production, consequently reduce imports of military equipment and help make the country self-reliant.

The projects under the Scheme will be provided with up to 75 percent government funding in the form of ‘Grant-in-Aid’. The remaining 25 per cent of the project cost will have to be borne by the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) whose constituents will be Indian private entities and State Governments. The SPVs under the Scheme will be registered under Companies Act 2013 and shall also operate and maintain all assets under the Scheme, in a self-sustainable manner by collecting user charges. The equipment/systems tested will be certified as per appropriate accreditation.

While majority of test facilities are expected to come up in the two Defence Industrial Corridors (DICs), the Scheme is not limited to setting up Test Facilities in the DICs only.

Background: With a view to revive the economy shuttered by the coronavirus lockdown, PM Narendra Modi had announced a Rs 20 lakh crore special economic package.

In its first instalment, FM had announced Rs 3 lakh crore collateral-free automatic loans for businesses, including MSMEs, as well as Rs 30,000 crore liquidity facility for NBFCs, among other measures.

Key measures announced: Free food grains will be supplied to all Migrant labourers for 2 months i.e. May and June, 2020.

Technology system to be used to enable Migrants to access PDS (Ration) from any Fair Price Shops in India so as to achieve 100% National portability by March, 2021 under One Nation one Ration Card scheme.

Central Government will launch a scheme for migrant workers and urban poor to provide ease of living at affordable rent.

Government of India will provide Interest subvention of 2% for prompt payees for a period of 12 months to MUDRA Shishu loanees, who have loans below Rs 50,000.

A special scheme will be launched within a month to facilitate easy access to credit to Street vendors. 50 lakh street vendors will be benefitted under this scheme and credit of Rs. 5,000 crore would flow to them.

Rs 70,000 crore boost is given to housing sector and middle-income group (MIG) through extension of Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme for MIG under PMAY(Urban) up to March 2021.

6,000 crore of funds under Compensatory Afforestation Management & Planning Authority (CAMPA)will be used for Afforestation and Plantation works, including in urban areas. This will create job opportunities.

NABARD will extend additional re-finance support of Rs 30,000 crore for meeting crop loan requirement of Rural Cooperative Banks and RRBs. This refinance will be front-loaded and available on tap.

A special drive to be conducted to provide concessional credit to PM-KISAN beneficiaries through Kisan Credit Cards. Fisherman and Animal Husbandry Farmers will also be included. This will inject additional liquidity of Rs 2 lakh crore in the farm sector.

Death Penalty Sentencing in Trial Courts In the study, the organisation analysed 215 judgments from three states, 43 from Delhi, 90 from Maharashtra and 82 from Madhya Pradesh, in which trial courts imposed death sentence between 2000 and 2015.

Key findings of the study: The shock and impact of a crime on the collective conscience of society was a major reason cited by trial courts in Delhi while imposing death sentence on convicts.

The study also revealed blatant non-compliance by the trial courts with the sentencing framework laid down by the Supreme Court in its 1980 judgment in Bachan Singh v. State of Punjab, where a Constitution bench of the Supreme Court was called upon to decide the constitutional validity of the capital punishment.

Out of the 43 cases in Delhi in which death sentence was handed down between 2000 and 2015, trial courts invoked the impact of the crime on society’s collective conscience in 31 cases (72%) as grounds to send convicts to death row. In Madhya Pradesh, the said ground was used in 43% cases (35 out of 82) while in Maharashtra the figure stood at 51% (46 of 90 cases).

What is collective conscience? Collective consciousness (sometimes collective conscience or conscious) is a fundamental sociological concept that refers to the set of shared beliefs, ideas, attitudes, and knowledge that are common to a social group or society.

Evolution of collective conscience: ‘Collective conscience of society’ as a ground to justify death penalty was first used by the Supreme Court in the 1983 judgment of Machhi Singh v. State of Punjab. In that case, the court held that when “collective conscience of society is shocked, it will expect the holders of the judicial power centre to inflict death penalty”.

It was, however, most famously used by the top court in its 2005 judgment in the Parliament attack case in which it awarded capital punishment to convict, Afzal Guru.

Collective conscience found its most recent endorsement in the 2017 judgment of the Supreme Court in the December 2012 Delhi gang rape case of Mukesh v. State of NCT of Delhi.

How should the Courts decide on capital punishment impositions? In the case of Bachan Singh, the Supreme Court formulated a sentencing framework to be followed for imposing death penalty.

It required the weighing of aggravating and mitigating circumstances relating to both the circumstances of the offence and the offender, to decide whether a person should be sentenced to death or given life imprisonment.

According to the Bachan Singh judgment, for a case to be eligible for the death sentence, the aggravating circumstances must outweigh the mitigating circumstances.

What the study suggests? Collective conscience makes its appearance through the individual conscience of the judge. So, when judges use this phrase, it is really to express what is essentially their own viewpoint, or they have taken it upon themselves to determine “collective consciousness”. Both these positions are entirely self-generated.

The most glaring aspect highlighted by Project 39A’s report was regarding the non-consideration of mitigating factors while sentencing accused. As per the report, no mitigating circumstances were mentioned in 42% of death penalty cases (18 of 43 cases) in Delhi. The number was 62% (51 of 82 cases) in Madhya Pradesh and 47% (42 of 90 cases) in Maharashtra.

The Bachan Singh judgement recognized the age of the accused as a relevant mitigating circumstance.

Another most important aspects of the sentencing framework laid down in the Bachan Singh judgement is to consider whether the alternative punishment of life imprisonment can be “unquestionably foreclosed.” Only then can death penalty be imposed.

Despite the same, trial courts in the three states discussed life imprisonment as an alternative only in 26.6% cases before imposing death penalty. It was discussed in 8 out of 43 cases in Delhi, 22 out of 82 cases in MP and 27 out of 90 in Maharashtra. In all cases where it was discussed as an alternative, it was dismissed on the ground of brutality of the crime.

In essence, this study shows: That the death penalty sentencing framework has completely collapsed. The utter inconsistency, confusion and arbitrariness in the Supreme Court’s death penalty jurisprudence has had a devastating impact on the sentencing process in the trial courts.

Concerns: Can the courts allow any kind of public outcry, sense of conscience, sentiment or feeling to even remotely influence their decisions, especially when it is a case of the death sentence? This is even more relevant in the times that we live in, when television and social media bombard us, creating and determining opinion.

Need of the hour: Our Constitution is based on the principle of justice for the most marginalised, disfranchised, oppressed, unknown, unseen and ignored. This spirit demands that law cannot rely on or be influenced by any delusionary sense or mood of the people. We need in judges a liberal energy and the ability to be creative human beings.

Recommendations by law commission: The Law Commission in 2015, headed by Justice A P Shah proposed to abolish capital punishments. However, the commission had made the proposal only to non-terrorism cases. According to the commission, India is one among few countries that still carry out executions. The other countries that practice executions include Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, China. By the end of 2014, 98 countries had abolished death penalty.