Daily Hindu Editorials

💥 Daily w ord bytes - 1  from editoria l  - End to Cattle Curbs - on withdrawl of sale ban  💥 👉 curb (noun) – restriction, restraint, stricture. Hindu Editorial usage :  End to cattle curbs 👉ill-conceived (adjective) – absurd, ridiculous, not carefully planned. Hindu Editorial usage :  The withdrawal of ill-conceived restrictions 👉livestock (noun) – farm animals (cattle, goats & etc). Hindu Editorial usage :  on livestock trade is welcome 👉prevail (verb) – succeed, win through, triumph. Hindu Editorial usage :  Good sense appears to have prevailed at last. 👉at last (phrase) – finally, in the end, eventually. Hindu Editorial usage :  Good sense appears to have prevailed at last. 👉climate change (noun) – a long-term change in the Earth’s climate, or of a region on  Earth . Hindu Editorial usage :  Environment, Forests and Climate Change notified the rules   👉surreptitiously (adverb) – ...

💥The Finance Commission must respect principles of equity and fairness in allocating resources between Centre, States Most federations in the world have arrangements for the mobilisation and devolution of resources. In India, the Constitution provides for the appointment of a Finance Commission every five years to recommend methodology to share resources such that the fiscal space of the constituents, especially the States, is well protected. The terms of reference of the 15th Finance Commission are thus a matter of utmost importance to the resources available to the States of India. The terms of reference of this Commission have created apprehension among States about principles of fairness and equity in the distribution of public resources for development. This article deals with some general matters of principle in this regard. 👉Vital for unity First, Article 1 of the Constitution of India recognises India as a Union of States. The unity of India can be prese...

💥The withdrawal of ill-conceived restrictions on livestock trade is welcome Good sense appears to have prevailed at last. With a fresh set of draft rules to replace last year’s poorly conceived ones, the Centre has sought to withdraw the ban on sale of cattle for slaughter in animal markets. The draft rules are now open for comments and suggestions. When the Union Ministry for Environment, Forests and Climate Change notified the rules under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act on May 23, 2017, there was concern that in the name of preventing cruelty to animals and regulating livestock markets the government was surreptitiously throttling the cattle trade and furthering the BJP’s cow protection agenda. The rules were criticised for restricting legitimate animal trade and interfering with dietary habits. The new draft makes a welcome departure from the earlier rules, seeking to provide great relief to buyers of animals from cumbersome paperwork and procedural requirements. Some ...

💥Viktor Orbán’s emphatic re-election in Hungary has implications for all of Europe Hungarian voters have handed Prime Minister Viktor Orbán a third term in office. In Sunday’s election, his right-wing Fidesz party and its Christian Democrat allies won around half the vote and two-thirds of the seats. This will give Mr. Orbán, who revels in his hyper-nationalist strongman image, the super-majority he needs to further tighten his grip on Hungary. The nationalist Jobbik party came in second with 20% of the vote, making it the principal opposition, with the Socialists getting 12% and the Green Party 7%. Though a high turnout of about 70% was expected to help the Opposition, the electoral process has been questionable. The technical administration of the elections was transparent and there was a wide range of candidates to choose from. But critics say the playing field was not fair, given media bias, a blurry line between party and government resources, and ‘intimidating and xenophobic...

💥With limited resources and time, it is crucial for States to assess which skills policies will make the biggest impact When India found itself at the 103rd position in the recent World Economic Forum ranking of 130 nations on the preparedness of talent, it was just another indication of the skills challenge. In just five years, the government’s skill gap analysis report estimates that an extra 40 crore workers need to be skilled, reskilled or upskilled. The current official estimate is that slightly more than half a crore people are being trained annually. 👉Measuring policy impact Policymakers are responding swiftly. But with limited resources and time, which skills policies will make the biggest impact? New research commissioned by Tata Trusts and the Copenhagen Consensus Center for the India Consensus projects, ‘Andhra Pradesh Priorities’ and ‘Rajasthan Priorities’, helps answer that question for the two States. No State has the resources to do everything. It is ...

💥Farmers’ protests interrogate the reigning development model. Alternatives do exist The recent spate of peasant protests across wide swathes of the country points sharply to the unjust folly and sheer unviability of the path of development that India has embraced, especially in the reform era since the late 1980s. Even, say, a modest food critic in metropolitan India collects an immodest annual pay package which can easily go into seven figures. Such compensation is not even a dream for any small or marginal food-grower in the country, someone who works much harder and who is immeasurably more significant for the food security of India. It is such daylight disparity between the lives of villagers and city-dwellers which constitutes the background to an increasingly simmering discontent amongst the poor in India’s villages and cities. Last month’s farmers’ protest in Mumbai is one of many where the simmer boils over to more overt expressions. 👉Many asymmetries A...

💥Four years after a landmark verdict, it is time to push for reforms to give transgender persons their rights On April 15, 2014, the Supreme Court passed the judgment in NALSA v. Union of India. It was a judgment that came out of the blue, like a thunderbolt when no one was expecting it. It was in the background of Suresh Koushal v. Union of India where the Supreme Court held that Section 377 could not be read down and it was for Parliament to decide on decriminalisation of homosexuality. All of a sudden came NALSA, in which Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and A.K. Sikri held that the right to gender identity is inherent in one’s right to life, autonomy and dignity. They held that transgender persons have the right to identify their gender as male, female or transgender irrespective of medical sex reassignment and the right to expression of their chosen gender identity. 👉A fresh momentum NALSA brought with it great excitement and gave momentum to the trans rights mo...