05 January 2021: The Hindu Editorial Analysis

1) Quality gigs, a solution to urban unemployment?

With no urban equivalent to the NREGA as yet, there must be a focus on supporting new forms of employment.

GS 3- Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.

GS 2- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

 

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CONTEXT:

1. Urban Employment don’t have equivalent to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGA) as yet, there must be a focus on supporting new forms of urban employment, Issue of regulation and condition of gig workers.
2.  Symbiotic relationships with new partners should be built by government to expand consumption base. With Industry 4.0 platforms absorbing increasing numbers of the urban workforce, evaluation, collaboration, and regulation must be the government mantra.

 

Vulnerable employment in the urban spaces:

1. The overall urban unemployment rate was 9.9% in the October-December period of 2018 and 8.4% in the July-September period of 2019, according to the quarterly periodic labour force survey (PLFS) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
2. Urban employment have inadequate earnings, low productivity and difficult conditions of work that undermine the basic rights of workers.
3. This increased dependency on NREGA, which witnessed a 243% increase in person workdays in rural area.

 

How Gig Economy is solution to urban employment?

1. Industries like information and technology, art and design, and content creation saw a high demand of gig workers and freelancers, and have relatively better-educated and trained persons who have access to better network infrastructure and more growth avenues in Urban.
2. The rise of the independent workforce in urban benefits not only workers but also companies who can reap the cost savings of enlisting short-term help to accommodate demand without the administrative costs of hiring fulltime staff.
3.  Easily employable irrespective of no restrictions on the number of employments they might take, such workers may not be eligible to any basic rights at all.

Gig workers: Gig workers are independent contractors, online platform workers, contract firm workers, on-call workers and temporary workers. Gig workers enter into formal agreements with on-demand companies to provide services to the company's clients.   Source: The Hindu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Issue of regulation:

1. Evaluating them on five metrics of Fair Pay, Fair Conditions, Fair Contracts, Fair Management and Fair Representation.
2.  This above  dynamic complicated by the risk of a one-size-fits-all regulatory strategy unintentionally hurting the similar, yet distinct, market for highly skilled (and highly paid) freelancers, that continues its rapid growth due to pandemic related full-time staff layoffs.
3. Platform delivery people can claim benefits, but not labour rights.

 

  Government approach:

1. PM SVANidhi, or PM Street Vendor’s Atma Nirbhar Nidhi scheme, may prove to be an illustrative example.
2. The Ministry of Labour and Employment has now introduced The Code On Social Security, 2019, for welfare of unorganised workers on matters relating to life and disability cover, health and maternity benefits, old age protection, and any other benefit as may be determined by the central government.
3. The ‘Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan.

 

STEPS TO TAKE:

 

Way Forward:

>> There are number of labour intensive manufacturing sectors in India such as food processing, leather and footwear, wood manufacturers and furniture, textiles and apparel and garments. Special packages, individually designed for each industry are needed to create jobs.

>> Public - private investment in sectors like health, education, police and judiciary can create many jobs.

 

 

2) Maximum Governor

Governors should not exceed constitutional duties to serve as agents of the Centre

GS 2- Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States, issues and challenges pertaining to the federal.

                                  

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Context:

1.  The misuse of the Governor’s office to undermine duly elected State governments is a particularly mischievous disruption of federalism.
2.  Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan’s frequent use of his powerful oratory to defend the Centre and question the State on sensitive topics makes him partisan and undermines democratic processes.
3. Alternative platform for centre-state dispute resolution institute like “inter-State council”, Council of States, parliament etc…

 

Constitutional Provisions related to Governor:

1. The Governor’s appointment, his powers and everything related to the office of Governor have been discussed under Article 153 to Article 162 of the Indian Constitution.
2. The governor acts in 'Dual Capacity' as the Constitutional head of the state and as the representative. acts as a bridge between union and state governments.

  Issues over Governor Powers?

1. Governor’s discretionary powers to invite the leader of the largest party/alliance, post-election, to form the government has often been misused to favour a particular political party.
2. The Supreme Court in the Nabam Rebia judgment (2016) ruled that the exercise of Governor’s discretion Article 163 is limited and his choice of action should not be arbitrary or fanciful. It must be a choice dictated by reason, actuated by good faith and tempered by caution.
3. However, the imposition of President’s rule (Article 356) in case of breakdown of constitutional machinery in a State has been frequently misused by the central government.

The jurisdiction to offer a solution?

1. The Kerala Assembly passed  a resolution against Citizenship (Amendment) Act and farm laws, besides making public statements supporting the CAA and the farm laws. To assume that an Assembly is acting unconstitutionally if it disagrees with Parliament is disingenuous.
2. "Justice V.Chelliah Commission" (2002) recommended that Article 356 must be used sparingly and only as a remedy of the last resort after exhausting all actions under Articles 256, 257 and 355.
3. The Bomnai verdict allows the Supreme Court to investigate claims of malafide in the Governor’s report, a similar extension to cover malafide in the invitation process could be a potential solution.

 

 

Alternative platform for centre-state dispute resolution:

 

Analysis / way forward  :

>> For the smooth functioning of a democratic government, it is equally important that the governor must act judiciously, impartially and efficiently and for this the  Code of Conduct' should lay down certain 'norms and principles' which should guide the exercise of the governor's 'discretion' and his powers which he/she is entitled to use and exercise on his personal judgment.

 

>> The role of governor is indispensable for the successful working of the constitutional democracy. He must refrain from aligning himself to any political ideology. The virtue of impartiality must be withheld to ensure a free and fair election in a democracy.

 

 

3) Embracing energy efficiency?

 Doing so can bring down household energy bills and reduce the financial stress of discoms. (OPED page 7)

GS-3:  Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports,Railways etc. and Investment models.

Context:

1. The Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020 was recently announced by the Power Ministry. The rules lay down uniform performance standards for power distribution companies (discoms) and make them liable to compensate consumers in case of violations.
2.  India’s residential electricity consumption is expected to at least double by 2030. As households buy more electric appliances to satisfy their domestic needs, concerns about the ability of discoms to provide reliable supply at affordable rates will also rise. 

 

The Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020

1. Consumers to have the option to apply for new electricity connection and pay bills online.
2. Consumers to get electricity connection in prescribed timeline which is 7 days in Metro cities, 15 days in other cities and 30 days in rural areas; Violations to result in penalties.
3. The distribution licensee shall provide all services such as application submission, payment of bills, etc., to senior citizens at their door-steps.

 

 Indian energy demand and capacity:

1. Due to large population growth and economic development in India, this could make the country responsible for about 11% of total global energy consumption in 2040.
2. The country today has about 35 GW of installed solar generation capacity, and 38 GW of wind power, according to government data. India has set targets of 100 GW of power from solar projects, and 60 GW from wind power, by March 2022.

 

Tryst with energy efficiency:

 

1. According to the India Residential Energy Survey conducted by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water and the Initiative for Sustainable Energy Policy , in recent years, India has seen significant adoption of energy-efficient appliances, especially those covered under the mandatory labelling programme.
2.  The survey, covering nearly 15,000 households across 21 States, found that more than 75% of air-conditioners and 60% of refrigerators used in Indian homes were star-labelled. Further, nearly 90% of Indian homes used LED lamps or tubes.
3. However, there has been limited uptake of energy-efficient ceiling fans and televisions. While 90% of homes use fans, only 3% have efficient fans.

 

Future aspect of Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020:

1. First we need to improve the availability and affordability of energy-efficient appliances. For instance, despite a voluntary labelling scheme since 2009, less than 5% of ceiling fans produced in India are star-rated. While the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) plans to bring ceiling fans under mandatory labelling from 2022.
2. India needs a nationwide consumer awareness campaign on energy efficiency. Only a fourth of Indian households are currently aware of BEE’s star labels.

• To bridge this divide, India needs a decentralised and consumer centric engagement strategy.
• State governments, discoms and retailers need to be at the forefront with renewed efforts to create mass awareness about energy efficiency.

3. We need to monitor supply quality and changing consumption pattern on a real-time basis.

 

 Government initiative:

The government also is looking at the use of battery storage and hydrogen to power mass transportation vehicles in the country’s cities, many of which today run on diesel.

Way forward:

>>   Government of India aims to achieve 30% EV penetration in the transport sector by 2030, through Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid & Electric Vehicles Policy (FAME Policy).

>> India aims to reduce its annual carbon emissions by 82 million tonnes.  A similar focus toward other energy-efficient tools would allow India to ensure 24x7 power for all.

The smart metering network would also be crucial for enforcing consumer rights rules.