WhatsApp No. 88986-30000 · bags (of 50 kg each) from the main rabi (winter-spring) crop harvested...

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1. Encounters in Kashmir are on the rise, taking a disproportionate toll

on security personnel

Relevant for GS Prelims & Mains Paper III; Internal Security

The deaths last Saturday of four soldiers and a police officer in an encounter with terrorists near Handwara town in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district, call attention to, among other things, a difficult summer ahead. It is unusual and disproportionate for just a couple

of terrorists to take down five highly skilled and motivated soldiers — a Commanding

Officer of a battalion in the rank of a colonel, a major, two other ranks and a special

operations group policeman in the rank of a sub inspector — in a firefight.

How did the incident take place?

On Saturday afternoon, receiving intelligence that terrorists were present in a house in

Changimulla village, Colonel Ashutosh Sharma of 21 Rashtriya Rifles, Major Anuj Sood, Naik

Rajesh Kumar, Lance Naik Dinesh Singh and J&K Police Sub Inspector Shakeel Qazi, and

possibly others reached the site which had a building and a cowshed adjoining it, and an

intense firefight commenced.

All the enemy fire came from the cowshed, not the building. Then there was a lull for more

than an hour during which the team apparently decided to approach the house and use the

vantage of the upper floor to fire at the terrorists in the cowshed. They entered the house

and there was a fresh firefight but no communication from the Colonel and his team. Then

it was noticed that their communication instrument was being used by the terrorists. That

is when realisation came all was not well, and firing ensued all over again. This time when

it was over, there were seven bodies.

Implications & Analysis

The way this operation ended will have ramifications, on both morale and operating

procedures, on future operations of this kind that go on all the time in this shadowy theatre

of proxy war.

It should be evident by now to most that changing the nomenclature and status of J&K has

not addressed any of the underlying causes of unrest and angst. Since the beginning of the

year, in 127 days, as many as 55 terrorists have been killed in the region, roughly one

encounter every two days.

Source: The Hindu

2. How Covid has flattened prices, shifted demand curve for agri-

commodities

Relevant for GS Prelims & Mains Paper III; Agriculture

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While there is debate on how much the lockdown has helped in “flattening the Covid-19 curve”, one thing is clear: It has led to a flattening of prices through a “leftward shift in the demand curve”.

The best way to illustrate this is through an agricultural commodity— potato— that was

experiencing significant production shortfalls. In ordinary circumstances, it would have

resulted in prices shooting up at this time. Instead, prices have remained flat or even

collapsed, thanks to the demand destruction from lockdown.

Fewer takers for potato

Take potatoes, of which cold stores across India have stocked only an estimated 36 crore

bags (of 50 kg each) from the main rabi (winter-spring) crop harvested in February-March.

This was as against 48 crore in 2019, 46 crore in 2018 and the record 57 crore bags of the

2017 post-demonetisation crop.

Production this time has been much lower, which should have translated into far better

prices than last year. But the lockdown has upset the expectations of earning high prices.

Till early-April, when the lockdown’s impact was still to kick in, mota aloo or regular large potato was selling from Agra’s cold storage units at around Rs 21 per kg. But it is now fetching Rs 18 and Jurel expects rates to drop by another Rs 4-5/kg towards mid-June.

Reason for fall in prices

The reason is simple: With hotels, restaurants and street food joints shuts and no weddings

or other public functions taking place, consumption of potato-based snacks — from aloo

chaat, tikki, samosa, pav bhaji and masala dosa to French fries — has taken a beating.

Lower demand has, hence, caused prices to fall.

The above price decline, though, isn’t the usual one that economists term “movement along the demand curve”. Such movement involves a reduction/increase in quantity demanded only on account of an increase/decrease in price, and vice versa. What is being seen now, however, is the demand curve itself “shifting”. That, in turn, is due to the collapse of institutional or business demand for potatoes. When aloo is being consumed only in home

kitchens, there is less overall demand than before even at the same price.









When demand curve shifts leftwards.

Thus, in the chart, 100 tonnes was being demanded at Rs 20 pre-lockdown. But with the

original demand curve shifting from D to D1, only 75 tonnes (these are purely illustrative

numbers) would be bought at the same price. The quantity demanded has been affected by

something other than price — in this case, the shutdown of businesses.

Source: The Indian Express

3. It’s time for a virtual judiciary

Relevant for GS Prelims & Mains Paper II; Polity & Governance

During the nationwide lockdown imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19, it has become

clear that many activities can simply be done online. Over the last decade, Indians have

embraced technology in a greater way than ever before. We all have apps on our phones —

Amazon, Flipkart, Swiggy, Uber, Ola, Zomato, etc. — that help us procure various goods and services. Today, in these exceptional circumstances, ‘work from home’ is a concept whose time has come like never before.

Many offices are gearing up for the new normal of staying at home and working, as

restrictions are expected to continue for an indefinite period. This brings us to the question

that how can we use technology to ensure speedy disposal of cases?

Situation of Judiciary

The pendency of cases in various courts in India is staggering. The Economic Survey of

2019-2020 dedicates a chapter to pendency of tax cases and revenue cases. The Survey

mistakenly argues for more court infrastructure and judges to solve the problem. On the

contrary, the existing infrastructure is grossly under-utilised. There are tribunals such as





https://images.indianexpress.com/2020/05/graph-5.jpg





the Income Tax Tribunal that function only half-day most of the time. To make matters

worse, most courts are closed for Christmas and summer vacations. Judges are not

accountable for efficiency and performance. Thousands of Indians cannot afford to go to

court as legal costs are high and legal procedures are complicated.

Case for virtual courts

It is a fact that most tax matters do not necessitate personal hearings. Tax cases reach

tribunals and higher courts after lower authorities record all the facts. The High Courts and

the Supreme Court deal with issues or interpretation of the law. The bane of the court

system is that lawyers on both sides need to be physically present in court. Cases are often

adjourned due to various reasons. It is in this context that we make the case for a virtual

judiciary.

In such a scenario, we can submit all the papers via mail. The judge can decide the case

based on all the available information. Wherever the judge requires clarifications, he or she

can seek the same through email. Typically, the judge, after considering all the material

available, can pass a draft order and send it to both sides for any comments which they may

want to provide. Thereafter, the judge can, after considering the comments, pass the final

order. This will enhance the quality of the judgment and also eliminate obvious errors.

An efficient judiciary

The use of the court hall to decide such matters is superfluous. Not only will a virtual

judiciary result in substantial savings in costs but will also lead to speedy disposal of cases.

The productivity of lawyers will increase substantially as visits to courts and long waiting

hours will be more an exception than a rule. If this practice is extended to other civil cases,

efficiency will double, even treble, in judicial functioning.

The fact that the jurisdiction of a court is defined by geography makes no sense in matters

such as taxation and company law. The change to remote, non-personal electronic court

hearings will change this. All judges should be empowered to handle any case, wherever it

originates. This will result in multiple advantages — the principal one being better

utilisation of manpower and infrastructure by equitably distributing the work. Also,

malpractices will be limited as there will no longer be familiarity between lawyers and

judges in a city.

While India grapples with a crisis on the health and economic front, we need to think out of

the box. We need a change in mindset regarding the way we work. Imagine the overall

savings and extent of improvement of the judicial ecosystem if 70% of the cases get decided

without going to court? If vested interests are kept aside and collective will to initiate what

is for the common good takes precedence, a virtual judiciary can become a part of our lives.

Source: The Hindu









Q. Critically evaluate the effectiveness of virtual courts as against the physical courts.

Do you think that Virtual courts can completely replace the physical courts in our

country? (GS Paper II; Polity & Governance, 250 words, 15 marks)

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05-2020/

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WhatsApp No. 88986-30000 · bags (of 50 kg each) from the main rabi (winter-spring) crop harvested...

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