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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.
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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
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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
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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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