Contents
- Reservation as right : On Supreme Court judgment
- Safeguarding the delta
- A Mix Indian Healthcare can do Without
RESERVATION AS RIGHT : ON SUPREME COURT JUDGMENT
Why in news?
Recent Supreme Court judgment, that there is no fundamental right to claim reservation in promotions, has caused some political alarm.
The state is not bound to provide reservations, but if it does so, it must be in favour of sections that are backward and inadequately represented in the services based on quantifiable data.
The terms “proportionate equality” and “substantive equality” have been used to show that the equality norm acquires completion only when the marginalised are given a legal leg-up
SAFEGUARDING THE DELTA
Why in news?
- Cauvery delta region has been announced by Tamil Nadu as protected special agricultural zone, which includes 8 districts of the state.
- The delta, which produces 33 lakh tonnes of grains in 28 lakh acres, has seen multiple protests for a decade over methane, hydrocarbon, oil and natural gas projects, which required acquisition of fertile lands and well drilling — proposals which triggered fears of groundwater contamination
Provisions of protected agricultural zone
- When a land is announced as Protected Agricultural Zone, it cannot be used for any other non-agricultural activities.
- The Environmental Impact Assessment of 2006 that was recently amended by the central government gives permission for ONGC and other private firms.
- And since Cauvery Delta is rich in Hydrocarbons, it is essential to protect the agricultural land in the region
A MIX INDIAN HEALTHCARE CAN DO WITHOUT
Why in news?
- Ayushman Bharat entails diverting limited resources towards wasteful areas, ignoring productive fields in public health
- Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Scheme (AB-NHPS), aims to provide insurance cover to nearly 50 crore poor Indians.
- Government is keen in identifying the fraud beneficiaries which could divert the resources.
- Recently, 171 hospitals were reported to have been de-empanelled from the AB-NHPS on charges of fraud, which also included the issuance of fake e-cards and the manipulation of claims.
- A first information report was lodged against a few hospitals and multiple show cause notices were issued.
Allocations to AB – NHPS
allocation for the AB-NHPS for 2019-20 would have covered less than a quarter of the targeted beneficiaries. For 2020-21, there has been a paltry increase in health-care sector allocation (5.7% above 2019-20 RE), while the allocation for the AB-NHPS is unchanged
