4 February 2024

• Parliament: The Budget Session (final session of the 17th Lok Sabha) was in progress. Seven bills were passed before the session adjourned on 10 February 2024.
• Water law: The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Bill 2024 was being debated in the Rajya Sabha.
• Energy: Cabinet approval of PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana for rooftop solar was imminent.
• Trade: India's toy exports surged 239 per cent between 2014-15 and 2022-23 while imports dropped 52 per cent over the same period.

GS area: Environment, Governance (Legislative)

The bill amends the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974. The 1974 Act set up the Central and State Pollution Control Boards and required industries to obtain a "consent" (permission) from the board before discharging effluents. Violations under the original Act carried imprisonment.

Key changes in the 2024 amendment:

• Decriminalisation: Imprisonment for most offences is replaced by monetary penalties ranging from 10,000 rupees to 15 lakh rupees.
• Consent exemptions: Certain categories of industries may be exempted by state governments from the consent requirement.
• Adjudicating officers: Penalties will be imposed by designated adjudicating officers rather than through criminal courts, speeding up enforcement.

The case for the amendment is that criminal prosecution rarely succeeds and deters both compliance and investment. Critics argue that decriminalising environmental violations reduces the deterrent effect on serious polluters.

The original Water Act 1974 was the first major piece of environmental legislation in India, predating the Environment (Protection) Act 1986.

Static linkage: Environment (pollution control, CPCB, SPCB), Polity (legislative amendment process).

GS area: Economy (Industry, Trade)

India turned from a net importer to a net exporter of toys between 2014-15 and 2020-21, with the trade surplus continuing into 2022-23. The transformation was driven by deliberate policy:

• Import duty increase: Basic customs duty on toys raised from 20 per cent (2014-15) to 60 per cent (February 2020) and then to 70 per cent (March 2023).
• Quality Control Order: Mandatory Bureau of Indian Standards certification was imposed on toys in 2020, effectively blocking low-quality imports.
• Production Linked Incentive: The PLI scheme extended to toy manufacturing to encourage domestic production.
• Export growth: 239 per cent increase in exports from 2014-15 to 2022-23.
• Import decline: 52 per cent reduction in imports over the same period.

The toy industry case is cited as a model of import substitution through tariff and standards policy rather than direct subsidy.

Static linkage: Economy (industrial policy, trade policy, PLI scheme, BIS).

GS area: International Relations, Economy (Energy Security)

Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea from late 2023 continued to disrupt the critical trade corridor in early 2024. The Red Sea connects the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal.

India-specific data:

• Oil dependency: India imports approximately 85 per cent of its crude oil requirements and is the world's third-largest oil consumer.
• Russia's share: Russia became India's top crude supplier at 1.53 million barrels per day. Iraq followed at 1.19 mbpd; Saudi Arabia at 690,000 bpd; UAE at 326,500 bpd.
• US crude: Imports of US crude dropped to near zero in January 2024 because rerouting around Africa pushed freight costs above the price advantage.
• India's demand future: Forecasts projected India to overtake China as the largest driver of global oil demand growth by 2027.
• Policy responses: PM Gati Shakti for energy infrastructure; Ethanol Blending Programme targeting E20 by 2025; FAME scheme for electric vehicles.

Static linkage: International Relations (India-Gulf relations, Red Sea geopolitics), Economy (energy security, crude oil imports).

GS area: Polity (Parliament)

The final (Budget) session of the 17th Lok Sabha, the 15th session of that Lok Sabha, ran from 31 January to 10 February 2024. Seven bills were passed:

1. Jammu and Kashmir Local Bodies Laws (Amendment) Bill 2024: Extended OBC reservations to panchayats and municipalities in J&K and transferred election management to the State Election Commission.
2. Constitution (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) Orders (Amendment) Bills 2024: Added communities to SC/ST lists in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
3. Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill 2024: Criminalised paper leaks and impersonation in examinations conducted by UPSC, SSC, RRB, NTA, and IBPS.
4. Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Bill 2024: Replaced imprisonment with penalties for most offences under the 1974 Act.
5. Interim Union Budget 2024-25: Passed as the Appropriation (Vote on Account) Bill.

The 17th Lok Sabha completed 274 sittings across its five-year term, the fewest among any full-term Lok Sabha.

Static linkage: Polity (Parliament, bills, Lok Sabha, legislative process).

GS area: Polity (Parliamentary Procedures)

The Zero Hour is the period in Parliament that follows Question Hour and precedes the main agenda (listed business). Members can raise issues of urgent public importance without prior notice.

• Origin: An Indian parliamentary innovation not found in British or American practice. It emerged organically in the early 1960s when members began using the lunch break period to raise pressing issues.
• Duration: Not fixed; the Chair has discretion over how long to permit it.
• Not in the Rules: Zero Hour is not mentioned in the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of either House. This makes it a convention rather than a rule.
• Question Hour vs Zero Hour: Question Hour (the first hour of each sitting) requires prior notice of questions and allows supplementary questions. Zero Hour allows unnotified, impromptu raising of issues.

Static linkage: Polity (Parliamentary procedures, Question Hour, Zero Hour).

• Ladakh statehood demand: Ladakh's civil society and political groups continued demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule protections. Ladakh became a Union Territory (without a legislature) after the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019 abrogated Article 370 and bifurcated the former state. Article 244(2) provides Sixth Schedule protection for tribal areas in the northeast; Ladakh's tribes are pressing for similar constitutional cover.
• FSSAI consolidation push: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India proposed a "One Nation, One Commodity, One Regulator" vision to eliminate overlapping certifications (BIS, AGMARK) for food products and route all standards-setting through a single authority under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.