GS Analyst: Daily Current Affairs

Context:

Recent discussions and reflections have brought attention to the enduring and remarkable friendship between Bhutan and India despite vast differences in size and population. This enduring partnership has sparked interest and admiration, prompting further examination of the underlying factors that have fostered such a close relationship over the past 50 years and more.Top of Form

Basis of Strong Bilateral Ties:

• Strong bond: Despite vast differences in size and population, India and Bhutan share a longstanding bond built on mutual respect and equality.
• Essence in recognizing identities: The essence of their relationship lies in recognizing each other's sovereignty and unique cultural identities.
• Trust: India's commitment to respecting Bhutan's autonomy and fostering its economic growth has cultivated a deep sense of trust between the two nations.

Development Initiatives and Future Prospects:

• New chapter and opportunities: Bhutan's vision for a Mindfulness City at Gelephu, emphasizing sustainability and economic prosperity, signals a new chapter in bilateral cooperation. The success of the Gelephu Mindfulness City is expected to benefit not only Bhutan but also neighboring regions in India, fostering socio-economic development.
• Crucial sectors: Hydropower cooperation, a cornerstone of their ties, has not only boosted Bhutan's economy but also exemplified successful government-to-government collaboration. To further enhance ties, India can consider measures such as initiating direct flights to Gelephu, providing technology assistance, and encouraging Indian investment in the city.
• Exemplary Relationship: Upholding the principles of win-win cooperation, India and Bhutan continue to set an example of fruitful partnership and shared prosperity in the region.

Context:

The Chief Justice of India's proposal to reward "super-performing" trial court judges to incentivize better performance within the judiciary has sparked discussions on the effectiveness and potential pitfalls of such an initiative.

Potential Pitfalls of Performance Incentivization:

• Unintended consequences: While the initiative aims to promote efficiency and excellence within the judiciary, caution is warranted due to Goodhart's Law, which warns against relying too heavily on a single metric for evaluation as individuals may adjust their behavior to meet specific criteria, potentially leading to unintended consequences.
• Cobra Effect: The historical example of the "Cobra Effect" during British rule in India illustrates the pitfalls of solely focusing on incentivizing performance. Offering a bounty on cobras to curb their population resulted in unintended consequences, as people bred cobras to capitalize on the lucrative reward.
• Quantity over quality: Goodhart's Law highlights the risk of judges prioritizing quantity over quality if evaluated solely based on quantitative measures like case disposal rates, potentially compromising the thorough examination of cases and creating a pressure to take extreme measures to demonstrate competence.

Existing Evaluation Mechanism and Its Gaps:

• Lack of scientific assessment: Currently, trial court judges are evaluated based on Annual Confidential Reports (ACRs), focusing on metrics like case disposal rates, resolution of old cases, and quality of judgments. However, the existing framework lacks scientific assessment of time required for different case categories, recognition of administrative duties.
• Improvement: Instead of scrapping the current system, there is a need to improve. This includes considering the quality of judgments, adherence to ethics, and fairness and efficiency in handling cases.

Addressing the Glass Ceiling and Ensuring Equity:

• Limited opportunity: The existence of a glass ceiling for trial court judges aspiring to become High Court judges, with less than one-third of High Court judge positions being occupied by district court judges. This limited opportunity undermines the effectiveness of rewarding the best-performing trial court judges.
• Equal opportunities for trial court judges: Removing the glass ceiling must accompany any changes to the evaluation process to ensure equity and meritocracy within the judiciary.
• Robust evaluation system: The evaluation process should not be viewed as an end in itself but as a means to attract and retain talent in the judiciary.

Context:

Agrarian concerns and calls for legal assurances of Minimum Support Price (MSP) take centre stage ahead of general elections.

Challenges in Current Agricultural Scenario:

• Highlighted agrarian issues: As general elections approach, farmers from agricultural hubs have converged at the capital's border, highlighting their distress and pushing for agrarian issues to be prioritized in the electoral discourse.
• Unaddressed issues: While the government attempted to address concerns by offering to procure pulses, maize, and cotton at MSP, contingent upon crop diversification, farmers rejected these efforts, citing unaddressed core issues.
• Comprehensive solution: The perennial issue of fair pricing for farm produce, coupled with demands for legal assurances of MSP, underscores the need for comprehensive solutions to ensure agricultural sustainability and equitable distribution.

Significance of MSP and Challenges in Implementation:

• Poor implementation: MSP serves as a crucial tool in ensuring food security by setting a benchmark price for agricultural commodities, yet its implementation remains poor, benefiting only a small percentage of farmers, primarily those cultivating paddy and wheat in specific states.
• Cycle of debt and distress: Most transactions occur below the MSP, rendering farming economically unviable for the majority and perpetuating a cycle of debt and distress, leading to tragic outcomes such as farmer suicides.
• Assurance: Legal guarantees for MSP are supported by constitutional provisions, with public opinion strongly favoring the farmers' demand for such assurances.

Proposed Solutions and Policy Recommendations:

• Fair remuneration: Introducing a minor amendment to State APMC Acts or the Essential Commodities Act at the central level could establish a legal framework preventing transactions below MSP, ensuring fair remuneration for farmers' produce.
• Legal recourse: Accompanying legal recourse to MSP should be the development of essential agricultural infrastructure, including crop planning, market intelligence, and post-harvest facilities, to manage surplus production effectively.
• Challenging prevailing free-market ideologies: Enhancing MSP to provide a 50% profit margin over total cost, along with effective procurement and distribution mechanisms, as outlined in the National Food Security Act, can address hunger, malnutrition, and farmer income disparity