Syllabus subtopic: Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies

Prelims and Mains focus: About Lokpal and Lokayuktas, appointment of members, key issues with the Lokpal and govt.’s efforts to curb corruption

News: Almost six years after the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, was signed into law, several key provisions needed for the anti­corruption ombudsman to function have still not been operationalised.

Issues with Lokpal

• The process of constituting the Lokpal’s inquiry and prosecution wings has not yet begun, and regulations for how to conduct preliminary investigations have not been made, the Lokpal has said in response to RTI queries.
• Currently, the institution is functioning out of a government-owned hotel in Delhi. While it approved a logo and motto for itself last month, the Lokpal has not yet notified a format for filing complaints.
• The rules for the disclosure of assets and liabilities by public servants have not been notified either. This is a key provision as the amassing of assets disproportionate to the known sources of income is often the basis for a complaint. The draft rules of 2017 were referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee, which submitted its recommendations to the government in July 2018.
• The Lokpal would find it difficult to investigate complaints that do fall within its mandate as it has no inquiry wing or regulations for inquiries.

About Lokpal

• The term Lokpal was coined in 1963 but it was not until January 2014 that the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act came into force.
• It was more than five years later, in March 2019, that the first chairperson and members of the Lokpal were appointed.
• Lokpal is a national anti corruption ombudsman to look into complaints against publics servants which are defined under the Lokpal Act 2013. This body is constituted to check the menace of corruption in India.

1. This Act may be called the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013.

2. It extends to the whole India.

3. It shall apply to public servants in India and abroad

History of Lokpal;

The Lokpal bill has been introduced nine times (1968, 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1998, 2001, 2011 and 2013) in the Lok Sabha.

The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 received the assent of the President on the January 1st, 2014, and published for information of general Public.

An Act of 2013 clears the way to establish the body of Lokpal for the Union and Lokayukta for States to inquire into allegations of corruption against certain public servants.

Composition of the Lokpal

The office of Lokpal Comprises of a Chairman and upto 8 members. The chairman of the Lokpal can be current or former judge of the Supreme Court or the chief justice of High Courts.

Or

An eminent person i.e. he is a person of neat and clean image and outstanding ability having special knowledge and expertise of not less than 25 years in the matters relating to;

i. Anti Corruption Policy

ii. Public administration

iii. Vigilance

iv. Law and Management

v. Finance including insurance and banking

Note: As per the provisions of the act; 50% of the members of the Lokpal shall be from the community of Schedule Caste, Schedule Tribes, Other Backward Classes, Minorities and Women.

Select Committee to Appoint Lokpal is comprises of;

i. Prime Minister

ii. Chief justice of India or his nominee

iii. Lok Sabha Speaker

iv. Leader of Opposition

v. An eminent jurist nominated by the President of India

Removal

To remove the Lokpal 100 members of the Parliament need to sign the petition seeking the removal of the chairman of the Lokpal or any other members. This matter will be investigated by the Supreme Court and if SC finds the charges to be true then SC suggests the president to remove the Lokpal from the post.

Another way to remove the Lokpal is self reference of the President (on the advice of the cabinet) to the Supreme Court, which can investigate the charges.

Powers

If the Lokpal receives a complaint under the prevention of corruption act 1988, then it can initiate the investigation. If the complaint found true in the investigation then the Lokpal can ask the government to take disciplinary action against the accused public servants or can file a corruption case in a special court.

Salary and allowances of the chairman and members

The Chairman of the Lokpal shall enjoy the same salary and allowance as of Chief Justice of India while members shall receive the same salary and allowance as those enjoyed by the justices of Supreme Court.

Who can be investigated by the Lokpal?

As per the provision of the Lokpal Act, it can investigate persons of seven categories namely;

1. Prime Minister if he/she demits the office.

2. Current and former Cabinet Ministers.

3. Current and former Members of Parliament.

4. All the class 1 officers of the Central Government like (Secretaries, Joint Secretaries etc.)

5. All the class 1 equivalent officers of the Public Sector Undertakings and other government bodies.

6. Directors and other officers of the Non Government Organisations which receives funding from the Central Government.

7. Directors and other officers of the Non Government Organisations which receives the fund from the public and which have annual income of more than Rs. 10 lac from a foreign contributor and receives Rs. 1 cr from the government.

Syllabus subtopic: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable section

Prelims and Mains focus: About KALIA and PM-KISAN schemes and their significance

News: The Odisha government has decided to merge its flagship scheme- Kalia with the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) yojana, apparently due to financial constraint.

Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) Scheme:

• Involves payments to encourage cultivation and associated activities.
• Primary targets are small farmers, cultivators and landless agricultural labourers.
• All farmers will be provided Rs 10,000 per family as assistance for cultivation.
• Each family will get Rs 5,000 separately in the kharif and rabi seasons, for five cropping seasons between 2018-19 and 2021-22.
• Targets 10 lakh landless households, and specifically SC and ST families. They will be supported with a unit cost of Rs 12,500 for activities like goat rearing, mushroom cultivation, beekeeping, poultry farming and fishery.
• Exception: A critical trade, dairy production, has deliberately been kept out because keeping a cow is more expensive, while milk production needs to have a collection route or agency that processes and refines this low shelf-life product.
• It will assist the elderly, sick and differently-abled population who are unable to take up cultivation, by providing Rs 10,000 per household per year.
• The scheme includes a life insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh and additional personal accident coverage of the same amount for 57 lakh households.
• Crop loans up to Rs 50,000 are interest-free.
• This is also going to be an area-specific scheme in the sense that an input support for a particular trade, say mushroom cultivation, will be provided if it is prevalent throughout that locality so that there is aggregation of produce.

About Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi:

• It is a Central Sector Scheme.
• Under this programme, landholding farmer families, having cultivable land up to 2 hectares, will be provided direct income support at the rate of Rs. 6,000 per year.
• This income support will be transferred directly into the bank accounts of beneficiary farmers, in three equal installments of Rs. 2,000 each.

Slowdown in tax collection to hurt finances of govt

Syllabus subtopic: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.

News: The gross tax revenue collected by the central government during the first seven months of 2019-20 was? 10.52 trillion, up by just 1.22% from the tax collected during the same period in 2018-19.

Taxing times

The Centre, which collected? 10.52 trillion in the first seven months of FY20, is likely to fall short of its target of? 24.61 trillion is set for this fiscal.

How will a lower tax revenue affect govt?

In fiscal year 2019, the central government had collected ?20.80 trillion in gross tax revenue. In 2019-20, it hopes to collect ?24.61trillion, or 18.32% more. In the first seven months of fiscal 2019-20, the tax collection has grown just 1.22%. Hence, the government is way off the mark in terms of what it hopes to collect during the current fiscal. This is clearly reflected in delayed payments by the government. What will help the government bridge part of the gap between what it hopes to earn and what it actually will, is the dividend of ? 1.76 trillion, which it has received from the Reserve Bank of India.

What else can it do to address the gap?

Until October, ?17,365 crores had been earned through the disinvestment route against the targeted? 1.05 trillion. Clearly, the government has to be fairly aggressive about selling its stake in public sector enterprises in the little over three and a half months left in 2019-20. If it wants to bridge the tax-revenue gap, it needs to better the target of ? 1.05 trillion. This apart, it should work towards shutting down many non-strategic public sector enterprises, which are simply a drag on government finances and have no buyers. This will free up both land and capital, which can be adequately employed in the years ahead.

What has led to slow growth in gross tax revenue?

The central goods and services tax (GST) was supposed to grow by 14.96% during 2019-20. It has grown at a much slower 8.30% to? 2.85 trillion between April and October. Income tax collected during the year has grown just 6.67% to? 2.44 trillion. The targeted growth is 23.25%, as per the budget. These numbers show a slowdown in economic activity.

What about corporate income tax collection?

A total of ? 2.73 trillion in corporate income tax has been collected. This is 0.88% more than the amount collected during the same period in 2018-19. A little over 35% of the ? 7.66 trillion that the government hopes to collect during 2019-20 has been collected in the first seven months of the year. This is large because of the slowdown and also due to lower corporate income tax rates introduced earlier this year. All in all, things are not looking great for the three main taxes of the government.

What does this say about govt finances?

There has been some talk of the government raising the GST rates in order to earn greater tax revenue. In an economic slowdown, the idea should always be to put more money in the hands of people and hope they spend it, and not take it away. Also, when it comes to its earnings, this year, the government has primarily been saved by the huge RBI dividend. What it will do next year is a question well worth asking.