One Country, One Uniform for the police

• One nation, one police uniform is a recent idea put forth by the Prime Minister.

• Terrorism & Naxalism: The PM also reiterated the necessity of eradicating the underground network of terrorism, saying that it is urgent for everyone to band together and take control of the situation.
• The number of Naxal-affected districts in the nation has significantly decreased, he added, over the past eight years.
• We now need to concentrate on achieving rapid growth in each of these sectors, including infrastructure.

Appeal of Nagaland:

• The Deputy Chief Minister of Nagaland expressed his hope during the conference that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) would eventually be repealed in more regions of Nagaland.

Regarding "one country, one police uniform"

• The Indian Constitution places control over police forces under the purview of state governments, and each of the country's 28 states is home to its own police force.

Concerning uniforms:

• Even though the colour khaki is frequently associated with police officers in India, different regions do have slightly different police uniforms.
• There can be inconsistencies in their official attire because state governments and even a single force can decide what uniforms their employees wear.
• State police departments have tried a number of different reforms to their uniforms over the years.
• Significance of "one nation, one police uniform": According to the PM, it will also bring in money and give law enforcement a uniform identity because citizens will be able to recognise police officers anywhere in the nation.

In India, Naxalism or Left-wing extremism (LWE)

• Since the 1960s, India has faced a serious threat from left-wing extremists, also known as Maoists in many countries and Naxalites/Naxalism in India.
• In their alleged fight for better land rights and more employment opportunities for the underpaid and unappreciated agricultural labourers, the Naxalites frequently target tribal, police, and government workers.

What is Naxalism?

• The term Naxalism derives the name of the Naxalbari village in West Bengal where a peasant revolt took place against local landlords who had beaten up a peasant over a land dispute in 1967.
• The Naxalites are considered to be the far-left communists who support Mao Zedong’s political ideology.
• Initially, the Naxalite movement originated in West Bengal and had later moved to the less developed rural areas in Southern and Eastern India, including in the states of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.
• Present situation: From 35 in 2015 to 25 in 2021, the number of the most affected districts, which accounted for 90% of the violent incidents, had decreased.
• In Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, these districts are primarily located.

What are the causes of Naxalism?

• Intrusion in Forest Rights: was one of the main causes of the spread of Naxalism. It originated during the time of British administration when new laws were passed to ensure the monopolisation of the forest resources. Following the globalisation in the 1990s, the situation worsened when the government increased the exploitation of the forest resources. This led the traditional forest dwellers to fight for their aspirations against the government through violence.
• Haphazard tribal policy implementation, marginalisation, and displacement of the tribal communities worsened the situation of Naxalism.
• The rising Interregional and intraregional differences and inequalities led to people choosing Naxalism. Naxal-groups mostly consist of the poor and the deprived like the anglers, small farmers, daily laborers, etc. Government policies have failed to address this issue.
• Lack of pro-people development: poor health, education, and lack of basic facilities led to an anti-government mindset among the locals in the isolated villages.
• The poor implementation of the land reforms has not yielded the necessary results. India’s agrarian set up is characterised by the absence of proper surveys and other details. Due to this reason, it has greatly damaged the rural economy and anti-government sentiments were high among those who were deprived and exploited by the local landowners.
• Forest cover in India is the main area of operation for these groups. The government is facing difficulties while dealing with the insurgents due to the lack of accessibility to these areas.
• The unemployed youth in India is one of the major supporters of the Naxalism movement. This group mostly consists of medical and engineering graduates. The universities have become one of the major breeding grounds for radical ideologies.

Governmental programmes to address with LWE:

Modernisation Of Police Force:

• The government realised that the Maoist insurgents were highly successful due to the lack of strong and effective policing.
• To improve the quality of policing, in the mid-2000s, the Centre had implemented a Police Modernization Scheme.
• Centre had also provided enormous financial aid to the states for the modernisation and up-gradation of police forces’ weaponry, communication, and infrastructure.
• It was recently found that the improvement in police modernisation and intelligence gathering had brought in success for the police’s anti-Maoists campaigns.

Enhancing intelligence networks:

• Poor intelligence infrastructure at the state level was a major nuisance to the counterinsurgency campaign.
• Round-the-clock intelligence sharing through Multi-Agency Centre (MAC) at the Central level and through State Multi-Agency Centre (SMAC) at the state level.
• Setting up of the Joint Command and Control Centre at Maoist hotbeds like Jagdalpur and Gaya,
• Provideng thrust on the generation of real-time intelligence and creation/strengthening of the State Intelligence Bureaus (SIBs) in LWE-affected states for which the Central assistance is provided through the Special Infrastructure Scheme.

Assisting States in security-related infrastructure:

• The Centre had launched the Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme to allow the states to reimburse 50% of their expenses on provisions like insurance scheme for police personnel, community policing, rehabilitation for the surrendered Maoists and other security-related items not covered under the Police Modernisation Scheme.
• Recently, the current government has raised the SRE reimbursement to up to 100%.
• Now it also allows the advance release of the funds to the Naxal-affected states.

Deploying Central Paramilitary forces:

• The centre had created the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) to assist the Naxal-affected states.
• It has extended the placement of CAPFs on a long-term basis. This is similar to its approach in the Northeast and Kashmir.
• Currently, more than 70,000 CAPFs are deployed in the Maoist-affected states.
• Also, the Centre had assisted the states to raise 14 Specialised Commando Battalions (CoBRA) that are well equipped and trained in guerrilla and jungle warfare techniques.
• Furthermore, the Centre had assisted in creating a number of Counter Insurgency and Anti-Terrorist (CIAT) schools for the long-term sustainability of the counter-offensives.
• The Centre had also announced the setting up of a Bastariya battalion in CRPF from Scheduled Tribe candidates belonging to four districts – Bijapur, Dantewada, Narayanpur and Sukma of Chhattisgarh.

Special Infrastructure Scheme

• This is to fill the infrastructure gaps that are not covered under the existing schemes.
• It includes the up-gradation of roads and rail tracks to improve the mobility of the security personnel and provide secure camping grounds and helipads at a strategic location in remote areas.
• Under this scheme, about 400 Fortified Police Stations were opened in Maoist-affected states.
• Additionally, the Centre also provides funds for the creation of training schools, weaponry, vehicles and other requirements for the LWE-affected states.
• UAV and mini-UAV were introduced for each of the CAPF battalions deployed in the Maoist hotbeds.
• Speedy infrastructure development with special focus on solar lights, mobile towers and road-rail connectivity in inaccessible areas of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.

Legislative measure

• The Centre has expanded the realm of the existing provisions under the Explosives Act and Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2017 to monitor the transportation of the explosive substance and hinder the flow of finances of the insurgents.
• The banning of CPI (Maoist) and enactment of the UAPA Act, 1967, which provides autonomy and sweeping powers to police and paramilitary forces to take legal action against the banned organisations and their activities.

CRPF-led operations

• Many operations were launched in the three States as Operation Octopus, Operation Double Bull, Operation Thunderstorm, and Operation Chakarbandha (Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh).
• The government had also brought in a Unified Command to enhance the on-going anti-Naxal operations among the worst affected States – Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal. This is unofficially called the Operation Green Hunt. The Unified Command aims to strengthen intelligence and operational coordination and launch coordinated attacks on the Maoists.

SAMADHAN doctrine:

It is the one-stop solution for the LWE problem. It encompasses the entire strategy of government from short-term policy to long-term policy formulated at different levels. SAMADHAN stands for-

• S- Smart Leadership,
• Aggressive Strategy,
• M- Motivation and Training,
• Actionable Intelligence,
• D- Dashboard Based KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and KRAs (Key Result Areas),
• H- Harnessing Technology,
• Action plan for each Theatre,
• N- No access to Financing

Developmental Programmes:

• Grievances of the tribal communities were also addressed through the enactment of the Forest Dwellers Act, 2006.
• The issue of unemployment and illiteracy was addressed through “Skill Development in 47 LWE affected districts” and PMKVY.
• Electricity was provided to the affected villages through Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana.
• The Centre, under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), had upgraded schools and girls’ hostels have been sanctioned in 35 most affected LWE districts.

Global Tuberculosis Report 2022: WHO

• Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) released its 2022 version of the Global TB report.
• It provides a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the TB epidemic, and of progress in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease, at global, regional, and country levels.

Significant Points from the 2022 Report

In 2021, an estimated 10.6 million people were diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB), a 4.5% increase from 2020, and 1.6 million died from the disease (including 1,87,000 among HIV-positive people).

Country-specific evaluation

• According to the report, India, with 28% of cases, was one of the eight nations that accounted for more than two-thirds (or 68.3%) of all TB patients worldwide.
• China (7.4%), the Philippines (7%), Pakistan (5.8%), Nigeria (4.4%), Bangladesh (3.6%), and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2.9%) were the other nations. Indonesia (9.2% cases) was next.
• The number of cases of rifampicin-resistant TB (RR-TB) increased by 4, 50,000 between 2020 and 2021, adding another 3% to the burden of drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB).
• For the first time in many years, an increase in the number of TB and drug-resistant TB cases has been documented.
• Numerous TB patients were not diagnosed and treated as a result of ongoing difficulties in providing and gaining access to essential TB services.
• Globally, underreporting is still a major concern.

Global Concerns

• For populations who are already at risk, ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, and Eastern Europe have made matters worse.
• India alone was responsible for 36% of all TB deaths among HIV-negative people worldwide, accounting for nearly 82% of all such deaths.

Global spending has decreased

• According to the report, global spending on vital TB services decreased from US$6 billion in 2019 to US$5.4 billion in 2021 or less than half of the global goal of US$13 billion annually by 2022.

The Efforts Made

• Global Efforts: Multisectoral Accountability Framework for TB by WHO, 1+1 initiative, and Global Tuberculosis Programme and Report.
• Under UN SDG target 3.3, the TB epidemic will be eradicated by 2030.
• The Moscow TB Declaration.

India's Initiatives:

• By 2025, the government hopes to have rid India of tuberculosis, five years before the global goal of 2030.
• The National Strategic Plan to End Tuberculosis (TB) by 2025 is based on the pillars of Detect-Treat-Prevent-Build (DTPB).
• Program for Universal Immunization.
• Under the National Health Mission, the National TB Control Program has been revised.
• The TB Sample Transport Network and the NIKSHAY portal.
• Creating a national framework for a TB treatment strategy that considers gender.

Suggestions:

• India was one of the three nations—along with Indonesia and the Philippines—that contributed the majority of the global reduction in 2020 (67 percent).
• They made some progress in 2021, but they were still responsible for 60% of the global decline from 2019 to 2021.
• Over 10 million people have received TB preventive treatment for people living with HIV in the four years, far exceeding the global target of 6 million.
• The report urges nations to take swift action to re-establish access to crucial TB services.
• In addition, it urges increased spending and multi-sectoral action to address the broader factors that contribute to TB epidemics and their socioeconomic effects, as well as the requirement for new diagnostics, medications, and vaccines.
• The WHO will hold a high-level summit in early 2023 to discuss the need to accelerate vaccine development.
• The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and WHO's End TB Strategy, which set 2030 as the target year for eradicating TB globally, were both adopted by all WHO member states and the UN.