Tag: Useful Information
The Social Stock Exchange
The Finance Ministry was thinking upon the idea of a social stock exchange and gave a hint about the same in the 2019 budget. SEBI constituted a panel for it and the panel recently gave its recommendations regarding the exchange. Some of the recommendations are as follows:
- Direct listing of non-profit organisations through the issuance of bonds and a range of funding mechanisms in a report submitted to the market.
- The social stock exchanges can he housed within the existing stock exchange and such as BSE and/or NSE. This will help the SSE leverage the existing infrastructure and client relationships of the exchanges to onboard investors, donors, and social enterprises (for-profit and non-profit).
- The profit social enterprises can also list on SSE with enhanced reporting requirement.
- To encourage, giving culture some tax incentives have also been suggested.
- Fundraising instruments like equity and SVFs have been recommended for social profit enterprises and zero coupons zero principal bonds, SVFs, Mutual Funds (MFs), various pay-for-success structures, other securities for NPOs.
“These recommendations, if implemented as a package, can result in a vibrant and supportive ecosystem, enabling the non-profit sector to realise its full potential for creating social impact,” the panel suggested in its 72 page long report.
Is it a new concept?
Well, it is not a new concept. It has been tried in some countries. There are various models of it, like in London it acts as a platform to connect social enterprises with potential investors. In Canada the platform is called SVX and it also allows retail investors to invest. The social investment exchange of Kenya helps welfare organisation to connect with domestic and foreign investors. The impact investment exchange in Singapore, in partnership with Mauritius, allows only accredited investors to participate. In South Africa, the SSE SASIX works like a regular stock exchange where impact investors can buy shares in social businesses based on location and mission.
SEBI has also asked for public comments on the same and they can be send to SEBI till 30th June.
It is definitely going to help NGOs, if implemented.
Locusts- The Hungry Beasts
The farmers are already distressed because of Covid-19 and to add to their misery, the locusts have invaded their farms. After creating havoc in East Africa, Middle East and Pakistan, these swarms of locusts have arrived in India.
What are locusts?
Locusts are nothing but grasshoppers in a group. They are grasshoppers when they are in solitary and locusts when they are in groups. They have been around but their sudden rise is associated with rise in cyclones and rainfalls. These environmental changes have been a favorable condition for them to breed. The increase in population density leads to changes in their appearance and brain chemistry, which causes them to move in large groups or swarms. The current species are desert locusts.
Why are they a problem?
Locusts basically eat everything that is green. A swarm of locusts consists of 40-80 million adults and that too in a range of one square km. They can cover an area of 100-150 kms in a day.They can eat as much as 10 elephants in one day. One locust has the capacity to consume 2.3kg of food per day. When there is a swarm attack for more than two continuous years it is called plague.
As per the April data, they have destroyed 3,50,000 metric tons of cereal, nearly 2,00,000 hectares of cropland and over 1.3 million hectares of grazing land in Ethiopia. There were $2.5 billion dollars in crop damages after a 2003-2005 locust plague in West Africa. If not controlled they can do a lot of damage to the crops. The damage is not just related to crops but also the psychology of humans. Farmers put their heart and sole to raise crops and when they see it destroyed in minutes they are devastated.
India is facing a problem after a span of 26 years. However, this time the locusts are immature and immature ones are more dangerous as they have a longer life span. The locusts that entered India are about 10-12 days old and are moving in search of food. Since, the Rabi harvesting is over and the Kharif sowing is yet to begin, they were unable to find any vegetation.
Is this a new problem?
Locusts have been a trouble for many decades. In the 19th century, Western America was troubled by a species of locusts called Rocky Mountain. They not only used to eat crops but also wool from the sheep, back of horses and even people’s clothes. These species are now believed to be extinct.
How are they prevented?
They can be prevented to some extent with the use of some chemicals. There are experts who study weather patterns and past records of swarm to see where they might move next. That area is then sprayed with chemicals to prevent them.
With the cyclone Amphan and early rains, these locusts will enjoy good breeding conditions in India and that will be a huge problem for Indian farmers.
Leading from the front-2
The idea of being able to succeed in your field is always one’s dream. There is nothing wrong in dreaming one’s own dreams. But you must be willing to put in effort in things you are not aware of. There are a lot of qualities needed when you are striving for success. That requires more than just hard work and studying. Sure they do have a vital role when you are trying to be a good employee and chasing your dreams but when you are actually trying to last in the field for a long time you should be able to adapt and learn things earlier and faster than your colleagues because time is an important factor. And time is a harder criterion to overcome. But you have to remember that no matter if you are in your 20’s,30’s,40’s or 50’s you never are too late. Simply remember, when you decide to change your life around, always start today itself. Tomorrow is too late for anything in your life. If you decide to be a better person or a better leader, take the initiative and decide today itself. And you will neither doubt your decision nor regret it. If you ever see a good result in your actions, do not regret that you didn’t start earlier, just be grateful that you did start before that tomorrow you procrastinate about.
There are some traits you could use both as a person, employer or as a leader. And that includes many of the basic things you already know about or even have. Nonetheless, evaluate yourself when you read on…
As a person who is looking to improve yourself, the first thing you have to remember is that you should have the ability to question yourself. Be honest as possible is the way to go. When improving yourself you should self evaluate what your shortcomings are. Where do you lack? If you really don’t know how to do that, taking an example would really help. We all have role models. Pick a person you look up to and ask yourself, why this particular person is my role model? What are the things that make them a good person and really liked by people? What are the things that make them unique from the other 7 billion in this world? Once you get the answer to these questions, ask yourself whether you have these values that you aspire to have? If so, how can you improve that skill? If not, how can you better them. When you are trying to change, do not forget you don’t really have to be like your aspiration.No human is perfect. Everyone is flawed and so are you. So be the best you, you can be.No one is ideal. The main person you have to impress is not your loved ones, friends or family, it is yourself. No matter what you do, you should be able to be happy with who you are. Being successful and unhappy with who you are would only put your hard work to waste. So be someone you are proud to be.
Those Misbehaving With Speaker Must Be Permanently Barred
Coming straight to the nub of the matter, let me begin by first and foremost expressing my utmost disgust at the manner in which Members of Parliament (MPs) repeatedly misbehave with the Speaker and still get away with either very light punishment or no punishment at all! This must end now once and for all. No more condoning of such unruly behaviour by MPs who are a disgrace to the entire nation! At the first place, why is there so much of tolerance for such a shameful behaviour?
To put things in perspective, it may be recalled here that Samajwadi Party lawmaker Akshay Yadav was censured last year after he threw bits of paper at Speaker – Sumitra Mahajan as Opposition parties continued their protests against the old 500 and 1000 notes ban by the Centre when the Parliament convened. We all saw how an angry Ms Mahajan adjourned the House. She was visibly upset by such atrocious conduct!
Be it noted, when the House reassembled, the Speaker Sumitra Mahajan reprimanded Akshay Yadav for his conduct. Sumitra minced no words in saying that, “This conduct is not proper on the part of the member and also for the dignity and prestige of the House.” He was let off lightly after a warning from Speaker to refrain from such activities in future.
Let me be direct in asking: Why should MPs be let off even after they misbehave with Speaker? Why are they being encouraged to indulge in such reprehensible acts by letting them off very lightly? Why should they not be permanently barred from entering Parliament or at least barred for the remainder of their term?
Let me also ask some more unpalatable but pertinent questions here: Why in other services like Army or Civil Services are the officers immediately dismissed if they dare to throw papers at their seniors as it is deemed to be “gross misconduct”? Why only are politicians who become MPs or MLAs exempted from it? Why are they treated in such a VVIP manner even though they never tire in calling themselves “public servants”?
Why are they also not immediately barred from entering Parliament or State Assembly again? Why should they be let off after a mere warning or expulsion for just a few days which has just no effect on them which alone explains why Speaker has to repeatedly face insult and humiliation from MPs? Why Centre is not making any strict law in this regard? Why is it taking all this for granted?
Let me be upfront in asking: Why if Speaker refuse to concede to the demands of MPs which is the exclusive prerogative of Speaker to concede or not to concede do they start throwing papers at Speaker? Why can’t MPs be more civilized in their behaviour? Why do they have the liberty to insult Speaker as and when they like and yet continue to enjoy all the privileges of MPs and at the most get expelled for just few days not even months or years or for life?
Let me also be upfront in asking: Why some MPs think that it is their fundamental right to throw papers at Speaker? Why PM, Opposition Leader and MPs feel that throwing of papers should be taken very lightly and under no circumstances should they be expelled except for some few days? Are they not guilty of abetting MPs to time and again indulge in such unruly acts? Why they feel that issue should not be made of it and slight condemnation is enough? Why strict rules are not being framed so that those who don’t know how to behave properly are barred from ever entering Parliament again?
No prizes for guessing that once again on July 24 the Lok Sabha Speaker had to face unruly behaviour from MPs. Topics such as open defecation problem, mob lynchings and attack on Dalits were sought to be highlighted by the Opposition. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge put forward an adjournment motion notice pertaining to mob lynchings and attacks on Dalits which was rejected by the House. He claimed the Opposition was not given a chance to speak.
Let me be quick to ask here: Does this give an unfettered licence to MPs to indulge in gross misconduct by throwing papers at Speaker or start shouting at the top of their voices or tearing papers and throwing them all around in Parliament? Why all politicians feel that all this should be overlooked as MPs enjoy certain privileges? Should this be considered a privilege that MPs insult and humiliate a Speaker and that too a woman Speaker? Why is PM Narendra Modi silent on it?
What is most shocking is that 6 Congressmen who misbehaved were suspended for just 5 days which means that they have been given the unfettered licence to again after coming to Parliament indulge in similar misbehaviour and again face expulsion for just 5 days or so or even let off after a light reprimand which makes no difference to them at all! The suspended members are G Gogoi, K Suresh, Adhiranjan Chowdhary, Ranjeet Ranjan, Sushmita Dev and MK Raghavan.
Let me now also ask some more thought provoking questions: Should all Indians be proud that these 6 Congressmen who had the gall to misbehave with Speaker have been expelled for just 5 days? Why are there no strict rules that if any MP ever dares to throw papers at Speaker, he/she would be barred for life from entering Parliament? Why so lenient rules for MPs? Are such lenient rules not encouraging them to time and again storm to the well of the House and openly misbehave with Speaker as they like and yet continue being the Hon’ble MP?
Let me also not shy away from asking here some more pertinent questions: Why are all MPs including Speaker so conspicuously silent on it? Why should MPs be allowed to throw papers at Speaker and then get away with it by just a slight reprimand or expulsion at the most for few days as we saw recently in the case of these 6 Congressmen? When will this shameful mockery end? How long will the reputed Chair of Speaker be insulted by MPs so brazenly only to come back again to Parliament and repeat the same act?
Can anyone tell me: Why MPs have the liberty to shout as much as they like in Parliament and instead of spending time on relevant things waste time by shouting due to which crores of taxpayers money are frittered away at the drop of a hat and not stopping here further throw papers at Speaker and still continue being MPs for the rest of their life and get away with just a reprimand or few days expulsion from the House? Why should such unruly MPs not be banned for life from entering Parliament? Why should they not be jailed for few years for insulting Speaker? Why should they be paid any salary for being an MP when they don’t even know how to behave inside Parliament?
Truth be told, Sumitra Mahajan was candid enough to say that, “Sad with what happened. Question Hour should never be disrupted. Had told Kharge Ji, I will allow him to speak after Question Hour.” She also said that, “Creating ruckus at Well is non-disciplinary in itself but tearing up paper and throwing it on Speaker 4 times was worse.” Needless to say, the MPs threw pieces of paper and disrupted proceedings during the zero hour. The Speaker suspended them and adjourned the Lok Sabha till 2.30.
Truly speaking, this is not the first time that Congress MPs have been suspended for few days for their unruly behaviour. It may be recalled here that in 2015 also, the Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan had suspended 25 Congress MPs again for just five days for “persistently and willfully obstructing” the House. For how long will this be tolerated quietly? For how long will PM Narendra Modi keep a deafening silence on it?
All Indians must also ask themselves these highly relevant but totally neglected questions: For how long will MPs continue to throw papers and insult Speaker and laugh at being expelled for just few days not more than 5 days as we saw just recently and as we saw in 2015? Should we all be proud of this? Should such unruly MPs not be shown the door for the whole life or at least expelled for the remaining term? How long will Centre take no action on this which concerns the high office of Speaker itself? Who will like to become Speaker if such reprehensible acts are allowed to continue unabated and unpunished?
As if this is not enough, let me also ask here: Why is no news channel or no magazine or no one in media is debating it seriously? Why MPs have the privilege to throw papers at Speaker and escape with just 5 days expulsion from the House? Why even after 70 years of independence we see no strict rules being framed in this regard? This open mockery and most reprehensible act cannot be just condoned by expelling them for a few days.
It needs no rocket scientist to conclude that it is high time and now they must be barred for the rest of their life so that the right message goes out to all MPs that those who can’t respect Speaker have no right to be a MP! How many of us are aware that Speaker office comes above even the CJI? Should it be still insulted in such a brazen manner by MPs on the ground that they have been elected to represent people and raise their voice in Parliament?
Let me hasten to add here: Protest has to be done in a well dignified manner as we see in case of eminent MPs from all parties who never indulge in such unruly behaviour! Let there be no doubt on this! Mayawati also protested and even resigned but she didn’t throw papers at Speaker! That is the proper way!
All said and done, Parliament cannot be allowed to become a dirty fish market where conduct does not matter at all! Most unfortunately, this is what we are seeing in Parliament right now! How long will this reprehensible status quo continue? All MPs must realize this! The earlier they do, the better it shall be for the healthy functioning of our democratic system.
Parliament is the biggest citadel of democracy and few MPs cannot be allowed to hijack it and run it as they like without being checked by anyone or being allowed to escape very lightly! Such unruly MPs must be barred permanently from entering Parliament because they are just not fit for it! When once MPs will be shown the door for life for misbehaving with Speaker, no MP will have the audacity to ever dare to again misbehave with Speaker right inside the House!
But the moot question that arises here is: Will majority of MPs ever allow this to happen has it is they themselves who will be directly affected by such strict rules? MPs only know how to make rules for another but when it comes to them they are not ready for any change and feel that MPs have the right to contest from jails and even if some one is barred from all government jobs because he/she has criminal cases pending against him/her even though they may be false but when it comes to becoming MPs then even dacoits like the former bandit queen Phoolan Devi or anyone else have every right to become an MP! Can this ever be justified? Still our MPs justify this and say that all cases against them are “politically motivated”!
But what about unruly behaviour inside Parliament? For this also they will give hundred reasons! Most unfortunately, here too they are allowed to have the last laugh and continue as MP in spite of misbehaving with Speaker! Why no serious attempt has ever been made by any government to permanently disqualify all such MPs who misbehave with not just Speaker but with anybody else?
Why we see MPs hurling abuses on aeroplane while interacting with some staff official as we saw recently when a Shiv Sena MP slapped an official and even hurled abuses or with anyone else and yet not be expelled from Parliament? Why strict rules and regulations are there for only all other services and departments? Why similar rules not for MPs and MLAs?
Why they are treated as being above law? Why they are allowed to decide their own salary when we don’t see this happening in any other department? We have seen how they raise their salary 100 times or 10 times as per their whims and fancies! This too must end!
On a concluding note, it must be said that a beginning can be made in this direction by at least banning all those MPs and MLAs who misbehave with Speaker or with anyone who is presiding the concerned House! But again the moot questions are: Will this beginning ever be made? Will MPs and MLAs ever allow it to happen? Will the time ever come in our nation when those misbehaving with Speaker or with anyone presiding the House would be barred for life so that only those who display exemplary conduct are allowed to continue as MPs and MLAs? It is our national image that will enhance if this happens and huge taxpayers money won’t be wasted because of the shouting brigade who would then find no place in Parliament or in any State Assembly to sit and create a ruckus, throw papers at Speaker or at anyone who is presiding the concerned House and yet continue as Member of that House!
Sanjeeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kaankerkhera,
Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.
Calcutta High Court Lashes Out At Centre Over Judges’ Shortage
Introduction
Coming straight to the nub of the matter, in a scathing attack on the Centre for delaying the appointment of Judges, the Calcutta High Court Bench comprising of Justices Dipankar Datta and Debi Prosad Dey onJuly 12 while hearing a bail plea for actor Vikram Chatterjee involving the death of a model Sonika Chauhan termed the shortage of Judges as a “very major problem” that the oldest high court of the country was encountering. The observations came as the Bench noted that the actor’s bail application could not be listed on time by the court due to which he was arrested leaving his plea infructuous. The Calcutta High Court while casting Centre’s nonchalant approach on such a key issue said it was working with a little less than 50 percent strength as the functional strength of Judges in the court was only 34, while the sanctioned number was 72.
Appoint More Judges
Neeedless to say, the Calcutta High Court has warned of “appropriate action” if urgent steps are not taken on it, while asking whether the nation could think of the Parliament functioning with half its strength. The Bench did not hesitate in making it absolutely clear that, “The time is now ripe for speaking our mind out or else this premier institution, which has stood tall despite several odds, would gradually cease to lose its efficacy. The Bar and the litigant public have been tolerant so long, but this Bench cannot remain a silent spectator waiting for the inevitable ire to explode.” Centre must stop coughing up a long list of excuses and should immediately sit on the drawing board and draw up plan to fill up all the vacancies of Judges in different High Courts without wasting any more time! There are more than 400 posts of High Court Judges that lie vacant across the country.
Not The First Time
Without mincing any words, let me say this point blank: This is not the first time this concern has been expressed. We all know it fully well that how earlier also former Chief Justice of India TS Thakur had expressed his utmost unhappiness over delay in appointment of Judges and said courts in the country now require more than 70,000 Judges to clear the pending cases. “While we (judiciary) remain keen to ensure that Judges appointments are made quickly, the machinery involved with the appointment of Judges continues to grind very slowly. The confidence of people on the judiciary has, over the years, multiplied. Over three crore cases are pending in various courts across the country,” said former CJI TS Thakur while speaking on the opening day of the centennial celebration of the Odisha High Court at Cuttack. A standoff between the judiciary and the government in the last 18 months over drafting of the new Memorandum of Procedure, the guidelines for appointing Judges, has further added to the problem. It is pending mainly due to differences on its content between the executive and the collegiums. It is a matter of grave concern that the friction between the two sides which repeatedly hit the headlines during the previous Chief Justice of India TS Thakur’s time is continuing even till now!
Be it noted, the former CJI TS Thakur said around 170 proposals for appointment of High Court Judges were now pending with the government. “Access to justice is a fundamental right and the government cannot afford to deny the people their fundamental right,” he said. Former CJI Thakur said shortage of Judges was one of the formidable challenges faced now. Of some 900 sanctioned posts of Judges in different High Courts of the country, there are over 450 vacancies, which need to be filled up immediately. He said while the Law Commission of India in 1987 had suggested having 44,000 Judges to effectively tackle the then number of pending cases, the country today has only 18,000 Judges. He also lamented earlier at a function in Delhi that the judiciary had been made the scapegoat for the mounting pendency of cases.
Fill Vacancies In All High Courts
It must also be reiterated here that the Judges shortage problem is not just confined to Calcutta High Court alone. It is also spread over all other major states barring one or two smaller high courts in smaller states. Why even in UP we see that Allahabad High Court has sanctioned strength of 160 Judges yet not even half the vacancies are filled up? This has been going on for many decades. This must end now and vacancies must all be filled up on a war footing!
Truly speaking, Centre cites hundred reasons as to why more benches cannot be set up in big states like UP like the one that there is lot of opposition from the High Court itself. Agreed! But who will dispute that the huge vacancies in all big courts like Allahabad High Court where more than 10 lakh cases are pending must be filled up completely. Not even one seat should be left vacant! But what we see instead is that more than half seats keep lying vacant and Centre is always ready to cite hundred reasons for not filling up the vacancies! This is just not in order! There is no shortage of talented lawyers who are fit to become High Court Judges. But Centre is not ready to fill the vacancies. Centre is also the biggest litigator due to which we see so many cases piling up in courts! Though there are no official figures, the government is the country’s biggest litigator, being a party in about half of the country’s 27 million pending cases.
Immediate Action
Now coming back to the main subject, the Calcutta High Court has criticized the Centre over alleged delay in appointment of Judges, while asking whether the nation could think of the Parliament functioning with half its strength. A Division Bench of Justices Dipankar Dutta and DP Dey said that, “Immediate action is called for to appoint maximum number of Judges to prevent the justice delivery system from collapsing, which seems to be imminent.” At the first place such a despicable situation should never have cropped up!
Top Priority To Appointing Judges
While craving for the exclusive indulgence of my esteemed readers, let me inform them that the Bench of Calcutta High Court has said that the functional strength of Judges in the Calcutta High Court was 34, while the sanctioned strength was 72. It said that, “The present functional strength is, therefore, a little less than 50 percent of the sanctioned strength.” The Calcutta High Court asked the Union Law Minister to intervene and give top priority to appointing Judges in the Calcutta High Court.
As things stand, the Bench observed that, “With less than half the sanctioned strength, the Calcutta High Court is reeling under an acute shortage of Judges to carry out judicial operations.” It also observed that, “The sanctioned strength of Judges in this Court is 72. Till a couple of years ago, the sanctioned strength was 58. Today, this Court has a functional strength of 34 Judges only. The present functional strength is, therefore, a little less than 50 percent of the sanctioned strength.”
Centre Must Act And Not Remain Silent
For my esteemed readers exclusive indulgence, let me also inform them that the Calcutta High Court minced no words in making it absolutely clear that, “The politeness of this Bench may not be understood as weakness on its part to be firm. It is made clear that continued silence of the central government in the matter of appointment of Judges in the near future, despite the concerns expressed in this order, would certainly be viewed seriously as interference in the course of administration of justice and followed by appropriate action as authorized in law”. Very rightly said!
Thought Provoking Questions On Vacancies
Let me be direct in asking: Why Centre is not ensuring that the vacancies of High Court Judges are not filled up completely? Why is Centre not serious on this? Why Centre does not realize that just paying lip service alone that it is dedicated to reduce the huge pending cases by appointing more Judges without translating it into action will lead the nation to nowhere except disaster as we are seeing right now which alone explains why Calcutta High Court felt constrained to speak out so hardly?
Let me also be direct in asking: Why Centre does not realize that the judicial system ,ay lose its efficacy if urgent measures were not taken as pointed out by Calcutta High Court? Why Centre does not realize that Calcutta High Court is reeling under an acute shortage of Judges which should have been filled up a lot earlier? Why Calcutta High Court is compelled to slam Centre for neglecting the so sensitive issue due to which it has accused the executive of being “authoritarian”?
To put things in perspective, the Calcutta High Court Bench’s observations came after it could not hear an anticipatory bail plea for more than a month after it was filed on June 5. The petitioner was arrested on July 6 and the plea was junked by the Bench on July 12 as infructuous. The Bench said that by February 2018, 10 Judges of the Calcutta High Court will retire, cutting the strength to 24 if no fresh appointment is made by that time.
Truth be told, the Calcutta High Court Bench very rightly asserted that, “Working at less than 50 percent strength, disposal of proceedings in this court have been quite high in the sense that it is complete with disposals of High Courts functioning with greater strength of Judges.” Having said this, it also made it amply clear that, “Nonetheless, it cannot be doubted that whatever is being achieved is far below the expectation of the litigants”. There can be no denying this.
Dearth Of Judges
The billion dollar question that the Bench of Calcutta High Court asked and then itself replied while pulling up Centre for continued neglect was “Can the nation think of the Lok Sabha in a functional state with half of its elected members? Similarly, can legislative assemblies function at half-strength? The answer cannot be in the affirmative.” Very rightly said. It also rightly said that, “The Lok Sabha and/or the Legislative Assemblies are important Constitutional entities and it would be a disgrace for the largest democracy of the world if elections were not conducted on time.” The Bench very rightly observed while slamming Centre for “neglecting” the problem for long and accusing the executive of being “authoritarian” that, “It does not require one to be super intelligent to make the right guess. It is the problem of dearth of adequate number of Judges in this Court. It has continued from yesteryears and assumed the character of a perpetual concern, which the powers that be having the wherewithal to address and resolve have neglected by their various shades of authoritarianism.”
High Courts Being Left In Lurch
It also cannot be lost on us that the Bench of Calcutta High Court said the Centre wastes no time in filling up vacancies in bureaucratic posts. It also hammered home the crucial point that, “This Bench is thus left to wonder as to why only in respect of filling up of vacancies in the High Courts, which are also high Constitutional authorities, there is such a brazen apathy and indifference of the political executive.” We thus see that the Calcutta high Court rebukes the Union Law Ministry for “brazen apathy, indifference”. Why only High Courts are being left in the lurch?
Independence Of Judiciary
Calling out the “brazen apathy and indifference of the political executive”, the Calcutta High Court Bench argued very strongly and effectively that, “The independence of the judiciary is regarded as a basic structure of the Constitution, rendering a particular High Court ineffective by adopting a step-motherly attitude cannot but draw the frown of a civilized society.” While delivering a stern warning for the Centre to pull its act together, the Court also asked the Registrar General to intimate the Union Law Ministry about the order on priority. The Court also directed that a copy of the order must be sent to Union law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad “so that the matter relating to appointment of Judges in this court is given topmost priority”.
Conclusion
It needs no rocket scientist to conclude that there is lot of merit in what the Calcutta High Court Bench has said. Centre must take immediate action in this regard and fill up all the vacancies of Judges not just in Calcutta High Court but also in other High Courts. It is the common man especially undertrials who suffers the most due to lack of Judges and often end up being in jail for more the time than the offence which they are accused of and which if they had committed would still have come out of jail after completing their jail term! No more excuses! No more delays! The vacancies in High Courts must be filled up in all States without exception. This is the bounden duty of the Centre and it is not doing any favour on anyone by filling up the vacant posts.
Written by:
Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera,
Meerut – 250001,
Uttar Pradesh.
Different Types of Bio Fertilisers
Biofertilizers
Biofertilizers are defined as preparations containing living cells or latent cells of efficient strains of microorganisms that help crop plants’ uptake of nutrients by their interactions in the rhizosphere when applied through seed or soil. They accelerate certain microbial processes in the soil which augment the extent of availability of nutrients in a form easily assimilated by plants.
Very often microorganisms are not as efficient in natural surroundings as one would expect them to be and therefore artificially multiplied cultures of efficient selected microorganisms play a vital role in accelerating the microbial processes in soil.
Use of biofertilizers is one of the important components of integrated nutrient management, as they are cost effective and renewable source of plant nutrients to supplement the chemical fertilizers for sustainable agriculture. Several microorganisms and their association with crop plants are being exploited in the production of biofertilizers. They can be grouped in different ways based on their nature and function.
| S. No. | Groups | Examples |
| N2 fixing Biofertilizers | ||
| 1. | Free-living | Azotobacter, Beijerinkia, Clostridium, Klebsiella, Anabaena, Nostoc, |
| 2. | Symbiotic | Rhizobium, Frankia, Anabaena azollae |
| 3. | Associative Symbiotic | Azospirillum |
| P Solubilizing Biofertilizers | ||
| 1. | Bacteria | Bacillus megaterium var. phosphaticum, Bacillus subtilis Bacillus circulans, Pseudomonas striata |
| 2. | Fungi | Penicillium sp, Aspergillus awamori |
| P Mobilizing Biofertilizers | ||
| 1. | Arbuscular mycorrhiza | Glomus sp.,Gigaspora sp.,Acaulospora sp., Scutellospora sp. & Sclerocystis sp. |
| 2. | Ectomycorrhiza | Laccaria sp., Pisolithus sp., Boletus sp., Amanita sp. |
| 3. | Ericoid mycorrhizae | Pezizella ericae |
| 4. | Orchid mycorrhiza | Rhizoctonia solani |
| Biofertilizers for Micro nutrients | ||
| 1. | Silicate and Zinc solubilizers | Bacillus sp. |
| Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria | ||
| 1. | Pseudomonas | Pseudomonas fluorescens |
| Rhizobium | |
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Rhizobium is a soil habitat bacterium, which can able to colonize the legume roots and fixes the atmospheric nitrogen symbiotically. The morphology and physiology of Rhizobium will vary from free-living condition to the bacteroid of nodules. They are the most efficient biofertilizer as per the quantity of nitrogen fixed concerned. They have seven genera and highly specific to form nodule in legumes, referred as cross inoculation group.
Rhizobium inoculant was first made in USA and commercialized by private enterprise in 1930s and the strange situation at that time has been chronicled by Fred (1932).
Initially, due to absence of efficient bradyrhizobial strains in soil, soybean inoculation at that time resulted in bumper crops but incessant inoculation during the last four decades by US farmers has resulted in the build up of a plethora of inefficient strains in soil whose replacement by efficient strains of bradyrhizobia has become an insurmountable problem.
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| Azotobacter | |
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Of the several species of Azotobacter, A. chroococcum happens to be the dominant inhabitant in arable soils capable of fixing N2 (2-15 mg N2 fixed /g of carbon source) in culture media.
The bacterium produces abundant slime which helps in soil aggregation. The numbers of A. chroococcum in Indian soils rarely exceeds 105/g soil due to lack of organic matter and the presence of antagonistic microorganisms in soil.
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| Azospirillum | |
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Azospirillum lipoferum and A. brasilense (Spirillum lipoferum in earlier literature) are primary inhabitants of soil, the rhizosphere and intercellular spaces of root cortex of graminaceous plants. They perform the associative symbiotic relation with the graminaceous plants.
The bacteria of Genus Azospirillum are N2 fixing organisms isolated from the root and above ground parts of a variety of crop plants. They are Gram negative, Vibrio or Spirillum having abundant accumulation of polybetahydroxybutyrate (70 %) in cytoplasm.
Five species of Azospirillum have been described to date A. brasilense, A.lipoferum, A.amazonense, A.halopraeferens and A.irakense. The organism proliferates under both anaerobic and aerobic conditions but it is preferentially micro-aerophilic in the presence or absence of combined nitrogen in the medium.
Apart from nitrogen fixation, growth promoting substance production (IAA), disease resistance and drought tolerance are some of the additional benefits due to Azospirillum inoculation.
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| Cyanobacteria | |
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Both free-living as well as symbiotic cyanobacteria (blue green algae) have been harnessed in rice cultivation in India. A composite culture of BGA having heterocystous Nostoc, Anabaena, Aulosira etc. is given as primary inoculum in trays, polythene lined pots and later mass multiplied in the field for application as soil based flakes to the rice growing field at the rate of 10 kg/ha. The final product is not free from extraneous contaminants and not very often monitored for checking the presence of desiredalgal flora.
Once so much publicized as a biofertilizer for the rice crop, it has not presently attracted the attention of rice growers all over India except pockets in the Southern States, notably Tamil Nadu. The benefits due to algalization could be to the extent of 20-30 kg N/ha under ideal conditions but the labour oriented methodology for the preparation of BGA biofertilizer is in itself a limitation. Quality control measures are not usually followed except perhaps for random checking for the presence of desired species qualitatively.
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Azolla
Azolla is a free-floating water fern that floats in water and fixes atmospheric nitrogen in association with nitrogen fixing blue green alga Anabaena azollae. Azolla fronds consist of sporophyte with a floating rhizome and small overlapping bi-lobed leaves and roots. Rice growing areas in South East Asia and other third World countries have recently been evincing increased interest in the use of the symbiotic N2 fixing water fern Azolla either as an alternate nitrogen sources or as a supplement to commercial nitrogen fertilizers. Azolla is used as biofertilizer for wetland rice and it is known to contribute 40-60 kg N/ha per rice crop.
Phosphate solubilizing microorganisms(PSM)
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Several soil bacteria and fungi, notably species of Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Penicillium, Aspergillus etc. secrete organic acids and lower the pH in their vicinity to bring about dissolution of bound phosphates in soil. Increased yields of wheat and potato were demonstrated due to inoculation of peat based cultures of Bacillus polymyxa and Pseudomonas striata. Currently, phosphate solubilizers are manufactured by agricultural universities and some private enterprises and sold to farmers through governmental agencies. These appear to be no check on either the quality of the inoculants marketed in India or the establishment of the desired organisms in the rhizosphere.
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AM fungi
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The transfer of nutrients mainly phosphorus and also zinc and sulphur from the soil milleu to the cells of the root cortex is mediated by intracellular obligate fungal endosymbionts of the genera Glomus, Gigaspora, Acaulospora, Sclerocysts and Endogone which possess vesicles for storage of nutrients and arbuscles for funneling these nutrients into the root system. By far, the commonest genus appears to be Glomus, which has several species distributed in soil.
Availability for pure cultures of AM (Arbuscular Mycorrhiza) fungi is an impediment in large scale production despite the fact that beneficial effects of AM fungal inoculation to plants have been repeatedly shown under experimental conditions in the laboratory especially in conjunction with other nitrogen fixers.
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Silicate solubilizing bacteria (SSB)
Microorganisms are capable of degrading silicates and aluminum silicates. During the metabolism of microbes several organic acids are produced and these have a dual role in silicate weathering. They supply H+ ions to the medium and promote hydrolysis and the organic acids like citric, oxalic acid, Keto acids and hydroxy carbolic acids which from complexes with cations, promote their removal and retention in the medium in a dissolved state.
The studies conducted with a Bacillus sp. isolated from the soil of granite crusher yard showed that the bacterium is capable of dissolving several silicate minerals under in vitrocondition. The examination of anthrpogenic materials like cement, agro inputs like super phosphate and rock phosphate exhibited silicate solubilizing bacteria to a varying degree. The bacterial isolates made from different locations had varying degree of silicate solubilizing potential. Soil inoculation studies with selected isolate with red soil, clay soil, sand and hilly soil showed that the organisms multiplied in all types of soil and released more of silica and the available silica increased in soil and water. Rice responded well to application of organic sliceous residue like rice straw, rice husk and black ash @ 5 t/ha. Combining SSB with these residues further resulted in increased plant growth and grain yield. This enhancement is due to increased dissolution of silica and nutrients from the soil.
Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR)
The group of bacteria that colonize roots or rhizosphere soil and beneficial to crops are referred to as plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR).
The PGPR inoculants currently commercialized that seem to promote growth through at least one mechanism; suppression of plant disease (termed Bioprotectants), improved nutrient acquisition (termed Biofertilizers), or phytohormone production (termed Biostimulants). Species of Pseudomonas and Bacillus can produce as yet not well characterized phytohormones or growth regulators that cause crops to have greater amounts of fine roots which have the effect of increasing the absorptive surface of plant roots for uptake of water and nutrients. These PGPR are referred to as Biostimulants and the phytohormones they produce include indole-acetic acid, cytokinins, gibberellins and inhibitors of ethylene production.
Recent advances in molecular techniques also are encouraging in that tools are becoming available to determine the mechanism by which crop performance is improved using PGPR and track survival and activity of PGPR organisms in soil and roots. The science of PGPR is at the stage where genetically modified PGPR can be produced. PGPR with antibiotic, phytohormone and siderophore production can be made.
Despite of promising results, biofertilizers has not got widespread application in agriculture mainly because of the variable response of plant species or genotypes to inoculation depending on the bacterial strain used. Differential rhizosphere effect of crops in harbouring a target strain or even the modulation of the bacterial nitrogen fixing and phosphate solubilizing capacity by specific root exudates may account for the observed differences. On the other hand, good competitive ability and high saprophytic competence are the major factors determining the success of a bacterial strain as an inoculant.
Studies to know the synergistic activities and persistence of specific microbial populations in complex environments, such as the rhizosphere, should be addressed in order to obtain efficient inoculants. In this regards, research efforts are made at Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai to obtain appropriate formulations of microbial inoculants incorporating nitrogen fixing, phosphate- and silicate- solubilizing bacteria and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria which will help in promoting the use of such beneficial bacteria in sustainable agriculture.
Liquid Biofertilizers
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Biofertilizers are such as Rhizobium, Azospirillum and Phosphobacteria provide nitrogen and phosphorous nutrients to crop plants through nitrogen fixation and phosphorous solubilization processes. These Biofertilizers could be effectively utilized for rice, pulses, millets, cotton, sugarcane, vegetable and other horticulture crops.
Biofertilizers is one of the prime input in organic farming not only enhances the crop growth and yield but also improves the soil health and sustain soil fertility.
At present, Biofertilizers are supplied to the farmers as carrier based inoculants. As an alternative, liquid formulation technology has been developed in the Department of Agricultural Microbiology, TNAU, Coimbatore which has more advantages than the carrier inoculants.
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Benefits
The advantages of Liquid Bio-fertilizer over conventional carrier based Bio-fertilizers are listed below:
- Longer shelf life -12-24 months.
- No contamination.
- No loss of properties due to storage upto 45º c.
- Greater potentials to fight with native population.
- High populations can be maintained more than 109 cells/ml upto 12 months to 24 months.
- Easy identification by typical fermented smell.
- Cost saving on carrier material, pulverization, neutralization, sterilization, packing and transport.
- Quality control protocols are easy and quick.
- Better survival on seeds and soil.
- No need of running Bio-fertilizer production units through out the year.
- Very much easy to use by the farmer.
- Dosages is 10 time less than carrier based powder Bio-fertilizers.
- High commercial revenues.
- High export potential.
- Very high enzymatic activity since contamination is nil.
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