Powering India’s future

News:

• In her seventh consecutive Budget speech, the Finance Minister announced measures indicating India’s commitment to its clean energy transition.

Measures include:

• Developing policies on pumped hydro storage.
• Energy transition pathways to support nuclear energy and energy efficiency.

Issues:

• Growing economy and warming climate.
• 2024 summer’s record-breaking heat waves, which drove up power demand.

Priorities of the present government:

• Energy security
• Clean energy transition

Key milestones India has achieved in the last decade:

• Near-universal electrification through the Saubhagya scheme.
• Independent surveys by the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW) suggesting that approximately 97% of households were electrified in 2020.
• Five-fold increase in installed renewable energy (RE) capacity, making India the fourth-largest country globally by RE capacity.
• 40% drop in aggregate losses of power distribution companies (discoms), to an all-time low of about 15% in 2022-23.

Challenges:

• India confronts challenges in decarbonising its power system at speed and scale while supplying quality and affordable power to consumers.
• Annual electricity demand has been growing by 7-9% every year since the COVID-19 pandemic, peak demand is rising even faster.
• Climate change-induced weather extremes further exacerbate the challenges.
• For discoms, meeting unplanned surges through affordable options and existing network capacity is challenging, resulting in power outages.

Addressing the concerns:

The government must raise targets for renewable energy and storage systems to go beyond 500 GW in 2030:

• Despite past efforts to add renewable capacity, its share in India’s power generation mix is just 13%.
• Previous power supply shortages and expectations of rising energy demand have driven policymakers to bet on new coal capacity. Instead, we must strive to raise the share of renewables in India’s power generation mix and scale up storage solutions.
• Renewables and storage can support peak demand, are cost-competitive, and are faster to build.

Steer faster deployment of diverse clean energy resources:

• In 2023 alone, China added 300 GW of solar and wind capacity, while the European Union added 73 GW. As of March, India’s cumulative renewable capacity stood at 144 GW, with another 128 GW in the pipeline.
• This comparison indicates the urgency of deploying clean resources at speed and scale. It requires tapping the RE potential in more States as well as faster grid connectivity and access to suitable, conflict-free land for the timely commissioning of projects.
• Diversifying from solar energy to other clean technologies would also help India meet its evolving demand.

Implement measures to improve the availability of energy:

• During FY23, only 6.3% of India’s power generation was procured through power exchanges, with the rest coming through bilateral agreements.
• The low liquidity in the power exchange presents price volatility risks. This restricts both buyers and sellers from relying on the exchange for power procurement and value recovery, and in turn, constrains our ability to integrate renewables at scale.
• India needs innovation in bid designs to attract RE developers to sell power in the exchange, besides setting up capacities for long-term contracts.

Ensure effective maintenance and utilisation of the coal fleet:

• CEEW’s analysis of MERIT data shows that, in FY24, more than 210 GW of coal capacity generated about 80% of the power during non-solar hours.
• However, more than 40 GW of coal capacity was unavailable for nearly 60% of the time that year, due to planned maintenance or technical faults.
• State regulators must revise the norms to enable timely upkeep of the coal fleet and compensate for investments to make select coal plants flexible.

Fast-track digitalisation to empower discoms and consumers to play an active role in India’s energy transition:

• Smart meters would enable discoms to forecast power demand accurately, plan networks better, and integrate renewables cost-effectively.
• More than 11 million smart meters have already been installed in India, with half of these in Bihar and Assam. However, India’s smart metering drive is far from the 250 million target.
• Discoms must overcome their hesitation and take inspiration from Bihar and Assam, which are already reaping benefits like reduced losses and timely bill delivery to consumers through smart metering.
• But keeping consumer privacy and system preparedness against cyber-attacks at the heart of regulations and digitalisation efforts would be crucial.

Conclusion:

• Investing in a cleaner, flexible, and resilient power grid will help Indian economy grow sustainably and create jobs in the clean energy sectors.

CPI submits breach of privilege notice against Shah

News:

• After Congress, the CPI has submitted a breach of privilege notice against Union Home Minister Amit Shah for misleading Rajya Sabha.

Context:

• “The Union Home Minister said the warnings were issued 7 days prior to the landslides in Wayanad… According to the communication from the IMD, the affected areas and the sub-division were never under a Red Alert, which warrants taking action. It was only after the occurrences of landslides that the area was placed under Red Alert.”

Parliamentary privilege:

• Definition: Parliamentary privilege refers to rights and immunities enjoyed by Parliament as an institution and MPs in their individual capacity, without which they cannot discharge their functions as entrusted upon them by the Constitution.
• Constitutional provisions: Articles 105 and 194 of the Constitution deal with the powers, privileges and immunities of Members of Parliament/State Legislatures and their House, Members and Committees.
• According to the Constitution, the powers, privileges and immunities of Parliament and MP’s are to be defined by Parliament.
• No law has so far been enacted in this respect.
• In the absence of any such law, it continues to be governed by British Parliamentary conventions.

Main privileges of parliament:

• Freedom of Speech in Parliament [Article 105(1)].
• Immunity to a Member from any proceedings in any court in respect of anything said or any vote given by him in Parliament or any Committee thereof [Article 105(2)].
• Immunity to a person from proceedings in any court in respect of the publication by or under the authority of either House of Parliament of any report, paper, votes or proceedings [Article 105(2)].

Breach of Privilege and Contempt of Parliament:

• When any individual or authority disregards or undermines any of the privileges, rights and immunities, either of the Members individually or of the House in its collective capacity, the offence is called a breach of privilege and is punishable by the House.
• Contempt of the House may be defined generally as “any act or omission which obstructs or impedes either House of Parliament in the performance of its functions, or which obstructs or impedes any Member or Officer of such House in the discharge of his duty, or which has a tendency directly or indirectly, to produce such results”.

Some of the important types of contempt of Parliament:

• Speeches or writings reflecting on the character or proceedings of the House or its Committees, or any member of the House relating to his character or conduct as a member of Parliament.
• Reflections on the character or impartiality of the Chairman/ Speaker in the discharge of his/ her duties as the Chairman/ Speaker.
• Publication of false or distorted report of the debates and proceedings of the House.
• Publication of expunged proceedings of the House.
• Publication of proceedings of secret Sessions of the House.

Power of Parliament to punish contempt:

• Each House of Parliament is the guardian of its own privileges.
• The House may punish a person found guilty of breach of privileges or contempt of the House either by reprimand or admonition or by imprisonment for a specified period.
• In case of its own Members, two other punishments can be awarded by the House, namely, suspension from the service of the House and expulsion.

Freedom of speech:

• This privilege is embodied in clauses (1) and (2) of Article 105 of the Constitution.
• Under this privilege, no action can be taken against a Member of Parliament in any court or before any authority other than Parliament in respect of anything said or any vote given by him in Parliament or any Committee thereof.
• A Member cannot be held accountable/ questioned in any court or by any agency outside Parliament for any disclosures he may make in Parliament.

Parliamentary privileges and the press:

• Normally, no restrictions are imposed on reporting the proceedings of the House. It is, however, a breach of privilege and contempt of the House to publish expunged proceedings of the House.

Privilege of freedom from arrest or molestation:

• Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 provides for freedom from arrest and detention of Members under civil process during the continuance of the meeting of the House or of a committee thereof forty days before its commencement and forty days after its conclusion.
• The privilege of freedom from arrest does not, however, extend to criminal offence or cases of detention under the preventive detention legislation.
• The failure on the part of a Judge or a Magistrate or other authority to inform the House of the arrest/ detention or imprisonment of a Member would constitute a breach of privilege of the House.

Questions of privilege and working of committee of privileges:

• A question of privilege may be raised in the House only after obtaining the consent of the Chairman.
• The question whether a matter complained of, is actually a breach of privilege or contempt of the House is entirely for the House to decide, as the House alone is the custodian of its privileges.
• The Committee of Privileges examines every question of privilege referred to it and determines with reference to the facts of each case whether a breach of privilege is involved and, if so, the nature of the breach, the circumstances leading to it and make such recommendations as it may deem fit.

Breach of privilege by a member of house:

• The offending Member, officer or servant tenders any apology to the Presiding Officer of the House in which the question of privilege is raised or the Presiding Officer of the other House to which the reference is made, no further action in the matter may be taken after such apology is tendered.

India-Bangladesh bilateral relations

News:

• Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who had been in power for the past 15 years, resigned and fled the country after weeks of deadly unrest.

Introduction:

• India and Bangladesh share deep-rooted bonds of history, language, culture, and multitude of other commonalities.
• The outstanding nature of bilateral ties is reflected in an all-encompassing partnership based on sovereignty, equality, trust, and understanding.
• This partnership has evolved as model for bilateral relations for the entire region and beyond.

Areas of cooperation:

Security and Border Management:

• There is active cooperation between various agencies of both countries working together to cooperate on police matters, anti-corruption activities and combat the issues of illicit drug trafficking, fake currency, human trafficking.
• Peaceful and cooperative management mechanisms for the security of 4,096 kms long international border are actively focused on border fencing, joint inspection of boundary pillars, joint boundary demarcation, including of riverine boundaries.

Defence Cooperation:

• In the defence sector, significant bilateral exchanges took place in 2023-2024 with incoming and outgoing visits of the Chiefs of the Indian and Bangladesh Armed Forces.
• The exchanges between armed forces continue to strengthen the cooperation between armed forces.

Connectivity:

Railway Connectivity:

• India and Bangladesh have consistently stepped up their cooperation in railways sector.
• The Lines of credit Program of India for Bangladesh also aims at strengthening the railway infrastructure of Bangladesh aiming for capacity building as well.
• The rail link will provide an alternate route to India’s North-East.

Road and Inland Water Connectivity:

• Currently five bus services routes are operational between India and Bangladesh
• India and Bangladesh have a Protocol on Inland Waterways Trade and Transit (PIWTT) for facilitating trade and transit between the two countries through the inland waterways.
• PIWTT permits movement of goods for inter-country trade as well as transit over barges/vessels through the river systems of India and Bangladesh.
• Cruise services between both countries through usage of PIWTT routes have also been operational.

Port Connectivity:

• Both countries have operationalized the Agreement for the usage of Chittagong and Mongla Ports in 2023.
• This will allow India to avail the services of these ports in Bangladesh for transit cargo between Northeast and mainland India.
• This will significantly reduce the cost and time of transportation.

Economic and Commercial:

• Bangladesh is India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia and India is the second biggest trade partner of Bangladesh in Asia.
• Bangladesh exported USD 1.97 billion of goods to India in FY 2023-24. In FY 2023-24, the total bilateral trade has been reported as USD 14.01 billion.
• New areas of commercial cooperation such as cooperation in the Start-up Sector have emerged over the years.

Power and Energy:

• Cooperation in power and energy sector has become one of the crucial pillars of India- Bangladesh relations. Bangladesh is currently importing 1160 MW of power from India.
• The Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant has been made operational in supplying electricity to Bangladesh grid.
• India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline between both countries for carriage of High Speed Diesel from India into Bangladesh.

Development Partnership:

• Bangladesh is the largest development partner of India today.
• India has extended Lines of Credits (LOC) to Bangladesh for development of infrastructure in various sectors including roads, railways, shipping and ports.
• The Government of India has also been providing grant assistance to Bangladesh for various infrastructure projects including, construction of Akhaura-Agartala rail link, dredging of inland waterways in Bangladesh and construction of India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline.
• High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs) constitute an active pillar of India’s development assistance.
• Human resource development and capacity building is a key component of India’s development cooperation efforts in Bangladesh through its several on-going training programs and scholarships.
• The Government of India has been providing training to Bangladesh Civil Service officials, police officials, judicial officials and judges, professionals at various premier training institutes in India.

Cultural Cooperation:

• The Indira Gandhi Cultural Centre and the Indian Cultural Centre in Dhaka both play an important role in celebration of common cultural links between the two countries.
• Its training programs including Yoga, Kathak, Manipuri dance, Hindi language, Hindustani classical music and the cultural programs of renowned artists of India and Bangladesh contribute in promotion of people-to-people contacts.

Visas:

• Indian visas issued in Bangladesh constitute the largest visa operations India conducts worldwide.

Irritants in bilateral relations:

Water:

• Bangladesh and India share 54 transnational rivers. But there is only one water-sharing agreement, i.e., Ganga water-sharing treaty.
• Teesta is the fourth largest transboundary river of Bangladesh for irrigation and fishing. Negotiations on Teesta water sharing has been going on since 1983.
• Thus, the water-sharing issue has long been a matter of concern for both India and Bangladesh

Trade imbalance:

• The trade deficit is the most crucial among the existing challenges in India-Bangladesh relations. It is now a shared realization that the imbalance does not favor the interest of either partner.

Border Killing:

• The Bangladesh-India border has been designated a “killing border” and the world’s deadliest boundary.
• India implemented a ‘shoot-to-kill’ policy towards undocumented Bengali immigrants.

Rohingya Issue:

• More than a million Rohingya people have taken shelter in the crowded camps of Bangladesh since 2017.
• As a reliable ally of India in South Asia, Bangladesh desired India’s support in the issue of the Rohingya refugees’ repatriation to Myanmar.

Perceptions of Indian Political Elites Cause Mistrust:

• Political Elite’s speeches about Bangladesh sometimes have a negative impression of India and challenge its friendly nature towards Bangladesh.

Unkept Promises:

• Unkept promises are a common phenomenon in Bangladesh-India bilateral ties, and it has been occurring as a decade-old legacy.
• Many disputed issues have been unsolved, including Teesta River Water sharing, still deteriorating the ties.

External Influences:

• The prolonged enmity between New Delhi and Dhaka will be China’s most significant advantage, increasing Bangladesh’s political and economic sway.
• Bangladesh’s geographic position has made it advantageous for China as a developing nation looking for foreign investment.

Conclusion:

• Bangladesh, India’s most dependable South Asian partner, is not a mere neighbor. It is one of India’s most critical strategic allies, and India cannot afford to ignore it. On the other hand, Bangladesh, which shares most of its border with India, has always prioritized India in its foreign policy.
• As India embarks on a lengthy journey to achieve its aim of being a “Regional power,” Bangladesh has the potential to become South Asia’s economic center of gravity due to its strategic location as the Bay of Bengal’s gateway; both countries rely on one another.