Mains Q & A 22 December 2022

Q1. The creation of tribunals in India sought to combine two goals: swift and inexpensive justice. Analyze the performance of India’s tribunals critically. (250 words)

Paper & Topic: GS II Statutory and Non – Statutory Bodies

Model Answer:

Introduction:

Disputes between the parties are resolved by a tribunal, which is a group of judges who hear cases and apply their judicial rather than solely administrative authorities. As a quasi-judicial authority, it was created to handle issues like settling administrative or tax-related disputes. The Central Administrative Tribunal, the National Green Tribunal, and other tribunals are addressed in Part XIV-A of the Constitution, which consists of two Articles 323A and 323B.

Body:

The effectiveness of the judiciary and courts:

Flexibility: Natural justice is used rather than the strict standards of procedure and evidence that are used by the courts.

When justice is administered administratively, it is done so more quickly and efficiently. Its processes are simple and accessible to the common person.

Assistance to Courts: The tribunals have a vital and specialised role in the administration of justice. They relieve some of the burden placed on the already overworked courts. They hear cases on a variety of subjects, including the military, the environment, taxes, and administrative problems.

Reduce pending: Domestic tribunals and other tribunals, collectively referred to as the Tribunals, were established under various Statutes in order to tackle the issue caused by the ongoing status of adequate justice Administrative courts are the best sort of administrative action in the rapidly changing world of today. They are also the most efficient way to provide the general public with just justice. cases in various Courts.

It is challenging for lawyers to analyse the needs of the contemporary welfare society effectively because of their greater emphasis to legal problems.

Efficiency: The Tribunals were established to speed up decision-making, lessen the burden on the courts, and offer a place where experts in the disciplines that the Tribunal had authority over could work.

Analyzing Indian tribunals’ performance critically:

The courts have no influence over the appointments to the tribunal, performance reviews, career prospects for members, salaries, or terms of employment. The main issue with tribunalization is this.

In India, administrative interference in the appointment and removal of tribunal members as well as the allocation of funds, facilities, staff, and other resources needed for the tribunals’ everyday operations is common.

Administrative tribunals severely restrict the basic principles of the Rule of Law since they usually create their own unique rules and procedures.

Most tribunals are not as independent on the legal and executive fronts as courts and judges are.

The national government has recently come under fire from a Supreme Court panel chaired by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana for the growing number of vacancies in the nation’s numerous legal institutions. The bench questioned the center’s “position” on the necessity of filling these jobs immediately.

Both civil and criminal courts deliver justice using the same procedure. There is no established standard operating procedure for adjudication of administrative disputes.

Administrative tribunals are staffed by administrators and technical executives who might not have legal or judicial work expertise. They occasionally use summary techniques to address issues that have been brought to them.

In contradiction to the goal of lightening the load on the higher courts, the Chandra Kumar case prompted the SC to rule that appeals to these tribunals must be lodged with the court.

Because the government frequently chooses retired judges to oversee these panels, current judges in courts may occasionally favour the government to obtain political favour.

absence of the infrastructure needed for them to operate effectively and achieve their intended goals How many employees tribunals must have on staff is unknown.

Moving ahead:

Their current organisational structures and operational procedures need to be changed in order to provide justice more effectively.

These tribunals should be subject to some type of judicial oversight in order to safeguard individuals’ rights and the rule of law in society.

To speed up the delivery of justice, it is critical to expand the number of judges, fill the current vacancy, and deploy technology.

Tribunals are in the best possible position to assess their own administrative needs. Therefore, granting tribunals the authority to establish or abolish offices might be a positive step.

The correct procedures should be followed in order to verify the legitimacy of the current tribunals and ensure their independence.

Conclusion:

The Tribunals have a significant influence in the area of dispute resolution. Tribunals operate differently than courts in terms of the procedures they use and the way the judges are chosen. A qualified authority must be established for the resolution of disputes and the redress of people’s grievances due to its expanding function. The idea of administrative tribunals therefore evolved and is today aggressively spreading throughout India, with certain disadvantages and benefits.

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Q2. E-RUPI has the ability to close the financial inclusion gap in India and close the digital divide. Consider writing on the advantages of e-RUPI and consider whether this is the start of India embracing digital currency. (250 words)

Paper & Topic: GS II Government Policies and Interventions

Model Answer:

Introduction:

The one-time contactless, cashless e-RUPI payment mechanism enables customers to use their vouchers without using cards, digital wallets, or internet banking. In essence, a beneficiary gets a digital coupon in the form of an SMS or QR code on his phone. It is a pre-paid coupon that is valid at any location that accepts them.

Body:

Advantages of e-RUPI:

The beneficiary does not need to have a bank account, which is the primary differentiator between e-RUPI and other electronic payment methods.

It guarantees a simple, two-step contactless redemption process that doesn’t also require the disclosure of personal information.

e-RUPI can be utilised by people without smartphones or in locations without internet connectivity because it can be used on basic phones as well.

The only requirements are an e-voucher and a mobile phone. The voucher can be used without the user having a bank account or a mobile payment app.

Secure & Safe: Beneficiaries’ privacy is preserved because they are not required to reveal any private information.

Direct-Benefit Transfer will likely be strengthened and made more transparent with the help of e-RUPI.

It will also save some money because vouchers won’t need to be printed out physically.

E-RUPI would guarantee real-time payments to the service provider because it is a prepaid voucher.

The issuer can monitor how contactless, quick, and secure coupons are issued. Visibility of voucher use.

The first country to employ digital currency was India, where e-RUPI was initially introduced.

The major goals of e-RUPI are to reach 190 million unbanked people, bring them into the official financial system, and bridge some of the digital gap.

Every person of our nation will have equitable access to financial, healthcare, and social services because of this digital payment system.

The introduction of e-RUPI may serve to draw attention to the infrastructure holes in digital payments that must be closed for the viability of the upcoming digital currency. The government is already designing a digital money for the central bank.

Due to its ability to ensure that funds are only used for their intended purposes and that the right beneficiary receives them, this unique transfer mechanism has the potential to be widely applied in the delivery of public services.

The e-Rupi can be crucial in eliminating leakages and enabling last-mile connectivity for standard state provisioning and other types of support given the government’s emphasis on direct benefit transfers for various welfare programmes.

Reduced usage of money, particularly when a business is giving advantages. If organisations allocate a percentage of their money to providing purpose-specific e-RUPI, such as learning allowance on some portals, businesses like Sodexo may see considerable negative tailwinds.

Challenges:

Access to banking services and technology differs between rural and urban areas.

There is still a substantial access gap to the internet. According to the most recent data from India’s Telecom Regulatory Authority, 34.6 rural residents nationwide have access to the internet, compared to 104 in metropolitan regions (as on end December 2020).

State-to-state differences in internet usage are substantial. From 210 in Delhi and 87.6 in Punjab to 40.8 in Uttar Pradesh and 32.9 in Bihar, there are 100 internet subscribers for every 100 persons.

In our country, the majority of the 190 million people without bank accounts live in rural areas.

Full financial inclusion will continue to be a developmental problem as long as the current digital payment methods need a bank account, internet access, and a smartphone.

Conclusion:

e-RUPI can be compared to the M-Pesa mobile payment system from Kenya.

Even while e-Rupi has only been made available for a few limited uses, it has the potential to be considerably expanded.

Education vouchers, usually referred to as school vouchers, are certificates of government support for kids chosen for state-funded education and are used in the US. To develop a targeted delivery method, this system was developed. This could serve as a model for India.