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Review: Government releases the 2022 survey results of ‘Mental Health and Well-being of School Students’
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
September 13, 2022
The Manodarpan cell undertook a survey of school students to analyse the perceptions of students on issues impacting their mental health whose results were released. A total of 3.79 lakh students took part in this survey from KVs, JNVs, State Government schools & private schools.
One of the many things that are rarely focussed on in the education system is mental health and its importance. The ever-growing competition and the constant fear of failure puts children under immense pressure, both from their peers and society. Though this issue is not limited to only children, it assumes greater importance in their case as children being in their prime age, keeping them in the right frame of mind is immensely important.
Successive governments emphasized on the quantity more than the quality of the education system. Indicators like enrolment ratios, school and teacher rationalization, learning outcomes, and similar other quantitative performance parameters were given weight over qualitative parameters. As a result, there are no periodic reports & studies that capture the mental health and well-being of the students. In the absence of any such data, it is nearly impossible to design policies targeting this area.
In light of this, the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 focuses on the mental health and well-being of the students. It highlights the pressing need for ensuring effective cognitive development coupled with developing holistic and well-rounded individuals. ‘Manodarpan’, an initiative of the Ministry of Education (MoE) as a part of Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan is aimed at offering psychosocial help to students, instructors and families for intellectual fitness and emotional health for the duration of the instances of COVID-19 and beyond.
The Manodarpan cell undertook a survey of school students to analyse the perceptions of students on issues impacting their mental health. In today’s story, we look at the ‘Mental Health and Well-being of School Students’ survey of 2022, conducted by the Manodarpan cell.
A brief about the Survey
Before analysing any survey, it is important to look at the survey design. This includes the sampling size, the methodology adopted, and the limitations of the survey.
The respondents of this particular survey are from different schools across the country, at the middle and secondary stages of education. A total of 3,79,842 students took part in this study, of which 1,58,581 were from the middle stage (VI-VIII), and 2,21,261 were from the secondary stage of education (IX-XII). In terms of the type of school, Kendriya Vidyalayas and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas accounted for more than 2 Lakh schools out of the 3.79 Lakh schools selected for this survey. Both genders participated nearly equally in this study, each accounting for approximately half of the sample size. Eleven transgenders also took part in this study.
The survey was done using a self-reporting online questionnaire (Google form) to be filled out by the students, and the participation is voluntary. As there is still a stigma attached to mental health, the privacy of the individual was taken care of. Being online mode, it provided students with minimal interference to freely express their views.
In terms of limitation, the survey presents the data of only those who were willing to participate. There is no adequate data on whether this ‘voluntary’ participation is also a ‘prior informed consent’. Since the mode of the survey is also online, there is an absence of scope of interaction with the respondents. Further, online surveys are only filled out by computer literates and people who are concerned about the issue. The surveys also do not present the extent of bias and the motives of the respondents, including whether it is representative enough.
Three broad themes covered
As mentioned earlier, the survey covered three broad themes:
Key highlights – overview of the results
The overall results show that students are satisfied with their school experience and feel responsible for doing well in life. Most students believe they are reliable and do not hesitate to ask for social support, which is an important safeguard for mental health. The results of the survey also highlight that students most frequently experience happiness, followed by anxiety. More than 58% reported having people with whom they can share and discuss their feelings and nearly half of the respondents preferred sharing with friends as a coping strategy. Nearly one-fourth chose yoga and meditation as a preferred coping strategy, while another quarter felt that changing the thought process is an ideal strategy.
Around half of them reported to being able to understand others and respond accordingly, thereby showing emotional understanding. For most students, their academics are reported to be causing them anxiety. Students also find it challenging and uneasy to ask questions and engage in conversation with others.
As students progressed from middle to secondary school, there was a noticeable decline in their confidence in their body image, satisfaction with school and personal life, and availability of people to share their feelings. Students in secondary school, on the other hand, reported a higher level of anxiety about their studies, exams, and results.
On the impact of COVID-19, 43% of respondents reported facing no difficulties at home since the outbreak of COVID-19. Around forty percent experienced mood swings, while 27% reported not feeling any extreme emotions at all. Around forty percent reported a change in their sleeping patterns due to COVID-19. Around half of them reported difficulty in learning content online, while forty percent reported technical/network issues during online learning.
School type and results across themes:
School environments play an important role in influencing the mental health of students. A positive and healthy school climate can positively influence the behaviour, emotional and social development of children. Accordingly, the survey provides results of the broad themes across four major school types in India- Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs), Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs), State Government schools (SGS), and Private Schools (PS).
On Understanding oneself
Among the four school types, the majority of private school students expressed adaptability, and more confidence while lagging behind others in the rest of the themes like confidence in body image, trusting others, satisfaction in both school and personal life. A greater percentage of students from Government schools reported trusting others and confidence in body image, i.e., physical appearance.
On Understanding oneself in social context
In the social context, private school students responded feeling happier than the rest. KVs topped in the trustworthiness, while state government schools scored higher in teachers believing in students leading others, and satisfaction at academics. Students from the government schools also believed that doing well in studies is important for people to respect them, and most of them felt anxious about their studies.
On emotions expressed
The majority of students from state government schools expressed that they always took good self-care and have emotional understanding- the ability to understand the feelings of others and express their feelings accordingly. Among other schools, a high percentage of students from government schools experienced difficulties due to COVID-19 and reported difficulty in learning online. And a majority of them also reported not losing hope in stressful situations.
On Coping Strategy
In the coping strategy, students from private schools preferred sharing with teachers to sharing with friends, while those from JNVs overwhelmingly preferred friends over teachers. Students from JNVs also reported higher self-efficacy (ability to solve challenging tasks), while private schools reported the lowest. Yoga and meditation as a coping strategy is least preferred in private schools, with a majority of them reporting ‘changing how one feels and thinks as the best strategy.’
Emotional Literacy is the way forward
The survey demonstrated a few areas where students across the schools responded positively: seeking support from friends, satisfaction with school life, trustworthiness, and yoga and meditation as a coping strategy. However, frequent mood swings and anxiety related to academics is a worrisome trends. Also, as students transition from middle to secondary stages, there is a decline in confidence in body image, and satisfaction-both in school and in personal life. These feelings are common for both males and females. This calls for a need for proactive measures to support and strengthen the socio-emotional aspects of education. Some recommendations made in this regard are
• Adequately preparing teachers for the emotional well-being of their students.
• Emotional literacy should be a key focus and should be integrated into all aspects of the school’s functioning.
• Schools must create enabling conditions for care, empathy, and inclusive practices. A significant overhaul is required in schools’ overall ethos, & practices of interpersonal interactions within the school.
Featured Image: Mental Health and Well-being of School Students

created: September 13, 2022


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Government’s Digital Literacy targets not met because of paucity of funds
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 25, 2020
The government told the standing committee on Information Technology that paucity of funds was the main reason for not achieving the set targets under PMGDISHA, the flagship digital literacy program of the central government. A host of other issues were also highlighted by the standing committee regarding the implementation of this scheme. Here is a review.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) defines Digital Literacy as ‘the ability of individuals and communities to understand and use digital technologies for meaningful actions within life situations. Any individual who can operate computer/laptop/tablet/smart phone and use other IT related tools is being considered as digitally literate.’  While the current government is pushing for Digital India, ensuring digital literacy is a must for achieving the objective of transforming India into a digitally empowered society.
In 2019, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT headed by Anurag Singh Thakur submitted its report on the review of the National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM) with 16 recommendations. An action taken report of the same was submitted in March 2020, in which 12 of the recommendations were accepted.
Stark difference in the percentage of people who could use a computer in Rural & Urban areas
Issue: In 2014, the National Sample Survey Office’s (NSSO) report revealed that only 14% of the households in the country including 6% rural households and 29% urban households, had computers.
Recommendation: Ministry should have sustained focus on digital literacy programs. The programs should be streamlined based on the needs of people and should be strengthened to achieve its objectives.
Action Taken: National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM) and ‘Digital Saksharta Abhiyan’ (DISHA) launched in 2014 were successfully completed. Currently, MEITY is implementing Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) that aims to train one person per household (6 crore persons) in rural areas on digital literacy. Under PMGDISHA, 51% women, 20% SC and 8% ST communities and 43% OBC candidates were covered.
Comments: Committee has asked for reiteration of the reply with renewed focus and strategy to achieve the set targets.
Issue: Schemes with similar objectives rolled out without gap creates confusion making their monitoring complicated. (NDLM was approved in March 2014 with a target to train 10 Lakh citizens in 18 months. DISHA was approved in December 2014 aiming to train 42.5 Lakh persons in 4 years.)
Recommendation: Digital literacy programs should be based on long-term planning with noticeable results. Government may consider adding a component of digital literacy along with the general literacy programs, particularly focusing on youngsters.
Action Taken: Under NDLM, 10 Lakh persons were provided basic digital literacy training. DISHA was later initiated to extend the scope of the scheme to grassroots government functionaries like ASHA and Anganwadi workers. PMGDISHA was later launched after completion of NDLM/DISHA schemes. MEITY has also shared the content of digital literacy component to be added to general literacy programs, with MHRD.
Digital Literacy programs only 2 crore individuals so far
Issue: Though the three schemes put together aimed to cover 6.5 crore individuals, till October 2018, only around 2 crore individuals were covered, amounting to a minute 1.67% of India’s population. Also, some states/UTs such as Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Lakshadweep, and Meghalaya had a low achievement.
Recommendation: A larger proportion of Indian population should be covered. The criterion of only one person per household may be done away with. Adequate representation of minority groups needs to be ensured. Measures for uniform implementation of scheme across states/UTs should be taken. Good practices in some states may be shared.
Action taken: As on 12 April 2019, under PMGDISHA, a total of 2.19 crore candidates had registered, 2.16 crore candidates trained, and about 1.26 crore candidates certified. DISHA and NDLM had achieved their targets. Promotion of programs with focus on NER and preference to women and minority communities is also given. Around 42 lakh SC candidates, 19.9 Lakh ST candidates, and 1.08 crore women candidates were given training under the scheme. Success stories from well performing states are circulated for replication in other states. Each State/UT has identified an Implementing Agency that works with CSC e-Governance Services to ensure that targets of the scheme are achieved in timely manner.
Issue: Focus is being given to numbers/quantitative parameters instead of quality of training or qualitative parameters. 16 out of 36 states/UTs had achieved 100% certification which seemed unrealistic.
Recommendation: Qualitative training should be imparted to ensure positive behavioural change in successful trainees and the use of digital tools continues even after completion of training. Ministry must also undertake assessment of scheme to evaluate qualitative parameters of training.
Action Taken: Rapid Assessment System (RAS) has been integrated with the scheme to get continuous feedback- through SMS/Web Portal/Application. Candidates are also encouraged to enrol at nearest Training Centres (TCs) for availing the facilities, infrastructure, and guidance to ensure there is a behavioural change. 10 Lakh candidates out of 10.59 lakh enrolled were certified under NDLM. The target was enhanced by 30% in some states/UTs where original targets were achieved under NDLM/DISHA which helped achieve 100% certification of candidates in some states/UTs.
‘Digital Finance for Rural India: Creating Awareness and Access’, initiated post demonetization had no audit
Issue: ‘Digital Finance for Rural India: Creating Awareness and Access’ was initiated in November 2016 post demonetization to train merchants on digital payments. The scheme had over 2 crore beneficiaries and 27 lakh merchants received training for 6 months. No third-party audit/evaluation was in place for the scheme that closed after achievement of target.
Recommendation: A component on digital payments may be added to PMGDISHA to cater to specific requirements of merchants on digital payments. Adequate monitoring mechanism must also be put in place for all ongoing and planned digital literacy schemes.
Action Taken: A module on digital payments was included in PMGDISHA’s curriculum. Using financial tools such as UPI, USSD etc., Aadhar based digital payments, are some of the topics covered. No third-party evaluation was conducted for this program since it was an awareness program. But it was reviewed by Project Review and Steering Committee constituted for DISHA.
Only 24% of target was achieved in 18 months with only 6 months left for completion
Issue: PMGDISHA was introduced in March 2017 with objective of covering 6 crore households by 31 March 2019. As on 22 October 2018, only 1.45 crore persons were covered, comprising 24% of the target.
Recommendation: Measures to address challenges and speed up implementation should be adopted.
Action Taken: Targets could not be achieved due to shortage in funds. The targets of CSCs which are performing well have been enhanced. Workshops, seminars and other activities are being undertaken to spread awareness. Unavailability of Aadhar in some places was another issue which was resolved by using alternate photo ID cards, which may be further extended as per need.
Comments: The factors posing hindrance could have been considered at the time of launch so that target achievement would not have been affected.
Issue: PMGDISHA was approved in 2017 with a budget outlay of Rs. 2351.38 crore. An amount of Rs.1175.69 crore each was required in 2017-18 and 2018-19 for its implementation. Only Rs. 500 crores were allocated for the implementation as of September 2018.
Recommendation: MEITY should seek additional funds from Finance Ministry to achieve target by 31 March 2019.
Action Taken: An amount of Rs. 538 Crore was released for implementation of PMGDISHA. For 2019-20, Rs. 400 Crore was allocated which could be used to scale up the activities to achieve the remaining target.
Comments: Committee should be informed of target achieved till end of 2018-19, households covered in 2019-20 and target for 2020-21.
More Training Partners required to achieve target
Issue: NGOs/Institutions/Corporates who wish to impart digital literacy training as Training Partners (TPs) must meet prescribed criteria. Around 4,144 applications were received by CSC-SPV of which only around 600 were accepted, which have a total of 36,858 training centers in India.
Recommendation: To achieve the target, enrolment of TPs needs to be increased and suitable changes be made in the criteria to gain more partners without compromising on commitment and data privacy.
Action Taken: A total of 636 TPs with 1,31,615 TCs across India have affiliated with CSC-SPV under PMGDISHA. Efforts are being made to engage IT institutions to work under the scheme as TPs or under their CSR initiative.
Issue:  Enrolment in the scheme requires an individual to prove that no one in their household is digitally literate and is of the 14 to 60 years age group. This is counter verified by Panchayat official/Gazetted officer/school principal.
Recommendation: Misuse of discretionary power is a possibility and to avert this, the enrolment procedure should be made transparent. A strong grievance redressal and feedback mechanism accessible to all needs to be in place.
Action Taken: All information is made available on web portal for transparency. Grievance redressal form is also available online. Grievances are regularly addressed by Program Management Unit and Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS).
Comments: The available mechanisms should be such that even a digitally illiterate person can access.
Issue: Access to costly IT hardware, software and connectivity issues is a major problem when it comes to utilizing online services like email, payments, citizen services, etc.
Recommendation: Programs may be suitably re-oriented such that smartphones and applications which are easier to use and cheap are included. Content may be appropriate for all age groups and may be made available on WhatsApp and similar applications.
Action Taken: PMGDISHA content is developed with inputs from experts and is available in 22 languages in the website portal and on YouTube. Feature and smart phones, laptops, and tablets are also covered in the syllabus. Content is sent through WhatsApp by state/district level implementation teams.
Multiple challenges exist which should be resolved through coordination
Issue: Multiple challenges such as unavailability of requisite infrastructure and awareness, lack of awareness, connectivity issues, inability to enter sparsely populated and inaccessible areas, lack of support from stakeholders, act as hindrance.
Recommendation: Close coordination between state governments, other stakeholders, and entities will help address the issues.
Action Taken: 30 states have a State Implementing Agency that monitors PMGDISHA. Most states are supportive especially Telangana, Jharkhand, and Haryana are highly supportive in scheme implementation, monitoring and review. Regular workshops are held by concerned agencies to increase state support.
Featured Image: Government’s Digital Literacy targets

source: news-factly

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Sai Krishna Muthyanolla


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Review: Growth in Bank Credits slows down while the growth in Deposits increases
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
July 15, 2021
The RBI recently released the 23rd edition of the biannual Financial Stability Report (FSR) for July 2021. The report notes that the growth in bank credits has slowed down while it has increased in the case of deposits because of the pandemic’s impact. NPA ratios have also decreased by March 2021.
The Financial Stability Report (FSR) is a biannual report published by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The report is the collective assessment of the sub-committee of Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC), with inputs from other financial sector regulators such as RBI, SEBI, IRDAI including the Ministry of Finance. The objective of the report is to review the nature and magnitude of risks and their implications that can affect the macroeconomic environment, financial institutions, markets, and infrastructure. In the report, an assessment of the resilience of financial sector is also conducted through stress tests. Recently, the report for July 2021 was released which focuses on the efforts made to contain the adverse impact arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Globally, economies were forced to take unprecedented measures to deal with the financial risks arising out of the pandemic. The measures have proved to help in curtailing COVID-19’s toll on financial markets and institutions to a great extent. In India too, the FSR has highlighted that the dent on balance sheets and performance of financial institutions in India has been much less than what was projected earlier. The regulatory, monetary, and fiscal policy measures have helped in reducing the solvency risk of financial entities, aided in stabilizing markets, and helped in maintaining financial stability in India. In this story, we focus on the health of Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) in the country which has been assessed on the basis of their recent performance, asset quality, capital adequacy, and risks, as per the FSR. Banking stability is an important function to get the economy back on track.
2020-21 recorded the lowest credit growth in four years while aggregate deposits increased
Credit growth year on year (y-o-y), though had increased by 5.4% in 2020-21 as compared to 2019-20, has been lowest in the last four financial years. It remains low even in the first quarter of the financial year 2021-22. According to RBI’s annual report for 2020-21, the slowdown in credit growth of banks was because of weakened demand and risk aversion. Meanwhile, the aggregate deposits of SCBs grew by 11.9% in 2020-21 as compared to the previous year. However, in the first quarter of 2021-22, the growth in deposits has weakened, recording a growth of only 9.7%.  This could be because of the precautionary savings behaviour due to the pandemic. It was also observed that the deposits in current and savings accounts grew at a faster pace as compared to term deposits like fixed deposits and recurring deposits, indicating that people tend to hold more cash which can be withdrawn easily during this time of uncertainty.
Supreme Court lifted ban on classification of NPAs in March 2021
In September 2020, the Supreme Court had directed that the accounts which were standard as of 31 August 2020, were not to be classified as non-performing assets (NPAs) until further orders. This move was in favour of borrowers as the declaration of loans as NPA would result in them losing their creditworthiness which would make access to loans difficult in the future. The effective ban on classification of bad loans was later lifted by the Supreme Court on 23 March 2021. Furthermore, the Court ordered waiver of compound interest for all borrowers who availed of the loan moratorium during the pandemic.
GNPA & NNPA ratios of all SCBs have declined in March 2021 as compared to March 2020
Though the lift in the ban was expected to pave the way to an increase in NPAs because of financial stress in households and businesses, SCBs reported gross NPAs (GNPAs) of 7.5% and net NPAs (NNPAs) of 2.4% by March 2021, which is lower than the GNPA of 8.4% and NNPA of 2.9% reported in March 2020. This indicates that there has been an improvement in the performance of banks. Meanwhile, banks have been careful with restructuring loans by keeping them at less than 1%. The capital to risk-weighted assets ratio (CRAR) of SCBs increased from 14.7% in March 2020 to 16% in March 2021 indicating that the banks may be more able to withstand a financial downturn.
While the GNPA ratios of SCBs for two major sectors- agriculture and industry declined during 2020-21, the same increased for the personal loan sector. Even within the industrial sector, the ratio had declined for major sub-sectors including textiles, food processing, mining & quarrying, vehicles, parts & equipment, construction, infrastructure, and cement & cement products.
The share of large borrowers who accounted for nearly 53% of the aggregate loan portfolios of all SCBs, accounted for a share of 77.9% of the total GNPAs. Their share of GNPAs was 73.5% in September 2020, and 78.3% in March 2020. This indicates that NPA growth has increased among small borrowers in March 2021 as compared to March 2020.
Macro stress test suggests that GNPA may rise to 9.8% by March 2022
RBI’s macro stress test is used to test how resilient SCBs are to the unexpected changes in the macroeconomic environment. The model outcomes of the test help banks in decision-making. Three different plausible scenarios have been considered here- baseline scenario that is based on steady-state values of six macroeconomic variables (given in chart below) and two adverse scenarios- medium, and severe stress.
According to the stress test, the GNPA ratio of all SCBs would increase from the March 2021 levels due to the second wave of COVID-19. It is estimated that the GNPAs could rise to 9.8% in the baseline scenario by March 2022. It could go further up to 10.36% and 11.22% in medium and severe stress scenarios, respectively even though SCBs have sufficient capital, both at the aggregate and individual level, even under stress. However, this is unlikely as the GDP is assumed to drop to 6.5% and less than 1% in the medium and severe stress scenarios. Going by the past estimations, the FSR for July 2020 suggested that the NPA ratio could rise from 8.4% to 12.5% by March 2021 in the baseline scenario and could go up to 14.7% in the very severe stress scenario while in reality, the GNPA ratio settled at 7.5%, much lower than the test outcomes.
Banks considered in the study are unlikely to face capital shortage in the coming year
Furthermore, the stress test indicates that the capital to risk-weighted assets ratio (CRAR) seems to hold up well. It might drop by 30 basis points (bps) between March 2021 and March 2022 under the baseline scenario. It might drop by 130 bps and 256 bps under the two stress scenarios. Nonetheless, all the 46 SCBs considered for CRAR projections will be able to maintain CRAR well above the regulatory minimum of 9% as of March 2022 even in the worst-case scenario. That is, none of the 46 banks is likely to face a shortage of capital even under a severe macro-stress scenario.
New risks have emerged, and banks should be prepared
The report has also emphasized that though banks and other financial institutions seem to be resilient and balance sheet stress continued to remain moderate during the pandemic, it calls for close monitoring of MSME and retail credit portfolios witnessing high stress. Though the stress tests indicated a limited impact of macroeconomic shocks to the Indian banking sector, downside risks continue to remain. The report suggests that banks prepare contingency strategies to deal with segment-specific asset quality pressures when the regulatory reliefs are eventually rolled back. New risks such as future waves of the pandemic, international commodity prices and inflationary pressures, global spillovers amid high uncertainty and rising incidence of data breaches and cyber-attacks are emerging during the recovery and so, it is important that there is sustained policy support by strengthening capital and liquidity buffers by financial entities.
Featured Image: RBI’s Financial Stability Report


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Gujarat High Court observes that the state’s anti-conversion law prima facie interferes with marriage & right to choice, infringes Article 21
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
August 25, 2021
In this roundup of court judgements, we look at Constitutional Courts’ remarks & directions on Gujarat’s anti-conversion law, vacancies and pendency in State Information Commissions, and police interrogation of school children. In a significant decision, the Madhya Pradesh high court directed State to provide assistance to transgender in getting their Identity cards, ration card an Aadhaar card.
Gujarat HC: Gujarat anti-conversion law prima facie interferes with marriage & right to choice, infringes Article 21
In the case Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind Gujarat Vs. State of Gujarat, the high court prima facie observed that the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2021 ‘interferes with the intricacies of marriage including the right to the choice of an individual, thereby infringing Article 21 of the Constitution Of India’.
The law under challenge is the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2021. The legislation amended the Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, 2003. The amendment was brought in line with several similar laws enacted last year, starting with Uttar Pradesh.
Advocate General appearing for the State submitted, as per the new amendment, marriage per se is not prohibited but a conversion actuated by fraud or allurement, or a forcible marriage is prohibited. The focal point is the conversion by force or a fraudulent marriage or marriage by allurement. The state argued that the mechanism of investigation is well equipped by checks and balances as no prosecution is instituted except with the previous sanction of the District Magistrate. The offences under the Act shall not be investigated by an officer below the rank of a Deputy Superintendent of Police.
According to the Advocate General appearing for the State, without an element of fraud, allurement, or coercion, a marriage inter-faith followed by conversion would not amount to unlawful conversion and as such would not be hit by the penal provisions.
In response to this, the Senior Advocate of the petitioner pointed out that Section 3 of the 2003 Act already prohibited the conversion of any person from one religion to another religion by the use of force or allurement or by any fraudulent means. By the Amending Act of 2021, a marriage itself is presumed to be a medium for the purposes of unlawful conversion if the marriage was by way of allurement, force, or by fraudulent means. A plain reading of Section 3 would indicate that any conversion on account of marriage is also prohibited. Therefore, the Senior Advocate of the petitioner asserted that marriage itself and a consequential conversion is deemed as an unlawful conversion attracting penal provisions, according to the new amendment.
Upon considering all submissions, the bench of Justice Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Biren Vaishnav expressed concerns about the provisions which treat every conversion by marriage as unlawful and places the burden of proof on the parties entering an inter-faith marriage to prove that the marriage was not solemnized on account of any fraud, allurement, or coercion.
The high court held that the rigors of Sections 3, 4, 4A to 4C, 5, 6 and 6A of the Gujarat Freedom of Religion (Amendment) Act, 2021 shall not operate pending final judgment.
Supreme Court: Directs states to file status reports on vacancies & pendency in State Information Commissions.
In the case of Anjali Bhardwaj and others Vs. Union of India and others, the Supreme Court directed state governments to file status reports indicating the vacancy positions and pendency of appeals in the State Information Commissions.
The Supreme court was hearing an application filed by RTI (Right to Information) activist Anjali Bharadwaj seeking compliance on the part of states with respect to the Supreme Court’s order issued in February 2019. The Supreme Court had issued a slew of directives regarding the filling up of vacancies in Central and State Information Commissions (SICs) under the RTI Act.
The bench of Justice S Abdul Nazeer and Krishna Murari considered the positions of various states on an individual basis.
In the case of Maharashtra, the Advocate appearing for the petitioner informed that although the state was directed to increase the posts in SIC to 11, by the Supreme Court in the 2019 judgment, SIC only has 8 posts and out of which 4 are remaining vacant. Further, the pendency has risen to around 75,000 cases from around 40,000 in 2019. The supreme court bench pulled up the State of Maharashtra for not filling vacancies and directed the state counsel to ensure the vacancies are filled within 3 weeks.
In the case of Karnataka, 8 out of 11 posts in SIC are filled and advertisements for the rest 3 vacancies have been published.
Although the supreme court directed the creation of 3 additional posts, Odisha has created only 2 additional posts of Information Commissioners.
In the case of Telangana, the post of Central Information Commissions (CIC) has been lying vacant for one year. Similarly, in Nagaland, the post of Chief Information Commissioner has been vacant since January 2021.
In the case of Kerala, all posts in the SIC are filled. However, the state has not increased the posts to 11 as directed by the supreme court.
The state of West Bengal failed to file an affidavit. The supreme court warned the state of imposing costs or summoning the Chief Secretary on its failure to file the report.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan submitted that the Information Commission in Jharkhand has become completely dysfunctional. The supreme court sought the state’s response in this matter and warned the state counsel of summoning the Chief Secretary if it fails to fill the vacancies by the next hearing date.
Madhya Pradesh HC: Directed State to provide assistance to transgender in getting their Identity cards, ration cards and Aadhaar card.
In the case Noori Vs. State of Madhya Pradesh and others, the Madhya Pradesh high court directed the M.P. State Legal Service Authority to provide assistance to transgender in getting their Identity cards/Transgender cards, Ration cards and Aadhaar cards prepared.
The high court was hearing public interest litigation filed a Noori, a transgender, who is working as a social worker and paralegal volunteer for the welfare of the transgender community.
The plea contended that most transgenders do not have a transgender card, especially those who are newly added to the list. Due to the non-availability of the transgender cards, they are not able to get their Aadhar card and Ration card prepared. The plea highlighted that as against the promise of providing 5 kg food grains every month, currently, only 4 kg food grains is being given to the transgender, out of which also 2 kg Bajra is provided, which is insufficient.
The bench of Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq and Justice Vijay Kumar Shukla directed the M.P. State legal service authority to get a survey conducted through Paralegal volunteers and provide assistance to all such transgenders, who are facing difficulty in getting their identity cards.
The high court also directed the Secretary of the District Legal Service Authority, in each district, to monitor this exercise, and gave the following directions:
Karnataka HC: Police interrogation of children over anti-CAA school drama prima facie violated JJ Act, child rights.
In the case Nayana Jyothi Jhawar Vs. State of Karnataka,  the Karnataka high court made a prima facie observation that the presence of policemen in their uniforms, carrying weapons, while interrogating children with regard to the sedition case was a serious violation of the provisions under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
The court was hearing a petition filed by filed lawyer Nayana Jyothi Jhawar and South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring. The petition states that about 85 children, some as young as 9 years of age of Shaheen Education Society, Bidar, were subjected to a police interrogation in connection to a play concerning the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Students of the Shaheen Education Society belonging to classes 4, 5 and 6 had staged a play on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) in January 2020. An FIR was registered against the school authorities for performing “anti-national activities” and “spreading negative opinion” about Parliamentary laws, based on a complaint by activist Nilesh Rakshala.
Pursuant to the FIR, the headmistress of the school, as well as a parent of a child, was arrested. The Police went on to interrogate children, within the school premises. The plea discloses that the police authorities visited the school in police uniform and selected students, based on their discretion. Those students were then taken for interrogation to a separate room, within the school premises. The petition highlighted that the entire episode was reported by the media and can be corroborated with the footage, recorded in the CCTV cameras, installed at the school.
The bench of Chief Justice Abhay Oka and Justice NS Sanjay Gowda perused the photographs placed on record. The bench noted that in the photographs it appears that three school children (two boys and one girl) were interrogated by five police persons, out of which four are in full uniform, and at least two of them were carrying weapons. The court stated that this made the environment very hostile and affected the children’s mental psychology, as the petition had averred.
Considering the submissions, the court opined that prima facie, this is a serious case of violation of rights of the children under the provision of Sub Rule 5 of Rule 86 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Model Rules, 2016.
The high court directed the State Government to present an affidavit by a senior police officer, within two weeks, stating if any action has been initiated against the police officials who interrogated school children while wearing uniforms and carrying weapons. The court also directed the state government should consider issuing a direction to the police which will ensure that such violation of rights of the children does not take place in the future.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on 03 September 2021.
Featured Image: Important Court Judgements


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Review: Here are a few archaic laws that are irrelevant in today’s times
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 4, 2021
India has thousands of Central & State laws some of which were passed during the British era. While many obsolete & archaic laws were repealed in recent years, some still exist in the statute books. Here is a summary of a few such irrelevant acts.
The Indian Aircraft Act, 1934 categorizes balloons and kites as aircrafts thereby making negligible flying an offence. Such ludicrously outdated laws continue to exist in Indian Law Books.
There are numerous laws, both central and state laws, existent in India which date back to the 1800s and the colonial-era despite India becoming an Independent nation in 1947. Such archaic laws which are obsolete, redundant, repetitive, and irrelevant to the current times, make the legal process long, expensive, and time-consuming. Not just the common public, even lawyers and law enforcement agencies may be unaware of these obsolete laws sometimes.
Various committees have been constituted to recommend repeal of obsolete laws
Since independence, multiple committees have made recommendations to repeal unnecessary & obsolete laws, and also suggested modifications to certain laws so as to meet the requirements of the present. The Law Commission of India came up with recommendations for repealing archaic laws in 1957, 1984, 1993, and the latest one in 2014.
Besides the Law Commission, in 1998, a committee under the chairmanship of PC Jain was constituted by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances to make recommendations for repeal or amendment of laws. The Commission suggested the repeal of over 1300 Central laws alone, out of around 2500 such laws. Later in 2014, the Prime Minister’s Office set up a two members committee to identify Central Acts to be repealed or re-enacted since they are no longer necessary or relevant in the present socio-economic context. This committee listed a total of 1741 Central Acts for repeal out of 2781 Central Acts existing as of 15 October 2014.
Repeal of obsolete laws was a part of BJP’s 2014 election manifesto
Elimination of whatever was obsolete in laws, regulations, administrative structures, and to reduce and simplify obsolete and multiple laws as part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s election manifesto in the 2014 general elections. According to PIB in January 2021, ‘successive governments could remove just 1,301 obsolete laws which came in the way of smooth administration in 66 years, the present central government has managed to weed out as many as 1,500 laws in six years’.
Some of the laws that have been repealed over the years are-
Nonetheless, there are still a myriad of laws that need to be either repealed or re-enacted after modifying. We look at few such archaic laws, the context behind passing the same, and why it is irrelevant in the current context.
Sonthal Parganas Act is discriminatory
The Sonthal Parganas Act, 1855 removes the operation of general laws and regulations in certain districts where the Sonthal tribe inmates inhabit. The act came into force after the Sonthal rebellion against the British colonial authority and the Zamindari system. The Preamble of the Act refers to Sonthals as an ‘uncivilized race of people’ as the reason behind removing the operation of generals laws in the areas inhabited by Sonthal tribe members. This is discriminatory in nature and contrary to the spirit of the Constitution and hence must be repealed.
Indian Treasure Trove Act may be misused
The Indian Treasure Trove Act, 1878 defines ‘treasure’ specifically as “anything of any value hidden in the soil” and worth as little as 10 rupees.  The law entails that the finder of any such treasure, according to this law, needs to inform the Collector of the “nature and amount or approximate value of such treasure and the place where it was found.”  Prior to 1937, the law stated that a share of the treasure or the money in lieu of it, for concealing the information or abetting offense, would go to ‘Her Majesty’.
However, the punishment involved is imprisonment for a year and/or penalty. Also, the low value of treasure mentioned, Rs. 10, may be used to harass farmers and other economically deprived persons. Thus, the law may be modified to meet the current requirements.
Telegraph services stopped in India in 2013 while committee has recommended combining the laws in 2014
The Telegraph Wire (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1950 was enacted for regulating the possession of telegraph wires of specified dimensions. The sole purpose of the Act was to ensure that wires of the specified dimensions are not used for other purposes and to control theft. However, the Act in the present times in spite of the Ramanujan Committee report’s recommendation to combine this Act and the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933 that regulates the possession of the apparatus makes no sense as the telegraph services in India were completely shut down in 2013.
Involvement of private sector in public services should be considered
The Government Buildings Act, 1899 exempt the buildings and lands owned or in possession of the Government in municipality limits from adhering to the municipal building laws. However, with the exception of buildings connected with defence or confidential/secret buildings of the government, a notice of the proposed work should be submitted to the municipal authority before starting the work. Municipal authority or authorized person has the power to inspect the land and building. Though the PC Jain Commission recommended the repeal of the act by state governments, the Law Commission report has suggested modifications for re-enacting the act in the current socio-economic context. For instance, government services are being carried out in PPP mode or through outsourcing to the private sector. This should also be considered in the legal statute.
Comprehensive act is necessary to deal with pandemics
Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897 is a 124-year-old legislation that was enacted by the British to deal with the plague epidemic that had significantly affected Bombay. The Central Government is conferred with the power to take measures in the case of an outbreak of epidemic diseases such as inspection of ships or vessels entering or leaving Indian ports. Disobeying the law results in imprisonment for one month and a fine of up to Rs. 200. This Act was recently invoked in India in 2020 during the COVID-19 outbreak which revealed the lacunae in the legislation. To summarize, nothing has been mentioned with respect to the magnitude or severity of the disease, possible spread, international travel, dissemination of vaccines or drugs, and more. It only speaks of the government’s power. The P.C. Jain Commission recommended its repeal whereas the Law Commission felt that it needs to be re-enacted in view of today’s socio-economic context.
Overall, it is seen that some of these archaic laws are redundant, outdated, and even discriminatory in nature as they were made in the pre-independence era. Regular review of laws is necessary as was done in the last few years. However, this must become a periodic affair.
Featured Image: Archaic Laws in India


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Review: Here is all about the ‘National Highways’ Rating Mechanism
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
March 20, 2021
The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) recently released the first of its kind ratings for 219 stretches of National Highways on three broad parameters of efficiency, safety, and user services. Here is a review of these ratings.
National Highways (NH) are among the most important public assets of the country. They not only enable faster movement of people & goods but also enable economic development & growth. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) recently released the ratings for 18,668 km of completed 4/6 lane NH stretches in India that cover 343 toll plazas. The exercise was carried out by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) under the MoRTH.  The fundamental objective of highway rating is ‘minimum time with maximum safety in the stress-free environment from highway users’ perspective so that all highway users’ expectation to reach their destination safely in minimum possible time with pleasing experience on the road network can be met’.
Rating exercise to be conducted bi-annually
According to the Highway Rating report, the exercise is a first of its kind initiative in the world. NHAI is also planning to make this a regular exercise regular by carrying it out twice each year- once in the month of April and once in the month of October.
Scoring done for 39 parameters under three broad criteria of safety, services, and efficiency
Toll plazas manage the National Highway stretches under them. This influence length of each toll plaza, called ‘cell’, has been taken as the unit of measurement for the ranking mechanism. The overall rating of each section/corridor is calculated by adding the ratings of the requisite cells along the section. The evaluation of cells takes place as per the stipulated methodology. This helps in understanding the efficiency, safety, and availability of user services at the cell level, or under each toll plaza.
A total of 39 parameters under three broad criteria have been considered under Highway Efficiency, Highway Safety, and User Services. The Highways are evaluated for a total of 100 marks. Maximum weightage has been given for Highway Efficiency (45 marks) under which 15 parameters including operating speed on the main carriageway, delay at the toll plaza, the volume of traffic, payment quality, and functionality of drains have been covered. Highway Safety constitutes 35 marks and covers 14 parameters pertaining to accidents, ambulance services and response time, illegal median openings, and facilities disturbing traffic have been taken into account. User Services which comprise a total of 20 marks considers 10 parameters including the number of medians and footpaths, cleanliness, the functioning of toilets and availability of drinking water, encroachment, and illegal hoardings, etc.
Four corridors have been covered under the latest ratings
Four corridors that traverse the whole country and form part of the Golden Quadrilateral and NS-EW Corridor were selected for the evaluation. These are the following.
The ratings of each corridor are meant for the identification of the issues that curtail their proper functioning to arrive at solutions to rectify the issues.
Total of 219 Highways have been ranked
A total of 219 Highways have been ranked in the report. Each of these stretches is identified by the Project Implementation Unit (PIU), name of the section, NH Number, length of the highway, name of agency involved in the implementation, along with the marks under each criterion.
NH-48 section connecting Ahmedabad and Vadodara is ranked the best
As per the recently released ratings, the NH-48 section connecting Ahmedabad and Vadodara stretching over 102.3 km has been ranked number one with an overall score of 91.81 out of 100. PIU Ahmedabad manages NH-48 and two other highways- NE-1and NH-47. NE-1 is the Ahmedabad to Vadodara Expressway which has been ranked 3 with an overall score of 90.78. Thus, 2 out of 3 projects under PIU Ahmedabad are in the top 3 with more than 90 marks. Meanwhile, NH-47’s stretch from Ahmedabad to Godhra is ranked 145.
In terms of efficiency, Simga to Sargaon Highway (NH- 130) under PIU Bilaspur is the most efficient highway with an efficiency score of 43.39 out of 45. NH-48 under Ahmedabad which has an overall rank of 1, is the second most efficient.
NH-44 under PIU Nagpur which has an overall rank of 26 is the safest highway in the country with 33.07 marks out of 35 in safety, followed by Goa/Karnataka to Kundapur Highway (NH- 66), which has an overall rank 2.
NH- 6 under PIU Nagpur with an overall rank of 21 is the best in terms of user services, with a score of 19 out of 20.
The longest highway section of those rated as per the current report, connecting Balangir and Khordha traversing around 366 km is ranked 96 with a score of 70.52.
Indore to Dewas section of NH-3 under PIU-Indore is ranked last (219) with a score of 36.96. It is also the least safe highway. Two sections under PIU-Visakhapatnam of NH- 16 are ranked 216 and 217. Delhi to Rohtak section of NH-10 under PIU- Rohtak is ranked 218.
The list of highways on the basis of their rankings and score is given below.
IRB Infrastructure developers Ltd. And L&T dominate the rankings
Another observation with respect to the implementation agencies is that the IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd. is behind the top-ranked three highways. Even rank 5, NH- 211 under PIU- Solapur is managed by IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd, implying that 4 out of 5 of the best National Highways in India are managed by IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd. Highways ranked 4 and 6 are managed by Larsen & Toubro Ltd. As mentioned in the report, this exercise is being carried out for the first time and hence, the accuracy of the ratings is expected to improve with each publication.
Ranking mechanism is required to ensure that people get quality service, safety, and facilities they are paying for.
The length of NHs in India has increased from 91,287 km in April 2014 to about 1,32,500 km as of December 2019. Improving highways does not just mean the quality of roads but also improvement in comfort, speed, safety, access, and lower vehicle operating costs. Highway users pay a toll to use the highway networks in the country and expect quality services in return. What people want is fast, efficient, and safe mobility on highways.
Such a ranking mechanism is useful for setting standards for highway services and brings the quality of Indian Highways on par with that in developed nations. The report mentions that quality improvement of the highways will shift the freight transport towards roads thereby improving India’s ranking in ‘The Logistics Performance Index’. Moreover, conducting these assessments will be useful to identify the gaps in standards, practices, guidelines, and contract agreements. By identifying the gaps, measures can be taken to address the issues and ensure quality services to the highway users. Furthermore, having regular rating and ranking practices will increase competition among contractors to perform better and force them to maintain the stipulated standards.
Vendor performance evaluation system launched to rate vendors based on their performance
The Ministry has also stated that it has begun real-time monitoring of toll plazas across the country to improve traffic congestion problems at toll plazas/city roads/highways by using a central monitoring system along with a bundle of analytics and quick decision-making outputs. Another measure to ensure quality service is being provided is through the ‘Vendor Performance Evaluation System’ developed by NHAI where the vendors have to conduct self-assessment and upload documents related to project activities being executed by them.
The portal contains provisions for rating the projects according to the mode of implementation and status of completion under BOT (Toll), BOT (Annuity), HAM, EPC works, and for Authority’s Engineer, Independent Engineer, and DPR Consultants. This will be subject to review in multiple levels to generate a rating which is shared with the vendor to make sure that the evaluation is being done in a balanced way. The rating would be considered a qualification criterion for awarding new projects to vendors, thereby increasing their accountability.


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Review: Here is All About The ‘National Suicide Prevention Strategy’ - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
November 28, 2022
The Government of India recently released the ‘National Suicide Prevention Strategy’. It is India’s first suicide prevention policy and looks at multi-sectoral collaboration to reduce suicide mortality, through time-bound action plans. Here is a review.
As per the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 7 lakh people die due to suicide every year. It is also the fourth leading cause of death among the 15–29 age group globally in 2019.  Nearly 77% of the suicides in 2019, occurred in Low- & Middle-income countries, of which India is one.
WHO recognizes suicide as a public health priority, as stated in its first WHO World Suicide Report – 2014. Accordingly, in WHO Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2030, WHO member states have committed themselves to working towards the global target of reducing the suicide rate in countries by one third by 2030. Also, Suicide mortality rate is an indicator for target 3.4 of Sustainable Development Goals.
As per National Mental Health Survey of India 2015-16, Suicide prevalence in India is 10.4 per 1 lakh population. India is among the countries with a high burden of Suicide. As per Suicides Worldwide in 2019 report, there were 1.73 lakh deaths due to suicides in India during 2019.
India’s National Mental Health Policy, 2014, identifies prevention of mental disorders, reduction of suicide and attempted suicide as core priority areas. Furthermore, the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 , brought about necessary changes and progressive clauses in the legislation relating to suicides.
In a continued effort in this direction, the Government of India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare recently released  “National Suicide Prevention Strategy”. It is India’s first suicide prevention policy and looks at multi-sectoral collaboration to reduce suicide mortality, through time-bound action plans.
Increasing trend of suicides in India
Data from the National Crime Records Bureau’s (NCRB) Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India (ADSI) indicates an increasing trend in the number of suicides as well as rate of suicides in recent years. After a declining trend in the rate of suicides until 2017, the suicide rate has increased from 9.9 (per 1 lakh population) in 2017 to 12 in 2021. Factly’s detailed analysis of the trends in suicides in India can be read here. Compared to females, the increase in the suicides is more prominent among the males. Data also indicates that the unemployed and daily wagers account for a major share of the suicides in the country compared to those in a gainful employment.
The ‘National Suicide Prevention Strategy’ report highlights that suicide is the number one cause of death among those aged 15-29 years. Family problems and illness contribute to the highest number of suicides.  Furthermore, India contributed 36.6% of the global suicide deaths in 2016. This share was 25.3 % in 1990.
A complex phenomenon influenced by several interacting factors
The report highlights the complex nature of suicide. In most of the cases, several interacting factors like – personal, social, psychological, cultural, biological, and environmental factors contribute to the risk of suicides.  Various risk factors are identified which have the potential to aggravate the risk of suicide.
Apart from these risk factors, the report identified the protective factors which can mitigate the risk of suicide. These factors form a key part of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy developed by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). Early primary intervention, access to psychological support and quality treatment are the key factors influencing the support systems and infrastructures to be developed as part of the suicide prevention strategy. Surveillance is another aspect that has been identified to be the key in developing the strategy. From India’s perspective, the current data on suicides is limited. Information such as means used or common methods used for suicide is incomplete.
Strategy delineates REDS path for Suicide prevention
The National Suicide prevention strategy laid down the REDS path for suicide intervention. This includes:
These form the four key objectives to be achieved through the development and implementation of the strategy. The main objective targeted to be achieved through reinforcing leadership and partnerships is to develop a system in place which will effectively reduce easy access to suicide modes. By enhancing the capacity of the health services, the strategy aims at build specialist mental health workforce. It identifies a host of stake holders to provide support and prevent suicides including – police, teachers, political & faith leaders, volunteers, etc. Increasing community resilience as well as developing societal support are other key components of the strategy.
As indicated earlier, the availability of suicide related data is not complete. Hence the strategy identifies developing surveillance mechanism as another important objective.
The REDS path also concurs with the multiple interventions that were delineated by the National Mental Health Policy to prevent suicides. Identification of multiple priority areas and following a multi-sectoral approach is an important component of the Strategy.
Different stakeholders and sectors are made part of the suicide prevention strategy. This includes multiple levels of government – Central, State, local self-government, etc. along with other institutions like NGOs, UN Agencies, Educational institutions, corporates, researchers etc.
5 key Stake holders identified as part of Implementation framework
An action framework and implementation plan are important for the successful implementation of any strategy. Accordingly, action framework forms the core of this national strategy. It ought to be noted that the national strategy being developed is in accordance with WHO’s Southeast Asia Regional strategy on suicide prevention. The action plan includes the following components:
Five key stake holders were identified as part of the National Strategy for prevention of suicides, to implement and achieve the objectives. These include:
National level stake holders include Ministry of Health and Family welfare, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Women & child development, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Ministry of Youth etc. among others.
At State level, the initiatives are led by Secretary, Health of the respective states. The secretary along with the State Nodal Officer for the National Mental Health Programme is also responsible for the implementation of the strategy at district level, by coordinating with the district level officers. The report provides a detailed framework of the different objectives and the role to be played by each of the stakeholders along with the timelines.
The report identifies – stigma surrounding mental health, limited skilled resources and coordination and collaboration with multiple stake holders as few of the main challenges in implementation of National Suicide Prevention Strategy.

created: November 28, 2022


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Review: Here is why some of the Central Sector Projects are delayed by many years
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
October 3, 2022
In the earlier stories, we analysed the trends in time delays and the cost overruns of the delayed central infrastructure projects costing more than Rs.150 crores. In this story, we take a detailed look at few of the delayed projects to understand the reasons for the delays.
In the earlier stories, we analysed the trends in time delays and the cost overruns of the delayed central infrastructure projects costing more than Rs.150 crores. Various reasons were cited for the delays in the completion of these projects, including but not limited to – approvals & clearances from various ministries & departments, changes in the project plan, new requirements, inflation, incorrect estimations, project financing delays, tenders, etc.
We take a detailed look at a few of the delayed projects to understand the reasons for the delays.
The information is based on details provided in the Quarterly Reports and Flash Reports published by the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MOSPI)’s Infrastructure and Project Monitoring Division (IPMD)
Sevok Rangpo Railway line – NEFR (Railways) – delay in Environmental Clearance
As per IPMD’s Flash report for August 2022, the Sevok Rangpo NEFR project had a cost overrun of 488% compared to its initial cost estimate. It is among the projects with the highest cost overrun. The project is under the aegis of Railways and was approved on 04 August 2008. The initial estimate for the project was Rs.1.34 thousand crores while the cost estimate by end of August 2022 is Rs. 7.87 thousand crores i.e., a cost overrun of Rs. 6.53 thousand crores.
The Sevok Rangpo Railways line, when completed, is expected to connect West Bengal and Sikkim and the length of the Railway line is around 45 kms. Currently, the connectivity is only via road.
Reasons for delay: The project runs through a sensitive environmental zone, which is considered to be an Elephant corridor. Running through Darjeeling and Kalimpong Districts of West Bengal, the Sevok-Rangpo railway line passes through Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary and various other zones earmarked as forest divisions in both states.  The project has raised several environmental concerns and received opposition from different environmental groups along with the forest dwellers who would be impacted by the project.
IPMD’s quarterly report for April-June’2020, states that the work was delayed for want of clearance of diversion of forest land in West Bengal. The Supreme Court has given approval for the project only in February 2016. The permission for commencement of work was received from West Bengal Forest Department only in March 2019.
There were restrictions issued by the National Wildlife Board like digging of tunnels only during the daytime, which also has a bearing on the pace and cost of works being carried out. As per the latest quarterly report i.e., April-June’2022, about 33% of the work is completed. In view of the two-thirds work of the project yet to be completed, the costs could still increase.
Conversion of Rig Samrat to MOPS (Petroleum) – Increase in Scope of Work, non-performance of contractor etc.
The project “Conversion of Rig Samrat to Mobile Offshore Production Unit (MOPS)” undertaken by the Petroleum Ministry is one of the most delayed central sector projects that feature high in the lists of both time delays and cost overruns.  The project was approved in March 2013 and was expected to be completed and commissioned by May 2015. The initial cost of the project was estimated at Rs. 862 crores. The current estimated cost of completion is Rs. 2001 crore i.e., a cost escalation of 132%.
Sagar Samrat was a 40-year-old jack-up rig under Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), and the purpose of the project was to convert it into a Mobile Offshore Production Unit (MOPS).
Reasons for Delay: Multiple reasons contributed to the delay in the project. As per the update provided in the July-September’2020 Quarterly report, there was an increase in the scope of work compared to the initial scope. New works in fabrication – strengthening of the hull, replacement of all the legs, replacement of jacking cylinders, etc. were added to the scope of work. This was a substantial increase in the work and delayed the project further.
There was also a change in the contractor. Initially, the project was awarded to the Consortium of Mercator Oil & Gas Limited (MOGL) Mumbai, Mercator Offshore – Singapore and Gulf Piping Company (GPC), Abu Dhabi in 2011.  In August 2018, MOGL wrote to ONGC and expressed its financial inability to complete the project without support from ONGC. The contract was terminated in September 2018, due to non-performance. The project was 85% complete by then. The rest of the project was awarded to GPC. The COVID-19 pandemic also affected the progress of the project.  After a time overrun of around 115 months, the project is 99.2% as per the update provided for the quarter of April-June’2022.  The revised anticipated ‘Date of Commissioning’ (DoC) is December 2022.
LHMC – New Delhi Redevelopment – Delay in Release of Funds
The aim of the project was to construct two new buildings for Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC).  The project was approved in February 2013 with initial plans of completing the project by end of the year. But the project has neared its completion only recently.  The initial cost of the project was Rs. 414 crores and the anticipated cost of completion is Rs. 586.5 crores.
Reasons for Delay: The delay in completion of this project highlights the procedural delays in approvals, granting of contracts, etc. in these projects.  The initial proposal of coming up with new buildings was first proposed by the Central Government in 2003. However, it was initially approved in 2009 with the approval to start the activities received only in 2013. The project was stalled at the end of the year, and it took another 4 years i.e., 2018 to restart the construction activity.
The update in quarterly reports in 2020 indicates that the project was delayed due to paucity of funds as well as the termination of the contracts.
Raniganj Master Plan (coal) – Land Acquisition & Rehabilitation
Raniganj Master Plan coal project was approved to start in August 2009 with a cost estimate of Rs. 2.66 thousand crores. The project was initially estimated to be completed by August 2019. Around 38% of the project is completed and the anticipated date of DoC is August 2024.
Raniganj coalfield is under the aegis of Eastern Coals Fields Ltd (ECL), which is a subsidiary of Coal India Ltd. The Raniganj master plan was initiated to avoid any mishaps in the Raniganj coal area by rehabilitating the affected families to safer locations, in view of the active coal mining operations in the area.
There have been many earth subsidence incidents (due to mining activity) that have been recorded. Still, a sizeable population continues to live in these areas and in dilapidated houses (affected by the mining incidents), because of a lack of alternatives.  The Master plan was intended to address these issues.
Reasons for the delay: Delays in the identification of land and acquisition, delays in construction of the houses, rehabilitation initiatives, etc. are a few of the direct reasons for the delay in the project. But these reasons are influenced by the coordination issues between the Central & State governments and the respective agencies.
A review of the updates about this project in the quarterly reports highlights a few of the specific issues.
Another reason for the escalating costs is the efforts involved in the prevention of any mishaps and the rescue operations in case of any incidents. Since the initiation of the plan, there have been multiple incidents of surface fires and other mining-related accidents.
The current anticipated cost estimate is Rs. 5.1 thousand crores i.e., a cost overrun of Rs. 2.4 thousand crores.
Kakrapar Atomic Power Project- 3 & 4 (Atomic Energy) – Re-inspection, financial delays, supply issues
Kakrapar Atomic Power Station (KAPS) is in Gujarat, and the current project i.e., Kakrapar Atomic Power Project – 3 &4, is aimed at adding two new units with a combined capacity of 700 MW.  The project is developed and operated by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL), and the two pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWR) are the first set of indigenous-led plants to be developed in India.
The project received approval in October 2009, and the initial DoC of the project was December 2015. The initial cost of the project was Rs. 11.4 thousand crores.
Reasons for delay: The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster in 2011, required a re-inspection of the project design to ensure safety standards. This caused an initial break in the work of the project.
The increase in the gestation period of the project has resulted in the expenditure in the form of – increased Interest During Construction (IDC), price escalation, expense on manpower and establishment, etc. This required a new financial approval and there was a delay in getting the financial sanction.
Furthermore, the stipulations for the project by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) have resulted in new additional works, which resulted in further revision of the time, effort, and financials of the project.
The project was further hit by financial constraints – an increase in cost due to GST and withdrawal of Megaproject Concession. Supply-side issues were also highlighted in multiple IPMD quarterly reports. The supply delays include – delay in the supply of equipment, delays in components from various contractors, delay in the delivery of fuel transfer equipment, etc. These supply-side delays have caused bottlenecks in the project.
The anticipated cost of the project is Rs. 17.1 thousand crores, a cost overrun to the tune of Rs. Rs. 7.7 thousand crores. The project is delayed by over 90 months and the anticipated DoC is June 2023. As per the latest IPMD reports, 97% of the project is completed by the end of the previous quarter. Around the same time two years ago, nearly 95% of the project was completed, which could indicate slower progress towards completion during the pandemic years.
These case studies are only a sample of those central infrastructure projects that are delayed. The reasons range from direct ones like lack of funds or delay in allocation of funds to more complicated reasons involving land acquisitions and rehabilitations. The human component, the environment, etc have also affected timelines. For many projects, there are multiple reasons that affected the completion of the project, with most of the reasons being the result of an initial delay. This cycle of delay & cost escalation resulting in further delays only complicates the process.
Featured Image: Central Sector Projects

created: October 3, 2022


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Higher Education GER for Female in 2019-20 remains higher than Male GER
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
June 19, 2021
The higher education GER for females overtook the male GER for the first time in 2018-19. The trend continued even in 2019-20 with the female GER crossing 27%. Three States/UTs reported a GER of more than 50% while Bihar remains at the bottom with a GER of almost half the national average.
The access to higher education is measured in terms of the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER), a statistical measure used in the education sector to indicate the level of education among a certain age group. It is calculated as the ratio of persons enrolled in higher education institutions to the total population of persons in the age group of 18 to 23 years. A high GER indicates a high degree of participation in higher education by the age group.
In this story, we will look at the trends in Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for the last 5 years across states, gender, and social categories. The AISHE survey covers all institutions of Higher Education in the country, registered with the AISHE code in the AISHE portal.  The data is based on the submission made by these institutions in a pre-defined survey form.
India’s GER has steadily increased led by the substantial increase in ‘Female GER’
The access to higher education has increased over the years, from 21.5% in 2012-13 to 27.1% in 2019-20, according to the All India Survey on Higher Education Survey (AISHE). GER for male population has improved from 22.7% (in 2012-13) to 26.9% (2019-20) and for female population from 20.1% (in 2012-12) to 27.3% (in 2019-20). The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 aims to increase the total GER (including vocational education) to 50% by 2035.
The key highlights from AISHE’s recent 2019-20 report regarding enrolment are:
GER highest in Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Delhi and lowest in Bihar
The highest GER is reported from Sikkim at 75.8%. The GER for the other states falls around and below 50%. Sikkim is followed by Chandigarh (52.1%), Tamil Nadu (51.4%), and Delhi (48%). The lowest GER has been reported for UTs like Daman & Diu (6.1%), Lakshadweep (7.5%), Ladakh (7.9%), and the states of Bihar (14.5%) and Assam (17.3%). In other words, only 3 States/UTs are above the 50% GER target set by the NEP 2020.
States like Uttarakhand, Kerala, Manipur, Telangana, Arunachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, J&K, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Haryana and Punjab have reported GERs higher than the national average (27.1%).
States like Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Tripura, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and others have reported GERs lower than the national average (27.1%). Among the large states, Bihar has the lowest GER at 14.5%, which is almost half the national average.
GER among females registers a steeper increase in all social categories
In the last 5 years, the overall GER increased from 24.5% to 27.1%. Male GER registered a nominal increase from 25.4% (2015-16) to 26.9% (2019-20). However, Female GER has recorded a relatively significant increase from 23.5% (2015-16) to 27.3% (2019-20).
Among the Scheduled Category (SC) category, the overall GER increased from 19.9% to 23.4% in the last 5 years. Male GER among SCs registered a nominal increase from 20.8% (2015-16) to 22.8% (2019-20). However, Female GER has recorded a relatively significant increase from 19% (2015-16) to 24.1% (2019-20).
Among the Scheduled Tribe (ST) category, the overall GER increased from 14.2% to 18% in the last 5 years. Male GER among STs registered an increase from 15.6% (2015-16) to 18.2% (2019-20) and female GER has also recorded a significant increase from 12.9% (2015-16) to 17.7% (2019-20).
Male & Female GER among STs remains low as compared to other social categories
GER among Social Categories across major states shows the enrolment ratio for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories remains lower than the total enrolment ratio for the state in most cases.
However, there are a few exceptions to this trend among major states. For instance, in Uttar Pradesh, the GER among STs has remained higher than the GER for the state for the last 5 years. This is due to the meager population of STs in the state (less than 1%). At the same time, the GER among SCs in the state has remained lower than the GER for the state. Similarly, in Gujarat, the GER among SCs has remained higher than the GER for the state for the last 5 years and, at the same time, the GER among STs has remained lower than the GER for the state. STs make up around 15% of Gujarat’s population.
A gender-wise break-up of GER also suggests a similar pattern. Male and Female GER among Social Categories across major states shows the enrolment ratio for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories remains lower than the total enrolment ratio for the state in most cases. Female GER among STs one of the lowest enrolment ratios, in comparison with other groups, across most states.
However, there are a few exceptions to this trend as discussed earlier. For instance, in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the Male and Female GER for STs has remained higher than the GER for the state. STs account for only around 1% of the population in both states and hence their GER is higher than the state average. In most other states, STs remain at the bottom of the chart in terms of GER. In other words, GER among SCs & STs is higher than the state average only where their share in the population is very low.
These patterns indicate that while Female GER among STs has registered a significant increase over the years (as discussed in the above sections), it still falls behind other social and gender categories by a significant margin.
Featured Image: All India Survey on Higher Education Survey


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Review: Himachal Pradesh HC Rules That Complainant’s Consent is Not Necessary To Compound a Case When He is Duly Compensated - FACTLY
Sai Krishna Muthyanolla
January 18, 2023
In this week’s review of Court Judgments, we look at Himachal Pradesh High Court’s decision that the complainant’s consent is not necessary to compound a case when he is duly compensated, Supreme court judgment regarding non applicability of benefit of lapse, Delhi High Court’s  judgment in a trademark related case, NCLAT’s admission of Google’s appeal with the provision that 10% of fine is paid first and Karnataka High court’s judgment regarding liability of legal heir.
Himachal Pradesh HC: Complainant’s consent not necessary for compounding case when he is duly compensated.
Hearing a plea challenging a Sessions Court order, Justice Vivek Singh Thakur of Himachal Pradesh High Court held that a case registered under Negotiable Instrument Act can be compounded even in the absence of consent of the complainant, where the complainant is duly compensated.
As per the details of the case, Rajinder Kumar vs. Pushpa Devi, the Sessions court has earlier convicted the petitioner under Section 138 of Negotiable Instrument Act (NI Act) and sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment of four months and to pay fine of Rs. 50 thousand payable to the respondent (complainant) as compensation.
As per the submission of the petitioner, the compensation amount was already deposited with the High Court registry. He has expressed the willingness to compound the case by making additional payment of 10% of awarded compensation. Reference was made to a Supreme Court judgement in Meters and Instruments Pvt Limited and another vs. Kanchan Mehta (2018) 1 SCC 560 with the contention that in case of NI Act, the case can be compounded even without the absence of consent of complainant, provided the complainant was duly compensated.
The plea for compounding the case was refused by the complainant via the counsel.  Justice Thakur, observed that as per provisions of Section 147 of Negotiable Instruments Act along with the inherent power of the High Court under Section 482 Cr.P.C, the high court is sufficiently empowered to compound the case even in the absence of consent of complainant, wherein the complainant is duly compensated.
The court further pointed out the fact that the petitioner is 52% handicapped and has deposited in the Court 10% over and above the compensation. The court adjudged that the complainant has been compensated adequately and therefore, a substantive sentence of imprisonment imposed upon him is not necessary.
Supreme Court: Benefit of Lapse not available if delay in taking possession was due to pending litigation
In the case Govt. of NCR of Delhi vs. Sunil Jain & Ors, Supreme Court held that the delay in taking possession of land because of a pending litigation does not entitle the original owner of the land the benefit of lapse under Section 24(2) of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. (RFCTLARR).
This observation was made by the Supreme Court Bench comprising of Justice MR Shah and Justice CT Ravi Kumar, in a Civil Appeal, wherein the Government of NCT of Delhi had approached the top court feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the judgment passed by High Court of Delhi.
In that judgment, High court of Delhi allowed the writ petition preferred by the private respondents in the Civil appeal and held that the acquisition with respect to the land in question is deemed to have lapsed under RFCTLARR Act.
The appellant i.e., Government of Delhi put fort two arguments in the Supreme court.
Reviewing the merits of the case, the Court held that the acquiring body was not able to take the possession due to pending litigation initiated by the landowner, and hence, the landowner cannot be permitted to take the benefit/advantage of the same. And hence cannot content to be entitled to benefit of lapse.
It therefore stated that the judgment and order passed by the High Court is unsustainable and needs to be set aside. The original writ petition filed by the petitioners regarding lapse of the acquisition stands lapsed.
Delhi HC: Registration of Tread pattern nearly identical to ‘Suit pattern’ as a design would not disentitle it from being regarded as trademark.
In the case, Apollo Tyres Limited vs. Pioneer Trading Corporation & Ors, Delhi High Court has ruled that registration of a tread pattern, which is nearly identical to the suit pattern, as a design would not ipso facto (by that very fact ) operate to disentitle it from being regarded as a ‘ trade mark’ as per Trade Marks Act, 1999.
In the case, the argument before the court was whether Apollo Tyres Limited, which filed a suit against Pioneer Trading Corporation accusing it of violating a 2018 settlement agreement, deserves to be non-suited. The argument is based on the ground that it had applied for registration of the suit pattern as a design under Section 5 of the Designs Act. It was argued that by making such an application, Apollo Tyres has lost its right to any statutory right in respect to the tread pattern treating it as a trademark in view of the exception of Trademarks from the definition of ‘design’.
Delhi High Court stated that the issue of whether a mark is eligible to be regarded as a ‘trademark’ has to be decided solely on basis of the definition in the Trade Marks Act and cannot be decided on basis of Design Act.
It further noted that, in the current case, the Suit pattern is not registered as a design and hence referring to definition under Designs Act would not arise, unlike the case of Havells India Ltd vs. Panasonic Life Solutions India Pvt. Ltd.
On comparing the two tread patterns, the court said that the only difference that one can see in the two patterns is in the nature of the cuts on the cubes on the two tread patterns, otherwise the placement of the various pieces on the two tread patterns is identical.
Considering the agreement between the two parties, the court was of the view that the defendants carried out only cosmetic changes to the tread pattern. This cannot be considered as a compliance as the defendants has agreed not to manufacture any tread pattern which was similar to the plaintiffs tread pattern.
The court stated that there is no dispute on the fact that the plaintiff has never applied for registration of tread pattern. However, even if the defendants file a registration for tread pattern, they will not disentitle the plaintiff in respect to the tread pattern.
In its application seeking injunction, Apollo has argued that considerable research has gone into developing the tread pattern and that Pioneer by using a similar pattern, is trying to pass off their tyres as that of Apollo’s. The court allowed for the injunction if favour of Apollo.
NCLAT Delhi Directs Google to Deposit 10% of Penalty Amount in a Google Play Store Dispute
In the case, Alphabet Inc. & Ors vs. Competition Commission of India & Ors, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has admitted Google’s appeal against a CCI Order subject to deposit of 10% of penalty amount of Rs. 936.44 crores.
As per the details of the case, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) adjudicated a complaint filed in XYZ (Confidential) vs Alphabet Inc & Ors, wherein the allegation of abuse of dominant position by Google were raised.
App developers use App stores for distributing their apps to the end users. Google Play Store, owned by Google (whose holding company is Alphabet Inc) is the main distribution channel for app developers in Android mobiles.
App developers monetise their innovations by selling in-app digital goods. A per Google’s Play Store policy, the App developers are required to mandatorily use Google Play’s Billing System (GPBS) for receiving payments for Apps and in-app purchases from Play Store. App developers are not permitted to list their apps in case of non-compliance to this.
CCI observed that this making access to Play Store dependant on mandatary usage of GPBS is devoid of any legitimate business interest and leaves the app developers bereft of any choice. It noted that Google has violated the provisions of Section 4 of Competition Act.
CCI therefore imposed a monetary penalty of Rs. 936.44 crores on Google for abusing its dominant position. Google filed an appeal before NCLAT challenging the order passed by CCI.  NCLAT admitted Google’s appeal, subject to deposit of 10% of the penalty amount. The matter was next listed for 17 April 2023 and NCLAT declined to grant any interim relief. Google has approached the Supreme Court against this decision of NCLAT.
Karnataka HC: Deceased Father’s dues qualify as legally enforceable debt
Single judge of Justice K Natarajan of Karnataka High court said that a son being the legal representative is liable to discharge the liability of the deceased father under the Negotiable Instruments Act.
As per the case details, a complaint was filed by Prasad Raykar, as per which Bharamappa, the father of respondent is said to have borrowed Rs. 2.6 lakhs for his business and family necessities and agreed to pay 2% interest per month, for which a promissory note was also executed.
In due course, Bharamappa died, leaving his son as a legal heir. The complainant asked the deceased’s son B T Dinesh for repayment of the loan. Dinesh asked for time and paid Rs. 10 thousand on 10 June 2005.  Later, the respondent issued two cheques for sum of Rs. 2.25 lakhs. The cheques were dishonoured as the account was closed. A notice was served but he did not pay the amount. Hence, a complaint was filed under sections of Negotiable Instrument act before the Magistrate.
The bench referred to a case of ICDS Ltd vs. Beena Shabbet & Anr and held that the legal representative of the deceased is liable personally.
The court also rejected that the debt is time barred since his father has borrowed the loan in 2003. In this regard, the court stated that the case of debt being time barred does not arise since he has paid Rs. 10 thousand by cash and has issued a cheque, therefore is liable for discharging the liability of the father.

created: January 18, 2023