Ladakh and the Sixth Schedule

A Ladakhi innovator and engineer completed his five-day “climate fast”, in an effort to draw the attention of leaders to the region’s fragile ecology and to secure its protection under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

Fast for Ladakh’s Fragile Ecology

• The fast highlights that Ladakh’s ecology is highly sensitive to climate change, with melting glaciers posing significant risks to the region’s flora, fauna, and people.
• As a cold desert, Ladakh relies on glaciers to fulfil water needs.
• However, melting glaciers cause the loss of potable water, threaten agriculture practices, erode sustainable practices, and force locals to migrate.

About Ladakh

• Ladakh is a region in the northernmost part of India, bordering China and Pakistan.
• The region is home to several ethnic groups, including the Ladakhi people, who are predominantly Buddhist.

Demand for Sixth Schedule in Ladakh

• There has been a demand from the local tribal communities in Ladakh to extend the provisions of the Sixth Schedule to the region.
• The demand has been primarily driven by concerns over the protection of tribal rights and the preservation of the unique cultural identity of the local communities.

Current administration in Ladakh

• Ladakh was granted Union Territory status in 2019, following the bifurcation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two separate Union Territories.
• The administration of Ladakh is currently governed by the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh and an elected Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC).

Benefits of Sixth Schedule in Ladakh

• Meeting tribal aspiration: The Parliamentary standing committee recommended including of Ladakh in the Sixth Schedule because its tribal communities account for 79.61% of its total population.
• Autonomy and self-governance: The extension of the Sixth Schedule to Ladakh could provide greater autonomy and self-governance to the local tribal communities.
• Cultural preservation: It could also help to protect the unique cultural identity of the local communities and preserve their traditional practices and customs.

Challenges to this demand

• No further fragmentation: The demand to extend the Sixth Schedule to Ladakh has faced some opposition from certain quarters, who argue that it could lead to further fragmentation of the region and create new administrative challenges.
• Losing political capital: There are also concerns over the potential impact of the demand on the political and administrative structure of the region.

Conclusion

• Overall, the demand to extend the provisions of the Sixth Schedule to Ladakh is a complex issue that requires careful consideration of the needs and aspirations of the local tribal communities, as well as the broader political and administrative context of the region.

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Back2Basics: Sixth Schedule of Indian Constitution The Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution provides for the administration of tribal areas in the northeastern states of India.These provisions were added to the Constitution in order to protect the rights and interests of the tribal communities in these areas and to promote their social, cultural, and economic development. Here’s a summary of the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution: Areas covered The Sixth Schedule covers the tribal areas in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram.These areas are known as “tribal areas” and are home to a large number of indigenous tribal communities. Autonomous district councils The Sixth Schedule provides for the establishment of autonomous district councils in the tribal areas.These councils have the power to make laws and regulations for the governance of their respective areas.They are also responsible for the administration of the local institutions of self-government, such as village councils and traditional councils. Composition of district councils The members of the district councils are elected by the people of the respective districts.The councils are headed by a chairman, who is also elected by the members of the council.The district councils have the power to appoint their own staff and to manage their own finances. Powers of district councils The district councils have the power to make laws on a range of subjects, including land, forests, water, and fisheries.They also have the power to regulate local markets and to levy taxes and fees on a range of activities.The district councils can also establish and manage schools, hospitals, and other institutions for the benefit of the local communities. Protection of tribal rights The Sixth Schedule provides for the protection of the rights of the tribal communities in the areas covered by the schedule.It ensures that the traditional rights and customs of the tribal communities are respected and protected.It also provides for the reservation of seats in the district councils and other local bodies for members of the tribal communities.

Debt swaps for poor nations

With many developing nations facing a triple whammy of rising debt loads, climate change and nature loss, conservationists say the answer could lie with a financial instrument enabling them to tackle all three at once: “debt-for-environment swaps”. The world’s poorest countries owe $62 billion in annual debt service, a year-on-year increase of 35%, the World Bank said in December, warning of a rising risk of defaults.

What are green debt swaps and how do they work?

1. Debt swaps are one way to change the terms of a country’s borrowing – with bilateral government lenders, development finance institutions or private banks – either by giving states more time to repay loans or reducing interest rates and the amounts they must pay back.
2. With the agreement of creditors, debt swaps can help the world’s low-income countries avoid default and enable them to redeploy part of their debt repayments to invest in measures to tackle climate change, nature protection, health or education.
3. For creditors, debt swaps can reduce their risk through additional guarantees and ensure that at least part of a loan is eventually repaid.
4. The first debt-for-nature swaps were agreed in the mid-1980s, mostly in Latin America, with rich nations the main creditors.
5. During the last three decades, environmental debt swaps were rare and usually relatively small government-to-government agreements for $10 million-$20 million.
6. 70-80% of countries’ debts are now owed to private creditors, according to WWF – usually banks and asset managers.

Who is pushing debt-for-nature swaps and why?

1. Developing nations that are struggling to pay back creditors or defaulting on their debt – and thus cannot invest in greening their economies and protecting their rich biodiversity – are pushing for these swaps.
2. Egypt presented a swap with Germany as a model for others seeking to raise money for clean energy projects when it hosted the U.N. climate summit last November.
3. Multilateral development banks also see potential in green debt swaps.

Lavani folk dance form in controversy

A well-known Lavani dancer Megha Ghadge complained and “raised the issue of absolute degradation of Lavani culture by using DJs and making girls dance wearing ghaghra choli in front of the public ”.

What is the Lavani folk art form?

1. The word Lavani comes from ‘lavanya’ or beauty. Lavani is a traditional folk art form in which women dancers wearing nine-yard-long sarees in bright colours, make-up, and ghunghroos perform on dholak beats on a stage before a live audience.
2. As an indigenous art form, Lavani has a history going back several centuries, and it attained particular popularity in the Peshwa era in the 18th century.
3. Traditionally, performances were held in front of kings or lords, and for the entertainment of tired soldiers resting during breaks in fighting.
4. There are several sub-genres of Lavani, of which the most popular is the Shringarik (erotic) kind, in which the lyrics are often teasing, with sensuous dance steps and delicate gestures employed to convey erotic meaning.
5. Over the years, Lavani has gained more acceptability among the people, even though certain taboos around it continue.
6. The audience has historically been all-male, but in recent years, some women too have begun to attend performances.
7. Lavani became well known outside Maharashtra — throughout India and even outside the country — following its use in popular media such as cinema.
8. Over the past few years, with the explosion in the use of social media, short clips of dances have become very popular.

New IAF doctrine advertises aerospace power

The third iteration of the Indian Air Force doctrine was released; the first two were introduced in 2012 and 1995. The new doctrine has been expanded in length, scope, and detail, and mirrors the blooming potential of air and space as key mediums in which the Indian military can find greater expression and effectiveness.

More about the doctrine

1. In particular, it misses out on the belief systems that emanate from the reality of our adversaries being nuclear powers.
2. A reality that overshadows the entire spectrum from ‘peace’ ‘no war, no peace’ to ‘war’.
3. Notably, escalation potential as a political restraint does not find a place. It should have perhaps helped to flag the point that air strategy has to be cognisant of escalation; though drawing the lines of restraint is a politico-military process.
4. The doctrine is weighted with liberal use of American buzzwords such as network-centric warfare and multi-domain warfare.
5. It is also obvious that in terms of perspective, the doctrine is West-inspired. There is perhaps a case for looking at Atmanirbharta and adopting phrases that are closer to the Indian outlook.
6. This version of the doctrine is certainly a reflection of the intellectual capacity of the IAF to articulate its belief systems based on knowledge, experience, and rational imagination.
7. It is no secret that the cutting-edge elements of the IAF, like its fighter squadrons, are fraying in quantity and quality.
8. While the document can provide guidance on prioritisation of acquisition, its operational strategy and tactics have to be anchored in the wherewithal that is going to be available.
9. Therefore the change of nomenclature to aerospace, though justified, is for the present an aspirational one.

Cabinet Approves to Set up PACS

The Union Cabinet approved setting up of new primary agricultural credit societies (PACS) and dairy-fishery cooperatives in uncovered villages and panchayats. Its implementation will be done over a period of five years and 25 different facilities to be provided through them. Dairy and fishery will also be linked to the agriculture cooperatives. At present, there are around 63,000 functional PACS in the country.

Aim

1. To strengthen the cooperative movement in the country and deepen its reach up to the grassroots.

Target

2. The initial target is to establish 2 lakh multipurpose PACS/dairy/fishery cooperatives in the next five years.

Approach

3. The plan is to establish PACS in each uncovered panchayat, viable dairy cooperatives in each uncovered panchayat/village and viable fishery cooperatives in each coastal panchayat/village as well as panchayat/village having large water bodies.
4. The plan will be implemented with the convergence of various schemes by leveraging the ‘whole of government’ approach. The proposal will enable cooperative societies to set up and modernise necessary infrastructure.
5. It will provide farmer members with requisite forward and backward linkages and enhance their income. The move will also help in generating employment opportunities in rural areas.
6. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the computerization of PACS to increase the efficiency of PACS as well as to bring transparency and accountability in their operations.
7. The computerization will help in facilitating PACS to diversify their business and undertake multiple activities/ services.