{"id":78632,"date":"2025-12-19T11:25:19","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T05:55:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=78632"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:25:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T05:55:19","slug":"daily-editorial-analysis-19-december-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/daily-editorial-analysis-19-december-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Daily Editorial Analysis 19 December 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>Cutting off a Rural Lifeline and the Directive Principles<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The central government\u2019s move to replace the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) represents <strong>a fundamental attack on India\u2019s constitutional vision <\/strong>of social and economic justice.<\/li>\n<li>Passed using the government\u2019s majority in the Lok Sabha, the proposed Bill alters the very nature of MGNREGA by dismantling its <strong>rights-based and democratic framework<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>This is not a routine policy reform but a serious erosion of the <strong>Directive Principles of State Policy<\/strong> and a direct assault on the rural working poor, warranting scrutiny by the Standing Committee of Parliament.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Constitutional Foundations of the Right to Work<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Article 41 of the Constitution<\/strong> directs the State to make effective provision for securing the right to work within its economic capacity.<\/li>\n<li>During the Constituent Assembly debates, this provision emerged as a compromise between <strong>socialist members<\/strong>, who sought to make the right to work a fundamental right, and <strong>capitalist interests<\/strong>, who opposed such an obligation.<\/li>\n<li>As a result, the right to work was placed among the Directive Principles, <strong>non-justiciable but central to economic democracy<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>B.R. Ambedkar described the Directive Principles as <strong>instruments of instruction essential for economic democracy<\/strong>, while K.T. Shah dismissed them as <strong>pious wishes.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Decades of unemployment and exclusion under capitalist development have shown how fragile this constitutional promise remained until political circumstances forced a shift.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>MGNREGA Act<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The Act guaranteed <strong>100 days of work per rural household<\/strong>, was <strong>universal<\/strong>, and open to all adults willing to perform manual labour.<\/li>\n<li>Crucially, it was <strong>demand-driven<\/strong>, responding to actual need rather than fixed bureaucratic targets.<\/li>\n<li>This structure gave MGNREGA <strong>deep democratic content<\/strong>. Households retained freedom to seek better employment while relying on MGNREGA as a fallback.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Equal wages for men and women<\/strong>, full central funding of wages, and meaningful roles for <strong>States and panchayats<\/strong> strengthened its inclusive and federal character.<\/li>\n<li>It was <strong>among the first such laws in the capitalist world<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Concerns Surrounding the Proposed Viksit Bharat- G RAM G Bill 2025<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h4><strong>Dismantling the Core Features of MGNREGA<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>The proposed Bill under the Modi government <strong>scraps these foundational principles<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The demand-driven mechanism is replaced by <strong>normative financial allocations<\/strong> fixed by the Centre, absolving it of legal responsibility once funds are exhausted.<\/li>\n<li>At the same time, <strong>States are burdened with 40% of costs<\/strong>, despite ongoing fiscal stress and denial of their fair share of tax revenues.<\/li>\n<li>The Bill introduces <strong>extreme centralisation<\/strong>, transferring control over project design, implementation, and audits to the Union government.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h4><strong>Undermining the Federal Structure<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>This undermines the <strong>federal structure of the Constitution<\/strong> and marginalises States and panchayats, which earlier had authority to design projects based on local needs.<\/li>\n<li>A clear <strong>class bias<\/strong> is evident in the prohibition of work during peak agricultural seasons. With increased mechanisation, agricultural employment has shrunk sharply.<\/li>\n<li>Evidence shows that workers opt for MGNREGA during peak seasons only when agricultural wages fall below MGNREGA rates or work is unavailable.<\/li>\n<li>The ban <strong>weakens workers\u2019 bargaining power<\/strong>, forcing them into exploitative conditions imposed by large landowners, <strong>disproportionately harming women<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h4><strong>Digital Exclusion and Symbolic Politics<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>The Bill legalises <strong>Aadhaar linkage and mandatory digital attendance<\/strong> for eligibility and wage payments, despite widespread evidence of exclusion due to poor connectivity and technical failures.<\/li>\n<li>These measures <strong>transform a rights-based guarantee <\/strong>into a bureaucratic hurdle.<\/li>\n<li>Renaming the scheme as the <strong>Viksit Bharat\u2013G RAM G Bill 2025<\/strong> reflects symbolic politics rather than substantive reform and risks provoking widespread resistance from those whose livelihoods are threatened.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Social Realities and Agrarian Distress<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The harsh working conditions under MGNREGA highlight persistent rural distress.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Women often lift up to 3,000 kilograms of mud per day<\/strong> to meet productivity norms.<\/li>\n<li>Their participation, <strong>over 50% in most States<\/strong>, signals not choice but <strong>the absence of better alternatives<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The social composition of workers underscores the law\u2019s constitutional importance. <strong>Adivasis (18%) and Scheduled Castes (19%)<\/strong> are vastly overrepresented relative to their population share, together forming <strong>over two-thirds of the workforce<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Rolling back their rights constitutes <strong>an attack on constitutionally protected communities<\/strong>, worsened by their removal from advisory and grievance redress mechanisms in the draft law.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Starvation of Funds and Manufactured Failure<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Since 2014, MGNREGA has been <strong>systematically underfunded<\/strong>, even as <strong>corporate tax concessions <\/strong>and write-offs have expanded.<\/li>\n<li>Worker participation has risen to <strong>over 7.7 crore<\/strong>, yet expenditure has stagnated below <strong>2% of GDP<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>In 2024\u201325, nearly one crore workers were denied work, wage arrears ran into thousands of crores, and households received <strong>less than 50 days of work on average<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Promises of <strong>125 days of work<\/strong> in the new Bill appear <strong>cynical and hollow<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>MGNREGA remains an <strong>indispensable lifeline<\/strong> for India\u2019s rural poor amid agrarian distress and unemployment.<\/li>\n<li>The proposed Bill <strong>dismantles its rights-based, democratic, and federal foundations<\/strong>, bulldozing the <strong>Directive Principles of the Constitution<\/strong> and undermining the vision of economic democracy.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Strengthening, not weakening, <\/strong>the right to work is the true constitutional mandate, and the proposed replacement fails that test decisively.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Cutting off a Rural Lifeline and the Directive Principles FAQs<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Q1. <\/strong>What constitutional principle does MGNREGA seek to uphold?<br \/>\n<strong>Ans.<\/strong> MGNREGA seeks to uphold the constitutional principle of the right to work under Article 41 of the Directive Principles.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q2. <\/strong>Why was the role of the Left crucial in the enactment of MGNREGA?<br \/>\n<strong>Ans. <\/strong>The Left was crucial because its parliamentary support enabled the adoption of a rights-based, demand-driven employment law.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q3. <\/strong>How does the proposed Bill alter the nature of MGNREGA?<br \/>\n<strong>Ans. <\/strong>The proposed Bill replaces the demand-driven guarantee with centrally fixed financial allocations, removing the State\u2019s obligation to provide work.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q4. <\/strong>Why is the prohibition of work during peak agricultural seasons criticised?<br \/>\n<strong>Ans. <\/strong>The prohibition is criticised because it weakens workers\u2019 bargaining power and forces them into exploitative agricultural employment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q5. <\/strong>What does the social composition of MGNREGA workers indicate?<br \/>\n<strong>Ans. <\/strong>The social composition indicates that Adivasis and Scheduled Castes disproportionately depend on MGNREGA, reflecting deep structural inequality.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/lead\/cutting-off-a-rural-lifeline-and-the-directive-principles\/article70412578.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Hindu<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong>A Bold Step Amid an Ambitious Nuclear Energy Target<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Human development is closely linked to rising energy consumption. Earl Cook\u2019s 1971 Scientific American study showed that as societies evolved\u2014from primitive to digital stages\u2014their energy needs expanded steadily.<\/li>\n<li>Today\u2019s digital economy adds new, significant energy demands.<\/li>\n<li>This article highlights how India\u2019s pursuit of higher human development is inseparable from a massive expansion and decarbonisation of energy supply, placing nuclear power\u2014and the SHANTI Bill, 2025\u2014at the centre of its long-term development strategy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Energy Growth Required for India\u2019s Human Development Goals<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Human Development Index (HDI) closely correlates with per capita <strong>Final Energy Consumption<\/strong> (FEC), linking development outcomes with energy availability.<\/li>\n<li>As a G20-member aspiring to an <strong>HDI of 0.9<\/strong> or higher, India would need to generate around 24,000 TWh of energy annually, even after accounting for improvements in energy efficiency and electrification.<\/li>\n<li>Of this, about 60% would be used as electricity, while the remaining would go into hydrogen production via electrolysers, essential for decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors such as steel, fertilisers and plastics.<\/li>\n<li>If alternative low-energy hydrogen production methods mature, electricity demand could reduce.<\/li>\n<li>India\u2019s electricity generation in 2023-24 was about 1,950 TWh, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of ~4.8% in recent years. At this pace, reaching 24,000 TWh would take four to five decades.<\/li>\n<li>However, <strong>two major challenges<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>First, India must decarbonise its energy mix while scaling generation.<\/li>\n<li>Second, electrification of end uses must expand sharply, as electricity currently accounts for only about 22% of FEC.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Achieving development goals therefore requires not just higher generation, but a transition away from fossil fuels towards hydro, nuclear, solar and wind power, alongside systemic energy redesign.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Nuclear Power and India\u2019s Decarbonised Energy Mix<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h4><strong>Limits of Renewable Energy Sources<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>India\u2019s hydro and wind potential is inherently limited, while high population density restricts the availability of land for large-scale solar photovoltaic deployment.<\/li>\n<li>Although hydro, solar and wind must be fully utilised, their combined potential is insufficient to meet the energy levels required for India to achieve an HDI above 0.9.<\/li>\n<li>As a result, <strong>nuclear power <\/strong>must be significantly expanded, and fossil fuels will remain necessary in the interim.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h4><strong>Need for Reliable Baseload Power<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Solar and wind are <strong>intermittent energy sources<\/strong>, with output varying by time of day and season.<\/li>\n<li>Large-scale electricity storage to balance this variability is costly and often economically unviable, especially for seasonal fluctuations.<\/li>\n<li>To ensure affordable and reliable power, India\u2019s energy mix requires <strong>baseload generation<\/strong> that is independent of weather or time.<\/li>\n<li>Nuclear power plants provide stable baseload electricity, making them essential for a decarbonised system.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h4><strong>Indigenous Nuclear Capability<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>India has built strong indigenous capacity across the nuclear energy supply chain.<\/li>\n<li>While uranium must be imported due to limited domestic reserves, the country has developed technologies for fuel fabrication, heavy water production, and equipment manufacturing.<\/li>\n<li>The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) has mastered the design and operation of Pressurised Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs), including the 700 MW class.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h4><strong>Expansion of Nuclear Power<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Currently, <strong>three 700 MW PHWR<\/strong> units are operational, a fourth is nearing completion, and two more are under advanced construction.<\/li>\n<li>In 2017, the government approved the construction of 10 additional 700 MW PHWRs, with work progressing steadily, signalling a major scale-up of nuclear capacity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h4><strong>Safety, Regulation and Waste Management<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>India established a nuclear regulatory body in the 1980s with robust oversight capabilities.<\/li>\n<li>The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has developed technologies for reprocessing spent fuel and managing nuclear waste.<\/li>\n<li>Together, these efforts make nuclear power a technically feasible, safe, and cost-effective pillar of India\u2019s long-term decarbonised energy strategy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>The SHANTI Bill, 2025: A New Push for Nuclear Energy<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h4><strong>Ambitious Nuclear Expansion Target<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Building on recent successes in nuclear power, the Union government has set a target of 100 GW of installed nuclear capacity by mid-century.<\/li>\n<li>It is planning for a major expansion of the sector to support long-term development and decarbonisation goals.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h4><strong>Consolidated Legal Framework<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Parliament has passed the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India (SHANTI) Bill, 2025.<\/li>\n<li>It is an overarching legislation that consolidates and harmonises provisions of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h4><strong>Regulatory and Safety Provisions<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>The Bill provides continuity in regulation by stating that the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) \u201cshall be deemed to have been constituted under this Act.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>It clearly assigns the primary responsibility for safety, security and safeguards to the licensee of the nuclear facility, strengthening accountability.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<h4><strong>Strategic Significance<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>With its ambitious capacity target and streamlined legal framework, the SHANTI Bill represents a bold policy step.<\/li>\n<li>Such decisive measures, coupled with long-term vision, are viewed as essential for India\u2019s transition to a developed, energy-secure and low-carbon economy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><strong>A Bold Step Amid an Ambitious Nuclear Energy Target FAQs<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><strong>Q1.<\/strong> Why is energy consumption closely linked to human development?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> Human development rises with energy availability, as higher energy consumption supports income growth, education, healthcare, industrialisation and digitalisation across successive stages of societal advancement.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q2.<\/strong> How much energy does India need to reach an HDI of 0.9?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> Estimates suggest India must generate around 24,000 TWh annually, even with efficiency gains, to achieve an HDI of 0.9 comparable to advanced economies.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q3.<\/strong> Why are renewables alone insufficient for India\u2019s long-term energy needs?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> Limited hydro and wind potential, land constraints for solar, and intermittency make renewables inadequate alone, necessitating reliable baseload sources like nuclear power.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q4.<\/strong> What makes nuclear power essential in a decarbonised energy mix?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> Nuclear provides stable, low-carbon baseload electricity, avoiding costly large-scale storage and ensuring reliable supply independent of weather or time-of-day variations.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q5.<\/strong> What is the significance of the SHANTI Bill, 2025?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> The SHANTI Bill consolidates nuclear laws, strengthens regulatory clarity, assigns safety responsibility to licensees, and supports India\u2019s ambitious target of 100 GW nuclear capacity.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/op-ed\/a-bold-step-amid-an-ambitious-nuclear-energy-target\/article70412631.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TH<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Daily Editorial Analysis 19 December 2025 by Vajiram &#038; Ravi covers key editorials from The Hindu &#038; Indian Express with UPSC-focused insights and relevance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":50653,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[138],"tags":[141,882,909],"class_list":{"0":"post-78632","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-daily-editorial-analysis","8":"tag-daily-editorial-analysis","9":"tag-the-hindu-editorial-analysis","10":"tag-the-indian-express-analysis","11":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}