Context

• Imagine an India where the agricultural landscape is dominated by a few staple crops, primarily wheat, rice, and a smattering of vegetables, while thousands of traditional seed varieties fade into oblivion.
• This scenario is not a futuristic dystopia; it is today’s reality. Once the bedrock of India’s food security and cultural richness, traditional seed varieties are rapidly vanishing under the pressure of modern farming systems and market forces.
• Their decline signals not just a loss of biodiversity but also a missed opportunity to build a resilient and sustainable food system in the face of climate change.

The Decline of Traditional Seeds

• India has long been home to an incredibly diverse gene pool of traditional seeds.
• These varieties, adapted over centuries, carry traits such as drought resistance, flood tolerance, and natural pest resilience.
• They contribute significantly to soil regeneration and offer superior nutritional profiles compared to many modern hybrids.
• However, the rise of high-yielding hybrid varieties, promoted as the solution to food scarcity, has come at a steep cost.
• These modern crops demand chemical fertilisers, are water-intensive, and are often ill-equipped to handle the growing volatility of weather patterns.
• Ironically, the very seeds capable of adapting to these climate shocks are being pushed aside.

Structural Challenges in the Food System

• Market Dynamics and Consumer Behaviour
  • The disappearance of traditional seeds is not merely a botanical issue, it is deeply embedded in the structure of India’s food system.
  • The first challenge lies in market dynamics and consumer behaviour. Urban supermarkets, government food schemes, and domestic kitchens overwhelmingly favour a limited selection of commercial grains, particularly rice and wheat.
  • Consequently, farmers find little incentive to grow traditional crops that lack market visibility or consumer demand.
• Lack of Adequate Infrastructure
  • The infrastructure needed to support traditional seed conservation is sorely lacking.
  • Unlike commercial hybrid seeds that are mass-produced and sold for profit, traditional seeds depend on grassroots efforts: community seed banks, informal exchanges, and localized knowledge systems.
  • Unfortunately, these networks remain underfunded and under-recognised.
• Fragmented Policy Orientation
  • For decades, Indian agricultural policy has incentivised high-yield crops through subsidies, procurement programs, and research investments.
  • While this strategy may have served food production goals post-Green Revolution, it has inadvertently marginalised biodiverse farming practices.
  • Initiatives like the Odisha Millet Mission are steps in the right direction, but broader systemic reforms are needed to reverse decades of narrow focus. 

Seeds of Hope: Conservation and Revival

• Despite these challenges, the movement to conserve India’s traditional seed heritage is gaining momentum.
• Institutions like the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) are leading by example.
• Their Tribal Agrobiodiversity Centre in Odisha has successfully convened stakeholders to chart pathways for sustainable seed systems.
• Such consultations highlight the importance of multi-pronged strategies, recognising farmers' rights, promoting participatory plant breeding, and integrating traditional knowledge with scientific research.
• Community seed banks must be supported with robust funding and strategic outreach, ensuring that farmers across regions have access to resilient seed stock.
• Moreover, it is vital to create a supportive policy ecosystem that extends financial and logistical support to farmers cultivating traditional crops.
• Expanding the Minimum Support Price (MSP) framework, diversifying government procurement programs, and incorporating traditional grains into public nutrition schemes like mid-day meals and ration shops can significantly boost their cultivation and consumption.

The Way Forward: Changing the Narrative, From Farms to Kitchens

• Ultimately, the revival of traditional seeds depends as much on consumer behaviour as it does on policy and infrastructure.
• Farmers will grow what people are willing to buy. Therefore, a shift in consumer preferences is essential.
• Branding initiatives and awareness campaigns must highlight the nutritional, environmental, and cultural advantages of traditional crops.
• When consumers begin to demand millets, indigenous pulses, and heirloom rice, market forces will naturally pivot to accommodate this change, creating a self-sustaining cycle of demand and supply.

Conclusion

• India is at a crossroads and escalating farming costs, climate uncertainties, eroding soil health, and poor dietary habits signal the unsustainability of the current model.
• However, this crisis also presents an opportunity. By reinvesting in traditional seed systems, India does not have to choose between productivity and sustainability.
• With coordinated national strategies, community-led conservation efforts, and a shift in public consciousness, the country can develop a food system that is productive, resilient, inclusive, and deeply rooted in its agricultural legacy.

Q1. Why are traditional seed varieties in India disappearing?

Ans. Due to market demand, policy bias, and lack of support for community-based conservation.

Q2. What are the benefits of traditional seeds?

Ans. They are climate-resilient, need fewer inputs, and are more nutritious.

Q3. Why don’t farmers grow traditional crops anymore?

A: Because there is low market demand and limited government support.

Q4. How can traditional seeds be preserved?

Ans. By funding seed banks, supporting farmers, and reforming policies.

Q5. What role do consumers play in saving traditional crops?

Ans. Consumer demand can drive markets and encourage farmers to grow them. 

Source:The Hindu

Context:

• In an era of global labour shortages, India’s demographic dividend and human capital place it at the cusp of a strategic opportunity.
• While high-income nations face acute labour deficits, India has the potential to emerge as a leading source of global talent through a structured overseas employment strategy. 

Global Labour Crisis - A Window of Opportunity for India:

• Key global trends:
  • High-income countries are projected to face:
    • 40–50 million labour shortage by 2030.
    • 120–160 million by 2040.
  • Sectors affected: Healthcare, engineering, education, industrial workforce.
  • In Europe:
    • 73% vacancies in truck driving.
    • Over 50% in construction, nursing, electrical engineering, cleaning.
• India’s current position:
  • $125 billion in annual remittances (~3% of GDP).
  • Only 1.3% of the population are migrants (compared to Mexico – 8.6%, Philippines – 5.1%, Bangladesh – 4.3%).
  • Untapped potential in global workforce participation and remittances.

The Case for 'India for the World':

• Leveraging the demographic dividend:
  • Young population + high human capital = global supply potential.
  • Circular migration model can:
    • Curb illegal migration.
    • Improve global perception.
    • Encourage legal, skilled, and temporary movement.
• Developmental impact of remittances:
  • 10% increase in remittances = 3.5% poverty reduction (Study across 71 low-income countries).
  • Remittances have a higher developmental multiplier than goods exports.

Seven Strategic Steps to Build India as a Global Talent Hub:

• Institutional framework for overseas employment:
  • Strengthen the Ministry of External Affairs' migration unit.
  • State-level migration departments to:
    • Conduct recruiter verification.
    • Ensure worker welfare.
    • Support reintegration.
  • Embassies to set up migration support desks.
  • Model: Philippines' Department of Migrant Workers.
• Skilling and accreditation with global standards:
  • Align Indian qualifications with international benchmarks.
  • Incorporate foreign languages, global skills.
  • Mutual recognition agreements and joint certifications.
• Financial mechanisms for aspiring migrants:
  • Reduce pre-departure costs (currently ₹1–10 lakh).
  • Adopt models like Philippines' ESA-Pay, where employers bear costs.
• Strengthen government-to-government (G2G) agreements:
  • Remove bureaucratic visa hurdles.
  • Enhance recognition of Indian qualifications.
  • Promote socio-cultural integration.
  • Example: Philippines’ bilateral migration agreements with 65+ countries.
• Mobility industry body: Create a dedicated body to:
  • Regulate the recruitment sector.
  • Promote ethical hiring
  • Align private players with national strategy.
• Migrant worker welfare framework (based on ILO guidelines):
  • Ensure: Minimum wages, standard contracts, safe working/living conditions, access to healthcare and legal aid.
• Reintegration of returning migrants:
  • Facilitate economic and social reintegration.
  • Leverage returning migrants' skills and global exposure.
  • Promote local development using global best practices.

Conclusion - Strategic and Economic Gains:

• Building India into a global talent powerhouse will boost foreign exchange through remittances, enhance India’s global soft power, and promote inclusive development
• “Make in India” + “India for the World” can become the twin pillars of India’s growth and influence in the 21st century.

Q1. How can India leverage its demographic dividend in the context of the global labour crisis?

Ans. India can leverage its demographic dividend by positioning itself as a global talent hub through structured overseas employment and skill mobility frameworks.

Q2. Why are remittances considered more developmentally impactful than goods exports?

Ans. Remittances directly reduce poverty and boost household income, with studies showing a 10% increase in remittances reduces poverty by 3.5% in low-income countries.

Q3. What institutional reforms are suggested to streamline India's labour migration policy?

Ans. Institutional reforms include strengthening the Ministry of External Affairs’ migration unit, state-level migration departments, and creating overseas support systems through embassies.

Q4. Discuss the role of Government-to-Government agreements in promoting legal migration pathways.

Ans. G2G agreements help streamline visa processes, ensure mutual recognition of qualifications, and promote cultural integration, thereby enabling safe and legal migration.

Q5. What are the key elements of a migrant welfare framework as per international best practices?

Ans. Key elements include assured minimum wages, ethical recruitment, safe living conditions, healthcare access, legal aid, and mechanisms for redressal of workplace grievances. 

Source:IE

Context

• Recently, a landmark judgment redefined the limits of gubernatorial authority within India's constitutional framework.
• The Supreme Court of India has delivered a resounding affirmation of democratic principles and federal balance.
• The ruling in State of Tamil Nadu vs The Governor of Tamil Nadu, by Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan, underscores the limits of the Governor’s role and reasserts the primacy of the elected State government in a federal democracy.

Constitutional Context and Core Issue

• The central question before the Court was both simple and profound: What happens when a Governor, in defiance of constitutional duty, refuses to act on a Bill duly passed by the State Legislature?
• The dispute arose from the Governor of Tamil Nadu’s inaction and delays in granting assent to 12 Bills passed by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, some dating back to 2020.
• Among them were Bills aimed at curbing the Governor’s powers in the appointment of Vice-Chancellors to public universities, a contentious issue between the elected government and the Raj Bhavan.
• The Governor’s delay and subsequent unilateral referral of these Bills to the President, without acting on the Council of Ministers’ advice, triggered a constitutional standoff.
• The Supreme Court was called upon to adjudicate whether such conduct was permissible under the Constitution, and whether the Governor could withhold assent indefinitely.

The Limits of Gubernatorial Power, Judicial Review and Accountability

• The Limits of Gubernatorial Power: A Detailed Review of Art 200
  • India’s federal design, as delineated by Articles 245 and the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, establishes a division of powers between the Union and the States.
  • While the Governor is appointed by the President, his or her role is fundamentally ceremonial and constitutionally limited.
  • Except in narrowly defined instances, the Governor must act on the advice of the Council of Ministers.
  • The Union of India argued that Article 200 gives the Governor discretion to withhold assent to a Bill, effectively granting him an absolute veto.
  • However, the Court rejected this interpretation, citing its own precedent in State of Punjab vs Principal Secretary to the Governor of Punjab (2023).
  • The Court held that Article 200 only allows for three specific courses of action: (1) granting assent, (2) withholding assent and returning the Bill to the Assembly, or (3) reserving the Bill for the President. There is no constitutional basis for the Governor to simply reject a Bill without explanation or process.
  • The Court further examined the intent of the framers of the Constitution by referring to Constituent Assembly Debates.
  • It noted that the phrase ‘in his discretion’ was deliberately omitted from the final version of Article 200, thereby reinforcing that the Governor cannot act independently in deciding whether to refer a Bill to the President.
• Judicial Review and Accountability
  • A critical aspect of the Court’s reasoning lay in the principle of judicial review.
  • While Article 361 provides personal immunity to Governors, it does not place their actions beyond legal scrutiny.
  • Citing Rameshwar Prasad vs Union of India (2006), the Court reaffirmed that the Governor’s actions, especially when they obstruct legislative processes, are subject to judicial oversight.
  • Otherwise, Governors could potentially stall State governance indefinitely, rendering legislative mandates ineffective.
  • In this specific case, the Court found that the Governor had violated constitutional norms by referring the Bills to the President after withholding assent, without any recommendation from the Council of Ministers or valid constitutional rationale.

The acts were thus deemed unconstitutional.

Use of Article 142 and the Question of Judicial Overreach

• While the Court could have issued a writ of mandamus compelling the Governor to act, it recognised the practical and legal difficulties in enforcing such an order.
• Instead, invoking its extraordinary powers under Article 142 to do ‘complete justice,’ the Court declared that the 10 Bills in question would be deemed to have received assent on the date they were re-presented to the Governor.
• This unprecedented remedy may raise concerns of judicial overreach.
• However, the Court justified it as a logical and necessary response to constitutional deadlock, especially in light of the prolonged delay and disregard for previous rulings.

The Broader Significance

• Beyond the immediate implications for Tamil Nadu’s legislative agenda, the judgment reaffirms a vital democratic principle: that Governors, despite their Union appointments, are not autonomous actors.
• Their role is to uphold the constitutional scheme, not to frustrate the democratic will of elected State governments.
• As the Court aptly stated, the Governor is not meant to be a political antagonist but a ‘constitutional sentinel.’ 

Conclusion

• The Supreme Court’s judgment in State of Tamil Nadu vs The Governor of Tamil Nadu is a robust reaffirmation of constitutional morality and federalism.
• It draws clear boundaries around gubernatorial power and reiterates the foundational idea that India’s democracy rests on accountable governance and the supremacy of elected institutions.
• In doing so, it not only settles an immediate controversy but also provides enduring guidance for the functioning of India's federal machinery.

Q1. What was the central issue in State of Tamil Nadu vs The Governor of Tamil Nadu?

Ans. The Governor's delay in granting assent to Bills passed by the State Assembly.

Q2. What does Article 200 of the Constitution allow a Governor to do with a Bill?

Ans.  Assent to it, return it for reconsideration, or reserve it for the President.

Q3. Can the Governor act independently in referring a Bill to the President?

Ans. No, he must act on the advice of the State’s Council of Ministers.

Q4. What did the Court say about the Governor's inaction?

Ans.  It was unconstitutional and undermined the legislative process.

Q5. How did the Court resolve the issue of pending Bills?

Ans. It used Article 142 to deem the Bills as assented from the date they were re-presented. 

Source:The Hindu