Current Affairs Current Affairs - 11 March 2018 - Vikalp Education

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Current Affairs - 11 March 2018

General Affairs 

India, France Sign Key Security Deal With An Eye On China
  • French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday said defence ties with India had reached a new high after the two nations signed a key security accord for the Indian Ocean to counter China's growing influence in the region.

    "Defence cooperation between the two countries now has a new significance," Mr Macron said as a gushing Prime Minister Narendra Modi stood by his side.

    Under the deal, India and France will open their naval bases to warships from each other, a move seen as an attempt to undermine China's territorial ambitions.

    "A strong part of our security and the world's stability is at stake in the Indian Ocean," Mr Macron said.

    "The Indian Ocean, like the Pacific Ocean, cannot become a place of hegemony," he added in an apparent reference to China.

    PM Modi, who welcomed Mr Macron with a bear hug on his arrival Friday, said the accord was crucial as the Indian Ocean region would play a "very significant role" in the days to come.

    The comments from the leaders followed a slew of agreements signed by the two countries in the spheres of defence, space and clean energy.

    "From the ground to the sky, there is no subject on which India and France are not working together," said PM Modi.

    A technical agreement was also signed on the French-assisted nuclear power project at Jaitapur in Maharashtra.

    Sources in the French presidency told news agency AFP they were optimistic of a final agreement being signed before the end of the year.

    The $9.3-billion framework agreement for six nuclear reactors was signed during a visit to India in 2010 by then president Nicolas Sarkozy.

    But the project has since run into stiff opposition from environmentalists concerned about seismic activity in the area and fears about the safety of nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.

    Earlier in the day, Mr Macron talked about his personal rapport with PM Modi which was established after their meeting in Paris last year.

    "I think we have very good chemistry, our two great democracies have a historic relationship," the French president said.

    PM Modi broke protocol to receive Mr Macron at the airport, exchanging warm hugs and robust handshakes.

    "You welcomed me in Paris last year with an open heart and a lot of warmth. I am happy that I have got an opportunity to welcome you in India," PM Modi said at the start of his speech Saturday.

    On Sunday, Mr Macron will attend a solar power summit designed to showcase India and France's commitment to fighting climate change, which both leaders have made a priority.

    Travelling with his wife Brigitte, France's 40-year-old president will also visit the monument to love, the Taj Mahal in Agra on Sunday.

    On Monday, he heads to the Varanasi on the banks of the river Ganges.

    Mr Macron's visit comes after a somewhat misstep-laden visit to India by Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau.

    Both he and Mr Macron are often compared internationally because of their broadly similar political views, as well as youth and good looks.

    But Mr Trudeau's visit hit a series of embarrassing bumps and he received a fairly cool reception during his stay in India.

    Mr Trudeau was pilloried on social media and in the Canadian press for donning traditional Indian clothing at every opportunity.

    And there were red faces when it emerged a former Sikh terrorist was invited to a dinner with him in Mumbai.

France Wanted India To Announce Talks For 36 More Rafale Fighters
  • A letter from the French Defence Minister Florence Parly addressed to her Indian counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman on February 26 indicates that the French government was keen to announce that both countries are in talks for 36 more Rafale jets for the Indian Air Force.

    This was, however, not announced in the joint statement made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the visiting French President Emmanuel Macron in New Delhi today and it's unclear at what stage the talks presently lie.

    In her letter to Ms Sitharaman, Florence Parly wrote, "As written by the President of the French Republic to the Prime Minister of India on 25th October 2017, we would like to initiate discussions on the proposal of providing an additional thirty-six aircraft to the Indian Air Force, with a very significant share of Make in India." Ms Parly added, "A message to this effect during the visit would be particularly appreciated."

    Senior sources in the Ministry of Defence Ministry whom spoke to in the days prior to the visit of the French President have said that while New Delhi has not ruled out a further acquisition of Rafale fighters, there is no immediate decision likely till the first tranche of Rafales, which are already on order, start arriving in 2019. These jets were ordered in 2016 in a controversial Rs. 58,000-crore government-to-government deal between India and France.

    As far as the existing contract is concerned, "the construction of the aircraft intended for the Indian Air Force is progressing according to schedule" wrote Ms Parly in her letter. She added that France remains committed to fulfilling its offset commitments as part of the deal whereby manufacturing and other technology will be transferred to India as part of the overall deal worked out between both countries. "With regard to offsets, French companies are determined to establish long-term partnerships with public and private Indian companies. They have advanced. Thus, the Nagpur production unit should be able to manufacture the first components in spring."

    India and France have also been trying to close out a deal to co-develop and refine India's indigenous jet fighter engine, the Kaveri, a project where the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has been unable to meet project objectives. The Kaveri was meant to power India's Light Combat Aircraft Tejas which has, instead, had to rely on US manufactured General Electric GE-404 engines. Today's joint statement says ''the leaders noted ongoing discussions between DRDO and SAFRAN on combat aircraft engine and encouraged necessary measures and forward looking approaches to facilitate [an] early conclusion.''


    The acquisition of Rafale fighter jets for the Indian Air Force has been one of the most controversial defence deals every signed by India. In a statement yesterday, the Congress party claimed that the Rafale tender had resulted in ''a staggering loss of Rs. 12,632 crore'' since ''India is clearly paying an extra price of Rs. 350.90 crore per aircraft'' compared to what Qatar and Egypt are paying for jets they have ordered from Dassault, the manufacturer of the Rafale. These claims have been vociferously countered in the past with Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recently telling reporters, "Don't compare it (the Rafale deal) with Bofors. There is no scam here."

"Don't Need Lessons On Rights From Failed State": India Slams Pak At UN
  • India has pummelled "failed state" Pakistan for trying to drag in the Kashmir issue at the United Nations for a second day in a row. On Thursday, Pakistan had argued about a plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir, and a day later again tried to raise the issue.

    Demolishing Pakistan's arguments, India gave a long list of transgressions that Pakistan has refused to admit, from Osama Bin Laden found hiding on its soil to terrorists accused in the Mumbai attacks roaming freely in the country.

    "The world does not need lessons on democracy and human rights from a country whose own situation is charitably described as a failed state," Mini Devi Kumam, Second Secretary at India's UN Mission in Geneva, said. "Even as terrorists thrive in Pakistan and roam its streets with impunity, we have heard it lecture about the protection of human rights in India," she said.

    India said it is waiting for "credible action by the government of Pakistan to bring all those involved in the 2008 Mumbai attack and the 2016 Pathankot and Uri attacks to justice."

    Ms Kumam was responding to Tahir Andrabi, Pakistan's UN Deputy Permanent Representative in Geneva, who on Friday alluded to former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to make his case for a plebiscite in Kashmir.

    The Pakistani diplomat said that at the heart of the Kashmir problem is the right to self-determination, which he claimed was mentioned by "the first Prime Minister of India, one of the founding fathers of India" and by the UN Security Council.

    Pakistan has often referred to UN Security Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir to push its agenda.

    "However, it (Pakistan) very conveniently forgets its own obligation under these resolutions to first vacate the illegal occupation of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. It has also blatantly disregarded its other commitments... they continue to support cross-border terrorism in India," Ms Kumam said.

    Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and former Pakistani President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had agreed in the Simla Agreement of 1972 that the two countries would look at the Kashmir issue as a bilateral matter, which cannot call for the involvement of a third party for negotiations.

    "It is extraordinary that the state which protected Osama Bin Laden and sheltered Mullah Omar should have the gumption to play the victim," Ms Kumam said in the United Nations.

    UN-designated terrorists, among them Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, are "freely operating with state support, and the UN designated entities are being politically mainstreamed in Pakistan," she added. On Wednesday, a court in Pakistan extended a stay against the "possible arrest" of Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed till April 4.

    The Pakistani diplomat accused India of "crimes against humanity" in Kashmir and of escalating ceasefire violations along the Line of Control. But in less than 24 hours since that statement, the Indian Army reported firing by Pakistani forces at Krishna Ghati sector in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch.

    "The real problem in the state of Jammu and Kashmir is terrorism, which has constantly received sustenance from Pakistan and territories under its control," Ms Kumam said.

    In January, a chargesheet was filed against Hafiz Saeed for funding terrorist groups to create trouble in Jammu and Kashmir. Eleven others were also named in the chargesheet filed by the National Investigation Agency in a Delhi court.

    In February, Hafiz Saeed had openly dared the Pakistani government to arrest him. "If the Pakistani government wants to arrest me... come and go for it but I will not stop dedicating 2018 for Kashmiris," the terrorist said at a rally in Lahore.

With Rs. 635 Crore Declared Assets, Samajwadi Party Richest Regional Party: Report
  • Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP) declared assets worth nearly Rs. 635 in 2015-16, topping the list of 22 regional parties, according to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a Delhi-based think tank.

    "During the financial year 2011-12, the declared assets of SP was Rs. 212.86 crore which increased by 198% to Rs. 634.96 crore during the financial year 2015-16. The total assets of AIADMK between the financial year 2011-12 & 2015-16 increased by 155%, from Rs. 88.21 crore to Rs. 224.87 crore," said the report.

    The report that analyses the assets and liabilities of the regional parties between the financial years 2011-12 and 2015-16 is based on audited accounts submitted by the parties to the income-tax department and the Election Commission of India.

    The assets declared by the parties fall under six major heads -- fixed assets, loans and advances, FDR(fixed deposit receipts)/ deposits, TDS (tax deducted at source), investments and other assets.

    During the financial year 2015-16, the highest asset category was FDR/deposits under which the parties declared Rs. 1054.8 crore. The only asset category to show a reduction in value was "Loans and Advances" - from Rs. 19.75 crore in 2011-12 to Rs. 16.2 crore in 2015-16.

    In terms of liabilities, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and Telegu Desam Party (TDP) were the top two regional parties.

    The liabilities declared by the parties fall under two major heads -- borrowings (from banks, overdraft facilities and sundry creditors) and other liabilities.

    TRS declared the highest liabilities (Rs. 15.97 crore) during the financial year 2015-16 though it had declared zero liability during 2011-12. TDP declared liabilities of Rs. 8.186 crore during 2015-16, the report said.

PM Modi Holds Bilateral Meets Ahead Of Solar Alliance Summit
  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held a series of bilateral meetings with the heads of three nations ahead of the founding conference of the International Solar Alliance.

    PM Modi met Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe, President of the Republic of Togo; Enele Sopoaga, Prime Minister of Tuvalu; and Charlot Salwai, Prime Minister of the Republic of Vanuatu at Hyderabad House in Delhi, official sources said.

    Tomorrow the Prime Minister will hold similar meetings with Baron Waqa, President of the Republic of Nauru; Issoufou Mahamadou, President of the Republic of Niger; Daniel Kablan Duncan, Vice President of the Republic of Cote d' Ivoire; Albert Pahimi Padacke, Prime Minister of the Republic of Chad; and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea.

    On Sunday, he will meet leaders from Sri Lanka, Australia and Bangladesh, among others at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre.

    Heads of the states from 23 nations including France, Australia and Sri Lanka will attend the first International Solar Alliance Summit on March 11 in Delhi.

    The event is being co-hosted by India and France to promote solar energy.

    Besides 23 heads of states, senior country representatives including deputy prime ministers and energy ministries have confirmed their participation so far.

    President Ram Nath Kovind will co-host the summit with French President Emmanuel Macron. It will focus on various aspects of promoting solar energy in 121 countries associated with the International Solar Alliance (ISA) like credit mechanism, crowd funding and sharing of technological breakthroughs.

Business Affairs

India, France sign 14 pacts in defence, security, trade; Macron, Modi discuss enhancing bilateral ties
  • On his first visit to India after he assumed office in May 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday that one of the reasons he came to visit India was to deliver a message that France should be the best partner for India, especially in Europe. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the French President discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in defence, security, trade, and investment. India and France inked total 14 pacts in the areas of railways, education and logistics support between the armed forces of the two nations. The leaders also assured to protect classified information, and discussed ways to enhance cooperation in civil nuclear power.

    Agreements in the field of environment and urban development were also signed. Macron arrived in India on Friday night. He was given a ceremonial welcome at the RashtraPati Bhawan on Saturday morning. On a four-day visit to India, Macron was received at the airport on Friday night by Prime Minister Modi.

    Addressing a joint conference with Macron, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the two countries have robust cooperation in the fields of defence and security. He also said the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) was important for the peace and prosperity of the world. Macron said India and France have decided to work together to deal with threats of terrorism and radicalisation. Defence cooperation between the two countries now has a new significance, the French President said. Both the leaders also talked about cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

    "Another chapter in the glorious book of our friendship! PM Narendra Modi welcomes President of France Emmanuel Macron at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi ahead of the bilateral talks," MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted along with pictures of the two leaders.

    PM Modi and President Macron will also co-chair the founding conference of the India-initiated ISA (International Solar Alliance) on Sunday. The alliance, launched during the Paris Climate Summit in 2015, is a coalition of the 121-member countries, which work for efficient exploitation of solar energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

    French President Macron and Prime Minister Modi will also visit Varanasi, where a group of local youths and some French nationals have formed a club to work towards improving man-to-man contact between the people of the two countries. Macron will also visit Agra, and have a town hall interaction with students in New Delhi.

    President Macron also visited the library of the Alliance francaise in New Delhi on Saturday morning. "French institutes and French alliances are the artisans of the development of our language and our culture abroad," he said.

GST Council meet: E-way bill rollout from April 1, no consensus on tax return simplification
  • The GST Council on Saturday discussed the two alternative models for the return filing systems but didn't take the final call. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the government wants to ensure that there's no room for evasion before taking the final call. Also, some states are divided over the issue. Therefore, the current system of GST return filing has been extended by three months. The Council also rollout the requirement of carrying an electronically generated bill for transporting goods between states from April 1.

    A Group of Ministers will work on a model for further simplification of returns. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that while tax officials from the Centre and the states wanted that the return should be simple, they also wanted that it should check evasion. "There was a detailed discussion. The Council felt that there should be single return every month, it should be simple, not prone to evasion and (there was a need to discuss) how to simplify it further. So no decision was taken today. The existing system has been extended by three months," he told reporters after the Council's meeting.

    Accordingly, businesses will continue to file summary sales returns GSTR-3B and final sales return GSTR-1 till June. Jaitley said from April 1, e-way will be implemented for inter-state transportation of goods. However, there would be phased rollout of e-way bill for intra-state movement of goods beginning April 15 and all the states have been divided into four groups.

    Wary of system collapsing like it happened when the E-way bill was first introduced on February 1, the Council decided to rollout the requirement of carrying the permit for intra-state movement in a staggered manner. The first group of states to roll out of intra-state E-way bill from April 15 will be decided on April 7. All the states will have the system in place by June 1. The e-way bill, which would be required to be presented to a GST inspector if asked for, is being touted as an anti- evasion measure and would help boost tax collections by clamping down on trade that currently happens on cash basis.

    With E-way bill roll out, from April 1, transporters of goods worth over Rs 50,000 will have to generate an e-way bill. Besides, the GST Council also decided to implement e- wallet scheme for giving refunds to exporters under GST by October 1, 2018 -- the date till which exporters can continue to claim tax exemptions given by the Council in its October 6 meeting.

    Accordingly, merchant exporters can pay a tax at the rate of 0.1 per cent on goods procured for export purposes and obtain a refund for the same. Also, domestic procurement made under Advance Authorisation, EPCG and EOU schemes are being recognised as 'deemed exports' with flexibility for either the suppliers or the exporters being able to claim a refund of GST/IGST paid thereon.

    The Council also suspended till June 30 the provision for deduction of TDS and collection of TCS, as well as implementation of the reverse charge mechanism. Besides, the GST implementation committee has been tasked with the work of redressing grievances caused to taxpayers arising out of IT glitches. Deloitte India Senior Director Saloni Roy said, "The proposal of introducing intra-state e-way bills in a staggered manner is a more pragmatic approach".

    Meanwhile, a Parliamentary panel has observed that with no targets fixed, the monthly revenue collections from GST are not encouraging. "The Committee is constrained to observe the not-so-encouraging monthly revenue collections from the GST, which still have not stabilised with frequent changes in rates and issue of notifications every now and then. Further, the committee is surprised to learn that no GST revenue targets have been fixed by the government," the Standing Committee on Finance headed by Congress leader M. Veerappa Moily said in its report tabled in Parliament on Saturday.

    The Committee also observed that the frequent revisions in rates have "no doubt affected the regime stability, with adverse impact on trade and business." States have also reported losses in revenue collection, said the Parliamentary panel, adding it will only increase the compensation budget of the central government. The GST Council should duly address the grievances of states, if any, so that their financial health do not suffer and the lingering issues relating to the GST should be sorted out, including the operational problems, hassles faced by businesses, particularly the smaller ones, it said.

    In December, the GST collections stood at Rs 86,703 crore, higher than November figure of Rs 80,808 crore and Rs 83,000 crore in October. In September, it was over Rs 92,150 crore. The tax collection under the Goods and Service Tax (GST) fell marginally to Rs 86,318 crore in January than December. The new indirect tax system GST was rolled out in July 2017 all across the country.  

RBI turns up heat on lenders after $2 billion loan fraud
  • The Reserve Bank of India has asked commercial lenders to provide it with details of all letters of undertaking - a form of credit guarantee at the centre of an alleged $2 billion fraud - issued by them in the past several years, according to four bankers who have seen the directive.

    The regulator is ratcheting up pressure on lenders, increasing its scrutiny and laying down deadlines for them to fix gaps in their systems, in the aftermath of the country's biggest bank fraud. Two jewellery groups were accused last month of defrauding state-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) of more than $2 billion, mostly through fraudulent guarantees based on letters of undertaking (LoUs) issued by rogue bank employees that they used to raise credit overseas. The key accused in the case have denied any wrongdoing.

    The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) wrote to all banks a week ago asking for details of the LoUs they had written, including the amounts outstanding, and whether the banks had pre-approved credit limits or kept enough cash on margin before issuing the guarantees, the sources said. One of the sources said the regulator had asked for details of LoUs issued as far back 2011, while another said the deadline for banks to respond was earlier this week.

    "If there is a problem in one bank, they will be checking the whole system. What's the outstanding? Is it correctly reflecting in the book or not? That kind of thing," said a third source, a senior banker. The RBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Importers typically use LoUs issued by their local bank to raise cheaper foreign currency loans overseas to fund purchases.

    In the case of PNB, bank employees who have been accused of pulling off the fraud in connivance with companies controlled by jewellers Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi, allegedly issued LoUs on behalf of the jeweller groups without any pre-approved limit or margin. Modi and Choksi both deny involvement. The bank has also said the employees intentionally did not enter the LoUs in the bank's core accounting system to prevent the alleged fraud from being detected.

    In sweeping changes to bank protocols after the fraud, the RBI had asked banks to comply within strict deadlines on more than two dozen checkpoints, most notably to connect the SWIFT interbank messaging system with their core banking software by April 30. Previous central bank letters to banks reviewed by Reuters had shown that the RBI had warned banks as early as in 2016 on technical loopholes that it said could expose the lenders to a heightened risk of fraud, but there was no indication of any fix on most counts. Separately, a senior PNB executive told Reuters that the bank found "procedural lapses involving paperwork" after scanning all its 250 branches that deal with foreign exchange, but added he did not expect its total exposure to the fraud to rise further.

PNB scam fallout: Passport details mandatory for loans above Rs 50 crore
  • Passport details of borrowers taking loans of Rs 50 crore and more have been mandatory to ensure a swift action in case of fraud and prevent fraudsters from fleeing the country, a top official said today.

    Passport details will help banks to take timely action and inform the relevant authorities to prevent fraudsters from fleeing the country.

    "Next step in clean and responsible banking. Passport details must for loans above Rs 50 crore. Step to ensure quick response in case of fraud," Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar tweeted.

    This is a preventive step to avoid the flight of economic offenders and banks to collect passport details of all new borrowers of loans in excess of Rs 50 crore, he said.

    For all existing loans of over Rs 50 crore, banks have been asked to collect passport details of borrowers within 45 days, he added.

    In absence of passport details, banks were hamstrung in taking timely action to prevent defaulters, especially wilful ones, from fleeing the country.

    Several big defaulters like Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi, Vijay Mallya and Jatin Mehta have fled the country putting the recovery mechanism in quandary.

    Last week, the Cabinet approved the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill after Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi allegedly defrauded state-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB) of Rs 12,700 crore and left the country and are refusing to cooperate with law enforcement agencies.

    The proposed fugitive law aims to impound and sell assets of Nirav Modi-type escapees with a view to quickly recover dues. It also will apply to defaulters who have an outstanding of Rs 100 crore or more and have escaped from the country.

    As part of the drive to clean the banking system, the Finance Ministry last week had directed public sector banks (PSBs) to probe all NPA accounts of over Rs 50 crore for possible fraud and accordingly report the cases to CBI.

    Besides, the ministry had asked banks to monitor loans above Rs 250 crore and red flags whenever the original covenants of the loans are violated. This was spelt out as part of 6-point-reform measures announced

No need to fear global tariff wars, world needs access to India's big economy: Anand Mahindra
  • Asserting that India can "stand tall in a trade war", noted industrialist Anand Mahindra has said the world needs access to the country's fast-growing large economy amid the US hiking tariffs on certain steel imports.

    "Not sure why Indian markets seem so perturbed by the threat of global tariff wars. Small, export focused countries stand to lose. Countries with large domestic economies can easily withstand tariff threats. The world needs access to the fastest-growing large economy-India," Mahindra said in a tweet. The chief of the diversified Mahindra Group further said MNCs wanting access to India's markets will have to manufacture locally, which they will.

    "So, no danger of drifting back to a socialist, stagnant economy. I'm no believer in protectionism and enjoy competing globally but I believe India can stand tall in a trade war," the industrialist added. The US recently imposed hefty tariffs on imported steel and aluminium, citing national security concerns and the need to protect American industries from "unfair" business practices, triggering fears of a global trade war.

    US President Donald Trump signed two proclamations that levied a 25 per cent tariff on steel and a 10 per cent tariff on aluminium imported from all countries except neighbouring Canada and Mexico. India will wait for the notification to see the impact of tariff hikes, Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia had said even as there has been a global outcry over the US' decision to increase duties beyond its commitment at the WTO.

    Mahindra, in another tweet, said, "If India retaliates with tariffs, the effect will be very different from what it was post-independence. Today, India's a free-market economy and can access global technology and capital to fuel its own innovative start-ups. It's resource-rich & can import commodities it lacks".

General Awareness

Passive Euthanasia legalised by Supreme Court
  • Context: The Supreme Court has delivered a landmark judgment allowing “living will” where, an adult in his conscious mind, is permitted to refuse medical treatment or voluntarily decide not to take medical treatment to embrace death in a natural way. In Its judgment, the court has laid down a set of guidelines for “living will” and defined passive euthanasia and euthanasia as well.

    Passive Euthanasia: When doctors don’t provide, or remove patients from, lifesustaining treatment. Includes: Disconnecting life-support machines, feeding tubes, not carrying out life-saving operations, not providing life-extending drugs, Non-treatment not seen as cause of death; patient understood to have died because of underlying condition.

    Guidelines laid down by the court:

    What is advance medical directive or living will?

    It is a medical power of attorney that allows an individual to appoint a trusted person to take health care decisions when the patient is not able to take such decisions. The trusted person is allowed to interpret the patient’s decisions based on their mutual knowledge and understanding. The trusted person can decide on the patient’s behalf how long the medical treatment should continue when the patient in unconscious or in a coma state is not in a position to decide.

    Who is allowed to execute or draw up the will?

    According to the Supreme Court rules, it can be executed only by an adult who is of a sound and healthy state of mind and in a position to communicate, relate and comprehend the purpose and consequences of executing the document.
    It must be voluntarily executed and should have characteristics of an informed consent given without any undue influence or constraint.
    It shall be stated clearly as to when medical treatment may be withdrawn or no specific medical treatment shall be given which will only have the effect of delaying the process of death that may otherwise cause the patient pain, anguish and suffering and further put him or her in a state of indignity.
    In order to overcome the difficulty faced in case of patients who are unable to express their wishes at the time of taking the decision, the concept of advance medical directives emerged in various countries.

    What should the will speak about?

    It should indicate the decision relating to the circumstances in which withholding or withdrawal of medical treatment can be resorted to.
    Be in specific terms and the instructions must be absolutely clear and unambiguous.
    Mention that the executor may revoke the instructions/authority at any time.
    Disclose that the executor has understood the consequences of executing such a document.
    Specify the name of a guardian or close relative who, in the event of the executor becoming incapable of taking decision at the relevant time, will be authorized to give consent to refuse or withdraw medical treatment in a manner consistent with the advance directive.
    In the event that there is more than one valid living will, none of which have been revoked, the most recently signed advance directive will be considered as the last expression of the patient’s wishes and will be given effect to.

    How should the will be recorded, preserved?

    The document should be signed by the executor in the presence of two attesting witnesses, preferably independent, and counter-signed the jurisdictional Judicial Magistrate of First Class (JMFC) so designated by the concerned district judge.
    The JMFC shall preserve one copy of the document in his office, keep another in digital format, forward one copy of the document to the registry of the jurisdictional district court, inform the immediate family members of the executor.
    A copy be handed over to the competent officer of the local body. A copy of the directive be handed over to the family physician, if any.

    When and by whom can it be given effect to?

    In the event the executor becomes terminally ill and is undergoing prolonged medical treatment with no hope of recovery and cure of the ailment, the treating physician, when made aware about the advance directive, shall ascertain the genuineness and authenticity thereof from the jurisdictional JMFC before acting upon the same.

    The document should be given effect to only after being fully satisfied that the executor is terminally ill and is undergoing prolonged treatment or is surviving on life support and that the illness of the executor is incurable or there is no hope of him/her being cured.
    The physician or hospital where the executor has been admitted for medical treatment shall constitute a medical board that shall visit the patient and form an opinion whether to certify or not to certify carrying out the instructions of withdrawal or refusal of further medical treatment.
    The Chairman of the board nominated by the collector, that is, the Chief District Medical Officer, shall convey the decision of the board to the jurisdictional JMFC before giving effect to the decision to withdraw the medical treatment administered to the patient.
    The JMFC shall visit the patient at the earliest and, after examining all aspects, authorise the implementation of the decision of the board.
    It will be open to the executor to revoke the document at any stage before it is acted upon and implemented.

    What if the board refuses the permission?

    If permission to withdraw medical treatment is refused by the Medical Board, it would be open to the patient or his family members or even the treating doctor or the hospital staff to approach the high court and its chief justice will have to constitute a division bench to decide upon case.

    Right to Die:

    Right to die peacefully is part of Fundamental Right to Life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. Article 21 provides that “no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law”.

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