Eclipse glossary of words

On Monday, August 21, 2017, all of North America will be treated to an eclipse of the sun. Anyone within the path of totality can see one of nature’s most awe inspiring sights - a total solar eclipse. This path, where the moon will completely cover the sun and the sun's tenuous atmosphere - the corona - can be seen, will stretch from Salem, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. Observers outside this path will still see a partial solar eclipse where the moon covers part of the sun's disk. NASA created this website to provide a guide to this amazing event. Here you will find activities, events, broadcasts, and resources from NASA and our partners across the nation.

Eclipses only occur if the Moon is located within 0.5 degrees of the plane of the ecliptic, on a line that passes through the center of the Sun and the Earth. The Moon travels along an orbit that is inclined by 5 degrees to the ecliptic plane, so there are only two opportunities each month when it passes through the plane of the ecliptic. These points are called the ascending and descending nodes. Eclipses of the Sun only occur if new moon occurs when the Moon is near of one of these nodes. A similar argument explains why lunar eclipses do not occur every full moon at the node opposite the Sun from the Earth.

UT or "Universal Time" is a single time standard that applies to all locations on Earth as opposed to your local time which will vary depending on your location (longitude). For all practical purposes, UT is equivalent to GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) which establishes a line of longitude that passes through Greenwich England (called the Prime Meridian) as the standard from which all other times are measured and UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) which is based on International Atomic Time (time measured very precisely as vibrations of a cesium atom).

How Eclipses Work

Eclipses, whether solar or lunar, occur because of the periodic alignments of the sun, Earth, and moon. These three bodies, orbit in space in very predictable paths (yes, the sun orbits too. It orbits the galaxy once every 200 million years!). Ever since the days of Kepler and Newton, we have been able to predict the motion of planetary bodies with great precision. So, why do eclipses happen

Solar Eclipses Happen when the moon moves between Earth and the sun. You might think that this should happen every month since the moon’s orbit, depending on how it is defined is between about 27 and 29 days long. But our moon’s orbit is tilted with respect to Earth’s orbit around the sun by about five degrees. Not much, you say? Yes, but the moon, itself, is only about ½ degree in width in the sky, about ½ the width of your pinky finger held at arm’s length. So, sometimes the moon misses too high and sometimes too low to cause a solar eclipse. Only when the sun, moon, and Earth line up close to the “line of nodes”, the imaginary line that represents the intersection of the orbital planes of the moon and Earth, can you have an eclipse.

The Moon orbits the Earth in the months prior to the August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse. Viewed from above, the Moon's shadow appears to cross the Earth every month, but a side view reveals the five-degree tilt of the Moon's orbit. Its shadow only hits the Earth when the line of nodes, the fulcrum of its orbital tilt, is pointed toward the Sun.

This is true for both solar and lunar eclipses. This situation is somewhat unique as no other moon in the solar system orbits roughly in the plane of the “ecliptic”,  Earth’s orbital plane, that the planets more or less follow.  

When the moon does eclipse the sun, it produces two types of shadows on Earth. The umbral shadow is the relatively small in diameter point on Earth where an observer would see a total eclipse. The penumbral shadow is the much larger area on Earth where an observer will see a partial eclipse. Here, the sun is not completely covered by the moon.

There are Four Types of Eclipses

Depending on your location and on the specific geometry of the sun-Earth-moon system, you may experience one of four types of solar eclipses; total, partial, annular and hybrid.

A TOTAL ECLIPSE happens when the moon completely covers the sun. Here, the observer is standing under the umbral shadow of the moon. In a total solar eclipse, the sun’s outer atmosphere can be seen.

The brighter stars and the planets come out. Animals change their behavior. Birds and squirrels nest. Cows return to the barn. Crickets chirp. There is a noticeable drop in both light level and air temperature. It is an eerie feeling. Totality can last for no more than about seven and a half minutes but is usually less than three minutes long.

A PARTIAL ECLIPSE occurs when the moon passes in front of the sun, off center and only a portion of the sun’s disk is obscured. Here, the observer is standing in the penumbral shadow of the moon

AN ANNULAR ECLIPSE occurs when the moon passes dead center in front of the sun but, because the moon’s orbit is elliptical and so is sometimes closer and sometimes further from Earth, it appears too small to fully cover the disk of the sun.

Here, a bright ring called the “ring of fire” appears around the dark disk of the moon. In an annular eclipse, the moon’s umbral shadow comes to focus – to a point – above the Earth’s surface.

A HYBRID ECLIPSE is a combination of total and annular eclipses. The eclipse begins as one type and ends as another.

1)ANNULAR ECLIPSE

A solar eclipse that occurs when the apparent size of the moon is not large enough to completely cover the sun. A thin ring of very bright sunlight remains around the black disk of the moon.                     

2              ANOMALISTIC MONTH

The time it takes for the moon to orbit Earth from apogee to perigee and back to apogee.                                         

3              ANTUMBRA

That part of the moon’s shadow that extends beyond the umbra. An annular eclipse is seen by an observer in the antumbra.                                          

4              APHELION

The point in an object’s orbit when it is farthest from the sun. Currently, Earth reaches aphelion in July.                                            

5              APOGEE

The point in an object’s orbit when it is farthest from Earth.                                      

6              ASTRONOMICAL UNIT

The average distance between Earth and the sun (149,597,870 km or 92,955,807 miles)                                

7              BAILY’S BEADS

The effect seen just before and just after totality when only a few points of sunlight are visible through valleys around the edge of the moon.                                 

8              CENTRAL ECLIPSE

A solar eclipse in which the central axis of the moon’s shadow traverses Earth. Central solar eclipses can be total, annular or hybrid.                                          

9              CHROMOSPHERE

The lower atmosphere of the sun just above the photosphere that appears as a thin crimson ring around the edge of the sun during a total solar eclipse.                                  

10           CONTACT

One of the instances when the apparent position of the edges of the sun and the moon (for eclipses) and the sun and a planet (for transits) cross one another. They are designated as first, second, third and fourth contact.                                     

11           CORONA

The upper atmosphere of the sun.  It appears as a halo around the sun during a total solar eclipse.                                        

12           DIAMOND RING

The effect seen in the few seconds just before and after totality of a total solar eclipse when there is a single point of sunlight brilliantly shining through a valley on the limb of the moon.                                              

13           ECLIPSE

The alignment of celestial bodies so that one is obscured, either partially or totally, by the other.                                         

14           ECLIPSE SEASON

The period of time when the sun is near alignment with a lunar node, during which eclipses may take place. For solar eclipses, this time window of 31-37 days occurs every 173.3 days.                               

15           ECLIPSE YEAR

The length of time it takes for the apparent motion of the sun to take it from one node of the moon to the other and back to the original node (about 346.6 days).                                            

16           ECLIPTIC

The plane of Earth’s orbit around the sun. As seen from Earth, the sun appears to move along the ecliptic during the course of a year.                                     

17           GIBBOUS

Phase of the moon when it appears more than half illuminated.                                             

18           HYBRID ECLIPSE

A solar eclipse which appears annular or total along different sections of its path.                                         

19           LUNAR ECLIPSE

The passage of the moon into the shadow of Earth, which can only occur at a full moon.                                             

20           LUNAR MONTH

See synodic month.                                       

21           MAGNITUDE (of a solar eclipse)

The fraction of the apparent diameter of the sun covered by the moon. By convention it is usually quoted at maximum phase.                                            

22           MARE

A large flat area on the moon formed by volcanic material.                                        

23           NODE

The two points where a tilted orbit intersects a geometrical plane.  For example, where the moon’s orbit intersects the ecliptic, that is the plane that contains Earth and the sun.                                   

24           OBSCURATION (of a solar eclipse)

The fraction of the sun’s area covered by the moon.                                     

25           PARTIAL LUNAR ECLIPSE

A lunar eclipse where a portion -- but not all -- of the moon enters Earth’s umbra.                                         

26           PARTIAL SOLAR ECLIPSE

A solar eclipse seen from within the moon’s penumbra. The moon appears to block part -- but not all -- of the sun’s photosphere.                                   

27           PATH OF TOTALITY

The path (up to about 270 km or 168 miles wide) that the moon’s shadow traces on Earth during a total solar eclipse.                                               

28           PENUMBRA

The part of a shadow -- as of the moon or Earth -- within which the source of light, such as the sun, is only partially blocked. Also, it refers to the lighter outer area of a sunspot.                                   

29           PENUMBRAL ECLIPSE

An eclipse of the moon when the moon enters the penumbra of Earth’s shadow.                                          

30           PERIGEE

The point in an object’s orbit when it is closest to Earth.                                             

31           PERIHELION

The point in an object’s orbit when it is closest to the sun. Currently, Earth reaches perihelion in early January.                                               

32           PHOTOSPHERE

The bright, visible surface of the sun.                                   

33           PROMINENCE

A large-scale gaseous formation above the surface of the sun shaped by the sun’s magnetic field.                                        

34           RAYLEIGH SCATTERING

The scattering of light by particles smaller than the wavelength of the light, resulting in separation of colors. This causes the sky to be blue and sunsets to be reddish.                                     

35           REGRESSION

The movement of points in an orbit in the direction opposite from the motion of the orbiting body. For example, the moon travels from west to east but its nodes are regressing from east to west.                                       

36           SAROS

The eclipse cycle, which has a period of 223 synodic months or 6,585.32 days – the equivalent of 18 years and about 11.3 days.                                           

37           SHADOW BANDS

Faint ripples of light sometimes seen on flat, light-colored surfaces just before and just after totality.                                

38           SIDEREAL MONTH

The time it takes for the moon to make one orbit of Earth with reference to the fixed stars – a total of 27.32 days.                                               

39           SOLAR ECLIPSE

The passage of the new moon directly between the sun and Earth when the moon’s shadow is cast upon Earth. The sun appears in the sky either partially or totally covered by the moon.                                

40           SOLAR FLARE

An explosive eruption in the sun's atmosphere.                                              

41           SUNSPOT

A magnetic disturbance on the sun that appears as a dark blotch on its surface.                                               

42           SYNODIC MONTH

The time from one full moon to the next, which takes 29.53 days. Also called a lunar month.                                    

43           TERMINATOR

Theedge between night and day on the moon or a planet.                                         

44           TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE

A lunar eclipse where the moon completely enters Earth’s umbra.                                        

45           TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE

A solar eclipse seen from within the  moon’s umbra. The moon appears to completely block the sun’s photosphere.                                   

46           TOTALITY

The period during a solar eclipse when the sun’s photosphere is completely covered by the moon and the period for a lunar eclipse when the moon is in the complete shadow of Earth.                               

47           UMBRA

A complete shadow – such as that of the moon or Earth -- within which the source of light, such as the sun, is totally hidden from view. Also, it refers to the dark inner area of a sunspot.                                    

What is Article 35 A ?

What is it?

Article 35A is a provision incorporated in the Constitution giving the Jammu and Kashmir Legislature a carte blanche to decide who all are ‘permanent residents’ of the State and confer on them special rights and privileges in public sector jobs, acquisition of property in the State, scholarships and other public aid and welfare. The provision mandates that no act of the legislature coming under it can be challenged for violating the Constitution or any other law of the land.

How did it come about?

Article 35A was incorporated into the Constitution in 1954 by an order of the then President Rajendra Prasad on the advice of the Jawaharlal Nehru Cabinet. The controversial Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order of 1954 followed the 1952 Delhi Agreement entered into between Nehru and the then Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Sheikh Abdullah, which extended Indian citizenship to the ‘State subjects’ of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Presidential Order was issued under Article 370 (1) (d) of the Constitution. This provision allows the President to make certain “exceptions and modifications” to the Constitution for the benefit of ‘State subjects’ of Jammu and Kashmir.

So Article 35A was added to the Constitution as a testimony of the special consideration the Indian government accorded to the ‘permanent residents’ of Jammu and Kashmir.

Why does it matter?

The parliamentary route of lawmaking was bypassed when the President incorporated Article 35A into the Constitution. Article 368 (i) of the Constitution empowers only Parliament to amend the Constitution. So did the President act outside his jurisdiction? Is Article 35A void because the Nehru government did not place it before Parliament for discussion? A five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court in its March 1961 judgment in Puranlal Lakhanpal vs. The President of India discusses the President’s powers under Article 370 to ‘modify’ the Constitution. Though the court observes that the President may modify an existing provision in the Constitution under Article 370, the judgment is silent as to whether the President can, without the Parliament’s knowledge, introduce a new Article. This question remains open.

A writ petition filed by NGO We the Citizens challenges the validity of both Article 35A and Article 370. It argues that four representatives from Kashmir were part of the Constituent Assembly involved in the drafting of the Constitution and the State of Jammu and Kashmir was never accorded any special status in the Constitution. Article 370 was only a ‘temporary provision’ to help bring normality in Jammu and Kashmir and strengthen democracy in that State, it contends. The Constitution-makers did not intend Article 370 to be a tool to bring permanent amendments, like Article 35A, in the Constitution.

The petition said Article 35 A is against the “very spirit of oneness of India” as it creates a “class within a class of Indian citizens”. Restricting citizens from other States from getting employment or buying property within Jammu and Kashmir is a violation of fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution.

A second petition filed by Jammu and Kashmir native Charu Wali Khanna has challenged Article 35A for protecting certain provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution, which restrict the basic right to property if a native woman marries a man not holding a permanent resident certificate. “Her children are denied a permanent resident certificate, thereby considering them illegitimate,” the petition said.

Why does it matter?

Attorney-General K.K. Venugopal has called for a debate in the Supreme Court on the sensitive subject.

Recently, a Supreme Court Bench, led by Justice Dipak Misra, tagged the Khanna petition with the We the Citizens case, which has been referred to a three-judge Bench. The court has indicated that the validity of Articles 35A and 370 may ultimately be decided by a Constitution Bench.

Statement on behalf of The Government – on The Supreme Court Judgement on Right to Privacy

The nine-judge Bench Supreme Court judgement has today pronounced in the “Privacy Case” by upholding the Right to Privacy as one protected by Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The Government welcomes the view of the Supreme Court, which is consistent with all the necessary safeguards that the Government has been ensuring in its legislative proposals which had been approved by Parliament. 

The issue of personal liberty had a chequered history during the previous Congress Governments. Immediately after the Constitution was framed, the Congress Government at the Center had consistently maintained that personal liberty could be denied to an individual by any legislation irrespective of the reasonableness of that legislation. The Congress Governments had consistently argued that privacy was not a part of any constitutional guarantees. In fact, during the internal emergency when Article 21 was suspended, the Central Government had argued before the Supreme Court that a person could be killed and deprived even his life (let alone liberty) and he would still be remediless. 

The UPA Government had introduced AADHAR scheme without any legislative support. It was in that context that the question of the UPA’s AADHAR scheme was challenged before the judiciary. The NDA Government ensured that necessary legislation was approved by Parliament. Adequate safeguards were also introduced. On 16.3.2016, while speaking on the AADHAR Bill in the Rajya Sabha, the Government through the Finance Minister, had clearly stated – “Is privacy a fundamental right or not? The present Bill pre-supposes and is based on the premise and that it is too late in date to contend that privacy is not a fundamental right. So, I do except that probably privacy is a fundamental right. Now, where do you fit privacy as a fundamental right? And that is where I want to clear the misconception due to which these amendments which have been proposed. It is contended and broadly it is now accepted that privacy is a part of the individual liberty. So when Article 21 says, “no person shall be deprived of his Right to Life and Liberty without procedure established by law”. Then let us assume that privacy is a part of liberty and no person shall be deprived of his privacy without procedure as established by law. The underlying point is that privacy is not an absolute right. It is a right even in our Constitution. If it is a Fundamental Right under Article 21, which is subject to restriction that it can be restricted by a procedure established by law, that procedure established by law obviously has to be fair, just and reasonable procedure. The case before the Supreme court is you have no law, you have not legislated, you have not laid down any guidelines and you have by an executive fiat created authority where all personal data and biometric information will go. What will that be used for? Is this a fair, just and reasonable procedure?” 

The Finance Minister was referring to the situation where the UPA Government created an AADHAR without any legislative support. The present Government did exactly the opposite. It gave a legislative support to AADHAR and incorporated in law special safeguards with regard to privacy. It has also assured the Supreme Court that it will soon be coming out with a data protection law for which a committee headed by Justice Sri Krishna, a retired judge of the Supreme Court, had already been appointed. 

Today’s judgement of the Supreme Court is a welcome judgement in as much as it strengths the Fundamental Rights and personal liberty. The judgement reads that personal liberty is not an absolute right but liable to the restrictions provided in the Constitution which will be examined on a case to case basis. The Government is of the clear opinion that its legislations are compliant with the tests laid down in the judgement. The Supreme court has stated that ”…requires a careful and sensitive balance between individual interests and legitimate concerns of the State. The legitimate aims of the State would include for instance protecting national security, preventing and investigating crime, encouraging innovation and the spread of knowledge, and preventing the dissipation of social welfare benefits.” The Government is committed to this object.

Right to Privacy Supreme Court Judgement

The nine-judge Bench dealt with the question of right to privacy in six separate judgments spanning to 547 pages. Here is what each judgment, all concurring that right to privacy is a fundamental right, has to say:

Justice Chandrachud's judgment for himself, Chief Justice Khehar, R.K. Agrawal and S. Abdul Nazeer:

Privacy is a concomitant of the right of the individual to exercise control over his or her personality. Natural rights (like privacy) are inalienable because they are inseparable from the human personality. The right to privacy has been traced in the decisions which have been rendered over more than four decades to the guarantee of life and personal liberty in Article 21.

On dignity and privacy: To live is to live with dignity. Privacy with its attendant values assures dignity to the individual and it is only when life can be enjoyed with dignity can liberty be of true substance. Privacy ensures the fulfilment of dignity.

Answering the Centre's argument that the SC has no power to inject privacy as a “new fundamental right” in the Constitution: To recognise the value of privacy as a constitutional entitlement and interest is not to fashion a new fundamental right by a process of amendment through judicial fiat. Judicial review certainly has the task before it of determining the nature and extent of the freedoms available to each person under the fabric of those constitutional guarantees which are protected.

To Centre's argument that privacy is a common law right: The fact that a right may have been afforded protection at common law does not constitute a bar to the constitutional recognition of the right. Once privacy is held to be an incident of the protection of life, personal liberty and of the liberties guaranteed by the provisions of Part III of the Constitution, the submission that privacy is only a right at common law misses the wood for the trees.

To Centre's argument that privacy need not be made a constitutional right and can be protected through parliamentary statutes: A statutory right can be modified, curtailed or annulled by a simple enactment of the legislature. In other words, statutory rights are subject to the compulsion of legislative majorities. The purpose of infusing a right with a constitutional element is precisely to provide it a sense of immunity from popular opinion and, as its reflection, from legislative annulment.

To Centre's argument that privacy is an “elitist construct”: Every individual in society irrespective of social class or economic status is entitled to the intimacy and autonomy which privacy protects. The refrain that the poor need no civil and political rights and are concerned only with economic well-being has been utilised though history to wreak the most egregious violations of human rights.

Justice Chelameswar

Justice J. Chelameswar: Fundamental rights are the only constitutional firewall to prevent State’s interference with those core freedoms constituting liberty of a human being. The right to privacy is certainly one of the core freedoms which is to be defended. It is part of liberty within the meaning of that expression in Article 21.

Justice Bobde

Justice S.A. Bobde: The first and natural home for a right of privacy is in Article 21 at the very heart of ‘personal liberty’ and life itself. There are innumerable activities which are virtually incapable of being performed at all and in many cases with dignity unless an individual is left alone or is otherwise empowered to ensure his or her privacy. Birth and death are events when privacy is required for ensuring dignity amongst all civilized people.

Justice Nariman

Justice Rohinton F. Nariman on privacy as an elitist construct: A large number of poor people that the Centre (Attorney-General K.K. Venugopal talks about are persons who in today’s completely different and changed world have cell phones, and would come forward to press the fundamental right of privacy, both against the Government and against other private individuals. We see no antipathy whatsoever between the rich and the poor in this context.

On Centre's argument that privacy need not be made a constitutional right and can be protected through parliamentary statutes: Statutory law can be made and also unmade by a simple Parliamentary majority. In short, the ruling party can, at will, do away with any or all of the protections contained in the statutes mentioned hereinabove. Fundamental rights, on the other hand, are contained in the Constitution so that there would be rights that the citizens of this country may enjoy despite the governments that they may elect.

Justice Sapre

Justice A.M. Sapre: Right to privacy is a part of fundamental right of a citizen guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution. However, it is not an absolute right but subject to certain reasonable restrictions.

Justice Kaul

Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul: Privacy is nothing but a form of dignity, which itself is a subset of liberty. Thus, from the one great tree, there are branches, and from these branches there are sub-branches and leaves. Every one of these leaves are rights, all tracing back to the tree of justice. They are all equally important and of equal need in the great social order. They together form part of that ‘great brooding spirit’. Denial of one of them is the denial of the whole, for these rights, in manner of speaking, fertilise and nurture each other.
The original petitioner in the right to privacy case is a happy man after Thursday’s verdict from the Supreme Court. In 2012, Justice (retd) K.S. Puttaswamy had approached the apex court as petitioner in a case which has seen several landmark judgments. While the Court will still hear the case on the use of Aadhaar, the judgment by the nine-judge bench delivered on Thursday deals with the larger issue of the right to privacy of an individual and its classification as a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The Hindu spoke to Justice (retd) Puttaswamy following the verdict.

When delivering the 12th Justice K.T. Desai Memorial Lecture on dissenting judgments in Mumbai last year, Justice Rohinton F. Nariman described the great dissenters on the Supreme Court of the 1950s and 1960s as persons who had chiselled and added meaning to the Constitution’s fundamental rights. They did this, he said, by, more than anything else, appealing to what the former Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Charles Evans Hughes, had called the “brooding spirit of the law and the intelligence of a future day.”

Now, on August 24, Justice Nariman and eight of his colleagues, who heard arguments in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd) v. Union of India, have brought to life the brooding spirit of three such dissents. In doing so, they have not only consigned some of the court’s most regressive judgments to the dust heap of history, but have also delivered a rousing affirmation of the critical place that the right to privacy enjoys in the penumbra of liberties that the Constitution guarantees.

A slew of consequences

Perhaps it ought to be a matter of shame for us that well into our seventh decade as a constitutional democracy, we needed the Supreme Court to tell us whether we possess a fundamental right to privacy or not. But this unanimous verdict delivered through six separate opinions nonetheless marks a watershed moment in our constitutional history. Collectively, the judgments could well herald a new dawn. The verdict’s consequences for civil liberties are potentially enormous. They are likely to have an effect not only on the challenge to the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 — or the Aadhaar Act — that is presently pending but also on a slew of other issues, ranging from matters concerning the collection of private data to invasions that go to the root of our bodily integrity and individual autonomy.

The reference to the nine-judge Bench emanated out of the larger challenge to the validity of the Aadhaar Act. There, during the course of hearings before a three-judge Bench, the Union of India raised a rather alarming plea: it said, in response to arguments that the legislation infringed the right to privacy, that there simply existed no such fundamental guarantee. The government predicated this argument on the basis of two previous judgments of the court, M.P. Sharma v. Satish Chandra (1954) and Kharak Singh v. State of U.P. (1962), rendered respectively by a Bench of eight and six judges, which, it said, had conclusively held that there existed no fundamental right to privacy. Accordingly, it contended that subsequent judgments rendered by Benches of lesser strength which had recognised a fundamental right to privacy were wrongly decided.

Before the nine-judge Bench, in seeking to further its plea, the government made a number of claims, three of which were particularly noteworthy. First, it argued that the Constitution’s framers never intended to incorporate a right to privacy, and therefore, to read such a right as intrinsic to the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21, or to the rights to various freedoms, such as the freedom of expression, guaranteed under Article 19, would amount to a rewriting of the Constitution. Second, it claimed that since privacy, as a concept, was vague, amorphous, and incapable of precise definition, it cannot be elevated to the status of a fundamental right. Third, it contended that privacy was, at best, a purely elitist concern, and that, in a land like India, rife with poverty, it can never be considered as a value worth universally cherishing.

Unanimously rejected

Although the court speaks through six separate opinions, marked by occasionally disparate reasoning, each of the state’s arguments stands unanimously rejected. On the first argument, the court recognises that much of the text of the Constitution, particularly of the rights enlisted in part III, are abstract statements of privileges that, in any event, require interpretation for us to make sense of them. To hold, therefore, that privacy is intrinsic to personal liberty does not tantamount to rewriting the Constitution. On the other hand, it would merely be a natural product of a proper interpretive exercise, where the Constitution is seen as not merely representing a matter of social fact but of being a product of morality, of representing a set of larger ambitions and ideals.

The court recognises that the constitutional guarantees of a right to personal liberty and of a right to freedom of expression, while abstract in their wording, are subsumed by deep moral values central to the very conception of citizenship. What’s more, as Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul notes in his separate opinion, “the Constitution was not drafted for a specific time period or for a certain generation, it was drafted to stand firm, for eternity.” The notions of “goodness, fairness, equality and dignity can never be satisfactorily defined,” he adds. They were left “abstract for the reason that these rights, by their very nature, are not static.” To disregard privacy as a fundamental right would, therefore, fail to make the best sense of the Constitution as a legitimate basis for government.

The argument that privacy is a purely elitist concern is also found to be unsustainable. Here, Justice Chandrachud, for example, leans on Amartya Sen’s work to show us that liberty and freedom are values that are not only inherent in our constitutional order, but that they also serve a larger instrumental purpose, in creating conditions that best further the cause of equality and social justice.

The idea that privacy is amorphous and vague is similarly made short shrift of. Privacy, as a concept, the court finds, involves not merely a simple right to be left alone, but extends to protecting a number of different values integral to a person’s most intimate choices; it constitutes a bundle of liberties, including, as Justice Nariman points ought, the right to abort a foetus, the rights of same-sex couples, the rights as to procreation, to contraception, and so forth. This holding, in and of itself, should be sufficient to overrule the court’s judgment in Suresh Kumar Koushal v. Naz Foundation, where it upheld the abominable Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which, among other things, criminalises homosexual activity.

Ultimately, however, the judgments in Puttaswamy will perhaps be remembered best for their vindication of three glorious dissenting opinions of the past. First, Justice Fazl Ali’s opinion in AK Gopalan v. State of Madras (1950), where he ruled that fundamental rights cannot be slotted into watertight silos that are mutually exclusive, but rather that they have to be read as a collective whole, as rights that give and take meaning from each other. The rights to equality, to freedom of speech and expression, and to life and personal liberty, he therefore held, together stand as a bulwark against the tyrannical powers of the state. This foresight in Justice Fazl Ali’s finding, Justice Nariman writes, “simply takes the breath away.”

Second, the court affirms Justice Subba Rao’s voice of dissent in Kharak Singh, where he held that “nothing is more deleterious to a man’s physical happiness and health than a calculated interference with his privacy.”

Burying ‘ADM Jabalpur’

Finally, though, comes the clincher: a specific, explicit avowal of Justice Khanna’s daring minority opinion in ADM Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla. Here, he ruled that the right not to be deprived of our life and personal liberty without the authority of law was not a creature of the Constitution. Such a right inheres in us as human beings. Now, the court in Puttaswamy has held that privacy is one such liberty, which is fundamental to our very existence. The court recognises that each of us has, at the least, a kernel of personality, of identity, that we have a right to preserve. How the court applies this verdict in the future, to different cases, not least the Aadhaar challenge, would no doubt present a significant test. But, for now, it’s time to celebrate, and to commend the Supreme Court for its truly momentous ruling.

3 Year Action Plan / Agenda (NITI Ayog) 2017-18 to 2919-20 useful for Civil Services Exam

THREE YEAR ACTION AGENDA: AN OVERVIEW

1.1.  The objective of eliminating poverty in all its dimensions such that every citizen has access to a minimum standard of food, education, health, clothing, shelter, transportation and energy has been at the heart of India’s development efforts since Independence. The extremely low level of per-capita income and widespread poverty made it impossible for us to achieve this objective without growing the economy. Tax revenues were so meagre and the economy’s needs so vast that no serious dent into poverty could be made through redistribution alone. While we substantially improved economic performance during the first four decades of independence over that during the preceding fifty years, growth remained below 4%, which was woefully inadequate for a meaningful decline in poverty.

1.2. But the signs of change began to emerge during the second half of the 1980s, with 1991 proving to be a turning point. The reforms that followed first under Prime Minister Narasimha Rao and then under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee placed India first on a 6% growth trajectory and then, beginning in 2003-04, on an 8% plus trajectory. Rising wages accompanied faster growth and pulled many out of abject poverty. Growth also yielded handsome gains in tax revenues, which helped expand social spending manifold, reinforcing the direct effect of growth on poverty reduction. 1.3. Although a combination of global economic developments and domestic policy choices led to a dip in the growth rate to 5.6% in 2012-13, quick corrective action in 2014, followed by sustained policy reforms, has helped the economy sustain 7% plus growth during the three years ending on 31 March 2017. Indeed, there are good prospects that we will return to the 8% plus growth trajectory in another two to three years if not sooner. Therefore, the chances of a massive cut in the poverty rate in the upcoming decade are excellent.

1.4. India’s 125 Crore citizens, a majority of which consists of the youth, increasingly aspire for greater empowerment and a better quality of life. It is in recognition of these joint aspirations that the Prime Minister has called for the transformation of India with the “Participation of All and Development of All” or “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas.”

1.5. In this backdrop, the present document charts an ambitious, transformational yet achievable Action Agenda for the government during 2017-18 to 2019-20, that constitute the last three years of the Fourteenth Finance Commission. The Agenda is a part of a longer-term Fifteen-year Vision and Seven-year Strategy outlined in a separate document. The Action Agenda proposes a path to achieve all-round development of India and its people. A brief outline of the subjects covered in the document is provided below. Part I: Medium-Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework

1.6. The most direct and visible policy tool of the government is the budget. The allocation of expenditure needs to be aligned to the government’s overall objectives. Accordingly, chapters 2-4 in Part I present expenditure proposals for three years based on revenue forecasts. This exercise has been limited to the Central government.

1.7. During the past three years (2014-15 to 2016-17), the government has made significant progress towards implementing a sound and stable fiscal strategy. The fiscal deficit has been cut from 4.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2013-14 to 3.5% in 2016-17 while the revenue deficit has been reduced from 3.2% to 2.1% of the GDP over the same period1 . It is proposed that the government should capitalize on this progress by maintaining its course during the next three years. Under the proposed fiscal framework, the fiscal deficit is to be reduced to its eventual target of 3% of the GDP under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) framework by 2018-19, while the revenue deficit is expected to fall to 0.9% of the GDP by 2019-20.

1.8. The Action Agenda proposes linking Central government expenditures to future priorities. It suggests shifting the composition of expenditures by allocating a larger proportion of additional revenues that become available over time to high-priority sectors. Under the proposed agenda, the share of non-developmental revenue expenditure in total expenditure would decline from 47% in 2015-16 to 41% in 2019-20. At the same time, the share of capital expenditure, which is more likely to promote development, would rise significantly. The proposals imply substantial expansion in expenditures by 2019-20 on education, health, agriculture, rural development, defence, railways, roads and other categories of capital expenditure.

Part II: Economic Transformations in Major Sectors

1.9. This part includes two chapters, one dealing with agriculture, which is the backbone of the rural economy, and the other focuses on industry and services in which the key issue is the creation of well-paid jobs.

Agriculture: Doubling Farmers’ Incomes

1.10. Farmers make up nearly half of India’s workforce. Therefore, for India to flourish, its farmers and the farm economy must prosper. It is against this background that the Prime Minister has called for doubling farmers’ incomes by 2022. To achieve this goal, the Action Agenda outlines a strong programme for agricultural transformation. It includes numerous measures to raise farm productivity, bring remunerative prices to farmers, put farmers’ land to productive uses when they are not able to farm it themselves and improve the implementation of relief measures. Chapters in subsequent parts of the document offer an ambitious agenda for empowering the rural population through improved road and digital connectivity, access to clean energy, financial inclusion and “Housing for All.”

1.11. Enhancing agricultural productivity requires of efficiently using inputs, introducing new technologies and shifting from low to high value commodities. We need to expand the scope of irrigation to increase crop intensity, improve access to irrigation, enhance the seed replacement rate and encourage the balanced use of fertilizers. Precision farming and related new technologies, that allow highly efficient farming and conserve resources, must be spread through appropriate policy interventions. Conditions conducive to shift into high value commodities such as horticulture, dairying, poultry, piggery, small ruminant husbandry, fisheries and forestry need to be created. 1.12. The reform of the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMC) Act needs a new lease of life. Farmers should get genuine rights for direct sales to buyers of all commodities, potential buyers should get the rights to buy produce directly from farmers, entry of private agricultural markets should be free and an effective legal framework for contract farming should be established. Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) have distorted cropping patterns due to their use in certain commodities in selected regions. There has been an excessive focus on the procurement of wheat, rice and sugarcane at the expense of other crops such as pulses, oilseed and coarse grains. These distortions have led to the depletion of water resources, soil degradation and deterioration in water quality in the North-west. At the same time, eastern states, where procurement at the MSP is minimal or non-existent, have suffered. One measure that can help reduce distortions in the MSP system is the system of “Price Deficiency Payment.” While MSP may still be used for need-based procurement, under the deficiency payments system, a subsidy may be provided to farmers on other targeted produce, contingent on prices falling below an MSP-linked threshold.

1.13. Over the years, landholdings in India have become smaller and fragmented. According to the 2010-11 Agricultural Census, 47% of landholdings had become less than half a hectare in size. These holdings are too small to support a family of five so that many farmers now seek alternative sources of income. But stringent tenancy laws in most states have meant that these farmers hesitate to lease the land they leave behind. As a result, an increasing amount of farmland is being left fallow. The introduction of a modern land-leasing law that balances and protects the rights of the tenant and landowners would be a potential solution.

1.14. Finally, to alleviate distress in case of natural calamities, the government has recently introduced the Fasal Bima Yojana. This is an important positive step toward mitigating risk but requires improvement. Capping the subsidy amount per farm household to a fixed amount and charging the full premium for additional insurance would not only economize on financial resources but will also be more equitable.

Trade, Industry and Services: Creating Well-Paid Jobs

1.15. Contrary to some assertions that India’s growth has been “jobless,” the Employment Unemployment Surveys (EUS) of the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), which till date remain the most reliable sources of information on India’s employment situation, have consistently reported low and stable rates of unemployment over more than three decades. Even under the most demanding definition of employment, the unemployment rate consistently remains between 5% and 8%.

1.16. Indeed, unemployment is the lesser of India’s problems. The more serious problem, instead, is severe underemployment. A job that one worker can perform is often performed by two or more workers. In effect, those in the workforce are employed, but they are overwhelmingly stuck in low-productivity, low-wage jobs.

1.17. Three examples illustrate the point. First, in 2011-12, as per the NSSO Employment Unemployment Survey, 49% of the workforce was employed in agriculture. But agriculture contributed only 17% of India’s GDP at current prices. Second, in 2010-11, firms with less than 20 workers employed 72% of India’s manufacturing workforce but contributed only 12% of manufacturing output2 . Finally, services are no different. According to the 2006-07 NSSO survey of service firms, the 650 largest enterprises accounted for 38% of services output but only employed 2% of services workers. Put another way, the remaining services firms employed 98% of the workforce but produced only 62% of the output.

1.18. Therefore, what is needed is the creation of high-productivity, high-wage jobs. Accordingly, Chapter 6 of the Action Agenda focuses on the measures necessary for the increased emergence of larger, organized-sector firms. The experience of countries that managed to transform rapidly, such as South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and China, shows that the manufacturing sector and the ability to compete in the vast global marketplace hold the key to the creation of well-paid jobs for low and semi-skilled workers. The “Make in India” campaign needs to succeed by manufacturing for global markets.

1.19. A focus on the domestic market through an import-substitution strategy, however attractive it may seem, would give rise to a group of relatively small firms behind a high wall of protection. They will not only fail to exploit scale economies but also miss out on productivity gains that come from competing against the best in the world. The electronics industry offers a case in point. Our domestic market in electronics as of 2015 is only USD 65 billion. In contrast, the global market is USD 2 trillion. Our policy of import substitution under high protection has given rise to a group of small firms none of which is competitive in the world markets. In contrast, a focus on the global market can potentially result in output worth hundreds of billions of dollars and hence a large number of well-paid jobs.

1.20. Today, with Chinese wages rising wages due to an ageing workforce, many large-scale firms in labour-intensive sectors currently manufacturing in that country are looking for lower-wage locations. With its large workforce and competitive wages, India would be a natural home for these firms. Therefore, the time for adopting a manufactures- and exports-based strategy could not be more opportune. Keeping this context in view, the Action Agenda offers detailed proposals for the implementation of an exports-based strategy. Among other things, it recommends the creation of a handful of Coastal Employment Zones, which may attract multinational firms in labour-intensive sectors from China to India. The presence of these firms will give rise to an ecosystem in which local small and medium firms will also be induced to become highly productive thereby multiplying the number of well-paid jobs.

1.21. India has, of course, already achieved considerable success in some key services and skilled-labour-intensive industries. It has had great success in the global markets in information technology (IT), information technology-enabled services (ITES) and pharmaceuticals. Its financial sector, including capital markets, has also acquired a modern character and has been exhibiting healthy growth during the past one and a half decades. Therefore, unlike past rapid transformers such as South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and China, India has the advantage of walking on two legs: manufactures and services . The Action Agenda offers specific proposals for jumpstarting some of the key manufacturing and services sectors, including apparel, electronics, gems and jewellery, financial services, tourism and cultural industries and real estate.

Part III: Regional Development

1.22. Chapters 7-9 in Part III focus on urban, rural and regional development, respectively. Urbanization is an integral part of modernization. Often, urban centres such as Mumbai and Shanghai are home to the organised sector activities. But even when these activities locate in rural areas, they quickly turn the latter urban. Shenzhen in China offers the most striking example of such a transformation. From a group of fishing villages with a population of 300,000 in 1980, today, Shenzhen is among the most urbanized spots on the face of earth. Accordingly, the Action Agenda spells out how we can facilitate urbanization in the country. Key challenges faced by the urban sector include affordable housing, infrastructure development, public transport, promotion of Swachh Bharat, reform of urban land markets and waste management.

1.23. A large part of India’s population resides in rural areas. The challenges in the rural areas include creating jobs such that some agricultural workers could shift to non-farm sectors, skill development, accessing education and health facilities, infrastructure, local governance, drinking water and sanitation and financial inclusion. The Action Agenda outlines possible avenues to achieve progress in these areas.

1.24. The final chapter in Part III turns to a discussion of regional strategies to achieve balanced growth across the country, such that a minimum level of prosperity comes to all. The areas covered include the North Eastern region, coastal areas, islands, North Himalayan states and desert and drought prone areas. Developing infrastructure in these areas to bridge the divide created by geographical uniqueness is an important element of government actions.

Part IV: Growth Enablers

1.25. Part IV discusses how to enhance the contribution of a number of growth enablers. These include infrastructure, digital connectivity, Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), energy, science and technology and creation of an effective innovation ecosystem. Chapters 10-15 discuss each of these subjects in detail. Infrastructure development is one of the most crucial elements of economic transformation. The development of transport and connectivity infrastructure, including the roadways, railways, shipping & ports, in-land waterways and civil aviation, is discussed in Chapter 10. The challenges faced in this sector include physical capacity constraints, severe modal imbalances and a lack of holistic planning, maintenance and safety.

1.26. Digital connectivity has become an important driver of economic growth. In order to leverage efficiencies promised by the adoption of digital technologies, we need to develop a physical digital infrastructure network that is accessible to all. We must also create a host of software drive services including government services that can be provided digitally. The Action Agenda discusses the Digital India campaign and the actions related to enhancing digital connectivity.

1.27. Private sector involvement in infrastructure projects across different sectors helps in bridging the gap between the available public resources and the required investment. In addition, it helps in bringing private sector expertise into play. However, the institutional framework governing Public Private Partnerships (PPP) needs to be strengthened so that bottlenecks to implementation are avoided. Chapter 12 deals with these hurdles and suggests ways to overcome them.

1.28. The energy sector is one of the key drivers of economic growth and development. Access to reliable sources of energy is a crucial issue. Chapter 13 discusses this subject including actions necessary for increasing energy consumption and increasing energy efficiency and production. It pays particular attention to how we may improve the efficiency of distribution of coal, electricity, oil & gas, and harness renewable energy.

1.29. Another important element in India’s development strategy is spurring science and technology including creating an enabling environment for innovation and entrepreneurship. With economic growth, India’s contribution to science and technology has gained some momentum but it still lags behind the other major economies in the world. A culture of innovation is also essential for India to find ways to tackle its development challenges such as access to education, improving agricultural productivity and wastewater management. The Action Agenda for science and technology is presented in Chapter 14, while that for creating an effective innovation ecosystem is discussed in Chapter 15.

Part V: Government

1.30. Part V considers issues related to the government such as governance, taxation, competition and regulation. Chapter 16 discusses rebalancing the government’s role in favour of public services and away from manufacturing. It also recommends reforms in the civil service, and electoral process. It suggests actions to eliminate corruption and black money, which have emerged as important policy priorities. Finally, the chapter offers suggestions for strengthening federalism and bringing states to the forefront of reform agenda.

1.31. Chapter 17 includes reforms to taxation policy and its administration with the view of reducing the scope for tax evasion and generation of black money, expansion of the tax base, and creation of a predictable and stable tax policy.

 1.32. The government influences market outcomes through a regulatory environment that consists of laws, policies and rules. As elsewhere, India’s regulatory environment has features that do not facilitate competition and may harm the public interest. Public procurement policies also need improvement. Chapter 18 discusses reforms that will encourage competition, improve the public procurement system and enhance the capacity of sectoral regulators.

1.33. Chapter 19 looks at the Justice System and includes a reform agenda to strengthen the rule of law in India. It covers three broad areas in which the Justice System needs reform - statutory and administrative laws, the judicial system and police. The suggestions on statutory and administrative law reform focus on modernizing and weeding out old and dysfunctional elements in legislation, unifying and harmonizing laws, reducing government intervention in areas where it is not required, undertaking statutory reforms in criminal justice and procedural laws, and reforming land/property related laws. The suggestions for reforming the judicial system revolve around streamlining human resource availability and performance, increasing and strengthening avenues for dispute resolution and extensive use of ICT to improve efficiency. For police reform, the important areas are state level legislative and executive reforms to help police forces serve more effectively within the modern-day democratic state.

Part VI: Social Sectors

1.34. Part VI of the Action Agenda turns to education, skill development, health and issues facing specific groups such as Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, women, children, differently abled and senior citizens. Education, skill development and health contribute to the creation of a productive workforce. Addressing the needs of all members of society is critical for inclusive growth of the country.

1.35. Given that a large and growing segment of India’s population is under 25, education and skill development are critical to fully harvesting India’s demographic dividend. Chapter 20 discusses the actions for improving the country’s education system. The goals of improving learning outcomes in schools, raising the quality of education and research in higher education and promoting skill development are priorities for the sector. At the school level, while we have successfully brought all children into the fold of elementary education, quality education remains a distant dream. Actions to improve education quality can no longer be delayed. The chapter provides various steps to improve outcomes in the areas of school as well as higher education.

1.36. In the next fifteen years, we must entirely transform the delivery of health services and engineer a quantum jump in health outcomes. With this in view, Chapter 21 discusses measures necessary to lay down the foundation of a transformational change in the next three years. It focuses on public and preventive health, assurance of health care, reforming fiscal transfers from the Centre to states for better health outcomes, accelerating human resource development and improving access to medicines.

1.37. The guiding principle of the Prime Minister’s development philosophy has been “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas” which implies that development should include every citizen. In this spirit, Chapter 22 discusses actions for building a more inclusive society. The chapter outlines actions aimed at the removal of obstacles faced by specific groups on the basis of gender, caste, age and physical impairment.

Part VII: Sustainability

1.38. The last part of the Action Agenda, Part VII, turns to environmental sustainability. We must address the high levels of air pollution in the cities, black carbon pollution indoors from the use of biomass fuels in cooking, massive volumes of solid waste in urban areas and deforestation. On the one hand, we must strengthen and streamline regulatory structures governing sustainability of the environment while on the other we must remove hurdles that adversely impact growth without protecting the environment. Chapter 23 outlines the action items contributing to these objectives.

1.39. Finally, water demand for irrigation, drinking and industrial use has been increasing with growth in incomes and population. But the sources of water supply remain scarce. We must address issues such as water scarcity, uneven distribution of water resources across people, sectors and regions, deteriorating water quality and excessive dependence on groundwater. These issues are taken up in the last chapter of the Action Agenda, Chapter 24.

1.40. Only by working together towards common national goals can the Centre and states meet India’s development challenges. “Maximum Governance and Minimum Government”, and “Competitive and Cooperative Federalism” are critical to achieving the full potential and creating a modern India, which brings prosperity to all of its 125 Crore citizens