UPSC Essentials | Mains answer practice — GS 2 : Questions on no-confidence motion and Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill (Week 81)

QUESTION 2

The Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill seeks to delink petroleum and mineral oil exploration from mining activities. Discuss the implications of this change on India’s energy security and the regulatory framework for resource management.

General points on the structure of the answers

Introduction

— The introduction of the answer is essential and should be restricted to 3-5 lines. Remember, a one-liner is not a standard introduction.

— It may consist of basic information by giving some definitions from the trusted source and authentic facts.

Body

— It is the central part of the answer and one should understand the demand of the question to provide rich content.

— The answer must be preferably written as a mix of points and short paragraphs rather than using long paragraphs or just points.

— Using facts from authentic government sources makes your answer more comprehensive. Analysis is important based on the demand of the question, but do not over analyse.

QUESTION 1: Discuss the constitutional provisions and significance of a no-confidence motion against the Vice President of India. How does this process reflect the checks and balances in India’s parliamentary democracy?

Introduction:

— No-confidence and confidence motions are trust votes designed to test or demonstrate the Lok Sabha’s support for the current government. Article 75(3) of the Constitution provides that the government is collectively accountable to the Lok Sabha. This means that the government must always have the support of the vast majority of Lok Sabha MPs.

— Trust votes are used to evaluate this support. If a majority of members vote in favour of a no-confidence motion or against a confidence motion, the government will resign.

Body:

— According to Article 92 of the Constitution, the Chairman or the Deputy Chairman cannot preside while a resolution for their removal from office is under consideration.

— “At any sitting of the Council of States, while any resolution for the removal of the Vice-President from his office is under consideration, the Chairman, or while any resolution for the removal of the Deputy Chairman from his office is under consideration, the Deputy Chairman, shall not, though he is present, preside, and the provisions of clause (2) of Article 91 shall apply in relation to every such sitting as they apply in relation to a sitting from which the Chairman, or, as the case may be, the Deputy Chairman, is absent,” the provision states.

— However, the provision also states that the Chairperson shall have the right to speak and take part in the proceedings but cannot vote “at all on such resolution or any other matter during such proceedings.”

Conclusion:

— The Indian constitution makes no mention of no-confidence motions, although Article 75 states that the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the House of People. This Article implies that the majority of Lok Sabha MPs must not oppose the Prime Minister and his cabinet. Furthermore, Article 118 of the constitution allows both houses of Parliament to establish their own norms for how they operate.

— Lok Sabha’s Rule 198 mentions the procedure for a motion of no-confidence. So a no-confidence motion can only be passed in Lok Sabha as Rule 198 allows any member of the House to give a written notice. Once a notice is given, the speaker reads it in the House and asks those who are in favour of it. In case there are 50 MPs in favour, a date for discussing the motion is assigned.

— If at all during the debate and the eventual vote, which has to take place within 10 days of the notice, majority of the members vote in favour of the motion then the motion is passed and the government in power has to vacate the office.

(Source: Opposition optics, key question: Will no-trust motion against Dhankhar be accepted? by Apurva Vishwanath, prsindia.org)

Points to Ponder

Term and office conditions of the Vice-President

Appointment and removal of the Vice-President

Related Previous Year Questions

Discuss the role of the Vice-President of India as the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. (2022)

‘The growth of the cabinet system has practically resulted in the marginalisation of parliamentary supremacy.’’ Elucidate. (2024)

QUESTION 2: The Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill seeks to delink petroleum and mineral oil exploration from mining activities. Discuss the implications of this change on India’s energy security and the regulatory framework for resource management.

Introduction:

— The Rajya Sabha enacted the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Amendment Bill, 2024, to boost local production of petroleum and other mineral oils, as well as private investment in these areas, with the goal of reducing import dependence.

— The bill changes the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Act of 1948. It distinguishes between the law governing “minerals” mining, as defined in the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act of 1957, and the Oilfields Act. If ratified by Parliament, the Oilfields Act in its revised version would only govern petroleum and other “mineral oil” production.

Body:

— When the Oilfields Act was initially approved, it was known as the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Act of 1948. This was the sole statute that governed and regulated oilfields, mines, and minerals until 1957, when the current Mines and Minerals Act went into effect.

— To clarify the scope of the two Acts, the 1948 legislation was renamed the Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Act, 1948, and its text was changed to replace references to “minerals” with “mineral oils”. However, the Act does not define “mineral oil,” which is an omission that the current Oilfields Bill seeks to address.

Major proposed changes

Mineral oils

— The Bill defines mineral oils as “any naturally occurring hydrocarbon, whether in the form of natural gas or in a liquid, viscous, or solid form, or a mixture thereof” and provides a comprehensive list of resources that would come under this definition (including crude oil, natural gas, and petroleum). However, it clarifies that “coal, lignite, and helium occurring in association with petroleum, coal, or shale” will not be included, most likely because coal and lignite are regulated under the Mines and Minerals Act.

Petroleum lease

— The initial strategy of replacing “minerals” with “mineral oils” has been reintroduced in the Oilfields Bill, which replaces “mining leases” with “petroleum leases.” It is also now described as a lease issued for “prospecting, exploration, development, production, making merchantable, carrying away, or disposing of mineral oils”.

Private investment

— Several sections in the Bill encourage private-sector investment to boost domestic production of petroleum and other mineral oils. It clarifies that mining leases already issued under the Act will remain legitimate, and that no leases will be “altered to the disadvantage of the lessee during the period of the lease”.

— Furthermore, the Bill eliminates criminal penalties for people who violate provisions of the Oilfields Act, replacing them with fines. According to the 1948 Act, any breach of the Act or related Centre-issued rules may result in up to six months in prison and a Rs. 1,000 fine. The Bill would replace this with a penalty of up to Rs. 25 lakh, with the possibility of an additional penalty of Rs. 10 lakh each day beginning on the date of the first penalty if the infractions continued.

Conclusion:

— On July 25, this year, a nine-judge Supreme Court panel ruled that governments had the only authority to tax mining activities and collect royalties from mining leaseholders. This power, the court ruled, originates from Entry 50 of the Indian Constitution’s State List, which grants governments the authority to levy taxes on “mineral rights.”

— However, by rephrasing the Oilfields Act as giving petroleum leases rather than mining leases, and limiting the operation to mineral oils rather than minerals, the statute might be classified as Entry 53 of the Union List. It empowers Parliament to enact legislation governing the “regulation and development of oilfields and mineral oil resources; petroleum and petroleum products; other liquids and substances declared by Parliament by law to be dangerously inflammable”.

(Source: How Oilfields Amendment Bill aims to delink petroleum, mineral oil production from mining activities by Ajoy Sinha Karpuram)

Points to Ponder

Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act of 1957

Oilfields (Regulation and Development) Act, 1948

Related Previous Year Questions

What are the aims and objects of the recently passed and enforced, The Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024? Whether University/State Education Board examinations are also covered under the Act? (2024)

Explain the significance of the 101st Constitutional Amendment Act. To what extent does it reflect the accommodative spirit of federalism? (2023)

Previous Mains Answer Practice

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 79)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 80)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 80)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 79)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 80)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 81)

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