1

RAI BUSINESS SCHOOL

ASSIGN
MENT
BY
RAJEEV KR
RANJAN
PGP2
A
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1)THE ENVIRONMENT (PROTECTION)

ACT, 1986

An Act to provide for the protection and improvement of environment and for matters
connected therewith.

Whereas the decisions were taken at the United Nations Conference on the Human
Environment held at Stockholm in June, 1972, in which India participated, to take
Appropriate steps for the protection and improvement of human environment; and
whereas it is considered necessary further to implement the decisions aforesaid in
so far as they relate to the protection and improvement of environment and the
prevention of hazards to human beings, other living creatures, plants and property;

Be it enacted by Parliament in the Thirty-seventh Year of the Republic of India as

Follows:-
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title, extend and commencement -
(1) This Act may be called the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
(2) It extends to the whole of India.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by
notification in the Official Gazette, appoint and different dates may be appointed
for different provisions of this Act and for different areas.
2. Definitions
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-
(I) “Environment” includes water, air and land and the inter-relationship which exists
among and between water, air and land, and human beings, other living creatures,
plants, microorganism and property;
(II) “Environmental pollutant” means any solid or gaseous substance present in such
Concentration as may be, or tend to be, injurious to environment;
(III) “Environmental pollution” means the presence in the environment of any
environmental pollution;
(IV) “Handling”, in relation to any substance, means the manufacture, processing,
treatment, package, storage, transportation, use, collection,destruction,conversion,
offering for sale, transfer or the like of such substance;
(V) “Hazardous substance” means any substance or preparation which, by reason of
its chemical or physico-chemical properties or handling, is liable to cause harm to
human beings, other living creatures, plant, micro-organism, property or the
environment;
(VI) “Occupier”, in relation to any factory or premises, means a person who has,
control over the affairs of the factory or the premises and includes in relation to
any substance, the person in possession of the substance;

GENERAL POWERS OF THE CENTRAL

GOVERNMENT
3. Power of Central Government to take measures to protect
and improve environment –
(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Central Government, shall have the
power to take all such measures as it deems necessary or expedient for the
purpose of protecting and improving the quality of the environment and preventing
controlling and abating environmental pollution.
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(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of

subsection such measures may include measures with respect to all or any of the
following matters, namely:-
(i) Co-ordination of actions by the State Governments, officers and other
authorities-
(a) Under this Act, or the rules made there under, or
(b) Under any other law for the time being in force which is relatable to
the objects of this Act;
(ii) Planning and execution of a nation-wide programmed for the prevention,
control and abatement of environmental pollution
(iii) Laying down standards for the quality of environment in its various aspects;
(iv) Laying down procedures and safeguards for the prevention of accidents
which may cause environmental pollution and remedial measures for such?
accidents;
(v) Examination of such manufacturing processes, materials and substances as
are likely to cause environmental pollution;
(vi)carrying out and sponsoring investigations and research relating to
Problems of environmental pollution;
(vii)Establishment or recognition of environmental laboratories and institutes to
carry out the functions entrusted to such environmental laboratories and
institutes under this Act;
(viii) Collection and dissemination of information in respect of matters relating to
environmental pollution;
(ix) Preparation of manuals, codes or guides relating to the prevention, control
and abatement of environmental pollution;
(3) The Central Government may, if it considers it necessary or expedient so to do
for the purpose of this Act, by order, published in the Official Gazette, constitute
authority or authorities by such name or names as may be specified in the order
for the purpose of exercising and performing such of the powers and functions
(including the power to issue directions under section 5) of the Central
Government under this Act and for taking measures with respect to such of the
matters referred to in sub-section (2) as may be mentioned in the order and
subject to the supervision and control of the Central Government and the
provisions of such order, such authority or authorities may exercise and powers
or perform the functions or take the measures so mentioned in the order as if
such authority or authorities had been empowered by this Act to exercise those
powers or perform those functions or take such measures.
4. Appointment of officers and their powers and functions
-
(1) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (3) of section 3, the Central
Government may appoint officers with such designation as it thinks fit for the
purposes of this Act and may entrust to them such of the powers and functions
under this Act as it may deem fit.
(2) The officers appointed under sub-section (1) shall be subject to the general
control and direction of the Central Government or, if so directed by that
Government, also of the authority or authorities, if any, constituted unde subsection
(3) of section 3 or of any other authority or officer.
5. Power to give directions –
Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law but subject to the provisions of
this Act, the Central Government may, in the exercise of its
powers and performance of its functions under this Act, issue directions in writing to
any
person, officer or any authority and such person, officer or authority shall be bound to
comply with such directions.
6. Rules to regulate environmental pollution –
(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules
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in respect of all or any of the matters referred to in section 3.

(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such
rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:-
(a) the standards of quality of air, water or soil for various areas and
purposes;
(b) the maximum allowable limits of concentration of various environmental
pollutants (including noise) for different areas;
(e) the prohibition and restriction on the location of industries and the carrying
on process and operations in different areas;

PREVENTION, CONTROL, AND ABATEMENT OF

ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
7. Persons carrying on industry operation, etc., not to allow emission
or
Discharge of environmental pollutants in excess of the standards
8. Persons handling hazardous substances to comply with procedural
safeguards-
No person shall handle or cause to be handled any hazardous substance except in
accordance with such procedure and after complying with such safeguards as may be
prescribed.
9. Furnishing of information to authorities and agencies in certain
cases –
(1)Where the discharge of any environmental pollutant in excess of the prescribed
standard scours or is apprehended to occur due to any accident or other unforeseen
act or event, the person responsible for such discharge and the person in charge of
the place at which
such discharge occurs or is apprehended to occur shall be bound to prevent. or
mitigate the environmental pollution caused as a result of such discharge and shall
also
10. Powers of entry and inspection-
(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, any person empowered by the Central
Government in this behalf shall have a right to enter, at all reasonable times with
such assistance as he considers necessary.
(2) Every person carrying on any industry, operation or process of handling any
hazardous substance shall be bound to render all assistance to the person
Empowered by the Central Government under sub-section (1) for carrying out the
functions under that sub-section and if he fails to do so without any reasonable
cause or excuse, he shall be guilty of an offence under this Act.
(3) If any person willfully delays or obstructs any persons empowered by the Central
Government under sub-section (1) in the performance of his functions, he shall be
guilty of an offence under this Act.
(4) The provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, or, in relation to the
State
of Jammu and Kashmir, or an area in which that Code is not in force, the
provisions of any corresponding law in force in that State or area shall, so far as
may be, apply to any search or seizures under this section as they apply to any
search or seizure made under the authority of a warrant issued under section 94
of the said Code or as the case may be, under the corresponding provision of the
said law.
11. Power to take sample and procedure to be followed in connection
therewith-
(1) The Central Government or any officer empowered by it in this behalf, shall have
power to take, for the purpose of analysis, samples of air, water, soil or other
substance
from any factory, premises or other place in such manner as may be prescribed.
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(2) The result of any analysis of a sample taken under sub-section (1) shall not be
admissible in evidence in any legal proceeding unless the provisions of subsections
(3) and (4) are complied with (3) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (4), the
person taking the sample under sub-section (1) shall-
(a) serve on the occupier or his agent or person in charge of the place, a
notice, then and there, in such form as may be prescribed, of his intention
to have it so analyzed;
(b) in the presence of the occupier of his agent or person, collect a sample for
analysis;
(c) cause the sample to be placed in a container or containers which shall be
marked and sealed and shall also be signed both by the person taking the
sample and the occupier or his agent or person;
12. Environmental laboratories –
(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette-
(a) establish one or more environmental laboratories;
(b) recognise one or more laboratories or institutes as environmental
laboratories to carry out the functions entrusted to an environmental
laboratory under this Act.
(2) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules
specifying-
(a) the functions of the environmental laboratory;
(b) the procedure for the submission to the said laboratory of samples of air,
water, soil or other substance for analysis or tests, the form of the
laboratory report thereon and the fees payable for such report;
13. Government analysts –
The Central Government may by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint or
recognize such persons as it thinks fit and having the prescribed qualifications to be
Government Analysts for the purpose of analysis of samples of air, water, soil or other
substance sent for analysis to any environmental laboratory established or recognized
under sub-section (1) of section 12.
14. Reports of government analysts –
Any document purporting to be a report signed by a Government analyst may be
used as evidence of the facts stated therein in any proceeding under this Act.
15. Penalty for contravention of the provisions of the act and
the rules, orders and directions –
(1) Whoever fails to comply with or contravenes any of the provisions
of this Act
(2) If the failure or contravention referred to in sub-section (1) continues beyond a
Period of one year after the date of conviction, the offender shall be punishable
with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years.
16. Offences by companies –
(1) Where any offence under this Act has been committed by a company, every
person who, at the time the offence was committed, was directly in charge of, and
was responsible to, the company for the conduct of the business of the company, as
well as the company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to
be proceeded against and punished.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where an offence under
this Act has been committed by a company and it is proved that the offence has
been committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to any
neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the
company, such director, manager, secretary or other officer shall also deemed to
be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished
accordingly.
Explanation-For the purpose of this section,
(a) “Company” means any body corporate and includes a firm or other association of
individuals;
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(b) “Director”, in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm.

17. Offences by Government Departments –
(1) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by any Department of
Government, the Head of the Department shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence
and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where an offence under
this Act has been committed by a Department of Government and it is proved that
the offence has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or is
attributable to any neglect on the part of, any officer, other than the Head of the
Department, such officer shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and
shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

MISCELLANEOUS
18. Protection of action taken in good faith –
No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Government or
any officer or other employee of the Government or any authority constituted under
this Act or any member, officer or other employee of such authority in respect of
anything which is done or intended to be done in good faith in pursuance of this Act
or the rules made or orders or directions issued there under.
19. Information, reports or returns –
The Central Government may, in relation to its function under this Act, from time to
time, require any person, officer, State Government or other authority to furnish to it
or any prescribed authority or officer any reports, returns, statistics, accounts and
other information and such person, officer, State Government or other authority shall
be bound to do so.
20. Members, officers and employees of the authority
constituted under section
3 to be public servants
21. Bar of jurisdiction - No civil court shall have jurisdiction to entertain
any suit or proceeding in respect of anything done, action taken or order or direction
issued by the Central Government or any other authority or officer in pursuance of
any power conferred by or in relation to its or his functions under this Act.
22. Powers to delegate –
Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (3) of section 3, the Central
Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, delegate, subject to such
conditions and limitations as may be specified in the notifications, such of its powers
and functions under this Act [except the powers to constitute an authority under sub-
section (3) of section 3 and to make rules under section 25] as it may deem
necessary or expedient, to any officer, State Government or other authority.
23. Power to make rules –
(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules
for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such
rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely-
(a) the standards in excess of which environmental pollutants shall not be
discharged or emitted under section 7;
(b) the procedure in accordance with and the safeguards in compliance with
which hazardous substances shall be handled or caused to be handled
under section 8;
(c) the manner in which samples of air, water, soil or other substance for the
purpose of analysis shall be taken under sub-section (1) of section 11;
(d) the form in which notice of intention to have a sample analysed shall be
served under clause (a) of sub section (3) of section 11;
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(e) the functions of the environmental laboratories, the procedure for the
submission to such laboratories of samples of air, water, soil and other
substances for analysis or test; the form of laboratory report; the fees
payable for such report and other matters to enable such laboratories to
carry out their functions under sub-section (2) of section 12;
(f) the qualifications of Government Analyst appointed or recognised for the
purpose of analysis of samples of air, water, soil or other substances under
section 13;
26. Rules made under this act to be laid before parliament
–
Every rule made under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made,
before each Hose of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days
which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if,
before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive
sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both
Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect
only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that
any such modification or annulment shall
be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.

1) What are trading blocks? Explain any five trading

blocks. What is their relevance in the global economy?

1.Definition and examples

A trade bloc can be defined as a ‘preferential trade agreement’ (PTA) between a subset
of countries, designed to significantly reduce or remove trade barriers within member
countries. When a trade bloc comprises neighboring or geographically close countries, it
is referred to as a ‘regional trade (or integration) agreement’. It is sometimes also referred
to as a ‘natural’ trade bloc to underline that the preferential trade is between countries
that have presumably low transport costs or trade intensively with one another.
The two principal characteristics of a trade bloc are that:
(1) it implies a reduction or elimination of barriers to trade, and
(2) this trade liberalization is discriminatory,
In the sense that it applies only to the member countries of the trade bloc, outside countries
being discriminated against in their trade relations with trade bloc members. Though few,
there exist as well regional integration agreements in which co-operation rather than
preferential market access is emphasized. Trade blocs can also entail deeper forms of
integration, for instance of international competition, investment, labour and capital
markets (including movements of factors of production), monetary policy, etc.

Five important trading blocks are:

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(1) European Union (EU)

The European Union is the world’s biggest trading block, accounting for
20% of global imports and exports. Open trade among its members launched the EU
nearly 50 years ago and has brought growing prosperity to all its member states.

The EU is working effectively to open up world trade for the benefit of rich and poor
countries alike. Increased trade, in fact, is likely to boost world growth to everybody’s
advantage. It brings consumers a wider range of products to choose from, and
competition between imports and local products lowers prices and raises quality.

The EU believes that globalization can bring economic benefits to all, including the
developing countries, provided appropriate rules are adopted at the multilateral level and
efforts are made to integrate developing countries in world trade. That is why the
European Union is negotiating with its partners to open up trade in both goods and
services.

The EU seeks to help developing countries by giving them better access to its market in
the short term, while allowing them more time to open their own markets to European
products. At the same time, the EU is reforming its agricultural policy – and this too will
benefit developing countries.

The EU is also a firm supporter of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which lays down a
set of rules to help open up global trade and ensure fair treatment for all participants. The
EU's trade policy is closely linked to its development policy. The two come together as the
Union assumes its share of responsibility to help developing countries fight poverty and
integrate into the global economy.

(2) European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA)

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a free trade organization

between four European countries that operates parallel to, and is linked to, the European
Union (EU).

EFTA was established on 3 May 1960 as a trade bloc-alternative for European states who
were either unable to, or chose not to, join the then-European Economic Community
(EEC) which has now become the European Union (EU). The Stockholm Convention,
establishing EFTA, was signed on 4 January 1960 in Stockholm by seven countries.

Today, only Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein remain members of EFTA
(of which Norway and Switzerland are the only remaining founding members). The initial
Stockholm Convention was subsequently replaced by the Vaduz Convention. This
Convention provides for the liberalisation of trade among the member states.

Three of the EFTA countries are part of the European Union Internal Market through the
Agreement on a European Economic Area (EEA), which took effect in 1994; the fourth,
Switzerland, opted to conclude bilateral agreements with the EU. In addition, the EFTA
states have jointly concluded free trade agreements with a number of other countries.

In 1999 Switzerland concluded a set of bilateral agreements with the European Union
covering a wide range of areas, including movement of persons, transport and technical
barriers to trade. This development prompted the EFTA States to modernise their
Convention to ensure that it will continue to provide a successful framework for the
expansion and liberalization of trade among them and with the rest of the world.
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(3) North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement
signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral
trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It
superseded the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement between the U.S. and
Canada. In terms of combined purchasing power parity GDP of its members, as of 2007
the trade bloc is the largest in the world and second largest by nominal GDP comparison.

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has two supplements, the North
American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) and the North American
Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC).

The goal of NAFTA was to eliminate barriers of trade and investment between the US,
Canada and Mexico. The implementation of NAFTA on January 1, 1994, brought the
immediate elimination of tariffs on more than one half of U.S. imports from Mexico and
more than one third of U.S. exports to Mexico. Within 10 years of the implementation of
the agreement, all US-Mexico tariffs would be eliminated except for some U.S.
agricultural exports to Mexico that were to be phased out in 15 years. Most US-Canada
trade was already duty free. NAFTA also seeks to eliminate non-tariff trade barriers

(4) Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) and the ASEAN Free Trade
Area (AFTA)

ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA)[1] is a trade bloc agreement

by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations supporting local
manufacturing in all ASEAN countries.
The AFTA agreement was signed on 28 January 1992 in Singapore. When the AFTA
agreement was originally signed, ASEAN had six members, namely, Brunei,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Vietnam joined in 1995,
Laos and Myanmar in 1997 and Cambodia in 1999. AFTA now comprises ten
countries of ASEAN. All the four latecomers were required to sign the AFTA
agreement in order to join ASEAN, but were given longer time frames in which to
meet AFTA's tariff reduction obligations.
The primary goals of AFTA seek to:
• Increase ASEAN's competitive edge as a production base in the world market
through the elimination, within ASEAN, of tariffs and non-tariff barriers;
and
• Attract more foreign direct investment to ASEAN.
The primary mechanism for achieving the goals given above is the Common
Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) scheme, which established a schedule for phased
initiated in 1992 with the self-described goal to increase the "region’s competitive
advantage as a production base geared for the world market".

(5) Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement

(ANZCERTA).
Closer Economic Relations (CER) is a free trade agreement
between the governments of New Zealand and Australia. It is also known
as the Australia New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade
Agreement (ANZCERTA) and sometimes shortened to (CERTA). It
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came into force on 1 January 1983, although the actual treaty was not
signed until 28 March 1983 by Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and
Minister for Trade, Lionel Bowen and New Zealand High Commissioner to
Australia, Laurie Francis in Canberra, Australia.
CER built on the earlier New Zealand Australia Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which
was signed on 31 August 1965 and came into force on 1 January 1966. NAFTA had removed
80% of the tariffs and quantitative restrictions on trade across the Tasman Sea, although it was
seen as too complex and bureaucratic. As such in March 1980, a joint Prime Ministerial
communiqué was released that called for "closer economic relations".
The two major sticking points in the negotiations were that New Zealand wanted better access
for its dairy products in Australia and that Australia wanted New Zealand to remove export
incentives and quantitative restrictions. After the two hurdles were overcome, the Heads of
Agreement was signed on 14 December 1982 and came into force on January 1 of the
following year.
One of the most important results of CER was the Protocol on the Acceleration of Free Trade
in Goods, which resulted into the total elimination of tariffs or quantitative restrictions
between the two countries by 1 July 1990. This was five years ahead of schedule.
Other parts of CER include:
• A good that can be legally sold in one country can also be legally sold in the other.
Persons registered to practice an occupation in one country, can practice in the other.
(There are some exemptions to this though, including medical practitioners)
• Service providers can provide services in either country (there are some restrictions to
this in certain areas such as airway services)