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Distribution: weekly

  • [op-ed of the day] Human rights are not solely an ‘internal matter’

    Context

    The human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir following the dilution of Article 370 and the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) have brought renewed international focus on India’s human rights practice.

    Evolution of the modern Human Rights

    • Classical approach: Countries made agreements on the premise that a sovereign state had the exclusive right to take any action it thought fit to deal with its nationals.
      • No recognition of individuals’ rights:  Classic international law governed the conduct between states and did not recognise the rights of individuals.
    • The classical notion was challenged in the 19th century.
    • Modern Human Rights:  Slavery Convention adopted by the League of Nations prohibiting the slave trade heralded the first human rights treaty.
      • It was based on the principle of dignity of a human being.
    • The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Adopted in 1948 by the United Nations, was the first comprehensive international human rights document.
    • The weakening of Unrestricted sovereignty: The evolution of international human rights law is also about the gradual weakening of the concept of unrestricted sovereignty.

    India and Human Rights

    • Unwarranted international scrutiny: The Indian government’s response to its human rights practice has always been that international scrutiny is unwarranted.
      • Why India claims so?: Since the country is the largest democracy in the world with an independent judiciary, free media, and an active civil society no international scrutiny is required.
      • Indian has always assured the international community that the judiciary (the SC) would provide adequate remedies to victims of human rights violations.
      • These claims sound less credible after the recent developments in J&K and the passage of the CAA.
    • Human rights and Discriminatory nature of CAA: Non–discrimination is a fundamental principle of human rights.
      • The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said that CAA is fundamentally discriminatory in nature”.

    Role of Civil Society and Media

    • Media’s questionable role: Responding to international concerns the Indian government also refers to the role of free media and civil society in protecting human rights.
      • However, the media’s role in J and K and after CAA is questionable.
    • Weakened Civil Society: The government has imposed various curbs on it since 2014.
      • It has become difficult for it to receive foreign contribution.
      • Use of FRCA: Since 2014, the government has canceled the registration of about 14,000 NGOs under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).

    Conclusion

    • It is possible for the Indian government, due to its diplomatic clout, to avoid robust intervention by the UN Human Rights Council and other UN human rights mechanisms.
    • But it would be difficult to avoid scrutiny by the international community. So, the government must take steps to allay international concerns and avoid situations where it is seen as a violator of human rights.

  • [Burning Issue] Farmers’ suicide in India

     

    Context

    • The national catastrophe of farmers committing suicide since the 1990s, often by drinking pesticides is attributed to their inability to repay loans mostly taken from landlords and banks.
    • The recent data released by NCRB show a very marginal decline in the suicide rate compared to last year signifying the sorry state of Indian agriculture.

    Farmers distress: Not a decadal phenomenon

    • Historical records relating to frustration, revolts and high mortality rates among farmers in India, particularly cash crop farmers, date back to the 19th century. However, suicides due to the same were rare.
    • The high land taxes of the 1870s, payable in cash regardless of the effects of frequent famines on farm output or productivity, combined with colonial protection of money lenders and landowner rights, contributed to widespread frustration among cotton and other farmers.
    • However, in those days, starvation related deaths far exceeded those by suicide, the latter being officially classified under “injuries”.

    NCRB Stats on Farmers Suicide

    • In 2017, 10,655 people involved in agriculture committed suicide in India, according to data released January 2, 2020, by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB).
    • NCRB had released the 2017 crime data last October 2019 but held back information on suicides.

    Highlights by NCRB

    • A total of 10,349 farmers and agricultural labourers committed suicide in 2018, a marginal dip from the 10,655 cases in the year before.
    • Out of 5,763 farmer/cultivator suicides, a total of 5,457 were male and 306 were female during 2018.
    • Among those who took their lives, 5,955 were farmers/cultivators and 4,700 agricultural labourers — both lower than in 2016.
    • The number of women farmers committing suicide, however, jumped to 480 in 2017 from 275 in ’16.
    • In 2016, 6270 farmers killed themselves, down from 8,007 in 2015, while 5,109 farmhands committed suicide, up from 4,595.

    Statewise data

    • In 2018, Maharashtra accounted for the highest share in farm-related suicides at 34.7%, followed by Karnataka at 23.2%, Telangana 8.8%, Andhra Pradesh 6.4% and Madhya Pradesh at 6.3%.
    • In 2017, the most number of farm suicides were reportedly in Maharashtra (34.7 per cent), followed by Karnataka (20.3 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (9 per cent), Telangana (8 per cent) and Andhra Pradesh (7.7 per cent).
    • The trend is quite similar to that of 2016.
    • In 2015 too Maharashtra tops in farmers suicides followed by Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh in 2016.
    • West Bengal, Odisha, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Uttarakhand, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Delhi, Lakshadweep and Puducherry reported zero suicides.

     Causes of Farmers Suicide

    • There is no consensus on what the main causes might be but studies show suicide victims are motivated by more than one cause however the primer reasons being the inability to repay loans.
    • Major causes reportedly are bankruptcy/indebtedness, problems in the families, crop failure, illness and alcohol/substance abuse.
    • Most of the suicides have occurred in areas of cash crops like cotton and sugarcane, which is high input, high output gambling, not based on the principle of sustained and resilient high yield.

    Case of Maharashtra

    • A 2012 study in rural Vidarbha (Maharashtra) was held to qualitatively rank the expressed causes among farming families who had lost someone to suicide.
    • The expressed reasons in order of importance behind farmer suicides were – debt, alcohol addiction, environment, low produce prices, stress and family responsibilities, apathy, poor irrigation, increased cost of cultivation, private money lenders, use of chemical fertilizers and crop failure.
    • In other words, debt to stress and family responsibilities as reasons were significantly higher than fertilizers and crop failure.
    • Other causes attributed are insufficient or risky credit systems, the difficulty of farming semi-arid regions, poor agricultural income, absence of alternative income opportunities, a downturn in the urban economy which forced non-farmers into farming, and the absence of suitable counselling services.

    Other causes

    • Disguised unemployment on farms remains high. Fragmentation of land holdings has left far too many farmers with farms that are too small to be remunerative.
    • Low access to credit, irrigation and technology worsens their ability to make a comfortable living. A tenth of our farmers are landless.
    • They use rented land, but the inadequacies of land-leasing mechanisms make it difficult for them to raise production.

    Latent causes of suicide

    • Since most discussions and parleys on suicides are overtaken by issues of crop failures, rising debts, new farming techniques, the psychological aspect is largely ignored.
    • One of the major causes behind suicidal intent is depression, found the researchers.
    • It needs to be understood that at times a farmer under a debt of Rs 2 lakh shows a tendency to end his life, while another under a debt of Rs 10 lakh does not.

    Flawed preventive measures

    • Irrigation reaches less than half of India’s overall farmland, a picture that has not changed much over the past decade, and more than 60% of our farmers are susceptible to rainfall anomalies.
    • Rain-fed farming yields are typically less than half those of irrigated farmland.
    • Though India has caught up with global levels of fertilizer use, this is neither efficient nor environmentally sustainable. Both add to the cost of cultivation.
    • Research on high-yielding crops has plateaued after an initial burst during the Green Revolution and farmers have to resort to patented seeds to draw more out of their scanty acres.
    • Initiatives like the eNAM are helping integrate the farmers’ produce directly with the market, however, cutting the role of intermediaries is still lagging behind.

    Enough with appeasement

    • Loan waivers instead of restructuring, re-investment measures are disguised pullbacks on govt. initiative to double farmer’s income by 2020.
    • The subsequent governments have focused only on credit and loan facilitation rather than income, productivity and farmers prosperity.
    • Our approach of handling farmer indebtedness and farmer suicides has been appeasement politics like the recent move by the Maharashtra, Punjab and UP government to waive off thousands of crore worth of loans.
    • Surprisingly this comes at a time when agricultural yield is expected to be better in the wake of a good monsoon.

    Need of the hour: Psychological assistance

    • The study suggested roping in psychologists and counsellors on various issues.
    • They included battling depressive ruminations, suicidal ideations, negative cognitions, hopelessness, helplessness.
    • It aimed at recognising and managing stressors like financial distress, relationship problems, and enhancing psychological resources through emotional well being, and mindfulness.

    Model of 7’s

    • The researchers developed a ‘7D’ model of triggering and confounding factors and a ‘7R’ model of preventive and protecting factors to deal with the problem of farmer suicides.

    ‘7D’ model

    It encapsulates:

    1. Drugs,
    2. Debt,
    3. Disease,
    4. Disputes,
    5. Depression,
    6. Disrepute and
    7. Death

     ‘7R’ model

    It looks at the prevention of suicides. It consists:

    1. Remunerative agriculture,
    2. Resilience building,
    3. Rational expenditure,
    4. Reassurance through connectivity,
    5. Righteous conduct,
    6. Religious support and
    7. Responsible reporting

    Way Forward

    • With years of policy failures, it can be concluded that there is no single sure-shot method to reduce the burden on our farmers.
    • Information technology promises to improve weather forecasting, crop identification as well as damage control, soil health monitoring, and mapping of available water resources.
    • Improvements in marketing and logistics can significantly raise the share that cultivators get of the money people pay for their food.
    • The govt. is using technology to connect farmers to a nationwide e-market, but the states need to amend their antiquated farm produce marketing laws that have squeezed farmers’ earnings.
    • An old problem of price signals failing to adjust demand and supply may also need fixing.
    • For agricultural incomes to rise, reforms, rather than cash transfers, loan waivers and the like, are the way ahead.

    Conclusion

    • The government, in consultation with various stakeholders, should come up with effective and long-term measures to reduce farmer indebtedness, improve crop yield, manage water resources efficiently and make alternate income sources to farmers.
    • Along with subsidies, increased farm profits, the focus should also be on resilience building and problem-solving skills of farming families.
    • In suicide-prone states, agricultural institutes and scientists should start distributing seeds of resilience, tolerance and contentment among farmers, suggested researchers.

     

    References

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/ncrb-report-on-farmers-suicide/

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/behavioural-aspect-of-farmer-suicides/

  • [op-ed snap] Taking a holistic approach to dengue

    Context

    The advent of a new tetravalent vaccine against the dengue virus has thrown new light into the evidence-based management of dengue.

    Why the holistic approach is needed

    • Apart from promoting the use of the vaccine, gaining control over dengue will also require a holistic approach that has to include within its ambit vector control and proper case management.
    • Tetravalent vaccine: The vaccine is tetravalent i.e. it provides protection against all the four types of dengue viruses.
      • The vaccine confers about 80% protection to children vaccinated between 4 and 16 years of age without any major side effects.
    • Climatic factors: It is essentially a tropical disease that occurs in the countries around the Equator; hot weather and intermittent rainfall favour the sustenance of Aedes aegypti.
      • Aedes eggs can remain dormant for more than a year and will hatch once they come in contact with water.
    • Risk factors: Urbanisation, poor town planning, and improper sanitation are the major risk factors for the multiplication of such mosquitoes.
      • Aedes eggs can remain dormant for more than a year and will hatch once they come in contact with water.
      • Aedes mosquitoes cannot fly beyond a hundred meters. Hence, keeping the ambiance clean can help prevent their breeding.
      • Further, these mosquitoes bite during the daytime, so keeping the windows shut in the day hours is also useful.

    What needs to be done?

    • Source reduction activities: Activities like preventing water stagnation and using chemical larvicides and adulticides.
      • These chemicals need to be applied in periodic cycles to kill the larvae that remain even after the first spray.
    • Dealing with the manpower shortage: The number of skilled workers available for such measures is low; many posts in government departments remain vacant despite there being a dire public health need.
      • Due to this deficiency of manpower, active surveillance is not being done in India, says the National Vector Borne Disease Control Program.
    • Ending the Under-reporting: Dengue cases are often under-reported due to political reasons and also to avoid spreading panic among the common people. Under-reporting needs to be dealt with.
    • Increasing coordination: There is a lack of coordination between the local bodies and health departments in the delivery of public health measures.
      • A comprehensive mechanism is required to address these issues.
    • Need for epidemiological measures: Any communicable disease needs the epidemiological approach. Singapore uses one successful model of mapping and analysing data on dengue, using Geographical Information System (GIS).
      • The use of GIS involves mapping the streets with dengue cases for vector densities.
    • Emphasis on the WHO guidelines: Fluid management in the body is the cornerstone in the management of severe diseases like dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome.
      • According to the guidelines, coagulation abnormalities are not due to a reduction in the number of platelets alone.
      • This is why the WHO recommends fresh whole blood or packed cell transfusion in the event of bleeding.
    • Caution in using alternative medicine drugs: Modern medicine is not against any complementary medicine; when such a medicine is approved after rigorous testing.
      • However, in the absence of evidence, the efficacy of such medicines remains in the realm of belief instead of science.
      • So, medicines like Nilavembu kudineer and papaya leaf extract are only belief based.

    Conclusion

    The communicable nature of Dengue and its asymptomatic nature requires the holistic approach to successfully tackle the disease.

     

  • SC underlines restrictions on use of Sec 144

    In its order on Jammu and Kashmir the Supreme Court made the following points with regard to the use of Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973.

    Key takeaways of the order

    • Sec 144 cannot be used to suppress the legitimate expression of opinion or grievance, or the exercise of democratic rights
    • When Sec 144 is imposed for reasons of apprehended danger, that danger must be an “emergency”.
    • The imposition of Sec 144 must strike a balance between the rights of the individual and the concerns of the state.
    • Powers under Sec 144 should be exercised in a reasonable and bona fide manner, and the order must state material facts in order to enable judicial review.

    What is Section 144?

    • Section 144 CrPC, a law retained from the colonial era, empowers a district magistrate, a sub-divisional magistrate or any other executive magistrate specially empowered by the state government in this behalf to issue orders to prevent and address urgent cases of apprehended danger or nuisance.
    • The magistrate has to pass a written order which may be directed against a particular individual, or to persons residing in a particular place or area, or to the public generally when frequenting or visiting a particular place or area.
    • In emergency cases, the magistrate can pass these orders without prior notice to the individual against whom the order is directed.

    What powers does the administration have under the provision?

    • The magistrate can direct any person to abstain from a certain act or to take a certain order with respect to certain property in his possession or under his management.
    • This usually includes restrictions on movement, carrying arms and from assembling unlawfully. It is generally believed that assembly of three or more people is prohibited under Section 144.
    • However, it can be used to restrict even a single individual. Such an order is passed when the magistrate considers that it is likely to prevent, or tends to prevent, obstruction, annoyance or injury to any person lawfully employed, or danger to human life, health or safety, or a disturbance of the public tranquility, or a riot, of an affray.
    • However, no order passed under Section 144 can remain in force for more than two months from the date of the order, unless the state government considers it necessary.
    • Even then, the total period cannot extend to more than six months.

    Why is it criticised so often?

    • The criticism is that it is too broad and the words of the section are wide enough to give absolute power to a magistrate that may be exercised unjustifiably.
    • The immediate remedy against such an order is a revision application to the magistrate himself.
    • An aggrieved individual can approach the High Court by filing a writ petition if his fundamental rights are at stake.
    • However, fears exist that before the High Court intervenes, the rights could already have been infringed.

    Also read: 

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/explained-how-section-144-crpc-works/

  • SC order on Internet Shutdowns

    Directing the government to mandatorily publish all orders permitting Internet shutdowns, the Supreme Court has for the first time set the stage for challenging suspension orders before courts.

    What triggered the SC?

    • India tops the list of Internet shutdowns globally. According to Software Freedom Law Center’s tracker, there have been 381 shutdowns since 2012, 106 of which were in 2019.
    • The ongoing shutdown in Kashmir is the longest ever in any democratic country.

    The prime mover for Supreme Court

    • The Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Service) Rules, 2017 issued under the Telegraph Act deals with restricting Internet access.
    • It does not provide for publication or notification of the order suspending Internet, the apex court mandated that such orders must be made available to the public.
    • The court declared that it is a “settled principle of law, and of natural justice” that requires publication of such orders, “particularly one that affects lives, liberty and property of people”.
    • This allows individuals to now challenge the orders before courts in J&K and rest of India.

    Internet suspension orders are subjected to Judicial Review

    • In the wake of protests against the new citizenship law, Internet services were suspended temporarily in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Karnataka.
    • There should not be excessive burden on free speech even if complete prohibition is imposed, and the government has to justify imposition of such prohibition and explain why lesser alternatives were inadequate, the bench stated.
    • It ruled that Restrictions are to be imposed in an emergency. Hence they must be proportionate to the concern. Their objective must be legitimate rather than cavalier.
    • Authorities must necessarily consider an alternative and least restrictive mechanism before opting to restrict rights. Every decision to impose restriction should be backed by sufficient material and amenable to judicial review.

    Pacing up with technology

    • The bench also noted that the law needs to keep pace with technological development:
    • We need to note that the law should imbibe the technological development and accordingly mould its rules so as to cater to the needs of society.
    • Non-recognition of technology within the sphere of law is only a disservice to the inevitable.

    Justifying the Kashmir shutdown

    • Lastly, the court mandated that all orders regarding the Kashmir case be made public, and to provide essential services such as e-banking and hospitals immediately.
    • What the centre was arguing in this case was that this is a matter of national security given that it pertains to Kashmir with a history of militancy.

  • In news: Dept. of Military Affairs’

    The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has approved the Rules of Business for the newly created Department of Military Affairs (DMA) headed by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

    Department of Military Affairs (DMA)

    • The DMA headed by Gen Bipin Rawat will have two Joint Secretaries, 13 Deputy Secretaries, 25 Under Secretaries and 22 Section officers.
    • The training policy, most of the training establishments and cadre management of the Services will be under the purview of the DMA.
    • Defence diplomacy of the neighbourhood countries would also be under the CDS.
    • Similarly, deputations to the training establishments such as the National Defence Academy (NDA), the Indian Military Academy (IMA), the Officers Training Academy (OTA) and the Defence Services Staff College (DSSC) would also be under the CDS.
    • Cadre review of Junior Commissioned Officers (JCO) and Other Ranks (OR) will be looked after by the CDS.

    Other facts

    • On December 30, the government notified the DMA creation, with the CDS also as a Secretary in the MoD.
    • The DMA is the fifth department in the MoD, the others being the Department of Defence, the Department of Defence Production, the Department of Defence Research and Development and the Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare.
    • The Services have been brought under the ambit of the DMA in addition to the Territorial Army and works relating to the three Services and procurement exclusive to the Services except capital acquisitions.
    • Defence imports and procurements would be under the the Department of Defence headed by the Defence Secretary.

  • [pib] Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C)

    Union Minister for Home Affairs has inaugurated the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and also dedicated National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal to the Nation.

    I4C

    • The scheme to setup I4C was approved in October 2018 to deal with all types of cybercrimes in a comprehensive and coordinated manner.
    • At the initiative of Union Ministry for Home Affairs (MHA), 15 States and UTs have given their consent to set up Regional Cyber Crime Coordination Centres at respective States/UTs.
    • It has seven components:
    1. National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Unit
    2. National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal
    3. National Cyber Crime Training Centre
    4. National Cyber Crime Research and Innovation Centre
    5. National Cyber Crime Forensic Laboratory Ecosystem
    6. Platform for Joint Cyber Crime Investigation Team
    7. Cyber Crime Ecosystem Management Unit

    About National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal

    • National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (www.cybercrime.gov.in) is a citizen-centric initiative that will enable citizens to report cyber crimes online through the portal.
    • All the cyber crime related complaints will be accessed by the concerned law enforcement agencies in the States and Union Territories for taking action as per law.
    • This portal was launched on pilot basis on 30th August, 2019 and it enables filing of all cyber crimes with specific focus on crimes against women, children, particularly child pornography, child sex abuse material, online content pertaining to rapes/gang rapes, etc.
    • This portal also focuses on specific crimes like financial crime and social media related crimes like stalking, cyber bullying, etc.
    • This portal will improve coordination amongst the law enforcement agencies of different States, districts and police stations for dealing with cyber crimes in a coordinated and effective manner.

  • Species in news: Chinese paddlefish

    One of the largest freshwater species, Chinese paddlefish has been declared extinct.

    Chinese paddlefish

    • The Chinese paddlefish (Psephurus gladius) was an iconic species, measuring up to 7 m in length, dating back from 200 million years ago, and therefore swimming the rivers when dinosaurs ruled the Earth.
    • Its ancestral home was the Yangtze River.
    • It was once common in the Yangtze, before overfishing and habitat fragmentation — including dam building — caused its population to dwindle from the 1970s onwards.
    • Between 1981 and 2003, there were just around 210 sightings of the fish. The researchers estimate that it became functionally extinct by 1993, and extinct sometime between 2005-2010.

    How did the study determine that it has gone extinct?

    • Chinese researchers made this conclusion based on the Red List criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
    • The Red List has several categories for extinction, or for how endangered a species is.
    • For example, “extinct in the wild” means a species survives only in a captive environment while “locally extinct” means a species has ceased to exist in a particular area but may exist in other areas.
    • Then there is “functionally extinct”, which means the species continues to exist but it has too few members to enable to reproduce meaningfully enough to ensure survival.
    • To be “globally extinct”, it means a species has no surviving member anywhere. Such a conclusion is reached when there is no reasonable doubt left that its last member has died.

    How does extinction status matters for conservation?

    • Declaring a species extinct is an elaborate process.
    • It involves a series of exhaustive surveys, which need to be taken at appropriate times, throughout the species’ historic range and over a time-frame that is appropriate to the species’ life cycle and form.
    • When these surveys fail to record the existence of any individuals belonging to that species, a species may be presumed to be extinct.
    • Once declared extinct, a species is not eligible for protective measures and conservation funding; therefore, the declaration has significant consequences.

  • [op-ed of the day] The age of ubiquitous drones and the challenges overhead

    Context

    Increasing the use of drones in warfare and other areas has brought into focus the potential the use of drones hold and the other issues related to its misuse.

    Recent events featuring drones

    • A drone was used by the U.S. to fire the missile at Qassem Soleimani to assassinate him.
    • A few days before that, less-lethal drones monitored crowds of student protesters rocking India.

    A potential area of use of drones

    • Military and Policing: Drones are largely used for military or policing purposes, but they also have other uses.
    • Recreation and Sports: They are used for recreation and sports. The Chinese company DJI dominates this space.
    • Logistics: Logistics is another use, with Amazon developing last-mile drone delivery.
    • At scale, this delivery model can save money, energy and time.
    • Domino’s extended this logic to deliver its first pizza by drone in New Zealand and is experimenting with scaling this model up in many markets.
    • Botswana has had some successful trials where drones have delivered blood and life-saving drugs to villages out in the wilderness.
    • Agriculture: A startup called Terraview uses drones with advanced image processing, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality to increase the productivity of vineyards.
    • A drone can be used to measure the amount of grain that’s piled up after harvest.
    • Mining Output: Tata Steel has used drones quite effectively to measure mining output.
    • Access the inaccessible places: Drones can go where people cannot.
    • So, inspection and repair at remote wind farms on an island, or pipelines in the remote tundra, or equipment in a rainforest can be done more cheaply and precisely.
    • Drone surveillance is now widely used by the insurance industry in the aftermath of floods or pest inspections.
    • They can provide organizations a 360-degree view of the status of any construction project and its assets.
    • Explosive detection and defusing: In many places, it is just safer to send a drone, such as while using explosives in deep mines or defusing suspected bombs.
    • Wildlife protection and survey: drones are used to survey wildlife and detect poaching in the jungles of Africa.

    Drones as commodity

    • Drones will soon become a hardware commodity, much like personal computers.
    • It will be the software loaded on it that will be the real force-multiplier.
    • Industry 4.0 revolution: Business like “drones-as-a-service” will emerge, dramatically reducing the time taken for tasks and serving as a vital tool in the Industry 4.0 revolution.

    A potent tool for Swarm-attack by military

    • Perhaps the most fascinating developments will occur where drones originated, in
    • Drones will mutate into swarms, where multiple, intelligent, small drones act as one vast network, much like a swarm of birds or locusts.
    • Advanced militaries have drone swarms under trial that could revolutionize future conflicts.
    • These swarms could overwhelm enemy sensors with sheer numbers and precisely target enemy soldiers and assets using data fed into them.
    • They will be difficult to shoot down as there will be hundreds of small flying objects rather than one big ballistic missile.
    • The swarm will use real-time ground data to organize itself and operate in concert to achieve its goal.

    Issues with drones

    • It will be us humans who will decide whether we use drones for beneficial or malevolent ends.
    • National Security Issues: Drones have demonstrated the potentials for their threat to the security of a country. Drones are operated remotely and can strike where it want it to strike. Raising serious security issues.
    • Terrorism: Drones have been used by various terrorist organisations like ISIS in Syria and Iraq to hit their targets.
    • Aviation safety: Drones flying too close to commercial aircraft has called for regulations.
    • Privacy: Drones have been used by the paparazzi to take the images of individuals breaching their privacy.

    Conclusion

    Drones can indeed be a fantastic tool for good projects, from helping save the planet to identifying and nabbing criminals, and preventing the loss of human life. However, for that, we will have to change the DNA that they were born with, as lethal weapons of war. Otherwise, they will remain anonymous killers, wreaking death and destruction as they hover innocuously above.

     

  • Green Credit Scheme

    The Forest Advisory Committee has approved a scheme that could allow “forests” to be traded as a commodity.  FAC is an apex body tasked with adjudicating requests by the industry to raze forest land for commercial ends.

    Green Credit Scheme

    • The proposed ‘Green Credit Scheme’, as it is called, allows agencies — they could be private companies, village forest communities — to identify land and begin growing plantations.
    • After three years, they would be eligible to be considered as compensatory forest land if they met the Forest Department’s criteria.
    • An industry needing forest land could then approach the agency and pay it for parcels of such forested land, and this would then be transferred to the Forest Department and be recorded as forest land.
    • The participating agency will be free to trade its asset, that is plantation, in parcels, with project proponents who need forest land.
    • This is not the first time that such a scheme has been mooted.
    • In 2015, a ‘Green Credit Scheme’ for degraded forest land with public-private participation was recommended, but it was not approved by the Union Environment Minister, the final authority.

    Impact

    • In the current system, industry needs to make good the loss of forest by finding appropriate non-forest land — equal to that which would be razed.
    • It also must pay the State Forest Department the current economic equivalent — called Net Present Value — of the forest land.
    • It’s then the Forest Department’s responsibility to grow appropriate vegetation that, over time, would grow into forests.
    • Industries have often complained that they find it hard to acquire appropriate non-forest land, which has to be contiguous to existing forest.
    • If implemented it allows the Forest Department to outsource one of its responsibilities of reforesting to non-government agencies.

     Individuals outside

    • One of India’s prongs to combat climate change is the Green India Mission that aims to sequester 2.523 billion tonnes of carbon by 2020-30, and this involves adding 30 million hectares in addition to existing forest.
    • Critics held that it does not solve the core problems of compensatory afforestation.
    • It creates problems of privatizing multi-use forest areas as monoculture plantation plots. Forests are treated as a mere commodity without any social or ecological character.