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Distribution: weekly

  • Addressing Duty Anomalies in Trade Deals

    India has long suffered the anomaly of imported raw material being taxed more than the finished product. Economists call it the inverted duty structure. A spate of free trade agreements (FTAs) in the past have not helped. Are the new ones any better?

    What is the inverted duty structure?

    • An inverted duty structure comes up in a situation where import duties on input goods are higher than on finished goods.
    • In other words, the GST rate paid on purchases is more than the GST rate payable on sales.

    Why is it a problem?

    • When manufacturers cannot set off the taxes paid on raw materials against the tax on the final product, the excess tax paid on inputs gets built into the price of the product.
    • This makes an Indian-made product more expensive than the imported finished product, affecting the competitiveness of Indian makers.
    • The issue is acute in sectors like textiles and apparels.
    • Correcting duty anomalies is key to attracting investments in manufacturing.

    Will new FTAs worsen the problem?

    • Looks unlikely. The FTAs under negotiations are structurally very different from those signed a decade ago.
    • The FTAs signed in the early 2000s were with manufacturing hubs like the 10-nation ASEAN which includes the Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea, and Japan.
    • Most of these countries directly compete with India in a host of manufacturing sectors including apparel, electronics, and engineering goods.
    • They largely produced the same goods as India.
    • By contrast, the new FTAs being signed by India are with countries like the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that share complementarities with India with respect to trade interests.

    How is India addressing duty anomalies?

    • India has been increasing import duties since 2014-15 to correct the inverted duty structure for non-FTA countries and the average tariff rose from 13.5% in 2014 to 15% in 2020.
    • In fact, the last two budgets sought to correct it by removing duty exemptions and lowering the duty on raw materials.

    How did the earlier FTAs impact India?

    • In old FTAs, India agreed to lower or eliminate duties on finished goods. But import duty on raw materials remained high.
    • That made it cheaper to import the final product than make them in India, hurting domestic manufacturers.
    • This can be seen from the fact that the share of ASEAN in India’s total imports has grown from 8.2% in FY11 to 12% in FY21, while exports have stagnated at 10%.
    • The share of South Korea rose from 2.83% in FY11 to 3.23% in FY21, while exports are up marginally from 1.5% to 1.6% during the same period.

    And how are the new FTAs different?

    • The UAE, for example, is a services, oil, and gold-led economy rather than a manufacturer. India benefits from duty-free access for mobile phones, which the UAE does not make.
    • Australia, which signed a pact with India last week is again not a major manufacturing economy, but a services one with key interests in wines and minerals, pears, oranges, etc.
    • Besides, this time around, the government is holding consultations with the industry during the FTA talks, doing a SWOT analysis to ensure FTAs benefit India’s exports.

     

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  • Understanding Software Copyright and Licences

    This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in The Hindu.

    Does software have copyright? Even more specifically, is the Internet free inspite of software copyright? Are software programming languages free of cost? How does copyright apply to software?

    Software licensing

    • A copyright gives a creator the legal right to own, distribute and profit from his or her creative work.
    • There are different kinds of software licences that allow free use of software:

    (1) Proprietary License

    • There is proprietary software which is to be purchased as a one-time transaction or as yearly licences.
    • A popular example is Microsoft Windows which is purchased along with the computer or Microsoft Office which typically has a yearly licence that has to be renewed upon payment.

    (2) Creative Commons licence (CC)

    • There is the Creative Commons licence (CC) which is public domain: any software or work that is in CC can be used and distributed free of cost.
    • For example, Wikipedia is under CC and hence its contents can be used freely with the condition that attribution is made to Wikipedia (this is called ‘Creative Commons – Attribution-ShareAlike).

    (3) Permissive Software licence

    • Another form of free software licence is Permissive Software licence which is popular in the software developer community and in the commercial world.
    • This licence allows free use and modification of software. There are further specific licences under this category, like the Apache licence and MIT licence.

    (4) Apache licence

    • The Apache licence is maintained by the Apache Software Foundation which is a non-profit entity.
    • Many popular and powerful softwares like Spark (used in Big Data) have been developed under Apache licence.
    • MIT licence is maintained by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and it covers hundreds of software packages including GitLab and Dot NET.

    What are Open Software?

    • All free and permissive software licences are similar to Free and Open Source Software (FOSS).
    • This is a set of rules and free software brought under one umbrella in the 1980s by Richard Stallman, a famous computer scientist and activist.
    • FOSS maintains its own licence, called GNU GPL (Gnu’s Not Unix General Public Licence) to govern and distribute free software but it comes with restrictions that its adoption and modification be for free use.
    • In the software community, ‘open source’ means any of the above non-proprietary licences.

    Who maintains open source softwares?

    • Open source software packages are developed and maintained by programmers from around the world.
    • Until the mid-1990s, the idea of the general public collaborating to create software for free seemed to be unrealistic and confined to small, elite communities.
    • However, with the success of a free operating system like Linux (which is under GNU GPL licence), many were convinced that open source could create sophisticated solutions because of access to top programmers around the world.

    Is the Internet free?

    • To access and to create content on the internet, there are costs involved such as infrastructure costs like network cost and the cost to host and maintain the content.
    • However, the core of the internet itself is free: it is free to use ideas like linking contents on the internet, transferring them with a network software protocol and adopting the associated standards like maintaining the website address (Uniform Resource Locator-URL).

    Are programming languages free of cost?

    • Until the 1980s, popular programming languages had a price but with the advent of Java in the 1990s and thanks to the initiatives of Richard Stallman and his Free Software Foundation in the 1980s, many languages, especially modern ones like Go or popular ones like Python are free.
    • Java is somewhere in the middle where there are free implementations of the language that most software developers use but there are also paid implementations provided by Oracle.
    • In general, the realisation in the software community is that a free language has widespread adoption and leads to the availability of an expert pool of programmers.
    • The last two decades have seen a proliferation of open source software and the future is even more exciting.

     

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  • SC to look into easing Adoption Methodology

    The Supreme Court has decided to examine a plea to simplify the legal process for the adoption of children in the country.

    Why in news?

    • The petition filed said that there were only 4,000 child adoptions annually though there were 3 crore orphan children in the country.
    • The Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance (CARING) System ought to appoint trained “adoption preparers” who could help the prospective parents to complete the cumbersome paperwork required for adoption.

    What is Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA)?

    • CARA is an autonomous and statutory body of Ministry of Women and Child Development set up in 2015.
    • It functions as the nodal body for the adoption of Indian children and is mandated to monitor and regulate in-country and inter-country adoptions.
    • It is designated as the Central Authority to deal with inter-country adoptions in accordance with the provisions of the 1993 Hague Convention on Inter-country Adoption, ratified by India in 2003.

    Why was CARA established?

    • Some people are offering infants for instant adoption by stating how the children have lost their parents to pandemic.
    • However, such adoptions are illegal.
    • The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) law was enacted in 2015.
    • The Juvenile Justice Act is a secular law, all persons are free to adopt children under this law.
    • The Juvenile Justice Rules of 2016 and the Adoption Regulations of 2017 followed to create the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA).

    Adoption Process

    • The eligibility of prospective adoptive parents living in India, duly registered on the Child Adoption Resource Information and Guidance System (CARINGS), irrespective of marital status and religion, is Procedure for adoption adjudged by specialised adoption agencies preparing home study reports.
    • The specialized adoption agency then secures court orders approving the adoption.
    • All non-resident persons approach authorized adoption agencies in their foreign country of residence for registration under CARINGS.
    • Their eligibility is adjudged by authorised foreign adoption agencies through home study reports.
    • CARA then issues a pre-adoption ‘no objection’ certificate for foster care, followed by a court adoption order.
    • A final ‘no objection’ certificate from CARA or a conformity certificate under the adoption convention is mandatory for a passport and visa to leave India.

    Harmonization created by CARA

    • India has multiple adoption laws.
    • Traditionally, the 1956 Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act (HAMA), adoption, subject to the requirements and rigors of the Act, is available in India to Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs, and others subject to Hindu family law or custom.
    • For others, the 1890 Guardians and Wards Act applies, but which provides only guardianship, not adoption, for those not subject to Hindu family law or custom.
    • CARA primarily deals with the adoption of “orphaned, abandoned and surrendered” children through recognised adoption agencies.
    • In 2018, CARA has allowed individuals in a live-in relationship to adopt children from and within India.

    Preference Controversy

    • As required by the 1993 Hague Convention, Article 4(b), children residing in India are always offered to Indian families before any foreigner.
    • However, after taking office in 2014, PM Modi changed the law to put Non-Resident Indian (NRI) citizens and couples on par with Indians residing in India.
    • From this point on, all adoptable children are offered to Indian families in order of seniority instead of distinguishing between resident and non-resident Indians.

    Way forward

    • CARA must conduct an outreach programme on social media, newspapers and TV, warning everyone not to entertain any illegal adoption offers under any circumstances whatsoever.
    • The National and State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights must step up their roles as vigilantes.
    • Social activists, NGOs and enlightened individuals must report all the incidents that come to their notice.
    • Respective State Legal Services Authorities have the infrastructure and machinery to stamp out such unlawful practices brought to their attention.
    • The media must publicise and shame all those involved in this disreputable occupation.
    • At the same time, the police authorities need to be extra vigilant in apprehending criminals.

     

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  • NITI Aayog publishes Energy and Climate Index List

    Gujarat has topped the list for larger States in the NITI Aayog’s State Energy and Climate Index–Round 1 that has ranked States and Union Territories (UTs) on certain parameters.

    State Energy and Climate Index

    • The States have been categorized based on size and geographical differences as larger and smaller States and UTs.
    • The index is based on 2019-20 data.
    • It ranks the states’ performance on 6 parameters, namely
    1. DISCOM’s Performance
    2. Access, Affordability and Reliability of Energy
    3. Clean Energy Initiatives
    4. Energy Efficiency
    5. Environmental Sustainability; and
    6. New Initiatives
    • The parameters are further divided into 27 indicators. Based on the composite SECI Round I score.
    • The states and UTs are categorized into three groups: Front Runners, Achievers, and Aspirants.

    Performance by the states

    • Gujarat, Kerala and Punjab have been ranked as the top three performers in the category of larger States, while Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh were the bottom three States.
    • Goa emerged as the top performer in the smaller States category followed by Tripura and Manipur.
    • Among UTs, Chandigarh, Delhi and Daman & Diu/Dadra & Nagar Haveli are the top performers.
    • Punjab was the best performer in discom performance, while Kerala topped in access, affordability and reliability category.
    • Haryana was the best performer in clean energy initiative among larger States and Tamil Nadu in the energy efficiency category.

     

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  • How ancient megalithic jars connect Assam with Laos and Indonesia

    The discovery of a number of megalithic stone jars in Assam’s Dima Hasao district has brought to focus possible links between India’s Northeast and Southeast Asia, dating back to the second millennium BC.

    What is the news?

    • According to a study in Asian Archaeology, the jars are a “unique archaeological phenomenon”.
    • It calls for more research to understand the “likely cultural relationship” between Assam and Laos and Indonesia, the only two other sites where similar jars have been found.

    About the Megalithic Jars

    • The jars of Assam were first sighted in 1929 by British civil servants James Philip Mills and John Henry Hutton.
    • They recorded their presence in six sites in Dima Hasao: Derebore (now Hojai Dobongling), Kobak, Kartong, Molongpa (now Melangpeuram), Ndunglo and Bolasan (now Nuchubunglo).
    • More such sites were later discovered in 2016 and 2020.
    • Researchers documented three distinct jar shapes (bulbous top with conical end; biconcial; cylindrical) on spurs, hill slopes and ridge lines.

    Their significance

    • While the jars are yet to be scientifically dated, the researchers said links could be drawn with the stone jars found in Laos and Indonesia.
    • There are typological and morphological similarities between the jars found at all three sites.
    • Dating done at the Laos site suggests that jars were positioned at the sites as early as the late second millennium BC.
    • The other takeaway is the link to mortuary practices with human skeletal remains found inside and buried around the jars.
    • In Indonesia, the function of the jars remains unconfirmed, although some scholars suggest a similar mortuary role.

    Back2Basics: Megalithic Burials in India

    • Megaliths were constructed either as burial sites or commemorative (non-sepulchral) memorials.
    • The former are sites with actual burial remains, such as dolmenoid cists (box-shaped stone burial chambers), cairn circles (stone circles with defined peripheries) and capstones (distinctive mushroom-shaped burial chambers found mainly in Kerala).
    • The urn or the sarcophagus containing the mortal remains was usually made of terracotta.
    • Non-sepulchral megaliths include memorial sites such as menhirs. (The line separating the two is a bit blurry, since remains have been discovered underneath otherwise non-sepulchral sites, and vice versa.)
    • Taken together, these monuments lend these disparate peoples the common traits of what we know as megalithic culture, one which lasted from the Neolithic Stone Age to the early Historical Period (2500 BC to AD 200) across the world.
    • In India, archaeologists trace the majority of the megaliths to the Iron Age (1500 BC to 500 BC), though some sites precede the Iron Age, extending up to 2000 BC.

     

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  • [Burning Issue] India-Nepal Relations

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    Context

    The Prime Minister of Nepal made his first bilateral visit abroad to India since taking his oath in July 2021. The visit was a success in terms of launching connectivity projects and signing Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs). Bilateral dialogues, strengthened economic connections and more sensitization towards the people of Nepal is what India needs to pursue to fulfil the objectives of its ‘neighborhood first policy’.

    Historical Background

    • Ancient ties: The relationship between India and Nepal goes back to the times of the rule of the Sakya clan and Gautama Buddha.
      • Initially, Nepal was under tribal rule and only with the coming of Licchavi rule in Nepal did its feudal era truly begin.
    • Cultural relations: From 750 to 1750 AD period saw a shift from Buddhism to Hinduism in Nepal and witnessed widespread cultural diffusion.
      • India and Nepal share similar ties in terms of Hinduism and Buddhism with Buddha’s birthplace Lumbini located in present-day Nepal.
    • India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1950 forms the bedrock of the special relations that exist between India and Nepal.
    • Nepal is an important neighbor of India and occupies a special significance in its foreign policy because of the geographic, historical, cultural and economic linkages/ties that span centuries.
    • In recent years, India’s relations with Nepal have witnessed some ‘lows’. 
      • The relationship between the two took a nosedive in 2015, with India first getting blamed for interfering in the Constitution drafting process and then for an “unofficial blockade” that generated widespread resentment against India.

    Highlights of the recent visit

    • Important Projects in discussion:
      • The operationalization of the 35 kilometre cross-border rail link from Jayanagar (Bihar) to Kurtha (Nepal) will be further extended to Bijalpura and Bardibas.
      • The 90 km long 132 kV double circuit transmission line connecting Tila (Solukhumbu) to Mirchaiya (Siraha) is close to the Indian border.
    • Agreements signed:
      • Agreements providing technical cooperation in the railway sector, 
      • Nepal’s induction into the International Solar Alliance,  becoming the 105th country to become a signatory to the Framework Agreement of the ISA.
      • Between Indian Oil Corporation and Nepal Oil Corporation ensuring regular supplies of petroleum products were also signed.
    • India called for taking full advantage of opportunities in the power sector, including through joint development of power generation projects in Nepal and the development of cross-border transmission infrastructure.
    • Launch of Indian RuPay card in Nepal: This would open new vistas for cooperation in financial connectivity, and is expected to facilitate bilateral tourist flows as well as further strengthen people-to-people linkages between India and Nepal.

    Various facets of India-Nepal ties

    1. Cultural ties

    • While enjoying their own peculiarities, both India and Nepal share a common culture and ways of life.
    • Religion is perhaps the most important factor and plays a predominant role in shaping the cultural relations between these two countries, marked by a cross country pilgrimage on Char Dham Yatra, Pashupatinath Temple and some Buddhist sites.
    • A considerable section of Nepalese comprises of Madhesi population which has familial & ethnic ties with states of Bihar, UP.

    2. Strategic ties

    • Nepal is a buffer state between India and China.
    • Several Nepali Citizens are also deployed in Indian defence forces as well.

    3. Political ties

    • Constitutional turmoil is not new in Nepal. India has played a vital role in the democratic transition in Nepal against the monarch King Gyanendra.
    • Nepali Congress (NC) is one of the country’s oldest parties which supports relations with India, but the communist parties show a tilt towards China.

    4. Economic ties

    • Nepal is an important export market for India. India is Nepal’s largest trading partner.
    • Himalayan rivers flowing through Nepal can be used for Hydroelectric power projects which will benefit border states of UP, Bihar and other adjacent areas.
    • There are three major water deals between Nepal and India, namely the Kosi Agreement, the Gandak Treaty and the Mahakali Treaty. India also exports Power to Nepal.
    • Also, Nepal is the largest borrower of Indian Currency in South Asia.
    • Nepal has escalating trade deficit with India. Nepal and India have concluded bilateral Treaty of Transit, Treaty of Trade and the Agreement of Cooperation to Control Unauthorized Trade.

    5. Connectivity

    • The 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship was sought by the Nepali authorities in 1949 to provide for an open border and for Nepali nationals to have the right to work in India.
    • The BBIN Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) in which Nepal is a partner will permit the member states to ply their vehicles in each other’s territory for transportation of cargo and passengers.

    6. Multilateral and Regional Fora

    • Both Nepal and India work in tandem in the United Nations, Non-aligned Movement and other international fora on most of the important international issues.
    • Both the countries have been deeply engaged in the regional and sub-regional frameworks of SAARC, BIMSTEC and BBIN for enhancing cooperation for greater economic integration.

    China’s role in Nepal – a matter of concern

    • Once considered a buffer state between India and China, Nepal is now showing an inclination towards Beijing. China is trying to stimulate and tempt Nepal with multiple aids, economic growth and acquisition.
    • China is pursuing a more assertive foreign policy and considers Nepal as an important element in its growing South Asian footprint and being a key partner in its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
    • In 2016, Nepal negotiated an Agreement on Transit Transportation with China and in 2017, China provided a military grant of $32 million to Nepal.
    • In 2019, a Protocol was concluded with China providing access to four seaports and three land ports to Nepal. China is also engaged with airport expansion projects at Pokhara and Lumbini.
    • China has overtaken India as the largest source of foreign direct investment with the annual development assistance being worth $120 million.
    • Recently, the ratification of the Pancheshwar Multipurpose project saw street protests and big-time social media campaigns supported by China.

    Indo-Nepal Border Disputes

    India and Nepal share about an 1800 Km long border. There are 2 major border or territorial disputes:

    1) Kalapani

    • The Kali River in the Kalapani region demarcates the border between India and Nepal.
    • The Treaty of Sugauli signed by the Kingdom of Nepal and British India (after the Anglo-Nepalese War) in 1816 located the Kali River as Nepal’s western boundary with India.
    • The discrepancy in locating the source of the Kali River led to boundary disputes between India and Nepal, with each country producing maps supporting their own claims.
    • However, India has control of Kalapani since the 1962 Indo-Sina War.
      • Kalapani is a valley that is administered by India as a part of the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand. It is situated on the Kailash Mansarovar route.

    Why is Lipulekh important for India?

    • For India, the Lipulekh pass has security implications.
    • After its disastrous 1962 border war with China, it was concerned about a possible Chinese intrusion through the pass and has been keen to hold on to the strategic Himalayan route to guard against any future incursions.
    • The link road via Lipulekh Himalayan Pass is also considered one of the shortest and most feasible trade routes between India and China.

    2) Susta Region

    • It is about 140 sq. km of land in Uttar Pradesh at the Nepal border in the Terai area. India has control of the territory. Nepal claims this territory.
    • The change of course by the Gandak river is the main reason for disputes in the Susta area.
    • Susta is located on the bank of the Gandak river.
    • It is called the Narayani river in Nepal.
    • It joins Ganga near Patna, Bihar.

    Issue of Simultaneous floods in Bihar and Nepal

    • Some of Nepal’s biggest river systems originate in the Himalayan glaciers which then flow into India through Bihar.
    • During the monsoons, these river systems flood causing many problems for Bihar.
    • It is a necessity that there is process-driven coordination between the Centre and the Government of Bihar to handle the flooding in Nepal’s Terai and North Bihar (largely the Mithilanchal region).

    Which are those flooding rivers?

    • Nepal’s three biggest river systems—Kosi, Gandaki and Karnali—originate in the high mountain glaciers, flow through the country and then enter India through the state of Bihar.
    • During the monsoon season, these river systems often get flooded due to heavy rains/landslides in Nepal which create floods in India’s most flood-prone state—Bihar.

    Why Nepal is Important to India?

    1. It acts as a strategic buffer against the aggression of China.
    2. The Pakistan factor: peddling of FICN, drugs and terrorism through the Indo-Nepal border. It makes the cooperation of Nepal important.
    3. India and Nepal share common culture: There are huge Nepali communities in Darjeeling and Sikkim. Many marital relations across the border exist.
    4. National Security: There is a lot of interdependence. Gurkha Regiment in Indian Army is known for its valiance.
      • Nepal could play in the hands of China which could be detrimental to Indian interests. Hence they need to be kept as close as possible.
    5. Ministry of External Affairs term India-Nepal Relation as “Roti-Beti ka Rishta” (Relation of food and marriage)
    6. Energy Security: Nepal has the potential of 80 GW of hydroelectricity. But only 600 MW potential is realized so far.
      • Nepal’s lack of cooperation in this regard has hindered development. The surplus could be used for Indian border states.

    Major Irritants in bilateral ties

    1) Nepali nationalism and Anti-India sentiments

    • Anti-India Sentiment in Nepal is largely politically motivated as it is wrongly perceived as India’s backing to Monarchy.
    • The widening gap in understanding each other’s concerns has helped feed Nepali nationalism and create a dense cloud of distrust and suspicion between the two countries.
    • The gap widened after India chose to impose an economic blockade in response to Nepal’s sovereign decision to promulgate a democratic constitution.

    2) China factor

    • Increasing Chinese presence in Nepal is one of the major concerns for India. China’s move to extend the rail link to its border with Nepal can reduce its dependence on India.
    • Fundamentally these Chinese agencies are building up anti-India sentiments in Nepal.
    • Nepal’s assent for the ‘One Belt One Region’ (OBOR) initiative of China is viewed by India with suspicion.
    • Nepal has been slowly fallen prey to China’s inroad debt trap policy.

    3) India has ignored the changing political narrative for long

    • The reality is that India has ignored the changing political narrative in Nepal for far too long.
    • For too long India has invoked a “special relationship”, based on shared culture, language and religion, to anchor its ties with Nepal.
    • The 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship which was sought by the Nepali authorities in 1949 is viewed as a sign of an unequal relationship, and an Indian imposition.

    4) Open borders

    • The issue of open borders has also been a point of debate in Nepal in recent years- Nepalese people argue that India is benefiting more from it than Nepal.
    • It has an open border with India which leads to problems such as illegal migrants, counterfeit currency entry, drug and human trafficking.

    5) Madhesis Issue

    • Madhesis share extensive cross-border ethnic and linguistic links with India. India’s involvement in Nepali politics and the upsurge in Madhesi have deep roots in history and unless resolved.
    • Madhesis protest and India’s blockade soured the relations for the worst.

    Way Forward

    1) Dialogues for Territorial Disputes

    • In the best spirit of friendship, Nepal and India should restart the water dialogue and come up with policies to safeguard the interests of all those who have been affected on both sides of the border.
    • India needs to be a sensitive and generous partner for the neighbourhood first policy to take root.
    • The dispute shall be negotiated diplomatically under the aegis of International law on Trans-boundary Water Disputes.

    2) Sensitising Towards Nepal

    • The onus is on India to rethink on a long-term basis how to recalibrate its relationship with Nepal provided Nepal should not ignore its relations with India.
    • It should maintain the policy of keeping away from the internal affairs of Nepal, meanwhile, in the spirit of friendship, India should guide the nation towards more inclusive rhetoric.

    3) Strengthening Economic Ties

    • The power trade agreement needs to be such that India can build trust in Nepal. Despite more renewable energy projects (solar) coming up in India, hydropower is the only source that can manage peak demand in India.
    • For India, buying power from Nepal would mean managing peak demand and also saving the billions of dollars of investments that would have to be invested in building new power plants, many of which would cause pollution.

    4) Investments from India

    • The Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA) signed between India and Nepal needs more attention from Nepal’s side.
    • The private sector in Nepal, especially the cartels in the garb of trade associations, are fighting tooth and nail against foreign investments.
    • It is important that Nepal conveys this message that it welcomes Indian investments.

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  • Care economy

    Context

    The importance of care work is now widely acknowledged and covered in various international commitments such as the SDGs. However, the investment in the care economy has not matched the pace.

    Significance of care work

    • Care work encompasses direct activities such as feeding a baby or nursing an ill partner, and indirect care activities such as cooking and cleaning’.
    • Whether paid or unpaid, direct or indirect, care work is vital for human well-being and economies.
    • Unpaid care work is linked to labour market inequalities, yet it has yet to receive adequate attention in policy formulation.
    • Paid care workers, such as domestic workers and anganwadis in India, also struggle to access rights and entitlements as workers.
    • Greater investment in care services can create an additional 300 million jobs globally, many of which will be for women.
    • In turn this will help increase female labour force participation and advance Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8.
    • This year, to commemorate International Women’s Day, the ILO brought out its new report titled, ‘Care at work: Investing in care leave and services for a more gender-equal world of work’.
    • The report highlights the importance of maternity, paternity, and special care leave, which help balance women’s and men’s work and family responsibilities throughout their lives.

    Gaps in the current policies

    • Bridging the gaps in current policies and service provisions to nurture childcare and elderly care services will deliver the benefits of child development, aging in dignity and independent living as the population grows older and also generate more and better employment opportunities, especially for women.
    • Maternity leave: Maternity leave is a universal human and labour right.
    • Yet, it remains unfulfilled across countries, leaving millions of workers with family responsibilities without adequate protection and support. India fares better than its peers in offering 26 weeks of maternity leave, against the ILO’s standard mandate of 14 weeks that exists in 120 countries.
    • However, this coverage extends to only a tiny proportion of women workers in formal employment in India, where 89% of employed women are in informal employment (as given by ILOSTAT, or the ILO’s central portal to labour statistics).
    • While paternity leave is recognised as an enabler for both mothers and fathers to better balance work and family responsibilities, it is not provided in many countries, including India.
    • Access to quality and affordable care services such as childcare, elderly care and care for people with disabilities is a challenge workers with family responsibilities face globally.
    • Limited implementation: While India has a long history of mandating the provision of crèches in factories and establishments, there is limited information on its actual implementation.
    • Domestic workers, on whom Indian households are heavily reliant, also face challenges in accessing decent work.
    • According to the Government’s 2019 estimates, 26 lakh of the 39 lakh domestic workers in India are female.
    • Ensure decent work for domestic workers: While important developments have extended formal coverage to domestic workers in India, such as the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act and the minimum wage schedule in many States, more efforts are required to ensure decent work for them.

    Way forward

    • Increase spending: India spends less than 1% of its GDP on the care economy; increasing this percentage would unfurl a plethora of benefits for workers and the overall economy.
    • Strategy: In consultation with employers’ and workers’ organisations and the relevant stakeholders, the Government needs to conceptualise a strategy and action plan for improved care policies, care service provisions and decent working conditions for care workers.
    • 5R Framework: The ILO proposes a 5R framework for decent care work centred around achieving gender equality. The framework urges the Recognition, Reduction, and Redistribution of unpaid care work, promotes Rewarding care workers with more and decent work, and enables their Representation in social dialogue and collective bargaining.

    Conclusion

    A human-centred and inclusive recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic that benefits workers, employers, and the government, requires a more significant investment in and commitment to supporting the care economy, which cares for the society at large.

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  • Fake news in social media

    Context

    Social media platforms have adopted design choices that have led to a proliferation and mainstreaming of misinformation while allowing themselves to be weaponised by powerful vested interests for political and commercial benefit.

    Problems created by social media and issues with response to it

    • The consequent free flow of disinformation, hate and targeted intimidation has led to real-world harm and degradation of democracy in India: Mainstreamed anti-minority hate, polarised communities and sowed confusion have made it difficult to establish a shared foundation of truth.
    • Political agenda: Organised misinformation (disinformation) has a political and/or commercial agenda.
    • Apolitical and episodic discourse in India: The discourse in India has remained apolitical and episodic — focused on individual pieces of content and events, and generalised outrage against big tech instead of locating it in the larger political context or structural design issues.
    • Problematic global discourse: The evolution of the global discourse on misinformation too has allowed itself to get mired in the details of content standards, enforcement, fact-checking, takedowns, de-platforming, etc.
    • Moderating misinformation vs. safeguarding freedom of expression: Such framework lends itself to bitter partisan contest over individual pieces of content while allowing platforms to disingenuously conflate the discourse on moderating misinformation with safeguards for freedom of expression.
    • The current system of content moderation is more a public relations exercise for platforms than being geared to stop the spread of disinformation.

    Framework to combat disinformation

    • Consider it as a political problem: The issue is as much about bad actors as individual pieces of content.
    • Content distribution and moderation are interventions in the political process.
    • Comprehensive transparency law: There is thus a need for a comprehensive transparency law to enforce relevant disclosures by social media platforms.
    • Bipartisan political process for content moderation: Content moderation and allied functions such as standard setting, fact-checking and de-platforming must be embedded in the sovereign bipartisan political process if they are to have democratic legitimacy.
    • Regulatory body should be grounded in democratic principles: Any regulatory body must be grounded in democratic principles — its own and of platforms.
    • Three approaches to distribution that can be adopted by platforms: 1) Constrain distribution to organic reach (chronological feed);
    • 2) take editorial responsibility for amplified content;
    • 3) amplify only credible sources (irrespective of ideological affiliation).
    • Review of content creator: The current approach to misinformation that relies on fact-checking a small subset of content in a vast ocean of unreviewed content is inadequate for the task and needs to be supplemented by a review of content creators itself.

    Conclusion

    Social media cannot be wished away. But its structure and manner of use are choices we must make as a polity after deliberation instead of accepting as them fait accompli or simply being overtaken by developments along the way.

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  • Why central services cannot be exempted from reservation for disabled

    Context

    In a case that the SC is currently hearing, the petitioner has challenged a notification issued by the Department of Empowerment for Persons with Disabilities (Department).

    About the notification

    • The impugned notification exempts all categories of posts in the Indian Police Service, the Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli Police Service, as well as the Indian Railway Protection Force Service from the mandated 4 per cent reservation for persons with disabilities under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 [RPwD Act].

    Issues with the notification

    1] Against combat and non-combat classification

    • On the same day as the issuing of the impugned notification, the Department also issued another notification exempting from the purview of reservation under the RPwD Act posts only of “combatant” nature in the paramilitary police.
    • This classification between combat and non-combat posts was premised on a clear recognition of the fact that persons with disabilities are capable of occupying non-combat posts in the central forces.
    • The Department has offered no justification as to why this classification would not hold good as regards the services covered in the impugned notification.

    2] Against the identification of posts suitable for reservation for the disabled

    • The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment had identified a range of ministerial/civilian posts as being suitable for reservation for the disabled.
    • The impugned notification goes against this identification exercise, by virtue of its blanket character.
    • Further, on November 22, 2021, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs released Draft Accessibility Standards/Guidelines for built infrastructure under its purview (police stations, prisons and disaster mitigation centres) and services associated with them.
    • These Draft Standards state that the police staff on civil duty could be persons with disabilities.

    3] Exercise of power

    • As per the RPwD Act, the grant of any exemption has to be preceded by consultation with the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities.
    • However, the office of the chief commissioner has been lying vacant for many years, with the secretary in the Department officiating in that role.

    Conclusion

    This case presents the SC with the opportunity to rule that the disabled are not a monolithic entity. Every disabled person is different, and it is unfair to paint all disabled people with the same broad brush, based on a stereotypical understanding of what they can do.

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  • Designation of Terrorists in India

    The Union Home Ministry has designated Hafiz Talha Saeed, son of Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, chief of the Pakistan-based terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), as a terrorist under the Unlawful (Activities) Prevention Act (UAPA).

    About Unlawful (Activities) Prevention Act (UAPA)

    • The UAPA is aimed at effective prevention of unlawful activities associations in India.
    • Its main objective was to make powers available for dealing with activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty of India
    • It is an upgrade on the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act TADA, which was allowed to lapse in 1995 and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) was repealed in 2004.
    • It was originally passed in 1967 under the then Congress government led by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
    • Till 2004, “unlawful” activities referred to actions related to secession and cession of territory. Following the 2004 amendment, “terrorist act” was added to the list of offences.

    Designation of Terrorists

    • The Centre had amended UAPA, 1967, in August 2019 to include the provision of designating an individual as a terrorist.
    • Before this amendment, only organisations could be designated as terrorist outfits.
    • Section 15 of the UAPA defines a “terrorist act” as any act committed with intent to threaten or likely to threaten the unity, integrity, security, economic security, or sovereignty of India or with intent to strike terror or likely to strike terror in the people or any section of the people in India or in any foreign country.
    • The original Act dealt with “unlawful” acts related to secession; anti-terror provisions were introduced in 2004.

    Who makes such designation?

    • The UAPA (after 2019 amendment)seeks to empower the central government to designate an individual a “terrorist” if they are found committing, preparing for, promoting, or involved in an act of terror.
    • A similar provision already exists in Part 4 and 6 of the legislation for organizations that can be designated as a “terrorist organisations”.

    How individuals are declared terrorists?

    • The central government may designate an individual as a terrorist through a notification in the official gazette, and add his name to the schedule supplemented to the UAPA Bill.
    • The government is not required to give an individual an opportunity to be heard before such a designation.
    • At present, in line with the legal presumption of an individual being innocent until proven guilty, an individual who is convicted in a terror case is legally referred to as a terrorist.
    • While those suspected of being involved in terrorist activities are referred to as terror accused.

    What happens when an individual is declared a terrorist?

    • The designation of an individual as a global terrorist by the United Nations is associated with sanctions including travel bans, freezing of assets and an embargo against procuring arms.
    • The UAPA, however, does not provide any such detail.
    • It also does not require the filing of cases or arresting individuals while designating them as terrorists.

    Removing the terrorist tag

    • The UAPA gives the central government the power to remove a name from the schedule when an individual makes an application.
    • The procedure for such an application and the process of decision-making will is decided by the central government.
    • If an application filed by an individual declared a terrorist is rejected by the government, the UAPA gives him the right to seek a review within one month after the application is rejected.
    • The central government will set up the review committee consisting of a chairperson (a retired or sitting judge of a High Court) and three other members.
    • The review committee is empowered to order the government to delete the name of the individual from the schedule that lists “terrorists”, if it considers the order to be flawed.
    • Apart from these two avenues, the individual can also move the courts challenging the government’s order.

     

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