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  • Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) with Bangladesh

    Union Home Minister has said that the Northeast States will be linked by road and railway to Bangladesh in a year or two under the historic Land Boundary Agreement (LBA).

    Land Boundary Agreement (LBA)

    • India and Bangladesh have signed the LBA in 2014 to ensure proper connectivity in the region.
    • The operationalization of LBA lays the way for the exchange of 162 enclaves under the control of either country as per the 1974 pact.
    • Under the Agreement, 111 border enclaves will be transferred to Bangladesh in exchange for 51 that will become part of India.
    • The agreement settles an old land boundary dispute which dates back to colonial times as India transfers 111 border enclaves to Bangladesh in exchange for 51 enclaves.
    • It also settles the question of citizenship for over 50,000 people residing under these enclaves.

    Why was such an agreement needed?

    • India and Bangladesh share a 4,096 km land boundary covering West Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Meghalaya and Mizoram.
    • This is the largest among the international boundaries that India shares with its neighbors.
    • On this boundary, some 50,000-100,000 people reside in so-called Chitmahals or Indo-Bangladeshi enclaves.
    • There are 102 Indian enclaves inside Bangladesh and 71 Bangladeshi ones inside India.
    • Inside those enclaves are also 28 counter-enclaves and one counter-counter-enclave, called Dahala Khagrabari.

    The inception of the agreement

    • For the first time, a vision to solve this issue had been enshrined in the Indira-Mujib pact of 1972.
    • Accordingly, the India-Bangladesh LBA was signed between the two countries in 1974.
    • However, this agreement need ratification from the parliaments of both countries as it involved the exchange of the territories.
    • While Bangladesh had ratified it as back as 1974 only, it was not ratified by the Indian parliament till 2014.
    • The 119th Amendment Bill 2013 sought to ratify the land boundary agreement between the two countries.

    Key features of the LBA

    • The LBA envisages a transfer of 111 Indian enclaves to Bangladesh in return for 51 enclaves to India.
    • The area transferred to India is less than that transferred by India to Bangladesh. In totality, India incurs a net loss in terms of area occupancy.
    • This remained a major concern of opposition from the north-eastern affected states and west Bengal.
    • Also, most of the area concerned is occupied by the tribals of the North-Eastern states and hence the swapping takes away their land rights leaving them more vulnerable.
    • Current Status of the Constitution (119th Amendment) Bill has been passed by the Parliament of India on 7th May 2015.
    • While India will gain 510 acres of land, ten thousand acres of land will notionally go to Bangladesh.
    • This legislation will redraw India’s boundary with Bangladesh by exchanging enclaves in Assam, West Bengal, Tripura and Meghalaya.

    Implications of the Agreement

    • It will secure the long-stranded boundary and enable to curb the illegal migration, smuggling and criminal acts across the border.
    • It would help those stateless citizens by granting them citizenship from their respective countries. It would help settle the boundary dispute at several points in Meghalaya, Tripura, Assam, and West Bengal.
    • It would improve the access to underdeveloped north-eastern states and would further enhance the developmental works in the region.
    • It would help to increase the connectivity with south-east Asia as part of India’s North-eastern policy.

     

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  • What is Pre- Legislative Consultation Policy?

    The Union Government has listed 29 Bills (26 new and three pending) to be tabled in the winter session of Parliament.

    What is Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy?

    • In 2014, the Pre-Legislative Consultation Policy was adopted, mandating a host of rules, including that whenever the Government makes any law, it must place a draft version of it in the public domain for at least 30 days.
    • This policy provides a forum for citizens and relevant stakeholders to interact with policymakers.
    • The policy also says that along with the draft, a note explaining the law in simple language and justifying the proposal, its financial implication, impact on the environment and fundamental rights, a study on the social and financial costs of the bill, etc. should be uploaded.
    • The respective departments should also upload the summary of all the feedback that they receive on the circulated draft.

    Why in news?

    • Since the inception of the policy, 227 of the 301 bills introduced in Parliament have been presented without any prior consultation.
    • Of the 74 placed in the public domain for comment, at least 40 did not adhere to the 30-day deadline.

    The inception of the PLCP

    • The PLCP was formulated based on the broad recommendations of the National Advisory Council in 2013 and the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (2002).
    • It aimed to create an institutionalized space for public participation in lawmaking processes.

    Empowerment through Pre legislative consultation policy

    • A Pre legislative consultation policy has numerous merits and can help nudge our country in the right direction.
    • Given how diverse this nation is, it is crucial that we have a means for citizens to get directly involved in the formulation of policy decisions, especially those that have a direct stake in the bill and its nature.
    • If we fail to do so we will risk falling behind the times. Countries like Britain and South Africa and even the state of Kerala already have already set up effective PLP processes.
    • If anything, Kerala’s effective model is proof of how effective this process can be at home.
    • Furthermore, this policy has the capacity to make historically marginalized groups feel more included and cared for.

    Significance of the policy

    • This policy provides a forum for citizens and relevant stakeholders to interact with the policymakers in the executive during the initial stages of lawmaking.
    • Protests in the recent past over laws such as the farm laws, the RTI Amendment Act, the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, etc. have all highlighted that there is discontent among relevant stakeholders and the public at large since they were not looped in while framing such laws.
    • Public consultations enhance transparency, increase accountability, and could result in the building of an informed Government where citizens are treated as partners and not as subjects.

    Status of its implementation

    • During the 16th Lok Sabha (May 2014 to May 2019) 186 bills were introduced in Parliament, of which 142 saw no consultation prior to introduction.
    • From the 44 bills placed in the public domain for receipt of comments, 24 did not adhere to the 30-day deadline.
    • During the 17th Lok Sabha (June 2019 to present), 115 bills were introduced in Parliament, of which 85 saw no consultation prior to introduction.
    • From the 30 bills placed in the public domain for receipt of comment, 16 of them did not adhere to the 30-day deadline.
    • The tentative schedule for the winter session indicates that a total of 29 bills are listed for introduction and passing. Of these, 17 saw no prior consultation while from the 12 that were placed in the public domain, only six adhered to the 30-day deadline.

    Why is implementation difficult?

    • Though it is required that the mandates of an approved policy be heeded by all Government departments, the absence of a statutory or constitutional right has watered down its effect.
    • The effective implementation of the policy requires subsequent amendments in executive procedural guidelines like the Manual of Parliamentary Procedures and Handbook on Writing Cabinet Notes.
    • However, during a subsequent amendment to the Manual of Parliamentary Procedures, the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs ignored the Ministry of Law and Justice when it requested them to incorporate PLCP provisions in the manual.

    Conclusion

    • Incorporation of pre-legislative consultation in the procedures of the Cabinet, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha etc. should be prioritized.
    • Similarly, it must be required of ministers while introducing the bill to place an addendum note on the details of the pre-legislative consultation.
    • Empowering citizens with a right to participate in pre-legislative consultations through a statutory and constitutional commitment could be a gamechanger.

     

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  • Trilateral Exercise ‘Dosti’

    The 15th edition of the biennial trilateral coast guard exercise ‘Dosti’ involving India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka is underway in the Maldives.

    Exercise Dosti

    • The aim of this exercise is to further fortify the friendship, enhance mutual operational capability, and exercise interoperability and to build cooperation.
    • Both the Maldives and Sri Lanka are of strategic importance to New Delhi and to its maritime security interests.
    • 2021 marks 30 years since these exercises were first launched.

    Significance of the exercise

    • These exercises help during joint operations and missions undertaken by countries and also help enhance interoperability.
    • Although piracy is not a major issue in this part of the Indian ocean, these kinds of exercises also help coast guards with training for possibilities.
    • These exercises help develop a better understanding of the other nation’s coast guard operations and how to enhance coordination during different kinds of missions.

    What it involves

    • The scope of these exercises are wide-ranging.
    • India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives have agreed to work on what they called the “four pillars” of security cooperation.
    • These involved the areas of marine security, human trafficking, counter-terrorism and cyber security.

     

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  • A multi-pronged approach to end child marriage

    Context

    Reports suggest that more child marriages have been noticed during the Covid pandemic.

    Covid-19 and Girls

    Socio-economic impacts of Covid-19 are gendered, evident in the form of educational inequality, sexual violence, and increased household burden.

    • Increased domestic violence: In India, the National Commission for Women reported 2.5 times to increase in domestic violence during the initial months of nationwide lockdown.
    • Abuse & Trafficking: Closure of schools and pandemic induced poverty has increased the vulnerability of children especially the girl child to abuse and trafficking
    • School dropout: UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report (2021) throws light on increased educational inequalities for adolescent girls during the Covid-19 crisis. UNESCO estimates that around 11 million girls may not return to school.
    • School Closures pushed Children into Labour: In 2021, says UNESCO, 24 million children may not find their way back to schools after the pandemic. Any child who is not in school is a potential child laborer.
    • Child Marriages: India witnessed an increase in the number of child marriages since 2020. Girls are further at risk – married off early, these child brides are also often child laborers.
    • Reduced Education Budget: Despite knowing the impact of the Pandemic on the education system & thus on Children’s future, the Union budget has Rs 5,000 crore less to spend on education for children this year.
    • Digital gender gap: The digital gender gap deters girls’ remote education and access to information.

    Child Marriage

    • It is defined as a marriage of a girl or boy before the age of 18 and refers to both formal marriages and informal unions in which children under the age of 18 live with a partner as if married.
    • UNICEF estimates suggest that each year, at least 1.5 million girls under 18 get married in India, which makes it home to the largest number of child brides in the world – accounting for a third of the global total.
    • A recent study by the Lancet shows that up to 2.5 million more girls (below the age of 18) around the world are at risk of marriage in the next 5 years because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Prevalence of child marriage in India

    • Data from the fourth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS4) in 2015-16 shows that even before Covid, one in four girls in India was being married before 18.
    • Around 8 percent of women aged 15-19 years were mothers or pregnant at the time of the survey.
    • The first phase findings of NFHS5 (2019-20) show that the needle has not moved substantially on ending child marriage.

    Why did Child Marriages have increased during Lockdowns?

    • Lack of Alert Mechanism: Earlier, when child marriages happened at wedding halls, temples, etc, there were people who would alert the relevant authorities or activists who would be able to reach on time to stop it.
      • But now, with marriages happening at homes, we may get fewer alerts and our going there could be treated as trespass.
    • Pandemic Induced Pressures: Economic pressures due to the pandemic have pushed poor parents to marry off girls early.
      • With no schools, the safety of children, particularly girls, was a major reason for the increase in violence against children and child marriages.

    Causes for Child Marriages

    • Age Factor: Some parents consider the age period of 15-18 as unproductive, especially for girls, so they start finding a match for their child during this age period.
      • Further, the Right To Education Act makes education free and compulsory up to the age of 14 only.
    • Insecurity: Law and Order are still not able to provide a secure environment for the girls in adolescent age, so some parents get their girl child married at a young age.
    • Other Reasons:
      • Poverty,
      • Political and financial reasons,
      • Lack of education,
      • Patriarchy and gender inequalities, etc.

    Consequences of child marriage

    • Violation of human rights: Child marriage violates girls’ human rights. It makes them almost invisible to policy.
    • Impact on education and health: It cuts short their education, harms their health, and limits their ability to fulfill themselves as productive individuals participating fully in society.
    • The low domestic status of teenage wives typically condemns them to long hours of domestic labor; poor nutrition and anemia; social isolation; domestic violence; early childbearing; and few decision-making powers within the home.
    • Malnutrition: Poor education, malnutrition, and early pregnancy lead to low birth weight of babies, perpetuating the intergenerational cycle of malnutrition.
    • The costs of child marriage include teenage pregnancy, population growth, child stunting, poor learning outcomes for children, and the loss of women’s participation in the workforce.

    What should be the policy interventions to end child marriage?

    • CCTs: Conditional cash transfers (CCTs) have been the main policy instrument introduced by most states in the last two decades to end child marriage.
    • CCTs alone cannot change social norms. We need a comprehensive approach.
    • Legislative measures: Legislation is one part of the approach.
    • Karnataka amended the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act in 2017, declaring every child marriage, making it a cognizable offense.
    • Expansion of education: These include expansion of secondary education, access to safe and affordable public transport, and support for young women to apply their education to earn a livelihood.
    • Expansion of education goes beyond access. Girls must be able to attend school regularly, remain there, and achieve.
    • States can leverage their network of residential schools, girls’ hostels, and public transport, especially in underserved areas, to ensure that teenage girls do not get pushed out of education.
    • Teachers should hold regular gender equality conversations with high school girls and boys to shape progressive attitudes that will sustain them into adulthood.
    • Empowerment measures: Empowerment measures, too, are required to end child marriage, such as community engagement through programs like Mahila Samakhya.
    • Children’s village assemblies in the 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across India can provide a platform for children to voice their concerns.
    • Government actions driving social change: Field bureaucrats across multiple departments, including teachers, Anganwadi supervisors, panchayat, and revenue staff, all of whom interact with rural communities, should be notified as child marriage prohibition officers.
    •  Decentralizing birth and marriage registration: Most important of all, decentralizing birth and marriage registration to gram panchayats will protect women and girls with essential age and marriage documents, thus better enabling them to claim their rights.

    Consider the question “What are the consequence of child marriage? Suggest the measures to deal with the issue.”

    Conclusion

    We need to adopt a comprehensive approach to deal with the problem of child marriage. The approach should include a focus on education and legal measures.

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  • [pib] Who was Lachit Borphukan?

    The Prime Minister has paid tributes to Lachit Borphukan on Lachit Diwas.

    Who was Lachit Borphukan?

    • The year was 1671 and the decisive Battle of Saraighat was fought on the raging waters of the Brahmaputra.
    • On one side was Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb’s army headed by Ram Singh of Amer (Jaipur) and on the other was the Ahom General Lachit Borphukan.
    • He was a commander in the Ahom kingdom, located in present-day Assam.
    • Ram Singh failed to make any advance against the Assamese army during the first phase of the war.
    • Lachit Borphukan emerged victorious in the war and the Mughals were forced to retreat from Guwahati.

    Lachit Diwas

    • On 24 November each year, Lachit Divas is celebrated statewide in Assam to commemorate the heroism of Lachit Borphukan.
    • On this day, Borphukan has defeated the Mughal army on the banks of the Brahmaputra in the Battle of Saraighat in 1671.
    • The best passing out cadet of National Defence Academy has conferred the Lachit gold medal every year since 1999 commemorating his valour.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.What was the immediate cause for Ahmad Shah Abdali to invade and fight the Third Battle of Panipat:

    (a) He wanted to avenge the expulsion by Marathas of his viceroy Timur Shah from Lahore

    (b) The frustrated governor of Jullundhar Adina Beg khan invited him to invade Punjab

    (c) He wanted to punish Mughal administration for non-payment of the revenues of the Chahar Mahal (Gujrat Aurangabad, Sialkot and Pasrur)

    (d) He wanted to annex all the fertile plains of Punjab upto borders of Delhi to his kingdom

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”cm8azvlxsr” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

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  • Risks involved in over-valued unicorns

    Context

    The biggest-ever initial public offering (IPO) in India fell flat on its face on the first day of its listing in the stock exchange, with shares being traded at prices less than 27% of the IPO price.

    Rise of unicorns in India and factors driving it

    • Unicorns in diverse sectors: There has been a unicorn gale in India in recent years, covering diverse sectors from fintech to cloud kitchen.
    • Growth in digital payment is reflected in the fintech sector that has contributed the most to the unicorn list.
    • Factors driving growth: An ecosystem which combines thriving digital payments, a growing smartphone user base and digital-first business models adopted by many start-ups has driven expectations of investors, resulting in large-scale fund flows into new business ventures.
    • Growing smartphone user: Expectations are high as the country has around 640 million Internet users, of which 550 million are smartphone users.
    • Growing digital payments: Digital payment has seen a growth of 30.19% as of March 31, 2021 and by the end of September 30, the unified payments interface (UPI) registered 3.5 billion transactions amounting to ₹6.54 trillion.

    FinTech and EdTech leading unicorns

    • American investment firms Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital have been the major investors, providing very quick follow-up rounds of funds across all stages and sectors.
    • Fundamental financial performance of the business is not factored in these decisions which could lead to biased valuations.
    • Idea of disruptive technologies: The idea of disruptive technologies has become a buzzword for characterising start-ups.
    • The idea was that start-ups with limited resources can aim at technology disruption by inventing an entirely new way of getting something done.
    • The story is similar in educational technologies (EdTech) as well.
    • The novel coronavirus pandemic has been a blessing in disguise for EdTech firms, as it is this external environment that is pushing the industry, giving it an acceleration by four to five years.
    • Too many acquisitions with big ambitions to grow inorganically puts pressure on the balance sheet in the years to come as some of the new acquisitions are likely to fail.
    • Even, EdTech firms with reasonably good business models are highly overvalued due to abundant liquidity.
    • Cost of achieving behaviour change: Almost every second advertisement on primetime television is either of a digital payment firm or EdTech platform.
    • New firms in services will have to indulge in this process for a longer period than firms in other industries such as transportation as these firms have to bring about a particular kind of change that customers are significantly comfortable using the service.
    • Firms burn cash to give massive discounts to customers in the hope that people will get so habituated to these platforms that they will remain active even when the prices are hiked.
    • To some extent this worked in the context of mobile telephone services as Indians have got hooked to mobile phones and reoriented spending to buy more sophisticated smartphones and data.
    • But in other services this does not seem to work so easily.
    • The projection flaw: Data by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) points to this flaw of over-optimistic demand projections as there are just about 23 million households which earn more than ₹5 lakh per year i.e., less than ₹42,000 a month, which is about 7% of all Indian families.
    • It is only this class which can be coaxed to behavioural changes — i.e. people who can afford various kinds of goods and services.
    • If firms want to go beyond this 7% of households they have to offer bigger discounts, burning more cash, with the possibility that once the discounts are reduced, customers drop off.

    Consider the question “India is witnessing the unicorn boom in the starts-ups. However, valuation of these unicorns has raised concerns. In light of this, examine the factors driving the rise of unicorns in India and why their valuation raises concerns?”

    Conclusion

    We are witnessing new unicorns emerging every month, which are products of inflated valuations to tap more funds to burn more cash. These valuations are solely on the basis of future earnings, with virtually no profits to show in the present.

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  • Bharat Gaurav Scheme to promote Tourism

    To tap the huge potential of tourism, the Railways has announced the ‘Bharat Gaurav’ Scheme.

    Bharat Gaurav Scheme

    • Under this Scheme, theme-based tourist circuit trains, on the lines of the Ramayana Express, can be run either by private or State-owned operators.
    • Till now, the Railways had passenger segments and goods segments.
    • Now, it will have a third segment for tourism under the Bharat Gaurav.
    • The scheme has been developed after extensive stakeholder discussions and a lot of State Governments, including Odisha, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, have shown interest.

    Key features

    • Service providers, who can be an individual, company, society, trust, joint venture or consortium will be free to decide themes/circuits.
    • They will offer an all-inclusive package to tourists including rail travel, hotel accommodation and sightseeing arrangement, visit to historical/heritage sites, tour guides etc.
    • They have full flexibility to decide the package cost.
    • The service providers will also be able to design/furnish the interior of the coaches based on the theme and put branding or advertising inside and outside of the train.

     

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  • [pib] Mysuru Declaration on Service Delivery by Panchayats

    The Participants from 16 States signed the Mysuru Declaration and resolved to roll out the Common Minimum Service delivery by Panchayats across the country from April 1, 2022.

    Mysuru Declaration

    • The Mysuru declaration is aimed at recognising Citizen Centric Services as the “Heart of Governance”.
    • It provides key inputs on various aspects of service delivery that are either provided by the panchayats directly or services of other departments that are facilitated by panchayats.

    Highlights of the Declaration

    WE, the Representatives and Officials recognise the efforts to promote inclusive and accountable Local Self Governments in delivery of services, in consonance with the priorities and the aspirations of our citizens.

    We accept responsibility for seizing this moment to strengthen our commitments to promote transparency, empower citizens, and harness the power of new technologies towards timely and quality delivery of services; enhancing citizen service experiences

    We uphold the value of openness in our engagement with citizens to improve services, incorporating diverse views when designing and delivering services. We embrace principles of transparency and open government with a view towards achieving greater prosperity, well-being, and human dignity for sustainable development of local communities.

     

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  • Facial Recognition Technology

    Context

    According to police officials, more than six lakh CCTV cameras have already been deployed in the city, with the very real possibility that this number will continue to increase. These all-pervasive cameras will soon be connected in a real-time network managed by Hyderabad’s Command and Control Centre.

    Facial Recognition

    It is a biometric technology that uses distinctive features of the face to identify and distinguish an individual. Over a period of almost 6 decades, it has evolved in many ways- from looking at 3D contours of a face to recognizing skin patterns.

    How does it work?

    • The facial recognition system works primarily by capturing the face & its features through the camera and then using various kinds of software to reconstruct those features.
    • The captured face along with its features is stored into a database, which can be integrated with any kind of software that may be used for security purposes, banking services, etc.
    • In the Automated Facial Recognition System (AFRS), the large database (containing photos and videos of peoples’ faces) is used to match and identify the person. The image of an unidentified person, taken from CCTV footage, is compared to the existing database using Artificial Intelligence technology, for pattern-finding and matching.

    What are the uses?

    • Authentication: It is used for identification and authentication purposes with a success rate of almost 75%.
      • For instance, the NCRB’s Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) managing crime data for police, use automated facial recognition to identify criminals, missing people, and unidentified dead bodies, as well as for “crime prevention”.
      • The project is aimed at being compatible with other biometrics such as iris and fingerprints.
      • The integration of fingerprint databases, face recognition software and iris scans will massively boost the police department’s crime investigation capabilities.
    • Force Multiplier: In India, where there are just 144 constables per 1 lakh citizens, this can act as a force multiplier. It neither requires too much manpower nor regular up-gradation. Hence, this technology coupled with the present manpower in place can act as a game-changer.
    • Varied applications: It is increasingly being used for everything from unlocking mobile phones to validating the identity, from auto-tagging of digital photos to finding missing persons, and from targeted advertising to law enforcement.

    Opposition to facial recognition technologies

    • How it works: Facial recognition technology identifies the distinctive features of a person’s face to create a biometric map, which an algorithm then matches to possible individuals.
    • The system searches across databases of millions of images scraped without knowledge or consent and often fails.
    • Severe scrutiny: The use of facial recognition technology is already under severe scrutiny around the world, with some jurisdictions, including Belgium and Luxembourg, have already banned its use.
    • Ban by EU: The European Union is in the process of finalizing and passing one of the most comprehensive bans on facial recognition technology yet, while in the United States, multiple cities- and state-level bans and moratoria have been imposed.
    • More than 200 organizations have called for a global ban on the use of biometric surveillance technologies that enable mass and discriminatory surveillance, while even Facebook announced that it would be shutting down its facial recognition program.

    Issues with the use of facial recognition technologies in India

    • Violation of the right to privacy: The right to privacy was recognized as a fundamental right, included under the right to life and liberty by the Supreme Court of India in 2017.
    • Absence of legal framework: Without a law in place to regulate data collection and to act as an oversight mechanism, valid concerns about privacy and other rights violations continue to arise.
    • High Infrastructural Costs: Technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Big Data are costly to implement. The size of stored information is extremely large and requires huge network & data storage facilities, which are currently not available in India.
    • Image Collection: The sources from which images will be collected to create a repository/database need to be known.
    • The concern of Data Leakage: In today’s world of cybercrime, it is important to put appropriate safeguards in place in order to ensure the integrity of the repository/database, so that it doesn’t leak out the information and is not privatized or monetized.
    • Required Expertise: Experts are needed to verify and authenticate data collected before storing them who should be provided proper training to protect & avoid abuse and misuse of the collected data & database.
    • Reliability & Authenticity: As the data collected may be used in the court of law during the course of a criminal trial, the reliability and the admissibility of the data along with standards and procedures followed would be taken into consideration. Hence, the authenticity of the data is crucial.
    • Huge amounts of public money are being spent on these technologies with no evidence of their effectiveness, further squandering precious public funds.

    The National Automated Facial Recognition System

    • To empower the Indian police with information technology, India approved the implementation of the National Automated Facial Recognition System (NAFRS).
    • On its implementation, it will function as a national-level search platform that will use facial recognition technology.
    • It will help to facilitate investigation of crime or for identifying a person of interest regardless of face mask, makeup, plastic surgery, beard, or hair extension.

    Way Forward

    • Save the time of police: This is a compare and contrast tool meant for identification based on existing information. The process of identification can be accelerated by its use.
    • Proper Legal safeguards are a must: With proper safeguards, this technology is much needed for India. Having the biggest IT workforce in the world, state-of-the-art technology can act as a game-changer for India.
    • Need to learn from Global examples: Police departments in London are under pressure to put a complete end to the use of facial recognition systems following evidence of discrimination and inefficiency.
      • Hence, it is necessary to make use of such technology, but it cannot act as the silver bullet for all the police reforms that we need.

    Conclusion

    Government programs such as Safe City, Smart City, and the Nirbhaya Fund have been utilized to bankroll these projects — yet the human rights violations that occur as a result of their use far outweigh any purported benefit that these technologies claim to provide.

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  • Co-op Societies are not banks, RBI cautions

    The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cautioned members of the public not to deal with cooperative societies undertaking banking business by adding ‘bank’ to their names.

    What is the news?

    • It has also come to the notice of RBI that some co-operative societies are accepting deposits from non-members/nominal members/ associate members.
    • This is tantamount to conducting banking business in violation of the provisions.

    Who can use ‘Bank’ title?

    • The Banking Regulation Act, 1949 was amended by the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2020, which came into force on September 29, 2020.
    • Accordingly, co-operative societies cannot use the words “bank”, “banker” or “banking” as part of their names, except as permitted under the provisions of BR Act, 1949 or by the RBI.

    What is Cooperative Banking?

    • Cooperatives are people-centred enterprises owned, controlled and run by and for their members to realise their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations.
    • Cooperative bank is an institution established on the cooperative basis and dealing in ordinary banking business.
    • Like other banks, the cooperative banks are founded by collecting funds through shares, accept deposits and grant loans.
    • They are regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and governed by the
    1. Banking Regulations Act 1949
    2. Banking Laws (Co-operative Societies) Act, 1955

    Features of Cooperative Banks

    • Cooperative banks are generally concerned with the rural credit and provide financial assistance for agricultural and rural activities.
    • Such banking in India is federal in structure. Primary credit societies are at the lowest rung.
    • Then, there are central cooperative banks at the district level and state cooperative banks at the state level.
    • Cooperative credit societies are mostly located in villages spread over the entire country.

    History of Cooperative Banking in India:

    • The cooperative movement in India was started primarily for dealing with the problem of rural credit.
    • The history of Indian cooperative banking started with the passing of Cooperative Societies Act in 1904.
    • The objective of this Act was to establish cooperative credit societies “to encourage thrift, self-help and cooperation among agriculturists, artisans and persons of limited means.”
    • Many cooperative credit societies were set up under this Act.
    • The Cooperative Societies Act, 1912 recognised the need for establishing new organisations for supervision, auditing and supply of cooperative credit.

    Structure of Cooperative Banking

    • The whole structure of cooperative credit institutions is shown in the chart given.
    • There are different types of cooperative credit institutions working in India.
    • These institutions can be classified into two broad categories- agricultural and non-agricultural.
    • Agricultural credit institutions dominate the entire cooperative credit structure.

    Various facets of cooperatives in India

    • Cooperatives in India have grown exponentially.
    • In the banking sector, according to the RBI, their contribution to rural credit increased from 3.1 percent in 1951 to an impressive 27.3 percent in 2002.

    Importance of Cooperative Banks:

    • The cooperative banking system has to play a critical role in promoting rural finance and is especially suited to Indian conditions.
    • Various advantages of cooperative credit institutions are given below:

    (1) Alternative Credit Source:  The main objective of the cooperative credit movement is to provide an effective alternative to the traditional defective credit system of the village moneylender.

    (2) Cheap Rural Credit: Cooperative credit system has cheapened the rural credit by charging comparatively low-interest rates, and has broken the money lender’s monopoly.

    (3) Productive Borrowing:  The cultivators used to borrow for consumption and other unproductive purposes. But, now, they mostly borrow for productive purposes.

    (4) Encouragement to Saving and Investment: Instead of hoarding money the rural people tend to deposit their savings in cooperative or other banking institutions.

    (5) Improvement in Farming Methods: Cooperative credit is available for purchasing improved seeds, chemical fertilizers, modern implements, etc.

    (6) Financial Inclusion: They have played a significant role in the financial inclusion of unbanked rural masses. They provide cheap credit to the masses in rural areas.

     

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