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GS Paper: GS2

  • Towards better Prison architecture

    Prison

    Context

    • Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi (L-G) Vinay Kumar Saxena directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to allocate 1.6 lakh square metres of land to Delhi’s prison department to construct a district prison complex in Narela.

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    Background: Recent prison reform debate

    • Speech by president of India: At the Constitution Day celebrations organised by the Supreme Court in November 2022, President Draupadi Murmu shared a snippet of her journey with the audience.
    • Prisoners unaware of their rights: She reflected on her visits to prisons across India and the circumstances of those incarcerated. She highlighted that these individuals were often unaware of their fundamental rights and had been incarcerated for prolonged periods for minor offences, while their families, struggling with poverty, were unable to bail them out.
    • All organs of state must work together: President Murmu emphasised how the judiciary, executive, and legislature must work together to help them, and concluded by poignantly asking: How are we claiming that we are progressing as a nation, if we are still building prisons to address the issue of overcrowding?

    Prison

    What is the problematic architecture of Prison?

    • High security prison in Delhi: In phase 1, which is expected to be completed by April 2024, a high-security jail is to be built in the complex with a capacity to lodge 250 high-risk prisoners.
    • Stringent security measures: The prison administration has incorporated stringent security measures in the design such as constructing high walls between cells to prevent inmates from viewing others, and interacting with each other, as well as building office spaces between cells to facilitate surveillance.
    • Intention of torture: Architecture of prisons is often used as a tool to surveillance, torture, and break the souls of inmates.
    • Physical and mental health of prisoners: With this prison design, the Delhi prison administration is essentially creating solitary confinement which will have a severe detrimental effect on prisoners’ mental health.

    Prison

    Present condition of prisons in India

    • Governed by colonial act: Prisons in India are still governed by the Prisons Act, 1894, a colonial legislation which treats prisoners as sub-par citizens, and provides the legal basis for punishment to be retributive, rather than rehabilitative.
    • Caste biases in laws: These laws are also highly casteist, and remain largely unchanged since they were drafted by the British. For example, some jail manuals continue to focus on purity as prescribed by the caste system, and assign work in prison based on the prisoner’s caste identity.
    • Colonial mindset in prison governance: Organisations such as the Vidhi Centre of Legal Policy have taken us one step further in identifying colonial legal continuities that India must shred, and the manner in which she can do so.
    • SC/ST community suffers more: Furthermore, Dalits and Adivasis are over-represented in Indian prisons. The National Dalit Movement for Justice and the National Centre for Dalit Human Rights’ report ‘Criminal Justice in the Shadow of Caste’ explains the social, systemic, legal, and political barriers that contribute to this. Legislations such as the Habitual Offenders Act and Beggary Laws allow the police to target them for reported crimes.

    What should be way forward?

    • Preventive measures are necessary: We must take preventive measures before we realise that we have travelled far down this road, and have subjected several people to unnecessary trauma and confinement.
    • Prison reforms rather than more prisons: With the warning signs beseeching us, we must amplify President Murmu’s message on the need to de-carcerate and stop building more prisons, so that the L-G takes adequate steps in that direction.

    Conclusion

    • Many prisoners in India continue to suffer for petty crimes just because of lack education and legal assistance. More than 70% of them are economically poor people. Government must address the false cases by police and judicial delay before building more prisons.

    Mains Question

    Q. Critically examine the present condition of prisons in India? prisons reform should be prior step than building more prisons. Comment.

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  • Govt proposes Policy on Online Gaming

    The Ministry of Electronics and IT proposed an amendment to bring online gaming under the ambit of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

    Regulating Online Gaming

    The following draft amendments to the IT Act are being placed in the public for comments, feedback till January 17:

    • Due diligence: Online gaming intermediaries shall exercise due diligence to ensure that online games with gambling, betting are not permitted.
    • Withdrawals or refunds: Online gaming intermediaries shall inform users of policy for withdrawal or refund of deposit, distribution of winnings, applicable fees
    • Self-Regulatory Organisation: SRO will determine what constitutes prohibited wagering
    • Registration: Self-regulatory bodies will be registered with the MeitY
    • Online games: Self-regulatory bodies may register online games of intermediaries that are members and meet prescribe criteria.
    • Complaints’ redressal: Self-regulatory bodies will resolve complaints through a grievance redressal mechanism.

    What is online gaming?

    • Online gaming can refer to any type of game that someone can play through the Internet or over a computer network.
    • Most of the time, it refers to video games played over the Internet, where multiple players are in different locations across the world.
    • Online gaming also can refer to the idea of gambling over the Internet, through an online casino or an online poker room.

    Types of gaming

    • The types of online gaming include:
    1. E-sports (well-organized electronic sports which include professional players) ex. Chess
    2. Fantasy sports (choosing real-life sports players and winning points based on players’ performance) ex. MPL cricket
    3. Skill-based (mental skill) ex. Archery
    4. Gamble (based on random activity) ex. Playing Cards, Rummy

    Why is the online gaming industry booming in India?

    1. Digital India boom in the gaming industry
    2. Narrowing of the digital divide
    3. IT boom

    Other factors promoting the boom

    1. Growing younger population
    2. Higher disposable income
    3. Inexpensive internet data
    4. Introduction of new gaming genres, and
    5. Increasing number of smartphone and tablet users

    Prospects of online gaming

    • State List Subject:  The state legislators are, vide Entry No. 34 of List II (State List) of the Seventh Schedule, given exclusive power to make laws relating to betting and gambling.
    • Distinction in laws: Most Indian states regulate gaming on the basis of a distinction in law between ‘games of skill’ and ‘games of chance’.
    • Classification on dominant element: As such, a ‘dominant element’ test is utilized to determine whether chance or skill is the dominating element in determining the result of the game.
    • Linked economic activity: Staking money or property on the outcome of a ‘game of chance’ is prohibited and subjects the guilty parties to criminal sanctions.
    • ‘Game of Skill’ debate: Placing any stakes on the outcome of a ‘game of skill’ is not illegal per se and may be permissible. It is important to note that the Supreme Court recognized that no game is purely a ‘game of skill’ and almost all games have an element of chance.

    Need for regulation

    • No comprehensive regulation:  India currently has no comprehensive legislation with regards to the legality of online gaming or boundaries that specify applicable tax rates within the betting and gambling industry.
    • Ambiguity of the sector: The gaming sector is nascent and is still evolving, and many states are bringing about legislation seeking to bring about some order in the online gaming sector.
    • State list subject: Online gaming in India is allowed in most parts of the country. However, different states have their own legislation with regards to whether online gaming is permitted.
    • Economic advantage: Well-regulated online gaming has its own advantages, such as economic growth and employment benefits.

    Issues with online gaming

    • Gaming addiction: Numerous people are developing an addiction to online gaming. This is destroying lives and devastating families.
    • Compulsive gaming: Gaming by children is affecting their performance in schools and impacting their social lives & relationships with family members. Ex. PUBG
    • Impact on psychological health: Online games like PUBG and the Blue Whale Challenge were banned after incidents of violence and suicide.
    • Threat to Data privacy: Inadvertent sharing of personal information can lead to cases of cheating, privacy violations, abuse, and bullying.
    • Betting and gambling: Online games based on the traditional ludo, arguably the most popular online game in India, have run into controversy, and allegations of betting and gambling.

    Why hasn’t a comprehensive law yet materialized?

    • Earlier, states like Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka also passed laws banning online games.
    • However, they were quashed by state High Courts on grounds that an outright ban was unfair to games of skill:
    1. Violation of fundamental rights of trade and commerce, liberty and privacy, speech and expression;
    2. Law being manifestly arbitrary and irrational insofar as it did not distinguish between two different categories of games, i.e. games of skill and chance;
    3. Lack of legislative Competence of State legislatures to enact laws on online skill-based games.

    Way forward

    • Censoring: Minors should be allowed to proceed only with the consent of their parents — OTP verification on Aadhaar could resolve this.
    • Awareness: Gaming companies should proactively educate users about potential risks and how to identify likely situations of cheating and abuse.
    • Regulating mechanism: A Gaming Authority in the central government should be created.
    • Accountability of the gaming company: It could be made responsible for the online gaming industry, monitoring its operations, preventing societal issues, suitably classifying games of skill or chance, overseeing consumer protection, and combatting illegality and crime.
    • All-encompassing legislation: the Centre should formulate an overarching regulatory framework for online games of skill. India must move beyond skill-versus-chance debates to keep up with the global gaming industry.

     

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  • Contamination of medicine: India; The Pharmacy of the world needs a relook in drug regulations

    medicine

    Context

    • Merely two months after the World Health Organisation (WHO) sounded an alert over deadly contamination in four brands of cough syrup manufactured by a Sonepat-based pharmaceutical company that were subsequently linked to the deaths of 72 children in Gambia, another Indian pharmaceutical company stands accused of a similar crime. This time, it is Uzbekistan which has accused a Noida-based pharmaceutical company of selling contaminated cough syrup that has allegedly killed 18 children in that country.

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    Thorough analysis

    • Unacceptable levels of Ethylene/ Diethylene glycol: In both cases, lab tests reportedly found unacceptable levels of diethylene glycol (DEG) or ethylene glycol (EG) or both in the cough syrups.
    • Ideally these chemicals should not be found in any medicine: Both DEG and EG are deadly chemicals that should not be found in any medicine.
    • Then how these chemicals end up in medicines: The typical reason these chemicals end up in medicine is because pharmaceutical manufacturers do not adequately test industrial solvents purchased from chemical traders and used to manufacture cough syrups despite the fact that the law mandates such testing for contamination.
    • Proximity in two cases: Given the physical proximity of the manufacturers implicated in the Gambian and Uzbekistan cases, there is a very high possibility that the same batch of contaminated industrial solvent was used by both companies.

    medicine

    Contamination of medicines in India

    • India has a tumultuous history of DEG contamination in medicines: Between 1972 and 2020, India has seen at least five mass DEG poisonings in Chennai, Mumbai, Bihar, Gurgaon and Jammu. The incident in Gurgaon led to the death of 33 children and the incident in Jammu of at least 11 children.
    • Difficult to diagnose deaths due to adulterated medicine: The final reported toll in such cases is definitely an undercount because it is notoriously difficult for doctors to diagnose such deaths and attribute them to adulterated medicine.
    • Lethargy and denial is a pattern with drug regulators in India: In August 2020, about eight months after the DEG-related deaths of the children in Jammu were first reported by PGIMER, Chandigarh, the same hospital reported that another two-year-old child from Baddi had died in its facility after consuming a different brand of cough syrup manufactured by the same company that was responsible for the deaths earlier in Jammu. This was a death that could have been easily avoided if the regulators had conducted and published a thorough root cause analysis after the Jammu incident and followed it up by a nationwide recall of all cough syrups manufactured at the same facility. This never happened.

    medicine

    Critique: Whether the Ministry of Health and the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization have learnt their lessons from these previous incidents?

    • Government will handle the issue just as any other public relation crisis: The present government is likely to handle this crisis as yet another public relations crisis instead of a public health crisis. Assumption is based on the observation of the official response from the government to the tragedy in Gambia.
    • Instead of condoling, accused them for not testing before prescribing: Far from condoling the deaths of 72 Gambians, the initial press release from the Ministry of Health gaslit the Gambians by accusing them of not testing the cough syrups before prescribing them to patients.
    • False presumption that the drug regulator is doing its job well: This was an absurd allegation because nobody tests drugs that are purchased before releasing them for patient use, even in India. The presumption is that the drug regulator is doing its job to ensure quality control.
    • Government’s information czars accusing WHO: The first step of this PR strategy was to keep leaking to journalists that the WHO was not co-operating with the information requests made by an expert committee set up by the Government of India to investigate the deaths in Gambia. This despite the government fully knowing that the responsibility of investigating the deaths lay not with the WHO but with the sovereign authorities in Gambia.
    • Rare mention of sympathy: The common thread running through these events is a communications strategy aimed at denial and intimidation. There is rarely a mention of sympathy for lives lost or a commitment to protect public health.
    • Even China does better than India: An iron fist in a titanium glove is the best way to describe the government’s response to any allegations of quality issues afflicting the Indian pharmaceutical industry. In 2007, when a Chinese chemicals manufacturer was implicated in the deaths of 365 people in Panama who consumed cough syrup manufactured with an adulterated industrial solvent, the Chinese arrested the manufacturer and publicly promised to punish him.

    medicine

    What should be done immediately?

    • The immediate public health response in these cases of DEG contamination should be aimed at limiting further deaths.
    • This means tracing the origins of the contaminated industrial solvent used to manufacture the syrups.

    Conclusion

    • What India needs right at the moment is to accept the fact that there is a major quality problem with the Indian pharmaceutical industry. Allegations cannot be morphed from one to another. Perhaps the need of the hour is to have meaningful and comprehensive conversation on actual regulatory reform.

    Mains question

    Q. It is said that India has a tumultuous history of DEG contamination in medicines. The recent deaths in Gambia and Uzbekistan supports this statement. What the critique has to say over India’s response in such cases.

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  • India’s global superpower ambition and an opportunity to lead the world

    global

    Context

    • In September 2014, in his first meeting with President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about making the US a principal partner in the realization of India’s rise as a responsible, influential world power. This was in a way the first time that any Indian prime minister had talked about the country’s ambition to grow into a responsible, influential world power.

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    India in World politics

    • India is not new to playing a proactive role in world politics: Right from Independence, India’s leadership had actively pursued an agenda that favoured the interests of developing or less developed countries.
    • India took a form stand against the domination of developed countries: Whether it was the GATT negotiations or the Non-Proliferation Treaty, India took a principled stand and stood up to the policy domination of the developed world.
    • India as a protector of developing world: India’s role as the protector of the interests of the developing world during WTO negotiations has been significant.
    • For instance: Murasoli Maran, as the Minister of Commerce in the Vajpayee government, played a very critical role in preventing developed countries from pushing through their trade and commercial agendas. The UPA government continued that approach, inviting opprobrium and occasional isolation from the interested players. However, that didn’t deter India from opposing agendas that were seen as against the interests of not only its people but also the larger developing world.
    • India added moral dimension to the developing world but seen as obstructionist: India’s significant contribution in all these fora was that it added a moral dimension to the developed world’s monetary vision. However, India, in the process, acquired the image of being a nay-sayer and obstructionist.

    global

    India’s smart shift in its approach

    • Stated playing proactive role: While standing up for the developing world and zealously upholding its strategic autonomy, India started playing a proactive role in finding solutions.
    • Paris climate summit provided a major opportunity: The Paris Climate Summit in 2015 provided the first major opportunity for India to highlight its new priorities. It played a pivotal role in clinching the climate deal while ensuring that the interests of the developing world are not compromised.
    1. India’s stand in the words of PM Modi: PM PM Modi cogently articulated this stand on the eve of the Summit: “Justice demands that, with what little carbon we can safely burn, developing countries are allowed to grow. The lifestyles of a few must not crowd out opportunities for the many still on the first steps of the development ladder.” India’s efforts resulted in developed countries agreeing to the principle of “common and differentiated responsibility”.
    2. India successfully convinced developed countries for INDCs: India also convinced developed countries to agree to the formulation of not externally imposed targets but “intended nationally determined contributions” or INDCs.
    • India emerged as a powerful player during Covid pandemic response through “Vaccine Maitri”: India’s arrival on the global stage as an important player was further augmented by its constructive response during the Covid pandemic. Besides undertaking the massive exercise of vaccinating its billion-plus citizens, India came to the rescue of more than 90 countries by ensuring a timely supply of vaccines through its “Vaccine Maitri” programme.
    • Commendable economic recovery in post-Covid world: India’s growing importance is conspicuous in many areas. Its post-Covid economic recovery has been commendable, with the World Bank even revising its projections for 2022 GDP growth from 6.5 per cent to 6.9 per cent. The IMF estimated it to be at 6.8 per cent while the rest of the world was projected to grow at 4.9 per cent.

    India in a new year

    • Stronger ties with African nations: The India Africa Forum Summit (IAFS), started in 2008 as a triennial event by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, met for the third time in 2015 in Delhi. PM Modi took a special interest in cultivating stronger ties with African nations which led to the highest-ever participation in the Summit. It is important to revive the process.
    • India’s crucial role in Russia-Ukraine war: At the Bali G20 Summit, India played a crucial role in ensuring that both Russia and its critics like the US had their say on the Russia-Ukraine war in a dignified way without being interrupted. On its part, India conveyed to the Russian leadership that it was not a time for war. The new year will bring an opportunity before India to play a role in ending the war.
    • Opportunity to set new agenda for global public good: As G20 chair, India has the opportunity to set a new agenda before the world’s most powerful block of nations. In the past, it always worked for the judicious sharing of global public goods. It is time now to undertake similar efforts for global digital and genetic goods.

    global

    Way ahead

    • India must continue to act as voice of global south: While striving to achieve its ambition, India must not lose sight of the principles that it always championed. It must continue to act as the voice of the Global South.
    • Focus on neighbourhood must increase: India’s diplomatic, strategic and political investments in its neighbourhood and Asia, Africa and Latin America must increase.
    • Attention in ASEAN IOR must grow: With SAARC failing and BIMSTEC remaining a non-starter, India’s attention to the ASEAN and Indian Ocean neighbourhood must grow. India’s Act East policy needs more teeth.
    • India must bring moralist dimensions in new tech developments: India always upheld moralism in global politics. In climate talks, too, the Indian side is resorting to traditional wisdom to achieve global good. India must bring that moralist dimension to new technological developments.
    • India must lead to regulate technologies for humanity’s future: The advent of artificial intelligence and genetic manipulation technologies is going to throw the world into turmoil. If not regulated globally on time, these technologies are going to play havoc with humanity’s future.

    Conclusion

    • The country is entering the new year on a buoyant note. The leadership of important multilateral bodies including the G20 and SCO has come into its hands. The new year is thus going to provide India with the opportunity to fulfil its world power ambition. However, opportunities come with challenges. China may try to curtail India’s ambitions by keeping the border tense. India needs to maintain harmonious balance.

    Mains question

    Q. From wars to the economy to climate, India has become integral to the contemporary global discourse. What will India need to do to fulfil its global superpower ambitions in the new year?

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  • NCW seeks to ensure POSH Act implementation by coaching institutes

    The National Commission for Women (NCW) has asked all States to ensure strict implementation of the sexual harassment at workplace law (POSH Act, 2013) by coaching centres and educational institutes.

    Why in news?

    • NCW is concerned over incidents of sexual harassment at coaching centres.
    • It seeks to give instructions to all coaching institutes to ensure effective steps are taken for prevention of sexual harassment of female students.

    What is the POSH Act?

    • The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act was passed in 2013.
    • It defined sexual harassment, lay down the procedures for a complaint and inquiry, and the action to be taken.
    • It broadened the Vishaka Guidelines, which were already in place.

    What are Vishakha Guidelines?

    • The Vishakha guidelines were laid down by the Supreme Court in a judgment in 1997. This was in a case filed by women’s rights groups, one of which was Vishakha.
    • In 1992, she had prevented the marriage of a one-year-old girl, leading to the alleged gangrape in an act of revenge.

    Guidelines and the law

    • The Vishakha guidelines, which were legally binding, defined sexual harassment and imposed three key obligations on institutions :
    1. Prohibition
    2. Prevention
    3. Redress
    • The Supreme Court directed that they should establish a Complaints Committee, which would look into matters of sexual harassment of women at the workplace.

    The POSH Act broadened these guidelines:

    • It mandated that every employer must constitute an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) at each office or branch with 10 or more employees.
    • It lay down procedures and defined various aspects of sexual harassment, including the aggrieved victim, who could be a woman “of any age whether employed or not”, who “alleges to have been subjected to any act of sexual harassment”.
    • This meant that the rights of all women working or visiting any workplace, in any capacity, were protected under the Act.

    Definition of Sexual Harassment

    Under the 2013 law, sexual harassment includes “any one or more” of the following “unwelcome acts or behaviour” committed directly or by implication:

    • Physical contact and advances
    • A demand or request for sexual favours
    • Sexually coloured remarks
    • Showing pornography
    • Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature.

    The Ministry of Women & Child Development has published a Handbook on Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace with more detailed instances of behaviour that constitutes sexual harassment at the workplace. These include, broadly:

    • Sexually suggestive remarks or innuendos; serious or repeated offensive remarks; inappropriate questions or remarks about a person’s sex life
    • Display of sexist or offensive pictures, posters, MMS, SMS, WhatsApp, or emails
    • Intimidation, threats, blackmail around sexual favours; also, threats, intimidation or retaliation against an employee who speaks up about these
    • Unwelcome social invitations with sexual overtones, commonly seen as flirting
    • Unwelcome sexual advances.

    Unwelcome behavior

    • The Handbook says “unwelcome behaviour” is experienced when the victim feels bad or powerless; it causes anger/sadness or negative self-esteem.
    • It adds unwelcome behaviour is one which is “illegal, demeaning, invading, one-sided and power based”.

    Back2Basics: National Commission for Women

    • The NCW is the statutory body generally concerned with advising the government on all policy matters affecting women.
    • It was established on 31 January 1992 under the provisions of the Indian Constitution as defined in the 1990 National Commission for Women Act.
    • The first head of the commission was Jayanti Patnaik.

    Constitutional provision

    • The Indian Constitution doesn’t contain any provision specifically made to favor women intrinsically.
    • Article 15 (3), Article 14 and Article 21 protect and safeguard women. They are more gender-neutral.

    Objectives

    • The objective of the NCW is to represent the rights of women in India and to provide a voice for their issues and concerns.
    • The subjects of their campaigns have included dowry, politics, religion, equal representation for women in jobs, and the exploitation of women for labor.

     

     

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  • India-China relations: China Inconsistent in its words and actions

    India-China

    Context

    • India-China relations have been under enormous strain in recent years. The Indian foreign minister, S. Jaishankar, on many occasions has stated that India-China relations are going through an extremely difficult phase. For the two to return to normalcy in the relationship, he added that it will depend on three mutuals: mutual sensitivity, mutual respect and mutual interest.

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    India-China

    Chinese foreign minister statement

    • Statement by Wang Yi: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated that China is ready to work with India in improving bilateral ties.
    • Statement said China will work with India for steady China-India growth: Speaking at a symposium on the international situation and China’s foreign relations in 2022, Wang reportedly said that both countries “have maintained communication through the diplomatic and military-to-military channels, and both countries are committed to upholding stability in the border areas. We stand ready to work with India in the direction toward steady and sound growth of China-India relations.
    • Statement against the backdrop of Tawang clash: The Chinese foreign minister’s statement comes against the backdrop of the December 9 clash near Tawang in the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, where soldiers on both sides sustained minor injuries.

    Strained relationship between India-China

    • No sign of taking a back step: Even though the two sides managed to bring the Tawang situation under control, the reality is that the number of forces on deployment on either side of the border after the Galwan clash two years back shows no sign of being pulled back, a stark reminder of the far-from-normal state of relations between India and China.
    • Despite of commander level talks, no fruitful negotiation on disengagement: Despite 17 rounds of military talks at the army commander level, the two sides have not been able to resolve their differences and accomplish a complete disengagement of their military forces.
    • Statement by India: Following the 17th session of military talks last week, the Indian Ministry of Defense issued a statement that blandly stated that both sides will maintain the security and stability on the ground in the Western Sector and that they agreed to stay in close contact and maintain dialogue through military and diplomatic channels and work out a mutually acceptable resolution of the remaining issues at the earliest.

    India-China

    Is there any positive change in Chinese strategic thinking?

    • Chinese foreign policy is just the same: It is unclear if Wang’s comment on India-China relations reflects any fundamental change in China’s foreign policy. Clearly, there has been no general softening of China’s attitude.
    • Speech was a part of diplomacy: The minister’s statement on India was part of a long speech taking stock of China’s diplomacy and foreign relations in 2022.
    • Particular focus on United states: In the statement, there was a particular focus on the troubled nature of its ties with the United States, calling out Washington’s erroneous China policy. Wang went on to say that it was U.S. stubbornness in seeing China as its peer competitor and Washington’s “blatant blockade, suppression and provocation against China” that has put the relationship in “serious difficulties.
    • Concerned about Taiwan: The minister noted Taiwan is a red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations. He also made note of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan to which the minister said that China has taken firm and resolute measures, which have strongly deterred anti-China elements in the United States and the Taiwan independence forces.
    • Indirect reference to QUAD: The Quad, which comprises the U.S., Japan, India and Australia, also found an indirect mention in Wang’s speech. He stated that China is opposed to “bloc confrontation and zero-sum competition.
    • Aggressive with each of India’s security partner: Each of India’s new security partners among the Quad countries has been subjected to China’s aggressive behavior in military, political and economic terms, which has brought a new depth of strategic purpose to the Quad.

    India-China

    Way ahead

    • India’s relationship with China has been teetering from bad to worse over the last 32 months since the standoff in Ladakh began, and it seems unlikely to improve unless Beijing’s calculus vis a vis India and the region undergoes a drastic change.
    • On the current status of the ties Indian foreign minister, S. Jaishankar, remarked that “the state of the border will determine the state of the relationship.”
    • While Delhi’s G20 leadership may bring opportunities for engagement with Beijing, what is required first is a clear vision and a grand strategy to deal with the China challenge, instead of reacting to each crisis as it emerges

    Conclusion

    • Inconsistencies, both in China’s words and also between words and actions, will likely reduce the willingness of other countries, including India, to take seriously China’s statements about wanting a reset of ties.

    Mains question

    Q. India-China relations, though occasionally showing signs of peace and cooperation, have often been afflicted by tension and mistrust. China is inconsistent in words and actions. Discuss.

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  • Growing ties Between India-Saudi Arabia

    Saudi Arabia

    Context

    • The presidency, which India has recently assumed for the period between 1 December 2022 and 30 November 2023, will likely open more avenues for cooperation on multiple fronts with countries like Saudi Arabia, a key Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country, also a member state of G20.

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    Saudi Arabia

    India-Saudi Arabia Relationship

    • Fourth largest trading partner: Since the last few years, India-Saudi Arabia relations have become comprehensive and robust, with the kingdom not only becoming New Delhi’s fourth largest trading partner but also an important collaborator in the joint combat against all forms of terrorism, money laundering, and terror financing.
    • 18% of India’s energy Imports: It is noteworthy that the bilateral trade in the fiscal year 2021-2022 stood at US$42.8 billion, and the kingdom alone accounts for 18 percent of India’s energy import, which reflects the significance of the country from the standpoint of New Delhi’s energy and economic security calculus.
    • Collaboration on defence corridor: Simultaneously, military-security and defence cooperation have also gained momentum, which has been triggered by a certain commonality of security threats and challenges, and the interests of the respective governments to collaborate in the defence industrial sector (within the ambit of their military modernisation programmes).
    • Non-oil areas of cooperation: The ties between the two countries, now, are not only concentrated on the oil-energy trade alone (as it has been the pattern) but both sides have started to explore the possibilities of working together on domains such as renewable energy, climate change, healthcare, food security, education, technology, etc.

    Partnership in Green and clean energy

    • Collaboration with Indian companies: In November 2020, Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister, called on foreign investors to “invest on their own” or to collaborate with Indian companies in the country’s green energy sector.
    • Reducing dependency on hydrocarbon: Similarly, Saudi Arabia, striving to reduce its dependency on a hydrocarbon-based economy, is investing in the same sector.
    • Saudi Vision 2030 programme: In line with its Saudi Vision 2030 programme, it launched (in 2021) the Saudi Green Initiative which works on “increasing Saudi Arabia’s reliance on clean energy, offsetting emissions, and protecting the environment.
    • Ambitious targets by both country: Riyadh, ushering in a new era of energy diplomacy, is building partnerships with countries that have similar ambitions. This, to a great extent, has facilitated the need to expand cooperation with India in the renewable energy sphere. While the Indian government works towards generating 450 Gigawatt about 60 percent of electricity using renewable and clean sources, Saudi Arabia also aims at about 50 per cent, both to be achieved by the year 2030.

    Saudi Arabia

    India-Saudi Arabia cooperation in health sector and during Covid19

    • Cooperation with west Asia region: India has stepped up its healthcare-related engagements with the wider West Asian region, and, particularly in matters related to the production of vaccines, joint medical researches, exchange of best-fit practices, and so on.
    • Healthcare professionals to Saudi Arabia: During the peak of the aforementioned pandemic, the Indian government assisted its Saudi counterpart in their fight against this outbreak, mainly by dispatching hundreds of Indian healthcare professionals.
    • Vaccine acceptancy: Saudi Arabia was also one of the few countries that recognised “Serum Institute of India’s Covishield as an approved COVID-19 vaccine” for any travellers who wanted to enter the kingdom.
    • MoU on health and medical products: Now, what could act as a catalyst in elevating the interactions from the existing level is the Indo-Saudi Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on health and medical products regulations that were signed during the 2019 visit of Modi to Riyadh.

    Cooperation in Food Security

    • Investment by Saudi and UAE: It could be noted that, in 2019, to act as a safeguard from any food insecurity, UAE and Saudi Arabia GCC states decided to invest in India’s organic and food processing industries.
    • Win-win situation in food cooperation: With India’s expertise in the field of crop production and overall agricultural activities, and also being a net exporter of agricultural commodities (especially rice), strengthening of partnerships could prove to be highly beneficial for the populace of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and other GCC countries that continue to depend on external sources for their food security, mostly owing to the lack of fertile soil.

    Saudi Arabia

    Conclusion

    • While India-Saudi Arabia ties are expected to grow further, there also exists a potential for collaboration beyond this bilateral engagement. This is precisely because, in the emerging international order, there is also a growing call for a collective response to the multidimensional crises the world is facing today.

    Mains Question

    Q. Briefly describe the India-Saudi Arabia relationship? How both countries are collaborating on clean energy and food security?

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  • Remote EVM for Migrant Voters

    evm

    The Election Commission of India said that it has developed a prototype for a Multi-Constituency Remote Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) which would enable remote voting by migrant voters.

    Electronic Voting Machine (EVM)

    • Electronic voting is the standard means of conducting elections using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in India.
    • The system was developed and tested by the state-owned Electronics Corporation of India and Bharat Electronics in the 1990s.
    • They were introduced in Indian elections between 1998 and 2001, in a phased manner.

    What are Remote EVMs?

    • Remote Electronic Voting Machines (RVM) can handle multiple constituencies from a single remote polling booth.
    • The idea is to implement voter portability as a pilot project in the upcoming Assembly elections in nine states in 2023.
    • This means that if the pilot is successful then in the 2024 general elections voter portability can be fully implemented.

    Need for RVMs

    • Ensuring participative elections: The inability to vote due to internal migration is one of the prominent reasons to be addressed to improve voter turnout and ensure participative elections.
    • Migration-based disenfranchisement: There were multifarious reasons for a voter not opting to register in a new place of residence, thus missing out on exercising the right to vote.
    • Increasing voter turnout: The voter turnout in General Elections 2019 was 67.4% and the ECI is concerned about the issue of over 30 crore electors not exercising their franchise and also differential voter turnout in various States/UT.

    Significance of the move

    • Panacea to migration-led deprivation: Out-migration due to the need to work, marriage, and education, is predominant among the rural population in overall domestic migration.
    • Increasing voter turnout: Approximately 85% of the internal migration is within the States.
    • Multiple booth targeting: This modified form of EVM can handle up to 72 multiple constituencies from a single remote polling booth.

    Challenges for RVMs

    Many political parties have already flagged the inherent issues such as-

    • Defining domestic migrants
    • Implementation of Model Code of Conduct
    • Ensuring secrecy of voting
    • Facility of polling agents for identification of voters
    • Process and method of remote voting and
    • Counting of votes

    Technical issues

    • Amendment to legacy laws: Among the laws and rules which would need an amendment to implement remote voting is The Representation of People’s Act of 1950 and 1951, The Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 and The Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
    • Vagueness over Migration: The definition of migrant voter would also need to be reworked with respect to retaining registration at the original place in the context of the legal construct of “ordinary residence” and “temporary absence”.
    • Territorial constituency concept: The territorial constituency concept of remote voting and defining remoteness itself that is an outside constituency, outside the district or outside state will need to be dealt with.
    • Administrative challenges: These include enumerating remote voters-self declaration, ensuring secrecy of voting at remote locations, provision of polling agents at remote voting booths, and ensuring identification of voters to avoid impersonation.
    • Acceptance issues: Acceptance of EVMs has been a contested issues. This has somehow eased after the introduction of the voters-verifiable paper-audit trial (VVPAT).

    Way forward

    • The initiative, if implemented, can lead to a social transformation for the migrants and connect with their roots as many times they are reluctant to get themselves enrolled at their place of work.
    • Frequently changing residences, not enough social and emotional connect with the issues of an area of migration will no longer remain obstacles.

     

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  • Tamil Nadu worst performer in RTI responsiveness

    rti

    The State Information Commission of Tamil Nadu has been the worst performing as far as responsiveness under the RTI Act is concerned, furnishing only 14% of the information sought for 2021-22.

    State’s responses to RTI

    • Maharashtra was second-worst, sharing 23% of the information asked for.
    • Only 10 ICs provided full information in response to the RTI applications filed as part of this assessment.
    • These included Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand and northeastern States of Sikkim, Nagaland and Tripura.
    • Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh returned around 40% of the appeals or complaints received by them.

    What is the Right to Information (RTI)?

    • RTI is an act of the parliament that sets out the rules and procedures regarding citizens’ right to information.
    • It replaced the former Freedom of Information Act, 2002.
    • Under the provisions of RTI Act, any citizen of India may request information from a “public authority” (a body of Government or “instrumentality of State”) which is required to reply expeditiously or within 30.
    • In case of a matter involving a petitioner’s life and liberty, the information has to be provided within 48 hours.
    • The Act also requires every public authority to computerize their records for wide dissemination and to proactively publish certain categories of information so that the citizens need minimum recourse to request for information formally.

    What led to the introduction of RTI in India?

    There has been a variety of internal and external pressures on governments to adopt RTI.

    • Corruption and scandals: The crisis was brought into force due to a lack of transparency in the working of the government.
    • Modernization and the Information Society: The expansion of the Internet into everyday life has increased the demand for more information by the public, businesses and civil society groups.
    • International pressure: The World Bank, the IMF and others have pressed countries to adopt laws to reduce corruption and to make financial systems more accountable.
    • Wider recognition of Public Interest: Public interest is a nebulous concept, not defined in any freedom of information laws, understandably so, as it is a very subjective concept.

    Governing of the RTI

    The Right to information in India is governed by two major bodies:

    1. Central Information Commission (CIC) – Chief Information commissioner who heads all the central departments and ministries- with their own public information officers (PIO)s. CICs are directly under the President of India.
    2. State Information Commissions (SIC)– State Public Information Officers or SPIOs head over all the state department and ministries. The SPIO office is directly under the corresponding State Governor.

    State and CIC are independent bodies and CIC has no jurisdiction over the SIC.

    Constitutional backing of the RTI

    • The Indian constitution has an impressive array of basic and inalienable rights termed as fundamental rights contained in part-III.
    • These include the right to equal protection of the laws and the right to equality before the law, the right to freedom of speech and expression also the right to life and personal liberty.
    • Since RTI, is implicit in the Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression under Article 19 of the Indian Constitution, it is an implied FR.
    • These are backed by the right to constitutional remedies that is, the right to approach the supreme court and high court under Article 32 and 226 respectively in case of infringement of any of FRs.
    • The state is not only under an obligation to respect the FRs of the citizens but also equally under an obligation to ensure conditions under which the right can be exercised.
    • The objective of the right to information act is to protect these constitutional rights.

    Benefits of RTI

    • Greater accessibility of information: A person can seek information from any public authority in the form of copies, floppy disks, sample material etc under RTI.
    • Efficient governance: RTI Act helps us in knowing the efficiency of the government functioning.RTI has become a reality consistent with the objectives of having a stable, honest, transparent and efficient government.
    • Citizen’s participation: Information under RTI can be sought easily by requesting the public officer and assistant public officer in any public authority.
    • Government obligation: Obtaining information from any public authority is obligatory for them.
    • Maintenance of public record: Under RTI Act, it is the duty of public authorities to maintain records for easy access and to publish within 120 days the name of the particular officers who should give the information and in regard to the framing of the rules, regulations etc.
    • Empowerment of Citizens: Every citizen has been empowered to be informed about anything that affects their life directly or indirectly.

    Limitations to the RTI

    • Not an absolute right:  The RTI and Right to Privacy are not absolute rights, both the rights, one of which falls under Article 19(l)(a) and the other under Article 21 can obviously be regulated, restricted and curtailed in the larger public interest.
    • Subjected to restrictions: The RTI, being integral part of the right to freedom of speech, is subject to restrictions that can be imposed upon that right under Article 19 (2).
    • Limitations under the rules: Rule 4 of RTI Act puts word limit (No. of words needed in different language is different to express the same idea) as 250 words.  Word Limit, The Hidden power of Information Officer, is the cause of rejection of an application.
    • Only information already available on record is accessible: The RTI Act provides access only to that information that existent and is available in records of the public authorities.
    • Certain information may constitute contempt of court: Any information, the disclosure of which is expressly barred by any Court of law or tribunal or, which may constitute contempt of Court under the Contempt of Court Act, 1971, cannot be released.
    • Information causes a breach of privilege: The Constitution of India provides some privileges to the Parliament and the State Legislature, so it is clear that such information cannot be issued by the public authority.
    • Information relating to Intellectual Property and trade secrets: Any information, including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property cannot be disclosed.

    Way Forward

    • Speedy disposal: The increasing backlog of cases is exacerbated by the fact that most Commissions are functioning at reduced capacity.
    • Prioritization of cases: There should be a prioritization of cases dealing with information related to life and liberty.
    • Digitalization: Governments should put in place a mechanism for online filing of RTI applications and bring all authorities under one platform.
    • Reducing technicalities: The technicalities of filing an RTI application should be more simplified. The literacy rate of rural India is quite low and thus they find it quite difficult to comply with the procedural.
    • Protecting whistleblowers: There is an urgent need to protect the whistle blowers who are targeted or attacked so easily.

     

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  • Indian biotech investigated following deaths of Uzbek children

    The Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation (CDSCO) are investigating Noida-based firm after the deaths of 18 children in Uzbekistan by drinking health syrup contaminated with Diethylene Glycol (DEG).

    India’s response to these deaths

    • It is certainly the responsibility of the importing country to test medicines before releasing them in their market.
    • After being informed about the incident, India’s apex regulatory body, Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) opened investigations and lifted control samples.

    Issue: India’s credibility at stake

    • India is one of the leading exporters of medicines.
    • PM Modi recently stressed that Indian drugs had earned the world’s trust and that India could be called the ‘pharmacy to the world’.
    • However, such negative reports on the quality and safety of our medicines will be a massive blow to the country’s image as a source of cheap generic drugs to the world.

    Issues highlighted by the incident

    • Smuggling of cheap drugs: Inquiry reveals that these were imported from an Indian manufacturer, not under public tender but privately.
    • Ignorance by authorities: The drug which is banned for domestic consumption has got exported and led to fatalities. This is a huge blissful mistake by Indian Authorities.
    • Lack of inspection: There are not enough drug inspectors in the country to conduct as many inspections as is ideally required in such as vast set-up.
    • Inadequacies in quality-check: Despite huge production units, there are not an adequate number of laboratories to test the samples in time if all the samples that should be lifted for testing are picked up.
    • Blot on credibility: The matter, if not properly handled, can damage the perception that Indian medicines are trustworthy for many countries and the global South.

    Possible factors behind this tragedy

    • There are rackets of counterfeit Indian medicines turning up in many countries.
    • Some of these were coming from unregistered producers in India, who would produce medicine depending on what cost was paid to them without concern for quality.
    • In some cases, competitors from other countries were known to make counterfeit medicines with Indian markings and dump them in markets where Indian pharmaceuticals were well regarded.

    Way forward

    • The pharmaceutical trade is vital and must be protected from predatory practices and violations of regulatory norms.
    • Regulatory mechanism on both sides should be strengthened.
    • Importers should be given lists of recognised Indian manufacturers.
    • Training should be provided to drug controllers to curtail the menace of counterfeit and poor-quality medicine entering from India.

    Back2Basics: Diethylene Glycol (DEG)

    • A/c to WHO, Diethylene Glycol (DEG) or ethylene glycol is toxic to humans when consumed and can prove fatal.
    • It can cause kidney and neurological toxicity and has been associated with several cases of mass poisoning when consumed via drugs.
    • The chemical tastes sweet and is water-insoluble.
    • The toxic effects of the chemical include abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea, inability to pass urine, headache, altered mental state, and acute kidney injury.

     

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