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GS Paper: GS2

  • What are Containment Zones?

    In the current pandemic, all interventions are primarily geared towards reducing people-to-people contact, and thus breaking the chain of transmission to the extent possible. The demarcation of containment zones, which works at a more micro level, is likely to remain as long as the disease is spreading.

    Practice question for mains:

    Q.Discuss how the preemptive lockdowns imposed during earlier phases of coronavirus pandemic has led to reduced casualties in India.

    What are Containment Zones?

    • The lockdown, implemented in five phases, worked at the national level, while the classification of red, orange and green districts operated at the state and inter-district levels.
    • Demarcation of containment zones is done within a town, village, or municipal or panchayat area.
    • Neighbourhoods, colonies, or housing societies where infected people live are sealed, and access is restricted.
    • Containment zones are where the restrictions on movement and interaction are the most severe.
    • In many cities, the entire demarcated area is barricaded and the entry and exit points closed. Only the very basic supplies and services are allowed inside.

    Who defines the containment zones?

    • It is the district, town or panchayat authorities that decide which areas have to be marked as containment zones, how large they would be, and what kind of restrictions would apply.
    • The rules for the national lockdown, for example, were set by the central government, while the state governments decided what restrictions to impose on districts.
    • The district administration, Municipal Corporation or panchayat bodies exercise a great deal of discretion in the demarcation of containment zones.
    • The definition and time period vary and are continuously reviewed and updated.

    How are they demarcated?

    • The parameters used are similar, but the exact criteria applied to vary, and usually depends on local conditions. These have also evolved with time, and are under constant review.
    • In general, containment zones are getting smaller with time as the number of cases is increasing — from entire localities to colonies or neighbourhood, to streets and lanes, to particular buildings, and now just particular floors.
    • As of now, in Delhi, a containment zone is declared if three or more infections are detected.
    • The perimeter of the containment zone is also different in different cities.

  • Timbuktu: The faraway land

    Timbuktu is a western African city whose name is a metaphor for a place too exotic and remote to even imagine, now is in the grasp of Covid-19.

    Try this question from CSP 2018:

    Q.Very recently, in which of the following countries have lakhs of people either suffered from severe famine/acute malnutrition or died due to starvation caused by war/ethnic conflicts?

    (a) Angola and Zambia

    (b) Morocco and Tunisia

    (c) Venezuela and Colombia

    (d) Yemen and South Sudan

    Timbuktu

    • Timbuktu is a city in Mali, situated 20 km north of the Niger River.
    • The mystique of Timbuktu owes a lot to its inaccessibility, which continues even today.
    • It is located on the southern tip of the Sahara desert where there is nothing but thousands of miles of barren desert to its north.
    • It was a regional trade centre in medieval times, where caravans met to exchange salt from the Sahara Desert for gold, ivory, and slaves from the Sahel, which could be reached via the nearby Niger River.

  • Role played by judiciary in curbing police violence

    Judiciary has played a significant role in tackling the problems of police violence. Yet, we come across some incident of violence intermittently. So, what went wrong? And what needs to be done? These issues are addressed in this article. 

    Role played by judiciary

    • Supreme Court’s interventioned against police violence came through in cases such as Joginder Kumar v. State of UP [1994] and D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal [1997].
    • In these cases, guidelines to secure 2 rights – a right to life and a right to know – in the context of any state action were issued.
    • Through these guidelines, the Court sought to curb the power of arrest.
    • It also ensured that an accused person is made aware of all critical information regarding the arrest.
    • Information of arrest also has to be conveyed to friends and family immediately in the event of being taken in custody.
    • It took a decade, and in the form of amendments, as the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2008 to give statutory backing to these judicial guidelines.
    • It remains part of the law today.

    Significance of Prakash Singh Case

    • The Supreme Court went even further in the case, Prakash Singh v. Union of India [2006].
    • In this case, it pushed through new legislation for governing police forces to be passed by States across India.
    • A key component of the new legislation was a robust setup for accountability that contemplated a grievance redress mechanism.
    • However, several States are yet to legislate on the matter and remain in contempt of the Supreme Court’s judgment.

    Scientific investigation

    • Judiciary has supported techniques such as narcoanalysis, ensuring video recording of investigations, passing orders for installing closed-circuit television cameras inside police stations.
    • Through technology, one can hope to reduce the need for interacting with the body as a source of evidence.
    • But how often police employ physicality to obtain evidence will remain the deciding factor.

    Impeding issues

    • Despite all this, there are reports suggesting that across India there are as many as five custodial deaths a day.
    • Presence of continued institutional apathy towards the issue of police reform.
    • Judiciary’s approach of simply passing directions and guidelines, has proven to be a failure.
    • It is the ordinary magistrate, and not the constitutional court, who is the judicial actor wielding real power to realise substantial change in police practices. Hence, poor change.
    • There is a gap between the highest court and the lowly police officer in India.
    • Studies show despite criminal laws being struck down as unconstitutional, they continue to be enforced in various parts of the country by local police.

    What can be done?

    • Constitutional courts could reorient their guidelines to try and change the practices of magistrates.
    • It is the local magistrate before whom all arrested and detained persons must be produced within 24 hours.
    • Thus, magistrate becomes the point of first contact for a citizen with the constitutional rule of law.
    • The overworked magistrate, struggling with an ever-exploding docket, is very often in a rush to get done with the remand case.
    • This need to change with more involvement of Constitutional courts.

    Consider the question “Custodial torture is an anathema to democracy. Examine the issues related to custodial torture and how is it against the basic fundamental rights? What steps should be taken to prevent such acts by the police functionaries?”

    Conclusion

    The repeated instances of custodial deaths and tortures point to the inadequacies of the legal framework and lack of implementation. So, there is an urgent need for plugging the loopholes and some changes in approach.

  • Crisis facing the global order

    The corona crisis has laid bare the fissures in the global order. This article examines the four issues that are principal global challenges. Pandemic has accentuated these challenges.

    Principal global challenges

    • 1) Geopolitical tensions 2) Climate crisis. 3) Global mistrust. 4) The dark side of the digital world —  are four issues which U.N. Secretary-General Guterres listed as primary threats.
    • The four challenges have, for now, been overshadowed by the corona pandemic crisis.

    1.Climate change challenge

    • The drop in emissions in 2020 is projected to be about 8 per cent down on last year.
    • This drop will just put us on track to where we should be if we are to reach the Paris agreement goal of limiting warming to 1.5 C.
    • The threat of climate change, although raising its head again, has been constrained.

    2.Digital space and its dark side

    • Cyberspace has been a digital saviour during the corona crisis.
    • Virtual communications enhanced through various services, new apps, expanded coverage has been key to enhanced virtual lives for millions by increase of the avenues for working from home, video chat connectivity and online delivery of goods.
    • Companies that have deftly used cyberspace have prospered the most: Amazons net capital gain has been over $400 billion in 2020.
    • However, a surge in cybercrime and cyber fraud is anticipated, if not there already.
    • The logic being that cyberspace use has expanded without commensurate growth in security features.
    • Thee are dire projections of an impending “cyber Pearl Harbour”.

    3.Geopolitical tensions

    • Accentuation of geopolitical tensions during the corona crisis is well-documented.
    • The US-China relationship was already deteriorating, the blame game over the virus has exacerbated it.
    • The brazen behaviour of China in matters relating to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, South China Sea and the India-China border has added to the inflammable state of geopolitics.
    • Rarely has the world seen such paucity of international cooperation since World War II.
    • The unravelling of the international institutions and partnerships that have been built since World War II is stark.

    4.Trust deficit among states

    • Trust amongst states has plummeted to its worst since World War II.
    • When faced with corona crisis shortages, almost all EU states responded at the national level.
    • Globally, at one time, more than 70 per cent of the world’s ports of entry — air, sea and land — restricted travel.
    • According to a Global Trade Alert study, nearly 90 governments blocked the export of medical supplies while 29 restricted food exports.

    Efficiency to self-sufficiency

    • Lack of trust is also impacting diversified supply chains.
    • The corona crisis is driving a shift from efficiency to self-sufficiency.
    • Japan is paying companies to relocate factories from China.
    • President Emmanuel Macron has pledged “full independence” for France in crucial medical supplies by year-end.
    • Prime Minister Modi has called for self-reliance and being vocal for local in India.
    • In the US, support for “Buy American” benchmarks for government health spending has growing bipartisan support.

    India’s role

    •  Challenges that transcend borders are of cardinal importance to India’s well being.
    • It is, therefore, time to conceptualise, in concrete terms, pathways to address them.
    • This will need to include our envisaging the new order and India’s own role in it as well as who our partners in this venture are to be.
    • Others are already working on their game plans.

    Consider the question “The cracks in the global order were apparent but the pandemic has accentuated the challenges to the global order. In light of this, examine the challenges to global order is facing the role that India should play.”

    Conclusion

    If India wants to be “rule shapers” rather than being “rule takers”, then we need to start working in partnership at blueprints for change. It is never too early to plan for the future

  • West Bank Annexation Plan

    Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the Israeli leader’s plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank would not start on the original target date as the British PM made an extraordinary appeal to Israel to call off the plan.

    The strategic location of Gaza strip, West Bank, Dead Sea etc. creates a hotspot for a possible map based prelims question. 

    Consider this PYQ from 2015 CSP:

    Q. The area known as ‘Golan Heights’ sometimes appears in the news in the context of the events related to:

    a) Central Asia
    b) Middle East
    c) South-East Asia
    d) Central Africa

    Must read:

    [Burning Issue] West Asia Peace Plan

    Where is West Bank Located?

    • The West Bank is located to the west of the Jordan River.
    • It is a patch of land about one and a half times the size of Goa, was captured by Jordan after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
    • Israel snatched it back during the Six-Day War of 1967 and has occupied it ever since.
    • It is a landlocked territory, bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel to the south, west, and north.
    • Following the Oslo Accords between the Israeli government and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) during the 1990s, part of the West Bank came under the control of the Palestinian Authority.
    • With varying levels of autonomy, the Palestinian Authority controls close to 40 per cent of West Bank today, while the rest is controlled by Israel.

  • United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT)

    The alleged torture and custodial killing of TN father and son by police last week pointed towards a broken criminal justice system and highlighted the need for police reforms and the ratification of the United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT).

    Practice question for mains:

    Q.There is an urgent need for reforming the criminal justice system in India in light of rising cases of custodial torture and killings. Comment.

    United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT)

    • The UNCAT is an international human rights treaty, under the review of the UN and was adopted in 1984.
    • It aims to prevent torture and other acts of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment around the world.
    • The convention requires states to take effective measures to prevent torture in any territory under their jurisdiction and forbids states to transport people to any country where there is reason to believe they will be tortured.
    • Since the convention’s entry into force, the absolute prohibition against torture and other acts of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment has become accepted as a principle of customary international law.

    The Committee against Torture (CAT)

    • It is a body of human rights experts that monitors implementation of the Convention by State parties.
    • The Committee is one of eight UN-linked human rights treaty bodies.
    • All state parties are obliged under the Convention to submit regular reports to the CAT on how rights are being implemented.
    • Upon ratifying the Convention, states must submit a report within one year, after which they are obliged to report every four years.
    • The Committee examines each report and addresses its concerns and recommendations to the State party in the form of “concluding observations.”
    • Under certain circumstances, the CAT may consider complaints or communications from individuals claiming that their rights under the Convention have been violated.

    Optional Protocol to CAT

    • The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) was adopted by the General Assembly on 18 December 2002.
    • It provides for the establishment of a system of regular visits undertaken by independent international and national bodies to places where people are deprived of their liberty, in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

    India needs to ratify UNCAT

    • India signed the convention in 1997 but it remains among a handful of countries including Pakistan and China which are yet to ratify the convention.
    • India is in the company of 25 other nations which have not ratified.
    • The National Human Rights Commission had said custodial violence and torture are already “rampant” in the country.
    • About 1,731 people had died in custody in 2019 a/c to NHRC report.

  • Reviving SAARC

    To counter a hegemon, showing a united front helps. Drawing on this maxim, India has to work on improving its standing in the region. And reviving SAARC could be a right step in this direction. So, why SAARC is in hibernation in the first place? Where India could start? Read to know…

    China challenging India’s interests in the region

    • China, as part of its global expansionism, is chipping away at India’s interests in South Asia.
    • China’s proximity to Pakistan is well known.
    • Nepal is moving closer to China for ideational and material reasons.
    • China is wooing Bangladesh by offering tariff exemption to 97% of Bangladeshi products.
    • China has intensified its ties with Sri Lanka through massive investments.
    • According to a Brookings India study, most South Asian nations are now largely dependent on China for imports despite geographical proximity to India.

    SAARC-Caught in India-Pakistan rivalry

    •  India’s strategic dealing with China has to begin with South Asia.
    • In this regard, it is important to reinvigorate SAARC, which has been in the doldrums since 2014.
    • In the last few years, due to increasing animosity with Pakistan, India’s political interest in SAARC dipped significantly.
    • India has been trying hard to isolate Pakistan internationally for its role in promoting terrorism in India.

    BIMSTEC cannot be an alternative to SAARC

    • India started investing in other regional instruments, such as BIMSTEC, as an alternative to SAARC.
    • However, BIMSTEC cannot replace SAARC for reasons such as lack of a common identity and history among all BIMSTEC members.
    • BIMSTEC’s focus is on the Bay of Bengal region, thus making it an inappropriate forum to engage all South Asian nations.

    Economic integration-way to revive SAARC

    • One way to infuse life in SAARC is to revive the process of South Asian economic integration.
    • South Asia is one of the least integrated regions in the world.
    • Intra-regional trade is at barely 5% of total South Asian trade
    • Intra-regional trade is 25% of intra-regional trade in the ASEAN region.
    • The lack of political will and trust deficit has prevented any meaningful movement.
    • According to the World Bank, trade in South Asia stands at $23 billion of an estimated value of $67 billion.
    • India should take the lead and work with its neighbours to slash the tariff and non-tariff barriers.
    • There’s a need to resuscitate the negotiations on a SAARC investment treaty, pending since 2007.
    • According to the UNCTAD intra-ASEAN investments constitute around 19% of the total investments in the region.
    • The SAARC region can likewise benefit from higher intra-SAARC investment flows.
    • Deeper regional economic integration will create greater interdependence with India acquiring the central role.
    • Which, in turn, would serve India’s strategic interests too.

    Two domestic challenges

    • 1) There has been an unrelenting top-dressing of anti-Pakistan rhetoric and Islamophobia on the Indian soil.
    • There’s also a recurrent use of the ‘Bangladeshi migrant’ rhetoric.
    • It dents India’s soft power of being a liberal and secular democracy, which gives moral legitimacy to India’s leadership in the region.
    • This divisive domestic politics fuels an anti-India sentiment in India’s neighbourhood.
    • 2) The economic vision of the government remains convoluted.
    • It’s unclear what the slogans of atma nirbharta (self-reliance) and ‘vocal for local’ mean.
    • If this marks sliding back to protectionism, one is unsure if India will be interested in deepening South Asian economic integration.

    Consider the question “Examine the issues that hinder the SAARC from realising its full potential as a regional grouping.”

    Conclusion

    Prime Minister did well by reaching out to SAARC leaders earlier this year, but such flash in the pan moments won’t help without sustained engagement.

  • Legal principles to reduce custodial deaths and torture

    This article enumerates the existing legal framework to avoid custodial torture and deaths. Judiciary played a major role in the evolution of these procedures. Yet, incidents of custodial deaths happen. This points to the lack of implementation of established guidelines and procedures.

    Understanding the background of problem

    • In wake of custodial deaths in Tamil Nadu, the debate on Roman dilemma: “Who will guard the guardians” rises again.
    • Torture is anathema to democracy and cannot be tolerated in a civilized society.
    • Answer to prevention of torture can be found in multiple sources like Royal Commissions in the UK, Law Commission report and Police Commission reports in India and also Supreme Court’s progressive case law, like Joginder Kumar (1994) and Nilabati Behera (1993).
    • However, the basic loophole which exists even today is that most torture is done before the arrest is recorded by the police.
    • Safeguards obviously kick in only after the arrest is shown. This is a perennial, insoluble dilemma and all devious police forces globally use it.

    Supreme Court judgement in DK Basu case

    • The DK Basu judgment since 1987 is crucial in dealing with issue of custodial deaths.
    • The judgement has origin from a letter complaint in 1986, which was converted into PIL.
    • 4 crucial and comprehensive judgments — in 1996, twice in 2001 and in 2015 — lay down over 20 commandments, forming the complete structure of this judgement.

    Details of judgment:

    First 11 commandments in 1996, focused on vital processual safeguards:

    • All officials must carry name tags and full identification, arrest memo must be prepared, containing all details regarding time and place of arrest, attested by one family member or respectable member of the locality.
    • The location of arrest must be intimated to one family or next friend, details notified to the nearest legal aid organisation and arrestee must be made known of DK Basu judgement.
    • All such compliances must be recorded in the police register, arrestee must get periodical medical examination, inspection memo must be signed by arrestee also and all such information must be centralised in a central police control room.
    • Breach to be culpable with severe departmental action and additionally contempt also, and this would all be in addition to, not substitution of, any existing remedy.
    • All of the above preventive and punitive measures could go with, and were not alternatives to, full civil monetary damage claims for constitutional tort.

    8 other intermediate orders till 2015:

    • Precise detailed compliance reports of above orders to be submitted by all states and UT and any delayed responses to be  looked into by special sub-committees appointed by state human rights body.
    • Also where no SHRC existed, the chief justice of the high courts to monitor it administratively.
    • It emphasised that existing powers for magisterial inquiries under the CrPC were lackadaisical and must be completed in four months, unless sessions court judges recorded reasons for extension.
    • It also directed SHRCs to be set up expeditiously in each part of India.

    The third and last phase of judgment ended in 2015:

    • Stern directions were given to set up SHRCs and also fill up large vacancies in existing bodies.
    • The power of setting up human rights courts under Section 30 of the NHRC Act was directed to be operationalised.
    • All prisons had to have CCTVs within one year.
    • Non-official visitors would do surprise checks on prisons and police stations.
    • Prosecutions and departmental action to be made unhesitatingly mandated.

    Where do we lack?

    • In operationalising the spirit of DK Basu judgment, in punitive measures, in last mile implementation, in breaking intra-departmental solidarity with errant policemen and in ensuring swift, efficacious departmental coercive action plus criminal prosecution.
    • A 1985 Law Commission report directing enactment of section 114-B into our Evidence Act, raising a rebuttable presumption of culpability against the police if anyone in their custody dies or is found with torture, has still not become law, despite a bill introduced as late as 2017.
    • We still have abysmally deplorable rates of even initiating prosecutions against accused police officers. Actual convictions are virtually non-existent.

    Consider the question “Custodial torture is an anathema to democracy. Examine the issues related to custodial torture and how is it against the basic fundamental rights? What steps should be taken to prevent such acts by the police functionaries?”

    Conclusion

    Monitoring and implementation of DK Basu by independent and balanced civil society individuals at each level, under court supervision, is sufficient to minimise this scourge. It is high time we take actions in this direction.

  • G4 Flu virus and it’s pandemic potential

    In new research, scientists from China – which has the largest population of pigs in the world – have identified a “recently emerged” strain of influenza virus that is infecting Chinese pigs and that has the potential of triggering a pandemic.

    Practice question for mains:

    Q.What are zoonotic diseases? Why China has emerged as the epicentre of global outbreaks of zoonotic disease?

    G4 Flu

    • Named G4, the swine flu strain has genes similar to those in the virus that caused the 2009 flu pandemic.
    • The scientists identified the virus through surveillance of influenza viruses in pigs that they carried out from 2011 to 2018 in ten provinces of China.
    • They also found that the G4 strain has the capability of binding to human-type receptors (like, the SARS-CoV-2 virus binds to ACE2 receptors in humans).
    • The virus was able to copy itself in human airway epithelial cells, and it showed effective infectivity and aerosol transmission.

    Swine industry is the new hotspot for zoonoses

    • The scientists report that the new strain (G4) has descended from the H1N1 strain that was responsible for the 2009 flu pandemic.
    • Pigs are intermediate hosts for the generation of pandemic influenza virus.
    • Thus, systematic surveillance of influenza viruses in pigs is a key measure for pre-warning the emergence of the next pandemic influenza.

    Back2Basics: 2009 swine flu pandemic

    • The WHO declared the outbreak of type A H1N1 influenza virus a pandemic in 2009 when there were around 30,000 cases globally.
    • It was caused by a strain of the swine flu called the H1N1 virus, which was transmitted from human to human.
    • Influenza viruses that commonly circulate in swine are called “swine influenza viruses” or “swine flu viruses”.
    • Like human influenza viruses, there are different subtypes and strains of swine influenza viruses. Essentially, swine flu is a virus that pigs can get infected by.
    • The symptoms of swine flu include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headaches, chills and fatigue.

  • Share the public data with public

    Open access to public data is essential for policy analysis and evidence-based policymaking. Policy framework for sharing of public data by the government is also looked into in this article. 

    How Open Data Charter came about

    • Open-source software enthusiasts and civil society activists in the U.S. and U.K. came with a demand to unlock the data gathered by governments for unfettered access and reuse by citizens.
    • Data collected at public expense must belong to the people. This is the principle for the Open Data Charter adopted by 22 countries since 2015.
    • It calls upon governments to disseminate public data in open digital formats.
    • In return, the Charter argues, governments can expect “innovative, evidence-based policy solutions”.

    Steps toward making data accessible-NDSAP

    •  The National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy (NDSAP) was adopted in 2012.
    • It was a step towards making non-sensitive government data accessible online.
    • The main thrust of the policy is to “promote data sharing and enable access to Government of India owned data for national planning, development and awareness”.
    • The implementation guidelines for NDSAP include ideals such as “openness, flexibility, transparency, quality” of data.
    • It aims to facilitate “access to Government of India shareable data in machine-readable form”.
    • The guidelines prescribe open digital formats suitable for analysis and dissemination.
    • Opaque formats such as the portable document format and the image format are discouraged.
    • As part of the Open Government Data (OGD) initiative, data.gov.in was launched in 2012.
    • However, the implementation has lagged far behind its stated objectives.

    How data could have helped policy making in Covid pandemic

    • The district-wise, demographic-wise case statistics and anonymous contact traces released in the public domain would have proved useful.
    • Reliable model forecasts of disease spread and targeted regional lockdown protocols could have been generated.
    • Model forecasts have limitations, but models without inputs from empirical data are even more unreliable.

    Violation of OGD in data shared for pandemic

    • Principles of OGD notwithstanding, sufficiently granular infection data are not available.
    • Violating the data format guidelines, OGD portal provides COVID-19 data only as a graphic image unsuitable for any analysis.
    • The Indian Council of Medical Research and mygov.in fare no better.
    • They too do not publish district-wise statistics, and the available data are not in usable formats.

    Examples from other countries

    • The data portals of Canada, the U.K. and the U.S. present district-wise COVID-19 cases data.
    • These countries also provide data about the emergent effects on mental health, jobs and education.
    • According to the latest report of the Open Data Barometer, an independent group measuring the impact of open data, these nations lead the pack.
    • India is a contender to reach the top bracket and not a laggard.

    Way forward

    • The government must provide the impetus and incentive to exploit this voluminous data by invigorating the dated national data portal.
    • Every department must be mandated to share substantive data respecting privacy concerns.
    • The government should look within for examples of creative outcomes of opening up the database.
    • Start-ups have built novel applications using Indian Railways data to provide ticket confirmation prediction and real-time train status.

    Consider the question “Examine the provisions for data sharing and accessibility in India. Also, elaborate how the sharing of public data could help in policymaking.”

    Conclusion

    Sharing public data is a way to create beneficial social impact. So, the government must ensure the implementation of policy measures and encourage the analysis of public data to come at the informed policy decision.