Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Issue of custodial death
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.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Paris agreement
Mains level: Paper 2- Challenges the global order face
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
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Data privacy
Mains level: Paper 3- Importance of digital services for Indian economy
Pandemic has been ravaging the economies across the globe but digital services have escaped the onslaught and are thriving. For India, this could be an opportunity. This article highlights the importance of the sector and how some proposed measures could have an adverse impact on the sector.
Emerging trends in economies
- Economic growth has dropped, and the competition for foreign investment is intensifying.
- There are national campaigns to shift supply chains and the urgent necessity to reverse recessionary trends.
- The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development just released its latest World Investment Report.
- The report projected that FDI to developing Asian economies could drop by as much as 45%.
Why digital services would beat this trend
- Digital services have become critical to every 21st century economy.
- Digital services are filling gaps when national or global emergencies interrupt more traditional modes of commerce.
- It enables access to and delivery of a wide array of products across multiple sectors.
How it matters for India
- India offers undeniable potential for innovative homegrown start-ups.
- India has a huge and increasingly digitised population.
- Indian government policies will be key determinants in how quickly and at what level the economy attracts new investment.
- Fostering innovation, and expanding its exporting prowess will also matter.
Three pending measure
- Three pending reform measures under consideration are-
- 1) Personal Data Protection Bill (PDPB).
- 2) The e-commerce policy.
- 3) The Information Technology Act Amendments.
Issues with these measures
- These regulatory reforms seem to emphasise a focus on protecting the domestic market for domestic companies.
- It also prioritises government access to data.
- It may be difficult to reconcile these approaches with India’s strong interest in i) promoting data privacy ii) protecting its democratic institutions iii) encouraging FDI and India’s position as a global leader in information technology.
India-US trade relationship issue
- The India-U.S. trade relationship is uncertain.
- The bilateral relationship is an important factor for greater trade and investment in digital services.
- India and the U.S. are yet to conclude negotiation on a bilateral trade agreement that could address some digital services issues.
- The U.S. just initiated a “Section 301” review.
- The review seeks whether digital services taxes in 10 countries constitute “unfair” trade measures, including India’s equalisation levy.
Consider the question “Digital services have become critical to every 21st-century economy and more so for Indian economy. In light, highlight the salience of digital services for the Indian economy and what are the issues that could affect the growth trajectory of the sector in India?”
Conclusion
Post-COVID-19 international cooperation and approaches to good governance in the digital sphere will be top-priority initiatives. The steps India takes now could well establish itself as a true global leader.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: West Bank and its location
Mains level: Israeli claims over West Bank and Gaza
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.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT)
Mains level: Police reforms in India
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.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ‘Accelerate Vigyan’ Scheme
Mains level: Research facilitation schemes in India
To provide a single platform for research internships, capacity building programs and workshops across the country, the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) has launched a new scheme called ‘Accelerate Vigyan’ (AV).
Note the following things about the ‘Accelerate Vigyan’ Scheme:
1) Implementing agency/ Nodal Ministry
2) Primary objective
3) Target beneficiaries
4) Its components
‘Accelerate Vigyan’ Scheme
- Accelerate Vigyan (AV) strives to provide a big push to high-end scientific research and prepare scientific manpower which can venture into research careers and knowledge-based economy.
- The primary objective of this scheme is to give more thrust on encouraging high-end scientific research and preparing scientific manpower, which can lead to research careers and knowledge-based economy.
- AV will initiate and strengthen mechanisms of identifying research potential, mentoring, training and hands-on workshop on a national scale.
- The aim is to expand the research base in the country, with three broad goals – consolidation / aggregation of all scientific training programs, initiating High-end Orientation Workshops and creating opportunities for Research Internships.
Components of AV
1) ABHYAAS
- It is an attempt to boost research and development in the country by enabling and grooming potential PG/PhD students by means of developing their research skills in selected areas across different disciplines or fields.
- It has two components: High-End Workshops (‘KARYASHALA’) and Research Internships (‘VRITIKA’).
- This is especially important for those researchers who have limited opportunities to access such learning capacities/facilities/infrastructure.
2) SAMOOHAN
- Mission ‘SAMOOHAN’ marks the beginning of Accelerate Vigyan.
- It aims to encourage, aggregate and consolidate all scientific interactions in the country under one common roof.
- It has been sub-divided into ‘SAYONJIKA’ and ‘SANGOSHTI’.
- SAYONJIKA is an open-ended program to catalogue the capacity building activities in science and technology supported by all government funding agencies in the country.
- SANGOSHTI is a pre-existing program of SERB.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Central Zoo Authority (CZA)
Mains level: NA
The Environment Ministry has reconstituted the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) to include an expert from the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi, and a molecular biologist.
Note following things about CZA:
1)Its constitution under any Act
2)Composition
3)Roles and functions
About CZA
- The CZA is the body of the government responsible for oversight of zoos constituted under the section 38A of Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972.
- The main objective of the authority is to complement the national effort in the conservation of wildlife.
- Standards and norms for housing, upkeep, health care and overall management of animals in zoos have been laid down under the Recognition of Zoo Rules, 1992.
Roles & Functions
- The Authority’s role is more of a facilitator than a regulator.
- It, therefore, provides technical and financial assistance to such zoos which have the potential to attain the desired standard in animal management.
- Primary function– grant of recognition and release of financial assistance.
- It also regulates the exchange of animals of endangered category Listed under Schedule-I and II of the Wildlife (Protection) Act among zoos.
- Exchange of animals between Indian and foreign zoos is also approved by the Authority before the requisite clearances under EXIM Policy and the CITES permits are issued by the competent authority.
- The Authority also coordinates and implements programmes on capacity building of zoo personnel, planned breeding programmes and ex-situ research including biotechnological intervention for the conservation of species for complementing in-situ conservation efforts in the country.
Composition
- Apart from the chairman, it consists of 10 members and a member-secretary.
- Almost all of them are officials in the Environment Ministry and NGO experts are those who are wildlife conservationists or retired forest officers.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Bahuda Yatra, Puri Temple Architecture
Mains level: Temple Architecture of India
The Bahuda Yatra, the return journey of the deities to the Puri Jagannath temple after the annual Rath Yatra, was recently concluded amid permitted restrictions.
Bahuda Yatra
- A/c to folk stories Lord Jagannath and his siblings, Goddess Shubhadra and Lord Balabhadra, returns from their aunt’s place at Gundicha Temple to Jagannath Temple.
- This journey is known as Bahuda Yatra.
- Nine days after the Rath Yatra, the yatra or the return journey takes place.
About Jagannath Rath Yatra
- Ratha Jatra, the Festival of Chariots of Lord Jagannatha is celebrated every year at Puri, the temple town in Orissa, on the east coast of India.
- It involves a public procession with a chariot with deities Jagannath (Vishnu avatar), BalaBhadra (his brother), Subhadra (his sister) and Sudarshana Chakra (his weapon) on a ratha, a wooden deula-shaped chariot.
- The huge, colourfully decorated chariots, are drawn by hundreds and thousands of devotees on the bada danda, the grand avenue to the Gundicha temple, some two miles away to the North.
- It attracts over a million Hindu pilgrims who join the procession each year.
Back2Basics: Puri Temple Architecture
- Jagannath Temple is a very big temple and covers an area of 37000m2. The height of the outer wall is 6.1m.
- It is surrounded by a high fortified wall 6.1 m high is known as Meghanada Pacheri.
- The main portion of the temple is also surrounded by a wall known as Kurma Bheda.
- The temple is built in Rekha Deula style and has four distinct sectional structures, namely –
- Deula, Vimana or Garba griha (Sanctum sanctorum) where the triad deities are lodged on the ratnavedi (Throne of Pearls)
- Mukhashala (Frontal porch)
- Nata mandir/Natamandapa, which is also known as the Jagamohan (Audience Hall/Dancing Hall), and
- Bhoga Mandapa (Offerings Hall)
Try this question from CSP 2019:
Q.Building ‘Kalyaana Mandapas’ was a notable feature in the temple construction in the kingdom of-
(a) Chalukya (b) Chandela (c) Rashtrakuta (d) Vijayanagara
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