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  • Freedom of Speech – Defamation, Sedition, etc.

    Explained: Shreya Singhal case that struck down Section 66A of IT Act

    | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Indian Constitution – historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure

    Six years after it struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Supreme Court earlier this month termed its continued use by law enforcement agencies of various states as “a shocking state of affairs” and sought a response from the Centre.

    What did Section 66A do?

    • Introduced in 2008, the amendment to the IT Act, 2000, gave the government power to arrest and imprison an individual for allegedly “offensive and menacing” online posts, and was passed without discussion in Parliament.
    • Section 66A empowered police to make arrests over what policemen, in terms of their subjective discretion, could construe as “offensive” or “menacing” or for the purposes of causing annoyance, inconvenience, etc.
    • It prescribed the punishment for sending messages through a computer or any other communication device like a mobile phone or a tablet, and a conviction could fetch a maximum of three years in jail.
    • In 2015, the apex court struck down the law in the landmark case Shreya Singhal v. Union of India, calling it “open-ended and unconstitutionally vague”, and thus expanded the contours of free speech to the Internet.

    Why was the law criticized?

    • The problem was with the vagueness about what is “offensive”.
    • The word having a very wide connotation was open to distinctive, varied interpretations.
    • It was seen as subjective, and what might have been innocuous for one person, could lead to a complaint from someone else and, consequently, an arrest arbitrarily.

    So, how did 66A come under the Supreme Court’s scrutiny?

    • The first petition came up in the court following the arrest of two girls in Maharashtra by Thane Police in November 2012 over a Facebook post.
    • The girls had made comments on the shutdown of Mumbai for the funeral of a political leader.
    • The arrests triggered outrage from all quarters over the manner in which the cyber law was used.
    • The petition was filed by Shreya Singhal, then a 21-year-old law student.

    What were the grounds for the challenge?

    • The objective behind the 2008 amendment was to prevent the misuse of information technology, particularly through social media.
    • The petitioners argued that Section 66A came with extremely wide parameters, which allowed whimsical interpretations by law enforcement agencies.
    • Most of the terms used in the section had not been specifically defined under the Act.
    • The law was a potential tool to gag legitimate free speech online and to curtail freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under the Constitution, going far beyond the ambit of “reasonable restrictions” on that freedom.

    What did the Supreme Court decide?

    • In March 2015, a bench of Justices J. Chelameswar and R.F. Nariman ruled in Shreya Singhal v. Union of India declared Section 66A unconstitutional for “being violative of Article 19(1)(a) and not saved under Article 19(2).”
    • Article 19(1)(a) gives people the right to speech and expression whereas 19(2) accords the state the power to impose “reasonable restrictions” on the exercise of this right.
    • The decision was considered a landmark judicial pushback against state encroachment on the freedom of speech and expression.
    • The bench also read down Section 79– now at the centre of the ongoing “intermediary liability” battle between the Centre and micro-blogging platform Twitter– defining key rules for the relationship between governments and commercial internet platforms.
    • Section 79 says that any intermediary shall not be held legally or otherwise liable for any third party information, data, or communication link made available or hosted on its platform.

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  • Civil Aviation Sector – CA Policy 2016, UDAN, Open Skies, etc.

    Draft Drone Rules, 2021

    Bills/Act/Laws | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and agreements involving India

    The Ministry of Civil Aviation has released Draft Drone Rules, 2021, for public consultation. The rules will replace the Unmanned Aircraft System Rules, 2021.

    Highlights of the Draft Drone Rules 2021

    Number of forms: The rules propose to reduce the number of forms required for manufacturing, importing, testing, certifying and operating drones in India from 25 to six.

    Abolishing authorization number: The draft seeks to abolish the unique authorisation number, unique prototype identification number, and certificate of conformance that were previously required for approval of drone flights.

    Digital Sky Platform: Digital Sky, a platform launched by the government in December 2018, will become a single-window system for all approvals under the newly proposed rules.

    Airspace map: An airspace map segregating the entire landmass of India into Green, Yellow and Red zones will be published on the platform within 30 days of notification of the new rules, the government said. The map will also be machine-readable through an Application Programming Interface (API) for easier plotting of drone flight paths.

    Airport Perimeter: The draft rules reduced the airport perimeter from 45 km to 12 km. The rules state that no flight permissions would be required to fly up to 400 feet in green zones and up to 200 feet in the area between 8 and 12 km from the airport perimeter.

    Drone corridors: The government will also publish a policy framework for Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) within 60 days of notifying the rules. This will also include frameworks for developing “drone corridors” for the safe transfer of goods by drones.

    Drone Promotion Council: The Rules also propose the setting up of a Drone Promotion Council, with the aim of facilitating a business-friendly regulatory regime for drones in India, the establishment of incubators for developing drone technologies and organizing competitive events to showcase drones and counter-drone solutions.

    Others: To implement safety features such as “no permission, no take-off”, real-time tracking and geofencing, drone manufacturers, importers and operators will get six months’ time to comply from the date of notification of the rules.

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    When were Tilak and Gandhi tried under the Sedition Law?

    Prelims Only | | Mains Paper 1: Modern Indian History

    Recently, Chief Justice of India N V Ramana observed that the “colonial law” was used by the British to silence Mahatma Gandhi and Bal Gangadhar Tilak.

    Must read:

    Sedition Law and its discontents

    Use of sedition law through history

    • According to the LOC blog, the first known instance of the application of the law was the trial of newspaper editor Jogendra Chandra Bose in 1891.
    • Other prominent examples of the application of the law include the trials of Tilak and Gandhi.
    • Apart from this, Jawaharlal Nehru, Abul Kalam Azad and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar were also charged with sedition.

    When was sedition law used against Gandhi and Tilak?

    • In 1922, Gandhi was arrested on charges of sedition in Bombay for taking part in protests against the colonial government.
    • He was sentenced to six years in prison but was released after two years because of medical reasons.
    • Before Gandhi, Tilak faced three trials in cases related to sedition and was imprisoned twice.
    • He was charged with sedition in 1897 for writing an article in his weekly publication called Kesari and was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment.
    • He has tried again in 1908 and was represented by MA Jinnah. But his application for bail was rejected and he was sentenced to six years.
    • The second time he was tried was also because of his writings, one of which referred to the murder of European women in Muzzafarpur when bombs were thrown by Bengali revolutionaries.
    • Interestingly, the judge who announced Tilak’s sentence in the second trial, Justice DD Davar, had represented him in his first trial in 1897.

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  • Digital India Initiatives

    [pib] Kisan Sarathi Platform

    PIB | Agriculture | Mains Paper 3: E-Technology In The Aid Of Farmers

    In order to facilitate farmers to get ‘right information at right time’ in their desired language, a digital platform namely ‘Kisan Sarathi’ was launched by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

    Kisan Sarathi

    • This digital platform empowers farmers with the technological interventions to reach farmers in remote areas.
    • Through this platform, the farmers can interact and avail personalized advisories on agriculture and allied areas directly from the respective scientists of Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVKs).
    • Using this platform, farmers can get information about crop and crop production, among other things that will help them in improving the quantity of their produce.
    • Farmers will be able to get information about good crop practices, the right amount of products and many other basic things.

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  • Police Reforms – SC directives, NPC, other committees reports

    Interference an investigating officer can do without

    op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary

    Context

    Instances of judiciary directing the investigating officer point to the need for restraint from the judiciary.

    Challenging the discretion of investigating officer

    • There have been growing instances of subordinate judicial officers, and even High Courts sometimes, directing the investigating officer to effect the arrest of a particular individual.
    • To deal with the issue, the Supreme Court of India recently made the observation that courts have no authority to direct an investigating officer to in turn direct the arrest of any particular individual connected with a crime
    • This points to the need for a slightly kindlier view of police conduct and more latitude to them in the standard operating procedures which they follow, especially when they investigate a complicated crime.
    • The Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) vests sufficient discretion in the investigating officer to take such decisions as arrests and searches.

    Issues with court’s directions

    • Court observations that smack of a lack of faith in police ability and integrity will make grass-root level policemen even more arbitrary than now and force them into carrying out questionable actions that will cast aspersions on an officer’s ability to think for himself.
    • Court interference in the day-to-day investigation is not only undesirable but is also not sanctioned by law.
    • Only the Supreme Court, has been vested with enormous authority and discretion by the Constitution, the lesser courts shall not give directions in the matter of arrests and searches.

    Safeguard against police misconduct

    • We need to educate the Executive and the common man that it is now well-established law that the police have to register an FIR.
    • It is mandatory that every police station in the land should register a complaint under the relevant sections of a statute the moment a cognisable offence is made out in the complaint
    • There is another safeguard against police misconduct.
    • The CrPC makes it obligatory for the investigating officer to write a diary that details the action taken every day following registration.
    • When in doubt, the competent court, which already has a copy of the first information report, can demand to see the case diary.
    • Courts should remember that the police are a well-established hierarchy that is obligated to ensure objectivity during a criminal investigation.
    • Every investigation is supervised by at least two immediate senior officers.

    Conclusion

    Judicial interference in an investigation is counterproductive to the idea of justice. Therefore, there is a need for allowing more freedom to the investigating officers in the standard operating procedure that they follow.

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  • Addressing claims of backwardness by various politically powerful castes

    op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary,Government Scheme/Policies

    Context

    Two rulings of the Supreme Court have frayed nerves in Maharashtra on the broader question of “reservation”. The other pertains to OBC reservation in local bodies. Both issues have relevance beyond Maharashtra.

    Challenges in addressing the demand for reservation

    • Lack of quantitative data: The issue of actual numbers or population share of OBCs has been talked about for over a decade.
    • Besides, there is a need to understand the socio-economic situation of different backward communities.
    • In the last instance, we have to decide which groups are backward and what needs to be done for them.
    • The political class have consistently avoided the juridical reality.

    Consensus between judiciary and political class

    • That consensus after implementation of Mandal commission recommendation had three dimensions:
    • 1) Accepting that caste is the main cause of tradition-born backwardness among a large section of the population.
    • 2) Resorting to “reservation” as the easiest policy response.
    • 3) Recognising and accommodating the political aspirations of the backward sections by expanding the social base of the political elite.
    • But this resulted in the current deadlock on the question of social justice.
    • Today, not only the Marathas, but Jats and Patidars, too, claim that vast numbers among them have been left behind in the contemporary economy.
    • These demands have deflected attention from two matters.
    • 1) That the enabling provision of the Constitution aims at social backwardness (caused by societal location).
    • 2) That the causes of economic distress originating in development policies are distinct from backwardness primarily originating in caste location.
    • Granting reservations on an economic basis seems to have complicated matters.

    Five reservation-related issues gaining renewed urgency

    • Intra-OBC differentiations: This issue was already raised by a member of the Mandal Commission itself.
    • Most states have failed to come up with an effective arrangement to addressing the issue.
    • The Centre is currently waiting for a report on this question.
    • Intra-caste stratification: Intra-caste stratification is increasing — something that was rather limited at the time of Mandal.
    • What sociologist D L Sheth called as classification is now becoming the central issue, with many complications.
    • Advantages and logic: The third question is about the specific advantages and logic of reservation in the three different arenas of employment, education and political representation.
    • Limits of reservation: There is need to discuss the limits of reservation and the need to think of additional measures to augment the policy of social justice.
    • Setting boundaries: With such widespread poverty and suffering, how do we distinguish between backwardness primarily caused by a group’s social location in traditional social order and backwardness resulting from distortions of the political economy?
    • Unless we grapple with this question, reservation is bound to remain a contentious issue.

    Way forward

    • The above questions are best left ideally to a third backward classes commission whose time has come.
    • Removing the 50 per cent cap legislatively needs to be considered.

    Conclusion

    We need to devise a mechanism to verify the claims of backwardness to address the increasing demands for reservation from the politically strong section of society.

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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-Afghanistan

    Explained: India’s Afghan investment

    | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: India & Its Neighborhood – Relations

    As the Taliban push ahead with military offensives across Afghanistan, preparing to take over after the exit of US and NATO forces, India faces a situation in which it may lose all its stakes.

    India-Afghan ties

    • After a break between 1996 and 2001, when India joined the world in shunning the previous Taliban regime (only Pakistan, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia kept ties).
    • One-way New Delhi re-established ties with the country in the two decades after the 9/11 attacks was to pour in development assistance, under the protective umbrella of the US presence.
    • India built vital roads, dams, electricity transmission lines and substations, schools and hospitals, etc. India’s development assistance is now estimated to be worth well over $3 billion.
    • And unlike in other countries where India’s infrastructure projects have barely got off the ground or are mired in the host nation’s politics, it has delivered in Afghanistan.

    A soft corner

    • Afghanistan is vital to India’s strategic interests in the region.
    • It is also perhaps the only SAARC nation whose people have much affection for India.
    • Taliban takeover would mean a reversal of nearly 20 years of rebuilding a relationship that goes back centuries.

    Projects across the country

    [1] SALMA DAM

    • Already, there has been fighting in the area where one of India’s high-visibility projects is located — the 42MW Salma Dam in Herat province.
    • The hydropower and irrigation project, completed against many odds and inaugurated in 2016, is known as the Afghan-India Friendship Dam.
    • In the past few weeks, the Taliban have mounted attacks in nearby places, killing several security personnel.
    • The Taliban claim the area around the dam is now under their control.

    [2] ZARANJ-DELARAM HIGHWAY

    • The other high-profile project was the 218-km Zaranj-Delaram highway built by the Border Roads Organisation. Zaranj is located close to Afghanistan’s border with Iran.
    • With Pakistan denying India overland access for trade with Afghanistan, the highway is of strategic importance to New Delhi, as it provides an alternative route into landlocked Afghanistan through Iran’s Chabahar port.

    [3] AFGHAN PARLIAMENT

    • The Afghan Parliament in Kabul was built by India at $90 million.
    • It was opened in 2015; PM Modi inaugurated the building.
    • A block in the building is named after former PM AB Vajpayee.

    [4] STOR PALACE

    • In 2016, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and PM Modi inaugurated the restored Stor Palace in Kabul, originally built in the late 19th century.
    • It is famous for the 1919 Rawalpindi Agreement by which Afghanistan became an independent country.

    [5] POWER INFRA

    • Other Indian projects in Afghanistan include the rebuilding of power infrastructure such as the 220kV DC transmission line from Pul-e-Khumri, the capital of Baghlan province to the north of Kabul.
    • Indian contractors and workers also restored telecommunications infrastructure in many provinces.

    [6] HEALTH INFRA

    • India has reconstructed a children’s hospital it had helped build in Kabul in 1972 —named Indira Gandhi Institute for Child Health in 1985 — that was in shambles after the war.
    • ‘Indian Medical Missions’ have held free consultation camps in several areas.
    • Thousands who lost their limbs after stepping on mines left over from the war have been fitted with the Jaipur Foot.
    • India has also built clinics in the border provinces of Badakhshan, Balkh, Kandahar, Khost, Kunar, Nangarhar, Nimruz, Nooristan, Paktia and Paktika.

    [7] TRANSPORTATION

    • According to the MEA, India gifted 400 buses and 200 mini-buses for urban transportation, 105 utility vehicles for municipalities, 285 military vehicles for the Afghan Army.
    • It also gave three Air India aircraft to Ariana, the Afghan national carrier, when it was restarting operations.

    [8] OTHER PROJECTS

    • India has contributed desks and benches for schools, and built solar panels in remote villages, and Sulabh toilet blocks in Kabul.
    • New Delhi has also played a role in building capacity, with vocational training institutes, scholarships to Afghan students, mentoring programmes in the civil service, and training for doctors and others.

    Various ongoing project

    • India had concluded with Afghanistan an agreement for the construction of the Shatoot Dam in Kabul district, which would provide safe drinking water to 2 million residents.
    • Last year, India pledged $1 million for another Aga Khan heritage project, the restoration of the Bala Hissar Fort south of Kabul, whose origins go back to the 6th century.
    • Bala Hissar went on to become a significant Mughal fort, parts of it were rebuilt by Jahangir, and it was used as a residence by Shah Jahan.

    Bilateral trade

    • Despite the denial of an overland route by Pakistan, the India-Afghanistan trade has grown with the establishment in 2017 of an air freight corridor.
    • In 2019-20, bilateral trade crossed $1.3 billion.
    • The balance of trade is heavily tilted — exports from India are worth approximately $900 million, while Afghanistan’s exports to India are about $500 million.
    • Afghan exports are mainly fresh and dried fruit.
    • Some of this comes overland through the Wagah border; Pakistan has permitted Afghan trade with India through its territory.
    • Indian exports to Afghanistan take place mainly through government-to-government contracts with Indian companies.
    • Exports include pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, computers and related materials, cement, and sugar.
    • Trade through Chabahar started in 2017 but is restricted by the absence of connectivity from the port to the Afghan border.

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  • Freedom of Speech – Defamation, Sedition, etc.

    Sedition Law and its discontents

    | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Indian Constitution – historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure

    The CJI is now convinced that sedition law (IPC 124A) is being misused by the authorities to trample upon citizens’ fundamental rights of free speech and liberty.

    What does Section 124A of the IPC say?

    • The section deals with the offence of sedition, a term that covers speech or writing, or any form of visible representation, which brings the government into hatred or contempt, or excites disaffection towards the government, or attempts to do so.
    • It is punishable with three years in prison or a life term.
    • “Disaffection”, it says, includes disloyalty and feelings of enmity.
    • However, it also says expressing disapproval of government measures or actions, with a view to getting them changed by lawful means, without promoting hatred or disaffection or contempt towards the government will not come under this section.

    What is its origin?

    • Colonial past: Sedition was introduced in the penal code in 1870, a decade after the Indian Penal Code came into force.
    • It was a colonial law directed against strong criticism of the British administration.
    • Putting curb on Freedom fighters: Its most famous victims included Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Mahatma Gandhi.
    • Gandhi called it “the prince among the political sections of the IPC designed to suppress the liberty of the citizen”.

    Is it constitutionally valid?

    • Violative of FRs: Two high courts had found it unconstitutional after Independence, as it violated the freedom of speech and expression.
    • Reasonable restrictions: The Constitution was amended to include ‘public order’ as one of the ‘reasonable restrictions’ on which free speech could be abridged by law.
    • Kedar Nath Case: Thereafter, the Supreme Court, in Kedar Nath Singh v. State of Bihar (1962) upheld its validity.
    • At the same time, it limited its application to acts that involve “intention or tendency to create disorder” or incitement to violence.
    • Thus, even strongly worded remarks, as long as they do not excite disloyalty and enmity, or incite violence, are not an offence under this section.

    Why the controversy now?

    • Frequent use: In recent times, the resort to this section is seen as disturbingly frequent.
    • Curbing dissent: Activists, cartoonists and intellectuals have been arrested under this section, drawing criticism from liberals that it is being used to suppress dissent and silence critics.
    • Misuse for propaganda: Authorities and the police who invoke this section defend the measure as a necessary step to prevent public disorder and anti-national activities.
    • Irrelevance: Many of them have also been detained under the National Security Act and UAPA.

    What is being debated about it?

    • Liberals and rights activists have been demanding the scrapping of Section 124A.
    • It is argued that the provision is “overbroad”, i.e., it defines the offence in wide terms threatening the liberty of citizens.
    • The Law Commission has also called for a reconsideration of the section.
    • It has pointed that Britain abolished it more than a decade ago and raised the question of whether a provision introduced by the British to put down the freedom struggle should continue to be law in India.
    • Some argue that a presumption of constitutionality does not apply to pre-constitutional laws as those laws have been made by foreign legislature or bodies.

    What has the apex court observed?

    • Justice D.Y. Chandrachud had flagged the indiscriminate use of the sedition law against people who aired their grievances about the government’s COVID management.
    • People have been charged even for seeking help to gain medical access, equipment, drugs and oxygen cylinders, especially during the second wave of the pandemic.
    • Justice U.U. Lalit, in his recent judgment, quashed a sedition case against a person for his alleged remarks about the PM and the Union Government.

    Way forward

    • The time is long past when the mere criticism of governments was sufficient to constitute sedition.
    • The right to utter honest and reasonable criticism is a source of strength to a community rather than a weakness, the CJI has recorded.

    Try answering this PYQ:

    Q.With reference to Rowlatt Satyagraha, which of the following statements is/are correct?

    1. The Rowlatt Act was based on the recommendations of the ‘Sedition Committee’.
    2. In Rowlatt Satyagraha, Gandhiji tried to utilize the Home Rule League.
    3. Demonstrations against the arrival of Simon Commission coincided with Rowlatt Satyagraha.

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 1 and 2 only

    (c) 2 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

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  • Parliament – Sessions, Procedures, Motions, Committees etc

    What is Adjournment Motion?

    | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Parliament & State Legislatures

    Ahead of the Monsoon session of Parliament, a political party from Punjab has decided to move an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha against the government on the three controversial farm laws.

    Revise all the devices of parliamentary proceedings from your Polity Book.

    Recalling the three laws

    1. Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020
    2. Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020
    3. Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020

    [Burning Issue] Agricultural Reform Bills, 2020

    What is Adjournment Motion?

    • Adjournment motion is aimed to draw the attention of the House to a recent matter of urgent public importance having serious consequences.
    • The matter proposed to be raised should be of such a character that something very grave which affects the whole country and its security has happened.
    • The House is required to pay its attention immediately by interrupting the normal business of the House.
    • It can introduce only in the Lok Sabha.
    • It involves an element of censure against the government, therefore Rajya Sabha is not permitted to make use of this device.
    • In the event of an adjournment motion being adopted, the House automatically stands adjourned.

    How it is held?

    • It is regarded as an extraordinary device as it interrupts the normal business of the House.
    • It needs the support of 50 members to be admitted.
    • The notice of an adjournment motion is required to be given on the prescribed form.
    • A member can give not more than one notice for any one sitting.
    • The discussion on this motion should last for not less than two hours and thirty minutes.

    Restrictions to the motion

    The right to move a motion for an adjournment of the business of the House is subject to the following restrictions. It should:

    • Not raise a question of privilege.
    • Not revive discussion on a matter that has been discussed in the same session.
    • Not deal with any matter that is under adjudication of court.
    • Not raise any question that can be raised on a distinct motion.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.The Parliament of India exercises control over the functions of the Council of Ministers through:

    1. Adjournment motion
    2. Question hour
    3. Supplementary questions

    Select the correct answer using the code given below: (CSP 2017)

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 2 and 3 only

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  • Climate Change Impact on India and World – International Reports, Key Observations, etc.

    Why the Amazon forests are no longer acting as a carbon sink

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Important Geophysical Phenomena

    The Amazon forests in South America, which are the largest tropical forests in the world, have started emitting carbon dioxide (CO2) instead of absorbing carbon emissions.

    Note the countries bordered by the Amazon forests.

    Amazon forests

    • The Amazon rainforest is a moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America.
    • This basin encompasses 7,000,000 sq km of which 5,500,000 sq km are covered by the rainforest.
    • The majority of the forest is contained within Brazil, with 60% of the rainforest, followed by Peru with 13%, Colombia with 10%, and with minor amounts in Bolivia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.
    • It represents over half of the planet’s remaining rainforests and comprises the largest and most biodiverse tract of tropical rainforest in the world.

    Why in news?

    • A significant amount of deforestation in eastern and southeastern Brazil has turned the forest into a source of CO2 that has the ability to warm the planet.
    • Not only the Amazon rainforests, some forests in Southeast Asia have also turned into carbon sources in the last few years as a result of the formation of plantations and fires.

    What have the researchers found?

    • Over the years as fossil-fuel emissions across the world have increased, the Amazon forests have absorbed CO2 from the atmosphere, helping to moderate the global climate.
    • But researchers are not saying that because of significant levels of deforestation (over the course of 40 years) there has been a long-term decrease in rainfall and increase in temperatures during the dry season.
    • Because of these reasons the eastern Amazon forests are no longer carbon sinks, whereas the more intact and wetter forests in the central and western parts are neither carbon sinks nor are they emitters.
    • Another reason for the eastern region not being able to absorb as much CO2 as it did previously is the conversion of forests into agricultural land.

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