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  • The need for an anti-discrimination law

    India has a unique distinction of being a democracy without comprehensive legislation to back the constitutional right of equality. This lack of legislation gives rise to certain issues. Every time the case of discrimination is brought the discriminating party claims that he is at liberty to do so. Not only this, in a certain case, the Supreme Court also endorsed such restrictive interpretation. All this points to the need for the comprehensive legislation.

    Indirect and unintended discrimination

    • More than 70 years after Independence, our society remains rife with structural discrimination.
    • These prejudices, which pervade every aspect of life, from access to basic goods, to education and employment, are sometimes manifest.
    • But, on other occasions, the discrimination is indirect and even unintended. 
    • The forms that it takes were perhaps best explained by the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Griggs vs. Duke Power Co. (1971).
    • There, the court held that an energy company had fallen foul of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964 — which made racial discrimination in private workplaces illegal.
    • The company had insisted on a superfluous written test by applicants for its better entry-level jobs.
    • Although, on the face of it, this requirement was race-neutral, in practice it allowed the company to victimise African-Americans.
    • In a memorable judgment, invoking an Aesop fable, Chief Justice Burger wrote that “tests or criteria for employment or promotion may not provide equality of opportunity merely in the sense of the fabled offer of milk to the stork and the fox.”
    • On the contrary, the law, he said, resorting again to the fable, “provided that the vessel in which the milk is proffered be one all seekers can use.”
    • That is, that it wasn’t merely “overt discrimination” that was illegal but also “practices that are fair in form, but discriminatory in operation”.

    Let’s look into 2 cases in India

    1. Madhu vs. Northern Railway

    • The verdict in Griggs was notably applied in the Delhi High Court’s 2018 judgment in Madhu vs. Northern Railway.
    • There, the Railways had denied free medical treatment to the wife and daughter of an employee which they would otherwise have been entitled to under the rules.
    • The Railways contended that the employee had “disowned” his family and had had their names struck off his medical card.
    • The court held that to make essential benefits such as medical services subject to a declaration by an employee might be “facially neutral”, but it produced a disparate impact, particularly on women and children.
    • But while this case concerned discrimination by the state, entry barriers to goods such as housing, schools and employment tend to function in the realm of private contracts.

    Is Article 15 applicable in private contracts?

    •  The Constitution is markedly vocal on this too.
    • Article 15(2) stipulates that citizens shall not on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth be denied access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and places of public entertainment.
    • Yet, on occasion, this right, which applies horizontally, inter se individuals, comes into conflict with the rights of persons to associate with others, often to the exclusion of certain groups.

    2. Zoroastrian Cooperative Housing Society vs District Registrar Co-operative Societies (Urban) and Others

    • This is why every time a case of discrimination is brought, the party that discriminates claims that he possesses a liberty to do so, that he must be free to act according to his own sense of conscience.
    • The Supreme Court in 2005 endorsed one such restrictive bond, when it ruled in favour of a bye-law of a Parsi housing society that prohibited the sale of the property to non-Parsis.
    • This right to forbid such a sale, the Court ruled, was intrinsic in the Parsis’ fundamental right to associate with each other.
    • But in holding thus, the judgment, as Gautam Bhatia points out in his book, The Transformative Constitution, not only conflated the freedom to contract with the constitutional freedom to associate but also overlooked altogether Article 15(2).

    Let’s look into the scope of Article 15(2)

    • At first blush, Article 15(2) might appear to be somewhat limited in scope.
    • But the word “shops” used in it is meant to be read widely.
    • A study of the Constituent Assembly’s debates on the clause’s framing shows us that the founders explicitly intended to place restrictions on any economic activity that sought to exclude specific groups.
    • For example, when a person refuses to lease her property to another based on the customer’s faith, such a refusal would run directly counter to the guarantee of equality.

    India: A country with no legislative backing to the fundamental right to equality

    • India is unique among democracies in that a constitutional right to equality is not supported by comprehensive legislation.
    • In South Africa, for example, a constitutional guarantee is augmented by an all-encompassing law which prohibits unfair discrimination not only by the government but also by private organisations and individuals.

    Consider the question “Discrimination partakes different forms. And due to lack of any legislation backing the Right to Equality, this right is just as capable of being threatened by acts of private individuals as they are by the state.” In light of this, discuss the need for an act backing the Right to Equality and right against discrimination.”

    Conclusion

    Any reasonable conception of justice would demand that we look beyond the intentions of our actions, and at the engrained structures of society.  To that end, the idea of enacting a law that will help ameliorate our ways of life, that will help reverse our deep-rooted culture of discrimination, is worth thinking about.

  • Skill University

    This article highlights the utility of skill education in India. There are several benefits in its adoption. But it would require several regulatory changes. So, what are these changes?Read to know…

    3 issues with our university education

    •  The differential lockdown outcomes for skilled and unskilled workers highlight our university system’s pre-existing conditions. These are-
    • 1) Broken employability promises.
    • 2) Poor employer connectivity.
    • 3) Poor return on private investment that frustrate parents and students.

    4 ways in which skill university differs from traditional university

    • A skill university differs from a traditional university in four ways.
    • 1) It prays to the one god of employers; for governance, faculty, curriculum, and pedagogy.
    • 2) It has four classrooms; on-campus, on-line, on-site, and on-the-job.
    • 3) It offers modularity between four qualifications; certificates, diplomas, advanced diplomas, and degrees.
    • 4) And it has four sources of financing — employers, students, CSR, and loans though employers contribute more than 95 per cent of the costs.
    • Fro example,  in the case of Gujrat government’s skill university, 97 per cent of the university’s budget comes from employers.

    5 ways in which the universities are broken globally

    • First is broken promises.
    • The world produced more graduates in the last 35 years than 700 years before.
    • Second is broken financing.
    • More than 50 per cent of $1.5 trillion in student debt was expected to default even before the COVID pandemic.
    • Indian bank education loans have high NPAs.
    • The third is broken inclusiveness.
    • The system works for privileged urban males studying full-time, but today’s students are likely to be female, poor, older, rural, or studying part-time.
    • Fourth is broken flexibility.
    • Employed learners will cross traditional learners in three years, but they need on-demand, on-the-go, always-on, rolling admissions, continuous assessment, and qualification modularity.
    • And finally is broken openness. 
    • Google knowing everything makes learning how to learn a key 21st-century skill.
    • Yet too many universities are stuck in knowing.

    Let’s look into the regulatory changes needed for the Skill University

    • Skill universities are a scalable, sustainable, and affordable vehicle to massify higher education by innovations in finance.
    • But they need regulatory change.

    Following are the 3 types of regulatory changes needed

    1. Changes needed in the  UGC Act of 1956

    •  Clause 8.2.6 needs to be rewritten to equalise four classrooms -online, on-site, on-campus, and on-job-and section 22 (3) to recognise apprenticeship linked degree programmes.
    • The UGC Teacher Regulations of 2018 need rewriting: Clause 3.3.(I),(II) to redefine the qualifications, roles and numbers of teachers required, and clause 4 to recognise industry experience as a teaching qualification.
    • The UGC Online Regulations 2018 need to be rewritten: Clause 4(2) and 7(2)(3) to allow innovation, flexibility, credit frameworks, and relevance in online curriculums.
    • Clause 7(2)(2) to allow universities to work with any technology platforms.

    2. Changes needed in NAAC IQAC regulations

    • Criteria 1 and 1.2.2 to include work-based learning and work integrated learning.
    • Criteria 1.1.3 to include life skills and proctored/evaluated internships.
    • Criteria 2 and 2.3.1 to integrate online learning with university programmes.
    • Criteria 2 and 2.4.1, 3 and 6 need to be modified to recognise teachers with industry experience, and include industry-based research.
    • Criteria 4 and 4.1.2 to include industry workplaces and online classrooms as campus extensions.
    • Criteria 5 and 5.2.1 needs to be rewritten to incorporate apprenticeships.

    3. Changes needed in Apprenticeship Act of 1961

    • Clause 2, 8, 9, 21 and 23 of The Apprenticeship Act of 1961 also needs to be modified to allow and lift the licence raj for degree-linked apprentices and recognise skills universities.

    Consider the question “Skill universities, which would go a long way in increasing the employability in India are need of the hour. In light of this, examine the issues that the skill education faces and suggest the changes our education system needs to impart the proper skill education.”

    Conclusion

    Covid crisis has amplified the problems with our education system. So, the adoption of skill universities will help us improve the skill of our youth and achieve more inclusive employment, employability and education.

  • Need for fiscal decentralisation

    Covid pandemic has turned the fiscal health of states from bad to worse. This article highlights the role of the Finance Commission as a neutral arbiter in the Centre-state relation in achieving the delicate balance. It has highlighted certain issues that the commission has to consider when it submits its report. So, what are those issues? Read to know…

    Disruption in fiscal consolidation and impact on Centre-state relations

    • Due to COVID, there is a  collapse in general government revenues and the consequent rise in the deficit levels.
    • It has disrupted the glide path of fiscal consolidation.
    • But it has also deepened the faultlines in Centre-state fiscal relations. 
    • The Centre is trying to claw back the fiscal space ceded to the states and assert its dominance over the country’s fiscal architecture.
    • This coupled with the fiscal constraints exposed by the pandemic have made it harder to maintain the delicate balance needed to manage the contesting claims of the Centre and the states

    Why the 15th Finance Commission report is critical for decentralisation

    • It will be ironic if the ongoing health crisis that has ended up exposing the limitations of a centralised approach, ends up reversing the trend towards fiscal decentralisation.
    • The Commission’s report will be critical on two counts:
    • First, it will determine how India’s fiscal architecture is reshaped.
    • Second, how Centre-state relations are reset as the country attempts to recover from the COVID-19 shock.

    1. Will the burden of reducing debt/gdp  fall equally on Centre and state?

    • The glide path of fiscal consolidation laid out by the FRBM review committee had envisaged bringing down general government debt to 60 per cent of GDP by 2022.
    • This is unlikely to materialise now.
    • Factoring in the additional borrowings, the debt-to-GDP ratio may well be over 80 per cent this year.
    • Thus the fiscal consolidation roadmap will have to be reworked.
    •  As per its terms of reference, the Finance Commission will lay out the new path to be followed by both Centre and states.
    • But the question is: Will the burden of debt reduction fall equally upon the Centre and states?
    • Or will the Commission allow the Centre to have greater leeway when it comes to fiscal consolidation?

    2. Will the conditional extension of borrowing limit be formalised?

    •  Recently, the Centre eased the states’ budget constraint, allowing them to borrow more this year.
    • But this extra borrowing was conditional upon states implementing reforms in line with the Centre’s priorities.
    • Despite protests, most states are likely to comply with the conditions, to varying degrees.
    • But the issue is: As the hit from the ongoing crisis spreads over multiple years, state governments may want to maintain their expansionary fiscal stance next year as well.
    • Then, will the Finance Commission, in line with its terms of reference, go along with the Centre’s stance and recommend imposing conditions on additional borrowing and formalise this arrangement?
    • It is difficult to see such an arrangement being rolled back once formalised.

    3. GST compensation cess

    • The GST council, in which the Centre effectively has a veto, is yet to clearly spell out its views on the extension of the compensation cess to offset states losses beyond the five-year period.
    • The Commission will have to weigh in on this too.
    • At this time the Centre is struggling to fulfil its promise of assuring states their GST revenues.
    • In such situation, will the Commission argue in favour of extending the compensation period, as states desire, but, perhaps, lowering the assured 14 per cent growth in compensation and linking it to nominal GDP growth?
    • As GST revenue accounts for a significant share of states’ income, how this plays out will also have a bearing on their ability to bring down their debt levels.

    4. Issue of tax devolution

    • In some sense, accepting the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission was a fait accompli.
    • The terms of reference of the 15th Finance Commission points to the present government’s desire to claw back the fiscal space offered to the states.
    • But is clawing back fiscal space now a prudent approach?
    • A cash-strapped Centre will surely welcome greater say over the diminished resources.
    • And there a strong argument for the Centre to have far greater fiscal space than it currently enjoys.
    • This is partly because the fiscal multiplier of central government capital spending is greater than that by the states.
    • But also the nature of politics may well push in that direction.
    • Centralisation of political power may well lead to demands for centralisation of resources.
    • However, surely fiscal space can be created by a review of the Centre’s own spending programme.

    Need to relook at the Centre’s expenditure priorities

    • Over the past decades, there has been a substantial increase in the Centre’s spending on items on the state and concurrent list.
    •  This shift has occurred even as grants by the Centre to states exceed the former’s revenue deficit.
    • This, as some have pointed out, effectively means that the Centre is borrowing to transfer to states.
    • Surely, a relook at the Centre’s expenditure priorities would create greater fiscal space for it.

    What the Finance Commission can do?

    • Any attempt to shift the uneasy balance in favour of the Centre will strengthen the argument that this government’s talk of cooperative federalism serves as a useful mask to hide its centralising tendencies.
    • As a neutral arbiter of Centre-state relations, the Finance Commission should seek to maintain the delicate balance in deciding on contesting claims.
    • This may well require giveaways especially if states are to be incentivised to push through legislation on items on the state and concurrent list.
    • The fiscal stress at various levels of the government necessitates a realistic assessment of the country’s macro-economic situation, the preparation of a medium-term roadmap, as well as careful calibration of the framework that governs Centre-state relations.
    • At this critical juncture, the Finance Commission should present the broad contours of the roadmap.
    • Though it could request for another year’s extension to present its full five-year report citing the prevailing uncertainty.

    Consider the question “COVID pandemic has put the States in the dire fiscal position. What we need is more of the fiscal decentralisation now.” In light of this, along with other factors, elaborate on the role 15th Finance Commission could play in this regard.

    Conclusion

    Finance Commission has to play an important role in achieving the delicate balance in the conflicting domain of finance by addressing the concerns of both the players.

  • Ninth Schedule of Indian Constitution

     

    read:

    [Burning Issue] SC judgement on Reservation not being a Fundamental Right

  • Indian Ocean Commission (IOC)

    India is looking to post Navy Liaison Officers at the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC) of IOC in Madagascar and also at the European maritime surveillance initiative in the Strait of Hormuz.

    Note the members of the IOC form map. One may get confused considering India as a permanent member.

    About Indian Ocean Commission (IOC)

    • The IOC is an intergovernmental organization that was created in 1982 at Port Louis, Mauritius and institutionalized in 1984 by the Victoria Agreement in Seychelles.
    • The IOC is composed of five African Indian Ocean nations: Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion (an overseas region of France), and Seychelles.
    • These five islands share geographic proximity, historical and demographic relationships, natural resources and common development issues.

    Aims and Objectives of IOC

    • IOC’s principal mission is to strengthen the ties of friendship between the countries and to be a platform of solidarity for the entire population of the African Indian Ocean region.
    • IOC’s mission also includes development, through projects related to sustainability for the region, aimed at protecting the region, improving the living conditions of the populations and preserving the various natural resources that the countries depend on.
    • Being an organisation regrouping only island states, the IOC has usually championed the cause of small island states in regional and international fora.

    India and IOC

    • India was accepted as an observer getting a seat at the table of the organization that handles maritime governance in the western Indian Ocean.
    • India’s entry is a consequence of its deepening strategic partnership with France as well as its expanding ties with the Vanilla Islands.
    • The IOC has four observers — China, EU, Malta and International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF).

    Significance of IOC

    • For India, the importance of joining this organization lies in several things.
    • First, India will get an official foothold in a premier regional institution in the western Indian Ocean, boosting engagement with islands in this part of the Indian Ocean.
    • These island nations are increasingly important for India’s strategic outreach as part of its Indo-Pacific policy.
    • This move would enhance ties with France which is the strong global power in the western Indian Ocean.
    • It lends depth to India’s SAGAR (security and growth for all in the region) policy unveiled by PM Modi in 2015.
    • The move, India hopes, would lead to greater security cooperation with countries in East Africa.

  • GST on processed food items

    A recent GST ruling sparked off the debate with the Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR, Karnataka Bench) suggesting parottas would be subject to a higher GST rate of 18 per cent as compared to roti.

    Try this question from CSP 2018:

    Q. Consider the following items:

    1. Cereal grains hulled
    2. Chicken eggs cooked
    3. Fish processed and canned
    4. Newspapers containing advertising material

    Which of the above items is/are exempt under GST (Goods and Services Tax)?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1, 2 and 4 only

    (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

    What is the Case?

    • Bengaluru-based food products company involved in preparation and supply of ready-to-cook items had approached the AAR regarding whether preparation of whole wheat parotta and Malabar parotta attracting 5 per cent GST.
    • The products khakhra, plain chapatti and roti are completely cooked preparations, do not require any processing for human consumption and hence are ready to eat food preparations.
    • The impugned product (whole wheat Parottas and Malabar Parottas) are not only different from the said khakhras, plain chapatti or roti but also are not like products in common parlance as well as in the respect of essential nature of the product.

    Classification of food items for GST

    • Most food items, especially those of essential and unprocessed nature, are charged nil GST.
    • But processed foods attract higher rates of 5%, 12%, or 18% depending on the food product.
    • For instance, pappad, Bread (branded or otherwise), are charged zero GST, but pizza bread is charged 5% GST.
    • Heading 1905 under the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System classifies pizza bread, khakhra, plain chapati or roti, rusks, toasted bread in one category, for which a 5% GST rate is levied.
    • Similarly, in the ready for consumption category, unbranded namkeens, bhujia, mixture and similar edible preparation attract 5% GST, while such branded namkeen, bhujia, mixture attract 12% GST.

  • In news: Raja Parba Festival

    The Prime Minister has extended his greetings to the people of Odisha for the unique Raja Parba festival.

    Match the pair based question can be asked from festivals as such with pairs of name and celebrating state. Recently, the following festivals were also in the news: Ambubachi Mela, Thrisoor Puram, Meru Jatara, Nagoba Jatara etc.

    Also, note the similarities between the Raja Parba and Ambubachi Mela …

     About Raja Parba Festival

    • Raja Parba is Odisha’s three-day unique festival celebrating the onset of monsoon and the earth’s womanhood.
    • As a mark of respect towards the earth during her menstruation days, all agricultural works, like ploughing, sowing is suspended for the three days.
    • Raja Sankranti is the first day of the Ashara month.
    • It is celebrated on the day prior to the Sankranti, (Pahili Raja), the day of Sankranti, and the day after, known as Bhu Daha or ‘Basi Raja.
    • The festival is essentially the celebration of the earth’s womanhood.
    • It is believed that during this time the Mother Earth or Bhudevi undergoes menstruation.
    • The fourth day is the day of the ‘purification bath’.
    • As it is a celebration of womanhood, a lot of the focus is on young women, who wear new clothes, apply ‘Alata’ on their feet and enjoy folk songs while swinging on decorated rope swings.

     

  • AarogyaPath Platform for the Healthcare Supply Chain

    AarogyaPath Platform has been recently launched to provide real-time availability of critical healthcare supplies.

    Possible prelims question:

    Q. The AarogyaPath platform recently seen in news is related to:

    Options:  a) Tracking of COVID patients/ b) Emergency ambulances service/c)  Supply-chain solutions of healthcare facilities/ d)E-com portal for generic medicines …

    Aarogyapath platform

    • The information platform named AarogyaPath with a vision of providing a path which leads one on a journey towards Aarogya (healthy life) has been developed by the CSIR.
    • During the present national health emergency arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic, wherein there is a severe disruption in the supply chain, the ability to produce and deliver the critical items may be compromised due to a variety of reasons.
    • The platform would serve manufacturers, suppliers and customers.
    • CSIR expects AarogyaPath to become the national healthcare information platform of choice in the years to come.
    • It would fill a critical gap in last-mile delivery of patient care within India through improved availability and affordability of healthcare supplies.

    Its significance

    • This platform provides single-point availability of key healthcare goods that can be helpful to customers in tackling a number of routinely experienced issues.
    • These issues include dependence on limited suppliers, time-consuming processes to identify good quality products, limited access to suppliers who can supply standardized products at reasonable prices within desired timelines, lack of awareness about the latest product launches, etc.
    • It also helps manufacturers and suppliers to reach a wide network of customers efficiently, overcoming gaps in connectivity between them and potential demand centres like nearby pathological laboratories, medical stores, hospitals, etc.
    • It will also create opportunities for business expansion due to an expanded slate of buyers and visibility of new requirements for products.
    • Over time, analytics from this platform is expected to generate early signals to manufacturers on overcapacity as well as on looming shortages.

  • Digital surveillance for Covid could do more harm than good

    Two issues are examined in detail in this article. The first is about the lack of legal framework in India. And the second which is related to the first is the deployment of technology and its benefit and issues it raises. The nature of private-friendly technology to track the disease is also elaborated.

    Disease surveillance and individual rights

    • Concerns about the impact of disease surveillance on individual rights—including privacy—are not new.
    • Globally, previous epidemics have led to an increasing acceptance that public health initiatives must also respect freedom and privacy to the greatest extent possible.
    • Lessons from history and other jurisdictions show that a rights-friendly response to the pandemic is possible and must be strived for.
    • Canada amended its Quarantine Act in 2005 to give legislative powers to powers state may exercise and also placed some limits on these powers.
    • Similarly, in 2015, South Korea also amended the Infectious Diseases Control and Prevention Act, 2009, giving power to state as well as an individual.
    • In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) published its guidelines on “Ethical Issues in Public Health Surveillance” (WHO 2017).
    • These guidelines require states to ensure that there is no unauthorised access or disclosure of information collected.
    • It also requires states to take stock of how much data is rightfully required by various agencies of the government before access is granted.
    •  However, India does not appear to have factored this into its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
    • Rather, what we are witnessing is a push to develop and adopt ad hoc technology-based solutions without a clear understanding of their limitations and harms.

    How the absence of legal framework could be problematic?

    •  During an epidemic (or a pandemic), state agencies may act in a way that significantly impacts people’s fundamental rights to liberty, free movement, and privacy.
    • Authorities may have to compel individuals to undergo testing, mandatory isolation and/or enforce quarantine measures, and trace all of their interactions in case they test positive for the infection.
    • With such grave implications for civil liberties, a legal framework is essential to bring certainty and accountability to government functioning.
    • It will have checks and balances in place and will state the rights and remedies of those affected by the wrongful exercise of powers.
    • A 2015 report by WHO’s International Health Regulations has highlighted this fact.
    • International Health Regulations are currently the only global regulations on public health, which are binding on India.

    Let’s look into this WHO’s report

    •  WHO’s International Health Regulations-2015 observed the absence of appropriate legislation that would enable the Indian government to mobilise its different wings in the case of an imminent outbreak (WHO 2015).
    • The report noted that this legal gap is exacerbated when coordination is required with states.
    • This is presumably because health is a domain over which states have exclusive powers.
    • The report also noted that India lacks a standard operating procedure (SOP) to clarify when existing legislative provisions could be invoked, and who could be directed to respond to the outbreak.
    • However, in nearly five years since this report was published, there is still no sign of a legal regime to describe the powers of the state and its functions during such times.

    Acts used in India to control pandemic and issues with them

    • In the absence of such an SOP, states in India have resorted to invoking the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.
    • This act is pre-independence legislation that confers extremely wide powers on states without any procedural safeguards.
    • In order to exercise powers under this statute, most states have framed regulations under it, conferring upon themselves the power to impose and enforce quarantine and to collect vast amounts of personal information.
    • These regulations are vaguely worded and contain no limitations or safeguards.
    • Similarly, on 24 March 2020, the central government invoked the Disaster Management Act, 2005, which allowed it to issue binding guidelines to states.
    • [The central government’s entire response to COVID-19 has been through these guidelines, including its imposition of a strict nationwide lockdown for over two months.
    • The result has been the issuance of top-down orders,  even though much of the economic and infrastructural burden has fallen directly on state governments.

    Adoption of technology and issues with it

    • There has been the alarming increase in the adoption of digital technology, with the supposed objective of overcoming existing infrastructural gaps.
    • India spends approximately 1.28% of its GDP on health.
    • Such technologies are often rolled out with neither understanding their limitations, nor properly examining their potential to harm.
    • More worryingly, an over-reliance on technology also makes the state complacent.
    • Technological interventions tend to become the default, replacing efforts to understand and address the underlying causes of the problem.

    Arogya Setu and other digital interventions in India

    • Arogya Setu is a contact-tracing application.
    • States have also taken to widespread deployment of drones in several cities to enforce quarantine measures as well as the lockdown itself.
    • More recently, BECIL, a public sector undertaking, issued expressions of interest to invite bids for a “personnel tracking GPS solution” as well as a “COVID-19 patient tracking tool”
    • The first envisages a wearable device to track health workers’ location and to store the data on a  centralised government server.
    • The second proposes the collation of information from government databases and from telecom and internet data to identify “locations, associations and behaviour” of patients/persons suspected of being infected.
    • However, evidence suggests that these interventions may only end up ramping up surveillance without achieving any of their stated objectives.

    Limitations of digital surveillance and possible harm

    • Such apps are inherently limited:
    • 1) Their success depends on self-reporting by confirmed infectious persons, which in turn depends on large-scale testing.
    • Given India’s abysmally low testing rate, self-reporting too will predictably below.
    • 2)In view of India’s low smartphone penetration, it is likely that the app will be ineffective for a large part of the population.
    • 3)Such apps assess risk based on Bluetooth signals, which may result in false positives as the signals are capable of transmitting across walls or ceilings,  therefore alerting people in adjoining houses or cars, even in the absence of physical contact.
    • In addition to these limitations, such technological tools also vastly expand the government’s surveillance architecture.

    Issues with Aarogya Setu and use of Drones

    • Aarogya Setu collects a large amount of personal information from users when they sign up, and constantly builds on this by collecting location and Bluetooth data in real-time.
    • This allows the app to create a social graph of a person’s interactions.
    • Neither the app nor the Data Access and Knowledge Sharing Protocol—which was subsequently issued—provide for a fixed period of time after which the collected data will be destroyed.
    • The protocol also reveals that the app’s functionality is not limited to contact tracing, but that the data gathered through it will be used to inform government decision making on almost all aspects related to COVID-19.
    • The government recently relied on the data generated by the app to identify new hotspots.
    • But the inherent limitations of the app referred to above make these decisions highly suspect.
    • This is in addition to some states in India promoting their own applications for contact tracing and geofencing, which raise similar concerns.
    • The use of hired drones by the police for surveillance also raises several concerns.
    • These drones are being deployed without any legal basis or transparency on how the recorded footage will be used or retained.
    • A number of troubling scenarios are possible—the data may be used to surveil and target specific locations or communities that are already subjected to discrimination and harassment.
    • It may also be retained and used later for purposes unrelated to disease surveillance.
    • Reports suggest that this data is already being shared freely amongst various entities of the government without people’s knowledge or consent.

    Way forward

    • No doubt, public health interests may require some restrictions to the right to privacy—as was expressly recognised by the court itself.
    • However, any restriction must necessarily pursue a legitimate aim, be based in law, and be a necessary and proportionate means to achieve said aim.
    • This means that the state must first identify the goals it seeks to achieve rather than first creating surveillance mechanisms and then continuously shifting the goalposts.
    • If multiple ways exist to achieve an objective, the state is obliged to adopt the least restrictive one.
    • The legal regime for public health, such as in Canada and South Korea, is therefore essential to ensure that public safety is not used as an excuse to unnecessarily restrict constitutionally guaranteed freedoms.
    • The state needs to be transparent about the digital tools it adopts, which would only go towards increasing public trust and ensure better adoption of the technology.
    • Individuals should be informed if their information has been collected and used by the government for surveillance or research purposes, giving them an opportunity to challenge the government’s acts if they feel such powers are wrongly exercised.
    • If surveillance is legitimately warranted to deal with a public health emergency, then it must be subject to a sunset clause.
    • Data that is no longer required must be deleted.
    • And clear protocols need to be created to determine who can access the data in case it has to be retained for research or medical purposes.

    Consider the question “A pandemic admittedly requires the extensive gathering of data and surveillance to understand disease trends, infrastructural constraints, and to frame prevention and mitigation strategies. Howerver, the technology adopted to achieve this aim must be privacy-friendly. Comment.

    Conclusion

    Our past experiences can and should inform our decision on the similar deployment of surveillance technology for public health. Such technology must not be excessively invasive and should always have the legal framework which could help the citizens challenge its applications in a given situation.

  • Tracking the epidemic

    This article suggests the innovative indicators for the classification of areas. Also, the need for decentralisation of science and governance is stressed. So, how could decentralisation help? What should form the basis of indicators at the local level? Such questions are answered in this article.

    States are better placed to deliver on public health

    • They are, of course, better placed to deliver on public health and welfare. They are also generally more accountable.
    • According to the recent ICMR serological sample study conducted in mid-May, barely 1 per cent of non-metropolitan India was infected.
    • Thus, as the infection spreads and eventually stabilises, there is a lot of heavy lifting that the states must do.

    The measure of prevention and containment zone

    • After lockdown,  the message of prevention and the device called containment zones are the only ways left to manage the epidemic.
    • This includes allied activities: The demarcation of the boundary, testing, treatment, tracing and quarantine.
    • Hidden inside this box of practices are the answers to questions such as: Why is Karnataka doing better than Maharashtra in terms of mortality?

    What went wrong with colour-coded zones at district levels?

    • The older colour-coded zone label, introduced by the Centre on April 14, was at the district scale.
    • That quickly became a collective punishment with little measurable benefits.
    • One consequence was that districts were unhappy with the return of migrants simply because that could change their colour.
    • The second problem was that the red-ness of a region was equated with the need for lockdowns, since that was the only visible instrument.

    Let’s explore the ward and community level base strategy

    • Well designed metrics at the ward and community scale will help the science develop.
    • They can guide the people and the administration and allow the states to compare practices and learn from each other.

    Let us see what can be achieved within this framework: Focusing on measurement

    1. Classified should include socio-economic and demographic factors

    • Any area classification must include key socio-economic and demographic determinants, for example, the density of the area, number of people in dwellings with one room or less, or the fraction of people using community toilets.
    • As we know, much of the infection is spreading within dense clusters.
    • Such metrics would indicate vulnerable areas and the limits to reduction in contact rate through policing.
    • Here, decongestion measures such as out-migration may be required.
    • This will also serve as a guide to the future of the locality or ward.

    2. Designing indicator from data collected so far

    • An important document is the Specimen Referral Form (SRF) designed by the ICMR which must be filled to undertake the PCR Corona Test.
    •  In that, the possible patient backgrounds for recommending the test, are recorded.
    •  In that, symptomatic cases with no known contact are already a large fraction of those infected.
    • This and other fields in the SRF such as age, location and symptoms, would give us substantial insights into the dynamics and severity of the disease and the efficacy of our procedures.
    • This data should be made available immediately.

    3. Measuring the risk from migrants

    • The recent inclusion of migrants in the SRF is indeed welcome.
    • This, coupled with other quarantine data in the SRF, gives us the risk from migrants to the community at large.
    • Also welcome is the setting up of a National Migrant Information System (NMIS) on the NDMA database.
    • Hopefully, we may now know the fraction of migrants who have safely reached home and the state-wise status of those who haven’t and the reasons for the same.
    • In any case, the number of infected migrants, if suitably quarantined, must be subtracted from the total number of positive cases for that area/district, for they did not arise there and they are outside the infective load in the area.
    • This will help reduce the stigma on migrants and instead put more focus on quarantine arrangements for them.

    4. Measuring preparedness

    • Ensuring that our villages and towns are prepared to meet the disease is an important objective.
    • One metric to measure preparedness is the number of beds, doctors and ambulances per 1,000.
    • This may then be compared with the active cases in the region.
    • In fact, the adverse mortality in some areas is directly correlated with the local shortage of medical care.
    • For most districts in Maharashtra, shortages would start biting at about 200 cases per day.
    • An important addition would be village-level data on the running of the local quarantine, the functioning of the PDS and availability of drinking water.

    5. Measuring the prevalence and social distance

    • Coming to prevention, the importance of masks, distance and open ventilation is still not appreciated.
    • A simple statistical metric is to measure the prevalence of masks in an area.
    • This can be done by installing cameras in suitable locations and counting people with masks.
    • Social distance measures are also amenable to indicators.
    • For example, the fraction of buses which have installed a sheet between the driver and the passengers, or recording innovative ways of ticket vending.

    The popularity of the colour-coding based on such indicators may be effective in social mobilisation.

    Social comprehension and local solution

    • Mitigation and adaptation require social comprehension and local solutions.
    • These need scientific studies by regional institutions and partnerships with civil society.
    • Creating and supporting good metrics and providing data is an important step in that direction.
    • This will not only save lives, it will reduce fear and help re-start normal life.

    Decentralisation of science and governance

    • The epidemic has underlined that publicness and decentralisation of science and governance is the only way of creating knowledge and the professional ability to solve our own problems.
    • Without this, the post-corona Indian society would be an unhappy attempt at making the old arrangement work in a degraded reality of fearful and angry people.

    Consider the question “Corona pandemic and subsequent measures to contain it has highlighted the need for decentralisation of governance. Elaborate.”

    Conclusion

    We must learn to live with the virus, but we must also find joy. Only through constant engagement and adaptation will we overcome fear and forge a new society that will sustain both life and happiness.