Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Right to life, right to marriage, Associated Constitutional provisions
Mains level: Intercaste/ Interfaith marriages, legislation and issues of freedom of choice and religion
Context
- Following a report in this newspaper, the Maharashtra government has decided to limit the mandate of the recently constituted Intercaste/Interfaith Marriage-Family Coordination Committee (state level) to gathering information on interfaith marriages.
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Intercaste/Interfaith Marriage-Family Coordination Committee
- Work under Women and child development: The renamed Interfaith Marriage-Family Coordination Committee will be under the state Women and Child Development Ministry.
- Will Track frauds: The committee besides providing support and rehabilitation, when necessary, ostensibly track fraud committed in the name of love jihad.
- Development come after walker case: The development came after the Shraddha Walkar case came to light in November. Walkar, 26, was murdered by her live-in partner Aaftab Poonawalla in May, 2022
- Other states with anti-conversion legislation: With states such as Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand already having brought in anti-conversion legislation.
What is love jihad?
- “Love jihad” is a term often used by activists to allege a ploy by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into religious conversion through marriage.
How the initiative will work?
- Will collect and keep details of interfaith marriages and ensure communication: This initiative will provide a platform for the women in intercaste/interfaith marriages and their families to access counselling, and communicate or resolve issues.
- Committee will hold regular meetings: The committee has been assigned to hold meetings with district officials, and review work on seven parameters, including, gathering information about interfaith or inter-caste marriages from stamp duty and registrar offices, and collect information on such registered or unregistered marriages, among others.
What are the concerns raised?
- Control over the lives of individual citizens: Such vigilance remains yet another indication of the State’s disproportionately burgeoning and utterly unacceptable interest in, and demand for, control over the lives of individual citizens.
- Denial of women’s own choice: It is not just violative of one’s rights of freedom and equality, it also reeks of misogyny in its steadfast denial of a woman’s choice of partner as her own free will and not an act of coercion.
- Committee can be armed: There is the IPC for all genuine complaints so the committee could be weaponised.
- It will limit the freedoms of men and women: In every aspect, monitoring of a citizen’s life for her own supposed benefit is a cautionary tale, a limitation of the freedoms of men and women, designed to deter them from leading fuller, freer lives.
Basics: Right to Marriage
- Comes under Right to life: The right to marry is a part of the right to life under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.
- As an integral part of Right to Life: Various courts across the country have also interpreted the right to marry as an integral part of the right to life under Article 21.
- Stated under Human rights Charter: The right to marriage is also stated under Human Rights Charter within the meaning of the right to start a family.
- Universal right: The right to marry is a universal right and it is available to everyone irrespective of their gender.
- Forced marriage is illegal: A forced marriage is illegal in different personal laws on marriage in India, with the right to marry recognized under the Hindu laws as well as Muslim laws.
- Article 25(1) of the Constitution guarantees the “freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practise and propagate religion”.
- It is a right that guarantees a negative liberty which means that the state shall ensure that there is no interference or obstacle to exercise this freedom.
- However, like all fundamental rights, the state can restrict the right for grounds of public order, decency, morality, health and other state interests.
Conclusion
- The marriage between politics and communalism is not a new phenomenon but to try to inhibit that idea of openness and possibility by casting communal aspersions on personal choice might be a travesty. There needs an innovative and inclusive approach to address the issues arise out of interfaith marriages.
Mains question
Q. Recently the Maharashtra government has set up a panel named “Intercaste/Interfaith marriage-family coordination committee (state level)” to gather information about couples in such marriages. Discuss the utility and concerns of such initiative?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Private members bill, reservation seats for women
Mains level: Women representation in legislatures
Context
- As strong advocates of more representation of women in politics, looking at the number of women elected in the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh assemblies has been saddening. With just 14.9 per cent women elected to our Lok Sabha, India ranks 144 out of 193 countries in the representation of women in parliament according to Inter-Parliamentary Union’s latest report. Among our immediate neighbours, India falls behind Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal.
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Background: Recent elections and women’s participation
- Gujrat: Gujarat elected just 8 per cent of women legislators in its 182-member assembly.
- Himachal Pradesh: Himachal Pradesh, where every second voter is a female, has elected 67 men and only one woman.
- National Average: The national average of women in all state assemblies remains around 8 per cent. The figure is grim
- Representation of women in local governments increased: After the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments, the representation of women in local governments increased from a mere 3-4 per cent to nearly 50 per cent now.
History of Women’s Reservation Bill
- First introduced in 1996 but lapsed with the dissolution of Lok Sabha: The Women’s Reservation Bill was first introduced in 1996 by the Deve Gowda government. After the Bill failed to get approval in Lok Sabha, it was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee chaired by Geeta Mukherjee, which presented its report in December 1996. However, the Bill lapsed with the dissolution of the Lok Sabha and had to be reintroduced.
- Bill reintroduced in 1998 but failed and lapsed: PM Vajpayee’s NDA government reintroduced the Bill in the 12th Lok Sabha in 1998. Yet again, it failed to get support and lapsed. In 1999, the NDA government reintroduced it in the 13th Lok Sabha.
- One-third reservations for women: Subsequently, the Bill was introduced twice in Parliament in 2003. In 2004, the government included it in the Common Minimum Programme that said that the government will take the lead to introduce legislation for one-third reservations for women in Vidhan Sabhas and in the Lok Sabha.
- The bill introduced and passed in Rajya Sabha: In 2008, the government tabled the Bill in the Rajya Sabha so that it does not lapse again. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice recommended the passage of the Bill in December 2009. It was cleared by the Union Cabinet in February 2010. On March 9, 2010, the Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha with 186-1 votes after immense debate. History was created.
- Lapsed again in 2014: The Bill, then, reached the Lok Sabha where it never saw the light of day. When the House was dissolved in 2014, it lapsed. Now we are back to square one.
- Renewed push: In the current Winter Session of Parliament, there is a renewed push from most Opposition parties to pass the Women’s Reservation Bill.
- Political parties that reserved seats for women for election candidature: So far only two regional political parties in India, Odisha’s Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and West Bengal’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) have reserved seats for women for election candidatures.
- Candidature and results of 2019 general elections: TMC and BJD fielded 40 per cent and 33 per cent women candidates respectively. Interestingly, 65 per cent of the TMC’s women candidates won in comparison to 44 per cent of their men, whereas 86 per cent of the BJD’s women candidates won in comparison to 43 per cent of their men.
Private Member’s Bill for women’s reservation in all legislative bodies
- Acknowledging the inequality and barriers: Women have historically suffered due to systemic inequality and barriers. Without a gender quota, women’s representation will continue to remain marginal causing a massive deficit in our democracy.
- Reserved seats for women: Understanding this reality, there is a need to introduce a Private Member’s Bill demanding women’s reservation in all legislative bodies Lower and Upper Houses, and also reserved seats within that for women who come from historically marginalised communities.
- Ensuring greater representation: It is a single step that will, if passed, immediately ensure at least 33 per cent representation of women.
What is Private Member’s Bill?
- Piloted by member other than minister: A private member’s Bill is different from a government Bill and is piloted by Member of Parliament (MP) who is not a minister. A Member of Parliament who is not a minister is a private member.
- To draw governments attention: Individual MPs may introduce private member’s Bill to draw the government’s attention to what they might see as issues requiring legislative intervention.
Way ahead
- The case for women’s reservation emanates from their lack of representation in legislative bodies. We cannot rely on incremental changes.
- We cannot let another generation fight for what is fundamental to participating in a democracy the right to be heard and make decisions.
- Women’s reservation will jump-start the democratic process. It will allow a significant majority to have a say in how their lives must be governed.
- Over the years, though, women’s vote share has increased significantly, but the number of women in positions of power has not.
Conclusion
- Victor Hugo famously said, “No force on earth can stop an idea whose time has come”. Women’s reservation in legislatures is one idea which has been discussed, debated, and agreed upon by most political parties. It is now time to take it to fruition. With its massive women population, India has a huge reservoir of potential which, if unleashed, will take the country much ahead.
Main Question
Q. Women reservation bill has introduced and lapsed no of times. In this context discuss why it is necessary to have reserved seats for women in all legislative bodies?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Vacation Benches
Mains level: Resolving judicial pendency
Chief Justice of India D. Y. Chandrachud said no Vacation Benches will be available in the apex court during the winter break.
Vacation Bench
- A Vacation Bench of the Supreme Court is a special bench constituted by the Chief Justice of India.
- The court takes two long vacations each year, the summer and winter breaks, but is technically not fully closed during these periods.
- Litigants can still approach the Supreme Court and, if the court decides that the plea is an “urgent matter”, the Vacation Bench hears the case on its merits.
- While there is no specific definition as to what an “urgent matter” is.
- During vacations the court generally admits writs related to habeas corpus, certiorari, prohibition and quo warranto matters for enforcement of any fundamental right.
Do you know?
The Supreme Court has 193 working days a year for its judicial functioning, while the High Courts function for approximately 210 days, and trial courts for 245 days. High Courts have the power to structure their calendars according to the service rules.
Legal Provisions for Vacation Bench
- Under Rule 6 of Order II of The Supreme Court rules, 2013 the CJI has nominates the Division Benches for the hearing of urgent miscellaneous matters and regular hearing matters during the summer vacation for period.
- The rule reads that CJI may appoint one or more Judges to hear during summer vacation or winter holidays all matters of an urgent nature which under these rules may be heard by a Judge sitting singly.
- And, whenever necessary, he may likewise appoint a Division Court for the hearing of urgent cases during the vacation which require to be heard by a Bench of Judges.
Which else can appoint vacation bench?
- The High Courts and trial courts too have Vacation Benches to hear urgent matters under their jurisdiction.
Has vacation benches made any historic judgments?
- Vacation Benches of the Supreme Court have also authored historical decisions.
- One of the best known is when a Vacation Bench Judge in June 1975, refused PM Indira Gandhi’s plea to stay an Allahabad High Court decision setting aside her election – a decision which triggered the Emergency.
- A Constitution Bench of the court had heard the triple talaq case during vacation days.
Issues with court vacations
- Huge pendency: Extended frequent vacations is not good optics, especially in the light of mounting pendency of cases and the snail’s pace of judicial proceedings.
- Creating further delays: For an ordinary litigant, the vacation means further unavoidable delays in listing cases.
Arguments in favour
- Rejuvenation of judges: Lawyers have often argued that in a profession that demands intellectual rigour and long working hours — both from lawyers and judges — vacations are much needed for rejuvenation.
- Long working hours: Judges typically work for over 10 hours on a daily basis. Apart from the day’s work in court from 10.30 am to 4 pm, they also spend a few hours preparing for the next day.
- Preparing for judgments: A frequently-made argument is that judges utilise the vacation to write judgments.
- Courts not in session: Another argument is that judges do not take leave of absence like other working professionals when the court is in session.
- Socialization: Family tragedies, health are rare exceptions, but judges rarely take the day off for social engagements.
- No impact on pendency: Data show that the Supreme Court roughly disposes of the same number of cases as are instituted before it in a calendar year.
Reforming the vacation clause
- In 2000, the Justice Malimath Committee, set up to recommend reforms in the criminal justice system, suggested that the period of vacation should be reduced by 21 days.
- It suggested that the Supreme Court work for 206 days, and High Courts for 231 days every year.
- In its 230th report, the Law Commission of India headed by Justice A R Lakshmanan in 2009 called for reform in this system.
- Considering the staggering arrears, vacations in the higher judiciary must be curtailed by at least 10 to 15 days and the court working hours should be extended by at least half an hour, it said.
- In 2014, when the Supreme Court notified its new Rules, it said that the period of summer vacation shall not exceed seven weeks from the earlier 10-week period.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: INS Mormugao
Mains level: Indian navy modernization
Indian Naval Ship (INS) Mormugao (Pennant 67), a P15B stealth-guided missile destroyer was commissioned into the Indian Navy.
INS Mormugao
- This was the second ship to be inducted as a part of the four ‘Visakhapatnam’ class destroyers.
- It is indigenously designed by the Navy’s in-house organisation Warship Design Bureau and constructed by Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in the country’s financial capital Mumbai.
- The ship was named after a key port in the Indian state of Goa, it was inducted on the eve of Goa Liberation Day.
- The ship was first launched in September 2016 and began sea trials last year on December 19 which coincided with the day that Goa was liberated from Portuguese rule six decades earlier with December 18 marking the launch of Operation Vijay by the Indian Armed Forces in 1961.
- Singh also paid tributed former defence minister, the late Manohar Parrikar who had launched INS Mormugao in 2016.
Features of INS Mormugao
- The ship measures 163 metres by 17 metres and has the ability to fight in nuclear, biological, as well as chemical (NBC) warfare due to its total atmospheric control system (TACS).
- Additionally, with a displacement of 7,400 tonnes, the INS Mormugao is loaded with state-of-the-art weapons.
- It will be operated by a crew of at least 350 which would include 50 officers and 250 sailors.
- Over 75 per cent of the ship’s content was manufactured and developed in India, either directly or designed and developed by Indian Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) or through strategic tie-ups.
- It is capable of achieving speeds of 30 knots (55 km/hour) as it is propelled by four powerful gas turbines in a ‘combined gas and gas’ (COGAG) configuration.
Combat weaponry
- INS Mormugao includes weapons like BrahMos surface-to-surface missiles and Barak-8 surface-to-air missiles.
- It is also fitted with a modern surveillance radar which helps provide target data to the ship’s weapon system.
- Additionally, the ship’s weaponry also includes indigenously-developed rocket launchers, torpedo launchers and ASW helicopters like Sea King or HAL Dhruv.
Historic significance of Mormugao Port
- Even as a port, Mormugao has contributed significantly to the growth of India’s maritime trade.
- Even today, it is one of the oldest and largest ports in the country and will retain this special place due to the services it provides be it Mormugao fort or Mormugao port.
- It is landmark since the 17th century Maratha campaign against the Portuguese under Chhatrapati Sambhaji (Ch. Shivaji Maharaj’s son).
Back2Basics: Project PB15
- P15B destroyers is a class of four ships built by the country’s MDSL with INS Visakhapatnam (Pennant D66), commissioned last year in November as the year.
- These ships are set to be more advanced than the Kolkata class under the project named 15A which comprised INS Kolkata, INS Kochi, and INS Chennai.
- The contract for the ships was signed back in 2011 and under Project 15B they were to be named after four major Indian cities like Visakhapatnam, Mormugao, Imphal, and Surat.
- A group of ships with similar tonnage, usage, capabilities, and weaponry are referred to as a ship’s ‘class’.
- P15B destroyers incorporate new design concepts for improved survivability, seakeeping and manoeuvrability.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Multiple Signs of Adaptive-evolution (MSA)
Mains level: NA
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Bhopal have found out the carried out whole genome sequencing of banyan and peepal from leaf tissue samples.
Science behind long life: Multiple Signs of Adaptive-evolution (MSA)
- Scientists identified 25,016 coding gene sequences in banyan and 23,929 in peepal.
- Both trees faced a population bottleneck around 0.8 million years ago and evolved genes with multiple signs of adaptive evolution (MSA).
- In banyan, the MSA genes are mainly involved in root growth, pollen tube and seed development, leaf formation, cell wall synthesis, metabolism and other developmental processes.
How MSA prolongs the life?
- Disease resistance and other stress tolerance gene families showed expansion as well as high expression, contributing to the plants’ long lifespan.
- The MSA genes of peepal are associated with root cell elongation, cell proliferation, seed and pollen tube growth, lateral organ development, controlling flowering time, metabolism and intracellular transport.
- The team zeroed in on 17 MSA genes in banyan and 19 MSA genes in peepal that are mainly related to well-developed morphology, and tolerance against drought, oxidative stress and pathogens.
- Genes involved in growth-regulating auxin signalling and plant senescence-regulating pathways also showed evolutionary signatures.
- Also, 88% and 89% of the MSA genes in banyan and peepal trees, respectively, are associated with tolerance against biotic and abiotic stress responses.
- This, in turn, helps these plants to survive when faced with environmental challenges.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: mRNA Vaccine
Mains level: Not Much
The results of a trial of an experimental cancer vaccine built on the mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) platform, made by Moderna and MSD (Merck&Co.), have shown promising results.
What is mRNA?
- Messenger RNA (mRNA) is a single-stranded RNA (Ribo Nucleic Acid) molecule that is complementary to one of the DNA strands of a gene.
- The mRNA is an RNA version of the gene that leaves the cell nucleus and moves to the cytoplasm where proteins are made.
- During protein synthesis, an organelle called a ribosome moves along the mRNA, reads its base sequence, and uses the genetic code to translate each three-base triplet, or codon, into its corresponding amino acid.
What are mRNA vaccines?
- mRNA vaccines work by introducing a piece of mRNA that corresponds to a viral protein, usually a small piece of a protein found on the virus’s outer membrane.
- Individuals who get an mRNA vaccine are not exposed to the virus, nor can they become infected with the virus by the vaccine.
- As part of a normal immune response, the immune system recognizes that the protein is foreign and produces specialized proteins called antibodies.
- Antibodies help protect the body against infection by recognizing individual viruses or other pathogens, attaching to them, and marking the pathogens for destruction.
- Once produced, antibodies remain in the body, even after the body has rid itself of the pathogen, so that the immune system can quickly respond if exposed again.
How does the vaccine work?
- The personalized cancer vaccine uses the same messenger-RNA technology that was used to produce the COVID vaccine.
- It allows the body’s immune system to seek and destroy cancerous cells, in this case melanoma, but with the hope that it could lead to new ways to fight other types of cancers too.
Why is it a significant feat?
- The cancer vaccine showed a 44% reduction in the risk of dying of cancer or having the cancer progress.
- As a personalized cancer vaccine, it is tailor-made for every patient.
- As a consequence, it is expected to be very expensive to make.
- But oncologists across the world have welcomed this as an exciting new opportunity in cancer care.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Updates on COP27 and climate finance
Mains level: COP27, climate finance, role of developed and developing countries, and India's stand
Context
- Extreme weather events are becoming more prevalent with each passing year and countries are increasingly taking cognizance of this. Yet, there remains a rift between developing and developed countries, largely on account of asymmetries between the incidence of and the financial responsibility assumed for climate change.
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Background: Rift between developed and developing countries
- Historical emission by developed countries: It is estimated that 92 per cent of excess historical emissions are attributable to developed countries.
- Burden on developing countries: Yet the economic impact of climate change is disproportionately borne by vulnerable developing countries. The 58 vulnerable countries (or V20) account for 5 per cent of global emissions while the costs incurred are significant.
- UNEP estimates that efforts on climate adaptation would require $160-340 billion by 2030. But, current financial flows are inadequate, with developing countries receiving only a third of what is required.
- The dual costs of shifting away from fossil fuels and that of climate catastrophes are expected to further chip away at fiscal resilience as developing countries reel under the pressures of slowdown, inflation and excess sovereign debt.
COP27 decisions on accelerating finance
- Recognized the need of transforming the financial system: In its draft decision, the UN highlighted that to meet the scale of funding will require a transformation of the financial systems, structures and processes. It will require engaging with all financial actors.
- Recognized discontent of green climate fund: In the past there have been funding facilities such as the Green Climate Fund, which were meant to support adaptation and mitigation. But there is wide discontent with the pace and extent of access to such facilities.
- Announcement of Loss and Damage (L&D) fund: The announcement of a Loss and Damage (L&D) fund stole the attention. However, reflections from past experiences are essential.
Challenges on developing inclusive financial structure
- Visible reluctance to contribute among big economies: The institutional architecture of multilateral funds has been demonstrably slow to deliver. Then there is the visible reluctance to contribute among the big economies. To restore its lost legitimacy, the US made several announcements at COP27 but its lack of support to the L&D fund and financing of the global shield meant to support vulnerable countries to address risks of climate change must be factored in.
- Mismatch between financial expectations, regulations and society’s requirement: As the demands placed on economies dwarf public finances, it is intuitive to expect private capital to step up. For decades, developing countries have competed to attract private capital leading to frail legal and tax systems. Even as private capital shifts to the green sectors on account of regulatory action, it is reasonable to expect that its pace will be tempered by financial expectations.
- National carbon tax is rarely discussed: Interestingly, experts are beginning to see climate actions connected with tax policy. This is evident from the revival of the repeatedly shelved Financial Transaction Tax in the EU. Every package announced involves a redistribution of incomes within and across countries. Therefore, a general overhaul of tax architecture is inevitable. Yet, a dedicated national carbon tax is rarely discussed.
- Policy makers discussed the inadequacies of the system: COP27 was a spectacle of distractions. Experts from around the world assembled in the comforts of their echo chambers, reciting the promise of the transition, as policy makers reiterated the inadequacies of the system.
- Growing pressure on developing countries to abandon access to fossil fuel: There is also growing pressure on developing countries to abandon their access to fossil fuels, overlooking the view that a hastened transition can have adverse consequences for growth.
- Systematically sidelined India’s Phase down Call: There have been repeated questions as to why India chooses to use the term “phase down” and its slow response. The hypocrisy of the developed countries was stark as countries chose to sideline India’s call to phase down all fossil fuels.
Way ahead
- While the release of the long-term low carbon development strategy is a fitting response from India, there needs to be better guidance on the pathway to net zero.
- With India chairing the G-20 this year, the question of phasing down coal will be asked repeatedly.
- There is already growing interest in signing a just energy transition partnership with India.
Conclusion
- The learnings from COP27 must inform the G-20 presidency. It is also important to remain conscious that dramatic shifts in policy are pursued domestically and not all change is pursued by consensus. The principle of common but differentiated responsibility should not be traded for the promise of finance.
Mains question
In the context of COP27, The principle of common but differentiated responsibility should not be traded for the promise of finance. Comment
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Basics- Fusion energy and applications
Mains level: Read the attached article
Context
- For more than nine decades scientists have tried to replicate the process that produces energy for the sun and the stars fusion. On Tuesday, researchers at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in California, USA, announced a milestone in this endeavor.
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What is the research?
- Merged two nuclei to produce a heavier nucleus: They merged two nuclei to produce a heavier nucleus. Their reactor produced about 1.5 times more energy than what was used in the process. In all the earlier attempts to harness the power of fusion, the reactors used up more energy than what was produced.
- It will take at least two decades to be pioneered: But scientists say that it will be at least two decades before the process pioneered in the California laboratory can be scaled up.
- Still a great leap where the world is in search of green technologies: Even then, in a world desperately searching for technologies that can power the developmental needs of nations without adding to the GHG load, the breakthrough at NIF has generated excitement.
What is Fusion?
- Fusion works by pressing hydrogen atoms into each other with such force that they combine into helium, releasing enormous amounts of energy and heat.
- This process occurs in our Sun and other stars.
- Creating conditions for fusion on Earth involves generating and sustaining a plasma.
- Plasmas are gases that are so hot that electrons are freed from atomic nuclei.
- The process releases energy because the total mass of the resulting single nucleus is less than the mass of the two original nuclei.
- The leftover mass becomes energy.
Why is it perceived as energy of the future?
- Carbon free: Fusion Reactions could one day produce nearly limitless, carbon-free energy, displacing fossil fuels and other traditional energy sources.
- Efficient: Net energy gain has been an elusive goal because fusion happens at such high temperatures and pressures that it is incredibly difficult to control.
- Clean: Unlike other nuclear reactions, it doesn’t create radioactive waste.
Why it is considered as significant research, though it will take at least two decades to be commercialized?
- Countries are shifting towards renewable energies: Several countries are shifting to renewable energies to meet their international climate-related commitments. Yet, power generation currently is responsible for 25-30 per cent of global GHG emissions.
- Unstable nature of renewables: The inherently unstable nature of renewables means that countries find it very difficult to jettison fossil-fuel energy sources.
- Nuclear energy is relatively cleaner: Conventionally-produced nuclear energy that uses fission technology is relatively cleaner. But accidents at Chernobyl in 1986 and Fukushima in 2011 have raised serious questions over the safety of fission-powered plants. According to the IEA’s best-case scenario, the world’s nuclear energy generation capacity is likely to double by 2050 compared to 2020.
Conclusion
- The global body has repeatedly flagged concerns about the efficacy of the nuclear reactors by and large in the US and Europe given that about two-thirds of them have been in operation for more than 30 years. It has also maintained that the realisation of the best-case scenario would require significant investments in innovative nuclear technologies.
Mains question
Q. Recently researchers at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in USA tried to replicate the process that produces energy for the sun and the stars fusion, discuss the significance of this research.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Digital gateways, market dominance of big tech and government regulations
Context
- The ease of living enabled by digital technologies has turned digital innovations into essential services for the common public. Considered a novelty earlier, the internet has become a necessity for most day-to-day affairs.
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Internet access and restrictions
- To enable access to the internet, various gateways have come up in the last few decades in the form of telecom service providers, personal computers and smartphones, operating systems, etc.
- However, when these gateways enable and restrict access to other gateways or networks, the openness of the internet is threatened.
- They then shift roles from being a facilitator to a regulator, from being a gateway to a gatekeeper. Hence, the need for a code of conduct or regulation arises to keep the playing field level and accessible to all.
- Telecom service providers: Telecom companies have been instrumental in providing a gateway to essential communication services such as voice calls, internet data, and text messages.
- Government measures to regulate telecoms: We have seen governments across the world take measures from time to time to regulate these entities to ensure democratic access for the public. If this code of conduct was not enforced on these gateway providers, the internet would not be what it is today. These providers would have turned into gatekeepers, and the internet would have been controlled by them, thwarting innovation and its democratic expansion.
- Code of conduct cannot catch up the pace of emerging digital tech: With the rate at which digital technologies are evolving, the code of conduct and regulations can’t catch up with the new gateway providers that are emerging. One such example is distribution platforms for smartphone applications.
- Benchmarks set by bigtechs helps to bring some hygiene in smartphone apps: The two prominent operating systems emerging for smartphones, Google and Apple, enjoy a lion’s share of the app store market. They brought in good practices to ensure basic hygiene for smartphone applications, maintained quality benchmarks for the content on their operating systems, and safeguarded the interests of their users.
- Lack of full proof regulation would be a slippery slope: Though, without proper regulations to oversee how they decide on what should be weeded and whose interests should be guarded, it’s a slippery slope.
Policy on Net Neutrality put forwarded by Indian Government
- Enforcing a code of conduct on telecoms: Closer home, another example of the enforcement of this code of conduct on providers was when the Indian government came out with the policy on Net Neutrality which, inter-alia, stipulates that telecom networks should be neutral to all the information being transmitted through it.
- Meaning of Net Neutrality: Networks should treat all communication passing through them equally, independent of their content, application, service, device, sender, or recipient address. Adopting Net Neutrality ensured that we took a democratic stance against Big Tech.
Questionable practices of distribution platforms
- Practices without consent of its users: Various practices range from restrictions on payment gateways, advertising choices, app policies and various other aspects of an application or business that could be considered discriminatory in both principle and practice.
- For instance, a case of Goggle’s Update: Recently a report placed before the Competition Commission of India found Google Play Store’s payments policy “unfair and discriminatory”. As per an update in Google’s Play Store billing policy in September 2020, all applications on its platform were mandated to use its payment services for any kind of in-app payments or subscriptions.
- Similar case of Apple’s appstore: Similar concerns have been raised for Apple’s App Store, with both platforms said to be charging up to 30 per cent commission on payments processed.
- Market dominance and unilateral control over smartphone apps by the bigtechs: Google and Apple dominate the global market share of smartphone operating systems (OS). This has enabled them to garner unilateral control over the publishing of smartphone applications on their OS.
- Developers are forced to bend to the diktats of these bigtech gatekeepers: Bigtechs force developers to make changes to their applications or resort to using their proprietary advertising engines if they wish their applications to see the light of day. As is evident from the overnight change in Google’s billing policy, various smartphone application-dependent businesses and developers continue to remain vulnerable to such internal business policy changes on these platforms.
European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) sets an example
- Recognising these concerns: The European Union has recently enacted the Digital Markets Act; it is expected to be implemented by early 2023.
- Aims to keep digimarket open for competition: The Digital Markets Act regulation aims to keep digital markets innovative and open to competition, through ex-ante regulation.
- Prohibit anti-competitive practices: The DMA will prohibit the implementation of the most harmful anti-competitive practices by the largest digital platforms.
- Objective is to maintain balance: The objective is to balance the relationship between these platforms that control access to digital markets and the companies that offer their services there.
Conclusion
- The Indian government has taken a huge leap forward in maintaining its sovereignty through the path-breaking and disruptive digital public goods it has created. Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker, and CoWIN are just a few names that adorn this list. However, there is still a wide dependence on various digital offerings enabled by multinational Big Tech companies. It is the need of the hour for the government to devise appropriate regulations to ensure a level playing field and not let the innovating gateways turn into tyrannical gatekeepers.
Mains Question
Q. India is the largest consumer of wireless internet. Analyze the role of big tech service providers in this and the role of government in ensuring a level playing field for all.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Rupee Settlement System for International Trade
Mains level: Read the attached story
India’s rupee trade settlement mechanism, a means of using rupees instead of dollars and other big currencies for international transactions, is attracting interest from more countries.
More countries are interested
- Tajikistan, Cuba, Luxembourg and Sudan have begun talking to India about using the mechanism.
- They have shown interest in opening special rupee accounts, called vostro accounts.
- Opening of these accounts needs approval from the Reserve Bank of India.
- It has already been used by Russia following the imposition of sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine war.
Rupee Settlement System for International Trade
- Banks acting as authorized dealers for such transactions would have to take prior approval from the regulator to facilitate this.
- All exports and imports under the invoicing arrangement may be denominated and invoiced in Rupee.
- The exchange rate between the currencies of the two trading partner countries may be market determined.
- Exporters and importers can now use a Special Vostro Account linked to the correspondent bank of the partner country for receipts and payments denominated in rupees.
- These accounts can be used for payments for projects and investments, import or export advance flow management, and investment in Treasury Bills subject to Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA).
- Also, the bank guarantee, setting-off export receivables, advance against exports, use of surplus balance, approval process, documentation, etc., related aspects would be covered under FEMA rules.
Benefits of such a mechanism
- Trade facilitation: This will also facilitate trade with countries like Russia which are facing sanctions.
- FOREX savings: India imports more than it exports so the country will also save foreign currency under the new arrangement.
- Rupee appreciation: The rupee is at a historic low against the dollar. It will also help stabilize rupee.
- Mitigating war impact: Payments had become a pain point for exporters immediately after the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, especially after Russia was cut off from the SWIFT payment gateway.
- Convertibility easing: We see this as a first step towards 100% convertibility of rupee.
- Energy security: It will also help buy discounted crude oil from Russia, which now accounts for 10% of all imported crude.
- Export promotion: As such, the new mechanism will help India promote its exports.
Which countries would prefer this system?
- War mongering Russia: For now, it looks like trade settlements in rupee will be limited to countries like Russia and Iran who are facing sanctions from the West
- Bankrupt Sri Lanka: SL is going through economic turmoil and India has been consistently extending lines of credit to SL.
- Immediate neighbors: Other countries may include immediate neighbors of India.
Rupees over Dollars: Why countries would prefer Rupees?
- At a very simplistic level, this is like two Indians deciding to use an alternative mode of exchange that they have come up with, instead of using rupees.
- In other terms, this is similar to the barter system.
- The main reason for countries to want to trade with India in rupees is this:
- USD has been going through a phase of strength against most currencies in the world
- Strong USD performance has essentially made imports expensive for most countries
- Sri Lanka, which is going through one of its worst economic crises in decades, is a glaring example of a country in which the economy has come to a halt due to a drastic fall in forex reserves
- While the Sri Lankan Rupee has declined over 83 percent against the US Dollar, its fall against the Indian Rupee has been lower at 70 percent.
- So instead of paying 83 percent more to make purchases in USD, Sri Lanka can pay in Indian Rupees and save some money.
Challenges
- Trade surplus countries’ preference: The question that RBI and the Indian government will have to answer is this – why would countries with a trade surplus with India want to trade in rupees?
- Negative trade balance: China had a $73-billion trade surplus with India in 2021-22 – that is, Indian imports from China exceeded its exports to China by $73 billion.
- Idle money lying useless: If China were to trade with India in rupees, it would have Indian rupees worth $73 billion (about ₹5.77 lakh crore) sitting idle in its Rupee Vostro accounts in an Indian bank.
- Few countries interested: Countries whose exports to India are more than imports, will not be too enthusiastic to trade in rupees, especially if the difference is huge as in the case of China.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Women safety and dignity issues
An acid attack in in Delhi has once again brought back to focus the heinous crime of acid attacks and the easy availability of corrosive substances.
What is Acid Attack?
- An acid attack, also called acid throwing, vitriol attack, or vitriolage, is a form of violent assault involving the act of throwing acid or a similarly corrosive substance onto the body of another.
- It intends to disfigure, maim, torture, or kill.
- Perpetrators of these attacks throw corrosive liquids at their victims, usually at their faces, burning them, and damaging skin tissue, often exposing and sometimes dissolving the bones.
- The most common types of acid used in these attacks are sulphuric and nitric acid.
- Hydrochloric acid is sometimes used but is much less damaging.
How prevalent are acid attacks in India?
- Though heinous, acid attacks on women are not as prevalent a crime as others against women.
- According to data compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), there were 150 such cases recorded in 2019, 105 in 2020 and 102 in 2021.
- West Bengal and UP consistently record the highest number of such cases generally accounting for nearly 50% of all cases in the country year on year.
- The charge-sheeting rate of acid attacks stood at 83% and the conviction rate at 54% in 2019.
- In 2020, the figures stood at 86% and 72% respectively.
- In 2021, the figures were recorded to be 89% and 20% respectively.
What is the law on acid attacks?
- Until 2013, acid attacks were not treated as separate crimes.
- However, following amendments carried out in the IPC, acid attacks were put under a separate section (326A) of the IPC.
- Such attacks made punishable with a minimum imprisonment of 10 years which is extendable to life along with fine.
- The law also has provisions for punishment for denial of treatment to victims or police officers refusing to register an FIR or record any piece of evidence.
- Denial of treatment (by both public and private hospitals) can lead to imprisonment of up to one year and dereliction of duty by a police officer is punishable by imprisonment of up to two years.
Creating deterrence against acid attack
(1) Clear rules
- In 2013, the Supreme Court took cognizance of acid attacks and passed an order on the regulation of sales of corrosive substances.
- Based on the order, the MHA issued an advisory to all states on how to regulate acid sales and framed the Model Poisons Possession and Sale Rules, 2013 under The Poisons Act, 1919.
- It asked states to frame their own rules based on model rules, as the matter fell under the purview of states.
(2) Regulation of acid sale
- In 2015, MHA issued an advisory to all states to ensure speedy justice in cases of acid attacks by expediting prosecution.
- According to the MHA’s directions and the model rules, over-the-counter sale of acid was not allowed unless the seller maintains a logbook/register recording the sale of acid.
- This logbook was to also contain the details of the person to whom acid is sold, the quantity sold, the address of the person and also specify the reason for procuring acid.
- The buyer must also prove he/she is above 18 years of age.
(3) Effective monitoring
- Sellers are also required to declare all stocks of acid with the concerned Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) within 15 days and in case of undeclared stock of acid.
- The SDM can confiscate the stock and suitably impose a fine of up to Rs 50,000 for a breach of any of the directions.
Rules for victim compensation and care
- Free treatment: States are supposed to ensure that treatment provided to acid attack victims in any hospital, public or private, is free of cost.
- Aftercare and rehabilitation: Based on Supreme Court directions, the MHA asked states to make sure acid attack victims are paid compensation of at least Rs. 3 lakhs by the concerned State Government/UT.
- Funding to NGOs: MHA suggested states should also extend social integration programs to the victims for which NGOs could be funded to exclusively look after their rehabilitative requirements.
Preventing such attacks
- Still on rise: The regulations on acid sales largely help in tracking the accused and not so much in prevention.
- Regulatory bottlenecks: Acid is still easily available in many places. Then these are crimes of passion. In a majority of cases the accused is not even thinking about consequences.
Way forward
- Things improve as social attitudes are changing and the focus of the police in dealing with crimes against women can cause some deterrence.
- But the key to solving this problem will always remain in society.
- We must create more awareness. Parents must teach their children the importance of boundaries and consent.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: DNA Fingerprinting
Mains level: Advanced criminology
Delhi Police has established identity of a victim of brutal murder and mutilation by DNA fingerprinting.
What is DNA fingerprinting?
- DNA fingerprinting was first developed in 1984 by Alec Jeffreys in the UK, after Jeffreys discovered that no two people could have the same DNA sequence.
- Within three years of the discovery, the UK achieved the world’s first conviction based on DNA evidence in a case of rape and murder.
How is DNA fingerprinting done?
- Each person’s DNA, except for identical twins, is unique.
- By analyzing selected DNA sequences (called loci), a crime laboratory can develop a profile to be used in identifying a suspect.
- DNA can be extracted from many sources, such as hair, bone, teeth, saliva, and blood.
- Because there is DNA in most cells in the human body, even a minuscule amount of bodily fluid or tissue can yield useful information.
- Samples may even be extracted from used clothes, linen, combs, or other frequently used items.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA)
- DNA is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms. Nearly every cell in a person’s body has the same DNA.
- Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria (where it is called mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA).
- Mitochondria are structures within cells that convert the energy from food into a form that cells can use.
- The information in DNA is stored as a code made up of four chemical bases: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T).
- Human DNA consists of about 3 billion bases, and more than 99 percent of those bases are the same in all people.
- The order, or sequence, of these bases determines the information available for building and maintaining an organism, similar to the way in which letters of the alphabet appear in a certain order to form words and sentences.
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How it is used in criminal investigation?
- DNA evidence is used to solve crimes in two ways:
- If a suspect is known, that person’s DNA sample can be compared to biological evidence found at a crime scene to establish whether the suspect was at the crime scene or whether they committed the crime.
- If a suspect is not known, biological evidence from the crime scene can be analyzed and compared to offender profiles in existing DNA databases to assist in identifying a suspect.
- Beyond its accuracy, DNA fingerprinting can also sift through crime scene evidence in different ways, previously unavailable to investigators.
- For instance, advanced DNA fingerprinting can make separate prints of various individuals even from a sample mixture found at the crime scene — this is of help during gang rape investigations as each perpetrator can be individually identified.
DNA fingerprinting in India
- By 1988, Lalji Singh, who had been in the UK from 1974 to 1987 on a Commonwealth Fellowship, developed DNA fingerprinting for crime investigations in Hyderabad.
- Today, Lalji Singh, who passed away in 2017, is known as “the father of DNA fingerprinting in India.”
- In 1989, DNA fingerprinting was first used in a case by the Kerala Police.
- By the early 1990s, the technology had begun to be used for establishing paternity, and to link criminals and identify victims in sensational crimes.
- From the 2000s onwards, the technology became a staple in rape cases where vaginal swab samples were matched with semen samples from suspects.
Challenges with DNA fingerprinting in India
- It is vital to ensure that the DNA of the investigators does not get mixed with that of the victims or the suspects.
- Thus, picking up samples from a crime scene with sterile tools and storing samples in a proper manner are crucial for the evidence to stand a judicial test.
- While India has rules and guidelines regarding this, India’s police forces have a lot of catching up to do with counterparts overseas.
- While central agencies such as CBI have the expertise to ensure that crime scenes are protected and correct procedure is followed, state police forces are inadequately trained or fully equipped.
Issues with such technology
- The problem is not limited to the police awareness.
- The capacity for DNA fingerprinting in the country itself is lacking.
- DNA fingerprinting is available only at a few places — Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Hyderabad and Chandigarh.
- Advanced practices in the technology are limited to the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) in Hyderabad.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: GI Tag
Mains level: Contribution of GI tags in rural economy
Five agricultural products of Kerala have been granted Geographical Indication (GI) status.
Which are the 5 GI products?
- These are the latest Geographical Indications that have been registered-
- Attappady Attukombu Avara: It cultivated in the Attappady region of Palakkad, is curved like a goat’s horn as its name indicates. Its higher anthocyanin content compared to other dolichos beans imparts violet colour in the stem and fruits. Anthocyanin is helpful against cardiovascular diseases along with its antidiabetic properties. Other than this, calcium, protein, and fibre content are also high. The higher phenolic content of imparts resistance against pest and diseases, making the crop suitable for organic cultivation.
- Attappady Thuvara: It is having seeds with white coat. Compared to other red grams, Attappady Thuvara seeds are bigger and have higher seed weight. This delicious red gram, which is used as vegetable and dal, is rich in protein, carbohydrate, fibre, calcium and magnesium.
- Kanthalloor-Vattavada Veluthulli (garlic): Compared to the garlic produced in other areas, this garlic contains higher amount of sulphides, flavonoids, and proteins. It is rich in allicin, which is effective against microbial infections, blood sugar, cancer, cholesterol, heart diseases, and damages to blood vessels. The garlic cultivated in this area is also rich in essential oil.
- Onattukara Ellu and its oil: It is famous for its unique health benefits. Relatively higher antioxidant content in Onattukara Ellu helps in fighting the free radicals, which destroy the body cells. Also, the high content of unsaturated fat makes it beneficial for heart patients.
- Kodungalloor Pottuvellari: It is cultivated in Kodungalloor and parts of Ernakulam is consumed as juice and in other forms. This snap melon, which is harvested in summer, is an excellent for quenching thirst. It contains high amount of Vitamin C. Compared to other cucurbits, nutrients such as calcium, magnesium, fibre and fat content are also high in that.
- The unique features of the products, imparted by the agro-climatic conditions of the geographical area of their production, are the basis for getting a GI tag.
What are the other GIs tags awarded?
Adding to the present collection of Geographical Indications (GIs), nine new items, including-
- Gamocha of Assam
- Tandur red gram of Telangana
- Raktsey Karpo apricot of Ladakh, and
- Alibag white onion of Maharashtra
Do you know?
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are states with the highest number of GI tags, followed by Kerala (35), Uttar Pradesh (34), and Maharashtra (31).
About GI Tag
- Recognised by the World Trade Organization (WTO), GI is used to denote the geographical territory from where a product, be it agricultural produce, natural product, or manufactured.
- It conveys the assurance of quality, distinctiveness, and attributes that are unique to that specific geographic region/place of origin.
- India became a signatory to this convention, when, as a member of WTO, it enacted the Geographical Indications (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, which came into effect on September 15, 2003.
- To protect the GI of goods, a GI registry has been established to administer the GI of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, under the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Panini, Language Machine
Mains level: Not Much
A grammatical problem by Panini that has defeated Sanskrit scholars since the 5th Century BC has finally been solved by an Indian Ph.D. student at the University of Cambridge.
Who was Panini?
- Panini was a Sanskrit philologist, grammarian, and revered scholar in ancient India, variously dated between the 6th and 4th century BCE.
- Since the discovery and publication of his work by European scholars in the nineteenth century, Panini has been considered the “first descriptive linguist” and even labelled as “the father of linguistics”.
- Panini’s grammar was influential on such foundational linguists as Ferdinand de Saussure and Leonard Bloomfield.
Major literary works
- Panini is known for his texts- Astadhyayi, a sutra-style treatise on Sanskrit grammar, verses or rules on linguistics, syntax and semantics in “eight chapters” which is the foundational text of the Vyakarna branch of the Vedanga.
- His text attracted numerous bhashya (commentaries), of which Patanjali’s Mahabhashya is the most famous.
- His ideas influenced and attracted commentaries from scholars of other Indian religions such as Buddhism.
What is the recent breakthrough?
- Panini had an extraordinary mind and he built a language machine unrivaled in human history.
- The 2,500-year-old algorithm decoded by him makes it possible, for the first time, to accurately use Panini’s so-called “language machine”.
- This discovery makes it possible to “derive” any Sanskrit word, to construct millions of grammatically correct words, using Panini’s language machine.
- This is widely considered to be one of the greatest intellectual achievements in history.
How does this language machine works?
- Panini’s system – 4,000 rules detailed in his renowned work, the Astadhyayi, which is thought to have been written around 500 BC – is meant to work like a machine.
- Feed in the base and suffix of a word and it should turn them into grammatically correct words and sentences through a step-by-step process.
Significance of this development
- A major implication of the recent discovery is that now there is an algorithm that runs Panini’s grammar.
- We can potentially teach this grammar to computers.
- Computer scientists working on Natural Language Processing (NLP) gave up on rule-based approaches over 50 years ago.
- NLP is a branch of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning.
- So teaching computers how to combine the speaker’s intention with Panini’s rule-based grammar to produce human speech would be a major milestone in the history of human interaction with machines.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: BH Series
Mains level: Not Much
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highway has notified new rules to further increase the scope of implementation of the BH series registrations for vehicles.
What is the update?
The transport ministry has proposed new rules that would permit transfer of vehicles with BH series registration mark to other persons, who are eligible or ineligible for the getting the series.
What is Bharat series (BH-series)?
- There was a procedure of re-registration of a vehicle while moving to another state.
- A vehicle bearing BH registration mark shall not require assignment of a new registration mark when the owner of the vehicle shifts from one State to another.
- Format of Bharat series (BH-series) Registration Mark –
Registration Mark Format:
- YY BH #### XX
- YY – Year of first registration
- BH- Code for Bharat Series
- ####- 0000 to 9999 (randomized)
- XX- Alphabets (AA to ZZ)
Why such move?
- Station relocation occurs with both Government and private sector employees.
- Such movements create a sense of unease in the minds of such employees with regard to transfer of registration from the parent state to another state.
- Under section 47 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, a person is allowed to keep the vehicle for not more than 12 months in any state other than the state where the vehicle is registered.
Who can get this BH series?
- BH-series will be available on voluntary basis to Defense personnel, employees of Central Government/ State Government/ Central/ State PSUs and private sector companies/organizations.
- The motor vehicle tax will be levied for two years or in multiple of two.
- This scheme will facilitate free movement of personal vehicles across States/UTs of India upon relocation to a new State/UT.
- After completion of the fourteenth year, the motor vehicle tax shall be levied annually which shall be half of the amount which was charged earlier for that vehicle.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Addressing the issues of Students pressure, suicides, reasons and way ahead
Context
- Three students committed suicide within 12 hours in Rajasthan’s Kota, which is regarded as the education and coaching hub of India. Known for producing IITians, doctors and engineers, Kota has been in the news for the last few years because of the students’ suicides and depression they suffer.
What is Suicide?
- Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one’s own death.
- Mental and physical disorders, substance abuse, anxiety and depression are risk factors.
- Some suicides are impulsive acts due to stress (such as from financial or academic difficulties), relationship problems (such as breakups or divorces), or harassment and bullying.
- Despite being entirely preventable, India has been increasingly losing individuals to suicide.
The National Crime Records Bureau’s Accidental Deaths and Suicide in India report 2021.
- The report released this year shows that the number of students’ deaths by suicide rose by 4.5 per cent in 2021.
- Maharashtra bearing the highest toll with 1,834 deaths, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 1,308, and Tamil Nadu with 1,246.
- According to the report, student suicides have been rising steadily for the last five years.
- According to a 2012 Lancet report, suicide rates in India are highest in the 15-29 age group the youth population.
- According to the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), in 2020, a student took their own life every 42 minutes; that is, every day, more than 34 students died by suicide.
What are the reasons behind these alarming stats of student’s suicide in India?
- Education is for livelihood more than knowledge: Education in India has been viewed as a gateway to employment and livelihood rather than to knowledge.
- Pressure to get into government jobs or highly paid private sector: Many students and their families dream of the coveted ‘sarkari naukri’ (government job) to escape the precarious social, caste and class predicaments they find themselves in.
- Limited educational infrastructure: The failure of the Union government to improve the country’s educational infrastructure means that exam-oriented coaching had become the norm.
- Coaching centres as prisons for many students: Cashing in on the ‘hope for a better future,’ coaching centres emerged as one of the predominant industries in the education sector. However, these centres are now being seen as prisons for the many youngsters who join them; where their bodies, souls and dreams are tamed.
- Number of factors marginalising students who are already vulnerable: Students from marginalised sections are pushed further to the margins through a number of factors, such as the lack of English-medium education; private institutions charging high fees; poor quality education in government-run schools and institutes; ever-growing economic inequality; graduates not having the adequate skills to secure jobs; and caste discrimination.
- Social ideology of success and failure: The rise of neoliberalism as an economic and social ideology has pushed the youth to blame themselves for their failure to secure their ‘dream job’ while the government continues to shirk its basic responsibility.
- Flawed neoliberal agenda for failure and success: The neo-liberal agenda keeps propagating the belief that it is not that hard to find success if one works hard enough, normalising the notion that the youth should blame themselves for their ‘failures’.
- The myth of the Indian family being supportive also need to be called out: Family, being the primary social unit of the society, shapes the aspirations and dreams of the youth. Family should be supportive in true sense.
- Deeper introspection is needed instead of make shift solutions: Deeper introspection on structural aspects of the education system is the need of the hour. Instead, we take pride in coming up with Jugaad (makeshift solutions) to manage affairs peripherally, without dealing with the root of problem.
- Easing pressure in the students: Others have suggested like the guidelines issued by the Board of Intermediate Education in Andhra Pradesh in 2017 to ease the pressure on students, including yoga and physical exercise classes and maintaining a healthy student-teacher ratio.
- Realising today’s realities and making changes: It is painfully evident that the failure to address the larger issue of a punishing education system that is simply not designed to support young minds or prepare them for today’s economic realities continues.
- Collective responsibility: Not only family plays a significant role in students life, even the society has a huge influence. We as a society should realise true essence of life and not confine students into success and failure tags. Instead support them empathically in realising their true potential.
Did you know this solution? What any sensitive person will think of this?
- Some suggested bordering on the ludicrous, like the Indian Institute of Science’s reported move last year to replace ceiling fans in hostel rooms with those that are wall-mounted.
Conclusion
- Scholars have long linked farmers’ suicides to India’s agrarian crisis; it is time that civil society starts looking at students’ suicides as an indicator of a grave crisis of the country’s educational structure, including the institutional structure, curriculum, and the like. The combination of a large population of young people with rising aspirations and an economy with shrinking opportunities has created a public health crisis that requires urgent attention.
Mains Question
Q. There has been a steady increase in student suicides in India over the past few years. What are the reasons and suggest what should be done?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Concept of CAD
Mains level: India's problem of CAD, effects and solutions
Context
- There seems to be considerable optimism about India’s near-term growth prospects now that the major global energy and commodity shocks have subsided. Even if these shocks have subsided, India still faces one big problem of its large current account deficit (CAD). How will this be managed? It turns out that the answer to both questions lies in one word exports.
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What is Current Account Deficit (CAD)?
- A current account is a key component of balance of payments, which is the account of transactions or exchanges made between entities in a country and the rest of the world.
- This includes a nation’s net trade in products and services, its net earnings on cross border investments including interest and dividends, and its net transfer payments such as remittances and foreign aid.
- A CAD arises when the value of goods and services imported exceeds the value of exports, while the trade balance refers to the net balance of export and import of goods or merchandise trade.
- CAD = Trade Deficit + Net Income from Abroad + Net transfers
- Swelling CAD: Over the past year, the post-pandemic normalisation has caused the current account deficit to swell to exceptional proportions.
- Decline in demand abroad: At home, normalisation has spurred a renewed demand for imported inputs. But abroad, it has had the opposite effect, leading to a decline in demand.
- India’s import soared while exports fell: Foreign households are no longer demanding so many goods now that the lockdowns that kept them in their houses and the fiscal stimuli that gave them the money to spend have both ended. So, India’s imports have soared just at a time when its merchandise exports have started to fall.
- Statistics for instance: The difference between the value of goods imported and exported fell to $54.48 million in Q4FY 2021-22 from $59.75 million in Q3 FY2021-22.
- Service sector is saviour: However, based on robust performance by computer and business services, net service receipts rose both sequentially and, on a year, -on-year basis.
Future projections
- Looking ahead, the situation seems set to worsen: Foreign demand will slow further as advanced countries slip into what now seem like inevitable recessions.
- In the backdrop of recession India’s CAD could widen further: In that case, India’s CAD could widen even further, possibly to four per cent of GDP in 2022-23, double the level that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) traditionally regards as “safe”.
Analysis: How should India respond?
- Attracting foreign capital inflow: Attract foreign capital inflows worth at least four per cent of GDP.
- Is this realistic in time of global uncertainty: The world is currently facing unprecedented levels of uncertainty. Two years of the pandemic, now a land war in Europe, inflation and energy crisis in Europe, interest rate hikes in the history of the US Federal Reserve, slowdown in china, etc. In such an uncertain environment, foreign investors prefer to invest in safe assets such as US government bonds rather than emerging markets like India. As a result, India has witnessed large outflows of foreign capital in 2022-23
- Deploying RBI’s Forex to pay for imports: If India cannot attract the required amount of capital inflows, the RBI’s foreign exchange reserves could be deployed to pay for imports.
- Is this strategy sustainable: The country’s reserves are meant to tide the country over short-term problems, such as commodity price spikes. India’s merchandise exports have been structurally weak, stagnating for the past decade, until the pandemic induced a short-lived boom.
How depreciating rupee could be helpful?
- Price needs to be adjusted by depreciating rupee: This means that something fundamental needs to change. Ultimately, India’s CAD reflects a mismatch between the demand and supply of foreign exchange. To restore balance, first and foremost, the price needs to adjust, that is, the rupee needs to depreciate.
- Exporting becomes more profitable: When this happens, exporting becomes more profitable, inducing more and more firms to explore foreign markets. Meanwhile, foreign demand improves, because the rupee depreciation makes India’s products more price-competitive. As a result, exports increase and the CAD falls.
- Exchange rate depreciation is helpful in sustained growth: The recovery of the Indian economy from the pandemic was largely fuelled by exports. But with exports now declining, this crucial source of growth has now become uncertain for India. Strengthening the export sector is, therefore, critical for sustaining growth.
Way forward
- Allow the rupee to depreciate,
- Encourage foreign firms to produce in India by letting them access their supply chains,
- Encourage domestic firms to step up to the competition, and
- Create a level playing field for all players.
Conclusion
- The large CAD, however, is not a short-term problem: It is a long-term problem requiring a long-term solution. By adopting the discussed strategy, India could potentially solve its two most important macroeconomic problems that are reducing the large CAD and securing rapid, sustained growth.
Mains question
Q. What is Current account deficit (CAD)? In a time of global uncertainty How India can reduce its large CAD and secure sustained growth. Analyze
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Important aspects of the Data protection bill
Context
- On November 18th Government released the fourth iteration of the data privacy legislation: The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022 (Bill).
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- The journey towards data protection legislation began in 2011 when the department of Personnel and Training initiated discussions on the Right to Privacy Bill, 2011.
- The major fillip to the data protection case was given by the K. Puttuswamy judgment, 2017 where the supreme court held the “Right to privacy” as a fundamental right under Article 21- right to life and personal liberty.
- After the Puttaswamy judgment, the government-appointed B.N Srikrishna committee the drafting of a law for data protection and privacy. This led to the Justice B.N. Srikrishna committee report which later on led to the Personal Data Protection Bill of 2019.
Two major stakeholders of the Legislation Data principles and data Fiduciary
- Data Principle: Data principles refers to the subject whose data is being processed. While the Bill lists the “duties” of the Data Principals, these have no bearing on the realisation of the rights provided by the Bill.
- Data Fiduciary: It is an entity that processes this data. The drafters of the Bill seem to be affirming that the Data Fiduciary is responsible for safeguarding the interests of Data Principals.
- What is Data Fiduciary: The use of the term, “fiduciary” whilst referring to a data processor is significant. In different spheres of the law, when one party owes a “fiduciary” duty towards another a trustee, beneficiary, guardian or ward, the relationship between the two is guided by trust, assurance and good faith.
- Obligations of data fiduciaries towards data principles: In line with this philosophy, the rest of the Bill describes the obligations of the Data Fiduciaries towards Data Principals, the rights and duties of the latter and the regulatory framework through which data will be processed.
Two noteworthy aspects of the Bill
- Bill outlined the category of Data fiduciaries: In addition to the general obligations to prevent the misuse of the personal data of individuals, the Bill has outlined a category of Significant Data Fiduciaries, entities that are required to comply with additional measures to safeguard the personal data of individuals.
- Why is this distinction being necessary: This distinction is essential as only companies that process vast amounts of data or have a potential impact on the country’s sovereignty and integrity need to take such stringent measures. Such measures reduce the compliance cost of companies that are at a nascent stage.
- Relaxing Data localisation norms: Onerous provisions on “data localisation” in the previous versions of the Bill, which mandated companies to store user data only within India, have been omitted.
- How this move will maintain balance: The reworked Bill permits the government to notify countries to which data transfers may be permitted. This is a major respite for several tech companies, who have long talked about the infeasibility of the data localisation provisions. A balance has now been struck between the legitimate concerns of businesses and the protection of personal data of individuals.
Where else does this bill need attention?
- Focus remains only on the nature and gravity of the violation: While the Bill is, by and large, comprehensive. Section 25 and Schedule I, that deal with penalties, require elaboration. Section 25 refers to the quantum of financial penalty that must be imposed on a person guilty of non-compliance in matters related to detail. The focus remains only on the nature and gravity of the violation. The proposed legislation does not consider the financial ranking of a company before imposing penalties.
- The bill must take financial ranking of the company in consideration: The Bill must ensure that the penalties imposed are proportionate to the size and operations of a company, to be effective, fines must not drive companies into economic loss.
- For instance: A leaf can be taken from the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), amongst other similar regulations, which levies penalties in accordance with the total turnover of companies.
What makes this bill distinct and comprehensive?
- Promoting cooperation: The Bill safeguards individual data, whilst also promoting cooperation between data fiduciaries and the government.
- As per the India’s requirements: While it draws upon the best practices of foreign jurisdictions, such as Europe and Australia, it has been drafted in a manner that is tailor-made to India’s requirements.
- Exemptions are restrictive: Even the exemptions granted to the Centre are extremely restrictive and in sync with past judicial precedents and Article 19(2) of the Constitution.
- Significant shift in drafting legislation: The Bill marks a significant shift in the manner of drafting legislation. Historically, comprehending a piece of legislation in India has usually been akin to the membership of an exclusive club only legal practitioners, policy professionals and a handful of politicians are able to understand and interpret laws.
- Ensures simplification and accessibility to ordinary citizens: This Bill marks a transition from legalese to legal simplification, it realises that it is in our best interests to ensure that all laws especially legislation that have a significant impact on citizens are made accessible to all individuals irrespective of their professional or educational standing.
Conclusion
- The Bill safeguards individual data, whilst also promoting cooperation between data fiduciaries and the government. While it draws upon the best practices of foreign jurisdictions, it has been drafted in a manner that is tailor-made to India’s requirements. Exemptions granted to the Centre are extremely restrictive.
Mains Question
Q. What are the salient aspects of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill? Discuss what makes it unique and inclusive.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Read the attached story
Mains level: Uniform Civil Code
States are empowered to enact personal laws that decide issues such as succession, marriage and divorce, in their endeavor to secure a uniform civil code (UCC), Law Minister informed the Rajya Sabha.
What did Law Minister say?
- Personal laws such as intestacy and succession; wills; joint family and partition; marriage and divorce, relate to Entry 5 of List-III-Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution.
- Hence, the States are also empowered to legislate upon them.
- And many states are announcing the implementation of UCC in the election manifestos.
What is a Uniform Civil Code (UCC)?
- A UCC is one that would provide for one personal civil law for the entire country.
- This would be applicable to all religious communities in their personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption etc.
Basis for UCC
- Article 44, one of the Directive Principles of the Constitution lays down that the state shall endeavour to secure a UCC for the citizens throughout the territory of India.
- These, as defined in Article 37, are not justiciable (not enforceable by any court) but the principles laid down therein are fundamental in governance.
UCC vs. Right to Freedom of Religion
- Article 25 lays down an individual’s fundamental right to religion
- Article 26(b) upholds the right of each religious denomination or any section thereof to “manage its own affairs in matters of religion”
- Article 29 defines the right to conserve distinctive culture
Reasonable restrictions on the Freedom of Religion
- An individual’s freedom of religion under Article 25 is subject to “public order, health, morality” and other provisions relating to FRs, but a group’s freedom under Article 26 has not been subjected to other FRs.
- In the Constituent Assembly, there was division on the issue of putting UCC in the fundamental rights chapter. The matter was settled by a vote.
- By a 5:4 majority, the fundamental rights sub-committee headed by Sardar Patel held that the provision was outside the scope of FRs and therefore the UCC was made less important.
Enacting and Enforcing UCC
- Fundamental rights are enforceable in a court of law.
- While Article 44 uses the words “state shall endeavour”, other Articles in the ‘Directive Principles’ chapter use words such as “in particular strive”; “shall in particular direct its policy”; “shall be obligation of the state” etc.
- Article 43 mentions “state shall endeavour by suitable legislation” while the phrase “by suitable legislation” is absent in Article 44.
- All this implies that the duty of the state is greater in other directive principles than in Article 44.
What are more important — fundamental rights or directive principles?
- There is no doubt that fundamental rights are more important.
- The Supreme Court held in Minerva Mills (1980): Indian Constitution is founded on the bed-rock of the balance between Parts III (Fundamental Rights) and IV (Directive Principles).
- To give absolute primacy to one over the other is to disturb the harmony of the Constitution.
- Article 31C inserted by the 42nd Amendment in 1976, however, lays down that if a law is made to implement any directive principle, it cannot be challenged on the ground of being violative of the FRs under Articles 14 and 19.
What about Personal Laws?
- Citizens belonging to different religions and denominations follow different property and matrimonial laws which are an affront to the nation’s unity.
- If the framers of the Constitution had intended to have a UCC, they would have given exclusive jurisdiction to Parliament in respect of personal laws, by including this subject in the Union List.
- “Personal Laws” are mentioned in the Concurrent List.
Various customary laws
- All Hindus of the country are not governed by one law, nor are all Muslims or all Christians.
- Muslims of Kashmir were governed by a customary law, which in many ways was at variance with Muslim Personal Law in the rest of the country and was, in fact, closer to Hindu law.
- Even on registration of marriage among Muslims, laws differ from place to place.
- In the Northeast, there are more than 200 tribes with their own varied customary laws.
- The Constitution itself protects local customs in Nagaland. Similar protections are enjoyed by Meghalaya and Mizoram.
- Even reformed Hindu law, in spite of codification, protects customary practices.
Why need UCC?
- UCC would provide equal status to all citizens
- It would promote gender parity in Indian society.
- UCC would accommodate the aspirations of the young population who imbibe liberal ideology.
- Its implementation would thus support the national integration.
Hurdles to UCC implementation
- There are practical difficulties due to religious and cultural diversity in India.
- The UCC is often perceived by the minorities as an encroachment of religious freedom.
- It is often regarded as interference of the state in personal matters of the minorities.
- Experts often argue that the time is not ripe for Indian society to embrace such UCC.
These questions need to be addressed which are being completely ignored in the present din around UCC.
- Firstly, how can uniformity in personal laws are brought without disturbing the distinct essence of each and every component of the society.
- Secondly, what makes us believe that practices of one community are backward and unjust?
- Thirdly, has other uniformities been able to eradicate inequalities which diminish the status of our society as a whole?
Way forward
- It should be the duty of the religious intelligentia to educate the community about its rights and obligations based on modern liberal interpretations.
- A good environment for the UCC must be prepared by the government by explaining the contents and significance of Article 44 taking all into confidence.
- Social reforms are not overnight but gradual phenomenon. They are often vulnerable to media evils such as fake news and disinformation.
- Social harmony and cultural fabric of our nation must be the priority.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Social Progress Index (SPI)
Mains level: Read the attached story
Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister (EAC-PM) will release the Social Progress Index (SPI) for states and districts of India on December 20, 2022.
Social Progress Index (SPI) Report
- SPI is a comprehensive tool intended to be a holistic measure of the Social Progress made by the country at the national and sub-national levels.
- The report has been prepared by Institute for Competitiveness, headed by Dr Amit Kapoor and the Social Progress Imperative, headed by Michael Green.
- It was mandated by Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India.
Objectives of the report
- With state and district-wise rankings and scorecards, the report aims to provide a systematic account of the social progress made at all levels in the country.
- The report also sheds light on the achievements of the districts that have performed well on the index and the role of the states in achieving social progress.
- A special section of the report provides an analysis of the Aspirational Districts of India, leading to a broader understanding of the social progress at the grassroots level.
- The report will act as a critical enabler and tool for policymakers in the coming years for achieving sustained socio-economic growth.
Components of SPI
SPI assesses the performance of states and districts on three dimensions of social progress:
- Basic Human Needs: It assesses the performance of states and districts in terms of Nutrition and Basic Medical Care, Water and Sanitation, Personal Safety and Shelter.
- Foundations of Wellbeing: It evaluates the progress made by the country across the components of Access to Basic Knowledge, Access to Information and Communication, Health and Wellness, and Environmental Quality.
- Opportunity: It focuses on aspects of Personal Rights, Personal Freedom and Choice, Inclusiveness, and Access to Advanced Education.
(This newscard will be updated once the report is published.)
Need for SPI
- GDP is not a holistic measure of a nation’s development: It would be incorrect to state that the economic progress is completely divorced from progress made in areas mentioned above.
- Social outcomes of developmental economics: The primary goal of the SPI is to provide a rigorous tool to benchmark progress and stimulate progress within countries.
- No single holistic parameter available: Several indicators, like GHI and HDI, go beyond GDP, but none captures social progress as finely as SPI.
- Doing away with biased reports: India does not display a respectable position in the index, as even the small neighbours like Nepal have a better rank. India is also the lowest rank holder in BRICS.
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