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  • Economic Indicators and Various Reports On It- GDP, FD, EODB, WIR etc

    States holding up results of Economic Census: Centre

    Prelims Only | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    The Centre has blamed the States for a prolonged delay in releasing the findings of the Seventh Economic Census, a critical compendium of formal and informal non-farm enterprises operating across the country, in a submission to the Parliament.

    What is National Economic Census?

    • In 1976, GoI launched a planning scheme called Economic Census and Surveys.
    • It is the census of the Indian economy through counting all entrepreneurial units in the country which involved in any economic activities of either agricultural or non-agricultural sector which are engaged in production and/or distribution of goods and/or services not for the sole purpose of own consumption.
    • It provides detailed information on operational and other characteristics such as number of establishments, number of persons employed, source of finance, type of ownership etc.
    • This information used for micro level/ decentralized planning and to assess contribution of various sectors of the economy in the GDP.

    Censuses till date

    • Total Six Economic Censuses (EC) has been conducted till date.
    • In 1977 CSO conducted First economic census in collaboration with the Directorate of Economics & Statistics (DES) in the States/UTs.
    • The Second EC was carried out in 1980 followed by the Third EC in 1990. The fourth edition took place in 1998 while the fifth EC was held in 2005.
    • The Sixth edition of the Economic Census was conducted in 2013.

     

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  • J&K – The issues around the state

    MEA lashes OIC for remark on Kashmir

    IOCR | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and agreements involving India

    Context: India has said the statement by the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation on Jammu and Kashmir “reeked of bigotry”.

    What did the MEA say?

    • The Ministry of External Affairs said the Saudi Arabia -based OIC continued to issue statements on J&K at the behest of a serial violator of human rights and notorious promoter of terrorism, indicating Pakistan.

    What is OIC?

    • The OIC — formerly Organisation of the Islamic Conference — is the world’s second-largest inter-governmental organization after the UN, with a membership of 57 states.
    • The OIC’s stated objective is “to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world”.
    • OIC has reserved membership for Muslim-majority countries. Russia, Thailand, and a couple of other small countries have Observer status.

    India and OIC

    • At the 45th session of the Foreign Ministers’ Summit in 2018, Bangladesh suggested that India, where more than 10% of the world’s Muslims live, should be given Observer status.
    • In 1969, India was dis-invited from the Conference of Islamic Countries in Rabat, Morocco at Pakistan’s behest.
    • Then Agriculture Minister Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was dis-invited upon arrival in Morocco after Pakistan President Yahya Khan lobbied against Indian participation.

    Recent developments

    • In 2019, India made its maiden appearance at the OIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Abu Dhabi, as a “guest of honor”.
    • This first-time invitation was seen as a diplomatic victory for New Delhi, especially at a time of heightened tensions with Pakistan following the Pulwama attack.
    • Pakistan had opposed the invitation to Swaraj and it boycotted the plenary after the UAE turned down its demand to rescind the invitation.

    What is the OIC’s stand on Kashmir?

    • It has been generally supportive of Pakistan’s stand on Kashmir and has issued statements criticizing India.
    • Last year, after India revoked Article 370 in Kashmir, Pakistan lobbied with the OIC for their condemnation of the move.
    • To Pakistan’s surprise, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — both top leaders among the Muslim countries — issued nuanced statements, and were not as harshly critical of New Delhi as Islamabad had hoped.
    • Since then, Islamabad has tried to rouse sentiments among the Islamic countries, but only a handful of them — Turkey and Malaysia — publicly criticized India.

    How has India been responding?

    • India has consistently underlined that J&K is an integral part of India and is a matter strictly internal to India.
    • The strength with which India has made this assertion has varied slightly at times, but never the core message.
    • It has maintained its “consistent and well-known” stand that the OIC had no locus standi.
    • This time, India went a step ahead and said the grouping continues to allow itself to be used by a certain country “which has a record on religious tolerance, radicalism, and persecution of minorities”.

    OIC members and India

    • Individually, India has good relations with almost all member nations. Ties with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, especially, have looked up significantly in recent years.
    • The OIC includes two of India’s close neighbors, Bangladesh and Maldives.
    • Indian diplomats say both countries privately admit they do not want to complicate their bilateral ties with India on Kashmir but play along with OIC.

    Way ahead

    • India now sees the duality of the OIC as untenable, since many of these countries have good bilateral ties and convey to India to ignore OIC statements.
    • But these countries sign off on the joint statements which are largely drafted by Pakistan.
    • India feels it important to challenge the double-speak since Pakistan’s campaign and currency on the Kashmir issue has hardly any takers in the international community.

     

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  • Contention over South China Sea

    What is Taiwan’s ‘Porcupine Strategy’ to protect itself if China attacks?

    | Security Issues | Mains Paper 3: Various Security Forces, Agencies & Their Mandates

    As the long-range, live-fire drills began with China’s Eastern Theatre Command firing several ballistic missiles, Taiwan said that it was “preparing for war without seeking war”. What is Taiwan’s strategy to fight back in case China attempts to occupy it by force?

    What is a Military Doctrine?

    • Military doctrine is the expression of how military forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements.
    • It is a guide to action, rather than being hard and fast rules. Doctrine provides a common frame of reference across the military.

    Why do need such a doctrine?

    • It helps standardize operations, facilitating readiness by establishing common ways of accomplishing military tasks.
    • It decides what you buy, produce, or prioritize, all of which flows from deciding your best fighting foot.

    What is the ‘Porcupine Doctrine’?

    • This doctrine was proposed in 2008 by US Naval War College research professor William S Murray.
    • It is a strategy of asymmetric warfare focused on fortifying a weak state’s defences to exploit the enemy’s weaknesses rather than taking on its strengths.
    • It is about building defences that would ensure that Taiwan could be attacked and damaged but not defeated, at least without unacceptably high costs and risks.

    How does this work?

    It identifies three defensive layers in the porcupine approach.

    1. The outer layer is about intelligence and reconnaissance to ensure defence forces are fully prepared. Behind this come plans for guerrilla warfare at sea with aerial support from sophisticated aircraft provided by the US.
    2. The innermost layer relies on the geography and demography of the island.
    3. While the outer surveillance layer would work to prevent a surprise attack, the second one would make it difficult for China to land its troops on the island in the face of a guerrilla campaign at sea using “agile, missile-armed small ships, supported by helicopters and missile launchers”.

    Another tactic: Asymmetric systems of defence

    • Asymmetric systems are ones that are small, numerous, smart, stealthy, mobile and hard to be detected and countered and associated with innovative tactics and employments.
    • These asymmetric capabilities will be aimed at striking the operational centre of gravity and key nodes of the enemy.
    • The geographic advantages of the Taiwan Strait shall be tapped to shape favourable conditions to disrupt the operational tempo of the enemy, frustrate its attempts and moves of invasion.
    • Taiwan underlined its shift to an asymmetric approach by adopting the Overall Defence Concept (ODC) in 2018.

    Do you know?

    Indian armed forces follow the Cold Start Doctrine that involves joint operations between India’s three services and integrated battle groups for offensive operations. A key component is the preparation of India’s forces to be able to quickly mobilize and take offensive actions without crossing the enemy’s nuclear-use threshold.

    Need for such a strategy

    • China enjoys overwhelming military superiority over Taiwan.
    • Over the past decade, Beijing has developed far more accurate and precise weapon systems to target Taiwan.
    • China has been more vocal about its intention to “reunite” the island with the mainland, by force or coercion if needed.
    • The PLA has already achieved the capabilities needed to conduct an air and naval blockade, cyberattacks, and missile strikes against Taiwan.
    • PLA leaders now likely assess they have, or will soon have, the initial capability needed to conduct a high-risk invasion of Taiwan (following Russia’s path).

    How easy will it be for China?

    • Missile strikes, cyberattacks, air and naval blockade aside, undertaking a full-scale invasion across the Taiwan Strait, with attendant risks of anti-ship and anti-air attacks, could present challenges for China.
    • The PLA is estimated to have air and naval resources to carry out an initial landing of 25,000 or more troops, which could increase if it deploys civilian ships to meet its military objectives.
    • However, it will have to first select and secure a suitable beachhead from among the handful that is available.
    • Also, with small and agile weapons systems, Taiwan can turn its coastline into a kill zone that would deny China a walkover.
    • Beijing would have to rely on cyberattacks, missile strikes on Taiwan’s air bases and runways, and a blockade to choke it into surrendering.

     

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  • Women Safety Issues – Marital Rape, Domestic Violence, Swadhar, Nirbhaya Fund, etc.

    SC moots verdict for ‘Bodily Autonomy’

    SC Judgements | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary

    The Supreme Court has said it may loosen the restrictive grip of a 51-year-old abortion law that bars unmarried women from terminating pregnancies up to 24 weeks old.

    What is the news?

    • The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971 and its Rules of 2003 prohibit unmarried women who are between 20 weeks and 24 weeks pregnant to abort with the help of registered medical practitioners.

    What did the Court say now?

    • In a very significant move, the court said that the prohibition was manifestly arbitrary and violative of women’s right to bodily autonomy and dignity.
    • The danger to life is as much in the case of an unmarried woman as in the case of a married woman said Justice Chandrachud.
    • The danger of suffering a mental breakdown is much more prominent for unmarried women, said the court.

    Earlier observations

    • A woman’s right to reproductive choice is an inseparable part of her personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
    • She has a sacrosanct right to bodily integrity, the court quoted from precedents.
    • The court said forcing a woman to continue with her pregnancy would not only be a violation of her bodily integrity but also aggravate her mental trauma.

    Indispensable clause of safety

    • The court ordered a medical board to be formed by the AIIMS to check whether it was safe to conduct an abortion on the woman and submit a report in a week.

    What is the case?

    • A Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud was hearing the appeal of a woman who wanted to abort her 24-week pregnancy after her relationship failed and her partner left her.
    • The lower court had taken an “unduly restrictive view” that her plea for a safe abortion was not covered under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act.
    • This was since the pregnancy arose from a consensual relationship outside wedlock.

    What was the last amendment?

    • The court noted that an amendment to the Act in 2021 had substituted the term ‘husband’ with ‘partner’, a clear signal that the law covered unmarried women within its ambit.

    Reiterating the live-in recognition

    • Chastising the lower court, the Bench said live-in relationships had already been recognized by the Supreme Court.
    • There were a significant number of people in the social mainstream who see no wrong in engaging in pre-marital sex.
    • The law could not be used to quench “notions of social morality” and unduly interfere in their personal autonomy and bodily integrity.

    Back2Basics: Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act

    • Abortion in India has been a legal right under various circumstances for the last 50 years since the introduction of the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act in 1971.
    • The Act was amended in 2003 to enable women’s access to safe and legal abortion services.
    • Abortion is covered 100% by the government’s public national health insurance funds, Ayushman Bharat and Employees’ State Insurance with the package rate for surgical abortion.

    The idea of terminating your pregnancy cannot originate by choice and is purely circumstantial. There are four situations under which a legal abortion is performed:

    1. If continuation of the pregnancy poses any risks to the life of the mother or mental health
    2. If the foetus has any severe abnormalities
    3. If pregnancy occurred as a result of failure of contraception (but this is only applicable to married women)
    4. If pregnancy is a result of sexual assault or rape

    These are the key changes that the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021, has brought in:

    1. The gestation limit for abortions has been raised from the earlier ceiling of 20 weeks to 24 weeks, but only for special categories of pregnant women such as rape or incest survivors. But this termination would need the approval of two registered doctors.
    2. All pregnancies up to 20 weeks require one doctor’s approval. The earlier law, the MTP Act 1971, required one doctor’s approval for pregnancies upto 12 weeks and two doctors’ for pregnancies between 12 and 20 weeks.
    3. Women can now terminate unwanted pregnancies caused by contraceptive failure, regardless of their marital status. Earlier the law specified that only a “married woman and her husband” could do this.
    4. There is also no upper gestation limit for abortion in case of foetal disability if so decided by a medical board of specialist doctors, which state governments and union territories’ administrations would set up.

     

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  • Food Procurement and Distribution – PDS & NFSA, Shanta Kumar Committee, FCI restructuring, Buffer stock, etc.

    Centre launches ‘Ration Mitra’ Portal to register for Rations

    Prelims Only | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Government Scheme/Policies

    The Centre has launched a common facility to register names in ration cards on a pilot basis for 11 States and Union Territories.

    Ration Mitra

    • Ration Mitra’ Portal aims to enable these States to identify and verify the eligible beneficiaries for coverage under the National Food Security Act.
    • Named as Ration Mitr, this software developed by the National Informatics Centre can be used to enrol people of any State.
    • The portal is an enabler for States/UTs to complete their inclusion exercise under NFSA.
    • The NFSA provides food security coverage for 81.35 crore persons in the country. The present NFSA coverage is about 79.74 crore.

    About National Food Security (NFS) Act

    • The NFS Act, 2013 aims to provide subsidized food grains to approximately two-thirds of India’s 1.2 billion people.
    • It converts into legal entitlements for existing food security programs of the GoI.
    • It includes the Midday Meal Scheme, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme and the Public Distribution System (PDS).
    • Further, the NFSA 2013 recognizes maternity entitlements.
    • The Midday Meal Scheme and the ICDS are universal in nature whereas the PDS will reach about two-thirds of the population (75% in rural areas and 50% in urban areas).
    • Pregnant women, lactating mothers, and certain categories of children are eligible for daily free cereals.

    Key provisions of NFSA

    • The NFSA provides a legal right to persons belonging to “eligible households” to receive foodgrains at a subsidised price.
    • It includes rice at Rs 3/kg, wheat at Rs 2/kg and coarse grain at Rs 1/kg — under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). These are called central issue prices (CIPs).

     

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  • Pharma Sector – Drug Pricing, NPPA, FDC, Generics, etc.

    When pharma companies cross red lines

    | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Health & Education

    pharma companiesMarketing practices of pharma companies are under scrutiny after tax officials searched the premises of a drugmaker, and an association of medical representatives moved the Supreme Court alleging unethical marketing practices by drugmakers.

    paharma companiesThe Dolo controversy

    • Bengaluru-based pharmaceuticals company Micro Labs Ltd came under the spotlight recently over the promotion of its anti-fever drug Dolo 650, which was widely used during the covid-19 pandemic.
    • Surprisingly, this drug which contained paracetamol was widely endorsed by doctors all across the India.
    • The Supreme Court last week ordered the central government to respond to a petition filed on the issue of unethical marketing practices by drug makers.
    • The Income Tax department too has accused it of claiming unallowable expenses made on freebies meant to boost sales.

    How do drugmakers incentivize doctors?

    • While many medical professionals claim that financial incentives do not influence their practice, some say that private sector doctors are enticed by pharmaceutical companies’ marketing agents to promote their drugs.
    • Pharma companies’ sales executives visit doctors to brief them about new drugs or a new drug component.
    • They try to impress upon them to prescribe their brands and in return, doctors are offered some gifts name reminders such as pens, writing pads, books and sometimes expensive gifts and holidays.
    • Such benefits extended to doctors depend upon the kind of drug, the disease burden etc.

    pharma companiesIs this a widespread industry practice?

    • A government doctor said no pharma firm can sustain without marketing its drug.
    • It mostly happens when there is an outbreak, or if there is great demand for a particular drug or when a drug is being launched.
    • Unlike in the case of other products, the decision to buy a drug is not made by the consumer, but by the doctor.
    • This makes pharma a marketing-driven industry.

    Are hospitals incentivized too?

    • Yes; doctors at a top private hospital which treated a large number of covid-19 patients said drug giants do try to incentivize hospitals.
    • The possibilities increase when a large corporate hospital chain operating across the country buys a drug in bulk.
    • A doctor at a corporate hospital does not have any control over the drugs sold in the in-house pharmacy of the hospital.
    • Doctors running small clinics see limited patients, and they do not have pharmacies; so, the issue of incentivization does not arise.

    What does the I-T dept find wrong in this?

    • While pharma companies treat freebies as a marketing expense which is deducted while computing their taxable income, getting the beneficiary of this spending to report it as his income has been a challenge.
    • In some cases, tax officials have denied promotional expenses as a deduction.
    • Hence, the government introduced a 10% tax to be deducted at source (TDS) effective 1 July, so that doctors and social media influencers report such benefits in their tax returns and pay tax on what it is worth.

     

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    Who was Vannuramma?

    Prelims Only | | Mains Paper 1: Modern Indian History

    The fort of legendry Vannuramma in Nallamala forest in the present day Mydukur mandal of Kadapa district is trending due to its rundown condition.

    Who was Vannuramma?

    • Vannuramma ruled five ‘Durgams’ (under fiefdom) between 1781 and 1796 with Sakarlapadu as the administrative headquarters.
    • According to historical accounts, she was born in Pathimadugu Rekulakunta, now in Kadapa district, and got married to Veerneni Chinna Narasimha Naidu in 1764.
    • The family had the practice of praying at Vannuru Swamy temple in Kalyanadurgam of Anantapur district.
    • Vannuramma thus got her name as she was born, as believed, as the god’s gift.
    • Though there are not many historical accounts, Kadapa-based writer Bommisetty Ramesh brought out the first book last year on her.
    • Based on information culled out from the Mackenzie Kaifiyat of Kadapa, he extensively toured the region ruled by her, collected folklore and verified the same with historians.

    Her legend

    • The very mention of the name ‘Vannuramma’ brought chill to the spine of the Matli kings and Kadapa Nawabs.
    • Of all the Polegars (local chieftains) who had ruled the regional territories of Rayalaseema before the advent of the British, the lone woman ruler remains forgotten from the pages of history.
    • Under attack from fellow Polegars, Vannuramma’s family fled Thippireddypalle and took shelter in Chagalamarri fort, where they lived for eight years before her husband breathed his last in 1780.
    • Vannuramma wielded the sword when the Matli king Appayya Raju and Mysore Sultan Hyder Ali’s follower Meeru Saheb waged a war, invaded Sakerlapadu Durgam and robbed the property of locals.
    • Mobilising her army, she declared a war and brought the territory back into her fold in 1781.

    Her death

    • Even the Golconda Nawabs, through their Kadapa henchman Khadarvali Khan, tried in vain to control her.
    • It was then they hatched a plan to woo her adopted son and arrested her on some flimsy charges.
    • When the unsuspecting Vannuramma attended the Matli king’s court to prove her innocence, she was slapped with charges of treason.
    • The Nawabs captured her and sentenced her with ‘Korthi’, an inhuman form of punishment where a person is made to sit on a sharpened tree stump and left to die.
    • Vannuramma died in full public view in the year 1718 of Salivahana Saka, which translates to August 16, 1796, i.e., 226 years back.

     

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  • NPA Crisis

    India’s banking sector shows progress

    op-ed snap | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    Context

    The RBI’s latest Financial Stability Report (FSR) has given the banking system a reasonably clean bill of health. It’s a significant achievement, considering the stress of the previous decade, the shock of the pandemic and the associated slowdown of the economy.

    Two indicators of banking system’s progress

    • 1] Reduced NPAs: Successive waves of recapitalisation have given banks enough resources to write off most of their bad loans.
    • As a result, they have been able to bring down their gross NPAs (non-performing loans) from 11 per cent of total advances in 2017-18 to 5.9 per cent in 2021-22.
    • Even after these large write-offs, most banks retain comfortable levels of capital.
    • 2] Credit growth doubled: During the decade when banks were under stress, non-food bank credit growth had been declining, reaching just 6 per cent in 2020, its lowest point in six decades.
    • Since then, credit growth has nearly doubled.

    Concerns

    • Role of credit in supporting GDP growth: The problem is that very little of this credit is going to large-scale industry or for financing investment.
    • Reluctance of banks to provide credit to industry: Over the last decade, banks have increasingly shifted away from providing credit to industry, favouring instead lending to consumers.
    • This trend is continuing — in the year ending March 2022, consumer loans grew at 13 per cent, whereas loans to industry grew at just 8 per cent.
    • Banks favoring MSMEs in industry loans: Bulk of the industry loans has been extended to the smaller firms (MSMEs), which benefitted from the credit guarantee scheme offered by the government in the wake of the pandemic.
    • Reduced lending to private sector investment: A related problem is that there has been little lending for private sector investment.
    • Over the last one year, bank lending to infrastructure has grown by 9 per cent, up from 3 per cent in 2020, but this was fuelled mainly by public sector capital expenditure.

    Why is there so little lending for investment by large firms?

    • Demand side reason: On the demand side, private sector investment has been sluggish for nearly a decade.
    • The boom-and-bust of the mid-2000s had saddled firms with excess capacity, giving them little reason to expand their production facilities.
    • In addition, the global financial crisis had shown the dangers of ambitious expansion supported by excessive borrowing, leading firms to conclude that it would be prudent to scale back their plans and instead focus on reducing their debts.
    • Supply side reason: On the supply side, banks have learned similar lessons.
    • During the period 2004-2009, rapid GDP growth in the Indian economy was fuelled by an unprecedented lending boom.
    •  Subsequently, many of those loans turned bad, leading to high levels of NPAs on bank balance sheets.
    •  As a result of these financial problems, banks for a decade were unable to extend much in the way of credit.

    Challenges

    • On the positive side, firms seem to have finally used up much of their spare capacity.
    • Fundamental problems not resolved: But on the negative side, the fundamental problems that led to the difficulties of the past decade still have not been resolved.
    • No framework for risk reduction: There is still no framework that will reduce the risk of private sector investment in infrastructure, certainly not in the critical and highly troubled power sector.
    • Nor is there any reassurance for the banks that if problems do develop, they can be resolved expeditiously, since the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code has been plagued by delays and other problems.

    Way forward

    • We need deep structural reforms — to the infrastructure framework, the resolution process, and indeed, in the risk management processes at the banks themselves.
    • In the event that these reforms do not materialise, there may continue to be shortfalls in credit, investment, and ultimately in economic recovery and growth.

    Conclusion

    A healthy balance sheet of the banking sector is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for economic growth. The important question is whether banks and firms will once again be willing to take on the risk of investment in industry and infrastructure.

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  • Right To Privacy

    Issue of withdrawal of Personal Data Protection Bill

    op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary,Governance, Transparency & Accountability, Citizens Charters

    Context

    The Minister for the Ministry of Electronics and IT withdrew the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019. The reasons for the withdrawal were circulated in a note to MPs, which stated that,“considering the report of the JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee), a comprehensive legal framework is being worked upon…”.

    Background of Personal Data Protection Bill

    •  An expert committee headed by Justice (retd) A P Shah recommended in October, 2012,“a detailed framework that serves as the conceptual foundation for the Privacy Act”.
    • This did not come to fruition, with proposals buried by 2014 due to objections from the intelligence establishment on surveillance reforms.
    • While petitions on the constitutionality of Aadhaar and the right to privacy were pending before the Supreme Court, the Union government constituted an expert group headed by Justice (retd) B N Srikrishna in July, 2017.
    •  In August, a nine-judge bench unanimously pronounced the Puttaswamy judgment that reaffirmed the fundamental right to privacy for the autonomy, dignity and liberty for every Indian.
    • Justice D Y Chandrachud, who authored the majority opinion, noted the formation of the Srikrishna Committee as a positive obligation on the government to enact a law for informational privacy.
    • In December 2019, government introduced the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 in Parliament.
    • The draft law was referred to a JPC of 30 MPs that submitted a report after two years.
    • With the withdrawal in Parliament on August 3, it almost seems institutional processes, in which all three branches of government worked for years, are being jettisoned in favour of “a comprehensive legal framework”.

    Issues with reasons given for withdrawal of the Bill

    • The JPC has nowhere suggested a withdrawal in favour of a “comprehensive legal framework”.
    • The proper course was to consider the JPC’s recommendations including the dissent notes and expert analysis, redraft and introduce a new Data Protection Bill.
    • Compliance burden concern of government: With the government setting the goal of a one trillion dollar digital economy, fears of a compliance burden can impede innovation and growth.
    • Date protection is needed for innovation: Here, detailed reasoning is available in the Srikrishna Committee’s report as well as a growing international consensus suggesting that next-generation innovation in technology needs data protection.
    • Regulatory intervention will improve business practices requiring engineering decisions that focus on user trust.
    • Imperfections in law argument: With the imperfections within the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 and even the JPC report, there exists a reasonable argument that if passed into law, it may institutionalise bad privacy practices.
    •  Such a line of reasoning fails to recognise that institutional memory develops through reasonable due diligence and experience.
    • Legislative foresight is limited and no law is perfect, which is why there exist parliamentary amendments and judicial review.

    Conclusion

    Today, there is a relentless pace of digitisation that relies on gathering personal data in all spheres of our lives. All of this is done in a legal vacuum without any oversight or remedy. This underscores the urgent need for data protection law.

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  • Iran’s Nuclear Program & Western Sanctions

    US-Iran Nuclear talks restart with EU mediation

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

    Negotiators kicked off a fresh round of talks over Iran’s nuclear program in Vienna, seeking to salvage the agreement on Tehran’s atomic ambitions.

    Do you know how the enmity between Iran and the US came into reality?  We hope you have watched the Argo (2012) movie for sure!

    Context

    • After a gap of five months, Iran, Russia, China and the European countries resumed negotiations in Vienna to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
    • The 2015 JCPOA agreement sought to cut Iran off a possible path to a nuclear bomb in return for lifting of economic sanctions.

    What is JCPOA?

    • The Iran nuclear agreement, formally known as the JCPOA is a landmark accord reached between Iran and several world powers, including the United States, in July 2015.
    • Under its terms, Iran agreed to dismantle much of its nuclear program and open its facilities to more extensive international inspections in exchange for billions of dollars’ worth of sanctions relief.

    Expected outcomes of the deal

    • Curb on the nuclear program: Proponents of the deal said that it would help prevent a revival of Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
    • Increasing regional engagement: It would thereby reduce the prospects for conflict between Iran and its regional rivals, including Israel and Saudi Arabia.

    Background of the JCPOA

    • Iran had previously agreed to forgo the development of nuclear weapons as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, which has been in force since 1970.
    • However, after the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979, Iranian leaders secretly pursued this technology.
    • In 2007, U.S. intelligence analysts concluded that Iran halted its work on nuclear weapons in 2003 but continued to acquire nuclear technology and expertise.
    • Prior to the JCPOA, the P5+1 had been negotiating with Iran for years, offering its government various incentives to halt uranium enrichment.

    Issues with the deal

    (1) US withdrawal

    • The deal has been in jeopardy since President Donald Trump withdrew the US from it in 2018.
    • In retaliation for the US, Iran resumed some of its nuclear activities.

    (2) Iran’s insistence over sanctions removal

    • In 2021, President Joe Biden said the US will return to the deal if Iran comes back into compliance, though Iran’s leaders have insisted that Washington lift sanctions first.
    • Iran now has indicated that he will take a harder line than his predecessor in nuclear negotiations.

    Who are the participants?

    • The JCPOA, which went into effect in January 2016, imposes restrictions on Iran’s civilian nuclear enrichment program.
    • At the heart of negotiations with Iran were the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and Germany—collectively known as the P5+1.
    • The European Union also took part. Israel explicitly opposed the agreement, calling it too lenient.
    • Some Middle Eastern powers, such as Saudi Arabia, said they should have been consulted or included in the talks because they would be most affected by a nuclear-armed Iran.

    What did Iran agree to?

    • Nuclear restrictions: Iran agreed not to produce either the highly enriched uranium or the plutonium that could be used in a nuclear weapon.
    • Monitoring and verification:  Iran agreed to eventually implement a protocol that would allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.

    What did the other signatories agree to?

    • Sanctions relief: The EU, United Nations, and United States all committed to lifting their nuclear-related sanctions on Iran. However, many other U.S. sanctions on Iran, some dating back to the 1979 hostage crisis, remained in effect.
    • Weapons embargo: The parties agreed to lift an existing UN ban on Iran’s transfer of conventional weapons and ballistic missiles after five years if the IAEA certifies that Iran is only engaged in civilian nuclear activity.

    How has the deal affected Iran’s economy?

    • Prior to the JCPOA, Iran’s economy suffered years of recession, currency depreciation, and inflation, largely because of sanctions on its energy sector.
    • With the sanctions lifted, inflation slowed, exchange rates stabilized, and exports—especially of oil, agricultural goods, and luxury items­—skyrocketed as Iran regained trading partners, particularly in the EU.
    • After the JCPOA took effect, Iran began exporting more than 2.1 million barrels per day (approaching pre-2012 levels, when the oil sanctions were originally put in place).

     

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