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  • Cyber Security – CERTs, Policy, etc

    India’s new VPN Rules

    | Security Issues | Mains Paper 3: Cyber Security

    On April 28, Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) passed a rule mandating VPN (virtual private network) providers to record and keep their customers’ logs for 180 days.

    What is VPN?

    • VPN describes the opportunity to establish a protected network connection when using public networks.
    • It encrypts internet traffic and disguise a user’s online identity.
    • This makes it more difficult for third parties to track your activities online and steal data.
    • The encryption takes place in real time.

    How does a VPN work?

    • A VPN hides your IP address by letting the network redirect it through a specially configured remote server run by a VPN host.
    • This means that if you surf online with a VPN, the VPN server becomes the source of your data.
    • This means your Internet Service Provider (ISP) and other third parties cannot see which websites you visit or what data you send and receive online.
    • A VPN works like a filter that turns all your data into “gibberish”. Even if someone were to get their hands on your data, it would be useless.

    Why do people use VPN?

    • Secure encryption: A VPN connection disguises your data traffic online and protects it from external access. Unencrypted data can be viewed by anyone who has network access and wants to see it. With a VPN, hackers and cyber criminals can’t decipher this data.
    • Disguising whereabouts: VPN servers essentially act as your proxies on the internet. Because the demographic location data comes from a server in another country, your actual location cannot be determined.
    • Data privacy is held: Most VPN services do not store logs of your activities. Some providers, on the other hand, record your behaviour, but do not pass this information on to third parties. This means that any potential record of your user behaviour remains permanently hidden.
    • Access to regional content: Regional web content is not always accessible from everywhere. Services and websites often contain content that can only be accessed from certain parts of the world.
    • Secure data transfer: If you work remotely, you may need to access important files on your company’s network. For security reasons, this kind of information requires a secure connection. To gain access to the network, a VPN connection is often required.

    What does the new CERT-IN directive say?

    • VPN providers will need to store validated customer names, their physical addresses, email ids, phone numbers, and the reason they are using the service, along with the dates they use it and their “ownership pattern”.
    • In addition, Cert is also asking VPN providers to keep a record of the IP and email addresses that the customer uses to register the service, along with the timestamp of registration.
    • Most importantly, however, VPN providers will have to store all IP addresses issued to a customer and a list of IP addresses that its customers generally use.

    What does this mean for VPN providers?

    • VPN services are in violation of Cert’s rules by simply operating in India.
    • That said, it is worth noting that ‘no logs’ does not mean zero logs.
    • VPN services still need to maintain some logs to run their service efficiently.

    Does this mean VPNs will become useless?

    • The Indian government has not banned VPNs yet, so they can still be used to access content that is blocked in an area, which is the most common usage of these services.
    • However, journalists, activists, and others who use such services to hide their internet footprint will have to think twice about them.

    Why such move?

    • Crime control: For law enforcement agencies, a move like this will make it easier to track criminals who use VPNs to hide their internet footprint.
    • Curbing dark-net activities: Users these days are shifting towards the dark and deep web, which are much tougher to police than VPN services.

    Back2Basics: Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN)

    • CERT-IN is an office within the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
    • It is the nodal agency to deal with cyber security threats like hacking and phishing. It strengthens the security-related defense of the Indian Internet domain.
    • It was formed in 2004 by the Government of India under the Information Technology Act, 2000 Section (70B) under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

     

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  • Goods and Services Tax (GST)

    What is GST Compensation Cess?

    | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    The Centre has extended the time for levy of GST compensation cess by almost four years till March 31, 2026.

    What is the news?

    • The Goods and Services Tax (Period of Levy and Collection of Cess) Rules were notified in 2022 by the Finance Ministry.
    • The levy of cess was to end on June 30 but the GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister decided to extend it till 2026.

    What is GST?

    • GST, being a consumption-based tax, would result in loss of revenue for manufacturing-heavy states.
    • GST launched in India on 1 July 2017 is a comprehensive indirect tax for the entire country.
    • It is charged at the time of supply and depends on the destination of consumption.
    • For instance, if a good is manufactured in state A but consumed in state B, then the revenue generated through GST collection is credited to the state of consumption (state B) and not to the state of production (state A).

    Compensation Cess under GST regime

    • Due to the consumption-based nature of GST, manufacturing states like Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu feared a revenue loss.
    • Thus, GST Compensation Cess or GST Cess was introduced by the government to compensate for the possible revenue losses suffered by such manufacturing states.
    • However, under existing rules, this compensation cess will be levied only for the first 5 years of the GST regime – from July 1st, 2017 to July 1st, 2022.
    • Compensation cess is levied on five products considered to be ‘sin’ or luxury as mentioned in the GST (Compensation to States) Act, 2017 and includes items such as- Pan Masala, Tobacco, and Automobiles etc.

    Alternatives to prevent losses

    • The input tax credit can help a producer by partially reducing GST liability by only paying the difference between the tax already paid on the raw materials of a particular good and that on the final product.
    • In other words, the taxes paid on purchase (input tax) can be subtracted from the taxes paid on the final product (output tax) to reduce the final GST liability.

    Distributing GST compensation

    • The compensation cess payable to states is calculated based on the methodology specified in the GST (Compensation to States) Act, 2017.
    • The compensation fund so collected is released to the states every 2 months.
    • Any unused money from the compensation fund at the end of the transition period shall be distributed between the states and the centre as per any applicable formula.

    Significance of GST compensation

    • States no longer possess taxation rights after most taxes, barring those on petroleum, alcohol, and stamp duty were subsumed under GST.
    • GST accounts for almost 42% of states’ own tax revenues, and tax revenues account for around 60% of states’ total revenues.
    • Finances of over a dozen states are under severe strain, resulting in delays in salary payments and sharp cuts in capital expenditure outlay amid the pandemic-induced lockdowns and the need to spend on healthcare.

     

    Try this question from CSP 2018:

    Q.Consider the following items:

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

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

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1, 2 and 4 only

    (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

     

    Post your answers here.

     

     

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  • Health Sector – UHC, National Health Policy, Family Planning, Health Insurance, etc.

    Typhi: A more drug-resistant Typhoid

    Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    The bacteria causing typhoid fever is becoming increasingly resistant to some of the most important antibiotics for human health.

    What is the news?

    • The largest genome analysis of Salmonella Typhi (S. Typhi) also shows that resistant strains — almost all originating in South Asia — have spread to other countries nearly 200 times since 1990.
    • The researchers noted that typhoid fever is a global public health concern, causing 11 million infections and more than 1,00,000 deaths per year.
    • Antibiotics can be used to successfully treat typhoid fever infections, but their effectiveness is threatened by the emergence of resistant S. Typhi strains.

    What is Salmonella Typhi?

    • Salmonella Typhi (S. Typhi) are bacteria that infect the intestinal tract and the blood.
    • It is usually spread through contaminated food or water.
    • Once S. Typhi bacteria are eaten or drunk, they multiply and spread into the bloodstream.
    • The disease is referred to as typhoid fever. S. Paratyphi bacteria cause a similar, but milder illness, which comes under the same title.
    • Paratyphoid has a shorter duration, generally, than typhoid.
    • Typhi and S. Paratyphi are common in many developing countries where sewage and water treatment systems are poor.

    How does it spread?

    • Salmonella Typhi lives only in humans.
    • Persons with typhoid fever carry the bacteria in their bloodstream and intestinal tract.
    • Symptoms include prolonged high fever, fatigue, headache, nausea, abdominal pain, and constipation or diarrhoea.
    • Some patients may have a rash. Severe cases may lead to serious complications or even death.
    • Typhoid fever can be confirmed through blood testing.

     

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  • New Species of Plants and Animals Discovered

    Four new corals recorded from Indian waters

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    Scientists have recorded four species of corals for the first time from Indian waters. These new species of azooxanthellate corals were found from the waters off the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

    What are Azooxanthellate Corals?

    • The azooxanthellate corals are a group of corals that do not contain zooxanthellae and derive nourishment not from the sun but from capturing different forms of planktons.
    • They are deep-sea representatives with the majority of species being reported from depths between 200 metres and 1,000 metres.
    • They are also reported from shallow waters unlike zooxanthellate corals that are restricted to shallow waters.

    Which are the news species found?

    • Truncatoflabellum crassum, T. incrustatum, T. aculeatum, and T. irregulare under the family Flabellidae were previously found in Japan, the Philippines and Australian waters.
    • Only T. crassum was reported with the range of Indo-West Pacific distribution.

    Significance of the discovery

    • Most studies of hard corals in India have been concentrated on reef-building corals while much is not known about non-reef-building corals.
    • These new species enhance our knowledge about non-reef-building solitary corals.

    Back2Basics: Coral Reefs

    • Corals are marine invertebrates or animals not possessing a spine.
    • Each coral is called a polyp and thousands of such polyps live together to form a colony, which grows when polyps multiply to make copies of themselves.
    • Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest reef system stretching across 2,300 km.
    • It hosts 400 different types of coral, gives shelter to 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 types of mollusc.
    • Corals are of two types — hard coral and soft coral:
    1. Hard corals, also called hermatypic or ‘reef building’ corals extract calcium carbonate (also found in limestone) from the seawater to build hard, white coral exoskeletons.
    2. Soft coral polyps, however, borrow their appearance from plants, attach themselves to such skeletons and older skeletons built by their ancestors. Soft corals also add their own skeletons to the hard structure over the years and these growing multiplying structures gradually form coral reefs. They are the largest living structures on the planet.

    How do they feed themselves?

    • Corals share a symbiotic relationship with single-celled algae called zooxanthellae.
    • The algae provides the coral with food and nutrients, which they make through photosynthesis, using the sun’s light.
    • In turn, the corals give the algae a home and key nutrients.
    • The zooxanthellae also give corals their bright colour.

     

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  • Wildlife Conservation Efforts

    What are Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZ)?

    | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    Farmers in Kerala continue to protest across several high ranges of the state against the Supreme Court’s recent order to establish 1-km Eco-Sensitive Zones around all protected areas, wildlife sanctuaries, and national parks.

    What are the Eco-sensitive Zones (ESZs)?

    • Eco-Sensitive Zones (ESZs) or Ecologically Fragile Areas (EFAs) are areas notified by the MoEFCC around Protected Areas, National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries.
    • The purpose of declaring ESZs is to create some kind of “shock absorbers” to the protected areas by regulating and managing the activities around such areas.
    • They also act as a transition zone from areas of high protection to areas involving lesser protection.

    How are they demarcated?

    • The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 does NOT mention the word “Eco-Sensitive Zones”.
    • However, Section 3(2)(v) of the Act, says that Central Government can restrict areas in which any industries, operations or processes or class of industries, operations or processes shall be carried out or shall not, subject to certain safeguards.
    • Besides Rule 5(1) of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 states that central government can prohibit or restrict the location of industries and carrying on certain operations or processes on the basis of certain considerations.
    • The same criteria have been used by the government to declare No Development Zones (NDZs).

    Defining its boundaries

    • An ESZ could go up to 10 kilometres around a protected area as provided in the Wildlife Conservation Strategy, 2002.
    • Moreover, in the case where sensitive corridors, connectivity and ecologically important patches, crucial for landscape linkage, are beyond 10 km width, these should be included in the ESZs.
    • Further, even in the context of a particular Protected Area, the distribution of an area of ESZ and the extent of regulation may not be uniform all around and it could be of variable width and extent.

    Activities Permitted and Prohibited

    • Permitted: Ongoing agricultural or horticultural practices, rainwater harvesting, organic farming, use of renewable energy sources, and adoption of green technology for all activities.
    • Prohibited: Commercial mining, saw mills, industries causing pollution (air, water, soil, noise etc), the establishment of major hydroelectric projects (HEP), commercial use of wood, Tourism activities like hot-air balloons over the National Park, discharge of effluents or any solid waste or production of hazardous substances.
    • Under regulation: Felling of trees, the establishment of hotels and resorts, commercial use of natural water, erection of electrical cables, drastic change of agriculture system, e.g. adoption of heavy technology, pesticides etc, widening of roads.

    What is the recent SC judgment that has caused an uproar in Kerala?

    • On June 3, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court heard a PIL that sought to protect forest lands in the Nilgiris in Tamil Nadu, but was later expanded to cover the entire country.
    • In its judgment, the court while referring to the 2011 guidelines as “reasonable”, directed all states to have a mandatory 1-km ESZ from the demarcated boundaries of every protected area.
    • It also stated that no new permanent structure or mining will be permitted within the ESZ.
    • If the existing ESZ goes beyond 1-km buffer zone or if any statutory instrument prescribes a higher limit, then such extended boundary shall prevail, the court, as per the Live Law report, said.

    Why are people protesting against it?

    • There is a high density of human population near the notified protected areas.
    • Farmer’s groups and political parties have been demanding that all human settlements be exempt from the ESZ ruling.
    • The total extent of the wildlife sanctuaries in Kerala is eight lakh acres.
    • If one-km of ESZ is demarcated from their boundaries, around 4 lakh acres of human settlements, including farmlands, would come within that purview.

    Try this PYQ

    With reference to ‘Eco-Sensitive Zones’, which of the following statements is/are correct?

    1. Eco-Sensitive Zones are the areas that are declared under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
    2. The purpose of the declaration of Eco-Sensitive Zones is to prohibit all kinds of human activities, in those zones except agriculture.

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) Both 1 and 2

    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

     

     

    Post your answers here.

     

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  • Democratic Backsliding in America

    op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Comparison Of The Indian Constitutional Scheme With That Of Other Countries

    Context

    With the US Supreme Court’s overturning of abortion as a constitutionally guaranteed right, America has taken another step towards democratic backsliding.

    Background of the Roe v Wade case

    • Bodily autonomy: Roe, the 1973 outcome of an unmarried woman’s crusade for bodily autonomy, had declared overbroad, and consequently unconstitutional, a provision of the Texas Penal Code which permitted only those abortions that were “procured or attempted by medical advice to save the life of the mother”.
    • Right to abortion: While locating the right of privacy within the guarantee of personal liberty enshrined in the fourteenth amendment of the American constitution, Roe embodies a supervening constitutional right to abortion emanating from this right of privacy.
    • The right to abort was held to be a constitutionally protected right within the right of privacy.
    • Recognition of states’ rights: The decision simultaneously recognised the state’s interest in protecting the life of the foetus as also the life of the mother. 
    • Roe is not only relevant as a progressive trailblazer for reproductive rights in the United States but is also fundamental to constitutional jurisprudence globally for the interpretative tools it employed.

    Overturning of Roe Vs Wade case

    • The US Supreme Court on June 24 overturned a half-century-old right to abortion, granted by a 1973 Supreme Court decision in the Roe vs Wade case.
    • No nationwide right to abortion: With a 5-4 majority, the court has said that American women have no nationwide right to abortion.
    • Rather, state legislatures should decide whether women can have that right in their respective states.
    • Concerns about the life of the unbors: In the court’s opinion, the right to privacy stemming from the 14th Amendment is not relevant, for abortion concerns not only the pregnant woman but also the life of the unborn.
    • Not mentioned in the 1787 constitution: Moreover, the court said, abortion is neither “enumerated” as a right in the original 1787 constitution nor is it consistent with American history and tradition.
    • Taking away the right once granted: In a democracy, can a right once granted be taken away?
    • As the world’s oldest surviving democracy, the United States has figured prominently in this debate.
    • With the overturning of Roe vs Wade, this debate has now become wider.

    Was the right to abortion constitutionally justified?

    • Protection of liberty and privacy: The 1973 court decision allowing the right to abortion was based on the 14th Constitutional Amendment (1868).
    • Even though abortion was not mentioned in the 1787 US Constitution, abortion’s defence was derived from the 1868 Amendment
    • This Amendment, the court said, allowed protection of liberty and privacy, something the state could not impinge upon.
    • Not absolute right: The 1973 court also argued that this right was not absolute, limited as it would be by considerations of “protecting potential life”.

    Issues with the overturning of Roe Vs. Wade case

    • 1] No constitution can anticipate the evolution of rights:  Abortion was not mentioned in the 1787 constitution, nor explicitly in the 1868 amendment.
    • That is because women were not autonomous political agents at that time.
    • Until they were given the right to vote in 1920, they were not a constitutional category in the US, as was true virtually everywhere in the world.
    • Women are autonomous agents today. Norms change; rights evolve.
    • 2] Ignores rape and incest:  As the court’s dissent note puts it, this majority decision ignore rape and incest.
    • If abortion as a right is dissolved, women can be forced to give such unwanted births.
    • The majority decision of the court is silent on this important matter.
    • 3] Against the right to participate equally in economic and social life: Having a child is not simply a deeply moral obligation to the unborn.
    • It is also a decision that affects “the ability of women to participate equally in (the nation’s) economic and social life”.
    • These words are from a later decision, known as Casey (1992), when the US Supreme Court added the concept of “undue burdens” to support the idea of abortion.
    • 4] Right over body ignored: Men don’t have to deal physically with pregnancy, whereas the foetus grows inside a woman’s body for nine months.
    •  If men have the right over their bodies, which can’t be taken away by the government,then women should also have autonomy over their bodies as well.
    •  Maternity must be a voluntary choice.
    • There is no going back to the notion of rights as they were viewed in the 18th century — unequal, unneutral, unbalanced.

    Conclusion

    Typically, as they evolve and deepen, democracies allow the arc of rights to broaden further, not retreat. After this judgment in the US, the stakes have become much higher and the democratic challenges bigger.

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  • Parliament – Sessions, Procedures, Motions, Committees etc

    Upper House, a question

    op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Parliament & State Legislatures

    Context

    This article seeks to re-articulate a question pertaining to the composition of the Council of States.

    Historical background and CAD over the issue of second chamber

    • Lokanath Misra led the charge against a federal second chamber in the Constituent Assembly stating that there was not need for the second chamber and also that it will not serve any useful purpose.
    • Shibban Lal Saksena, was equally emphatic: He said that as per their experience, the Upper House acts as a clog in the wheel of progress.
    • They were not the only ones who had concerns. Other members expressed them too in different contexts during the Constituent Assembly debate on draft Article 67.

    Issues with the role of Rajya Sabha

    • Unable to protect the interest of the States: Article 1(1) of the Indian Constitution states “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.”
    • Therefore, the primary responsibility of a Council of States would be to protect the interests of the states vis a vis the Union.
    • There is hardly any empirical evidence that substantiates that the Rajya Sabha has measured upto the task ever since it came into existence on April 3r 1952.
    • No focus on states: From 1952 to 2003, at least there was a veneer of a state focus when it was mandatory that any citizen desirous of contesting a Rajya Sabha election had to be an elector from that particular state.
    • By amending Section 3(1) of the Representation of People’s Act 1952 and doing away with the domicile requirement, the Government removed this fig leaf also in 2003.
    •  A five-judge bench did not uphold tha challenge to this judgement.
    •  This amendment and the subsequent judgment buried the earlier practice of individuals entering the Rajya Sabha from anywhere based upon rather dodgy but still some form of domicile credentials.
    • All states do not have bicameral legislature: Twenty-four states have unicameral legislatures, that is, only one legislative body, and only six states are bicameral.
    • If the bulk of the states can make do with one House why not the Centre?
    • Rajya Sabha as continuous house argument: It is also argued that the Rajya Sabha is a continuous House as opposed to the Lok Sabha that gets mandatorily dissolved every five years if not sooner.
    • That can be fixed with a simple amendment to Article 83 (2) that should state that “Lok Sabha would remain in existence till the time its successor body/house is not constituted.
    • Article 83 (1) would stand deleted and consequential amendments can be carried out to other parts of the Constitution.

    Conclusion

    It would be instructive to keep in mind that the Basic Structure doctrine enunciated by the Supreme Court in Re: Kesvananda Bharti holds parliamentary democracy to be basic structure, not bicameralism.

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  • Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Global Implications

    Caution in buying Russian cruide

    op-ed snap | International Relations | : Effect Of Policies & Politics Of World On India’S Interests

    Context

    This week the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times both reported on India emerging as a major buyer of Russian oil.

    Background of rising fuel prices due to Ukraine crisis

    • A significant fallout of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been the rising cost of petroleum.
    • In response to the invasion, Western countries, including the United States and Europe, have imposed an array of sanctions against Russia.
    • Reduced purchases from Russia: Europe and the United States have seen the price of oil steadily rise after they reduced their purchases from Russia.
    • For now, Russia has been able to mitigate the impact of sanctions by selling crude, oil and coal at reasonable prices in greater volumes to newer bulk buyers like India, to combat Europe trying to wean itself off Russian crude.

    Why India increased purchase of Russian oil

    • India has chosen a different route.
    • Cope with rising fuel prices: We are the third-largest importer and consumer of oil in the world and have increased our purchase of Russian oil to cope with rising oil prices elsewhere.
    • We are also refining crude oil or turning it into products like jet fuel and diesel and selling it to Europe and other nations.
    • Curb inflation: Importing Russian crude also helps us curb inflation that has been made worse by rising fuel prices.
    • Halting the fall of the rupee: Procuring discounted Russian oil is an effort by the government to bring down prices and halt the decline in the value of the Indian rupee.
    • India’s behaviour is governed by our best interest, which is the most important element of any astute foreign and economic policy.

    Issues with purchasing oil from Russia

    • The European Union has announced a ban against insuring ships carrying Russian oil, to commence this December.
    • Insurance ban: Countries like India, China and Turkey that are increasing their oil purchases from Russia have six months to find a work-around to the insurance ban by using non-European insurance companies.
    • European companies own most of the ships carrying Russian oil to India.
    • These insurance sanctions will impact the companies that own these ships as well.
    • Dependence for batteries: Apart from geopolitical changes in the world indicating the rise of China, there is a major change: Electric vehicles and electric batteries substituting for non-renewable resources like petroleum and diesel.
    • India cannot afford to be dependent on an unhindered supply of electric batteries from China, given geopolitical considerations and border disputes between the two nations.

    Way forward

    • To weather the new electric era that will no doubt be dotted with territorial wars and national security concerns, India would do well to preempt shortages in the arena – by putting in place factories which will build the electric batteries that will power our futures.
    • What the invasion of Ukraine has taught us is that we need to be more self-reliant and have in-house energy sources.

    Conclusion

    India needs to factor in the implications of comprehensive western sanctions as it increases its purchase of discounted Russian oil.

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  • MGNREGA Scheme

    Issues with use of NMMS app in NREGA

    op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Government Scheme/Policies

    Context

    The National Mobile Monitoring Software (NMMS) app seeks to improve citizen oversight and increase transparency in NREGA works. This causes significant difficulty for NREGA workers.

    About NMMS app

    • National Mobile Monitoring Software (NMMS) App  was launched by the Minister of Rural Development on May, 21 2021.
    • The National Mobile Monitoring App is applicable for the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA workers for all the States/ Union Territories.
    • This app is aimed at bringing more transparency and ensure proper monitoring of the schemes.
    •  The main feature of the app is the real-time, photographed, geo-tagged attendance of every worker to be taken once in each half of the day. 
    • The app helps in increasing citizen oversight of the programme.

    Issues with the use of the app

    • While such an app may be useful in monitoring the attendance of workers who have fixed work timings, in most States, NREGA wages are calculated based on the amount of work done each day, and workers do not need to commit to fixed hours.
    • Disproportionately affects women: NREGA has historically had a higher proportion of women workers (54.7% in FY 2021-22) and has been pivotal in changing working conditions for women in rural areas.
    • Due to the traditional burden of household chores and care work on women, the app is likely to disproportionately affect women workers.
    • Lack of stable network: There are challenges of implementation with the NMMS as well.
    • A stable network is a must for real-time monitoring; unfortunately, it remains patchy in much of rural India.
    • NREGA Mates impacted: The app has adversely impacted NREGA Mates as well.
    • The role of a Mate was conceptualised as an opportunity to empower local women to manage attendance and work measurement in their panchayat.
    • To be a Mate, one needs to have a smartphone.
    • This new condition disqualifies thousands of women who do not own smartphones from becoming Mates.
    • Erosion of transparency:  The app claims to “increase citizen oversight” by “bringing more transparency and ensuring proper monitoring of the schemes, besides potentially enabling processing payments faster”.
    • With no physical attendance records signed by workers anymore, workers have no proof of their attendance and work done.
    • No clarity provided on corruption: While ostensibly the NMMS’s focus on real-time, geo-tagged attendance could be one way of addressing this corruption, the MoRD has not provided much clarity on either the magnitude of this corruption or the manner in which the NMMS addresses it.
    • No parameters: There are no parameters established to assess the app’s performance, either on transparency, or on quicker processed payments.

    Way forward

    • Social audits: Social audits are citizen-centric institutions, where the citizens of the panchayat have a direct role and say in how NREGA functions in their panchayat.
    • Audits have worked well in the past, allowing the local rights holders to be invested in decisions, and hold the administration accountable themselves.

    Conclusion

    The NMMS has very clear problems that will make it increasingly difficult for workers to continue working under NREGA, eroding the right to work that underwrites the NREGA Act.

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  • Mother and Child Health – Immunization Program, BPBB, PMJSY, PMMSY, etc.

    US Supreme Court overturns Abortion Right

    | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Indian Diaspora

    In a significant curtailment of women’s rights, the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a 1973 landmark decision giving women in America the right to have an abortion before the foetus is viable outside the womb — before the 24-28 week mark.

    What is Roe vs. Wade Case: Upholding the Right to Abortion

    • Roe, short for Jane Roe, is the pseudonym for a Texas woman who in 1970 sought to have an abortion when she was five months pregnant.
    • Texas then had ban on abortions except to save a mother’s life. The case then went to the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS).
    • The 7-2 majority opinion of the SCOTUS written in 1973, paved the way for the recognition of abortion as a constitutional right in the US considering foetal viability.

    [Foetal viability is the point at which a foetus can survive outside the womb, at the time considered to be around 28 weeks, but today is closer to 23 or 24 weeks owing to advances in medicine and technology.]

    Right to Abortion Judgment: Key takeaways

    Based on the Roe vs Wade case, the framework of regulations that applied towards the right to abortion:

    1. Almost no limitations could be placed on that right;
    2. Only limitations to abortion rights that were aimed at protecting a woman’s health were permitted; and in the third trimester,
    3. State governments had greater leeway to limit the right to abortion except for cases in which the life and health of the mother were endangered.

    What is the debate?

    The abortion debate is the ongoing controversy surrounding the moral, legal, and religious status of induced abortion.

    The sides involved in the debate are the self-described “pro-choice” and “pro-life” movements.

    1. Pro-choice emphasizes the woman’s choice whether to terminate a pregnancy.
    2. Pro-life position stresses the humanity of both the mother and foetus, arguing that a fetus is a human person deserving of legal protection.

    Why is the judgement overturned?

    • Foetuses feel the pain: If the foetus is beyond 20 weeks of gestation, gynaecs assume that there will be pain caused to the foetus.
    • Biblical gospel: The Bible does not draw a distinction between foetuses and babies. By the time a baby is conceived, he or she is recognized by God.
    • Abortions cause psychological damage: Young adult women who undergo abortion may be at increased risk for subsequent depression.
    • Abortions reduce the number of adoptable babies: Instead of having the option to abort, women should give their unwanted babies to people who cannot conceive. Single parenthood is also gaining popularity in the US.
    • Cases of selective abortion: Such cases based on physical and genetic abnormalities (eugenic termination) is overt discrimination.
    • Abortion as a form of contraception: It is immoral to kill an unborn child for convenience. Many women are using abortion as a contraceptive method.
    • Morality put to question: If women become pregnant, they should accept the responsibility that comes with producing a child. People need to take responsibility for their actions and accept the consequences.
    • Abortion promotes throwaway culture: The legalization of abortion sends a message that human life has little value and promotes the throwaway culture.
    • Racial afflictions: Abortion disproportionately affects African American babies. In the US, black women are 3.3 times as likely as white women to have an abortion.

    Arguments in favour for Abortion Rights

    • Upholding individual conscience and decision-making:  The US Supreme Court has declared abortion to be a fundamental right guaranteed by the US Constitution.
    • Reproductive choice empowers women: The choice over when and whether to have children is central to a woman’s independence and ability to determine her future.
    • Foetal viability occurs post-birth:  Personhood begins after a foetus becomes “viable” (able to survive outside the womb) or after birth, not at conception. Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy, not a baby.
    • No proof of foetal pain: Most neuroscientists believe that the cortex is necessary for pain perception. The cortex does not become functional until at least the 26th week of a foetus’ development.
    • Preventing illegal abortions: Access to legal, professionally-performed abortions reduces maternal injury and death caused by unsafe, illegal abortions.
    • Mother’s health: Modern abortion procedures are safe and do not cause lasting health issues such as cancer and infertility.
    • Child’s health: Abortion gives pregnant women the option to choose not to bring fetuses with profound abnormalities to full term.
    • Prevents women’s exclusion: Women who are denied abortions are more likely to become unemployed, to be on public welfare, to be below the poverty line, and to become victims of domestic violence.
    • Reproductive choice protects women from financial disadvantage: Many women who choose abortion don’t have the financial resources to support a child.
    • Justified means of population control: Many defends abortion as a way to curb overpopulation. Malnutrition, starvation, poverty, lack of medical and educational services, pollution, underdevelopment, and conflict over resources are all consequences of overpopulation.

    Way forward

    • A search for the middle path perhaps the right of a woman to choose what to do with the foetus has to be balanced with the right of the foetus to survive.
    • It is only that a foetus does not have the ability to exercise an option while the person who carries it does.
    • Rather than banning abortion, lawmakers must focus on counselling, employment security, social welfare, and financial support to persuade pregnant women to give birth to their children.
    • We must achieve some degree of protection for the unborn by obtaining voluntary recognition of personal responsibility and respect for the personhood of the unborn.

    Back2Basics: Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act

    • Abortion in India has been a legal right under various circumstances for the last 50 years with the introduction of Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act in 1971.
    • The Act was amended in 2003 to enable women’s accessibility 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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