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  • CAA is an internal matter of India: Bangladesh Minister

    Bangladesh Information Minister has said that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) framed to grant Indian citizenship to minorities of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan was an “internal matter” of India.

    What is Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019?

    • The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) is an act that was passed in the Parliament on December 11, 2019.
    • The 2019 CAA amended the Citizenship Act of 1955 allowing Indian citizenship for religious minorities who fled from the neighboring Muslim majority countries before December 2014 due to “religious persecution or fear of religious persecution”.
    • However, the Act excludes Muslims.
    • Under CAA, migrants who entered India by December 31, 2014, and had suffered “religious persecution or fear of religious persecution” in their country of origin, were made eligible for citizenship by the new law.
    • These type of migrants will be granted fast track Indian citizenship in six years.
    • The amendment also relaxed the residence requirement for naturalization of these migrants from eleven years to five.

    Key feature: Defining illegal migrants

    • Illegal migrants cannot become Indian citizens in accordance with the present laws.
    • Under the CAA, an illegal migrant is a foreigner who: (i) enters the country without valid travel documents like a passport and visa, or (ii) enters with valid documents, but stays beyond the permitted time period.
    • Illegal migrants may be put in jail or deported under the Foreigners Act, 1946 and The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920.

    Exceptions

    • The Bill provides that illegal migrants who fulfil four conditions will not be treated as illegal migrants under the Act.  The conditions are:
    1. They are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis or Christians;
    2. They are from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan;
    3. They entered India on or before December 31, 2014;
    4. They are not in certain tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, or Tripura included in the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution, or areas under the “Inner Line” permit, i.e., Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Nagaland.

    Controversy with the Act

    • Country of Origin: The Act classifies migrants based on their country of origin to include only Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
    • Other religious minorities ignored: It is unclear why illegal migrants from only six specified religious minorities have been included in the Act.
    • Defiance of purpose: India shares a border with Myanmar, which has had a history of persecution of a religious minority, the Rohingya Muslims.
    • Date of Entry: It is also unclear why there is a differential treatment of migrants based on their date of entry into India, i.e., whether they entered India before or after December 31, 2014.

    Why discuss this?

    • The CAA became a huge cause of concern between India and Bangladesh when it was passed by the Parliament in December 2019, with Dhaka seeking a written assurance from India.
    • Dhaka, then was irked by the remarks about religious persecution of minority Hindus in Bangladesh.

     

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  • Mulling remote Voting facility for NRIs: Govt. tells SC

    The Union government has said that it was considering ways to facilitate non-resident Indians (NRI) to cast their votes remotely while ensuring the integrity of the electoral process.

    Who are the NRIs?

    • Overseas Indians, officially collectively known as Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI).
    • NRIs are Indian citizens who are not residents of India and OCI are people of Indian birth or ancestry who live outside and also are not the citizens of Republic of India.

    Classification of Overseas Indians

    (A) Non-Resident Indian (NRI)

    • Strictly asserting non-resident refers only to the tax status of a person who, as per section 6 of the Income-tax Act of 1961, has not resided in India for a specified period for the purposes of the Act.
    • The rates of income tax are different for persons who are “resident in India” and for NRIs.

    (B) Person of Indian Origin (PIO)

    Person of Indian Origin (PIO) means a foreign citizen (except a national of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Iran, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and/or Nepal), who:

    • at any time held an Indian passport OR
    • either of their parents/grandparents/great-grandparents were born and permanently resident in India as defined in GoI Act, 1935 and other territories that became part of India thereafter provided neither was at any time a citizen of any of the aforesaid countries OR
    • is a spouse of a citizen of India or a PIO.

    (C) Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI)

    • After multiple efforts by leaders across the Indian political spectrum, a pseudo-citizenship scheme was established, the “Overseas Citizenship of India”, commonly referred to as the OCI card.
    • The Constitution of India does not permit full dual citizenship.
    • The OCI card is effectively a long-term visa, with restrictions on voting rights and government jobs.

    Why need remote Voting facility?

    • There had been several petitions to allow NRIs to vote through postal ballots.
    • Many migrant labourers often find it beyond their limited means to fly in just to cast their vote.
    • Allowing NRIs to vote from abroad might emerge as a decisive force in the country’s electoral politics.

     

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  • C295 and India’s aircraft industry

    c295

    Recently, PM laid the foundation stone for the C-295 transport aircraft manufacturing facility in Vadodara to be set up by Airbus Defence and Space and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL).

    Why is it making headlines?

    • This is the first time a private sector company would be manufacturing a full aircraft in the country.
    • This is a huge step forward for India in the global aircraft manufacturing domain.

    What is the C-295MW transporter?

    • The C-295MW is a transport aircraft of 5-10 tonne capacity which will replace the legacy Avro aircraft in the Indian Air Force (IAF) procured in the 1960s.
    • It was originally produced by a Spanish aircraft manufacturer.
    • This company is now part of Airbus and the aircraft’s manufacturing takes place at Airbus’s plant in Spain.

    Why c-295MW?

    • The C-295 has very good fuel efficiency and can take off and land from short as well as unprepared runways.
    • As a tactical transport aircraft, the C295 can carry troops and logistical supplies from main airfields to forward operating airfields of the country.
    • It can operate from short airstrips just 2,200 feet long and can fly low-level operations for tactical missions flying at a low speed of 110 knots.
    • The aircraft can additionally be used for casualty or medical evacuation, performing special missions, disaster response and maritime patrol duties.

    A boost to domestic aircraft manufacturing

    • Over the last two decades, Indian companies, both public and private, have steadily expanded their footprint in the global supply chains of major defence and aerospace manufacturers.
    • They do supply a range of components, systems and sub-systems.

    India’s collaboration with top firm

    • Boeing’s sourcing from India stands at $1 billion annually, of which over 60% is in manufacturing, through a growing network of 300+ supplier partners of which over 25% are MSME.
    • Tata in a joint venture (JV) with Boeing, manufactures aero-structures for its AH-64 Apache helicopter, including fuselages, etc.
    • It also makes Crown and Tail-cones for Boeing’s CH-47 Chinook helicopters.
    • Similarly, Lockheed Martin has joint ventures with TASL in Hyderabad which has manufactured crucial components for the C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft.

    How this has become possible?

    • The US is simplifying its export regulations for India, through a series of measures.
    • As US and India together pursue the Indo-Pacific strategy and are enhancing technology prowess.

    Boost to India’s civil aviation sector

    • India has a much bigger footprint in civil aviation manufacturing than defence, in addition to being a major market itself.
    • Both Airbus and Boeing do significant sourcing from India for their civil programmes.
    • According to Airbus every commercial aircraft manufactured by them today is partly designed and made in India.
    • India now has world’s fastest-growing aviation sector and it is about to reach the top three countries in the world in terms of air traffic.
    • Another major growing area is Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) for which India can emerge as the regional hub.

    Conclusion

    • The private defence sector is still nascent and a conducive and stable regulatory and policy environment will be an important enabler.

     

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  • Centre restricts use of common weedicide Glyphosate

    Glyphosate

    The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has restricted the use of glyphosate, a widely used herbicide, citing health hazards for humans and animals.

    What is Glyphosate?

    • Glyphosate is an herbicide. It is applied to the leaves of plants to kill both broadleaf plants and grasses.
    • The sodium salt form of glyphosate is used to regulate plant growth and ripen specific crops.
    • Glyphosate is one of the most widely used herbicide.
    • In India, glyphosate has been approved for use only in tea plantations and non-plantation areas accompanying the tea crop.
    • Use of the substance anywhere else is illegal.

    How does glyphosate work?

    • Glyphosate is a non-selective herbicide, meaning it will kill most plants.
    • It prevents the plants from making certain proteins that are needed for plant growth.
    • Glyphosate stops a specific enzyme pathway, the shikimic acid
    • The shikimic acid pathway is necessary for plants and some microorganisms.

    What is the recent ban?

    • Only authorized Pest Control Operators are allowed to use it.
    • Earlier, state governments of Maharashtra, Telangana, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh have tried similar steps but failed.
    • The ban notification was based on a 2019 report by the Government of Kerala on prohibiting the distribution, sale and use of glyphosate and its derivatives.

    Is it banned elsewhere?

    • Some 35 countries have banned or restricted the use of glyphosate.
    • These include Sri Lanka, Netherlands, France, Colombia, Canada, Israel and Argentina.

    Hazards of Glyphosate

    • Health impacts of glyphosate range from cancer, and reproductive and developmental toxicity to neurotoxicity and immune toxicity.
    • Symptoms include irritation, swelling, burning of the skin, oral and nasal discomfort, unpleasant taste and blurred vision.

     

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  • GI tag in news: Kashmir Saffron

    saffron

    The Directorate of Tourism, Kashmir has organised a saffron festival in the Karewa of Pampore.

    Saffron

    • Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the “saffron crocus”.
    • The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent in food.

    Kashmir Saffron

    • It is cultivated and harvested in the Karewa (highlands) in some regions of Kashmir, including Pulwama, Budgam, Kishtwar and Srinagar.
    • It has been associated with traditional Kashmiri cuisine and represents the rich cultural heritage of the region.
    • Its cultivation is believed to have been introduced in Kashmir by Central Asian immigrants around 1st Century BCE. In ancient Sanskrit literature, saffron is referred to as ‘bahukam’.
    • In 2020, the Centre issued a certificate of Geographical Indication (GI) registration for Saffron grown in the Kashmir Valley.

    Major types

    The saffron available in Kashmir is of three types —

    • ‘Lachha Saffron’, with stigmas just separated from the flowers and dried without further processing;
    • ‘Mongra Saffron’, in which stigmas are detached from the flower, dried in the sun and processed traditionally; and
    • ‘Guchhi Saffron’, which is the same as Lachha, except that the latter’s dried stigmas are packed loosely in air-tight containers while the former has stigmas joined together in a bundle tied with a cloth thread

    Whats’ so special about Kashmir Saffron?

    • The unique characteristics of Kashmir saffron are its longer and thicker stigmas, natural deep-red colour, high aroma, bitter flavour, chemical-free processing, and high quantity of crocin (colouring strength), safranal (flavour) and picrocrocin (bitterness).
    • It is the only saffron in the world grown at an altitude of 1,600 m to 1,800 m AMSL (above mean sea level), which adds to its uniqueness and differentiates it from other saffron varieties available the world over.

    Policy moves

    • The National Saffron Mission (launched as a part of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana) was sanctioned by the central government in the year 2010 in order to extend support for creation of irrigation facilities.
    • It seeks to facilitate farmers with tube wells and sprinkler sets which would help in production of better crops in the area of saffron production.
    • North East Centre for Technology Application and Reach (NECTAR) under Saffron Bowl Project has identified few locations in Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya for saffron cultivation.

     

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  • [Burning issue] Indian Space Industry

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    Context

    • The Indian Space Research Organisation recently launched a constellation of 36 broadband satellites developed by OneWeb to Low Earth Orbit.
    • This was the first commercial launch for LVM-3 and the mission is being conducted under an agreement between OneWeb and New Space India Limited (NSIL).
    • Also, the Principal Scientific Adviser Ajay Kumar Sood stated in July 2022 that the government would soon come up with a new space policy to increase private sector participation in the industry.
    • In this context, in this edition of the burning issue, we will be analyzing the Indian Space Industry in detail and suggest what more needs to be done to further improve the industry.

    Vision and Background of the Indian space industry

    • The Indian space program is driven by the vision of Vikram Sarabhai, considered the father of the Indian space program.
    • India’s interest in space travel began in the early 1960s, when scientists launched a Nike-Apache rocket from TERLS, Kerala.
    • The Indian National Committee for Space Research was subsequently set up, which later became the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) functioning under a new independent Department of Space in the 1970s under the Prime Minister of India.
    • India’s space program has impressively evolved for the past 50 years. Throughout the years, ISRO has upheld its mission of bringing space to the service of the common man, and the service of the Nation.
    • Currently, India’s Space Industry is predominantly driven by the national Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The industry includes over 500 private suppliers and other various bodies of the Department of Space in all commercial, research and arbitrary regards.

    Facts about the Indian space industry

    • Among Top 5 nations: In terms of technological capabilities, India ranks among the top 5 space-faring nations of the world.
    • Costing edge over others: India is globally recognized for building low-cost satellites and launch vehicles. The global space economy is estimated at ~US $440 billion.
    • 6th largest market player: As per SpaceTech Analytics, India is the sixth-largest player in the industry internationally having 3.6% of the world’s space-tech companies (as of 2021). The U.S. holds the leader’s spot housing 56.4% of all companies in the space-tech ecosystem. Other major players include the U.K. (6.5%), Canada (5.3%), China (4.7%) and Germany (4.1%).
    • Exponential growth ahead: In 2019, the space industry of India accounted for $7 billion or 2% of the global space industry. Antrix Corporation expects the industry to grow up to $50 billion by 2024 if provided with appropriate policy support.

    Achievements of the Indian space industry

    • Growing budget: India’s total budgetary allocation for FY2022-23 towards the Department of Space was ₹13,700 crore.
    • Startups boom: As per Tracxn data, funding into the sector’s start-ups (in India) nearly tripled to $67.2 million on a year-over-year basis in 2021. There were more than 40 startups in India in early 2021 in various stages of developing their launch vehicles, designing satellites and other allied activities
    • Reliable satellite launcher: By 2019, India had launched more than 300 satellites for various foreign states. ISRO has a record on its name of launching 104 satellites in one go. The recent LVM launch is a further extension of it.
    • Growing Private sector participation: Reforms liberalizing the space sector and nondisclosure agreements came in the late 2010s, leading to the emergence of various private spaceflight companies such as Larsen and Toubro, Godrej aerospace etc.
    • Successful Interplanetary missions: ISRO has launched several interplanetary missions such as the Mars orbiter mission, Chandrayaan 1 and 2. Ambitious missions like Gaganyaan, and Aditya L1 are in pipeline.

    Role of the private sector in the Indian Space Industry

    (A) Initial Growth

    • Over four decades, ISRO continued transferring technologies to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), leading to there being over 500 suppliers of various components in 2017.
    • During 1990’s, The Department of Space actively promoted the growth of the sector, leading to the establishment of the manufacturing of various systems. Large mapping projects for various civilian and military requirements were outsourced by the government, which drove the growth of India’s private space sector. However, the private sector still played a supporting role, while the government continued to dominate the space sector.

    (B) Emergence of startups

    • In the late 2010s, a large number of startups started to emerge throughout the country with their proposals and concepts to develop various satellite technologies and rockets.
    • A range of initiatives to deregulate the private space sector was introduced by Narendra Modi’s cabinet in June 2020, and the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (INSPACe) was established for incubating technology into private firms.
    • Throughout this time, various nondisclosure agreements and tech transfers have been taking place between ISRO and private entities. In February 2020, 35 startups came up in the space sector, of which three focused on designing rockets, 14 on designing satellites, and the rest on drone-based applications and services sector.
    • The number further grew to over 40 in January 2021. Two companies, Skyroot Aerospace and AgniKul Cosmos, have tested their engines and are in the advanced stages of developing their launch vehicles, while others have their launchers in the production pipeline and have launched satellites using ISRO rockets.

    Challenges to the Indian space industry

    • Absence of a framework: The reason for the lack of independent private participation in space includes the absence of a framework to provide transparency and clarity in-laws.
    • Brain drain: Another aspect to throw light on is the extensive brain drain in India, which has increased by 85% since 2005.
    • Policy bottlenecks: Brain drain can be linked to the bottlenecks in policies that create hindrances for private space ventures and founders to attract investors, making it virtually non-feasible to operate in India.
    • Security concerns from private activities: Government worries over knowledge sharing, launch methods, and satellite capabilities have led to a reluctance to allow private actors in the market due to security concerns.
    • Long gestation period: Many approval processes take a long time to complete. Approvals take around a year and a half. This comes at a time when the next three to four years are critical for the sector’s growth.
    • State control: The ISRO is directly controlled by the Department of Space (DOS), which is under the Prime Minister’s Office.
    • Licensing issues: Another regulatory worry is the licensing structure for satellite earth station gateways, which needs to be transformed to make it easier for any satellite operator to set one up.
    • Limited indigenization: Another challenge is promoting indigenous innovation. In the new global climate, the challenge for the country is to continue to benefit from this innovation.
    • Restricted FDI: Presently, FDI in space is allowed under government routes only for satellite establishment and operations. FDI in space is approved by the Government on a case-by-case basis and often this approval takes time.

    Criticisms of Space Programmes

    • For a long, India is known to be making investments in the space arena for social, scientific and security purposes. However, many fundamentalists see investment in space as a waste of money.
    • All previous missions of ISRO are about the race for planetary resources. Unfortunately, it has not planned for any missions to asteroids, an ideal bed for mineral mining.
    • After Chandrayaan-2 failure, there is a danger that future ambitious missions could also end up only as a ‘feel-good program’ with Gaganyaan coming ahead.

    Steps taken to promote the space industry

    • ANTRIX: ISRO’s business branch is called Antrix, which markets ISRO’s space products and technologies to a global audience.
    • Launching of the Indian Space Association (ISpA):  In 2021, the Government of India launched the Indian Space Association (ISpA) to open the Indian space industry to private sectors and start-ups. Several private companies like Larsen & Toubro, Nelco (Tata Group), OneWeb, MapmyIndia, Walchandnagar Industries are founding members of this organization.
    • Establishment of IN-SPACe: The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) was mandated with the task of promoting, authorizing and licensing private players to carry out space activities.
    • Establishment of NSIL: New Space India Ltd (NSIL), is mandated to transfer the matured technologies developed by the ISRO to Indian industries.
    • Boost to Atmanirbhar call: This will enhance the diffusion of space technology and boost the space economy within the country, for a resurgent, AatmaNirbhar Bharat. Additionally, it will enable the commercialization of space technology, boost private investments, and prepare the youth as space leaders, and innovations in the sector for the progress of humanity.
    • Increased FDI limit in certain cases: witnessing the change in the approach of the Indian Government towards private player’s involvement, Indian companies will be allowed to invest up to 100% and 70% through FDI with approval of the center in all the streams viz. Upstream, midstream and downstream segments.
    • New Space Activities Bill: As of 2021, a new Space Activities Bill and a space policy are being drafted by NALSAR Centre for Aerospace and Defence laws to regulate space manufacturing and the legal aspects of the industry in India.

    What more needs to be done?

    • Creating a policy and regulatory framework: that is predictable for both ISRO and private firms.
    • Renting ISRO’s facility: Allowing commercial enterprises to rent ISRO testing facilities to test their products and equipment.
    • Improved regulatory clarity: this would result in fewer hurdles to entry for private companies and better synergy between ISRO and private partners.
    • Private companies should be given more incentives: to develop satellites or test rockets, lowering costs and increasing incentives for enterprises to build operational spacecraft.
    • ISRO’s assistance: ISRO should assist the private sector in attracting both domestic and foreign direct investment by offering access to its satellite technology, facilities, and orbital slots (FDI).
    • Need for space legislation in India: India has invested enormous resources in its space program through the ISRO. We need space legislation enabling coherence across technical, legal, commercial, diplomatic and defense goals.

    Conclusion

    • Future readiness is the key to maintaining an edge in technology and ISRO endeavors to optimize and enhance its technologies as the needs and ambitions of the country evolve.
    • Indian space industry thus is at the cusp of major evolution. Strong government handholding and ISRO’s mentorship of startups could play a significant role in the socioeconomic and technological development of India.

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  • Case of Citizenship to Stateless Indian origin Tamils

    CitizenshipContext

    • The Supreme Court of India has now posted the 232 petitions challenging the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) to be heard on December 6, 2022. However, there is another issue linked to the subject, i.e., the unresolved status of Indian origin Tamils who repatriated from Sri Lanka.

    Present status of Sri Lankan refugees in India

    • For over four decades, Indian origin Tamils have been classified as stateless persons, based on technicalities. Nations High Commission for Refugees, “Comprehensive Solutions Strategy for Sri Lankan Refugees”, there are around 29,500 Indian origin Tamils currently living in India.

    CitizenshipHistorical background of citizenship to Indian origin Tamils

    • As Indentured plantation workers: Indian origin Tamils were brought in as indentured labourers to work in plantations. They remained mostly legally undocumented and socially isolated from the native Sri Lankan Tamil and Sinhalese communities due to the policies of the British.
    • Denied citizenship led to stateless population: After 1947, Sri Lanka witnessed rising Sinhalese nationalism, leaving no room for their political and civil participation. They were denied citizenship rights and existed as a ‘stateless’ population, numbering close to 10 lakhs by 1960.
    • Bilateral pacts granted citizenship: As an ethnolinguistic minority without voting rights, this resulted in a double disadvantage till the two national governments addressed this issue. Subsequently, under the bilateral Sirimavo-Shastri Pact (1964) and the Sirimavo-Gandhi Pact (1974), six lakh people along with their natural increase would be granted Indian citizenship upon their repatriation.
    • Civil wars forcing to seek asylum in India: The Sri Lankan civil war resulted in a spike in Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian origin Tamils together seeking asylum in India. This resulted in a Union Ministry of Home Affairs directive to stop the grant of citizenship to those who arrived in India after July 1983.
    • Focus on Refugee welfare and rehabilitation: The focus of the Indian and Tamil Nadu governments shifted to refugee welfare and rehabilitation. The legal destiny of Indian origin Tamils has been largely intertwined with that of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, and both cohorts have been relegated to ‘refugee’ status.
    • Classified as Illegal migrants as per the CAA 2003: Indian origin Tamils who arrived after 1983 came through unauthorized channels or without proper documentation and came to be classified as ‘illegal migrants’ as per the CAA 2003. This classification has resulted in their statelessness and blocking of potential legal pathways to citizenship.

    How to overcome the problem of statelessness?

    • While constitutional courts have not had an occasion to deal with the question of statelessness, there have been two recent judgments (Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, Justice G.R. Swaminathan), taking these issues head on.
    • Judgment on P. Ulaganathan vs Government of India (2019): The status of citizenship of Indian origin Tamils at the Kottapattu and Mandapam camps came up for consideration. The court recognized the distinction between Indian origin Tamils and Sri Lankan Tamils and held that a continuous period of statelessness of Indian origin Tamils offends their fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The court further held that the Union Government has implied powers to grant relaxation in conferring citizenship and prescribed that a humanitarian approach, shorn of the rigors of law, should be adopted.
    • Abirami S. vs The Union of India 2022: Statelessness is something to be avoided. The court further held that the principles of the CAA, 2019, which relaxes the conditions for citizenship for Hindus from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, would also apply to Sri Lankan Tamil refugees. As such, these judgments have provided categorial judicial guidance to the Union of India on how to utilize an expanded and liberal interpretation of the CAA, 2019 to overcome statelessness.
    • Supreme Court (Committee for C.R. of C.A.P. and Ors. vs State of Arunachal Pradesh 2015): An undertaking made by the Government of India with respect to grant of citizenship inheres a right in the stateless or refugee population. As such, India has made repeated undertakings, through the 1964 and 1974 pacts, which have created a legitimate expectation among the Indian origin Tamils and would entitle them to be granted citizenship.
    • Obligatory International customary law: The situation of statelessness of Indian origin Tamils is ‘de jure’, created from the failure in implementing the 1964 and 1974 pacts. De jure statelessness is recognized in international customary law. Therefore, India has an obligation to remedy the situation.

    How other nations deals with statelessness situation?

    • United States: Remedying statelessness is not a novel process in law. While dealing with a similar situation, in 1994, the United States enacted the Immigration and the Nationality Technical Corrections Act to retroactively grant citizenship to all children born to an alien father and citizen mother.
    • Brazil: Through the Constitutional Amendment No. 54 of 2007 retroactively, Brazil granted citizenship to children under jus sanguinis, which was earlier stripped by an earlier amendment, i.e., Constitutional Amendment No. 3 of 1994.

    Citizenship

    What India can do?

    • Any corrective legislative action by the Government of India to eliminate statelessness should necessarily include retroactive citizenship for Indian origin Tamils.

    Conclusion

    • India has provided the one of largest refuge to people in the world including Tibetan, Sri Lankan, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi. Despite not being a signatory to UN refugee convention. any decision of granting citizenship has to be based on national interest rather than emotional connect.

    Mains Question

    Q. What are rules for granting the citizenship to foreigner in India? What are the hurdles in Tamil Sri Lankan getting their citizenship? How can Sri Lankan Tamil get citizenship by applying the rule of intelligible differentia under article 14?

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  • 1st Nov| Daily Answer Writing Enhancement

    Topics for Today’s questions:

    GS-1          Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.

    GS-2         Functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary

    GS-3         Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.

    GS-4        Attitude: content, structure, function; its influence and relation with thought and behaviour; moral and political attitudes; social influence and persuasion.

    Question 1)

    Q.1 Fully unlocking the value of India’s diversity will depend on the ability to manage contradictions and conflicts arising out of cultural differences. Discuss. (15 Marks)

    Question 2)

    Q.2 With the help of relevant Supreme Court judgements, analyse whether death penalty as a method of delivering justice should remain or go. (15 Marks)

    Question 3)

    Q.3 Although the adoption of genetically modified (GM) food crops is in our broader national interest, there are some concerns associated with it. Discuss. (10 Marks)

    Question 4)  

    Q.4 Social media has played a key role in influencing political opinions and social attitudes in India. Comment. (10 Marks)

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  • The Amendments To The IT Rules, 2021

    IT rulesContext

    • The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has notified amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules, 2021) on October 28. In June 2022, MeitY had put out a draft of the amendments and solicited feedback from the relevant stakeholders. The draft generated considerable discussion and comment on the regulation of social media in India.

    What are the IT rules 2021?

    • Regulating SMI’s: World over, governments are grappling with the issue of regulating social media intermediaries (SMIs).
    • Addressing the issues of SMI controlling the free speech: Given the multitudinous nature of the problem the centrality of SMIs in shaping public discourse, the impact of their governance on the right to freedom of speech and expression, the magnitude of information they host and the constant technological innovations that impact their governance it is important for governments to update their regulatory framework to face emergent challenges.
    • Placing obligations on SMI: In a bid to keep up with these issues, India in 2021, replaced its decade old regulations on SMIs with the IT Rules, 2021 that were primarily aimed at placing obligations on SMIs to ensure an open, safe and trusted internet.

    IT rules What are the proposed amendments?

    • Draft amendments in June 2022, the stated objectives of the amendments were threefold.
    1. Protecting the constitutional rights: there was a need to ensure that the interests and constitutional rights of netizens are not being contravened by big tech platforms,
    2. Grievance redressal: to strengthen the grievance redressal framework in the Rules,
    3. To avoid the dominance: that compliance with these should not impact early-stage Indian start-ups.
    • This translated into a set of proposed amendments that can be broadly classified into two categories.
    1. Additional obligation on SMI: The first category involved placing additional obligations on the SMIs to ensure better protection of user interests.
    2. Appellate mechanism: The second category involved the institution of an appellate mechanism for grievance redressal.

    IT rules

    What are the additional obligations placed on social media intermediaries?

    • Users need to comply with rules of platforms(intermediaries): The original IT Rules, 2021 obligated the SMIs to merely inform its users of the “rules and regulations, privacy policy and user agreement” that governed its platforms along with the categories of content that users are prohibited from hosting, displaying, sharing etc. on the platform. This obligation on the SMIs has now been extended to ensuring that its users are in compliance with the relevant rules of the platform.
    • Prevent the prohibited content: Further, SMIs are required to “make reasonable” efforts to prevent prohibited content being hosted on its platform by the users.
    • SMIs have to respects rights under constitution: Second, a similar concern arises with the other newly introduced obligation on SMIs to “respect all the rights accorded to the citizens under the Constitution, including in the articles 14, 19 and 21”. Given the importance of SMIs in public discourse and the implications of their actions on the fundamental rights of citizens, the horizontal application of fundamental rights is laudable.
    • Remove the content within 72 hours: SMIs are now obligated to remove information or a communication link in relation to the six prohibited categories of content as and when a complaint arises. They have to remove such information within 72 hours of the complaint being made. Given the virality with which content spreads, this is an important step to contain the spread of the content.
    • Ensuring the accessibility of services: SMIs have been obligated to “take all reasonable measures to ensure accessibility of its services to users along with reasonable expectation of due diligence, privacy and transparency”.
    • Provide content in all scheduled language: In this context, the amendments also mandate that “rules and regulations, privacy policy and user agreement” of the platform should be made available in all languages listed in the eighth schedule of the Constitution.

    IT rulesWhat is the grievance appellate committee (GAC)?

    • Composition of GAC: The government has instituted Grievance Appellate Committees (GAC). The committee is styled as a three-member council out of which one member will be a government officer (holding the post ex officio) while the other two members will be independent representatives.
    • Complaint within 30 days: Users can file a complaint against the order of the grievance officer within 30 days.
    • Online dispute resolution: The GAC is required to adopt an online dispute resolution mechanism which will make it more accessible to the users.

    What are the concerns associated with GAC?

    • Confusion over GAC and High courts: It is unclear whether this is a compulsory tier of appeal or not, that is will the user have to approach the grievance appellate committee before approaching the court. The confusion arises from the fact that the press notes expressly stated that the institution of the GAC would not bar the user from approaching the court directly against the order of the grievance officer. However, the final amendments provide no such indication.
    • Apprehensions about appointment by central government: While this makes the inhouse grievance redressal more accountable and appellate mechanism more accessible to users, appointments being made by the central government could lead to apprehensions of bias in content moderation.
    • GAC doesn’t have enforcement power: Further, the IT Rules, 2021 do not provide any explicit power to the GAC to enforce its orders.
    • Overlapping jurisdiction of courts and appellate: if users can approach both the courts and the GAC parallelly, it could lead to conflicting decisions often undermining the impartiality and merit of one institution or the other.

    Conclusion

    • Across the world, social media regulation is need of an hour. Fake news, protests, riots are fuelled by social media outrage on petty things. However, government should not usurp the unaccountable power of in the name social regulation. Power of government should also be scrutinized by parliamentary committee.

    Mains Question

    Q. How social media can disrupt the law-and-order situation? Social media intermediaries have become the master regulators of free speech. Explain. critically analyze the new draft recommendations of IT rules 2021.

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  • Green Signal to GM Mustard

    MustardContext

    • The recent clearance by the government for the release of GM Mustard Hybrid DMH 11 based on the recommendations of GEAC under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change is a bold decision in the best interest of our farmers and the nation.

    What are Genetically modified organisms (GMO)

    • Changes in genetic material: GMOs can be defined as organisms (i.e., plants, animals or microorganisms) in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination
    • Transfers of genes: It allows selected individual genes to be transferred from one organism into another, also between nonrelated species.
    • GM foods: Foods produced from or using GM organisms are often referred to as GM foods
    • GM Mustard: GM mustard crop was introduced, which was later withdrawn. There is a raging debate going on advantages and disadvantages of GMOs. For a long time, further study was requested by farmers, environmentalist on GMO crops.

    MustardAdvantages of GM mustard?

    • Benefits to producers and consumers: GM foods are developed and marketed because there is some perceived advantage either to the producer or consumer of these foods. This is meant to translate into a product with a lower price, greater benefit (in terms of durability or nutritional value) or both. Initially GM seed developers wanted their products to be accepted by producers and have concentrated on innovations that bring direct benefit to farmers (and food industry generally)
    • Improves crop protection: One of the objectives for developing plants based on GM organisms is to improve crop protection.
    • Insect Resistance: Some GMO foods have been modified to make them more resistant to insects and other pests. This means the amount of pesticide chemicals used on the plants are reduced, so their exposure to dangerous pesticides is also reduced
    • Develops stronger Crop: Another benefit that GM technology is believed to bring about is that crops can be engineered to withstand weather extremes and fluctuations, this means that there will be good quality and sufficient yields even under a poor or severe weather condition
    • Provides Environment Protection: GM crops often requires less time, tools and chemicals, and may help with reducing greenhouse gas emissions, soil erosion and environmental pollution
    • More Nutritious Foods: According to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), some GM foods have been engineered to become more nutritious in terms of vitamin or mineral content.
    • More economic benefits: Larger production leading to increased farm income, reduced poverty, low food prices and thus reduced hunger and malnutrition. Besides new food products are also included, diversifying food varieties

    What is the risk associated with GMO?

    • Contamination of genes: GMOs contaminate forever. GMOs cross pollinate and their seeds can travel far and wide.
    • Irreversible changes in gene pool: It is impossible to fully clean up our contaminated gene pool.
    • More herbicides in our food: Genetic engineering allows plants to survive high doses of weed killers, resulting in higher herbicide residues in our food.
    • Super weeds and super bugs: GMO crops are creating ‘super weeds’ and ‘super bugs,’ which can only be killed with more toxic poisons.

    MustardWhy there was necessity to grant approval for GM Mustard?

    • To meet our current challenges: Over-exploitation of natural resources (soil, water, biodiversity), declining factor productivity, urgency to achieve sustainable development goals, especially ending poverty and hunger, and addressing timely the adverse effects of climate change the best option is scientific innovations and their scaling.
    • The adoption of GM food crops is in our broader national interest: Genetically modified maize, soybean, cotton, tomato and canola are grown across the world and the area currently under GM crops is about 200 m ha. Besides India, these have been grown for many years in the US, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Australia, Philippines, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and China.
    • To meet the existing deficit in edible oils: India is currently importing around 13 million tonnes at a cost of Rs 1.17 lakh crore to the exchequer. Interestingly, of this, 2.0-2.5 mt soybean oil and 1.0-1.5 mt canola oil is already GM. Hence, we are consuming GM oil already, besides, the 1.5 mt of GM cotton oil produced domestically.
    • Associated health benefits: It is scientifically proven that the consumption of refined oil does not allow any protein to enter the human system. Thus, the consumption of GM oil is completely safe from a health point of view.
    • High yields to farmers: A major concern of our farmers is that yields of mustard are low and have stagnated for a long time at around 1,260 kg/ha, much lower than the global average of 2,000 kg/ha. Yields of canola in Canada, China and Australia are almost three times higher than in India since they use GM hybrid technology. Mustard is a very important oilseed crop, grown in 6.0 -7.0 million hectares, mostly in Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh. Thus, the government’s decision to allow the production of GM Mustard hybrids will go a long way in increasing our yields, while reducing the use of pesticides.

    MustardWhat else needs to be done?

    • Providing enabling environment: The Department of Agriculture (DoA) and ICAR need to move forward fast and provide an enabling environment to test the available seed of Hybrid DMH 11 in the current rabi season.
    • Encourage public-private partnership: This needs to happen on several farmers’ fields in the mustard belt. It must also encourage public-private partnerships to produce quality seeds to cover more area next year.
    • Encouraging further innovation: Also, scientists at ICAR institutes must be encouraged to develop new GM Mustard hybrids on a mission mode. Allowing the production of GM Soybean and GM Maize going forward will also be a positive step, increasing both the productivity and profitability of these crops and doubling farmers’ income.

    Conclusion

    • The decision to remove the unscientific ban on GM crops reflects the determination of the government to move towards Atmanirbhar Bharat. It also meets the aspirations of our scientific community and farmers can derive the benefits of innovative technology.

    Mains Question

    Q. How GM mustard crop are different from conventional crops? What are the benefits and risks of adopting the GM mustard crop?

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