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  • [op-ed snap] Redesigning India’s ailing data system

    Context

    As official statistics is a public good, giving information about the state of the economy and success of governance, it needs to be independent to be impartial.

    GDP calculation and its significance

    • What is GDP:
      • Assigning a value to products and services: In effect, it adds apples and oranges, tractors and sickles, trade, transport, storage and communication, real estate, banking and government services through the mechanism of value.
      • GDP covers all productive activity for producing goods and services, without duplication.
      • The System of National Accounting (SNA): It is designed to measure production, consumption, and accumulation of income and wealth for assessing the performance of the economy.
    • What is the significance of GDP data?
      • Influence the market: GDP data influence markets, signalling investment sentiments, the flow of funds and balance of payments.
      • The input-output relations impact productivity and allocation of resources.
      • Demand and supply influences prices, exchange rates, wage rates, employment and standard of living, affecting all walks of life.
    • Issues over the present series of GDP:
      • Nominal GDP: The data on GDP are initially estimated at a current price known as nominal GDP.
      • Real GDP: Nominal GDP minus the inflation effect is real GDP.
      • Price Index: There is a way of adjusting inflation effect through an appropriate price index.
      • Pricing series issue with the service sector: The present series encountered serious problems for the price adjustment, specifically for the services sector contributing about 60% of GDP.
      • Absence of price index: There is an absence of appropriate price indices for most service sectors.
      • What the absence of series means: The deflators used in the new series could not effectively separate out price effect from the current value to arrive at a real volume estimate at a constant price.
      • Methodical issue: Replacing Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs MCA21 posed serious data and methodological issues.

    Need for the change in the approach of data collection

    • The approach for the collection of data remains largely the same for long.
      • Price and production indices are constructed using a fixed base Laspeyres Index.
      • The yield rate for paddy is estimated by crop cutting experiments.
      • The organisation of field surveys for collection of data on employment-unemployment, consumer expenditure, industrial output, assets and liabilities continue.
    • Why data collection for yields need to change?
      • Productivity and remunerative price of output are major concerns for agriculture.
      • Data collection from diverse factors: It is necessary to collect data on factors such as soil conditions, moisture, temperature, water and fertilizer use determining yield, the impact of intermediary and forward trade on farm gate price and so on.
      • Israel collects these data for analysis to support productivity.
      • Need to leverage the e-governance: The initiative under e-governance enabled the capturing of huge data, which need to be collated for their meaningful use for the production of official statistics.

    Data Logistics

    • Need of data from the other areas: Along with GDP, we need data to assess-
      • Inclusive growth.
      • Fourth-generation Industrial Revolution riding on the Internet of things.
      • Robotics-influencing employment and productivity.
      • Environmental protection.
      • Sustainable development and social welfare.
    • How to deal with the data inconsistency
      • We need systems which have the capability to sift through a huge volume of data seamlessly to look for reliability, validity, consistency and coherence.
      • Such a system is possible through a versatile data warehouse as a component of big–data technology.
      • Rangarajan Committee recommendation: Setting up of such system has been wanting as thoughtful and well-meaning key recommendations of the Rangarajan Commission and subsequent recommendations from 2006 onwards by successive National Statistical Commissions.

    Way forward

    • The need for a new system: The present national accounting and analytical framework miss out on many important dimensions of the economy.
      • We need a new framework for analysis for such a complex system and evolutionary process.
      • The system needs to take into account automation, robotisation and other labour-replacing technologies affecting profitability, structural change and general welfare.
    • Need to find alternative avenues for the unemployed and jobs lost: In order to inject efficiency and stability, there is a need to have detailed data on how: markets clear, prices are formed, risks build-up, institutions function and, in turn, influence the lifestyle of various sections of the people.
    • Knowing market microstructure: It is also needed to know in greater detail about market microstructure and optimality therein, the role of technology and advanced research, changing demand on human skills, and enterprise and organising ability.
    • Monopoly must be contained:  The loss caused to the economy through monopoly power, inefficient input-output mix, dumping, obsolete technology and product mix must be contained.
    • Ensure distribution of wealth: The consensus macroeconomic framework of analysis assumes symmetric income distribution and does not get into the depth of structural issues.
      • In the changed situation of availability of microdata, there is a need to build a system to integrate the micro with the macro, maintaining distributional characteristics.

    Conclusion

    Data is the new oil in the modern networked economy in pursuit of socio-economic development. The economics now is deeply rooted in data, measuring and impacting competitiveness, risks, opportunities and social welfare in an integrated manner, going much beyond macroeconomics. There is a need for commitment to producing these statistics transparently.

     

     

  • Global Social Mobility Report 2020

     

    The Global Social Mobility Report was recently released at the ongoing World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland.

    Global Social Mobility Report

    • The World Economic Forum organizes the well-known annual gathering of the world’s most influential business and political decision-makers at Davos.
    • It has come out with its first-ever Global Social Mobility Report, which has ranked India a lowly 72 out of the 82 countries profiled.
    • According to the report, the Nordic economies such as Denmark and Finland top the social mobility rankings while countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and South Africa languish at the bottom (see Table 1).

    Table 1: WEF’s Global Social Mobility Rankings

    Country Rank (out of 82)
    Denmark 1
    Germany 11
    United Kingdom 21
    United States 27
    Russia 39
    China 45
    Saudi Arabia 52
    Brazil 60
    India 76
    Pakistan 79

     

    What is the context for this report?

    • Notwithstanding fast global growth, inequalities have been growing across the world.
    • The rise of inequality has not only created massive social unrest but also adversely affected the global consensus on the kind of economic policies that countries follow.
    • A good example of this is the rise of trade protectionism across the world over the past few years.
    • Be it US or the UK several countries have started looking inwards in the hope that greater trade protectionism will help allay the fears and apprehensions of domestic workers.

    What is Social Mobility?

    • Typically, inequalities are measured in income terms. And this measure has been found inadequate.
    • As the report states, “many situations exist where, despite high levels of absolute income mobility, relative social mobility remains low.
    • For example, in economies such as China and India, economic growth can lift entire populations upward in terms of absolute income, but an individual’s status in society relative to others remains the same”.
    • The report states: “The notion of relative social mobility is more closely related to the social and economic status of an individual relative to their parents. I
    • n a country with a society with perfect relative mobility, a child born in a low-income family would have as much chance to earn a high income as a child born to parents who earn a high income”.

    Thus, the concept of social mobility is much broader than just looking at income inequality. It encompasses several concerns such as:

    • Intragenerational mobility: The ability for an individual to move between socio-economic classes within their own lifetime.
    • Intergenerational mobility: The ability for a family group to move up or down the socio-economic ladder across the span of one or more generations.
    • Absolute income mobility: The ability for an individual to earn, in real terms, as much as or more than their parents at the same age.
    • Absolute educational mobility: The ability for an individual to attain higher education levels than their parents.
    • Relative income mobility: How much of an individual’s income is determined by their parents’ income.
    • Relative educational mobility: How much of an individual’s educational attainment is determined by their parents’ educational attainment.

    Why does social mobility matter?

    • How far an individual can move up in the society determines a lot whether one is closer to the income “floor” (or poor) or “ceiling” (or rich).
    • Social mobility levels, then, can help us understand both the speed – that is, how long it takes for individuals at the bottom of the scale to catch up with those at the top – and the intensity – that is, how many steps it takes for an individual to move up the ladder in a given period – of social mobility.
    • Research also shows that countries with high levels of relative social mobility—such as Finland, Norway or Denmark— exhibit lower levels of income inequality.
    • Conversely, countries with low relative social mobility—such as India, South Africa or Brazil—also exhibit high levels of economic inequality.
    • That’s why it matters for countries like India to increase social mobility.

     

    As shown in Table 2, it would take a whopping 7 generations for someone born in a low-income family in India to approach mean income level; in Denmark, it would only take 2 generations.

     

    Table 2: Income Mobility across Generations

    Country Number of generations required by a poor family member to achieve mean income level
    Denmark 2
    United States/ United Kingdom 5
    Germany/ France 6
    India/China 7
    Brazil/South Africa 9

     

    So, how is social mobility calculated?

    The WEF’s Global Social Mobility Index assesses the 82 economies on “10 pillars” spread across the following five key dimensions of social mobility:

    1. Health;
    2. Education (access, quality and equity, lifelong learning);
    3. Technology;
    4. Work (opportunities, wages, conditions);
    5. Protection and Institutions (social protection and inclusive institutions).

    How did India perform on each of the 10 pillars of social mobility?

    India’s overall ranking is a poor 76 out of the 82 countries considered. Thus it should not come as any surprise that India ranks lowly in individual parameters as well.

    Table 3 below provides the detailed breakup.

    Table 3: Where India ranks on the 10 Pillars of Social Mobility

    Parameter Rank (out of 82 countries)
    Health 73
    Access to Education 66
    Quality and Equity in Education 77
    Lifelong learning 41
    Access to Technology 73
    Work Opportunities 75
    Fair Wage Distribution 79
    Working Conditions 53
    Social Protection 76
    Inclusive Institutions 67

     

    Back2Basics

    World Economic Forum (WEF)

    • The WEF based in Cologny-Geneva, Switzerland, is an NGO founded in 1971.
    • The WEF’s mission is cited as “committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas”.
    • It is a membership-based organization, and membership is made up of the world’s largest corporations.
    • The WEF hosts an annual meeting at the end of January in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the eastern Alps region of Switzerland.

    Various reports published by WEF:

    [Tikdam: Most (Not all) reports titled with ‘Global’ are released by WEF.]

    1. Global Competitiveness Report
    2. Global Information Technology Report
    3. Global Gender Gap Report
    4. Global Travel and Tourism Report
    5. Global Enabling Trade Report etc.

  • Thawing of Permafrost

     

    A recent study makes a disturbing connection between the loss of Arctic sea ice and thawing (melting) of permafrost in the region, with global implications.

    What is Permafrost?

    • ‘Permafrost’ or permanently frozen ground is land that has been frozen at or below 0 degrees Celsius for two or more consecutive years.
    • A staggering 17 per cent of Earth’s entire exposed land surface is comprised of permafrost.
    • Composed of rock, sediments, dead plant and animal matter, soil, and varying degrees of ice, permafrost is mainly found near the poles, covering parts of Greenland, Alaska, Northern Canada, Siberia and Scandinavia.
    • The Arctic region is a vast ocean, covered by thick ice on the surface (called sea ice), surrounded by land masses that are also covered with snow and ice.

    Permafrost thawing

    • When permafrost thaws, water from the melted ice makes its way to the caves along with ground sediments, and deposits on the rocks.
    • In other words, when permafrost thaws, the rocks grow and when permafrost is stable and frozen, they do not grow.

    Why thawing?

    • The link between the Siberian permafrost and Arctic sea ice can be explained by two factors:
    • One is heat transport from the open Arctic Ocean into Siberia, making the Siberian climate warmer.
    • The second is moisture transport from open seawater into Siberia, leading to thicker snow cover that insulates the ground from cold winter air, contributing to its warming.
    • This is drastically different from the situation just a couple of decades ago when the sea ice acted as a protective layer, maintaining cold temperatures in the region and shielding the permafrost from the moisture from the ocean.
    • If sea ice (in the summer) is gone, permafrost start thawing.

    Impact on Climate Change

    • Due to relentlessly rising temperatures in the region, since the late-twentieth century, the Arctic sea ice and surrounding land ice are melting at accelerating rates.
    • When permafrost thaws due to rising temperatures, the microbes in the soil decompose the dead organic matter (plants and animals) to produce methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2), both potent greenhouse gases.
    • CH4 is at least 80 times more powerful than CO2 on a decadal timescale and around 25 times more powerful on a century timescale.
    • The greenhouse gases produced from thawing permafrost will further increase temperatures which will, in turn, lead to more permafrost thawing, forming an unstoppable and irreversible self-reinforcing feedback loop.
    • Experts believe this process may have already begun. Giant craters and ponds of water (called ‘thermokarst lakes’) formed due to thawing have been recorded in the Arctic region. Some are so big that they can be seen from space.

    Why a matter of concern?

    • An estimated 1,700 billion tonnes — twice the amount currently present in the atmosphere — of carbon is locked in all of the world’s permafrost.
    • Even if half of that were to be released to the atmosphere, it would be game over for the climate.
    • Scientific estimates suggest that the Arctic Ocean could be largely sea ice-free in the summer months by as early as 2030, based on observational trends, or as late as 2050, based on climate model projections.

  • UAE declared ‘Reciprocating Territory’ by India

    Recently, the Ministry of Law and Justice issued an Extraordinary Gazette Notification, declaring the UAE to be a “reciprocating territory” under Section 44A of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908. The notification also declared a list of courts in the UAE to be “superior Courts” under the same section.

    What is a ‘Reciprocating Territory’ ?

    • Essentially, orders passed by certain designated courts from a ‘reciprocating territory’ can be implemented in India, by filing a copy of the decree concerned in a District Court here.
    • The courts so designated are called ‘superior Courts’.

    What does Section 44 of the CPC say?

    Section 44A, titled “Execution of decrees passed by Courts in reciprocating territory”, provides the law on the subject of execution of decrees of Courts in India by foreign Courts and vice versa.

    Under Explanation 1 of S. 44A:

    • “Reciprocating territory” means any country or territory outside India which the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare to be a reciprocating territory for the purposes of this section; and “superior Courts”, with reference to any such territory, means such Courts as may be specified in the said notification.”
    • 44A (1) provides that a decree passed by “a superior Court” in any “reciprocating territory” can be executed in India by filing a certified copy of the decree in a District Court, which will treat the decree as if it has been passed by itself.
    • According to Explanation-2, the scope of the Section is restricted to decrees for payment of money, not being sums payable “in respect of taxes or other charges of a like nature or in respect of a fine or other penalty”.
    • It also cannot be based on an arbitration award, even if such an award is enforceable as a decree or judgment.

    Other countries with such status

    • Apart from Dubai, the other countries declared to be “reciprocating territories” are: United Kingdom, Singapore, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Trinidad & Tobago, New Zealand, the Cook Islands (including Niue) and the Trust Territories of Western Samoa, Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Aden.

    Why such move?

    • The notification was the only remaining part of a 1999 agreement between the UAE and India related to cooperation in civil and commercial matters.
    • The decision is believed to help bring down the time required for executing decrees between the two countries.
    • With this, Indian expatriates in the UAE would no longer be able to seek safe haven in their home country if they are convicted in a civil case in the UAE.

  • [pib] UNCITRAL

     

    An International Arbitration Tribunal has dismissed all claims brought against  India in entirety. The arbitration arose out of the cancellation of Letters of Intent for the issuance of telecom licences to provide 2G services in five telecommunications circles by reason of India’s essential security interests.

    UNCITRAL

    • The UN Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is a subsidiary body of the U.N. General Assembly responsible for helping to facilitate international trade and investment.
    • Established by the UNGA in 1966, UNCITRAL’s official mandate is “to promote the progressive harmonization and unification of international trade law” through conventions, model laws, and other instruments that address key areas of commerce, from dispute resolution to the procurement and sale of goods.
    • UNCITRAL carries out its work at annual sessions held alternately in New York City and Vienna, where it is headquartered.
    • The Tribunal constituted in accordance with the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules 1976 is seated at the Hague, Netherlands, and proceedings are administered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

  • Steppe Eagle

     

    A lone endangered steppe eagle (Aquila nipalensis) has been sighted by a group of birdwatchers in a paddy field near Vijayawada.

    Steppe Eagle

    • The Steppe Eagle is a migratory raptor which has undergone extremely rapid population declines within all its range.
    • It breeds in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia during the winter season.
    • Steppe eagle is the second-largest migratory eagle species to India.
    • IUCN Status: It has moved from ‘Least Concern’ to ‘Endangered’

  • Xenobot

    Scientists in the US have created the world’s first “living machines” — tiny robots built from the cells of the African clawed frog that can move around on their own.

    Xenobot

    • Scientists have developed living robots from frogs stem cells.
    • They have named this millimetre-wide robots “xenobots” — after the species of aquatic frog found across sub-Saharan Africa from Nigeria and Sudan to South Africa, Xenopus laevis.
    • Scientists have repurposed living cells scraped from frog embryos and assembled them into entirely new life-forms.
    • The xenobots can move toward a target, perhaps pick up a payload (like a medicine that needs to be carried to a specific place inside a patient) — and heal themselves after being cut.

  • [Burning Issue] Internet Shutdowns in India

     

    • Nowadays, India is widely considered to be a world leader in cutting off access to the Net.
    • Yet, there are no detailed official data on Internet shutdowns in India.
    • Taking a serious note of the situation, the Supreme Court has for the first time set the stage for challenging such suspension orders before courts.
    • It has directed the government to mandatorily publish all orders permitting Internet shutdowns. It has opened such decisions amenable to judicial review.

    Internet shutdowns in India

     

    • The cutting off internet access to control restive populations is an increasing trend around the world with India at the lead.
    • Of the 196 shutdowns in 25 countries documented by Access Now in 2018, as many as 134 were in India, followed by Pakistan (12).

    Legal mechanisms allowing shut-downs

    • Home Departments in the states are mostly the authorities that enforce shutdowns, drawing powers from The Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules, 2017.
    • The decisions are reviewed by a state government review committee. The central government also has powers under this law, but has not used it.
    • Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure has enabled many of the shutdowns in the recent past, especially until the time the telecom suspension Rules came into force in 2017.
    • Less frequently used is The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, whose Section 5(2) allows central and state governments to prevent the transmission of messaging during a public emergency or in the interest of public safety or in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India etc.

    Who can pass the orders of Internet Shutdowns?

    • The Rules, issued under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, stipulate that only the Home Secretary of the Union or a state can pass an order, and that the order must include the reasons for the decision.
    • The order should be forwarded to a review committee the day after it is issued, and must be reviewed by the committee within five days to assess its compliance with Section 5(2) of The Telegraph Act.
    • Under this the government has the power to block the transmission of messages during a public emergency or for public safety.
    • In the case of the central government, the review committee comprises the Cabinet Secretary and the Secretaries of the Departments of Legal Affairs and Telecommunications.
    • In the case of states, the committee comprises the Chief Secretary, Secretary, Law or Legal Remembrancer In-Charge, Legal Affairs, and a Secretary to the state government (other than the Home Secretary).

    Who else can issue such orders?

    • In “unavoidable circumstances”, the order can be issued by an officer of the rank of Joint Secretary or above, authorised by the Centre or the state Home Secretary.
    • Telecom service providers must designate nodal officers to handle such requests.

    What laws governed this area before the 2017 Rules were notified?

    • Internet shutdowns were ordered under Section 144 of the CrPC, which gives District Magistrates broad powers during dangerous situations.
    • Even after 2017, many local shutdowns are issued under this law. Section 69(A) of the IT (Amendment) Act, 2008 gives the government powers to block particular websites, not the Internet as a whole.

    Why such shut-downs?

    • Worldwide, Internet shutdowns are typically used when there is civil unrest, in order to block the flow of information about government actions or to end communication among activists and prevent the spread of rumours and fake news.
    • Internet serves as a medium for the transmission of information through pictures, videos and text that have the potential to cause civil unrest and exacerbate the law and order
    • Check Fake News: Internet shutdowns are typically used when there is civil unrest, in order to block the flow of information about government actions or to end communication among activists and prevent the spread of rumours and fake news.
    • Shutdown helps prevent the “spreading of rumours and misinformation using social media platforms which can hinder peace and law and order”.
    • Preventive Response: Cutting off the Internet is both an early and preventive response to block restive groups to organise riots against the Government.
    • National Interest: The Internet cannot be independent of national sovereignty. Therefore, the necessary regulation of the internet is a reasonable choice of sovereign countries based on national interests.

    Kashmir deprived of Internet

    • The Centre has never ordered a nationwide Internet shutdown. Still, India tops the list of Internet shutdowns globally.
    • According to Software Freedom Law Center’s tracker, there have been 381 shutdowns since 2012, 106 of which were in 2019.
    • The ongoing shutdown in Kashmir is the longest ever in any democratic country.
    • The erstwhile state has seen 180 Internet shutdowns since 2012, according to SFLC.
    • The most commonly offered reasons for cutting access have been “encounter between security forces and militants”, “massive search operations”, “gunfights”, and “attack on CRPF men”.

    Issues with the Kashmir Shutdown

    • The Internet shutdown in Kashmir was not compliant with the Rules.
    • The Rules require the suspension to be temporary; also, the orders did not provide reasons for the restrictions.
    • The petitioner contended that the order claims a law-and-order danger, as opposed to a public order danger specified in the Rules.

    Justifying the Kashmir situation

    • Lastly, the court-mandated that all orders regarding the Kashmir case be made public, and to provide essential services such as e-banking and hospitals immediately.
    • What the centre was arguing, in this case, was that this is a matter of national security given that it pertains to Kashmir with a history of militancy.

    Supreme Court Judgement on Internet Shutdowns

    What did the court say?

    The court ordered the government to review its order, ruling that the freedom of speech and trade on the Internet is a fundamental right.

    • The court said that because the Rules require the order to be in accordance with Section 5(2) of The Telegraph Act, the order must be during a “public emergency” or in the “interest of public safety”.
    • Also, the suspension must be “necessary” and “unavoidable”.
    • In furtherance of the same, the State must assess the existence of an alternate less intrusive remedy,” the court said.
    • The Bench also said that the State should make the orders freely available, even though the Suspension Rules do not specify this.
    • The Rules also don’t specify a time limitation for the shutdown, the use of “Temporary” in the title notwithstanding. The Bench decided that an indefinite suspension is “impermissible”.

    The prime mover for the Judgment

    • The Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Service) Rules, 2017 issued under the Telegraph Act deals with restricting Internet access.
    • It does not provide for publication or notification of the order suspending Internet, the apex court-mandated that such orders must be made available to the public.
    • The court declared that it is a “settled principle of law, and of natural justice” that requires publication of such orders, “particularly one that affects lives, liberty and property of people”.
    • This allows individuals to now challenge the orders before courts in J&K and rest of India.

    Internet suspension orders are subjected to Judicial Review

    • In the wake of protests against the new citizenship law, Internet services were suspended temporarily in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Karnataka.
    • There should not be an excessive burden on free speech even if complete prohibition is imposed, and the government has to justify the imposition of such prohibition and explain why lesser alternatives were inadequate, the bench stated.
    • It ruled that Restrictions are to be imposed in an emergency. Hence they must be proportionate to the concern. Their objective must be legitimate rather than cavalier.
    • Authorities must necessarily consider an alternative and least restrictive mechanism before opting to restrict rights. Every decision to impose restriction should be backed by sufficient material and amenable to judicial review.

    Pacing up with technology

    • The bench also noted that the law needs to keep pace with technological development:
    • We need to note that the law should imbibe the technological development and accordingly mould its rules so as to cater to the needs of society.
    • Non-recognition of technology within the sphere of law is only a disservice to the inevitable.

    Internet as a necessity

    Lifeline for people

    • While the Internet is certainly the main source of information and communication and access to social media, it is so much more than that.
    • People working in the technology-based gig economy — like the thousands of delivery workers for Swiggy, Dunzo and Amazon and the cab drivers of Uber and Ola — depend on the Internet for their livelihoods.
    • It is a mode of access to education for students who do courses and take exams online. Access to the Internet is important to facilitate the promotion and enjoyment of the right to education.
    • It is also a mode to access to health care for those who avail of health services online. 
    • It is a means for business and occupation for thousands of small and individual-owned enterprises that sell their products and services online.

    Legal basis for Right to Internet

    • The access to the Internet is a right very similar to what the Supreme Court held with respect to the right to privacy in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy
    • The Human Rights Council of the United Nations Resolution dated July 2, 2018, on the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet, made important declarations.
    • It noted with concern the various forms of undue restriction on freedom of opinion and expression online, including where countries have manipulated or suppressed online expression in violation of international law.
    • It said that the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online, in particular freedom of expression, which is applicable regardless of frontiers and through any media of one’s choice.

    The Kerala case

    • The High Court of Kerala made a start to the domestic recognition of the right to Internet access.
    • The judgment in Faheema Shirin R.K. v. State of Kerala & Others holds that “…a rule or instruction which impairs the right of the students cannot be permitted to stand in the eye of the law.” 
    • It notes that mobile and broadband Internet shutdowns impact women, girls, and marginalized communities more disproportionately than others.

    Trauma of shutdowns

     

    Economic impact

    • While there is no proven benefit of closing down the internet, there are serious economic repercussions.
    • A report by the Brookings Institute adjudged India to have topped the list by incurring losses to the tune of $968 million in 2016 itself.
    • Over the past five years, some 16,000 hours of Internet shutdowns cost the economy a little over $3 billion, according to estimates in a report by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER).

    Governance hurdles

    • In Sept. 2018, the Dept. of Telecommunication had acknowledged the adverse impact of a rising number of internet shutdowns that State governments are ordering.
    • The Govt. has embarked upon a programme to deliver services through mobile and internet apart from promoting a cashless economy.
    • Neither banking transactions using credit and debit cards nor internet banking can be done, which leads to hardships to common citizens.

    No permanent solution

    • The practice of shutting down the internet not just disrupts the smooth functioning of the state at large but is also not in line with the fundamentals of democracy.
    • Internet shutdown cannot be a solution to a larger governance problem.
    • Shutting down the internet may result in information blackout that can also create hysteria, panic.

    Conclusion

    • It is time that we recognise that the right to access to the Internet is indeed a fundamental right within our constitutional guarantees.
    • The Internet is pretty much a basic human right, even if not legally defined as such, for most parts of the world — without access to the virtual world, a very large number of vital human activities simply stops.
    • Internet shutdowns leave people without access to information and other services that could be the difference between life and death.
    • It is in recognition of the Internet as a human right that the UN in 2016 passed a non-binding resolution condemning countries that disrupt Internet access to its citizens.

     Way Forward

    • There exists no qualitative or quantitative evidence to show that internet shutdowns are effective tools to restore normalcy.
    • In fact, the internet itself can be used to resolve the problem. For example, the Government can have verified sources to spread legitimate information across various mediums stating areas that are safe/affected the updated status of the situation, etc.
    • State interests like security are important because they are the prerequisites for us to exercise our freedoms. However, in pursuing this, the freedoms themselves cannot be suspended.
    • Therefore, the government needs to clearly lay down a comprehensive framework, stating the conditions behind such Internet shutdowns.

     

     

    References

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/internet-shutdowns-in-india/

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/sc-order-on-internet-shutdowns/

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/op-ed-snap-guarantee-internet-rights/

    https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/specials/india-file/the-trauma-of-internet-shutdown/article30560717.ece

  • 21st January 2020| Daily Answer Writing Enhancement

    The topics covered in the upcoming AWE on 22nd January are:

    Q.1) Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country.

    Q.4) Case Studies 

     

    Question 1)

    The Rajkot Satyagraha brought into clear focus the paradoxical situation that existed in the Princely States. Analyze. (15 Marks)

    Question 2)

    What are the similarities and differences in the approach adopted by the US Constitution and that of the Indian Constitution towards Impeachment of their President? (15 Marks)

    Question 3)

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  • [op-ed of the day] Equity’s weak pulse and commodified medicine

    Context

    As the government tries to overhaul the public health system in India, its time to take into account the advent and the role played by the private sector and its implications.

    The advent of the private sector

    • Increase in the role of the private sector in the post-Independence era: Post-Independence, the private sector increased its footprint in India.
      • Perpetual sub-optimal investments in public health allowed the private sector to capitalise, flourish, and increasingly gain the confidence of the masses.
      • The private sector went from having about 1,400 enterprises in 1950 to more than 10 lakh in 2010-11.
      • To doctors, this promised greater professional liberty, lesser restrictions, and higher incomes.
      • After liberalisation, the greater focus shifted to the lucrative tertiary-care sector and led to an onslaught of sophisticated private health care in cities.

    The dominance of the private sector and malpractices

    • The scale of dominance: Private sector has over 70% of the health-care workforce and 80% of allopathic doctors, has meant that it is scarcely possible for a health-care provider to function in defiance of its norms.
      • Pervasive malpractices: The pervasiveness of malpractices in this market has come to ensure that few could survive without condoning them.
      • Nexus of the private players: Players in this market, in much of their malpractices, have also learnt to function as a harmonious family.
      • Organised form to safeguard interest: The family plays its role in safeguarding its members, acquainting them with its norms and interests, and leveraging the power of its patriarchs to defend its interests in society.
      • Standards of success dictated by the markets: It is little wonder that the market has also come to dictate the avenues of aggrandisement and yardsticks of professional success for health-care professionals.
      • Benchmark of quality changed: Business finesse and social adroitness rather than clinical excellence and empathy become the touchstones of calibre in this market.

    Failure of the government

    • Absence of national system: The larger chunk of Indian health care (and health workforce) could not be brought under a “national system” having some form of overarching state control or involvement.
      • If such a system existed it could avail of essential health care without most people having to rely on a vagarious market, except as a luxury.
      • Example of the UK’s NHS: The National Health Service of the United Kingdom, remains the single largest health-care provider.
      • NHS employs nearly the entire health-care workforce.
      • NHS makes essential health care available to all practically free at the point of service.
    • Consequences of the absence of such system: The absence ensures is that the profit-driven private sector, the minor component, caters mainly to the affluent lot as largely a matter of deliberate choice rather than desperate compulsion.
      • Hopes of benefits of free-market belied: The Indian example, much like the United States’, bespeaks the failure of the idea that a free market will compel players to be more efficient.
      • The exploitation of the loops by the private players: Rather than increasing efficiency, the players have found it expedient to scrupulously exploit the prevailing cracks in the system and employ devious methods in order to maximise profits.

    Conclusion

    • Health-care providers, just like others, are moulded by their social surroundings. When necessary controls are loosened, the connatural vices are let loose; when the habitat is conducive to values, the right traits develop.
    • A system that starts off with health care as an overt tradable commodity it threatens the development of virtues in the system.
    • On the other hand, a system founded on the concept of equity cultivates a totally different culture of patient care.

     

     

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