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Subject: Governance

Important aspects of Society

  • Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network

    The government is using eVIN – Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network in association with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to identify primary beneficiaries and vaccine distribution networks.

    Try this question from CSP 2016:

    Q.‘Mission Indradhanush’ launched by the Government of India pertains to:

    (a) Immunization of children and pregnant women

    (b) Construction of smart cities across the country

    (c) India’s own search for the Earth-like planets in outer space

    (d) New Educational Policy

    What is eVIN?

    • E-VIN is an indigenously developed technology that digitizes vaccine stocks and monitors the temperature of the cold chain through a smartphone application.
    • It was first launched across 12 states in 2015 to support better vaccine logistics management at cold chain points.
    • It supports the central government’s Universal Immunization Programme by providing real-time information on vaccine stocks and flows, and storage temperatures across all cold chain points across states and UTs.

    Components of eVIN

    • eVIN combines state-of-the-art technology, a strong IT infrastructure and trained human resource to enable real-time monitoring of stock and storage temperature of the vaccines kept in multiple locations across the country.
    • At present, 23,507 cold chain points across 585 districts of 22 States and 2 UTs routinely use the eVIN technology for efficient vaccine logistics management.

    Benefits of eVIN

    • It has helped create a big data architecture that generates actionable analytics encouraging data-driven decision-making and consumption-based planning.
    • It helps in maintaining optimum stocks of vaccines leading to cost savings. Vaccine availability at all times has increased to 99% in most health centres in India.
    • While instances of stock-outs have reduced by 80%, the time taken to replenish stocks has also decreased by more than half, on an average.
    • This has ensured that every child who reaches the immunization session site is immunized, and not turned back due to unavailability of vaccines.

  • National Digital Health Mission

    The National Digital Health Mission will soon be ready for a nationwide roll-out, confirmed the Chairman of National Health Authority and CEO of Ayushman Bharat.

    Must read:

    [Burning Issue] Rolling-out of National Digital Health Mission

    National Digital Health Mission

    • Our PM has launched the National Digital Health Mission on 15th August 2020.
    • The mission aims to create an integrated healthcare system linking practitioners with the patients digitally by giving them access to real-time health records.
    • It is a complete digital health ecosystem. The digital platform will be launched with four key features — health ID, personal health records, Digi Doctor and health facility registry.
    • At a later stage, it will also include e-pharmacy and telemedicine services, regulatory guidelines for which are being framed.

    Its implementation

    • The NDHM is implemented by the National Health Authority (NHA) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
    • The National Health Authority (NHA), is also the implementing agency for Ayushman Bharat.

  • Personal Vehicle on a Public Road

    The Delhi government has told the Delhi High Court that a personal vehicle on a public road cannot be said to be a private zone — rather, it is a public space.

    Do you know?

    India sees the largest number of road fatalities in the world. More than 1.5 lakh people lost their lives in road crashes in the country in 2018, according to government data.

    Why such an argument?

    • The argument was given to defend its decision of making it compulsory for people to wear masks when they are travelling.

    Supreme Court’s definition of ‘public space’

    • The Supreme Court in one of its ruling has said defined a “public place” to mean any place to which the public has access, whether as a matter of right or not — and includes all places visited by the general public, and also includes any open space.
    • The keywords are “any place to which public have access”, which phrase is further qualified by the phrase “whether as a matter of right or not”, the court noted.
    • When a private vehicle is passing through a public road it cannot be accepted that the public has no access.
    • It is true that the public may not have access to a private vehicle as a matter of right but definitely, public has the opportunity to approach the private vehicle while it is on the public road, said the court.

  • ‘Myths of Online Education’ Report

    The Azim Premji University has published the report titled “Myths of Online Education”, on the efficacy and accessibility of e-learning.

    We have studied the Impacts of COVID-19 on Education. https://www.civilsdaily.com/burning-issue-education-in-times-of-covid-19/
    This report provides decent data about the woes of online education and is easy to remember.

    About the study

    • The study was undertaken in five States across 26 districts and covered 1,522 schools. More than 80,000 students study in these government schools.
    • It examined the experience of children and teachers with online education.

    Highlights of the study

    • More than 60% of the respondents who are enrolled in government schools could not access online education.
    • Children with disabilities in fact found it more difficult to participate in online sessions.
    • 90% of the teachers who work with children with disabilities found their students unable to participate online.
    • Almost 70% of the parents surveyed were of the opinion that online classes were not effective and did not help in their child’s learnings.
    • 90% of parents of government school students surveyed were willing to send their children back to school.
    • The survey also revealed that around 75% of the teachers spent, on an average, less than an hour a day on online classes for any grade.

    Online classes are less effective

    • Teachers as well as students their expressed frustration with online classes.
    • More than 80% surveyed said they were unable to maintain emotional connect with students during online classes, while 90% of teachers felt that no meaningful assessment of children’s learning was possible.
    • Another hurdle that teachers found during the online classes was the one-way communication, which made it difficult for them to gauge whether students understood what was being taught.
    • Teachers also reported that they were ill-prepared for online learning platforms.

  • 2025 nutrition targets call for a multi-dimensional focus

    The article highlights the issue of nutrition and suggest the ways to achieve nutrition security in the country to drive sustainable growth for India.

    Nutrition in India

    • A recent United Nations report-  The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, 2020 highlighted that there are 189.2 million undernourished people in India.
    • Even though this number has declined by 60 million over the past decade, the progress is far too slow.
    • While we recorded a drop in undernourishment, obesity amongst Indian adults grew from 25.2 million in 2012 to 34.3 million in 2016.
    • India is likely to miss the 2025 global nutrition targets according to the Global Nutrition Report 2020, unless more is done, soon.

    Impact of POSHAN Abhiyan

    • With the launch of POSHAN Abhiyan in 2018, the government mainstreamed nutrition, with this multi-ministerial and multi-sectoral approach.
    • It converges all existing programs to improve the nutritional status of pregnant women, mothers and children.
    • It brings together several programs such as National Rural Health Mission, Mid-Day meals, Integrated Child Development Scheme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, and others to improve nutrition intake in India.
    • The success lies in following an outcome based approach to ensure all the benefits under these interventions are delivered to mothers and children within the first 1000 days, setting the base for healthier lives.

    Micronutrients through food fortification

    • Food fortification is another effective way to deliver micronutrients to Indian masses, through existing food delivery systems such as mid-day meals and the public distribution system.
    • Regulators have already been promoting fortification in food products like salt, edible oil, milk, rice and wheat flour to improve nutritional content.
    • Going forward, we will see more and more food products and crops getting covered.

    Need for innovation

    • It is crucial for the food and beverage industry to make nutrition an integral part of their strategy.
    • Healthier ingredients, fortification, reformulation to reduce saturated and trans-fat content and optimize sugar and sodium content, immunity boosting product is already commonplace across urban markets.
    • This will soon permeate to rural markets.
    • Factors such as product taste, convenience, shelf life, and price – all of which determine consumption – are also important elements that ensure higher intake of nutritious products by consumers everywhere.
    • This calls for more innovation. Innovation in product, pricing, technology, digitalization, and research and development by food companies.

    Rising nutrition awareness

    • Solving the problem of malnourishment has to start with awareness.
    • In rural areas, general nutritional awareness has historically been lower.
    • In urban areas even though people are generally more aware a large percentage still consumes excess sugar and salt, leads sedentary lifestyles coupled with lack of exercise, resulting in lifestyle diseases like diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure
    • Consumers everywhere need to be better educated about nutritional benefits of common food items and the importance of including them in regular diet.
    • This can be done effectively through government led awareness campaigns and healthy public food distribution initiatives, industry acting responsibly.

    Conclusion

    Good nutrition is the best investment we can make in human capital. It has the power to drive sustainable economic growth for India.

  • Issues with legal language in India

    Context

    •  Recently, a PIL was filed in the Supreme Court regarding the use of legal language.
    • Reacting to the plea, the Supreme Court has asked the Ministry of Law and Justice and Bar Council to respond.

    Wha the PIL is about?

    • The PIL (Subhash Vijayran vs Union of India) wants the legislature and executive to use plain English in drafting laws, the Bar Council to introduce plain English in law curricula and the Supreme Court to only allow concise and precise pleadings.
    • He begins the synopsis to the writ petition in the following way. “The writing of most lawyers is: (1) wordy, (2) unclear, (3) pompous and (4) dull.

    Way forward

    • When asking the Ministry of Law and Justice and Bar Council to respond, the Chief Justice of India referred to Anthony Burgess’s book (1964) Language Made Plain.
    • George Orwell set out six principles, which could be used while drafting.
    • Copy editors routinely use these principles, but not the judiciary.
    • The Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy produced a manual on plain language drafting in 2017.

    Conclusion

    The Ministry of Law and Justice make use of the opportunity provided by the PIC to come up with the set of principles to make the legal language easier for all.

  • Governing OTT Platforms

    In a move that will have a far-reaching impact, the Union government has brought Over The Top (OTT) platforms, or video streaming service providers under the ambit of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB).

    Try answering this

    Q.What is Over the Top (OTT) media services? Critically analyse the benefits and challenges offered by the OTT media services in India.

    Background

    • The MIB has found a vast swathe of unregulated content, namely news online and Over the top (OTT) platforms which had escaped any architecture of regulation.
    • The print was regulated by the Press Council of India and Television, both News and Entertainment were being regulated by the Cable Networks Regulation Act (2005).
    • However, the content on online, the Government felt, fell into a black hole with no oversight.

    What are OTT Media?

    • An over-the-top (OTT) media service is a streaming media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet.
    • OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms, the companies that traditionally act as a controller or distributor of such content.
    • The term is most synonymous with subscription-based video-on-demand (SVoD) services that offer access to film and television content.
    • They are typically accessed via websites on personal computers, as well as via apps on mobile devices (such as smartphones and tablets), digital media players, or televisions with integrated Smart TV platforms.

    Regulating OTT

    • Currently, there is no law or autonomous body governing digital content. The recent move will give the government control over OTT platforms, which were unregulated till now.
    • From time to time, the government had indicated the necessity to monitor these platforms.
    • In October 2019, the government had indicated that it will issue the “negative” list of don’ts for the video streaming services like Netflix and Hotstar.
    • It also wanted the platforms to come up with a self-regulatory body on the lines of the News Broadcasting Standards Authority.

    Self-regulation is not sufficient

    • Anticipating the government’s intervention, in January 2019, video streaming services had signed a self-regulatory code that laid down a set of guiding principles for content on these platforms.
    • The code adopted by the OTTs prohibited five types of content:
    1. Content that deliberately and maliciously disrespects the national emblem or national flag,
    2. Any visual or storyline that promotes child pornography
    3. Any content that “maliciously” intends to outrage religious sentiments
    4. Content that “deliberately and maliciously” promotes or encourages terrorism and
    5. Any content that has been banned for exhibition or distribution by law or court
    • The government had refused to support this code.

    What lies ahead?

    • The government had been giving enough hints from time to time that it wanted to regulate digital media but the exact nature of the regulation it wanted to bring was not clear.
    • The government considers digital media and digital aggregators in the same breath but they are different things.
    • It is unclear whether it is looking at licensing or entry barriers, or any other curbs in digital media.
    • However, monitoring content 24×7 has its own challenges. Whether the Ministry will set up a committee involving the public to look into complaints received remains to be seen.

  • Home Ministry amends FCRA rules

    The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has relaxed FCRA norms for farmer, student, religious and other groups who are not directly aligned to any political party to receive foreign funds if the groups are not involved in “active politics”.

    Must read:

    What is Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, and how does it control donations?

    What is the FCRA?

    • The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 2010 regulates foreign donations and ensures that such contributions do not adversely affect the internal security of our country.
    • The Act, first enacted in 1976, was amended in the year 2010 when a slew of new measures was taken by the Union Home Ministry to regulate foreign donations. It was again amended in September this year.
    • It is applicable to all associations, groups and NGOs which intend to receive foreign donations. It is mandatory for all such NGOs to register themselves under the FCRA.
    • The registration is initially valid for five years and it can be renewed subsequently if they comply with all norms.

    What are the new rules?

    • The new rule says- the organisations specified under clauses (v) and (vi) of sub-rule (1) shall be considered to be of political nature, if they participate in active politics or party politics, as the case may be.
    • The 2011 rules on said clauses dealt with “guidelines for the declaration of an organisation to be of a political nature, not being a political party”.
    • It said that the Central government could specify an organisation as that of political nature based on six criteria.

    Defining ‘Political group’

    • Clause V of Rule 3 (FCRA 2011) qualified a political group as, “organisations of farmers, workers, students, youths based on caste, community, religion, language or otherwise, which is not directly aligned to any political party, but whose objectives or activities, include steps towards advancement of political interests of such groups.
    • The activities include: habitually engagement in or employ common methods of political action like rasta roko, jail bharo, rail roko, bandh or hartal in support of public causes.

    Why such a move?

    • As per the FCRA, members of legislatures, political parties, government officials, judges and media persons are prohibited from receiving any foreign contribution.
    • The new rules make new FCRA registrations more stringent.

  • [pib] Income Tax Appellate Tribunal

    PM will inaugurate the office cum residential complex of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) at Cuttack in Odisha.

    Income Tax Appellate Tribunal

    • Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, also known as ITAT, is an important statutory body in the field of direct taxes and its orders are accepted as final, on findings of fact.
    • ITAT was the first Tribunal to be created on 25th January, 1941 and is also known as ‘Mother Tribunal’.
    • Starting with three benches, at Delhi, Bombay and Calcutta it has now grown to 63 Benches and two circuit benches spread across thirty cities of India.
    • With a view to ensuring highest degree of independence of the ITAT, it functions under the Department of Legal Affairs in the Ministry of Law and Justice and is kept away from any kind of control by the Ministry of Finance.

    Did you notice this?

    ITAT was the very first tribunal constituted in India! And it functions under the Ministry of Law and Justice and not the obvious looking Ministry of Finance.

    It’s Functioning

    • It is the second appellate authority under the direct taxes and first independent forum in its appellate hierarchy.
    • The orders passed by the ITAT can be subjected to appellate challenge, on substantial questions of law, before the respective High Court.
    • Monetary limit for deciding an appeal by a single member Bench of ITAT enhanced from â‚č15 lakh to â‚č50 lakh in 2016 Union Budget.

  • State coverage ratios under NFSA

    The government has initiated the process of ascertaining the new State/UT-specific coverage ratios for rural and urban areas under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA).

    Try this question:

    Q.In the ongoing crisis, maintaining the level of food security has become one of the most essential needs. In light of the above statement, critically examine the priority areas for maintaining food security in the country. Suggest measures to make accessibility and availability of food easier for all. (250W)

    National Food Security (NFS) Act

    • The NFS Act, 2013 aims to provide subsidized food grains to approximately two-thirds of India’s 1.2 billion people.
    • It was signed into law on 12 September 2013, retroactive to 5 July 2013.
    • It converts into legal entitlements for existing food security programmes of the GoI.
    • It includes the Midday Meal Scheme, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme and the Public Distribution System (PDS).
    • Further, the NFSA 2013 recognizes maternity entitlements.
    • The Midday Meal Scheme and the ICDS are universal in nature whereas the PDS will reach about two-thirds of the population (75% in rural areas and 50% in urban areas).
    • Under the provisions of the bill, beneficiaries of the PDS are entitled to 5 kilograms per person per month of cereals at the following prices:
    1. Rice at â‚č3 per kg
    2. Wheat at â‚č2 per kg
    3. Coarse grains (millet) at â‚č1 per kg.
    • Pregnant women, lactating mothers, and certain categories of children are eligible for daily free cereals.

    Why such a move?

    • At present, NFSA covers up to 75 per cent of the rural population and 50 per cent of the urban population in the country.
    • Based on this, state-wise coverage under NFSA was determined by the erstwhile Planning Commission—now NITI Aayog.
    • It was done by using the National Sample Survey Household Consumption Expenditure Survey data for 2011-12.
    • Since then, the state-wise coverage ratio has not been revised.

    Statewise data

    • Currently, Manipur has the highest coverage in rural areas across the country (88.56 per cent), while Andaman & Nicobar Islands has the lowest (24.94 per cent).
    • Manipur is followed by Jharkhand (86.48 per cent), Bihar (85.12 per cent) and Chhattisgarh (84.25 per cent).
    • In urban areas too, Manipur has the maximum coverage ratio (85.75 per cent), while Andaman & Nicobar Islands has the lowest (1.70 per cent).
    • In urban areas, Manipur is followed by Bihar (74.53 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (64.43 per cent) and Madhya Pradesh (62.61 per cent).