Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: UAPA, TADA, POTA
Mains level: UAPA, misuse and necessity
Central Idea
- India’s anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), has been misused and turned into a tool of terror. There are two examples of this misuse in recent times. In 2021, Muhammad Manan Dar, a young Kashmiri photojournalist, was arrested and imprisoned for documenting the daily lives of common Kashmiris with his camera. A year earlier, another journalist, Sidheeque Kappan, was charged with participating in a plot to ignite rioting in Hathras, Uttar Pradesh.
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- Background: The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act is an anti-terrorism law in India that was first introduced in 1967.
- Purpose: The purpose of UAPA is to prevent unlawful activities that threaten the sovereignty and integrity of India.
- Amendments: UAPA has undergone several revisions since its introduction, with each revision making the law more stringent. Till 2004, “unlawful” activities referred to actions related to secession and cession of territory. Following the 2004 amendment, terrorist act was added to the list of offences.
- Provisions: UAPA provides for the designation of individuals and organizations as “terrorists” and allows for their arrest and detention without trial for up to 180 days.
- Criticisms: UAPA has been criticized for being used to stifle dissent and suppress political opposition. Critics argue that the law is vague and overbroad, allowing for its misuse and abuse.
What is Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA)?
- Overview: TADA was an anti-terrorism law in India and enacted in 1985 and was in force until 1995. It was enacted to strengthen the legal framework to deal with terrorist activities in India.
- Provisions: TADA provided for the detention of suspects without trial for up to 180 days. It also allowed the setting up of special courts to conduct trials in cases related to terrorism and provided for the admissibility of confession made to a police officer. TADA also made certain activities punishable as terrorist acts, including illegal arms trade, financing terrorism, and disrupting the sovereignty of India.
- Criticism: TADA was also criticized for its vague and broad definition of terrorism, which allowed for the targeting of political dissidents.
- Repeal: TADA was allowed to lapse in 1995 after it was deemed to be incompatible with the Indian Constitution and the principles of democracy and the rule of law. The law was replaced with the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) in 2002, which was also criticized for its draconian provisions and misuse by law enforcement agencies.
What is Prevention of Terrorism Act 2004 (POTA)?
- Objective: To provide the government with legal tools to combat terrorism and punish those who support or engage in terrorist activities.
- Key Provisions: Broad powers to investigate and prosecute individuals suspected of terrorism-related activities. Power to detain suspects for up to 180 days without charge. Use of confessions made to police officers as evidence in court
- Criticism: Potential for misuse and infringement on civil liberties. Could be used to target religious and ethnic minorities. Could be used to silence political dissent
- Repealed: 2004 by the United Progressive Alliance government, citing concerns about misuse and potential for human rights abuses.
- Replacement: Some provisions of POTA were incorporated into the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), which remains in force in India today.
Worrying statistics
- UAPA has one of the worst records for prosecution success.
- According to a PUCL report in 2022, less than 3 per cent of arrests made under the UAPA resulted in convictions between 2015 and 2020.
- Only 1,080 of the 4,690 people detained under the UAPA between 2018 and 2020 received bail, according to the report.
- Unlike TADA and POTA, UAPA has never been constitutionally reviewed. Its repeated abuse is a blot on our democracy.
Some of the key concerns regarding the UAPA
- Misuse: The UAPA has been criticized for being misused by authorities to target human rights defenders, activists, and dissenters. Critics argue that the act has been used to stifle free speech and to quell any form of peaceful protests.
- Lack of accountability: The UAPA allows for the designation of an individual or organization as a terrorist entity, without providing adequate means for challenge or appeal, which many argue is against the principles of natural justice.
- Vagueness: The definitions of “terrorist acts” under the UAPA are broad and vague, and can be interpreted in a way that infringes on the freedom of speech and assembly, leading to the potential for misuse.
- Restrictions on bail: The UAPA has provisions that make it difficult for people charged under the act to obtain bail, as it requires that the accused show that they are not guilty, shifting the burden of proof from the prosecution to the accused.
- Excessive punishment: The UAPA provides for harsh punishments, including life imprisonment and the death penalty, for offenses related to terrorism, which many argue are disproportionate and infringe on human rights.
Why UAPA is necessary?
- Legal tools to investigate: The UAPA provides the government with legal tools to investigate and prosecute individuals and organizations involved in terrorist activities.
- Special courts to conduct trials: It allows for the setting up of special courts to conduct trials in cases related to terrorism and provides for stringent punishment for offenses related to terrorism. It also allows the government to designate individuals or organizations as terrorist entities and freeze their assets.
- Necessary measure to maintain sovereignty and integrity: The act is aimed at countering not just terrorism but also other forms of unlawful activities, such as organized crime, money laundering, and trafficking. It is considered to be a necessary measure to maintain the sovereignty and integrity of the nation, and to protect the lives and property of its citizens.
- To balance national security and civil liberties: It is necessary to strike a balance between national security and protection of civil liberties. The act can be an effective tool in the fight against terrorism, as long as it is implemented in a fair and just manner and its provisions are not misused to stifle legitimate forms of dissent or activism.
Conclusion
- Concerns over the UAPA highlight the need for a balanced approach in the fight against terrorism, one that protects national security while also ensuring the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms.
Mains question
Q. UAPA is continuously in the headlines from the time of its inception. Discuss the concerns and necessity of such Act.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SEZ, EEZ ,UNCLOS
Mains level: UNCLOS and Sustainable fishing practices
Central Idea
- The Supreme Court of India has allowed purse seine fishing gear to be used for fishing beyond territorial waters (12 nautical miles) and within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) (200 nautical miles) of Tamil Nadu, subject to certain restrictions. However, the interim order is primarily concerned with regulating fishing through administrative and transparency measures rather than addressing conservation measures and obligations mandated by the UNCLOS. The use of purse seine fishing gear poses a threat to traditional fishermen and endangers the livelihoods of these fishermen.
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- Seine fishing gear is a type of fishing equipment used to catch fish in large quantities.
- It consists of a long net that is suspended vertically in the water with the help of floats and weights. The net is then hauled through the water by two boats, which are called seine boats. The boats move towards each other, pulling the net between them and trapping fish in the process.
- Seine fishing can be done in various ways, including purse seining, beach seining, and boat seining, among others.
- The type of seine fishing gear used depends on the size of the fish being targeted and the location of the fishing activity.
About United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
- Law of the Sea treaty: UNCLOS is sometimes referred to as the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty. It came into operation and became effective from 16th November 1982.
- Defines rights and responsibilities with respect to oceans: It defines the rights and responsibilities of nations with respect to their use of the world’s oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources.
- It has created three new institutions on the international scene: International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, 2. International Seabed Authority, 3. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf
Conservation and conventions
- Sovereign rights of coastal states: Under Articles 56.1(a) and 56.1(b)(iii) of UNCLOS, coastal states have sovereign rights to ensure that the living and non-living resources of the EEZ are used, conserved and managed, and not subject to overexploitation.
- Coastal states discretion: Access to the zone by foreign fleets is also solely within the coastal state’s discretion and subject to its laws and regulations.
- Total allowable catch in EEZ: In order to prevent overexploitation, coastal States must determine the total allowable catch (TAC) in the EEZ (Articles 61(1) and (2) of UNCLOS) in light of the best scientific evidence available.
- Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (SBT) 1993: The crux of the SBT is TAC and distribution of allocations among the parties to the SBT, which are very relevant from the angle of conservation of general fishery.
Did you know?
- The rise in occurrence of jellyfish indicates rising ocean water temperature.
- Presence of jellyfish in the area indicates the reduction in the fish population.
What are the concerns over the move?
- Regulation is not sufficient: Merely restricting the purse seiner to fish on two days Monday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (in the Court order) is not sufficient without regulating the fishing methods used.
- Insufficient catch for traditional fishermen: International legal efforts are gradually moving in the direction of abandoning the use of large-scale pelagic nets. The huge size of the purse seine nets (2,000 metres in length and 200 m in depth) allows maximum catch for the purse seiners, in turn leaving behind insufficient catch for traditional fishermen.
- Efforts under TAC might face scientific uncertainty: TAC and the catch quotas are aimed at putting sustainable use into practice among fishermen and maintaining maximum sustainable yield (MSY). The efforts to implement TAC and catch quota might face scientific uncertainty relating to safe limits to ensure MSY.
Way ahead
- The Court’s final judgment needs to look into non-selective fishing methods by purse seiners resulting in the by-catch of other marine living species (which could include, many a times, endangered species) a potential ground for trade embargo.
- The top court should seek guidance from the obligations arising from the multilateral and regional conventions which are meant to bring in sustainable fishing practices over a certain period of time, thereby allowing a common resource such as fish to be naturally replenished.
Conclusion
- Despite the best conservation measures and regulation of fishing methods adopted by the authorities, it will be a challenge in dealing with the limitless character of the seas which renders a common resource such as fish available for exploitation by all. The theory of Garrett Hardin, ‘The Tragedy of the Commons’, which says ‘Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all’ should convince all “fishermen, especially the purse seiners of Tamil Nadu, that they must cooperate in complying with conservation measures.
Mains question
Q. The Supreme Court of India has allowed purse seine fishing gear to be used for fishing beyond territorial waters. In this backdrop Discuss what is purse seine fishing gear its advantages and the concerns.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Importance of district level data for Policy making and effective functioning of MPs
Central Idea
- India’s parliamentary constituencies (PCs) serve a dual role as geographical and administrative policy units headed by democratically elected Members of Parliament (MPs), The PCs require timely and available data on critical issues related to population health and socioeconomic well-being. The lack of such data at the PC level hinders MPs from effectively engaging with their constituents to fulfil their needs and aspirations.
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Parliamentary constituencies (PCs)
- PCs are geographic areas or districts. Each parliamentary constituency is represented by a Member of Parliament (MP), who is elected by the people of that constituency in a general election.
- The number of seats allocated to each state is based on its population
- The MP is responsible for representing the interests and concerns of their constituents in the Parliament, and for taking up issues related to their development and well-being.
Who generates data on parliamentary constituencies?
- Election commission is the primary authority: In India, the Election Commission is responsible for providing timely data on PCs. The ECI works in collaboration with various government departments and agencies, as well as local authorities, to collect and verify data on demographics, geography, and other factors that are relevant to the delimitation of constituencies.
- Periodic delimitation: The process of delimitation, which involves the division of each state into a certain number of constituencies based on population and other criteria, is carried out periodically by the ECI to ensure that representation in the Lok Sabha is fair and equitable.
- Census and NFHS: In addition to the Election Commission, various government agencies and departments may also be involved in generating data related to PCs, such as the Census of India, NFHS and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Issue with timely and accessible data of the PCs
- Lack of Data Availability at the PC Level: India’s 543 PCs require timely and readily available data on population health and socioeconomic well-being. At present, such data is lacking at the PC level.
- Limitations of National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy (NDAP): With the launch of the NDAP in 2012, the Government of India made an effort to make data related to population health and well-being more accessible. However, district-level data, which has emerged as a key input for policy deliberations, does not help the PC have the same data.
- Inadequate Representation or overlap of PC Boundaries: The district and PC boundaries do not correspond straightforwardly with each other. The districts and PCs overlap, and a district can have parts of or an entirety of multiple PCs intersecting it.
- For instance: Approximately, only 28 PCs have the same geometry as the districts, and in the remaining PCs, there are various ways in which districts intersect PCs.
- Misrepresentation hinders MPs in fulfilling responsibilities in their respective PCs: This misrepresents the constituents’ size and composition and hinders MPs from fulfilling their responsibilities towards their constituents effectively.
Importance of timely and updated district level data
- Planning and resource allocation: Updated data on districts helps in better planning and allocation of resources, including financial and human resources.
- For instance: if data shows that a particular district is facing a shortage of doctors, policymakers can allocate more resources to address the issue.
- Effective implementation of policies: Timely and accurate data helps policymakers to design and implement policies that are better suited to the needs of specific districts.
- For example: if data shows that a particular district has high levels of malnutrition, policymakers can design and implement a nutrition program that is tailored to that specific district.
- Monitoring progress: Regularly updated data on districts helps in monitoring progress and assessing the effectiveness of policies and programs implemented in specific districts. If data shows that a particular policy is not producing the desired results, policymakers can make necessary changes or adjustments to the policy.
- Identifying emerging issues: Timely data on districts can help in identifying emerging issues or challenges. Covid pandemic was good example of district level management of the crisis. This information can help policymakers to take prompt and appropriate action to mitigate the problem.
What needs to be done?
- Empowering MPs with Accurate Data:
- MPs must be empowered with accurate data that relates to the populations they have been elected to serve.
- MPs need to liaise with multiple district administrations effectively to function efficiently and independently.
- District Coordination and Monitoring Committee:
- To improve the synergy between district administration and elected representatives, the Ministry of Rural Development issued an order in 2016 to all states and Union Territories to constitute a District Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DDMC), chaired by district MPs.
- The DDMC charged with making the implementation and monitoring of central schemes more efficient. However, the data still pertains to districts and not PCs.
- Addressing the PC Data Gap with an Interactive PC Data Tracker:
- A new interactive PC data tracker developed by the Geographic Insights Lab at Harvard University has for the first time provided data on crucial population, health, and well-being estimates for each of the 543 PCs, including a fact sheet for each PC.
- The data underlying the PC dashboard comes from the NFHS-4 and NFHS-5 (2019-2021).
- The methodology powering the PC tracker provides a solution to the existing PC data gap.
- The tracker uses GPS coordinates to map existing NFHS survey clusters onto PC boundary maps, from which indicator prevalence estimates for each PC are estimated.
Way Ahead
- It is necessary to bridge the data gap at the PC level to enable MPs to serve their constituents efficiently and independently.
- The new interactive PC data tracker is a useful tool for MPs to understand and prioritize the issues most impacting their communities.
- A more durable solution would entail that all datasets related to population health and socioeconomic well-being be available at the PC level.
Conclusion
- In recent years, India’s elected officials have been engaged more extensively in articulating and shaping the policy agenda. Bringing timely and frequent data on issues that matter for population health and well-being to PCs can bring much symmetry and synergy between districts.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Vibrant Villages Programme
Mains level: Vibrant Villages Programme and security issues along LAC
Central Idea
- The Indian government has recently announced a significant allocation of funds to improve infrastructure and living conditions in villages along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. Under a “Vibrant Villages” programme, the government will spend Rs 4,800 crore for infrastructure development and to provide livelihood opportunities in the areas bordering China.
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- Improve infrastructure in villages along India’s border with China: The Vibrant Villages program is a government initiative aimed at improving infrastructure and creating job opportunities in villages situated along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
- Overview: The program involves a significant allocation of funds, i.e., Rs 4,800 crore, to upgrade 633 villages situated in five states, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and the Union Territory of Ladakh. Under the programme, residential and tourist centres will be constructed.
- Objectives of the program: The program aims to enhance the living conditions of the people residing in the border areas and improve the security situation along the LAC with China.
- Expected Benefits: The Vibrant Villages program aims to provide better facilities like schools, 24×7 electricity, and more 4G telecommunication towers in the border areas to match what is available in settlements across the LAC.
- Strategy to enhance security: The Vibrant Villages program is part of the broader Indian government strategy to enhance security along the border with China. The investment in developing infrastructure and creating job opportunities is a crucial step towards improving the living conditions of the people in the border areas and enhancing the security situation along the LAC with China.
- Program is modelled after Chinese actions on LAC: The program is modelled after the Chinese military and civilian authorities’ actions on their side of the LAC to build permanent population settlements along the border.
What is the upgraded plan?
- Over a third of allocation towards road infrastructure in border areas: The plan is to upgrade 633 villages in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Ladakh. Over a third of the allocation will go towards road building in the border areas. A new 4.1 km all-weather tunnel will connect Himachal Pradesh to Ladakh making troops movement easier.
- Sports and tourism for livelihood opportunities: Tourism and sporting activities are being planned in these areas to provide livelihood opportunities for local people.
- New battalions of ITBP to deploy on border: Further, the government will spend Rs 1,800 crore to raise seven new battalions of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) that means 9,000 personnel chiefly deployed along India’s borders with China alongside the Army.
What are the concerns for India?
- National Security: India has long been concerned about China’s territorial claims and military build-up in the region. The development of Chinese villages along the LAC is viewed by India as a part of China’s broader strategy to strengthen its position in the region, which could pose a threat to India’s national security.
- Military and Strategic Concerns: India is concerned that the villages built by China along the LAC have a dual purpose, i.e., they serve as civilian settlements as well as military outposts. These villages, therefore, give China an edge in terms of strategic advantage and troop deployment in the region.
- Incursions and Border Disputes: China has been carrying out frequent incursions into Indian territory in the region, leading to increased tensions between the two countries. The development of Chinese villages along the LAC raises concerns that these could be used as bases for future incursions into Indian territory.
- Environmental and Ecological Concerns: India has expressed concerns over the environmental impact of China’s development of villages along the LAC, as these areas are ecologically sensitive and prone to landslides, flash floods, and earthquakes. The construction of infrastructure such as roads, tunnels, and buildings can have a severe impact on the environment and ecosystem of the region.
What are the challenges for developing villages along the LAC?
- Harsh Terrains: The areas along the LAC are characterized by high-altitude terrain, rugged mountains, and harsh weather conditions. These factors pose significant challenges to the construction of infrastructure and provision of services in these regions.
- Security Concerns: The LAC border region has been the site of numerous border disputes and conflicts between India and China. Developing villages in this region requires addressing security concerns to ensure the safety of local people and government infrastructure.
- Environmental Impact: The development of infrastructure and facilities in the border regions could have an adverse impact on the environment, including the degradation of natural habitats and the loss of biodiversity. Mitigating these impacts is necessary for sustainable development in these regions.
- Cooperation from Local Communities: The success of the Vibrant Villages program depends on the cooperation of local communities in the border regions. Building trust and collaboration with these communities is crucial to the program’s success.
Conclusion
- China’s incursion in Arunachal Pradesh highlights the present danger that India faces along the LAC with China. India can no longer afford to waste time as the PLA determines when and where to inflict harm on the country. Developing infrastructure and building vibrant villages is an essential step towards enhancing security and better living conditions in the border areas. Steps taken so far in the right direction however, India requires a more comprehensive defence strategy with an all-of-government approach to ensure its territorial integrity.
Mains question
Q. What is Vibrant Villages Programme? Discuss the challenges for developing villages along the LAC?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Inflation and concepts
Mains level: latest spike in inflation, contributing factors and RBI's measures
Central Idea
- India’s post-pandemic economic recovery has hit a roadblock with the resurgence of inflation, hindering progress despite three consecutive months of softening. Recent significant spike in inflation, leading the Reserve Bank of India to adopt an inflation-targeting stance by raising interest rates. However, the battle to curb inflation is still ongoing, and the latest data raises doubts about whether the RBI’s efforts are sufficient.
- Inflation is an increase in the level of prices of the goods and services that households buy. It is measured as the rate of change of those prices.
- Typically, prices rise over time, but prices can also fall (a situation called deflation).
Consumer Price Index (CPI)
- CPI is used to monitor changes in the cost of living over time.
- When the CPI rises, the average Indian family has to spend more on goods and services to maintain the same standard of living.
- The economic term used to define such a rising prices of goods and services is Inflation.
Inflation outlook
- RBI’s Inflation target: The inflation targeting framework mandates the RBI to achieve a CPI consumer price index inflation target of 4 per cent.
- Inflation during the pandemic was still within the target band: During the pandemic period of March 2020 to September 2021, CPI inflation averaged 5.9 per cent. This was higher than the point target of 4 per cent but still within the inflation targeting band of 2-6 per cent.
- Inflation outlook has been worsening: In 2022, CPI inflation was above the upper threshold of the RBI’s targeting band for 10 consecutive months, which meant the target was not achieved for three quarters in a row.
- Optimism that the Inflation began softening: By December 2022, CPI inflation was down to 5.7 per cent. This led many to believe that the inflation peak had passed, and that inflation was on its way to the official target.
- This optimism was misplaced: Underlying inflationary pressures still persist. The softening of inflation in November and December 2022 was largely driven by a steep fall in vegetable prices. Excluding vegetables, CPI inflation was in fact more than 7 per cent.
- The misplaced optimism has now become evident: The January 2023 CPI inflation came out to be 6.5 per cent, once again crossing the upper threshold of the RBI’s inflation targeting band.
Back to basics: Core Inflation
- The core inflation rate measures rising prices in everything except food and energy.
- That’s because gas prices tend to escalate now and then. Higher gas costs increase the price of food and anything else that has large transportation costs.
What contributed to the latest spike in inflation?
- Rise in food prices: With food accounting for 46 per cent of the overall CPI basket, a rise in food inflation from roughly 4 per cent in December 2022 to almost 6 per cent in January 2023 has played an important role in overall inflation going up.
- Cereal inflation is soaring high: Within food, one component that has proved rather stubborn is cereal inflation. Between May and December 2022, year-on-year cereal inflation nearly doubled from 5 per cent to 14 per cent. In January 2023, this increased to 16 per cent. Within cereals, inflation in wheat has been steadily going up. Between May and December 2022, wheat inflation increased from 9 per cent to 22 per cent. It increased even further to 25 per cent in January 2023.
- The steep rise in wheat prices reflects shortages: Data from the Food Corporation of India shows that stocks in government warehouses declined. The government has recently approved a release of three million tonnes in the open market. However, this is insufficient to restore market supplies.
- Persistently high core inflation: Second, core (non-food, non-fuel) inflation in January came out to be 6.2 percent. This is consistent with the unyielding core inflation of 6 per cent for nearly three years now. A persistently high core inflation implies that price pressures have become entrenched in the system.
- External factors also play a role: Inflation in developed countries continues to be high (6.4 per cent in the US; 8.5 per cent in the EU; 10.5 per cent in the UK). India is importing some of this elevated inflation through international trade in goods and services. Moreover, with China gradually opening up its economy after nearly three years of zero-Covid restrictions, commodity prices are likely to go up, which could exert renewed pressures on India’s inflation.
What have the policymakers been doing to address the inflationary concerns?
- The government has done its bit by announcing a conservative Union budget for 2023-24: It has accorded primacy to much needed fiscal consolidation, and has refrained from announcing populist measures that could have arguably fuelled demand, and hence inflation.
- The RBI has been doing its job as well: It increased the policy repo rate from a pandemic low of 4 per cent to 6.5 per cent in a span of 10 months. Unlike last year, when despite rising inflation, the monetary policy statements did not contain any forward guidance, the RBI, in its February 2023 statement, emphasised the importance to remain alert on inflation, thereby hinting that the monetary tightening cycle is not over yet.
Conclusion
- Inflation has been a challenge for India’s economy post-pandemic, despite the RBI’s attempt to control it by raising interest rates. A credible glide path to bring inflation down is essential today.
Mains question
Q. Despite of RBI’s efforts there is significant spike in inflation In India. Discuss the factors that contributed to the latest spike in inflation in India and what are the policymakers doing to address inflationary concerns?
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Startup20 Engagement Group
Mains level: Startup20 Engagement Group , Startup Ecosystem In India
“A small group of determined and like-minded people can change the course of history.”-M.K. Gandhi
Central Idea
- By agreeing to India’s proposal to create the Startup20 Engagement Group, the only new group by which G20 has turned itself into an ambidextrous institution, one where both large corporations and startups have an equal voice in taking the economies forward. In the new architecture, while the existing B20 Engagement Group continues its focus on corporations, the Startup20 takes on the policy issues concerning the global startup ecosystem, with the necessary linkages between the two groups.
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What is meant by ambidexterity?
- Ambidexterity is the ability to use both hands with equal skill and ease.
- In the context of organizations, it is the ability to simultaneously pursue both exploratory and exploitative strategies. This means being able to balance the need for innovation and new opportunities with the need for efficiency and optimization of current operations.
- For example, Indian IT services companies like TCS and Infosys are investing in areas like artificial intelligence, blockchain, and the IoT, even as they continue to deliver traditional IT services to their clients.
What is B20 Engagement Group?
- Official G20 dialogue forum representing the global business community: The B20 (Business 20) Engagement Group is a forum for international business leaders from the G20 countries.
- Established in 2010: It is among the most prominent Engagement Groups in G20, with companies and business organizations as participants.
- A single voice for the entire G20 business community: The B20 leads the process of galvanizing global business leaders for their views on issues of global economic and trade governance and speaks in a single voice for the entire G20 business community.
- Aim is to provide recommendations: The group’s aim is to provide recommendations to the G20 on issues such as economic growth, trade, investment, digitalization, sustainability, and job creation.
- Platform for different stakeholders: The B20 is one of several engagement groups, which also include groups representing civil society, labor, think tanks, and youth, that provide a platform for different stakeholders to share their views and insights with the G20.
- B20 Secretariat: Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has been designated as the Business 20 (B20) Secretariat for the India’s G20 Presidency.
What is Startup20?
- Initiated under India’s G20 Presidency: The Startup20 Engagement Group has been initiated under India’s G20 Presidency in 2023.
- Aims to support Startups: The group aims to create a global narrative for supporting startups and enabling synergies between startups, corporates, investors, innovation agencies and other key ecosystem stakeholders.
- Three taskforces: The engagement group comprises of three taskforces, namely Foundation & Alliance, Finance, and Inclusion & Sustainability, where delegates will come together to discuss efficient policy frameworks to promote scaling up of startups in the G20 nations.
- Foundation and Alliances Taskforce:
- Promotes consensus-based ecosystem: The Foundation and Alliances Taskforce will work to harmonize the global Startup ecosystem through consensus-based definitions and promote a global community of knowledge sharing among the Startup ecosystems to explore opportunities.
- Help to bridge the knowledge gaps: It will also bridge the knowledge gap between the Startup ecosystems of G20 member countries and emerging economies through partnerships to enable more industry players across G20 nations to work with Startups and concrete solutions.
- To create supportive policies and point of contact: It will aim to create supportive policies for industry players and government organizations to work with Startups and provide points of contact for the participating G20 countries sustained collaboration.
- The Finance Taskforce:
- To provide financing and investment platforms: The finance taskforce will aim to increase access to capital for Startups by providing financing and investment platforms specifically for early-stage Startups to broaden the array of financial instruments available to Startups.
- Networking opportunities: It will also create pitching and networking opportunities for Startups with the global investor community.
- Best practices for funding ecosystem: It will work to provide a framework built upon best practices for global investors to fund Startups across G20 member nations, helping build suggestive frameworks that could be implemented in emerging ecosystems for building investment capabilities.
- Taskforce for Inclusion and Sustainability
- Women led startups and community inclusive: For Inclusion and Sustainability, the roadmap involves increasing support for women led Startups and organizations; promotion of Startups working on making communities more inclusive and to promote Startups working on SDGs in areas of global interest.
- Encouraging investors to invest in startups built upon sustainable practices: This Task Force aims to enable more investors to invest responsibly in Startups built upon sustainable practices and to encourage mentorship support to the Startup ecosystems of the G20 member countries and emerging economies.
Conclusion
- Some of the most pressing challenges facing the world today require innovative solutions at scale. The need for solutions to global problems such as climate change, food security, and energy security is urgent. However, by leveraging global ambidexterity and taking advantage of the G20’s new architecture of B20 and Startup20, we can be optimistic about our ability to systematically solve these problems. With deliberate efforts and focused action, we can create a more sustainable and prosperous future for all.
Mains question
Q. What is Startup20 engagement group initiated under India’s G20 presidency? How this framework will work to boost startup ecosystem globally?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Veer Guardian 2023
Mains level: India-Japan relations
Central Idea
- Japan and India have launched their second Joint Air Defense Exercise called “Veer Guardian 2023” to conduct multi-domain air combat operations in a complex environment and deepen their mutual operational understanding while fostering closer defence cooperation. This increased military collaboration between Japan and India under US guidance in the Indo-Pacific is causing subdued panic among Chinese commentators.
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All you need to know about Veer Guardian 2023
- Bilateral exercise: Veer Guardian is a bilateral air exercise between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF).
- Fourth edition: The exercise took place at Hyakuri Air Base, near Tokyo in Japan in January 2023 and was the fourth edition of the Veer Guardian series.
- Participation: The IAF participated with six Sukhoi Su-30MKI multirole fighters and two C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft, while the JASDF deployed six Mitsubishi F-2 fighters.
- The primary objectives of the exercise: To enhance interoperability between the two air forces, exchange best practices and operational experiences, and improve understanding of each other’s tactics and procedures.
- Drills: The exercise included various aerial manoeuvres, air combat scenarios, air-to-ground strikes, and close air support operations. The Indian side also participated in a humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) drill, which involved the C-17 aircraft dropping relief supplies to a simulated disaster-hit area.
- Japan’s Pursuit of Allies: Japan has been actively seeking allies to counterbalance China’s rise in the Indo-Pacific region. It has formed alliances with several countries, including the US, Germany, the UK, Australia, and India.
- Japan-India Security Cooperation: Japan and India have a reciprocal access agreement in place since 2020. They have regularly been conducting joint military exercises in naval, ground and air domains.
- Opportunities for India to gain experience: India, having faced a three-year-long border standoff with China, sees the joint air exercises with Japan as a rare opportunity to gain experience over the East China Sea. Therefore, the joint drill with Japan can become a stepping stone to future quadrilateral air exercises.
Why China is concerned about the increasing collaboration between Japan and India?
- Japan’s National Security Strategy: The NSS sees China as Japan’s biggest challenge ever seen and recommends a counter-strike capability by 2027.
- Japan’s strategy to counter China’s increasing influence in the Indo-Pacific region: The Chinese government believes that Japan is exaggerating the China Threat Theory as evidenced by Japan’s recently published National Security Strategy (NSS).
- Limiting Strategic manoeuvrability: A stronger India poses a major threat to China’s west while Japan in the east remains a major threat. As both India and Japan are significant players in the Asia-Pacific region, their collaboration could potentially limit China’s strategic maneuverability.
- Balance of power: Together, India and Japan can bring a paradigmatic shift in the region’s security. The increasing collaboration with India is one of the ways in which Japan is seeking to balance its power with China.
- Concern for national security: Moreover, China sees Japan’s recent efforts to court allies and introduce NATO forces in the Asia-Pacific region as potentially leading to a resurgence of Japan’s militarist past, which is a concern for China’s national security.
Conclusion
- In sum, the Japan-India joint air drill will impart crucial combat experience to both air forces. It will also further Japan’s approach to involve India deeper in the East Asian security architecture. However, for China, the air drill comes as an ominous portent for the future.
Mains question
Q. What is the significance of the Veer Guardian 2023 joint air exercise between India and Japan, and why is China concerned about the increasing collaboration between these two countries? Discuss
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Green transition, India's G20 presidency
Central Idea
- Energy transitions are central to the G20 agenda. In 2023, during India’s presidency, the geopolitics and governance of energy have become immensely challenging, as the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy, concerns about energy security and, in many cases, the pressure on keeping financial commitments made related to tackling climate change have become complicated.
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What is mean by Green Transition?
- Moving away from fossil fuels: The Green transition involves shifting away from traditional sources of energy that contribute to climate change, such as coal and oil.
- For example: In 2021, the Indian government announced plans to stop the import of coal by 2024 and to reduce the country’s reliance on coal for power generation
- Embracing renewable energy: The transition involves embracing cleaner and more renewable sources of energy, such as solar, wind, and hydropower.
- Examples: In 2021, the Gujarat government announced plans to set up a 500 MW solar park, which is expected to be the world’s largest solar park upon completion. In 2021, Google announced plans to power all of its data centers and offices using carbon-free energy sources by 2030.
- Reducing carbon emissions: The Green transition involves reducing carbon emissions from transportation, industry, and other sectors.
- For instance, “Switch Delhi campaign”: In 2020, the Delhi government launched the Switch Delhi campaign to promote electric vehicles and reduce air pollution in the city.
- Promoting sustainable lifestyles: It involves promoting sustainable lifestyles and behaviours, such as reducing waste and conserving resources.
- India’s LiFE example: The LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) campaign is an initiative launched by the Indian to promote sustainable lifestyles and reduce the environmental impact by taking actions at individual level.
- Encouraging sustainable innovation: The Green transition involves encouraging innovation in sustainable technologies and practices.
- For instance: In 2021, The Government of India announced plans to set up a National Hydrogen Energy Mission to promote the use of hydrogen as a clean energy source in various sectors.
Energy Poverty at present
- Increasing energy poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa: The International Energy Agency counts 20 million more people worldwide without electricity now compared to 2021. Predictably, the worst-affected are in sub-Saharan Africa, which is back to its lowest rate of electrification since 2013.
- Inadequate energy supply in Europe: In Europe, the number of people experiencing inadequate energy supply has risen to 80 million from 34 million in 2021.
- Middle-income countries face fuel and electricity shortages: Even middle-income countries in Africa, South America and Asia face fuel and electricity shortages and high levels of inflation.
- Reduced availability of energy impact on economies and public health: Reduced availability of energy is hurting economies as industries close, and is impacting public health as safe fuels such as cooking gas become expensive.
- Balance of payments crisis and high energy costs: A number of countries also face a balance of payments crisis, partly driven by high energy costs.
- Global impact on sustainable development goals (SDG): Energy poverty is global and widespread, impacting technology implementation, industry and SDGs all of which are also G20 goals.
- Financial support as a cornerstone of climate action and energy transition: The G20 should prioritize providing financial support to those in need as a fundamental aspect of climate action and energy transition under the UNFCC Protocol, as emphasized and reinforced in the Paris Agreement and successive Conference of the Parties (COPs).
- Galvanizing the pursuit of financial support: Although financial support to developing countries has increased over time, it still falls short of what is necessary for a successful transition to a low-carbon economy. The G20 has the potential to mobilize efforts and drive momentum towards securing the funding required for climate action and energy transition.
- Public Financing alone is insufficient: Public financing alone will not be sufficient to address the current energy challenges faced globally. Private finance is necessary to complement public finance.
- Innovative approaches to climate financing: Innovative approaches are required to address the financing needs of climate action. These approaches could include blending finance with public and private capital to create a unified effort. Additionally, impediments like exchange rate risks must be addressed to ensure smooth financing of projects.
- Creation of a Global Climate Finance Agency to better integrate and drive global agenda: The agency could be mandated to lower hedging costs to mitigate a key risk faced by developers of green projects and insure major clean energy projects from potential losses due to government utilities failing to meet supply and payment obligations, which is a common issue in developing countries like India.
- Harnessing power of public procurement system: The G20 can use the public procurement system to speed up energy transitions and drive significant change. Effective public procurement can ensure funding and adaptation at scale, which has been proven through abundant evidence.
Conclusion
- The G20 should encourage financial centres and business communities, to create new business models and technologies for energy transitions. This will require cooperation and collaboration between financial centres, including through green financing and economy taxonomies. By doing so, the G20 can accelerate climate transition and energy security for all.
Mains question
Q. Briefly explain the concept of green transition. How India’s g20 presidency can lead the world towards Green transition? Discuss.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: International affairs, strategic studies, Grey zone warfare
Central Idea
- The recent incident of a Chinese ‘spy balloon’ sighted 60,000 feet over the skies of Montana in the United States (US) which was finally shot down by a missile from a US F22 fighter jet off the coast of South Carolina has left far too many questions unanswered.
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What the debris indicates?
- While some of the clues emerging from the balloon’s debris have unravelled some information, the incident itself is a reminiscent of Cold War era tactics and is a pointer towards archetypical grey-zone activities which could characterise China’s standard operating procedure in the future.
- The US State Department’s confident claims that the balloon “was clearly for intelligence surveillance and was likely capable of collecting and geo-locating communications” point to an incoming precipitation of crisis in US-China relations.
Understanding Chinese perceptions
- Spy balloon episode gives us a peek into the worldview of chinese strategists: There is a strategic awareness in Beijing that even as the war has raged on in Europe for over a year, the US may be turning its attention to the Western Pacific region where it is rebuilding its naval power, resuscitating alliances, and consolidating its position as the centre of its hub-and-spokes network in the Pacific theatre.
- US-Philippines defence cooperation: There has been the renewal of the US-Philippines defence cooperation, which bolsters America’s defences with respect to Taiwan.
- Japan’s return to geopolitics is another basis for such perceptions within China: Japanese PM Fumio Kishida’s warning that East Asia could suffer the same fate as Ukraine has led the nation to radically alter its security policy. On one hand, Japan is building domestic capabilities like incrementally increasing spending on defence, and planning for a missile arsenal to deter China, it is also expanding defence cooperation with the US and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
- Chinese apprehensions about Indo pacific concept: Chinese strategists have red-flagged the Indo-Pacific concept, likening America’s approach of developing ties with China’s neighbours with an aim of creating regional blocs like NATO to contain China.
- Japan’s new military posturing is being viewed with trepidation in Beijing:
- First, it is believed that Japan will deploy missiles in bases closer to Taiwan.
- Second, there is a belief that Japan’s increasing defence capabilities in the region combined with America’s growing military power in the Western Pacific may exceed China’s comprehensive national power eventually.
Grey-zone warfare: A key feature of China’s aggression and expansionism
- Reclaiming reefs in south China sea: The first step in its expansion into the South China Sea was reclaiming reefs and then building military infrastructure there.
- Villages near Indian border: Similarly, China has constructed ‘xiaokang’ villages near the Indian border in a bid to bolster its territorial claims.
- Spy balloon episode is one of the grey zone tactics: The spy balloon episode marks a major inflection point in this approach, since the US, for the first time, has been at the receiving end of China’s grey-zone tactics.
Conclusion
- The United States uses a variety of tools, from satellites to intercepted communications to surveil China. It’s not unreasonable that China would attempt to do the same to the United States. In between these two views is the realisation that the dragon’s hidden grey-zone tactics have reached the continental US more brazenly than ever before.
Mains question
Q. In the backdrop of Chinese spy balloons episode, Discuss the Chinese perceptions that drive grey-zone activities, and how these tactics could impact the global order in the future?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Use of AI for health
Context
- With the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other digital technologies, there is potential for these tools to support maternal and neonatal healthcare in low-resource settings, although their development in this field is still in its early stages. AI has the capability of transforming maternal and child health in low and middle-income countries by supplementing conventional practices with advanced technology, thus improving the accuracy of diagnoses, increasing access to care, and ultimately saving lives.
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The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) target
- The SDGs have set a target to eliminate preventable deaths of newborns and children under five years of age by 2030, with a specific aim to lower neonatal mortality (NMR) to a minimum of 12 deaths per 1,000 live births and under-five mortality (U5MR) to a minimum of 25 deaths per 1,000 live births across all nations.
Challenges and the current state of maternal and child health in India
- One of the main challenges is the high maternal and infant mortality rates: According to the latest SRS Bulletin, India’s maternal mortality rate (MMR) was 97 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2018-2020, and the infant mortality rate (IMR) was 35.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2019-21.
- Rates are higher than the SDG targets: According to the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data, the NMR and U5MR in India are 24.9 and 41.9 respectively. These rates are higher than the SDG targets and are a cause for concern.
- Lack of access to healthcare for many women and children in India: Many rural and remote areas lack basic healthcare facilities, and even when facilities are available, they may not be staffed with qualified healthcare providers. Additionally, cultural and societal barriers can prevent women and children from accessing healthcare.
- Malnutrition: Malnutrition is a major contributor to high maternal, neonatal, and infant mortality rates in India, with about 68 percent of child deaths being linked to malnutrition.
- Low birth weight: In low- and middle-income countries like India, low birth weight is a leading cause of death in the first month of life. Prematurity and low birth weight account for 45.5 percent of deaths during the first 29 days of a newborn in India. Presently, around 18.2 percent of children reported having low birth weight.
Some positive developments in maternal and child health in India in recent years
- Programs and policies aimed at reducing maternal and infant mortality: The government has implemented several programs and policies aimed at reducing maternal and infant mortality, such as the Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) and the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) which provides cash incentives for pregnant women to deliver in health facilities and free health check-up respectively.
- Efforts to increase access and quality health facilities: There have also been efforts to increase the number of healthcare facilities in rural and remote areas and to improve the quality of care provided at these facilities.
- Using technology in Healthcare: In addition, India has also been working on using technology to improve maternal and child health.
- For example: Telemedicine has been implemented in remote areas, and the government has also launched an application, RCH ANMOL, for tracking pregnant women, infants and children for their health, vaccination, and nutrition status. Other digital initiatives include the Draft Health Data Management Policy, Health Data Retention Policy, Unified Health Interface, and Health Facility Registry.
- Predictive modelling of risk factors: By analysing large amounts of medical data, AI algorithms can identify risk factors for maternal and fetal complications and predict the likelihood of certain outcomes. This can help healthcare providers to identify high-risk pregnancies early on and take steps to mitigate the risks.
- Predicting birth weights for effective nutrition programme: Malnutrition is responsible for lowering newborn immunity to infections and diseases. Predicting birth weight for newborns can aid doctors and parents to adopt putative measures such as effective utilisation of Nutrition Rehabilitation Centres (NRCs) pre-emptively.
- AI can make a big impact is in the detection of fetal abnormalities: In LMICs, access to ultrasound technology is often limited, and the quality of images may be poor. By using AI to analyse ultrasound images, healthcare providers can improve the accuracy of diagnoses and detect abnormalities that may otherwise be missed.
- AI can also be used to improve access to care: Virtual care technologies, such as AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants, can provide expectant mothers in LMICs with information and support. It has been demonstrated that sending personalised, timed voice messages about pregnancy via mobile phone can positively impact maternal healthcare practices and improve maternal health outcomes.
- Manage and analyse large amounts of medical records: By identifying trends and patterns in this data, healthcare providers can make more informed decisions and improve outcomes for mothers and children.
Challenges to using AI to improve maternal and child health in India
- One of the biggest challenges is data availability and quality: AI relies on large amounts of data to train models, however, in India, there is a lack of data on maternal and child health, and the data that is available may be of poor quality. This can make it difficult to develop accurate and reliable AI-based solutions.
- Limited infrastructure: In many parts of India, there is a lack of basic infrastructure such as electricity and internet connectivity, which makes it difficult to implement AI-based solutions. This can be a particular problem in rural areas where access to healthcare is already limited.
- Ethical concerns: AI-based solutions raise a number of ethical concerns, including issues around privacy, bias, and accountability. It is important to address these concerns to ensure that AI-based solutions are used in a responsible and ethical manner.
- Language and dialects: India has a wide variety of languages and dialects, which can make it difficult to develop AI-based solutions that are accessible to everyone. The lack of data in certain languages or dialects can make it difficult to develop accurate and reliable AI-based solutions that are tailored to the specific needs of different linguistic communities.
- Socio-Economic status: As people living in poverty may not have access to the technology and services provided by AI-based solutions.
Conclusion
- AI has the capability of bringing about a substantial difference in maternal and child health in India. Nevertheless, it is crucial to keep in mind that these innovative technologies should not be utilised as a substitute for conventional healthcare practices, but rather as an additional tool. The integration of AI with the already existing healthcare systems would bring about the best results. It is also essential to involve healthcare providers and local communities in the development and implementation process of AI-based solutions. This way, the solutions can be made more relevant, accessible, and in line with the local context, thereby, maximising their positive impact.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Motion of thanks
Mains level: Freedom of speech in the House and the role of Speaker
Central Idea
- The expunction of portions of the speeches made by some Opposition politicians in Parliament recently is an issue that has sparked off a debate on an action taken by the Speaker. Parliamentarians Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Kharge were both speaking on the Motion of Thanks to the President of India for her address to the Members of Parliament of both Houses.
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- After the President’s address, the two Houses move a motion to thank the President for her speech.
- This is customary practice although the Constitution does not provide for any such motion, except direct that each House shall discuss the matters contained in the address.
- This is a practice adopted from the British Parliament.
Debate after the motion
- An occasion to point out lapses on the government’s part: Debate in When such a motion is discussed, MPs are generally permitted to speak on anything under the sun. It is an occasion to point out lapses on the government’s part and discuss the gamut of issues that concern the governance of the country.
- Speeches are generally political and the Chair never insists on relevance: Since the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to Parliament, MPs have the right to critically scrutinise the performance of the government.
- Government must respond to the question raised: Accountability to Parliament requires the government to respond adequately to the questions raised by MPs in the debate. Under the Rules of the House, it is the Prime Minister who replies to the debate in both Houses.
The rules that are in place
- Freedom of speech in the House: Article 105 of the Constitution confers on members, freedom of speech in the House and immunity from interference by the court for anything said in the House. Freedom of speech in the House is the most important privilege of a Member of Parliament
- Power of presiding officers and breach of such privilege: Rule 380 of the Rules of procedure of the Lok Sabha and Rule 261 of the Rules of the Rajya Sabha give the power to the presiding officers of these Houses to expunge any words used in the debate which are defamatory, unparliamentary, undignified or indecent. Once expunged they do not remain on record and if anyone publishes them thereafter, they will be liable for breach of privilege of the House.
- Rule 353 if there’s an allegation against a MP or an outsider: There are also occasions when an MP may, during his speech, make an allegation against a fellow MP or an outsider. Rule 353 of the Lok Sabha regulates the procedure in that regard. Under this Rule, the MP is required to give “adequate advance notice” to the Speaker as well as the Minister concerned. The Rule does not prohibit the making of any allegation, the only requirement is advance notice.
Allegations and Speaker rulings
- MP’s who make allegations must be sure about the factual basis: Making an allegation against a Minister or the Prime Minister is considered to be a serious matter; therefore, the presiding officers have carefully laid down a stipulation that the MP who makes an imputation against a Minister should be sure about the factual basis of the allegation, and that he must take responsibility for it.
- Allegations complies with stipulation allowed to remain on record: If the MP complies with this stipulation, then the allegation will be allowed to remain on record. There have been many instances in the Lok Sabha when MPs have made allegations against Ministers.
Here are two rulings made by the Speakers on such occasions
- Allegation bases on press report: On September 2, 1965 when Prakash Vir Shastri, MP, made personal allegations against Humayun Kabir, the then Minister for Education. The MP reiterated his allegation and referred to press reports.
- Ruling- Press report could not be sufficient basis of allegations: In his ruling, the Speaker, Sardar Hukam Singh, said, “Normally the source of information available to members is newspapers. But that is not a sufficient basis for a member to make an allegation against a Minister, member or other dignitaries.
- Allegation based on a weekly: On December 21 1981 in the Lok Sabha, Bapusaheb Parulekar, MP, made a reference to an allegation published in the Sunday (a weekly) against the then Railway Minister, Kedar Pande, and his family members in connection with permanent railway card passes.
- Ruling- The member should be prepared to accept the responsibility for the allegation: The Deputy Speaker, G. Lakshmanan ruled that, “The member should, before making an allegation in the House, satisfy himself after making enquiries that there is a basis for the allegation. The member should be prepared to accept the responsibility for the allegation and the member should be prepared to substantiate the allegation.”
Issue of defamation
- Under Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code (Second exception), any statement respecting the conduct of a public servant in the discharge of his public function or his character is not defamation. If such a statement is made in the House against a Minister who is a public servant, it does not come within the ‘mischief’ of Rule 353 or Rule 380.
- Therefore, it does not afford an occasion for the presiding officers to expunge words in or portions of a speech on the ground that they are defamatory.
Conclusion
- In a House where freedom of speech is the most important privilege of a Member of Parliament, establishing defamatory or incriminatory statements as opposed to critical comments, which an MP has the right to make, is important. It also needs to be ensured that the freedom of speech enjoyed by the Members in the House is not needlessly curtailed.
Mains question
Q. What is motion of thanks? Freedom of speech is the most important privilege of a Member of Parliament which should not be needlessly curtailed. Discuss.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Stock Market, Role of regulators and investors, SEBI
Context
- On 25 January, US-based Hindenburg Research put out a tweet, talking about a negative report on the Adani Group that it had published. The report made many allegations against the group which triggered a fall in the price of their listed stocks.
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Just think of this situation
- A research report is released by a global firm that is also a short seller (that is, one who sells shares that it does not own, but buys them back at a lower price once the price falls).
- The report outlines areas of concern in a company that is listed in another jurisdiction. The issues raised could relate to the firm’s accounting or market practices.
- The report is released, quite curiously, before the company is going in for an equity issuance.
What happens after the news?
- Panic sale: As equity markets run on sentiments, such news leads to a panic sale and the share price of the company comes down sharply.
- Widespread uncertainty: The market sees investor wealth eroding sharply, leading to widespread uncertainty, as this is how contagions progress.
- Outrage: Denials are issued by the concerned company while the short seller stands firm on its views. However, shareholders have seen an erosion in their wealth and there is outrage everywhere.
- Policies and system in place to put verified facts in public domain: It is for regulators in other jurisdictions to have policies/systems in place for verified facts to be put in the public domain.
- In the current context: The Securities and Exchange Commission of the US would matter and if the broker complied with its rules, then there is nothing to stop their views from being aired in a globalised world. This is why it is said that if any company opts for listing in overseas markets, there is more reason to ensure that its accounts are in place and there are no deviations from best practices.
What can regulators do to protect investors?
- It is necessary to understand that when share prices tumble: Only when someone sells the shares that have declined in value will a loss be actually incurred. This is the first point that ordinary investors need to keep in mind. While the media will talk of the loss of value and wealth, it is notional for those shareholders who don’t sell. And stock prices will return to their equilibrium once the storm passes.
- There is a need to have a wide market intelligence network: A special division that continuously analyses the messaging about Indian companies across the world. Given that such reports do not come up without signals being sent along the way, monitoring of views on companies listed overseas would be essential.
- While citing financial accounting irregularities need to be looked into: the accounting and auditing firms need to take on more responsibility to ensure that the Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP) are followed for overseas-listed firms. They will have to be made partners in any such crisis in terms of taking ownership and clarifying the same.
- Detecting price manipulation: Price manipulation, for instance, is one practice that has always been a concern for regulators. And it takes a lot of experience to detect it. Thus exchanges need to ensure that their market watch and surveillance practices are robust. This is where trading patterns can show if there has been market manipulation.
- Restoring assurance and sanity in the market: It is necessary that investors have some assurance from the regulator, which may be needed to restore sanity in the markets. However, this should be an immediate and time-bound investigation which looks at the allegations or the shortcomings of the report.
- Investing derivative segments too: As a corollary, the regulator needs to investigate the derivative segment too and probably talk to other regulators to analyse how the short positions have been created and whether they were in order. This will mean being in touch with other regulators, especially the SEC which regulates the jurisdiction for most overseas listings.
- Audit firms can be employed to flag off the concerns: The regulator should insist that all overseas listed companies have regular investor calls with stakeholders where meetings are recorded and transmitted back home for special teams to examine so that there is a sense of how potential investors feel about the companies.
Conclusion
- In the cases of overseas reports, investors must have some assurance from the regulator, which can restore sanity in the markets. But investors also need to be proactive when investing. Those who are more active investors would perhaps need to be aware of developments in the companies that they have invested in.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Data privacy and digital governance in India
Context
- 2023 promises to be a landmark year for technology and digitisation in India. The Union Budget indicates growing prioritisation of these areas. For instance, the Digital India programme has been allotted Rs 4,795.24 crore, the allocation to the Ministry of Electronics and IT has nearly doubled, and there is a 1,000 per cent increase in the funding for the Artificial Intelligence and Digital Intelligence Unit. But something crucial is amiss.
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What is the issue?
- Budget has deep discord between pace of the digitisation and legal policy: Many of the initiatives announced with the budget reinforce the deep discord between the pace of digitisation efforts, and the implementation of effective legal frameworks to strengthen privacy and cybersecurity.
What is Anonymised data?
- Anonymised data includes data that does not contain Personally Identifiable Information (PII) like name, age, phone number, address, etc., or data from which PII has been removed.
Analysis: Privacy deficit in India
- New National Data Governance Policy: A new National Data Governance Policy is going to be introduced to enable access to anonymised data. However, several studies have demonstrated the ease with which anonymised data can be reverse-engineered to identify individuals. Current anonymisation techniques are inadequate and do not guarantee privacy protection.
- For instance: A study in 2019 was able to accurately reidentify 99.98 per cent of Americans in an anonymised dataset, including information held by the US government on more than 11 million people.
- Shortfall in Draft Digital Data Protection Bill, 2022: The current Draft Digital Data Protection Bill, 2022, falls short and fails to incorporate safeguards from previous rounds of consultations and even earlier iterations of the Bill.
- For instance: The 2021 draft imposed a penalty for the intentional reidentification of an individual’s anonymized personal information. This provision has been done away with, amplifying concerns around insufficient limitations and safeguards for privacy.
- No effective legislative safeguards to prevent access to personal information: The budget also proposes privacy-invasive changes to the Income Tax search and seizure provisions in view of the increased use of technology and digitization. IT officials could seek the assistance of experts to access digital devices and encrypted data. Such broad authorizations are bound to increase the scope for arbitrariness and misuse.
What issues need to be addressed for expanding the scope of DigiLocker?
- The budget proposes expanding the scope of DigiLocker. For this measure to truly serve the objective of “Trust Based Governance”, two issues need to be addressed:
- Strengthening of the cybersecurity infrastructure: Strengthening of the cybersecurity infrastructure, including implementation of the long-awaited National Cyber Security Strategy, to inspire people’s trust, and potentially avert situations like the one in 2020 where 3.8 crore DigiLocker accounts were compromised.
- Preventing scope creep of Aadhaar: Prevent the continuing scope creep of Aadhaar, which is increasingly being made mandatory not only to avail services and benefits but also to exercise fundamental rights such as voting. The negative human rights impact of the forced, widespread use of Aadhaar has been well-documented.
- DigiLocker, a government-run cloud-based platform for storing, sharing, and verifying documents and certificates, to make it a one-stop solution of reconciliation and updating of identity and addresses with Aadhaar as foundational identity.
Conclusion
- The World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2023 finds that data privacy and cybersecurity regulations are effective for reducing cyber risks. Many new laws have been assured this year on data protection, telecom, internet governance and cybersecurity. As the country kickstarts its G20 presidency and prepares to be a leader in this space, we would do well to prioritise the development of exemplary, rights-respecting privacy and cybersecurity regimes.
Mains question
Q. For the potential of anonymised data to be unleashed without jeopardising people’s privacy, India first needs a robust data protection law. Discuss.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Digital public goods
Mains level: DPI ecosystem in India
Context
- Public infrastructure has been a cornerstone of human progress. The monopolisation of public infrastructure, which plagued previous generations, has manifested itself in the centralised nature of today’s digital infrastructure. Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) can fulfil this need, though it faces several challenges.
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What is the issue?
- There is a disturbing trend of the weaponization of data and technology or Digital Colonisation (Hicks, 2019) resulting in a loss of agency, sovereignty and privacy.
- Therefore, proactively deliberating on how to build good DPI is key to avoiding such challenges.
What Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) is and what it does?
- Three foundational sets DPIs mediate the flow of people, money and information.
- First, the flow of people through a digital ID System.
- Second, the flow of money through a real-time fast payment system.
- Third, the flow of personal information through a consent-based data sharing system to actualise the benefits of DPIs and to empower the citizen with a real ability to control data.
- These three sets become the foundation for developing an effective DPI ecosystem.
- India, first country to develop all three foundational DPIs: India through India Stack became the first country to develop all three foundational DPIs digital identity (Aadhar), real-time fast payment (UPI) and a platform to safely share personal data without compromising privacy (Account Aggregator built on the Data Empowerment Protection Architecture or DEPA)
- Techno-legal regulatory frameworks in India: Techno-legal regulatory frameworks are used to achieve policy objectives through public-technology design.
- For example: India’s DEPA offers technological tools for people to invoke the rights made available to them under applicable privacy laws. Framed differently, this techno-legal governance regime embeds data protection principles into a public-technology stack.
- DPI most feasible model: DPI has emerged as the most feasible model due to its low cost, interoperability and scalable design, and because of its safeguards against monopolies and digital colonisation.
Do you know “India Stack”?
- India Stack is a set of (application programming interface) APIs that allows governments, businesses, startups and developers to utilize a unique digital Infrastructure to solve India’s hard problems towards presence-less, paperless, and cashless service delivery.
- The Open API team at iSPIRT has been a pro-bono partner in the development, evolution, and evangelization of these APIs and systems.
How DPIs constitute the backbone of a country’s digital infrastructure?
- Facilitate seamless public service delivery: These layers interface with each other to create an ecosystem that facilitates seamless public service delivery and allows businesses to design novel solutions on top of the DPI layers.
- Enables the creation of Open Networks as not seen before: India is now developing such open networks for credit (Open Credit Enablement Network), commerce (Open Network for Digital Commerce), Open Health Services Network (UHI) and many more.
- Generate network effects: When DPIs are integrated, they can generate network effects to create these open networks for various sectors.
For India’s DPI success to become a worldwide revolution, three types of institutions must be built
- An independent DPI steward institution: It is important to have a governance structure that is agile and responsive. A multiparty governance process through independent DPI institutions will be accountable to a broad range of stakeholders rather than be controlled by a single entity or group. This can build trust and confidence in DPI. India has created the Modular Open-Source Identity Platform (MOSIP), adopted by nine nations and with already more than 76 million active users.
- Need to develop global standards through a multilateral dialogue led by India: If standards originating from developed nations were transplanted to an emerging economies’ context without deferring to their developmental concerns, smaller countries would simply be captive to dominant technology players. Additionally, without these standards, Big Tech would likely engage in regulatory arbitrage to concentrate power.
- Sustainable financing models: Finally, we need to develop sustainable financing models for developing DPI for the world. Currently backed by philanthropic funding, such models are at risk of becoming a tool of philanthropic competition and positioning.
Notes for answer writing
- In the twenty-first-century, technological innovation has created a tempest of ideological, geographical and economic implications that pose new challenges.
- The monopolisation of public infrastructure, which plagued previous generations, has manifested itself in the centralised nature of today’s digital infrastructure.
- It is increasingly evident that the world needs a third type of public infrastructure, following modes of transport such as ports and roads, and lines of communication such as telegraph or telecom but with open, democratic principles built in.
- Built on top of public infrastructure, democratic countries with largely free markets have fostered public and private innovation and, therefore, generated considerable value creation in societies.
- However, like in the case of physical infrastructure, it is important that DPIs not succumb to monopolisation, authoritarianism and digital colonisation.
Conclusion
- The world needs a new playbook for digital infrastructure that mediates the flow of people, money and information. This will facilitate countries looking to digitally empower their citizens. They can then rapidly build platforms that address the specific needs of people, while ensuring people are able to trust and use the platform – without fear of exclusion or exploitation.
Mains question
Q. What Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) is and what it does? What can be done for India’s DPI success to become a worldwide revolution?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NISAR
Mains level: US- India space collaboration
Context
- India and the United States agreeing to advance space collaboration in several areas, under the ‘initiative on critical and emerging technology’ umbrella, including human space exploration and commercial space partnership, comes at a crucial time for both countries. This follows from the eighth meeting of the U.S.-India Civil Space Joint Working Group (CSJWG), that was held on January 30-31, 2023.
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Limiting factors in India-U.S. space cooperation
- Mismatch in the two nations interests in outer space: The first structural factor that limits long-term India-U.S. space cooperation is the mismatch in the two nations interests in outer space.
- American ambitions beyond earth orbits: Although the U.S. and its partners stress the importance of maintaining capabilities in low-earth orbit, their ambitions are firmly set on the moon.
- India’s current focus is on increasing its satellite launch capabilities: India’s scientific community focuses on building the nation’s capability in and under earth orbits. The Gaganyaan human space flight programme hopes to sustain India’s human presence in space for the long term. This is not to say that India does not aim for the moon, Mars or beyond. But India’s top priority is to substantially increase its satellite and launch capabilities in earth orbits and catch up with other spacefaring nations such as China.
- The asymmetry in capabilities: The U.S. has the highest number of registered satellites in space. It also has a range of launch vehicles serving both commercial and national-security needs.
- Private sector, for instance: Private entity SpaceX, for example, managed to achieve a record 61 launches in 2022, far higher than the number of launches undertaken by any other commercial entity or country. The American private sector has also assumed the challenge of replacing the International Space Station by 2030 with many smaller stations.
- The greatest challenge for India here is lack of capacity: The country has just over 60 satellites in orbit and cannot undertake double-digit launches annually. The Indian government also opened the space industry to the private sector only in 2020. Since the U.S. already has an extensive network of partners for space cooperation, it has few technical incentives to cooperate with India.
- Disagreements on govern space activities: Compounding these problems are disagreements on how best to govern space activities on the moon and other celestial bodies. Even though countries have a mindset to collaborate, the structural factors overpower diplomatic incentives to pursue long-term cooperation.
- NISAR has been built by space agencies of the US and India under a partnership agreement signed in 2014.
- The 2,800 kilograms satellite consists of both L-band and S-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instruments, which makes it a dual-frequency imaging radar satellite.
- While NASA has provided the L-band radar, GPS, a high-capacity solid-state recorder to store data, and a payload data subsystem, ISRO has provided the S-band radar, the GSLV launch system and spacecraft.
- Another important component of the satellite is its large 39-foot stationary antenna reflector.
- Made of a gold-plated wire mesh, the reflector will be used to focus the radar signals emitted and received by the upward-facing feed on the instrument structure.
Some novel solutions
- Sustained engagement: The standard solution to induce long-term cooperation is to sustain the engagement between academics, the private sector and state-led entities in the two countries. Sustained engagement could also take the form of collaborating on highly specialised projects such as the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission.
- Cooperation and collaboration between state and private entities: One form of cooperation is a partnership between state and private entities; or, as agreed in the most recent meeting, a convention of American and Indian aerospace companies to advance collaboration under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) programme. Such an arrangement could be taken further.
- Reducing dependence: India could send its astronauts to train at American private companies. This could help India reduce its dependence on Russia while ISRO builds its own astronaut training centre.
- Government-owned New Space India Limited: Another novel arrangement could be a consortium led by the government-owned New Space India Limited which involves private companies in the U.S. This setup could accelerate India’s human spaceflight programme and give the U.S. an opportunity to accommodate Indian interests in earth orbits.
Conclusion
- The US and India have taken significant strides in advancing the private space sector. Together, these endeavors have the capability to shape and impact U.S. and Indian space policies and programmes over the next decade.
Mains question
Q. The US and India have taken significant strides in space cooperation. Discuss the limiting factors and suggest probable solutions.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Single use plastic and Plastic waste to marine environment
Context
- A significant portion of single-use plastic gets piled up on coastlines and contributes to the growing burden of marine litter, endangering aquatic biodiversity. In India, anthropogenic activities add approximately eight million tonnes of plastic waste to the marine environment.
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- The demand for plastic products has grown drastically in the last few decades: The possible reasons for this dramatic surge can be attributed to its durability, flexibility, lightness and affordability.
- Plastic production and generation: Globally, the annual production of plastic reached 460 million tonnes in 2019 and 353 million tonnes of plastic waste were also generated in the same year.
- Approximately 50% is dumped in landfills: Approximately 50 per cent of plastic waste generated in the same year was dumped in landfills, according to the Organization for Economic Corporation and Development.
- First use plastic: In 2021-22, India’s plastic demand was 20.89 million tonnes. About 40 per cent of this gets added to plastic waste after the first use, a Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment had found.
Key sources of Marine pollution
- Land based sources: Land-based sources such as dumpsites located near the coastlines or banks of a river, flood waters, industrial outfalls, discharge from storm water drains, untreated municipal sewerage, beach litter, tourism, fishing, ship breaking yards, defence-related facilities, automobiles, industrial wastes, natural events, etc are the main factors contributing to the menace of marine litter.
- Sea based sources: In addition to this, sea-based sources such as waste from ships, fishing vessels and other public transport and research facilities; offshore mining and extraction; legal and illegal waste dumping; ghost nets, natural events, etc add to it.
Alarming situation
- There may be more plastic than fish in oceans by 2050: Tributaries of major Indian rivers also carry around 15-20 per cent of plastic waste into the marine environment. If this trend continues, there may be more plastic than fish in oceans by 2050, warned many recent researchers on this front.
- Microplastics in food chain: Marine debris can transcend international borders and disperse to faraway locations from its place of origin. Since marine species consume microplastics, they can eventually sweep into our food chain.
- Bioaccumulation of chemicals endangers Human health: Additionally, leached chemicals may also bioaccumulate in these species and endanger human health.
Government efforts so far
- Banned single use plastic: From July 1, 2022, the Union government banned the manufacturing, selling, use and storage of 19 identified single-use plastic items. Still, the ban is not effective as prohibited items have been found in use in almost every Indian city.
- Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM): The central and state governments have already allocated a SBM and disbursed more than Rs 3,000 crore on public awareness campaigns and coastal area cleaning drives.
- Coastal cleaning programme: The National Centre for Coastal Research, a body under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, led a coastal cleaning programme covering 7,500 kilometres.
Did you know?
- Swachh Sagar, Surakshit Sagar, a 75-day citizen-led campaign for improving ocean health through collective action, was launched on July 5, 2022.
- It has three strategic underlying goals that target transformation and environmental protection through behaviour change.
- The three underlying goals of the campaign are, consume responsibly, segregate waste at home and dispose of it responsibly.
Way forward
- Enlisting multi-layered plastic packaging in banned list: The government needs to enlist multi-layered plastic packaging items in the list of banned items; only 19 plastic items have been considered as of now.
- Effective enforcement: Effective enforcement and penalty against defaulters is required as the government has already spent a lot on public awareness campaigns in the last six year.
- Strict monitoring of CRZ: There should be strict implementation and monitoring of Coastal Regulation Zone and Special Area Planning guidelines in order to curb haphazard constructions along the coastlines. A National Marine Litter Policy needs to be formulated as early as possible.
Conclusion
- A long-term vision plan should be developed for promoting partnerships among coastal towns, cities and urban administration for the reduction of marine litter and the creation of sustainable waste management ecosystems. Marine litter is complicated and a multi-layered problem has to be arrested at the earliest to safeguard the health of humans as well as the environment.
Mains question
Q. Marine litter is complicated and a multi-layered problem has to be arrested at the earliest to safeguard the health of humans as well as the environment. Discuss.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Use of AI in medical field and challenges
Context
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) was regarded as a revolutionary technology around the early 21st century. Although it has encountered its rise and fall, currently its rapid and pervasive applications have been termed the second coming of AI. It is employed in a variety of sectors, and there is a drive to create practical applications that may improve our daily lives and society. Healthcare is a highly promising, but also a challenging domain for AI.
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ChatGPT: The latest model
- While still in its early stages, AI applications are rapidly evolving.
- For instance, ChatGPT is a large language model (LLM) that utilizes deep learning techniques that are trained on text data.
- This model has been used in a variety of applications, including language translation, text summarisation, conversation generation, text-to-text generation and others.
What is Artificial Intelligence?
- AI is a constellation of technologies that enable machines to act with higher levels of intelligence and emulate the human capabilities of sense, comprehend and act.
- The natural language processing and inference engines can enable AI systems to analyze and understand the information collected.
- An AI system can also take action through technologies such as expert systems and inference engines or undertake actions in the physical world.
- These human-like capabilities are augmented by the ability to learn from experience and keep adapting over time.
- AI systems are finding ever-wider application to supplement these capabilities across various sectors.
Concerns of Using AI tools in medical field
- The potential for misinformation to be generated: As the model is trained on a large volume of data, it may inadvertently include misinformation in its responses. This could lead to patients receiving incorrect or harmful medical advice, potentially leading to serious health consequences.
- The potential for bias to be introduced into the results: As the model is trained on data, it may perpetuate existing biases and stereotypes, leading to inaccurate or unfair conclusions in research studies as well as in routine care.
- Ethical concerns: In addition, AI tools’ ability to generate human-like text can also raise ethical concerns in various sectors such as in the research field, education, journalism, law, etc.
- For example: The model can be used to generate fake scientific papers and articles, which can potentially deceive researchers and mislead the scientific community.
AI tools should be used with caution considering the context
- Governance framework: The governance framework can help manage the potential risks and harms by setting standards, monitoring and enforcing policies and regulations, providing feedback and reports on their performance, and ensuring development and deployment with respect to ethical principles, human rights, and safety considerations.
- Ensuring the awareness about possible negative consequences: Additionally, governance frameworks can promote accountability and transparency by ensuring that researchers and practitioners are aware of the possible negative consequences of implementing this paradigm and encouraging them to employ it responsibly.
- A platform for dialogue and exchange of information: The deployment of a governance framework can provide a structured approach for dialogue and facilitate the exchange of information and perspectives among stakeholders, leading to the development of more effective solutions to the problem.
- Relational governance model into the AI governance framework: Relational governance is a model that considers the relationships between various stakeholders in the governance of AI.
- Establishing international agreements and standards: At the international level, relational governance in AI in healthcare (AI-H) can be facilitated through the establishment of international agreements and standards. This includes agreements on data privacy and security, as well as ethical and transparent AI development.
- Use of AI in responsible manner across borders: By establishing a common understanding of the responsibilities of each stakeholder in AI governance, international collaboration can help to ensure that AI is used in a consistent and responsible manner across borders.
- Government regulations at national level: At the national level, relational governance in AI-H can be implemented through government regulations and policies that reflect the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder. This includes laws and regulations on data privacy and security, as well as policies that encourage the ethical and transparent use of AI-H.
- Regular monitoring and strict compliance mechanism: Setting up periodic monitoring/auditing systems and enforcement mechanisms, and imposing sanctions on the industry for noncompliance with the legislation can all help to promote the appropriate use of AI.
- Education and awareness at the user level: Patients and healthcare providers should be informed about the benefits and risks of AI, as well as their rights and responsibilities in relation to AI use. This can help to build trust and confidence in AI systems, and encourage the responsible use of AI-H.
- Industry-led initiatives and standards at the industry level: The relational governance in AI-H can be promoted through industry-led initiatives and standards. This includes establishing industry standards and norms (for example, International Organization for Standardization) based on user requirements (healthcare providers, patients, and governments), as well as implementing data privacy and security measures in AI systems.
Conclusion
- India’s presidency of the G20 summit provides a platform to initiate dialogue on AI regulation and highlight the need for the implementation of AI regulations in healthcare. The G20 members can collaborate to create AI regulation, considering the unique needs and challenges of the healthcare sector. The set of measures, carried out at various levels, need to assure that AI systems are regularly reviewed and updated and ensure that they remain effective and safe for patients.
Mains question
Q. Use of AI in Healthcare is highly promising but also a challenging domain. Discuss. Suggest what should be the right approach for AI regulation in Healthcare?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Challenges to Menstrual health hygiene and sexual and reproductive health
Context
- Maternal mortality rates remain high in low- and middle-income countries, where 94 percent of all cases are recorded. In India, maternal mortality ratio stands at 113 per 100,000 live births; the government is aiming to reduce the incidence to below 70 by 2030. Experts agree that the promotion of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is among the keys to addressing this massive challenge. Achieving global targets on SRH, in turn, greatly depends on a collective commitment to improve menstrual health and hygiene (MHH).
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- Lack adequate access to information and service: The stark reality is that individuals who menstruate lack adequate access to information and services around SRH and are unable to exercise their SRH rights throughout their life cycle. Among the factors for this lack of access are poor economic and educational outcomes.
- For instance: Multiple studies in different developing countries have shown that those with fewer number of schooling years tend to experience early sexual initiation and early marriage, have higher fertility rates, and suffer poor maternal outcomes.
- Multiple barriers hinder the promotion of menstrual health and hygiene: Barriers that include socio-cultural norms that regard menstruation as taboo, and biological and medical issues such as urinary tract infections, and abnormal urinary bleeding that can be caused by fibroids.
- Vicious circle of poor SRH: These issues diminish the agency of menstruating individuals in making decisions related to sex, relationships, family planning, and contraceptive use. This sets them back into the vicious circle of poor SRH.
- Lack of privacy and dignity: Menstruation-related challenges are seen in schools, work places, and communities where menstruating individuals cannot safely manage their needs with privacy and dignity.
- Taboos and myths: In certain communities, restrictive social norms do not allow menstruating individuals to pray, bathe, sleep in the same bed as others, or make food. In India, taboos and myths hinder the optimal use of the more than 8,000 Adolescents-Friendly Health Clinics (AFHCs) set up by the government across the country.
Global Outlook
- Menstrual health is often neglected in SRH agendas: Despite strong evidence that one of the anchors of sexual and reproductive health is menstrual health, governments, policymakers, and NGOs rarely include menstrual health in their SRH agendas.
- Little attention had been paid: Although SRH was the focus of both the World Population Day and Gender Equality Forum in 2021, little attention has been paid, if at all, to menstrual health.
- For example during the vaccination, menstrual health was not taken into account: Early studies also suggest that during the production of COVID-19 vaccines, menstrual health was not taken into account while conducting the pilot studies on understanding the efficacy of the vaccine.
- The education aspect is also lacking: A study of education policy documents across 21 developing countries found little attention to menstrual health. Of those countries that appeared to have MHH in their health and education agenda in the last decade, the focus was on the distribution of disposable sanitary pads, largely for schoolgirls; they tended to ignore the other issues related to menstrual health and hygiene including safety, disposal, right to dignity and providing choices to people who menstruate.
A Framework for mainstreaming menstrual health and hygiene in India
- Promoting Menstrual Health and Hygiene Education: Conversations around menstruation should be started in schools and local communities by including menstrual health and hygiene in sessions on reproductive health.
- For instance: In 2007, the Indian government introduced the Adolescent Education Program to promote discussions around sexual education, but it received backlash from teachers and parents. Sociocultural issues are equally important and should be given attention by stakeholders.
- Knowledge about the products they use: Programmes should be initiated that will focus on distributing disposable sanitary pads to girls and women, and not only those who are in school. As the discourse on menstruation is now shifting toward sustainable menstruation, it is crucial to equip individuals who menstruate with knowledge about the potential harm of the period products they use.
- Sensitizing gatekeepers: Organising sensitisation workshops for gatekeepers such as teachers, healthcare workers, and women in local communities would go a long way in helping young people who menstruate. Recent studies, suggest that mothers, teachers, and healthcare workers are the first sources of information for adolescent girls about menstruation in India.
- Creating supportive space: Adolescent boys, and men, need to be involved in the conversation around MHH to create supportive spaces. These conversations will help them understand the importance of MHH and prompt changes in societal norms, including removing the stigma around menstruation.
- Conversations around menstruation need to include trans and non-binary individuals: Menstruation is a variable concept, such that many women do not menstruate, while some transmen, non-binary individuals, and people with masculine gender identities do. The feminisation of menstruation has led to the exclusion of transgender and non-binary people from the discourse.
- Improving MHH infrastructure and WASH facilities: Workplace policies for individuals who menstruate should be laid out, including the provision of adequate WASH facilities. There need to engage with the multi-sector stakeholders who can work in improving MHH infrastructure and WASH facilities.
Way ahead
- Raising awareness about the menstrual cycle should be among the priorities of communities and policymakers.
- There is a need to make SRH programming gender-transformative, first by recognising the link between MHH and SRH.
- The task is urgent, given the economic case to sexual and reproductive health: i.e., promoting SRH helps improve a country’s economic, educational and development outcomes.
- The UN High-Level Meeting (UNHLM), 2023 Action Plan, which underlines the need to “leave no one behind” in global goals on universal health care, must bring menstrual health and hygiene to the forefront of the SRH agenda.
- As per 2011 Census data, around 0.5 million individuals self-identify as third gender[b] in India. There is a need to engage communities and educate them about the LGBTQIA+ population and enhance their SRH knowledge by looking at the menstrual health discourse with the core principle of inclusivity.
Conclusion
- Global and national agendas on sexual and reproductive health continue to give little attention to its link with menstrual health. Integrated attention to the links between MHH and SRH can advance the mutual goals of both sectors, and improve the health and well-being of individuals who menstruate, throughout their entire life cycle.
Mains question
Q. The link between Menstrual health and hygiene with sexual reproductive health is often neglected in policymaking. Highlight the challenges for promoting menstrual health and give suggestions.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Pulses, cropping patterns and characteristics
Mains level: Pulses production and consumption In India
Context
- The United Nations General Assembly endorsed the request made by the Government of Burkina Faso regarding the annual observance of World Pulses Day on 10 February at its 73rd session in December 2018, building on the success of the 2016 International Year of Pulses, with Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) playing a leading role in the campaign.
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Theme for World pulses day 2023
- The 2023 World Pulses Day’s theme is Pulses for a Sustainable Future, which underlines the significance of pulses in fostering equity and generating chances for livelihood, both of which are essential elements of sustainable agrifood systems.
In short: All you need to know about Pulses
- Major pulses that are grown in India: Tur, urad, moong, masur, peas and gram.
- Chief Characteristics:
- Pulses are the major sources of protein in a vegetarian diet.
- Being leguminous crops, all the above-mentioned pulses (except tur) help in restoring soil fertility by fixing nitrogen from the air.
- These crops are mostly grown in rotation with other crops.
- Pulses need less moisture and survive even in dry conditions.
- Important Producing Areas: The major pulse producing areas are Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Karnataka. It is grown on about 11% of the total sown area in India.
- India is largest producer and consumer: India is the largest producer as well as consumer of pulses in the world. About 25% of the pulses of the world are produced here.
In Depth: Why pulses are important?
- Pulses withstand drought: Pulses have a lower water footprint than other food crops and are better able to withstand drought and climate-related calamities making them a crucial tool for adjusting to and reducing climate change.
- Help farmers in water scarce region: They also help farmers in water-scarce regions have a better quality of lives.
- Can help to increase productivity and livelihood: In a number of farming systems, including agroforestry, intercropping, and integrated farming systems, pulses can help to increase productivity and improve the resilience of agricultural livelihoods.
- Pulses ensures wholesome food and sustainable use of natural resources: The global pulses industry which deals with the production and trade of pulses also demonstrates to be a beneficial force in ensuring the stability of regional and global supply chains, enabling consumers to access wholesome foods, and promoting the sustainable use of natural resources.
- Most Valuable Player for Health: Pulse grains have been acknowledged as being a “Most Valuable Player” in preventing obesity, lowering chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, and fostering a varied microbiome in children who are at risk of stunting during the first 1,000 days of their life.
- Two to three times as much protein as cereals: Pulses are a great choice for populations with diets low in protein because they contain two to three times as much protein as cereals.
- Pulses provide a number of other assets to the climate change battle: They lessen the requirement for fertiliser throughout the entire crop cycle and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by fixing atmospheric nitrogen.
- Help to achieve SDG’s: A significant advantage in a changing climate is that many pulse crops are evolved to grow in arid circumstances and can withstand drought stress better than most other crops. Thus, achieving Sustainable Development Goals 2, 3, and 13 which call for improved human health, sustainable agriculture, food security, and climate action.
- Imports are necessary because of insufficient production: India is currently the world’s largest producer and consumer of pulses, but because production is insufficient to meet demand, imports are necessary.
- India’s demand for pulses has steadily increased: In keeping with the government’s measures to expand pulse production to meet domestic demand, the volume of imports has consistently decreased since 2014-15.
- National Food Security Mission-Pulses programme: To increase the production of pulses, the Government of India is implementing National Food Security Mission-Pulses programme across 644 districts of 28 States and Union Territories (UTs) of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
- In Indian diets, pulses are a crucial source of protein: Children, adolescent girls, and pregnant and lactating women receive half of the recommended dietary requirement of protein through the Government of India’s food security programmes.
Way ahead
- Pulses to combat malnutrition: Pulses can be included to cereal-based meals to help combat malnutrition. There is evidence to support the fact that people who eat pulses more frequently are more nutrient-secure.
- For example: During the pandemic, 5 kg of rice/wheat and 1 kg of selected pulses were provided to the poor under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana.
- PDS can be utilised for better accessibility and affordability: As a matter of policy, the PDS should offer pulses at discounted prices to increase their accessibility and affordability to vulnerable population.
- For instance: Some states, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh, have been successful in distributing pulses under the Public Distribution System (PDS).
Conclusion
- India is moving closer to Aatmnirbharta on pulses with consistent efforts by the government. It is vital to raise awareness about the benefits of eating pulses that are high in macronutrients for both sustainability and dietary needs.
Mains question
Q. India is expanding its pulse production to meet domestic demand. In this light discuss what makes pulses a significant crop?
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Air pollution
Mains level: La Nina and Climate change attributed air pollution
Context
- Anthropogenic emissions are central to environmental issues, whether climate change or air quality. During the peak winter months of November to January in 2022-23, air quality in India’s financial hub, Mumbai, noticeably deteriorated, a taste of what Delhi encounters frequently.
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Mumbai’s deteriorated air quality
- Out of the past 92 winter days, Mumbai observed 66 poor and very poor air quality days in 2022-23 as compared to just 28 in the past three years’ average. More so, it had just one day in the permissible limit (NAAQS) this year as against the average of 15 days in the recent past.
- Good days declined, but foul days have increased by a whopping 135 per cent, leaving residents more choked and breathless than they have been in years.
- On many days during these months, the air quality in Mumbai sank lower than in Delhi.
- These findings are from India’s first indigenously-developed forecasting framework, SAFAR.
What caused this unusual development in Mumbai?
- Mainly due to emissions from anthropogenic and natural sources: Air quality deteriorates mainly due to emissions from anthropogenic and natural sources, and weather manoeuvres.
- La Nina, attributed to climate change, has played an unusual role: The reason for the sudden spike in the current pollution cycle in Mumbai is part of a larger meteorological phenomenon that needs to be studied further. Research suggests that the unprecedented triple dip in La Nina, attributed to climate change, has played an unusual role.
- Extreme weathers due to climate change but linkage with air quality remains elusive: Scientists have discovered that climate change is leading to extreme weather, changes in the ecosystem, and human displacements, but linkages with air quality remain elusive.
Value addition
- The weather or climate cannot generate emissions.
- Some cities like Delhi have a disadvantage due to their geographical location, being landlocked.
- But coastal cities like Mumbai enjoys a natural cleansing advantage.
- Stronger surface winds favour faster dispersion and wind reversal cycles of strong sea breezes that sweep away air pollutants from the land.
- Change in wind patterns: This phenomenon has led to the change in wind patterns affecting Mumbai, with frequent calmer wind spells, and delayed cleaner sea wind reversal around the region.
- Reducing dispersal rate of pollutants: This, in turn, affects the natural cleansing mechanism of the city by reducing the dispersal rate of pollutants and trapping the newly generated high-flying dust emissions.
- Import of transboundary pollution: The import of transboundary pollution from more polluted regions due to wind pattern changes is also adding to the misery. An increase in all sizes of particles (coarser and finer) has been observed.
- Dust emission is the major reason: It is scientifically prudent to conclude that the major share in the current worsening of air quality is from dust emissions. Many redevelopment and construction projects are operational across the city. So, the increase is due to intensifying emissions at the source, which usually consist of PM 2.5 made up of transport (31 per cent), industries (20 per cent), and resuspended dust (15 per cent), besides other smaller sources.
All you need to know about “SAFAR”
- SAFAR stands for System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research.
- It is an initiative of the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences for greater metropolitan cities of India to provide location-specific information on air quality in near real time and its forecast 1-3 days in advance.
- It was started under the plan scheme Metropolitan Advisories for Cities for Sports, Tourism (Metropolitan Air Quality and Weather Services)
- The SAFAR system is developed by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, along with ESSO partner institutions namely India Meteorological Department (IMD) and National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF)
- The implementation of SAFAR is done with an active collaboration with local municipal corporations and various local educational institutions and governmental agencies in that Metro city.
- It was started on a Pilot basis in the cities of Pune, Ahmadabad, New Delhi and Mumbai.
Way ahead
- The battle against air pollution is long and difficult, but success is achievable beyond doubt.
- Putting green curtains around construction sites, regularly sprinkling water on truck tyres and debris before loading and unloading material, and ensuring smooth traffic flow to overcome snarls are some of the immediate remedies.
- In the medium term, transitioning to electric vehicles, addressing solid waste management, dumping grounds, and industrial toxin management are some actions that will help us achieve better air quality.
Conclusion
- Before we start to address the problem, we need to recognise it. Acting together and strengthening the fight against air pollution should be the order of the day. The situation is not currently urgent, but it is a clear early sign of the impact climate change can have. Hence, we must address the root cause of the problem anthropogenic emissions instead of looking for shortcuts.
Mains question
Q. Anthropogenic emissions are central to environmental issues, whether climate change or air quality. Give examples to support your arguments.
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