Weekly Current Affairs (1st to 7th September 2022) - 1 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985

Context

• Recently, Karnataka High Court said that Bhang is nowhere referred to as a prohibited drink or prohibited drug as per Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
• The court relied on two earlier judgments, Madhukar vs the State of Maharashtra, 2002 and Arjun Singh vs State of Haryana, 2004, where the courts had ruled that bhang is not ganja, and is therefore not covered under the NDPS Act.
• Earlier, Thailand has legalized cultivating and possessing Marijuana but recreational use (Such as smoking) is still banned.

What is Bhang?

About

• Bhang is the edible preparation made from the leaves of the cannabis plant, often incorporated into drinks such as thandai and lassi, along with various foods.
• Bhang has been consumed in the Indian subcontinent for centuries, and is frequently consumed during the festivals of Holi and Mahashivratri.

Law

• The NDPS Act is the main legislation, enacted in 1985, that deals with drugs and their trafficking.

What are the Provisions of the NDPS Act?

Defines Cannabis as a Narcotic Drug:

• The NDPS Act defines cannabis (hemp) as a narcotic drug based on the parts of the plant that come under its purview. The Act lists these parts as:
  • Charas: The separated resin, in whatever form, whether crude or purified, obtained from the cannabis plant and also includes concentrated preparation and resin known as hashish oil or liquid hashish.
  • Ganja: The flowering or fruiting tops of the cannabis plant (excluding the seeds and leaves when not accompanied by the tops), by whatever name they are known or designated.
  • Any mixture, with or without any neutral material, of any of the above forms of cannabis or any drink prepared therefrom.
• The Act, in its definition, excludes seeds and leaves “when not accompanied by the tops”.
• Bhang is not mentioned in the NDPS Act.

Punishment:

• Section 20 of the NDPS Act lays out the punishment for the production, manufacture, sale, purchase, import and inter-state export of cannabis, as defined in the Act. The prescribed punishment is based on the amount of drugs seized.
• It also provides for death penalty in some cases where a person is a repeat offender.

What is the State of Crime under NDPS Act?

• Punjab topped the list of crime rate as per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) recent data for 2021.
  • Punjab recorded 32.8% crime rate in 2021, which was the highest in the country.
• Himachal Pradesh ended second, notching a crime rate of 20.8% followed by Arunachal Pradesh that reported NDPS Act crime rate of 17.2%, followed by Kerala (16%).
• The lowest crime rate under NDPS Act in 2021 was reported from UT Dadar and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (0.5%), followed by the states of Gujarat (0.7%) and Bihar (1.2%).

What are the Initiatives to Tackle Drug Addiction?

• The Narco-Coordination Centre (NCORD) was constituted in 2016 and the scheme of “Financial Assistance to States for Narcotics Control” was revived.
• Seizure Information Management System will create a complete online database of drug offences and offenders.
• National Drug Abuse Survey to measure trends of drug abuse in India through the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment with the help of National Drug Dependence Treatment Centre of AIIMS.
• Project Sunrise: It was launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in 2016, to tackle the rising HIV prevalence in north-eastern states in India, especially among people injecting drugs.
• ‘Nasha Mukt Bharat’, or Drug-Free India Campaign

India Covid-19 Procurement: Challenges, Innovations, and Lessons

Context

• Recently, the World Bank has released a report titled “India Covid-19 procurement: challenges, innovations, and lessons, saying India managed to get many things right in its management of the pandemic.
• The report takes a close look at the initiatives taken by the government of India (GoI) to ensure sustained supply of essential medical commodities during the critical initial phase of the Covid pandemic.

What are the Findings?

Global:

• The health systems of most countries, including those rated high on the Global Health Security Index, faced new challenges in responding to the pandemic.
• To address the exceptional market uncertainties, several countries introduced innovations in public procurement to make processes responsive to the emergency context.

Indian Initiatives:

• India managed efficient distribution of medical supplies nationwide, put in early restrictions and also created empowered inter-ministerial groups to achieve prompt procurement decisions during emergencies.
• India managed to scale up from 18 to over 2,500 testing laboratories rapidly within a span of four months and became ready to face future pandemics and health emergencies that pose serious challenges for global supply chains.
• India also created a conducive environment for growth of indigenous medical devices industry.
• Before the Covid-19 pandemic, India was mostly importing ventilators but 25 manufacturers including several newcomers came forward to produce ventilators with limited financial and infrastructure capacity.
• The government made use of several automobile and electrical manufacturing companies to handhold these new entrepreneurs to produce ventilators.

Key Innovations in India:

• Adoption of a whole-of-government approach to stimulate local production helped to steeply reduce unit prices and dependency on global supplies.
• Introduction of accelerated tendering process and quality assurance protocols.
• Efficient supply chain management informed by computerised modeling that helped to project the number of cases and admissions, including oxygen and intensive care unit requirements among states based on epidemiological trends.
• Quickly moving the quality-assured Covid commodities to the government’s e-procurement site, which enabled states to start accessing these products at competitive prices without going through a tendering process.

What is the World Bank?

About

• It was created in 1944, as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) along with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IBRD later became the World Bank.
• The World Bank Group is a unique global partnership of five institutions working for sustainable solutions that reduce poverty and build shared prosperity in developing countries.

Members

• It has 189 member countries.
• India is also a member country.

Major reports

• Ease of Doing Business (Stopped publishing recently).
• Human Capital Index.
• World Development Report.

Its Five development institutions

• International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
• International Development Association (IDA)
• International Finance Corporation (IFC).
• Multilateral Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
• International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)
• India is not a member of this.

Civil Servants and Freedom of Speech

Context

• A senior IAS officer from Telangana, tweeted from her personal account in support of Ms. Bano and questioned the Gujarat government’s decision of releasing 11 men convicted on charges of gang-raping Bilkis Bano during the 2002 Gujarat riots.
• It prompted a debate about whether the officer breached the Civil Service (Conduct) Rules of 1964 and revived the debate about civil servants' right to express their personal views on matters of law and governance.

What is Bilkis Bano Case?

About

• On 15th August 2022, 11 convicts who were serving life sentences for rape and murder in the case, walked out of prison to a heroes' welcome.
• Many also pointed out that the release is in contravention of guidelines issued by both the federal government and the Gujarat state government - both say that rape and murder convicts cannot be granted remission.
• Life terms in these crimes are usually served until death in India.
• The Supreme Court has asked the Gujarat government for its response after taking up petitions filed by opposition politicians and activists.

Role of Civil Servant

• Adding the word “civil servant” by the officer in the tweet on Bilkis Bano Case is aligned with the sense that the dharma of the civil servant is to uphold constitutional principles in letter and in spirit, and the rule of law.
• In this case, both the spirit of the Constitution and the rule of law were being subverted.
• This could be a very dangerous precedent, as recently when the Andhra Pradesh government released eight murder convicts (on remission, despite them not completing the mandatory 14 years in jail).
• For some actions if civil servants, whether retired or in service, speak up, that would have some kind of a deterrent [effect] on the arbitrary abuse of bureaucratic power.

Can a Civil Servant Express their Views on Government Policy and Action?

• A civil servant has the right to tweet because the citizens of this country have the fundamental right of free speech (Article 19) guaranteed to them under the Constitution, which is subject to reasonable restrictions in the interest of securing the state’s sovereignty, international relations, health, morality, etc.
• But when a civil servant undertakes government service, he/she subject themselves to certain disciplinary rules.
  • That prevents a government servant from becoming a member of a political organisation, or any organisation of such a nature, or expressing herself freely with regard to anything that has to do with the governance of the country.
  • This rule is from the British era and there is no doubt that the British were very, very strict and didn’t want their officers to be talking about how bad the governance was.
• But in a democracy, the right to criticise the government is a fundamental right.

What are the Related Judgements?

Lipika Paul v. the State of Tripura

• In a landmark judgment, in January of 2020, the High Court of Tripura ruled that ‘a government servant is not devoid of her right of free speech, a fundamental right.’
• The Court did acknowledge that the expression of the right to speech is subject to curtailment in certain circumstances; nevertheless, the judgment has significant implications concerning the right to freedom of expression for government employees.
  • In the Bilkis Bano case, the officer was entitled to hold her own beliefs and express them in the manner she desired, subject to not crossing the borders laid down in the Conduct Rules which were applicable in Tripura.
  • A fundamental right cannot be curtailed except by a valid law made by a legislature.
  • Rule 9 of the Rules of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules states, “No Government servant shall... make any statement of fact or opinion... which has the effect of an adverse criticism of any current or recent policy or action of the Central Government or a State Government.”

Kerala High Court Judgement

• In 2018, the Kerala High Court had said “One cannot be prevented from expressing his views merely because he is an employee”.
• In a democratic society, every institution is governed by democratic norms.

Way Forward

Uphold Democratic Values

• Nowadays, many government officers and ministers are encouraged to communicate government policies to the general public through social media.
• Unfortunately, government officers are given only one way of encouragement i.e., to say good things in the media.
• The problem with this is that if any policy is being implemented everybody has a right to express his or her opinion, a right to object, a right to dissent in a democracy.

Upholding Rights of the Officer

• Government officers have a duty to increase transparency about policies through social media. A case-by-case approach must be followed.

Need is to make Differentiation

• The need of the hour is to make a differentiation between what is something that’s going to hurt society, hurt the Constitution, and the rule of law.
• In the case of Bilkis Bano, the Supreme Court ordained the release of convicts on remission, which was executed by the Gujarat government, and the (question is over how it has been done), which was an exception.

Civil Servants and Digital Literacy

Context

• Recently, Microsoft has partnered with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), and Capacity Building Commission (CBC) to empower India’s civil servants with future-ready skills.
• The partnership under the project ‘Capacity Building by MSDE in Microsoft Digital Productivity Skills’ aims to enhance the functional computer literacy of nearly 2.5 million civil servants of Government of India (GoI).
• This project is in line with the Mission Karmayogi.

What is Digital Literacy?

• Digital literacy refers to the wide range of skills, which are necessary to emerge successful and adapt to the digital world.
• Since the print mediums are facing stagnation, the ability to grasp information found online becomes important.
• People and students who lack digital literacy skills may soon find themselves tough to gain access to information which is available online.

Why is Digital Literacy important for Civil Servants?

• To Provide Efficient and Effective Citizen Centric Services:
  • Digital Literacy will empower India’s civil servants to provide efficient and effective citizen centric services to the vulnerable and underprivileged sections of the society.
  • It will enable them to deliver last mile social welfare services.
• Bridging the Competency Gap:
  • One of the major competency gaps identified in various job roles among the civil servants is the lack of digital productivity application skills while working on Microsoft Office tools like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint presentation, at a professional level. So digital empowerment will help in bridging competency Gaps.

What Competencies will the Civil servants of the Future Need?

• Unifying Framework across Various Sector:
  • There is currently no unifying framework across the public sector, private sector and civil society.
  • While the technical competencies that civil servants need are similar to those required in the private sector, the digital governance competencies are something else entirely.
  • There is a need for a shared language and understanding of what Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the public good is.
• Scaling up Digital Solutions:
  • Public services face difficulties in scaling up digital solutions, due to infrastructure gaps.
  • Sometimes, the solutions from the private sector are not ready for the public sector. So, the need is to design technology for the public sector.
• Bridging Cooperation Gap:
  • The government should never be viewed as a singular entity, but rather be encouraged to communicate with one another.
  • Additionally, the need is to engage existing institutions and foster collaborations instead of reinventing the wheel.

5G Architecture

Context

• Deploying services based on the latest generation (5G) in a world filled with 4G compatible devices is the upcoming challenge. 

Compatibility issues with the devices

• 4G 
  • Since 4G’s inception in the early 2010s, the number of smartphone users have grown significantly. 
  • According to data intelligence firm Statista, the total number of smartphone users in the world has nearly doubled in the last seven years.
  • Not just users, the number of mobile devices in use have also skyrocketed. 
  • The total number of phones and tablets in use is expected to be over 18.2 billion,

With 5G 

• There are fewer 5G-compatible devices in the market compared to 4G ones.
• Delayed auctioning and rollout of 5G airwaves is holding people back from using the service.

Other Challenges

• Lack of a clear road map for 5G frequency bands.
• Lack of flow of cash and adequate capital with the Telcos.

Evolution of technology

• The first-generation technology: 
  • This generation let people make and receive phones calls through their mobile handheld devices while 
• The second and third generations:
  • These generations added text and multi-media messaging, as well as email services to cell phones. 
• The fourth-generation technology:
  • The emergence of 4G in the early part of the past decade changed the mobile-telephone landscape. 
  • This paradigmatic shift let users stream and download videos at speeds three times greater than 3G.
  • With 4G-capable cell phones, people could make calls over the Internet instead of via telephone networks.
• 4G+ (LTE advanced):
  • Fourth generation’s evolution to 4G+ (LTE advanced), which offered download speeds of 200 to 300 Mbps, made it easier for people to connect and talk over the Internet.

The fifth-generation technology

• Technology shift:
  • Building on the multiplexing technology of its predecessor, 5G ushers in a new standard called 5G New Radio (NR), which uses the best capabilities of LTE. 
  • Apart from this, the fifth-generation of mobile communication will use high-frequency millimeter wave (mmWave) bands that operate on wavelengths between 30 GHz and 300 GHz. 
  • For comparison, 4G’s LTE operates on wavelengths under 6 GHz.
• Offered benefits:
  • The latest iteration of mobile connectivity offers low latency, greater download speeds.
  • It has the ability to connect multiple devices and exchange data in real-time. 
  • Energy savings: 5G NR will enable increased energy savings for connected devices and enhance connectivity. 

Autonomous Vehicles: 

• 5G will allow vehicles to communicate between themselves and with infrastructure on the road, improving safety and alerting drivers to travel conditions and performance information.

Social Benefits: 

• Healthcare:  Healthcare providers can create sensor networks to track patients and share information faster than ever before.
• Public Safety: A vast network and rapid response times mean that public works can respond to incidents and emergencies in seconds rather than minutes, and municipalities can react fast and with reduced costs.

India’s current status in 5G

• Private telecom operators and smartphone manufacturers:
  • Bharti Airtel has conducted trials in partnership with Ericsson for mobile phones already in the market.
  • Reliance Jio Infocomm has completed building its indigenous 5G network and is now conducting trials of connected drones, speed test and other aspects.
• Government’s initiatives:
  • With the government successfully concluding the 5G spectrum auction on 1 August 2022, the fifth-generation telecom services are likely to be rolled out in India by October 2022.
  • India is likely to see its own indigenously developed and manufactured 5G stack getting deployed in rolling out 5G networks in India.
• Significance:
  • It will enable the development, testing and proliferation of 5G technology system components, cross-sectoral use cases, besides setting up the foundation for the development of the "6G Technology landscape" in the country.
  • It will also enable a mesh of connected Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled devices and services with zero-fail rate, as in the case of connected cars.
• Potential:
  • The 5G technology will represent around 39 per cent of mobile subscriptions in India at the end of 2027, estimated at about 500 million subscriptions, as per a recent Ericsson report.

Way Ahead

• 5G will require a fundamental change to the core architecture of the communication system and India should be ready with a robust, scalable, and intelligent infrastructure that is capable of handling massive traffic growth.
• Additional investment in billions is required to seamlessly implement 5G networks.
• Telecom operators need to support a wide spectrum of hybrid technologies.
• So, the switch to a pureplay 5G architecture is no more a question of whether or not, but when and how.

Global progress on 5G

• More than governments, global telecom companies have started building 5G networks and rolling it out to their customers on a trial basis.
• Different countries and firms are at various stages of 5G deployment. 
• In countries like the US, companies such as AT&T, T-mobile, and Verizon have taken the lead when it comes to rolling out commercial 5G for their users.
• In other countries such as China, some of the telcos such as China Unicom had started 5G trials as early as 2018, and have since rolled out the commercial services for users.
• South Korean company Samsung, which had started researching 5G technology way back in 2011, has, on the other hand, taken the lead when it comes to building the hardware for 5G networks for several companies.