UPSC Daily Current Affairs- August 06, 2022 PDF Download

GS-II

Context

The Centre has launched a common facility to register names in ration cards on a pilot basis for 11 States and Union Territories.

About Ration Mitra

• Ration Mitra’ Portal aims to enable these States to identify and verify the eligible beneficiaries for coverage under the National Food Security Act.
• Named as Ration Mitr, this software developed by the National Informatics Centre can be used to enrol people of any State.
• The portal is an enabler for States/UTs to complete their inclusion exercise under NFSA.
• The NFSA provides food security coverage for 81.35 crore persons in the country. The present NFSA coverage is about 79.74 crore.

About National Food Security (NFS) Act

• The NFS Act, 2013 aims to provide subsidized food grains to approximately two-thirds of India’s 1.2 billion people.
• It converts into legal entitlements for existing food security programs of the GoI.
• It includes the Midday Meal Scheme, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme and the Public Distribution System (PDS).
• Further, the NFSA 2013 recognizes maternity entitlements.
• The Midday Meal Scheme and the ICDS are universal in nature whereas the PDS will reach about two-thirds of the population (75% in rural areas and 50% in urban areas).
• Pregnant women, lactating mothers, and certain categories of children are eligible for daily free cereals.

Key provisions of NFSA

• The NFSA provides a legal right to persons belonging to “eligible households” to receive foodgrains at a subsidised price.
• It includes rice at Rs 3/kg, wheat at Rs 2/kg and coarse grain at Rs 1/kg — under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). These are called central issue prices (CIPs).

Context

The government of India has withdrawn the Personal Data Protection Bill from Parliament as it considers a “comprehensive legal framework” to regulate the online space to boost innovation in the country through a new bill.

What was the Personal Data Protection Bill & Its Major Challenges?

• About
  • The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, on December 11, 2019.
  • Commonly referred to as the “Privacy Bill”, it intended to protect individual rights by regulating the collection, movement, and processing of data that is personal, or which can identify the individual.
• Challenges
  • Many contend that the physical location of the data is not relevant in the cyber world as the encryption keys may still be out of reach of national agencies.
  • National security or reasonable purposes are open-ended and subjective terms, which may lead to intrusion of the state into the private lives of citizens.
  • Technology giants like Facebook and Google are against it and have criticised the protectionist policy of data localisation as they are afraid it would have a domino effect in other countries as well.
    • It had been opposed by social media firms, experts and even ministers, who said that it had too many loopholes to be effective and beneficial for both users and companies.
    • Also, it may backfire on India’s own young startups that are attempting global growth, or on larger firms that process foreign data in India.

Why has the Bill been withdrawn?

• Too Many Amendments: The Joint Committee of Parliament analyzed the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 in detail.
  • 81 amendments were proposed and 12 recommendations were made towards a comprehensive legal framework on the digital ecosystem.
  • Considering the report of the JCP, a comprehensive legal framework is being worked upon.
    • Hence, it is proposed to withdraw.
• Compliance Intensive: The Bill was also seen as being too “compliance intensive” by startups of the country.
  • The revamped bill will be much easier to comply with, especially for startups.
• Issues with Data Localisation: The tech companies questioned a proposed provision in the Bill called Data Localisation.
  • Under data localisation, it would have been mandatory for companies to store a copy of certain sensitive personal data within India, and the export of undefined “critical” personal data from the country would be prohibited.
  • The activists had criticised that it would allow the central government and its agencies blanket exemptions from adhering to any and all provisions of the Bill.
• Pushback from Stakeholders: The bill had faced major push back from a range of stakeholders including big tech companies such as Facebook and Google, and privacy and civil society activists.
• Delay in Implementation: The delays in the Bill had been criticised by several stakeholders pointing out that it was a matter of grave concern that India did not have a basic framework to protect people’s privacy.

What did the Joint Committee of Parliament Recommend?

• It proposed 81 amendments to the Bill finalized by the Srikrishna panel, and 12 recommendations including expanding the scope of the proposed law to cover discussions on non-personal data, thereby changing the mandate of the Bill from personal data protection to broader data protection.
  • Non-personal data is any set of data that does not contain personally identifiable information.
• The JCP’s report also recommended changes on issues such as regulation of social media companies, and on using only “trusted hardware” in smartphones, etc.
• It proposed that social media companies that do not act as intermediaries should be treated as content publishers, making them liable for the content they host.

Context

The Supreme Court has said it may loosen the restrictive grip of a 51-year-old abortion law that bars unmarried women from terminating pregnancies up to 24 weeks old.

• The Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971 and its Rules of 2003 prohibit unmarried women who are between 20 weeks and 24 weeks pregnant to abort with the help of registered medical practitioners.

What did the Court say now?

• In a very significant move, the court said that the prohibition was manifestly arbitrary and violative of women’s right to bodily autonomy and dignity.
• The danger to life is as much in the case of an unmarried woman as in the case of a married woman said Justice Chandrachud.
• The danger of suffering a mental breakdown is much more prominent for unmarried women, said the court.

Earlier observations

• A woman’s right to reproductive choice is an inseparable part of her personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
• She has a sacrosanct right to bodily integrity, the court quoted from precedents.
• The court said forcing a woman to continue with her pregnancy would not only be a violation of her bodily integrity but also aggravate her mental trauma.

What is the case?

• A Bench led by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud was hearing the appeal of a woman who wanted to abort her 24-week pregnancy after her relationship failed and her partner left her.
• The lower court had taken an “unduly restrictive view” that her plea for a safe abortion was not covered under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act.
• This was since the pregnancy arose from a consensual relationship outside wedlock.

Reiterating the live-in recognition

• Chastising the lower court, the Bench said live-in relationships had already been recognized by the Supreme Court.
• There were a significant number of people in the social mainstream who see no wrong in engaging in pre-marital sex.
• The law could not be used to quench “notions of social morality” and unduly interfere in their personal autonomy and bodily integrity.

Context

India has said the statement by the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation on Jammu and Kashmir “reeked of bigotry”.

What did the MEA say?
The Ministry of External Affairs said the Saudi Arabia -based OIC continued to issue statements on J&K at the behest of a serial violator of human rights and notorious promoter of terrorism, indicating Pakistan.

What is OIC?

• The OIC — formerly Organisation of the Islamic Conference — is the world’s second-largest inter-governmental organization after the UN, with a membership of 57 states.
• The OIC’s stated objective is “to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world”.
• OIC has reserved membership for Muslim-majority countries. Russia, Thailand, and a couple of other small countries have Observer status.

India and OIC

• At the 45th session of the Foreign Ministers’ Summit in 2018, Bangladesh suggested that India, where more than 10% of the world’s Muslims live, should be given Observer status.
• In 1969, India was dis-invited from the Conference of Islamic Countries in Rabat, Morocco at Pakistan’s behest.
• Then Agriculture Minister Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was dis-invited upon arrival in Morocco after Pakistan President Yahya Khan lobbied against Indian participation.

Recent developments

• In 2019, India made its maiden appearance at the OIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Abu Dhabi, as a “guest of honor”.
• This first-time invitation was seen as a diplomatic victory for New Delhi, especially at a time of heightened tensions with Pakistan following the Pulwama attack.
• Pakistan had opposed the invitation to Swaraj and it boycotted the plenary after the UAE turned down its demand to rescind the invitation.

What is the OIC’s stand on Kashmir?

• It has been generally supportive of Pakistan’s stand on Kashmir and has issued statements criticizing India.
• Last year, after India revoked Article 370 in Kashmir, Pakistan lobbied with the OIC for their condemnation of the move.
• To Pakistan’s surprise, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — both top leaders among the Muslim countries — issued nuanced statements, and were not as harshly critical of New Delhi as Islamabad had hoped.
• Since then, Islamabad has tried to rouse sentiments among the Islamic countries, but only a handful of them — Turkey and Malaysia — publicly criticized India.

How has India been responding?

• India has consistently underlined that J&K is an integral part of India and is a matter strictly internal to India.
• The strength with which India has made this assertion has varied slightly at times, but never the core message.
• It has maintained its “consistent and well-known” stand that the OIC had no locus standi.
• This time, India went a step ahead and said the grouping continues to allow itself to be used by a certain country “which has a record on religious tolerance, radicalism, and persecution of minorities”.

OIC members and India

• Individually, India has good relations with almost all member nations. Ties with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, especially, have looked up significantly in recent years.
• The OIC includes two of India’s close neighbors, Bangladesh and Maldives.
• Indian diplomats say both countries privately admit they do not want to complicate their bilateral ties with India on Kashmir but play along with OIC.

Context

According to Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Model Tenancy Act has been rectified by only four states, i.e., Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Assam.

Need for Model Tenancy Act

• The existing rent control laws are restricting the growth of rental housing and discourage owners from renting out their vacant houses due to fear of repossession. 
• One of the potential measures to unlock the vacant house is to bring transparency and accountability to the existing system of renting premises and to balance the interests of both the property owner and tenant in a judicious manner.
  • As per Census 2011, more than 1 crore houses were lying vacant in urban areas.
• Earlier, almost a third of all Indians were living in urban areas, their proportion rising from 31.16% in 2011 to 27.82% in 2001. By 2050, more than half of India would be living in cities or towns, mainly due to migration.

What is the Model Tenancy Act?

• About
  • The Model Tenancy Act, 2021 is to establish Rent Authority to regulate renting of premises and to protect the interests of landlords and tenants and to provide speedy. adjudication mechanism for resolution of disputes and matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
  • It aims at creating a vibrant, sustainable, and inclusive rental housing market in the country. 
  • It will enable the creation of adequate rental housing stock for all income groups thereby addressing the issue of homelessness.
  • It will enable the institutionalization of rental housing by gradually shifting it toward the formal market.
• Key Provisions
  • Written Agreement is Mandatory: A written agreement is mandatory between the property owner and the tenant.
  • Establishes Independent Authority and Rent Court: Establishes an independent authority in every state and UT for registration of tenancy agreements and even a separate court to take up tenancy related disputes.
  • Maximum Limit for Security Deposit: Limit the tenant’s advance security deposit to a maximum of two months' rent for residential purposes and to a maximum of six months for non-residential purposes.
  • Describes Rights and Obligations of both Landlord and Tenant
    • The landlord will be responsible for activities like structural repairs except those necessitated by damage caused by the tenant, whitewashing of walls and painting of doors and windows, etc.
    • The tenant will be responsible for drain cleaning, switches and socket repairs, kitchen fixtures repairs, replacement of glass panels in windows, doors and maintenance of gardens and open spaces, among others.
  • 24-hour Prior Notice by the Landlord: A landowner will have to give 24-hour prior notice before entering the rented premises to carry out repairs or replacement.
  • Mechanism for Vacating the Premises: If a landlord has fulfilled all the conditions stated in the rent agreement - giving notice etc.- and the tenant fails to vacate the premises on the expiration of the period of tenancy or termination of tenancy, the landlord is entitled to double the monthly rent for two months and four times after that.
• Significance
  • The authority will provide a speedy mechanism in resolving disputes and other related matters.
  • It will help overhaul the legal framework with respect to rental housing across the country.
  • It is expected to give a fillip to private participation in rental housing as a business model for addressing the huge housing shortage.
• Challenge: The Act is not binding on the states as land and urban development remain state subjects.

GS-III

Context

Despite the rapid advancement of digital platforms on the one hand and the pervasiveness of the Internet-enabled phone on the other, small enterprises such as local kirana stores have not gained from this. Online purchases from “near and now” inventory from the local store remain in a digital vacuum.

Online revolution in country

• Increased smartphone use: The rise in smartphone use fuelled by affordable data plans has catalysed an online revolution in the country.
• Pandemic accelerated digital inclusion: The novel coronavirus pandemic has further accelerated the process of digital inclusion.
• It is now not only routine to transact online it is also common to learn online, have medical consultations online, and even resolve disputes online.
• Increased scope for innovation in digital space: These realisations have given India the opportunity to disrupt the status quo with its innovative abilities.
• Systems such as the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and Aadhaar, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission have reengineered markets.

Why mall and medium sided businesses have not benefited from digital revolution?

• Despite the rapid advancement of digital platforms small enterprises such as local kirana stores have not gained from this.
• Cost of infrastructure: This is because, to sell on numerous platforms, sellers must maintain a separate infrastructure, which only adds costs and limits participation.
• Distinct terms and conditions of platforms: The distinct terms and conditions of each platform further limit the sellers’ flexibility.
• Consequently, small and medium-sized businesses have lost their freedom to choose and participate in the country’s e-commerce system at their will and on their terms.

Dispute resolution through ODR

• Disputes will be the obvious by-product of this e-commerce revolution.
• Therefore, it is imperative to support this initiative with a modern-day, cost-effective, timely and high-speed dispute resolution system.
• Online Dispute Resolution, or ODR as it is popularly called, has the propensity to work alongside the incumbent setup and deliver quick, affordable and enforceable outcomes.
• The ODR is not restricted to the use of legal mechanisms such as mediation, conciliation and arbitration in an online environment but can be tailormade for the specific use case keeping the participants in mind.
• ODR commonly involves case management systems, integration of communication technologies such as email, SMS, WhatsApp, Interactive Voice Response, audio/video conferencing.
• With appropriate data sets in place, it can also involve advanced automation, the use of technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to enable resolutions at the same time as it would take to initiate a transaction over the network.
• Many e-commerce companies have turned to the ODR with the realisation that in order to maximise transactions it is important to ensure a positive dispute resolution experience.
• Adoption in India: The ODR is no more a distant dream for India as well.
• The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has mandated platforms in the UPI ecosystem to adopt the ODR for complaints and grievances connected to failed transactions.
•  Ingram, SEBI SCORES (or the Securities and Exchange Board of India SEBI COm plaints REdress System), RBI CMS (or the Reserve Bank of India Complaint Management System), MahaRERA (or the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority), MSME Samadhaan (or the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Delayed Payment Monitoring System), and RTIOnline (or the Right to Information Online) are other examples of ODR systems that are widely used in the country.
• Mitigating litigation risks: The ODR will help mitigate litigation risk and provide valuable insights into problems faced by consumers.
• Consumers are provided with another choice for effective redress of their grievances, thereby building trust, confidence and brand loyalty.

Advantages of ONDC

• Wider choice for consumers: The ONDC achieves the dual objective of wider choice for consumers on the one hand and access to a wider consumer base for sellers on the other.
• With India’s e-commerce industry set to reach $200 billion by 2027, this shift from a platform-centric paradigm to democratisation of the nation’s online market will catalyse the inclusion of millions of small business owners and kirana businesses.

Conclusion
A dispute resolution framework that includes a customised ODR process can play a role in the network achieving its steep five-year target of adding $48 billion in gross merchandise value to India’s e-commerce market, a network of 90 crore buyers and 12 crore sellers with the least hiccups. 

Context

The brief visit by the United States House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, to Taiwan, against stern warnings issued by China, has the potential to increase the already deteriorating relationship between the U.S. and China. For those of us in India watching the events as they unfold around Taiwan, there are valuable lessons to be learnt. 

Takeaways for India

• Articulate red lines
  • The most important lesson from the Taiwan standoff for policymakers in New Delhi is the importance of articulating red lines and sovereign positions in an unambiguous manner.
  • New Delhi needs to unambiguously highlight the threat from China and the sources of such a threat.
  • Any absence of such clarity will be cleverly utilised by Beijing to push Indian limits, as we have already seen.
  • Stop confusing international community: Even worse, ambiguous messaging by India also confuses its friends in the international community.
  • If India does not clearly articulate that China is in illegal occupation of its territory, how can it expect its friends in the international community to support India diplomatically or otherwise?
  • In other words, India’s current policy amounts to poor messaging, and confusing to its own people as well as the larger international community, and is therefore counterproductive.
• Avoid appeasement
  • Taiwan could have avoided the ongoing confrontation and the economic blockade during Chinese retaliatory military exercises around its territory by avoiding Ms. Pelosi’s visit to Taipei, or perhaps even keeping it low-key.
  • Appeasement of China, Taiwan knows, is not the answer to Beijing’s aggression.
  • India’s policy of meeting/hosting Chinese leaders while the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) continue(d) to violate established territorial norms on the LAC is a deeply flawed one.
  • Unilaterally catering to Chinese sensitivities even during the standoffs between the two militaries is a mistake.
  • For instance, the parliamentary delegation visits and legislature-level dialogues between India and Taiwan have not taken place since 2017.
  • Soft-peddling of the Quad was a mistake: During the 2000s, India (as well as Australia) decided to soft-peddle the Quad in the face of strong Chinese objections.
  • It is only in the last two years or so that we have witnessed renewed enthusiasm around the Quad.
  • In retrospect, appeasing Beijing by almost abandoning the Quad was bad strategy.
• Economic relationship is a two-way process
  • Given that the economic relationship is a two-way process and that, as a matter of fact, the trade deficit is in China’s favour, China too has a lot to lose from a damaged trade relationship with India.
  • More so, if the Taiwan example (as well as the India-China standoff in 2020) is anything to go by, trade can continue to take place despite tensions and without India making any compromises vis-à-vis its sovereign claims.
  • India for sure should do business with China, but not on China’s own terms.

Context

Recently, in a written reply to Rajya Sabha Union Minister for State (Environment, Forest & Climate) said that India is constantly achieving its Sustainable Development Goals.

What are Sustainable Development Goals?

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

• It is a set of 17 SDGs which recognize that action in one area will affect outcomes in others and that development must balance social, economic, and environmental sustainability.
• Countries have committed to prioritizing progress for those who are furthest behind. 
• The SDGs are designed to end poverty, hunger, AIDS, and discrimination against women.
• India in recent years has made significant efforts in achieving the Goal 13^th of the SDGs in particular.
• The goal calls for taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

How has India Progressed in Achieving the Climate Action Goals?

• India achieved its pre-2020 voluntary goal. Despite having no binding obligation under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in 2009 India announced its voluntary goal to reduce the emissions intensity of its GDP by 20-25% by 2020 in comparison to 2005 level.
  • India achieved a 24% reduction in emission intensity of its GDP between 2005 and 2016.
• As per the Paris Agreement, India submitted its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to UNFCCC in 2015 outlining eight targets for the period 2021-2030, including
  • Reducing the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35% by 2030 from the 2005 level, 
  • To achieve about 40% cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030 with the help of the transfer of technology and low-cost international finance including from the Green Climate Fund (GCF),  
  • To create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030. 
  • The other targets pertain to sustainable lifestyles; climate-friendly growth paths; climate change adaptation; climate finance; and technology and capacity building.
  • India's recent initiatives for combatting climate change (and thus achieving SDGs) - include its goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2070, and initiatives for green energy transition.

What is National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)?

• Besides the above-mentioned targets, the Government of India is also implementing the National Action Plan on Climate Change which provides an overarching policy framework for all climate actions including mitigation and adaptation.
• It comprises eight core Missions in specific areas of solar energy, enhanced energy efficiency, sustainable habitat, water, sustaining Himalayan ecosystems, Green India, sustainable agriculture, and strategic knowledge for climate change. 
• 33 States and Union Territories have prepared State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) consistent with the objectives of NAPCC. 
• The adaptation activities in the States and Union Territories of India are being supported through National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC). 
  • NAFCC is implemented in project mode and to date, 30 adaptation projects have been approved under NAFCC in 27 States and UTs.