Weekly Current Affairs (15th to 21st November 2022) - 2 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

India Norway Maritime Cooperation

Context: Recently, the 8th Norway-India Joint Working Group Maritime meeting was held in Mumbai, India.

• Norway has the technical expertise in Maritime sector and India has huge potential for development of Maritime sector and large pool of trained seafarers, which make both countries natural complementary partners.
• Earlier, India had also prepared Maritime India Vision 2030, which has identified more than 150 initiatives across various maritime sectors like ports, shipping and waterways focusing on capacity augmentation etc.

What are the Key Discussions of the Meeting?

• Discussion was held on use of alternative fuels like green ammonia and hydrogen for futuristic shipping.
• The Norwegian Green Shipping Programme has been successful and the experience and expertise was shared in the meeting.
• India and Norway are part of the Green Voyage 2050 project.
  • Both parties agreed on willingness, devotion, partnership and capacity building for achieving common goals.
• India is a signatory to Hongkong Convention for Recycling of Ships.
  • In the meeting, India requested that European Union regulation should not hinder recycling of non-European countries which are compliant as per International Convention.
  • Norway was requested not to prolong Ship recycling to India as a lot of investment has been made by Indian recyclers.
• The Norwegian delegation will also take part in INMARCO, the Green Shipping Conclave, and the Maritime ShEO conference.
  • The Maritime ShEO conference is supported by Norway and focused on maritime diversity and sustainability, including gender equality in the maritime industry.

What is Maritime India Vision 2030?

About:

• Maritime India Vision (MIV) 2030 is a ten-year blueprint for the maritime sector released by the Prime Minister of India at the Maritime India Summit in November 2020.
• MIV 2030 has been formulated in consultation with over 350+ public and private sector stakeholders, comprising ports, shipyards, inland waterways, trade bodies and associations, national and international industry and legal experts.

Themes:

• MIV 2030 is based on 10 themes covering all the facets of the Indian maritime sector and is a comprehensive effort to define and meet national maritime objectives:
  • Develop best-in-class Port infrastructure.
  • Drive Exchange to Exchange Logistics Efficiency and Cost Competitiveness.
  • Enhance Logistics Efficiency through Technology and Innovation.
  • Strengthen Policy and Institutional Framework to Support all Stakeholders.
  • Enhance Global Share in Ship Building, Repair and Recycling.
  • Enhance Cargo and Passenger Movement through Inland Waterways.
  • Promote Ocean, Coastal and River Cruise Sector.
  • Enhance India’s Global stature and Maritime Co-operation.
  • Lead the World in Safe, Sustainable & Green Maritime Sector.
  • Become Top Seafaring Nation with World Class Education, Research & Training.

Key Targets 2030:

• Three Major Ports with >300 Million Ton Per Annum (MTPA) cargo handling capacity.
• More than 75% of Indian cargo transshipment handled by Indian ports.
• More than 85% of cargo handled at Major Ports by Public Private Partnership/ other operators.
• Average vessel turnaround time (containers) of less than 20 hours.
• Global ranking of Top 10 in ship building and ship repair.
• More than 15 Lakh annual cruise passengers.
• More than 60% share of renewable energy at Major Ports.

5th Meeting of Governing Council of NIIF

Context: Recently, the Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs chaired the 5th meeting of the Governing Council (GC) of National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF).

What are the Highlights of the Meeting?

• India Japan Fund:
  • In a Memorandum of Understanding, NIIF and Japan Bank for International Development (JBIC) have proposed to establish NIIF's first bilateral fund - the "India Japan Fund" - with contributions coming from the Government of India (GoI).
  • The MoU was signed recently on 9th November, 2022.
• NBFCs:
  • The GC noted that the two infrastructures Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), where NIIF has majority stakes, have increased their combined loan book from Rs. 4,200 crores to Rs. 26,000 crores in 3 years without experiencing any Non-Performing Loans (NPLs).
  • The GC also guided NIIF to undertake advisory activities proactively to support central and state governments to create a pipeline of investible Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects.
• Exploring Opportunities under Different Schemes:
  • The Finance Minister exhorted the NIIFL team also to explore opportunities under the National Infrastructure Pipeline, PM GatiShakti and National Infrastructure Corridor.
  • These schemes include a big pool of investible greenfield and brownfield investment projects, and to try and crowd in commercial capital into those opportunities.
• Status of Three Funds: The GC was apprised of the current status of the 3 funds that are currently managed by NIIFL –
  • Master Fund: Invests primarily in operating assets in core infrastructure sectors such as roads, ports, airports, power, etc.
  • Fund of Funds (FoF) : Managed by fund managers with experience in infrastructure and related sectors in India. Green Infrastructure, Mid-Income & Affordable Housing, Infrastructure Services, and allied sectors are some of the areas of focus.
  • Strategic Opportunities Fund (SoF): SOF has been established with the objective to provide long-term capital to high-growth future-ready businesses in India. The fund’s strategy is to build a portfolio of large entrepreneur-led or professionally managed domestic champions and unicorns.

Greenfield vs Brownfield Investment

• Greenfield Project: It refers to investment in a manufacturing, office, or other physical company-related structure or group of structures in an area where no previous facilities exist.
• Brownfield investment: The projects which are modified or upgraded are called brownfield projects. The term is used for purchasing or leasing existing production facilities to launch a new production activity.

What is the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF)?

• NIIF is a government-backed entity established to provide long-term capital to the country’s infrastructure sector.
  • The Indian government has a 49% stake in NIIF with the rest held by foreign and domestic investors.
  • With the Centre’s significant stake, NIIF is considered India’s quasi-sovereign wealth fund.
• It was set up in December 2015 as a Category-II Alternate Investment Fund.
• Across its three funds, it manages over USD 4.3 billion of capital.
  • Its registered office is in New Delhi.

Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2022

Context: The Union Government has released a revised personal data protection bill, now called the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022.

• The Bill has been introduced after 3 months of the withdrawal of the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019.

What are the Seven Principles of the 2022 Bill?

• Firstly, usage of personal data by organisations must be done in a manner that is lawful, fair to the individuals concerned and transparent to individuals.
• Secondly, personal data must only be used for the purposes for which it was collected.
• The third principle talks of data minimisation.
• The fourth principle puts an emphasis on data accuracy when it comes to collection.
• The fifth principle talks of how personal data that is collected cannot be “stored perpetually by default” and storage should be limited to a fixed duration.
• The sixth principle says that there should be reasonable safeguards to ensure there is “no unauthorized collection or processing of personal data”.
• Seventh principle states that “the person who decides the purpose and means of the processing of personal data should be accountable for such processing”.

What are the Key Features of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill?

• Data Principal and Data Fiduciary:
  • Data Principal refers to the individual whose data is being collected.
  • In the case of children (<18 years), their parents/lawful guardians will be considered their “Data Principals”.
  • Data Fiduciary is the entity (individual, company, firm, state etc), which decides the “purpose and means of the processing of an individual’s personal data”.
  • Personal Data is “any data by which an individual can be identified”.
  • Processing means “the entire cycle of operations that can be carried out in respect of personal data”.
• Significant Data Fiduciary:
  • Significant Data Fiduciaries are those who deal with a high volume of personal data. The Central government will define who is designated under this category based on a number of factors.
  • Such entities will have to appoint a ‘Data protection officer’ and an independent Data Auditor.
• Rights of Individuals:
  • Access to Information: The bill ensures that individuals should be able to “access basic information” in languages specified in the eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution.
  • Right to Consent: Individuals need to give consent before their data is processed and “every individual should know what items of personal data a Data Fiduciary wants to collect and the purpose of such collection and further processing”. Individuals also have the right to withdraw consent from a Data Fiduciary.
  • Right to Erase: Data principals will have the right to demand the erasure and correction of data collected by the data fiduciary.
  • Right to Nominate: Data principals will also have the right to nominate an individual who will exercise these rights in the event of their death or incapacity.
• Data Protection Board: The Bill also proposes to set up a Data Protection Board to ensure compliance with the Bill. In case of an unsatisfactory response from the Data Fiduciary, the consumers can file a complaint to the Data Protection Board.
• Cross-border Data Transfer: The bill allows for cross-border storage and transfer of data to “certain notified countries and territories” provided they have a suitable data security landscape, and the Government can access data of Indians from there.
• Financial Penalties:
  • For Data Fiduciary: The bill proposes to impose significant penalties on businesses that undergo data breaches or fail to notify users when breaches happen. The penalties will be imposed ranging from Rs. 50 crores to Rs. 500 crores.
  • For Data Principal: If a user submits false documents while signing up for an online service, or files frivolous grievance complaints, the user could be fined up to Rs 10,000.

Exemptions:

• The government can exempt certain businesses from adhering to provisions of the bill on the basis of the number of users and the volume of personal data processed by the entity.
  • This has been done keeping in mind startups of the country who had complained that the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 was too “compliance intensive”.
• National security-related exemptions, similar to the previous 2019 version, have been kept intact.
  • The Centre has been empowered to exempt its agencies from adhering to provisions of the Bill in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, maintenance of public order or preventing incitement to any cognisable offence.

Why is Digital Personal Data Protection Bill Significant?

• The new Bill offers significant concessions on cross-border data flows, in a departure from the previous Bill’s contentious requirement of local storage of data within India’s geography.
• It offers a relatively soft stand on data localisation requirements and permits data transfer to select global destinations which is likely to foster country-to-country trade agreements.
• The bill recognises the data principal's right to postmortem privacy (Withdraw Consent) which was missing from the PDP Bill, 2019 but had been recommended by the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC).

How has India Strengthened Data Protection Regime?

• Justice K. S. Puttaswamy (Retd) vs Union of India 2017:
  • In August 2017, a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court in Justice K. S. Puttaswamy (Retd) Vs Union of India unanimously held that Indians have a constitutionally protected fundamental right to privacy that is an intrinsic part of life and liberty under Article 21.
• B.N. Srikrishna Committee 2017:
  • Government appointed a committee of experts for Data protection under the chairmanship of Justice B N Srikrishna in August 2017, that submitted its report in July 2018 along with a draft Data Protection Bill. The Report has a wide range of recommendations to strengthen privacy law in India including restrictions on processing and collection of data, Data Protection Authority, right to be forgotten, data localisation etc.
• Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021:
  • IT Rules (2021) mandate social media platforms to exercise greater diligence with respect to the content on their platforms.

What Data Protection Laws are there in Other Nations?

• European Union Model: The General Data Protection Regulation focuses on a comprehensive data protection law for processing of personal data.
  • In the EU, the right to privacy is enshrined as a fundamental right that seeks to protect an individual’s dignity and her right over the data she generates.
• US Model: There is no comprehensive set of privacy rights or principles in the US that, like the EU’s GDPR, addresses the use, collection, and disclosure of data.
  • Instead, there is limited sector-specific regulation. The approach towards data protection is different for the public and private sectors.
  • The activities and powers of the government vis-a-vis personal information are well-defined and addressed by broad legislation such as the Privacy Act, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, etc.
  • For the private sector, there are some sector-specific norms.
• China Model: New Chinese laws on data privacy and security issued over the last 12 months include the Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), which came into effect in November 2021.
  • It gives Chinese data principals new rights as it seeks to prevent the misuse of personal data.
  • The Data Security Law (DSL), which came into force in September 2021, requires business data to be categorized by levels of importance, and puts new restrictions on cross-border transfers.

Loss and Damage Funding for Climate Damages

Context: At the recently concluded COP27 summit, delegates from the United Nations agreed to create a 'Loss and Damages' fund which will compensate the most vulnerable countries for their losses due to climate-related disasters.

What is 'Loss and Damage' Funding?

• 'Loss and Damage' refers to impacts of climate change that cannot be avoided either by mitigation (cutting greenhouse gas emissions) or adaptation (modifying practices to buffer against climate change impacts).
• They also include not only economic damage to property but also loss of livelihoods, and the destruction of biodiversity and sites that have cultural importance.
• This broadens the scope for affected nations to claim compensation.

How has the Concept of Loss and Damage Evolved?

• Since the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was formed in the early 1990s, loss and damage due to climate change have been debated.
• The Least Developed Countries Group has long aimed to establish accountability and compensation for loss and destruction.
  • However, historically blamed for the climate catastrophe, rich countries have overlooked the concerns of vulnerable countries.
• Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damages (WIM) was founded in 2013 without funding after extensive pressure from developing countries.
  • However, during the 2021 COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, a 3-year task force was established to consider a funding arrangement for loss and damage.
• So far, Canada, Denmark, Germany, New Zealand, Scotland and the Belgian province of Wallonia have all expressed interest in loss and damage funding.

What are the Concerns regarding the Establishment of the Fund?

• As far as future COP negotiations are concerned, it only commits to creating a fund and leaves it up to discussion how it will be set up and, most importantly, who will contribute to it.
  • While there have been nominal commitments by certain countries to donate to such a fund, the estimated L&D is already over USD 500 billion.
  • During negotiations in COP27, the European Union pressed hard for China, the Arab states and “large, developing countries” (probably even India) to contribute on the grounds that they were large emitters.
• There is no agreement yet on what counts as "loss and damage" caused by climate change - which could include infrastructure damage, property damage, and cultural assets whose value is hard to quantify.
  • Climate funding so far has focused mostly on cutting carbon dioxide emissions in an effort to curb global warming, while about a third of it has gone toward projects to help communities adapt to future impacts.

What are India's Related Initiatives?

• National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC):
  • It was established in 2015 to meet the cost of adaptation to climate change for the State and Union Territories of India that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.
• National Clean Energy Fund:
  • The Fund was created to promote clean energy, and funded through an initial carbon tax on the use of coal by industries.
  • It is governed by an Inter-Ministerial Group with the Finance Secretary as the Chairman.
  • Its mandate is to fund research and development of innovative clean energy technology in the fossil and non-fossil fuel-based sectors.
• National Adaptation Fund:
  • The fund was established in 2014 with a corpus of Rs. 100 crores with the aim of bridging the gap between the need and the available funds.
  • The fund is operated under the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).

Way Forward

• While the gain is incremental, countries ought not to lose momentum and must work harder to ensure that COPs remain credible catalysts and are not mere occasions for some hollow victories.
• Further, there is a need to sustain a political commitment to raising new finance, besides, ensuring that finance is better targeted at reducing emissions and vulnerability. Learning and improving from recent experiences, particularly as the Green Climate Fund gets to work.