Weekly Current Affairs (22nd to 31st December 2022) - 1 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill 2022

Context: Recently, the Union Government tabled the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2022 in Parliament.

• The objective is to “decriminalize” 183 offences across 42 legislations and enhance the ease of living and doing business in India.
• Some Acts that are amended by the Bill include: the Indian Post Office Act, 1898, the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, the Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991, and the Information Technology Act, 2000.

What are the Highlights of the Bill?

Decriminalizing Certain Offences:

• Under the Bill, several offences with an imprisonment term in certain Acts have been decriminalised by imposing only a monetary penalty.

For example:

• Under the Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937, counterfeiting grade designation marks is punishable with imprisonment of up to three years and a fine of up to five thousand rupees. Grade designation mark indicates the quality of an article under the 1937 Act.
  • The Bill replaces this with a penalty of eight lakh rupees.
• Under the Information Technology Act, 2000, disclosing personal information in breach of a lawful contract is punishable with imprisonment of up to three years, or a fine of up to five lakh rupees, or both.
  • The Bill replaces this with a penalty of up to 25 lakh rupees.
• In certain Acts, offences have been decriminalised by imposing a penalty instead of a fine.
  • For instance, under the Patents Act, 1970, a person selling a falsely represented article as patented in India is subject to a fine of up to one lakh rupees.
  • The Bill replaces the fine with a penalty, which may be up to ten lakh rupees. In case of a continuing claim, there shall be an additional penalty of one thousand rupees per day.

Revision of Fines and Penalties:

• The Bill increases the fines and penalties for various offences in the specified Acts.
  • Further, these fines and penalties will be increased by 10% of the minimum amount every three years.

Appointing Adjudicating Officers:

• As per the Bill, the central government may appoint one or more adjudicating officers for the purpose of determining penalties. The adjudicating officers may: (i) summon individuals for evidence, and (ii) conduct inquiries into violations of the respected Acts.

Appellate Mechanisms:

• The Bill also specifies the appellate mechanisms for any person aggrieved by the order passed by an adjudicating officer.
  • For instance, in the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, appeals may be filed with the National Green Tribunal within 60 days from the order.

Why has the Bill been Introduced?

• Rise in Criminal Cases: For decades, scholars of law have been concerned that criminal law has grown unprincipledly. As per the National Judicial Data Grid, of the 4.3 crore pending cases, nearly 3.2 crore cases are in relation to criminal proceedings.
• Political Motives: As opposed to punishing wrongful conduct, criminalization often becomes a tool for governments to project a strong image. Governments offer little in the way of justifications to support such decisions. This phenomenon has been termed “overcriminalisation” by scholars.
• Overcrowding of Prisons: As per the National Crime Records Bureau’s Prison Statistics of 2021, a total of 5.54 lakh prisoners were confined in prisons against a capacity of 4.25 lakh.

What is the Scope of the Bill?

• The Bill might undertake ‘quasi-decriminalisation’.
• The Observer Research Foundation’s report titled Jailed for Doing Business found that there are more than 26,134 imprisonment clauses in a total of 843 economic legislations, rules and regulations which seek to regulate businesses and economic activities in India.
  • In this light, the number of offences deregulated under the Bill seems to be a mere drop in India’s regulatory framework.
• The regulatory offences to be considered for ‘decriminalisation’ need to be prioritised not only from the point of view of the ease of doing business but also from the points of view of the ills that plague our criminal justice system itself.
• The bill conforms to the understanding of the government that decriminalization should be limited to regulatory domains.

Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill

Context: Recently, Rajya Sabha passed the Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill which the government said would provide an effective legal instrument to combat Maritime Piracy.

• The security of sea lanes of communication is critical as more than 90% of India’s trade takes place by sea routes and more than 80% of the country’s hydrocarbon requirements was sea-borne.

What are the Key Features of the Bill?

About:

• The Bill provides for prevention of maritime piracy and prosecution of persons for such piracy-related crimes.
• It will apply to all parts of the sea adjacent to and beyond the limits of the Exclusive Economic Zone of India, i.e., beyond 200 nautical miles from the coastline.
• The Bill brings into law the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Definition of Piracy:

• It defines piracy as any illegal act of violence, detention, or destruction committed against a ship, aircraft, person or property, for private purposes, by the crew or passengers of a private ship or aircraft. Such acts may be carried out in the high seas (beyond the Exclusive Economic Zone of India) or any place outside the jurisdiction of India.
  • Inciting or intentionally facilitating such acts would also qualify as piracy.
  • It includes any other act that is considered as piratical under international law.
• Piracy also includes voluntary participation in the operations of a pirate ship or aircraft used for piracy.

Penalties:

• An act of piracy will be punishable with:
  • Imprisonment for life; or
  • Death, if the act of piracy causes or attempts to cause death.
• An attempt to commit, aid, support, or counsel an act of piracy will be punishable with up to 14 years of imprisonment, and a fine.
• Participating, organising, or directing others to participate in an act of piracy will also be punishable with up to 14 years of imprisonment, and a fine.
• Offences will be considered extraditable. This means that the accused can be transferred to any country for prosecution with which India has signed an extradition treaty.
  • In the absence of such treaties, offences will be extraditable on the basis of reciprocity between the countries.

Jurisdiction of the Courts:

• The central government, in consultation with the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court, may notify Sessions Courts as the Designated Courts under this Bill.
• The Designated Court will try offences committed by:
  • A person in the custody of the Indian Navy or Coast Guard, regardless of his nationality.
  • A citizen of India, a resident foreign national in India, or a stateless person.
• The Court will not have jurisdiction over offences committed on a foreign ship unless an intervention is requested by:
  • The country of origin of the ship.
  • The ship-owner.
  • Any other person on the ship.
• Warships and government-owned ships employed for non-commercial purposes will not be under the jurisdiction of the Court.

What are the Key Challenges in the Bill?

• Under the Bill, if a person, while committing an act of piracy causes or seeks to cause death, he will be punished with death.
  • This implies a mandatory death penalty for such offences.
  • The Supreme Court has held that mandatory death penalty for any offence is unconstitutional as it violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
  • However, Parliament has passed laws providing for mandatory death penalty for some offences. Example: Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (SC/ST Act).
• The Bill provides for imprisonment of up to 14 years if a person participates in an act of piracy. Committing an act of piracy (which includes voluntarily participating in the operation of a pirate ship or aircraft) is punishable with life imprisonment.
  • As these circumstances may overlap, it is unclear how the punishment would be determined in such cases.
• The Bill will apply to all parts of the sea adjacent to and beyond the limits of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of India, i.e., beyond 200 nautical miles from the coastline.
  • The question is whether the Bill should cover the EEZ also, that is the area between 12 nautical miles and 200 nautical miles (from the coastline of India).

What is the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea?

• The UNCLOS, 1982 is an international agreement that establishes the legal framework for marine and maritime activities.
• It is also known as Law of the Sea. It divides marine areas into five main zones namely- Internal Waters, Territorial Sea, Contiguous Zone, Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the High Seas.

• It is the only international convention which stipulates a framework for state jurisdiction in maritime spaces. It provides a different legal status to different maritime zones.
• It provides the backbone for offshore governance by coastal states and those navigating the oceans.
• It not only zones coastal states’ offshore areas but also provides specific guidance for states’ rights and responsibilities in the five concentric zones.
• In 1995, India ratified the UNCLOS.

Innovation in Agriculture

Context: Recently, the government of India has taken various initiatives related to Agriculture by using Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

• IoT is a computing concept that describes the idea of everyday physical objects being connected to the internet and being able to identify themselves to other devices.

What is the Need for IoT and AI in the Agriculture Sector?

• Even as agriculture remains a priority sector accounting for the livelihoods of around 58 % of the country's population, adoption of technology in the sector is at a transitory juncture and faces several challenges across the value chain.
• These challenges require disruptive interferences which can be provided by technological solutions such as the IoT and AI etc.
• Adoption of AI technologies can pave the way for higher production with the optimum utilization of available resources and facilitate predictive analysis, crop health management, enhance quality and traceability among others.
• The adoption of innovative and transformative smart farming practices in the country is gradually becoming a major trend.
• Globally technology advancements in recent years are re-engineering both the upstream and downstream segments of the agri value chain, which makes it important to adapt innovation in Agriculture.
• Cutting-edge technologies in AI such as IoT, ML (Machine Learning), cloud computing, statistical computing, deep learning, Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) can enable the Agriculture Sector to overcome the challenges of productivity, quality, traceability and carbon emission with enhanced profitability.

What is the Usage of AI in Agriculture?

• Analyzing Farm Data: Farms produce hundreds of thousands of data points on the ground daily. With the help of AI, farmers can now analyze a variety of things in real-time such as weather conditions, temperature, water usage or soil conditions collected from their farm to better inform their decisions. Farmers are also using AI to create seasonal forecasting models to improve agricultural accuracy and increase productivity.
• Precision Agriculture: Precision agriculture uses AI technology to aid in detecting diseases in plants, pests, and poor plant nutrition on farms. AI sensors can detect and target weeds and then decide which herbicides to apply within the right buffer zone. This helps to prevent over-application of herbicides and excessive toxins that find their way in our food. It would increase productivity by introducing precision agriculture.
• Tackling the Labour Challenge: With fewer people entering the farming profession, most farms are facing the challenge of a workforce shortage. One solution to help with this shortage of workers is AI agriculture bots. These bots augment the human labour workforce and are used in various forms. For example:
  • These bots can harvest crops at a higher volume and faster pace than human labourers, more accurately identify and eliminate weeds, and reduce costs for farms by having around the clock labour force.
  • Additionally, farmers are beginning to turn to chatbots for assistance. Chatbots help answer a variety of questions and provide advice and recommendations on specific farm problems.

What are the Related Initiatives taken?

National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems (NM-ICPS):

• It was launched in 2018 by the Ministry of Science and Technology with an outlay of Rs. 3,660.00 crore for a period of five years to encourage innovation in new age technologies.
• Under the Mission, 25 Technology Innovation Hubs (TIHs) have been set up in premier institutes of national importance across the country in advanced technology verticals.
• The Mission can act as an engine of growth that would benefit national initiatives in health, education, energy, environment, agriculture, strategic cum security, and industrial sectors, Industry 4.0, SMART Cities, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) etc.

Digital India initiatives:

• Under the Digital India initiatives government has set up Centres of Excellence on Internet of Things with the objective to enable India to emerge as an innovation hub in IoT through democratization of innovation and realization of prototypes.
• One of the focus areas of Centres of Excellence on IoT is on Agri-tech and it connects various entities such as startups, enterprises, venture capitalists, government and academia.

National e-Governance Plan in Agriculture:

• Funding is given to State Governments for Digital Agriculture projects using emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML), IoT, Block chain etc.

Innovation and Agri-Entrepreneurship Development:

• This programme is operational under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) from 2018-19 with the objective to promote innovation and entrepreneurship by providing financial support and nurturing the incubation ecosystem.
• In this connection, five Knowledge Partners (KPs) and 24 Agribusiness Incubators (R-ABIs) have been appointed across the country. The five KPs are:
  • National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE), Hyderabad.
  • National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM) Jaipur.
  • Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) Pusa, New Delhi.
  • University of Agriculture Science, Dharwad, Karnataka.
  • Assam Agriculture University, Jorhat, Assam.

Way Forward

• With the recent reforms in the agriculture sector, there is a likelihood of increased investments in contract farming and infusion of technology for better yields and productivity.
• This will further push the adoption of AI in agriculture. Further, in order to help these AI solutions, scale increased investments needed, both from the public and private sector.
• A huge surge in the emergence of agritech start-ups is being witnessed in India, driven by advanced technology penetration coupled with a conducive policy environment.
• This can only be seen as a starting point for the penetration of advanced technologies like AI, ML, IoT and Blockchain in the agriculture ecosystem.
• These collective technologies come as a great boon to the agricultural sector which is heavily reliant on unpredictable climatic conditions.

Democratic Vision of Ambedkar

Context: Several studies have examined Dr B.R. Ambedkar's concept of democracy, primarily through the lens of social, political, and economic philosophy.

What Constitutes Democracy in Ambedkar's Opinion?

• Morality: A look at the Buddha and his Dhamma sheds light on how Ambedkar viewed democracy as an approach that affected every aspect of human existence. Buddha, Kabir and Mahatma Phule’s philosophies played an important role in Ambedkar’s own engagement with democracy. According to him, democracy must also be viewed morally despite its pillars of equality, liberty, and fraternity.
• Use of Morality in Caste System: Ambedkar used the lens of morality in investigating the caste system, the Hindu social system, the nature of religion and Indian history. Since Ambedkar brought the most marginalized communities into democracy, it was difficult to place his framework of democracy within these rigid religious structures and socio-political systems. Thus, Ambedkar attempts to construct a new structure based on the principles of Buddhism.
• Balancing Individualism and Fraternity: He was critical of extreme individualism that was a possible outcome of Buddhism, as such characteristics failed to engage in activism that challenged social order. Thus, he believed that there needed to be a balance between individualism and fraternity for a harmonious society.
• Importance to Practicality: Ambedkar gave utmost importance to practicality. For him, concepts and theories needed to be tested as they were supposed to be practised in society. He used rationality and critical reasoning to analyse any subject matter, because he believed that a subject must first pass the test of rationality, failing which, it must be rejected, altered or modified.

What are the Types of Morality?

• Social Morality: According to Ambedkar, social morality was built through interaction and such interaction was based on the mutual recognition of human beings. Yet, under the rigid systems of caste and religion, such interaction was not possible as one did not accept another person as a respectable human being due to their religion or caste background. Social morality was based on equality among human beings and a recognition of respect.
• Constitutional Morality: Constitutional morality for Ambedkar was a prerequisite to maintaining a system of democracy in a country. Constitutional morality means adherence to the core principles of constitutional democracy. He believed that only through a negation of hereditary rule, laws that represented all people, with people’s representatives and a State which has the confidence of the people, can democracy be maintained. One single person or political party could not represent the needs or will of all the people. Ambedkar realised that the caste system did not go hand in hand with such an understanding of moral democracy. This was because the traditional caste structure was of a hierarchical rule, with no mutual respect among individuals, and complete subjugation of one group by another.

What is Ambedkar's view of Indian society?

• Caste System: According to his analysis of Indian society, the caste system is a particularistic value in Hinduism. Particularism is a political theory where one group promotes its own interests without regard to the interests of larger groups. The upper castes, according to Ambedkar, universalise the negative particularity (their dominance over the other groups) and particularise the negative universal morality (wherein the caste system and the subsequent alienation of certain groups is justified). This negative social relation is essentially ‘undemocratic’. It is to fight such separation that Ambedkar attempted to bring the democratic processes of Buddhism into the discourse of modern democracy.
• Role of Religion in Democracy: In Ambedkar's view, democracy was born from religion, without which associated living was impossible. Thus, instead of removing aspects of religion completely, he attempts to reconstruct a new version of democracy that accepts the democratic aspects of religions like Buddhism. Finally, Ambedkar realises that in order to conceptualise democracy as a way of life, it was important to distinguish principles and rules in society. In the Buddha and His Dhamma, Ambedkar elaborates how the concepts of Dhamma, which includes Prajna or thinking and understanding, Sila or good action and finally Karuna or kindness, emerge as a ‘morally transformative’ concept that dismantles regressive social relations.

What are the Conditions put forward by Ambedkar for Democracy to Function?

• Tackling Inequalities in Society: There must not be any glaring inequalities in society and there must not be an oppressed class. There must not be a class that has got all the privileges and a class that has got all the burdens to carry.
• Strong Opposition: He emphasized on the existence of a strong opposition. Democracy means veto power. Democracy is a contradiction of hereditary authority or autocratic authority, where elections act as a periodic veto in which people vote out a government and opposition in parliament act as an immediate veto that curbs the autocratic tendencies of the government in power.
• Liberty: Additionally, he argued that parliamentary democracy instills a passion for freedom; freedom to express thoughts and opinions, freedom to live a respectful life, freedom to do what one values. But we can see a parallel fall of India in the Human Freedom Index along with a weakened opposition and consequently falling democratic credentials.
• Equality in Law and Administration: Ambedkar also upheld equality in law and administration. Likes should be treated likely and there should be no discrimination based on class, caste, gender, race and so on. He brought forward the idea of constitutional Morality. For him, the constitution contains only the legal skeleton, but the flesh is what he calls constitutional morality.

Amendments to the Co-operative Societies Act

Context: Recently, responding to the demands by the Opposition, the Lok Sabha has referred the Multi-State Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill 2022 to a joint committee of Parliament.

• The Bill is aimed at overhauling the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 2002, which was enacted 20 years ago.

What is a Cooperative Society?

About:

• Cooperatives are organizations formed at the grassroots level by people to harness the power of collective bargaining in the marketplace.
  • This can mean different kinds of arrangements, such as using a common resource or sharing capital, to derive a common gain that would otherwise be difficult for an individual producer to get.
• In agriculture, cooperative dairies, sugar mills, spinning mills etc. are formed with the pooled resources of farmers who wish to process their produce.
  • Amul is perhaps the best-known cooperative society in India.

Jurisdiction:

• Cooperatives are a state subject under the Constitution, meaning they come under the state governments’ jurisdiction, but there are many societies whose members and areas of operation are spread across more than one state.
  • For example, most sugar mills along the districts on the Karnataka-Maharashtra border procure cane from both states.
• Cooperatives of more than one state are registered under the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act (MSCS) of 2002 Act.
  • Their board of directors has representation from all states they operate in.
  • Administrative and financial control of these societies is with the central registrar, with the law making it clear that no state government official can wield any control over them.

What is the Need for Amendment?

• Since 2002, many changes have taken place in the field of cooperatives. At that time, Cooperation was a department under the Ministry of Agriculture. However, in July 2021, the government carved out a separate Cooperation Ministry.
• Part IXB was inserted in the Constitution via 97th Constitutional Amendment Act 2011. In view of the insertion of Part IXB, it has become imperative to amend the Act.
  • Under 97th Amendment: The right to form cooperative societies was included as Right to Freedom (Article 19 (1)). Promotion of Cooperation societies was inserted as one of the DPSPs (Article 43-B).
• Further, developments over the years also necessitated changes in the Act so as to strengthen the co-operative movement in the multi-State co-operative societies.

What are the Proposed Amendments?

• Merger of Cooperatives: The Bill provides for the merger of “any co-operative society” into an existing MSCS by a resolution passed by majority (at least 2/3rd) of the members present and voting at a general meeting of such society. At present, only MSCS can amalgamate themselves and form a new MSCS.
• Co-operative Election Authority: The Bill seeks to establish a “Co-operative Election Authority”, with a view to bring “electoral reforms” in the co-operative sector. The Authority shall consist of a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson and a maximum of 3 more members to be appointed by the Centre. All the members will hold office for 3 years or until they attain the age of 65 years (whichever is earlier) and shall be eligible for re-appointment.
• Stricter Punishments: The Bill seeks to increase the amount of penalty for certain offences. If the board of directors or officers receive any unlawful gains while transacting matters related to such society, they will be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one month but which may extend to one year or with fine.
• Cooperative Ombudsman: The government has proposed to appoint one or more “Co-operative Ombudsman” with a territorial jurisdiction for inquiring into the complaints made by the members. The Co-operative Ombudsman will have the powers of civil court in summoning and examination.
• Rehabilitation and Development Fund: The Bill also seeks the “establishment of the Co-operative Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Development Fund” for revival of “sick MSCS”. It also proposes to insert a new section 70A relating to “concurrent audit” for MSCSs having an annual turnover or deposit of more than the amount as determined by the Central Government.

What are the Criticisms of the Proposed Bill?

• The Opposition members in the Lok Sabha have argued that the bill seeks to “take away” state governments’ rights.
• Some of the objections are based on the fact that cooperative societies are a state subject. Entry 43 of the Union List (7th Schedule) makes it clear that co-operative societies do not come in the Centre’s domain.
  • Entry 43 says - “Incorporation, regulation and winding up of trading corporations, including banking, insurance and financial corporations, but not including co-operative societies”.