9 PM Daily Current Affairs Brief – January 31st, 2022

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 1

• Mahatma Gandhi, the out-of-the-box thinker

GS Paper 2

• State administrative services are crucial to federalism
• Explained: India, Oman ties and why its top defence official’s Delhi visit important
• A year on from Myanmar’s ‘annus horribilis’

GS Paper 3

• Good News Before Budget
• Show commitment to equity in the Budget
• Wait for SC: Let the court’s committee find answers on Pegasus. Broader point: we need a national security law
• We should expect the economic cost of the closed minds to increase 
• For the finance Minister to note

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

• India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2022 approved at 2nd ASEAN Digital Ministers (ADGMIN) meeting
• Explained: What are India’s stakes in its ties with Ukraine and Russia?
• What Is NeoCov, ‘Deadlier’ Coronavirus Strain That’s Left Wuhan Scientists Concerned?
• Explained: Why Maharashtra BJP MLAs’ one-year suspension was ‘illegal and irrational’
• Federated Digital Identities: Govt. moots plan to link digital IDs

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 1

Mahatma Gandhi, the out-of-the-box thinker

News: Mahatma Gandhi is an important figure of history, whose thinking and qualities offer us a lot of things to learn from him.

What are the qualities of Mahatma Gandhi?

Out of box thinker: Mahatma Gandhi understood categories of people and identified himself with the weakest. His concept of just and truthful politics stressed that the weakest should have the same opportunities as the strongest.

Simplicity: Gandhi is remarkable for his simplicity and transparency. His simplicity reflects in his actions and his mode of life. Instead of being driven by the corporate mindset of being successful, Gandhi drew joy and fulfilment in pursuing less.
Gandhi was a perpetual truth seeker. With Gandhi’s ideals, people are never confronted with absolute Truth.

Ambiguous Personality: There was a moral or spiritual interrogation in all of Gandhi’s historical actions. He did not mask himself or Indian history. He, therefore, let Indians to historical and civilization awareness. He also guided Indians to spiritual conversion non-violence.

Method of thinking: Gandhi, like Socrates, is guided by an inquisitive method of thinking. Gandhi believed that the true test of life lies in – self-discipline and self-restraint. Gandhi’s version of community is also inspired by these two ideals. According to Gandhi, a self-realized and self-conscious community can reconcile the self-determination of an individual along with recognition of shared values.

Self-transformation: According to Gandhi, the real strength of democracy lay in the self transformative nature of citizens. This self-transformation should influence individual life and public life. Also, solidarity is not just compassion but people’s responsibility of loyalty towards mankind.

GS Paper 2

State administrative services are crucial to federalism

News: The Union Government proposal to amend IAS Cadre Rules has attracted the opposition of various states. But the state’s failed to recognise the challenges associated with the State administrative services.

What is the problem with the State administrative services?

1) State failure to recruit an adequate number of civil servants, 2) Inadequate training, 3) Not fairly managed, 4) Unsatisfied performance, 5) Dysfunctional machinery.

Shortage of officers/required staff in various departments

Manpower shortage is found in almost all the departments. For e.g. in fire department, staff employed is below the prescribed international strength. Same thing is with nurses and doctors. Over 20 states have a doctor to population ratio below the WHO norm of 1:1,000.

On average, the state police force is 24% under their sanctioned strength. The condition is same with the best-governed states of India. Like Karnataka, which has conducted only 3 rounds of recruitment into the Karnataka Administrative Exam for over a decade. In which one round was stayed by High Court due to irregularities, another one was notified in 2015 conducted in 2017 and the recruitment remained incomplete.

A similar shortage has been experienced in almost all the departments like teachers, tehsildars, engineers etc.

What is the reason for the crisis in State administrative services?

In India, government jobs have become the spoils of power, to be distributed along the caste and regional lines, mostly to help politicians win elections. When this political reality meet the government recruitment rules, things got stuck. The deeper reason for state failure to nurture competent and professional civil services is the political economy.

How to improve State administrative services?

The best solution will be adopting the same examination for union and State Public Services. States can also adopt the similar criterion of UPSC examination ranks for their state-specific tests. This will help to reduce the status disparities between the centre and states and can also raise the standards of state officers.

Explained: India, Oman ties and why its top defence official’s Delhi visit important

News: Oman’s top defence official Mohammed Nasser Al Zaabi is on an official visit to India, this signifies India – Oman relationship.

What is the purpose of the visit?

He is going to co-chair the 10th Joint Military Cooperation Committee (JMMC) with Indian Defence Secretary. JMCC is the highest forum of engagement between India and Oman in the field of defence. It evaluates and provides guidance to the overall framework of defence exchanges between the two sides.

The present JMCC is expected to comprehensively evaluate the ongoing defence exchanges and provide a roadmap for further strengthening defence ties in the upcoming years.

What are the salient features in India – Oman relationship?

Historical: Oman’s longest-reigning leader, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, was a great friend of India. He was also a student of President Shankar Dayal Sharma. On his demise, India had announced national mourning for one day in his honour. He was also conferred with Gandhi Peace Prize, in recognition of his leadership in strengthening the ties between India & Oman and his efforts to promote peace in the Gulf region.

Indian diaspora: About 6.2 lakh Indians are living in Oman, of which about 4.8 lakh are workers and professionals. There are also Indian families living in Oman for more than 150-200 years.

Defence: Oman is India’s closest defence partner in the Gulf region. It provides critical operational support to Indian naval deployments in the Arabian Sea for anti-piracy missions.

It is the only country in the Gulf region with which all three services of the Indian armed forces conduct regular bilateral exercises. Oman also actively participates in the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS). Forces of both the countries also engaged with each other in various training programmes.

Strategic: To counter Chinese maritime influence, India has secured access to the key Port of Duqm in Oman for military use, reconnaissance aircraft, and logistical support. Recently, India had deployed an attack submarine to Duqm port in the western Arabian Sea.

Economic: Port of Duqm also has a special economic zone, where Indian companies invested around $1.8 billion. The Adani group had signed an MoU with Duqm port authorities in recent years.

In the context of strategic oil reserves near Duqm, India had extended an invitation to Oman to participate in building strategic oil reserves in India.

MoU in various fields: To strengthen bilateral defence ties, both countries had signed the MoU on Military Cooperation, in 2005 and renewed it in 2016. Another MoU was signed in 2016 on cooperation in maritime security and between Coast Guards of the two countries. Both countries are also committed to supporting each other towards promoting regional peace and security, counter-terrorism, information-sharing and capacity-building, etc

A year on from Myanmar’s ‘annus horribilis’

News: February 1 marks one year of military seizing power in Myanmar. The decade-long experiment of hybrid Democracy ended, paving way for violence, oppression and instability.

What is the background of the issue?

What has been the result of the military takeover?

The opposition formed a parallel government named National Unity Government. But it lost momentum and Myanmar denounced it as a terrorist. The national economy has weakened as pointed by World Bank terming it as critically weak. Government support to manage the pandemic was also greatly impacted.

What has been ASEAN’s role in Myanmar’s development?

ASEAN persuaded the senior general of Myanmar to accept a five-point consensus. It included cessation of violence, national dialogue and mediation by ASEAN. When Myanmar did not implement this, The senior general was barred from ASEAN summits.

The Cambodian Prime Minister has adopted a softer approach, which is backed by Thailand and Laos. It seeks compromise on denial of access to Suu Kyi to ASEAN mediators and little dilution of the 2008 Constitution.

What is the role of other players?

The West was unable to comprehend the dynamics of power as the USA and EU failed to resolve the issues in Myanmar. The policy of imposing sanctions has been ineffective.

China, the principal player: China has enormous leverage in golden land through control over separate ethnic armed organisations and projects like the Belt and Road initiative. China also protects the military regime in the Security Council via veto.

But Myanmar rulers also desire independence and balance in their external policy. Japan understands this, but it is acting alone and cannot make much difference.

What is India’s policy towards Myanmar?

India is always happy to work with fellow democracies. But it is not keen on exporting democratic values to other countries. India supports diplomatic efforts through the UN and through ASEAN. India also engages in humanitarian efforts by providing 1 million made in India vaccine doses.

India is following a two-track policy of supporting democracy and maintaining cordial relations with the government in power. Guided by realism and pragmatism, India is driven by the desire to protect India’s interests.

What should be the way forward for India?

India has to discourage the mass influx of refugees, check cross-border insurgency in the northeast, safeguard ongoing projects and investments and also counter China’s growing influence.

GS Paper 3

Good News Before Budget

News: The 2022 budget session of the Parliament commenced today.

This article discusses the need of sustaining export growth. Also, it emphasizes that budget 2022 should focus on the agriculture and health sector to ensure efficiency and inclusiveness in government expenditure.

Performance of exports

One, India’s goods exports are at a record high of $393 billion and the global share of exports also rose to an all-time high.

Two, India has made good progress in exports of electronics, fine chemicals, pharmaceutical, textiles, and apparel exports.

What is the reason behind the growth in exports?

One, labor-intensive industries are moving out of China due to shrinking industrial workforce. Indian demography makes it a suitable alternative.

Two, government policies provide incentives for CAPEX. For example, speedy permissions, electricity, skilling reimbursement, and tax moratorium.

Three, there are some sector-specific factors as well. For example, specialty chemicals are growing due to the high price of chemicals. In the cotton sector, growth can be seen due to the US ban on Xinjiang cotton.

Health Sector Growth

Why budget 2022 should focus on health sector?

First, expenditure on health has been low for a decade, and pandemics created a consensus to strengthen the health system.

Second, the 15th Finance Commission recommended greater investment in rural and urban primary care, a nationwide disease surveillance system, a larger health workforce, and the increasing capacity of critical care hospitals.

Third, there is also a lack of availability of accredited healthcare facilities under PMJAY in tier-2 and tier-3 hospitals.

How the Budget 2022 can push for health system transformation?

First, the Union budget of 2021 increased allocation to the health sector by 137%, prioritized Pradhan Mantri Aatmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana (PMASBY). Further, It merged the allocations to water, sanitation, nutrition, and air pollution control with the health budget.

Budget 2022 can ensure adequate funding for missions such as Digital Health Mission and Health Infrastructure Mission under the Ayushman Bharat.

Second, there is also a need to increase expenditure on new primary healthcare infrastructure, especially urban primary healthcare.

Third, there is also a need for a multi-skilled health workforce. The training of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) and Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) can be done in a shorter time. Public health cadres must be created in every state.

Fifth, district hospitals need to be upgraded especially in underserved regions to become training centers for students of medical, nursing, and allied health professional courses.

Agriculture Sector

One, the burden of subsidies (food, fertilizers, and payments under the PM-Kisan Samman Nidhi) is multiple times of government’s expenditure on agri-R&D.

However, according to ICRIER, investment in agri-R&D brings five to 10 times higher returns and helps in poverty alleviation. Hence, there is a need to increase the amount of agri-R&D and extension, especially in horticulture, medicinal plants, livestock, fishery, etc.

Two, there is leakage of rice in the open market, and rice export unit value is below the MSP of rice. It reduces the global price of rice, and it means India has to export more quantities of rice to get the same amount of dollars.

What is the way forward?

First, there is a need for improvement in technology, skill development, investments in infrastructure to reshape value chains and sustain export competitiveness.

Second, in the agriculture sector, ICAR needs to be revamped to collaborate with the private sector and FPOs to make its research outcomes marketable.

Third, to reduce the burden of subsidy, the economic survey recommended reducing the coverage to 30 percent of beneficiaries under NFSA. Also, according to NITI Aayog, only 25 percent of the population is multi-dimensionally poor based on NFHS data.

Furthermore, beneficiaries should be given the option to receive the money in cash in their accounts to reduce leakages and also save on the high economic costs of these grains.

Show commitment to equity in the Budget

News: Recently, Oxfam International presented “Inequality Report” with the title “Inequality Kills”.

What does the report say?

One, the report highlighted the growth in wealth of a few and the simultaneously increasing poverty among millions.

Two, more than half the world’s new poor are from India and 84% of Indian households have suffered a loss of income during the pandemic, with 4.6 crore people falling into extreme poverty. However, Oxfam says the combined wealth of India’s 142 billionaires has increased by a massive ₹30 lakh-crore.

Why budget should show commitment to equity?

Inequality threatens basic rights, and there is also a constitutional mandate to reduce inequality. Directive Principles of State Policy should be a guiding light for the budget. For example, Article 38(1) states that the State shall strive to promote the welfare of the people by securing and protecting as effectively as it may a social order in which justice, social, economic, and political, shall inform all the institutions of the national life.

Article 39 (c) states that the State shall secure an economic system that does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production.

Which issues should be immediately addressed by Budget 2022?

First, India witnessed a decline in health budget during the COVID-19 pandemic by a huge 10% in the last year. Social security expenditure has declined from 1.5% in 2020-21 to 0.6% of the Union Budget in 2022.

Second, people are deprived of the most basic services and entitlements. Social security pensions, for the elderly, the disabled, and widows have been frozen at ₹200-₹300 a month for almost 15 years.

Third, during the pandemic, National Food Security Act (NFSA) and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) have saved millions of Indians from hunger and premature death.

However, after increasing allocations in the first phase of the pandemic, allocations were frozen in Budget 2021-22. It undermines the legal guarantee of work on demand.

Fourth, the priority list of households under the NFSA is based on the 2011 Census. However, the population has increased, and therefore 12% of legally entitled people cannot get subsidized food grain.

Fifth, the pandemic has affected formal education and many teenagers from poor households have already joined the workforce. But the budget 2021 reduced the education budget by 6%, which will further institutionalize multidimensional poverty.

What is the way forward?

First, programmes such as the food security Act should receive the quantum of allocations needed, as India has food grain stocks of more than 90 million tons.

Second, The People’s Action for Employment Guarantee (PAEG) has estimated that ₹2,64,000 crore will be needed to guarantee 100 days’ work for currently active job cards. Hence, there is a need to increase allocation to MGREGA.

Third, to deal with resource scarcity and to reduce inequality, the budget should introduce a 2% wealth tax and a 33% inheritance tax on the top 1% of our population. It will fetch an estimated ₹11 lakh crore per annum to support basic social sector entitlements.

Fourth, it is time to introspect, generate robust data, and follow a rights-based policy framework to protect the poor and the marginalized.

Wait for SC: Let the court’s committee find answers on Pegasus. Broader point: we need a national security law

News: Pegasus controversy has raised many questions on the privacy right of citizens.

What is the Supreme Court view on Pegasus controversy?

What should be the way forward?

India needs a National Security Law– a set of rules that will govern surveillance.

We should expect the economic cost of the closed minds to increase

News: Although the Omicron variant has not caused the expected damage and this is seen as a positive development in global fight against the pandemic. However, the World Bank’s biannual Global Economic Prospects report shows that the effect of the pandemic is far from over. 

What are the predictions in the report for global economy? 

It forecasts that global economic growth will slow to 4.1% in 2022, from 5.5% last year. This is because governments globally are losing the capacity to provide further fiscal support because of rising debt burdens, supply-chain bottlenecks that impede the flow of goods and services, and resultant rising inflation. This also means that several economies are at high risk of debt distress.  

Energy prices will surge further. 

Although the report projects a high growth rate for some economies like 10% for Argentina, 8.3%, for India but there is a catch in this statistic. This growth is the result of the base year effect, as the pandemic caused a contraction in many of the economies in 2020. 

Usually, emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs), helped by their lower base, grow faster than advanced economies. But, they will perform poorer than advanced economies in 2023. This is because EMDEs have limited policy space to provide additional support. 

What are the reasons for this uneven growth? 

One of the main reasons for the uneven recovery is the recent growth of hyper nationalism. It is typically disastrous for an economy in the long run. 

Countries under the influence of hyper nationalism try to become self-sufficient by raising barriers to trade, capital and ideas from elsewhere.  

What are the possible implications of this hyper nationalism? 

This may stagnate growth (as happened in Argentina in the early decades of the 20th century) and prevent the development of the society.  

In this globalized world, new ideas and research is emerging everywhere. Countries should try to absorb the best from everywhere, and uphold the vision of a common human identity. 

For the finance Minister to note

News: World Inequality Report 2022 has pointed out that India is now among the most unequal countries in the world. Inequality today is as great as it was at the peak of western imperialism in the early 20th century. The pandemic has only worsened it.  

What does the report says about the inequality in India? 

Read here.

Nations have become richer, but governments have become poor. Global multimillionaires have captured a disproportionate share of global wealth growth over the past several decades. And companies continue to devise novel ways to escape the taxation.  

What are the factors that may lead to an increase in inequality? 

Government have recently tried to lower the tax rates.

– This reduces government revenue at a time of growing public deficit and declining public wealth.  

– Also, due to lower taxation on corporates, High-income individuals choose to incorporate their business so that they can shift income from personal income tax to corporate tax.  

Further, there has been recently a lot of discussion around the issue of global minimum taxation. 

– Around 130 countries had in July 2021 agreed for the introduction of the global minimum tax of 15% on MNCs. This is lower than what working class and middle-class people in high-income countries pay.  

– Most of the Big MNCs are working in the digital space like Metaverse, Microsoft, etc but as the digital access has not been equitable it will be a challenge to implement the proposed global minimum tax.   

What are the possible positive implications of global minimum tax on India? 

Read here. 

What are the apprehensions regarding India joining the implementation of global minimum taxation? 

Read here. 

What is the way forward? 

The World Inequality Report suggested a minimum global tax on MNCs at 25%.  

MNCs and their shareholders have been the main winners from globalisation. Their profits have boomed due to the ever-closer integration of world markets. Therefore, there is need for a socially conscious policymaking that supports equity.

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2022 approved at 2nd ASEAN Digital Ministers (ADGMIN) meeting

Source: This post is based on the article “India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2022 approved at 2nd ASEAN Digital Ministers (ADGMIN) meeting” published in PIB on 31^st Jan 2022.

What is the news?

The 2nd ASEAN Digital Ministers (ADGMIN) meeting with India was held on a virtual platform.

What is ASEAN Digital Ministers (ADGMIN)?

​​ADGMIN is an annual meeting of Telecom Ministers of 10 ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) countries and dialogue partner countries – Australia, Canada, China, EU, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russia, UK and US. 

What are the key outcomes of the 2nd ASEAN Digital Ministers (ADGMIN) meeting with India?

The meeting discussed and deliberated various matters relevant to strengthening regional digital cooperation in the spirit of digital inclusion and integration. 

They approved the India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2022. The work plan includes: 

– System for combating the use of stolen and counterfeit mobile handsets 

– WiFi Access network interface for nationwide public internet 

– capacity building and knowledge sharing in emerging areas in the field of Information and Communication Technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), 5G, Advanced Satellite Communication, Cyber Forensics among others.

Explained: What are India’s stakes in its ties with Ukraine and Russia?

Source: This post is based on the article “Explained: What are India’s stakes in its ties with Ukraine and Russia?” published in The Indian Express on 31^st Jan 2022.

What is the news?

India has given its first statement on the ongoing crisis between Russia and the West, led by the US over Ukraine.

India has called for a “peaceful resolution” of the situation through “sustained diplomatic efforts” for “long-term peace and stability” in the region and beyond.

Click Here to read about Russia-Ukraine Conflict in Brief

What is happening in Ukraine?

Ukraine has become a bone of contention in Russia’s relations with the Western countries.

Currently, Russian troops are near the border of Ukraine and NATO’s forces on standby in case Russia attacks Ukraine.

The crisis began when Russia told Western powers that it had a list of demands. Among the most important demand was that Ukraine should never be allowed to join NATO. The US and the West have ruled this out. Currently, the two sides are negotiating these demands in Paris, France.

Why is Russia doing this?

The New Yorker’s editor David Remnick, the Washington Post correspondent in Russia between 1987 and 1991, has written a book, Lenin’s Tomb: Last Days of the Soviet Empire, in which he quotes Vladimir Lenin as saying: “For us, to lose Ukraine would be to lose our head”. Hence, this has been the attitude of rulers in Russia over the centuries.

What is at stake for India?

India is concerned about Russia’s “muscle-flexing” and external intervention in national matters. But India does not want to jeopardize the close military ties with Russia. Almost 60% of India’s military supplies are Russian manufactured.

At the same time, the US and Europe are both important partners from India’s strategic calculus. Many American platforms have been used for reconnaissance and surveillance along the India-China border.

Another concern for India is the small Indian community in Ukraine, comprising mostly students in medical colleges. 

What Is NeoCov, ‘Deadlier’ Coronavirus Strain That’s Left Wuhan Scientists Concerned?

Source: This post is based on the article “What Is NeoCov, ‘Deadlier’ Coronavirus Strain That’s Left Wuhan Scientists Concerned?” published in “The Outlook” on 31st Jan 2022.

What is the News?

Researchers from China have been warning about a new strain of coronavirus that could be even deadlier than Covid-19. This new strain is called ‘Neo-Cov’.

What is NeoCoV?

NeoCoV is a bat coronavirus that was first identified in 2011. It was identified in South Africa in a species of bats known as Neoromicia, which is where the name NeoCoV was derived from. 

Is NeoCov a new Covid variant?

No, Neo-Cov is not a new Covid-19 variant. It belongs to a distinctly different genera (a type of subclassification) of coronaviruses known as merbecovirus.

In 2014, it was found that NeoCoV shares an 85% similarity to the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the genome sequence, making it the closest known relative of MERS-CoV.

Note: MERS-CoV was first identified in 2012 in Saudi Arabia. It is a zoonotic virus which means it can transmit between animals and people. Dromedary camels were the major host of the virus at that time.

Does NeoCoV infect humans and cause high mortality?

So far, the virus has only been found to infect bats. Hence, this means that in its current form, it does not infect humans yet and has thus not caused any deaths.

What scientists from China have found out about NeoCoV?

NeoCov is currently spreading only among animals. However, NeoCov is just one mutation away from being able to penetrate the human immune system.

NeoCoV virus also has an extremely high transmission and fatality rate, as it can cause death in at least one out of three infected people. 

Moreover, infection with NeoCov could not be cross-neutralized by antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2 or MERS-CoV.

Explained: Why Maharashtra BJP MLAs’ one-year suspension was ‘illegal and irrational’

Source: This post is based on the article “Explained: Why Maharashtra BJP MLAs’ one-year suspension was ‘illegal and irrational’” published in The Indian Express on 31st Jan 2022.

What is the News?

The Supreme Court has set aside the one-year suspension of 12 BJP MLAs from the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.

What is the case about?

The 12 BJP MLAs from the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly were suspended for misbehaviour in the Assembly. The MLAs challenged the suspension mainly on grounds of denial of the principles of natural justice and of violation of laid-down procedure.

They have also said that the suspension was against Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Rules 53.

What were the arguments given by the Maharashtra Assembly?

Firstly, the house had acted within its legislative competence under Article 212 and courts do not have jurisdiction to inquire into the proceedings of the legislature.

Secondly, the state had also said that a seat does not automatically become vacant if the member does not attend the House for 60 days, but it becomes vacant only if declared so by the House.

Thirdly, the state has also referred to Article 194 on the powers and privileges of the House and argued that any member who transgresses these privileges can be suspended through the inherent powers of the House. It has denied that the power to suspend a member can be exercised only through Rule 53 of the Assembly.

What were the arguments given by the Supreme Court while delivering the judgment?

Against Rule 53: The court said that the suspension has to follow the procedure laid down in Rule 53 It said that the suspension of a member must be preferred as a short term or a temporary, disciplinary measure for restoring order in the Assembly. Anything in excess of that would be irrational suspension.

Violates Basic Democratic Values: The suspension beyond the ongoing session is violative of basic democratic values, as it would mean the constituency the member represents in the House would remain unrepresented.

A suspension could be used to manipulate opposition: A thin majority coalition government could use such suspensions to manipulate the number of Opposition party members and that Opposition will not be able to effectively participate in discussions/debates in the House fearing suspension of its members for a longer period.

No Complete Immunity from Judicial Review: The court considered whether the legislature had complete immunity from judicial review in matters of irregularity of procedure. It ruled that procedures are open to judicial review on the touchstone of being unconstitutional, grossly illegal, irrational or arbitrary.

Federated Digital Identities: Govt. moots plan to link digital IDs

Source: This post is based on the article “Govt. moots plan to link digital IDs” published in The Hindu on 31st Jan 2022.

What is the News?

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology(MeitY) has proposed to establish “Federated Digital Identities”.

What is Federated Digital Identities?

It is one unique ID under which a citizen’s multiple digital IDs — from PAN, Aadhaar to driving licence and passport numbers — can be interlinked, stored and accessed for digital transactions such as authentication and eKYC services.

Aim: To optimize the number of digital identities that a citizen needs to have.

This proposal is part of the Electronics and IT Ministry’s India Enterprise Architecture 2.0 (IndEA 2.0).

What is the rationale behind Federated Digital Identities?

Currently, having multiple IDs ​​makes it harder for a common man for whom these IDs are created. Hence, a unique digital identity is being proposed to enable the citizen to answer the first question asked in any interaction with a public or private organization, ‘who I am’.

Significance of Federated Digital Identities 

Firstly, it will empower the citizen by putting him/her in control of these identities and providing him/her the option of choosing which one to use for what purpose.

Secondly, it will also do away with the need for repeated verification. For example, when a beneficiary is registered for the PDS scheme, that record will be linked to Aadhaar by the PDS system storing the Aadhaar number (or a tokenized version of it).

What is India Enterprise Architecture(IndEA)?

India Enterprise Architecture (IndEA) was designed in 2017 with a view to enable alignment of the IT developments with the business vision of government organizations. It provides a set of architecture reference models aimed at a holistic and integrated approach to e-Governance.

InDEA 2.0 is a framework that enables Governments and private sector enterprises to design IT architectures that can span beyond their organizational boundaries and enable the delivery of holistic and integrated services to the customers.