9 PM Daily Current Affairs Brief – October 15th, 2022

Current Affairs Compilations for UPSC IAS Prelims 2022

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

• An attempt at tilting the balance of power: How the government is trying to control Big Tech
• Judges are hardly snoozing on vacations
• A court for our times

GS Paper 3

• Indian Deep Tech and a case for a strategic fund
• Through a 40-year prism: India’s record creditable, but not outstanding
• Smash hit – On DART mission
• Metaverse in India: The challenge of buying land and painting houses
• Do not ignore the role of woman livestock farmer

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

• Global Hunger Index is out, India in ‘serious’ category at rank 107
• Editor, scholar chargesheeted in ‘narrative terrorism’ case in J&K
• The question of sanction under UAPA: why Bombay HC has acquitted G N Saibaba
• INS TARKASH PARTICIPATES IN IBSAMAR VII
• CICA: At Kazakhstan meeting, India terms Pakistan epicentre of terrorism
• What are Rythu Bharosa Kendras that are being visited by an Ethiopian delegation?

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

An attempt at tilting the balance of power: How the government is trying to control Big Tech

Context:  There has been attempts by the government to regulate each and every aspect of India’s digital ecosystem.

This is evident from the proposed draft telecom bill, the personal data protection bill, etc. that require to regulate the physical infrastructure that forms the backbone of Digital India.

What are the aims of the government behind the regulation in digital sector?

First, Government’s efforts are pointing towards localisation and giving preferences to domestic firms. It is bringing laws that promote them and limit the influence and dominance of Big Tech.

For example, the draft telecom bill. It proposes to bring OTT communication platforms under it by providing similar rules like those governing the telecom operators.

Second, as per the government, it is trying to create a level playing field and address the concerns of national security.

However, majority of the initiatives by the government are aimed at curbing the dominance of Big Tech instead of any economic logic.

by the government?

The current policy differentiates between the domestic companies and foreign companies, only in the digital sector.

If market concentration restricts competition, then the same argument should be extended to telecom operators. For example, ownership of spectrum is limited to few firms only.

The provisions of different bills seem to increase the controlling power of the government rather than create a level playing field.

This form of industrial policy which favours a few chosen domestic players while restricting foreign competition could lead inefficient and uncompetitive goods and services market.

This would also go against the government’s aim of the digital economy.

If the concern is expansion of the foreign firms in India. Companies of Indian origin could be acquired by a foreign company or that receives funding from Big Tech.

Judges are hardly snoozing on vacations

News- The article contains arguments against the general belief that the judiciary in India enjoys a large number of vacations.

What are arguments against higher vacation enjoyed by the judiciary?

Comparison with other countries– US Supreme Court (SC) hears arguments for five to six days a month. High Courts in Australia hear arguments for two weeks a month. In comparison, the SC of India conducts hearings for 190 days and High Courts for 210 days in a year. Followinare some other tasks:

The judges devote long hours before and after court time. They consume a lot of their time reading newly listed cases. The time spent only reading cases over the weekend is a minimum 15 hours.

The judges spend a lot of time writing reasoned judgements. In some cases, judges require research on the question of law and its wider social ramifications.

They also have to perform administrative tasks like supervision of lower judiciary and appointment of judges.

Burden on judiciary- The Law Commission in 1987 recommended 107 judges per million. In 2002.SC also gave directions to increase the strength of to 50 judges per million in five years. But as of 2018, India has 18 judges per million.

A lot of judicial positions are vacant against the sanctioned strength.

In the 1950s, average disposal was 75 cases per judge. It increased to 3165 cases per judge.

Along with lack of judicial strength, judicial infrastructure is still in poor condition.

Malimath Committee report– It should not be read selectively. It has also suggested increasing the strength of the judiciary along with a reduction of vacations by 21 days.

For further reading- https://forumias.com/blog/vacation-pe-vacation-no-major-country-has-their-top-court-going-on-long-holidays-neither-should-supreme-court/

A court for our times

News- The article explains the recent Supreme Court ruling to include unmarried women in category of women who can seek abortion after 20 weeks under MTP Act,1971.

What are the legal provisions related to termination of pregnancy?

Section 3(2) (B) of the MTP– Pregnancy can be terminated within 20 weeks.

If pregnancy is between 20 and 24 weeks, then two registered medical practitioners must be appointed. They must form an opinion that the continuation of the pregnancy would involve a risk to the life of the pregnant woman and will be dangerous for physical and mental health.

Rule 3B of MTP– It establishes categories of women who can terminate pregnancy between 20 and 24 weeks.It includes survivors of sexual assault, those undergoing a change in status of relationshiphose, physically or mentally  challenged and women with foetal abnormalities. It does not include unmarried women.

What are important aspects of Supreme Court ruling?

The petitioner approached the Supreme Court. Her plea was rejected by Delhi HC on the basis that rule 3B does not include unmarried women.

SC overruled  the Delhi HC decision.

Supreme Court observed that unmarried women faces social stigma for engagingf in pre-marital sexual relations. It prevents them from enjoying reproductive rights.

We should avoid literal interpretation and look at the intention of the legislature. Changing social norms should be taken care of while interpreting the law.

SC also noted the transformative nature of the constitution. It observed that legislation should not avoid the changing context of relationship and family. In the Navtej Singh Johar case, modern forms of familial relationships like single parents, live-in relationships were recognised.

It observed that Article 14 of the constitution provides equal citizenship to single and unmarried women. Legislation has always intended for equal status for single and unmarried women. It has done this through consistent reforms of law related to adoption, succession.

GS Paper 3

Indian Deep Tech and a case for a strategic fund

News:  Government is making efforts for self-reliance in military technology, semiconductors and science-based businesses.

However, there are market concerns due to which private venture capital are not ready to invest and government spending will not be enough for the survival.

How funding has helped in other countries?

Government is the largest source of funds for Deep Tech in countries like the United States and Israel.

There are different agencies in these countries such as Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), etc.  through which huge funds flow into the small businesses.

But in India this bridge has not built yet due to the lack of funding.

What is the concern associated with the venture capitals to invest in the Deep Tech?

There are two problems that make investors cautious – a) lack of understanding of Deep Tech and b) the profits from Deep Tech takes time as it does not fit to standard 10-year fund return cycle.

Further, Deep Technology has dual use. For example, GPS is needed for Google Maps and it is also needed for fighter jet navigation and missile systems.

Therefore, it is not wise to burden the commercial industry alone for the strategic technology. Government should also come up with proper solutions.

What steps can government take to increase investments in the strategic technologies?

The government of India is trying to pool funds from various missions such as Semiconductor Mission, iDEX and TDF schemes. However, this would not be the apt solution for sustenance of Deep Tech.

Therefore, innovations in the corporate social responsibility (CSR) budgets and high net worth (HNI) tax breaks will induce capital flowing into strategic tech.

CSR: According to some estimates the annual CSR budget is rupees 15000 crore and some of the amount of this budget is unutilized. These unutilized CSR can be diverted from the social sector to the development of strategic technology.

Therefore, effort is required from the government and large corporations to invest in certain strategic tech startups.

HNIs: HNIs can also be offered tax incentives to make equity investment in the critical technology startups. This will provide a solution for high risk involved in the funding and replace the fear of lower short-term returns.

However, there are concerns with the misuse of funds.

How can government prevent the misuse of funds?

1. a) Investment should be limited only to Government of India-recognized startups, b) Startups should have funding or ‘acceptance of necessity’ granted from the Indian military/Ministry of Defense.

Therefore, if proper steps are taken by the government, then CSR funds and the right tax incentives to HNIs can create self-reliance in the Indian Deep Tech ecosystem.

Through a 40-year prism: India’s record creditable, but not outstanding

News: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has come up with World Economic Outlook (WEO) report 2022.

What does the World Economic Outlook (WEO) report say?

Performance of India in the Previous Decades

The comparative economic growth of the report shows that four countries are the best performers for 2011-21 decade. Four countries are – Bangladesh, China, Vietnam and India from top to bottom.

China and Vietnam were also featured as the top performers for the previous decade.

Further, India recorded best ever decadal growth performance in 2001-11. But its growth was slower than all emerging markets and developing countries in that decade.

In the previous two decades, 1991-2001 and 1981-91 India performed better than the average emerging markets (EMs).

In terms of dollars, the Indian economy grew to 3.7 times its size in the 2001-11 decade but only to 1.7 times in the latest decade.

Further, the IMF report for four decades (1981-2021) highlights that only three countries (China, South Korea and Vietnam) did significantly better than India.

It also highlights that India has significantly increased its GDP – 1.1% (1981-91), 2.5% (2011), 3.3% (2021) and it is further expected to grow in the future.

Growth projections by the report

The Indian economy is set to grow 6.8 per cent whereas all EMs are expected to grow only 3.7 per cent in 2022-23.

The growth for the advanced economies is expected to slow from 2.4 per cent to 1.1 per cent in the next year.

4 Asian Countries including India, are the candidates for international businesses looking to diversify their production bases away from China by following “China+1” strategy.

Therefore, these data by the IMF reflects India’s better position in the world even if the growth remain less than the expected for the year 2022-23.

Smash hit – On DART mission

News: The article discusses about the success of the DART mission conducted by NASA and its uses.

What is the news?

NASA scientists for the first time have succeeded in altering the path of the asteroid by hitting the spacecraft into it.

The spacecraft DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) was aimed at asteroid Dimorphos which was orbiting a larger asteroid Didymos.

These two asteroids did not pose any threat for the planet earth and DART was a test mission to see the effectiveness of the technique (kinetic impactor) in altering the path of the asteroid by a desired amount.

After the collision of the spacecraft with the asteroid, NASA confirmed that it was able to change the path of the asteroid by a small amount.

Since all asteroids are not similar therefore there is a need for more tests to perfect this technique.

Further, the US is not alone in the mission and even China has also planned to deflect a 40 m wide asteroid by 2026.

Why is it necessary to develops this technique?

There is a need to develop this technique as even a small asteroid hitting the earth can have serious consequences to life on earth and climate change. An asteroid even about 100 m wide can destroy a city like Chennai.

However, it is not clear whether the kinetic impactor technique can be used to extract minerals from the asteroids by deflecting its path.

Metaverse in India: The challenge of buying land and painting houses

News- The article explains the challenges faced by metaverse in India.

Metaverse– It is a hypothetical iteration of the Internet as a single, universal and immersive virtual world that is facilitated by the use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) headsets.

What are the applications of metaverse in India?

Some companies are providing services to property developers and architects. It helps them to provide their prospective customers an experience of property even before it is ready.

Some are customising jewelleries, clothing and accessories on the metaverse for various brands. It helps these brands to customise products for customers.

The customers can not only own the physical copy of these personalised products but also convert and own these as non-fungible tokens. They can be traded also and redeemed for offline services.

What about technology involved in the metaverse?

Virtual Reality headsets are gradually becoming accessible for common people.

The hyperreality simulations can be accessed through web browser, mobile applications.

Besides the hardware cost, There is also acquisition cost of VR land in metaverse. The Cheapest parcels of land in public metaverses, like Ethereum Worlds range between $2,500 and $3,000.

There is additional cost of event setup and content development on the bought land.

Hosting an event in any of the public metaverses requires organisers to buy or rent land and then create the event experience. ExpoSim provides a single platform to rent space and host events across the multiple metaverses it owns without any tech development.

What are data requirements?

Data requirements for experiencing the events on metaverse is high. A low to standard resolution experience requires at least 25 Mbps for streaming. For resolutions comparable to HD TV, the requirement jumps to 80 to 100 Mbps. For 360-degree video experience as much as 600 Mbps speed is required.

Besides, data computing requirements for conducting events are high.

Do not ignore the role of woman livestock farmer

News- The article explains the challenges faced by women in livestock farming.

Livestock sector accounts for 5% of national income and 28% of agricultural GDP in 2018-19. In the last six years, the livestock sector grew at 7.9% while crop farming grew by 2%.

There were five million women members in dairy co-operatives in 2015-16 and it increased further to 5.4 million in 2020-21. Women accounted for 31% of all members of dairy producer cooperatives in 2020-21. Women’s dairy cooperative societies rose from 18,954 in 2012 to 32,092 in 2015-16.

What are issues related to women livestock farmers?

Issues with data collection– Conventional labour force surveys fail to accurately estimate women work in the livestock sector. Their work is sporadic in nature and they often undertake work for short spells.

Underestimation of women livestock farmers– According to estimates of employment and unemployment survey of 2011-12, 12 million women were engaged in livestock farming. But, women actually engaged in the livestock economy were four times the official estimate.

India’s first national Time Use Survey in 2019 corroborates this finding. By recording all activities done in the past 24 hours, 48 million women in rural areas were engaged in animal rearing. The National Livestock Policy of 2013 rightly states that around 70% of the labour for the livestock sector comes from women.

Other core issues– The reach of extension services to women livestock farmers remains low. According to official reports, 80,000 livestock farmers were trained across the country in 2021. But we have no idea how many were women farmers.

Women farmers found it difficult to avail loans without collateral to purchase livestock. Around 15 lakh new Kisan Credit Cards were provided to livestock farmers under the KCC scheme during 2020-22. There is no information on how many of them were women farmers.

women livestock farmers lacked technical knowledge on choice of animals and veterinary care.

Women were not aware of the composition and functions of dairy boards. Men were decision -makers even in women-only dairy cooperatives.

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

Global Hunger Index is out, India in ‘serious’ category at rank 107

Source: The post is based on the article “Global Hunger Index is out, India in ‘serious’ category at rank 107″ published in The Hindu on 15^th October 2022.

What is the News?

This year’s Global Hunger Index, 2022 has been released.

What is Global Hunger Index?

The Global Hunger Index (GHI) is a tool for comprehensively measuring and tracking hunger at global, regional, and national levels.

GHI scores are based on the values of four component indicators – undernourishment, child stunting, child wasting and child mortality.

Countries are divided into five categories of hunger on the basis of their score, which are ‘low’, ‘moderate’, ‘serious’, ‘alarming’ and ‘extremely alarming’.

Based on the values of the four indicators, a GHI score is calculated on a 100-point scale reflecting the severity of hunger, where zero is the best score (no hunger) and 100 is the worst.

The GHI is an annual report and each set of GHI scores uses data from a 5-year period. The 2022 GHI scores are calculated using data from 2017 through 2021.

What are the findings of the Global Hunger Index, 2022?

India ranks 107 out of 121 countries on the Global Hunger Index in which it fares worse than all countries in South Asia barring war-torn Afghanistan.

India’s score of 29.1 places it in the ‘serious’ category. India also ranks below Sri Lanka (64), Nepal (81), Bangladesh (84), and Pakistan (99).

Afghanistan (109) is the only country in South Asia that performs worse than India on the index.

India’s child wasting rate (low weight for height), at 19.3%, is worse than the levels recorded in 2014 (15.1%) and even 2000 (17.15). This is the highest for any country in the world and drives up the region’s average owing to India’s large population.

Prevalence of undernourishment has also risen in the country from 14.6% in 2018-2020 to 16.3% in 2019-2021. This translates into 224.3 million people in India considered undernourished.

Child stunting and child mortality: India has shown improvement in child stunting, which has declined from 38.7% to 35.5% between 2014 and 2022. Similarly, child mortality has also dropped from 4.6% to 3.3% in the same comparative period.

Overall, India has shown a slight worsening with its GHI score increasing from 28.2 in 2014 to 29.1 in 2022.

Editor, scholar chargesheeted in ‘narrative terrorism’ case in J&K

Source: The post is based on the article “Editor, scholar chargesheeted in ‘narrative terrorism’ case in J&K” published in The Hindu on 15^th October 2022.

What is the News?

The State Investigation Agency (SIA) of Jammu and Kashmir filed a chargesheet against the editor of an online magazine and a PhD scholar in a “narrative terrorism” case.

What is narrative terrorism?

It is a part of a criminal conspiracy to spread terrorism by creating false narratives. These narratives can be highly provocative and seditious write-ups, intended to create unrest, and aid and abet the gullible youth to take the path of violence.

These narratives can be against national integration and support the claim of secession of a part of the country’s territory, challenge sovereignty and territorial integrity, glorify violence, and advocate and abet the commission of terrorist acts.

They can be booked under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The question of sanction under UAPA: why Bombay HC has acquitted G N Saibaba

Source: The post is based on the article “The question of sanction under UAPA: why Bombay HC has acquitted G N Saibaba” published in the Indian Express on 15^th October 2022.

What is the News?

The Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court has set aside the conviction of former Delhi University professor, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2017 by the sessions court for alleged links with the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).

The High Court ruled that the trial is “null and void” in the absence of a valid sanction under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

About the case

In 2017, police claimed to have received secret information about active members of the CPI (Maoist) and its front, the Revolutionary Democratic Front. The police charged all six accused with criminal conspiracy to wage war against the Government of India.

In 2017, the sessions court pronounced the accused guilty of charges including unlawful activities, conspiracy, membership and support of a terrorist gang under the UAPA, and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code.

What is the sanction under UAPA?

Section 45(1) of the UAPA says no court shall take cognizance of any offence under the Act without the previous sanction of the central or state government or any officer authorised by them.

Under Section 45(2), the sanction for prosecution has to be given within a prescribed time only after considering the report by the competent authority. The authority is expected to make an independent review of the evidence gathered by the investigation agency before making a recommendation to the government for the sanction.

In this case, the investigators sent the evidence to the Directorate of Prosecution for an independent review. Based on its report, the additional chief secretaries of the Home Department of Maharashtra granted sanction.

What the High Court said on the sanction under UAPA?

The Division Bench considered the point of invalidity and absence of sanction under UAPA.

The court observed that a) UAPA did not originally cover terrorist activities. Other laws, including the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA), 1987, and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), 2002, dealt with terrorism until they were repealed or allowed to lapse. Both these laws were criticised for being draconian, and the central government was sensitive to criticism, b) The 2008 amendment to Section 45 of the UAPA specified that sanction to prosecute would be given “only” after considering the independent review of an authority appointed by the government. This ensured an “additional safeguard or filter”.

However, in this case, a) the report by the Directorate “was nothing more than a communication conveying the conclusion in the form of a recommendation”, b) The sessions court had taken cognizance of the offence, framed charges, and examined the first witness even before the sanction. So, the high court set aside the conviction.

INS TARKASH PARTICIPATES IN IBSAMAR VII

Source: The post is based on the article “INS TARKASH PARTICIPATES IN IBSAMAR VII” published in the PIB on 14^th October 2022.

What is the News?

The 7th edition of IBSAMAR(IBSAMAR VII) was held at Port Gqeberha (also known as Port Elizabeth), South Africa.

About IBSAMAR

It is a joint multinational maritime exercise, among the Indian, Brazilian and South Africa navies.

Objective: Strengthening maritime relations, promoting joint operational military training, combating maritime crimes, securing Sea Lines of Communication and enhancing interoperability to pursue common evolutions at sea.

The previous edition of IBSAMAR (IBSAMAR VI) was conducted in South Africa in 2018. The fifth edition of IBSAMAR was conducted in Goa in 2016.

What is IBSA?

It is a unique Forum that brings together India, Brazil and South Africa. The grouping was formalized and named the IBSA Dialogue Forum when the Foreign Ministers of the three countries met in Brasilia in 2003 and issued the Brasilia Declaration.

CICA: At Kazakhstan meeting, India terms Pakistan epicentre of terrorism

Source: The post is based on the article “At Kazakhstan meeting, India terms Pakistan epicentre of terrorism” published in The Hindu on 14^th October 2022.

What is the News?

Minister of State for External Affairs has recently rejected Pakistan’s statement on the Kashmir issue at the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) held in Astana.

What is the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA)?

It is a multinational forum for strengthening cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia.

Founded by: Kazakhstan’s First President in 1992.

First summit: held in 2002.

Location of CICA Secretariat: Almaty (Kazakhstan).

Meetings and Summits: The CICA Summit is convened every four years in order to conduct consultations, review the progress of, and set priorities for CICA activities.
The Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs is required to be held every two years.

Members: To be a member of CICA, a state must have at least a part of its territory in Asia. So far the CICA has 27 member countries, 9 observer states, and 5 international organizations.

Participation of India: India is one of the founding members of CICA.

What are Rythu Bharosa Kendras that are being visited by an Ethiopian delegation?

Source: The post is based on the article “What are Rythu Bharosa Kendras that are being visited by an Ethiopian delegation?” published in the Indian Express on 14^th October 2022.

What is the News?

An Ethiopian delegation led by the country’s Agricultural Minister is in Andhra Pradesh (AP) to study the first-of-its kind Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs).

What are Rythu Bharosa Kendras?

The RBKs are unique seeds-to-sales, single-window service centres for farmers that have been set up across the state.

They are a one-stop solution to all farmers’ needs and grievances. For instance, 1)  RBKs sell pre-tested quality seeds, certified fertilisers and animal feed, 2) Farmers can purchase or hire farm equipment, and even sell their produce at the prevailing MSP in the RBKs, 3) RBKs provide services like soil testing and make recommendations — on which crops to sow, and the quantity and type of fertiliser to be used, 4) The state government also pays crop insurance, procures grains and makes payments to farmers through the RBKs.

How RBKs are helpful for farmers?

RBKs facilitate a) Interaction between farmers, agriculture scientists, and agriculture extension officers right at the village level, b) Demonstrate new farm equipment and provide training to farmers, c) Elimination of spurious seeds and uncertified and dangerous fertilisers, which can cause crop damage and failures, d) Assist in selling their produce at MSPs, through supporting systems of e-cropping, geo-tagging, and the CM App and e) Suggestions and advice will be given to farmers on agriculture and related areas like horticulture, sericulture, veterinary, fisheries and marketing related technical queries through scientists and experienced call centre executives.

How does the RBKs are recognised?

-The Centre has recently nominated the RBK concept for the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s “Champion’’ award.

-Several agrarian countries are expressing interest in understanding the RBK concept and seeking to implement it in their countries.