Answers: Mains Marathon – UPSC Mains Current Affairs Questions – November 28, 2018

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Q.1) The Indian data localisation wave is the latest digital battleground between government and industry. Examine in the context of BN Srikrishna committee report

Answer:

Data localization law requires data about a nation’s’ citizens or residents be collected, processed, and stored inside the country.

Recently, RBI has set global companies a deadline for storing financial data in India.

Sri Krishna committee recommendations:

1. Every data fiduciary should store one live, serving copy of personal data in India.
2. The government has the authority to relax conditions based on the criticality of information and the situation.

Need for data localisation – government argument:

1. Challenges of potential use of people’s data by companies such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon, without clearly stating the purpose. There have been similar debates around Aadhaar and the fact that information can be hacked.
2. When this happens, rights of the citizen must always prevail as it is for the sake of a citizen that business exists and not the other way.
3. No business or industry can ever be totally free of monitoring.

Challenges with data localisation – industry argument:

1. Mandating localisation of all personal data can become a trade barrier in key markets.
2. Policies that govern data protection, storage and classification need to be carefully crafted given the global footprint of the IT-BPM sector.
3. Service providers in India process financial, healthcare and other data from all over the globe. India is also the destination for R&D, product development, analytics and shared services. Many of these trade opportunities might be missed if the law is perceived to be stringent.
4. Thus, growth will be restricted if data cannot be aggregated internationally.

Q.2) Migration from developing to developed societies in search of livelihood opportunities has transformed human society, and still continues to drive economic and social development. Critically examine.

Answer:

Human migration is the movement by people from one place to another with the intentions of settling, permanently or temporarily in a new location.

How migration transforms societies:

1. Economic growth can be sustained
2. Services to an ageing population can be maintained when there are insufficient young people locally; pension gap can be filled by the contributions of new young workers and they also pay taxes
3. Immigrants bring energy and innovation
4. Host societies are enriched by cultural diversity
5. Developing countries benefit from remittances that now often outstrip foreign aid
6. Unemployment is reduced and young migrants enhance their life prospects
7. Returning migrants bring savings, skills and international contacts

Q.3) What do you understand by a Nuclear Triad? What is the significance of a Nuclear Triad for India?

Answer:

A nuclear triad is a three-pronged military force structure that consists of land-launched nuclear missiles, nuclear-missile-armed submarines and strategic aircraft with nuclear bombs and missiles.

India recently completed its triad with the launch of INS Arihant.

Significance of nuclear triad:

1. Given India’s policy of no-first use, INS is the most dependable platform for a second-strike because land based facilities are prone to attack.
2. India’s attainment of complete mastery over all the highly complex systems and procedures with regard to nuclear weapons.
3. Both of India’s neighbors, Pakistan and China possess nuclear weapons.
4. The power of nuclear weapons to act as a deterrent in preventing wars is well established.
5. The triad shows that India has emerged as a mature nuclear-armed state.
6. This exercise is testimony to India’s technological prowess.
7. It shows a high degree of engineering skill and workmanship with substantial indigenous component.

Q.4) What is Corporate governance?  What needs to be done in order to strength corporate governance in India?

Answer:

Corporate governance broadly refers to the mechanisms and processes by which a corporation is controlled and directed and balances the interests of its stakeholders.

Despite multiple legal provisions, corporate scams to the tune of billions continue to affect the country on a continuous basis.

Way ahead for India – Uday Kotak committee recommendations:

1. Disclosure requirements

a) Listed companies should disclose the utilisation of funds raised from preferential allotment and qualified institutional placement.

b) Annual report should contain the disclosure of all the fees paid to statutory auditors.

c) If auditors are changed, then their reasons for resignation should be disclosed to the stock exchanges.

2. The expertise/skills of directors and Board members need to be disclosed.

3. Listed entities are also required to disclose in the annual report any transactions of the listed entity with any promoter or promoter group which holds more than 10% of the shareholding.

4. No person who is a part of the promoter group can be appointed as an independent Director. Persons who are non-independent Directors in some other entity in which a non-independent Director of the listed entity is an independent director will not be eligible to be appointed as an independent Director in the listed entity.

5. The role of certain Board Committees need to be expanded. The Audit Committee is additionally charged with the responsibility for the utilisation of loans advanced by the holding companies to subsidiary companies in excess of Rs 100 crores or 10% of the asset size of the subsidiaries.

6. Nomination and Remuneration Committee is now required to recommend payments of the senior management and the Risk Management Committee has also been made responsible for assessing cybersecurity threats.

7. The maximum listed companies in which one can hold directorships has now been reduced to eight.

8. The meaning of material subsidiaries has been expanded to include subsidiaries which are worth 10% of the consolidated income or the net worth of the listed company.