Brief of newspaper articles for the day bearing
relevance to Civil Services preparation
- GS PAPER 2
- SC ends impunity for armed forces in disturbed areas {Polity}
- A magisterial probe {International Relations}
- SC to consider whether NHRC is ‘toothless tiger’ {Polity}
- India, South Africa vow to deepen ties in key sectors {Foreign Policy}
- GS PAPER 3
- Pizzas in Kerala get a 14.5% ‘fat tax’ topping {Economy}
- India, U.K. to start free trade talks {Economy}
- India’s SaaS market may grow to $1 bn {Economy}
GS PAPER 2
[1]SC ends impunity for armed forces in disturbed areas
Issue
- SC held that Every death caused by the armed forces in a disturbed area, whether the victim is a dreaded criminal or a militant or a terrorist or an insurgent, should be thoroughly enquired into.
Why there should be an inquiry?
- This is to address any allegation of use of excessive or retaliatory force beyond the call of duty, the court said.
- Court said it does not matter whether the victim was a common person or a militant or a terrorist, nor does it matter whether the aggressor was a common person or the state. The law is the same for both and is equally applicable to both
- This is the requirement of a democracy and the requirement of preservation of the rule of law and the preservation of individual liberties.
Judicial precedent
- The verdict tears down the cloak of secrecy about unaccounted deaths involving security forces in disturbed areas and serves as a judicial precedent to uphold civilian and human rights in sensitive areas under military control.
- Dealing a blow to the immunity enjoyed by security personnel under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act of 1958 (AFSPA) against criminal action for acts committed in disturbed areas, the apex court held that “there is no concept of absolute immunity from trial by a criminal court” if an Army man has committed an offence.
Argument of Government?
- Throwing out the government’s argument that lack of immunity from prosecution would have a demoralising impact on the security forces, the court asked the Centre to spare a thought for the “equally unsettling and demoralising” picture of a citizen living under the fear of the gun in a democracy.
- The court dismissed the government’s argument that every armed person breaking prohibitory orders in a disturbed area runs the risk of being considered an “enemy.”
- Court said a thorough enquiry should be conducted into “encounter” killings in disturbed areas because the “alleged enemy is a citizen of our country entitled to all fundamental rights including under Article 21 of the Constitution.”
[2]A magisterial probe
Issue
- Chilcot Report {Read- Editorial Today #75- Chilcot Report }
Its effect
- The full wrath of Chilcot’s criticism falls on Blair himself, but also on the system of institutions that ought to have contained the PM’s hubris.
- The joint intelligence committee, “should have made clear to Mr Blair that the assessed intelligence had not established ‘beyond doubt’ either that Iraq had continued to produce chemical and biological weapons or that efforts to develop nuclear weapons continued.
Report
- Chilcot declines to express a view on whether the war had a sound legal basis, saying this can be determined only by an international criminal court with the necessary jurisdiction. He states, “the circumstances in which it was decided there was a legal basis for UK military action were far from satisfactory”.
- Britain was at best a bit actor in the Iraq tragedy — but like the US, it had no coherent plan to rebuild the nation it was about to destroy. Indeed, the “scale of the UK effort in post-conflict Iraq never matched the scale of the challenge”.
- Things deteriorated further, the report notes, when the UK began simultaneous operations in Afghanistan.
- In 2007, British forces in Basra in essence handed over the region to local militia, in return for an end to attacks on themselves. The British military enterprise, Chilcot says, ended “a very long way from success”.
[3]SC to consider whether NHRC is ‘toothless tiger’
What happened?
- Supreme Court while dealing with a PIL petition on extra-judicial killings in militancy infested Manipur and the plea for repealing the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act said that National Human Right’s Commission (NHRC) has become a “toothless tiger”.
Grievances of NHRC
- It is helpless in taking any coercive measures since it has no power to take action against persons or authorities who do not follow the guidelines laid down by it.
- It also does not have the power to give directions or pass orders and it can only make recommendations.
[4]India, South Africa vow to deepen ties in key sectors
Issue
- India-South Africa relations
Key points
- South Africa is a major player in defence production globally.
- So, India can be an attractive destination for it for manufacturing of defence equipment and platforms.
- Both countries can join hands in not only meeting needs of each other but also to respond to regional and global demand.
- Both countries can pool their capacities to jointly develop or manufacture defence equipments and platforms.
- Beyond economic ties, and links of business, trade and investment, we can also partner in the field of defence and security. Both, at the level of industry and for our strategic and security needs.
- There is potential for India to ramp up cooperation in South Africa in trade and investment, especially in areas of minerals and mining, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, manufacturing and information technology.
GS PAPER 3
[1]Pizzas in Kerala get a 14.5% ‘fat tax’ topping
Issue
- Kerala announced a 14.5 per cent “fat tax” on pizzas, burgers, sandwiches and tacos sold through branded outlets.
Why it is done
- It is done in sync with the World Health Organization’s advocacy of using fiscal tools to promote healthy eating.
Analysis
- The ‘fat tax’ may not stop children from eating junk food altogether. But there will definitely be a drop in consumption because many parents will put their foot down when it comes to spending more.
- Like a cigarette tax and an alcohol tax, a fat tax would dissuade children from eating a lot of energy dense foods.
- Worldwide, obesity rates have prompted governments to consider imposing a tax to slow sales of food laden with saturated fat and sugars.
Any other country which has imposed this tax?
- Denmark introduced a surcharge a few years ago on foods that contain over 2.3 per cent saturated fat, drawing criticism about excessive bureaucracy. It was abolished in 15 months.
- Although the outcome is still being debated, the British Medical Journal said a year ago that consumption of ‘junk food’ fell in Denmark by 10 to 15 per cent and the Danish Government could have reaped the dividends, had it stuck to its decision.
- Data from Finland show demand for sugar, sweets and sugary drinks is quickly affected by prices, particularly among less affluent sections, and helps cut body weight and thus diabetes risk.
[2]India, U.K. to start free trade talks
Issue
- After Brexit India and UK held talks on the possibility of inking a separate U.K.-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Analysis
- With the EU , talks will continue but it will be recalibrated now that U.K. is out of EU.
- Trade with U.K. is substantial. Indian investments in UK are one of the biggest. A lot of jobs created in the U.K. are by Indian investors.
- In FY’16, India’s exports to the EU were $35.35 billion, while India’s exports to Britain were $9.35 billion.
- The U.K. government statement said the U.K. is the largest G20 investor in India, while India invests more in the U.K. than the rest of the European Union combined.
- India has also emerged as the third largest source of FDI for the U.K
[3]India’s SaaS market may grow to $1 bn
Issue
- The Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) market in India is expected to triple to about $1 billion by 2020, according to a research report by Nasscom.
What is Saas?
- Software as a Service is a software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted. It is sometimes referred to as “on-demand software”.
Analysis
- The research points out there are over 150 firms offering solutions in the SaaS segment, with start-ups driving the segment. About 40-45 per cent of the companies in the segment are start-ups.
- The U.S. and Europe account for more than 80 per cent of the demand for Indian SaaS solutions, according to the report.
- Big players like Salesforce, SAP, Oracle, IBM and Microsoft occupy almost 50 per cent of the global SaaS market.
Advantage of Saas?
- Listing out reasons for the shift to SaaS model from on premise software solutions, the research report stated that organisations can shift resources from operational items such as IT to core competencies, reduce IT fees due to reduced amount of services, software and support needed from IT, reduce time and costs to upgrade software since it is handled by third party vendors.
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