President Clears Bill Against Witch-Hunting

The President has given his assent to the Assam Witch Hunting (Prohibition, Prevention, and Protection) Bill, 2015. The legislation is crucial in the present context in which communication technology is being used to magnify superstitious beliefs, black magic and social prejudices with fatal consequences, primarily affecting the life of marginal groups.

Key Points

• The legislation makes every offence under the Act cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable.
• The Act prescribes a prison term of up to seven years and up to Rs. 5 lakh in fine for calling a person witch.
• It also has provisions to come with Section 302 of the IPC (punishment for murder) if someone is killed after being branded a witch.
• The punishment for leading a person to commit suicide after intimidating, stigmatising, defaming and accusing her as witch, may be extended to life imprisonment, along with Rs 5 lakh fine.
• The Act also talks about various measures that the administration and police should initiate, along with NGOs and civil society, to educate people about witch-hunting.
• It also entails that the fine realized as punishment for an offence shall be paid to the victim or his/her next of kin as compensation.

Background

• Ms. Birubala Rabha and Director-General of Police Kuladhar Saikia are the two people behind the legislation.
• Ms. Birubala Rabha has been campaigning against witch-hunting since 1996. She rescued over 50 women from being branded as witches before launching Mission Birubala against the menace.
• DGP Kuladhar Saikia launched Project Prahari in 2001, which was aimed at fighting witch-hunting by uplifting the socio-economical status of the people. The programme blended normal policing with social campaigns to check the menace.
• The Prahari model has resulted in the formation of a coalition of different stakeholders in society like women’s groups, student bodies, science clubs and development and law enforcement agencies.
• Under Prahari, regular health camps are organised. Through qualified experts, villagers are imparted knowledge about health and hygiene and local women are being trained.

Faster Visas for Minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh

The Ministry of Home Affairs has further liberalised the process for granting long-term visas (LTVs) to minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

• The visa facility, first introduced in 2011 for persecuted Hindus from Pakistan, was further liberalised by the government in 2014.
• The Ministry has reduced the time limit for security clearance of applicants from 45 days to 21 days.
• The LTVs are precursors to citizenship, based on the report given by the State governments.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016

• The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which will amend the Citizenship Act 1955 had proposed citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Parsis, Christians and Buddhists from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who came to India before 2014.
• The Bill faced resistance from several political and civil groups in Assam which said that the move will pave way for granting citizenship to illegal Hindu immigrants from Bangladesh in Assam in violation of the Assam Accord, 1985.
• Under the Citizenship Act, 1955, one of the requirements for citizenship by naturalisation is that the applicant must have resided in India during the last 12 months and for 11 of the previous 14 years.  The 2016 Amendment Bill relaxes this 11-year requirement to 6 years for persons belonging to the same six religions and three countries.
• The Bill makes illegal migrants eligible for citizenship on the basis of religion. This may violate Article 14 of the Constitution which guarantees right to equality.

Global e-Commerce Norms

India and South Africa have raised a concern whether it is proper to continue with the current practice of not imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

• The WTO members had agreed for the first time in 1998 to the temporary moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions such as e-books, music and a variety of services.

Arguments against moratorium

• In a joint proposal circulated at the World Trade Organization on 12 July, India and South Africa said that the realities prevailing in 1998 have changed significantly during the subsequent two decades primarily because of two reasons
  • The manifold increase in the volume of electronic transmissions.
  • The diffusion of additive manufacturing technology through 3-D printing as well as manufacturing physical products.
• More importantly, as more products, which are presently traded in physical form, get digitalized and delivered through electronic transmissions, the moratorium on customs duties would result in higher revenue loss.
• This proposal is also being supported by several developing and poorest countries because of the adverse effect on customs duties.
• Both countries also opined that there is no agreed definition nor common understanding among the membership of what is covered under “electronic transmissions”.

Arguments in favour of a moratorium

• The major industrialized countries led by the US, along with several developing countries such as Singapore, Korea, and Hong Kong demanded that the temporary moratorium is made permanent as it would provide predictability and certainty for goods traded through the internet.
• The US, EU and China proposed an “electronics commerce initiative” for free flows of information, protection of proprietary information, digital security, facilitating internet services, competitive telecom markets, and trade facilitation through digital means.

India’s stand

• Earlier in 2018, the Ministry of Commerce constituted a think tank comprising of “Indian” tech companies, relevant government bodies, industry associations, civil society and research institutions for an e-commerce framework in India.
• The decision to constitute this think tank follows from both domestic and international compulsions.
  • The domestic trigger is largely a fear of ceding the fast-growing e-commerce market to foreign interests, as exemplified by the rhetoric around the recent sale of Flipkart to Walmart.
  • Simultaneously, India is also under intense pressure to negotiate international rules on e-commerce under the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Why doesn’t India want global rules on E-commerce?

• Global rules do not benefit Indian companies.
• WTO prescribed rules would interfere in the sovereign rights of the country.
• The proponents of rules on e-commerce have been of the view that the servers that help e-commerce transactions should be located in a country of choice. India and other countries have opposed this as they feel that the servers servicing customers, say, in India should be physically located in India. This is for greater control over the data generated within the country and to stop any disruptions in services.
• The issue of cross-border transfer of data and exercise of jurisdiction over service providers that do not have a direct presence in the country.
• Of global trade, e-commerce trade across borders is less than 5%.
• Not much gain for developing countries as 85% of e-commerce controlled by the US, China, UK, Germany, France, Japan.
• The rules will restrict government’s policy space to insist on open source software and local procurement.
• Data owned by consumers is used by global giants, helping them to control data.

BrahMos Tested in Extreme Weather Conditions

The supersonic cruise missile BrahMos was successfully test-fired under extreme weather conditions from the Integrated Test Range at Balasore, Odisha. By following the designated trajectory and with its key components functioning perfectly, BrahMos has proved its all-weather capability.

Key Highlights

• BrahMos is a joint venture between India and Russia. It has a strike range of around 290 km and is described as the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile.
• The Army and the Navy have already inducted the missile, while the air-launched variant is undergoing trials.

BrahMos

• BrahMos is a two-stage supersonic cruise missile with a solid propellant booster engine as its first stage and the liquid ramjet in the second stage.
• With India’s recent entry into the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), India and Russia will develop and test a new generation of missiles that can reach up to 600-plus km range. Earlier, MTCR guidelines prohibited its members from transfer, sale or joint production of missiles beyond 300-km range with countries outside the club.
• The missile operates on a ‘Fire and Forget Principle’ and carries a conventional warhead weighing 200 to 300kg.  
• The name BrahMos is formed from the names of two rivers, the Brahmaputra of India and the Moskva of Russia.

Upgraded Vikas Engine to Boost ISRO’s Rockets

ISRO recently improved the thrust of the Vikas engine that powers all three of Indian Satellite Launch Vehicles – PSLV, GSLV and GSLV Mk-III

Key Highlights

• The high-thrust Vikas engine qualified after a ground test lasting 195 seconds (over three minutes) that will improve the payload capability of India’s space launch vehicles.
• The main beneficiary of Vikas engine will be the GSLV-Mark III launcher, as the engine will help ISRO to put 4,000-kg satellites to space.
• However, ISRO will eventually phase out Vikas engine by replacing it with a cleaner and safer semi-cryogenic engine that is being developed. 

TRAI Says Users Own their Data, Calls for Stricter Security Rules

In its recommendations on ‘Privacy, Security and Ownership of the Data in the Telecom Sector’, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) declared that each user owned his or her data collected by or stored with the entities in the digital ecosystem that includes devices and applications.

Key Highlights

• Data controllers and processors are mere custodians and do not have primary rights over user data.
• Entities which control or process personal user data should be brought under a data protection framework.
• Data controllers should be prohibited from using pre-ticked boxes to gain user consent.
• The right to choice, consent, data portability, and the right to be forgotten ought to be given to consumers. Users should have the right to delete past data, subject to certain restrictions.
• Multilingual, easy to understand, short templates of agreements or terms and conditions should be made mandatory and these should be accompanied with consumer awareness programmes.
• Device manufacturers should incorporate provisions so that users can delete pre-installed applications if they so decide.
• The personal data of telecom consumers should be encrypted during the motion as well as during the storage in the digital ecosystem.
• The Department of Telecommunication should re-examine the encryption standards, stipulated in the licence conditions for the TSPs.
• A common platform is to be created for the sharing of information related to data security breach incidents in the digital ecosystem.
• Further, to ensure the privacy of users, the National Policy for encryption of personal data, generated and collected in the digital ecosystem, should be notified by the government at the earliest.

Significance

• The recommendations made by TRAI extol the view that the individual must be the primary right holder of his/ her data.
• If the recommendations are accepted by the government, digital service providers; application developers; and device-makers along with telecom operators will have to make sure that users’ data can be collected only with their explicit consent.
• Once collected, the user data can be used only for the limited purpose of providing the service for which the user has signed up.
• The suggestions assume significance as a huge chunk of user data is being generated on Smartphones.
• Telecom operators, who control the networks on which information flows, have the ability to analyze the content.
• User-generated data is integral to business models of major communications and social media networks as it makes them valuable to advertisers, who in turn use this to help companies target goods and services at consumers.
• However, data collated by mobile applications over a period of time can be used to profile people, which pose a risk to data privacy.
• These recommendations will also act as crucial inputs to the Justice B.N. Srikrishna committee that has been tasked with identifying overall data protection issues in India and recommending ways to address them.
  
  

Use Biofuels to Save Taj Mahal

The Central government announced plans to put in place steps to convert Agra into a city that relies only on biofuel. This will address two issues i.e. excess sugar production by farmers in western Uttar Pradesh, and the yellowing of the Taj Mahal due to air pollution.

Recently, the Supreme Court told the Centre that the Taj Mahal should either be restored or demolished because the white marble, which had first become yellowish, is now turning brownish and greenish.

What has led to the change of colour of the Taj Mahal’s marble?

• The polluting industries and the vehicular emissions in the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) area are a major source of air pollution.
• The Yamuna river, which flows behind the Taj Mahal, has become highly polluted which has caused insect and algae infestation on the Taj Mahal.
• Recently, WHO has released a report according to which Agra has become the world’s eighth most polluted city in terms of PM 2.5 levels.

Proposed Solution

• 1,000 industrial units will open in the next five years with 1 lakh crore litres of ethanol being produced.
• An expert committee will be set up under Union Environment Secretary C K Mishra, and will have experts from IITs and NEERI. It will look into each of the industries on a case by case basis.
• There are several industries (units) in neighbouring Rajasthan, and within UP itself and those which are completely hazardous ones should be shut down, but some for which standards can be set and their pollution levels brought down should be considered.
• In UP, ethanol can be produced because of excess sugar production. This will be cost-effective, and pollution-free.  
• Other clean fuels such as biodiesel, bioethanol and electricity for public transport vehicles will be used to tackle air pollution.
• Proper management and treatment of water to reduce or remove the organic matter, solids, nutrients, disease-causing organisms and other pollutants from the wastewater before it is discharged to river water.
• Measures for Ganga’s main tributaries i.e. the Yamuna stretching from Gurgaon, Delhi, Mathura and Agra.
• Detailed project report (DPR) for an inland waterway and a river port just behind the Taj has been drawn up and it will help in improving the quality of river water.

Important Facts for Prelims (July 17th, 2018)

Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram

• Keeping in mind the educational empowerment and employment oriented skill development of Minority communities, the Central Government renamed and restructured Multi-sectoral Development Programme (MsDP) as Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK).
• The programme aims to develop socio-economic and basic amenities assets like school, college, polytechnic, girls hostel, ITI, skill development centre etc for the minority communities.
• 80% of the resources under the PMJVK have been earmarked for projects related to education, health and skill development.
• About 33 to 40 % of resources under the PMJVK have been specifically allocated for women-centric projects.
• The revised scheme is further leading to a lessening of the gap between the national average and the minority communities with regard to backwardness parameters.
• Earlier only those Cluster of Villages which were having at least 50% population of Minority Community was taken. The population criteria have been lowered to 25% for inclusive growth.
• The restructured programme aims to provide better socio-economic infrastructure facilities to the minority communities particularly in the field of education, health & skill development.
• This would further lead to a lessening of the gap between the national average and the minority communities with regard to backwardness parameters.
• MsDP was launched in 2008-09 by the Ministry of Minority Affairs.
• The developmental gaps/deficits in identified backward minority concentration areas are addressed by topping up of existing Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) of various Central ministries/departments.
• It also provides for taking up innovative projects which are not covered by any of the existing CSS of various ministries.
• Other schemes which aim at the inclusive growth of the minority communities
  • Seekho aur Kamao
  • Usttad
  • Garib Nawaz Kaushal Vikas Yojana
  • Nai Manzil
  • Nai Roshni
  • Begum Hazrat Mahal Girls scholarships

Wholesale Inflation at a 4-Year High of 5.77%

• Inflation at the wholesale level rose to 5.77% in June, up from 4.43% in May which is also the highest since December 2013. This rise is driven in large part by rising fuel prices along with rising food inflation.

IMF Cuts India's Growth Forecast for 2018 to 7.3%

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected India’s growth rate as 7.3% in 2018 and 7.5% in 2019 as against 6.7% in 2017.
• However, the latest growth rate projection for India is slightly less — 0.1 percentage point in 2018 and 0.3 percentage points in 2019 — than its April projections. Yet, India remains the fastest growing country among major economies.
• In its updated World Economic Outlook (WEO) report, the IMF noted that the reduction in growth is because of negative effects of higher oil prices on domestic demand and faster-than-anticipated monetary policy tightening due to higher expected inflation.
• The IMF also projected the global growth to reach 3.9% in 2018 and 2019.

M777 Ultra-Light Howitzer (ULH)

• In November 2016, India signed a deal with the U.S. government under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme for 145 M777 guns.
• The M777 is a 155 mm, 39-calibre towed artillery gun made of titanium and aluminium alloys and weigh just four tonnes, making it transportable by helicopters.