Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: POCSO Act
Mains level: Paper 2- Interpretation of Section 7 of POCSO Act
In a recent judgement, Section 7 of POCSO Act was interpreted in a controversial way by the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court.
Issue of the definition of sexual assault under POCSO Act
- Recently, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court held that skin-to-skin contact is essential to constitute the offence defined under Section 7 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act).
- Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, which deals with outraging modesty of women and which provides for a lesser sentence, was held to be applicable in such cases.
- This ruling raises several concerns.
- The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights had asked the Maharashtra government to appeal this decision in the Supreme Court.
- The Supreme Court has currently stayed the acquittal of the accused under this judgement.
Concerns with the judgement
- The Court held that the stringent nature of punishment provided for the offence required stricter proof and serious allegations.
- The court said the punishment should be proportionate to the seriousness of the crime.
- Nevertheless, while adjudging the seriousness of the offence the court has not given consideration to the fact that the victim, a minor, is entitled to greater protection.
- The major concern is that the interpretation of the court seems to defeat the purpose of the POCSO Act.
- Section 7 of POCSO defines sexual assault as “Whoever, with sexual intent touches the vagina, penis, anus or breast of the child or makes the child touch the vagina, penis, anus or breast of such person or any other person, or does any other act with sexual intent which involves physical contact without penetration is said to commit sexual assault.”
- The court has concluded that the touching of the breast without skin-to-skin contact is not similar to the abovementioned acts and, therefore, does not fall within this definition.
- The court seems to have followed a rather pedantic approach to reach this conclusion.
- The fact that the trauma of the child whose breasts were groped through a cloth could be of the same nature and severity as direct touching of the breast is not discussed.
- And if the trauma is the same, the mere existence of cloth should not affect the applicability of the POCSO Act.
Legislative history and object of POCSO Act
- The POCSO Act was enacted with the specific intention of protecting children from sexual assault and sexual harassment.
- It took into consideration the standards prescribed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations to which the Indian government acceded to on December 11, 1992.
- The Act acknowledges the special vulnerability of children and that special protection, above and beyond that provided in the IPC, is required when the victim is a child.
Conclusion
If such an interpretation is followed, there is a threat that the POCSO Act in itself might become redundant as a wide range of sexually violative activities would be excluded from its ambit due to lack of skin-to-skin contact.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Positive Externality
Mains level: Paper 3- Challenge of Big Tech
The article deals with the issue of checking the misuse of monopoly power by the Big Tech while encouraging their positive externalities.
Worldwide Investigations against Big Tech
- Big Tech firms, especially Facebook and Google have been investigated worldwide, including in the European Union and the United States, on the abuse of monopolistic power.
- Comparisons are drawn with investigations in the U.S. on the telecom industry and the break-up of the AT&T.
- However, there are important differences this time around.
- First, the information good that is being provided by the Internet firms of today, is largely non-rival.
- Second, Internet firms operate globally, therefore, it is often difficult to lay down international rules of obligation and fulfilment.
- Third, while it is debatable whether the goods and services provided by the Internet firms are excludable.
- It is this factor that was leveraged by the Internet firms to provide search, navigation, and social connectivity with no charge to the consumers, and, consequently, making these services non-excludable.
Monetisation model of Big Techs and isseus with it
- Public goods should be provided by governments, but the information goods as described above are being provided by private firms.
- This arrangement poses several problems.
- First, private firms need to have monetisation models to cover the costs of providing their services.
- So, the Internet firms have resorted to personalised advertisements and third-party sharing of the personal data of their users for monetisation purposes.
- Second, the strong network effects present in these Internet platforms warrant increasing the subscriber base and garnering as much market share as possible.
- This results in near-monopoly of some firms in their defined markets.
- These firms may resort to anti-competitive behaviour including acquiring rivals to vertically integrate; erecting entry barriers by refusing to interconnect and inter-operate with competing firms, and leveraging their capital base, thereby engaging in predatory pricing, and driving out competitors.
Positive externalities and consumer surplus
- Network effects create a huge consumer surplus.
- Even without our knowledge, these Internet firms have now become an indispensable part of our lives.
- There are positive externalities as well, for example, Google Maps Application Program Interface (APIs) is being used by almost all logistic transand port companies.
- Facebook APIs are used for advertisement by almost all firms across the industry.
- Google, recently announced that its Search is being expanded to provide accurate and timely information on vaccine distribution to enable quick recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Challenge of regulation
- The question before policymakers is how to regulate these Internet firms from abusing their monopoly power while encouraging the positive externalities and consumer surplus they create.
- It is often very difficult to prove that the firms engage in the abuse of their monopoly power.
- Due to strong network effects, it is not possible to ban or curtail these services.
Way forward
- A traditional view is to subsidise the good that creates positive externalities.
- Governments can provide tax subsidy to these Internet firms in return for their orderly behaviour in the marketplace.
- Governments could explore mandating sharing of Non-Personal Data (NPD) owned by these firms for societal and economic well-being as pointed out in the expert committee on NPD.
- The other way to control any abusive behaviour of the Internet firms is to use the power of public voice.
- The huge public outcry and subsequent government actions have delayed the recent changes to privacy policy relating to the sharing of personal information between WhatsApp and its parent firm, Facebook.
Consider the question “Services provided by the Internet firms have become indispensable part of our life, this leads to the problem of checking their monopoly power while encouraging their positive externalities and consumer surplus. In light of this, discuss the challenges posed by the Big Techs and suggest the ways to deal with them.”
Conclusion
While governments and regulators deal with these dilemmas the Internet firms should adhere to core ethical principles in conducting their businesses as firms that aim at super monopoly profits and are greedy to become powerhouses of the world, often end up in the ditch.
Back2Basics:What is positive externality
- A positive externality exists if the production and consumption of a good or service benefits a third party not directly involved in the market transaction.
- For example, education directly benefits the individual and also provides benefits to society as a whole through the provision of more informed and productive citizens.
What is Network Effect
- The network effect is a phenomenon whereby increased numbers of people or participants improve the value of a good or service.
- The Internet is an example of the network effect. Initially, there were few users on the Internet since it was of little value to anyone outside of the military and some research scientists.
- However, as more users gained access to the Internet, they produced more content, information, and services.
- The development and improvement of websites attracted more users to connect and do business with each other.
- As the Internet experienced increases in traffic, it offered more value, leading to a network effect.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: President’s address
Mains level: Significance of Presidential address
Many Opposition parties announced their decision to boycott the President’s address to the joint sitting of Parliament at the start of the Budget session in solidarity with the farmers protesting against the three farm laws.
Try this PYQ:
Q. The President’s address is one of the most solemn occasions in the Parliamentary calendar. Discuss. Highlight its importance in Parliamentary Democracy.
President’s address
- The Constitution gives the President the power to address either House or a joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament.
- Article 87 provides two special occasions on which the President addresses a joint sitting. The first is to address the opening session of a new legislature after a general election.
- The second is to address the first sitting of Parliament each year. A session of a new or continuing legislature cannot begin without fulfilling this requirement.
- When the Constitution came into force, the President was required to address each session of Parliament.
In the UK, the history of the monarch addressing the Parliament goes back to the 16th century. In the US, President Gorge Washington addressed Congress for the first time in 1790.
History & precedent
- In India, the practice of the President addressing Parliament can be traced back to the Government of India Act of 1919.
- This law gave the Governor-General the right of addressing the Legislative Assembly and the Council of State.
- The law did not have a provision for a joint address but the Governor-General did address the Assembly and the Council together on multiple occasions.
- There was no address by him to the Constituent Assembly (Legislative) from 1947 to 1950.
- And after the Constitution came into force, President Rajendra Prasad addressed members of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for the first time on January 31, 1950.
By the govt, about the govt
- The President’s speech essentially highlights the government’s policy priorities and plans for the upcoming year. The address provides a broad framework of the government’s agenda and direction.
- There is no set format for the President’s speech. The Constitution states that the President shall “inform Parliament of the cause of the summons”.
How it is done in India?
- The speech that the President reads is the viewpoint of the government and is written by it.
- Usually, in December, the PM’s Office asks the various ministries to start sending in their inputs for the speech.
- A message also goes out from the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs asking ministries to send information about any legislative proposals that need to be included in the President’s address.
- All this information is aggregated and shaped into a speech, which is then sent to the President. The government uses the President’s address to make policy and legislative announcements.
Assembly debates on the matter
- During the making of the Constitution, Prof K T Shah wanted the President’s address to be more specific.
- He suggested that the language be changed to specify that the President shall inform Parliament “on the general state of the Union including financial proposals, and other particular issues of policy he deems suitable for such address”.
- His amendment was inspired by the US Constitution, according to which the President gives to Congress information on the State of the Union, and recommend measures as he shall judge necessary.
- But Shah’s amendment was rejected by the Constituent Assembly.
- The address of the President follows a general structure in which it highlights the government’s accomplishments from the previous year and sets the broad governance agenda for the coming year.
Notable addresses till date
- In 1985 President Giani Zail Singh announced that PM Rajiv Gandhi’s government intended to introduce a new national education policy and the anti-defection law.
- In 1996, PM Vajpayee’s 13-day government announced its intention of giving statehood to Uttaranchal and Vananchal (Jharkhand) and 33 percent reservation to women in legislatures.
- During his second stint in 1999, Vajpayee’s government mooted the idea of a fixed term for Lok Sabha and State Vidhan Sabhas.
- After the devastating tsunami of 2004, PM Manmohan Singh’s government used the President’s Address to announce the creation of a national law for disaster management.
Procedure & tradition
- In the days following the President’s address, a motion is moved in the two Houses thanking the President for his address.
- This is an occasion for MPs in the two Houses to have a broad debate on governance in the country.
- The PM replies to the motion of thanks in both Houses and responds to the issues raised by MPs.
- The motion is then put to vote and MPs can express their disagreement by moving amendments to the motion.
Role of the opposition
- Opposition MPs have been successful in getting amendments passed to the motion of thanks in Rajya Sabha on five occasions (1980, 1989, 2001, 2015, 2016).
- They have been less successful in Lok Sabha. For example in 2018, Lok Sabha MPs tabled 845 amendments of which 375 were moved and negated.
Significance of the address
- The President’s address is one of the most solemn occasions in the Parliamentary calendar.
- It is the only occasion in the year when the entire Parliament, i.e. the President, Lok Sabha, and Rajya Sabha come together.
- The event is associated with ceremony and protocol.
- The Lok Sabha Secretariat prepares extensively for this annual event.
- In the past, it used to get 150 yards of red baize cloth from the President’s house for the ceremonial procession.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Dark Matter
Mains level: Dark Matter, Black Holes
Space scientists from the University of Sussex have found a new way to know more about dark matter. They have narrowed down the range of masses within which particles that could make up dark matter may lie in.
What is the news about?
- Around 95 % of the Universe is unknown to human beings.
- It is often referred to as dark which has nothing to do with the colour of any substance but to do with the unknown nature of cosmic entities known as dark matter and dark energy.
Trending in news these days is the Quantum Technology. (as it used to be until last year were- the Internet of Things (IoT) CSP 2019, Artificial Intelligence (AI) etc.)
Must read all this news in a loop:
- National Mission on QC
- Quantum Coin
- Quantum Supremacy
- Quantum Entanglement
What is Dark Matter?
- Dark matter is composed of particles that do not absorb, reflect, or emit light, so they cannot be detected by observing electromagnetic radiation.
- Dark matter is a form of matter thought to account for approximately 85% of the matter in the universe and about a quarter of its total mass-energy density or about 2.241×10−27 kg/m3.
What does the research say?
- Scientists carried out the research using quantum gravity, a field of study that tries to combine two of Einstein’s concepts — quantum physics and general relativity theory of gravity.
- This is the first time anyone has thought of using what we know about quantum gravity to calculate the mass range for dark matter.
- Their research shows that the dark matter particles can neither be super light nor super heavy unless there is a force acting on it that is yet unknown.
Quantum gravity: The concept
- Quantum gravity is a field of theoretical physics that seeks to describe gravity according to the principles of quantum mechanics.
- Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics which describes nature at the smallest scales of energy levels of atoms and subatomic particles.
- Here quantum effects cannot be ignored, such as in the vicinity of black holes or similar compact astrophysical objects where the effects of gravity are strong, such as neutron stars.
Significance of the findings
- This might help in finding out more about this mysterious force. There are currently four known forces in the Universe — gravitational, electromagnetic, weak and strong.
- Scientists estimate that roughly 68 per cent of the Universe is made up of dark energy which is responsible for the accelerated expansion of the Universe.
- Another 27 per cent is a dark matter whose existence was inferred from the observation that ordinary matter in galaxies, including the Milky Way, is far less than that required by gravity to hold the galaxies together.
Why does the ‘Dark Matter’ matter?
- Dark matter’s gravitational effects are also necessary to explain the motions of clusters of galaxies and the structure of the entire Universe at the largest scale.
- On smaller scales, dark matter is too diffused to impact the motion of the Solar System, Earth or the origin and evolution of humans in any significant way.
- But the nature of that dark matter is still unclear. It is most likely made of particles that do not couple to light because of which humans cannot see them.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Patharughat uprising
Mains level: Peasants movements in colonial India
Twenty-five years before the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, more than a hundred peasants fell to the bullets of the British on January 28, 1894, in Patharughat, a small village in Assam’s Darrang district.
Make a note of all breakthrough peasants’ revolt in the nineteenth century. Also, try this PYQ:
Q.The demand for the Tebhaga Peasant Movement in Bengal was for-
(a) The reduction of the share of the landlords from one-half of the crop to one-third
(b) The grant of ownership of land to peasants as they were the actual cultivators of the land
(c) The uprooting of Zamindari system and the end of serfdom
(d) Writing off all peasant debts
Patharughat uprising
- After the British annexation of Assam in 1826, surveys of the vast lands of the state began.
- On the basis of such surveys, the British began to impose land taxes, much to the resentment of the farmers.
- In 1893, the British government decided to increase agricultural land tax reportedly by 70- 80 per cent.
- Up until then the peasants would pay taxes in kind or provide service in lieu of cash.
- Across Assam, peasants began protesting the move by organising Raij Mels, or peaceful peoples’ conventions.
The day of the massacre
- The unarmed peasants were protesting against the increase in land revenue levied by the colonial administration when the military opened fire.
- Despite these gatherings being democratic, the British perceived them as “breeding grounds for sedition”.
- On January 28, 1894, when the British officers were refusing to listen to the farmers’ grievances, things heated up.
- There was a lathi charge, followed by an open firing which killed many of the peasants present.
- Official records, as mentioned in the Darrang District Gazette, 1905, edited by BC Allen, placed the casualties in the Patharughat incident as 15 killed and 37 wounded.
Why was the incident significant?
- The incident was one of the most tragic and inspiring episodes in the saga of the Indian freedom movement.
- However, it rarely features in the mainstream historical discourse of the freedom struggle.
- For the larger Assamese community, Patharughat comes second only to the Battle of Saraighat, when the Ahoms defeated the Mughals in 1671.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: EDISON alliance
Mains level: Global action against digital divide
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has announced the launch of an Essential Digital Infrastructure and Services Network (EDISON) Alliance.
The peculiarity of name ‘EDISON Alliance’ creates a hotspot here for prelims. UPSC may either crate confusion over purpose or parent organization. The alliance is yet to take shape completely; hence there is an ambiguity over its members.
EDISON Alliance
- Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF), which describes itself as an international organization for public-private partnership, will serve as the secretariat and platform for the EDISON Alliance.
- A wider group of ‘Champions Leaders’ will advise and support the Alliance, the WEF said while announcing the launch.
- Alliance aims to work towards ensuring global and equitable access to the digital economy.
- Its prime goal is to ensure an unprecedented level of cross-sectoral collaboration between the technology industry and other critical sectors of the economy, according to the WEF.
Why need such an alliance?
- Access to digital technologies has enabled many to work, learn and live during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- However, the pandemic has exposed and exacerbated existing gaps and inequalities in almost half of the global population.
- Some 3.6 billion people, remain offline and broadband services are too expensive for 50 percent of the population in developed countries, the WEF said.
- This hampers access to health, education, and economic inclusion.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: National Marine Turtle Action Plan
Mains level: Not Much
The Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has launched the National Marine Turtle Action Plan.
Do you know?
Most people use the term “turtle” to reference any reptile with a shell on its back, but there are several differences between these two unique creatures. In actual sense tortoises are turtles, but not all turtles are tortoises.
Tortoises have more rounded and domed shells where turtles have thinner, more water-dynamic shells. Turtle shells are more streamlined to aid in swimming. One major key difference is that tortoises spend most of their time on land and turtles are adapted for life spent in water.
National Marine Turtle Action Plan
Aim: To strengthen and sustain collective and collaborative sea turtle conservation through the monitoring of key sites and a network of partners in the Indian sub-continent
Project details
- The project contains ways and means to not only promote inter-sectoral action for conservation but also guide improved coordination amongst the government, civil society and all relevant stakeholders.
- It highlights actions to be taken for handling stranded animals on the shore, stranded or entangled animals in the sea or on a boat, reducing threats to marine species and their habitats, rehabilitation, etc.
Why need such a project?
- India has rich marine biodiversity along a vast coastline of over 7,500 km.
- It has significant nesting and feeding grounds for four species of marine turtles, namely leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), green (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) and olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea)
- Even though all four species are listed under Schedule I of the Indian Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, their populations in the Indian waters are under threat.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Paris Club, G20
Mains level: Not Much
Chad has become the first country to officially request a debt restructuring under a new common framework “G20 Common Framework” introduced by China and other Group of 20 countries last year with the help of the Paris Club.
What is G20 Common Framework?
- G20 Common Framework is the Common Framework for Debt Treatments beyond the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI).
- It was announced in November 2020 to deal with the issue of unsustainable debts faced by various countries as an impact of COVID-19.
What is the news?
- This official request of Chad for debt restructuring under the G20 common framework was notified by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- The creditors will now soon begin discussions on the first test of the new framework.
- The creditors will also ask China and other private-sector creditors to participate as agreed last year.
- A new four-year programme of Chad worth about $560 million under the Extended Credit and Extended Fund facilities was announced by IMF.
- Chad is under high debt like many other African countries.
Significance of the move
- This is the first time that a country has requested debt restructuring under the framework and the investors will now look at how the framework can work.
- Participation in China is also a question. Last year, G20 Common Framework brought non-members of the Paris Club- India, China, and Turkey to join the framework.
Back2Basics: Paris Club
- Paris Club is a club or group of officials from major creditor countries.
- It was established in the year 1956.
- It aims to find sustainable solutions to the difficulties faced by debtor countries in payments.
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