Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: IPCC
Mains level: Paper 3- IPCC sixth assessment report
Context
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released on Monday its sixth assessment report.
Bleak assessment of our future
- In its sixth assessment report, titled ‘Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability’, the IPCC discusses the increasing extreme heat, rising oceans, melting glaciers, falling agricultural productivity, resultant food shortages and increase in diseases like dengue and zika.
- Failed climate leadership: Antonio Guterres, the United Nations Secretary General, quoted in The New York Times, describes the IPCC report as being “an atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment of failed climate leadership.”
- The IPCC warns that should our planet get warmer than 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial times (we are at 1.1 degrees at present), then there will be irreversible impact on “ecosystems with low resilience” such as polar, mountain and coastal ecosystems “impacted by glacier melt, and higher sea level rise”.
- This will cause devastation to “infrastructure in low-lying coastal settlements, associated livelihoods and even erosion of cultural and spiritual values.”
- The increased heat will lead to an increase in diseases like diabetes, circulatory and respiratory conditions, as well as mental health challenges.
Impact on India
- Climate “maladaptation”: The IPCC also highlights that climate “maladaptation” will especially affect “marginalised and vulnerable groups adversely, indigenous people, ethnic minorities, low-income households and informal settlements” and those in rural areas.
- Therefore, India, with a majority of its people falling in these categories, will be especially devastated.
- The IPCC highlights India as a vulnerable hotspot, with several regions and cities facing climate change phenomena like flooding, sea-level rise and heatwaves.
- For instance, Mumbai is at high risk of sea-level rise and flooding, and Ahmedabad faces the danger of heat waves — these phenomena are already underway in both cities.
- Vector-borne and water-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue will be on the rise in sub-tropical regions, like parts of Punjab, Assam and Rajasthan.
- When the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increases, the grains we consume, including wheat and rice, will have diminished nutritional quality.
- Over the past 30 years, major crop yields have decreased by 4-10 per cent globally due to climate change.
- Consequently, India, which continues to be predominantly agrarian, is likely to be especially hurt.
- Urban India is at greater risk than other areas with a projected population of 877 million by 2050 nearly double of 480 million in 2020.
- The concentration of population in these cities will make them extremely vulnerable to climate change.
Conclusion
Fighting climate change requires fiscal expenditure and policy changes fuelled by political will, which will reap results in a decade or so. Yet, our political class has no cohesive and urgent policy roadmap to combat rising emissions and our diminishing life spans.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission)
Mains level: Paper 2- Issues with draft data accessibility policy
Context
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) released the“Draft India Data Accessibility & Use Policy 2022”.
Objectives of the policy
- If passed, it would govern, “all data and information created/generated/collected/archived by the Government of India” as much as, “State Governments [who] will also be free to adopt the provisions of the policy”.
- The twin purpose to which this data will be put to will be government-to-government sharing and high value datasets for valuation and licensing.
Issues with the draft policy
1] Original objective will get dilutes in favour of commercial interests
- The immediate risk arises when a government starts licensing citizen data.
- Over the past three years, there has been a rapid expansion in the nature and scope of our most intimate details.
- While the middle classes faced the mendacity of voluntarily linking their Aadhaar to their bank accounts and mobile connections, today, the digital sweep is all pervasive.
- For agriculture, there is an Agristack; for unorganised labourers, we have the e-SHRAM portal; in health we have Aarogya Setu and ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission); and for school children and teachers there is NDEAR (National Digital Education Architecture).
- For every area of our lives, the government now has a database filled with our personal data.
- Purpose of data collection: The stated purpose for collection has been improving service delivery, planning and checking leakages.
- Public data is now being viewed as a prized asset of the Union government that should be freely shared, enriched, valued and licensed to the private sector.
- Given that more data means more money, commercial interests will prompt the government to collect granular personal details through greater capture and increased retention periods.
- Tying government policy determinations with a fiscal potential may also lead to distortion of the aims of data collection — the welfare of farmers, healthcare, unorganised labourers or even schoolchildren.
- There is no indication that consent will be sought in a meaningful form.
- Over time, the original objectives for which databases are built will get diluted in favour of commercial interests.
2] Absence of values and objectives related to transparency
- The second issue emerges from the disingenuous phrasing of “making data open by default”.
- Importance of open data: The World Bank notes that one of the first benefits of open data is that it supports “public oversight of governments and helps reduce corruption by enabling greater transparency”.
- These principles were recognised in past policy pronouncements of the government.
- Specifically, the National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy, 2012 and the implementation guidelines formulated in 2017 refer to the Right to Information Act, 2005.
- However, within the present draft data accessibility policy, while the phrase “open data” has been used, its values and objectives are absent.
- The primary, overpowering objectives in the draft data accessibility policy and the background note are commercial.
3] Absence of legal basis
- The final area for reconsideration is a larger trend of policy-based administration detached from our constitutional framework.
- Compounding this problem, the present policy, as many others, is untethered to any legislative basis and contains no proposals for the creation of a legal framework.
- As per the Supreme Court’s Puttaswamy judgment on the fundamental right to privacy, the first ingredient to satisfy constitutionality is the existence of a legal, more often a legislative, basis.
- Without a law, there is absence of defined limits to data sharing that are enforceable and contain remedies.
- Inadequate provisions for privacy preservation: In this case, the promise of privacy preservation through anonymisation tools holds little promise when it cannot be independently assessed by a body for data protection.
- Even heavily sampled anonymised datasets are unlikely to satisfy the modern standards for anonymisation set forth by GDPR and seriously challenge the technical and legal adequacy of the de-identification release-and-forget model.
- This becomes vital as it is the principal measure suggested in the draft data accessibility policy.
Suggestions
- Parliamentary enactments also help bring accountability through deliberation that furthers foresight and contains financial memorandums – given that public money would be spent to enrich datasets of public data.
- Since the policy contemplates sharing data between databases of the central and state governments as well as through central funded schemes, it may also be prudent to deliberate further in the Rajya Sabha.
- Federalism becomes a relevant issue given that such data, when it is generated, processed and enriched by state governments to comply with interoperability standards, will lead to revenue generation for itself.
Consider the question “What are the benefits of open data? Why privacy and welfare activists have raised concerns with the Draft India Data Accessibility & Use Policy 2022?”
Conclusion
These are the glaring issues in this short, draft data accessibility policy, which appears to transform the Union government into a data broker.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CBI
Mains level: General consent to CBI by states and issues in CBI investigation
Meghalaya has withdrawn consent to the CBI to investigate cases in the state, becoming the ninth state in the country to have taken this step.
General Consent
- Unlike the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is governed by its own NIA Act and has jurisdiction across the country, the CBI is governed by the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act.
- This makes consent of a state government mandatory for conducting an investigation in that state.
- There are two types of consent: case-specific and general.
- Given that the CBI has jurisdiction only over central government departments and employees, it can investigate a case involving state government employees or a violent crime in a given state only after that state government gives its consent.
When is Consent needed?
- General consent is normally given to help the CBI seamlessly conduct its investigation into cases of corruption against central government employees in the concerned state.
- Almost all states have given such consent.
- Otherwise, the CBI would require consent in every case.
What does the withdrawal of consent mean?
- It means the CBI will not be able to register any fresh case involving a central government official or a private person stationed in these two states without getting case-specific consent.
- Withdrawal of consent simply means that CBI officers will lose all powers of a police officer as soon as they enter the state unless the state government has allowed them.
Under what provision has general consent been withdrawn?
- In exercise of the power conferred by Section 6 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946, the government can withdraw the general consent to exercise the powers and jurisdiction.
- Section 6 of the Act says nothing contained in Section 5 shall be deemed to enable any member of the Delhi Special Police Establishment to exercise powers and jurisdiction in any area in a State, not being a Union Territory or Railway, area, without the consent of the Government of that State.
Does that mean that the CBI can no longer probe any case in the two states?
- The CBI would still have the power to investigate old cases registered when general consent existed.
- Also, cases registered anywhere else in the country, but involving people stationed in that particular state would allow CBI’s jurisdiction to extend to these states.
- There is ambiguity on whether the agency can carry out a search in either of the two states in connection with an old case without the consent of the state government.
Why such a move by the States?
- If a state government believes that the ruling party’s ministers or members could be targeted by CBI on orders of the Centre, and that withdrawal of general consent would protect them.
- This is a debatable political assumption.
- CBI could still register cases in Delhi which would require some part of the offence being connected with Delhi and still arrest and prosecute ministers or MPs.
- The only people it will protect are small central government employees.
Legal Remedies for CBI
- The CBI can always get a search warrant from a local court in the state and conduct searches.
- In case the search requires a surprise element, there is CrPC Section 166, which allows a police officer of one jurisdiction to ask an officer of another to carry out searches on his behalf.
- And if the first officer feels that the searches by the latter may lead to loss of evidence, the section allows the first officer to conduct searches himself after giving notice to the latter.
Back2Basics: Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
- The Bureau of Investigation traces its origins to the Delhi Special Police Establishment, a Central Government Police force, which was set up in 1941 by the Government of India.
- It then aimed to investigate bribery and corruption in transactions with the War and Supply Department of India.
- It then had its headquarters in Lahore.
- After the end of the war, there was a continued need for a central governmental agency to investigate bribery and corruption by central-government employees.
- The DSPE acquired its popular current name, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), through a Home Ministry resolution dated in 1963.
Mandate of the CBI
- The CBI is the main investigating agency of the GoI.
- It is not a statutory body; it derives its powers from the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act, 1946.
- Its important role is to prevent corruption and maintain integrity in administration.
- It works under the supervision of the CVC (Central Vigilance Commission) in matters pertaining to the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
- The CBI is also India’s official representative with the INTERPOL.
Cases to investigate
- Cases connected to infringement of economic and fiscal laws
- Crimes of a serious nature that have national and international ramifications
- Coordination with the activities of the various state police forces and anti-corruption agencies.
- It can also take up any case of public importance and investigate it
- Maintaining crime statistics and disseminating criminal information.
Issues with CBI
- Caged parrot: The Supreme Court has criticized the CBI by calling it a “caged parrot speaking in its master’s voice”.
- Political interference: It has often been used by the government of the day to cover up wrongdoing, keep coalition allies in line and political opponents at bay.
- Investigation delay: It has been accused of enormous delays in concluding investigations due to political inertia.
- Loss of Credibility: CBI has been criticised for its mismanagement of several cases involving prominent politicians and mishandling of several sensitive cases like Bofors scandal, Bhopal gas tragedy.
- Lack of Accountability: CBI is exempted from the provisions of the Right to Information Act, thus, lacking public accountability.
- Acute shortage of personnel: A major cause of the shortfall is the government’s sheer mismanagement of CBI’s workforce.
- Limited Powers: The powers and jurisdiction of members of the CBI for investigation are subject to the consent of the State Govt., thus limiting the extent of investigation by CBI.
- Restricted Access: Prior approval of Central Government to conduct inquiry or investigation on the employees of the Central Government is a big obstacle in combating corruption at higher levels of bureaucracy.
Reforming CBI
- Need for autonomy: As long as the government of the day has the power to transfer and post officials of its choice in the CBI, the investigating agency will not enjoy autonomy and will be unable to investigate cases freely.
- Selection of director/ Officers: To ensure that the CBI is a robust, independent and credible investigation agency, there is an urgent need to work out a much more transparent mechanism for selection and induction of officers on deputation.
- Lokpal scrutiny: The Lokpal Act already calls for a three-member committee made up of the PM, the leader of the opposition and the CJI to select the director.
- Bifurcation of Cadre: CBI should be bifurcated into an Anti-Corruption Body and a National Crime Bureau.
- Develop own cadre: One of the demands that have been before Supreme Court, and in line with international best practices, is for the CBI to develop its own dedicated cadre of officers.
- Annual social audit should be carried out by ten reputed, knowledgeable persons with background of law, justice, public affairs and administration and the audit report should be placed before the parliament.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: FoP Labelling
Mains level: Packaged food regulation
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will soon start labelling the front of packaged food products with Health Star Rating (HSR).
What is FoPL?
- In India, packaged food has had back-of-package (BOP) nutrient information in detail but no FoPL.
- Counter to this, FoPL can nudge people towards healthy consumption of packaged food.
- It can also influence purchasing habits.
- The study endorsed the HSR format, which speaks about the proportions of salt, sugar, and fat in food that is most suited for consumers.
- Countries such as the UK, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Hungary, and Australia have implemented FoPL systems.
What warranted such rating in India?
- Visual bluff: A lot of Indian consumers do not read the information available at the back of the packaged food item.
- Burden of NCDs: Also, India has a huge burden of non-communicable diseases that contributes to around 5.87 million (60%) of all deaths in a year.
- Healthy dietary choices: HSR will encourage people to make healthy choices and could bring a transformational change in the society.
- Supreme court order: A PIL seeking direction to the government to frame guidelines on HSR and impact assessment for food items and beverages was filed in the Supreme Court in June 2021.
Which category of food item will have HSR?
- All packaged food items or processed food will have the HSR label.
- These will include chips, biscuits, namkeen, sweets and chocolates, meat nuggets, and cookies.
- However, milk and its products such as chenna and ghee are EXEMPTED as per the FSSAI draft notified in 2019.
Will there be pushback from food industry?
- Negative warning: Some experts opposed the use of the HSR model in India, suggesting that consumers might tend to take this as an affirmation of the health benefits rather than as a negative warning of ill effects.
- Lack of awareness: This is significant because there is lack of awareness on star ratings related to consumer products in India.
- Impact on Sale: Certain organisations fear it might affect the sale of certain food products.
When will the rating come into force?
- FSSAI’s scientific panel recommends voluntary implementation of HSR format from 2023 and a transition period of four years for making it mandatory.
- FSSAI noted that the proposed thresholds are in alignment with the models implemented in other countries and ‘WHO population nutrient intake goals recommendations’.
- FSSAI will analyse the nutritional information in 100 mg of packaged food.
- The food safety compliance system licensing application portal will have a module for generating certificates wherein a licensee can enter details of a product.
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Back2Basics: Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)
- The FSSAI is an autonomous body established under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India.
- It has been established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 which is a consolidating statute related to food safety and regulation in India.
- It is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety.
- It is headed by a non-executive Chairperson, appointed by the Central Government, either holding or has held the position of not below the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Kavach
Mains level: Highs speed railways in India and safety parameters
Kavach, this indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection System is earmarked for aggressive rollout on 2,000 km in 2022-23, according the Budget proposals.
What is Kavach?
- It is India’s very own automatic protection system in development since 2012, under the name Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), which got rechristened to Kavach or “armour”.
- Simply put, it is a set of electronic devices and Radio Frequency Identification devices installed in locomotives, in the signalling system as well the tracks.
- They connect to each other using ultra high radio frequencies to control the brakes of trains and also alert drivers, all based on the logic programmed into them.
Key features of Kavach
- One of its features is that by continuously refreshing the movement information of a train, it is able to send out triggers when a loco pilot jumps signal, called Signal Passed at Danger (SPAD).
- The devices also continuously relay the signals ahead to the locomotive, making it useful for loco pilots in low visibility, especially during dense fog.
- It includes the key elements from already existing, and tried and tested systems like the European Train Protection and Warning System, and the indigenous Anti Collison Device.
- It will also carry features of the high-tech European Train Control System Level-2 in future.
- The current form of Kavach adheres to the highest level of safety and reliability standard called Safety Integrity Level 4.
What is the upgrade?
- In the new avatar, India wants to position Kavach as an exportable system, a cheaper alternative to the European systems in vogue across the world.
- While now Kavach uses Ultra High Frequency, work is on to make it compatible with 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology and make the product for global markets.
- Work is on to make the system such that it can be compatible with other already installed systems globally.
How far is the rollout?
- So far, Kavach has been deployed on over 1,098 km and 65 locomotives in ongoing projects of the South Central Railway.
- In future it will be implemented on 3000 km of the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah corridors where the tracks and systems are being upgraded to host a top speed of 160 kmph.
- Further, over 34,000 km on the High Density Network (HDN) and Highly Utilized Network (HUN) of on the Golden Quadrilateral have been included in its sanctioned plans.
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