Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: article 21
Mains level: right to privacy
Context
- Data privacy breaches which result in the loss and theft of personal, sensitive data have not reduced in terms of measurable frequency or their impact.
- It has been 5 years since the nine-judge Supreme Court bench delivered the judgment in the Puttaswamy case. It asserted that Indians have a constitutionally protected fundamental right to privacy.
- A right to be let alone;
- The right of a person to be free from any unwarranted publicity;
- The right to live without any unwarranted interference by the public in matters with which the public is not necessarily concerned.
Definition of data
- Data is a collection of discrete values that convey information, describing quantity, quality, fact, statistics, other basic units of meaning, or simply sequences of symbols that may be further interpreted.
What is Data Protection?
- Data protection refers to policies and procedures seeking to minimise intrusion into the privacy of an individual caused by collection and usage of their personal data.
What is data privacy?
- Data privacy refers to controlling access to the data. Organizations must determine who has access to data. Understandably, a privacy breach can lead to data security issues.
What is data security?
- Data security refers specifically to measures taken to protect the integrity of the data itself against manipulation and malware. It provides defense from internal and external threats.
Why we need data protection?
- Increasing internet use: India currently has over 750 million Internet users, with the number only expected to increase in the future.
- Data breaches: At the same time, India has among the highest data breaches in the world. Without a data protection law in place, the data of millions of Indians continues to be at risk of being exploited, sold, and misused without their consent.
- Individual privacy: Data monetization may happen at cost of individual privacy. The most sought-after datasets are those that contain sensitive personal data of individuals, ex. medical history, financial data.
Issues with the data breaches in India
- Violation of the right to privacy: The right to privacy was recognized as a fundamental right, included under the right to life and liberty by the Supreme Court of India in 2017.
- Absence of legal framework: Without a law in place to regulate data collection and to act as an oversight mechanism, valid concerns about privacy and other rights violations continue to arise.
- High Infrastructural Costs: Technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Big Data are costly to implement. The size of stored information is extremely large and requires huge network & data storage facilities, which are currently not available in India.
- The concern of Data Leakage: In today’s world of cybercrime, it is important to put appropriate safeguards in place in order to ensure the integrity of the repository/database, so that it doesn’t leak out the information and is not privatized or monetized.
- Reliability & Authenticity: As the data collected may be used in the court of law during the course of a criminal trial, the reliability and the admissibility of the data along with standards and procedures followed would be taken into consideration. Hence, the authenticity of the data is crucial.
Conclusion
- Today, there is a relentless pace of digitisation that relies on gathering personal data in all spheres of our lives. All of this is done in a legal vacuum without any oversight or remedy. This underscores the urgent need for robust data protection law.
Mains question
Q. What do you understand by the term data privacy? Explain how data leakages threatens the sacred right to privacy?
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Context
- While AFSPA is repealed in 28 districts in Assam, 7 districts in Nagaland and 6 in Manipur, NSF president Kegwayhun Tep said that it should be repealed in all Northeastern states .
- Armed Forces Special Powers Act, to put it simply, gives armed forces the power to maintain public order in “disturbed areas.”
- AFSPA gives armed forces the authority use force or even open fire after giving due warning if they feel a person is in contravention of the law.
- The Act further provides that if “reasonable suspicion exists”, the armed forces can also arrest a person without warrant; enter or search premises without a warrant; and ban the possession of firearms.
AFSPA: A Backgrounder
- The AFSPA, 1958 came into force in the context of insurgency in the North-eastern States decades ago.
- It provides “special power” to the Armed Forces applies to the Army, the Air Force and the Central Paramilitary forces etc.
- It has been long contested debate whether the “special powers” granted under AFSPA gives total immunity to the armed forces for any action taken by them.
What are the Special Powers?
- Power to use force: including opening fire, even to the extent of causing death if prohibitory orders banning assembly of five or more persons or carrying arms and weapons, etc are in force in the disturbed area;
- Power to destroy structures: used as hide-outs, training camps, or as a place from which attacks are or likely to be launched, etc;
- Power to arrest: without warrant and to use force for the purpose;
- Power to enter and search premises: without a warrant to make arrest or recovery of hostages, arms and ammunition and stolen property etc.
Who can declare/notify such areas?
- The Central Government or the Governor of the State or administrator of the Union Territory can declare the whole or part of the State or Union Territory as a disturbed area.
Issues with AFSPA
- Power to kill: Section 4 of the Act granted officers the authority to “take any action” even to the extent to cause the death.
- Sexual Misconduct by Armed Forces: The issue of violation of human rights by actions of armed forces came under the consideration of the Committee on Amendments to Criminal Law (popularly known as Justice Verma Committee) set up in 2012. It observed that- in conflict zones, legal protection for women was neglected.
- Autocracy: The reality is that there is no evidence of any action being taken against any officer of the armed forces or paramilitary forces for their excesses.
Recommendations to repeal AFSPA
- Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy Commission: The 2004 Committee headed by Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy, the content of which has never officially been revealed by the Government, recommended that AFSPA be repealed.
- ARC II: The Administrative Reforms Commission in its 5th Report on ‘Public Order’ had also recommended that AFSPA be repealed.
- Human right violations: The repeal of AFSPA is necessary not just for restoring constitutional sanity, but also as a way of acknowledging dark history of our conduct in Nagaland.
- Need for ensuring individual dignity: The political incorporation of Nagaland (and all other areas where this law applies) will be set back if the guarantees of individual dignity of the Indian Constitution are not extended.
- Not state of exception: We often describe AFSPA in terms of a “state of exception”. But this theoretical term is misleading. How can a law that has been in virtually continuous existence since 1958 be described as an “exception”.
- Lack of human empathy: At the heart of AFSPA is a profound mutilation of human empathy.
Conclusion
- To bring in lasting peace in the North East, the government needs to avoid the trap of watered-down peace accords. While the move to withdraw AFSPA is welcome, it needs to be gradually erased. For that, changes in the ground situation would be crucial. Mere smoke signals or drum-beating can never do the job.
Mains question
Q. Do you think AFSPA is license to kill? Critically examine the utility of AFSPA today.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Lofty poll promises and election freebies
The Supreme Court has decided to reconsider a 2013 judgment on Poll Promises, which held that promises in the election manifesto do not constitute a “corrupt practice” under the law.
What is the news?
- A Bench led by the CJI, Ramana, ordered a three-judge Bench to be set up to review the court’s earlier position.
Subramaniam Balaji Judgment: Invalidating certain Poll Promises
- It was held that pre-poll promises made by political parties to entice voters do not fall within the ambit of Section 123 (corrupt practices) under the Representation of the People (RP) Act.
- The judgment, delivered by a two-judge Bench, had observed that although the law is obvious that the promises in the election manifesto cannot be construed as ‘corrupt practice’ under Section 123 of RP Act.
- The reality cannot be ruled out that distribution of freebies of any kind, undoubtedly, influences all people.
Why revisit this judgment?
- Rationale of the freebie: Now the CJI has said the three-judge Bench should consider whether an enforceable order can be passed to stop political parties in power from promising and distributing “irrational freebies”.
- Freebie vs. Welfare schemes: He opined that such freebies are completely divorced from actual welfare schemes, using public money in order to merely “capture vote banks”.
- Prevent bankruptcy: Freebies may create a situation wherein the State government cannot provide basic amenities due to lack of funds and the State is pushed towards imminent bankruptcy.
- Expert review: The new Bench would also deliberate if an expert body can be formed to independently study and make recommendations against the distribution of largesse at the cost of the national economy and public welfare.
What amounts to Freebie?
- The term Freebies is not new; rather it is a prevalent culture in Indian politics (in the name of socialism).
- The political parties are always trying to outdo each other in luring the Indian voters with assorted freebies.
- From free water to free smartphones the Indian politicians promise everything to attract prospective voters in favour.
- This trend has gained more momentum in the recent times with the political parties being innovative in their offerings as the ‘traditional free water and electricity’ is no longer sufficient as election goodies.
Examples of freebies
- Promise of Rs 15 lakh in our bank accounts
- Free TV, Laptops
- Free electricity
- Loan waivers
- Offering free public transport ride to all women in Delhi
Why are such policies popular among the public?
- Failure of economic policies: The answer lies in the utter failure of our economic policies to create decent livelihood for a vast majority of Indians.
- Quest for decent livelihood: The already low income had to be reoriented towards spending a disproportionately higher amount on education and health, from which, the state increasingly withdrew.
- Prevailing unemployment: Employment surveys have shown that employment growth initially slowed down from the 1990s, and then has turned negative over the past few years.
- Increased cost of living: Real income growth of the marginal sections has actually slowed down since 1991 reforms.
- Increased consumerism: The poor today also spend on things which appear to be luxuries; cellphones and data-packs are two such examples which are shown as signs of India’s increased affluence.
- Necessity: For migrant workers, the mobile phone helps them keep in touch with their families back home, or do a quick video-call to see how their infant is learning to sit up or crawl.
Can Freebies be compared with Welfare Politics?
- These freebies are not bad. It is a part of social welfare.
- Using freebies to lure voters is not good.
- Voter’s greediness may lead to a problem in choosing a good leader.
- When we don’t have a good leader then democracy will be a mockery.
Impact of such policies
- Never ending trail: The continuity of freebies is another major disadvantage as parties keep on coming up with lucrative offers to lure more number of votes to minimize the risk of losing in the elections.
- Burden on exchequer: People forget that such benefits are been given at the cost of exchequer and from the tax paid.
- Ultimate loss of poors: The politicians and middlemen wipe away the benefits and the poor have to suffer as they are deprived from their share of benefits which was to be achieved out of the money.
- Inflationary practice: Such distribution freebie commodity largely disrupts demand-supply dynamics.
- Lethargy in population: Freebies actually have the tendency to turn the nation’s population into: Lethargy and devoid of entrepreneurship.
- Money becomes only remedy: Everyone at the slightest sign of distress starts demanding some kind of freebies from the Govt.
- Popular politics: This is psychology driving sections of the population expecting and the government promptly responds with immediate monetary relief or compensation.
What cannot be accounted to a freebie?
- MGNREGA scheme (rural employment guarantee scheme)
- Right to Education (RTE)
- Food Security through fair price shops ( under National Food Security Act)
- Prime Minister Kisan Samman Yojana (PM-KISAN)
Arguments in favour
- Social investment: Aid to the poor is seen as a wasteful expenditure. But low interest rates for corporates to get cheap loans or the ‘sop’ of cutting corporate taxes are never criticized.
- Socialistic policy: This attitude comes from decades of operating within the dominant discourse of market capitalism.
- Election manifesto: Proponents of such policies would argue that poll promises are essential for voters to know what the party would do if it comes to power and have the chance to weigh options.
- Welfare: Economists opine that as long as any State has the capacity and ability to finance freebies then its fine; if not then freebies are the burden on economy.
- Other wasteful expenditure: When the Centre gives incentives like free land to big companies and announce multi-year tax holidays, questions are not asked as to where the money will come from.
Conclusion
- There is nothing wrong in having a policy-led elaborate social security programme that seeks to help the poor get out of poverty.
- But such a programme needs well thought out preparation and cannot be conjured up just before an election.
Also read:
[Sansad TV] Mudda Aapla: Culture of Freebies
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: INS Vikrant
Mains level: Indian navy modernization
The nation’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-1) , INS Vikrant is set to be commissioned on September 2, the Indian Navy has announced.
About INS Vikrant
- The name ‘INS Vikrant’ originally belonged to India’s much-loved first aircraft carrier, a source of immense national pride over several decades of service before it was decommissioned in 1997.
- The original ‘Vikrant’, a Majestic-class 19,500-tonne warship, which was acquired from the UK in 1961, played a stellar role in the 1971 War with Pakistan.
- The IAC-1 is 262 m long and 62 m wide ‘Vikrant’ displaces approximately 43,000 tonnes when fully loaded, and has a maximum designed speed of 28 knots (about 52 km/h) with an endurance of 7500 NM.
- It has around 2,200 compartments designed for a crew of around 1,600, including specialised cabins to accommodate women officers and sailors.
Why is it important for India to have an aircraft carrier?
- An aircraft carrier is one of the most potent marine assets for any nation.
- It enhances a Navy’s capability to travel far from its home shores to carry out air domination operations.
- Having an aircraft carrier as essential to be considered a “blue water” navy — that is, a navy that has the capacity to project a nation’s strength and power across the high seas.
- An aircraft carrier generally leads as the capital ship of a carrier strike/ battle group.
Why is it a big deal that this warship has been Made in India?
- Only five or six nations currently have the capability of manufacturing an aircraft carrier, and India has joined this prestigious club now.
- India has demonstrated the capacity and self-reliance to build what is considered to be one of the most advanced and complex battleships in the world.
- India has had aircraft carriers earlier too — but those were built either by the British or the Russians.
- The ‘INS Vikramaditya’, which was commissioned in 2013 and which is currently the Navy’s only aircraft carrier, started out as the Soviet-Russian warship ‘Admiral Gorshkov’.
- India’s two earlier carriers, the ‘INS Vikrant’ and the ‘INS Viraat’, were originally the British-built ‘HMS Hercules’ and ‘HMS Hermes’.
- These two warships were commissioned into the Navy in 1961 and 1987 respectively.
What indigenous components does the new ‘Vikrant’ have?
- The indigenous content of the project is approximately 76%.
- The warship-grade steel was indigenised through Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) in collaboration with Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL).
- It includes 23,000 tonnes of steel, 2,500 km of electric cables, 150 km of pipes, and 2,000 valves.
- It also includes a wide range of finished products including rigid hull boats, galley equipment, air-conditioning and refrigeration plants, and steering gear.
What weapons and equipment will the new ‘Vikrant’ have?
- The new warship can carry up to 34 aircraft, including both fighter jets and helicopters.
- It will be capable of operating 30 aircraft including MiG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31 Air Early Warning Helicopters, MH-60R Seahawk multi-role helicopters, as well as the Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH).
- Using a novel aircraft-operation mode known as Short Take Off But Arrested Recovery (STOBAR), the IAC is equipped with a ski-jump for launching aircraft.
What else will be there on the new INS Vikrant?
- The carrier is designed with a very high degree of automation for machinery operations, ship navigation and survivability.
- The carrier is equipped with the latest state of the art equipment and systems.
- It boasts a fully-fledged state of the art medical complex with the latest medical equipment facilities..
Now that India has shown the capability, will it build more carriers?
- Since 2015, the Navy has been seeking approval to build a third aircraft carrier for the country, which, if approved, will become India’s second Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-2).
- This proposed carrier, to be named ‘INS Vishal’, is intended to be a giant 65,000-tonne vessel, much bigger than both IAC-1 and the ‘INS Vikramaditya’.
- The Navy has been trying to convince the government of the “operational necessity” of having a third carrier.
- Also, it is argued that now that India has developed the capability to build such vessels, it should not be whittled away.
- The expertise gained by the Navy and the country over the past 60 years in the art of maritime aviation should not be wasted either.
Significance of the induction
- Vikrant is the largest warship to have ever been built in India, and the first indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier for the Indian Navy.
- It puts India in an elite club of nations that have the capability to design and build these giant, powerful warships.
- The indigenisation efforts led to the development of ancillary industries, and generated employment opportunities for 2,000 CSL personnel and about 13,000 employees in ancillary industries.
- This bolstered plough-back effect on the nation’s economy. That is, it pushed all money back that it consumed.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Gorkha regiment
Mains level: Indian Army
Nepal has postponed the recruitment rallies which were to be held in that country to recruit Gorkha soldiers for the Indian Army under the Agnipath scheme.
Why has Nepal postponed Agnipath recruitment rallies?
- Nepal is of the opinion that this new form of entry into the Indian military is not covered under the Tripartite Agreement signed between Nepal, Indian and UK governments in 1947, soon after Indian independence.
- The government feels that the Agnipath scheme must be approved by it and for that political consultations with all parties in Nepal must take place.
- This is move is visibly ‘inspired’ with inputs from China.
What was the Tripartite Agreement between India, Nepal and UK?
- Soon after Indian Independence on August 15, 1947, an agreement was reached by the governments of India, Nepal and the UK regarding the future of the Gorkha soldiers who were serving in the Indian Army.
- As per the terms of this agreement four regiments of Gorkha soldiers – 2nd, 6th, 7th and 10th – were transferred to the British Army while the rest – 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th and 9th – remained with the Indian Army.
- A new Gorkha Regiment, the 11th Gorkha Rifles, was raised by India soon after Independence.
- The agreement also provides for the terms and conditions of the Nepal-domiciled Gorkha soldiers in the Indian Army and for their post-retirement benefits and pensions.
Significance of Gorkha Soldiers
- Legend has it that Hitler’s very words were, “If I had Gurkhas, no army in the world could defeat me.”
- An interesting historical aspect of Gorkha troops is that Pakistan, at the time of Independence, and China, soon after the 1962 war, had also requested Nepal for Gorkha soldiers.
- However, this request was turned down by the Nepal government.
- The largest body of Gorkha troops serves in the Indian Army while in the UK their presence has been reduced from four regiments to just two.
Can Nepalese Gorkhas in foreign Armies be called mercenaries?
- Mercenaries are understood as fighters who take part in a conflict for financial gain and usually are not parties to that conflict.
- As per the definition of the 1949 Geneva Convention, gives the officially agreed definition of a mercenary.
- It says that soldiers serving in sovereign armies are not considered mercenaries, and Gorkha soldiers cannot be called mercenaries.
- In addition, Gorkha soldiers from Nepal serve side-by-side with Gorkha soldiers who are born and brought up in India.
Have any changes been made in Gorkha unit recruitments over the years?
- There have been attempts to reduce the dependence on Nepal for the Gorkha soldiers in the Indian Army,
- To this effect, the composition has increasingly been attempted to be balanced between Indian and Nepal-domiciled troops.
- Also, a pure Indian Gorkha battalion was raised in 2016.
- This unit, 6th Battalion of the 1st Gorkha Rifles (6/1 GR), was raised in Subathu, in Himachal Pradesh.
- Otherwise, the ratio of Nepalese-domiciled soldiers and Indian-domiciled soldiers in a Gorkha battalion ranges from 60:40 to 70:30, though this will change further in future.
- A change was made in the recruitment rules for Gorkha Rifles recently when the Army decided that soldiers hailing from the Kumaon and Garhwal regions of Uttarakhand will also be eligible for serving in Gorkha Rifles.
What is the socio-economic impact on Nepal of Gorkha soldiers serving in the Indian Army?
- A major economic and social impact is felt in Nepal due to the Nepal-domiciled Gorkha soldiers serving in the Indian Army and much of it has to do with the remittances that they send home.
- Kathmandu receives a sustainable source of remittances from Gorkhas working in foreign armies.
- This has significantly contributed to social modernization in the isolated villages, while the financial remittances spurred entrepreneurship development thereby contributing to regional development.
Why induct Gorkha soldiers?
- Gorkha soldiers are tough. Living in the hills of Nepal makes them strong and resilient and they can stand war, climate and terrain better than most.
- No one can match their swift movement in the mountainous terrain.
- They are cheerful in disposition and nothing disturbs their equanimity.
- They are loyal to the core and fearless in battle.
- All this makes them amongst the best soldiers in the world and they are much sought after.
- Historically, they have deep rooted connection and affinity for India definitely due to cultural assimilations.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Government e-Marketplace
Mains level: Read the attached story
Government e-Marketplace (GeM), a national procurement portal, is eyeing annual procurement worth ₹2 lakh crore during FY23. Such a huge amount it is!
Government e-Marketplace
- GeM is an online platform for public procurement in India by various Government Departments / Organizations / PSUs.
- The initiative was launched on August 9, 2016 by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry with the objective to create an open and transparent procurement platform for government buyers.
- It is owned by GeM SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle) which is a 100 per cent Government-owned, non-profit company under the Ministry of Commerce and Industries
- GeM aims to enhance transparency, efficiency and speed in public procurement.
- It provides the tools of e-bidding, reverse e-auction and demand aggregation to facilitate the government users achieve the best value for their money.
- The purchases through GeM by Government users have been authorized and made mandatory by Ministry of Finance.
Note: The government has made it mandatory for sellers on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal to clarify the country of origin of their goods when registering new products.
Advantages for Buyers
- Offers rich listing of products for individual categories of Goods/Services
- Makes available search, compare, select and buy facility
- Enables buying Goods and Services online, as and when required.
- Provides transparency and ease of buying
- Ensures continuous vendor rating system
- Up-to-date user-friendly dashboard for buying, monitoring supplies and payments
- Provision of easy return policy
Advantages for Sellers
- Direct access to all Government departments.
- One-stop shop for marketing with minimal efforts
- One-stop shop for bids / reverse auction on products / services
- New Product Suggestion facility available to Sellers
- Dynamic pricing: Price can be changed based on market conditions
- Seller friendly dashboard for selling, and monitoring of supplies and payments
- Consistent and uniform purchase procedures
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Network for Greening the Financial System
Mains level: green future ,green finance
Context
- Inclusion of climate change and green finance in policy is crucial for a strong economy.
- Green finance is a phenomenon that combines the world of finance and business with environment friendly behaviour. It may be led by financial incentives, a desire to preserve the planet, or a combination of both.
- In addition to demonstrating proactive, environment friendly behaviour, such as promoting of any business or activity that could be damaging to the environment now or for future generations.
Green finance instruments
- Dedicated fund: A “green super fund” could be established to jumpstart green investments by pooling together international and domestic capital.
- Sovereign green bond (SGB): The sovereign green bond is a novel idea. It will be a part of the government’s borrowing programme. The gross borrowing programme of the government is pegged at Rs 14.95 lakh crore. The SGB (sovereign green bond) raised will be part of the aggregate borrowing programme and has to be used for projects which are ESG (environment, social and governance) compliant.
Network for Greening the Financial System
- The Network for Greening the Financial System is a network of 114 central banks and financial supervisors that aims to accelerate the scaling up of green finance and develop recommendations for central banks’ role for climate change.
- The NGFS was created in 2017 and its secretariat is hosted by the Banque de France.
Purpose
- The Network’s purpose is to help strengthening the global response required to meet the goals of the Paris agreement and to enhance the role of the financial system to manage risks and to mobilize capital for green and low carbon investments in the broader context of environmentally sustainable development.
Significance
- Green goals: Reaching net-zero emissions and other climate-related and environmental goals will require significant investments to enable decarbonisation and innovation across all sectors of the economy. Greening the financial system is key to making these investments happen.
- SDG goals: Green finance initiatives also aim to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), shifting the focus from creating value for shareholders (economic) to creating value for stakeholders (economic, environmental, and social).
- Green future: And as we begin to recover from the pandemic, green finance presents a huge opportunity to build back with a greener future, creating new businesses and jobs.
- Robust growth: Supports strong and green growth in all sectors of economy .
The issues in mobilization and effective use of green finance are
- Low incentives: The return on green finance is long term, low in monetary value & many times intangible, so that the ability of the financial system to mobilize private green finance, especially in developed countries is difficult.
- Distribution challenge: Developing countries like India have challenges of development & poverty alleviation, so allocation of resources towards meeting fundamental needs & promoting the green projects which require heavy investment is a challenge.
- Skewed investment: In many countries, green finance & much of the green projects are limited to the investment in renewable energy: India whose 60% of installed capacity is coal based, greening of coal technology is required which is mostly limited to private players in developed countries. It is subjected to IPR & makes them cost prohibitory.
- High risk: Green bonds are perceived as new and attach higher risk and their tenure is also shorter. There is a need to reduce risks to makes them investment grade.
Conclusion
- Our future depends on how we resolve our environmental challenges. Further, we are the world’s third-largest carbon emitter and will play a crucial role in getting the planet to a low-carbon trajectory. Simply put, we must urgently transform our economy to get to the green frontier.
Mains question
Q. As the world copes with the repercussions of carbon emissions, there is growing pressure to achieve climate-compatible growth. In this context What do you understand by the term green finance? Discuss how it will help to achieve climate-compatible growth along with limitations of green finance.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Undemarcated Protected Forests
Mains level: Not Much
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has objected to the transfer of thousands of hectares of land without following due process by Chhattisgarh from its Forest to the Revenue Department for setting up industries and for building road, rail, and other infrastructure.
What is the news?
- The Union Environment Ministry has warned that the land in question is “undemarcated protected forests”, which cannot be used for non-forest purposes without clearance under the Forest Conservation (FC) Act, 1980.
‘Types of Forests’ in Law
- Broadly, state Forest Departments have jurisdiction over two types of forests notified under the Indian Forest (IF) Act, 1927:
- Reserve Forests (RF): where no rights are allowed unless specified and
- Protected Forests (PF): where no rights are barred unless specified
- Certain forests, such as village or nagarpalika forests, are managed by state Revenue Departments.
- The FC Act, 1980, applies to all kinds of forests, whether under the control of the Forest or the Revenue Department.
- It requires statutory clearance before forests can be used for any non-forest purpose such as industry, mining, or construction.
- In 1976, forests were included in List III (Concurrent List) under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
Chhattisgarh case
- The recorded forest area in Chhattisgarh covers 44.21% of its geography.
- The state government says it is constrained by the limited availability of land, particularly in the tribal regions, for development works.
- Therefore, in May 2021, it sought a field survey to identify non-forest land — parcels smaller than 10 hectares with less than 200 trees per hectare.
Orange, a grey area
- It sought that the forests had been included by mistake in Orange Areas under the Forest Department.
- This year, it announced that over 300 sq km of “Orange” area in the Bastar region had been handed over to the Revenue Department.
- Under the zamindari system, villagers used local malguzari (livelihood concessions) forests for firewood, grazing, etc.
- When zamindari was abolished in 1951, malguzari forests came under the Revenue Department.
- In 1958, the government of undivided Madhya Pradesh notified all these areas as Protected Forest (PFs) under the Forest Department.
- Through the 1960s, ground surveys and demarcations of these PFs continued — either to form blocks of suitable patches to be declared as Reserve Forests, or to denotify and return to the Revenue Department.
- For this purpose, Madhya Pradesh amended the IF Act, 1927, in 1965 — when forests figured in the State List — to allow denotification of PFs.
- The areas yet to be surveyed — undemarcated PFs — were marked in orange on the map.
Policy jam
- Since 2003, a case has been pending in the Supreme Court on rationalising these orange areas that have remained a bone of contention between the two Departments.
- The transfer of PFs to the Revenue Department continued until 1976, when reports of illicit felling in Revenue areas prompted Madhya Pradesh to seek a fresh survey to shift quality forest patches.
- But before this survey could be undertaken, the new government that came to power in the state in 1978 switched the focus to settling encroachments.
- The FC Act came in 1980, and required central clearance for non-forest use of forest land.
- This led to a situation where the rights of lakhs of villagers, including those settled by the government through pattas, remained restricted.
After MP was split
- Carved out of Madhya Pradesh in 2000, Chhattisgarh inherited its share of ‘orange’ areas.
- Ranked second after Orissa in implementing the Forest Rights Act, 2006, the state has settled over 26,000 claims since 2019.
- The logical next step, say officials who declined to be quoted, was to find land for the economic development of the tribal belt.
- Chhattisgarh did not seek central clearance to transfer over 300 sq km to Revenue, they claim, because it did not have to.
New definition of forests
- In December 1996, the SC defined ‘forest’ after its dictionary meaning, irrespective of the status of the land it stands on.
- It also defined forestland as any land thus notified on any government record irrespective of what actually stands on that land.
- To meet this broad definition, Madhya Pradesh in 1997 framed a “practical yardstick” — an area no smaller than 10 hectares with at least 200 trees per hectare — to identify forests in Revenue areas for handing over to the Forest Department.
- These non-forest areas, they claim, are now being identified and returned to the Revenue.
Issues with such Un-forestation
- The nature of vegetation changes over time.
- After so many years, a visual survey cannot determine if a particular piece of land did not meet the definition of forest.
- Once brought under the Forest Department, whether mistakenly or otherwise, an area gets the status of forestland as per the 1996 SC order, and hence comes under the FC Act, 1980.
Options available for CG
- Chhattisgarh, thanks to the 1965 amendment to the IF Act, can still denotify PFs unilaterally.
- It may also vest management of any land with any department since the state owns all land within its boundaries.
- But if the stated purpose is non-forest use — building industries and infrastructure — the state will anyway require central clearance under the FC Act, 1980.
What lies ahead?
- Clearance for non-forest use of forestland under the FC Act requires giving back twice the area for compensatory afforestation (CA) from Revenue to Forest.
- That would defeat the very purpose of the state government’s action.
- However, conversion of Forest to Revenue land has been exempted from CA under exceptional circumstances in the past.
- For example, when enclaves were moved out of forests, the SC allowed those to be resettled at the edge of the forests, in the absence of suitable Revenue land, as revenue villages.
- It will be a stretch, though, for such considerations to apply to thousands of hectares meant for industries.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ozone, Ozone Hole
Mains level: Ozone recovery
The concentration of ozone-depleting substances in the atmosphere has reduced to reach a significant milestone this year.
What is Ozone and Ozone Layer?
- An ozone molecule consists of three oxygen atoms instead of the usual two (the oxygen we breathe, O2, makes up 21% of the atmosphere).
- It only exists in the atmosphere in trace quantities (less than 0.001%), but its effects are very important.
- Ozone molecules are created by the interaction of ultra-violet (UV) radiation from the Sun with O2 molecules.
- Because UV radiation is more intense at higher altitudes where the air is thinner, it is in the stratosphere where most of the ozone is produced, giving rise to what is called the ‘ozone layer’.
- The ozone layer, containing over 90% of all atmospheric ozone, extends between about 10 and 40km altitude, peaking at about 25km in Stratosphere.
Why need Ozone Layer?
- The ozone layer is very important for life on Earth because it has the property of absorbing the most damaging form of UV radiation, UV-B radiation which has a wavelength of between 280 and 315 nanometres.
- As UV radiation is absorbed by ozone in the stratosphere, it heats up the surrounding air to produce the stratospheric temperature inversion.
What is Ozone Hole?
- Each year for the past few decades during the Southern Hemisphere spring, chemical reactions involving chlorine and bromine cause ozone in the southern polar region to be destroyed rapidly and severely.
- The Dobson Unit (DU) is the unit of measure for total ozone.
- The chemicals involved ozone depletion are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs for short), halons, and carbon tetrachloride.
- They are used for a wide range of applications, including refrigeration, air conditioning, foam packaging, and making aerosol spray cans.
- The ozone-depleted region is known as the “ozone hole”.
Tropical Ozone Hole
- According to the study, the ozone hole is located at altitudes of 10-25 km over the tropics.
- This hole is about seven times larger than Antarctica, the study suggested.
- It also appears across all seasons, unlike that of Antarctica, which is visible only in the spring.
- The hole has become significant since the 1980s. But it was not discovered until this study.
What caused an ozone hole in the tropics?
- Studies suggested another mechanism of ozone depletion: Cosmic rays.
- Chlorofluorocarbon’s (CFC) role in depleting the ozone layer is well-documented.
- The tropical stratosphere recorded a low temperature of 190-200 Kelvin (K).
- This can explain why the tropical ozone hole is constantly formed over the seasons.
Significance of the finding
- The tropical ozone hole, which makes up 50 percent of Earth’s surface, could cause a global concern due to the risks associated with it.
- It is likely to cause skin cancer, cataracts and other negative effects on the health and ecosystems in tropical regions.
Try this PYQ
Q.Consider the following statements:
Chlorofluorocarbons, known as ozone-depleting substances are used:
- In the production of plastic foams
- In the production of tubeless tyres
- In cleaning certain electronic components
- As pressurizing agents in aerosol cans
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 4 only
(c) 1, 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Post your answers here
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Vishnugadh Project
Mains level: Not Much
An independent panel of the World Bank is considering a plea by residents of some village to investigate environmental damage from the under-construction Vishnugad Pipalkoti Hydro Electric Project (VPHEP).
Vishnugadh Project
- The 444-MW VPHEP is being built by the Tehri Hydropower Development Corporation (THDC), a partially State-owned enterprise.
- It is being constructed on Dhauliganga River in Chamoli District of Uttarakhand.
- The project is primarily funded by the World Bank and was sanctioned in 2011. It is proposed to be completed in June 2023.
- About 40% of the funds for the $792 million project (₹64,000 crore approx.) has already been disbursed.
Why in news now?
- Residents in their complaint have said muck dumping from the dam threatens the local Lakshmi Narayan Temple, which is deemed to be of historical and cultural importance.
- They also complained about the limited availability of water, saying that 70 of the 92 households received water only for two hours daily.
- Before the project construction, they had ready access to water.
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