1. Insights from the Economics of Jainism READ MORE
2. Truly righteous living brings happiness to all READ MORE
3. Let the wide universe be your place of worship READ MORE

A timely reminder: On Supreme Court’s GST verdict READ MORE

Act early, decisively: On the bid to change nature of places of worship READ MORE  

29 phones tested for Pegasus spyware: SC READ MORE

Fiscal federalism READ MORE

Justice at last READ MORE

DA fundamental right & legal, rules Calcutta HC READ MORE

1. Severe hepatitis in children: Why COVID-link hasn’t been ruled out READ MORE
2. Food crisis: Food-insecure population doubled in 2 years, says UN Secretary-General READ MORE

1. How to fight desertification: Here’s what the 15th COP to UNCCD agreed on READ MORE
2. 20% ethanol in petrol READ MORE
3. Green signal for NGT READ MORE
4. Assam reflects the world’s protracted disaster-induced displacement READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. A timely reminder: On Supreme Court’s GST verdict READ MORE
2. Act early, decisively: On the bid to change nature of places of worship READ MORE  
3. 29 phones tested for Pegasus spyware: SC READ MORE
4. Green signal for NGT READ MORE
5. How to fight desertification: Here’s what the 15th COP to UNCCD agreed on READ MORE  

Main exam   

GS 1

1. Insights from the Economics of Jainism READ MORE
2. How to fight desertification: Here’s what the 15th COP to UNCCD agreed on READ MORE

GS 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Fiscal federalism READ MORE
2. Justice at last READ MORE
3. DA fundamental right & legal, rules Calcutta HC READ MORE

SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. Severe hepatitis in children: Why COVID-link hasn’t been ruled out READ MORE
2. Food crisis: Food-insecure population doubled in 2 years, says UN Secretary-General READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. The neighbourhood in turmoil, lessons for India READ MORE
2. Crisis-hit Sri Lanka lifts state of emergency READ MORE
3. Neighbourhood first policy of India-Nepal READ MORE
4. India Asks BRICS to ‘Live Up’ to Commitments on Territorial Integrity READ MORE

GS 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Regulatory reboot READ MORE
2. Foreign Direct Investment inflow at all-time high of $83.57 billion READ MORE
3. Cartelisation going to be a challenge READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. 20% ethanol in petrol READ MORE
2. Green signal for NGT READ MORE
3. Assam reflects world’s protracted disaster-induced displacement READ MORE

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Insights from the Economics of Jainism READ MORE
2. Truly righteous living brings happiness to all READ MORE
3. Let the wide universe be your place of worship READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. Discuss the mandate of the National Green Tribunal (NGT). What are the challenges associated with the efficient functioning of the NGT? Examine.
2. The economics of Jainism prescribes the principles of limiting desires and wants. Discuss.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Nations, especially democracies run on many engines — not just the single monolithic one of the party or people in power. As India essays its role as a regional leader, the Government would be wise to study the impact of changes in the neighbourhood on Indian policy and look into the mirror the neighbours hold up to India to better understand its future challenges within the country.
• Mahavira’s principles state that desire is endless like the sky and hence, focuses on controlling desires and limiting needs.

ESSAY TOPIC

• The neighbourhood in turmoil, lessons for India

50-WORD TALK

The Supreme Court jails Navjot Singh Sidhu after 34 years. It gives bail to Indrani Mukerjea’s daughter’s 2012 murder saying the trial will take time. Why do criminal cases face endless delays? And in ‘terror’ cases, people are acquitted after two decades in jail. Our judicial process is grossly unjust.

Things to Remember:

• For prelims-related news try to understand the context of the news and relate with its concepts so that it will be easier for you to answer (or eliminate) from given options.
• Whenever any international place will be in news, you should do map work (marking those areas on maps and exploring other geographical locations nearby including mountains, rivers, etc. same applies to the national places.)
• For economy-related news (banking, agriculture, etc.) you should focus on terms and how these are related to various economic aspects, for example, if inflation has been mentioned, try to relate with prevailing price rises, shortage of essential supplies, banking rates, etc.
• For main exam-related topics, you should focus on the various dimensions of the given topic, the most important topics which occur frequently and are important from the mains point of view will be covered in ED.
• Try to use the given content in your answer. Regular use of this content will bring more enrichment to your writing.

THE POLITY

1. 29 PHONES TESTED FOR PEGASUS SPYWARE: SUPREME COURT

THE CONTEXT: The Supreme Court on Friday gave more time to the technical committee appointed by it to finalise and submit its report with regard to the probe into allegations of Pegasus software’s use for unauthorized surveillance.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Chief Justice of India N V Ramana presiding a three-judge bench said the judge overseeing the inquiry, Justice R V Raveendran (retd), “has submitted an Interim Report requesting therein for extension of time to submit the final report, till 20.06.2022”.
• The CJI pointed out that the committee had informed that 29 mobile devices are being examined and would need time till the end of this month to finalise it. The report would then be submitted to the overseeing judge who would need a few more days to add his comments.
• According to CJI “29 mobile devices are being examined. They have developed their own software. They have also issued notices to agencies, including government and journalists, and invited objections, too…It has prayed for time to submit its report. Now, it is under process. We will give them time,”

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

2. THE NEIGHBORHOOD IN TURMOIL, LESSONS FOR INDIA

THE CONTEXT: The impact of the changes on Indian policy will offer New Delhi a better understanding of future domestic challenges.

THE EXPLANATION:

A NEUTRAL POSITION WILL NOT DO

• A silent or “neutral” position cannot mark the present government’s response to the changes in the way it has with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine or China’s moves in Hong Kong or the South China Sea region.
• India faces the direct impact of almost every South Asian country in crisis, in terms of the need for aid and loans or a possible influx of refugees, as movements that develop in one neighboring country are often mirrored in another. Therefore, they must be watched more closely.
• The first lesson to be learned is that populism does not pay in the long run. While the potent combination of hyper-nationalism, religious majoritarianism, and a strident anti-elitism can bring “men of the masses” such as Mahinda Rajapaksa, K.P. Oli, and Imran Khan to power (as they promise an alternative to corrupt, dynasty regimes), it does not necessarily keep them there.
• It is a mistake for any government to conflate an electoral win and a mandate for governance with a carte blanche for ruling a country.
• The second is that the popularity of a leader can decline sharply and suddenly for one or a combination of reasons: K.P. Oli won a landslide victory in 2017 where his Left Alliance secured majorities in both houses, and formed governments in six of seven provinces; Imran Khan won all five National Assembly seats he fought in the 2018 elections, and while his party did not win a majority of seats, it won the popular vote; and the Rajapaksa-led Sri Lanka People’s Party (SLPP) ruling coalition won 150 of 225 parliamentary seats in 2020.
• That these popular mandates could be cast aside in just a few years is a stark reminder that nothing is forever, especially in a democracy.

THE ECONOMY MATTERS

• In Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka, the defeat of populists has come not so much at the hand of the Opposition parties, but by the slowdown in growth, jobs and rising inflation.
• India had already seen six successive quarters of straight losses in December 2019, and most of the neighborhood was floundering as well, when COVID-19 was first reported. In the years that followed, the COVID-19 pandemic enforced lock downs, and the resultant slowdown in the global economy made GDP figures in the region plummet.
• More recently, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and sanctions by the West have made food and fuel prices soar.
• In such a situation, the change in power in these three countries took only a small push, from the military, the courts, or from street protests.
• New Delhi must not only study the causes of the economic mismanagement that brought change in the neighborhood but must also survey the impact of new vulnerabilities on smaller neighboring countries that could be exploited by global powers as they seek a more direct influence in the region.
• Given the common challenges the region faces, New Delhi must find newer ways to energise regional groupings such as the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal (BBIN) Initiative, and even to reconsider SAARC, in order to discuss shared approaches to reviving tourism and exports, supporting South Asian expatriate labour abroad, and building common pools of food and fuel stocks to soften inflationary blows on the South Asian economy.

CONSENSUS NEEDED

• The government need to learn from the lessons in political culture that let down the “alpha leaders” in neighbouring democracies.
• One of the common threads in each of the governments (Rajapaksa, Oli and Khan) was an abhorrence for consensus building. In various ways, each of them turned their opposition into “the enemy”, and froze out the media, non-governmental organisations, and any voting constituency other than their own.
• Nations, especially democracies run on many engines — not just the single monolithic one of the party or people in power.
• As India essays its role as a regional leader, the Government would be wise to not only study the impact of changes in the neighborhood on Indian policy but also to look into the mirror the neighbors hold up to India, for a better understanding of its future challenges within the country.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

3. THE SC RULING THAT GST COUNCIL DECISIONS ARE NOT BINDING ON THE CENTRE OR STATES

THE CONTEXT: The Supreme Court ruled on  May 19 that recommendations of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council only have persuasive value, and cannot be biding on the Centre and States.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The apex court added that the Parliament and state legislatures possess equal powers to legislate on Goods and Services Tax (GST) and it is for the GST Council to advise suitably.
• The Centre along with several importers had been fighting a battle in the apex court over applicability of GST on transportation of imported goods through sea route.
• The SC dismissed an appeal by the Central government against an earlier Gujarat High Court judgement that said that Integrated GST (IGST) on ocean freight is unconstitutional.
• The bench led by Justice DY Chandrachud said that Parliament intended that the recommendations of the GST Council will have persuasive value.
• Reading the operative portion of the ruling in the Government vs Mohit Minerals case, Justice DY Chandrachud said that recommendations of the GST council are a product of collaborative discussion. It is not imperative that federal units must always possess a higher share.
• Justice Chandrachud observed that GST council is an area of political contestations as well and it impacts federalism. “The Union and states have simultaneous powers to legislate on GST and the constitution does not envisage a repugnancy provision and GST council must work in harmonious manner to achieve workable solution,”.
• Citing 246A and 279A of the Constitution, Justice Chandrachud said that 246A treats state and Centre as equal while 279A says that state and Centre cannot act independent of each other. This also points towards competitive federalism.
• This judgement may change the landscape of those provisions under GST which are subject to judicial review. As the court has gone ahead to categorically hold that the GST Council recommendations have only persuasive value, there will be pragmatic approach to the provisions which are subject to judicial review by way of challenge to the constitutionality of such provisions based on GST Council recommendations.
• GST Council is an apex member committee to modify, reconcile or to procure any law or regulation based on the context of GST in India. The council is headed by the Union Finance Minister, who is assisted by all state finance ministers.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

4. HOW TO FIGHT DESERTIFICATION: HERE’S WHAT THE 15TH COP TO UNCCD AGREED ON

THE CONTEXT: The 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), concluded on May 20,2022 in Abidjan with a global pledge to boost drought resilience and invest in land restoration for future prosperity.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The UNCCD COP15 adopted 38 decisions, including on tenure, migration and gender, that highlight the role of land in addressing multiple crises.
• The global leaders representing UN member state agreed to establish an Intergovernmental Working Group on Drought for 2022-2024 to look into possible options, including global policy instruments and regional policy frameworks, to support a shift from reactive to proactive drought management.
• According to the most recent UN estimates, up to 40 percent of our planet’s land is degraded. This will directly affect half of humanity and is a threat to about 50 percent of global GDP or around $44 trillion.
• The world has is slow on restoration of one billion hectares of degraded land by 2030. So, the UN members also agreed and committed to accelerating the restoration of one billion hectares of degraded land by 2030.
• The UN member states will focus on improving data gathering and monitoring to track progress against the achievement of land restoration commitments.They committed to establishing a new partnership model for large-scale integrated landscape investment programmes, according to the UN statement released, May 20, 2022.
• The “Drought in Numbers, 2022” released, May 12, 2022 at the COP15 had called upon the world to prioritise drought preparedness and resilience.
• In this context, another important global consensus emerged on boosting drought resilience by identifying the expansion of dry lands, improving national policies and early warning. For this, mobilising drought finance will be critical.
• The leaders came on board and also committed to prioritise and ensure women’s involvement in land management for effective land restoration.
• Other significant outcomes of the COP 15 included three key declarations: Abidjan Call issued by the Heads of State and Government to boost long-term environmental sustainability, Abidjan Declaration on achieving gender equality for successful land restoration and the COP15 “Land, Life and Legacy” Declaration, which responds to the findings of the UNCCD’s flagship report, Global Land Outlook 2.
• UNCCD’s COP15 is the first Conference of the Parties of the three Rio Conventions taking place in 2022, ahead of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change COP27 and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity COP15.
• There is a need to ensure greater synergies among the three Rio Conventions, including complementarities in the implementation of these treaties through nature-based solutions and target-setting at the national level, said the leaders representing the UN member states.
• When barely 18 per cent of the Great Green Wall’s objectives for 2030 have been achieved, with just 18 million hectares restored out of a goal of 100 million according to Green wall accelerator programme, regional initiatives too were launched in support of the Africa-led Great Green Wall at COP 15.

5. BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION THROUGH BIOSPHERES

THE CONTEXT: According to the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services released in 2019 by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, the main global drivers of biodiversity loss are climate change, invasive species, over-exploitation of natural resources, pollution and urbanization.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Biodiversity is the living fabric of our planet. It underpins human well-being in the present and in the future, and its rapid decline threatens nature and people alike.
• Because of our collective excesses, the ecological carrying capacity of planet earth has largely been exceeded.
• This trend needs to be redressed, with cleaner air, high quality drinking water, and enough food and healthy habitats to ensure that ecosystem services continue to benefit humanity without critically affecting nature’s balance.
• Whether we look at nature from an environmental, from a cultural or even from a religious point of view, it is our responsibility and clearly in our interest to respect the environment.
• In fact, the possibilities exist, and all is not lost. In the last 50 years or so, much has been accomplished for the protection of nature, including the establishment of conservation areas, and a number of international conventions have been signed and ratified.
• One of the best mechanisms that has been created is the World Network of Biosphere Reserves, created in 1971 by UNESCO.
• Biosphere reserves are places where humans live in harmony with nature, and where there is an effective combination of sustainable development and nature conservation. They represent pockets of hope and proof that we are not inexorably headed towards a doomsday ecological scenario, provided we take appropriate action.
• In South Asia, over 30 biosphere reserves have been established. The first one was the Hurulu Biosphere Reserve in Sri Lanka, which was designated in 1977 and comprises 25,500 hectares within the tropical dry evergreen forest.
• In India, the first biosphere reserve was designated by UNESCO in 2000 within the blue mountains of the Nilgiris. It stretches across the States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. The network has gone from strength to strength, and it now counts 12 sites, with Panna, in the State of Madhya Pradesh, as the latest inscription in 2020. We need many more biosphere reserves and pockets of hope, and the region offers countless options.
• UNESCO Biosphere Reserves have all developed science-based management plans, where local solutions for sustainable human living and nature conservation are being tested and best practices applied. Issues of concern include biodiversity, clean energy, climate, environmental education, and water and waste management, supported by scientific research and monitoring. The aim is to detect changes and find solutions to increase climate resilience.
• All biosphere reserves are internationally recognised sites on land, at the coast, or in the oceans. Governments alone decide which areas to nominate. Before approval by UNESCO, the sites are externally examined. If approved, they will be managed based on an agreed plan, reinforced by routine checks to ensure credibility, but all remain under the sovereignty of their national government.
• Some of the countries in South Asia do not yet have any or enough biosphere reserves. In most if not all cases, the political will is certainly there but there is a lack of know-how and financial resources. Of course, more financial support from richer nations and from the private sector would be desirable for establishing biosphere reserves in these countries.
• Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal are on the priority list of UNESCO, because they do not yet have any biosphere reserves. Their governments are already working on their first nomination files. Our organisation also believes that it would be important to increase the number of biosphere reserves in India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka.
• The point is that if these pockets of hope can expand, with at least one biosphere reserve per country, and with more and larger sites covering the terrestrial surface, including coastal areas with their offshore islands, it will give the realisation to millions of people that a better future is truly possible, one where we can truly live in harmony with nature.
• On May 22 and on the occasion of the International Day for Biological Diversity, let us do what is right. Now is the time to act for biodiversity.

THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

6. NORMS EASED FOR GM CROP RESEARCH

THE CONTEXT: The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has issued guidelines easing norms for research into genetically modified (GM) crops and circumventing challenges of using foreign genes to change crops profile.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The ‘Guidelines for Safety Assessment of Genome Edited Plants, 2022’ exempt researchers who use gene-editing technology to modify the genome of the plant from seeking approvals from the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), an expert body of the Environment Ministry.
• The GEAC evaluates research into GM plants and recommends, or disapproves, their release into farmer fields. The final call is taken by the Environment Minister as well as States where such plants could be cultivated. The Environment Ministry too has sanctioned this exemption.
• The GM plants that have usually come for such scrutiny are those that involve transgenic technology or introducing a gene from a different species into a plant, for instance, Bt-cotton, where a gene from soil bacterium is used to protect a plant from pest attack.

• The worry around this method is that these genes may spread to neighboring plants, where such effects are not intended and so their applications have been controversial.
• Despite several kinds of transgenic crops having been researched and approved by scientific committees, none, save BT cotton, has made it to fields because of stringent opposition from environmental activists as well as farmer organisations.
• Genome editing involves the use of technologies that allow genetic material to be added, removed, or altered at particular locations in the genome. Several approaches to genome editing have been developed.
• A well-known one is called CRISPR-Cas9, which is short for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and CRISPR-associated protein 9.
• Just as foreign genes can be used to add properties to plants, gene editing too can be used to make plants express properties not native to them.
• The guidelines say that all requirements that researchers must adhere to develop transgenic seeds will apply to gene-edited seeds except clauses that require permission from the GEAC.
• Environmentalist groups have opposed this exception for gene-edited crops. “Gene editing is included in genetic engineering. Therefore, there is no question of giving exemptions to particular kinds of genome-edited plants from the regulatory purview.
• Gene editing techniques, the letter alleges, involve altering the function of genes and can cause “large and unintended consequences” that can change the “toxicity and allergenicity” of plants.
• “Without the necessary regulatory oversight, how will regulators and the public know about such changes? Who will be responsible for the resultant risk implications?” their letter queries. They have demanded that these exemptions be withdrawn.
• There were a great many similarities in the techniques employed in transgenic technology and gene-editing technology. “Gene-editing is getting quite popular in biotechnology labs across the country.
• Gene editing can address some of the fears around the use of ‘foreign genes’ but it can only be used to express genes already present in a plant’s genome that are not manifest.
• But more importantly, it is not about technology but about how plants developed thus are sold or made available to farmers.”

 THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION FOR 21st MAY 2022

Q1. Consider the following statements about Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC):

1. It evaluates research into GM plants and recommends, or disapproves, their release into farmer fields.
2. It is a statutory body.
3. It functions under the Department of Biotechnology.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

           a) 1 only

b) 1 and 2 only

c) 2 and 3 only

d) 1, 2 and 3

ANSWER FOR THE 19^th MAY

Answer: B

Explanation:

WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION (WMO)

• It is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 193 Member States and Territories.
• It originated from the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), the roots of which were planted at the 1873 Vienna International Meteorological Congress.
• Established by the ratification of the WMO Convention on 23 March 1950, WMO became the specialized agency of the United Nations for meteorology (weather and climate), operational hydrology, and related geophysical sciences a year later.
• The Secretariat, headquartered in Geneva, is headed by the Secretary-General.
• Its supreme body is the World Meteorological Congress.

THE CONTEXT: The government of India has been collecting a myriad of data from various sources and using them for multiple purposes. But hardly these data are shared with the citizens or placed in the public domain. It is also seen that many critical data have not been either published or delayed. This creates a digital divide between the state and the citizenry having implications for governance, privacy, and accountability. This article analyses these issues in detail.

HOW IS THE DATA BEING COLLECTED BY THE GOVERNMENT?

The government collects the data of citizens through various mechanisms that it uses for multiple purposes. The Census, the sample surveys by the NSS, the expenditure surveys, the survey on industries, family, labour, etc., are some ubiquitous instruments for data collection. The govt also collects regular administrative data while providing services to the citizens like licensing, permits, provision of records, etc. Since 2014, the UIDAI and Aadhaar systems have been expanded in scope, and the government is able to collect the biometric and demographic data of people on a large scale. However, there are many grey areas in this whole process having implications for democracy itself.

WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF EFFICIENT DATA MANAGEMENT?

EVIDENCE-BASED POLICY MAKING:

• In government, the most traditional use of data analysis has been the statistical analysis of data collected through various surveys, Census, indices, etc.
• In the traditional methodology, the insights generated from the analysis of the available data were provided to government authorities for effective policy formulation or planning of new programmes, and schemes as well as preparation of the budget for the government.
• For instance, data is at the core of many flagship programmes such as Swachh Bharat Mission, Housing for all, One Nation One Ration Card, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, and Fertilizers Distribution, to name a few.

INFORMED DECISIONS BY STAKEHOLDERS:

• The data on various sectors of the economy like employment, consumption expenditure, investment, etc. is crucial for business groups and investors to make informed decisions.

DRIVER OF DIGITAL ECONOMY:

• In this 21st century of Digital Transformation, data is the new oil; data is the new fuel, and data is the oxygen that holds immense untapped potential in it.
• Over a period, data has emerged as an important asset for the development of any country and is also the driver for a digital economy.
  

TARGETED APPROACH TO SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT:

• The prowess of data influences almost every sector of the socio-economic development of our country.
• For instance, data can prove to be highly useful for the formulation of poverty alleviation schemes and subsidy distribution schemes.
• Various schemes of the government, such as the MGNREGA, Pensions Scheme, Farmers Subsidy, Benefits for unorganized labour, Scholarships, etc. can make use of data analytics to identify the right beneficiary, understand their socio-economic status, and use technology solutions for timely dissemination of benefits, etc

APPLICATION IN DIVERSE FIELDS:

• Fields like Criminal Justice and Judiciary can consume data to analyze crime patterns, locate the criminal networks and hotspots of potential crimes, etc.
• This would help the authorities take corrective measures and prevent such incidents from happening.
• Data is precious in fraud prevention also.
• Many financial systems today employ data to detect fraudulent activities, and it is now suggested to integrate a fraud detection module while setting up any financial system.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT AND COVID-19 PANDEMIC:

• During the COVID-19 pandemic, data has been extensively used for contact tracing, prediction of hotspots, trend analysis, and taking appropriate measures to curb the spread of the virus.
• Data was also used for the management of hospitals and the supply of essential medicines and essential goods to citizens at large.

DATA AND DEMOCRACY:

• Access to the data by citizens is critical for a healthy and informed public discourse on issues of policy relevance.
• The mere fact that people have access to data is likely to pressurize the government to improve performance in many areas.
• However, data generation doesn’t guarantee seamless access to people whose lives matter most in a democracy.
• Informed public discourse in any democracy is critical for accountable and transparent governance.

OPEN GOVERNMENT DATA (OGD) PLATFORM INDIA – AN OVERVIEW

WHAT IS IT?:

• The Open Government Data (OGD) Platform India (https://data.gov.in) has been set up by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) in compliance with the Open Data Policy (NDSAP) of India.
• The objective of the policy is to provide proactive access to government-owned shareable data along with its usage information in open/machine-readable format through a wide area of the network across the country.
• This data,  periodically updated, will be shared within the framework of various related policies, rules, and acts of the government.

PART OF DIGITAL INDIA:

• Developed using Open Source Stack, the project is one of the initiatives under Pillar 6 (Information for All) of the Digital India initiative.
• It facilitates community participation for further development of the product with Visualizations, Alerts, etc.
• It has an easy-to-use and user-friendly interface with dynamic/pull-down menus, search-based reports, secured web access, a bulletin board, etc.

EFFECTIVE ENGAGEMENT AND CITIZEN COLLABORATION:

• The platform reflects how the innovative use of information technology has led to a paradigm shift in accommodating the huge data potential of the country.
• The platform has a rich mechanism for citizen engagement, which could help Ministries/Departments/Organizations prioritize the release of Government Datasets.
• Besides enabling citizens to express their need for specific datasets or apps, it also allows them to rate the quality of datasets and seek clarification or information from nodal officers of participating government entities.

THE SALIENT FEATURES OF THE OGD PLATFORM

• Ministry/Department/State contributes/publishes resources in open format either directly or by Web Services through workflow-based Data Management System.
• Provides single window access to the datasets and apps published by different Ministries/Departments/Organizations/States in open format. –
• Suggestions and requirements of data can be submitted by citizens/ community to help prioritize data sharing by participating ministries/ departments. Anyone can endorse already submitted suggestions.
• People can directly write to Chief Data Officer seeking any further clarification/information on the released resources or related requirements.
• The platform enables better discovery and usage of Government datasets through visualizations and development of apps, mash-ups, etc. Visualization Platform with the facility to create maps as well as different chart options like radar, bar, line, area, pie, column, etc.
• A separate Community portal (http://community.data.gov.in) has been launched to provide a common platform for knowledge sharing through discussion and contribution through Blogs, Infographics, Visualizations, etc., using data available on the platform.
• People can rate the resources (datasets/apps) on three aspects i.e. Quality, Accessibility, and Usability on a scale of 5.
• A separate Event portal for management of workshops, hackathons, challenges, etc. has been created.

THE LIMITATIONS OF THE NDSAP AND OGD

• A large volume of existing government data is still not accessible in digital formats. NDASP is still a policy but not a mandatory policy. As a result, a lot of departments are reluctant or slow to share their respective datasets.
• ​Even when data is made available in a machine-readable format, in most cases, the reliability is questionable; the raw data needs to go through rigorous editing and aggregation before it can be used.
• Different departments collect and collate information in their respective silos using diverse formats and terminology, making it tough to use that data effectively.
• Adoption of data sharing at the state level has also been slow, with only four out of 29 Indian states contributing data to the national portal.
• The granularity of open government data in India has been a concern, as it fails to satisfy the users to access and use only micro-level data.
• The unavailability of official map data due to the conservative map policy of the government and lack of interoperability in sharing this data has discouraged a discourse about better planning, tracking progress in the ‘real space’ and pushing the government to take remedial steps.

DATA PRODUCTION AND GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE-AN ILLUSTRATION

CONSUMPTION SURVEY AND PERIODIC LABOUR FORCE SURVEY:

• The data produced by the government’s statistical wings, which have a reputation for being independent and credible, can be used to assess the effectiveness of state policies.
• Recent events, however, have severely harmed this perception. Data from the 2017-18 consumption survey, for example, has yet to be released.
• The survey’s leaked summary results reveal some troubling facts that may not be politically reassuring to the government.
• Similarly, the first Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS 2017-18) was not made public until after the 2019 general election.

REPLACING THE ANNUAL SURVEY OF INDUSTRIES:

• Furthermore, rather than relying on the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI), a systematically designed survey for estimating industrial sector GDP, the government has begun to rely on self-reported, unverified data submitted to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs since 2011 obscuring the true state of Indian industry.
• The future of this database is uncertain now that ASI is nearly obsolete for official estimation purposes.
• To date, the ASI is the most dependable and comprehensive source of data for research on industrial productivity and regional patterns.

DATA ON SWACHH BHARAT ABHIYAN MISSION:

• Another example of undermining the scientific database is the delay in the release of Water and Sanitation Survey data 2018.
• The prime minister declared India open defecation free in October 2019, while the data was released much later, depriving people of an opportunity to assess the status of the Swachh Bharat mission in a scientific manner.

RESIGNATION OF OFFICIALS:

• The autonomy of statistical agencies is compromised for immediate political gains at the cost of sustainability and the quality of democratic governance.
• This is seen in the manner of restructuring the NSO and the resignation of top non-official members from the National Statistical Commission.

OTHERS:

• The government’s refusal to conduct a  caste census, a migrant survey, poverty enumeration, controversy over the death count during the pandemic, etc are some other instances that reflect very poorly on the state of the Indian data ecosystem.

DATA AND DEMOCRACY-AN ANALYSIS

Democracy is the government by consent, and this consent requires reliable and authentic information that enables the citizens to make an informed choice at the ballot box. Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of a functioning democracy and the elections cannot be held to be free or fair if the citizens are deprived of real and real-time data on the government, political parties, and the administration, among others. Democracy is also a form of accountable government, and accountability demands access to what the government is doing and how it is doing it. This is necessary for ensuring answerability and the rule of law. In fact, in a democracy citizens are the masters and the government, the servant, and philosophically put, the master has the full right to know what the servant is doing or not doing. This is the spirit in which the freedom of information legislations are being brought by nations. Additionally, the notion of privacy has assumed huge significance, which is being expanded by progressive jurisprudence like India’s Puttaswamy judgment. It is also true that the government should have some elbow room to maneuver with respect to the collection and keeping of sensitive data dealing with national security. But, in other cases, the policy of the government should be based on open data access which will have inherent and instrumental benefits for democracy.

THE POWER OF DATA- THE NEWZEALAND CASE STUDY

The key to the New Zealand government’s success is that it treats data as a strategic asset committed to igniting proactive information sharing to drive better decision-making.

A great example is how accurate diabetes data has helped the New Zealand Ministry of Health provide appropriate and timely care. New Zealand’s Ministry of Health found it difficult to accurately estimate the number of cases in the country since there was no consistent data collection across all general practices and hospitals. With the help of data analysis capabilities, the ministry created a register to accurately predict the prevalence of the condition and help design effective public health policies to support quality clinical improvements.

The New Zealand Ministry of Health was able to integrate information from six different data sources and use Advanced Analytics to identify both those with diabetes and those with the highest prevalence rate. These insights enabled the Ministry of Health to focus its policies on the health policies for these groups.

The exceptional work done by the New Zealand government is being copied around the globe as governments everywhere are looking to provide similar results to their citizens. In fact, the Ontario Government has pledged its “commitment to the people of Ontario to engage, collaborate and

innovate” as it looks to build a “government that freely shares information, unlocks the power of data in a digital age, and brings more voices to the decision-making table through its Open Ontario initiative.

As the New Zealand government has demonstrated, analytics can help save money, drive efficiency, and improve citizen services, all while protecting sensitive data. The possibilities are truly endless; however, the power of analytics can only be unleashed once governments realize the importance of information sharing to enrich the lives of citizens and transform the way the government is run. And that starts with breaking down the culture of data ownership and building a proper infrastructure to securely manage data as an asset.

THE WAY FORWARD

• The government needs to ensure the independence of the statistical agencies and also should timely conduct and release the crucial data even though the results may not be politically palatable.
• The Open Data Policy needs to be implemented in letter and spirit for good governance and participative democracy.
• There must be a comprehensive data protection law in place to protect citizens’ privacy and to prevent India from being slid into a surveillance state.
• RTI is one of the best tools for distributing and sharing data the government has, and the governments should suo motu put these data in the public domain.
• Lack of access to data can increase the distance between the governors and the government, which will have serious consequences on the outcomes of policies and can hamper developmental objectives.
• Various researches also suggest that much of the data is still not analyzed and has huge untapped potential. One of the major challenges right now is the fact that data is currently residing in silos, and thus to unleash the true potential of this data, various IT systems must collaborate and operate in a symbiotic fashion.
• There are certain challenges that are currently preventing these opportunities from being tapped. Issues of privacy and data anonymization are a concern. There is also a lack of standardization of data collection formats that makes it difficult to aggregate and make sense of data The infrastructure to support efficient data collection, processing, and management needs to be strengthened.
• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), on February 21, 2022, released a policy proposal titled “Draft India Data Accessibility & Use Policy, 2022”. The policy aims to “radically transform India’s ability to harness public sector data and aim to sell it to the private sector. This can be the beginning of sharing government-owned citizens’ data with relevant stakeholders. Although the market mechanism may be questionable, so is privacy concerns.

THE CONCLUSION: Data is emerging as the key resource of a Digital Economy. Citizens, organizations, and society at large will benefit from the democratization of data as it will become usable to anyone to derive insights and build inclusive solutions for the development of our society. However, the government, while harvesting the citizens’ data for better governance, should not monopolize it and must share them with people, which will improve democratic outcomes in the true sense.

QUESTIONS:

1. Data is the lifeblood of a democratic government. Comment
2. What is an Open Government Data Platform? How far do you agree with the view that democratizing data ownership will help in improving governance outcomes?
3. Critically analyse the relationship between data and democracy.