THE INDIAN POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1.CYBER FRAUD CASES

THE CONTEXT: The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles and publishes the statistical data on crimes in its publication “Crime in India”. The latest published report is for the year 2020.

THE EXPLANATION:

• As per the data published by the NCRB, State/UT-wise details of the cases registered under Fraud (includes Credit/Debit Card, ATM, Online Banking Fraud, OTP  Fraud & Others)  for  The NCRB started collecting such data only from 2017.
• ‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects as per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. States/UTs are primarily responsible for deployment of adequate manpower, training of police personnel and developing mechanism to combat cyber crime.

To strengthen the mechanism to deal with cyber crime, including cyber frauds, in a comprehensive and coordinated manner, the Central Government has taken measures which, inter-alia, include the following:

• The Ministry of Home Affairs has set up the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre(I4C) to provide a framework and eco-system for LEAs to deal with cyber crime in a comprehensive and coordinated manner.
• Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System has been launched for immediate reporting of financial frauds and to stop siphoning off fund by the fraudsters. A toll-free Helpline number ‘1930’ has been operationalized to get assistance in lodging online cyber complaints.
• The ‘National Cyber Forensic Laboratory (NCFL)’ a state of the art facility has been set up under the I4C to train & assist the State/UT Investigation Officers. The NCFL has been made functional and its facilities are being extended to States/UTs.
• The Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) platform under the I4C called ‘CyTrain’ portal has been developed. CyTrain portal helps in the capacity building of Police Officers/ Judicial Officers through online course on critical aspects of cybercrime investigation, forensics, prosecution, etc., along with certification. So far, more than 21,300 Police Officers from States/UTs are registered and more than 5700 Certificates issued through the portal.

MEASURES TO TACKLE:

• Need for Massive Cybersecurity Awareness Campaign: In order to proactively deal with cybercrime, the governments need to carry out a massive cybersecurity awareness campaign, regarding cyber frauds, use strong, unique passwords, being careful using public wi-fi, etc.
• Need for Data Protection Law: In the 21st century, Data is referred to as the new currency. Thus, there is a requirement for a stringent data protection regime.
• In this context, the European union’s General Data Protection Regulation and India’s Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 are steps in the right direction.
• Need for Collaborative Trigger Mechanism: For developing countries like India where the citizenry is more vulnerable to cybercrime, there is an urgent need for a collaborative trigger mechanism.

2.NATIONAL MISSION FOR JUSTICE DELIVERY & LEGAL REFORMS

THE CONTEXT: According to Ministry of Law of Justice, National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms was set up in August, 2011 with the twin objectives of increasing access by reducing delays and arrears in the system and enhancing accountability through structural changes and by setting performance standards and capacities

THE EXPLANATION:  

The Mission has been pursuing a co-ordinated approach for phased liquidation of arrears and pendency in judicial administration, which, inter-alia, involves better infrastructure for courts including computerization, increase in strength of subordinate judiciary, policy and legislative measures in the areas prone to excessive litigation, re-engineering of court procedure for quick disposal of cases and emphasis on human resource development.

The major steps taken during the last eight years under various initiatives are as follows:

• Improving infrastructure for Judicial Officers of District and Subordinate Courts: As on date, Rs. 9,13.21 crores have been released since the inception of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary in 1993-94. The number of court halls has increased from 15,818 as on 30.06.2014 to 20,993 as on 30.06.2022 and number of residential units has increased from 10,211 as on 30.06.2014 to 18,502 as on 30.06.2022 under this scheme.
• Leveraging Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for improved justice delivery: Government has been implementing the e-Courts Mission Mode Project throughout the country for information and communication technology enablement of district and subordinate courts. The Department has developed an online portal for reporting by all High Courts on the compliance of Arrears Eradication Scheme guidelines of the Malimath Committee Report.

• Emphasis on Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR): Commercial Courts Act, 2015 (as amended on 20th August, 2018) stipulates mandatory pre-institution mediation and settlement of commercial disputes. Amendment to the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 has been made by the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Act 2015 for expediting the speedy resolution of disputes by prescribing timelines.
• Initiatives to Fast Track Special Type of Cases: The Fourteenth Finance Commission endorsed the proposal of the Government to strengthen the judicial system in States which included, inter-alia, establishing Fast Track Courts for cases of heinous crimes; cases involving senior citizens, women, children etc., and urged the State Governments to use the additional fiscal space provided in the form of enhanced tax devolution form 32% to 42% to meet such requirements.

VALUE ADDITION:

NATIONAL JUDICIAL INFRASTRUCTURE AUTHORITY OF INDIA (NIJAC)

• The idea for such an agency was first proposed by CJI Ramana in March this year, even before he took office.
• Soon after he was sworn in, the CJI commenced work on the NJIC and a survey of 6,000 trial courts in various states was undertaken as part of this exercise.
• budgetary allocation for state judiciary often lapses since there is no independent body to supervise and execute works related to improving court premises. NJIC is expected to fill this vacuum and overcome problems related to infrastructure.
• The basic idea behind NJIC is not to leave HC chief justices — who mostly undertake infrastructure-related projects in trial courts — at the mercy of state governments.
• the NJIC will be an “honest” agency that will monitor the execution of work for which the funds are earmarked.

What are the reasons behind infrastructural lag?

Insufficient funds:

• The Centrally-Sponsored Scheme for the development of Judiciary Infrastructure, which began in 1993 and was extended for another five years in July 2021, provides funds for the development of judicial infrastructure.
• States, on the other hand, do not provide their fair share of funds, and as a result, money allotted under the system is frequently left unutilized and lapses.

Funding for Non-Judicial Purposes:

• In some cases, the claimed, states have allegedly transferred a portion of the funds for non-judicial purposes in some cases.
• Nobody is willing to assume responsibility for infrastructure projects, even in the judiciary, particularly in trial courts.

THE ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

3.CHEETAHS LIKELY TO ARRIVE IN MADHYA PRADESH’S KUNO NATIONAL PARK BEFORE AUGUST 15, 2022

THE CONTEXT: The agreement, which has been negotiated for some years, will prepare the ground for the relocation of the first batch of cheetahs from southern Africa to Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park, with officials trying to complete the first transfer before August 15, 2022.

THE EXPLANATION:  

• India came one step closer to bringing back the world’s fastest animal, which has been extinct in the country since 1952, with an agreement between the government and the visiting Namibian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations.
• According to the Environment Ministry, “Completing 75 glorious years of Independence with restoring the fastest terrestrial flagship species, the cheetah, in India, will rekindle the ecological dynamics of the landscape.
• The MoU focused on biodiversity conservation, and the sharing of expertise between the two countries, technological applications, collaborations on climate change, pollution and waste management, and the exchange of personnel for training and education in wildlife management. However, the government has yet to reveal whether it has already procured the cheetahs, how many will be transferred in the first trial, and when they are likely to be brought to India.
• According to officials, plans for the Cheetah translocations to Kuno are in compliance with the IUCN’s guidelines, with particular focus on the forest site quality, prey density and the current carrying capacity for a large mammal like the Cheetah.
• As per United Nations, Cheetahs have been listed as “Vulnerable” in the Red List of Threatened Species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). However, recent study revealed the decline in its population.

One-year trial period

• The cheetahs will arrive in India for a one-year trial period. The project for the cheetah — the only wild cat to go extinct in independent India — was put back on track in 2020 when the Supreme Court lifted a stay on the original proposal to introduce African cheetahs from Namibia into the Indian habitat on an experimental basis.
• In May 2012, the court had stalled the plan to initiate the foreign cheetahs into the Kuno sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh fearing they would come into conflict with the plan for bringing lions into the same sanctuary.

VALUE ADDITION:

ABOUT KUNO NATIONAL PARK

• It is located in the Sheopur district of Madhya Pradesh.
• Kuno River, one of the major tributaries of Chambal River flows through the entire length bisecting the National Park division.
• Kuno park is known for the leopard, Jackal, Chinkara.
• Wildlife Institute of India and Wildlife Trust of India had shortlisted Palpur-Kuno park as habitats for Cheetahs and Asiatic lions.
• Cheetah which once roamed in the northern plains of India became extinct in India in 1948.
• The Kuno has the potential to carry populations of all four of India’s big cats the tiger, the leopard, the Asiatic lion and also cheetah, all four of which have coexisted within the same habitats historically before they were exhausted thanks to overhunting and habitat destruction.
• Currently, the leopard and striped hyena are the only larger carnivores within the Kuno National Park, the single lone tiger T-38 having returned to Ranthambore earlier this year (2021).

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

4.MSP AND GOVT PANEL’S TASK

THE CONTEXT: Recently, the government notified a committee to “promote zero budget based farming”, to “change” crop pattern keeping in mind the changing needs of the country, and to make MSP (minimum support price) more “effective and transparent”.

THE EXPLANATION:  

Why has the committee been set up?

• It has been constituted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, as a follow-up to an announcement by Prime Minister 2021 when he had declared the government’s intention to withdraw the three farm laws.
• The protesting farm unions led by the SKM had demanded a legal guarantee on MSP, based on Swaminathan Commission’s ‘C2+50% formula’ (C2 is a type of cost incurred by farmers; see box). This was in addition to their demand for repeal of the three farm laws — Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020; Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020; and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020.

So, will the committee deliberate on the legal guarantee of MSP?

Its terms and references do not mention legal guarantee of MSP. What they do mention is making MSP “more effective and transparent”. “As per announcement of Hon’ble Prime Minister that ‘A committee will be constituted to promote Zero budget based farming, to change crop pattern keeping in mind the changing needs of the country, and to make MSP more effective and transparent.

What is the committee tasked with, then?

• Under the heading ‘Subject matter of constitution of the Committee’, the committee is to look at MSP, natural farming, and crop diversification. For MSP, its agenda is:

Suggestions to make available MSP to farmers of the country by making the system more effective and transparent

Suggestions on practicality to give more autonomy to Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and measures to make it more scientific

To strengthen the Agricultural Marketing System as per the changing requirements… to ensure higher value to the farmers through remunerative prices… by taking advantage of the domestic and export opportunities.

• On natural farming, the committee has been asked to give “suggestions for programmes and schemes for value chain development, protocol validation & research for future needs and support for area expansion under the Indian Natural Farming System by publicity and through involvement and contribution of farmer organizations”.
• It has also been tasked with suggesting strategies for research and development institutions being made knowledge centres, and introducing a natural farming system curriculum in educational institutions; suggesting a farmer-friendly alternative certification system and marketing system for natural farming processes and products; deliberating on issues related to chain of laboratories for organic certification of natural farming products, and other aspects.
• For crop diversification, the committee will deliberate on, among various aspects, mapping of cropping patterns of agro-ecological zones; strategy for a diversification policy to change the cropping pattern according to changing needs; arrangement for agricultural diversification and a system to ensure remunerative prices for the sale of new crops.

Value Addition:

About MSP:

• MSP is the rate at which the government purchases crops from farmers and is based on a calculation of at least one-and-a-half times the cost of production incurred by the farmers.
• The government of India sets the MSP twice a year for 23 crops (13 Kharif, 6 Rabi and 4 commercial crops).
• The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP)attached the Ministry of Agriculture office, which decides the minimum support price and recommends it to the government. It is an advisory body whose recommendations are not binding to the government.

FRP for Sugarcane:

• The central government and State Government determine them.
• The Central Government announces Fair and Remunerative Prices, which are determined on the recommendation of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and are announced by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, which the Prime Minister chairs.
• The State Advised Prices (SAP) are announced by key sugarcane producing states generally higher than FRP.

 Additional information about crops:

 5.NITI AAYOG RELEASES REPORT ON DIGITAL BANKS; PROPOSES A LICENSING AND REGULATORY REGIME FOR INDIA

THE CONTEXT: NITI Aayog’s report makes a case and offers a template and roadmap for a licensing and regulatory regime for digital banks. It focuses on avoiding any regulatory or policy arbitrage and offers a level playing field to incumbents as well as competitors.

THE EXPLANATION:  

According to the NITI Aayog CEO,Given the need for leveraging technology effectively to cater to the needs of banking in India, this report studies the prevailing gaps, the niches that remain underserved, and the global regulatory best practices in licensing digital banks’.

Recommendations:

The report recommends a carefully calibrated approach, comprising the following steps:

• Issue of a restricted digital bank licence (to a given applicant) (the license would be restricted in terms of volume/value of customers serviced and the like).
• Enlistment (of the licensee) in a regulatory sandbox framework enacted by the Reserve Bank of India.
• Issue of a ‘full-scale’ digital bank licence (contingent on satisfactory performance of the licensee in the regulatory sandbox, including salient, prudential and technological risk management).
• The report also maps prevalent business models in this domain and highlights the challenges presented by the ‘partnership model’ of neo-banking—which has emerged in India due to a regulatory vacuum and in the absence of a digital bank licence.
• The methodology for the licensing and regulatory template offered by the report is based on an equally weighted ‘digital bank regulatory index’. This comprises four factors—(i) entry barriers; (ii) competition; (iii) business restrictions; and (iv) technological neutrality. The elements of these four factors are then mapped against the five benchmark jurisdictions of Singapore, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Australia and South Korea.

The Context for the Case of Digital Banks in India: Financial Inclusion

• In recent years, India has made rapid strides in furthering financial inclusion, catalysed by the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and India Stack. However, credit penetration remains a policy challenge, especially for the nation’s 63-million-odd MSMEs that contribute 30% to GDP, 45% to manufacturing output, and 40% to exports, while creating employment for a significant section of the population.
• Over the past few years, thanks to digitization—ushered in by the Jan Dan-Aadhar-Mobile (JAM) trinity and Aadhaar—financial inclusion has become a reality for Indians. This has only been furthered by the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which has witnessed extraordinary adoption. UPI recorded over 4.2 billion transactions worth ₹7.7 trillion in October 2021. The platform approach taken by the government in conceptualizing UPI has resulted in valuable payment products being developed on top of it. As a result, payments can now be made with a click not just at retail outlets but also peer to peer—completely redefining the way in which money is transferred between individuals.
• A ‘whole-of-India approach’ towards financial inclusion has also resulted in Direct Benefit Transfer through apps such as PM-KISAN and extending microcredit facilities to street vendors through PM-SVANIDHI.
• India has also taken steps towards operationalizing its own version of ‘open banking’ through the Account Aggregator (AA) regulatory framework enacted by the Reserve Bank of India. Once commercially deployed, the AA framework is envisaged to catalyse credit deepening among groups that have been hitherto under-served.
• The success that India has witnessed on the payments front is yet to be replicated when it comes to the credit needs of its micro, small and medium businesses. The current credit gap and the business and policy constraints reveal a need for leveraging technology effectively to cater to these needs and bring the under-served further within the formal financial fold.

 THE GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS AND SCHEMES

6.WHY HAS THE GOVERNMENT OPENED OPIUM PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING TO PRIVATE PLAYERS?

THE CONTEXT: India has opened up the highly regulated sector of producing and processing opium to private players. Bajaj Healthcare has become the first company to win tenders for producing concentrated poppy straw that is used to derive alkaloids that are the active pharmaceutical ingredient in pain medication and cough syrups.

THE EXPLANATION:

Since when has opium been grown in India?

• India has been growing poppy at least since the 15th century, as per historical records. The British East India Company assumed monopoly on the cultivation of poppy when the Mughal Empire was on the decline, and the entire trade was brought under government control by 1873.
• After India gained independence, the cultivation and trade of opium passed on to the Indian government, with the activity being controlled by The Opium Act, 1857, The Opium Act, 1878, and The Dangerous Drugs Act, 1930. At present, the cultivation and processing of poppy and opium is controlled by the provisions of The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and Rules.

What is the process of growing and processing opium in India?

Uses

Opium is unique in its therapeutic value and is indispensable in the medical world.

It also finds use in Homeopathy and Ayurveda or Unani systems of indigenous medicines.

The opium which is used as Analgesics, Anti-Tussive, Anti spasmodic and as a source of edible seed-oil, acts as a medicinal herb.

• Due to the potential for illicit trade and risk of addiction, the cultivation of opium poppy is strictly regulated in the country, with the crops being allowed to be sown only in tracts of land notified by the central government in 22 districts in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
• The government announces the licensing policy for opium cultivation every year, providing details on minimum qualifying yield, the maximum area that can be cultivated by a single cultivator, and the maximum benefit that is allowed to cultivators for damage to the crop due to natural causes.
• “The cultivation of opium poppy is strictly monitored — the government uses satellite images to check for illicit cultivation. Once the crop is ready, they have a formula on how much the yield should be. This entire quantity is then bought by the government and processed in its own factories.

How does the involvement of private players help?

• The private company will process 6,000 MT of unopened poppy capsules and opium gum to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients over the next five years.
• The involvement of the private sector might boost the domestic production of various alkaloids such as morphine and codeine, bring in modern technology, and reduce imports. Despite being one of the few global cultivators of poppy, India still imports these active pharmaceutical ingredients as well as poppy seeds, which is also consumed as a food item in the country.
• The move is also aimed at offsetting the declining area under cultivation of poppy in India. In 2017 and 2019, under a trial phase, two private companies were allowed to produce concentrated poppy straw.

VALUE ADDITION:

Opium Cultivation In India

• After independence, the control over cultivation and manufacture of opium became responsibility of the Central Government with effect from April, 1950.
• At present the Narcotics Commissioner along with the subordinates exercises all powers and performs all functions relating to superintendence of the cultivation of the opium poppy and production of opium.
• The Commissioner derives this power from the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act 1985 and Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Rules, 198
• License for manufacture of certain types of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances as well as permits for export and import of narcotic drugs, psychotropic and controlled substances are issued with the approval and permission of the Narcotics Commissioner.
• The opium poppy can be cultivated only in such tracts as are notified by the Government.
• India is one of the few countries internationally permitted (by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) to cultivate opium poppy for export.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Q.Consider the following statements with respect to Minimum Support Price:

1. The government of India sets the MSP twice a year.
2. The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) which advises the minimum price, and the recommendations are binding ton the government.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) Both 1 and 2

d) Neither 1 nor 2

ANSWER FOR 20TH JULY 2022

ANSWER: A

EXPLANATION:

• It is a research design for experimental studies, which economists Michael R Kremer, Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo used in their research.
• They went on to win the 2019 Nobel Prize winner in Economics.
• They had made use of RCT for their research on poverty.
• It is usually undertaken to study the effects of a new entrant in an environment.

1. Chariot and golden deer as powerful metaphors READ MORE
2. Dreams and reality READ MORE
3. The journey through self-taught art READ MORE

1. Europe heatwave: a number of reasons, climate change most worrying READ MORE
2. A robust plan to tackle heightened heat stress READ MORE
3. Risks that coastal communities face READ MORE

1. Revamp India’s school health services: As schools reopen, there is a need and an opportunity for States to look at a comprehensive package of services READ MORE
2. Saving mothers: Data on MMR should lead to restructuring health-care systems for women READ MORE

1. Examining the defection laws READ MORE
2. Policy needs to demarcate the difference between gambling and gaming READ MORE
3. Models of welfarism: The distribution of freebies has its limits READ MORE
4. Human rights: Access awaiting approval READ MORE
5. Indian judiciary is crying for basic infrastructure. Here’s what Centre & states need to do READ MORE
6. As SC Mulls Referring Sena Dispute to Constitution Bench, Tenth Schedule’s Relevance Under Scrutiny READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Cheetah to arrive in India by August 15 as country signs agreement with Namibia READ MORE
2. Phased implementation of digital currency for wholesale, retail segments in the works: RBI official READ MORE
3. RBI prepared to spend $100 billion more defending rupee READ MORE
4. With $87 billion, India top remittance recipient in 2021: UN report READ MORE
5. Explained: MSP and govt panel’s task READ MORE
6. SC nod to 27% quota for OBCs in local body polls READ MORE
7. Gaganyaan abort mission this year; solar, lunar missions in 2023 READ MORE
8. Explained: A major India-Africa conclave is taking place in New Delhi — why is it important? READ MORE

Main Exam

GS Paper- 1

1. Risks that coastal communities face READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Examining the defection laws READ MORE
2. Policy needs to demarcate the difference between gambling and gaming READ MORE
3. Models of welfarism: The distribution of freebies has its limits READ MORE
4. Human rights: Access awaiting approval READ MORE
5. Indian judiciary is crying for basic infrastructure. Here’s what Centre & states need to do READ MORE
6. As SC Mulls Referring Sena Dispute to Constitution Bench, Tenth Schedule’s Relevance Under Scrutiny READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Revamp India’s school health services: As schools reopen, there is a need and an opportunity for States to look at a comprehensive package of services READ MORE
2. Saving mothers: Data on MMR should lead to restructuring health-care systems for women READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. India-Vietnam ties, from strong to stronger: As New Delhi pursues its ‘Act East Policy’, Hanoi has become a valuable partner in the Indo-Pacific region READ MORE
2. New Cold War a test of India’s strategic skills READ MORE
3. Quad: India’s outreach booster READ MORE
4. India takes G20 Presidency READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. The cost of misrepresenting inflation: The inadequacy of monetary policy to address food-price-driven inflation has been recently flagged READ MORE
2. Central Bank Digital Currency – The Future of Money? READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Europe heatwave: a number of reasons, climate change most worrying READ MORE
2. A robust plan to tackle heightened heat stress READ MORE

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. A man of God and a paragon of science READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. Chariot and golden deer as powerful metaphors READ MORE
2. Dreams and reality READ MORE
3. The journey through self-taught art READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. ‘As New Delhi pursues its ‘Act East Policy’, Vietnam has become a valuable partner in the Indo-Pacific region’. Comment.
2. A long-drawn-out new Cold War, generating myriad political and economic problems, calls for an onerous balancing act by India in international power politics. In the light of the statement, discuss how India can use its diplomatic and economic assets to enhance its strength as a regional and global player?

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• If I destroy nature, I destroy myself as well. I lose my dignity.
• The inadequacy of monetary policy to address food-price-driven inflation has been recently flagged.
• As New Delhi pursues its ‘Act East Policy’, Vietnam has become a valuable partner in the Indo-Pacific region.
• The Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) framework presents immense opportunities for India-Vietnam relations to aid regional progress and peace.
• A private 5G network can deliver higher efficiencies compared to a public telecom network. This will be critical as enterprises are increasingly digitising their processes.
• Heat stress in India is no longer a surprise, which is why it demands an all-hands-on-deck response.
• While stopping illegal mining, the government should ensure transparency in all aspects of mining and the open-market sale of sand, gravel and other construction material.
• India must use its diplomatic and economic assets to enhance its strength as a regional and global player.
• A long-drawn-out new Cold War — generating myriad political and economic problems — calls for an onerous balancing act by India in international power politics.
• An economic ideology which projects the market as the answer to mankind’s diverse needs and holds profit maximisation as its motto subsumes all other priorities.

50 WORD TALK

• It will be crucial for India to steer the global economic dialogue platform in a manner which is most beneficial for the region, and the country in decades to come. The global leaders from the G20 countries already recognise India’s growing importance in Southeast Asia and in overall world order. India is already in some form of bilateral, plurilateral or multilateral dialogue with most of G20, except for China, with which the relationship has turned frosty post the physical clashes in India’s North-western boundaries. The redeeming feature is that many G20 partners share similar concerns about China.

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 is in the news, you should do map work (marking those areas in maps and exploring other geographical locations nearby, including mountains, rivers, etc.) 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 main 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.

[WpProQuiz 293]

THE CONTEXT: According to the latest report released by the global media watchdog, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), India’s ranking in the 2022 World Press Freedom Index has fallen to 150 out of 180 countries. In last year’s report, India was ranked 142. The government has disagreed with the findings of the RSF that ranked India poorly. The government claimed that the report was based on small sample size and gave little or no importance to the “fundamentals of democracy”. This article explains in detail about the World Press Freedom Index and the reasons for the decline in India’s ranking in it.

WHAT IS THE WORLD PRESS FREEDOM INDEX?

• It has been published every year since 2002 by Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF) or Reporters Without Borders.
• The ranking is based on a country’s performance in five broad categories: political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context and safety of journalists.
• Based in Paris, RSF is an independent NGO with consultative status with the United Nations, UNESCO, the Council of Europe and others.
• The Index ranks countries and regions according to the level of freedom available to journalists. However, it is not an indicator of the quality of journalism.
• Reporters Without Borders index only deals with press freedom and does not measure the quality of journalism in the countries it assesses, nor does it look at human rights violations in general.

Methodology: The score is calculated on the basis of two components:

• A quantitative tally of abuses against journalists in connection with their work, and against media outlets.
• A qualitative analysis of the situation in each country or territory based on the responses of press freedom specialists (including journalists, researchers, academics and human rights defenders) to an RSF questionnaire available in 23 languages.

Each country or territory’s score is evaluated using five contextual indicators that reflect the press freedom situation in all of its complexity: political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context and safety.

A subsidiary score ranging from 0 to 100 is calculated for each indicator. All of the subsidiary scores contribute equally to the global score. And within each indicator, all the questions and subquestions have equal weight.

FIVE BROAD CATEGORIES

POLITICAL CONTEXT

• The degree of support and respect for media autonomy vis-à-vis political pressure from the state or from other political actors.
• The level of acceptance of a variety of journalistic approaches satisfying professional standards, including politically aligned approaches and independent approaches.
• The degree of support for the media in their role of holding politicians and government to account.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK

• The degree to which journalists and media are free to work without censorship or judicial sanctions.
• The ability to access information without discrimination, and the ability to protect sources.
• The presence or absence of impunity for those responsible for acts of violence against journalists.

ECONOMIC CONTEXT

• Economic constraints linked to governmental policies (including the difficulty of creating a news media outlet, favouritism in the allocation of state subsidies.
• Economic constraints linked to non-state actors (advertisers and commercial partners).
• Economic constraints linked to media owners seeking to promote or defend their business interests.

SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT

• Social constraints resulting from denigration and attacks on the press based on such issues as gender, class, ethnicity and religion.
• Cultural constraints, including pressure on journalists to not question certain bastions of power or influence or not cover certain issues.

SAFETY

Ability to gather news without unnecessary risk of:

• Bodily harm (including murder, violence, arrest, detention and abduction)
• The psychological or emotional distress that could result from intimidation, coercion, harassment, surveillance, doxing (publication of personal information with malicious intent), degrading or hateful speech, smears and other threats targeting journalists.
• Professional harm resulting from, for example, the loss of one’s job, the confiscation of professional equipment, or the ransacking of installations.

PERFORMANCE OF INDIA THROUGH GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION

The chart shows India’s rankings across various categories in 2022. India ranked best in the legal framework category and worst in the safety of journalists category.

The chart shows India’s rank in the Press Freedom Index. While India has ranked consistently low over the past few years, its rank in 2022 plunged to the lowest the country has ever seen.

MAJOR FINDINGS OF THE REPORT

GLOBAL SCENARIO

• According to the World Press Freedom Index:2022, Norway (1st) Denmark (2nd), Sweden (3rd) Estonia (4th), and Finland (5th) grabbed the top five positions.
• North Korea, on the other hand, remained at the bottom of Reporters Without Borders’ list of 180 countries and territories.
• Russia was ranked 155th, down from 150th last year, while China advanced two places to 175th, according to Reporters Without Borders. China was ranked 177th in the world last year.

INDIA’S PERFORMANCE

• India has fallen eight places from 142nd to 150th in 2022 among the 180 countries.
• India’s position has been consistently falling in the index since 2016 when it was ranked 133.
• The reasons behind the fall in the ranking are the increased “violence against journalists” and a “politically partisan media”.
• The ranking categorized India as “one of the world’s most dangerous countries” for journalists, with an average of three or four journalists being assaulted in the course of their work each year.

INDIA’S NEIGHBOURS

• China was ranked at 175th position.
• The index placed Pakistan in 157th position, Sri Lanka in 146th, Bangladesh in 162nd and Myanmar in 176th position.
• Nepal has climbed up by 30 points in the global ranking at 76th position.

REASONS FOR THE DECLINE IN INDIA’S RANKING

POLITICAL MOTIVATION

• The report mentions that Indian authorities have targeted journalists and online critics in recent times driven by political motivation.
• The report further highlighted that women journalists critical of the government face a growing backlash on social media, including rape and death threats.

WRONGFUL PROSECUTION

• It also talked about journalists getting prosecuted under counterterrorism and sedition laws thereby cracking down on dissent.

THREATS AND VIOLENCE

• According to the report, India is also one of the world’s most dangerous countries for media persons.
• Journalists are exposed to all kinds of physical violence including police violence, ambushes by political activists, and deadly reprisals by criminal groups or corrupt local officials.
• The report says authorities have arrested journalists on spurious terrorism and sedition charges, and have routinely targeted critics and independent news organizations, including raiding their workplaces.

FAULTS IN POLICY FRAMEWORK

• Although the policy framework is protective in theory, it resorts to using defamation, sedition, contempt of court, and endangering national security against journalists critical of the government, branding them as “anti-national.”

KASHMIR ISSUE

• The extended ban on the internet in Jammu and Kashmir, and allegedly arbitrary suspension of Twitter accounts of those speaking against the government, were given as evidence of the government tightening its grip on media.

CRITICISM OF THE INDEX

• Multiple countries and commentators have raised concerns with both the WPFI criteria, and methodology and also about RSF’s perceived biases, lack of objectivity in ranking and lack of transparency. One of the primary concerns raised has been the opaqueness of the WPFI survey.
• Question-wise or category-wise scores used in computing scores for the five parameters are not made public, nor is the list of respondents provided.
• Similarly, credible sources are not available for quantitative data on abuse and violence against journalists, nor is any attempt made to clarify such data with Government or country-wise sources in any of the countries being ranked. When a limited sample of approximately 150 respondents and 18 NGOs are asked to analyse and respond to 83 questions for each country, the chances of biases and disconnect with the realities are high. Multiple countries and commentators have raised concerns with both the WPFI criteria and methodology and also about RSF’s perceived biases, lack of objectivity in ranking and lack of transparency.
• The Press Council of India (PCI), which acts as a watchdog of the press, by the press and for the press had rejected India’s ranking in the 2018 WPFI, stating that there was a lack of clarity on the inputs for the rankings, which were based solely on the perception and not on statistical data.
• Also when India’s rank is seen in the context of other countries, it may be noted that some of the most oppressive, authoritative regimes have found a place way ahead of India. RSF, this year, gained the audacity to put countries known for purging press freedom, killing journalists and reporters such as UAE, Hong Kong and Mexico way above India in its latest Press Freedom Index.

STATE OF PRESS FREEDOM IN INDIA

• Freedom of the press in India is subject to certain restrictions, such as defamation law, a lack of protection for whistleblowers, barriers to information access and constraints caused by public and government hostility to journalists. The press, including print, television, radio, and internet are nominally amended to express their concerns under the selected provisions such as Article-19 (which became effective from 1950), though it states freedom of “occupation, trade or business” and “freedom of speech and expression” without naming “press” in clause “a” and “g”. The article allows a journalist or media industries to cover any story and bring it to the audiences without impacting the national security of the country.
• To protect the intellectual, moral, and fundamental rights of the citizens, the government has taken several countermeasures to combat circulating fake news and restricting objectionable contents across the multiple platforms. The law of India prohibits spreading or publishing fake news through social or mass media, and could lead to imprisonment of a journalist or newspaper ban.
• The country’s news outlets and their associated journalists were allegedly charged with sedition and criminal prosecution charges by the authorities.
• The International Press Institute (IPI), an international organizations dedicated to the improvement of journalistic practices, claims that the government of India is responsible for restricting journalists covering COVID-19 pandemic-related reports in the country.
• In 2021, seven journalists were imprisoned in India, the highest in the last 3 decades.Data show that journalists enjoy less freedom than citizens in the country.At least three journalists were killed in 2017 in connection with their jobs.
• Reporters Without Borders stated Gauri Lankesh a proponent of secularism and a critic of right-wing forces was shot dead outside her house. A member of a Hindu nationalist group was arrested for killing Lankesh.
•  A report stated that between 2014 and 2019, 40 journalists were killed and at least 198 severe attacks on journalists were reported, of which, 36 occurred in 2019 alone.
• The media have consistently upheld the personality cult of the leaders since the country’s formation. It reported on the activities of the leader, regularly reporting on their political campaigns, frequently including “advertisements” to ruling parties through radio, television and Newspaper display ads.

THE WAY FORWARD:

TRANSPARENT AND UNBIASED INDEX

• Concerns have been raised with both the WPFI criteria, methodology and also about RSF’s perceived biases, lack of objectivity in ranking and lack of transparency. One of the primary concerns raised has been the opaqueness of the WPFI survey. Thus RSF needs to resolve this issues and need to make the index more transparent and unbiased.

PROPER DEFINITION

• RSF should update its definition of press and account in its ranking methodology for differences between print, electronic and TV journalists, and social media commentators.

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

• The Indian state should respect the right to freedom of expression and freedom of media (Article 19), which is the fourth pillar of democracy. However, Freedom of the press is also not absolute.

IMPARTIAL INVESTIGATIONS

• Concerned authorities should conduct independent and impartial investigations into allegations of threats and attacks targeting journalists and critics.

INDEPENDENT REGULATORY BODIES

• There is a need to establish independent press councils, media watch groups, ombudsmen, and other media self‐regulatory bodies autonomous from the government.

REGULATION FRAMEWORK

• There are disastrous effects of misinformation chaos including globalised and unregulated online information spaces that encourage fake news and propaganda. The state should have a robust regulatory framework for the same.

PRESS AND DEMOCRACY

• Freedom of the press is crucial to the functioning of a vibrant democracy hence the government should ensure its wellbeing

PROPER GUIDELINES

• The government should lay guidelines for the frequent internet shutdowns and promote scientifically verifiable facts rather than misinformation on the digital platforms.

THE CONCLUSION: SDG Target 16.10 enjoins governments and all stakeholders to ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements. An objective measure of press freedom across countries and a well-coordinated multi-stakeholder approach towards establishing press freedoms are essential towards improving democratic outcomes like transparency, accountability, people’s participation etc. With these overarching goals in mind, Reporters Without Borders must use its unique position and expertise to evolve a globally acceptable definition of press freedom by engaging with all countries which it ranks and strive to remove inconsistencies and biases in its ranking methodology and provide clarity on its funding sources. Also with systemic censorship on the rise and journalists facing constant threats from the government as well as other political outfits, the future of independent journalism in India today is in the hands of those institutions that have been struggling to retain their independence and promote journalistic rights: most importantly the courts, but also editors and journalists’ associations and independent news media themselves.

VALUE ADDITION

WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY

• The day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCO’s General Conference in 1991.
• The day also marks the 1991 Windhoek Declaration (adopted by UNESCO).
• It aimed toward the ‘development of a free, independent and pluralistic press’.
• The theme for 2022:Journalism under digital siege

FREEDOM OF PRESS IN INDIA

• The Constitution, the supreme law of the land, guarantees freedom of speech and expression under Article 19, which deals with ‘Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc.
• Freedom of the press is not expressly protected by the Indian legal system but it is impliedly protected under article 19(1) (a) of the constitution, which states – “All citizens shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression”.
• In 1950, the Supreme Court in Romesh Thappar v. State of Madras observed that freedom of the press lay at the foundation of all democratic organisations.
• However, Freedom of the press is also not absolute. It faces certain restrictions under Article 19(2), which are as follows-

Matters related to interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence.

QUESTION FOR MAINS EXAMINATION:

1. Discuss the salient features of the World Press Freedom Index. How far do you agree with the view that the press freedom in India is on a continuous decline as reflected in the Index?
2. India’s ranking is continuously declining in the world press freedom index. Analyse the reasons behind it and also suggest measures to ensure the freedom of the press in the country.