TOP 5 TAKKAR NEWS OF THE DAY (6th JULY 2023)

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1. THE DIGITAL PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION BILL, 2022

TAG: GS 2: POLITY

THE CONTEXT: Nearly six years after the Supreme Court held privacy to be a fundamental right, a reworked version of India’s long-awaited data protection law has been cleared by the Cabinet.  It could come before Parliament in the Monsoon Session.

EXPLANATION:

• Contents of the Bill will remain confidential until it is brought to Parliament. Some of the most contentious issues included are the wide-ranging exemptions to the Centre and its agencies and diluting the role of the Data Protection Board.
• The Bill, once it becomes law, will play a crucial role in India’s trade negotiations with other nations, and especially regions like the European Union, whose General Data Protection Rules (GDPR) are among the world’s most exhaustive privacy laws.

Significance of the bill:

• This is a crucial pillar of the overarching framework of technology regulations which also includes the Digital India Bill, the proposed successor to the Information Technology Act of 2000, the draft Indian Telecommunication Bill of 2022, and a policy for non-personal data governance.
• The proposed law will apply to the processing of digital personal data within India and to data processing outside the country if it is done for offering goods or services or for profiling individuals in India.
• It requires entities that collect personal data, called data fiduciaries, to maintain the accuracy of data, keep data secure, and delete data once their purpose has been met.
• It is expected to allow “voluntary undertaking”, where any violation of the provisions will be addressed by Data Protection Board by accepting settlement fees.
• It deals with cross-border data flows to international jurisdictions moving from a ‘whitelisting’ approach to a ‘blacklisting’ mechanism.
• The proposed law could allow global data to flow by default to all jurisdictions other than a specified ‘negative list’ of countries, essentially an official blacklist of countries where transfers would be prohibited.

Concerns around the draft bill regarding control of the central government:

• The central government can exempt “any instrumentality of the state” from adhering to the provisions on account of national security, relations with foreign governments, and maintenance of public order, among other things.
• Control of the central government in appointing members of the Data Protection Board, an adjudicatory body that will deal with privacy-related grievances and disputes between two parties.
• The chief executive of the board will be appointed by the central government, which will also determine the terms and conditions of their service.
• The Bill can dilute the Right to Information (RTI) Act, as the personal data of government functionaries is likely to be protected under it.

Regulation in other countries:

• According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), an estimated 137 out of 194 countries have put in place legislation to secure the protection of data and privacy.
• Africa and Asia show 61% (33 countries out of 54) and 57% (34 countries out of 60) adoption respectively. Only 48% of Least Developed Countries (22 out of 46) have data protection and privacy laws.
• EU model: The GDPR focuses on a comprehensive data protection law for processing of personal data. It has been criticised for being excessively stringent and imposing many obligations on organisations processing data.
• US model: Privacy protection is largely defined as “liberty protection” focused on the protection of the individual’s personal space from the government. It only enables collection of personal information as long as the individual is informed of such collection and use.
• China model: Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), which came into effect in November 2021, gives Chinese data principals new rights as it seeks to prevent the misuse of personal data. The Data Security Law (DSL), which came into force in September 2021, requires business data to be categorised by levels of importance and puts new restrictions on cross-border transfers.

Information Technology Act, 2000

• It is an act of the Indian Parliament notified in 2000. It is the primary law in India dealing with cybercrime and electronic commerce.
• The Act provides a legal framework for electronic governance by giving recognition to electronic records and digital signatures.
• It also defines cyber crimes and prescribes penalties for them. The Act directed the formation of a Controller of Certifying Authorities to regulate the issuance of digital signatures. It also established a Cyber Appellate Tribunal to resolve disputes arising from this new law.
• The Act also amended various sections of the Indian Penal Code of 1860; the Indian Evidence Act of 1872; the Banker’s Book Evidence Act of 1891; and the Reserve Bank of India Act of 1934, to make them compliant with new technologies.
• A major amendment was made in 2008. It introduced Section 66A, which penalized sending “offensive messages”.
• It also introduced Section 69, which gave authorities the power of “interception or monitoring or decryption of any information through any computer resource”.
• Additionally, it introduced provisions addressing – pornography, child porn, cyber terrorism and voyeurism. The amendment was passed on 22 December 2008 without any debate in Lok Sabha.

Draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022:

• The Draft Bill seeks to replace the Indian Telegraph Act of 1885, the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1933, and the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act of 1950.
• Operating a telecom network and providing telecom services will be licensed activities. Telecom services will also include broadcasting, OTT, M2M, and data communication services.
• Spectrum may be allocated through auction, administrative process, or other mechanisms decided by the central government.
• The central government may intercept, monitor, or block messages between two or more persons in the event of a public emergency or in the interest of the security of the state. Telecom services may be suspended on similar grounds.
• The Bill provides a mechanism to exercise the right of way for laying telecom infrastructure.

Digital India Bill, 2022:

• The Bill will replace the 23-year-old Information Technology Act(IT) and is a much sought-after legislation by the industry.
• The Digital India Bill is expected to address a variety of online safety issues, including combating child sexual abuse material, religious incitement material, patent violation material, and misinformation on social media platforms.
• The full list of 11 things includes porn, content harmful to children, copyright infringement, misleading content, impersonation, content deemed against India’s unity and integrity, computer malware, banned online games, and anything else that is illegal.
• These types of content are currently listed in the last update of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, but the Digital India Bill will give the government legal teeth to hold platforms accountable for hosting such content.

2. USA IS UNDERGOING A ‘GROWTH RECESSION

TAG: ECONOMY

THE CONTEXT: US stock markets are ascending even as the economy struggles to avoid recession. The US is neither fully in recession nor growing to its full potential. There is a need to look at the impacts of the growth recession in the USA and India.

EXPLANATION:

• Indian stock markets are getting impacted by the rise in the United States and its stock markets.
• Two of the key benchmark indices in the US, namely the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100, have registered quite remarkable gains over just the past six months.
• Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) are also pumping money into Indian markets as well.

What is expected during the recession?

• At the start of 2023, it was predicted that the US, which is the world’s largest economy, would experience a recession.
• During inflation, central bankers tend to rapidly raise interest rates to bring down economic activity and cool down inflation.
• Typically, during such phases, stock markets tend to suffer because:
• If interest rates are moving up, an investor feels less inclined to invest money in the riskier stock markets when they can earn more by just keeping it in the bank.
• A slowing economy essentially means more unemployment, lower consumption levels and lower profitability of companies which reduces the incentive to lend to these companies by investing in the stock markets.

Growth recession:

• A recession implies that the total economic activity in an economy contracts for two consecutive quarters. It means if an economy’s GDP in the first quarter is lower than what it was in the first quarter of last year and the same thing happens in the second quarter, then the economy is said to have gone into a recession.
• The phrase “growth recession” was coined by American economist Solomon Fabricant in a 1972 paper titled “The ‘recession’ of 1969-1970”.
• A growth recession is something above zero but below potential GDP growth. The eventual GDP growth rate is likely to be well below the potential GDP growth rate.
• In other words, there are times when it may not be a recession, but it feels like one. For instance, a key marker of recession is the rise of joblessness or unemployment, but if an economy grows along with rising unemployment, it can be termed a “growth recession”.

Potential GDP growth rate:

• The potential GDP growth rate is the rate of growth at which an economy can grow without spiking inflation.
• For instance, the US has the potential to grow (its GDP) by 1.8% each year. It is a combination of (increased) productivity (accounting for 1.5%) and changes in labour force (accounting for the remaining 0.3%).

India’s growth trajectory:

• India’s potential GDP growth rate has been sliding since the Global Financial Crisis of 2009.
• It used to be 8% during the high growth phase of 2004-2009. Since then, it had fallen to just 6% by 2019, just before the pandemic hit the economy.
• Coming out of the pandemic, India’s economy has grown much faster and given India the mantle of the world’s fastest-growing major economy.
• India seems to have grown faster in the last two financial years has been the effect of a low base because of Covid-induced contraction in 2020.
• Growth rates have started decelerating yet again from 9.2% in FY22 to 7.2% in FY23 to likely around 6% in the current financial year.
• Consumption levels of average Indians have largely remained subdued as companies have held back from aggressively ramping up fresh investments.

3. ZAPORIZHZHYA, THE NUCLEAR POWER PLANT(NPP)

TAG: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT: Zaporizhzhya plant has been compared to the Chornobyl disaster as the concerns intensified that the Russian-occupied nuclear reactor in southern Ukraine could be the target of fresh attacks.

EXPLANATION:

Reactor design and mechanism at Zaporizhzhya NPP:

• Zaporizhzhya NPP is located southwest of Zaporizhzhia city, along the Dnieper River. It has six VVER-1000 reactors providing a total power-generation capacity of 6 GW.
• The reactor complex consists of the reactor vessel, in which fuel rods are submerged in water. Control rods are inserted at the top. The water acts as both coolant and moderator. A pressuriser holds the water at a high but constant pressure (around 150 atm) to prevent it from boiling. This is the primary cooling circuit.
• As the water heats up, the heat is moved to a secondary cooling circuit, where it converts a separate resource of water into steam. This steam is fed to turbines that generate electricity.

Chernobyl NPP and Zaporizhzhya NPP:

• The principal difference between Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhya is that the former had RBMK reactors, and the latter has VVER-1000 reactors (this is the same reactor design installed at the Kudankulam NPP in India).
• In Zaporizhzhya, the primary coolant and the moderator are the same substance (water), and it doesn’t leave the reactor vessel at any time.
• In RBMK reactors like at Chernobyl, on the other hand, the coolant and the moderator are different (light water and nuclear graphite, respectively).

Chernobyl disaster:

• It was a nuclear accident that occurred near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union and called as the world’s worst-ever civil nuclear incident.
• The accident occurred during a safety test of the reactor.

Risk at Zaporizhzhya NPP:

• Primary water circuits could depressurise as steam and escape into the air along with radioactive material and other volatile substances.
• This mixture will contain the isotope iodine-131, which is easily dispersed by winds and accumulates in and damages the thyroid gland in humans.
• It has a half-life of around eight days and so, as per the report, “would only pose a threat for several weeks”.
• A breach and depressurisation would also release caesium-137, which has a half-life of 30 years and was responsible for contaminating much of Chornobyl’s surroundings after the accident.

Related news:

• Recently, the Kakhovka dam, which is downstream of the Zaporizhzhya NPP and in whose reservoir the plant is located, was breached.
• While the water level in the reservoir subsequently dropped, the Zaporizhzhya NPP wasn’t affected because the cooling pond from which it draws water is isolated from the water in the reservoir.
• The Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant is in the city of Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region. The city is currently under Russian occupation. In the Kherson region, Russia occupies the left, or southern, bank, while Ukraine controls the right, or northern, bank.
• The dam was built in the Soviet era and is one of six that sit along the Dnipro River, which stretches from the very north of the country into the Black Sea.

4. BHARAT 6G ALLIANCE(B6GA)

TAG: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: Telecom sector is a continuously evolving sector with high technological obsolescence from Wire-line to Mobile services to 2G to 3 G to 4G to 5G, and now 6G is on the horizon. Department of Telecommunications (DoT) launched Bharat 6G Alliance to drive innovation and collaboration in next-generation wireless technology.

EXPLANATION:

• It is a collaborative platform consisting of public and private companies, academia, research institutions, and standards development organizations aimed at promoting innovation and collaboration in next-generation wireless technology.
• B6GA will forge coalitions and synergies with other 6G Global Alliances, fostering international collaboration and knowledge exchange.
• The primary objective is to understand the business and societal needs of 6G beyond technical requirements, foster consensus on these needs, and promote high-impact open research and development (R&D) initiatives.
• B6GA aims to bring together Indian startups, companies, and the manufacturing ecosystem to establish consortia that drive the design, development and deployment of 6G technologies in India.
• It aims to achieve universal and affordable connectivity, foster indigenous technology development, and nurture the telecom and semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem in India.
• One of the key goals of B6GA is to facilitate market access for Indian telecom technology products and services, enabling the country to emerge as a global leader in 6G technology.

Differences between 5G and 6G network

• Use of different spectrum: 5G is allocated for low band and high band frequencies from 6 GHz to 24.25 GHz respectively while 6G will be operative at the frequency range 95 GHz to 3 THz.
• Faster than 5G technology: 6G speed is expected to be 100 times faster than 5G with enhanced reliability and wider network coverage.
• 6G wireless accelerates more connections: With 6G it is expected to connect ten times more devices per square kilometer with increase in number of connected devices in the upcoming years.
• Low latency in both G’s: 5G networks has a latency of about 5milliseconds but with 6G internet it will range from 1millisecond to 1microsecond which will make massive data transmissions possible in less than a second.

Related information:

Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF):

• Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) scheme was launched by DoT.
• 5% of annual collections from the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) will be available for the TTDF Scheme to fund research & development of technologies, products, and services.
• The scheme is envisaged to bridge the digital divide among academia, start-ups, research institutes, and industry by developing and manufacturing state-of-the-art technologies.
• The Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) scheme entails grants to Indian entities to encourage and induct indigenous technologies tailor-made to meet domestic needs.
• It aims to develop standards and create the ecosystem for research, design, prototyping, use cases, pilots, and proof of concept testing, among others.

Universal Service Obligation Fund:

• It was established with the fundamental objective of providing access to “Basic” telegraph services to people in remote and rural areas at affordable and reasonable prices.
• Subsequently, the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Act of 2006 repealed the term “Basic”, wherein the scope of the USO Fund was widened to provide access to telegraph services in rural and remote areas.

5. CRIMINALISATION OF POLITICS

TAG: GS2: POLITY

THE CONTEXT: The association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has approached the Election Commission of India seeking action against political parties that fail to publish details of criminal antecedents of candidates as per orders of the Supreme Court.

EXPLANATION:

• For years, activists and independent electoral watchdogs like ADR have been raising concerns over political parties fielding candidates with criminal antecedents.
• After the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, according to ADR, 43% of the newly-elected MPs had pending criminal cases against them.

Background:

• Responding to a petition filed by Public Interest Foundation, the Supreme Court in September 2018 made it mandatory for political parties to publish the details of criminal cases pending against their candidates, including on their websites, in a format prescribed by the Election Commission of India.
• It directed parties to publish the details of criminal cases pending against a candidate in bold letters and told the candidate with pending cases to inform the party about these cases.
• The court also ordered that the candidate and the party have to publish the information at least thrice after filing the nomination.
• In February 2020, the apex court reiterated that the parties would have to publish the details of candidates with pending criminal cases. It also added that they would have to include the reasons for selecting such a candidate.
• The reasons for selection shall be with reference to the qualifications, achievements and merit of the candidate concerned and not mere ‘winnability’ at the polls.
• It said the information would have to be published in one local vernacular newspaper, one national newspaper and on the official social media platforms of the political party within 48 hours of the selection or not less than two weeks before the first date of nominations, whichever is earlier.
• The parties would then have to submit a compliance report with the ECI within 72 hours.

Provisions under the Representation of Peoples (RP) Act:

• Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, provides for the disqualification of a person convicted of certain offences from being chosen as or continuing as, a Member of Parliament or a Member of a Legislative Assembly.
• Section 8 of the Representation of the People (RP) Act, 1951, disqualifies a person convicted with a sentence of two years or more from contesting elections.
• Currently, under the Representation of Peoples (RP) Act, lawmakers cannot contest elections after their conviction in a criminal case. But those under trial continued to be eligible to contest elections.

Lily Thomas Case:

• In 2005, Kerala-based lawyer Lily Thomas and NGO Lok Prahari filed a PIL before the SC which challenged Section 8(4) of the RPA as ‘ultra vires’ to the Indian Constitution, saying it protected convicted legislators from disqualification because their appeals were pending before higher courts.
• The case drew attention to Articles 102(1) and 191(1) of the Constitution. The former lays down the disqualifications for membership to the Houses of Parliament, while the latter lays down the disqualifications for membership to the Legislative Assembly or Legislative Council of the state.
• Supreme Court struck down Section 8(4) of the Representation of the People (Act) 2013 and concluded that there would be no window of appeal and a legislator stood disqualified immediately when convicted for two or more years of imprisonment

Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR):

• It is an electoral watchdog established in 1999 by a group of professors from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad. The objective of ADR is to improve governance and strengthen democracy by continuous work in the area of Electoral and Political Reform
• Purpose of the ADR:

1. Empowerment of the electorate through greater dissemination of information relating to the candidates and the parties
2. For a better and informed choice
3. Need for greater accountability of Indian Political Parties
4. Need for inner-party democracy and transparency in party functioning.