IAS UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 5th December 2019

Archives

(PRELIMS + MAINS FOCUS)

Nod for Data Protection Bill

Part of: GS Prelims and GS Mains III- Security

In News

• The Union Cabinet approved the introduction of the Personal Data Protection Bill in Parliament.
• The draft bill, the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018, was prepared by a high-level expert committee headed by former Supreme Court judge B.N. Srikrishna.

Some of the features of the proposed bill are:

• The bill classifies ‘sensitive personal data’ as including passwords, financial data, health data, sex life, sexual orientation, biometric data, genetic data, transgender status, intersex status, caste or tribe, and religious or political belief or affiliation. 
• The draft Bill says that such sensitive personal data can be processed only with the explicit consent of the person, and this consent needs to be informed, clear, and specific, as defined by the Bill itself.
• The draft bill also has a provision for the right to be forgotten, where the person “shall have the right to restrict or prevent continuing disclosure of personal data”.

• There is also a provision for the central government to notify categories of personal data as critical personal data, which will then be only processed in a server or data centre located in India.

• Personal data is to be stored in India, but can be processed outside with the consent of the person.
• The draft Bill also specifies penalties for not following its provisions, including a penalty of ₹5 crore or 2% of turnover, whichever is higher, if no action is taken on a data leak.

World Malaria Report 2019 

Part of: GS Prelims and GS Mains II- Health

In News

• World Malaria Report 2019 was recently released by the World Health Organization (WHO).
• Globally, there were 228 million cases of malaria in 2018, down from 251 million cases in 2010

• 20 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and India accounted for 85 per cent of the global malaria burden in 2018

• Compared to 2017, India reported 2.6 million fewer cases in 2018. This makes India the country with the largest absolute reductions among the countries that share 85% of the malaria burden.
• The major challenges in India remains decreased funding, treatment failures and vector resistance to pyrethroids, the insectides used against the vectors

Do You Know?

• Malaria is mainly caused by Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax parasites.
• It is transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
• Malaria is transmitted by blood, so it can also be transmitted through an organ transplant, a transfusion and use of shared needles or syringes.
• It is preventable and curable.

Delhi to get 11,000 hotspots across city

Part of: GS Prelims and GS Mains III- Infrastructure

In News

• Delhi government announced the installation of 11,000 hotspots across Delhi as part of the free Wi-Fi scheme promised by the AamAadmi Party in its 2015 manifesto.
• Of the 11,000 hotspots, around 4,000 would come up near bus stands and the remaining 7,000 across marketplaces with each constituency to get 100 hotspots each
• The total expenditure on the installation will be around ₹100 crore,
• The people of Delhi will be able to locate a Wi-Fi connection after every 500 metres, with the hotspot connections supporting a radius of 100 metres. 
• Every user will get free 15 GB data per month, with a data limit of 1.5 GB per day. 
• On an average, the maximum speed of the connection will be 200 Mbps, but the estimated speed will be between 100 and 150 Mbps
• Each hotspot would be able to support 150-200 users simultaneously. 
• The Delhi government will pay the rent every month to the company for each hotspot installed

Political Parties Registration Tracking Management System (PPRTMS)

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – Polity

In News

1. The Election Commission of India has reviewed the system and process of registration of political parties.
2. Accordingly, the PPRTMS will be implemented through an online portal, to facilitate tracking of status of application by applicants. 
3. The salient feature in the PPRTMS is that the applicant (who is applying for party registration from 1st January, 2020 onwards) will be able to track the progress of his / her application and will get status update through SMS and email. 
4. The applicant is required to provide contact mobile number and email address of the party / applicant in his application if he/she wishes to track the progress of the application.
5. The Registration of Political Parties is governed by the provisions of section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

HAJ

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – International Affairs

In News

• India has signed the bilateral annual Haj 2020 agreement with Saudi Arabia
• With this agreement India has become the first country to make the entire process for pilgrims going on Haj completely digital.
• An online application, e-visa, Haj mobile app, ‘e-MASIHA’ health facility, “e-luggage pre-tagging” providing all information in India itself regarding accommodation and transportation in Mecca and Madina will be provided to 2 lakh Indian Muslims going for Haj in 2020. 
• E-MASIHA (E-Medical Assistance System for Indian Pilgrims Abroad), an online system to maintain the health database of Indian pilgrims has been developed to deal with any emergency in Mecca and Madina.
• For the first time facilities were provided for digital pre-tagging of pilgrims’ baggage.
• A portal of Haj Group Organisers (HGOs) – http://haj.nic.in/pto/ – has been developed which contains all the details of HGOs and their packages.

Water regulation

Part of: GS Prelims and GS Mains III- Environment Conservation

In News

• Punjab Cabinet approved the creation of the Punjab Water Regulation and Development Authority in a bid to check the depletion of groundwater in the State
• The authority would be empowered to issue general directions related to extraction and use of groundwater, besides ensuring optimal and efficient utilisation of all water resources in Punjab State, including canal irrigation. 
• It will also issue guidelines on recycling and reuse of water and its conservation.
• It cannot impose any restrictions or tariff on extraction of water for drinking, domestic and agriculture purposes
• It would, however, be required to issue tariff orders for use of water for industrial and commercial use.
• The step is therefore aimed at development, management and regulation of water resources of the State for ensuring their judicious, equitable and sustainable utilisation and management.

PM-AASHA scheme

Part of: GS Prelims and GS Mains II –Governance

In News

• Less than 3% of this season’s sanctionedamount of pulses and oilseeds have actually been procured so far under the PM-AASHA scheme, Agriculture Ministry data show
• A total of 37.59 lakh metric tonnes of procurement had been sanctioned under the Centrally-funded scheme.However, only 1.08 lakh tonnes have been procured so far.
• The PM-AASHA or Pradhan MantriAnnadataAaySanrakshanAbhiyan, was announced in September 2018, as an effort to ensure that farmers growing pulses, oilseeds and copra actually get the minimum support prices they are promised for their crops each year.

• Apart from initiatives to allow cash payment to farmers or procurement by private traders, PM-AASHA’s main feature was a price support scheme whereby Central agencies would procure pulses and oilseeds directly from farmers.

• The Centre had budgeted ₹15,053 crore over two years to implement the scheme apart from an additional government credit guarantee of ₹16,550 crore for agencies undertaking procurement.

Global Climate Risk Index 2020

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III- Environment Conservation

In News

• The Global Climate Risk Index analyses the extent to which countries and regions have been affected by weather-related events such as severe rainfall, storms, floods and heatwaves.
• The Index stresses on the level of vulnerability of nations to severe climate events, which they should view as warnings for more frequent or severe events in the future.
• The Global Climate Risk Index 2020 is published by International Environmental think tank Germanwatch.
• India was the fifth most climate-affected country in 2018, which suffered water shortages, crop failures and worst flooding,
• Japan, the Philippines and Germany were found to be the most climate-affected countries in 2018 followed by Madagascar, India and Sri Lanka
• The heatwave was one of the major causes of damage in 2018.
• Across Europe, extreme heat spells are now up to 100 times more likely than a century ago, says the report.
• The impact of heatwaves on African countries may be under-represented due to a lack of data.
• The index results showed that the “signs of climate crisis”, on all continents, could no longer be ignored.

Bharat Bond ETF

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III- Economy

In News

• The Union Cabinet approved the government’s plan to create and launch India’s first corporate bond exchange traded fund (ETF) — Bharat Bond ETF.
• Bharat Bond ETF will only holdbonds issued by public sector undertaking (PSUs)
• The ETF will comprise a basket of bonds issued byCentral Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs), Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs), Central Public Financial Institutions (CPFIs), and other government organisations and all will be initially AAA-rated bonds.
• The aim is to create an additional source of funding for the CPSEs, CPSUs, CPFIs, and other government organisations.
• The unit size of the bond has been kept at just ₹1,000 so that retail investors can invest and deepen India’s bond market
• Each ETF will have a fixed maturity date and initially they will be issued in two series, of three years and 10 years.

• Bond ETF will provide safety (underlying bonds are issued by CPSEs and other government-owned entities), liquidity (tradability on exchange) and predictable tax efficient returns

(MAINS FOCUS)

POLITY

TOPIC: General Studies 2:

• Indian Constitution- historical underpinnings, evolution, features, amendments, significant provisions and basic structure.

Citizenship Amendment Bill

• The Union Cabinet recently cleared the contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill for Parliament to take over. The Citizenship Bill is now likely to be tabled in the LokSabha for clearance.

Background

• The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister NarendraModi today cleared the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, paving way for its introduction in Parliament during the ongoingWinter session. 
• In its amended form, the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019 (CAB) seeks to provide Indian nationality to six minority communities — Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Parsi, Jain and Buddhist — fleeing “persecution” from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
• Ever since it was first tabled in the Parliament in July 2016, the Bill has been mired in controversies for granting citizenship rights to specific communities. 

History/Backgeound

• While illegal migrants cannot become Indian citizens, the government had exempted specified groups of illegal migrants in 2015 and 2016 from provisions of The Foreigners Act, 1946 and The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920. 
• The Centre’s intervention meant that these particular categories of illegal migrants would not be deported or jailed for being in India without valid documents.
• The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was tabled in LokSabhain  2016 during NDA-1 to amend The Citizenship Act, 1955 so that these people could be made eligible for citizenship of India.
• However, massive protests erupted in the North East and acted as a deterrent for the introduction of the Bill in RajyaSabha. 
• RajyaSabha adjourned sine die in 2019, without the Bill being tabled. 
• The Bill lapsed as the 16th LokSabha was dissolved.

Highlights :

• The bill amends the Citizenship Act, 1955 to make illegal migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, eligible for citizenship.
• Under the earlier proposed Act, one of the requirements for citizenship is that the applicant must have resided in India during the last 12 months, and for 11 of the previous 14 years. 
• The Citizenship Bill 2019 relaxes this 11-year requirement to 6 years for applicants belonging to these six religions, and the aforementioned three countries.
• The Bill allows that registration of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cardholders may be cancelled for violation of any law, including minor offences such as parking in a no-parking zone.

Why the concern in Northeastern states?

• The North-eastern states have flagged concerns over the Citizenship Amendment Bill time and again. 
• The prospect of citizenship for massive numbers of illegal Bangladeshi migrants has triggered deep anxieties, including fears of demographic change, loss of livelihood opportunities, and erosion of the indigenous culture in the north-eastern states. 
• Massive protests had erupted in anticipation of the introduction of the Bill.

What is the controversy around the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019?

• The government has maintained that the bill has significance equivalent to its decision on Article 370. 
• The government argued that the Bill aims to grant citizenship to minorities who have faced religious persecution in Muslim-majority foreign countries.
• The Opposition has attacked the government for leaving out Muslims, terming it in violation of Constitutional provisions.
• Article 14 of the Constitution guarantees the right to equality. 
• The BJP leaders have pitched the NRC and the CAB as a package that will root out illegal migrants but will provide citizenship to persecuted communities from the neighbouring Muslim-majority countries.

Connecting the dots:

• Like NRC, the Citizenship Amendment Bill is flawed in conception. Analyse.

POLITY

TOPIC: General Studies 2:

• Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.

Transgender Persons’ Bill, 2019

• RajyaSabha has passed Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2019. The bill has already been passed in LokSabha in the ongoing Winter Session.

What is this bill about?

• The bill seeks to provide a mechanism for social, economic and educational empowerment of transgender persons in India.
• The Bill prohibits the discrimination against a transgender person, including denial of service or unfair treatment in relation to education, employment, healthcare, access to, or enjoyment of goods, facilities, opportunities available to the public, right to movement, right to reside, rent, or otherwise occupy property, opportunity to hold public or private office, and access to a government or private establishment. 
• The Bill also seeks to provide rights of health facilities to transgender persons including separate HIV surveillance centres, and sex reassignment surgeries. 
• The Bill also has a provision of certificate of identity for a transgender person by making application to the District Magistrate for a certificate of identity, indicating the gender as ‘transgender’.
• A revised certificate may be obtained only if the individual undergoes surgery to change their gender either as a male or a female.
• It also calls for establishing a National Council for Transgender persons (NCT).
• Offences against transgender persons will attract imprisonment between six months and two years, in addition to a fine.

Why the transgender community is protesting against it?

• The Bill, which is supposed to protect the rights of transgender people, was drafted and passed without approaching anyone from the community. As a result, assumptions were made based on stereotypes. 
• It requires a transgender person to approach a District Magistrate to obtain a certificate stating that they are transgender. It’s only after this that they will be able to change their gender to either Male or Female on government-issued identification cards.
• The process to obtain this certificate is to show proof of sex reassignment surgery, which A) is not something all transgender people want B) is a very expensive procedure, which many aren’t able to afford C) does not have a clear definition regarding how the District Magistrate will actually examine the person or their documents D) is a violation of privacy.
•  It also does not specify the kind of surgery they are expecting, because there is more than one type.
• This also contradicts the 2014 NALSA (National Legal Services Authority of India) judgement by the Supreme Court, which gave transgender people the right to self-identify, and did not mandate surgery.
• The bill also says that a transgender person is someone with intersex variations. However, not every intersex person identifies as transgender, and not every transgender person is intersex.
• The Bill makes sexual abuse against a transgender person a punishable offence. However it fails to clearly define what constitutes sexual abuse. Also, the minimum sentence is six months and can extend to a maximum of just two years.
• The Bill does not provide any reservations to transgender people, who often come from disadvantaged backgrounds and find it hard to get mainstream jobs or quality education. 
• If the family of a transgender person is unable to take care of them, the person may be placed in a rehabilitation centre, with orders from the court. This denies the right of a person to join other transgender communities, such as the hijra community.
• The Bill does not have any provisions to apprehend those who discriminate against, bully, or harass transgender people at educational institutes, workplaces or anywhere else. 
• The Bill also has no mention of things like marriage rights, adoption rights, property rights, social security, or pension. This deprives the transgender community of some of the most fundamental rights.

Conclusion:

• It’s true that not all problems can just be legislated away. At the heart of the issue here is social prejudice and trans-phobia. Unless this is addressed at a basic societal level, no law will be able to empower the marginalised and persecuted transgender community.

Connecting the dots:

The Transgender Persons Act should have factored in suggestions from the community. Justify.

(TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE)

Model questions: (You can now post your answers in comment section)

Note: 

• Correct answers of today’s questions will be provided in next day’s DNA section. Kindly refer to it and update your answers. 

• Comments Up-voted by IASbaba are also the “correct answers”.

Q.1) Consider the following statements

1. Political Parties Registration Tracking Management System (PPRTMS) has been introduced by NITI Aayog which will enable applicants to track the status of their application of registration with Election Commission of India.
2. The Registration of Political Parties is governed by the provisions of section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2

Q.2) Global Climate Risk Index is released by which of the following organisation/body?

1. United Nations
2. World Economic Forum
3. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
4. International Environmental think tank Germanwatch

Q.3) Consider the following statements about Bharat Bond -ETF

1. It is India’s first corporate bond exchange traded fund 
2. It will hold bonds issued by public sector undertaking (PSUs) and also Corporates having market Capitalization of more than 10000 Crore Rupees.
3. It will provide safety, liquidity (tradability on exchange) and predictable tax efficient returns

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1,2 and 3

Q.4) Consider the following statements about World Malaria Report 2019

1. It is released by World Health Organisation
2. 20 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and India accounted for 85 per cent of the global malaria burden in 2018

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1,2 and 3

Q.5) Consider the following statements

1. India has become the first country to make the entire process for pilgrims going on Haj completely digital.
2. E-MASIHA (E-Medical Assistance System for Indian Pilgrims Abroad), an online system to maintain the health database of Indian pilgrims has been developed to deal with any emergency in Mecca and Madina.

Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct?

1. 1 and 2 only
2. 2 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1,2 and 3

ANSWERS FOR 04 DEC 2019 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE (TYK)

MUST READ

Rape, impunity and state of denial

The Hindu

Close encounters: On faking anti-Naxal fight

The Hindu

Another quota question: On creamy layer for SCs

The Hindu

In a WTO Without Dispute Settlement

ET

The current economic slowdown needs a multi-pronged response

IE