In an ambitious defence project, the government has started work on incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the operational preparedness of the armed forces in a significant way.
It would include equipping them with unmanned tanks, vessels, aerial vehicles and robotic weaponry.
A high-powered task force headed by Tata Sons chairman N. Chandrasekaran is finalising the specifics and framework of the project, which would be implemented in a “partnership model” between the armed forces and the private sector.
The application of AI in border surveillance could significantly ease the pressure on armed forces personnel guarding the sensitive frontiers with China and Pakistan.
The move comes amid rising Chinese investments in AI — an area of computer science devoted to creating intelligent machines — for its military. China has been pouring billions of dollars into AI research and machine learning.
The U.S., Britain, France and the European Union are also investing significantly in AI. The U.S. has been carrying out successful operations targeting terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan using drones which operate with the help of artificial intelligence.
(MAINS FOCUS)
NATIONAL
TOPIC: General Studies 2:
Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
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.
The EU’s Data Protection Regulation: Lessons for India
Introduction:
The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the latest new regulation to address the issue of data privacy. The GDPR adopts a rights-based, consent-driven approach towards protecting the data of natural persons.
Key features of GDPR:
The GDPR applies to any act of processing data. The scope of the term ‘processing’ is broad enough to cover any operation, from data collection to analysis, storage, transfer, erasure and others.
The GDPR’s territorial applicability clause states that it can be applicable to you in one of three ways: An establishment in an EU member-state, one offering goods or services to natural persons in the EU and one monitoring the behaviour of natural persons in the EU.
The GDPR is not merely applicable to entities which collect or order the collection of data from EU natural persons for their own purposes, but also places liabilities on people who process this data on behalf of controllers.
The GDPR addresses the concerns related to the transfer of personal data to third countries or international organisations.
In addition to providing for compensation to natural persons whose privacy rights are violated, the GDPR empowers EU statutory authorities to impose administrative fines of up to €20 million or 4 per cent of total group turnover of a company, and to impose bans on data processing.
A new paradigm in global privacy regulation:
Any person processing data, whether on their own or on someone else’s behalf, having any kind of ‘establishment’ in the EU, or offering goods or services to natural persons in the EU, or monitoring the behaviour of natural persons in the EU, is subject to the GDPR. It is this factor that sets the GDPR up to become a new paradigm in global privacy regulation.
Indian rules:
Under India’s existing data protection regime, the Information Technology Act, 2000 (the IT Act) has attempted to deal with data protection in a comprehensive manner. The manner in which the GDPR addresses data protection compliance is hard to compare to the approach taken by the IT-RS Rules.
The IT-RS Rules commit a portion of a single provision to consent, requiring that consent be obtained in writing through electronic communication. The GDPR, in contrast, commits five detailed provisions to the essentiality of lawful consent for processing data, factors to determine whether consent was lawfully obtained, conditions for consent etc. The language of the GDPR indicates that consent is interwoven through most of its important provisions, making it a key foundation of GDPR compliance.
There are certain aspects of the GDPR which are not reflected anywhere in the IT-RS, such as the adoption of a rights-based approach to data privacy. The GDPR makes it clear at the very outset that it protects the fundamental right to protection of data of natural persons.
Future of data regulation in India:
The GDPR is being adopted at a time where India is arguably at a cusp regarding data privacy.
The August 2017 decision of the Supreme Court in Justice Puttusamy vs Union of India confirmed the existence of a fundamental right to privacy, recognised the concept of informational privacy and noted that legislation should be enacted to ensure enforceability against non-State actors (private entities).
The Justice Srikrishna Committee, established to make recommendations for a proposed data protection legislation in India, released a white paper on Data Protection Framework in India which utilises much of the GDPR’s terminology and approach.
Conclusion:
A future data protection legislation in India should be set by the standards set by the GDPR. GDPR compliance may be considered an opportunity for Indian companies to achieve early compliance with a potential Indian data privacy legislation.
Connecting the dots:
The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the latest new regulation to address the issue of data privacy. Discuss its key features. A future data protection legislation in India should be set by the standards set by the GDPR. Discuss.
NATIONAL
TOPIC:General studies 2:
Structure, organization and functioning of the Judiciary
Judicial reforms : Modernising Indian courts
Introduction:
The Indian judicial system suffers from case delay and the use of antiquated methods. The discourse on judicial reform remains focused on areas such as appointments and vacancies. Two areas that greatly affect court efficiency are: case listing practices and court infrastructure.
Number of cases listed per day:
It is not uncommon to see over 100 matters listed before a judge in a day. When a judge is pressed for time, not only does the quality of adjudication suffer but it also means that several cases will inevitably go unheard.
Matters listed towards the end (usually cases near the final stage of hearing) tend to be left over at disproportionate rates and often end up getting stuck in the system.
The uncertainty around which cases will come up for hearing means neither judges nor lawyers can plan their preparation. This situation compels lawyers to waste time waiting in court.
Registry staff must manage the massive task of re-listing leftover matters in an already bulging docket, instead of streamlining case flow.
There is a need to scientifically determine how many cases should be listed per day.
Court infrastructure:
Issues ranges from inadequate support staff for judges to the dearth of basic courtroom facilities.
Without research and secretarial support, judges are unable to perform their functions in a timely manner. For instance, in a private interview, a judge said that even though he managed to hear close to 70 cases in a day, it took two days for the stenographers to finish typing the orders.
A 2016 report published by the Supreme Court showed that existing infrastructure could accommodate only 15,540 judicial officers against the all-India sanctioned strength of 20,558.
The lack of infrastructure also raises serious concerns about access to justice.
A recent Vidhi study on district courts in the National Capital Region found that even basic needs such as drinking water, usable washrooms, seating and canteen facilities are often not available in court complexes.
Solutions:
Courts must become more open to applying management principles to optimise case movement and judicial time. In this, external support agencies competent in strategic thinking should be allowed to work with judicial officers to understand and help the institution function better.
Judicial policymakers will also have to expand their reliance on empirical data There appears to be little quantitative evidence available to back judicial policies, from how long cases at various stages actually stay in the case pipeline to audits of judicial infrastructure. Recording and analysing appropriate court-related data is thus the first step in addressing any problem that plagues courts — from arriving at reasonable case listing limits to improving infrastructure.
Court processes must be modernised, and the role of technology is critical. Courts have taken various initiatives over the years to digitise case records and filing; the case information system (CIS) 2.0 is currently being implemented across the country. But using technology in courts cannot remain limited to digitising records alone but must affect how cases actually move through the system. Initiatives such as CIS must be supplemented with file-tracking and knowledge management systems, to help courts achieve an optimal level of functioning.
Conclusion:
For courts in India to dispense speedy justice, there must be a change in leadership thought and the willingness to seek help where it is evidently required. Solutions for above challenges will require a fundamental shift in how courts are administered.
Connecting the dots:
A fundamental shift is required in the way courts are administered. Discuss.
(TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE)
Model questions: (You can now post your answers in comment section)
Q.1) The N. Chandrasekaran committee is related to which of the following:
