UPSC 2017: Comprehensive News Analysis - June 11

Context

• The government is mulling a new data protection law to protect personal data of citizens
• It will also create an enabling framework to allow public data to be mined effectively

Significance of the move

• It comes amid the debate over security of individuals’ private data, including Aadhaar-linked biometrics
• Owing to the rising number of cyber-crimes in the country, the law becomes even more important
• The working agency: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEIT) is working on the new data protection law

Aim of the law

• To ensure that personal data of individuals remain protected and is not misused
• To unlock the data economy

Beneficial data

• A lot of benefits can be derived from the data that is publicly available, by using technology and big data analytics
• The information can be used for the benefit of both individuals and companies

No regulatory body

• Currently, India does not have a separate law for data protection
• There is no body that specifically regulates data privacy
• Nominal data protection law in India in the form of the Reasonable Security Guidelines under Section 43A of the Information Technology Act
• However, it is a toothless law and is never used

What is Consumer Protection Act?

• It was enacted in 2015
• As per the Act, the disclosure of personal information given in confidence is an unfair trade practice

Privacy: A fundamental right

• Privacy is a fundamental human right
• It is recognised as such in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• India has ratified the UN’s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which contains an obligation to protect privacy

In news:

• India and Mauritius signed a pact to institutionalize cooperation between the parliaments of the two countries.
• Key point: the relations between the two countries are based on centuries of cultural, linguistic, social and spiritual links that transcend extraneous considerations.

Context: recent decision by Saudi Arabia and some other countries to break diplomatic relations with Qatar.

Background information: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Bahrain announced that they were cutting diplomatic ties and closing all connectivity links with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

In news:

• India asked countries in the Gulf region to resolve the Qatar crisis through constructive dialogue, well-established international principles of mutual respect, sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries.
• GCC countries and India: over eight million Indian expatriates living and working in these countries, India is having vital stakes in the regional peace and stability.

C. GS3 Related

Category: ECONOMICS

Context: Ongoing farmers’ agitation in many States

In news:

• The Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA), an agriculture think tank, has suggested to the Centre to consider its seven-point formula to redress farmers’ distress across the country.
• Some of the major recommendations includes:
  1. Assuring a decent income for the farmers was vital, and, therefore, the recommendations of the National Commission on Farmers (Swaminathan Commission) on the minimum support prices (MSP) for crops must be fixed at levels of at least 50% more than the weighted average cost of production.
  2. Establishing easily accessible procurement centres .
  3. Opening of domestic and international markets for free trade: which could help farmers in realising better profit prospects.
  4. Operating futures markets across all farm produce:another effective strategy to offset the uncertainties associated with price fluctuations of agricultural commodities. Futures contract route helped farmers decide on trade for a standing crop at a future date at a price agreed before the harvest.
  5. Establishing a national network of Panchayat level rural growth centres that would create village-level agri-businesses and connect farmers with institutions, banks, technologies and markets.