22 Aug 2022: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
GOVERNANCE
1. Facial recognition technology and Mass Surveillance
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. Nepal’s new citizenship law
C. GS 3 Related
INTERNAL SECURITY
1. Government Crackdown on Chinese firms
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
POLITY
1. Making bail impossible
2. What next on data protection?
F. Prelims Facts
G. Tidbits
1. Alpha ship
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

A. GS 1 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

B. GS 2 Related

Category: GOVERNANCE

1. Facial recognition technology and Mass Surveillance

Syllabus:Important Aspects of Governance, Transparency & Accountability

Mains: Uses and Concerns of Facial Recognition 

Context: : In a recent Right to Information (RTI) response by Delhi Police revealed that they treat matches of above 80% similarity generated by its facial recognition technology (FRT) system as positive results. 

What is facial recognition? 

• Facial recognition is a biometric technology that uses distinctive features on the face to identify and distinguish an individual.
• Facial recognition technology has been introduced primarily for two purposes:
  • As a compare and contrast tool meant for identification based on existing information or,
  • To create a repository on the basis of which the process of identification can be enhanced.

 Delhi Police and facial recognition technology: 

• The Delhi Police was first authorized to use FRT for the purpose of tracing and identifying missing children following the direction of the Delhi High Court in Sadhan Haldar vs NCT of Delhi, 2018 
• Delhi Police were also using FRT for police investigations specifically during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, the 2021 Red Fort violence, and the 2022 Jahangirpuri riots.
• Recent RTI responses by the Delhi Police have revealed that matches above 80% similarity are treated as positive results while matches below 80% similarity are treated as false positive results which require additional “corroborative evidence”.
• Delhi Police is also matching the photographs/videos against photographs collected under Section three and four of the Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920, which has now been replaced by the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022. 

Concerns with widening use of FRT:

• According to ‘Project Panoptic’ by Internet Freedom Foundation, which tracks the spread of FRT in India, there are at least 124 government authorized FRT projects in India.  
• The categorisation of below 80% results as false positive instead of negative may still result in further investigation. Thus, people who share familial facial features, such as in extended families or communities, could end up being targeted. 
• As per various studies, accuracy rates of FRT fall greatly based on race and gender. This poor accuracy can result in a false positive, where a person is misidentified as someone else, or a false negative where a person is not verified as themselves.
  • False negative results can lead to exclusion from accessing essential schemes which may use FRT as means of providing access.
  • For Example: The failure of the biometric authentication under Aadhaar has led to many people being excluded from receiving essential government services which in turn has led to starvation deaths. 
• Extensive use of FRT can facilitate state-sponsored mass surveillance resulting in privacy violations and lead to wrongful arrests resulting in the violation of their fundamental right to privacy.
• There are no safeguards to ensure that authorities use FRT only for the purposes that they have been authorized to as India does not have a data protection law or any specific regulations on FRT to protect against misuse. 

Read more on Uses and Concerns of Facial Recognition 

Nut Graf: The widening of the purpose for FRT use clearly demonstrates an instance of ‘function creep’ wherein a technology or system gradually widens its scope from its original purpose to encompass and fulfill wider functions. The misuse of FRT presents two issues related to misidentification and mass surveillance which can result in violation of the right to privacy.

C. GS 3 Related

Category: INTERNAL SECURITY

1. Government Crackdown on Chinese firms

Syllabus: Role of External State & Non-State Actors in Creating Challenges to Internal Security

Mains: Economic impact of tight regulations on Chinese firms.

Context: A major Chinese telecom company ‘Huawei’ is planning to downsize operations at its research and development (R&D) facilities in India.

Why is Huawie downsizing?

• Huawei is facing a series of government actions, including income tax searches and audits of 20 years of company records, investigations into “national security” aspects of its operations.
• In July 2022, the income tax department filed a case against top officials of the company, including its chief executive officer of India’s marketing operations for allegedly withholding crucial  information necessary for computation of taxes and rerouting huge amounts to the parent company as dividends, reducing its taxable income in India. 
• A look-out circular was issued against its chief executive officer, India’s marketing operations, which prevented him from traveling abroad.
• It was also excluded from recently held 5G telecom trials.

Informal restrictions:

• The Indian government, especially the union Education and Home Affairs Ministries , have placed informal restrictions on any collaborations by “critical ecosystem players’ ‘ such as universities, start-ups and analytics firms with Huawei.
• Huawei’s experts from China are not able to get visas to visit India, ostensibly due to reciprocal restrictions by the Chinese government. As a result, Huawei has already moved some of its critical projects back to China and redeployed Indian teams to existing projects. 

Consequences of Downsizing:

• Without the 5G market in India, Huawie is out of the telecom market to service 2G, 3G and 4G networks as it isn’t on the Indian government’s list of trusted partners.
• Existing projects are being completed and no new projects are being contracted at present. 
• Huawei invested over $150 million to set up an R&D facility near Bengaluru in the year 2000. It currently employs 3,500 engineers who work on diverse products and development activities. The move to downsize can affect these jobs that it has created in India over 20 years.
• With plans to cut down the number of software engineers and product design teams, and another possible plan to lease out parts of its sprawling campus, the future of other jobs also appears to be on the line.
• These actions could “harm” Chinese interests, indicating that investment in India and the “Make in India” programme could be affected.

Crackdown on Chinese Firms:

• These companies are being investigated for a host of alleged offenses like, wrongfully availing of duty exemptions,tax evasion and money laundering.
• The case against Huawei is part of a series of government measures aimed at checking Chinese corporate influence in the country. This comes especially after the Violence in the Galwan Valley on the India-China border.
• Apart from Huawei, telecom majors Vivo,ZTE Oppo and Xiaomi and other Chinese companies have had their offices searched by the Income Tax Department and the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence. 
• Several companies have their data saved in cloud servers, where information about the Indian entities’ accounts is directly being shared with Chinese parent companies.

Nut Graf: The government has been cracking down Chinese firms since the beginning of 2020 — first by banning Chinese mobile applications and then by finding Chinese firms violating Indian laws by allegedly evading income tax and laundering money.

D. GS 4 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

F. Prelims Facts

1. Dwarfing Disease

Syllabus: Agriculture-Major Crops Cropping Patterns in Various Parts of the Country

Prelims: Plant Pathogens and Diseases 

Context: Farmers from Punjab have reported a mystery “dwarfing” disease of paddy that agricultural scientists are still to identify.

Key Details:

• Over the past few weeks, many farmers in Punjab, Haryana and high-yielding Terai plains of Uttarakhand and western UP have reported a mystery “dwarfing” disease of paddy.
• The disease leads to stunting of paddy plants; the infected fields have these alongside plants with normal height and regular growth.
• The stunted plants in the infected fields have 33-60% of what should be their normal height after one month.
• Dwarfing is more visible in fields where paddy has been transplanted as opposed to directly seeded.
• Agricultural scientists are yet to identify the cause of the disease.

G. Tidbits

Nothing here for today!!!

H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions

Q1. Which of the following statements with respect to Madras is/are correct?
 (Level-Medium)

1. Madras was ruled by the Vijayanagaras and they appointed chieftains known as Nayaks who ruled different regions in the province, almost independently.
2. Damarla Venkatadri Nayaka was the chieftain when the British East India Company arrived to set up its trade and other commercial activities.
3. Francis Day and Andrew Cogan, secured a grant for a strip of land that belonged to the Raja of Chandragiri
4. During World War I, Madras was the only Indian city to be bombarded by the German light cruiser SMS Emden.

Options:

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

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: d

Explanation: History of Madras

• The present-day city of Chennai started in 1644 as an English settlement known as Fort St. George. 
• The region was then a part of the Vijayanagara Empire, then headquartered at Chandragiri in present-day Andhra Pradesh.
• Vijayanagaras appointed chieftains known as Nayaks who ruled different regions in the province, almost independently.
• Damarla Venkatadri Nayaka was in-charge of the area of present Chennai city when the English East India Company arrived to establish a factory in the area. The British secured a Grant by Venkatadri Nayaka giving over to the EIC a three-mile long strip of land in the fishing village of Madrasapattinam.
• On August 22, 1639, the deed was signed by EIC’s Francis Day accompanied by his interpreter Beri Thimmappa and superior Andrew Cogan.
• During World War I, Madras was the only Indian city to be bombarded by the German light cruiser SMS Emden.

Q2. Consider the following statements: (Level-Easy)

1. Aadhaar number is a 12-digit random number issued by the UIDAI to the residents of India
2. Linking of Aadhaar with the voter identity card is Compulsory
3. Voter ID would be canceled if it is not linked to Aadhaar.

Which of the statements given above is/are incorrect?

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

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: c

Explanation:

• Statement 01 is correct, Aadhaar number is a 12-digit random number issued by the UIDAI (“Authority”) to the residents of India after satisfying the verification process laid down by the Authority.
• Statement 02 is incorrect, Linking of Aadhaar with the voter identity card is Voluntary.
• Statement 03 is incorrect, No entry in electoral roll shall be deleted on the ground of non-submission of Aadhaar number.Therefore, Voter ID would not be canceled if it is not linked to Aadhaar.

Q3. Who among the following are eligible for getting free legal services? 
(Level-Medium)

1. Women and Children
2. Living Freedom Fighters
3. Minorities
4. Disabled Persons
5. Retired Military Personnel (RMP)

Options:

1. 1, 2, 3 and 4 only
2. 2, 3 and 5 only
3. 1 and 4 only
4. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: c

Explanation: Below mentioned sections are entitled to Free Legal Services

Image Source:nalsa.gov

Read more on  National Legal Services Authority of India

Q4. Consider the following statements: (Level-Medium)

1. He was instrumental in the foundation of the All India Depressed Classes League
2. He appeared before the Hammond Commission at Ranchi and demanded, for the first time,voting rights for the Dalits
3. He was arrested for his active participation in the Quit India Movement launched by the Indian National Congress.

The above statements best describe:

1. Anant Laxman Kanhere
2. Babu Genu
3. Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar
4. Jagjivan Ram

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: d

Explanation:

• Jagjivan Ram, fondly known as Babuji, was a freedom fighter, a national leader, a crusader of social justice, a champion of depressed classes and an outstanding Parliamentarian.
• In 1935, he assisted with the formation of the All-India Depressed Classes League. 
• He pushed Dalit leaders to fight for social reforms and also demand political representation. In 1935, he appeared before the Hammond Commission at Ranchi and demanded, for the first time, voting rights for the Dalits.
• Inspired by Gandhiji he played a crucial role in the freedom struggle. He was arrested in 1942, for his active participation in the Quit India Movement launched by the Indian National Congress.

Read more about Babu Jagjivan Ram

Q5. Consider the following pairs: (Level-Difficult) (CSE Prelims 2022)

Region often mentioned in the news:                                          Country

Anatolia:                                                                                             Turkey

Amhara:                                                                                              Ethiopia.

Cabo Delgado:                                                                                    Spain.

Catalonia:                                                                                            Italy.

How many pairs given above are correctly matched?

1. Only one pair
2. Only two pairs
3. Only three pairs
4. All four pairs

CHECK ANSWERS:-

Answer: b

Explanation: 

• Pair 1 is correctly matched: Anatolia, called Asia Minor (Lesser Asia) by the Romans, the land is the Asian part of modern Turkey. It lies across the Aegean Sea to the east of Greece and is usually known by its ancient name Anatolia.

Image Source: Britannica

• Pair 2 is correctly matched: The Amhara Region is a regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara people. 
• Pair 3 is incorrectly matched: Cabo Delgado is the northernmost province of Mozambique.There is an ongoing conflict in the region the mainly fought between militant Islamists and jihadists attempting to establish an Islamic state in the area and Mozambican security forces.

Image Source: BBC

• Pair 4 is incorrectly matched:The autonomous community of Catalonia occupies a triangular area in the northeastern corner of Spain. It is bordered by France and Andorra to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the east.
• From the 17th century it was the center of a separatist movement that sometimes-dominated Spanish affairs.

Image Source: BBC

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. Huawei’s role in the global telecom market has become increasingly controversial on security grounds. Examine the issue in detail. (250 words; 15 marks) (GS-2, International Relations & Internal Security)
2. Facial Recognition Technology offers numerous advantages but its usage in law enforcement has raised serious ethical and human rights concerns. Elucidate. (250 words; 15 marks)(GS-3, Science and Technology and Internal Security)