29 Aug 2022: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

CNA 29 Aug 2022:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
INDIAN SOCIETY
1. Frontier Nagaland
B. GS 2 Related
POLITY
1. Aadhar-Voter ID Linkage
2. Freebies by political parties
C. GS 3 Related
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
SOCIAL JUSTICE
1. Japan’s continuing struggle with gender parity
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. The cyber threat to mobile banking
F. Prelims Facts
1. Artemis 01
G. Tidbits
1. Swine Flu
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

A. GS 1 Related

Category: INDIAN SOCIETY

1. Frontier Nagaland

Syllabus: Federalism & Regionalism

Mains: Under development and demand for separate state

Context: The Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) has threatened to boycott the 2023 Assembly polls unless its demand for carving out a separate State from Nagaland is not fulfilled.

Why does ENPO demand Frontier Nagaland?

• The ENPO is the apex body of seven tribal organisations inhabiting six of Nagaland’s 16 districts.
• The six districts have a total of 20 of Nagaland’s 60 Assembly seats.
• The reason for such a demand is for development and welfare of the people in eastern Nagaland which has been stalled due to negligence by successive governments.
• There are 16 tribes in Nagaland. Of these,there are four dominant tribes: Aao, which controls 70 per cent of the government jobs and service sector,and the wealthy Lotha, Sima and Aangami tribes.
• There are six tribes under the ENPO in Eastern Nagaland, being situated on the Indo-Myanmar border, devoid of communication, were economically and educationally backward compared to those Advance tribes of Nagaland.
• The ENPO is seeking the approval and declaration of Frontier Nagaland in view of the delay in arriving at an agreement on the “Naga political issue”

Area Demanded by ENPO as separate state

Image Source: Northeast now

Way Forward:

• Taking into consideration their cultural, historical and territorial extent both state and the union government must negotiate with the tribes for an arrangement to realise social and political harmony, economic prosperity and protection of the life and property of all tribes and citizens of the states.
• The critical issues of development and governance deficit  must be addressed. 
• Decentralisation of powers to the tribal heads to facilitate governance and undertake large development projects.

Nut Graf: ENPO is demanding Frontier Nagaland on the developmental and tribal front by organising rallies and submitting petitions to the authorities. They are threatening to boycott any State or central election process unless their demand for a separate Frontier Nagaland State is fulfilled.  Those opposed to the Frontier Nagaland concept see it as a counter to the “Greater Nagalim” idea that seeks to bring all Naga-inhabited areas of the northeast and beyond under one administrative umbrella.

B. GS 2 Related

Category: POLITY

1. Aadhar-Voter ID Linkage

Syllabus:Representation of People’s Act

Mains: Electoral reforms in India

Context: Recently,  the Election Commission started a campaign to promote the linkage of Voter ID and Aadhaar.

Introduction:

• After recent amendments to Representation of the People Act, 1950 and Election commission’s (EC) campaign, various reports have surfaced online of instances where block level officers have asked individuals to link their Aadhaar with their Voter IDs, failing which their Voter IDs could be cancelled. 
• First days of the campaign saw almost 2.5 crore Aadhaar holders voluntarily submitting their details to the EC.

Is the linking of Aadhaar with Voter ID mandatory?

• The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill 2021 was passed in Parliament enabling the linking of electoral roll data with the Aadhaar ecosystem
• The bill amended certain provisions of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1950 and the  Representation of Peoples Act,1951.
• Section 23(4) was inserted in the Representation of the People Act, 1950, 
• It authorises the electoral registration officer to ask citizens already enrolled to furnish their Aadhaar numbers. This is done in order to curb the problem of multiple enrolment of the same person in different places. 
• To reflect this amendment, in June 2022, the government notified changes to the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. 
• Use of discretionary language throughout the amendments has been accompanied by assurances by both the government and the EC that linkage of the Aadhaar with Voter ID is optional.
• Ambiguities in Form 6B issued under the new Rule 26B have negated the element of choice that has been incorporated in the amendments.

Rationale behind this:

• To weed out duplication of voters, such as migrant workers who may have been registered more than once on the electoral rolls in different constituencies or for persons registered multiple times within the same constituency. 
• Aadhaar allows for biometric authentication, Aadhaar based authentication and verification is considered more reliable, quicker and cost efficient when compared to other IDs. At the end of 2021, 99.7% of the adult Indian population had an Aadhaar card. 
• It will assist in ensuring that only one Voter ID is issued per citizen of India.

Why is the mandatory linking of Aadhaar to the Voter ID an issue? 

• In the Puttaswamy judgement, the Supreme Court of India explored whether the mandatory linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts was constitutional or not.
• The Court in case of mandatory linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts observed that depriving a person of their right to property for non-linkage fell foul of the test of proportionality.
• Even though other means of verification and authentication are allowed,if the person does not hold an Aadhaar in case of voter verification, given the wide coverage of Aadhaar, the current design would in effect mandate Aadhaar linkage. 
• In this context, it needs to be considered whether requiring an Aadhaar holder to mandatorily provide Aadhaar for authentication or verification would not be considered violative of their informational autonomy (right to privacy) which would allow them to decide which official document they want to use for verification and authentication. 
• The Supreme Court in the Lal Babu Hussein case,1995, had held that the Right to vote cannot be disallowed by insisting only on four proofs of identity — voters can rely on any other proof of identity and obtain the right to vote. 

What are the operational difficulties?

• Verifying voter identity against Aadhar will only help in tackling duplication but will not remove voters who are not citizens of India from the electoral rolls as Aadhaar is only a proof of residence and not a proof of citizenship. 
• The estimate of error rates in biometric-based authentication differ widely. As per the UIDAI, Aadhaar-based biometric authentication had a 12% error rate. 
• A similar exercise undertaken in 2015 in Andhra and Telangana led to the disenfranchisement of around 30 lakh voters due to biometric authentication. The Supreme Court stalled the process of linkage then. 
• This could also lead to the linkage of Aadhaar’s “demographic” information with voter ID information, and lead to violation of the right to privacy and surveillance measures by the state.

Way Forward:

• A writ petition has been filed with the Supreme Court challenging the amendments as being violative of the right to privacy. The Supreme Court has transferred the writ to the Delhi High Court. 
• Government should clarify through correction in Form 6B that the linking is not mandatory.
• Enforceable data protection legislation to regulate how authentication data will be used. 

Read more on Arguments for and against Aadhar-Voter ID linking

Nut Graf: Aadhaar-voter ID linkage proposal fails to specify the extent of data sharing between the ECI and UIDAI databases. This move could be an effective way of improving electoral roll accuracy and voter participation. However, this should be voluntary, given the absence of a robust data protection law.

2. Freebies by political parties

Syllabus: Structure, organisation and functioning of the Judiciary

Mains: Issue of Freebies in India’s Electoral politics

Context: Recently, the Supreme Court referred to a three-judge Bench a series of petitions on the issue of pre poll promises by political parties.

Introduction:

• The Supreme Court referred to a three-judge Bench a series of petitions seeking a judicial direction that political parties who make “wild” promises of largesse should also reveal in their poll manifestos where they will get the money to pay for them. 
• The reference is a shift from the court’s own stand in the S. Subramaniam Balaji vs Tamil Nadu judgement of 2013.

S. Subramaniam Balaji vs Tamil Nadu, 2013:

• In 2011, during the run-up to the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, major political parties promised irrational freebies in their election manifesto.
• Mr. Balaji, a resident of Tamil Nadu, challenged the schemes  as expenditure to be incurred by the State from the exchequer was “unauthorised, impermissible and ultra vires the constitutional mandates as the money can be taken out of the Consolidated Fund of the State only for “public purposes”. 
• Also, the distribution of goods to only a certain section of people was violative of Article 14 of the Constitution.
• The State of Tamil Nadu argued that political parties are not the State and ‘freebies’ have no legal status. And states are implementing these promises as an obligation under the Directives Principles of State Policy to promote the welfare of its people. 
• The Supreme Court in its ruling said that only an individual candidate, not his party, can commit a ‘corrupt practice’ under section 123 of the Representation of the People (RP) Act by promising free gifts. The manifesto of a political party is a statement of its policy. 
  • Section 123 of the RP Act deals with ‘corrupt practices’- The provision says if any gift, offer or promise of gratification is made to voters directly or indirectly by a candidate or his agent is a ‘bribery’ and is considered  as  ‘corrupt practices’.
• However, the court agreed that freebies create an “uneven playing field” and directed the Election Commission to frame guidelines for the same in consultation with all the recognized political parties and make it a part of the Model Code of Conduct.

Significance of Court’s move to review the Balaji judgement:

• The Court is now worried that freebies promised to win elections could bleed the state finances dry which will create a situation wherein the government cannot provide basic amenities due to lack of funds and it is pushed towards bankruptcy.
• The Supreme Court has therefore decided to revisit the Balaji verdict.  
• The Supreme Court is exploring whether judicial parameters can be set on a purely political act of promising freebies.

Read more on Issue of Freebies in India’s Electoral politics

Nut Graf: Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana observed that there cannot be a dichotomy between a political party and its candidate.The party cannot escape liability for what a candidate promises. Revisiting the Balaji judgement will facilitate a transparent debate to make a conscious and unanimous decision to end ‘irrational freebies’.

C. GS 3 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

Category: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. The cyber threat to mobile banking

Syllabus: Science and Technology developments, application and their effect in everyday life.

Mains: Cybersecurity.

Context: The rising cases of cyberattacks on mobile banking.

Details:

• As per the Statista survey 2020, which covered 25 States of India, out of five thousand surveyed households, two-thirds reported owning a smartphone. Half of these said they transacted digitally, and around 31 percent had a mobile banking app. And approximately 14% said they used their mobile phones for banking-related purposes.
• This number further increased owing to the  COVID-19 pandemic.
• The benefits of convenience and speed in payments also played a role in accelerating this trend. However, it brings with it a threat of vulnerability on mobile devices.

Share of Indian households that used digital payments in 2020

Source: Statista

Associated threats:

• Kaspersky, a Global cybersecurity firm warns about increasing cyberattacks on smartphones in the Asia Pacific (APAC) as more people are adopting mobile banking in the region. Nearly half a million attacks were reported in the APAC region.
• As per Kaspersky’s senior malware researcher, mobile banking Trojans are dangerous malware that has the potential to steal money from mobile users’ accounts by disguising the malicious application as a legitimate one and luring unsuspecting mobile users to install it. 
  • A Trojan is malicious software or code that seems to be legitimate but can take control of the host device.
  • Some examples of Trojans are:
    • Anubis has been targeting Android operators since 2017. It infects the mobile through high-ranking and legitimate-looking malicious apps on Google Play.
    • Roaming Mantis targets mobile banking users and spreads malicious code by hijacking domain name systems (DNS) through smishing exploits. Smishing means phishing messages sent through SMS.
• The interoperability of various platforms further compounds the problems.
• The inadequate cybersecurity and the shortage of human talent in banks can potentially lead to rising number of cyberattacks on smartphones.
• The shortage of engineering, technology, and data security experts in the banks further accentuates the problem.

Measures Ahead:

• One needs to be extremely careful and cautious while using mobile phones for business transactions. 
• The users should also religiously follow usual digital hygiene practices like rebooting and regular phone updates.
• Consumers should also ensure they use mobile banking only when the device is connected to a secure VPN. 
• The iOS 16 users can switch on the ‘Lockdown Mode’ to restrict the device’s functionality and secure it from any potential malware attacks.
• The experts and the bank professionals should be employed. Moreover, there should be appropriate skilling, re-skilling, and up-skilling of the workforce to keep pace with the technology.

For more information on cybersecurity, read here:  Cyber Security – Definition, Cyber Attacks, Need and Laws

Related Links: Global Cybersecurity – India in Top 10: RSTV – Big Picture

National Cyber Security Policy: Need, Vision, Mission and Objectives

Nut Graf: The use of mobile banking has increased the speed and efficiency of transaction manifold making life easier for the public. But it has come with its own set of challenges of cyberattack. All the stakeholders- the consumers, service providers, and the banks should cautiously look at the matter so that the users are not financially impacted.

Q1. Which one of the following is not a joint military exercise conducted by 
India with the US? (Level-Medium)

Q2. Which of the following animals is not naturally found in the Kaziranga National
 Park? (Level-Difficult)

Q3. Which of the following statements are correct with respect to functioning of 
the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)? (Level-Medium)

Q4. Which of the following statement/s is/are correct with respect to Stephan's 
Quintet? (Level-Difficult)

Q5. In the context of wearable technology, which of the following tasks is/are 
accomplished by wearable devices? (CSE Prelims-2019) (Level- Medium)

Read the previous CNA here.

CNA 29 Aug 2022:- Download PDF Here