02 Jul 2020: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

B. GS 2 Related

Category: HEALTH

1. Convalescent plasma for those not responding to steroids: govt.

Context:

As per an advisory issued by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (Biological Division), Convalescent plasma may be considered for COVID-19 patients with moderate symptoms whose condition is not improving (oxygen requirement is progressively increasing) despite the use of steroids.

Convalescent Plasma therapy has been covered in 11^th April 2020 PIB Summary and Analysis. Click here to read.

E. Editorials

Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Police reform and the crucial judicial actor

Context:

• Police violence in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu.

Details:

• The fatal violence by the police is a reminder of the problem of police violence and how little reform has happened in the domain of policing.

Judicial measures taken:

• The Supreme Court of India through its various judgments has been working towards police reforms in India.
• In cases such as Joginder Kumar v. State of UP and D.K. Basu v. State of West Bengal, important guidelines were passed to try and secure two rights in the context of any state action — a right to life and a right to know. Through the guidelines, the Court sought to curb the power of arrest, as well as ensure that an accused person is made aware of the grounds of the arrest.
  • These judicial guidelines were given statutory backing through the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2008.
• The Supreme Court, in the Prakash Singh v. Union of India case, pushed through new legislation for governing police forces to be passed by States across India. A key component of the new legislation was a robust setup for accountability that contemplated a grievance redress mechanism.
• Judicial concern with police violence is also witnessed in the judicial support for scientific investigations. The support for techniques such as narcoanalysis, ensuring video recording of investigations, passing orders for installing closed-circuit television cameras inside police stations, is based on the possibility of police employing physical force to obtain evidence. Through technology, the hope is to gradually delegitimise and dismantle a set of archaic practices reliant upon the use of force as a means to extract evidence.

Concerns:

Custodial deaths:

• Despite several existing guidelines and laws, there are reports suggesting that across India there are as many as five custodial deaths a day.
• This may point towards a culture of impunity among the state actors.

Lack of implementation:

• Constitutional courts have tried to change the reality of police brutality for well over two decades. The judiciary’s approach of simply passing directions and guidelines has not been very effective.
• Despite criminal laws being struck down as unconstitutional, they continue to be enforced in various parts of the country by local police.

Systemic failure:

• The practice of remanding accused persons to further custody (both the police and judicial), has become the norm instead of being an exception.
• The overworked magistrate, struggling with an ever-increasing number of cases, is very often in a rush to get done with the “remand case”, rather than treat an arrested person with the care and consideration that he/she deserves and is entitled to.

Lack of police reforms:

• The issue of police reform ranks very low in the scheme of things for governments. There is continued institutional apathy towards the issue of police reform. There was inordinate delay in implementing guidelines issued through the Prakash Singh case and still, several States remain in contempt of the Supreme Court’s judgment.

Way forward:

Better implementation:

• Rather than limiting itself to passing more guidelines, constitutional courts must seriously contend with the concrete cases that come their way and take a hard stand.
• Passing compensation claims or ensuring timely prosecutions in such cases could help break the sense of impunity. The Courts could also consider sanctions at a larger scale and impose monetary penalties at the district level, to drive home the message that the erring actions of one officer must be seen as a failure of the force itself.

Strengthening the magistrate:

• The constitutional courts could reorient their guidelines to try and change the practices of magistrates, over whom they exercise powers of superintendence.
• The ordinary magistrate is the judicial actor wielding real power to realise a substantial change in police practices.
  • It is the local magistrate before whom all arrested and detained persons must be produced within 24 hours, and thus becomes the point of first contact for a citizen with the constitutional rule of law.

2. How not to tame the digital dragon

Context:

• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) directing a ban on 59 smartphone applications.

Details:

• There has been an argument that the ban was necessary due to China’s aggression along the border and due to specific threats to India’s cybersecurity.
• Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 permits the blocking of information that falls within specific grounds and this power can be invoked when it is necessary and expedient.

Concerns:

• The author argues that the move of the central government, though aimed at China, also has an impact on Indian citizens given that this web censorship has impacted many users.
• The author claims that beyond the geopolitical and economic impact, the move also raises concerning questions regarding its legality and the measure’s impact on democratic norms.

Lack of transparency:

• There has been a lack of transparency in website blocking.
• The recommendations by the Ministry of Home Affairs have been the reason for the current ban. The grounds for the ban have not been clearly stated.
• The legal order stating the ban has not yet been published or been made publicly available. Disclosure of this order is necessary because the nature of the action of blocking impacts the right not only of the owners of these smartphone applications, but the public’s fundamental right to receive information also.
• The imperative for disclosure becomes clearer on a joint reading of the Shreya Singhal and Anuradha Bhasin judgments of the Supreme Court.
  • In the Shreya Singhal case, while examining the constitutionality of Section 66A, the Supreme Court, upholding the blocking powers of the government, reasoned that the writ remedies would always be available to an aggrieved person. Hence, to approach a High Court in a writ, the petitioner would require the availability of the legal order.
  • In the Anuradha Bhasin judgment, the need for public disclosure prior to placing any restriction on Internet access (of any scope or nature) has been expressly directed by the Supreme Court.

Non-adherence to procedure:

• The ban has been imposed without any form of pre-decisional hearing. Such a process would have required a show-cause notice to be served, offering the aggrieved party a detailed opportunity to defend itself; this would have been followed by a detailed legal order.

Way forward:

• Privacy and data protection concerns must be legitimately addressed through appropriate legislation at the earliest.
• There is a need to commence an exploration into whether investments and operational control pose cybersecurity concerns or intersect with sectors of foundational and emerging technologies. This may be done through legislation and creation of an institutional process like the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
• The government should act within the bounds of law.

Category: ECONOMY

1. Reforming India’s digital policy

Context:

• The author analyzes the impending reform measures under consideration in the digital services sector in India.

Background:

Pandemic crisis:

• The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in drastic drops in economic growth rates globally and the competition for foreign investment is intensifying, spurred on by national campaigns to shift supply chains.
• Foreign direct investment (FDI) is falling. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, in its latest World Investment Report, has projected that FDI to developing Asian economies could drop by as much as 45%.

Details:

• One sector that is expected to buck the recessionary trend is digital services.
• Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, investments in digital services continue to flow at record levels globally, outpacing investment in nearly every other sector.

India is an ideal destination for increased FDI flows in the digital services sector given its huge and increasingly digitised population and the potential for innovative start-ups

Reforms in India:

• Currently, there are three pending reform measures under consideration that are likely to affect India’s growth trajectory in digital services for years to come — the Personal Data Protection Bill (PDPB), the e-commerce policy, and the Information Technology Act Amendments.
• The policy would have to delicately balance the following aspects:
  • Protecting the domestic market for domestic companies while encouraging FDI into India.
  • Prioritising government access to data while promoting data privacy.
  • It should promote innovation through increased competition and create an environment that is friendly towards start-ups.

Conclusion:

• Indian government policies will be key determinants to attract new investment, foster Indian innovation, and expand its exporting prowess and cement India’s position as a global leader in information technology.

Q1. “Striped Hairstreak” and “Elusive Prince” recently seen in news are:

 Q2. Consider the following statements with respect to Central Zoo Authority:

Q3. Birbal Nath committee recommendations are associated with which of the following?

Q4. Consider the following statements with respect to Namdapha National Park:

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. In the light of the recent incident of police violence in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu, examine the associated concerns with respect to police violence and suggest suitable corrective measures in this direction. (15 marks, 250 words)
2. The impending reform measures under consideration in the digital services sector in India will have to delicately balance the often contradictory objectives. Comment. (10 marks, 150 words)

Read the previous CNA here.