07 Jun 2022: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

E. Editorials

Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Taking steps to ensure sex workers’ rights

Syllabus: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Mains: Discuss the right to dignity in India.

Context:

The bench of the Supreme Court issued directions in Budhadev Karmaskar v. State of West Bengal and Ors., a case pertaining to the brutal murder of a sex worker in 1999. The article discusses the recommendations in detail.

Background:

• In 1999, a sex worker had been brutally murdered for refusing to have sexual intercourse with the appellant. 
• It led the courts to not only convict him for the act that he had committed but also to consider the bigger picture of the plight of sex workers, prostitutes, and the forced victims of the sex trade in society. 
• The apex court passed the landmark judgment for the protection of sex workers’ lives by giving a wide interpretation of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution and stabilizing the Right to Dignity of Life being accessible to them and their off-springs as well, which also led to the Supreme Court to contemplate on the regulation of prostitution under Indian jurisdiction.

Recommendations by the Supreme Court of India:

• The Panel of the apex court of India has provided 10 recommendations to ensure the rights of sex workers.
• The centre has expressed its objections regarding some of the recommendations and the centre has to provide a response before the next hearing of the court.
• The six recommendations that the Supreme Court has directed the government to implement are as follows:
  • Sensitization: It has been noticed that the attitude of the police to sex workers is often brutal and violent. It is as if they are a class whose rights are not recognized, hence, there is a need for sensitization.
  • Identities should not be revealed: The court said the media should take utmost care to not reveal the identities of sex workers, during arrest, raid, and rescue operations, whether as victims or accused, and not publish or telecast any photo that would result in disclosure of such identities.
  • Medical assistance: Immediate medical assistance should be provided to the sex workers who are victims of sexual assault.
  • Health measures as evidence: The bench also made it clear that the use of any health measures (contraceptives) should not be construed by the police as evidence of offense by sex workers.
  • Educate sex workers: The bench recommended that the central and the state governments should provide education to sex workers about their rights and the legality of sex work as well.
  • Release sex workers: The panel recommended that the adult workers who were kept in ITPA against their will should be released.

Objections by the Central Government:

There are four recommendations on which the central government has expressed the reservations. They are discussed below:

• Criminal actions against sex workers:
  • Sex workers are entitled to equal protection from the law. Criminal law must apply equally in all cases, on the basis of ‘age’ and ‘consent’. When it is clear that the sex worker is an adult and is participating with consent, the police must refrain from interfering or taking any criminal action. 
  • It implies that being a sex worker voluntarily is not an offense until any assault is reported by the sex worker and the words ‘abuse’ and ‘prostitution’ also have different meanings. 
  • Hence, it requires an appropriate definition of ‘abuse of persons’ and ‘sexual exploitation’ so that the enforcing agencies do not misuse the terms.
• Only running a brothel is unlawful:
  • It also stated that the sex workers should not be arrested, penalized, harassed, or victimized in raids on brothels since voluntary sex work is not illegal and only running the brothel is unlawful.
  • The brothel is used to imply a place that is used for the purposes of sexual exploitation or abuse for the gain of two or more sex workers.
  • There should be a policy or act to decide whether two or more sex workers living together for mutual gain are criminalized or not.
• Children of sex workers should not be separated from their mothers:
  • The Court also ordered that the child of a sex worker should not be separated from the mother merely on the ground that she is in the sex trade.
  • If a minor is found living in a brothel or with sex workers, it should not be presumed that the child was trafficked.
  • The Supreme Court has not mandated any separation of the child from the mother, it presumes trafficking. 
  • The judge has recommended the rescue of a child from the brothel and he or she should be sent to any child care under the Juvenile Justice Act. 
  • Hence, this recommendation should be considered to ensure child welfare.
• Representatives:
  • According to the fourth recommendation, the sex workers or their representatives should be involved in the decision-making or in the drafting of reforms. 
  • This will ensure faster and more effective rehabilitation of the sex workers by active enforcement.

Way Forward:

• According to the ITPA Act, carrying out sex work outside the notified areas such as religious places, hospitals, educational institutions, etc. is not punishable. The ITPA Act also defines prostitution as the sexual exploitation or abuse of persons for commercial purposes. How this act is then allowed anywhere?
• Hence there should be a proper demarcation between prostitution and the work of sex workers.
• The government should ban prostitution and allow voluntary sex work with certain conditions.
• The directions by the Supreme Court should be used as an opportunity to improve the conditions of the sex workers and also bring clarity regarding laws and policies.

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. A silver moment to propel a Bay of Bengal dream

Syllabus: GS: 2: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting  India’s interests.

Mains: Critically evaluate the performance of BIMSTEC.

Context:

The article discusses the achievements, issues, and measures to be taken to push BIMSTEC forward.

Background:

• BIST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand – Economic Cooperation) was formed at a meeting in Jun 1997 in Bangkok. It has completed 25 years on June 6.
• Myanmar was admitted in Dec 1997 and the organization was renamed BIMST-EC. 
• The grouping expanded when Nepal and Bhutan were admitted in Feb 2004. 
• The grouping’s name was changed to BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) at the 1st Summit Meeting held in Bangkok in Jul 2004.

Overview:

• When BIMSTEC was created, America was dominating the international platform. In the 21st century, the United States and China dominate geopolitics, and geo-economics thereby creating new tensions and opportunities as well.
• BIMSTEC has rejuvenated itself and is viewed as the instrument of regional cooperation and integration. 
• BIMSTEC should recreate the spirit of achieving its stated goals and decisions that were shaped during the Kathmandu Summit.

Achievements so far:

There are significant achievements of BIMSTEC. Some of them are mentioned below:

• Charter:
  • BIMSTEC has created a charter for itself that defines the visions, and functions of the grouping and also secure a legal personality.
• Areas of cooperation:
  • The grouping has seven sectors of priority and each country serves as the lead for the assigned sector.
• Summits:
  • Post-2014, BIMSTEC has started holding the summits and meetings of foreign ministers and succeeded in holding five summits successfully so far. At present, BIMSTEC holds regular summits once in two years.
• Progress in focus areas:
  • The grouping has made significant progress in the areas of combating terrorism, forging security cooperation, and creating mechanisms and practices for the better management of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
• Institutions:
  • There are certain institutions such as Energy Center and the Center on Weather and Climate Change. They push regional cooperation forward.
• Crises:
  • The grouping has witnessed many crises such as the Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh due to the result of oppression by the Myanmar military. 
  • The military coup by Myanmar led to the boycott of Myanmar by several institutions.
  • Recently, the grouping also witnessed a severe economic crisis in Sri Lanka.

Issues with BIMSTEC:

• Inability to produce FTA:
  • One of the failures of BIMSTEC’s slow progress is the inability to produce a comprehensive free trade agreement. 
  • Seven agreements are needed to operationalize the FTA but only two are prepared yet.
• Connectivity issue:
  • There is a connectivity issue due to infrastructure energy, the digital and financial domain, and institutions that bring people closer together for trade, tourism, and cultural exchanges. 
  • Very limited progress has been made so far despite the Master Plan for Connectivity support provided by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
  • All the connectivity established so far is credited to the initiatives taken by India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal.
• Financial resources:
  • More financial support is needed to expand regional connectivity to a greater extent.
• Some pending projects:
  • A little movement toward creating the BIMSTEC development fund.
  • No work has been done on Blue Economy yet.
  • Business chambers and corporate leaders are not fully occupied with the activities of BIMSTEC yet. Hence, the grouping is largely in the hands of experts and officials.
  • The involvement of the ‘Third Space’ needs to be expanded significantly.

Way Forward:

• The grouping works in the direction of achieving the visions of the Bay of Bengal Community (BOBC) which has the potential to play a vital role in deepening the linkages between Southeast Asia and South Asia.
• Synergy should be established between the newly created Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for prosperity and BIMSTEC to accelerate the growth and development of the region.
• Three members of BIMSTEC have greater responsibility. Bangladesh as the host of the BIMSTEC Secretariat; Thailand as the representative of Southeast Asia; and India as the largest state in South Asia should work towards speeding up the progress of BIMSTEC.

Category: EDUCATION

1. The need for digital cooperation

Syllabus: GS: 2: Education, Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Mains: Critically evaluate online learning and distance education in India.

Context:

The article discusses the recent regulations of UGC on international collaboration efforts and online and distance learning education in India.

Background:

• The University Grants Commission has approved regulations where Indian and foreign higher education institutions can now offer joint or dual degrees and twinning programs.
• The UGC has laid down some stipulations on which colleges can apply for this kind of program. 
• The criteria for Indian educational institutes for this scheme is that they must have a minimum score of 3.01 or be in the top 100 in the university category of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF). 
• The college could also figure in the top 1000 of Times Higher Education or QS World University ranking.
• Foreign universities should be in the top 1000 of Times Higher Education or QS World University ranking to be eligible.
• The pandemic has made Information and Communication Technology very important in the world of education. But, the regulations of UGC for twinning programs do not allow for online learning and open & distance learning.

Distance learning in India:

• In 2020, the National Education Policy suggested that there should be more Online and Distance Learning Programs in order to increase the gross enrolment ratio in Higher Education Institutes (HEIs).
• Distance learning has certain benefits that are mentioned below:
  • It provides access to the students living in remote areas.
  • It also provides education to those who cannot pursue higher education due to economic, social, or professional constraints. 
  • It also makes it easier for those employees who want to pursue higher education as a part-time course for better opportunities in their careers.
  • These programs are more affordable compared to regular courses.
  • It is more prevalent among disadvantaged groups.

Initiatives for Distance Learning:

• Distance enrolment contributes 11.1% to the total enrollment in higher education. The UGC and other reputed institutes have been sponsoring online education in India through various initiatives such as MOOCs, SWAYAM, NPTEL, etc.
• The universities and colleges are centrally funded under the RUSA and TEQIP-III programs to create and strengthen infrastructure for online and digital education.
• In the Union Budget, an announcement had been made to create a Digital University.
• On the one hand, these initiatives are promoted by the government initiatives, and on the other hand, the UGC is keeping Online and Distance Learning out of the ambit of the international collaboration efforts.

The benefit of International Collaboration:

• According to the findings of the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE), approximately 49,348 students from international countries are enrolled in the courses offered by the Higher Education Institutes (HEIs).
• The largest share is contributed by our neighbouring countries: Nepal, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Bhutan. 
• This collaboration will increase the enrollment of international students in India and will provide benefits to the financially constrained HEIs.

Disadvantages:

• Grants to Central Universities have increased from Rs. 7,643 crore to Rs. 9,420 crore for higher education. The funds for IITs and IIMs have also increased by Rs. 658.9 crore and Rs. 177.9 respectively. 
• The state-funded institutes do not match these central level findings and lag behind. They also do not perform well in the ranking system.
• Now, they are also kept outside of the opportunity of international collaboration efforts. This is going to increase the central-state divide.

Way Forward:

• The policies by the UGC should be revisited in relation to the international collaboration efforts.
• It should look at the needs of the current education system so that students studying in State-sponsored HEIs and opting for ODL and online education are not deprived of benefits in India.

Context: India successfully tested the Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) Agni-4, which met all parameters.

Agni-4:

• Agni-4 is an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile.
• Agni-IV is the fourth in the Agni series of missiles  – earlier known as Agni II prime – developed by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO). 
• The missile is a two-stage weapon system and is road-mobile.
• The Agni-5 is India’s only Inter-continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) with a range of over 5,000 km.

Significance of  Agni-4:

• Agni-4 reaffirms India’s policy of having a “credible minimum deterrence” capability.
  • The principle of credible minimum deterrence underpins India’s nuclear strategy. It emphasizes no first use with an assured second-strike capability and falls under minimal deterrence.

Know more about Surface to Surface Missile – Agni, Brahmos, Prithvi.

Q1. Which of the following best describes the newly launched Jan Samarth Portal? 
[Level: Medium]

Q2. Which of the following statements is/are correct? [Level: Medium]

Q3. Which of the following statements is/are incorrect with respect to India’s 
international cooperation with respect to disability? [Level: Difficult]

Q4. Consider the following pairs of valleys and their associated states. [Level: Difficult]

Q5. The money multiplier in an economy increases with which one of the following? 
[Level: Medium, UPSC 2019]

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. There is a fine line between the government’s regulations of social media and the government’s restriction on free speech. Discuss. (250 words; 15 marks) [GS-2, Governance]
2. How does the surrogacy law in India aim to handle surrogacy related problems in the country? Elaborate. (250 words; 15 marks) [GS-2, Social Issues]

Read the previous CNA here.