July 31

TOPICS COVERED

1. Manu makes it a pair, wins a bronze again in the company of Sarabjit (PCS)

2. Two dead as train headed to Mumbai from Howrah derails in Jharkhand

3. U.P. House passes Bill to amend law against conversion

4. Delhi effect: basements of six coaching centres in Bhopal sealed crackdown

5. ‘10 students missing in Delhi coaching hub after fooding event’

6. Metter dam full, officials warn of rise in discharge (GS paper I: Geography)

7. Kerala ignored recommendations to prevent such disasters, says Gadgil (GS Paper III: Environment)

8. 150% customs duty on lab chemicals alarms scientists

9.  India’s open ecosystems facing an unusual threat: encroaching trees (GS Paper III: Environment)

10.  A licence raj for digital content creators (GS Paper II: Digital Media)

11. Duality — understanding Indian voter behaviour

12. Option or stratagem? (GS Paper II: State Executive)

13. Impatience with jobs

14. The case for a Legal Advisory Council (GS Paper II: Polity)

15. Haryana and Punjab always dominate India’s Olympic c contingent

16. The different armed groups of Myanmar (GS Paper II: International Relations)

        17. On the ethics of hunger strikes as a mode of protest (GS Paper I: History)

 

 

 

Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP)/Gadgil Commission Establishment: The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), also known as the Gadgil Commission, was established by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, in March 2010. Chairman: Madhav Gadgil, an eminent ecologist. Submission Date: The panel submitted its report to the Government of India on 31 August 2011. Objectives Compilation: Gathering readily available information about the Western Ghats. Geo-spatial Database: Developing a database based on environmental sensitivity. Consultation: Engaging with government bodies and civil society groups. Key Recommendations Ecologically Sensitive Zones (ESZs): Zoning: The Western Ghats were divided into three ESZs: ESZ 1: Highly sensitive areas requiring stringent protection. ESZ 2: Moderately sensitive areas with regulated development. ESZ 3: Areas where sustainable development could be promoted. Western Ghats Ecology Authority (WGEA): Proposed the formation of a national-level authority to oversee the conservation efforts. Banned Activities: Recommended prohibiting activities like mining, thermal power plants, and large-scale construction in ESZ 1 and ESZ 2. Criticism and Opposition Kerala: Strong opposition from certain sections in Kerala, particularly from farmers in Wayanad, due to fears of adverse impacts on livelihoods. General Criticism: The report was criticized for being excessively environment-friendly and not accounting for ground realities. Kasturirangan Report Formation: A high-level working group led by K. Kasturirangan was constituted in August 2012 to review and balance the Gadgil report's recommendations. Key Changes: ESA Area Reduction: Reduced the area to be declared as Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESA) from 64% to 37% of the Western Ghats. Development vs. Conservation: Focused on balancing developmental needs with environmental conservation. Prohibitory Regime: Proposed prohibitions on certain activities in the ESA zones, covering approximately 60,000 km² across Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. Significance UNESCO World Heritage Sites: The Gadgil report was considered by UNESCO, leading to the inclusion of 39 sites of the Western Ghats in the World Heritage List in 2012. Environmental Impact: Both reports underscored the importance of protecting the Western Ghats, a critical biodiversity hotspot.

 

 

 

 

A licence raj for digital content creators (31 July)

• Dhruv Rathee and Ravish Kumar's YouTube videos might have influenced voter preferences in the 2024 general election.
• The Union government, which returned to power as a coalition with a diminished mandate, seeks to control digital creators through the Broadcasting Regulation Bill, 2024.
• Two CSDS-Lokniti surveys provide insights into voter behavior, covering 642 million voters and 924 million broadband connections.
• Surveys show 29% of respondents consume political material daily on digital platforms, 18% occasionally.
• Digital media consumption surpasses newspapers (16.7%) and radio (6.9%) but is less than television (42%).
• WhatsApp (35.1%), YouTube (32.3%), Facebook (24.7%), Instagram (18.4%), and Twitter (6.5%) are accessed several times a day.
• Digital media critical of the Prime Minister is significant, challenging the dominance of television news.
• Expert Vanita Kohli-Khandekar states television news mainly caters to BJP voters and is "homogenized."
• The Union government may use existing and new laws to restrict digital content.

Signs of control

• TV channels labeled the new government term "Modi 3.0" instead of "Modi 240."
• The label suggests continuity and improvement in centralizing power around the Prime Minister.
• There has been little change in the Cabinet, with Ashwini Vaishnaw retaining the Minister for Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and gaining the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) portfolio.
• This reflects a convergence and interest in controlling digital content by these ministries.
• The IT Rules, 2021 expanded MeitY’s powers, including a traceability mandate affecting end-to-end encryption on messaging services.
• MIB gained new powers to require registration and block digital news media and online entertainment streaming apps.
• MIB publicly discloses enforcement actions that align with nationalistic themes or internal security, fitting its political interests.
• Both Ministries now have overlapping functions and a shared interest in controlling online narratives.

Creating an autocratic weapon

• The Union Government expanded the IT Rules, 2021 twice to control digital content.
• On January 28, 2023, three “Grievance Appellate Committee(s)” (GACs) were created, led by officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs, MIB, and MeitY.
• GACs heard 1,216 appeals and issued 1,089 secret orders to online platforms regarding content takedown or reinstatement.
• On April 6, 2023, the IT Rules were amended to allow the Union government to remove digital content deemed “fake, false, and misleading” (fact-checking amendment).
• The Supreme Court of India stayed this amendment on March 21, 2024.
• Due to inefficiencies in past IT Rules attempts, the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023, was drafted on November 3, 2023, introducing stricter digital censorship.
• If passed, YouTube and Instagram creators commenting on politics or reporting news must register and operate under MIB's discretion.
• The proposed law is argued to increase government power, reduce transparency and accountability, and erode fundamental rights.
• Work on the Broadcasting Bill, 2023 paused during election months.
• Online creators increased scrutiny of the BJP’s campaign and its 10-year term, gaining more reach.
• On June 4, 2024, the Prime Minister addressed “countrymen… influencers and… opinion makers…”
• MIB held a meeting on July 9 for a “presentation” to “stakeholders.”
• A new draft of the bill, renamed the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2024, was mentioned in a media report on July 26.
• The latest version of the bill has not been made public.
• The list of “stakeholders” with access to the draft is not fully known.
• Copies of the bill are individually watermarked and provided after signing undertakings.
• Despite government practices, a copy of the Broadcasting Bill, 2024 is circulating among media, politics, policy, and law circles.
• Key highlights of the Bill
• The nervousness of “stakeholders” and the MIB in making the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2024 public is understandable.
• The Bill increases the Union Government’s control over digital media, beyond constitutional limits.
• Three primary highlights:
  • The Bill classifies individual commentators as “Digital News Broadcasters” and content creators as “OTT Broadcasters.” MIB can change thresholds for subscribers or users that require registration.
  • It creates additional compliances for online platforms and establishes a new safe harbour regime independent of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Platforms like YouTube must frame special compliances for both news channels and content creators.
  • The decision-making process for censorship involves proactive compliances, registrations, private self-censorship, and potential fines by the MIB.
• The Bill's provisions are vague, allowing for arbitrary enforcement.
• The Broadcasting Bill, 2024 is described as a "maze of Kafkaesque controls" by Jagdish Bhagwati.
• It creates an overly bureaucratic and politicized system, termed a digital licence raj.
• The ex-ante regulation model aims to address the administrative burden of the notice-and-takedown approach.
• The government struggled to censor each creator and online text or video individually.
• The Broadcasting Bill, 2024 represents digital authoritarianism, creating a public-private labyrinth to enforce censorship.

Duality — understanding Indian voter behaviour (31 July)

• he 18th Lok Sabha election results were announced on June 4, 2024.
• The BJP won 240 seats, falling short of a majority in the Lok Sabha.
• The election results highlighted the nuanced behavior and diversity of factors influencing Indian voters' choices.
• The article examines voter behavior through prudence and paradox, using data from Lokniti-Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS) surveys.
• Surveys include pre- and post-election data from 2024 and some from 2014.
• Voters' responses to diverse themes show the discerning and contradictory nature of decision-making in a vibrant democracy.

Duality in decisions?

• 56% of respondents make independent voting choices, highlighting the need to examine if these choices are informed and substantial.
• Lokniti’s pre-poll survey of 2024 shows unemployment and price rise were the top issues for 50.7% of voters, surpassing the Ram Temple (7.5%) and Hindutva ideology (2.3%).
• This indicates a preference for socio-economic issues over ideological ones.
• The BJP’s hegemony is often linked to ideology, with significant milestones like the dilution of Article 370 and the Ram Temple.
• Despite the emphasis on unemployment, 22.4% of respondents appreciated the Ram Temple as the central government’s best work in the past five years.
• Appreciation for the Ram Temple did not necessarily translate into votes for the BJP.
• Over 21% of respondents cited overall development as the reason for supporting the ruling party, while only 1.3% and 5.2% cited Article 370 and the Ram Temple, respectively.
• This shows that Indian voters appreciate ideological achievements but prioritize socio-economic progress, challenging the notion that Indian politics is primarily driven by ideology.
• Voters’ prudence has diminished the appeal of ideological narratives, preferring tangible socio-economic progress.

The subject of leadership

• The BJP's success in creating a pan-Hindu vote wasn't solely due to ideology.
• Narendra Modi's charisma and popularity were crucial, with his popularity surpassing the BJP by about eight percentage points in 2014.
• Voters showed a preference for strong, charismatic leadership.
• In the 2024 post-poll survey, over 67% of voters supported having a strong leader who doesn't need to worry about elections.
• However, 57.5% of voters emphasized the importance of checks and balances.
• Around 70% affirmed the right of citizens to interfere and hold leaders accountable.
• This indicates a preference for strong leadership while valuing accountability and checks and balances.
• About 49% of respondents believe the will of the majority should prevail in a democracy, but over 48% support protecting minority interests even if not favored by the majority.
• Over 57% of Hindus support including Muslim Dalits in the Scheduled Castes list.
• This shows a coexistence of majoritarian inclinations with a recognition of minority protections, indicating that Hindu-majority cultural-religious expressions are not solely anti-minority.
• The post-poll study highlights the dynamic nature of democracy, reflecting both prudence and paradox.
• 42% of voters see the ability to change the government through free and fair elections as democracy’s most essential characteristic.
• Over 34% prioritize equal rights for everyone.
• This balance of majoritarian inclinations with minority rights protection reflects a complex, discerning, and progressive democracy.

Option or stratagem? (31 July)

Court should limit Governor’s power to refer Bills to President without cause

• Some Governors' handling of State legislation is seen as a violation of the Constitution.
• The Supreme Court intervened in the Punjab case and questioned the actions of Governors in Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
• Despite this, Governors have continued to withhold assent or send Bills to the President.
• When the President, based on Union government advice, refuses assent, State legislatures have no recourse.
• This raises concerns that reserving some Bills for the President's consideration is being misused to subvert federalism.
• The Centre effectively has a veto over State laws, which was not intended by the Constitution.
• Kerala has challenged this practice in a writ petition, questioning the misuse of the Governor’s power and the President’s refusal of assent.
• The Court is urged to adjudicate and set limits on this practice.
• The Punjab case established that Governors do not have a veto over Bills; they must return Bills to the Assembly if they withhold assent, and if the Assembly passes them again, the Governor must grant assent.
• The Court also emphasized that Governors should act on Bills “as soon as possible,” which has constitutional significance.
• Despite these rulings, Governors in West Bengal and Kerala have not adhered to these principles.
• Seven Bills from Kerala, which likely did not require the President’s assent, were sent to the President, with four being refused assent without reasons.
• Inaction on these Bills ranged from 10 to 23 months.
• West Bengal also challenged inaction on some Bills, with some possibly referred to the President.
• The core issue is whether the Constitution allows such indirect central intervention in State legislative matters.

Impatience with jobs (31 July)

Budget’s stress on employment is good; a lot more needs to be done

• The Budget speech shifted focus to employment, making it a central theme.
• The Prime Minister’s package aims to create jobs and improve skills with a ₹2 lakh crore initiative over five years.
• The package includes three employment-linked incentive schemes:
  • Subsidies for hiring fresh entrants for at least one year.
  • Incentives for companies to increase hiring beyond the previous year’s count.
  • Programs to improve skills through revamped industrial training institutes and internships.
• 1,000 industrial training institutes will be updated with industry-aligned courses.
• An internship program will place one crore youth in 500 top companies, with the Centre covering most of the stipend costs.
• Firms can join the internship scheme voluntarily and use corporate social responsibility funds for remaining expenses.
• This emphasis on employment addresses a key issue highlighted by the Opposition during the election.
• Jobless growth critiques are not unique to the current government; the UPA faced similar issues.
• Investors prefer capital-intensive investments, partly due to outdated labor laws which discourage larger, labor-intensive units.
• Recent distress has been heightened by shocks like demonetisation, GST rollout, and COVID-19, which have impacted the informal sector.
• Incentives for private investments have focused more on production rather than creating new jobs.
• High youth unemployment is seen as a structural threat to long-term growth, and the effectiveness of the new employment package will be closely monitored.
• For a significant improvement in employment, the government needs to fill existing vacancies and foster conditions that boost consumption.
• The private sector is unlikely to expand or hire more without a consumption-driven trigger, even with subsidies.