Paper-1 : Indian Culture
Celebrating the deity of Kamakhya in Assam
Ambubachi Mela
- Ambubachi Mela is a four-day fair to mark the annual menstruation of the goddess at Kamakhya temple, centre for Tantra worship.
- Kamakhya, atop Nilachal Hills in Guwahati, is one of 51 shaktipeeths or seat of Shakti followers, each representing a body part of Sati, Lord Shiva’s companion.
Significance
- The ritualistic fair celebrating the goddess’ period is one of the reasons why the taboo associated with menstruation is less in Assam compared to other parts of India.
- The attainment of womanhood of girls in Assam is celebrated with a ritual called ‘Tuloni Biya’, meaning small wedding.
- Ambubachi Mela is also an occasion to promote awareness on menstrual hygiene.
The legend
- Kamakhya Temple denotes the spot where Sati used to retire in secret to satisfy her amour with Shiva, and it was also the place where her yoni fell after Shiva danced with the corpse of Sati.
- The only ones that avoid the temple are the descendants of the medieval Koch royalty, who had reconstructed Kamakhya temple in 1565.
- This is because the goddess is believed to have cursed the royalty after the king and his brother Chilarai — one of Assam’s revered generals — had secretly watched her dance.
- There are legends about the goddess dancing when Kendukoli, a priest during Naranarayan’s reign, performed puja with his eyes shut.
- Naranarayan and Chilarai convinced the priest to allow them to watch the goddess’s dance.
- Incensed, the goddess punished the priest besides cursing the duo and their descendants with doom if they visited the Kamakhya temple ever.
The temple
- The current structural temple, built and renovated many times in the period 8th-17th century, gave rise to a hybrid indigenous style that is sometimes called the Nilachal type: a temple with a hemispherical dome on a cruciform base.
- The temple consists of four chambers: garbhagriha and three mandapas locally called calanta, pancharatna and natamandira aligned from east to west.
- The temple’s sanctum sanctorum houses the yoni — female genital — symbolised by a rock.
Paper-2 : Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Citizens’ Draft Privacy Bill Seeks To Revolutionize Data Collection, Storage In India
Why in news?
- A draft privacy bill proposes sweeping reforms to the way personal data is collected, processed and stored in India.
Details
- Titled Indian Privacy Code, 2018, the draft proposes that “all data collected, processed and stored by data controllers and data processors prior to the date on which this Act comes into force shall be destroyed within a period of two years from the date on which this Act comes into force”.
- The draft has been put together by a group of lawyers and policy analysts and uploaded on the website of ‘Save our Privacy’ — a public initiative to put forth a model law on data protection. The initiative is backed by the India Privacy Foundation.
- No person, including a data controller and data processor, shall collect any personal data without obtaining the consent of the data subject to whom it pertains, the draft bill says.
Collection of personal data without consent can happen only when:
- It’s necessary for the provision of an emergency medical service.
- Prevent, investigate or prosecute a cognizable offence.
- Exempted by a privacy commission that the draft seeks to institute.
- Also, the draft bill proposes that no person shall store any personal data for a period longer than is necessary to achieve the purpose for which it was collected or received. The same applies to the processing of personal data.
- The draft bill has been submitted to the Justice Sri Krishna Committee — which will deliberate on a data-protection framework for the country.
- The bill prescribes punishment for offenses related to interception of communication, surveillance, abetment, repeat offenders and offenses by companies.
Seven principles
- The bill is based on seven principles.
- The importance of individual rights
- A data protection law must be based on privacy principles and guidelines discussed in the report of Justice AP Shah Committee of Experts; the Supreme Court judgement on Right to Privacy and European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation.
- A strong privacy commission must be created to enforce privacy principles. The commission should be granted wide powers of investigation, adjudication, rule-making and enforcement. The privacy commission must have jurisdiction over the government as well as private bodies.
- The government must respect user privacy. The government cannot deny essential services to citizens if they choose not to share data with it. The draft says government withholding services on pretext of collection of information effectively amounts to “extortion of consent”.
- A complete privacy code must come with surveillance reform. Even when individual interception and surveillance is carried out this should be severely limited in substance and practiced through procedural safeguards.
- Strengthen the Right To Information Act and exempt information commissioners from interference or control by the privacy commissioner
- International protection and harmonisation is a must to protect the open internet. The group suggests the law must have extraterritorial effect and apply to web services and platforms which are accessible in India and gather personal data of Indians.
- The bill takes inspiration from the Privacy (Protection) Bill, 2013 which was drafted over a series of roundtable discussions and inputs conducted by the Centre for Internet and Society, Bengaluru.
Housing for All
What is the issue?
- To realise the target of creating Housing for all (HFA) by 2022, the union government needs to focus on promoting housing for the weaker sections in urban areas.
What is the Housing for all by 2022 project about?
- The Housing for All project was launched with an aim to provide affordable housing to urban poor by 2022.
- It is proposed to build around 2 crore houses for urban poor including Economically Weaker Sections and Low Income Groups, with central assistance in the range of Rs.1 lakh to Rs.2.30 lakh.
- This Mission has four components namely:
- In-situ Slum Redevelopment with private sector participation using land as resource.
- Affordable Housing through Credit Linked Subsidy.
- Affordable Housing in Partnership with private and public sector.
- Beneficiary led house construction/enhancement.
What are the recent developments in this project?
- Union government has decided to increase the carpet area under the project to cater the aspirations of the present generation for 3 bedroom apartments.
- People earning up to Rs. 18 lakh per annum can now avail up to Rs.2.3 lakh as subsidy upfront which is a substantial benefit, especially for those in Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns.
- The RBI recently revised the limit for a housing loan to be classified as priority sector from Rs.20 lakhs to Rs.25 lakhs in cities other than metros.
- The objective behind these initiatives are two-fold – increase the housing coverage and in the process give a push to employment in the construction sector and create demand for cement and steel.
- These developments with the initiatives by Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Urban) has seen an upward revision in size of dwelling units in the Middle Income Group segment.
What are the concerns with the HFA project?
- There seem to be more attention on only certain like affordable housing through credit linked subsidy.
- The focus is on the segment which has more demand as well as the ability to invest rather than the economically weaker sections who are in greater need of support.
- There is also not much progress on slum redevelopment and in promoting large projects jointly with PSUs or private developers using government land, due to the lack of coordination between the Union, States and local bodies.
Paper 2: Bilateral ,regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and /or affecting India’s interests
South Korean President to visit India in July
- South Korean President Moon Jae-in will visit India in July and hold meetings with Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the two countries are expected to sign a number of MoUs and strengthen the bilateral economic engagement.
Background
- When Prime Minister Modi visited South Korea in 2015, they launched a special strategic partnership. This time it is to mature this partnership.
- They want to create a broadened new community along with their southern partners — ASEAN and India mainly.
Purpose of the visit
- The main purpose of his visit to India is to upgrade the partnership.
- The visit of Mr. Moon will lay emphasis on his vision of a New Southern Policy, and his vision of 3Ps — People, Prosperity, and Peace.
- There could be progress on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between India and South Korea before Mr. Moon’s visit.
Concerns
- The pace of the business processes in India is an issue for businessmen in Korea.
- They want to see a real change in daily business practice, how they do business.
- For example, the immigration office — business people apply for visa. If they have a three- or five-year stay visa, it will be convenient for them.
- It would also help Korean businessmen, if they can at least complete their stay permit processes in one meeting. But instead of that, five or six visits are required now.
- It would help Korean companies in India if more Korea Plus desks are set up in south India.
- Right now there are 450 companies and 6,000 Korean nationals in south India — it’s a starting point for them, they say.
Trade Wars
Why in news?
- India has recently hiked duty on 29 items imported from the US.
- The retaliatory measures by India and other countries to US’s tariffs are indicative of an expanding trade war.
What is India’s move?
- Earlier India told WTO of its plans to increase the customs duty on 30 products imported from the US.
- Motorcycles with internal combustion engine capacity over 800 cc was in the list.
- However, India has now left out such motorcycles.
- It has slapped tariffs as high as 50% on a list of 29 goods imported from the U.S.
- Some of them are lentils, boric acid, fresh apples and shelled almonds.
What is India’s stance?
- India’s notification to the WTO says that U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminium would cost India $241 million.
- Thus, the tariffs imposed on the U.S. would bring in a commensurate amount.
- It has also indicated its preference to deal with the issue through dialogue.
- It has stated clearly that it did not prefer “measures and counter-measures”.
What are the other recent developments?
- In the recent period, China and the US have imposed various rounds of tariffs on each other.
- It all began when US unveiled tariffs to discourage the import of steel and aluminium into the country.
- The latest round of tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Chinese goods will be the highest in terms of the value of goods.
- It will now affect Chinese goods worth $450 billion.
- Notably, total Chinese imports into the U.S. last year were worth around $500 billion.
- The European Union also joined the trade war recently, imposing tariffs on $3.3 billion of American goods.
What will the implications be?
- Investors may be beginning to take threats of a trade war more seriously.
- The fact is that all sides engaged in a trade war eventually lose.
- The longer it goes on, the greater the cost.
- This is because growth slows down under the increasing burden of taxes.
- The only gainers in a trade war will be special interest groups, such as the U.S. steel industry.
- Even retaliatory tariffs may only perpetuate the vicious negative-sum game.
- It may not contribute to bringing the war to an end.
- Global powers must try their best to bring an end to the ongoing trade war before it gets out of hand.
Paper 3- Conservation,Environmental Pollution and Degradation,Environmental Impact Assessment.
Plastic Rules on Paper
In news:
- India generates an estimated 32 million metric tonnes of packaging waste each year, of which plastic waste constitutes 16%. But only 60% of the collected plastic waste is recycled.
- According to the Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Rules, 2016, all States have to annually apprise the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on the steps taken to reign in plastic use, whether a ban is in force, and the strength and performance of a recycler and waste-processing network.While Maharashtra may be gearing up for a stringent ban on plastic, experience from across the country suggests that States’ claims on reigning in plastic are stronger on paper than on the ground.
The Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 aim to:
- Increase minimum thickness of plastic carry bags from 40 to 50 microns.
- Expand the jurisdiction of applicability from the municipal area to rural areas, because plastic has reached rural areas also.
- Responsibility of local bodies and Gram Panchayat.
- Collect back system of plastic waste.
- To bring in the responsibilities of producers and generators, both in plastic waste management system and to introduce collect back system of plastic waste.
- Phasing out of manufacture and use of non- recyclable multilayered plastic: to be phased out in two years’ time.
- To promote use of plastic waste for road construction as per Indian Road Congress guidelines or energy recovery, or waste to oil etc. for gainful utilization of waste and also address the waste disposal issue;
Ground reality
- Most States, while claiming a ban, qualify it by saying that the ban is imposed in specific towns or cities.
- Or that it is focussed on particular categories of plastic.
- Take Assam. Its performance report states that while there is a complete ban on plastic carry bags in Kamrup, Sonitpur, Nalbari, Dibrugarh, it allows the import of substandard plastic carry bags, provided the Commissioner of Taxes, Assam is informed.
- In Gujarat, the estimated plastic waste generation is approximately 2,69,294 tonnes per annum and there are nearly 689 plastic waste recyclers, all of them registered.
- But only Gandhinagar — the capital city but with less than 4% of neighbouring Ahmedabad’s population — has an explicit ban on the use of plastic carry bags.
- Delhi, which reportedly generates the largest quantity of plastic waste in the country, has not provided information on its plastic management initiatives to the CPCB.
- The law requires that all plastic waste recyclers register themselves but there were around 312 unregistered plastic manufacturing/recycling units in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Manipur, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttrakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
- It is observed that most of the States/UTs have not set up proper monitoring system for use of carry bags as per the specified guidelines.
- It has been observed that those States/UTs, who have imposed complete ban on use and sale of plastic carry bags, the plastic bags are stocked, sold and used indiscriminately.
- Besides, substandard carry bags (<50 micron) are used widely in other States/UTs, violating PWM Rules, 2016, the CPCB highlights in the report.
- India generates an estimated 32 million metric tonnes of packaging waste each year, of which plastic waste constitutes 16%. But only 60% of the collected plastic waste is recycled.
Single-use plastics
- Around 43% of manufactured plastics are used for packaging, most of it single-use plastic.
- So far, not a single one of the 24 States that report their plastic waste management performance have plans in place to tackle single-use plastics.
- Independent experts say that while Maharashtra’s initiative is laudable, it still hinges on extremely efficient enforcement.
- Maharashtra has increased its collection centres in the last three months but the problem remains as there are no alternatives to single-use plastics.
- The manpower requirements and enforcement challenges are enormous.
Examples to learn from
- Kerala and Sikkim are the States with the most creditable plastic waste management policies.
- Sikkim has a system of buying back plastic from consumers. Maharashtra needs to implement such a system.
Paper-3 : Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth.
In News
- The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is planning to introduce a globally accepted and well-recognised cross-border insolvency framework, fine-tuned to suit the needs of aspirational Indian economy. The Government has taken initiative for Cross-Border Insolvency within the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (the Code) to provide a comprehensive legal framework.
Need for cross-border insolvency framework:
- As the size of the Indian economy grows, business and trade have adopted an increasingly international character. Creditors and corporates frequently transact business in more than one jurisdiction. Foreign banks and creditors finance Indian companies and Indian banks have foreign exposure. Also, as part of its Ease of Doing Business and Make in India policies, India seeks to attract foreign companies to set up manufacturing facilities in India.
- Besides, global experience demonstrates that cross-border investment decisions and their outcomes, are considerably affected by the insolvency laws in force in a country. Towards this end, even though the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 has resulted in significant improvement in India’s insolvency regime, there is a need to include cross-border insolvency in the Code to provide a comprehensive insolvency framework.
Benefits associated:
- Inclusion of cross-border insolvency framework will further enhance ease of doing business, provide a mechanism of cooperation between India and other countries in the area of insolvency resolution, and protect creditors in the global scenario.
- Also, it will make India an attractive investment destination for foreign creditors given the increased predictability and certainty of the insolvency framework.
Global scenario:
- On the global scale, the UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency, 1997 (Model Law) has emerged as the most widely accepted legal framework to deal with cross-border insolvency issues while ensuring the least intrusion into the country’s domestic insolvency law. Due to the growing prevalence of multinational insolvencies, the Model Law has been adopted by 44 States till date, including Singapore, UK and US.
Paper 3: Basics of cyber security
Only identification is permissible via Aadhar
- The biometric data collected by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) cannot be used for any other purpose except for generating Aadhaar and authenticating the identity of cardholders
- Invoking section 29 of the Act, the UIDAI issued a statement after reports emerged about the purported use of Aadhaar biometric data for the purpose of investigating a crime
Exceptions to this clause
- The section 33 of the Aadhaar Act allows a very limited exception and permits the use of or access to Aadhaar biometric data in cases involving national security after pre-authorisation by an oversight committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary
- This is also the consistent stand taken by the Union of India in the ongoing Aadhaar case in the Supreme Court
Section 29 of the Aadhaar (Targeted delivery of financial and other subsidies, benefits and services) Act, 2016
- No core biometric information, collected or created under this Act, shall be—(a) shared with anyone for any reason whatsoever; or (b) used for any purpose other than generation of Aadhaar numbers and authentication under this Act.
- The identity information, other than core biometric information, collected or created under this Act may be shared only in accordance with the provisions of this Act and in such manner as may be specified by regulations
- No identity information available with a requesting entity shall be—(a) used for any purpose, other than that specified to the individual at the time of submitting any identity information for authentication; or (b) disclosed further, except with the prior consent of the individual to whom such information relates
- No Aadhaar number or core biometric information collected or created under this Act in respect of an Aadhaar number holder shall be published, displayed or posted publicly, except for the purposes as may be specified by regulations