04 AUGUST 2023

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Topic 1: Restriction on Personal Computers/laptop imports

Context: India has restricted imports of personal computers, laptops, palmtops, automatic data processing machines, microcomputers/processors and large/mainframe computers with immediate effect.

Key details:

• Why the restriction?
  • With an aim to promote domestic manufacturing of these products and curtail the majority share of imports of these items from China, the imports of laptops and personal computers have been restricted.
• Their import would be allowed against a valid licence for restricted imports.
• Exemptions:
  • Exemption from import licencing requirements has been given for import of one:
    • laptop,
    • tablet,
    • all-in-one personal computer or ultra small form factor computer,
    • those purchased from e-commerce portals through post or courier.
  • Imports will attract payment of duty as applicable.
  • The government has also exempted such products from import licencing requirements if they are essential part of capital goods.
  • For the purpose of R&D (research and development), testing, benchmarking and evaluation repair and re-export, and product development purposes, the government has given exemption from import licence for imports up to 20 items per consignment.
    • The condition would be that these imports will be allowed only for use for the stated purposes and not for sale.
    • After the intended purpose, the products would either be destroyed beyond use or re-exported.
  • The licence for restricted imports shall not be required for the repair and return of re-import of goods repaired abroad.

Implications:

• Boost to PLI scheme:
  • The move is being seen as a direct boost to the Centre’s recently renewed production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for IT hardware.
• Boost to domestic manufacture:
  • The measure is to push companies to manufacture locally in India, as the country looks to strengthen its domestic production prowess in the electronics sector.
• Reduce imports from china:
  • The push is aimed at makers of laptops, servers and personal computers among others – since a majority of the imports in these segments are from China.
  • India has seen an increase in imports of electronic goods and laptops/computers in the last few years.
  • Of the seven categories restricted for imports by India, the majority share of imports is from China.
  • China accounts for roughly 70-80 per cent of the share of India’s imports of personal computers, laptops.
  • On an annual basis, India’s imports of personal computers, and laptops from China had dropped 23.1 per cent in 2022-23.

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Topic 2: Voyager mission

Context: Recently, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) lost communication with Earth’s longest-running space probe, Voyager 2.

About the mission:

• Launched around 46 years ago, Voyager 2 is the second spacecraft to enter interstellar space.
  • Interstellar space is the region that lies outside the impact of our Sun’s constant flow of material and magnetic field.
• The first was Voyager 1, sent to space about two weeks after Voyager 2 (Voyager 1 was launched after Voyager 2).
• The two probes have explored all the outer giant planets of our solar system and discovered over 40 moons and numerous rings.

Features of the Voyager spacecraft

• Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are identical spacecraft.
• Each of them is equipped with instruments to carry out 10 different experiments.
• The instruments include:
  • television cameras — to take images of planets and other celestial bodies
  • infrared and ultraviolet sensors,
  • magnetometers,
  • plasma detectors, and
  • cosmic-ray and charged-particle sensors.
• As their mission involved going far away from the Sun, they aren’t powered by solar power, like other spacecraft are.
  • Instead, Voyager relies on a small nuclear power plant, drawing hundreds of watts from the radioactive decay of a pellet of plutonium.

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Topic 3: Ji-Van Yojana

Context: The Minister of State in the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas informed the Lok Sabha about PM Ji-VAN Yojana.

About the Scheme:

• Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN (Jaiv Indhan – Vatavaran Anukool Fasal Awashesh Nivaran) Yojana aims at providing financial support to Integrated Bio-ethanol Projects which uses lignocellulosic biomass and other renewable staples.
• It would help address the environmental concerns caused due to burning of fossil fuels, provide income to the farmers, subsidize crude imports, and achieve foreign exchange savings.
• The aim of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is to achieve 10% ethanol blending by 2022.
• The ethanol produced by the entities enrolled under this scheme will be supplied to Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs).
• The scheme will be implemented and regulated by the Centre for High Technology (CHT) which is administered by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.
• Benefits:
  • Reduce GHG emissions through progressive blending or substitution of fossil fuels.
  • Addresses environmental issues caused due to burning of crop residues, etc.
  • Create employment opportunities in both rural and urban areas in these Ethanol projects.
  • Increase farmer income by providing them remunerative income for their otherwise waste agricultural residues.
  • Indigenize second-generation biomass to ethanol technologies.

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Topic 4: Money Bills vs Financial Bills

Context: Parliamentary Affairs Minister informed that the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill is a normal Bill and not a money bill.

What is a finance Bill?

• Any Bill that relates to revenue or expenditure is a financial Bill.
• A money Bill is also a specific type of financial Bill, that must deal only with matters specified in Article 110 (1) (a) to (g).
• Article 117 of the Constitution deals with the special provisions relating to financial Bills.
• There are two types of financial bills:
  • Article 117 (1) indicates that a Bill that makes provision for any of the matters specified in Article 110 (1) can be introduced or moved only on the President’s recommendation and cannot be introduced in the Rajya Sabha.
    • Examples of this first category of financial Bills are money Bills and other financial Bills originating solely in the Lok Sabha.
  • The second category of finance Bills is dealt with under Article 117 (3) of the Constitution.
    • Such Bills are more like ordinary Bills.
• Difference between a financial bill and an ordinary bill:
  • The difference between the second kind of financial Bill and an ordinary Bill is that if the former is enacted, it will involve expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India and cannot be passed by either House unless the President has recommended its consideration.
  • In all other respects, such financial Bills are just like ordinary Bills, and can even be introduced in the Rajya Sabha, amended by it, or be subjected to deliberation by both Houses in a joint-sitting.
• A financial Bill becomes a money Bill when it exclusively falls under one of the seven heads listed under Article 110(1), which defines money Bills.
• A money Bill is a financial Bill that is certified by the Speaker.

Difference between money Bills and financial Bills

• Article 110defines a money Bill as one containing provisions dealing with:
  • taxes,
  • regulation of the government’s borrowing of money, and
  • expenditure or receipt of money from the Consolidated Fund of India.
• Article 109 delineates the procedure for the passage of such a Bill and confers an overriding authority on the Lok Sabha in the passage of money Bills.
• A major difference between money and financial Bills is that while the latter has the provision of including the Rajya Sabha’s (Upper House) recommendations, the former does not make their inclusion mandatory.
• The Lok Sabha has the right to reject the Rajya Sabha’s recommendations when it comes to money Bills.
• While an ordinary Bill can originate in either house, a money Bill can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha, as laid down in Article 117 (1).
• No one can introduce or move money Bills in the Lok Sabha, except on the President’s recommendation.
• Amendments relating to the reduction or abolition of any tax are exempt from the requirement of the President’s recommendation.
• The two prerequisites for any financial Bill to become a moneyBill are that:
  • it must only be introduced in the Lok Sabha and not the Rajya Sabha.
  • these bills can only be introduced on the President’s recommendation.

How are money and financial Bills passed?

• Money bill:
  • The role of the Rajya Sabha in passing money Bills is restricted.
  • Such Bills can originate only in the Lok Sabha.
  • After being passed by the Lok Sabha, money Bills are sent to the Rajya Sabha for its recommendations.
  • Within 14 days, the Upper House must submit the Bill back to the Lower House with its non-binding recommendations.
  • If the Lok Sabha rejects the recommendations, the Bill is deemed to have passed by both Houses in the form in which it was passed by the Lok Sabha without the recommendations of the Rajya Sabha.
  • Even if the Rajya Sabha doesn’t respond with its recommendations within 14 days, the same consequences would follow.
  • Thus, when it comes to money Bills, the Rajya Sabha only has a recommendatory role.
• Financial bills:
  • Ordinary Bills and other financial Bills still require the agreement of both Houses of Parliament to ensure their passage.
  • They can very well be rejected or amended by the Rajya Sabha, unlike money Bills.
  • While the President can summon a joint sitting of both Houses to resolve differences over a deadlock in passing an ordinary Bill, there is no provision for a joint sitting for differences over a money Bill.

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Topic 5: Vivad se Vishwas II scheme

Context: Recently, the Centre launched a settlement scheme for contractual disputes with vendors or suppliers to the government and its undertakings.

Key details:

• This scheme termed ‘Vivad se Vishwas II — (Contractual Disputes)’ was announced in this year’s Union Budget.
• It is a “one-time settlement” scheme that contains a draft pact between the litigating parties to bring finality to the dispute.
• It is proposed to be implemented through a functionality on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal.
• Its aim is to settle contractual disputes involving the government and government undertakings, where an arbitral award is under legal challenge.
• This will be done by offering graded settlement terms depending on pendency level of the dispute.
• The scheme will apply to all domestic contractual disputes where one of the parties is either the Government of India or an organisation working under its control.
• For cases involving Court awards, the settlement amount offered to the contractor will be up to 85% of the net amount awarded or upheld by the court, while the same threshold will be up to 65% of the net amount in case of arbitral awards.

• The move is aimed at promoting ease of doing business and will cover disputes up to 30 September 2022.
• To facilitate a smooth and transparent process, the government e-marketplace (GeM) has created a dedicated web-page for the implementation of the “Vivad se Vishwas-2 (Contractual Disputes)” scheme.   
• Eligible claims will be processed exclusively through the GeM platform, streamlining the settlement process and ensuring expeditious resolution.
• Conditions for the one time settlement under the scheme:
  • no state government or any other private firm is party to the case, or
  • The dispute pertains to pending financial claims, and not any performance claims.

Vivad se Vishwas SchemeVivad se Vishwas Scheme is useful for taxpayers with ongoing legal tax disputes at any level.Under this scheme, the interest and penalty associated with the disputed tax amount is completely waived off.As a result, the taxpayer has to pay only the amount of disputed tax.

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Topic 6: Jharkhand’s new anti-cheating Bill

Context: The Jharkhand Legislative Assembly passed the Jharkhand Competitive Examination (Measure for Control and Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Bill, 2023.

Key details:

• Aim of the Bill:
  • To crack down on use of unfair means and irregularities in examinations and plug incidents of question paper ‘leaks’.
• Powers for search and seizure
  • If any person is involved in the unfair means, as defined under the Bill, or is possession of proceeds of crime, or any records, or property, any place, box, locker, safe etc can be searched.
  • Any record or property as a result of search shall be seized.
• Power for arrests:
  • If the police officer authorised under the Act has the material in possession, and there is a reason to believe that any person is guilty of offence, then the person will be arrested with an explanation on the grounds on which the person has been arrested.

Other states to have passed similar laws

• Uttarakhand brought in a similar law through an ordinance.
• Rajasthan brought in such a law in 2022.

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Topic 7: Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023

Context: The Centre tabled the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023.

Key details:

• It lays out procedures on how corporations and the government itself can collect and use information and personal data of India’s citizens.
• The Bill was introduced as a financial Bill, but it is not a money Bill.
• The Bill requires companies to better protect digital data taken from individuals (the former termed ‘data fiduciaries’ and the latter ‘data principals’), by clearly mentioning to them:
  • what data are being collected and what they are being used for,
  • appointing and giving contact information of a data protection officer, and
  • giving users the right to delete or modify their personal data.
• Fines proposed
  • It proposes fines ranging from ₹50 crore to ₹250 crore for companies that fail to protect user data or default on disclosure requirements.
  • These fines can be compounded, that is separate fines can be imposed on the same data fiduciary for each violation.
• Data Protection Board:
  • The Bill lays the groundwork for the establishment of the Data Protection Board of India.
  • The Union government will notify the appointment of its members.
• Relation with the IT Act:
  • The Bill strikes off Section 43A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 that requires companies which mishandle user data to compensate users.
  • This was because compensation is a judicial process, while ex-gratia payments were at the discretion of the governments, and that legally compensation would have to be awarded through civil tort law.
• Range of exemptions
  • The Bill provides a wide range of exemptions for the state and its instrumentalities.
    • For instance, personal data can be processed in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India or security of the state for fulfilling any obligation under law.
  • While the law requires firms to disclose to users the identity of other firms to which their data will be entrusted for processing, they are explicitly exempted from disclosing sharing of such data in the case of lawful interception of data.

Criticisms

• Weak regulator:
  • It will lead to a progressive weakening of the Data Protection Authority of India – the body that is supposed to be the key regulator and enforcer of the law.
• Autocratic appointments:
  • The Centre was also empowered to appoint members to the data protection board, raising concerns over the control it could potentially exert on the institution in cases where it was an interested party.
• More like Chinese version:
  • Provisions for the central government to bypass norms around seeking express consent from citizens and the right to exempt “any instrumentality of the state” from adverse consequences citing national security, relations with foreign governments, and maintenance of public order among other things, are where the Bill comes in closer to the Chinese version.

Models for data protection laws

• The EU model:
  • The GDPR focuses on a comprehensive data protection law for the processing of personal data.
  • It has been criticised for being excessively stringent, and imposing many obligations on organisations processing data, but is the template for most of the legislation drafted around the world.
  • In the EU, the right to privacy is enshrined as a fundamental right that seeks to protect an individual’s dignity and her right over the data that she generates.
  • The European Charter of Fundamental Rights recognises the right to privacy as well as the right to protection of personal data and is backed by a comprehensive data protection framework.
  • It applies to processing of personal data by any means, and to processing activities carried out by both the Government as well as the private entities.
  • There are certain exemptions such as national security, defence, public security, etc, but they are clearly defined and seen as exclusions on the periphery.
• The US model:
  • Privacy protection is largely defined as a “liberty protection” — focused on the protection of the individual’s personal space from the government.
  • It is viewed as being somewhat narrow in focus by virtue of enabling the collection of personal information as long as the individual is informed of such collection and use.
  • The US template has been viewed as inadequate in key respects of regulation.
  • Unlike the EU’s GDPR, there is no comprehensive set of privacy rights or principles that collectively address the use, collection and disclosure of data in the US.
  • Instead, there is limited sector-specific regulation.
• The China model:
  • The Chinese law gives Chinese data principals new rights as it seeks to prevent the misuse of personal data.
  • The Data Security Law (DSL) requires business data to be categorised by different levels of importance and puts new restrictions on cross-border transfers.
  • These regulations will have a significant impact on how companies collect, store, use and transfer data, but are essentially focused on giving the government overreaching powers to both collect data and regulate private companies that collect and process information.
  • The legislation is deemed to be “similar” to the EU’s GDPR, in that it gives Chinese consumers the right to access, correct and delete their personal data gathered by businesses.
  • But it credibly impacts offshore data processors that deliver goods and services or analyse individuals in China.
  • The law includes stringent penalties, with fines that can be as much as $7 million or up to 5% of a company’s turnover from the previous financial year.