10 APRIL 2023

Topic 1: Will platforms have to take down ‘fake news’?

Context: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology amended the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

Key details:

• The amendment empowers the Union Government to designate an official fact checker for misinformation and ‘fake news’, and to regulate the online real money gaming industry, which comprises apps like fantasy sports sites, rummy and poker.
• Who will be the fact checker?
  • The fact check unit of the Press Information Bureau (PIB) may be notified as the official fact checker for the Union Government.
    • It has been ‘debunking’ WhatsApp forwards and news articles on Central Government schemes and departments for years
• How it will work?
  • Whenever any news is notified as fake, social media companies will lose their “safe harbour” for such content, opening them up to lawsuits or other legal action.
  • Social media companies have traditionally enjoyed legal immunity for content posted by users, as the Information Techcvnology Act, 2000 treats them as intermediaries.
  • Under the IT Rules they lose this status if, among other things, they don’t have a grievance officer for India, or don’t address user complaints on time.
  • With this amendment, they will lose their safe harbour immunity for posts that have been flagged by the government as misinformation.

• Concerns raised with the amendment:
  • Organisations like the Editors Guild of India and the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) were either not consulted or that their views were not taken into account.
  • The fact check unit could effectively issue a takedown order to social media platforms and even other intermediaries potentially bypassing the process statutorily prescribed under Section 69A of the IT Act, 2000.
• Amendment on real money online games
  • The amendment requires real money gaming services, where users deposit money in expectation of winnings, to get themselves certified as “permissible” by a Self-Regulatory Body (SRB) consisting of experts and industry members.
  • What are permissible real money games?
    • Permissible real money games would likely be those where the outcome doesn’t depend purely on chance.
  • Games that are not declared “permissible” would fall under the “betting and gambling” category, opening them up to restrictions from States where such activities are prohibited.
• What makes this body different from other fact-checking agencies?
  • As of now, the body is being made up to check or counter fake or misleading news about the central government.
  • It should not be confused with a regular fact-checking agency that counters misinformation in the general news. 

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Topic 2: Goa Bill restricting sale of agricultural land

Context: The Goa Legislative Assembly passed the Goa Restriction on Transfer of Agricultural Land Bill 2023.

Key details:

• The Goa Restriction on Transfer of Agricultural Land Bill 2023 seeks to impose restrictions on the transfer (sale) of agricultural lands in Goa to non-agriculturalists.
• Purpose:
  • To safeguard the paddy fields.
• After the Goa Agricultural Tenancy Act, this is the second such Bill in the last 60 years enacted by the state to safeguard the paddy fields.
• Power of collector to make exceptions:
  • A provision in the Bill empowers the Collector to make exceptions and permit the transfer of agricultural land to non-agriculturist in certain circumstances:
    • if the land is required for agriculture by an industrial or commercial undertaking;
    • if the land is required by a co-operative farming society; and
    • if the Collector is satisfied that the land is required for cultivation by a non-agriculturist who intends to take up agriculture and is capable of cultivating the land personally within three years, failing which the land will be vested in the government.

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Topic 3: Quote: ‘Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves’

Context: This quote is taken from a letter Abraham Lincoln, wrote in 1859, when tensions between Northern and Southern states were on the rise, two years before the American Civil War started.

Key details:

• Full quote:
  • Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it.
• Meaning
  • It expresses Lincoln’s opinion on the institution of slavery.
  • Personally, he found the institution morally reprehensible and expressed his ethical argument
  • He argues that not only is denying people freedom fundamentally unsustainable “under a just God”, but those who perpetuate it deserve to have their own freedoms denied.

• Connection with empathy:
  • Lincoln expresses the idea of empathy in the context of slavery.
  • To practise and perpetuate slavery, slavers had to:
    • effectively dehumanise the slaves
    • treat them as subhuman,
    • not deserving the same treatment as you.
  • This was done using the ideology of white supremacy and racism.
  • Only when subjected to the same treatment would they be able to truly understand the depravity of their actions.
• The unsustainability of injustice
  • The second part of Lincoln’s quote indicates the inherent unsustainability of injustice.
  • He says that they can not long retain it, suggesting that those who oppress others or deny them their rightful freedoms will eventually face consequences.
  • The kind of consequences Lincoln refers to stem from his belief in a “just God”.
  • Lincoln believes that the denial of freedom goes against the natural order of justice and equality, as God made it.
  • Thus those who deny freedom will ultimately face consequences of this from God, while living or after death.
  • This argument can also be made from a non-believer’s perspective.
    • Afterall, history is testament to the fact that people have always risen up against injustice.
    • Even seemingly infallible regimes and undefeatable autocrats have eventually been toppled.

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Topic 4: Bharat Gaurav scheme

Context: The Indian Railways, in association with the South Star Rail, a Coimbatore-based company, will operate a tourist train to Kashmir Valley under the Bharat Gaurav scheme.

About the scheme:

• When was it launched?
  • In 2021, the Indian Railways launched Bharat Gaurav trains that will be operated by private players and run on theme-based circuits.
• Aim and purpose:
  • It offers operators the “Right of Use” of its rakes and infrastructure, the Railways has liberalised and simplified a part of operations that was otherwise carried out mostly by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).
  • While any entity can run these trains, including state governments, it is implied that the policy is targeted at tour operators.
• Key features
  • Under this programme, private players and tour operators can procure trains from railways on lease and operate them on any circuit of their choice and decide fares, routes, and quality of services.
  • The railways will ensure that there is no abnormality in the prices.
  • The railways have allocated around 190 trains for these theme-based circuits.
  • It is described as the third segment in services offered by the national transporter after the freight and passenger segments.
  • Unlike the regular train service, the Bharat Gaurav trains will showcase India’s rich cultural heritage and historical places to the people of India and the world.
  • Under the Bharat Gaurav scheme, the service providers will offer an all-inclusive package to tourists, including:
    • rail travel,
    • hotel accommodation,
    • sightseeing arrangement,
    • visit historical or heritage sites,
    • tour guides.
  • Providers will also have full flexibility to decide package costs based on the level of services being offered.

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Topic 5: Street Child Cricket World Cup

Context: Chennai will host the Street Child Cricket World Cup 2023.

Key details:

• Organizer:
  • It will be organised by Street Child United in partnership with Shree Dayaa Foundation.
  • It will take place at Amir Mahal, the official residence of the Nawab of Arcot.
• This is the second edition of the Street Child Cricket World Cup.
• National mixed teams of boys and girls will represent their countries for the cricket tournament.
• It will include teams from:
  • Bangladesh, Brazil, Burundi, England, Hungary, Mauritius, Mexico, Nepal, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Sri Lanka, and Zimbabwe.
  • Seven Indian teams representing different organisations from across the country will also participate.

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Topic 6: Spot billed Pelican

Context: The Pulicat lake is teeming with 76 species of water birds including the spot billed pelican.

Key details:

• The spot-billed pelican (Pelecanus philippensis ) or grey pelican is a member of the pelican family.
• It breeds in southern Asia from southern Iran across India east to Indonesia.
• It is a bird of large inland and coastal waters, especially large lakes.
• IUCN status: Near-Threatened.
• Andhra Pradesh has recently lost a large breeding colony of the bird at the Kolleru lake, where aquaculture has contributed to a total degradation of the ecosystem.

About Pulicat LakePulicat Lake is the second largest brackish water lagoon in India, (after Chilika Lake).Major part of the lagoon comes under Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh.The lagoon is one of the three important wetlands to attract northeast monsoon rain clouds during the October to December season.Two rivers which feed the lagoon are the Arani River at the southern tip and the Kalangi River.Ramsar sitesWetlands of global importance are called Ramsar sites, after the city in Iran where the Treaty on Wetlands was signed.India has 75 Ramsar sites, of which 14 are in Tamil Nadu, including three added last year:the Karikili bird sanctuary,the Pallikaranai Marsh Reserve Forest andthe Pichavaram mangrove.The spot-billed pelican is seen in all these places.

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Topic 7: The Himachal Pradesh Sukhashraya Act, 2023

Context: Himachal Pradesh passed the Himachal Pradesh Sukhashraya (Care, Protection, and Self-Reliance of Children of the State) Act, 2023.

What is the Sukh Ashray Act?

• The Himachal Pradesh Sukhashraya (Care, Protection, and Self-Reliance of Children of the State) Act, 2023 states that orphans and persons with special needs will become ‘children of the state’.
• The State government will provide financial and institutional benefits between the age of 18-27 years.
• Such children and adults will be provided with vocational training, skill development, and coaching to become active members of the mainstream of society.
• Beneficiaries:
  • The Act has defined orphans as those who are currently without biological parents or whose parents have been medically proven to be incapacitated of taking care.
  • The ambit is also extended to children relinquished by guardians or parents for social, emotional, and physical factors.
  • The benefits of the Act will also be given to ‘children in need of care and protection’ such as those found who are without a home or working in contravention of labour laws.
  • Children forced to beg or whose guardians have threatened, abused, or intended physical and emotional harm, will also be taken care of by the state government.
  • Children at risk of marriage before the legal age, impacted by a crime, or vulnerable to drug abuse will also be under the scope of the Act.
• Benefits under the Act:
  • The beneficiaries will be given Rs 5,000 in summer and a similar amount in winter to buy clothes.
  • A sum of Rs 500 will be given to the children to celebrate major festivals.
  • On attaining the age of majority, the government will provide them Rs 4,000 monthly allowance for daily expenses in college.
  • In institutions like ITI and other government colleges, the hostel fees of the beneficiaries will also be taken care of.
  • Orphans who wish to establish their own start-ups will be given a token corpus to incentivize entrepreneurial pursuits.
  • The allowance will be given to Ph.D. students.
  • A fixed amount of money will also be given at the time of marriage.

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Topic 8: Earth4All initiative report

Context: Predictions about the world’s human population were published recently in the form of a report by the Earth4All Initiative.

Key Findings:

• Title:
  • The Earth4All report is entitled ‘People and Planet, 21st Century Sustainable Population Scenarios and Possible Living Standards Within Planetary Boundaries’.
• A new population modelling approach:
  • In the new Earth4All Initiative report, the researchers set aside population-modelling approaches adopted by the UN.
  • Instead, they modelled birth rates explicitly and causally as a function of GDP per person which shows a negative correlation between income and fertility rate.
  • The per-capita GDP is a “proxy” for female education and socio-economic mobility, among other factors.
• Two scenarios created:
  • Based on such modelling, the researchers advanced two scenarios.
  • In the first, called “Too Little, Too Late”, it is predicted that if economic development continues as it has in the last five decades, the world’s population would peak at 8.6 billion in 2050, roughly 25 years from now, and decline to 7 billion by 2100.
  • In the second scenario, called “The Giant Leap”, the researchers concluded that the population will peak at 8.5 billion by 2040 – a decade sooner than 2050 – but then rapidly decline to around 6 billion by 2100.
    • This will be due to investments in poverty alleviation, gender equity, education and health, ameliorating inequality, and food and energy security.
• India specific findings:  
  • India would surpass China as the most populous country in 2023.
  • India’s total fertility rate would be 2.1 (lower in urban centres).
  • These scenarios present India with a unique challenge:
    • on the one hand, it will have a very large ‘young population’ (18-35-year-olds) that is also un- or under-employed,
    • on the other, it is dealing with rapidly declining fertility and a skewed women-to-men demographic ratio.

About Earth4All InitiativeEarth4All is an international initiative to accelerate the systems-change we need for an equitable future on a finite planet. It is a new international collaboration that will bring together leading researchers and policymakers, led by teams of:the Club of Rome,the Norwegian Business School andthe Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK).Together, they will explore transformational political and economic solutions for the 21st century to catalyze transformation along five pathways:energy,food,inequality,poverty andpopulation (including health and education).The initiative builds the Limits to Growth report commissioned by the Club of Rome and published in 1972.

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Topic 9: Language Friendship Bridge

Context: India is planning to create a pool of experts in languages spoken in countries such as Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan and Indonesia to facilitate better people-to-people exchanges.

Key details:

• The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) has envisaged a special project called ‘The Language Friendship Bridge.
• Aim:
  • to train five to 10 people in the official languages of each of these countries.
  • to expand its cultural footprint in nations with which it has historical ties, including those in its immediate neighbourhood,
• Languages covered:
  • As of now, the ICCR has zeroed in on 10 languages:
    • Kazakh, Uzbek, Bhutanese, Ghoti (spoken in Tibet),
    • Burmese, Khmer (spoken in Cambodia),
    • Thai, Sinhalese and Bahasa (spoken in both Indonesia and Malaysia).
• Need:
  • In India, the focus till now has been on learning European languages such as Spanish, French and German, along with the languages of major Asian economies such as China and Japan.
  • India requires translators, interpreters and teachers in the languages of these countries with which it shares a cultural history.

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Topic 10: Cyber insurance

Context: Businesses steadily rely on digital technology to operate, store data, and communicate with a more extensive customer base, propelling their growth which makes them vulnerable and calls for a need of cyber insurance.

What is cyber insurance?

• Cybersecurity insurance is a product that enables businesses to mitigate the risk of cyber crime activity like cyberattacks and data breaches.
• It protects organizations from the cost of internet-based threats affecting IT infrastructure, information governance, and information policy, which often are not covered by commercial liability policies and traditional insurance products.
• Benefits:
  • If your business experiences a data breach, resulting in the theft or loss of sensitive data, cyber insurance can cover the loss.
  • When a cyberattack causes a business to shut down or experience a disruption, cyber insurance can provide coverage for lost income and expenses.
  • If it results in damages to third parties, such as customers or partners, the insurance can cover legal defence costs and damages awarded.

• Kinds of coverage
  • First-party cover shields the business from costs incurred when it is afflicted by fraudulent activities such as a data breach.
  • Third-party cover offers protection from legal liabilities arising from any third party in the event of suing of the organisation for data breach and mishandling their data.
• What is not covered?
  • violation of contracts,
  • breach of trade secrets and trademarks, and
  • disputes over registered patents or intellectual propert
  • deceitful or deliberate behaviour or any fraudulent act infringing the rule or regulation
  • Property damage, harm, or injuries caused due to negligence,
  • lack of precaution to safeguard confidential banking information, etc.,
  • Ongoing and uninsurable legal cases and
  • physical injury, death, or damage to any tangible object

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Human composting

Context: Recently, New York became the sixth state in the US to legalise human composting as a burial option.

Need for human composting:

• With the global temperature soaring, methods like burials and cremations are increasingly being seen as contributors to carbon emissions.
• Cremating one body emits an estimated 190 kg of carbon dioxide into the air, which is the equivalent of driving 756 km in a car.
• Burial, apart from an indefinite use of land, involves embalming a corpse in toxic solutions, which could be harmful to the soil.

What is human composting?

• Human composting uses much less energy than cremation.
• The soil produced through this procedure can be used for gardening or can be spread in designated memorial grounds or forest conservation areas.
• How does human composting take place?
  • The body is dressed in a biodegradable gown.
  • It’s then placed in a closed vessel along with selected materials such as alfalfa, straw and sawdust.
  • To speed up the decay, oxygen is added to the vessel, which results in the unfolding of a process called aerobic digestion, in which microbes start to consume organic matter.
  • Meanwhile, the temperature inside the container is kept around 55 degrees Celsius in order to kill off contagions.
  • By time the aerobic digestion is over, the body has been transformed into a soil-like material.
  • After this, the family of the deceased is given the soil, which weighs around 181 kg.