Section 69 (A) of the Information Technology Act, 2000
Context:
Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) issued orders under Section 69 (A) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 to take down certain posts from Twitter (Microblogging Site).
- Twitter has moved to Karnataka High Court, claiming that many of the blocking orders are procedurally and substantively deficient under Section 69 (A) of the Act.
Relevance:
GS III- Science and Technology
Dimensions of the Article:
- What is the Current Issue?
- What is the IT Act?
- Section 69 of the IT Act
- What is the Reason for Intermediaries to Show Compliance to IT Act?
What is the Current Issue?
- According to Section 69(A) of the IT Act, the company “failed to comply with the orders on numerous occasions,” according to the Ministry.
- In response to a request from the government in 2021, Twitter provided a list of more than 80 accounts and tweets that it had previously disabled.
- Twitter asserts that the reasons why the Ministry flagged several accounts and posts are either “overbroad and arbitrary” or “disproportionate.”
- According to Twitter, some of the ministry’s flagged content may relate to official political party accounts, and removing them might violate their Right to Free Speech.
What is the IT Act?
- The year 2000 saw the rise of IT Bill which it received assent of President and hence came to be the Information Technology (IT) act in which Cyber laws are contained.
- The Aim of the Act was to provide legal infrastructure for e-commerce in India.
- The Information Technology Act, 2000 also aims to provide for the legal framework so that legal sanctity is accorded to all electronic records and other activities carried out by electronic means. The Act states that unless otherwise agreed, an acceptance of contract may be expressed by electronic means of communication and the same shall have legal validity and enforceability.
- In India, the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, as amended from time to time, governs all activities related to the use of computer resources.
- It covers all ‘intermediaries’ who play a role in the use of computer resources and electronic records.
- The role of the intermediaries has been spelt out in separate rules framed for the purpose in 2011- The Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011.
Amendment to the IT Act
- The Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008 – An act to amend the IT Act 2000 received the assent of the President on 5th February 2009.
It dealt with various changes such as:
- Data Protection –with no specific reference to Data Protection in 2000 Act, the ITA 2008 introduced two sections addressing Data Protection, Section 43A (Compensation for failure to protect data), and Section 72A (Punishment for disclosure of information in breach of lawful contract.
- Information Preservation – Section 67C refers to the Preservation and Retention of Information by Intermediaries. According to Central Government, any intermediary who intentionally or knowingly contravenes the provisions shall be punished with an imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 years and shall not be liable to fine.
- Section 69 gives power to issue directions for interception or monitoring or decryption of any information through any computer source.
- Section 69B authorizes to monitor and collect traffic data or information through any computer resource for Cyber security.
Section 69 of the IT Act
- It confers on the Central and State governments the power to issue directions “to intercept, monitor or decrypt any information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer resource”.
The grounds on which these powers may be exercised are:
- In the interest of the sovereignty or integrity of India, defence of India, the security of the state.
- Friendly relations with foreign states.
- Public order, or for preventing incitement to the commission of any cognizable offence relating to these.
- For investigating any offence.
Process of Blocking Internet Websites:
- Section 69A, for similar reasons and grounds (as stated above), enables the Centre to ask any agency of the government, or any intermediary, to block access to the public of any information generated, transmitted, received or stored or hosted on any computer resource.
- The term ‘intermediaries’ includes providers of telecom service, network service, Internet service and web hosting, besides search engines, online payment and auction sites, online marketplaces and cyber cafes.
- Any such request for blocking access must be based on reasons given in writing.
Intermediaries and their obligation as per the IT Act
- The term ‘intermediaries’ includes providers of telecom service, network service, Internet service and web hosting, besides search engines, online payment and auction sites, online marketplaces and cyber cafes.
- It includes any person who, on behalf of another, “receives, stores or transmits” any electronic record. Social media platforms would fall under this definition.
- Intermediaries are required to preserve and retain specified information in a manner and format prescribed by the Centre for a specified duration.
- Contravention of this provision may attract a prison term that may go up to three years, besides a fine.
- When a direction is given for monitoring, the intermediary and any person in charge of a computer resource should extend technical assistance in the form of giving access or securing access to the resource involved.
- Failure to extend such assistance may entail a prison term of up to seven years, besides a fine.
- Failure to comply with a direction to block access to the public on a government’s written request also attracts a prison term of up to seven years, besides a fine.
Metaverse Standards Forum
Context:
Recently, various brands gathered for the founding of the Metaverse Standards Forum for the development of interoperability standards to drive the growth of the metaverse.
Relevance:
GS III- Science and technology
Dimensions of the Article:
- What is Metaverse?
- What is the Metaverse Standards Forum?
- What is the Need of Interoperability of Metaverse?
What is Metaverse?
- It is a network of always-on virtual environments in which many people can interact with one another and digital objects through virtual representations of themselves.
- The term may also refer to digital spaces which are made more lifelike by the use of virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR).
- There is also a specific type of metaverse which uses blockchain technology. In these, users can buy virtual land and other digital assets using cryptocurrencies.
What are the key aspects of a Metaverse?
There are three key aspects of a metaverse:
- Presence is the feeling of actually being in a virtual space, with virtual others. This sense of presence is achieved through virtual reality (VR) technologies such as head-mounted displays. It improves the quality of online interactions.
- Interoperability means being able to seamlessly travel between virtual spaces with the same virtual assets. That is, one virtual representation created, can be used in different virtual worlds.
- Standardization– These are common technological standards that are essential for widespread adoption. This enables interoperability of platforms and services across the metaverse.
What is the Metaverse Standards Forum?
- The concept of the metaverse has yet to be fully established, but interest in virtual and augmented realities fast-tracks the growth of various metaverse projects.
- In light of the growing anticipation for the metaverse, Metaverse Standards Forum was established “to foster the development of open standards for the metaverse”.
- “Open Standards” are standards made available to the general public and are developed (or approved) and maintained via a collaborative and consensus driven process. “Open Standards” facilitate interoperability and data exchange among different products or services and are intended for widespread adoption.
- The internet is interoperable through the power of HTML, the metaverse also requires a similar interface for users to navigate between virtual worlds freely.
Objectives:
- It aims to analyze the interoperability necessary for running the metaverse.
- Interoperability is the driving force for the growth and adoption of the open metaverse.
- It will focus on pragmatic, action-based projects such as implementation prototyping, hackathons, plugfests, and open-source tooling to accelerate the testing and adoption of metaverse standards.
- It will also develop consistent language and deployment guidelines to expand the online universe.
What is the Need of Interoperability of Metaverse?
- Interoperability equips the metaverse with support for the different features and activities across projects.
- This continuity is essential in generating a fluid user experience from one metaverse project to another.
- With open interoperability standards and guidelines to follow, companies can launch fully interoperable projects, allowing them to integrate their programming interfaces with other projects.
- There has to be a set of commonly agreed upon protocols to make the metaverse work, just like how Transfer Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) enabled the Internet to go live four decades ago.
- Such protocols help us in connecting to a WiFi network from home and office without changing our devices.
- They are a result of open standards. The potential of the metaverse will be best realised only if it is built on open standards.
- Proponents of the metaverse call it the future of the Internet with 3D at its core. And to fully simulate the digital world, 3D interoperability has to be met.
Monkeypox Infection
Context:
Recently, Study finds three asymptomatic monkeypox cases.
Relevance:
GS II-Health
Dimensions of the Article:
- Details
- About Monkeypox virus
- Zoonotic disease
- Symptoms and treatment
- What did the study find?
About Monkeypox virus
- The monkeypox virus is an orthopoxvirus, which is a genus of viruses that also includes the variola virus, which causes smallpox, and vaccinia virus, which was used in the smallpox vaccine.
- Monkeypox causes symptoms similar to smallpox, although they are less severe.
- While vaccination eradicated smallpox worldwide in 1980, monkeypox continues to occur in a swathe of countries in Central and West Africa, and has on occasion showed up elsewhere.
- According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), two distinct clade are identified: the West African clade and the Congo Basin clade, also known as the Central African clade.
Zoonotic disease
- Monkeypox is a zoonosis, that is, a disease that is transmitted from infected animals to humans.
- According to the WHO, cases occur close to tropical rainforests inhabited by animals that carry the virus.
- Monkeypox virus infection has been detected in squirrels, Gambian poached rats, dormice, and some species of monkeys.
- Human-to-human transmission is, however, limited — the longest documented chain of transmission is six generations, meaning the last person to be infected in this chain was six links away from the original sick person, the WHO says.
Transmission:
- Transmission, when it occurs, can be through contact with bodily fluids, lesions on the skin or on internal mucosal surfaces, such as in the mouth or throat, respiratory droplets and contaminated objects.
Symptoms and treatment
- According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), monkeypox begins with a fever, headache, muscle aches, back ache, and exhaustion.
- It also causes the lymph nodes to swell (lymphadenopathy), which smallpox does not.
- The WHO underlines that it is important to not confuse monkeypox with chickenpox, measles, bacterial skin infections, scabies, syphilis and medication-associated allergies.
- The incubation period (time from infection to symptoms) for monkeypox is usually 7-14 days but can range from 5-21 days.
- Usually within a day to 3 days of the onset of fever, the patient develops a rash that begins on the face and spreads to other parts of the body.
- The skin eruption stage can last between 2 and 4 weeks, during which the lesions harden and become painful, fill up first with a clear fluid and then pus, and then develop scabs or crusts.
- According to the WHO, the proportion of patients who die has varied between 0 and 11% in documented cases, and has been higher among young children.
Treatment:
- There is no safe, proven treatment for monkeypox yet.
- The WHO recommends supportive treatment depending on the symptoms.
- Awareness is important for prevention and control of the infection.
Mission Vatsalya Scheme
Context:
Recently, the central government issued guidelines to states about the Mission Vatsalya child protection scheme
Relevance:
GS II- Welfare schemes
Dimensions of the Article:
- What are the New Guidelines?
- About Mission Vatsalya Scheme:
- Key objectives of Mission Vatsalya
What are the New Guidelines?
- According to the guidelines, states cannot change the original name of the scheme in order to gain access to funding granted by the central government.
- Funds to states will be approved through the Mission Vatsalya Project Approval Board (PAB), which will be chaired by the WCD Secretary, who will scrutinise and approve annual plans and financial proposals received from states and UTs for release of grants.
- It will be implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in partnership with state governments and UT administrations, with a fund-sharing pattern in a 60:40 ratio.
- However, for the eight states in the Northeast — as well as Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and the UT of Jammu and Kashmir — the Centre and state/UT’s share will be 90:10
- MVS, in partnership with states and districts, will execute a 24×7 helpline service for children, as defined under Juvenile Justice Act, 2015.
- It will support State Adoption Resource Agencies (SARA), which will further support the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) in promoting in-country adoption and regulating inter-country adoption.
- SARA shall coordinate, monitor and develop the work related to non-institutional care, including adoption in the state.
- The Mission plans to establish cradle baby reception centers in at least one specialized adoption agency in each area for receiving abandoned and trafficked children
- Children in need of care, as well as special needs children, will be placed in distinct homes based on gender (including separate homes for transgender children) and age.
- As they are unable to attend school due to physical or mental disabilities, these institutions will provide special educators, therapists, and nurses to impart occupational therapy, speech therapy, verbal therapy, and other remedial classes.
- Further, employees in these specialised divisions must be fluent in sign language, Braille, and other related languages.
- Establishment of open Shelters by the state government will be supported to care for runaway children, missing children, trafficked children, working children, children in street situations, child beggars, child substance abusers etc.
- Financial support has also been prescribed for vulnerable children living with extended families or in foster care, supporting their education, nutrition, and health needs.
About Mission Vatsalya Scheme:
Nodal: Ministry of Women & Child Development
- It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme .
- “Mission Vatsalya” erstwhile Child Protection Services (CPS) Scheme, since 2009-10 for the welfare and rehabilitation of children.
- Mission Vatsalya is a roadmap to achieve development and child protection priorities aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
- It lays emphasis on child rights, advocacy and awareness along with strengthening of the juvenile justice care and protection system with the motto to ‘leave no child behind’.
- The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 provisions and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 form the basic framework for implementation of the Mission.
Vision and Mission of the Scheme:
Vision:
- To secure a healthy & happy childhood for each and every child in India, ensure opportunities to enable them to discover their full potential and assist them in flourishing in all respects, in a sustained manner.
- Mission Vatsalya promotes family based non-institutional care of children in difficult circumstances based on the principle of institutionalization of children as a measure of last resort.
The Mission aims to:
- Support and sustain Children in difficult circumstances;
- Develop context-based solutions for holistic development of children from varied backgrounds;
- Provide scope for encouraging innovative solutions;
- Cement convergent action.
Key objectives of Mission Vatsalya
- Prioritisation of children in the scheme of Administration keeping Centrality of the Child during all the activities and actions taken under the Mission.
- Best interest of the Child while designing or delivering projects and programmes and to take affirmative action to ensure right to grow in happy family environment with strong social safety net to support families.
- Ensuring Children’s right to Survival, Development, Protection and Participation.
- To establish essential services and strengthen emergency outreach, noninstitutional care within the family and community, and institutional care counselling and support services at the national, regional, state and district levels.
- To ensure appropriate inter-sector response at all levels, coordinate and network with all allied systems to promote convergent efforts for seamless service delivery to children.
- To strengthen child protection at family and community level, equip families and communities to identify risks and vulnerabilities affecting children, create and promote preventive measures to protect children from situations of vulnerability, risk and abuse.
- Encourage private sector partnerships and interventions to support children within the framework of law.
- Raise public awareness, educate public about child rights, vulnerabilities and measures for protection sponsored by government and engage community at all levels as stakeholder in ensuring the best interest of children.
- To build capacities of duty holders & service providers at all levels.
- Monitor progress on objective parameters against well-defined Outputs and Outcomes
- Participation of Panchayats and Municipal Local Bodies at the village level and at the ward and the urban cluster level within the urban municipal ward, for sustained assessment of the issues deserving attention, implementation of appropriate interventions, regular monitoring to develop a robust social safety net for children.
Significance of Sannati
Context:
Left almost unattended to for 20 years after excavation, the ancient Buddhist site on the bank of Bhima river near Kanaganahalli (forming part of Sannati site) in Kalaburagi district, has finally got some attention.
Relevance:
GS I- Art and Culture
Dimensions of the Article:
- About Sannati
- Significance of Sannati
About Sannati
- Sannati is a small village on the banks of the River Bhima in Chittapur Taluk of Kalaburagi (Gulbarga).
- It came into prominence after the collapse of the roof of the Kali temple in Chandralamba temple complex in 1986.
- The collapse revealed the historically valuable Ashokan edicts written in Prakrit language and Brahmi script at the foundations of the temple, attracting historians from across India.
- While the Stupa is believed to be one of the largest of its time.
- The stone-portrait is considered to be the only surviving image of the Mauryan Emperor which had the inscription ‘Raya Asoko’ in Brahmi on it.
Significance of Sannati
- Further revelations led to the discovery of the magnificent Maha Stupa, which had been referred to as Adholoka Maha-Chaitya (The Great Stupa of the Netherworlds) in the inscriptions.
- More importantly, a sculpture-portrait of Ashoka seated on his throne with his queens was also discovered.
- Historians believe that the Sannati Ranamandal (war zone) was a fortified area spread over 210 acres, of which only a couple of acres have been excavated so far.
