PM IAS NOV 15 NEWS ANALYSIS

Online Safety of Women

In Context

• Various parliament committees in India have held meetings to discuss the issue of online safety of women over the years.

More about the news

• One of the reasons behind notifying the new IT rules had been rooted in the growing concern regarding the safety and security of users, particularly women and children.
• With the government showing regard for the issue of women’s safety online, there is an opportunity to discuss the following things in detail:
  • The nature of technology-facilitated abuse, 
  • Capturing what this means, 
  • Understanding how cases impact individuals as well as communities, 
  • The language needed to capture such offences and 
  • The punishment — penalties, jail or even rehabilitation programmes for perpetrators. 

Issue of Online safety of Women

• What is the Cyber crime?
  • Cyber crime is a crime that involves the use of computer devices and the Internet. 
  • It can be committed against an individual, a group of people, government and private organizations.
• Following areas in the “online world” that need “urgent” attention: 
  • Digital divide: 
    • It is a divide that keeps more than half of the world’s women offline, largely because it is too expensive, or they do not have access to the equipment or skills to use it.
  • Online safety: 
    • According to a survey, more than half of young women have experienced violence online, including sexual harassment, threatening messages and having private images shared without consent.
      • The vast majority believe the problem is getting worse.
    • Women’s rights defenders and female journalists were targeted for abuse more than most.
  • Inadequate artificial intelligence:
    • The third threat comes from badly designed artificial intelligence systems that repeat and exacerbate discrimination. 

Challenges

• Issues faced by women:
  • The dangerous trend in online abuse was forcing women out of jobs, causing girls to skip school, damaging relationships and silencing female opinions, prompting him to conclude that “the web is not working for women and girls”.
• Silent impact on people’s lives:
  • What victims are told all the time is ‘Oh, that’s nothing, ignore it, or close your account. But this has a big impact on people’s lives. 
• Tech firms acting as mute spectators:
  • Tech firms are not neutral actors, and their decisions have real-world consequences. 
  • But for too long we’ve seen a piecemeal and often insufficient response from platforms that put users in harm’s way.
• Offline impacts:
  • Online harassment often translates into offline impacts and consequences, with much documented evidence in this regard. 
• Aims that can not be achieved:
  • Without tackling misogynistic online abuse, the aims of the internet & digital dividend cannot be achieved.

Government initiatives

• Specific provisions in IT Act for cybercrime against women:
  • Violation of privacy (section 66E)
  • Obscene material (section 67)
  • Pornography & sexually explicit act (section 67A)
  • Child pornography (section 67B)
• Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021:
  • Definition of Digital Media: 
    • It will cover digitised content that can be transmitted over the internet or computer networks.
    • It also includes intermediaries such as Twitter and Facebook, and publishers of news and current affairs content.
    • It also includes so-called curators of such content.
    • Publishers of news and current affairs content will cover online papers, news portals, news agencies, and news aggregators.
  • Three Tier Check Structure:
    • Part III of the rules imposed three-tier complaints and adjudication structure on publishers.
      • Self-regulation.
      • Industry regulatory body headed by a former judge of the Supreme Court and High Court with additional members from an I&B ministry approved panel.
      • Oversight mechanism that includes an inter ministerial committee with the authority to block access to content.
        • The Inter ministerial Committee can also take suo motu cognisance of an issue, and any grievance flagged by the ministry.
• The “Digital Literacy and Online Safety Programme”:
  • It aims to train 60,000 women in universities across major cities of India regarding safe use of internet, social media and email that will enable them to differentiate between the credible and questionable information available online. 
  • The programme, in its initial phase, is o to cover the states of Punjab, Manipur, Haryana, Meghalaya, Delhi-NCR, Sikkim, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. 
  • The programme seeks promoting digital literacy for women including the precautions that can be taken; raising awareness about cyber crimes; and advising the users about the resources available to women; to prevent the problems and also how to handle such crimes. 

Solutions & Way ahead

• Despite these efforts, it is clear that women in India won’t feel safe online anytime soon unless society lets them.
  • What could be helpful here is to elevate the public discourse around technology-facilitated abuse.
• Already, we know that crimes against women are the top category in India’s crime statistics, with cyber crimes a few rungs lower on the scale.
  • Where the two intersect is where we need to focus if we are to make online space safe.
• Social media sites can use their “algorithm power” to proactively tackle with the issue.
• Governments need to strengthen laws that hold online abusers to account, and the public to speak up whenever they witnessed abuse online.

Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS)

In News

• The Union government is pushing to set up 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) for tribal students.

About EMRS

• The EMRS model was first introduced in 1997-98.
• Aim: 
  • To provide quality education to tribal students with residential facilities in remote corners. 
  • To build schools at par with the Jawahar Navoday Vidyalayas and Kendriya Vidyalayas. 
• Before 2018-19:
  • The scheme was overseen by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs with maximum control of identifying new schools, recruiting, management and admissions lying with State governments. 
  • The guideline of the scheme noted that States and Union Territories would be responsible for seeking sanction of new schools as and when they needed it. 
  • The funds for these schools were to come from the grants under Article 275(1).
  • The guidelines mandated that unless States finished constructing the schools sanctioned by the Centre, they would not be entitled to funds for new ones. 
  • Apart from the infrastructural requirements of 20-acre plots for each EMRS, the guidelines did not have any criteria of where the EMRS could be set up, leaving it to the discretion of State governments.
• Revamping of the EMRS scheme in 2018-19:
  • The new guidelines gave the Union government more power to sanction schools and manage them. 
  • A National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS) was set up and entrusted with the management of the State Education Society for Tribal Students (SESTS), which would run the EMRS on the ground.
  • The new guidelines set a target of setting up an EMRS in every tribal sub-district and introduced a population criteria for setting them up. 
  • The new guidelines also reduced the minimum land requirement from 20 acres to 15 acres. 
• Population Criteria:
  • One EMRS in every sub-district that has at least a 20,000-odd Scheduled Tribe population, which must be 50% of the total population in that area. 
• Concerns:
  • The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice and Ministry noted this year that the population criteria was “impractical” and needed an “immediate review”.
  • The population criteria were making identification and acquisition of land “more cumbersome”, especially in hilly areas, leftwing extremism-affected areas and the northeast. 
  • A large number of schools were being delayed because of the area (15 acre) requirement.
  • Shortage of teachers: While the new guidelines allowed NESTS to suggest measures for teacher recruitment, they never mandated that States follow it.

Current Status

• The Tribal Affairs Ministry insists on maintaining the new criteria. 
• As of November, a total of 688 schools have been sanctioned, of which 392 are functional. 
• Of the 688, 230 have completed construction and 234 are under construction, with 32 schools still stuck due to land acquisition issues. 
• After approval by the Expenditure Department, all SESTS will be scrapped and regional offices will be set up under the control of NESTS, which will be in charge of recruitment. 
• The ministry says this will solve teacher shortage issues faced by the EMRS network.

Relevance of Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) 

• Students will be empowered to be change agents, beginning in their school, in their homes, in their village and finally in a larger context.
• EMRS can impart quality education to Scheduled Tribes (ST) children in remote areas that will  benefit ST students immensely.
• All students enrolled in would be benefitted from comprehensive physical, mental and socially relevant development.

Challenges of Education amongst the Tribals in India

• Distinct Culture & Languages:
  • The tribal communities have their own cultures, values, traditions, practices, beliefs and lifestyles. 
  • They speak different languages and depend upon natural resources to meet their needs and requirements. 
• Psychological Problems:
  • The financial problems amongst the tribal communities are severe. 
  • They reside in the conditions of poverty, do not possess monetary resources and practice the barter system.
• Unwillingness of Tribals:
  • The tribal communities are mostly illiterate, therefore, they express unwillingness towards the acquisition of education by their children. 
• Attitude of the Tribal Teachers:
  • Teachers do not make much effort to improve the educational levels of the tribal students.
• Lack of Proper Guidance:
  • The backwardness and unawareness of the tribal communities do not avail proper guidance to their children. 

Way Ahead

• Literacy Campaigns:
  • It is crucial to organize a proper awareness campaign to spread the information amongst the tribal communities regarding the significance of education.
• Appointment of Local Teachers and Female Teachers:
  • It is suggested to employ more tribal teachers and female teachers in the tribal areas. 
  • The environmental, ethnic, cultural, and psychological characteristics of the tribal children should be considered carefully by the teachers within tribal communities.
• Use of Technology:
  • The digital initiative can enable the professional development of educators, enabling them to use technology in classrooms.
  • Steps need to be taken to enable education equity, providing equal opportunity and access for the next generation of learners and educators from schools.
• Proper Monitoring:
  • Higher level officials should check the functioning of the schools located in tribal areas on a frequent basis, particularly relating to the teaching-learning methods, working hours, and attendance registers.

General Network Access (GNA)

In News

• Experts have recently flagged issues regarding General Network Access (GNA) regulations.
  • The new connectivity regulation is slated to be opened from December 1, 2022.  

Background

• The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) issued the CERC (Connectivity and General Network Access to the Inter State Transmission System) Regulations, 2022 (GNA Regulations) in June 2022.
  • The GNA Regulations will replace the CERC (Grant of Connectivity, Long-term Access and Medium-term Open Access in Inter-State Transmission and related matters) Regulations, 2009 (CERC Regulations 2009).
  • If implemented it would bring in a radical change to the country’s power disbursal system and create a level playing field.    
• Objectives:
  • Proper planning of transmission system.
  • Assured recovery of transmission charges from the applicant.
• What are the changes that are expected?
  • Currently, a power generator has to work out how the electricity will be wheeled to the consumer under the point-to-point access concept.
    • GNA will enable them to supply from any point, as long as the quantum contracted for is met. 
  • Currently, users have to pay long-term charges under the point-to-point connectivity regime, and shell out short-term charges for any deviations from the agreed path.
    • All that changes with GNA, where there is complete flexibility offered to players on injection and drawal.
  • These regulations aim to provide non-discriminatory open access to the inter-state transmission system (ISTS) to generating companies through general network access (GNA).
    • Unlike the present ISTS open access system where generators are required to identify a consumer prior to grant of open access. 
• Eligibility criteria:
  • The draft clearly defines the eligibility for GNA. According to the draft, the following entities shall be eligible as applicants for grant of GNA or for enhancement of the quantum of GNA:
    • State Transmission Utility on behalf of distribution licensees connected to intra-State transmission system and other intra-State entities;
    • A buying entity connected to intra-State transmission system; Draft Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Connectivity and General Network Access to the inter-State transmission System) Regulations, 2021;
    • A distribution licensee or a bulk consumer, seeking to connect to ISTS, directly, with a load of 50 MW and above;
    • Trading licensees engaged in cross-border trade of electricity in terms of the Cross Border Regulations;
    • Transmission licensee connected to ISTS for drawal of auxiliary power.

What is General Network Access (GNA)?

• GNA means open access to the inter-State transmission system. This is in keeping with the concept of “one nation, one grid”. 
• The GNA as a transmission service provides more flexibility and the possibility of open access to the buyers and sellers of power in terms of scheduling, subject to grid constraints, and does not suffer from the rigidity of the current point-to-point open access mechanism.  

Major Issues

• Favouring Big players: These connectivity regulations could potentially end up favouring the bigger players in the sector.
  • The bigger players took advantage of the liberal grant of connectivity by the CERC in 2016 without any stringent pre-conditions.
• Preconditions have been diluted or removed: The biggest shortcoming in the accompanying connectivity regulations pertains to the perceived dilution of the pre-conditions set for grant of connectivity.
  • New rules in 2018 were incorporated such as strict conditions like the letter of award (LOA), financial closure status, the acquisition of 50 per cent land to counter the squatting of grid connectivity by players etc. 
• Market capture: Big Renewable Energy developers will end up potentially capturing the most lucrative RE pooling stations with multiple applications and apply for a staggered date of completion depending on anticipated investment resources. 

Significance

• Beneficial for all: This is expected to benefit the power generator and consumer, who now are dealing with challenges of transmission too. 
• Roles are defined clearly: It will untangle the current webs in the system and ensure that a generator focuses only on producing power and the consumer on buying it. How it will be transmitted will no longer be a restriction or a challenge. 
• Seamless integrated electricity market: The new framework is being seen as a quantum leap in tiding over the problem of transmission constraints and fostering open access to help develop a seamlessly integrated electricity market.
• Customer centric approach: A consumer is not worried about where the supply will come from and what energy source it will come from. The quantum contracted for will be transmitted to the consumer. 

Conclusion

• Though it is still at a draft proposal stage, GNA is a much awaited change and the power generators have been waiting for it.

Importance of Agri Exports

In News

• India’s agriculture exports have grown 16.5% year-on-year in April-September, and look set to surpass the record $50.2 billion achieved in 2021-22 (April-March).

Key Points

• Growing exports:
  • India’s agriculture exports are growing, and could hit a new high this fiscal. 
• Major export item:
  • But imports are growing faster, driven in large part by vegetable oils. 
  • Even commodities whose exports have been subjected to curbs — wheat, rice and sugar — have shown impressive jumps in shipments.
    • The government had recently banned the export of wheat. 
  • According to Commerce Ministry data, wheat exports, at 45.90 lakh tonnes (lt) during the April-September period, were nearly twice the 23.76 lt for the same period last year.
  • In May, sugar exports were moved from the “free” to “restricted” list.
  • Exports of broken rice were prohibited, and a 20% duty slapped on all other non-parboiled non-basmati shipments.
• Surpasses 2021 Record:
  • India’s agriculture exports have grown 16.5% year-on-year in April-September.
  • India’s deficit in its overall merchandise trade account (exports minus imports of goods) widened from $76.25 billion in April-September 2021 to $146.55 billion in April-September this year. 
  • During the same period, the surplus in agriculture trade reduced only a tad, from $7.86 billion to $7.46 billion.

Image Courtesy: IE

• Importance of Surplus:
  • The surplus in agricultural trade matters because this is one sector, apart from software services, where India has some comparative advantage.
• India’s top agriculture export items:
  • As many as 15 of them individually grossed more than $1 billion in revenue during 2021-22. 
  • All barring two (cotton and spices) have posted positive growth in the first half of the current fiscal too.
  • In spices, India’s exports in recent times have been powered mainly by chilli, mint products, oils & oleoresins, cumin, turmeric, and ginger. 
  • In traditional plantation spices such as pepper and cardamom, the country has become as much an importer as an exporter. 
  • India has largely turned an importer into cashew.
• Competition:
  • India has been out-priced by Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Brazil in pepper, while it has lost market share to Guatemala in cardamom.
• Import:
  • Vegetable oils
    • Almost 60% of India’s total agri imports is accounted for by vegetable oils. 
    • Vegetable oils are today the country’s fifth biggest import item after petroleum, electronics, gold, and ccoal.

Challenges in Agri Sector Exports

• Scrutiny of WTO:
  • India’s agricultural exports are under intense scrutiny in the World Trade Organization (WTO). 
  • In 2019, Australia, Brazil, and Guatemala complained to WTO’s dispute settlement body that the Central government was implementing several subsidy schemes for promoting sugar exports. 
  • The complainants argued that by implementing these subsidy schemes, the government had violated the rules of WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture (AoA), which prohibit the use of export subsidies. 
• Subsidies Breaching Threshold:
  • According to the WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture (AoA), subsidies that developing countries like India provide cannot exceed 10% of their value of agricultural production. 
  • This implies if India’s food subsidies provided through the PDS are taken together with those granted to farmers in the form of MSP and input assistance, its subsidies bill will surely exceed the 10% threshold. 
• Clarifications Regarding Schemes:
  • During the deliberations in the WTO’s Committee on Agriculture, several countries, including Japan, Russia and the US, have sought clarifications from India as to whether its exports of food grains are in any way linked to the Open Market Sales Scheme of the Food Corporation of India.

Way Ahead

• A focus on domestic production and new technologies can help boost the farm trade surplus.
• A similar approach, aimed at boosting domestic output and yields, may be required in cotton.
• As India’s food grains exports have increased, so has the scrutiny by other WTO members. The government needs a well-considered strategy to meet this challenge.

India’s “low emissions” Pathway

In News

• India recently announced its long-term strategy to transition to a “low emissions” pathway at the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) ongoing in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

More about the LT-LEDS (Long Term-Low Emission Development Strategy)

Reaching the net-zero target:

• Every country has to submit its long-term strategy, showing how it plans to reach its net-zero target.
  • Developed countries have to reach net-zero status by 2050 
  • China has decided to get there by 2060 
  • India has set 2070 as its target year.

India’s LT-LEDS:

• Global carbon budget:
  • India’s long-term strategy towards a low-carbon development must be seen in the context of its “right to equitable and fair share of the global carbon budget”.
• Details of transition:
  • India has provided details of the kind of transitions it is seeking to make in electricity, transport, building and forests sectors, along with the research and development efforts and finance that would be required to make these transitions. 
• No specific details provided by India:
  • Unlike some other countries that have submitted their long-term strategies, India has avoided mentioning specific details like numbers, mid-term targets, scenarios, pathways or projections in its journey towards the net-zero goal.
    • For example, for the transport sector, India has said it will achieve decarbonisation through improved fuel efficiency, adoption of electric vehicles and cleaner fuels, and promotion of public transport. 
    • But it does not mention any mid-term goals or the amount of money that it plans to invest to make this work.
  • NDC’s:
    • These are what are known as nationally determined contributions, or NDCs, which have to be renewed for a further five-year period every five years.
• Finances:
  • Various estimates of finance needed for India’s transition to a low-carbon economy compatible with a 2070 net-zero status are given in the strategy paper. 
• Challenges:
  • Need of finances:
    • India needs “tens of trillions of dollars by 2050” to transition to a low-carbon development path that would take it to the promised net-zero status.
    • It says India would separately need large sums of money for adaptation as well, even though it was “substantially more challenging to quantify”.
  • Source of money:
    • The document says that the money would have to come from domestic and international sources, both in the public and private sector. 
    • In this context, the document also mentions the lack of adequate climate finance from the developed countries, as is mandated by the Paris Agreement.

Conference of Parties(COP): It is the supreme decision-making body of the UNFCCC.Aim:The agreement seeks to limit global warming to well below 2°C, preferably to 1.5°C, compared to pre-industry levels. Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs): To achieve the targets under the agreement, the member countries have to submit the targets themselves, which they believe would lead to substantial progress towards reaching the Paris temperature goal. Initially, these targets are called Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs). They are converted to NDCs when the country ratifies the agreement.India’s Updated pledge:India now stands committed to reducing the emissions intensity of its GDP by 45 percent by 2030 from its 2005 levels, as per the updated NDC. The country will also target about 50 percent of cumulative electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.To further a healthy and sustainable lifestyle, ‘LIFE’ ‘Lifestyle for Environment’ as a key to combating climate change” has been added to India’s NDC.What is the meaning of Net Zero?A state in which a country’s emissions are compensated by absorption and removal of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from the atmosphere is called Net Zero State; it is also referred to as carbon-neutrality.It is done through natural processes as well as futuristic technologies such as carbon capture and storage.

Other Challenges 

• Failure of the developed countries: 
  • The continued failure of the developed countries to fulfill their long-standing commitments on finance and technology is expected to make even the current transitions a lot more difficult.
• Environmental shocks: 
  • There are changes in cropping patterns; there are floods and a great need to make agriculture resilient to these shocks.
• Global carbon budget: 
  • Limiting the increase in the world’s average temperature from pre-industrial levels to those agreed in the Paris Agreement requires global cumulative emissions of carbon dioxide to be capped at the global carbon budget.
• Arguments against committing to a net-zero target:
  • Huge revenue loss for poorer Indian states such as Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
    • For states such as Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, close to 15% of the state revenue comes from the mining sector. 
  • These states would lose out on employment, as new employment in the renewable sector would be created in western and southern India which has better solar and wind resources.

Way Ahead for Approaching the action Plans

• First, climate change is a global problem and it requires cooperation between all nations.
• Second, it needs rules that are fair and just, for the poor and the rich alike.
• Third, science is clear that humans are responsible for the global temperature rise and that this increase will lead to more and more variable and extreme weather events, much like what we are seeing now.
• Four, it is possible to estimate each country’s responsibility for the stock of emissions already in the atmosphere — the historical cumulative emissions that have “forced” climate change impacts.
• And fifth, countries that have not yet contributed to the emissions will do so in the future, simply because the world has reneged on the need to make global rules that would apply fairly to all.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) Fishing

In News

• The illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing continues to rise beyond India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

About

• Most of the illegal activity is found in the Northern Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
• There has been a growing incidence of Chinese deep sea fishing trawlers in the Indian Ocean.
• More than 200 Chinese fishing vessels have been monitored in the Indian Ocean in the first half of this year. 

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing 

• About:
  • It is a broad term that captures a wide variety of fishing activity. 
  • IUU fishing is found in all types and dimensions of fisheries; it occurs both on the high seas and in areas within national jurisdiction. 
• Issues with IUU Fishing:
  • Depletes fish stocks, 
  • Destroys marine habitats, 
  • Puts fishermen at disadvantage and 
  • Impacts coastal communities, especially in developing countries.

Initiatives to Tackle IUU Fishing

• Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA)
  • The Quad, comprising India, Australia, Japan and U.S., in May 2022 announced a major regional effort under the ambit of Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA). Aim: To provide a more accurate maritime picture of “near-real-time” activities in the region. 
  • IPMDA is expected to catalyse joint efforts of India and other Quad partners towards addressing IUU in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Regulations: 
  • There are two main regulations globally on IUU fishing:
    • the Cape Town Agreement and 
    • The Agreement on Ports State Measures. 
    • So far, India is not a signatory of either agreement.
  • As per United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), coastal nations are responsible for addressing IUU fishing issues within their respective EEZ. 
  • There are regional fisheries management organizations such as the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement operating under the mandate of UNCLOS as regulatory bodies to monitor IUU fishing on the high seas.
  • The European Union has made it mandatory to provide this information for all fish imports. 
  • In India, larger vessels, over 20 meters in length, have such Automatic Identification Systems installed.

Green Energy Open Access Portal

In News

• Recently, the Union Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy launched the Green Energy Open Access Portal.

About 

• Aim:
  • To ensure affordable, reliable, sustainable, and green energy for all and in continuation of several initiatives to promote clean and green energy by the Government of India
• Features:
  • Any consumer with a connected load of 100 kW or above can get Renewable Energy through open access from any Renewable Energy generating plant set up by himself; or by any developer. 
  • The application for open access can be made on this portal.
  • The open access has to be granted within 15 days or else it will be deemed to have been granted. 
• Open access to stakeholders including:
  • Open access participants, traders, Power Exchanges, National / Regional / State Load Despatch Centres, Central/State transmission utilities.
• Significance:
  • The portal provides a transparent, simplified, uniform and streamlined procedure for granting open access to green energy.
  • It will be key to facilitating the deepening of electricity markets and enabling the integration of Renewable Energy (RE) resources into the grid.
• Electricity (Promoting Renewable Energy through Green Energy Open Access) Rules, 2022:
  • The Ministry of Power notified the Electricity (Promoting Renewable Energy through Green Energy Open Access) Rules, 2022 in June 2022. 
  • The rules aim at the promotion of the generation, purchase and consumption of green energy including the energy from waste-to-energy plants.
  • The rules support India’s vision of a transition to clean energy with the participation of all generators, DISCOMs, and other stakeholders.
• India’s Status
  • India is contributing only 3.5 percent to the global emission despite having about 17 percent of the world population.
  • India is leading the clean energy transition globally and has the fastest growth of RE capacity addition.