GS Paper 2

Registration of birth, death by Aadhaar authentication allowed

Context: According to the notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs’, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has allowed the office of Registrar General and Census Commissioner established under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 to perform Aadhaar authentication for such registration. Authentication process however is not mandatory.

About Birth and Death Registration in India

History of Civil Registration System (CRS) in India dates to the middle of 19th century.
In 1886, a Central Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act was promulgated to provide for voluntary registration throughout British India.
Post-independence, Registration of Births and Death Act was enacted in 1969 to promote uniformity and comparability in registration of Births & Deaths across India and compilation of vital statistics.
Registration of birth, death & still birth is mandatory.
Registrar General, India at Union Government coordinates and unifies activities of registrations.
Implementation of RBD Act is vested with State Governments.
Registration of births and deaths is done by functionaries appointed by State Governments.
Directorate of Census Operations are sub-ordinate offices of Office of Registrar General, India and these offices are responsible of monitoring of the Act in their concerned State/UT.
Under Section 3(3) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, the Registrar-General may issue general directions regarding registration of births and deaths in the territories to which this Act extends, and shall take steps to co-ordinate and unify the activities of Chief Registrars in the matter of registration of births and deaths and submit to the Central Government an annual report on the working of this Act in the said territories.
Under Section 7(1) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, State Government may appoint a Registrar for each local area comprising the area within the jurisdiction of a municipality, panchayat or other local authority or any other area or a combination of any two or more of them. The State Government may also appoint in the case of a municipality, panchayat, or other local authority, any officer or other employee thereof as a Registrar.

What changes has been allowed to facilitate Aadhaar Authentication?

According to the gazette notification, the Registrar appointed under Section 7(1) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 shall be allowed to perform Yes or No Aadhaar authentication, on voluntary basis, for verification of Aadhaar number being collected along with other details as sought in the reporting forms of births or deaths.
The purpose of the authentication is to establish the identity of child, parent and the informant in case of births, and of the parent, spouse and the informant in case of deaths during registration of births or deaths.
The State government and Union territory administration shall adhere to the guidelines with respect to the use of Aadhaar authentication as laid down by MeitY.
Authentication process though not mandatory, aims to promote ease of living and better access to services based as per the Aadhaar Authentication for Good Governance (Social Welfare, Innovation, Knowledge) Rules 2020.

The Aadhaar Authentication for Good Governance (Social Welfare, Innovation, Knowledge) Rules 2020

The Rules has been made by the Central Government, in consultation with Unique Identification Authority of India under the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016.
As per the Rules, Central Government may allow Aadhaar authentication by requesting entities in the interest of good governance, preventing leakage of public funds, promoting ease of living of residents and enabling better access to services for them, for the following purposes, namely:–

usage of digital platforms to ensure good governance;
prevention of dissipation of social welfare benefits; and
enablement of innovation and the spread of knowledge.

The rules however provided that Aadhaar authentication shall be on a voluntary basis.
The Ministry or States desirous of utilising Aadhaar authentication shall prepare a proposal to justify such authentication and submit it to the Centre for making a reference to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

Changes Proposed in Aadhaar Authentication for Good Governance Rules in April 2023

Based on the amendment, any entity other than a Government Ministry or Department that desires to use Aadhaar authentication for the purpose of

promoting ease of living and enabling better access to services, or
usage of digital platforms to ensure good governance, or
preventing dissipation of social welfare benefits, or
enabling innovation and spread of knowledge,

it shall prepare a proposal giving justification as to how the authentication sought is for one of the said purposes and in the interest of State and submit the same to the concerned Ministry or Department of the Central Government in respect of Central subjects and of the State Government in respect of State subjects.
If the Ministry/Department is of the opinion that the proposal submitted fulfils such a purpose and is in the interest of the State, it will forward the proposal along with its recommendation to MeitY.

India – Egypt Relations

Context: During the recent visit of Indian PM to Egypt, the countries took mutual decision to upgrade their ties to a Strategic Partnership, which is seen as a significant move for India’s ties with the West Asia-North Africa (WANA) region that is long overdue, given their historical ties. The visit was also important because it was the first official bilateral visit of the Indian Prime Minister to Egypt since 1997. There have been visits in between but they have mostly been for the multilateral or plurilateral events.

Historic partnership between India & Egypt:

The two countries signed a Friendship Treaty in 1955, and India’s support to Egypt, including during the Suez Canal crisis in 1956, eventually led to the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961, with both as founder members.
They were also instrumental in the G-77 grouping and “South-South Cooperation” initiatives
During the Cold War, India and Egypt were united over their desire not to become “camp followers” of either the U.S. or the Soviet Union

Recent Interactions:

In the recent times their positions on the Ukraine war have been extremely similar — refusing to criticise Russia’s actions but not condoning them either and calling for a diplomatic resolution.
India’s decision to supply wheat to Egypt, one of the world’s biggest importers that was hit by the blockade on exports from Russia and Ukraine last year, won New Delhi much goodwill in Cairo.
The leaders have recently spent much time focusing on multilateral issues, India’s close ties in Egypt’s neighbourhood (especially Israel and Saudi Arabia), food and energy security constraints, and building more cooperation with the Global South including the African Union
Egypt joined the “New Development Bank” set up by BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa), and is keen to join this grouping that will deliberate new memberships at its Summit in Cape Town this August, where Egypt will seek India’s support.

During the recent visit apart from upgrading ties to strategic level following developments were made

The two sides are also pursuing closer cooperation in green energy, pharmaceuticals and defence, with MoUs in agriculture, archaeology and antiquities, and competition law.
Leaders identified green and renewable collaboration will be an important part of future partnership because of the importance the two sides attach to clean energy.
The setting up of the ‘India Unit’ by Egypt was welcomed as it highlights ‘whole of the government approach’ to take forward bilateral relations and also India’s readiness to work closely with Egypt in various areas of mutual interest.
Prime Minister also interacted with the leaders of Bohra community, who are actively involved in the upkeep of this Fatimid era Shi’a Mosque and highlighted the strong people to people ties between India and Egypt.

Importance of Egypt for India

Egypt is the most populous country in West Asia, occupies a crucial geo-strategic location on the international trade map. Egypt hosts the Suez Canal, the channel which connects the Red Sea with the Mediterranean and Europe plus - 12% of global trade passes through it.
Egypt can play a key role in countering global terrorism. With Al Azhar Mosque and university revered across the Muslim world, a voice of moderation emerging from Cairo to counter the millenarian ideas of global Jihad, espoused prominently by Al Qaeda and Islamic State terror groups, can play a major role in the battle of narratives.
Egypt under El- Sisi is totally opposed to the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), making India Cairo’s natural partner in countering the MB ideology which is being transmitted by regional influencers including Qatar and Turkey.
India’s engagement with Egypt can become part of an energetic but pragmatic exercise to limit Chinese influence as China’s bilateral trade with Egypt is currently at USD 15 billion, double that of India’s USD 7.26 billion in 2021-22 plus Sisi has also been wooing Chinese investments and has visited China seven times in the past eight years.
Egypt is a major market for India and can act as a gateway to both Europe and Africa. It is also important to increase India’s influence is increasing in the Middle East and the Indian Ocean Region.

North-Africa in India’s foreign policy matrix:

Gateway to African continent: The nations such as Morocco and Algeria become geographical gateways to other parts of Africa. This is especially relevant for India given its desire to penetrate Francophone Africa
Connectivity to Europe: North African nations are also important for Europe which provides many opportunities for India to collaborate with the European Union (EU) on issues such as terrorism, migration, and climate change amongst others.
Diplomatic Support: India looks forward to generate employment, develop the youth, advance agricultural technology, and combat issues such as climate change and terrorism, amongst others. Specifically with the North African nations, India also aims to garner support for its bid to gain a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council.
Critical Imports: Many of the North African Nations are trade partners of India with commodities such as petroleum, machinery, electrical appliances, medical goods, and many others often being exported and imported between the nations. Of these is phosphate which is used for agricultural purposes to enrich soil is a key import from the region. Indeed, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco account for almost 50 percent of India’s total imports of phosphates resulting in trade deficits occurring in some of the bilateral exchanges.
Traditional and Non-Traditional Security: The second aspect is defence and counter terrorism. India’s defence relations with nations in North Africa are staggered with Egypt, however recently India also upgraded its relationship with Algeria in 2021 having conducted its maiden maritime partnership off the Algerian coast in the Mediterranean a sign of India’s growing interest in growing its maritime prowess as well.
Diplomatic Aid: India has long boosted its image in the North African nations by providing medical, financial, and agricultural aid such as when it donated more than a million dollar to Libya to help stabilise the nation after the fall of Colonel Gaddafi in 2010. Further recently India’s “Vaccine Maitri” programme meant to distribute vaccines for COVID-19 also included North African nations.
Vibrant Diaspora: Indian workers in nations like Libya are well regarded due to their role as skilled medical professionals. In addition, India has also provided educational scholarships to citizens of the North African nations who often come to India to take advantage of the affordable living costs amongst other things
Soft-Power Matrix: Many of the North African nations also have a long love affair with Bollywood, making it one of India’s most powerful soft power export apart from aid for the region. Thus, North African nations have even made documentaries on Bollywood due to the wide penetration of Hindi movies in the nation.

Conclusion:

India’s engagement with the North African nations are historic, but still not as immense as other nations such as UAE and Saudi Arabia. There exists immense potential for India to ramp up its presence in North Africa pertaining to trade, defence, and counterterrorism amongst others. In the long run, this region will become an important gateway to India’s global power ambitions and its presence in Africa, and it would do well to increase its activities here.

INDO- US RELATIONS

Context: Recently Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the US and addressed US Congress for the second time. PM Modi's landmark visit to the US has been very successful with several substantive outcomes relating to semiconductors defence acquisitions, access to critical technology, the Artemis Accord for space cooperation and the resolution of six outstanding trade disputes. The cooperation in defence, space, and high-tech chip-making shows that Indo- US relations are deepening and widening.

Reasons for this deepening and widening of relations between the two countries

The increasing market size of the Indian economy
The growing influence of the Indian diaspora in American business and politics.
The need of the hour to contain Chinese aggression.

Trade & Economic Relations

The rapidly expanding trade and commercial linkages form an important component of the multi-faceted partnership between India and the United States. The U.S. is India’s second-largest trading partner and a major destination for our exports of goods and services. Bilateral trade in goods and services stood at US$ 146 billion in 2019. There are several bilateral dialogue mechanisms in place to discuss issues of mutual interest. These include:
India-U.S. Trade Policy Forum: Established in 2005, the Trade Policy Forum serves as the leading bilateral mechanism to discuss trade-related matters.
India-U.S. Commercial Dialogue: India-U.S. Commercial Dialogue focuses on cooperation in areas such as standards, ease of doing business, travel & tourism, and other important issues of commercial significance.
India-U.S. CEO Forum: The India-U.S. CEO Forum was established in 2005. The Forum meets on the sidelines of the India-U.S. Commercial Dialogue.
Information and Communications Technology: A Joint Working Group on ICT was established in 2005 to bring together government and industry to discuss cooperation in the electronics & IT sector.
India – U.S. Economic and Financial Partnership Dialogue (EFP): India – U.S. Economic and Financial Partnership Dialogue is led by the Finance Minister of India and the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.

Defence Cooperation

India-US defence cooperation is based on the “New Framework for India-US Defence Cooperation”, which was renewed for ten years in 2015.
In 2016 the defence relationship was designated as a Major Defence Partnership (MDP). The MDP recognizes a shared desire to build a comprehensive, enduring and mutually beneficial defence partnership.
On 30 July 2018, India was moved into the Tier-1 of the US Department of Commerce’s Strategic Trade Authorization license exception.
The Defense Policy Group (DPG) headed by the Defense Secretary and Under Secretary of Defense (Policy) provides a platform for a comprehensive review of the defense dialogues/mechanisms. The last DPG was held in Washington D.C. in August 2019.
The 10th Defense Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) meeting co-chaired by the Secretary (Defense Production) and Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Sustainment) was held virtually on 15 September 2020.
Separately, the DTTI Industry Collaboration Forum (DICF) and the DTTI Inter-Agency Task Force (DIATF) met virtually in 2020.
The 4th Maritime Security Dialogue (MSD) was held in August 2019.
The other mechanisms include the Military Cooperation Group, the three Executive Steering Groups (ESGs) for military-to-military cooperation, the Joint Technology Group and the Senior Technology Security Group (STSG).
Defence procurements from the US have been an area of steady growth in the last decade. India has procured defence items of around US$ 21 billion from the US since 2008.
The defence procurement activities are monitored through the Defense Production and Procurement Group; the last meeting took place in August 2019.
Several defence agreements have been signed in recent years. These include
- the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Association (August 2016);
- the Memorandum of Intent between the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and the
- Indian Defense Innovation Organization – Innovation for Defense Excellence (2018); Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (September 2018);
- Industrial Security Agreement (December 2019);
- Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (October 2020).
Bilateral military exercises and defense exchanges are important aspects of deepening military-to-military cooperation.
The two countries now conduct more bilateral exercises with each other than they do with any other country. In addition to several service-to-service exercises,
- A tri-services exercise– Tiger Triumph- was conducted in November 2019
- Bilateral and regional exercises include Yudh Abhyas (Army)
- Vajra Prahar (Special Forces)
- RIMPAC
- Red Flag
- In November 2020, Royal Australian Navy joined the U.S.-India-Japan MALABAR Naval Exercise held in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea
- Both sides have conducted several PASSEX with the US carrier groups in the Indian Ocean Region

QUAD

The four Quad partners (India, Japan, United States & Australia) first formed a “Core Group” in 2004, to swiftly mobilize aid during the joint response to the 2004 Tsunami. Since 2017, Quad engagements have increased and intensified.

Counter Terrorism Cooperation

Cooperation in counter-terrorism has seen considerable progress with information exchange, operational cooperation and sharing of counter-terrorism technology and equipment. India-U.S. Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism oversees the expanding CT cooperation.

Security Cooperation

The Homeland Security Dialogue at the Home Minister/Homeland Secretary level began in May 2011. It has six Joint Working Groups on megacity policing, a global supply chain of transnational crime, countering illicit financing and counterfeiting, cyber security, capacity building and application of S&T in homeland/internal security.

Counter-Narcotics Cooperation

Both countries set up the Counter-Narcotics Working Group which met for the first time virtually on 24 November 2020.

Cyber Security Cooperation

The India-US Cyber Framework signed in September 2016, provides for expanding cooperation in the cyber domain.

Education Cooperation

The United States Educational Foundation in India (USEFI) was set up after a bilateral agreement on education exchange was signed between India and the US on February 2, 1950. In July 2008, India and the US signed a new deal, whereby India and the US committed to fund the Fulbright Program as equal partners.
India-U.S. Higher Education Dialogue, launched in 2012, laid out a road map for promoting strategic institutional partnerships, deepening collaboration in research and development, fostering partnerships in vocational education and focusing on junior faculty development.

Health Cooperation

There has been a longstanding collaboration between India and US in the health sector. Scientists from both countries have been working together in several programs to understand important diseases at the basic and clinical levels. Many such programs have been focused on translational research to develop new therapeutics and diagnostics. The collaboration under Vaccine Action Program (VAP) resulted in the development of the ROTAVAC® vaccine against the rotavirus causing severe diarrhoea in children.

Diaspora/People-to-People ties

About 4.2 million Indian American/Indian origin people reside in the US. The Indian Americans [3.18 million] constitute the third largest Asian ethnic group in the US.

Bilateral Dialogue Mechanisms

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, India-U.S. cooperation witnessed intense engagement under various bilateral dialogue mechanisms in a wide range of areas including defence, security, health, trade, economics, science & technology, energy and people-to-people ties.
India-U.S. 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, led by the heads of Foreign and Defense Ministries of India and the U.S., reviews the bilateral ties in defence, strategic and security domains as well as important regional and global issues.

Parliamentary Exchanges

There have been regular parliamentary exchanges to strengthen ties of friendship and cooperation. In 2019 and early 2020, several Congressional delegations visited India.

Rajasthan Govt: Policy for Denotified Tribes

Context: The Congress government in Rajasthan has initiated a move to prepare a policy for the denotified tribes ahead of this year’s Assembly election despite the fact that very few among them are registered as voters in the absence of any residential proof because of their nomadic lifestyle.

Aim of the government of Rajasthan

The policy will identify the modalities for extending the benefits of development and welfare schemes to these tribes.

'De-notified Tribes'

The term 'De-notified Tribes' stands for all those communities which were once notified under the Criminal Tribes Acts, enforced by the British government between 1871 and 1971. These Acts were repealed by the independent Indian Government in 1952, and these communities were "Denotified". A few of these communities which were listed as de-notified were also nomadic.
A National Commission for De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (NCDNT) was constituted in 2006 by the then government. It was headed by Balkrishna Sidram Renke and submitted its report in June 2008.
The Renke commission estimated their population at around 10.74 crore based on Census 2001. A new Commission constituted in February 2014 to prepare a state-wise list, which submitted its report on January 8, 2018, identified 1,262 communities as de-notified, nomadic and semi-nomadic.
Not all of these tribes are categorised under SC, ST and OBC. The standing committee report in Parliament has cited that 269 DNT communities are not covered under any reserved categories.

Issues / Challenges

Though the notified communities were often described as "Criminal Tribes", they were often treated as castes in traditional rural society. There were restrictions placed on marriage, access to village facilities and dining. While there are significant overlaps with the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes, these communities ore often treated differently by police and other authorities when it comes to crime. Despite 65 years elapsing since the repeal of the colonial era Criminal Tribes Act, the authorities still view many of these communities with suspicion.

ln independent India, despite attempts by previous governments to provide them with some avenues of growth and development by placing them in the same category as scheduled tribes, schedule castes and other backward communities, it has been incomplete at best and inadequate at worst.
They remain, in most cases, firmly placed of the lowest rung of the social hierarchy, often forcing the prejudices thot were created during Colonial rule.

Features

As is the case with most of the communities in lndia, large majority of De-notified and nomadic communities ore primarily patriarchal.
The De-notified, nomadic and semi-nomadic communities hove o very strong caste or tribal panchayat. The decisions pertaining to their domestic and social life ore negotiated in their Kulpanchayat (Caste Councils). The panchayat comprises of the village elders. Their laws (unwritten) ore respected and obeyed by everyone. Any violation of these conventions is dealt with seriously.
Being subdued in the social stratum, they were never treated with dignity. Likewise, their languages too were not recognized. Every subgroup of these communities has its own distinct language for intro-group communication.
The DNTs and NTs show great pride in their past. They try to survive on traditional patterns of livelihood. They have been into supply of goods and services to people in villages and towns, some were pastoral nomads while others were involved in a variety of occupations like entertaining people, fortune telling and practice of crafts.
The nomadic communities have been forced to adopt new means of livelihood abandoning their traditional occupations. Most of them become daily wage labourers; some migrated to cities like Delhi in search of work. Communities with traditional occupations of singing and playing instruments got opportunities to work in hotels and cafes in tourist places. But the fight for livelihood, land and shelter is common across all nomadic communities.
Behrupia, Banjara, Sapera, Van Gujjar and Birhors are some of the commonly known Denotified, Nomadic and Semi-nomadic communities.

Schemes for DNT

The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is implementing the following schemes for the welfare of the DNTs.

Dr. Ambedkar Pre-Matric and Post-Matric Scholarship for DNTs : This Centrally Sponsored Scheme was launched for the welfare of those DNT students who are not covered under SC, ST or OBC.
Nanaji Deshmukh Scheme of Construction of Hostels for DNT Boys and Girls. This Centrally Sponsored Scheme is implemented through State Governments/ UT Administrations/ Central Universities. The aim of the scheme is to provide hostel facilities to those DNT students; who are not covered under SC, ST or OBC; to enable them to pursue higher education.
From the year 2017-18, the scheme "Assistance to Voluntary Organization working for the Welfare of Other Backward Classes (OBCs)" has been extended for DNTs and EBCs as "Central Sector Scheme of Assistance for Skill Development of Backward Classes (OBCs)/ De-notified, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes (DNTs)/ Economic Backward Classes (EBCs).

e-KYC Through Facial Authentication Under PM-Kisan Scheme

Context: Recently “The PM-Kisan scheme has become the first scheme of the government to do e-KYC through facial authentication mobile app. This app is very useful for the aged farmers and their mobile number is not linked with their Aadhaar.”

Issues with the existing system

Until now, e-KYC of the PM-Kisan beneficiaries used to be done through either biometrics at a designated centre or one-time passwords sent to mobile phone numbers linked with Aadhaar.
However, during the e-KYC exercise, officials found many instances when farmers’ mobile numbers were not linked to Aadhaar due to which the process could not be completed.
In the case of biometrics, several elderly farmers faced problems going to the nearby centre.
Many faced the issue of the non-matching of fingerprints.
Therefore, to ease the e-KYC process, the ministry introduced the face authentication feature in the PM-Kisan mobile app.
The face authentication feature uses the iris data of a person having an Aadhaar number.

Other Steps

In another move, the PM-Kisan scheme is also integrating with Bhashini to provide farmers with information in their native language.
Bhashini is the government’s National Public Digital Platform for languages to develop services and products for citizens by leveraging the power of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.

About PM-Kisan scheme

Launched in 2019, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi or PM-Kisan scheme gives beneficiaries financial assistance of Rs 6,000 per year in three equal instalments every four months.
The amount is transferred to the bank accounts of eligible farmers’ families across the country through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode.
According to the Agriculture Ministry, more than 11 crore farmers have availed of the scheme, and Rs 2.42 lakh crore has been transferred to their accounts.

PM Modi state visit to US

Context: In the recent visit of India's PM Mr Narendra Modi is going to take the strategic partnership of India with the next level.

Major points of India US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership

Regular Bilateral visits: The political connect at the leadership level, a high level of and very intense level of political exchanges has been one of the key features of relationship between Indian and the USA

Burgeoning Economic partnership: The second key component, which has been a very strong pillar of relationship has been strong trade and investment partnership. If one looks at the quantum of bilateral trade, touching close to $200 billion, or the strong flow of capital on both sides.

Technology Cooperation: The technology component and technology component interfaces in the telecom area, in the space area, in the manufacturing domain. Along with it a lot of triangulation of technology, manufacturing and investment can be identified as the next pillar of strong ties between India and US.

Strong Diaspora connect: Another key component, always a very vibrant, robust and dynamic component of relationship and a strong driver of the relationship is also the Diaspora and interface with Diaspora.

India has close to 5 million strong Indian Diaspora in the US, which contributes enormously and very richly to the growth, the substance and the strength of the relationship.

Emerging Areas of cooperation: There is deepening of partnership, skilling and mobility as the whole new domain of renewable energy, health, environment and green partnership which has emerged as the new area of cooperation.

During the recent official state visit of PM Modi to US, the two leaders have reiterated the recent visit and concluded agreements as a ‘new stage’ in the India US relationship.

India and the U.S.announced a number of agreements on defence cooperation, critical and emerging technologies, health, environment, visas and space including a deal which could pave the way for an unprecedented transfer of jet engine technology.
The leaders also highlighted that both countries share democratic values, while addressing a gathering of officials and thousands of members of the Indian-American diaspora.
In the field of defence partnership in a recent move General Electric and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has signed a big-ticket MoU to jointly produce GE 414 jet engines in India for the Tejas Mk2 light combat aircraft. This comes as significant development as the US has been able to overcome bureaucratic roadblocks.
The Defence Ministries of the two countries also launched the inaugural session of an innovation platform INDUS-X which was organised by the U.S. India Business Council, to foster defence industrial collaboration.
In space cooperation, India is signing on to a framework of 25 countries for space exploration and cooperation. The two countries have agreed on a mission to the International Space Station in 2024.
The leaders appreciated the rapid progress made through initiatives such as the Critical and Emerging Technologies(iCET) and the keen desire to elevate strategic technology collaborations to build resilient supply chains. They welcomed the deepening cooperation in critical minerals and space sectors.

The big private sector deals coinciding with the visit was U.S. semiconductor and chip maker Micron Technology, Inc’s announcement that it would invest up to $825 million in a new chip assembly and test facility in Gujarat, which would be bolstered by investment from the Indian and Gujarat governments, totalling $2.75 billion.
The leaders reiterated their commitment to combating climate change and achieving a sustainable future and discussed ways to promote clean and renewable energy and collaborate on climate initiatives.
The U.S. also announced a pilot programme to renew visas domestically which means that applicants do not have to travel outside the U.S. to get their renewal stamps for certain petition-based temporary workers.

This programme could expand to cover H1B and L-1 skilled visas by 2024 and to other categories eventually.
The U.S also announced that it will also open two new consulates in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad to further give boost to people to people relationship.

Indian PM Addresses US congress

Indian Prime Minister also addressed a Joint Sitting of the US Congress and spoke about the rapid strides made in India-US bilateral relations and shared his vision for elevating bilateral ties.

PM also outlined the enormous progress made by India and the opportunities that it presents for the world.
Prime Minister also conveyed his appreciation for the long-standing and strong bipartisan support in the US Congress for the deepening of India-US relations.

Indian PM also attended the event, "India and USA: Skilling for Future”

The event focused on workforce redevelopment across higher education institutions to expand and enhance access to quality education across society.
Indian Prime Minister presented 5-point proposals for energising India-USA collaboration in education and research sector, as follows:

Integrated approach bringing together government, industry and academia.
Encouraging exchange of Teachers & Students.
Organising Hackathons on various subjects between the two countries.
Mutual recognition of vocational skills qualifications.
Encouraging visits of people associated with education and research.

To read more about contemporary India USA relations visit:

Contemporary Relations INDIA – USA

Social Audit

Context: Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi has raised the issue of the Delhi government’s 10-year delay in framing rules for conducting a social audit into the functioning of the public distribution system (PDS) and fair price shops under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013.

About Social Audit

It is a continuous process that includes verification of works at the various stages of implementation of programmes/schemes with active involvement of the primary stakeholders.
It is a way of measuring, understanding, reporting and ultimately improving an organization’s social and ethical performance.
It helps to narrow gaps between vision/goal and reality, between efficiency and effectiveness.
It creates an impact on governance. It values the voice of stakeholders, including marginalized/poor groups whose voices are rarely heard.
It is taken up for the purpose of enhancing local governance, particularly for strengthening accountability and transparency in local bodies.
The key difference between a development and a social audit is that a social audit focuses on the neglected issue of social impacts, while a development audit has a broader focus including environmental and economic issues, such as the efficiency of a project or programme.
It is a powerful tool, that is, associated with accountability and promotes the Right to Information (RTI).
The states in India have taken up Social Audits of various programmes/schemes such as MGNREGS, Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (PMAY), Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDM), Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and Public Distribution System (PDS).

Origin of Social Audit in India

The concept gained significance after the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution.
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 provides for regular Social Audits so as to ensure transparency and accountability in the scheme. The State Government shall identify or establish, under the NREGS, an independent organization, Social Audit Unit (SAU), at the state level, to facilitate the conduct of social audit by Gram Sabhas.
In April 2017, Meghalaya became the first State in the country to pass a social audit legislation, the Meghalaya Community Participation and Public Services Social Audit Act.

Need for Social Audit:

Reduces corruption: It uncovers irregularities and malpractices in the public sector and maintains oversight of government functioning, thus reducing leakages and corruption.
Monitoring and feedback: It monitors the social and ethical impact of an organization’s performance and provides feedback on the work.
Accountability and transparency: It ensures accountability and transparency in the working of local government bodies and reduces the trust gap between people and local governments.
According to the MGNREGA Social Audit Report of 2020, close to 3 lakh cases of financial misappropriation amounting a total of Rs 658 Crore, combining audits of both 2018-19 and 2019-20 were identified. 60 percent of these financial misappropriation cases pertain to issues of payment to persons who did not work under NREGA.
Participative and democratic: It promotes the participation of people in the implementation of programmes and makes people more forthcoming for social development activities.
Strengthens the Gram Sabha: It gives voice and influencing power to the Gram Sabha, the lynchpin of the rural governance structure.
Collective platform: It provides a collective platform such as a social audit Gram Sabha, for people to express their common needs, resulting in social cohesion.

Objectives of Social Audit

Physical and financial gaps: Assessing the physical and financial gaps between needs and resources available for local development.
Awareness: Creating awareness among beneficiaries and providers of local social and productive services.
Efficacy and effectiveness: Increasing efficacy and effectiveness of local development programmes and ensures that the audited accounts are disclosed to stakeholders.
Scrutiny: Scrutiny of various policy decisions, keeping in view stakeholder interests and priorities, particularly of rural poor.
Timely access: Estimation of the opportunity cost for stakeholders of not getting timely access to public services.
Participatory: Encourages participation of stakeholders and sharing of their values and reflects the views (voices) of all those people (stakeholders) involved with or affected by the organization/department/programme.
Transparency and accountability: Ensure that the social accounts are audited by a suitably experienced person or agency with no vested interest in the organisation.

Advantages of social audit

Trains the community on participatory local planning.
Encourages local democracy.
Encourages community participation.
Benefits disadvantaged groups.
Promotes collective decision-making and sharing responsibilities.
Develops human resources and social capital

Challenges of Social Audit:

Lack of Infrastructure: At ground level to address grievances made by the public during scrutiny.
Lack of administrative and political will: In institutionalizing social audit mechanisms.
Lack of stringent penal action: Against those creating hurdles in the process.
Lack of awareness: Lack of educated and well-informed citizenry to undertake regular audits.
Low skilled capacity: Lack of technical and managerial capacity such as book-keeping, and accounting.
One size fits all approach: Lack of uniform process of social audit across states due to language and cultural barriers. No Benchmarking of Social Audit mechanisms for comparison purposes across districts.

Way forward

Director and staff selection: The selection of Directors of Social Audit Units(SAUs) should be free of political control and the selection process should be strictly followed.
Legally sanctioned outcomes: Social audit arrangements have mostly been ineffective because there is no legal provision for punitive action. States should enact legislation to facilitate social audit by the Gram Sabha on the line of Meghalaya’s Public Services Social Audit Act.
Increased frequency: Social audits must be conducted in every Gram Panchayat once every 6 months.
Using Management Information System (MIS): Usage of MIS to track details of schemes at all levels to streamline the life-cycle of programme planning, implementation and feedback.
Displaying Information of Notice Board: The findings of the social audit should be shared with all local stakeholders. This encourages transparency and accountability. A report of the social audit meeting should be distributed for Gram Panchayat auditing. In addition, key decisions should be written on walls and boards and communicated orally.
Civil society participation: People including students from different universities should be encouraged to participate as Village Resource Persons. Example, Jharkhand has instituted a formal mechanism by inviting prominent civil society representatives to be part of the SA panel.
Better coordination: Seeks clarifications from the implementing agency about any decision-making, activity, scheme, income and expenditure incurred by the agency
Scrutiny: Consider and scrutinize existing schemes and local activities of the agency.
Database: Access registers and documents relating to all development activities undertaken by the implementing agency or by any other government department.

Independent agency: An agency like the Ombudsman can be set up to look into complaints of local maladministration.

Case Studies:

Social audit in Jharnipalli Panchayat, Agaipur block, Bolangir district, Orissa
In October 2001, the gram sabha members of Jharnipalli Panchayat conducted a one-day social audit of development works carried out in the panchayat over the preceding three years. This audit took place with the active participation of many individuals and agencies, including block and district administration officials
The Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS)
It conducted social audits of daily wage earners and farmers on government projects, and more generally, to expose corruption in government expenditure in Rajasthan. They found various irregularities in finance which resulted into right to information movement in Rajasthan.

Online fact-checkers may need to register with Govt

Context: The government of India plans to register online fact checking platforms of various institutions including big corporates to ensure greater accountability in the digital space. This aspect of registration is expected to be a part of the proposed Digital India Bill and such registration of online fact checking platform could be carried out in different phases.

Classification of Online Fact Checking Platform

The proposed Digital India Bill is expected to classify various types of online intermediaries, including fact-checking portals - One of the major reasons behind the proposed classification of online intermediaries is that the Centre intends to prescribe specific rules for different types of intermediaries. One of the rules may prescribe for registration of online intermediaries or online fact checking portal.
The term “intermediary” has been presently defined in The Information Technology Act, 2000 - “intermediary”, with respect to any particular electronic records, means any person who on behalf of another person receives, stores or transmits that record or provides any service with respect to that record and includes telecom service providers, network service providers, internet service providers, web-hosting service providers, search engines, online payment sites, online-auction sites, online-market places and cyber cafes.
Multiple types of intermediaries in the current digital age comprise e-commerce, digital media, social media, Artificial Intelligence, Over the Top (OTT) Platforms, Online Gaming etc.

Proliferation of Illegal Activities in Digital Space

With increasing proliferation of technology and expansion of digital space at an exponential rate also increases the risks of cyber-frauds and hence needs better regulation.
We are witnessing new innovative ways of online financial fraud and criminal and illegal activity also thrives in other areas of digital space.
New Complex forms of user harms includes –
- Catfishing - creation of fictional or fake identity by taking personal details of other persons
- Doxxing - a form of cyberbullying that uses sensitive or secret information, statements, or records for the harassment, exposure, financial harm, or other exploitation of targeted individuals.
- Cyberstalking - is a technologically-based "attack" on one person who has been targeted specifically for that attack for reasons of anger, revenge or control. Cyberstalking can take many forms, including: harassment, false accusation, defamation, embarrassment or humiliation of the victim.
- Cyber trolling - person who posts or makes inflammatory, insincere, digressive, extraneous, or off-topic messages online
- Gaslighting – manipulating someone using psychological methods leading to question sanity of the person
- Phishing – attackers deceiving people into revealing sensitive information such as credit card numbers, bank information, or passwords etc. or installing malware such as ransomware.
- Increasing proliferation of hate speech, disinformation and fake news is another very important reason to register online fact checking platforms.

What does the Proposed Digital India Law intends to Achieve?

According to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the proposed Digital India law should evolve through rules that can be updated, and address the tenets of Digital India which includes:

Open Internet
Online Safety and Trust
Accountability and Quality of Service
Adjudicatory mechanism
New Technologies

There is also an urgent need for a specialized and dedicated adjudicatory mechanism for online civil and criminal offences. The adjudicatory mechanism should

be easily accessible
deliver timely remedies to citizens
resolve cyber disputes
develop a unified cyber jurisprudence
enforce the rule of law online

Way Forward

The proposed Digital India Bill should not only provide a global standard cyber laws to act as a catalyst and enabler for $1 trillion digital economy but should also ensure that the digital space is not misused. Hence, the proposed law should also protect citizens’ rights and address emerging technology risks including technological disruptions.

Controversy over DGP Appointment in Punjab

Context: Punjab Assembly passed the Punjab Police Amendment Bill, 2023 which seeks to do away with Supreme Court mandated procedure to appoint the Director General of Police. Under the Amended Act, Punjab government has created a parallel mechanism where a panel of three officers will be selected by a 7 member committee headed by retired chief justice or retired judge from the High Court of Punjab & Haryana.

Supreme Court mandated procedure for DGP Appointment

Supreme Court in Prakash Singh Judgement, 2006 directed states under Article 142 of the Constitution of India laid down institutional reforms for the police.
The intent of the Supreme Court was that the process of appointment of DGP should be purely based on merit and would insulate the office from all kinds of influences and pressures.

The procedure for appointment of DGP laid down in the judgement is:

Selection from a pool of officers by UPSC (non-political body): Director General of Police of State to be selected by State Government from amongst the three seniormost officers of the Police Department who have been empanelled for promotion by the UPSC.
UPSC will empanel the three seniormost officers on the basis of their length of service, very good record and range of experience for heading the police.
Security of tenure: The selected DGP should have a minimum tenure of at least two years irrespective of his date of superannuation/retirement.
Removal of DGP: Incumbent DGP may be removed by the State Government in consultation with State Security Commission consequent upon any action of the incumbent DGP against the All India Services (Discipline & Appeal) Rules or following his conviction in a court of law in a criminal offence or in a case of corruption or if he is incapacitated from discharging his duties.

Later in 2018, Supreme Court clarified on the procedure laid down by Supreme Court in Prakash Singh Judgement by making the following changes:

All States to send their proposals in anticipation of vacancies to the office of DGP to the UPSC, at least three months in advance from the date of retirement of incumbent to the post of DGP.
States cannot appoint any person as an acting DGP.
UPSC should empanel persons for the post of DGP considering they have close two years of service remaining which will make candidates continue in the office for a limited period after their superannuation.
Any legislation/rule framed by States or Central Government running counter to the direction shall remain in abeyance to the extent.
Later in 2019, the Supreme Court clarified that the maximum residual tenure of an officer appointed as DGP after his superannuation should be six months.

Rationale for the changes introduced by Supreme Court in 2018

These changes were made due to the following practices pursued by States

States started appointing acting director general of police to bypass the need for appointing candidates nominated by UPSC.
Candidates were appointed as DGP on the last date of retirement. This made them continue on the office of DGP despite approx two years of superannuation.

Concerns of the States with above Procedure

States have been demanding autonomy while selecting DGP of the Police since Police and Public order are state subjects under Schedule VII of the constitution.
All matters of promotion, posting and transfer of IPS officers at all levels within the State should be handled exclusively by the State government.
States content that UPSC neither has jurisdiction nor expertise to appoint the DGP of the State.
Under Article 320 of the Constitution, UPSC can only lay down principles for promotion and transfers and suitability of candidates for such appointments. However, under the Constitution, UPSC does not have the power to select or empanel officers.
UPSC while empanelling officers for appointment to the post of DGP considers minimum residual tenure of two years. Thus, the process overlooks many suitable and eligible officers.

Rozgar Melas

Context: Around one in every six candidates hired so far under Mission Recruitment or Rozgar Melas, the Government’s bulk recruitment drive to fill 10 lakh posts by 2023 end, were women. Of these, 3,61,763 (84%) recruits were male and 68,783 (16%) women, shows data available from the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions.

About Rozgar Melas

It is a drive to recruit 10 lakh people, this will be a significant step forward towards fulfilling the continuous commitment of the prime minister to providing job opportunities for the youth and ensuring the welfare of citizens.
The recruitments are being conducted in collaboration with Central Government Departments as well as State Governments and Union Territories.
The new recruits, hailing from various parts of the country, will be joining the Government in departments such as Financial Services, Posts, School Education, Higher Education, Defence, Revenue, Health and Family Welfare, Atomic Energy, Railways, Audit and Accounts, and Home Affairs, among others.
The recruitments are largely in posts of Group B and Group C level, which directly helps these departments to provide a higher quality of service at the cutting-edge level to the citizens.
All the recruitments taking place through the recruitment agencies like Staff Selection Commission (SSC), Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), and Railway Recruitment Board(RRBs) in a time-bound and transparent manner
The newly inducted appointees are also getting an opportunity to train themselves through Karmayogi Prarambh, an online module on the Integrated Government Online Training (iGOT) Karmayogi portal, where more than 400 e-learning courses have been made available for ‘anywhere any device’ learning format.

Panel to Review MGNREGA

Context: Recently a government panel, appointed to examine the contours of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), has recommended a complete overhaul of the scheme to link employment generation efforts with asset creation, largely concentrated in 2,500 water-deficient and 1,000 poverty-ridden blocks of the total 7,245 blocks.

About the Panel

The head of the panel was former rural development secretary Amarjeet Sinha.
The panel's mandate was
- to study the factors behind the demand for MGNREGA work,
- inter-state variations and the composition of work.
- to recommend restructuring the demand-based programme MGNREGA.

Recommendations of the Panel

Link the rural employment scheme with asset creation in the poorest blocks of India.
70% of the MGNREGA funds should be channelised in about 49% of the blocks, including 2,500 water-deficient blocks and 1,000 poverty-ridden blocks.
The remaining 30% of the MGNREGA funds, as per the committee's recommendation, be earmarked for the rest of the state.
The "one size fits all" approach of the programme to be changed to a more targeted approach.
Employment generation under the scheme should be linked to creating assets to replenish water bodies in these 3,500 blocks.

India-Vietnam

Context: India gifted the indigenously-built in-service missile corvette INS Kirpan to Vietnam to enhance its naval capabilities. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh made the announcement after bilateral talks with his visiting Vietnamese counterpart General Phan Van Gang. The leaders also discussed ways to enhance “defence industrial capabilities by cooperation in defence research and joint production”.

During the recent meet security was the key domain of interaction

Ministers focused on enhancing cooperation between defence industries of both countries and maritime security.
India and Vietnam has earlier signed an MoU on mutual logistics support during defence minister visit to the South East Asian nation.
The two Defence Ministers has earlier also signed the ‘Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam defence partnership towards 2030’.
This bilateral exchange can thus be seen as a long term evolution of defence partnership between the two countries, starting from 2014 when Vietnam has procured 12 high speed patrol boats for the Vietnamese border guard force under a $100mn Line of Credit (LoC)

About INS Kirpan

INS Kirpan is a Khukri class missile corvette displacing 1,350 tonnes and was commissioned into the Navy on January 12, 1991.
It has a displacement of close to 1,400 tonnes, a length of 91 metres, a beam of 11 metres and is capable of speed in excess of 25 knots.
The ship is fitted with a medium range gun, 30 mm close range guns, chaff launchers and surface-to-surface missiles.

To read more about India-Vietnam Relations visit
https://compass.rauias.com/international-relations/india-vietnam/