Current Affairs 20 June 2024

CONTENTS

1. Unlawful Activities Prevention Act
2. India’s First Joint Doctrine for Cyberspace Operations Released
3. Direct Seeding of Rice
4. Criticism of 2023 Amendments and Broadened Scope of Angel Tax
5. Expansion of DigiYatra Technology Proposed
6. Japan on High Alert Due to Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome (STSS) Outbreak
7. Double Sun Halo Phenomenon Witnessed in Ladakh

Unlawful Activities Prevention Act

Context:

Recently, the Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) approved the prosecution of novelist Arundhati Roy for supposedly making provocative statements at a 2010 event that advocated Kashmiri separatism. This approval was granted under Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, of 1967.

Relevance:

GS II: Polity and Governance

Dimensions of the Article:

1. The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967

The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967

• The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) of 1967 is an upgrade on the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act TADA (which lapsed in 1995) and the Prevention of Terrorism Act – POTA (which was repealed in 2004).
• Its main objective was to make powers available for dealing with activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty of India.
• The National Integration Council appointed a Committee on National Integration and Regionalisation to look into, the aspect of putting reasonable restrictions in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India.
• The agenda of the NIC limited itself to communalism, casteism and regionalism and not terrorism.
• However, the provisions of the UAPA Act contravenes the requirements of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Unlawful Activities Prevention Amendment Bill, 2019

• The original Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967, dealt with “unlawful” acts related to secession; anti-terror provisions were introduced in 2004.
• It provides special procedures to deal with terrorist activities, among other things.

Key Provisions of the Amendment

• The Bill amends the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) and additionally empowers the government to designate individuals as terrorists on the same grounds.
• Under the Act, the central government may designate an organisation as a terrorist organisation if it:
  • commits or participates in acts of terrorism
  • prepares for terrorism
  • promotes terrorism
  • is otherwise involved in terrorism
• The word “terror” or “terrorist” is not defined.
• However, a “terrorist act” is defined as any act committed with the intent –
  • to threaten or likely to threaten the unity, integrity, security, economic security, or sovereignty of India
  • to strike terror or likely to strike terror in the people or any section of the people in India or in any foreign country
• The central government may designate an individual as a terrorist through a notification in the official gazette.
• The Bill empowers the officers of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), of the rank of Inspector or above, to investigate cases.
• Under the Act, an investigating officer can seize properties that may be connected with terrorism with prior approval of the Director General of Police.

Issues with UAPA

• UAPA gives the state authority vague powers to detain and arrest individuals who it believes to be indulged in terrorist activities. Thus, the state gives itself more powers vis-a-vis individual liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
• UAPA empowers the ruling government, under the garb of curbing terrorism, to impose indirect restriction on right of dissent which is detrimental for a developing democratic society. The right of dissent is a part and parcel of fundamental right to free speech and expression and therefore, cannot be abridged in any circumstances except for mentioned in Article 19 (2).
• UAPA can also be thought of to go against the federal structure since it neglects the authority of state police in terrorism cases, given that ‘Police’ is a state subject under 7th schedule of Indian Constitution.

-Source: The Hindu

India’s First Joint Doctrine for Cyberspace Operations Released

Context:

The Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan released India’s first joint doctrine for cyberspace operations, acknowledging that cyberspace has emerged as a crucial and challenging domain in modern warfare.

Relevance:

GS III: Security Challenges

Dimensions of the Article:

1. India’s First Joint Doctrine for Cyberspace Operations
2. Understanding Cyber Warfare
3. Vulnerability of India to Cyber Attacks and its Cyber Security Challenges
4. Cyber Security Measures Taken by the Indian Government

India’s First Joint Doctrine for Cyberspace Operations

Overview

• China’s Capabilities:
  • China has developed significant cyberwarfare capabilities, including the use of cyberweapons to disrupt or destroy the military assets and strategic networks of adversaries.
• India’s Position:
  • India has been trailing in this field, with the government establishing only a tri-service Defence Cyber Agency in 2019, rather than the comprehensive Cyber Command sought by the armed forces.

Current Context

• Operationalisation:
  • The doctrine is being introduced as the Army sets up specialized units within its six operational or regional commands to manage cyberspace operations.
• Guidance:
  • It will direct the tri-services in planning and conducting cyberspace operations within the current complex military environment.
• Integration:
  • The doctrine aims to further the integration efforts currently being pursued by the Army, Indian Air Force (IAF), and Navy.

Significance of the Doctrine

• Military Understanding:
  • Emphasizes the importance of comprehending military aspects of cyberspace operations.
• Conceptual Guidance:
  • Provides guidance to commanders, staff, and practitioners on planning and executing cyberspace operations.
• Awareness:
  • Enhances the awareness of Indian war fighters at all levels about the significance and conduct of cyberspace operations.

Understanding Cyber Warfare

Definition:

• Cyber warfare involves actions in cyberspace (a dynamic and virtual space connecting various computer systems) conducted by state or non-state actors. These actions:
  • Pose a significant threat to a nation’s security.
  • Are responses to perceived threats against national security.

Characteristics:

• Unlike traditional warfare domains (land, sea, air), cyberspace is a global common with shared sovereignty.
• Hostile actions in cyberspace can affect a nation’s economy, cohesion, political decision-making, and defensive capabilities.

Types of Cyber Warfare:

• Cyber Terrorism: Premeditated disruptive activities against computers/networks to harm or further social, ideological, religious, political, or similar objectives.
• Cyber Fraud: Attacks aimed at monetary or related gains.
• Cyber Spying: Attacks aimed at gathering information.
• Cyber Stalking/Bullying: Attacks designed to intimidate and frighten individuals rather than businesses or governments.

Vulnerability of India to Cyber Attacks and its Cyber Security Challenges

Vulnerability:

• Cybersecurity threats in India arise from various sources, affecting individuals, businesses, national infrastructure, and government.
• In 2023, India faced 2,138 weekly cyber attacks per organization, marking a 15% increase from 2022, making it the second most targeted nation in the Asia Pacific region after Taiwan.

Challenges:

• Insufficient human resources, infrastructure, R&D, and budgetary allocations to address cyber threats.
• Threats from servers hosted outside India.
• Challenges posed by imported electronics/IT products.
• Emerging technologies like Cloud Computing, Big Data, Internet of Things (IoT), etc.
• Balancing cybersecurity with the right to privacy.

Cyber Security Measures Taken by the Indian Government

Key Initiatives:

• Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In): Acts as the central agency for incident response, vulnerability handling, and security management in India’s cyberspace.
• Cyber Surakshit Bharat: Launched by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) with the National Electronic Governance Division (NeGD) to raise awareness about the latest cybercrimes and cybersecurity challenges in India.
• Cyber Swachhta Kendra: Provides free tools for malware analysis and helps improve the security of systems and devices.
• National Cybersecurity Policy 2013: Offers a framework for creating a secure cyber ecosystem and aims to protect critical information and infrastructure.
• National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC): Established to protect the country’s critical information infrastructure.
• Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C): A Central Government scheme to handle issues related to cybercrime comprehensively and in a coordinated manner.

-Source: Times of India, PIB

Direct Seeding of Rice

Context:

The Government of Punjab is actively promoting the Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR) also called the ‘tar-wattar’ technique of rice cultivation, which promises a multitude of advantages over traditional transplanting. 

Relevance:

GS III- Agriculture

Dimensions of the Article:

1. What is DSR?
2. How much water can DSR help save?
3. Advantages of DSR tech
4. Disadvantages of DSR tech

What is DSR?

Direct Seeding of Rice (DRS):

• In DSR, a tractor-powered machine drills the pre-germinated seeds straight into the field.
• This procedure does not require nursery preparation or transplantation.
• Farmers only need to level their soil and apply pre-sowing irrigation once.

Normal Paddy Transplanting:

• Farmers create nurseries where paddy seeds are first sowed and nurtured into young plants before transplanting paddy.
• The nursery seed bed takes up 5-10% of the transplanted area.
• These seedlings are then pulled and transplanted on the puddled land 25-35 days later.

How much water can DSR help save?

• According to an analysis by the Punjab Agriculture University, DSR technique can help save 15% to 20% water. In some cases, water saving can reach 22% to 23%.
• With DSR,15-18 irrigation rounds are required against 25 to 27 irrigation rounds in traditional method.
• Since area under rice in Punjab is almost stagnant around 3 million hectares for the last three to four years, DSR can save 810 to 1,080 billion litres water every year if entire rice crop is brought under the technique.

Advantages of DSR tech:

• Solve labour shortage problem: Like the traditional method it does not require a paddy nursery and transplantion of 30 days old paddy nursery into the main puddled field. With DSR, paddy seeds are sown directly with machine.
• Offers avenues for ground water recharge: It prevent the development of hard crust just beneath the plough layer due to puddled transplanting and it matures 7-10 days earlier than puddle transplanted crop, therefore giving more time for management of paddy straw.
• Higher yield: A PAU study said that results from research trials and farmers’ field survey have also indicated that yield, after DSR, are one to two quintals per acre higher than puddled transplanted rice.

Disadvantages of DSR tech;

• Suitability: This is the most significant element since farmers must not seed it in light textured soils because this approach is only suitable for medium to heavy textured soils such as sandy loam, loam, clay loam, and silt loam, which make up around 80% of the state’s land.
  • Avoid using this approach in fields that were previously planted with crops other than rice (such as cotton, maize, or sugarcane), as DSR on these soils is more likely to suffer from iron deficiency and weed problems.
• Compulsory Laser and Leveling: The field should be levelled with a laser.
• Herbicide Spraying: Herbicide spraying must be done at the same time as sowing and the initial irrigation.

-Source: Indian Express

Criticism of 2023 Amendments and Broadened Scope of Angel Tax

Context:

Recent amendments in 2023 and the broadened scope of the Angel tax have faced criticism due to a significant downturn in startup funding and the resulting job losses.

Relevance:

GS III: Indian Economy

Dimensions of the Article:

1. What is Angel Tax?
2. Expansion Under Finance Act, 2023:

What is Angel Tax?

• Introduction:
  • The ‘angel tax’ was first introduced in 2012 and later expanded through the Finance Act of 2023.
  • It aims to curb the generation and use of unaccounted money through investments in closely held companies.
• Definition:
  • It is a tax on funds raised by unlisted companies through the issuance of shares in off-market transactions that exceed the fair market value (FMV) of the company.
• Fair Market Value (FMV):
  • FMV is the price at which an asset would trade when the buyer and seller have reasonable knowledge of the asset and are willing to transact without any pressure.

Expansion Under Finance Act, 2023:

• Amendments:
  • The Finance Act, 2023, amended a section of the Income-tax Act to include foreign investors under the angel tax provision.
• Current Provisions:
  • If a start-up receives equity investment from a resident that exceeds the face value of the shares, it is treated as income and taxed under ‘Income from other Sources’.
• Recent Amendments:
  • The rule now extends to include foreign investors, meaning start-ups raising funds from them are also subject to this tax.
  • Start-ups recognized by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) are excluded from this provision.
• Industry Pushback:
  • Due to industry concerns and declining funding, the Finance Ministry exempted investors from 21 countries, including the US, UK, and France, from the Angel Tax for investments in Indian startups.

Funding Winter and Job Losses:

• Challenges in 2023:
  • Indian startups faced severe funding challenges, with a reported decline of over 60% in funding compared to previous years.
  • This led to layoffs affecting over 15,000 employees in the sector.

Industry Perspective on Angel Tax:

• Recommendations:
  • The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and other stakeholders have suggested removing Section 56(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, commonly known as the Angel Tax.

-Source: The Hindu

Expansion of DigiYatra Technology Proposed

Context:

Recently, the CEO of Digi Yatra Foundation proposed that the DigiYatra technology used at airports could be implemented at hotels and public places such as historical monuments.

Relevance:

GS Government policies and Interventions

Dimensions of the Article:

1. Overview of DigiYatra
2. Concerns

Overview of DigiYatra

• Introduction:
  • The ‘DigiYatra’ initiative introduces a Biometric Enabled Seamless Travel (BEST) experience using facial-recognition technology.
• Functionality:
  • This system facilitates check-in at airports by utilizing biometric data, enabling paperless movement through airport checkpoints.
• Coordination:
  • DigiYatra is an industry-led initiative coordinated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
• Implementation:
  • Launched in 2022, DigiYatra is currently operational at 14 airports, with plans to extend to 15 more by the end of 2024.
• Potential Expansion:
  • The application of DigiYatra may extend beyond airports to other public venues, such as hotels, indicating its broader potential.

Concerns

• Privacy:
  • There are concerns about the government gaining increased access to individuals’ travel information through this system.
  • DigiYatra collects comprehensive facial biometric data from passengers, raising privacy issues.

Governance

• DigiYatra Foundation:
  • The initiative is managed by Digi Yatra Foundation, a non-profit private entity.
  • The foundation is composed of a consortium of private airports, holding a 74% share, while the Airports Authority of India holds a 26% share.

-Source: The Hindu

Japan on High Alert Due to Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome (STSS) Outbreak

Context:

Recently, health officials in Japan are on high alert after close to 1,000 cases of a deadly infection were reported across the country. The disease is known as Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome (STSS).

Relevance:

GS II: Health

Overview of Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome (STSS)

Definition:

• Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome (STSS) is a rare but severe bacterial infection caused by group A Streptococcus bacteria.
• It occurs when these bacteria invade deep tissues and the bloodstream, releasing toxins that trigger a rapid and severe response in the body.

Symptoms:

• Initial symptoms include fever, chills, muscle aches, nausea, and vomiting.
• Within 24 to 48 hours, these symptoms can escalate to low blood pressure, organ failure, rapid heart rate, and fast breathing.
• In children, group A Streptococcus (GAS) typically causes strep throat, but in adults, it can lead to more severe symptoms like limb pain, swelling, fever, and low blood pressure.
• The condition can quickly progress to tissue death, breathing problems, organ failure, and sometimes death, particularly in individuals over 50.

Transmission:

• STSS is highly contagious and can be transmitted through respiratory droplets or direct contact.
• Group A strep bacteria can also spread via food if it is not handled properly.

Prevention:

• Preventing STSS involves practicing good hygiene, such as regular handwashing and covering the mouth when coughing or sneezing.

-Source: India Today

Double Sun Halo Phenomenon Witnessed in Ladakh

Context:

Recently, a rare celestial phenomenon known as a “double sun halo” was witnessed in the skies over Ladakh.

Relevance:

Facts for Prelims

Understanding the Double Sun Halo

Definition:

• The double sun halo is a rare optical phenomenon featuring two concentric rings surrounding the sun.

Formation:

• This occurs when sunlight is refracted through ice crystals suspended in cirrus clouds, resulting in a dazzling visual effect.
• The double sun halo is a variant of the common 22-degree halo, which is a bright ring that encircles the sun.
• In the case of the double sun halo, there are two distinct halos: an inner halo with a radius of approximately 22 degrees and an outer halo with a radius of around 46 degrees from the sun’s center.

Mechanism:

• The formation of a double sun halo is due to the unique shape and orientation of ice crystals in cirrus clouds.
• These crystals, typically hexagonal, act as natural prisms, refracting and reflecting sunlight at specific angles.
• When the ice crystals are randomly oriented, the refracted sunlight creates the inner 22-degree halo.
• If the crystals align horizontally, with their flat faces parallel to the ground, additional refraction occurs, forming the outer 46-degree halo.
• The precise alignment of these ice crystals is rare, making the double sun halo an uncommon sight.

Occurrence:

• This phenomenon is especially visible in regions with ideal atmospheric conditions, such as Ladakh.

Significance:

• The double sun halo is not only a stunning natural spectacle but also an indicator of specific atmospheric conditions involving ice crystal orientation and sunlight refraction.

-Source: India Today