Editorials/Opinions Analysis For UPSC 28 February 2023

Contents

1 . Need for stable capital flows

2 . Transparency In OTT Regulation

 Need for Stable Capital Flows

Context:

As per the latest data released by the RBI, the current account deficit (CAD) widened to 4.4 per cent of GDP in the second quarter of 2022-23, down from 2.2 per cent in the preceding quarter.

Relevance:

GS Paper 3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development and employment.

Dimensions of the Article:

1. What is the Current Account Deficit?
2. What is Balance of Payments?
3. Widening Current Account Deficit:
4. Is the current account deficit a cause for concern?
5. Countercyclical nature of India’s CAD
6. Service exports in India
7. Way Forward
8. Conclusion

What is the Current Account Deficit?

• A current account deficit occurs when the total value of goods and services a country imports exceeds the total value of goods and services it exports.
• The balance of exports and imports of goods is referred to as the trade balance. Trade Balance is a part of ‘Current Account Balance’.
• According to an earlier report of 2021, High Oil Imports, High Gold Imports are the major driving force, widening the CAD.

What is Balance of Payments?

• BoP of a country can be defined as a systematic statement of all economic transactions of a country with the rest of the world during a specific period, usually one year.
• Purposes of Calculation of BoP:
  • Provides information about a country’s financial and economic situation.
  • Can be used to evaluate whether the value of a country’s currency is appreciating or depreciating.
  • Assists the government in making budgetary and trade policy decisions.
  • Provides crucial data for analysing and comprehending the economic dealings of a country with other countries.

Components of the Balance of payments (BOP)

• Current account: It includes the financial transactions dealing with the export and import of goods, services, unilateral transfers, investment income etc.
• Capital account: It includes the financial transactions dealing with assets such as foreign direct investment, foreign portfolio investment, foreign loans etc.
• Official reserve transactions: It conducted by the central bank in case of the BOP deficit or BOP surplus.
• Errors and omissions: It is the element of BOP (other than the current account and the capital account) which refers to the balancing items reflecting the inability to record all the international financial transactions.

Widening Current Account Deficit:

• The quarterly statistics of the RBI shows the widening current account deficit. This marks a reversal from an unusual surplus of 0.9 per cent of GDP in 2020-21.
• The third quarter of the current financial year may witness a fall in the CAD due to widening merchandise trade deficit.

Is the current account deficit a cause for concern?

• There is no one single answer to this question as India’s CADs have both desirable and undesirable components.
• Capital flows are pro-cyclical and react negatively to contractionary monetary policy by the Fed.
• Desirable deficits are mainly due to:
  • Rising investment
  • Portfolio choices
  • Demographics of the country
• Undesirable deficits are mainly due to: They reflect bigger problems such as poor export competitiveness and are financed by unstable financing.
• However, large and persistent CADs can be undesirable. This can expose India to the risks associated with its financing.
• Volatile capital inflows:
  • If CADs are financed by stable capital inflows, such as FDI inflows, they are desirable as they are less prone to capital flight.
  • However, if deficits are financed by volatile capital flows such as portfolio flows, there may be a cause of concern.
  • Portfolio flows are capricious and more susceptible to reversals in case of any global financial shock.
• FDI inflows in India are week in the current financial year.
• Stable capital flows are desirable as they allow debtor countries, such as India, to utilise and allocate them into sectors that may yield long-term productive gains and foster higher economic growth.

Countercyclical nature of India’s CAD:

• Recent research suggests that the country’s CAD rises when output falls rather than when demand rises. This indicates the dominance of external shocks.
  • For instance, if oil prices rise, and as oil is an input in the production process, it raises the cost of production and leads to a fall in economic growth.
  • This is the case where CADs rise with falling growth due to both the inelasticity of oil import demand as well as its major share in India’s total imports.
• Imported inflation:
  • Further rate hike by the US Fed may lead to capital outflows leading to additional exchange rate market pressures.
  • This can escalate the challenges in the present situation. A weaker currency coupled with unbalanced CAD can lead to imported inflation.

Service exports in India:

• India’s services exports grew at 23.5 per cent in 2021-22.
• An increase in the remittances and services exports have provided a counter-balance to rising merchandise trade deficits.
• Both have exhibited remarkable stability.

Way Forward:

• As a medium term measure, policymakers need to arrest the negative spillovers from the slowdown in global trade on merchandise exports.
• Policy measures must focus on structural reforms to facilitate exports  and improve trade competitiveness.
• India must sign free trade agreements maintain trade balance.

Conclusion:

• India is currently facing the twin-deficit problem of high fiscal and CADs.
• Uncertainty caused by the raising fears about a global slowdown can make an aggressive fiscal consolidate ineffective.
• India must focus on maintaining a comfortable external environment by ensuring stable financing, along with using exchange rates as a shock absorber to weather the adverse global economic situation.

-Source: The Indian Express

Transparency In OTT Regulation

Context:

The OTT Rules were notified in 2021, through which Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) was given the task of regulating content on OTT and online platforms, but there is little awareness about them among the general public.

Relevance:

GS-II Governance

Dimensions of the Article:

1. What is Over-the-Top (OTT) Media Service?
2. Rules governing OTT Platforms
3. Low Compliance and need for media literacy
4. Need for Transparency
5. Regulation of broadcast content
6. Way Forward
7. Conclusion

What is Over-the-Top (OTT) Media Service?

• An over-the-top (OTT) media service is a streaming media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet.
• OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms, the companies that traditionally act as a controller or distributor of such content.
• The term is most synonymous with subscription-based video-on-demand (SVoD) services that offer access to film and television content.

Rules governing OTT Platforms:

• Through the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules issued by the government, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) was given the task of regulating content on OTT and online platforms.
• In India, there is ‘self-regulation’ at the industry level and final ‘oversight mechanism’ at the Ministry level.
• The Rules provide for a grievance redressal mechanism and a code of ethics. They mandate access control mechanisms, including parental locks, for content classified as U/A 13+ or higher and a reliable age verification mechanism for programmes classified as ‘A’ (18+).
• A survey of OTT regulation in different countries also suggests that most of them are yet to come up with a clear statute-backed framework.

Low Compliance and need for media literacy:

• The Rules mandate the display of contact details relating to grievance redressal mechanisms and grievance officers on OTT websites/interface.
• However, compliance is very low.
• In many cases, either the complaint redressal information is not published or published in a manner that makes it difficult for a user to notice easily.
• In some cases, the details are not included as part of the OTT app interface.
• Hence there is a need for ensuring uniformity in the way OTT publishers display key information relating to their obligations, timelines for complaint redressal, contact details of grievance officers, etc.
• The manner, text, language and frequency for display of vital information could be enshrined in the Rules.
• Further, age ratings and content descriptors could be shown prominently in full-screen mode for a mandatory minimum duration instead of a few seconds on screen. Such a rule exists for films under the Cinematograph Act.

Need for Transparency:

• An independent body can be given the task of periodic audit of the actual existence and efficacy of access controls and age verification mechanisms and the display of grievance redressal details by each OTT platform.
• There is a need to publish full description of complaints received by OTT providers and self-regulatory bodies and decisions given thereon in the public domain.
• Currently, though the Rules require disclosure of grievance details by publishers and self-regulating bodies, the reporting formats only capture the number of complaints received and decided.
• A dedicated umbrella website by the ministry can be created to view the published details of applicable Rules, content codes, advisories, contact details for complaints/appeals, etc.
• The above details will be viewed by the public and the government authorities and thus enhancing transparency.

Regulation of broadcast content:

• As per the current rules, the Inter-Departmental Committee (IDC) recommends the course of action on OTT content violations, the Secretary of the Ministry is competent to take the final decision.
• The Supreme Court and High Courts have underlined the need for establishing a statutory body for regulating broadcast content.

Way Forward:

• Periodic campaigns in print and electronic media about the grievance redressal mechanism can be run by the OTT industry associations.
• The rules must include the provision for the disclosure or publication of an apology/warning/censure on the platform or website.
• Financial penalties on erring entities may also be provided.
• Hence there is a need to evolve a common set of guidelines for content, classification, age ratings, violations, etc. to ensure uniform governance of the contents across the platforms.

Conclusion:

• India’s OTT regulatory model is an efficacious combination of self-regulation and legal backing which is in-line with the global trend.
• This would raise India’s stature at an international level and serve as a model for other nations to emulate.
• The above initiatives towards enhancing media literacy and transparency will help in furthering this objective, realise the efficacy of ‘self-regulation’ and empower millions of OTT consumers.

-Source: The Hindu