DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS 16 DECEMBER
SOCIETY
Intoxication not a defence to a criminal charge: SC
The Supreme Court has rejected a man’s defence that he was too drunk to intend to kill his wife.
Court observation:
- Defence of drunkenness was at the most a mitigating factor.
- Level of inebriation should be such that it leaves the accused incapable of having a “particular intention” to commit the crime.
- The onus of proving that he was drunk to the extent of insensibility lies on the accused alone.
‘Maternity scheme exclusionary, need benefits for all’
Three years after a pan-India maternity benefit programme promising Rs. 6,000 to new mothers was first announced, the chorus on its many exclusions is growing louder leading to a demand for a scheme that is truly universal.
About Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY):
- Under the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), it is envisaged to give a benefit of Rs.5,000 to pregnant and lactating mothers for the birth of their first child.
- This would be disbursed in three instalments upon meeting several conditionalities like— registration of pregnancy, at least one antenatal check-up, registration of childbirth and vaccinations.
- The remaining cash incentive of up to Rs.1,000 is to be given under a separate scheme called the Janani Suraksha Yojana, so that on an “average” women get a total sum of Rs.6,000.
- The objective is to compensate women for wage loss due to childbirth.
Concerns:
- The lengthy documentation work includes filling up six documents totalling 32 pages — an application form to be filled for each of the three instalments, an application for linking the Aadhaar card with a bank account, another one for linking the Aadhaar card with post office account and a feedback form. This could be a big deterrent to illiterate sections.
- A mother seeking benefits needs to provide proof of the address of her marital home, which proves challenging for a newlywed expecting a child and often residing in her natal home during pregnancy.
- Women have to pay a hefty bribe during the application process.
- The documentation work is likely to result in many women living on the margins, such as sex workers, women in custody, migrant and those living in post-conflict situations unable to claim benefits even though they are most in need of monetary compensation.
- The requirement that the applicant has to be at least 19 years old also leaves out younger brides, who hesitate in getting their marriages registered as the legal age of marriage is 18 years. 30-35% of first-time mothers are under the age of 18 years.
- It has benefited a total of 128 lakh women as per the government’s reply in Parliament. This is 80% of the total target the government has set out for itself — 53 lakh women per year.
- This is a woman’s right under the National Food Security Act, 2013, then why insisting on the husband’s identity proof.
Way Forward:
- There is a need for reviewing the scheme and making it universal by removing restrictions on the number of children as well as including all women, whether they are in the formal or informal sector, engaged in paid or unpaid work.
- The sum promised should also be at least on par with minimum wages for women in self-employment, unpaid work, or working for less than minimum wage.
SECURITY
Android vulnerable to cyberattack: MHA
The Union Home Ministry has sent an alert to all States warning them about the vulnerability of the Android operating system to a bug called ‘Strand Hogg’ that allows real-time malware applications to pose as genuine applications and access user data of all kind.
Malware functions:
- Potentially listen to their conversations.
- Access photo album.
- Read/send messages.
- Make calls, record conversations.
- Get login credentials to various accounts.
- Access include private images, files, contact details, call logs, and location information.
Government steps:
- The information was shared by the Threat Analytical Unit, Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, and Ministry of Home Affairs.
- An alert has been sent to all senior police officials to sensitise them to the threat.
Attack by the Malware:
- Pop-ups asking for permission to send notifications, messages etc. are one of the main entry points for ‘Strand Hogg’ to launch the attack.
- An app in which the user is already logged in asking him/her to login again is another anomaly pointing to the possibilities of a cyberattack.
- Once users approve such requests, the malware would instantly access the mobile phone or tablet for specific purposes.
- Links and buttons that become non-functional, apps asking for permissions that are not required are among the other warning signs.
Government agencies involved to maintain cyber security:
Two main agencies in the government are responsible for cyber security in India.
- One is CERT-In under the IT Ministry, which began operations in 2004 and is responsible for incident reporting management.
- This agency has the mandate to escalate serious concerns to the ministry and other relevant stakeholders.
- CERT-in usually takes newly discovered mass potential vulnerabilities seriously and updates their website and pushes advisories.
- They also have the same information published via their website with background, vulnerability notes, procedures, prevention, response and other advisories.
The other main agency is National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) under National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), which is responsible for protection of critical infrastructure. It was created under Section 70 of the IT Act, 2000.
CERT-In and NCIIPC keep a tab on information infrastructure issues across different sectors and coordinate with each other through the (National Cyber Security Coordinator) NCSC in Prime Minister’s Office.
ENVIRONMENT
No deal as longest climate talks end in Madrid
Marathon international climate talks ended with major polluters resisting calls to ramp up efforts to keep global warming at bay and negotiators postponing the regulation of global carbon markets until next year.
Results of the Conference:
- It only underscored the “urgent need” to cut planet-heating greenhouse gases in line with the goals of the landmark 2015 Paris climate change accord.
- Calls for more aggressive actions to limit greenhouse gas emissions have not been addressed.
- Another aspect of the negotiations is the language around loss and damage under Article 8 of the Paris agreement. These are proposals for compensating developing countries for damages caused by climate change. Delegates from 200 countries did not allocate any new funds to do so.
- Major polluters resisted calls to ramp up efforts to keep global warming at bay.
- They left some of the thorniest issues like the liability for damages caused by rising temperatures that developing countries were insisting on for next summit.
- The last part of the Paris regime that remains to be resolved is Article 6. This article describes rules for a carbon market and other forms of international cooperation. In the COP24 conference, no agreement could be reached on this topic.
- International trading of carbon can make overall emission cuts the final agreement on carbon markets’ regulation has been put off.
About Paris Agreement:
- Paris Agreement is an international agreement to combat climate change.
- Keep the global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial level.
- Pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
- Strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change.
- Paris Accord talks about limiting the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity to the same levels that trees, soil and oceans can absorb naturally, beginning at some point between 2050 and 2100.
- Rich countries should help poorer nations by providing “climate finance” to adapt to climate change and switch to renewable energy.
- The Paris Agreement has a ‘bottom up’ structure in contrast to most international environmental law treaties, which are ‘top down’.
SCIENCE-TECHNOLOGY
Araku coffee aroma to spread far and wide
The aroma of Araku Arabica coffee beans grown in the Agency belt of Visakhapatnam would soon be wafting through the country and abroad.
Details:
- The Central government has recently accorded the prestigious ‘Geographical Indication’ (GI) tag to Araku Valley Coffee along with four other varieties of Indian coffee.
- Others are Coorg Arabica Coffee, Chikmaglur Coffee and Bababudangriris Arabica Coffee of Karnataka and Waynad Robusta Coffee.
- Araku Valley Arabica Coffee, produced through an organic method, is famous for its rich blend of good taste and invigorating aroma as well as purity.
- The coffee from the hilly areas of Visakhapatnam district and Odisha is produced by tribals through the ‘integrated coffee development project’.
About GI act:
- The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 (GI Act) is a sui generis act of the Parliament of India for protection of geographical indications in India.
- It was enacted the Act to comply with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.
- The GI tag ensures that none other than those registered as authorised users (or at least those residing inside the geographic territory) are allowed to use the popular product name.
- Typically, GI conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness, which is essentially attributable to the fact of its origin in that defined geographical locality, region or country.
PIB
Ministry of Coal to Establish Sustainable Development Cell for Environmental Mitigation Measures
The Ministry of Coal has decided to establish a ‘Sustainable Development Cell (SDC)’ for environmental mitigation measures.
Provisions of it:
- This is being done in order to address environmental concerns during the decommissioning or closure of mines.
- The SDC will advise, mentor, plan and monitor the mitigation measures taken by the coal companies for maximising the utilisation of available resources in a sustainable way, minimising the adverse impact of mining and mitigating it for further ecosystem services.
- This cell will also formulate the future policy framework for the environmental mitigation measures including the Mine Closure Fund.
Works of SDC:
- Land amelioration and afforestation
- Air quality, emission and noise management:
- Work towards energy efficiency in the mining operation, noise and emission reduction.
- Advice coal companies for effective implementation of environmental mitigation measures (water sprinkling, dust suppression methods, noise barriers, etc.)
- Mine water management
- Sustainable overburden management:
- Suggest measures for the reuse, recycling and rehabilitation of over-burdened dumps in a sustainable manner.
- Examine and plan out use of overburdened material for use in different infrastructure projects, earthen bunds, etc.
- Sustainable mine tourism
- Explore and conceptualise a plan for the beautification & creation of eco-parks in the reclaimed areas (which will also include water bodies) for recreation activities and tourism purposes.
- Planning and monitoring
- Policy, research, education, and dissemination
Year End Review -2019 of Ministry of Corporate Affairs
- India has improved its ranking on the World Bank’s “Doing Business” 2020 report. As per the report, India has moved up 14 positions to 63rd position as compared to 77th position in 2018.
Steps taken for Ease of doing business:
- Integrated Incorporation Form – Simplified Performa for Incorporating Company Electronically (SPICe) introduced which extends 8 services (CIN, PAN, TIN, DIN, Name, EPFO, ESIC and GSTN) from three Ministries through a single form.
- De-criminalization of technical & procedural violations under Companies Act and reducing the burden on criminal courts & NCLT.
- Mergers and acquisitions process made faster.
- The Competition Commission of India (CCI) introduced an automatic system of approval for combinations under Green Channel.
- Enabling provisions with regard to Mediation and Conciliation under the Companies Act, 2013 enforced.
- Harmonising norms with SEBI by reducing the time limits of public offers so that investors get securities within three days of application instead of the earlier six days.
- Launched Independent Director’s Databank to provide an easy to access & navigate platform for the registration of existing Independent Directors as well as individuals aspiring to become independent directors.
Resolving Bankruptcy:
- India is ranking jumped 56 places to 52 in 2019 from 108 in 2018.
- Recovery rate increased from 26.5% in 2018 to 71.6% in 2019 and time taken in recovery improved from 4.3 years in 2018 to 1.6 years in 2019.
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