Category: Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability – GS2N

THE AADHAAR AND OTHER LAWS (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2019

  •   Context: Recently the Parliament passed the Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019.

Key Changes in the Aadhar:

  •  The existing Act on Aadhaar provides for the use of Aadhaar number as proof of identity of a person, subject to authentication. the Bill replaces this provision to state that an individual may voluntarily use his Aadhaar number to establish his identity, by authentication or offline verification.
  • Enabling offline verification is another key change brought about by the Bill. Under the exiting Aadhaar Act, verification of identity requires authentication, which, in turn, requires an individual to submit their Aadhaar number and biometric or demographic information to the Central Identities Data Repository.
  • The latest Bill amends the Act to additionally allow offline verification of a person’s identity through modes specified by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). The existing Act allowed State or a corporate entity under any law to use Aadhaar. The Bill replaces this bit and allows the UIDAI to decide whether an entity can use Aadhaar.
  • The UIDAI can do so once it has satisfied itself that the entity is allowed to do so under law or conforms to requisite privacy and security standard, or indeed, is obtaining Aadhaar in the interest of the State. the Bill has also strengthened the disclosure norms relating to Aadhaar.
  • It has also provided for a dedicated Unique Identification Authority of India Fund, which will receive all fees and revenue collected by the UIDAI. Under the Act, these go to the Consolidated Fund of India. The Bill also makes it possible for individuals to file complaints under certain circumstances such as impersonation instead of just allowing the UIDAI to file complaints.
  •  Lastly, the Bill also lays down a federated structure for deciding penalties in case an entity fails to play by the rules.

IIIDEM (ECI) organises capacity building program on Electoral Technology

  • India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) (ECI) organized a five-day training program
  • The program on Use of Technology in Elections for Election Officials of Union Election Commission of Myanmar.
  • The  Capacity   Building  Programs  on  Electoral   technology  is  the  7th  program  of   09 programs scheduled across 2018-2019.
  • Election Commissioner of India Sushil Chandra shared the need of sharing best practices of Elections among Election Management Bodies
  • Their aim is to strengthen the democracy around the world and create transparency

Background:

  • India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) conducted training on Election Management of SAARC Countries.
  • It is conducted by Election Commission of India (ECI) and sponsored by the Union Ministry of External Affairs.

Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR)

Why in News?

  • In a bid to curtail the rampant cloning and theft of mobile phones across the country, the Telecom  Ministry  is  ready  to  roll  out  a  Central  Equipment  Identity  Register  (CEIR)  —  a database of IMEIs, the 15-digit numbers that uniquely identify each mobile device.

Central Equipment Identity Register:

  • The concept of a central identity register is advocated by the GSM Association (GSMA), a body representing mobile operators, equipment manufacturers, and software and internet companies, among other stakeholders in the telecom ecosystem.
  • In  India,  the  plan  to  prepare  the  registry  of  mobile  identification  numbers  was  first conceived in the National Telecom Policy-2012.
  • A  pilot  for  the  project  was  developed  and  conducted  by  state-owned  BSNL’s  IT  Project Service unit in Pune. In the interim budget for 2019-20, the government allocated Rs 15 crore to the DoT for the CEIR project.

Significance:

  • The theft and cloning of mobile phones have become a serious problem.
  • The theft of mobile phones is not just a financial loss but also a threat to personal life of the citizens as well as national security.

How will Database work?

  • In line with global practices, DoT’s identity register will be a database of IMEI numbers that will consist of three lists – white, grey and black.
  • Mobile phones with IMEI numbers in the white list will be permitted for use, while those in the blacklist will be the ones that are reported stolen or lost and will not be allowed to access the network.
  • Devices with IMEI numbers in the grey list will be the ones that do not conform to standards but will be permitted to connect under supervision.

Utility of CEIR:

  • Once implemented in the coming weeks, consumers in India whose mobile phones are lost or stolen can inform the Department of Telecom (DoT) via a helpline number after filing a report with police. The DoT can then blacklist the IMEI number, effectively blocking the mobile device from accessing any cellular network in the future.
  • The CEIR will have access to GSMA’s global IMEI database, allowing comparison of IMEI numbers to identify counterfeit devices.

IMEI:

  • The International Mobile Equipment Identity or IMEI is a number, usually unique to identify 3GPP and mobile phones, as well as some satellite phones.
  • GSM networks use the IMEI number to identify valid devices, and can stop a stolen phone from accessing the network.
  • For example, if a mobile phone is stolen, the owner can have their network provider use the IMEI number to blacklist the phone.
  • This renders the phone useless on that network and sometimes other networks, even if the thief changes the phone’s subscriber identity module (SIM).
  • The IMEI only identifies the device and has no particular relationship to the subscriber. The phone identifies the subscriber by transmitting the International mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) number, which it stores on a SIM card that can, in theory, be transferred to any handset. However, the network’s ability to know a subscriber’s current, individual device enables many network and security features.

TAIWAN LEGALIZES SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IN HISTORIC FIRST FOR ASIA

Why in News:

  • Lawmakers in Taiwan have approved a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, a landmark decision that makes the self-ruled island the first place in Asia to pass gay marriage legislation.

Details:

  • Lawmakers comfortably passed part of a bill that would allow gay couples to enter into “exclusive permanent unions” and apply for marriage registration with government agencies.

What is Section 377?

  • Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code dating back to 1860, introduced during the British rule   of    India, criminalises    sexual    activities    “against    the    order    of nature”, including homosexual sexual activities. Prior to that, sexual activities, including amongst homosexuals, were not penalised in India.
  • Though it textually applies to all persons, homosexual and heterosexual, it has been targeted at Transgender men.

Courts judgement on Section 377

  • The Delhi High Court in Naz Foundation v. Government of NCT of Delhi (2009) rightly held that criminalising sexual activities with consent in private not only impairs the dignity of those persons targeted by the law, but it is also discriminatory and impacts the health of those people.
  • The top court had set aside a historic Delhi High Court judgment that had decriminalized homosexuality.
  • Supreme Court, in Suresh Kumar Koushal v. Naz Foundation (2013) case, set aside the Delhi High Court judgment and said that homosexuality or unnatural sex between two consenting adults under Section 377 of IPC is illegal and will continue to be an offense. The court said that Section 377 did not suffer from any “constitutional infirmity”.
  • The astounding claim made in Koushal case that there was no need to challenge Section 377 because the LGBT community constitutes only a minuscule minority has been completely discredited. It was unreasonable to advance the view that constitutional protection is available to a group based on its size.

Karnataka law on Sc/St Promotion Quota upheld

why in news:

  • The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of a 2018 Karnataka law, granting reservation in promotion and consequential seniority to the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe employees in the state.

Background:

  • The Karnataka law grants reservation to non-IAS cadre government employees who belong to SC/ST The issue dates back to 2002 when the Karnataka government had enacted a similar law that was later upheld by a constitutional bench in 2006.
  • However, it was challenged in 2011 and in 2017 the apex court had said it was necessary for the government to provide material that there was “compelling necessity” for exercise of such powers that eventually resulted in 3,799 SC/ST employees, promoted earlier, to be The state government had constituted a committee under then chief secretary K.Ratna Prabha to study the backwardness of these communities. The Karnataka government took the ordinance route in August 2017 to circumvent an apex order in February earlier that year that struck down reservations on promotions to SCs/STs by the Karnataka government and had also set a deadline of three months to reverse the promotions.

Controversy:

  • In the Indira Sawhney case, the Supreme Court held that the “test or requirement of social and educational backwardness cannot be applied to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, who indubitably fall within the expression ‘backward class of citizens

B2B TECH START-UPS TREBLE IN 5 YEARS: STUDY

Why in News:

  • Business-to-business (B2B) technology start-ups have more than trebled in the last five years driven by the spurt in the need for digital transformation of enterprises, financial institutions, hospitals, government and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), among others.

Details:

  • While the number of such ventures has increased from 900 to over 3,200, the investment in such start-ups touched $3.7 billion in 2018, a rise of 364% from $797 million in 2014, as per a study
  • According to the study, 70% of the B2B start-ups are in the area of enterprise technology, financial technology and health technology.

Growth of B2C

  • However, the growth in the number of B2C technology start-ups has been comparatively slower since there were 2,200 such B2C ventures in 2014.
  • Within the B2B technology segment, ‘advanced tech start-ups’ have grown at a higher pace when compared to the entire technology start-up segment.
  • Advanced B2B tech start-ups typically deal in 3D printing, blockchain and robotic process automation.

Bengaluru leads

  • Bengaluru is the top city for B2B technology start-ups followed by Delhi NCR and Mumbai, with the three cities accounting for about 60% of all B2B technology start-ups.
  • Further, Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai are poised to be the growing start-up hubs on account of flexible economic policies, State government support and access to various industries.
  • There are over 50 corporate accelerators and incubators in the country, focussing on technologies such as AI/ML, Big Data, Cloud, Blockchain, Cybersecurity, among others,”

Different types of e-commerce

  • Business-to-business (B2B)
  • Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
  • Business-to-government (B2G)
  • Consumer-to-consumer (C2C)
  • Government to consumer (G2C)
  • Government-to-business (G2B)

SC TURNS DOWN OPPOSITION PLEA FOR INCREASED VVPAT VERIFICATION

Why in News:

  • The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea by 21 Opposition parties to review its judgment rejecting 50% random physical verification of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) using Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT).

Details

  • On April 8, a Bench led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi had directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to increase physical counting of VVPAT slips to five random EVMs in each Assembly segment/constituency.

Fool-proof’ polls

  • Its April verdict, the court had assured the petitioners, would ensure a ‘fool-proof’ Lok Sabha polls 2019.
  • The Opposition had found the Supreme Court’s April 8 verdict a far shot from what it
  • wanted — VVPAT verification in 50% or 125 polling booths in each constituency.
  • The physical scrutiny of slips in five EVMs has increased the VVPAT verification percentage from .44% to less than 2%.

VVPAT

  • Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) is a device which dispenses a slip with the symbol of the party for which a person has voted for. The slip appears on a small window for seven seconds and then drops in a box. The voter cannot take it home. VVPAT displays
  • candidate’s serial number. Name of the candidate and Corresponding symbol for whom the vote has been cast.

Advantages in VVPATs:

  • Enables to verify vote: Instant feedback to voter that vote polled has been allocated to the intended candidate.
  • Enables authorities to count the votes manually if there is a dispute in the electronically polled votes.
  • Operates under a Direct Recording Election system (DRE) which detects fraud and existent malfunctions.
  • Will ensure greater transparency in voting process. Gives both the voters and political parties an assurance.

M3 EVMs

  • M3 EVMs are the third generation EVMs. The M3 EVMs can keep data of 384
  • candidates. M3 EVMS also has added features like Tamper Detection and Self Diagnostics. The tamper detection feature makes an EVM inoperative the moment anyone tries to open the machine. The Self diagnostic feature checks the EVM fully every time it is switched on. Any change in its hardware or software will be detected.

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