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Growing up with lesbian or gay parents will not necessarily make a child lesbian or gay, the Supreme Court observed, as it confronted the government’s concern about the “psychological” impact same-sex marriages may have on children.
Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud referred petitions seeking legal recognition of same-sex marriages to a Constitution Bench, but took the time to soothe the government’s anxiety about how such a move would affect Indian “social ethos”.
Parliament will have to see what would be the psychology of a child who has seen either two men or only two women as parents… What would be the psychology of a child who was not reared by a father and a mother.
Parliament will have to debate whether we would like this institution to be recognised in view of our social ethos.
At one point, Mr. Mehta said, “Your Lordships are shouldering a very heavy burden of how society will develop henceforth.
The Bench listed the case for final arguments on April 18 and said the hearing would be livestreamed in public interest.
The Centre denied any stigma attached to same-sex relationships. “The question here is whether this relationship, as part of right to dignity, can be given recognition by the state.
Editorial
A chance for India to shape a data governance regime (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
In recent years, India has made great strides in its digital strategies and data governance. India has embraced technology and digitalisation to drive economic growth and to improve the lives of its citizens.
However, as the country continues to evolve, it must also ensure that its digital strategies and data governance are inclusive, transparent, secure, and conducive to sustainable development.
India’s G-20 presidency has provided an opportunity for the country to showcase its advancements in the digital arena, particularly with regards to data infrastructures and data governance.
As the world becomes increasingly digital, the G-20 has recognised the need for international cooperation and collaboration in addressing the challenges, opportunities and risks posed by the rapid growth of data and digital technologies.
Significant progress has been made in the use of digital technologies to provide access to bank accounts and in the promotion of digital transactions through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and other options.
The launch of India’s Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA), a consent management tool, has generated both excitement and concern among stakeholders.
On the one hand, DEPA has the potential to improve data protection and privacy for citizens by giving them greater control over the use and sharing of their personal information.
By allowing individuals to easily manage and control their data consents, DEPA could help to build trust in digital technologies and data governance.
However, there are also risks associated with DEPA, particularly in terms of security and privacy. If the consent management tool is not properly implemented or managed, there is a risk that personal information could be misused or misappropriated.
A resilient India, but growth pangs for China (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
The Chinese government (in the last government report of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang before he stepped down, and in the backdrop of the reopening of the country after three years of zero-COVID-19 policies) has disappointed observers with the projection of a growth target of around 5% in 2023, which is lower than that of last year (5.5%) and even lower than the expected GDP growth for India in 2023 (6.1% according to the International Monetary Fund).
This is all the more surprising if one considers that India is benefiting from the positive impact of the country reopening after COVID-19 lockdowns while China should benefit from its reopening only this year.
Still, growth will remain rather meagre for a simple reason: the Chinese economy is in a process of structural deceleration while India is still enjoying its benefits of its demographic dividend.
It is clear that Mr. Li was being cautious about the growth target this year. But why? First, the Chinese government, especially the new Premier Li Qiang, does not want to run the risk of undershooting its growth target again, as it happened in 2022.
Even if consumption is recovering, external demand remains weak and it is hard to know whether private investment will indeed rise given the doubts about the role of the private sector in the Chinese economy as well as increasingly cautious sentiment being expressed by foreign investors. Further, the real estate sector is still dragging down growth.
Opinion
A reality check for foreign universities (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
While some have rejected the government’s initiative to set up foreign universities in India calling it a predatory practice, others have embraced it as a quality-enhancing step.
Missing from the conversation are the economic aspects. It appears that the assumptions that the Indian education market is attractive and would lead to relatively affordable, high-quality education are taken for granted. Ground realities compel a reassessment.
The OECD’s global study on the internationalisation of higher education pointed out that no matter how altruistic and enlightened the motivation, financial aspects of setting up an off-shore campus are likely to prevail.
Though this observation was made more than 10 years ago, nothing has changed since then to reconsider this deal-breaker.
Two promising numbers drive the government’s assumptions. First, as the Ministry of Education recently clarified in Parliament, the number of Indian students going abroad increased from 4.4 lakh in 2021 to 7.5 lakh in 2022.
The related outward remittance spent on education in 2012-2022 was about $5.1 billion, as per the Reserve Bank of India bulletin. The calculation is that India is an enticing market even if foreign universities can tap into a fraction of this outward flow.
Explainer
Understanding the Saudi-Iran détente (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
Saudi Arabia and Iran, two of West Asia’s major powers that have been at odds with each other for decades, agreed to restore diplomatic relations last week in an agreement brokered by China.
The rivalry between the two dates back to pre-revolution Iran when they competed with each other for regional dominance. After the 1979 revolution brought down the Iranian monarchy and turned the country into a Shia theocratic republic, sectarian and ideological flavours were added to the mix.
In recent times, it had turned into a cold war with both sides supporting their proxies across West Asia. Formal ties between them collapsed in 2016 after the Saudi embassy in Tehran was overrun by protesters following Riyadh’s execution of a Shia cleric.
Now, under China’s mediation, they have agreed to start a new beginning. If peace holds, it could have far-reaching implications for regional security, stability and geopolitics.
Saudi Arabia and Iran started directly talking to each other in 2021 and had held multiple rounds of negotiations thereafter, first in Iraq and then Oman, without any breakthrough.
Finer details of the agreement are yet to be unveiled. But officials on both sides say, according to reports, that Iran has agreed to prevent further attacks against Saudi Arabia, especially those from the Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen (Iran backs Houthis, a Shia militia in Yemen while the Saudis back the government forces).
Saudi Arabia, on its part, agreed to rein in Iran International, a Farsi news channel that is critical of the Iranian regime (which the Iranian intelligence has termed a terrorist organisation).
The Foreign Ministers of both countries would meet soon to thrash out the terms of the reconciliation before reopening embassies in each other’s capitals in two months.
China is also planning to host a cross-Gulf conference of Iran and the six Gulf monarchies (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman, who make up the Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC) this year to further strengthen peace in the region.
News
Activists, MPs flag RTI amendment in data protection Bill (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
Activists and Opposition MPs on Monday expressed concern over a proposed amendment to the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, and said it could close off avenues to citizens to uncover corruption. Section 8(1)(j) of the Act allows officials to refuse access to information if it intrudes on the privacy of an individual, but permits disclosure of information if there is an overriding public interest.
The draft Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022, which the government may introduce in the Budget Session, removes provisions from Section 8(1)(j) that allow public interest disclosure.
After the amendment, the RTI Act would “now say that any information that is personal will not be disclosed”, said Anjali Bhardwaj, co-convenor of the National Campaign for Peoples’ Right to Information (NCPRI).
“Whether the information is shared or not [if the Bill passes] will be at the whims and fancy of the Central government,” Congress MP Karti P. Chidambaram said.
The discussion featured remarks from RTI activists, who warned of ways in which the amendment could stall requests for information in the public interest.
Kusum, an activist, said that she was able to discover that ration shops were not distributing cooking oil as required in her neighbourhood, but stock records indicated that they were distributed.
India remains world’s largest importer of arms: SIPRI report (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 3, Defence)
India remained the world’s largest arms importer for the five-year period between 2018 and 2022 even though its arms imports dropped by 11% between 2013-2017 and 2018-2022, according to the Swedish think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Russia was the largest supplier of arms to India from 2013 to 2022, but its share of total imports fell from 64% to 45% while France is the second largest supplier.
As per latest SIPRI data, among the top 10 arms exporters for the period 2018 to 2022, India was the biggest arms export market to three countries — Russia, France and Israel — and the second largest export market to South Korea. India was also the third largest market for South Africa, which was ranked 21 in the list of arms exporters.
For the same period, India remained the largest arms importer followed by Saudi Arabia. Russia accounted for 45% of India’s imports followed by France (29%) and the U.S. (11%). Also, India was the third largest arms supplier to Myanmar after Russia and China accounting for 14% of its imports.
“India’s tensions with Pakistan and China largely drive its demand for arms imports. With an 11% share of total global arms imports, India was the world’s biggest importer of major arms in 2018 to 2022, a position it has held for the period 1993 to 2022.
It retained this position even though its arms imports dropped by 11% between 2013 to 2017 and 2018 to 2022,” according to SIPRI data.
246 vultures spotted in synchronised survey in T.N., Kerala and Karnataka (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
As many as 246 vultures were spotted in the first-ever synchronised survey conducted along the borders of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka on February 25 and 26.
The estimation was carried out in the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) and the adjoining landscape consisting of the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) in Tamil Nadu, the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS) in Kerala, the Bandipur Tiger Reserve (BTR) and the Nagerhole Tiger Reserve (NTR) in Karnataka. A total of 98 vultures were seen in MTR, two in STR, 52 in WWS, 73 in BTR, and 23 in NTR.
During the survey, conducted in four sessions and six hours, volunteers sighted White-rumped vultures (183), Long-billed vultures (30), Red-headed vultures (28), Egyptian vultures (3), Himalayan Griffon (1), and Cinereous vulture (1).
Based on inputs from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Vulture Specialist Group, the vantage point count method was chosen as the survey methodology given the terrain’s hilly and undulating nature.
The survey area was divided into hundred grids and one vantage point (a hilltop or the centre of an open plain that would provide a clear view) from each grid was selected. Ease of accessibility was also considered as a criterion for the vantage point.
The current estimates cannot be considered a sign of a healthy population, S. Bharathidasan of Arulagam, an environmental organisation.
Increasing wild carcass availability was one of the major steps needed to be taken for vultures to thrive.He, however, said that one new vulture nest spotted in Doddacombai in STR was a good sign.
In Cambodia, a battle for democracy, inclusiveness (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 1, Art & Culture)
Earlier this month, when a municipal court in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh found Opposition leader Kem Sokha guilty of treason and sentenced him to a 27-year prison sentence, the international community and rights groups were quick to condemn the move.
The U.S. said it was “deeply troubled” by the conviction of the “respected leader”. Terming the ruling “politically motivated”, Human Rights Watch, a New York-based global rights watchdog, said it was based on “bogus charges”.
Cambodia’s general elections are scheduled to be held in July this year. Incumbent Prime Minister Hun Sen, who will seek another term in the coming election, has remained in the position for nearly 40 years.
In addition to democratic freedoms, inclusive development that speaks to people’s needs will be imperative for the country’s progress, local activists note.
Reeling under the lingering impact of Pol Pot’s dictatorship, and the cycles of war which officially ended in 1991, the Southeast Asian country, home to over 17 million people, is struggling to elevate its economy from a lower-income status.