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The interest of national security from the defence perspective assumes greater national significance than the public interest, the High Court of Karnataka has said while quashing a tender awarded by public sector undertaking Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL).
The tender had gone to a private company having a consortium agreement with a Chinese company, contrary to the Union government’s restriction imposed on bidders from countries sharing land borders with India.
The court declared as invalid the tender awarded in September 2022 by BHEL in favour of Kolkata-based BTL EPC Ltd, which had entered into a consortium agreement with Chinese firm Fujian Longking Co. Ltd to set up an ash handling plant forming part of installation of a thermal power station in Telangana. The value of the project awarded to the company was around ₹378 crore.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Prasanna B. Varale and Justice M.G.S. Kamal delivered the verdict while allowing an appeal filed by Macawber Beekay Pvt. Ltd., a Noida-based company.
The appellant had questioned a single judge’s November 2, 2022 verdict dismissing its petition against the award of tender to BTL EPC Ltd.
The Bench pointed out that the order, issued by the Finance Ministry on July 23, 2020, in national defence interest, makes registration with competent authority mandatory for the bidders from countries having a land border with India.
Delhi services Bill likely to be tabled today in LS (Page no. 4)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
The Bill to replace the Delhi services Ordinance will be introduced in the Lok Sabha. The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2023, seeks to designate the Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) as the authority with a final say on the postings and transfers of all bureaucrats serving under the Delhi government.
The draft Bill, which mandates the creation of an authority for transfers and postings of senior officers in the Delhi government, has been circulated among MPs.
The Bill deviates from the May 19 Ordinance on two aspects. First, it drops Section 3A that said, “Notwithstanding anything contained in any judgment, order or decree of any court, the Legislative Assembly shall have the power to make laws as per Article 239AA except with respect to any matter enumerated in Entry 41 of List II of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India or any matter connected therewith or incidental thereto.”
The second deviation is that it also empowers the L-G to appoint the heads of boards or commissions that are enacted by Delhi Legislative Assembly.
The Ordinance, promulgated on May 19 effectively negated the May 11 Supreme Court judgement that gave the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government the power to make laws and wield control over bureaucrats deputed to the Delhi government.
The objective of the Bill was “to give effect to the intent and purpose behind the provisions of Article 239AA of the Constitution, a permanent authority, headed by the Chief Minister of Delhi along with the Chief Secretary, and the Principal Secretary, Home, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi.”
Editorial
In Article 370 hearing, the original text and spirit count (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
The Supreme Court of India will begin hearing oral arguments in the case concerning Article 370 of the Constitution. The changes made to Article 370 through measures that commenced with a presidential order issued nearly four years ago, on August 5, were, by all accounts, seismic in proportion. Amendments were made to make applicable the entirety of India’s Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The State was also sundered into two Union Territories: J&K and Ladakh.
These decisions were made at a time when the State was under President’s Rule with no elected Legislative Assembly in place.
Both in the lead up to the events and in the months following them, sweeping limitations were placed on civil liberties in the region. But the Court has already made it clear that what it will consider is not the consequences of the measures adopted but their legality.
In other words, the question that it will strive to answer is whether as a matter of law the decisions made on Article 370 are ultra vires the Constitution.
The Indian Independence Act, 1947, which established the independent dominion of India, allowed the Government of India Act, 1935, to serve as an interim constitution until the country adopted its own.
The statute permitted princely States to accede to India by executing an instrument of accession. In the case of J&K, the instrument came with qualifications that were ultimately written into Article 370.
These caveats stipulated that Parliament could legislate for J&K only over matters concerning external affairs, defence, and communications.
Where Parliament intended to legislate over areas otherwise provided for in the instrument of accession, it could do so by consulting the State government.
Recalibrating India’s clean-cooking strategy (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Over the last 15 years, the Government of India has attempted to replicate the success that liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) adoption has seen in urban households, in poorer and rural households.
The Grameen Vitrak Yojana, launched in 2009, has helped grow the rural distributor base from 18% to 60% of the total LPG distributor base today.
The ambitious Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) has provided more than 9.5 crore new households with LPG connections since 2016.
With near-universal coverage of LPG, this is nothing short of an administrative and operational miracle. However, for the first time, LPG consumption in Indian households saw an absolute reduction in FY23 (minus 0.5% versus FY22) after years of steady growth.
In the recent past, the share of Indian households using LPG as the primary cooking fuel had risen to 71% in 2020 from 33% in 2011, according to the India Residential Energy Consumption Survey (IRES) conducted by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).
It was a clear indication that Indian households wanted to adopt clean cooking solutions, and policy could overcome ‘preferences’ and financial barriers.
However, global events that unfolded since the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing loss of livelihoods and income on the one hand and the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the resulting surge and volatility in crude and product prices on the other, have dented even a near-term prospect of universal use of LPG in Indian households.
Opinion
The debate on data (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 3, Defence)
Recently, there has been a spate of writing on India’s statistical system and the data produced by it. The ensuing debate has witnessed active participation from within and outside the government. While discussions on data and its veracity are welcome, the important point on the usefulness of available data to measure social and economic progress of a transforming economy looms large.
The debate has also to be seen in the context of the increasing global prominence of the economy and India’s election to the highest statistical body of the UN for a four-year term.
Economic and social data ideally is a public good. Its provision, like many other public goods, is the responsibility of the government.
While there are numerous private data-generating and publishing entities, they exclude data consumers through their pricing and restrictive access policies.
Anticipating this, independent India planned for a well-designed statistical system and embarked on the journey of setting it up at both at the Centre and in the States.
As noted by journalist Pramit Bhattacharya in a paper, “India’s statistical system was the envy of the world till the early 1970s”. However, over time, this saw a steady decline and has reached its present state, which is the subject of the current debate.
Three points emerging from this debate warrant scrutiny. The first is the quality and credibility of data. Policy formulation, implementation, and research are not possible without accurate and credible data.
Credibility is closely connected with the form of the data and the value of information, and is dependent on the reliability of the source.
Accuracy is when the data is a true representation of the expected values. The issue of capturing data correctly is of paramount importance for surveys as they are the source for official rates of unemployment, poverty, and other statistics that guide policy.
Explainer
The hybrid EV imperative (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
A crucial element of the world’s transition to becoming net-zero is electric vehicles (EVs). In this milieu, hybrid EVs present a big opportunity for economically developing countries: while their power generation and grid capacity and reliability, the fraction of renewable sources in the power generation mix, and availability of fast-charging infrastructure are still less than ideal, hybrid EVs offer a way to begin the transition instead of waiting.
Net-zero for a vehicle includes emissions at both the tailpipe of the vehicle and at the power plant. Making vehicles net-zero requires cutting emissions from both new and existing vehicles. Figure 1 shows the global sales of full EVs and plug-in hybrid EVs.
Any vehicle propelled by an electric drivetrain, taking electric power from a portable, electrical energy source, is called an Electric vehicle (EV).
In a hybrid EV, an internal combustion engine (ICE) is used to produce electricity with an electrical generator. A small battery, typically 1-5kWh, is used in a hybrid EV as an energy buffer to store the electricity.
A full EV – a.k.a. a battery EV or a plug-in EV – has no ICE and hence no tailpipe emissions. The battery typically is much larger at 20-120 kWh. And it can only be charged from the grid.
A plug-in hybrid EV is still a hybrid EV with a much larger battery, typically 5-15 kWh. This larger battery can also be charged from the grid. This means a plug-in hybrid operates like a fully electric vehicle as long as there is energy in the battery.
A fuel-cell EV uses a fuel cell to produce electricity for the drivetrain together with a small battery buffer to manage variations.
Text
Akira ransomware, why has the government issued a warning against it? (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
The Computer Emergency Response Team of India issued an alert for the ransomware dubbed “Akira.” The ransomware, found to target both Windows and Linux devices, steals and encrypts data, forcing victims to pay double ransom for decryption and recovery.
The group behind the ransomware has already targeted multiple victims, mainly those located in the U.S., and has an active Akira ransomware leak site with information, including their most recent data leaks.
The Akira ransomware is designed to encrypt data, create a ransomware note and delete Windows Shadow Volume copies on affected devices. The ransomware gets its name due to its ability to modify filenames of all encrypted files by appending them with the “.akira” extension.
The ransomware is designed to close processes or shut down Windows services that may keep it from encrypting files on the affected system.
It uses VPN services, especially when users have not enabled two-factor authentication, to trick users into downloading malicious files.
Once the ransomware infects a device and steals/encrypts sensitive data, the group behind the attack extorts the victims into paying a ransom, threatening to release the data on their dark web blog if their demands are not met.
As mentioned above, the ransomware deletes the Windows Shadow Volume copies on the affected device. These files are instrumental in ensuring that organisations can back up data used in their applications for day-to-day functioning.
VSS services facilitate communication between different components without the need to take them offline, thereby ensuring data is backed up while it is also available for other functions.
Once the ransomware deletes the VSS files it proceeds to encrypt files with the pre-defined the “.akira” extension.
The ransomware also terminates active Windows services using the Windows Restart Manager API, preventing any interference with the encryption process.
News
At 8.2%, India’s core sector growth touches 5-month high in June (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
India’s core sector output surged 8.2% in June, the fastest pace in five months, buoyed by a 21.9% spike in steel output and nearly double-digit rise in coal and cement production, as per data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry.
Seven of the eight core sectors, which constitute 40.3% of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), registered an uptick in June, compared with just six in May.
Economists said coming on the back of a 13.1% rise in output last June, the 8.2% growth in June was noteworthy. They expect the IIP growth, which had hit a three-month high rate of 5.2% in May, to clock a 4%-6% rise in June as well.
Crude oil was the only sector in the red, marking the 13th successive month of contraction in output, although the extent of decline eased to 0.6%.
Refinery products grew at the fastest pace in nine months at 4.6%, while electricity (up 3.3%) and natural gas (up 3.6%) output growth touched their highest levels in four and five months, respectively.
Coal production rose 9.8%, the fastest since March, while cement production rose 9.4%, the slowest in three months. Fertilizer production rose by 3.4%, the lowest pace in at least a year. On a month-on-month basis, steel output was 1.15% higher in June, while cement production rose 1.7%.
However, four sectors clocked a sequential decline from May levels — fertilizers (-5.35%), refinery products (-3.5%), coal (-3.1%) and crude oil (-3%).
Core sectors’ overall growth was broad-based and reflected the upturn in infrastructure spends, noted Bank of Baroda chief economist Madan Sabnavis.
Business
Govt. floats draft National Deep Tech Start-up Policy (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government put out a draft National Deep Tech Startup Policy (NDTSP) for public comment, following two versions that were iterated at high levels with other government departments, academia and stakeholder firms.
The policy seeks to “ensure India’s position in the global deep tech value chain,” in areas such as semiconductors, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and space technology.
The policy seeks to bolster research and development in deep tech start-ups, which work on fundamental and technical problems, unlike firms that monetise technology with distinguished business models, the draft says.
The policy also seeks to find approaches to provide financing to deep tech start-ups at critical moments, such as before they go to market with their products or ideas.
The policy also seeks to simplify the intellectual property regime for such start-ups, ease regulatory requirements, and proposes measures to promote these firms.
For instance, the NDTSP suggests that an Export Promotion Board be created to ease barriers of entry for Indian deep tech start-ups into foreign markets, and that clauses to ease such market access be included in foreign trade agreements.