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18 Jul
EducationWebinarBy Amritha Admin

IDENTIFICATION OF MINORITIES IN INDIA

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Recently, the Union government filed an affidavit in Supreme Court declaring that the state governments can grant minority status to any religious or linguistic community.

REASON FOR THE AFFIDAVIT

  • According to the 2011 census, Hindus are a minority in some states and Union territories such as Mizoram, Lakshadweep, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and
  • A petition has been filed in the Supreme court seeking minority status for Hindus in concurrence with the supreme court judgment in TMA Pai Foundation

CRITICAL FACTOR IN DECIDING MINORITY

  1. Number: Usually defined on the basis of a number where the minority is less than 50%.
  2. Power or dominance

CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS FOR MINORITIES

  1. Article 29

 

  • It provides that any section of the citizens residing in any part of India having a distinct language, script, or culture of its own, shall have the right to conserve the
  • It grants protection to both religious minorities as well as linguistic
  • However, the SC held that the scope of this article is not necessarily restricted to minorities only, as the use of the word ‘section of citizens’ in the Article includes minorities as well as the
  1. Article 30
  • All minorities shall have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their
  • The protection under Article 30 is confined only to minorities (religious or linguistic) and does not extend to any section of citizens as under Article 29
  1. Article 350 B
  • The 7th Constitutional (Amendment) Act 1956 inserted Article 350 B which provides for a Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities appointed by the President of
  • It would be the duty of the Special Officer to investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for linguistic minorities under the

However, Constitution doesn’t define the term Minorities anywhere.

WHO CAN DECIDE MINORITY STATUS?

  1. National Commission for Minorities Act,1992
    • As per Section 2(c) of the act, it is the central government that decides which community constitutes the Minority
    • Consequently, in 1993 union government declared five religious communities as Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Zoroastrians (Parsis) as minority
    • In 2014, Jains were also notified as a minority
    • Union government has not identified any linguistic minorities till
  1. National Commission for Minority Education Institution (NCMEI) Act, 2004
  • It gives the minority status to the educational institutions on the basis of six religious communities notified by the
  • As per section 2 (f), the Central government declares Minority
  • There is no distinction between religious minorities and linguistic minorities within the constitutional

SUPREME COURT JUDGEMENTS

  1. Kerala Education Bill, 1958: Supreme court stated that State is the unit to decide whether a particular community is a minority or
  2. DAV College versus State of Punjab 1971: The court held that the Arya Samaj, who were Hindus, were a religious minority in the state of Punjab, even though they may not be a minority in relation to the entire
  3. DAV College Bathinda versus the State of Punjab, 1971: Supreme Court rejected the contention that since the Hindus are in majority in the country they cannot be held as a minority in the The Supreme court in India consistently held that the state should be the unit to determine who constitutes minorities.
  4. TMA Pai Foundation Case, 2002: The apex Court stated that the rights of minorities to establish and administer educational institutions, and religious and linguistic minorities have to be considered state-wise.
  5. Bal Patil Case,2005:
    • The case before the Supreme Court was whether Jains can be declared as minorities under Section 2(c) of the National Commission for Minorities Act,
    • After several rounds of deliberations, finally the state government of Gujarat declared Jains as minorities, so the state government is practicing the law laid down by the M.A. Pai case.
    • In 2014, the Central government also declared Jains as a minority community just before the general election.

Thus, the legal position clarifies that henceforth the unit for determining the status of both linguistic and religious minorities would be ‘state’.

CENTRE’S STAND

  • Religion is a pan India element, thus both central government and state government can decide the minority status, but now they have taken their stand
  • State government can decide which communities constitute linguistic
  • For example The Maharashtra government notified Jews as a minority community in 2016 and Karnataka had notified Urdu, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, Tulu, Lamani, Hindi, Konkani, and Gujarati as minority
  • Question on the simultaneous declaration of the minority status at the national and state level (case of Jammu & Kashmir) is a legal dilemma that the Supreme court needs to be
  • In Jammu and Kashmir, the Hindus are a minority with more Muslim population in the Union But when we consider India as a whole, the Muslim population constitute the minority. So, on what basis will a minority group be taken into account in such cases? This stands as a legal dilemma that the SC has to clarify.

CONCLUSION

  • The Union government is on the stand that the Supreme Court has nowhere eroded the power of the Central Government to notify a community as a ‘minority’ in the TMA Pai Foundation case
  • Both union government and state government are empowered to enact laws to promote and protect the interests of minorities under Entry 20 of the Concurrent List, to ensure welfare and preservation of culture which promotes economic and social

QUESTION:

Discuss the constitutional provisions related to minorities. Do you think that the judgement delivered in TMA Pai Case regarding minority status case will solve the conflict between the centre and state in deciding minority status? (250 Words, 15 Marks)

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16 Jul
EducationWebinarBy Amritha Admin

GROWING INEQUALITIES IN THE PANDEMIC

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Recently, Oxfam International published a report titled ‘Profiting from Pain’ stating a new billionaire emerged every 30 hours, while a million people might slip into extreme poverty every 33 hours in the same time period during the Covid-19 pandemic.

STATE OF INEQUALITY

Inequality refers to the phenomenon of unequal and/or unjust distribution of resources and opportunities among members of a given society.

ISSUES WITH GROWING INEQUALITY

  1. Reduced growth rate- Accumulation of wealth on a few hands leads to less utilization of resources thereby minimizing the growth rate and development.

2. Social disharmony- Unequal access to health, and education for the common people end up in social unrest.

3. Political Existence-Widening inequality questions the existence of the political system in the country. For e.g.: Sri Lankan crisis

4. Poverty and Malnutrition- Pandemic made rich becoming richer, poor becoming poorer. Increasing poverty and malnutrition diminishes the human capital.

5. Gender Disparity-Women are more vulnerable to downsizing the workforce.

OXFAM REPORT

  • Billionaires have seen their increase in wealth as much in 24 months which was made by them in the past 23
  • Billionaires in the food and energy sectors have seen their wealth increase by a billion dollars every two For e.g., 62 new food billionaires have been created since 2021.
  • The combined crises of COVID-19, rising inequality, and rising food prices could push around 263 million people into extreme poverty by the end of 2022. This is equivalent to one million people every 33
  • At the same time a new billionaire has been minted on an average every 30 hours during the
  • This means on an average, it took the same time to create a new billionaire during the pandemic, and one million people could be pushed into extreme

WHY INEQUALITY IS WIDENING?

  1. Neo-economic policies
  • Moving away from public services into private
  • Making Services unaffordable for the
  1. Monopoly
  • Massive concentration of corporate
  • Huge disparity of income already existing between rich and
  • Exploitation of the common
  • For e.g.; Moderna: The pharmaceutical company has just one product on the market, a COVID-19 vaccine on which it makes a 70% pre-tax profit margin.

    Pfizer: The company has sold the most vaccines in the world but has delivered the least to low-income countries.

3. Lack of Business 

  • Profiteering by food, energy, pharmaceutical, and technology sectors during the pandemic. For e.g.,

    Walmart focused on the distribution of shareholder dividends rather than distributing profits for workers who are facing the spiraling cost of living.

  1. Tax evasion
    • Shifting of profits by MNCs to avoid
  1. Fiscal Policies
    • Eroded workers’ rights by pro-capitalist
    • Reduced tax rates for
  1. Monetary policy
    • Central banks injected trillions of dollars into
    • It dramatically drove up the price of assets leading to inflation. This money en routes to th
  • An enormous increase in billionaire wealth has been the direct by-product of this cash
  1. Crony Capitalism
  • Extreme wealth corrupts our
  • Unaccountable power in the hands of a small

DIMENSIONS OF INEQUALITY PANDEMIC

According to Oxfam’s analysis:

1. Wealth inequality

  • 573 Billionaires were added since the pandemic began.
  • Total billionaire wealth is now the equivalent of 13.9% of global gross domestic product (GDP), which was only 4.4% in 2000
  • The richest 10 men have greater wealth than the poorest 40% of humanity combined. The richest 20 billionaires are worth more than the entire GDP of sub-Saharan Africa.

2. Income inequality

  • Covid-19 made 125 million people lose their jobs and the incomes of 99% of humanity have fallen.
  • It would take about 112 years for the average person in the bottom line to make what a billionaire in the top gets in a year

3. Gender inequality

  • Feminised work- Women were disproportionately pushed out of employment, especially as lockdowns and social distancing affected highly feminized workforces in the service sectors, such as tourism, hospitality, and care
  • During the Pandemic, women had to take over more of the house hold work. Also, when companies opted for a cost cut, it is the women who were targeted first to be removed. Thus, an increase in unpaid work has barred millions of women from re-joining labor
  • Anaemia- Women are expected to cope with the huge rises in food and energy prices in order to keep their families
  • Gender pay gap- Before the pandemic it was forecast to take 100 years to close; now it will take 136 years thus widening the gender pay
  • In 2021, there were 13 million fewer women in employment compared with 2019, while

men’s employment recovered to 2019 levels.

4. Racial inequality

  • Racial inequalities linked with historical legacies of white supremacy, including slavery and
  • For g., Indigenous people in Brazil, Dalits in India, and Native American, Latin, and Black people in the USA face disproportionate lasting impacts from the pandemic.
  • Globalisation of Patriarchy and Racism -Half of all working women of color in the US earn less than $15 an hour, a widely used threshold for distinguishing low-wage workers in that

5. Health inequality

Good-quality healthcare is a basic human right.

  • Vaccine inequality – If Vaccine had been distributed fairly then every adult in the world who wanted it could be fully vaccinated; instead, just 13% of people in low-income countries have been fully vaccinated.
  • The life expectancy of people in high-income countries is 16 years longer than that of those in low-income
  • High out-of-pocket expenditure- Having more money in your pocket not only helps to access healthcare but also helps to get a longer and healthier life.

6. Educational inequality

  • A report by NGO, Pratham-As per ASER report, the trend of increasing student enrolment in government-run schools from private schools on account of exorbitant school
  • Digital divide- With blended learning –using both online and offline modes, students without digital gadgets are at stake of losing quality education

7. Inequality between countries

Before the pandemic, inequality between rich countries and low-income countries was falling, but Covid-19 has reversed this trend.

  • Huge debt burden- Preventing the government from doing more to shield their citizens from soaring
  • Low social spending- Forcing authorities to make cuts to public services like health and education and leaving them unable to
  • Social security Benefits-Reduced financial support to

WAY FORWARD

The Government of the day has to take significant steps to ward off the unprecedented cost-of-living crisis that people are facing today.

1.Windfall taxation

  • Proposed by the IMF, the OECD, and the EU to impose windfall
  • For e.g., the energy companies making record profits from skyrocketing energy prices to be paid windfall taxes to support people facing rising energy
  • Italy is the first country to actually impose a windfall
  • The French government resorted to windfall taxing on excessive wartime wealth at a rate of 100% after the Second World

2. One-time Wealth tax

  • Super-profitable corporations to be taxed on a temporary increase in humungous profits.
  • Argentina adopted a one-time wealth tax on the wealthiest last year as part of its COVID-19 recovery plan.

3. Permanent wealth tax

  • Emergency taxes on the richest must pave the way for a more fundamental
  • Permanent taxation of wealth that rebalances the taxation of capital and labor can greatly reduce

4. Good Governance

  • Social infrastructure to be strengthened for the welfare of
  • Improve accessibility and availability of essential public
  • Timely intervention to control artificial scarcity by big giants to profiteer from the
  • Strengthen Monetary and fiscal

5. Economic Measures

  • Level playing field for all sectors to ensure fair
  • Refined economic

CONCLUSION

Governments must act now to rein in extreme wealth. They must agree to increase the taxation of wealth and corporate windfall profits and to use this money to protect ordinary people across the world and reduce inequality and suffering. “Commerce without Morality “-principle of Gandhi’s deadly sins need to be remembered to restrain ourselves from profiteering the pain of others.

QUESTION

“Growing inequalities in the world during Covid-19 is not because of the pandemic, but because of our

economic policies”, Comment. Suggest some structural measures to address it. (250 Words, 15 Marks)

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15 Jul
EducationWebinarBy Amritha Admin

Economically Weaker Section (EWS)

Introduction

 

  • Reservation was introduced as a part of affirmative action for uplifting socially and educationally backward
  • The reservation for SC and ST is mentioned in constitution
  • Reservation for Other Backward Class started from Mandal commission recommendation in the year
  • The 103rd Constitutional Amendment Act was passed in 2019 to bring economically weaker sections of general category under the purview of
  • SC and ST are considered socially and educationally backward irrespective of economic status and everyone belonging to those groups are eligible to get reservation under Article 16 or any provision made under Article
  • In case of OBC, reservation can only be availed if they belong to Non-Creamy layer (NCL) i.e. economically weaker with an annual income of less than 8

In 103rd Constitutional Amendment, Article 15 and Article 16 were amended and thereby, along with the socially and educationally backward classes, government can provide some affirmative action both in terms of policy educational institutions, and public employment for Economically weaker section of general category.

Can the economically weaker general section be added to SC, ST or OBC category?

  • In 2014, Congress government included Jatts under It was struck down by Supreme court stating that there is no proper backwardness.
  • Reservation can only be given on social and educational
  • Later the constitution was amended to include educational backwardness as a criteria for affirmative
  • It is difficult to analyze the backwardness of
  • Overall social and educational state of the caste will be considered rather than the So, an average well-being of caste will affect individuals.

RELATED CONCERNS:

  • Constitution amendment power of Parliament is limited it is not Amendment cannot affect the basic structure of constitution.
  • In 1973 Kesavananda Bharati Case, the Basic Structure Doctrine was
  • If the amendment affects the basic structure, it will be regarded invalid and SC will strike down the

Why EWS reservation needs to be struck down?

  • In Indira Sawhney of 1962 and Ram Singh Case, SC ruling was that the total reservation in country should not be more than 50%.
  • Under 103rd Constitutional Amendment, EWS reservation up to 10% is permitted. Now reservation is beyond 50 percentage which is a violation of SC
  • It is against basic structure that it violates the principle of equality by providing reservation to general section who are not socially or educationally backward and by breaching the 50% limit of
  • To bring equality, social and educational backwardness is
  • Later realized that economic backwardness is also creating inequality and is to be addressed. What if other new criteria like regional inequality are raised in future for reservation.
  • Which inequality is to be considered is the question and concern is on whether we are heading to equality or
  • For General category to come under EWS category, annual income must be less than 8 For OBC NCL also, income ceiling is 8 lakhs.
  • Here, OBC candidate’s backwardness is made equal to that of forward class and now OBC and General category came to the same level. For instance, in UPSC Exam also cutoff of EWS is lower than OBC.
  • The Supreme Court questioned the rationale behind fixing the income ceiling for EWS
  • No Urban and rural difference in criteria which is a type of
  • To reconsider the rationale behind fixing the income ceiling for EWS, the Ministry of social justice constituted a 3-member

WAY FORWARD

  • There is a need to consider some other innovative approach to bring about equality other than
  • It will be possible enough to bridge every type of inequality and thereby help in attaining inclusive development in a long

Question

Extending Reservation System to many will make this whole system futile. Do you agree?

(250 Words, 15 Marks)

 

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13 Jul
EducationWebinarBy Amritha Admin

THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE (IDENTIFICATION) ACT, 2022

WHY IN THE NEWS?

 Recently, the President of India has given his assent to the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill. The bill was passed by the Parliament to expand the scope of information the government can collect from convicts, and arrested persons and improve the conviction rate in the country. However, there are ethical concerns about the collection of biometric and biological data which violates fundamental rights and infringes upon individual freedom and privacy.

NEED FOR THE NEW LAW

  • Obsolescence of Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920 – The act was framed during the British
  • Technological upgradation – to make use of modern technologies to collect and process the

IMPORTANCE OF TECHNOLOGY IN IDENTIFICATION

  • Raise conviction rate – Around 5 Lakh cases were dropped every year in the absence of evidence due to low technological induction in the investigation process.
  • Ensure civilized investigation- use of technology to process samples helps avoid inadequate torturing of
  • Efficient use of resources in terms of time, money, and energy to identify criminals
  • Ensure Justice- technology helps to avoid unnecessarily targeting innocents and provide justice to the needy one.
  • Protect human rights of victims- easy to prove heinous crimes with modern

 

COMMITTEES RECOMMENDED AMENDMENTS TO EXISTING LAWS

  1. Law Commission 1980 recommended amending the Identification of prisoners Act
  2. Malimath Committee 2003 recommended reforming the Criminal Justice

Provisions

  1. Persons who may require/ direct collection of data

         2022 Act

  1. Officer in charge of a police station, or of rank Head Constable or above can collect identifiable In addition, a Head Warder of the prison can also collect the samples.
  2. Metropolitan Magistrate or Judicial Magistrate of the first class can order the collection of samples. In case of persons required to maintain good behaviour or peace, the Executive Magistrate can order to collect of the
  3. Police can collect samples without a magistrate’s order only when serious and heinous criminal activities against women and children

         1920 Act

 

  1. Investigating officer, an officer in charge of a police station, or of rank Sub-Inspector or above can collect
  2. Magistrate can order to collect the
  3. Data permitted to be collected

 

         2022 Act

 

  1. (i) Biological samples, and their
  2. (ii) Behavioural attributes including signatures, handwriting, and
  3. (iii) Examinations under sections 53 and 53A of CrPC (includes blood, semen, hair samples, swabs, and analyses such as DNA profiling).

 

  • 1920 Act
  1. Fingerprints, foot-print impressions, photographs.
  2. Persons whose data may be

 

         2022 Act

  1. Convicted or arrested for any However, biological samples may be taken forcibly only from persons arrested for offenses against a woman or a child, or if the offense carries a minimum of seven years’ imprisonment.
  2. Persons detained under any preventive detention
  3. On the order of the Magistrate, from any person (not just an arrested person) to aid the

 

         1920 Act

  1. Convicted or arrested for offenses punishable with rigorous imprisonment of one year or
  2. Persons ordered to give security for good behaviour or maintaining
  3. Magistrate may order in other cases collection from any arrested person to aid criminal
  4. Procedure of data storage and its processing
    • Samples collected will be stored and processed under National Crime Records
    • NCRB will disseminate the collected data to law enforcement Further, states/UTs may notify agencies to collect, preserve, and share data in their respective jurisdictions.
    • The data collected will be retained in digital or electronic form for 75
    • NCRB will delete Information only when:
  1. Person was Arrested without
  2. Proved acquittal on trial and No conviction history in the
  3. No order from magistrate to collect

ISSUES WITH THE NEW ACT

  1. Privacy issue:
    • Violation of fundamental rights under Article 21
    • Against the verdict under Puttaswamy v/s Union of India
  2. Inconsistency with a pending bill:
    • DNA Technology Use and Application Regulation bill mandates to collection of samples only when death or imprisonment of 7 years is awarded to the
  3. Diluting the responsibility:
    • Crucial information collected by Head constables without adequate
  4. Blanket power:
    • Samples can be collected from anybody on the order of Magistrates even for preventive
  5. Against the principle of Equity:
    • Simple as well as heinous crimes are treated equally in sample collection violates the Right to Equality under Article 14, Freedom of speech and expression under Article 19, and the Right to a Dignified Life Article 21 of the Constitution of
  6. Arbitrariness:
    • Collected data are to be stored for 75 years without any scientific explanation in fixing the

 

FAILURE IN PROVING SOME TESTS BEFORE THE JUDICIARY

  1. Public interest Test – failed to prove that Curtailing Fundamental Rights for benefit of society in every
  2. Failure of the least intrusive way when Fundamental rights are violated – Most intrusive ways against Fundamental rights are used under this act even for simple
  3. Proportionality test- Benefit out of Violation of fundamental rights, arbitrary storage of 75 years, and complete surveillance failed to prove proportionality test.

 

IMPLEMEMENATATION CHALLENGES

  1. Infrastructure deficit:
    • Lack of capacity building and inadequate forensic
    • laboratories at the ground level are not well
  2. Burden on Judiciary:
  • Appeal procedures before higher judiciary against lower courts will become a frequent scenario as magistrates are giving orders for sample
  1. Absence of Sensitivity training for police constables:
    • Utmost care is required while collecting DNA
  2. Misuse of Information:
    • Safety of DNA samples is at stake when it is collected, stored, processed, or during their
  3. Ambiguity:
    • Lack of clarity in framing rules and their interpretation is a cause of

WAY FORWARD

  1. Strict implementation of the laws to ensure speedy
  2. Sensitivity training should be imparted to the investigating officers, prosecutors, and judicial officers, and collaboration with doctors and forensic experts is
  3. The  need   of   the   hour   is    a strong data   protection   law,    with stringent   punishment    for breaches, should be in

CONCLUSION

With the changes in society and the nature of crimes, the existing laws need to be evolved in accordance with the contemporary needs and democratic aspirations of people. However, it should not be done at the expense of violating basic Fundamental rights of people.

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09 Jul
EducationWebinarBy Amritha Admin

Rolling out 5G Services

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Recently, Union Cabinet approved the auction of airwaves capable of generating 5G services and gave its nod for setting up captive 5G networks by big tech companies.

5G

5G is the fifth-generation mobile network, the latest up-gradation to the long-term evolution (LTE) of mobile broadband networks. The 5G network will operate in the millimeter-wave spectrum (30-300 GHz) which can send large amounts of data at very high speeds as the frequency is very high. Moreover, it experiences little interference from surrounding signals.

EVOLUTION OF TELECOM TECHNOLOGY

  1. 1G: It was launched in the 1980s and only supports voice
  2. 2G: It was launched in the 1990s and provides a platform for voice calls and sending and receiving messages
  3. 3G: It was launched in 2000 and supports voice calls, sending messages, and video
  4. 4G: It was launched in 2010, and supports all 3G features with higher
  5. 5G: It was launched in the 2020s and has a speed of 20 times that of

ASPECTS OF TELECOMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

  1. Devices- To suit the configuration of
  2. Communication Infrastructure- Such as telephone exchange for telecom
  3. Spectrum- It acts as a medium to transmit electromagnetic The government has control over it since it is a natural resource. This is the reason why telecom operators resort to the bidding process.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 4G & 5G

 

Feature

4G

5G

Bandwidth

Low bandwidth of 6 GHz

High bandwidth ( 28- 39 GHz)

Latency

Higher latency as it takes 60- 98 milliseconds

Low latency, i.e. around 5 milliseconds

Cell density

Low as there is a limit under one tower

High as there is more number of connections under a

 

 Rolling out 5G Services

 

 

 

particular tower

Base station

Only cell towers

Small cell technology along with cell towers placed in the area to ensure high speed

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM ) Encoding

Absent, so there is high interference of signals

Split different signals into different channels to avoid interference

 

SIGNIFICANCE OF 5G

  • To enable High-speed data transmission that augments the pace of the Fourth Industrial
  • To transfer the capabilities of Artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things to the next level.
  • For g.: A driverless car needs multiple integrations of technologies such as GPS, sensors, Traffic signals, etc., to run the vehicle with zero tolerance for accidents. For this effectiveness and efficiency, it requires high-speed data transmission.

APPLICATIONS

  1. Automatization: Automation of Industrial production would enhance occupational safety like radiation exposure, and gas
  2. Agriculture: The use of precision farming, RFID Sensors, GPS technology, weather information, etc. enables farmers to manage farms more
  3. Healthcare: Along with telemedicine, high-speed data transmission provides health facilities accessible to the remotest location in the
  4. Education: Pandemic has opened a platform for blended learning that is possible with high-speed data
  5. Transportation: It provides accurate data to commuters, saves time, reduces wastage, and increases fuel use efficiency ultimately leading to sustainable
  6. Environmental benefits: Better monitoring of pollution standards and dissemination of data can conserve
  7. Good governance: Empower citizens through quick and transparent decision-making, better city planning, and transform existing cities into smart

GOVERNMENT PROVISIONS REGARDING AUCTION

  • The auction of over 72 GHz of the spectrum will be held by mid-2022.
  • The validity period for the auction is 20
  • Removed the provision of Spectrum Usage charges (earlier 3-5% of Aggregate Gross Revenue is charged).

Rolling out 5G Services

  • No need for a bank guarantee unlike in the past, which eased the burden on
  • No upfront payment is needed; payment can be made in 20 equal installments for the
  • Provision to surrender auction after 10 years without any liabilities

CHALLENGES

Technological challenges

  1. Critical infrastructure: India is lagging in terms of device capability when compared to
  2. Ecosystem: Lack of integration and alignment of 5G technological
  3. Rural integration: Delayed rolling of the Bharatnet program in rural areas is a cause of
  4. Impediments on semiconductor industry: Acts as a barrier to developing 5G
  5. Niche sector: Confines mostly for Industrial usage than the common

Economic challenges

  1. Financial burden: Upgrading to the latest technology increases financial strain on
  2. Economic Feasibility: Instills doubt about the feasibility and viability of the project, at least in the short
  3. Oligarchy: The oligarchical setting of internet charges may rule the market in the
  4. Cost of the spectrum: Bidders are demanding a moratorium for the payment of spectrum
  5. Case of non-telecom companies: Non-telecom enterprises have a specific telecom spectrum for internal production purposes to run their operations whereas telecom companies are opposing this government
  6. Over Optimism: Introduction of 4G with huge expectations faced some blockades and non-fulfillment of several The probability of a similar fate in 5G technology can be a concern.

GOVERNMENT MEASURES

  1. Setting technical institutes: 8 top technical institutes were initiated to study about 5G technology, its impediments, power consumption, and its effective
  2. Production Linked Incentive Scheme: To make India a telecom manufacturing hub in the near
  3. Semiconductor Mission: To display a vibrant semiconductor industry and manufacturing ecosystem in

CONCLUSION

5G technology has the potential to completely transform the production process and fuel the country’s aim to achieve a 5 trillion-dollar economy. It reshapes the country’s governance more citizen centric and ultimately enables sustainable development.

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08 Jul
EducationWebinarBy Amritha Admin

CHINA’S SECURITY PACT WITH SOLOMON ISLAND

WHY IN THE NEWS?

Recently, China and the Solomon Islands finalized an unprecedented security agreement that evoked concerns from the USA, Australia, New Zealand, etc., about China’s non-transparent expansionist policy reiterating its Hegemonic position.

 

STATUS OF SOLOMON ISLAND

  • The Solomon Islands were initially controlled by the British Empire during the colonial
  • It was under the control of Germany and Japan and then back to the U.K. after the Americans took over the islands from the Japanese during World War
  • These islands became independent in
  • Post 1993 era, the country was rife with ethnic unrest and military conflict between several armed groups, ultimately resulting in a coup that brought present Prime Minister Sogavare to power for the first
  • However, its economy is in near-collapse, and with the rampant prevalence of ethnic clashes, the Solomon Island government seeks the help of Australia to stabilize state
  • Australia’s assistance called Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI)finally deployed troops, and a state of stability was eventually
  • Recently, there have been growing concerns about PM Sogavare’s closeness with
  • In 2019, after he was elected again as Prime Minister, he framed the country’s diplomatic relations in favor of China and cut Taiwan relations which were hitherto
  • Earlier, in 1975 only Fijire cognized the PRC’s One China policy, but now all islands except Marshall, Palau, Tuvalu, and Nauru have recognized the One China

 

 
  

REASONS FOR CHINA’S INTEREST IN SOLOMON ISLAND

  1. Strategic location:
    • To counter the western alliance in the form of AUKUS (Australia, United Kingdom, United State).
    • To block vital shipping lanes as most of the international shipping moves from East to West through this
  2. Extensive Exclusive Economic Zones
    • Southern pacific islands have large maritime exclusive economic zones when compared to their geographical
  3. A Vote Bank
    • Small Pacific island states act as potential vote banks for mobilizing support in international fora like the United
  4. Foreign diplomacy
    • Recognition of the People’s Republic of China instead of Taiwan by the pacific islands strengthens the One China
  5. Economic reasons
    • Presence of ocean resources such as minerals, fisheries,

 

PROVISIONS UNDER CHINA SOLOMON SECURITY PACT

  1. Enables China to send its “police, armed police, military personnel, and other law enforcement and armed forces”:

 

  • To assist the Solomon Islands against the political
  • To secure social order and maintain the lives and livelihoods of the people of the

 

  1. Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief operations (HADR) by China as these regions are frequently experiencing the wrath of climate
  2. Logistics-related agreement provides China’s naval vessels to utilize the islands for logistics
    • Naval vessels can visit, and halt on the island’s
    • China can have a stopover for their warships on the Solomon
  3. Chinese presence
  • For the safety of its projects and personnel in the islands on similar lines at Cambodia, Pakistan on China Pakistan Economic Corridor, Djibouti, Equatorial
  • To control and influence Choking points and shipping

 

CHINESE VISION OF PACIFIC- ISLAND NATIONS

To maintain good relations with the entire 14 Pacific island countries, China has come up with a vision statement:

 

  1. China pacific Island countries’ common development vision
  2. China pacific island 5-year Action plan on common

 

 
  

CHINA’S CLAIM ABOUT ITS MOVE

 

  • Western imperialism: Growing influence of USA through QUAD,AUKUS in the pacific
  • Freedom of Navigation: legally claiming their own freedom of navigation through pacts with
  • America has a military base on Guam in the southern pacific

 

IMPLICATIONS GLOBALLY

  1. Regional security challenges
    • Direct confrontation with AUKUS as china reiterates its stronghold interest in the southern Pacific
    • Indirect effect on QUAD –against the freedom of navigation and identification of unauthorized and illegal shipping in the
    • In the future, Military bases can be an ultimate motive for the present HADR interests of
  2. Imperialistic Attitude
    • Debt trap diplomacy of China will challenge the sovereignty of island states which is giving an unethical message to the world

 

ON INDIA

  1. Indirect impact
    • A green signal for China to expand its expansionist rise on similar lines to String of Pearls in the Indian Ocean Region

 

CONCLUSION

 The unprecedented pact raises concern over the security and stability of the southern pacific region. International collaboration is needed to contain the hegemony of China. India should prioritize its own national interests and abide by the principles of panchasheel- “Non-interference “in the internal affairs of other countries.

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27 Jun
LifestyleBy Amritha Admin

Coal Shortage and Power Crisis in India

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