Syllabus subtopic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Prelims and Mains focus: key features of the bill, its merits and demerits,

News: The Personal Data Protection Bill, which is to be tabled in Parliament, seeks to allow processing of personal data without the consent of the owner for several “reasonable purposes” ranging from the operation of search engines to whistle-blowing, according to an official with knowledge of the matter.

Key highlights of the bill:

• The bill categorizes data into three categories—critical, sensitive and general.

• Sensitive data—financial, health, sexual orientation, biometrics, transgender status, religious or political beliefs and affiliation—can be stored only in India. However, data can be processed outside India with explicit consent.

• Critical data will be defined by the government from time to time and has to be stored and processed in India. Any personal non-critical and non-sensitive data will be categorized as general data with no restriction on where it is stored or processed.

• The bill also proposes setting up of a “regulatory sandbox” for entities engaged in developing new technologies in the nature of artificial intelligence and machine learning. These entities, for instance, startups, can avail of certain exemptions from purpose, storage and consent requirements of data.

• In a first, the data protection bill wants social media platforms to create a mechanism that will enable registered users to voluntarily verify their accounts. The provision is largely aimed at checking social media trolling.

• The bill, while seeking to preserve the sanctity of individual consent, allows for several exemptions for prevention and detection of any unlawful activity including fraud; whistle blowing; mergers and acquisitions; network and information security, credit scoring; recovery of debt; processing of publicly available personal data; and operation of search engines.

• According to the draft, personal data may be processed without obtaining consent if such processing is necessary for the purposes specified by regulations after taking into consideration certain factors such as public interest.

• Personal data may be “processed” if this is necessary for the performance of “any function of the state authorized by the law” for any public service and for compliance with any order of a court or tribunal.

• Under the proposed law, the government is also entitled to direct a fiduciary—any person or entity that processes data— to get access to non-personal data to provide better services to citizens. For instance, the government can use non-personal or anonymous data for research or any other purpose.

• While the (changes in the bill) would arguably help enable certain types of businesses, other changes such as lack of a clear implementation road map, transition provisions and the requirement to share anonymized and non-personal data under certain circumstances may be of concern to businesses.

• The bill empowers users with the “right to be forgotten”. This will allow users, termed “data principal” under the proposed bill, to erase their personal data published online and give them the freedom to ask entities such as Facebook and Twitter to delete any data they do not want in the public domain.

• People can ask for restricting or preventing continued disclosure of data once the purpose for which it was collected has been served, or is no longer necessary. Such data will also need to be withdrawn if the data principal has withdrawn consent for the purpose it was given for, said the official cited earlier.

Responsibilities imposed

• The bill places a few responsibilities on data principals.

• They will have to file an application with an adjudicating officer in case they wish to withdraw consent or want to limit the use of data, according to the official.

• Data principals will have to convince the officer that their right or interest in preventing or restricting the continued disclosure of their personal data overrides the right to freedom of speech and expression and the right to information of any other citizen.

Syllabus subtopic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Prelims focus: About ILP and the areas where it is required, CAB, NRC

Mains focus: Concerns of the northeast states against Citizenship Amendment Bill, its consequences

News: Even as the Lok Sabha debated the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, on Monday, the Nagaland government extended the Inner Line Permit (ILP) system to Dimapur, the commercial hub of the State.

What does it mean?

The decision makes it mandatory for “every non-indigenous person” who entered the district after November 21, 1979, to obtain an ILP within 90 days. They would have to produce documents as evidence to get a certificate from the Deputy Commissioner for exemption from the permit system.

Background

There have been protests across the northeastern States against the Bill that nullifies the 1985 Assam Accord, which called for detection and deportation of anyone who entered the State after March 24, 1971.

The Bill makes the Accord redundant as it is likely to benefit non­Muslims among the over 19 lakh people excluded from the National Register of Citizens.

Other areas/states where ILP is required

Except Dimapur, the ILP has been applicable to the rest of Nagaland. Known as “mini India”, Dimapur district has a mixed population.

Exempt from CAB Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram, protected by the ILP requirement, have been exempted from the provisions of the CAB along with the whole of Meghalaya, Mizoram and the tribal areas of Tripura and Assam as covered in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. Residents of other States have to mandatorily obtain an ILP to visit the protected States.

ILP extended to Manipur

Manipur would be brought under the ILP system, exempting it from provisions of the CAB. Except non­tribal areas in Assam and Tripura, the entire northeast has been exempted from the CAB.

About Inner Line Permit

• Inner Line Permit is a document that allows an Indian citizen to visit or stay in a state that is protected under the ILP system. The system is in force today in three Northeastern states viz Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram.
• No Indian citizen can visit any of these states unless he or she belongs to that state, nor can he or she overstay beyond the period specified in the ILP.

History

• The concept comes from the colonial area. Under the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation Act, 1873, the British framed regulations restricting the entry and regulating the stay of outsiders in designated areas.

• This was to protect the Crown’s own commercial interests by preventing “British subjects” (Indians) from trading within these regions.

• In 1950, the Indian government replaced “British subjects” with “Citizen of India”. This was to address local concerns about protecting the interests of the indigenous people from outsiders belonging to other Indian states.

Concerns

• The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill aims to make it easier for non-Muslim refugees from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan to obtain Indian citizenship.

• If it is implemented with provisions for excluding from its ambit the states under the ILP regime, it means that beneficiaries under CAB will become Indian citizens but will not be able to settle in these three states.

• The North East Students’ Organisation, an umbrella body of all powerful students’ bodies of the regions had reiterated its demand for overall implementation of the Inner Line Permit (ILP) in all NE states.

• The three states that have seen the highest migration and likely to be affected from Citizenship Bill are Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya, none of which has an ILP system.

Syllabus subtopic: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests

Prelims and Mains focus: key takeaways from the ongoing climate meet, about Kyoto Protocol, India’s efforts to fulfill its INDCs

News: India proposed that developed countries make good commitments on providing finance to developing countries by 2023, instead of 2020 at 25th Session of the Conference of Parties under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP25), currently under way.

Background: COP-25, which started on December 2 and concludes on December 13, is an important conference on climate change as countries prepare to move from pre-2020 period under the Kyoto Protocol to post-2020 period under the Paris Agreement.

In September, during the Climate Action Summit convened by the UN Secretary-General, PM Modi had announced India's plan to scale up the renewable energy target to 450 GW and called for responsible action by all on the principles of equity and Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capability (CBDR-RC).

India’s efforts in fulfilling its INDCs

India has been leading the world in pursuit of solar energy capacity. It has also emphasised that developed countries should take the lead in taking ambitious actions and fulfil their climate finance commitments of mobilising $100 billion per annum by 2020.

India is on its way to achieving voluntary targets it has set for itself to curb emissions. It has reduced emissions intensity of GDP by 21% and is “on track” to achieve the goal of 35% emissions reduction as promised in Paris.

India’s INDCs under Paris Agreement

About Kyoto Protocol and its assessment

Syllabus subtopic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

Prelims and Mains focus: About the key features of the bill and its significance in curbing crimes in India

News: The Rajya Sabha passed The Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2019 by a voice vote with members across party lines lauding the government’s decision to increase punishment for celebratory firing. The Bill has already been approved by the Lok Sabha.

Key features of the Bill

• The Bill seeks to amend the Arms Act, 1959. It seeks to decrease the number of licensed firearms allowed per person and increase penalties for certain offences under the Act. It also introduces new categories of offences.

• License for acquiring firearms: Under the Act, a license must be obtained to acquire, possess, or carry any firearm. A person can obtain a license for up to three firearms (with certain exceptions, such as for licensed firearms dealers). The Bill reduces the number of permitted firearms from three to one. This includes licenses given on inheritance or heirloom basis. The Bill provides a time period of one year to deposit the excess firearms with the officer-in-charge of the nearest police station or with a licensed firearm dealer as specified. If the owner is a member of the armed forces, the firearm may be deposited with a unit armoury. The excess firearms will be delicensed within 90 days from the expiry of the one-year period.
  
• The Bill also increases the duration of the validity of a firearm license from three years to five years.
  
• Ban on firearms: The Act bans manufacture, sale, use, transfer, conversion, testing or proofing of firearms without license. It also prohibits shortening of firearm barrel or conversion of imitation firearms into firearms without a license. The Bill additionally prohibits obtaining or procuring un-licensed firearms, and the conversion of one category of firearms to another without a license. It also allows members of rifle clubs or associations to use any firearm for target practice instead of only point 22 bore rifles or air rifles.

• Increase in punishment: The Bill amends the punishment in relation to several offences. The Act specifies the punishment for: (i) dealing in un-licensed firearms, including their manufacture, procurement, sale, transfer, conversion, (ii) the shortening or conversion of a firearm without a licence, and (iii) import or export of banned firearms. The punishment for these offences is between three years and seven years, along with a fine. The Bill increases the punishment to between seven years and life imprisonment, along with a fine.
  
• The Act punishes acquisition, possession or carrying of prohibited ammunition without a license, with imprisonment between five and ten years, along with fine. The Bill increases the punishment to imprisonment between seven and 14 years, along with fine. A court may impose a punishment of lesser than seven years, with recorded reasons.
  
• The Act also punishes dealing in prohibited firearms (including their manufacture, sale and repair) without a license, with imprisonment between seven years and life imprisonment, along with fine. The Bill increases the minimum punishment from seven years to 10 years. The punishment for cases in which the usage of prohibited arms and ammunition results in the death of a person has been revised from the existing punishment of death to death or life imprisonment, with fine.
  
• New offences: The Bill adds news offences. These include: (i) forcefully taking a firearm from police or armed forces, punishable with imprisonment between 10 years and life imprisonment, along with fine, (ii) using firearms in a celebratory gunfire which endangers human life or personal safety of others, punishable with imprisonment of up to two years, or fine of up to one lakh rupees, or both. Celebratory gunfire refers to use of firearms in public gatherings, religious places, marriages or other functions to fire ammunition.
  
• The Bill also defines offences committed by organised crime syndicates and illicit trafficking. “Organised crime” refers to continuing unlawful activity by a person, either as a member of a syndicate or on its behalf, by using unlawful means, such as violence or coercion, to gain economic or other benefits. An organised crime syndicate refers to two or more persons committing organised crime. Possession of firearms or ammunition by a member of a syndicate, in violation of the Act, will be punishable with imprisonment between 10 years and life, along with a fine. This punishment will also apply to to anyone dealing in un-licensed firearms (including its manufacture or sale), converting a firearm without license, or importing or exporting firearms without license, on behalf of a syndicate.
  
• The Bill defines illicit trafficking to include the trade, acquisition, sale of firearms or ammunitions into or out of India where the firearms are either not marked as per the Act or violate the provisions of the Act. Illicit trafficking is punishable with imprisonment between 10 years and life, along with a fine.
  
• Tracking of firearms: The central government may make rules to track firearms and ammunition from manufacturer to purchaser to detect, investigate, and analyse illicit manufacturing and trafficking.

Concerns raised by MPs

• Members raised questions about heirloom weapons as the legislation proposes to allow only one licensed weapons against three permitted earlier. To this, the govt. replied that the Heirloom weapons can be deactivated and kept. Most of the deaths in celebratory firings were by unlicensed weapons; only two of 959 deaths in Bihar, 14 of 792 in Jharkhand and 181 of 1,483 in Uttar Pradesh were by licensed weapons. The government is putting in place a system in which every ammunition will have a serial number.

• The legislation does not make any changes to the licensing regime for sportspersons.

• MPs asked about safeguards in the Bill for those in remote areas for whom guns are a means of self-defence. Congress MP Pratap Singh Bajwa said that holders of gun licences are not criminals but “respectable people” and they should be treated as such. BJD’s Prasanna Acharya said that guns are not a status symbol.