Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace

India and the U.S. are being urged to join the Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace which now has 75 countries on board. It deals with the new cybersecurity threats faced in the world.

About Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace:

• The Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace was announced in 2018 by the French President.
• It was announced during the Internet Governance Forum held at UNESCO and the Paris Peace Forum.
• It is a non-binding declaration.
• It calls states, the private sector and civil society organizations to work together to promote security in cyberspace, and counter disinformation. Also, it aims to address new cyber threats endangering citizens and infrastructure.

Nine Principles: The Paris Call is based on nine common principles. Such as:

1. Protect Individuals and Infrastructure: Prevent and recover from malicious cyber and digital activities.
   • As it threatens or causes significant, indiscriminate or systemic harm to individuals and critical infrastructure.
2. Protect the Internet: Prevent activity that intentionally and substantially damages the general availability or integrity of the public core of the Internet.
3. Defend Electoral Processes: Strengthen capacity to prevent interferences by foreign actors. Especially those aimed at undermining electoral processes through malicious cyber activities and disinformation.
4. Defend Intellectual Property: Prevent information and communications technology-enabled theft of intellectual property. Such as trade secrets or other confidential business information. It provides a competitive advantage to information holder.
5. Non-Proliferation: Develop ways to prevent the proliferation of malicious software and practices intended to cause harm.
6. Lifecycle Security: Strengthen the security of digital processes, products, and services, throughout the lifecycle and supply chain.
7. Cyber Hygiene: Support efforts to strengthen advanced cyber hygiene for all actors.
8. No Private Hack Back: Take steps to prevent non-State actors, including the private sector, from hacking back for their own purposes.
   • Hacking back: It means giving corporations and other hack victims, the permission to counter-attack cyber-threats. Hacking back can be more aggressive against perpetrators as it is a retaliatory attack.
9. International Norms: Promote the widespread acceptance and implementation of international norms of responsible behaviour. It also aims to generate confidence-building measures in cyberspace.

Global Food Policy Report 2021 by IFPRI

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) recently released the Global Food Policy Report, in 2021.

About Global Food Policy Report, 2021:

• The report provides lessons drawn from the current crisis. Especially the lessons that can help
  • transform food systems to reduce the impact of the ongoing pandemic,
  • better prepare for future shocks, and
  • address long-standing weaknesses and inequalities.
• Theme: “Transforming Food Systems After COVID-19”.

Key Findings related to India:

• The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the pandemic restrictions resulted in half of India’s poor people being deprived of nutritious food.
• The midday meal program of India which covers 80% of primary-school-age children in the country, was affected due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
• 50% of households in India reported that women spent more time fetching firewood and water in comparison with the previous year.
• Efforts of India to incorporate migrant workers into social protection programs were a huge success.

Other Key Findings:

• The number of poor people living below the poverty line is to increase by 150 million as compared to the pre-pandemic levels.
• Women accounted for 39% of employment globally. However, they incurred 54% of job losses during the pandemic.

About IFPRI:

• It is a non-profit international research centre founded in 1976.
• Its mandate is to provide research-based policy solutions that sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition.
• Headquarters: Washington, USA.

UN Food Systems Summit 2021

The Ministry of Agricultural and Farmers Welfare recently conducted a National Dialogue on UN Food Systems Summit, 2021.

About UN Food Systems Summit,2021:

• The first-ever UN Food Systems Summit is expected to be held in September 2021.
• The summit will aim to strategize the actions for positive change in Agri-food systems in the world. It will help to realize the vision of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
• The Summit will focus on levers and pathways to shape food systems nationally and globally.
• The summit will be held as part of the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

Action Tracks: The Summit’s Action Tracks offer stakeholders to learn and share new actions, partnerships and to amplify existing initiatives. The five Action Tracks are:

1. Track 1: Ensure access to safe and nutritious food for all.
2. Track 2: Shift to sustainable consumption patterns.
3. Track 3: Boost nature-positive production.
4. Track 4: Advance equitable livelihoods.
5. Track 5: Build resilience to vulnerabilities, shocks, and stress.

About food systems:

• The term “food system” refers to the constellation of activities involved in producing, processing, transporting, and consuming food.
• Food systems touch every aspect of human existence. The health of our food systems profoundly affects the health of our bodies as well as the health of our environment, our economies, and our cultures.
• Hence, when they function well, food systems have the power to bring us together as families, communities, and nations.

India-UK agree for Nirav Modi's Extradition to India

The U.K.’s Home Department has recently approved the extradition of Nirav Modi to India in connection with the Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud.

About Extradition:

• Extradition is the formal process of surrendering an individual from one state to another state. The aim of the process is prosecution or punishment for crimes committed by an individual in the requesting country’s jurisdiction.
• The extradition of a fugitive from India to a foreign country or vice-versa is governed by the provisions of the Indian Extradition Act, 1962.
• Consular, Passport & Visa (CPV) Division, Ministry of External Affairs is the Central/Nodal Authority administers the Extradition Act. It processes incoming and outgoing Extradition Requests.
• Extradition can be initiated in the case of under-investigation, under-trial and convicted criminals.
  • In cases under investigation, law enforcement agencies have to ensure that it has prima facie evidence to prove the allegation before the Courts of Law in the Foreign State.

About Extradition Treaties:

• Section 2(d) of The Indian Extradition Act 1962 defines an ‘Extradition Treaty’ as a Treaty or an Agreement made by India with a Foreign State, relating to the extradition of fugitive criminals which extends to and is binding on India. Extradition treaties are traditionally bilateral in character.
• Five Principles: Generally, there are five principles which are followed under the treaty:
  • The principle of extraditable offences lays down that extradition applies only to offences clearly mentioned in the treaty;
  • The principle of dual criminality requires that the offence for which the extradition is requested, should be an offence in both countries i.e. extradition requesting country and the requested country;
  • The requested country must be satisfied that there is a prima facie case made out against the offender/accused;
  • The extradited person must be proceeded against only for the offence (rule of speciality), for which his extradition was requested; and
  • He must be accorded a fair trial.

India and the UK signed an extradition treaty in 1992.