eCourts Project of Supreme Court

• In another major initiative, the committee Supreme Court has prepared the draft vision document for Phase III of the eCourts Project under the auspices of the Supreme court of India.

• E-Courts Project is a mission mode project undertaken by the Department of Justice, Government of India.
• The eCommittee Supreme Court of India yesterday released the Draft Vision document for Phase III of the aforementioned e-Courts Project.
• The eCommittee of the Supreme Court has been overseeing the implementation of the eCourts Project, conceptualized under the "National Policy and Action Plan for Implementation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the Indian Judiciary-2005".
• The eCommittee has evolved in terms of its roles and responsibilities over the last fifteen years. A solid foundation for the objectives of the eCommittee has been substantially achieved in the first two phases of the Project.
• The objectives of the eCommittee include:
  1. Interlinking of all courts across the country;
  2. ICT enablement of the Indian judicial system;
  3. Enabling courts to enhance judicial productivity, both qualitatively and quantitatively;
  4. Making the justice delivery system accessible, cost-effective, transparent and accountable; and
  5. Providing citizen-centric services.

• Phase III of the eCourts Project in India is rooted in two central facets—access and inclusion.
• Phase III of the eCourts Project envisions a judicial system that is more easily accessible irrespective of geographical distances, efficient and equitable for every individual who seeks justice, makes more efficient use of human and other resources, and absorbs the latest technology for a positive environmental impact.

This vision for Phase III is sought to be built on the following four building blocks:

1. Core Values: Phase III must strive for a modern judicial system, governed by core values of trust, empathy, sustainability and transparency which, while simplifying procedures, will maximise the positives of technology and minimise its risks and challenges.
2. Whole-of-system approach: Phase III must aim to make processes more efficient across all three components of dispute management i.e. dispute avoidance, containment and resolution. Each of these components will require technological integration with different institutions.
3. Adoption frameworks: Phase III must focus on building strong adoption frameworks. Such frameworks must include behavioural nudges, adequate training and skill set development, feedback loops, along with the requisite mandate of law.
4. Governance framework: From a governance perspective, while numerous judicial decisions have validated the use of technology in judicial processes, Phase III must address the accompanying administrative structures. The key goals and strategy of Phase III prioritise the creation of a core digital infrastructure that can enable the development of services for dispute resolution by the judiciary and services of solutions for dispute containment and resolution by the ecosystem.

Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in India

As in March 2021, India has 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups across 18 states and the Union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs)

• In India, tribal population makes up for 8.6% of the total population.
• PVTGs are more vulnerable among the tribal groups.
• Due to this factor, more developed and assertive tribal groups take a major chunk of the tribal development funds.
• In 1973, the Dhebar Commission created Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) as a separate category, who are less developed among the tribal groups.

Characteristics of PVTG’s:

• PVTGs have declining or stagnant population,
• Low level of literacy,
• Pre-agricultural level of technology,
• Economically backward,
• Generally inhabit remote localities having poor infrastructure and administrative support.
• Among the 75 listed PVTGs, the highest number is in Odisha (13 PVTGs).
• All 4 tribal groups in Andaman, and 1 in the Nicobar Islands, are PVTGs.
• The largest population size among the PVTGs is the Saharia people of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
• Smallest population size is the Sentineles.

Schemes for Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups

• Ministry of Tribal Affairs implements the Scheme of “Development of PVTGs” exclusively for them.
• Under this scheme, Conservation-cum-Development (CCD) / Annual Plans are to be prepared by each State / UT for their PVTGs based on their need assessment.

Also, priority is assigned to PVTGs under the schemes of

• Special Central Assistance (SCA) to Tribal Sub-Scheme (TSS),
• Grants under Article 275(1) of the Constitution.

BRICS networking of Telescopes

• The BRICS Astronomy Working Group has recommended networking of telescopes in member countries and creating a regional data network.
• Under the science, technology and innovation track of the BRICS 2021 calendar, India hosted the seventh meeting of BRICS Astronomy Working Group (BAWG) on online mode from May 19 and 20. Also present were astronomers from these countries.
• In the BAWG meeting, the delegates agreed to develop a flagship project in this area. It witnessed participation from all five BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – with more than 50 participants, including researchers, academicians and government officials.
• The members of the working group also indicated future directions of research in this area such as building a network of intelligent telescopes and data, a study of transient astronomical phenomena in the universe, big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning applications to process the voluminous data generated by the enhanced multi-wavelength telescope observatory.
• The delegates deliberated on strategic and operational matters and recommended the networking of existing telescopes in BRICS countries and creating a regional data network.
• They agreed to develop a flagship project in this area, according to a statement by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. From the Indian side, the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune, and the DST coordinated the meeting.
• The BAWG, which provides a platform for BRICS member countries to collaborate in the field of astronomy, recommended that each country should present the scientific results of the work being carried out in their country. This will help seek funding support to realise the flagship project whenever funding opportunities were announced by BRICS funding agencies. The BAWG noted the importance of enhancing collaboration among astronomers from the BRICS countries.
• S K Varshney, head of the international cooperation division of the DST, presented India’s perspectives, and lead scientific researchers from each BRICS country presented their country report which highlighted the research activities and infrastructure they have created.
• India assumed the BRICS Presidency in January 2021. About 100 events, including ministerial level meetings, senior official meetings, and sectorial meetings or conferences, stand to be organised in 2021.