DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

Jaldoot App & Groundwater Status in India

• The "JALDOOT App and JALDOOT App e-brochure" was recently released by the Ministry of Rural Development to better measure groundwater levels.

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About JALDOOT app

• The Panchayati Raj and the Ministry of Rural Development collaborated to create the JALDOOT app.
• This app will be used all throughout the nation to record the water level of a village's chosen one to three wells.
• Both online and offline usage of the app is supported. Water level can therefore be recorded even in the absence of internet connectivity. Recorded data will be kept on a mobile device, and when that device enters a zone of connectivity, data will synchronise with the main server.
• The NWIC's (National Water Informatics Centre) database, which may be used for the analysis and display of numerous helpful reports for the benefit of various stakeholders, will be combined with the regular data that the Jaldoots must input.

Relevance:

• This software will make it easier to monitor water tables across the nation, and the information gathered can be used for the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA Plans and Gram Panchayat Development Plans.
• A town across the nation launches the app to record the water level in a few chosen wells.
• Gram Rojgar Sahyak will be able to use the JALDOOT app to measure the water level of the well twice a year, before and after the monsoon.
• The software would help panchayats by providing better water resource planning.

What is India's groundwater depletion situation?

Groundwater Depletion Status:

• The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) reports that several areas of the nation are witnessing a rapid groundwater depletion due to the 230 billion metre cubes of groundwater that are extracted annually for irrigating agricultural lands in India.
• In India, there has been an estimated loss of 122-199 billion cubic metres of groundwater.
• The irrigation industry is the largest category user in the nation, using 89% of groundwater that is extracted.
• Domestic groundwater, which makes up 9% of all extracted groundwater, comes in second.
• Groundwater is used 2% industrially. Groundwater also provides 85% of home water needs in rural areas and 50% of urban water needs.

Causes of groundwater depletion:

Green Revolution:

• The Green Revolution made it possible for crops that require a lot of water to be produced in areas that are prone to drought and water shortages, by over-extracting groundwater.
• Rapid depletion results from routinely drawing groundwater without first waiting for its recharge.
• Additionally, high MSPs (Minimum Support Prices) for crops that require a lot of water.

Subsidy

• The electricity subsidy provided by some states like Punjab, Haryana etc further allows excessive usage of groundwater due to electric tube well.

Inadequate Regulation:

• Without any consequences, inadequate regulation of groundwater fosters the depletion of its resources.

Federal Concern:

• Because water is a state matter, efforts on water management, such as water conservation and water harvesting, and providing enough drinkable water to inhabitants of the nation fall principally under the purview of the States.

Implication of Groundwater depletion:

• Excessive Groundwater extraction results in water contamination due to landfills, septic tanks, leaking underground gas tanks, fertiliser and pesticide use, and even leaching of harmful soil-based radiations into water.
• Excessive Groundwater extraction also impacts the vegetation cover in the region.
• In the long run threat to agriculture and industrial use.

Way ahead

• Artificial Groundwater Recharge: This procedure involves either injecting water through wells directly into the aquifer or spreading or impounding water on the ground to improve penetration through the soil and percolation to the aquifer.
• Plants for managing groundwater: The installation of groundwater management facilities at the local level will assist the populace in understanding the groundwater availability in their region and encourage prudent use of it.

Read Also: Water Resources

Operation 'Megha Chakra' on Child Sexual Abuse

• The "Megh Chakra" operation is being carried out in response to inputs from Interpol's Singapore special unit based on the information obtained from the New Zealand authorities.
• The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is waging a nationwide campaign against the dissemination and sharing of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).

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What are the Megh Chakra Operation's Key Highlights?

• 20 States and one Union Territory were the sites of searches at 59 different places.
• Many Indian nationals are reported to have participated in the online distribution, download, and transmission of the CSAM using cloud-based storage.
• The operation aims to compile data from various Indian law enforcement organizations, interact with pertinent international law enforcement organisations, and closely coordinate through Interpol channels on the matter.
• Through the investigation, more than 50 groups and more than 5,000 perpetrators, including citizens of about 100 different countries, had been identified.
• CBI carried out a similar effort in November 2021 under the code name "Operation Carbon."???????

What Problems Are Associated with Child Sexual Abuse?

• Multiple-layered issue: Child sexual abuse affects children's physical safety, mental health, well-being, and behavioural elements in a variety of ways.
• Amplification Resulting from digital technologies: The exploitation and abuse of children has increased as a result of mobile and digital technology. Online bullying, harassment, and child pornography are just a few of the newer types of child abuse that have arisen.
• The Government of India passed the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Act 2012 (POCSO Act), but it has not been effective in preventing sexual abuse of children. The following can serve as justifications for this:
• Low rate of conviction: If one averages the last five years, the rate of convictions under the POCSO statute is just approximately 32%, and 90% of the cases are still ongoing.
• Despite the POCSO Act's explicit requirement that the trial and conviction process be completed in one year, it took 16 months for the primary accused in the Kathua Rape case to be found guilty.
• Unfriendly to Children: Difficulties with determining the child's age. Particularly rules that prioritize biological age rather than mental age.

Child pornography is a threat.

• By definition, child pornography is "any visual depiction of sexually explicit action involving a child, including a photograph, video, digital, or computer-generated image indistinguishable from an actual kid," according to the POCSO Act of 2019.

Reasons:

• Curiosity and daydreaming.
• Financial gain through the sale of child pornography.
• Pedophilic, hebephilic, or ephebophilic inclinations in older adults or older adolescents who have a psychiatric condition of sexual attraction to kids of various ages.
• Sadistic inclinations that like seeing children suffer while being molested.

Impact of child pornography

• Child pornography has psychological effects on children, including melancholy, rage, anxiety, and mental distress. Additionally, it affects their social life, employment, and biological clock.
• Sexuality: If viewed frequently, it can lead to an obsession with and experience of sexual fulfilment. According to the evidence, viewing porn may make it more likely that one may have their first sexual experience sooner.
• Self-objectification and body surveillance could support the idea that women are only a passive feminine receptacle while men have active sexuality.
• Some specialists claim that pornography is similar to a sexual addiction. It causes the same kind of brain-damaging effects that habitual drug or alcohol use causes.
• The growth of the internet and digital technologies increased accessibility, anonymity, and affordability of the videos, increasing audience and the market for child pornography.
• Increasing sexual dysfunction among young males is a problem for reproductive health

• Young children's development of sexual problems. Young children's susceptibility to sexual assault, cyberbullying, and exploitation.
• The usage of teen porn by males strengthens their attitudes toward gender stereotypes, which causes them to objectify women. For e.g. Domestic and sexual violence against women has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• COVID-19: According to India Child Protection Fund (ICPF), a website that tracks online data, there has been a 95% surge in demand for child porn during the COVID-19 lockout compared to traffic before it.

It is challenging for agencies to identify and efficiently monitor child pornography operations.

Government Interventions & Policies

There is no law in India that forbids viewing porn in private.

• The Department of Telecommunication was ordered by the Supreme Court to block a number of websites that include child pornography.
• Child grooming, child exploitation, and child pornography are all prohibited by Section 67B of the Information Technology (IT) Amendment Act of 2008.
• Penalties under the 2019 Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO).
• Storing pornographic content for profit carries a five-year prison sentence, a fine, or both.
• Failure to remove, delete or report child-related pornographic content
• transmitting, exhibiting, or disseminating such content for any reason other than reporting

What does the 2012 Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act entail?

• It was created with the goal of defending children's interests and well-being against crimes involving sexual assault, sexual harassment, and pornography.
• In order to ensure the kid's healthy physical, emotional, intellectual, and social development, it defines a child as any individual under the age of eighteen. It also prioritises the child's welfare at every stage.
• Assaults that are penetrative and non-penetrative, sexual harassment, and pornography are all defined as kinds of sexual abuse.
• Under certain conditions, such as when the victim is mentally ill or when the abuse is carried out by someone in a position of trust or authority, such as a family member, police officer, teacher, or doctor, the law considers a sexual assault to be "aggravated."
• Additionally, it portrays the police as guardians of children while conducting an investigation.
• According to the Act, cases of child sexual abuse must be resolved within a year of the incident being reported.
• In August 2019, it was changed to include harsher penalties for sexual offences against children, including the death penalty.

What constitutional provisions are relevant to this?

• Every child is entitled under the Constitution to the following rights: the right to live in dignity; the right to personal liberty; the right to privacy; the right to equality; the right against discrimination; and the right against exploitation (Articles 23 & 24).
• Every kid in the age range of 6 to 14 has the right to a free, required basic education (Article 21 A).
• The State is required by the Directive Principles of State Policy, in particular Article 39(f), to make sure that children are provided with the opportunities and resources they need to develop in a healthy way, in conditions of freedom and dignity, and that childhood and adolescence are safeguarded against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment.

Way Forward

• Child pornography is a social threat that hurts defenceless youngsters, influences adolescent attitudes and behaviour, and has the potential to cause psychological illnesses in adults.
• The importance of consent in relationships should be emphasised, and parents, schools, and other caregivers should support a culture of healthy parenting.
• Teenagers should be urged to undertake a digital media literacy education.
• Children need to be taught more about respecting the privacy and bodily autonomy of people of the other gender.
• Create connections with other organisations and authorities.
• to be aware of the idiosyncrasies of the law and how the POCSO court complies with the IT Act.

Check Also:- Daily News Analysis

World Tourism Day and India’s status

• Every year on September 27, people all over the world celebrate World Tourism Day. This year, it will take place in Bali, Indonesia.
• “Rethinking Tourism” is the theme for 2022.

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What are the Main Ideas?

• Since 1980, September 27 has been observed as World Tourism Day. This date was selected to fall on the anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Statutes in 1970, a significant turning point in global tourism.
• The UNWTO is a specialised agency of the UN tasked with promoting ethical, sustainable, and easily accessible travel.

Objectives:

• This day is meant to spread awareness and inspire people to travel. Because it thinks that tourism makes the world's population even more unified and connected
• Importance: The World Tourist Day acknowledges the special contribution made by the travel and tourism industry to the preservation of cultural and natural assets around the globe.
• It supports the preservation of habitat and threatened species.
• It discusses the significance of the tourism industry in supplying jobs and opportunities, primarily for women and young people, in both rural and urban areas.

Indian tourism scenario (Click the link for more deeper insight into the topic)

History of Tourism in India:

• Because of its storied wealth, India used to draw a lot of tourists. An illustration of this is the visit of devoted Chinese Buddhist Hieun-Tsang.
• Emperors like Ashoka and Harsha began constructing rest houses for pilgrims, which gave pilgrim travel a boost.
• The Arthashastra stresses the value of the state's transportation system, which was crucial in the past.
• Following independence, tourism has always been included in the Five Year Plans (FYP).
• After the sixth FYP, various types of tourism, including business tourism, health tourism, and wildlife tourism, were introduced in India.

Present Status:

• According to a report from the World Travel and Tourism Council in 2021, India's tourism industry ranked sixth in terms of its contribution to global gross domestic product (GDP), contributing USD 178.0 billion.
• India's tourist industry generated USD 6.96 billion in foreign exchange in 2020. Following the pandemic, an increase in this is anticipated.
• 39 million jobs, or 8.0% of all employment in India in FY20, were related to the tourist industry. It is anticipated to support around 53 million jobs by 2029.
• India ranks sixth in the world in terms of the number of sites on the "World Heritage List," with 40 (32 cultural, 7 natural, and 1 mixed site).
• The most recent ones are in Dholavira and Ramappa Temple (Telangana).

Recent Actions by the Government:

The Indian government has taken the following actions to address the issues:

• The Swadesh Darshan Scheme: To support the infrastructure development of 13 designated theme-based circuits, the Ministry of Tourism offers Central Financial Assistance (CFA) to State Governments and Union Territory Administrations.
• There are 13 circuits, including the North-East India Circuit, the Buddhist Circuit, the Himalayan Circuit, the Coastal Circuit, the Krishna Circuit, the Desert Circuit, the Tribal Circuit, the Eco Circuit, the Wildlife Circuit, the Rural Circuit, the Spiritual Circuit, the Ramayana Circuit, and the Heritage Circuit.
• Under the "National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive" (PRASHAD) Scheme, integrated development of designated pilgrimage places (including employment generation) has been conducted.
• For the development of diverse tourism attractions, the "Adopt a Heritage Project" intends to entrust heritage sites/monuments and other tourist destinations to private sector businesses, public sector businesses, and individuals.
• Paryatan Parv is being celebrated from September 16 to September 27 to encourage Indians to travel to tourist destinations in India.
• Amazing India website for marketing to and interacting with travellers.
• Online learning management system for training qualified workers to serve as tour guides.

Way ahead

• The current situation calls for the rapid growth of all types of infrastructure (physical, social, and digital).
• Tourist security is a top concern. For tourists, a formal guiding system may be introduced.
• To prevent tourist fraud, Indian residents should be encouraged to treat visitors kindly.
• To address the issue of seasonality, promote alternative forms of tourism such as medical tourism, adventure tourism, etc. Another option is to make a concession outside of season.

Read More: World-Tourism-Day

Very Short-Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS)

• Recently, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO )conducted two successful test flight of Very Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) missile from a ground-based portable launcher at the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, off the coast of Odisha.
• Both flight tests have completely met the mission objectives.

What is VSHORADS?

• Very Short-Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS) is a Man-portable air defence system (MANPADS) designed and developed indigenously by DRDO’s Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad in collaboration with other DRDO laboratories and Indian Industry Partners
• The VSHORADS missile's design integrates a number of cutting-edge technology, including an integrated avionics system and a miniaturised reaction control system (RCS), both of which have been successfully tested.
• The missile is driven by a dual thrust solid motor and is designed to destroy low-altitude aerial threats at close ranges.
• The missile's design, including the launcher, has undergone extensive optimization to ensure portability.
• Signifies: The Armed Forces will experience an additional technological boost thanks to this new missile that is packed with cutting-edge technology.

About Reaction Control System (RCS)

• Thruster-based attitude control and steering are handled by a reaction control system (RCS).
• Small quantities of thrust can be delivered by the RCS system in any desired direction or set of directions.

How do MANPADS work?

• MANPADS are single or small group-fired surface-to-air missiles with a limited range, light weight, and portability that can take down helicopters or aircraft.
• They aid in defending troops from aerial assaults and work best when aimed against low-flying aircraft.
• Similar weapons known as MANPATs, or Man-Portable Anti-Tank Systems, are also used to disable or destroy military tanks.
• MANPADS can engage targets at heights of 4.5 km and have a maximum range of 8 km.
• In the 1960s, the United States and the Soviet Union introduced the first MANPADS.

VL-SRSAM Missile System