 Good evening as friends, welcome to the Hindu News Analysis by Shankaraiya Sakrami for the date 5th of July 2023. Displayed here are the list of news articles that we will be going through today. Now let's start our discussion. Now look at this article. The article says that the National Association of Software and Services Companies that is NASCARM has welcomed the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill. NASCARM said that the bill is a significant leap forward for India and it will help to boost the digital economy in India. This is all about the news given here. In our discussion, we shall discuss some of the important provisions of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill or the PDP Bill. We will see how it helps in promoting digital economy in India also. See the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2022 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 3rd, 2023 and it is currently under consideration. The bill aims to regulate collection, use and storage of personal data by organizations. Here what does personal data mean? The bill defines it. According to the bill, personal data is a information that can be used to identify an individual either directly or indirectly. This includes information such as name, address, phone number, email address and social media handles. See the bill sets out a number of principles for the collection and use of personal data. Let's look at those principles one by one. First of all, it talks about data minimization. It means organizations should only collect personal data that is necessary for a specific purpose for which it is being collected. The next important provision is purpose limitation. It means that the personal data should be used for the purpose for which it is collected. This is to ensure the protection of personal data of the citizen. Another important thing to note is that the bill mentions about consent. That is, individuals must give their consent before their personal data can be collected, used or disclosed by organizations. The PDP Bill aims to ensure data security also. The bill says that organization must take appropriate measures to protect personal data from unauthorized access, use, disclosure or destruction. This will ensure data security of the consumers. The next is data probability. This is also mentioned in the bill. As per the bill, individuals have the right to obtain a copy of their personal data in a commonly used format. Individuals also have the right to access, correct, delete and object to the processing of their personal data by the organizations. So the bill gives these important rights to empower the people who use the digital space. The PDP Bill also establishes the Data Protection Authority. This authority oversees the implementation of the bill. The Data Protection Authority will have the power to investigate complaints of violation of the bill and it will impose penalties on organizations that violate the bill. These are the important highlights of the bill. With this information, we shall see some of the benefits of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill. First of all, it will protect the privacy of the individuals by setting out clear rules for collection, use and storage of personal data. Then the bill will give individuals more control over their personal data by giving them right to access, correct, delete and object to processing of their data. Next, the bill will create a level playing field for businesses by ensuring that all organizations comply with the same data protection standards. This in turn will boost India's digital economy by encouraging businesses to invest in data-driven technologies. So this is the reason why NASCARM has welcomed this bill as we saw in the news article. See, this PDP bill has many criticism and apportion from many groups. But we have to note here that it is an important step towards protecting the privacy of individuals and promoting India's growth in the digital space. We just have to wait and see how the bill turns out. That's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, we saw the important provisions of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill. We also saw some of the benefits of the bill. With this, let us conclude this discussion and take up the next news article. Look at this article. This article speaks about the importance of millets. The summary of the article is that government should provide healthier and balanced food products like millets in PDS. These measures will help to address the diabetic epidemic in India. So in this context, let us discuss some important benefits of millets and also the distribution of millet production in India. First of all, what is a millet? See, millet are a group of small grained warm weather cereals belonging to the grass family. They are cultivated annually. They are highly tolerant of drought and other extreme weather conditions and have a similar nutrient content of other major cereals. This is about millets. Now let us see the benefits of millets. Firstly, millets are a good source of fiber, protein and nutrients. Also, millets are naturally gluten free, making them suitable for people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance. Okay? Next, millets can be grown in a variety of soil and climate. This makes them a versatile crop option for farmers. Here you have to note that millets are drought resistant. That is, millets require less water and can grow in poorer soil condition. This makes them a suitable food crop for areas with unpredictable weather patterns and water scarcity. Millets are often grown using traditional farming methods. This makes them more sustainable and environmentally friendly than modern industrial farming practices. So their cultivation could contribute to the achievement of many sustainable development goals. Okay? These are some of the benefits of millets. Now finally, let us see the distribution of millets in India. See India is the largest producer of millets in the world. India accounts for 20% of the global production and 80% of Asia's production. The major millet producing states in India are Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttarpradesh, Haryana and Kucharat. These six states account for more than 83% of the total millet production in India. Two group of millets are grown in India. They are major millets and minor millets. The major millets include Sorghum, Pearl Millet or Bajra and Finger Millet or Ragi. While the minor millets include Foxtail, Little Millet, Kodu and Banyad Millet. Look at this graph here. It shows that Bajra is the most cultivated millet in India and the second most cultivated millet in India is Jovar. As you all know, 2023 has been declared as the International Year of Millets by the Food and Agricultural Organization. So we can expect a question about millets in our next year's problems examination. So that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, we saw what is millet, its advantages and its distribution in India. With this, let us conclude this discussion and take up the next news article. Have a look at this news article. The direct trade general of foreign trade that is DGFT of India has temporarily suspended the restriction of imports on laptops, personal computers, tablets and servers to India. The government had initially said that the import restrictions were necessary to protect the domestic IT industry. However, it has now acknowledged that the restriction were causing problems to the businesses and consumers in India. The suspension of the import restriction is a welcome relief for businesses and consumers in India. It will allow them to continue importing the IT hardware they need without having to go through the hassle of obtaining a license. This is about the news article given here. In our discussion today, let us see few details about the direct trade general of foreign trade. The DGFT is an attached office of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It is headed by the Director General of Foreign Trade. The DGFT was formed in 1991 when the LPG reforms, that is the liberalization, privatization and globalization reforms of the government took off. Before 1991, the DGFT was known as the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports. This DGFT is responsible for formulating and implementing foreign trade policy. Also note that one of its main objective is to promote India's exports. It is headquartered in New Delhi. This is about the basics of DGFT. Moving forward, let us see some of the functions of this agency. Firstly, as we already saw, it formulates and implements the foreign trade policy. Then the agency issues licenses and permits for imports and exports. The DGFT also monitors the foreign trade transaction and investigates the cases of illegal trade. In addition to this, the DGFT can also regulate, restrict or prohibit exports and imports. It also plays an advisory role to the government on policy measures pertaining to national and international scenarios. The agency is also involved in providing trade information and training to exporters and importers in our country. Apart from this, the DGFT has specific functions like providing importer-exporter code numbers. These numbers are mandatory for carrying out import-export trade operations by Indians. Finally, the DGFT helps to facilitate trade by providing a clear and transparent regulatory framework. It also helps to protect the Indian businesses from unfair competition by enforcing trade laws. These are some of the important functions performed by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade. That is all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, we saw few details about the DGFT. Now let us conclude this and take up the next news article. Look at this article. This article is taken from yesterday's newspaper. The article here talks about POCSO Act 2012 and also about the age of consent issue. See recently, a man who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for maintaining a consensual sexual relationship with a minor girl made an appeal to the Bombay High Court. The Bombay High Court, while hearing this case, insisted that it is high time for India to consider reducing the age of consent for sex. The article here is actually a conversation between experts about the observation made by the Bombay High Court. So in this context, let us quickly go through some of the important points given in the article. First of all, let us familiarize ourselves with the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, that is POCSO Act 2012. This will help us understand the points given in the article in detail, okay? See the POCSO Act has been enacted to protect children from offenses like sexual assault, sexual harassment and child pornography. Children according to the Act are individuals aged below 18 years. Currently in India, regardless of gender, the age of consent is 18 years according to the POCSO Act. Here the age of consent is the age at which a person legally can consent to a sexual act. So the Act is gender neutral. It aims to ensure an overall development of a child or a person below 18 years of age. POCSO also provides for the establishment of special codes to try the offenses under the POCSO Act. Remember, the Act defines different forms of sexual abuse, including penetrative and non-penetrative assault, as well as sexual harassment and pornography. The Act further deems sexual assault to be aggravated under certain circumstances. For example, if the abused child is mentally ill or when the abuse is committed by a member of armed forces or security forces or a public servant or a person in position of power, then the sexual assault is deemed to be aggravated. Coming to the punishments under the Act. Penetrative sexual assault on a child can lead up to an imprisonment of not less than 10 years and it may even extend up to a life imprisonment under fine. And as you can see in this image, whoever commits penetrative sexual assault on a child below 16 years of age shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than 20 years and may extend to life imprisonment. In addition to this, this person may also face a fine. Similarly, the Act says that use of a child for pornographic purposes can lead to imprisonment of not less than 5 years under fine. And if the same offense is committed another time, that is, if there is subsequent conviction, then the person may be imprisonment up to 7 years along with the fine. These are the provisions for punishment provided under the Poxo Act. See the Act also has provisions to prevent misuse of the law. Here note that the Poxo Act provides punishment for making false complaints or providing false information with malicious intent. Usually such punishment has been kept relatively light like 6 months to encourage reporting. But in case a false complaint is made against a child, the punishment can be up to 1 year of imprisonment. As I already said, the Act provides for an establishment of special codes for the trail of offenses under the Act. And the Act also provides child-friendly procedures. For example, the statement of a child can be recorded at the residence of a child or at place of his or her choice. Preferably, a woman police officer not below the rank of sub-inspector can record the statement of the child. Likewise, the police officer should not be in uniform while recording the statement of the child. These are some examples of child-friendly procedures mentioned in the Poxo Act. These are some of the important points that you have to remember about Poxo. Now we shall see the issue with the age of consent in Poxo. The first issue is that the criminalizing approach of the law. See this approach prevents us from having a more holistic discussion on the subject. The second issue is forcing the victims to pursue legal complaint. See usually when such an incident is reported, the first procedure is to take an interview with a boy or a girl. This interview should be carried out by a social worker or a support person and not by the police. But every time this rule is broken and it is the police that files the FIR first. Only after filing the FIR, they ask questions regarding the issue. This can lead to two undesired situations. The first one is that the persons involved will not get a chance to express that the act was done in consent. And the second issue is that if the act was done without the consent, then questioning by the police will turn the victim unfriendly and hostile. This is the second issue with the age of consent in Poxo Act. Thirdly, the state is making a decision as to when or at what age a person can be competent enough to give consent for sexual intercourse. This one size fits all solution itself is a problem. This is because the capacity to give consent develops differently among different people. This biology has been completely ignored while framing the age of consent under Poxo Act. These are some of the issues with the age of consent in Poxo Act. Finally, the article gives some solutions to address the issue. The first is that the age of consent should be context sensitive. This will help us have a better understanding about age of consent. The second one is there is a lack of information. There is no information about the kind of sexual practices the adolescents are engaging in and what age they are engaging in. If this information is gathered, then the law can be made responsive to this information. This will address the issue with age of consent in India. So that's all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, we saw the important provisions under the Poxo Act 2012. Then we saw the issues with the age of consent in India and we also saw two solutions to address the issue. With this, let us conclude this discussion and take up the next news article. Look at this news article. The news article says that an Indian Jain flying squirrel died of electrocution yesterday in Utti. This is the fourth time an incident like this has happened in the town. The incident highlights how power infrastructure will have an impact on the wildlife in the biodiverse area. One of the solutions offered by the experts is to shift the power lines underground in the ecologically sensitive areas to prevent such electrocutions. This is about the article given here. In this context, let us see some important points about the Indian Jain flying squirrel. The Indian Jain flying squirrel is one of the largest flying squirrels, which is about 43 cm long with a 50 cm long tail. Actually the term flying here is a misnomer. These squirrels cannot fly. They can only glide in the air. They glide using a membrane that extends from their wrist to their ankles. Using this membrane, these squirrels can glide from tree to tree. Moving forward, let us see some of the interesting behavior of the Indian Jain flying squirrel. These squirrels are most active just after dusk, that is in the late evenings. During this time, they forage or gather food in the tree canopy. They tend to consume the pith of the plants. In addition to this, they will also feed on twigs, leaves, bark, flowers, fruits and seeds. See the male Indian Jain flying squirrel have a much larger home range than females. What this suggests is that, the male squirrels tend to have more than one sexual partner at the same time. This behavior is not unique because it is also witnessed in other flying squirrel species. The Indian Jain flying squirrel is generally solitary in nature. But in rare occasions, when food is abundant, they tend to live in groups. Now let us look at some of the reproductive behavior of the species. After gestation of around 46 days, young ones are born within the mother's tree cavity. As in most species, the young ones are raised only by the mother. And they are raised in the hollow trees where the mothers stay. Moving forward, let us see the habitat of the species. Although it is named as Indian Jain flying squirrel, this species is fairly witnessed throughout Asia. They are found in China, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. They can be found in dry deciduous and evergreen forest. These species have adapted to changes brought by humans. So they are found even in plantations also. Finally, these species are listed as least concerned in the IUCN Red List. But due to habitat loss and continued hunting, in the future, these species could face a decline in population. And that is all regarding this discussion. In this discussion, we saw some important points about the Indian Jain flying squirrel. With this, we have come to the end of the news article discussion session. Now let us take the practice problems questions. We have four practice problems questions today. Let us see them one by one. Let us take up the first question. Three statements about millets are given. We have to find how many of the statements are correct. Let us take up the first statement. Millets are endemic to India. This statement is incorrect. Millets are grown in many parts of the world, mainly in Asia and African countries. So it is not endemic to India. Moving on to the second statement. Millets require less water than rice and wheat. This statement is actually correct because millets actually require less water compared to other cereal crops like rice and wheat. Moving on to the third statement. Finger millet or ragi is the most cultivated millet in India. This statement is incorrect because as we saw in the discussion, it is bajra that is the most cultivated millet in India. So only one statement given here is correct. So the correct answer is option A only one. Moving on to the second question. Let me read out the question. Consider the following statements regarding right to privacy in India and choose the incorrect option. First, let us take option 2. Right to privacy is intrinsic to life and liberty. This statement is actually correct. Moving on to the third option. Right to privacy is a fundamental right under article 21 of the Constitution. This statement is also correct. It was made sure by the Supreme Court in the Putta Swami judgment. Moving on to the last option. Right to privacy also means right to be left alone. This statement is also correct. Now let us take the first statement. Right to privacy is an absolute right. This statement is actually incorrect. Right to privacy is not an absolute right. It can be restricted by legislations. Note that all fundamental rights are not absolute rights. They have reasonable restrictions, okay? See here they are asking for the incorrect option. So the correct answer here is option A. Moving on to the third question. Let me read out the question. Which nocturnal mammal is known for its glading ability? It is found in the forest of India, primarily in the western gods, and in the parts of eastern Himalayas. As we saw in the discussion, the correct answer here is option B, Indian giant flaying squirrel. Look at the last question. Let me read out the question. Which of the following institution under government of India issues the importer-exporter code to importers and exporters? As we saw in our discussion, the correct answer here is option C, direct trade general of foreign trade. The main questions based on today's discussion are displayed here. Interested aspirants can write the answers and post it in the comment section. If you like today's discussion, like, comment, and share it with your friends. For more updates regarding UPSC preparation, subscribe to Shankara IS Academy's YouTube channel. Thank you for listening.