DAILY MAINS NEWSLETTER FOR UPSC | 06 MAR 2021 | RaghukulCS

Daily Mains Newsletter For UPSC
| RaghukulCS

06 MAR 2021

Index

Mains Value Addition

Mains Analysis

Topic No

Topic Name

Source

1

New space: On ISRO’s first dedicated commercial mission.

 The Hindu

2

Patching the gaps in India’s cybersecurity.

The Hindu

3

A bad job

Indian express

Mains Value Addition

Ease of Living Index 2020 and Municipal Performance Index (MPI) 2020:

Syllabus- 

GS2-  Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability

Analysis:

  • Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs announced the final rankings of Ease of Living Index (EoLI) 2020 and the Municipal Performance Index (MPI) 2020.
  • The rankings were announced for cities with a population of more than a million, and cities with less than a million people.
  • 111 cities participated in the assessment.
  • Bengaluru emerged as the top performer in the Million+ category, followed by Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Surat, Navi Mumbai, Coimbatore, Vadodara, Indore, and Greater Mumbai.

QS World University Rankings 2021.

Syllabus-

GS-2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Analysis:

  • As many as 25 courses by Indian universities have figured in the top 100 globally, according to QS World University Rankings by Subject.
  • MIT, USA has retained top position.
  • Three Indian Institutes of Technology have entered the top 100 engineering institutes.
  • IIT-Bombay grabbing the best-ever 49th position in the engineering and technology category followed by IIT Delhi (54) and IIT Madras (94).
  • Indian Institute of Science-Bangalore, is placed at the 92nd spot for natural sciences, followed by IIT Bombay (114), IIT Madras (187), and IIT Delhi (210).

Inflation target.

Syllabus- 

GS-3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.

Analysis:

  • The government is expected to retain the medium-term inflation target at 4 per cent, with inflation band at 2-6 per cent, for the next five years.
  • Under India’s flexible inflation targeting (FIT) approach, the central bank is expected to work to maintain retail inflation at 4%, with an upper tolerance limit of 6% and a lower limit of 2%.
  • The government may reset the rate at 5% to provide the central bank more leeway to cut policy rates and support growth in the pandemic-struck economy.
  • Inflation targeted based on monetary policy system wherein the central bank (RBI) of a country has a specific target inflation rate for the medium-term and publicizes this rate.
  • The Central Government has notified 4 per cent Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation as the target for the period from August 5, 2016, to March 31, 2021, with the upper tolerance limit of 6 per cent and the lower tolerance limit of 2 per cent.

Mains Analysis

New space: On ISRO’s first dedicated commercial mission.

Why in News: –

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Sunday launched (from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh) Brazil’s Amazonia-1 satellite onboard its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C51.

Syllabus: –

GS-3: Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology, awareness in the fields of IT, Space technology.

 The first dedicated commercial mission of New Space India Limited (NSIL):

  1. This is not the first time that NSIL has organized a launch of foreign satellites aboard an Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launch vehicle.
  2.  The 637-kg Amazonia-1 is the optical earth observation satellite of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), the research unit of Brazil’s ministry of science.
  3. The Amazonia mission also saw 18 other satellites being launched and was the first fully commercial mission. India has so far launched 342 foreign satellites from 34 countries using its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle platform and many of them have involved ISRO’s first commercial entity, the Antrix Corporation.
  4. The NSIL is undertaking this mission under a commercial arrangement with US-based launch services and mission management provider Spaceflight Inc.

New Space India Limited (NSIL):

  1. It is a Public Sector Enterprise (PSE) of Government of India and commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
  2. It was established on 6 March 2019 under the administrative control of Department of Space (DoS) and the Company Act 2013. The main objective of NSIL is to scale up industry participation in Indian space programmes.
  3. The Budget Estimates for Department of Space for FY 2019-20 is Rs 12,473.26 crore as compared to the RE of Rs 11,200 crore in FY 2018-19.

 NSIL Objectives:

  1. Transfer of Small Satellite technology to industry: NSIL will obtain license from DoS/ISRO and sub-license the same to industry.
  2. Manufacture of Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) in collaboration with private sector
  3. Production of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) through Indian industry
  4. Production and marketing of Space based products and services, including launch and application
  5. Transfer of technology developed by ISRO Centres and constituent units of DoS
  6. Marketing of spin-off technologies and products/services, both in India and abroad.

 The responsibilities of NSIL differ from those of Antrix:

  1. Antrix Ltd is another PSU under the Department of Space that acts as a commercial arm of ISRO and markets the products and services of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
  2. Antrix will handle ISRO’s commercial deals for satellites and launch vehicles with foreign customers. NSIL will deal with capacity building of local industry for space manufacturing.
  3. The formation of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe) a regulatory agency as well as plans of an independent tribunal to adjudicate disputes among private space entities, there is a potential explosion of market opportunities from space applications on the anvil.

 The Role of private sector:

  1.  The private sector plays a major role in developing launch and satellite infrastructure for ISRO; there are now several companies that offer myriad services.
  2. Many of these companies want to launch their own satellites, of varying dimensions, and the experience with ISRO has not been smooth always.
  3. The most conspicuous has been the controversy involving Devas Multimedia, to which the Government of India owes nearly $1.2 billion going by an order of a tribunal of the International Chamber of Commerce and upheld by a United States federal court last year.
  4. NSIL has a broad ambit and will be involved incollaborations spanning from launches to new space-related industries.
  5. NSIL is also expected to be more than just a marketer of ISRO’stechnologies; it is to find newer business opportunities and expand the sector itself.

Way Forward:

    1. The satellite technology has played a pivotal role in various industries, namely, media & entertainment, military segment, disaster management, etc. India being a home to several such industrial verticals, is about to boost its global satellite technology.
    2. The government’s creation of Indian Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), anew entity under the Department of Space, that seeks to streamline and promote the country’s utilization of private sector resources, know-how, and technology.
    3. NSIL is also a move by India’s space establishment to insulate the prospects of the space industry in India from repercussions of the Devas-Antrix imbroglio. However NSIL must endeavour to not be another Antrix but be continuously in start-up mode.
    4. NSIL must conceive of ways to aid space start-ups reach out to rural India and facilitate more recruits from India’s young to facilitate careers in space applications and sciences. It must see itself

    both as an Indian ambassador and disruptor in the space arena.

    Question: –

    The New Space India Limited, a two-year-old commercial arm of the Department of Space now marking history. How should ISRO must take advantage of the market opportunities from space applications.

    Patching the gaps in India’s cybersecurity.

    Why in News: –

    February 28, a sensational report in The New York Times, “China appears to warn India. As part of a broad Chinese cybercampaign against India’s power grid, timed to send a message that if India pressed, its claims too hard.

    Syllabus: –

    GS-3: Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security;
    • The Union Power Ministry denied that the grid failure was linked to any cybersecurity incident, and blamed human error for it.
    • While Maharashtra’s Home Minister has promised to table the report in the Assembly, this would be the first time that a cybersecurity incident has been discussed this openly by government officials.

    What is Cyber security?

    • Cyber security is the application of technologies, processes and controls to protect systems, networks, programs, devices and data from cyber attacks. It aims to reduce the risk of cyber attacks and protect against the unauthorised exploitation of systems, networks and technologies.
    • Cyber security can be described as the collective methods, technologies, and processes to help protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of computer systems, networks and data, against cyber-attacks or unauthorized access.
    • Cyber security is important because it encompasses everything that pertains to protecting our sensitive data, personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information (PHI), personal information, intellectual property, data, and governmental and industry information systems from theft and damage attempted.

     India has been a target earlier:

    • India has been attacked by suspected Chinese state-sponsored groups multiple times in the past. In 2009, a suspected cyber espionage network dubbed Ghost Net was found to be targeting, amongst others, the Tibetan government in exile in India, and many Indian embassies.
    • By pursuing the leads from that discovery, researchers found what they dubbed the Shadow Network, a vast cyberespionage operation which extensively targeted Indian entities, including military establishments, news publications, and even the National Security Council Secretariat itself, with clear evidence that confidential documents had been accessed by the attackers.
    • There were a number of subsequent attacks that targeted India, including Stuxnet, which had also taken down nuclear reactors in Iran; Suckfly, which targeted not just government but also private entities including a firm that provided tech support to the National Stock Exchange;
    • Dtrack which first targeted Indian banks, and later the Kudankulam nuclear power plant (Tamil Nadu) in 2019. There is much evidence to show that Chinese state-sponsored groups were responsible for many of these attacks.
    • Documents released by WikiLeaks show that groups such as the Central Intelligence Agency’s UMBRAGE project have advanced capabilities of misdirecting attribution to another nation-state (“false flag attacks”) by leaving behind false “fingerprints” for investigators to find.

    India Institutional security:

    • The National Security Council, usually chaired by the National Security Adviser (NSA), and plays a key role in shaping India’s cyber policy ecosystem.
    • The NSA also chairs the National Information Board, which is meant to be the apex body for cross-ministry coordination on cybersecurity
    • The National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre established under the National Technical Research Organisation in January 2014 was mandated to facilitate the protection of critical information infrastructure.
    • In 2015, the Prime Minister established the office of the National Cyber Security Coordinator who advises the Prime Minister on strategic cybersecurity issues.
    • India’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), which is the nodal entity responding to various cybersecurity threats to non-critical infrastructure comes under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY).
    • The Ministry of Defence has recently upgraded the Defence Information Assurance and Research Agency to establish the Defence Cyber Agency, a tri-service command of the Indian armed forces to coordinate and control joint cyber operations, and craft India’s cyber doctrine.
    • The Ministry of Home Affairs oversees multiple similarly-named “coordination centres” that focus on law enforcement efforts to address cybercrime, espionage and terrorism,
    • The Ministry of External Affairs coordinates India’s cyber diplomacy push both bilaterally with other countries, and at international for a
      like the United Nations.

     Doctrine on cyber conflicts:

    • India is yet to clearly articulate a doctrine that holistically captures its approach to cyber conflict, either for conducting offensive cyber operations, or the extent and scope of countermeasures against cyber-attacks.
    • Some reports indicate that India too engages in targeted cyber-attacks, the rules of engagement for that too are unclear. This is unlike India’s approach to other global security regimes.
    • The absence of a credible cyber deterrence strategy means that states and non-state actors alike remain incentivised to undertake low-scale cyber operations for a variety of purposes espionage, cybercrime, and even the disruption of critical information infrastructure.

     The Indian cyber security market:

    • The Indian cybersecurity market is poised to experience significant growth across various segments, including cybersecurity services, organization capabilities, startups, jobs and salaries.
    • The digital economy contributes approximately 15% to India’s GDP and it is expected to grow to 20% by 2024.and eCommerce as an industry is expected to grow to $25 Billion by 2024.
    • India’s digital requirements have expanded the data infrastructure to cover more than 120 recognized data centers and cloud networks which Indian & MNC enterprises and Central & State Governments leverage and access to store data of not just citizens, but also global and domestic transactions
    • Digital payments in India are growing at 13% CAGR, while the mobile wallets domain will soon experience growth of 50% CAGR.

    Define the red lines:

    • The same argument must be made for India’s contribution to global regimes crafting norms for responsible state behaviour in cyberspace.
    • India has been an active participant at processes within the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with issues of disarmament and international security.
    • India’s long-term strategic thinking on core issues of debate at these for a remains relatively unknown, barring a few statements by government of India official.
    • A key opportunity herein is a precise articulation of how international law applies to cyberspace, which could mould the global governance debate to further India’s strategic interests and capabilities.
    • Resolution /Laws include positioning on not just non-binding norms but also legal obligations on ‘red lines’ with respect to cyberspace-targets that should be considered illegitimate due to their significance for human life, such as health-care systems, electricity grids, water supply, and financial systems.

     Way Forward: –

    • Clearer strategy and greater transparency are the need of the hour to improve India’s cybersecurity posture.
    • Because the digital economy contributes approximately 15% to India’s GDP and it is expected to grow to 20% by 2024.and eCommerce as an industry is expected to grow to $25 Billion by 2024.
    • To better detect and counter threats from both state actors and their proxies as well as online criminals, improved coordination is needed between the government and the private sector, as well as within the government itself — and at the national and State levels.
    • A clear public posture on cyber defence and war fare boosts citizen confidence, helps build trust among allies, and clearly signals intent to potential adversaries, thus enabling a more stable and secure cyber ecosystem.

    Question: –

    Discuss the potential threats of Cyber-attack and the security framework to prevent it.

    A bad job

    Why in News: –

    The approval granted by Haryana governor Satyadev Narayan Arya to a job reservation Bill that provides 75% reservation in the private sector to those holding the domicile of the state militates against the idea of an integrated India which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) often espouses

    Syllabus: –

     Syllabus- GS2-     Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability

    Background: –

    • The Haryana state assembly passed the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Bill, 2020 in November 2020.
    • The Bill seeks to reserve 75% of new jobs for local candidates in various companies, societies, trusts, and limited liability partnership firms situated in the state of Haryana.  
    • This reservation will be for local candidates for all jobs with a compensation below Rs 50,000 per month.  
    • According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the Bill, the Bill is desirable as there has been an influx of a large number of migrants in the state, competing for low-paid jobs.  

    Key Features

    • Applicability: The Bill applies to: (i) all companies, partnership firms, societies, trusts, limited liability partnership firms, (ii) any person employing 10 or more persons.  It does not apply to the central or state government, or any organisation owned by them.   It will be in force for a period of 10 years. 
    • Reservation for local candidates: All such employers must provide 75% of new jobs with a gross monthly salary of up to Rs 50,000 to local candidates (candidates who have a domicile in the state). 
    • Compulsory registration: Within three months of the Bill coming into effect, employers in the applicable establishments must register employees with a monthly salary below Rs 50,000 on a designated portal.  An employer cannot employ a new person till such registration is complete.   
    • Exemptions: Employers may claim an exemption from providing reservation to locals if adequate number of local candidates of desired skill, qualification, or proficiency are not available.  This claim will be evaluated by an officer of the rank of Deputy Commissioner or higher.  The officer may: (i) accept the claim, (ii) reject the claim with recorded reasons, or (iii) direct the employer to train local candidates to achieve the desired skill or proficiency.   
    • Offences and penalties: The Bill specify penalties for various offences.   For example, failure to provide 75% of new employment to local candidates will attract a fine between Rs 50,000 and two lakh rupees, with an additional penalty of Rs 1,000 for each day till the contravention continues. 

    Measures taken by states for providing reservation in employment (last five years):

    State

    Year

    Reservation

    Sector

    Haryana

    2020

    75% reservation for locals in private industry

    In private sector

    Andhra Pradesh

    2019

    75% reservation for locals in industry/factories (including PPP mode)

    In private sector

    Karnataka

    2016

    100% reservation for locals in blue-collar jobs (draft)

    In private sector

    Rajasthan

    2019

    5% reservation to certain communities

    In public employment

    Maharashtra

    2018

    13% reservation to certain communities

    In public employment

    Telangana

    2017

    Reservation for backward classes, SC and ST increased to 62%

    In public employment

    Constitutional Provisions for Reservation: –

    • The Constitution guarantees certain fundamental rights to all citizens.
    • These include the right to equality before law, the right to freedom to reside in any part of the country, and the right to practice any occupation or business.  
    • It prohibits any discrimination based on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth.  
    • However, the state may provide for the advancement of certain sections of the society through reservation in education or employment.  
    • This reservation may be on the basis of domicile (residence), or backwardness.
    • State providing requirements such as residence within that state (under Article 16(3)).  
    • The State may make provisions for the advancement of socially and educationally backward class of citizens or Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (under Article 15(4)).
    • Further, the State can make provisions for reservation of appointments or posts in favour of any backward classes of citizens who are not adequately represented in the services of the State (under Article 16(4)).  

    Key Issues and Analysis

    1. Constitutional issues related to the Bill

    The Bill mandates all private establishments in Haryana to provide 75% of new jobs to local candidates. This raises three potential issues.  

    1. First, reservation in private institutions may violate their right to carry on an occupation or business.  
    2. Second, a state law providing for reservation based on domicile may not be constitutional.  
    3. Third, 75% reservation in employment may violate the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in the past.
    1. Reservation in private institutions may violate their right to carry on an occupation or business
      1. The Bill mandates all companies, societies, trusts, partnership firms, or any person in the state of Haryana employing 10 or more persons to provide 75% of the new jobs to local candidates.  
      2. Mandating private institutions to employ a certain set of candidates may encroach upon an institution’s right to carry on its occupation.  
      3. In doing so, the Court observed that the right to establish and administer an educational institution is also an occupation under Article 19(1)(g).

     

    1. State law providing for reservation solely on the basis of domicile may not be constitutional
      1. The Bill mandates establishments to provide reservation in employment to local candidates.  
      2. Local candidates are persons who have a domicile in the state of Haryana.
      3. In 1957, the Public Employment (Requirement as to Residence) Act, 1957 was passed to repeal all existing laws prescribing any requirement of residence within a state for public employment.
      4. The Court held that domicile in itself does not provide any valid or reasonable classification for providing reservation. 

     

    1. Reservation in employment to the extent of 75% may violate the guidelines laid down by the Court 
      1. Under the Bill, all establishments are required to provide 75% of new jobs to candidates with domicile in the state of Haryana.  
      2. This may be in violation of the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court. 
      3. In 1992, the Supreme Court laid down guidelines restricting the ambit of reservation provided through Article 16(4) for backwardness.
      4. The Court, held that while 50% is the rule, extraordinary situations may require the rule to be relaxed.  
      5. It held that the social, educational and economic backwardness of a community and existence of data regarding inadequacy in public services are not ‘exceptional circumstances’ for providing reservations in excess of 50%.

     

    1. Mandating companies to employ local candidates may be detrimental to their competitiveness
      1. The Bill mandates all companies, societies, trusts, partnership firms or any person in the state of Haryana employing 10 or more persons to provide 75% of new jobs to local candidates.  
      2. According to news reports, industrial bodies have raised concerns regarding the Bill due to lack of skilled labour.
      3. The Bill allows an employer to claim exemption from providing reservation if adequate number of local candidates of desired skill, qualification, or proficiency are not available.
      4. However, this exemption will be granted based on the decision of the designated officer.  
      5. The designated officer may also direct the company claiming an exemption to train local candidates in the required skills.   
      6. This will lead to additional costs for the private companies.  

    Value- Addition: –

    The Economic Survey 2019-20 observes that government intervention often ends up undermining the ability of markets to spur investments and economic growth. It recommended that such interventions need to be minimised. 

    Way Forward: –

    The influx of a large number of migrants competing for low-paid jobs places a significant impact on local infrastructure and housing and leads to the proliferation of slums.

    It leads to environment and health issues which are acutely felt in the state’s urban areas, affecting livelihood and the quality of life. Therefore, giving preference to local candidates in low-paid jobs is socially, economically and environmentally desirable and any such preference would be in the interest of the general public.

    Question: –

    Critically evaluate the concerns associated with the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Bill, 2020.

     

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