GS Analyst
Daily Current Affairs

The defense ministers of Australia, Japan, and the US have agreed to advance military cooperation in the face of China’s growing ambitions.

• The defense ministerial meeting between Japan, the United States and Australia was the first since they met in Singapore in June on the sidelines of the Asia Security Summit, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue.
• It was also the first since Hamada assumed his post in August.

Key-points discussed during the Meet

• Japan, Australia, and the United States have pledged to bolster trilateral cooperation.
• This will align their security strategies amid growing tensions with China, Russia, and North Korea.
• Australia is also working on a defense deal with the US to get a nuclear-powered submarine.
  
  
  

Concerns:

• Beijing considers ‘Taiwan’ to be part of China.
• China claims the thin and busy channel of water that separates China and Taiwan.
• Earlier China has also conducted a ballistic missile launches across the Taiwan Strait. A few of those missiles fell into Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
• China is also conducting large-scale military drills in response.
• Beijing opposes official contact between the self-ruled island and the United States.

Significance of Military Ties:

• This will facilitate cooperation in defense equipment, technology, and information gathering.
• The military tie will also help to deal with a rapidly worsening security situation affected by the actions and strategies of China, North Korea, and Russia.
• It would be Japan's first change to its long-term security and diplomacy policy guidelines since 2013.
• Nuclear-powered submarines are likely to give Australia the ability to operate more stealthily in the region.
• Also, armed with sophisticated cruise missile capabilities the trio will pose much more of a deterrent to Beijing.

According to the Centre’s high-powered panel, the National Education Policy will provide freedom to choose the language of instruction in a democratic and decentralized manner.

• The Ministry of Education in November 2021 constituted a high-powered committee, the Bharatiya Bhasha Samiti.
• The committee is tasked with preparing an action plan for the growth of Indian languages as prescribed under National Education Policy (NEP) 2020,
• It was required the mother tongue to be the medium of instruction in schools and higher education institutions.

What is National Education Policy 2020?

• The National Education Policy 2020 was revised after 34 years to meet the changing needs of Indian and international education standards.

 Details of the salient features of NEP 2020 are as follows-

• Ensuring Universal Access at All Levels of schooling from pre-primary school to Grade 12;
• Ensuring quality early childhood care and education for all children between 3-6 years;
• New Curricular and Pedagogical Structure (5+3+3+4);
• Establishing National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy;
• Emphasis on promoting multilingualism and Indian languages; The medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, but preferably till Grade 8 and beyond, will be the home language/mother tongue/local language/regional language.
• Setting up of a new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development);
• Equitable and inclusive education - Special emphasis given on Socially and Economically Disadvantaged  Groups (SEDGs);
• A separate Gender Inclusion fund and Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions and groups;
• Increasing GER in higher education to 50%;
• NTA to offer Common Entrance Exam for Admission to HEIs;
• Setting up of National Research Foundation (NRF);
• Expansion of open and distance learning to increase Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER).
• Internationalization of Education
• Teacher Education - 4-year integrated stage-specific, subject- specific Bachelor of Education
• Achieving 100% youth and adult literacy.

Points highlighted by the Committee

• The committee has found that there are 35 mother tongues as mediums of instruction, and as part of the three-language formula, 160 languages as well as mother tongues are taught.
• Focus has been on providing study material in languages of the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution from Class 1 to the post-graduate level in all streams of education.
• Efforts are being made to incorporate language as a qualification for teaching jobs as in the future there will be a need to prepare teachers to be bilingual.

According to the NEP, 2020- wherever possible, the medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, but preferably till Grade 8 and beyond, will be the home language/mother tongue/local language/regional language" for both public and private schools.

Resistance from certain non-Hindi States:

• There is also flexibility given to States to choose the languages for the three-language formula.
• There is no imposition of any language.
• States will have the freedom to choose.
• It will be a democratic and decentralized process.

Promoting the Hindi and Sanskrit languages:

• Hindi needs to be promoted just like all other Indian languages.
• Nearly 50% of citizens speak Hindi, which brings an advantage to its users.
• The committee is of opinion that there should be a desire or intent to learn Hindi, which will unify the country.

Telangana won the first prize under the Large States category under Swachh Survekshan Gramin (SSG) 2022.

Highlights of the awards:

• Haryana secured the second position while Tamil Nadu was third.
• The top three districts of India are Bhiwani (Haryana), Jagtial (Telangana), and Nizamabad (Telangana) respectively.
• In this award, special focus is being given to accelerate development in rural areas along with uplifting their lifestyle.
• Among the smaller States and Union territories, Andaman and Nicobar secured the first position followed by Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, and Sikkim.

 Swachh Survekshan Gramin-2022 award:

• The Swachh Survekshan Gramin award by the jal shakti ministry ranks states and districts on the basis of their performance attained on key quantitative and qualitative Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin (SBM-G) parameters.
• It also factors in the engagement of the rural community in the improvement of their sanitation status.
• Swachh Bharat Diwas is not a single event but a culmination of several activities/campaigns for the components of SBM-G phase II. The following activities were conducted as a run-up to the event:

1. 1. Swachhta Hi Sewa (SHS) – is a fortnightly campaign undertaken by the public offering “shramdaan” for sustaining cleanliness in the country.
   2. United India for Swachhata – is a dedicated week-long intensified campaign for complete cleanliness – ‘sampoorna swachhta’ in 9 states across the country.

What is Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G)?

• It was launched in 2014 by the Ministry of Jal Shakti to accelerate the efforts to achieve universal sanitation coverage and to put focus on sanitation.
• The mission was implemented as a nationwide campaign/Janandolan which aimed at eliminating open defecation in rural areas.

Swachh Bharat Mission (G) Phase-I:

• The rural sanitation coverage in the country at the time of the launch of SBM (G) on 2nd October 2014 was reported as 38.7%.
• More than 10 crore individual toilets have been constructed since the launch of the mission, as a result, rural areas in all the States have declared themselves ODF as of 2nd October 2019.

SBM(G) Phase-II:

• It emphasizes the sustainability of achievements under phase I and provides adequate facilities for Solid/Liquid & Plastic Waste Management (SLWM) in rural India.
• It will be implemented from 2020-21 to 2024-25 in a mission mode with a total outlay of Rs. 1,40,881 crores.
• The SLWM component of ODF Plus will be monitored on the basis of output-outcome indicators for 4 key areas:

1. 1. Plastic waste management,
   2. Biodegradable solid waste management (including animal waste management),
   3. Greywater (Household Wastewater) management
   4. Fecal sludge management.

What is Open Defecation Free Status?

• ODF: An area can be notified or declared as ODF if at any point of the day, not even a single person is found defecating in the open.
• ODF+: This status is given if at any point of the day, not a single person is found defecating and/or urinating in the open, and all community and public toilets are functional and well maintained.
• ODF++: This status is given if the area is already ODF+ and the fecal sludge/septage and sewage are safely managed and treated, with no discharging or dumping of untreated fecal sludge and sewage into the open drains, water bodies, or areas.

The recent report by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties says that the ‘suo moto power’ by the Centre to transfer investigation from the State police is a ‘serious threat to federalism’.

Highlights of the report:

• The per-case conviction rate under the UAPA was 27.57% compared with 49.67% in Indian Penal Code (IPC) cases.
• The per-arrestee conviction rate was just 2.8% against 22.19% in IPC cases.
• During the check period, 5,924 cases were registered and 8,371 persons were arrested.
• Based on the total cases registered, Manipur (1,965 cases) stood at the top followed by Jammu & Kashmir (1,163), Assam (923), Jharkhand (501), and Uttar Pradesh (385 cases).

Issue of bail and conviction rates:

• The heart of the “abuse” of UAPA was the issue of bail and conviction rates.
• The NCRB figures of acquitted or convicted probably refer to UAPA cases registered in previous years and not to cases filed in the respective years alone.

NIA cases:

• The National Investigation Agency (NIA), this year had listed 456 cases of which 78% involved UAPA charges.
• PUCL report has examined NIA prosecutions in the UPA and the NDA period, the results are:
• 69 UAPA cases were registered when the Manmohan Singh-led UPA regime was in power (2009 to May 2014), whereas 88 UAPA cases were registered in the Narendra Modi-led era (May 2014 to continuing).
• The average number of cases per year during the UPA regime was 13, whereas it was 34 during the NDA regime
• Overall, the maximum number of cases have been registered so far in Delhi (45), followed by Jammu and Kashmir (42), Punjab (29), Kerala (27), Assam (26), Jharkhand (22), Bihar (18), Manipur (18), Maharashtra (16), West Bengal (15), Uttar Pradesh (14), Karnataka (13), Tamil Nadu (13), Andhra Pradesh (12), and Nagaland (7).
• 38 cases involving Section 18 (punishment for conspiracy, etc.) charge, no incident has been reported in 64% of the cases (152 cases).

NIA’s “suo motu power” to transfer investigation from the State police:

• The report said of all the UAPA cases handled by the agency, 41 (12%) were registered suo motu, whereas 316 cases representing 88% of cases were transferred from the State investigating agencies to the NIA.
• It is debatable, whether the State governments were consulted or they agreed to these transfers.
• The NIA’s “suo motu power” to transfer investigation from the State police was a “serious threat to federalism”.

Suggestions in the report:

• The report has sought to repeal of the NIA Act and disbanding of the agency;
• It has asked for the immediate release of all political prisoners, on bail;
• Strict action must be taken against the police officials “who have willfully launched false and fabricated cases against the marginalized communities, journalists, academicians, students, and others”.
• It provides for reparations for wrongfully accused and released by courts.

UAPA Law

• Originally enacted in 1967, the UAPA was amended to be modeled as an anti-terror law in 2004 and 2008.
• In August 2019, Parliament cleared the Unlawful Activities (Prevention), Amendment Bill, 2019 to designate individuals as terrorists on certain grounds provided in the Act.
• In order to deal with terrorism-related crimes, it deviates from ordinary legal procedures and creates an exceptional regime where constitutional safeguards of the accused are curtailed.

Issues Surrounding UAPA

• Misuse: It has been seen in the past that the Acts like POTA and TADA, which were specifically enacted to counter-terrorism, were being misused.
• Federalism: Police is a state subject under the VIIth Schedule. Giving NIA authority to investigate and attach property is viewed as encroachment over the state's jurisdiction.
• Denial of Bail: Under Section 43D(5), bail cannot be granted to a suspect if the court believes that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the charges are prima facie true.
• The burden of Proof: Accused has to show that the case is false which is the opposite of other criminal offenses where the burden is on the State.

The Union Science Minister has reiterated the projection of the Geospatial "Artha" Report 2021. It projects India’s geospatial technology industry to cross Rs 63,100 crores by 2025 at a growth rate of 12.8%.

What is Geospatial technology?

• Geospatial technologies is a term used to describe the range of modern tools contributing to the geographic mapping and analysis of the Earth and human societies. 
• It enables to acquire data that is referenced to the earth and use it for analysis, modeling, simulations and visualization.
• Geospatial technologies include
  • Geographic Information System (GIS)/Spatial Analytics
  • Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) & Positioning
  • Earth Observation
  • Scanning
• These tools capture spatial information about objects, events, and phenomena (indexed to their geographical location on earth, geotag). The location data may be Static or Dynamic.

India’s Geospatial Sector:

• India has a robust ecosystem in geospatial, with the Survey of India (SoI), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Remote Sensing Application Centres (RSACs), and the National Informatics Centre (NIC) in particular, and all ministries and departments, in general, using geospatial technology.
• In 2021, the geospatial market was dominated by defense and intelligence (14.05 %), urban development (12.93 %), and utilities (11 %) segments, cumulatively accounting for 37.98% of the total geospatial market.
• In 2021, the Ministry of Science and Technology released new guidelines for the Geo-Spatial Sector in India, which deregulates existing protocols and liberalizes the sector into a more competitive field.
• Last year, in the Geospatial "Artha" Report, it was highlighted that India's geospatial economy is currently valued at Rs 38,972 crore and has the potential to grow to Rs 63,100 crore at 12.8 per cent by 2025.

Liberalization of the Geospatial Sector:

• The Ministry of Science and Technology, in February 2021, released new guidelines for the Geo-Spatial Sector in India, which deregulated the previous protocol and liberalized the sector to a more competitive field.
• The policy granted open access to the geospatial data and services, including maps, for all Indian entities, with the exception of sensitive defense or security-related data.
• Indian corporations and innovators are no longer subject to restrictions nor do they require prior approvals before generating or updating digital geospatial data and maps within the territory of India.
• There is also no requirement for security clearance, license, or any other restrictions.

Progress so far:

• Rural Development Ministry had mapped over 45 lakh kilometers of rural roads by using 21 data layers of a digital map of India.
• This will be helpful to create digitized information regarding water bodies, green areas, plots, and other structures essential for administrative purposes.
• Nearly 2.6 lakh gram panchayat had been covered by the Ministry under the mapping and digitization scheme.
• India announced plans to prepare digital maps of all its 6,00,000 villages, and pan-India 3D maps will be prepared for 100 cities. This is in line with the SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) scheme.

Significance of Geospatial Technology

• Potential Sector: The sector has the potential to grow to Rs 63,100 crore at 12.8% by the end of 2025 as per the India Geospatial Artha Report 2021.
• Employment: Private Companies like Amazon, Zomato, etc. use this technology to smoothly conduct their delivery operations which supports livelihood generation.
• Implementation of Schemes: The schemes like the Gati Shakti program can be smoothly implemented using geospatial technology.
• Make in India: Focusing on the sector allows Indian companies to develop indigenous apps like an Indian version of google maps.
• Management of Land records: Using the technology, the data related to a large number of landholdings can be appropriately tagged and digitized.
• It will not only help better targeting but also reduce the quantum of land disputes in courts.