31 May 2023

• Society: The Global Slavery Index 2023 estimated 50 million people in modern slavery globally. India has the highest absolute number at approximately 11 million.
• Agriculture: Direct Seeding of Rice offers significant water savings over conventional transplantation but has weed-management challenges.
• Governance: NAFIS (National Automated Fingerprint Identification System) links fingerprints across 1,400 crime databases.
• Finance: RBI tightened rules on evergreening of loans by regulated entities.
• Polity: The Supreme Court ruled on the nature of government contracts under Article 299.

GS area: Society (Human rights, Labour)

The Walk Free Foundation published the Global Slavery Index 2023. Approximately 50 million people globally live in modern slavery. India has the highest absolute number at 11 million.

• What is modern slavery?
  • Encompasses forced labour, forced marriage, debt bondage, human trafficking and chattel slavery.
  • The definition adopted by the International Labour Organisation and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
• India-specific:
  • India accounts for about 22 per cent of the global modern slavery count.
  • Major forms: bonded labour (brick kilns, quarries, agriculture), domestic servitude, forced marriage in distress contexts and child labour.
  • Official data on bonded labour released under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976 undercounts significantly.
• Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976: Abolishes bonded labour, cancels antecedent debts and prohibits creditor enforcement. District Magistrates are responsible for identifying and releasing bonded labourers.
• Rehabilitation Scheme: The Central Sector Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers provides financial assistance of Rs 1-3 lakh per case.
• India's ranking by prevalence: India is not in the top-ten by prevalence rate (per 1,000 population). Countries like North Korea, Eritrea and Mauritania rank high by prevalence.

Static linkage: Bonded Labour Act 1976, forced labour, ILO Conventions 29 and 105 (Society/Governance).

GS area: Economy (Agriculture, Water management)

ICAR promoted Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR) as an alternative to conventional transplanted paddy to reduce water use in Punjab, Haryana and western UP.

• Conventional transplantation (PTR): Seedlings are raised in nurseries and then transplanted to puddled fields. Requires 30-40 days of nursery, and fields are maintained in a flooded state. Water use: 1,200-2,000 litres per kg of rice.
• Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR): Seeds are sown directly in the field (either dry, moist or wet seed). No puddling, no nursery stage.
• Advantages:
  • Water saving: 25-35 per cent less water than PTR.
  • Labour saving: reduces transplanting labour by 30-40 per cent.
  • Methane emission reduction: dry DSR emits less methane than flooded PTR fields.
  • Soil health: avoids puddling damage to soil structure.
• Limitations:
  • Weed pressure is higher in DSR fields. Effective herbicides are essential.
  • Germination is uneven without precise moisture management.
  • Yield gap of 5-10 per cent compared to PTR under farmer conditions.
• Policy push: Punjab government offered Rs 1,500 per acre incentive for DSR adoption to reduce groundwater depletion.

Static linkage: Water productivity, agricultural reform, groundwater, methane emissions (Economy/Environment).

GS area: Science and Technology (Biotechnology, Agriculture)

The GEAC (Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee) had approved DMH-11 in October 2022, but full commercial cultivation remained pending as of May 2023.

• What DMH-11 is: A transgenic mustard hybrid developed by Delhi University's Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants. Incorporates genes from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens: barnase (male sterility) and barstar (restorer). Enables hybrid seed production for yield advantage.
• Yield claim: 25-30 per cent yield increase over the national check variety.
• Controversy:
  • GM mustard is an edible oilseed. Critics argue India has no approved GM food crop and this sets a problematic precedent.
  • The Supreme Court, reviewing petitions from 2004, had asked for a review of India's GM crop regulatory architecture.
• India's current GM crop status: Only Bt cotton (insect-resistance via Cry proteins, not a food crop) is commercially approved in India. No food crop has received commercial cultivation approval.
• GEAC approval (October 2022): Technical approval was given. Final clearance from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change was pending.

Static linkage: GMOs, GEAC, food safety regulation, biotechnology policy (Science and Technology).

GS area: Internal Security, Governance (Policing technology)

NAFIS was launched by the Ministry of Home Affairs to create a centralised national fingerprint database for criminal identification.

• What NAFIS does: Connects fingerprint data from 1,400 crime databases maintained by state police forces, NCRB and central agencies. Allows real-time matching of latent prints from crime scenes against the database.
• Administering agency: National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• Significance:
  • Previously, fingerprint databases were maintained state-by-state with no interoperability.
  • NAFIS enables cross-state criminal identification, important for organised crime, terrorism investigations and recidivism tracking.
• Privacy concern: Critics note there is no data protection law governing how fingerprint data in NAFIS may be used, shared or retained. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 was not yet in force.
• Technology base: NAFIS uses ANSI/NIST ITL (Information Technology Laboratory) standards for fingerprint interoperability.

Static linkage: NCRB, internal security, surveillance, data protection (Internal Security/Governance).

GS area: Economy (Banking, Financial regulation)

The Reserve Bank of India issued a circular directing regulated entities (banks and NBFCs) to stop the practice of evergreening non-performing assets (NPAs).

• What evergreening is: A bank rolls over or restructures a stressed loan by issuing a fresh loan, renewing the existing loan, or accepting equity in lieu of repayment, to avoid classifying it as an NPA and recognising the loss.
• Common methods:
  • Fresh loans issued to a borrower to repay the overdue amount on existing loans.
  • One lender's loan repaid using another lender's fresh disbursement.
  • Loans converted into equity or instruments that are valued above market to avoid NPA recognition.
• Why it is problematic:
  • Banks delay loss recognition, leading to misleading capital adequacy reporting.
  • It defers the real credit quality problem and ultimately inflates the banking sector's bad loan recognition cycle.
• RBI directive: Regulated entities must implement robust review mechanisms. Auditors must specifically examine and report on potential evergreening cases.

Static linkage: NPA, asset quality review, banking regulation, SARFAESI Act (Economy).

• Manipur history: The ethnic composition of Manipur: Meitei (predominantly Hindu, valley-based, 53% of population) and Kuki-Zo and Naga communities (predominantly Christian, hill-based, 40%+ of population). The Meitei's demand for Scheduled Tribe status under Article 342 was a key trigger of the 3 May violence, as it would allow Meiteis to acquire land in hill areas currently reserved for tribals. The conflict has historical antecedents in the 1990s SoO negotiations.
• Article 299 Supreme Court ruling: The Supreme Court held that contracts entered into by the Government of India must be executed in the name of the President of India and by a person authorised by the President. Contracts not following Article 299 formalities are void and cannot bind the government.
• World No Tobacco Day (31 May): Observed annually since 1987. Theme 2023: "We need food, not tobacco." India is the second-largest producer and third-largest exporter of tobacco globally. India has ratified the WHO FCTC (Framework Convention on Tobacco Control).