8 July 2023

• Polity: Cabinet approved the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill for tabling in the Monsoon Session.
• Economy: India ranked 93rd in UNESCAP's 2023 trade facilitation survey, up from 90 per cent in 2021.
• Defence: The seventh edition of Ex SALVEX, a joint India-US navy salvage and EOD exercise, concluded.
• Finance: The World Investment Report 2023 (UNCTAD) showed India achieving a 10 per cent increase in FDI, becoming the third-largest host for greenfield projects.
• Basic structure: The Kesavananda Bharati doctrine and the Maneka Gandhi due-process ruling remain foundational to India's constitutional jurisprudence.

GS area: Polity, Governance, Science and Technology

The Union Cabinet approved the DPDP Bill for introduction in the Monsoon Session of Parliament (July 20 onwards). This is India's first standalone data protection legislation.

• Coverage: Applies to digital personal data processed within India and to data processed outside India where it relates to offering goods or services to persons in India.
• Data fiduciary obligations: Must maintain accuracy of data, implement reasonable security safeguards, and delete data once the purpose for which it was collected is fulfilled.
• Highest penalty: Up to 250 crore rupees per instance for failure to prevent a data breach.
• Voluntary undertaking: Organisations can approach the Data Protection Board to settle violations through this mechanism, avoiding full adjudication.
• Cross-border data flows: The Bill shifted from a "whitelist" (approve destination countries) to a "blacklist" (restrict specific countries) approach.
• Key concerns: The Bill exempts the central government from significant data-processing obligations. The definition of "per instance" for penalties is ambiguous. The potential to dilute the Right to Information Act through an amendment is contested.

Static linkage: Fundamental rights (Article 21, privacy), data governance, Parliament.

GS area: Polity (Judiciary, Constitutional law)

Two interlinked doctrines shape how Indian courts protect fundamental rights from legislative encroachment.

• Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978): The Supreme Court ruled that "procedure established by law" under Article 21 must be fair, just, and reasonable, not merely procedurally correct. This imported substantive due process into Indian law.
  • Substantive due process: The law itself must be rational and non-arbitrary, not just procedurally correct.
  • Procedural due process: The procedure for depriving someone of liberty must be fair.
• Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973): A 13-judge bench (7:6 majority) held that Parliament can amend any part of the Constitution but cannot alter its "basic structure."
  • Basic structure elements (illustrative): Supremacy of the Constitution, republican and democratic form of government, secularism, separation of powers, judicial review, federalism, unity and integrity of India.
  • Influence: The German Constitutional Court's doctrine on constitutional eternity clauses influenced this development.

Static linkage: Fundamental rights, judiciary, constitutional amendments.

GS area: Economy (Foreign direct investment)

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) published the World Investment Report 2023.

• India's FDI: Increased by 10 per cent compared to the previous year. India is the third-largest host country for greenfield projects globally.
• India as project finance destination: Second-largest internationally for international project finance deals.
• Asia's share: The region accounts for over 50 per cent of global FDI inflows.
• Top five developing economy recipients: India, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, and UAE together account for approximately 80 per cent of FDI flowing to developing Asia.
• SDG infrastructure gap: The report highlighted the scale of infrastructure investment needed in energy, water, and transport to meet SDGs, which current private flows do not cover.

Static linkage: Foreign investment, economic development, international trade.

GS area: Economy, Governance

India scored 93 per cent in the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation 2023, up from 90 per cent in 2021.

• Perfect scores (100 per cent): In transparency, formalities, institutional arrangement and cooperation, and paperless trade.
• Women in trade score: Rose from 66 per cent (2021) to 78 per cent (2023).
• Key initiatives credited: Turant Customs, SWIFT system, pre-arrival data processing, and e-Sanchit (digital filing system).
• Regional standing: India outperforms Canada, France, the UK, and Germany on this index and leads South Asia.
• UNESCAP: Founded in 1947, covers 140-plus economies and evaluates 60 trade facilitation measures.

Static linkage: Trade facilitation, customs reform, digital governance.

GS area: Defence, International Relations

The seventh edition of Ex SALVEX (Salvage and Explosive Ordnance Disposal exercise) concluded between the Indian Navy and the US Navy.

• Duration: 10 days.
• Focus areas: Mine detection and neutralisation, wreck location, and salvage operations.
• Outcome: Enhanced interoperability and knowledge sharing in underwater and ordnance-disposal operations.
• Indo-US defence context: Naval exercises Varuna (with France) and MALABAR (Quad) sit alongside SALVEX as the regular exercise calendar.

Static linkage: India-US relations, defence cooperation, Indian Navy.

GS area: International Relations, Polity

India rejected the jurisdiction of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the dispute with Pakistan over the Kishenganga and Ratle hydropower projects on the Indus River system.

• Permanent Court of Arbitration: Established in 1899, headquartered in The Hague. It is one of the oldest intergovernmental dispute-resolution institutions.
• Structure: An Administrative Council, a panel of Court Members from which arbitrators are chosen, and an International Bureau (secretariat).
• Indus Waters Treaty (1960): Brokered by the World Bank. It divides the Indus system's six rivers between India and Pakistan. India gets the three eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej); Pakistan the three western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab). The Kishenganga and Ratle projects sit on western rivers.

Static linkage: International dispute resolution, India-Pakistan relations, river treaties.

• LIGO-India: The third gravitational-wave observatory planned for Hingoli, Maharashtra. Two existing LIGO facilities are in the US. The Indian facility is expected to be operational around 2030.
• Bastille Day: India's Naval Marching Contingent was invited to participate in the Bastille Day Parade in Paris on July 14, marking the 25th anniversary of the India-France strategic partnership.
• UAE Space ambitions: The UAE's National Space Fund committed AED 3 billion. The country has sent astronauts to the ISS, launched the Emirates Mars Mission, and deployed a Moon rover. India and the UAE signed a space cooperation MoU in 2016.
• US chemical weapons destruction: The US completed destruction of its last declared stockpile of GB (Sarin) nerve-agent rockets, meeting its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention (effective 1997). India signed the convention in January 1993 and passed the Chemical Weapons Convention Act in 2000.