14 August 2023

• Polity: The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023 received Presidential assent on 14 August 2023, becoming the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
• Criminal Law: The three new criminal law Bills (BNS, BNSS, BSB) were referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee for detailed examination.
• Conservation: Asian elephants received fresh attention with updated census data; India has 33 Elephant Reserves across 14 states.
• Education: The Soil Health Card Scheme was merged into the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana from 2022-23; a GIS-integrated portal was upgraded.

GS area: Polity, Governance

The day after their introduction, the three criminal law reform Bills were referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee for examination. The reforms touch the core architecture of India's criminal justice system.

• Sedition repeal: Section 124A of the IPC (sedition) is absent from the BNS. A new offence of "acts endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India" is introduced. Critics argue the replacement is broader and equally problematic.
• Mob lynching: The BNS explicitly criminalises murder or grievous hurt committed by a group of five or more on grounds of race, caste, community, sex, religion, or language. This is the first explicit statutory recognition of mob lynching.
• Mandatory forensics: BNSS requires forensic examination for offences punishable with seven or more years. Forensic teams must visit crime scenes. This is a significant evidence-quality reform.
• Police custody: The maximum period of police custody is extended in serious cases. A detainee can be held in police custody for up to 15 days in multiple tranches within the first 40 days of arrest. Critics see this as an increase in the risk of custodial torture.
• Organised crime chapter: The BNS adds a chapter on organised crime and terrorism, previously covered only partially under special laws like UAPA.
• Digital FIR: The BNSS allows electronic First Information Reports and summons.

Static linkage: Criminal procedure, constitutional safeguards against arrest (Articles 22, 20), law reform (GS Paper 2).

GS area: Economy (energy), Environment

The government announced the revival of 12 stalled hydroelectric projects in Arunachal Pradesh with a combined capacity of 11,517 MW.

• Arunachal's potential: The state has an estimated hydropower potential of approximately 50,000 MW, the highest of any Indian state.
• Allocation: The projects are being allocated to central hydropower public sector undertakings under the Ministry of Power.
• National hydropower target: India's national target is 66 GW of hydropower by 2030. Installed capacity was approximately 47 GW in 2023.
• Concerns: Large hydropower projects in Arunachal face environmental concerns including fragmentation of river ecosystems, seismic risk (the state is in a high seismic zone), and impacts on downstream riparian communities in Bangladesh and Myanmar.
• Arunachal geography: Arunachal Pradesh is the easternmost state of India, sharing borders with Bhutan, China, and Myanmar. Its rivers flow into the Brahmaputra.

Static linkage: Energy policy, Himalayan rivers, northeast India (GS Paper 3).

GS area: Environment, Social Justice

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) endorsed the Inclusive Conservation Initiative (ICI) in 2022. The programme supports Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) in conservation.

• Key finding: Less than 1 per cent of global climate mitigation and adaptation funding reaches Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, despite their role in managing biodiversity-rich territories.
• Scale: Indigenous and community lands cover approximately 22 per cent of the earth's surface and hold about 80 per cent of the world's remaining biodiversity.
• Forest Rights Act (India): The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 recognises the rights of tribals and other forest dwellers over forest lands. It is the domestic counterpart to international frameworks on IPLC rights.
• GEF: The Global Environment Facility channels funding for global environmental projects. It serves as the financial mechanism for the Convention on Biological Diversity, UNFCCC, and the Stockholm Convention.

Static linkage: Biodiversity conservation, tribal rights, international environment conventions (GS Paper 3).

GS area: Agriculture, Governance

The Soil Health Card Scheme was merged into the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) from 2022-23. The merged scheme continues to provide farmers with cards indicating soil nutrient status and fertiliser recommendations.

• Soil Health Card Scheme: Initiated in 2014-15. Provides farmers a card with 12 soil nutrient parameters including pH, organic carbon, available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and six micronutrients.
• GIS integration: The Soil Health Card portal was upgraded with Geographic Information System mapping.
• Village Level Soil Testing Labs (VLSTLs): Established by rural entrepreneurs, SHGs, and schools to bring soil testing closer to farmers.
• RKVY: Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana is an umbrella scheme for agricultural development. It funds state-specific programmes.
• Significance: Excess fertiliser use causes soil degradation and groundwater pollution. Targeted application based on soil tests reduces input costs and environmental damage.

Static linkage: Agricultural schemes, soil management (GS Paper 3).

GS area: Polity, Education

The CBSE issued a directive emphasising mother-tongue instruction in the early years of education. The constitutional framework supports this.

• Article 30(1): Minorities, whether religious or linguistic, have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice.
• Article 350A: Directs every state and local authority to provide adequate facilities for instruction in the mother tongue at the primary stage to children belonging to linguistic minority groups.
• Article 350B: Provides for a Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities appointed by the President. The Officer reports on safeguards for linguistic minorities.
• Article 351: Directs the Union to promote the spread of Hindi while assuring that the diversity of composite culture is not affected.
• UNESCO's position: UNESCO recommends a minimum of six years of mother-tongue education before switching to another medium.
• National Education Policy 2020: Recommends use of home language or mother tongue as the medium of instruction up to Grade 5, and preferably up to Grade 8.

Static linkage: Linguistic rights, minority rights, constitutional provisions (GS Paper 2).

• Climate change and language extinction: Migration triggered by environmental disasters is contributing to language loss, particularly among indigenous communities in Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Indonesia, India, and the Philippines.
• IMF Quota Review (16th General Review): India's position in IMF quota reviews focuses on increasing voting share for emerging economies. The Special Drawing Right (SDR) is composed primarily of the US dollar (60 per cent), with the euro, Chinese yuan, Japanese yen, and British pound making up the rest.
• Janjatiya Gaurav Corridor: The government allocated 70,000 crore rupees in 2023-24 for a rail connectivity corridor through tribal-dominated regions of central India.