30 April 2024

• Governance: The Centre announces the Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children (CCPWC) scheme for FY 2024-29, extending online protection.
• Society: Parliamentary committee report on excessive digital screen time among children.
• Elections: Star campaigner rules under the Representation of the People Act become a focus as all parties field high-profile campaigners in Phase 3 states.
• Infrastructure: Project ISHAN will create a unified air traffic management at Nagpur as the midpoint for Indian airspace.
• Biodiversity: Tamil Nadu's Nilgiri Tahr population survey shows a recovery to approximately 3,122 individuals.
• International: Second Thomas Shoal standoff between Philippines and China continues, with India reiterating freedom of navigation principles.

GS area: Governance, Internal Security

The Ministry of Home Affairs has approved the continuation of the Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children (CCPWC) scheme for FY 2024-25 to 2028-29.

Key facts:

• CCPWC scheme: Established to strengthen law enforcement against online crimes targeting women and children: non-consensual image sharing, online child sexual abuse material (CSAM), cyber stalking, and online trafficking.
• National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (cybercrime.gov.in): Launched under CCPWC. Citizens can report cyber crimes including child pornography directly. All complaints are routed to state police for action.
• Cyber Forensic Training: The scheme funds training of police officers in cyber forensics, improving investigation capability.
• IT Act, 2000: Section 67B penalises publishing or transmitting CSAM. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 also covers digital offences against minors.
• National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB): Reports annual data on cyber crimes. Cyber crimes registered in India grew from 44,546 (2019) to 1,51,913 (2022).

Static linkage: governance, internal security, women, children.

GS area: Society, Governance (child welfare)

A parliamentary standing committee released a report on excessive digital screen time among Indian children, recommending regulatory intervention.

Key facts:

• WHO guidance: The WHO recommends: no screen time for children under 2 years; no more than 1 hour for ages 3-5; consistent limits for ages 6 and above.
• India's situation: IAMAI data suggests Indian children average over 3 hours of daily screen time, concentrated on social media, video streaming, and gaming.
• National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR): Statutory body established under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005. It monitors child rights, including digital environments.
• Digital education vs harm balance: School closures during COVID-19 accelerated digital device use. The parliamentary report noted the need to balance digital education access with protection from harm.
• Proposed measures: Age verification requirements for social media, parental consent mandates, and curriculum on digital literacy.
• Data Protection Act, 2023: Provides for data processing limitations for children below 18, including parental consent requirements.

Static linkage: society, governance, technology.

GS area: Governance (Infrastructure)

Project ISHAN (Indian Single Sky Harmonized Air Traffic Management) will establish a unified airspace management centre at Nagpur, covering all Indian airspace.

Key facts:

• Current structure: India's airspace is managed in two regions: Northern (Delhi) and Southern (Chennai), by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
• ISHAN objective: Merge these into a single unified air traffic management (ATM) centre at Nagpur, leveraging its central geographic position.
• Benefits:
  • Reduced airspace fragmentation, improving flight path efficiency.
  • Fuel savings estimated at Rs 1,000 crore annually.
  • Lower carbon emissions from aviation.
  • Improved safety through unified traffic flow management.
• ICAO: International Civil Aviation Organisation (UN agency, 1947). India is a contracting state. ICAO standards govern air traffic management.
• Nagpur as aviation hub: Nagpur's central location and MIHAN (Multi-modal International Cargo Hub and Airport at Nagpur) are being developed as a regional logistics centre.

Static linkage: infrastructure, governance, environment.

GS area: Economy (taxation, redistribution)

The inheritance tax debate re-emerged in India in April 2024 after a Congress manifesto reference and statements by Sam Pitroda on wealth redistribution.

Key facts:

• India's history with inheritance tax: India had a wealth/estate duty until 1985 when it was abolished by the Rajiv Gandhi government.
• What is inheritance tax: A tax on wealth transferred to heirs upon the death of a person. Distinct from income tax. Countries with inheritance tax include the US (federal estate tax above $12 million), UK (40 per cent above £325,000), Japan (highest rate 55 per cent).
• Arguments in favour: Reduces intergenerational wealth concentration, funds public services, promotes equality of opportunity.
• Arguments against: Double taxation (wealth already taxed once during accumulation); may lead to capital flight; difficult to administer for family-owned businesses and agricultural land.
• Malabar Hill ruling: The Supreme Court's Article 39(b) case (being heard separately) touches on the question of state's power to redistribute private resources, with conceptual overlap.
• India's current wealth taxes: No separate inheritance or estate tax. Long-term Capital Gains Tax (LTCG) applies to asset sales by heirs.

Static linkage: economy, polity.

GS area: International Relations (Geopolitics)

The Philippines' resupply missions to its troops stationed on the BRP Sierra Madre at Second Thomas Shoal continued to face Chinese coast guard interference in April 2024.

Key facts:

• Second Thomas Shoal (Ayungin Shoal): A submerged reef in the Spratly Islands, South China Sea. Claimed by China, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
• BRP Sierra Madre: A deliberately grounded (1999) Philippine naval vessel. The Philippines maintains a small military detachment on it to assert its claim.
• China's position: Claims almost the entire South China Sea within the "Nine-Dash Line," which the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruling found to have no basis in UNCLOS.
• UNCLOS (1982): UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Defines Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ, 200 nautical miles) and territorial waters (12 nautical miles). China has not complied with the PCA ruling.
• India's position: India supports freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea and UNCLOS-based maritime order, without directly endorsing any claimant's specific position.
• US-Philippines mutual defence treaty (1951): The US has confirmed it covers the Second Thomas Shoal if Philippine forces are attacked.

Static linkage: international relations, geopolitics, India's foreign policy.

GS area: Environment (Biodiversity)

Tamil Nadu's survey of the Nilgiri Tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius) found a population of approximately 3,122 individuals, showing recovery.

Key facts:

• Nilgiri Tahr: An ungulate endemic to the Western Ghats. Found primarily in the Nilgiri Hills and adjacent mountain ranges (Tamil Nadu and Kerala). The State Animal of Tamil Nadu.
• IUCN status: Endangered.
• Survey methodology: The 2024 survey used camera traps and transect walks across the Nilgiris, Anaimalais, and High Range.
• Largest populations: Eravikulam National Park (Kerala) and the Nilgiris plateau in Tamil Nadu.
• Threats: Habitat loss due to tea and coffee estate expansion, invasive species (Lantana camara), climate change affecting montane grasslands (sholas), and disease.
• Project Nilgiri Tahr: Tamil Nadu government programme to boost the population to 5,000 by 2035.
• Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot: One of 36 global biodiversity hotspots (as per Conservation International's classification). Home to over 7,400 plant species, 139 mammal species, and high endemism.

Static linkage: environment, biodiversity, Western Ghats.