• January 25, 2023

Women in Command Roles of India Army

In News

• The Indian army promoted female officers to command units in their respective arms and services for the first time.

About

• Eighty female officers in the Indian Army have been approved for promotion to the rank of Colonel (selection grade), enabling them for the first time to command units in their individual armed forces.

• The Special No. 3 Selection Board chose the female officers for promotion from the rank of lieutenant colonel to colonel in order to put them on par with their male counterparts.

• From the class of 1992 through 2006, women were chosen as officers in a number of weapons and services, including the Army Air Defence, Engineers, Signals, Intelligence Corps, Army Service Corps, Army Ordnance Corps, and Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.

• The Army Ordnance Corps, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, and the Corps of Engineers are the ones with the most openings.

Women Induction in Army: A battle long fought

• 1992While the Indian Army Medical Corps began inducting women in 1993, women were first admitted as officers in non-medical positions.
• 2010: The Delhi High Court declared that the Indian Army’s policy of prohibiting women from serving in combat roles violated the Constitution and was discriminatory.
• 2013: The Supreme Court affirmed the Indian Army’s decision to bar women from some combat duties, citing social norms and a lack of infrastructure as reasons why the Indian Army was not prepared for women in combat roles.
• 2016: The Indian Army declared that it would start allowing women to serve in combat capacities in a few of its armed forces, beginning with the Corps of Military Police.
• 2017: According to the Supreme Court, women in the Army should be offered equal opportunity, even in combat roles.
• 2020: The Indian Army said that all positions, including those requiring combat experience, would be open to women.
• 2021:  The Indian army begins to enlist women as fighter pilots for short service commissions.
• Violation of Rights

• Right to equality(Article 14): Since it discriminates against women based on their gender, the Indian Army’s exclusion of women from several positions has been viewed as a breach of this right.
• Right to work(Article 15): The exclusion of women denies them  the opportunity to work in certain roles based solely on their gender.
• Right to non-discrimination(Article 16): The exclusion of women from certain roles in the Indian Army is a violation of the right to non-discrimination, as it discriminates against women on the basis of their gender.
• Right to life and personal liberty(Article 21): The exclusion of women is a violation of the right to life and personal liberty, as it denies women the opportunity to serve their country and defend their rights and liberties.
• Right to education(Article 21): Exclusion from certain roles in the Indian Army is a violation of the right to education, as it denies women the opportunity to pursue education and training in certain fields.
• Right to freedom of expression(Article 19): The exclusion of women denies women the opportunity to express themselves and their capabilities through their work.

Way Ahead

• While allowing women to serve in the army on an equal basis is a progressive move, the Indian Army should make efforts to improve the conditions for women, such as by increasing the number of women-only barracks and offering childcare services.

• Although there have been difficulties in integrating women into the Indian Army, there is a need to advance the general trend because so many women have been successful in their careers and made significant contributions to the armed forces.

Source: TH

Road Accidents in India

In News

• The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has stressed the need for collective efforts if road accidents are to be cut in half by the end of 2025.

About

• Efforts of MoRTH: 
  • • o It has carried out numerous activities in relation to all 4Es of Road Safety by:
    • Engineering,
    •  Enforcement,
    • Instruction and
    • The Emergency Care.

o To further the cause of Safer Roads for All, the Ministry observed Road Safety Week (RSW) from January 11 through January 17, 2023, as part of “Swachhata Pakhwada”.

o It is dedicated to lowering traffic-related fatalities and injuries.

Causes of Road Accident in India

• Over Speeding and Undisciplined Driving:  Overspeeding is a contributing factor in over 50000 accidents in India.
• Motorization and Urbanisation: are also the primary factors in deadly car accidents.
• Faulty Road Designs: Lack of caution signs, big potholes, illegal speed breakers.
• Ineffective and Inefficient road regulations: due to unlawful speed breakers, large potholes, and a lack of warning signs.
• Encroachment of Road: Unruly road congestion caused by hawkers disrupts normal movements of vehicles.
• Laxity in Driving License Regulations: Lax procedure in obtaining a driving license
• Inefficient Public Transport: In India, the public chooses private vehicles due to the lack of end-to-end public transportation and its inefficiency.
  • • Impact of Road Accidents

• Social effects of Road Traffic Accidents:  Include the victims’ lost productivity, the expense of the judicial system, the strain on the healthcare system, and the loss of quality of life.
• Economic Effect: As per UN report, reducing road traffic deaths and injuries could result in substantial long-term income gains (Fair movement of goods, Logistics). India loses 3% of its GDP due to road accidents.
• Burden on Women: About 40% of women reported a change in their working patterns post-accident (More responsibility, more burden of family)

Image Courtesy: TH 

Laws and Initiatives

• Global Initiatives:
  • Brasilia Declaration on Road Safety (2015): Adopted at the second international high-level road safety conference held in Brazil. (This was signed by India)
  • International Road Assessment programme (iRAP): a recognised charity whose mission is to save lives by promoting safer driving.
  • Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030: is to reduce at least 50% of traffic-related fatalities and injuries by 2030.
  • Geneva Convention: India, being a signatory to Convention on International Road Traffic of 1949 (Geneva Convention). 
• Indian:
  • Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act: The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, was introduced to update the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 in order to increase road safety in India.
  • The amendment Act has introduced heavy fines for various offences
  • 3-Year Action Agenda of NITI Aayog: highlighting the action plan for standardising accident reporting.

Way Ahead

• To regulate the working hours of truck drivers, the government should pass legislation.

• To raise public awareness of road safety, initiatives like the telethon and the “Sadak Suraksha Abhiyan” outreach campaign should be implemented.

• Road infrastructure and vehicle design must adhere to safety standards.

• It is urgently necessary to increase capacity and provide proper training.

Source: AIR

Military Rule in Myanmar and Way Forward For 2023

In News 

• The military-run nation of Myanmar just celebrated 75 years of independence.

About

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of Myanmar’s junta, declared that the elections would take place in August 2023.

Internal Situation of Myanmar 

• Coup: The military took control of Myanmar on February 1, 2021, ending the nation’s shaky journey to democracy.
  • It used widespread election fraud, which Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy easily won in 2020, to defend the coup.
    • Such accusations have been refuted by independent observers.

 • In the weeks following the coup, massive crowds of people participated in widespread protests.

• Army’s Response: The military responded with deadly violence and imposed a campaign of terror, raiding homes and arresting anyone suspected of supporting democracy.

• In contrast to 2021, the resistance adopted more violent forms and mostly spread to the country’s north and west.
• The dictatorship has imposed more restrictions on political parties by forbidding them from speaking with foreigners or international organisations without the election body’s consent.

Repercussions 

• Safety and protection: Conflict-related restrictions on the flow of aid, commodities, and people were combined with increased security measures and the refusal of travel authorizations.
  • Front-line workers and those in the humanitarian sector are increasingly targets of arbitrary arrests and detentions, raising severe questions about their safety and protection.
• Media freedom:  It was also curtailed and the Information Ministry imposed pre-broadcast censorship on local and foreign television
• Refugee problem: The prolonged violence has caused extensive internal and external displacement, which has exacerbated the refugee crisis in the country’s neighbours, particularly in India and Thailand.
•  Incidents of money laundering and drug trafficking have grown throughout bordering countries, particularly in Thailand and India.
  •  Finally, the use of drugs has increased nationally, harming the younger generation’s health and potential.
  •  There are also rumours that Myanmar is becoming a major centre for people trafficking.
• The environmental crisis: It  also loomed over the country as the military regime was unable to take initiatives to address the problems of climate change. 
• Economic: The price of basic commodities increased.In addition, as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war, there was a rise in the cost of fertilisers leading to a shortage in the production of food in Myanmar. 

• The banking sector has seen a slowdown, with a number of private bank branches closing due to armed resistance and instability, as well as Military Council guidelines that restricted fund transfers and limited cash withdrawals.
• Since the coup, there have also been concerns over the shortage of electricity and frequent power cuts across the country. 

Response of Global Community 

• The military’s acts may have been crimes against humanity and war crimes, according to the UN human rights office.
•  In December 2022, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Myanmar and requesting the release of political prisoners, including State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi.
  •  In the Security Council of the 15 nations, 12 members voted in favour, while Russia, China, and India did not participate.
•  Myanmar was listed by the US as one of 12 nations where breaches of religious freedom are “particularly concerning.”
  • They claimed that Christian minorities are currently subject to comparable persecution as the Rohingya.

• Several rounds of sanctions were levied by the EU on Min Aung Hlaing as well as military-run corporations and businesses.

• •  In addition, the EU did not invite Myanmar to its summit with ASEAN’s top officials.
• China maintained close relations with the military by providing both defence and economic assistance.

Impact on India 

• There have also been reports of illegal products being transported and of persons moving across borders.

• The Act East policy of India, which had become more active and outcome-oriented since 2014, has suffered as a result.

• It has hampered growth in the Northeast and badly harmed India’s efforts to reach out to the thriving economies of South East Asia.

• As a result, the Center’s efforts to launch future peace projects are being hampered.

o It is further alarming and calls for prompt response because there have been reports of Chinese intelligence interfering with and aiding these violent organisations.

• Security concerns for the local stakeholders in the NER are sacrificed in India’s approach to the military takeover in Myanmar.

Options available for India 

• Ongoing formal and informal contact with the conflicting factions in Myanmar is necessary.

• Positive bilateral ties with Bangladesh present a chance to establish a new land-sea connectivity axis for fostering trade and business with Southeast Asia.

The numerous land connections from Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura that connect to the seaports in Bangladesh must be upgraded.

• On a war footing, necessary infrastructure such as container depots, cold storage facilities, and seamless motorways will need to be built.

• In order to have easy access to Bangladesh’s seaports, manufactured commodities from India will need to be carried to rail/roadheads in the Northeast like Guwahati.

• It is necessary to create a department with the authority to oversee and support projects that advance India’s Act East policy, encompassing all crucial Ministries such as Home, External Affairs, Industry, Surface-River Transport, etc.

Way Forward 

• As the country crisis enters its third year, it is important that all stakeholders are at the table to establish a peaceful and long-term solution. 
• The year 2023, therefore, will be a very significant due to likely scenarios that might unfold in Myanmar and their impact on South Asia as well as Southeast Asia.
• India needs to maintain a close look at the situation at the borders to ensure security. 
  • The increase in violence could further lead to an influx of refugees, which could create an economic and social burden in the Northeastern states.
  • Furthermore, the security of the border states is important given the increasing incidents of drug and arms trafficking.

•  there is a need to ensure the continued economic development of Northeastern states. 
  • Positive overtures by the Government of India will not only improve the security situation but reassure the locals that the region’s interest is paramount and kickstart the stalling economic outreach to the east.

Saansad Khel Mahakumabh

In News, 

Inaugurating the Saansad Khel Mahakumbh’s second phase was India’s Prime Minister. 2022-23.

About Saansad Khel Mahakumbh 

•  Harish Dwivedi, a representative for Basti since 2021, has organised the Saansad Khel Mahakumbh in the district.
• The Khel Mahakumbh hosts a variety of contests in both indoor and outdoor sports, such as chess, carrom, badminton, table tennis, basketball, football, hockey, volleyball, and kho kho.
  • In addition to these, competitions in painting, rangoli making, and essay writing are also held during the Khel Mahakumbh.
• Significance: The Khel Mahakumbh is a novel initiative that provides an opportunity and a platform for the youth of District Basti and neighbouring areas to showcase their sporting talent, and motivates them to take sport as a career option. 
  • It also endeavours to inculcate the spirit of discipline, teamwork, healthy competition, self-confidence and nationalism among the youth of the region.

Source: PIB

Nano Fertilizers

In News

• IFFCO’s nano fertilisers and Amul’s dairy products will be among the first few goods the nation’s first-ever National Export Co-operative Society is anticipated to export.

More about the nanofertilizers

• Nanotechnology in fertilizers:
  • Nanotechnology may present a once-in-a-lifetime chance to create concentrated sources of plant nutrients with increased absorption rates, usage efficacy, and minimal losses. Nanotechnology uses nanoparticles with a size of less than 100 nm.
  • Plant nutrients are delivered to plants in the form of nano-sized emulsions and then enclosed in nanomaterials to create nanofertilizers.
• A nanofertilizers delivers nutrients to crops in one of three ways: 
  • The nutrient can be :
    • encapsulated inside nanomaterials such as nanotubes or nanoporous materials, 
    • coated with a thin protective polymer film, or 
    • delivered as particles or emulsions of nanoscale dimensions. 
• Significance:

o Due to a high surface area to volume ratio, nanofertilizers may be more successful than even the most cutting-edge polymer-coated traditional fertilisers, which have made little progress in recent years.

In comparison with the existing fertilizers:

• Absorption & Runoff:

o Due to the massive amount of runoff they create, conventional fertilisers can be hazardous to the environment.

• According to studies, more than half of the fertiliser given to soil is typically lost to the environment.
  • Nanofertilizers have a very high surface area to volume ratio, which contributes to their increased absorption efficiency into the targeted plant.
    • Absorption efficiencies of up to 90.6% were attained in a study on the usage of phosphorus nano-fertilizers, making them a highly sought-after fertiliser component.
    • Pattern of release:

The capacity to offer delayed nutrient release into the plant over a 40–50 day period with nanofertilizers, as opposed to the 4–10 day timeframe with conventional fertilisers, is another advantageous feature of employing them.

Changes to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC)

In News

• The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code has recently been subject to a number of revisions proposed by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) (IBC).

Key Proposed Changes

• Empowering National Company Law Tribunal:
  •  The government has suggested giving the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) the authority to impose high fines on anyone who violate IBC regulations.
  • Because the new measures provide NCLT more discretion, strengthening NCLT will be a priority for its efficient implementation.
• Fast-tracking the Process:
  • It has also explicitly clarified that the adjudicating authority must admit an insolvency case if the default is established and need not get into other specifics like the reason for the default, etc, which was delaying the admission of applications.
• Electronic Platform Minimal Human Interface:
  • The ministry has suggested developing a state-of-the-art electronic platform that can handle several processes under the Code with minimum human interface.
  • This e-platform may provide for a case management system, automated processes to file applications with the Adjudicating Authority (AA), delivery of notices, enabling interaction of IPs (Insolvency Professionals) with stakeholders, storage of records of CDs (Corporate Debtors) undergoing the process, and incentivising participation of other market players in the IBC ecosystem.
• Recasting Liquidation Process:
  • The liquidation process is also sought to be made more open, flexible and equitable to provide comfort to the creditors
• Redesigning the Fast-Track Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (FIRP):
  • In order to strengthen the legal certainty of the outcome, the ministry has also suggested modifying the Fast-Track Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (FIRP) to permit financial creditors to direct the insolvency resolution process for a CD outside of the legal system.
  • Additionally, the resolution plan certified via this process will possess the same sanctity as a conventional plan approved by the CIRP (Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process).
• Special framework for real estate: 
  • The ministry has pitched for a special framework for real estate to limit bankruptcy proceedings to only insolvent projects.
• Transfer of the Ownership:
  • Another proposal is to enable a resolution professional to transfer the ownership and possession of a plot, apartment or building to the allottees with the consent of the CoC (Committee of Creditors).
• Multiple Resolution Plans: 
  • It will allow multiple resolution plans for a single stressed firm (in all sectors).
  • The ministry proposed a change in the mechanism to distribute resolution proceeds.
• New Waterfall Mechanism:
  • The MCA has proposed a new waterfall mechanism under which creditors will receive proceeds up to the stressed firm’s liquidation value in the order of priority already stipulated (secured financial creditors gets precedence over usually unsecured operational creditors). 
  • But any surplus over such liquidation value will be proportionately distributed among all creditors in the ratio of their unsatisfied claims.
• Extension of Insolvency Framework:
  • It extended the so-called prepackaged insolvency framework–meant for only MSMEs–to larger entities.

Significance of Changes

• By using technology and clarifying pertinent sections to enable easier implementation, the improvements would streamline different processes and procedures.

• It will speed up the resolution process and reduce delays.

• It will stop strained asset value from declining and partially rein in unruly stakeholders.

• India will get closer to foreign prepack regimes as a result of the suggestions on prepack and out-of-court resolution (fast track resolution), with an optional moratorium and NCLT sanction.

Conclusion

• Based on historical difficulties with specific articles and clauses, the fundamental problems have been found and a proposed course of action for their gradual correction has been put out.

• If properly carried out, these recommendations would lead to an efficient settlement of insolvency.

• The bankruptcy watchdog, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), should be aware that these proposals shouldn’t open the door to new legal disputes because doing so would hinder the resolution process as a whole.

Source: FE + ET

Polycrisis

In News

• In its “Global Risks Report 2023,” the World Economic Forum said that the Russia-Ukraine conflict could lead to several crises around the world.

What is Polycrisis?

French complexity theorist Edgar Morin initially introduced the term polycrisis in the 1990s.

• When numerous crises in numerous global systems become causally intertwined in ways that considerably worsen the prospects for humanity. If their host systems weren’t so intricately linked, these interacting crises would do more harm than the total of the harms they would individually.

• Former European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker coined the term “polycrisis” to describe Europe’s explosive condition in 2016, which included debt with Brexit, climate change, and a refugee crisis.

World Economic Forum on Polycrisis 

• • According to the analysis, there are a number of threats that the globe is confronting that are both entirely new and uncannily similar.
• • There are hazards that are more established and well-known that are entwining with new and emerging risks, which taken together could cause a polycrisis.
• Older risks: These include inflation, cost-of-living crisis, trade wars, capital outflows from emerging markets, widespread social unrest, geopolitical confrontation and the spectre of nuclear warfare. 
• New developments: These include unsustainable levels of debt, a new era of low growth, low global investment and de-globalisation, a decline in human development, and the growing pressure of climate change. 

The report categorises these global risks into short term and the long term risks. 

• Short term risks: These include escalating living expenses, sluggish economic expansion, and limited global food and energy supplies.
• Long term risks: These are failure to mitigate climate change, failure to adapt to climate change, extreme weather events, and the threat of biodiversity collapse.
• The report further goes on to state that these risks may converge into a polycrisis by the end of the decade.

Reasons for these Risks

• Recent Events: Energy and food prices skyrocketed as a result of the conflict in Ukraine. A global cost-of-living problem that resulted from the ensuing inflationary pressures sparked societal discontent.
  • The globe is currently dealing with a remarkable variety of crises at once, from the COVID-19 pandemic’s reverberating effects to wars and conflicts around the world, from high inflation and sluggish economic growth to increasingly catastrophic weather events.
  • On top of everything else, carbon emissions increased as economies recovered from the pandemic.
• Persistent events: Due to population expansion and socioeconomic progress, there is an increase in the need for food, water, and energy.
  •  There is an extraordinary demand for rare minerals and metals as a result of the rise of renewable energy systems.
  • The mismatch between supply and demand for these resources could have disastrous repercussions, such as ecological collapse, trade conflicts, and interstate military warfare.
• The report describes four potential futures centred around food, water and metals and mineral shortages, all of which could spark a humanitarian as well as an ecological crisis – from water wars and famines to continued overexploitation of ecological resources and a slowdown in climate mitigation and adaptation.  

Recommendations as per the Report

Similar foresight exercises might assist foresee potential links, guiding preparedness efforts toward decreasing the extent and scope of polycrises before they happen, given the ambiguous relationships between global hazards.

• As a result, many countries have shifted their priorities away from climate change and global development when they are most needed and toward short-term dangers like addressing food shortages or energy shortages.

• It calls on world leaders to address the problem of trust erosion. “Addressing the erosion of trust in multilateral processes will strengthen the safeguards we have in place to address well-established dangers and enhance our collective ability to prevent and respond to emerging cross-border crises,”.

• It further encourages leaders to work together, make decisions, and act with a long-term perspective in order to pave the way for a society that is more optimistic, inclusive, and stable.

Source: Firstpost

Shadow Banning

Tags:  Miscellaneous

 In News 

• In reference to the so-called Twitter Files, internal company records that were made public with Musk’s approval, Elon Musk used the phrase “Shadow banning.”

About ‘Shadow banning’ 

• The phrase frequently refers to covert efforts taken by social media sites to reduce the exposure of a post.

• The phrase “shadow ban” dates back at least to 2012, when Reddit users claimed that the platform’s administrators had banned a link to a Gawker story while avowing transparency in public.

The term’s definition has changed. Now, even if users don’t necessarily believe a platform has engaged in any covert moderation, it might reflect their general dissatisfaction with not receiving the attention they feel they deserve on social media.

Concerns

• Private businesses are permitted to establish their own guidelines for content management, but actual shadow bans are troublesome for advertisers, users, and supporters of free expression because they impose vague regulations in secret.

• They enable a business to cover up its flow manipulation while avoiding accepting responsibility for content moderation. Additionally, those who are silenced lack a mechanism for coming out of hiding.

Source:IE