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Govt & Politics
With the aim of modernising the economy surrounding cows and cow-based products, working papers published by the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) have suggested the use of a ‘social token’ system and AI-based animal face recognition.
In a paper titled ‘Special Token Economics for GAU Coin’, a team of four led by professor Amit Garg, Public Systems Group, IIM-A, proposed the use of GAU Coins as the social tokens, which would be developed keeping in mind all the aspects of ‘token economics’, including a rewards system, incentivisation, ways to increase adoption, methods to measure social impact, and more.
GAU, which stands for Gai Aadharit Unnati (cow-based development), is what the authors of the paper call their model to modernise the cow-based economy through the application of advanced technology.
As part of the GAU model, multiple stakeholders like companies, NGOs, gaushalas, donors, and the government are brought together. Technology plays a major role in the GAU model by being an enabler.
We have also identified various GAU Coin ecosystem partners and enablers, and looked at how they can interact with the ecosystem.
Garg is confident that the model will be widely accepted. “We are trying to change the way society thinks about cows and livestock.
Express network
Need safe space for women in sports, redressal system: SC judge (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, Judiciary)
Amid the ongoing case over complaints of sexual harassment filed by some wrestlers against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, BJP MP and outgoing president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), Supreme Court judge Justice Hima Kohli has underlined the need to put in place a robust mechanism to report gender-based misconduct and time-bound redressal of such complaints.
Addressing a national seminar on “women empowerment through sports” at the Campus Law Centre at Delhi University on Friday, she said this should include setting up of helplines, establishing independent statutory committees to probe complaints, and imposing strict penalties on offenders.
Creating a safe and inclusive environment will send a powerful message to the entire society that women in sports deserve respect, dignity and protection from all forms of discrimination and harassment.
Recently, in a judgment dealing with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, popularly known as the PoSH Act, Justice Kohli, writing for a two-judge bench, had flagged a report in a “national daily newspaper” that 16 of the 30 national sports federations don’t have an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) as stipulated under PoSH.
The Indian Express had reported on May 4 that half of the national sports federations don’t have ICCs as per the law. The Indian Express investigation had found that five federations, including wrestling, don’t have an ICC; four don’t have the stipulated number of members; another six lacked the mandatory external member, and one federation had two panels but none with an independent member.
Karnataka govt tables Bill to undo farm law amendments (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The Congress government in Karnataka has introduced a Bill in the state Assembly to undo the changes made by the previous BJP government to the agricultural produce marketing law that had allowed the sale of farm products outside Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) markets.
This was one of the first steps by the current government towards fulfilling its poll promise of repealing “unjust laws” passed by its predecessor in the state.
The Karnataka Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation and Development) (Amendment) Act, 2023, introduced last week by Agricultural Marketing Minister Shivanand Patil, seeks to return the state to a regime where the sale of all agricultural produce must occur through the markets of the APMC.
In 2021, following farmers’ protests, the BJP government at the Centre withdrew its own amendment that had allowed the sale of produce outside APMCs.
However, the party’s government in the state at the time did not follow suit, saying that the state law preceded the central law.
In his Budget speech on Friday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the modifications to the APMC Act by the BJP was one of the causes for the collapse of APMC markets in the state.
Opinion
Reform (not uniform) personal laws (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
The Constitution of India has a whole chapter on Directive Principles of State Policy pertaining to the welfare of citizens. Article 44 is one among 18 articles of Chapter IV which contains the directive principles.
From the point of view of equality and non-discrimination, the directive in Article 38(2) to minimise the inequalities in income and to eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities is important.
The directive in Article 39 is a central pillar of the chapter from the point of view of social and economic justice. Article 43 directs the State to secure a ‘living wage’ and is the aspiration of millions belonging to the working classes.
Sadly, there is hardly any debate on these directive principles. They are not on the government’s agenda. Article 44 alone has occupied much of the political space, thanks to the agenda of the RSS-BJP and some observations of the Supreme Court.
Let’s look at the language of Article 44: “The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.” Words have meaning.
Unlike Humpty Dumpty’s answer to Alice, a word does not mean ‘what I choose it to mean’. ‘Uniform’ is not ‘common’. ‘Shall endeavour to secure’ is not ‘shall secure’. Babasaheb Ambedkar and his colleagues were not ignoramuses.
They had a deep knowledge and understanding of the history, religions, caste differences, social and family systems, cultural practices and customs of the Indian people, and they chose the words of Chapter IV carefully.
World
US treasury Secy urges cooperation with China over climate, economy (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urged closer communication between China and the United States to improve economic decision-making and challenged China to join global initiatives to help poorer nations address climate change.
Despite bilateral tensions, record high U.S.-Chinese trade last year showed there was “ample room” to engage in trade and investment, and it was critical to focus on areas of common interest and address disagreements through dialogue, Yellen told Chinese Premier He Lifeng at the start of a meeting that a Treasury official said would last for more than three hours.
Yellen’s visit through Sunday is Washington’s latest attempt to repair ties between the world’s two biggest economies, battered over issues from Taiwan to technology that have drawn their allies into their rivalry, having an impact on companies and trade ties.
Like U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who visited last month for the first time in Joe Biden’s presidency, Yellen is seeking a delicate balance between conciliation and continuing to push Beijing to halt practices Washington says are harmful to U.S. and Western companies.
Both sides have downplayed expectations for breakthroughs, while hailing the opportunity for candid, face-to-face diplomacy.
Economy
Why does TRAI want to regulate Whatsapp similar OTT services? (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Almost three years after it first recommended against creating a specific regulatory framework for over-the-top (OTT) communication services like WhatsApp, Zoom, and Google Meet, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is revisiting its stance and starting consultations on how these services can be regulated.
In a consultation paper released Friday (June 7), the TRAI has asked stakeholders to send suggestions about regulating services and whether a selective banning of OTT services can be done as opposed to shutting down the entire Internet. Regulating such services has been a long standing demand of telecom operators, who have for years, been advocating for ‘same service same rules’.
The development signals the intersectionality in regulations around Internet services, with multiple government agencies claiming a stake in the sector.
The draft telecom Bill released by the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) last year had also recommended bringing OTT services under its ambit by creating a licensing regime for them. The IT Ministry is already the nodal ministry for regulating such services.
In September 2020, TRAI recommended against regulatory intervention for OTT platforms, saying that it should be left to market forces. However, it also said that the sector should be monitored and intervention should be done at an “appropriate time”.
Govt brings in Goods and Services Tax Network under PMLA ambit (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The government has brought the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) under the Prevention of Money-laundering Act (PMLA).
The notification by Finance Ministry has amended an earlier 2006 notification that will facilitate sharing of information between the GSTN, Enforcement Directorate and other investigative agencies.
The changes have been made for provisions under Section 66 of the PMLA, which provides for the disclosure of information.
In November last year, the government added 15 agencies to this list, including the Competition Commission of India, National Investigation Agency, Serious Fraud Investigation Office, State Police, Director General of Foreign Trade, Ministry of External Affairs, National Intelligence Grid, Central Vigilance Commission among others for sharing of information between these agencies and the Enforcement Directorate.
The move to include GSTN under the money laundering law comes amid rising cases of GST fraud and fake registrations. Experts said under the money laundering provisions, tax authorities will get more power to trace the original beneficiary in case of fraud.
GST authorities have been probing fake registrations and fraudulent availing of input tax credits. In the two-month-long drive against fake registrations, which began on May 16, over 69,600 suspected GST identification numbers (GSTINs) were identified for physical verification by field tax officials.