MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS
Q1. In light of the current circumstances for India, it is possible that the benefits of engaging Central Asia may be modest; nevertheless, the consequences of not engaging could be significant. Analyse.
GS II – International issues
Introduction:
- The loss of a friendly government in Afghanistan is a dilemma for India as it transitions into the world that has emerged after the epidemic. India’s connections with the Central Asian (CA) republics have become more strategically valuable as a result of this development. Among these countries, Afghanistan shares a border with three of them: Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan to the north, and Tajikistan to the northeast.
- India is primarily motivated by the desire to oppose the assertive Sino-Pakistani axis in Afghanistan and facilitate regional collaboration with Central Asia in order to strengthen the commonalities of views between the two regions.
The dangers of avoiding interaction with Central Asian countries:
- India’s economic efforts in Central Asia have been limited by a number of factors, including the lack of access to land, the restrictions of resources, the politics of major powers, and the sluggish implementation of projects.
- It appears that China’s One Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) poses a genuine threat to India’s purpose of addressing connectivity concerns with Central Asia in order to secure enhanced economic-political relations. China’s influence in Central Asia is growing, and the BRI appears to be becoming more influential.
- Lack of accessibility: India does not share physical borders with any of the Central Asian states. Additionally, the unstable situation in Afghanistan, the impact of tensions between the United States and Iran on regional connectivity projects, and India’s antagonistic relations with Pakistan have further complicated India’s connectivity and trade prospects.
- The domestic challenges that the area is currently facing, which include religious extremism, authoritarian governments, terrorism, ongoing conflicts, and other similar issues, are in and of themselves a challenge for India’s efforts to advance its global economic interests.
- India has a vision for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) and the North South Transport Corridor projects long before China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), but our progress has been unsatisfactory.
- Pakistan will never permit India to access Central Asia via the land route, and our path through Chabahar and Bandar Abbas (Iran) has also been hampered as a result of the sanctions imposed by the United States.
- India will have a more difficult time developing its projects in Iran as a result of China’s growing influence in the country.
Dealing with Central Asian Countries:
- Trade: In light of the heightened strategic significance of Central Asia, India ought to ideally adopt a decisive and aggressive approach to trade with the region. This would entail not only making efforts to ensure the execution of pending connectivity projects, but also identifying other areas, such as digital infrastructure and education, that offer the potential to enhance regional presence.
- Defence collaboration: Given that both India and the Central Asian Republics (CARs) share a concern for security, defence cooperation ought to be an additional subject that should be explored beyond what is already available. This is analogous to the concurrent military exercise known as “KAZIND” that is currently being conducted between India and Kazakhstan.
- To further advance its position in the region, India may also consider leveraging its long-standing alliance with Russia, which is one of the most influential players in Central Asia. This would allow India to make further progress in the region.
- A recent discussion between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin has been a significant start towards achieving this goal. During this talk, the two leaders discussed a variety of topics, including expanding cooperation in Central Asia, among other topics.
- When it comes to connectivity, New Delhi has been increasing its relations with energy-rich Central Asian nations. This is because New Delhi has invested three billion dollars in Afghanistan.
- The North-South corridor, which includes highways and railways connecting Chabahar port in Iran with Russia, is one of the regional infrastructure projects that New Delhi has supported. The goal of this corridor is to shorten the amount of time it takes for exports to travel between Europe and central Asian markets via the North-South route.
- In order to strengthen its connection with Central Asia, India ought to make use of the historical, cultural, and civilizational ties that exist between the two countries, in addition to the traditionally intimate people-to-people contacts.
- By facilitating a clearer understanding of taxation and business rules in India and the Central Asian countries, the International Chamber of Commerce and Business (ICABC) may assist in the promotion of business linkages, as well as in the encouragement of trade, business, and investment, particularly in the field of small and medium enterprises.
- India has the opportunity to actively participate in the economic restoration of Afghanistan through the Central Asia Dialogue. This can be accomplished through the implementation of projects including infrastructure, energy, transit, and transportation.
- The Chabahar port in Iran should be utilised to its full potential by India in order to create trade and transportation communications with Central Asian markets.
- India and Central Asia are confronted with a wide range of parallel concerns, including but not limited to terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking, and other similar problems. Due to the fact that they share all of these similarities, they are a natural partner in their journey towards progress, which calls for further cooperation in both the regional and global arenas.
Q2. In addition to highlighting the goals of the health data retention plan, describe the risks that are associated with it in terms of the right to privacy involved.
GS II – Constitution related issues
Introduction:
- The process of retaining and managing personal health data and records for a predetermined amount of time is referred to as data retention. Typically, the policies that govern data retention pertain to the type of data, the format of the data, the length of the data, the deletion mechanism, ownership, and the procedure for violating or breaching the policy.
- A consultation process about the retention of health data by health-care providers in India has been launched by the National Health Authority (NHA), which is the entity responsible for managing the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM). This is a really positive move. The consultation document requests feedback on the types of data that are to be preserved and for how long their retention should be.
Determining the goals and advantages of data retention:
- A description of the purpose of data retention is given in terms of the benefits that it provides to both the individual and the general public.
- The mobility of health records presents individuals with the opportunity to enjoy increased convenience and choice, which ultimately benefits them.
- Research and innovation, which are driven by the availability of more and better data to examine, are beneficial to the general public as a whole.
- For the purpose of ensuring uniformity in a manner that assures that every healthcare facility in India adopts record retention and compliance with all applicable regulations, guidelines, and laws, the design and implementation of a Health Data Retention Guideline/Policy for India is now being carried out.
- It is the intention of the proposed Health Data Retention Guideline/Policy to minimise the dangers that are connected with personal health data and to maximise the benefits that may be derived from the utilisation of this data. This will be accomplished by ensuring that the guidelines for data retention are in accordance with all lawful and regulatory compliances that are applicable.
- Several lines of evidence demonstrate that countries who have created robust health data governance systems have utilised health data in a secure and risk-free manner for the purpose of enhancing healthcare and public health delivery systems.
Privacy dangers resulting from the storage of data:
- Over-collection risk: A straightforward classification system, as proposed in the consultation paper, puts individuals at risk of experiencing harms that are the result of excessive data collection and the retention of data that is not necessary.
- In the same vein, a system that is designed to be universally applicable can also result in the under-retention of data that is actually necessary for the purposes of research or the implementation of public policy guidelines. Rather than that, we ought to make an effort to categorise data according to its application.
- The Supreme Court of India has made it clear that the right to privacy is a basic right, and that any interference with this right must pass a four-part test: legality, legitimate goal, proportionality, and suitable protections.
- A violation of the aforementioned criteria occurs when sensitive data, such as heart problems, is stored.
- Moreover, this information could be abused to raise insurance premiums or even to refuse coverage to individuals who already have pre-existing conditions.
- One example of an interference with the right to privacy is the need that health records be kept for a certain amount of time.
- The test for retaining data should be that a clear and specific reason has been determined for such retention, following a rigorous procedure that has been undertaken by appropriate authorities. This should be the case in order for the data to be retained.
- Anonymize the data: A second precaution would be to anonymize the data that is being kept for research purposes, once more, unless there is a special justification that is made for the retention of personally identifying information. If neither of these statements is accurate, then the data ought to be removed.
- Consent that is both express and informed: The express and informed consent of the subject in issue might serve as an alternative basis for the retention of data.
- User-based classification process: Once the data protection law is approved by Parliament, all individuals, including those who offer health care services, will be required to comply with the law.
- For the purpose of determining what data to keep and for how long, a method that is centred on privacy is required. The emerging landscape and thinking, as well as the need for the protection of sensitive data while ensuring the effective utilisation of such information in clinical decision-making by healthcare professionals, are the sources of the necessity for guidelines on data retention for personally identifiable information (PII), also known as personal health information (PHI). This leads to an improvement in the overall quality of healthcare service, which is only achievable if extended retention periods are mandated for particular types of health data while also protecting privacy and anonymity whenever it is practicable to do so.
