03 May 2023

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

. No.	Topic Name	Prelims/Mains
1.	Digital Services Act	Prelims & Mains
2.	SEBI	Prelims & Mains
3.	CDSCO	Prelims & Mains
4.	Fraternity	Prelims & Mains

 1 – Digital Services Act: GS II – Government Policies and Interventions:

Context:

• The European Commission has approved the initial designation rulings for the Digital Services Act (DSA).

The following are the primary traits of the Digital Services Act (DSA):

Definition:

• a group of identical rules defining the obligations and liabilities of intermediaries in the single market.

Objective:

• to sternly regulate the operations of intermediaries when it comes to monitoring user content, especially major websites like Google, Facebook, and YouTube.

Quicker supplies and removals:

• Social media sites are required to put in place “new procedures for faster removal” of anything deemed unpleasant or illegal. Users must be aware of how their content removal policy works. Users can also hunt for out-of-court settlements and appeal platform removal decisions through the DSA.

VLOPs have a greater duty of care:

• The law increases responsibility for Big Tech companies without adopting a one-size-fits-all approach. The “Very Large Online Platforms” (VLOPs) and “Very Large Online Search Engines,” or platforms with more than 45 million EU users, will be subject to tougher rules under the DSA.

Control directly by the EC:

• The European Commission will be in charge of overall supervision of these criteria and their implementation.

More transparency regarding algorithms:

• In order to encourage accountability for the social implications of their goods, VLOPs and VLOSEs will be subject to transparency measures and scrutiny of how their algorithms work through systemic risk analysis and reduction.

Greater Ad Clarity:

• Online platform users must be able to swiftly identify advertisements and comprehend who is behind or funding them. They are not allowed to use sensitive personal data to create personalized advertising that targets youngsters.

Source The Hindu

2 – SEBI: GS II – Statutory and Non-Statutory Bodies:

Context:

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has unveiled a new logo in celebration of its 35th anniversary.

About SEBI:

• On April 12, 1992, SEBI was established as a statutory organization in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992.
• The primary duties of the Securities and Exchange Board of India are fostering and governing the securities market and defending the rights of investors in securities.

How was SEBI created?

• The Capital Issues (Control) Act of 1947 gave the 1947 Capital Issues (Control) Act’s competence to the Controller of Capital Issues, the regulatory agency that existed before SEBI.
• As per an Indian government decree, the SEBI was founded in April 1988 to serve as the nation’s capital markets’ regulator.
• At first, SEBI was a non-statutory institution with no statutory powers.
• It was given autonomy and legal standing by the SEBI Act of 1992.
• The administrative heart of SEBI is located in Mumbai. The regional offices of SEBI are located in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Chennai, and Kolkata.

What Kind of Organization Is SEBI?

• The chairman of the SEBI Board is joined by a number of other full- and part-time members.
• When required, SEBI also appoints a number of committees to look into the most crucial problems at hand.
• To protect the rights of organizations who believe SEBI’s ruling violated their rights, the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has also been established.
• SAT is made up of a Presiding Officer and two more Members.
• It is just as powerful as a civil court. Additionally, the Supreme Court will hear appeals from people who believe they were wronged by the SAT’s decision or order.
• The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), a statutory body, was established by the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992.
• It is to hear appeals against judgments issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India or by an adjudicating officer under the Act, in addition to exercising the jurisdiction, powers, and authority conferred to the Tribunal by or under this Act or any other law currently in force.
• According to a government notification dated May 27, 2014, SAT hears and decides appeals against decisions made by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) under the PFRDA Act, 2013.
• According to a government notification dated March 23, 2015, SAT also hears and decides appeals against decisions made by the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India (IRDAI) in accordance with the Insurance Act, 1938, the General Insurance Business (Nationalization) Act, 1972, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999, and the Rules and Regulations created thereunder.

What functions and mandates does the SEBI have?

• As a quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial body, SEBI has the power to establish regulations, conduct inquiries, make judgments, and impose penalties.
• It fulfills the requirements for three categories:
• Issuers: By enabling them to access a market where they can raise additional funds.
• Investors – By maintaining safety and delivering clear, accurate information.
• by encouraging competition in the market for professionals who act as intermediaries.
• The Securities Laws (Amendment) Act of 2014 gave SEBI the authority to regulate money-pooling schemes with a minimum value of Rs. 100 crore and to recover assets in the event of non-compliance.
• The SEBI Chairman may issue “search and seizure operations” orders. The SEBI Board may also request information from anyone regarding any securities transaction that it is investigating, such as phone logs.
• SEBI registers and oversees the operations of venture capital funds, collective investment plans, and mutual funds.
• Additionally, it supports the development and management of self-regulatory bodies and the prohibition of unfair and dishonest business practices in the context of the securities markets.

What Issues Are Connected to SEBI?

• Due to the complexity of its function in recent years, SEBI, the regulatory body for the financial markets, is at a crossroads.
• Prudential regulation is given less attention than market behavior regulation, which is given far more attention.
• SEBI’s statutory enforcement powers are larger than those of its equivalents in the US and UK since it is armed with a lot more capacity to inflict substantial economic harm.
• Similar to preventative detention, it is based on suspicion and has the potential to significantly restrict economic activity. Those who are affected must bear the burden of demonstrating that the suspicion is baseless.
• The SEBI Act has practically unlimited legislative authority because of its expansive discretionary power to enact supplemental laws.
• The components of prior market consultation and a system for assessing legislation to see if they have achieved their declared purposes are noticeably absent. The regulator is therefore feared by many people.
• Even when it comes to issues like insider trading, regulation—whether it takes the form of laws or enforcement—is far from perfect.
• The offering materials for securities are extraordinarily lengthy and have mostly been used for formal compliance rather than creating thorough, high-quality disclosures.

What can be done to guarantee that SEBI functions properly?

• There is a need for an attitude change; in fact, the market is filled with thieves, and proposals that a crackdown and forceful action are necessary would be accepted in their hundreds.
• SEBI needs to be carefully examined and improved upon, if possible. Money raised will never be a reliable indicator of how effectively this aspect of market regulation is performing.
• The main objective of SEBI should be to purge the policy space in this market segment.
• Human resources and organizational challenges require SEBI’s attentive attention. SEBI must encourage lateral entrance in order to get the best employees.
• After the Forward Markets Commission and Sebi merged, there is still work to be done to align and fit senior employees.
• Enforcement can be strengthened by expanding market information and performing continuing surveillance. This necessitates a sizable talent pool.
• India’s financial markets are largely fragmented. When two regulators have authority over the same financial product, none can be held responsible for the other’s failure.
• By establishing a single financial regulator, it is entirely rational to do away with overlap and excluded limits in this circumstance.

Source The Hindu

3 – CDSCO: GS II – Statutory and Non-Statutory Bodies:

Context:

• The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) has issued an alert listing 48 commonly used pharmaceuticals because they failed to pass the most recent drug safety warning given by the drug regulator.

About CDSCO:

• The Central medications Standard Control Organization, with its headquarters in New Delhi, is the country’s regulatory body for cosmetics, medications, and medical devices.

Responsibilities:

• Clinical research, new drug approval, and drug importation are all regulated.

Ministry:

• Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Regulatory Structure:

• The 1945 Rules and the 1940 Drugs and Cosmetics Act.

Key Objectives

• establishing drug standards, carrying out clinical trials, licensing medications, keeping an eye on the caliber of imported drugs, coordinating state DCO activities through expert advice, and central license approving authority approval of particular licenses.
• CDSCO is under the direction of the Indian Drug Controller General.

Source The Hindu

4 – Fraternity: GS II – Constitution-related issues:

Context:

• India upholds the concept of “unity in diversity,” therefore having a sense of brotherhood is an essential quality.

What is meant by fraternity?

• Fraternité is the French word for kinship, friendship, community, and cooperation.
• A sense of brotherhood that binds and promotes communal life is shared by all Indians.

The fraternity principle of the Indian Constitution:

• According to B R Ambedkar, the chairman of the Drafting Committee, who delivered the Draft Constitution to the President of the Constituent Assembly on February 21, 1948, the drafting committee included a clause on “fraternity” to the Preamble.
• Despite the fact that the Objective Resolution did not address it
• Since “Fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual and unity and integrity of the Nation” is important, it is mentioned in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution (approved on November 26, 1949, which became operative on January 26, 1950, and revised by the 42nd Amendment in 1976).
• As per Article 51A (Fundamental Duties), which was added to the Constitution by the 42nd Amendment of 1976, every citizen has a duty to “promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood among all the people of India.”
• Although they cannot be enforced by the law, the Preamble and the Fundamental Duties both have moral and spiritual appeal.

What is the significance of fraternity?

• The Preamble of the Indian Constitution lists the four pillars of constitutional morality: justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity.
• Since social solidarity and the idea of fraternity are intertwined, equality and liberty cannot exist without it.
• The advantages from the other three are strengthened and improved by a sense of brotherhood.

Issues with the concept in India:

• Fraternity continues to be the least valued, discussed, and practiced of the four pillars of constitutional morality.
• discrimination and inequality.
• political hatred and a weak democratic opposition.
• Loyalty to the state is the manifestation of nationalism, which rejects the concept of inter citizenship.
• Feminists frequently attack the idea or definition of fraternity because it excludes “sisterhood.”
• Terrorism, false information, cybersecurity, and left-wing extremism are examples of interstate disputes and challenges to national security.

The activities of the Indian government include:

• Interstate councils, Zonal councils, the National Foundation for Community Harmony (NFCH), and social initiatives like Ek Bharat-Shrestha Bharat are a few examples.
• A “uniform” and “Common Minimum Programme for Value Education” was implemented across the board in the school system, with a focus on “core Constitutional values.”

Moving Ahead:

• finding a balance between the dignity of each individual and the honesty and unity of the country.
• This requires both a civic conscience and a functioning social moral structure. This will help everyone understand the concept, both individually and collectively.
• Each of Gandhiji’s Seven Social Sins must serve as the foundation for the sociopolitical fabric of India.

Conclusion:

• In the united India that Ambedkar envisioned, caste and religious distinctions would gradually vanish. Therefore, encouraging concepts like fraternity would stop society from falling apart.

Source The Hindu