22 August 2022

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

1 – Rule of Law: GS II – Constitution Related Issues

Meaning:

• India has embraced the phrase “rule of law,” which was first coined in England. The Indian Constitution’s Article 13 mentions the rule of law.
• Simply expressed, the rule of law entails that everyone is subject to the authority of regular courts of law and that no one is above the law, regardless of their position or status.
• No one should be treated arbitrarily or harshly, according to the idea of the rule of law.
• The term “law” in the phrase “rule of law” denotes that a person or a group of people must be subject to the law rather than a man or a ruler.
• “Rule of Law” is defined by Black’s Law Dictionary as “legal principles of general application, recognised by the governing bodies or authorities, and articulated in the form of an axiom.”
• According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, a scenario where the law is in control over both the state and all of its residents is described as a “rule of law.”

The Indian Constitution and the rule of law:

• The Judiciary, the Legislature, and the Executive are not only bound by the provisions of the Constitution but also must act in conformity with them, making all three institutions of government subject to it.
• The Constitution explicitly recognises the concept of judicial review, and individuals may ask the High Court and the Supreme Court to uphold their constitutional rights. Ordinary courts of law have the authority to invalidate the Executive or the government if they abuse their authority or engage in dishonest behaviour.
• The Supreme Court of India stated in Chief Settlement Commissioner Punjab v. Om Prakash that the idea of the rule of law is the fundamental and most distinctive aspect of our constitutional system, which in this case refers to the ability of the legal system to judge all administrative action according to the legality standard.
• The Court continued by stating that the rule of law concept rejects the notion of a dual state, in which government conduct is kept in a privileged position of immunity from judicial oversight.

Source The Indian Express

2 – Cloudburst Events: GS I – Geography-related issues

About:

• Cloudbursts are localised, intense downpour occurrences that last only a short while.
• It is a weather phenomena where unanticipated precipitation exceeds 100 mm per hour across an area of around 20 to 30 square kilometres.
• In the Indian Subcontinent, it often happens as a monsoon cloud moves northward from the Arabian Sea or the Bay of Bengal across the plains and then up to the Himalaya, bringing up to 75 millimetres of rain per hour at times.

Occurrence:

• Low temperatures and sluggish winds lead the relative humidity and cloud cover to be at their highest levels, which can cause a lot of clouds to condense quickly and generate a cloudburst.
• The sky can contain more and more moisture when temperatures rise, and this moisture falls as a brief, torrential downpour for a little period of time—probably a half- or an hour—causing flash floods in mountainous regions and urban floods in cities.
• Rain is condensed water that falls from a cloud, whereas a cloudburst is an unexpected, intense downpour.
• A cloudburst is defined as rainfall that exceeds 100mm per hour.
• The cloudburst is a natural occurrence, but it happens suddenly, quite abruptly, and with a lot of rain.

Climate Change Effects:

• According to numerous research, climate change will cause cloudbursts to occur more frequently and more intensely in many places throughout the world.
• The World Meteorological Organization stated in May 2021 that there is a 40% possibility that in at least one of the next five years, the annual average global temperature will briefly rise to 1.5°C over pre-industrial levels.
• It also stated that there is a 90% chance that at least one year between 2021 and 2025 would surpass 2016 as the warmest year on record.
• Because the decadal temperature rise in the Himalayan region is greater than the rate of temperature rise worldwide, it is observed that more cloudbursts are occurring there.

The effects of cloudbursts include:

• Rapid flooding.
• Mudflows
• Land Caving
• Landslides

Prediction:

• Because cloud bursts grow quickly, there is no reliable method for predicting when they will occur.
• To detect the likelihood of a cloud burst, an extremely precise network of radars is needed, and this would be expensive.
• On a short-range basis, only the places most likely to experience high rainfall can be determined. By recognising the regions and meteorological conditions that favour the development of cloud bursts, much of the harm can be averted.

Source The Hindu

3 – Polio in India: GS II – Health-related issues

About:

• The neurological system is harmed by the debilitating and potentially fatal viral infection known as polio.

There are three separate wild poliovirus strains that are each unique and immunologically diverse:

• Type 1 wild poliovirus (WPV1)
• Type 2 wild poliovirus (WPV2)
• Type 3 wild poliovirus (WPV3)
• All three strains exhibit the same symptoms, which include irreversible paralysis or even death. These three strains are distinct viruses that must each be eliminated separately due to genetic and virological variations.

Spread:

• The virus is primarily spread from person to person via the faecal-oral route, while it can also happen less commonly via a shared vehicle (for example, through contaminated water or food).
• Children under the age of five are primarily affected. The virus grows in the colon and then spreads to the nerve system, where it can paralyse a person.

Symptoms:

• Most polio patients report feeling well. Some patients only experience minor symptoms like fever, fatigue, nausea, headaches, arm and leg discomfort, etc.
• Polio infection can occasionally result in a lifelong loss of muscular function (paralysis).
• If the respiratory muscles are paralysed or the brain becomes infected, polio can be fatal.

Treatment and Prevention:

• Although there is no treatment for it, vaccinations can help prevent it.

Vaccines:

• Oral polio vaccine (OPV): This vaccine is administered orally as a birth dose for institutional deliveries, followed by three primary doses at six, ten, and fourteen weeks and one booster dose at sixteen to twenty-four months of age.
• As part of the Universal Immunization Program, the injectable polio vaccine (IPV) is administered as an additional dosage alongside the third dose of DPT (diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus) (UIP).

Outbreaks that occured recently:

• Outbreaks of polio were reported in the Philippines, Malaysia, Ghana, Myanmar, China, Cameroon, Indonesia, and Iran in 2019; the majority of these outbreaks were vaccine-derived, meaning that a rare strain of the virus genetically mutated from the strain in the vaccination.
• The oral vaccination virus can mutate to cause diseases if it is excreted and allowed to circulate in an unvaccinated or undervaccinated population for at least 12 months, according to the WHO (World Health Organization).

Polio in India:

• In 2014, the WHO certified India as being polio-free after three years of no cases.
• This accomplishment was made possible by the successful Pulse Polio Campaign, in which polio drops were given to all kids.
• The country’s final wild poliovirus case was discovered on January 13, 2011.

Source The Indian Express

 4 – Aadhar Voter ID Linkage: GS II – Election-related issues

What are the main elements of the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021 that make it possible to connect Aadhaar with electoral rolls?

• Linking an Aadhaar Card to a Voter ID: According to the 1950 Act, a person may apply to the electoral registration officer for their name to be added to a constituency’s electoral roll. If the officer determines after verification that the application is eligible for registration, s/he will order that the applicant’s name be added to the electoral roll.
• The Bill also specifies that the electoral registration officer may request an individual’s Aadhaar number in order to verify their identification. The Aadhaar number can be required for authentication of entries in the electoral roll if their name is already on it.
• All applications for inclusion of names on the electoral roll shall be granted, and no entries shall be erased from the electoral roll because a person cannot provide an Aadhaar number. These folks will be able to provide any additional alternative documentation that may be required.
• The government will determine what constitutes a good reason to avoid linking: The government will outline the criteria for “sufficient cause” so that people can choose not to link their Aadhaar.

Why was it decided to link Aadhaar to election rolls?

• Program for the Purification and Authentication of the National Electoral Roll (NERPAP), 2015: The Election Commission has a programme to link voter IDs and Aadhaar in an effort to remove duplicate names. In addition, the technology links and authenticates voter information from their Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) and Aadhaar.
• The Election Commission of India (ECI) ran two pilot programmes in the districts of Nizamabad and Hyderabad in 2014 to integrate voter ID with Aadhaar before the NERPAP was introduced.
• Later, the Supreme Court ordered the Election Commission to halt the linkage of Aadhaar with electoral records, stating that “the Aadhaar card system is absolutely voluntary, and it cannot be rendered mandatory till the case is fully decided by this Court one way or the other.” The Election Commission thereafter made the process optional.
• The Law Ministry received a letter from the ECI earlier this year requesting “expeditious consideration” of outstanding electoral reforms, particularly the connection between Aadhar and voter ID cards.
• Parliamentary Standing Committee Recommendation: In its 105th report, the Department-Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, and Law and Justice recommended tying Aadhaar to electoral rolls in order to clean up voter registration lists and, as a result, lessen electoral fraud.

What advantages do electoral rolls and Aadhaar have together?

• According to the administration, integrating Aadhaar with election records will address numerous issues.
• Ensure that all entries on the electoral roll are legitimate.

Avoid repetition:

• Home addresses have been altered frequently. Therefore, the same names or enrollment in new locations has occurred without removing or canceling the prior enrollment.
• The electoral roll data system would automatically detect a person’s registration in more than one constituency, or more than once in the same constituency, after integrating with Aadhaar.
• Make it easier for voters to register to vote where they “normally reside.”
• Get rid of proxy voters that use numerous voter IDs,
• Aadhaar, unlike EPIC, collects biometric information that is helpful in confirming uniqueness.
• It is simple to make and verify all amendments for changes in residence, etc. hence enabling unrestricted voting for all citizens.
• Most people over the age of 18 have Aadhaar numbers, according to official statistics, and over 1,260 million cards will have been distributed by October 31, 2021.
• Therefore, connecting Aadhar to electoral registers will make the process of registration, verification, address changes, and correction of errors and omissions from the rolls simpler.
• In the future, it will be possible to vote from anywhere (and hopefully electronically as well), allowing citizens to do so from their homes or other preferred locations.

What issues are raised by linking Aadhaar to electoral rolls?

Having trouble with the Aadhaar database:

• In certain cases, the Aadhaar database did not match fingerprints or even iris scans.
• There are instances of data breaches and poor data quality in the Aadhaar data.
• The veracity of the demographic data stored in the Aadhaar database is not checked. For instance, the Aadhaar data’s veracity has been rejected by both the Calcutta High Court and the Allahabad High Court.
• There isn’t a public audit report on the effectiveness of Aadhaar data.
• According to the National Economic Survey 2016–17, the exclusion rates due to Aadhar authentication failures range from 49% to 5%. So, connecting it to election rolls could compromise the integrity of data in the voter ID database.
• The measure transgresses the definition of privacy established by the Supreme Court in the Puttaswamy case, which is a basic right to privacy.
• A change in the burden of proof: Previously, in order to obtain the universal adult franchise, the government actively enforced voter registration on the electoral rolls (for example, through house-to-house verification). However, it is now the responsibility of those who might be unable or unable to link their Aadhaar to support their continued inclusion on the rolls.
• Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship, as stated in the Aadhaar Act, making it impossible to prevent non-citizens from voting. However, only citizens are able to cast ballots. So, requiring Aadhaar for voter identification won’t stop non-citizens from casting ballots.
• Problems with demographic data: Any efforts to connect Aadhaar to voter IDs would result in demographic data. According to critics, the government is capable of “disenfranchising some persons and profiling the populace” using voter identifying information. Additionally, it could serve as a springboard for targeted political propaganda and the commercial exploitation of sensitive personal information, both of which violate the model code of conduct.
• For instance, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh’s chief election officers integrated voter identity cards with Aadhaar data in 2018. Activists claim that individuals learned that at least 5.5 million voters had been denied the right to vote. Later, the government reversed its decision.
• The connecting will be ineffective without making it required: The aforementioned government benefits will only be provided if providing an Aadhaar is required.
• The government has not defined “sufficient cause” for not linking Aadhaar, which might result in voters losing their right to vote. If someone refuses to provide the information and it is deemed “inappropriate,” they risk losing their franchise.
• Conflict of Interest: The ECI, an independent constitutional agency, is primarily responsible for maintaining the voter rolls. While UIDAI is governed by the government, Aadhaar is a government tool. There may be a conflict of interest because the ECI has no control over Aadhaar enrollment or deduplication.
• Other problems: The plan fails to outline the scope of data sharing between the ECI and UIDAI databases, the procedures for obtaining consent, and whether or not the consent may be rescinded.

What should be done?

• There have been allegations that some voters may have multiple registrations and that non-citizens have been enlisted, however these problems can be solved by using other identification procedures.
• The law was approved by both Houses in just two days. This undercuts parliamentary democracy’s essential tenet. Therefore, before putting the new laws into effect, the government must seek out public opinion and permit closer parliamentary examination. A Parliamentary Committee ought to take the issues under consideration and respond appropriately.

Source The Hindu