[Mission 2023] INSIGHTS DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS + PIB SUMMARY 21 January 2023

GS Paper 2

Syllabus: Structure, Organization and Functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary

Source: IE

Direction: The article mainly discusses the issue of appointing a judge of different sexual orientations and how it will ensure diversity in the judiciary.

Context:

• The SC Collegium headed by CJI reiterated its decision to appoint five advocates as HC judges, including a senior advocate (Saurabh Kirpal), who if appointed, could be India’s first openly gay judge
• Earlier the government had sought reconsideration of these names
• The importance of diversity and inclusivity in the judiciary
• Constitutional Morality vs Majoritarian and Social Morality
• Transformative Constitutionalism and a Living Constitution

What are the objections made by the government?

• A candidate’s sexual orientation and his “foreign-national” partner.
• An advocate sharing content critical of the PM on social media.

Government’s position behind these objections: According to the Union Law Ministry, despite the fact that homosexuality is no longer a crime in India, same-sex marriage is still not recognized in either codified statutory law or uncodified personal law.

On what grounds Collegium reiterated its decision:

• The SC (in Navtej Singh Johar case 2018), has established the constitutional position that every individual is entitled to maintain their own dignity and individuality, based on sexual orientation.
• It would be clearly contrary to the SC’s constitutional principles to reject the candidacy on the basis of sexual orientation.
• There is no reason to believe that the candidate’s Swiss national partner would be hostile to India because his home country is friendly.
• All citizens have the right to free speech and expression, and the views critical to government do not disentitle a candidate from holding a constitutional office so long as s/he is a person of competence, merit and integrity.

Significance of appointing a judge of different sexual orientation:

• His appointment will add value to the Bench of the Delhi HC and provide inclusion and diversity.
• Diverse judges challenge and enhance one another’s perspectives.

Significance of Diversity in our Judiciary:

• It refers to efforts to ensure that the composition of a nation’s judiciary reflects the diversity of the population it serves
• Eg: measures to increase the representation of women, minorities, SC/STs, Divyangjan and other vulnerable sections like LGBTQ community.
• “The social & geographical diversity must find its reflection at all levels of the judiciary as diversity on the bench promotes diversity of opinions & efficiency. People from different backgrounds enrich the Bench with their diverse experiences.”: Former CJI Ramana.

Conclusion: Several judgments have advanced and advocated for the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community. We must not sacrifice constitutional morality at the altar of social morality. The SC’s decision to make public the Government’s objections shed some light on the process, but it also heightens tensions with the Centre. Questions will be raised as to why the Collegium released only three objections, rather than all.

InstaCurious:

DOCTRINE OF MANIFEST ARBITRARINESS:

If a law is drastically unreasonable, capricious, irrational or without adequate determining principle, excessive & disproportionate, it would be manifestly arbitrary.

Eg: Navtej Singh Johar’s judgement held that Section 377 was “manifestly arbitrary”

Insta Links:

Law Minister’s suggestion to CJI on the appointment of judges: The context and background

GS Paper 2

Syllabus: Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health

Source: DTE

 Direction: The article highlights the recent data related to rural healthcare in India and government initiatives to transform rural healthcare.

 Context: According to the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare’s Rural Health Statistics 2021-2022, India’s rural healthcare system continues to be plagued by a shortfall on two critical fronts – doctors and infrastructure.

The Indian healthcare system is divided into:

• Sub-centres (SC): These are the first point of contact for a patient, catering to a population of 3,000-5,000.
• Primary Health Centres (PHC): SC is succeeded by a PHC, which is required to look after the daily needs of 20,000-30,000 people (50,000-75,000 in urban areas).
• Community Health Centres (CHC): They provide referrals and access to specialists, catering to 80,000-120,000 people (0.25-0.5 million in urban areas). 

Key highlights of the Rural Health Statistics 2021-2022:

• There is a shortage of 83.2% of surgeons, 74.2% of obstetricians and gynaecologists, 79.1% of physicians and 81.6% of paediatricians.
• Less than half the PHC (45%) function on a 24×7 basis.
• Of the 5,480 functioning CHCs, only 541 have all four specialists.
• SC, PHC and CHC facilities are overburdened across the board, with SCs currently looking after more than 5,000 people, PHCs catering to 36,049 people and CHCs to 164,027 people.
• This, coupled with a human resource shortage (like auxiliary nurse midwives – ANM), plagues access to adequate and quality healthcare.
  • The shortage was most pronounced in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Uttarakhand.
  • SCs, PHCs and CHCs had more staff in 2021, at the height of the deadly second wave of COVID-19, as compared to now.

Other challenges faced by the Indian rural healthcare sector and additional statistics:

• Low quality of care
• Poor accountability
• Absenteeism: “Even if the personnel are present, their level of participation in providing health services, may not be at desirable levels due to lack of supplies, inadequate infrastructure facilities, poor monitoring of the staff, and so on.”-Economic Survey 2018-19
• Lack of awareness
• Limited access to facilities
• According to the National Health Profile (NHP) 2019, there are only 5 government hospitals per 100,000 population in rural India, compared to 3.5 in urban areas

Some of the government initiatives to transform rural healthcare:

• Under Ayushman Bharat, the existing SCs and PHCs are being transformed into AB-Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) to deliver preventive, curative, palliative and rehabilitative services which are universal, free and close to the community.
• PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) envisages increased investments in public health to provide better access to health in rural areas by:
  • Strengthening of HWCs in villages and cities for early detection of diseases
  • Support for Block Public Health Units (BPHU) in 11 high-focus States
  • Integrated district public health laboratories in all districts, etc.
• National Ambulance Service under National Health Mission (NHM) for free transportation to health facilities.

Contribution of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM):

• While there has been a decline in the past year, a huge improvement has been recorded as compared to 2005, when the government launched the NRHM (now subsumed under NHM).
• For example, the number of allopathic doctors at PHCs has increased from 20,308 in 2005 to 30,640 in 2022, which is about a 51% increase.

Conclusion:

• The focus should be placed on improving rural healthcare infrastructure and human resources. This will ensure that Indians living in even the most remote areas have access to effective healthcare.
• This would be in line with India’s commitments as a welfare state and would also aid in the achievement of SDG 3 – Health for All.

InstaCurious:

Human Resources for Health (HRH)

As per WHO, Human Resources for Health (HRH) are defined as “the stock of all individuals engaged in the promotion, protection or improvement of population health”. This includes both public and private sectors and different domains of health systems, such as personal curative and preventive care, non-personal public health interventions, disease prevention, health promotion services, research, management and support services

Health systems require human resources for health (HRH) to ensure healthcare for all. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), HRH scarcity primarily affects low- and lower-middle-income countries (LICs and LMICs) like India

Quote:

Dr Devi Shetty, one of India’s most renowned doctors, remarked, “Beds do not treat people. Doctors, nurses, and paramedics are the ones who do it.”

Insta Links:

Rural Healthcare

Mains Links:

Q. Appropriate local community-level healthcare intervention is a prerequisite to achieving ‘Health for All’ in India. Explain. (UPSC 2018)

GS Paper  2

Syllabus: Important Aspects of Governance, Transparency and Accountability

Source: TH

Direction: The article highlights the issues faced by the traditional news industry in India, suggestions to address these issues along with best practices and way ahead.

Context: According to the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry, as creators of original content, publishers of digital news platforms should receive a fair share of the revenue from big-tech platforms that act as aggregators.

Background: 

• The statement was made at the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) media conference. DNPA is the umbrella organisation for the digital platforms of 17 top news publishers.
• Big Tech has enabled unparalleled reach, engagement, and innovation in the news media. This has created an imbalance in bargaining power between Big Tech and News media

Issues faced by the news industry:

• Post-Covid the financial health of both the digital news industry and its parent – the print news industry, is under strain.
• This led to journalists losing jobs → journalism reducing in quality → a negative feedback loop.
• The changing dynamics of the news publishing industry (with technological changes), their businesses and their impact on the social lives of citizens have raised questions.
• It is obvious that if the traditional news industry continues to suffer, the future of journalism/Fourth Pillar will suffer as well.

Suggestions:

• A fair share of the revenue from the Big Tech platforms (aggregator of the content) to original creators.
• Political Will: Political support across party lines is essential in markets like India to level the playing field between Big Tech and the news media
• The upcoming Digital India Act will address this issue of disproportionate control and the imbalance in the dynamics between content creation and content creators’ monetisation requirements – and the power that adtech companies and adtech platforms have.

International Scenario:

• Best practices: Australia, Canada, France and the EU, through legislation and strengthening of their competition commissions have ensured a fair split of revenue among the creators of news content and the aggregators.
• The Australian example: It has developed the landmark News Media Bargaining Code, which will ensure that news media businesses are fairly remunerated for the use of their content by digital platforms, such as Google and Facebook. The code aims to address the bargaining power imbalance between news media businesses and these digital platforms by requiring them to negotiate payment for the use of news content.
• European Union: The Copyright Directive was adopted in 2019, which includes provisions that require digital platforms to negotiate fair and proportionate remuneration for the use of copyrighted content, including news.
• France: It passed a law to enforce the European Copyright Directive— which granted ‘neighbouring rights’ to intellectual property owners, potentially allowing news publishers to negotiate agreements with Big Tech platforms for featuring their content.

Way ahead:

• A policy response to curb unfair competition, which is reducing revenues, profitability and funding for quality journalism.
• Political support is critical in markets such as India because, unlike in countries such as Australia, the media market was not concentrated, reducing each publisher’s bargaining power.

Conclusion: In a liberal and large democracy like India, it is important to have diverse and vigorous news media. Thus, for quality journalism, credible content and good governance and to secure the future of the 4^th pillar of our democracy, issues faced by the news industry need to be addressed as soon as possible.

InstaCurious:

Neighbouring rights are a type of intellectual property rights that protect the rights of performers, producers of phonograms, and broadcasting organizations. These rights are designed to ensure that the creators and performers of creative works are fairly compensated for the use of their works. This concept of “ancillary copyright” or “neighbouring rights” creates a framework for news media to negotiate licensing fees with platforms that use their content.

Insta Links:

New India Debate – Role of Media In India

Mains Links:

Q. Though 100 per cent FDI is already allowed in non-news media like a trade publications and general entertainment channels, the government is mulling over the proposal for increased FDI in news media for quite some time. What difference would an increase in FDI make? Critically evaluate the pros and cons. (UPSC 2014)

GS Paper 3 

Source: DTE

Context: According to a study conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), several alien invasive plants (like Lantana Camara, Parthenium hysterophorous, Prosopis juliflora, etc) growing together can have a detrimental effect on the biodiversities in tiger habitats.

Invasive species:

• Invasive/introduced/alien/exotic species are any non-native species that significantly modify or disrupt the ecosystem it colonises.
• Such species may arrive in new areas through natural migration, but they are often introduced by the activities of other species like Humans.

Background:

• The study was conducted in Kanha Tiger Reserve (MP), comparing uninvaded native forests with old-growth invasions of single and multiple alien plants.
• India’s biodiverse ecosystems are threatened by a variety of alien plants, introduced during British colonisation. Lantana alone has pervasively invaded 44% of India’s forests.
• Apart from their spread in different ecosystems, little is known and even greater confusion when one asks about how alien plants impact native ecosystems.

Highlights of the study:

• Co-occurring invasive plants have a magnified cumulative impact than their individual impacts, causing ecological homogenisation in invaded regions.
• Multiple alien species together affected soil nutrients and the abundance of rich grasses and herbs.
• Depletion of the native plant populations → Reduced forage availability for herbivores like sambar and chital → diseases in the herbivores → threaten the sustenance of tiger, leopard and dhole.

What needs to be done? Prioritise restoration investments in the least invaded regions to retain native biodiversity and slowly upscale such restored habitats.

GS Paper 4

Syllabus: Ethical concerns and dilemmas in government and private institutions; laws, rules, regulations, and conscience as sources of ethical guidance; accountability and ethical governance;

Source: The Hindu, Hindustan Times

 Context: The Centre has released endorsement guidelines for celebrities and social media influencers that mandate compulsory disclosure of monetary or material benefits of a product or a brand they are promoting through their social media platforms.

• The new guidelines emphasize the increased risk of consumers being misled by advertisements and unfair trade practices by some individuals on social media platforms.
• Non-disclosure of brand affiliations by influencers may invite a penalty of up to Rs 50 lakh.

What is ‘Endorsement’?

• Endorsements are a form of advertising that uses famous personalities or celebrities who command a high degree of recognition, trust, respect, or awareness among the people.
• Advertisers and clients hope such approval, or endorsement by a celebrity, will influence buyers favourably.
  • For example, Sachin Tendulkar endorsing motorcycles and biscuits can influence young men or children who look up to him as a role model.

How often do we follow influencers?

• A report by iCubesWire Survey, a digital media marketing company, suggests that a major percentage of Indians choose brands based on the suggestions by influencers. 
• 34 per cent of the respondents of the survey said they buy products or services after watching the social media posts of influencers. This content can be in the form of reels on Instagram or videos on popular social media platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, among others.

Who should disclose:

Individuals/groups who have access to an audience and the power to affect their audiences’ purchasing decisions or opinions about a product, service, brand, or experience, because of the influencer ‘ s/celebrity ‘ s authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with their audience.

A material connection could include but is not limited to benefits and incentives, such as:

• Monetary or other compensation.
• Free products with or without any conditions attached, including those received unsolicited, discounts, and gifts.
• Contest and sweepstakes entries.
• Trips or hotel stays.
• Media barters.
• Coverage and awards.
• Any family, personal, or employment relationship.

Acts against misleading advertisements in India: 

• The new guidelines are in alignment with the Consumer Protection Act, of 2019, which was enacted to protect consumers from unfair trade practices and deceptive advertising.
• The department of consumer affairs published Guidelines for the Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements for Misleading Advertisements, 2022. The criteria for valid advertisements are outlined in these guidelines, as are the responsibilities of manufacturers, service providers, advertisers, and advertising agencies. These guidelines also addressed celebrities and endorsers. It states that misleading advertising in any form, format, or medium is illegal.

Global Scenario:

• In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has guidelines for endorsements and testimonials in advertising, which also apply to social media. These guidelines require that any endorsements or testimonials be truthful and not misleading and that any material connections between the endorser and the advertiser be disclosed.
• In the UK, the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) provide guidance on advertising and sponsorship across all media, including social media influencer marketing.

Unethical Aspects of Celebrity Endorsement – We had already covered this in one of our previous articles – Responsibility of Celebrity Endorsers – Find the link below.

 Insta Links:

Mains Link:

Q. Do you think that the brand ambassadors of products should be held accountable for misleading advertisements and endorsements? Examine. (250 Words)

InstaCurious:

Ethical consumerism is the practice of making conscious & informed purchasing decisions based on a company’s social and environmental impact. It involves considering factors such as a company’s labour practices, environmental impact, and contributions to society when making a purchase.

In the context of influencer marketing, ethical consumerism relates to the choices that consumers make about which products and brands to support based on the values and practices of those brands and the influencers who promote them. Consumers may be more likely to trust and support products and brands that are endorsed by influencers who align with their own values and ethical principles.

Influencer marketing can also be considered ethical when influencers themselves are transparent about their partnerships and disclose their relationship with the brands they promote, and when brands use influencer marketing to promote sustainable, fair trade, or socially responsible products or services.