Skip to content

2023 01 20

Table of Contents:

GS Paper 1:

  1. What triggered Indian Wrestlers’ Protests?

GS Paper 2:

  1. India-Maldives relation: Maldives polls, India’s concerns

GS Paper 4:

  1. Our software sector’s Antyodaya approach is positive for business

Content for Mains Enrichment (Ethics/Essay/ Governance)

  1. Sharad Kumar Dwivedi
  2. Sumit Gupta
  3. Pawan Kadyan
  4. Keyword: 3 A’s of Judicial Pendency
  5. Keyword: The soft-touch approach
  6. Keyword: ‘Demographic gravitation’
  7. Keyword: “Shadow Banning”
  8. Quotes

Facts for Prelims

  1. Etalin hydroelectric project (EHEP)
  2. New plateau type discovered from Maharashtra could prove to be a repository of information to study climate change effects on species survival
  3. NCERT notifies India’s first national assessment regulator
  4. Grameen Udyami Scheme
  5. Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD)
  6. Application Supported by the Blocked Amount (ASBA) system
  7. Nature Risk profile (NRP)
  8. Caller Name Presentation (CNAP)

What triggered Indian Wrestlers’ Protests?

GS Paper 1

Syllabus: Indian Society, Governance, Women

Source: Indian Express

Context: Women are made to face the barrels of buoyant sexism on a daily basis, be it at work or even at home. Recently, Indian women wrestlers, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik accused BJP MP and Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh of sexual harassment.

Issues faced by women in sports:

The word ‘pressure’ is central to a sportsperson’s life: the need to perform better or at least at par with a previous time; the juggling of time between sport and study; the stress of endorsements. However, women have added layers of pressure:

  • Gender Pay disparity: The first challenge that female athletes have to face is being paid half or less of what is given to their male counterparts.
  • Being objectified: From coaches to commentators, to the audience, women are looked at as commodities showcasing themselves for men’s pleasure, not as entities of potential and talent.
    • Eg: India’s popular badminton player Jwala Gutta faced issues related to objectification and body shaming.
  • Lack of access to facilities: A lack of access to adequate playing facilities near their homes, makes it more difficult for girls to engage in sports.
  • Safety and transportation issues:Sports require a place to participate – and for many girls, especially in dense urban environments, that means travelling to facilities through unsafe neighbourhoods or lacking any means to get to a good facility miles away.
    • Eg: Manipur is a sporting powerhouse, but 48 % of female athletes travel over 10km to reach the practice facility
  • Social stigma: Girls in sports may experience bullying, social isolation, and negative performance evaluations.
  • Mental Health: Mental safety is essential. Institutes and coaches must provide access to sports psychologists. According to the IOC Mental Health in Elite Athletes Toolkit(2021), anxiety and depression are more common in women athletes.
  • The disparity in Access to Quality Training & Infrastructure: The availability of quality, trained coaches may be lacking in their community or these coaches may be more focused on the boys’ programs that have more money for training. Equipment and even uniforms aren’t funded for many girls’ programs at the same levels as boys. Thus, their ability to improve and enjoy the sport is diminished.
  • Inadequate Budget Allocated for Women in Sports: Budgets are being slashed in all sports, especially for women leading to poor infrastructure.
  • Lack of positive role models: Today’s girls are bombarded with images of external beauty, not those of confident, strong female athletic role models. To some girls, fitting within the mould that they are constantly told to stay in is more important than standing out.
    • For instance, it is estimated that the prevalence of eating disorders among women athletes is 6% to 45%, while for men athletes it ranges from 0 to 19%[ IOC Mental Health in Elite Athletes Toolkit(2021)].

Why girls need to be encouraged in sports:

  • They learn important life skills such as teamwork, leadership, and confidence.
  • It enhances their self-image
  • Girls’ involvement in sports is related to higher levels of family satisfaction.
  • High school female athletes have more positive body images than non-athletes.
  • Reduces chances of diseases in the long run.

The ethical aspect of sexual harassment in sports:

  • Lack of trust in the association.
  • Reduce participation
  • Shows a lack of empathy and morals from the perpetrator’s side.

Few positive examples:

  • The athletics federation has an international-level sportswoman (Anju Bobby George) as Vice President, which is the highest.
  • PT Usha leads IOA now.

Case of Dutee Chand:

Dutee Chand was to be the first Indian woman in 36 years to run a 100m at the Rio Olympics. Acting on an anonymous tip, she was asked to get tested for hyperandrogenism, wherein a woman’s body produces more testosterone than is acceptable under the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) guidelines. Not only was she banned from competing against other women in the Commonwealth Games, but the world was also suddenly questioning her gender identity. Her personal life became a sham and her professional life was a mess. However, Dutee refused to cower down, and refusing therapy, has challenged the IAAF regulations at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.

Insta Curious:

International Charter of Physical Education, Physical Activity and Sport by UNESCO affirms that ‘equal opportunity to participate and be involved at all supervision and decision-making levels in physical education, physical activity and sport, whether for the purpose of recreation, health promotion or high performance, is the right of every girl and every woman that must be actively enforced’.

Insta Links:

January 20, 2023 /20 Jan 2023, GS2, sexual harassment, sports, Today's Article, Vinesh Phogat, women

India-Maldives relation: Maldives polls, India’s concerns

GS Paper 2

Syllabus: International Relations

Source: IE

Direction: The article highlights the recent developments in India-Maldives relations and the importance of Maldives for India.

Context: The External Affairs Minister (EAM) of India visited Maldives when the presidential election in Maldives is around the corner.

Background:

  • The incumbent president’s (Solih) announcement to run for a second term, has been opposed within his party by former president and leader of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Mohamed Nasheed.
  • Though Solih’s foreign policy expressly roots for “India First”, he is also careful about not alienating China.
  • Yameen had a pro-China tilt and has run an anti-India campaign(‘India Out’ campaign recently) alleging that the MDP government has sold out to India and permitted Indian troops to be based on Maldivian soil.

What happened during the EAM’s visit?

  • Inaugurated an international airport developed by India ($ 136.6-million) at Hanimadhoo in Haaa Dahaalu atoll.
    • This is India’s second largest infrastructure project after the ($500 million) Greater Male Connectivity project, which aims to connect the Maldives capital to three neighbouring highlands.
    • Both are prestige projects for Delhi that compete in scale with the Chinese-built Male-Hulumale-Hulhule bridge and the Hulumale airport.
  • Inaugurated an India-funded community centre In the Foakaidhoo island in the nearby Shaviyani atoll.
  • Handed over two sea ambulances to the Maldives Defence Ministry.
  • In the Manadhoo island of Noonu atoll, the two sides signed three MoUs, including –
    • A proposed collaboration between Cochin University and the Maldives National University, and
    • A $100 million grant for “high impact community development” projects.
  • The focus of the discussion was on development cooperation, capacity building and people-to-people ties.

Significance of Maldives for India:

  • A country crucial to India’s interests in the Indian Ocean.
  • In the past five years, Delhi’s Neighbourhood First and SAGAR(Security and Growth for All in the Region) policies have found expression in the improvement of ties.
  • Maldives is part of the India-driven Colombo Security Conclave.

India’s message to Maldives:

  • India is a committed partner in the Maldives’s journey of progress and transformation.
  • The “new disruptions” in the current geopolitics has made the collaboration even more important.

Conclusion:

  • Maldives is an important player of India’s Indian Ocean diplomacy. As a result, India cannot take the Maldives’ anti-India campaign for granted.
  • India should use its goodwill to persuade both citizens and leaders of Maldives of the importance of India in Maldives’ development.

Quotes:

“We are good neighbours. We are strong partners. We have mutually invested in development and progress. But we also together have responsibility for peace and security in the region.”- EAM Jaishankar

“Maldives–India relation, goes beyond diplomacy. Our values, our cultures, and our histories are intertwined, making it a traditional relationship. Our centuries-old relationship is grown with political trust, economic cooperation and coherent strategic policies between our two countries.”- Solih on his visit to India in 2021 

Insta Curious:

China’s Debt-trap/cheque-book diplomacy vs. India’s development cooperation and an empowerment model of diplomacy

Insta Links:

India-Maldives relations

Mains Links:

Q. Discuss the political developments in the Maldives in the last two years. Should they be of any cause of concern to India? (UPSC 2013)

Prelims Links: (UPSC 2014)

Which one of the following pairs of islands is separated from each other by the ‘Ten Degree Channel’?

  1. Andaman and Nicobar
  2. Nicobar and Sumatra
  3. Maldives and Lakshadweep
  4. Sumatra and Java

Ans: 1

January 20, 2023 /20 Jan 2023, GS 2, India-Maldives relations, IR, Jan 20 CA, Today's Article, Today’s article

Our software sector’s Antyodaya approach is positive for business

GS Paper 4

Syllabus: Corporate Ethics

Source: Live Mint

Context: Our software employers have always been more gender inclusive than the rest of Corporate India, but market challenges this year have made their recruitment more inclusive & forced a bold re-imagination of their people supply chains in five ways.

  • Mahatma Gandhi often talked about Antyodaya (the rise of the last person in the line) and Sarvodaya (the rise of all).

‘It is wrong to think that business is incompatible with ethics. I know that it is perfectly possible to carry on one’s business profitably, and yet honestly and truthfully.’ – Mahatma Gandhi

About Corporate Governance:

  • Corporate governance is a set of accepted principles by the management of the inalienable rights of the shareholders as the actual owner of the corporation and of their own role as trustees on behalf of the shareholders.
  • Gandhian economics stands for a commitment to values, ethical leadership conduct, and transparency and makes a distinction between personal and corporate funds in the management of a company.

The primary case for people’s supply chain diversity is always economic and social justice.

Five areas of diversity: 

Geographic diversity:

  • The map of our engineering education capacity reveals three concentric circles of 28 cities (3,500 engineering colleges with 33% of capacity), 500 cities (with 2,334 such colleges with 35% of capacity), and the rest spread across India.
  • Less than 20% of incremental annual hires in India’s digital industry work in the place where they lived their lives.
  • Software employment is expanding beyond its current eight cities to 20 new places.

Gender diversity:

  • The Indian software industry is better than others at employing women, who make up 34% of its employees and 25% of its managers.
  • Women are now about 50% of software entry-level recruitment. Given that women are clearly not 50% of engineering students, this flow difference indicates that the flexibility, safety, and work environment of the country’s software industry is a winning combination.

Cognitive diversity:

  • Only 5% of the Indian software industry is staffed with non-engineers, but our research suggests that 15% of incremental hires are non-engineering graduates.
  • The industry is now hiring to acquire skills in management, design, languages, sociology, anthropology, psychology, etc.
  • This has been heralded by factors like the advent of ‘low-code/no-code’ platforms.

In the Imitation Game (a 2014 film), Alan Turing’s character says, “Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine.”

Workplace diversity:

  • Pre-covid, only 5% of software employees did not do their daily work from a company office or client site.
  • However, research suggests the rise of remote working means this will rise to 20% in the next decade.

Contract diversity:

  • Software employers are moving to multiple concentric circles of employment contracts: full-time, permanent, part-time, consultant, gig, direct fixed term contract, third-party contract,
  • Contract diversity varies between six software employers: global service companies, Indian service companies, global captives, domestic market unicorns, Indian software as service companies, and Indian non-tech companies.
  • Contract diversity creates better matches between employers and potential employees, besides raising longevity, memory, and productivity.

Great books, like The TCS Story by S. Ramadorai, Maverick Effect by Harish Mehta and Engineered in India by B.V.R. Mohan Reddy highlight how supply chain innovations helped India’s software exports become five times higher than our textile exports.

Conclusion:

As India’s software industry prepares to hire more people in the next 10 years than in the last 50, it has begun an incredible journey of Antyodaya in self-interest that will make its competitive advantage even stronger.

Jana Sangh co-founder Deen Dayal Upadhyay suggested, “The measurement of economic plans and economic growth cannot happen with those who have risen above on the economic ladder but of those who are at the bottom.”

Insta Curious:

DEI Governance (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Governance): It refers to the practices and policies that companies put in place to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within their organization. It ensures that the company’s decision-making and operations are inclusive and reflect the diversity of the stakeholders. It also helps to ensure that all employees and stakeholders are treated fairly and with respect regardless of their background.

The goal of DEI governance is to create a culture where everyone feels valued and respected, where different perspectives and ideas are welcomed, and where all employees have an equal opportunity to succeed. This can include measures such as setting diversity targets for hiring and promotions and implementing anti-discrimination policies.

Insta Links:

ICICI Videocon fraud – An issue of Corporate Ethics

Mains Link:

Q. What are the diverse ethical challenges confronting corporates today? How focus on corporate ethics and corporate governance can help in addressing these challenges? Elucidate. (250 words)

January 20, 2023 /20 Jan 2023, Corporate Ethics, Gandhian Ethics, GS4, Inclusiveness, Software Industry, Today's Article

Content for Mains Enrichment (Ethics/Essay/ Governance)

Direction: We are giving the list of good works by civil servants every day (state-wise). One need not remember all the names or their work. Choose the one which connects with you and note it down for using it as an example in Essay/ Ethics/ Governance Mains Questions.

Sharad Kumar Dwivedi (Governance Award in E-Governance for work in North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal)

He enabled:

  • Management of vehicle parking & movement
  • Online system to unclog traffic at one of India’s busiest ports
  • Reducing wait time from 39 days to 2 days

Sumit Gupta (Governance Award in Sustainability and Disaster Management for work in South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal)

Key work:

  • Mission Mangrove with sustainable development goals
  • Planting over 12 crore mangrove trees across 4579 hectares to act as a bio-shield against cyclones

Pawan Kadyan (Governance Award in Swachhata (Cleanliness initiatives) work in Cooch Behar, West Bengal)

Key work:

  • Mission Nirmal Cooch Behar
  • 16 solid waste management units; plastic and liquid waste management unit set up
  • 1400 community sanitary complexes in place

Keyword: 3 A’s of Judicial Pendency

Source: TOI

  • Adjournment (Forced adjournment at all tiers of the judiciary)
  • Admission– HighAdmissions of new cases aggravate the pendency
  • Appeal- Most Governments and Bureaucrats opt for appeal against every single order to save their own reputation and to delay losses.

The issues related to frequent adjournments, admissions and appeals must be addressed. Constitutional courts must first practise prudence on the three ‘A’s and then ensure it percolates down to magistrate courts.

Keyword: The soft-touch approach

Similar to ‘Soft-power’ in International relations, ‘Soft-touch’ is the ability to co-opt rather than coerce (contrast hard touch)

  • Usage: Recently, the Union Ministry of Electronics and IT released draft rules for online gaming. The soft-touch approach (e.g. self-regulation) could draw in much-needed investments to the sector and at the same time regulatory bodies will only curb the illicit players, ensuring a healthy ecosystem.

Keyword: ‘Demographic gravitation’

Similar to the classical physics concept of gravity – ‘Demographic gravitation’ refers to the linkages between the size of the population and the power dynamics shaping the relationship between nations, regions and generations

  • Usage: Recent reports have predicted that India is set to surpass China in terms of the total population. India has high ‘demographic gravitaiton’ due to its large consumer base (Demand), young population base (Demography) and world’s largest Democracy (3 D)

Keyword: “Shadow Banning”

The term refers to the perception — real or imagined — that social media companies are taking stealth actions to limit a post’s visibility.

  • Context: Last month, Elon Musk (Twitter’s new owner) — used the term to show that Twitter officials had debated blocking reporting from The New York Post on Hunter Biden, son of the current president, in October 2020.
  • Usages: The term can be used in ethics/Essays to show the unethical use of technology to enforce unarticulated rules secretly. It also goes against the principle of free speech and ‘consent’.

Quotes:

  • ‘Writing as a form of Resistance’: Writing is a “form of resistance to forgetfulness, to distraction, to neglect, to let what we know and what we remember to pass away”.
    by Nobel Laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah
    • Usages: It can be used in an essay showing the significance of literature/writing as a political tool

  • You can carve your own path, Be your own kind of leader– Jacinda Ardern (New Zealand Prime Minister)
    • Context: Jacinda Ardern has recently announced her resignation, at peak of her career. She is considered one of the best and most progressive world leaders.

Facts for Prelims

Etalin hydroelectric project (EHEP)

Source: DTE

Context: The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) has asked the Arunachal Pradesh government to file a fresh proposal for forest diversion and the construction of the EHEP.

Background:

  • The FAC (under the MoEF&CC) order came amid reports of noncompliance with its conditions and widespread opposition to the project in the region.
  • The HEP will necessitate the diversion of 1,165.66 hectares of forest land and the felling of more than 280,000 trees in the area, which is one of the world’s mega biodiversity hotspots.

About the EHEP:

  • The contentious 3,097-megawatt project is located in the Dibang Valley (a biodiversity hotspot), Arunachal Pradesh.
  • It was proposed (in 2008) to be developed as a joint venture between Jindal Power Ltd and the Hydropower Development Corporation of Arunachal Pradesh Ltd.
  • The plan combined two run-of-the-river schemes with limited storage requiring concrete gravity dams on rivers Tangon and Dri – tributaries of Dibang river.
  • It ran into several controversies over concerns of ecological damage, forest invasion and tribal displacement (Idu-Mishmi tribes).

This is box title

Context: The NGT has initiated cases taking suo motu cognisance of (The Indian Express) report on six mega projects where stringent clearance conditions to compensate for the high environmental impact were sidestepped.

Some of the projects are:

  • Kulda-Tamnar coal link run by Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) in Odisha
  • Tamnar thermal plant operated by Jindal Power Limited (JPL) in Chhattisgarh
  • Dibang hydel project – a planned concrete gravity dam in Arunachal Pradesh
  • Lower Subansiri hydel project – the biggest hydroelectric project undertaken in India so far and is a run-of-river scheme on river Subansiri, Arunachal Pradesh

A new plateau type discovered in Maharashtra could prove to be a repository of information to study climate change effects on species survival

Source: PIB

Context: A rare low-altitude basalt plateau housing 76 species of plants and shrubs from 24 different families was discovered in the Thane region in the Western Ghats.

How Plateaus are the repository of information:

  • Plateaus in the Western Ghats are significant because of the predominance of endemic species. They are classified as a type of rock outcrop and provide a unique and challenging environment for species to adapt.
  • These outcrops have seasonal water availability, limited soil, and nutrients, making them ideal laboratories to study the effects of climate change on species survival.
  • It can help increase awareness of the conservation needs of rock outcrops and their immense biodiversity value in the global context.

NCERT notifies India’s first national assessment regulator

Source: HT

Context: National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) has notified India’s first national assessment regulator, PARAKH

About PARAKH:

PARAKH has been launched as part of the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020 that envisaged a standard-setting body:

  • To advise school boards regarding new assessment patterns and the latest research, and promote collaborations between them
  • To facilitate students for self-assessment of learning outcomes
  • To remove disparities in the score of students enrolled with different boards

About NEP 2020

The NEP 2020 intends to boost spending on education by enhancing the education budget to a level of 6% of the GDP. It has emphasised the use of the mother tongue or local language as the medium of instruction till Class 5 while recommending its continuance till Class 8 and beyond.

Grameen Udyami Scheme

Source: Live Mint

Context: MoS Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar to attend the felicitation programme of 200 tribal women under the Grameen Udyami Scheme

  • Under the programme, the endeavour is to multi-skill India’s youth and impart functional skills to them for enabling livelihoods
  • Launched by: National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC)

About NSDC:

NSDC is a non-profit public limited company established in 2008, under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956. The Ministry of Finance established NSDC as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.

  • The Government of India, through the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), owns 49% of NSDC, while the private sector owns the remaining 51%.
  • The project is being implemented in six states— Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Gujarat.

NSDC under the aegis of the Ministry of Skill Development and Enterprises (MSDE) has supported the setting up of labs and classrooms through Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) in Seva Bharti Kendra Skill Development Center.

Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD)

Source: TH

Context: The citizens’ committee to save Chamundi Hills and its environment has resolved to seek permission from the heritage committee before beginning PRASHAD development work on the hilltop.

Background:

  • The Chamundi Hills, which are about 3,489 ft. above sea level, is located 13 km east of Mysore, Karnataka, and the name comes from the Chamundeshwari Temple at the peak.
  • Given Chamundi Hills’ environmental sensitivity, there have been calls for its preservation through projects that are not harmful to the local ecology, such as encouraging the use of public transportation.

About the PRASAD Scheme:

  • The Government of India launched the PRASAD scheme in the year 2014-2015 under the Ministry of Tourism.
  • This scheme focuses on developing and identifying pilgrimage sites across India for enriching the religious tourism experience.
  • It aims to integrate pilgrimage destinations in a prioritised, planned and sustainable manner to provide a complete religious tourism experience.

Application Supported by the Blocked Amount (ASBA) system

Source: BS

Context: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has released a consultation paper “Blocking of Funds for Trading in Secondary Market”

  • It seeks to extend the ASBA system to the secondary market

What is the Primary and Secondary Market?

What is ASBA in the Primary market?

When an investor applies for shares in an IPO/FPO; he/she deposits a security amount in a separate fund. It remains in the investor’s bank account and generates interest. If the allotment of shares occurs to the investor, then the funds are transferred to the company. If it doesn’t occur, the money remains with the investor.

  • This is made possible by ASBA, wherein investors give authorization to banks to block funds available in his/her Bank accounts for purchasing IPO/FPO.

What is the reason behind this move by SEBI?

  • ASBA system in the primary market aims to eliminate the need to transfer funds in advance to a broker. Therefore, it reduces the chances of misuse or lossescaused by broker defaults.
  • However, currently, in the secondary market, investors have to submit collateral or transfer fundsin advance to the broker before executing a trade. This sometimes leads to misuse.

About SEBI

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (statutory; founded in 1988; HQ: Mumbai) is the regulatory body for the securities and commodity market in India under the ownership of the Ministry of Finance within the Government of India.

Nature Risk profile (NRP)

Source: UNEP

Context: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and S&P Global launched ‘Nature Risk Profile’, a new methodology for analyzing companies’ impacts and dependencies on nature

  • It was released at Davos World Economic Forum Summit
  • Its methodology is based on Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF)

Aim of NRP: The Nature Risk Profile is aimed at enabling the financial sector to measure and address nature-related risk by providing scientifically robust and actionable analytics on nature impacts and dependencies.

Importance:

With half of the world’s GDP highly dependent on nature, biodiversity loss is a growing concern for global business leaders. According to the World Economic Forum’s 2023 Global Risks Report

About UNEP

The United Nations Environment Programme (HQ: Nairobi, Kenya) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm in June 1972.

About S&P:

S&P Global Inc. is an American publicly traded corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City. Its primary areas of business are financial information and analytics.

About Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework:

It was adopted last year (December 2022) and includes several targets for countries, businesses and other stakeholders for saving biodiversity including 30×30 Deal, Money for Nature (ensure USD200 billion per year) etc.

News Related to ongoing WEF

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has chosen Hyderabad City (Telangana) to set up its Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) focused on healthcare and life sciences. It will be the 18th centre in WEF’s network of Fourth IR centres.

Also, see yesterday’s FFP for initiatives launched in the WEF and about the 4th IR

Caller Name Presentation (CNAP)

Source: IE

Context: Telecom operators have said that a proposal – CNAP – by the Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRAI) of India to display callers’ names could have privacy implications.

Background: Currently, there are some applications (Truecaller) which offer a similar service. However, all of them are third-party apps and depend on crowd-sourced data.

What is CNAP?

  • The CNAP feature will allow users to know the identity of the person calling them.
  • The basic idea is that if people are aware of the person who is calling them, they can make an informed choice about those calls.
  • At the same time, such a feature could potentially help in curbing harassment and other spam calls.

Concerns about CNAP:

  • Privacy concerns: Given that handset manufacturers and OS providers have control over the data obtained through the CNAP, this could result in the breach of subscriber data privacy.
    • Women , in particular, could be the most vulnerable
  • Technical challenges: The time-division multiplexing (TDM) based interconnection between telcos does not support CNAP. Further, there are no standards for CNAP over 2G/3G networks.
  • Could be inaccurate: Several people purchase SIM cards using forged identity cards and TRAI’s proposal to use SIM registration data might be fraught with inaccuracies.

Optional:

Law /Pub Ad: TOI: Look Who’s Feeding Pendency

Agriculture: LM: Why India needs a fresh fertilizer policy