DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

14 SEPTEMBER 2022

. No	Topic Name	Prelims/Mains
1.	New IT Rules 2021	Prelims & Mains
2.	Foreign Portfolio Investments	Prelims & Mains
3.	Cooperation Ministry	Prelims & Mains
4.	DAP Fertilisers in India	Prelims & Mains
5.	RFID Technology	Prelims Specific Topic

1 – New IT Rules 2021:

 GS II

 Topic – Government Policies and Interventions

• Background:
• 2018: The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled that the Indian government may draught the necessary legislation to ban child rape and gangrape movies, photos, websites, and other media from content hosting services and other services.
• 2020: After doing research on the alarming problem of pornography on social media and its effects on kids and society at general, a Rajya Sabha Ad-hoc Committee presented its findings and suggested making it possible to identify the first creator of such contents.
• The government added over-the-top (OTT) video streaming services to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s purview.
• New guidelines for social media and intermediaries:
• Due Diligence Must Be Exercised by Intermediaries: The safe harbour provisions do not apply to intermediaries who fail to undertake due diligence.
• Social media intermediaries are immune from legal liability for any content posted on their platforms under the safe harbour protections, which have been outlined under Section 79 of the IT Act.
• A grievance officer must be chosen by intermediaries to handle complaints, and they must share the officer’s name and contact details.
• The Grievance Officer must acknowledge the complaint within twenty-four hours of receiving it and must respond to it within fifteen days.
• By removing or blocking access to any content that exposes people’s private regions, shows them in full or partial nudity or engaging in sexual acts, is impersonative in nature, uses morphing photographs, etc., within 24 hours of receiving complaints, intermediaries protect users’ safety and dignity online.
• Such a complaint may be made by an individual on their own behalf or on behalf of another person.
• Additional Requirements for the Significant Social Media Platforms (With More Than 50 Lakh Users in India)
• Nodal Contact Person, Resident Grievance Officer, and Chief Compliance Officer must all be Indian residents in order to be appointed.
• Report on Compliance: It is required to create a monthly compliance report that contains details on the complaints that have been received, the responses that have been made to those complaints, and proactive material removal.
• Thanks to important social media intermediates that mostly provide messaging-based services, the first creator of the item must be able to be identified.
• Required only for crimes that threaten India’s sovereignty and integrity, state security, friendly relations with other nations, or public order, or for offences involving rape, sexually explicit content, or child sexual abuse that carry punishments of at least five years in jail.
• Removal of Illegal Information: Upon receiving actual knowledge in the form of a court order or being informed by the relevant government or its agencies through an authorised officer, an intermediary should not host or publish any information that is illegal under any law with regard to the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, public order, friendly relations with other countries, etc.
• Rules for News Publishers, Digital Media, and OTT Platforms:
• OTT:
• A (Adult), U (Universal), U/A 7+, U/A 13+, and U (Adult) are the five age-based categories that the OTT platforms, who are referred to in the laws as the publishers of online curated material, will self-classify the content into (Adult).
• Platforms would have to offer age-verification mechanisms that can be trusted for content classified “A” and parental controls for content rated U/A 13+ or above.
• Display Rating: The classification rating relevant to that content or programme must be clearly displayed at the beginning of each programme, together with a content descriptor outlining the content’s nature and providing watcher guidance (if applicable). The user will then be able to choose wisely before watching the programme.
• The Cable Television Networks Regulation Act of 1995’s Programme Code and the Press Council of India’s Standards of Journalistic Conduct will be expected of publishers of news on digital platforms, establishing a level playing field between offline (print, tv) and online media.
• Grievance Redressal Process: A three-level grievance redressal mechanism with increasing levels of self-regulation has been created in compliance with the regulations.
• Level I: Publishers’ self-regulation; Level II: Publishers’ self-regulation through the organisations they have set up for their own self-regulation; Level III: Mechanism for oversight.
• Self-control on the side of the Publisher:
• Publisher must select a Grievance Redressal Officer having a base in India in order to handle complaints it gets.
• The officer must make a decision on a grievance within 15 days of receiving it.
• Publishers may have one or more self-regulatory organisations.
• Such a body, which may not have more than six members, shall be presided over by a retired SC judge, a justice of the High Court, or an independent distinguished person.
• Such an organisation must register with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
• When the publisher doesn’t respond to a complaint within 15 days, this authority will take over and monitor the publisher’s adherence to the Code of Ethics.
• Establishing an oversight framework is the responsibility of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
• For self-governing organisations, it is required to publish a charter, which might also contain rules of conduct. An Inter-Departmental Committee will be established to address issues.

Source – The Hindu

2 – Foreign Portfolio Investments:

GS III

Topic – Indian Economy

• Who are the foreign portfolio investors?
• Foreign portfolio investment is made up of securities and other financial assets passively owned by foreign investors (FPI). Although sufficiently liquid given the volatility of the market, it does not provide the investor actual ownership of financial assets.
• FPIs include, among other things, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, American depositary receipts (ADRs), and global depositary receipts (GDRs).
• FPI is included in a country’s capital account and is reflected on its balance of payments (BOP).
• The BOP determines how much money travels from one country to another in a particular fiscal year.
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India adopted new FPI Regulations in 2019 to replace the previous FPI Regulations from 2014. (SEBI).
• FPI is frequently referred to as “hot money” because of its tendency to flee at the first sign of financial difficulty. Since it is more volatile, liquid, and liquid than FDI, FPI is riskier.
• What Benefits Do FPIs Provide?
• International Credit Accessibility: In other countries, investors might have access to a bigger credit line, enabling them to apply more leverage and get a higher return on their equity investment.
• Increases Liquidity in the Domestic Capital Market
• Markets grow and deepen as they become more liquid, and as a result, a greater range of projects can be funded.
• As a result, investors can invest with confidence since they are aware that if they need to access their money, they can rapidly manage their portfolios or sell their financial securities.
• promotes the expansion of equity markets
• A more competitive financing market rewards corporate governance, performance, and prospects.
• As the market’s functionality and liquidity improve, equity prices will become more valuable to investors, ultimately increasing market efficiency.
• Differentiating FDI from FPI:
• Both FDI and FPI are substantial sources of funding for the majority of economies.
• Foreign direct investment refers to an investment made by a corporation or individual from one country into commercial interests in another (FDI). Thanks to FDI, an investor can purchase a direct corporate interest in another nation.
• Example: There are many ways for investors to make FDI. A few common ones are starting a joint venture with a foreign corporation, buying or merging with an existing foreign company, and creating a foreign subsidiary.

Source – The Indian Express

3 – Cooperation Ministry:

GS III

Topic – Indian Agriculture Sector

• How crucial cooperatives are:
• Because the market cannot satisfy the needs of the vulnerable, cooperation is required. Prevent Market Distortion for Vulnerable. Wherever cooperatives have been effective, they have addressed the problem of market distortions.
• They have also shortened the supply chain by doing away with middlemen, which has increased prices for manufacturers while decreasing prices for consumers.
• Avoid Distress Sales: In cooperative societies with the minimal minimum of financial and physical infrastructure, distress sales are avoided, and negotiating leverage is guaranteed.
• They have the power to bring about the decentralised development paradigm.
• Similar to how panchayati raj institutions (PRI) carry out decentralised rural development, cooperative organisations have the capacity to accomplish the same.
• Successful business models exist in at least two industries, notably dairy and fertilisers.
• Natural leadership, member engagement, techno-managerial effectiveness, economies of scale, product diversity, culture of invention, commitment to consumers, and continual brand marketing are all credited with their success.
• Other industries can also employ these techniques.
• Challenges in a Cooperative Society:
• Mismanagement and Manipulation: Such cooperatives risk having a very big membership that is improperly managed if secure administrative processes are not implemented.
• The most wealthy farmers often controlled the top positions of chairman and vice-chairman and exploited the organisation to pursue their personal interests. Money became such a powerful tool in elections for governing organisations.
• Lack of Information: The public is not sufficiently informed about the objectives of the Movement or the rules governing cooperative entities.
• Functional Weakness: A dearth of educated personnel has hindered the Co-operative Movement. Restricted Coverage: Most of these societies have a small number of members and only serve one or two communities.
• What Forward Offers There are both regional and global needs: Locally based cooperative societies should continue to meet the requirements of their members in all facets of the primary sector.
• They must establish themselves as institutions that can compete on a national scale with the biggest names in the private sector.
• Scale of Economy: Cooperatives can be successfully scaled up in the primary sector, followed by the secondary and tertiary sectors.
• Promote Cooperative Brand: By raising the calibre of the products and services cooperatives offer, it will also be required to strengthen and add value to their brand.
• To achieve this, the economy’s size, operation, distribution, and production must all increase.
• The Act, rules, and bylaws must all be flexible enough to remain in accordance with the business climate.
• The management of multistate cooperative societies will also need to be handed up to managers who are driven by the market and can ensure efficiency.
• Boards of directors for multistate cooperative societies will be in charge of overseeing business choices to ensure that morality and social responsibility are upheld.
• Avoiding Overregulation: Cooperatives and the state have a complex relationship that balances direction and freedom.
• Excessive regulation will eventually cause cooperatives to lose their independence.
• If the government leaves cooperative groups to fend for themselves, they may fail. Though difficult, the resolution of this paradox is desirable.
• Government must ensure that procedures are open to the public in order to be transparent. Honesty and operational independence of the managing committees are critical.
• Training and capacity building: Cooperative departments must evaluate the cooperatives’ training needs and develop and implement training interventions if they are to ensure that cooperatives are competitive in the modern business environment.
• Conclusion:
• All parties, including the government, institutions for cooperative development, and the entire cooperative movement, will need to collaborate in order to realise the goal of community- and people-centric development, including modern business approaches, at the local and national level.
• The new ministry is anticipated to act as a multiplier and promote the necessary systemic cohesion.

Source – The Hindu

4 – DAP Fertilisers in India:

GS III

Topic – Indian Agriculture Sector

• DAP Fertiliser:
• In India, DAP is the second most popular fertiliser after urea.
• Farmers often use this fertiliser shortly before or at the start of sowing because it includes a lot of phosphorus (P), which promotes the growth of roots.
• DAP is the phosphorus recommendation for farmers (46 percent phosphorus and 18 percent nitrogen).
• This is comparable to urea, which contains 46% N and is their favourite nitrogenous fertiliser.
• Cause of the Shortage:
• Due to the pandemic’s effects on the global supply and logistics chain, there have been changes to the global supply. Additionally, this has led to an increase in fertiliser prices across the globe.
• India’s supplies of fertiliser have been depleted as a result of the decline in imports brought on by the increase in global prices.
• Increases in the cost of raw materials:
• Imports were only financially viable if they could be passed on to local farmers due to the rising cost of fertilisers and other agricultural inputs like phosphoric acid, ammonia, and sulphur on a global scale.
• Subsidies:
• Companies that make fertiliser may request fixed subsidies from the Center if they feel they require more.
• As a result, they cut back on the DAP production that was hurting supplies.
• The result of a shortage is:
• It might restrict the planting of rabi crops in areas where reservoir water availability and soil moisture are crucial considerations.
• The lack of fertiliser availability during the planting season, which is likely to be missed, may also have an impact on the output target.
• Way Forward:
• The administration is responsible for making sure that the cargo is quickly transferred from the ports to the consumption zones. Once they are convinced that there is enough goods in transit, farmers will stop panic buying and may not even mind delaying sowing by a week.
• Farmers are advised to use urea and mono super phosphate in combination rather than DAP.

Source – The Indian Express

5 – RFID Technology:

Prelims Specific Topic

• Details of RFID:
• Readers and tags make up the Radio Frequency Identification wireless tracking system.
• Data transmission and the identification of people and objects both employ radio waves.
• Serial numbers, succinct descriptions, and encrypted data can all be stored in the tags.
• RFID tag varieties:
• The power source for active RFIDs is often a battery.
• Passive RFIDs are activated by utilising the electromagnetic energy of the reader.
• How do they work?
• RFID tags use integrated circuits and antennas, as well as low frequency (LF), high frequency (HF), and ultra-high frequency radio waves, to communicate with readers (UHF).
• The message that the tag delivers back to it in the form of radio waves is converted into data by the host computer system, who then analyses it.
• In contrast to barcodes, RFIDs can recognise objects without a direct line of sight.

Source – The Hindu