Transcript 2G Scam

Current Affairs India
Nyayapati Gautam
Triumphant Institute of
Management Education P Ltd
www.time4education.com
Censorship of SNS
• "Dare to think beyond Arindam Chaudhuri Kapil Sibal," tweeted @fakingnews.
• Kapil Sibal had summoned officials
responsible for the India operations of
Facebook, Google, Yahoo and Microsoft to
his office on September 5 and took them on
about the anti-government posts on their
networks.
• Sibal showed them the anti-Sonia Gandhi
page and said that it was "unacceptable".
• He asked them to devise ways to screen
content before it is posted.
Censorship of SNS
• Sibal wanted technicians from the companies
to go through all the user-generated content
and delete objectionable material before
allowing it to be posted.
• They were to come up with a pre-screening
system by the next meeting fixed for
November 28.
• On December 5, the service providers told
Sibal the truth that it cannot be done. The best
that they could do is to continue to act on
complaints as and when they get them.
• According to experts Pre-screening is simply
impossible, humanly and technically.
Censorship of SNS
• The service providers claim they have their
regulatory system in place which is working
well. "There is a provision for reporting and
blocking abusive and offensive posts. There
have been hundreds of cases where such users
have been blocked out of the site. The
Government has approached us several times
for help in tracing terror-related cases.“
• But Government sources complain that service
providers take action only after court orders.
• The problem is that the libel laws in the
country are extremely weak.
Censorship of SNS
• The Government is only left with the option of
talking to service providers, who are not
willing to cooperate.
• “It suits their business model. The more
sensational the stuff on their site, the more hits
it gets. “
• When things went out of control, the minister
told reporters that the government would look
at ways of curbing "blasphemous" content
which could hurt the religious sentiments of a
large section of communities in India.
• Officials have met SNS representatives 6
times but to no avail.
Censorship of SNS
• As the controversy raged, Google had said
there was a need to differentiate between
what is controversial and what is illegal,
adding that anything that went against statute
was removed by their team, including content
that went against their strict terms and
conditions.
• "But it also means that when content is legal
but controversial, we don't remove it because
people's differing views should be respected,
so long as they are legal,"
Censorship of SNS
• Google's Transparency Report says that most
of the content removal requests it received
pertained to criticism of the Government.
• Between January and June 2011, Google
received 358 requests for content removal.
• 264 were about content on Orkut.
• Among these, 236 were in the category of
Government criticism, 13 for impersonation
and two for hate speeches.
• Of the 48 requests for objectionable content
on YouTube, 19 were for Govt criticism and
six each for defamation and hate speeches.
Censorship of SNS
Twitter
• Twitter recently announced “the ability to
reactively withhold content from users in a
specific country — while keeping it available
in the rest of the world.”
• This means a decision to block individual
tweets on a country-by-country basis.
• Is this not censorship? Twitter claims that it
actually censors less.
• That’s because the only alternative would be
“global” censorship of the entire site in certain
countries.
• Twitter to be transparent when an individual
tweet has been hidden.
Facebook
• The FB IPO is the most anticipated public
offering in a decade, with the company
looking to bring in $5 billion in investment.
• FB is looking at a $75 billion to $100 billion
valuation in its IPO
• Facebook is seeking a multiple of up to 27
times annual revenue.
• Apple Inc - today, the world's most valuable
technology corporation - went public at a
valuation of just $1.19 billion in 1980,
equivalent to 25 times revenue.
• Google was valued at $23 billion at the time
of its 2004 debut.
Lokpal
Deficiencies of the current system
• CVC
– CVC is the apex body for all vigilance cases in
Government of India.
– Inadequate resources
– CVC is merely an advisory body.
– CVC cannot direct CBI to initiate enquiries against
any officer of the level of Joint Secretary and
above on its own.
– CVC does not have powers to register criminal
case.
– It does not have powers over politicians
– Appointments to CVC are directly under the control
of ruling political par
Lokpal
• CBI:
– CBI has powers of a police station to investigate
and register FIR.
– CBI is overburdened and does not accept cases
even where amount of defalcation is alleged to be
around Rs 1 crore.
– CBI is directly under the administrative control of
Central Government.
Jan Lokpal
• An institution called LOKPAL at the centre and
LOKAYUKTA in each state will be set up
• Like Supreme Court and Election Commission,
they will be completely independent of the
governments. No minister or bureaucrat will
be able to influence their investigations.
• Cases against corrupt people will not linger
on for years anymore: Investigations in any
case will have to be completed in one year.
Trial should be completed in next one year so
that the corrupt politician, officer or judge is
sent to jail within two years.
Jan Lokpal
• The loss that a corrupt person caused to the
government will be recovered at the time of
conviction.
• How will it help a common citizen?
– If any work of any citizen is not done in prescribed
time in any government office, Lokpal will impose
financial penalty on guilty officers, which will be
given as compensation to the complainant.
• You could also report any case of corruption
to Lokpal like ration being siphoned off, poor
quality roads been constructed or panchayat
funds being siphoned off.
Jan Lokpal
• Lokpal will have to complete its investigations
in a year, trial will be over in next one year
and the guilty will go to jail within two years.
• But won’t the government appoint corrupt and
weak people as Lokpal members?
– That won’t be possible because its members will be
selected by judges, citizens and constitutional
authorities through a completely transparent and
participatory process.
• What if some officer in Lokpal becomes
corrupt?
– The entire functioning of Lokpal will be completely
transparent. Any complaint against an officer shall
be investigated and the guilty officer dismissed
Jan Lokpal
• What will happen to existing anti-corruption
agencies?
– CVC, departmental vigilance and anti-corruption
branch of CBI will be merged into Lokpal. Lokpal
will have complete powers and machinery to
independently investigate and prosecute any
officer, judge or politician.
• It will be the duty of the Lokpal to provide
protection to those who are being victimized
for raising their voice against corruption.
The Lokpal Bill
• The 74-page Lokpal Bill has two parts: first
part is a constitutional amendment bill - needs
2/3 majority - so government will need
support of opposition parties.
• The 116th amendment seeks to give
constitutional status to Lokpal - a new ninemember ombudsman agency that will receive
complaints from the public about corrupt
government servants and act on them.
• Part B seeks to create the institution of Lokpal
and Lokayuktas, who will serve as anticorruption agencies in states. A simple
majority is required to pass this part of the
The Lokpal Bill
• Even before the bill is tabled, the government
has decided on an amendment - to bring back
the minority quota for the nine members of the
Lokpal.
• This means that the 50% reservation will
extend to Scheduled Castes and Tribes
(SCs/STs), women, Other Backward Classes
(OBCs) and minorities.
• The constitution does not allow for reservation
on the basis of religion. So to get the
amendment approved, a two-third majority is
needed. The BJP is unlikely to support the
amendment. Lalu Prasad and Mulayam
The Lokpal Bill
• The Lokpal will be accountable to the
Parliament
• The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will
not be controlled administratively by Lokpal.
Government will continue to decide its budget,
transfers and postings of officials
• Lokpal cannot initiate proceedings against an
officer on its own; a complaint has to be
lodged with the ombudsman before it orders
an inquiry.
• The Director of CBI to be chosen by panel of
PM, Leader of Opposition and Chief Justice of
India.
The Lokpal Bill
• No sanction is required for prosecution of
public servants.
• No separation of prosecution and
investigative wings of CBI, as was earlier
suggested by some parties.
• CBI will report to Lokpal on cases referred to
it by the ombudsman.
• Lokpal has the right to conduct preliminary
inquiry through an inquiry wing, made up of
police officers.
• Lokpal can refer cases to other agencies like
the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)
Smaller States
• Chief Minister Mayawati has proposed
breaking up UP roughly along regional
cultural divides — Bundelkhand, Avadh
Pradesh, Purvanchal, and Paschim Pradesh.
• This idea, broadly speaking, goes back to
1953 to the SRC.
– Sardar K.M. Panikkar in the SRC in 1953,
suggested bifurcation of the then Uttar Pradesh.
– His note of dissent argued that Uttar Pradesh at
that time accounted for one-sixth of India's
population, which was equal to the combined
population of Andhra, Telangana, Karnataka and
Kerala or larger than the population of Punjab,
Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh taken together.
Proposed division
– He also argued that Uttar Pradesh was likely to
create an imbalance to the Indian federal system.
– He pointed out that accounting for 85 of the 499
members in the Lok Sabha and 34 in the Rajya
Sabha, Uttar Pradesh was likely to seek a
dominant role.
– This could lead to a feeling of distrust and
resentment in other States.
– The territories of a proposed new State of Agra as
visualised by Panikkar included Meerut, Agra, and
Jhansi divisions. Agra was proposed as the capital.
• The SRC went on to evaluate these
suggestions.
– It principally took note of four arguments.
– These were “unwieldy size”, which could adversely
affect the “efficiency of the administration”;
– the “lack of commonality in physical and
geographical terms”;
– the disparity among the different zones within U.P.
and the backwardness of its eastern districts;
– the State's size and the extent of its representation
in Parliament, which could exercise a dominant
influence in all-India affairs and create an
imbalance “within the federal structure”.
• The SRC's official report contended that
“there are in fact no clear or necessary
connections between the size of a State and
the quality of its administration”.
• The SRC concluded by majority vote that none
of the arguments in favour of “reorganisation”
was powerful enough to justify the
“dislocation and disturbance” that would
inevitably ensue if U.P. were divided.
• Why the muted reaction to Mayawati’s
decision?
– The RLD has been for long demanding a separate
Harit Pradesh, comprising the western districts of
U.P. The contours of Paschim Pradesh correspond to
the RLD's Harit Pradesh.
– The BJP is for smaller States in principle and has
been supporting the movement for the creation of
Telangana by bifurcating Andhra Pradesh.
– Sections of the Congress in at least three of the four
proposed new States – Bundelkhand, Poorvanchal
and Paschim Pradesh – have periodically
articulated their support to the idea of dividing U.P.
Any other reasons?
• So does this mean that we are more confident
about the integrity of our nation today than
we were earlier?
– Much of our post Independence anxiety was, of
course, because of the Partition and the fear of
further balkanisation.
• Perhaps, our economy is much more
integrated today than it was in the past?
• Perhaps also our status as a successful
economic player has made us more selfconfident?
• Maybe secession is no longer a spectre that
hangs over our heads.
Are smaller states good?
• Uttarakhand:
– Carved out of 13 hill districts of Uttar Pradesh, has
emerged as a major growth story.
– The State's growth rate today is pegged at 11.3
per cent compared with 2.9 per cent in 2000.
– In the past 10 years, it has notched up an average
growth rate of over 10 per cent, while Uttar
Pradesh has been lagging behind at 5-6 per cent
– In 2000, the State had 13,500 kilometres of roads.
Now it boasts a road network of 32,000 km.
– Between 2003 and 2010, the annual industrial
growth rate in the State was over 24 per cent;
– Now it is still a respectable 8-9 per cent.
• Uttarakhand:
– But the growth has been achieved at a huge
environmental cost.
– Frenetic road construction, exploitation of the
hydroelectric potential and the rush to achieve
industrial development have also meant that forests
are cut with impunity and rivers have been diverted
into tunnels for the generation of hydel power.
– The local population is up in arms against the
environmental degradation.
– Following one such agitation, the government
stalled the work on many hydropower projects.
– The NTPC project at Loharinagpala on the
Bhagirathi.
• Chhattisgarh:
– Chhattisgarh has managed to achieve a high
growth rate owing to its immense mineral and
natural resources.
– When it turned 10 the State posted the highest
economic growth rate of 11.49 per cent among all
Indian States, followed by Gujarat at 10.53 per
cent.
– The State has a per capita energy consumption of
1,547 units as against the 779 units at the national
level.
– It is an energy surplus State today, which was not
the case when it was part of Madhya Pradesh.
– It has managed to maintain an average growth
rate of 10.05 per cent for the past six years, which
is the highest for any State in India.
• Chhattisgarh:
– It is a major rice-producing State, the second
largest in India in terms of procurement.
– It procures approximately 50 lakh tonnes of paddy
annually.
– The State has achieved a 75 per cent increase in
the outlay for agriculture and allied sectors, which
stands at Rs.1,385.02 crore.
– The procurement process in the State is done online,
which ensures total transparency.
– Details of every farmer are available online and
nearly 10 lakh farmers receive computergenerated cheques without delay.
– Fifty lakh cheque leaves, worth Rs.16,777 crore,
have been given to farmers since 2007-08.
• Chhattisgarh:
– The State has received accolades for putting in
place an effective public distribution system (PDS)
as well.
– It has 10,846 fair price shops, which means one in
each gram panchayat.
– The State has ensured that by the sixth of every
month, commodities are supplied to fair price shops.
Steps have been taken to prevent pilferage.
Telangana
• The demand for Telangana is one of the
oldest concerns for a separate state in
independent India.
– It has seen its share of talks and violence since the
early 1960s. Here's looking back to understand
what the Telangana agitation is all about.
– Telangana comprises ten of Andhra Pradesh's 23
districts. Originally, the region was part of the
erstwhile Nizam's princely state of Hyderabad.
– In 1948, India put an end to the rule of the Nizams
and a Hyderabad state was formed.
– In 1956, the Telangana part of Hyderabad was
merged with the Andhra state.
– The Andhra state had been carved out of Madras
presidency in 1956
– The people from Telangana were against merger
with Andhra as they feared job losses as education
levels and development in Andhra were better than
in Telangana. There were cultural differences too.
– Under Nizam’s rule the culture and language in
Telangana bore influence of North India.
– In 1969, the Telangana movement intensified under
the leadership of Marri Channa Reddy and the
Telangana Praja Samiti. There was widespread
violence and over 350 protestors were killed in
police firing and lathi charge.
– However, the movement could not last long as
Channa Reddy went on to merge his party with
Congress and was eventually made Chief Minister
by Indira Gandhi.
• In 2001, the movement revived once again when K
Chandrashekhar Rao quit the Telugu Desam and
formed the Telangana Rashtra Samithi. In 2004, the
Congress joined hands with Rao promising separate
Telangana but later back tracked.
• Present Day:
– Claiming that the movement for Telangana was
very much alive, the Telangana political joint action
committee said it would soon embark on the
Telangana Sadhana bus yatra across the region to
enlighten people on the necessity for the speedy
formation of Telangana state.
– TJAC chairman M Kodandaram Reddy said on
Tuesday that they would target all those who have
been creating obstacles for the formation of
Telangana, especially elected representatives from
both TDP and Congress.
– Meanwhile, the Telangana Employees’ JAC has
threatened to take up a 100-day SJS if the
government backed out on its assurance to lift all
police cases on employee leaders.