. No.	Topic Name	Prelims/Mains
1	About the Retail Inflation	Prelims & Mains
2	Details of the FCRA	Prelims & Mains
3	About the Judicial Custody	Prelims & Mains
4	Details of the Digilocker	Prelims Specific Topic

 

1 – About the Retail Inflation:

 

GS II

 

Topic  Indian Economy

 

Regarding the CPI:

 

Retail prices of goods and services: When we speak of inflation, we frequently refer to the CPI-based inflation rate (CPI).

 

The retail prices of the goods and services that families purchase for their everyday needs are monitored by the CPI.

 

We determine the CPI’s percentage change from the same point a year earlier in order to measure inflation.

 

Deflation is the condition of falling prices (negative inflation).

 

This figure is particularly important to the Central Bank (RBI), which is in charge of keeping price stability in the economy.

 

Other ideas that the CPI also helps with understanding are the real worth of salaries, wages, and pensions, the purchasing power of the currency, and rate control.

 

What distinguishes the WPI from the CPI?

 

WPI assesses the average change in prices of goods at the wholesale level, whereas CPI calculates the average change in prices of goods and services at the retail level.

 

While the Office of Economic Adviser, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, releases WPI data, the National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, publishes CPI data (MoSPI).

 

The basis year for WPI is 2011–12, while the base year for CPI is 2012.

 

WPI just takes into account changes in product prices, whereas CPI also takes production changes into account.

 

Source  The Indian Express

 

2 – Details of the FCRA:

 

GS II

 

Topic  Indian Economy

 

The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) of 2010:

 

The FCRA legislation, which is implemented by the Ministry of Home Affairs, regulates foreign funding of individuals in India.

People are free to solicit contributions from abroad without the MHA’s consent.

However, these international contributions can only be made in amounts that are less than Rs. 25,000.

The Act ensures that recipients of foreign donations carry out the specified purposes for which they were raised.

According to the Act, organisations are required to register themselves every five years.

The five categories of social, educational, religious, economic, and cultural goals for which foreign donations are permitted to registered NGOs are as follows:

 

FCRA Amendment Act 2020:

 

The Act prohibits public employees from accepting foreign contributions.

A public servant is somebody who works for, is paid by, or receives compensation from the government in exchange for performing any civic duty.

A foreign contribution may not be transferred to a third party who is not authorised to accept a foreign contribution, per the Act.

The Act mandates that all officers, directors, and key staff of a person accepting foreign contributions must possess an Aadhaar number as identification.

The Act states that State Bank of India branches in New Delhi may only accept foreign donations in accounts the bank has designated as FCRA accounts.

Reduced use of foreign contributions for administrative costs: According to the Act, only 20% of all foreign donations received may be used to pay for administrative expenses. The FCRA of 2010 set a 50% cap.

Revocation of registration certificate: In accordance with the Act, the central government may permit a person to revoke their registration certificate.

 

 

 

 

FCRA-Related Problems:

 

The FCRA regulates the transfer of funds to Indian NGOs coming from abroad. It prohibits accepting donations “for any acts harmful to the national interest” from outside the country.

The Act states that if the government believes that the gift to the NGO will adversely affect “public interest” or “economic interest of the state,” it may refuse to give its assent.

On the other hand, “public interest” is not specifically defined.

Both the freedom of speech and the freedom of association that are protected by Articles 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(c) of the Constitution are significantly impacted by the limits imposed by the FCRA.

 

The impact on the right to free expression comes in two forms:

 

By allowing some political organisations to receive foreign funding while forbidding others, it is feasible to produce biases in favour of the government.

NGOs must exercise caution while criticising the regime since too much criticism may endanger their ability to continue operating.

FCRA regulations can stifle dissenting opinions by characterising them as being against the public interest. This kind of repression of free expression may lead to self-censorship.

In Shreya Singhal v. Union of India, the Supreme Court (SC) struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act in a case concerning confusing requirements for the public interest (2015). The SC decided that the Act might be used to suppress free expression.

Since the right to freedom of association is mentioned in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a violation of this right also amounts to a violation of human rights (Article 20).

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association examined the FCRA, 2010, from a legal standpoint in April 2016.

It stated that restrictions supported by “public interest” and “economic interest” had violated the FCRA’s “legitimate limits” requirements.

The clause’s terms were excessively unclear and gave the state wide leeway in how to implement them.

Even though controlling corrupt NGOs is crucial in this environment, there needs to be clarity around ideas like the public interest.

 

Way Forward:

 

Regulations on foreign contributions that are excessively stringent may make it difficult for NGOs to operate, which are crucial to carrying out government programmes locally. They fill in the gaps left by the government when it falls short.

The restriction shouldn’t preclude the global community from sharing resources, and it shouldn’t be discouraged until there is reason to believe the funds are being used to fund illegal activities.

 

Source  The Indian Express

 

 

 

 

3 – About the Judicial Custody:

 

GS II

 

Topic  Indian Judiciary

 

Concept:

 

Taking someone into custody suggests that you will look after them in a protective manner.

The terms “arrest” and “custody” are distinct. Every arrest results in imprisonment, which is true, but the opposite is untrue.

An arrest immediately restricts a person’s personal freedom. His liberty has been taken away.

 

Concerning Police Custody:

 

When a suspect is brought into custody after being arrested by a police officer in response to information, a complaint, or a report about a crime in order to prevent him from committing further offensive acts, the term “police custody” is used.

In actuality, the suspect is being held by the police in a jail located inside the police station. The custody cannot last longer than 24 hours, during which the investigating police officer may question the suspect.

The officer in charge of the case shall present the suspect before the concerned judge within 24 hours, omitting the time needed for the necessary transit from the police station to court.

 

Concerning Judicial Custody:

 

When an accused individual is in judicial custody, the concerned magistrate has custody of them; but, when they are in police custody, the police have physical custody of them.

The accused is housed in a jail in the latter case, but a police station holding cell in the former.

The Cr.P.C. goes into force when a person is taken into custody by the police, and they have to appear before a magistrate within 24 hours following the arrest.

 

What happens after a court custody:

 

A person might be held in either police or court custody.

 

After being captured, a suspect is first held in police custody. He is then brought before a magistrate where he may either be remanded to judicial custody or held once more in police custody.

 

What distinguishes police detention from court custody in the Criminal Procedure Code:

 

When a suspect in a cognizable offence is detained by the police, kept without bail, and either physically appears before the district attorney within 24 hours (excluding travel time from the point of arrest).

The defendant may then be either released on bail by the magistrate or placed in custody by the police or the court.

The accused must be taken before the Juvenile Justice Board if he is a minor, whose age must be confirmed.

If someone is under judicial or police custody, they are regarded as a suspect.

A suspect doesn’t actually become a criminal until after they have been convicted and given a prison sentence for the alleged crime.

These custodies act as barriers of protection.

A police officer in control of a suspect may treat the suspect arbitrarily.

When a person is being held by the police while an investigation is being conducted, the defence attorney for the defendant frequently requests bail or judicial custody.

Now that the suspect is in judicial custody, the court is in charge of him or her.

The suspect cannot be questioned while being held in judicial custody by the police officer assigned to the case.

However, if the court decides that the evidence submitted to the court warrants them, it may grant permission for the interrogations.

 

Indian Custody Regulations:

 

The conditions for holding someone in custody to further an inquiry are governed in India by Section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

According to Section 167 of the Code, a person may be kept in police custody for a maximum of 15 days.

A judicial magistrate may remand someone to any sort of detention for up to 15 days, as opposed to an executive magistrate, who may only order a period of custody lasting up to 7 days.

A person might be held in either police or court custody.

If the magistrate is convinced that there are sufficient grounds, judicial custody may last up to 90 days for crimes carrying a death sentence, a life in prison sentence, or a sentence of more than 10 years, and 60 days for all other crimes, after which the accused or suspect must be released on bail. Police custody is only permitted to last for a maximum of 15 days after the initial custody date.

If a person is moved from police to judicial custody, the number of days spent in police custody is deducted from the total time remanded to judicial custody.

 

Source  The Indian Express

 

4 – Details of the Digilocker:

 

Prelims Specific Topic

 

The goal by the government through the platform of Digilocker is to create an easily verifiable electronic version of papers that can be printed out and maintained.

Insurance policies, medical records, PAN cards, passports, marriage certificates, school transcripts, and other papers can all be stored by users in a digital format.

People can use their mobile number to access the locker.

Documents can be saved by users on the servers offered by IT companies like Google and Dropbox.

In addition to e-documents themselves, DigiLocker can store a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) link to papers produced by various issuer departments.

Source  The Indian Express

 

 

Editorial Analysis

THE INDIAN EXPRESS:

 

ALL ABOUT THE INDO PACIFIC REGION:

 

The idea of the Indo-Pacific:

 

It is a relatively new idea.

The Indo-Pacific region only started to gain widespread attention about ten years ago, but since then, it has grown significantly.

The realisation that the Indian Ocean and the Pacific are connected strategic theatres is one of the elements that influences the use of the phrase.

Asia is also currently the zone of gravity. Because the Pacific and Indian oceans offer the sea lanes, there exist maritime routes. The great majority of global trade passes via these waters.

Trade literally travelled across the Atlantic before the Cold War because that was where the universe’s centre of gravity was located.

Instead of India, the earlier phrase Asia-Pacific was used.

During the Cold War, many people utilised this catchphrase.

The “Indo-Pacific” moniker highlights how important India is to the new system.

The Indo-Pacific area faces significant risks from terrorism and the worry that one particular country in the region would start to assert itself.

The United States, China, Japan, and India have the four largest economies in the Indo-Pacific region.

Different parties have different ideas about what is meant by the term “Indo-Pacific.”

India views the area as being open, balanced, inclusive, and integrated. India frequently emphasises the strategic connections, shared difficulties, and opportunities between the Pacific and the Indian Ocean.

Since the United States views the Indo-Pacific as being free and open, it emphasises the importance of regional standards or norms of behaviour and strives to lessen China’s influence there.

The ASEAN nations have included China in order to give it some stakeholdership and to look at potential areas of cooperation because they regard the Indo-Pacific region as a consociational model.

 

India’s perspective on the Indo-Pacific region:

 

Close allies of India include the US, Australia, Japan, and Indonesia, who define the Indo-Pacific as the Asia-Pacific plus India. India is now part of the Asia-Pacific strategic architecture.

They essentially want India to be present in the South and East China Seas to compete with China.

India, however, wants to work together to create a structure that will bring about peace and stability in the region. The states need to work together to establish a common rules-based structure for the area so that everyone can live in prosperity and security.

The Indo-Pacific area is viewed as emancipated and welcoming by India. Everyone with an interest in the region is included, including every country in the area. The territory between the coasts of Africa and America is taken into account when calculating India’s geographic size.

India is in favour of an Indo-Pacific trading environment that is governed by rules and is open, balanced, and stable so that all countries can profit from trade and investment. The nation anticipates the same thing from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

India, not China, prefers an ASEAN that is cohesive rather than fragmented. China attempts to implement the “divide and rule” conquest tactic by pitting some ASEAN members against one another.

India does not share the American view of the Indo-Pacific, which aims to restrain Chinese dominance. India is more interested in finding methods to cooperate with China.

India supports the democratisation of the area.

The place used to look almost exactly like a lake in America.

However, there are concerns that the region may now become predominately Chinese.

In this context, the Scarborough Shoal issue is used as an illustration.

India opposes any member of the region achieving hegemonic supremacy. To prevent China from taking over the region, India takes part in trilaterals like India-Australia-France and India-Australia-Indonesia.

 

China: A Challenge or a Threat?

 

China has traditionally been a threat to the nations in the Asia-Pacific in addition to currently being a threat to Indian interests in the Indian Ocean.

The distance between the Indian coast and the Chinese-controlled port of Hambantota in Sri Lanka is only a few hundred kilometres.

China is, in a way, colonising the region by providing military hardware to India’s neighbours, such as submarines to Myanmar, frigates to Sri Lanka, equipment to Bangladesh, and weapons to Thailand.

ASEAN: Because some of its members have been influenced by China, there is a danger that ASEAN’s unity in support of the Indo-Pacific idea could be compromised.

India’s relations with ASEAN are further jeopardised by the fact that China is the largest trading partner in the area and can hardly be ignored by the entire association.

The centre of the Indo-Pacific is Southeast Asia, and ASEAN is significant to India, particularly in light of its Act East Policy. The ASEAN nations understand how crucial India’s presence in the region is as a counterbalance to China.

India and China share similar objectives in a variety of areas, such as globalisation, climate change, etc., despite their major disparities.

China and India are members of the BRICS, the SCO, as well as other international organisations.

Given China’s significance in the Indo-Pacific, it is believed that China poses more of a threat to India than a threat to its position.

 

How to Move Forward:

 

In line with international law, all countries in the area should be given the same rights to use the common sea and airspace, which calls for unimpeded commerce, freedom of navigation, and the peaceful resolution of disputes.

Connectivity must be built up throughout the region based on the principles of preserving territorial integrity and sovereignty, consultation, good governance, openness, viability, and sustainability.

Security in the Indo-Pacific region depends on marine domain awareness (MDA).

MDA implies thorough awareness of any maritime operation that may have an impact on the environment, economy, or security.

Multipolarity: It is essential that the nations in the region uphold security and enjoy law and order. Additionally, this will enable multipolarity in the area.

India is expected to step up and provide the weaker nations in the region more options, both militarily and economically. India should try to accommodate their requirements.

India needs a potent navy, international diplomacy, and commercial relations with other countries to handle the issues in the Indo-Pacific region.

SAGAR, or Security and Growth for All in the Region, is the name of India’s goal for the Indian Ocean.

 

TIES BETWEEN INDIA AND JAPAN:

 

Introduction:

 

Former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe has been assassinated yesterday during a political rally in Japan.

Additionally, in 2022, Japan and India will celebrate the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relations.

On April 28, 1952, India and Japan established diplomatic ties.

 

Japan-India Relations:

 

Historical:

 

Beginning with the visit of the Indian monk Bodhisena in 752 AD, the relationship between India and Japan has a lengthy history founded in spiritual affinities as well as strong cultural and civilizational linkages.

Swami Vivekananda, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, JRD Tata, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, and Judge Radha Binod Pal are notable Indians who have ties to Japan in modern times.

 

Diplomatic:

 

In 1952, India and Japan established diplomatic ties.

There were a number of high-level exchanges in the first ten years after diplomatic relations were established, including the visit to India in 1957 by the Japanese Prime Minister.

Japan was one of the few nations to help India with its balance of payments problem in 1991.

The 2017-founded Act East Forum will act as a platform for India-Japan cooperation under the auspices of Japan’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Vision” and India’s “Act East Policy.”

 

Investments and projects:

 

Four agreements between India and Japan demand Tokyo’s support for health care initiatives in India that are sponsored through the Grant Assistance for Grassroots Projects (GGP) programme.

The “Grant Assistance for Grassroots Projects (GGP)” programme provides funding for development projects created to satisfy the various essential requirements of people residing in developing nations.

In addition to actively collaborating with India on infrastructure projects in third countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, Japan has invested 1,600 crores in development projects in the northeastern states of India.

The Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA), which enables India and Japan to exchange goods and services for their respective armed forces, was also inked in September.

Both countries have outlined a plan for growing their Special Strategic and Global Partnership in the post-COVID era.

The Japanese prime minister recently visited India and pledged to invest $42 billion (about Rs 3,20,000 crore) there over the next five years as the two countries finalised a number of collaborations and agreements to strengthen their ties.

 

Relationships in the economy and in business:

 

Given the complimentary structure of the two Asian economies, there is a tonne of room for expansion in the economic ties between Japan and India.

India’s large and expanding market, as well as its resources, particularly its human resources, have increased Japan’s interest in the nation.

In August 2011, India and Japan’s Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) went into effect.

The agreement, which covers not just trade in products but also services, the movement of people, investments, intellectual property rights, customs procedures, and other trade-related problems, is the most comprehensive of its kind that India has ever signed.

Since 1958, Japan has been the main source of bilateral loans and aid for India, making it the latter country.

For the fiscal year 2019–20, bilateral trade between the two countries reached a total of $11.87 billion (April–December).

Japan imported goods at US$ 7.93 billion while exporting goods to India worth US$ 3.94 billion.

Petroleum products, chemicals, elements, compounds, non-metallic mineral ware, fish and fish preparations, metalliferous ores and scrap, clothes and accessories, iron and steel products, textile yarn, fabrics, and machinery are a few of India’s most important exports to Japan.

Machines, electrical machinery, iron and steel products, plastics, non-ferrous metals, auto components, organic chemicals, metal producers, etc. are among the major Japanese imports into India.

 

Defence:

 

Over time, the India-Japan Defense and Security Partnership has developed into a crucial tenet of the two countries’ relations.

Growing strategic convergence has increased the effectiveness of our engagements, and our shared beliefs on issues affecting the Indo-Pacific region’s peace, security, and stability have increased the importance of those engagements.

The “Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation between Japan and India” was released by the two leaders in October 2008, during Prime Minister Singh’s visit to Japan.

The “2+2” summit, the annual Defense Ministerial Interaction, and the Coast Guard-to-Coast Guard communication are a few of the forums for security and defence discussions between Japan and India.

The Japanese and Indian armed services collaborate to organise the bilateral exercises JIMEX, SHINYUU Maitri, and Dharma Guardian. Additionally, both nations take part in the Malabar exercise with the USA.

 

Technology & Science:

 

The two nations’ S&T collaboration was formalised by the 1985 Inter-Governmental Agreement.

The India-Japan Digital Partnership (IJDP) was established during PM Modi’s visit to Japan in October 2018 in order to broaden both current areas of cooperation and new initiatives within the context of cooperation in S&T/ICT, with a stronger emphasis on “Digital ICT Technologies.”

Three joint laboratories between Japan and India in the fields of ICT (AI, IoT, and Big Data) as well as the launch of the DST-JSPS Fellowship Program for young academics are recent projects.

 

Healthcare:

 

In order to adapt ASHWIN’s story for AYUSHMAN Bharat, the Japanese organisation ASHWIN and the Indian AYUSHMAN Bharat Program collaborated.

 

Japanese-Asian Community:

 

The composition of the Indian community has changed as a result of the recent influx of numerous professionals, including IT specialists, engineers working for Indian and Japanese firms, as well as authority in management, finance, education, and S&T research.

 

QUAD Grouping:

 

India and Japan’s bilateral collaboration has grown in the Indo-Pacific area, both directly and through the Quad grouping.

 

A “free, open, and prosperous” Indo-Pacific area is the shared goal of India, the US, Japan, and Australia in their informal Quad strategic conversation.

 

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