The new Information Technology Rules

The government recently released a set of guidelines to regulate social media and OTT content providers like Netflix and amazon prime. The prime concern behind this was an alleged misuse of social media, especially for the events that unfolded on January 26, 2021. What exactly is the rules’ impact?

Section 79 of the Information Technology Act provides a ‘safe harbour’ to intermediaries that host user-generated content, exempting them from liability for the actions of users if they adhere to government-prescribed guidelines. However, the new guidelines prescribe an element of due diligence to be followed by the intermediary, failing which the safe harbour provisions would cease to apply to these platforms and they could be held liable.

The guidelines also prescribe a grievance redressal mechanism by mandating that the intermediaries should establish a mechanism for receiving and resolving complaints from users. These platforms will need to appoint a grievance officer to deal with such complaints, who must acknowledge the complaint within 24 hours, and resolve it within 15 days of receipt.

Surprisingly, the guidelines also lays down 10 categories of content that the platforms should not host, including content that “threatens the unity, integrity, defence, security or sovereignty of India, friendly relations with foreign States, or public order, or causes incitement to the commission of any cognizable offence or prevents investigation of any offence or is insulting any foreign States”; “is defamatory, obscene, pornographic, paedophilic, invasive of another’s privacy, including bodily privacy; insulting or harassing on the basis of gender; libellous, racially or ethnically objectionable; relating or encouraging money laundering or gambling, or otherwise inconsistent with or contrary to the laws of India”, etc. which are vague enough to arouse concerns about arbitrary censorship.

The rules also stipulate that upon receipt of information about the platform hosting prohibited content from a court or the appropriate government agency, it should remove the said content within 36 hours. The penal provisions for violating these guidelines vary from imprisonment for three years to a maximum of seven years, with fines starting from Rs 2 lakh. Executives of intermediaries which fail to act on an order issued by the government citing threat to sovereignty or integrity, defence, security of the state or public order, can be jailed for up to a period of seven years under Section 69 of the IT Act.

Hence, a watchful eye must be kept on how these rules are used to ensure we don’t descend into only consuming content the government wants us to consume in a censorship regime.

The criminality of marital rape in India

It is appalling that in this day and age, India still remains a part of the 36 countries in which marital rape is not legal. About 70 per cent of women in India are victims of domestic violence. National Crime Records Bureau’s (NCRB) ‘Crime in India’ 2019 report shows that a woman is raped every 16 minutes, and every four minutes, she experiences cruelty at the hands of her in-laws. An analysis of National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 2015-16 data indicates that an estimated 99.1 per cent of sexual violence cases go unreported and that the average Indian woman is 17 times more likely to face sexual violence from her husband than from others.

This is because of the rape culture that is still entrenched in Indian society. Women are considered to be their husbands’ chattel in marriages rather than equal partners, and this reflected itself in the skewed adultery law that was amended because it was discriminatory towards women. Whilst there is great outrage over stranger rapes that are covered with big headlines in newspapers, we must remember that the biggest bearers of sexual violence do not have the social capital to come out with their stories because our society does not understand that consent can be withdrawn in a marriage as well.

This societal disease infiltrates into our legal and governmental establishment as well. Powerful ministers making sexist statements is not unheard of, and judges making their judgements in rape cases to blame the victim are commonplace. This institutional rot cannot be cured without striking the problem at its root.

It is true that legal minutiae have very little impact on the day-to-day affairs of most people in the country, but the law sets a precedent. We all know the legal ban on untouchability has not stopped the practice, but the illegality of it guides the moralities of people and draws a line between what is normal in a civilised society and what is not. Hence, it is important that are laws are amended to deem marital rape a criminal offence that merits high punishment for us to progress as a society.

The Proposed Ban on Cryptocurrencies

First launched in 2009, Bitcoin is a kind of cryptocurrency or digital currency that exists completely online. It is decentralized without a single central bank to administer it and the currency is stored in digital wallets. These wallets are backed by private and public keys for security, and the public key is what lets users transact with each other. Because of its decentralized nature and the anonymity associated with it, the currency can be easily traded across users and countries without identifying the person who holds the bitcoin. The popularity of bitcoin has spurred a range of alternate crypto currency including Etherium, Dogecoin and Binance.

The major problem with these private cryptocurrencies is that they create an alternate to real money, which may lead to the problem of ‘double spending.’ Hence, the government had set up a committee in 2017 led by the then Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg to study the issues related to virtual currencies. The committee, in its final report made public in 2019, had drafted a Bill to impose a complete ban on private cryptocurrencies after the regulators expressed their concerns over it.

It is not known what effect this step will have, but many have opposed it because of the inherent flaws in the argument of ‘double spending’ and since Tesla has renewed interest in cryptocurrencies by investing in bitcoin. Only time will tell whether this action will impact the markets significantly or not.

Upcoming Elections in India

In the new year 2021, as India comes out of a year of lockdown and paused public life, it is going to, by degrees, go back to the pre-coronavirus normalcy. This involves conducting regular elections as well. We can’t expect the new elections to be as difficult to organise and conduct as the Bihar elections of 2020, but elections in a pandemic are yet a new phenomenon and it has to be observed how their handling can impact their results.

This year, we have legislative assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal (in April) and later Jammu and Kashmir. There are also a few bye-elections scheduled. Politicians have already begun campaigning aggressively for all these elections – large crowds in West Bengal attend rallies as the top contenders have a fight of ideologies, and Assam sees an increase in the wages of the tea-growers in light of the upcoming election. The field has gotten even more competitive as E. Shreedharan, also known as the ‘Metro Man’ of India, has joined the BJP in light of the upcoming Kerala elections.

The public and media discourse has also greatly moved on from other political challenges and the coronavirus debates to this – and so have the priorities of the political leaders. Even in the union budget of 2021, there was a major allocation of funds to these states for highway projects and other things. Now the only thing left to see is how these very unpredictable elections turn out for all the political actors involved.

Cognizable and non-cognizable offences

Often, in the coverage major trials, we hear the legal terms cognizable and non-cognizable offences. But legal knowledge of the average Indian is average at best and it prevents us from understanding our rights and privileges. Hence, everyone should know what these terms mean.

Under section 2(C) of the CrPC, a cognizable offence is an offence in which a police officer may arrest a person without a warrant issued by a magistrate. Section 2(I) details the converse, i.e., a non-cognizable offence in which a police officer has no authority to arrest without a warrant.

It can be checked whether an offence is cognizable or not by checking the first schedule of the code. However, they are also classified by gravity of the offence – serious offences like rape and murder punishable with imprisonment for not less than 3 years are considered cognizable, and less serious offences like nuisance punishable with imprisonment for less than 3 years are considered non-cognizable.

There are some exceptions to this rule, wherein offences related to marriage and perjury are punished with more than 3 years of imprisonment despite being non-cognizable, and cognizable offences like outraging modesty of women being punished with less than 3 years of imprisonment.

Every citizen must know which offences he can be arrested with or without a warrant for and the rights he has that the constitution bestows upon him. It only helps us to contribute to making the criminal justice system more accountable, transparent and efficient.

Groundwater crisis in India

Ever since the Green Revolution, farmers’ dependence on intensive inputs like water and fertilizers has resulted in the serious depletion of the underground water table, in many states across the country.

Farming is becoming increasingly unsustainable in these regions, as the map shows, and there is a heavy need to switch to more sustainable alternatives. However, the reverse has happened. Policymakers have only incentivized more groundwater usage through credit and subsidies for groundwater extraction equipment as well as low electricity tariffs that lead to excessive water usage. This is catastrophic – good for short-term profit, but soon the marginal output of farms will start decreasing and the environment would be beyond recovery.

The choice of crops is also important – being water-abundant, the east is more suited to growing water-intensive crops like sugarcane and paddy. But differences in electricity supply have ensured that such crops have not found a place in their natural habitat. On the other hand, electricity subsidies and tariffs in the south and west India, regions with low water tables, encouraged sugarcane and paddy cultivation, draining these regions of their already low groundwater.

The need of the hour is to switch to surface water irrigation and other sustainable alternatives to groundwater depletion before it’s too late, and to prioritize crop growing according to what is most sustainable. The government must realize that short-term revenue cannot be the altar at which nature is sacrificed, and that it is for the benefit of all parties involved that unsustainable farming practices are discouraged.

Coronavirus's Impact on Mental Health

Coronavirus has put the world into a stage it has never seen before – where all activity has to be done without human contact, which is a staple of life. Even though the strict lockdowns have started to ease up and life is gradually coming back to normal, we must acknowledge the impact the pandemic has had not just on people’s physical health and daily routines but on their mental health.

Withdrawing from all social interaction and using electronic gadgets for performing the most basic tasks, as well as the inevitable immobility that accompanies a lockdown, has taken a toll on people’s mental health. Additionally, most people have experienced the effects of the global economic recession which has worsened their condition. A KFF Health Tracking Poll from July 2020 found that many adults are reporting specific negative impacts on their mental health and well-being, such as difficulty sleeping (36%) or eating (32%), increases in alcohol consumption or substance use (12%), and worsening chronic conditions (12%), due to worry and stress over the coronavirus.

There are certain groups that are disproportionately affected by this: the people with low incomes or unstable jobs, and people that have lost close ones to the coronavirus. It is incredibly difficult to be high-functioning in such a scenario which is why many are resorting to substance abuse, because even mental healthcare is inaccessible.

In a situation like this, we must realize that we cannot be as harsh with people as we could before the pandemic. Being productive in such a gloomy and confined atmosphere is difficult, and this is the time in which everyone should stand together in solidarity against the virus and understand each other’s misgivings.

What are the farm laws?

Everywhere in the news, there are different refrains about the protests and opinions for and against the new farm laws. But what exactly are these laws and how do they change the status quo? These laws are: The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act. They were passed in June as ordinances before being approved by Parliament during the Monsoon Session by a voice vote.

The Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act provides for setting up a mechanism allowing the farmers to sell their farm produces outside the Agriculture Produce Market Committees (APMCs). Before this law, they could only sell it in the government APMCs or ‘mandis.’ Now, any licence-holding trader can buy the produce from the farmers at mutually agreed prices, which will be free of the ‘mandi tax’ imposed by state governments. Some think this will allow agribusinesses to monopolize the market through initially low prices and exploit farmers, and some think it will result in better prices for the farmers and a more efficient agricultural market because of more choices.

The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act allows farmers to do contract farming and market their produces freely. Some think it will result in the wage slavery of farmers but others think it will increase investment in the agricultural sector.

The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act is an amendment to the existing Essential Commodities Act. This law freed items such as food grains, pulses, edible oils and onion for trade except in extraordinary situations. As such, it is not as contentious as the previous 2 laws.

The main grouse of the protesting farmers with these laws, especially the first one, is the lack of an MSP (minimum standard price) assurance. They believe they will suffer because of big businesses reducing prices after monopolizing the markets. However, the people that oppose this idea believe that the MSP system is inefficient and only results in wastage. Only time can tell who will win this battle of ideas and what will happen to the agricultural sector.

Sector Theory

Following Burgess, Homer Hoyt, an economist, propounded an alternative, proposition of urban structure and its growth pattern in 1939. Through sectors model, Hoyt tried to overcome the weaknesses of the earlier theory. Hoyt argued that cities do not develop in the form of simple rings, instead, they have “sectors”. It was mainly based on residential rent pattern and impacts of transportation development. This theory is the result of an empirical study of 34 American cities, in which he observed that high rent areas are located in one or more sectors of the city. He prepared a map showing how rent changed by sectors irrespective of concentric circle. Generating from the maps of housing features and land uses pattern of cities, he analyzed the impact of transportation the recreational areas and other changes.

Homer Hoyt suggested that few activities grow in the form of sectors which radiates out along the main travel links. Activities in a sector are considered to be the same throughout the sector because of the purpose/function it serves. Land use within each sector would remain the same because like attracts like. The high-class sector would stay high-class because it would be the most sought after area to live, so only the rich could afford to live there. The industrial sector would remain industrial as the area would have a typical advantage of a railway line or river. These sectors can be housing, industrial activities, etc. These sectors grow along railway lines, highways or rivers.

Sector model

Components of Hoyt Model

a) CBD – Central Business District

It is placed at the center. Sectors and the partial rings of land use/activities take place. This area is often known as downtown and has high rise buildings. Inner city area or downtown area is a complex and dynamic organism. It represents many layers of historic growth of many generations impact of cultural and traditions of men who inhabited the city as tourists. The combinations of these layers and the way they are held together in the city gives imageability, out of its socio-cultural heritage. As the cities expands and modern technology and scientific innovations transformed the style of living and also the structure of the city, open spaces were being eaten up by built forms resulting in congested and unhealthy environment.

b) Industry

Industries are represented in the form of a sector radiating out from the center. These forms sector because of the presence of a transport linkage along which the activities grew. Presence of railway line, river or road would attract similar activity, and thus a continuous corridor or “sector” will develop.

c) Low-Class Residential

Low-income groups reside in this area. Narrow roads, high population density, small houses with poor ventilation exist in this area. Roads are narrow and often connect to the industries where most of the people in this sector work. Closeness to industries reduces the travel cost and thus attracts industrial workers. Environmental and living conditions are often inadequate because of the proximity to factories.

d) Middle-Class Residential

This area has middle income groups who can afford more substantial travel cost and want better living conditions. The activities of people residing in this area consist of different activities and not just the industrial work. It has more linkages with CBD along with some linkages to industries. This area has the most significant residential area.

e) High Class residential

This is the outermost and farthest area from the downtown (CBD). Wealthy and affluent people live in this area. This area is clean, has less traffic, quiet and has large houses. Corridor or spine extending from CBD to the edge has the best housing.

Features of sector model

Presence of low-income groups near industries supports Hoyt Model
The Hoyt model realized that transportation (in particular) and access to resources caused a disruption of the Burgess model.
Transport linkages profoundly influence activities and their locations. Low transportation cost and proximity to roads/railway reduce the cost of production.
This model applies well to Chicago
Account for major transportation routes and its effect on activities

The significance of Hoyt Model

Ecological factors and economic rent concept to explain the land use pattern
Stress on the role of transport routes in affecting the spatial arrangement of the city
Both the distance and direction of growth from the city center are considered
Brings location of industrial and environmental amenity values as determinants in a residential place
Example: Sectors of high-class residential areas tend to grow towards higher grounds, sites with a better view, more open space, the homes of influential leaders within the community and existing outlying, smaller settlements.

Limitations of Sector Model

Only Railway lines are considered for the growth of sectors and do not make allowances for private cars.
It is a monocentric representation of cities; multiple business centers are not accounted for in this model.
Physical features – physical features may restrict or direct growth along specific wedges
No reference to out of town development

Both sectors model and concentric zone, have the common concept of CBD i.e., the Central Business District and outward expansion. Where former differs in terms of differential radial growth from CBD or centre. He explained that sectors develop because of the difference in accessibility from outlying portions to the core region. Thus, it also includes the development of concentric patterns within the zone.

Contrary to Burgess’ Concentric Zone theory, the sectors theory assumes that land rents changes from Sector to Sector not in the form of successive concentric ring area. The development of a sector is determined by various factors, such as, planning, transportation, class character of residents and other facilities available to that particular sector. Within the residential sector it has been observed through study that the inner portions are found to be having older houses and newer constructions are found on the outer fringes.