Topics covered
- Citizenship renouncement
- The GOCO Model
- Facts for prelims
1. Citizenship renouncement
Context: More than six lakh Indians renounced citizenship in the past five years, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. This year, till September 30, 1,11,287 Indians gave up their citizenship.
About the News
- More than six lakh Indians renounced citizenship in the past five years, The reason for a large number of Indians surrendering their citizenship was not stated in the reply.
- Though, in 2018, the MHA revised Form XXII under Citizenship Rules for declaration of renunciation of citizenship, which, for the first time, included a column on “circumstances/reasons due to which applicant intends to acquire foreign citizenship and renounce Indian citizenship”.
- Recently, the MHA had simplified the process and provisions were made for the applicants to upload documents online and an upper limit of 60 days was fixed for the renunciation process to be completed.
- In 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, the number of Indians who gave up citizenship stood at 1,33,049, 1,34,561, 1,44,017 and 85,248, respectively.
- According to a Global Wealth Migration Review report, in 2019, India came second only to China when it came to high net worth individuals (HNIs) leaving the country. As many as 7,000 HNIs left India in 2019.
- In the period 2016-20, 10,645 foreigners applied for Indian citizenship, of which more than 7,782 were from Pakistan and 452 were stateless.
- During the same period, 4,177 persons were granted Indian citizenship but the country-wise breakup was not provided. A total number of 1,33,83,718 Indian nationals were living in foreign countries.
Methods of Acquiring and Losing of Citizenship under Indian Citizenship Act
Modes Of Acquiring Indian Citizenship
- The Citizenship Act, 1955 provides for the acquisition of Indian Citizenship after the commencement of the Constitution in 5 modes:
- Acquisition Of Citizenship By Birth [Section 3]
- Acquisition Of Citizenship By Descent [Section 4]
- Acquisition Of Citizenship By Registration [Section 5]
- Acquisition Of Citizenship By Naturalization [Section 6]
- Acquisition Of Citizenship By Incorporation Of Territory [Section 7]
Modes Of Losing Indian Citizenship
- The Citizenship Act, 1955 also lays down the three modes by which an Indian citizen, whether a citizen at the commencement of the Constitution or subsequent to it, may lose his/her citizenship.
- It may happen in any of the three ways : renunciation, termination and deprivation.
- Renunciation Of Citizenship [Section 8]
- An Indian Citizen of full age and capacity can renounce his Indian citizenship by making a declaration to that effect and having it registered.
- But if such a declaration is made during any war in which India is engaged, the registration shall be withheld until the Central Government otherwise directs.
- When a male person renounces his citizenship, every minor child of him ceases to be an Indian citizen.
- Such a child may, however, resume Indian citizenship if he makes a declaration to that effect within a year of his attaining full age, i.e. 18 years
- Termination Of Citizenship [Section 9]
- If a citizen of India voluntarily acquires the citizenship of another country, he shall cease to be a citizen of India.
- During the war period, this provision does not apply to a citizen of India, who acquires the citizenship of another country in which India may be engaged voluntarily.
- If any question arises as to whether, when or how any person has acquired the citizenship of another country, it is to be determined by such authority and in such manner as may be prescribed by the rules.
- Deprivation Of Citizenship [Section 10]
- Deprivation is a compulsory termination of citizenship of India.
- A citizen of India by naturalization, registration, domicile and residence, may be deprived of his citizenship by an order of the Central Government if it is satisfied that:
- The citizen has obtained the citizenship by means of fraud, false representation or concealment of any material fact;
- The citizen has shown disloyalty to the Constitution of India;
- The citizen has unlawfully traded or communicated with the enemy during a war;
- The citizen has, within five years after registration or neutralization, been imprisoned in any country for two years;
- The citizen has been ordinarily resident out of India for seven years continuously.
2. The GOCO Model
Context: The Army’s ambitious plan for modernisation of the Army Base Workshops (ABWs) and implementation of ‘Government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO)’ model is “delayed” and the original timeline for implementing the system lapsed in December 2019, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said in its report tabled in the Parliament.
Background
- The GOCO model was one of the recommendations of the Lt. Gen. DB Shekatkar (Retd.) committee to “enhance combat capability and re-balancing defence expenditure.”
- Based on the recommendations, the government has “decided to disband two advance base workshops, one static workshop and four ordnance depots” and eight ABWs are recommended to be corporatised on GOCO model.
About ‘Government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO)’ model
- The logic of GOCO is to bring about efficiency and save manpower.
- Under this model the assets owned by government will be operated by the private industries.
- Selected industry partners (under GOCO) will perform operation and maintenance .
- Any necessary knowledge transfer will be based on the project requirements.
- “GOCO partner need not make investment in land, machinery and other support system
- The selected private industry partner will get enough independence in implementing the mission using their best practices
Pros
- The GOCO model will bring in corporate culture, leading to efficiency and accountability.
- Private operators can easily go into partnership with Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), both for expertise and spares.
- The government can save on manpower — 12,500 personnel workforce of the Army Based Workshops. Under this model, the ABWs can also undertake quarter life and two-thirds life medium-level repairs and save on manpower committed at intermediate workshops.
- This model also opens avenues for absorbing trained retired personnel, which can be built into the contract.
Cons
- The corporate world is driven by market forces, which means the GOCO model will be more costly.
- In most cases, private operators will want better infrastructure, which would have to be upgraded or replaced at government cost.
- Private operators may not have the expertise to deal with military equipment; they are also unlikely to absorb the existing manpower and will want a younger and better-trained workforce.
- Thus, it may be more cost-effective to reform the existing ABWs by improving the infrastructure and ensuring timely availability of spares and better work culture.
Previous system
- The Army follows the traditional ‘womb to tomb’ life cycle support management for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of its costly equipment, which remains in service for up to three decades.
- Broadly, the traditional system encompasses maintenance, servicing and low-end repairs by unit- and division-level workshops; quarter life and two-thirds life medium-level repairs by intermediate workshops at corps level; and mid-life overhaul as also overhaul of major assemblies at ABWs.
- The Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) is responsible for the MRO system.
- In case of equipment manufactured under licence, ordnance factories like the Heavy Vehicles Factory also undertake overhaul of equipment.
3. Facts for Prelims
MI6
- The Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6, is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligence in support of the UK’s national security.
- Formed in 1909 as the foreign section of the Secret Service Bureau, the section grew greatly during the First World War officially adopting its current name around 1920.
- The name “MI6” (meaning Military Intelligence, Section 6) originated as a convenient label during the Second World War, when SIS was known by many names.
NFT (Non-fungible tokens (NFT))
- Non-fungible tokens or NFTs are cryptographic assets on blockchain with unique identification codes and metadata that distinguish them from each other.
- Unlike cryptocurrencies, they cannot be traded or exchanged at equivalency.
- This differs from fungible tokens like cryptocurrencies, which are identical to each other and, therefore, can be used as a medium for commercial transactions.
- The distinct construction of each NFT has the potential for several use cases.
- For example, they are an ideal vehicle to digitally represent physical assets like real estate and artwork. Because they are based on blockchains, NFTs can also be used to remove intermediaries and connect artists with audiences or for identity management.
- NFTs can remove intermediaries, simplify transactions, and create new markets.
- Much of the current market for NFTs is centered around collectibles, such as digital artwork, sports cards, and rarities.
- NFTs shift the crypto paradigm by making each token unique and irreplaceable, thereby making it impossible for one non-fungible token to be equal to another. They are digital representations of assets and have been likened to digital passports because each token contains a unique, non-transferable identity to distinguish it from other tokens.
- They are also extensible, meaning you can combine one NFT with another to “breed” a third, unique NFT.
- Just like Bitcoin, NFTs also contain ownership details for easy identification and transfer between token holders. Owners can also add metadata or attributes pertaining to the asset in NFTs.
- NFTs evolved from the ERC-721 standard.
Barbados
- Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands.
- Barbados, which is said to have been made a ‘slave society’ by the British, first became an English colony when a ship arrived at the Caribbean in 1625.
- On November 30, 1966, Barbados gained its independence. Barbados, however, will continue to be one of the 54 Commonwealth nations.
- The country would continue to celebrate Independence day on November 30, but not just in remembrance of removing Queen Elizabeth II as the head but also in the memory of the country’s first president Errol Walton Barrow.