Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE
Topics Covered
- Draft Data Accessibility Policy
- Decommissioning ISS
- Official Secrets Act
- Facts for Prelims
1 . Draft Data Accessibility Policy
Context : The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) on February 21, 2022 released a policy proposal titled as, “Draft India Data Accessibility & Use Policy, 2022”. The policy aims to, “radically transform India’s ability to harness public sector data”. The proposals of the Draft Data Accessibility Policy has been in the spotlight for permitting the licensing and sale of public data by the Government to the private sector.
Why has the Draft Data Accessibility Policy been proposed?
- The generation of citizen data is slated to increase exponentially in the next decade and become a cornerstone of India’s $5 trillion-dollar digital economy.
- The policy objectives and purpose drawn from this understanding are primarily commercial in nature following the rationale of the National Economic Survey, 2019 which at Chapter 4 noted the commercial benefits of Government data exploitation, notably, “The private sector may be granted access to select databases for commercial use…Given that the private sector has the potential to reap massive dividends from this data, it is only fair to charge them for its use.” It aims to harness the economic value of the generated data.
- A background note that accompanies the policy outlines existing bottlenecks in data sharing and use which includes the absence of a body for policy monitoring and enforcement of data sharing efforts, absence of technical tools and standards for data sharing, identification of high value datasets and licensing and valuation frameworks.
- It indicates a way forward to unlock the high value of data across the economy, congruent and robust governance strategy, making Government data interoperable and instilling data skills and culture. Beyond this, there is a lack of transparency with the absence of a consultation paper or a disclosure of the list of stakeholders who have been consulted which as per a public notice by MEITY include, “academia, industry, and Government”.
How does the Draft Data Accessibility Policy aim to achieve its goals?
- The policy will be applicable to all data and information created, generated, collected and/or archived by the Central Government.
- It would also allow State governments to adopt its provisions. Its operationalisation will be achieved through the establishment of a India Data Office (IDO) under MEITY for overall management, with each government entity designating a Chief Data Officer. In addition to it, a India Data Council will be formed as a consultative body for tasks that include finalisation of standards.
- The policy strategy is to make Government data open by default and then maintain a negative list of datasets which cannot be shared.
- Definition of more sensitive categories which should have restricted access is left to the independent government ministries.
- In addition to this, existing data sets will be enriched or processed to attain greater value and termed as high-value datasets. Government datasets including high-value datasets will be shared freely within government departments and also licensed to the private sector. As a measure of privacy protection, there is a recommendation for anonymisation and privacy preservation.
What are the privacy issues with the Draft Data Accessibility Policy?
- India does not have a data protection law that can provide accountability and remedy for privacy violations such as coercive and excessive data collection or data breaches. Here, inter-departmental data sharing poses concerns related to privacy since the open government data portal which contains data from all departments may result in the creation of 360 degree profiles and enable state-sponsored mass surveillance.
- Even though the policy considers anonymisation as a desired goal there is a lack of legal accountability and independent regulatory oversight. There is also a failure to consider scientific analysis and the availability of automated tools for the re-identification of anonymous data.
- This becomes important given the existing financial incentives of licensing to the private sector, where the Government is acting as a data broker. Here the commercial value of the data increases with greater amounts of personal data.
- The absence of an anchoring legislation further leads to the policy not being able to fulfill the threshold of legality for state intervention into privacy which was put in place by the Supreme Court of India in its landmark right to privacy decision.
Challenges
- While adopting the language of open data it strays from its core principle of providing transparency of the Government towards its citizens. There is only one mention of transparency and little to no mention of how such data sharing will help ensure demands for accountability and redress.
- The second issue is that the policy bypasses parliament as it contemplates large scale data sharing and enrichment that will be borne from public funds. Further, the constitution of offices, prescription of standards that may be applicable not only to the Central government, but even State governments and schemes administered by them require legislative deliberation.
- This brings us to the third and final issue of federalism. The policy, even though it notes that State governments will be, “free to adopt portions of the policy,” does not specify how such freedom will be achieved. It becomes relevant, if specific standards are prescribed by the Central government for data sharing, or as a precondition to financial assistance. There is also the absence of any comment on whether data gathered from States may be sold by the Central government and whether the proceeds from it will be shared with the States.
2 . International Space Station
Context : The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced plans to retire and decommission the International Space Station (ISS) by 2031. Other international partners that operate the ISS are, however, yet to approve it.
About International Space Station
- The ISS was launched in 1998 as part of joint efforts by the U.S., Russia, Japan, Canada and Europe.
- The space station was assembled over many years, and it operates in low-earth orbit.
- Since its inception, the ISS has served as a laboratory suspended in space and has aided multiple scientific and technological developments.
- The idea of a space station originated in the 1984 State of the Union address by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
- ISS has consistently maintained human presence for the past 21 years, providing astronauts with sophisticated technologies for scientific research.
Why is NASA planning to decommission the ISS?
- The ISS was originally built to operate for 15 years. The space station has already surpassed that checkpoint by being active for 21 years, with plans to continue operations till 2030. However, the limitations on the life-cycle of the station are catching up.
- The ISS goes through 16 rotations of the earth per day, causing extreme temperature changes on the exterior. The side facing the sun can get heated up to 121°C while the temperature on the opposite, darker side can fall to –157°C, causing intense expansion and contraction of the building material. This orbital thermal cycling, coupled with dynamic loading, affects the longevity of the primary structure of the space station. The technical lifetime is also limited by parts like radiators, modules and truss structures that tend to degrade over time.
- NASA is planning to transition operations in low-earth orbit to private players and focus energies on its missions to explore the moon and Mars.
What is the procedure to de-orbit the ISS?
- NASA plans to remove the ISS from its orbit around the earth and eventually plunge it into the ocean at a point farthest from human civilisation. The space agency will use the dual method of natural orbit decay and a re-entry manoeuvre to bring an end to the ISS as we know it.
- According to the plan, the earth’s natural atmospheric drag will be used in lowering the altitude of the ISS while setting up the de-orbit. The space station operators will then provide the final push to it to lower the structure to the maximum possible height and ensure safe re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere, leading it to Point Nemo over the South Pacific Oceanic Uninhabited Area (SPOUA). The exterior of the modules is expected to melt when the debris re-enters the earth’s atmosphere. The exposed internal hardware is also expected to burn or vaporise during the process.
- It is believed that denser components like the truss sections will survive the re-entry and fall into the SPOUA. Alternative options like disassembly and return to the earth, boost to a higher orbit, and random re-entry were also considered.
- The ISS is a huge structure — almost the size of a football field — and it was not designed to be disassembled easily in space. This process would have posed huge logistical and financial challenges. ISS cannot be decommissioned by boosting to a higher orbit because of its large mass and low operational altitude. The station currently operates in low-earth orbit above 400 km in altitude, at a point where it still experiences atmospheric drag and requires re-boosts to continue in its orbit. The station also has a mass of over 4,30,000 kg. Existing propulsion systems do not have the capacity to raise the station’s altitude to a high target and escape low-earth orbit. The random re-entry method was discarded since it carries a huge risk for the human population on the ground.
What is the future of space stations?
- As the ISS plans to end operations in space, new players are already lining up to replace it. In January 2022, China announced that its space station will be ready for operations this year. Blue Origin, the aerospace company founded by Jeff Bezos, has also announced its plans to build Orbital Reef, a commercially developed, owned, and operated space station in low-earth orbit. Blue Origin is working alongside Sierra Space on the project.
3 . Official Secrets Act
Context : The Delhi headquarters of India’s currency and bank notes manufacturer which printed the new series of notes of ₹2,000 and ₹500 denomination in 2016, has been declared a “prohibited place” under the Official Secrets Act by the Union Home Ministry.
About Official Secrets Act?
- OSA has its roots in the British colonial era. The original version was The Indian Official Secrets Act (Act XIV), 1889. This was brought in with the main objective of muzzling the voice of a large number of newspapers that had come up in several languages, and were opposing the Raj’s policies, building political consciousness and facing police crackdowns and prison terms.
- It was amended and made more stringent in the form of The Indian Official Secrets Act, 1904, during Lord Curzon’s tenure as Viceroy of India.
- In 1923, a newer version was notified. The Indian Official Secrets Act (Act No XIX of 1923) was extended to all matters of secrecy and confidentiality in governance in the country.
What comes under its purview?
- It broadly deals with two aspects — spying or espionage, covered under Section 3, and disclosure of other secret information of the government, under Section 5.
- Secret information can be any official code, password, sketch, plan, model, article, note, document or information. Under Section 5, both the person communicating the information, and the person receiving the information, can be punished.
- For classifying a document, a government Ministry or Department follows the Manual of Departmental Security Instructions, 1994, not under OSA. Also, OSA itself does not say what a “secret” document is.
- It is the government’s discretion to decide what falls under the ambit of a “secret” document to be charged under OSA. It has often been argued that the law is in direct conflict with the Right to Information Act, 2005.
- Section 2 deals with definition. Under section 2 (8) Prohibited places is defined. Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd. (SPMCIL) has been considered as a prohibited place
Between the RTI Act and OSA, which has primacy?
- Section 22 of the RTI Act provides for its primacy vis-a-vis provisions of other laws, including OSA.
- This gives the RTI Act an overriding effect, notwithstanding anything inconsistent with the provisions of OSA. So if there is any inconsistency in OSA with regard to furnishing of information, it will be superseded by the RTI Act.
- However, under Sections 8 and 9 of the RTI Act, the government can refuse information. Effectively, if government classifies a document as “secret” under OSA Clause 6, that document can be kept outside the ambit of the RTI Act, and the government can invoke Sections 8 or 9. Legal experts see this as a loophole.
About SPMCIL
- According to the SPMCIL’s website, it is engaged in the manufacture and production of currency and bank notes, security paper, non-judicial stamp papers, postal stamps, stationery, passport and visa stickers, security inks, circulation, commemorative coins and others.
4 . Facts for Prelims
Milan
- Milan is one of the largest multilateral exercise, hosted by the Indian Navy.
- The exercise, scheduled from February 25 to March 4, will see participation of around 42 countries with ships from over 15 countries.
- The U.S. will be joining the exercise for the first time.
- “The theme of the MILAN 2022 exercise is ‘Camaraderie – Cohesion – Collaboration’, which aims to project India as a responsible maritime power to the world at large,”
- “The aim of the exercise is to hone operational skills, imbibe best practices and procedures, and enable doctrinal learning in the maritime domain through professional interaction between friendly navies,” the statement elaborated.
- Starting with the participation of four countries — Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand — in 1995, the exercise has since transitioned in terms of number of participants and complexity of exercises.
Cobra Warriors
- In a first, the Indian Air Force (IAF) will deploy the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas for multilateral air exercise ‘Cobra Warrior’ at Waddington, U.K., which will also see the participation of Air Forces of Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and the U.S
- The exercise is scheduled from March 6 to 27. Five Tejas aircraft will fly to the U.K.