Deepak UPSC Notes

2022-02-22 03:05:10 Governance

Pegasus Case

GS Paper - 2

Cyber Security

Judgements & Cases

Why in News

Recently, the Supreme Court (SC) has appointed an expert committee [to be overseen by a retired apex court judge (Justice Raveendran Committee)] in the Pegasus case.

Under the case, the Union Government is alleged to have used spyware for surveillance on private citizens.

Supreme Court Judgment:

Judicial Principle Against Bias:

The court rejected the government’s plea to set up its own probe.

Formation of Expert Committee:

On account of the government's inaction to file a detailed response to the allegations made by the petitioners, the Court has constituted a panel of experts under former SC judge Justice R V Raveendran

Terms of Recommendation:

The court has also asked the Raveendran committee to make recommendations on a legal and policy framework to protect citizens against surveillance and enhance cyber security of the country.

Issues Addressed by the SC:

Right to Privacy:

The court reiterated that right to privacy is as sacrosanct as human existence and is inalienable to human dignity and autonomy.

The Right to Privacy was held as a part of fundamental rights by the Supreme Court in K S Puttaswamy case, 2017.

Any surveillance or snooping done on an individual by the state or any outside agency is an infringement of that person’s right to privacy.

Surveillance on Free Speech:

The Court has drawn a link between surveillance and self-censorship.

The knowledge that one is under the threat of being spied on leads to self-censorship and potential chilling effect.

The chilling effect surveillance can produce is an assault on the vital public-watchdog role of the press, which may undermine the ability of the press to provide accurate and reliable information (Free Speech).

It further held that, an important and necessary corollary of such a right is to ensure the protection of sources of information Ochish/sharhlash

2022-02-22 03:05:10 Pegasus Spyware

GS Paper - 3

Cyber Security

Cyber Warfare

Challenges to Internal Security Through Communication Networks

GS Paper - 2

Government Policies & Interventions

Why in News

Recently, it has been reported that Pegasus, the malicious software, has allegedly been used to secretly monitor and spy on an extensive host of public figures in India.

Key Points

About Pegasus:

It is a type of malicious software or malware classified as a spyware.

It is designed to gain access to devices, without the knowledge of users, and gather personal information and relay it back to whoever it is that is using the software to spy.

Pegasus has been developed by the Israeli firm NSO Group that was set up in 2010.

The earliest version of Pegasus discovered, which was captured by researchers in 2016, infected phones through what is called spear-phishing – text messages or emails that trick a target into clicking on a malicious link.

Since then, however, NSO’s attack capabilities have become more advanced. Pegasus infections can be achieved through so-called “zero-click” attacks, which do not require any interaction from the phone’s owner in order to succeed.

Targets:

Human Rights activists, journalists and lawyers around the world have been targeted with phone malware sold to authoritarian governments by an Israeli surveillance firm.

Indian ministers, government officials and opposition leaders also figure in the list of people whose phones may have been compromised by the spyware.

In 2019, WhatsApp filed a lawsuit in the US court against Israel's NSO Group, alleging that the firm was incorporating cyber-attacks on the application by infecting mobile devices with malicious software.

Recent Steps Taken in India:

Cyber Surakshit Bharat Initiative: It was launched in 2018 with an aim to spread awareness about cybercrime and building capacity for safety measures for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT staff across all government departments.

National Cyber security Coordination Centre (NCCC): In 2017, the NCCC was developed to scan internet traffic and communication metadata (which are little snippets of information hidden inside each communication) coming into the country to detect real-time cyber threats.

Cyber Swachhta Kendra: In 2017, this platform was introduced for internet users to clean their computers and devices by wiping out viruses and malware.

Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C): I4C was recently inaugurated by the government.

National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal has also been launched pan India.

Computer Emergency Response Team - India (CERT-IN): It is the nodal agency which deals with cybersecurity threats like hacking and phishing.

Legislation:

Information Technology Act, 2000.

Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019.

Types of Cyber Attacks

Malware: It is short for malicious software, refers to any kind of software that is designed to cause damage to a single computer, server, or computer network. Ransomware, Spy ware, Worms, viruses, and Trojans are all varieties of malware.

Phishing: It is the method of trying to gather personal information using deceptive e-mails and websites.

Denial of Service attacks: A Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack is an attack meant to shut down a machine or network, making it inaccessible to its intended users.

DoS attacks accomplish this by flooding the target with traffic, or sending it information that triggers a crash.

Etc Ochish/sharhlash

2022-02-22 03:05:10 Pegasus spyware Ochish/sharhlash

2022-02-22 03:05:10 Ochish/sharhlash

2022-02-22 03:05:09 Problems of policy

What are the proposals or statements that were emphatically made in the draft but are missing in the policy?

One important statement that was repeatedly made in the draft policy, that all commercially oriented private institutions will be closed, is missing in the final policy — though the 2020 policy promises closure of substandard teacher education institutions only.
@DYiasAcademy

Second, the draft policy promised doubling public expenditure on education to 20% of the total government expenditure, from 10%. The 2020 policy simply reaffirms the commitment to allocation of 6% of GDP.

A few other recommendations of the Committee did not find a place in the final policy. They include setting up of a National Education Commission at the national level and a similar one at the State level. There is no mention of State School Education Regulatory Authorities in the 2020 policy.
@DYiasAcademy

There is also no promise of ‘full’ recruitment of teachers at all levels, though the policy promises robust recruitment mechanisms to be put in place.
@DYiasAcademy Ochish/sharhlash

2022-02-22 03:05:09 Education In India @DYiasAcademy

Constitutional Provisions:

Part IV of Indian Constitution, Article 45 and Article 39 (f) of Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP), has a provision for state-funded as well as equitable and accessible education.
@DYiasAcademy

The 42nd Amendment to the Constitution in 1976 moved education from the State to the Concurrent List.

The education policies by the Central government provides a broad direction and state governments are expected to follow it. But it is not mandatory, for instance Tamil Nadu does not follow the three-language formula prescribed by the first education policy in 1968.

The 86th Amendment in 2002 made education an enforceable right under Article 21-A.

Related Laws: @DYiasAcademy

Right To Education (RTE) Act, 2009aims to provide primary education to all children aged 6 to 14 years and enforces education as a Fundamental Right.

It also mandates 25% reservation for disadvantaged sections of the society where disadvantaged groups

Government Initiatives:

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Mid Day Meal Scheme, Navodaya Vidyalayas (NVS schools), Kendriya Vidyalayas (KV schools) and use of IT in education are a result of the NEP of 1986.
@DYiasAcademy Ochish/sharhlash

2022-02-22 03:05:09 Ochish/sharhlash

2022-02-22 03:05:09 Affiliation of colleges is to be phased out in 15 years and a stage-wise mechanism to be established for granting graded autonomy to colleges. @DYiasAcademy

Over a period of time, every college is expected to develop into either an autonomous degree-granting College, or a constituent college of a university. @DYiasAcademy

An autonomous body, the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF), will be created to provide a platform for the free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment, planning, administration.

National Assessment Centre- 'PARAKH' has been created to assess the students.

It also paves the way for foreign universities to set up campuses in India.

It emphasizes setting up of Gender Inclusion Fund, Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions and groups.

National Institute for Pali, Persian and Prakrit,Indian Institute of Translation and Interpretation to be set up.

It also aims to increase the public investment in the Education sector to reach 6% of GDP at the earliest.

Currently, India spends around 4.6 % of its total GDP on education
@DYiasAcademy Ochish/sharhlash

2022-02-22 03:05:09 GS Paper-2

Education, Government policies and interventions

Topic :- National Education policy, 2020

Why in News @DYiasAcademy

Recently, the Union Cabinet has approved the new National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 with an aim to introduce several changes in the Indian education system - from the school to college level.

The NEP 2020 aims at making “India a global knowledge superpower”.

The Cabinet has also approved the renaming of the Ministry of Human Resource Development to the Ministry of Education.

The NEP cleared by the Cabinet is only the third major revamp of the framework of education in India since independence. 

The two earlier education policies were brought in 1968 and 1986.

Key Points @DYiasAcademy

School Education:

Universalization of education from preschool to secondary level with 100% Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in school education by 2030.

To bring 2 crore out of school children back into the mainstream through an open schooling system.

The current 10+2 system to be replaced by a new 5+3+3+4 curricular structure corresponding to ages 3-8, 8-11, 11-14, and 14-18 years respectively.@DYiasAcademy

It will bring the uncovered age group of 3-6 years under school curriculum, which has been recognized globally as the crucialstage for development of mental faculties of a child.

It will also have 12 years of schooling with three years of Anganwadi/ pre schooling.

Class 10 and 12 board examinations to be made easier, to test core competencies rather than memorised facts, with all students allowed to take the exam twice.

School governance is set to change, with a new accreditation framework and an independent authority to regulate both public and private schools.

Emphasis on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, no rigid separation between academic streams, extracurricular, vocational streams in schools.

Vocational Education to start from Class 6 with Internships.

Teaching up to at least Grade 5 to be in mother tongue/regional language. No language will be imposed on any student.@DYiasAcademy

Assessment reforms with 360 degree Holistic Progress Card, tracking Student Progress for achieving Learning Outcomes

A new and comprehensive National Curriculum Framework for Teacher Education (NCFTE) 2021, will be formulated by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) in consultation with National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). 

By 2030, the minimum degree qualification for teaching will be a 4-year integrated B.Ed. degree

Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education to be raised to 50% by 2035. Also, 3.5 crore seats to be added in higher education.@DYiasAcademy

The current Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education is 26.3%.

Holistic Undergraduate education with a flexible curriculum can be of 3 or 4 years with multiple exit options and appropriate certification within this period.

M.Phil courses will be discontinued and all the courses at undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD level will now be interdisciplinary.

Academic Bank of Credits to be established to facilitate Transfer of Credits.

Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERUs), at par with IITs, IIMs, to be set up as models of best multidisciplinary education of global standards in the country.

The National Research Foundation will be created as an apex body for fostering a strong research culture and building research capacity across higher education. @DYiasAcademy

Higher Education Commission of India (HECI)will be set up as a single umbrella body for the entire higher education, excluding medical and legal education. Public and private higher education institutions will be governed by the same set of norms for regulation, accreditation and academic standards. Also, HECI will be having four independent verticals namely,

National Higher Education Regulatory Council (NHERC) for regulation,

General Education Council (GEC) for standard setting,

Higher Education Grants Council (HEGC) for funding,

National Accreditation Council (NAC) for accreditation.
@DYiasAcademy Ochish/sharhlash

2022-02-22 03:05:09 Terai Region Ochish/sharhlash