General Studies Paper 3 Context: In July this year, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), at the request of the government, invited a comprehensive consultation on the need and possible mechanisms for regulation of ‘OTT services’, which became controversial. Over The Top (OTT) services: It refers to media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms—the types of companies that have traditionally acted as controllers or distributors of such content. Examples: content providers such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+ Hotstar. For more than a decade now, telecom companies have seen....Read More

General Studies Paper 1 Context Earlier this week, we celebrated World Food Day (October 16), but we rarely look at food as a system. No country can better understand the challenges of a food system than India, which feeds the largest population in the world. The interconnectedness of nutrition security While the primary goal of a food system is to ensure nutrition security for all, it can only be achieved sustainably if the producers producing the food make reasonable economic returns that are resilient over time. This resilience, in turn, is intricately linked with the resilience of our natural ecosystem....Read More

General Studies Paper 3 Context Nations worldwide are grappling with the need to update their legal frameworks to adapt to the evolving digital landscape. India, with its ambitious ‘Digital India’ initiative, is no exception. The recent announcement of the Digital India Act 2023 (DIA) represents a significant step towards establishing a futureready legal framework for the country’s burgeoning digital ecosystem. Digital India Act 2023 (DIA) This move by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) signals a proactive approach to regulating and shaping the digital future of the nation. \The DIA, poised to replace the two decades old Information....Read More

General Studies Paper 3 Context: Recently, the central government has been criticised for taking steps to ‘muzzle the media’, from the raids on the BBC offices in Delhi and Mumbai following the broadcast of a documentary critical of the prime minister to the recent lodging of cases under UAPA law against newsclick portal. A warning shot If a global giant could be so brazenly smothered by the ‘Mother of Democracy’ strutting around in her G20 baubles, the fate that has befallen tiny newsclick should not surprise too many. “Show me the man and i’ll show you the crime,” was the....Read More

General Studies Paper 3 INTRODUCTION Manipur is going through internal disturbance and ethnic conflict over the last 2.5 months, and we as the people of India failed to demand accountability from our institutions to protect the fundamental rights of Manipuris. A large section of the Indian population is unaware of the scale of violence in Manipur because of the internet shutdowns and media censorship. INTERNET SHUTDOWNS IN INDIA Since 2016, India has accounted for approximately 58% of all shutdowns documented in the Shutdown Tracker Optimization Project (STOP database). India has also beaten Ukraine, which is at number 2 this year.....Read More

General Studies Paper 3 INTRODUCTION India is no Europe, and this seems especially true in the face of a task such as drafting and conceptualising a data protection law for over 1.4 billion Indians. The European Union’s (EU) data protection law, i.e., the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), came into force in the middle of 2018 and achieved widespread popularity as arguably the most comprehensive data privacy law in the world. Although the EU’s challenges may be due to its unique legal structure, India must guard against the risks of enacting a law that is toothless in effect. ISSUES AROUND....Read More

General Studies Paper 3 CONTEXT Last week, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) sought inputs on whether it would be possible to have “selective” app bans instead of internet shutdowns, in order to reduce the impact that a wholesale communications lockdown can entail. INTERNET SHUTDOWNS IN INDIA Internet shutdowns are imposed in States and districts across India from time to time in order to prevent the rapid spread of provocative content during communally charged periods. The Indian government considers Internet shutdowns a legitimate tool of maintaining law and order. Shutdowns can be prolonged, with access to education, work, banking,....Read More

General Studies Paper 2 Context To unlock the full potential of India’s future, we have to prioritise the health and nutrition of its adolescent girls. Adolescence It is a pivotal period of cognitive development and, therefore, improving access to nutrition during this “second window of opportunity of growth” compensates for any nutrient deficiencies acquired during early developmental stages in the girl child. Furthermore, adolescent health is a significant indicator of women’s labour force participation in India in the long term, as better nutrition improves every young girl’s prospect to participate in productive activities. Thus, the country beholds a colossal opportunity....Read More

General Studies Paper 3 Context: The global drug trade is a major problem that has put security and law enforcement agencies on high alert worldwide, including in India. Traditionally India has been seen as sandwiched between the Death (Golden) Crescent and Death (Golden) Triangle and is being flooded with drugs, especially heroin and methamphetamine, from these two regions by drug lords indirectly supported by intelligence setups. Why is Drug Trafficking Dangerous? It is a social problem that harms youth and families and the money it generates is diverted for disruptive activities that have bearings on national security. Criminal networks traffic a range of drugs including....Read More

General Studies Paper 3 Context: 'Cyber Warrior' Teams and Help Desks to Combat Rising Cybercrime in Visakhapatnam. About During the year 2022, visakhapatnam had reported as many as 610 cybercrime cases, as against 316 during the year 2021, which is almost a 93% increase. To combat the rise in cybercrime, all police stations in the city will soon have exclusive 'cyber warriors' teams to handle such cases. Additionally,cybercrime help desks will be set up in all police stations within the next two months. What are Cyber Warriors? As part of the initiative, around 70 police personnel,including around 20 sub-inspectors and several ASIs will be undergoing virtual....Read More