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NOTE: Please remember that following ‘answers’ are NOT ‘model answers’. They are NOT synopsis too if we go by definition of the term. What we are providing is content that both meets demand of the question and at the same time gives you extra points in the form of background information.
General Studies – 1
Topic: Colonization and Decolonization
1. Explain the key features of Colonization, how is it different from Imperialism? (250 words)
Reference: Mastering World History by Norman Lowe
Why the question:
The question is from the static portions of GS paper I , part World History.
Key Demand of the question:
Discuss the key features of Colonization and explain in what way it is different from Imperialism.
Directive:
Explain – Clarify the topic by giving a detailed account as to how and why it occurred, or what is the particular context. You must be defining key terms where ever appropriate, and substantiate with relevant associated facts.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Start with the definition of Colonization.
Body:
Colonialism implies domination of people’s life and culture. The main goal of colonialism is extraction of economic benefits from the colony. Colonialism results in control over life of natives in political, economic, cultural and social spheres. It is more subtle whereas Imperialism is more formal and aggressive.
Differentiate Colonialism with that of Imperialism. Imperialism refers; more broadly, to control or influence that is exercised either formally or informally, directly or indirectly, politically or economically. Colonialism usually implies formal political control, involving territorial annexation and loss of sovereignty.
Brief about the two and discuss their impact.
Conclusion:
Conclude with their significant role in chalking the history of the world.
Introduction
Colonialism or colonization is the “the system or policy of a nation seeking to extend or retain its authority over other people or territories”. Colonialism implies domination of people’s life and culture. The main goal of colonialism is extraction of economic benefits from the colony. Colonialism results in control over life of natives in political, economic, cultural and social spheres. It is subtler whereas Imperialism is more formal and aggressive.
Body:
Key features of Colonialism:
- Deindustrialisation of markets: the effect on third world countries of social and economic change caused by skewed industrial revolution of first world countries. This led to rising unemployment in various sectors of economy of various nations.
- Boost to Mercantilism:Mercantilism, in a way, was both the cause as well as the effect of colonialism. Mercantile economic policies were definitely an impetus for the start of colonization. But subsequently, the benefits due to colonial exploitation further reinforced the ideology of mercantile capitalism and augmented its spread across Europe. As a result, these countries saw very rapid increase in trade volume while colonies suffered proportionally.
- Economic impact of colonialism is the ‘drain of wealth, led to control over production and trade, the exploitation of natural resources, and the improvement of infrastructure.
- Political deprivation: No rights for Indians in political administration. Laws and regulations made for British welfare. Role of Indians in administration very miniscule. Decision regarding welfare of Indians taken by administrators in Britain.
- Slave Trade:To effectively utilize the resources, colonizers needed immense amount of labour. During the initial years, the European settlers met labour requirements by enslaving the native populations. However, the decline in the native population led to importing slaves from Africa which emerged as a lucrative alternative.
- Social inequality: Indians were treated as inferior compared to British. Interest and tradition of Indians were not respected. People forced to follow British social order and Indians not given due respect. Equality between Indians and British non-existent.
- Columbian Exchange: The term Columbian Exchange refers to the widespread exchange of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, and ideas that occurred between the new world (Americas) and the Old World (Eurasia) in the 15th and 16th centuries, as a result of European colonization and trade.
Imperialism, on the other hand, means the ability of a state or empire to exert its influence beyond its borders. This influence can be exerted in multiple manners, like colonialism, militarism, cultural hegemony etc. Thus it can be safely argued that colonialism is a practice and imperialism is the idea driving that practice.
The period of territorial expansion by European powers, the United States, and Japan during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which resulted in subjugation of almost all of Africa and parts of Asia is referred to as New Imperialism. It was distinct from the earlier phases of imperialistic expansion, known as old imperialism.
Differences between Colonialism and Imperialism
| Colonialism | Imperialism |
| Colonialism is when one country physically exerts its domination, either through a combination of war and diplomacy, over another country with a view to exploiting its resources | Imperialism is when one country is involved in creating an empire and expanding the borders in order to project its power. |
| In colonialism, there will be a movement of people to the new territory, becoming permanent settlers in the process | Imperialisms is just about exerting control over the conquered regions either through direct governance or through indirect control mechanisms |
| Colonialism in the modern sense dates back to the 15th century when Europeans began to colonize large swathes of Asia and Africa | Imperialism is far older than colonialism dating back to ancient empires in history but is more commonly associated with the Roman Empire |
| Colony comes from the Latin word colonus which means ‘to farm’ | Imperialism comes from the Latin word ‘imperium’ which means to ‘command’ |
| Examples of colonialism are to be found in the takeover of India, Australia, Southern, and Central Africa by the British and Western and North Africa by the French | The Scramble for Africa in the 19th Century and the Chinese domination of Vietnam from 111 BC to 983 AD are examples of Imperialism |
Conclusion:
The difference between imperialism and colonialism can be seen through the economic and political aspect. While colonialism wants economic dominance with partial or complete political freedom, imperialism needs both economic and political dominance of the empire.
Topic: Colonization and Decolonization
Reference: Mastering World History by Norman Lowe
Why the question:
The question is from the static portions of GS paper I, part World History.
Key Demand of the question:
Discuss the driving factors that led to decolonization post world war II and explain with relevant examples.
Directive:
Analyze – When asked to analyse, you have to examine methodically the structure or nature of the topic by separating it into component parts and present them as a whole in a summary.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Start with definition of decolonization.
Body:
Decolonization is the action or process of a state withdrawing from a former colony, leaving it independent. After 1945 many states in Europe and Asia were decolonized. Mainly decolonization started in Asia, Africa and Middle East.
Discuss the driving factors post world war II; Lack of resources, Freedom movements, Non-aligned movement, Influence from newly decolonized countries etc.
Give examples.
Conclusion:
Conclude by highlighting its importance.
Introduction
Decolonization is the process by which colonies become independent of the colonizing country. It means that to some extent, a movement began following WWI and gained momentum after WWII, where people around the world said that people have the right to govern themselves. However, many of the colonizing countries that lost control of governments maintained a presence in decolonize territories, often in the form of military. After 1945 many states in Europe and Asia were decolonized. Mainly decolonization started in Asia, Africa and Middle East.
Body
The reasons why decolonization took place are many and complex, varying widely from one country to another. Three key elements played a major role in the process: colonized peoples’ thirst for independence, the Second World War which demonstrated that colonial powers were no longer invulnerable, and a new focus on anti-colonialism in international arenas such as the United Nations.
The other factors that led to decolonization post-world war II:
- Lack of resources: After World War II, European countries generally lacked the wealth and political support necessary to suppress faraway revolts; they also faced opposition from the new superpowers, the U.S. and the Soviet Union, both of which had taken positions against colonialism.
- Freedom movements: Many independence movements started in colonial states. Many countries took the advantage of that.
- Atlantic charter (1941): it stated that people should have the right to choose their own government.
- Rise of the Third world countries: The newly independent nations of the “third world” joined the UNO. These new member states had a few characteristics in common; they were non-white, with developing economies, facing internal problems that were the result of their colonial past, which sometimes put them at odds with European countries and made them suspicious of European-style governmental structures, political ideas, and economic institutions.
- Establishment of United Nations: United nations put pressure on imperial countries like UK, France to provide independence to colonies. Nation-state has been accepted as ideal form of political organization.
- New international economic order: In 1961, non-aligned movement was followed by formation of United Nations conference on trade and development (UNCTD) which tried to promote new international economic order. It emphasized the importance of under developed countries.
- Cold war: The Cold War influence the process because the United States and the Soviet Union struggled to exert influence in the former colonies, and economic growth.
- Non-aligned movement: Nehru from India, Tito the communist leader from Yugoslavia, Nasser from Egypt successfully opposed French and British imperial powers.
- Education and literature: Education and western literatures gave room for rational thinking and independence thoughts.
- Influence of newly decolonized countries: Many states were influenced from the neighbouring countries for decolonization and they had mutual support.
- Rise of Neo-colonialism: practice of using capitalism and globalization by their power and administration.
Conclusion:
Thus, it can be inferred that post-World War II, European nations were unable to have control on their colonies due to strong and persistent opposition by the colonies along with pressure from new super powers i.e. USA and USSR. However, decolonization prolonged for decades in Asia and Africa and many were freed after huge struggle.
General Studies – 2
Topic: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Reference: orfonline.org
Why the question:
The article explains why it is important to enhance investment in the early year’s of children’s development.
Key Demand of the question:
Present an overview of India’s human capital investment, challenges and possible steps India should take to tackle the same.
Directive:
Account – Weigh up to what extent something is true. Persuade the reader of your argument by citing relevant research but also remember to point out any flaws and counter- arguments as well. Conclude by stating clearly how far you are in agreement with the original proposition.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Start with some key facts highlighting India’s human capital and its readiness.
Body:
In India, over 43% of children under the age of five are at risk of not fulfilling their full developmental potential due to poor nutrition, poverty, and lack of early stimulation.
Explain that according to various research and economists, investment at birth until five years brings higher returns and greater social gains. It is one of the most cost efficient and powerful strategies to achieve fair and sustainable development.
Discuss why it is important to invest in the right direction, which are children.
Discuss the associated challenges. Hint upon the schemes and policies of the government in this direction.
Conclusion:
Conclude with suggestions and way forward.
Introduction
According to the OECD, human capital is defined as “the knowledge, skills, competencies and other attributes embodied in individuals or groups of individuals acquired during their life and used to produce goods, services or ideas in market circumstances”. Investment in human capital is needed for technological growth, improving productivity, creating social innovations, etc.
India’s development trajectory is critically linked with investments in healthcare and education. Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is firmly anchored in investing in human capital and inclusive growth. To reap the demographic dividend, the government is committed to improve the outcomes in education and skilling and provide affordable healthcare to all.
Body:
The pandemic has caused disruption in the health, economy, and education of young people and continues to unfold in new psychological and academic trajectories.
Significance of human capital:
- Human capital is central to sustainable growth and poverty reduction.
- Development of human capital enables people to be more productive, flexible, and innovative.
- With rapid technological development, development of human capital has become prerequisite to cater to the changing needs of work.
- With rapid globalization and industrialization, markets demand workforce with higher levels of human capital, especially advanced cognitive and socio-behavioural skills.
India’s human capital status:
- In India, there are over 43 per cent of children under the age of five at risk of not fulfilling their full developmental potential due to poor nutrition, poverty, and lack of early stimulation.
- India ranks 116th amongst 174 countries on the Human Capital Index 2020 based on survival, health, and education, with a slight increase in score to 0.49 from 0.44 in 2018.
- The pandemic has risked the little progress made in building human capital, disrupting health services and pushing more than a billion children out of school.
- The 2019-20 national survey shows worrying trends in malnutrition and reversing progress towards meeting the goal of ending hunger, making efforts for achieving food security due to the pandemic even harder.
- India is home to 3% of the global malaria burden and more than one-fourth of the tuberculosis cases. India’s spending of its GDP on health and education is a mere 1.26 and 3 percent respectively.
- The Economic Survey indicates high out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) on health contributing to India’s poverty.
- India’s spending on healthcare is the lowest amongst the BRICS and other developing nations leading to serious supply-side deficits of health facilities and professionals.
- The literacy rate for India is at 78 percent as against global average of 86 percent. It is home to 37 percent of the global total of illiterate adults in the world.
- As per the India Skills Report 2021, there is a decline in percentage of employability score from 46.21 in 2020 to 45.9 in 2021 owing to lack of skill sets.
- The pandemic has led to rise of unemployment, India having the highest unemployed people at 10.4 percent in June 2021 as compared to neighboring Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and, Pakistan at 4.19, 4.20, and 4.45 percent respectively.
- Less than 15 percent rural Indian households have internet access as opposed to 42 percent of their urban counterparts. According to the annual status of education report (rural) 2021, only 18 percent of the rural children attend online classes.
- Reasons for low Human Capital Development in India:
- Health:
- Healthcare provisions in India is grossly inadequate and access to healthcare is highly inequitable. Lack of efficient public healthcare and burden of out of pocket health expenditures reduces people’s capacity or disables them from investing in the human capital of their children.
- ineffective functioning (corruption and leakages) of the public distribution system (PDS), growing economic inequalities and lack of nutritional awareness pose challenges in combating malnutrition
- Education:
- Basic literacy (the ability to read and write) in the overall population has progressed modestly. However, there is persistent gender differentials, and major differentials by caste and religion.
- The state of functional literacy and professional skills is poor. Indian graduates have low employability and does not meet changing economic structure or support global competitiveness.
- Rising Inequality:
- In India, a large portion of the population is below the poverty line, therefore, they do not have easy access to primary health and education.
- There is growing inequality across social groups and income groups which translates itself into poor socio-economic mobility.
- Lack of socioeconomic mobility hinders human capital development and traps a large section of population to be in the vicious circle of poverty.
- Lack of Skilling:
- According to the National Sample Survey, out of the 470 million people of working age in India, only 10% receive any kind of training or access to skilled employment opportunities.
- There’s a huge mismatch between demand and supply when it comes to skilled workforce and employment opportunities, which could place a strain on the economy in the long run
- Inadequate use of knowledge bases from technology developments:
- There is a disconnect between India’s rate of technological growth and ability to distribute the gains from it by adequately focusing on skilling and health.
- The use of technical advancements has been concentrated in few sectors and benefits accrued by a few elitist sections of the society.
Way forward:
- To engineer an inclusive and sustainable growth for India, the social infrastructure like education, health and social protection are being given utmost priority by the Government.
- The Government has been enhancing the expenditure on human capital along with adopting measures to improve the efficiency of expenditure by a convergence of schemes.
- Several labour reform measures including legislative ones are being implemented for the creation of employment opportunities and for providing sustainable livelihoods for the population who are largely engaged in the informal economy.
- Bridging the gender gaps in education, skill development, employment, earnings and reducing social inequalities prevalent in the society have been the underlying goals of the development strategy to enhance human capabilities.
- In essence, developing and empowering human capital to be able to shift to the new technology world seamlessly, should be the top priority of governments.
- Integration of higher education with skills and vocational education. Attracting the most credible talent to the teaching profession. Building global recognition to the education system.
- Streamlining regulation to attract credible private sector entities to education are some structural changes which are needed for transforming education.
- Access to high speed internet, multidisciplinary learning, design thinking, data science and information filtration capabilities are typical for making a future ready workforce.
Conclusion:
The gaps in the expenditure on social infrastructure like health and education are evident. There is a need to strengthen the delivery mechanisms of the government initiatives to ensure transparency and accountability. Protecting and investing in people’s health, education, and skilling is vital for reducing income inequality, and sustained inclusive economic growth. A strong social infrastructure is also the key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Thus, to reap the benefits of the demographic dividend, proper investments in building the human capital of next generation citizens is the need of the hour.
General Studies – 4
Topic: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.
Reference: Times of India
Why the question:
The article highlights the importance of synergy of the monetary and fiscal policy for faster post-Covid recoveries in economies around the world.
Key Demand of the question:
Explain in detail the need of working together of the monetary and fiscal policy for faster post-Covid recoveries in economies around the world.
Directive:
Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you have to debate on paper by going through the details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You have to give reasons for both for and against arguments.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
The IMF’s recent global assessment shows the faster post-Covid recoveries in economies are attributable to combination of quick, substantial fiscal and monetary responses.
Body:
The answer body must have the following aspects covered:
Discuss first what Monetary and fiscal policies are.
Then explain how Monetary and Fiscal Policy interact in our country.
Highlight the factors that determine the dynamics of the Interaction.
Bring out the issues and challenges arising due to lack of Co-ordination.
Conclusion:
Conclude with importance of the synergy of the two to avoid the dangers of high inflation and financial instability for a temporary output spike from a disequilibrium strategy of massive monetary-fiscal stimulus.
Introduction
The second wave of Covid-19 abruptly cut short a nascent economic recovery and introduced uncertainty. IMF upgraded its FY 2021-22 growth projection for India to 12.5% from 11.5% estimated in January. It has also cautioned that the forecast hasn’t factored in the severe downside risks arising from the country’s ongoing second wave of Covid-19.
Body
Global Scenario
- Advanced Economies:The USA and Spain are the only two advanced economies that are expected to have an economic growth projected above 6% for FY 2021-22.
- The USA had been able to retain its economy due to its economy-centered approach amid the pandemic.
- The strong fiscal support the government had given to their citizens was also helpful.
- Emerging Economies:The developing countries have not been able to perform as good because the pandemic has affected the labour intensive jobs (prevalent in developing countries) more than the capital intensive jobs.
- No developing country other than India has a growth rate projected in double digit figures.
- Export-Oriented Economies:The European countries had a huge demographic crisis, therefore the consumption rate was very low.
- In countries like Germany, which is an export-oriented economy, when the pandemic hit, their economy due to lockdowns and import/export restrictions was affected severely.
India’s Economic Growth
- Factors that Increased the Growth Projection:For India, a good run in the agriculture sector plus no stagnation in the railways, freight revenue, power sectors have led to an increased 1% projection.
- The GST collection for FY 2020-21 was record highat the value of ₹1.24 lac crore (₹1.24 trillion).
- The exports figures have also seen a huge jumpstanding at 31 billion dollars.
- It is a huge increment for the exports which have witnessed a decline for 7 months.
- The Ozone concentration levels, power consumption or labour participation rates have so far remained resilientto the decline in growth.
- Hindrance in Growth due to Pandemic: The economic growth rate of India and other countries is contingent on the rise in covid infection rate and consequent lockdown.
- Sectors Obstructing the Growth:The report also shows some warning signals that could hinder the economic growth of the country.
- These indicators include decline in the retail sector.
- Sectors related tohospitality and transportation are also hit badly which roughly account for 6% of overall GDP.
- In vehicle registration, around 60,000 vehicles were registered on a daily basis in the months of Feb-March 2021 which has now come down to 55,000 on a daily basis.
- The growth recovery is obvious to be impacted by the rapidly increasing covid-19 disease due to the consequent partial and complete lockdowns and curfews.
- Data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economyshow that unemployment has risen in May, indicating slack demand for output.
Way Forward
- Investment-Centered Approach:The NSO has given the investment rate in the economy for FY 2020-21 at only 31% of GDP which is a very low rate of investment for any economy as large as India, therefore investment is the right way forward.
- The FY 2021-22 should be the year of beefing up, strengthening and stepping up the pace of investment in infrastructure and many other projects where India is in the deficit stage.
- Reforming the Vaccine Criteria:The working class people in such cities who commute on a daily basis shall be vaccinated at a faster rate and regardless of age.
- Managing the Elevated Inflation Levels:India is at the risk of inflation, it is at an elevated level which is why the RBI has been conservative; it has projected the growth rate at 10.5% only.
- India has to walk on a very fine line balancing the growth imperatives and inflation concerns.
- The RBI has also adopted a policy to support economic growth. It has increased the limit of ways and means advances to the states and has allowed them to borrow more amounts from the RBI.
- Role of Government Policies:The growth projection also depends upon policies adopted by the government, specially the fiscal policy and monetary policies.
- So far India has proved to adopt such policies more wisely as compared to other countries. India implemented massive economic reforms in the year 2020 when the pandemic was at its peak.
- Also, India has freed up a lot of sectors from the over regulation by the government interference which will be fruitful in better and faster economic growth. The objective is to revive the economy,public spending is the instrument and the funding must be found; it need not involve money creation.
- India’s public debt is low by comparison with the OECD countries, and debt financing remains an option. Even if money financing is adopted, it need not cause accelerating inflation.
Conclusion
India as the fifth largest economy in the world has to focus on growth recovery that is more sustainable and by just drawing satisfaction from just the growth numbers would not do much. India is slowly but surely on the path to economic recovery and investment is the way to sustain this growth momentum.
Topic: Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices; Public Distribution System- objectives, functioning, limitations, revamping; issues of buffer stocks and food security; Technology missions; economics of animal-rearing.
Reference: Financial Express
Why the question:
The article explains that fighting hunger needs fighting climate change.
Key Demand of the question:
One is expected to suggest pathways to achieve SDG-2 by the adoption of climate-friendly agriculture practices.
Directive:
Explain – Clarify the topic by giving a detailed account as to how and why it occurred, or what is the particular context. You must be defining key terms where ever appropriate, and substantiate with relevant associated facts.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Start with basics of food and associated SDG goals.
Body:
The answer body must have the following aspects covered:
Highlight the hunger conditions prevalent in India. Give facts like – Food is a common thread linking all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and critical to achieving overall goals within the timeframe. NITI Aayog recently released the SDG India Index 2020-21, highlighting the national and states’ progress on SDGs. The report states that 34.7% children aged under five in India are stunted.
Discuss conditions specifically found in India.
Explain why there is need for a shift towards sustainable, nutritious and resilient agricultural system to achieve the goal of zero hunger for India.
Suggest pathways to achieve the above goals.
Conclusion:
Conclude with way forward.
Introduction
Food is a common thread linking all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and critical to achieve overall goals within the timeframe. India, with one-sixth of humanity, will have to play a critical role to achieve the targets.
Body
Current Status
NITI Aayog recently released the SDG India Index 2020-21, highlighting the national and states’ progress on SDGs.
- Some of the significant statistics specific to the SDG-2, the goal on zero-hunger include, 34.7% children aged under five in India are stunted; 40.5% children between 6-59 months are anaemic; 50.3% of pregnant women between 15-49 years are anaemic; children aged 0-4 years are underweight.
- India shares a quarter of the global hunger burden.
- 4 out of 10 children in India are not meeting their full human potential because of chronic under nutrition or stunting.
- NFHS-5 shows many states have not fared well onnutrition indicators.
- In addition to the malnutrition challenges, India’s food system facesnegative consequences of the Green Revolution
Pathways to follow in meeting the targets under SDG-2 (Zero Hunger)
- Crop diversification,especially in those areas where the existing practices are ecologically unsustainable should be promoted.
- While Indian agriculture isa significant contributor to GHG emissions.
- As per third Biennial Update Report submitted by Government of India to UNFCCC,agriculture sector contributes 14% of the total emissions.
- Crop-residue burning has become a huge problem in parts of the country. This is mainly propelled bymonoculture and a package of subsidies.
- Some of the climate-smart interventions like conservation agriculture, organic farming and agro-ecological approachescan effectively address the environmental concerns while ensuring food security and nutrition.
- Conservation agricultureoffers solutions to such problems with good agronomy and soil management such as zero-tillage or no-till farming, crop rotation, in-situ crop harvest residue management/mulching, etc., and industrial uses like baling and bio-fuel production.
- Use of botanical pesticides,green-manuring, biological pest control, etc. are nature-friendly and such practices lead to eco-conservation.
- The organic movement, fortunately, is catching up in Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, and a few other states.
- Modifying consumer behaviourforms an essential ingredient to transform Indian food systems and correlate positively with crop and diet diversity.
- POSHAN Abhiyaan, India’s national nutrition mission, can play an effective role in addressing the issues of persistent malnutrition.
- According to FAO estimates, 40% of the food produced in India is either lost or wastedin every stage of supply chain.
- Winning the fight against food lossand waste can save India $61 billion in 2050 through increased industry profitability and reduced food insecurity, as well as reduced GHG emissions, water usage, and environmental degradation.
- Shifting towards a circular economycan enable India progress towards the SDGs including halving food waste by 2030 and improving resource efficiency.
Conclusion
India’s success is essential to achieve the planetary goal of Zero Hunger. There is a need for transformation towards sustainable, nutritious and resilient food systems to achieve the goal of zero hunger.
Topic: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, Nano-technology, biotechnology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Reference: Indian Express
Why the question:
The question is based on theme of DMCA which was in news recently.
Key Demand of the question:
Explain in detail the DMCA and its significance over copyrights.
Directive:
Discuss – This is an all-encompassing directive – you have to debate on paper by going through the details of the issues concerned by examining each one of them. You have to give reasons for both for and against arguments.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology was locked out of his Twitter account for an hour allegedly over a notice received for violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
Body:
The answer body must have the following aspects covered:
Define what DMCA is; The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA, is a 1998 law passed in the US and is among the world’s first laws recognizing intellectual property on the internet.
Explain the key features of the Act. The law oversees the implementation of the two treaties signed and agreed upon by member nations of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 1996.
Discuss how does it ensure the protection of content on the internet?
Explain its significance to copyrights.
Conclusion:
Conclude with shortcomings and suggest ways to overcome them.
Introduction
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA, is a 1998 law passed in the US and is among the world’s first laws recognising intellectual property on the internet. Signed into law by the then US President Bill Clinton, the law oversees the implementation of two 1996 treaties signed by World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) member nations- the Copyright Treaty and the Performances and Phonograms Treaty. India is a member of both the treaties.
Recently, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology and for Law and Justice was locked out of his Twitter account for an hour allegedly over a notice received for violation of the DMCA.
Body
Mandates of the treaties:
- Both the treaties require member nations and signatories to provide in their respective jurisdictions the below.
- Protection to intellectual property that may have been created by citizens of different nations who are also co-signatories to the treaty.
- The said protection must not be any less than the one being given to a domestic copyright holder.
- They also obligate that signatories ensure ways to prevent circumvention of the technical measures used to protect copyrighted work.
- They also provide the necessary international legal protection to digital content.
Significance of DMCA to Copyright:
- Copyright infringement happens when a copyrighted work is distributed, reproduced, publicly displayed, performed, involved in a derivative work or otherwise used without permission from the owner of the copyrighted work.
- Such infringement can cause loss of revenue and a damaged reputation to the owner of the copyrighted work.
- There was rapid commercialisation of internet in late 1990s.
- This started with static advertisement panels being displayed on the internet.
- With this, it became important for website owners to get the user to spend more time on their webpage.
- For this, fresh content was generated by creators and shared over the Internet.
- The problem started when the content would be copied by unscrupulous websites or users, who did not generate content on their own.
- Further, with expansion, websites from countries other than the one where the content originated also started to copy the unique content generated by the websites.
- To avoid this and bring to task the unauthorised copiers, the members of WIPO agreed to extend the copyright and intellectual property protection to digital content.
- As of date, 193 nations across the world, including India, are members of WIPO which was established in 1967.
Working of DMCA:
- Content creators of any form who believe that their original content has been copied by user or a website without authorisation can file an application.
- It can be filed citing that their intellectual property had been stolen or violated.
- They can approach the website on which the content has been hosted, or third party service providers like DMCA.com.
- These third party service providers utilise a team of experts to help take down the stolen content for a small fee.
- In the case of social media intermediaries like Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, content creators can directly approach the platform.
- They should have a proof of them being original creators.
- These companies operate in nations which are signatories to the WIPO treaty.
- So, they are obligated to remove the said content if they receive a valid and legal DMCA takedown notice.
- Platforms, however, also give the other users against whom allegations of content cheating have been made, a chance to reply to the notice.
- The platform shall then decide which party is telling the truth, and shall accordingly, either restore the content or keep it hidden.
Conclusion
DMCA plays an important role protecting a brand’s reputation keeping safe copyrights and trademarks associated with that brand. DMCA takedowns give the owner of the copyrighted work, another tool to protect its assets on the internet.
Topic: Security challenges and their management in border areas – linkages of organized crime with terrorism.
Reference: The Hindu
Why the question:
In the first such instance in India, explosive devices were dropped from drones in the technical area of the Air Force Station in Jammu, triggering blasts. Thus the question.
Key Demand of the question:
Analyse critically in what way Drones as a technology offer a distinctively puzzling and complex security threat when it comes to terrorism and hybrid warfare.
Directive:
Critically analyze – When asked to analyse, you have to examine methodically the structure or nature of the topic by separating it into component parts and present them as a whole in a summary. When ‘critically’ is suffixed or prefixed to a directive, one needs to look at the good and bad of the topic and give a fair judgment.
Structure of the answer:
Introduction:
Start with recent incidences associated with Drone attacks in India.
Body:
This represents the start of a new dimension to the terror cycles that the Kashmir Valley has experienced. There have been warnings that Pakistan-based terrorist groups could attempt to target military bases with drones.
Discuss in detail the concerns associated. Drones have developed significantly and acquired massive leaps in capability.
Weaponised drones were first used by the Islamic State in northern Iraq in 2016 and then in Syria.
They have wreaked havoc on Al Qaeda and other terrorist organisations in Afghanistan and other hotspots, used for targeted and precise eliminations by both Israelis and Americans. What makes drones particularly dangerous is the fact that they fly very low making them undetectable to radar and leaving little by way of reaction time once detected.
Conclusion:
With the increasing use of drones for cross-border smuggling, the Indian security agencies must look for various ways to put in place reliable systems as part of a smart border management mechanism for deterrence. Suggest measures to tackle these challenges.
Introduction
Increasing the use of drones in warfare and other areas has brought into focus the potential the use of drones holds and the other issues related to its misuse. Hybrid warfare refers to the use of unconventional methods as part of a multi-domain war fighting approach. In Hybrid warfare, apart from conventional military tactics, non-military tools are used to achieve dominance or damage, subvert or influence.
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Recent events featuring drones
- A drone was used by the U.S. to fire the missile at Qassem Soleimani to assassinate him.
- A few days before that, less-lethal drones monitored crowds of student protesters rocking India.
A potential area of use of drones
- Military and Policing: Drones are largely used for military or policing purposes, but they also have other uses.
- Recreation and Sports: They are used for recreation and sports. The Chinese company DJI dominates this space.
- Logistics: Logistics is another use, with Amazon developing last-mile drone delivery. At scale, this delivery model can save money, energy and time.
- Domino’s extended this logic to deliver its first pizza by drone in New Zealand and is experimenting with scaling this model up in many markets.
- Botswana has had some successful trials where drones have delivered blood and life-saving drugs to villages out in the wilderness.
- Agriculture: A start up called Terraview uses drones with advanced image processing, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality to increase the productivity of vineyards.
- A drone can be used to measure the amount of grainthat’s piled up after harvest.
- Mining Output:Tata Steel has used drones quite effectively to measure mining output.
- Access the inaccessible places:Drones can go where people cannot.
- So, inspection and repair at remote wind farms on an island, or pipelines in the remote tundra, or equipment in a rainforest can be done more cheaply and precisely.
- Drone surveillance is now widely used by the insurance industry in the aftermath of floods or pest inspections.
- They can provide organizations a 360-degree view of the status of any construction project and its assets.
- Explosive detection and defusing: In many places, it is just safer to send a drone, such as while using explosives in deep mines or defusing suspected bombs.
- Wildlife protection and survey: drones are used to survey wildlife and detect poaching in the jungles of Africa.
Drones as commodity
- Drones will soon become a hardware commodity, much like personal computers.
- It will be the software loaded on it that will be the real force-multiplier.
- Industry 4.0 revolution: Business like “drones-as-a-service” will emerge, dramatically reducing the time taken for tasks and serving as a vital tool in the Industry 4.0 revolution.
A potent tool for Swarm-attack by military
- Perhaps the most fascinating developments will occur where drones originated, in
- Drones will mutate into swarms, where multiple, intelligent, small drones act as one vast network, much like a swarm of birds or locusts.
- Advanced militaries have drone swarms under trial that could revolutionize future conflicts.
- These swarms could overwhelm enemy sensors with sheer numbersand precisely target enemy soldiers and assets using data fed into them.
- They will be difficult to shoot down as there will be hundreds of small flying objects rather than one big ballistic missile.
- The swarm will use real-time ground datato organize itself and operate in concert to achieve its goal.
Issues with drones
It will be us humans who will decide whether we use drones for beneficial or malevolent ends.
- National Security Issues:Drones have demonstrated the potentials for their threat to the security of a country. Drones are operated remotely and can strike where it wants it to strike. Raising serious security issues.
- Terrorism:Drones have been used by various terrorist organisations like ISIS in Syria and Iraq to hit their targets.
- Aviation safety: Drones flying too close to commercial aircraft has called for regulations.
- Privacy:Drones have been used by the paparazzi to take the images of individuals breaching their privacy.
Conclusion
Drones can indeed be a fantastic tool for good projects, from helping save the planet to identifying and nabbing criminals, and preventing the loss of human life. However, for that, we will have to change the DNA that they were born with, as lethal weapons of war. Otherwise, they will remain anonymous killers, wreaking death and destruction as they hover innocuously above.
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