📰 NFC technology for instant payments
How will the ‘Tap to Pay’ feature make things easier for monetary transactions on smartphones? What are the other uses of NFC technology?
•The story so far: Google Pay has recently launched a new feature in India, ‘Tap to pay for UPI’, in collaboration with Pine Labs. The feature makes use of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.
•The functionality will allow users with NFC-enabled Android smartphones and UPI accounts linked to Google Pay to carry out transactions just by tapping their phones on any Pine Labs Android point-of-sale (POS) terminal across the country, Google said in a release. Till now, Tap to Pay was only available for cards.
What is NFC and how does it work?
•NFC is a short-range wireless connectivity technology that allows NFC-enabled devices to communicate with each other and transfer information quickly and easily with a single touch — whether to pay bills, exchange business cards, download coupons, or share a document.
•NFC transmits data through electromagnetic radio fields, to enable communication between two devices. Both devices must contain NFC chips, as transactions take place within a very short distance. NFC-enabled devices must be either physically touching or within a few centimetres from each other for data transfer to occur.
How will this technology work with the recently launched feature, ‘Tap to pay for UPI’?
•Google Pay has been the first among UPI apps to bring the Tap to Pay feature working on POS terminals. It will allow users with UPI accounts configured on Google Pay to make payments just by tapping their NFC-enabled Android smartphones on any Pine Labs Android POS terminal. Once users tap their phones on the POS terminal, it will automatically open the Google pay app with the payment amount pre-filled. Users can then verify the amount and merchant name and authenticate the payment, using their UPI PIN. They will be notified once the payment is successful, Google told The Hindu.
•The process is much faster compared to scanning a QR code or entering the UPI-linked mobile number which has been the conventional way till now.
Are other companies using NFC tech for payments using smartphones?
•In February this year, Apple introduced Tap to Pay on the iPhone. It will allow merchants across the U.S. to use their iPhones to accept Apple Pay, contactless credit and debit cards, and other digital wallets through a tap to their iPhone without the need for any additional hardware or payment terminal.
•At checkout, the customer just needs to hold their iPhone or Apple Watch to pay with Apple Pay, their contactless credit or debit card, or other digital wallet near the merchant’s iPhone to complete the payment using NFC technology, Apple said in a release earlier.
What are the other applications of NFC technology?
•NFC tech has a wide range of applications besides driving payment services like Google Wallet and Apple Pay. It is used in contactless banking cards to perform money transactions or to generate contact-less tickets for public transport. Contactless cards and readers use NFC in several applications from securing networks and buildings to monitoring inventory and sales, preventing auto theft, keeping tabs on library books, and running unmanned toll booths, according to investopedia.
•NFC is behind the cards that we wave over card readers in subway turnstiles and on buses to check tickets. It is present in speakers, household appliances, and other electronic devices that we monitor and control through our smartphones. With just a touch, NFC can also set up WiFi and Bluetooth devices in our homes, investopedia noted.
•It also has an application in healthcare, to monitor patient stats through NFC-enabled wristbands. NFC is used in wireless charging too.
How safe is this technology ?
•NFC technology is designed for an operation between devices within a few centimetres from each other. This makes it difficult for attackers to record the communication between the devices compared to other wireless technologies which have a working distance of several metres, according to the NFC forum, a non-profit industry association.
•The user of the NFC-enabled device determines by the touch gesture which entity the NFC communication should take place with, making it more difficult for the attacker to get connected. The security level of the NFC communication is by default higher compared to other wireless communication protocols.
•The NFC Forum has also added Peer to Peer communication which is a mechanism to cipher all exchanged data to avoid external interpretation of recorded communication. Since the receiving device reads your data the instant you send it, NFCs also reduce the chance of human error, according to investopedia.
Where does it stand in comparison to other wireless technologies?
•There are other wireless technologies available which are replacing cable-based connections. The IrDa technology is a short range (a few metres) connection based on the exchange of data over infrared light where the two communication devices must be positioned within a line of sight. Today, this technology is mainly used for remote control devices. For larger data communication with computer devices this technology was replaced by Bluetooth or WiFi connections.
•However, for these technologies’ receiver devices need their own power supply due to the larger working distance. Therefore, the receiving device cannot be powered by the radiofrequency (RF) field like in NFC, the NFC forum highlighted. Another consequence of the larger working distance is the need for the user to configure their device and to pair them together for communication. Connection cannot be initiated by a simple touch gesture like in NFC.
When did NFC tech start?
•In 2004, consumer electronics companies, Nokia, Philips and Sony together formed the NFC Forum, which outlined the architecture for NFC technology to create powerful new consumer-driven products.
•Nokia released the first NFC-enabled phone in 2007.
•Google Pay has recently launched a new feature in India, ‘Tap to pay for UPI’, in collaboration with Pine Labs. The feature makes use of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.
•The process is much faster compared to scanning a QR code or entering the UPI-linked mobile number which has been the conventional way till now.
•In 2004, consumer electronics companies, Nokia, Philips and Sony together formed the NFC Forum, which outlined the architecture for NFC technology to create powerful new consumer-driven products.
What does the Frontiers report say about the effects of sustained high decibel levels? Why was the inclusion of Moradabad as a noisy city cause for controversy?
•The story so far: A February report commissioned by the United Nations Environment Programme on the environmental challenges posed by noise, wildfires and the disruption of biological rhythms of plants, animals and ecological cycles became controversial on account of the mention of a single city, Moradabad.
What was the controversy?
•The first chapter of the report, called Frontiers 2022: Noise, Blazes and Mismatches, deals with noise. It compiles studies about noise levels in several cities around the world and illustrates a subset of 61 cities and the range of dB (decibel) levels that have been measured. Delhi, Jaipur, Kolkata, Asansol and Moradabad are the five Indian cities mentioned in this list and Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh was shown as having a dB range from 29 to 114. At a maximum value of 114, it was the second-most-noisiest city in the list. The first was Dhaka, Bangladesh at a maximum value of 119 dB.
•While road traffic, industry and high population density are well-known factors associated with high dB levels, the inclusion of Moradabad appeared strange because similar studies in the past had never suggested it to be an unusually noisy city. There was no mention of the city in any of the scientific reports listed out in the bibliography of sources. A perusal of the list of research articles, linking each city to the scientific study undertaken to measure noise levels, pointed to a study, “Environmental noise challenges and policies in low-and middle-income countries. South Florida Journal of Health.” This was authored by Dietrich Schwela, a researcher at the University of York, but surprisingly had no reference to Moradabad.
•There were references to noise levels in Aurangabad (40-102), Chandigarh (51-75) and Kolkata (70-83). Schwela’s study itself is a compilation of studies by several authors from around the world and the studies on Aurangabad, Chandigarh and Kolkata were done by independent authors. Another place that finds itself in the Frontiers report is Asansol, India, again referenced to Schwela’s study and like Moradabad has no mention in the study.
So, is Moradabad the second-noisiest city?
•The author of that chapter, Francesco Aletta, is based at the University College, London, in response to queries from The Hindu said that the confusion stemmed from errors in the bibliography. The actual study linked to Moradabad was: “Assessment of noise level status in different areas of Moradabad city” by Avnish Chauhan, of the Graphic Era Hill University, Dehradun. Incidentally this study was published in 2010 and, as is routine in many studies measuring noise levels, involved measurements in different parts of the city: residential areas, industrial areas and commercial places during the day and night. The 114 measurement was an average of measurements reported from a factory in an industrial zone. Aletta added that inferring Moradabad to be the ‘second-noisiest city’ was incorrect because the list of cities whose values were illustrated were only indicative.
•The noise indicators that the different studies/reports included weren’t “necessarily consistent/harmonised and it was generated simply as an example of the spread of noise values that different people have observed in different cities over time in different places.”
Why are measurements of noise important?
•The latest 2018 World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines established a health-protective recommendation for road traffic noise levels of 53 dB. The Frontiers report compiled a host of evidence, including the adverse effects of noise on public health, which range from mild and temporary distress to severe and chronic physical impairment. Night-time noise disturbs sleep and affects well-being the following day.
•Estimates suggest that in Europe 22 million and 6.5 million people suffer from chronic noise annoyance and sleep disturbance, respectively. The elderly, pregnant women and shift workers are among those at risk of noise-induced sleep disturbance. Noise-induced awakenings can trigger a range of physiological and psychological stress responses because sleep is necessary for hormonal regulation and cardiovascular functioning. Traffic noise exposure is a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders such as elevated blood pressure, arterial hypertension, coronary heart disease and diabetes. Long-term exposure to environmental noise contributes to 48,000 new cases of ischemic heart disease and causes 12,000 premature deaths annually in Europe.
•Two 15-year-long studies of long-term residents of Toronto, Canada found that exposure to road traffic noise elevated risks of acute myocardial infarction and congestive heart failure, and increased the incidence of Type 2 diabetes by 8%, and hypertension by 2%, says the report.
What is India doing about noise pollution?
•The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is mandated to track noise levels, set standards as well as ensure, via their State units, that sources of excessive noise are controlled.
•The agency has a manual monitoring system where sensors are installed in major cities and few cities have the facility to track noise levels in real time. The CPCB also measures noise levels before and after Diwali in major cities, to publicise the impact of firecrackers.
📰 New accessibility guidelines to use universal design approach
Centre to notify guidelines soon; certificate course planned for students, professionals
•The Centre would soon notify the latest version of guidelines and standards for accessibility, based on which a certificate course for students as well as government and private sector construction professionals was in the works, according to persons involved with the process.
•The draft Harmonised Guidelines and Standards for Universal Accessibility, 2021, prepared by a team of the Indian Institute of Technology-Roorkee (IIT-Roorkee) and the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry’s think tank National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), were first published by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) in December 2021. A revised version of the guidelines was submitted to the CPWD by the team last week and was likely to be published online within a week, according to the sources. After that, the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry would be sent the guidelines for notification, they said.
•Hitesh Vaidya, Director of the NIUA, said the guidelines would be incorporated into building bylaws as well. He said a certificate course on the guidelines was in the works. The course could be made mandatory for those working in various public projects and would be open to students, he said.
•“Accessibility is not an option, it is a necessity and should be mandatory to transcend all forms for age, ability and gender. As such, it is imperative that the built environment is inherently accessible to all. The harmonised guidelines provide a conduit for the government and private construction agencies to incorporate measures for universal accessibility during all stages of construction,” Mr. Vaidya said.
•He added that a committee had been formed by the Ministry to come up with standards. “The framework prepared by the committee will help with the swift implementation of the guidelines in all new and retrofitting construction work. The guidelines will be shared with the State governments and city administrations,” he said.
•The guidelines, which will succeed the 2016 version once notified, go from a barrier-free approach to a universal design approach. Professor Gaurav Raheja, who headed the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Roorkee team, said the aim of the guidelines was also to hand-hold stakeholders through the process and be educational. The guidelines had been made more reader-friendly, and had both the minimum standards required and recommendations for best practices, he said.
•Apart from standards for ramps, grab rails and other facilities for persons with disabilities (PwD), the guidelines also included maintenance. For example, Prof. Raheja said, when interacting with PwD while drafting the guidelines, the team saw that lack of cleanliness of washrooms also impeded accessibility.
•Prof. Raheja said while rules regarding accessibility features in government buildings have been in place, the implementing agencies would encounter the problem of items such as swing bars and Braille plates not being listed on the Delhi Schedule of Rates (DSR), the CPWD’s list of building materials and their rates. As a result, the items would be considered “special items”, leading to variation in quality and prices, he said.
•“Because these items are not listed on the DSR, they are not regularly available and there are mistakes being made. For example, people are using towel bars instead of grab rails,” Prof. Raheja said.
•The revised guidelines, however, recommend that these items be listed in the DSR, which would make it easier for officials executing the projects to procure items of a particular standard and price. Accessibility had been included in masterplans, not just site plans, he said.
📰 First case of infection from diabetes medication in India
State drug controllers told to include warning for patients using SGLT2 inhibitors
•After the U.S. and Canada, India too has admitted incidence of a rare but serious infection of the genitals and area around the genitals among Type-2 diabetes patients using sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors .
•This serious rare infection, called necrotizing fasciitis of the perineum, is also referred to as Fournier’s gangrene.
•As a precautionary measure the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) has requested all State Drug Controllers to direct the manufacturers of SGLT2 inhibitor class drugs named Canagliflozin, Dapagliflozin, Empagliflozin, under their jurisdiction to include warnings in the package insert and promotional literature of these drugs.
•The Health Ministry, responding to a question on the adverse reaction to the anti-diabetes medicine by MP P. Velusamy, submitted the information recently.
•Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors and dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) inhibitors are recommended as preferred add-on oral anti-diabetic drugs (OADs) after metformin among type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), heart failure (HF), and chronic kidney disease (CKD). They are generally many times costlier than other OADs, note experts.
•The Ministry submitted in Parliament that CDSCO was notified about a Health Canada communication to all those authorised to market sodium-glucose co-transporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors regarding a summary safety review (SSR) on the potential risk of pancreas inflammation (acute and chronic).
•United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) in its drug safety communications (DSC) has cautioned about cases of rare but serious infection of the genitals and area around the genitals bring reported with use of SGLT2 inhibitors.
•“This serious rare infection, called necrotizing fasciitis of the perineum, is also referred to as Fournier’s gangrene. USFDA has revised the labels of SGLT 2 inhibitors to include new warnings about the risk to patients,’’ noted the Ministry.
•It added that the issue was examined in consultation with Subject Expert Committee (SEC) of CDSCO and information available under the Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI) has also been obtained.
•Diabetes is a chronic, metabolic disease characterized by elevated levels of blood glucose (or blood sugar), which leads over time to serious damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys and nerves. The most common is type-2 diabetes, usually in adults, which occurs when the body becomes resistant to insulin or doesn’t make enough insulin. In the past three decades the prevalence of type-2 diabetes has risen dramatically in countries of all income levels, according to the World Health Organisation.
•Union Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya had stated in Parliament that while the exact number of patients suffering from diabetes in India is not known, however, as per 10th edition of Diabetes Atlas 2021 of International Diabetes Federation (IDF), the estimated number of patients with diabetes between the age group of 20-79 years is 74.2 millions in year 2021 and it is estimated to be increased to 124.8 millions in year 2045.
📰 For a full repeal: On AFSPA
The relaxation of AFSPA is welcome, but the demand for full repeal should be considered
•In what is clearly a nod to the vociferous demand for the repeal of the unpopular Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) from several States in the northeast, especially after 13 civilians were killed in Mon district in Nagaland in December last year, the Union Home Ministry has decided to considerably reduce the number of “disturbed areas” under the Act in three States. The order, from April 1, is applicable for six months. In Nagaland, while AFSPA was removed from the jurisdiction of 15 police stations in seven districts, it remains in place in 57 police stations in 13 districts. The relaxation has been most substantial in Assam, where it has been removed entirely from 23 districts and partially from one, thus limiting its operation fully to only nine districts. In Manipur, on the other hand, only 15 police station areas in six districts have been excluded from the disturbed area notification, and the Act is still in force in 82 police stations in 16 districts, including several hill districts whether or not they adjoin the international boundary. As things stand, the Government’s decision to relax the application of the Act in specific areas seems to stem from the reduction in violence and also administrative reasons rather than as a response to the burning question on whether the Act is essential to security operations in these States, which have experienced insurgencies of various degrees in the past.
•While this piecemeal gesture would be welcomed by the residents in these areas in particular, the popular demand for the repeal of the Act in full from the three States remains unfulfilled. Despite the vociferous protests from security forces for the retention of the Act, human rights organisations, sections of civil society and committees including the five-member committee led by retired Supreme Court judge B.P. Jeevan Reddy in 2005, have steadfastly called for its repeal. The committee in particular had suggested that the Act had created an impression that the people of the northeast States were being targeted for hostile treatment and that the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act could instead be suitably amended to tackle terrorism. The Supreme Court-appointed Justice N. Santosh Hegde committee, in 2013, which investigated “encounter” killings in Manipur, suggested that the Act must be properly reviewed every six months to see if its implementation is necessary, but extensions of the purview of the Act have proceeded as routine affairs. In 2016, the Supreme Court had also ruled that the armed forces could not be immune from investigation for excesses committed during the discharge of their duties even in “disturbed areas”, in effect circumscribing the conditions in which the immunity is applied. These beg the question again — why should the Act remain in the statute?
📰 A far-reaching verdict that ends a regressive exception
In pronouncing the end of the marital rape exception, the Karnataka High Court has delivered a nuanced judgment
•Over the last several months, arguments challenging the constitutionality of the marital rape exception in Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) had gripped the Delhi High Court. While the judgment in those petitions is still awaited, in one clean swoop Justice M. Nagaprasanna of the Karnataka High Court on March 23, 2022, in the case of Hrishikesh Sahoo vs State of Karnataka, pronounced the end of the marital rape exception.
The background
•Outcomes in judicial proceedings are almost always shaped by the cases which come before the courts. This judgment was a result of a unique case where a woman had filed a criminal complaint of rape against her husband due to the repeated acts of sexual assault she had to face. The police registered her complaint under Section 376 notwithstanding the marital rape exception, a charge sheet was filed and the Sessions Judge took cognisance and framed charges under Section 376. The husband filed an application to drop the charge of Section 376 but the Sessions Judge rejected it. This led to the husband approaching the High Court seeking to quash the criminal proceedings.
•In a nuanced and far-reaching judgment, Justice Nagaprasanna refused to quash the charge of rape against the husband. He held that if a man, being a husband is exempted for his acts of sexual assault, it would destroy women’s right to equality, which is the very soul of the Constitution. He held that the Constitution recognises and grants equal status to women, but the exception to marital rape in the IPC amounts to discrimination because a wife is treated as subordinate to the husband. The Constitution considers marriage as an association of equals and does not in any sense depict women to be subordinate to men and guarantees women the fundamental rights under Articles 14, 15, 19 and 21 the right to live with dignity, personal liberty, bodily integrity, sexual autonomy, right to reproductive choices, right to privacy, right to freedom of speech and expression. He held that the exemption of the husband on committal of such assault/rape cannot be so absolute that it becomes a licence for commission of a crime; in provocative words he stated, “a man is a man; an act is an act; rape is a rape, be it performed by a man the “husband” on the woman “wife”, and refused to quash the case.
Earlier judgments
•There have been other judgments which have already been a precursor to doing away with this exception. In Independent Thought vs Union of India (2017), the Supreme Court of India diluted it and removed the exception to marital rape to a wife not below 15 years and made it 18 years. The Court stated that this would not amount to removing the exception to marital rape for women above 18 years as that was not the case before it, but Justice Madan B. Lokur in similar words held, “... a rape is a rape... A rape that actually occurs cannot legislatively be simply wished away or legislatively denied as non-existent....” The Court held that a girl cannot be treated as a commodity having no say over her body or someone who has no right to deny sexual intercourse to her husband and that the human rights of a girl child are very much alive and kicking whether she is married or not.
Roots of the principle
•The exception to marital rape in common law was due to the dictum by Chief Justice Matthew Hale of Britain in 1736 where he stated: “But the husband cannot be guilty of a rape committed by himself upon his lawful wife, for by their mutual matrimonial consent and contract the wife hath given up herself in this kind unto her husband which she cannot retract.” The concept that by marriage, a woman gave up her body to the husband was accepted as an enduring principle of common law, due to which a husband could not be guilty of raping his wife. This was therefore translated into criminal codes, including the Indian Penal Code which India adopted.
•This principle has now been completely abolished. In the United Kingdom, in 1991, the exception to marital rape was done away with in the case of R. vs R. The House of Lords held that where the common law rule no longer even remotely represents what is the true position of a wife in present-day society, the duty of the court is to take steps to alter the rule. The court held that a husband’s immunity as expounded by Chief Justice Matthew Hale no longer exists and took the view that the time had arrived when the law should declare that a rapist remains a rapist subject to the criminal law, irrespective of his relationship with his victim. It held that it was the duty of the court to remove a common law fiction which had become anachronistic and offensive and that there was no justification for the marital exemption in rape.
•That was in 1991, more than 30 years ago in the U.K. The Karnataka High Court took a similar view of its duties as a constitutional court in the present case and held that the exception to marital rape in Section 375 is regressive, wherein a woman is treated as a subordinate to the husband and against the constitutional guarantee of equality. Our courts have now truly pronounced the death knell of the marital rape exception.
📰 Playing the strategic autonomy game
New Delhi should play its cards extremely well right now to invest for the future of geopolitical dividends
•The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to a flurry of diplomatic activity in New Delhi: some visitors came to test the waters, some to discuss life beyond Ukraine, some to seek solidarity, and some others to issue veiled warnings. New Delhi has been forthcoming and patient. What, however, hasn’t gone down very well in India is the public chastisement of its Russia policy i.e., the decision to continue its trade with Russia and unwillingness to condemn Russian aggression. It appears that several visitors to New Delhi miss a crucial point: India is not in Europe even if it shares, despite the occasional aberration, many of the norms and values held dear by much of the international community. More importantly, notwithstanding the Indian diaspora in the West and the warmth of people-to-people contacts, India is a post-colonial country with understandable sensitivities about how Western interlocutors engage the country.
•More so, it is unfair to ask a developing country fighting serious economic hardships and recovering from the debilitating impact of COVID-19 not to buy discounted Russian oil, especially when some of India’s critics are still buying energy from Russia, discounted or not. Several Western policy commentators are aghast as to why India is unwilling to endure some economic pain to send a loud and clear message that it doesn’t not support territorial aggression by any country. The answer once again lies in the state of India’s economy, its need for unrestricted supply of defence equipment, and its geopolitical location. There is little doubt that the Ukraine war will impact the Indian economy, slowly perhaps but steadily for sure. Unfortunately for India, the sanctions on Russia have come at a time when the Indian economy is still recovering from the impact of COVID-19.
The strawman arguments
•One of the arguments that is emphatically made by several of India’s partners in the West is that the Russia-Ukraine war is a broader conflict between democracies and non-democracies, and therefore India must decide which side of the ideological divide it wants to be on. That is not just a baseless myth, but a dangerous trope that can plunge the international community into another needless ideological rivalry. This is not something that New Delhi should get caught in. Russia’s military aggression is unjustified, and India’s decision to abstain from condemning Russia is based on a geopolitical rationale (just like India did not condemn the American invasion of Iraq in 2003); it has nothing to do with India being any less of a democracy.
•The second argument is that Russia is unlikely to help India in a future conflict with China. This argument is not without merit, but then again, it misses the point. Russia may not help India against China in the longer run, but India certainly cannot afford to have yet another unfriendly country in an otherwise deeply unfriendly region. And that is sound strategic rationale for not alienating Russia. This argument also implies that the West may not stand by India when it comes to China if India doesn’t stand by them today. This argument overlooks the reality that China is a challenge to the U.S. as well as to India, albeit in varying degrees. India needs the assistance of its partners to meet the China challenge, but this is hardly a one-way street.
Charms of the swing state
•This is also India’s big power moment. The fact that both the opposing sides in this war are rushing their senior interlocutors to New Delhi to woo India also shows that India is the most sought-after swing state in the contemporary international system, a role it has played well so far. Despite being in an adversarial relationship with India, China sees merit in reaching out to India to convince the latter to move on with business as usual notwithstanding what it did to India in 2020.
•China sees the Ukraine war as an opportunity to construct an anti-American world order by forging some regional unity. This at least partly explains Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s recent visit to South Asia. Then came Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the only recent visitor to have managed a personal meeting with the Indian Prime Minister. The meeting is also a clear indication of the Indian leadership’s intent not to abandon Moscow, at least not yet.
•The U.S. is also keen to retain India in its fold. For sure, it doesn’t want to lose the exceptional gains it has made with India over the past two decades. The visitors from the U.K. and Germany also want New Delhi on their side. New Delhi may indeed be on their side, but not in the manner they would like India to be.
•By refusing to fully ally with either side and yet maintaining good relations with both, New Delhi may have finally experimented with the tenets of strategic autonomy that it has long professed but struggled to practice. Contemporary Indian diplomacy is a textbook example of a swing state that refuses to swing either way.
Between the present and future
•Yet, there is a time to be a swing state, and a time to think beyond it. There is little doubt that the war will quicken the fundamental transformations that Asian geopolitics was already undergoing. Southern Asia’s continental geopolitics is now China-centric. It is only a matter of time before the rest of the Asian region becomes China-centric as well. The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, its current focus on Russia and Ukraine, the further weakening of Russia, and Beijing’s proactive outreach to the region with money and muscle will eventually lead to the end of Indian primacy in the region and the rise of a China-centric Asian geopolitical order.
📰 Making groundwater visible
The existing approach of dealing with surface water and groundwater independently has severe limitations
•The theme of this year’s World Water Day (March 22) was ‘Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible’. The primary focus is to draw attention to the role of groundwater in water and sanitation systems, agriculture, industry, ecosystems, and climate change adaptation. Groundwater helps reduce the risk of temporary water shortage and caters to the needs of arid and semiarid regions, but its value has not been fully recognised in policymaking. While dependence on groundwater is increasing everywhere, there are serious issues of depletion of stored groundwater and deterioration of quality. High temperatures and drought threaten water security. Due to its high storage capacity, groundwater is more resilient to the effects of climate change than surface water. The international conference on ‘Groundwater, Key to the Sustainable Development Goals’ (May 2022) and the UN-Water Summit on Groundwater (December 2022) are part of global initiatives to highlight the significance of groundwater in sustainable development.
•With an annual groundwater extraction of 248.69 billion cubic meters (2017), India is among the largest users of groundwater in the world. Almost 89% of the groundwater extracted is used for irrigation and the rest for domestic and industrial use (9% and 2%).
Extraction value
•According to the Central Ground Water Board, the annual groundwater withdrawal is considered to be safe when the extraction rate is limited to below 70% of the annual replenishable recharge. Available data indicate that the level of extraction for the country in 2017 was 63%, from 58% in 2004. However, the level varied across regions. Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry have crossed the 70% mark. Of 534 districts in 22 States/UTs, 202 districts had stage of extraction ranging from 71% to 385%. NITI Aayog has set the 70% extraction value as the target to be achieved by 2030.
•Besides the high level of extraction, quality is also an issue of concern. A quantity-wise safe district may be vulnerable due to deterioration of water quality. Fluoride, iron, salinity, nitrate, and arsenic contamination are major problems. As many as 335 districts reported nitrate pollution compared to 109 in 2006. A high level of nitrate affects human health. Source of nitrates are mainly anthropogenic and depend on local actions. Biological contamination has also been reported from different parts of the country.
Changing approach
•The existing approach of dealing with surface water and groundwater independently has severe limitations. As the Mihir Shah Committee (2016) proposed, the Central Water Commission and the Central Ground Water Board could be united and a national water framework with an integrated perspective developed. There is also a need to work out local-level plans covering water resources in all its forms: rainwater, surface water, soil water and groundwater and the resource use sectors. Groundwater, surface water and the intervening landscape form part of a matrix, and together with the vegetation system they constitute the Critical Zone, where most terrestrial life resides.
•Re-establishing connections between surface and groundwater systems, both for governance and management, entails a local area approach that will involve revisiting the present groundwater estimations process, large-scale aquifer mapping, linking aquifers with river basin/watershed boundaries, hydrogeomorphology analysis, and factoring land uses and human-induced changes in the water system. Linking cropping patterns and crop intensity with groundwater availability, aquifer type, and the present state of groundwater extraction at the farm level is imperative. At present, there is an energy subsidy for groundwater extraction with little regulation. This encourages farmers to withdraw water at their will. There is a larger issue of ownership of community resources in this context. Although groundwater recharging takes place through a geohydrological process and is not confined to administrative or property boundaries, a landowner has the exclusive right to groundwater available in their property. A community resource thus turns into a private resource due to the location of extraction site. Re-articulation of the legal framework for groundwater use gains relevance in this context.
•The new paradigm for groundwater management is a socio-ecological challenge, where localism matters. It warrants technical, economic, legal and governance remediation with space for active public participation and community regulatory options to maintain groundwater balance at the village/ watershed level.
