09 July 2023 Current Affairs Quiz

Answer is (a)
Fundamental Right.
Context: Manipur violence: The Manipur high court on Thursday directed that it will hear a batch of petitions seeking the restoration of internet access in Manipur , just hours after the Supreme Court refrained from intervening in a separate plea challenging the internet restrictions.

RIGHT TO ACCESS INTERNET:

● According to the Supreme Court judgement in Fahima Shirin RK case ,Right to Access Internet is an integral part of Right to education and Right to Privacy under Article 21A and Article 21 of the Constitution of India respectively.
Note: Article 21: Right to life and personal liberty
Article 21 A: Article 21A of the Indian Constitution, which was inserted into the Constitution by means of the Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002, mandates every state to provide free and compulsory education to all children in the age group of six to fourteen years, thereby declaring education as a fundamental right guaranteed under Part III of the Constitution.

● In Anuradha Bhasin vs. Union of India and Ors, the Supreme Court held that freedom to practise any profession or carry on any trade, business or occupation over the medium of internet enjoys constitutional protection and therefore is indispensable to Article 19 of the Constitution subject to reasonable restrictions.

● In 2016, the UNHRC General Assembly articulated access to the Internet as an essential human right.

Answer is (c)
Manipulating consumers into making certain choices as a business strategy.

Context: The Department of Consumer Affairs and the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) recently held a joint consultation with stakeholders on the menace of ‘dark patterns’. On June 30, 2023, as per information by the PIB, major Indian online marketplaces received a letter from the Department of Consumer Affairs warning them against engaging in “unfair trade practices” by implementing “dark patterns” in their user interfaces to influence consumer choice and infringe on “consumer rights” as stated in Section 2(9) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

What are dark patterns?
A dark pattern refers to a design or user interface technique that is intentionally crafted to manipulate or deceive users into making certain choices or taking specific actions that may not be in their best interest. Harry Brignull, a user experience researcher in the U.K., introduced the phrase ‘dark pattern’ in 2010 to characterise deceptive strategies used to trick clients. For example, creating a sense of urgency or scarcity while online shopping.

Issues related to dark patterns:
Consumer rights
Advertising standards
Data protection law (India does not have a data protection law).
Right to privacy (under Article 21 of Indian Constitution. It is a Fundamental Right as stated in the Supreme Court’s K Puttaswamy judgement. )
Additional Knowhow:
Consumer Protection Act 2019:
● ‘Consumer rights’ , ‘E-Commerce’ and ‘unfair trade practices’ are defined in Consumer Protection Act 2019.
● It replaced the Consumer Protection Act 1986. The Act was necessary to address the growing digital marketplace and protect consumers in online transactions.
● New provisions under Consumer Protection Act 2019 :
○ Inclusion of E- commerce, Direct selling
○ Establishment of Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA)
○ Alternate Dispute Resolution through mediation
● Bodies established under the Act:
○ Consumer Protection Council
■ Established at Central level, State and District levels At district level, it is headed by District Collector.
■ At the Central level, it is established by the Central Government and at State and District levels, it is established by the State Government.
■ Advisory Body :provide guidance and recommendations on consumer rights and protection measures in their respective jurisdictions.
○ Central Consumer Protection Authority
■ Established by the Central Government.
■ Regulatory Body :regulate matters related to consumer rights violations, unfair trade practices, and misleading advertisements that harm public and consumer interests.
■ Headed by Chief Commissioner and other Commissioners appointed by the Central Government.
■ Their terms of office, salary and allowance, removal are all decided by the Central Government.
■ It has the power to conduct preliminary inquiries and investigations. It has suo motu powers in this.
■ It also has the power to recall spurious goods .
■ Appeals against its orders can be filed with the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.
○ Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission :
■ Established at national, state and district levels for grievance redressal.
■ At national level, it is established by the Central Government and at state and district level, by State Government.
■ At all levels ,i.e, central, state and district, the qualifications, mode of recruitment, removal, term of office of the President of the Commission and its other members, are decided by the Central Government.
■ The salary and allowances of the President and members of the Commission are decided by the Central Government at Central level and by the State government at State and district level.
● There is provision of mediation under the Act.
● Offences under the Act, such as false or misleading advertisements or selling adulterated products, are subject to penalties, including imprisonment and fines.
● Some landmark case laws related to consumer protection include Horlicks Ltd. v. Zydus Wellness Products Ltd., Veena Khanna v. Ansal Properties & Industries Ltd., and Sapient Corporation Employees v. Hdfc Bank Ltd.

Advertising Standards Council of India:
● The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) is a voluntary self-regulatory organisation that oversees the advertising industry in India.
● It was established in 1985 as a non-profit company under the Company Act.
● ASCI’s main purpose is to ensure that advertisements conform to its Code for Self-Regulation. This code requires advertisements to be legal, decent, honest, truthful, and not hazardous or harmful. It also promotes fairness in competition.
● ASCI addresses complaints about advertisements across all media platforms, including print, TV, radio, hoardings, SMS, emailers, internet/web, product packaging, brochures, and point of sale material.
● The organisation plays a crucial role in protecting the interests of consumers and maintaining public confidence in advertising.
● ASCI is composed of the Board of Governors, the Consumer Complaints Council (CCC), and its Secretariat.
● It is the only non-governmental body in India that regulates advertising content.
● Individuals who find an advertisement objectionable can submit a complaint to ASCI, which will be reviewed by the CCC.
● The advertiser is given an opportunity to defend the ad, and based on the ASCI code and the law, the complaint is either upheld or not upheld.
● If upheld, the advertiser voluntarily withdraws or modifies the ad.
● The advertisements that violate the ASCI code cannot be aired on TV.

Answer is (c)
Statement 1 is wrong. Statements 2, 3 and 4 are correct.
Statement 1: It aims to protect marine life and address issues such as climate change, overfishing, pollution, and unsustainable practices in areas of the ocean beyond national jurisdiction.
Statement 2: The treaty is legally binding.
Statement 3: India is a signatory to the treaty.
Statement 4:The treaty also addresses issues of illegal activities at sea and provides a framework for punitive actions.
UN HIGH SEAS TREATY :
Context: On June 19, the UN adopted the Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) or the High Seas Treaty. It became the third agreement to be approved under UNCLOS, after the 1994 and 1995 treaties, which established the International Seabed Authority and the Fish Stocks agreement.
What is it?
The High Seas Treaty, also known as the Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) treaty, was adopted by the United Nations in June 2023.
It is a new agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that aims to address the regulatory gaps and protect marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, which include the high seas and seabeds outside exclusive economic zones (EEZs).
Why is the treaty needed?
The high seas make up about two-thirds of the ocean and are currently regulated by fragmented and incomplete frameworks.The high seas are crucial for regulating environmental processes and have been subject to issues such as overfishing, pollution, and climate change. That’s why this treaty is important.
Salient features:
● The treaty establishes marine protected areas to safeguard ocean ecosystems from human activities.
● Decision-making for these areas requires a “three-quarter majority vote” to prevent blockage by a small number of parties.
● It also includes provisions for the fair sharing of benefits from marine genetic resources, promoting the sharing of scientific information and monetary benefits.
● Capacity building and the use of marine technology are also emphasised, with a Scientific and Technical Body providing guidelines for environmental impact assessments and assisting countries with limited capacity.
● The treaty also addresses issues of illegal activities at sea and provides a framework for punitive actions.
● It would establish global regulations for the movement of fishing vessels in the high seas, eliminating the need for individual treaties between countries and promoting better monitoring and penalties for illegal fishing.
How can India benefit from it?
● India, which has a primarily nearshore fishing fleet, the treaty could help regulate fishing beyond its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
● It would allow India to distribute and regulate its national fishing effort both within and outside its EEZ, promoting sustainable fisheries and securing its “Blue Economy.”
Additional Knowhow:
● Russia and China are not signatories to this treaty.
● This is a step in the direction to attain SDG 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
● Exclusive Economic Zone: The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) defines an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) as generally extending 200 nautical miles from shore, within which the coastal state has the right to explore and exploit, and the responsibility to conserve and manage, both living and non-living resources.
● United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) :
○ The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was adopted in 1982. It lays down a comprehensive regime of law and order in the world’s oceans and seas. It establishes rules governing all uses of the oceans and their resources. It embodies in one instrument all the rules that have already been there for the uses of the oceans before the UNCLOS was brought and at the same time introduces new legal concepts and regimes and addresses new concerns. The Convention also provides the framework for further development of specific areas of the law of the sea.
○ The International Seabed Authority, The Fish Stocks Agreement, The UN High Seas Treaty are autonomous but are established based on agreements under the UNCLOS.
● International Seabed Authority(ISA):
○ ISA is the organization through which States Parties to UNCLOS organise and control all mineral-resources-related activities in the Area for the benefit of humankind as a whole. In so doing, ISA has the mandate to ensure the effective protection of the marine environment from harmful effects that may arise from deep-seabed-related activities.
○ It is an autonomous international organization established under UNCLOS and the 1994 Agreement relating to the implementation of a clause of the UNCLOS.
○ It came into existence on 16 November 1994, upon the entry into force of UNCLOS. It became fully operational as an autonomous international organization in June 1996.
○ It has its headquarters at Kingston , Jamaica.
○ All States Parties to UNCLOS are ipso facto members of ISA. That means India is a party to ISA too.
● Fish Stocks Agreement :
○ The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks sets out principles for the conservation and management of those fish stocks and establishes that such management must be based on the precautionary approach and the best available scientific information.
○ It was brought out through the 1995 Agreement under UNCLOS.
○ Note: Straddling stocks are stocks of fish such as pollock, which migrate between, or occur in both, the economic exclusive zone (EEZ) of one or more States and the high seas. Thus, the definition also includes highly migratory fish stocks. There have been problems in most of the relatively few areas where straddling stocks exist in commercially attractive quantities. As regards conservation (i.e. the prevention of over- fishing) one threat is that vessels fishing for those stocks on the high seas will undermine any management measures taken by a coastal State in its EEZ.
○ The Agreement attempts to achieve this objective by providing a framework for cooperation in the conservation and management of those resources
○ India is a party to it.

Answer is (a)
Statements 1 and 3 are wrong. Statement 2 is correct.
Statement 1: G20 has no permanent secretariat.
Statement 2: All the members of G7(USA, UK, Japan, Germany, France, Canada, Italy) are members of G20.
Statement 3: The theme of the summit for 2022 was ‘Recover Together, Recover Stronger’. ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ or ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ is the theme of G20 2023.
Context: The Russian Diplomat to India indicated the possibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the G20 summit to be held in India under India’s Presidency.
G20:
● G20 is the premier forum for international economic cooperation and it plays an important role in shaping and strengthening global architecture and governance on all major international economic issues.
● The G20 was founded in 1999 after the Asian financial crisis as a forum for the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to discuss global economic and financial issues.
● It was upgraded to the level of Heads of State/Government in the wake of the global economic and financial crisis of 2007, and, in 2009, was designated the “premier forum for international economic cooperation”.
● The G20 Summit is held annually, under the leadership of a rotating Presidency
● It does not have a permanent secretariat or staff. Instead, the G20 Presidency rotates annually among the members and is selected from a different regional grouping of countries.
● The Group of Twenty (G20) comprises 19 countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, United Kingdom, and United States) and European Union.
● The G20 members represent around 85% of the global GDP, over 75% of the global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.
● During India’s Presidency, the members of the G20 troika are Indonesia, India and Brazil.
● It is headed by Sherpa who is the representative of the Leader.

Answer is (c)
Context: Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, who retired as the chairperson of National Green Tribunal (NGT) , said that non-compliance of NGT (green court )orders by governments continues to be a serious issue.
Green Courts refer to Specialised courts to look into the matters related to environmental disputes. Example: National Green Tribunal is a green court