Section 66A of IT Act must know for all ias aspirant

Section 66A deals with punishment for sending offensive
messages through a communication service. Under the
provision, any person who sends, by means of a computer
resource or a communication device,
(a) any information that is grossly offensive or has menacing
character; or
(b) any information, which he knows to be false, but for the
purpose of causing annoyance, inconvenience, danger,
obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity,
hatred or ill-will, persistently by making use of such
computer resource or a communication device; or
(c) any electronic mail or electronic mail message for the
purpose of causing annoyance or inconvenience or to deceive
or to mislead the addressee or recipient about the origin of
such messages, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a
term, which may extend to three years and with fine.

Ironically, neither the committee nor the department appears
to have understood the inherent inconsistency between the
phraseology of Section 66A and Article 19(1)(a) of the
Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and
expression to every citizen. Under Article 19(2), restrictions
on freedom of speech are reasonable if they pertain to any
of the listed grounds, such as sovereignty and integrity of
India, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign
states, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to
contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence.
Although Section 66A was intended to be an anti-spam
provision, its careless phrasing does not help achieve its
objective. The use of “or” instead of “and” makes the
provision very loose, making it easier for the police to decide
whether an alleged offence attracts it. Experts have pointed
out many other anomalies in the provision, which are
inconsistent with free speech requirements. Words like
“grossly offensive”, “menacing character”, “annoyance”,
“danger”, “obstruction”, “insult” and “injury” found in the
provision are too general and incapable of precise definition.
Even authors of innocent communication through e-mail
could be accused of having violated the law.

PIL by 21 year old Shreya Singhal challenging sections constitutionality ..

Phraseology of sec 66a was so wide and vague

Reasons for Allowing FDIin retail sector ...goverment view

Reasons for Allowing
FDI in Retail Sector

Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI)
complements and
supplements domestic
investment. Domestic
companies are
benefited through
FDI, by way of
enhanced access to
supplementary capital
and state-of-the-art
technologies;
exposure to global
managerial practices
and opportunities of
integration into global
markets.
Government had
instituted a study, on
the subject of “Impact
of Organized Retailing
on the Unorganized
Sector”, through the
Indian Council for
Research on
International
Economic Relations
(ICRIER), which was
submitted to
Government in 2008.
The ICRIER study
indicated significant
benefits for various
stakeholders, such as
consumers, farmers
and manufacturers,
arising from the
growth of organized
retail. Based upon the
study, as well as the
experience of other
countries, it is the
Government’s
assessment that
implementation of the
policy permitting FDI,
up to 51%, in multi-
brand retail trading, is
likely to facilitate
greater FDI inflows
into front and back-
end infrastructure;
technologies and
efficiencies to unlock
the potential of the
agricultural value
chain; additional and
quality employment;
and global best
practices. This, in
turn, is expected to
benefit consumers
and farmers in the
long run, in terms of
quality and price. The
30% mandatory
sourcing condition
has been incorporated
to encourage local
value addition and
manufacturing. The
increased level of
activity, in the front-
end, as well as in the
back-end, resulting
from greater FDI
inflows, is expected to
create additional
employment
opportunities for
rural and urban
youth. It is, further,
expected to
encourage existing
traders and retail
outlets to upgrade
and become more
efficient, thereby
providing better
services to consumers
and better
remuneration to the
producers from whom
they source their
products.
There is no procedure
to shortlist
companies. Foreign
investors desirous of
investing in retail
trade (multi brand or
single brand) in India
are required to
submit their
applications in the
Department of
Industrial Policy &
Promotion, where
their applications are
examined to
determine whether
the proposed
investment satisfies
the notified
guidelines, before
being considered by
the Foreign
Investment Promotion
Board, in the Ministry
of Finance, for Goverment approval.

Web Ratna Awar govenment of India

The Awards are
conferred to teams
from all the
constituents of the
Indian Government at
the Centre and State
level in the following
categories:
• Citizen Centric
Service
• Public Participation
Initiative
• Outstanding Web
Content
• Innovative Use of
Technology
• Comprehensive Web
Presence - Ministry/
Department
• Comprehensive Web
Presence - State
The list of awardees
can be accessed at the
http://
webratna.india.gov.in.
The first ever "Web
Ratna Awards" were
presented in 2010.
A number of
nominations were
received for the Web
Ratna Awards’12.
These Awards were
finalized through a
three tier evaluation
process. The entries
were independently
scrutinized using the
scientific evaluation
matrix devised by IIT
Delhi, which was later
meticulously
evaluated by the
Screening Committee.
The shortlisted
nominations were
thoroughly evaluated
by the Jury comprising
of senior members
from the Government,
Academia and
institutes/
organizations.

INDIA'S RANK in the Global Competetive Index dropped to 59 from 56 2012_2013 report

India’s Rank in the Global Competitive Index
As per the latest Global Competitiveness
Report 2012-13, brought out by World Economic
Forum, a Swiss non-profit foundation based in
Geneva, India ranks 59 th amongst 144 economies
in the Global Competitiveness Index for 2012-13, as
against 56 th position out of 142 economies covered
in 2011-12.
The Global Competitiveness Index (GCI)
measures the competitive performance of the
economies around the world for doing business. It
is a composite index that combines three
component indices covering 12 different
parameters (termed ‘pillars’).

Index is measured by 3 components under which their is three basic requirements

1. Basic Requirements 60% weightage

      a. Institution
      b. Infrastructure
      c. Health & primary education
      d. Macro economic environment.

2. Efficiency enhancers (35%) weightage

   A. Higher education and training
   B. Goods  market efficiency.
   C. Market labour efficiency.
   D. Financial market  development.
   E. Market size
    F. Technology readiness.

3. Innovation and sophistication factor.

A. Innovation
B. Business sophistication.
      

Measures for reducing MMR and IMR

MR and IMR
Survey data on Maternal Mortality
Ratio (MMR) is available from the Report
of Registrar General of India Sample
Registration System (RGI-SRS) at three
year intervals and is not provided every
year. The latest available data on MMR is
for the period 2007-09. During this
period, the MMR of India was 212 per
100,000 live births.
As per the same source, data for
Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) in India is
available for the years 2009, 2010, and
2011. The latest IMR for the country as
per SRS 2011 is 44 per 1000 live births.
The IMR for year 2009 was 50 and for
year 2010, it was 47.
As per the latest MMEIG (Maternal
Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group-
WHO,UNICEF,UNFPA, World Bank) report
titled “Trends in Maternal Mortality: 1990
to 2010” India is ranked 126 out of 180
countries when countries are arranged in
ascending order of MMR.
As per theReport published by
UNICEF, India (2012) titled “Committing
to Child Survival; A Promise Renewed”
India ranks 45 out of 195 countries in the
world in descending order of Infant
Mortality Rate.
Under the National Rural Health
Mission, the key steps being taken by the
Government of India to reduce MMR &
IMR in the country are:
· Promotion of institutional
deliveries through
JananiSurakshaYojana (JSY).
· Capacity building of health
care providers in basic and
comprehensive obstetric care,
Integrated Management of Neo-
natal and Childhood Illness
(IMINCI) and
NavjaatShishuSurakshtaKaryakaram
(NSSK) etc.
· Operationalisation of sub-
centers, Primary Health Centers,
Community Health Centers and
District Hospitals for providing
24x7 basic and comprehensive
obstetric care & child care services.
· Strengthening of Facility based
newborn care by setting up
Newborn care corners (NBCC) in all
health facilities where deliveries
take place to provide essential
newborn care at birth; and Special
New Born Care Units (SNCUs) at
District Hospitals and New Born
Stabilization Units (NBSUs) at First
Referral Units for the care of sick
newborn.
· Name Based web enabled
tracking of pregnant women &
children has been introduced to
ensure antenatal, intranatal and
postnatal care to pregnant women
and care to newborns, infants and
children.
· Mother and Child Protection
Card in collaboration with the
Ministry of Women and Child
Development to monitor service
delivery for mothers and children.
· Iron and Folic Acid
supplementation to pregnant &
lactating women and children for
prevention and treatment of
anaemia.
· Weekly Iron and Folic Acid
supplementation to adolescent
girls.
· Engagement of 8.71 lakhs
Accredited Social Health Activists
(ASHAs) to generate demand and
facilitate accessing of health care
services by the community.
· Home Based Newborn Care
(HBNC) through ASHA has been
initiated to improve new born care
practices at the community level
and for early detection and referral
of sick new born babies.
· Village Health and Nutrition
Days in rural areas as an outreach
activity, for provision of maternal
and child health services.
·
JananiShishuSurakshaKaryakaram
(JSSK) has been launched on 1 st
June, 2011, to eliminate any out of
pocket expense for pregnant
women delivering in public health
institutions and sick newborns
accessing public health institutions
for treatment till 30 days after
birth.
· Management of Malnutrition
particularly Severe Acute
Malnutrition (SAM) by establishing
Nutritional Rehabilitation Centres
(NRCs). As breastfeeding reduces
infant mortality, exclusive
breastfeeding for first six months
and appropriate infant and young
child feeding practices are being
promoted in convergence with
Ministry of Woman and Child
Development.
· Universal Immunization
Program (UIP) against seven
diseases for all children.
Government of India supports the
vaccine program by supply of
vaccines and syringes, cold chain
equipments and provision of
operational costs.
This information was given by
Minister for Health & Family Welfare Shri
Ghulam Nabi Azad in written reply to a
question in the Rajya Sabha today.

UN goals on MDG targets

UN Goals on Infant Mortality
The report “Infant and Child
Mortality in India”- Levels, Trends
and Determinants published by
NIMS-ICMR and UNICEF mentions
that among India’s major states, six
states namely Kerala and Tamil
Nadu in the south, Maharashtra in
the West, Punjab and Himachal
Pradesh in the North and West
Bengal in the Eastern part of India
are likely to achieve MDG-4 target
of U5MR below 39 by 2015.
However, as per the latest SRS data
on IMR and U5MR, a large number
of states are on course to meet the
UN MDG goal.
As per the above said report,
impact of key socio-economic
determinants on Infant and Child
mortality are as under:
Infant mortality rate among
children born to illiterate
mothers has been consistently
higher than those born to
mothers with any education.
The estimate showed that the
lowest mortality levels were
seen among children born to
women with more than 12
years of education and the
highest were among those born
to mothers with no education.

Children born in scheduled
caste and scheduled tribe
families have a significantly
higher risk of dying than
others.
All components of under-five
mortality have an inverse
association with economic
status as measured by Standard
of Living Index. However,
during the period covered by
the analysis, the decline in
infant mortality has been much
steeper among the children
born in low SLI households
(37.5%), as compared to those
born in high SLI households
(10.7%).
Between 1981 and 2005, IMR
and U5MR were consistently
lower among children living in
families who accessed drinking
water from a safe source as
compared to those who
accessed drinking water from
an unsafe source.
All components of Under-five
mortality are higher for
children in households that do
not have access to a flush or pit
toilet, in India as a whole.
Under National Rural Health
Mission (NRHM), higher resources
are being provided to the states and
districts with week health
indicators. Further, the following
interventions are implemented to
reduce Infant and Child mortality
rates and to achieve MDG goals in
the country:
1) Promotion of Institutional
Delivery through
JananiSurakshaYojana (JSY) and
JananiShishuSurakshaKaryakram
(JSSK): Promoting Institutional
delivery to ensure skilled birth
attendance is key to reducing both
maternal and neo-natal mortality.
JSY incentivizes pregnant women to
opt for institutional delivery and
provides for cash assistance. JSSK
entitles all pregnant women to
absolutely free and zero expense
delivery including caesarean
section operation in Government
health facilities and provides for
free to and fro transport, food,
drugs and diagnostics. Similar
entitlements have also been put in
place for sick neonates.
2) Strengthening Facility based
newborn care: Newborn care
corners (NBCC) are being set up at
all health facilities where deliveries
take place to provide essential
newborn care at birth to all new
born babies; Special New Born Care
Units (SNCUs) at District Hospitals
and New Born Stabilization Units
(NBSUs) at FRUs are being set up
for the care of sick newborn. As on
date 399 SNCUs, 1542 NBSUs and
11508 NBCCs are functional across
the country.
3) Home Based Newborn Care
(HBNC): Home based newborn care
through ASHA has recently been
initiated to improve new born care
practices at the community level
and for early detection and referral
of sick new born babies. The
schedule of home visits by ASHA
consists of at least 6 visits in case
of institutional deliveries, on days
3, 7, 14, 21, 28 & 42nd days and
one additional visit within 24 hours
of delivery in case of home
deliveries. Additional visits will be
made for babies who are pre-term,
low birth weight or ill.
4) Capacity building of health
care providers: Various trainings
are being conducted under National
Rural Health Mission (NRHM) to
build and upgrade the skills of
doctors, nurses and ANM for early
diagnosis and case management of
common ailments of children and
care of newborn at time of birth.
These trainings include Integrated
Management of Neo-natal and
Childhood Illness(IMINCI) and
NavjaatShishuSurakshtaKaryakaram
(NSSK). A total of 5.5 lakh health
care workers have been trained in
IMNCI in 471districts and 88,428
health workers trained in NSSK so
far.
5) Management of Malnutrition:
Emphasis is being laid on reduction
of malnutrition which is an
important underlying cause of child
mortality. 594 Nutritional
Rehabilitation Centres have been
established for management of
Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM).
Iron and Folic Acid is also provided
to children for prevention of
anaemia. Recently, weekly Iron and
Folic Acid is proposed to be
initiated for adolescent population.
As breastfeeding reduces infant
mortality, exclusive breastfeeding
for first six months and appropriate
infant and young child feeding
practices are being promoted in
convergence with Ministry of
Woman and Child Development.
6) Village Health and Nutrition
Days (VHNDs) are also being
organized for imparting nutritional
counseling to mothers and to
improve child care practices.
7) Universal Immunization
Program (UIP): Vaccination against
seven diseases is provided to all
children under UIP. Government of
India supports the vaccine program
by supply of vaccines and syringes,
cold chain equipments and
provision of operational costs. UIP
targets to immunize 2.7 crore
infants against seven vaccine
preventable diseases every year. 21
states with more than 80%
coverage have incorporated second
dose of Measles in their
immunization program.
Pentavalent vaccine has been
introduced in two states of Kerala
and Tamil Nadu and proposed to be
scaled up in six more states. Year
2012-13 has been declared as ‘Year
of intensification of Routine
Immunization’.
8)Mother and Child Tracking
System: A name based Mother and
Child Tracking System has been put
in place which is web based to
enable tracking of all pregnant
women and newborns so as to
monitor and ensure that complete
services are provided to them.
States are encouraged to send SMS
alerts to beneficiaries reminding
them of the dates on which services
are due and generate beneficiary-
wise due list of services with due
dates for ANMs on a weekly basis.
Besides the above, various
programmes are being implemented
by MORD, MOUD, HUPA,
Department of school education
and literacy, MWCD to address
social and economic determinants
of health like drinking water,
sanitation, nutrition, education,
women empowerment, poverty etc
that have a bearing on reduction of
infant and child mortality .
This information was give

Web Ratna Award 2012 to DAVP

DAVP Receives the
Web Ratna Award -
2012- Golden Icon
Award
Directorate of
Advertising and
Visual Publicity has
been conferred the
prestigious Web Ratna
2012, ‘Golden Icon
Award for Innovative
use of Technology’.
The award