Single women get equal abortion rights

In a historic judgment, the Supreme Court on Thursday declared that single women with pregnancies between 20 and 24 weeks are entitled to access the same safe and legal abortion care as married women.

Important points in judgment

•  The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act, 1971 prohibits unmarried women who are between 20 and 24 weeks’ pregnant to abort with the help of registered doctors.
• The rights of reproductive autonomy, dignity and privacy give an unmarried woman the right of choice as to whether or not to bear a child on a similar footing as that of a married woman.
• The law should not decide the beneficiaries of a statute based on narrow patriarchal principles about what constitutes permissible sex. This would create invidious classifications.

Facts

• eight women die every day in India due to unsafe abortions
• 67% of the abortions carried out between 2007 and 2011 were classified unsafe

History of Abortion Rights in India

Before 1971, abortion was not legalized and in fact, was criminalized under section 312 of the Indian Penal Code (framed by Britishers). But in 1971, the Indian constitution granted abortion rights to women.

Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act (1971)

The Shah Committee appointed by the government of India in 1964 performed a study on the socio-culture, medical and legal scenarios for abortion. The committee stated many field studies and recommended legalizing abortion. In 1971, the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act was included in the constitution. It inferred the right of abortion to women up to 20 weeks of pregnancy in the given below conditions-

1. If the pregnancy imposes a substantial threat to a women’s life and can cause physical and mental damage.

2. If the expected child will face a threat to life or will be physically or mentally handicapped.

3. If pregnancy is due to rape.

4. If pregnancy is the result of failed contraceptive.

Permission for a few cases of abortions after 20 weeks has also been asked in the Supreme Court. Article 142 (order passed by the apex court to do complete justice) confers this power to the highest court.

Evolution of MTP Act from 1971 to 2021:

• The latest amendment to the MTP Act was made in 2021.
• Before that new rules were introduced in 2003 to allow the use of the nnewly discovered abortion medicine misoprostol, to medically terminate a pregnancy up to seven weeks into it.
• Broader amendments to the original Act were introduced in 2020 and the amended Act came into force in 2021.
• Under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (Amendment) Act, 2021, abortion is permitted after medical opinion under stipulated circumstances.
• The 2021 Act increased the upper limit of the gestation period to which a woman can seek a medical abortion to 24 weeks from 20 weeks permitted in the 1971 Act.
• MTP could not be accessed on the opinion of a single registered medical practitioner up to 20 weeks of the gestational age.
• From 20 weeks up to 24 weeks, the opinion of two registered medical practitioners is required.
• In the previous version of the Act, the opinion of one registered doctor was required to access a medical abortion upto 12 weeks of pregnancy, while two doctors were required to endorse the abortion upto 20 weeks.

MTP Amendments Act (2021)

MTP amendment bill was passed by both the Houses of Parliament in March 2020. It was one of the last pieces of legislation to be passed before the lockdown. This act embodied the central essence of the previous act and is an enhanced and liberal version.

• Termination due to Failure of Contraceptive Method or Device: Under the Act, a pregnancy may be terminated up to 20 weeks by a married woman in the case of failure of contraceptive method or device.
• Unmarried women: It allows unmarried women to also terminate a pregnancy for this reason.
• Opinion Needed for Termination of Pregnancy:

• Opinion of one Registered Medical Practitioner (RMP) for termination of pregnancy up to 20 weeks of gestation.
  • Opinion of two RMPs for termination of pregnancy of 20-24 weeks of gestation.
  • Opinion of the State-level medical board is essential for a pregnancy to be terminated after 24 weeks in case of substantial foetal abnormalities.

• Upper Gestation Limit for Special Categories: Increases the upper gestation limit from 20 to 24 weeks for special categories of women, including survivors of rape, victims of incest and other vulnerable women (differently abled women, minors, among others).
• Confidentiality: The “name and other particulars of a woman whose pregnancy has been terminated shall not be revealed”, except to a person authorized in any law that is currently in force.

UNESCO lists 50 iconic Indian textiles

UNESCO on Thursday released a list of 50 exclusive and iconic heritage textile crafts of the country.

• Toda embroidery and Sungadi from Tamil Nadu, Himroo from Hyderabad, and Bandha tie and dye from Sambalpur in Odisha were some of the textiles that made the cut.
• According to UNESCO, one of the major challenges to the safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in the South Asia is the lack of proper inventory and documentation.
• Some of the iconic handcrafted textiles documented from north India are Khes  from Panipat, Chamba rumals from Himachal Pradesh, Thigma or wool tie and dye from Ladakh, and Awadh Jamdani from Varanasi
• From the south, Ilkal and Lambadi or Banjara embroidery from Karnataka, Sikalnayakanpet Kalamkari from Thanjavur have been included. 
• Kunbi weaves from Goa, Mashru weaves and Patola from Gujarat, Himroo from Maharashtra and GaradKoirial from West Bengal also find a place among the 50 iconic textiles.

Textile industry’s role in India’s inclusive growth:

1. Employment generation: Textile industry is labour intensive and offers maximum employment in the country. It is a source of employment both in rural and urban areas. Textile industry in India can provide indirect employment to many million people, such as cotton growers, processors, cloth dealers, shop keepers, exporters and importers.
2. Farmer’s welfare: Textile industry needs raw material which is mostly procured locally. For instance, cotton is the main material used for the production of yarn and cloth. The development of the industry encourages farmers to grow more cotton, which leads to income generation in the agricultural sector.
3. Higher wages: To the members of unionized labour, it provides secure jobs with wage rates significantly higher than those prevailing in the unorganized sector of the industry.
4. Government revenue: It is a source of revenue and means to earn foreign exchange for the government. The industry plays an important role in providing foreign exchange resources by exports. This helps the government to spend more on social welfare and poverty alleviation measures.
5. Women empowerment: Textile industry plays a significant role in women employment, especially in rural areas. The number of women employed in the textile industry is on the increase ever since the liberalisation. According to CMIE (Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy) the industry provides employment to about 15 million women.
6. Reduce inequalities: It plays an important role in reduction of inequalities in income and wealth and more even distribution of economic power in the country. It thus plays an important role in the removal of poverty and technological and economic self-reliance of the nation.

Significance of Technical Textiles Mission: Technical textiles are textiles materials and products manufactured primarily for technical performance and functional properties rather than aesthetic characteristics.

1. Research, Innovation and Development: The mission will focus on promoting both fundamental research at fibre level and application based research in geo-textiles, agro-textiles, medical textiles etc.
2. Promotion and Market Development: The penetration level of technical textiles is low in India varying between 5-10% against the level of 30-70% in developed countries. The mission aims at an average growth rate of 15-20% per annum through market development, market promotion, international technical collaborations, investment promotions and ‘Make in India’ initiatives.
3. Export Promotion: It aims at export promotion of technical textiles enhancing. An Export Promotion Council for Technical Textiles will be set up for effective coordination and promotion activities in the segment.
4. Education, Training, Skill Development: The Mission will promote technical education at higher levels. Skill development will be promoted and adequate pool of highly skilled manpower resources will be created.
5. Inclusive growth: The Mission will focus on usage of technical textiles in various flagship programmes including strategic sectors. The use of technical textiles in agriculture, dairy and in programmes like Jal Jeevan Mission, Swachh Bharat Mission and Ayushman Bharat will bring an overall improvement in economy, better agricultural productivity and higher income to farmers.
6. Infrastructure: The use of geo-textiles in highways, railways and ports will result in robust infrastructure, reduced maintenance cost and higher life cycle of the infrastructure assets.
7. Waste disposal: It will also develop suitable equipment for environmentally sustainable disposal of used technical textiles, with emphasis on safe disposal of medical and hygiene wastes.
8. Indigenous manufacturing: There is another important component in the research activity aiming at development of indigenous machineries and process equipment for technical textiles, in order to promote ‘Make in India’ and enable competitiveness of the industry by way of reduced capital costs.

Internet privacy for Indians and others

The government on Thursday stated in the Supreme Court that it expects social media companies, however “big” they were, to treat Indian users’ privacy on a par with foreign customers.

• The case is based on a petition by Karmanya Singh Sareen and Shreya Sethi challenging a 2016 policy of instant messaging app – WhatsApp – to give Facebook access to information and personal details shared by millions of its users.
• The High Court had taken a nuanced position by confirming the legality of the policy while directing WhatsApp to “delete completely” from its server information or data or details of all users who choose to delete their account.

Data Protection (Meaning):

• Data protection is the process of safeguarding important information from corruption, compromise or loss.
  
  
  • Data is the large collection of information that is stored in a computer or on a network.
  • The importance of data protection increases as the amount of data created and stored continues to grow at unprecedented rates.

Need:

• According to the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI)’s Digital in India report 2019, there are about 504 million active web users and India’s online market is second only to China.
  • Large collection of information about individuals and their online habits has become an important source of profits. It is also a potential avenue for invasion of privacy because it can reveal extremely personal aspects.
    
    
    • Companies, governments, and political parties find it valuable because they can use it to find the most convincing ways to advertise to you online.
• Laws for Data Protection across the Globe:
  
  
  • European Union: The primary aim of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is to give individuals control over their personal data.
  • US: It has sectoral laws to deal with matters of digital privacy such as the US Privacy Act, 1974, Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act etc.

Initiatives in India:

• Information Technology Act, 2000:
  
  It provides for safeguard against certain breaches in relation to data from computer systems. It contains provisions to prevent the unauthorized use of computers, computer systems and data stored therein.

Personal Data Protection Bill 2019:

• The Supreme Court maintained the right to privacy as a fundamental right in the landmark decision of K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India 2017 after which the Union government had appointed Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee for proposing skeletal legislation in the discipline of data protection.
• The Committee came up with its report and draft legislation in the form of the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018.
• In 2019, Parliament again revised the Bill and much deviation from the 2018 Bill was evident. The new Bill was named as Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019.
  
  
• The purpose of this Bill is to provide for protection of privacy of individuals relating to their Personal Data and to establish a Data Protection Authority of India for the said purposes and the matters concerning the personal data of an individual.

ISRO scientist elected VP of IAF

Senior Indian Space Research Organisation scientist Anil Kumar has been elected as the Vice- President of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), according to ISRO. Anil Kumar is currently working as Associate Director, ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC).

More about IAF

• The International Astronautical Federation (IAF) was founded in 1951, when scientists from the field of space research gathered in an attempt to ensure a constant dialogue between the space nations, regardless of political turmoil.
• IAF is world’s leading space advocacy body with 433 members in 72 nations.
• IAF actively encourages the development of astronautics for peaceful purposes and supports the dissemination of scientific and technical information related to space.
• In its early years, the Federation and its annual International Astronautical Congresses – better known as the IAC – were one of few fora where East and West could meet during the Space Race.
• In 2021, the IAF will mark its 70th Anniversary and, throughout all these years, it has continued to witness history through the remarkable achievements of its member organizations.
• It (Anil Kumar’s election) is recognition of ISRO’s space endeavours that help in promoting international collaboration.

DoT makes IMEI registration mandatory

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has made it mandatory for mobile phone manufacturers to register the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) – the 15-digit numbers that uniquely identify each mobile device – of all handsets made in India with the government. Importers, too, will have to register with the government the IMEI number of each phone before importing it.

How is the DoT mandating these changes?

1. In a gazette notification on 26 September 2022 amending the prevention of tampering of the Mobile Device Equipment Identification Number, Rules, 2017, the DoT said.
2. The manufacturer shall register the international mobile equipment identity number of every mobile phone manufactured in India with the Indian Counterfeited Device Restriction portal of the Government of India in the Department of Telecommunications prior to the first sale of the mobile phone.
3. It added that the IMEI number of mobile phones imported in India for sale, testing, research or “any other purpose” will also have to be registered on the same government portal “prior to the import of the mobile phone into the country”.

What is the IMEI number?

1. The IMEI is a unique number that is used to identify a device on a mobile network.
2. It has 15 digits and is like a phone’s unique identity. The number is used to verify the identity of a device when a user uses the Internet or places a call through it. Phones with a dual-SIM option have two IMEI numbers, one for each SIM.
3. The IMEI number can help network providers track down a device in case it gets stolen or is lost.
4. Once such loss or theft is reported, the carriers can deny the device access to the cellular network even with a new SIM card.