Operation Dronagiri

Context:

• Operation Dronagiri launched along with the Integrated Geospatial Data Sharing Interface (GDI) marking a milestone in the National Geospatial Policy

About Operation Dronagiri:

• Operation Dronagiri, a pilot project under National Geospatial Policy 2022 to demonstrate the potential applications of geospatial technologies and innovations in improving the quality of life of citizens and ease of doing business.
• Operation Dronagiri is part of the numerous efforts of Department of Science and Technology (DST) in liberalising geospatial data, developing geospatial infrastructure, geospatial skill and knowledge as well as standards in implementing the policy.
• In the first phase, Operation Dronagiri will be implemented in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Assam, Andhra Pradesh & Maharashtra, where pilot projects will be run and use cases will be demonstrated to showcase the potential applications of integration of geospatial data and technology in 3 sectors –Agriculture, Livelihoods, Logistics and Transport.
• Several Government departments, Industry, Corporate and Startups will be partnered with in the first phase.
• This will create the base for its nationwide rollout.
• Operation Dronagiri gains a powerful backbone with support from Integrated Geospatial Data Sharing Interface (GDI), also unveiled, that will make spatial data accessible, bringing transformation similar to the process in which UPI has brought about financial inclusion.
• The Integrated Geospatial Data Sharing Interface (GDI) enables seamless data sharing, access, and analysis for urban planning, environmental monitoring, disaster management, and more.
• Built with advanced data exchange protocols and privacy-preserving features, it empowers organisations to make data-driven decisions for the public good, fostering innovation and responsible use of geospatial data.
• GDI offers tools to unlock actionable insights and drive collaboration.
• It enables efficient data processing, analysis, and sharing among stakeholders.
• This collaboration ensures faster, more coordinated responses in areas like infrastructure monitoring, disaster relief, and environmental protection.
• A nationwide rollout is envisioned under a PPP model, with a similar approach to UPI’s deployment.
• Industry and private sector engagement will be pivotal in supporting this transformation in the geospatial sector.
• Operation Dronagiri represents a crucial step within the National Geospatial Policy, designed to position India as a global leader in geospatial technology.
• The role of the private sector and startups is significant in making geospatial data accessible and impactful.
• Operation Dronagiri’s focus is on turning data into actionable solutions that bring real, socioeconomic benefits on the ground.
• The activities under Operation Dronagiri will be overseen by IIT Tirupati Navavishkar I-Hub Foundation (IITTNiF).
• The Geospatial Innovation Accelerators (GIAs) at IIT Kanpur, IIT Bombay, IIM Calcutta and IIT Ropar will act as the operational arms of Operation Dronagiri.
• The entire implementation process will be driven by Geospatial Innovation Cell, Department of Science and Technology.

White category industries

Context:

• Centre exempts ‘white category’ industries from key State pollution board permits

News:

• Union Environment Ministry has exempted 39 categories of industries from the mandatory requirement of approaching State pollution control boards for permission to run their industries.
• These include, among others, manufacturing units to make solar cells and modules, wind and hydel power units; fly ash bricks/ block manufacturing; leather cutting and stitching and assembly of air coolers /conditioners, repairing and servicing.
• All of these sectors are categorised as ‘white category’ industries, meaning that they are the least polluting in nature, according to a 2016 classification by the Central Pollution Control Board.

More info:

• There are four categories of industries as per 2016 classification and they are colour-coded as: Red, Orange, Green and White.
• ‘Red’ category industries, fall under the strictest scrutiny as the goods being manufactured result in toxic effluents.

Dual compliance:

• Centre said the move would reduce the “compliance burden” of industries.
• The government has accepted the long-standing demand of industry to remove dual compliance of Environmental Clearance (EC) and Consent to Establish (CTE) for setting up of new industries.
• Now, non-polluting white category industries will not be required to take CTE or Consent to Operate (CTO) at all.
• The industries which have taken EC will not be required to take CTE.
• This will not only reduce compliance burden, but also prevent duplication of approvals.
• Even prior to the notification, ‘white category’ industries were given permits by the State departments responsible for industry.
• These are the least polluting category but this notification formalises an existing practice where such industries got consent to operate without much trouble.
• The easing of these norms also flows from amendments to the ‘Water Act,’ earlier this year in Parliament.
• The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, was the first piece of legislation in independent India that identified the need to have an institutional structure to address contamination of water bodies.
• This led to the creation, in September 1974, of the Central Pollution Control Boards (CPCB) and State Pollution Control Boards (SPCB) that were charged with monitoring and preventing public water resources from getting contaminated by sewage and industrial effluents.
• Some of the amendments give the Centre greater authority to over-ride SPCB in some instances.
• As per the original Act, the SPCB’s permission is needed for establishing any industry or treatment plant, which could discharge sewage into a water body, sewer, or land.
• Explaining the rationale behind the amendments in the Rajya Sabha, Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav, said outdated rules and regulations caused a “trust deficit.
• The imprisonment provisions for minor violations, which are simple infringements and did not lead to any injury to humans or damage to the environment, often caused “harassment” to businesses and citizens and was not in consonance with the spirit of “ease of living and ease of doing business, he had said.

India-Canada diplomatic relations

Why has India accused Canada of acting as a safe haven for Khalistani terrorists and sympathisers? Is Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pandering to the ‘Sikh vote bank’ with these allegations? Why has Canada been reluctant to extradite individuals to India?

Introduction:

• Recently, Canada and India each expelled their top diplomats due to the fallout from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegation last year that there were possible links of Indian intelligence with the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Canada.
• India had categorised Nijjar as a Khalistani terrorist (he had faced no criminal charges in Canada, but was put on a no-fly list and his bank accounts were frozen).
• The row seems to be escalating Canadian Hindu-Sikh tensions.

Historical context:

• India’s long-held complaint has been that Canada acts as a safe haven for Khalistani separatists/extremists.
• Its biggest grouse has been Canada’s failure in preventing the 1985 Air India bombing (perpetrated by Canada-based Khalistani extremists) and the lack of support in subsequent investigations.

Sikh ‘vote bank’ in Canada:

• Sikhs constitute only 2% of Canada’s population but their political clout is far disproportionate because of geographic concentration.
• At one point, there were four Sikh ministers in the Trudeau cabinet.
• Most of the Sikh MPs are from Trudeau’s Liberal Party.
• However, there is no public evidence to state that the only motive for the Trudeau government to lay these accusations against India is to pander to Sikh voters (of whom Khalistanis are only a minority).
• What we have as ‘evidence’ is the Trudeau government dropping the words Sikh and Khalistani from a government report which identified, for the first time, Khalistani extremism amongst the top five terrorism threats in Canada; the Canadian parliament marking Nijjar’s killing by holding a moment of silence; Mr. Trudeau and other party leaders attending Sikh community festivals which featured Khalistan flags and the glorification of Talwinder Parmar, the Air India bombing mastermind; and also drawing support from known Khalistani sympathisers.
• But all parties, not just the Liberal Party, have indulged in these kinds of acts.
• While Mr. Trudeau and his government have affirmed the territorial integrity of India, they have not explicitly condemned Khalistani extremism.
• But this ‘vote bank’ is not as India perceives it.
• In surveys, 54% of Sikhs in Canada intend to vote for the Conservative Party and 21% for Trudeau’s party in the next elections.
• The Trudeau government has already been pilloried about its failures in countering Chinese interference in Canadian elections.
• A public inquiry into foreign interference has currently been instituted by the Canadian government.
• Therefore, an accusation such as this could bolster its weak image.
• But the Canadian newspaper, The Globe and Mail, which exposed Chinese interference and was about to publish the allegations regarding India last year (before Mr. Trudeau went public with it), and other news outlets, have criticised Mr. Trudeau only for using a serious national security issue for political grandstanding, rather than manufacturing the case to pander to Sikh voters as India alleges.

Political and cultural misunderstandings:

• There are misunderstandings on both sides.
• Canadian scholars have argued that despite the fact that a vast majority of the victims of the Air India bombing were Canadian citizens (of Indian descent), the Canadian government, for a long time, had seen it as a “foreign tragedy” and the victims as not “real Canadians”, clearly betraying systemic racism.
• Both Conservative and Liberal governments treated the victims shoddily until an official apology was issued by Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2010.
• This racial prejudice is also emphasised by the fact that despite it being Canada’s worst terrorist act, 90% Canadians had little or no knowledge of it, and more than 50% under the age of 35 had never even heard of it.
• Further, as no Khalistani terrorist act has been perpetrated in Canada since then, the public is unaffected, and ignorant of Khalistani activism.
• The Indian public, conversely, assumes that institutions work the same as in India.
• The rule of law is enforced in a more systematic manner in Canada than in India.
• Canadian police independence is guarded, and whenever there were attempts by politicians to interfere illegally, there has been a huge public outcry.
• Ujjal Dosanjh, a former Liberal cabinet minister, who himself was subject to life-threatening attacks by Khalistani extremists, has argued that while Canadian politicians have allowed Khalistani ideas to flourish, the law enforcement has not been soft on Khalistani terrorism.
• While the Air India investigations failed to a large extent, the evidence on hand does not suggest, as believed in India, that they were politically motivated to support the Khalistani extremists.
• The public inquiry that went into the Air India bombing, instead, was scathing about the security and investigation failures and termed them: “inconceivable, incomprehensible, indefensible, incompetence.”
• Additionally, India is angry that Khalistan referendums are held in Canada and that Khalistani parades glorify the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
• However, freedom of speech and expression is a much guarded value in Canada and there is a high threshold on what constitutes as hate speech that can be prosecuted.
• Referendums and non-violent separatism advocacy are legal in Canada, and referendums have been held to seek the separation of Quebec from Canada.
• Burning the Canadian flag or the Bible in them is not criminal.
• However, Canadian critics have argued for stronger legal vigilance around Khalistani hate speech especially when threats are issued.

Legal complexities:

• India’s extradition requests, for those who it terms as Khalistani terrorists, are very often denied not due to political reasons but because they do not meet Canadian legal standards.
• Western democracies are wary of extraditions to countries with much poorer human rights records, where political dissenters and opponents are jailed for prolonged periods without criminal culpability, and without trial and bail, especially under anti-terror laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
• Other reasons include the weakness of evidence solely relying on statements from the accused in custody, and the inadmissibility of Indian intelligence evidence in courts abroad as it is not gathered under the Indian Telegraph Act and the Information Technology Act.
• Only six wanted individuals have been extradited to India from Canada from 2002-2020 (this number is 10 for the U.S, and just one for the U.K.).
• Notably, India has not managed to secure the extraditions of Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi and Vijay Mallya (the last three from the U.K. with which India has friendly relations).

Media role:

• The Canadian media has asked some tough questions of the government and presented India’s version about the dangers of Khalistani diaspora politics.
• Conversely, the TV media in India, while rightly questioning Western hypocrisy on some matters, has substituted journalism with jingoism, and uncritically pushed the government’s narrative.
• It has spread disinformation that nobody was convicted for the Air India bombings (Inderjit Singh Reyat, the bomb-maker, spent nearly 30 years in jail); that Mr. Trudeau “admitted” that there was no evidence for his accusations, etc.
• Parallely, the Globe and Mail (and other newspapers) which had asked Mr. Trudeau to provide more facts on his allegations last year, is presently attacking him for being soft on the “overtly hostile” actions of the Indian government, and for “curiously unwilling to acknowledge that India is, if not an enemy quite yet, certainly an adversary.”
• The reason is that this time around, the revelations are from the Canadian police and are not just “credible allegations” but “strong evidence.”
• It remains to be seen if it passes muster in the courts.

UPSC Mains PYQ (2015):

• Terrorist activities and mutual distrust have clouded India-Pakistan relations. To what extent the use of soft power like sports and cultural exchanges could help generate goodwill between the two countries? Discuss with suitable examples.

UPSC Mains PYQ (2013):

• Discuss the political developments in Maldives in the last two years. Should they be of any cause of concern to India?