Daily Prelims Notes 7 April 2023

April 7, 2023
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
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Daily Prelims Notes

7 April 2023

Table Of Contents

1. RBI to set up portal to search across multiple banks for unclaimed deposits

Subject : Economy

Section: Monetary Policy

What is the news?

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to develop a centralised web portal for public to enable search across multiple banks for possible unclaimed deposits based on user inputs.

How will it happen?

The search results will be enhanced by use of certain artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

What happens to unclaimed deposits now?

At present, the depositors and beneficiaries of unclaimed bank deposits of 10 years or more have to go through the website of multiple banks to locate such deposits. Now, in order to improve and widen the access of depositors or beneficiaries to information on such unclaimed deposits it has been decided to develop a web portal. This will help depositors or beneficiaries to get their deposits back.

How much unclaimed deposits at present?

The total amount of unclaimed deposits transferred to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) by public sector banks (PSBs) in respect of deposits no operated for 10 years or more was Rs 35,012 crore till February 2023 as against Rs 48,262 in March 2022

Currently, deposits remaining unclaimed for 10 years in a bank are transferred to the Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund maintained by RBI.

2. RBI’s repo rate pauses

Subject : Economy

Section: Monetary policy

Concept :

The RBI has raised the repo rate by 250 basis points (bps) since May 2022, thereby increasing the external benchmark-based lending rate (EBLR), by 250 bps. The hike in Repo Rate was in a bid to rein in inflation.
Banks have also raised the lending rate linked to the marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR) in the past 11 months.
The focus was on withdrawing liquidity through a tight money policy to combat inflation.

The recent decision

The decision to keep the repo rate unchanged was taken unanimously by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
The MPC’s decision to pause will give relief to borrowers as the external benchmark-based lending rate (EBLR), which is linked to the repo rate, will not increase.

External Benchmark Lending Rate (EBLR)

After the introduction of MCLR, RBI was skeptical about the implementation of MCLR by banks. Hence, RBI set up a committee which is known as Janak Raj Committee.
Shifting of loans from BRR to MCLR was not done by all Banks. There are certain loans which are still under BRR regime and banks are enjoying the higher profit.
MCLR rate used to be recalculated frequently. However, many banks used to revise MCLR only either once in 6 months or 12 months.
Assumed that RBI reduced its rate on Jan 2019 and banks following the revision of MCLR on a yearly basis, then Banks may revise their MCLR in December 2019. The reduction in MCLR in Jan 2019 will not be going to affect to the borrower immediately. Hence, there is a big lagging in policy implementation effectively.
The Committee recommended shifting to external benchmark lending rate rather than banks internally decide their benchmark.
This is where the RBI acted now and introduced all loans be under external benchmark lending rate effective from 1st October 2019.

How does the new system work?

The new system came into effect from April 1, 2019.
Banks will then have to link their lending rates charged on different categories of loans with an external benchmark instead of MCLR.
The RBI has given the following options to banks:
- RBI repo rate
- the 91-day T-bill yield
- the 182-day T-bill yield
- any other benchmark market interest rate produced by the Financial Benchmarks India Pvt. Ltd
One of these benchmarks will be used to decide the lending rate in addition to the spread.
Banks will be free to decide their spread value but it will have to be fixed for the tenure of the loan.
However, it can change if the credit score of the borrower changes.
The interest rates under the new system will change every month.

How will it benefit borrowers?

It will help better transmission of policy rate cuts e. an RBI rate cut will immediately reach the borrower.
It will make the system more transparent since every borrower will know the fixed interest rate and the spread value decided by the bank.
It will help borrowers compare loans in a better way from different banks.
Under the new system, a bank is required to adopt a uniform external benchmark within a loan category.
This will ensure transparency, standardisation and ease of understanding for the borrowers.
This would mean that same bank cannot adopt multiple benchmarks within a loan category.
Unlike earlier benchmarks – Base Rate and Marginal Cost of funds-based Lending Rate (MCLR) – External Benchmark-linked Lending Rate (EBLR) ensures better transmission of policy rate changes.
In case of a repo rate cut, banks have to pass on the entire benefit to borrowers. Likewise, borrowers will have to bear the entire burden of any repo rate hike. RBI’s Monetary Policy Report points to a more effective transmission of policy action under the EBLR regime.
Personal loans and other retail loans, as well as loans to small businesses, have floating interest rates based on EBLR. Banks can opt to provide such loans linked to the EBLR to other categories of loans too.
Banks have to follow the same external benchmark for a particular loan category. This has been done so that the borrowers can get transparent, standardised, and easy-to-understand loan products.

Significance

The EBLR rate benefits the borrowers and the lending banks in several ways.
Banks get the freedom to decide the spread over the EBLR.
Since EBLR is an external rate, a policy rate cut activity regarding the lending rates will reach the loan seekers sooner.
The interest rate process is more transparent and easier to understand for borrowers.
Borrowers can analyse the interest rates charged by various banks. This way borrowers know the profit margin of every bank over the fixed rate of interest, which helps compare various loan options.

3. Amazon forests save $2 billion in pollution healthcare: study

Subject: Environment

Section :Places in news

Context: Forests in Indigenous territories by absorbing pollution particles prevent a potential 15 million smoke-related respiratory and cardiovascular infections per year.

More on the News:

Rainforests on Indigenous lands in Brazil’s Amazon protect millions of people from heart and lung diseases by absorbing pollution and save $2 billion a year in healthcare costs, researchers said in a study published Thursday, urging increased protection against deforestation.
The article in the journal Communications Earth & Environment measured the forests’ capacity to absorb smoke pollution from fires that are intentionally started to clear land for farming.
Combined analysis of 10 years of data on disease, forest cover and pollution found that each hectare of forest burned generates health costs of $2 million (1.8 million euros) a year due to lung and heart infections.
Inhabited areaswith large areas of forest had fewer infections than those with low cover, with particulate matter in the air reduced by the greenery.

Amazon Rainforest:

Comprising about 40% of Brazil’s total area, it is bounded by the Guiana Highlands to the north, the Andes Mountains to the west, the Brazilian central plateau to the south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east.
These are large tropical rainforest occupying the drainage basin of the Amazon River and its tributaries in northern South America and covering an area of 6,000,000 square km.
Tropical forests are closed-canopy forests growing within 28 degrees north or south of the equator.
They are very wet places, receiving more than 200 cm rainfall per year, either seasonally or throughout the year.
Temperatures are uniformly high – between 20°C and 35°C.
A 30 percent of all species on Earth are found in the Amazon rainforest.
As the largest tropical rainforest in the world, it is the source of 20% of the oxygen used by the planet.
The rainforest of the Amazon is home to 400–500 indigenous Amerindian tribes

Significance of Amazon Rainforest:

Rich biodiversity: More plant and animal species can be found in the Amazon than in any other terrestrial ecosystem in the world; it may contain up to 30 percent of all species.
Precipitation: The Amazon rainforest produces between 50 and 75 percent of the world’s precipitation through transpiration. Rainfall in the Western United States and Central America is influenced by moisture from the Amazon.
Carbon storing potential: Massive amounts of carbon are sequestered by the 390 billion trees that make up the Amazon rainforest in their leaves, branches, and trunks. About 86 billion tonnes of carbon are stored in forests or more than a third of the carbon stored by tropical forests worldwide.
Climate control: The hydrological system of the Amazon plays a significant part in preserving the local and global climate. Because of the hydrological cycles that depend on the forests, the Amazon’s canopy cover plays an important role in regulating temperature and humidity and is intricately linked to regional climate patterns.
Medicinal knowledge: Ingredients from the Amazon rainforest are used in one-fourth of all western medicine. The Amazon provides 70% of the plants that are effective against cancer cells.
Air purifier: With its extensive vegetation, which continuously absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen, it serves as a giant air purifier.

4. With increasing climate-related threats, farmers gear up for adaptation

Subject :Environment

Section : Biodiversity

Context: A 2022 study highlights that farmers are recognising changes in weather patterns and independently adapting to its impact on agriculture. Researchers say that targeted policy intervention will make adaptation meaningful.

More on the News:

Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research (IIWBR), a leading scientific institute for wheat, released an advisory recommending farmers in India to spray potassium chloride on wheat crops in case of a sudden rise in temperature. This was to avoid heat-induced damage caused by temperatures increasing by as much as 10 degrees above normal in some wheat-growing areas of the country.
A month later, in the second half of March, IIWBR again released an advisory, but this time it suggested that as light to heavy rains are expected, farmers should keep tabs on the IMD weather update and prevent water logging of the fields. It also advised farmers not to spray chemicals in these climatic conditions.
These advisories, that came close together but with differing recommendations, reflect the weather uncertainties that farmers face and have to adapt to.

Impact of weather uncertainties on agriculture:

The government, which earned $2121.5 million in 2021-22 from exporting wheat, banned export in May 2022 after the heatwave affected production. That restriction continues. With the expected effect of El Nino, which may cause drought-like situations, India, one of top wheat producing countries, may now need to import wheat.
Yield reduction:rainfed rice yields are projected to reduce by 20% in 2050 and 47% in 2080 scenarios while irrigated rice yields are projected to reduce by 3.5% in 2050 and 5% in 2080 scenarios. Climate change is projected to reduce wheat yield by 19.3% in 2050 and 40% in 2080 scenarios towards the end of the century with significant spatial and temporal variations.
Farm incomes losses: Economic survey underlined the farm income losses of 15% percent to 18% on average, rising to 20-25% for unirrigated areas.

Farmers independently developing climate adaptation methods:

Even if all the mitigation measures are applied, the impact of climate change will be visible for several decades. In this case, the role of adaptation becomes important. We should combine local adaptation with national and global mitigation initiatives to deal with climate change impact. For adaptation, we need a targeted initiative like training so that it can become more meaningful.
Mitigation requires a global effort, but adaptation can be done locally. Farmers are trying to cope with the changing weather pattern on their own. Their adaptation strategies vary from region to region. Engaging with the community is necessary to understand what works better.

Difference between adaptation and mitigation:

Mitigation means making the impacts of climate change less severe by preventing or reducing the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere. Mitigation is achieved either by reducing the sources of these gases — e.g. by increasing the share of renewable energies, or establishing a cleaner mobility system — or by enhancing the storage of these gases — e.g. by increasing the size of forests. In short, mitigation is a human intervention that reduces the sources of GHG emissions and/or enhances the sinks.
Adaptation means anticipating the adverse effects of climate change and taking appropriate action to prevent or minimise the damage they can cause, or taking advantage of opportunities that may arise. Examples of adaptation measures include large-scale infrastructure changes, such as building defenses to protect against sea-level rise, as well behavioral shifts, such as individuals reducing their food waste. In essence, adaptation can be understood as the process of adjusting to the current and future effects of climate change.

Adaptation initiatives taken at international level

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC) runs a program called the Global Environmental Facility, which provides some funding for adaptation to least developed countries and Small Island states.
Under the GEF umbrella, the GEF Trust Fund, the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), and the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) operate to carry out the climate change adaptation financing goals of the GEF.
Another UNFCCC mechanism is The Adaptation Fund which provides funds for projects that prove to have additional benefits for adaptation to climate change. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) set up as part of the Kyoto Protocolis the main source of income for the UNFCCC Adaptation Fund.
The Copenhagen Accord, commits developed countries to goal of sending $100 billion per year to developing countries in assistance for climate change mitigation and adaptation through 2020. This climate change fund is called the Green Climate Fund.

5. For species in the red, IUCN’s new Green Status signals conservation wins

Subject :Environment

Section : Biodiversity

IUCN Green Status

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the global standard for assessing the risk of extinction that individual species of animal, fungus, and plant faces.
To achieve this, the Red List assessment process has been expanded to include new classifiers of species recovery and conservation impact, known as the Green Status of Species.
The IUCN Green Status of Species complements the Red List by providing a tool for assessing the recovery of species’ populations and measuring their conservation success.
IUCN Green Status classifies species into nineSpecies Recovery Categories, indicating the extent to which species are depleted or recovered compared to their historical population levels.
Each Green Status assessment measures the impact of past conservation on a species, a species’ dependence on continuing support, how much a species stands to gain from conservation action within the next ten years, and the potential for it to recover over the next century.
The development of the IUCN Green Status of Species Global Standard was led by the IUCN Species Conservation Task Force, in partnership with the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, IUCN Species Survival Commission, Re:wild, Wildlife Conservation Society, University of Oxford, Stony Brook University, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and Zoological Society of London.
Green Status of Species provides a more comprehensive picture of a species’ conservation status, beyond the traditional red list categories of extinct, critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable, near threatened, least concern, and data deficient.
It also enables conservation practitioners to track progress towards conservation targets over time and identify areas where conservation efforts need to be intensified.

Green Status Define Recovery

The Green Status assesses species against 3 essential facets of recovery:
- A species is fully recovered if it is present in all parts of its range, even those that are no longer occupied but were occupied prior to major human impacts/disruption; AND
- It is viable (i.e., not threatened with extinction) in all parts of the range; AND
- It is performing its ecological functions in all parts of the range.
These factors contribute towards a “Green Score” ranging from 0–100%, which shows how far a species is from its “fully recovered” state.

6. Japan circumventing sanctions on Russian oil

Subject : International Relations

Section: Msc

Concept :

Japan has been purchasing oil from Russia at a price above the $60 per barrel price cap imposed by the West, according to reports this week.
This has led to speculation that Japan may be breaching an agreement reached last year to cap the price of Russian oil.

Cap on Russian Oil

The G-7 countries, the EU, and Australia imposed a $60 per barrel price cap on oil purchased from Russia starting in December 2022.
The move was part of the wider economic sanctions imposed by the West to punish Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
This was to restrict the amount of money that Russia can make by selling its oil, but without severely affecting the global oil supply.

Why is Japan breaking ranks with the West?

While many European countries have reduced their dependence on Russian energy supplies, Japan has stepped up its purchases of Russian natural gas over the past year.
Japan is the only Group of Seven nation not to supply lethal weapons to Ukraine, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was the last G-7 leader to visit Ukraine after Russia’s invasion.
Japan got the U.S. to agree to the exception as it needed it to ensure access to Russian energy. The concession shows Japan’s reliance on Russia for fossil fuels.
Japan has almost no fossil fuel of its own and relies on imported natural gas and coal for much of its electricity.
Russia accounts for nearly one-tenth of Japan’s natural-gas imports.
Japan’s oil import contributes very little to Russia’s overall oil production, which was about 10.7 million barrels per day in 2022, and thus does not significantly subvert the West’s efforts to restrict the Kremlin’s oil revenues.
Japan was granted an exception to the cap for oil purchased from the Sakhalin-2 project in Russia’s Far East.

Will rising oil prices threaten the West’s price cap?

OPEC and Russia decided to cut their oil output by 3.66 million barrels per day, sending oil prices soaring 6%.
Russian urals, the flagship crude oil sold by Russia, also soared above $60 per barrel, thus breaching the West’s price cap.
When the West first imposed its price cap, it had no effect on Russia’s oil output or revenues as Russian urals were trading well below $60 per barrel.
But now with urals trading above $60 per barrel, things might turn out to be different.
The West would hope that its price cap would keep Russia’s oil revenues in check despite rising oil prices.
Russia, which has seen its oil revenues drop due to subdued oil prices and the West’s ban on Russian oil, will be hoping to turn the corner by bypassing Western sanctions and selling oil above the price cap.
This will test the West’s ability to effectively implement its price cap.

7. Online platforms must take down fake news

Subject :Polity

Section : Msc

Concept :

Social media platforms and other intermediaries on the Internet are now required to make sure that “fake news” articles about the Union Government, which have been declared as such by the Press Information Bureau (PIB), are taken down from their platforms when they are alerted to such posts.

About the development:

The new amendment of the IT Rules 2021 means that platforms will no longer enjoy legal immunity on content posted by their users; platforms can now be called ‘as a party’ in court proceedings.
The changes were already being notified through the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023, amending the IT Rules, 2021.
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) sources had mentioned that the fact check unit would reach out to relevant government departments to get their view on whether a piece of news is ‘fake or not’, and take a call accordingly.

Section 79 of the Information Technology Act

Section 79 says that any intermediary shall not be held legally or otherwise liable for any third party information, data, or communication link made available or hosted on its platform.
This protection shall be applicable if the said intermediary does not in any way, initiate the transmission of the message in question, select the receiver of the transmitted message and does not modify any information contained in the transmission.
The protection accorded under Section 79, however, is not granted if the intermediary, despite being informed, does not immediately disable access to the material under question.
The intermediary must not tamper with any evidence of these messages or content present on its platform, failing which it lose its protection under the Act.

Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021:

Intermediaries are entities that store or transmit data on behalf of other persons, and include telecom and internet service providers, online marketplaces, search engines, and social media sites.
The Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act) was amended in 2008 to provide an exemption to intermediaries from liability for any third party information.
Following this, the IT (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules, 2011 were framed under the IT Act to specify the due diligence requirements for intermediaries to claim such exemption.
These rules are made by amending the provisions under IT rules 2011.
The key additions under the 2021 Rules include additional due diligence requirements for certain social media intermediaries, and a framework for regulating the content of online publishers of news and current affairs, and curated audio-visual content.

Other Laws Governing Fake News:

There is no specific law against fake news in India. Free publication of news flows from Article 19 of the Constitution guaranteeing freedom of speech.
Press Council of India, a regulatory body, can warn, admonish or censure the newspaper, the news agency, the editor or the journalist or disapprove the conduct of the editor or the journalist if it finds that a newspaper or a news agency has violated journalistic ethics.
News Broadcasters Association (NBA) represents the private television news and current affairs broadcasters. The self-regulatory body probes complaints against electronic media.
Indian Broadcast Foundation (IBF) also looks into the complaints against contents aired by channels.
Broadcasting Content Complaint Council (BCCC) admits complaints against TV broadcasters for objectionable TV content and fake news.
Indian Penal Code (IPC) has certain sections which could curb fake news: Section 153 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) and section 295 (injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) can be invoked to guard against fake news.
Civil or Criminal Case for Defamation is another resort against fake news for individuals and groups hurt by the fake news. Press Information Bureau (PIB):

Press Information Bureau (PIB)

The Press Information Bureau (PIB) is the nodal agency of the Government of India to disseminate information to the print and electronic media on government policies, programmes, initiatives and achievements.
It functions as an interface between the Government and the media and also serves to provide feedback to the Government on people’s reaction as reflected in the media.
PIB disseminates information through different modes of communication viz. press releases, press notes, feature articles, backgrounders, photographs, database available on Bureau’s website.

8. Indian Space Policy 2023

Subject : Science and technology

Section: Space technology

Concept :

The government approved the Indian Space Policy 2023.

Details of the Space Policy

It seeks to institutionalise the private sector participation in the space sector, with ISRO focusing on research and development of advanced space technologies.
The policy will allow the private sector to take part in end-to-end space activities that include building satellites, rockets and launch vehicles, data collection and dissemination.
The Indian Space Policy-2023, also delineated the roles and responsibilities of ISRO, space sector PSU NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) and Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Center (IN-SPACe).
Strategic activities related to the space sector will be carried out by NSIL, a public sector undertaking under the Department of Space, which will work in a demand-driven mode.
The INSPACe, created recently, will be the interface between Indian Space Research Organisation and non-governmental entities.
The policy also spells out the framework for the private sector to use ISRO facilities for a small charge and encourages them to invest in creating new infrastructure for the sector.
ISRO will not do any operational and production work for the space sector and focus its energies on developing new technologies, new systems and research and development.
The operational part of ISRO’s missions will be moved to the NewSpace India Limited, a public sector undertaking under the Department of Space.

Significance

India’s share in the global space economy was less than two per cent at present and the space policy will help it increase substantially to 10 per cent in the future.
It will pave the way forward with much-required clarity in space reforms and augment private industry participation to drive the space economy opportunity for the country.

9. Fortified rice through PDS

Subject :Science and tech

Section: Health and Disease

Concept :

The distribution of fortified rice through the Public Distribution System (PDS) in India is an ongoing initiative by the government to address the issue of malnutrition among the poor and vulnerable sections of society.
Fortified rice with essential micronutrients like iron, zinc, and Vitamin A, is being distributed through the PDS in several states in India.
The distribution of fortified rice through the PDS is being implemented in a phased manner across the country. The government has set a target to distribute fortified rice through the PDS to all states and Union Territories by 2024.
A total of 269 districts in 27 states have started distributing fortified rice under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), achieving a 100% target set for Phase II by March 2023 in the Rice Fortification Programme.
The distribution of fortified rice through the PDS is expected to have a significant impact on reducing malnutrition and improving the health and well-being of the poor and vulnerable sections of society, especially women and children.

Rice fortification

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) defines fortification as “deliberately increasing the content of essential micronutrients in a food so as to improve the nutritional quality of food and to provide public health benefit with minimal risk to health”.
The cooking of fortified rice does not require any special procedure.
After cooking, fortified rice retains the same physical properties and micronutrient levels as it had before cooking.
Fortified rice will be packed in jute bags with the logo (‘+F’) and the line “Fortified with Iron, Folic Acid, and Vitamin B12”.
Various technologies are available to add micronutrients to regular rice, such as coating, dusting, and ‘extrusion’.
The Extrusion technique involves the production of fortified rice kernels (FRKs) from a mixture using an ‘extruder’ machine.
It is considered to be the best technology for India.
The fortified rice kernels are blended with regular rice to produce fortified rice.

Need of rice fortification

India has very high levels of malnutrition among women and children.
According to the Food Ministry, every second woman in the country is anaemic and every third child is stunted.
Fortification of food is considered to be one of the most suitable methods to combat malnutrition.
Rice is one of India’s staple foods, consumed by about two-thirds of the population.
Per capita rice consumption in India is 6.8 kg per month.
Therefore, fortifying rice with micronutrients is an option to supplement the diet of the poor.

What are the standards for fortification?

Under the Ministry’s guidelines, 10 g of FRK must be blended with 1 kg of regular rice.
According to FSSAI norms, 1 kg of fortified rice will contain the following: iron (28 mg-42.5 mg), folic acid (75-125 microgram), and vitamin B-12 (0.75-1.25 microgram).
Rice may also be fortified with zinc (10 mg-15 mg), vitamin A (500-750 microgram RE), vitamin B-1 (1 mg-1.5 mg), vitamin B-2 (1.25 mg-1.75 mg), vitamin B-3 (12.5 mg-20 mg) and vitamin B-6 (1.5 mg-2.5 mg) per kg.

Advantages

Fortified staple foods will contain natural or near-natural levels of micro-nutrients, which may not necessarily be the case with supplements.
It provides nutrition without any change in the characteristics of food or the course of our meals.
If consumed on a regular and frequent basis, fortified foods will maintain body stores of nutrients more efficiently and more effectively than will intermittently supplement.
The overall costs of fortification are extremely low; the price increase is approximately 1 to 2 percent of the total food value.
It upholds everyone’s right to have access to safe and nutritious food, consistent with the right to adequate food and the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger

Issues with fortified food

Fortification and enrichment upset nature’s packaging. Our body does not absorb individual nutrients added to processed foods as efficiently compared to nutrients naturally occurring.
Supplements added to foods are less bioavailable. Bioavailability refers to the proportion of a nutrient your body is able to absorb and use.
They lack immune-boosting substances.
Fortified foods and supplements can pose specific risks for people who are taking prescription medications, including decreased absorption of other micro-nutrients, treatment failure, and increased mortality risk.

10. Principles of Natural Justice and Proportionality

Subject: Polity

Section: Constitution

Concept:

The Supreme Court lifted a broadcasting ban on a Malayalam news channel ‘MediaOne’.
The court blasted the government for silencing voices in the media who “speak truth to power” by branding them as “anti-establishment”.

Background

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has earlier refused to renew broadcast license of a Malayalam news channel.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had declined to grant security clearance to the channel’s promoters citing alleged links between radical groups.
Hence the news agency approached Kerala High Court, which upheld the ban on February 9, 2022
The Supreme Court granted temporary relief and allowed it to resume operations.

Supreme Court’s ruling

The Supreme Court set aside earlier ban orders and upheld the channel’s appeal on two procedural grounds, namely
Principles of natural justice and
Proportionality

Articles invoked in the judgment

The Court stated that the burden shifts on the Centre to prove that the procedure followed was reasonable and in compliance with the requirements of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
The Court used the standard of proportionality to test the reasonableness of the procedure in the present case and assessed the validity of public interest immunity claims based on the “structured proportionality standard”.
The Court found that the reasons for denying security clearance to the channel were not legitimate purposes for the restriction of the right of freedom of speech protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.

Key concepts involved

Principles of natural justice :

The principles of natural justice are a set of procedural rules that ensure fairness and justice in administrative and legal proceedings.
These principles are based on the fundamental idea that everyone is entitled to a fair hearing, and they are aimed at preventing arbitrary or biased decisions by decision-makers.
The SC bench allowed the challenge to the MHA order and judgment of the High Court on account of the principles of natural justice constitutionalized by its judgment in its 1978 ruling in “Maneka Gandhi vs Union of India”
Actions which violate procedural guarantees can be struck down even if non-compliance does not prejudice the outcome of the case.

Proportionality :

The principle requires that the decision or action must be proportionate to the objective it seeks to achieve.
In other words, the means employed to achieve the objective must be no more than necessary to achieve it, and the harm caused by the decision or action must not be excessive in relation to the benefit gained.
The validity of the claim of involvement of national security considerations must be assessed on the test of whether there is material to conclude that the non-disclosure of information is in the interest of national security.
Courts can assess the validity of public interest immunity claims based on the “structured proportionality standard”, said the SC.
The SC observed that sealed cover proceedings infringe the principles natural justice and open justice.