DNA Bill

Why in NEWS

• DNA Bill can be misused for caste-based profiling, says panel draft report.

About Atal Bimit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana

• Rolled out by ESI for providing unemployment allowance to workers rendered jobless due to changing employment pattern.
• It aims to financially support those who lost their jobs or rendered jobless for whatsoever reasons due to changing employment pattern.
• Its beneficiaries will be insured persons covered under Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 for period of two years continuously.
• Under this scheme, workers will be able to draw 47% of their total contributions towards ESIC after remaining unemployed for at least three months from date of leaving their previous jobs.
• They can choose to receive the cash at one go or in instalments. It will be applicable to all factories and establishments employing at least 10 workers.

About

• The Bill that proposes DNA sampling and profiling of citizens accused of crime or reported missing and storing their unique genetic information for administrative purposes has some alarming provisions that could be misused for caste or community-based profiling, a draft report of the parliamentary standing committee on science and technology has flagged.
• The committee, in its draft report, pointed out that the DNA profiles can reveal extremely sensitive information of an individual such as pedigree, skin colour, behaviour, illness, health status and susceptibility to diseases.
• Under the provisions of the Bill, access to such intrusive information can be misused to specifically target individuals and their families with their own genetic data.
• This is particularly worrying as it could even be used to incorrectly link a particular caste/community to criminal activities.

DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill

• The Bill regulates the use of DNA technology for establishing the identity of persons in respect of matters listed in a Schedule. These include,

1. Criminal matters (offences under the IPC, 1860)
2. Civil matters (parentage disputes, transplantation of human organs etc).

• The Bill establishes National and Regional DNA Data Banks. Every Data Bank will maintain the following indices:

1. crime scene index
2. suspects’ or undertrials’ index,
3. offenders’ index
4. missing persons’ index, and
5. unknown deceased persons’ index.

• It aims to store the unique genetic information for administrative purposes.
• It establishes a DNA Regulatory Board which will supervise the DNA Data Banks and DNA laboratories.
• The Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, will be the ex officio Chairperson of the board and the additional members will be-

1. experts in the field of biological sciences
2. Director General of the National Investigation Agency
3. Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation

• Every DNA laboratory that analyses a DNA sample to establish the identity of an individual, has to be accredited by the Board.
• Written consent is required from individuals to collect DNA samples from them.
• Consent is not required for offences with punishment of more than 7 years of imprisonment or death.
• It also provides for the removal of DNA profiles of suspects on filing of a police report or court order, and of undertrials on the basis of a court order.
• Profiles in the crime scene and missing persons’ index will be removed on a written request.

National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)

Why in NEWS

• The Delhi High Court Monday sought response of the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on a plea seeking action against 'Google Pay' for allegedly violating the central bank's guidelines related to data localisation, storage and sharing norms.

About

• The plea also seeks direction to Google India Digital Services Private Limited to give an undertaking to not store data on its App under UPI ecosystem and further not to share the same with any third party (be it a holding or parent company).
• The plea alleges that the company is storing personal sensitive user data in contravention of UPI Procedural Guidelines version 1.7 dated October 2019 which allows such personal sensitive data to be stored only by PSP bank systems and not by any Third Party Application.

NATIONAL PAYMENTS CORPORATION OF INDIA (NPCI)

• NPCI is an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India.
• It is a not-for-profit organisation registered under section 8 of the Companies Act 2013.
• The corporation's current and future service portfolio includes: National Financial Switch (NFS), Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), RuPay, National Common Mobility Card, Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS), Unified Payments Interface (UPI), BHIM, Bharat Bill Payment System etc.
• Established in: 2008
• Established by: Reserve Bank of India & Indian Banks' Association (IBA)
• Headquarters: Mumbai.

UPI

• UPI stands for Unified Payment Interface.
• It is a real time payment system that helps in instant and quick transfer of funds between two bank accounts.
• The transfer of funds is done through a single mobile application. Some of the important features of UPI are listed below-

1. Immediate fund transfer which is faster than NEFT
2. UPI is available for 24 hours
3. It is also available on public holidays
4. Every Bank provides its own different UPI
5. It can be utilised for making payments to merchants, and utility bill payments

Paying Rs. 50 Fine for ‘Animal Cruelty’ may soon be Over

IN NEWS

• Inflicting any form of cruelty on animals and getting away by paying a penalty of just Rs 50 for such an offence may soon be a thing of the past with the Centre mulling making the law more stringent.

ABOUT

• The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, authored by acclaimed dancer and animal lover, Rukmini Devi Arundale, is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted in 1960 to prevent the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering on animals and to amend the laws relating to the prevention of cruelty to animals.
• As per the provisions of the law the government of India formed the Animal Welfare Board of India
• The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), headquartered at Ballabhgarh in Haryana state, is a statutory advisory body advising the Government of India's Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying).

NEED OF THE HOUR

• The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (PCA), 1960 currently stipulates a penalty between Rs 10 and Rs 50 for any act of cruelty against animals, including beating, kicking, torturing, starving and mutilating the animal.
• Under the 60-year-old law, none of these actions amounting to animal cruelty, as recognized under Section 11(1) of the PCA, are cognizable except organizing fights and shooting matches that use animals.
• The proposed amendments to it will also make such offences cognizable.

Remove Colas from Sin Tax: IBA Writes to FM, GST Council

IN NEWS

• The Indian Beverage Association (IBA), which represents the country’s biggest soft drinks makers including Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Parle Agro and Red Bull, has written to the GST Council and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, asking to be removed from the 'sin tax' category, ahead of the GST Council Meet.

ABOUT

• A sin tax is an excise tax specifically levied on certain goods deemed harmful to society and individuals, for example alcohol and tobacco, candies, drugs, soft drinks, fast foods, coffee, sugar, gambling, and pornography.
• However, these taxes have often been criticized for burdening the poor, taxing the physically and mentally dependent, and being part of a nanny state.
• Aerated drinks are placed in the GST slab of 28% and levied a compensation cess of 12%. OPPOSITION
• Sin taxes have been linked to smuggling and black markets of the taxed products.
• It is a regressive tax in nature and discriminates against the lower classes, since taxation of a product such as alcohol or cigarettes does not account for ability to pay; therefore poor people pay a greater share of their income as tax.
• Sin taxes fail to affect consumers' behaviors in the way that tax proponents suggest,
• The government may become reliant on the revenue from the tax and have to encourage "sinful" behavior in order to maintain the revenue stream.
• Taxes collected this way often don't go to the promised programs or often to self-defeating programs.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• A sin tax is an excise tax placed on certain goods at time of purchase.
• The items subject to this tax are perceived to be either morally suspect , harmful, or costly to society.
• Examples of sin taxes include those on cigarettes, alcohol, gambling, and even sugary drinks.