DNA 22 JULY

‘Six private telcos shortchanged govt.’ [GS Paper-3]

• The Telecom Operators share a percentage of their gross revenue with the Government as annual License fee 
• Besides,they are also required to pay SUC for the airwaves allotted to them 

Government Share =25% of Gross Revenue +SUC 

• Six leading private telecom players understated their revenues by over ₹61,000 crore, depriving the exchequer of ₹7,697.62 crore
• In its response to the audit finding, the DoT pointed out that the basic definition of gross revenue and adjusted gross revenue was challenged by the operators in 2002-03.
• Since then, there has been protracted litigation and it is continuing till date. 
• According to the auditor, the telecom players suppressed revenues through accounting adjustments for commissions or discounts paid to distributors and promotional schemes like free talk time, as well as discounts for users of post-paid and roaming services

‘Protection of personal data a right’ [GS Paper-2]

• Personal data is an integral part of one’s dignity and life, the Centre told the Supreme Court
• Any sharing of personal data by service providers or social media platforms, which impinges on a person’s right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution, requires regulation, the government submitted before a five-judge Constitution Bench
• This data includes photographs, messages and pictures shared by users on WhatsApp
• However, this stand taken by the Centre in the WhatsApp case does not quite gel with its position before a nine-judge Constitution Bench led by Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar, currently examining whether privacy is a fundamental right with respect to Aadhaar
• The question before the nine-judge Bench is whether the right of a citizen to choose to remain private and to not part with personal information to either the state or private parties is fundamental to his dignity
• The petitioners in the Aadhaar case have argued that right to a dignified life includes the right to privacy. 
• Citizens cannot be compelled by the state to suffer the indignity of being made to part with their personal data like biometric details to access public welfare and benefits. 
• But the Centre has maintained in the Aadhaar case that privacy or the “right to be left alone” is not a fundamental right under the Constitution

Mentally retarded adult not a child: SC[GS Paper-2]

• A “mentally-retarded” adult cannot be considered a child and given refuge under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act of 2012, the Supreme Court.
• The case before the court was that of a rape victim, whose biological age is 38 though medical reports conclude that her “mental age” is that of six-year-old.
• The woman’s mother had moved the Supreme Court to expand the definition of the term ‘child’ in Section 2 (d) of the POCSO Act to embrace adults who are “mentally-retarded or extremely intellectually-challenged.”  
• The mother’s petition said the biological age of a person should not be the governing yardstick for POCSO, which seeks to protect children from sexual abuse, treat them with fragility and provide them gentle care throughout the criminal trial and swiftly punish the guilty.
• Justice Misra said the definition of the term ‘child’ in Section 2(d) is exhaustive and includes only persons below the biological age of 18. 
• The 2012 Act recognises the phenomenon of “mental disability,” but confines its ambit to only the mental disability of minors

Audit slams Railways on food quality [GS Paper-2]

• A Comptroller and Auditor General report tabled in Parliament on Friday has found severe deficiencies in the catering services of the Indian Railways, with several stations and trains serving food items “unfit for human consumption”, unpurified tap water being used for food preparation, and food being left unprotected from insects and rats

• During the joint inspection of the selected 74 stations and 80 trains over Zonal Railways, the audit found that cleanliness and hygiene standards were not being maintained in the catering units at stations and on trains.

• The CAG also found unfair trade practices at stations and in trains. Bills were not provided for the food items served on trains; waiters and catering managers on the trains did not carry printed menu cards with tariffs; the food served was less than the prescribed quantity; unapproved packaged drinking water was sold; and Proprietary Article Depot items were being sold in railway stations at their maximum retail prices.
• The report also found that the weights and prices of the items sold at railway stations were different from the open market, and that the unit price of food articles sold in railway premises was significantly higher.

‘Major deciencies in Army’s ammunition reserves[GS Paper-2]

•  Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has presented a dismal picture of the Army’s War Wastage Reserve (WWR) ammunition, especially of high calibre equipment needed to wage intense war
• WWR is the reserve quantity of ammunition needed to meet the requirements for the expected duration of operations

Vector-Borne Diseases Have Claimed 1,010 Lives So Far: Government

Vector-borne diseases have claimed 1,010 lives so far this year, including 632 deaths due to H1N1, the government informed the Lok Sabha.

Steps Taken :

[1] “National Quality Assurance Programme (NQAP) has been rolled out, under which quality standards for different health facilities, including primary health centres and community health centres have been defined and these health facilities are assessed against them and certified

[2]There is also coordination with the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) to detect early warning signals such as any upsurge in fever cases or any reports of malaria outbreaks.

[3]Memorandum of understanding between Madhya Pradesh, ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) and Sun Pharma for the malaria elimination initiatives, among other such programmes.