The Hindu Editorial Analysis 12th December,2020

Connecting more people: on PM WANI

Relation with syllabus: GS-2-Govt Policies-Digital India

Context: The Central government’s move to enable public wi-fi data service.

About:

• Prime Minister Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM WANI)

• Shops, malls ,hotels will be used as retail data offices to provide wifi services.

• Govt to set up such 1cr data offices or data centres.

• However, it won't be free. Users will have to pay some amount based on usage.

Is it completely a new idea?

• TRAI recommended such idea in 2017.

• National Digital Communication Policy ,2018 goal -To create 50 million wifi hotspots by 2022

How will it work?

• It will be a 4-tier structure. Public Data Office/Center, Public Data Office Aggregator, App

Provider,Central Registry.

• Public Data office(PDO): It will deliver broadband services to subscribers. They do not need any

registration, license for doing do. They will provide the services from an ISP(Like Jio,Airtel),kind

of distributor.

• Public Data Office Aggregator: aggregator of Public Data offices . It will look after PDOs.

• App provider: It will develop an app to register users and discover WANI compliant wifi hotspots

in the nearby area. After downloading this app, one can see the available wifi hotspots in the

nearby area and can enjoy services by paying the amount.

• Central Registry: It will maintain the details of above three .

Relevance or Importance:

• After the COVID-19 pandemic, India has witnessed a gigantic upsurge in the number of internet

users. But, many of us are struggling with speed issues which are hampering our work . In the

offing, "work from home" can also be a new work culture. So, our internet infrastructure needs to

be strengthened.

• Second, bringing broadband Internet to remote locations at minimum investment giving

subscribers the option of making small, need-based payments to use it has remained a challenge.If

we consider rural India, internet penetration level is low which is 27.57 subscribers per 100

population in 2019. PM WANI can bridge that digital divide using wireless technologies.

• Upcoming mobile technologies such as 5G may provide good quality data, but they involve high

investment in new spectrum, connectivity equipment and regular subscriber fees. The WANI

system offers an elegant way forward to connect low revenue consumers.

• The government is hoping that by cutting through layers of bureaucracy and eliminating licences

and fees, it can make it easy even for a tea shop owner to register online as a service provider,

opening up new income avenues. According to a report by TRAI, a 10% rise in net penetration led

to a 1.4% increase in GDP.So, in the long run, it can really boost our economy.

• Even after Covid pandemic is over, globally,we are ushering into a new era of digital revolution.

We are stepping into the era of "Industrial Revolution 4.0" and this time we can't afford a chance

to miss the bus if we really want to realize the dream of being a superpower.

Challenges:

• Data security: It has been a major concern while using public hotspots. Cyber security

infrastructure in our country is not that strong to cater the increasing demand. So, WANI rollout

will too bring that challenge.

• Competition: WANI services will not be free . But, the price of data is also not a very big amount

now. In addition to this, mobile internet gives the sense of privacy. So, WANI will definitely face

competition from other ISPs.

Way forward:

• WANI opens up opportunities for community organisations, libraries, educational institutions,

panchayats and small entrepreneurs to tap into a whole new ecosystem, purchasing bandwidth

from a public data office aggregator to serve local consumers.

• What the citizen expects is robust service, protection of data integrity, transparency on commercial

use of data, and security against cyberattacks.

• The government must also ensure true unbundling of hardware, software, apps and payment

gateways in the WANI system, as advocated by TRAI, to prevent monopolies.

• If executed properly, the public data offices (PDOs) of PM WANI can do what the PCOs did for

phone calls, going well beyond ‘ease of doing business’ to genuinely empower citizens.

Pointing the finger at parliamentary scrutiny

Relation with syllabus:GS-2-Polity-Parliament

Context: The new Farm bills, ongoing agitations: The government is reportedly willing to amend these

Acts now in order to meet the demands of the farmers. The bills could have been scrutinised earlier .

What happened?

• Parliament is the supreme law-making body.

• When these bills were debated in the parliament , govt rejected more or less every proposal but

govt. is keen to discuss on those issues now.

• Parliament has a large machinery of committees to scrutinise the Bills which are brought before it

by the government as a part of its legislative programme.

• Now the question is -farmer bills were sent to scrutiny or not .

About parliamentary committees:

• The functions of the Parliament are varied, complex and voluminous. It has neither adequate time

nor necessary expertise to make a detailed scrutiny of all legislative measures and other matters.

Therefore , it is assisted by a number of committees in the discharge of its duties.

• Rules of the Houses leave it to the Speaker or the Chairman to refer the Bills to the Standing

Committees for a detailed scrutiny thereof.

• After such scrutiny is completed, the committees send their reports containing their

recommendations on improvements to be made in the Bills to the Houses

• While undertaking such scrutiny, the committees invite various stakeholders to place their views

before them. Only after elaborate consultation do the committees formulate their views and

recommendations.

• Under any circumstances, the Bills which come back to the Houses after the scrutiny by the

committees will be in a much better shape in terms of their content.

• However, every Bill which comes before the Houses need not be sent to the committees. For

example, some minor Amendment Bills or Bills which do not have any serious ramifications need

not be sent to the committees.

Issues with Parliamentary Committees:

• Data show that very few Bills are referred to the Parliamentary Committees now. Ministers are

generally reluctant to send their Bills to the committees because they are in a hurry to pass them.

They often request the Presiding Officers not to refer their Bills to the committees.

• Neglected in The Matters of Great Public Importance: For example, the overhaul of Article 370

that revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and divided the State into two Union

Territories were not processed by any House committee.Bills related to agricultural produce and

the three labour Bills were passed by the government only by using the majority.

What is the past record?

• The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Bill was introduced in 1999 in the Lok

Sabha and was immediately referred to a joint committee of both Houses. This Bill was meant to

develop new varieties of plants and protect the rights of farmers and breeders. The committee

completed its work in eight months and made many improvements by way of bringing greater

clarity into various terms and concepts.

• The Seeds Bill, 2004 was referred to the Standing Committee on Agriculture which obtained the

views of agricultural research institutions, agricultural universities, national and State seed

corporations, private seed companies, scientists, farmers’ organisations, non-governmental

organisations and individuals. Through the process of consultation with a wide range of experts

and research organisations and farmers, the committee made significant improvements in the Bill;

as a result, there was a better law on seeds.

• The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill which was introduced in the Lok Sabha in 2011, which was

referred to the Committee, was again referred to a Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha when it

was transmitted to that House after being passed by the Lok Sabha. Thus, this Bill underwent

double security by two committees of Parliament

• There are some more names in the list- the Companies (Amendment) Bill, the Information

Technology Bill, and the Goods and Services Tax Bill.

• Now, it is difficult to understand why the Farm Bills were not sent to the Parliamentary Committee

on Agriculture for a detailed study. The Committee is sure to have consulted the farmers apart

from other stakeholders and suggested improvements which, perhaps, could have averted the

current agitation.

Way forward:

• Parliamentary Committees have a tradition of working in a non-party manner. The reports of these

Committees are based on consensus.

• They have the capacity to harmonise contradictions.

• Despite the adversarial politics playing out in full force in the Houses, the calm atmosphere

prevailing in the committee rooms and the purposiveness shown by the members in dealing with

issues are a tremendously reassuring factor.

• To make these systems gradually non-functional and irrelevant is to invite disaster