Relevance and Prudence for Sustainable Growth

Fiscal prudence is pre-requisite to sustainable growth, a lesson that the island nation of Sri Lanka is, unfortunately, showcasing from it’s ongoing economic upheaval. Every commitment, economic, strategic, bilateral or otherwise, has to be made taking into account the financial, political and growth realities of the country. In order to become advanced, powerful, empowered, glamorous, well-equipped, and similar adjectives, a nation must first strive to become relevant, a mantra being rightly followed by democracies like India. Relevance has now become the ultimate aim, everything else follows.

The island nation of Sri Lanka is in shreds, with protesters taking to the streets in defiance of curfews and cabinet ministers resigning en masse amidst crippling inflation. The South Asian republic has become a classic example of a twin deficits economy, with national expenditure exceeding national income and imports greater than exports. Though, It has sought loans from the Asian Development Bank, India and China to survive the crisis, it would be back-breaking for the country to carry a debt that mounts to billions now, due to accumulated borrowings, record inflation, lack of foreign currency, crucial sectors witnessing a sharp fall in demand thanks to the pandemic. Alleged government mismanagement is another parallel factor that has dragged Sri Lanka into not just an unprecedented economic crisis but also a massive political turmoil.

The Sri Lankan government over the last decade borrowed vast sums of money from foreign lenders to fund public services, which has landed the nation in a debt trap when hit by disasters, both natural, such as heavy monsoons, to man-made, including a government ban on chemical fertilizers that crippled farmers’ harvests. In addition to this, a severe shortage of foreign currency has left the country unable to pay for essential imports, including fuel, leading to debilitating power cuts that lasted up to 13 hours.

The crisis has turned real severe in matter of days, with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa now under a pressure to resign as protests escalate across the country. Sri Lanka’s tourism sector, one of the major contributors to its economy, which was already on a slow-down, reviving slowly after the COVID outbreak, has now been hit hard yet again. The Sri Lankan rupee is fast depreciating against the dollar and foreign debt is mounting. Government’s income has also taken a big hit due to a drop in tourism that has given rise to gas and fuel shortages, leading to massive power cuts. As a result, citizens of Sri Lanka have been facing the brunt of shortages and soaring inflation, waiting in lines for basic goods, skyrocketing prices of basic amenities, shortage of fuel and a defunct administration. This soon led to aggressive protests by the citizens and forced President Rajapaksa to declare national emergency in the state on April 1, followed by blocking of social media platforms across the nation.

To address the worsening situations, the country had to seek support from IMF and neighbour India. A consignment of 40,000 MT of diesel under Indian assistance through a Line of Credit of $500 mn was handed over to Colombo by India on 2nd April. Earlier in January, India had confirmed a $400 million currency swap with Sri Lanka while deferring another $500 million due for settlement to the Asian Clearing Union (ACU). India continues to provide fuel and goods assistance to the crisis-hit nation as it grapples to bring the situation under control. Sri Lanka has been provided with more than 270,000 MT of petrol and diesel by India so far. India also announced another $1 billion as a credit to Sri Lanka to help shore up the sinking economy of the island nation. The $1 billion lines of credit to Colombo will help in keeping their food prices and fuel costs under check.

Light, Camera – Transformation!

“Brothers and sisters, you must be getting shocked to hear the Prime Minister speaking of cleanliness and the need to build toilets from the ramparts of the Red Fort… I want to make a beginning today itself and that is – all schools in the country should have toilets with separate toilets for girls…” these were the words of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he delivered his first-ever I-Day speech in 2014. What seemed like a far-fetched dream has actually turned out to be such a massive reality, a national movement, an unprecedented success. 75 years down the line, country’s youth today is playing a major role in setting a tone for the New India’s persona. Their level of awareness and sense of activism is so fierce that it has started becoming a core of all the decision-making and stage-setting, political, administrative, creative or otherwise. So much so that thought leaders like policy makers or even film makers are left with no choice but to notice the mood of the youth, their needs, aspirations and agitation.

Filmmakers are picking up subjects as diverse as – open defecation (Toilet Ek Prem Katha), the growth trajectory of Entrepreneurship in India (Sui Dhaga), India’s success story of scaling space (Mission Mangal), tackling an age-old taboo subject like menstruation (Padman) or Educating the Politician (Dasvi). Movie ‘Padman’ captured the zeitgeist of orthodox India. ‘Toilet Ek Prem Katha’ showcased how toilets are important to maintain the hygiene of India and the security of its women citizenry. Other recent movies like ‘Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhan’ took up the cause of gender inclusivity.

The above-mentioned movies are bound by a force named “Social Cause/Responsibility” and all are based on some of the recent laws and policies that have come into being in last few years. Content makers seem to have cracked a code to producing unassailable content now but the message has to be genuine, the implications being projected have to be in sync with real-life frameworks and scenarios, in order to reflect that ‘Change’ in their final product. Though, reformist policies and ideas provide a great base to start building on to, one cannot lose the sight of the bigger picture in the process also and there is absolutely no room for sensationalism. In the end, it is this criticality (bigger picture) that the audience is looking forward to analyze, waiting to get soaked in the many realities that such movies can so easily offer, eager to learn and have a glimpse of all the possibilities of building a better society for all.

Cinema is said to be a reflection of society. The progress and growth of civilisation when adapted on-screen paves the way forward, it becomes what the audience seeks. From rickety single screens to plush multiplexes, cinema has changed from being a mere source of “Entertainment” to promoting “Social and Responsible” content. As an audience, we have majorly been exposed to movies where the protagonist is often seen fighting against inequality and mending the flawed system. But last couple of years have witnessed an unprecedented change in terms of projection with focus now being kept on the flawed system and ways of fixing it, rather than on the adherent character – simply put – taking the odyssey from reel to real! The audience has decided now to not clap at the stardom but demand realities of life on the screen. Hence, now mainstreaming new ideas and changes, especially positive laws and policies, that connect to a large section of society, has become the formula for success as more and more folks find relevance in such a content.

Tackling the Menace of Substance Abuse

The world needs to address the importance of developing a healthy mindset with a sense of urgency now as cases of depressions, liquor intake, and especially ‘Substance Abuse’ rise exponentially across the globe. Any material in nature which possesses physical properties is called a substance. However, things are not as simple as that. Here, we are discussing the substances that have the potential to make an abnormal change to body and mind in the guise of giving a pleasurable high. These substances are something which falsely claim to ease our stress or help avoid real problems of life. In common parlance, substances or drugs are termed as psychoactive substances, which when taken, affect mental processes like – perception, consciousness, mood and emotions. Substance abuse is a menace causing a great deal of trouble to the real world amid a figment of an unreal world. The threat can be perceived from the fact that in India, 272 districts of the country have been found to be vulnerable based on the data available from various sources.

According to the World Drug Report 2021, globally around 27.5 million people used drugs last year and over 3.6 million people suffered from drug use disorders during the period. The latest global estimates also say- about 5.5% of the people between 15 and 64 years of age used drugs at least once in 2020 (perhaps due to Covid-induced stress). This is the reason why production, distribution, sale or non-medical use of many psychoactive drugs are either strictly controlled or prohibited outside legally sanctioned channels by law in several countries. WHO says, around 5 lakh deaths annually are attributed to drug use with 3,50,000 male and 1,50,000 female deaths.

The sharp rise in substance abuse may be attributed to various factors like fast changing cultural values, breaking down of the social and family system where everyone feels free to do whatever he/she wants, fierce competition in the fields of education and employment and declining support systems or supportive bonds for especially adolescents. However, there is little denying the fact that substance abuse causes long standing mental, physical and emotional problems to people of all age and a damage to the larger society which is in a case irreparable. Substances include Heroin, Cocaine, Marijuana among others, which are highly unhealthy. The use of psychoactive drugs may cause an increase in morbidity and mortality in individuals. They also cause upheavals in personal, family, social, educational and professional life. Its social and economic coats are unimaginable as drug addicts are normally low in productivity and cause big disruptions in family, social and economic life. They also face increased health care expenditure which further affects their economic well being.

Seeing a sharp rise in substance abuse cases, Indian government has also taken several policy measures and initiatives. The ‘Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan’ or a ‘Drugs-Free India Campaign’ was flagged off on 15th August, 2020 across vulnerable 272 districts of the country. Ministry of Health is running a National ‘Drug De-Addiction Programme (DDAP)’ with the objectives to provide affordable, easily accessible and evidence-based treatment for all substance use disorders. The ministry has also released the ‘Standard Treatment Guidelines for the Management of Substance Use Disorders and Behavioural Addictions’. National Fund for Control of Drug Abuse has been created to meet the expenditure incurred in connection with combating illicit traffic in Narcotic Drugs, rehabilitating addicts and educating public against drug abuse, etc. Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment implemented National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR), under which financial assistance is provided to state governments/UT for preventive education and awareness generation, livelihood support of ex-drug addicts, programmes for drug demand reduction, etc. The ministry also provides financial support for setting up of District De-addiction Centre (DDAC).

A healthy society needs health practices and for that all societal forces need to roped in with the responsibility to make people, especially the youth aware of the evil effects of substance abuse. Drugs may give a rush of good feelings in the beginning, but when the effects wear off, everything slows down for one good chunk of population, people who could have proven to be a lot beneficial for the country otherwise.

Imagining Health Services in Metaverse

Benefits of Meditation are innumerable and it surely is hot topic in fight against mental stress and illness induced during pandemic. Group meditation is considered even more helpful, especially for beginners, as it helps in garnering feedback and developing the habit. Digital media allowed virtual sessions and on-screen presence to overcome the barriers of physical meetings. Taking a cue from gaming world, an encounter in the virtual world of metaverse can add all together new dimensions to these intensely personal experiences, hitherto available only in physical reality.

First usage of the term metaverse came in Snow Crash, a 1992 novel by Neal Stephenson. This was used by him to describe the successor of the Internet, a vision of how a virtual reality–based Internet might evolve in the near future. This concept in the novel along with William Gibson’s Neuromancer, which describes a virtual reality dataspace called the matrix, created a genre of literature in itself which went on to changing the gaming industry. With availability of Virtual Reality(VR), Augmented Reality(AR), Brain-Computer Interfaces(BCI), AI/ML tools explosion, big data and quantum computing, these imagined concepts are now ripe to change the way we play, meet and even remain healthy.

Not just video calls, but AR has also been actively used to impart training to COVID-19 respondents. VR has also been used now by medical education institutions as well as mental health experts for treating post-traumatic stress (PTS). Metaverse is likely to build on these experiences for treatment of various brain issues like Phobia, anxiety, delusions etc. Treatment of addiction to VR using metaverse is certainly an interesting proposition.

Metaverse holds huge potential for the domain of medical education, training as well as diagnostics part of a treatment. In a lab setting, creating human body via AR can make the examination of anatomy altogether a different experience. Usage of electrodes along with VR headset to real-time provision of body vitals to Metaverse can remove the need of travel and related expenses .

As a concept, metaverse has already started to incorporate Web3 technology enabled through blockchain technology (like NFTs and Cryptos). It will soon be replacing phones and desktops as the central platforms of our daily lives. Hence, it is not difficult to predict that the future metaverse would be very similar to real world in many aspects and even replace real-world activities like gaming, working or even hanging out. The strong sense of mutual presence will transform the doctor-patient relationship in unimaginable ways.

Samir Kumar – Head PBNS

Tech Powered Judicial Empowerment

“Indian judicial system is 200 years behind compared to developed countries”, says Justice Krishna Iyer in his book ‘Law, Lawyers and Justice’. Time has come to put despair aside and take these kind of remarks as seeking opportunities to improve processes adjudication of plethora of pending and upcoming cases. For timely and fair mannered justice delivery, these processes need to be efficient, effective, and equitable.

It is timely to acknowledge the need of directly adopting tech solutions for empowering Indian judicial system as it requires fast processing and delivery mechanisms. AI, machine learning, natural language processing, digital sharing and record-keeping, etc. are some of the solutions that are already being explored and examined. “To explore the use of AI in judicial domain, the Supreme Court of India has constituted Artificial Intelligence Committee which has mainly identified application of AI technology in Translation of judicial documents; Legal research assistance and Process automation,” Law Minister Kiren Rijiju stated recently in Parliament conveying about implementation of phase two of the eCourts projects of the government.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one technology that has gained a lot of relevance in last couple of years with the government of India trying to incorporate it even in the day-to-day functioning of the three pillars of Indian Democracy. However small the percentage may be, making the procedures and functioning public is another bold attempt that will rightly help in taking masses in confidence and building a parallel bridge to digital connectivity and setup of an overall advanced working judicial system.

Another stepping stone towards this new-age judicial ecosystem was set with the launch of the AI-driven research portal SUPACE (Supreme Court Portal for Assistance in Courts Efficiency) last year. The portal deals with large chunks of case data through machine-learning. However, SUPACE does not participate in decision-making as its AI mechanisms are focused on collection and analysis of data. “We are not going to let AI spill over to decision-making… It fully retains the autonomy and the discretion of the judge in deciding the case, though at a much, much faster pace because of the readiness with which the information is made available by the AI,” former CJI SA Bobde had said while launching the portal.

Apart from tech solutions, efforts are also being invested in enabling greater digital connectivity and better focus on easy and secured usage of electronic data and record-keeping. Ensuring the same, CJI N.V. Ramana has launched ‘Fast and Secured Transmission of Electronic Records’ or FASTER, a digital platform that will assist court officials to instantly send e-copies of the orders through a secured electronic communication channel to intended parties. This was followed by the launch of a new divyang-friendly website by the department of justice, providing all citizens with a one-stop platform for all digital initiatives of the Justice Department. This will allow public to view High Courts judgements and orders, view case status, settle traffic violations, and even view Live streaming of court proceedings of High Courts of Gujarat, Orissa, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Patna and MP. The website will also keep other important information for public about eCourts Mission Mode Project, appointment of Judges, fast-track special Courts, Nyaya Bandhu, Gram Nyayalaya, DISHA scheme, Tele Law, etc.

Amidst ongoing debates on right manner to address judicial inefficiencies by extending working hours, reducing public holidays, setting up more courts, appointing more judges, filling up the vacancies etc, Technology adoption is surely looking like the winner. Further, changes in laws and social structure are easier to incorporate in these tech solutions.