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Conscious Indian
An offshore data tsunami
The Pandora Papers’s 11.9 million records arrived from 14 different offshore services firms in a jumble of files and formats – even ink-on-paper – presenting a massive data-management challenge
By Emilia Díaz-Struck, Delphine Reuter, Agustin Armendariz, Jelena Cosic, Jesús Escudero, Miguel Fiandor Gutiérrez, Mago Torres, Karrie Kehoe, Margot Williams, Denise Hassanzade Ajiri and Sean McGoey
October 3, 2021
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A2.94 terabyte data trove exposes the offshore secrets of wealthy elites from more than 200 countries and territories. These are people who use tax and secrecy havens to buy property and hide assets; many avoid taxes and worse. They include more than 330 politicians and 130 Forbes billionaires, as well as celebrities, fraudsters, drug dealers, royal family members and leaders of religious groups around the world.
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists spent more than a year structuring, researching and analyzing the more than 11.9 million records in the Pandora Papers leak. The task involved three main elements: journalists, technology and time.
What is the Pandora Papers?
The Pandora Papers investigation is the world’s largest-ever journalistic collaboration, involving more than 600 journalists from 150 media outlets in 117 countries.
The investigation is based on a leak of confidential records of 14 offshore service providers that give professional services to wealthy individuals and corporations seeking to incorporate shell companies, trusts, foundations and other entities in low- or no-tax jurisdictions. The entities enable owners to conceal their identities from the public and sometimes from regulators. Often, the providers help them open bank accounts in countries with light financial regulation.
Sri Lanka’s government declared an economic emergency last week amid rising food prices, a depreciating currency, and rapidly depleting forex reserves. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has called in the army to manage the crisis by rationing the supply of various essential goods.
Refined white sugar is now an integral part of the Indian diet, driven by a swift increase in the consumption of packaged and processed food. The fallout: the paradox of childhood obesity in a country that is still battling malnutrition. Young children, particularly in urban areas, are already battling a host of so-called lifestyle illnesses including dental caries, fatty liver and obesity-induced diabetes, say doctors and nutritionists.
The conclusion of the Tokyo Olympics 2020 brought immense joy to the nation. India won its first gold medal in track and field events of the Olympics. A total of 7 medals were won, which marks India’s best score at the Olympics. However, despite this, India finished 48th in the event. Whereas Japan, with a far less population, came 3rd on the leaderboard.
Thus, it shows that with the right guidance and hard work, it is not impossible for India to compete against countries like the US and China. The government and the private sector should come forward to support the sportspersons and breed robust sports culture in India.
India completed one year of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 on July 29. The policy was revised after 34 years to meet the changing needs of Indian and international education standards.
The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data show that the amount of work available for workers in India reduced substantially in the period coinciding with the national lockdown during the first COVID-19 wave. Underemployment was more pronounced in the urban parts compared to the rural areas. In April-June 2020, about 26% of urban employees worked for 36 hours or less a week compared to the 13% a year earlier. The decrease in the available hours of work was recorded across India, with very few exceptions.
Presently, India’s population stands at nearly 134 crore. According to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs estimates, India’s population will reach 1.5 billion by 2030. Further, the population will hit 1.64 billion in 2050. This would make India become the largest populous country, overtaking China. To prevent that India introduced population control measures.
Apart from the Central government, many states also announced population control measures. A new draft Bill prepared by the Uttar Pradesh (UP) Law Commission seeks to control the population by introducing a two-child policy.
Blockchain data platform Chainalysis says crypto investments in India have grown some 200-fold in the past year, from about $200 million to nearly $40 billion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been repeatedly emphasising on ‘One Nation, One Election’ as a necessity for development. There is an election in India almost every month — Madhya Pradesh , Manipur and Bihar, among other States, had elections recently — which involves a lot of money. Modi has asked the presiding officers of elected bodies to ponder over the idea of having one election and one voters’ list.
After the passing away of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s political spectrum turned murky. Elected representatives became victims of greed for money and power. Assured of a fixed tenure by getting elected, they started bargaining for power and pelf. Crossing over parties became the norm.
Did you know that the world is completely ignorant of 99.9 per cent of the potential zoonotic viruses, despite the mounting threat and growing cases of debilitating pandemics like Covid-19? Did you know that India is ranked 117 among 192 nations with respect to sustainable development - behind all South Asian nations except Pakistan? Or that 160 species have gone extinct over the last decade (2009-2019)?
India's most credible yearly survey of the environment is here, once again. State of India's Environment 2021, a Down To Earth annual publication, brings you all this and more. With subjects ranging from Forest, Climate Change, COVID and Biodiversity to Industry, Waste, Habitat, Water, Air Pollution, Renewable Energy and Rural Development, besides a comprehensive data-based analysis of how India's states are faring on sustainable development goals.
In this Podcast we have discussed about the recent G7 Meet and one of its talk being on Global Minimum Corporate Tax
Data with the National Clinical Registry for Covid-19 shows a new emerging trend during the second wave: shortness of breath is the most common clinical feature among symptomatic hospitalised patients at 47.5%, compared to 41.7% during the first wave. Simultaneously, other symptoms have dropped significantly compared to the first wave: dry cough (5.6% vs 1.5%); loss of smell (7.7% vs 2.2%); fatigue (24.2% vs 11.5%); sore throat (16% vs 7.5%); muscle ache (14.8% vs 6.3%).
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With the merger of 10 public sector banks into four in 2020, there are now 12 public sector banks (PSBs) in India. Niti Aayog has zeroed in on four mid-sized PSBs as part of the privatisation push – Bank of Maharashtra (BoM), Bank of India (BoI), Indian Overseas Bank (IOS) and the Central Bank of India (CBI).
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In this Podcast, we have discussed How dams are aiding disaster in India, the most recent example being the Uttarakhand Glacial Lake Outburst (GLOP)
In this video, you will be able to understand the following: What is Dam, How Dams are aiding disasters, Dams aided disasters in past, What are the vulnerabilities of Indian Dams, Government of India Initiatives to Improve Dam safety, Suggestions to make dam disaster resilient
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In India, activity relating to space started some six years after the world's first satellite
went into orbit, with the establishment of the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching
Station in 1963. The Indian space programme has now two main objectives, derived
from a matching of the inherent capabilities of satellites in orbit around the earth
with two major national needs. These needs are:
--rapid development of mass communication and education, especially in the widely
dispersed rural communities, and
--timely survey and management of the country's natural resources.
Thus the main thrust of the Indian space programme is towards the development
of communication and earth observation satellite systems suited to Indian needs.
Of course, satellites by themselves cannot achieve anything. Benefits become
possible only when human beings utilise the unique capabilities of satellites to synopti-
c.ally survey vast regions of the earth and use them to take radio and TV to the whole
country. It is worth pointing out that the greatest social benefits from space research
and technology occur through large scale applications rather than through those
which have limited scope.
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Government notifies Information Technology (IntermediaryGuidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021
Social media platforms welcome to do business in India but they need to follow the Constitution and laws of India
Social media platform can certainly be used for asking questions and criticise
Social media platforms have empowered ordinary users but they need accountability against its misuse and abuse
The new Rules empower ordinary users of social media, embodying a mechanism for redressal and timely resolution of their grievance
Rules about digital media and OTT focuses more on in house and self-regulation mechanism whereby a robust grievance redressal mechanism has been provided while upholding journalistic and creative freedom
The proposed framework is progressive, liberal and contemporaneous
It seeks to address peoples’ varied concerns while removing any misapprehension about curbing creativity and freedom of speech and expression
The guidelines have been framed keeping in mind the difference between viewership in a theatre and television as compared to to watching it on Internet
Amidst growing concerns around lack of transparency, accountability and rights of users related to digital media and after elaborate consultation with the public and stakeholders, the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 has been framed in exercise of powers under section 87 (2) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and in supersession of the earlier Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules 2011.
While finalizing these Rules, both the Ministries of Electronics and Information Technology and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting undertook elaborate consultations among themselves in order to have a harmonious, soft-touch oversight mechanism in relation to social media platforms as well as digital media and OTT platforms etc.
Part- II of these Rules shall be administered by the Ministry of Electronics and IT, while Part-III relating to Code of Ethics and procedure and safeguards in relation to digital media shall be administered by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
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India, which loses almost 1.5 lakh lives every year on account of road accidents, is revising its target to drop the extent of road fatalities by half by 2025 or earlier, instead of the earlier target of 2030, said Gadkari. He cited Tamil Nadu's example recording a continuous drop in road accidents and deaths in the last three-four years.
"It's okay to miss road construction targets, but we should try and meet the target of saving lives from road accidents and deaths earlier…," said Gadkari, pointing out that targeting reduction by half means seeing 75,000 deaths every year till 2030.
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Delhi Police warrants against two others in the Greta Thunberg toolkit case have created a furore across the nation. The three activists have been accused of collaborating with a pro-Khalistani group to create a toolkit to ‘defame India across the globe on the issue of three agri laws’.
The toolkit, first shared by Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg on February 4, has been claimed as the proof of the Khalistani conspiracy against India by many critics.
After registering an FIR against the creators of the toolkit the same day, Delhi Police had requested Google for email ids of those involved in publishing and editing the document, uploaded on Google Docs. Since then, the police have conducted several raids and have arrested Disha Ravi and reportedly interrogated another activist and lawyer Nikita Jacob.
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