The Hindu Editorial Newspaper Analysis Free PDF

Table of Contents

After the emergency

 Repairing ties with the Maldives will test Indian diplomacy
 Maldivian government‘s decision to lift the state of emergency after 45 days
 India said the withdrawal of the emergency is but ―one step‖,and much more must be
done to restore democracy in the Maldives.
 Opposition, mostly in exile and led by former President Mohamad Nasheed, says the emergency lifted only because President A. Yameen has established total control over judiciary and parliament
 Since the February 1 court verdict that
• 1)-Cancelled the sentencing of 12 opposition leaders and
• 2)-Ordered their release
 Locked down the Majlis (parliament) and court buildings
 Repairing India – Maldives ties, that have taken an equally sharp dip since February
 China-free trade agreement – Offered to broker talks b/w the government and opposition,
 A role that India would have been naturally expected to play in the past
It is important to note that a military intervention by India was never a possibility, and
comparisons made to India‘s actions in 1988 are pointless.
India has been wise to keep its counsel and not over-react to the recent events.
 Helping steer(रास्तेपर लाना) Mr.Yameen to a more reasonable and inclusive
democratic course ahead of the presidential election later this year.

Controlling the machine

Europe’s new data protection regime offers a sound basis for India to craft its
own legislation
Present India has the second highest number of Internet users in the world
An important market for many global companies
Facebook enjoys sway over social networking,
Google has completely taken over online search and email, and
Amazon continues a growing capture of online commerce
Though there is friction between these global and local firms.
They are united in a singular attempt to collect, store and analyse the online behaviour
of millions of Indians.
Most firms always Services vs personal data
It almost seems data is not the new oil — it is air itself.
Digital technology is finely threaded with the fabric of our lives
Data protection law- Limited protections which do exist are under the Information
Technology Act, 2000- Deficient and practically unenforceable.
European Union which has taken time to develop an advanced data protection
framework, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), that goes into effect
in a few months.
There is good reason to look toward Europe.
Very preamble of the GDPR, reflects an attempt to protect the rights of individuals
through a data protection law,
Treating the requirements of industry and state as limited exceptions
Include a transparent system of data processing which makes users practically aware of
what is happening with their personal information at all times.
A user‘s knowledge is raised to the level of control- Necessity
Allowed to use data only for the original purpose under which they were gathered
Only to the extent and amount as necessary for performing the function as
specified by a user.
Supreme Court- Fundamental right to privacy
Sufficient powers for the regulatory body and the courts which will function
to enforce it and hold powerful corporations and governments to account
While we must learn and draw from the data protection principles of Europe
We must also focus efforts to ensure their effective enforcement

The need for ‘special’ attention

December, the Supreme Court greenlit the Centre‘s proposal to set up 12 fasttrack
courts to adjudicate and speedily dispose of 1,581 cases against MP & MLA
Using them interchangeably: special courts and fast-track courts
Three tiers of the judiciary — subordinate, high courts and the Supreme Court.
It is assumed that special courts are a panacea for judicial efficiency, with
hardly any evidence to suggest that

Fighting forest fires

 Recent wildfire tragedy inTheni inTamil Nadu, in which 20 – lost their lives,
once again brings into focus forest fires in India
How information on a fire reaches the authorities and the ways in which firefighting
can be improved
Relaying information-When a fire anywhere in world is detected by NASA‘s MODIS
(Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) andVIIRS (Visible Infrared
Imaging Radiometer Suite) satellites, the Forest Survey of India (FSI) analyses
the data by overlaying the digitised boundaries of forest areas to pinpoint the location
to the exact forest compartment.
There are four approaches to fighting forest fires
1)-Technological, where helicopters or ground-based personnel spray fire retardant
chemicals, or pump water to fight the blaze- expensive methods
2)-Bordered by natural barriers such as streams, roads, ridges, and fire lines along
hillsides or across plains.
3)-Third is to set a counter fire, so that when a fire is unapproachable for human
4)-To have enough people with leafy green boughs to beat the fire out
The lesson to be learnt is that if combustibles(ईंधन) are removed or burnt under
supervision, a fire can be controlled
Department personnel that are sent to put out fires-Training & Strength increase
 help indigenous forests grow back. Giving access to the public to reserve forests in
their present state would have a salutary effect on the quality of life of our citizenry
and the quality of field researchers available within the country

Prelims Focus Facts-News Analysis

 We’re alert in Doklam, says Defence Minister
 Our territorial integrity will be maintained: Sitharaman
 Northeast ex-militants get more sops(ररयायतो ों)
 Requests came from Assam, which has most number of surrenders in the region
 For the first time since 1998, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has increased
the monthly stipend of surrendered militants in northeast India.
 The stipend for the former militants has been increased from ₹3•500 to
₹6•000 per month and the one-time grant has been enhanced from ₹1•5 lakh to ₹4
lakh in a move that will come into effect on April 1
Prelims Focus Facts-News Analysis
Bengal govt. to check crime against children
Data show the State had registered over 7,000 cases in 2016
5th highest in the country.
Uttar Pradesh is on the top of the list with 15%
followed by Maharashtra (14%),
Madhya Pradesh (13%),
Delhi (8%) and
West Bengal (6%)
‘Changed lifestyle can prevent cancer’
Tripura tops in the Northeast in tobacco consumption in all its forms
2,500 new cancer patients are diagnosed every year inTripura and
40% of the total cancer affected patients in the State are women
Matter of concern for us that the women are increasingly being affected
by cancer either due to chewing tobacco or smoking.
Paradip Port handles record cargo- ?
Cong., BJP in Twitter war over NaMo app
Many aims for defence policy
30 lakh jobs, ₹1•7 lakh crore turnover, additional investment of ₹7•,000 crore
Massive student rallies seek tougher gun laws
More than a million marchers across the U.S. say ‗never again‘ to gun violence