What is cyber surveillance and explain the various acts that back surveillance in India?

Cyber-surveillance is a mechanism for the surveillance of persons, objects or processes that is based on new technologies and that is operated from and on data networks, such as the Internet. Its purpose is to facilitate surveillance, in keeping with the quantity, rapidity or complexity of the data to be processed.

Acts that backs surveillance in India:

~Source The Hindu

Syllabus GS III Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development and employment. 

Elucidate the implication of weak rupee and discuss the steps taken by the RBI

The Indian rupee has depreciated by around 7% against the U.S. dollar, since the start of the year, in response to various domestic and global factors. Specifically, a widening current account deficit, persistent risk-off sentiment as a result of geopolitical tensions, ‘a strengthening dollar index, and continuous sell-off by foreign portfolio investors have all put pressure on the rupee’.

The implications of a weak rupee on the economy are multifold.

  1. Among the benefits is the premise that the rupee’s weakening should aid exporters in becoming more competitive.
  2. However, the concomitant depreciation of currencies of some of India’s competitors such as South Korea, Malaysia and Bangladesh against the dollar, along with a high import intensity of some of its key export segments (petroleum, gems and jewellery and electronics), is likely to have blunted the ameliorative impact on India’s exports. Slower global demand is expected to affect outbound shipments as well.
  3. On the flip side, a weaker rupee is driving up prices of key import commodities such as coal, oil, edible oil, gold, thus impacting the imported component of inflation.
  4. The unhedged component of corporate debt denominated in dollars is also likely to bear the brunt of a weaker rupee.
  5. Most importantly, a continuously sliding exchange rate discourages foreign investors from making fresh investments, which keep losing value in dollar terms.
  6. For this reason, it is ideal to provide confidence to investors by arresting a continuous slide in the exchange rate.
  7. Of course, any target should be avoided, as global forces remain fluid and market forces should be allowed to play.

The RBI’s measures

Overall, even as the rupee is expected to remain under pressure in the near term because of global uncertainty, high commodity prices and rising U.S. interest rates, mitigating measures have to be taken to partly arrest the slide. The maintenance of the U.S.-India interest rate differential along with timely forex market interventions by the central bank to manage volatility will prove to be salutary in preserving the rupee value against the greenback.

~Source The Hindu