Today's Headlines

TRAI can’t regulate OTT platforms

GS Paper - 2 (Polity)

Over the top (OTT) platforms like Hotstar are not in the jurisdiction of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and are governed by the Information Technology Rules, 2021, notified by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), India’s telecom appellate panel has held. In an interim order passed, the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) said that OTT platforms are outside the purview of the TRAI Act since they do not require any permission or a licence from the central government.

What context did TDSAT pass this order?

1. TDSAT’s findings came in a petition filed by the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF), which alleged that free streaming of matches of the ICC Cricket World Cup on mobile devices by Star India through its platform Disney+Hotstar is discriminatory under TRAI regulations, as the matches can be watched on Star Sports TV channel only if the viewer has subscribed by making a monthly payment.
2. In its interim prayer, AIDC asked that Star India should be restrained from permitting viewers to have Star Sports on their mobile phones for free, or that they should also provide free access to Star Sports to AIDCF’s members, that is cable operators.

Why is this order significant?

1. The rejection of AIDC’s plea by TDSAT is significant because, the statutory telecom regulator, and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) under the Union Ministry of Communications, are attempting to regulate OTT services, which has been challenged by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
2. The DoT had released a draft telecom Bill which classified OTT platforms as telecommunications services, and sought to regulate them like telecom operators.
3. The TRAI, separately, has issued a consultation paper on how to regulate OTT platforms.

What is TRAI’s attempt at regulating OTT services?

1. Almost three years after it first recommended against creating a specific regulatory framework for OTT communication services like WhatsApp, Zoom, and Google Meet, TRAI has revisited its stance, and started consultations on how these services can be regulated.
2. In the consultation paper released in June, the regulator asked stakeholders to send suggestions about regulating services, and asked whether a selective banning of OTT services could be done as opposed to entirely shutting down the Internet.
3. Regulating such services has been a long-standing demand of telecom operators, who have been advocating for years for “same service, same rules”.
4. In September 2020, TRAI had recommended against regulatory intervention for OTT platforms, saying that it should be left to market forces.
5. However, it had also said that the sector should be monitored, and intervention should be done at an “appropriate time”.

Russia may pull out of CTBT

GS Paper - 2 (International Relations)

Russia might revoke its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), President Vladimir Putin said that the country would do so to be on level terms with the United States, and not to resume nuclear testing.

What is CTBT?

1. The CTBT is a multilateral treaty that bans all nuclear explosions, whether for military or peaceful purposes.
2. Although it was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1996, it’s still in the ratification stage — 18 countries are yet to ratify (the process by which a state indicates its consent to be bound to a treaty). While Russia ratified the agreement in 2000, the US is still to do so.

How did CTBT come into being?

1. The United States conducted the world’s first successful nuclear weapons test in July 1945. Four years later, the Soviet Union tested their first nuclear weapon.
2. These tests triggered a decades-long arms race between the two superpowers. Between 1945 and 1996, more than 2,000 nuclear tests were carried out — 1,032 of them by the United States and 715 of them by the Soviet Union, according to the UN. Britain carried out 45 tests, France 210 and China 45.
3. The radioactive fallout from those tests drew criticism from around the globe. The international community’s concern about the effects on health and the environment continued to grow.
4. The 1963 Limited Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (LTBT) was one of the first such attempts. It prohibited nuclear testing in the atmosphere, outer space, and underwater, but underground tests were still permitted.
5. To tackle the limitations of LTBT, a comprehensive test ban was discussed during the negotiation of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 1968. However, no agreement was reached on the issue.
6. Six years later, the US and Soviet Union agreed to sign the Threshold Test Ban Treaty (TTBT), which established a nuclear “threshold” by banning the two countries from conducting tests that would produce a yield exceeding 150 kilotons (equivalent to 150,000 tons of TNT).
7. The mutual restraint imposed by the Treaty reduced the explosive force of new nuclear warheads and bombs, which could otherwise be tested for weapons systems. The TTBT was not intended as a substitute for a comprehensive test ban.
8. A major breakthrough only came after the Cold War ended around 1990 and the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
9. As the geopolitical tensions simmered down, the UN took advantage of the situation and adopted the CTBT, which put a blanket ban on the explosive testing of nuclear weapons, on 10 September 1996, and it opened for signature on 24 September 1996.

Did the CTBT stop nuclear testing?

1. Since the CTBT, 10 nuclear tests have taken place. India conducted two in 1998, Pakistan also two in 1998, and North Korea conducted tests in 2006, 2009, 2013, 2016 (twice) and 2017, according to the United Nations, Reuters reported.
2. The United States last tested in 1992, China and France in 1996 and the Soviet Union in 1990. Russia, which inherited most of the Soviet nuclear arsenal, has never conducted a nuclear test.

China to double the size of its space station

GS Paper - 3 (Space Technology)

China plans to expand its Tiangong space station by adding another three modules to the three that are already in orbit. This expansion of the outpost’s capacity and capabilities could make it a viable alternative to the International Space Station for in-orbit experiments and missions.

The Tiangong space station

1. The Chinese space station has three modules—the Tianhe core module (“heavenly river” crew module and the laboratory cabin modules Wentian (“quest for heavens”) and Mengtian (“dreaming of heaven”). It has been operational since late 2022, hosting up to three astronauts at a time.
2. The first module of the space station was Tiange, and it was launched into orbit on 29 April 2021.
3. This contains living quarters for three crew members and provides most of the space station’s key functionalities, including power, propulsion, guidance, navigation and life support systems. The Tianhe module also has a “Chinarm” robotic arm.
4. The Wentian science module hosts added navigation, propulsion and orientation controls as a backup for some of Tianhe’s functions.
5. It also acts as a pressurised environment where researchers can conduct zero-gravity experiments.
6. Some experiments can also be conducted outside of this module, like those that measure the effects of exposure to solar winds, cosmic rays and other space conditions.
7. Wentian also has a robotic arm called “indexing arm.” It launched and then docked with Tianhe on 24 July 2022.
8. Mengtian is the third module of Tiangong, and it was mainly designed for science experiments.
9. It carried many cutting-edge physics experiments when it launched, including a facility that China claims can create the coldest matter in the universe.
10. Mengtian launched into orbit and docked with the rest of the space station on 3 November 2022.
11. The Mengtian module completed what was initially supposed to be the full configuration of the Tiangong space station. But now, it is clear that China plans to expand on it further.