UPSC Key: Digital Arrest, Appellate tribunal, and World water day

Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for March 21, 2026. If you missed the March 20, 2026,

Upsc Cse

exam key from the Indian Express, read it here. FRONT Govt asks WhatsApp to block device IDs used in digital arrest scams Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance Mains Examination: General Studies-III: Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security; money-laundering and its prevention. What’s the ongoing story: Blocking device IDs invol-ved in cases of digital arrest, introducing safety features similar to those on Skype, and stren-gthening technology to detect and block harmful APKs, the file formats used in Android systems.

Key Points to Ponder: — What is digital arrest? — How do digital arrest scams work? — What are its repercussions? — What are the efforts taken by the government to counter digital arrest? — Why are Indians more vulnerable to digital arrest? Key Takeaways: — These are some of the key measures WhatsApp has been asked to implement by a high-level Inter-Departmental Committee (IDC) constituted by the Union Home Ministry to tackle the threat of digital arrest, including the impersonation of law enforcement officers to perpetrate the scam, The Indian Express has learnt. — Sources said that the Meta-owned messaging service has agreed to implement these measures and is already in the process of putting in place some of them. It is learnt that the interaction with representatives of WhatsApp took place earlier this month during the third meeting of the IDC, which was constituted in December 2025. — According to the official, the representatives of WhatsApp conveyed that the platform is introducing several safety features similar to those on Skype, which is Microsoft’s video-calling platform: more information on callers, warning signals for suspicious accounts and better detection of scam networks.

WhatsApp has been asked to present a proposal on these measures within 30 days, the official said. — In typical digital arrest scams, fraudsters impersonate law enforcement officers on video calls with victims, claim that they are being investigated for serious crimes and coerce them to transfer large sums to various bank accounts to avoid arrest. Do You Know: — Notably, “digital arrest” has not been explicitly defined in any law. Although fraudulent online activities are addressed under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and organised criminal activity under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, neither law explicitly defines “cybercrimes”, causing ambiguity in the enforcement of regulatory response.

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| Knowledge Nugget | India submits first Nagoya Protocol Report: Key points for UPSC explained — As per Section 63 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) 2023, summons may be served electronically, but only if the communication is encrypted and carries the court’s seal, image, and authorised digital signature. While such digitisation streamlines procedural delivery, the BNSS retains a clear emphasis on embodied due process that all forms of arrest require physical custody, the arresting officer must display proper identification, and an arrest memo must be prepared contemporaneously. — Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) has been instituted as an attached office to the Ministry of Home Affairs, so as to coordinate a comprehensive, national response to all cybercrime complaints. With respect to matters of digital arrest complaints, it has blocked over 1,700 Skype IDs, 59,000 WhatsApp accounts, 6.69 lakh SIM cards, and 1,32,000 IME

Is in 2024 alone. Other Important Articles Covering the same topic: 📍UPSC Knowledge Nugget of the day: Digital Arrest 📍How India strengthens its digital-fraud resilience Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme: (

1. In India, it is legally mandatory for which of the following to report on cyber security incidents? (UPSC CSE 20
2. 1
3. 1.

Service providers

2. Data centres
3. Body corporate Select the correct answer using the code given below: (a) 1 only (b) 1 and 2 only (c) 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3 POLITICS Bengal SIR appeals: Poll panel sets up 19 appellate tribunals Syllabus: Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance Mains Examination: General Studies-II: Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies What’s the ongoing story: The Election Commission on Friday set up 19 appellate tribunals for hearing appeals against the orders passed by judicial officers who are currently deciding on the eligibility of 60.06 lakh electors of West Bengal.

Key Points to Ponder: — What are the constitutional provisions related to the Tribunals? — Know about the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021. — What is appellate tribunal? — How are tribunals different from court? — Why is the objective of forming an appellate tribunal? — What are quasi-judicial bodies? — What are the issues related to SIR in Bengal? — Why did the Supreme Court direct the ECI to constitute a tribunal in the case of West Bengal? — What is the purpose of SIR? Key Takeaways: — Acting on orders of the Supreme Court and recommendations of Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Sujoy Paul, the EC set up the appellate authority, naming 19 former judges as the single-member tribunals for the 23 districts. While most of the judges were named for a single district, three were assigned multiple districts. — The appeals can be filed either on the EC’s ECINET website or physically at the offices of the District Magistrates or Sub-Divisional Magistrates or Sub-Divisional Officers, who are to digitise and upload the appeals on the ECINET platform, the EC said. — The EC’s decision comes at a time when judicial officers appointed on orders of the Supreme Court on February 20 are deciding on whether 60.06 lakh electors flagged during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls can remain on the rolls or not. — The SC had ordered that as and when the judicial officers decide, supplementary lists of electors are to be published.

This even as the EC has announced elections in West Bengal on April 23 and April 29. Do You Know: — According to PRS India, tribunals are institutions established for discharging judicial or quasi-judicial duties. The objective may be to reduce case load of the judiciary or to bring in subject expertise for technical matters.

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| The World This Week | New ‘decapitation’ strikes in Iran, US-NATO faultlines deepen, and a US-Ukrainian terror conspiracy in India — The Supreme Court has ruled that tribunals, being quasi-judicial bodies, should have the same level of independence from the executive as the judiciary. — The tribunal system has developed as a parallel to the traditional court system over the last eighty years. The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal was created in 1941 to reduce pendency of cases in courts. — After the insertion of Articles 323A and 323B, several tribunals such as the Central Administrative Tribunal as well as sector specific tribunals were set up from the 1980s to 2010s. The Finance Act, 2017 consolidated several tribunals.

In 2021, a Bill has been introduced that abolishes nine tribunals and transfers the matters to courts.