Mar 24, 2017 AIR

All India Radio - Election Commission’s Proposal Against 200 Non Existent Political Parties

Election Commission’s Proposal Against 200 Non Existent Political Parties  ARCHIVES Search 21st December here http://www.newsonair.com/Main_Audio_Bulletins_Search.aspx TOPIC: General Studies 2 Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive and the Judiciary Ministries and Departments of the Government; pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity. The ECI declared its decision to delist 200 political parties that had not contested any election since 2005 and decided to inform Central Board of Direct Taxes about it. This will disallow tax benefits to them. ECI has the mandate to register a political party but, it lacks power under electoral laws to deregister any party. ECI used its powers under Article 324 of the Constitution to delist parties for being dormant and not contesting elections for a long time, as its demand to get power to deregister a party is pending with the Law Ministry. Thus the context in which the ECI has been saying for some time that it needs to be equipped to deal with issues of delisting political parties to avoid such long procedures. Currently, there are over 1780 registered, but unrecognised political parties in the country. Also, there are seven national parties and 58 state parties. Clearly this is a follow up of what PM had discussed about the demonetisation drive to unearth the black money along with efforts to fight menace of terrorism as well as scourge of poverty. This is significant as PM had requested ECI to go through the entire gamut of issues connected with funding of political parties because it raised a huge controversy that one of the main fountains of spreading black money is the expenditure that is done by political parties, especially at the time of elections. Delisting political parties ECI suspects that many of these parties could be nothing but money laundering operations. Most of the parties exist on papers to help people convert their black money into white by accepting donations. Therefore there are many parties who do not even bother filing income tax returns, and if they do, they never send a copy to ECI which is mandatory. If the effort is to really contain spread of black money and more so because elections do play big part in generation and spending of black money, it is a small way forward and still a long way to go. ECI hopes that CBDT will look into financial affairs of these parties as they are no more eligible for any tax benefits that are given to it. Electoral reforms The electoral reforms and funding of political parties has begun long ago since 1970s beginning with the Tarkunde committee initiated by JP Narayan followed by Dinesh Goswami committee and Inderjeet Gupta Committee. All of them did not want public funding. If there is a public funding then it should be very limited in the context of providing facility. The problem with political parties is that they are extra constitutional groups. No constitution and no democracy can work without political parties but then it has no constitutional sanction to receive money. Thus, dealing with the funding of these political parties or organisation is difficult task. ECI had two options Reduction in number of political parties which remained dormant for a very long time. However, it did not find favour with any of recognised parties. Deregistering is a tricky problem. There exists a National Press, various small presses and also some of the presses have no circulation. Lot of things are registered but they never come out regularly and they close without any announcement. The political parties are also in this kind of situation. To take up any punitive action against the entire system is not exactly easy. Parties grow and decay. So the important thing is to reform political culture by bringing all political parties under RTI. There should be proper auditing which is available to electorate. Intermediary risks can always be taken. In that context, if the parties exist only on paper, atleast some action is taken against them. Political funding- if new political parties are formed and they operate in a system then how to work out funding of all political parties. So there rises a question of inequality. Law commission has prepared report on issue of state funding of election. It has gone indepth with various aspect connected with it. It has also expressed that it is not in favour of state funding of election on one side and on other side said state funding of election is pretty good to contain rising cost of conducting election. It has suggested shifting their strategy from vote buying to programmable politics. But these are idealistic proposals which have little meaning. State funding doesn’t work satisfactorily even in the world. In US, half of the states have state funding but doesn’t work well because limit of expenditure is not set for political parties. On ground, fixing limit and sticking to it doesn’t really work. Another step taken in this direction is reduction of anonymous contribution from Rs. 20000 to Rs. 2000. Some might say that in age of digitisation, anonymous donations should cease. But the point is if political parties are willing to accept it and also that if there are genuine small donors who will like to remain anonymous, it is their right. In a political culture of democracy, a balance is required and if it is worked out well, some progress can be made. If a person wants to donate money to religious institutions, he has the right to be anonymous. Then treating political parties differently by removing anonymous donation factor is not legible. There is an overall architecture provided by ECI on how much a candidate can spend in a particular constituency during elections. But the political parties are free to spend any amount. To have a check on funding, a practical reform that can be initiated – Suppose A party fields 100 candidates and limit on spending is 10rs/candidate. Maximum amount spent by the party should be Rs. 1000. This will allow ECI to know where the additional funds are coming from and going to. However, this kind of things have not yet been evolved. FCRA allows political parties to accept donation from foreign entities, including companies. Lot of contribution from foreign individuals and companies have come into lot of questions of late. It is felt that there are many loopholes in the existing rules which is sought to be exploited. The strictness of law and no political party should get decisive advantage in this situation is important. Here ECI has to be strict about procedure followed and if foreign exchange is available, then it is easier to detect. Conclusion Ultimately it comes to public morality, awareness and intention of political parties which is extra constitutional in nature. There needs to be certain flexibility in dealing with problems of black money. So, the best option is to have proper audit which tracks the money trail of political parties. Connecting the dots: What are the various electoral reforms which need to be implemented at the earliest? Enumerate

Mar 23, 2017 AIR

All India Radio - India-Krygystan Bilateral Relations

India-Krygystan Bilateral Relations ARCHIVES Search 20th December 2016 http://www.newsonair.com/Main_Audio_Bulletins_Search.aspx TOPIC: General Studies 2 India and its neighbourhood- relations. Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests President Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambaev made first visit to India where he met PM of India. Both leaders held extensive delegation level talks after which agreements were signed on foreign office consultations, sports, broadcast cooperation and bilateral investment. This visit important for India to catch up with the region on various issues of regional cooperation, terrorism, economic cooperation and larger issues of diplomacy at global stage. India will be celebrating 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Kyrgyzstan in 2017. President of Kyrgyzstan’s visit to India follows President of Tajikistan’s visit. In 2016, PM Modi visited five Central Asian countries on way to Ufa BRICS summit and attending SCO meet. The ongoing engagement with Central Asian countries is going on since 1991-92 after breakup of Soviet Union and independence of five countries. Significance of Central Asia Visit by President of Central Asian country is highly significant where the region is undergoing tremendous changes. The Chinese have gone a big way to make their presence felt in the region The region facing huge challenge from Islamic extremism and ISIS China factor- It is increasingly becoming aggressive in the region with its rising economic clout on world stage. Many years ago when US was rising, then it was also asserting its power. Thus every rising power will assert power on global and regional stage trying to influence it. China has penetrated into region economically with one belt one road and militarily also The Silk Road project was announced in Central Asia in 2014 in Kazakhstan. China has invested heavily to connect China with Eurasian countries. It is also making CPEC an important economic corridor. So Central Asia is a transit area were China has huge stake in Central Asian countries in many ways. All Central Asian countries and also Russia have consented for Chinese initiative. This is where challenge for India comes. They are willingly accepting the Chinese initiative and all these issues of connectivity- economic, energy and also dealing with political issues. This raises the Chinese influence in the region manifold. Islamic Extremism- There is Islamic extremism challenge in region and there is constant state of turmoil in Afghanistan. The central Asian countries don’t have much role to play in Afghanistan but Afghanistan is important for everyone. Like India, they are also affected by problems in Afghanistan. The main issue is that central Asian countries face lot of problem in terms of terrorism, extremism and separatist tendencies. For example, Islamic movement of Uzbekistan is also present in Kyrgyzstan. There are other small groups like hizbut tahrir, Islamic Turkistan movement etc. Many of these outfits do have connection with Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, and hence there is always a potential threat from Afghanistan to this region. This is where these countries are trying to find cooperation with India in terms of how to deal with terrorism. So far they have effectively dealt with terrorism in the region, especially Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. In future if ISIS presence grows, it will become a major challenge for countries. Therefore, these countries are seeking cooperation with India to learn how to tackle the issue of terrorism in terms of exchange of information, experience and capabilities to resolve the issues at regional level. India connected to Central Asian countries Connectivity is a major issues between India and Central Asia because of absence of peace in Afghanistan and hostile attitude of Pakistan. It is important for countries like Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan that India-Afghanistan-Iran have connectivity via Chabahar port. Thus, India is pursuing the connectivity issue with Iran since long with Bandar Abbas then and now Chabahar. Another connectivity line is INSTC it goes upto Russia. Improving the connectivity is real challenge because in absence of connectivity, presence is weak in terms of cost and distance in any exchange of commodities, especially for commerce and trade. SCO and India Membership to SCO is imminent and PM has said that SCO will also give a valuable framework to work together on issues like peace, stability and prosperity in region. Kyrgyzstan has ratified for India’s membership to SCO and soon more countries are expected to do it so as to cement India’s membership in SCO. Central Asia is important for India as negative forces emerge in the Central Asia which would be detrimental to India’s interest. In the absence of connectivity, there is no platform where India can play a role in region. So it is because of India’s interest that it has sought to pursue SCO membership as it is the only option to know what is going on in the region. Central Asia may not be important from economic view point but it is hugely important from strategic and economic viewpoint. If India is not a member of SCO, it wouldn’t be known what is happening in region. Pakistan is also becoming a member and there are chances that many contentious issues they might raise which are not raised in SAARC. Thus, India’s presence is extremely important in SCO. It is also important in terms of what contribution India can make in terms of technology, investment, economic development of region, security, defence cooperation etc. So, India is slated to play an important role in the SCO. India and Kyrgyzstan -history long ago India has share of history with Kyrgyzstan. From days of Kanishka, Buddhism was heavily imbedded in Silk Road. Kyrgyzstan is home to the Mughals of India and Emperor Babur came from the city Osh and even in his memoir, Baburnama, he refers to his place of origin in the mountains near Osh. Thus, India and Kyrgyzstan share heritage and values. Central Asia has so far been extremely friendly towards India because of certain legacy. During soviet time, India had direct contact with Central Asian region. All previous PMs have regularly visited and kept in touch with people of Central Asia. There is also a concept of Hindustan which is very strong in their psyche. However, India does not have economic and political presence. It is only about cultural goodwill that has not been able to convert into a more meaningful relationship. India and Kyrgyzstan military relations Military is one aspect of a nations which plays certain role to improve relationship with another country. India and Kyrgyzstan have been involved in regular military joint exercises. It is significant as it leads to better relationship between two countries. In international diplomacy, military also plays a huge role. Joint defence cooperation brings closer the military where the experiences are shared. It is also hoped that such exercises are conducted with other member countries of SCO after doing it with Kyrgyzstan for few years. In 2017, annual joint military exercises named “Khanjar-IV” were held after “Khanjar-II” exercises in March 2015 in Kyrgyzstan and “Khanjar-III” in 2016. Now, the entire geopolitical scenario of region is changing with Pakistan and Russia conducting first joint military exercise and more importance of SCO to bring stability in Afghanistan than SAARC. Conclusion There are many obstacles coming in between India and Central Asian region. One is strategy of Pakistan and possibly China also- strategy of denial- not to allow India and Central Asia to come together. That’s key policy of Pakistan to keep India and central Asia separate. If Russia’s relationship with Pakistan improves, there is a danger that other Central Asian countries will also listen to Pakistan. Thus, India has to be extra active to be able to more present in the region so that credibility, popularity and image remains strong in the region. Connecting the dots: India is increasingly growing its outreach to central Asian countries which provide a new market and geopolitical advantage. Analyse India’s role in the region and future possibilities for growth along with challenges.

Mar 23, 2017 MindMaps

IASbaba’s MINDMAP : Issue - Electronic Voting Machines

IASbaba’s MINDMAP : Issue - Electronic Voting Machines Archives P.S- Right Click on the image and open it in new tab. From there you can save it in your system.   Reference - Link

Mar 23, 2017 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 23rd March, 2017

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 23rd March 2017 Archives NATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 1 Effects of globalization on Indian society Social empowerment General Studies 2 Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. Development processes and the development industry the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders  General Studies 3 Inclusive growth and issues arising from it HDI Ranking and associated concerns Introduction HDI is an important development index released by United Nations Human Development Programme. It serves as a crucial index for social parameters and thus helps guide nations w.r.t. policy actions and guidelines, Issue: India’s rank of 131 among 188 countries on the UNDP’s Human Development Index for 2015 and its ‘medium’ performance pose the uncomfortable question: Would not the score have been significantly better if the higher economic growth trajectory of two and a half decades of liberalisation had been accompanied by a parallel investment in people? Few will argue that the rise in incomes that came with a more open economy has not translated into a Higher quality of life for many Indians Raised overall life expectancy at birth by more than 10 years from the 1990 level, to reach 68.3 years. Progress has also been made in raising awareness about issues affecting women’s empowerment, such as Public safety Acid attacks Discrimination in inheritance rights Lack of equal employment opportunity Policy reforms have been instituted in some of these areas as a result. As the HDI data show, significant inequalities persist, particularly between States and regions, which act as major barriers to improvement. The percentage of women in the workforce is the lowest in India among the BRICS countries, The national record on the population that lives in severe multidimensional poverty is also the worst in the bloc. These are clear pointers to the lost decades for India, when universalisation of education and health care could have pulled deprived sections out of the poverty trap. Policy actions and course corrections needed A central focus on social indicators is necessary for India to break free from its position as an underachiever. The fiscal space now available has been strengthened by steady economic growth. More should be done to eliminate subsidies for the richest quintile — estimated by the UNDP to be $16 billion in 2014 in six consumption areas including gold and aviation fuel. The rise in revenues from all sources should go towards making public education of high standards accessible to all and delivering on the promised higher budgetary outlay for health care. Bolstered by a conscious effort to help traditionally backward regions, such policies will help eliminate the losses produced by inequalities that lower national human development indices. One crucial metric that gets insufficient attention in the measurement of development is the state of democracy, reflected among other things in access to justice. It is relevant to point out that India has not ratified UN conventions on torture, rights of migrant workers and their families, and protection against enforced disappearance. This is a serious lacuna for a country that otherwise has a commitment to democracy and the rule of law. Conclusion: With the growing realisation that development is a multidimensional achievement, the gains of economic reforms must help build capabilities and improve the health of all sections. Sustaining and improving the quality of life will depend on policies crafted to handle major emerging challenges such as urbanisation, the housing deficit, access to power, water, education and health care. Connecting the dots: HDI data show, significant inequalities persist, particularly between States and regions, which act as major barriers to improvement. Discuss the measures initiated by the government especially under the vision of NITI Ayog.   NATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 3 Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc. General Studies 2 Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. A multi-modal logistics approach The beginning India has polished the contours of its ambitious multi-modal programme to reduce logistics costs and make the economy competitive. The strategy involves revamping India’s logistics sector from a “point-to-point” model to a “hub-and-spoke” model. The logistics involve combination of railways, highways, inland waterways and airports to put in place an effective transportation grid. This will entail setting up 35 multi-modal logistics parks at a cost of Rs. 50,000 crore, developing 50 economic corridors and inviting investment from the states and private sector. The parks will act as hubs for freight movement enabling freight aggregation and distribution with modern mechanized warehousing space. To promote and implement it, government plans to host a multi-modal summit—India Integrated Transport and Logistics Summit— to pitch project opportunities to the investors. Benefits of multimodal transport- increase India’s exports, provide employment opportunities, cost effective, and make goods cheaper in the country. Significance of multimodal transport GST is expected to be rolled out from 1st July 2017. This will allow companies to restructure their supply chains once the domestic market is truly integrated. For production structure to improve radically, there is a need to build a new logistics network to allow inputs, components and finished goods to move seamlessly across the country. Reasons to have it Boosting competitiveness- efficient transportation and logistics reduce transport time and costs and also reduce cost of production by minimizing the need for large inventories. This means less capital required for warehouses, insurance etc. Create markets- presence of transport and logistics enterprises can create markets for other goods from the present goods driven logistics network. Regional equal growth- efficient logistics networks can reduce divergence in regional growth. Inter state trade- As per Economic Survey 16-17, inter-state trade flows in India is 54% of GDP. This can be improved through multimodal logistics. Keeping up with demand- the demand for transport grew at around 10% annually in the 1990s and has accelerated since then. Failing to keep pace might hurt all the sectors of society. Challenges in present logistics sectors India’s logistics and transport sector has developed in silos. This has resulted in more complex regulation and administrative procedures. Crucial logistics links have been missed as well as given rise to inefficient modal mix. Till 2008, the mix was 50% of total freight flow via roads, 36% by rail, 7.5% by pipelines, 6% by coastal shipping, 0.2% by inland waterways and 0.01% by airways. The ratios may have shifted somewhat since then but they are unlikely to have changed substantially. It is known that transport by rail and inland waterways is far more cost- and time-efficient than transport by roads, and thus should account for high proportions of the freight flow. However, lack of development of freight corridors and dedicated inland waterways has put the burden on roadways. Trans border logistics movement Recently, the Union Cabinet approved the signing of the Transports Internationaux Routiers or International Road Transports (TIR) Convention. India will be the 71st signatory to this international transit system. The multilateral international transit treaty—Customs Convention on International Transport of Goods—is also referred to as the TIR Convention and functions under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). TIR is designed to facilitate the seamless movement of goods throughout countries in Asia and Europe. India and multimodal projects The Trans-Asian Railway network now comprises 117,500 km of railway lines serving 28 member countries. It aims to serve cultural exchanges and trade within Asia and between Asia and Europe. Indian Railway plans to set up a Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) route which is expected to play in increasing India’s connectivity to its eastern as well as western neighbours TAR includes a 118-km railway tracklaid between (Manipur capital) Imphal and (border towns) Moreh and Tamu (the latter in western Myanmar). It comes against the backdrop of China’s ambitious “One Belt One Road” initiative aimed at connecting countries across Asia, Africa and Europe to boost trade and economic ties on the lines of the traditional maritime route. With TIR Convention, there will be improvement in international connectivity and movement of cargo across the countries in the multi-modal format. Goods can go from Mumbai or Kandla Port to Iran. From Iran they can go via rail or road to Central Asia or Europe. The TIR Convention will also help India move goods along the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC)—an ambitious multi-modal transportation established in 2000 by Iran, Russia and India to promote transportation cooperation. India plans to develop Chabahar port in Iran, which will allow access to landlocked Afghanistan and energy-rich Central Asia through the Jawaharlal Nehru and Kandla ports. In addition, India has built a 218km-road link connecting Delaram with Zaranj in Afghanistan, which is adjacent to Iran’s border. India has also been instrumental in the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway, along with the Bangladesh-Bhutan-India-Nepal Motor Vehicles Agreement. Significance of TIR By joining the convention, the need for inspection of goods at intermediate borders as well as physical escorts en route shall be removed due to reciprocal recognition of Customs controls. Instead, custom clearance can take place at internal Customs locations thereby avoiding clearances at Border Crossing Points and ports and decongesting them. Movement under the TIR can be allowed by checking only the seals and the external conditions of the load compartment or the container thereby reducing border delays, transport and transaction costs thereby leading to increased competitiveness and growth for the trade and transport sectors. Conclusion India has been promoting a multi-modal transport strategy involving railways, highways and waterways. The government’s intent was articulated in budget 2017-18, where stress was given upon the importance of an effective multi-modal transportation system for a competitive economy. An integrated multi-modal approach is necessary for reaping the benefits of GST and Make In India. Connecting the dots: India can fill its vaccum of unemployment by developing a multimodal logistics network. Do you agree? Explain. 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Mar 23, 2017 Daily Prelims CA Quiz

IASbaba Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 143]

IASbaba Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 143] Click here to get all the Tests– Archives Q.1) Consider the following statements about Indian Sign Language (ISL) dictionary It is being developed by the Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC) The dictionary is being developed in both print and video formats ISLRTC is under the aegis of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment Select the correct statements 1 and 2 2 and 3 1 and 3 All of the above Q.2) Consider the following statements about Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) It is a non-profit Public Sector Enterprise under the aegis of Department of Biotechnology (DBT) It is mandated to foster and promote innovation research in biotech industries specially start-ups and SMEs. Select the correct statements Only 1 Only 2 Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 Q.3) Consider the following statements about NBCC (INDIA) LIMITED It is a Maharatna organisation under the Ministry of Urban Development It does not undertake overseas projects Select the correct statements Only 1 Only 2 Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 Q.4) Which of the following statements is/are correct concerning Human Development for Everyone’ report? It is released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) The world’s top three countries in HDI are Norway, Australia and Switzerland Select the correct statements Only 1 Only 2 Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 Q.5) Which of the following statements is/are correct? Majuli is the largest river island in the world The project, SACReD, Majuli has been initiated to combat climate change and ensure reduced greenhouse gas emissions Both (a) and (b) Neither (a) nor (b) Download the Solution- Click here All the best IASbaba

Mar 22, 2017 MindMaps

IASbaba’s MINDMAP : Issue - Energy Sector

IASbaba’s MINDMAP : Issue - Energy Sector Archives P.S- Right Click on the image and open it in new tab. From there you can save it in your system.   Reference - Link

Mar 22, 2017 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 22nd March, 2017

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 22nd March 2017 Archives HEALTH CARE TOPIC: General Studies 2 Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health Development processes and the development industry the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders HIV Bill Introduction HIV is a crucial concern for India and receives highest policy attention. It has seen phase wise attention with NACO as the nodal institution. The new HIV bill has raised interest and concerns simultaneously. Issue: The long-awaited HIV Bill, a crucial public health legislation guaranteeing equal rights to India’s HIV community, was passed by the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. India’s HIV community, however, confessed itself ‘disappointed’ as the Bill places an obligation on the State governments to provide treatment “as far as possible”, making it weak and open to interpretation. “India’s HIV community cannot and will not accept this Bill, if the contentious clause ‘as far as possible’ is not removed. This HIV Bill, instead of protecting and safeguarding our welfare is now protecting the government. The Health Minister’s verbal assurance that no one will be denied treatment is welcoming but this has no constitutional or legal status. The community wants concrete assurance and safeguard of our treatment in the Indian Constitution said a patient-activist with the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC). Concern: There are approximately 21 lakh persons estimated to be living with HIV in India and the percentage of patients receiving anti-retroviral therapy (ART) treatment currently stands at a mere 25.82% as against the global percentage of 41%, according to the 2015 Global Burden of Diseases (GBD). Budget cuts The Bill was approved by the Cabinet in October and was expected to guarantee the rights to treatment but Clause 14(1) of the Bill pertaining to prevention of spread of the virus included a phrase ‘as far as possible.’ The Bill comes at a time when the NATIONAL HIV PROGRAMME has weakened due to budget cuts, with - India currently facing nationwide stock-outs of diagnostic kits and pediatric formulations of anti-retrovirals (ARTs). Conclusion: The government is trying to wash its hands away by giving more responsibility to states and with no clear framework. For a deep rooted concern like HIV which is desiring global action the need is to act at the earliest and with long term goals. A policy framework which looks an eyewash should not be desirable. Connecting the dots: HIV was part of MDGS. India has high incidence of HIV infected patients. Elaborate on the policy actions initiated both at state and central level w.r.t. HIV.   INTERNATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 2 Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India's interests India’s trade: Balancing between two major powers Recently, all founding nations of TPP met barring USA with presence of China. It is evident from the fact that China is trying to step into US’s shoes with the remaining TPP partner developing nations eager to finalise the partnership as they have invested time, resources and political capital—especially on beyond-the-border issues like labour standards, environment rules and intellectual property laws and would like to see them reaping benefits. This will likely see changes in alternative Asia-Pacific trade agreement which is the oldest preferential trade agreement among developing countries in Asia-Pacific. Now there are hopes of a new pact which will be built on the back of Latin America’s four-country Pacific Alliance and South-East Asia’s Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). This shows that USA and China have both crowded India’s geostrategic space. India is now experiencing cramping from both the sides as both seem to dictate separate trade policies which affects India’s economic and trade interests. Picture Credit: http://asiafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/in-asia/2015/09/TPPRCEPChart.png Mongolia will become seventh member soon. Picture credit: https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-6zGQFzL/0/S/i-6zGQFzL-S.jpg India’s global trade prospects India is part of the RCEP trade and investment initiative being negotiated between 16 countries—10 countries from the ASEAN (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Brunei and the Philippines) and six others with which the ASEAN has a free trade agreement (India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand). There are common TPP members too — Australia, Brunei Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam. RCEP provides India the platform to market and establish its strategic and economic presence across the Asia-Pacific. It also provides India an opportunity to bring multilateralism back to centre stage. With TPP out of sight for a while, India has a significant opportunity to spread its outreach to the South East Asian and Pacific countries. The tussle and the result China is keen at assuming the leadership of RCEP and its role is already acknowledged in Asia-Pacific alliance. Thus, it will be important to know the shaping up of new trade and investment agreements, especially who gets to set standards and the nature of standards finalized. On the other hand, TPP which was left to be doomed is expecting a survival chance. However, its insistence on standardized labour, environment and intellectual property right (IPR) regulations and other issues too conflict with notions of sovereignty. With China being a part of both important regional trade partnerships, it is to be known if it will take a similar approach or not while dealing. Though it has endorsed WTO compatible trade agreements, it needs to be known if it will selectively pick rules to suit its own interest. India’s trade relation with:- China India and China share an uneasy geostrategic relationship, especially in trade. The total India-China bilateral trade in 2016 amounted to $70.8 billion, a decline of 2.1%. Also, India’s trade deficit with China mounted to a whopping $46.56 billion in 2016. RCEP is a mega trade deal that aims to cover goods, services, investments, economic and technical co-operation, competition and intellectual property rights. As the domestic industry has apprehensions over a deluge in imports from countries such as China after the duty cut under the agreement, India wants certain deviations for such countries. However, India’s three-tiered tariff proposal for the RCEP has already met with disapproval (India is willing to let go of the three-tier structure for tariff reduction for goods if it gets commitment on foreign direct investment in services from its 15 partners.) and India’s push for inclusion of trade in services faces multiple opposition. USA In recently concluded G20 meeting, US’s intention to pursue protectionism and refusal to commit itself to free trade marks the first step down a dangerous road. US President Donald Trump’s administration has repeatedly emphasized that it prefers bilateral agreements over multilateral compacts. Its 2017 Trade Policy Agenda makes it official: “The overarching purpose of our trade policy…will be to expand trade in a way that is freer and fairer for all Americans…these goals can be best accomplished by focusing on bilateral negotiations rather than multilateral negotiations—and by renegotiating and revising trade agreements when our goals are not being met.” India does not have a free trade agreement with the USA. The negotiations over a bilateral investment treaty between the two countries is stuck. BITs impose obligations under international law on host states to protect foreign investment from the other state. In the IPR norms, India claims its IPR regime is compliant with the WTO’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) while the US insists on a WTO-plus framework. This has prompted the US to unilaterally include India in its “Priority Watch List” under Special 301. The investor-state dispute system where foreign investors can sue sovereign countries in a third country through international arbitration is also a contentious issue. However, India’s home-grown BITs version — called Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA) — has been revised to allow foreign investors to opt for international arbitration only after exhausting all domestic legal options. The draft model agreement is awaiting finalisation. Conclusion India hopes to have an RCEP membership to keep its geostrategic ambitions afloat. Incidentally, it will have to contend with China’s growing dominance and increasing pressures to further reduce tariffs. China has accused India of blocking RCEP pact, but India will have to find its hold and way through the hard negotiations. India’s trade deficit with China is continuously growing and a reversal seems nowhere near. On the other hand, India will have to also contend with US’ insistence on bilateral treaties and a re-examination of all existing trade relations against India’s choice for multilateralism. Ironically, India enjoys a trade surplus with the US—in 2015, it touched $30 billion. Concludingly, there is a need of some dexterous negotiations to manage these two trade partners and contradictions and maintain and grow India’s presence in the intended regions. Connecting the dots: India faces twin challenges from China and USA in terms of trade and economic relations. Examine. 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Mar 22, 2017 Daily Prelims CA Quiz

IASbaba Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 142]

IASbaba Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 142] Click here to get all the Tests– Archives Q.1) Which of the following sea does not have a land boundary? Sargasso Sea Laptev Sea Kara Sea Weddell Sea Q.2) Consider the following statements about Shala Asmita Yojana It is launched by the Ministry of Human Resource Development It is world’s largest student tracking system The scheme will be implemented in all government and private schools from Class 1 to Class 12 Select the correct statements 1 and 2 2 and 3 1 and 3 All of the above Q.3) Logistics Performance Index is released by World Economic Forum World Bank United Nations Development Programme World Trade Organisation Q.4) DRR Dhan 45 also known as IET23832 was in news recently. What is it? Short duration cotton variety WikiLeaks file related to CIA High zinc rice variety Technology for sex identification of meat Q.5) Consider the following statements about Anti-dumping duty The Department of Commerce recommends the anti-dumping duty, while Ministry of Finance levies such duty It is imposed on both exports and imports The use of anti-dumping is not permitted by the WTO Select the correct statements Only 1 1 and 2 1 and 3 All of the above Download the Solution- Click here All the best IASbaba

Mar 21, 2017 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 21st March, 2017

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 21st March 2017 Archives HEALTH CARE TOPIC: General Studies 2 Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health Development processes and the development industry the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders Tuberculosis and India’s fight against Introduction Tuberculosis (TB) has been a deadly disease for India and the world. The number of lives lost for TB and its increasing spread in spite remarkable success on other disease fronts raises concerns. Issue: At the end of 50 years of tuberculosis control activities, the disease remains a major health challenge in India. As per new estimates, the number of new cases every year has risen to 2.8 million and mortality is put at 4,80,000 each year. These figures may go up when the national TB prevalence survey is undertaken in 2017-18. Against this backdrop, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in its National Strategic Plan for Tuberculosis Elimination (2017-2025), has set a highly ambitious goal of “achieving a rapid decline in burden of TB, morbidity and mortality while working towards elimination of TB by 2025.” How did it come about? Though the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) has treated 10 million patients, the rate of decline has been slow. Providing universal access to early diagnosis and treatment and improving case detection were the main goals of the national strategic plan 2012-17. But RNTCP failed on both counts, as the Joint Monitoring Mission report of 2015 pointed out. Going by the current rate of decline, India is far from reaching the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals — reducing the number of deaths by 90% and TB incidence by 80% compared with 2015. Yet, the latest report for TB elimination calls for reducing TB incidence from 217 per 1,00,000 in 2015 to 142 by 2020 and 44 by 2025 and reduce mortality from 32 to 15 by 2020 and 3 per 1,00,000 by 2025. Why does it matter? Radical approaches are needed to come anywhere close to reaching these ambitious targets. Most importantly, the TB control programme plans to do away with the strategy of waiting for patients to walk in to get tested and instead engage in detecting more cases, both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant. The emphasis will be on using highly sensitive diagnostic tests, undertaking universal testing for drug-resistant TB, reaching out to TB patients seeking care from private doctors and targeting people belonging to high-risk populations. The other priority is to provide anti-TB treatment — irrespective of where patients seek care from, public or private — and ensure that they complete the treatment. For the first time, the TB control programme talks of having in place patient-friendly systems to provide treatment and social support. It seeks to make the daily regimen universal; currently, the thrice weekly regimen is followed by RNTCP, and the daily regimen has been introduced only in five States. There will be a rapid scale-up of short-course regimens for drug-resistant TB and drug sensitivity testing-guided treatment. In 2013, India “achieved complete geographical coverage” for MDR-TB (multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis) diagnosis and treatment; 93,000 people with MDR-TB had been diagnosed and put on treatment till 2015. What next? Though Bedaquiline, the drug for people who do not respond to any anti-TB medicine, is provided in six sites in the country, the number of beneficiaries is very small. The report envisages a countrywide scale-up of Bedaquiline and Delamanid. In a marked departure, the report underscores the need to prevent the emergence of TB in susceptible populations. One such segment is those in contact with a recently diagnosed pulmonary TB. Incidentally, active-case finding is already a part of the RNTCP programme but rarely implemented. It wants to increase active case finding to 100% by 2020. Since RNTCP expenditure has increased by 27% since 2012 and is inadequately funded, the Ministry proposes to increase funding to ₹16,500 crore. Acknowledging that the business-as-usual approach will not get the Health Ministry anywhere close to the goals, it has earmarked critical components that will be addressed on priority. These include - sending customised SMSes to improve drug compliance incentivising private doctors to notify cases providing free medicines to patients approaching the private sector, facilitating nutritional support to TB patients, including financial support, rewarding States performing well in controlling TB, using management information systems to monitor all aspects of TB control. Conclusion: “The ultimate impact of this national strategic plan will be transformational improvements in the end TB efforts of India,” the report says. It plans to take a “detect-treat-prevent-build approach” in its war against TB. Connecting the dots: TB is a growing concern in India which can potentially threaten the health chart of India. Critically discuss the new National Strategic plan especially w.r.t. rising prevalence of MDR and XDR TB.   SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TOPIC: General Studies 3 Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life Indigenization of technology and developing new technology. Awareness in the fields of IT Increasing the adaptability of Digital world Digital India is seeing a growth in acceptance with increasing telecom and internet penetration. A Google report published last year, estimated that the Indian digital payments industry would grow to $500 billion by 2020 and would account for 15% of India’s GDP. It also said that more than 50% of the internet users in the country would embrace digital payments by 2020. The demonetisation move by the government has transformed the entire digital payments scenario almost overnight. And the most visible beneficiaries have been mobile wallet companies whose user numbers have soared. But, there was a drop in active wallet users—after the November-December rise—in January by 50%. The base of using different means of digital payments has widened but there is unmistakable drop in digital payments vis-a-vis the time when people had to. With the incoming of cash, people will resort to more convenient use of it rather than using multiple stages to use digital mains. Challenges faced Low penetration of PoS terminals across India is a problem. There are over 14 million retail outlets in India but barely 1.5 million PoS machines (required to swipe credit or debit cards). In their absence, people tend to withdraw cash. The people are still unable to use the smartphones efficiently to make the mobile payments easily. This is because the smartphone penetration is not enough for people to take advantage of its advanced services. The security of data is foremost concern of using digital medium across all the sections of society-rich or poor, urban or rural. The fear of a security breach leading to money being siphoned off is highly prevailing, especially among new users. Random reports of security date breach heighten concerns regarding usage of digital medium. Lack of adaptability by many vendors is a challenge in having more access to digital systems. This is largely because most are yet not aware of such alternate medium and many are lagging behind in understanding and adopting the technology. Way forward Digital India is one of the 10 major thrust areas in Budget 2017-18. Thus there will be a boost to cleaning up the system, have transformational impact, energise private investment through low cost credit and benefit the common man. PoS terminals Indian banks will be introducing one million PoS terminals by end of March 2017. Also, another two million Aadhaar-linked PoS terminals may be commissioned by September 2017. Smartphone penetration Sale of smartphones needs to be increased so as to increase its outreach as a multiple facilitator- bank/computer/library etc. However, it is easier said than done as India is an extremely price-sensitive market. Hence, more focus should be in innovating and creating low cost technology that enables digital transactions with ease. Stringent security The smartphones and other digital medium have various options which protects user data. However, users generally lack reassurance that all these are fully secure. Hence, the digital payment entities have to significantly enhance security features, whereby hacking such systems becomes nearly impossible. This is possible via multiple layers of protection such as stringent encryption, use of biometrics and multiple software levels that drive near-total secure transactions. Easy entry Many new customers are entering the digital world. For them as well as existing users, digital transaction experiment should be made hassle-free. The entry barriers should be minimised, beginning by keeping the charges minimal. There will be Aadhar Pay wherein it will be useful for people who do not have debit and credit cards, and net banking facility. The cash and digital payments are going to have a tough competition for usability. IASbaba’s views The experience of using a digital payment system should also be simple, safe and convenient to use. Today, multiple digital payment options are used by customers- credit cards, debit cards, mobile wallets, UPI etc. and the system should work seamlessly. The government has an important role to play in furthering its vision of ‘Digital India’. There should be a ‘Digital India year’ or ‘Digital India Decade’ dedicated to the vision of digitising common man’s life. There already exist 9 pillars of Digital India which need to be promoted vigorously. Enormous amount of money—over $200 billion centre and states combined— is spent in delivering benefits to the country. If this money is used through digital means, there are positive chances of the social infrastructure becoming more effective and becoming available to all people of India. Digital transformation is a crucial pillar for efforts to transform, energise and clean India. Connecting the dots: What are the challenges faced in increasing digital penetration post demonetisation. What are possible solutions for the same? Enumerate MUST READ Death of a fisherman Hindu   Crimes of apartheid Hindu   Power And Politeness Indian Express   The non-solution Indian Express   What is the fix for India? Livemint   Farm loan waiver is no solution to farmers’ woes Livemint   Health prescription Business Line   Gender diversity builds businesses Business Line  

Mar 21, 2017 MindMaps

IASbaba’s MINDMAP : Issue - Female Labour Force Participation

IASbaba’s MINDMAP : Issue - Female Labour Force Participation Archives P.S- Right Click on the image and open it in new tab. From there you can save it in your system.   Reference - Link