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Daily Prelims CA Quiz

IASbaba Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 139]

IASbaba Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 139] Click here to get all the Tests– Archives Q.1) Madhur Gupta Committee is concerned with Education Policy Women Policy Child Policy None of the above Q.2) Consider the following statements about Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES) The scheme replaces a centrally sponsored scheme – Assistance to States for creating Infrastructure for the Development and growth of Exports (ASIDE) The Central and State Agencies, including Export Promotion Councils, Commodities Boards, SEZ Authorities and Apex Trade Bodies recognised under the EXIM policy of Government of India; are eligible for financial support under this scheme. The Central Government funding will be in the form of grant-in-aid, normally not more than the equity being put in by the implementing agency or 50% of the total equity in the project. Which of the following statements is/are correct? 1 and 2 2 and 3 1 and 3 All of the above Q.3) Consider the following statements about United Nations Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (ESCWA) It is one of the five regional commissions created by the United Nations in order to fulfil the economic and social goals set out in the Charter by promoting cooperation and integration between countries in each region of the world The report titled 'Israeli Practices Toward the Palestinian People and the Question of Apartheid' was released by ESCWA ESCWA report concludes that Israel has established an apartheid regime that systematically institutionalizes racial oppression and domination of the Palestinian people as a whole Select the correct statements 1 and 2 2 and 3 1 and 3 All of the above Q.4) The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee is constituted under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 Q.5) Consider the following statements about Kyrgyzstan It is a land locked country in Central Asia It is bordered by Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan only Select the correct statements Only 1 Only 2 Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 Download the Solution- Click here All the best IASbaba

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The Big Picture - Will Budget 2017 Boost Indian Economy?

Will Budget 2017 boost Indian Economy? Archives TOPIC: General Studies 3 Government Budgeting. Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment. General Studies 2 Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. Union Budget 2017-18 is considered one of the toughest budget in recent years with demonetisation in background, pain of common man and economy in general. The expectation of windfall gains from budget underlined high hopes from union finance minister. But the government was required to balance between fiscal prudence and need to give push to growth. The FM did not have much elbow room to make unrealistic targets due to limited fiscal space. On revenue side, the GST had been announced and so there was no point in increasing indirect taxes. Hence the status quo was maintained. Post demonetisation, there was no chance of being adventurous on direct taxes either. On expenditure side, share of government money going in salaries, pensions, interest on debts rose to 80% from 72% due to addition of railways in union budget. Thus, introducing new schemes had very little space. Under these circumstances, the government played a balancing act. It has increased allocation where effect would be the maximum — impacted sectors due to demonetisation and dealing with increase in aggregate growth which is hurting economy. The economic survey talked about growth between 6.75-7.5%. This range shows the flexibility in economic environment. It should be noted that the economic growth was not encouraging even before demonetisation. The fixed capital formation to GDP ratio was 26.5%. It is the lowest level of investment rate since 2004-05 where it touched the peak of 38%. With this investment rate, fast growth is not possible. Increasing the investment The economy is facing Twin Balance Sheet problem: Banks have huge bad loans Companies have huge debts Unless this is solved, more investment is not possible. This year’s budget as a proportion to GDP shrank, which is currently 12.6% whereas last year it was 13.4%. Out of government expenditure, 14% is capital expenditure which is higher compared to last two years. But capital expenditure as a proportion to GDP has come down to 1.81% from 1.86% earlier. The routes for private sector investment have to be opened. It can’t happen if banks don’t lend. The budget has not done much to solve the twin balance sheet problem. It has just given Rs. 10000 crore to banks to recapitalise. However, the caveat in the speech is that if need is there, government will fund more. World has huge savings which is now looking for profitable deployments. The question is if India can generate confidence that if money is invested in India, high returns will be provided. This calls for standard governance reporting norms etc. and not big bang budget announcements. This will give confidence to people that the project they will invest will give stable returns. Enhancing capacity development Also, Higher allocation to infrastructure investment is needed. Transport infrastructure needs more investment. Concern is that budget has followed route which depends on government execution abilities. If government fails to perform, the investments will be affected. For example, last year, national highways allocation had revised estimate 10,000 crore less than the budget estimate because NHAI did not have the capacity to spend that money. This year the allocation increased to Rs. 64000 crore but EPC model and not PPP model has been adopted. PPP model failed because the growth in the economy was slowed down, the traffic on highway was not as expected and hence the collection was not as expected. Government needs to revive those to augment the inability to spend the money. In railways, the operating ratio is 94.9%. This leaves only 5% for capital investments. Even this year, government gave them Rs. 55000 crore. But it is not able to reap the benefits of higher allocation which is visible from the fact that railways were also enabled to borrow from LIC fund apart from budget. But it didn’t draw a single penny due to its inability to spend capital amount efficiently and without fear of 5Cs- Court, CIC, CVC, CBI and CAG. The difficult implementation Allocating resources is fine, but ministries and departments need to spend them wisely. Thus, real issue is implementation. For instance, DMIC is talked about since last 10 years, yet it is nowhere near complete. There are other big infrastructural projects which haven’t seen light of the day because of environmental clearances, corruption, land acquisition issues, community opposition etc. Earlier, government decided to do these projects through PPP model but PPP was going sick and there were rise in NPAs due to various reasons. Thus government shifted to EPC model. For this also, large number of private contracting companies available need to go to bank and take up the projects. But if they have NPAs, banks will not lend them. This cycle needs to be broken somewhere which has become a big headache. Revive investments In this budget, private sector won’t do much as capacity utilisation is low (70%) and falling further due to demand contraction. The private sector investments will not suddenly take off. This arises the need of public investment but budget doesn’t allocate much here either. Budget gives incentives to promote investment consumption with Tax concession to SMEs having revenues less than Rs 50 crore been given a cut in corporate tax rate to 25%, from 30% earlier. However, if demand is not there, the industry will not be able to survive. So market to generate demand has to be created. The fiscal space was not much there to make drastic changes. Because of fragile environment, indian economy cant afford to have a high fiscal deficit as it might trigger outflow of funds and depreciate economy. Thus, there is a need of something like bad banks to boost private investments. Land availability is a major constraint on developing infrastructure- PPP model or government projects, it needs to address the ever growing need of infrastructure. Agricultural development not attracting private funding in large way. If there is lack of demand, it will be difficult to sustain or increase growth and employment. Most of the employment is in unorganised sector and thus any changes there will affect other extents of economic growth. With regards to black money, not much hope should be hinged on the increase in tax collection in year 2017-18. The tax collection incentives, IDS etc. will show its effect only in 2018-19. Hence, no drastic increase in tax collection is bound to occur. Black money is widely used in election and thus focus should be to eliminate it from such sphere. For this, there has been proposed introduction of electoral bonds which may serve to put a break on black money. Conclusion When one looks at an economy, budget shouldn’t be looked at in silos. Its entire ecosystem has to be looked at. There is a need of conducive environment where investment is convenient, people feel stable and secure. Many parts of budget attempt to be reform oriented- agriculture, education, wealth, hence it is going to take time. The mature economy is the one where the budget announcement doesn’t impact much to the nature of economy. Demonetisation and GST have been big policy decisions that have taken place to impact the economy outside budget decisions. Such approach can be continued for broader change possibilities. The budget is expected to make the economy tread a new as well as cautious path for the year post demonetisation. Key words: EPC model:  EPC is a model of contract between the government and private sector players for public infrastructure building .Under this system the entire project is funded by the government. Under EPC model the contractor is legally responsible to complete the project under some fixed predetermined timeline and may also involve scope for penalty in case of time overrun. In EPC as all the clearances, land acquisition and regulatory norms have to be completed by the government itself and the private players do not have to get itself involved in these time taking procedures. PPP model: In PPP funding and all other necessary clearances were responsibility of private players. With low financial availability, delay in project clearance and slow global economy private players were showing little interest in investment in PPP projects. In PPP delays have caused huge number of stuck projects. The private contractors now want to exit these projects as there has been no progress for a long time this has caused the build up of non-performing assets (NPAs) of banks which are now under stress. In EPC as government is funding, no such issues arises there. The shift to EPC model is definitely a better option since the risk will not be borne by the private player. The risk will be borne by the government, which is better at handling it. Fixed capital formation to GDP ratio: Gross fixed capital formation includes spending on land improvements (fences, ditches, drains, and so on); plant, machinery, and equipment purchases; the construction of roads, railways, private residential dwellings, and commercial and industrial buildings.

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 16th March, 2017

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 16th March 2017 Archives ENVIRONMENT TOPIC: General Studies 3 Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment The inter-related security Water, energy and food are essential for human well-being, poverty reduction and sustainable development. Global projections indicate that demand for freshwater, energy and food will increase significantly over the next decades under the pressure of population growth and mobility, economic development, international trade, urbanisation, diversifying diets, cultural and technological changes, and climate change. The prime concern currently has been- achieving food, water and energy security. By 2050, India is expected to be the world’s most populous country with 1.7 billion people. Also it shall be world’s second largest economy with a GDP of $42 trillion (in PPP terms). This puts the food estimate in 2050 at 333 million tonnes, which can be achieved by increasing annual food production by 30%. In addition to it, more than 880 GW of new power generation capacity would be required by 2040. These gigantic statistics determine the need of a paradigm shift in managing the resources better. The interlinked FEW In many ways, food, energy and water (FEW) are interlinked with complex and dynamic interactions. Any vulnerability in one of these directly translates into vulnerabilities of the others. For instance, agriculture and food production is the largest consumer (about 80%) of freshwater resources in India. Irrigation is primarily dependent on groundwater extraction, which requires electricity. Simultaneously, poor agricultural practices have lead to inefficient use of energy and water. Given that 60% of India’s total power production capacity is thermal power, energy production is water-intensive. In fact, 50% of industrial water used in India is for energy production. There are other major issues as well, such as the increasing water pollution due to industrial effluents or fertiliser run-offs and erratic weather patterns. The problems faced here are carry forward in the food crops being produced which has presence of unhygienic components due to bad water and excess fertilisers. Thus, making decisions without considering the impact of one on the other has limited positive impact. This can be seen in power subsidies in agriculture with overuse of ground water. Now rising water stress has raised doubts over sustenance of agriculture. Thus, managing FEW independently is no longer a wise option and they should be seen collectively in an environment. Holistic approach A holistic approach would reduce negative externalities and trade-offs, build synergies and increase overall resource-use efficiency and improve productivity. ‘Climate smart agriculture’ in several States has demonstrated the possibility of saving water and energy while raising yields in a cost-effective manner. For example, a technique of rice cultivation without flooding the fields, has benefited farmers in Andhra Pradesh, Tripura, West Bengal, among several others, with a higher yield while requiring 30 to 50% less water. The Integrated Watershed Development Programme launched by the Government in 2008 and led by NABARD, played an important role in recharging groundwater as well as achieving crop yield improvement in several States. Revised tariff, metering systems and improving technical efficiency of pumps is the best solution to use them for groundwater pumping. This will result in less dependency of farmers on energy subsidies and sustainable groundwater level. Such examples can boost the cases for integrated approach of having food-water-energy security. Adopting energy and resource-efficient technologies and processes in manufacturing and agriculture could be the best possible areas to begin with. Here, the role of industrial and financial sectors towards such integrated approach is vital in the face of growing competition to access limited resources. Sector-wide adoption of risk assessment tools and reporting structures linked to resource use, such as natural capital accounting, would be essential. Also, there is need for enterprises, investors and lenders to push for greater adoption of such frameworks. Investors and financial institutions can play a catalytic role in promoting the FEW nexus approach for project design and development, and mainstreaming it across the economy. IASbaba’s views The effective management of food, energy and water, three crucial elements in the economy, is necessary for India to achieve its developmental objectives. The Water-Energy-Food Nexus describes the complex and inter-related nature of global resources systems It is about balancing different resource user goals and interests – while maintaining the integrity of ecosystems. Often decisions on how to intervene are made without cross-sectoral coordination, targeting sector-specific optima and, thereby, resulting in risks and uncertainties across sectors and scales. The synergistic approach towards managing FEW as an inter-dependent ecosystem provides this opportunity and would support India’s shift towards a low-carbon economic growth trajectory. Connecting the dots: What do you understand by food-water-energy nexus? Do they provide for new solutions to growing demand for security in each sector? Analyse.   NAXALISM AND INTERNAL SECURITY  TOPIC: General Studies 3 Linkages between development and spread of extremism. Role of external state and non‐state actors in creating challenges to internal security Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, [NP]; basics of cyber security; money laundering and its prevention. Security challenges and their management in border areas; linkages of organized crime with terrorism. Various Security forces and agencies and their mandate Sukma Killings Introduction Internal security is a grave threat for a country like India. Especially with diverse society and regional imbalances along with divisions based on ideologies it is important that India counters the threat effectively. Recent killings of security forces have been disturbing and a part of long running history. Issue: It would be tempting, but dangerous, to see the deadly ambush by Maoists in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district on Saturday as just a desperate act of a fading insurgent group. It must, instead, serve as a wake-up call for the security forces to beef up their standard operating procedures, especially intelligence-gathering capabilities, in the Maoist heartland in central India. Twelve personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force were killed in Sunday’s attack, and four others sustained injuries. A road-opening party of the CRPF’s 219 battalion was ambushed about 450 km from the State capital Raipur. The insurgents used improvised explosive devices, country-made mortars and arrows mounted with explosive heads, and made off with some weapons and radio sets of the force. Home Minister Rajnath Singh told the Lok Sabha that extremist groups were restless because of the “unprecedented success of the forces against them” in 2016, especially in Chhattisgarh where there was a 15% drop in left-wing extremist incidents. However, the precision and scale of the attack are an indication that the Maoists continue to hold formidable sway in Sukma, their long-time stronghold. In 2013 they ambushed a convoy of Congress leaders in Sukma district, killing more than 25 persons, including former Union Minister V.C. Shukla. Long history of ambushes: There have been periodic Maoist attacks in the region. It is estimated that over the last two decades at least 15,000 people have been killed in Maoist-related violence. More than 3,000 of them were security personnel. And while violence is down from its peak in 2009-10, in 2016 official estimates put the toll at 213 civilians, 65 security force personnel and 89 Maoists. The government has over the past decade taken a patchy approach to bringing the so-called “red corridor” under its writ. The only presence of the state consistently visible across the region has been of the security forces, not of the civil administration. Counter-insurgency operations by the security forces have often been undermined by poor intelligence, flagging alertness of the security forces and the absence of a multi-layered political strategy. The Maoists do not survive merely on ideology; They have a well-oiled machinery providing protection to various interest groups in the absence of a robust state responsive to the security and welfare needs of the civilian population. Conclusion: Ultimately, any fight against non-state actors will be effective only when the state puts forward its combined might to exhibit what it can and indeed what it must provide to the people. The solution should be holistic and long term oriented. Connecting the dots: Internal security is a grave threat to the nation as said by a former prime minister. Critical discuss a rational and holistic solution to the issue of maoist and naxal violence in India. MUST READ Crimes of apartheid Hindu   How EVMs work, why many parties have suspected they can be rigged Indian Express   Not Just By Jobs And Mobiles Indian Express   Human Rights rankings: no perfect company Livemint   The road to digital India Livemint   Jallikattu, Neduvasal and fizzy cola Business Line   How to decarbonise our energy systems Business Line  

Daily Prelims CA Quiz

IASbaba Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 138]

IASbaba Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 138] Click here to get all the Tests– Archives Q.1) Consider the following statements Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR) has developed what is reported to be the shortest-duration cotton variety in the world, named ‘Yugank’ One of the main reasons for repeated failure of dryland cotton crop is its long duration The fibre quality will be better for shorter-duration cotton It will be available in both Bt and non-Bt forms Select the correct statements 1, 2 and 3 1, 3 and 4 2, 3 and 4 All of the above Q.2) Trans-Asia Connectivity Conference is organised by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) United Nations Development Programme Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Russian Railways and Turkish State Railways Q.3) Consider the following statements about The Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation) Bill, 2016 The bill amends the Enemy Property Act, 1968 Inheritance law will not be applicable on Enemy Property. The law only applies on heirs of enemy property and the tenants of that property will be governed by the Tenancy Act Select the correct statements 1 and 2 2 and 3 1 and 3 All of the above Q.4) Union Of India & Another vs Raja Mohammed Amir Mohammad Khan is concerned with Muslim petition law Passive euthanasia 9th schedule of the Indian constitution None of the above Q.5) The world’s first fluorescent frog has been discovered in Guatemala Argentina Chile Ecuador Download the Solution- Click here All the best IASbaba

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 15th March, 2017

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 15th March 2017 Archives MOTHER AND CHILD HEALTH TOPIC: General Studies 1 Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues Effects of globalization on Indian society, Social empowerment 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 Institutional deliveries and early childhood care Introduction Mother and child care is critical to any emerging nation as it will determine the future generation. Vital parameters like institutional deliveries and early childhood care should receive due importance. Measures should be planned keeping ground realities in mind and with stakeholder approach. Institutional deliveries are up in India, but breastfeeding within the first hour of birth needs to keep pace Issue: Though institutional delivery being as high as nearly 79% nationally, the number of children in India breastfed within one hour of birth is less than 42% — near 43% in urban areas and 41% in rural India, according to the National Family Health Survey 4 (NFHS-4) data released a few days ago. The Janani Suraksha Yojana — cash incentives to pregnant women to attend antenatal clinics and opt for institutional deliveries — has led to a sharp increase in institutional delivery (from 39% in 2005-06 to 79% in 2015-16) and near doubling of children breastfed within one hour of birth in the last 10 years. Breastfeeding babies soon after birth can prevent a significant number of neonatal deaths — about 20% newborn deaths and 13% under-five deaths, according to C.K. Mishra, Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Improvements all around At 99.9% in both urban and rural areas, Kerala has the highest institutional births in the country. Tamil Nadu is a close second with 99.2% institutional births in urban areas and 98.7% in rural areas. Yet, Kerala and Tamil Nadu do not fare greatly when it comes to initiating breastfeeding within one hour of birth. At 64%, Kerala is well below Goa’s average of 73%. Similarly, Maharashtra with 90% institutional deliveries has 57.5% for early initiation of breastfeeding compared to Tamil Nadu’s nearly 55%. Bihar has shown the most improvement in initiating breastfeeding within one hour of birth — from 4% in 2005-06 to 35% in 2015-16. Though Uttar Pradesh has improved its performance, it is still about half of the national average — 7.2% in 2005-06 to 25% in 2015-16. Other States that have shown good improvement on this front are Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan. Similarly, all States have registered an improvement in the case of exclusive breastfeeding of children under age six months. While Goa has shown a dramatic increase from 17.7% in 2005-06 to nearly 61% in 2015-16, Chhattisgarh has witnessed a drop from 82% to 77%. Barriers to breastfeeding “You need dedicated people who can counsel mothers on the need to breastfeed within one hour of delivery. There are socio-cultural barriers too,” says Dr. Ajay Khera, Deputy Commissioner and Head of Child Health, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. “It is to overcome these that the government launched the MAA — Mother’s Absolute Affection — programme in August last year. Under the programme, there are special efforts to create community awareness and promotion of breastfeeding, capacity building and skilling of healthcare providers at all delivery points in the country.” According to Dr. Sutapa B. Negi from the Indian Institute of Public Health, Delhi, early initiation of breastfeeding becomes difficult in the case of babies delivered through caesarean section, babies born preterm and low-birth-weight (less than 2.5 kg) babies. “Caesarean deliveries account for 10-15% and nearly 20% babies have low birth weight while 15% are born preterm,” says Dr. Khera. According to NFHS-4 data, the national average for babies delivered by caesarean section is 28%, which is more than three times the 2005-06 figure of 8.5%. While percentages may varying from one State to another, there is not much difference in the rate of breastfeeding within one hour of birth among rural and urban population. Except for a few States like Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, rural areas have slightly higher percentage of babies being breastfed within one born of birth than their urban counterparts. Conclusion: Early breast feeding practices, hygiene and many such practices are vital for the mother and child health imperatives of a nation. Policy actions should be supported by due awareness at grass root levels and regular monitoring. Connecting the dots: Mother and child care is crucial for any emerging nation. Critically analyse the policy actions of the government of India especially w.r.t. early childhood care.   NATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 2 Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. General Studies 3 Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth. A zero-defect India- Significance and way forward What is Zero Defect – Zero Effect (ZED) scheme? On 68th Independence Day, PM urged the industry, especially the MSMEs of India, to manufacture goods in the country with "zero defects" and to ensure that the goods have "zero effect" on the environment. International companies competing in global markets focus on their competitive strengths of costs acceptable to the market, technology, innovation, service delivery, lean manufacturing, and defect free products for Zero Defect and Zero Effect (ZED). Similarly, Indian manufacturing industry will also have to focus upon setting up market linkages and create intermediaries to develop the capacity of MSMEs to facilitate their technology, marketability, backward and forward linkages etc. ZED has presented a model where the concept of quality has a holistic change from a tool for compliance to a source of competitiveness. The ZED scheme is an integrated and holistic certification system that will account for quality, productivity, energy efficiency, pollution mitigation, financial status, human resource and technological depth including design and IPR in both products and processes. Strong drivers of ZED manufacturing are- FDI in single and multi-brand retail, interventions in manufacturing sectors like Railways, Defence and e-businesses, emerging strong manufacturing sectors like ESDM and Aerospace etc. Importance of ZED This phrase expresses that Indian growth will cause least damage to the natural environment (zero effect) and the products and services produced in India will conform to the highest quality standards (zero defects). This is intended to be complementary to another policy discourse ‘make in India’. However, the point of debate in recent past has been :- Should making in India be only for domestic consumption or should global integration be an intrinsic part of the strategy for India’s economic development? No matter whatever be the target area, the quality of products and services will play an important role. Quality- all that matters By delivering high quality product, it shows the absorbing capacity of domestic industry for new technology and using advanced skills of production at par with global standards. The domestic industry is prepared to connect with global supply chains. This will also give increasing consumers a good experience considering the expansion of middle class. A sound quality assurance helps absorption of higher technology in manufacturing, adds greater value to products and services and retains high-quality scientific manpower and filters out low-quality imports. Thus, delivery of high quality products adds value to the manufacturing and service industries. What ails quality delivery? If a domestic industry has been formulated and groomed in a protectionist environment over the years, it is bound to turn away from high-quality assurance ecosystem. In such a situation, it will encourage imposition of such system on others but not itself as quality brings high costs with itself which will create disincentives in a price-sensitive market, and stress that the workforce’s low capacities will not allow adoption of a high-quality assurance system. However, these all are self-preservationist arguments. Indian industry can make its mark in the global market by fighting present low competitiveness by pushing high-quality products there. Today, India has technologically superior manpower and capacities which needs to be integrated with global supply chain by adopting high-quality manufacturing and services ecosystem. This will help in expansion of Indian markets. Need of standards and current challenges pertaining to it For quality products of manufacturing and services, set standards are required along with corresponding physical infrastructure. Though in several area, a prescriptive approach has been followed, especially in areas which require human, animal and plant safety and preservation. But such has not yet been enforced in making of goods and services. The reason is strong resistance by the industrial lobby. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the central agency for development of product and service standards. It provides for certification, conformity assessment and even accreditation leading to conflict of interests. There are many other agencies, most of which work in silos, responsible for sectoral standards who notify their standards under the BIS Act. Then there is Quality Council of India which is jointly promoted through industry-government cooperation. However, the most effective one till now has been FSSAI as it deals with human health and thus demands most effective standards as well as their implementation. Recently, even the pharmaceutical quality regulatory system is emerging as a strong institution by countering allegations of counterfeiting going on for several years. Thus, presence of multiple agencies, different ecosystems, varying approaches of industries and degrees of global integration has created an environment of inconsistency and incoherence. This does not reflect well upon India in the context of the global quality ecosystem. What next?- a “National Mission on Quality”. India should institutionalise such a mission and create a “National Standards Coordination Agency”. This will integrate all vertical institutions on the subject at a higher level of control and direction by developing consistent policies on standards development and their adoption, conformity assessment and accreditation. It would run a coordinated programme for infrastructure development in collaboration with the private sector, and remove ad-hocism. It is necessary in an emerging economy that state involves itself in core functions of quality assurance. This mission would enable a legislation for a globally contemporary standards ecosystem for products and services. This will lead to delivery of quality products, less litigations pertaining to standardisation and boost to private investments in this area. Connecting the dots: What is quality and why is it importance? Identify some measures to assess and establish quality level. How is standard different from quality? Examine reasons why Indian goods and services are considered to be low in both? What can be done to improve? Give suitable examples. 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Daily Prelims CA Quiz

IASbaba Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 137]

IASbaba Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 137] Click here to get all the Tests– Archives Q.1) Consider the following statements about Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) It is an international non-governmental organisation, mandated to ensure the practical realisation of human rights in the countries of the Commonwealth It is headquartered in Accra, Ghana Select the correct statements Only 1 Only 2 Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2  Q.2) Consider the following statements about Lake Baikal It is the largest freshwater lake by volume in the world It is an UNESCO World Heritage Site Select the correct statements Only 1 Only 2 Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 Q.3) Which of the following coral reefs is experiencing an unprecedented second straight year of mass coral bleaching? Red Sea Coral Reef – Red Sea Tubbataha Reefs – Cagayancillo, Philippines New Caledonia Barrier Reef – New Caledonia Great Barrier Reef – Australia  Q.4) ‘Mission Fingerling’ is concerned with which of the following ministries? Ministry of External Affairs Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Ministry of Food Processing Industries Ministry of Earth Sciences Q.5) Consider the following statements about Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnership (GloMEEP) project The Global Environment Facility provides the funding for the GloMEEP project along with co-financing from countries and other international partners The United Nations Development Programme is responsible for implementing the GloMEEP project The International Maritime Organization is executing the GloMEEP project through the Project Coordination Unit India is one of the Lead Pilot Countries (LPCs) of the GloMEEP project Select the correct statements 1, 2 and 3 2, 3 and 4 1, 3 and 4 All of the above Download the Solution- Click here All the best IASbaba

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