Feb 2, 2017 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 2nd February, 2017

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 2nd February 2017 Archives ECONOMY  TOPIC: General Studies 3 Government Budgeting. Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment. Annual Budget 2017 Introduction The Constitution refers to the budget as the ‘annual financial statement’. In other words, the term budget has nowhere been used in the Constitution. It is the popular name for the annual financial statement that has been dealt with in Article 112 of the Constitution. For the first time since independence budget has dovetailed the railway budget. Along with this the abolition of the distinction between Plan and Non-Plan expenditure and its early presentation, Union Budget 2017-18 marks another break from tradition. Focus areas of this budget In light of the government’s ban of high-value currency notes that has dampened economic activity, particularly in the informal sector, it was necessary for the government to smoothen the economy with the current budget. The budget has provided a long term framework to prevent regeneration of black money which was the main objective of the demonetization drive. Keeping the welfare intent intact programmes and schemes for the vulnerable sections of society, the Finance Minister has done his best to reduce all problems faced by the people as a result of demonetization. The tax rate for small and medium enterprises with an annual turnover of up to ₹50 crore has been slashed to 25%. This will give a boost to job creation. Corporate sector has not been offered much in terms of lower tax rates. Halving the personal income tax rate from 10% to 5% for those in the lowest tax slab of ₹2.5 lakh to ₹5 lakh not only puts more money in the hands of this segment, but is also a move to bring more people into the formal tax net. Taxpayers other than the above have been given a rebate of ₹12,500 each. Impact: There is a redistributive element in this budget with part of the revenue loss from above relief measures being funded by a 10% surcharge on the income tax of those in the income bracket of ₹50 lakh to ₹1 crore. The government is of the opinion that the demonetization has helped transfer resources from tax-evaders to the government. Also, the income tax collections from advance personal tax have risen by 34% in the first three quarters of 2016-17, after recording single-digit growth in the previous two years. The note ban has created a sense of fear in people who were evading taxes. Additional steps to tighten the hold over this category of people have been taken. These steps include: Bar on cash transactions greater than ₹3 lakh Pushing businesses to make all payments over ₹10,000 in digital format. Rationalising the costs of non-cash payments. Other measures: The government has tried to give a push to the infrastructure sector by categorizing affordable housing under infrastructure. A few changes in the tax treatment have also been incorporated to incentivize builders. In addition to this, interest subventions already announced for low-ticket home loans, could increase construction activity and job-creation. Higher allocation has been done for MGNREGA, irrigation and infrastructure projects. The government has not tried to alter the indirect taxes since it aims to introduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in July. N K Singh Committee which reviewed the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act has recommended deviations from fiscal deficit targets due to various structural reforms in the recent past. The government however has stuck to its fiscal consolidation road map. Not a Populist Budget The government has avoided the tag of populism and taken steps such as the following: A commitment to confiscate assets of big loan defaulters who have fled the country. Clean up the electoral funding by reducing the cash donation limit from any one source to political parties from ₹20,000 to ₹2,000. However, the government has to make sure that there is also a cap on the number of anonymous donors. Railway Budget - Initiatives and reforms It was first since independence that a general budget was presented without a railway budget. The proposals under the rail budget including railway safety are: A dedicated ₹1 lakh crore for five years for a safety fund - Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh. This fund can help in implementing measures suggested by expert panels such as the Kakodkar Committee. Other focus areas proposed under the budget are: Acquisition of advanced signaling for train control Elimination of level crossings for smooth operations Replacement of carriages of old design with the better-engineered carriages. On the commercial side, passenger tariffs are to be calculated taking into account costs, social obligations and competition from other modes of transport. Indian Railways should focus on using higher capacities on identified travel corridors to provide safe, comfortable and affordable travel for all. This can be done relying on a rise in revenues from integrated freight solutions that the Budget has spoken of. Conclusion The budget is said to be low on populism and has received an approval from different stakeholders. It is also said to possess a long term framework for the benefit of the economy with larger reforms like GST. Connecting the dots The budget is a political instrument but with ideological leanings. In light of the budget of 2017 outline the initiatives which are critical for reducing inequality and hence achieving inclusive growth.   NATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 2 Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. The politics behind demonetisation A background Demonetisation was marketed as a move to curb “black money” as well as to combat the proliferation of counterfeit currency tied to criminal and terrorist activities. The short-term liquidity crunch and following disruption to the economy have been profound. The immediate effects have been setback to informal economy which is cash-based and consists of 45% of GDP and 80% of the workforce, problems to farmers who received such a blow during rabi sowing season, slowdown in construction and allied industries saw migrant labourers returning to villages and the most hard hit were the rural poor who did not have access to cash due to the low penetration of bank accounts and ATM machines outside of urban centers. This led to even IMF downgrading its growth forecast for India’s GDP during the current fiscal by 1%. Economists have come out with various analytical views and possible impact on India’s economy due to demonetisation. Their views have been divided, particularly on the question of whether a one-time penalty on undeclared cash hoardings is likely to curb the future flow and accumulation of black money. According to some, demonetisation will permanently change the psyche of the tax evader, while other believe that more sophisticated ways (gold and foreign bank accounts) will be generated for tax evasion and black money hoarding. No doubt these issues will be resolved in an extended course of time. However, it is equally important to know what might have propelled the government to take such a drastic step. Political motives The decision to scrap 86% of currency in circulation cannot be baseless or an arbitrary move. The government has been criticised for poor implementation of demonetisation which has impacted lives of many, especially poor. However, what is worth noticing is that apart from occasional hitting out at demonetisation, the move has been largely welcomed. This interests the one as to why would an elected government carry out such a disruptive policy, one with visible short-term costs to the public and highly uncertain long-term benefits? Credit hungry Research on clientelism on poor democracies have noted that politicians are not easily able to give credible policy commitment to voters. This is majorly due to weak institutions of the state. They cause a breakdown between the enactment of public policy and its implementation. This erodes the voters’ confidence for a strong policy action. This leads to voters not able to assign credit (or blame) for the success (or failure) of a policy. Hence, politicians have little incentive to establish policy platforms on which to compete. This is the reason why broadly beneficial programmes such as education and health, which critically depend on the implementation capacity of local agencies, are likely to be underprovided. However, this does not mean that public goods are not provided in such democracies. It has been observed that in such settings of no concrete policy action, politicians deliver public goods based on their visibility. They enact those features of policy on which the voters can ascribe credit or blame for. For example, in Africa where there are many poor democracies, the government expands primary schooling by abolishing school fees, for which they can claim credit. Though the poor implementation and quality of education services largely known, the politicians seek to reap reward by expanding access to primary schooling even when system fails to deliver quality education. State still rules The post demonetisation shocks were visible in long queues outside ATMs and banks. These lines across the countries were served to reinforce the image of Leviathan’s presence. The display of government’s seriousness about corruption was hit on target. In addition to it, the media branding of demonetisation an anti-corruption measure further suggests that visibility was an important consideration to the government. It is not important if the policy achieve its economic aims or not, especially in the long run but what is achieved is that the voters have been convinced of government’s earnest efforts to fight corruption. State action, however punitive to the public, is a sign of political effort. There are chances the government wins over its voters despite the hardships caused by them because they know that if public institutions don’t function well, how is the government to be blamed for it. Thus, the govenremnt may take full credit for trying to curb black money. Some hypotheses While the economic rationale of the move is being contemplated upon, there can be other political motives too which must have led to such a policy decision First, the ruling party needs to win assembly elections in UP. The data collected by the Association of Democratic Reforms makes it clear that compared to the BJP (65%), the election funding of SP (83%) and BSP (100%) depends much more on unaccounted money. Hence this move was aimed at hurting adversaries disproportionately. Second, the PM needed a fillip to his image as his flagships programmes like Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Digital India and Smart cities weren’t helping in winning elections. And the ‘Acche Din’ were still eluding the common man. Targeting black money which was promised in 2014 could provide some material in campaigning. Third, now BJP is trying to be less dependent on RSS which remains obsessed with old ideas of Hindu revival. The turning point was cow protection campaign, which PM vehemently criticised but RSS did not. Thus, it was a time to move beyond certain beliefs as religion and culture fuel the organisational energy, not the economic policy. However, none of these hypotheses have been proved. Though it is sure that demonetisation was an economic move which was politically driven. Conclusion The demonetisation policy has its first casualty in form of diminished faith in RBI where its independence has been put into question. Frequent rules and guidelines for deposit and withdrawal of money fuelled uncertainty. The criticism by former RBI governors and current employees and evident logistical ill-preparation indicates serious reputational damage. If the private investors lower their estimates of RBI credibility, India may lose access to capital, which it needs desperately to grow the economy. Hence, RBI needs to assure its independent existence. The tax collection department will now have an increased role to play in collecting the taxes by unearthing the tax evaders and black money launderers. Recently released data showed that only 1% of Indians paid income taxes in 2013. This pattern has resulted into India’s tax to GDP ratio being 16.6% which is much lower than 21% average for emerging economies and 34% for OECD countries. Hence, the state has to increase its ability to catch and punish tax evasion. This is possible only with reforms in tax agencies and bringing in professionalism to the operational and managerial faces. Thus, demonetisation may be a primarily or only political move but it should not damage the Indian economy because of its weak institutional capacities. Connecting the dots: In your opinion, is demonetisation an economic or a political move? Critically evaluate MUST READ Since most of the articles covered in newspapers today are on Union budget 2017, it is advised to read any one paper comprehensively.

Feb 2, 2017 PIB

IASbaba Press Information Bureau (PIB)- 6th Dec to 12th Dec, 2016

Iasbaba Press Information Bureau (PIB) – 6th Dec to 12th Dec 2016 ARCHIVES GS-2 President calls for Electoral Reforms (Topic: Governance) Points raised by President Need to avoid disruption of Parliamentary proceedings. Three Ds are essential in a parliamentary system of democracy i.e. Debate, Dissension and Decision the fourth D i.e. Disruption is totally unacceptable. Holding of frequent elections is a strain on both administrative and financial resources. Administrative and development work is adversely affected during elections since no new development projects can be taken up. During state elections, work related to Government of India in that state should not be affected. The Election Commission, State and Central Governments and political parties should sit together and discuss this issue. The period of elections tends to get very long as it is spread over phases. Having larger number of Lok Sabha seats for which a Constitutional amendment could be considered. Reservation of seats for women in Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies. Summit of ‘laureates and leaders’ for children (Topic: Social justice) About- The Summit being organized by the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation will deliberate on the way forward in building a strong moral platform for protecting children from violence, and ensuring a world where children are free to be just children. Aim- to channelize in support of Nobel laureates, world leaders, thinkers, representatives of United Nations Agencies, award winning child/youth leaders and eminent persons from academia, business, cinema, sports and civil society to end violation against children.  Outcomes of the summit Assertion and commitment to the moral imperative to end violence against children and ensure access to a child friendly world. Laureates and Leaders brainstorm and commit to action in their respective fields to accelerate progress and achieve breakthroughs to benefit children, by signing a Declaration. Launching of the “100 million for 100 million” campaign, which aims to mobilise 100 million youth and children for 100 million underprivileged children across the world, to end child labour, child slavery, violence against children and promote the right of every child to be safe, free, and educated, over the next 5 years.   Global Education Monitoring Report, 2016, UNESCO  (Topic: HRD) About- Global Education Monitoring Report, 2016, UNESCO has claimed that India will be half a century late in achieving its universal education goals. Observations of report It has not involved the Ministry of Human Resource Development in this exercise. The report states that India will achieve universal primary education by 2050, Universal lower secondary education (Grades VI - VIII in case of India) by 2060 and Universal upper secondary education (Grades IX-XII in case of India) by 2085. Near universal access has been achieved at the elementary level of schooling and 97% and 96.6% habitations have been covered with primary and upper primary schools respectively. Overall there has been substantial growth in enrolment in secondary education (Grade IX-X) in the country. Total enrolment for Grades IX and X has increased from 30.7 million in 2009-10 to 38.3 million students in the academic year 2014-15.   GS-3 Winter Fog Experiment (WIFEX 2016-17) (Topic: Environmental pollution) Objectives of WIFEX 2016-17 To achieve better understanding of fog life cycle and ultimately improve capability in fog prediction. To develop better now-casting (next 6 hours) and forecasting of winter fog on various time and spatial scales. Help to reduce adverse impact on aviation, transportation and economy, and loss of human life due to accidents. Major in-situ sensors are deployed to measure--- Surface micro meteorological conditions Radiation balance Turbulence Thermo-dynamical structure of the surface layer Fog droplet and aerosol microphysics Aerosol optical properties Real time sky images, and aerosol and fog water chemistry to describe the complete environmental conditions in which fog develops. What is fog? Fog consists of visible cloud water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud and is heavily influenced by nearby bodies of water, topography, and wind conditions. In turn, fog has affected many human activities, such as shipping, travel, and warfare. What are the effects of fog? The presence of heavy and extended period fog in the northern regions of India is one of the major weather hazards Impacting aviation, road transportation, economy and public life in the world’s most densely populated region. Maximum fog occurrence over the Northwest India is about 48 days (visibility < 1000m) per year. Occurs mostly during the December-February time period. All India annual morning poor visibility days (PVD <4 km) has increased from 6.7 to 27.3 % days. During the past 10-15 years have prompted significant socio-economic concern due to increase in frequency, persistence and intensity of fog occurrence over the northern parts of the country. Land use changes and increasing pollution in the region are responsible for growing Fog occurrence. Why fog prediction is difficult? The physical and chemical characteristics of fog, meteorological factors responsible for its genesis, sustenance, intensity and dissipation are poorly understood. Similarly, meteorological conditions like humidity, wind and synoptic conditions are also not well studied. Improved understanding on above aspects is required to develop reliable forecasting models and observational techniques for accurate prediction of Fog events.   Notification on Eco-Sensitive Zone in Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai  (Topic: Biodiversity and Environment) Environment Ministry issues final notification on Eco-Sensitive Zone in Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai. About notification The Eco-Sensitive Zone has a minimum extent of 100 metres and maximum extent of up to 4 km from the Park boundary. The objective of notifying Eco-Sensitive Zones is to create a buffer as further protection around Protected Areas (PAs) such as National Parks and Wildlife sanctuaries. The Notification also provides that in areas around Housing Societies and with high human habitation, and in view of the fact that the National Park has a large population of leopards, a high wall with fencing may be erected to ensure that man-animal conflict is avoided. About Sanjay Gandhi National Park  Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), previously called Borivali National Park Sanjay Gandhi National Park is spread over three districts – Palgar, Thane and Mumbai Suburb. Home to a number of endangered species of flora and fauna and harbours approximately 800 species of flowering plants, 45 species of mammals, 43 species of reptiles, 38 species of snakes, 12 species of amphibians, 300 species of birds, 150 species of butterflies. Notable amongst them are large mammalian species such as leopard, wild boar, four-horned antelope, black-naped hare, wild cat, jackal and porcupine and many bird species such as Lesser grebe, Purple Heron, Smaller Egret, Lesser Whistling Teal, Pariah Kite. Many reptiles, including snakes as Indian Cobra and Viper are also found in the National Park.   India and Israel to step-up Science and Technology Cooperation (Topic: Science and Technology) About- India and Israel agreed to give boost to the bilateral cooperation in science and technology under the aegis of the S&T Agreement concluded between India and Israel in 1993. Next year (2017) will mark 25 years of diplomatic relationship between the two countries. India-Israel research projects in various fields-- Agricultural and Medical Biotechnology Human Genomics Advanced Materials & Nanotechnology Imaging Sensor & Robotics Solar Energy Communication & Information Technology Lasers & Electro-optics. recognition of the importance of promoting women in science Dr. B.R Ambedkar’s birth day to be celebrated as Water Day (Topic: Water resources) About- Considering the contribution of Dr. B R Ambedkar in water resources management of the country, Ministry of Water Resources has announced that his birth day 14th April will be celebrated as “Water Day”. Contributions of Dr. B.R Ambedkar in water management During his tenure as Member (Labour) of the Viceroy’s Executive Council (1942-1946), Dr. Ambedkar steered formation of a definite All-India Policy for the development of water resources in the country. He laid foundation of Central Waterways, Irrigation and Navigation Commission (CWINC) which was forerunner of the present day Central Water Commission (CWC). Ambedkar advocated the concept of River Valley Authority or corporation for integrated development of the rivers. He introduced the concept of multi-purpose development of river basin in the country and his efforts in this direction have culminated with multipurpose development of Damodar, Mahanadi and other rivers immediately after independence. He was instrumental in inclusion of Entry 56 of List 1 and introduction of article 262 regarding the adjudication of disputes related to waters of inter-state rivers or river valleys. National Civil Aviation policy 2016 (Topic: Infrastructure) Vision To create an eco-system to make flying affordable for the masses To enable 30 crore domestic ticketing by 2022 and 50 crore by 2027, and international ticketing to increase to 20 crore by 2027. Cargo volumes should increase to 10 million tonnes by 2027. Salient Features 5/20 rule scrapped--- Now, the airlines can fly overseas if they have a fleet size of 20 aircrafts or 20% of the total seat capacity in term of average number of seats on all departures put together, whichever is higher for domestic operations. (5/20 rule--local airlines having a fleet of minimum 20 aircrafts with at least five years of operational experience are allowed to fly overseas ) Regional connectivity scheme (RCS) The scheme seeks to connect unconnected towns with the help of Viability gap funding (VGF). The central government will fund 80% of the losses incurred by the airlines by flying on regional routes. The rest of the loss will be covered by the states. “Pehchan”, an initiative to register and provide Identity Cards to Handicrafts Artisans (Topic: Textile) About- The Government implements a scheme named Direct benefits to Artisans under National Handicraft Development Programme [NHDP] for providing financial assistance as per norms for supply of tools, safety equipments. Provisions--- All the Handicrafts Artisans including minority, Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe and BPL artisans are eligible to get benefits under this scheme. “Pehchan”,an initiative to register and provide Identity Cards to Handicrafts Artisans under a national database. Under the scheme, “Guru Shishya Parampara”, only those artisans who are Padmashree/Shilpguru/National Awardee/State Awardee and other talented Craftsperson who have dedicated their career for upgrading a particular craft of their region are eligible for imparting such training program to artisans. Organic farming on the Banks of Ganga River (Topic: Agriculture) About- to promote organic clusters on the banks of Ganga in 5 Ganga basin States namely Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.  It is proposed to cover 136 gram panchayats/villages under the programme. Provisions Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) programme components will be converged with Namami Ganga programme to implement the organic cluster in these Ganga basin States. Quality control:  soil sample analysis, process documentation, inspection of fields of cluster members, residue analysis, PGS certification charges Conversion practices: transition from current practices to organic farming, which includes procurement of organic inputs, organic seeds and traditional organic input production units and biological nitrogen harvest planting etc. Integrated manure management: Procurement of Liquid Bio fertilizer, Neem cake, Phosphate Rich Organic Manure and Vermicompost. Custom hiring: to hire agricultural implements as per Sub Mission of Agricultural Mechanisation (SMAM) guidelines. Labeling and Packaging Assistance. Transport assistance and marketing through organic fairs National Rail Plan, 2030 (Topic: Infrastructure Development) About- NRP-2030 will endeavour to harmonise and integrate the rail network with other modes of transport and create synergy for achieving seamless multi-modal transportation network across the country. Indian Railways The Indian Railway Network is a key component of the Country’s Transport System. Transporting goods and passengers on a massive scale, the Indian Railways plays a critical role in India’s economic as well as social fabric. Pragmatic development of Indian Railway Network as part of the country’s overall multi-modal transport system is therefore, very important. The network plan shall take into account connectivity to backward region, Congestion in the existing network and futuristic development of Industrial corridors. National Rail Plan 2030 has been envisaged which not only take shall care of existing corridors but also the identification and development of new corridors & connections.   Finance Management System (PFMS) for the monitoring of the Central Government Schemes (Topic: Finance) About- The government has decided to universalise the use of Public Financial Management System (PFMS) for all transactions or payments under the Central Sector Schemes, as it looks to facilitate just-in-time releases and monitor the usage of funds including information on its ultimate utilization. Objectives - Just-In-Time release of funds; and Complete monitoring of usage of funds upto the end beneficiaries including information on end use of funds. MDG on Health Sector (Topic: Health and Family Welfare) About--- Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 4, 5 and 6 pertain to health sector.  Progress on MDGs 4, 5 and 6 MDG - 4:  Reduce Child mortality The target is to reduce the Under Five Mortality Rate (U5MR) among children by two-third between 1990 and 2015. India achieved a goal of reducing U5MR from 126 per 1000 live births in 1990 to 42 in 2015. India has achieved U5MR of 45 per 1000 live births during 2014 MDG-5:  Improve Maternal Health The target is to reduce Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) by three quarters between 1990 and 2015. India has achieved MMR of 167 per 1,00,000 live births during 2011-13 MDG-6:  Combat HIV / AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases The target is to halt by 2015 and begin to reverse the spread of HIV / AIDS and the incidence of malaria and other major diseases. Malaria Incidence has reduced by about 56% The Global Tuberculosis Report, 2015 published by the World Health Organisation mentions India having attained the Millennium Development Goal regarding Tuberculosis. AIDS related deaths have declined to 54% from 2007-2015.  

Feb 2, 2017 MindMaps

IASbaba’s MINDMAP : Issue - Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)

IASbaba’s MINDMAP : Issue - Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) 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

Feb 2, 2017 Daily Prelims CA Quiz

IASbaba Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 112]

IASbaba Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 112] Click here to get all the Tests– Q.1) Consider the following statements about H-1B visa It allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations It is a non-immigrant visa Which of the following statements is/are correct? Only 1 Only 2 Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 Q.2) Consider the following statements about Nuclear Icebreakers It is a nuclear-powered ship purpose-built for use in waters covered with ice The only country constructing nuclear-powered icebreakers is Russia Which of the following statements is/are correct? Only 1 Only 2 Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 Q.3) ‘Gyan Sangam’ is concerned with Water Sharing Banks Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Observer Research Foundation Q.4) ADIP Scheme comes under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Health and Family Welfare Human Resource Development None of the above Q.5) The Supreme Court appointed a four-member Committee of Administrators to implement the Justice Lodha Committee recommendations. The Committee is headed by Ramachandra Guha Diana Edulji Vikram Limaye Vinod Rai Download the Solution- Click here All the best IASbaba

Feb 2, 2017 AIR

All India Radio - Railway Safety Measures

Railway Safety Measures ARCHIVES Search 21st November here http://www.newsonair.com/Main_Audio_Bulletins_Search.aspx TOPIC: General Studies 3 Infrastructure- Railways The Pukhrayan train derailment (Near Kanpur) has resulted into loss of around 140 lives. As a usual course of action, the inquiry committee has been set up which will look into the causes of accident. The preliminary inquiry has indicated towards rail fracture or emergency brakes applied prematurely or failure of rolling stock. When such an incident of severe magnitude occurs after 7 years, it demands peeping into what is ailing the railways which still causes human deaths. Increased load on railways Traffic load on the tracks have been growing with new trains being introduced each year and the goods trains also being put on the same track. With such increased load, the necessary track renewal actions are not taking place correspondingly. Many committee reports have been submitted to government to increase rail infrastructure. Expert committee reports have gone into subject of safety, especially Kakodkar Committee and they have recommended huge investments for safety of railways which have actually not happened. Kakodkar Committee recommended almost Rs. One lakh crore investment for overhaul safety of the railways. Sam Pitroda report also recommended 8 lakh core modernisation roadmap for Indian railways to be carried out in ‘mission mode’. Main recommendations of all these reports include: Level Crossing elimination or constructing RUBs and ROBs. The largest cause of railway accidents is at the level crossings. Kakodkar committee recommended that there should be railway underbridges and overbridges which facilitate accident free infrastructure. Elimination of level crossings will reduce railway accidents to a great extent. However, this process is long and will take huge time to complete such infrastructure all over India. Till that is in place, attempts are made to man the level crossings. Dealing with human failure The railway staff has to be adequately trained to perform all the skilful and complex functions of railways The operational staff like locomotive drivers, track gangman etc. should be given specific work hours so that fatigue doesn’t lead to inefficiency. It had come to notice that locomotives engine bogey did not even have a toilet! Increased spending on infrastructure As per Kakodkar Committee, the funds should be allotted by the government to renew the rolling stock and the tracks. Replacing ICF coaches with LHB coaches as the LHB coaches have much better safety records as the coaches don’t mount on each other in an event of an accident and neither derail. These are present in the premium trains like Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto and should be soon extended to other trains. There are 1000 LHB tracks and 1000 rake production capacity in country, but it will take around 30-40 years to phase out the ICF coaches. Problem of railway safety Inadequate training of manpower There may be defects in material which may go undetected and under stress they can cause problem Maintenance of assets, rolling stock, tracks and various other equipment. How to reduce accidents? There has been distinct improvement in reduced number of accidents, derailments and casualties as well in Indian Railways. Yet, it required more targeted and dedicated approach and funding to cater to its basic needs. There should be now efforts to reduce the accidents from 3 angles: Massive investments- increasing the capacity conversion from ICF to LHB coaches Improve maintenance- This requires consistent supply of Depreciation Reserve Fund. The tendency has been whenever the railway financial position deteriorates, the DRF is axed to some extent. This is a very short sighted policy. It is so because the moment DRF allocation is cut down, there is creation of problem of arrears of maintenance which is very dangerous. There have been serious arrears of track maintenance for which 17000 crore were released by government to specifically clear the arrears. Training of staff- Among the government departments, the railway training programme is probably considered the best. It is done regularly with refresher courses and hence keeps the staff abreast with latest knowledge. Yet, accidents take place. This means that often the failure takes place with the operating staff- the drivers who have to work for long hours and that can cause lack of efficiency. What can be done? Detecting equipment failure- If there is rail fracture, it should be immediately be sensed. If the sensing is done, the train can be controlled in advance. Even if there are problems in coaches, there are sensing equipment that are available which can detect any discrepancy. Signal and breaking system- automatic train control systems are there. It ensures that if signal is at red, and even if driver is not able to control the train, the brakes apply automatically. So these are technology inputs that are required to avoid accidents under these circumstances. Paucity of funds? The issue is if funds for the above safety steps are available or not. The government has said that Rs. 8.35 lakh crore will be invested in railways. However, in last 10 years, it has been seen that railways have not been given enough investment of the funds. Rather railway tracks have been over exploited by running more number of trains, more goods trains. In 2004-05, the railway minister brought the policy change allowing additional 40 tons per wagon goods of carriage. This added weight on tracks and there was no investment in the track renewals. Even in current times, the focus appears on the laying of the new rail lines in place of replacing the old railway lines which may have exhausted their capacities. Thus, funds are not utilised at right places which is hampering railway growth. One of the recommendation was to defer the dividend payments to the central government so that the funds available could be utilised for the safety works. On that front, the parliament approved policy moved by railway minister. Now railway will not have to pay dividend as it had to pay earlier and instead use it for railway development. Addressing elephant in the room There is an apparent hesitation on part of government to take tough measures on increasing passenger fares that are highly cross subsidized. So railways is always under financial crunch as there are no funds available for investment. It has to borrow from LIC and other financial institutions to maintain its operational and investment expenses. The fare prices decision is a political one and lacks political will. The argument given is that fares cannot be raised because poor people travel. But these poor people are travelling by buses which is 4 times the fare. Hence, there is no logic on providing subsidies on railway fares. When prices of everything has gone up, the railways shouldn’t hesitate to raise passenger fares.  Earlier it gave subsidies on diesel, kerosene and petrol and then it was removed in a phased manner. The point is once the government takes a decision, it is not necessary to do the thing in one year. But initiation must be taken. The passenger fares of second class and suburban classes can be increased by 5% every year or 6 months. This will increase the revenue slowly and people will find suitable options for their travel plans. The demonetisation policy decision did create problems but that’s atleast is a long term solution for the intended causes of removing black money or inducing digital mode of transaction. Similarly, if there is a crisis on railways, there has to be a way out. This cannot be delayed even if they are going to be unpopular decisions. The government has to balance conflicting aims of job creation, skilling existing resources, and automation. Key words: Depreciation Reserve Fund DFR is one of the five key funds maintained by the Railway Board and is channelled to meet expenditure for upkeep and replacement of crucial assets including railway tracks. This fund, used to maintain assets such as tracks, bridges, wheels, coaches, wagons, has generally been tinkered with to show a good operating ratio or profitability. (The operating ratio represents the amount of money spent to earn every Rs 100 and acts as a yardstick of financial prudence.) Appropriation to this fund is met from revenues by charging it to the working expenses of the railways. Hence, Depreciation reserve fund is required to be funded totally under all circumstances. The policy decision taken in recent past is that DRF will not be cut. It means that maintenance requirements are fully met. But the reality is not similar to what is decided. Connecting the dots: The Indian Railways are in dire need of modernisation as well as safety. But both together is not a fiscally feasible option. In such a case, what can be done to improve health of railways as well as increase its modernity?  

Feb 1, 2017 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 1st February, 2017

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 1st February 2017 Archives GOVERNANCE / WELFARE  TOPIC: General Studies 2 Important International institutions, agencies and fora, their structure, mandate. General Studies 4 Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics in human actions Child Suffering in Conflict Zone Introduction Newspapers all over the world in the last couple of years have been featuring heart wrenching pictures of children who have been victims of the brutalities of war zones and crisis plagued areas of the world. Media reporting of Syria crisis, refugee crisis in the Mediterranean region have consisted of images of dead, injured and distressed children. This has probably been the worst year for children casualties and sufferings since the World War 2. The Spread of the Problem It is however beyond imagination what these children go through in reality. The pictures can never state the actual level of suffering. They cannot capture the magnitude of actual suffering. Approximately 240 million children are living in countries such as Syria, Yemen and Iraq which are highly critical conflict zones and constantly under the impact of violence. The children are also subject to horrible treatment in terror struck and poverty struck African nations. The kidnapping of female children by Boko Haram in Nigeria is a case in point. Children in Somalia, South Sudan and Afghanistan face similar fate due to the presence of Taliban and its affiliate organisations. Other than violence, sexual assault, kidnappings a huge number of children also have to deal with problems and challenges with respect to livelihood security and internal displacement. Due to constant crisis children remain undernourished and out of school. Schools and hospitals are bombed during attacks by rebel groups and counter attacks by the government. This leads to reduced access to education and health facilities. Global Response Strategy Political and Institutional Strategy The United Nations and other humanitarian institutions such as UNICEF along with nations such as Sweden are making best efforts in alleviation of child suffering. Political solutions to crisis in nations such as Syria and the refugee crisis in Europe is the most important and reliable solution to this constant pain that children have to go through. There is also a need to strengthen the current humanitarian system’s capacity to reach the children at greatest risk. Improved coordination between governments and relief organizations is essential for efficient and effective relief activities. They also need to ensure that development and relief initiatives are in sync with each other Reformation and Innovation The institutions formed in the post World War 2 era worked on the principles of cooperation, dialogue and results. In these testing times of conflict and disaster, these institutions need to reform their way of functioning. The reformed approach has to be based on creativity and solidarity. Highly innovative solutions need to be introduced to fight emerging challenges. Children in extremist controlled areas which are cut off from the community need to be reached out to in the least time. Drones could be used to airdrop food and medical supplies. Mobile applications for monitoring the needs of children and tracking supplies could be highly instrumental. Funding Funding methods need to be innovative and long term. Also the funding has to be reliable and consistent. It cannot be reduced on the excuse of austerity. Core funding should be promoted as it allows the UN and non-governmental organizations to act in a more flexible manner in case of emergencies and plan more strategically. This promotes quick relief. Sweden has recently doubled its contribution to the UN core fund for better results. Conclusion The challenge of this problem is at its toughest and only going upwards. New challenges need to be tackled with new methods. The world needs to come together and towards a new development agenda which makes relief and humanitarian assistance an integral part of policy making.  Governments, NGOs, citizens need to be inspired to work together and in a reformed manner. Special care should be taken of aid and relief providing teams. Connecting the dots The recent years have seen a number of conflicts, crisis and war zones emerging especially in West Asia and Europe. Highlight the ethical role and responsibility of various stakeholders which is essential to safeguard vulnerable sections of the society. Child population in conflict zones is one of the most vulnerable sections of the society. Highlight the problems faced by them and a suitable strategy to protect children and ensure their safety and rehabilitation.   URBANISATION   TOPIC: General Studies 1 Urbanization, their problems and their remedies General Studies 3 Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment Land use and climate change Introduction Land use and land use changes can significantly contribute to overall climate change. Vegetation and soils typically act as a carbon sink as they store carbon dioxide absorbed during photosynthesis, loss of them disturbs the land. In such a case, the stored carbon dioxide—along with methane and nitrous oxide—is emitted, re-entering the atmosphere. These GHGs further contribute to global warming. There are two types of land use change- direct anthropogenic (human-caused) changes such as deforestation, reforestation, agriculture, and urbanization and indirect changes include changes in precipitation, extreme weather evets or increased carbon dioxide concentrations that force changes in vegetation. These land use changes trigger climatic changes which may be harmful for the global health. However, among these, urbanisation today holds the greatest challenge by drastically changing the land use patterns. Since beginning Interaction between people and land is as old as human evolution. The relation of people and land changed in a major way when early hunter-gatherers started to settle down in the Neolithic transition and practiced agriculture. In Holocene (present epoch), which is approx. 11500 years ago, many plants were domesticated for agriculture. When agriculture was introduced, it also spearheaded many associated social and technological changes which led to dense human settlements, paving way for formation of early cities. Land use change, often to expand agriculture, causes direct habitat loss, but also has other effects such as fragmentation of remaining habitat and increased agrochemical inputs into surrounding natural (or semi-natural) habitats. Even today it is evident that the human interventions have transformed land, water and local ecologies. However, the human use of these ecologies have deeply affected the availability of resources. It has become clear in last 50 years that such has been the impact of human use of the earth and its resources that a geological transformation to the Anthropocene has already begun. The Anthropocene is a proposed epoch dating from the commencement of significant human impact on the Earth's geology and ecosystems Drastic changes in land use Humans have used land in several ways. For example Forest areas are being cleared and replaced with oil palm plantations and agricultural fields are being cleared to set up industries. Thus, land use pattern has seen critical changes, especially due to growing population and distinct lifestyle. Another example of land use change is of expanding cities all over the world including India. The cities are today growing well beyond their formal limits. Urbanisation has transformed land use from agriculture and forests into industry, residential and commercial buildings and associated infrastructure, and horticulture. Urbanising areas grow and expand in different ways which includes some parts of the cities as planned whereas many portions are unplanned infrastructure, homes, slums and industries, waterbodies and marshlands. The peri-urban areas (outside city limits but not quite part of the rural hinterland) host the new development of industrial zones, sites from where groundwater is being pumped and transported to city, dumping of urban waste and growing high value crops for nearby urban centres. These land use changes are alarming for climate change because of their non-permanent nature, thereby proliferating and replacing changes at a rapid pace. For example, cars are replaced every decade or so due to new breakthrough technologies, phone technology is increasing leaps and bounds encouraging people to change phones in 2-3 years. This has led to growing e-waste dumping problems, especially in developing countries. Thus, resources are being used irresponsibly. Effects of land-use on climate change The pattern of urban growth story and its periphery have implications on poverty, food, water, health, jobs and access to services. Interventions like converting agricultural land for housing or industry, filling up ponds and building housing complexes on lake beds, etc. impact ecosystem services and climate adaptation. The people who are dependent on ecosystem for their livelihood suffer the most. This affects the community structures. The natural ecosystem gets affected which threatens their survival too. As per scientists, land cover and land management generate drivers in climate systems that influence local and regional weather patterns. This is due to changes in aerosols, carbon, nitrogen and other gases along with the moisture in the air, heat and light. This is the reason why the urban heat island effect is understood easily. What can be done? Protecting waterbodies Conserving groundwater Reducing ecological footprint Living in more compact communities Converting non-forest areas to forest areas to increase flora and fauna diversity Increasing agricultural productivity than expanding agricultural land These are good ways to address both climate change mitigation and adaptation. The IVC example Climate change and its effects are concerning in the current era, which makes one curious to know how ancestors survived the climatic changes. Today, scientists are able to demystify the climatic patterns that occurred several thousand years ago through new research methodologies which gives insight into the same. Indus Valley Civilisation underwent a period of climate change about 4,000 years ago and used different subsistence practices to cope with changing environments. Water is considered to be the most critical factor in the survival of the civilisations. The availability, management and usage of water gave important insight into human adaptation and the resilience of subsistence practices in IVC. The north west India was subject to climate change during the period when the Indus Civilisation was at its height (2500 BC—1900 BC). During early Holocene, IVC was situated close to a deep lake Kotla Dahar (in plains of north western part of India) which could have been primarily monsoonal. The water level in lake decreased due to the sporadic rainfall and disruptions in the monsoon cycle between 2200 -2000 BC. This also led to one of the contributing parameter in the process of Indus de- urbanisation which shows that local Indus populations were already well adapted to living in varied and variable environmental conditions. That is why, there were variation in the subsistence practices used by Indus populations. Connecting the dots: Land use and climate change are interdependent on each other. Do you agree? Critically analyse. MUST READ Demonetisation’s long shadow Hindu   Drawing up a diet plan Hindu   This land is their land Hindu   Demonetisation 2.0 Indian Express   Make a judicious choice Indian Express   The building blocks of economic policy Livemint   The right priorities for healthcare spending Livemint   The politics behind cash ban Business Line   Towards a better life for more Business Line  

Feb 1, 2017 MindMaps

IASbaba’s MINDMAP : Issue - Economic Survey 2016-17: Highlights

IASbaba’s MINDMAP : Issue - Economic Survey 2016-17: Highlights 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 1 Link 2 Link 3

Feb 1, 2017 Daily Prelims CA Quiz

IASbaba Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 111]

IASbaba Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 111] Click here to get all the Tests– Archives Q.1) Global Go To Think Tank Index Report is released by Lauder Institute, Pennsylvania University Harvard Kennedy School Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy OECD Q.2) In contex with the business and banking, what is CRAR? Credit to Risk Asset Ratio Capital to Risk Asset Ratio Credit to Risk Assessment Ratio Credit Rate Asset Ratio Q.3) Global Risks Report 2017 was released by World Economic Forum APEC IMF World Bank Q.4) Economic planning refers to Planning of manpower Acquisition of foreign capital Allocation of resources Mobilisation of taxes Q.5) Mutual funds are regulated by Association of Mutual Funds of India (AMFI) IRDA RBI None of the above Download the Solution- Click here All the best IASbaba

Jan 31, 2017 PIB

IASbaba Press Information Bureau (PIB)- 28th Nov to 5th Dec, 2016

Iasbaba Press Information Bureau (PIB) – 28th Nov to 5th Dec 2016 ARCHIVES GS-2 50 years of establishment of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) (Topic: Important International institutions) About-The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) was established by the United Nations General Assembly by its Resolution 2205 (XXI) of 17 December 1966.  India hosted the golden jubilee celebrations of UNCITRAL in New Delhi. Theme-- "To promote the progressive harmonization and unification of international trade law". India and UNCITRAL India is one among the eight founding member countries of UNCITRAL, and has recently been re-elected for a term of six years. UNCITRAL’s conventions and its model legal texts have formed the basis of new enactments in India. Examples--- Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 Information Technology Act, 2000 Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill - 2016 (Topic: Social justice and empowerment) About- The Bill will replace the existing PwD Act, 1995.  International Day of Persons with Disabilities is celebrated on 3rd December. The salient features of the Bill are— Disability has been defined based on an evolving and dynamic concept. The types of disabilities have been increased from existing 7 to 21 and the Central Government will have the power to add more types of disabilities. The New categories of disabilities also included three blood disorders, Thalassemia, Hemophilia and Sickle Cell disease. Speech and Language Disability and Specific Learning Disability have been added for the first time. Acid Attack Victims have been included. Dwarfism, muscular dystrophy have has been indicated as separate class of specified disability. Every child with benchmark disability between the age group of 6 and 18 years shall have the right to free education. Reservation in vacancies in government establishments has been increased from 3% to 4% for certain persons or class of persons with benchmark disability. The Bill provides for penalties for offences committed against persons with disabilities and also violation of the provisions of the new law. Special Courts will be designated in each district to handle cases concerning violation of rights of PwDs. The New Act will bring law in line with the United National Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), to which India is a signatory. This will fulfill the obligations on the part of India in terms of UNCRPD. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) emphasised the need for review of the Representation of the People Act (Topic: Powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies) Issues raised by CEC--- Decriminalisation of politics Prevention of abuse of money Transparency in funding of political parties Making bribery an cognisable offence Criminalising paid news Empowering ECI to countermand election in cases of bribery and abuse on the lines of countermanding in event of both capturing. There should be well defined electoral laws rather than using residuary powers under Art 324 frequently. Art 324- Superintendence, direction and control of elections to be vested in an Election Commission. EC proposed amendment in RP Act to have a mirror provision in the law on parallel of countermanding of elections on account of booth capturing.   GS-3  Revenue Insurance Scheme for Plantation Crops (RISPC)  (Topic: Agriculture) About- Department of Commerce has  approved the Revenue Insurance Scheme for Plantation Crops (RISPC) for protecting growers of tea, coffee, rubber, cardamom and tobacco from the twin risks of weather and price arising from yield loss due to adverse weather parameters, pest attacks etc. and from income loss caused by fall in international/domestic prices through crop insurance mechanism. Provisions The Scheme is to be implemented on pilot basis in eight districts in the States of West Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Sikkim and Tamil Nadu by the Commodity Boards through selected insurance companies. Shared funding of premium between the central government, state governments and the tea growers in the ratio of 75:15:10. Taxation and Investment Regime for Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, 2016 (PMGKY) (Topic: Finance) About- PMGKY is Union Government’s second income disclosure scheme (IDS) to allow tax evaders to come clean with unaccounted wealth. It provides for 50 per cent tax and surcharge on declarations of unaccounted cash deposited in banks. The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, 2016 is somewhat similar to IDS, except that the tax rate is higher at 50 per cent and a quarter of the declared income will be locked in for four years. Features –  Aim is to use black-money collected post-demonetization for welfare schemes for the poor. PMGKY will allow people to deposit previously untaxed money by paying 50% of the total amount: 30% as tax and 10% as penalty on the undisclosed income, and also 33% of the taxed amount as cess. Also have to deposit 25% of undisclosed income in a deposit scheme to be notified by the RBI under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Deposit Scheme, 2016. If the declarant refuses the option of using the government deposit scheme, 85% of the amount will be deducted as taxes and penalties. Nearly 90% of the penalty on money found in raids. National Career Service (Topic: Issues relating to employment) About- National Career Service (NCS) Project for transformation of the National Employment Service to provide a variety of employment related services like job matching, career counselling, vocational guidance, information on skill development courses. Launched by Ministry of Labour and Employment. Working— NCS portal provides a nation-wide online platform for jobseekers and employers for job matching in a dynamic, efficient and responsive manner. The NCS will make available a rich repository of career content about 3000 occupations across 53 sectors. States have been requested to publicize usage of the of the NCS portal for posting vacancies and job matching Indian Council for Fertilizer and Nutrient Research set up (Topic: Agriculture) About- In order to promote research in the field of fertilizers, Indian Council for Fertilizers and Nutrient Research (ICFNR), an Institution exclusively devoted to promotion of research in fertilizer sector under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. The terms of reference of ICFNR To undertake/ promote research in the area of fertilizer manufacturing technology, use of raw material and innovation in fertilizer products. To identify and promote eco-friendly micro-nutrients and pesticide coated slow release fertilizers and also to ensure reduction of Carbon footprint of Fertilizer sector and energy efficient operation. To undertake and promote research in bio fertilizer and its derivatives with suitable coating or blending so as to protect and increase the soil fertility. UDAN- A Regional Connectivity Scheme (Topic: Infrastructure development) About- The Ministry of Civil Aviation launched Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)-UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) scheme for providing connectivity to un-served and under-served airports of the country. Objective-- To facilitate and stimulate regional air connectivity by making it affordable. Features It aims to increase ticketing volume from 80 million to 300 million by 2022. Regional connectivity will be developed on market-based mechanism and Airlines will bid for seat subsidies. Airline operators will bid for up to 40 subsidised seats and minimum seats will be 9. And there will be 50% seats on market based pricing. Exclusive rights for three years to fly on a particular regional route. Airfares will be capped at 2500 rupees for an hour’s flight. Airports selection for UDAN scheme will be done in consultation with State Government. FAME Scheme (Topic: Industries) About- To promote eco-friendly vehicles, the government launched the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles (FAME) in India. Features FAME is a part of the National Electric Mobility Mission Plan. First implemented in metropolitan cities. Then will be launched in Smart Cities and all major cities across the country. Scheme offering incentives on electric and hybrid vehicles of up to Rs 29,000 for bikes and Rs 1.38 lakh for cars. The overall FAME Scheme is proposed to be implemented over a period of 6 years, till 2020. Bhujal Manthan-II (Topic: Water resources) About- National Seminar on Aquifer Mapping and Ground Water Management held in New Delhi. First Bhujal Manthan at Kurukshetra, Haryana. Objective To complete aquifer mapping across the country in the next three years. Government plans to recharge ground water on priority basis in dark blocks of the country where ground water has been over exploited. Ground water management It should be the endeavour of every concerned state to think more about the other side. Example--Tamil Nadu should be more concerned about Karnataka and vice-versa. Large-scale ground water development is feasible in Eastern states of the country and there is need for a second ‘green revolution’ in these areas to help India achieve food security. Efforts are to be made for conservation of springs in the hilly areas of the country through limiting indiscriminate construction of bore wells, conservation of spring catchments. Climate adaptation strategies should include groundwater management. Adopting best practices from other countries. Ex: 62 per cent of water used by Israel is treated water. Early Warning for Tsunami and Earthquake  (Topic: Disaster management) About-- Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC), which is based at & operated by Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad has all necessary infrastructure and capabilities to give tsunami advisories to India as well as to Indian Ocean countries. Working of ITEWC ITEWC is providing tsunami warnings and related services to all countries in the Indian Ocean Rim (24 Countries) beyond fully serving the India’s coastline / Islands. The centre is capable of detecting tsunamigenic earthquakes occurring in the Indian Ocean as well as in the Global Oceans within 10 minutes of their occurrence. Key inputs for developing strategic plan for addressing issues of Climate Change impacts on the Himalayan ecosystem. As soon as the earthquake is detected, warning centre transmits information about location of earthquake, its magnitude, depth and other characters of the event. Brahmaputra Corporation (Topic: Water resources and flood management) About- A revised Bill has been drafted to constitute a Corporation named Brahmaputra Barak North-East River Development Corporation (BBNERDC) for flood management. Working--- Flood management being under the purview of the States, the schemes for flood control & anti erosion etc., are formulated and implemented by concerned States as per their own priority. The Union Government supplements the efforts of the States by providing technical guidance and also promotional financial assistance for management of floods in critical areas. Protection of Majuli Island from flood and erosion in Assam. World Soil Day (Topic: Agriculture) About- 5th December is celebrated as World Soil Day Theme: “Soils and pulses, a symbiosis for life” Importance of soil— Soil provides nutritional elements as well as water to the plants. 95% of food sources are obtained from the soil. We cannot produce healthy food grains without the help of healthy soil. It is very necessary to maintain the potentiality of soil for the storage of the carbon and to combat the effects created by climate change.  Measures to improve soil health--- Reduction in consumption of chemical fertilizers and motivating integrated nutrition management. Adopt compost, manure, rural compost, urban compost, green manure in the particular sector of farming. Reduce the cost of farming by using different types of bio fertilizers. Arrange bio carbon in the soil. Soil health card scheme The scheme aims at promoting soil test based and balanced use of fertilisers to enable farmers realise higher yields at lower cost. Some states are already issuing Soil Health Cards but, there was no uniform norm for sampling, testing and distribution of Soil Health Cards across the states. 50:50 sharing patternbetween Government of India and state Governments.   Advantage Health Care India 2016 (AHCI 2016) (Topic: Commerce and Industry) About- Government of India organized the second edition of ‘Advantage Health Care India 2016 (AHCI 2016)’, an International Summit on Medical Value Travel. Aim---‘Promoting Healthcare Services Exports from India’ Objective--To promote India as a Premier Global Healthcare Destination and to enable streamlined medical services exports from India. This underlying objective is a unique conglomeration of 5Ts, namely – Tradition, Technology, Tourism, Talent and Trade. AHCI 2016 The medical value travel industry has emerged as one of the fastest growing segment of the tourism industry. Globally the market is estimated at around USD 40-55 billion. As per 2015 data while 11 million people travelled to seek treatment, 500,000 foreign patients travelled to India seeking treatment. With adequate focus and effective execution, India can be a USD 9 billion opportunity by 2020.  

Jan 31, 2017 RSTV Video

The Big Picture - Should Budget be Postponed in View of Assembly Polls?

Should Budget be postponed in view of Assembly Polls? Archives TOPIC: General Studies 2 Powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies. Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. Background The government decided to abandon the tradition of presenting the next financial year’s Budget on the last working day of February, citing the potential benefits for the economy from faster spending of the approved public expenditure. With the announcement of elections to five states, opposition parties approached the Election Commission of India seeking that the union budget’s presentation be deferred during the poll process for 5 states - UP, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur scheduled between Feb 4 and March 8. Opposition leaders are of the opinion that presentation of the budget prior to polls will vitiate the free and fair election environment. What is the concern? Free and fair elections are essential elements of having a democracy. The apprehension is that under budget, there may be announcements which may influence the poll result. For example, under sec 80 of Income Tax act, they can prescribe some schemes or reliefs which may influence the voter. But now, the voter has also become wiser. In the past it has been seen that the crowd was never converted into vote. The voter of the country understands what budget is saying, what concessions they will get and what will be the impact. So they are not easily influenced by budget announcements, unless and until it promises something radical or changes the fundamentals.  However, concerns of opposition are valid on the grounds of influencing the voter. Government’s prerogative It was already known to the public domain that the budget will be preponed even before the election announcements. As it is customary and not law governed, the budget date can be changed as the government dims fit. In a similar instance, the government had appointed a committee headed by Shankracharya to go into the changing of financial year. The report has suggested that it would be better to shift the financial year to the calendar year. If such recommendation is accepted by the government than the government will be presenting the budget in November. This is possible because it is the government’s prerogative. Role of election commission Election Commission of India is a mature organisation which takes a comprehensive view of things and have a way of dealing with issues, particularly tricky situations. This is the reason why they have succeeded in conducting the elections in relatively free and fair manner. Election Commission is vested with plenary power under article 324 and the question may be asked if Election Commission can use its power and ask government to postpone budget. Though it is not very clear if ECI can use that power under art 324, ECI may give a suggestion to the government to hold back certain announcements related to poll bound states. This can happen so because in the Model Code of Conduct, one of the point is that the ministers shall not go and make announcements about projects and schemes in poll bound state(s). So taking a cue from that, ECI will be well in its jurisdiction to give suggestions to the government. The duty of ECI is to hold free and fair election. In that definition, they have the right to intervene if they think the matter can generate concerns but there cannot be any directive from it to government. Also, whatever will be done will be under the scrutiny of the SC. Should EC interfere? Election commission has no idea about government’s financial position or the position of economy which demands the budget to address them. Hence, EC cannot determine or suggest government to tell them what is required into budget or not required into budget. Since it’s a national budget and elections are only in 5 states, it will not be proper to defer budget on a later date. If there is a violation of MCC, means the government of the day offers some allurement or influences something, then the ECI can intervene at that stage but not beforehand. No harm in postponing budget In the past also, in 2012, the budget was postponed due to elections. So, disturbance of schedule is permissible. Budget is mainly about announcements by the government where certain announcements are implemented with immediate effect, whereas other are promises. Not only the budget but even the President’s address to the joint sitting of the Parliament is itself supposed to be the agenda of the government and it is also supposed to be the policy statement. So there is no end to the Election Commission to ensure free and fair election in states and trying to constraint the centre for making policy statements. However, after the announcements if the ECI feels that such could be violative of the MCC, it could intervene. It has happened in past when certain policy decisions and announcements have been withdrawn by the government of the day in view of the Election Commission’s observations. Finding solution As it is constitutional obligation of ECI to hold elections freely, it is constitutional right of the government to present the budget as such. In a situation like this, it might feel that MCC is interfering with the governance. The elections are happening round the clock that doesn’t mean the governance cannot be done as per the requirement. The main purpose of election is to choose the government. If the government is not performing its role, it is a greater disservice to democracy. Hence, to stop these problems all the time, the MCC should be given statutory shape. Unless that, it will always have a persuasive value. If there is violation of MCC, it is the party that is taken to task and not the government. For arguments sake, it is assumed that there is dissolution of house in March or April. Then the MCC will extend to another 45-60 days. Does it mean that the government cannot present its budget? So there has to be a line drawn between MCC and constructional responsibility to present annual statements of accounts and measures for meeting financial liabilities. There has to be a healthy reconciliation which is possible through proper dialogue. For example important changes can be announced few days before the declaration of results. Less important changes needed for carrying out government activities can be announced early. So the budget can be divided accordingly. Conclusion In the present situation, the economy of India following demonetisation and external global economic environment, there are so many challenges that the Indian economy is facing. In view of that, to constraint the government from making policy decisions or announcing the policy decisions including the budget, the Election Commission should not make any pre-emptive strike on either President’s address or PM or any minister making any statement. They should rather enter into dialogue with government to create a conducive environment for elections. There should be healthy reconciliation between right of parliament to have budget and right of government to present the budget and right of election commission to hold free and fair elections. On government’s part, when the government had made up its mind to change the practice of decades, efforts should have been made by it to take the opposition on board for sharing as well as consultation and taken them into confidence. The opposition is agitated about this fact as well as are concerned about the clashing of budget and election dates which will have an impact on the electorate. A free and fair elections are one of the pre-requisite for an inclusive and justiciable democracy. Want of power shouldn’t corrupt the fundamentals of the institution. Connecting the dots: Budget and elections are both provided by the constitution. Examine their roles individually as well as when they both are expected to co-occur.