Feb 20, 2016 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 20th February, 2016

ArchivesIASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 20th February, 2016 ECONOMICSTOPIC:General studies 2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections by the Centre and State and the Performance of these schemes; Mechanisms, laws, institutions constituted for protection and betterment of these vulnerable sectionsGeneral studies 3: Indian Economy and issues relating to mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.  Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.  Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth.  Labour in the 21st century In spite of labour laws been widely studied for almost a decade and various recommendations to re-invent/evolve labour laws in the current leg of globalization, the issues pertaining to welfare of labour and flexibility of the firms to grow in sync with market conditions for better industrial relations, persists even today. There have been recommendations by the government to reform labour laws in India by highlighting the need for flexibility in Indian labour laws that would give appropriate flexibility to the industry that is essential to compete in international markets. But the overall attitude has mainly been towards skill enhancement and focus on flexible labour markets rather than assessment of Proper enforcement of the laws Situation of different categories of employers Coverage of the social protection systemThree main labour laws—Major point of debate Industrial Disputes Act (1947), Contract Labour Act (1970) Trade Union Act (1926)Constitutionally— Under Article 246 of the Indian constitution, issues related to labour and labour welfare come under List –III that is the Concurrent List Exceptional matters related to labour and safety in mines and oilfields and industrial disputes concerning union employees come under Central List In all there are 47 central labour laws and 200 state labour lawsIndia’s ‘labour problem’Out of the eight core ILO Conventions against forced labour (slavery)—India refuses to ratify: C87 (Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention); C98 (the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention); C138 (Minimum Age Convention) C182 (Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention) C131, or the Minimum Wage Fixing ConventionThe Annual Global Rights Index (by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)— Rates 141 countries on 97 indicators derived from ILO standards with rating being on a scale of 1 to 5-plus, based on the degree of respect accorded to workers’ rights 2015:India had a rating of 5, the second-worst category, thereby denoting “no guarantee of rights”Concerns shouting for Attention—FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) and AIOE (All India Organisation of Employers)— Pointed out that India’s obsession with an archaic labour policy… is keeping investors away, hindering employment growth and making Indian enterprises uncompetitive It is the multiplicity (44 Central and 100-odd at the State-level) of labour laws that is pushing workers to the informal sector, as companies seek “to circumvent the rigorous labour policies”ILO—“labour market flexibility is as high as 93 per cent in India”, meaning that 93 per cent of India’s workforce anyway do not enjoy the protection of India’s 144 labour lawsIndustry’s solution to the labour problem: Dilution of these laws so that the mass of informal workers can be employed formally, but without legal protectionsNote: There is no nationwide law that recognizes trade union and also there is no compulsion for the employers to enter into a collective bargaining so even though there is a right to form an association or form a trade union, it is not mandatory for an employer to recognize it (Anant et al, 2006)CTUOs& their display of strength—Mere Tokenism?Maybe— In a globalised Indian economy, the centre of gravity has shifted from manufacturing to services Even in manufacturing, the advent of global supply chains has meant a mass informalisation of employment as multinational enterprises break up the production process and sub-contract to suppliers in different parts of the worldThe fatal flaws—CTUOs’ WeaknessesPolitical party affiliation: Of the Big Five unions, with a combined claimed membership of over 79 million with the Party affiliations entailing three things: a restriction of the CTUO’s ability to expand, as it will put off those who do not like its parent party; Party interests often trump union/labour interests; Disunity between the differently-affiliated unionsLeadership: Marked by the “bureaucratic mentality” of a labour aristocracy; prefer policy analysis to on-ground organising and have failed to extend their reach to the growing mass of informal workersBut—Unions are unanimous on two points: Regularisation of contract workers engaged in perennial work Equal pay for contract workers performing the same job as permanent workers(sufficient wages, job security, and worker security)Counting Challenges—Entry into the IT services sector, marked by little union presence despite demanding work conditions;Why- Instant termination of workers involved in unionising activity, creating fear in the minds of the workers Mind-set of the worker— More payment and good standard of living don’t let them think of themselves as workersAim of the Industry: to legalise and expand contract labour to develop in-house unions which will dance to the tunes of the management and stay away from CTUOsThe core economic issues are varied: the capital intensity of Indian industry, the employment elasticity of economic growth, the exchange rate strategy, the level of skills on offer in the labour market, the ease of doing business, the structural impediments faced by informal enterprisesEmployment in the Indian Manufacturing SectorThe fundamental Disconnect— Eighty per cent of Indian manufacturing output comes from enterprises in the formal sector while a similar proportion of manufacturing employment is generated by enterprises in the informal sector Therefore, one set of enterprises accounts for most of the output while another set of enterprises accounts for most of the employment Has created a labour aristocracy that seeks to protect its privileges but in effect keeps the majority of industrial workers trapped in informal enterprisesTherefore, the government needs to— Create conditions that encourage large enterprises to take on more workers while making it easier for informal enterprises to grow in scale The inability to create jobs that allows workers to exit the overcrowded farms has to be taken care ofAccording to Dr.Rangarajan (2006)— In order to achieve faster growth rate emphasis should be laid on labour intensive sectors by skill development of the labour force and flexibility of labour laws Flexibility should not be just related to ‘hire and fire strategy’ and that business units will have to function under legitimate restrictionsIASbaba’s Views:Challenge—the only viable way to break the cycle of distress is through labour-intensive industrialization, as was done in so many other Asian countries, including China.Opportunity— China has begun to make the transition up the value chain by exiting the low-value manufacturing it dominated for nearly two decades. Chinese wages are rising, the exchange rate could strengthen and the government wants to shift the economic model towards a greater dependence on domestic consumer demand.India cannot have a more flexible labour market unless the trade unions are taken into confidence and therefore, a discussion and a proper road ahead need to be charted out by taking into confidence the major stakeholders of the economy.In the wake of international competitiveness and the need for flexibility in labour markets, it becomes increasingly essential to accommodate social security concerns in reform movements. But the sector is marred with lack of appropriate planning, inappropriate coverage, the applicability depends on wage ceilings, number of employees in an establishment, type of establishment, etc. which needs to be taken care of by the government so that there takes place an interaction with changes in other areas of industrial regulation so that factory employment begins to rise in tandem with output.Connecting the Dots: What are the serious impediments that bleak the possibility of a proper labour framework to be developed for India? Suggest the way aheadMUST READWe, the people of South AsiaHindu The tricolour- The adoption of the national flag was a culmination of the struggle for independence — it is symbolic, today, of the people’s assertion and ownership of their sense of freedom.Indian Express The Kuwait model- Despite growing Sunni resentment, the country is still a role model for integrating the Shia population.Indian ExpressFarm solutions- The new digital agri market platform and crop insurance scheme are welcome initiativesIndian Express

Feb 19, 2016 AIR

All India Radio - Budget Expectation of Agriculture

ARCHIVES   AIR-BUDGET EXPECTATION OF AGRICULTURE   Crop insurance scheme aims to transfer the entire premium of almost 90 % from Government side. Given the frequent droughts in last two years the allocation of resource becomes a challenge. However the government aims to do this with the help of state. Issues related to awareness of farmers about the prevalence of such schemes need to be addressed. Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchana Yojana is one ambitious programme of government that aims to achieve convergence of investments in irrigation at the field level. This also involves interlinking of rivers in the longer run. As river is a state issue this needs cooperation between centre and state for effective implementation of the scheme. The Department of Agriculture & Cooperation has approved the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF)   as a Central Sector Scheme, with a corpus of Rs.500 crores, to support market interventions for price control of perishable agri-horticultural commodities. But there are crops other than horticulture which are suffering damage due to droughts and other adverse conditions. There is a need to create a mechanism to address this issue. Crop diversification is one such issue which is in a poor shape despite various scientific interventions, effective measures are needed to address crop diversification issue. Government needs to come up policy frame work for effective price mechanism for crops other than wheat and rice, so that farmers are encouraged to grow crops other than rice and wheat. Pulses have been one such sector which needs attention, given the fact of high prices of the same in recent times. Their needs to have an effective procurement policy for pulses and proper research for hybrid variety of pulses that are more resistatant to natural calamities like droughts. Fertilizer is one such sector that needs to be rationalised, government has started giving health cards for farmers to determine the suitable fertilizer required for their soils. This has been a welcome move and efforts should be taken to create awareness about such initiatives by government. There has been a debate about the upcoming national agricultural market for agriculture that is considered to be better than APMC acts in terms of creating transparent platforms for selling of crops through e portals. This is something which needs to be taken care with prudence. Finally there is absence of a consistent policy from centre to states regarding the issue of procurement of Vegetables, fruits, Pulses, and absence of MSP for crops other than food grains, and in Agricultural research. This needs to be given importance in the upcoming budget. Click here and search for spotlight/News Analysis

Feb 19, 2016 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 19th February, 2016

ArchivesIASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 19th February, 2016 NATIONALTOPIC:General studies 2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human ResourcesGeneral studies 3: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nano-Technology, Bio-technology and issues relating to Intellectual Property RightsPharmaceutical Sector: India’s Drug PolicyAmidst all the chaotic versions of reality that the Indian Pharmaceutical Sector exhibits, the Supreme Court’s description of India’s drug pricing policy—irrational and unreasonable—is unfortunately accurate from several angles.Two contradictory developments over the past few days: Stents becoming a component of the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) (a small mesh tube used to treat narrow or weak arteries) Lifting up of Customs Duty exemptions on a number of drugsThe developments portrays the juggling act of government to achieve the twin objectives— Of enabling broad access to reasonably priced medicines and Allowing the marketplace to function well enough for pharmaceutical companies to invest in innovationThe chequered history of drug price control in India—The Drug Price Control Order (DPCO) was introduced in 1995- Covered 74 bulk drugs and their formulations; from which half the products were discontinued after their producers exitedDPCO 2013- With no new investment, the shift has been favoured more towards non-controlled products IMS Health: The average number of incumbent brands and new introductions of drugs in the DPCO 2013 list has reduced compared to the non-DPCO 2013 list; strengthening oligopolistic behaviour and reducing the choice set of doctors and patients State inefficiencies: The cost of the drugs in the NLEM—which feeds the DPCO—remain above the maximum retail prices offered in some states (retail price margin goes as high as 4,000%), defeating the avowed purpose of access and cheap availabilityShould we abandon Regulation?No— Leaving it to the market would create efficiency but it will be the pharmaceutical companies that would benefit more Existing inelastic demand High barriers to entryThe multi-pronged Approach—Need to overhaul India’s intellectual property rights (IPR) regime- Courts have done well to clamp down on the practice of ever-greening patents and protecting the country’s vital generic drug industry Impediments to legitimate patents have had high costs- Long development cycles & multiple research dead-ends leading to high raise in costs and delay pay-offs IndiaSpend (a data journalism initiative) Report- On average, a patent application takes six years to get approval in IndiaExpanding insurance coverage-Rand Corporation Study-‘Regulating Drug Prices’: Shows that financing consumer price reductions via insurance has several long-term benefits over imposing price controlsIndia- One of the least penetrated insurance markets in the world; with approximately only 17% of the population having any health insurance coverage, as per the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority The 49% raise of the foreign direct investment cap in the insurance sector might introduce benefits Time to look forward to— Bulk Drug Policy To: Reduce India’s dependence on China; India gets more than 75% of its bulk drugs from ChinaBulk drugs/Active pharmaceutical ingredients: The active raw materials used in a drugHighlights- Boost for public sector enterprises, Tax-free status for manufacturers and Cluster development2. A new Ministry- For pharmaceuticals and medical devicesTo be brought under the new Ministry—The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority: Sets the price limit on essential medicines Under the Ministry of Chemicals and FertilizersThe Central Drugs Standard Control Organization and the Drug Controller General of India (governed by the health ministry)—which exercise regulatory control over import of drugs, approval of new drugs and clinical trials3. Marketing code A mandatory code is set to replace the voluntary Uniform Code of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices- To prohibit the practice of drug makers offering gifts to doctors in return for prescribing their products4. Online Pharmacies Regulation of the booming business of online pharmacies5. Cap on Trade MarginsTotal business in these drugs, known as trade generics, is pegged at Rs.5, 000-6,000 crore, or 5-6% of India’s total pharma marketWhat happens in trade generics—the distributors appoint medical representatives to market products to doctors in rural areas, in addition to supplying to retailersConnecting the Dots: What are the major constraints looming over the advancement of the Indian Pharma Sector? Suggest some measures.ECONOMICSTOPIC:General studies 3: Major crops and cropping pattern of the country, Agriculture Food processing and related industries; Technology in the aid of farmers Bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights. General studies 2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation Agricultural research: The real ‘yellow revolution’ Background: Mustard being rabi crop holds the key for reducing India’s edible oil imports. And GM technology has a role to play there. Mustard is India’s largest source of edible oil. Unlike soyabean, which has only 18 per cent oil content, and groundnut, more than 50 per cent of whose kernels are either consumed directly or exported, rapeseed/mustard is one crop that is a ‘true’ oilseed. With annual production of around 2.4 million tonnes (mt), mustard accounts for a quarter of the country’s average edible oil availability of 9.4 mt from indigenous sourcesWhat is rabi crop? Rabi crops or Rabi harvest are agricultural crops sown in winter and harvested in the spring in the South Asia. The term is derived from the Arabic word for "spring", which is used in the Indian subcontinent, where it is the spring harvest also known as the "winter crop". Their main source of water is rainwater that has percolated into the ground; they require irrigation. A good rain in winter spoils the rabi crops but is good for kharif crops. The major rabi crop in India is wheat, followed by barley, mustard, sesame and peas The rabi season starts with the onset of the north-east monsoon in OctoberWhat is yellow revolution?Yellow revolution refers to sudden increase in the production of edible oil due to the plantation of Hybrid oil seed like mustard, sesame, etc. What are the positive prospects of mustard? Unlike soyabean, which has only 18 per cent oil content, and groundnut, more than 50 per cent of whose kernels are either consumed directly or exported; rapeseed/mustard is one crop that is a ‘true’ oilseed. With annual production of around 2.4 million tonnes (mt), mustard accounts for a quarter of the country’s average edible oil availability of 9.4 mt from indigenous sources The fact that it is a rabi crop with almost 75 per cent area under irrigation — as against barely 25 per cent in groundnut and one per cent for soyabean — and having roughly 40 per cent oil content, makes mustard the most suitable candidate for ushering in a ‘yellow revolution’, similar to what wheat and paddy did for the ‘Green Revolution’. What needs to be done to increase mustard production? Breeders have exploited a phenomenon known as ‘heterosis’ or hybrid vigour resulting from crossing two genetically dissimilar plant varieties even within the same species. The first-generation or F1 offspring from such crosses tend to have yields higher than what either parent can individually give.What are the constraints to increase production?In mustard, though, there have been two major constraints standing in the way of realising yield grains from heterosis that can help considerably boost domestic production.The first is the narrow genetic base of mustard varieties grown in India. Scientists at the Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants (CGMCP) in Delhi University showed that this problem could be addressed by crossing Indian mustard cultivars with juncea lines of East European origin like ‘Early Heera’ and ‘Donskaja’. The combination of the two divergent gene pools enhanced the crossing options; the resultant F1 progeny were found to exhibit significant heterosis. The second constraint is more basic, having to do with the absence of a natural hybridisation system in mustard. Mustard flowers contain both female (pistil) and male (stamen) reproductive organs, making the plants largely self-pollinating. To the extent that the egg cells of one plant cannot be fertilised by the pollen grains from the stamen of another, it restricts the scope for developing hybrids — which, in crops such as maize, cotton and tomato, is possible through simple emasculation or physical removal of anthers.What is the current status of the research? Team at the CGMCP initially developed a cytoplasmic male-sterile or CMS line of ‘Pusa Bold’ Indian mustard. This line (in which the stamen is sterile and cannot produce viable pollen), crossed with the East European ‘Early Heera-2’ variety (which is male-fertile and hence capable of pollinating the former), resulted in DMH-1, India’s first ever mustard hybrid. Its average seed yield, at 2.6 tonnes per hectare, was a fifth higher than the 2.1-2.2 tonnes for existing best ‘check’ varieties, including Pusa Bold, Pusa Jaikisan, Varuna, Rohini and Kranti.Way ahead:GM technology will help in developing hybrids with new parental combinations and incorporating these various quantitative, qualitative and disease resistant traits into them.Connecting the dots: Can mustard as an oil seed play role in reduction of country's edible oil imports and reduce Balance of Payment? Comment. What is rabi crop? What are the advantages of mustard as an oil seed over Sunflower and groundnut? Throw light on how to increase production with the help of GM technology and to bring in Yellow revolution? MUST READGay rights are human rightsHinduRelated Articles:The LGBT agenda in IndiaTLP -2015 A landmark for Indian scientistsHinduRelated Articles:Landmark announcement on gravitational waves may shed light on early universe Mechanisation perks up non-major ports-Share in total seaborne trade rises to 45% in 2014-15Business Standard Concerns over IPR- Gaps in Indian intellectual property rights need to be pluggedBusiness StandardRelated Articles:Legally Knotted ‘Innovations’Farmers to have pan-India access to mandis- e-based platform will be launched on April 14 to mark Ambedkar's anniversary; Modi asks country to double farm income by 2022Business StandardPutting principles into practice-An early adopter of the OECD Principles of Corporate Governance, India has been proactive about framing regulation. What matters though is implementation. For that, Indian companies must commit themselves to adopting a strong governance frameworkBusiness Standard Boosting industry-academia linkages- Universities and industry can come together to meet national challenges like Swachh Bharat, Make in IndiaBusiness StandardMake in India and renewable energyRenewable energy’s job-creation potential is significant. But it brings with it the urgent, unmet need for skillingLive MintRelated Articles:Is ‘Make in India’ is a mere slogan?MSME’s: Engine for GrowthArticles related to Renewable energy:http://iasbaba.com/2015/10/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-2nd-3rd-october-2015/http://iasbaba.com/2015/10/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-30th-october-2015/http://iasbaba.com/2016/01/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-22nd-january-2016/http://iasbaba.com/2016/02/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-16th-february-2016/http://iasbaba.com/2016/01/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-21st-january-2016/ India’s failed diplomacy at the WTO-It has repeatedly failed to protect the domestic food security agendaLive MintFor  more information on  ‘WTO and its relevance & Related issues ’, refer the below linkWTO: GATS & Indian EducationMIND MAPS1. IRNSSCLAWSLinks

Feb 18, 2016 RSTV Video

The Big Picture - Political Debates on Campuses: Is it Necessary?

Archives     The Big Picture - Political Debates on Campuses: Is it Necessary?   Jawaharlal Nehru University organised an event on Parliament attack against “judicial killing of Afzal Guru and Maqbool Bhat” and in solidarity with the “struggle” of Kashmiri migrants at the Sabarmati dhaba in the campus. Members of ABVP objected to the event and wrote to the V-C that such kind of protests should not be held on the campus, prompting the university administration to order cancellation of the march. Despite cancellation the organisers went on to conduct the event which prompted the members of ABVP to lodge a complaint. Delhi Police registered a case of sedition against “unknown persons” in connection with the event and arrested JNU Students Union President Kanhaiya Kumar. Now the efforts are being made to politicise the issue and there is a debate going about , Should the students refrain in the political discourses inside the university Students have been playing an important role in politics since pre independence times, Movements like Swadeshi, Non cooperation, Civil disobedience, and Quit India etc are perfect example of students participating in politics of the country. And given the legitimate right to vote at the age of 18 makes political debate on campuses a necessity, provided the discourse happens within the purview of constitution. Banning of political debates in the campuses is unviable and it is an insult to free speech. JNU has been a place of strong democratic space. Everyday there are debates in the university that discusses variety of issues that matter. JNU has a strong institutional framework to deal with variety of such issues. However considering the present case the university should have been given time to conduct an enquiry and come up with the report, if there is a necessity for state intervention.  Such things never happened in this case. Students are the reflection of political, social, cultural change in the country, Youths are always the one who give the movement its energy, idealism, After all politics is all about trying to understand the larger sense of the world in which they leave and to able to intervene in it meaningfully to make a world better place. Q.) Should the politics be allowed inside university? Comment

Feb 18, 2016 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 18th February, 2016

Archives   IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 18th February, 2016   NATIONAL   TOPIC: General studies 2 Welfare schemes for the vulnerable sections of population by Centre and state, Performance of schemes, laws, Institutions and bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of vulnerable section.   Dalits and social justice: then and now Background: The Dalit mobilisation that is gaining momentum in the wake of Rohith Vemula’s suicide reflects structural issues in the system. Certainly, reservations have given birth to Dalit entrepreneurs and a Dalit middle class benefiting from government jobs. But in spite of this, or because of this, anti-Dalit attitudes have been on the rise. Discrimination against Dalits is rising despite stronger laws. Attitudes of police, judiciary must change What do statistics say? The number of registered cases of anti-Dalit atrocities, notoriously under-reported, jumped by 17.1 per cent in 2013 (compared to 2012) according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The increase was even more dramatic between 2013 and 2014 — 19.4 per cent. What are the offences and atrocities mentioned under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (the PoA act), ? if a person forces a Dalit or an Adivasi “to drink or eat any inedible or obnoxious substance”, If a person “forcibly removes clothes from the person of a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe or parades him naked or with painted face or body”, If a person dispossesses Dalit “from his land” If a person compels him to do “bonded labour” If a person “exploits Dalit women sexually” If a person “corrupts or fouls the water” he or she is using If a person denies him or her “right of passage to a place of public resort” If a person forces him or her “to leave his house, village or other place of residence”.   Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (the PoA act) The Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 an Act of the Parliament of India enacted to prevent atrocities against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. The Act is popularly known as POA, the SC/ST Act, the Prevention of Atrocities Act, or simply the Atrocities Act. Objective of the act states that the intention of the Indian state to deliver justice to SC/ST communities through affirmative action in order to enable them to live in society with dignity and self-esteem and without fear, violence or suppression from the dominant castes. The provisions of SC/ST Act and Rules can be divided into three different categories, covering a variety of issues related to atrocities against SC/ST people and their position in society. The first category contains provisions of criminal law. It establishes criminal liability for a number of specifically defined atrocities, and extends the scope of certain categories of penalizations given in the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The second category contains provisions for relief and compensation for victims of atrocities. The third category contains provisions that establish special authorities for the implementation and monitoring of the Act. Provision in the Constitution: Article 17 abolishes untouchability Article 23 prohibits bonded labour Article 15(2) stipulates that no citizen should be subject to restriction with regard to access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and places of entertainment, the use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort on the grounds of caste. Recently Indian Parliament made the existing legislation even more sophisticated: This law provides stringent action against those who sexually assault Dalits and Adivasis and occupy their land illegally; It also declares as an offence garlanding with footwear a man or a statue, compelling to dispose or carry human or animal carcasses or do manual scavenging.   What are the hindrances for effective implementation of POA act? In spite of the fact that the PoA Act has introduced special courts for speedy trials, the conviction rate under this act has remained very low and has declined even — from 30 per cent in 2011 to 22.8 per cent in 2013 (more recent data are not available). And the percentage of “pending cases” has increased from 80 to 84 per cent. To have a case registered under the PoA Act is in itself a problem. On average, only one-third of the cases of atrocities are registered under the PoA Act. The police is reluctant to do so because of the severity of the penalties likely to be imposed by the act. Many Dalits do not know their rights anyway and cannot fight a legal battle that is costly in terms of time and money. What was the picture depicted in 2011 census explaining their vulnerability? Out of the 4,42,26,917 Dalit households in India, 74 per cent live in rural areas, where the per-household land area they own on an average is less than 0.3 ha — most of them are landless. And only 34 per cent of them have toilets in their premises. More than 50 per cent Dalit households use firewood as their main fuel for cooking. On positive side the literacy rate among Dalits is rising and in 2011, their literacy rate crossed the 66 per cent landmark (8 percentage points below the non-SC/STs). But they often face frustrating experiences of discrimination once they join Universities for higher education.   Way ahead:                                   Discrimination against Dalits is rising despite stronger laws. Thus effective implementation in parallel with change in attitudes of police, judiciary will go long way in protecting them. Creating awareness regarding the rights, provisions and remedy available to dalits. Free legal aid for the needy and speedy trial is the need of the hour because social justice is not just means to an end but its end in itself.  Connecting the dots: Justice delayed is Justice denied for the dalits can be changed with free legal aid and speedy trial to provide social justice. Comment?   NATIONAL TOPIC: General studies 2 Indian Culture: Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from Ancient to Modern times   Is death of Sanskrit nearing? Sanskrit— One of the languages of the Eighth Schedule Official language of Uttarakhand Census: Sanskrit as a ‘mother-tongue’ 1971: 2,212 1981: 6,106 1991: 49,736 2001: 14,135 (Half: In Uttar Pradesh) But where did the rest 35,000 Sanskrit speakers go? Exaggeration in terms of Sanskrit’s death— Extinction— Languages can become extinct when there are no surviving speakers Globalisation tugging the culture’s heart Shifts in languages   35,000 disappearances— statistically wrong, so as to mention, as… Data can be achieved w.r.t. Sanskrit-speaking abilities of Indians not from ‘mother-tongue’ but by the box mentioned as ‘other languages known’. But a fallacy exists stating that one can only list a maximum of two languages (highly unsatisfactory)   Sanskrit’s worth— ‘The manuscript detailing Kautilya’s Arthshastra was re-discovered by R. Shamasastry in 1904. Had he would it have known Sanskrit, the ‘Arthashastra’ would not have been translated into English in 1915’ Manuscript— A text more than seventy-five years old NAMAMI: In 2003, a National Mission for Manuscripts was set up to— List Digitise Publish Translate Currently, NAMAMI has listing/digitisation of- 3 million and 35 million estimated stock of manuscripts Other issues with Sanskrit— 95% of the existing manuscripts have never been listed, collated or translated Lack of learned people in Sanskrit who can actually translate the written word Knowledge transmitted in the Sanskrit language was also rarely in a written format and with the collapse of the Gurukul systems and the guru—shishya tradition, the knowledge of Sanskrit has been lost as well   IASbaba’s Views: There can be no reason to regard Sanskrit as a dead language as more than 95% of the texts still remain un-deciphered. And therefore, more awareness needs to be generated by encouraging and energising the language and by bringing the language into the mainstream. The language can be introducing in the school curriculum as well as constant monitoring of the usage and spread of language with formulation of more journals as well as various competitions can lead to its revitalisation in real senses. Connecting the Dots: Can there exist a trade-off between languages? Substantiate your answer by including your perspective w.r.t. languages To what degree is culture of a particular place related with languages? Discuss.   MUST READ Restoring goodwill in India-Nepal ties Hindu Related Articles: http://iasbaba.com/2015/09/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-28th-29th-september-2015/ http://iasbaba.com/2015/10/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-11th-12th-october-2015/ http://iasbaba.com/2015/08/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-4th-august-2015/   Right step on savings schemes Hindu Indian Express   Subsidy reform: Seeding change through direct benefit transfer-Uttar Pradesh has shown how DBT model is good for both farmers and the exchequer Indian Express Related Articles: Time for expansion of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT)   Agricultural research: The real ‘yellow revolution’- Mustard holds the key for reducing India’s edible oil imports. And GM technology has a role to play there. Indian Express Related Articles: Puzzling Glances over Genetically modified Crops   If the fertiliser subsidy were abolished- Doing so is politically tough for any government but there are sensible policy choices to streamline it Business Standard Related Articles: Neem-coated truth: Urea policy isn’t a game-changer   Chhattisgarh govt cancels tribal rights over forest lands- Forest Rights Act allows government to divert forest lands for other purposes only after prior consent of the tribals through gram sabhas Business Standard   The rationale of India’s drug policy-The government’s price control mechanisms have not been optimal Live Mint   Learning how to beat corruption- It thrives wherever power, secrecy, repression combine. It is undone by civic mobilization, vigilant enforcement Live Mint MIND MAPS   1. Observer Research Foundation Urban Exclusion Link

Feb 17, 2016 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 17th February, 2016

ArchivesIASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 17th February, 2016 NATIONALTOPIC:General studies 1: Effects of Globalization on Indian Society; Urbanization and related issuesGeneral studies 2: Important aspects of governance and e-governance Issues regarding services relating to Health, Education, Human Resource. Urbanization: Cities at crossroads- Why cities matter?Background: The first recognition of the importance of urbanisation, after years of neglect by both the Centre and the states, came in 2005 when the government of India launched the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in December 2005. Public service delivery improved only in cities where state governments provided an enabling environment for innovation and better governance.What is urbanisation?The process of society's transformation from predominantly rural to predominantly urban population through migration from rural areas is known as urbanisation.It mainly includes two things: An increase in the number of people living in urban settlements An increase in the Percentage of population engaged in non-agricultural activities.What are the reasons behind migration? Better infrastructure Better employment opportunity Education Better Health care facilities etc...What are the problems of Urbanisation? Over crowding Decrease in standard of living in urban areas Housing Problem Slums and squatter settlements Sewage problems Urban crimes Problems of Urban pollution etc..Why cities matter? After having grown at close to 4 per cent per annum during the Eleventh Plan period (2007-08 to 2011-12), agricultural growth in India has slowed down to less than 2 per cent in more recent years. Indian agriculture should grow at 4 to 4.5 per cent per annum and we need to make large investments in research and development, soil and water management and agricultural extension. But rapid growth of GDP will have to be driven by non-agricultural sectors. As too many people dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods, productivity of labour is low in Indian agriculture as farmers engage in labour-intensive farming. This limits their potential to earn a higher income If we aspire for GDP growth of 8 to 10 per cent per annum, which is necessary to improve economic conditions in India and remove/ reduce poverty within a short period, this can only be driven by industry and services sectors, which can grow much faster than agriculture Faster growth of industry and services leads to a decline in the share of agriculture in both GDP and employment. This is called structural transformation and should be welcomed. Cities play an important role in developing industries and services. By generating economies of agglomeration and by acting as centres of knowledge and innovation, they make investments in industry and services more productive. As it is difficult for the existing rural population to earn a decent living in rural areas, they migrate to the cities. To absorb the exodus of people from rural to urban areas, we need to fix our cities. We need to provide employment, skills and opportunity for people to engage in industry and services sectors.What are the recent initiatives launched to improvise cities?A number of new initiatives have been launched by the government of India in the last two years, raising the level of ambition of Indian cities — smart cities, clean cities (Swachh Bharat), rejuvenated cities (Amrut), and housing for all.Smart cities: A smart city is defined as the ability to integrate multiple technological solutions in a secure fashion to manage the city’s assets – the city’s assets include, but not limited to, local departments information systems, schools, libraries, transportation systems, hospitals, power plants, law enforcement, and other community services. A smart city uses information and communication technologies (ICT) to enhance quality, performance and interactivity of urban services, to reduce costs and resource consumption and to improve contact between citizens and government. Basic infrastructure: Assured water and electricity supply, sanitation and solid waste management, efficient urban mobility and public transport, robust IT connectivity, e-governance and citizen participation, safety and security of citizens Smart solutions: Public information, grievance redressal, electronic service delivery, citizens’ engagement, waste to energy & fuel, waste to compost, 100% treatment of waste water, smart meters & management, monitoring water quality, renewable source of energy, efficient energy and green building, smart parking, intelligent traffic management system. How it will work : After government announces the guidelines, states will be asked to nominate names of cities for a ‘City Challenge Competition’ and the chosen ones will get Central fund of Rs 100 crore each year for 5 years.Amrut: Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation Amrut with the focus of the urban renewal projects is to establish infrastructure that could ensure adequate robust sewerage networks and water supply for urban transformation Rajasthan was the first state in the country to submit State Annual Action Plan under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). The scheme is dependent with public private partnership model(PPP) model. If required, various other schemes like Swachh Bharat Mission, Housing for All 2022, along with the local state schemes like that related to water supply and sewerage and other infrastructure related schemes can be linked to AMRUT.Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: This campaign aims to accomplish the vision of a 'Clean India' by 2 October 2019, the 150th birthday of Mahatma Gandhi Elimination of open defecation Conversion of unsanitary toilets to pour flush toilets (a type of pit latrine, usually connected to two pits) Eradication of manual scavenging and 100% collection and processing/disposal/reuse/recycling of municipal solid waste A behavioural change in people regarding healthy sanitation practices Generation of awareness among citizens about sanitation and its linkages with public health Supporting urban local bodies in designing, executing and operating waste disposal systems Facilitating private-sector participation in capital expenditure and operation and maintenance costs for sanitary facilities. Way ahead: Key issue is whether our cities will be empowered with finances and capacity by the state governments and helped by the government of India. Without this, private funds will not come forth to supplement the limited funds of the government and the hope of public-private partnership will not materialise. There must, of course, be elected local governments as the Constitution mandates, but there must also be greater autonomy to the elected urban local governments in the running of city affairs. Unless this is done, our cities will not be able to improve the quality of life of their citizens and also play their role as engines of rapid growth.Connecting the dots: Can smart cities bridge digital divide and earn dividends to make India truly digital? Do we need ‘Smart village project’ along with ‘Smart cities project’ for balanced growth of rural and urban areas and to reduce ill effects of urbanization? Comment.Related Articles:Disaster Management, Urbanization Issues and Governance – The Chennai DisasterSolid Waste Management: Waste not, want notCity infrastructure: With a multifaceted approach we can afford the ‘Housing for All’ dreamECONOMICSTOPIC:General studies 2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. General studies 3: Agriculture & related issues; Subsidies Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.Neem-coated truth: Urea policy isn't a game-changerJanuary, 2015: The government made it mandatory for urea manufacturers to produce neem-coated urea up to a minimum of 75 per cent of their total production of subsidised urea, from 35 per cent earlier, and allowed them to go up to 100 per cent Intended Benefits— Increases crop yields (Better yield) Lowers input cost to farmers Reduces imports of precious fertilisers as well as reduce ground and soil pollution Neem coated urea is costly by 5% compared to plain prilled urea but it reduces nitrogen loss by more than 10%, thereby incurring a net savings of Rs 13.5 per bag for farmers Due to higher nitrogen use efficiency, the use of nitrogen coated urea can also eliminate import of urea resulting in huge foreign exchange savings Less pest attack due to less use of urea which will also ensure better NPK use ratio and balanced use of fertilisers Farmer’s income would increase with the help of neem-coated urea as productivity would increase with less usage of urea Higher usage of neem-coated urea would check diversion of urea for industrial use Properties to check Nitrogen-Loss— When ordinary urea is applied, it gets converted to ammonium carbamate Some of this gets converted to ammonia gas in what is called ammonia volatilisation and about 8-10 per cent nitrogen is lost during volatilisation, which is more pronounced in alkaline soils like that of India The rest of the ammonium carbamate undergoes chemical transformation and nitrates are formed. Some of these are absorbed by the plants and the rest are either leached into the underground water or are denitrified to gaseous nitrogen and nitrous oxide under anaerobic conditions (absence of oxygen).Neem has properties that check nitrogen loss at each stage— it slows down the process of nitrate formation and hence excess nitrate is not available for denitrification Let us consider the additional concerns— When farmers use conventional urea, about half the applied nitrogen are not assimilated by the plant and leaches into the soil, causing extensive groundwater contamination Spraying urea with neem oil slows the release of nitrogen, by about 10 to 15 per cent, concomitantly reducing consumption of the fertiliser A research finding suggests that the "sustained release" nature of neem-coated urea has seen rice yields jump 9.6 per cent and wheat by 6.9 per cent The neem-coating also precludes an age-old malpractice of this cheap fertiliser being diverted for use in the chemical industry and, most harmfully in states like Punjab and Haryana, as an additive in milk to whiten it. More Premiums: The government has also allowed manufacturers to charge a small 5 per cent premium on neem-coated urea, which works out to roughly Rs 14 more on a Rs 50 kg bag.Is it too early to judge?The answer maybe yes if we are to assess the agronomic efficiency accurately as it is set against the enormous challenges confronting the fertiliser industry and constraints on the government's budgetSubsidies—Paid on the three major fertilisers, N, phosphatic (P) and potassic (K); Plus the heaviest subsidy paid on urea, on account of political pressuresAssured benefits, Doubtful ImpactGovernment is finding increasingly difficult to sustain the fertiliser subsidy—The Budget Estimate for the subsidy for the current financial year (that is, 2015-16), for instance, is Rs 71,969 crore. But this amount is misleading because it masks the fact that the year started with aRs 40,000 crore arrears from the previous yearFertiliser Association of India (FAI)— Budget allocations get exhausted in [the] first five months of the financial year due to gross under-budgeting for [the] fertiliser subsidy in the successive Union Budgets. The year ends with carry forward of huge amount of unpaid subsidy bills which has been of the order of Rs 30-40,000 crores for the past three years Break-up-Rs 7,000 crore— Towards repaying bank loans for the previous yearThe Irony of the Subsidy Policy—Administered pricing policy and the government's increasing inability to afford the Subsidy The government is unable to reimburse manufacturers on time and that leads to a situation of borrowingFAI— Their average outstanding on a regular basis has resulted in additional annual interest burden of about Rs 3,500 crore for the industry Plus no margins are available under the subsidy pricing regime and most of the companies are incurring losses on account of this additional cost of borrowingEffects: Discouraged Investment in new Urea Plants; government is thus forced to import to make up the shortfall, which is about a quarter of its total urea requirement - even in a drought year like the 2015-16 kharif season (the government imported about 7.5 million tonnes between April and January) The average landed price of imported urea is $300 a tonne, which, at the exchange rate of $1 = Rs 69.14, is sold to farmers at $77.52 a tonne (all ports have facilities to spray this imported urea with neem oil). Thus, a large differential in retail prices has encouraged illegal and unaccounted for cross-border sales to Nepal and Bangladesh The wide price differential between urea and P and K fertiliser- the complex fertiliser Di-ammonium Phosphate, has discouraged the use of the latter, resulting in a serious nutrient imbalance in the soil N:P:K ratio: 2011-2012: 10:4:1 against an ideal 4:2:1 Since then— Grown worse (principle agriculturist States)Solutions: Allowing the industry to charge market prices and paying farmers a direct subsidy The opening and efficient operation of Jan Dhan bank accountsConnecting the Dots: Discuss the challenges faced by India in becoming a “urea exporting country”. Is the Fertilizer Policy in a mess? Critically evaluate. MUST READCan India beat this slowdown?Hindu The curious case of Justice KarnanHindu JNU, and the idea of IndiaHinduRelated Articles:Sedition: An unconstitutional toolMaking cities clean and sustainableHinduRelated Articles:Solid Waste Management: Waste not, want not:For Detailed Analysis on  ‘Smart Cities’, refer the below linkhttp://iasbaba.com/2015/09/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-16th-september-2015/http://iasbaba.com/2015/09/iasbabas-monthly-yojana-september-smart-city/http://iasbaba.com/2015/05/big-picture-smart-cities/The rise of whistleblowers- Companies Act of 2013 trigger for surge in whistleblower-led probes, say forensic teams at consultanciesLive MintRelated Articles:DMAT and Vyapam Scams : Scams that invades intellectual spaceFiscal deficit and growth slowdown- The long-term costs of persistent financial repression have not always been considered by policymakersLive MintRelated Articles:Fiscal responsibility and federalismMIND MAPS1. Compensatory Afforestation Fund Bill, 2015PRS Legislative Link

Feb 16, 2016 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 16th February, 2016

ArchivesIASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 16th February, 2016 NATIONALTOPIC:  General Studies 2 Constitution, Polity – Fundamental Rights (FR) GovernanceSedition: An unconstitutional toolSection 124A of the IPC defines sedition and says: Whoever by words either spoken or written or by signs or by visible representation or otherwise brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, the government established by law; or Whoever by the above means excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the government established by law, has committed the offence of sedition.What the section tries to achieve?There should be no attempt by any individual or sections, to excite hatred or contempt or disaffection.In other words, even if the impugned speech or article or cartoon seeks to obtain the alteration of the wrong governmental decisions, if they excite hatred, contempt or disaffection towards the government, the author of the speech and others are liable to be charged with sedition and punished.Infringement of rights under Article 19: Article 19(1)(a) guarantees freedom of speech and expression to all the citizens. However, Article 19(2) talks about “reasonable restrictions” on freedom of speech and expression, in interests of “public order”. Article 19(2) has been used by the governments to suppress constructive criticisms by the public, on faulty and wrong governmental decisions.What is Supreme Courts view on sedition?Indian Supreme Court has developed a rich and robust jurisprudence of free speech and, with a few exceptions, has generally ruled in favour of free speech against repressive measures. The Constitution bench of the Supreme Court explained the amplitude of sedition in 1962 in the case of Kedarnath Vs. State of Bihar (1962)— The court adopted the view that, a person can be charged with sedition only if there is “incitement to violence” in his speech or writing or an “intention to create disorder” Failed to establish any rational test on how to determine when speech in disaffection of the government could be construed as causing a disruption of public order The famous Shreya Singhal Judgement that held Section 66A of the Information Technology Act to be in violation of Article 19(1)(a) bears a testimony to the above mentioned statement Struck down the provision on grounds of it being vague and having overreach Recognised “chilling effects” as one of the ways in which it violated Article 19(1)(a) Recognised in the Khushboo judgment (2010), in which the court said, “If the complainants vehemently disagreed with the appellant’s views, then they should have contested her views through the news media or any other public platform. The law should not be used in a manner that has chilling effects on the ‘freedom of speech and expression’.”The move that led to the arrest of the President of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Students’ Union, on complaints of sedition- Presents with vivid clarity the governments pointed efforts at quelling any and every form of dissent The invocation of Section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, provides a stark reminder of the sheer depravity of some of our antiquated, colonial-era lawsJurisprudence of free speech in India—Differing OpinionsProvides us with a platform to challenge unreasonable acts of the state Strategies outlined to describe a mode of using the law for the most illegal purposes by the most lawless groups — The Slapp suits (strategic legal action against public participation), Kicks (criminal intimidatory coercive knockout strategies)Question of repealing or striking down on the grounds that they violate Article 19(1)(a)— Most of these laws have, in fact, been challenged and their constitutional validity has already been upheld Section 295A (“deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs”) was found to be constitutional in the Ramjilal Modi case (1957) Section 124A (sedition) was held to be constitutional in the Kedarnath case (1962) Against Section 124A of the IPC Sedition defined under Section 124A of the IPC is a colonial law meant to suppress the voice of Indian people. However the irony is the law enforcement agencies have always used it against artists, public men, intellectuals for criticising the governments. The Supreme Court, being the protector of the fundamental rights of the citizens may step in now and declare Section 124A unconstitutional. The draconian aspect is apparent in its wordings, and the purpose that it unequivocally seeks to achieve: a suppression of all kinds of opposition.Historical usage of the clause— Bal GangadharTilak Mahatma Gandhi in 1922Mahatma Gandhi—“Section 124-A under, which I am happily charged, is perhaps the prince among the political sections of the IPC designed to suppress the liberty of the citizen”To protect free speech—Need to focus on procedural reforms and safeguards (rendering the malicious use of these laws more difficult) All speech-related offences should be made bailable offences— To lessen the harmful impact of using arrest and custody as a way of harassing anyone exercising their rights under Article 19(1)(a)) The offences should be made non-cognisable— A judicial check on the police acting on the basis of politically motivated complaints be maintained Case of offences under Sections 153A (“promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony”) and 295A of the Indian Penal Code, it is mandatory under Section 196(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure to obtain prior sanction of the government before taking cognisance of the offences. This needs to be extended to the offence of sedition under Section 124A The Gujarat High Court in a 1980 decision (Shalibhadra Shah) observed that the reason that prior sanction is needed is because in many cases— “the very filing of a prosecution after tempers have cooled down may generate class feelings which could well be avoided by the government by refusing to accord sanction” “that the article complained of pertains to a matter falling within the area of social reform and attacks certain dogmas in a general way without intending to outrage religious feelings” The case of hate speech— Important to raise the burden of proof on those who claim that their sentiments are hurt rather than accept them at face value Strict Action to be taken against those who bring malicious complaints against speech actsConnecting the dots: Discuss section 124A of the IPC, with reference to its alleged violation of article 19 of the Indian constitution. Critically evaluate the statement “Freedom of speech and expression is not absolute in India”.ENVIRONMENTTOPIC:  General Studies 3 Infrastructure: Energy Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment. Skill up or scale down ambitions in Renewable solar energy:Background: The current rate of installing new electricity capacity in the United States is about 10 gigawatts (GW) per year. When China was growing at 10 per cent, it was installing about 100 GW annually. India is somewhere in between, installing 28.6 GW in 2015, 21.7 GW in 2014 and 22.9 GW in 2013. Building energy infrastructure quickly is a daunting proposition. It needs money, material, and men. How fast India builds its renewable energy capacity will depend in a very big way not just on political will and policy announcements but on how quickly it can find and train thousands of skilled workers.What does renewable energy mean?Renewable energy is generally defined as energy that is collected from resources which are naturally replenished on a human timescale, such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat.Why solar energy is sort after to address energy security? Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun harnessed using a range of ever-evolving technologies such as solar heating, photo voltaic, solar thermal energy, solar architecture and artificial photosynthesis It is a renewable energy source: Typical electricity is generated from fossil fuel that will run out one day. Solar energy is a good alternative to replace fossil fuel as the major energy source because solar power is renewable at absolutely no cost to supply energy infinitely. Environment friendly: Any effort that can reduce the pollution to the environment helps to save the earth. Solar panels are able to harness the energy from the sun and convert it to electricity. Therefore, the use of solar panels is environment friendly. Solar energy is the world's most abundant energy source: There's enough solar energy hitting Earth every hour to replace every barrel of oil, every lump of coal, and every other energy source used on earth for an entire year. Technology used to convert the sun's power into electricity does not produce smoke (carbon dioxide and other air pollutants). What is the mechanism of solar power production? Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV), or indirectly using concentrated solar power (CSP). CSP systems use lenses or mirrors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. PV converts light into electric current using the photoelectric effect. What is India's position in terms of clean energy production? India has become a world leader in clean energy. In 2010, when India launched the National Solar Mission with a target of 20,000 megawatts (MW) of solar power by 2022, it had less than 20 MW installed. Today, India has crossed 5,000 MW. The government has dramatically increased the solar target to 100,000 MW by 2022. What is the potential of solar energy market in Job creation? India's 100,000 MW solar-target could generate more than one million jobs by 2022, primarily in two key phases of a solar project's lifecycle: construction and commissioning (806,800, accounting for 72 per cent of new solar jobs), and ongoing operations and maintenance, or O&M (263,400; 23 per cent of new solar jobs). These projections do not include jobs created in the manufacturing sector, another significant jobs opportunity. Way ahead: Much attention is often given to issues such as policy certainty, cost of finance, land acquisition and power evacuation, or credibility of the power-purchase agreements signed. These are all important concerns but issue of skilled labour need to be addressed at the earliest. India needs to create at least 10 million new jobs every year. Understanding the job potential in solar power and matching it to specific skills would be a fillip to the solar mission as well as Skill India. How to bridge the Skill Gap in India's Clean Energy Market? In order to meet the rising demand for a skilled or semi-skilled workforce, three key areas need urgent attention.Firstly, ramp up training programmes through Skill India: Solar sector employers find the poor quality of current programmes as the biggest hurdle. They do not meet industry needs and are often not located near solar hubs where they are most needed. High-quality and accessible certification programmes, which reduce the need for and costs of on-site training, are a big opportunity Under Skill India, renewable energy training clusters could be located near ongoing solar energy projects. At least one prominent solar training institute could be established in each region projected to be a hub for major solar activity (e.g., Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka). In the interim, mobile training courses, where trainers move from one location to another, would add value.Secondly, focus on semi-skilled jobs in construction, commissioning and operations: Our survey respondents emphasised that some of the skills most challenging to find were not the most technical skills; rather they are basic construction and commissioning skills, including electricians and PV installation technicians. Training programmes focused on fundamental construction, commissioning and operations skills should be expanded across the country.Thirdly, use the new International Solar Alliance (ISA) framework to accelerate capacity building: International Solar Alliance (ISA), an initiative that India spearheaded at the Paris climate negotiations recently. The focus is on solar power utilization. The launching of such an alliance in Paris also sends a strong signal to the global communities about the sincerity of the developing nations towards their concern about climate change and to switch to a low-carbon growth path. India has pledged a target of installing 100GW by 2022 and reduction in emission intensity by 33-35% by 2030 to let solar energy reach to the most unconnected villages and communities and also towards creating a clean planet. India’s pledge to the Paris summit offered to bring 40% of its electricity requirements from renewable by 2030, it is based on world co operation. The ISA can serve as an excellent platform for skill development. The ISA could establish certified training programmes, help to build common curricula in close consultation with the private sector, and make the workforce qualified for deployment within India and outside.Connecting the dots: Can solar energy market play twin roles of addressing Energy security and job creation? Comment. Filling the Skill Gap in India's Clean Energy Market is the need of the hour to explore full potential of solar power? Examine.Related Articles:A Solar-y AlternativeINDIA AND INTERNATIONAL SOLAR ALLIANCEShifting India to Clean Energy MUST READRaja-mandala: A short history of F-16s- India is not really bothered by eight F-16s but by the political consequences of US assistance to PakistanIndian Express New Policies: Start-up initiative could jumpstart employment generation- During the initial plan periods, India pursued the trickle down strategy for mainstreaming millions of underprivileged, but didn’t achieve much success.Indian ExpressRelated Articles:Start Up India Stand Up India SchemeSTARTUP INDIA STANDUP INDIA Lessons From Delhi- Shoring up municipal finances requires institutional reforms, not band-aidsIndian Express Banking on less-Reducing government’s ownership of public-sector banks is the right step towards improving their governance.Indian ExpressTip of the iceberg-Bad loan crisis means genuine bank reforms now essentialBusiness StandardRelated Articles:Fashioning a Banking Turn- Public Sector BanksCapacity building in Banks and Non-Bank InstitutionsBASEL III norms and INDIAThe problem of debt concentration‘A solution, with its own problems’- Strategic Debt Restructuring SchemeForget manufacturing, just make interest payments in India- Companies in India are struggling to shore up their operational performance, but high interest rates mean they’re fighting with their backs against the wallLive Mint Securing India’s energy interests in West Asia-The commodity price crash means New Delhi currently holds the advantageLive MintRelated Articles:India’s ties with West Asia : An analysis  (Part I)The sprouting of the “ look west”  policy  (Part III)TLP 2015Understanding the debt epidemic in AsiaBusiness LineMIND MAPS1. Observer Research Foundation Potential Growth SlowdownLink

Feb 15, 2016 PIB

IASbaba Press Information Bureau (PIB)- 8th Feb to 14th Feb, 2016

ARCHIVES   GS-1 Ganga Sanskriti Yatra (Topic: Indian Heritage Culture) Ganga Sanskriti Yatra- Showcasing & discovering culture heritage of Ganga will begin at Gangotri on 14 February, 2016 (at the time of sunrise) Concentrating on pursuing of cultural exchange Art forms from confluence During the Yatra, a survey and documentation on the art forms and cultural heritage of Ganga will be published at the commencement of the series   Objective- To showcase and discover the cultural diversity and heritage of Ganga river basin To spread necessary awareness to the masses about its safeguarding and rejuvenating To safeguard the cultural heritage festival namely,“Ganga Sanskriti Yatra” has been planned   Organised from- Gangotri to Gangasagar (14 Feb-13 March, 2016) in 262 different venues connecting with over 2.5 crore people  Main Concentration of the festival- To present art forms of Ganga basin which are deeply associated with the river, including Folk songs, Folk dances, Folk Theatre, Dance Drama, Documentary/ Films Shows, Street Plays, Kavi sammelan, Photography exhibitions, film shows, quiz competitions, seminars and Poster campaigns Cultural diversity and heritage of Ganga river basin and challenges for its safeguarding will be discussed Ganga- One of the major rivers of the Indian subcontinent Ganga is the lifeline and national heritage of India and is also the multiple streams of Indian Culture Longest river in India and flows for around 1,569 miles (2,525 KM) from the Himalayan Mountains to the Bay of Bengal and heavily populated with over 400 million people living in the basin From origin to confluence, the Ganga flows through the state of Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal are under the EZC Declared as a National Heritage by Government of India and above all is the River of India History- Ganga has held India’s heart captive and drawn uncounted millions to her banks since the dawn of history Story of Ganga is the history of Indian civilization and culture Great Janapadas and Empires flourished on the bank of Ganga Ganga is also the river of creation and cultural diversity of the Ganga basin is highly considerable In the mythology and epics, Ganga has been considered as a holy river and is regarded by all religions and paths EZCC-      Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC) under Union Ministry of Culture has Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, Odisha, Sikkim, Tripura, West Bengal and Andaman & Nicobar Islands as the member States Every Zonal Culture Centres have to organize a series of festivals namely (as per scheme)- Cultural Yatra, beyond their zone Swach Bharat Abhiyan has also been taken up by EZCC   GS-2 Conference of Governors (Topic: Governance, Constitutional posts, Powers, Functions and Responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies) Conference deliberated on the following agenda items- Security: Internal and External with special focus on terrorism and insurgency activities Creating jobs for youths: Special focus on skill development for school dropouts Implementation of flagship programmes: Government programmes like- Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Housing for all by 2022 and Smart Cities Improving quality of Higher Education Giving impetus to “Make in India” programme and employability Act East Policy and development of North Eastern Region   Make in India Week (Topic: Government Policies and Interventions for Development in various sectors and Issues arising out of their design and Implementation) About-      Event to provide greater momentum to the Make in India initiative, to showcase to the world the achievements of the nation in its manufacturing sector and to promote India as preferred manufacturing destination globally Week long calendar would offer- Unprecedented access, Insights and opportunities to connect and collaborate with India and global industry leaders, Week would spark a renewed sense of pride in India's manufacturing and take corporate and public participation to the next level Creating a confluence of- Policymakers + Industry + Entrepreneurs + Academia It is to- Showcase, Connect and Collaborate, as well as Highlight the people, policies and partnerships driving India’s new manufacturing revolution Delegation from- 49 nations and business delegations from 68 countries during the Week Week-long event organized to- Showcase India's manufacturing prowess Drawing the attention towards the Centre's view on States being partners to realize the nation's potential for achieving higher rates of growth and creating employment for masses FDI in India is growing at 48 per cent while globally there is a sharp fall To showcase the nation's accomplishments in manufacturing and position India as investment, innovation and manufacturing hub Emphasizing that the world has now started to recognise India as a trusted investment destination   Event Highlights- Leading Institutions from the world over would come together and develop solutions to address problems in three important areas – Water, Transportation and Energy For entrepreneurship spirit of India's youth and to catalyse start up community to drive the entire value chain from innovation to manufacturing in India, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion and Qualcomm India would organize India’s largest start-up contest “QPrize™ Make in India” awarding Rs. 2 Crore in equity investment as prize money for the winning company Make in India Week help in- Forging enormous global engagement with Indian industry in the form of partnerships and investments paving the path for a transformation of the world’s largest democracy into the world’s most powerful economy Serve as a crucible of ideas and innovation with industry-academia interaction featuring manufacturing success stories    ‘Prohibition of Discriminatory Tariffs for Data Services Regulations, 2016’  (Topic: Government Authority, Structure, Organisation and Functioning) TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA (TRAI) issued the ‘Prohibition of Discriminatory Tariffs for Data Services Regulations, 2016’ It is to- Disallow service providers to offer or charge discriminatory tariffs for data services on the basis of content being accessed by a consumer Highlights- TRAI had earlier issued a Consultation Paper on ‘Differential Pricing for Data Services’ in December, 2015 Consultation primarily sought the views of the stakeholders on whether the service providers should be allowed to charge differential tariffs based on the websites/applications/platforms being accessed on the internet Based on the responses received and the internal deliberations, the Authority has now issued these Regulations There were views suggesting both in support and against ex ante steps for regulating differential tariff for data services based on content After careful examination of all the comments and feedback, the Authority has decided that ex ante regulation, rather than a case by case tariff intervention regime would be more appropriate as it would give the much needed certainty to industry participants Such a step is also warranted in view of the high costs of regulation in terms of time and resources that will be required for investigating each case of tariff discrimination   Aim- Ensuring that consumers get an unhindered and non-discriminatory access to the internet Intend to make data tariffs for access to the internet non discriminatory on the basis of the content Authority mandated the following:  No service provider shall offer or charge discriminatory tariffs for data services on the basis of content No service provider shall enter into any arrangement, agreement or contract, by whatever name called, with any person, natural or legal, that has the effect of discriminatory tariffs for data services being offered or charged by the service provider for the purpose of evading the prohibition in this regulation Reduced tariff for accessing or providing emergency services at times of public emergency has been permitted Financial disincentives for contravention of the regulation have also been specified TRAI will keep a close watch on the implementation of the mandate by the service providers and may undertake a review after two years or at an earlier date as it may deem fit.   DESTINATION NORTH EAST - 2016  (Topic: Government Policies and its Implementation)                     Aim- To bring the rest of India closer to North East India North East will play an important role in India's Act East Policy To ‘Act East’ effectively on foreign policy, it is necessary to ‘Act East’ within our borders Destination North East- To showcase the richness of North-East to the rest of India Event include theme specific Business Summit consisting of sectors like- Tourism, Agriculture, Food Processing, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, IT, Handloom & Handicrafts, Livelihood, Micro-Finance and Start ups Enable various Ministries to showcase their initiatives in North East India Cultural programmes to showcase the rich culture and folk dances of North East India Next venues for Destination North East will be Mumbai and Bengaluru, followed by other parts of the country Each State of North-East India will be known by its distinct identity and for its uniqueness such as Mizoram as Bamboo State and Sikkim as Organic State   Government urges Banks to pitch in for Swachhta Mission (Topic: Government Policies and Schemes and its Implementation) Government asked the Banks and Micro-Finance institutions to- Come forward in a big way for credit-disbursal to achieve the goal of Swachh Bharat Mission of making India Open Defecation Free by 2019 Incentive of Rs 12,000 for toilet construction for BPL families To achieve the universal coverage, there is need for easy financing by banks and other financial institutions Included water and sanitation as new sectors for priority sector lending by commercial banks Sanitation is closely linked with poor health, low education status, malnutrition and poverty   SMB- Since the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission on 2nd October, 2014, more than 14.7 million toilets were constructed in the rural areas, but still close to 50 percent of our rural population still does not have access to a toilet Solid and liquid waste management component of the Swachh Bharat Mission, provides scope for small and medium private sector institutions to engage in waste management and improvisation of village environmental management infrastructure Need for creating strong synergy between: Self Help Groups + Swachh Bharat Mission across the country    (MoU)—Ministry of Railways and Governments of Chhattisgarh (Topic: Agreements involving development in various sectors) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between- Ministry of Railways and State Government of Chhattisgarh It is for- “Formation of Joint Venture Companies for Development of Railway Infrastructure in the State of Chhattisgarh” Help- Joint Venture Companies with the State Governments will go a long way in faster commissioning of critical rail infrastructure projects as it will— Help in mobilization of funds Facilitating various clearances and land acquisition MoU- In view of the growing demands for railway lines in various states and huge requirement of funds to execute them, Minister for Railways announced in his budget speech regarding setting up of Joint Ventures with states for focused- Project development, Resource mobilization, Land acquisition, Project implementation and Monitoring of critical rail projects 17 State Governments consented for formation of Joint Venture Companies in collaboration with the Ministry of Railways for development of rail infrastructure in their respective States MoUs have already been signed by the Ministry of Railways with the State Governments of Odisha, Maharashtra, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh Signing of MOU To be a stepping stone for formation of JV companies Envisages formation of a Joint Venture companies having 51% stakes of the respective State Government and 49% stakes of Ministry of Railways JV companies shall be fully owned by the Government Companies will primarily identify projects and possible financing avenues in addition to Govt. of India and the State Government SPVs- After finances for a project are tied up, project specific SPVs or special purpose vehicles shall be formed SPVs can have other stake holders from Industries, Central PSUs, State PSUs etc JV companies shall be  mandatory stake holders with minimum 26% shares in the SPVs Most important aspect of this MoU is that the ownership of the land shall vest with the SPVs which is a departure from previous practice Give financial leverage to the company to exploit commercial potential of the land Likely to result in making project viable which are otherwise not viable At the end of concession period, the railways will have option to take over the assets at a nominal price Ministry of Railways will sign a concession agreement of 30 years with the project SPV for- + Safe and Sound operation + Revenue sharing + Providing technical & marketing logistics to the SPV Revenue Sharing- Based on already established formulas being used for inter zonal apportionment of revenue Indian Railway- Indian Railways has been playing a major role in national integration by connecting the remotest places and bringing people closer to each other Railways receive a large number of demands for network expansion as a railway line acts as an engine of growth for the area it serves To expedite the projects, Railways have been trying to mobilize resources through other than Gross Budgetary Support   Aquifer Mapping (Topic: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/ Services relating to Health, Education, and Human Resources) Advanced technologies like heli-borne geophysical surveys are being used for mapping in certain areas Sophisticated softwares like RockWorks, ARC GIS, Modflow, Map Info etc have been used in preparation of Management plans States selected inter-alia in the first phase include Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Telangana; where the ground water situation has reached a critical level As a precursor, pilots were launched in five States of Bihar, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu; which has helped in proving the efficacy of various techniques in aquifer mapping Intensive and unregulated groundwater pumping in many areas has caused rapid and widespread groundwater decline, including in the northern “bread basket” states where an estimated 15% of India’s food-grains is being produced   Aquifer Mapping and Management (NAQUIM)- NAQUIM activities to involve and create awareness about the programme to potential players in the water sector To bring the programme in Mission mode with clearly defined timelines and financial outlays Efforts of CGWB in mapping of aquifers and preparation of management plans, re-emphasized the importance of this programme which would usher in security to sustainable level of food grain production Target- Focus would be on use of IT tools and ITES in monitoring of- Ground water levels, Water quality, Data processing & analytics and data dissemination / sharing Significant portion of the proposed works will be outsourced which include generation of- Geophysical data, Geochemical data and Drilling of bore-wells / tube-wells Help-                                                                  An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing rock, from which groundwatercan be extracted Mapping would assist in estimating the quantity and quality of ground water in an aquifer and would help in assessment of sustainable level of ground water extraction Helps in making the Country climate change resilient Mapping is being undertaken by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) To prepare Management Plans, in consultation with stakeholders and State Governments, this will identify the recharge and other measures to replenish the declining trend of groundwater Help in predicting the ground water scenario, the recharge potential and possibilities and would also help in educating the stakeholders in water use efficiency   India Handloom Brand Goes Online (Topic:  Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models, success, limitation, and potential; citizens charters, transparency and accountability and institutional and others) Integrated website of ‘India Handloom’ Brand www.indiahandloombrand.gov.in launched by, Ministry of Textiles Website- One stop platform for all services to consumers, bulk buyers and handloom producers Provide full details of all registered India Handloom producers which will facilitate verification of genuine India Handloom product by customers Able to verify the genuineness of the Brand logo through the registration no. which is printed on every label on the produce Provide information about the retail stores and e-commerce platform from where India Handloom branded products can be purchased Contain brief description of every product category and tips to identify genuine products Contact details of India Handloom Brand producers are available for bulk buyers like retail stores, garment manufacturers who will able to directly access the handloom producers registered under the Brand Section where handloom producers can apply online for registration under the Brand and can also track status of their application Government Efforts- Committed to raise the market positioning of handloom products for development of handloom industry and for increasing wages of handloom weavers Website will be an important platform for achieving these objectives and would be user- friendly both for consumers as well as handloom producing agencies ‘India Handloom’ Brand Launched on 7thAugust, 2015, the first National Handloom Day, to endorse the quality of handloom products in terms of- Raw material, Processing, Embellishment, Weaving, Design and other parameters besides social and environment compliance Main objective is to promote the production of quality products with new designs for winning the trust and confidence of customers by giving particular attention to defect free, hand woven, authentic niche products with zero defect and zero impact on environment Registration under the brand is given after stringent testing of samples in Govt. of India laboratory Several e-commerce platforms and leading retail stores have been engaged for marketing of India Handloom branded products   Employment and Handlooms- More than 43 lakh persons are engaged in this sector with annual production of 720 crore sq.mtrs which is 14% of the total textile sector Provides livelihood to large number of rural women and backward sections of the society Supported by 28 Weavers’ Service Centres and 10 Indian Institutes of Handloom Technology National Handloom Development Corporation is responsible for supply of quality yarn, dyes and chemicals In order to address the main challenges of competition from power-loom sector, concerns of consumers about quality, and stagnant wages for weavers, new strategy aims at increasing production ofhigh value good quality products leading to consumers satisfaction and remunerative earnings to the weavers Block Level Cluster Approachto support quality production and ‘India Handloom’ Brand for market positioning are two key elements of new strategy Number of handlooms along with new jobs have increased wherever market linked design intervention has been taken up for supporting weaving of quality handloom products Such efforts are being further strengthened by launch of ‘India Handloom’ Brand   India-Australia Collaboration: Mining Skill Development for Labour Safety, Health and Efficiency  (Topic: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and Agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s Interests) About- Union Minister of State (IC) for Coal, Power and New and Renewable Energy held an industry and academia roundtable on Skill development and initiated collaboration Queensland government’s centre for virtual mining SIMTARS (Safety in Mines Testing and Research Station) India is co-chairing 3rd India-Australia energy security dialogue in Brisbane, Australia Highlight- Significant opportunities for skill development in India Prime Minister’s vision of affordable energy access for all and consequent doubling of output of Coal India India – Australia Collaboration- Current, skill development engagement with Australia was at a scale of 20 people per year which will be scaled up to thousands through combination of- Setup of Indian centres + e-learning + on-site training Include leadership training as well as training on mine operations and safety   SIMTARS- Virtual mining training showcased at SIMTARS included- Labour safety, Mine planning and Refinery operations Such training centres can significantly improve productivity while minimizing mine and plant accidents Original plan was to setup one Indian centre in collaboration with SIMTARS and ISM, a larger collaboration with more than six centres in each of the large mining states esp. in East India Help- Workers in these states to ramp up their skills and fully benefit from the fruits of development Sports was also identified as a key enabler for the health of workers as well as bring significant benefits even at the workplace Central Coalfields Limited (CCL): A subsidiary of Coal India Limited has committed to setup a sports university in Ranchi and is also upgrading 14 stadiums in the city CCL will collaborate with sports institutes in Australia with an aim to produce 100 Olympians from India in 10 years Help- Bring the best sports training practices from Australia to India as well as promote traditional Indian sports like Kabaddi and Kho-kho back in Australia   India Exploring Australian Gas Supplies for Clean and Affordable Power  (Topic: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and Agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s Interests)   Aim- To meet its objective to providing affordable and clean energy for all Collaboration on LNG and CBM is a big outcome focused step towards achieving this objective Highlights- Government of India is willing to consider long term fixed price contracts for the supply of gas which will enable power producer to enter into a power supply contract at an affordable price Opportunities to control the entire value chain right from gas production, liquefaction, shipping, re-gasification and power generation can be evaluated at the current historic low prices of many of these activities India is running one of the world’s largest renewable energy programme which aims to increase the capacity 5 times to 175 GW over the next seven years It requires gas based plants which can act as spinning reserve and supply power during deficit times of day (like evenings) when renewable energy production reduces while stabilizing the grid Since coal based power is available in India at less than 5 cents per unit, the LNG providers should consider supplying gas to India at a price that is comparable India is the fourth largest energy consumer in the world India has developed sufficient infrastructure in- Pipeline transportation, Regasification facilities End consumers facilities such as gas based power plants Facilities enable the consumption of around 300 MMSCMD, whereas the present consumption is less than 50% of the same Provides good opportunities to countries which have a surplus of Natural Gas provided it is available at affordable prices In order to explore the opportunities to affordably supply Australian LNG to India, an LNG sub-group has been created   Australian Companies highlighted- Technologies have been highlighted to reduce cost of producing natural gas and clear shipping routes between Australia and India provide ample opportunities to provide LNG to India at competitive rates Additionally, with large increase in coal exploration and production in India, Australian companies can provide Coal Bed Methane (CBM) technologies to India   GS-3 Improving Ease of doing Construction Business (Topic: Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth) Progress reported towards enhancing the ’ease of doing of construction business’ in urban areas by- Streamlining the- Procedures, Adoption of appropriate technology and By empowering urban local bodies to accord a wide range of approvals   Colour Coded Zonal Maps- To begin with CCZMs will be evolved for four such airports viz., Pune, Jamnagar, Chandigarh and Bagdogra by April, 2016 Enable respective urban local bodies accord height clearances in respect of almost all cases, doing away with the need to approach AAI for the same Works of Defence Act, 1903 will be suitably amended to remove hurdles for construction activities near defence establishments Distance from the actual storage point will be considered for restricting the construction instead of from the boundary wall of ammunition storage dumps at present, which will bring down the zone of restriction (No Objection Certificate Application System) eliminating human interface and enabling faster issue of NOC through automatic calculations of permissible heights in airport zones with applicants being able to track the status   Personalised take away bedrolls service launched in Indian Railways  (Topic: Government Schemes, Railways Development Models) e-Bedrolls- Bedrolls are disposable, passengers can take them home after journey Type 1 – Bedroll kit packed in a non-woven fabric bag consisting of two cotton bed sheets and one pillow at a cost of Rs.140 Type 2 – Blanket kit packed in a non-woven bag consisting of one blanket at a cost of Rs.110 Cost is inclusive of all taxes and uniform across stations over Indian Railways   Government to support Ethanol blending of Petrol in a big way (Topic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation) National Seminar aimed at- Accelerating the EBP programme in the country and to draw up a roadmap for establishing ethanol industry from lignocellulosic route thus Reducing the foreign exchange outflow, Generate rural employment and Protect environment Ethanol blended petrol- It will not only help in value addition for the farmer’s produce but will also reduce foreign exchange expenditure Benefits employment generation, entrepreneurship promotion and environment protection Ethanol blended petrol was introduced in 2003 but the process got impetus only in 2014-15 when new government took policy decisions to incentivize petrol blending There is a demand for Ethanol for blending with petrol but there are technological and financial challenges which needs to be overcome Various departments of Government, State Governments, Academic and Research Institutions needs to work together to find solution to these challenges Molasses to Ethanol conversion is already going on and the Government has taken up second generation of lignocelluloses to Ethanol production to utilize agricultural residues/wastes, and achieve the target of 10% Ethanol blending   NHAI aims for conservation and protection of wildlife  (Topic:  Environment, Wildlife, Conservation) About-     With a view to mainstream Sustainable Development and Environmental Management into highway development projects National Highways Authority of India has taken the lead in creating a platform for dialogue where development goals and conservation needs can be resolved across the table by all stakeholders NHAI Initiated the dialogue with the representatives from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Ministry of Environment, and Forest & Climate Change last month NHAI propose using space technology for planning and monitoring of conflict zones and putting in place mitigation measures for environmental protection and conservation along the highways Conservation of wildlife is the focus of attention NHAI has assured to undertake all necessary measures to- Avoid, Minimize, and Mitigate any impact on wildlife that may result in the course of development of National Highways Provide the coordinates of all NH projects to WII for developing a Geological Information System (GIS) enabled map of all National Highways passing through Protected Areas Emphasized the necessity of scientific designing of mitigation measures, so that the project designs could be optimized, safeguarding wildlife while maintaining the cost-effectiveness of the projects on long term basis Expects to reduce the time factor in consultations, clearances and finalization of mitigation plans thereby saving huge costs to the society   National Research Development Corporation inks MOU with Indian Institute of Chemical Biology to Promote Entrepreneurship (Topic: Agreements involving development in research and others) National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) entered into an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Indian Institute of Chemical Biology to promote entrepreneurship CSIR – Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB), Kolkata Engaged in research on diseases and certain biological problems of global interest To spin out these R&D outcomes and with a view to contribute country’s Startup movement, CSIR-IICB established a Translational Research Unit of Excellence (TRUE) which includes an Incubation Centre of about 10,000 sq. ft. Help- ‘TRUE’ and the Incubation Centre would help in research getting translated into viable products Partnership between NRDC and CSIR-IICB contributes to the “Startup India” and “Make in India” Missions of Govt. of India by way of promoting Entrepreneurships, Incubation, IPRs, Technology Transfer   National Framework for Elimination of Malaria  (Topic:  Issues relating to development and management of social sector/ services relating to health) Health Minister launched National Framework for Malaria Elimination (NFME) 2016-2030                                                    Aim- Elimination of the disease by 2030 Contribute to improved health and quality of life and alleviation of poverty Outcome-     Eliminating Malaria will result in cutting down on expenditure on diseases control programme Help in reducing out-of-pocket expenditure too NFME- India has sturdy health systems with trained manpower, and the learning from the Polio and Elimination of Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus will help in eliminating Malaria too Necessary guidance is expressed for rolling out the strategies and related interventions in each State/UT as per respective epidemiological situation Objectives of the NFME are- Eliminate malaria from all low (Category 1) and moderate (Category 2) endemic states/UTs (26) by 2022 Reduce incidence of malaria to less than 1 case per 1000 population in all States/UTs and the districts and malaria elimination in 31 states/UTs by 2024 Interrupt indigenous transmission of malaria in all States/ UTs (Category 3) by 2027 Prevent re-establishment of local transmission of malaria in areas where it has been eliminated and to maintain malaria-free status of the country by 2030 Milestones and targets are set for 2016, 2020, 2022, 2024, 2027 and 2030 by when the entire country has sustained zero indigenous cases and deaths due to malaria for 3 years and initiated the processes for certification of malaria elimination status to the country NFME 2016-2030 also defines key strategic approaches such as programme phasing considering the varying malaria endemicity in the country An enabled environment and necessary resources would remain critical to realize the objectives in the pathway to malaria elimination Target- By end of 2016: All states/UTs are expected to include malaria elimination in their broader health policies and planning framework By end of 2017: All states are expected to bring down API to less than 1 per thousand population By end of 2020: 15 states/UTs under category 1 (elimination phase) are expected to interrupt transmission of malaria and achieve zero indigenous cases and deaths due to malaria Envisaged that in states with relatively good capacity and health infrastructure, such as, Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra, accelerated efforts may usher malaria elimination sooner - within two to three years As per the targets under the 12th Five Year Plan, the country is to achieve API<1 at state and district level by 2017 and pave way to malaria elimination in subsequent years   National Organic Farming Research Institute (NOFRI) at Gangtok, Sikkim  (Topic: Major cropping patterns in various parts of the country, different types of irrigation and irrigation systems and related constraints, e-technology in the aid of famrers) During 87th Annual General Meeting of Indian Council of Agricultural Research announced establishment of National Organic Farming Research Institute (NOFRI) at Gangtok, Sikkim Sikkim has recently been declared as the first organic state in the country NOFRI Institute will provide research and technological backstopping to Organic Production System in the country in general and North East Hills Region in particular Institute will undertake basic, strategic and adaptive research on efficient, economically viable and environmentally sustainable organic farming systems for improving productivity, resource use efficiencies and quality of produce It will impart vocational and advanced training to stakeholders for promotion of organic farming in the country Required financial resources, manpower and infrastructure facilities will be made available accordingly   Counter IED Strategy  (Topic: Science and Technology)        Theme- “National Counter IED Strategy” Provides a platform to the national and international experts of police and armed forces/law enforcement/ security/ intelligence/ forensic agencies and other allied organizations for exchange of expertise, ideas and experiences   NBDC- It has been the pioneer in collection, collation and analysis of various IED incidents since it came into being in 1988 which in turn helps in discerning the modus operandi of different terrorist organizations which help in formulating strategies to effectively counter the activities of such groups   Delegates from- Leading security agencies of India, experts from the US, Israel, France, Germany, Spain, Australia, Canada, Russia, Japan, Singapore, Philippines and Vietnam will be attending the seminar   Australian Clean Coal Technologies for Affordable and Clean Power in India  (Topic: Technology, Clean Energy, Environmental, Conservation, Pollution and Degradation)   Highlights- During the roundtable extensive discussions were held over- Efficient mining practices, Exploration Mining technologies for opencast as well as underground Reclamation and rehabilitation of mined out areas, Mine safety, Clean Coal Technologies and Coal beneficiation etc. In view of the proposed enhancement of coal production in the next five years India is focusing on- Technological development Modernization Safety improvement Skill development In addition to coal mining there was also a focus on clean coal technologies, including- Coal washing + Coal bed methane development + Underground coal gasification Australian companies presented their capabilities in different areas and highlighted the projects they are engaged in particularly Clean Coal Technologies (CCTs) viz- Coal Bed Methane (CBM), Coal Mine Methane (CMM), Underground Coal Gasification (UCG), Safety improvement, Reclamation of mined out areas etc. Taking the process forward and also to augment availability of domestic coal thereby reducing dependence on imported coal, the Government has finalised the methodology of allocation of coal mines for commercial mining to Central/State PSUs Many of these blocks can explore usage of Australian clean coal technologies thus helping reduce emissions while also helping reduce cost of production thus helping meet the aim of affordable power for all   Railway Minister inaugurates three IT enabled projects (Topic: Technology- Developments and their applications and effects in everyday life) Paperless unreserved ticketing through mobile phone in suburban section of South Central Railway Pilot Project of hand Held Terminals for TTEs on Northern Railway and E-booking of disposable linen on trains at New Delhi Railway Station and Nizamuddin Railway Station Hand Held Terminals for TTEs-  With the help of Hand held Terminals for TTEs, after all allotments, remaining vacant berths will be sent back to HHT Application Servers and can be viewed on PRS terminal as well as web site (indianrail.gov.in) Information of all NT passengers will be sent to coaching refund system to get speedier refund and eliminate the preparation of manual Exception Data Reports (EDR) Occupancy chart can be viewed on HHT device to dispense with the manual preparation of food-chart/occupancy chart Outcome of the Project are- Revenue Yield Maximization, by making onboard accommodation availability visible to downstream Stations so that they can do current bookings against these vacant seats, realizing additional revenue against the same as presently these seats usually go vacant up to the terminal stations due to non-availability of this information with the prospective Passengers Application ensures greater transparency in the allotment of Accommodation onboard Ensure better productivity norms amongst TTE’s as the process of ticket checking will get simplified considerably Paperless Unreserved Ticketing Mobile Application To move forward in line with Digital India, Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) has developed a paperless Unreserved Ticketing Mobile Application “UTSONMOBILE”,both for Android and Windows platforms Application, features enable booking of paperless unreserved journey tickets, season tickets and platform tickets through mobile phones Outcome of Project- Application provides necessary on-screen alerts to guide the passenger during the booking process Payment for the ticket is done through the "Railway Wallet” feature in the "App". After booking the ticket, the passenger will get the ticket confirmation screen which contains limited information of the ticket Paperless tickets will be stored in the local mobile application database in the encrypted form which cannot be tampered with Ticket booked in paperless mode cannot be cancelled in order to prevent claiming of refund after travel Journey ticket has distinct colorscheme on daily basis and it is embedded with Quick Response (QR) code  E-booking of Disposable Linen on Trains  Pilot project of E-Bedroll allows passengers to avail bedroll kits through online booking and from over the counter at select outlets set up by the IRCTC on the stations Facility can be availed by passengers having confirmed e-tickets at the time of ticketing or up to four hours prior to the scheduled departure of the train on the basis of online payment   Minister for Telecom & IT to Launch Electronics Development Fund (EDF)  (Topic: Advancement in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nano-Technology, bio-technology) Electronics Development Fund (EDF)- Aninitiative of IT Department is formulated as a “Fund of Funds” to participate in “Daughter Funds” which in turn will provide risk capital to companies developing new technologies in the area of electronics, nano-electronics and Information Technology (IT) EDF therefore enables creation of an ecosystem for providing risk capital to both industry and academia to undertake research and development in these technology areas Enrich the intellectual property in the country and encourage more entrepreneurs towards product and technology development Target beneficiaries of the EDF will be Daughter Funds (set up to achieve the objectives of the EDF policy) registered in India and abiding by the relevant rules and regulations including the SEBI regulations on Venture Funds Corpus of a Daughter Fund will be determined by market requirements and the capacity of its Fund Manager to cater to the requirements of the Fund Supported Daughter Funds will promote innovation, R&D and product development within the country in the specified fields of electronics, nano-electronics and IT Support acquisition of foreign companies and technologies for products imported in India in large volume Core focus of the Daughter Funds would be to develop domestic design capabilities Daughter Funds supported will create a resource pool of IP within the country in the specified fields   Madhya Pradesh Gets its First Mega Food Park (Topic: Food Processing and related industries in India- scope and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management)                                                                                   Mega Food Park Park will have facilities of 3000 MT Cold Storage, 9000 MT Dry Warehouse, Instant Quick Freeze (IQF) 5 MT per hour, modern Quality Control lab and other processing facilities for fruits and vegetables Create a modern infrastructure for arresting post-harvest losses of horticultural and non-horticultural produce and provide impetus to the growth of food processing sector in Madhya Pradesh Help in providing better prices to farmers, reduce wastage of perishables, add value to agricultural produce and create huge opportunities for entrepreneurship and employment for the youth of the State Mega Food Park is expected to provide direct and indirect employment to about 6000 people and benefit about 25,000 to 30,000 farmers in its catchment area.

Feb 15, 2016 AIR

All India Radio- Discovery of Gravitational Waves

ARCHIVES DISCOVERY OF GRAVITATIONAL WAVES Gravitational waves are distortions or 'ripples' in the fabric of space-time caused by some of the most violent and energetic processes in the Universe. Einstein's mathematics showed that massive accelerating objects (such as neutron stars or black holes orbiting each other) would disrupt space-time in such a way that 'waves' of distorted space would radiate from the source. Furthermore, these ripples would travel at the speed of light through the Universe, carrying with them information about their cataclysmic origins, as well as invaluable clues to the nature of gravity itself. Why Detect Them? The gravitational waves that are detectible by LIGO will be caused by some of the most energetic events in the Universe—colliding black holes, exploding stars, and even the birth of the Universe itself. Detecting and analyzing the information carried by gravitational waves will allow us to observe the Universe in a way never before possible. This will open up a new window of study on the Universe, giving us a deeper understanding of these cataclysmic events, and usher in brand new cutting-edge studies in physics, astronomy, and astrophysics. Role of Indian Scientists in discovery of G waves. The contribution can be seen by the references that the detection paper has. It involves whole lot of people known as INDIGO consortium in India who are working towards this endeavour and out of this 61 people belong to LIGO science collaboration.  The detection paper had 37 authors in its list and it is a huge collaboration of scientists from all over the world. What are the major areas in which the Indian impact has been largest? In 1991 a paper by Satyaprakash and Durendar laid out the methods as to of how to go about searching for waves in a revolving black holes when they come around. This has been one of the remarkable achievements because the gravitational signal is so weak that even when the detector is made sensitive the signal is hardly detectable. Indian scientists laid down efficient methods to extract these signals from various signal processing scheme within in a pre defined parameter space. One other scientist Bala Iyer and his consortium actually calculated the wave form in the form of series as there is no two body analytic solution in general relativity which makes the calculation of G waves difficult. The consortium was involved in approximating the solution and obtaining the series. And another early contribution was Ring down and oscillation of the black hole that is evident in the detection. This was first predicted by CB Vishweshwara. LIGO India India is also working to have its own detector under the consortium known as INDIGO. However the successful completion and discovery of G waves from Indian consortium needs cooperation from all across the world as it cannot be done by a single nation due to technical issues. It is good to have a detector far away from LIGO detector, as it helps to get a huge base line for triangulation purposes. INDIA and USA has a huge base line of 39 mille second so it is possible to triangulate sources and fix the localisation of source which helps to get the signal in a better form than at present. Click here and search for 12th February spotlight/News Analysis

Feb 15, 2016 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 15th February, 2016

ArchivesIASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 15th February, 2016 DEFENCE/SECURITYTOPIC:General studies 3: Security challenges and their management in border areas, linkage of organised crime with terrorismGeneral studies 2: India and its neighbourhood- relations Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements including India/ or affecting India’s interestMaritime Security: India’s challenge of securing the seasBackground:Three recent events underline India’s efforts to highlight its growing maritime interests and ambitions in order to secure them unilaterally and in partnership with others. The first was the quiet release of the Indian Maritime Security Strategy (IMSS) titled Ensuring Secure Seas. The second was the holding of the combined senior commanders’ conference, with top officers from all three services, on board INS Vikramaditya, the Indian Navy’s latest aircraft carrier and its largest platform. The last and most recent was India’s hosting of its second International Fleet Review (IFR) at Visakhapatnam in early February. What is the current status of Indian Navy? India is now willing to provide “net maritime security” either by itself or in cooperation with other navies in its primary and secondary areas of interest, which now extend from the west coast of Africa to the south-east Indian Ocean, “including sea routes to the Pacific Ocean”. One instance of this cooperation was the IBSAMAR V exercise conducted with Brazilian and South African ships off the coast of Goa just after the IFR. Sea Power in Peace and WarThe term sea power is a much broader concept that entails at least four elements: Control of international trade and commerce; Usage and control of ocean resources; Operations of navies in war; Use of navies and maritime economic power as instruments of diplomacy, deterrence, and political influence in times of peace.Unlike the concepts of land power or air power, which are generally defined only in military terms, sea power can never be quite separated from its geo-economic purposes.What are the threats mentioned in IMSS-2015 ?Traditional Threats: The principal threat would be from states with a history of aggression against India,e concerns vis-à-vis China’s growing role in the Indian Ocean. It cautions that even countries with divergent national interests can be significant trade partners today (China). Upon that it also mentions there may be divergent security perceptions with nations that may be traditional friends (read United States).Non- Traditional Threats: Terrorism Piracy and organized crime Climate change Natural disasters Due to turmoil in West Asia, naval ships have been involved in the evacuation of Indian and other nationals from Libya and Yemen.What are the recent tasks taken up by Navy in addressing Non-traditional threats? During the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the Indian Navy has been increasingly involved in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations. Recently in 2014 when cyclone Hudhud ravaged Visakhapatnam and other parts of Andhra Pradesh Indian Navy played a vital role in disaster relief operations. The Indian Navy's role in providing timely succour to Indonesia and Sri Lanka, despite our preoccupation with relief operations in Andaman and Nicobar, in Tsunami is well documented. Humanitarian and Disaster Relief capability of the Indian Navy was again evident during the recent cyclone In fact, providing a responsive and effective Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief throughout the Indian Ocean Region remains a core focus area for the Indian Navy, considering that 70 per cent of the world's natural disasters occur in the Indian Ocean Region.What is the current status of India’s sea-based nuclear deterrence?The primary objective of the nuclear-powered submarine armed with nuclear-tipped missiles is to convey “credibility, effectiveness and survivability” of India’s nuclear arsenal to its nuclear-armed adversaries. What are the various maritime initiatives taken recently?Project Mausam: Maritime Routes and Cultural Landscapes across the Indian Ocean. Transnational initiative meant to revive its ancient maritime routes and cultural linkages with countries in the region. Project focuses on the natural wind phenomenon, especially monsoon winds used by Indian sailors in ancient times for maritime trade, that has shaped interactions between countries and communities connected by the Indian Ocean. Project will seek to draw on its ancient linkages with countries in this region as it offers an alternative which could counter-balance the maritime silk route of ChinaBlue Chakra (from the Ashoka chakra on the Indian flag) Blue chakra or wheel in India's national flag represents the potential of Blue Revolution or the Ocean Economy. The Blue Revolution, if realized in its entirety, has the potential to transform India in similar to that of Green revolution and White revolution. The Indian Ocean is critical to the future of the world. This Ocean bears two-thirds of the world's oil shipments, one-third of its bulk cargo and half of its container traffic. Over three-fourths of its traffic goes to other regions of the world Cooperation amongst Island countries is vital for the exploration of full potential of Blue revolution.SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) Ensuring peace, stability and prosperity is India in Indian Ocean region. Goal is to seek a climate of trust and transparency; respect for international maritime rules and norms by all countries; sensitivity to each other`s interests; peaceful resolution of maritime issues; and increase in maritime cooperation. Way ahead: Today, the geo-strategic significance of India as a stabilising power in the IOR is globally accepted and there is a distinct realisation that India is destined to play a larger global role in the years ahead. Proper Cooperation, climate of trust and transparency is the need of the hour for peaceful resolution of maritime issues and also to realise full potential of Blue revolution.Connecting the dots: Blue revolution is acting as a new found platform to increase maritime cooperation?. Comment. Is Project ‘Mausum’ an answer to China’s ‘Maritime Silk route’ Policy? Evaluate. Related Articles:India’s Military Prowess: Navies are for more than just fighting Indian Navy: Centrality of Indian Ocean for India’s prosperity and security Operationalising ‘Blue Diplomacy’NATIONALTOPIC:General Studies 1: Role of women and women’s organization – women empowermentGeneral studies 2:  Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections; Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector or Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.Women Empowerment: Economic agency- An enabling factor for Women As societies become more equal and every individual’s productive capacity is valued and engaged, economies become more resilient. To build such a society, the key is inclusiveness—to make sure that no group is kept at the margins and subjected to exploitation. One particular group that deserves special attention, as it constitutes half the world’s population, is women. An economy cannot grow to its full potential if its women are not treated on par with men. When women are economically empowered, the entire civilization flourishes. And therefore, an economic agency becomes one of the most enabling elements to release women from oppression, violence and powerlessness.Yet until now, a crucial knowledge gap has existed when we talk about the actual interventions that have been effective at the ground level and those that have collectively advanced women’s rights and economic opportunities. Supreme Court Bench- The torchbearer of progressive attitudes towards womenIn a directive given to the Chhattisgarh government, the Bench directed the State government to appoint a woman Excise Sub Inspector as Deputy Superintendent of Police after granting her relief in the upper age limit.Richa Mishra & Chhattisgarh Police Executive (Gazetted) Service Recruitment and Promotion Rules, 2000Richa Mishra’s name was not included in the list of successful candidates for the post as she had crossed the age limit stipulated for the sameWhy: As per the Chhattisgarh Police Executive (Gazetted) Service Recruitment and Promotion Rules, 2000, the upper age limit for appointment to the post of Deputy Superintendent of Police is 25 years and Ms. Mishra had already crossed that ageJudges: Overruled this proposition As per Rule: age relaxation as per Rule 8 of the Rules, 2000 which states, “there shall be age relaxation of ten years for women candidates for direct appointment in all posts in the services under the State in addition to the upper age limit prescribed in any service rules or executive instructions”. Judge’s Statements— “It is to encourage women, hitherto known as weaker section, to become working women, by taking up different vocations, including public employment. It would naturally lead to empowerment of women, which is the need of the hour… Empowerment of women… is perceived as equipping them to be economically independent, self-reliant, with positive esteem to enable them to face any situation and they should be able to participate in the development activities.” “There is a bidirectional relationship between economic development and women’s empowerment, defined as improving the ability of women to access the constituents of development — in particular health, education, earning opportunities, rights, and political participation”The Need— To recognise the Vital role which women play in the economy Policy, data collection and programme designTo emphasise that Livelihood is a critical requirement for self-affirmation (enhance the outcomes of development it the self) Economic power within and outside the household makes a difference to gender relations (strengthening of the agency, freedom and intra-household power) Equality of opportunity allows women to make the choices that are best for them, their families and their communitiesIASbaba’s Views: The message in the verdict not only allows Richa Mishra to get her posting but also acts as an advisory to all the Departments of States at all levels, to Ministries, to Niti Aayog and its State-level counterparts, as well as to research and policy forums about the importance of women in the economy and the suitable roadmap that needs to be sensitively absorbed and followed while taking decisions. More promotion of the cause of inclusion needs to take place and however, the progress must surely be celebrated but emphasizing the work still to be done to ensure economic empowerment for all should form a key priority area. Resulting from poor implementation of the laws, whether due to poor enforcement, poor design, or low capacity, the laws speaking against the legal realities should be done away with and, good mechanisms for implementing and adequate budgetary commitments for enforcing laws should be strictly put in place.Connecting the Dots: ‘Women are less likely to borrow from a financial institution’, do you agree with the statement? Give reasons. Will establishing gender quotas to increase women’s representation at the highest levels of government and the private sector work? DiscussRelated Articles:Women at WorkMUST READJNU: State overreach on the campus ?HinduIndian Express War and possible peace in SyriaHinduRelated Articles:West Asia: Saudi Arabia’s deadly gambleTurkey’s war on the KurdsA country in free fall: SyriaTaking Off Contrary to official claims, Tejas is a winnerIndian ExpressFrom Plate to Plough: On the farm front, make a bold move- The budget is an opportunity for government to address the simmering discontent and disillusion in rural India.Indian ExpressSex determination: Answer this- If the government does not have the will to regulate 55,000 pre-natal diagnostic clinics, how will it track 29 million pregnancies annually?Indian ExpressRelated Articles:India’s Inverted Abortion Politics Start at the bottom-The attempt to improve higher education must begin with primary schools.Indian ExpressRelated Articles:http://iasbaba.com/2015/08/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-13th-august-2015/http://iasbaba.com/2015/09/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-12th-september-2015/http://iasbaba.com/2015/08/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-4th-august-2015/http://iasbaba.com/2015/10/iasbabas-daily-current-affairs-16th-october-2015/The trade agreements dilemma- Economists can’t explain why expanded trade has produced negative consequences for wages and employmentLive MintMIND MAPS1. Institute for Defence Studies & Analysis Bodo MilitantsLink