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RSTV IAS UPSC – UN’s Financial Crisis

UN’s Financial Crisis Archives TOPIC: General Studies 2 Role of UN; International organization In News: The United Nations is running a deficit of $230 million, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said, and may run out of money by the end of October. In a letter for the 37,000 employees at the UN secretariat, Guterres said unspecified "additional stop-gap measures" would have to be taken to ensure salaries and entitlements are paid. To cut costs, Guterres mentioned postponing conferences and meetings and reducing services, while also restricting official travel to only essential activities and taking measures to save energy.  Meetings canceled. Escalators stopped. Official travel limited. U.N. documents delayed. Air conditioning and heating reduced. Limits on interpretation to the U.N.’s six official languages. And the fountain outside U.N. headquarters paid for by U.S. school children and opened in 1952 shut down. These are some of the measures Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has ordered effective Monday at all U.N. facilities and operations around the world to deal with the United Nations’ worst cash crisis in nearly a decade. There are 193 member states in the UN, but only 129 have paid their regular contributions to the budget. The UN's regular budget for the year is $5.4 billion and it is separate from the peacekeeping budget of $6.5 billion.  India paid up its $23.25 million dues for the regular budget on January 30 itself, one of the few countries to pay up on time. While India has been among the few countries to have fully paid its dues to the UN on time, the UN owed India $38 million, among the highest it has to pay to any country, for peacekeeping operations as of March 2019. The United States is simultaneously the largest donor and the largest debtor. One of the reasons for the shortfall is the US, which funds 22 per cent of the UN's regular budget amounting $674 million, not having paid up in full so far. The United States owes $381 million from prior budgets and $674 million for the regular budget, according to figures provided by the US mission to the United Nations. It also owes more than $2.6 billion for active peacekeeping missions. Brazil is second in line in unpaid dues for the regular budget, owing $ 143 million, followed by Argentina which owes $51.57 million, Mexico $36 million, Iran $26.96 million, Venezuela $17.29 million and South Korea $9.8 million. What has the practice been? The practice of meeting the cash requirement of active missions by dipping into the cash pool of closed peacekeeping missions and delaying reimbursements to Police and Troop Contributing Countries, creates a false sense of financial soundness. This approach of creative accounting in managing a financial crisis has never worked and never will. It appears that the countries that owe arrears are somewhat insured from the impact of their inaction. India's assertion that the practice of delaying payments to TCCs while other contractual obligations are met, impacts the UN's ability to maintain honest agreements with TCCs on other aspects of the peacekeeping While sufficient cash has been made available in the pool of closed peacekeeping mission accounts for reimbursing the Troop and Police Contributing Countries in accordance with the agreements signed with them, this cash has been diverted to managing the liquidity crisis of the active peacekeeping missions and at times shortfall in the Regular Budget, thereby deferring resolution to the pressing problem. The United Nations is now effectively borrowing for prolonged periods from troop- and police-contributing countries. Many of them are low-income countries for which that imposes a significant financial burden. At the same time, the Organisation is asking those same countries to do more to train their personnel and improve the quality of their equipment, all while operating in increasingly challenging environments. The United Nations, however, is not fulfilling its obligation towards them in a timely manner. Conclusion A sustainable solution to the financial crisis would only emerge when member states begin to honour their budgetary obligations in full and on time. If member-states do not meet their budgetary obligations, then at least in the context of future peacekeeping operations we see two emerging situations – one, where even with the available cash pool Troop Contributing Countries would not be reimbursed on time and two, missions will close with a cash deficit, without fully reimbursing the Troop and Police Contributing Countries. While the UN is working to become more effective, nimble, accountable, transparent and efficient, the success of the organisation’s efforts depends not only on the internal efforts of the Secretariat, but also on the support of Member States and on the predictability and adequacy of their financial contributions to UN programmes and activities. Connecting the Dots: Analyse the financial crisis in the UN. Suggest solutions to go past this situation.

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Daily Current Affairs IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 15th October 2019

IAS UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 15th October 2019 Archives (PRELIMS + MAINS FOCUS) Economics Nobel Part of: GS Prelims and GS Mains III - Economy In News The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2019 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, popularly called the Nobel Prize in Economics, to Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, and Michael Kremer  They were awarded “for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty” The experiment-based approach of the laureates involved dividing an issue into smaller and more manageable questions They have shown that smaller and more precise questions are often best answered through carefully designed experiments among the people who are the most affected In the mid-1990s Dr Kremer and his colleagues demonstrated how powerful this approach can be when they used field experiments to test a range of interventions that could improve school results in Western Kenya Impact on Policy Research surrounding remedial tutoring provided arguments for large-scale support programmes that have now reached more than five million children in India Their studies showed that deworming provides clear health benefits for school children but also that parents are very price sensitive. This led the WHO to recommend that medicine should be distributed for free to over 800 million school children living in areas where over 20% of them have a specific type of parasitic worm infection Their studies paved way for heavy subsidies for preventive healthcare that have been introduced in many countries Mother tongue for preschool Part of: GS Prelims and GS Mains II - Education In News The first-ever preschool curriculum was released by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT)  The NCERT’s new curriculum is aimed at all pre-school education, defined as the education of 3 to 6-year-olds, whether at anganwadis, nursery schools, kindergartens, playschools or Montessori schools. It recommends that Children between the ages of three and six years should be taught in their own mother tongues Also, the focus on learning should be through play instead of being subjected to rote learning, tests and examinations. The draft National Education Policy has recommended that the Right to Education Act be extended to students in the three years of preschool before Class I. Cataract major cause of blindness above 50 Part of: GS Prelims and GS Mains II - Health In News According to the National Blindness and Visual Impairment Survey of India (2015-19), Cataract is the principal cause of blindness for people above 50 years in India The barriers to accessing treatment include the following — no one to accompany [the patient], seasonal preferences, and financial constraints. Cataract is the cause for 66.2% cases of blindness, 80.7% cases of severe visual impairment, and 70.2% cases of moderate visual impairment in the age group. Also, blindness is more pronounced among illiterate (3.23%) than literates (0.43%) and more prevalent in the rural population (2.14%) than urban (1.80%) What makes this worse for India is the fact that approximately 93% of cases of blindness and 96.2% visual impairment cases in this age group were avoidable. About Cataract A cataract is a clouding of the lens in the eye which leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes.  Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble with bright lights, and trouble seeing at night SARAS Aajeevika Mela Part of: GS Prelims and Mains GS-II – Self-Help Groups In News It is an initiative by the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). Its objective is to bring the rural women SHGs formed with support of DAY-NRLM, under one platform to show-case their skills, sell their products and help them build linkages with bulk buyers. Through this mela, rural SHG women get vital national level exposure to understand the demand and taste of urban customers. It is organised by Council for Advancement of People’s Action and Rural Technology (CAPART), marketing arm of Ministry of Rural Development. Typhoon Hagibis Part of: GS Prelims and Mains GS-I - Geography In News Hagibis, which means "speed" in the Philippine language, is a super typhoon swirling around Japan. It made landfall in Izu Peninsula, south-west of Tokyo and moved up the east coast. It led to Chikuma river breaching their banks inundating residential neighbourhoods and the torrential rain triggered landslides. The typhoon caused a total of 48 landslides in 12 prefectures and at the storm's peak, more than seven million people were placed under non-compulsory evacuation orders. After it made its landfall, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake shook Tokyo shortly after. Hurricanes, cyclones and typhoonsare all basically the same thing, but are given different names depending on where they appear. Hurricanes are tropical storms that form over the North Atlantic Ocean and Northeast Pacific. Cyclones are formed over the South Pacific and Indian Ocean. Typhoons are formed over the Northwest Pacific Ocean. willy-willy are formed in south-west Australia. FASTags will work as Aadhaar, track vehicles Part of: GS Prelims and Mains GS-II - Governance In News ‘A FASTag uses Radio Frequency Identification technology to make cashless payments through a prepaid account linked to it. The tag is fixed to the windscreen of a vehicle and an RFID antenna in the canopy of the toll gate scans the QR code and the tag identification number, following which the boom barrier lifts to allow a vehicle to pass through it without the need for a vehicle to stop. A FASTag is linked to a bank account. When a vehicle passes through a toll, an SMS with date, time and place of transaction will be sent to the owner of the vehicle. The master data of all transactions will be with the concessionaire of the toll booth concerned, along with the bank with which the owner has registered the FASTag and the National Payments Corporation of India FASTags are likely to reduce the nation’s GDP loss by bringing down loss of fuel while waiting at toll plazas. Cameras at toll booths will take photos of passengers in a vehicle, which can be useful for the Ministry of Home Affairs as there will be a record of a vehicle’s movement. The Union Government has appealed to all the States to adopt the technology so that the entire system could come under the National Electronic Toll Collection programme (MAINS FOCUS) ECONOMY TOPIC: General Studies 3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment. Inclusive growth and issues arising from it. Experimental approach to alleviating global poverty Image: https://s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/images.deccanchronicle.com/dc-Cover-cfguljvgh1bcoi56r407saqpo2-20191014154018.Medi.jpeg The 2019 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel has been awarded jointly to Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer “for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty”. The three adopted an evidence-based approach to apply theory to real-life situations using randomised trials and assessing the outcomes.  The effort was to understand the impact of interventions to achieve desirable outcomes.  The approach is derived from the concept of clinical trials in the pharmaceuticals industry.  “new experiment-based” approach: The “new, powerful tool” employed by the Laureates is the use of Randomised Control Trials (or RCTs). So if one wanted to understand whether providing a mobile vaccination van and/or a sack of grains would incentivise villagers to vaccinate their kids, then under an RCT, village households would be divided into four groups. Group A would be provided with a mobile vaccination van facility, Group B would be given a sack of foodgrains, Group C would get both, and Group D would get neither.  Households would be chosen at random to ensure there was no bias, and that any difference in vaccination levels was essentially because of the “intervention”. Group D is called the “control” group while others are called “treatment” groups. Such an experiment would not only show whether a policy initiative works, but would also provide a measure of the difference it brings about. It would also show what happens when more than one initiatives are combined. This would help policymakers to have the evidence before they choose a policy. Critics: Angus Deaton, the winner of the Economics Nobel in 2015, who said “randomisation does not equalise two groups”, and warned against over-reliance on RCTs to frame policies. While randomly assigning people or households makes it likely that the groups are equivalent, randomisation “cannot guarantee” it. That’s because one group may perform differently from the other, not because of the “treatment” that it has been given, but because it has more women or more educated people in it. More fundamentally, RCTs do not guarantee if something that worked in Kerala will work in Bihar, or if something that worked for a small group will also work at scale. Case study: some years ago would explain the concept better. Despite immunisation being free, women were not bringing in their children for the vaccination shot.  The two MIT economists decided to give a bag of pulses free to women who brought their babies for vaccination.  Word soon spread and the rate of immunisation shot up in the region. Conclusion: Governments across the world, including in India, spend big money on social schemes without the vaguest of ideas on whether their objectives have been met.  The field-work based approach that these economists have perfected has revolutionised the field of development economics and made it more relevant in policy making.  The government would do well to borrow from the research of these laureates to understand the impact of its several schemes, and where necessary, tweak them to derive maximum benefit for the thousands of crores of rupees that it spends. Connecting the dots: New experiment-based approach has transformed development economics. Justify ECONOMY TOPIC: General Studies 3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment. Inclusive growth and issues arising from it. Financial stability and the RBI Context: The slowing of the economy suggests that the central bank’s stance on inflation may have impacted growth Recent measures taken by MPC: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut the repo rate or key lending rate by 25 basis points while maintaining an accommodative stance.  The reverse repo rate was reduced to 4.9%. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) also cuts GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal year 2019-20 to 6.1% from 6.9% earlier. A repo rate cut allows banks to reduce interest rates for consumers and lowers equal monthly instalments on home loans, car loans and personal loans. Central banks around the world are loosening monetary policy to offset a global slowdown made worse by U.S.-China trade tensions RBI will take a fresh look at cooperative bank regulations and take it up with the government The RBI has allowed domestic banks to freely offer foreign exchange (forex) prices to NRIs The continuing slowdown warrants intensified efforts to restore the growth momentum. On the crisis in the Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC), the RBI governor said one incident cannot be and should not be used to generalise the health of the co-operative banking sector. PCA (Prompt Corrective Action) is an opportunity for the bank to correct itself. Appealed members of the public and all depositors that our banking system remains sound and stable, there is no reason for unnecessary panic. RBI has decided to create a separate category of NBFC, viz., Non-Banking Financial Company-Micro Finance Institution (NBFC-MFI). It acknowledged “the negative output gap has widened further” Negative output gap: A negative output gap indicates surplus capacity in the economy. A widening of this gap means the industry is unable to use much of its capacity due to poor demand. What is Prompt Corrective Action? To ensure that banks don't go bust, RBI has put in place some trigger points to assess, monitor, control and take corrective actions on banks which are weak and troubled.  The process or mechanism under which such actions are taken is known as Prompt Corrective Action, or PCA. Present scenario: Inflation is well within the target giving space to the RBI to focus on growth Crude oil prices are back in the comfort zone, retreating from the spike in mid-September, and food prices are projected to remain soft on the back of a good monsoon. Central bank in west: Reflects two things: the political power of financial interests in the U.S. economy and the global intellectual influence of the American economic model.  This model revolves around the goal of maximum creation of wealth by private individuals unimpeded by societal objectives.  No equal distribution The objective of ensuring stability of the economy is allowed to come in the way of private individuals pursuing wealth enhancement. This model requires of the government only one action, namely, the control of inflation. Inflation: Unanticipated inflation is the problem for producers, as it has the potential to derail their profit calculations.  If fully anticipated, can harm holders of financial assets yielding fixed incomes by eroding their wealth. Borrowers on the other hand are better off with inflation as the real value of their outstanding loans is now less.  This can be tackled through inflation-indexation, the practice is not widespread. This leaves owners of financial wealth averse to inflation. Indexation is a technique to adjust income payments by means of a price index, in order to maintain the purchasing power of the public after inflation, while deindexation is the unwinding of indexation. Inflation control: When inflation control is implemented via monetary policy it results in higher interest rates.  Managers of financial wealth lobby for such a policy on behalf of their clients.  This lobbying is the origin of the policy of inflation targeting.  Inflation targeting by the central bank involves use of the interest rate to keep inflation under control.  it let go of the employment objective and central bank is not accountable for unemployment  in situations where growth, employment and inflation are jointly determined, inflation-targeting via the interest rate can lower inflation only by suppressing growth  This is the mechanism by which inflation-targeting inevitably lowers growth. Way forward: Public regulation, which sets limits to private activity, is rejected as an unnecessary interference in beneficial activity that maximises social gain, and is therefore to be avoided Conclusion: Governments across the world, including in India, spend big money on social schemes without the vaguest of ideas on whether their objectives have been met.  The field-work based approach that these economists have perfected has revolutionised the field of development economics and made it more relevant in policy making.  The government would do well to borrow from the research of these laureates to understand the impact of its several schemes, and where necessary, tweak them to derive maximum benefit for the thousands of crores of rupees that it spends. Connecting the dots: The slowing of the economy suggests that the central bank’s stance on inflation may have impacted growth. Analyse (TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE) Model questions: (You can now post your answers in comment section) Note:  Featured Comments and comments Up-voted by IASbaba are the “correct answers”. IASbaba App users – Team IASbaba will provide correct answers in comment section. Kindly refer to it and update your answers. Q.1) FASTag often seen in the news is related to which of the following area? Tiger census E-governance tracking Toll collection None of the above Q.2)Consider the following statements about SARAS Aajeevika Mela It is an initiative by the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). Its objective is to bring the rural women SHGs formed with support of DAY-NRLM, under one platform to show-case their skills, sell their products and help them build linkages with bulk buyers. It is organised by NITI Aayog in collaboration with NABARD and state governments Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct? 1 and 2 only 2 and 3 only 1 and 3 only 1,2 and 3 Q.3)Consider the following statements about The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden’s central bank) established the Prize in Economic Sciences in 1968, in Memory of Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel Prize The 2019 prize was awarded to three scholars for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct? 1 only 2 only Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 MUST READ Looking beyond the Rafale The Hindu Is India still a minimally decent society? The Hindu Framing laws for outer space The Hindu India needs to pay close attention to deepening of Nepal-China cooperation IE Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer introduced a paradigm shift in approach to alleviating poverty IE

RSTV Video

RSTV IAS UPSC – Syria Crisis - US Backs out

Syria Crisis - US Backs out Archives TOPIC: General studies 2 Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate. In News: US President Donald Trump has casted his decision to abandon Kurdish fighters in Syria as fulfilling a campaign promise to withdraw from "endless war" in the Middle East, even as Republican critics and others said he was sacrificing a US ally and undermining American credibility.  Trump declared US troops would step aside for an expected Turkish attack on the Kurds, who have fought alongside Americans for years, but he then threatened to destroy Turkey’s economy if they went too far.  Even Trump's staunchest Republican congressional allies expressed outrage at the prospect of abandoning Syrian Kurds who had fought the Islamic State group with American arms and advice.  Trump said he understood criticism from fellow GOP leaders but disagreed. He said he could also name supporters, but he didn't.  Pentagon and State Department officials held out the possibility of persuading Turkey to abandon its expected invasion. U.S. officials said they had seen no indication that Turkey had begun a military operation by late Monday.  What is exactly happening? Turkey has long wanted to move across the border into northern Syria, where it sees the Syrian Kurdish forces (specifically the People’s Protection Unit, or YPG, which forms the bulk of the Syrian Democratic Forces) as tied to to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), separatists that Turkey considers a terrorist group. The PKK has waged an insurgency against Turkey for decades, and it’s allied with the Syrian Kurdish forces across the border — which has long put Turkey on edge. Turkey has two main goals in northeast Syria: to drive the Kurdish YPG militia which it deems a security threat away from its border, and to create a space inside Syria where 2 million Syria refugees currently hosted in Turkey can be settled. An economic downturn in Turkey is increasing domestic pressure on Erdogan to resettle 2 million of the 3.6 million people the country has taken in. But the Kurds that Turkey sees as a threat are Washington’s most critical partner on the ground in Syria. Kurdish fighters fought on the front lines against ISIS; they’ve received backing for years, including US technical and intelligence assistance and air support. This put the US in an awkward position from the start — between a NATO ally in Turkey on the one hand and its most reliable partners in fighting (and detaining) the Islamic State on the other. So what was the step taken? In response, in August, the US and Turkey agreed to a security mechanism designed to ease tensions between Turkey and the Syrian Kurds. In Starting in September, the US and Turkey began running joint patrols and the US helped push back some Syrian Kurdish forces from the Turkish border, including destroying their fortifications, to help create a smaller buffer zone in Syria. Basically, it was establishing a “safe zone” step by step, and without the potential violence that a Turkish invasion would unleash. The Pentagon promoted these efforts. But Erdogan had evidently started to get a bit impatient with this approach. The Turkish president apparently found a sympathetic partner in Trump, who’s notoriously skeptical of US troop commitments overseas and may have his own domestic political reasons for doubling down on a promise to end America’s entanglements abroad Implications of the US deciding to pull out of Syria: A new conflict, shifting alliances, and a possible ISIS resurgence This directive — which apparently blindsided allies and lawmakers and national security officials alike — leaves the American-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), largely made up of Kurdish civilians and Kurdish troops who led the fight against ISIS on the ground in Syria, at the mercy of Turkish forces. In doing so, the US is jeopardizing its partners on the ground and unleashing unpredictable consequences for Syria, now in its eighth year of war. For many, Monday’s announcement looks a bit like a repeat of what happened in December 2018, when Trump abruptly announced he was pulling all troops out of Syria over the objections of the Pentagon, including his then-Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, who ultimately resigned over the decision. Trump, in that instance, partially walked back his pronouncement, leaving a troop contingent in the country, in part because of Turkey’s threat to the Kurds across the border. And it’s not just troops who are at risk if Turkey invades, it’s also Kurdish civilians who could be massacred in any assault. About 1.7 million Kurds live in the north-eastern region of Syria, though that area is larger than Erdogan’s planned 18-20 mile “safe zone.”  Still, the United Nations has already warned of the possibility of mass displacement and mass slaughter in the wake of such an operation by Turkey. Kurdish forces have established relative peace and security in their region of northeastern Syria after years of fighting ISIS; Turkey’s encroachment threatens to upend it all. The Kurdish forces have also vowed that, if Turkey invades, it will do what is necessary to protect its people and its troops. That opens up the possibility that Syrian Kurds will look elsewhere for protection, and that likely ally is Bashar al-Assad, the ruthless Syrian dictator, who with help from Russia and Iran is trying to retake all of Syria. The Kurds, who control a swath of land in northeastern Syria, have not ruled out making a deal with Assad if the US abandons them, which could potentially return a huge chunk of Syria back to the government’s control. At the same time, diplomats are alarmed at Turkey’s plan to resettle millions of Syrians, which they fear could amount to “demographic engineering” if ethnic Arabs are encouraged to establish themselves in Kurdish-majority villages and towns. They also worry that some people might be coerced into returning against their will. Turkey’s action along Syrian border could result in a break out of prisons guarding Islamic State (IS) detainees. This attack will definitely reduce and weaken the guarding system for those Daesh (Arabic acronym for IS)militants in the prisons. This could lead to their escape or to behaviours that may get out of the control of the security forces. A prison struck by Turkish shelling holds “the most dangerous criminals from more than 60 nationalities” and Turkey’s attacks on its prisons risked “a catastrophe”. Current State Turkey Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in an address to his party’s officials, claimed that as many as 109 ‘terrorists’ (a reference to Kurdish fighters) were killed since Ankara launched an attack. Erdogan also warned that if the European countries continue to label its military incursion in Syria as an occupation, Ankara will release the 3.6 million Syrian refugees in their country to Europe. Turkey launched airstrikes, fired artillery and began a ground offensive against Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, after US troops pulled back from the area, paving the way for an assault on forces that have long been allied with the United States. India “We are deeply concerned at the unilateral military offensive by Turkey in north-east Syria. Turkey’s actions can undermine stability in the region and the fight against terrorism,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. The confusion over Trump’s Syria policy on Monday also damages the US’s credibility, revealing it to be an unreliable and disorganized international partner. That will have consequences beyond Syria. Connecting the dots: Critically evaluate the Donald Trump’s decision to pull U.S. troops out of Syria. Should global institutions interfere in the internal affairs of a country if there are allegations of human rights violations? Substantiate your viewpoint. 

AIR

All India Radio (AIR) IAS UPSC - Bilateral Relations between India and Bangladesh

Bilateral Relations between India and Bangladesh ARCHIVES   Search 5th October 2019 here http://www.newsonair.com/Main_Audio_Bulletins_Search.aspx TOPIC: General Studies 2 India and its neighbourhood- relations. Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests In News: India and Bangladesh have hailed bilateral ties as ‘model good neighbourliness’ as the two sides signed seven agreements and the prime ministers of the two countries inaugurated three projects to deepen their partnership. MoU between the University of Hyderabad and University of Dhaka Renewal of the cultural exchange programme One of the three projects jointly inaugurated by India and Bangladesh allows India to buy liquefied petroleum gas from Bangladesh for consumption in India’s northeastern state of Tripura. The LPG will be transported by Bangladeshi trucks to the Indian state cutting down transport times and costs.  Inauguration of a skill development centre that will provide basic as well as advanced training some 200-300 Bangladeshi youth on an annual basis for employment in the small and medium scale industry sectors. MoU for providing a Coastal Surveillance System Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on the use of Bangladesh’s Chattogram and Mongla ports for movement of goods to and from India  MoU on withdrawal of 1.82 cusecs of water from the Feni river by India for a drinking water supply scheme for Sabroom town in Tripura  India would supply a fifth tranche of humanitarian assistance to support Bangladesh’s efforts to shelter the Rohingya in temporary camps in Cox’s Bazar. This tranche will comprise tents, relief and rescue material, and 1,000 sewing machines for skill development among Rohingya women. India has completed a first project to build 250 houses in Rakhine, and is now preparing to implement another set of socio-economic development projects there. The leaders have also emphasised the importance of effective border management to ensure a “tranquil, stable and crime- free border”. As a step towards this goal, the leaders directed their respective border forces to complete border fencing at all pending sectors at the earliest. They also agreed to expedite work towards drawing upon the $500 million Defence Line of Credit extended by India, the implementation arrangements for which were finalised in April 2019. The PMs inaugurated the following projects by video link:  Import of bulk LPG from Bangladesh Inauguration of the Vivekananda Bhaban students hostel at the Ramakrishna Mission in Dhaka Inauguration of the Bangladesh-India Professional Skill Development Institute (BIPSDI) at the Institution of Diploma Engineers Bangladesh, Khulna Why is Bangladesh important? Bangladesh is growing at a rapid 8% annually; its economy has grown by a huge 188% since 2009. Its per capita income is around $ 2,000, and the value of its exports to India crossed $1 billion in 2019, a year-on-year growth of 52%. Hasina wants Bangladesh to rise from being a Least Developed Country (LDC) to a Developing Country by 2021, and a developed country by 2041. Both India and Bangladesh are now looking at a bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Since 2009, Bangladesh and India have peacefully navigated many contested issues that had remained unresolved since 1947. Delhi needs to do more to protect and deepen ties with Dhaka For decades, India has faced difficulty in accessing the Northeast of the country, having to negotiate the so-called chicken’s neck in North Bengal. The friendly government in Dhaka, with an assured political mandate, has more flexiblility in giving access to India’s Northeast through Bangladeshi territory. Several insecurities of the past are fading. The Ganga Waters Agreement had removed what had appeared to be an intractable problem permanently vitiating the relationship.  The Land and Maritime Boundary Agreements, approached by different means, were of mutual benefit.  but… Bangladesh would seem to have comprehensively addressed Indian concerns with regard to support to militant elements in the North-east, for long an area of Indian concern. On its part, India continues to be unable to deliver on Teesta.  The Ganga Barrage project in Bangladesh carries economic advantages as well as political overtones, but has not been addressed with suitable despatch by India to enable Bangladesh to obtain external funding.  Delay in implementation of the BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal initiative) is inexplicable. Even if India is not chiefly responsible, one may have expected greater attention. It remains unclear how the NRC saga will ultimately play out in Indian politics, and the implications it might have for Bangladesh. For now, it has definitely added an extreme level of suspicion about India among ordinary Bangladeshis. And while Prime Minister Modi has assured Prime Minister Hasina during a meeting at the UN that the NRC will have no implications for Bangladesh, this commitment needs continuous reiteration, because an element of noise has been added to the partnership. In a world where building walls and distrusting neighbours have become the international norm, Prime Ministers Hasina and Modi are likely to demonstrate that forward-looking partnerships on equal terms are possible when bilateral ties are rooted in trust, and a common vision of peace and economic progress. Note: Bangladesh shares land borders with India to the west, north and the east and Myanmar to the east, whereas the Bay of Bengal lies to its south. Indian states Assam, Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and West Bengal share the India-Bangladesh border. In 1971, the Bangladesh Liberation War broke out between East Pakistan and West Pakistan; India intervened in December 1971 on behalf of East Pakistan and helped secure East Pakistan’s independence from Pakistan as the country of Bangladesh. Teesta River that rises in the eastern Himalayas, flows through the Indian states of West Bengal and Sikkim through Bangladesh and enters the Bay of Bengal. The National Register of Citizens (NRC) has left out 1.9 million Assamese from the list with a group labelled as “illegal immigrants from Bangladesh” living in Assam post-1971.(Bangladesh refuses) Must read: China’s role in Bangladesh while shaping its ties with Dhaka Connecting the Dots: The creation of Bangladesh in 1971 changed India’s geopolitics forever. Elucidate. Having so many unresolved issues and irritants with Bangladesh, India’s approach towards her eastern neighbour must be carefully calibrated. Comment. The India-Bangladesh Land boundary agreement (LBA) is more than the diplomatic exercise of maintaining good relations between both the nations.” Examine the significance and implications of the agreement in the light of the statement. “When it comes to national boundaries; regionalism should not get a veto over the larger goal of national integration and development.” Comment on the developments in the India-Bangladesh LBA since its inception in the light of Centre-state relations.

PIB

Press Information Bureau (PIB) IAS UPSC – 7th October to 13th October – 2019

Press Information Bureau (PIB) IAS UPSC – 7th October to 13th October, 2019 ARCHIVES GS-2 Defence Relationship: India & France (Topic: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests) Addressing the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of French Defence Industries in Paris, Shri Rajnath Singh called upon the French companies for collaboration to modernise India’s shipyards and defence platforms by infusion of technology and asked them to make India its base for production of defence equipment not only for India’s large market but also for export to other countries. He applauded the French companies for regularly participating in DefExpos organised in India with great energy and enthusiasm. He extended a special invitation to French firms to participate in DefExpo, which will be held in Lucknow from February 05 to 08, 2020. He highlighted India’s substantial requirement of Aero engines both in civil and military domains. He requested French OEMs to consider exploring development of an Aero engine complex on government -to- government basis saying French companies could leverage from advantages in India such as low wages and availability of technical manpower. Cabinet approves  MoUs signed between India and Foreign Broadcasters in the field of Radio and Television:  The MoUs with the Foreign Broadcasters will help: Public broadcaster in exploring new visions; New Strategies to address the demands of new technologies and stiff competition; Media liberalization; and Globalization  Major Impact: Broadcasting of programmes to be obtained through mutual exchange, co-production will lead to equity and inclusiveness among viewer/listeners of DD and AIR. Exchanges of technical Know-how, expertise and training of manpower would help the public broadcaster to meet the emerging challenges in the field of broadcasting. Relaxation of Aadhaar seeding of data of the beneficiaries under Pradhan Mantri KisanSamman Nidhi (PM-Kisan): The scheme provides income support of Rs 6,000 per year to landholding families, subject to certain exclusions. The amount is released in three 4-monthly instalments of Rs 2,000 each directly to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries through DBT mode. It has not been possible to get 100% Aadhaar seeding for release of funds as per the prescribed time schedule before release of instalments after 1st August, 2019.  Since the farmers are still gearing up for Rabi season, they are in dire need of money to take care of various farming activities like procurement of seeds, preparation of soil and other associated activities like irrigation, maintenance and mobilization of machinery and tools. Over and above these pressing needs, the just started festive season will put further stress on the financial condition of the poor farmers' households in the country.  Non-seeding of beneficiaries' details with Aadhaar number will delay the release of further instalments and will cause discontentment among the farmers. Therefore, the mandatory requirement of Aadhaar seeding for release of benefits after 1st August, 2019 has been relaxed till 30th November, 2019.  This will enable immediate release of benefits to a large number of farmers who are not able to avail the same due this requirement. Cabinet apprised of the Progress under National Health Mission (NHM) and Decisions of the EPC and MSG of NHM There has been acceleration in decline of Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR), Under Five Mortality Rate (U5MR) and the IMR since the launch of the NRHM/NHM. At the current rate of decline, India should able to reach its SDG target (MMR-70, U5MR-25) much before the due year i.e. 2030. India was the biggest success story amongst Malaria endemic countries in the World, in bringing down the Malaria cases and deaths which have declined by 49.09% and 50.52% in 2013 respectively compared to 2017. Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) has been significantly strengthened and intensified. A total of 1,180 CBNAAT machines across all districts have been installed which provides rapid and accurate diagnosis for TB including drug resistant TB. This has resulted in three-fold increased use of CBNAAT over the past year. Due to the intensified efforts, there is 16% jump in identification of new cases in one year. Universal drug sensitive cases also increased by 54%. Newer drug regimen of Bedaquiline and Delaminide and nutrition support to all the TB patients for the duration of the treatment has been rolled throughout the country. In 2018-19, 52744 AB-HWCs were approved against which 17149 HWCs were operationalized against the target of 15000.A total of 1, 81,267 Health workers which included ASHAs, MPHWs, Staff Nurses and PHC-MOs were trained on NCDs during 2018-19. The states have initiated activities to operationalize the HWCs. Amongst the new vaccines, Tetanus and adult Diphtheria (Td) vaccine replaced Tetanus Toxoid (TT) vaccine under universal immunization programme in 2018 to ensure Diphtheria immunity among adults. In 2018, Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccination drive was conducted in 17 additional States, thereby covering 30.50 Crores children till March 2019. During 2018-19, Rotavirus vaccine (RVV) was introduced in additional two States. Till today, all the States/UTs are covered with RVV. During 2018-19, Pneumococcal Conjugated Vaccine (PCV) was expanded to MP, Haryana and the remaining districts of Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.   The routine and recurring incentives of ASHAs got increased from 1000 per month to 2000 per month. ASHAs and ASHA Facilitators were provided the cover of Pradhan Mantri Jevan Jyoti BeemaYojna (Premium of Rs. 330 contributed by Gol) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha BeemaYojna (Premium of Rs.12 contributed by Gol).  Anaemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) Abhiyaan was launched under POSHAN Abhiyaan in April 2018.   The untied funds amount was increased from Rs, 20,000 to Rs 50,000 for sub health Centres transformed to HWCs. Home Based Care for Young Child (HBYC) programme was introduced under POSHAN Abhiyaan. The scheme for awarding States/UTs/Districts for achieving disease free status in TB/Leprosy/Malaria/Kala-Azar/Lymphatic-Filariasis/Cataract was approved. This will allow certification of the districts/ states as Disease Free ahead of the national certification and promote healthy competition among states and districts, similar to ODF districts and states.  National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme was approved for prevention, management and treatment of Hepatitis to A, B, C and E and rollout was initiated. This would benefit an estimated 5 crore patients of Hepatitis.   1990-2013 2013-2016 MMR Decline rate per 1 Lakh live births 5.3% 8% IMR Decline Rate per 1 Lakh births 2.8% 4.7% Under 5 Mortality Decline Rate 3.9% 6.6%   Malaria Annual Parasite incidence (API) per 1,000 population 0.64 in 2017 0.30 in 2018 Inclusion of 5,300 DP families of Jammu & Kashmir-1947 who initially opted to move outside the State of Jammu & Kashmir but later on returned and settled in the State of Jammu & Kashmir, in the Rehabilitation Package approved by the Cabinet on 30.11.2016 for Displaced Families PoJK and Chhamb under the PM’s Development Package 2015 for Jammu & Kashmir The approval will enable such DP Families to become eligible to get one-time financial assistance of Rs 5.5 Lakhs under the existing scheme, and in turn, be able to get some sustained income which the existing scheme is aimed at. It will enable them to earn a reasonable monthly income and be part of mainstream economic activities. This will also upgrade the Government’s capacity to respond effectively to such DP families need of financial assistance. Requirement of funds will be met out of the already sanctioned funds for the existing scheme. Launch of WHO India Country Cooperation Strategy 2019–2023 (Topic: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests) The Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS) provides a strategic roadmap for WHO to work with the Government of India towards achieving its health sector goals, in improving the health of its population and bringing in transformative changes in the health sector. Four areas identified for strategic cooperation of WHO with the country encompass:  To accelerate progress on UHC To promote health and wellness by addressing determinants of health To protect the population better against health emergencies To enhance India’s global leadership in health Besides the health priorities detailed in the strategy, focus needs to be given on other equally pertinent health areas of environmental and occupational health, accidents and road injuries, and good nutrition and food safety. The implementation of this CCS will build on the remarkable successes in public health that India has demonstrated to the world. It’s a great opportunity to showcase India as a model to the world in initiatives such as digital health, access to quality medicines and medical products, comprehensive hepatitis control program and Ayushman Bharat. The India CCS is one of the first that fully aligns itself with the newly adopted WHO 13th General Programme of Work and its 'triple billion' targets, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and WHO South-East Asia Region’s eight Flagship Priorities. It captures the work of the United Nations Sustainable Development Framework for 2018–2022. The CCS outlines how WHO can support the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and other allied Ministries to drive impact at the country level. The strategy document builds on other key strategic policy documents including India’s National Health Policy 2017, the many pathbreaking initiatives India has introduced — from Ayushman Bharat to its National Viral Hepatitis programme and promotion of digital health amongst others. ADB, India sign $190 million loan for improving road connectivity in Rajasthan (Topic: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests) The Asian Development Bank and the Government of India yesterday signed a $190 million loan to upgrade 754 kilometres of state highways and major district roads (MDRs) to two-lane or intermediate-lane standards that will benefit about 26 million people in 14 districts of Rajasthan. The Tranche 1 loan of $220 million under the Programme, signed in July 2017, upgraded about 1,000 km of state roads. Tranche 2 roads pass through mostly rural areas of Rajasthan that lack reliable connectivity and will help improve access to health, education facilities and markets leading to increased job opportunities. To promote operational efficiencies and innovations, the project will encourage participation of private sector through Hybrid Annuity Mode and engineering procurement construction (EPC) contracts. The ADB value-addition will consist in financing part of the construction costs for the annuity-based public private partnership (PPP) concessions and EPC contracts and ensure good governance during project implementation, particularly on procurement and safeguards.  The annuity-based PPP model attracts private sector financing to address capital investment requirements, where a proportion of initial capital expenditure is paid during construction while the balance is serviced by annuity payments during the operation and maintenance phase.  The toll collection rights will remain with the state public works department to bring sustainability in operation and maintenance of the project. For the benefit of commuters and pedestrians, particularly women and children, the project provides for constructing more than 200 bus stops, 70 km of hard shoulder, and 2 km of raised sidewalk on project roads. 2nd India-China Informal Summit (Topic: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests) The two Leaders had an in-depth exchange of views in a friendly atmosphere on overarching, long-term and strategic issues of global and regional importance. They also shared their respective approaches towards national development. They evaluated the direction of bilateral relations in a positive light and discussed how India-China bilateral interaction can be deepened to reflect the growing role of both countries on the global stage. International:  Both Leaders shared the view that the international situation is witnessing significant readjustment. They were of the view that India and China share the common objective of working for a peaceful, secure and prosperous world in which all countries can pursue their development within a rules-based international order.  They reiterated the consensus reached during the first Informal Summit in Wuhan, China in April 2018, that India and China are factors for stability in the current international landscape and that both side will prudently manage their differences and not allow differences on any issue to become disputes. The Leaders recognized that India and China have a common interest in preserving and advancing a rules-based and inclusive international order, including through reforms that reflect the new realities of the 21st Century.  Both agreed that it is important to support and strengthen the rules-based multilateral trading system at a time when globally agreed trade practices and norms are being selectively questioned. India and China will continue to work together for open and inclusive trade arrangements that will benefit all countries. Both Leaders also underscored the important efforts being made in their respective countries to address global developmental challenges, including climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals. They emphasized that their individual efforts in this regard would help the international community achieve the targets. Terrorism: Both Leaders are concerned that terrorism continues to pose a common threat. As countries that are large and diverse, they recognized the importance of continuing to make joint efforts to ensure that the international community strengthens the framework against training, financing and supporting terrorist groups throughout the world and on a non-discriminatory basis. They shared the view that an open, inclusive, prosperous and stable environment in the region is important to ensure the prosperity and stability of the region. They also agreed on the importance of concluding negotiations for a mutually-beneficial and balanced Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. Culture:  As important contemporary civilizations with great traditions, both Leaders deemed it important to enhance dialogue in order to foster cultural understanding between the two peoples. Both Leaders also agreed that, as major civilizations in history, they can work together to enhance greater dialogue and understanding between cultures and civilizations in other parts of the world. The two Leaders exchanged views on the age-old commercial linkages and people-to-people contacts between India and China in the past two millennia, including significant maritime contacts. In this regard the two leaders agreed on establishment of sister-state relations between Tamil Nadu and Fujian Province, exploring the possibility of establishing an academy to study links between Mahabalipuram and Fujian province on the lines of the experience between Ajanta and Dunhuang and conducting research on maritime links between China and India in view of our extensive contacts over the centuries. Development: The two Leaders shared their mutual vision on goals for development of their respective economies. They agreed that the simultaneous development of India and China presents mutually-beneficial opportunities.  The two sides will continue to adopt a positive, pragmatic and open attitude and to enhance appreciation of each other’s policies and actions in line with the general direction of their friendship and cooperation.  In this regard, they also agreed to continue to enhance strategic communication on all matters of mutual interest, and to continue the momentum of high-level exchanges by making full use of dialogue mechanisms. Bilateral Relations: The leaders were of the view that the positive direction of ties had opened up possibilities for taking bilateral relations to greater heights. They agreed that this endeavor also required strong public support in both countries.  In this context the two Leaders have decided to designate 2020 as Year of India-China Cultural and People to People Exchanges and agreed that the 70th anniversary of the establishment of India-China relations in 2020 will be fully utilized to deepen exchanges at all levels including between their respective legislatures, political parties, cultural and youth organizations and militaries.  To celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations the two countries will organize 70 activities including a conference on a ship voyage that will trace the historical connect between the two civilizations. In pursuit of their efforts to further deepen economic cooperation and to enhance their closer development partnership, the two Leaders have decided to establish a High-Level Economic and Trade Dialogue mechanism with the objective of achieving enhanced trade and commercial relations, as well as to better balance the trade between the two countries. They have also agreed to encourage mutual investments in identified sectors through the development of a Manufacturing Partnership and tasked their officials to develop this idea at the first meeting of the High-Level Economic and Trade Dialogue. Boundaries: The two Leaders have exchanged views on outstanding issues, including on the boundary question.  They have welcomed the work of the Special Representatives and urged them to continue their efforts to arrive at a mutually-agreed framework for a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement based on Political Parameters and Guiding Principles that were agreed by the two sides in 2005.  They reiterated their understanding that efforts will continue to be made to ensure peace and tranquility in the border areas, and that both sides will continue to work on additional Confidence Building Measures in pursuit of this objective. GS-3 Launch of Low cost device for ocean states forecast and mapping potential fishing zones (Topic: Disaster Management) For seamless and effective dissemination of emergency information and communication on disaster warnings, Potential Fishing Zones (PFZ) and Ocean States Forecasts (OSF) to fishermen, the Government launched the Gagan Enabled Mariner’s Instrument for Navigation and Information (GEMINI) device.  Ocean State Forecasts include the forecasts on winds, waves, ocean currents, water temperature, etc. at every 6 hrs on daily basis for next 5 days helping fishermen in maximizing their earnings, ensuring safety and in planning of fishing activities. Though the advisories and forecasts are disseminated through multiple communication modes, none of them could provide such information, including the disaster warnings when the fishermen move away from the coast beyond 10-12 km (typical ranges of mobile phones and VHF). That remained as a major limitation in disseminating the information to fishermen who go in the sea beyond 50 nautical miles; sometimes up to 300 nautical miles and beyond to conduct multiday fishing. This lacuna was severely felt during the Ockhi cyclone in 2017, when fishermen went out, for deep sea fishing before the onset of the cyclone and could not be informed about the developing cyclone. This communication gap resulted in loss of life, serious injuries to those rescued and severe damages to fishing boats and fishing gear. To overcome this difficulty, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), an autonomous body under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) joined hands with Airports Authority of India (AAI) to utilize the GAGAN (GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation) satellite system to transmit the PFZ, OSF and disaster warnings to fishermen with GAGAN system consisting of three geosynchronous satellites (GSAT-8, GSAT-10 and GSAT-15).  GAGAN foot-print covers the entire Indian Ocean round the clock. To receive the messages transmitted through the GAGAN satellites, INCOIS together with AAI developed a low-cost GAGAN system-enabled GEMINI (GAGAN Enabled Mariner's Instrument for Navigation and Information) device and electronically designed and manufactured by a private industry M/S Acord, Bangalore under Make in India Program. The GEMINI device receives and transfers the data received from GAGAN satellite/s to a mobile through Bluetooth communication. A mobile application developed by INCOIS decodes and displays the information in nine regional languages.   MNRE refutes reports expressing doubt on India’s renewable energy target (Topic: Energy) The Target: 1,75,000 MW by the year 2022 In some of the recent media reports apprehensions have been raised whether India would be able to achieve 1,75,000 MW renewable power installed capacity target by the year 2022. All these have cited the CRISIL report of September 2019. However, the doubts are ill-founded and not reflective of the status on the ground and plans ahead. By the end of September 2019, India has installed more than 82,580 MW of renewable energy capacity with around 31,150 MW of capacity under various stages of installation. Thus, by the first quarter of 2021, India would have installed more than 1,13,000 MWof renewable power capacity. This would constitute nearly 65 per cent of the targeted capacity. Besides this, around 39,000 MWof renewable power capacity is at various stages of bidding which would be installed by September 2021, taking the percentage of installed capacity to over 87 percentage of the targeted capacity. With only 23,000 MW of renewable power capacity left to bid, India is confident that the target of installing 1,75,000 MW of renewable power capacity will not only be met but exceeded. India’s renewable power capacity has increased from 34000 MW to 82,580 MW recording 138 percent growth. Globally, India stands 5th in solar power, 4th in wind power, and 4th in total renewable power installed capacity. If large hydro included, India stands 3rd in renewable power capacity globally. India’s renewable energy programme is much beyond production of electricity and covers a basket of applications including use of solar thermal energy for cooling, heating, drying and other industrial applications. Renewable energy has emerged as a true multi-benefit system, combining ecological necessities with domestic priorities, economic and job creation opportunities. Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) Scheme Phase-ll For setting up 12,000 MW grid-connected SPV Power Projects, by the Government Producers with Viability Gap Funding (VGF) support of Rs. 8,580 crore for self-use or use by Government or Government entities, both Central and State Governments  The Scheme mandates use of both SPV cells and modules manufactured domestically as per specifications and testing requirements.  PM-KUSUM (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Surakshaevem Utthan Mahabhiyan) scheme  To be implemented over next four years for de-dieselization of the farm sector and increasing farmers’ energy independence and income.  Under the scheme, India has plans to provide 1.75 million stand-alone solar agriculture pumps and carry out solarisation of 1 million grid connected agriculture pumps by the year 2022.  Under the same scheme, Government is also encouraging farmers to set up small solar plants of the size of 500 KW to 2 MW on barren lands for their additional income.  Three components combined, the scheme aims to add a solar capacity of 25,750 MW by 2022.  The total central financial support provided under the scheme would be Rs. 34,422 crore. Roof Top Solar Phase-II programme SRISTI (Sustainable Rooftop Implementation for Solar Transfiguration of India) scheme For accelerated deployment of solar roof top systems in the country Under this scheme Central Financial Assistance for 4000 MW of small roof top capacity and incentives to Distribution Companies for 18,000 MW capacity by 2022 have been provided. These schemes will also act as catalyst for adding solar cell and module manufacturing capacity in India.  Further, the Tariff Policy is being revised to ensure timely adoption of tariffs. Please Note Joint Military Exercise DHARMA GUARDIAN-219etw: Between India and Japan First ever ‘India International Cooperatives Trade Fair’ in Delhi: Aimed at achieving the goal of doubling farmers’ income Kayakalp awards: Given to Public and Private Health Facilities for high standards of sanitation and hygiene Launch of Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Programme (PMILP)- ‘DHRUV’ The objective of the Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Programme program would be to allow talented students to realize their full potential and contribute to society. In centres of excellence across the country, gifted children will be mentored and nurtured by renowned experts in different areas, so that they can reach their full potential. It is expected that many of the students selected will reach the highest levels in their chosen fields and bring laurels to their community, State and Nation The programme will be called DHRUV (after the Pole Star) and every student to be called ‘DHRUV TARA’. The students will thus both shine through their achievements and light a path for others to follow. It will cover two areas i.e. Science and Performing Arts.There will be 60 students in all, 30 from each area.The 60 students come from across the country The students will be broadly from classes 9 to 12, from all schools including government and private. This is only the first phase of the programme which will be expanded gradually to other fields like creative writing etc. Launch of Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship Programme with IIM Bangalore To boost skill development at the district level, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) signed a contract with the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore for introducing a two-year fellowship programme Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF) programme. Designed under Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) the fellowship aims to address the challenge of non-availability of personnel for implementation of various programmes at national, state and district levels. Fellows in the two-year blended programme with academic module at IIM-B & district emersion program will train with district administration officials Programme aims to provide academic inputs and field experience to understand and contribute to the creation of a district level skill development ecosystem Programme launched in 75 districts across Gujarat, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand Launched by the Government in January 2018, SANKALP is a World Bank loan assisted project that aims to strengthen institutional mechanisms for skill development and increase access to quality and market-relevant training for youth across the country. Four key result areas have been identified under SANKALP viz:  (i) Institutional Strengthening;  (ii) Quality Assurance;  (iii) Inclusion; and  (iv) Expanding Skills through PPPs India and Comoros:  Seeking to expand bilateral relations in various fields, India and Comoros today signed 6 MoUs including one on defence cooperation. Other MoUs sought to cement cooperation in the fields of health and medicine, arts and culture and tele-education (e-Vidya Bharati) and tele-medicine (e-Arogya Bharati). MoUs on exemption of Visa for Diplomatic and Official Passport holders for short visits and protocol on foreign office consultation were also signed. Comoros is an island country in the Indian Ocean located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel off the eastern coast of Africa between northeastern Mozambique, the French region of Mayotte, and northwestern Madagascar. The capital and largest city in Comoros is Moroni. The religion of the majority of the population is Sunni Islam. Launch of Ganga Aamantran A unique initiative to connect with Ganga’s Stakeholders The ‘Ganga Aamantran Abhiyan’ is a pioneering and historic exploratory open-water rafting and kayaking expedition on the Ganga River to be held between 10th October 2019 to 11 November 2019.  Starting at Devprayag and culminating at Ganga Sagar, the expedition will cover the entire streatch of over 2500 kms of the Ganga River. This is the first ever effort by National Mission for Clean Ganga to raft across the entire stretch of the river and also the longest ever social campaign undertaken through an adventure sporting activity to spread the message of River Rejuvenation and Water Conservation on a massive scale. The expedition will draw attention to the ecological challenges being faced by Ganga. The expedition will encompass the five Ganga basin states including Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal with stops at Rishikesh, Haridwar, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, Sonepur and Kolkata. The team, during the expedition will take up public awareness campaign on the locations at which they will stop. They will organise mass cleaning drives, interact with students of the village/city and will further the message of river conservation. Launch of eDantseva website and mobile application The first ever national digital platform on oral health information and knowledge dissemination e-DantSeva will reach out to more than one billion people with one click in the form of a dedicated website and mobile application Poor oral health affects growth negatively in all aspects of human development Braille booklet and Voice over on Oral Health Education for the visually impaired individuals, along with the oral health posters for pregnant women and children was also released Dental caries/cavities and periodontal disease remain the two most prevalent dental diseases of the Indian population and dental infections have a potential for serious diseases/infections. This initiative of the Ministry with AIIMS and other stakeholders aims to sensitize the public about the significance of maintaining optimum oral health and equips them with the tools and knowledge to do so, including awareness on the nearest oral health service facility. India announces TAP for 5 African Countries on World Cotton Day In the five year long second phase, the programme will be scaled up in size and coverage and will be introduced in five additional countries, namely Mali, Ghana, Togo, Zambia and Tanzania. The Cotton TAP programme will now cover 11 African countries including the C4 (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali). India implemented a Technical Assistance Programme (TAP) for cotton in 6 African countries, namely – Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Malawi, Nigeria and Uganda from 2012 to 2018. India is also engaging meaningfully in providing assistance to strengthen both the agriculture and textile part of the cotton value chain in Africa through training and capacity-building of farmers, scientists, government officials and industry representatives and through the creation of cotton-related infrastructure. As one of the world’s largest producers and consumers of cotton, India supports the World Cotton Day as an opportunity to recognise the significance of cotton as a global commodity, and, more importantly, as a source of livelihood for millions of small and marginal farmers in developing countries. As a country of 8 million small and marginal cotton farmers, India is sensitive to the challenges faced by the cotton sector in developing countries and India has been a proponent for the elimination of asymmetries and imbalances in the WTO agreements that lead to a distortion of global cotton markets. On Environment To control stubble burning, the government has given more than 20 thousand machines to farmers in Punjab and Haryana at a cost of about Rs.1150 crore Launch of green fire crackers with green logo and QR coding system, and is aimed at reducing pollution and health risks Emulating the best dust management practices from Delhi Metro has led to pollution reduction and presently there is nearly 5 lakh MT waste which is being processed as Recycled Aggregate/Brick base. India to shift to BS VI vehicular emission norms by April next year Bharat Stage Six (BS VI), is a revolutionary step in the transformation of fuels.  There has been 80% reduction in Particulate Matter emissions and 30% reduction in Nitrogen Oxides emissions in BS IV heavy duty diesel vehicles compared with BS III norms. Nearly ₹60,000 Cr were spent on switching over to BS VI fuels.  The country will shift to BS VI vehicular emission norms from BS IV by April 2020. BS VI petrol/diesel is already available in Delhi/NCR   Personality in News Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wadiyar of Mysore He is the 25th Maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore, was an exceptional ruler and able administrator. He was also a noted philosopher, music exponent, political thinker and philanthropist.  When India won independence, he was the first among the rulers of India’s princely states to accept the Instrument of Accession. The Maharaja signed it on 9th August, 1947 and the Union Government accepted it on 16th August. He should be thus regarded as the icon of India’s transition to democracy. His pioneering contribution to the unity and integrity of the newly independent nation will never be forgotten. Maharaja Jayachamaraja Wadiyar was not only an exceptional scholar of Indian philosophy himself but also promoted scholarship through the ‘Jayachamaraja Grantha Ratna Mala’. His support for entrepreneurship is also an inspiring story. As the ruler of the Mysore state, he actively encouraged the establishment of an industrial facility in Bengaluru by a company called Hindustan Aircraft in 1940 which become Hindustan Aeronautics. Maharaja gifted the magnificent Cheluvamba Mansion in Mysore to the Government to start the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI). He said that Maharaja’s similar donations helped the government set up the National Tuberculosis Institute in Bangalore and the All India Institute of Speech and Hearing at Mysore. Jayaprakash Narayan Part of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) Jayaprakash Narayan (JP), whose 117th birth anniversary falls on October 11, was among the twelve apostles of the Mahatma and had been a front-soldier during the Indian freedom struggle. In this fight, JP imbibed a combination of ahimsa and aggression. His call for ‘sampoorna kranti’ or total revolution to fight against rampant corruption, unemployment and systematic weakening of democratic institutions back in 1974, and the subsequent events, led to the imposition of the infamous Emergency. It eventually paved the way for a realignment of political forces in the country and gave a new direction to the politics of the country, with far-reaching ramifications. He firmly believed that youngsters should be in the forefront of changing the system. Those entrenched in power, the status quoists, would naturally resist any change, but only the energy and force of youth can bring about revolutionary transformation – this was his firm belief. And that’s precisely what happened in the seventies. After blessing the Nav Nirman Andolan in Gujarat, where people had risen against the corrupt state government, JP mobilised students in Bihar to fight against authoritarianism and corruption. He had such a mesmerising influence on the political scene that under his mentorship a host of splinter parties of the Congress, like Congress (O), Jana Sangh and Swatantra Party, and other socialists came together to form the Janata Party. He could have easily occupied the top post during the Janata regime. Although people clamoured for his leadership, he said that power was not his aim.  He participated in the freedom struggle and led the Quit India movement in 1942 in the absence of senior leaders. He remained detached from electoral politics after Independence, but as such was not indifferent to politics. He also took active part in Vinoba Bhave’s Bhoodan movement. The legacy of JP is akin to that of the Mahatma and echoes him on issues that have cropped up in the post-Gandhi era. All of them are topical and in JP’s own words: Freedom “Freedom became one of the beacon lights of my life and it has remained so ever since… Above all it meant freedom of the human personality, freedom of the mind, freedom of the spirit. This freedom has become a passion of my life and I shall not see it compromised for food, for security, for prosperity, for the glory of the state or for anything else.” Democracy “India’s democracy is to rise storey by storey from the foundation, consisting of self-governing, self-sufficient, agro-industrial, urbo-rural local communities — gram sabha, panchayat samiti and zilla parishad—that would form the base of Vidhan Sabhas and the Lok Sabha. These politico-economic institutions will regulate the use of natural resources for the good of the community and the nation. Development “Idea of development envisages independent India as sui generis, a society unlike any other, in a class of its own that would not follow the western pattern of mega industrialisation, urbanisation and individuation. India’s would be agro-based people’s economy that would chart out a distinct course in economic growth, which would be need-based, human-scale and balanced while conserving nature and livelihoods. Such a ‘development’ process would be democratic and decentralised.  The best development model for India is diversified, democratic decentralised and value-added agriculture as the root, manufacturing small/medium industries as trunk and branches and widespread service sector as a canopy. The almost universal tendency for a centralised political, economic model, and social system that is associated with both of them should be abandoned.” Communalism “Although almost every religious community had its own brand of communalism, Hindu communalism was more pernicious than the others because Hindu communalism can easily masquerade as Indian nationalism and denounce all opposition to it as being anti-national.” Hindutva “Those who attempt to equate India with Hindus and Indian history with Hindu history are only detracting from the greatness of India and the glory of Indian history and civilisation. Such person, paradoxical though this may seem, are in reality the enemies of Hinduism itself and the Hindus. Not only do they degrade the noble religion and destroy its catholicity and spirit of tolerance and harmony, but they also weaken and sunder the fabric of the nation, of which Hindus form such a vast majority.” Hindu Rashtra “In ‘the long struggle for national freedom there emerged a clear enough concept of a single, composite, non-sectarian Indian nationhood’. All those who spoke about divisive and sectarian nationalism were therefore outside the pale of this nationalism, evolved during the freedom struggle. The hostile and alienating nationalism we hear about today is antithetical to the ethos of freedom struggle and against the belief of all those who helped it evolve.”

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Daily Current Affairs IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 14th October 2019

IAS UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 14th October 2019 Archives (PRELIMS + MAINS FOCUS) Mizoram is top State with HIV prevalence rate Part of: GS Prelims and GS Mains II - Health In News Mizoram, one of the least populated States in India, reports nine positive cases of Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) a day. The virus “strike rate” has made Mizoram top the list of States with an HIV prevalence rate of 2.04% followed by two other north-eastern States — next-door neighbour Manipur with 1.43% and Nagaland with 1.15%. 67.21% of the positive cases from 2006 to March 2019 have been transmitted sexually, 1.03% of the transmission route being homosexual. The next major cause, accounting for 28.12% cases, is infected needles shared by intravenous drug users. People aged between 25 and 34 are most vulnerable, followed by 35-49 years and 15-24 years. The HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in these three age groups are 42.38%, 26.46% and 23.03% respectively. Do You Know? The total number of people living with HIV was estimated at 21.40 lakh in 2017. India witnessed over 87,000 new cases in 2017 and saw a decline of 85% compared to 1995. HIV is transmitted from person to person through bodily fluids including blood, semen, vaginal secretions, anal fluids and breast milk Anti-Retroviral Therapy - combination of daily medications that stop the virus from reproducing is used as a treatment for HIV infected persons Education of mothers directly linked to better nutrition for children Part of: GS Prelims and GS Mains II - Health In News The Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey studied 1.2 lakh children between 2016 and 2018 and measured food consumption, anthropometric data, micronutrient levels, anaemia, iron deficiency and markers of non-communicable diseases. These were charted against population characteristics such as religion, caste, place of residence and the mothers’ levels of schooling. Data from the study show that with higher levels of schooling in a mother, children received better diets.  While 31.8% of the children whose mothers finished Class XII received diverse meals, only 11.4% whose mothers with no schooling received adequately diverse meals Only 49.8% of the children in 2-4 years age group whose mothers did not go to school consumed dairy products, while 80.5% of the children of mothers who completed their schooling did so. Levels of stunting, wasting and low weight were higher in children whose mothers received no schooling as opposed to those who studied till Class XII. Stunting among children aged up to four was nearly three times for the former category (19.3% versus 5.9%) But on the flip side, a higher level of education among mothers meant that their children received meals less frequently, perhaps because the chances of the women being employed and travelling long distances to work  Children in the age group of 10-19 showed a higher prevalence of pre-diabetes if their mother had finished schooling (15.1% versus 9.6%).  The prevalence of high cholesterol levels was at 6.2% in these children (age group of 10-19) as opposed to 4.8% among those whose mothers never attended school. https://d39gegkjaqduz9.cloudfront.net/TH/2019/10/14/CNI/Chennai/TH/5_11/a176072c_3259145_101_mr.jpg Many denied PDS rice due to non-seeding of Aadhaar Part of: GS Prelims and GS Mains II - Governance In News The ‘One Nation, One Ration Card’ scheme seems to be not working in favour of many in Odisha, according to a survey that found that hundreds of people have not been provided rice through the PDS for two months due to non-seeding of Aadhaar. The study also found that exclusion due to Aadhaar linking is more prevalent in tribal areas. The survey was conducted during the first week of October by the Odisha chapter of the National Right to Food Campaign, an informal network of organisations and individuals working on right to food issues One Nation, One Ration card The national portability of Ration cards will ensure all beneficiaries especially the migrants in getting access to PDS across the nation from any PDS shop of their own choice. This will provide freedom to the beneficiaries as they will not be tied to any one PDS shop and reduce their dependence on shop owners and curtail instances of corruption. There will also be creation of a Central Repository of all Ration Cards to help national level de-duplication. This initiative shall be helpful for the large migratory population of the country, who migrate from one part of the country to another in search of job or employment, marriage, or any other reason, and find difficulty in accessing subsidised foodgrains in the present system. The challenges for this scheme involves that all PDS shops should install ePoS machines and all ration cards have to be seeded with Aadhaar numbers. ‘Foreign’ plastic invades Great Nicobar Island Part of: GS Prelims and Mains GS-III – Environment Conservation In News About 10 countries including India contributed to the plastic litter in the Great Nicobar island. They were Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, India, Myanmar, China and Japan. Major portion of the litter (40.5%) was of Malaysian origin. It was followed by Indonesia (23.9%) and Thailand (16.3%).The litter of Indian origin only amounted to 2.2% The overwhelming contribution from Indonesia and Thailand was likely due to its proximity to the island; the plastic is likely to have made its way to the island because of water currents via the Malacca Strait, which is a major shipping route. The huge quantities of marine debris observed on this island might be due to improper handling of the solid waste from fishing/mariculture activity and ship traffic. Plastic pollution has emerged as one of the severest threats to ocean ecosystems and its concentration has reached 5,80,000 pieces per square kilometre. Plastic represents 83% of the marine litter found.The remaining 17% is mainly textiles, paper, metal and wood. Do You Know? The Great Nicobar Island of Andaman has an area of about 1044 sq. km. According to the 2011 census, has a population of about 8,069. The island is home to one of the most primitive tribes of India — the Shompens. The island includes the Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve (GNBR) comprising of the Galathea National Park and the Campbell Bay National Park. The island harbours a wide spectrum of ecosystems from tropical wet evergreen forests, mountain ranges and coastal plains. The island is also home to giant robber crabs, crab-eating macaques, the rare megapode as well as leatherback turtles. Project Beehive Part of: GS Prelims and Mains GS-III – Security In News The Army’s Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME) has launched a major initiative under Project Beehive for automation of the entire Corps The objective is to enable real-time monitoring and response of its 2,000 workshops across the country. The Army is collaborating with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on this and EME officers are part of the product development Each of them will be able to track their equipment and readiness in realtime. On a click, all critical readiness states will be displayed. The equipment, how much mileage was done, when is the next service due and so on. It allows easy forecast of requirements The Army had earlier automated its workshops under WASP (Workshop Honey bees) which is now being upgraded to be on same level with Beehive. PLOGGING Part of: GS Prelims and Mains GS-III – Environment Conservation In News ‘Plogging’ is a combination word formed from ‘jogging’ and ‘plocka upp’, which is Swedish for ‘pick up’. It refers to an emerging international trend in which people picks up trash while jogging or brisk walking as a way of cleaning up litter while also taking care of fitness. The trend was started in Sweden by Erik Ahlström in 2016. Thanks to social media and word of mouth, it has gradually turned into an international movement involving both fitness and environmental enthusiasts. In India, the government organised the Fit India Plog Run on October 2, as part of the Fit India Movement launched by the Prime Minister on August 29. In his Mann Ki Baat address on September 29, PM Modi urged people to start plogging for a litter-free India. According to Ahlström, plogging for half an hour will burn at least 288 calories on an average as compared to 235 calories from regular jogging. BAUL MUSIC Part of: GS Prelims and GS-I – Art & Culture In News A three day long festival of Baul songs named Indo-Bangla Baul Music Festival concluded in Dhaka which was organised to observe the 129th death anniversary of Baul saint Fakir Lalon Shah. Baul Music is a form of folk music, unique to Bangladesh and West Bengal of India. The word Baul means “afflicted with the wind disease” and the Baul singers are traditionally wandering minstrels singing their particular form of folk music. The lyrics and music are soul searching, quite comparable to the genre of Sufi music. In 2005, the Baul tradition of Bangladesh was included in the list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.  Statistical report for general election 2019 Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II - Governance In News The Election Commission of India has officially released the statistical report for general election 2019. Some of the key findings of the report are: The overall polling percentage in the last parliamentary election, including postal ballots, was 67.4%, which is the highest ever turnout in a Lok Sabha poll. Nearly 86% of the 8,026 candidates in the recent Lok Sabha poll forfeited their deposits. The national turnout among women electors was marginally higher at 67.18% as compared to male electors (67%). The turnout of women voters surpassed the male turnout figures in 17 states/Union Territories, including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. As per the state-wise turnout figures, Lakshadweep recorded the highest turnout at 85.21% across all states and UTs, followed by Nagaland (83%). Jammu and Kashmir recorded the lowest turnout at 44.97%. Dhubri in Assam emerged as the constituency with the highest turnout of 90.66% while Anantnag in J&K recorded the lowest turnout of 8.98% Postal ballots received in the 2019 parliamentary poll totalled around 28 lakh, though only around 22.8 lakh were found to be valid with over 5 lakh rejected.  On the final vote share of national parties, BJP polled 37.76% of valid votes, Congress 19.7%, Trinamool 4.11%, BSP 3.67%, CPM 1.77%, NCP 1.4% and CPI 0.59%. (MAINS FOCUS) ECONOMY TOPIC: General Studies 3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment. Inclusive growth and issues arising from it. Tax evasion and base erosion and profit shifting Context: Indian government desperate to raise more tax revenues.  It missed its tax targets  last fiscal year, (poor goods and services tax (GST) collections).  Its declared budgetary target for the current year requires tax receipts to increase by around 25%, when the first quarter increase was only 6%. MNCs Tax Evasion: MNCs manage to avoid taxation in most countries, by shifting their declared costs and revenues through transfer pricing across subsidiaries, practices described as “base erosion and profit shifting” (BEPS).  Digital companies, some of the largest of which make billions of dollars in profits across the globe, but pay barely any taxes anywhere.  The International Monetary Fund has estimated that countries lose $500 billion a year because of this. Base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS): Base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) refers to corporate tax planning strategies used by multinationals to "shift" profits from higher–tax jurisdictions to lower–tax jurisdictions, thus "eroding" the "tax–base" of the higher–tax jurisdictions The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) define BEPS strategies as also "exploiting gaps and mismatches in tax rules Initiatives to curb BEPS by the OECD and the Trump administration have failed. Way forward: Idea Proposed by the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation, or ICRICT Since an MNC actually functions as one entity, it should be treated that way for tax purposes. So the total global profits of a multinational should be calculated, and then apportioned across countries according to some formula based on sales, employment and users (for digital companies).Ex: US A minimum corporate tax should be internationally agreed upon for this to prevent companies shifting to low tax jurisdictions (ICRICT has suggested 25%) Indian government has already proposed in a white paper that it could take such a unilateral initiative for digital companies. The OECD G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project (or BEPS Project): It is an OECD/G20 project to set up an international framework to combat tax avoidance by multinational enterprises ("MNEs") using base erosion and profit shifting tools The aim of the project is to mitigate tax code loopholes and country-to-country inconsistencies so that corporations cannot shift profits from a country with a high corporate tax rate to countries with a low tax rate. Implementation phase, 116 countries are involved, including a majority of developing countries. The BEPS project looks to develop multilateral dialogue and could be achieved thanks to a successful international cooperation, unavoidable when it comes to such a domestic and sovereign topic. The European Commission and the US have unilaterally  taken actions in 2017-2018 that implement several key measures of the BEPS project Concerns: Arbitrary separation between what OECD calls “routine” and “residual” profits, and the proposal that only residual profits will be subject to unitary taxation. This has no economic justification, since profits are anyway net of various costs and interest. The proposal does not clearly specify the criteria for determining routine profits Formula to be used to distribute taxable profits. The OECD suggests only sales revenues as the criterion, but developing countries would lose out from this because they are often the producers of commodities that are consumed in the advanced economies. Conclusion: A government that is currently ineffective in battling both economic slowdown and declining tax revenues cannot afford to neglect this crucial opportunity. Connecting the dots: The International Monetary Fund has estimated that countries lose $500 billion a year because of “base erosion and profit shifting” (BEPS). Examine. ECONOMY TOPIC: General Studies 3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment. Inclusive growth and issues arising from it. The economic slowdown in the country Data: Private consumption has contracted and is at an 18-quarter low of 3.1% Rural consumption is in a deep southward dive and is double the rate of the urban slowdown Credit off-take by micro and small industries remains stagnant;  Net exports have shown little or no growth;  GDP growth is at a six-year low with the first quarter of FY20 registering just 5%;  Unemployment is at a 45-year-high. Recession: The technical term for the same is growth recession.  A recession is defined in economics as three consecutive quarters of contraction in GDP. But since India is a large developing economy, contraction is a rarity.  The last instance of negative growth for India was in 1979.  A growth recession is more commonplace where the economy continues to grow but at a slower pace than usual for a sustained period, what India has been facing nowadays. Consumption: The growth of the Indian economy had been predominated by consumption inclusive of both -- Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE) as well as the Government Final Consumption Expenditure (GFCE). The recent sharp fall in PFCE in the June quarter to 3.1 per cent compared to 7.2 per cent in the March quarter has significantly contributed to the recent slowdown. Investment: Major component of India's GDP is investment, induced by both -- private and government sectors. It has been a key driver of growth since the liberalisation of 1991, fell by 6.2 percentage points in 2014-19 than in 2011-14 Other Reasons: Partly driven by domestic problems like neglected farmers Weakening global economy  Mr. Trump’s fusillade of trade conflicts. Last weekend’s attack on two Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, which sent the global price of oil soaring, underscored just how vulnerable India and other developing countries are to external factors beyond their control. The overhang of bad bank loans, coupled with recent defaults by nonbank financial firms, has curbed lending to consumers and businesses. Policy decisions by India’s central and state governments have worsened the country’s downturn For example Auto manufacturers: New safety and emissions standards increased the cost of vehicles, nine states raised taxes on car sales, and the banks and finance companies that fund dealers and 80 percent of consumer car purchases were paralyzed by the credit crunch. The textile industry, which employs about 45 million people and is India’s second-largest employer after agriculture, is emblematic of the country’s distress. Measures taken and their impacts : Recently announced  Bank mergers further disturb a major chunk of the banking system in the coming year. Recently announced package for the automobile sector or making banks pass on interest rate cuts to businesses have little impact The announcement of a transfer of Rs 1.76 lakh crore from the RBI to the government will allow the government to maintain the fiscal deficit target at 3.3%. But, this will not provide the needed stimulus.( fiscal deficit today is 9%) Government revised GST for the automobile sector, opened up FDI in contract manufacturing sector and even announced the recapitalization of the banking sector. Way forward: Focus on optimum utilization of funds granted by RBI and direct them to boost investment in the economy both infrastructural and research investment. Structural shifts over the long run can be achieved through tapping into the health and education sectors that long for quality improvements. Conclusion: Only  long-lasting structural changes can improve the growth potential of the Indian economy and deter the possibility of three slowdowns within the short span of a decade. Connecting the dots: Recession can be short-lived if corrective actions are taken immediately, failure of which can have a prolonged effect on the health of an economy. Examine (TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE) Model questions: (You can now post your answers in comment section) Note:  Featured Comments and comments Up-voted by IASbaba are the “correct answers”. IASbaba App users – Team IASbaba will provide correct answers in comment section. Kindly refer to it and update your answers. Q.1) Galathea National Park and the Campbell Bay National Park is located in which State/Union Territory? Uttar Pradesh Lakshadweep Islands Odisha Andaman & Nicobar islands Q.2) Baul music is predominant in which State/region of India ? Andhra Pradesh Gujarat West Bengal South India Q.3)Consider the following statements The overall polling percentage in 2019 Lok Sabha General elections was 67.4%, which is the highest ever turnout in a Lok Sabha poll. The national turnout among women electors was lower as compared to male electors in 2019 Lok Sabha Elections Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct? 1 only 2 only Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 Q.4) Consider the following statements about Plogging  It involves people picking up trash while jogging or brisk walking as a way of cleaning up litter while also taking care of fitness It was started in Paris during 2015 Climate deal to spread the awareness among people about sustainable lifestyle Which of the statement(s) given above is/are correct? 1 only 2 only Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 MUST READ Chennai Connect: On Xi-Modi informal summit The Hindu Prize for peace: On Nobel for Ethiopia PM The Hindu A lodestar to steer the economy The Hindu On the edge IE Where Do I Belong? IE

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