IAS Baba

Jun 28, 2017 RSTV Video

The Big Picture - How Can India Maintain High GDP Growth?

How Can India Maintain High GDP Growth? Archives TOPIC: General Studies 3 Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment. India’s economic growth fell to 6.1% in the fourth quarter of 2016-17, primarily because of demonetisation adversely affecting economic activity and the worst affected sectors being construction and financial services. Without indirect taxes (GST will be introduced), growth figures are expected to be more dismal. GVA added to the difference between GDP and Net indirect taxes grew by only 5.6% in Q4. The effect of demonetisation was evident in the figures with growth being pushed more by agriculture and government spending. Excluding these, GVA merely grew 3.8% from 8.4% in Q1. Q3 numbers were much better than Q4 performance. This means that the real effect of demonetisation was felt after some months. However, demonetisation is not the real reason why the Indian economy is slowing down. The GDP numbers show that the Indian economy was slowing down from the first quarter of last fiscal. It was a slowdown which was not getting captured for a while but now it has shown. Demonetisation figures are part of a larger trend. Demonetisation has definitely accentuated the unemployment problem, especially in construction and real estate sector as they are cash rich sector. But one thing these numbers have cleared the misconception of lot of authorities who without having data had unnecessarily castigated the GDP makers for having fudged data. The Indian Statistical System is robust and gives a clearer real picture. What bothers high economic growth? Though agricultural growth has been high, it may not be as high as witnessed in previous quarter despite the monsoon. On other positive side, the exports have started moving up. But it is now becoming clearer that economy is dependent on expenditure to push it. The high growth between 2004-2010 was due to Boom in private-corporate investment. Their share in savings and investment doubled. This generated a huge demand for capital goods. Boom in rural consumption. There was a period when MSP was going up, NREGA was expanding and the FMCG was on a rise. Phenomenal increase in export growth where a lot of it was driven by software exports. Can these be counted upon now? Private investments are not encouraging due to NPA overhangs in the economy. It is a 6.5 lakh crore rupees problem. Till it gets solved, investment cycle returning to the economy will take considerable time. The current pessimism in investment climate is driven by lack of demand growth. Even those companies that can invest are not ready to jump in as they are wary about the demand growth. Last few months have been positive on export side. But it is not sure if it can be sustained for long. A higher level of private consumption has given a relief to Q4 but the nature of private consumption has to change its direction from consumption to gross capital formation which has come down substantially. Even service sector contribution is going down which is the biggest engine of growth at the moment. The construction, banking, finance sectors has seen a downward growth trend. All eight core sectors of industry are down during the Q4. With them going down and private investment sectors sinking, the GDP will go down along with GVA. Given the rise in protectionist measures, less growth in global trade, India needs to analyse its strengths pertaining to macroeconomic and microeconomic conditions- The focus areas should be How to step up investment- government or private Increase in capital formations Good monsoon should give better agricultural push as the share of agriculture is coming down year after year. Resolving the NPA problem. For this, government expenditure can be increased in three sectors Railways no longer have fund constraint that was present earlier- lines of credit LIC, people willing to invest, government support has increased. However, railway’s capacity to spend money needs to be developed. PPP in highways is going to take a long time. Now EPC has come in where government spends money and contractors are private sector. Also, an annual hybrid annuity model has been tried where private sector also plays some role. Electricity sector investments have come down by saying that there is electricity surplus in some states. But there is a surplus because there is no demand! India needs to continue to add 5-6% to its capacity in generation and increase electricity infrastructure to provide electricity in all the parts of the country. Role of RBI The MPC has taken a consistent position that demonetisation effect is transient. But they are not yet convinced about the inflation trajectory because of which they want to keep it below 4%. The inflation trajectory has come off the pressures of being high. This is the critical point. MPC has taken a hawkish position that inflation risks are still high because of follow through of pay commission, impact of several structural problems and constantly fluctuating oil prices. This is when they would be considering whether there is a need to cut back on rates. The problem is that even if there is rate cut, would it encourage investors to borrow extra money from bank? Right now the banks are flushed with credit and willing to lend at less rates. But the question is if the borrowers are willing to take up the available money? So it is not necessary that less rate of interest would spur the economy for higher growth rate. Creating a climate for investment is important because the demand has gone down in several sectors of economy and the industry is not pouring new money into manufacturing and operations. So government has to do things on several fronts. Government should concentrate on infrastructure projects which will be generating good deal of demand in future. The real estate has the maximum forward and backward linkages and here is where government should focus the most. Construction, employment orientation, employment intensive, addressing issue of land availability, affordable housing- making it feasible should help the economy. Conclusion World Band in its recent report ‘Globalisation Backlash’ has mentioned that may be private sector will be interested in investing more in next quarter. This is because investment in infrastructure by government has gone up high and public expenditure has also gone high. This may result into further incentive and market may pick up a little. Also, Growth rate of 8-10% shouldn’t be expected in the near future. It was possible when world trade was booming. A consistent 7% growth is a good sign of economic growth. The per capita incomes will quadrupole in a generation. Thus, India’s macroeconomic front is reasonably sound. It is possible to take risk to economic boost. Growth has to come from private sector. If the government tries to expand and tries to spend out of its way, it will hit the macroeconomic situation. Fiscal deficit ceiling cannot be breached. The private sector in India depends on government to give signal which is problematic. GST, IBBI enactment, fiscal ceiling are the solid measures to put the growth trajectory on sound footing. Key Remark- Some major points from WB report are The fiscal, inflation and external conditions in India are expected to remain stable India's economic growth will rise gradually to 7.7 per cent in 2019-20 The growth will be underpinned by a recovery in private investments Despite renewed weakness in private investment and sluggish external demand, India continued to grow robustly Demonetisation did in fact slow the growth modestly It expects that inflation would stabilise with the support of favourable investment climate and structural reforms The report has warned India against significant risks to its favourable growth outlook It has also underlined uncertainties in the external environment, not-so clear picture of the impact of demonetisation on small and informal firms, obstacles to private investment and rapid hikes in the prices of oil and other commodities. Connecting the dots: “A double digit growth for Indian economy in near future is difficult.” Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer.

Jun 28, 2017 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs 28th June, 2017

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 28th June 2017 Archives INTERNATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 2: India and its International relations. Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests. Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora. PM Modi's visit to US Introduction: This was PM Modi’s fifth US visit. PM Modi remarked that when it comes to the development of the world’s two largest democracies, India remains a “driven, determined, and decisive partner”. Donald J Trump on Twitter remarked- "Important strategic issues to discuss with a true friend.” For India, which kept expectations muted for the visit, it was clearly a moment of triumph. It was an effective and efficient meeting between two extraordinarily strong leaders united by a common goal: How to advance his own country’s interests first. Finding common ground: In statecraft, a rival’s rival is a friend. China’s geopolitical ambitions from One Belt One Road to dominating the South China Sea, not to mention its failed efforts to contain North Korea, all drove Trump closer to Modi who additionally offered Trump what the latter has been seeking from every world leader: Solid cooperation in fighting terrorism, extremism, and radicalisation. These assurances for Trump have not been forthcoming from traditional American allies in Europe, a region where Trump continues to be unpopular. The evolution of global geopolitics has led to an unprecedented convergence between the US and India. The commercial imperative for closer ties is clear for American companies seeking to do business in the fastest growing large economy in the world. On the flipside, India’s strength in the services sector provides US companies with a deep competitive edge. On economic front: On economic front- Trump’s slogan, “Make America Great Again” is directly at odds with Modi’s vision of “Make in India” because both nationalist leaders are actively attempting to increase manufacturing in their respective countries as a pathway to lift their respective middle classes. Companies such as Infosys have already done the unthinkable and announced massive plans to hire Americans in the US and scale back hiring in India. On the economic front, India came under increased U.S. pressure on IPRs. The HIB visa issue remained unaddressed. Trump duly noted his intent to reduce the US trade deficit with India. He highlighted that the US is trying to get higher prices for a long-term contract to sell natural gas to India. He was glad to note an Indian airline’s recent order of “100 new American planes, one of the largest orders of its kind, which will support thousands and thousands of American jobs”. In the delegation-level talks, Trump also thanked Modi for the Indian government’s decision to purchase 22 unarmed Guardian drones from the US. Defence relation: In terms of defence, India got the 22 Guardian drones it’s been keen to add to its arsenal and significantly, it’s the first non-Nato ally to be allowed to buy these hi-tech weapons. Further defence equipment sales to India could help reduce the US-India trade deficit and improve the US’s defence-industrial manufacturing base. Background- In August 2016, the Government of India finalised the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA). For its part, the US government recognised India as “Major Defense Partner”. On Pakistan: Hours after Modi’s arrival, the Americans sent out an even stronger signal by declaring Hizbul Mujahidden chief Syed Salahuddin a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist”. This vindicated New Delhi’s position of Kashmiri separatism being fuelled by Pakistan as a part of its sub-conventional warfare against India. In turn, India pledged to join the United States’ campaign against North Korea’s nuclear weapons. The language on Pakistan was tougher and more direct than before. In a joint statement, the leaders called on Pakistan to ensure its territory is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries. They further called on Pakistan to “expeditiously bring to justice perpetrators” of the 26/11 Mumbai, Pathankot, and other cross-border terrorist attacks by Pakistan-based groups. On China: The joint statement released by India and US can be seen as an indicator of change in Washington’s stance, to accede to India’s views on the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative. The statement supports regional economic connectivity projects provided they respect “sovereignty and territorial integrity, the rule of law, and the environment” and employ “responsible debt financing practices”. The statement recognizes India and the US as two “democratic stalwarts in the Indo-Pacific region”—a clear hint towards building a coalition of democratic countries against non-democratic forces (read China) in the region. Perhaps significantly, the specific references to the South China Sea dispute and China in last year’s joint statement were replaced with a call on “all nations to resolve territorial and maritime disputes peacefully and in accordance with international law”. This could suggest that the strategic outlook that underpinned the India-US relationship is changing, as President Trump turns away from seeking to contain Chinese power in Asia. On climate change: Climate change, the star of the 2016 joint statement, has disappeared from the 2017 joint statement. For Indian farmers, already hard hit by climate change this issue is key. President Trump’s decision to walk back on the US’s Paris Agreement commitments marks a major blow. Way ahead: Many bilateral issues including India’s concerns on the immigration process and H1B visa curbs, and Mr. Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, which will leave India’s climate change financing handicapped remains undiscussed. The two countries need to move past obvious headwinds such as India’s IP standards and the immigration executive orders affecting high-skilled workers in the US. On the face of it, “America First” and “Make in India” are not natural points of convergence, but they need not be matters of conflict either — only if both countries avoid protectionist measures. Since the Trump administration is keen on bilateral treaties instead of multilateral trade deals, it may be a tangible outcome if the two governments set their goals on negotiating a bilateral investment treaty. Divisive political sentiments can be overcome as Indian companies make it their mandate to hire locally in the US. On matters of trade, climate change and high-tech visas, the meeting resulted in few successes. Intellectual property rights and trade regulations could again occupy centre stage in relations between the two countries. Bilateral talks should continue to sort out these issues. Conclusion: All things considered, a good beginning appears to have been made during Mr. Modi’s maiden meeting with Mr. Trump. Clearly, the India-U.S. joint statement has exceeded expectations, with an emphasis on the need for Pakistan to stop attacks on India launched from its soil, and for China to forge its Belt and Road Initiative taking into account India’s concerns on territorial and sovereignty issues. Mentioning North Korea, West Asia and Afghanistan, the statement talks of a “growing strategic convergence” between the two countries and a shared vision on world affairs. However, while the two leaders were able to establish a common understanding of global issues, the joint statement indicates that many bilateral issues are yet to be resolved. It is now for them to tackle the more substantive bilateral issues. Connecting the dots: Discuss how US –India relations have evolved under President Trump's era. Also discuss the bilateral issues and challenges between the two nations. ECONOMICS TOPIC: General Studies 3: Indian Economy and issues relating to mobilization of resources, growth, development General Studies 2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation; Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability Resolving the NPA issue: Key Challenges Introduction: Many new measures to help resolve India’s problem of large and mounting non-performing loans/assets, or NPAs have been launched by the government. Still India’s war on NPAs seem intractable. Indian regulators have not yet resolved a case that can be showcased as an example of what the recent regulatory measures can achieve. Recent measures: The Securities and Exchange Board of India announced that companies that are pursuing acquisitions as part of resolution plans approved under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) would be exempted from open offer obligations typically applied under Indian takeover regulations. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced its decision to focus on 12 stressed accounts, totalling about 25% of the current gross NPAs and referring them to the IBC immediately. The government had cleared an ordinance to amend the Banking Regulation Act, giving the RBI more powers to direct banks to resolve bad loans. A tough task: These measures do not address some of the underlying characteristics of the Indian economy and the banking sector that make NPA resolution a diificult task in India. Indian banks need to accept significant haircuts to resolve the NPA cases as several of them are in sectors where market conditions are in a slump, such as steel, power and textiles. In this environment, it is difficult for banks to find suitable buyers of distressed assets at desired valuations. The government will require immense political will to allow bankers to take the necessary haircuts (which will impact profitability negatively), without bankers fearing that their decisions will be questioned or investigated in the future. The tight resolution timelines envisaged under the IBC cannot be achieved if bankers do not have the commercial flexibility and the autonomy to sell distressed assets. Another issue not addressed by the recent regulatory changes is what role promoters play in delaying NPA resolution. Unlike more developed markets, in India, bankers cannot make significant management changes in distressed companies as promoters closely control key aspects of a business such as relationships with suppliers, customers and regulators. It becomes critical that promoters should agree to and be involved in any resolution process. However, the RBI does not regulate promoters and other shareholders, and hence cannot force resolutions on to them. Institutional framework to handle NPAs: The framework includes the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), the adjudicating authority for corporate insolvency cases under Section 60 of the IBC. It also includes the network of ‘insolvency professionals’ (IPs), a special class of professionals, who will be appointed by the NCLT and in charge of managing the debtor company, whilst being accountable to the committee of creditors and the NCLT. Issues: The severe capacity constraints of the NCLT in handling the present and past backlog of cases is well recognised. It is also unclear how long it will take the NCLT judges to ramp up their understanding of the complex bankruptcy environment to allow them to handle the cases in an expedient and fair way. Way ahead: Regarding IPs, it is critical for the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India to quickly develop a robust way to select the most qualified IPs. Apart from their technical capabilities, it will be crucial to ensure that the IPs are truly independent and do not allow promoters or other key stakeholders to manipulate the resolution process in any unfair manner. India has a mixed track record of regulating professional services, and the quality and independence of the IPs is critical to the successful implementation of the IBA. The success of the bankruptcy law in India will depend on the jurisprudence that develops under the IBC. We have to wait and watch how the various players, including bankers, promoters, the government, IPs, auditors, lawyers, valuers and liquidators, behave in the next few cases. Conclusion: The NPA issue can be surely resolved with the hope that institutional capacity will strengthen; there will be greater alignment in the interests of the promoters, creditors and buyers of distressed assets; and, finally, the government and banks will show a strong political will to settle a few cases quickly and transparently. Connecting the dots: Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 can surely help in resolving the Non-Performing Assets(NPA) issue in the country. However, some more steps needs to be taken. Discuss MUST READ Piece of a complex solution Hindu The Marawi seige Hindu A meek reform Hindu Dalit Vs Dalit Indian Express Reform gently Indian Express A city laid waste Indian Express The difficulty of being a farmer Livemint Important lessons for the Smart cities Livemint It's all in sequencing Livemint India first Business Line

Jun 27, 2017

Rank 6, DINESH KUMAR, UPSC CSE 2016 TOPPER'S STRATEGY, 467 MARKS in General Studies, First Attempt, Highly Inspirational-IASbaba's ILP Student (Miss This Article at Your Own Peril)

Rank- 6, DINESH KUMAR CSE 2016 who was our ILP-2016 student proudly shares his experience with IASbaba. When we met DINESH KUMAR, he had a brilliant story to tell! Nothing more than an amazing source of experience. Coming from a very humble background reaching to such height of success is nothing less than a miracle. Meeting his family was equally wonderful and the values of family reflected in the manner Dinesh invited us and shared his experience. People complain about lack of resources and dearth of quality guidance in the journey of UPSC preparation, Dinesh's story is something to be cherished. What a humble and inspiring personality he is!! Indeed we need such hard working and down to earth people in our Administration. We are proud of you and happy to be associated with you. Examples like him give us strength and motivation to strive forward to achieve what we started our journey for – to provide quality education to aspirants in the remotest corner of India. She has also justified our moto i.e. “One stop destination for UPSC”. Apart from Integrated Learning Program, (ILP) he was also regularly following our other initiatives like 60 days Plan, Daily Current Affairs, Daily Current Affairs Quiz, TLP, PIB gist, monthly magazine etc. Watch IASbaba in Discussion with Dinesh, Rank 6 in UPSC CSE 2016 Dinesh sharing his experience and role of Integrated Learning Programme (ILP) in his success! Love the process than the Outcome. Hi Guys, This is Dinesh Kumar, Secured All India Rank 6 in this Year CSE 2016. To be honest, even while I am writing this, it still feels like a dream, each and every second I pray to GOD, to not turn this into a dream. I still remember on the eventful day of May 31st, when I was waiting for the results I was considering all the possibilities (In the top 90, In the list and Out of list) with equal probability. Hence my only wish to GOD was, Please get me into the list. I can still recall, that when I opened the list along with my friends, I started searching my name from the bottom of the list (I don't have the courage to use Crtl + F) only when I thought I did not make it to the list (as i was trying to see ranks below 50), my friends screamed RANK 6. We all started shouting loud, hugging each other like people gone mad. It was a moment when a long cherished dream looked coming to life all of a sudden. The result took so long to sink in, in fact even now I sometimes feel is it true ? After the initial excitement I looked at my best friend and we both said "Now it is the time to serve". I don't want to put the feelings in words because I strongly feel no matter what, Words cannot do justice to that moment. I am telling you all these because, I just want to convey by my example that even the topper of UPSC is no different from others, even he was not certain about his selection, carries the same emotions and feelings, faces turmoils both emotionally,physically & financially, has ups & downs, faces self doubt at times but guys this is all very normal in UPSC's marathon preparation. I was also studying like you in the Basements of Old Rajinder Nagar or anywhere, and staying in highly inflated Flats of Delhi. In fact I can recollect, that when I was reading the success stories of many toppers, I always thought, will I be able to write my success story?. This can also be the same going through your minds now, but believe me and more so in yourself, you have all the capability, potential and ability to crack this exam and come out with flying colors. Below is my strategy for various subjects, and make few changes to your preparation if you think it is useful. Attached below are the screenshots of my Mains and Prelims scores. Back Ground: I am a Mechanical graduate from National Institute of Technology, Warangal. Later I worked as a Site Engineer in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd for One Year, then I formally resigned to my job to focus on the preparation. I started full fledged preparation in July 2015, I took my coaching from Vajiram and Ravi(For my GS and Optional) and was able to clear this exam in my First Attempt. Disclaimer : I want to take this opportunity to mention to which Coaching institutes I am related with Vajiram and Ravi for my GS and Optional Coaching Joined Integrated Learning Programme (ILP) in 2016 and took full benefit of it. I took GS Test Series from Vajiram and Ravi, I also followed the regulars posted on the website of IASBaba specially TLP and Current Affairs on Daily Basis. I took my Optional Test Series from Vajiram and Ravi and GS Score I participated in Interview Guidance Programme of GS Score, GS Mentors, KSG and Samkalp and IASBaba. I followed Mrunal for Couple of subjects & also newspaper analysis by one of our teachers (Rambabu Sir ) Apart from this I am not related to any of the Coaching institutes, which many are claiming so. Please spread the word. Few Points to keep in mind: Believe in the process than in the outcome. Bhagavat Gita Says: Do not let the fruit be the purpose of your actions, and therefore you won’t be attached to not doing your duty. In other words, enjoy the pleasure of journey more than just the destination (trust me guys, this is something that I am not just saying to write a flowery article but i felt this every single day) I remember the day when I said to my father before starting my preparation, that even if I don't become an IAS/IPS, I will be a much better person with greater amount of knowledge and confidence and more so a responsible citizen. Hence exam pressure was not on me during my preparation, I started loving the process because there is so much to learn in this exam. This did not demotivate me during my preparation. (This can be a solution on how to solve the demotivation we may go through) You can do this: I strongly believe that each and everyone of us can clear this exam. To be frank, my General Knowledge was so poor, that I did not know the capital cities of France and Italy at one point of my time. If I can make it to the list definitely you can. Hence Self confidence and believing yourself is very important in this exam. You should know your Weakness and strengths: This exam is relative hence you need to play according to your strengths. Essay was not my strength and added to it I did a mistake of not practicing it much. If you observe I got very less marks in my Essay Paper, but even before the result was out, I was expecting around 120-130 because I wrote a very very general Essay and did not take risk to score high 140's. All I wanted was that my Essay should not pull my rank down. Hence knowing your weaknesses and working on it is very important in this exam. You need to make sure that your weakness wont cost you much. Make Note of everything: All of us forget, because we are human beings, there is no wrong in it. But you should overcome this, because you have to write exam after so much time and you need to remember what you read today, till the examination. Hence I used to maintain a notes according to the each and every word of syllabus (As said by Gaurav Agrawal Sir), write what ever you study and make it a point to revise. I am attaching the notes of one of the section we have in Syllabus : Economic Sectors Start Reading between the Lines to Study Faster: Many a times we study many irrelevant topics or articles, to overcome this we need to have syllabus strongly in our mind to differentiate which all are important to save time. For example, take any text book like Bipan Chandra, you would be having one or two important points in the whole page, rest is just supporting part to develop the context, hence while reading you should directly pick that important point and leave the rest. This way you can read fast. And believe me this can be easily developed with practice. But you should be conscious enough while reading on how to cut some time. Innovate and Replicate: You need to make innovations in your answer writing to get that additional mark which differentiates you among others. To do this you should start picking up some Flowcharts, diagrams, graphs etc in the government reports or in your textbooks. Maintain a data base of all these and try to replicate this in the Mains examination. Go one Extra mile (IASbaba keeps on repeating this :) ) This I did more so for my optional, You study one extra scholar for every topic and one extra point for each scholar to make your answer standout. It would not take much time to do this, you just need to Google and study about them for 30 Minutes. Books/Sources: Modern History : Spectrum and for Mains, I studied Bipan Chandra too. Ancient History and Culture: Tamil Nadu Textbooks, NCERT's, Nitin Singhania, CCRT and NIOS Indian Polity : Laxmikanth Economy : Entirely relied on Mrunal and The Hindu. Apart from these you need to study Economic Survey and Budget Geography : Mrunal and NCERT Environment : IASbaba's VAN, Shankar IAS and Vajiram and Ravi Yellow Book World History : Vajiram and Ravi Yellow Book and Vision IAS material (Vision I studies after Mains) Governance: ARC reports, News Papers,,vajiram class notes (class dictations) Ethics: Vajiram and Ravi Yellow Book , Justice Videos in Youtube,vajiram class notes (class dictations) Social Issues : Vajiram and Ravi Yellow Book and News papers Post Independence: Bipan chandra (Read only selected topics, entire book is not in syllabus) Disaster Management : 2nd ARC Security : Tata McGraw Hill and Vajiram and Ravi Yellow Book International Relations : Entirely Curent Affairs - Get a basic idea on how relations developed from any notes Science and Technology : I did not study any specific book, I just followed current affairs and tests. IASBABA's Value Addition Notes provided during my ILP was very useful in getting additional points and to have a quick revision. It is one of the best for many reasons but the most I like is its presentation, quality approach and relevance with respect to syllabus. IASbaba's TLP Mains Answer Writing: The quality of questions are such that you witness more or less the same questions in Mains Examination of UPSC. Adding to it the reviews, feedback and Synopsis just makes it brilliant. I didn't participate much in writing on platform but utilized the compilations of the synopsis and best answers sincerely. One must be very regular with TLP. It will help by leaps and bounds. For Prelims, I followed Online quiz initiatives of IAS BABA everyday. Apart from it as a part of ILP, I also wrote the tests conducted by IASBABA and studied according to the plan given by them. In the end the most decorated 60 Days Plan of IASbaba provided all the missing gaps in my preparation. You cannot just ignore the quality learning in IASbaba's tests and content. It overtakes all others in the field. And for all the topics, Vajiram and Ravi class Notes formed by basic foundation. Optional Sources : (Political Science and International Relations): Shubhra Madam Notes to get clarity and basics right. Paper I Political Ideologies by Andrew Heywood Political Theory by OP Gauba (Selected Topics like Political Theory, Meaning and Approaches) Political Theory by Rajeev Bhargava (Topics like Justice, Equality, Sovereignty, Democracy and Power are good) Western Political Though by Sushila Ramaswamy. Indian Political Thought by VR Mehta. I studies Indian BL Fadia for Section B(Paper I), I did not found useful. Rather than it I would suggest you to read ARC reports and Punchhi and Sarkaria Commission reports. Dont miss on easy topics like Planning and Economic Development, Land reforms, Agraraian relations. They are scoring and very easy. I refered Social movements was BL Fadia, (Only this topic can be referred from it) I also studied IGNOU books for all these topics, they are very helpful in making your concepts very clear. Paper II Comparitive Politics : IGNOU and some Online Browsing. For this topic it is very important to understand how Political Science develped over the years. Hence it is important to get the link between CP and Political theory(Approaches) topic Approaches : Baylis and Steve Smith Rest of the topics I covered from Global Politics by Andrew Heywood.(Every topic is important and cover it from page to page) IGNOU is good source for topics like Determinants of Foreign policy, institutions of policy making and role of diaspora etc (These are small topics and scoring) I also studied Oxford Indian Foreign Policy - But I did not find useful, you can use these scholar names. Rather than it I would suggest to watch RSTV debates. Followed Distinguished lectures of the Ministry of External Affairs. Do follow it, one of the best source to get good points. This was just a brief writeup, and very soon I would share all my notes and my Answer scripts and an elaborated strategy on how to write some good answers in GS and Optional. I will make it As soon As Possible. Hope this Helps to some extent. Please feel free to contact me. (My email id :upscdoubts@gmail.com). Last but not the least, since Prelims is over, don't think more about cutoff's rather start preparing for Mains, because every day is important from now on. Keep Working hard till your goal is attained. And remember that UPSC is not an end for us, Life is much greater than UPSC. Must read this article by IASbaba that resonates with my thoughts. It is a very well written piece of IASbaba- Click Here Enjoy the process, it will automatically take care of the outcome. There are many aspirants who could not clear it in their initial attempts, but they clinged on - they kept their routine on, kept giving their best & results did come their way gradually. UPSC has unpredictability, it is a great equalizer just keep giving your best. TRY TO WIN EVERY SINGLE DAY at a time. Remember !!! --Monotony is the true beauty of UPSC End Note I want to thank IASbaba for the success and growth they have received in so less time. This could never have happened if quality work and guidance was not there. IASbaba stands alone only because of its work. I wish more and more aspirants to be part of your success in years to come. All the Best Friends.

Jun 27, 2017 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs 27th June, 2017

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 27th June 2017 Archives DEFENCE/SECURITY TOPIC: General Studies 2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. General Studies 3: Mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment Indigenization of technology and developing new technology. Indian Defence Manufacturing In news: Tata Advanced Systems Ltd and US plane-maker Lockheed Martin Corp. signed an agreement at the Paris Air Show to produce F-16 fighter jets in India. Reliance Defence entered into a strategic partnership with Serbia’s Yugoimport for ammunition manufacturing in India. Reliance Defence joined hands with France’s Thales to set up a joint venture that will develop Indian capabilities in radars and high-tech airborne electronics. Meanwhile, at home in India, the army rejected, for the second year in a row, an indigenously-built assault rifle after it failed field tests—a pointed reminder of how the country’s sub-par defence industry continues to damage the military’s operational preparedness. Recent developments: In recent years there has been a greater focus on developing indigenous capabilities through technology transfers and joint production projects with international partners. The government has also put defence at the core of its flagship domestic manufacturing programme, Make in India. It has opened up the still largely state-run sector to private players and foreign firms in an effort to build a “defence industrial ecosystem” that will not only support the country’s military requirements but also emerge as an important economic lever—generating exports, creating jobs, and spurring innovation. The target is to source about 70% of India’s military needs from domestic sources by 2020. Importance of having an indigenous technology base: Immunity against technology denials Enabling the pursuit of an independent foreign policy without having to kowtow to global powers An indigenous technology base provides an impetus for a country's economic development. Cause of concern: Notably, the defence manufacturing industry has been open to the private sector for well over a decade, and several foreign firms are involved in the joint production of weapons systems in India. Yet the defence industrial ecosystem hasn’t quite taken off. The Indian military is still heavily reliant on foreign imports and state-owned defence firms are still the dominant force in the market. Private firms, though growing in number, have struggled to find their feet. Much will depend on how its “strategic partnership” model, released late May, plays out on the ground. “Strategic partnership” model: Conceptualized by the Dhirendra Singh committee in 2015 The ultimate aim of the model is to enhance India’s self-reliance index in defence procurement which continues to remain at an abysmally low level Under this model the defence ministry will identify a few Indian private companies as strategic partners (SPs) to tie up with a few foreign original equipment manufacturers to produce some big-ticket military platforms. To allay fears that the MoD may favour one company over another, the selection of SPs and their foreign OEM partners would be based on a competitive process to be undertaken simultaneously. In the process, the SPs are expected to help catalyse the country’s defence industrial ecosystem. Potential Benefits: From the private sector’s point of view, the biggest benefit would be the opportunity to participate in some big ticket contracts which were hitherto reserved for the DPSUs and OFs. The model would also go a long way in bridging the long-standing trust gap between the Indian private sector and MoD, with the latter perceived to be friendlier toward public sector entities. Given that future orders would not be awarded automatically after the initial contract, it is in the interest of SPs to constantly improve upon their competitiveness and core expertise. The development of competitiveness and expertise to compete to win future contracts, which was lacking in the case of DPSUs/OFs because of a constant flow of orders handed over on a platter by the MoD, is something that would contribute to laying a strong and credible foundation for India’s military industrial complex. Challenges: Lack of institutional capacity and ability to guide the new process to its logical conclusion. In the past, several promising measures, especially those connected with the ‘Make’ and ‘Buy and Make (Indian)’ procedures, have failed to yield the desired results because of these shortcomings. There is also a concern regarding the long-term viability of SPs largely due to the privileged position enjoyed by public sector entities. Time and again, the MoD has deviated from its own promise of fair play in award of contracts and handed over large orders to DPSUs and OFs on nomination. It would be futile to expect SPs to make major investments if the government does not provide a level-playing filed to the private sector. Yet another issue is that of how small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) will respond to this model. SMEs are crucial to building a vibrant and robust ecosystem. In particular, they do a much better job of absorbing, developing and commercializing niche technology, which is key in the defence sector. But while the government acknowledges their role and importance, it is unclear if its policy supports that vision. Outside of policy design, the biggest challenge to developing India’s defence industry ecosystem is undoubtedly human resource and skill development. The Dhirendra Singh committee report deals with this issue at length, noting that “India at present does not have a structured framework and a robust system to prepare its human resources to address all issues connected with building and sustaining defence systems”. Way ahead: Apart from overcoming above mentioned challenges we need to bridge the skills gap by- Bringing changes to academic curriculum. Setting up institutions that specialize in defence and security. Raising a new generation of system integration managers. Conclusion: The "strategic partnership" model can potentially be a turning point in India’s endeavour to have a robust home-grown private defence industrial base. It can be seen as shot in the arm for the government’s ‘Make in India’ programme as well as efforts by the Indian private sector to make inroads into the lucrative defence equipment business. Thus the step is a welcome one,however, we need to overcome some challenges. Connecting the dots: Discuss how the "Strategic Partership" model released by the government this year can help India establish its own domestic base for defence manufacturing. Also read: Towards Military self-reliance NATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 2 Issues relating to development and management of Social sector or Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources. What ails Indian education system? Present state of Indian education: The problem of poor learning outcomes is of particular concern, for it is a structural issue pertaining to the design of curricula and ingrained rote learning methods. Some years ago, PISA, the measurement standard adopted in Europe and utilised in a large number of countries, studied Indian school quality in two states. The depressing conclusion of the 110-country study was that India ranked second last — beating only Kyrgyzstan in the honours list. The Annual Status of Education Report conducted by Pratham, an Indian NGO with some credibility, had assessed in 2014 that 75 per cent of all children in Class III, over 50 per cent in Class V and over 25 per cent in Class VIII could not read texts meant for Class II. Further, reading levels for all children enrolled in government schools in Class V showed a decline between 2010 and 2012. National Survey Sample results in 2015 indicated sharp decline in learning outcomes in mathematics, science and English in the secondary schools. A recent study in Delhi has come out with the finding that only 54 per cent of the city’s children can read something — it could be only a sentence. Low education standards-Is the Indian child responsible? There is ample evidence that the Indian child is as good a learner as any in the world. Indeed, Indian Americans are among the highly educated communities in the US, according to many research studies. It is just sheer lack of basic opportunity that has kept the Indian child at very low education standards — a proof of apathy in governance. Wherein lies the problem? The abysmal quality of governance, with politics permeating every aspect of educational administration. Factors other than merit play a significant part in the management of affairs; proper governance standards, with adequate incentives, and checks and balances, have not been put in place. The focus of the entire structure at the Centre and the states is on the minister, secretary, and the educational regulatory institutions — not on the student, teacher, principal and school. The system is not “inclusive” and does not give a second chance to the weaker sections. The fundamentals of teacher management, teacher education and training as well as school governance and management are lacking at every step. The curriculum is rote-oriented and little practical thought has been given to pedagogy at any stage. The school-level data are unreliable. The access promised to the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) has hardly been implemented. The infrastructure promised in the Right to Education Act (RTE) is scarcely visible on the ground. Reforms required: Activity-Based Learning and “teaching at the right level”, tools for real learning and skill-absorption must become a norm While efforts of the present and previous government to boost the quality of learning in higher and vocational education must be appreciated, policymakers ought not to ignore early childhood education and primary schooling, the phases during which the most important cognitive development milestones are attained. A healthy pupil-teacher ratio could help overcome many of the shortcomings. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act stipulates a 30:1 ratio. Conclusion: In today’s competitive environment, the ability of students to read, write, count and measure is a bare minimum. The country cannot continue to fail its children. For India’s medium-term prospects of stability, and for the country to play a rightful role in world affairs, it is imperative that the Centre takes this as a major area for intervention. Connecting the dots: Both national and international surveys have painted a depressing picture of Indian education system with Indian children having very low education standards. Discuss the underlying problems and possible solutions. While the government is focusing on building a clean, industrial, sustainable and powerful country, not enough attention is being paid to education sector on which depends the success of other sectors. Discuss. MUST READ Who's afraid of neutrinos? Hindu An old-new tax Hindu Mending the rift Hindu Good news on the zika front Hindu Junaid's murder Indian Express Stifled by the house Indian Express Regaining the trust Indian Express NPA resolution- Well begun but half done Livemint Onshoring offshore funds to India Livemint Less transparency in economic policy Business Line Is WPI useful in India Business Line

Jun 27, 2017 PIB

IASbaba Press Information Bureau (PIB) - 4th June to 10th June , 2017

IASbaba Press Information Bureau (PIB) – 4th June to 10th June 2017 ARCHIVES GS-2 ‘Skill for Life, Save a Life’ initiative to promote skill development in the health sector (Topic: Health and Family Welfare) About: ‘Skills for Life, Save a Life’ Initiative’ aims to upscale the quantity and quality of trained professionals in the healthcare system. Under this initiative various courses are planned to be initiated targeting specific competencies for healthcare professionals as well as for general public. ‘Skill a Life, Save a Life’ program by launching First Responder course for professionals as well as general public, to be conducted in Central and State government training institutes from the next month across the country in each district, to empower every single citizen of the country to be the first person to provide first aid and initial care in case of an emergency. Importance of the initiative India is working towards the attainment of the global mandate of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for providing affordable, accountable and appropriate health care of assured quality to the fellow citizens, which is possible through substantive and strategic investment in the health workforce. This is part of a larger plan and program for ensuring Universal Health Coverage. This program will provide trained and skilled people by broadening the base to include the community. As per the Census figures of 2011, the population of senior citizens in India is 10.38 crore. More than 70% of the population of senior citizens live in rural areas of the country. A sizeable percentage (5.2%) of the senior citizens suffers from some sort of disabilities related to old age. Projections indicate that the number of elderly population will increase to around 173 million by 2026. The proposal for formulation of a Scheme for providing Physical Aids and Assisted-Living Devices for Senior Citizens belonging to BPL Category was announced in the Budget 2015-16. Pursuant to this, the “Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana” has been formulated. The Scheme aims at providing Senior Citizens, belonging to BPL category and suffering from any of the age related disability/infirmity viz. Low vision, Hearing impairment, Loss of teeth and Locomotor disability, with such assisted-living devices which can restore near normalcy in their bodily functions, overcoming the disability/infirmity manifested. The assistive devices shall be of high quality and conforming to the standards laid down by the Bureau of Indian Standards, wherever applicable. Under the Scheme, the following Aids and Assisted-Living Devices will be provided to eligible elderly beneficiary senior citizens, depending upon their physical impairment Walking sticks Elbow crutches Walkers / Crutches Tripods / Quadpods Hearing Aids Wheelchair Artificial Dentures Spectacles Mission Innovation (Topic: International Relations) About: World’s Energy Leaders Gather in Beijing for 2nd Mission Innovation Ministerial and 8th Clean Energy Ministerial. Details India was also one of the three countries, which took initiative in sowing the seed of ‘Mission Innovation’. These initial efforts culminated into 20 countries joining in November 2015 to launch Mission Innovation. All the MI countries bring significant research prowess and resources in this global endeavour. Community of Mission Innovation has now enlarged to 23 countries and includes European Union. India’s plan of setting up 175 GW renewable power capacity by the end of 2022 is fully matched with tremendous progress on the ground. During the last year alone, the capacity addition of solar energy was more than the cumulative capacities set up till 2015 and our renewable energy capacity has leapfrogged to more than 52 GW. By 2030, non fossil energy sources will make up 40 percent of installed capacity. India has vibrant national R&D infrastructure with R&D institutions, several universities, technical institutions, public sector undertakings and industries conducting research funded by Ministry of Power, Renewable Energy and Science & Technology. India has funded around US $ 50 million towards national as well as bilateral programmes with Netherlands, UK and US. India has also launched initiatives for renewable forecasting and scheduling, storage technologies, wide area grid measurement, demand response pilots etc. Monitoring, protection and control of grids, forecasting of generation and loads, seamless two way grid operations, systems for large data management, robust and secure communication technologies, devices and components for better functionality ,demand side management and storage, etc are important issues for larger as well as micro grids. Augmenting Cancer treatment facilities in the North East (Topic: Health and family welfare) About: Recent Cabinet decision (1)Taking over Dr. B. Borooah Cancer Institute, Guwahati by Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and bringing it under the administrative control of Tata Memorial Centre, an Aided institution of DAE; (2)Augmentation of additional manpower of 166 posts in medical, paramedical and support positions. The decision comes in the wake of the increasing instances of cancer, limited cancer treatment facilities and the need for a hospital support to carry out further research in North Eastern Region. The approximate non-recurring expenditure for strengthening of institute is estimated at Rs. 150 crore and annual recurring expenditure is estimated at Rs. 45- 50 crore. Cabinet approves MoU between India and Mali for standardization and conformity assessment (Topic: Govt policies) About: The MoU aims to facilitate closer cooperation and provide a mechanism by which India and Mali can work together towards the common aim of strengthening standardization and conformity assessment activities in order to facilitate sharing of expertise and mutual trade. India signs the Multilateral Convention to implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) in Paris (Topic: International Relations) About: The event marks a milestone in the global efforts to check tax evasion and tax planning strategies that exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules to artificially shift profits to low or no-tax jurisdictions where there is no or little economic activity resulting in no or little overall corporate tax being paid. Uses: The Multilateral Convention aims at swift and consistent implementation of the treaty related BEPS measures. India has been a very active player in this global initiative and has significantly contributed to the development of the new international standards under the BEPS package. India would welcome more and more jurisdictions to become signatories the Multilateral Convention and also include more of their bilateral treaties as Covered Tax Agreements. The Convention will ensure that the minimum standards regarding prevention of treaty abuse and amelioration of the international tax dispute resolution process are implemented in all Covered Tax Agreements quickly. Other BEPS outcomes such as amendment of the definition of the term ‘Permanent Establishment’ to plug unintended interpretation leading to fiscal evasion, prevention of double non-taxation of hybrid entities, time threshold for treaty benefits to dividend and capital gains transactions will be incorporated in the Covered Tax Agreements where all Contracting Parties agree. ‘Vatsalya – Maatri Amrit Kosh’, a National Human Milk Bank and Lactation Counselling Centre (Topic: Health and Family Welfare) About: ‘Vatsalya – Maatri Amrit Kosh’, a National Human Milk Bank and Lactation Counselling Centre at the Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC), New Delhi. This would be the largest human milk bank and lactation counselling centre available under the public sector in North India. It is established in collaboration with the Norwegian government, Oslo University and Norway India Partnership Initiative (NIPI). Benefits: It is envisaged that with this donor human milk bank, all newborns in and around Delhi will have access to life saving human milk regardless of the circumstances of their birth. National human milk bank and lactation counseling centre that will collect, pasteurize, test and safely store milk that has been donated by lactating mothers and make it available for infants in need. In addition, this facility will protect, promote and support breastfeeding of their own healthy mothers by providing lactation support to mothers through dedicated lactation counsellors. This project will not only act as a dedicated centre to support breastfeeding and improve infant survival but also act as the teaching, training and demonstration site for other milk banks to be established under the Ministry Of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Mothers Absolute Affection (MAA) programme was launched to create awareness regarding breastfeeding as being the most cost-effective way of enhancing the child’s immunity. SATH program launched by NITI Aayog (Topic: Govt policies) About: Furthering the agenda for cooperative federalism, NITI Aayog has launched SATH, a program providing ‘Sustainable Action for Transforming Human capital’ with the State Governments. The vision of the program is to initiate transformation in the education and health sectors. The program addresses the need expressed by many states for technical support from NITI . Purpose: SATH aims to identify and build three future ‘role model’ states for health systems. NITI will work in close collaboration with their state machinery to design a robust roadmap of intervention, develop a program governance structure, set up monitoring and tracking mechanisms, hand-hold state institutions through the execution stage and provide support on a range of institutional measures to achieve the end objectives. The program will be implemented by NITI along with McKinsey & Company and IPE Global consortium, who were selected through a competitive bidding process. Working: To select the three model states, NITI defined a three-stage process – expression of interest, presentations by the states and assessment of commitment to health sector reforms. Metrics such as MMR, IMR, incidence of malaria and others have been considered for determining potential impact while density of doctors and nurses, compliance to IPHS norms are some of the metrics used to determine likelihood of success. The program will be launched in the three selected states after the signing of MoUs. GS-3 Successful launch of GSLV-MK III (Topic: Science and Technology) About: The GSLV-Mk III is the heaviest rocket ever made by India and is capable of carrying the heaviest satellites made till date. It is intended to launch satellites into geostationary orbit and as a launcher for an Indian crew vehicle. The GSLV-III features an Indian cryogenic third stage and a higher payload capacity than the current GSLV. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geosynchronous_Satellite_Launch_Vehicle_Mark_III The first developmental flight (GSLV MkIII-D1) of India's heavy lift launch vehicle GSLV Mk-III was successfully conducted today (June 05, 2017) evening from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota with the launch of GSAT-19 satellite. This was the first orbital mission of GSLV MkIII which was mainly intended to evaluate the vehicle performance including that of its fully indigenous cryogenic upper stage during the flight. Weighing 3136 kg at lift-off, GSAT-19 is the heaviest satellite launched from the Indian soil. The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III is the next generation launch vehicle of ISRO which will be capable of launching four-tonne class satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). It has an indigenous cryogenic third stage, designated as C25. The C25 stage is considered as the most powerful upper stage developed by ISRO which uses Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) propellant combination. Assam Citizen Centric Service Delivery. (Topic: Finance) About: An agreement for IBRD Credit of USD 39.2 Million from World Bank for the project “Assam Citizen Centric Service Delivery” was signed. The programme size is USD 49 million, of which USD 39.2 million will be financed by the Bank, and the remaining amount will be funded-out of State Budget. The programme duration is 5 years. The objective of the project is to improve access in the delivery of selected public services in Assam. The Project seeks to enable citizens to access services under the RTPS Act in a timely, efficient, and accountable manner. The Project adopts an integrated approach to improve access and accountability. MoU signed between Central Industrial Security Force & National Skill Development Corporation. (Topic: Skill development and Entrepreneurship) Importance of skill development in India Skill development has increased the employability among the youth. He said that the system in the country needs to be such that it gives enough importance to the skills possessed by any individual and the policies are framed accordingly. Many skills are in huge demand world over and our youth can tap this opportunity, if groomed properly. India can become a world power if youth of the country develop the attitude towards skill development. He expressed happiness that in the last two and half years, skill development has led to employment of large number of youth in different areas, thereby strengthening India by skill development. dignity of labour and value of hard work is losing importance in the country, which needs to be addressed and the attitude towards labour needs to be changed. He said that hard work and dedication are the most important factors in skill development. He also expressed his faith in the success of outcome of this agreement. The MoU aims at assisting retiring/retired, serving low medical category (LMC) CISF personnel to acquire additional skills and facilitate their resettlement through a second career. It will also provide welfare to wards, family members of serving CISF personnel, retired personnel and personnel killed in action. Skill Development would go a long way towards supporting gainful employment and at the same time would contribute towards nation building. The MoU shall remain in effect for a period of 5 years (starting from 5th June, 2017 till 5th June, 2022), subject to a mid-term review after 3 years. India’s first Rural LED Street Lighting Project in Andhra Pradesh (Topic: Infrastructure Development-Power) About: Government of India, through the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) under the Ministry of Power, would be retrofitting 10 lakh conventional street lights with LED lights in Gram Panchayats of 7 districts in Andhra Pradesh. This is the first project for rural LED street lighting in the country under the Government of India’s Street Lighting National Project (SLNP). In the first phase, the replacement will be undertaken in gram panchayats of the districts of Guntur, Prakasham, Nellore, Kurnool, Kadapa, Ananthapur and Chittoor. This replacement drive in rural areas will help the gram panchayats to cumulatively save approximately 147 million units of electricity annually and lead to reduction of 12 crore tonnes of CO2. Andhra Pradesh was the first state to seek assistance from EESL to replace conventional street lighting with LED lighting in Visakhapatnam, after the cyclone Hudhud caused extensive damage to the then existing street lighting infrastructure. Ever since then, EESL has installed over 5,90,000 LED street lights in the State. These installations have led to an annual savings of over 7.8 crore kWh, translating into an annual reduction of over 65,000 tonnes of CO2. INSV TARINI Maiden Visit to Mauritius (Topic: Defence) About: Indian Naval Sailing Vessel Tarini entered Port Louis harbour, Mauritius on her maiden visit to the island nation since induction in the Indian Navy. Tarini is the sister Vessel of Indian Navy's first sailing Vessel INSV Mhadei, that has numerous accomplishments to her name. INSV Tarini is 55 feet in length and built in India in line with the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Indian Navy, fructified by M/s Aquarius Shipyard, Goa. http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=164449 Committee of Secretaries to be set up soon to tackle The issue of Groundwater Depletion (Topic: Water resource) About: A committee would be formed soon comprising Rural Development Secretary, Water Resource Secretary and Environment Secretary to tackle the issue of groundwater depletion. The use of plastic material is a major cause of pollution to river Ganga and should be stopped. Groundwater Depletion in India Total replenishable groundwater resource in the Ganga basin is 170.99 billion cubic metres (BCM). Ganga basin alone accounts for nearly 40 % of the country’s total replenishable groundwater resource of the country which is 433 BCM. Net ground water availability is 398 BCM. The annual groundwater draft (a reasonable release of discharge) is 245 BCM (as on 31st March 2017) and out of total 6607 assessed units (blocks, mandals, districts) as many as 1071 units are ‘over-exploited’, 217 units are ‘critical’, 697 units are ‘semi-critical’ and 4530 are ‘safe’. Apart from these, there are 92 assessment units which were found to be completely saline. India’s Seafood Export at all-time High in 2016-17 :MPEDA (Topic: Commerce and Industry) About: Riding on a robust demand for its frozen shrimp and frozen fish in international markets, India exported 11,34,948 MT of seafood worth an all time high of US$ 5.78 billion (Rs 37, 870.90 crore) in 2016-17 as against 9,45,892 tons and 4.69 billion dollars a year earlier. With USA and South East Asia continuing to be the major importers while the demand from the European Union (EU) grew substantially during the period. Vietnam, with a share of 76.57 per cent in value (US dollar), was the major South East Asian market for Indian marine products, followed by Thailand (12.93 per cent), Taiwan (3.88 per cent), Malaysia (2.60 per cent), Singapore (2.21 per cent), South Korea (1.50 per cent) and other countries (0.30 per cent). The EU continued to be the third largest destination for Indian marine products with a share of 16.73 per cent in quantity. Frozen shrimp was the major item of exports, accounting for 40.66 per cent in quantity and 55.15 per cent in dollar earnings out of the total exports to the EU. ‘DigiYatra’- A New Digital Experience for Air Travellers (Topic: Infrastructure: Aviation) About: ‘DigiYatra’ is an industry-led initiative co-ordinated by the Ministry of Civil Aviation in line with Digital India’s vision to transform the nation into a digitally empowered society. This follows Air Sewa which brings together all the stakeholders on a common platform for handling customer grievances and disseminating real-time data. ‘DigiYatra’ initiative aims to bring together entire industry to develop a digital ecosystem that will deliver Indian customers a seamless, consistent and paperless service experience at every touch point of their journey. DigiYatra initiative envisages providing airline travellers in India, a pioneering ‘digitally unified flying experience’ across all stages of their journey. All aviation stakeholders – airlines, airport operators, security and immigration agencies, cab operators, retail establishment and others are working to devise digital standards which can enable seamless exchange of data and information. Platform will be built on 4 key pillars, like Connected Passengers, Connected Airports, Connected Flying and Connected Systems which can make it possible over a period of time for passengers to: Plan their trips efficiently by identifying price trends and estimate future airfares at the time of ticket booking, Optionally link their Aadhaar to airlines and other ecosystem players at the time of booking for faster airport entry and automated check-ins without requiring any paper-based interventions, Walk-through security scanners swiftly owing to advanced biometric security solutions, Receive relevant information pertaining to various facilities, protocols, airline timings, queue lengths at airports etc., Engage in customised digital offerings at experience zones, Get real time notifications about congestion and delays to have greater visibility on the next step of journey, Conveniently navigate through the airport using digital guidance systems, interactive kiosks and augmented reality apps, Stay connected during flights and indulges in immersive experiences. Also book in-flight services and destination based offerings digitally, Get a prompt when their luggage reaches the baggage claim belt , and Submit grievances, share experiences and provide feedback.

Jun 26, 2017

IASbaba’s Integrated Learning Programme (ILP) 2018 and All India Prelims Test Series (ONLINE & OFFLINE Tests - GS and CSAT in English & Hindi)

ILP 2018/Prelims Test Series - To make the Online Payment - Click Here Dear Friends, So the wait is over friends! It is only our 3rd edition of ILP (by the way, we couldn’t celebrate our 2nd anniversary on 18th June as it coincided with prelims!) but the kind of anticipation that we have witnessed in the past few days has been simply unprecedented. We have received hundreds of queries about the launch, structure and features of ILP this year. For Civil Services aspirants, the launch of ILP every year brings in new energy and motivation. More than anyone else, the aspirants residing in the remotest parts of the country now feel that they have a chance. IASbaba feels proud to have played a part in building this confidence. The reach of ILP and as a result the points of success has crossed the boundaries of coaching hubs of India. The success of aspirants like Saumya Pandey (Rank 4) and Dinesh Kumar (Rank 6) and others in the final list bear testimony to this fact. We hope that this year too, ILP plays an even better role in the success of aspirants. For us, ILP is empowerment! We were blessed with a hit ratio of 68 + in UPSC Prelims 2017, 70+ hit ratio in UPSC Prelims 2016. One of the few unprecedented things in UPSC learning!!! You can call it beginner’s luck. We want to believe it our GOOD KARMA. Even 70% adherence to our ILP program had people clearing UPSC prelims easily. Testimonials : 2017 ILP Students The feedback of ILP 2016 has steepened our learning curve– http://iasbaba.com/2016/08/upsc-gs-prelims-question-paper-2016-iasbaba/ The sheer amount of planning that goes into finalising the micro-plan, preparing the value added notes (VAN) and framing the tests is enormous. At the same time, your participation and stories of successful followers of this unique initiative inspires us to work and plan even better. What follows now is detailed account of ILP, its structure, features and modalities. Go through these details carefully and feel free to ask questions. INTEGRATED LEARNING PROGRAMME (ILP)-2018 You need to remember that this is not only a PRELIMS TEST SERIES. It is a complete package which will enable/guide you qualitatively/quantitatively through the process of Civil Services Examination. When you subscribe to our ILP-2018 programme, you will have huge expectations on us. On the similar lines, we too have a few expectations like Complete Dedication Consistency Courage to “walk that extra mile” Faith in our program Components of ILP-2018 Programme: ILP 2018 is an integrated programme that will run from 31st July 2017 to 30th September 2018 (14 months). ILP will cover Prelims and Mains in an integrated manner 35 TESTS for Prelims: Block Wise + Revision Tests + Subject Wise + Full Mocks- A total of 35 High Quality Tests MAINS MOCK and SYNOPSIS- End of Every Month VALUE ADD NOTES & MIND-MAPS- Prelims and Mains Special Feature: BABAPEDIA- For Current Affairs - It will cover all important issues of the day from sources like The Hindu, Indian Express, PIB among others. FORUM - connect with Peers; Co-Learn; people with similar Optionals can form a group, share notes, docs etc. QUESTION & ANSWER Section for Discussions & to clear your Doubts! NOTE: One can join All India Test Series for more and more practice. But do not join it in the initial days. Be regular, follow ILP consistently and before few months of Prelims, can join it for practice and assessment. IMPORTANT INSTRUCTIONS: The programme will Start from 31st July, 2017 A new platform will be provided for the subscribed users. This Platform will be activated 1 week before the programme starts. All India Test Series is NOT included in ILP-2018 Plan is prepared such that sufficient time is given for Mains and your Optional You have to simultaneously prepare notes from the content updated on Babapedia. This is to ensure your consistency and regularity with the plan. Economic Survey and India Year Book will be covered in Tests and important issues from them in the respective Value Adds too. We will provide most of the Value Add for Mains well before Prelims and the remaining Value Add will be given post Prelims accordingly. Common mistakes by an aspirant Irregularity in following the plan Aspirants download the test and keep it for future (least productive) Irregularity in making notes Missing out on current affairs updates Least revision in between the plan Structure of the Program -ILP 2018: The complete program is divided into BLOCKS and each block consists of 10 Days. In each block, sufficient time is provided to focus on Optional and Mains in parallel. ILP 2018 has been designed considering “WORKING PROFESSIONALS” as well. At the end of each Block there will be an objective test with easy to moderate questions, which will help you judge your understanding of the topics covered. As the number of BLOCK increases, the sources and topics will intensify and will require complete dedication, sincerity and concentration from your side. You can check the ILP 2017 Interface Here- Click Sample: 2018 ILP - Block 1 PLAN 2018 ILP - Block 2 PLAN VALUE ADD NOTES & MIND-MAPS Click on the image to see complete File Polity Click to Download Economy Click to Download History Click to Download MAINS MOCK & SYNOPSIS Click to Download BABAPEDIA ALL INDIA PRELIMS TEST SERIES 2018 in Hindi and English There has been a huge demand to start Prelims Only Test Series (Both OFFLINE & ONLINE) on the lines of quality of 60 Day Programme from aspirants especially non-fresher’s. When we started our website, we used to provide content in Hindi too (Daily Current Affairs, TLP, Quiz etc.) keeping the interests of our fellow Hindi medium aspirants. But then, we had to stop mid-way, because of lack of resources. Ever since then, we were getting many mails to start of atleast Test Series in Hindi. Though CSAT is a qualifying examination but many are finding it difficult to qualify due to lack of practice. We intend to provide sufficient qualitative tests to prepare you well enough to qualify it. It will be included in the test series. So here we are with new Programme catering to the demand of CSAT, Offline Test Series and Hindi Medium aspirants. Features of ALL INDIA PRELIMS TEST SERIES 2018 Total 41 Tests inclusive of GS Paper I and CSAT Paper II. Full Length Test- GS Paper I (31 Tests - inclusive of Subject-wise and Mock test) and CSAT Paper II (10 Full Length Tests) CSAT Tests will start from January 2018- Two Tests Per Month Topic Wise Syllabus for each Test with detailed Solutions and sources to follow Medium of the Test, both in ENGLISH and HINDI The Tests will be held both ONLINE and OFFLINE (Classroom) Note- Please note that OFFLINE Test will be held in Bangalore only! Check out the Quality and Nature of Prelims Test Series and Solution- Click Here Sample Plan for ALL INDIA PRELIMS TEST SERIES: Note- Full Plan will be released before 15 Days of the start of the Test Series PAYMENT or ENROLLMENT for ILP 2018 & All India Prelims Test Series SUBSCRIPTION FEE: Integrated Learning Program (ILP) 2018 - Prelims, Mains, Interview - 9999 (Inclusive of Tax) ONLINE (ENGLISH) - All India Prelims Test Series -2018 (31 GS, 10 CSAT = 41 Tests) - 6999 (Inclusive of Tax) ONLINE (HINDI) -All India Prelims Test Series -2018 (31 GS, 10 CSAT = 41 Tests) - 6999 (Inclusive of Tax) OFFLINE (ENGLISH) Test Series -2018 (31 GS, 10 CSAT = 41 Tests) - 8999 (Inclusive of Tax) OFFLINE (HINDI) -Test Series -2018 (31 GS, 10 CSAT = 41 Tests) - 8999 (Inclusive of Tax) Note- Please note that OFFLINE Test will be held in Bangalore only! Online Payment - To make the Online Payment - Click Here NOTE: After the successful payment, please check you email (SPAM and JUNK FOLDERS TOO). You will receive an acknowledgment for the fees paid. Also you can Download the PDF after successful payment, it contains your ID and Password. Offline Payment Details: Please mail us the acknowledgment at ilp@iasbaba.com if making offline payment. Bank details BANK Name CANARA BANK BANK BRANCH BANGALORE KLE SOCIETY ACCOUNT NAME IASBABA ACCOUNT NUMBER 8418201003785 IFSC CODE CNRB0008418 ACCOUNT TYPE CURRENT ACCOUNT For those who subscribe to ILP-2018 or All India Prelims Test Series and Pay the Fee: ID and Password will be generated automatically Login platform will be activated 1 week before the program starts (the programme starts from 31st July) Complete Plan will be available on the platform For any query related to ILP 2018 and Prelims Test Series contact us at ilp@iasbaba.com If you restrict yourself to one source and stick to a plan with full effort and trust- You will clear it in a single attempt and won’t have to repeat the process. Yes, this we say with full confidence for our ILP program. Because it is a pedagogic program which is integrated and holistic in nature. On an ending note, we reiterate our AIM - “to help an aspirant preparing in the remotest part of the country to secure Rank 1” We are the ship and you are the sailor. We will make sure that the ship is strongly built to sail you through all the up’s and down’s in the journey. But finally it is YOU, the sailor who has to manoeuvre and reach your destination! Come let’s start our journey together! All the Best :) IASbaba Team

Jun 26, 2017 PIB

IASbaba Press Information Bureau (PIB) - 29th May to 4th June , 2017

IASbaba Press Information Bureau 29th May to 4th June 2017 ARCHIVES GS-1 Ministry of Earth Sciences to launch ‘Deep Ocean Mission’ by January 2018 (Topic: Distribution of key natural resources across the world (including South Asia and the Indian sub-continent)) What: the ‘Deep Ocean Mission’ will improve India’s position in ocean research field. Polymetallic nodules The program on Poly metallic nodules was initiated at CSIR-NIO with the collection of the first nodule sample from Arabian Sea on board the first Research Vessel Gaveshani in 1981. India was the first country in the world to have been given the Pioneer Area for exploration of deep-sea mineral viz. Polymetallic nodules in the Central Indian Ocean Basin in 1987. Subsequently, Environment Impact Assessment studies for nodule mining, development of metal extraction process, and development of mining technology have been taken up under the national program on Polymetallic nodules funded by Ministry of Earth Sciences. Based on the resource evaluation, India has now retained an area of 75,000 sq km with an estimated resource of about 100 million tons of strategic metals such Copper, Nickel, Cobalt besides Manganese and Iron. National Commission for Scheduled Tribes and National Commission for Scheduled Caste (Topic: Social empowerment, communalism, regionalism & secularism, Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India. Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.) What: Certain Communities suffering from Extreme Social & Economic Backwardness- like Untouchability Primitive Agri-Practices, Lack of Infrastructural facilities, Geographical Isolation- needed special consideration for safeguarding their interests. These communities were notified as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes as per provisions of Art. 341(1) and 342(1) of the Constitution respectively. Background: In order to ensure that the safeguards are properly implemented the Constitution on its inception, provided for appointment of a special office under Article 338 of the Constitution to investigate all matters relating to the safeguards provided for Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes. These commissions report to the President of India. In pursuance of this provision a Special Officer known as the Commissioner for Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes was appointed for the first time in 1950. Art 338 was amended (46th CAA) as it was felt that the office of the Commissioner for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes was not enough to monitor the safeguards provided to SCs & STs. Here, the single member Special Officer was replaced by multi-member system, called the Commission for SCs & STs The National Commission for SCs & STs came into being consequent upon the 65th Amendment Bill, 1990 In the 89th Amendment of the Constitution it was decided to have a separate National Commission for Scheduled Castes & separate National Commission for Scheduled Tribes which came into effect from 2004. NCSC- Major functions under art 338 To investigate and monitor all matters relating to the safeguards provided for the Scheduled Castes under constitution or any other law To inquire into specific complaints with respect to the deprivation of rights and safeguards of SCs To participate and advise on the planning process of socio-economic development of SCs To annually present report to the President To make in such reports recommendations as to the measures that should be taken by the Union or any State for the effective implementation of those safeguards and other measures for the protection, welfare and socio-economic development of SCs NCST The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) was established by amending Article 338 and inserting a new Article 338A in the Constitution through the Constitution (89th Amendment) Act, 2003. The term of office of Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and each member is three years from the date of assumption of charge. Chairperson has been given rank of Union Cabinet Minister. Major functions of commission under 338A To investigate & Monitor matters relating to Safeguards provided for STs under the Constitution or under other laws To inquire into specific complaints relating to Rights & Safeguards of STs To participate and Advise in the Planning Process relating to Socio-economic development of STs To annually present report to the President To discharge such other functions in relation to STs as the President may, subject to the provisions of any law made by Parliament, by rule specify In news: NCST has expressed its displeasure over the slow progress on the issue of displacement of tribals due to Roukela Steel Plant. NCST also expressed its displeasure over the non issue of Pattas for the agricultural and residential land issued to the displaced tribals and directed the District administration to issue these Pattas immediately. The commission directed the Union Steel Ministry to constitute a high level committee under a Joint Secretary to investigate that whether the land acquired for the steel plant was handed over to any cooperative society or private organisation and if so, whether the prior permission of the Govt was obtained or not. The committee should also investigate that how much land is being utilised by the steel plant. Urga Kanjur (Topic: Culture, Literature) What: 'Urga Kanjur' is a sacred Tibetan Buddhist text. In news: PM of India presented it to the head priest of the Datsan Gunzechoinei Buddhist Temple, St Petersburg. The Urga edition of the Tibetan Kanjur was unknown till 1955 when one Prof Raghu Vira brought to India its complete set of 104 volumes with a volume containing the catalogue. It was presented to him by Mongolian prime minister as a unique bibliographic rarity. GS-2 Darwaza Band (Topics: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.) What: For promotion of toilet usage across the country’s villages, the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has come out with an aggressive new campaign called Darwaza Band. The campaign has been supported by the World Bank and is being rolled out countrywide immediately after the launch. It is designed to encourage behaviour change in men who have toilets but are not using them. Behaviour change has been the focus of Swachh Bharat Mission, which is being pursued through a countrywide comprehensive IEC (Information-Education-Communication) programme. Communication campaigns have been taken up both, at the central and State levels, for promoting sustained use of toilets and for sustaining the Open Defecation Free status achieved. SPARROWS-ITS (Topics: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.) In news: In accordance with the Government of India’s policy to introduce online Annual Performance Appraisal Report (APAR) for Group ‘A’ services, the SPARROW-ITS (Smart Performance Appraisal Report Recording Online Window) was launched. The APARs would be generated and transmitted online to the concerned officers for filling up of the self appraisal. The officer can then submit the self appraisal online through Digitally Signed Signature (DSC) or through E-sign. The subsequent processes of reporting and reviewing would also be done online by the Reporting and Reviewing Officer by using DSC or E-sign. Significance The idea of switch over from manual to online system is to ensure ready access of APAR dossier by the authorized users, preventing loss of APARs in transition, address the issues of ante-dating, remarks recorded by the Reporting Authorities without dates, etc. It brings in transparency into the APAR management system. The APAR dossiers are readily available for promotions at various levels which used to get delayed for want of updated APARs. INAM-Pro + (Topics: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.) What: INAM-Pro+ is an upgraded version of INAM-Pro, the web portal designed by National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL), launched by Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. It is a web platform for Sale and Purchase of Construction Material and Service INAM-Pro has been highly acclaimed by the construction industry and IT sector and has also been recognized and listed in the Book-on-Innovations "New Beginning". It initially dealt in cement. Following the success with cement, the portal has recently been upgraded as INAM-Pro+ to include the A to Z of construction materials, equipments/machinery and services like purchase/hiring/lease of new/used products and services in the domains of Construction Materials viz, cement, steel, bitumen, stone aggregates, concrete, bricks, wood, sanitary items, paint etc. Soil Health Card scheme (Topics: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.) Importance: Soil Health Card helps in increasing the productivity and reduced the cost of production 93% samples for Soil Health Card tested so far Background: it was initiated for farmers in 2015. Soil Health Card provides information to farmers on nutrient status of their soil along with recommendations on appropriate dosage of nutrients for improving soil health and its fertility. GS-3 Severe cylone Mora (Topic: Disaster and disaster management.) What: Bangladesh has evacuated at least 350,000 people as a Cyclone Mora lashed coastal areas. It raised its storm danger signal to the highest level of 10. The cyclone was expected to weaken in Bangladesh by late morning as it moved inland towards India where authorities have warned of heavy rain in the northeastern states of Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. Severe cyclone If the sustained winds around the centre reach 118 km/h (gusts in excess 165 km/h). then the system is called a severe tropical cyclone. These are referred to as hurricanes or typhoons in other countries. The circular eye or centre of a tropical cyclone is an area characterised by light winds and often by clear skies. Tropical cyclone intensity is defined by the maximum mean wind speed over open flat land or water. Tropical Cyclone Category System Category 1 A Category 1 cyclone's strongest winds are GALES with typical gusts over open flat land of 90 - 125 km/h. Negligible house damage. Damage to some crops, trees and caravans Category 2 A Category 2 cyclone's strongest winds are DESTRUCTIVE winds with typical gusts over open flat land of 125 - 164 km/h. Minor house damage. Significant damage to signs, trees and caravans. Risk of power failure. Category 3 A Category 3 cyclone's strongest winds are VERY DESTRUCTIVE winds with typical gusts over open flat land of 165 - 224 km/h. Some roof and structural damage. Some caravans destroyed. Power failures likely. These winds correspond to the highest category on the Beaufort scale, Beaufort 12 (Hurricane). Category 4 A Category 4 cyclone's strongest winds are VERY DESTRUCTIVE winds with typical gusts over open flat land of 225 - 279 km/h. Significant roofing loss and structural damage. Many caravans destroyed. Dangerous airborne debris. Widespread power failures. Category 5 A Category 5 cyclone's strongest winds are VERY DESTRUCTIVE winds with typical gusts over open flat land of more than 280 km/h. Extremely dangerous with widespread destruction. Global Tropical Cyclone Terminology Australian name Australian category US* US Saffir-Simpson category scale* NW Pacific Arabian Sea /Bay of Bengal SW Indian Ocean South Pacific (East of 160E) Tropical low - Tropical depression - Tropical depression Depression or severe depression Tropical depression Tropical depression Tropical cyclone 1 Tropical storm - Tropical storm Cyclonic storm Moderate tropical storm Tropical cyclone (Gale) Tropical cyclone 2 Tropical storm - Severe tropical storm Severe cyclonic storm Severe tropical storm Tropical cyclone (Storm) Severe tropical Cyclone 3 Hurricane 1 Typhoon Very severe cyclonic storm Tropical cyclone Tropical cyclone (Hurricane) Severe tropical cyclone 4 Hurricane 2 - 3 Typhoon Very severe cyclonic storm Intense tropical cyclone Tropical cyclone (Hurricane) Severe tropical cyclone 5 Hurricane 4 - 5 Typhoon Super cyclonic storm Very intense tropical cyclone Tropical cyclone (Hurricane) Waterways in North-east (Topic: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.) What: Of the 106 new National Waterways that were notified in April 2016 under the National Waterways Act, 2016, 19 are in the North East. These include NW- 16 (river Barak) NW- 95 (river Subansiri) NW- 39 (river Ganol) NW- 93 (river Simsang) NW- 101 (river Tizu and Zungki) NW- 31 (Dhansiri) NW- 62 (river Lohit) NW- 106 (river Umngot) NW- 18 (river Beki) Some salient features River Brahmaputra connects the North East with Kolkata through the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol (IBP) route. The IBP route offers a seamless connectivity between NW- 1 (Allahabad – Haldia) and ports in Bangladesh via NW- 2 (Pandu, Assam). Along with river Brahmaputra, river Barak too provides inland water transit between India and Bangladesh through Pandu, Karimganj and Silghat (Assam) and Bangladesh's Narayanganj, Khulna, Mongla, Sirajganj and Ashuganj.

Jun 26, 2017 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs 26th June, 2017

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 26th June 2017 Archives NATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 2 Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. General Studies 3 Science and Technology‐ developments and their applications and effects in everyday life Blockchain Voting Introduction: Allegations of EVM tampering by political parties have certainly planted seeds of mistrust among the people. Studies allege that EVMs have hardware and software vulnerabilities that can be exploited to commit election malpractices. Contemporary and emerging technologies seek to address the core incompetencies in the infrastructure of the voting system through advances in networking and encryption methods. An emerging technology called blockchain is in various stages of implementation across the world for voting and other public services. Blockchain technology-An introduction: Blockchain can be thought of as a public account ledger, an immutable, transparent and permanent one. Each transaction is recorded and stored in the ledger that is out on a public bulletin board. Every transaction adds a block to the chain of transactions and each one is evaluated by every user based on algorithms they’ve agreed upon. Rather than being kept in single location, a copy of the blockchain is stored on every user’s server so that a user cannot alter it without other users finding out. Even though blockchain was conceived for financial transactions, its characteristics make it an apt solution that can support voting systems. Due to its unique attributes of trust, transparency and immutability, such a system is expected to mitigate issues like vote manipulation in political processes. Blockchain voting- How it works? In blockchain voting, each transaction is similar to a vote and through the use of multiple blockchains along with public key encryption, the voting process is secured while protecting the anonymity of voters. The votes can then be randomized more than three times in the digital ballot box so that voters’ identities are not revealed. After the polls are closed, a separate blockchain application is created for the counting of votes in the digital ballot box. That blockchain should match the public bulletin board’s blockchain, proving that the online voting system has operated correctly. Blockchains are transparent and designed to have a decentralized authority which ensures that control is not in one hand and the process is visible to the public always. Further, the audit trail of the transactions combined with public key encryption solves the issue of auditability. Examples from across the world: Some countries are already experimenting with blockchain technology in voting processes and for delivering public services. Australia has declared its plan for using blockchain in voting and began projects for prototyping the technology a couple of years ago. In 2014, Denmark’s Liberal Alliance political party voted in a blockchain-based system for its internal elections. Such systems have also been adopted in Norway and Spain. Malta with a small population of 450,000, is about to embrace blockchain in land registry, voting and other national services. In South Korea, a community government used the blockchain platform in a local funding ballot where around 9,000 votes were submitted. The platform made use of smart contracts to facilitate the voting process. Blocko, the Korean firm that developed the platform, claims that the technology, developed in-house, helped register data, including voters’ information, voting contents and more, on a blockchain. Indian context: In India, given the deep penetration of cellphones and the unique identification (Aadhaar) system, blockchain could be a practical and feasible tool to fight voter fraud and alleviate vote authentication and validation concerns. Aadhaar cards and electronic-know your customer (e-KYC) norms are already becoming mainstream. These critical infrastructure components can be leveraged to implement blockchain solutions in voting and public services such as land registrations, public-private contracts and other service level agreements (SLA). The technology sector is also responding positively by increasing investments and resources. For instance, around 32 blockchain firms were founded in India in 2016, up from 23 founded before 2016, according to a fintech report by PwC. The Reserve Bank of India’s research arm has also developed proof of concepts with a few banks on blockchain, and it said in its white paper that “the results are quite encouraging, giving comfort and confidence in the implementability of blockchain technology”. The proactive study and prototyping of emerging technologies creates an encouraging environment for other independent government agencies to venture out and experiment. Conclusion: Keeping in mind the emerging and potential threats to the current voting system, it is essential to experiment with new technologies that can potentially secure the system. Conducting research, building proof of concepts and end-to-end pilots by leveraging the burgeoning activity in blockchain technology can be undertaken by the ECI. Given the favourable conditions of improved infrastructure and interest, the time is ripe for the ECI to explore blockchain technology as a future alternative to EVMs. Connecting the dots: Recent allegations of EVM tampering must be dealt with seriously as free and fair elections is bedrock of Indian democracy. Discuss how technology like Blockchain can be used to make EVMs tamper proof. Also read: Recent controversy regarding Electronic Voting Machine(EVMs) NATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 2: Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, e-governance- applications, models, successes, limitations, and potential; Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. Smart City Mission: Challenges and Way ahead In news: The Union Ministry of Urban Development’s ministry recently released its fourth list under the Smart City Mission, taking the total number of cities picked under the Centre’s flagship project to 90 — 10 more cities will be included in the project. Background: Smart Cities can be defined as “places where information technology is combined with infrastructure, architecture, everyday objects, and our own bodies to address social, economic, and environmental problems”. One of the stated objectives of the Smart City Mission is to act as a corrective to a lopsided developmental pattern. The mission intends to “create employment and enhance incomes for all, especially the poor and disadvantaged leading to inclusive cities”. Official data shows that merely half of the urban households have water connections, a third have no toilets, the national average for sewage network coverage is a low 12 per cent, and on an average only about 10 per cent of the municipal solid waste is segregated. Public transportation and public schools and hospitals are woefully disproportionate to the population densities within cities. Issues: Although India’s Smart Cities Mission has identified more than 20 priority areas, interventions by the respective agencies are weak. The emphasis on inclusive development has been diluted. Only 26 of the cities selected last week have plans to provide affordable housing, education and medical facilities. Smart city plans have also not found a way to deal with recurring problems. For instance, Aizawl, which found a place in the urban development ministry’s latest list, was in the grip of a severe water crisis in the third week of this month. The shortage was caused by damages to water pipelines by floods — a problem which the city has not yet addressed effectively. Guwahati, amongst the earliest to be included in the smart city list, also has no effective plan to deal with floods that ravage it every year. The path chosen to leapfrog to the level of urbanisation in the developed nations can lead to creation of uneven geographies. For urban planners, a greater concern is an urbanisation process that accords primacy to technology — a field where the private sector has unchallenged monopoly — over the basic needs of the city. Plans and models till now that show that almost 80 per cent of the funds are being channelized to less than three per cent area of many mission cities. These are mostly well-off enclaves that already have decent infrastructure in place and are more likely to yield a dividend for private investors. The government does have plans to promote start-ups and infrastructure projects. But these projects are concentrated in tiny pockets in the selected cities — nearly 80 per cent of the Centre’s funds are skewed towards them. For example, in Pune, from where Prime Minister flagged off the Smart City projects last year, around 75 per cent of the investment will be used for the development of a 3.6 sq km area in the Aundh-Baner-Balewadi pocket, which comprises a little more than 1 per cent of the city’s total area. Unless this urban entropy is addressed first, an overbearing emphasis on application of digital technology or developing smaller areas in an attempt at instant urbanism can have disastrous socio-spatial consequences. The Smart City mission bypasses democratic processes by executing projects through Special Purpose Vehicles wherein private corporations can have up to 40 per cent share-holding. Way ahead: The Centre has adopted a ‘managed urbanisation’ approach in the chosen cities, with the powers of municipal councils delegated to a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), under the Companies Act, that will act in its own wisdom. Given that this is the model adopted by the two-year-old Mission, the Centre must present a status report on what the SPVs have achieved so far. Any serious attempt at improving the quality of life in cities would depend on how governments approach data. It would be smart, for instance, to use sensors to estimate the flow of vehicles and pedestrians, and create smartphone applications for the public to report on a variety of parameters. Making such data open would enable citizens’ groups to themselves come up with analyses to help city administrators make decisions, boost transparency and make officials accountable. Example- Making street-level waste management data public would lead to a heat map of the worst sites, compelling managers to solve the problem. Access to special funding should make it mandatory for all public transport providers — city bus corporations, Metro Rail and suburban trains — to provide real-time passenger information in the form of open data, an inexpensive global standard that raises both access and efficiency through smartphone applications. The city development plans should be aligned with some of the government’s employment-generating initiatives, such as Make In India. It is alright to overlay the city’s infrastructure with technology but, for starters, adequate infrastructure must be in place at a city-wide level. Creation of Smart Cities is a welcome step, but in the process of urbanisation gentrification should not take place. Conclusion: The ideology that guides the smart cities plan should recognise that the vibrant life of cities depends on variety and enabling environments, rather than a mere technology-led vision. Pollution-free commons, walkability and easy mobility, with a base of reliable civic services, is the smart way to go. As the Centre finalises the list of cities, it needs to remind itself of the original goal of the Smart City Mission — making cities inclusive. Connecting the dots: The most important objective of Smart City Mission was to bring in inclusiveness within the city. However the model adopted may lead to gentrification instead. Discuss. MUST READ Restricting protests, stifling dissent Hindu New colors of the white house Hindu Last wicket stand Hindu Whose privilege Hindu For innovations sake Indian Express Reforming the income tax tribunal Livemint The lessons of Travis Kalanick's fall Livemint The global economy in 2067 Livemint UPI for whom? Business Line

Jun 25, 2017 Motivational Articles

Creative Guidance – NLP Learning Strategy Modeling – Inspirational & Educative Articles

NLP Learning Strategy Modeling: Continuing our understanding of NLP learning strategies let us explore a marvellous and applicable concept of NLP modeling. Modeling in NLP is a way of observing other people and their actions to model successful behavioural patterns. Modelling is the underlying principle feature of NLP and its enormous success. According to NLP behaviour can be modelled from others. NLP Modeling is a process of observing, recording and practising successful behavioural patterns exhibited by those who have succeeded before us in our chosen endeavour. Each and every successful person has practised a set of successful routine of actions and behaviour patterns that has led to his success. Modeling is a process of identifying, patterning and exhibiting those behaviours. Here is a wonderful story of Tony Robbins, a life coach who uses his NLP techniques to help Andre Agassi. He tells what it was like working with tennis legend Andre Agassi in 1993 when Agassi fell from the world's No. 1 spot and then suffered a wrist injury. When they met, Agassi told Robbins that he'd been spending time working on his swing mechanics, especially in relation to his recovering wrist. "I sit down with him and I said, 'Andre ... think of a time you hit the tennis ball perfectly,'" Robbins tells Ferris. "I got him in that state ... and I said to him, 'You feel that?' And he goes, 'Yeah.' I said, 'Listen, are you thinking about your wrist?' And he says, 'No.' And I said, 'How the hell did you think you'd ever get back to that peak form by focusing on your wrist?'" Robbins references the science of habit formation, in which the brain creates paths for certain repeated actions. He was getting Agassi to tap into this pattern and ignore distractions, like focusing on how his wrist moved, which is something he had never done when he was playing at his peak. Agassi recovered and says that Robbins is an ultimate ‘Life Coach’ The same principle that applied to Agassi applies to any other professional who has fallen off from peak performance. According to Robbins, however, the ability to recover is innate. "I will find ... what specific pattern will hook them back up again to that part of their brain where it's effortless," Robbins says. "To that part of the brain where they don't even think." “The articles are a copyright of The Ahamo Movement and IASBABA.”

Jun 24, 2017 Important Articles

VERY IMPORTANT UPDATE on ILP 2018, All India Prelims Test Series on the Lines of 60 Days Plan, CSAT and Surprise for HINDI Medium Aspirants-Are You Ready to Crack UPSC in One Year With Us, freshers or

Hello Friends, You can crack UPSC in the very first attempt! Yes and that too without staying in Delhi . This was the dream of IASbaba! Saumya Pandey (Rank 4) and Dinesh (Rank 6) in Top 10 CSE 2016 have achieved it along with countless others in the Final List from ILP Programme and you can be one too! Rank 6- Dinesh Rank 4- Saumya Pandey We have been getting numerous emails daily enquiring about the Test Series for Prelims and details about ILP programme 2018, asking about when we are going to start it? Since Prelims is over, aspirants must be very much in need to know the details and follow ups. This post is the confirmation about all the queries and a glimpse of what our future ILP-2018 will be like, new programmes and what to expect in few days when we launch it. If you restrict yourself to one source and stick to a plan with full effort and trust- You will clear it in a single attempt and won’t have to repeat the process. Yes, this we say with full confidence for our ILP program. Because it is a pedagogic program which is integrated and holistic in nature. INTEGRATED LEARNING PROGRAMME (ILP)-2018 The enrollment for ILP will start from 26th June, 2017 Coming to the question of what does ILP contain. Most of you are already familiar. Yet we are putting out the unique features of the unique program INCLUSIONS A daily based Plan. A unique change that ILP will be having this time the planning will be based on Topic Wise learning rather than Book wise along with sources to follow. You will be given access to separate platform where you can interact among peers and discuss issues .This is a separate universe in itself. Plan will contain things to prepare for Prelims and Mains (GS 1, GS 2, GS3, GS4). We will cover all overlapping topics on prelims and mains well before Prelims exam and most of the mains topics also. Precise Value Add Notes will be given for relevant topics-Both Prelims and Mains (GS 1, GS 2, GS3, GS4). Babapedia for Current Affairs- This time Babapedia will also have special issues, topic wise for Mains other than prelims. Importance of Babapedia- Collate the daily read in just 4-5 pages (max 40 points) from The Hindu, PIB and Indian Express for Prelims. There will be Weekly Prelims Tests based on the plan and revision tests as well once a significant portion of a subject is completed. Mains Mock and Synopsis- Every fortnight, you will be given Mains Questions to practice based on topics completed in the plan. You can write answers and share on platform, participate in peer reviews and then match it to improve the content and presentation from the synopsis we provide. REMARKS ILP 2017 and Babapedia’s Importance- You can cross check with any of our ILP users about its worth in 2017 Prelims examination. On several requests from our ILP users, we will be sharing the screenshots of all the direct hits (not mere keywords without any context from the content covered) in Prelims 2017 from ILP-2017 with the launch of ILP-2018 Full Plan details. You aspirants are the smartest and can clearly see through. This exam requires smart learning and perspective building. And our programme provides you the same ingredients without breaking your heads. It allows you to focus, be on toes and revise more and more. Faith and trust is equally important when you are following something with heart. Believe in your decision. To build it, we will be providing you the glimpse with the launch. Another big surprise from IASbaba this time is that we are launching a separate ALL INDIA PRELIMS TEST SERIES 2018 on the lines of Quality of 60 Days- Hindi and English Both There has been severe demands to start Prelims Only Test Series on the lines of quality of 60 Day Plan from aspirants usually non-fresher. So here we are with new Programme for the same. Features Full Length Test- A total of 30 Tests of GS, Paper I Topic Wise Syllabus for each Test not book wise with detailed sources to follow This test series should be more than enough to crack Prelims comfortably if you are not a fresher. Surprise- We are going to introduce a very innovative method this time. Sample will be disclosed with the launch in few days. CSAT- PAPER II of Prelims Examination We are planning to introduce CSAT Test Series this year. Though CSAT is a qualifying examination but many are finding it difficult to qualify due to lack of practice. We intend to provide sufficient qualitative tests to prepare you well enough to qualify it. It will be included in the test series.There will be at least 10 CSAT tests. CSAT tests will be part of All India Prelims Test Series. Ending Note We hope this post would put an end to the plethora of mails we have been receiving on ILP -2018 and Test Series for Prelims. Wait for 26 June to get Full Plan with Samples and subscribe to our ILP and Prelims Test Series! Let The Countdown Begins :) Motivation is What Gets You Started and Commitment is What Keeps You Going At IASbaba, you won't have to worry about both because we connect with each one of you by heart :) Comment below if you are committed. Let's Do it Together! P.S- TLP Mains ONLINE- Coming Tomorrow :) IASbaba

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