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Dec 11, 2017 PIB

IASbaba PIB Weekly : Press Information Bureau – 3rd Dec to 9th Dec, 2017

IASbaba Press Information Bureau 3rd to 9th December, 2017 ARCHIVES GS-2 India and Cuba sign MoU for enhanced cooperation in the health sector (Topic: India and its neighborhood- relations) Objective: To establish comprehensive inter-ministerial and inter-institutional cooperation between the two countries in the field of health by pooling technical, scientific, financial and human resources with the ultimate goal of upgrading the quality and reach of human, material and infrastructural resources involved in health care, medical education & training, and research in both countries. The main areas of cooperation include: Exchange & training of medical doctors, officials, other health professionals and experts Assistance in development of human resources, health services and setting up of health care facilities Short term training of human resources in health Regulation of pharmaceuticals, medical devices and exchange of information; Promotion of business development opportunities in pharmaceuticals and others identified by parties Procurement of generic and essential drugs and assistance in sourcing of drug supplies; Procurement of health equipment and pharmaceutical products; Any other area of cooperation as may be mutually decided upon. Procurement of health equipment and pharmaceutical products; Collaboration in the prevention of NCDs of mutual interest, such as neurocardiovascular diseases, cancer, COPDs, mental health and dementia, with an emphasis on SDG3 and related factors; Collaboration in the field of climate change impact on communicable diseases and vector borne diseases; Nutritional aspects of food intake, including malnutrition (over-nutrition and under-nutrition) in the light of the SDG2 and organization of nutritional services; Safety of production, transformation, distribution and food delivery; Research and training of food industry operators; Information and communication to citizens on hygiene and food safety and healthy eating habits Agreement between the Government of India and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany (Topic: India and its neighborhood- relations) What: To formalize an amount up to Euro 200 million for the Financial Cooperation in form of loan for the project ‘Climate Friendly Urban Mobility III’ and Euro 11 million Accompanying measures in form of grant for four projects. (a) Loan Agreement for the project “ Community based sustainable Forest Management – Component I Manipur” was signed with KfW, Germany for a loan of Euro 15 million. The broad objectives of the Project are Restoration of degraded forests in upper watersheds Reclamation of abandoned shifting cultivation areas Biodiversity conservation Water resources conservation Livelihood improvement of forest dependent rural tribal people in the project area (b) Loan Agreement for the project “Madhya Pradesh Urban Sanitation and Environment Programme” for Euro 50 million Reduced Interest Loan and Euro 2.5 million grant. The broad objective of the Project is to Improve facilities for water supply, sanitation and sewerage treatment plant in selected towns of Madhya Pradesh Improve solid and liquid waste management and disposal systems Improvement of surface drainage systems for flood mitigation in selected towns of Madhya Pradesh. (c) Loan Agreement for the project “Sustainable Urban Infrastructure Development Odisha – Phase II for EUR 55 Million Reduced Interest Loan with EUR 2 Million as Grant. The basic objective of the project is to Improve Urban Infrastructure by linking them with Government priority Provide better quality of life to the people (d) Loan Agreement for the project “Green Energy Corridor – Intra-State Transmission System in Maharashtra” for EUR 12 million Reduced Interest loan. The broad objective of this project is to put in place a transmission system for evacuating renewable energy. GS-3 ISA to become a Treaty-based International Intergovernmental organization (Topic: Infrastructure: Energy) The ISA is an Indian initiative, jointly launched by the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi and the President of France on 30th November 2015 in Paris, on the sidelines of COP-21, the UN Climate Conference. Aim: Address obstacles related to deployment at scale of solar energy through better harmonization and aggregation of demand from solar rich countries lying fully or partially between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn. As of date, 46 countries have signed and 19 countries have ratified the Framework Agreement of ISA. Programmes launched: Scaling Solar Applications for Agriculture Use Affordable Finance at Scale Scaling Solar Mini-grids Also, plans to launch: Scaling Solar Rooftops and Scaling Solar E-mobility and Storage Common Risk Mitigating Mechanism (CRMM) – for de-risking and reducing the financial cost of solar projects in the ISA member countries. The instrument will help diversify and pool risks on mutual public resources and unlock significant investments. Establishment of Digital Infopedia will serve as a platform to enable policy makers, Ministers and corporate leaders from ISA countries to interact, connect, communicate and collaborate with one another. The interactive platform was operationalized on 18th May 2017. Must Read: Link 1 + Link 2 + Link 3 Must Solve: Qn 1 Download Mindmap Successful Launch of Akash Missile (Topic: Awareness in the fields of Space) Akash Missile: The Surface to Air Missile AKASH with indigenous radio frequency seeker against target Banshee, has been successfully launched from the Launch Complex-III at ITR Chandipur. This missile is being inducted into Army as Short Range Surface to Air Missile (SRSAM). This is the first Surface to Air Missile with indigenous seeker that has been test fired. With this success, India has achieved the capability of making any type of Surface to Air Missile. Please Note: India will Host World Environment Day Celebration in 2018 V O Chidambaranar Port Trust: Chennai Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology: Kanpur The Indo-Bangladesh Border covering 5 states of India including Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and West Bengal is 4096 km long. India has pledged to achieve 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022 and 40% of installed power capacity from renewable energy by 2030 as an action plan to fight climate change. World population is projected to touch the 1.6 billion mark by 2050. India adds around 16 million to its population every year. India & Agriculture: In developed countries, up to 14% of the total workforce is engaged in the agro-processing sector but in India, only 3% of the workforce finds employment in this sector, revealing vast potential for employment. In India, irrigation is available for only 40% of the cultivated area and the remaining 60% depends on scanty rains. Krishi Vigyan Kendras or KVKs: skill building by inculcating the philosophy of 'learning by doing'. KVKs have great responsibility to implement the Mera Gaon Mera Gaurav and Sankalp se Siddhi programmes of the Government of India, which entail a commitment to the holistic development of agriculture and the target of doubling farmers’ income by 2022. Sankalp se Siddhi (Attainment Through Resolve): It entails a commitment to the holistic development of agriculture and to double the income of farmers within five years, by providing better irrigation facilities, ensuring high-quality planting material, enhancing availability of organic inputs, practicing soil testing-based fertiliser applications and minimising post-harvest losses. Value addition and enhanced market facilities also form critical components of the quest to achieve the target of doubling farmers’ income by 2022. Soil Health Card (SHC): Provide information about the Soil Health to 120 million farm holdings in the country

Dec 11, 2017

IASbaba’s Bimonthly Gist of Economic and Political Weekly (EPW)- Edition 2

Archives Hello Friends, Continuing our effort towards right guidance and quality coverage to assist you in all possible ways, we are glad to introduce this new initiative where Frontline, IDSA and Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) will be covered considering the relevance of UPSC Examination. This initiative will also help you in Essay, Sociology and PSIR Optional as well. This is the second edition of Economic and Political Weekly (EPW)- Bimonthly Magazine. Hope you all like it 🙂 DOWNLOAD THE MAGAZINE

Dec 11, 2017 Daily Prelims CA Quiz

UPSC Quiz- 2017 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 99]

UPSC Quiz- 2017 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 99] Archives Q.1) Mandal Commission is concerned with Reservation Section 377 National Judicial Appointments Commission Capital gains tax Q.2) Consider the following statements about Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) They are huge explosions of charged particles extending beyond the sun’s corona They are responsible for geomagnetic storms and enhanced aurora Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) of ISRO’s Aditya - L1 will study the origin of CMEs Select the correct statements 1 and 2 2 and 3 1 and 3 All of the above Q.3) Consider the following statements It is the region of space surrounding Earth where the magnetic field of interplanetary space is dominant than the magnetic field of Earth The magnetosphere is formed by the interaction of the solar wind with Earth’s magnetic field The pressure of the solar wind on Earth’s magnetic field compresses the field on the dayside of Earth and stretches the field into a long tail on the nightside Select the correct statements 1 and 2 2 and 3 1 and 3 All of the above Q.4) Consider the following statements about ‘excitonium’ It’s made up of particles that are formed of an escaped electron and the hole it left behind It is a perfect insulator Select the correct statements 1 Only 2 Only Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 Q.5) Consider the following statements about Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) It is a defined area of 10,400 sq km around the Taj Mahal to protect the monument from pollution Use of coal/ coke in industries located in the TTZ is banned Select the correct statements 1 Only 2 Only Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 To Download the Solution – Click here All the Best IASbaba

Dec 11, 2017 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs [Prelims + Mains Focus] - 11th December 2017

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs (Prelims + Mains Focus)- 11th December 2017 Archives (PRELIMS+MAINS FOCUS) Special & Differential Treatment for India Part of: Mains GS Paper II- Global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests. Key pointers: India’s continued eligibility for special and differential treatment (S&DT) at the World Trade Organization (WTO) hangs in the balance. There is no clarity over whether India will continue to be covered under the S&DT provision being reviewed at the WTO. Benefits of S&DT provisions includes— imposition of lower liberalisation commitments on developing countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) compared to developed countries in many areas. India is trying to push for its continuation, but many members are not so eager. There are a number of LDC members that feel that large developing countries such as India and China should not get S&DT. This actually goes against the mandate of the Doha Development Round, which extends it to all developing countries. The G-90 group, including LDCs, the African group and the ACP (African, Caribbean, Pacific), in a recent draft proposal, laid down that while LDCs shall be free to introduce and maintain investment measures that deviate from their obligations under the TRIMs (Trade Related Investment Measures) Agreement, developing countries can deviate only temporarily to meet specific objectives such as increasing industrialisation, export capacity or modernisation. The paper talks about S&DT not for all developing countries but for some with capacity constraints,” the official said. The Ministerial Conference 11 (MC 11), which is from December 10-13, is working on five specific areas including agriculture, services, e-commerce, development and fisheries. Article link: Click here Engineering graduates: Lacking skills and employability Part of: Mains GS Paper III- Inclusive growth Key pointers: An estimated 8 lakh BE/BTech engineering students graduated in 2015-16, a little over a quarter of those who finished Class 12 Science that year. And yet, over 50 per cent of seats are going empty amid abandoned lecture halls and ghost campuses. According to a 2011 survey by Nasscom, only 17.5 per cent engineering graduates were deemed employable. The issue: The problem of underemployment or lack of employability has often been attributed to an outdated syllabus that’s not in sync with the industry and undergraduates training on obsolete equipment. AICTE has a model curriculum, revised every five years, that affiliated universities use as a base to prepare their own syllabus, but most colleges follow decades-old programmes. Our demographic dividend can be realised only if there is adequate capacity building of people. If that’s not happening, the same dividend can turn into a nightmare Positive steps taken: The AICTE is going to decide that the curriculum will be revised once a year. The AICTE has set up a committee of experts, including IIT professors, who have drafted the model engineering syllabus for first-year students. Improving the quality of education basic is one of the major requirements for Make in India to succeed. Article link: Click here The Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill 2017 Part of: Mains GS Paper III- Economy Key pointers: The FRDI Bill is part of a larger, more comprehensive approach by the Centre towards systematic resolution of all financial firms — banks, insurance companies and other financial intermediaries. The Bill comes together with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code to spell out the procedure for the revival of an ailing company. The need for a specific regulation rose following the 2008 financial crisis, which witnessed a large number of high-profile bankruptcies. The Bill’s main provisions: The Bill provides for the setting up of a Resolution Corporation — to replace the existing Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation — which will be tasked with monitoring financial firms, anticipating their risk of failure, taking corrective action and resolving them in case of failure. The corporation is also tasked with providing deposit insurance up to a certain limit yet to be specified, in the event of a bank failure. The Corporation will also be tasked with classifying financial firms on their risk of failure — low, moderate, material, imminent, or critical. It will take over the management of a company once it is deemed critical. Concerns: The FRDI Bill also empowers the Corporation to bail-in the company. While a bail-out is the use of public funds to inject capital into an ailing company, a bail-in involves the use of depositors’ funds to achieve those ends. This has caused a lot of concern among depositors who are worried they may lose their hard-earned money deposited with banks. Article link: Click here Solar storms and L1 point Part of: Mains GS Paper III- Science and Technology? developments and their applications and effects in everyday life What are solar storms? Solar storms are violent events on the sun which can temporarily distort the earth’s magnetosphere – the region around the earth which is influenced by its magnetic field. These temporary disturbances, called geomagnetic storms, can generate shock waves in the interplanetary medium that can accelerate charged particles to very high energies and which, in turn, can harm the satellites placed by humans in space. Such solar storms have two causes: Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) and Corotating Interaction Regions (CIR). CMEs are huge explosions of charged particles extending beyond the sun’s corona or outer layer and can be visibly observed. CIRs are generated in the interplanetary medium and there are no visual signatures for CIRs. Charged particles are being spewed continually out of the sun’s corona, forming the solar wind. The sun goes through cyclic variations with a period of eleven years during which sunspot activity increases to a maximum and then decreases. L1 point: There is an imaginary point on the line joining the sun and earth known as the L1 point or the Lagrange 1 point. A special feature of this point is that a particle placed there will feel no gravitational pull due to either the sun or the earth as the two forces cancel each other. Article link : Click here ECONOMY/SECURITY TOPIC: General Studies 3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment. Inclusive growth and issues arising from it. Challenges to internal security through communication networks, role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges, basics of cyber security. Is it time to regulate BIG TECH? Introduction: The Big Tech – Apple Inc., Google parent Alphabet Inc., Facebook Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. and other digital giants – are being blamed for a number of things, such as: Engaging in monopolistic practices; Not doing enough to curb fake news; and Violating the privacy of users etc. They have also been blamed for stagnation in wages and the decline in labour’s share of gross domestic product (GDP). And the biggest charge against Big Tech is that it is becoming a threat to freedom of expression and democracy itself. They stand accused of transgressions such as selling campaign ads, underpaying corporate taxes, destroying jobs and condoning sexual harassment and gender disparity. Studies conducted by some Business schools points out that: “In the last year, 85% of the increase in ads online was shared by Google and Facebook”. As a disproportionate beneficiary of online advertisement revenue, Google and Facebook have effectively become gatekeepers of information that is accessible to users of their platforms. Companies like Google and Facebook have built up their dominant positions not just through world-leading coding and (sometimes) cut-throat business practices. They’ve also done it through an uncanny ability to get consumers to trust them — often with the most personal data about themselves. Their major source of power is a “platform” that can be used to control markets and discourage competition. They also stand widely accused of the sins associated with corporate bullies: crushing competition, avoiding taxes, undermining democracy and invading privacy. Critics have argued that tech giants are the new robber barons, using their money and market muscle to bypass laws and social norms — and undermine democracy. They call for government actions to curb the effects of excess market power. Limiting their growth through break-ups and tough regulations: Critics and experts demand that tech giants should be regulated like public utilities and prevented from expanding further through acquisitions. The European Union fined Google 2.4 billion euros ($2.8 billion) in June for abusing its search-engine dominance by favoring its own shopping service over competitors’ in search results. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is investigating similar charges against Google whether it violated its commitments made to the FTC to preserve competition. Some have demanded for break-up of big giants as a solution just like how Standard Oil, AT&T and Microsoft were split into pieces. (Standard Oil was splintered into 34 independent companies in 1911. American Telephone & Telegraph Co. were split in 1980s). Conclusion: All the main players face questions about whether they harm democracy, people's health, fair competition, economic equality and privacy. This has been front-page news throughout this year and a hot topic in business circles and among politicians on the left and right. However, demanding the break-up of these tech giants is excessive and unwarranted. Industries in which these superstar firms emerge are also the ones which have experienced high levels of innovation, as measured by citation-weighted patents or total factor productivity growth. Regulators around the world should frame rules to make it mandatory for these tech firms to seek user consent before using personal data and be more open about how the data is used. “It is excellent to have a giant’s strength, but it is tyrannous to use it like a giant.” – Shakespeare Connecting the dots: Tech giants (such as Apple, Google parent Alphabet Inc., Facebook and Amazon) should be regulated like public utilities and prevented from expanding further through acquisitions. Do you agree? Critically comment. NATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 2: Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies. Statutory, regulatory and various quasi-judicial bodies Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. Internet freedom in India In news: Freedom House’s annual report on internet freedom points to a growing concern. India has maintained its score of 41 out of 100 (the score works on an inverted scale) and a rating of, “partly free”. Reasons for increase in the overall score: The Union government, as well as the Telecom Regulatory Authority, are to be commended for bringing the internet to more Indians. India continues to add more internet subscribers, the speed of internet connectivity continues to rise, and the price per megabyte continues to fall. The Supreme Court cleared the cloud over the fundamental right to privacy in the Puttaswamy judgement,2017. The status of privacy as a fundamental right was brought into dispute by the government not only to advance the Aadhaar programme but as an argument for a more considerable exertion of state power. The Puttaswamy judgement itself notes an affirmative state obligation to bring in a law to protect citizens against the harms of data collection, analysis and disclosure. Even though a government-appointed committee, under Justice B.N. Srikrishna, promises to bring in a data protection law to fill this vacuum, there exists a lack of civil society representation and transparency in the committee itself. In several instances, continuing gains for free expression online are credited in the report to the Shreya Singhal judgement, 2015. By this decision, the SC struck down Section 66A and also made court and executive orders mandatory for removing online content. The comprehensive methodology of the report, which allocates a quarter of its points for improvement and deepening of access. Issues: Given the primacy of digital services and data-driven state policies in our networked lives, an ambition for higher control without proper safeguards is a significant concern. Restrictions on content and violation of user rights. While India has traditionally blocked individual websites, shutting down all internet traffic is a practice which has now gained official notoriety. An influential study by the Brookings Institute demonstrated India imposed at least 22 internet shutdowns last year — globally the highest. The Freedom House report notes the figure for the reporting year has reached at least 37 individual instances. Rules notified in September by the government detail a bureaucratic process and formalise the legal sanction for issuing shutdown orders. Such restrictions on access correspond with continuing arrests for sharing content and messaging that criticises state policies or political satire. Repeated parliamentary questions on the number of internet shutdowns remain unanswered and the National Crime Records Bureau’s annual publication, Crime in India, that contains a separate chapter on “cybercrimes”, is of little help because it lacks details. At present, the fundamental right to privacy applies in litigation, but meaningful safeguards that are implemented pro-actively remain absent in India. Conclusion: A rating of “partly free” is not a passing grade for a democracy that values digital rights. It seems the government is striking a discordant note with its executive actions and legislative policy to the increase in internet access and the SC protecting free expression and privacy online in critical cases. Connecting the dots: Freedom House’s annual report on internet freedom highlights worrying trends in India. Discuss. MUST READ A game of chicken in the Korean peninsula The Hindu Arbitrary and irrational The Hindu Internecine hill battle The Hindu Breaking the silence Indian Express A great betrayal Indian Express

Dec 11, 2017 RSTV Video

RSTV- The Big Picture : Is India's Fiscal Deficit Manageable?

Is India's Fiscal Deficit Manageable? Archives TOPIC: General Studies 3 Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources Inclusive growth and issues arising from it. Background In the first six months of the current financial year, the fiscal deficit touched 91.3% of the full year budget estimate as compared to 83.9% in the same fiscal previous year. The deficit reflects the excess of expenditure over revenues at 4.99 lakh crore rupees in absolute terms. There are concerns about whether the government will be able to stick to target of reducing fiscal deficit to 3.2% by march 2018. The data revealed that total expenditure during april-september was 11.49 lakh crore rupees at 53.5% of entire fiscal’s estimate. Revenue deficit during the period was over 3.8 lakh crore rupees at 92% of estimate. Hence there is a challenge to balance between growth aspirations vs. fiscal health The green shoots The spending plan is getting more streamlined with early budget. The budget for fiscal year 2017-18 was passed earlier so there is front loading of expenditure and thus the 80-90% target of expenditure is not alarming. Also, it is an observation that the revenue mobilisation comes towards the latter part of the year when money comes in. Thus managing of fiscal might not be a major concern for the government. The recapitalisation done by not putting it on draft budget but doing it as recapitalisation bonds which will be actually borne by the banks and only small amount of interest burden will be charged is a welcome step to manage the fiscal. The companies are showing improvement in their performances. This means they will be making larger allocation for income tax hence increasing the revenue. The GST numbers may not be exceeding expectations, but are also not underperforming massively. So there is a comfort for central government. A large amount of expenditure is now incurred by the state governments so there is no added burden on central government for expenditure. There are no sever natural calamities asking for central government assistance. Good monsoon in most part of country. Possible challenges to fiscal deficit management Warning signal is the hardening of the oil prices. This can have a big effect for the oil subsidy importance and the impact it has on budget. But as it is not in government’s control, it cannot be much worried about for. The worry is non-tax revenue- the disinvestment after 8 years was expected to give significant income but it does not seem to be a case now. Also, the RBI dividend is not as expected. So that is gap the government will need to make up. Additional spending on MGNREGS to create rural jobs. Making economy grow The priority of government should be to stimulate investments in household sectors. In the past 5 years, the corporate sector investment shares as part of GDP has remained around 11%. The public sector investment has also remained around 7% of GDP. The big drop is in household investment from 15% five years ago to 10% in 2017. This needs attention, as this is the area where lot of job generation takes place and demand generation is also there. There is a need to focus on stimulating the economy by giving more attention to SMEs and not focus much on fiscal deficit. Focus should be on proper GST implementation. The impact of GST has not been high as far as fiscal health is concerned. The ease of doing business report shows that a predictable and a stable system gives the country better market than the country which has good intentions but keeps on changing goal posts. GST will take time to be adjusted smoothly for it is a radical change. The household savings also needs to be improved. No more bail outs The stimulus package for the farmers was announced earlier by few states and then central government SIPs should be encouraged. announced the economy stimulus. So now is the time for to do away with these and let proper investments and development take place. Domestic investment has not picked up in last few quarters. It will start picking up only when industry starts seeing demand growth. Just asking them to invest more is not going to work. Proper environment has to be created to let them flourish. The real estate sector is one of the major areas of the problem. The problem of home buyers was not sufficiently addressed. Lot of people who had put money in the house, find that their money is gone as under the insolvency law, they are unsecured creditors. Their concerns should be addressed as real estate sector provides major construction jobs. Along with it, construction of roads, building highways should be focused upon. Way forward The NK Singh committee had suggested a new fiscal consolidation focus on government debt rather than the fiscal deficit. It suggested a total government debt of 60% of GDP by FY23 and provided fiscal goalposts to attain this target. The government has met budget targets in the last three years, which has helped establish budget credibility. Though there had been concerns over the fiscal deficit running ahead of the trend halfway through the year, the government is keen to manage the growth stimulus with fiscal consolidation. Connecting the dots: Fiscal consolidation is the key to fiscal deficit management. Discuss.

Dec 10, 2017 Motivational Articles

Creative Guidance – Find Your Poet – Inspirational & Educative Articles

Find Your Poet: A poet is born in moments of ecstatic joy and in moments of unbearable pain. A poet is like a farmer, his whole meaning and purpose comes from being close to the earth, close to nature. Just as a farmer is close to the earth in savoring its smells and flavors, a poet is closer to his emotions in savoring its every pleasure and pain. Poetry is an expression of the human soul that transcends all social barriers. In moments of aloneness and contemplation, there is nobody within us, except a poet. While most people dismiss poetry as unnecessary, illogical deviations of the mind, only a poet knows that his life is nothing but a poem. Take away the element of poetry from life; life is nothing but a long, arduous and pointless movement towards some imaginary reality that doesn’t exist. Only poetry gives meaning to life, for life is as illogical as poetry. Poetry has the ability to change the definition and meaning of a situation of life. There is nothing that can escape the scrutiny of a poet’s eye. Seen from the poet’s eye, tragedies become comedies; painful situations become humorous; failures become successes. A poet can create his own experiences because he is not concerned with the reality at all. He is only concerned with his perception of reality. If there is something we all can learn from a poet, it is the ability to see things from our own individual perspective, there in hides our happiness. Titanic sank. Everybody remembers it as one of the greatest tragedies. Here is a poet’s version of the tragedy. “Who does not love the Titanic? If they sold passage tomorrow for that same crossing, Who would not buy? To go down….We all go down, mostly alone. But with crowds of people, friends, servants, well fed, with music, with lights! Ah! And the world, shocked, mourns, as it ought to do And almost never does. There will be the books and movies to remind our grandchildren who we were and how we died, and give them a good cry. Not so bad, after all. The cold Water is anesthetic and very quick. The cries on all sides must be a comfort. We all go: only a few, first-class.” - David R, Slavitt If you are a poet by heart, you can sail through the struggles and challenges of life untouched. You can let go of criticism and ridicule, you can forgive and love, you can dream and hope. If someone says that you are mad, you can just tell them that you are a poet. In a poet, you can find your refuge. “The articles are a copyright of The Ahamo Movement and IASBABA.”

Dec 10, 2017 Motivational Articles

MOTIVATION: Difference between those who are successful and those who aren’t (Attention- Late Joiners of ILP/AIPTS or 2018 Aspirants)

Dear Friends Feeling dead? Stressed out? Too much to study and not much time left? Feel like giving up? So, you are under a lot of pressure? To top it all, your marks for the previous test has just arrived and has robbed you of your happiness. This is the life of most Civil Services Aspirants. They think that it is more or less impossible to be away from these frequent bouts of intense stress. But do you know the difference between those who are successful and those who aren’t? My dear friend – it is not whether or not you suffer from this stress, but how you deal with it when you feel like giving up. Cut out some slack: Be willing to look at your mistakes or failures not with anger but with kindness and understanding. Harsh criticisms can never lead to success. Being self-compassionate while dealing with oneself will make you happier, more optimistic and less anxious. Maybe not that surprising a fact for you, but here it is: Turns out that self-compassion prepares you better for success than harsh criticisms. It is when things are most difficult that you need to understand your limitations, accept them and work on them. Envision the ‘larger picture’: Here is a simple fact – anything that you want to achieve can be thought about in many ways and not just one. Envisioning the larger picture will help you link smaller actions to a greater meaning and purpose. This will help you face the stress of performance better. Importance of Routine highlighted by Barack Obama, Vanity Fair: “You need to remove from your life the day-to-day problems that absorb most people for meaningful parts of their day… You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits. I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make. You need to focus your decision-making energy. You need to routinize yourself. You can’t be going through the day distracted by trivia.” Add ‘ten minutes of bliss’: C’mon now! You are working hard. You might now (after reading this piece) cut yourself some slack at times, and also follow a routine. Add one more thing now – Doing something interesting everyday just for 10 minutes. Think hard. Think fast. What do you love? Do you love walking? Take a stroll in the nearest park. Do you love reading? Switch off your phone and take out that new book that you have kept away because of your preparation. This ‘ten minutes break’ are actually a source of your energy replenishment. And this replenished energy will surely flow into your preparation time. Be proud of your ‘small wins’: The single most important thing that will determine your success is not the hours of study that you put in but the amount of meaningful study you have done on that day. This is a small win if you look at it on a daily basis. And these “small wins” are what that will always keep us going, particularly in the face of stressors. What determines our success rate in this exam is how are we exactly closing the gap between where do we stand now and where do we want to end up. So take a moment and reflect on what you’ve accomplished so far before turning your attention to the challenges that remain ahead. We are sure that if you work on the points mentioned above, you will start noticing real changes in the way you approach CSE and your life. Late Joiners of ILP/AIPTS or 2018 Aspirants Starting anything afresh is difficult; maintaining the momentum is even more arduous. Enthusiasm and initial vigour wanes down with time. It is natural and happens with almost everyone. However, it is important that the cycle continues. For every new moon, there is a full moon. The same goes with your preparation also. The phases of low energy and inertia must be replaced by a phase of renewed vigour and determination. Ultimately, it’s not the effort that you put in your studies that matters; rather it’s your willingness to wake out of slumber and prolonged despondency that makes you successful. Our energy levels fluctuate and a dip is observed when we get bored or we have doubts in our mind. However, the worst of this lot is complacency. Even if a great player like Virat Kohli gets complacent and stops his training, he will be out of form soon. Similarly, even the legends like Sachin Tendulkar had seen the blues in his career because of doubts. We urge you to identify the cause that is creating the inertia of idleness and despondency for you. Let us remind you that the race you have decided to participate in, is a tough one and there are many contenders who are better placed and are putting their 100% right now. You have got a lot of catch up to do and at the same time maintain the lead that you have over others. That requires sustained efforts and the willingness to put that extra bit that will push you to reach your potential. See, preparing for civil services examination is just like a test match. You have to be patient, alert and consistent to build your innings. You can’t afford to be adventurous and start slogging in the middle. Of course it takes time but the end result is sweet. We are getting many queries regarding Integrated Learning Programme (ILP) and All India Prelims Tests, AIPTS. We have tried to address those queries personally. However, here, we are trying to dispel the most prevalent doubts that we have received from our followers. We hope that these clarifications would make you take the right decision and you would start with a new zeal and energy. It is already December and I haven’t even covered half the syllabus. Should I join ILP/AIPTS? How will ILP/AIPTS be beneficial at this stage? How do I go about my preparation if I join ILP/AIPTS now? ILP is an intensive programme having daily coverage and regular tests. I am already lagging behind. How should I go about this? ILP is not a Prelims Test Series only. It consists of Micro-level Plan- Both Prelims and Mains- Block Wise Manner Prelims Tests Prelims Value Add Notes to be provided for each block Mains Value Add Notes topic wise as per block Babapedia- Current Affairs for prelims Mains Mocks and Synopsis Our guidance and push all the time through motivational and strategic write-ups Dedicated Platform for all ILP users having Forums and Confession forum where they discuss their daily strategy and achievements of the plan and help each other. Essay through Mind Maps and Directives Basically, in ILP- You will get a lot of content support for Prelims and Mains. Irrespective of the situation, if someone is determined to attempt UPSC 2018 at this stage, will have to work equally hard and compete with others who have started the preparation earlier. UPSC's parameters remain the same and whatever be the case, one has to equip him/herself with everything that is required to crack this exam. The only way to compensate the time factor is more effort with sincere commitment and dedication. Nothing else will come to rescue. By being part of ILP/AIPTS you already have got that extra support for quality content and guidance. You need not spend much time in developing content. Cannot you focus on it and be more aggressive in covering the syllabus in whatever time you are left with? You are still in doubts, pondering over things not in control and busy in speculations. Why not focus on preparation instead? Is it too hard to follow your dream? Yes, it is. Not everyone has guts to follow their own dream (though everyone is blessed to dream) ILP and AIPTS will play a vital role in your next attempt provided you are honest with it and your effort. And if you want to regret later, then most welcome to be in the state you are in. We want to convey only one thing in the last- every moment in the life is a fresh beginning. Don’t lose your precious time in thinking too much about your past efforts or the lack of it. Just focus on the present and make it count by giving your 100%. Are you prepared to embrace the sunny side of your life and flash it to the world? Oho, just get going already! Your friend, philosopher and guide IASbaba

Dec 10, 2017 RSTV Video

RSTV- The Big Picture : Taking Stock of PM Modi's Reform Agenda

Taking Stock of PM Modi's Reform Agenda Archives TOPIC: General Studies 2 Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. Some of major reform agenda of government are: GST It is the biggest economic constitutional change since independence. The implementation of GST by the constitutionally mandated deadline had to be hurried through but even then, the implementation had been largely smooth in such a large country. It is a huge reform in the polity itself and the system was able to adopt this radical reform without much hassle. There was a grand bargain struck between centre and the states and among the states. It wasn’t easy to strike such a deal, as India is a federal structure where states have surrendered a part of their economic sovereignty and so has the centre. The GST council is doing detailed implementation plan and designing. At present, an advisory committee has been constituted to provide the inputs to revamp the entire GST in the way it is implemented today to make it simpler. One of the major impact is on agriculture sector as though it is not going to be directly impacted by GST but there are other ways in which it will come under GST ambit. GST on agri inputs such as fertilisers, equipment, drip irrigation is there. So GST is not in agriculture produce but on agri-inputs. Recapitalisation of banks Since 2014, there have been several economists who had been urging recapitalisation. Government tried to reform the PSBs through plans such as indradhanush and bankruptcy law. After that, the question was how long to postpone reforms PSBs by diluting equity. Many of the government shareholdings in PSBs is still 60% and now it should go down to 50%. However, once there is recapitalisation, the government’s share will again go above 50%. Hence it is significant to have sequencing of capitalisation -> Whether there is dilution of government stake in PSBs first or there is recap of banks and then dilution. It is important that the banks first dilute government equity and then recapitalisation is done. For the banks to dilute their equity, they need to clean up their balance sheet which is a big challenge now. A critical agenda for recapitalisation of banks is to expand their business. However, today the bank lending capacity is 60 year low. So bank business is not growing. When their business is not expanding, the need to infuse such huge capital immediately has to be closely monitored to prevent high inflation. Overtime the share of term loan has declined. Share of short loan has increased. Term loan declining has effect on capital formation in agriculture and that has effect in long run growth of agri sector. Very little credit is going to dairy sector which has 28% share in agri growth. It is sunrise sector and growth is also stable. It has to be considered that now with recapitalisation, banks should expand their scope of institutional credit as still large numbers of farmers don’t get loans from institutional sources and many don’t get any loan at all. Many states also don’t have sufficient institutional credit facilities. This should be encouraged now. Other reforms are PM ujjwala Yojana Jan Dhan Account scheme Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana Focus on policies such as ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’. Push towards public investment in infrastructure, strengthening the banking sector and capitalising private investments are some of the things that government has been highlighting. This should be supported by some more reforms such as Labour market reforms Digital push through essentials such as mobile phones Entrepreneurship encouragement to accelerate job creation Conclusion From a fiscal and welfare perspective, most of the money for poor goes wasted. One third goes into corruption, one third lost in inefficiency and one third comes in use. In some cases, subsidies are needed and in some not at all. It shouldn’t be at the cost of infrastructure. The rural India is seeing experiments on direct benefit transfer particularly for fertilisers. Still learnings are being derived from those experiences. There is need to distinguish between income augmenting effect of subsidy and particular purpose for which subsidy is given. For eg., direct cash subsidy in place of product/thing needed (fertilisers, ration etc.), if used for other uses, then the purpose of providing subsidy will be defeated. The reform of the subsidy transfer system has been taken up starting from LPG, fertilisers and then kerosene. The bank accounts of people have been opened to enable digital literacy as well as less use of cash. Now more welfare schemes are not needed. The need is to reengineer the schemes so that there are fewer leakages and maximum beneficiaries are benefited. Connecting the dots: The government has been focusing on radical reforms which has the potential to hurt the economy. Critically analyse your stance on the same.

Dec 9, 2017 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs [Prelims + Mains Focus]- 9th December 2017

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs (Prelims + Mains Focus)- 9th December 2017 Archives (PRELIMS+MAINS FOCUS) India enters into Wassenaar Arrangement Part of: Mains GS Paper II- Global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests Key pointers: The Wassenaar Arrangement agreed to admit India as the 42nd member of the organisation. It aims to regulate trade and use of dual use technology. Benefits for India: It will also boost New Delhi’s chances of joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). India’s membership is expected to facilitate high technology tie-ups with Indian industry. It will ease access to high-tech items for our defence and space programmes. What is Wassenaar Arrangement? Article link: Click here Section 497 of the IPC Part of: Mains GS Paper II- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. Key pointers: · Section 497 of the IPC treats only the man as the offender and the married woman as a victim. · The Supreme Court recently said the provision of adultery, the Section 497 of the IPC, treats a married woman as her husband’s “subordinate.” · The court admitted a petition to drop adultery as a criminal offence from the statute book. · “Time has come when the society must realise that a woman is equal to a man in every respect,” the Supreme Court recorded. · Terming the provision “quite archaic,” the court observed in the order that when society progresses, rights are conformed and a new generation of thoughts should spring forth. · The apex court had earlier on three separate occasions, in 1954, 1985 and 1988, upheld the constitutionality of Section 497. Section 497 of IPC: Section 497 of the IPC mandates that “Whoever has sexual intercourse with a person who is and whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the wife of another man, without the consent or connivance of that man, such sexual intercourse not amounting the offence of rape, is guilty of the offence of adultery and shall be punished.” Two issues: Why does Section 497 treat the man as the adulterer and the married woman as a victim. The offence of adultery ceases the moment it is established that the husband connived or consented to the adulterous act. So, is a married woman the "property" of her husband or a passive object without a mind of her own? Article link: http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/supreme-court-agrees-to-examine-adultery-provision-in-ipc/article21296775.ece China-Maldives strengthening ties Part of: Mains GS Paper II- India and its neighbourhood- relations. Key pointers: The Maldives on Friday signed a crucial free trade deal with China, while endorsing its Maritime Silk Road project shunned by India for its strategic implications in the Indian Ocean. China deems the Maldives as an important partner to building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR). The China-backed multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) — of which the MSR is a part — is similar to Maldives’ strategy of achieving economic progress by making use of its geographic advantages. President Yameen said the Maldives viewed China as “among our closest friends, most trusted and most dependable partners”. After acquiring Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port on a 99-year lease in a $1.1 billion debt swap deal, China has now roped in the Indian Ocean archipelago nation, located strategically in India’s backyard, to implement the MSR. China has also set up a ‘logistics base’ for its navy in Djibouti, also located in the Indian Ocean region in the Horn of Africa. Article link: Click here New standard by FSSAI Part of: Mains GS Paper II- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation Key pointers: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has asked safety commissioners to take cognisance of the new standards framed for various food products. It has advised them to withdraw or not pursue cases of violation of old norms and standards, unless companies are still not compliant with the new or revised standards. New standards The FSSAI, through its Friday order, said that During the last few years a large number of new standards have been framed or amended for several food products based on scientific evidence to ensure appropriate food safety levels. Such revision of standards has taken place after talking into account all scientific evidence required to ensure appropriate level of protection of human life and health. Standards are continuously evolving based on the views of the scientific panels. Field machinery needs to be focussed on genuine cases of unsafe food products. This will help reduce the burden of litigation. Article link: Click here (MAINS EXCLUSIVE) INTERNATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 2: India and its neighbourhood- 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 U.S.'s recognition of Jerusalem Background: U.S. President Donald Trump has recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The decision endlessly given international public opinion and the political and moral sensitivity of the issue. Israel: America's greatest ally in West Asia · The U.S. has largely favoured Israel throughout the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and East Jerusalem. · It has offered protection to Israel in the UN Security Council, come to its aid in times of crises, and provided it with advanced weapons. · The U.S. has even looked away when Israel was amassing nuclear weapons. In return, Israel has become America’s greatest ally in West Asia. Fallouts: Jerusalem is at the very heart of an Israeli-Palestinian solution. By endorsing Israel’s claims over the city, the American President has made an already sensitive issue more sensitive. The move will only strengthen the Israeli Right, which is dead opposed to ceding any inch of Jerusalem to a future Palestinian state. Israel has been defying international norms and UNSC resolutions, but America publicly endorsing Israel’s illegal claims is unprecedented. A President who promised the “ultimate deal” to resolve the conflict has effectively dealt a body blow to the peace process. The Conflict: Jerusalem has never been recognised as Israel’s capital by the international community. In the original UN General Assembly plan to partition Palestine and create independent Jewish and Arab states, Jerusalem was deemed an international city. The Zionists didn’t wait for the plan to be implemented by the UN. In 1948, they declared the state of Israel and in the ensuing Arab-Israeli war, they captured 23% more territories than even what the UN had proposed, including the western half of Jerusalem. Israel seized East Jerusalem in 1967 from Jordan, and later annexed it. Since then, Israel has been encouraging illegal settlements in the eastern parts of the city, with Palestinians being forced to live in their historical neighbourhoods. In 1980, the Israeli Parliament passed a basic law, declaring Jerusalem “complete and united” as its capital. This move invoked sharp reaction from world powers, including the U.S. The UN Security Council (UNSC) declared the draft law “null and void” and urged member countries to withdraw their diplomatic missions from the Holy City. Alternative: The U.S. should have held talks with both sides and extracted compromises, taking the peace process a step forward. Trump would also have said which part of Jerusalem he was recognising as Israel’s seat of power and endorsed the Palestinians’ claim over East Jerusalem, including the Old City. US should have put pressure on Israel to come forward and engage the Palestinians in talks. Improved chances of conciliation: Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls the Gaza Strip, recently came up with a new political charter that signals a readiness to deal with Israel and accept the 1967 border for a future Palestinian state. Hamas and the Fatah (party that rules parts of the West Bank), also reached a reconciliation agreement recently. This could have been used as an opening to break the logjam in the peace process. Conclusion: Israel’s history suggests that it will not agree to any compromise unless it is forced to do so. Over the years, it has continued its illegal settlements in the occupied territories despite repeated warnings from the international community. The only country that can put effective pressure on Israel is the U.S. The country should thus play a responsible role in the region. Connecting the dots: S. President Donald Trump has recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital has made Israeli-Palestinian issue more sensitive. Analyze. NATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health General Studies 3: Science and Technology? developments and their applications and effects in everyday life Antibiotic resistance in the environment Background: The 2017 National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance talks about limiting antibiotics in effluent being dumped by drug makers into the environment. This is because when these drugs taint soil and water, the scores of microbes that live there grow drug-resistant. Until now, India’s fight against antibiotic-resistance was focussed on getting people to cut down on unnecessary antibiotic consumption. Having too many antibiotics causes bodily pathogens to resist these miracle drugs. Environment-pathogen link: Typically, a pathogen can take two routes to antibiotic resistance. A pathogen's own genes can mutate spontaneously to help fight the drug. Mutations take time to spread through a bacterial population. Horizontal gene transfer- is for the bug to borrow resistance genes from its neighbours. Scientists believe that many human pathogens today picked up their resistance genes from the environment. Horizontal gene transfer: Examples Ciprofloxacin- Take ciprofloxacin, an antibiotic launched by the German company Bayer in the mid-1980s. Ciprofloxacin was the most effective among the quinolone class of antibiotics in fighting gram-negative bacteria. A bacteria would need multiple resistance mutations to fight cipro, and because such multiple mutations are rare, scientists thought resistance was unlikely. Yet, within a decade, ciprofloxacin resistance had spread globally. Eventually, scientists learnt that bacteria seemed to have borrowed a gene, which conferred resistance to ciprofloxacin, from a sea and freshwater bacterium. Another set of genes, which triggered an epidemic of resistance to some cephalosporin antibiotics in the early 21st century, came from a soil-dwelling species. Resistance genes in environmental microbes: When humans starting manufacturing antibiotics in the 1950s, a dramatic shift occurred. Large doses of these drugs seeped into the environment through poultry and human excreta, and waste water from drug makers and hospitals. This led to an explosion of resistance genes in soil and water microbes. Investigators in 2007 had found that water in an Indian pharma effluent treatment plant had both high levels of antibiotics as well as novel resistance genes, never seen in microbes elsewhere. Way forward: The resistant genes are likely to make the journey from living harmlessly in environmental bacteria to human pathogens that sicken people. The flow of genes from the environment to humans is a rare event. Instead, most transmission happens from one human to another. But the rarity isn’t reason to lower our guard. We live in unprecedented times where environmental bacteria, pathogens and antibiotics are mixing like never before. This means such rare events are almost inevitable. Conclusion: If India doesn’t move quickly, wastewater in pharma clusters could give rise to new genes as dangerous as NDM-1. Once such genes enter in humans, they will spread across the planet. Connecting the dots: Antibiotic resistance in the air should worry us. Discuss. MUST READ When every breath kills The Hindu US is sabotaging the WTO from within Business Line Cloud over Dhaka Indian Express A nudge for climate capital Indian Express

Dec 9, 2017 RSTV Video

RSTV- The Big Picture : Food Processing - A Game Changer for Indian Economy?

Food Processing - A Game Changer for Indian Economy? Archives TOPIC: General Studies 3 Food processing and related industries in India- scope and significance, location, upstream and downstream requirements, supply chain management. India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and Food Processing Sector has emerged as an important segment of the Indian economy in terms of its contribution to GDP, employment and investment. During 2015-16, the sector constituted as much as 9.1 and 8.6 per cent of GVA in Manufacturing and Agriculture sector respectively. Thus it is now needed that food processing services and industry be incentivised for farmers to get better income and creating jobs. For this, there has been launch of a central sector scheme- SAMPADA (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters) as "Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY) to create world class food processing infrastructure. This will leverage investment of 5 billion dollar investment, benefit 2 million farmers and create more than half a million jobs. It incorporates ongoing schemes such as Mega Food Parks, Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure, etc. and also new schemes like Infrastructure for Agro-processing Clusters, Creation of Backward and Forward Linkages, Creation / Expansion of Food Processing & Preservation Capacities. Scope of food processing in India India as one of the biggest food producers of the world is in an advantageous position to become the hub for food processing industry. In any agricultural commodity, India is in 1,2or 3 position. However, this industry in India has not been able to take off as yet. Till now, even small time snacks such as chips, biscuits were imported. Now the Indian agriculture is being modernised and it has to be ensured that the farmers’ produce gets a good market at fair price to keep up the agriculture productivity. It means not only consumption of main cereals but also that the surplus food output has to be converted into food processing snacks for domestic consumption as well as exports. Food processing creates jobs, helps farmers double farmers’ income through good output, livestock and food processing facilities. This creates much bigger market for farm produce. India has to fit into the global supply chain and system of food processing. For this, the good domestic market helps because people don’t like to do investment to export completely. It’s a combination of good domestic market and India’s own strength in food sector. Food processing is one of the most important part of manufacturing process as it is also a significant part of make in India programme. Challenges The exports are only 2.2% of the global food processing exports. This is because of problems created by US and EU in terms of TBT (Technical Barriers to Trade) and SPS (Sanitary/Phyto-Sanitary) measures. This impacts the export scenario significantly. There is poor warehousing and storage capacity. It is needed to upgrade the agri-infrastructure to become the food processing hub. Lesser facilitation by a dedicated agency to the farmer. Though there is FSSAI, but it is for post-production facilities. So there is need for dedicated approach for pre-harvest procedures. Lot of inorganic chemicals are used in agricultural production. This needs to be shifted to organic chemicals because the advanced economics are identifying the pesticides in the products. In dairy sector, the canned meat industry is being hit because of few stray remarks. The unproductive cattle is not being able to reach the cattle mandis which is hampering the entire value chain. Political and administrative focus should be given to this area as there is lot of scope for meat exports within the laws. Potential Developing the agri-infrastructure. Increasing gross capital in agri-infrastructure along with public investments. Connect the farm to the mandis so the facilitation with start with them. Linking them with good warehouses and increasing the storage capacities, then increasing the productivity of the farm sector and thus increasing the part in global food market. Food parks model can be replicated across the country. The food parks offer an alternative to farmers. There are different crops grown which also replenishes the soil nutrients, leads to better water management. Some steps by government to encourage food processing 100% FDI in trading including through e-commerce, in respect of food products manufactured and / or produced in India. Special Fund of Rs. 2000 crore in NABARD to make available affordable credit at concessional rate of interest to designated food parks and agro processing units. Food and agro-based processing units and cold chain infrastructure have been brought under the ambit of Priority Sector Lending (PSL) to provide additional credit for food processing activities and infrastructure. Conclusion India has about 40 billion worth food processing market. There is a need for diversification of crop pattern because most of farmers are concentrating on few farm products like rice and wheat only. India is importing about 22 billion dollar food processing products. So if there is diversification and substituting the imports, there is huge scope for second green revolution. There is lot of diversity in the productivity levels of all the states which needs to be minimised. There is a need to adopt the good agricultural practices of the states like Punjab and Haryana. More food processing training institutes should be opened up in different parts like UP, MP and not only in coastal areas. It is critical for Skill sets to be improved in food processing sector. India has its own brands like Amul, haldiram, bikarnewala which are good companies that can diverse in the food processing markets. They aree trusted by consumers as they give quality products. Hence, strict enforcement of quality and hygiene is must. There is need to strengthen the university industry linkages to create centre for excellence for food processing sector. With these, it will give push to food processing sector as it will give awareness to the farmers and to food processing units for the international practices to generate good productivity and to generate good production in export markets. Connecting the dots: Food processing like tourism is a critical sector for development of Indian economy. Analyse.

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