Jan 31, 2018 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs [Prelims + Mains Focus] - 31st January 2018

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs (Prelims + Mains Focus)- 31st January 2018 Archives (PRELIMS+MAINS FOCUS) Simultaneous Elections: Pros & Cons  Part of: Mains GS Paper II- Key pointers: The idea of simultaneous Lok Sabha, Assembly and local body: ·         The Justice B P Jeevan Reddy-headed Law Commission in 1997  recommended simultaneous elections. ·         The Parliamentary Standing Committee in 2016 suggested that “elections to all state Assemblies whose terms end prior to or after a time period of six months to one year from the appointed election date can be clubbed together”. How exactly will holding Lok Sabha and Assembly polls together help? ·         It will cut costs. ·         Frequent elections and campaigns hurt the federal structure as leaders are “forced to talk politically”. This point was raised by PM Modi. ·         Many have argued that election campaigns end up sharpening faultlines of caste, religion and community across the country. ·         The Model Code of Conduct puts on hold all development programmes. Simultaneous elections would reduce disturbance from political rallies, etc. It would free up large numbers of security personnel and other staff. Criticism: ·         Amending the Constitution to effect simultaneous elections would fundamentally alter its democratic and federal character. ·         India is a “Union of States”, states have their own directly elected governments, and fixing a term adversely affects this right. ·         Logistics issues. The deployment of security forces and officials in 700,000 polling stations located in widely varying geographic and climatic conditions all at the same time will be extremely difficult. ·         State and national elections are often fought on different sets of issues — and in simultaneous elections, voters may end up privileging one set over the other in ways they might not have done otherwise. This could lead to national issues being ignored, or, conversely, local issues being swept away by a national ‘wave’. Article link: Click here Simultaneous Elections: Pros & Cons Part of: Mains GS Paper II- Government interventions in important sectors related to  health Key pointers: ·         The Indian government has asked the Supreme Court to classify tobacco as “res extra commercium”, a Latin phrase meaning “outside commerce”. ·         This would strip the $11 billion tobacco industry’s legal right to trade. In denying an industry’s legal standing to trade, it gives authorities more leeway to impose restrictions. ·         The effort is aimed at deterring tobacco companies from challenging tough new regulations. Main focus: ·         Tobacco consumption kills more than 9,00,000 people each year in India. ·         The government has in recent years raised tobacco taxes, started smoking cessation campaigns and introduced laws requiring covering most of the package in health warnings. ·         India’s tobacco labelling rules, which mandate 85 percent of a cigarette pack’s surface be covered in health warnings, have been a sticking point between the government and the tobacco industry since they were enforced in 2016. ·         The industry estimates 45.7 million people in India depend on tobacco for their living. Article link: Click here (MAINS FOCUS) NATIONAL/ECONOMY TOPIC: General Studies 2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes. General Studies 3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment. Inclusive growth and issues arising from it Investment and Infrastructure Agrarian/Rural distress and Rural Development Improving rural income Introduction: Around two-thirds of India’s population is in rural areas and a large proportion of this population lives in abject poverty. According to the ICE 360° Household Survey conducted in 2016, of the bottom 20% of India’s income quintile, 89% live in rural areas. There is an urgent need to improve the economic scenario in rural India to have a sustainable and robust growth model for the country as a whole. Issues: ·         National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) data shows that more than one-fifth of rural households with self-employment in agriculture have income less than the poverty line. ·         Agriculture labour productivity in terms of gross value added (GVA) in India is less than a third of that in China and 1% of that in the US. Improving  agriculture: ·         The productivity (ratio of agriculture output to agriculture inputs) of most crops in India is well below the global average. Farm productivity can be improved through better irrigation facilities, technology improvement, diversifying towards higher value added crops (like fruits, vegetables, spices, condiments), and increasing crop intensity. ·         Better price realization for farmers will help in improving income. There needs to be a mechanism in place to ensure that agriculture prices do not fall below the minimum support prices (MSP). For instance, last year we saw the prices of pulses fall below the MSP, causing distress to farmers. In 2016, the government had announced its intention of doubling farmer incomes by 2022.  Focusing on agriculture-allied sectors: ·         The livestock sector, which contributes around 4% to India’s gross domestic product (GDP), is particularly critical. ·         India has a mixed crop livestock farming system, with livestock becoming an important secondary source of income. ·         Small and marginal farmers have high dependence on the livestock sector. Hence, measures to boost livestock sector growth and productivity will have a significant impact in alleviating rural distress. Reducing the dependence on agriculture: ·         Rural India does not mean only agriculture and agriculture-allied sectors. Interestingly, the share of agriculture in rural output is 39%, whereas the rest is contributed by the manufacturing, construction and services sectors. However, a large 64% of rural employment is in the agriculture sector. ·         Reducing the dependence of rural masses on agriculture as a source of income will help improve the overall income of the rural population. ·         According to a NITI Aayog report, income per farmer is around one-third of the income per non-agriculture worker. Improving rural employment in the manufacturing and services sectors: The manufacturing sector in rural India contributes 18% to rural output, but employs only 8% of the rural workforce. The rural workforce finds it difficult to get absorbed in the manufacturing sector. Improving education facilities and skill development programmes in rural areas will play an important role. Services sector growth: The sector can play a critical role in improving rural income. Sectors like transport and storage have recorded reasonable growth in the rural area. ·         There is need to further increase the contribution of the services sector to rural output. ·         The services sector contributes around 27% to rural output, as against 55% to India’s GDP. ·         A strong push to sectors like food processing, warehousing and logistics will be very beneficial as it will help push up farmer incomes, reduce the wastage of perishable agriculture commodities and provide employment to rural workers. Conclusion: Villages are India’s backbone, contributing around 46% to the country’s net domestic product and employing 70% of the total workforce. While it is very critical to increase farmer incomes, it is even more important to increase overall rural incomes. This could be achieved through reducing the over-dependence of the rural population on agriculture as a source of income. A suitable push needs to be given to infrastructure development and industrial and services sector growth in rural areas. Imparting skills to the rural workforce appropriately to enable them to get absorbed in the non-agriculture sector is equally important. Connecting the dots: ·         Around two-thirds of India’s population is in rural areas and a large proportion of this population lives in abject poverty. Improving rural income thus must be a priority for the government. Suggest measures to do so. NATIONAL/ECONOMY 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: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment. Inclusive growth and issues arising from it Investment and Infrastructure Agrarian/Rural distress and Rural Development Transforming Indian agriculture through Corporate farming ventures Introduction: Despite serious attempts, improving farm productivity on a large scale remains our most significant challenge. It is time to think of alternative models for the rapid development of agriculture. Pooling resources and engaging in systematic, collaborative farming, with initial support from external agencies is the way. Major reasons for low farm output are: Low land unit sizes. High dependence on rain. Poverty which prevents the use of appropriate seeds, fertilisers, and insecticides. The farm-to-market linkage is also weak. How it works? Land on lease is taken from a group of farmers. Expert firms then use the best inputs and technology to grow and market produce that meets the highest quality standards. This model may supplement the existing government schemes, and can be implemented in a two-step process. In step one, the ministry of agriculture in consultation with State governments can identify 100 contiguous pieces of land, 500 sq km each. These will be called Agriculture Development Regions (ADRs). State governments will need to persuade farmers within each such region to agree to lease their land to them for 10 years.. Ownership of the land will remain with the farmers. State governments can then invite corporate farming ventures (CFVs) to work on each of the ADRs. In return, they will pay the money that State governments owe the farmers. This means zero financial burden on State governments. CFVs may employ local farmers by giving them wages. CFVs will be applying modern techniques and will be investmenting to get high-quality products. Significance of CFVs Today, the Government does not have enough resources to reach the last farmer. CFVs by investing money can create islands of excellence. The best practices will then spread to adjoining areas. CFVs have reported higher yields for most crops. These include wheat, rice, sugar, cotton, potato, gherkin, tomato, groundnut, safflower, marigold, safflower, poultry and milk. Much of India’s exports originate from the CFVs’ baskets. They have already proved that agriculture can be profitable. CFVs today engage with lakhs of farmers across the country. CFVs also understand the importance of maintaining product quality and supply-chain integrity. They know that many countries do not accept India’s agriculture produce as they do not meet the prescribed quality or health and safety standards. Thus, they invest in good agricultural practices such as maintaining specified standards in pesticides residue levels, assaying, grading, packaging, and storage. They understand the technology and investment needs of the sector. They can reduce the cost of cultivation by 25 to 30 per cent by using laser land levellers, and precision seeders in combination with the residue management. CFVs know the importance of farm-to-fork supply chains. For perishables goods like fruits and vegetables, this means transportation in refrigerated vans after pre-cooling of produce. Most farmers cannot afford these. The Government may help CFVs with tax breaks on these investments. Examples of CFVs: PepsiCo in Punjab and eight other states, Hindustan Lever, Rallis, and ICICI jointly in Madhya Pradesh, Amul and NDDB in Gujrat, Sugarcane Cooperatives in Maharashtra, and Suguna in Tamil Nadu, are important CFVs. Way ahead: Hundreds of CFVs are already successful in India, but in isolated pockets. We need to use their expertise on a large scale with the help of the Government. Conclusion: CFVS holds potential to improve farm productivity. High-profit margins and exports will follow. Within a few years. Farmers who participates with CFVs can form a group within the village. They will pool their land and start collaborative farming where external CFVs will not be needed. As the movement will spread it will bring social, political and economic benefits to the 50 crore farmers spread across 5 lakh villages. Connecting the dots: What do you mean by Corporate Farming Ventures(CFVs)? How do these ventures work? CFVs hold potential to transform Indian agriculture. Discuss. MUST READ The balancing act The Hindu In Davos: A toast to India Indian Express The non-trivial costs of a slow judiciary Livemint The high dropout rate of girls in India Livemint

Jan 31, 2018 Daily Prelims CA Quiz

UPSC Quiz- 2018 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 133]

UPSC Quiz- 2018 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 133] Archives Q.1) Consider the following statements about the recently launched high performance computer (HPC) system ‘Mihir’. It is launched by Ministry of Earth Science It is dedicated to weather and climate forecasts Select the correct statements 1 Only 2 Only Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 Q.2) What is "virtual private network"? It is a private computer network of an organization where the remote users can transmit encrypted information through the server of the organization. It is a computer network across a public internet that provides users access to their organizations network while maintaining the security of the information transmitted. It is a computer network in which users can access a shared pool of computing resources through a service provider. None of the statements given above is correct description of virtual private network. Q.3) With reference to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, consider the following: The Right to Development The Right to Expression The Right to Recreation Which of the above is/are the Rights of the child? 1 and 2 1 and 3 2 and 3 1, 2 and 3 Q.4) Which of the following is known as Berne and Paris-plus agreement? WIPO TRIPS Sustainable Development Goals UNFCC Q.5) Lisbon treaty is related to European Union MERCOSUR African Union Trans-Pacific Partnership To Download the Solution – Click here All the Best  IASbaba

Jan 31, 2018

IASbaba’s Bimonthly Gist of Economic and Political Weekly (EPW)- Edition 5

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 Fifth edition of Economic and Political Weekly (EPW)- Bimonthly Magazine. Hope you all like it 🙂 DOWNLOAD THE MAGAZINE

Jan 30, 2018 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs [Prelims + Mains Focus] - 30th January 2018

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs (Prelims + Mains Focus)- 30th January 2018 Archives (PRELIMS+MAINS FOCUS) 10 ‘champion’ sectors identified to boost job generation Part of: Mains GS Paper III- Inclusive development Key pointers: In an effort to boost job generation to double-digit level, the government has identified 10 ‘champion’ sectors that will drive growth under the ‘Make in India’ version 2.0, as per the Economic Survey 2017-18. These include capital goods, auto and auto components, defence and aerospace, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, chemicals, electronic system, design and manufacturing (ESDM), leather and footwear, textiles and apparels, food processing, gems and jewellery, new and renewable energy, construction, shipping and railways. Employment generation, including finding good jobs for the young and burgeoning workforces, especially for women, will be one of the three key areas in the medium-term. Promoting “inclusive employment” in order to generate jobs for daily wage labourers. Steps have already been taken in sectors such as steel, apparel, leather and power to address specific challenges associated with each of them. Article link: Click here Quota for the disabled Part of: Mains GS Paper II- Government interventions in important sectors Key pointers: People with autism, mental illnesses, intellectual disability and victims of acid attacks will now get quota in central government jobs. In case of direct recruitment, four per cent of the total number of vacancies, up from the existing three per cent, in groups A, B and C shall be reserved for people with benchmark disabilities. Benchmark disability means a person with not less than forty per cent of a specified disability. The move to enhance reservation quota for those with learning disability and acid attack victims comes after passage of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, and the notification of relevant rules in this regard. Under the new rules, all government organisations have been asked to appoint 'grievance redressal officers' to look into complaints. Any person aggrieved with any matter relating to discrimination in employment against any person with disability may file a complaint with the grievance redressal officer of the respective government establishment. Article link: Click here (MAINS FOCUS) NATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 1: Social empowerment General Studies 2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. General Studies 3: Indian economy and issues related to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment. Formalization of Indian Economy Background: The new Economic Survey written by the team of finance ministry economists led by Arvind Subramanian provides compelling evidence of how the Indian economy is becoming more formalized. The reason this shift is important is not just because of the possibility of higher tax revenues for the government to spend; it is also about the social contract between citizens and the state. Key shifts: There are four key shifts that are mentioned in the Economic Survey 2017-18. The introduction of the goods and services tax (GST) has brought more firms into the tax net. The number of enterprises paying indirect taxes has gone up by 3.4 million, an increase of 50%. Only around a quarter of the 240 million Indian working outside farms file their income tax returns. Demonetization done in November 2016 seems to have led to a statistically significant increase in the number of new income tax filers. The Indian workforce is more formalized than most people believed till recently. Nearly a third of the non-farm Indian workforce of 240 million has some social security coverage. And more than half of the non-farm workforce is employed in firms that now pay taxes. Indians are putting a greater proportion of their savings in the formal financial sector. Bank deposits swelled after November 2016. The booming stock market has also made financial savings through mutual funds more attractive compared to gold or real estate. These four shifts—more firms paying indirect taxes, more individual filing income tax returns, a big increase in the proportion of formal jobs and the increase in savings in the formal financial sector—can have profound effects on the Indian economy if they are sustained. Methodological innovations: Much of the data offered by the finance ministry comes from the GST system, rather than from surveys. The mining of GST data is part of the welcome introduction of Big Data into Indian policy discourse. The Economic Survey released a year ago had similarly used Big Data and satellite images to estimate issues as diverse as interstate migration to the extent of Indian urbanization. The finance ministry economists deserve kudos for their methodological innovations. What does such an overdue shift to formal economic activity potentially mean? The Indian nation state sits on a very weak fiscal base. It is neither able to invest in national security or provide public goods or create a social security system without running up destabilizing fiscal deficits. India has a tax-to-GDP ratio that is broadly similar to what other countries had at a similar stage of development. The question is whether that ratio can be increased as India gets richer, which is difficult unless more economic activity moves into the formal sectors. This is possible only once the economy is formalised. More direct tax payments by individuals as well as enterprises will not only create fiscal space for lower GST rates but also provide incentives for citizens to demand better governance. Conclusion: The process of formalization needs to be accelerated further. Connecting the dots: The Economic Survey highlights how Indian economy is undergoing formalization. Discuss how this change can be acclerated further. 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. Section 124-A of IPC: To repeal or no to? Introduction: Section 124-A in the Indian Penal Code, named 'Sedition', says 'Whoever, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the Government established by law in India' shall be punished with life imprisonment  History of Sedition law: The law was originally drafted by Thomas Macaulay It was not a part of IPC in the 1860s and was even dropped from the law. It was introduced in the IPC in the year 1870 Many Indian freedom fighters, including Mahatma Gandhi and Bal Gangadhar Tilak, were charged with sedition during freedom struggle While the constitution was in making: Part III of the Constitution guarantees certain fundamental rights to citizens and non-citizens. No fundamental right is absolute. Freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by Article 19(1)(a) can be reasonably restricted on the grounds specified in Article 19(2). In the Draft Constitution, one of the heads of the restrictions proposed on freedom of speech and expression was “sedition”. K M Munshi opposed the inclusion of “sedition” in the Draft Constitution as a restriction on freedom of speech and expression. During the debates in the Constituent Assembly, in view of the bitter experience of the arbitrary application of the sedition law by the colonial regime against nationalist leaders, Jawaharlal Nehru amongst others, agreed with Munshi and deliberately omitted “sedition” as one of the permissible grounds of restriction under Article 19(2). However, sedition remained a criminal offence in the IPC Section 124-A and provides inter alia for the sentence of life imprisonment and fine upon conviction. Supreme Court judgements: Kedernath vs. State of Bihar, 1962- The Court ruled that mere criticism of the government or comments on the administration — however vigorous, pungent or ill-informed — was not sedition and that incitement to violence is the essential ingredient of that offence. In 1995- Certain persons were sought to be prosecuted for sedition for shouting slogans like Khalistan Zindabad and raj karega khalsa. The SC held that the casual raising of such slogans a couple of times by the individuals did not tantamount to sedition and therefore Section 124-A could not be invoked. Nazir Khan vs. State of Delhi, 2003- The SC made the following significant observations: “It is the fundamental right of every citizen to have his own political theories and ideas and to propagate them and work for their establishment so long as he does not seek to do so by force and violence or contravene any provision of law”. What does this mean? The legal position which emerges is that merely shouting slogans like Pakistan or Khalistan zindabad, however deplorable, per se would not attract Section 124-A which deals with sedition. Criticism of the SC judgment upholding the conviction of Afzal Guru also would not attract Section 124-A. However if a person has said “Hindustan murdabad”, or that the Indian state is tyrannical and it is necessary to overthrow it, that could possibly amount to sedition.  Issue: Section 124-A has often been misused by ill-informed and over enthusiastic prosecuting agencies who are against any criticism of the government. Kanhaiya Kumar, Patidar leader Hardik Patel were slapped with sedition charges in past. In the year 2014, some of the Kashmiri students were charged with sedition for supporting Pakistan in a cricket match between India and Pakistan. Repeal or not to repeal: The remedy does not lie in repealing Section 124-A. As there is no statutory provision which cannot be misused. Misuse of Section 124-A in some cases, however regrettable, is no ground for its deletion. The provision properly interpreted and correctly applied protects and preserves the integrity of the Indian state and is also a deterrent for persons who are minded to commit acts of incitement to violence and acts which cause disturbance of public order. Connecting the dots: Section-124A has been one of the most misused legal provision. Discuss the historical background and issues associate with it. Should t be repealed or not? Analyze. MUST READ A path to the executive power The Hindu A pivot in Asia The Hindu Return of the politicals Indian Express Prescription for the doctor Indian Express The Indian economy is getting formalised Livemint

Jan 30, 2018 RSTV Video

RSTV- The Big Picture : Rajya Sabha Passes Bills to Repeal Outdated Laws

Rajya Sabha Passes Bills to Repeal Outdated Laws Archives  TOPIC: General Studies 2 Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. In news: The Parliament passed two bills to repeal 245 obsolete laws including a 158 year old Calcutta Pilot Act 1859 and prevention of sedition meeting 1911. This exercise is aimed at bringing reforms in the legal system by repealing all obsolete laws. Some of the other laws are Hackney Carriage Act, 1879 which was legislated for the regulation and control of hackney carriages, Dramatic Performance Act, 1876 when theatre was being used a medium of protest against the British rule. The government had set up 2 member panel to look up to repeal of archaic laws. Such exercise was done by parliament in 1950 when 1029 old laws were repealed. In 2004, 272 old laws were repealed and between 2005-14, 1031 laws were repealed. Thus, more laws have been repealed than enacted since independence. There has been an elaborate exercises by government, several commissions set up and also 20th law commission of India did this exercise- LESS- Legal Enactments Simplification process wherein its objective is to prepare various reports on the laws, rules, regulations which need to be repealed or amended. Reasons for repeal In the Indian society, the rule of law governs the society. So certain laws are obsolete with passing of time. Many laws being repealed were created by British parliament. Many acts don’t have relevance in the present time and they become hindrance to normal course of action. Passage of time or societal changes or value system. These laws require continuous updation with passage of time. For eg. Criminalization of gay sex was imposed by British in India. Now, Britain itself has done away with it and de-criminalized it. It is the time to change in India too as now SC has ordered for right to privacy and this is something that is a personal choice. The laws have been replaced by other laws and the old ones have not yet been repealed. There are judgements delivered by SC and the judgement overlaps the existing law. Thus the law is no more needed. There can be laws which are not in tune with international treaties and conventions signed by India. The cost of regulating some laws or having the laws is more than the benefit of having that law. Benefits of archaic laws repealed There is a savings clause in the bill. It says that in all the existing cases, it will not have any bearing. For future cases, since the law ceases to exist, no future litigations can be started on basis of these laws. The entire process of law making and the way in which laws are administered, it has huge bearing on governance because unnecessarily, such huge number of laws are on statute books, somehow it will be invoked through litigation and governance will be hampered. This will also have a bearing on economy and business side. It is not about general laws. It is about the focus on business laws. There are many laws which can be consolidated and re-enacted as one law. This will help administration of business more efficiently. Conclusion The laws cannot be understood by the common man. But if the laws are simple and limited, it is easier for common man to understand and follow it. On the larger part, across the globe this exercise is taken and periodically- called as cleaning of statue books. But this cleaning of statues should come in institutional manner. Unless the entire process is institutionalized, the kind of problems faced till now shall continue. The appropriation acts have life of 1-2 years. It can be provided in the bill itself that it will cease to exit after particular time period. State government laws also need a clean up act along with central government laws. The tough part of the existing laws is to update them as per changing times and needs and for that, it is essential to remove the outdated law so as to bring in administrative efficiency as well as it doesn’t conflict with the requisite law. Connecting the dots: Analyse the importance of updated laws and why outdated laws must be repealed.

Jan 30, 2018 Daily Prelims CA Quiz

UPSC Quiz- 2018 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 132]

UPSC Quiz- 2018 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 132] Archives Q.1) Indrajit Gupta Committee is concerned with State funding of elections Time limit for bye-elections Amendment of the anti-defection law to restrict disqualification Minimum age of voting to be 18 years Q.2) The term 'Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership' often appears in the news in the context of the affairs of a group of countries known as G20 ASEAN SCO SAARC Q.3) 'European stability mechanism', is an Agency created by EU to deal with the impact of millions of refugees arriving from Middle East Agency of EU that provides financial assistances to euro zones countries Agencies of EU to deal with all the bilateral and multi-lateral agreements on trade Agency of EU to deal with the conflicts arising among the member countries Q.4) Consider the following statements about ‘Project Sunrise’ It is a project to tackle the increasing HIV prevalence It is focused on North Eastern States of India Select the correct statements 1 Only 2 Only Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 Q.5) Intellectual property Index is released by WIPO WEF IMF None of the above To Download the Solution – Click here All the Best  IASbaba

Jan 29, 2018 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs [Prelims + Mains Focus] - 29th January 2018

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs (Prelims + Mains Focus)- 29th January 2018 Archives (PRELIMS+MAINS FOCUS) ‘Stree Swabhiman’ initiative  Part of: Mains GS Paper I- Women empowerment Key pointers: ‘Stree Swabhiman’ aims to create a sustainable model for providing adolescent girls and women an access to affordable sanitary products by leveraging CSCs. An initiative by CSC on women’s health and hygiene. Under the ‘Stree Swabhiman’ project, sanitary napkin micro manufacturing units are being set up at CSCs across India, particularly those operated by women entrepreneurs. Besides promoting women’s health and hygiene, the initiative will also provide employment opportunities to women in rural communities as each facility will employ 8-10 women. Village Level Entrepreneurs: Over 46,500 women are working as VLEs through the CSCs across the country. They are offering services like Aadhaar, banking, insurance and promoting digital literacy in rural India. Village entrepreneurs operating Common Services Centers (CSCs) have the power to transform India by empowering locals and creating employment opportunities in rural India, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said. “Women have played a crucial role as change agents under the Digital India programme,” the release added. Article link: Click here Jan Aushadhi Scheme Part of: Mains GS Paper II- Government interventions Key pointers: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the medicines that are sold in government-run medical shops are 50-90 per cent cheaper compared to the branded ones and they strictly adhere to the international norms prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Medical stores called ‘Jan Aushadhi Kendras’ are being run under the government’s ‘Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Yojana’. The motive behind this scheme is to make healthcare affordable and encouraging Ease of Living. Over 3,000 such shops are operational across the country. It has led not only to availability of cheaper medicines, but also new employment opportunities for individual entrepreneurs. Article link: Click here (MAINS FOCUS) ECONOMY TOPIC: General Studies 3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment. Making Indian Banking Sector Dynamic Introduction: The ailing banking sector of India requires immediate attention. A robust and well-capitalized banking sector supports capital formation and economic activity by facilitating intermediation of resources between savers and borrowers. India saves close to 30% of its annual output. Given the importance of the banking sector in the financial system, it has a crucial role to play in channelling these savings to productive investments. The current banking sector landscape: The Indian banking sector is dominated by public sector banks (PSBs) with a market share of roughly 70% of total banking assets. There has been little dynamism in the banking sector in recent decades. Since 1991, only 15 licences have been issued to universal banks, a relatively modest number for a fast-growing economy in which the banking system remains an important source of corporate financing. PSBs remain the biggest contributors to the large and rising stock of non-performing assets (NPAs), with a share of approximately 90% of the total stock. Poor health of PSBs: Rising NPAs have put a strain on the health of PSBs, reflected in their declining profitability ratios which turned negative in 2016 for the first time in a decade. The deteriorating health of PSBs has adversely affected their ability to lend. Within the industrial sector, credit to medium enterprises continues to decline while growth in credit to large enterprises is barely positive. It will be difficult for the banking system to support high growth, especially in the industrial sector, if the growth in NPAs is not checked. What needs to be done? The government has recognized the urgency for broad-ranging banking reforms, but effective implementation and a multi-pronged approach are essential. There has been some progress on improving the institutional and regulatory frameworks needed to support a strong banking system. For instance, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code has improved the legal landscape and should help in speedier recovery of bad loans. The challenge is to make sure it is implemented effectively. Moving towards a dynamic banking sector: India should move towards a more dynamic banking sector that fosters innovation and checks the inefficiencies created by a lack of entry. Productive reallocation of capital- inefficient banks can be driven out of the system (or merged with other banks) and new banks can enter. The policy of “on-tap” licensing of banks is a promising step in the direction of increasing competition in the banking sector. However, some of the conditions, such as initial capital requirements and priority sector lending targets, seem onerous and may fail to attract individual promoters. There should be a gradual push towards greater private ownership of ailing PSBs. The argument in favour of PSBs is that they can penetrate unbanked areas where private sector banks do not find it profitable to operate. However, private sector banks should be able to leverage the model of banking correspondents to provide doorstep banking services in rural areas at a reduced cost. Hence, it is time to re-evaluate the benefits of having a banking system dominated by public sector banks and the benefits that greater private ownership can bring. Increasing the resilience of the banking sector to losses: It is impossible to eliminate risk completely from any banking system. A sound system should, however, be able to minimize risk. Lending standards should be strengthened for lending to sensitive sectors and bigger projects. In addition, there should be enough provisions for expected losses. Banks need to have better mechanisms to evaluate the viability of projects when making lending decisions. To deal with ex-post losses, there should be a vibrant market for stressed assets so that banks are able to sell their NPAs at a fair price. This can be achieved by increasing participation in the market for stressed assets. Greater competition will lead to a competitive bidding process and help in better price discovery, potentially reducing the losses suffered by banks owing to haircuts on sales of stressed assets. Other reforms: Recapitalization of PSBs is important, but should be done in tandem with other reforms, including- Corporate governance reforms to make the incentive structure of the banks consistent with productive allocation of credit. Improved financial supervision so that the signs of stress on banks’ books can be identified early. Development of a vibrant corporate debt market to avoid concentration of credit risk in the banking system. Improved debt recovery mechanisms to ensure efficient and speedy recovery of assets. Conclusion: Without a strong banking system, the government’s vision of making India a $5 trillion economy by 2025 could remain a pipe dream. Many reforms are being taken to reform banking sector, what is required is effective implementation. Connecting the dots: Given the importance of the banking sector in the financial system, it is required that necessary reforms are undertaken making the sector competitive and dynamic. Discuss. NATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act. State funding of elections  Background: Indian elections are the world’s biggest exercise in democracy but also among the most expensive. Parties and candidates need large sums of money for voter mobilisation, advertising, consulting, transport, propaganda and printing of campaign materials to reach voters in constituencies. Corporate donations constitute the main source of election funding in India which is mainly the black money, with business and corporate donations to political parties commonly taking this form. The public disclosure system that exists is limited. Best practices elsewhere: India’s privately funded election campaign stands in contrast to the trend in most countries. Partial or full public funding or transparent regulation and financial accountability of political finance exists in many countries as in the U.S. Issues: Corruption in election finance and the flawed party funding system drive political parties to misuse government’s discretionary powers to raise funds for election campaigns. The combined effect is the absence of a level playing field which has reduced the effectiveness of our democracy. Absence of transparency in funding- Even 70 years after Independence the country had not been able to evolve a transparent method of funding political parties which is vital to the system of free and fair elections. Issues with electoral bonds: Anybody can buy electoral bonds in the form of bearer bonds and donate it anonymously to a political party of their choice. All donations given to a party will be accounted for in the balance sheets but without exposing the donor details to the public. Donors continue to prize anonymity as they fear disclosure could invite adverse consequences from political opponents. As a result, the Election Commission (EC), the Income Tax department and the voter would remain in the dark about it. Bonds will allow corporate houses to make anonymous donations through banking channels to the party of their choice. This would lead to further opacity in the funding process and further limit oversight and accountability. The bonds scheme imposes no restrictions on the quantum of corporate donations. Consequently, electoral bonds cannot address the problems that arise from the corporate control over politics and corporate capture of government policies and decisions. Electoral bonds will result in unlimited and undeclared funds going to certain political parties which will be shielded from public scrutiny as the balance sheets will not show which party has been the beneficiary of this largesse. Far from reducing the large-scale corporate funding of elections, the introduction of electoral bonds does not even address this issue. Anonymity is perhaps one of the biggest threats to our democracy today; it is the very wellspring of institutionalized corruption. Three steps back: Lifting of the maximum limit of 7.5% on the proportion of the profits a company can donate to a political party, thus opening up the possibility of shell companies being set up specifically to fund parties. Amendment of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) opening the floodgates of foreign funding to political parties, especially those which have a foreign support base. The refusal of political parties to come under the RTI Act in order to conceal their sources of funding. Ill-Consequences: The above three things will end up strengthening the business-politics nexus. It goes against the position taken by various electoral reform committees that the existing pattern of political funding encourages lobbying and capture of the government by big donors. Far from making the funding process transparent, the bond scheme could provide a backdoor to corporates and other lobbies for shaping public policy to benefit their interests. There is thus a legitimate fear that policy decisions of political parties and politicians after being elected may be biased in favour of groups that fund them. Moreover, these bonds are likely to reverse the small steps towards transparency of political finance that came as a result of RTI-driven public disclosure of income tax returns of political parties arguing that these disclosures were a matter of public interest and should be available to citizens. Proposed amendments to the Income Tax Act and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act will exempt parties from keeping records of donations made through bonds. The decision to reduce cash contributions from Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 2,000 is a step in the right direction, but the net effect is debatable, since it could prompt parties to take smaller cash donations, and therefore not declare their source. The Association for Democratic Reforms found that nearly 70% of party funding over an 11-year period came from unknown sources; nearly Rs. 7,900 crore donations came from unknown sources in 2015-2016. Electoral bonds will not change this. Reducing the high cost of elections: Elections that work well are essential for democracy; conversely, money power can corrode the entire process. A major concern associated with the high cost of elections is that it prevents political parties and candidates with modest financial resources from being competitive in elections. A number of government committees have outlined reform proposals to contain the negative effects of the high cost of elections. These include strong disclosure norms, strict statutory limits on election expenses and ceiling on corporate donations to political parties. The rules to limit and restrict the campaign expenditure of parties are largely inoperative because it is easy to circumvent them. Solution: State funding of elections (in various forms) is a potential solution to this problem. The Indrajit Gupta Committee on State Funding of Elections had endorsed partial state funding of recognised political parties and their candidates in elections way in 1998. The government needs to show political will to have a discussion on state funding of elections. The mechanics of this process need to be carefully worked out to establish the allocation of money to national parties, State parties and independent candidates, and to check candidate’s own expenditure over and above that which is provided by the state. Conclusion: A formula that is both efficient and equitable can be formulated based on the experiences of other countries which have state funding of elections. This is required to ensure that democracy works for everyone and not just for the wealthy few. Connecting the dots: Indian elections are the world’s biggest exercise in democracy but also, among the most expensive. Discuss the issues. How electoral bonds falls short to solve the issue. What should be the way ahead. MUST READ A vote for state funding The Hindu Rebuilding our cities The Hindu Red alert on the green index The Hindu The conflict between equity and efficiency Livemint 

Jan 29, 2018 RSTV Video

RSTV- The Big Picture : The NPA Problem

The NPA Problem Archives TOPIC: General Studies 2 Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment. In news: At ratio of 9.85%, India has the highest level of NPAs among the BRICS countries and is ranked 5th in the countries with highest NPA level. According to the official figures, the gross NPA of PSBs and private sector banks is 7.34 lakh crore and 1.38 lakh crore rupees each. Where are NPAs? RBI’s financial stability report names the basic metal and cement industries as most indebted with construction, infrastructure and automobile industry also accounting for sizeable chunks of banks’ NPAs. Recovery of these NPAs is also declining steadily over past 10 years due to rising bad loans, shrinking profitability and weak recovery of return of loans necessitated the need for higher capital infusion in PSBs. To mitigate this, the government has already announced 2.11 lakh crore of re-capitalisation funds. Reasons for problems in banking sector Asset quality review unearthed the problem of subdued NPAs. These NPAs were hidden in the bank’s balance sheet but were not reflected properly. Hence the NPAs were being accumulated over the years. The rate of recovery is changing. In 2009, it was high as 60% and now it has come down to 20%. This means that the problem has become worse. So, apart from legacy problem, it is something which has worsened over past couple of years. Non-resolution of issue CDR, SDR, S4A, 5-24 schemes were just deferring the NPA issue. It has to be recognized that the underlined NPA problems are also economic. The country has many companies which are facing large number of demand shortages and under capacity utilization. The greatest problem is decline in fixed investments that has taken place in 4-5 years. However, within this framework, there are differences too where many companies are doing well. Thus, people who have got the funds are not necessarily competent enough to run the company as during good times, everybody was interested in investing in infrastructure despite not having competence and knowledge in that area. This is also a reason why NPAs are at such high levels. How good is the bank in risk analysis of lending? How good is the risk analysis system internally? These were the key How to reduce NPAs? The solution will lie at economy growing at a fast pace. Much of the bad debt has arisen because of business cycle. It has become a vicious cycle. For economy to turnaround, the banks have to lend and bring investments which the economy requires. But as there is a shortage of capital in the banking industry, there will be hesitation in banks to fund the large products. As of now the bankers today are financing the retail sectors which is not good. The banks should have sensible system of risk analysis. Also, there is need for better private bond market where not banks finance it but they are issued publicly. Insolvency and bankruptcy code is going to help fighting the NPAs. But there is no short term solution to the NPAs. The re-capitalisation should be effectively utilized so that in next 2 years, it will help banks in lending without injuring the balance sheet. Connecting the dots: ‘NPAs are caused only due to economic slowdown’. Do you agree? Give reasons.

Jan 28, 2018 Motivational Articles

Creative Guidance – Negative Criticism – Inspirational & Educative Articles

Negative Criticism: Most people fail not because of their lack of talents or missed opportunities; they fail because they were unable to handle negative criticism of people around them. There is an unusual destructive quality to negative criticism, it can ruin dreams and shatter hopes. Very few people understand the impact of negative criticism. Negative criticism, especially during the early growing years, can destroy the most important faculties of human potential. The most important process of growing up is moving from ignorance to understanding. To get to an understanding of oneself and ones abilities takes considerable time and effort. During this learning process the best things one can receive are constructive feedback, honest opinions and abundant encouragement. Similarly the worst things one can receive during this growing period are constant criticism, negative feedbacks, discouragements and derogatory remarks. Nobody who is interested in the growth of an individual should indulge in negative criticism and insults. Nothing else destroys an individual’s morale than such types of negativity. The human faculty flourishes on its own when it is provided the right conditions to grow. If you want to produce a flower, all you have to do is plant the seed in fertile ground, nourish it with water and wait. You cannot force the seed to germinate and produce the flower. Patience is one of the key ingredients of nourishment, without this all other efforts are in vain. If someone is not willing to be patient with you, then they are against your growth. If you want to be guided by someone, be guided by those who display this quality of patience in abundance. If you want to guide someone, develop patience before anything else. It is far better to walk slowly in the right direction, than to run in the wrong direction. Almost all forms of negative criticism have their roots in impatience. If you are not willing to wait then you will try too many things to eventually ruin the natural unfolding of your potential. Patience is not just the quite time between two actions; it is also the time for your mind to assimilate and understand what is happening around you. True growth happens only during these quiet moments. To know the limitations of your mind and body and then aligning your activities accordingly will help you to stay focused and avoid unnecessary negative criticism from people around you. Learning is an enjoyable creative experience. You have to pick one learning process at a time and enjoy the experience. You cannot tune in to 5 radio stations at the same time and expect to enjoy music, you will only go mad.   “The articles are a copyright of The Ahamo Movement and IASBABA.”

Jan 27, 2018 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs [Prelims + Mains Focus] - 27th January 2018

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs (Prelims + Mains Focus)- 27th January 2018 Archives (PRELIMS+MAINS FOCUS) Global Centre for Cybersecurity  Part of: Mains GS Paper II- Issues related to cybersecurity Key pointers: In a bid to safeguard the world from hackers and growing data breaches — especially from nation-states — the World Economic Forum (WEF) has announced a new Global Centre for Cybersecurity. Headquartered in Geneva, the centre will become operational from March. The centre will help bring all the stakeholders together in ensuring cybersecuriy. Cyber breaches recorded by businesses are on the rise. In the last five years, these have almost doubled to an average of 130 breaches per business in 2017. As a borderless problem, urgent action is needed to create a safe operating environment for new technologies like Artificial Intelligence, robotics, drones, self-driving cars and the Internet of Things (IoT), the WEF said. The global centre will be an excellent opportunity to safeguard verticals like automotive and health care where wireless connectivity is the key. Article link: Click here Delhi Declaration Part of: Mains GS Paper II- International cooperation Counter-terrorism was discussed on the sidelines of the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit held to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of sectoral dialogue between two sides. Key pointers: A comprehensive statement targeting terrorism and agreed to uphold freedom in the maritime domain. Focusing on the presence of the Islamic State and other forms of radicalism in the region, a joint statement, titled Delhi Declaration, was issued after the plenary session. It supported a common approach to counter terrorism. Itsought a comprehensive approach to combat terrorism through close cooperation by disrupting and countering terrorists, terrorist groups and networks, including by countering cross border movement of terrorists and foreign terrorist fighters and misuse of Internet including social media by terror entities. Article link: Click here (MAINS FOCUS) NATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 1: Urbanization, problems and remedies General Studies 2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. General Studies 3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment Clean mobility in India Background: The year 2017 turned out to be a landmark one for the idea of clean mobility in India. The Government announced a 2030 timeline to stop sale of fossil fuel-powered vehicles in favour of electric vehicles. The Supreme Court put on hold the sale of vehicles running on BS-III emission standards. Transport continues to be a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and health experts have long been underlining its impact on air quality. Transport activity will continue to grow, making it important to phase-in a mobility system that is clean, sustainable and health-friendly. Policy measures: Policy measures must include major incentives, not just for clean energy transport providers but also for commuters. At the same time the Government must expand its vision to include a larger bunch of green transport options. Budget 2018 mustincentivise R&D in electric vehicles; announce schemes to improve public transport in polluted cities; and provide the necessary push towards building sustainable infrastructure for cycle users. Key focus areas: Long-term support to electric vehicle manufacturers: Announcing a timeline is not enough. The Government must also look at following- Incentivising private companies to invest more in R&D. The possibility of offering tax breaks to manufacturing units that produce electric vehicles. Creating ‘special zones’ for such plants is another lucrative option. The UK is putting in place a £400 million Charging Investment Infrastructure Fund for this, comprising a £200 million investment by the government matched by an equal investment by the private sector. The Indian government must consider a similar exercise. Augmenting infrastructure: The Government recently announced thatRs. 7 lakh crore worth of roads and highways will be constructed. Budget 2018 should fast-track these projects. Better roads will have a multiplier effect on several sectors. The infrastructural boost must also include a thrust on making the country EV-friendly. For instance, Europe has stipulated regulations, requiring 10 per cent of parking spaces in new buildings to have recharging facilities by 2023. Every new or refurbished house in will also need to be equipped with an EV recharging point. The Budget must set out plans to partner private players for the purpose of putting in place charging stations. Rewarding clean commuters : Countries like Belgium, Luxembourg and France are actually paying their citizens for cycling to work. The mode of rewards includes cycling reimbursements based on kilometres cycled, income tax breaks for buying bikes or mobility vouchers. In another interesting global example, Scotland offers interest-free loans to buyers of electric cars, in a bid to bring about a mass change in consumer behaviour. Fiscal incentives can also be considered for major Indian cities to encourage people to turn to clean mobility options. Giving cycling its due in the urban infrastructure: A study of bus commuters in Delhi found that around 7 per cent of commuters had total trip lengths of less than 5 km. Similarly, another study found that as many as 80 per cent of bus commuters owned cycles but very few of them used them to reach bus stops; they walked or hired a short distance commute vehicle. These commuters are an important group of potential cyclists, and can actively take to cycling if provided safe riding lanes and parking spaces. Countries like Netherlands and Denmark have championed the cause cycling by making it safe and comfortable. The urban infrastructure in these countries gives priority to cyclists through measures like dedicated cycling lanes, extensive parking for bicycles and integration with public transport. In India, bicycles can become an important mode of last-mile connectivity in cities where people have to cover significant distances to their homes or offices after stepping out of public transport. Incentivise investment in R&D for e-bikes: The market for electric bicycles (e-bikes) is in a nascent stage in India. However, e-bikes can play a significant role on Indian roads. Though there has been remarkable progress in product innovation and quality enhancement in making e-bikes user-friendly and durable in recent years, more needs to be done. Need to improve battery technology as well as technology for engines and body of vehicles to increase efficiency. Manufacturers investing in e-bikes and electric pedal assisted cycles (Epac) technology must be offered tax breaks and policy support to enable them make more efficient and affordable products. Connecting the dots: Transport continues to be a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and health experts have long been underlining its impact on air quality. Thus,the Government must expand its vision to include a larger bunch of green transport options. Discuss. On urban transport is dependent its economy and more than the well-being of the urbanites. This makes it important to phase-in a mobility system that is clean, sustainable and health-friendly. Discuss 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. Restructuring India's China policy Background: As we complete two decades of the 21st century, a paradigm change in the global power structure is taking shape. Technology and size are causing this change. Potential power is shifting to the two large nations of the Asian mainland, China and India, which are fast-growing economies.  Continental shift: Asia already accounts for almost half of the world’s population, half of the world’s container traffic, one-third of its bulk cargo and 40% of the world’s off-shore oil reserves. It is home to several fast-growing new economies with GDP growth rates above 7% per year, i.e. a doubling of the GDP every 10 years. Asian defence spending ($439 billion) is also much more than Europe’s ($386 billion). India and China: Since the late 1990s, China and India have been rapidly emerging as influential power hubs. Being two of the three most post populous and largest GDP nations, India and China, both culturally akin, are socially structured on family values and associated social attitudes. Potentially both are poised to fill the role of global powers. The global power matrix has undergone a paradigm change, from an exclusively Atlantic shores-based concerns to emerging Indo-Pacific ocean strategic issues. Thus India-China relations matter as never before. The diminishing influence of Western powers in the region, and as of now the acknowledged rising power of China are the new global reality. Issues: China has conceptualised and implemented the centrality of befriending all of India’s neighbours and has brought them on board in its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). India has been reduced to merely reacting to such proposals without any of her own to canvass as an alternative. There is an unfortunate trust deficit that requires frank bilateral discussion at a high political level. Restructuring policy: The key for India today is to bond strategically with China. But this requires dealing bilaterally on huge pending issues. To achieve the potential, both require hardware, software and the clear mindset for exercising this power. India is now poised to form a global triangle with the U.S. and China, and therefore the government must seize the opportunity, which requires a serious effort at reconciliation with China in a give-and-take mode without sacrificing our national interest. From regional to global player: A change in strategic conceptualisation is needed, from the present land-focussed thinking to Ocean-centric articulation. The Indian Ocean has now emerged as the epicentre of global power play in the 21st century. We need to recognise the centrality and primacy of the Indian Ocean in India’s global economic and military activism: the Indian Ocean is the epicentre of global power play in the 21st century. With Indonesian partnership, India can monitor the Malacca Strait through which over 80% of the freight traffic of China and East Asia passes. As an important part of its diplomacy, India must develop deeper cultural and civilisational linkages with China and the rest of Asia. Looking beyond Pakistan: In terms of hardware capability and mindset, India is at present only a regional power. Because it is obsessed with the problem of Pakistan-trained terrorists entering Indian territory rather than asserting higher priority on global issues. This makes it easy for other countires to hyphenate the two regional-minded nations, India with Pakistan. India needs a new mindset: to look beyond Pakistan. India has the capacity and the opportunity to rise as a ‘responsible and influential global power’. This will easily fix Pakistan and its terrorist propensity. India need to learn to exercise power without being seen as a bully by our neighbors. Exerting soft power advantage- The world already is dazzled by India’s prowess in information technology, the capability to produce pharmaceuticals at low cost, and the high quality of its trained manpower capable of innovation. But India does not exert this soft power advantage on the world scene commensurate with this potential or its size in Asia. Connecting the dots: India’s China policy needs a re-structuring based on a fresh perspective that is relevant for the 21st century. Discuss. MUST READ The ASEAN embrace The Hindu ASEAN rising The Hindu Smart policies for redistribution Indian Express Taking ASEAN to the bank Indian Express