Feb 16, 2018 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs [Prelims + Mains Focus] - 16th February 2018

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs (Prelims + Mains Focus)- 16th February 2018 Archives (PRELIMS+MAINS FOCUS) Verdict on Cauvery dispute Part of: Mains GS Paper II- Inter-state water disputes Key pointers: In the much-awaited verdict on Cauvery dispute, the Supreme Court pronounced that Karnataka be given additional 14.75 TMC of the river water while 177.25 TMC of water be released for Tamil Nadu. The allocation of Karnataka which used to be 270 TMC has been increased to 284.75 TMC. Background: The verdict was announced on the appeals filed by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala against the 2007 order of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal (CWDT) on sharing of water. The dispute dates back to the Madras-Mysore agreements of 1924. It was in 1990 when the Centre created a tribunal to examine the conflict and address the water shortage. The CWDT had unanimously passed an order on how the water should be shared between the states after determining the total availability of water in the Cauvery basin. Article link: Click here Plans to launch National Energy Storage Mission Part of: Mains GS Paper III- Energy Security Key pointers: After a Solar and Wind Mission, the government now plans to launch a National Energy Storage Mission. The government is looking to establish this mission in financial year 2018-19. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has set up the Energy Storage Expert Committee to propose creation of the National Energy storage Mission for India. A viable commercial plan for storing renewable energy is required. Energy storage will help us significantly cut down import of fossil fuels once the storage of renewable energy is commercially viable. Policy push: The NITI Aayog has proposed a three-stage solution for promoting battery manufacturing in the country. The incentives on offer include land grants for direct awarding of land free of charge or at highly discounted cost to companies to develop manufacturing capacity. Sales and use tax exemptions, or tax credits per job created and lowering the number of permits required and lowering bureaucratic hurdles. Article link: Click here Dramatic decline in the Orangutan population Part of: Mains GS Paper III- Environment, conservation Key pointers: Hunting and killing have driven a dramatic decline in the orangutan population on Borneo where nearly 150,000 animals have been lost from the island’s forests in 16 years, conservationists warn. While the steepest percentage losses occurred in regions where the forest has been cut down to make way for palm oil and acacia plantations, more animals were killed by hunters who ventured into the forest, or by farm workers when the apes encroached on agricultural land, a study found. Researchers estimate that the number of orangutans left on Borneo now stands at between 70,000 and 100,000, meaning the population more than halved over the study period which ran from 1999 to 2015. Reasons behind: The forests of Borneo are being fragmented by new plantations and building projects. Female orangutans are occasionally killed for their young, which are sold on as pets. Far more of the apes die when they venture on to plantations, and into people’s gardens, where they are shot or killed with machetes. Note: Students can quote this an an example. More relevant for students with Geography as optional paper. Article link: Click here (MAINS FOCUS) NATIONAL/ECONOMY TOPIC: General Studies 3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment. Investment and Infrastructure Where does India stands in the Global Value Chain? Background: Vulnerable exports Indian exports have failed to evolve. India’s imports during April-December 2017 grew 21 per cent vis-à-vis an export growth of 12 per cent. The trade deficit increased by $3.6 billion as compared to the previous year. Despite India’s GDP being almost eight to ten times as that of Thailand’s or Vietnam’s, there is not much difference in their contribution to global exports. Exports and global slowdown: India often unfairly attributes its export movement to global slowdown. For example, while on the one hand India’s exports exhibited a negative growth of 1.5 per cent in 2016 over 2015, Vietnam’s increased by a whopping 35.5 per cent. Reasons behind declining exports: India’s increasing reliability on commodity-based exports does not contribute to the global value chain (GVC) and are highly susceptible to price sensitivity. Today, India faces increasing competition in its core exports segments such as textiles and agri-based products where costs and product compliance are a concern. This Budget definitely was a good opportunity to do a course correction and Where does India stands in the global value chain? According to OECD-WTO’s TiVA database, India’s GVC participation index stands at 43.1, as compared to 52.3 for Vietnam and 60.4 for Malaysia. The GVC index: The GVC participation index takes into account both goods and services. It displays a country’s integration into the GVC and is the sum of forward and backward linkages divided by total exports. Forward linkage- When industries of the exporting country provide inputs into exports of industries in the importing country, it is called forward linkages. Backward linkage- When industries in the importing country import intermediate products to be used in its exports, it is known as backward linkages. The value chain problem? An analysis of countries’ manufacturing share in gross exports shows India has the lowest share of the countries analysed in Asia. Within manufacturing, the foreign value-added (FVA) component for India remains as low as 18 per cent (29 per cent for Vietnam, 32 per cent for Thailand, and 33 per cent for Malaysia). The FVA exhibits the level of global participation in a country’s exports and constitutes imported intermediate goods utilised in the domestic industry’s exports. Why moving up the value chain matters? If India fails to move up the value chain, the products on the lower end of the value chain could be taken up by other emerging economies benefiting from scale and cost. Moving up in value chain is required to stay competitive. Competition from island economies such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia, leaving Indian trade vulnerable. The textile sector is a good example; with a 12-per cent share, it has the second highest share in India’s exports today. But this was was 25 per cent in 2000. The manufacturing sector integrated into the GVC, producing specialised items of a finished product, has potential to create more employment and contribute more to global export. Integrating into GVC gains more prominence given the negotiations on trade facilitation agreement under the WTO and India’s eagerness to participate in mega trade agreements. What needs to be done? Today, complex goods such as automobiles, aeroplanes and computers are made of inputs that are produced in various countries, which are finally assembled in yet another country. India in similar vein needs to get integrated in the GVC and produce specific and specialised products. Indian manufacturing requires being competitive and efficient, and take sustained, holistic reforms to exploit the advantages of integrating with GVCs. There is a need to attract global investors to value-added manufacturing sectors. Connecting the dots: A decline in Indian exports has been witnessed in recent times. One reason is the gloabl slowdown. But the major reason is failure of India to rise up in the global value chain. Discuss. 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 India-Canada relationship: Issues & Potential Introduction: Justin Trudeau, Canada’s Prime Minister visiting India on February 17. This would be his first trip to India after he became Prime Minister in 2015. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Canada in April 2015, both sides agreed to elevate their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership. The strategic cooperation is yet to be strengthened. The ties essentially rest on 3Es — economy, energy and education. Indian diaspora in Canada: Indian diaspora comprising 3.6% of the Canadian population is well-educated, affluent and politically suave. 19 persons of Indian origin have been elected to the House of Commons, of which 17 (15 Sikhs) represent Mr. Trudeau’s Liberal Party. He has rewarded four Sikhs with key Cabinet berths. The Khalistan issue: In recent times there has been resurgence in anti-India activities by emboldened Khalistani elements in Canada. Recent instances- The Ontario Provincial Parliament adopted a resolution terming the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as ‘genocide’. India described it as a “misguided motion based on a limited understanding of India, its Constitution, society, ethos, rule of law and its judicial process.” Mr. Trudeau once showed up at the Toronto nagar kirtan where Khalistani flags and pictures of slain terrorists like Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale were displayed. Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper had avoided such platforms during his years in office. The ‘Khalistani’ issue has figured prominently between India and Canada at all levels. However, Canadian political leaders and parties continue to protect the Khalisanti elements in the quest for electoral gains. The issue is that the current Liberal government seems to be going beyond the needs of political and electoral arithmetic in courting the radicals. This has naturally impacted bilateral relations. India-Canada cooperation: Potential- Canada has truly been a land of opportunity for the Indian diaspora: They have earned the affection and respect of Canadians, who are very inclusive. There many iconic rags-to-riches stories, like that of Prem Watsa, Chairman of Fairfax Financial Holding, who migrated from Hyderabad in the 1970s with a few dollars and is now known as the Warren Buffett of Canada. Economic relations: There has been a spike in investments by the well-endowed Canadian Pension Funds like CPPIB and CDPQ into India. Together, Canadian companies have have pumped in some $12-15 billion Canadian in India in sectors including real estate, financial services, distressed assets, modern logistics facilities and e-commerce. Way ahead: Early conclusion of the bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (BIPPA), which have been under negotiation for several years, would boost our economic partnership. It would particularly open up the services sector allowing highly skilled Indian professionals, for whom there is a ready demand, to work in Canada. Energy security for India: India has started importing uranium from Canada, beginning 2015. Canada also has sizeable reserves of oil and gas. Over time Canada could become a key partner in India’s quest for energy security. Attractive for Indian students: With declining interest in Britain and some uncertainty over the U.S.’s policies, Indian students have begun heading for vocational and higher education to Canada in larger numbers. An added attraction for them is that Canada routinely provides a three-year work visa upon completion of studies, which opens up avenues of gainful employment and citizenship. Canada also continues with a liberal immigration policy. In 2016, some 40,000 Indian immigrants were admitted into the country. In agricutural sector: Till recently, significant quantities of Canadian pulses were being imported by India. Both nations also have some collaboration in agri-tech. Much more can be done. There exists complementary economies and capable human resources. Conclusion: There exists enough potential for stepping up cooperation in areas like information technology, science and technology, clean and green tech, aviation and outer space, cold-climate warfare, cybersecurity, counterterrorism and tourism. The need of the hour is to strengthen mutual trust and confidence, by taking a long-term view of the relationship. Connecting the dots: Discuss the potential of India-Canada relationship. Also analyze how Khalistan issue in recent times has impacted our bilateral ties. MUST READ A deepening crisis The Hindu Should Supreme Court proceedings be live streamed The Hindu Kitchen sets and cricket bats Indian Express 

Feb 16, 2018 AIR

All India Radio (AIR) : E-Sansad and E-Vidhaan

E-Sansad and E-Vidhaan ARCHIVES Search 8th January 2018 here http://www.newsonair.com/Main_Audio_Bulletins_Search.aspx TOPIC: General Studies 2 Parliament and State Legislatures - structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these. Structure, organization and functioning of the Executive In news: An 18th All India Whips’ Conference, 2018 was conducted where all the parliamentary affairs ministers and chief whips of political parties, recognized opposition parties in the parliament and state legislature were present. It was an important day in the history of digital India as its agenda was e-sansad and e-vidhan- a forum to discuss how to completely digitize the public database of parliament and legislators. Since inception of democracy, it is the scientific revolution that has led to institutionalization. Technology changes the society and so does the process of legislation. In the context of the present conference, 4 imp points were contemplated upon E-registration of voters which is an important component of entire process Formation of new political parties Provision of information about candidates Programme and services that improve the effectiveness of the representatives in legislature and parliament. Critical role of Parliament The major function of parliament is legislation. In the context of this, the representatives are importantly divided into categorization of treasury benches and opposition where opposition is also a part of government. Also, 15% of legislative members are ministers. In this way, there is co-relationship in the Westminster model followed between the legislature and the legislation and legislation and executive. The developmental role of members’ input in the legislative process in a developing economy has been critical in evolvement of the nation. In last 70 years of experiment with democracy, many different situations have been faced and the magnitude of public problem has been enormous. Parliament and legislatures have to be made more participative, more responsive, transparent, productive and accountable by moving the public database into the electronic platform which is accessible through computers, smartphones and other electronic devices. Role of technology in legislation Parliamentary constitution is very large. The communication between the representative and others becomes difficult due to the length and breadth of the nation and its unique issues. The technology will bring a sea change in the context of citizen participation and have a first hand information of problems of each constituency. For instance, the local problems remain local in nature in many constituencies. There are hilly areas, dry areas, areas with drought and flood problems. So in the context of this when similar challenges are experienced and solutions shared, the particular database will lead to Citizen alienation will diminish People who are active in politics will be able to perform their duties better. If the e-system of governance also becomes the e-system of the parliamentary process, then the credibility and effectiveness of governance will improve manifold. With technology and better supply of electricity, internet is spreading quite fast. There is digital literacy found in school across India- government schools as well as school in remote areas. There is a general awareness of what is happening and what is expected. So there is a balance between realty and the perceived reality. There is a parliamentary research service and the basic data is provided. The input will improve the quality of legislation. For instance, the information will be at fingertip and the depth of understanding will improve. The legislation has a problem of colonial backlog. Many of the legislations are interpreted differently. This leads to piling of cases in the courts. If there is an increased use of it, the process will become smoother and disposable of cases will be quicker. Most important input will be that the process of legislation will have less lacuna. There will be healthy debate on the basis of data and it will improve the climate of democracy. Because of lacunae, there are many cases happening in courts, and bitter litigation going on. With this kind of enormous database available in future, legislation making will become more improved, enlightened, or comprehensive. Way forward Technological outreach- India is multilingual, in the context of vernacular spread and also the spread of hindi, the technological revolution should not be restricted to English. There should be incorporation of main languages and then the effect will be much quicker. In the context of, if India can digitalise it, the essence of legislation will have a quantum jump. The judgements derived out of it will be near fool proof. Thus there is larger legitimisation process of democracy. The purpose of the parliament is to build the unity of the past present and future. So there can be better planning with required information access. The citizen redressal of the grievances will be taken note of. It is a holistic change coming in and not just technological topic. It changes the life of individuals and lead to upliftment of the nation. Social capital- if there are larger exchange of ideas and look up to criticism as confidence building up, then the nation gains in building up the social capital which is a primary ingredient for nation’s development. Conclusion Homi bhabha said that India has missed industrial revolution, but it cannot afford to miss the atomic revolution. India has the technology and technology upgradation skill and talent. If this is used technology properly, then India will become best functioning democracy. Connecting the dots: India’s democracy is the suitable example of ‘changing with times, but keeping the soul intact’. Explain in terms of new digitalization proposal in its legislature.

Feb 15, 2018 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs [Prelims + Mains Focus] - 15th February 2018

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs (Prelims + Mains Focus)- 15th February 2018 Archives (PRELIMS+MAINS FOCUS) Centre studying plea to ban PFI Part of: GS Mains III (Internal Security) (You can skip this article, but recommended to know the issue, especially if you are an IPS aspirant) In News: The proposal to ban Popular Front of India (PFI), a Muslim political organisation predominantly operating out of Kerala, has been gaining momentum over the last few months. Kerala has asked for a ban on PFI and the Centre is collecting more facts and evidence about the activities of the outfit before declaring it an “unlawful association”. The involvement of alleged members of the organisation in political killings, religious conversions and terror activities have been projected as the reason for the ban. Genesis of PFI: Even though PFI as an organization came to existence in 2006, the origins of the PFI dates back to 1993. Following the demolition of the Babri Masjid, a political organization by the name NDF (National Development Front) was created in Kerala - to protect the interests of the Muslim community in the state. Over the years NDF claimed to be an organization working for the socio-economic welfare of the state's Muslim community. However, the extremist nature of the organization came to light, after some of its members were arrested for rioting and murdering eight Hindus in Kazhikode in 2003. NDF's activities were limited to Kerala. However, a decision was made to create a unified organization, merging like-minded organizations from Kerala, Karnataka and TN. Thus in 2006, PFI was formed merging NDF with Karnataka Forum for Dignity and Maintha Neethi Pasarai in TN. Later organizations from other states merged. Despite the representations from different states, the activities of the PFI remain strongest in Kerala. There is also criticism and allegations that there has been strong association between PFI and SIMI. Other organizations which were banned earlier: Organizations like SIMI (Students’ Islamic Movement of India) and Indian Mujahideen – have been banned. SIMI started with the aim of working for the welfare of Muslim youth, there was a radical shift in its ideology in the 1980s. SIMI functions on three principles -- governing human life on the basis of Quran, propagation of Islam and Jihad for the cause of Islam. It is against ‘western ideals’ and rejects secularism, democracy and nationalism. Some of its oft-repeated objectives are restoration of the ‘khilafat’, (caliphate), emphasis on ‘ummah’ (Muslim brotherhood), and the need for a Jihad to establish the supremacy of Islam. Things to do: Try to know the genesis of Indian Mujahideen (IM) and why it is banned? For reference: https://www.thequint.com/explainers/explainer-why-government-wants-pfi-banned-popular-front-of-india Article link: Click here Special Category Status Part of: Prelims and GS Mains II – Indian Polity and Governance; Centre-State Relations A growing clamour for Special Category Status in Andhra Pradesh has led to State-wide protests, and heated debates in Parliament. Understanding basics: What is the special category status? The Constitution does not include any provision for categorisation of any State in India as a Special Category Status (SCS) State. ‘Special category’ status is a classification given by Centre to assist in development of those states that face geographical & socio-economic disadvantages. (Given below) The classification came into existence in 1969 as per the suggestion given by the Fifth Finance Commission, set up to devise a formula for sharing the funds of Central govt. among all states. The National Development Council (NDC) granted this status based on a number of features of the States which included: hilly and difficult terrain, low population density or the presence of sizeable tribal population, strategic location along international borders, economic and infrastructural backwardness and non-viable nature of State finances. What kind of assistance do SCS States receive? The SCS States used to receive block grants based on the Gadgil-Mukherjee formula, which effectively allowed for nearly 30 per cent of the Total Central Assistance to be transferred to SCS States as late as 2009-10. Following the constitution of the NITI Aayog (after the dissolution of the Planning Commission) and the recommendations of the Fourteenth Finance Commission (FFC), Central plan assistance to SCS States has been subsumed in an increased devolution of the divisible pool to all States (from 32% in the 13th FC recommendations to 42%) and do not any longer appear in plan expenditure. Centre bears 90% of the state expenditure (given as grant) on all centrally-sponsored schemes and external aid while rest 10% is given as loan to state. For general category, the respective grant to loan ratio is 30:70 where as external aid is passed on in the same ratio as received at the centre. Unspent money does not lapse and gets carry forward. What other States are seeking SCS status? Apart from Andhra Pradesh which is in the news lately, Bihar and Odisha had recently demanded SCS status but they have not been granted the same as they did not meet the criteria. Things to do: Try to find out which states have been accorded SCS status. India-Iran: India’s multi-dimensional engagement with West Asia Part of: Prelims and Mains GS Paper II: India-Iran relations; India and the World In News: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will visit India from February 15 to 17. Rouhani coming exactly a month after Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Iran’s biggest rival) Rouhani visit signals India aims for balance in its ties in West Asia. India-Iran ties: Will seek to iron out issues on trade, connectivity, banking and energy. Access to Central Asia: Iran is not just important for India’s energy needs but also its only route for access to Central Asia. Chabahar Port project: progress of the $500-million Beheshti port project in Chabahar. Rupee-Rial Mechanism: The two sides are now discussing the possibility of a “rupee-rial mechanism”, in addition to the current channel through UCO Bank for rupee payments. Discussions on pending negotiations over the Farzad-B gas and oil fields that India has expressed its interest in. FATF meeting Iran is likely to seek India’s support at the upcoming meeting of the UN’s Financial Action Task Force, where Iran is hoping to exit a blacklist on money laundering and terror finance, even as India hopes to see Pakistan put on a “grey-list” at the meeting. Do you know? India is already routing a consignment of 1.1 million tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan through the existing facilities at Chabahar. European banks have refused to support the trade, given the uncertainty over fresh sanctions from the U.S. Things to do: Know about - Significance of Chabahar port (Click here) and UN’s Financial Action Task Force (Click here) Revise 13th Feb DNA (Growing importance of West Asia) – Click here Article link: Click here India-Iraq: India offers support for reconstruction of Iraq Part of: Prelims and Mains GS Paper II: India-Iraq relations; India and the World In News: India has called for a comprehensive political settlement and reconciliation in Iraq, at the International Conference for Reconstruction of Iraq in Kuwait. The Conference was attended by major world powers to chalk out a plan of recovery for the country. India’s support to Iraq: Iraq is yet to raise the resources for recovery from the destruction from years of foreign invasion and war with the Islamic State. Since the outbreak of the war in 2003, India had frequently responded to the humanitarian needs in Iraq and contributed in several ways, including providing $10 million in aid towards the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq (IRFFI) for investments, reconstruction and development in Iraq. India plays crucial part in the reconstruction and called for an end to global terrorism. Major projects - petrochemicals, health, education, infrastructure and other sectors. Do you know? Like UAE, Iraq also supports India’s proposed Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the United Nations. Things to do: Know about Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) – Click here Article link: Click here (MAINS FOCUS) GOVERNANCE TOPIC: General Studies 2: Issues related to welfare schemes 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; mechanisms, laws, institutions and bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections Economic Survey 2016-17 on Misallocation of centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) Introduction: Economic Survey 2018 has highlighted the weakness of existing welfare schemes which are riddled with misallocation, leakages and exclusion of the poor.  It has pushed the case for implementing UBI to weed out these problems. The below article analyzes the following – Weakness in resource allocation of centrally sponsored schemes (CSS) – especially misallocation of the government’s resources across different districts. What explains this misallocation of resources across districts? What are the consequences of such misallocation of resources? District-wise spending of the below provided six top CSS (for FY16) which accounts for more than 50% of total CSS spending has been analyzed in order to check if indeed there is misallocation of the government’s resources. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) Mid Day Meal Scheme (MDM) Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) and Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) Outcome of the result: The survey has found the following - Misallocation of resources across districts There is poor welfare-spending per person in different districts. In other words, the poor belonging to a poor district receive less welfare spending than the poor from richer districts. This can be observed in Figure 1 below. It shows the scatter plot of district-wise per poor spending under these six schemes against head count ratio. Ideally, “per poor” spending should be the same across districts (black line). It should not matter whether the poor person is a resident of district A or district B, welfare spending per person should be the same. However, the actual per poor spending is downward sloping (red line). Pic link: http://www.livemint.com/r/LiveMint/Period2/2018/02/15/Photos/Processed/g_oped_web.jpg What explains this misallocation of resources across districts? It is important to note that States have to provide for a matching grant to get funds from the Centre for CSS. States such as Bihar and Jharkhand have often represented that they have limited resources and are not able to provide the state’s share to enable them to access the required funds under CSS. Another important factor leading to this situation is the inefficient administrative capacity of poor districts leading to poor implementation of schemes. Economic Survey 2016-17 has observed that – Since richer districts have better administrative capacities, they implement schemes effectively. Their spending on welfare schemes is relatively greater than poor districts. (Fig2 explains this) As the own tax revenue (OTR) of states goes up, their per poor spending also goes up. Their capability to contribute towards matching the grant for CSS goes up because of which they can get more CSS funding from the Centre. What are the consequences of such misallocation of resources? According to the Survey, misallocation of funds may lead to exclusion error. For instance, in MGNREGA scheme – If a district’s share of total spending is greater than its share of total poor, it is classified as a “surplus district”, otherwise a “deficit district”. In this scheme because of misallocation, many of the rich districts are in “surplus”, while majority of the poor districts are in “deficit”. Economic Survey has observed that – In the “deficit” districts, the Head Count Ration (HCR) is 38% but the active to registered workers ratio is just 33%. On the other hand, in “surplus” districts, HCR is just 22% but the ratio of active to registered workers is 50% (numbers for 2015-16). The lower active-registered worker ratio in poorer districts implies that the chances of exclusion error are higher. The same trend is observed in other schemes as well. The way ahead: First, there is a need to rationalize existing welfare schemes. The Union government at present runs hundreds of social welfare schemes (675 Central sector schemes as per Budget 2017-18). A large majority of these are small in terms of allocation with the top six to seven schemes accounting for about 50% of total welfare spending. On top of this there are thousands of other schemes that different state governments run. Implementing such a large number of schemes efficiently, specially by states with weak administrative capacity, puts a tremendous burden on states. The B.K. Chaturvedi committee report (2011) had observed that – Welfare and other such schemes should either be weeded out or merged for convergence with larger sectoral schemes or be transferred to states, which can then continue with these schemes based on their requirements. Small outlays anyway do not achieve the objective of making an impact across the states. Second, Economic survey proposes for UBI, in place of many of the existing schemes. Connecting the dots: Can UBI fix the weakness of existing welfare schemes which are riddled with misallocation, leakages and exclusion of the poor? Critically examine. (or) Critically examine the need for rationalizing existing welfare schemes and implementation of UBI to weed out weakness of existing welfare schemes such as misallocation, leakages and exclusion of the poor. NATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 3: Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices Inclusive growth and issues arising from it. 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; mechanisms, laws, institutions and bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections Reducing Agrarian Distress: Budget 2018 Background: In recent years, the Centre has taken several initiatives such as the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), electronic National Agricultural Market (e-NAM), soil health card, neem-coated urea and so on to reduce agrarian distress. Such initiatives have definitely helped, but more needs to be done to truly address the issue of agrarian distress. Multiple dimensions to agrarian distress: Input costs have gone up significantly recently while the farm gate prices of agricultural produce have continued to remain subdued. (The farm gate price is the price received by farmers for their produce at the location of farm. Thus, the costs of transporting from the farm gate to the nearest market and market charges for selling the produce are not included.) The bulk of farming activities in India is undertaken by marginal farmers, share-croppers or landless agricultural labourers with limited access to institutional finance. The value chain in the agricultural sector has been exploitative as only one-third of the retail prices paid by final consumers reach the producers, unlike two-thirds in case of milk. The public distribution system does not have the capacity to undertake procurement operations for 24 crops for which minimum support price (MSP) is announced. Although PDS is inefficient, an alternative mechanism is yet to emerge, which can ensure MSP to farmers during a period of bumper harvest. Post-harvest technology is underdeveloped and farmers’ participation in such activities is limited. Monsoon dependency is very high, limiting crop diversification to a great extent. Agrarian distress in recent times has been aggravated despite India’s farm output being at its peak. This is a clear case of market failure for which farmers do not have any cover. PMFBY provides protection against crop failure. No such protection is currently available to farmers for distress sale. Government interventions: Lending to agriculture is a major component of priority sector lending in India. The target for bank lending to agriculture has been revised upwards every year. Lending cost to agriculture has been subsidised through interest rate subvention. The Government also provides fertiliser subsidy year after year besides food subsidy through PDS. Budgetary decisions: Diminishing the financial burden: The most vulnerable section in the farming community are marginal farmers, share-croppers and landless agricultural laborers. Having limited access to institutional finance they borrow from the informal sector leading to financial burden. Loan waiver hardly helps this group. Budget: This year’s budget has indicated that the NITI Aayog would devise modalities for extending credit to this segment of people from the formal sector. The budget has proposed to raise the MSP by at least 1.5 times the cost of production. Covering agricultural produce beyond the scope of MSP: Farmers produce several commodities that are outside the MSP. Budget FY19 has proposed the introduction of ‘Operation Greens’ for perishable commodities such as potato, tomato and onion to stabilise their prices, which can benefit both producers and consumers. Agricultural Marketing reforms: As proposed last year, the remaining APMCs will be linked to e-NAM by March 2018. As a part of revamping the agricultural marketing system, the idea is to upgrade 22,000 haats (local markets) to Gramin Agricultural Markets so that farmers can directly sell their produce to consumers without middlemen. As a part of diversification, sizeable allocations has been made for forestry, animal husbandry and the restructured National Bamboo Mission. Way ahead: In order to double farmers’ income, there is a need to involve them in post-harvest technology through innovative programmes. The value addition is large in the case of consumer products such as ketchup, jam, wafers, pickles and so on. Farmers can participate in this process through farmer producers companies (FPCs). In order to avoid distress sale farmers must be encouraged and trained to use the commodity market for hedging. Procurement too should be extended to crops other than major ones like paddy/rice and wheat, sometimes cotton, oil seeds, and pulses. Conclusion: Budgetary decisions if implemented effectively can help break the vicious cycle of agrarian distress. As the focus is on sustaining structural reforms rather than providing short-term relief through loan waivers, input subsidies and the like. Connecting the dots: In order to reduce agricultural distress, the focus should be on sustaining structural reforms rather than providing short-term relief through loan waivers, input subsidies and the like. Comment. In Budget 2018 the government has made important decisions related agricultural reforms. If implemented effectively can help break the vicious cycle of agrarian distress. Analyze. MUST READ Can sanitation reduce stunting The Hindu The ratings illusion The Hindu India in a corner Indian Express Misallocation of welfare schemes resources Livemint NHPS will not help its intended beneficiaries Livemint Maldives: India must wait and watch Business Line India's defence industry lacks fire power Business Line

Feb 15, 2018 Daily Prelims CA Quiz

UPSC Quiz- 2018 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 144]

UPSC Quiz- 2018 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 144] Archives Q.1) Consider the following statements about ‘The Theatre Olympics’ It was established in 1993 in Delphi, Greece India is hosting the 8th Edition of Theatre Olympics The theme of the 8th edition is ‘Beyond Borders’ Select the correct statements 1 and 2 2 and 3 1 and 3 All of the above Q.2) Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves (ISPR) are located in Mumbai Mangalore Chennai Select the correct code: 1 and 2 2 and 3 Only 2 1 and 3 Q.3) Hwasong-15 is an intercontinental ballistic missile developed by Japan China North Korea South Korea Q.4) Consider the following statements about Super Straw Management System (Super-SMS) It is a viable solution to the paddy stubble burning problem It is attached to self-propelled combine harvesters, which cuts the paddy straw into small pieces and spread the same Select the correct statements 1 Only 2 Only Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 Q.5) The primary function of the Finance Commission in India is to Distribute revenue between the Centre and the States Prepare the Annual Budget Advise the President on financial matters Allocate funds to various ministries of the Union and State Governments To Download the Solution – Click here All the Best  IASbaba

Feb 15, 2018 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs [Prelims + Mains Focus] - 14th February 2018

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs (Prelims + Mains Focus)- 14th February 2018 Archives (PRELIMS+MAINS FOCUS) Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) Part of: Mains GS Paper 3 – Defence Key pointers: Defence Acquisition Council – is often in news. DAC recently gave approval for a series of proposals to shore up the Army’s infantry firepower and other deals, together estimated at ₹15,935 crore. INSAS (Indian Small Arms System rifles rifles) to be replaced by new light machine guns, assault rifles and sniper rifles. To enhance the anti-submarine warfare capabilities of Naval Ships, the DAC approved the procurement of the “Mareech” advanced torpedo decoy systems. The system has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation and has successfully completed extensive trial evaluations. Do you know? About Defence Acquisition Council DAC – is the government's highest decision-making body on procurement. DAC is chaired by Union Defence Minister. To counter corruption and speed up decision-making in military procurements. The decision flowing from the Defence Acquisition Council are to be implemented by the following 3 Boards – Defence Procurement Board headed by the Defence Secretary Defence Production Board headed by the Secretary (Defence Production) Defence Research & Development Board headed by the Secretary (Defence Research & Development) Article Link: Click here Reforms to transform informal economy and boost formal economy Introduction: Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSMEs) are a major engine of growth and employment in the country. Formalisation and mainstreaming of MSMEs has been taking place at a rapid place since demonetisation and the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax. Union Budget 2018 will look to accelerate this process by incentivising formalisation in such a way that it sets off a cycle of easing access to finance, lowering tax incidence, and encouraging job creation. Big Reforms: Budget pronouncements seek to change the landscape by triggering three effects: Increase access to formal finance: Large corporates are now being mandated to go to the corporate bond market for a quarter of their borrowings. Competition from mutual and pension funds is set to increase in the corporate bond market, therefore making funds available to large companies. After recapitalisation, public sector banks will have more money to lend. How it will help MSMEs? Since, large corporates borrow from corporate bond market, there will be enough money left in the banks and with recapitalization – it is expected that banks will start increasing their exposure to the MSME sector. There is also a proposal to link the Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) platform with the GST Network, and to revamp the online loan sanctioning facility – this would also improve the MSME sector’s access to formal finance. How this will help MSMEs? Access to relevant financial data on MSMEs has been a challenge for banks, particularly when funding their working capital requirements. Therefore, with the  TReDS -GSTN linkage and by onboarding Public Sector Banks and corporates on to the TReDS platform – the above issue will be solved. So, gradual adoption of TReDs has the potential to significantly ease the liquidity woes of MSMEs. Role of digital revolution: New advances in technology will allow lenders to use digital transaction trails and rule-based decision-making to underwrite and offer large number of small-ticket loans. How? Technology allows aggregation and analysis of bank statements of MSMEs and helps in analysing cash flows. Tax cuts and incentives Incentivising sound legal constitution through tax cut: Union Budget 2018 has reduced the income tax slab of 25 per cent to companies with a turnover of up to Rs. 250 crore (from Rs. 50 crore announced in the last year’s budget). Government also aims to boost the investible surplus of MSMEs. Reduction will benefit macro, small and medium enterprises which account for 99% of companies filing their tax returns. It is expected that it will incentivise informal firms (partnerships and proprietorships) to adopt a more sound legal constitution — and that’s positive for formalisation. Job creations among MSMEs Incentivising formal enterprises would create new jobs: Incentives to formal enterprises extend beyond lower corporate tax rates. The Government has increased its contribution to the employees provident fund to 12 per cent of wages from 8.33 per cent earlier in the case of new employees for the next three years. Similarly, the benefits under Section 80-JJA of the Income Tax Act have been extended by relaxing the minimum period of employment for new employees to 150 days from 240 days for the footwear and leather sectors as well, besides continuing it for the apparel sector. All the above three segments have high labour intensity and therefore, these steps will be beneficial to promoting new jobs. Conclusion: In sum, using digital trails to improve access to funds, lowering tax rates to increase the investible surplus in the hands of MSMEs, and incentives to employ are just what are needed to ensure faster growth of the formal economy. Connecting the dots: Easing access to finance and lowering tax incidence in MSME sector will accelerate the formalisation process and generate jobs. Do you agree? Comment. Is hiking Minimum Support Price(MSP) enough? NATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 3: Issues related to direct and indirect farm subsidies and minimum support prices Inclusive growth and issues arising from it. 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; mechanisms, laws, institutions and bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections Hike in the MSPs: Making it effective Background: The issue of minimum support price has been mired in controversy. Recently the government has announced a hike in the MSPs. In the latest budget the government has announced to increase the minimum support price of crops to 50% over the cost of production. What is MSP? Minimum Support Price is the price at which government purchases crops from the farmers, whatever may be the market price for the crops. It is set by the CACP (Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices) and is normally active for rice and wheat at all times. The Food Corporation of India is the procuring agency. For other crops, while MSP is announced, it becomes active when there are cooperatives or state agencies procuring the product based on circumstances. This is because market prices would normally be higher than MSP and the machinery for procurement, storage and disposal is weak. What necessitates price intervention? Ideally, the market should be setting the price with all checks at manipulation being in place. Farmers are suppliers of basic inputs for the rest of the economy. It is not just the share in GDP that matters but also the purchasing power provided for other industries being linked directly with other sectors. The mandi system is opaque and farmers are at a disadvantage when they enter these markets. Therefore, price intervention is required. A2+FL and C2 concept: The Government’s announcement to increase the MSP to 1.5 times the cost is laudable as it ensures that the farmers get a higher price and income. It has, however, not been clarified whether the cost being referred to is the A2+FL concept which is actual cost plus farm labour or the C2 concept which is comprehensive and includes interest paid, rent, etc. The Government needs to make clear what is being referred to when we speak of 1.5 times the cost — A2+RL or C2? Making the hike meaningful: Pricing is one part of the story but delivery is more important. Higher prices would mean a radical change in the way in which farm products are marketed. It is necessary to create structures where the Government — Central or State — gets involved with procurement of crops. Volumes would be large as almost all the kharif crops now rule below the MSP since production has been very good. Organisations for procurement have to be identified; these will have collection centres across all the markets. Ideally, they should be located at all mandis where the crops are sold. Procurement is always for an average fair quality. Thus, grading and assaying must be required. For rice and wheat the manual inspection system has been established; the same has to be developed for other crops. The Government should be able to have warehouses ready to store the produce. Today even the handling of rice and wheat stocks faces several challenges. Once procured, focus should be on disposal. In the case of rice and wheat, there is direct linkage with PDS and buffer stock, and hence a system has been established. The same has to be done for other crops. Issue: Rural distress continues to exists despite many crops and many states already having provided for MSP, which is 50% above the cost of production. Merely announcing MSPs may not make a material difference unless all the accompanying factors are addressed. At present, for many of the crops the market price is lower than the MSP, yet farmers are not able to get the MSP as there are no channels existing for them. Price Deficiency Payment System: A way out of the issues related to MSPs is to not procure but to compensate the farmer with the difference between the price received at the mandi and the MSP. Thus, the option of price deficiency payment system should be explored. Challenge: Given that there are intermediaries along the way, the farmer may get bypassed in such a transaction. Besides, mandis are opaque and records are not maintained. Conclusion: Hike in MSP without plans of implementation won't help farmers. To make the higher MSPs meaningful it has to be ensured that all the systems are in place to procure and then dispose of the same. Pricing is one part of the story; delivery is more important. A radical change is needed in farm products marketing. Connecting the dots: The government recently has in its latest budget has announced hiking of MSPs for multiple crops. Discuss how this may not help farmers, until all the systems to procure and then dispose of the same is put in place. Rural distress continues to exists despite many crops and many states having provided for MSP, which is 50% above the cost of production. Discuss the issues related with MSPs. Also analyze how price deficiency payment system may help. MUST READ How to handle big data The Hindu Woods and trees The Hindu Best foot forward Indian Express Budget's 2018 pivot to agriculture- What will it cost? Livemint Zero-sum thinking makes our fight worse Livemint 

Feb 15, 2018 AIR

All India Radio (AIR) : Various Aspect of Energy Conservation

Various Aspect of Energy Conservation ARCHIVES Search 5th January 2018 here http://www.newsonair.com/Main_Audio_Bulletins_Search.aspx 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 Infrastructure: Energy Oil and gas conservation week Oil is important as energy source in life. Without energy, the modern lifestyle or even the ordinary lifestyle cannot survive. Energy is vital for existence of human being. Oil conservation week is celebrated every year, from 4th of January to the 10th of January, by the people worldwide in order to increase the awareness all across the world regarding to the importance of conservation of the petroleum products. Oil is essential Oil is a conventional energy resource and is finite. Oil stock of the planet is estimated to exist only for next 65 years. Government of India has taken a pledge to reduce 10% of oil imports and India being energy deficient country and oil deficient country, most of the oil requirements are imported. In such situation, conservation is very vital. However, there are certain scientific operations and activities for which oil is essential. Renewable energy cannot replace them in those kind of scientific resources. Today, petroleum products are being used by the people in many ways such as power plants, industries, fertilizer, commercial, domestic, transport sectors and so many. In first seven months of the current financial year 2017-18, the petrol and diesel consumption in India posted a growth of 9.2% and 5% respectively. Thus there is constant huge demand for the fuel consumption. The population is increasing The living standards are improving The average expectations are rising In such a situation, there is aspiration for a comfortable lifestyle for which energy is vital input. Prefer the new- Renewable energy Renewable is preferred as it doesn’t emit carbon and other GHGs. Ethanol blending or biofuel mixing are options to provide for automobile energy as these are future generation related energy resources. Electric vehicle is going to be one of the biggest flagbearer of promoting renewable energy when fossil fuels will no longer be considered for transportation. Contribution of common man to conserve energy Energy conservation means energy generated. India is heavily dependent on import of crude oil and it is needed to bring down the crude oil import by 10% in next few years. This may help India financially, help increase the domestic production, increase the share of renewable energy in the mix. In this effort, the common man has to also support the government initiatives. If people will not know how to conserve energy, no one will be able to conserve it. Vehicle standing idle should be shut down. Cooking processes should be fuel efficient. Heat from industrial process can be recycled and energy be conserved. Tree plantation to conserve the forests Children can be the ambassadors for existence of humanity. Conclusion Whatever is required for sustenance and meaningful objective is welcome but wasting of oil cannot be tolerated. Any form of energy cannot be wasted- financially it is loss making and create a question of its sustainability. To protect our own existence and interest, there is a need to protect the earth. The trees will inhale GHGs and conserve it as biomass in their body and in return they will give oxygen which will purify the air and help the people. ndia should depend more on clean and renewable energy and seek to develop technology for the same. For eg.  In solar energy, the latest tender in Madhya Pradesh revealed that the cost per unit of solar energy is 2.43 rupees. It is less than half of the cost of thermal power unit. If the market will be competitive and the cost of renewable energy will go down then automatically, oil and gas deposits will be available for longer period and renewable energy will take over the conventional energy. India in its INDCs at Paris agreement had committed that 40% of India’s energy mix will come from renewable and non-fossil fuel sources life hydro, nuclear, solar etc. Now is the time to bring forward the efforts to conserve energy on a warfront basis. Connecting the dots: ‘To conserve energy is to assure for a sustainable future’. Critically analyse.

Feb 14, 2018 MindMaps

IASbaba’s MINDMAP : Issue – Minimum Support Price

IASbaba’s MINDMAP : Issue – Minimum Support Price Archives NOTE – Instructions to download Mind Maps/Images Right Click on the image and ‘Open in a new tab’ Remove/Delete the resolution part from the URl. Eg. “-1024×869” and Press Enter/Load Again Afterwards the URL will look something like this – “iasbaba.com/…./…/..-IASbaba.jpg” Right Click and Save As/Download (You’ll get the maximum resolution)

Feb 14, 2018 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs [Prelims + Mains Focus] - 13th February 2018

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs (Prelims + Mains Focus)- 13th February 2018 Archives (PRELIMS+MAINS FOCUS) INS Chakra Part of: (Prelims) Defence; India and Russia Russian authorities have demanded ₹125 cr. to carry out repairs on INS Chakra About INS Chakra Indian Navy's only nuclear-powered submarine (Akula Class submarine). INS Chakra is a nuclear-powered submarine which was taken by India on lease from Russia in 2012 for a period of 10 years at an estimated cost of US$670 million. Belongs to Project P71 Russian name - K-152 Nerpa (Nerpa is the Russian word for the Baikal seal and Chakra is the mythical weapon of the Indian god Vishnu) INS Chakra is a Russia-made, nuclear-propelled, hunter-killer submarine. Unlike conventional submarines that India operates which need to surface to charge their batteries often - sometimes as frequently as 24 hours - INS Chakra can stay under as long as it wants. Its ability to stay underwater is restrained only by human endurance to stay underwater. Also, another problem that the submarine could face is acidity. This is because of a lack of exercise inside due to prolonged deployments. Link: https://d39gegkjaqduz9.cloudfront.net/TH/2018/02/13/CNI/Chennai/TH/5_01/12b2948d_1879079_101_mr.jpg Things to do: Find out which other nations possess nuclear-powered submarines. Revise 6 Scorpene class submarines and Project 75 (From 1st Feb DNA Prelims Focus) Article link: Click here Forest Cover: ISFR (India State of Forests 2017 Report) Part of: (Prelims+Mains) GS Paper III – Environment, Ecology and Biodiversity; Conservation Highlights of India State of Forests 2017 report: India’s forest and tree cover has increased by nearly 1% since 2015. Forests in most of the biodiversity-rich north-eastern part of the country have been contracting continuously over the last few years. (Concern) Forest cover in hill districts and tribal districts grew. The latest ISFR report includes information about water bodies in forests. (a new feature) – There has been increase in the extent of water bodies in forest areas Do you know? India ranks among the top 10 countries of the world in terms of forest area. India has shown an increasing trend in forest and tree cover compared to the global trend of decreasing forest cover during the last decade. India targets to have 33% of its geographical area (GA) under forest cover. According to the report, at present 15 states and Union territories have more than 33% of their GA under forest cover. Among the states, Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest cover (77, 414 sq. km), followed by Arunachal Pradesh (66,964 sq. km), Chhattisgarh (55,547 sq. km) Odisha (51, 345 sq. km) and Maharashtra (50,682 sq. km). However the forest area in all above states, except Odisha, has decreased since 2015. (Concern) As per the latest FAO report, India is 8th in the list of top 10 nations reporting the greatest annual net gain in forest area. Top 5 states where forest cover grew: Andhra Pradesh Karnataka Kerala Odisha Telangana Top five states where forest cover declined: Mizoram Nagaland Arunachal Pradesh Tripura Meghalaya Pic link: https://d39gegkjaqduz9.cloudfront.net/TH/2018/02/13/CNI/Chennai/TH/5_09/f975eef8_1879088_101_mr.jpg Important: India announced a voluntary target in 2015 of creating additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 (carbon dioxide) equivalent through additional forest and tree cover by 2030. Article link: Click here Kambar to head Sahitya Akademi Part of: Prelims – Persons in news Key pointers: Kannada litterateur Chandrashekar Kambar has been elected as president of the Sahitya Akademi. Hindi poet Madhav Koushik has been elected as vice-president. Prof. Kambar is the third Kannada writer to head the country’s premier literary institution, after Vinayak Krishna Gokak (1983) and U.R. Ananthamurthy (1993). The Sahitya Akademi is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Article link: Click here (MAINS FOCUS) INTERNATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 2: 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. India and West Asia Relations. Growing importance of West Asia Introduction: India seeks to pursue a multi-dimensional engagement with West Asia. Focus on India’s ‘Look West’ policy is evolving rapidly. India and Palestine relations: PM Modi became the first Indian prime minister to visit Palestine. India signed six agreements – (worth around $50 million) setting up of a super speciality hospital in Beit Sahur setting up of a centre for empowering women procurement of equipment and machinery for the National Printing Press investment in the education section PM Modi was conferred the ‘Grand Collar of the State of Palestine’ by President Mahmoud Abbas, recognising his key contribution to promote relations between India and Palestine. The Grand Collar is Highest order given to foreign dignitaries — Kings, Heads of State/Government and persons of similar rank. India hopes for Palestine to soon emerge a sovereign and independent country in a peaceful atmosphere. India and UAE relations: PM Modi re-connected with the UAE leadership for the second time in three years. Trade and economic ties are becoming central to the India-UAE relationship. A landmark pact awarding a consortium of Indian oil companies a 10% stake in offshore oil concession will be the first Indian investment in the UAE’s upstream oil sector. The above move transforms a traditional buyer-seller relationship into a long-term investor relationship with stakes in each other’s strategic sectors. There was also an MoU aimed at institutionalising the collaborative administration of contractual employment of Indian workers. Growing convergence on tackling terrorism - The two countries reiterated their condemnation for efforts, including by states, to use religion to justify, support and sponsor terrorism against other countries, or to use terrorism as instrument of state policy. Significance of Oman for India Oman has been a long-standing partner of India in West Asia, where Indians constitute the largest expatriate community. With the Indian Ocean becoming a priority focus area for India, Oman’s significance is likely to grow. China’s expanding footprint in the Indian Ocean Region has alerted India to the possibility of strengthening security ties with littoral states. India is likely to step up its military presence in Oman. Naval cooperation has already been gaining momentum with Muscat giving berthing rights to Indian naval vessels to fight piracy in the Gulf of Aden. Regular naval exercises have now become the norm. India and Oman have made military cooperation more expansive. Other areas of cooperation - health, tourism and peaceful uses of outer space. Conclusion: All these shows the depth of India’s foreign policy outreach in West Asia. India’s engagement with West Asia should now focus on delivering on its commitments and strengthening its presence as an economic and security partner. This will be crucial as traditional powers such as the U.S. and Russia are jostling militarily, even as America’s stakes in the region decline by the day. China and India, as two emerging powers, are yet to articulate a clear road map for the region. While India is still stuck in the age-old debates of Israel-Arab rivalry, West Asia has moved on. Growing rivalry between the Sunni Arabs and Shia Iran is reshaping old relationships and India will have to be more pragmatic in its approach towards the region. Connecting the dots: What importance does the West Asian region hold for India’s economic and strategic interests? Discuss. Also elaborate upon the role of past economic and cultural ties in shaping India’s relations with West Asia today. NATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment General Studies 2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. Biofuel: As an alternative fuel for transportation sector Introduction: India faces a major paradox today. While a robust transport sector fuels a growing economy and heralds the economic growth on one hand, on the other it also leaves an unsustainable carbon footprint on cities, severely impacting the health and well-being of citizens. The transport sector is the second largest contributor to carbon dioxide. In addition to the health costs of pollution, fossil fuel dependency of the sector continues to burden the exchequer. Oil as only fuel for transport sector: Over the next 20 years India’s energy intensity and fuel dependency is expected to rise. According to IEA, India’s oil demand is to rise the fastest — by 6 million barrels per day to 9.8 mb/d in 2040. It has also projected that oil production will fall behind demand, pushing oil import dependence above 90 per cent by 2040. Meanwhile, projections are that the transport sector will contribute to two-thirds of the rise in India’s oil demand. Pushing the policy: Given India’s rapidly growing fossil fuel dependence and rising demand of the transport sector it is required to look at policies for the transport sector that aim both to reduce the carbon footprint of the sector and meet the nation’s transport demand. E-mobility: Good but should not be the only option The government has made a major announcement to incentivize and go all-electric by 2030. While the thrust on e-mobility is welcome, current policies have not given similar policy support to alternative fuels, in particular the high potential of biofuels as a promising vehicular fuel. Relying on e-mobility alone will not accomplish our ambition to create a sustainable and green transport on a pan-India basis. Market uptake of pure electric vehicles has been largely confined to scooters. We have not seen a rapid rollout of electric buses and cars. Even if there is rapid adoption of electric cars, the problem of congestion remains as private vehicle growth is not the desired direction. We need a shift to public transport, notably buses, which are space and cost-efficient. Biofuel-run buses — private and public — present an unprecedented solution. What is biofuel? A biofuel is a fuel that is produced through contemporary biological processes, such as agriculture and anaerobic digestion, rather than a fuel produced by geological processes such as those involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as coal and petroleum, from prehistoric biological matter. Advantages of bio-fuel: India generates around 70 billion litres of waste water every day, which is expected to double in the next 15 years according to the McKinsey Global Institute. By building biogas generation and upgrading facilities at the STP sites, the output can potentially substitute 350 million litres of diesel, 2.3 gigawatt hours of natural gas fired power and over 8 million LPG cylinders of 14.2kg each. India could replace over 40% of the projected demand for diesel in 2020 by . Energy generated from biofuels is equivalent to 340 million barrels of oil or over $22 billion (assuming a landed price of $65 per barrel). Production of biofuel from crop residue would solve the challenge of stubble burning resulting into thick smog in Delhi-NCR. Considering that in the first quarter India had a current account deficit of $14.3 billion, we could wipe out almost a third of our current account deficit. The increase in ethanol production alone has the potential to create over 700,000 jobs when targeting only the base potential. States with a combination of high agricultural activity and large fuel consumption like Maharasthra, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh are best positioned to exploit this opportunity. Pilots: Biofuel-driven buses in cities like Nagpur, where the government has allowed special purpose vehicles to own and operate these buses along with the plants and the depots required to fuel the buses. The city administration has worked with a manufacturer of biofuel buses to roll out green fuel buses that not only solve the green transport problem but also a waste problem. The fuel which is used in these buses is generated from local waste, in effect converting local waste into local fuel for local transport. Way forward: The economic viability of scaling up of pilot projects will happen if a rational tax policy is implemented. Successful pilots of biofuel-run large transport such as buses have not yet received national policy support. Any rapid adoption and scale requires government support to all stakeholders in the vehicular biofuel supply chain, including, manufacturers of biofuel engines, suppliers of biofuels and of course fuelling infrastructure. Scaling models that promote ideas based on local waste, local fuel and local transport. There have been no fiscal incentives to encourage biofuel-based mass transport — buses which can run on biofuel now attract 28 per cent GST plus 15 per cent cess. This would place renewable fuel-enabled buses in the same category as luxury vehicles and cigarettes! Conclusion: Pushing for biofuel buses for public transport within a specific timeline like 2020, would help transform our public transport services, improve the health of our citizens, provide economic impetus and create jobs. E-mobility thrust is welcome, but it is not a panacea to issues facing the transport sector. A holistic approach which includes biofuels as vehicle fuel is required to achieve our dream of creating an environmentally and economically sustainable transport sector. With a holistic approach, which includes the full potential of biofuels for vehicles, we will be able to achieve our dream of creating an environmentally and economically sustainable transport sector. Connecting the dots: Discuss how bio-fuels can solve the problem of pollution in India. Given its potential, adequate policy push is required. Analyze. MUST READ Adapting better to climate change The Hindu The Jallikattu Challenge The Hindu Aadhaar that doesn't exclude biometric authentication Indian Express Is India ready for NHPS Indian Express Privacy in the air Indian Express E-way bill: Simple is effective Business Line Why Indian IT needs an urgent reboot Business Line 

Feb 14, 2018 Daily Prelims CA Quiz

UPSC Quiz- 2018 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 143]

UPSC Quiz- 2018 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 143] Archives Q.1) ‘Pamir Knot’ is the junction of which of the following ranges? Karakoram Kunlun Tien Shan Select the correct code: 1 and 2 2 and 3 1 and 3 All of the above Q.2) Duqm Port is located in Jordan Yemen UAE Oman Q.3) Consider the following statements about Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) It is a statutory body Bibek Debroy is the chairman of the current EAC Select the correct statements 1 Only 2 Only Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 Q.4) Consider the following statements about ‘Indo-HCM’ It is developed by CSIR-Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) It is India’s first ever Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) to guide road engineers and policy makers about road expansion Select the correct statements 1 Only 2 Only Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 Q.5) With reference to 'Changpa' community of India, consider the following statements They live mainly in the State of Uttarakhand They rear the Pashmina goats that yield fine wool They are kept in the category of Scheduled Tribes Which of the statements given above is/are correct? 1 only 2 and 3 only 3 only 1, 2 and 3 To Download the Solution – Click here All the Best  IASbaba

Feb 14, 2018 AIR

All India Radio (AIR) : Meeting of Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs

Meeting of Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs ARCHIVES Search 4th January 2018 here http://www.newsonair.com/Main_Audio_Bulletins_Search.aspx TOPIC: General Studies 2 Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. At a recent CCEA meeting, following major decisions were taken: Mandatory jute packaging It was decided to make it mandatory for foodgrains and sugar to be packaged in jute bags. The jute industry has been going through major crisis for several decades. The importance of jute has been recognized by the government. It is ecofriendly as compared to more polluting plastic. Huge number of people are employed Till 10 years ago, there was a heavy pressure for plastic industry lobby to see that the compulsory jute packaging norm was diluted or no such rule should exist. Jute industry is the only industry in eastern India which employs maximum people and is a major source of income for most of the cultivators in eastern India- Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Assam and to some extent Andhra Pradesh. If the rule for dilution of compulsion of jute bags is brought into force, then the jute industry will be finished as majority of people will become unemployed. Thus, the government decided to extend the requirement for packing of foodgrains in jute bags. The jute industry is predominantly dependent on government, which purchases jute products worth more than Rs. 5,500 crore every year. However, diversification of jute industry products is needed to sustain the growth of the industry and increase its value in the market- jute is woven with cotton and silk clothes, jute handbags, jute baskets etc. Thus, there has to be quality improvement in jute products. But it lacks in finishing due to lack of proper infrastructure to create best quality products. Another challenge is the huge competition with Bangladesh. India had been liberal in giving them access to market. Hence there is a need to rationalize import duty. There will be growing need for jute products for its environment friendly nature. The Jute Year 2017-18 period is from 1st July 2017 to 30th June, 2018. Construction and maintenance of Zojila Tunnel In a strategic decision, Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved 6,808-crore Zojila Tunnel project in Jammu and Kashmir that will provide year-round connectivity between Srinagar, Kargil and Leh when completed. This is important as this areas is mostly cut off for 6 months because of snow. The Zojila tunnel has serious environmental problem due to avalanche threat. Thus, it is in defence interest and security interest of India if an all weather road is provided. Also, the project would ensure safe, fast and cheap connectivity between the two regions of Kashmir and Ladakh. It will also provide employment potential for the local labourers for the project activities. Set up panel to approve amendments to model concession agreements (MCA) to make port projects more investor friendly The destination has to be investor friendly and then only investors will come. Indian Ports need serious modernization. The amendments in the MCA envisage constitution of a Society for Affordable Redressal of Disputes-Ports (SAROD-PORTS), similar to the provision available in the highway sector, as a dispute resolution mechanism. PPP in ports is very crucial but many investors found that the exit clause was difficult. Thus, not much development was being made in the modernization and upgradation of port projects. Another problems included lot of time taken in environmental clearances and acquiring land. The recent amendments are expected to clear the hurdles created by some of the provisions in the current model concession agreement. Efforts are made to get foreign investments in ports also. The revised investor-friendly contract —providing for relaxed exit, expansion, lower charges for land use based on each container, cheaper dispute resolution mechanism, online complaint portal for users — will be applicable for prospective projects. Connecting the dots: The CCEA plays an important role in floating the domestic economy above the danger line. Discuss with suitable examples.