Dec 26, 2017 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs [Prelims + Mains Focus] - 25th December 2017

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs (Prelims + Mains Focus)- 25th December 2017 Archives (PRELIMS+MAINS FOCUS) Rising employment gap Part of: Mains GS Paper III- Inclusive growth Key pointers: About 26 million people joined the potential workforce in the year to August 2017, while only about 1.5 million people were employed on an incremental basis, according to survey data provided by BSE-CMIE. The population in the age bracket 15 years or above (the potential workforce) was up from 942 million to 968 million, while the number of employed increased from 403 million to 405 million. BSE-CMIE conducts three surveys in a year on employment – with a sample of 1,01,724 households across 25 States. According to BSE-CMIE, at least 16 million people are unemployed today. Pic credit: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/multimedia/dynamic/03217/bl25-blmtu-job-_G1_3217940e.jpg Central focus: Many economists have said that if the pace of job creation is not accelerated, the ‘demographic bonus’ could become a ‘demographic onus’. About 12 million people are expected to join the Indian workforce every year till 2050, according to the 2017 UN population estimate, mandating that many jobs to be created every year. Labour force participation among women, at 11 per cent (as compared to 72 per cent for men), is among the lowest in the world. The government needs to focus more on sectors with higher employment elasticity to catalyse job creation. Currently, sectors such as construction (1.1), apparel (0.79), leather and leather products (0.64) have relatively higher employment elasticity as against utilities (0.04), trade and transport (0.2). Employment elasticity- Employment elasticity is a measure of the percentage change in employmentassociated with a 1 percentage point change in economic growth. The employment elasticity indicates the ability of an economy to generate employment opportunities for its population as per cent of its growth (development) process Article link: Click here 115 'backward' districts uplift plan Part of: Mains GS Paper III- Inclusive growth Key pointers: The government has drawn up tailor-made action plans for 115 identified “most-backward” districts in the country to improve their socio-economic profiles by making available basic services like healthcare, sanitation and education as well as basic physical infrastructure like roads and drinking water supply in a time-bound manner. The 115 districts, including 35 affected by left-wing extremism, were selected on parameters like deprivation (extent of landless households), health & nutrition (institutional delivery, stunting of children and wasting in children), education (elementary dropout rate and adverse pupil-teacher ratio) and infrastructure (un-electrified homes, lack of toilets, villages not connected by road and lack of drinking water). The government’s focus is to work with states to bring a transformative change in these backward areas through rapid government-anchored programmes and interventions by 2022, the 75th year of India’s independence. The district collectors will be the chief executors of the action programmes in districts. At least one district has been included from each state under the backward district programme. Central focus: In 2016, India ranked 131 among 188 nations in the UN Development Programme’s human development index (HDI) with major inter-state and inter-district variations. Nearly 40 per cent of children born in India are stunted and/or underweight while almost 50 per cent of women are anemic. On nutrition, India even lags behind neighbours such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and China. Among states, in Jharkhand nearly 50 per cent children are underweight, 64 per cent of class 5 students can’t read standard 2 English, density of population to doctor/hospital beds are the lowest in the country and 40 per cent households are not electrified. While , Jharkhand has the highest number of districts with 19, followed by Bihar (13) Chhattisgarh (10) and 8 each in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha. Article link: Click here UNSC approves sanctions against North Korea Part of: Mains GS Paper II- International relations Key pointers: The UN Security Council unanimously approved tough new sanctions against North Korea in response to its latest launch of a ballistic missile that Pyongyang says can reach anywhere on the US mainland. North Korea today has termed the UN sanctions to target the country "an act of war" that violates its sovereignty, and said it is a "pipe dream" for the United States to think it will give up its nuclear weapons. The resolution adopted by the Security Council includes sharply lower limits on North Korea's refined oil imports, the return home of all North Koreans working overseas within 24 months, and a crackdown on ships smuggling banned items including coal and oil to and from the country. Article link: Click here ‘Awakened Citizen Programme’  Part of: Mains GS Paper IV- Human Values - lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators; role of family, society and educational institutions in inculcating values. Key pointers: The Central Board of Secondary Education has tied up with the Ramakrishna mission to impart value education to its students and make them “awakened” citizens with values of peace, harmony, humility and cooperation. Values such as harmony, peace, compassion and humility have for centuries been a part of the discourse of every society of the world and their need and importance is universally accepted and felt. With the objective to strengthen, promote and develop cooperation in promoting values education, the Ramakrishna Mission, New Delhi has prepared ‘Awakened Citizen Programme’ for teachers and students'. This programme is a three-year graded Values Education programme for students of Classes 6 to 8 (or Classes 7-9). The implementation of the programme by schools is voluntary. Article link: Click here (MAINS FOCUS) NATIONAL  TOPIC: General studies 2: Structure, organization and functioning of the Judiciary Time to increase budgetary allocation for the judiciary Background: In democracies, elected governments often view a strong and independent judiciary with suspicion. Politicians, regardless of ideology, desire a weak and submissive judiciary which will not come in the way of fulfilling the promises made before elections. The executive, at all times, tries to keep the judiciary in check. One such way is to keep the judiciary’s budgetary allocation to a bare minimum.  The judiciary’s budgetary allocation is bare minimum: For 2017-18, the Union budget allocated a meagre about 0.4 per cent of the total budget. To put this in perspective, each of the 12 companies with the highest non-performing assets (NPA) have debts at least eight to 10 times more than the judiciary’s budget. Issues: There are reportedly about 3.4 crore cases pending across all courts.. Poor manpower and crumbling infrastructure, coupled with a boom in litigation, made the judiciary underperform. As a result, courts were buried under cases. New laws have been enacted by Parliament without a commensurate increase in judicial officers or courts. For example, dishonour of cheques was made a criminal offence in 1988. There are an existimated 38 lakh such cases pending before magistrates across India. This took away manpower from other cases, with a cascading effect on pendency. For 1.7 billion people in India, there are 31 judges in the SC and 1,079 in high courts. As of April 2017, there were 430 posts of judges and additional judges lying vacant in high courts, and 5,000 posts vacant at the district level and lower. When suggestions to fill vacancies are made by the chief justice, the government’s response is the same: They do not have the money for it. In the Supreme Court (SC), each judge is tasked with reading huge number of cases. Judicial decision-making is a complex, time-consuming process. It directly affects the rights and livelihoods of persons, which in turn requires hearings on facts, legal precedent and the arguments of lawyers of both parties. Thus, the requirement of manpower is huge. Way forward: The government should cut down the number of cases it files in courts, as the Government of India and state governments file the maximum number of cases. A policy should be put in place, and officers made accountable for filing of frivolous cases. It would also be wise for the government to consider that whenever legislation (primarily economic and criminal) which would result in new kinds of disputes arising is proposed, for example, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, additional amounts should be provided for setting up of new courts and appointing officers to deal with such cases. Constituting tribunals headed by retired judges is not enough, since cases eventually travel to a criminal court, and then to a high court or the Supreme Court. The government ought to estimate such jumps in the number of cases and increase the judiciary’s budget proportionally. Conclusion: Lack of infrastructure is a serious issue in the courts. Also, the salary offered to judges is very low. Given the work stress on the judiciary, it is time the government loosened its purse strings and give the judiciary a substantial hike. Connecting the dots: The budgetary allocations to the judiciary has been kept very low. This has led to issues ranging from poor infrastructure, pendency of cases, and overstressed judges. Discuss. MUST READ Time for an icebreaker The Hindu Technology isn’t the solution The Hindu Flawed in the name of indecency The Hindu How India can negotiate Donamld Trump's world Indian Express In the 2G debris, questions for the CAG Livemint India can make a fight of it at WTO Business Line

Dec 25, 2017 RSTV Video

RSTV- The Big Picture : Challenges to Freedom of Press

Challenges to Freedom of Press Archives TOPIC: General Studies 2 Pressure groups and formal/informal associations and their role in the Polity Development processes and the development industry the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders National Press Day is commemorated each year on November 16 for a free and responsible press in India. Free press is the corner stone of vibrant democracy and the role of media in giving the voiceless voices is commendable. Many a times, it is the media which translates and transfers information about various social, political and economic activities happening around the world and literate the masses, even in their own languages. Thus, freedom of press is crucial for proper democratic functioning where the media highlights appreciation as well as criticism of stakeholders of democratic country. Freedom of press There was an impression in the press that right to dissent is not being encouraged by the new government. Many leaders were showing total intolerance to criticism. Rajasthan government even tried to curb the freedom of the press by bringing a law to bar media from naming any public servant for corruption till the government gives its nod for investigation. Democracy cannot survive unless the press gets the freedom as it involves people’s right to know. If they don’t get proper information, they will not able to make proper choices. Though it is in constitution, it has to be in practice too. And that is the purpose of right to dissent. Expansion of space There is a considerable enlargement of space for media. Previously, media meant only the print media. Though broadcast and tv media is being not able to deliver at par as print media, however, the literacy bar required in print media has not been continued in electronic media and thus, it has resulted in its populism. Subsequently it became online media. Now with the advent of online publications, a space for digital media has also been opened. There is a rise in social media and news is consumed through mobile phones. This reach of media will make it more democratic and participative. The considerable amount of capital to publish one’s views across the audience has decreased substantially. A competition is created amongst new players with starting to have a niche products for themselves and thereby bringing almost all around information. The combination of alternative media and electronic media has changed the nature of news from information to largely opinion based news regime. Challenges faced by press- variety of sources Government through legal means Business model of media- the free information flow and freedom of writers is compromised by the advertisers which are mostly corporate sector Social media and technological changes- It encourages unilateral and one way communication. Political and institutional pressures The complaint of the media today has been on access. The earlier records of previous governments show that they have treated the media as special category of citizens who had exceptional access. This culture has eroded now. Instead, the government has become less vulnerable to unauthorized leads and information. This has not gone down well with media and thus was portrayed as government trying to restrain media. However, there is a mechanism- RTI - which has helped in getting institutional information. The customers of the media should have greater judicious point of view for the information available. Internal reforms required Everyone wants to ‘break news’ on the word go. This is different from traditional ways of journalism. The newspapers no longer have investigative teams. Investigative journalism has moved its platform. The online platforms are doing investigation and trying to uncover the truth. News has becoming commoditized. Many a time, rumours take form as news and easily are broadcasted through social media. This is causing harm to journalism as truth is not coming out. Paid news is yet another faction of ethical wrong in journalism. Thus, there is need to change the media model where the users pay instead of government and advertisers. It needs to get out of its source of revenue from advertisements and let users pay for the required news and information. Way forward The Indian media is reinventing itself. Just as Indian media is quick to adapt to technology, it will be ready to take certain risks in its business model whereby the over dependence of advertisers will turn to people paying for quality news. Emphasis is on how to sustain quality, improve quality and get over irritants like paid news. But it so happens that those who don’t pay get victimized. Emphasis to robust professional standard and alertness to technology is now constantly demanded. The media has to play god to readers by discerning news that reader must consume and offer wide array of choices and make up their mind on what they need to do. The media is the fourth estate of democracy. It still largely retains its independence where it is expressing its views on wide range of issues and thus retains diverse character. Also, the media has to continue to remain free regardless of government. Press freedom can survive only because of belief that there exists free media. India has to improve its ranking on Press Freedom Index. Connecting the dots: ‘Freedom of press is a more myth, less reality’. Examine.

Dec 24, 2017 Motivational Articles

Creative Guidance – This Moment is Everything – Inspirational & Educative Articles

This Moment is Everything: Existence is very smart; it does not give us one day or one week or one year to accomplish a task; it gives us one moment. That is all we can get. One moment is all there is. This moment is the only reality. All other ideas of time are only concepts and ideas; they have no basis in reality. It is extremely important to understand time. All our fears, worries, frustrations and accomplishments are hidden within time. Time gives meaning and purpose to our actions. Time is the framework around which our daily actions and eventually our whole life revolve. Each moment is stringed together like pearls on a necklace. The quality of the necklace is simply the quality of the pearls. What we do with each moment of our lives determines our overall quality of living. We cannot expect to have a meaningful and purposeful life by not paying attention to the most important pearl in the necklace – This moment. It is simply marvelous if you give this a thought. An entire life happens through a single moment. Everything you have ever experienced in your life has happened in moments. Happiness happens in a moment; fear happens in a moment; love happens in a moment; birth and death happens in a moment. Take away the moment, there is absolutely no meaning and purpose to life. How we treat each moment of our lives is the only measuring yardstick of life. Whatever that needs to be accomplished, can only be accomplished in this moment. This might sound contradictory. You can of course argue saying that this is pure nonsense, how can you accomplish all that you want to accomplish in just one moment? The easiest way to understand this is by trying to accomplish something in the future. Try and see if you can accomplish anything in the future. Try and drink a cup of coffee tomorrow, try and blink your eyes tomorrow. It is impossible accomplish anything in the future. If there is anything that is completely out of our control, it is the future. Only the present matters. Even if you plan to accomplish something tomorrow, at the moment of doing it, it is still the present moment that matters. Paying attention to your present moment is the best way of seeing and understanding your life clearly. The present reveals marvelous insights about your life. All other theories and concepts can go wrong, but what you will find by watching each and every moment of your life can never be wrong. True change is possible only by watching each and every moment of your life. There is no point gathering ugly pearls in the present moment in the hope of creating a beautiful necklace in the future.   “The articles are a copyright of The Ahamo Movement and IASBABA.”

Dec 24, 2017 MindMaps

IASbaba’s MINDMAP : Issue – Technology and Education

IASbaba’s MINDMAP : Issue – Technology and Education 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)

Dec 23, 2017 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs [Prelims + Mains Focus] - 23rd December 2017

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs (Prelims + Mains Focus)- 23rd December 2017 Archives (PRELIMS+MAINS FOCUS) National Highways Investment Promotion Cell (NHIPC)  Part of: Mains GS Paper III- Infrastructure Key pointers: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has created a National Highways Investment Promotion Cell (NHIPC). The primary focus of NHIPC will be to promote foreign and domestic investment in road infrastructure. The cell will focus on engaging with global institution investors, construction companies, developers and fund managers for building investor participation in road infrastructure projects. Background: The government has set an ambitious target of construction of 35,000 km of national highways in the next five years involving an investment of Rs 5,35,000 crore under Bharatmala. Article link: Click here "SAMEEP": An outreach mission of MEA Part of: Mains GS Paper II- Important aspects of governance Key pointers: SAMEEP, aims to take Indian foreign policy and its global engagements to students across the country. The ministry of external affairs has asked all its officers to engage students in the schools and colleges in the jobs that the ministry is engaged in, so as to give them a fair idea of how India engages with the world, what are its foreign policy priorities and how diplomacy is actually conducted. The programme is voluntary and gives officials the option of going back to their alma mater or to any school or college in their hometown. The ministry would give them a standardized presentation and officials would be free to improvise and add their personal experiences. The idea is not only to get the ordinary student to take an interest in India's place in the world and its global ambitions, but also to look at diplomacy as a career option. Article link: Click here (MAINS FOCUS)  GOVERNANCE TOPIC: General Studies 2: Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability and institutional and other measures. Improving the Income Tax department In news: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has highlighted several issues in the functioning of the Government and its various departments. One was CAG highlighting that the income tax department made ‘exaggerated’ demands on large companies which were refunded the following financial year, along with interest. This is not a new issue. It usually happens as over-zealous officers race to meet the stiff, and often unrealistic, targets set by the Government for tax collections. Assessees may be troubled by such unreasonable demands they have little choice but to comply. Issues: While such practices may have been acceptable in the past, they’re out of tune with a modern economy that counts rankings in the ease of doing business as an important metric. Placing impromptu and unreasonable tax demands does not qualify for being investor-friendly and this is something that policymakers should factor into their operations. Tax collected and refunded along with interest puts a heavy burden on the Exchequer. The CAG also noted that there were irregularities in respect of corporation tax and income tax assessments cases over the years, with arithmetical errors in calculating income and corporate tax in nearly 500 cases. The CAG also pulled up the department for not adopting a uniform approach to deal with cases of fictitious donations or bogus purchases that are generally used to launder money. This caused a revenue loss to the government. Way forward: The functioning of the income tax department needs to be streamlined. While revenue targets matter, going for broke to attain them, often at the cost of the assessee, is not acceptable in an economy which is striving to improve its ease of doing business rankings. The Income Tax Act needs to be simplified and the element of discretion available currently to assessing officers, plugged. The governments have often held forth on simplification of tax laws, including doing away with exemptions and deductions. Yet, it has remained a work in progress. Conclusion: Simple tax laws and an improved Income tax department may not only help score points in ease of doing business rankings but also lead to lesser disputes with assesses and, arguably, even to buoyant revenues. Connecting the dots: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has highlighted several issues related to the Income tax department. What are these issues? Discuss the necessity of reform required in IT department. ENVIRONMENT TOPIC: General Studies 1: Geography – Key natural resources across the world (including India), exploitation of natural resources General Studies 3: Environment and Ecology, Bio diversity – Conservation, environmental degradation, environmental impact assessment, Environment versus Development Conserving Wetlands by identifying them right Background: Wetlands, a major water-based ecosystem apart from rivers, are at a moment of policy transition in the country. This year, a new legal framework for wetlands was passed, the Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017, replacing the earlier Rules of 2010. Also, this year the Supreme Court passed an order directing States to identify wetlands in the country within a stipulated timeframe. Wetlands: Wetland is transitional land between terrestrial and aquatic eco-systems where water table is usually at or near surface or it may be land covered by shallow water. Importance- Wetlands supports rich biodiversity and provides wide range of ecosystem services such as water storage and purification, flood mitigation, erosion control, aquifer recharge etc. In India there are 115 wetlands officially identified by Central Government. Out of these, 26 have identified as wetlands of international importance under Ramsar Convention designated as Ramsar sites. Maintaining 'Ecological character' of wetlands: The 2010 and 2017 Rules for wetlands both emphasise that the ecological character of wetlands ought to be maintained for their conservation. ‘Ecological character’ refers to processes and components which make the wetland a particular, and sometimes unique, ecosystem. For example, as lagoons like Chilika (Odisha) and Pulicat (Tamil Nadu/Andhra Pradesh) are characterised by a mix of saline and fresh water, the flows of each type need to be maintained; river flood plains contain wetlands that require conservation so they can re-fuel the river with fish and other aquatic life during flooding. Issues: The 2017 Wetland Rules have been criticised for doing away with strong wetland monitoring systems and omitting important wetland types. In the 2010 Rules, some criteria related to ecological character were made explicit, such as natural beauty, ecological sensitivity, genetic diversity, historical value, etc. These have been omitted in the 2017 Rules. There is multiple interest around wetlands. Multiple interests also have governance needs, and this makes it absolutely necessary to identify and map these multiple uses. It is crucial to identify ecological criteria so that the wetlands’ character can be maintained. The key to wetland conservation is not just understanding regimes of multiple use — but conserving or managing the integrity of the wetland ecosystem. Restriction of activities on wetlands will be done as per the principle of ‘wise use’, determined by the State wetland authority under the 2017 rules. Whether wise use will include maintaining ecological character is not clear. Under the new Rules, no authority to issue directions, which are binding in nature to desist from any activity detrimental to wetland conservation, has been prescribed to State wetland authorities. Salt pans as ‘wetlands’ have been omitted from the new Rules. They were identified as wetlands in the 2010 Rules, as they are often important sites of migratory birds and other forms of biodiversity. The omission in the 2017 Rules suggests that while saltpans do exist as wetlands, they do not require any conservation or ecological balance. Salt pans are an example how one use (of making salt) has trumped the other (of environmental balance). Case study: Deepor Beel The issue of wetlands being multiple-use areas — and subsequently being abused due to clashes of interest — found centre-stage this year with the observations of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in the case of Deepor Beel. Deepor Beel is a Ramsar site and a part of it is also wildlife sanctuary in Guwahati, Assam. This wetland harbours a wide variety of biodiversity, and also suffers from intense man-made pressure — the city’s municipal waste is dumped close to the Beel. Large, meat-eating storks (Greater adjutant storks) are ironically found eating from the mountains of garbage at the site. Potential impacts of contamination or poisoning from the garbage are still unknown. This January, 26 storks died. The fact that Deepor Beel exists as a wetland does not prevent garbage dumping; is a fate faced by many wetlands. These are ways of killing a wetland and turning it from a wet to a dry ecosystem; or from a lake to a garbage dump or cesspool. Conclusion: There are challenges ahead in identifying wetlands – multiple and competing use is one of them. Understanding the historic spread and ecological character of wetlands will be an important bulwark for the way forward. Setting clear governance systems would be the next. Without either there will be dilution of wetlands in the country. Connecting the dots: What do you understand by the term 'wetland'. Why are they important as an ecosystem? Identifying wetlands is a challenging task. Discuss. Discuss the issues associated with the Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017. Also suggest way forward. MUST READ Affirmative vote The Hindu A capital mistake The Hindu Missing the pulse The Hindu To tax and to please Business Line

Dec 23, 2017 RSTV Video

RSTV- The Big Picture : Lifestyle Diseases Biggest Health Risk for Indians

Lifestyle Diseases Biggest Health Risk for Indians Archives 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; mechanisms, laws, institutions A new report, India- state level disease burden, released by Vice- President, showed that lifestyle diseases such as heart and chronic respiratory problems, cancer and other non-communicable diseases have toppled communicable ones, including TB and other communicable diseases as leading causes of death in India. There is a correspondent increase in non-communicable diseases where it was 40% of the total disease burden in 1990 which has now increased to 55% in 2016. This report brings forward the state-level disease burden and risk factors estimates to improve health and planning for every state in India, thereby demanding a need to refocus India’s health policy. Major findings India is undergoing a major epidemiological transition in consonance with social and economic development. Contribution of communicable diseases to deaths in India reduced from 53.6% to 27.5%, while that of NCDs rose from 37.9% to 61.8%. Three of the five leading killers in India in 2016 were NCDs — ischaemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and stroke. The worse part is that the health crisis is characterized by widening disparity between India’s relatively more prosperous and poorer states and can potentially impair its demographic dividend. The report positions the fact that the more affluent states are in fact facing the biggest burden of non-communicable disease whereas the communicable diseases are still there in EAG- Empowered Action Group states, erstwhile BIMARU states like UP, Bihar, Jharkhand. Under-five mortality rate has decreased significantly in all states. But, in the states that recorded the highest number of such mortalities, such as Assam and Uttar Pradesh, it was four times that of the states with the lowest incidence, such as Kerala. The fastest-growing causes of ill health over the past 26 years were diabetes (increased by 174%) and ischaemic heart disease (up 104%). Picture Credit: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/photo/48460636.cms The transition Since 1990 to 2016, the Indian healthcare sector has improved considerably and that’s why there is a sudden turnaround of lifestyle diseases causing more deaths rather than communicable disease. The causes of heart diseases are known but no steps are taken to change it. The single leading individual cause of death in India in 2016 was coronary artery disease. This is due to change in lifestyle, food habits, sedentary habits developed, and the hassled mental makeup- achieve everything in short time, whether material or physical wealth. However, now even the lower section people are also being affected by lifestyle diseases. What is more alarming is that the age for heart attacks has preponed. But it doesn’t mean that as lifestyle diseases are increasing, the communicable diseases are decreasing. Malnutrition is still the single largest risk factor responsible for 15% of total diseases burden in India. Malnutrition includes over and under-nutrition. In rural areas, despite government run anganwadi centres providing free nutrition, not much impact is seen in health status of women and children. Neglected health sector 1.2% of GDP is spent on health sector. Consecutive governments have failed to spend more on health sector. The problem is that it is not a live political issue. Health is thought of as medical care with more hospitals and more professionals. Preventive health is not considered as important. This is where government and policy makers have to come in and make it impossible for public to access junk food, high salted food, and sugar food. Also, this sedentary lifestyle has come in last 20-30 years because of tv, computer which has not encouraged outdoor activities. The policy makers have to use this data to translate it into things that will affect families and growing children. The government has to give children spaces where they are able to enjoy sports and recreational activities. There should be IEC activities implemented. How to bring about a turnaround in lifestyle? There needs to be focus on Food habits Exercise habits Mental composition Setting biological clock to right time. It is important as late to bed and late to rise gives high cholesterol, high BP, high sugar. These are the driving factors for early cardiovascular diseases. Lifestyle diseases are no longer a rich man’s disease. Access to low quality fast food, affordable sugar food has aggravated the growth of diseases. Hence, an environment for healthy lifestyle has to be created and there should be policies which are keeping control over them. It is necessary to create awareness among the people. The easiest way to create it is to meet children in school. The government, industrialists, local bodies and civil societies have to keep an eye on food that is being consumed by common man. Good food is also an important part- things that carry lot of transfat, salt pesticides are adulteration. The advertisements have to be monitored. There should be ban by government, civil society and people themselves too. The media should also be involved and made responsible partner to spread health. 90% of items in home are adulterated. The food adulteration authorities are not touching the fringes. If few people are arrested every month and there is a logical conclusion to every of the case, there will be an awakening. There has to be deterrent punishment as adulterated food can get the public highly ill. Conclusion The report states that India has made substantial gains in health since 1990, with the overall health loss from all diseases and conditions about one-third less per person in 2016. But, progress has been mixed. India needs to be awakened and the communities should be sensitised about the need for change. As good health and well-being feature in the list of Sustainable Development Goals, it is even more crucial for India—one of the signatories of SDGs—to meet the goals. Connecting the dots: India is on the verge of facing an explosion of health epidemic in terms of NCDs if not controlled. Analyse the ways to improve India’s health profile.

Dec 23, 2017 AIR

All India Radio (AIR) : India Italy Bilateral Relation

India Italy Bilateral Relation ARCHIVES Search 31st October 2017 here http://www.newsonair.com/Main_Audio_Bulletins_Search.aspx TOPIC: General Studies 3 Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment. The visit of the Italian Prime Minister to India coming after gap of 10 years is the major power boost in the bilateral relations between India and Italy. The visit saw 6 pacts being signed between the 2 countries in following fields: Energy Railroad safety Bilateral investment Joint training programs for foreign services Cultural exchange Diplomatic ties. In 2016, the India Italian Joint Committee, established under the Scientific and Technological Cooperation Agreement, approved several initiatives and projects to encourage cooperation in the sectors of science, technology and innovation with emphasis on sustainable agriculture, health care, biotechnologies and nanotechnologies. This meeting was kind of a reboot to India-Italian relationship which for the last few years did go on the backfoot. The ties had become fractured and full of tension because of 2 main reasons Marines’ case in 2012 where two Indian fishermen were killed by a pair of Italian marines off the coast of Kerala. Augusto Westland VVIP Helicopter case were in India black listed the mother company Finmeccanica, which is one of the biggest arms producers of Italy. So both these issues strained the ties between India and Italy. The spill-over effect of the same was negative impact on India’s relationship with the European Union. With the recent visit of Italian PM, it seems to be a wise decision to put the things of past on backburner. Support in anti-terrorism Italy has supported India in the anti-terrorism front. India has for a very long time globally asked the world to be more proactive and be strict against terrorist organisations especially organisation like the JeM which are based in Pakistan and are responsible for cross terrorism. Support by Italy in this matter strengthens India’s hands in its global fight against terrorism especially when it comes to Pakistan. Today, terrorism has become a global issue and is not restricted to India only.  Acknowledgment of terrorist organisation such as Al Qaida and ISIS calls upon countries to not give safe haven to the terrorist entities. India is facing terrorist attacks whereas Italy faces influx of refugees from Syria, Yemen, Libya along with other countries in Europe. Thus, there is a rising security concern for Italy also and it is significant when such area is openly discussed. Italy feels that this concern of cross border terrorism was raised by India for a long time and now it is being realised as a reality. Horrific terrorist incidences happening in Europe makes one feel that may be Europe is now a little more sensitive to a country like India in matters of anti-terrorism. Also, Italy supports Masood Azhar being declared as global terrorist. India has to come up with a solution where countries like Italy, which are influential in the European Union and have influence globally, are supporting India. It means there is sense to the reasons for which it is making the decisions about anti-terrorism. But the challenge always lies when an international forum like the UN is concerned. Here the power window is very narrow for negotiations and talks on such matters. Italy has supported India’s “intensified engagement” with nuclear, missile and dual-use technology and substances-export control regimes like the Wassenaar Arrangement, the Australia Group, and the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) which strengthen global non-proliferation efforts. Trade relations The Indian-EU free trade agreement has seen bumpy rides in this FTA.  There have been many rounds of negotiations but nothing significant has come out. With Italian support now, this FTA is expected to be little easier to have breakthrough as it is good to have support from one of the major EU countries. The trade between India and Italy is not quite encouraging. The annual turnover is about 8.8 billion US dollars in favour of India of about 1 billion US dollars. Though it is in India’s favour but there is a great potential for increasing the trade between India and Italy. As far as relationship between India and EU is concerned, that’s one relationship but it also becomes imperative for India to an individual relationship with Italy. India’s relationship with Britain is quite apart from others when it is now going to exit the European Union. It is in India’s interest to maintain its bilateral relations with each of these European Union countries. India has been doing that since it is seems to have a collective kind of one exchange with EU but it’s never seemed to have the bilateral relationship with the member countries.  The bilateral relation helps in the multinational exchange, whether its trade or securities forum. So it’s always helpful to have a strong bilateral relationship with the components of the European Union. Way forward Today, India is becoming much more aggressive in its pursuit of foreign policy. PM has reached out to countries which traditionally in the last decade or so did not have such close relationships with. This very proactive foreign policy has resulted in PM of Italy visiting India after 10 years. This is actually the beginning of the new chapter for the India-Italian relationship. Both the cases are in court and whatever decisions come, both countries are ready to accept.  It will be better to put that behind and now look forward to a much positive and a healthier relationship between these two important countries. India has changed its style of functioning. It isn’t aggressive but the national interest has now started to matter a great deal and it is no longer shy of putting it across the forums in a direct manner. India is growing economy and the global arena has also given the confidence with which they go ahead. India’s reputation in the world today is very strong as it doesn’t have to beg in front anyone for anything. At present, it should focus on economic growth as its strong base and allow rest to fall in place. Connecting the dots: India is reaching out to countries which were for a long time not in consonance with India. Explain the change in India’s foreign policy approach in this regards.

Dec 22, 2017 MindMaps

IASbaba’s MINDMAP : Issue – India-China Trade Deficit

IASbaba’s MINDMAP : Issue – India-China Trade Deficit 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)

Dec 22, 2017 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs [Prelims + Mains Focus] - 22nd December 2017

IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs (Prelims + Mains Focus)- 22nd December 2017 Archives (PRELIMS+MAINS FOCUS) $25 million development assistance for Rakhine State from India Part of: Mains GS Paper II- International relations Key pointers: India has announced a development assistance of $25 million for Myanmar’s Rakhine State, from where thousands of Rohingya Muslims recently fled following incidents of violence against the community. The amount will be spent over a period of five years. The broad objective of it is to restore normalcy in the troubled state. An estimated 6,00,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine State since late August after large-scale violence there. India and Myanmar Wednesday had inked an agreement on restoration of normalcy and development of the Rakhine State. The two countries signed a bilateral MoU on Rakhine State Development Programme. This MoU is the first government-to-government agreement signed by the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement of Myanmar with a cooperation partner focussed on socio-economic development and livelihood initiatives in Rakhine State. Article link: Click here National Rail and Transport University (NRTU) to be setup in Vadodara Part of: Mains GS Paper II- Infrastructure Key pointers: The Cabinet has approved a project to set up India's National Rail and Transport University (NRTU) in Vadodara in Gujarat. A not-for-profit company under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013, will be created by the ministry of railways which shall be the managing company of the proposed university. The company will provide financial and infrastructural support to the university, and appoint Chancellor and Pro­ Chancellor of the university. A Board of Management, comprising professionals and academics, shall be independent of the Managing Company with full autonomy to perform its academic and administrative responsibilities. The university plans to use latest pedagogy and technology applications such as satellite-based tracking, Radio Frequency Identification and Artificial Intelligence to improve on ­the ­job performance and productivity. The funding of the new University/ Institute is to entirely come from Ministry of Railways. In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that a railway university was needed for the research and modernisation of the country's archaic railway system in particular, and transport infrastructure in general. It was subsequently included in the Railway Budget in 2014. Article link: Click here Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector Part of: Mains GS Paper II- Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector or Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources Key pointers: In order to ensure steady supply of skilled manpower in the labour-intensive textile sector, the Union Cabinet approved a Rs 1,300-crore outlay for skilling and up-skilling an estimated 10 lakh people in the entire value chain of the sector, including spinning and weaving. The ‘Scheme for Capacity Building in Textile Sector’ will provide demand-driven, placement-oriented skilling programme to incentivise the efforts of the industry in creating jobs in the organised textile and related sectors. Ten lakh people are expected to be skilled and certified through the scheme. The training courses will be compliant with National Skill Qualification Framework. The scheme will remain operational for three years ending in 2019-20. The scheme is aimed at promoting skilling and skill up-gradation in the traditional sectors through the Ministry of Textiles and providing livelihood to all sections of the society across the country. It will also be rolled out through reputed training institutions relevant to textile sector having placement tie- ups. Under the scheme, job role wise skilling targets will be based on skill gap identified for various levels including entry-level courses, up-skilling/re-skilling (supervisor, managerial training, advanced courses for adapting technology etc), recognition of prior learning. Article link: Click here (MAINS FOCUS) SOCIAL ISSUES TOPIC: General Studies 2: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources. Issues relating to Poverty and hunger Undernutrition & Overnutrition: Tackling the Dual Burden Introduction: In the last few decades, with strides in technology, irrigation practices, and extension services, and with progressive agricultural policies, India has seen improvement in food and nutrition security. Agriculture, food grain production, and agricultural export have grown. However, despite hunger (as measured by undernutrition) decreasing, the level of undernutrition remains unacceptably high in the country. India ranks 114th out of 132 countries in stunting among children aged less than five and 120th out of 130 countries in under-5 wasting, as per the Global Nutrition Report, 2016. The burden of vitamin and mineral deficiencies (‘hidden hunger’) is also considerable. Fallout of micronutrient deficiencies: Women and children are the most vulnerable to micronutrient deficiencies. This has adverse effects on their health. Deficiency of iron in women not only reduces physical work capacity and causes fatigue, but could lead to depression and post-partum maternal hemorrhage. In children, it impairs growth and cognitive development. Over-nutrition: Becoming an emergency What is ironic is that over-nutrition is emerging as an emergency in India. As per the recent findings of the National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-16), the Body Mass Index (BMI) of 15.5% of urban women was found to be less than 18.5 kg/m2, whereas 31.3% of urban women were in the category of overweight or obese (BMI of or more than 25.0 kg/m2). Around 15% of urban men were underweight, while 26.3% belonged to the category of overweight and obese. Reason- Dramatic changes in lifestyle and dietary patterns in recent decades have contributed to an increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases. Fallout- If this double burden of undernutrition and growing percentage of obesity and associated non-communicable diseases is not controlled, it can have serious implications for the economy. How has this happened? The reason behind India facing the burden of under- and over-nutrition at the same time is that a vast majority of Indians eat cereal-based food, mainly wheat and rice. There is an insufficient intake of food such as milk, pulses, and fruits and vegetables, which are rich sources of micronutrients. While the Green Revolution phase saw new, fast-growing varieties of staples, especially wheat and rice, the following decades saw a steady decline in the food basket diversity, especially of traditional grains such as bajra and millet, which have high nutritional value. Way forward: To ensure food and nutrition security, there is a growing need for a multi-sectoral approach. The policies and programmes of various ministries should be converged for better results. Apart from transforming India’s agricultural practices, we also need to spread awareness about nutritious food among key target groups, including tribals, women and children. We need to focus on the role of micronutrients. Deficiencies of micronutrients such as zinc, folic acid, magnesium, selenium and vitamin D needs to be given adequate attention. Conclusion: The Sustainable Development Goal-2, which aims to “end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”, is a priority area for India. India needs to take concerted efforts to deal with both the challenges of under and over nutrition at the same time. Connecting the dots: The double burden of undernutrition and growing percentage of obesity and associated non-communicable diseases can have serious implications for the economy. Discuss. A multi-sectoral approach is required to ensure food and nutrition security. Analyze. NATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. General Studies 3: Technology, Energy security. India's energy mix: Balancing renewables and non-renewables Background: India’s energy mix reflects a clear trend towards gas and renewables. Still demand for oil is forecast to grow at least until 2040. However, oil companies are under pressure to prepare for a possible low-carbon future. There is a fear of being too late to embrace newer energy sources, matched by equally high risks in moving too fast. Leveraging resource advanatge: Today, the major fossil fuels account for more than 90% of India’s total primary commercial energy supply. At present, India’s import dependence in the oil and gas sector is significant and the government has set a target to reduce dependence on crude imports by 10% by 2022. The moment is opportune for India to take advantage of shifting pricing and supply dynamics in the oil and gas sector globally. In order to leverage the resources advantage, it should focus on the following areas: With softened oil prices there has been a significant decline in the cost of equipment and services associated with exploration and production. The effort of government-owned companies to acquire assets must continue. With 3.14 million sq. km of potential reserves lying unexplored until 2016, India’s potential in the oil and gas sector is immense and there exists vast headroom for new discoveries. Enhancing oil recovery- With the global average recovery factor for a typical oilfield being around 40%, a substantial amount of identified oil ends up as leftover despite existing production infrastructure. There is a need to enhance recovery from oilfields to reduce import dependence. Adoption of digitization, automation and robotics, which can substantially reduce operational costs and increase oilfield productivity, should be considered seriously. Adding value in petrochemicals: India has emerged as a refining hub in Asia, serving a massive domestic market for refined petroleum products and even exports. Also, the government’s push towards a gas-based economy has given significant thrust to liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, given the low domestic natural gas output. Both these elements present an opportunity for India’s downstream and midstream oil and gas sectors. With a slump in global oil and gas prices, refiners and LNG importers have an opportunity to increase their profit by enhancing efficiency in refining and re-gasification of LNG. Strengthening sales and distribution networks: With major fuels in India deregulated, retailers must focus on their sale and distribution networks. The current distribution network is concentrated around a few producers, calling for the development of a strong network. Conclusion: Indian stakeholders thus need to adopt an aggressive but cautious approach to fully harness the opportunity created as a result of changing dynamics in the global oil and gas sector. We need to adopt a right mix of growth options in conventional and newer energy. This will help India reduce dependence on crude imports. Connecting the dots: Oil companies are under pressure to prepare for a possible low-carbon future. In this light discuss how the state-owned oil companies should move forward. MUST READ Should adultery be a crime? The Hindu Scam or folklore The Hindu Verdict without closure Indian Express An artificial shortage of facts Indian Express India's self-defeating stand on e-commerce Livemint

Dec 22, 2017 Daily Prelims CA Quiz

UPSC Quiz- 2017 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 107]

UPSC Quiz- 2017 : IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs Quiz [Day 107] Archives Q.1) Consider the following statements about ‘Indian bison’ It is native to Western Ghats and North East India only It is listed as ‘vulnerable’ under IUCN Res List Select the correct statements 1 Only 2 Only Both 1 and 2 Neither 1 nor 2 Q.2) Gilt-edged market means Bullion market Market of guns Market of pure metals Market of Government securities Q.3) Ashok Dalwai committee is concerned with Allocation of natural resources National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA) Doubling Farmers’ Income Financial Inclusion Q.4) Which one of the following is not a feature of the Government of India Act of 1935? An All-India Federation Diarchy at the Centre as well as in the provinces A bicameral legislature Provincial autonomy Q.5) ‘Manganiyars’ are known for Martial arts in North­East India Pietra dura tradition in Central India Musical tradition in North­West India Classical vocal music in South India To Download the Solution – Click here All the Best  IASbaba