Jun 30, 2017 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs 30th June, 2017

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 30th June 2017 Archives ECONOMY TOPIC: General Studies 3 Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment Inclusive growth and issues arising from it GST: Way ahead Brief introduction: The GST will replace the present very complex system where the Centre levies a central excise duty on goods up to the production stage and a service tax on services while the states levy a state VAT (value added tax) on sales of goods, but do not tax services. Each of these taxes has a VAT (value added tax) structure, but they are applied on different bases. And in addition, there are a number of additional taxes e.g. the additional duty, special excise duty and various central cesses by the Centre and luxury tax, entertainment tax, octroi etc. by the states. All these taxes by the Centre will be subsumed into a single central GST and the multiple state taxes by the state into a state GST (legally a different tax in each state). These taxes will be applied on a common base and at the same rate for each commodity across the country. This is a major simplification which should be welcomed. Timeline: In 2006, then finance minister P. Chidambaram, in his budget speech for 2006, set the target of moving a Constitutional Amendment Bill in 2010. It was moved by United Progressive Alliance finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in 2012, but could not be passed before the election. The National Democratic Alliance government took up the baton after coming to power in 2014. Fortunately, differences were resolved and the Bill was passed in 2016. The goods and services tax (GST) will now finally come into force on 1 July Weaknesses in present GST: International experience suggests that the full benefits of a VAT are only reaped if the VAT is near universal in coverage, with very few exemptions and there are no more than two rates. GST is very far from being universal and according to some it excludes 50% of the gross domestic product. Major items such as petroleum, natural gas, alcohol, electricity, and real estate/construction are left out. Residential apartments have been included but all other construction, including commercial construction and factories, is not. In addition, a very large number of commodities have been exempted. This suggests that revenue may fall short of expectations. The second flaw is too many rates: 3% (on gold), 5%, 12%, 18% and 28 %, plus an extra GST cess on some luxury or socially undesirable items. Multiple rates are an invitation to misclassification and disputes/harassment arising from suspicion of misclassification. This reduces the efficiency gains. A National Council of Applied Economic Research study had estimated that the GST would add between 1 and 2 percentage points to the economy’s growth rate. That was based on an ideal GST. Since what we have is very far from the ideal, the benefits will be correspondingly less. If revenues are lower because of the exclusions and the large number of items at a very low rate, the revenue loss will be entirely borne by the Centre. This is because it will not only have less revenue under the central GST, but it is also committed to compensate the states if their revenue grows at less than 14% per annum in nominal terms. The requirement that taxpayers must register in each jurisdiction in which thhey operate is an issue. If a unit operates in several states, it must register in each state in which it operates, and be taxed in each jurisdiction, and also maintain records that allow the tax paid in each jurisdiction to be audited. Benefits: Despite these weaknesses, the GST will still be beneficial in many respects. The replacement of multiple taxes with a single rate for each commodity (taking Central and state GST together) is an advantage. The fact that the same rate will be imposed on all imports in addition to the normal import duty, is a major gain. It will level the playing field for domestic producers vis-a-vis imports because at present imports escape the state taxes, which erodes the protective benefit of customs duty. The elimination of border posts will be a major benefit. Way forward: The GST Council should set up an expert group that could assess the performance of the system based on results of the first year and work on a revised GST rate structure to be implemented after the general election in 2019. One of the terms of reference of the group should be to pronounce on the desirability of migrating to fewer rates. The GST Council should be serviced by an independent secretariat which can undertake or farm out studies that may be desired by state finance ministers, and also comment on studies that may be put before the GST Council by either the finance ministry, or any of the states. The Central government revenue department has a great deal of expertise, but for it to service the GST is inconsistent with cooperative federalism. A separate secretariat, with people taken on deputation from the Centre and the states, and with outside experts brought in as consultants, would be ideal. The GST was meant to unify the country into a single market. This means more and more organizations will set up in different jurisdictions and will need to operate seamlessly across them. A single registration valid across all states would have been the right thing to do. Conclusion: No new system is without glitches. The new system should be judged not by whether there are problems, but by whether the problems that arise are promptly corrected. We must recognize that the birth of the GST is only a beginning. A systematic effort should be launched to correct deficiencies over time through the mechanism of the GST Council. Connecting the dots: Introduction of GST is a historic step in Indian tax reforms, however, it's just the beginning and much more remains to be done so as to truly achieve the objective of one country, one tax. Discuss. Also read: GST- Continuation NATIONAL TOPIC: General Studies 3 Awareness in the fields of IT, computers, Challenges to internal security through communication networks, basics of cyber security; money-laundering and its prevention. Linkages of organized crime with terrorism. General Studies 2 Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. Important aspects of governance Making Indian companies cybersecure: India is to soon transform into digital economy. It is likely to help trigger a fresh wave of economic growth, attract more investment, and create new jobs, across multiple sectors. However this also creates cybersecurity challenges which must be dealt with seriously. Recent steps taken by government: Introducing Digital Locker, which eliminates the need for people to carry hard copies of documents issued by the government. Demonetization, which has spurred the use of digital payments across the country. Cybersecurity- one of the biggest challenge: With the move towards a digital economy, increasing amount of consumer and citizen data will be stored digitally and a large number of transactions will be carried out online, by companies, individuals as well as government departments. That makes India a bigger target for cyber-criminals and hackers. The cost of cyberattacks in India currently stands in excess of Rs25,000 crore ($4billion). This is despite fact that there are many cyberattacks that go undetected and unreported. The losses emanate from operational disruptions, loss of sensitive information and designs, customer churn and impact on brand image, as well as increase in legal claims and insurance premium. The issue is forecast to balloon further in the coming years, reaching as high as Rs1.25 trillion ($20 billion) over the next 10 years, as the business operations of most Indian companies become networked. Issues: Limited awareness of the impact and importance of cybersecurity currently. Many companies do not treat it as a strategic agenda, but rather as a small issue for their IT departments. In fact, a lot of cybersecurity incidents go unidentified and hence, unreported. Limited awareness of the need for specialized and customized industry-specific cybersecurity measures which are significantly different from IT security and need to be adapted by the industry. Low existing capability, or lack of skill sets, to drive cybersecurity agendas. This includes capability both in terms of people, cybersecurity strategies, as well as actual implementation of security measures. Conventional IT systems and firewalls are increasingly becoming ineffective in preventing sophisticated hackers from creating havoc. Way forward: Companies in India need to be proactive to ensure they foster efficiency and efficacy in cybersecurity management. Cybersecurity must be put on a high priority on the management agenda. Companies also need to assess the assets that are most at risk. This will differ from sector to sector and company to company. It is important to identify the most valuable assets, the ones which will “hit you the most”, narrow down all possible attack avenues and proactively prepare mechanisms and procedures to address those risks. It is also important that companies run regular stress tests, which simulate real-life attacks. Companies need to start cooperating with peers to learn from each other’s experiences—identify potential attack scenarios, identify hidden threats and co-develop a security framework. Organizations also need to enlist their employees in the fight against breaches. There is a need to change the perception of cybersecurity from being a passive agent, to an active business enabler. The regulators need to ensure they are covering all aspects at their end. This includes regulations that set minimum standards on cybersecurity for companies across the country. Tough laws are needed to be put in place for perpetrators of cybercrime to ensure such criminals are deterred effectively. Conclusion: India is sitting on the cusp of digital evolution. The government has overcome its detractors with an eagle-eyed focus to achieve this goal for the country. It is now up to companies to ensure they are ready and prepared to harness and exploit the opportunities this evolution will bring. Connecting the dots: India is soon to transform into a digital economy. It will surely have multiple benefits, however, with such transformation arises the biggest challenge of cybersecurity. Discuss. MUST READ The sedition law be scrapped Hindu The task before the sentinel Hindu Making the house rules Hindu A welcome sale Hindu Cutting tribunals to size Hindu Redraw the triangle Indian Express Why we need nuclear power? Indian Express Climate change: Green at grassroots Livemint  

Jun 29, 2017 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs 29th June, 2017

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs – 29th June 2017 Archives NATIONAL TOPIC: General studies 2 Parliament and State Legislatures – structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these. Breach of Privilege-It's time to codify the rules In news: On June 21, the Karnataka assembly Speaker ordered the imprisonment of two journalists for a year based on recommendations in two separate reports of its privilege committees. The order has drawn widespread criticism as an effort to throttle the media. What provisions of the Constitution protect the privileges of the legislature? Article 105 pertains to the powers, privileges, etc, of Parliament, its members and committees while Article 194, which is identical to 105, protects the privileges and powers of the houses of legislature, their members and committees in the states. These sections protect the freedom of speech of parliamentarians and legislators, insulate them against litigation over matters that occur in these houses, and give powers to define the powers, privileges and immunities of a house, its members and committees. The Constitution confers certain privileges on legislative institutions with the idea of protecting freedom of speech and expression in the House and ensuring that undue influence, pressure or coercion is not brought on the legislature in the course of its functioning. What constitutes a breach of privilege? While the Constitution accords special privileges and powers to parliamentarians and legislators to maintain the dignity and authority of Parliament and the legislatures, these powers and privileges are not codified. There are no clearly laid out rules on what constitutes breach of privilege and what punishment it entails. The purpose of the law of privilege is to protect the independence of the House. Privilege is to be invoked only if an intervention prevents members of the House from discharging their duties. Typically, this amounts to preventing legislators from speaking their mind. What is the procedure in privilege cases? All state legislatures have special privilege committees comprising 10 to 12 legislators as members and usually headed by a senior politician from the ruling party. Whenever a legislator has a complaint he/she can send a letter to the committee. The accused person is summoned and an inquiry is conducted by the committee and based on findings a recommendation is made to the legislature. When the matter is tabled in the legislature, a debate can be initiated on the report and based on the assertions of the House, the Speaker can order the punishment as defined by the privileges committee or order otherwise. Issues: The provision is at times used to counter media criticism of legislators and as a substitute for legal proceedings. Breach of privilege laws allow politicians to become judges in their own cause, raising concerns of conflict of interest and violating basic fair trial guarantees. Unfortunately, breach of privilege is invoked to insulate elected representatives from criticism. Without a law codifying the legislative privileges, there is little merit in subjecting anyone, leave alone a journalist, to penal action for allegedly breaching a legislator’s privilege, unless there is a move or attempt to obstruct the functioning of either the House or its members. In the present case, by no stretch of imagination could the articles published by the two journalists could have impeded the independent functioning of the three legislators who had complained against them. If the members felt defamed, they could have opted to pursue an appropriate judicial remedy in their individual capacity. There is very little clarity about the law of privilege, and whether it is proper for legislatures to award punishments remains debatable. There are many unsettled questions about the very nature of legislative privileges. The absence of codification gives the House the freedom to decide when and how breach of privilege occurs. Even if it is conceded that the House has such a right, a moot question is whether the legislature, through its Committee of Privileges, should be a judge in its own cause. Whether the legislature’s power to punish for breach of privilege extends to handing down a prison term is still an open question. With no codified laws for what constitutes a breach of privilege offence or prescriptions for punishment, this is largely a grey area in legal terms. Way ahead: The legislature must use the power to punish for contempt or breach of privilege sparingly, invoking it mainly to protect the independence of the House and not to take away the liberty of critics. Legislators are in a position to clarify facts and refute misconceived criticism. There is no reason for them to seek imprisonment for contempt. The time has come for the legislature to codify privileges and for the higher judiciary to lay down the limits of penal action for breach of privilege. The judiciary should immediately clarify the applicability of privilege, and ensure that legislatures can no longer play plaintiff, advocate and judge, all rolled into one. This case should serve as a spur to bring clarity to the provision of privilege. Situations which attract it should be narrowly and unambiguously defined, and legislatures should not have the right to impose punishments unilaterally, only because some of their members feel impugned. Conclusion: Article 105 and Article 194 was inserted in the constitution with the basic objective of allowing legislators and parliamentarians to function efficiently. However the breach of privilege has not been defined clearly and thus space for its misuse. Thus its time to codify the rules. Connecting the dots: What do you understand by the term breach of privilege. Also discuss the issues related with privilege of legislative members. Must Read Promises in the rose garden Hindu Fighting an old battle                                    Hindu New tech old values Hindu Read between the lines Indian Express Don't be evil Indian Express A Gorkhaland West Bengal could live with Indian Express Progress in the making Indian Express A Manav Suraksha Kanoon Livemint The cost of failing on the job creation front Livemint The GST's top transition challenge Livemint Google is fighting a losing battle Livemint Blockchaining India's digital future Livemint Unease over GST's anti-profiteering clauses Hindu  

Jun 29, 2017

Rank 126 UPSC CSE 2016 Mani Agrawal, UPSC/IAS TOPPER'S STRATEGY-Importance of TLP Mains Answer Writing!

Hello all! My name is Mani Agarwal. I am from Agra. I did BSc Honours Mathematics from Hindu College, Delhi University and MSc Mathematics from IIT Bombay. I cleared UPSC exam in 2nd attempt with optional subject Mathematics. In my 1st attempt, I reached till interview stage but missed the final list by 40 odd marks. I always thought to give my first attempt with full preparation with a goal of clearing the exam in first attempt. Irrespective of success, I think this should be the mindset of all aspirants. Although this doesn’t ensure rank, it makes one’s preparation rock solid. And this helps in future attempt. I think that worked for me a lot. If we have an attitude that there are more attempts to clear than our preparation becomes half-hearted. My knowledge about this exam started when I was in school my mamaji used to say to my mother that she should make me an IAS. So technically it was IAS and not UPSC that I came to know about first as happens with mot aspirants.  This idea grew during graduation when I met many people in DU who were preparing. Eventually I made my mind and committed myself to this journey. It was not a real social incident that encouraged me for this service. But yes, during preparation I understood the value of this service. I began my preparation in BSc Honours 2nd year by reading The Hindu. Till then I was not aware of this newspaper and how one should go about it. I gave myself time to read it, enjoy it and also digest it. Earlier it was very difficult to read the full newspaper and I used to feel sleepy but I made it a regular practice to read it. I didn’t make any notes at that time. I talked to some seniors in my PG who were preparing and came to know about the importance of optional. As I was good in Maths, there was never any question/doubt about which optional I will take. Some people told me that Maths is not scoring and it can doom you, I trusted my intuition. But yes, I understood in 2nd year that BSc will not be enough to get me through. I need to have Masters in Maths. So, essentially my graduation was spent in excelling in college and preparing my foundation for a good post –graduation. I didn’t start studying for any GS/Essay in graduation. Rather from my 3rd onwards I started for IIT-JAM (Joint Admission for Mathematics). When I reached IIT, my mind was clear. I have to solidify all my concepts in maths with a higher level reading of The Hindu. This included reading Hindu and also preparing some notes about what I understood. I read previous years papers extensively, literally googling where those questions were framed from. This was exhausting and time consuming but I didn’t give up. Rather I gave up my 1st summer vacations and stayed in hostel to read Hindu and preparing my own notes. It was there I had a discussion with one lady who was in IFS. She gave me excellent guidance about preparing notes. I transformed my preparation form hard to soft copies. It was easy to maintain, add, delete, modify on laptop. I ensured that I didn’t compromise on my life in IIT and fully enjoyed each moment, participated in dance festivals, debates, class trips because I was regular in reading newspapers, preparing for IIT exams and making notes. When I came out of IIT in May 2014, I was 100% sure that I don’t have to take coaching. My foundation and “understanding” of UPSC exam was clearer. I was able to find how ques might be framed from any news. I decided to stay at home and prepare. I decided to give 2015 attempt with full preparation. It was now that I started reading books for the exam and making my own notes, both hand written and typed. I kept in mind that I am preparing for mains. Maths preparation was also kick-started. I fixed my after dinner time for maths. I made notes for prelims side by side; about news that were not extensive but could me asked in MCQs. For others, it was Mains notes that could help. I completed the syllabus by reading and preparing notes for the first time by December 2014. It was then that multiple revisions started. Side by side maths was going. By first prelims was in August 2015. I started to read only Prelims in May 2015. Mains preparation was reduced if not completely side-lined (because of current affairs). I used to solve many MCQs from online websites. I joined one small test series of 10 full tests in June 2015. CSAT preparation was also started from May only. Since I was good in maths it was not a big deal. After giving prelims, I was pretty sure (although nervous) that I will clear it and started Mains preparation. I was casually googling for questions for GS preparation that I saw IASBABA website. The mere presentation of the website: spacious, de-stressing font and lighter presentation made me think about my 1st mains being less haunting. It was no turning back. I read the info and came to know about TLP- Programme. I didn’t know then that this programme will be my SOLE GUARDIAN for mains. I started writing answers from next day. i thought that I will continue writing and let’s see if somebody evaluates my answers. Normally on online platforms it is very difficult/ not possible to fix accountability as they are free of cost and you don’t know people personally, it is your time and your practice that is at stake. But IAS BABA was different. I still remember my answer was evaluated the very 1st day! Of course I needed to improve but someone telling that created a lot of enthusiasm and positivity. I wrote answers for 5 questions in TLP program each day and everyday there were evaluators who were reading my answers, sometimes all 5 and sometimes at least 3 if not all. But then there were other aspirants who checked my answers and gave their comments. It was this consistency in IAS BABA team that I never gave up mains answer writing till November end. It helped me groom my writing skills. I kept a 35 minute timeline for answering these 5 questions to create exam feel each day. I didn’t join any test series for my optional and had to pay for it. I gave the mains and cleared it but couldn’t get the final rank. It was my optional that doomed me. I scored a mere 208/500. But as far as IASBABA was concerned, the practice did its work, I scored around 360 in GS. I decided to give second attempt. With people going for some very costly test series I was pretty sure that my trust in IASBABA will pay off. I stuck to IASBABA, this time for both prelims and mains.  Since I had to catch with my current affairs within less time, the summary versions of Yojana/Kurukshetra Magazines by IASBABA were very helpful. They started an amazing 60 day prelims plan which I regularly practiced. I didn’t join any other test series for prelims. Then it was TLP again and the team was again at its very best at evaluating mine and other aspirants’ answers. I was very positive about IASBABA from the very start and didn’t go for any other platform. But this time I joined a test series for maths by IMS. The hard work paid off and I cleared Mains. For interviews, I took part in interview discussion initiative by IASBABA for keeping in touch with the kind of theoretical questions that can be asked. Also, joined interview guidance program by Samkalp (2 mocks) along with 1 mock each from Chanakya IAS Academy and Vajiram and Ravi. As I now see my mark-sheet, I realise the important role of IASBABA in making me score high in GS in Mains. It is one thing that you are very particular about answer writing but it another to have a belief that your answer will be evaluated and you can improve. Without evaluation one seems to lose enthusiasm to write each day. It was this enthusiasm that kept the fire burning in me and I hope in all the future aspirants. I heard some negative opinions about Mathematics as an optional subject for UPSC. I think that we should listen to other people but decide on our own as to what suits us. Despite being a low scorer in my 1st attempt I didn’t lose faith in my subject and I realised my mistake of being over confident in being a post graduate in Mathematics. We should prepare a subject if we enjoy it (if we take a new subject altogether) or if we have a strong hold on it (as in my case) but should never be over confident about it. For people in maths, I want to tell that don’t break the chain of regular practice even when you are studying when Prelims exam is near. Reduce the time given to maths but don’t give it altogether. UPSC exam is one which checks not just your knowledge but also your approach towards life and its problems.  It tests you on your patience, mood swings, courage and persistence. Also, anyone can crack this exam with proper planning and suitable timetables. Regularity and consistency with support systems like IASBABA is a necessary recipe for acing this exam. I wish all the aspirants very best for the upcoming Prelims 2017. With less than a fortnight left, brush up the facts, solve MCQs and pray for positivity in thinking from Almighty. Don’t overthink and overanalyse. Keep calm and excel. Regards, Mani Agarwal AIR 126, UPSC 2016

Jun 29, 2017

Rank 121 UPSC CSE 2016 HITIKA VASAL, UPSC/IAS TOPPER'S STRATEGY-Do's and Don'ts!

Name: Hitika Vasal Rank: 121 Optional: Sociology Marks Essay:154GS 1: 108GS 2: 104GS 3: 108GS 4: 111Sociology 1 : 127Sociology 2 : 157Interview :165 THE UPSC JOURNEY: I am one of those who had always dreamt of this ever since I was a kid and hence I choose to pursue sociology for both my graduate and postgraduate. However, It was only after my post graduation that I got serious about pursuing my dream. It was in October 2014, that I started seriously thinking about UPSC but was totally clueless as to how I was going to do it. Like a sheep following the herd, landed myself in Rajinder Nagar and joined one of the coaching institute for general studies. Started following what everyone else was doing without using my own mind.  This was the time when I was just blindly following everything people said buy Bipin Chandra because MR X said so or Buy Spectrum because MR Y said so. In between all this hustle bustle and confusions rocking my mind everyday, I Decided to give my first attempt in 2015 and failed to qualify for prelims. This served as a shock, I had never thought of any other career option all my life and all that fear of “What if I fail” “where will I work “ “ This has been my only dream “, et al This failure stuck me hard and I pledged to give my best in 2016. After 2015 result that shook me I was determined to do the unconventional, that was to move out of Rajinder Nagar and come back to my hometown (as I felt it was more peaceful). A lot of my friends felt that this was a wrong decision to take because being so far from Delhi I would miss out on a lot. Here,I would like to say a special thanks to IAS BABA team, who have made sure that an aspirant from any corner of the country can prepare at the comforts of their homes, (That has also been the motto of IASBABA Team, to make sure that all aspirants at any given place have equal access to knowledge). I religiously followed 60 Days for Prelims, TLP for Mains Answer Writing. The other initiative I would like to specially mention is Current Affairs (issue based). It helped me in getting different perspectives of an issue.   I really can't thank your team enough.  Some dos and don’ts: Limited sources: I always kept my sources limited, whether be it books or online sources such as IASBaba, I never wasted time going through different sources. For me the key was Read>Revise>Tests>Revise. When you stick yourself with limited sources, you are able to revise better. This also saved time as I would highlight in my book and mark what was important for prelims point of view and what could be used in mains (Saved me from making notes too). However, there are people who like to read from different sources to grasp a topic better . See what suits you and follow that.Make a timetable and stick to it: I made a timetable for both prelims, mains and interview and made sure that I finish the topics in the given time period, if at any point I failed to do so i made sure to devote extra time to complete the topics that were left.Integrate your preparation: Try to make sure that you actively engage with the subject so that it stays with you for longer, in case you have a problem understanding or learning something try referring to you tube videos for the same. Make sure that the topic is understood well, this will help you both for prelims and mains.Tests: Tests are an integral part of preparation for two main reasons: Firstly, it helps you to stick to the given timetable and thus reduces the scope for procrastination (specially if you are a person like me who is preparing in the comforts of your house). Secondly, It helps you to realize your weak and strong areas so that you can work on both accordingly. However, never underestimate yourself due to your scores (I was always doing that ) These scores might have no resemblance with your real scores. Just keep giving the tests, try learning from them but do not take the scores too seriously.You don’t have to study 15 hours and there is no need to isolate yourself: The maximum I have studied is 10 hours (maybe just for a day or two: P). Ithink consistency matters more. Also it takes time to be able to start studying for that long, slowly you will get used to it and will start enjoying the process. I also used to reward myself after finishing each subject with a holiday: P(this helps you to remain sane)Surround yourself with people who trust you and have faith in your abilities: This path is really bumpy and No you don’t want people who make you feel weak or incapable, this is then time you need to be positive and have faith in yourself. Always remember “IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN YOURSELF, WHO WILL?“. Be confident about yourself and if there are any people who are undermining you, just avoid their company.Do not be scared of Failure: If you have chosen this journey, be strong enough to face hurdles and obstacles (as many have already said: that this is not only a test of knowledge but also your attitude towards life).Know how important this is for you: Don’t give this exam because your friends are giving it or your parents are coaxing you to do so, give it because you want to. Once you have deep desire for this, Success will follow. Some Minor Tips: In my first attempt, I tried to attempt only those questions about which I was 100% sure, ended up doing only 60 questions. However, when I returned home to check the answers I was shocked to know that many were wrong. (Moral : a little risk is cardinal )Secondly, after your prelims do not waste more than two three days. No matter what the result is you need to keep going forward.Write answers in whatever form (be it points or paragraphs,) I am a humanities student and hence I am habituated to write in paragraphs, I was warned by many that this can be suicidal but I was firm on writing in the manner that I was comfortable. So I suggest you all to write in the form that you are comfortable. I am not writing any booklist here because many toppers have already written about it, but if there is any thing any one wants to know about be it sociology or anything else that you feel I can help, I would be more than happy to do so. BEST OF LUCK TO ALL OF YOU, TRUST YOURSELF. Believe that you can do it and you surely shall do it. Regards Hitika 

Jun 28, 2017 AIR

All India Radio - India-Malaysia Bilateral Relations

India-Malaysia Bilateral Relations ARCHIVES Search 1st April 2017 http://www.newsonair.com/Main_Audio_Bulletins_Search.aspx India-Malaysia have been in 60 years long formal diplomatic relationship. In India’s Look East policy, Malaysia is a very important partner. On the agenda with Malaysia, the economic cooperation and defence relationship is being emphasised a lot. Both the countries also want to strengthen the military relationship in near future. Defence relations First MoU for defence cooperation was signed in 1963 and since then, there has been extensive cooperation. Malaysia Navy has been participating in the Milan exercise which India holds every two years. There is lot of scope in defence cooperation with Malaysia as it is good in manufacturing and eventually India has to also move forward towards manufacturing of defence products and equipment. And India also needs to have market for its own defence manufactured stuff. Counter-terrorism The whole world is today dealing with menace of ISIS.  Counter- terrorism is an issue on which India and Malaysia can find a common ground. India is also battling cross border terrorism whereas there have been threats of ISIS on Malaysia. Malaysia is an Islamic country but a moderate country. All the religions are treated equally. There are about 8% people of Indian origin and have full freedom to practice their religion etc. Thus, Malaysia is also worried about the radicalisation that is being forced upon by ISIS. Earlier there were reports of Malaysians being involved in terrorist activists. But lately there hasn’t been such reports. This shows that Malaysians have become very conscious of this danger to their society. Maritime India has taken a consistent view of the same but the nations involved around the issue have not shown uniformity in responding to the same. Some are willing to go with china while some are not. Malaysia has had more of a quiet diplomacy. It feels that South China Sea issue could become a major irritant in the region as the time goes by. China’s strengths and military capabilities have been known post its reaction to the ruling on maritime security by the international tribunal. The countries which are aggrieved, on whose territorial waters china is encroaching, they are not in a position to take on china directly. In ASEAN also, the members have not been able to take a collective position. Thus there is a move to have some kind of code of conduct for all countries in South China Sea but the progress on it is less. In this environment, role of Malaysia will be important in respect of how it deals with aggressive stance of china. In the regional equations and the situations of major players in the Asian region, some have referred to it as Asian century given the fact that India and China are fast growing economies of world. Nations like Malaysia, Sri Lanka are trying to wedge their interest somewhere and feel secure. In a practical world, such nations in Asia realised that they need India and also China and hence national interests dictate that they align with multiple partners. Whether the countries of the region say it publicly or not but they would like to ensure that rise of china is peaceful. If the signals from China are otherwise, then they’ll definitely like to have a balancing power. That balancing power can either be only Japan or India and may be some extent Vietnam. It may not be said publicly, but the strategic thinkers, foreign policy analysts of the countries of the region know that India is a peaceful country and doesn’t have expansionist desires. It is also a reliable partner and thus it should be strengthened. Economic cooperation Malaysia can play an important role in India’s Make in India mission. Malaysia has already invested 5 billion dollars and have many construction projects in India. Hence, the scope for more Malaysian investment is there. They have a sovereign fund which is called ‘khazana’ and they are looking for avenues to invest. For example, they have been present in Rajasthan and Amravati where they are into joint projects. Malaysia has capacity of becoming part of global value chain in electronic hardware where Indian companies have not been successful in becoming a global value chain. Thus, it is one area where India can learn from Malaysia. Ayurveda Ayurveda seems to be a growing area in Malaysia. Indian food, yoga and Ayurveda are soft power which has potential for increasing demand. Lot of people are trying to move away from chemicals for their personal use and for good health, they want natural products.  Ayurveda has the answers for them which India can extensively promote in Malaysia. Diaspora Malaysia has a significant diaspora of Indian population. When one comes from a country which has substantial population that has routes to India, there are bound to be cultural inclination and soft corner. There are at present around 2 million people of Indian origin that are in Malaysia. They have now fully integrated in the Malaysian society. Earlier when they came to Malaysia in 19th century, they were plantation workers who were poor and at the bottom of the society. Now they are gradually coming up and they have a bright future. Politically also they are getting integrated in the mainstream positions. Conclusion Ties between India and Malaysia have shown a marked upswing in recent years giving economic cooperation stronger roots. India is keen on building stronger political, economic and strategic ties with Malaysia. In recent years, Indian firms have moved to Malaysia in a big way, making it a base to do business with other ASEAN countries. With respect to counter-terrorism, Malaysia has been greatly successful in countering radicalization and terrorism which is another area from where India can draw critical points. Thus, there is a good potential for both the countries to further their relationship on various fronts. Connecting the dots: A strong bond with a country rests first on economic cooperation and then slowly in strategic cooperation. Do you agree? With respect to this, discuss the potential of India’s relation with Malaysia given the constant friction between major powers of the region.

Jun 28, 2017 RSTV Video

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

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

Jun 28, 2017 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs 28th June, 2017

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

Jun 27, 2017

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

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

Jun 27, 2017 IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs

IASbaba’s Daily Current Affairs 27th June, 2017

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

Jun 27, 2017 PIB

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

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